by Laura Kressly
Section 28, the British law that prohibited the ‘promotion’ of homosexuality by local authorities, was passed in 1998 by Margaret Thatcher’s government. Though repealed in 2000 in Scotland and 2003 in England and Wales, Ellice Stevens (she/her) & Billy Barrett’s (he/him) verbatim musical demonstrates the harm this legislation caused on millions of queer people, and serves as a warning against today’s rampant transphobia.
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by Laura Kressly
Zara is a fiercely intelligent sex worker who runs an Edinburgh brothel as part of a non-hierarchical cooperative. The canny business woman doesn’t seem like she’s rattled by much, until a new client turns out to be one of her former teachers. On top if this, her colleague that he requested is running late due to childcare issues. The dark comedy by Kieran Hurley examines a tangled web of contemporary issues, particularly capitalism, parenting and familial relationships, work, and aging.
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by Laura Kressly
In the Wes Anderson-esque, Scomodo Hotel looking out over the Edinburgh skyline, Aaron arrives for his first day of work. The row of identical, pastel doors foreshadows the farce that is about to commence, but this new play by Isobel McArthur uses the genre as a vehicle for a more complex story. Unfortunately this ambitious play tries to do way too much.
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by Laura Kressly
Lucy McCormick, performance artist extraordinaire and queen of the grotesque, starts off this show dressed in a felted tree costume. It calls to mind an out-of-place, awkward child in a school play unsure about what to do, but still enthusiastic. This is an appropriate start to the show’s premise: McCormick wants to put on a cabaret but doesn’t have any friends who could work on her show, so she drafts the audience in to help.
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By Luisa De la Concha Montes
This is a new play co-created by Scott Le Crass & Joe Wiltshire Smith exploring religion and creativity through effective humour. The play opens with Spanish painter, ElÃas GarcÃa MartÃnez (Roger Parkins), entering the stage dancing to RosalÃa, setting the mood for his camp, tender and charismatic character. Promptly after, a vibrant dialogue ensues.
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By Luisa De la Concha Montes
My Uncle is Not Pablo Escobar is a dynamic and exuberant play that explores and celebrates what it means to be a Latinx in London. It is a detective story peppered with telenovela-style drama.
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By Diana Miranda
As the glorified theatre addict that I am, I’ve caught Akimbo Theatre’s NO ONE multiple times. First, at Brighton Fringe 2022, with a clean slate and wide eyes. Later that year I aimed to relive the experience at Edinburgh Fringe, which I did/n’t. Tweaks had been made. It was like re-reading a book you anticipate enjoying, but finding new chapters that you didn’t expect. This is not surprising since it’s a new piece by a physical theatre company, but it took a tiny while for my stubborn mind to re-adjust. This was a reminder of an obvious yet overlooked truth: theatre is a dynamic and ever-evolving art form that transcends the boundaries of a single performance.
Continue readingby Luisa De la Concha Montes
Loosely adapted from the original Greek myth of Persephone, this play co-written by Ami Sayers, Abi Smith and Mollie Semple is a creative exploration of Queerness. From the start, the play is fun and engaging, opening up with a fast-paced song and a coordinated stunt that shows the three leading characters, Persephone and her two friends, getting ready for the day, brushing their teeth and riding the bus to school together.
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by Laura Kressly
Samuel Coleridge-Taylor is one of this country’s great classical composers and conductors. His cantata trilogy The Song of Hiawatha is considered the best adaptation of Longfellow’s epic poem, and he had a celebrated career in the UK and abroad. Despite this, he died in 1912 at the age of 37, exhausted and in poverty. This was the end result of a lifetime spent resisting white supremacy that oppressed him for his Blackness.
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by Luisa De la Concha Montes
This is not a conventional play. Part artist manifesto, part PowerPoint presentation, this incredibly creative show explores the life and work of artist Chris Dobrowlski. The setting for this show couldn’t be more perfect. Nestled between model train tracks and vintage toys, Chris’ performance takes place inside Brighton’s Toy Museum (which, funnily enough, is also below Brighton’s train station).
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The Play's The Thing UK 