Author: Brett Herriot

Since completing training, Brett has enjoyed a varied career across the arts as an actor, writer, performer, producer, company manager, stage manager and arts critic. Brett embraces the arts with a passion in all its forms. Away from the world of theatre, Brett is a vegetarian, loves an occasional glass of wine, chatting with friends and travelling when time permits
Mary Woodward at the Festivals

ScotlandsFest: Wanton Women Running Amok, St Columba’s by the Castle (Venue 367)

Brett Herriot

**** (4 stars)

“Brilliant”

What a splendid way to start a full day at the Fringe!

But before I do, just a word about accessibility for the venue for ScotlandsFest.  If you approach St Columba’s from the Royal Mile, a notice directs you down a steepish flight of steps and then a few more.  There is an accessible entrance, but you have to carry on to the church to access it.  You can also go along Victoria Terrace to what looks like the end, and you can turn right and reach the venue that way – though you will still have to navigate the short flight of steps.

Now, back to the Wanton Women…

Mary Craig does a brilliant job of explaining the hows and whys of the explosion of witch trials in 17th century Scotland, without herself bursting into flames of rage at the treatment accorded to ‘wanton women’ of that time. 

Prior to the 17th century, all European cultures have a tradition of witches; in Scotland it goes back to pre-Christian times.  Witches were [mostly] women who were healers and charmers and claimed to have their power from the fairies.  St Columba brought Christianity to Scotland and didn’t seem to have much of a problem with witches, who might now claim to have their powers from God rather than the fairies, but went on much as before.

The 16th century brought the Reformation to Scotland and a particularly unpleasant form of Calvinistic Protestantism began to take over.  There were no fairies, just God and the devil: witches’ powers couldn’t possible come from God, so they must be from the devil.  People started writing crazy things about this, spreading the equivalent of conspiracy theories far and wide via the recently invented printing press – the equivalent of social media today.  The most influential book was one Malleus Maleficarum [literally ‘the hammer of the witches’], which Mary Craig describes as ‘a Boy’s Own Annual’ tirade against women, their demonic powers and, would you believe, their habit of keeping nests of penises up in trees…?!!

Prior to the 17th century, witches trials were ecclesiastical affairs, which generally involved healers, herbalists and charmers, and resulted mainly in ‘don’t do it again’.

The 17th century saw James VI of Scotland hot-footing it down to England, along with most of his Scottish nobles, leaving a power vacuum in Scotland, into which the Kirk stepped, with its Kirk Sessions acting as a ‘court of morality’ with lists of rules from women’s behaviour.  ‘Break one, and you’ll break them all’, was the prevailing moral view: and thus the accusation of “wanton woman” could be applied to a woman who is a bit mouthy, a bit independent, or simply a bit more brightly-dressed than most.

Mary Craig is always very fair, not excusing the Kirk’s behaviour but, by putting it into context, at least providing an explanation.  In the Calvinistic world of predestination, there was only God and the devil, who was very real and a constant threat.  The Kirk was full of God’s soldiers waging a constant war against Old Clootie.  Wanton women were the devil’s handmaids: they be sought out and destroyed before they proved the vessels through which the devil would enter and emperil the whole of Scottish god-fearing [ie Calivinistic] society.

The University of Edinburgh has a database listing the occupations of the occupations of women brought to trial for witchcraft in the 17th century.  Suddenly there are very few midwives, healers or charmers: the accused are often women with some social standing, some financial security, some intelligence.  It’s hard not to see the Kirk as simply terrified of women – not least because, despite the obvious superiority of men, it’s women who have the power to give birth…. At least 4,000 women [out of a total population of about one million] were arrested and tried during the century.

And Jamie Sext didn’t help with his hit publication Daemonologie, which Mary Craig describes as a better-written rehash of Malleus Maleficarum.  And so the wild theories and untruths circulate, proliferate, and feed the witch-hunt: and thousands of innocent women are strangled and then burnt at the stake, while any real witches keep their heads down and their mouths shut.  James adds further fuel to the fire by accusing ‘the witches of North Berwick’ – up to a hundred of them – of raising the bad weather which prevented him reaching Denmark and bringing his new bride, Anne of Denmark, back to Scotland.  It couldn’t possibly have been a freak storm, could it, it MUST have been witches.

Lady Manderson was accused and brought for trial by her own husband.  Agnes Finnie, a shopkeeper from nearby Potterrow, was the local midwife, bank and doctor in a very poor and deprived area of Edinburgh.  Selkirk Meg was accused of turning herself into a mouse and biting the arm of a neighbour’s child in the night.  Mary Craig brought these and many other women to life for us, telling their stories and making them real human beings, accused, tortured and killed simply for being different.

Some of them might simply be too old, past the age of childbearing, childless, or for some other reason unable to contribute to society any longer: being a grumpy old lady could be enough to warrant an accusation, a trial, an execution.  Did no-one complain at this outrageous behaviour?  Probably they were all too scared that speaking out might produce an accusation of ‘wantonness’ against themselves…

And I’m led to wonder if we today are any better than those terrified members of the Kirk who saw anyone who didn’t want or wasn’t able to fit the mould of ‘how you should be’?  Are women not still being accused – maybe not of witchcraft or wanton behaviour, but of not conforming to the [older, white] male version of how women should be?

After the show I asked Mary how she manages to stay calm and not explode with rage when dealing with such horror stories: she said she writes fantasy fiction in which the baddies get what they deserve.  I guess we could all fantasise about a world in which there is justice and equality for all…  Meanwhile, I’ll be very glad I wasn’t a woman in 17th century Scotland!

ScotlandsFest: Wanton Women Running Amok, St Columba’s by the Castle v367 for more information go to: https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/scotlandsfest-wanton-women-running-amok

Mary Woodward Review

Scottish Opera: Lauder, Portobello Town Hall, Edinburgh, Review

Brett Herriot

**** (4 stars)

“Unmitigated mirth”

Previously seen in 2017 in a performance which was part of the Theatre Royal Glasgow’s 150th anniversary celebrations, this show has been revived to mark the 155th birthday of the legendary Scottish entertainer Sir Harry Lauder – and what better place to see this than in the great man’s birthplace, Portobello, on the anniversary of his birth.  Ticket sales from these performances will go to Erskine Veterans Charity, which Lauder supported in his lifetime, and of which tonight’s performer, Jamie McDougall, is an ambassador.

Born on August 4th, 1870, in humble circumstances, Lauder became the equivalent of a pop idol today, a household name with an international career, who at one time was the highest-paid entertainer in the world and was knighted in 1919 – “the first knight of the music halls”.  He started off as a comedian, but later introduced  gentle romantic songs into his performances and preferred to describe himself as a minstrel.  His only son John died in the Battle of the Somme in 1916, and Lauder spent a vast amount of time and energy entertaining the troops in France and raising over a million pounds for the care of wounded ex-servicemen by his performances around the world.  He died on February 26 1950.

Jamie McDougall, well-known and -loved tenor whose performances with Scottish Opera are always a joy, was giving his penultimate performance of Lauder.  From the moment he stepped onto the stage of Portobello’s town hall, he had us in the palm of his hand, pouring seemingly boundless energy and enthusiasm into a succession of Lauder’s catchy songs, sentimental without being saccharine, twinkling with oh-so-slightly naughty humour, and inviting us to enjoy ourselves as much as he was in performing for us.

Filmed scenes from Harry Lauder’s funeral segued into the man himself coming through the auditorium and on to the stage to meet his rehearsal pianist [the lovely and talented Derek Clark, former Head of Music at Scottish Opera].  His very first song, Stop your tickling, Jock! had the audience applauding enthusiastically – and the applause continued all night. 

While conducting the rehearsal, ‘Lauder’ was also talking to a journalist who’d come to interview him – thus providing the perfect vehicle for him to talk about his early years and the gradual growth of his success.  One of my favourite numbers was the utterly appalling temperance song he apparently sang at a Band of Hope concert when he was only five: the song was dreadful, but his rendition thereof was priceless!

What was also apparent was the man’s professionalism and the ways he ensured he was remembered, in an age which abounded in great singers, including the opera stars Gigli and Caruso… Make an entrance, always by the front door: if it’s in New York, be driven down Broadway preceded by a piper.  Use the extra space on a recording after the song has finished to carry on speaking and become known for doing this.  Cultivate a reputation for being tight with your money. In private he was obviously a very loving and generous son, husband and father, a tender-hearted man whose wife Nancy was the rock on which he leaned.

And then there were the songs…I love a lassie, a wee deoch an Doris, it’s nice to get up in the morning, we parted on the shore, the road to the Isles, and the final Keep right on to the end of the road had most of the audience joining in, with Jamie McDougall’s encouragement because singing is the thing that makes you cheery.

It wasn’t unmitigated mirth –  the tragic news his son’s death was superbly portrayed, and immediately followed by film footage from the trenches.  It was sobering to see apparently normal landscapes and realise that they concealed soldiers and weapons, and that many, or possibly all, of the men on film would not make it back home, or only with serious injuries.  What was impressive was the way Lauder didn’t abandon himself to grief but used his fame to raise money for wounded soldiers,.

And somehow, through the grief, Harry kept the sparkle and joy in his performances, just as Jamie McDougall did so superbly throughout this evening in Portobello.  I’m sad that tomorrow night is Jamie’s last-ever performance of Lauder but so very glad I had the chance to see him remember and enjoy portraying the life of the great man on his 155th birthday.

Scottish Opera: Lauder, Portobello Town Hall, Edinburgh runs until Tuesday 5th August.

Brett Herriot at the Festivals

Legally Blonde, The Edinburgh Academy- Magnusson Theatre (Venue 70) Review:

Brett Herriot

***** 5 Stars

“Bleeds diversity and acceptance from its heart “

Edinburgh based Captivate theatre now enjoy a hard-earned reputation of excellence for producing story and performance driven theatre that sees over 250 creatives working across 9 shows and 4 venues across the 2025 Fringe festival.

Interestingly for the first time in its 16-year history the company tackle a musical which has Choreography at its core. Legally Blonde the musical debuted in 2007 with music and lyrics by Laurence O’Keefe & Nell Benjamin and book by Heather Hach based on the 2001 motion picture tells the story of Elle Woods a law school blonde who sets out to define expectations and along the way discovers herself and just what she can achieve.

Captivate deliver a joyous production that bleeds diversity and acceptance from its heart in a fast paced and excellently directed and choregraphed show from Colum Findlay. The stellar 24 strong ensemble cast live and breath every moment on stage delivering pinpoint dance with fabulous vocals and expertly handled comedy.

Performances across the board are excellent with Elsie Watson taking on the lead role of Elle (she will alternate with Niamh Osborne) her performance imbues everything an Elle should be and more with lush vocals and perfectly judged emotions throughout.  Speff Strachan’s “Paulette” is a comedy tour de force but always truthful. Filling the role of sleazy Callahan is Rory Maclean who delivers well in a character that’s completely driven yet devoid of humanity. Bailey Easton is a standout as “Emmett” he lets the characters heart shine through in an emotionally delivered performance. A special mention must go to Emma Clarkson as “Brooke” initially portrayed as bitch driven by vanity when in reality it’s her female empowerment that ultimately grabs the audience in a wonderfully physical performance.

Director Findlay makes the most of the intimate space aided by a fabulous lighting design from MM Sound and lighting and the show is lifted by Charlotte Nicholson’s excellent wardrobe design, even Nicholson herself pops up on stage for a cameo that lands well. Musically the show is a triumph with musical director Fraser Hume and his 10 strong band revelling in the pop infused score.

This is a Legally Blonde which transcends the Fringe Festival, blending together excellent storytelling, sublime performances and a heart felt mantra that we can be who ever we choose to be, and we all deserved to be loved for who and what we are.

You won’t go wrong in rounding out a festival day with this endearing and spectacular production! Truly unmissable Fringe theatre at its best!

Legally Blonde, The Edinburgh Academy- Magnusson Theatre (Venue 70) For more info go to: https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/legally-blonde

Mary Woodward at the Festivals

She’s Behind You!, Traverse 1 at The Traverse Theatre, Venue 15

Brett Herriot

***** (5 stars)

“An absolute cracker”

Yet again I’ve managed to pick an absolute cracker of a show with which to start my August In Edinburgh!

In the beginning, there was the Christmas panto dame…but a dame is for more than just Christmas…

In true panto fashion, our heroine’s entrance was heralded with loud cries of She’s behind you! A vision in blue gingham and sparkly red shoes made her way down the steeply raked steps of Trav 1 to take her rightful place, centre stage.  Her opening number, into which she managed to get digs at just about every other well-kent Fringe venue as well as the International Festival itself, was greeted with a storm of applause. 

Johnny McKnight has been a pantomime dame for a goodly number of years, and works the audience superbly.  Whether you have extensive acquaintance with pantomime and its peculiarities, or not the faintest idea what this outlandish creature on stage is talking about, in an instant you are drawn into Dorothy Blownagale’s magic spell, a helpless, hapless prisoner.  Whether you will or no, you WILL enjoy yourself!

She’s behind you was originally conceived as part of the Cameron Lectures, in association with the University of Glasgow and the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland.  Johnny McKnight has turned it into a wonderfully, wickedly witty exploration of the history and nature of the Pantomime Dame.  When Johnny first played panto, he was cast as the ‘silly billy’ – the naïve, gormless youth who is simply there to be laughed at, who will never, ever, get the girl – virtual type-casting, except that he was beginning to realise that he would much rather get the boy…

For all its seeming anarchy, panto has innumerable, immutable rules inherited from the commedia dell’arte, all the more challenging because never explained.  ‘Goodies’ and ‘Baddies’ can only ever enter and exit from ‘their’ side of the stage – and up to now, male and female characters alike were almost always played by men.  The heroine could be female, but was generally a pawn with little agency of her own: the whole atmosphere was unquestionably heterosexual, even though the ‘hero’ was played by a girl, with much slapping of fish-netted thighs.  Ageism, sexism, misogyny and cruel mockery were rife…

At least, that’s how it was when Johnny first trod the boards as ‘silly billy’.  In due course, he graduated to playing the Dame, and in his first season felt so uncomfortable, so ghastly, so old that he swore he’d never do it again.  Thankfully for all of us, he broke his oath.  I’m not going to outline his trajectory, or reveal his Basic Rules of Panto – they are for him to tell. 

What I will say is that the story of how Dorothy and Johnny grew and developed, of the challenges they faced, and the triumphant emergence of someone completely at ease with who they are both on and off stage, is an outstanding example to us all, and an encouragement to anyone who is trying to find out who they are, and how to be truly themselves.

There’s music, singing, dancing, glitter, sparkle, audience engagement and embarrassment, drama, tension, suspense, tears, fears and cheers in full measure, and we absolutely adored it.  A standing ovation was richly deserved.

This is a wonderful show which every homophobic, self-righteous Guardian of Public Morals should be forced to watch.  Hurry up and get your tickets before they all disappear!

She’s Behind You!, Traverse 1 at The Traverse Theatre, Venue 15 for more information go to: She’s Behind You | Edinburgh Festival Fringe

Brett Herriot at the Festivals

I Was a Teenage She-Devil, Upper Theatre at The Space @Niddry Street (Venue 9) Review:

Brett Herriot

*** 3 Stars

“Packed with energy “

An ode of love to the 80’s horror comedy movies, infused with a rock score and blending the essence of Rocky Horror with Little Shop of Horrors with a dash of Heathers and a huge dose of americana and you get “I was Teenage She-Devil” playing in a late night slot at the Space on Niddry Steet.

With book, music and lyrics by Sean Matthew Whiteford and directed by Rachel Klein and deploying an eight strong cast drawn from across the United States and right here at home in the UK the show is fun if gory romp through one person’s obsession with the 80’s culture and more specifically horror movies. Horror movies that paved the way for the “Scream” and “I know what you did last summer” franchises.

While the show is packed with energy and catchy tunes it does need some refining in the writing to avoid the plot starting to go round in circles. The performance we saw was beset with sound issues especially in the balance between head mics and the backing tracks. Given the intimacy of the space being used perhaps multiply mics need not be used, then again this is a very much a rock musical! Im sure as the show beds into its run it will come good.

If you’re looking for a fun, late musical romp that delivers everything it sets out then I was teenage she-devil is a must add to any fringe goer’s diary. There may well also be life ahead outside of the fringe for a show that’s got plenty of spark in it too! One worth catching for sure!

I Was a Teenage She-Devil, Upper Theatre at The Space @Niddry Street (Venue 9) For more info go to: I Was a Teenage She-Devil | Edinburgh Festival Fringe