Edinburgh
Edinburgh Fringe 2024 reviews: Heartbreak Hotel / The Gummy Bears' Great War / The CeremonySaturday, 03 August 2024
Heartbreak Hotel, Summerhall ★★★★ If the show’s title leaves you expecting schmaltz and dodgy Elvis impressions – well, you might be disappointed, and possibly pleasantly surprised. This quietly powerful two-hander from New Zealand-based... Read more... |
Trpčeski, RSNO, Søndergård, Usher Hall, Edinburgh review - flash and sparkleMonday, 10 June 2024
Edinburgh is lucky to get a lot of high quality musicians coming to perform, not least during the summer festival season, but the most high profile musical visitor to the city this weekend was none other than Taylor Swift. Everyone is talking about... Read more... |
Laura Aldridge / Andrew Sim, Jupiter Artland, Edinburgh review - lightness and joyThursday, 06 June 2024
Two shows at Jupiter Artland, one in a barn, one in a ballroom, showcase two Scottish artists, whose work shares a sense of lightness and joy. The sun was out, there was happiness all round. Laura Aldridge had painted the walls of her barn space a... Read more... |
Rebus, BBC One review - revival of Ian Rankin's Scottish 'tec hits the jackpotMonday, 20 May 2024
The previous incarnation of Ian Rankin’s Scottish detective on ITV starred, in their contrasting styles, John Hannah and Ken Stott. For this Rebus redux, arriving nearly 25 years after the original first series began, screenwriter Gregory Burke has... Read more... |
Hidden Door 10th Birthday Party, St James Quarter, Edinburgh review - going undergroundWednesday, 15 May 2024
It’s hard to imagine that The Arches – a string of stylish glass-fronted units in prime city centre location, housing boutique bars, high-end eateries and stylish salons – were once a bunch of old storage units which were opened up a decade ago by a... Read more... |
Bach Passions, Dunedin Consort, Mulroy/Jeannin, St Mary's Episcopal Cathedral/Queen's Hall, Edinburgh review - twin peaksSaturday, 23 March 2024
The annual St Matthew Passion from the Dunedin Consort is one the most reliably beautiful jewels in Edinburgh’s musical year. They do the St John Passion much less frequently; in fact, this is the first time I’ve heard them do it, maybe motivated by... Read more... |
St Mary's Music School, RSNO, Søndergård, Usher Hall, Edinburgh review - a shining role for young choristersWednesday, 20 March 2024
For the second year in a row the Royal Scottish National Orchestra chose to share its platform in Edinburgh’s Usher Hall with the young musicians of St Mary's Music School. As RSNO chief executive Alistair Mackie pointed out in a short opening... Read more... |
Hughes, SCO, Kuusisto, Queen’s Hall, Edinburgh review - Clyne shines, Grime fragmentsSaturday, 16 March 2024
Most concert promoters will tell you that contemporary music tends to be, to put it politely, a tricky sell, which is one of the reasons why it’s most often programmed alongside Beethoven or Tchaikovsky. A whole programme of the stuff tends to be... Read more... |
Morison, Big Noise Wester Hailes, RSNO, Søndergård, Usher Hall, Edinburgh - shimmering delicacy and surging swellSaturday, 09 March 2024
While it is an incontrovertibly good thing that the classical music world has set about rediscovering the work of neglected female composers, not all rediscoveries are equally worthy of being found. Particularly on a day like International Women’s... Read more... |
RSNO Chorus, Doughty, Greyfriars Kirk, Edinburgh review - breaking out in anniversary BrucknerMonday, 26 February 2024
The Scottish Chamber Orchestra Chorus has a well-established concert life away from the main orchestra; the Royal Scottish National Orchestra Chorus less so. So it was refreshing to get to hear them going it (almost) alone in Edinburgh’s Greyfriars... Read more... |
Ragnarok, Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh review - moving miniature apocalypseTuesday, 13 February 2024
In terms of conveying monumental events using small-scale means, Edinburgh’s Tortoise in a Nutshell visual theatre company has form. Their 2013 Feral, for example, depicted the social breakdown of an apparently idyllic seaside town using puppetry... Read more... |
Many Good Men, Tynecastle Stadium, Edinburgh review - daring but flawed provocationSaturday, 10 February 2024
There’s been an incident in Edinburgh. Right near the Scottish Parliament. Several dead, many more injured. Among the witnesses were two of the capital’s young football stars, now clearly traumatised by what they’ve seen. Someone shouting about... Read more... |
