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Scotsman
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Scotsman
Four and Five Star Edinburgh Fringe Theatre 2025: Here are 13 shows the Scotman critics have loved you can still get tickets for this weekend
It's approaching the end of the first week of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and the reviews have been pouring in. With the physical programme containing over 3,350 shows across 265 venues, it can be a daunting task to work out what exactly you are going to see. At The Scotsman we review hundreds of shows every year, with the best receiving a sought-after four or five star rating. This year we have only awarded two theatre shows the perfect five stars so far, but there have been many more that have earned four stars. More importantly, several of those still have ticket availability for this weekend (August 8-10) so you can go and see what all the fuss is all about. Here are 13 five and four star theatre shows our team of critics would recommend you see this weekend. 1 . A Brief History of Neurodivergence You'll have to be quick to see the first theatre show The Scotsman awarded five stars to this year. A Brief History of Neurodivergence ends its run on Sunday, August 10. There are still tickets left for the show at C alto at 1.50pm. What we said: "A Brief History of Neurodivergence is a performance that everyone should see." | Contributed Photo Sales 2 . JEEZUS! There are still tickets left for every show of JEEZUS!, running until August 24 at the Underbelly Cowgate at 6.50pm each day. It's the other theatre show we've awarded the rare perfect five stars. What we said: "Yes, JEEZUS! will shock and offend, and it sets out to do just that. In the end, though, its joyful, even sentimental celebration of love beyond ecclesiastical trappings of power might bring a tear to the eye of even the most devout." | Contributed Photo Sales 3 . Red Like Fruit Moving onto the theatre shows that have been awarded four stars by The Scotsman's review team and Red Like Fruit. The play, which this week won a Scotsman Fringe First Award, is on at various times at the Traverse until August 24 - and has ticket availability for every date. What we said: "Michelle Monteith as Lauren, and David Patrick Flemming as the actor-reader, deliver two performances so beautifully pitched and timed that Moscovitch's words shine through with a magnificent clarity." | Contributed Photo Sales 4 . Kanpur: 1857 You can still get tickets for every performance of Kanpur: 1857 at the Pleasance Courtyard each day at 3.40pm - running until August 24. What we said: "With a little light-touch historical information projected behind the action, and powerful live accompaniment from brilliant Scottish tabla musician Sodhi, the show emerges as a fascinating hour of reflection on the psychology of colonialism, and the related politics of gender." | Canva/Getty Images Photo Sales
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Scotsman
03-08-2025
- Entertainment
- Scotsman
Edinburgh Fringe Theatre reviews: Rift
Sign up to our Arts and Culture newsletter, get the latest news and reviews from our specialist arts writers Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Rift Traverse Theatre (Venue 15) ★★★★☆ Red Like Fruit Traverse Theatre (Venue 15) ★★★★☆ Standing In The Shadows Of Giants Traverse Theatre (Venue 15) ★★★☆☆ It's one of the great myths of human development that progressive change towards greater equality and freedom, once achieved, is somehow irreversible. Yet in fact, history is full of examples of once liberal and relaxed societies suddenly, under pressure, becoming much more repressive again; and it's both thrilling and significant to see the Traverse Theatre opening its programme of visiting shows with two forceful and enthralling new plays from North America, set in this moment when many seem increasingly convinced that the liberalisation of our society has in some way 'gone too far.' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Blake Stadnik (l) and Matt Monaco (r) in Rift | Contributed In Gabriel Jason Dean's searing two-hander Rift, the character known as the 'Inside Brother' is a damaged man who – sentenced for a murder he swears he did not commit, and severely attacked and beaten up in jail – soon becomes convinced that the white race is facing decline and extinction, and that his only protection lies in joining a white supremacist brotherhood active in the prison. His younger 'Outside Brother', meanwhile, is also damaged, but able to survive youthful run-ins with alcohol and drug abuse to graduate from university and eventually become a successful writer; and over 25 years, we see their relationship evolve from the younger brother's occasional visits, through more recent online sessions, to a final face-to-face confrontation. This is no smooth evolution, though, from alienation to greater understanding. Instead this 90-minute play, based on Dean's real-life experience with a brother in the US prison system, shows a relationship riddled with lies, half-truths, and sudden jagged shocks that can set it back by years, starting with the outside brother's early failure to acknowledge the sexual abuse they both experienced as children. Yet although the wealth of themes and preoccupations that emerge can be almost bewildering – ranging from the social causes of rising white supremacism, through the lifelong impact of child sexual abuse, to the morality of seeking to make art out of real-life stories that involve the privacy of others – Dean's writing never flags in its utterly gripping sharpness and intensity. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad And in Ari Laura Kreith's fiercely-paced production, Matt Monaco and Blake Stadnik deliver two simply breathtaking performances as the inside and outside brothers; one twitching with tension, anger and physical energy in his orange prison suit, while the other gradually learns how to thrive in a deeply compromised society, where the problem is not too much liberalism, but our failure to live out the full meaning of our liberal creeds, whenever they become too difficult, or too demanding. If Rift presents a many-faceted and sometimes explosive study of the times we live in, Hannah Moscovitch's superb Canadian two-hander Red Like Fruit, also in Traverse Two, offers a much more precise and brilliantly focussed exploration of the current post-#metoo moment in gender politics. Written as a monologue, but fascinatingly read on stage by a male actor while the female central character – who has written the story – listens, reacts and occasionally comments, Red Like Fruit tells the story of Laura, a happily married Toronto journalist who nonetheless finds herself increasingly depressed and mentally uneasy, haunted by a frightening sense of anger, and of dissociation from her everyday life. Michelle Monteith in Red Like Fruit | Riley Smith Working on a story about an employee of Canada's governing Liberal Party who has been reinstated to his job after admitting to an act of violence against his wife, Laura gradually finds herself revisiting sexual incidents from her own earlier life, and wondering exactly how she should define them; she asks herself how much of what she remembers is really problematic, and how much is down to the normal sexual confusion of teenage and early-twenties life. She also, sometimes, pauses the narration to ask her actor-spokesman what he thinks; and he sometimes offers answers, thoughtful, liberal, compassionate. Neither the play, nor Christian Barry's impeccable production for Canada's 2b Theatre, offers clear answers to the questions it raises; instead, it leaves behind a profound uncertainty about how far we can protect women from exploitation while leaving space in our culture, for the daft, anarchic energy of real sexual desire. Moscovitch's writing, though, is dazzlingly precise, vivid and thought-provoking throughout; and Michelle Monteith as Laura, and David Patrick Flemming as the actor-reader, deliver two performances so beautifully pitched and timed that Moscovitch's words shine through with a magnificent clarity, searching and searching again for some kind of truth among the overheated culture wars of our time. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad In her autobiographical Traverse monologue Standing In The Shadow Of Giants, meanwhile, Lucie Barât is a woman of similar vintage to Moscovitch's Laura, and one with far more experience of sexual exploitation by powerful men. Barât is the sister of Carl Barât, who with Pete Doherty co-founded the successful late-Nineties/early 2000s band The Libertines; and the story of how Carl's sudden fame changed her life, robbing her of her childhood best friend and plunging her into a world of temptations and dangers where she had no real role of her own, only captures part of her struggle against a lifelong sense of abandonment that began in a disrupted childhood, and left her with a seething inner rage which she increasingly turned against herself. Lucie's story of chronic self-harm and eventual redemption, only made more intense by the roller-coaster of highs and rejections she experienced in her career as an actress, is a familiar one on a Fringe full of monodramas about the pains and traumas of a career in show business. In this debut solo show, though, Lucie Barât tells her story with a certain self-conscious charm; and when she picks up a microphone to sing one or two of her own songs, co-written with her brother and Pete Doherty, she reveals a powerful, eloquent and poetic mature woman's voice that seems somehow less present in the rest of the play. All shows until 24 August
CBC
09-06-2025
- Entertainment
- CBC
For Hannah Moscovitch, writing her plays is like exploring herself with a knife
Social Sharing It's never easy for Hannah Moscovitch to reveal her most devastating experiences to strangers. Nonetheless, the Canadian playwright says the results are always worth it. "I'm prouder of the plays that I've written where I've taken a knife and I've explored myself," Moscovitch tells Q 's Tom Power in an interview. "I think that they expose truth more clearly." Her latest show, Red Like Fruit, tells the story of Lauren, a journalist covering a high profile domestic violence case. Over the course of the play, Lauren starts to reexamine her own past experiences with men. WATCH | Official trailer for Red Like Fruit: Moscovitch says she understands that #MeToo politics are messy — that's why her show is about asking questions, not telling the audience what to think. "I often want to do plays that leave you with ambiguities," Moscovitch says. "[Plays] that show you nuance and sophistication, and many points of view represented within them.… Especially in a piece like Red Like Fruit. I think a lot of people who have had similar experiences are actually struggling with the fact that it's not right or wrong. Or it's not clear to them. Or they don't know." When Moscovitch began her career, she wanted to make lighthearted entertainment, and she wanted to act. But that was not her destiny — she was raised by ardent social activists, and her drama school teachers quickly spotted that she was better as a writer than a performer. Now, Moscovitch is a Governor General's Award-winning playwright. Many of her works have been acclaimed for offering uncompromising insights into the unspoken experiences of women. She says she wasn't willing to delve into this complex territory at the beginning of her career — it took time to find the courage. "I got braver and I got older, and I got more willing to be vulnerable," Moscovitch explains. "I got willing to, you know, turn my own gaze on myself in a way that I wouldn't have been comfortable with when I was a younger writer." She's glad that she's found a way to push past her fears, and connect with people who need to be heard. "There's something original about anything that has never been spoken," Moscovitch says. "And then there's a whole audience out there that feels so relieved that it's being spoken for the first time. And they love you for it. And you feel good."
Toronto Star
03-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Toronto Star
Luminato Festival 2025: This post-#MeToo drama is subversive, painful and gripping
Red Like Fruit 3.5 stars (out of 4) By Hannah Moscovitch, directed by Christian Barry. Until June 15 at the Young Centre for the Performing Arts, 50 Tank House Lane. or 416-866-8666 A question looms heavy over 'Red Like Fruit,' the post-#MeToo era play by Hannah Moscovitch, now running at Soulpepper as part of the 2025 Luminato Festival. It haunts every line of this taut, 75-minute drama. And it slowly eats away at its audience. Why is this woman's story being told by a man? A man about whom we know nothing. The story at the heart of 'Red Like Fruit' is really Lauren's to tell. An accomplished journalist, she's covering a high-profile case of domestic violence within the Liberal party. But as she digs deeper, interviewing her sources and typing up her investigation, she becomes retraumatized by some long-buried memories from her past. ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW Lauren (Michelle Monteith), however, doesn't recount her own story. Instead, she writes it up and tasks a man named Luke (David Patrick Flemming) to narrate it on her behalf. As he does, Lauren sits in a chair on a raised platform, listening intently to his words, her words. She mostly wears a blank expression. But occasionally, her demeanour changes. She winces. Or she recoils ever so slightly. Or she gently nods, as if in recognition and in agreement. The setup of director Christian Barry's gripping production almost recalls a jury trial. Lauren sits on the stand, with Luke standing off to the side, acting as this trial's prosecutor. But rather than Luke drawing out her testimony, it's he who's giving voice to it. Michelle Monteith in 'Red Like Fruit.' Dahlia Katz/Soulpepper Luke subtly — perhaps even unconsciously — manipulates Lauren's words. At first, he carries an air of flippancy, even condescension. Then a softer, more sympathetic side gradually emerges. 'Red Like Fruit' is initially disorientating, particularly the decoupling of Lauren's story from her voice, subverting the trope of the unreliable narrator. It's a slow burn, too, with key information delivered piecemeal. But what emerges is so painful and gripping that the audience's patience is eventually rewarded. What makes this new play brilliant, however, is not merely the story itself, but how that story is told. Moscovitch forces her audience to confront their own prejudice. She asks us to question who we believe — and why. Do we believe Lauren's story? Or do we believe Lauren's story only as it's told by Luke? ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW Entertainment 10 must-see events and exhibits at this year's Luminato Festival Joshua Chong Simmering underneath the surface of this play are many uncomfortable truths. In particular, I thought about how so many stories of domestic abuse and sexual assault are told in the media by men, who, like Luke, so subtly shape and mould the narrative. So rarely do we hear from the survivors themselves. At its best, Moscovitch's play implicates the audience, as well, interrogating our complicity in the pervasive culture of silence that spurred the #MeToo movement. By the show's conclusion, that overarching question that hangs over the work needs no answer. Why is this woman's story being told by a man? We know why, painful as the truth is.
Scotsman
29-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Scotsman
Edinburgh festivals: 12 shows to be performed at Traverse Theatre this August
An 'honest, wicked and moving unpicking' of the character of the pantomime dame is among a range of original performances unveiled for this year's festival programme at the Traverse Theatre. Scotland's new writing theatre said it had unveiled a programme that 'reaffirms its unwavering commitment to discovering, developing and showcasing the most vital new voices in theatre'. This year's TravFest, which is comprised of 12 productions, including ten premieres, deals with issues from climate change to radicalisation and loved ones developing dementia. Other themes include global conflict and dysfunctional family dynamics, while also bringing joy, humanity, commonality and humour. Gary McNair's solo fable A Gambler's Guide to Dying returns to the Traverse ten years on from its sell-out, award-winning debut. Another production is Standing In The Shadows of Giants, a world premiere of an autobiographical musical play written and performed by Lucie Barât – sister of The Libertines' frontman and guitarist Carl Barât. Meanwhile, The Beautiful Future is Coming – an 'urgent' new play about the onrushing climate apocalypse - will span 250 years of real and imagined history through the eyes of three couples, from 1850s New York to present-day London. The new play by Karis Kelly, winner of the Women's Prize for Playwriting 2022, entitled Consumed, directed by Katie Posner, receives its world premiere on the Traverse stage this August. 1 . Standing In The Shadows Of Giants Lucie Barât, sister of The Libertines' frontman Carl Barât, steps into the spotlight in the world premiere of her autobiographical musical play Standing In The Shadows of Giants, directed by Traverse Associate Artist Bryony Shanahan. | Traverse Photo Sales 2 . She's Behind You Director John Tiffany returns to the Traverse alongside Johnny McKnight with She's Behind You, written by McKnight, an uplifting journey exploring our love of panto and the dames that define it. | Traverse Photo Sales 3 . Rift Inspired by playwright Gabriel Jason Dean's relationship with his own brother, a currently-incarcerated high-level member of the alt-right, RIFT is a story of estrangement, ideological divide, and the fight to change the world. The UK premiere is directed by Ari Laura Kreith and is presented by Luna Stage & Richard Jordan Productions. | Traverse Photo Sales 4 . Red Like Fruit A haunting exploration of complicity, consent, patriarchy and trauma in a post-#MeToo world, Red Like Fruit, brings audiences the latest work of award-winning Canadian playwright Hannah Moscovitch. This European premiere from 2b theatre company from Halifax Nova Scotia, directed by Christian Barry, sees Luke narrate Lauren's life: her fraying mental health and the unease she feels in the world. | Traverse Photo Sales
