Edinburgh review: Purposeless Movements – The Studio

First published in The Times, Tuesday August 20 2019

Four Stars

One of the highlights of last year’s Edinburgh Fringe was the musical My Left/Right Foot from the Birds of Paradise theatre company. Focused on a hapless am-dram troupe’s endeavours to win an award by embracing diversity, the show poked merciless fun at the long line of able-bodied actors being lauded as “brave” and rewarded with Oscars for playing disabled roles.

Review: My Left / Right Foot – The Musical – Assembly Roxy, Edinburgh

First published in The Times, Wednesday August 22 2018

Four Stars

It is 30 years since Daniel Day-Lewis won the first of his three Academy awards for Best Actor for his role as Christy Brown in the biopic My Left Foot. While the actor’s remarkable performance as the Irish writer and artist, born with cerebral palsy, was lauded for its bravery and commitment, with hindsight it seems a prime example of “Oscar bait”, whereby actors take on extreme physical transformations with one eye fixed firmly on the awards season.

Review: Crazy Jane – Tron Theatre, Glasgow

First published in The Times, Monday June 1 2015

Three Stars

The name Jane Avril may not be instantly recognisable but the French can-can dancer’s image and appearance have long acquired iconic status. A star of the infamous Moulin Rouge nightclub in the late 19^th century, she was known for her idiosyncratic style of dance, regularly attracting the unsentimental gaze of the painter Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec.