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reviews
Adam Sweeting |

Published by Australian author Miles Franklin (full name Stella Maria Sarah Miles Franklin) in April 1901, My Brilliant Career was a hit in its day, and has been reincarnated as a movie, a play and as musical theatre. A Netflix version was only a matter of time.

David Kettle |

Barely contained in one of the bunkers tucked alongside the Pleasance’s main Courtyard, a first-time production from three young mates blazes with more energy and dazzles with more insight than many far bigger shows by more established companies at the Fringe.

James Saynor
Here’s something you don’t see every day at the cinema: a filmmaker tells a boring story, then makes the whole point of the film about telling a…
David Kettle
With its five-hour Angels in America, the International Festival has already hosted one production of epic proportions in Edinburgh this year. At…
Jonathan Geddes
Geese may be the most buzz-worthy band in the world these days, but even they cannot get away with teasing a Glasgow crowd too much. After something…

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Demetrios Matheou
Gregg Araki returns. And he’s still obsessed about sex.
David Kettle
Three shows about life and death - mainly death - reveal unexpected insights
David Nice
Stupendous Salome flames to the back of the hall
Gary Naylor
Timely, if overly familiar, tale of men failing to deal with masculinity's excesses
Simon Thompson
Zurich Opera production has some good singing, but its mood is monochrome
David Kettle
An ambitious Scottish-South Korean collaboration at Summerhall blends ceilidh tunes and a tender love story
Simon Thompson
Kurtág and Schubert converse across the centuries, Hollywood’s Golden Age dazzles
David Kettle
Sinister puppetry, improv mayhem and a show in a box in three memorable offerings
Bernard Hughes
Lacklustre Copland and messy, misconceived Gershwin outweigh enjoyable Bernstein
David Kettle
Two striking shows at Summerhall take oblique perspectives on Palestine
Adam Sweeting
Ron runs riot through his back pages
David Kettle
A striking collision between music and sport, and a moving exploration of care and need in two outstanding shows
Rachel Halliburton
Conductor Jonathon Heyward presided with style and élan over an uplifting programme
Simon Thompson
Arch wit and folksy strangeness from opposite ends of Europe
David Kettle
Three lynched men shoot the breeze in Zora Howard's brief but potent play
Kieron Tyler
Exhaustive box set dedicated to the North London band which briefly featured David Bowie
David Nice
Some mezzo nuances lost, though none from vivid tenor or players
David Kettle
A high-velocity storytelling show challenges us to understand a barely comprehensible world
Sebastian Scotney
Glorious soundpainting from Ambrose Akinmusire and arrangements by Miho Hazama
Simon Thompson
Strings with two guest artists, and a tribute to Alfred Brendel
David Kettle
Homophobic hate crime and affectionate celeb capers in two memorable shows
Aleks Sierz
Exaggeration central: cartoon version of Mike Leigh classic arrives in the West End
Boyd Tonkin
Singers, and players, rise above some clunky moments in Strauss's meta-opera
James Saynor
A knowing American horror parody that’s all-self-consuming

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Published by Australian author Miles Franklin (full name Stella Maria Sarah Miles Franklin) in April 1901, My Brilliant Career was a hit in…
Barely contained in one of the bunkers tucked alongside the Pleasance’s main Courtyard, a first-time production from three young mates…
Here’s something you don’t see every day at the cinema: a filmmaker tells a boring story, then makes the whole point of the film about…
With its five-hour Angels in America, the International Festival has already hosted one production of epic proportions in Edinburgh this…
Geese may be the most buzz-worthy band in the world these days, but even they cannot get away with teasing a Glasgow crowd too much. After…
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