Adam House | Reviews

Review – Jerusalem

Published: April 11th, 2013

* * * * *  Brave and timely

Alan Paterson as Johnny 'Rooster' Byron. Photo © www.prettybright.co.uk

Alan Paterson as Johnny ‘Rooster’ Byron. Photo © www.prettybright.co.uk

Adam House Theatre
Wed 10 – Sat 13 April
Review by Thom Dibdin

There’s a rich, dense texture to the Grads Scottish premiere of Jerusalem, at the Adam House Theatre until Saturday. It has a mythic feel inspired by Blake’s hymn Jerusalem, the text of which frames the piece as if it were being stalked by Gog and Magog.

The Grads had already taken on a huge task by giving the first production on Scottish soil of Jez Butterworth’s brilliant, heartfelt cry for the real soul of England to stand up and be counted in the face of greed and oppression.

To find themselves doing so in the week that Thatcher died both adds to the burden and makes the task easier. The play has suddenly become … Continue reading Review – Jerusalem

April 11th, 2013 | Tags: , , , , , , , | Category: Adam House, Reviews | 3 comments
Adam House | Reviews

Review – Six Degrees of Separation

Published: April 6th, 2012

* * * *

David Grimes (Flan), Lorraine McCann (Ouisa) and Kenneth Brangman (Paul) in the Grads' 2012 production of Six Degrees of Separation. Photo © The Grads

David Grimes (Flan), Lorraine McCann (Ouisa) and Kenneth Brangman (Paul) in the Grads' Six Degrees of Separation. Photo © The Grads

Adam House
Review By Thom Dibdin

Responsible for popularising the idea that every person in the world is just six connections from every other, John Guare’s Six Degrees of Separation is a play about greed and envy; about what happens when those six connections are reduced to just one.

It is set in the rarified atmosphere of New York’s Fifth Avenue in the early 1990s, where the privileged few hold dinner parties and worry about finding another $2 million to fund the purchase of a Cezanne.

Ross Hope brings a clear directorial style to the Grads’ excellently staged production, prioritising the play itself over the creation of side-splitting characters. A simple, open set and Gordon Hughes’ strong lighting design help keep everything clear.

Grads newcomer Kenneth Brangman takes on the lead role of Paul, a … Continue reading Review – Six Degrees of Separation

April 6th, 2012 | Tags: , , , | Category: Adam House, Reviews | One comment
Adam House | Reviews

Æ Review – Glengarry Glen Ross

Published: November 15th, 2010

* *

Glengarry Glen Ross Poster

Adam House Theatre

By Thom Dibdin

Chunky and muscular, David Mamet’s Glengarry Glen Ross brings out the naturally bilious language and atavistic tendencies of hard working men on the front-line of American dream at the end of the 20th Century.

This is the world of real-estate salesmen. A pack of beings whose own interests always come first, followed by – but always superior to – those of the group. The clients, those buying plots of as-yet unexploited land, are no more than prey, to be cajoled and corralled into a purchase.

Debutante director Yvonne Paterson begins to find the true viciousness of this world, … Continue reading Æ Review – Glengarry Glen Ross

November 15th, 2010 | Tags: , , , | Category: Adam House, Reviews | Leave a comment
Adam House | Reviews

Æ Review – Agatha Christie’s The Hollow

Published: November 27th, 2009

* *

Edinburgh Makars Sleepy Hollow, Agatha Christie

The Makars in Agatha Christie's The Hollow

Adam House
Review by Thom Dibdin

There is nothing sleepy about the Hollow to which the Angkatells have retired in this country house weekend murder mystery from the Makars, which is at Adam House until Saturday.

At least there’ll be no dozing when family friend and Harley Street doctor John Cristow comes down for the weekend, to join Sir Henry, Lady Lucy and young Henrietta, a successful sculptor.

Cristow might arrive with dim but dependable wife Gerda – but it quickly becomes clear that cousin Henrietta knows him rather more intimately than she should, while the famous American movie star who has taken up residence in a cottage down the road turns out to be Cristow’s lost true love.

As Cristow, Derek Melon creates the kind of arrogance that is … Continue reading Æ Review – Agatha Christie’s The Hollow

November 27th, 2009 | Tags: , , , , | Category: Adam House, Reviews | Leave a comment