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These violent delights – Juliet’s dance on the edge of eternity, Scottish Ballet, IMAX Glasgow, Review.

Brett Herriot

***** (5 stars)

“Breathtaking! Brilliant! Ballet at its best”

Exactly what I’ve come to expect from Scottish Ballet.

These violent delights have violent ends, and in their triumph die, like fire and powder, which as they kiss consume says the Friar in Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet.  Intense passion can destroy the people who feel it – and none more so than Juliet and Romeo, those star-crossed lovers.  Their families – the Montagues and the Capulets – have long been enemies, but when the two young people meet, they fall instantly in love.  It does not end well…

This Scottish Ballet film is the latest in a long line of productions – just go to the SB website and search Scottish Ballet films – you’ll be amazed at what’s there!  I was aware of quite a few, but I can see hours of happy viewing ahead of me: do I start with How Much Squid Is Too Much Squid?  Or Breathless, Shadowash, Haud Close Tae Me, Maze, Starstruck?  Or dive into The Making of Mary, Queen of Scots, look at The Snow Queen – From the Wings or get to know The women of the Crucible???

These violent delights is by far Scottish Ballet’s most ambitious cinema piece yet – and to see it in Glasgow’s IMAX theatre is fully to experience its raw power, pulsating energy, and turbulent emotions.  It probably helps to have a knowledge of the basic Shakespeare plot, but even without that it’s a gripping piece that swirls from reality to desire to dreamworld and back again in the blink of an eye. 

Juliet’s family are obviously Old Money: a grand house, very formal behaviour, and seeing children as property, as assets, expected to be obedient, to conform to correct behaviour, rather than as individuals with feelings and needs of their own.  They are informed that they are to be betrothed to a young man who equally sees them as a means to an advantageous business alliance.  Romeo comes from an equally formal background, but he dreams of freedom, ignoring his friends’ attempts to engage him in horseplay.  They both escape from their constricting surroundings and venture into the wild and unrestricted atmosphere of the Apothecary night club.  Amid the frenzied partying their eyes meet…

John Lemke’s score is a brilliant backdrop to the action, underscoring the every-changing, kaleidoscopic swirl of emotions.  The costumes, scenery, lighting and at times startling camera work all contribute their layers to our understanding of the story, told so superbly through choreography from Julia Cheng, Morgann Runacre-Temple, Myles Thatcher, Sophie Laplane, Nicholas Shoesmith and Andrea Azzari.  Above and through it all the dancers mesmerise and enthrall us, drawing us into their world, engaging our sympathies, shocking and startling us, making us participants rather than just observers of the unfolding tragedy.

It’s always a joy to watch this company and see how their dancers grow in stature and own the stage.  I’ve already raved about Rishan Benjamin in Entress: now I rave even more at her stunningly versatile performance at the Apothecary club alongside Hermit Harvey Littlefield [who was such a jaw-droppingly powerful Young Elizabeth in Mary Queen of Scots].  Kayla-Maree Tarantolo, the Protagonist in Entress, was a tiny and fragile Juliet trying to make her own life in opposition to just about everyone around her, while former Scottish Ballet artist Ishan Mahabir-Stokes is perfect as the romantic hero for whom just about anyone would fall, given half a chance.  The rest of the cast are equally stunning and it is, as ever, a joy to see familiar faces given their chance to shine and a pleasure to spot unfamiliar faces and look forward to getting to know them better too.

I was sad not to be able to stay behind for the Q&A session following the showing of the film – it would have been great to hear from Kayla-Maree and other company members about their experience of dancing for the camera rather than in a continuous stage production, about their reactions to the extraordinary demands the choreography makes on them, and how they feel about seeing themselves larger-than-life-size on the IMAX screen!

Don’t miss it!

These violent delights – Juliet’s dance on the edge of eternity, Scottish Ballet, IMAX Glasgow, The film goes on general release in UK and Irish Cinemas from October 21st 2026

Brett Herriot Review

Annie, Edinburgh Playhouse, Review:

Brett Herriot

**** (4 Stars)

“Ture Quality and Class!”

Annie the musical can trace its roots back over a century to the original comic strip “Little orphan Annie” published in 1924. 50 years later the story was finally adapted into a musical with music by Charles Strouse, Lyrics by Martin Charnin and book by Thomas Meehan. Opening in 1977 at the Alvin Theatre (now the Neil Simon Theatre) on Broadway the show featuring the smash hits “Tomorrow” and “Hard Knock Life” has become beloved by generations of children and theatre goers.

Telling the rags to riches story of Annie Bennet the little orphan who seeks her parents but ultimately discovers her truth and a life with Millionaire Daddy Warbucks all the while out foxing the nasty Miss Hannigan and her brother Rooster and his lover Lily St Regis has enjoyed numerous productions over the years including London’s west end and various UK and US Tours as well motion picture adaptations.

In 2015 critically acclaimed producers Michael Harrison and David Ian for Crossroads secured the rights to the show and developed a brand-new production directed by the award winning director of the Leicester Curve, Nikolai Foster, the show would prove to be a smash it, opening at Newcastle’s Theatre Royal in 2015 its enjoyed two UK tours plus a lengthy run in London’s west end at the Piccadilly Theatre.

Following a covid enforced break the show was remounted for a tour in 2023 and visited Edinburgh with the late great Paul O’Grady giving his final stage performances at Miss Hannigan, now the production is back for a New UK tour with La Voix and the incredible Claire Sweeney sharing the role of Hannigan and Edinburgh gets Claire Sweeney who delivers an impeccable and physically ripe performance.

Performances across the board are excellent with Sweeney leading the company in style bringing out the right amount vitriol as Hannigan, Christian Copper as Rooster gives the character a slimy smarminess but could be a little more rich in his villainy. Tanisha-Mae Brown as Grace Farrell is a joy bringing honey-soaked vocals and an inner strength that makes the Character shine.  Bringing a true does of west end leading man is the Great Alex Bourne as Daddy Warbucks he delivers in spades giving Warbucks real heart and a stunning voice in equal measure.

Turning to the children the production deploys three teams of 6 orphans plus four young actors in the role of Annie, on press night June Young took the honours of playing “Annie” and what a triumph she is! You can’t help but fall in love with her and a big career awaits this talented youngster.

Production wise this is a west end worthy show with Colin Richmond’s Set and Costume design being of sumptuous quality and clearly borrows the flavours of “Matilda” to great effect. Ben Cracknell’s Lighting design is everything and more that you would expect from this gifted designer. Richard Brookers sound design is pure quality ensuring a perfect blend between on stage performers and musical director Nick Tudor’s stealthy eight strong pit band.

Nikolai Foster’s direction ensures a swift pacing but act one does lack a little oomph but this is made up for in a blistering act 2 that hurtles through the story to a satisfying conclusion. Which is followed by a hearty sing along of “Tomorrow” as cast and audience join in a glorious celebration.

 Annie remains an eternal favourite and this production brings true quality and class to the stage as it proves that for all of us if we believe hard enough the sun really will come out tomorrow! So, head to the Playhouse and grab a ticket for a little hard knock life yourself!

Annie, Edinburgh Playhouse, Runs until Sunday 20th September 2026. For more information and tickets go to: Annie Tickets | Edinburgh Playhouse in Edinburgh | ATG Tickets

The production will visit Aberdeen, His Majesty’s Theatre Tuesday 3rd to Sunday 8th November 2026 and The King’s Theatre Glasgow, Tuesday 2nd to Sunday 7th March 2027. UK Tour continues.

Mary Woodward Review

Bird and Beast Scottish International Storytelling Festival 2026, Launch Event, Scottish Storytelling Centre, Edinburgh. Review

Brett Herriot

***** (5 stars)

“Immensely varied”

I didn’t need to be bribed with coffee and pastries to attend the launch of this year’s festival – but I have to say they were both delicious – as is the feast contained in the festival programme!

A goodly crowd assembled in the main storytelling court of the Scottish Storytelling Centre, enjoying the refreshments and chatting very loudly, obviously excited both to reconnect with friends and colleagues and looking forward to finding out what’s on offer this year.  We were serenaded on the clarsach by Niall, whose talent and versatility deserved to be heard in silence…

And then we went down into the Netherbow Theatre, where Steve Byrne, chief executive of TRACS [Traditional Arts and Culture Scotland] welcomed us all.  It’s the 20th anniversary of the opening of the Storytelling Centre [and of the creation of the National Theatre of Scotland, did we know?].  The Scottish Storytelling Forum was founded in 1992 – who could have foreseen than that this year’s SISF would have over 200 events, not simply in Edinburgh but all over Scotland?

Daniel Abercrombie has taken over from the wonderful Donald Smith [with whom I had the pleasure of working rather more years ago than I care to admit] as director of this, the 37th International Storytelling Festival.  What is storytelling? he is often asked – it’s so many things, isn’t it?  Connection between human beings – eye to eye, mind to mind, heart to heart; being present to each other; really listening; welcoming and sharing; feeling the JOY – all the things you can experience in a good Scottish ceilidh.  This year’s Festival stretches across the whole of Scotland – the whole country could be seen as a ceilidh.

Storytelling can be entertaining, subversive, inspire societal change, transmit knowledge and wisdom from generation to generation.  This year’s theme Bird and Beast brings us together and invites us to respect and celebrate our planet and the natural world we live in and are inextricably bound to.  The heron that graces the front cover of the festival programme is a symbol of patience and stillness – the moments in which we can feel the magic and make connections.  It is also seen as a bridge between the elements of water, earth and air – and the Otherworld…

The programme is immensely varied, and I’m very sorry to be out of the country for the first six days – otherwise I think I’d be at one or more shows just about every day!  As it is, there are so many things I want to see…

It’s the Chinese year of the Horse – so there are horse tales and kelpie tales; the Bird of Truth has stories from Lithuania [and book smuggling!]; Italian tales have stories of horses, myths of birds and legends of snakes.  The Antler and the Wing; Oh those inspiring Cows!; Stanley’s Beasts an Birds; Sheep Stanes and so much more…  I’m really sorry to miss Warrior/Poet which weaves together the Celtic myth of Mad Sweeney and the Pollok Free State [who knew??? Not me!]  Two Scottish epic storytelling cycles surround Columba and his journeyings and the magic and mayhem, mystery and full-blooded emotion surrounding Fionn, Gráinne, Diarmuid, Ossian, Niamh and others, which I’m really interested to hear.  Of stars, bears and the beginning of time is also on my hit list!

There are guest storytellers, international guests, exhibitions, workshops… there are Emerging Storytellers, family events, the Big Scottish Story Ripple and the Go Local programme…and for me a fascinating experience of Deaf storytelling.  The whole presentation was signed in BSL – something we take for granted in so many situations these days – as we watch the glorious combination of facial expression, gesture, and body language BSL uses.  What I’ve never experienced before is Deaf storytelling.  Tania Allan explained to us the importance of storytelling for Deaf people: answering a question is never straightforward because the whole story surrounding the question is also a part of the answer.  She then told us a story from Italy, where she grew up, about sheep, a goat, a sheepdog and a shepherd, with a voiced interpretation for those of us who don’t have BSL.

It was a wonderful demonstration of the inclusivity of this Festival.  I could go on – and on – but won’t.  I’ll finish by saying there’s going to be something in the programme to suit you, to suit you and yours, and to get you up and out and joining in this explosion of creativity, inspiration and sharing.  Get your tickets now!!!

Bird and Beast Scottish International Storytelling Festival 2026, Launch Event, Scottish Storytelling Centre, Edinburgh. The festival will run from the 21st to 31st October at venues across the city for more information go to: Home – Scottish International Storytelling Festival

Mary Woodward Review

Emergence, Theatre Royal, Glasgow, Review

Brett Herriot

***** (5 stars)

“Utterly brilliant!”

My daughter was very pleased for me when she heard I was going to see Scottish Ballet perform Crystal Pite’s Emergence, which I missed when it had its UK premiere at the Edinburgh International Festival in 2016.  I had no idea what to expect, but she raved about the piece…

Now I understand why she was so impressed!  But first I must tell you about the world premiere that preceded it last night – Julia Cheng’s Entress.  I was familiar with the word egress thanks to Terry Pratchett’s insistence that it’s not a female eagle but another word for an exit.  It seems that an entress isn’t a female tree-person from Tolkein’s world, but an old Scottish word for an entrance!

I find myself unusually lost for words when trying to describe both works – I can say that they are both danced to fascinating scores, that they both use a monochrome palette, and that they have classically trained dancers moving in such extraordinary ways that at times I wondered whether they’d had some of their joints removed and replaced with multi-directional ball and socket joints in order to move in the ways I was seeing on stage.

But these words fail to give any idea of the extraordinary visual spectacle in front of me.  Two different pieces, both exploring individual dancers’ ability to move in any number of ordinary and extraordinary ways and the actions, reactions and interactions of individuals, small groups, and the entire company.  Movement grew, changed, developed, flowed across the stage in an endlessly inventive stream.  At times I wished it were possible to freeze the action, to pause and take in what I’d already seen – but we were carried on and on until the final moments brought a storm of applause.

One of the great joys of the Scottish Ballet company is their strength and depth of talent throughout all the levels – and this was clearly demonstrated in Entress when First Artist Rishan Benjamin danced the part of Nüwa.  Part goddess, part snake, Nüwa spun and swirled in a flowing robe as she wove her magic under the undulating white cloud/canopy that stretched above the stage and had a life of its own as a third partaker in the action.  I’ve always enjoyed watching Rishan, and was delighted to see her shining in the spotlight, an equal partner with Soloist Kayla-Marie Trantolo, the Protagonist who seemed to be seeking to escape from the community which much of the time surrounded her.  The entire company demonstrated their versatility, their athleticism, their incredible dance skills and their ability to convey the surging emotions gripping them.  Isobel Waller-Bridge’s score, sensitively played by members of the Scottish Ballet orchestra under Yi Wei, was full of poignant moments and passionate outbursts. 

How I wish I could see it all again, NOW!  There was so much to take in, so much to think about, so much to enjoy and appreciate – one performance simply isn’t enough.  Please, Christopher can we see it again very soon??!

And then there was Emergence – short, sharp, snappy and utterly brilliant!  To sum it up as ‘an exploration of hive mind’ is totally to oversimplify a superbly choreographed piece which again I could watch over and over and over…  The whole company were outstanding – solos, duets, and groups flowed into each other: everyone contributing to the whole, no ‘star’ and ‘also ran’ here, but a truly ensemble creation, totally extraordinary precision, total togetherness in the act of creation, and a total joy to behold.

Composer Owen Belton’s score was also new to me – it seemed mainly to use percussion instruments, but I was so engrossed in the dancing I can’t be sure: suffice it to say that music and movement fused to create something very special.  Small wonder that the EIF performances were raved about and that last night’s Glasgow audience went wild with their applause at the end of the piece.

Yet another total triumph for Scottish Ballet!

Scottish Ballet presents Emergence, Theatre Royal, Glasgow, Run Ended but production will tour to His Majesty’s Theatre Aberdeen 25th – 26th September 2026 https://www.aberdeenperformingarts.com/whats-on/emergence-talk-ballet/

and the Festival Theatre Edinburgh, 1st to 3rd October 2026 https://www.capitaltheatres.com/shows/emergence/

Arts News!

The King’s to be leading lady of Pinocchio!

Brett Herriot

With the long hot summer now receding into memory and theatres around the country now seeing there autumn and winter programs taking to the stages, it’s that time where many theatre attentions turn to the annual festive extravaganza that is Pantomime.

One venue in particular, Edinburgh’s Grand Old Lady of Leven Street, The King’s will see pantomime return home after a four year long decampment to the larger Festival Theatre while the King’s underwent its multi-million-pound revamp.

With the Festival Theatre seeing productions of Cinderella, Snow White, The Further Pantomime Adventures of Peter Pan and Jack and the Beanstalk how do the legendary Edinburgh Panto Team go home in style? The answer is simple! The King’s herself will become the star of the show! In a Panto that’s never graced its stage in the modern era plus a chance for our beloved favourites to take on new Characters!

Celebrating the reopening of the King’s Theatre, Edinburgh’s Cherished Panto trio return Allan Stewart once again dawns the frocks as May Geppetto, Grant Stott as the evil Stromboli and Jordan Young in the title role of Pinocchio.   

The dazzling festive line-up is completed by Edinburgh panto favourites Clare Gray and Gail Watson and musical theatre star C.J. Borger as Jiminy Cricket, fresh from the hit West End show, Back to the Future, the Musical.   

Returning for her eighth year, Clare Gray plays the mischievous Kitty the Cat, after enchanting audiences with her lovable Pat the Cow in Jack and the Beanstalk last year.   Bonnyrigg, born and bred Gail Watson has just finished a successful Fringe run of Doris, Dolly and the Dressing Room Divas at the Gilded Balloon and will play Phyllis the Fox.  

The hotly anticipated panto tells the tale of Pinocchio’s dreams of becoming a real boy. The story has been specially tailored to celebrate the return to the King’s Theatre, bringing the spirit, history and much-loved traditions of the King’s into this year’s panto.      

The King’s Theatre is woven right into the heart of the adventure. In Toy Toon, May Geppetto and Pinocchio are desperately trying to raise enough money to reopen their beloved King’s, leading them to join the Great Stromboli’s travelling puppet show when he promises them a share of the takings. But when the money is stolen, Pinocchio must set off on an adventure to recover it, save the theatre and prove he has what it takes to become a real boy.  

Produced by Crossroads Pantomimes, the world’s biggest pantomime producer, who also delivers the annual pantomime at the London Palladium, will see this spectacular adventure bursting with toe-tapping song and dance numbers, jaw-dropping special effects, fabulous costumes, laughter, magic and plenty of mayhem.   

Capital Theatres and Crossroads Pantomimes Present, The Adventures of Pinocchio, The Kings Theatre Edinburgh, The Production will run from Saturday 28th November 2026 to Sunday 17th January 2027.  For more information and tickets go to: The Adventures of Pinocchio – Capital Theatres