Edinburgh Review: Blind Date Ruined My Life – Taylor & Bird

Continuing our Ones to Watch series highlighting the hit acts of the Edinburgh Fringe, Pauline Stobbs reviews comedic duo Taylor and Bird’s ‘Blind Date Ruined My Life’.

Taylor and Bird have got guts. Forgetting the slow and steady path to comedy, these two have fast tracked straight to the fringe festival with their first show Blind Date Ruined my Life. “What?” I hear you cry. “How could a classic ITV show have any damaging consequences to anyone ever?”

Advertisement

Edinburgh Review: Who’s Dorian Gray? – Empty Photo Theatre

With the Edinburgh Festival starting imminently, theatre companies are flocking northward to present their latest performative offerings. Dozens of venues and hundreds of shows means that there will be rather a lot for the discerning audience member to sift through. To help in the hunt, we will be presenting a series of ‘One’s to Watch’. First, we have Who’s Dorian Gray? from Empty Photo Theatre.

Who’s Dorian Gray?
Review by Pauline Stobbs

Ah, the world of flat sharing. Whether it’s trying to create some sort of livable co-existence with the weirdo across the hall or witnessing your best friend transform into a washing-up tyrant, modern day living arrangements can be a heinous battleground.

Review: Theatre Breaks

Pauline Stobbs delves into a night of new theatre from Tiny Dog Productions.

It was a sunny evening in Forest Hill, a lot further south of the river than I usually go, when I was led into the basement of a pub. The reason? To see six plays of new writing each lasting no more than twenty minutes. 

I had my concerns that six back-to-back plays by writers I’d never heard of could feel relentless. However Theatre Breaks offers a winning format. Run by Tiny Dog productions, a multi-disciplinary theatre company based in London, the festival is designed to be a platform for new work, and often the first chance for writers and directors to gauge the audience’s reaction. Having six plays offers a diverse programme of themes and styles, and most audiences are fair enough to gamble twenty minutes of time for the benefit. And there were some real winners in the night’s performances.