2,878 stories by "Lyn Gardner"
Assembly RoomsGiven that The Shawshank Redemption is high on many favourite-movie lists, this stage adaptation could well be accused of having its beady eye on the bank. But like its hero, A…
International Conference CentreIn Grid Iron theatre company's ambitious multimedia piece, our planet has been plundered and devastated by war. But now that Earth's unsullied twin has been di…
Why the cultural diversity of Edinburgh's festivals is only a good thing " and what to see over the next seven days if you're heading to Auld ReekieHighs and lowsThe International Festival b…
Northern Stage at St StephensMark Weinman delivers an astonishing solo performance as the superhero dad in a monologue that crackles with inventionWhen did you last see a superhero? Probably…
AssemblyFamiliar festival themes of peace and reconciliation emerge in this touching two-hander set in post-apartheid South AfricaJanet Suzman plays the elderly Marion who lives alone in an …
Scottish critics adore Ciara. So is everyone else missing something? And corporate-speak in the arts: the wrong outcome, going forwardAre Scottish critics too soft?When it comes to reviews, …
UnderbellyThere's sexy hula-hooping, striptease trapeze and flesh aplenty, but this show always puts breathtaking circus skills to the foreSmart, skilful, slyly comic and sexy, this show fro…
Traverse, EdinburghThe issue of Scottish independence gets a rock'n'roll twist in a play that's little more than an extended skitThe Union is an indie rock band. They've been together for ye…
Traverse theatreAn understated yet explosive play that explores forgiveness and reconciliation in modern-day BelfastThe programme for Owen McCafferty's three-hander, set in a Belfast pub tha…
Wednesdays can be worrisome for companies staging work at the Edinburgh fringe festival. Plus, why we shouldn't prejudge free theatre and today's video pickWorried WednesdayToday is a tough …
Pleasance, EdinburghThe sheer size of the Pleasance Grand means that its shows have to be crowd-pleasers, and that's certainly the case with this Danish effort, which sees four bored male of…
The psychology of clapping, why certain comics really should try harder, and the new critics on the block (warning: includes cute cat photos)Catching the clapWhy do we clap in the theatre? Y…
Traverse, EdinburghThe cleverness of the con artist is that they make you believe the incredible, which is what theatre-makers do, too. The smartest scammers don't hide their machinations, b…
From David Greig's The Events to a new Lars von Trier comedy adaptation, this year's fringe for me is all about quality, not quantityKeeping countStand in the queues and the talk is sometime…
Assembly MoundThere is so much emotion surrounding Yael Farber's Nirbhaya that it may be beyond criticism. Conceived in the wake of the murder of Jyoti Singh Pandey, the young Indian woman w…
Performing at Edinburgh is an expensive proposition, but the free fringe provides a refuge for artists and small companiesStand on Calton Hill east of Princes Street in Edinburgh and the ent…
TraverseWhen something terrible happens, we want to know why. Why now? Why me? Might things have been different? Claire (Neve McIntosh), the priest of a small seaside village, wants to know …
Traverse, EdinburghOnce upon a time men went off to war in faraway places. Out of sight, out of mind. But what if Odysseus had returned for his supper each night, and brought …
Underbelly, EdinburghWhen Jamie was little, he and his single mum, Maggie, would look down on London from their Chalk Farm tower block and imagine they were keeping watch over…
Far from celebrating a world without subsidy, the playwright was reminding us of the uncomfortable fact that artists need to make their own future rather than looking to the pastMark Ravenhi…
The Edinburgh fringe is underway, spooky headphones show Ring will frighten the life out of you in Oxford, and the Young Vic's brilliant A Doll's House goes into the West EndScotlandBy the t…
There is nothing more infuriating than going to the theatre and finding you can't hear the actors. But are fears that standards of enunciation are dropping really founded?It's been a few wee…
Southwark Playhouse, LondonNo, not a stage version of the James Cameron blockbuster with Celine Dion warbling My Heart Will Go On. Maury Yeston and Peter Stone's musical docked on Broadway b…
Southwark PlayhouseThe nautical Herman Melville is popping up repeatedly on theatrical radars this year. Moby-Dick was produced at the Arcola in April, and now Secret/Heart adapts this unfin…
A new report says small London theatres face tough times. It has good ideas, but doesn't go far enough in looking to the futureThe Centre Stage report published last week focused on the diff…
