All stories by Mark Fisher on BroadwayStars

Friday, August 9, 2024

Comala, Comala review " haunting and hallucinatory musical theatre from Mexico by Mark Fisher

Zoo Southside, EdinburghThe mezcal's on hand for this strange, song-filled journey into the land of the dead If Juan Rulfo's magic realist novel Pedro Páramo has the feel of a séance, th…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:03AM[SHARE]

My Mother's Funeral: The Show review " startling comedy sprung from class war and grief by Mark Fisher

Roundabout @ Summerhall, EdinburghA hard-up dramatist is determined to pay tribute to her mum in Kelly Jones's deftly handled play, produced by Paines Plough In Michel Tremblay's Le Vrai Mon…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 03:00AM[SHARE]
Thursday, August 8, 2024

So Young review " spirited cringe comedy uncorks shock and awks by Mark Fisher

Traverse, EdinburghA couple visit a bereaved friend only to find a surprise awaits in Douglas Maxwell's comedy of social embarrassment Instead of Chekhov's gun, we have Maxwell's whisky. The…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:55AM[SHARE]
Wednesday, August 7, 2024

June Carter Cash: The Woman, Her Music and Me review " raw and radical country connection by Mark Fisher

Summerhall, EdinburghWith big hair, long dress and Appalachian accent, Charlene Boyd finds common voice with the singer in a personal and political show The most powerful country songs are t…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 05:59AM[SHARE]
Tuesday, August 6, 2024

VL review " electrifying comedy about teenagers' race to lose 'virgin lips' by Mark Fisher

Summerhall, EdinburghThe schoolboys from the 2018 comedy Square Go are back and on their way to a disco with high hopes and fears On the way out, I hear someone tell his friends he had been …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:53AM[SHARE]

Nation review " chilling vision of a town gripped by fear and hatred by Mark Fisher

Summerhall, EdinburghWriter and actor Sam Ward dissects how a community breaks down in this vivid one-man show It is not the kind of topicality Sam Ward would have wished for, but the curren…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:05AM[SHARE]
Monday, August 5, 2024

The Sound Inside review " fiction spills into real life for two unworldly writers by Mark Fisher

Traverse, Edinburgh When a disappointed novelist teaching creative writing encounters a student fascinated by Crime and Punishment a dangerous passion is sparked At one p…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 03:00PM[SHARE]

Cyrano review " Virginia Gay has a nose for romance in gender-swap update by Mark Fisher

Traverse, EdinburghThe actor-playwright trims Rostand's classic and plays the lead with charisma in a breezy, feelgood show The joy of Virginia Gay's irreverent version of the Edmond Rostand…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:03AM[SHARE]

Penthesilea review " three tribes go to war in gripping, grungy battle by Mark Fisher

Royal Lyceum, Edinburgh In Eline Arbo's taut production of the neo-classical play, Ilke Paddenburg's Amazon queen presents a fearsome clash of sensuality and aggression When two tribes go to…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 05:52AM[SHARE]

In Two Minds review " a tender look at mothers, daughters and mental illness by Mark Fisher

Traverse, EdinburghJoanne Ryan's two-hander, inspired by her own story and brilliantly performed by Pom Boyd and Karen McCartney, elevates everyday family dynamics with a light touch The str…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 01:00AM[SHARE]
Sunday, August 4, 2024

A History of Paper review " a poignant love story folds into silence by Mark Fisher

Traverse, Edinburgh In this story by Oliver Emanuel, posthumously presented with songs by Gareth Watkins, a couple's romance is told through the paper trail it leaves When Oliver Emanuel was…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 03:00PM[SHARE]

The Outrun review " ambitious staging of Amy Liptrot's Orkney addiction memoir by Mark Fisher

Church Hill theatre, EdinburghVicky Featherstone's directing and Isis Hainsworth's fine lead turn valiantly blur the wild and the urban to portray the writer's introspective journey to sobri…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:13AM[SHARE]

Bellringers review " apocalypse in the belfry strikes strange note by Mark Fisher

Roundabout @ Summerhall, Edinburgh Daisy Hall's play finds two men attempting to calm an impending storm, even the climate crisis itself, with the perfect peal of bells The greatest dilemma …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:04AM[SHARE]
Friday, August 2, 2024

Terf review " JK Rowling meets Harry Potter cast to row tediously in play about trans rights by Mark Fisher

Assembly Rooms, Edinburgh What could have been a fiery exchange of fiercely held viewpoints is more likely to incite yawns than outrage Joshua Kaplan's play starts with an amusing conceit: D…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:16AM[SHARE]
Friday, July 26, 2024

The Gangs of New York review " explosive romance on America's mean streets by Mark Fisher

Grosvenor Park, ChesterIn this open-air production, audiences become citizens of an unruly city in which violence and corruption abound The prize for adventurous programming goes to Chester'…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:18AM[SHARE]
Thursday, July 25, 2024

Alice in Wonderland review " down the rabbit hole and into the woods by Mark Fisher

Williamson Park, LancasterLed by the White Rabbit, this groovy promenade show follows a determined Alice's journey to the city's Ashton Memorial With more incident than drama, Lewis Carroll'…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:02AM[SHARE]
Friday, July 5, 2024

Brassed Off review " miners' music brings film to life on stage by Mark Fisher

Theatre by the Lake, KeswickThe Penrith town band bring warmth and plangency to an adaptation of the post-Thatcher movie, alive with movement and community spirit Around the end of the 1990s…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:48AM[SHARE]
Sunday, June 30, 2024

Radiant Vermin review " Faustian take on getting a foot on the property ladder by Mark Fisher

Tron theatre, GlasgowJohnny McKnight's snappy revival makes us all complicit in Philip Ridley's satire on capitalism and consumerism What moral compromises has the Christian right had to ma…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:06AM[SHARE]
Thursday, June 27, 2024

Sense and Sensibility review " lack of decorum drains tension from Austen adaptation by Mark Fisher

Pitlochry Festival theatreA shapeless staging and knockabout jokes detract from the emotional heft of this tale of thwarted love You might be excited to know that this adaptation of the Jane…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:24AM[SHARE]
Tuesday, June 25, 2024

Adrien Brody to make London stage debut as man who spent 22 years on death row by Mark Fisher

Actor will star in The Fear of 13, based on the true story of Nick Yarris, who was wrongly convicted of murder " as the Donmar Warehouse announces four new productions starring Celia Imrie, …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 04:12AM[SHARE]
Thursday, June 20, 2024

The Importance of Being Earnest review " Algernon et al get a 21st-century makeover by Mark Fisher

Royal Exchange, ManchesterDirector Josh Roche's new perspective " complete with smartphones, Instagram and Whitney Houston " breathes fresh life into a familiar classic To update Oscar Wilde…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:36AM[SHARE]
Monday, June 17, 2024

Dracula: The Bloody Truth review " defanged comedy stretches the joke too far by Mark Fisher

Octagon, BoltonBram Stoker's novel gets redone in the style of The Play That Goes Wrong, in an energetically performed but ultimately feeble farce We have a cost of living crisis and a borin…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 03:12AM[SHARE]
Sunday, June 16, 2024

Tell Me How It Ends review " 80s-set HIV drama offers a blast of polemical power by Mark Fisher

Everyman, LiverpoolTasha Dowd's big-hearted play is about a Liverpudlian woman who befriends HIV patients at the height of the Aids crisis, and features a ferocious broadside in favour of pu…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 03:18PM[SHARE]

Twelfth Night review " if music be the food of love, rave on by Mark Fisher

Shakespeare North Playhouse, PrescotIn this raucous production set at a summer festival, Viola and Sebastian have done too many pills, Sir Toby Belch listens to Arctic Monkeys … and Les De…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:36AM[SHARE]
Tuesday, May 28, 2024

Wild Rose: film about Glaswegian country singer to be turned into stage musical by Mark Fisher

The 2018 hit about a cleaner who dreams of becoming a star in Nashville will begin theatre run in Edinburgh Wild Rose, the award-winning movie about a Glasgow country singer, is to be turned…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:18PM[SHARE]

Edinburgh international children's festival review " sensory magic and complex ideas made fun by Mark Fisher

Various venues, EdinburghFrom a gentle exploration of tubes and spheres to a forthright examination of climate change, immersive puppetry and minimalist narrators, this is mesmerising for fa…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:12AM[SHARE]
Friday, May 24, 2024

The Bounds review " losers are the focus in this story of 16th-century footballers by Mark Fisher

Live theatre, NewcastleStewart Pringle's play unfolds with wit and abrasive lyricism on the sidelines of a chaotic miles-long pitch, where the action definitely isn't If you despair at how l…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:48AM[SHARE]
Tuesday, May 21, 2024

Neil Gaiman's Coraline to become 'dark, spangly' stage musical by Mark Fisher

Playwright Zinnie Harris and composer Louis Barabbas's adaptation of the novel will open at Leeds Playhouse and tour in 2025 Neil Gaiman's award-winning novella Coraline is to be turned into…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:12PM[SHARE]
Monday, May 20, 2024

Robin/Red/Breast review " frights and folklore with a mesmerising Maxine Peake by Mark Fisher

Aviva Studios, ManchesterDaisy Johnson adapts a 1970 TV play into a poetic and disturbing exploration of childbirth's physical and emotional impact John Bowen's Robin Redbreast is one of tho…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:02AM[SHARE]
Wednesday, May 15, 2024

Withnail and I review " downtrodden duo return to demand some more booze by Mark Fisher

Birmingham RepA strong cast and a magical set make this more or less word-for-word stage transfer of the cult hit an entertaining tribute piece In 1988, I worked on a listings magazine's com…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:02AM[SHARE]
Monday, May 13, 2024

Prunella Scales returns to role of Queen Victoria for Edinburgh fringe show by Mark Fisher

The Fawlty Towers actor has often played the monarch in the past and has now recorded audio for a new production at the festival At the age of 91, Prunella Scales has reprised one of her fav…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 04:48AM[SHARE]

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