Review: The Macbeths – Citizens Theatre, Glasgow

First published in The Times, Monday October 9 2017

Three Stars

One can’t help but wonder whether this abridged version of the Scottish Play is the kind of thing Shakespeare would be writing if he were embarking on his career in an era dominated by small-scale studio shows. Frances Poet and Dominic Hill’s adaptation strips the tragedy down to its essentials, creating an intense domestic two-hander that requires its actors (Charlene Boyd and Keith Fleming) to divest themselves of everything but raw emotion.

Review: The Devil’s Larder – Custom House, Leith

First published in The Times, Friday October 23 2015

Three Stars

Grid Iron, the site-specific specialists, first staged their adaptation of Jim Crace’s fragmentary novel exploring our relationship with food in a branch of Debenhams after hours. A decade on and the backdrops for Ben Harrison’s touring remount are no less intriguing, ranging from a newly restored 200-year-old Custom House to a hotel on the windswept northern Scottish coast.

Review – Fever Dream: Southside at Citizens Theatre, Glasgow

First published in The Times, Tuesday April 28 2015

Two stars

It takes a long time to adjust to the bizarre universe of Douglas Maxwell’s new comedy. The action ostensibly takes place in the Govanhill area of Glasgow during a sweltering heat wave but the off-centre atmosphere created in Dominic Hill’s production is more akin to Twin Peaks than River City.