EDINBURGH FRINGE REVIEWS 2016
- How do you rate Shakespeare alongside Standup alongside Dance alongside Improv?
- Our answer - rate them by entertainment value!
- All Fringe reviews on this page are graded out of five stars, with entertainment being the primary focus. Enjoy!
- Anything five stars is a MUST BOOK
Quick Links to Reviews:
Rubber Review
Rubber will be your Fringe highlight. This is one dark piece of immersive theatre. It's a performance for two; you get into the back seats of a car with a driver, who is waiting for his girlfriend. Once she's inside, the car pulls out and heads towards pre-arranged meeting spots. The driver is pimping out his girlfriend, and you're in the back seat watching this unfold. It's raw and tragic, and based on true events. We stop in a housing estate first, then progress to a full service appointment. It's all very menacing as you drive around town, with pedestrians and other cars unaware of what's happening in front of you. The family restaurant no longer looks so wholesome. And none of this ends well. And why don't people in the real world react when they see a woman being bashed up (we knew it was theatre, but they didn't!). What's clear is that the production company has something that brings the daily lives of sex workers into the open. And sadly, very little can be done in the UK to address the balance of power. Rubber is chilling and absolutely essential to partake in.
Venue: Cabaret Bar @ ZOO Southside
Group: Pentire St Productions
Venue: Cabaret Bar @ ZOO Southside
Group: Pentire St Productions
The Moscow Boys Review
The Moscow Boys is an hour of violin and dance, and while it starts of as upbeat chamber music (trying at best), it progresses to a crowd pleasing production with catchy tunes, rollerblading, audience involvement and a lot of moving around on chairs. This is not your standard musical performance - there is a lot of choreography and scenes. The violin does get repetitive, and moments of magic are all too brief - all in all it seems the best 20 minutes are the last 20 minutes. If there was more audience involvement throughout, then the production would be more engaging. This is otherwise a safe, enjoyable show - something for the family to enjoy, but also switch off to. Enjoyable as a distraction.
Venue: Zoo Southside
Group: The Independent Theatre Project in association with Aurora Nova
Venue: Zoo Southside
Group: The Independent Theatre Project in association with Aurora Nova
Circleville, Circlevalley Review
Circleville, Circlevalley is a dark piece, broken people working with a drama therapist in the hope of restoring normality and function in weekly (and finite) group therapy sessions. We meet a woman living on the edge who escapes to the moon in her dreams. Another woman has lost her husband and isn't coping, and one man has lost his purpose and confidence all in one day. This is perfectly timed for 11pm at night - there isn't a lot of hope in the air, and drama therapy doesn't really solve the day-to-day issues that its proponents believe it can. We see their techniques and routines, but it doesn't convince us. There are no good vibes in this production, just personal tragedy unfolding in slow motion. Very highly recommended.
Venue:Bunker One @ Pleasance Courtyard
Group:Experimental Theatre Club
Venue:Bunker One @ Pleasance Courtyard
Group:Experimental Theatre Club
Princes’ Quest Review
Princes’ Quest is a snappy 50 minute musical, inspired by a April Fools newspaper article about a new Disney film that sees two Princes compete for the love of a Princess, only to fall in love with each other. What's clear is that this isn't a family show (although parents did bring their children to our performance, perhaps failing to read the description in too much detail beforehand), yet it's a show with otherwise wide appeal. As an original musical writing by a young adult production company, it does deserve a lot of credit. Overall it's an oddball plot with an ambitious cast of five, plus three musicians, pushing together a message of hope and love. While the story is limited and never really goes too deep, it's the quality of the music, singing and acting that really sets it apart from other import-a-score musicals at the Fringe. This won't change your life, but it will entertain you, and is definitely worthy of a full house.
Venue: main space @ C venues – C cubed
Group: Front Room Productions
Venue: main space @ C venues – C cubed
Group: Front Room Productions
They Built It. No One Came Review
They Built It. No One Came is a masterpiece of theatre, inspired by the story of Michael Colby and Donald Graves who built a commune for people who share their values, but in the end no one came. Based on the New York Times article of the same name, this new Australian/English theatre company combines musical comedy and a well written script to deliver a very sombre story. Two men leave the comforts of the big city and live in 18th century conditions, while dealing with menacing threats by night. When Pablo, a disenfranchised student comes to stay, things take a new direction. Adding anything more would spoil the story. While the commune exists today, online in the form of a retreat, it's the subtext of the two founders that is most confronting. This is a very slick production and a complete must-see.
Venue: Pleasance Courtyard (Venue 33)
Group: Fledgling Theatre Company
Venue: Pleasance Courtyard (Venue 33)
Group: Fledgling Theatre Company
Save + Quit Review
Save + Quit is a play of two stories. The first concerns a newly qualified teacher buying an Xbox from a young man who has lost his father, the second story takes place in Ireland. That's as much detail as we can give on the Irish story - it made no sense to us, but that doesn't mean we didn't like its telling! And about eight Irish in the audience were sobbing at the end, stating it was all too real and emotional. The Xbox story is very disarming and genuine, and worthy of our star rating alone. If you're Irish, Save + Quit is most likely made for you.
Venue: Four @ Assembly George Square Studios
Group: Hairpin Productions
Venue: Four @ Assembly George Square Studios
Group: Hairpin Productions
Tank Review
Tank has received a LOT of hype this Fringe, so we went to see what all the sell-outs were about. In a story about a young school leaver who joins a Kennedy-backed program to teach dolphins to speak English, we're submerged into the daily activities of their 10 week intensive program. Will Jack, the dolphin, learn to repeat basic words, or do his immediate primal needs overpower a willingness to learn? Will his trainer find a common ground with the dolphins and incubate love and understanding? A lot of dancing, dialogue and video projections finally get us an answer. If you're familiar with the Nim Chimpsky program, this is a marine equivalent. Enjoyable more perhaps if you have an interest in zoology.
Venue: JackDome @ Pleasance Dome
Group: Breach
Venue: JackDome @ Pleasance Dome
Group: Breach
All the Things I Lied About Review
All the Things I Lied About really pushes the point that we are each built up on a foundation of lies. And if we accept that this is true, is there anything wrong with that? Katie Bonna has put together a work that addresses the lies we tell (“I'm five minutes away”, “I completely forgot”, “you don't look fat in that”) and why we tell them. A critical focus is on the fallout from the affair her father had on her mother, but equally the lies told and the power and magnitude of those lies and the rationale behind them. This may be self-indulgent and affected, but it is refreshingly honest and applicable to every one of us. While the audience involvement scenes (Kelis, water guns, booing) are probably best cut as the message can be better told without them, All the Things I Lied About is an ambitious production that dissects lying and how it really is a part of our daily life.
Venue: Roundabout @ Roundabout @ Summerhall
Group: Katie Bonna and Paul Jellis in association with Soho Theatre
Venue: Roundabout @ Roundabout @ Summerhall
Group: Katie Bonna and Paul Jellis in association with Soho Theatre
The Glass Menagerie Review
Alert - so it's part of the International Festival, and not the Fringe itself, but it's so good you won't want to miss it! Having recently played in Broadway to critical acclaim, Edinburgh is very lucky to get a month run of this Tennessee Williams classic. The play focuses on two siblings (Tom and Laura, played by the excellent Kate O’Flynn) and their nagging mother (Amanda, played by Broadway legend Cherry Jones). Basically the play can be summed up with a line from the first half - what will become of us. The plot focuses on the need for "male callers" to progress daughter Laura to marriage. But the likelihood of this is strained given her nature as a social recluse, wracked with anxiety and living a routine nervously attending to housework by day and, most depressingly, cleaning her glass animal figures by night. In the second half we do get one male caller, perhaps giving hope to the otherwise depressed situation. It’s a near-perfect play, with a excellent casting. While this is no fringe production - audiences will appreciate the set and oil/water reflective stage. A must see and a great break away from the back-to-back fringe lineup.
Denton and Me Review
Denton and Me brings the Summer Hall’s Anatomy room to life in this engaging account of the life of Denton Welch and his search for love in the 1930s. Told by Sam Rowe, we hear extracts from the life of Denton in Greenwich mixed with stories from the life of the author in modern day Soho, with the apparatus of romance progressing from random chance to application randoms. This production is very easy to like - we are engaged in the life and aspirations of Denton all while relating to the narrator's own stories of unreturned text messages and flaky romances, and the quest for friendship. The investment needed to get this mashing of narratives right is significant, and it delivers. We were held by it, and the production is very worthy of an hour spent.
Venue: Anatomy Lecture Theatre @ Summerhall
Group: Sam Rowe and Macrobert Arts Centre in association with Showroom
Venue: Anatomy Lecture Theatre @ Summerhall
Group: Sam Rowe and Macrobert Arts Centre in association with Showroom
Growth Review
Growth is a comedy about testicular cancer, and it's brilliant. Performed in the beautiful (travelling) Roundabout @ Summerhall venue, three talented actors play the role of ten characters in this story about a young man ignoring a bad “lump” for seemingly years before doing something about it. What starts off at a man on his last warning at a garden centre develops into a story every audience member will invest their emotions in. The production works hard to introduce us to the idea that something bad can lead to something good, in that positives change in behaviour and habits follow a bad situation. Growth is empowering and yet remains unobtrusive. A scene at the cancer meetup group is particularly brutal and highlights the narcissism of youth and ignorance. In summary, this is a play you don't want to miss.
Venue:Roundabout @ Roundabout @ Summerhall
Group:Paines Plough
Venue:Roundabout @ Roundabout @ Summerhall
Group:Paines Plough
Mouse – The Persistence of an Unlikely Thought Review
Mouse – The Persistence of an Unlikely Thought
REVIEW COMING SOON - IT'S REALLY GOOD, SO GO AND LINE UP (ALTHOUGH THEY HAVE SEATS!) FOR RETURNS UNTIL YOU CAN SEE IT!
Venue:Traverse 1 @ Traverse Theatre
Group:Daniel Kitson and Higgledy Piggledy Enterprises
REVIEW COMING SOON - IT'S REALLY GOOD, SO GO AND LINE UP (ALTHOUGH THEY HAVE SEATS!) FOR RETURNS UNTIL YOU CAN SEE IT!
Venue:Traverse 1 @ Traverse Theatre
Group:Daniel Kitson and Higgledy Piggledy Enterprises
In the Wine Review
In the Wine really performs to the true spirit of fringe, exposing the audience to the sound, smell, feel and taste of wine from the comfort of a cinnamon scented theatre. What starts off as a naked girl being chased around wine barrels progresses to a wine making set to a musical score, with cello, fiddle and drumming, a wedding, a coup and a harvest. Need we explain more? This is an hour spent well, even if you may have no idea what you just saw after it finishes. In the Wine is a journey, and one worth taking.
Our tip: after the show, there is a wine tasting with the cast in the bar next door included in the ticket. Three organic wines (two whites, one red) are on offer and they're New Zealand splendors from Urlar Estate NZ, a boutique kiwi winery. Generous New Zealand pours await.
Venue: Assembly Checkpoint @ Assembly Checkpoint
Group: Java Dance Theatre
Our tip: after the show, there is a wine tasting with the cast in the bar next door included in the ticket. Three organic wines (two whites, one red) are on offer and they're New Zealand splendors from Urlar Estate NZ, a boutique kiwi winery. Generous New Zealand pours await.
Venue: Assembly Checkpoint @ Assembly Checkpoint
Group: Java Dance Theatre
Ockham's Razor: Tipping Point Review
Ockham's Razor: Tipping Point is a stunner. Set in the lovely Scala, slightly out of the main drag, the UK's finest stage acrobats delight for an hour with a new interpretation of the Chinese pole. The use of white sand, rotation and weightlessness delight and the 60 minutes sails by smoothly with minute-by-minute magic. It really is like being lost in a dream, gazing up and falling back to sleep again. If you see one show this year, see this one. It really is fantastic.
Venue: great hall @ C venues – C scala
Our tip: Get here early, and nab a seat in the front on the stage. You'll enjoy it 10X more. Our second tip is to get tickets to see it twice.
Venue: great hall @ C venues – C scala
Our tip: Get here early, and nab a seat in the front on the stage. You'll enjoy it 10X more. Our second tip is to get tickets to see it twice.
Vaudevillains Review
Vaudevillains is a a murder mystery in the Spiegeltent, and on a rainy cold night it's the perfect way to end your Ed Fringe day. The performance's plot revolves around the murder of the owner of The Empire, their long-standing employer. Who killed him, and why? Along the way there are several musical numbers, mime and magic - but equal to the magic of the cast is the authenticity in the props and staging. This does feel and look like a performance from over a century ago. The venue is perfect - this probably wouldn't work anyway else bar a Spiegeltent, and the 90 minutes races by. A wonderful late evening spent.
Venue: Palais du Variete @ Assembly George Square Gardens
Group: Les Enfants Terribles
Venue: Palais du Variete @ Assembly George Square Gardens
Group: Les Enfants Terribles
Adler & Gibb Review
Let's be honest here, Adler & Gibb is hard to understand. It's the story of Janet Adler and Margaret Gibb, American artists and girlfriends peaking in the late 20th century with their take on abstract art. This production "almost" makes no sense, but it's a strange and interesting plot about a reclusive artist and her girlfriend, an actress wanting to play Janet Adler, and the couple making and destroying art. Narrated with props that make no sense to us, and completed with a short film visiting the remote house of Adler and Gibb, this is a strange 90 minutes. But strange is good. Like most art, it's lost on us. We're not going to pretend we get something when we don't. But we can still like what we don't understand.
Venue:Main Hall @ Summerhall
Group:Tim Crouch / Royal Court Theatre
Venue:Main Hall @ Summerhall
Group:Tim Crouch / Royal Court Theatre
Partial Nudity Review
Partial Nudity is a safe 50 minutes, dealing with the emotions, expectations and equality in stripping. Set in a dressing room, we hear it from the female perspective (booked for a Stag night) and the male perspective (booked for a Birthday/Hen's night). It's refreshingly honest, and gives us insight into the person behind the performance. We felt that it perhaps needed more of a plot yet would be suitable for a short film, but this in Fringe and it's all about being different. Partial Nudity is different, and overall, recommended.
Venue:The Monkey House @ ZOO
Group:Fandango Productions
Venue:The Monkey House @ ZOO
Group:Fandango Productions
Daniel Kitson Presents an Insufficient Number of Undeveloped Ideas Over Ninety Testing Minutes Starting at Noon Review
Nothing is developed - this is the genius that is Kitson as his most natural, raw and honest. Not even the notes he has keep this show on track. Every day will be different, but every day will likely to be great. We're huge fans of Mr Kitson - Tree at the Old Vic and his work at the BAC and NT are structured performances, this is just chaos. But it's good chaos. And chaos we'd happily see again if it wasn't sold out.
Venue: The Stand Comedy Club 3 & 4 (Venue 12)
Venue: The Stand Comedy Club 3 & 4 (Venue 12)
Pip Utton - Playing Maggie... The Iron Lady Review
Playing Maggie... The Iron Lady is a repeat visit for the TheatreSmart team; having been warmly received in Fringe 2015, Pip Utton returns with the show for 2016 in a slightly larger venue with the same intimacy that creates the feeling of you really being in a room with Maggie Thatcher. The performance is simple - 20 minutes of a speech, 40 minutes for audience Q&A - and it's here when we find out Pip Utton really IS the Iron Lady, knowing her inside out and giving articulate answers to every question, from the invasion of the Falklands to today ("David Camerson is weak for giving in to a referendum"). This really is a Fringe treasure, and irrespective on your political views, not to be missed.
Venue:Beneath @ Pleasance Courtyard
Group:Pip Utton
Venue:Beneath @ Pleasance Courtyard
Group:Pip Utton
Teatro Delusio Review
Teatro Delusio is 75 minutes of mime, set in the backstage of an opera. This European company is selling out houses, and with the amount of PR and production value behind it, the tickets are always going to be in demand. However, we didn't fully appreciate it. It's no doubt clever, original and safe entertainment, put together seamlessly by a cast of three (incredible given the number of characters), yet 75 minutes feels too long, and perhaps less would be more. It's certainly overall enjoyable, but younger audiences may get restless. If you're caught up by the marketing, go see it - you won't see anything else similar at the Fringe this year, and do tell us if we should give it a second chance. An extra half star is awarded for the puppet stoat.
Venue:The Grand @ Pleasance Courtyard
Group:Familie Flöz in association with Aurora Nova
Venue:The Grand @ Pleasance Courtyard
Group:Familie Flöz in association with Aurora Nova
Luke Kempner: Judi Dench Broke My Heart Review
Luke Kempner: Judi Dench Broke My Heart is 60 minutes of impressionist comedy. The story in two sentences - Luke falls in love with Dame Judy, and on his wedding day it's revealed that she may have other suitors. Chaos erupts when a number of these men object to the wedding - will Luke get married, and will he make it on the West End given his love for belting out Les Mis hits? What's certain from this saga is that Luke Kempner is a very talented singer, and we could listen to him do that for an evening. But to the production selling out at this years Fringe, we were entertained but at the same time wanting more (of Andy Murray), less (of Jeremy Kyle), and something else (possibly more females - Luke does Dame Judy perfectly). This is however the Fringe festival, and like many things, it's hard to stand out from the noise. Luke sets the bar high, and delivers it without hesitation, much like the audience participant who lunged at Luke for a kiss the day we went. Recommended.
Venue:10Dome @ Pleasance Dome
Group:Chambers Touring Ltd
Venue:10Dome @ Pleasance Dome
Group:Chambers Touring Ltd
Title of Show Review
Title of Show is a delightful little production of the Tony-award winning musical about the highs and lows of writing a musical. From its origins as an entry to a musical competition, to off-Broadway and then Broadway production, it's a simple 90 minute one act performance that exposes the delicate balance needed to sustain audiences in musical theatre. We watch two friends, Jeff and Hunter, and while none of the music stands out as other Broadway shows do, complete professionalism is delivered in this version by a very new theatre company. With a set consisting of four chairs, this is all about the performance and not about the production. Worthy of an evening.
Venue: C venues – C cubed (Venue 50)
Group: Cobbles & Rhyme Productions
Venue: C venues – C cubed (Venue 50)
Group: Cobbles & Rhyme Productions
Naked Magicians Review
- The Naked Magicians' opening night was a sell out, with a line extending the full perimeter of the Pleasance venue. A lot of hype, a lot of females, a lot of delays, but finally we wandered in and found seats - this is a show people line up early for to get close to the "action".
- The opening gag sets the tone for the entire evening - let's ask the audience for their pornstar names, while crowd-surfing inflatables. While there is "magic" at the end of it, one can't help feel a little, well, deflated. The magic continues, with more audience involvement taking us through card tricks and a rather clever celebrity guessing game.
- The finale ends with some nudity, but at this point it's not really in demand.
- Overall, this is a safe bet for a girls night out, and performed with enthusiasm, but given its London run is commanding tickets from £30 to £80, we're thinking Fringe is the best venue where tickets are <£15.
- Our tip - bring some friends, line up early, and have low expectations.
Venue: Pleasance One @ Pleasance Courtyard
Group: Lunchbox Theatrical Productions
Enron Review
- Enron marks the return of the original Royal Court production to a UK stage, and this locally acted piece is brilliant theatre in a cosy community hall venue.
- Enron tells us the story behind the failure, before Enron changed American financial regulations (or did it?) and instead was the darling of Wall Street, reporting profitable quarter after quarter with "mark to market accounting" that is neatly explained early on in the show.
- The cast does very well to outline financial techniques used to plot Enron's demise, ensuring we are adequately informed to follow the narrative, which is 90% financial and 10% emotional.
- Enron delivers quality moments throughout, and despite a running time close to three hours, the cast work hard to keep it flowing and engaging. In summary, for a local theatre company doing something extra special, Enron is your night out.
Dates/Times: 7:30pm every day, until August 29, with a 2 hour 45 minute running time.
Venue:Theatre @ St Ninian's Hall
Group:Edinburgh Theatre Arts
Strange Face – Adventures With a Lost Nick Drake Record Review
- Michael Burdett, a London-based composer, takes us on a journey into every corner of the UK in Strange Face – Adventures With a Lost Nick Drake Recording
- The one hour presentation (and it is indeed exactly that) overviews the discovery of a never-publish version of Cello Song, and the journey to take photos of people all over the UK listening to it (the Strange Face Project), gathering emotion, purity, honesty and humour.
- What could otherwise sound like a contrived vanity project is instead beautifully told by Burdett in a way that gives you hope about the kindness of humanity.
- The b-characters have their own stories, and with little time to tell them, we get an insight into the creative world that Drake was apart of every day in his short life.
- A lengthy tangent about Bata shows (started from a tenuous link to Tom Stoppard) is best cut, where time could be spent on more Drake stories, but these are early days for an hour that doesn't disappoint.
Group:Michael Burdett / Glynis Henderson Productions
Erik Satie's - Faction Review
Alistair McGowan, having owned (and terrified) in title role in last year's An Audience with Jimmy Savile, returns to monologue as Erik Satie, the skilled Avant-garde French composer who wrote the text of the play via a series of letters and diary entries. Skillfully performed by McGowan over an hour, we hear of Satie's strict daily routine, frustrations with religion (do you think God will send down another family member after what happened to Jesus?), frustrations with people in general and a chronic lack of income which makes it necessary to write to his brother. McGowan plays a baby grand piano with affection, introducing us to Satie's repertoire while taking us on a personal journey. This is an excellent productions that deserves to be a sell-out. We're still waiting for a return of An Audience, but McGowan is an impressionist in a class of his own. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
Venue:Forth @ Pleasance Courtyard
Group:Avalon Promotions Ltd
Venue:Forth @ Pleasance Courtyard
Group:Avalon Promotions Ltd
24 Hours with Mary Lynn Rajskub Review
24 Hours with Mary Lynn Rajskub is the American comic's Fringe debut, and it's very good standup in a one hour set that covers cats, marital boredom, award ceremonies, parenting, school mothers and touring standup. Before finding success in a number of Hollywood studio and independent films, as well as on the hit TV show 24, Mary Lynn Rajskub performed as a comedian and goes back to her roots in this pacy one hour show. Recommended. Playing August 7th to 28th in Assembly George Square Studios.
Daffodils (A Play with Songs) Review
This is NOT a happy story, but it's brilliantly presented and is so emotional one member of our team was left sobbing uncontrollably. It's a dark journey through middle New Zealand, from 1964 to 1999, focused on the lives of a young couple who marry young and keep secrets. Told with songs - the music used is specifically localised (Bic Runga, Dave Dobbyn and the Muttonbirds, among others) - foreign audiences easily embrace the story's emotion without knowing the lyrics to Kiwi "classics". We care about the two characters; we want them to be happy. But the reality is they are not, and as the decades roll on, life becomes fractured. Inspired by true events, Daffodils is likely to be one of our best in Fringe 2016.
Blush Review
- Revenge porn, it's nasty stuff, and beyond the occasional story in a tabloid, we don't really know much about the phenomenon.
- Blush works hard to tell the stories of five individuals who have made choices that position them as the victim of perpetrator.
- It's fantastically acted by a cast of two, telling us the selfish and selfless reasons why people partake in this vile and damaging acts.
- There are no winners in any occurrence; Blush is theatre that every boy, girl, man and woman needs to acknowledge - "I feel like I have been raped 30,000 times" is only the start. Excellent new writing from Charlotte Josephine.
2 Become 1 Review
- With a live soundtrack featuring a plethora of the classics (before X Factor ruined the sound of pop), the greats of 90s pop come together for one hour. Christina, Shania, Britney, the Spice Girls, TLC, Gina G, CeCe Peniston.....do we need to go on?
- The plot sees four friends take to speed dating, a lineup any reality TV producer dreams of - the eager to marry one, the emotional one, the straight-to-business one and the Scottish one. With a great dynamic, it works even better.
- Don't expect anything challenging - the dialogue is light, the audience involvement genuine and the harmonies reasonably infectious, with notable effort going to delivering the rap in No Scrubs.
- 2 Become 1 is Fringe at its most pure - it's harmless safe fun, best enjoyed with an alcopop and a boozy group of friends. An hour well spent.
Growing Pains Review
Growing Pains, musically narrates one teenager's escape from grimy Salford to London, detailed perfectly by (very clever new) actor/singer Tom Gill. Get ready for 60 minutes of rhyme, rap, guitar and brutal honesty in every word, every verse. It's a dark tale - wasted small town youth ambition, an emotionally abusive father, a group of friends that never deliver. The Battersea Arts Centre has worked with Tom to develop this, it's a professional piece with perfect comic timing, beautifully written and lovingly delivered. If it does indeed go to London, it should get some traction and buy-in. In parts the music meets The Streets and Ed Sheeran (or possibly not?), with an original script, (seemingly) auto-biographical, genuine and raw. A must see.
Venue: Cowgate
Playing: Every day, 4:30pm from 4th - 28th Aug 2016
Tickets: From £9.50, some performances eligible for Friends 2for1.
Venue: Cowgate
Playing: Every day, 4:30pm from 4th - 28th Aug 2016
Tickets: From £9.50, some performances eligible for Friends 2for1.
How is Uncle John? Review
How is Uncle John? Tells the troubling story of Hope, a teenage girl taken to Greece by her boyfriend and immediately isolated and pimped out. At home you have a mother broken by the unease she feels with a daughter who doesn't seem to be the person she raised and loved. It moves around a bit; Hope at 7 in school, Hope as a teenager falling in love, Hope holding down her spot in provincial Greece. Yet it's very well delivered by the cast of two, and the playwright Sally Lewis clearly knows the subject matter, working with NGOs who try to stop/rehab victims of this crime. The idea of English girls being trafficked overseas may all feel a bit foreign from the comforts of Edinburgh, but this is happening and How is Uncle John? does its best to deliver a message of hope in an otherwise tragic situation.
Venue: Assembly
Playing: 3pm, from 5th - 27th Aug 2016
Tickets: From £9.00, some performances eligible for Friends 2for1.
Venue: Assembly
Playing: 3pm, from 5th - 27th Aug 2016
Tickets: From £9.00, some performances eligible for Friends 2for1.