From Bulgaria with Love at Kelvingrove
3 February 2025
Review: The warmest of welcomes for the staggering polyphonic vocals of Bulgarian Voices, visiting Celtic Connections at Glasgow’s Kelvingrove.
Performing Arts Reviews
Join us as we highlight reviews from the world of music, opera, dance theatre and film.
On Your Feet! Femi Kuti at Celtic Connections
31 January 2025
Review: Femi Kuti and his band’s joyously infectious Afro-beat gets folk up and dancing at Glasgow’s Royal Concert Hall.
Give the People What They Want: corto.alto’s Celtic Collective
20 January 2025
Review: The corto.alto project brought together an almighty collective experience at Glasgow’s Barrowland for Celtic Connections on Sat 18th Jan, in the festival’s first weekend.
Never Growing Up at King’s Theatre Glasgow
7 December 2024
Review: Glasgow pantomime legends Elaine C Smith, Darren Brownlie and Jonny Mac are back, bringing Peter Pan to the stage once more.
Aladdin at Theatre Royal, Glasgow
12 November 2024
Review: Aladdin has boarded the magic carpet and arrived in Glasgow (in style!)
The Prince in Jeans: Hamlet at the Lyceum, Edinburgh
19 August 2024
Review: A bold, brave modern version of the classic Shakespeare play at the Edinburgh International Festival features a cast affected by Down’s syndrome.
Jaw-Dropping Jaw-Harp: Ustatshakirt Ensemble at The Hub
15 August 2024
Review: Edinburgh’s Hub plays host to the extraordinary sounds of traditional Kyrgyz music played and sung by the Ustatshakirt Ensemble.
Chilly Gonzales’ Recurring Dream at Edinburgh’s Usher Hall
13 August 2024
Review: Virtuoso piano maverick Chilly Gonzales returns to Edinburgh International Festival to scale further musical heights.
Jordan Rakei Finds the Sweet Spot at Edinburgh’s Usher Hall
9 August 2024
Review: Edinburgh International Festival welcomes the versatile Jordan Rakei to impress with his vast musical capabilities, at the Usher Hall.
Torment, Toreadors and Time-Travel: a Parisian Carmen at Edinburgh’s Festival Theatre
7 August 2024
Review: Edinburgh International Festival’s staging of Opéra Comique’s production of Carmen transports the audience into a world of love, lust and betrayal.
Grupo Corpo: Bringing Brazil to The Playhouse, Edinburgh
7 August 2024
Review: The taste of Brazilian music, art, and culture is vivaciously captured in the vibrant music and exhilarating dance of Grupo Corpo at Edinburgh International Festival.
Mister E’s Mysteries: Please Right Back at Studio Theatre Edinburgh
6 August 2024
Review: Theatre group 1927’s production of Please Right back at Edinburgh’s Studio Theatre seamlessly blends imagination and reality to tell the story of the fantastical adventures of the elusive Mr.E.
Home Is Coming: The Outrun at Edinburgh’s Church Hill Theatre
5 August 2024
Review: The Outrun at Edinburgh’s Church Hill Theatre relates a painfully raw rite of passage for a young Orcadian woman, in a stage adaptation of Amy Liptrot’s memoir.
Hope of Happiness in the Ruins: The Girls of Slender Means at the Lyceum, Edinburgh
29 April 2024
Review: Muriel Spark’s drama depicting the hope of happiness in the poverty immediately following the Second World War is at Edinburgh’s Lyceum.
Lambchop’s Articulation of the American Head at Celtic Connections
30 January 2024
Review: Lambchop’s conversational poetry graces the Celtic Connections stage as Kurt Wagner joins pianist Andrew Broder.
Local Hero’s Voice Breaks the Heart at Scottish Chamber Orchestra’s Celtic Connections Gathering
27 January 2024
Review: Nearly fifty years after their inaugural performance, the Scottish Chamber Orchestra with conductor Eric Jacobsen invite the most distinguished of guest musicians and singers to join them for a warm-hearted evening that’s both moving and celebratory.
Fingerpicking Good: Tommy Emmanuel and Molly Tuttle Warm Up the Winter Blues
20 January 2024
Review: Currently touring the UK, garlanded acoustic guitarist Tommy Emmanuel has made Celtic Connections a key stop, performing on the second day of Glasgow’s global music festival with American guitar super-talent Molly Tuttle.
She, or He? Cinders! at Theatre Royal, Glasgow
15 December 2023
Review: A festive favourite returns this winter to Glasgow’s Theatre Royal with a surprise… Scottish Ballet’s Cinders! has arrived, with a twist.
Seven Times the Fun at King’s Theatre Glasgow
11 December 2023
Review: Glasgow pantomime legends Elaine C Smith, Darren Brownlie and Johnny Mac are back, bringing Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs to life once more.
Pretty in Neon at Theatre Royal, Glasgow
16 November 2023
Review: To many the ultimate rom-com, Pretty Woman: The Musical has arrived in Glasgow, with a dazzling production and high-calibre cast.
An Ocean of Dark Imaginings at King’s Theatre Glasgow
31 August 2023
Review: National Theatre’s critically acclaimed adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s The Ocean at the End of the Lane has arrived at Glasgow’s King’s Theatre as part of its 2023 UK tour.
Dreams and Reality Bite at the Lyceum, Edinburgh
25 August 2023
Review: Pedro Calderón de la Barca’s 1636 comedy Life Is a Dream gets a playful, surreal treatment that toys with our sense of reality in Edinburgh International Festival’s Lyceum production.
Return of the Shy Boy: Jake Bugg at The Playhouse Edinburgh
24 August 2023
Review: Unchanged, Jake Bugg’s basic approach has the Edinburgh crowds loving his set of song-nuggets in his International Festival outing at the city’s Playhouse.
The Fierce Cello: Abel Selaocoe at The Hub
23 August 2023
Review: Cellist Abel Selaocoe performs a dazzling solo showcase of the seemingly-limitless depth of his talent, and the sonic possibilities of his instrument, at Edinburgh International Festival venue The Hub.
