Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, Jean Brodie, Tristan & Yseult, PT Barnum and Mrs Culfeatheres, there’s an eclectic host of characters waiting in the wings to entertain Edinburgh in October.
Did you see The Silence of the Lambs at the Festival Theatre last month? A fantastic looking production let down by a too wordy script and a particular piece of adventurous casting, one question kept running through my head as I watched it unfold, ‘Why?’
Why attempt to recreate a five time Oscar-winning film on stage? Then, having decided to do just that, why cut what is arguably the signature line, the one everybody is waiting to hear delivered live? That said, full marks to the Capital Theatres’ social media team for their brave attempt to address the omission; “Fava beans and a nice Chianti not included,” they posted, a hint if you needed one.
Can we really expect a soap star to match Anthony Hopkins’ career defining Oscar winning performance as Dr Hannibal Lecter six nights a week and twice on Wednesdays and Saturdays?
I know, I know, I’m way beyond that one question now, but it’s frustrating. Charismatically menacing and manipulative, Hopkins’ mesmerised in the role, although that said, Brian Cox was for me the definitive Lecter (spelt Lecktor) in Michael Mann’s 1986 thriller Manhunter – intense, cold and utterly chilling, now there was a real threat. Instead, the stage version goes for the old EastEnders school of acting – sudden bursts of angry shouting compensating for intensity.
As for the richly imagined cinematic style, again ‘Why?’ If you want a filmic experience go to a cinema, anyway, you’ll find my review on mustseetheatre.com – access it via The Edinburgh Reporter website here.
Watching The Silence of the Lambs I was reminded we have another film adaptation heading to the city soon, Back To The Future, reworked for the stage as a musical.
A sneak preview of what to expect surprised guests at a recent Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce networking breakfast at The Playhouse, where the show will run this Christmas. Along with the coffee and bacon rolls, Broadway musical theatre legend Roger Bart, who will play Doc, and Australian musical theatre favourite Axel Duffy (Marty McFly) performed a couple of numbers from the show live.
Sitting within touching distance of Bart as he appeared, in character, to deliver a beautifully moving rendition of For The Dreamers highlighted the vast difference in calibre of Broadway/West End talent and that of touring casts sold on TV names. It’s why so many insist on seeing original Broadway/West End productions before a diluted version heads out on tour.
If you want to share in that sneak preview from The Playhouse, check out my podcast, Theatre Pod, where you will find me in conversation with both Roger and Axel on the stage of the Playhouse, complete with the famous Back To The Future Delorean as a backdrop.
You can watch it on Youtube here.
You’ll also find the first Theatre Pod, with Les Dennis sharing his love of all things theatre and, for Agatha Christie and whodunit fans, the most recent edition of Theatre Pod, which was filmed in St Martin’s Theatre on London’s West End with Denise Silvey, actor, director and general manager of The Mousetrap – don’t miss the wonderful reveal halfway through.
Looking ahead to October’s picks, there are some intriguing titles heading to the Capital.
Let’s focus on the Royal Lyceum where the new season continues with Muriel Spark’s much-loved classic, The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (2-18 October), checks in with Gayle Rankin in the titular role. Rankin follows in the footsteps of the likes of Maggie Smith, Geraldine McEwan (personally, my favourite Brodie) and Siobhan Redmond, who last played the role on the Lyceum stage in the company’s acclaimed 2003 production.
At the Marcia Blaine School for Girls, junior-school teacher Miss Jean Brodie is famously, in her prime. Each year, Brodie selects her ‘set’. The crème de la crème of girls whom she will shape through art and politics, stories of sexual liberation and titillating glimpses of the women they could become. In return, she demands utter loyalty from them all. Witty, seductive and swirling in contradictions, Brodie’s mythical ability to invent her own truths and manipulate her girls ultimately leads her to risk everything.
In this new adaptation form the National Theatre of Scotland by David Harrower, which it is claimed will ‘sharpen the knives of Spark’s extraordinary work’, the promise to audiences is a ‘production that looks head on at our enduring moral fascination with such a beguiling and dangerous character’.
Running time 2 hours 20 minute including interval, tickets here https://lyceum.org.uk/events/the-prime-of-miss-jean-brodie
Next up at the Lyceum is a play described as ‘one of the masterpieces of 21st century theatre’, the original Kneehigh/Emma Rice production of Tristan & Yseult (20-24 October).
Inspired by a 12th century medieval legend, Tristan & Yseult is the tragic tale of the illicit love between a Cornish, Tristan, and a princess, Yseult, back in the days of King Arthur. On a mission to bring Yseult from Ireland to marry his uncle, King Mark of Cornwall, the pair take a love potion and embark upon a forbidden affair from which no good can come…
Written by Carl Grose and Anna Maria Murphy and adapted and directed by Rice, this is a rare opportunity to experience the piece which last played the UK a decade ago. Tristan & Yseult originally took the theatrical world by storm in 2003. Visceral, playful, and heartbreakingly beautifully blending myth, music, movement, and storytelling. This landmark show, returns re-made and remastered.
Running time 2 hours and 10 minutes, tickets here https://lyceum.org.uk/events/tristan-yseult
Finally, at the end of the month, don’t miss 1984 (27 October-7 November), George Orwell’s seminal classic, when it comes to the Grindlay Street theatre. First published as a novel in 1949 (Orwell finished writing it in 1948 and is believed to have transposed the last two digits of that year to get his title), it’s a book that has been on and off school curriculums ever since, something that should guarantee it healthy audiences.
In this new adaptation by Chris Hannan is a co-production between the Lyceum, Glasgow Citz’ and Dundee Rep, here’s what you need to know: Big Brother is watching you. The Thought Police monitor every word you say. Children spy on their parents and the Party has abolished the truth. In this totally controlled world, Winston and Julia begin a love affair which catapults them into rebellion against the Party.
The nightmare of a totalitarian society built on terror and lies is brought to vivid life in a powerful production that dramatises Winston and Julia’s epic battle to retain their humanity against all odds. Of course, the real nightmare is that in 2026, Orwell’s terrifying post-truth world of ‘alternative facts’ is appearing around us and more prescient than ever.
Running time 2 hours 50 minutes, including interval, tickets here https://lyceum.org.uk/events/1984
Across town at The Playhouse this month, there’s something a bit lighter as the Jersey Boys (12-17 October) return to celebrate the 20th Anniversary of the touring production. This smash hit musical, which has now been seen by more than 27 million people, tells the story of pop legends Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons.
From the streets of New Jersey to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, you could say it’s a tale that is just too good to be true. They were just four guys from Jersey until they sang their very first note. They had a sound nobody had ever heard… and the radio just couldn’t get enough of them. But while their harmonies were perfect on stage, off stage it was a very different story…
Expect all their chart-toppers including Sherry, Big Girls Don’t Cry, Walk Like A Man, Can’t Take My Eyes Off You, Beggin’, December 1963 (Oh What a Night), not forgetting, Bye Bye Baby, a hit for the Jersey boys long before the Bay City Rollers gave it a new lease of life.
The 20th Anniversary tour features Luke Baker as Frankie Valli, Carlo Boumouglbay as Tommy Devito, Lewis Kennedy as Nick Massi, Toby Miles as Bob Gaudio and Ellis Kirk as Alternate Frankie Valli.
Running time 2 hours 30 minutes including interval, tickets here https://www.atgtickets.com/shows/jersey-boys/edinburgh-playhouse/
Over at Capital Theatres, the trust that manages The King’s, Festival Theatre and Studio Theatre, three shows have caught my eye for October.
Firstly, check out It Walks Around The House At Night (10 & 11 October), at the Studio Theatre, where the stage is set for terror.
When an out-of-work actor takes a job playing a ghost at an old countryside manor, he expects nothing more than a few cheap scares. But as night after night unfolds, the role begins to blur with reality and something far more sinister starts to emerge…
Part ghost story, part psychological thriller, It Walks Around The House At Night will draw you into a world of creeping dread, unexpected twists and dark humour. This is a haunted house story for a new era, brought to life through inventive staging, immersive sound and bold visual effects. Be afraid… but be quick to book, there are only two performances.
Running time 1 hour 30 minutes no interval, tickets here https://www.capitaltheatres.com/shows/it-walks-around-the-house-at-night/
Next to the newly reopened King’s Theatre and Tony Roper’s The Steamie (5-10 October), a play that is now a cult piece of the Scottish theatre landscape – some audience members have even been known to dress in character when seeing the show. So look out those pinnies and prepare to once again step back inside a 1950s washhouse on Hogmanay, where the water’s hot and the gossip’s even hotter.
Meet Dolly, Magrit, Doreen, and Mrs Culfeathers, as they gather for the final wash of the year. Between scrubbing and steaming clothes, they share gossip, jokes, frustrations and dreams for the future. As midnight approaches, their conversations shift from the hilariously mundane to the deeply poignant, revealing fears of loneliness, change, and the erosion of community. The arrival of Andy, the local handyman, adds further comic chaos to the night as the drinks flow heading towards the bells.
Heart-warming, The Steamie captures the humour, resilience and quiet heroism of working-class women. This production also features the songs of Dave Anderson, everyone’s favourite Bank Manager in another cult Scottish favourite, City Lights.
Running time 2 hours 40 minutes, including interval, tickets here https://www.capitaltheatres.com/shows/the-steamie/
Finally, roll up, roll up, for the circus as Barnum (6-10 October) arrives at the Festival Theatre. Matt Rawle stars as the world’s greatest showman, PT Barnum.
Hand in hand with wife Charity, Barnum’s life and career twists and turns as he schemes and dreams his way to headier heights.
Directed by Jonathan O’Boyle and choreographed by Strictly Come Dancing’s Oti Mabuse, Barnum features an ensemble cast of more than 20 actor-musicians, acrobats and amazing circus acts. Barnum first took the UK by storm in 1981 when it played the London Palladium with Michael Crawford making theatrical history with a death-defying nightly tightrope walk across the stage.
A decade later, in Edinburgh, Peter Duncan’s was the star attempting an even more terrifying death-slide onto the age from the Balcony of the Playhouse each night. And now, Rawle steps into Barnum’s shoes at the Festival theatre, so, step right up, come follow the band, and enjoy the music and lyrics of Cy Coleman and Michael Stewart and a host of classic show tunes including Join the Circus, Colours of My Life, Come Follow the Band and Love Makes Such Fools of Us All.
Running time 2 hours 20 minutes including interval, tickets here https://www.capitaltheatres.com/shows/barnum/
Until November, happy theatre-going, and please do check out https://www.mustseetheatre.com and have a look at or listen to Theatre Pod, Bests Liam
