Reviews Written by J

Edith Nesbit's The Railway Children is a story that should need little introduction. The delightful, yet emotional, children's story follows youngsters Roberta, Peter and Phyllis following the arrest of their father. Mark Anthony Turnage and librettist Rachel Hewer have adapted the tale into an exciting new opera.   I must admit, I have no particular fondness for the instrumental compositions I heard previously from Turnage. But clearly he has a gift for opera (this being the composer behind the Olivier award-winning Festen). The Railway Children features a small ensemble and is semi-staged, but punches well above its weight. The video design is broadly insignificant, but clearly picks up the slack where a more ambitious set design would have otherwise immersed and provided greater understanding. A slight oversight in my opinion: no surtitles. Even with the quality projection of vocalists I could not quite make out all the words from near the back of th...

An abstracted amalgam of comedy, sex and biological disgust, Tuck! (directed by Lou Bristow-Bell) describes itself as a "boun dary-pushing psycho-dream" play. An apt epithet. On this occasion, Tuck!  takes residence in the Baron's Court Theatre, nestling itself under the black painted brick arches of the pub cellar venue - a suitably unsettling setting.  The cast of Tuck! is exemplary. Of particular note are Jack Heffran and Samantha Begeman, who manage to effortlessly recreate the awkward flirting of a couple - in this scene the dialogue shines too. The comic timing and ability to enthral an audience that the entire cast possesses has to be commended.  The play's disturbing moments include: the description of a group ritualistically sucking the blood out of a used tampon, a woman achieving orgasm through being told by how petite she is, and the question "are you wet?" answered not with words - but by reaching between their legs and discovering copious amo...

Make it Happen is a dramatisation of the events surrounding the collapse of the Royal Bank of Scotland during the 2008 financial crash. It stars Sandy Grierson as Fred Goodwin (then RBS CEO), and Brian Cox as the ghost of economist and alleged forefather of capitalism Adam Smith. Written by James Graham and directed by Andrew Panton, it plays at the Festival Theatre as a part of the Edinburgh International Festival. Make It Happen is semi-s atirical, but mostly is in possession of the kind of humour that elicits a mild chuckle at most.  At first it is hard to tell if this is the writing or the delivery.  Brian   Cox however seemingly proves the latter to be true, as all his scenes inject a much needed energy. Cox's "Adam Smith" is a  campy self-caricature that is the light and humour of the production. Make it Happen opens with tourists being shown around an  Edinburgh   gallery. This being festival season, much of the audience will be tourists themselves. ...

Hood is a retelling of the classic story Robin Hood. It follows Robin (Katie Poole) and daughter of an aristocrat Briar Rose (Rebecca Caslake). When Briar Rose discovers Robin true identity, she becomes embroiled in danger. Written by Katie Poole and directed by Lucy Victoria, Hood runs at Just the Tonic at The Caves as part of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.  There is clearly a strong directorial voice emerging within Lucy Victoria. She has injected Hood with lots of clever elements, with strong movement coordination. The involvement of the ensemble - as jeering crowds behind the audience is very effective. There is a scene towards the end of the play where the stage is only lit by an oil lamp, with the entire cast in unison voice, in this almost tormenting way. Although interesting in isolation, and emotionally quite intense, it fractured the narrative rather than served it. Sometimes more unique ideas are applicable, and sometimes they are not, learning this is a fine art. I thin...

Prudence Play is a one-woman show written and performed by Caroline Dunn. It follows Prudence, a nun grappling with her sexuality. She is adamant she is not gay though.  The play begins as Dunn enters the theatre through the back of the room (audience entrance) with a chaotic timidity, as if almost late to her own show, apologising and readjusting her flapper dress skittishly. Brittney Spears plays and Dunn takes the stage and tap dances for us. Iconic.  It is this moment that totally sets the scene for Prudence Play. Within barely a minute Prudence is established as a messy and down to earth individual; brilliance. Some of the lines early on are rather lyrical and are delivered with an slam-poetry like cadence, which is hyper-engaging. The show is funny, with a distinctly American style of humour. Prudence Play almost seems to transport a high-school dramedy mood to the nunnery, with this awkward coming-of-age lilt to everything. This seems to parallel the queer experience, w...

The statement "there is a fine line between genius and insanity" has all but been sanctified by Jessica Durand and her Edinburgh Fringe show Over the Top. Directed by Rowan Ellis (hi Rowan I love your essays) Over the Top is a deeply absurd one-woman show that follows Jessica in a WWI-era Downton Abbey fanfiction of her own making.  Over the Top is the kind of project that could only be devised by the neurodiverse. It feels very much of this era, and I am sure it will resonate with the right niche crowd. Jessica documents aspects of her life such as her forays into the worlds of Wattpad and AO3, her shared birthday with Obama, and her unhealthy obsession with Thomas Barrow, Downton Abbey's very own gay butler. The chaotic world Jessica brings us into is not just that of her own life, but the fanfiction she has devised. It sees her as a humble maid at Downton, who then goes to the WWI front line in order to serve as a nurse.  But in case you were concerned, the mental...