All stories by Mark Fisher on BroadwayStars

Wednesday, September 23, 2015

Waiting for Godot review – Cox and Paterson make electrifyingly idle tramps by Mark Fisher

Royal Lyceum, EdinburghAs Samuel Beckett’s pair of dusty gents, Brian Cox and Bill Paterson bounce off each other with gleeful animation in a full-blooded ensemble productionSomething fasc…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:06AM
Thursday, September 17, 2015

The Waiting is over: Brian Cox and Bill Paterson on finally sharing a stage by Mark Fisher

Their paths have crossed throughout their acting careers, but Brian Cox and Bill Paterson will finally team up for the ultimate double act: Beckett’s Waiting for Godot. They discuss its ev…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:51AM
Monday, September 14, 2015

The Cheviot, the Stag and the Black, Black Oil review – a raucous five-star revival by Mark Fisher

Dundee RepThis update of John McGrath’s epic play is the rousing theatrical equivalent of a Proclaimers gigTold as a Brechtian ceilidh with song, poetry, scenes and sketches, John McGrath�…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:32AM
Thursday, September 3, 2015

All My Sons review – uninspired staging of an ever-relevant play by Mark Fisher

Theatre Royal, GlasgowDirector Michael Emans’s production fails to ignite the passion of Arthur Miller’s postwar classicEvery so often a news story breaks that reminds you of All My Sons…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:38AM
Wednesday, August 12, 2015

Traumas, tumours and bombs: Robert Lepage on his childhood in Quebec by Mark Fisher

From his sister’s brain tumour to his family’s cramped flat, the revered actor and director Robert Lepage has plundered his childhood to tell the story of Quebec’s often violent strugg…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 03:43AM
Sunday, July 26, 2015

Richard II review – political intrigue and rock'n'roll hedonism in a glasshouse by Mark Fisher

Glasgow Botanic GardensJennifer Dick’s streamlined production makes a persuasive case for Shakespeare’s tale of the flighty monarchYou wait 420 years for what might be the first professi…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:34AM
Thursday, July 9, 2015

Can't Forget About You review – ribald romcom with Northern Irish tension by Mark Fisher

Tron, GlasgowA May-to-December romance sets off ripples of disapproval in this raucously funny Belfast-set comedyActor-turned-playwright David Ireland has been carving out a niche as a kind …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:16AM
Wednesday, June 24, 2015

The Driver's Seat review – Muriel Spark meets CSI by Mark Fisher

Royal Lyceum, EdinburghThis National Theatre of Scotland adaptation of Spark’s favourite among her novels treats it as a police procedural and ramps up the sense of alienation Related: Loo…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:37AM
Friday, June 12, 2015

Great Expectations review – image is everything in a Dickensian dream-world by Mark Fisher

Dundee RepBlack-and-white movie aesthetics and well-judged performances make for an excellent adaptationOne reason Great Expectations adapts so readily to the stage is the fact that so many …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 12:55PM
Tuesday, June 2, 2015

Yer Granny review – Gregor Fisher as another lovable Scottish grotesque by Mark Fisher

King’s, GlasgowDouglas Maxwell relocates Robert Cossa’s comedy about a voracious granny to 1970s Scotland with very funny results Continue reading...

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:21AM
Monday, June 1, 2015

Crazy Jane review – a portrait of Toulouse-Lautrec's Moulin Rouge muse by Mark Fisher

Tron, GlasgowNicola McCartney’s play about Jane Avril is staged with a restless combination of back projections, dance routines and multiple languages Continue reading...

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:57AM
Monday, May 25, 2015

The Sun Also Rises (The Select) - Review by Mark Fisher

With a show by Elevator Repair Service, auds are in for the long haul.

SOURCE: Variety at 05:58PM

Is it OK to laugh at Ibsen? by Mark Fisher

We have tended to treat the Norwegian master's plays as solemn dramas, but have we been taking him too seriously?

SOURCE: The Guardian at 05:58PM

The taming of the flu? Finland puts plays on prescription by Mark Fisher

The mayor of Turku, 2011 capital of culture, has handed his medics 5,500 free tickets to dole out. Time for a dose of drama?

SOURCE: The Guardian at 05:58PM

Critical distance is a far-off fantasy by Mark Fisher

Like it or not, reviewers are a living part of what's happening on stage. And when the lines blur, the results can be surprising

SOURCE: The Guardian at 05:58PM
Thursday, May 21, 2015

Into That Darkness review – Gitta Sereny's study of evil is chilling on stage by Mark Fisher

Citizens, GlasgowAdapted from the testimony of a Nazi commandant convicted of the murder of 900,000 people, this superbly acted drama is a meticulous, compelling triumphIn 1970, after being …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:56AM
Tuesday, May 19, 2015

Happy Days review – Karen Dunbar is the silent-scream star of Beckett’s nightmare by Mark Fisher

Tron, GlasgowThe Chewin’ the Fat comedian plays Winnie with skill and poise in Andy Arnold’s production of Samuel Beckett’s claustrophobic play Continue reading...

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:17AM
Monday, May 11, 2015

Rites review – drama tells real-life stories of FGM by Mark Fisher

Tron, GlasgowCora Bissett and Yusra Warsama’s sensitive script tries to map out a way forward through verbatim testimonies of those affected by female genital mutilation Continue reading...

SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:59AM
Thursday, April 30, 2015

The Venetian Twins review – deadly serious preposterousness by Mark Fisher

Royal Lyceum, EdinburghGrant O’Rourke excels as a pair of lovelorn but utterly different identical twins in Tony Cownie’s uproarious version of the Carlo Goldoni farce Continue reading...

SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:01AM
Tuesday, April 28, 2015

Fever Dream: Southside review – a weird and chaotic summer in the city by Mark Fisher

Citizens, GlasgowDouglas Maxwell’s trippy snapshot of lives under strain during a community crisis scores comic hits, though at times the play juggles too many offbeat stories Continue rea…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:58AM
Tuesday, April 14, 2015

Uisge-Beatha Gu Leòr (Whisky Galore) review – breezy and big-hearted by Mark Fisher

Oran Mor, GlasgowNational Theatre of Scotland’s comic production puts the islanders centre-stage, and asks who ever owns stories anyway? Continue reading...

SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:22AM
Monday, April 13, 2015

Titus Andronicus review – tragedy becomes a kitchen nightmare by Mark Fisher

Dundee Rep, DundeeThis modern reimagining of Shakespeare’s gore-fest, set in a warehouse-style restaurant, is dynamically realised – in spite of some shaky verse-speaking Continue readin…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:57AM
Tuesday, April 7, 2015

Last Dream (On Earth) review – a pair of gorgeously evocative sonic journeys by Mark Fisher

Tron, GlasgowKai Fischer’s spellbinding headphone show links Yuri Gagarin’s 1961 space voyage to a refugee’s journey, but it’s a moment of silence that grips the most Continue readin…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:14AM
Wednesday, April 1, 2015

The Straw Chair review – Miss Havisham meets King Lear by Mark Fisher

An Lanntair, StornowaySue Glover’s drama evokes 18th-century Outer Hebridean life – but would be nothing without the remarkable kidnapped and exiled Lady Grange Continue reading...

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:53AM
Tuesday, March 31, 2015

And the Beat Goes On review – Sonny and Cher marathon is a mystery by Mark Fisher

Tron, GlasgowJulie Brown and Johnny McKnight look a treat as a suburban couple obsessed by the pop duo in this uneven comedy Continue reading...

SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:24AM
Monday, March 30, 2015

Hedda Gabler review – Ibsen’s odd couple caught in a twitchy, tense tragedy by Mark Fisher

Royal Lyceum, Edinburgh Amanda Gaughan’s period production does fair justice to this after-party drama for a Macbeth-like couple Continue reading...

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:10AM
Tuesday, March 10, 2015

Blood Wedding review – Lorca’s tragedy turned into a soap opera by Mark Fisher

Dundee RepDavid Ireland’s lively but lightweight adaptation moves Lorca’s classic into a 21st-century world of knife crime and Elvis-themed wedding discos Continue reading...

SOURCE: The Guardian at 01:00PM
Thursday, February 26, 2015

The Effect review – Lucy Prebble’s compelling play asks what makes us us by Mark Fisher

Heart of HawickAre we just the sum of our chemicals? Lovestruck drugs-trial volunteers provide the springboard to discussion in this riveting piece Continue reading...

SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:36AM
Wednesday, February 25, 2015

The Caucasian Chalk Circle review – a bold, brash extravaganza by Mark Fisher

Royal Lyceum, EdinburghThis tremendous bare-walls production blends large-scale ensemble playing, all-hands-on-deck music and fluid staging Continue reading...

SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:35AM
Sunday, February 15, 2015

The Slab Boys review – banter without the bite by Mark Fisher

Citizens, GlasgowJohn Byrne’s teddy boys put the accent on badinage, but this timely revival lacks a cutting edge Continue reading...

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:53AM

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