Margolyes & Dickens: More Best Bits, EICC, Edinburgh Festival Fringe

Outspoken, hilarious, talented and with her heart in the right place, Margolyes is always good valuie to watch.  This show mixed stories from her life, with short performances of Dickens characters, bring them fully to life within a few seconds.  Her ability to swap around during dialogue, to introduce the right levels of pomposity, or avarice, or innocence, the swiftly changing body language, is a mini master class.  And the intonation and expressiveness of her voice shows just why she is in such demand to record audio books.

As an added bonus there was a short Q&A session, with her tour manager reading out a few queries from the audience.  As unfiltered as ever Miriam was swift to give her opinions.  It was good to hear a prminent Jewish voice condemning outright the current criminal and genocidal actions of the Israeli government, and saying what needs to be said about the likes of Trump and Farage - she is very defintely not a fan of either of these manipulative liars.  

Wonderful entertainment, a standing ovation, and it all felt far too short a time...

LOLA: A Flamenco Love Story, EICC, Edinburgh Festival Fringe

A Spanish widow leaves Franco's Spain for London, seeking a job which will allow her to send money back to her poor parents and children.  She gets a job as a cleaner, is miserable, desperate, and then finds love.  That's about it for a plot, simply conveyed with screen subtitles over the Spanish narration.

But this isn't really about the story, less so than an opera might be.  This is the vehicle for dance and music, prinairly flamenco style, but with modern touches.  The dancing is impressive, especially the male lead.  The music is good, and the use of flute for solos was a nice touch.  The singing is traditional flamenco style, well done, but an acquired taste.

It did get repetitive at times, and I'm not sure diehard flamenco fans would be impressed by the 'flamenco lite' approach.  But overall it was entertaining enough to avoid boredom, and had several highlights in the dance..

The Poetical Life of Philomena McGuinness, Surgeon's Hall, Edinburgh Festival Fringe

Starring Jasmin Gleason as the eponymous Philomena, this is the story of Irish nurse, reluctantly so, in Britain during the second world war.  She has drifted into the profession, largely because her mother had been one before her, but McGuinness is a different character to her mum.  She's a bit more of a dreamer, like her dad.  She describes herslef as a poet (despite haven written no verse), others are always calling her 'flighty'.

But she's faced with the harsh realities of nursing in wartime, of trying to fit in, of making friends, and of trying to remain who she sees herself as.  If she feels a bit of a phoney at first there is more than enough opportunity for that feeling to pass.  Her experience grows, but can that poetical soul, that flightiness, survive?

This is a story about who we are, how we, and others, see ourselves.  About women in wartime, and wider society, having to be so many things to different people.  Gleason is superb in making us feel we know this young Irish woman, and in portraying several other characters along the way.  She even finds time for a bit of audience interaction.  

A tremendous acheivement, an hour of laughs and sadness and a sesne of questioning.  Highly recommended.

Ordinary Decent Criminal, Summerhall, Edinburgh Festival Fringe

 Frankie (Mark Thomas) is in prison.  Maybe not your typical con, as he's botha writer and a political activist.  But also a drug user, and, the thing that got him inside, drug dealer.  He's in a new prison, a much nicer one than the old Victorian institutions, with one prisoner to a cell and decent sanitation.  Frankie looks to survive as best he can, make firneds weho might protect him, make himself useful.  A writer is often in demand. 

There's a wide range of characters he interacts with, some violent, some needy and vulnerable, and a female prison officer with her own agenda.  Thomas plays them all, all carefully crafted and well delineated.  He also goes off script, true to his stand-up roots, and interacts with the audience to provide extra laughs.  It's a high energy performance (in a very hot room) that never falters and keeps the aiudience constantly engaged.  There's prison politics and the poutside world.  Reminders of revolution, of British political violence in Northern Ireland (one of the characters may, or may not, be a previous member of the IRA), the excesses of the Thatcher period, a prisoner who is in touch with the realites and hardships of the real world.

Funny. scary, thought provoking and never dull, this is an impressive perfromance of a wide ranging and well considered script.  Great stuff.

Big Bite-Size Breakfast Menu One, Pleasance One, Edinburgh Festival Fringe

 For us the first was last, completing our viewing of this year's menu trio with number one on the list.  Which turned out to be the best of the set.

SUCH DREAMS AS STUFF IS MADE ON

When robbery and snobbery work together.  If you're going to be robbed you want it to be one that's going to impress the neighbours.  Even if that means giving the thieves a helping hand.  An amusing satire on social climbing and class pretensions.

THE UNBEARABLE LIGHTNESS OF BEING ON THE PHONE

Two people on a bus, both on their phones, each with their own issues to deal with.  The one-sided conversations interlace to hilarious effect, but underneath are two tales os sadness.  Clever stuff, beautifully played.

THE GAFFER

It's the FA Cup final so you'd expect everyone to be keyed up and ready to go.  So why is the manager of the underdogs sitting it out and not bothering to give a team talk?  His assistant, and the club's psychiatirst, trt to understand to cajole, to bully if neccessary, but nothing seems to work.  A surreal twist provides the truth, in a world where reality and virtual reality are so hard to tell apart.  

EMERGENCY CONTACT

His ex has turned up at the hospital because she's still, years after they split, listed as his emergency contact.  So when she finds that it's only a broken arm she's not too happy at having to come.  And even less happy when there seems to be some manipulation going on.  Very funny comedy with a twist and killer punchline.

ANNND SCENE (OF THE CRIME)

When the police are called to the theatre to invesigate a murder within an improv group, they find that the actors are not going to behave like normal witnesses.  So if you can't beat 'em...  Very funny comedy with some excellent dialogue and an interesting premise.

Big Bite-Size Breakfast Menu Three, Pleasance One, Edinburgh Festival Fringe

 Strawberries, croissants and coffee.  And the next five plays on the menu.

SOMEPNE'S SITTING THERE

She's on a Tinder date, in a busy pub, and he's late.  The battle to keep him a seat is getting on her nerves.  So when he does eventually turn up... will it work out?  Because she has already shown us her high expectations.  This one was fun, farcical at times, but with a feelgood factor.

DADDY ISSUES

Finding the right sperm donor for a gay couple's pregnanacy can be tricky.  But what if the answer is close at hand?  Maybe you can even keep it in the family...   An unexpected proposition has unexpected consequences, and a moral dimension that's given as much thought as you could expect from a ten minute drama.  A nicely balanced piece.

FIGHTING MISS RIGHT

A first date, and she's sure she's found what she's looking for.  But the other she has bneen bured too often, and she has rules, hurdles to be overcome, before a relationship can move on.  Is there a way to jump those hurdles faster?  She'll do everything she can to find out...  Awkwardness, inventiveness, the minefield of dating, an intrgiuing take on what people will do to find and resist love.

TOP FLIGHT

On a plane to Gdansk two people are brought together into sharing the reasons for their being there.  Escape being one of them, so when the flight is forced to turn back there's reason to be concerned.  But sometimes the solution presents itself, and offers something neither party had thought might happen.  A short play with a twist.  A special mention to Rosie Edards for her hilarious cameo as the stewaress.

THE APPLE INSPECTOR

A farcical black comedy set on a cider farm.  Apples, romance, murder and legal complexities.  A bit daft really, and probably the weakest of the quintet, but a bit of fun to ned the show on.

Homo (sapien), Assembly Roxy Snug, Edinburgh Festival Fringe

 A one man coming of age play written by, and starring, Conor O'Dwyer.

Joey is a bad gay.  At least he thinks so, primarily because he's in his early twenties and still hasn't had sex, despite several opportunities.  But maybe life is a bit more complicated than one night stands?  Maybe he just needs to understand himself a bit better.

O'Dwyer gives an energetic performance, with a cast of characterts well delineated, and emotional depth.  There are a lot of laughs, moments of pathos, and a solid reflection of what it's like to gorw up 'different', when you're not too sure who'll accept you as you are.  

Highly recommended, as both entertaining and thought perovoking.

Big Bite-Size Breakfast Menu Two, Pleasance One, Edinburgh Festival Fringe

Onwards and upwards for the Bite-Size crew, this year moving to Pleasance One.  Another three 'menus', with differing offers of short, sharp playlets.  A mostly familiar cast (two men, three women) with only one newcomer from previous years.  And the same offerings of strawberries, coffee and croissant before the show begins.  Still a delight.

For Menu 2 the five courses are...

THE THIRD WHEEL

A young couple of a Ferris wheel.  Him annoyed that a third person has been placed in their pod, her puzzled as to why.  He's got it all planned, the most romantic proposal ever.  But plans don't always work out, and that extra person is suddenly an important part of the scenario.  A sharp little comedy commenting on how easy if it is to find yourself with a different vision of your future to that of the person you want to share it with.

FOOD BANK

The only people at a food bank are those providing the service, and those in dire need of it.  But can you be both?  A new helper has turned up, and wants to turn everything into a drama.  Maybe he hasn't got the hang of it?  Or maybe he has...?   Played for laughs, but there is a side ordering of pathos in this one.  We aren't always what we pretend to be...

PROOF

A parcel arrives, the courier takes the photo of proof.  But then you relaise it's the worong hand in the pic...  Farce ensues, the gas man gets roped into the silliness.  Maybe a bit too silly?

BOTTOMLESS

Three old friends get together for pre funeral drinks  - something their dead pal had very much wanted, organised.  |A happy and sad occasion.  And argumentative.  And surprising, very surprising.  But old friendships remain strong - don't they?  A quick rollercoaster ride through pasts and presents.

WHATEVER, THE WEATHER

A US news channel, with an English weather presenter.  He just wants to tell the truth about the weather and what's causing it, while his co-presenters want to keep the sponsors sweet.  Who's going to break down first?  This one isn't the funniest, but it does point at one of the reasons why we still have climsate change deniers... (Also the only one of the five where all five cast memebrs made an appearance.)

Another excellent quintet from the Bite Size crew, always entertaining, and occasionally thought provoking, with scenarios that take the truth and stretch it a little.  Always worth seeing.

Ivor (A Play, a Pie and a Pint), Traverse

Scarlet (Alice Glass) is a climate activist.  So when her mother Sarah (Laura Harvey) wants to get her a big surprise for her 21st she knows it has to be related to her daughter’s passion.  And Ivor is very big, and very very surprising.  But also an indication that spending a lot of money on a gift  doesn’t guarantee that you’ve fully understood what the recipient is really all about.  Scarlet isn’t about to give up on her plans to tend to Ivor, she and partner Judith (Betty Valencia) have a planet to save.

Mothers and daughters, the generation gap, and the lack of real understanding surrounding climate change are all tackled in this ambitious metaphor.  I won’t give away the nature of the mysterious Ivor, but he is much more problem than solution, a reflection of the misunderstanding of climate issues.  Surreal, often darkly funny, the script doesn’t fully hit the mark, but does provide some food for thought, partly spoiled by an unnecessarily confusing ending.  The acting is decent enough,with some excellent timing. Harvey does the controlling parent well, Valencia perhaps the best in conveying her frustration and desperation with a world that is going down the tubes.

Not the best PPP, but still interesting.

Dancing Shoes (A Play, a Pie and a Pint), Traverse

Donny (Stephen Docherty) is getting on in year.  Craig (Ross Allan) is approaching 40.  Jay (Craig Mclean) is the baby of the trio, But they have a common bond- addiction to drugs and/or alcohol, and a desire for recovery, and that turns the unlikely group into pals.  Trying to support one another as best they can.

That bleak sounding scenario is the background for one of the funniest plays the PPP series has ever opffered up.  Breaking the fourth wall from the start, the audience are immediately drawn in, to a world where humour is one of the strongest lifelines available.

Donny reveals his secret, the reason that keeps hime going.  He dances.  Alone in his room he dances to keep ther world at bay.  When he demonstrates Jay videos, and then posts, and 'Dancing Donny', the internet senastion, is born.  This will test the friendships, and, more worryingly, the commitment to not repeat past behaviours.

It's hilarious.  An excellent script and some great comic timing.  Physical comedy skills too, from all cast members.  There's a lot of action and choreography that keeps the play going at a rapid pace.

But pathos too, reflecting the sensitive nature of the underlying subject matter.  As Craig says, everyone laughs at junkies and alkies, and not in a good way.  The serious moments are brief, by work as sharp counterpoint to the stream of laughs.

Breathtakingly wonderful.

Afterlife, Traverse

Intriguing take on the ‘afterlife’ concept.  Everyone who dies has six days in a facility where they get to choose what happens to them next.  Guides help them figure out what was the memory they want to live in for the remainder of infinity.  But that’s hard to figure out, and sometimes there are rebels against the system.

Lively, well choreographed, often with many on stage performing multiple actions and dialogues.  Engaging.  Simplistic, but not too much so for a 75 minutes performance.  The leads were generally competent, with a stand out performance by Amelie Berry as the Guide supervisor, who also acts as a narrator.  Her off-the-ball acting was excellent.

There’s not much of a point being made, except that we need to keep our good memories alive. And that it can be difficult to recall what really were the best moment sin a life.

There was an unusual gimmick of giving all audience members a ticket with a number on.  When numbers were called and individuals emerged from the audience, it made audience think they might be.  They weren’t, but I found this distracting from the play itself - I started to think about which memory I would wnat to live over and over!

Interesting.

Counterpunch, Traverse

In a struggling boxing gym, Gav is trying to figure out how he can handle the situation.  He’s lost his most recent fight, just when he needed the money to stay ahead of the mounting debt.  The future looks bleak, but he does have offers.  From a local gangster.  So his choices are not so clear cut.

Everyone in Counterpunch has problems.  Financial, family, relationship, criminal.  The script feels a bit bleak at times.  But also thin, padded out with elaborately choreographed sequences of training and fighting.  They are impressive at times, and the fitness levels of the cast are impressive, but they do go on and on a bit.

However this is Youth Theatre, so some failings are excusable.  As with the script, the acting is variable.  There are some good performances, some not so good, but a lack of voice projection is a common failing throughout, making it hard to follow the plot at times.  

That said, the future of Scottish drama looks promising, and projects like this can only improve standards.  Worth seeing for the raw talent on offer.

Death of a Salesman, Festival Theatre

An all time classic play, which has ssen many, many productions.  So if you don't already know the plot then it's easy enough to look it up.  This is the American Dream, but in reality.  The idea that if you work hard and get on you too can have it all.  But Willy Loman has worked hard and far from having it all he increasingly feels that he's a failure, no matter how hard he pretends otherwise.  Willy thinks he's not just liked, but 'well liked', but his delusion doesn't curt it with his boss.  While his sons are seeking out different kinds of lives, and his wife does her best to support Willy's dreams.

But trying to live up to your dremas can result in delusions, lying to yourself as much as others, and there are always others doing it better than you..  Chasing money isn't the answer you thought it was, and it's hard, after a lifetime of trying, to understand that there is more than one kind of 'success'.  Son Biff has recognise that it's more fulfilling to find out who he is, rather than trying to be the person he's not.  He might not have money, but, in his way, he's more of a success than his father was.  

David Hayman is perfect as Loman, with just the right blend of false confidence and doubt, beset by memories and slowly losing his grasp on reality.  He's the American Tragedy, the victim of that Dream.  

A simple set, and a strong cast of supporting characters, are perfect support to Hayman's magic, the action stays true to the original (set in 1949), and yet it still feels entirely relevant to 2025.  Classics are classics for a reason.

Eilidh, Eilidh, Eilidh (A Play, a Pie and a Pint), Traverse

Writer/Director Lana Pheutan is from Skye, where the play is set.

It’s Saturday night, and cousins Eilidh and Eilidh have missed out on a lock-in, so they break into a remote holiday cottage to carry on drinking.  It’s February, so none of those Air BnBs will be occupied.  Will they?

Boisterous Eilidh (MJ Deans) is a teacher, back on the island after 8 years in Glasgow.  And pissed off that she and her boyfriend are having to live with her mum, because everywhere else is too expensive.  The more reserved Eilidh Beag -wee Eilidh - has stayed on, and lives on her own in a tiny council flat.  Fired up by the boose and her own frustrations, the returnee rants about tourists and English making property too expensive.  While her cousin sees more of the bigger picture, conscious how much the tourists bring to the local economy.  Their banter is entertaining, with a serious undertone.

Things turn darker when the actual resident rushes in wearing a motorbike helmet and pyjamas, and threatening the youngsters with a shinty stick.  They all get a surprise when they realise that this is Ms NicilleMhicheil (Annie Grace), once the highly respected teacher of the 2 younger women.  And the situation reveals more about the island property scene than any of them had realised.  

A well crafted script provides a lot of laughs, and an optimistic ending, but doesn’t shy away from the darker problems that communities like these face from locals being priced out of their own homes.  While all 3 actors are excellent, Chelsea Grace as the more cautious girl brings an extra layer of subtlety to her performance that underwrites the complexity of the situation.  

Another excellent contribution to the PPP canon.  

Kev Campbell Was He (A Play, a Pie and a Pint), Traverse

There aren't many plays which begin with the hero running in and getting himslef plonked down on the toilet with a sigh of relief, but that's the unusual opening of this one man performance, written by and starring Alexander Tait.  He plays the eponymous Kev, a working class man who almost does, but does not quite, fit in with his pals.  It takes a chance meeting with a stranger, who becomes his mwentor and new friend, to make him realise that there is another world he could fit into.  Even if it means having to leave his present behind him.

Tait delivers an energetic performance, not just as Kev talking direct to the audience, but also the voices in the dialogue - old best pal, new nest friend, and Moira, his slightly scary boss.  Using parallels with The Great Gatsby, the difficulties of moving from one world to another are clear, because they have very different standards.  In his old life 'gay' is a common slur, in his new it's just what people are.  Yet it's hard to defend the new world against the old, the one that's nurtured him for so long, and hard for the new to understand the old.  The drama lies in trying to resolve that conflict, and deciding who he is.

The set (above) provides 5 seats for different locations, an idea that works well.  But the drive comes from Tait, who is mesmerising at times.  He's a man to look out for.

Dookin' Oot (A Play, a Pie and a Pint), Traverse

Diane (Jannette Fogge) has had enough.  She's made it to 70, had a decent enough life, but now the body is packing up.  She's confined to her flat, seeing nobody except her carer Julie (Helen McAlpine) and young postie Connor (Kyle Gardiner).  Fortunately she has seen a solution to her problems - Dignitas.  A solution well beyond the grasp of her financial situation.

Julie's life a is a mess too.   Her abusive husband is getting too much to cope with.  But she has an idea how to make money for both her and Diane).  She'll become a dominatrix!  But how to make a start?

Connor has the answer - Onlyfans.  So he sets up the tech side and then the adventure begins.

It's very much played for laughs, and borders on good old-fahsioned farce at times.  But there are some serious undertones too, about the invibility of middle aged and elderly women, and the need to die with dignity.  Three strong performances, notably from McAlpine.

A hularious romp with a message should you choose to look for it.

Heaven, Traverse

 Mairead (Janet Moran) and Mal (Andrew Bennett) have been married for a couple of decades now. They're best pals, they say, but are they still husband and wife? Were they ever really?

They're back in Mairead's home town for her sister's wedding. From the city to an insular place where life has stood still and she finds many familiar faces. Not least her old lover, the one who she never forgot. While Mal is left to his own devices, falls off the wagon and lets himself indulge his long repressed fantasies. Both takes paths they had not expected, but are they really going to diverge?

The play takes the form of alternating monologues, her then him then her then him, as each talks about the self they've kept inside, and the person they have lived with. The technique emphasises their separateness, but their words also show their affection and understanding for one another, each explaining things that the other can't even admit to themselves. It's a perfect illustration of how lives can be so interconnected and so far apart, and of how long term relationships will often keep afloat long after the thrill of the launch has departed. That affection and dependence can take many forms.

It's a smart script, with plenty of Irish humour, and a few surprises. Two strong performances, but I sometimes felt I was losing my hearing during Moran's sections. But could hear every word Bennett uttered. It's a shame, as I'm sure I missed some good lines from the lack of projection.

Overall a very satisfying performance, and one that ends before you were expecting it, which is always a good sign. Well worth seeing.  

Detained (A Play, a Pie and a Pint), Traverse

 Yemi (Titana Muthui) has been detained in a detention centre for refugees and asylum seekers.  Bea (Laura Lovemore), , her best friend eventually visits.And what’s the big difference between them?  A UK passport.

The threat of deportation hangs over Yemi, and months will pass as her solicitor works to get her free.  And, more importantly, prevent her being sent back to South Africa where a far worse fate awaits her. But Bea is a narcissist, and insists on relating her trivial probllsms, what she perceives to be her 'suffering', than to listen to her friend. And it takes further trauma for Yemi before she realises just how serious the situation is.

It's a low key script, with not a lot happening, a reflection of the tedium of incarceration. There are few laughs, mostly low level embarrassment for Bea's lack of self awareness. Muthui is convincingly despairing, but Lovemore took time to warm up, and looked a bit lost in the opening 20 minutes.

That tedium has it's uses though, bringing home the pojt of the asylum system. Dehumanising, threatening, boring, and designed to keep inmates (who may have done nothing wrong) in a constant state of anxiety. And, with Yemi’s case, a reminder that everyone who migrates has their own individual reasons, sometimes from circumstances that may be hard to explain.  They can put their own loved ones at risk if they divulge too much.

Not a sparkling addition to the PPP canon, and it’s a subject that really needs much more than 50 minutes, but it provides a decent stab at raising awareness of how terribly the UK behaves towards people seeking a new start in life, and how little understanding of their plight there really is.

Lost Girls/At Bus Stops (A Play, a Pie and a Pint), Traverse

Jess and Iona, out for a good time in a bustling Fringe-laden Edinburgh.  Friends for a long time, almost but not quite lovers for just as long.  A love letter to the city, through closes the arteries, up and down hills.  Fringe venues, bars, clubs.  And bus stops.

It’s a  lively script, jumping around through the night, through the places,through histories, between two povs.  A few extra characters thrown in.  A will they, won’t they love story.

Except… we know they will.  Despite the jumping around, and the implications of uncertainty, the ending is always well telegraphed.  And that makes it feel like a long and at times unnecessary journey.  There are a few laughs, even a hint of sadness, anger, but it’s all too predictable despite those elements.

A shouty Catriona Faint plays Jess - more aggressive, wilder, likely to cause trouble (as wit a bouncer)

Leyla Aycan’s Iona is  quieter, more introspective, but loves the contrast between them.

But upsetting to an Edinburgh audience to have someone who is supposed to be so familiar with the city pronouncing Cowgate like an English tourist!

Anna / Anastasia (A Play, a Pie and a Pint), Traverse

 Anna (Kirsty McDuff) has been rescued after jumping off a bridge in 1920s Berlin.  Franz (Chris Forbes), a police detective, has the job of finding out who she really is.  But what is he to make of her claim to be the last surviving member of the Romanovs, the despotic rulers of Russia before the revolution?

Anna - or the Princess Anastasia? - will come back into his life over the years,always with a story to tell.  Are her stories true>  And does it really matter (except to a policeman…)

McDuff plays the younger Anna as a manic child, who softens her edges, but never loses her edge, over the decades.  Forbes plays the straight man for the most part, but has some wonderful comic moments when playing the entire Romanov family, and their firing squad, as the executions took place.  And Franz learns something of life from the intriguing Anna.

While there are plenty of laughs, and moments of real pathos, the story does build towards a more serious point of reflection.  We are who we present ourselves to the world as.  Sometimes that can be to hide from the hurt of our past, or maybe it’s just to be who we prefer to be, or to not succumb to society’s image of the ageing process.  We all need to tell stories.  Anna (or Anastasia) is an extreme example (and based on the real story of Anna Anderson), but Franz also learns that he can be more than he seems, if that’s who he wants to become.  We all can. 

An excellent demonstration of just how much power a fifty minute comedy drama can exert.