MARIA DUARTE is swept along by the cocky self-belief of a ping-pong hustler in a surprisingly violent drama
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1927 Theatre Company’s innovative style of narrative charms and entertains in equal measure
STEVE ANDREW recommends a lively and often moving guide to once vibrant spaces that have been abandoned or swept away
GEOFF BOTTOMS appreciates the local touch brought to a production of Dickens’s perennial classic
MARY CONWAY is disappointed by a production whose design and cartoonish acting overwhelms the close scrutiny of characters
SUSAN DARLINGTON enjoys the raucous familiarity of a traditional topsy-turvy pantomime
RON JACOBS introduces the latest novel by the best writer of US working-class fiction writing today
Edinburgh Festival
Roots
The Church Hill Theatre
★★★★
“A RATHER ragtag collection of folk jokes and stories” presented in “a combination of live music, pre-recorded stories voiced by non-actors, animation, acting and live dialogue.”
Writer Suzanne Andrade’s description of her production hardly captures what must be one of the most joyous shows in this year’s Edinburgh Festival.
The award-winning 1927 Theatre Company’s innovative style of melding images, reminiscent of black and white silent films — the company’s name gives a clue — with back and front projections, “colour” added by the marionette-like live performers, charms all but the most sophisticatedly resistant audiences back to the delights of childhood.
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