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 Sandra O’Malley as Man With No Name Traverse Theatre
Review by Thom Dibdin
There were an inordinately complex number of bicycles tethered outside the Traverse theatre for the opening of Blue Raincoat Theatre Company’s short run of their touring version of The Third Policeman.
Which will come as little surprise to fans of Flann O’Brien’s wonderful, crazy, infuriating, hilarious and generally downright brilliant novel. It contains, after all, O’Brien’s expansions on the Atomic Theory of particle migration. A magnificent piece of bunkum theory by which it is explained, with a completely straight face, that cyclists will, over time, turn into their own vehicles.
The surprise is that the bicycles had not succeeded in securing seats in the auditorium, leaving their owners tethered outside. Although it must be pointed out that there were a number of smokers lingering around the outside ashtray, in close proximity to the bicycles. … Continue reading Theatre Review – The Third Policeman
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 Kathryn Howden and Lewis Howden as Sadie and Bill. Photo credit: Richard Campbell Traverse Theatre
Review by Thom Dibdin
Thunderous in its dark, brooding intensity and emotionally sapping outcome, Linda McLean’s pair of conjoined plays for the Traverse is a twisted night of theatre which explores our fear of the unknown with a chilling eye for detail.
This is not fun-show, good-times entertainment. Indeed, in some ways, it is quite a hateful piece of theatre, one that becomes uncomfortable to watch at times.
Which is all to the good, as it is the power and emotional punch of the whole production which makes it so. McLean’s intricately structured script would be as nothing without impeccable performances from Kathryn Howden and Kate Dickie, lucid direction from Dominic Hill and a set, by Jonathan Fensom, which is meticulous in its detail. … Continue reading Theatre Review – Any Given Day
By Thom Dibdin
 Brian Ferguson and Nicola Jo Cully in the Traverse' multi-nominated The Dark Things Photo credit: Richard Campbell Edinburgh’s theatres and production companies have made a strong showing in the shortlist for this year’s Critics Awards for the Theatre in Scotland, picking up 15 of the 40 possible nominations, in 8 of the 10 categories.
Leading the field is the Traverse, with six nominations for last Autumn’s The Dark Things, three for the recent The Goat, or Who Is Sylvia?, and a single nomination for Orphans, the co-production with Birmingham Rep, in association with Paines Plough at last year’s Fringe.
The Royal Lyceum has to make do with only two nominations, for The Beauty Queen of Leenane and The Beggar’s Opera. Huxley’s Lab, the co-production between Lung Ha’s and Grid Iron, Pobby and Dingan by Catherine Wheels and Testament of Cresseid from the Edinburgh International Festival all receive a nomination each. … Continue reading Cream of Edinburgh’s theatrical talent top CATS nominations
 Juliet (Charlotte Wakefield) and Romeo (James Barrett) By Thom Dibdin
Romeo and Juliet is being brought into the social media revolution in a brave new experiment from the Royal Shakespeare Company called Such Tweet Sorrow.
Directed by Roxana Silbert – one-time Literary Director at the Traverse in Edinburgh and most recently artistic director at Paines Plough – the “production” will be played out on Twitter and other social media in real time, over the next five weeks.
The production will be performed by six Twitter characters – Juliet Capulet, her sister Jess and brother Tybalt, Romeo Montague, his best mate Mercutio and Friar Laurence. As the action unfolds online, the cast will improvise the dialogue between themselves and engage with each other and their virtual audience communicating via their tweets.
To be honest, this seems like a brilliant idea. So much so that I’ve spent the day looking at the different tweets, following the characters, finding new ones – who is this jago-klepto? – checking out Juliet’s You Tube video and debating whether this really is theatre.
When I first started following the different characters this morning, they had about 60 or so followers. As I write this, Juliet – julietcap16 – has 1,884 followers. … Continue reading Such Tweeting Sorrow
 Anne Lacey in The Garden. Photo © Lesley Black * * *
A Play, A Pie and A Pint at The Traverse
By Thom Dibdin
Short, bleak and lingering, Zinnie Harris’ The Garden feels like a very fitting end to this Spring’s season of A Play, A Pie and a Pint at the Traverse.
Here, in a world which is hot and bothered, Jane (Anne Lacey) waits at home for her husband Mac (Sean Scanlan). She spends her days worrying about bumps in the lino and trying not to fall into depression. He spends his arguing with his boss over his status in some important scientific committee.
Harris creates her world with a rare concision. From Lacey and Scanlon’s easy mundanities, their moaning about the buses and the neighbours, an external reality becomes clear. And through their discovery of a green shoot underneath the lino, a whole unsaid history between them becomes revealed. … Continue reading Theatre Review – The Garden
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 Alan Bissett, Andy Gray and Denise Hoey - Photo © Lesley Black Traverse: A Play Pie and A Pint
By Thom Dibdin
Food and death are right back on the menu at the Traverse for the fourth in the Play Pie and A Pint season. Add a hint of sex from the very wonderful Andy Gray and you have just about all the required obsessions for a fully formed modern lifestyle.
Gregory Burke’s science fiction play, set in a high stocking contentment facility for the post-productive – what some near-future civilisation might call an old people’s home – hits all the right elements for the lunchtime theatre slot. It is not perfect by any means, but in its brief quirkiness it is both hilarious and poignant, while packing a sly little punch.
Much of the comedy comes from the euphemism frenzy employed by Burke in the creation of the Ouroboros Industries workstation where regular employee James (played by the author and playwright Alan Bissett) is showing Denise Hoey’s first day trainee, Kate, the ropes.
… Continue reading Theatre Review – Battery Farm
 Finn Den Hertog and John McColl talk things over Photo © Lesley Black * * *
A Play, A Pie and A Pint at The Traverse
By Thom Dibdin
Soup is an extra on the menu as the Play, Pie and A Pint season of lunchtime theatre at the Traverse reaches the halfway stage. A tough and snappy little three hander, Soup shows – as did last week’s excellent Shattered Head – that the form can both tackle big issues but also do them with humour.
It doesn’t quite develop those themes as it might – and fudges an ending that demands rigorously precise timing and lighting, but in Natalie Ibu’s assured directorial hands, Ella Hickson’s flowing and pithy script gets a wonderfully naturalistic showing.
Finn Den Hertog is fantastic as Dan, a fourth year student who returns unexpectedly from university to his parents’ house on Easter Saturday. Hertog has great self-possession and ensures that the awkwardness of family life is ever present – without ever letting the production itself feel awkward. … Continue reading Theatre review: Soup
A goat in suburbia, yesterday
By Thom Dibdin
Sian Thomas, who played Amelia Bones in the Harry Potter movies, has just been announced to play Stevie in the Traverse’s Scottish premiere of Edward Albee’s The Goat, or Who is Sylvia?. John Ramm, who played Doc Golightly alongside Anna Friel in the Theatre [...]
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 It's Heaven with Sean Scanlan and Barbara Rafferty. Photograph by Lesley Black. A Play, A Pie and A Pint at The Traverse
Brief in length but resonating long after the play has finished, Simon Stephens’ Heaven is the perfect opener for the Traverse’s five-week season of lunchtime theatre, A Play, A Pie and A Pint.
It is so brief, and so intensely played by Robert Jack and Sean Scanlan, that it seems hardly any time has passed before it is over. But that just leaves plenty of time to mull the whole thing over while consuming your pie in the bar afterwards before heading back to work. … Continue reading Theatre Review – Heaven
By Thom Dibdin
Things are looking a little brighter on Edinburgh’s stages this week with a spot of hot football action down at the Bongo Club, always a great venue for fringe shows, TV’s Dinnerladies making their stage transfer up at the King’s, a quartet of classical ballets coming to the Playhouse and the new season of Play Pie and a Pint opening at the Traverse with Heaven. Elsewhere at the Traverse, Pobby and Dingan arrives for a short run, while the Lyceum continues with the brutal, dark Beauty Queen of Leenane. The Brunton welcomes one-night stands by Lotty’s War and dance piece One Up One Down, while the opera, Cunning Little Vixen continues at the Pleasance. … Continue reading Preview for the week: 1 – 7 March, 2010
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