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The Herald Scotland
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Herald Scotland
Scottish stories being told at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe
With new shows and events being added every week to the line-up, here are just a few highlights from the ever-expanding programme that is taking shape. Read more: When Billy Met Alasdair, Scottish Storytelling Centre: Award-winning writer Alan Bissett's show is inspired by an encounter between Sir Billy Connolly and Alasdair Gray when the comic met the writer at the launch of his novel Lanark in 1981. Bissett, who is best known at the Fringe for The Moira Monologues, will be exploring the 'origins stories,' struggles and triumphs of Connolly and Gray in a show given a sneak preview at this year's Glasgow Comedy Festival. The birdlife of Shetland has inspired Kathryn Gordon's Fringe show A Journey of Flight. (Image: Supplied) A Journey of Flight, Dace Base: Choreographer Kathryn Gordon has created immersive experience inspired by the birdlife of Shetland, where she lives. Dance, live music and visual projects will be combined to explore themes of arrivals, departures, place and flight. The piece, which was created in Shetland is aimed at encouraging audiences to 'reflect on the delicate balance between 'nature, movement and our emotional ties to place and each other.' River City and Shetland star Gail Watson will be appearing in Faye's Red Lines at the Fringe. Windblown, Queen's Hall: A palm tree removed from Edinburgh's Royal Botanic Garden after more than 200 years has inspired a new stage from award-winning singer-songwriter Karine Polwart. The Sabel bemudana palm was removed last year from the tropical palm house after outgrowing the building, which is currently closed for refurbishment. The tree, which had been transported to the attraction in the 1820s from its previous home on Leith Walk, had 'outgrow' the building and was said to be too frail to be relocated again. Johnny McKnight will be performing his pantomime-inspired stage show She's Behind You at this year's Fringe. (Image: Traverse Theatre) Polwart's show will imagine the poetic and musical voice of the tree in what she describes as 'an exploration of historical legacies, ecological loss, collective ritual and the multi-generational promise of gardens.' She's Behind You, Traverse Theatre: Scottish theatre-maker Johnny McKnight will be reflecting on 'a lifetime spent in pantomimes' in the one-man show he is creating with award-winning director John Tiffany, who was at the helm of the recent Edinburgh stage hit Wild Rose. McKnight, who has written more than 30 pantos and played 18 dames himself, will be looking back at his personal experiences across 20 years of Scottish production. The show, which is being adapted from a lecture McKnight delivered in full custom for the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, is expected to be exploration of identity, courage and acceptance. The Traverse has billed She's Behind You as 'a celebration of shifting traditions and the unexpected beauty found in the anarchy of pantomime.' Faye's Red Lines, Gilded Balloon: River City and Shetland actress Gail Watson portray a woman with a paralysing fear of intimacy in Rab C Nesbitt creator Ian Pattison's play. The character played by Watson, who starred alongside Andy Gray and Jordan Young in last year's Gilded Balloon hit Chemo Savvy, will confront her long buried past and her solitary life. Skye: A Thriller, Summerhall: The Isle of Skye provides the backdrop to best-selling author and theatre producer Ellie Keel's debut play. It explores the events which unfold when four siblings on holiday believe they saw their their father on a beach four years after he passed away. The show is billed as 'a relentless search for the truth, on a rugged island where real people and ghosts seem to walk hand in hand among the mountains and lochs.' 24 Weeks, Gilded Balloon: The debate over reproduction rights in Scotland has inspired a play set in a not-so-distant future Scotland where abortion has been made illegal. The show focuses on the relationships between three friends who are divided on what to do when one of them falls pregnant.
Western Telegraph
28-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Western Telegraph
Alan Cumming and other original cast from The High Life reuniting for musical
The production will tour Scotland in spring 2026, almost three decades after the series was screened. All four original cast members – Alan Cumming, Forbes Masson, Siobhan Redmond and Patrick Ryecart will feature in the show. The High Life, first commissioned and broadcast by the BBC, centred on the crew of the fictional Air Scotia airline. The original series can be watched on the BBC iPlayer (BBC/PA) In the musical Air Scotia has been sold and the crew are fighting for their future. The TV series was created by Cumming and Masson who have reunited to create the musical, joined in their creative collaboration by writer, performer and panto-maker Johnny McKnight and the artistic director of Dundee Rep, Andrew Panton. Alan Cumming and Forbes Masson said: 'Never say never! We are both beyond excited to be donning those nylon slacks and crimpelene blazers and connecting with our inner trolly dollies after all these years. 'Returning to these characters alongside the genius that is Johnny McKnight has been a joyful experience and we can't wait to share what madness we've come up with around Scotland.' The High Life was first introduced to TV audiences in an initial pilot in 1994 and then in a series of six episodes which were broadcast in early 1995. The series is currently available to watch on BBC iPlayer. Johnny McKnight said: 'I am absolutely thrilled to join the Air Scotia cabin crew. I grew up watching The High Life, wishing that one day I could get to fly 30 thousand feet with Alan, Forbes, Siobhan and Patrick. 'I never believed that a reunion show would happen, let alone that I would get to be part of the team working on it. 'The bags are packed, the tena-man pants on, and I am ready for check in. 'Fasten your seatbelts and get ready for the flight of a lifetime.' I feel sure our new stage musical will appeal to both fans of the TV show and folks new to The High Life Andrew Panton, Dundee Rep artistic director The new show is being presented by National Theatre of Scotland and Dundee Rep Theatre in association with Aberdeen Performing Arts and Capital Theatres. It will tour to Dundee Rep Theatre, His Majesty's Theatre, Aberdeen, Festival Theatre, Edinburgh and King's Theatre, Glasgow in Spring 2026. Andrew Panton said: 'Having been a High Life fan right from take-off in 1994, it's been a total joy to work with this amazing team of pure talent. 'Our development time together has been a riot of creative energy, hilarity and brilliant music and songs and I feel sure our new stage musical will appeal to both fans of the TV show and folks new to The High Life. 'I'm thrilled that we're creating the show at Dundee Rep Theatre before it jets off to entertain audiences across Scotland.'
The Herald Scotland
30-04-2025
- Entertainment
- The Herald Scotland
Scotland's best pantomime to be honoured for first time
Theatre critics have agreed to recognise festive shows after nearly 20 years of their annual awards with a new 'outstanding pantomime' prize. They have hailed Scotland as 'the natural home of pantomime' thanks to the long history of star performers like Stanley Baxter, Jimmy Logan, Andy Gray and Gerard Kelly, as well as modern favourites including Elaine C Smith and Johnny McKnight. Read more: The new prize will recognise 'the best overall panto' produced in Scotland each year. And the panto award will be sponsored by one of Scotland's leading ice cream producers, Mackie's. The prize will be presented for the first time at the annual Critics Awards for Theatre in Scotland (CATS) at their annual ceremony, which is being staged in June at the Traverse Theatre in Edinburgh. Elaine C Smith was recently honoured for her outstanding contribution to pantomime productions. (Image: Andrew Billington Photography) Michael Cox, co-convenor of the CATS judging panel, said: 'Scotland has long been considered the natural home of pantomime, from the early-20th-century music hall productions to the heyday of Stanley Baxter, Rikki Fulton, Jimmy Logan, Una McLean and Johnny Beattie, who then passed on the baton to acclaimed performers such as Elaine C Smith and the late Gerard Kelly and Andy Gray. 'In recent times, writers and performers such as Forbes Masson and Johnny McKnight have further added to Scotland's panto reputation by rethinking the artform for the 21st-century. 'Our new award recognises the breadth of talent that goes into making the perfect panto.' Co-convenor Mark Brown added: 'The judges are excited to add the category of outstanding pantomime to our annual awards. 'We are grateful to Mackie's – a Scottish company whose ice cream is so closely associated with a trip to the pantomime – for sponsoring the inaugural panto award.' Stuart Common, managing director of Mackie's, said: 'We are proud to sponsor the very first Outstanding Pantomime award at the Critics' Awards for Theatre in Scotland. 'Pantomime and interval ice cream go hand in hand, making up a cherished part of the Christmas tradition for families across Scotland.' Tickets for the awards ceremony, which is open to the public, go on sale on May 1 from the Traverse Theatre website. The new award for best Scottish pantomime has been announced weeks after Elaine C Smith was honoured for outstanding achievement at the UK-wide Pantomime Awards. Johnny McKnight, one of Scotland's best-known panto creators, delivered a prestigious lecture at Glasgow University in January on his long-time involvement with festive shows dressed in the costume of his character Dorothy Blawna-Gale, from his show The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.
