Reviews & features: Theatre, Kelly Apter
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Lapin Wants Ice Cream
11 Aug 2012
Puppets on the beach à la Française
With a pre-schooler’s brain bearing a remarkable resemblance to a sponge, it’s the perfect time to introduce a foreign language to them. Tania Czajka knows this, and has created a cast of fun characters to deliver the message. Holidaying on the beach…
Treasure Island
10 Aug 2012
Comedy on the seven seas
There’s nothing groundbreaking about this new show from Derby’s Uncontained Arts. But sometimes it’s OK to just tell it like it is, and Treasure Island has enough unusual characters and exciting plot developments for them to get away with it. Building…
Tiddler and Other Terrific Tales
10 Aug 2012
Julia Donaldson over-kill
Scamp Theatre’s 2011 adaptation of Stick Man was a skilful blend of lively storytelling, great songs and playful actors. They did Julia Donaldson proud. So it comes as something of a disappointment to see what they’ve done with Tiddler. As you would…
Mephisto Waltz
7 Aug 2012
Derevo's surreal show of devil pact is success but lacks emotional tie-in
You can’t make an omelette without breaking eggs, and it would seem you can’t make a Derevo show without making an inordinate amount of mess. By the time the five performers step forward to take their well-earned bow, the stage is littered with more…
Watch it!
7 Aug 2012
Small-screen addiction writ large with dance, theatre and visual trickery
Watching too much television is bad for you. This is not a new piece of information, the psychology behind why has been well documented. But if people only created shows about new subject matters, there’d be a lot of empty stages, so we can’t really…
Superjohn
4 Aug 2012
Plucky superhero fights for survival in sensitively-portrayed kids' theatre show
Creating a show about a child in need of a bone marrow transplant was never going to be easy. It’s a subject most children don’t really understand, and parents don’t want to think about. It’s part of life, however, and if you’re going to tackle such…
Scamp Theatre bring Tiddler and Other Terrific Tales to life at Fringe 2012
27 Jul 2012
Stage version of hugely successful Julia Donaldson children's book
With so many shows to choose from at the Fringe, it’s always handy when a tried and tested company returns carrying a guarantee of quality. All those who saw Scamp Theatre’s production of Stick Man in 2010 will be pleased to know that the talented…
Tall Stories to perform Julia Donaldson's The Snail and the Whale at Fringe 2012
27 Jul 2012
Stage version of hugely successful children's book
Julia Donaldson’s picture books take pride of place on bedroom shelves around the world. But it’s not until somebody picks them up and reads them, that those clever rhymes come alive. Published in 2004, The Snail and the Whale has been one of…
Kipper Tie Theatre return to the Fringe 2012 with kids' show Our Island
27 Jul 2012
Singaporean theatre and slapstick in show tackling xenophobia and religious intolerance
Best known for winning over Fringe audiences with their poo-centred hit show, The Mole Who Knew It Was None Of His Business, Kipper Tie Theatre are back in Edinburgh with a far more serious subject matter. Set in a mystery location, Our Island…
Edinburgh Fringe Theatre 2012 for a fiver
18 Jul 2012
Shows offering discounted previews at 2012 Edinburgh Edinburgh Festival Fringe
Desperate for a big dose of culture but short of the necessary funds? Kelly Apter, James Corlett and Suzanne Neilson pick a selection of Fringe theatre and dance previews, all showing at a venue near you at a price that’s nice.
Children's theatre at the 2012 Edinburgh Fringe for a fiver
18 Jul 2012
2012 Edinburgh Festival offers a host of great-value kids show previews
Various venues, Edinburgh, 1–3 Aug Each year, the Edinburgh Festival Fringe has more and more shows to tempt families. From theatre pieces to circus shows, you could easily spend three weeks (and a month’s salary) straddling the good-taste line…
3D Hamlet: A Lost Generation
12 Aug 2011
Strong acting secures the Bard a place in the 21st century
Were this show set in a different venue, with decent sight lines, a proper projection screen and space bigger than a postage stamp for the actors to perform on, it would be a shoe-in for five stars. Abridged, but retaining all the salient points and key…
The Wheel
11 Aug 2011
Innocence lost in war-torn Spain
When we think about war, it is the civilian casualties or soldiers who lose their lives we remember. The children whose innocence is stripped from them, observing the horrors that surround a war zone rarely, if ever, get a mention. In the west, we worry…
Simon Callow in Tuesday at Tescos
8 Aug 2011
Transgender monologue that’s dressed to kill
Anything performed by Simon Callow comes with a certain guarantee: that you’ll be entertained, impressed by the Shakespearean actor’s masterly skill, and perhaps moved to laughter and/or tears. Almost all of which Tuesday at Tescos achieves. Emmanuel…
Fringe 2011 theatre - Five issue-based shows
3 Aug 2011
Shows based on 60s teenage pregnancy, infanticide, bullying and HIV
Be My Baby with Amanda Whittington A moving comedy about pregnant teens in 1960s Manchester who are sent away to a heavily religious hiding place where their only sense of freedom comes through pop music. Zoo Roxy, 662 6892, 7–13 Aug, 6.30pm, £8…
Mr Benn brings 1970s TV classic to Edinburgh Festival stage
29 Jul 2011
Kids show from makers of The Gruffalo and Room on the Broom
Anyone who has seen The Gruffalo, Room on the Broom or any of the other wonderful shows Tall Stories has staged over the years, will know that the company is no stranger to adaptation. This time, however, they’ve moved away from children’s picture books…
Cloud Man combines puppetry and storytelling for 4-7-year-olds
29 Jul 2011
Edinburgh Festival children's theatre show based on clouds
Sometimes they’re white and fluffy, more often than not they’re full of rain - but there’s something about clouds that holds our interest. The latest in a long line of artists to be inspired by the natural phenomenon is puppeteer Ailie Cohen, with her…
Five Guys Named Moe
19 Aug 2010
Feel-good musical that’s a cut above
It’s not often that such a highly-polished, well produced show of this nature makes it into the Fringe line-up. More at home in the West End or Broadway, Five Guys Named Moe has been entertaining the crowds since 1990 – and it ain’t about to stop now…
Charlie and Lola's Best Bestest Play
6 Aug 2010
TV siblings take the the stage: utterly charming and engaging
When you’re taking a product as insanely successful as Lauren Child’s Charlie and Lola series and attempting to do something new, it can be a risky business. Both the books and the TV programmes have garnered millions of fans, some of whom sat…
The Wire's Clarke Peters in Fringe run of Five Guys Named Moe
3 Aug 2010
The Wire's Lester Freamon stars in the musical he wrote
Clarke Peters, best known for his role in US cop show The Wire, talks to Kelly Apter about taking time out to appear in the hit musical he wrote himself
Kids show Tall Storrie & Wee Godley at this year's Fringe
30 Jul 2010
The Glasgow comedy queen Jane Godley answer 5 questions
Glasgow comedy queen Janey Godley has pushed all her blue material aside to team up with daughter Ashley Storrie for their kids show Tall Storrie & Wee Godley. She tells us why we should go along. Give five reasons why people should come and see…
Tall Stories' Twinkle Twonkle secretly teaching kids
29 Jul 2010
Mixing nursery rhymes and adventure with astronomy and science
Known for their respectful and highly entertaining adaptations of popular picture books The Gruffalo and Room on the Broom, sometimes Tall Stories just like to do their own thing. And, as shows like The Snow Dragon and Them with Tails demonstrated…
The Last Miner gives children a history lesson
29 Jul 2010
Underground puppetry tells story from the coal era
Once a vibrant industry, British coal mining has been relegated to museum shelves and miner’s memories. But through its atmospheric new show, Tortoise in a Nutshell aims to evoke the feeling of life underground. ‘There’s something almost mythical in…
Penguin brings interactive puppetry to the Fringe
29 Jul 2010
Polly Dunbar's children books translate easily to stage
When writer and puppeteer Polly Dunbar creates her picture books, she’s got one eye on the page – and the other on the stage. ‘Although I’m not directly thinking of puppets whilst writing,’ she says, ‘I do keep performance in mind. Picture books are…
Wee Willie Gray brings musical storytelling to the Fringe
29 Jul 2010
Andy Cannon's homage to Scotland's Robert Burns
As his witty homage to Robert Burns, Oor Rabbie and re-working of Tam O’Shanter ably proved, Andy Cannon knows a thing or two about Scotland’s bard. Teaming up once again with musician Wendy Weatherby, Cannon is taking on yet another Burns poem, Wee…
