Category: Mary Woodward Review

**** (4 stars)

“Showcases the breadth of talent that defines Scottish Opera”

I badly want to give this production five stars – and if I saw it a little later in the run, I’m sure I would.  The production is lively and doesn’t muck about with the basic story; the characters are very well cast; the music is of course wonderful; costumes, lighting and set design serve to enhance rather than hinder the story-telling; and the singers range from very good to outstanding. 

My reservations come from the huge weight of the four main roles – Count and Countess Almaviva and their servants, Figaro and Susanna.  All four singers had really great moments, and were never less than very good – it’s just that maintaining excellence throughout a long a complex opera is hard.  Knowing when to relax slightly in order to give your all in a few moments’ time, when not to push but allow the voice to float over the orchestra; husbanding your energy for when you really need it…all takes time to work out and absorb.  Not to mention first night nerves!  All this will come with time, and very soon in the case of these four very talented singers – which is why I’d really like to see another performance in a few weeks’ time, when it will fulfil its first night promises and dazzle everyone who comes to see it.

The basic plot is simple – Figaro wants to marry Susanna; the Count wants to bed her before her wedding night; the Countess struggles with the misery of having been wooed and won then rejected by her husband.  Complications arise in the form of Cherubino, a young lad who’s besotted with every woman in sight; Marcellina, who also wants to marry Figaro; Dr Bartolo who wants revenge on Figaro for preventing him from marrying his wealthy ward, Rosina [now the Countess]; Don Basilio simply delights in scandal and intrigue; Barbarina wants Cherubino; and her father Antonio simply wants to stop people jumping out of windows and crushing his geraniums.  Plots, disguises, locked closets, a military commission, a foundling reunited with his parents, and a chorus of servants who simply want to get on with the promised party all add to the mayhem.

Thomas Allen’s production is wonderful in that it makes the story as easy to follow as it might be while not forcing it into some strange Concept that makes one feel the producer hasn’t actually read the script.  I must confess I wondered about Susanna’s praising the friendly darkness ofthe night when there was a giant harvest moon in the sky, and whether the cornfield which provided the helpful stooks of corn actually grew right up to the walls of the Almaviva home – but these are design rather than production quibbles.  Costumes are appropriate to the period and quietly underline the difference in social standing between master and servant.  Lighting, as it should, illuminates the plot, and good choreography also helped us see what was going on.

And, of course, there’s Mozart, who with librettist da Ponte created one of the most beautifully balanced and plotted of all operas.  Amanda Holden’s translation is superb, especially in the plot-advancing recitatives and, while I might wish that the singers didn’t need to have their words up in the supertitles, it meant that everyone present was able to understand, enjoy, and be completely involved in what was going on on stage.  I wonder how many ‘first timers’ were present?  Certainly there was a huge laugh when Marcellina is revealed to be Figaro’s mother!

Scottish Opera’s orchestra were, as ever, brilliant, and conducted for this run by Dane Lam.  As for the singers – well!  It’s a cast which needs a vast range of superlatives to describe them all.  Emerging Artist Edward Jowle has already shown his quality in a number of smaller roles with Scottish Opera, while Ava Dodd as his Susanna was making her Scottish Opera début and making me keen to see her again very soon.  Ian Rucker, another debutant, was an excellent Count, with just the occasional American ‘a’ colouring his delivery: his Countess, Alexandra Lowe, stood up to him spiritedly, generous with her forgiveness after all his hypocritical blustering.  I just wish I could believe his repentance would last… 

Simone McIntosh was captivating as Cherubino – the perfectly awkward, emotionally overflowing teenager who can’t control his reactions and is desperate to gain experience with any woman who’ll allow this.  Jeni Bern was a wonderfully warm and engaging Marcellina, rather than the bitter, ageing spinster so often seen on stage – I’m just really sad she didn’t get her pro-women aria which is a wonderful counterfoil to Figaro’s bitter condemnation of them which immediately follows in the score.  Edward Hawkins was a delight as Dr Bartolo – tall, elegant, wryly witty rather than the blustering old fool one so often sees – while Scottish Opera Emerging Artist, tenor Luva Maranti, made the most of Basilio’s all-too-brief contributions.  I really look forward to hearing his gorgeous voice in a more prominent role very soon.

The whole production showcased the breadth of talent that defines Scottish Opera’s productions.  The audience showed their appreciation with applause for many of the arias and ensembles and were loudly vociferous in their congratulations at the final curtain.  Another thoroughly enjoyable evening, an entertainment which will be brought to a theatre near you in the coming weeks.  Don’t miss it!

And oh my – next year’s programme is mouth-wateringly delectable!  Puccini’s Turandot, Beethoven’s Fidelio and my all-time favourite Handel – Alcina – are the main attractions, but there’s more… get hold of a copy of The next era which outlines the programme for 2026/7 and start clearing dates in your diary!!

Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro, Scottish Opera, Theatre Royal, Glasgow runs until Saturday 23^rd May for more information and tickets go to: Scottish Opera – The Marriage of Figaro Tickets | Theatre Royal Glasgow in Glasgow | ATG Tickets

The Production will also perform at:

The Festival Theatre Edinburgh, Friday 29^th May to Saturday 6^th June for more info go to: The Marriage of Figaro – Capital Theatres

His Majesty’s Theatre Aberdeen Thursday 11^th June to Saturday 13^th June for more information go to: The Marriage of Figaro | Aberdeen Performing Arts

Eden Court Theatre, Inverness Thursday 18^th June to Saturday 20^th June for more info go to: The Marriage of Figaro | Eden Court

***** (5 stars)

“A Joy and a Delight!”

I’m really sorry to have missed the opening night of this show in Glasgow – but being in Finland at the time, I wasn’t able to come.  Instead you and I had to wait till Starstruck came to Edinburgh for me to tell you what a joy and delight this ballet is. 

The late great Gene Kelly was an impressively talented man.  Most of us remember him as an actor, singer, and dancer, with a sense of humour that enabled him to send himself up as the self-obsessed silent movie star in Singin’ in the rain.  Who knew that he was also a choreographer, linguist, reader, deep thinker, and overall lovely human being?

His widow and biographer, Patricia Ward Kelly, that’s who.  Which is why she was delighted to collaborate with Scottish Ballet’s Christopher Hampson and designer Lez Brotherston to create what in September 2021 I described as “An exhilarating, effervescent, exultant, eye-catching extravaganza, Starstruck is the perfect choice for Scottish Ballet’s first ‘live in front of an audience’ production.”

This first version of Starstruck took Pas de Dieux, an original ballet about the love life of the gods of Olympus which Gene Kelly choreographed for the Paris Opéra, and set it within the framework of a company rehearsal, which gave a fascinating insight into life backstage as well as allowing all the very talented Scottish Ballet company to shine in their individuality.  Gradual emergence from lockdown meant that the Scottish Ballet orchestra didn’t perform live, but pre-recorded their score which made much use of the music of Chopin and Gershwin.

Today’s version of Starstruck expanded the ‘outside’ story to give even more richness and depth with a thought-provoking exploration of star quality, the behaviour stars can display, and the challenges facing anyone trying to create new work.  The rehearsal begins with three female dancers auditioning for the lead in the Choreographer’s new show and showing their desperation to get the part – Choreographer and Pianist have a hard time of it keeping the dancers at arm’s length. 

A true Star Ballerina enters and the others retire discomfited.  Star and Choreographer fall in love – but as the Choreographer becomes increasingly absorbed in his work, the Star Ballerina becomes increasingly discontented: nothing she can do can make him pay her the attention she demands.  She leaves.  The Choreographer dreams that she has gone to Hollywood, and met a Film Star.  They dance together at a gloriously glittering party, and the Choreographer is unable to reach her and get her back.

Rehearsals continue, but it’s not until the Star Ballerina re-enters that the ballet can be completed.  The dress rehearsal takes place: Choreographer and Star Ballerina now dance the parts of Zeus and Aphrodite.  She is bored and travels to earth with her friend Eros, where she starts a flirtation with a Life Guard, charming him away from his fiancée.  Zeus sends a thunderclap of warning, but this is ignored – he has to come down to earth himself and restore things to normal, leaving Aphrodite annoyed at his interference.

The rehearsal pauses while the Choreographer works with the other dancers, including the young lovers.  The Star Ballerina, finding herself once more ignored, starts a flirtation with a Stagehand.  This provokes a fight between Stagehand and Choreographer which the latter wins, winning back the Star Ballerina at the same time.  Their love duet morphs into the reconciliation of Zeus and Aphrodite, and a sparklingly successful curtain call at the Paris Opéra.  Reunited, the two lovers leave the rehearsal studio to its quiet darkness.

One of the huge joys of this production was the presence of the Scottish Ballet orchestra, under guest conductor Martin Yates, with the incredible pianistic skills of Lynda Cochrane.  I’m so glad she got her own curtain call at the end – she gave us the equivalent of two piano concerti [Gershwin and Ravel] as well as goodness knows how much Chopin.  And I have to confess that more than once I was torn between watching the dancers on stage and the musicians in the pit!  As with opera, ballet orchestras play in the darkness, unable to see the art they are accompanying – I do hope they get the opportunity to see it all at some point!

Need I say that the dancing was superb?  It’s always a joy to see dancers progressing within the company, so to have Bruno Micchiardi and Jessica Fyfe as the romantic leads was a great satisfaction to me, as well as a great pleasure.  Thomas Edwards and Alfie McPherson shone as the Pianist/ Eros and Stagehand/Film Star, and Urara Takata and Yipeng Xu made a touchingly sweet pair of lovers both in ‘real life’ and ‘on stage’.  The rest of the company shone too, obviously enjoying the challenge of dancing in so many different styles, especially the angular and strongly grounded ‘American show style’ dancing which is so very different from the elegant, ethereal ‘ballet style’ they do so well.

The Edinburgh audience loved this show, and applause at the end was loud and long.  The show has already been to Glasgow, Inverness and Aberdeen, so you’ve only got a couple of days left to catch it.  We can only hope that it will revisit us very soon…

But with Mary Queen of Scots already legendary [and going to New York very soon], Emergence making its debut in the autumn, Cinders! returning this Christmas with the joy of seeing same-sex romance danced for us, and the promise of Mayerling next year, there’s a whole lot more balletic brilliance to look forward to in the coming year.  Don’t miss it!

Star Struck, Scottish Ballet, Festival Theatre, Edinburgh, runs until Saturday 9^th May for more information and tickets go to: Starstruck – Capital Theatres

***** (5 stars)

“A Fabulous piece”

Having gone to the Storytelling Centre not quite sure what to expect, I came out of the theatre on Sunday afternoon going “that was f***ing brilliant!”

Alas, my editor wouldn’t accept a four-word review: so here’s my attempt to explain why this piece was so very good…

Five very talented women – Lorna McFarlane, Sydney Mulligan, Gracie Spencer, Alannah Skellett and Lori Stott – invite you to consider what comes into your head when you hear the word witch.  Pointy black hat?  Hooked nose?  Horrible warts?  Green face?  Undoubtedly some cackling in there somewhere, a cauldron over a log fire, double double toil and trouble….

Come with them to the picturesque seaside village of Pittenweem on the Fife coast.  Lively, sunny, touristy: but hiding dark and shameful secrets which should make you boil with rage and determine “never again”…  It’s still a wee village where awbody kens awbody [and awbody’s business] – but back in the day there were terrible things afoot.

It’s 1704.  Witchcraft has been a capital crime since 1563.  King James VI and I’s book Daemonologie is a royal defence of witch-hunting.  Any inexplicable natural phenomenon – bad weather, poor harvests, sudden sickness or death, outbursts of plague, failure to find fish – is blamed on witches and witchcraft.  Accusations, trials, imprisonments, torture, killings are rife in Scotland – and the vast majority of the accused are women. 

It was enough to be loud of voice, confident, prosperous, single, or simply different – and there was very little possible defence.  Witches’ power obviously derived from the devil – and the church was terrified of the devil, so accusations of heresy abounded.  And of course, the church, the minister, and any men who felt they had authority, were terrified of any woman whom they saw as a threat to their power, and ready to believe any man who made an accusation against them.

Thus we have 16-year-old Patrick Morton, who works in his father’s blacksmith’s shop in Pittenweem, starting rumours about Beatrix Layng whose request for some nails he refused, saying he needed them for urgent work at the nearby harbour.  Patrick claims to have fallen ill because Beatrix cursed him: this claim excites the attention of the local minister, Patrick Cooper.  Cooper’s obsessed with uncovering the works of the devil, and it’s quite probable that he ‘helped’ the young Patrick Morton to name more names.  And so the whole hideous tale unfolds, given poignant voice by some incredible songs and stirring outbursts from the wronged women.  Alongside this painful narrative run equally distressing modern parallels.

At the end of the piece Patrick Morton confesses that he’s made the whole thing up – “I had to show her who’s in charge – don’t judge me for my sense of humour…and yet again the male defence of ‘I want you so you have to give me what I want’ plus ‘can’t you take a joke?’ leave me enraged.  How many have to die before you take a stand? echoes down the ages – will it never end?

This is a fabulous piece which does its best to avenge past wrongs, give voices to the voiceless, and stir our hearts and consciences.  At the same time it’s superb entertainment and a very cannily-wrought piece of theatre.  Atmospheric lighting, wonderfully surreptitious costume- and character-changes, intricate choreography, evocative music expertly played, moments of delightful tongue-in-cheek humour, a sharply pointed script, haunting singing and passionate performances add up to something that is, indeed f***ing brilliant.

Witches Corner simply has to come back on stage very soon.  When it does, don’t miss it!

Encapulus Productions present Witches Corner, Witches Corner, Scottish Storytelling Centre, Edinburgh, RUN ENDED

**** (4 stars)

“A complex mixture”

This is not an easy piece, for many reasons: but it is an important one – especially for the younger members of today’s audience, but almost certainly for the rest of us, as I doubt many of those present could remember back to the 1940s.

Iddo Oberski and his puppet friend Svjetlana take us on “a journey of becoming”, inviting us to open our hearts and welcome in that most important thing of all – love. 

Iddo moves slowly but decisively around the stage, clad in a suit that is half white, half black.  He comes on stage using two sticks, but plants them in holders and thereafter moves slowly, staring at his feet, and walking very carefully and precisely.  The reason for this becomes clear as he recounts his life-changing experience of a spinal stroke which left him without conscious sense of his lower limbs, which he must deliberately move for each step he wishes to take: he is his own puppeteer.  Both moving and sitting are painful, so the whole show contains a well-thought out and painstakingly performed choreography which reflects the balancing act that is his life.

The show is a complex mixture: a personal account of disability, a musing on the work and thought of Rudolf Steiner, a story of tragedy as the Shoah [Holocaust] takes the lives of a staggering number of family members; a search for understanding of self, soul, and spirit.  There are conjuring tricks performed so smoothly as to make them seem normal rather than magical.  There is poetry, and music, and art.  And Svjetlana pops up from time to time, commenting and asking questions which ultimately guide Iddo towards a greater understanding of himself and what spiritual freedom might look like.

One of Svjetlana’s comments struck me deeply.  “You don’t have a disability.  When I found you, you had two legs and two sticks”, to which Iddo responds that he needs the sticks because his legs have fallen asleep.

Everyone present will have responded differently to this show.  I was sorry not to be able to stay for the half-hour facilitated discussion which followed: and also sorry not to have been able to grasp everything that was being said – there wasn’t time to ponder one interesting or intriguing remark, because something else immediately followed, and then yet more…

Overall, I think I came away with the concept of balancing in freedom.  One is the sum of many parts: balancing them gives the greatest possibility of a live lived in wholeness, regardless of family history or physical abilities.  Much to ponder…

Balancing in Freedom, Scottish Storytelling Centre, Edinburgh, production returns on Saturday 13^th June and Sunday 20^th November 2026 for more information and tickets go to: https://scottishstorytellingcentre.online.red61.co.uk/event/913:6368/

**** (4 stars)

“Delightful and Fascinating”

It’s hard to imagine life before Biba but, gentle reader, I was there and I remember…  Life was pretty drab and grey, and young people were expected to look like smaller-sized clones of their parents.  The concept of young people as beings with lives, minds and wishes of their own was hard for many people to grasp.

And then suddenly, there was Biba…and nothing would ever be the same again.  It’s hard to believe that the Biba phenomenon lasted little more than ten years and yet had a lasting effect on the world of fashion and the development of a concept of ‘lifestyle’.  For those of us old enough to remember those days, Dovecot’s exhibition offers the opportunity to wander down memory lane.  For those who did not have that experience, come and marvel at the simplicity of the way in which our lives were changed forever.

Barbara Hulanicki, alongside her husband Stephen Fitz-Simon, started a small mail-order company selling inexpensive clothing for women and children in 1963 – Biba’s Postal Boutique.  An advertisement in the Daily Mirror resulted in 17,000 orders for a Brigitte Bardot inspired pink gingham dress.  This success prompted Barbara to give up her day job as a [very successful] fashion illustrator and concentrate solely on Biba.

In 1965 a very small shop in Kensington was transformed into a seeming night club with black walls and random pieces of old-fashioned furniture on which customers could perch while trying to find their perfect purchase.  The emphasis was on affordable up-to-the-minute fashion, aimed at young people with an eye to design but with a very limited budget. 

Initially, the clothes were designed for very skinny young women – Twiggy was an early customer, and the perfect size and shape for Biba designs.  Only 500 of each garment would be made, so a design sold out quickly and the shop’s stock would be constantly changing.  The colour palette of the clothes was also unusual – in addition to black and brown, mauve, rust, plum and purple were much in evidence.  Feather boas and wide-brimmed felt hats became archetypal Biba add-ons, and were much in evidence in Swinging London in the late 60s.

Biba swiftly outgrew its first Kensington shop and in 1966 moved to a triple-fronted shop not far away.  For the first time, men’s and children’s clothes could be bought, alongside many non-clothing Biba products.  Three years later, Biba moved into a shop on Kensington High Street, offering a wide array of clothing, accessories, cosmetics and furnishings.  In 1973, Big Biba was opened, and proclaimed ‘the most beautiful store in the world’.  Formerly the Derry & Toms department store, it was transformed to provide the ultimate Biba shopping experience, with seven floors of merchandise from groceries to cosmetics and furnishings in addition to a constantly-changing array of clothing.  Now one’s entire life could be lived in Biba…

Alas, this only lasted two years.  in a very short space of time, Hulanicki relinquished all right to the Biba name, and moved on into another chapter of her life, not even retaining the majority of her own Biba clothing.

The garments on display in this fascinating exhibition have mainly come from private collections.  Many are from the collection of Sarah Plunkett, the first manager of the first London Biba; others from Lilli Anderson, the last person to stop working at Biba when it closed in 1975; yet more are from individuals who responded to a recent appeal for Biba clothes and memorabilia, and generously allowed them to be displayed here. 

It’s touching to see the small holes and imperfections in garments which have virtually been worn to death, they were loved so much.  It’s also quite scary to see just how small the dresses are, how ridiculously skimpy and tight the sleeves are, and be reminded of quite how short one’s skirt was in the 60s…  Alas, I would never have fitted into early Biba – even as a young woman I was tall and not at all slender – but I suspect that even when Biba garments were made in larger sizes, they would never have looked good on me… <sigh>

There are some fabulous garments on display, and not just simple frocks.  Coats are much in evidence, as are suits of various sorts: and more glamorous wear, including evening wear, marketed as nightwear because that incurred a lower rate of tax…  It’s interesting to see the development from simple shift dresses to more flowing garments, with wider sleeves and an increasingly ‘hippy’ vibe. 

There are some extraordinary fake-fur garments [a snow leopard pants suit!] and some surprisingly vividly coloured clothes, contrasting with the generally sombre palette used.  One singularly gorgeous simple cream dress had me feeling momentarily very light-fingered – but it would never have fitted, and its absence would have been instantly spotted!

The exhibition ends with personal memories of some Biba customers with photos of them wearing their favourite clothes.  There’s also a place where you can write your own Biba memory and put it on the wall with all the others – and spend an age reading them all as you relive your youth…

This is a delightful and fascinating exhibition which is a window into a [goodness me!] now bygone era, when life seemed simpler and all you had to do was work out for how long you’d have to save to be able to afford the next Biba garment or item…  oh happy days!  Go and enjoy!

The BIBA Story: 1964-1975, Dovecot Studios, Edinburgh, Exhibition runs until Saturday 27^th June for more information and tickets go to: The Biba Story: 1964–1975