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Mary Woodward Review

Christmas by Candlelight, Northesk Parish Church, Musselburgh, Review

Brett Herriot

***** (5 stars)

“A brilliant concert!”

As ever, this was a brilliant concert.  The Royal Northern Sinfonia love coming to Musselburgh’s Northesk parish church, and Musselburgh loves to welcome them.  The church was packed, and not just with grey heads, all keen to spend an evening with this talented group of musicians who so obviously enjoy making music together and sharing it with us.

They presented a packed programme of Baroque music – Rameau, Leclair, Torelli, Purcell, Corelli, Locatelli, Telemann and Handel took us to England, France, Germany and Italy.  Director Maria Włoszczowska told us how much the Sinfonia love coming to Scotland: it’s not just the freshness of the air but the importance of folk music in Scottish culture, which makes audiences resonate with the folk tunes in the music they play.

There were plenty of them, beginning with Rameau’s Danse from his Fêtes des Herbes, with a continuous bass drone upon which the upper strings danced delicately before everyone burst into an almost eastern, gypsyish dance with a lively tambourine accompaniment.  Leclair’s violin concerto gave soloist Maria Włoszczowska a showcase for her incredible technique – but all the other players are equally talented.  Texture, phrasing, dynamics, shaping, communication, incredible precision, and above all a joy in playing suffuses everything they play, and makes the whole evening a non-stop succession of delights.

And it wasn’t just strings, either!  The tambourine made several appearances, as did sleigh bells.  Maria Włoszczowska turned out to be a mean one-handed drummer, and harpsichordist Amhad Arara could be seen bopping away in the liveliest pieces, adding his solid support and extravagant flourishes to the music.

A couple of Christmas concerti made appearances, there was a wonderful Rameau Orage [storm], one of Handel’s concerti grossi and some delightful dances from Purcell’s Fairy Queen.  A particular joy was to hear Michael Gerrard as soloist in Telemann’s viola concerto.  Throughout the evening his instrument could be heard as a warm, rich contribution among the brighter dancing violins: now he got to stand centre stage and show off his impressive technique in a gorgeous piece which rightly got the loudest applause of the evening.

I don’t know about anyone else in the audience, as I was sitting at the back of the church, but I was smiling virtually from beginning to end of the evening, for sheer joy at the quality of the music and the delight of watching a group of superb musicians play music they obviously love.  Already I’m looking forward to next year’s visit… haste ye back!

The Brunton, Christmas by Candlelight, Northesk Parish Church, Musselburgh, Run Ended.

Brett Herriot Review

The Little Mermaid, King’s Theatre, Glasgow Review:

Brett Herriot

**** (4 stars)

“A big splash of a panto!”

Critically acclaimed and award winning panto creator and director Michael Harrison brought The Little Mermaid to life last year at Newcastle’s Theatre Royal and now that awesome production makes its Scottish debut at the home of Glasgow panto The Kings with a new book written by Harry Michaels and Alan McHugh with additional material by Kings legends Elaine C Smith and Johnny Mac. Directed by Kathryn Rooney the Glasgow team deliver a big splash of a panto for the festive season.

The Little Mermaid is most closely associated with the 1989 Disney animation but is actually a fairy tale written by Hans Christian Andersen in 1837 and this panto version leans more to the Disney movie telling the story of life under the ocean waves as Ariel, The Little Mermaid ( Jasmine Jules Andrews) longs to be part of the world above and feel the true love of Prince Eric (The gorgeous Benjamin Lockhart) whom she saved from drowning following his falling overboard on a stormy night at sea. Living in the world of the ocean floor is Queen Mary (The iconic Elaine C Smith) John Crabstix (Johnny Mac and the height of his panto powers) and the mayor of Atlantis (Darren Brownlie who delivers a camp panto masterclass). Queen Mary has a sister, but she has turned to the side of evil due to her unending selfishness, Ursla the Sea Witch! (play to panto villainy perfection by Hannah Jarrett- Scott). When Ariel arrives above the waves to capture the heart of the prince Queen Mary and Johnny Crabstix find themselves in a race against time to save Ariel from the evil Ursla but also to ensure true love comes out on top and help Ariel to find the princess with in.

This is a panto that delivers everything it should and more and performances across the board are universally excellent. Its clear the show is geared to Elaine C Smith and Johnny Mac who are now a beloved part of the King’s panto pantheon whose lineage goes back nearly 65 years. Elaine C Smith proves again why she is the most respected female dame and panto headliner in the country and boy does she still have the vocal chops to belt out the songs with gusto. Johnny Mac is sublime in the lead comic role, a role which he has made all his own and its clear he is enjoying himself every moment he is on stage. The duo is never better than when delivering panto sketches including “Chocolate Bars”, the “trunk of truth” and a fabulous retake on the 12 days of Christmas routine which cleverly uses the under-water world to its full advantage. What stands out most is while Smith and Mac may lead the cast, it’s a team effort and every one of the six strong principal cast get there moment to shine. Special mention must go to Darren Brownlie who channels a remarkable Alan Carr impersonation and shows he isn’t scared to send himself up when Elaine C Smith takes “River City” in her sights to hilarious effect.

The principal cast are joined by a flawless and polished eight strong ensemble who shine especially when delivering Jane McMurtrie’s excellent choreography which often embraces a Scottish flavor to great effect.

Production wise it’s a west end affair Andrew Exeter’s bubble infused set design is wonderful and beautifully lit by Matt Davies beguiling Lighting design. The lighting also brings out the best in the fabulous costume design by Teresa Nalton (with specialty costume design by Mike Coltman and additional costume design by Ron Briggs) that brings a myriad of sea creatures to life in glittery fashion. Greg Clarke’s sound design is pitch perfect and brings on the point balance between musical director Neil MacDonald’s stellar six strong pit orchestra and the cast on stage. The cherry on this panto cake is the stunning special effects from The Twins Fx that sees a sea horse take flight in spectacular style.

The Little Mermaid is a panto that delivers everything it says it should, often delivering so much more but the show comes in at 2 hours 10 minutes including a 20 minute interval and because of the incredible pacing the show feels even shorter to the point it feels like an extra sketch could have been added to make it fully satisfying. The tradeoff is, compared to some years, the Glasgow King’s have a panto with a story at its heart and its truly a magical adventure well worth the ticket price and ensures the Glasgow Kings panto remains the jewel in the crown of Scotland’s biggest city. Pure Panto Magic indeed.

The Little Mermaid, King’s Theatre, Glasgow runs until Saturday 4th January 2026 for more information and tickets go to: The Little Mermaid (Pantomime) Tickets | King’s Theatre, Glasgow in Glasgow | ATG Tickets

The King’s Theatre Glasgow and Crossroads Pantomimes have confirmed the 2026/27 pantomime will be a spectacular new production of “Aladdin”.

Arts News!

Rocky Horror Show! Jason Donovan Returns to the Edinburgh Playhouse

Brett Herriot

A guilty pleasure for many a theatre goer, encouraging generations of audiences to embrace their fishnet stockings and high heels, Richard O’Brien’s The Rocky Horror Show is now a beloved theatrical institution. The show has enjoyed many visits to Edinburgh including early in 2025 with a sell out run at the Edinburgh Playhouse. Following massive popular demand, the Edinburgh Playhouse have confirmed that the venue will kick off 2026 with a week long run of the B movie tribute rock show classic and better still musical Icon Jason Donovan will also return as the debauched Frank – N – Furter.

Speaking to Scotsgay arts Jason the still gorgeous blonde pop star told us why he has decided to return to the Playhouse and Rocky Horror “In a nutshell,” he says, “I’m a fan. I love the show; I love the music; I love the character. I was touring my own show about five years ago and included ‘Sweet Transvestite’ from Rocky as a key moment in my musical career. It went down a storm.”

Jason rejoined the Horror Show for its 50th anniversary year firstly in Sydney, then in Melbourne, followed by the West End, a UK tour in 2025 and now via a 2026 UK tour where Jason will be performing in Edinburgh, Liverpool, Eastbourne and Bristol.

The Rocky Horror Show is a musical with music, lyrics and book by Richard O’Brien. A humorous tribute to various B movies associated with the science fiction and horror genres from the 1930s to the early 1960s, the musical tells the story of a newly engaged, clean-cut couple getting caught in a storm and coming to the home of a mad transvestite scientist, Dr Frank-N-Furter, unveiling his new creation, Rocky, a Frankenstein-style monster in the form of an artificially-made, fully-grown, physically perfect muscle man complete with blond hair and a tan.

The original London production premièred at the Royal Court Theatre (Upstairs) on 19 June 1973. It later moved to several other locations in London and closed on 13 September 1980. The show ran for a total of 2,960 performances. On the 50th anniversary of the musical in 2023, it is said the production had been performed in 20 different languages and seen by 30 million people globally.

Jason’s the same performer but how does he feel about tackling the role over 25 years later? “I don’t feel uncomfortable, playing Frank at 57 – and, of course, I have personal reasons for being grateful to the show.”

The stage manager on that late 90s touring production was a young woman called Angela Malloch. “I’d be backstage waiting to go on,” recalls Jason, “and I’d get chatting to Ange.” The blossoming friendship turned into romance, but the relationship hit the buffers.

Shortly afterwards, Angela found out she was pregnant. It was ultimatum time. “If the relationship had any chance of working, she told me, and if I was going to have any involvement in the life of our child, I would have to give up the self-indulgent hedonistic lifestyle of the 90s and take greater control of my life. And I did.

It’s something that happened gradually rather than immediately. “You either seize your opportunities or you don’t”. But, in the end, he says, you’ve got to want to change. “Elton John said it and it’s true: nobody can do it for you.” Fine but, hand on heart, what’s it like climbing into those fishnet stockings and high heels seven times a week? “In many ways, very easy, I put on the costume and there’s Frank all over again. I’m in touch with my feminine side but I come from a masculine sensibility.

The character embraces both sides of me: a strength and a vulnerability as well as danger and denial.” When I put on those high heels, I become that rock ‘n’ roll star. It makes me feel powerful, tall, in charge. “And audiences love it. As I look out from the stage, I see a beautiful landscape of people wearing outrageous costumes. It’s not hard to see why: in many ways, Rocky is panto for adults. The costumes are just as much a part of the show as the characters and the music”.

Touring is demanding, but Jason takes it in stride: he will be playing Frank n Furter in Edinburgh, Eastbourne, Bristol and Liverpool. “On tour, I wake up a little later; there are no domestic chores to tackle – no trimming the ivy or doing the washing. And I’m a seasoned professional when it comes to locating any M&S or Waitrose.

“I do try and get home at weekends, though, and not agree to more than three or four weeks away at a stretch. But if I want to play Frank – and I do – I’ve got to travel. It comes with the territory.

What else are you doing? “I’ve got my Doin’ Fine Encore tour – across the UK from February to March 2026. It’s a greatest hits show, a celebration of 35 years of work.”

But for now, his focus is bringing Frank-N-Furter back to life, both for his own satisfaction and that of his inexhaustible audience. “I’ve reached a point of great contentment,” says Jason. “As long as I have my family and my health, as long as I have a good life/work balance, I’m happy. I like to think I work to live, not the other way around”.The Rocky Horror Show, Starring Jason Donovan comes to the Edinburgh Playhouse from 6th to 10th January 2026. For more information and tickets go to: The Rocky Horror Show Tickets | Edinburgh Playhouse in Edinburgh | ATG Tickets

Mary Woodward Review

Scottish Opera, Opera Highlights autumn tour, Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh, Review

Brett Herriot

***** (5 stars)

“What a delight!”

Yet again Scottish Opera have found four supremely talented young singers who, with the accompaniment of a brilliant pianist, kept us engrossed in the extraordinary kaleidoscope of emotions they displayed for us in Trav 1 last night.

It must have been a challenge for them all to be in the Trav’s heavily-draped theatre space, with its extremely high rake, instead of the village halls they usually perform in.  It’s much harder to sing in a space which absorbs instead of reflecting the sound you make – the impulse is to make more effort, to shout, instead of relying on your normal technique to deliver the goods.  I also felt sorry for Megan Rhoades, the pianist, who had to perform on a tiny Yamaha whose sound was small and really didn’t carry to me on the front row: I can only hope that it travelled up to reach the back rows of the pretty full house.

Fiona MacSherry has devised a superb programme which displayed the multifaceted nature of human relationships – love, unrequited or returned, jealousy, rage, despair, misery, heartbreak and happiness – and placed it, surprisingly but extremely successfully, into the setting of an office party.  Fiona also unknowingly provided a moment of unbounded joy for me: for the first time in my life I saw a live performance of Samuel Barber’s A hand of bridge, of which more anon.

Baritone James Geidt was making his debut with Scottish Opera, and he opened the show with Tonio’s prologue from Leoncavallo’s I pagliacci.  It felt to me that he was perhaps trying a little too hard as he reminded us that tonight’s performers are human  beings who themselves feel real emotions: I was happy to hear a much more relaxed and mellifluous sound from him later in the evening.

Extracts from Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette gave all four singers a chance to shine vocally while also quickly establishing the dramas at play in the office party: who fancied whom, who hadn’t an earthly, and what quarrels were brewing.  Another of my favourite pieces – Massenet’s Charlotte’s tragic musing on the absent poet Werther’s letters gave mezzo Chloe Harris a perfect opportunity to hint at imminent tragedy, to which Ceferina Perry’s Sophie is completely oblivious.  More tragedy followed, with Nedda and Silvio’s escape plans being overheard by Canio, Nedda’s husband, and providing tenor Luvo Maranti with a wonderfully show-stopping aria to close the first half.

Many moons ago now I purchased my first CD player and with it the first items in what became an extensive collection.  One of these was a compilation disc – mostly extracts from other CDs, but also a piece which both intrigued and haunted me: Samuel Barber’s eight-minute opera, A hand of bridge.  Two married couples – Bill and Sally, Geraldine and David – meet regularly to play bridge.  As the game progresses, we become privy to the inner lives of the participants.  Barber’s real-life partner, composer Gina-Carlo Menotti (possibly best known for his Amahl and the Night Visitors, a Christmas piece a million miles away from the emotions of this work!) wrote the libretto – and what a revealing one!  Bill is fixating on his current mistress, Cymbeline; Geraldine laments that her lover Bill, her husband, and her dying mother are all slipping away from her; David’s frustrated rage at his employer, Mr Pritchett, the bastard, bursts out intermingled with a stream of wild sexual fantasies; and all the while Sally, who is frustrated at always being dummy, finds consolation in dreaming of her wished for hat of peacock feathers.  It was a total joy to see all this realised for us while in the midst of this complex music a game of cards was played out.

Another delight followed.  I love all of Handel’s operas, but Alcina is one of my very favourites.  The hero, Ruggiero, is the latest victim of the eponymous sorceress, trapped on an island inhabited by the animals and statues who were previous human victims of her magic.  Bradamante, his betrothed, has disguised herself as a man, Ricciardo, and gone to find him.  She reveals herself to him, but he is totally confused: has he just met his beloved, or is ‘she’ yet another of Alcina’s enchantments?  Chloe Harris gave a wonderful performance of this aria, making me long to see her in the whole role.

And then the foursome let their hair down!  It probably helped that this was the last night of a pretty long (two month) run, but also that the music was Johann Strauss II’s frothy comedy Die Fledermaus.  Intrigue, deception, masks and trickery are the order of the day as we attend Orlofsky’s party, the order of the day being chacon à son gout (each to his own).  One magic moment within this was the delivery of a marvellous hat with not only peacock feathers but a tiny peacock on it: a real shoutout for the props/ wardrobe team!!  

Arias, duets, and a final glorious quartet brought the evening to a scintillating end: almost – after our thunderous applause we were brought gently to earth by a warm and affectionate Duidu quartet in which the singers use the informal ‘du’ rather than the polite, more formal ‘sie’.  More appreciative applause accompanied our performers as they finally left the stage.

It was an enchanted and enchanting evening.  The pieces were cleverly selected both to entertain and to showcase the singers’ talents: almost my only criticism is that their voices blended so well, it’s a pity there weren’t a couple more quartets in the programme.  It was a delight to hear mezzo Chloe Harris and tenor Luvo Maranti after their magnificent performances in last week’s Ravel and Walton double bill, and to see yet more of their versatility.  I was impressed by both Ceferina Perry and James Geidt and trust that they will soon be returning to perform with Scottish Opera.

And then for something completely different – Tchaikovsky heroines next week and a new opera next year…. Dai Fujikura and Harry Ross’ the Great Wave explores the life of Japanese artist Hokusai – another world premiere from Scottish Opera.  Is it any wonder that I love this company?!

Scottish Opera, Opera Highlights autumn tour, Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh, TOUR ENDED

Brett Herriot Review

Tina, The Tina Turner Musical, Edinburgh Playhouse, Review:

Brett Herriot

***** (5 stars)

“A Glorious triumph of the human spirit”

Anna Mae Bullock born November 26th, 1939, in Brownsville Tennessee saw abuse from her earliest years from an uncaring mother and aft violent father this abuse would colour her childhood and journey into adulthood. Anna Mae was blessed with a voice that would transcend the modern musical world. That world would come to know Anna Mae Bullock as the legendary Tina Turner a woman who fought the odds and searing domestic abuse to release herself and find true love and share her vocal gifts with generations of fans.

The Tina Turner story is one of finding hope in a hopeless situation, strength, sheer human will to survive and discovering the true power of believing in oneself. Tina, The Tina Turner Musical which is produced by the late Tina Turner herself is musical which tells Tina’s life warts, and all accompanied by the songs which brought her fame and coloured her life. Its also a musical which corrects many of the “dramatic effect” changes used in the 1993 motion picture “What’s Love Got To Do With It?”. Its rare musical that pulls no punches but delivers the truth thanks to incredible performances and skilfully written book by Katori Hall with Frank Ketelaar and Kees Prins.

Directed by the great Phyllida Lloyd and featuring a stellar cast this is a musical thats truly a glorious triumph of the human spirit and that’s thanks to the central performance of Jochabel Ohene MacCarthy as Tina (she alternates with Elle Ma-Kinga N’Zuzi) McCarthy’s performance is nothing less than faultless and finely nuanced as she lives Tina’s life on stage in front of your eyes its truly beguiling to watch. The moment “Tina” discovers her inner strength to fight back is awe inspiring and touches the heart in an overwhelming way. Credit must also go to David King-Yombo who has the unenviable task of bringing “Ike Turner” to life, a clearly violent and insecure man dealing with his own demons but allows his own selfish desires to excuse his vile behaviour. Its King -Yombo’s incredible talent that allows him to turn in a performance that’s breath taking in its range, eschewing panto villain for the truth the Ike was a very flawed human being. The principals are joined by an excellent 25 strong ensemble who brings Tina’s world across the decades to life with ease. Although on the odd occasion there are couple of instances of vocals being over pushed but it doesn’t detract enough to lose a star. While there is a few vocal bubbles the company deliver Anthony Van Laast’s sublime Choreography with passion and procession in equal measure

Production wise this is a west end production on tour with Mark Thompson’s set and costume design delivering in spades as Tina’s fifty-year journey is brought vividly to life. Bruno Poet’s lighting design is faultless and the moment half a dozen mirror balls spring to life is a stroke of genius that bedecks the massive playhouse auditorium with shimmering stars. This is boosted by Jeff Sugg’s inventive and capturing projection design which adds a rich layer of depth to the overall show.

Newin Steinberg’s sound design is of the highest quality balancing the performers with musical director Sarah Burrell’s ten strong onstage bad with ease. Musically this show is everything you could want and so much more with all of Tina’s hits from Nutbush City Limits to Simply the Best being delivered in style. It’s also wonderful to see Tina’s lesser-known hits including “I don’t want to fight no more” being use in a powerful exploration of storytelling.

Phyllida Lloyd has delivered a musical that transcends the Genre and always keeps the truth of Tina Turner’s life at the centre point of the story. This musical has become the enduring legacy for the late Tina Turner and stands as testament to everything this incredible lady brought to the world.

As the curtain fell to a rousing standing ovation and the audience get there chance to sing and dance along to a mega mix its shines through that the great Tina Turner truly was Simply the Best! Wonderful stuff indeed!

Tina, The Tina Turner Musical, Edinburgh Playhouse, Edinburgh runs until Saturday 22nd November for more information and tickets go to: TINA – The Tina Turner Musical Tickets | Edinburgh Playhouse in Edinburgh | ATG TicketsTina, The Tina Turner Musical UK Tour continues until April 2026