Edinburgh Festival Fringe: theatre highlights
Ulster American “If Jacobean revenge tragedies were played as uproarious comedy, they’d look like this,” says Mark Fisher in The Guardian. In David Ireland’s brutal satire – which riffs on themes of ambition, sexism, #Metoo and Northern Irish identity – things get horribly out of hand when two men and a woman meet to discuss staging a West End play. Darrell D’silva as an American film star gives a brilliant performance in Gareth Nicholls’ “immaculately paced” production. Traverse Theatre, until 26 August.
The Song of Lunch
Christopher Reid’s verse play (last seen in 2010 in a TV adaptation with Alan Rickman and Emma Thompson) is an ode to the lost art of lunching, and to the yearnings and disappointments of middle age, says Ann Treneman in The Times. Robert Bathurst (of Cold Feet fame) and Rebecca Johnson are superb as former lovers meeting up, and Jason Morell “directs what is a joy from start to finish. It’s a gem.” Pleasance Courtyard, until 27 August.
Toast Foodies and non-foodies alike will find much to savour in this “piquant” adaptation of Nigel Slater’s coming-of-age memoir, says Dominic Cavendish in The Daily Telegraph. Jonnie Riordan’s production captures “the child’s perspective – the way confusion and misery sit alongside unexpected moments of hilarity”. Traverse Theatre, until 26 August.
User Not Found This “heartbreaking” show by Chris Goode for the theatre company Dante or Die is a “beautiful dance of love, death and grief” in the age of social media, says Lyn Gardner in The Independent. With just a single actor (the “phenomenal” Terry O’donovan) and innovative use of technology (each audience member is given headphones and smartphones), the piece depicts one man’s struggle with his late lover’s online legacy. Traverse at Jeelie Piece café, until 26 August.
Underground Railroad Game American race relations are laid “starkly bare” in Jennifer Kidwell and Scott R. Sheppard’s new play, says Maxie Szalwinska in The Sunday Times. Things start in “feisty comic mode”, with the writers as two colleagues teaching a school lesson of dubious taste on the American Civil War. By the end, they’re “sweaty with shock”. “You’ll struggle to find another contemporary play that comes as close to the shuddering shame of unconscious racism.” Traverse Theatre, until 26 August. For tickets, see www.edfringe.com or call 0131-226 0000