3,537 stories from The Arts Desk
Experimental digital performance art, classical insights and gay shame in three strong Fringe shows
The Ode Islands, Pleasance at EICC ★★★★
Two dramas on prison life offer contrasting perspectives but a similar sense of compassion
Ordinary Decent Criminal, Summerhall ★★★★★Â
From drag to Japanese erotica via a French cookery show, three of the Fringe's more unusual offerings
Kinder, Underbelly, Cowgate ★★★Â
Drag artist Goody Prostate (yes, …
Two powerful shows consider the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, with mixed results
The Horse of Jenin, Pleasance Dome ★★★★★Â
★★★ THE TWO GENTLEMEN OF VERONA, RSC, STRATFORD Youth-oriented version of youthful play
Shakespeare trying out lots of ideas that were to bear fruit in the future
I have…
A joyful gay romance and an intimate one-to-one encounter in two strong Fringe shows
The Fit Prince (who gets switched on the square in the frosty castle the night before (insert public holi…
A visually stunning stage re-adaptation of a recent gay classic plunges the audience into blood and earth
As shockingly beautiful as it is horrifyingly brutal, actor Armando Babaioff's deepl…
Nothing less than the history of human civilisation is the theme of FC Bergman's visually stunning show
With the sheer density of theatrical creations jostling for attention across Edinburgh…
Lenny Henry is the ideal ringmaster for this exercise in audience participation
The Fringe piece Duncan Macmillan devised with Jonny Donahoe in 2014 has since been round the world and back, …
A deft, epoch-straddling climate six-hander and a celebration (and take-down) of the pantomime dame at the Traverse Theatre
The Beautiful Future is Coming, Traverse Theatre ★★�
Oscar Levant is an ideal subject to refresh the debate about media freedom
Back in the day, when America's late-night chat show hosts and their guests sat happily smoking as they shot the br…
Tabloid excess in the 1980s; gallows humour in reflections on life and death
Monstering the Rocketman by Henry Naylor, Pleasance Dome ★★★★
Twists in the tail bring revelations in two fine shows at the Traverse Theatre
Lost Lear, Traverse Theatre ★★★★
A rehearsal room; a tense preparation session for a p…
James Graham's dazzling comedy-drama on the rise and fall of RBS fails to snarl
You could distinctly hear the murmurs of recognition from the Edinburgh audience " responding to knowing menti…
An intimate one-to-one encounter and an examination of brotherly love at the Traverse Theatre
I'm Ready to Talk Now, Traverse Theatre ★★★★
Three early Fringe theatre shows offer blissed-out beats, identity questions and powerful drama
Alright Sunshine, Pleasance Dome ★★★★★
★★★★ TOP HAT, CHICHESTER FESTIVAL THEATRE Lovely to look at, but don't think too much
Glitz and glamour in revived dance show based on Fred and Ginger's movie
Af…
The writer did impressive research but shouldn't have fleshed out Josephine Tey's story
Following confirmation that he was the owner of the bones found in a Leicester car park in 2012, Ri…
Andrew Lloyd Webber's best musical gets a brave, biting makeover for the modern age
Would Jamie Lloyd's mind-bending revival of Evita win through twice in four weeks, I wondered to myself, …
★★ MAIDEN VOYAGE, SOUTHWARK PLAYHOUSE All women crew sail around the world, singing, grouching and bonding
Pleasant tunes well sung and a good story, but not a good show
As th…
★★★★★ BRIXTON CALLING, SOUTHWARK PLAYHOUSE The story of two men & one venue is a delight
Nostalgic, but the message is bang up to date
What a delight i…
★★★ THE WINTER'S TALE, RSC, STRATFORD Bleak production that skewers male jealousy
Strong women have the last laugh, but the play's bizarre structure overwhelms everything
T…
Suzie Miller's follow up to her massive hit Prima Facie stars Rosamund Pike
Rosamund Pike is back. For her first stage appearance since 2010, when she played Hedda Gabler in Adrian Noble's …
Rebecca Frecknall shifts American gears to largely satisfying effect
Michael Shannon's long legs reach to the stars - or perhaps one should say the moon - in the Almeida's hypnotic revival …
Adaptation of 2010 film is busy, bustling - and bad
"It all starts with a snap," or so we're told early in the decidedly un-snappy Burlesque, which spends three hours borrowing shamelessly …
