https://www.theskinny.co.uk/ Latest articles from The Skinny en-us Tue, 09 Jun 2026 09:21:49 +0100 Scottish theatre in June includes stories that reckon with history and memory, while dance and opera offer several opportunities for escapism https://www.theskinny.co.uk/theatre/shows/previews/scottish-theatre-highlights-june-2026 https://www.theskinny.co.uk/theatre/shows/previews/scottish-theatre-highlights-june-2026 hello@theskinny.co.uk (The Skinny) Mon, 01 Jun 2026 11:30:00 +0100 As Scotland prepares for the World Cup, Joe McCann's new play restores Andrew Watson – the world’s first Black international footballer – to Scottish history https://www.theskinny.co.uk/theatre/interviews/joe-mccann-on-the-corinthian https://www.theskinny.co.uk/theatre/interviews/joe-mccann-on-the-corinthian hello@theskinny.co.uk (The Skinny) Fri, 29 May 2026 13:52:15 +0100 Dawn Steele shines in a warm and winning show in which football becomes a lens through which to explore loss and community https://www.theskinny.co.uk/theatre/shows/reviews/black-diamonds-and-the-blue-brazil-royal-lyceum-edinburgh https://www.theskinny.co.uk/theatre/shows/reviews/black-diamonds-and-the-blue-brazil-royal-lyceum-edinburgh hello@theskinny.co.uk (The Skinny) Mon, 25 May 2026 14:30:55 +0100 A blistering new production of Lynn Nottage’s Pulitzer-winning drama Sweat paints a portrait of working-class lives under pressure https://www.theskinny.co.uk/theatre/shows/reviews/sweat-citizens-theatre-glasgow https://www.theskinny.co.uk/theatre/shows/reviews/sweat-citizens-theatre-glasgow hello@theskinny.co.uk (The Skinny) Tue, 19 May 2026 11:08:49 +0100 Positive Stories for Negative Times returns with a fresh slate of brand new plays for young people. Comedian Greg McHugh, panto legend Johnny McKnight and cult clown duo Xhloe & Natasha are among the latest cohort of theatre-makers https://www.theskinny.co.uk/theatre/shows/positive-stories-for-negative-times-creates-free-plays-for-young-people https://www.theskinny.co.uk/theatre/shows/positive-stories-for-negative-times-creates-free-plays-for-young-people hello@theskinny.co.uk (The Skinny) Fri, 15 May 2026 10:15:00 +0100 Scottish Opera’s Susannah Wapshott on accessibility, Mozart’s near-perfect score and why The Marriage of Figaro still resonates now https://www.theskinny.co.uk/theatre/interviews/susannah-wapshott-scottish-opera-marriage-of-figaro https://www.theskinny.co.uk/theatre/interviews/susannah-wapshott-scottish-opera-marriage-of-figaro hello@theskinny.co.uk (The Skinny) Wed, 06 May 2026 12:51:13 +0100 National Theatre of Scotland's new retelling of the Lee Jeans Sit-In of 1981 is a wonderful retelling of workers' strength and solidarity that feels more vital than ever https://www.theskinny.co.uk/theatre/shows/reviews/stand-deliver-the-lee-jeans-sit-in-tron-theatre-glasgow https://www.theskinny.co.uk/theatre/shows/reviews/stand-deliver-the-lee-jeans-sit-in-tron-theatre-glasgow hello@theskinny.co.uk (The Skinny) Tue, 05 May 2026 12:27:00 +0100 Work, class and political memory come into focus this May, with revivals and new writing sweeping Scotland’s stages https://www.theskinny.co.uk/theatre/shows/previews/scottish-theatre-highlights-may-2026 https://www.theskinny.co.uk/theatre/shows/previews/scottish-theatre-highlights-may-2026 hello@theskinny.co.uk (The Skinny) Fri, 01 May 2026 11:10:11 +0100 Karine Polwart's solo endeavour is a resonant, immersive tale about the life of plants https://www.theskinny.co.uk/theatre/shows/reviews/windblown-royal-lyceum-edinburgh https://www.theskinny.co.uk/theatre/shows/reviews/windblown-royal-lyceum-edinburgh hello@theskinny.co.uk (The Skinny) Thu, 30 Apr 2026 22:04:52 +0100 Playwright Frances Poet, director Jemima Levick and Margaret 'Maggie' Wallace, an original striker, discuss Stand and Deliver: The Lee Jeans Sit-In – the story of a Greenock uprising fit for the stage https://www.theskinny.co.uk/theatre/interviews/staging-solidarity-the-lee-jeans-sit-in-of-1981 https://www.theskinny.co.uk/theatre/interviews/staging-solidarity-the-lee-jeans-sit-in-of-1981 hello@theskinny.co.uk (The Skinny) Thu, 16 Apr 2026 10:51:52 +0100 New writing and touring work take centre stage in April, with book and film adaptations, local storytelling and small-scale narratives well worth watching https://www.theskinny.co.uk/theatre/shows/previews/scottish-theatre-highlights-april-2026 https://www.theskinny.co.uk/theatre/shows/previews/scottish-theatre-highlights-april-2026 hello@theskinny.co.uk (The Skinny) Tue, 31 Mar 2026 15:56:00 +0100 A piece of resistance for our modern times, Stewart Laing’s interpretation of Saint Joan is defiant, hopeful and delivered with clinical precision https://www.theskinny.co.uk/theatre/shows/reviews/saint-joan-traverse-theatre-edinburgh https://www.theskinny.co.uk/theatre/shows/reviews/saint-joan-traverse-theatre-edinburgh hello@theskinny.co.uk (The Skinny) Mon, 23 Mar 2026 18:03:32 +0000 A lyrical solo performance about a child surviving Gaza’s devastation, A Grain of Sand blends folklore and testimony to insist on bearing conscious witness to genocide https://www.theskinny.co.uk/theatre/shows/reviews/a-grain-of-sand-citizens-theatre-glasgow https://www.theskinny.co.uk/theatre/shows/reviews/a-grain-of-sand-citizens-theatre-glasgow hello@theskinny.co.uk (The Skinny) Mon, 16 Mar 2026 17:44:00 +0000 Edinburgh International Festival returns with a programme around the theme of All Rise. Highlights include a new version of Angels in America, Missy Mazzoli's opioid opera The Galloping Cure and an intimate gig from corto.alto https://www.theskinny.co.uk/music/news/edinburgh-international-festival-announces-2026-programme https://www.theskinny.co.uk/music/news/edinburgh-international-festival-announces-2026-programme hello@theskinny.co.uk (The Skinny) Wed, 11 Mar 2026 12:00:00 +0000 With the CCA in Glasgow now in liquidation, its staff left jobless, and its windows boarded up, we speak to some of the artists and programmers who use this space and ask what we've lost in the wreckage and what we can salvage if the CCA returns https://www.theskinny.co.uk/art/features/cca-glasgow-retrospective https://www.theskinny.co.uk/art/features/cca-glasgow-retrospective hello@theskinny.co.uk (The Skinny) Thu, 05 Mar 2026 13:21:00 +0000 In Dawn King's The Trials, teens hold adults accountable to a catastrophic climate in the near-future. Our writer speaks to director Joanna Bowman about exploring praxis through theatre in times of crisis https://www.theskinny.co.uk/theatre/interviews/joanna-bowman-climate-crisis-trials-play https://www.theskinny.co.uk/theatre/interviews/joanna-bowman-climate-crisis-trials-play hello@theskinny.co.uk (The Skinny) Tue, 03 Mar 2026 13:03:51 +0000 The Events pulls the audience into its community before probing the psychology of white supremacist violence. While provocative and timely, emotionally and politically, it doesn't quite go far enough https://www.theskinny.co.uk/theatre/shows/reviews/the-events-traverse-theatre-edinburgh https://www.theskinny.co.uk/theatre/shows/reviews/the-events-traverse-theatre-edinburgh hello@theskinny.co.uk (The Skinny) Mon, 02 Mar 2026 17:04:15 +0000 Myth and musical nostalgia shape March’s theatre offerings, along with political reckonings and reliable bits of brightness https://www.theskinny.co.uk/theatre/shows/previews/scottish-theatre-highlights-march-2026 https://www.theskinny.co.uk/theatre/shows/previews/scottish-theatre-highlights-march-2026 hello@theskinny.co.uk (The Skinny) Fri, 27 Feb 2026 16:25:00 +0000 A visually mesmerising premiere from Scottish Opera, The Great Wave paints a portrait of Hokusai that never quite reaches an emotional high tide https://www.theskinny.co.uk/theatre/shows/reviews/the-great-wave-scottish-opera-festival-theatre-edinburgh https://www.theskinny.co.uk/theatre/shows/reviews/the-great-wave-scottish-opera-festival-theatre-edinburgh hello@theskinny.co.uk (The Skinny) Fri, 20 Feb 2026 15:02:52 +0000 A deeply personal hour with storyteller and multi-disciplinary artist Iddo Oberski offers insights into what it means to be human, and what it means to be free https://www.theskinny.co.uk/theatre/shows/reviews/balancing-in-freedom-scottish-storytelling-centre-edinburgh https://www.theskinny.co.uk/theatre/shows/reviews/balancing-in-freedom-scottish-storytelling-centre-edinburgh hello@theskinny.co.uk (The Skinny) Wed, 04 Feb 2026 15:53:21 +0000 February places Manipulate Festival within Scotland’s theatre rota once more, joined by inventive re-workings of the classics across puppetry, opera, ballet and contemporary drama https://www.theskinny.co.uk/theatre/shows/previews/scottish-theatre-highlights-february-2026 https://www.theskinny.co.uk/theatre/shows/previews/scottish-theatre-highlights-february-2026 hello@theskinny.co.uk (The Skinny) Mon, 02 Feb 2026 13:05:00 +0000 As Manipulate Festival returns to Edinburgh, we explore the intersection of absurdity and political satire at the festival through two of its shows – Auntie Empire and Coffee with Sugar? https://www.theskinny.co.uk/theatre/interviews/manipulate-festival-2026-auntie-empire-coffee-with-sugar https://www.theskinny.co.uk/theatre/interviews/manipulate-festival-2026-auntie-empire-coffee-with-sugar hello@theskinny.co.uk (The Skinny) Fri, 30 Jan 2026 10:00:00 +0000 David Esbjornson’s take on the novella and film is buoyed by stellar performances all around, offering the glimmers of hope audiences expect from this beloved tale https://www.theskinny.co.uk/theatre/shows/reviews/the-shawshank-redemption-royal-lyceum-edinburgh https://www.theskinny.co.uk/theatre/shows/reviews/the-shawshank-redemption-royal-lyceum-edinburgh hello@theskinny.co.uk (The Skinny) Fri, 23 Jan 2026 12:34:21 +0000 Looking into a new year, this month's writer pulls back the curtain on shallow diversity schemes in theatre – and points to new roots from which he and all can thrive https://www.theskinny.co.uk/theatre/opinion/diversity-beyond-representation-envisioning-a-new-theatre https://www.theskinny.co.uk/theatre/opinion/diversity-beyond-representation-envisioning-a-new-theatre hello@theskinny.co.uk (The Skinny) Fri, 16 Jan 2026 12:00:00 +0000 Scottish theatre in January eases us out of festive excess and into a colder, more contemplative moment https://www.theskinny.co.uk/theatre/shows/previews/scottish-theatre-highlights-january-2026 https://www.theskinny.co.uk/theatre/shows/previews/scottish-theatre-highlights-january-2026 hello@theskinny.co.uk (The Skinny) Wed, 07 Jan 2026 11:14:48 +0000 Pitlochry Festival Theatre's Artistic Director Alan Cumming looks forward to a busy 2026 by taking on our Q&A https://www.theskinny.co.uk/theatre/interviews/the-skinny-on-alan-cumming https://www.theskinny.co.uk/theatre/interviews/the-skinny-on-alan-cumming hello@theskinny.co.uk (The Skinny) Mon, 05 Jan 2026 11:00:00 +0000 We take a tour of Glasgow and Edinburgh’s family Christmas theatre offerings with an actual child in tow https://www.theskinny.co.uk/theatre/shows/reviews/scottish-christmas-theatre-2025 https://www.theskinny.co.uk/theatre/shows/reviews/scottish-christmas-theatre-2025 hello@theskinny.co.uk (The Skinny) Wed, 17 Dec 2025 15:50:00 +0000 Scottish Opera's La bohème dazzles with a delicious sense of excess, and uses its enduring story to draw compelling parallels to the contemporary https://www.theskinny.co.uk/theatre/shows/reviews/la-boheme-festival-theatre-edinburgh https://www.theskinny.co.uk/theatre/shows/reviews/la-boheme-festival-theatre-edinburgh hello@theskinny.co.uk (The Skinny) Tue, 02 Dec 2025 11:23:52 +0000 December brings pantomime mayhem, reimagined fairytales and a few icy gems for those wanting seasonal theatre with teeth https://www.theskinny.co.uk/theatre/shows/previews/scottish-theatre-highlights-december-2025 https://www.theskinny.co.uk/theatre/shows/previews/scottish-theatre-highlights-december-2025 hello@theskinny.co.uk (The Skinny) Tue, 02 Dec 2025 10:36:00 +0000 With Gallus in Weegieland, panto veterans Johnny McKnight and Sally Reid reflect on the Tron’s tradition of self-aware pantomime – and how a certain scrappy joy remains at the heart of it all https://www.theskinny.co.uk/theatre/interviews/johnny-mcknight-sally-reid-tron-panto https://www.theskinny.co.uk/theatre/interviews/johnny-mcknight-sally-reid-tron-panto hello@theskinny.co.uk (The Skinny) Thu, 27 Nov 2025 16:58:00 +0000