Coffee-Table Notes

Royal Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh Five stars “Things fare better when played and played again,” says Liz Kettle’s  Zelig-like mistress of ceremonies Carlin at the opening of Zinnie Harris’ ferocious feminist reimagining of Shakespeare’s Scottish play. This speedy homecoming of Harris’ own production following its 2023 premiere follows runs in London and New York, where it picked up four Drama Desk nominations. All of which makes Nicole Cooper’s Lady M even more of a conquering heroine as she transcends her role as the power behind the throne to become part of a weird sisterhood that may or may not have exploded out of her head.   Things begin on familiar enough terrain once Carlin slips inside the action on Tom Piper’s expansive set, as Adam Best’s Macbeth and James Robinson’s Banquo are led astray by the Sisters, here for once given the dignity of names. This eases into a last gasp jazz age party scene as the plot to kill Duncan is set in motion inbetween dealing with Star Penders’ brat

Tron Theatre, Glasgow Four stars Don’t be fooled by the sucker punch breeziness of the Superman styled promo images that accompany the National Theatre of Scotland’s staging of Damian Barr’s 2013 memoir. While there are laughs to be had, Barr’s look back at growing up gay in small town 1980s Scotland can be a pretty brutal ride at times.    Brought to life by Barr, co-writer James Ley and director Suba Das, we first meet DB celebrating his new commission with his husband Mark. But how to go about unearthing his personal remembrance of things past without avoiding the traumas that shaped him?    The only answer, as DB is advised, is to relive it all, however painful that may be. This sends Barr on a trip that uses a similar sleight of hand to that used in TV fantasia, Ashes to Ashes, in which a retro kitsch setting is the backdrop for some very serious meditations on an era that had a lot more going on than its seeming revolt into style.    In designer Kenneth MacLeod’s hands, Barr’s wo

Peter Kelly – Actor Born October 1, 1941; died March 14 2024   Peter Kelly, who has died aged 82, was an actor of sophistication, sensitivity and boundless wit, who went from his early forays on stage as a teenager to become an elder statesman of Scotland’s theatre fraternity. Inbetween, Kelly became an integral part of the Citizens Theatre, Glasgow’s loose knit 1970s ensemble. He also appeared at the Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh in the premieres of Tom McGrath’s Jimmy Boyle inspired play, The Hardman (1977), and new works by C.P. Taylor.   Kelly performed in a succession of musical revues, devised with novelist and playwright Archie Hind. These included a solo turn in I am Cabaret, in which Kelly played a version of Kander and Ebb’s Emcee character, who he would later play in the musical itself. There were stints as a TV and radio presenter, and Kelly became one of the finest dames in pantomime, first at the Citz, then at the King’s Theatre, Glasgow, working alongside the likes of Jimm