#TheatreReview By Lou of Macbeth by the Sea @MacBethByTheSea – 4 star #Comedy take on a #Shakespeare classic #play @theSpaceUK #TheSpaceOnTheMile #EdFringe #FillYerBoots #WhatsonStage #WhatonEdin #Edinburgh

Macbeth By the Sea

I saw Macbeth By Sea, quite an absurd and unusual take on Macbeth to say the least and with plenty of laughs. It’s a comedy/comedie on in The Space on the Mile in Space 2. Find out below what the brochure says, my review and where you can purchase tickets.

What the Brochure says:

The Macbeths have killed King Duncan and taken over his kingdom. Now it’s time to party – except for Banquo’s battered spirit showing up and ruining everything. Lady Macbeth is worried her husband’s guilty hallucinations will doom their tenure as royalty. She orders they go away for the weekend at a seaside resort to get their heads on straight. Try as they might to loose the shackles of their evil deeds with couples massages, karaoke, and vacation friends – a certain trio of witches aren’t far behind.

Review

“That Scottish play” is in the theatrical air, from the Edinburgh Fringe to many other theatres across the country, there are many different performances of it between this and next year.

Macbeth by the Sea is an hour-long absurdist comedy play produced by the American company John Hancock Productions. It is being shown at the Space on the Mile and is directed by Andrea J. Dymond.

This was definitely the quirkiest, strangest productions of Macbeth I and possibly many other people have ever seen. It mixes the absurd with original storytelling and occasional bursts of Shakespearean rhythm of words.

“The Scottish Play” starts with, let’s just say, a bit of a rice pudding obessesion, which may not sell the play to you, but there’s more, where it gets better. The play moves onto the Macbeths, who go on holiday for a break from all that happened before. Interestingly their holiday is in a seaside resort and all conjures up a 1920’s/1930’s vibe. It is quite a luxury hotel with a spa and karaoke nights. Their holiday is interrupted by a lieutenant who is reminiscent of a PI, noir style. The lieutenant is there to investigate Duncan’s death.

The 3 witches make an entrance like you’ve never seen them before. The lines are what you’d expect to hear (almost), but there’s a clever twist in their delivery.

At times it breaks the fourth wall as you are told in ingenious ways, the actual story of Macbeth in an abridged way, focusing on the main points. I felt there were moments of respect for the original script as a more modern story was entwined with it. It is still probably still useful to know, at least a bit of Macbeth beforehand, so you can fully follow what’s going on.

It’s a good fun afternoon. Here is the link to the play where you can book your tickets: https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/macbeth-by-the-sea

Thanks for the invitation in-exchange of an honest review.

#Review by Lou of The Wild Coast by Lin Anderson @Lin_Anderson @PanMacmillan #CrimeFiction #TheWildCoast #Scottishnoir @RandomTTours #BlogTour

The Wild Coast

By Lin Anderson

The latest Rhona McLeod book by Lin Anderson has arrived with riveting mystery and conversational points. Find out about this and ahead and after my review what else she has written in this series.

A remote shoreline. A lethal killer. As lone visitors disappear from the rural northwest of Scotland, campsites are becoming crime scenes. The Wild Coast is a chilling thriller from Lin Anderson.

When forensic scientist Rhona MacLeod is brought in to analyse a shallow grave on Scotland’s west coast, she is disturbed by a bundle of twigs crafted into a stickman and left in the victim’s mouth.

Then, when a young woman is reported missing from a nearby campsite with another sinister figurine left in her van, it seems that someone is targeting wild campers. An idyllic coastline known for providing peace and serenity, now the area is a hunting ground.

As her investigation proceeds, Rhona is forced to reconsider her closest bonds. Rumours of sexual assault offences by serving police officers are circling in Glasgow, which may include her trusted colleague DS Michael McNab. Could it be true, or is someone looking to put him out of action?

All the while a young woman’s life is on the line and the clock is ticking . . .

‘Lin Anderson is one of Scotland’s national treasures’ Stuart MacBride

Review

The Wild Coast is chilling with a slight creepy vibe with the wild landscape and stickmen left as a mark on victims. Wildcampers beware!

Arisaig is where Rhona McLeod is holidaying. She thought it would be relaxing, time away from the stresses of the job and away from the front door.

The book is observant when it comes to latest trends such as wildcamping. These are the people being targeted in the latest crime wave.

In comes Rhona McLeod and her team also battle their own crisis. This is when the news meets book. The police, including her team are facing scrutiny, even her closest colleague and friend Michael McNab. There are rumours of assaults. It adds to tensions for the team and the reader.

This is a book expertly intertwining the conversation surrounding policing as well as crime solving. It’s fascinating and full of intrigue with the contrast of beautiful, wild scenery and the darkness that certain people bring. Lin Anderson manages to have a contrast of light and dark and great plotting that makes it compelling.

Wild Coast is a book I recommend, whether you have read this series before or not.

#Review By Lou of Edinburgh Fringe Festival comedy starring Mark Watson – More Banging On About Time And Other Similar Issues @watsoncomedian @edfringe @ARedinburgh #Comedy #MarkWatson #EdFringe2022 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Mark Watson – More Banging On About Time And Other Similar Issues

I was kindly invited by Mark Watson to his show – More Banging On About Time And Other Similar Issues.
Please note this has no influence in what I wrote in my review. All opinions are my own and all honest.

Mark Watson is a stand up comedian who has been on many panel shows and an author. It is a Working Progress Show as his audiences become the “guinea pigs” as it were, to try out new material on to then create a polished show later on. There are many comedians who do this and try it out on a willing Edinburgh Fringe Festival audience. The link to book tickets is below, after the review. I thank Mark Watson for the lovely surprise of putting me on his guest list and for the photo op and signing my ticket. All lovely, but I know readers, you’ll be wondering if the show itself is worth booking and putting into your schedules. It absolutely is and here is why…

The show began a bit more unconventionally than most, but it certainly got the audience in the mood for comedy and that’s when the laughing of everyone began and didn’t end until the show did. Mark Watson easily captures an audience and the day I attended was a sell-out performance.

It’s interesting, the long, long lists that Mark Watson has on his phone that has piqued his interest for various reasons, he may go into that on other shows too. He talked about time and how it is a strange thing and the questions adults ponder and the questions kids ask and expect either adults or the internet to answer. There are many parent jokes, but you don’t have to be one to find them very humorous. I’m not a parent and still was thoroughly entertained. He doesn’t stop there. He talked about WhatsApp groups and what parents ask teachers on Zoom, which was also hilarious, even just the gall of the parents to dare ask certain things.

There is a small degree of self-deprecation to the performance that is a continuous line of joke after relatable joke that leads to a well rounded conclusion. This was a working progress show and I look forward to hopefully attending the show when it is completely polished and finished.

I highly recommend booking this show. Here is the link

Mark Watson – More Banging On About Time and Similar Issues

#BookReview By Lou of Jeeves And The Leap of Faith By Ben Schott @benschott @PenguinRandom #PenguinCornerstone #JeevesAndWooster

Jeeves And A Leap of Faith
A Jeeves and Wooster story
By Ben Schott
Jeeves and Wooster, originally created by
P.G. Wodehouse

I’ve had A Leap of Faith By Ben Shotts on my tbr review pile longer than I ever intended, but it gives me great pleasure to finally present my review. Find out more in the blurb and my review below. I thank Penguin for the opportunity to review

The Drones club’s in peril. Gussie’s in love. Spode’s on the war-path. Oh, and His Majesty’s Government needs a favour. I say – it’s a good thing Bertie’s back!

One man – and his Gentleman’s Personal Gentleman – valiantly set out to save the Drones, thwart Spode and nobly assist His Majesty’s Government.

From the mean streets of Mayfair to the scheming spires of Cambridge we encounter a joyous cast of characters: chiselling painters and criminal bookies, eccentric philosophers and dodgy clairvoyantes, appalling poets and pocket dictators, vexatious aunts and their vicious hounds.

Replete with a Times crossword, and classic Schottian endnotes, you hold in your hands the most blissfully entertaining means to while away an idle hour.

P.G. Wodehouse has long been a panacea for the woes of the world… have we ever needed a new Jeeves and Wooster more?

Review

The big question is of course – can Ben Schotts really recreate two loved characters convincingly with all the idiosyncrasies? The answer, mostly, yes, in a way as he pays respectful homage to the original creator of Jeeves and Bertie Wooster – P.G. Wodehouse.
It is perhaps a little different in plotting and premise, but the humour and characterisation in the main is there. In someways the premise of them doing a favour that involved MI5 is humorous in itself, with a mix of pastiche and modern jokes, as Schotts brings it respectfully up to date. Readers will be able to tell there is a passion for Jeeves and Wooster that comes from the author and transfers onto the page.

Once you get into the setting, then the characters can be enjoyed. The entertainment that is needed when certain things in the world is bleak, emerges and is all there, creating fun escapism for a whole new audience of readers and for those who have already acquainted themselves with the ubquiteous characters that do indeed provide a panacea to darker times.

It’s all in all, a fun book.

#BookReview by Lou – What Planet Can I Blame This On by Ellie Pilcher @ElliePilcher95 @Hodder_Studio

What Planet Can I Blame This On
by Ellie Pilcher

Laugh out loud funny, this book is one comedy of life that is great to relax into and tickle those funny bones.
Thank you to Ellie Pilcher and Hodder Studio for the invite to review and for gifting me a book.

Blurb

The stars are not in position – and Krystal Baker is determined to make them fall in line.

It’s Krystal’s 29th birthday. This year:

· Her boyfriend finally proposed after six years of dating (only for her to find out he cheated on her for five and a half of them)

· She landed her dream job as a writer at Craze magazine (which swiftly fell into administration)

· She moved into her dream flat overlooking the city (just for the pipes to explode making the place unliveable)

As she mourns everything wrong in her life, her best friend mutters the dreaded words: Saturn Return. The time in a woman’s life where Saturn returns to the position it was in on the day of their birth, 29.5 years ago, and, according to legend, everything falls apart. Krystal has never bought into astrology but maybe it’s time to re-evaluate – because if the stars got her into this mess, they can get her out of it. And she only has six months to make things right.

Loaded with crystals, horoscopes, tarot cards and a carefully aligned chakra or two, Krystal’s determined to have her life back on track by the time Saturn returns. No longer shall she brand herself a ‘human disaster’ because this time it’s not her fault, it’s written in the treacherous stars.

It’s Krystal versus the universe in a fight for her future that she’s determined to win.

Review

This is surprisingly very funny. It starts with Krystal’s birthday and her bemoaning her playlist, of which I may have furrowed my brow at Stay Shakespear’s Sister, but each taste is different. Moving on… It’s her birthday and her playlist dislike is the absolute least of her worries. Her boyfriend and his behaviour is her biggest problem. Luckily she has friends, Tina and Paige to turn to. The conversation that ensues is seriously funny and the humour in the descriptions and dialogue continue throughout as they decide what they want to do with the bad boyfriend. There’s also a funny description and reference to Villanelle in Killing Eve and Harry Potter and other references to things such as pop culture and more, carefully placed, and in a witty way
Life just tumbles for her as she then loses her job and finds herself which planet or star she can blame it all on. It’s a book that lives and breaths in grown-up millienials in some ways and in another, in the most funniest ways, that the planets and stars have a lot to play in her life. As much as throughout, it is fun to laugh with Krystal and her friends and at her, it is easy to cheer her on and hope that things pick up in her life again, from all the freefalling catastrophes that life can throw at people. She then relies on horoscopes and planet alignments to help her re-evaluate her life and to try to change it and her friends are there too, full of kindness.
Whatever stage you are in life, there will be something relatable and it is ultimately a laugh-out-loud book, that’s as good as some sitcoms in some of the humour.

The humour makes this a wonderful book to sit with a glass of wine or something, out in the sun.

#BookReview by Lou – Love and Miss Harris by Peter Maughan @PeterMaughan5 @farragobooks @RandomTTours #ContemporaryFiction #Theatre #HistoricalFiction #Humour

Love And Miss Harris
By Peter Maughan

Love and Miss Harris is perfect for theatre-goers and everyone working in theatre productions. It is also perfect for people who enjoy Ealing Comedies and authors such as P.G. Wodehouse and Jerome K. Jerome and people who enjoy a good bit of capers and humour as the book captures a certain era so divinely. It’s a lot of theatrical fun! This is book 1 of what is becoming a series and I am looking forward to the second already. It’s a feel-good funny book.

Find out more in the blurb and review below. Thanks to Random Things Tours for inviting me to review and for Farrago Books for gifting me a copy of the book.

About the Author

Peter Maughan’s early career covered many trades, working on building sites, in wholesale markets, on fairground rides and in a circus. He studied at the Actor’s Workshop in London, and worked as an actor in the UK and Ireland, subsequently founding a fringe theatre in Barnes, London.
He is married and lives currently in Wales.

Blurb

Titus Llewellyn-Gwlynne, actor/manager of the Red Lion Theatre, has lost a backer who was going to fund a theatrical tour – when unexpected salvation appears.
Their home theatre in the East End of London having been bombed during the war, The Red Lion Touring Company embarks on a tour of Britain to take a play written by their new benefactress into the provinces.

This charming series transports the reader to a lost post-war world of touring rep theatre and once-grand people who have fallen on harder times, smoggy streets, and shared bonhomie over a steaming kettle.
The mood is whimsical, wistful, nostalgic, yet with danger and farce along the way.

Review

I love theatre and everything about it, ever since my mum introduced me to the theatre when I was a teenager, I’ve had a passion for them, so much so, that I even volunteered for just over a decade for a local theatre company, mostly doing front of house duties and occasionally backstage. So, when I was invited to review this book, I jumped at the chance and I think the timing is most apt as theatres and everyone has struggled to get by at this time and now they are starting, slowly but surely, and safely to re-open. This book instantly brings back the joy of theatre and also comedy. The fact it is The Company of Fools series, is in itself theatrical and Shakespearean in that subtitle, although the book itself is not Shakespearean, it’s thoughtful and adds fun and history right there and also cleverly alludes to the fun readers will have, as does that cover. This is worthwhile hopping onto that bus on the cover and enjoying the ride the book takes you on…

Titus, Reuben, Dolly, Jack are prominant characters within this theatrical cast, that instantly transports readers to rep theatre and with wonderful characterisation and observations are divine and everything comes to life. It is also nice that The Windmill Theatre gets a mention as it is pretty famous for rep theatre at this time.

The title of the book is more clever than you’d think. Love and Miss Harris is the title of a play that Lady Devonaire has written, or rather George, with this as his pseudonymn. The style of writing is quite theatrical in places, which is wonderful and it has a lot of charm. It’s easy to depict in your minds eye – The Red Lion Touring Company losing their theatre due to it being bombed and how they overcome it by jumping on a tour bus and travelling. It shows a certain ingenuity and resillience and admiration how theatre has had to overcome hard times to survive, a bit like today in a way…. So hop on the bus with them and enjoy the ride that is full of humour and get to know a little about the places they go to. That isn’t to say that things are all plain sailing, the company are suspicious of Jack and there’s financial issues to try to overcome. There are also interesting bits about war times too, in memories, that isn’t to say this is a book that jumps from one time frame to another, it isn’t as that wouldn’t have enhanced what is a perfectly good read as it is.

All in all, it is a thoroughly enjoyable book.

I have read the preview for the second in the series and I must say, it is sounding good.