Coffee-Table Notes

As 1980s pop myths go, the story of Talk Talk is one of the most mysterious. Graeme Thomson’s new book, In Another World – The Four Seasons of Talk Talk, digs deep into the story of the Mark Hollis fronted group who went from glossy synth-pop chart botherers over their first two albums before creating some of the most sublime musical meditations of their era.   Over three albums – The Colour of Spring (1986), Spirit of Eden (1988) and Laughing Stock (1991) – Talk Talk’s core trio of Hollis, bassist Paul Webb and drummer Lee Harris, plus producer Tim Friese-Greene, created a series of lushly crafted and increasingly insular soundscapes before disappearing for good. An eponymous stripped back 1998 solo album by Hollis hinted at things to come. As it turned out, it was a last gift to the world before he withdrew from music entirely.   The silence of all band members increased the Talk Talk legend, while the death of Hollis in 2019 aged sixty-four put a full stop on a group that e...

Royal Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh  Five stars   The seasons have shifted since Karine Polwart’s multi media elegy to a 200 year old Sabal palm tree about to be felled in Edinburgh’s Royal Botanic Garden first blew in to the 2025 Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Back then, in the heat of such a turbulent backdrop, Polwart’s elegant mix of storytelling and song stood out enough to be declared a masterpiece. Eight months on, Polwart’s meticulously realised immersive song cycle has blossomed enough for a countrywide tour that begins at the Lyceum, where an early workshop of the show was presented.    From the moment Pippa Murphy’s environmental soundscape rattles with the wind, this homecoming of sorts remains a monument to the power of the natural world and the glorious constructions that grow from it. As the tree is plucked from the wild, taken across oceans to foreign lands and kept in glasshouses that can barely contain it, it evolves into a magnificently plumed hybrid it tu...

Times of strife of various kinds take over Scottish stages this month, with working class lives very much to the fore as well as showbiz, spies and taking to the skies.   Windblown Byre Theatre, St Andrews, 2 May; Eden Court, Inverness,  6 May ; The Pavilion, Glasgow,  8-9 May ; Macrobert Arts Centre, Stirling,  14 May ; Perth Concert Hall,  16 May. Karine Polwart returns with her hugely successful fusion of storytelling and song inspired by a 200 year old tree at the Royal Botanic Garden. Featuring sound design by Pippa Murphy, stunning visuals by Jamie Wardrop and piano accompaniment by jazz pianist David Milligan, Polwart’s creation was described in The Herald’s five star review as ‘a work of monumental beauty’.      The High Life: The Musical – Still Living It! Eden Court, Inverness until 2 May; Dundee Rep,  6-9 May ; King’s Theatre, Glasgow,  12-23 May. More than three decades on from Alan Cumming and Forbes Masson’s short-lived Sco...

Festival Theatre, Edinburgh  Four stars   Johnny Cash and June Carter were destined to be together from the moment they met back stage at the Grand Ol’ Opry. The mercurial life the first couple of country music shared until their deaths months apart in 2003 could have been channelled from the sorts of songs that made them both international stars. Those lives are laid bare in Des McAnuff and Robert Cary’s warts and all tribute to Johnny and June in a show that goes beyond a greatest hits affair to get to the emotional heart of two pop cultural legends.    As the title suggests, this is made myth by a ballad, sung and played throughout by Johnny and June’s son and country music star in his own right, John Carter Cash. Played with considerable charm by Ryan O’Donnell, John becomes the show’s narrator, with a supporting cast doubling up as assorted personal and musical foils as well as what is effectively an all crooning Greek chorus.    The story Jo...

Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh Three stars    It’s all over for Dylan and Roz at the start of Matt Anderson’s new play. Whatever happened, Dylan’s stuff is all packed up for him to collect. When he arrives, it is a frosty reception from Roz that awaits him. But how did these two former lovers get here, having one last awkward exchange before they go their very separate ways?   This is answered over the next sixty five minutes or so of Anderson’s own production, which cuts up a series of bite size scenes that jump between time frames to piece together a bittersweet romance that began with Dylan bumming a fag off Roz at a party. The highs and lows of the first love that follows leaves a profound sense of loss for them both as they career around each other towards the end.     First seen on the Edinburgh Festival Fringe back in 2024, Anderson’s own production for his Kangaroo Court outfit and here presented with Serpentine Productions retains a DIY feel in its sp...

Tron Theatre, Glasgow Four stars   In January 1981, 240 women occupied the Greenock factory they worked in after their jobs were put on the line following the factory’s sale. Like the then prime minister, these ladies weren’t for turning. Led by indomitable shop steward Helen Monaghan, the women’s struggle captured the public imagination, and after seven months, in the short term, at least, they won their fight.    Almost half a century on, Frances Poet has taken this vital piece of history and put it back on the front line in her new play that gets to the human heart of the story. Developed from an idea with journalist Paul English, Jemima Levick’s production - a collaboration between the National Theatre of Scotland and the Tron - sets out its store on Jessica Worrall’s old school social club set, where the six-strong cast punctuate each scene by playing some of the year’s smash hits like a cabaret cover band.    The girl group chutzpah on display in the ...