Reviews

Scottish playwright David Harrower’s traumatic tale Blackbird premiered at the Edinburgh International Festival in 2005, before moving onto London’s West End in 2006. A story of forbidden love and obsession; it poses more questions than it answers, which makes it all the more compelling.

Worried about memory lapses – triggered significantly when she could not remember the word ‘Alzheimer’s’ – Zoë Coombs Marr decided to track her entire life.  That is, from ‘Before Me’ all the way though to ‘After Me’.  She kicked off with a Miro board (knowing acknowledgement and chuckles from the audience) and used the Rudolph Steiner system of seven-year periods for the stages of her life.  Colour coded.  This chart is projected on a big video screen.  (Unfortunately, anyone more than ten rows back can&rsq

Greg Larsen dressed in a suit and tie; he could easily be mistaken for a sleazy and or cheesy salesman. He begins his show with talk about the ancients and the oracles, he continues his fantasies of other centuries while claiming his era has no place for him.  Then he takes us on a journey back to his youth, a period in his life that led to his wisdom that paved his hard-earned way into comedy.

Geraldine Quinn is a name associated with very vibrant cabaret which is enhanced by her song writing and her incredibly powerful vocals. However, this show is particularly special. Quinn shares some of her darkest moments of grief as she tells the story of losing her brother to brain cancer. This seems unlikely material for comedy, but she pays beautiful tribute to his life and his remarkable character via an array of hysterical childhood memories.