Uncertainty sits at the centre of Michael Frayn’s ambitious piece, Copenhagen . Frayn’s play feels uncannily prescient, with Trump’s threats to destroy an entire culture dominating today’s political landscape. Where does science end and philosophy begin? The splitting of the atom—the twentieth century’s seismic scientific achievement—ushers in the possibility of unprecedented destruction, forcing moral questions to be confronted. By 1941, Nazi Germany had conquered most of Eu

Three years ago, the comedian Jimmy Carr hosted a television debate on whether paintings created by reprehensible artists should be destroyed. The controversial nature of this show elicited criticism, but it did raise the moral question of art provenance. This theme is developed by Marius von Mayenburg in his modern satire Nachtland . Two siblings Nicola and Philip (Lilith Leonard and Gabriel Oprea) are going through their deceased father’s house. This painstaking and emotion

In 1904, the steamboat  General Slocum  caught fire and sank on the New York River, resulting in the deaths of more than a thousand people. At the time, it was one of the worst peacetime maritime disasters in history. The event made a profound impression on a passerby – Trudy Ederle’s mother, Anna. Many of the deaths were preventable. Although the boat was relatively close to shore, women at that time had been discouraged or even prevented from swimming, as it was deemed unse

Lucia  Raffaella Mariani enters the stage tentatively, almost nervously, wearing a robe over a swimsuit. She begins by asking what at first seems a simple question – whether she can make the audience fall in love with her before the production ends. The reason for the red roses we were given soon becomes clear: we are to adorn the stage with them by the show’s conclusion if she has succeeded. The premise posed by Mariani is more complex than it first appears. The suggestion t

Italy  is a country steeped in tradition and ritual. This manifests in countless ways, big and small: church ceremonies, university graduations and the acceptable times of day to drink cappuccino. And then there’s football. To the non-aficionado, football’s entrenched place in Italian culture requires some explanation. The national side is among the most successful ever, and when they play an important match, everything grinds to a halt. The powerhouse domestic clubs have won

L’ombra del Gelsomino is a fluid blend of drama, dance, and physical theatre, and the quality of the performances is simply outstanding.

There's probably a clue in the title of a production entitled  Ha Ha Da Vinci , isn’t there? We all know a little about Leonardo da Vinci: creator of  Mona Lisa , the world’s most famous painting, whose iconic status transcends the art world and has become a byword for enigma itself, lending its name to, amongst others, a Nat King Cole song and a Bob Hoskins film. Yet fusing art and science, Da Vinci was so much more – architect, palaeontologist, sculptor and engineer – the l

It's fair to say that Elizabeth Keckley lived a life less ordinary. Emancipated slave turned dressmaker to Abraham Lincoln’s wife, the roll call of her achievements includes fashionista, writer, entrepreneur, activist and fundraiser. Tami Tyree tells her story at Milan Fringe in  Colored Silk . Born early in the nineteenth century into slavery, Keckley endured a typically brutal upbringing, including rape and beatings, despite being the daughter of the head of the household.

The ninth century: plague, war, pestilence, famine. The populace was largely u neducated, and ignorance was rife. Life expectancy was short – especially if you were a threat. We meet Johanna, born in a Rhine valley village at a time when women were forbidden from reading and writing. Her brother, Johannes, secretly helped her to read, though only after first extracting a price. Johannes died from a fever, however. A woman in the village, Matilda, had knowledge of herbal remed

Walking the streets of Milan at this year’s Fringe, I stumbled upon the Wall of Dolls. A memorial to victims of female violence and femicide, members of the public are encouraged to pin dolls to the wall and, hauntingly, there are photographs of some victims. It’s all rather sobering. L’altro ieri  (which can be translated as  The Day Before Yesterday ) recounts the story of Franca Viola, yet another victim of female violence. However, she and her family displayed enormous co

Gaudeamus Artistic Company’s stated intention is to offer the Italian community in Scotland the means to reconnect with or discover Italian culture through theatre. Indeed, the excellent cast symbolise the cultural links between Scotland and Italy, not to mention the iconic and charming venue  Valvona & Crolla , a visit being highly recommended at any time of the year. The set immediately suggests literary endeavours, with piles of books everywhere, some immediately identifia

This is a love story,” Jess and Iona tell us. Well, it’s probably two love stories, in truth. Iona (Leyla Aycan) and Jess (Catriona Faint) met at an Edinburgh bus stop during the Fringe. They continued to run into each other in queues and at a box office where Iona was working, and became friends. They reconnect every August at the Edinburgh Fringe and revel in its chaotic and often frantic environment. They recount how they go to bars, clubs, random Fringe shows – all set ag

Paldem appears to be the story of a young couple, enjoying modern life with a healthy and vibrant sex life. Things take a turn, however, when Kevin (Michael Workeye) records one of these sessions with Megan (Tash Cowley) on his video camera. It is a little unclear whether this was unintentional and whether it was livestreamed via OnlyFans (a subscription-based pornography internet platform). Whatever the intention, Megan is turned on by the idea and curious to explore further

The  term ‘nobody’ tends to be bandied around a little carelessly. But if your identity is systematically removed from you, it has a chilling resonance. Tilly Wedekind was an accomplished performer, married to Frank Wedekind, an acclaimed and influential playwright known for  Spring Awakening . Frank wrote roles for Tilly, perhaps most famously performing eponymously in the "Lulu sex tragedies". Frank began to deconstruct aspects of their married life and dramatise them on st

Sometimes it's what’s not being said that holds the most power. Mikey Burnett’s  Colours Run  leans heavily into the “kitchen sink drama” movement of the 1950s and 60s, portraying the struggles of working-class angry young men. The production is set in a Leith flat, where brothers Pongo (Ruaraidh Murray) and Pete (Sean Langtree) cohabit. Both are Hibernian football fans, with Pongo a member of the hooligan firm the Capital City Service, whose motto, “These colours don’t run”

Sometimes in life, you just have to push back. Erica (Eleanor Higgins) meets Jessie (Naomi Denny); both lesbians, electricity is in the air along with pounding dance music. They bond over a shared love of Tony Soprano and Lindsay Lohan, but their lives are far from straightforward. Living in urban Croydon, Erica is constantly short of money, maxing out her overdraft. Jessie at least has steady employment in retail… that is, until events conspire against her and she is fired.

December 21 is always the longest night of the year. In 1988, it was the darkest. In the mid-1980s, tensions were rising between some Middle Eastern and North African countries and the United States. In 1984, Libyans acquired timers for bomb detonators. In 1986, a discotheque in West Berlin was bombed, killing three Americans. Shortly afterwards, the US retaliated by bombing Libyan bases, killing an estimated 60 people. In 1988, various reports criticised lax security at Fran

Charlie Chaplin is perhaps the greatest physical comedian of all time. But he was so much more than that.  Smile: The Story of Charlie Chaplin  shines a light on some of his life. Born in South London poverty, he was sent to a workhouse aged just seven. Anyone familiar with his later tramp-pathos work will not have to look far for the inspiration. He later lands work at a circus, which tours to Vaudeville, USA. He is spotted by Max Sennett of Keystone Studios, signed up, and

Some German Jews managed to escape the Nazis. Clare Fraenkel’s grandfather Heinz was one of them. Heinz Fraenkel was at a Berlin cinema on 27 February 1933. This proved to be a momentous night historically, as the Nazis burned down the Reichstag, effectively bulldozing German democracy a mere four weeks after Hitler had come to power. While the second world war was still some time off, persecution was already rife in Germany. The film he went to see was interrupted by stormtr

Relationship management. No, this is not corporate jargon – this is more serious: just how does she get her boyfriend to take the rubbish out? Unusually for the Edinburgh Fringe,  Clean Slate  is staged in a traverse setting – in other words, audience members sit in rows on either side of a catwalk-style stage. The set initially is a kitchen island, with our protagonist, Louisa Marshall, cleaning vigorously. The set, incidentally, proves to be ingeniously mobile. The reason f