Category Archives: The Blog

Ludus – Touring Production of Theatre Broad

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Stirling’s Theatre Broad company is touring a production of two of Clifford Bax’s plays. Prelude and Fugue and Square Pegs are two two-handers and they are for women actors. I’ve long been a devotee of two-handers and these do not disappoint. Theatre Broad handle the poetic writing of Prelude and Fugue with confidence and the comedy of Square Pegs with ease.

DSC01013Carol Metcalf returns to the role of Rosemary in this revival of the company’s 2016 production of Prelude and Fugue and is joined in it by Katy-Louise Pritchett. Can two women discover the essential nature of one man they both loved?

Kerrie Leanne Sellick, another Theatre Broad regular, plays Hilda in Square Pegs and is joined by newcomer, Lara Fabiani playing Italian Gioconda. Is the grass greener in a different time? Time-slip novels are very popular and perhaps Bax was ahead of his time with this take on the nature of passion in different centuries.

The first play is a thought-provoking and intelligent look at the difficulty of telling another person the love of their life is a cad. The second is more of a romp as two young women act out their fantasy of life in a different age.

Ably supported by Rhian Campbell and David Reid-Kay, the production tours to The Macrobert Art Centre Stirling 15th September. Tickets 01786 46 66 66 at 7.30

Thereafter to Theatre Royal, Dumfries, University of the Highlands and Islands, Inverness, The Little Theatre, Nairn, The Webster Theatre, Glasgow, Heron Theatre, Cumbria, The Fullarton, Castle Douglas.

A Play A Pie and A Pint

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A Play A Pie and A Pint travels from its spiritual home in Glasgow for the Edinburgh season and I caught up with Outside In by Chris Grady, today. Playing to an almost full house this 50 minute gem is an hilarious look at a, well several really, difficult subject(s).

Jo does not go out and so is at the mercy of downstairs’ cat which does not go out either. Coco is a wannabe gangster and Kayleigh an ‘I’ve done that now’ police officer.

You can catch it tomorrow or Saturday. Tickets here

Tomorrow night Theatre Broad bring their double bill of Clifford Bax plays, LUDUS to The Studio at Edinburgh Festival Theatre 7.30 tickets here

HOME

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HOME created by Geoff Sobelle and showing this weekend in Edinburgh’s King’s Theatre  is a treasure trove of sublime moments.

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How many people can you pack into your fridge? Do the teens in your house go to bed before leaving by the upstairs window to re-join the party?

Having its genesis in Geoff Sobelle’s clowning pedigree, Home’s opening sequence of creating a small home and flipping through the occupants in the bed is mesmeric. I could not work out how the actors changed without being seen. If you can, come back and tell us.

What else? Audience participation, a local band, nudity and a series of flawless performances. Special mention should go to Ching Valdes-Aran, the older woman, and Josh Crouch, that difficult teen: both eminently watchable.

My companion was annoyed by the inclusion of a singer whose words we could not hear – yes, yes, we are getting on, but actually, I don’t think he could be heard. Maybe that’s the point?

Matinées and evening performances, but move quickly Tickets here

Anne

The Prisoner

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The Prisoner by Peter Brook and Marie-Héléne Estienne continues its Edinburgh Festival run in the intimate surroundings of the Royal Lyceum Theatre. It is part of the residency of the Théâtre des Bouffes du Nord at the 2018 International Festival.

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As much folk tale or mythology as scripted drama, the piece is deceptively low key, but I came away pondering the essential conflicts at the heart of JUSTICE.

We open with the outsider who arrives with his own questions to seek enlightenment. He encounters a ‘wise man’, Ezekiel, who sends him to ask the man on the hill opposite the prison what he is doing there. The Prisoner, Mabusa* was guilty of an ‘unspeakable crime’ and is first punished by Ezekiel and then the laws of the land. At first thinking, his crime is understandable, but as the play progresses, less so. There is a woman, Nadia, is she an unwitting catalyst or  a knowing one? There is  a local who has a big axe and has cheerfully swapped the felling of trees for employment as the prison’s executioner. And a host of extraneous characters played by the cast.

A bleakly spare set and great lighting lead us through years of punishment time, changing political fortunes and shifting domestic power bases.

Run continues Tickets here

So, how are your audience observations getting along? Last night the audience was a little unsettled. I’ve always noticed that audiences dislike silence. Silences lead to the shuffling, the sneaky glance at the mobile, the irresistible temptation that is the unfinished conversation. But, here’s the thing, we’re grown-ups. If the playwrights have scripted silence, please let those of us who’ve come to see their work absorb it. You could try it, too. Wonderfully de-stressing.

Anne

  • Apologies if some names are wrong. The actors are named as a group and not by character in the programme. Not helpful.

The Show Must Go On by Anne Stenhouse

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THE SHOW MUST GO ON is my second serial for People’s Friend and starts its four week run in the magazine this morning. Cover date is 18th August and readers who buy the magazine on subscription would get it last Saturday.

Talented Friend regular, Sailesh Thakrar is the illustrator and hasn’t he done a marvellous job?

Sailesh’s opening illustration

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Show Must Go On started life as Behind the Scenes. It’s my observation that most playwrights who write something about the theatre call it Behind the Scenes, so I’d no problem with the team’s choice.

Anne

Waiting For Godot

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Waiting For Godot by Samuel Beckett had a sell-out audience in the Royal Lyceum last night. Druid Theatre presented a thought-provoking interpretation rather than one aimed at the potential of the farcical elements of the script. This made the giggling of some of our female neighbours sound nervous and, slightly, out-of-place.

The excellent diction carried every word to the back of the circle and allowed us plenty of opportunity to mull over Beckett’s observations. I thought Marty Rea’s performance as Vladimir had a caring humanity I haven’t seen in this part before.

The most recent production of this play I’ve seen was also in the Royal Lyceum theatre and starred Brian Cox and Bill Paterson. I thought theirs was a much funnier experience with huge energy between the two leads. However, comparisons are not always helpful and it’ll take a few days for the finer points of Garry Hines direction to seep through.

Run Ended

Flyer-ing is a thankless task

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Sometimes you hear of people whose aim in life is to avoid accepting even one. Shame on you!

I do try to accept as many flyers as I can. during the Festivals in Edinburgh. That policy can quickly make you wish you’d brought another bag to carry the haul home. But, having been in the position of trying to sell tickets for a show, I feel obligated.

This modest accumulation was collected as I walked out to lunch yesterday – and yes, the lady from Delusion of Home did give me two.

So, you might be wondering, how is this year’s hunt for the most clueless audience member going? There are contenders. A first-rate effort was displayed at Siegfreid when a gent from the stalls arrived in the Grand Circle and sat in a seat he was advised had been empty during the first act. Sadly, for him, the owner of the ticket did arrive in time for the second! Will keep you updated, but do bring your own examples into comments, please.

Mariah’s Marriage

Edinburgh Festivals 2018

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Theatre Al Fresco

Theatre Al Fresco

MIDSUMMER by David Greig and Gordon McIntyre, and directed by Kate Hewitt, was a bittersweet start to our Festival 2018. Midsummer’s production is supported by Brenda Rennie in memory of her husband, Donald Rennie who died last year. Donald and Brenda have been loyal supporters of the Festivals over many years and Donald served on the Board. Both the Rennies are dear friends.

To the production-

Midsummer was originally created for two actors and a musician, but has been re-written for four actors, with contribution from a fifth who is also in the band, and a three-piece ensemble. I didn’t  see the original so am unable to regale you with comparison. I hugely enjoyed this show.

Fast-paced and demanding of its cast, the older Helena and Bob, tell their tale and the two younger live it out. Mid-thirties, successful or foot-loose, but without a stable relationship is a dangerous moment. Is CHANGE POSSIBLE ?

Songs, farce, drama, pathos and ultimately uplifting, Midsummer has it all. Take care walking on the arena at the end, the silver paper is slippy.

I was particularly impressed by the actors’ movement and must mention Jenny Ogilvie the Movement Director. Benny Young, the older actor, told whole life stories in a few seconds of movement. Brilliant stuff.

Run continues, not Tuesdays, 8pm, till Sunday 26th August at the Hub, Castlehill.

 

https://romanticnovelistsassociation.org/rna_author/anne-stenhouse/

Three in February

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My talented fellow Capital Writer – Kate Blackadder – writes a piece on her blog,

Kate Writes and Reads, about the books she’s read each month and uses the title Seven in January or Nineteen in September (I jest, maybe). I thought I’d borrow it in order to round up the wonderfully dramatic February I’ve enjoyed this year.

First up was Lady Windermere’s Fan at the Vaudeville Theatre in London.

Directed by Kathy Burke this production features a song, Keep Your Hands Off Me, also written by her and performed, in front of the curtain, by the irrepressible Jennifer Saunders. Samantha Spiro gave a fabulous rendition of the equally irrepressible Mrs Erlynne and Grace Molony shone in this early starring role of her career as Lady Windermere.

Can’t recommend it too highly as an evening of poignant comic indulgence. What a lot we owe to Oscar Wilde.

Run continues till 7th April tickets

 

Then off to Perth, to see Knives in Hens by David Harrower and directed by Lu Kemp at the re-furbished theatre in Mill Street. Harrower’s play is about a long-gone society and its instinctive hatred of the miller. And yet, the woman sees beyond that in her quest to broaden her understanding of God’s world and find new ways of describing the things in that world.

Strong performances from the cast, Jessica Hardwick, Michael Moreland and Rhys Rusbatch, sent us off with much to reflect on.

Run ended, but next up is Richard III Sat 12 – Sat 31 March. Perth Theatre (the theatre is upgrading its website and you might need to visit once or twice to get in.)

The last drama in February was the rollicking The Belle’s Stratagem by Hannah Cowley, adapted and directed by Tony Cownie for the Royal Lyceum. A sparkling evening of human foibles and frailties beautifully dressed by the Lyceum costume department. In fact, there’s a quote from last month’s post about my visit to the costume workshop, see below, in the programme.

Run continues, tickets, till 10th March.

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From Prose to Script – Workshop, Edinburgh Writers’ Club

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Tangee Lenton, Copyright Theatre Broad

Tangee Lenton, Copyright Theatre Broad

Thought I’d share this atmospheric photo again as it’s of one of my own short plays, Flights of Fancy, in a production by Theatre Broad of Stirling.

Why today? Well, tonight I’m leading a wee workshop in adapting your short story for the stage and Flights of Fancy was picked up by Theatre Broad after it won an EWC drama writing competition.

7.30, Grosvenor Hilton Hotel, £5 guest fee.

Capital Stories by Anne Stenhouse, Kate Blackadder Jennifer Young Jane Riddell