Amy Hanson - Page 6

Nearly 30 years old, Assassins manages to remain fiercely relevant in 2017.  Stephen Sondheim's interpretation of disillusionment with the American dream is explored through those who have tried to kill Presidents of the United States.  As we see how historical figures chose deadly violence to react against real or perceived injustices, it is hard to escape comparisons between the recent unrest in the USA and the show's sentiment that "every now and then the country goes a little wrong".

Musical comedy duo of brothers Ed (the thoughtful, if slightly filthy-minded, guitarist) and Tommy (the shirtless rocker brandishing a balloon cutlass) make up Jollyboat, a vaguely pirate themed double-act who are a definite Fringe cult hit.  They have two shows this year, a "Best of" show celebrating several successful sell-out years on the Fringe, and #Jollyboat: Why Do Nerds Suddenly Appear?, featuring new material alongside a few favourites that delighted the audience of evident fans packing out Subway.

Stemming from a childhood wish to emulate Hulk Hogan, comedian Darius Davies takes us on a journey into pursuing his dream of becoming a professional wrestler, and how it all went wrong.

A monologue on the themes of technology and identity, Pixel Dust features teenager Daniella, always online in some fashion, vlogging her hopes and dreams into cyberspace.  An outcast at her new school, she escapes into the internet, taking on different identities even as she seeks to discover her own.  She feels liberated and empowered online, but the dark side of the internet is always there, saving her humiliation in the cloud, sowing doubt about her friendships and amplifying her need for validation.

All We Ever Wanted Was Everything is a rocking rollercoaster ride through the last thirty years in Britain, from the Thatcherite late 80s, through Cool Britannia, to Brexit Britain.  Focusing on two working-class kids from Hull, Leah and Chris, it portrays their unfulfilled dreams and increasing neuroses, even as an asteroid screams towards the planet.  It's not quite a play, not quite a musical and not quite a rock concert, taking elements from each to create what production company Middle Child describe as 'gig theatre'.

Things really are rotten right now, aren't they?   We've got resurgent racism, the Welfare State's continual erosion, a terrible economy and climate change.   But will any of this get better in the next few years?  Luckily, Ross McCaffrey has travelled to the future, and as part of this show he explains to friend Jake Walton and the audience what we can expect to change between now and then.

In the 1980s, the era of Thatcher, managed decline and "the enemy within", a crack formed between the northern and southern parts of England, splitting them apart physically as well as socially.  This is the backdrop to The North! The North!, written and performed by Christopher Harrisson, a twisted dark fantasy of a young man's homecoming to the far side of that crack to avenge his mother's death.

Foreign Radical is a piece of interactive theatre focusing on surveillance and suspicion in an age of prominent terrorist threat.  At its heart, it is about our complicity in a system that condemns people without evidence, presented in the style of a twisted gameshow. 

Adapted by Pelle Koppel from the controversial young adult novel by Janne Teller, Nothing tells the story of a class of young people searching for the meaning of life.  On the first day of school, classmate Pierre-Anthon announces that life has no meaning and nothing at all matters.  To persuade him otherwise, his peers give up personal treasures to a heap of meaning in an abandoned sawmill.  As each child nominates what the next must sacrifice to disprove Pierre-Anthon's nihilistic taunts, the play takes a disturbing turn.

Two for one is more commonly applied to tickets at the Fringe rather than the plays themselves. Evidently keen to push against such boundaries, Doughnut Productions have taken a play by Andrew Bovell and separated it into two productions.  Running in tandem with a linked piece Speaking in Tongues: The Lies at the same venue, this part of the play depicts a series of relationships around the central event of the disappearance of psychiatrist Valerie Summers. 

The Odyssey is one of the most iconic stories of all time, telling the tale of Odysseus' long and epic journey home from the Trojan War.  This engaging take on it from Dutch company Patchwork Theatre offers the chance to see the Greek tale in several new ways.

Few years in recent memory have included such a host of dramatic events, so it is perhaps no surprise that the turbulent time that was 2016 has been chosen as the subject of this new musical from Evolution Theatre.

Starring Richard Oliver, Robert Picardo and Sylvester McCoy, A Joke depicts three men meeting in a void and attempting to figure out who they are and what has brought them together.  They swiftly realise that they are apparently the set up for an archetypal joke, and attempt to understand the nature of their existence.  The result is something akin to Waiting for Godot crossed with Six Characters in Search of An Author.

American theatre company Squeaky Wheelz Productions have brought a new play to Edinburgh set after a nuclear apocalypse has wiped out the United States.  The topic is certainly relevant considering current political rhetoric, though the play does not dwell on events leading up to the cataclysm, focusing instead on a small group of survivors.  Three cautious young people sharing carefully rationed food in an underground shelter are joined first by a young couple with a baby on the way, then by a pair of siblings.  Characters' stories develop and conflict occurs within this 45 minute drama by Freddie Fulton and Matthew Consalvo.

Joe's NYC Bar is a show that really understands the Celtic concept of "craic" - the great pleasure of good company and good conversation.  Bringing a touch of Brooklyn to Edinburgh this August, the production is an immersive and often improvisational experience set in the eponymous New York watering hole and featuring its staff and patrons, as well as audience members who are very much encouraged to get involved.

Edges is the first musical from Pasek and Paul, now better known for La La Land and Dear Evan Hansen.  More of a song cycle, it is a collection of numbers on the theme of coming of age, from growing apart from siblings via dating and breakups to parenthood.

How would you get through your day without being able to sing a full song, read a poem aloud or even debate at length which Fringe show to see? That's the premise behind Sam Steiner's award-winning play Lemons Lemons Lemons Lemons Lemons , which returns to the Fringe this year in the lovely Roundabout venue at Summerhall. Focusing on the importance of communication and language, it depicts snapshots in the relationship of musician Oliver (Euan Kitson) and lawyer Bernadette (Beth Holmes) before and after the implementation of a 'Hush Law'. Under this law, individuals are limited to using only 140 words in a day.

Long before the Delorean or the TARDIS ever graced our screens, the story of The Time Machine fascinated the public with the idea of travelling in the fourth dimension. This new musical based on the H.G. Wells masterpiece is not a straight adaptation of the novel, adding in a neat framing device. Set at Radio Woking in the 1950s, this production features Carrie (Lindsay Sharman), a station producer in the finest cut-glass BBC English mould, and George (Laurence Owen), the writer and performer of a radio musical version of the sci-fi classic.

We have several months to wait to see Peter Capaldi regenerate into Jodie Whittaker, but for those needing a Fringe fix of their favourite Gallifreyan, Any Suggestions, Doctor? An Improvised Adventure in Space and Time is offering up a brand new unofficial episode almost every day of the festival.

The ability of plays from over two millennia ago to seem relevant to the contemporary world. speaking across the centuries of never-ending truisms of the human experience, never ceases to amaze.  Indeed, The Suppliant Women is the second oldest surviving play in existence and this new production clearly demonstrates its ongoing relevance with some shockingly contemporary analogues.  This is the opening play of David Greig's first season as artistic director at the Lyceum, and is adapted by Greig himself from the original by Aeschylus.