Susan Sloan Susan Sloan

Pardon My Mess.

Due to a security breach on my previous site I am in the process of moving everything over to here.

Of course, this has happened with fabulous timing just as the 2026 Edinburgh Festival is about to start..!

I’m mostly up and running again now, but still slowly making my way through misformatting and missing punctuation. Please look kindly on my attempts to salvage nearly 16 years of writing from the abyss in the meantime..

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Art Susan Sloan Art Susan Sloan

Marilyn at 100

Marilyn Monroe would have turned 100 this week, and the internet is filled with references to her 'centenary year'. As a lifelong fan, I've felt I should acknowledge it in print somehow, but if I'm honest, I find the concept of a centenary celebration for someone who died at 36 a bit weird. Still, I kept coming back to the idea that I should 'do' something

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Theatre Susan Sloan Theatre Susan Sloan

The Spy Who Came in from the Cold – Festival Theatre, Edinburgh

John le Carré's The Spy Who Came in From the Cold arrives at The Festival Theatre with a formidable reputation. Following a successful West End run, David Eldridge's stage adaptation, directed by Jeremy Herrin, brings the celebrated Cold War thriller to Edinburgh in a production rich in atmosphere and visual style.

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Theatre Susan Sloan Theatre Susan Sloan

OH DEARIE ME! - The High Life – Festival Theatre, Edinburgh

Something about getting lost in the 'Lower Largo' triangle, everyone being ginger, IRN BRU and Margaret Thatcher's spit? I got a little lost, along with the plane and the plot, but it hardly matters when the show is having that much fun with itself

A riotous, warm, funny, occasionally uneven celebration of a cult favourite, and Scottishness itself. Thirty years on, Air Scotia is still very much worth boarding.

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Theatre Susan Sloan Theatre Susan Sloan

All Drag, No Dags - Priscilla, Queen of the Desert – Edinburgh Festival Theatre

Last night, I was lucky enough to enjoy a fantastic evening of infectious fun and flamboyant frocks at the Edinburgh Festival Theatre, courtesy of The Bohemians' production of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert. Formed in 1909, The Bohemian Lyric Opera Company is one of Scotland’s oldest and most respected amateur companies. But before you say, "Amateur? Oh, bless," let me assure you—this show was anything but amateur in the common usage of the word. In fact, it was a stellar example of the many ways in which 'amdram' productions can equal or even surpass many of the well known professional touring shows

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Theatre Susan Sloan Theatre Susan Sloan

The Show Still Lands, Even If The Helicopter Doesn't - Miss Saigon at the Edinburgh Playhouse

Like its peers among the “mega-musicals” of the 1990s such as Les Misérables, Phantom of the Opera, and Starlight Express - became legendary for its monumental set pieces. The helicopter sequence was always its most iconic moment, a jaw-dropping feat of stagecraft that symbolised the excess and ingenuity of the era. But what this current production proves, decisively, is that Miss Saigon doesn’t need to rely on spectacle alone to be devastatingly effective

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Theatre Susan Sloan Theatre Susan Sloan

The Talented Mr. Ripley - Edinburgh Festival Theatre

Is it possible to commit a forgery against yourself? It may seem ironic to complain about the reinvention of a character so chameleonic, but while Mark Leipacher’s staging of The Talented Mr. Ripley takes Patricia Highsmith’s iconic origin story in a stylishly stylised direction, it is ultimately with mixed results.

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