Brian Cox and Sandy Grierson in the Fred Goodwin drama Make It Happen
Arts Correspondent ANDY MOSELEY gives his verdict on Hal Cruttenden, Make It Happen, Mark Vigeant, The Spy Who Went to Rehab
Make it Happen
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Equal parts Greek tragedy, Shakespearean drama and political debate, Make it Happen is the story of the rise and fall of The Royal Bank of Scotland. The meteoric rise of the bank, under the guidance of Fred ‘The Shred’ Goodwin, is the focus of Act 1, while its equally spectacular fall and impact on the global economy takes centre stage in Act 2.
Goodwin, played by Sandy Grierson, delivers an excellent performance capturing the arrogance and lack of remorse that made Goodwin a figure of hate for many years. The use of an ensemble chorus to reimagine songs from the era as a commentary on unfolding events, is another superb device employed in the show.
But for all of the things to recommend about the show, it’s hard to escape that the marketing campaign focused almost exclusively on Brian Cox’s return to the Scottish stage. His appearance as the ghost of Adam Smith is largely a cameo role played for light relief to contrast with the deeper arguments explored in his conversations with Goodwin. This may leave many feeling that they have not seen what they came for.
Festival Theatre 7.30pm (matinee shows 2, 6 and 9 August)
30 June- 9 August (not 3rd)
Hal Cruttenden: Can dish it out but can’t take it
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Hal Cruttenden got divorced four years ago and turned the demise of his marriage into a very successful stand-up show. Proving that misery can be the gift that keeps giving, he now returns with a second show where the end of his marriage and the relationships he has had since, shape a lot of the hour.
Alongside this, he takes in a wide range of other topics, including people who identify too closely with stereotypes about the place they come from, Facebook holiday photos that make you hope the person taking them is having anything other than a good time, and the moment mother’s day moved from a celebration of the living to a commemoration of the dead.
Even as the material takes frequent dark turns, Cruttenden’s warm, infectious delivery makes it impossible to dislike or disagree with him, except for when he claims that he isn’t actually a nice person. The show is sharply observed, relentlessly funny and superbly delivered. An excellent hour of stand-up comedy.
Pleasance Courtyard (Cabaret Bar) 9.30pm
30 June-24 August (not 12th)
Mark Vigeant: The Best Man Show
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Tucked away in a late night slot at Zoo Playground for the 2024 Fringe, The Best Man Show is likely to have escaped a lot of people’s attention, so it’s fantastic to see it return this year at Assembly George Square.
Winner of Best Comedy at the 2024 Hollywood Fringe, The show sees Mark Vigeant as best man for his brother’s second marriage. It’s a polyamorous commitment ceremony, as his first wife is not only also in attendance, but she’s also still married to him.
Vigeant trades on recognisable tropes such as sibling rivalries, emotional parents, and failed ambitions, but ramps each of them up as the desire to impress his brother falls victim to an identity crisis fuelled by alcohol and his own sense of inadequacy.
Vigeant’s comic timing and delivery are superb throughout. He draws the audience into the show as guests at the wedding, and you leave feeling delighted that you’ve met the extended family, but grateful that you don’t have to live in the same town as them.
Assembly George Square (The Crate) 10.20pm
30 June-24 August (not 13th)
The Spy who went to rehab
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Simon Cross is being held captive by a shady organisation intent on breaking the will of a superspy who is James Bond in all but name. However, his new archenemy is not a terrorist organisation seeking world domination, it is a rehabilitation clinic forcing him to admit to being an alcoholic, a gambling addict, a sex addict and much, much, more.
Gregg Ostrin’s play is an extremely clever satire with a cast including Who’s Line is it Anyway veteran Mike McShane, who gives a show stealing performance as Bond nemesis Lazarus Rex, alongside the superb Satiar Pourvasei, who somehow manages to call to mind both Roger Moore and Bob Monkhouse in his depiction of Cross.
There are many superb set-piece scenes throughout, as Cross goes through a transition from a Sean Connery style Bond to the Daniel Craig version, before a finale that is every bit as over the top as the best of the Bond movies. It pays homage to the spy myth at the same time as it deconstructs it, and takes aim at the excesses of modern therapy while also showing why Cross, or Bond, could really do with a spell in rehab.
Pleasance Dome (Ace Dome) 12.10pm
30 June-25 August (not 11th or 18th )
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