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D E H C A T T A S G NO SRTEVRIVIINNG THE DARK ART OF PUPPETRY ISSUE 3: COMEDY, THEATRE, MUSIC AND MORE – YOUR DEFINITIVE GUIDE TO THE FESTIVAL
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MICK PERRIN FOR
all k out Chec ails at et the d rin.com per k c i m
CellAr
arfringe.com 0844 693 3008
gildedballoon.co.uk 0131 622 6552
edinburghplayhouse.org.uk 0844 871 3014
underbelly.co.uk 0844 545 8252
pleasance.co.uk 0131 556 6550
edfringe.com 0131 226 0000
productions Underbelly Productions and Strut & Fret Production House present
HHHH HHHH HHHH
THREE HOURS OF IMMERSIVE LATE-NIGHT REVELRY IN THE UNDERBELLY vaults
‘GLORIOUS’ TIME OUT
‘AUDIENCE GRABBING’
Beatboxing virtuoso and star of Edinburgh hit Tom Tom Crew
TOM THUM
‘BRILLIANT’ EVENING STANDARD
THE TIMES
‘TRAIL BLAZING, HELL-RAISING CABARET’ TIME OUT
BOOM BOOM CLUB
THE
VOCAL
5.15PM 2-27 AUGUST
“Thum is truly phenomenal” The Independent
ORCHESTRA
12.30AM 8-26 AUGUST
“Tom Thum appears to have swallowed an entire orchestra and several backing singers”
CREATED BY SHLOMO
The Guardian
6.45PM 2-27 AUGUST
E TUMBLCIRCUS
UNDERBELLY PRODUCTIONS AND TUMBLE CIRCUS PRESENT
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£83
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WINNER OF THE CANADIAN SPOKEN WORD OLYMPICS
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FRINGE FIRST AWARD WINN KAHLIL ASHANTI IN
8.50pm , 1-19 Aug BASTARD S
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SHAYNE KOYCZAN
The Scotsman
HE HAS AN ABILITY TO TAKE YOU STRAIGHT TO THE HEART....
GUIDE TO
BASIC TRAINING
LIFE (OR HOW TO BE LESS
OF A FUCKTARD)
Guardian
, AUSTRALIA S FUNNIEST
7.30PM 13-27 AUG
COMEDY CHARACTER
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more info: www.laughingstock.com.au
B*tch Boxer
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4pm 2-26 August
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6.10PM 1-27 AUG
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Welcome to
Fest
FEST IS YOUR FREE GUIDE TO THE EDINBURGH FESTIVALS Pick us up from venues across Edinburgh PUBLISHER Sam Friedman EDITORIAL
festcontents
SHAPING the fringe
festival acts to describe what the Fest asks some top Fringe viously. Ob . ine the medium of plastic means to them, through
& Darton Café Hunt & Darton of Huntticine construction/expression in yellow,
ative plas in We have created a collabor ,’ this is our desert island Titled ‘Little bit of paradise red. and and g bur ten green, beige, blue Bat les, app tree, pine os, complete with palm the middle of festival cha Darton are ready & t Hun d, islan the on dwiches. Seated of course roast dinner san on their shore. ival goers that wash up fest ry wea any e serv to
Editor Ben Judge Deputy Editor Charlotte Lytton Comedy Editor Stevie Martin Theatre Editor Caroline Bishop Kids Editor Caroline Black Editorial Consultant Evan Beswick
PRODUCTION
Creative Director Matthew MacLeod Photography Editor Claudine Quinn Office Manager Hannah Putsey Web Editor Anna Feintuck
SALES TEAM
Lara Moloney, George Sully, Tom McCarthy, Michaela Hall CONTACT FEST hello@festmag.co.uk PUBLISHED BY FEST MEDIA LIMITED Registered in Scotland number SC344852
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REGISTERED ADDRESS 3 Coates Place, Edinburgh, EH3 7AA Every effort has been made to check the accuracy of the information in this magazine, but the publisher cannot accept liability for information which is inaccurate. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in whole or in part without the explicit permission of the publisher. The views and opinions expressed within this publication do not necessarily represent the views or opinions of the printer or the publisher. © Fest Media Limited 2012
4 fest edinburgh festival guide 2012
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festcontents 8 FEATURES
8 Masters of Puppets
Sean Bell speaks to the guys behind Boris and Sergey’s Vaudeville Adventure and The Trench, two of the most highly regarded shows at this year’s Fringe
12 Cariad Lloyd
Madcap character comic Cariad Lloyd tells Stevie Martin all about her imaginary friends.
16 Celebrity Obsessions
Amy Lamé, Dan Wright and Vikki Stone go crazy for tabloid-fodder.
21 COMEDY 22 Sam Simmons
The Aussie maestro returns with a deliriously accomplished new show.
27 Hannibal Buress
The Chicagoan comic is as laid back as its possible to be whilst still standing up.
31 Daniel Simonsen
The Norwegian comic leads a Scandanavian invasion of Edinburgh.
34 Claudia O’Doherty
She’s mad as hell. And she’s not going to take it anymore.
41 THEATRE 45 Daniel Kitson
Can the Fringe legend live up to his impossibly high billing?
52 And No More Shall We Part
Tear-jerking melodrama about a terminally ill woman’s suicide that explores love and loss.
56 Hip Hop Othello
The Brothers Q present Shakespeare’s classic, but not as you’ve ever seen it before.
60 Liz Lochhead
Scotland’s poet laureate serves up a sterling hour of verse.
62 MUSIC
63 Showstoppers!
The improvised musical makers have another treat in store for Fringe audiences.
65 Briefs
Beefcakes, cabaret and a cheeky hint of nudity. What more could a girl want?
66 KIDS
66 Superjohn
Caroline Black talks to the team behind Superjohn about their experiences helping sick children.
68 The Ballad of Pondlife McGurk
A blissfully simple work by Scottish children’s theatre company Catherine Wheels.
70 LISTINGS
Your essential what's on guide to the world's biggest arts festival.
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August 14 - 16 | edinburgh festival guide 2012 fest 5
perfectday
y a d t c e f r e p e h t
ing that the ing to see or do everyth n at least Face it: you're never go a bit of planning, you ca th wi t Bu er. off to ve festivals ha perfect day e fest team plan your th let ll, sti r tte Be st. see the be Biloxi Blues SWEET GRASSMARKET
Sprio Deli and Latteria ST STEPHEN STREET the bustle of Enjoy a little slice of Italy amidst the ‘Burgh in this traditional cafe.
Meet the army recruits in 1940s Mississipi as they come to terms with their gruelling new lifestyle.
14:35 0 :3 3 1
11 :0 0
16 :15
Ballad of Pondlife McGurk SCOTTISH BOOK TRUST This uplifting kids show asks the ories audience to revisit childhood mem . in a poignant look at friendship
6 fest edinburgh festival guide 2012 | August 14 - 16
Juana in a Million PLEASANCE DOME grants Based on the true stories of immi physical in the UK, this touching tale uses d the theatre to explore the reality behin stigma.
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perfectday Doctor Brown - Befrdfgth UNDERBELLY COWGATE
Claudia O’Doherty - The Tele scope UNDERBELLY COWGATE Rising star O’Doherty is the talk of the town, so see her while you still can.
21 :05
23 :1 5
Scooping up five star reviews all over the shop, this wacky silent comic is a master of his craft.
19 :45
Briefs UNDERBELLY BRISTO SQ All that glitters is gold for these sparkling cabaret stars.
18 :0 0
Dusit THISTLE STREET ary Thai Now in its 10th year, contempor for dinner, eatery Dusit is the perfect spot l Mile. located minutes from the Roya
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August 14 - 16 | edinburgh festival guide 2012 fest 7
MASTERS OF
PUPPETS Two of this year’s stand-out Fringe successes herald a resurgence in gothic, adult-oriented puppetry. Sean Bell investigates why puppets, not people, are the big story of the festival.
P
UPPETRY THAT explores dark, even adult, themes is nothing new. After all it’s several centuries since Punch and Judy first sprung up on beachfronts around the country, telling twisted tales of a wife-beating murderer. But it can’t pass unnoticed that a handful of the most highly rated productions at this year’s Fringe have put puppetry at the heart of their productions. Boris and Sergey’s Vaudevillian Adventure from Flabbergast Theatre and Les Enfants Terrible’s The Trench have earned wide acclaim and growing attention for their vivid, unpredictable approach to the art of puppetry. Somehow, the darkness at the heart of these productions is amplified; the inanimate object suddenly animated, given ridiculous, unnatural life... And while the puppeteer may be in control, the puppet always draws our focus. “A big wave was probably started by Michael Morpurgo’s War Horse, where the horses were designed by the Handspring Puppet Company,” says Oliver Lansley, the writer of The Trench. “In terms of renewed interest in puppetry, it showed mainstream audiences the range of what it could achieve. Another great example was Blind Summit’s The Table at last year’s Fringe. People are becoming more open to how puppetry can be used and how it can compliment the play.” The Trench is, as Lansley describes it, “stupidly ambitious” – a mixture of human performance, puppetry techniques, detailed and fantastical staging, and somber, soulful live music from
singer-composer Alexander Wolfe. Inspired by the true story of a group of miners trapped by a cave-in during the First World War, The Trench plays out in spoken verse and, as it steadily assumes an atmosphere that Lansley compares to Greek mythology and Lewis Carroll, the hellish reality of war shifts and melds with otherworldly fantasy. Indeed, to Lansley, there is no necessary juxtaposition between the dark, adult themes of The Trench and the use of puppetry. “Having a puppet in the show need not make it a ‘puppet show.’ And for performers, as a skill it’s not as terrifying and distant as it may seem. You just get your hands on it and make it work.” While The Trench uses gothic puppetry to supplement a brutally dark story of industrial slaughter on the battlefields of France, Boris and Sergey’s Vaudevillian Adventure is a bit more jaunty. Boris and Sergey, two Eastern European con artists in the form of foot-high bunraku puppets, host an intimate evening of cabaret and imaginative cursing that confounds expectations and never ceases to escalate in darkness and absurdity. Most striking, however, about Boris and Sergey is its profound aesthetic beauty and the extent to which one’s disbelief is utterly suspended. Despite the fact that the puppets are tiny, dwarfed by their controllers, they command your full attention. They are as real as any human character is. “The audience completely buy into the puppets and ignore the puppeteers,” says Henry u
8 fest edinburgh festival guide 2012 | August 14 - 16
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Photos: Trench
"USUALLY, THE FIRST THING THAT COMES TO MIND, NO MATTER HOW DIRTY OR INAPPROPRIATE, WILL BE THE MOST ENTERTAINING."
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August 14 - 16 | edinburgh festival guide 2012 fest 9
festfeature t Maynard, the show’s artistic director as well as one of the lead puppeteers. “There’s a Brechtian element where we remind people that they’re watching puppets on stage, that it’s not real. Some people have walked in with certain preconceptions about what puppetry is...” he smiles mischievously, before continuing. “Which we don’t necessarily deliver on.” But making this work requires great skill. Each puppet is operated by three puppeteers, which means the cast have to act in perfect sync; a tough challenge for a performance that requires the eponymous brothers to play poker, kung fu fight, perform pyrotechnic acrobatics and dance eerily to Kate Bush. As Elaine Hartley, who controls Sergey’s legs, explains: “If the head puppeteer takes an intake of breath, that’s our cue for ‘running’ or ‘jumping.’ All the puppeteers breathe together, so when Boris and Sergey start running we all have the same rhythm and pace.” Building this level of skill required a gruelling crash-course in puppetry. “When we set out to do this, we did four weeks' rehearsal, and the first week was pure puppeteering,” says Maynard. While justly proud of the puppetry on display, Maynard points more to the burgeoning cabaret revival, with its tendency towards the gothic and the outrageous, to explain Boris and Sergey’s success. This influence is clearly seen in much of the manic, freewheeling improvisation that completes the performance, ad-libbing freely and bantering profanely with the crowd. “Usually, the first thing that comes to mind, no matter how dirty or inappropriate, will be the most entertaining. With improvisation, the characters evolve and become incredibly complex. Boris and Sergey have a twisted, love-hate codependency, which is classic double-act clowning, but is built up over time.” It probably helps that, despite the incredible technical proficiency that the cast displays, most of Flabbergast Theatre initially trained in acting and comedy rather than puppetry. “You need a lot of empathy to channel something through another object,” Maynard says. If Boris and Sergey is all about the puppetry, the careful honing of a craft until the characters come alive and interact with an audience, in The Trench the puppets are very much folded into the staging and the narrative. Lansley acknowledges that: “sometimes, Fringe
Boris & Sergey's Vaudevillian Adventure (Claudine Quinn)
theatre is understandably afraid of elaborate staging. To use this amount of props, puppets and effects in this amount of time is pretty epic, but it can be done. “The Fringe is such a great place for experimentation, so I would always encourage people to be as ambitious as they can - though venue staff might not agree with me!” he laughs. “It’s ridiculous
10 fest edinburgh festival guide 2012 | August 14 - 16
and exhausting, but it’s a nice change from two chairs on a bare stage.” f The Trench, Pleasance Courtyard, 1:10pm – 2:10pm, 13–27 Aug, not 14, 25, £10.00 – £12.00 Boris & Sergey's Vaudevillian Adventure, Pleasance Courtyard, 11pm – 12am, 12–27 Aug, not 13, 21, £9 – £10
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August 14 - 16 | edinburgh festival guide 2012 fest 11
CARIAD AND
FRIENDS PHOTOS: CLAUDINE QUINN
Screwball character comic Cariad Lloyd exploded out of nowhere in 2011, picking up a Best Newcomer nomination at the Edinburgh Comedy Awards. Stevie Martin meets a comic for whom the boundary between fiction and reality is a little blurry.
L
AST YEAR, character comedian Cariad Lloyd kicked off her debut at the Fringe with no agent, no producer and a press release written by a friend who happened to work in PR. By her own admission, she had no idea what was going on. Last year, character comedian Cariad Lloyd capped off her debut at the Fringe with a Best Newcomer nomination and another friend roped in to control the audiences maxing the capacity of the Voodoo Rooms. “I owe PBH so much and the Free Fringe is a wonderful, brilliant thing,” the 29 year-old says, dwarfed by a pint of cranberry and lemonade (she’s tiny), “but I was running that room myself. I had no changing rooms. People on the staircase would think something arty was happening when I was actually just trying to get my jumper off.” This year’s The Freewheelin’ Cariad Lloyd allows for more privacy in terms of jumper removal, and she’s also armed with an agent, a producer, a director and some new, and returning, characters. “It’s been tough deciding who stays and who goes,” she says, having had to chop an hour’s worth of imaginary friends to fit her show into its allocated timeslot. And when I say friends, I mean friends; she talks about them as if they were living, breathing pals, as liable to make her laugh as piss her off.
12 fest
"I WORE A LONG BLACK WIG AND DANCED WHILE SHOUTING H-S-B-C. PEOPLE REALLY DID WONDER WHAT THE FUCK I WAS DOING.”
It’s difficult, then, when one doesn’t make the Edinburgh cut. ‘Marleine Deitrich: Head of the PTA’ wouldn’t do what Cariad wanted: “It was so frustrating. She just wouldn’t stop singing.” and Helena Susan Bonham Carter (a superhero defending Primrose Hill) met a fair amount of audience confusion. “I wore a long black wig and danced while shouting H-S-B-C. People really did wonder what the fuck I was doing.” Audience confusion doesn’t always equal ruthless culling, though. “The first time I did Jacques [a French parkour enthusiast from last year’s show] everyone was like ‘what the hell is happening?!’ I was climbing all over a sofa, jumping on windowsills and, while people were laughing, I felt they were more...” she leans forward and adopts a concerned parent expression, “are you alright, dear?” You do have to be cruel to be kind, especially when you’re the sort of comic who tends to stretch an audience with fairly niche references. Mrs Lynch, David Lynch’s mother, never stuck due to u
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August 14 - 16 | edinburgh festival guide 2012 fest 13
t taking this alienation a step too far; anyone who didn’t have an encyclopedic knowledge of David Lynch’s back catalogue were left a little confused in previews. “I love her a lot but I just kept hitting a wall,” she says, “I thought David Lynch was popular, but my director [Ben Wilson from Idiots of Ants] thought there were a lot of obscure references in there anyway, so maybe one should have a rest.” With each character lasting 15 or so minutes, she’s sandwiched the more left-field between the more accessible; ‘Moominmama: Swedish Detective’ requires knowledge of popular 90s kids’ cartoon The Moomins and you might not understand Joey Bechamel if you’ve never seen a Zooey Deschanel film. But Sam, returning from last year, has always gone down well, once she’d convinced early preview audiences (and herself) that, yes, she was a cockney man with psychopathic tendencies from East London. “Nobody got it at first but they liked the idea, which was why I kept on with him,” she says, “I loved Sam last year but sometimes, with the others, I’ll completely fall out of love, then after a while will remember what I liked so much about them in the first place.” She likes “falling back in love” with her characters, “when you see a friend too much they do your head in, but after a break you’ll go for coffee, have a lovely chat and realise how great they are.” Talking of friends, it was one of her actual, tangible ones that first got her into comedy. She went to university with standup Sara Pascoe and they lived together in their early twenties, trying to make it as actors in London. It was a 10-week improv course at City Lit that really sparked things off. “I always made up shit as a child, I went in there and was like ‘Oh my God. There’s other people who do this weird stuff! And they do it on stage! And they get paid!’ It blew my world.” It wasn’t until the summer of 2010, when all her friends took shows to Edinburgh, that she started taking things seriously. “I think I was waiting for someone to say ‘OK you’ve got enough material now. You’re reasonably well known’ before I went up.” Now she realises it’s quite often the
14 fest
other way around. “I was scared for so long. People would tell me I should take up a show and I was like ‘What the fuck are you talking about?! Are you serious?!’ Then it dawned on me: just do it anyway.” This year she’s taking it three times as seriously; improvising Jane Austen novels with improv group Austentatious at the Free Fringe; working on David Shore’s improvised chat show Monkey Toast at the Pleasance and, of course, her flagship
hour. “This time last year I was still working at a college 9-5, gigging in the evening.” She finishes the pint of cranberry and lemonade and whispers conspiratorially, as her PR goes outside to take a call: “It’s all still very new, I still don’t really know what’s going on... I just want to keep doing stuff that makes me laugh.” f Pleasance Courtyard, 4:45pm – 5:45pm, 12–27 Aug, not 14, £9.00 – £10.00
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COMEDY NEEDS A NEW ICON. Discover Southampton Solent University’s Comedy and Performance Degree www.solent.ac.uk/comedy E: fcis.registry@solent.ac.uk Tel: +44 (0)23 8031 9536
CELEBRITY OBSESSIONS
It’s normal for teens to obsess over famous people, but Amy Lame, Dan Wright and Vikki Stone have carried their obsessions into adulthood. Si Hawkins asks if it's time for an intervention? WITH… AMY LAMÉ IS OBSESSED
MORRISSEY
that: a Unhappy Birthday is just The cabaret queen’s show ting on the unlikely pivo g, son ths Smi a r big party named afte rsial singer. presence of the controve begin? tion fixa r you When did ey. I was high school in New Jers It was 1987/88. I was in E in a newsagent and read NM the of copy a ugh looking thro I went to my d called The Smiths. So about this amazing ban st album Strangeways late ir the ght bou p, sho local record t ‘Oh my l, took it home and though Here We Come on viny ting for.’ Then I went wai n bee I’ve ic mus the God, this is of weeks to read the NME a couple I back to the newsagents ‘The Smiths have split up.’ was r cove t fron the later and on came rissey’s first solo album Mor But m. the d kille thought I’d out soon after. rrissey fans? ch interest from Mo Are you getting mu n the show, see e hav fans hardcore A load of the Morrissey port Group. the local Aspergers Sup at met m who of y man comThey were giving running I am not making this up. , there’s a , she’s opening the box box a re’s ‘The es. tari men cake in the box…’ lthy? Is your obsession hea with One year-old, she’s so in love It’s funny, my friend’s 13 aviour are so similar. beh my and ur avio Direction, but her beh a grip on your life. It’s, like, Amy, time to get Morrissey now? m fro on ve Can you mo l? He’s be in Edinburgh as wel to g goin he’s No. You know tour in Edinburgh on the an ope Eur his of gig l doing the fina so I’ll be sure day I get to Edinburgh, 30th of July, which is the me. he’s stalking , are, 6:40pm – 7:40pm Assembly George Squ – £12.00 .00 £10 20, not , 14–26 Aug
16 fest edinburgh festival guide 2012 | August 14 - 16
ED DAN WRIGHT IS OBSESS
WITH…
MICHAEL JACKSON
k, show Big Cook, Little Coo n-riding antics in cult kids Touched Me Best known for his spoo aviour in Michael Jackson beh odd ally equ e som Wright confesses to r waver? was Did your devotion eve son a few years ago. He oyed with Michael Jack ic Awards in Mus ld I did actually get quite ann Wor the at him g himself. I saw end really kind of embarrassin to do Thriller, and in the was originally supposed it was rubbish. and 2006, he turned up and ld, Wor The Are We of kids and did just came on with a load you never really let it go. who went ‘that’s it.’ But There were so many fans tact with Jacko? Have you had any con n there’d be an appearut five years ago, and ofte abo ies part e thes to t I wen ld do a live linkup from wou ael Mich or r, nato imperso ny voice] ‘Hi, I love ance by a Michael Jackson whi , tiny s [doe say and on the PA LA, and he’d just come kind of pathetic, but was it back king Loo y. ld go craz you’ and everyone wou . brilliant at the same time s? madder Michael fan k, Have you met many ael Jackson wouldn’t drin ldn’t drink because Mich did I knew people who wou later found out that he we use beca ic iron was were vegetarian, which e a lot of drugs. drink and he also did quit lthy? hea ion my Is your obsess on is not only annoying point where my obsessi the last 20 years nt I’m 32 and it’s got to the spe ably prob I’ve annoying me. friends and family, it’s now Jackson was the greatest e everyone that Michael of my life trying to convinc media made out, and it the that wasn’t the man g entertainer of all time and like I really get anythin not it's and . No-one cares, doesn’t really help anyone out of it. 9:30pm Gilded Balloon Teviot,
, not 13, – 10:30pm, 12–26 Aug
£9– £10
WITH… VIKKI STONE IS OBSESSED
PHILIP SCHOFIELD
Schofield song to the musical comic sang her The classically-schooled ated version in her upd an s orm perf ning, and man himself on This Mor show Hot Mess begin? When did your fixation all the merch. had Gordon the Gopher, I was the kid at school that ebody who’s never left som just ’s Phil and t I’d have been about eigh everyone’s still going a silver fox now. I think the telly. He’s definitely rlooked. If Barlow got one ove ally tinu con he’s ‘where’s his OBE?’ but l on the way. , old Schofe should be wel for organising a concert n bee e on TV must hav Singing it to him live ng? nerve-wracki song had to have ous about was that the kwards The thing I was most nerv loads of emails went bac so , tent con the of e nt was rewrites becaus t we couldn’t say. My age wha to as ITV with and forwards t to fuck this up.’ don’t swear, we don’t wan don’t sing saying ‘whatever you do ’t swear, don’t say “lube”, ‘don was king thin And so all I was es.”’ Holm onn “Fuck off, Eam s? reaction from Phil fan feels the Have you had much ry day from someone who eve e sag mes a get I h, God yea e in the daytime hom at sit who en of wom same way. There are lots lip Schofield. naughty things with Phil and think about doing ? now ind Can you leave Phil beh ’s why ticket sales r the song I’ll play it – that If people still want to hea r it. And it’s a song that hea to t wan ple peo e are going so well, becaus ly shouting ‘Fuck timate the joy of repeated I really love. Don’t underes c. arti cath very off Eamonn Holmes.’ It’s 8:10pm Underbelly, Bristo Sq,
– 9:10pm, 12–26 Aug,
not 14, £10 – £11
THE STAND COMEDY CLUB
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54 George Street 0844 693 3008 www.arfringe.com
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HHHH A raucous, anarchic hour of high-octane, shouty comedy Page 32 Photo: Claudine Quinn
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festcomedy
NICK HELM
August 14 - 16 | edinburgh festival guide 2012 fest 21
festcomedy Sam Simmons: About the Weather
HHHHH
If you thought flatpack furniture was such well-trodden comedy ground it could never provoke a standing ovation, Sam Simmons’s show will prove you wrong. What he builds with Ikea components in About the Weather is astonishing. The comic play, about a sadistic radio weatherman narrating the life of an incompetent loser played by Simmons, further gives inspiring instruction on how to inject a little of the Aussie’s weirdness into your own life. A narrator taking over the “strikingly beige days” of a bus-riding drone is not a new idea if you’ve seen Stranger Than Fiction. But the spoken subconscious of Will Ferrell in that film was never as wonderfully surreal as Simmons’s, as he jostles with Gillette jingles and chocolate owls. The play’s chaotic plot proves compelling too. Its climactic rant recalls Trainspotting’s monologue in
Tom Deacon: Deaconator
HHHHH
As a Radio 1 presenter and former winner of the Chortle Student Comedian of the Year award, Tom Deacon’s standup has often been intimately tied to the travails, habits and vices of being young. Now 26, circumstances have forced Deacon to grapple with the prospect of actually growing up a bit, but not before he performs one final tribute to his younger self and achieves something he never has before. The Herculean task in question? Completing an entire World Cup 2010 sticker album. It should be understood that this is not merely a key routine of the show, but the show itself. Almost
terms of its angry brilliance – a call-to-arms against every banal thing hindering Simmons’s right to be strange. About the Weather perhaps relies too much on the incongruous music gag. Opera, latino, and Crazy Town come booming through the speakers at many odd moments. But Simmons’ physical performance demonstrates real commitment to his ‘art’ (as he describes it aggressively to an “arty-looking” punter). Slapping his face with slices of ham to ‘Desperado’ indeed resembles performance art, as well as being bloody funny. This is the fifth Fringe during which the 35-year-old has been dividing audiences. The most consistent thing about his arbitrary antics is how much they will still appeal to some; About the Weather certainly does judging by this crowd’s response. [Catherine Sylvain] Gilded Balloon Teviot, 9:15pm – 10:15pm, 12–26 Aug, not 13, £10.50 – £11.50
every joke spins off from the central narrative of Deacon explaining his tangled, nostalgia-laden history with football sticker albums, his mentally scarring experiences with ‘swaps,’ and the ever-escalating difficulties he encounters in his attempt to finally put his childhood obsession to rest. Because the vast preponderance of material deals with this one story, Deaconator feels smaller and shorter than it actually is, coming off more like an extended joke than an entire performance. However, Deacon is a warm and canny comedian, who manages to wring every possible drop of empathy towards his unlikely pursuit, making us care even if we never spent our youths gluing pictures of footballers
22 fest edinburgh festival guide 2012 | August 14 - 16
into cheap, glossy magazines. Though light on ambition or variety of subject matter, the story of Deacon’s personal quest will have many quietly cheering for him by the end, when the audience is
rewarded for their attention with... free football stickers. [Sean Bell] Pleasance Dome, 7:00pm – 8:00pm, 12–25 Aug, £8.50 – £9.50
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festcomedy Kristine Levine: Fat Whore
HHHHH
There’s a point, as any watcher of live comedy may well agree, where one realises that the notional quality of a performance reflects far more upon the individual viewing then the performer performing. Of course, it’s somewhat of an illusion that this might ever be anything other than the case. But perhaps it takes a performer like Kristine Levine—the eponymous and utterly unashamed Fat Whore of the piece—to remind us that this really is the case. So, to come clean: I struggle to laugh at the idea of Levine’s kids being made fun of because they are obese; I don’t share Levine’s mirth at the story of the guy who died in the “jack shack” of the porn store in which she worked for 13 years; or even the one about the time she dug out a bit of drywall, chopped it up to make it look like coke, put it in a bag, dropped it in a pool of semen and waited for someone poor desperate to snatch it up and snort it. I’m uneasy with her liberal use of the word “bitch”; much more so her thoroughly illiberal views on rape. But to my great shame, that says more about me than it does Levine. As the Portlandbased comedian points out, her aim isn’t to preach but to share an insight into a troublesome life so clearly unlike that of her audience – surely the point of any worthwhile art? Nonetheless, to simply label Levine “outrageous” seems a cheap strategy for keeping critical colours free from the mast. This is undoubtedly a discomfiting and alienating hour; but comedy it probably isn’t. [Evan Beswick] The Assembly Rooms, 10:15pm – 11:15pm, 12–26 Aug, not 13, £10.00
Andrew O’Neill Is Easily Distracted
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Given Andrew O’Neill has conducted comedy tours of Jack the Ripper’s murder sites, his new standup show could be considered tame by comparison – but only just. While other comedians may play at being slightly unhinged for the audience’s amusement, O’Neill gives semi-serious consideration to the possibility that there’s something wrong with the way he perceives the world and processes information (hence the title), before wondering if maybe he’s better off this way. Judging from
Alan Davies: Life is Pain
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“Hello delegates,” quips Alan Davies as he walks to he front of the EICC’s stage. He continues in the same vein, hoping we’ve been sent to this slightly formal venue by our respective regions as their best laughers and not comedy connoisseurs. Clearly, after 11 years away, he is keen to please and anxious to travel a path of least resistance. He needn’t have worried too much. Despite an undulating start, the QI and Jonathan Creek star finds his stride, albeit only
24 fest edinburgh festival guide 2012 | August 14 - 16
their overwhelmingly positive reaction, the crowd agrees with the latter. O’Neill is a daring, confrontational comedian whose material works best when fed by the enthusiasm of his myriad interests and strong opinions. Though the show opens a little abrasively, he wins over his audience—even those who might not share his passion for the musical stylings of Slayer—with aplomb. As a Fringe veteran, he has a refreshingly cynical view of festival madness, while his freeform rants on gender conventions and the upper classes are acidic and insightful without being hec-
toring. Routines are broken up by some faintly disturbing physical non sequiturs—keep an ear out for the musical cue of buzzing flies—that may confuse some, but escalate until their inner comedy emerges. The slowest segments are a few aimless interactions with the front row, which serve to demonstrate how true the show’s name actually is. But like a true professional, O’Neill always pulls back from the brink of incomprehensibility just as he is about to go over it. [Sean Bell]
ever showing flashes of his capabilities. The routines that show he still knows how to get the metaphorical car started are inevitably the ones he’s most emotionally invested in, and there are some poignant pieces here will hopefully develop on tour (especially as the running time will inevitably expand to 90 minutes). Examples include his grandfather taking him to Trafalgar Square to have the pigeons feed off seeds he pours on his grandson’s arm. Likewise, his dad dressing him up in uniform to go to a school where no uniform was required
is a deft sequence, and one which features an endearing Lord of the Flies analogy. In a recent interview Davies commented he was enjoying not being famous. Standup is the best way to set your own level of fame but to still be visible, an outsider looking in. Already Davies is looking relaxed with re-immersing himself in the art form, something that augers well for a more sustained comeback rather than this, a mere toe-dipping exercise. [Julian Hall]
Pleasance Courtyard, 10:45pm – 11:45pm, 12–27 Aug, not 14, £11.00 – £12.00
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festcomedy Sara Pascoe: The Musical!
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She may spend the entire show reducing her adolescence to a boyless universe of fabricated diaries, befuddled tampon shopping, and Billie Piper records, but going to school with Sara Pascoe sounds like enormous fun. Who wouldn’t want to attend an assembly taken by a self-proclaimed overachieving, attention-seeking, and self-deprecating Pascoe on the awkwardness of being a teenage girl? For this is what she presents: her life story, spliced with snippets of half-formed songs, and told with a vulnerability that belies her control of her material, audience, and menstrual cycle. No mumbled renditions of ‘Morning is Broken’ at this assembly.
Iain Stirling: Happy to be the Clown
HHHHH
Iain Stirling comes from a family of celebrated legal eagles, but spends a lot of his time talking to Hacker the puppet dog on CBBC. Worried he had some big shoes to fill, he instead, became a comedian, a clown. This is Stirling’s first full hour and, yes, it shows – not least in his constant, and somewhat nervous, self-explanatory commentary. He felt the need to include an overarching theme so this is, loosely, an exploration of his self-worth, structured around the first six months of a Cliff Richard calendar. As themes go, it’s not particularly innovative and while Stirling acknowledges this, you can’t help but wonder why he didn’t think of something stronger. In saying this, it is a testament to his talent that he almost makes it work. In fact, the cod-psychology is needless. At its heart, this
Aside from being able to share in her comically earnest meetings on bee depopulation and vegetarianism, other boons to attending school with Pascoe would include being privy to her invention of Revels, hanging out with Take That in her imaginary Jacuzzi, and watching her fall helplessly in love with a succession of gay men. She gets the paradoxical
cocktail of being a teenager just right. In that head-long rush to become an adult, it is at once the most self-assured time of life and the most naïve too. Pascoe’s manuals for adolescent survival, the holy trinity of Point Horror, The Saddle Club, and Judy Blume, meant she glugged this mixture with abandon. The result is hugely enjoyable, an aching insight into
the fringes of the popular set. Thanks to her attention to detail, such as All Saints’ ‘Never Ever’ playing during her first ever break up, we realise that this is where we all believe we spend our teenage years. Pascoe for Head Girl. [Edd McCracken] Assembly George Square, 9:15pm – 10:15pm, 12–27 Aug, not 14, £9.50 – £12.00
is a series of anecdotes succeeding largely on the basis of Stirling’s likeability. Engaging and cheeky, it’s clear why he was employed for a childrens’ show, even when indulging in a bit of less-than-squeakyclean swearing. Besides jokes about the northern diet and vocabulary, he covers surreal playground bullying, family members on Facebook and his own drunken escapades. Again, while there are some sharp lines this is hardly ground-breaking stuff; if you’re going to mention Facebook, you’d better have a bloody good reason. Unfortunately, Stirling doesn’t quite justify it. But hey, this is a solid debut with plenty of potential; while the show doesn’t quite work, there is natural talent here, it’s just a shame he didn’t push himself that little bit further. [Jonathan Holmes] Underbelly, Bristo Square, 9:40pm – 10:40pm, 12–26 Aug, £8.50 – £9.50
26 fest edinburgh festival guide 2012 | August 14 - 16
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festcomedy Hannibal Buress: Still Saying Stuff
HHHHH
Hannibal Buress dislikes the Fringe, seems to find Britain tiresome, and couldn’t care less for petty Scots and English squabbles. “I hate you both equally,” he ventures, somewhat brazenly. Responsive as we remain to the laconic, ultra laid-back Chicagoan’s ad-hoc jumble of jokes—heck, we even laugh when Buress twice runs out of stuff and resorts to pulling down the venue’s overhead projector screen, momentarily engendering the unreasonably hilarious thought that he might actually have prepared a Power Point piece—it still feels like he’d rather be elsewhere. Drinking and hooking up with girls, his two favourite subjects, seems an educated guess. It’s a totally refreshing approach to Edinburgh in August among many lesser comics practically dry-humping your leg for a stray chuckle. You do
wonder why the sometimes 30 Rock and SNL writer remains satisfied with just strolling through when, if he stepped it up a little—you know, simple stuff like having a fixed routine, not insulting the audience—Buress could be a blockbuster. But let’s not split hairs. You feel sorry for the competition when a guy this relaxed can be this funny. His ribald synopsis of how Miss Piggy and Kermit’s sex life gave him hope eternal is as explosive a one-liner as you’ll hear all Fringe. When his best joke—about getting threatened with murder as a kid after punching out a hopeless mugger—resolves hilariously on a single simple phrase 100% in the delivery, it feels (whisper it) almost Richard Pryor-esque. Not that Buress will want many compliments that glowing – he probably couldn’t use the hassle. [Malcolm Jack] Pleasance Courtyard, 9:45pm – 10:45pm, 12–26 Aug, not 13, 21, £10 – £10.50
Simon Munnery: Fylm-Makker
HHHHH
Good old Simon Munnery. As countless other veteran comics re-hash the same old jokes for the umpteenth time, this absurdist master of wilful contrariness brings a show that sees him broadcast live onto a projector screen behind an empty stage from a base in the centre of the room using video cameras—one of his face in close-up and another of his hands shot from overhead— along to a live soundtrack combining guitar, sinister vocal chants, loops and drumbeats. To mostly calamitous effect, it must be said, but bless the guy for trying. The elaborate set-up works—or rather doesn’t work— on several levels. Principally it: a) allows Munnery to circum-
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vent the awkward formality of having the audience stare at him, and: b) offers him the opportunity to present a kind of live animated sketch film using crude cardboard cut outs and hand drawings, like something Terry Gilliam might have attempted as a bored child. We get a Beckettian monologue about gays in space, a tense desert standoff between
two one-eyed Mexicans, and a musical tribute to the doomed airship R101, all resplendently daft. At the midway stage we get a film about anthropomorphic wheelie bins (“not very funny,” Munnery admits), while he goes and gets half a cider from the bar. Has Munnery revolutionised live comedy at a stroke? As a climactic mash-up
sequence descends into techno nightmare farce when the DVD player goes haywire, the answer in a word is: no. But as the fylm-makker himself put it quite succinctly at one point: “you try that Peter Kay.” [Malcolm Jack] The Stand Comedy Club, 3:45pm – 4:45pm, 12–27 Aug, not 13, £10.00
August 14 - 16 | edinburgh festival guide 2012 fest 27
festcomedy Rhys Darby: This Way To Spaceship
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Some things that you won’t be able to do after seeing this show without thinking of Rhys Darby: use a hand dryer, look for a lost object, open your wallet, dance in a nightclub or watch dressage. With his cartoonish observational material coloured by gawky physical comedy and vocal sound-effects, the New Zealander has a way of infiltrating your everyday like that (okay, so you probably don’t watch dressage every day). Beginning with Bowie’s ‘Space Oddity,’ the show’s set is a spaceship, which Darby’s snuck aboard to escape the pending Mayan-prophesised Armageddon. He’s clearly outgrown his cult reputation as incompetent band manager Murray in HBO’s much-loved Flight of the Conchords. Dar-
Eleanor Tiernan: Rogue
HHHHH
No point in mincing my words: this was excruciating. But in fairness to Irishwoman Eleanor Tiernan, she was dealt a bad hand. The sum total of her four-strong audience was me, a fellow comic in for moral support, a guy who had been given a free ticket and a bloke pulled in off the street with some last-minute flyering. I’d have counted the soundman in there, but he didn’t even stick out the full hour. Sister of comedian Tommy Tiernan, who comes second only to U2 in terms of live ticket sales in Ireland by a native act, she’s gutsy to try and follow in her brother’s sizeable footsteps. The Athlone standup’s delivery is passable but her material—a lot of it drawn from the done-to-death realm of how the Irish can be a bit backwards sometimes—is
by’s not too precious to invoke another about his unconvenDarby’s like the kind of goofily the TV series—”Jermaine?” tional bachelor-days nightclub hyper-fun dad youngsters he quizzes the spaceship’s dance skills (ending in true dream of and teenagers dread. suspiciously familiar sounding love). But laughs don’t come But while lift-off and landing computer voice—but the large on strong across the hour. are well achieved, this imagicrowd feels like his own. One Like Conchords—which isn’t nary spacecraft ultimately guyWINNER even gives him a homealways strictly laugh-out-loud proves a little underpowered Fred Award Best Show, 2012 made tinfoil robot. He’s got thatfunny—his appeal lies in fuzzy,inside to make past that third star. AVAILABLE NOW Peter Sellers madness him”itJim Carrey Darby’s two funniest rougood-natured loveliness. [Malcolm Jack] tines are lengthy set-pieces, It’s appropriate that he one about pestering his school tails his set with a joke about Pleasance Courtyard, Except(and 8, 14 careers advisor to let him playing with his sons 8:00pm – 9:00pm, 12–27 Previews 1, 2, 3 be a sound-effects guy, and enjoying it more than they do). Aug, not 14, £17.50 – £18.50
“He’s just absolutely brilliant.
NZ Comedy Festival
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relentlessly poor. It’s the kind of stuff you probably wouldn’t even judge as the funniest things said on an average night out at the pub with your mates, let alone at an international comedy festival. A lengthy section about Russell Brand’s Get Him To The Greek—a film which would struggle to survive the critical scrutiny of a two-year-old— bombed terribly, but Tiernan stuck to her script with near kamikaze determination. One audience member bizarrely interjected that he thought “Greek” was slang for doggy-style. This was surely comic manna from heaven to a standup dying on her arse, but instead of tearing into the guy Tiernan practically gave him a free pass. You’ve either got those comedy reflexes or you don’t. [Malcolm Jack]
rhysdarby
www.boundandgaggedcomedy.com
The Stand Comedy Club III & IV, 2:20pm – 3:20pm, 12–26 Aug, not 13, £8.00
28 fest edinburgh festival guide 2012 | August 14 - 16
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THE ASSEMBLY ROOMS
54 George Street 0844 693 3008 www.arfringe.com
Amnesty International presents…
No pressure to be funny
Topical comedy panel show with Ian Rankin, James O’Brien, Mark Thomas, Dana Alexander, Phil Nichol and Loretta Maine. 18 August, 3pm £10/£8 @ Venue150
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festcomedy Daniel Simonsen: Champions
HHHHH
Reports of a ‘Scandi invasion’ of the Fringe this year have clearly caught a few imaginations, as the turn-out for this young Norwegian standup almost fills his small space at the Pleasance on a drizzly Sunday evening. At first he doesn’t even reward us with his physical presence. Daniel Simonsen delivers the first five minutes of the set standing behind the curtain, painting increasingly bizarre pictures of what he’s doing: now his foot is in his mouth, now the mic, now the entire mic stand. The slightly disturbing, surreal imagery might fool you into thinking we’re in Dutch absurdist Hans Teeuwen’s territory, but the majority of this set is more traditional, observational stand-up. What makes it so compelling is the genuinely alienated, outsider angle that Simonsen delivers it from.
Much of the set is given over to his intense social anxieties, but where other comics might smile and cajole us into agreeing with their observations, Simonsen seems wide-eyed with alarm at their implications. When he apparently tries to interact with the audience, he asks us purposefully daft questions that draw a blank, milking laughs from the discomfort of the situation. People coming for gags won’t be disappointed: there’s plenty of very strong material here, as Simonsen riffs on his irrational reaction to gay men, or imagines what Batman and Bane would be like at a dinner party, or explains what he means by “reverse paedophilia.” But there’s also a sharp edge to the style that, irrespective of any Scandinavian talent wave, marks out Simonsen as one to watch. [Tom Hackett] Pleasance Courtyard, 7pm – 8pm, 12–27 Aug, not 13, 20, £8.50 – £10.00
Matthew Crosby is Matthew Crosby in Matthew Crosby (the show)
HHHHH
Were there prizes for the most bombastic show title of the Fringe, Matthew Crosby would undoubtedly be a contender. As it is, award judges tend to favour those shows whose title makes at least some fleeting connection with content therein. Alas, by those rules, Crosby is somewhat of an also-ran. Not that that’s a problem in itself – there’s an extent to which an obsession with a totalising narrative acts as a constraint rather than a creative springboard. But for Crosby—one third of successful sketch troupe Pappy’s—a bit more discipline might have benefited this mixed bag of perfectly pleasant but slightly muddled comedy.
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Essentially, Crosby loves the internet (“it’s great – like a book but it goes on for ages”). In particular, he loves WikiHow, the online how-to manual he is using as a guide to a better life, and whose bizarre entries provide a good dollop of the humour. But alongside web-based self-improvement Crosby, with a mind and a mouth working at broadband speeds, also wants to tell us
about his myriad neuroses, his four most mortifying moments, his Dad’s unfortunate nickname. Powerpoint helps keep a finger on the pulse, but it remains a arrhythmic beat. Still, Crosby is an engaging and scrupulously self-effacing performer, engaging effortlessly with the audience. The 24 year-old gets away with some shonky material and a number of youthful idiosyncracies as
a result – including referring at one point to breasts as “wham-bams.” That’s unlikely to stay charming for long, but as this eminently talented performer steadily tightens up his act, he’ll need the crutch of wham-bams less and less. [Evan Beswick] Pleasance Courtyard, 4:00pm – 5:00pm, 12–27 Aug, not 14, £10.00 – £12.00
August 14 - 16 | edinburgh festival guide 2012 fest 31
festcomedy Nick Helm: This Means War
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“I’m not sure if you heard... But I had a really good Edinburgh last year. But it’s so hard. It’s so emotionally draining.” Nick Helm is upset. Last year’s Edinburgh Comedy Award nominee has hit a wall. His show has collapsed in on itself in a shambolic heap. But everyone’s laughing. Everything’s going to be okay. As far as follow-up shows go, Helm has produced a rock-solid hour of loud, boisterous and aggressive comedy that more than satisfies his expectant audience. The raucous anarchy he brings to the stage is infectious. We’re barely five minutes in before he has the entire audience—every single person—on their feet, pumping their fists and chanting “Helm! Helm! Helm!” Admittedly, he’s forced us to do it; berating us, screaming in the faces of those who aren’t on board. This audience interaction builds to a crescendo as he drags a single member of the crowd out on stage, sits him in a chair and proceeds, over the
Joel Dommett: Nunchuck Silver Medalist 2002
HHHHH
Reminiscent of Jack Whitehall, pretty boy comic Joel Dommett has bounded in to Edinburgh for his second solo Fringe show, held together by the premise of coming across a school adversary on Twitter. An MTV news reader and an actor, Dommett has plenty of poise, charisma and confidence. Like Whitehall, his talents are probably best suited to the small screen, but, again like Whitehall, he does have a feeling for what’s funny beyond the average young and good-looking TV fodder.
course of the next 40 minutes, to ritually humilate him. Only, this is Nick Helm, and he may be loud, but he’s not cruel. The real target of Helm’s abuse is himself, treading the line between hilarious and excruciating.
This is a raucous, genuinely funny show, but if there’s one criticism to be made it’s that Helm’s narrative theme—his equating relationships with war—is not fully realised. It’s a strand consistently played to, but not satisfyingly con-
cluded. Nevertheless, this is an anarchic, hilarious hour from an anarchic, hilarious comic. [Ben Judge]
The problem is that once these OMG comics (ones who rely on volume, posturing and repetition over content) get hold of a humorous concept they can’t let it go until they have deafened it or given it the comedic version of a bludgeoning. So whether he is being mugged by a man carrying a rounders bat or standing too close to ground affected by the toilet facilities at a music festival, you can be sure volume was involved. The premise of getting back at his school bully gives some light-touch coherence to the show, although many of the routines are not relevant and the show’s pacing is as dexterous as Dommett’s constant movement.
However, getting from A to B is one thing, but often the journey is uneventful (despite the fuss made in getting there) or the momentum of it seems to ruin the originally funny concept or anecdote. For example, a routine about his flatmate having sex to the
sound of Dommett playing a video game has the right idea, but lacks the characterisation and emphasis to get the best out if it. [Julian Hall]
32 fest edinburgh festival guide 2012 | August 14 - 16
Pleasance Dome, 5:30pm – 6:30pm, 12–27 Aug, not 14, £12.50 – £13.50
Pleasance Courtyard, 8:15pm – 9:15pm, 12–26 Aug, £10.00 – £12.00
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THEATRE
STATEMENTS
AFTER AN ARREST UNDER THE IMMORALITY ACT, BY ATHOL FUGARD THE FUGARD THEATRE, IZINJA
2-27 AUGUST 12.15
AND THE GIRLS IN THEIR SUNDAY DRESSES
MOTHER TO MOTHER
THE MARKET THEATRE
FREEVOICE PRODUCTIONS
1-27 AUGUST 13.30
2-27 AUGUST 16.00
COMEDY
MIES JULIE
BARELY LEGAL
BAXTER THEATRE CENTRE, SOUTH AFRICAN STATE THEATRE
WOZA ALBERT! MARKET THEATRE
THE 18-YEAR-OLD DEMOCRACY MARSHALL CORDELL LOYISO GOLA AND ‘KING OF IMPROV COMEDY’ AVE LEVINSOHN - ComedyCentralAfrica.com
2-27 AUGUST 14.00
2-27 AUGUST 16.00
2-27 AUGUST 21.10
MUSIC ASSEMBLY IS PROUD TO PRESENT THE SOUTH AFRICAN SEASON AS PART OF THE CULTURAL OLYMPIAD.
SEWING MACHINE
VOCAL IS LEKKA
2-27 AUGUST 14.40
2-27 AUGUST 16.55
WORDSMITH’S THEATRE FACTORY
BAXTER THEATRE CENTRE
festcomedy
Claudia O’Doherty: The Telescope
HHHHH
Having revealed the truth behind comedians’ early careers— that they’re all trained and released into the world by an academy called The Nuthouse—it turns out Claudia O’Doherty’s contract isn’t getting renewed. However, she’s contractually obliged to do one last show but nowhere does it stipulate that it has to be a comedy, so she’s written a multimedia and tech-heavy piece
of upsetting theatre called The Telescope. Think Garth Marenghi’s Dark Place, but with O’Doherty deftly performing all the parts herself. So far so good, until O’Doherty falls out of sync with the pre-programmed, computer controlled special effects. O’Doherty is wide eyed and panic stricken as, for the next 40 minutes, she attempts to entertain the audience over the top of the absurd play ploughing remorselessly on around her. It ensures the pace barely dips; her attempts at standup
are constantly interrupted by varying intrusions from The Telescope, from video to snow machines, resulting in a brilliantly cringeworthy finale. A repeated trigger provoking her to reveal personal information doesn’t quite work as a running gag, but on the whole this is a masterclass in crap film-making, hammy acting and how chaos comedy should be done. However, you can’t help wishing there was more of The Telescope before everything begins to crumble; this would
allow the audience to settle into more of a rhythm, lulled into a false sense of “security” (albeit a fairly bonkers one), giving the eventual descent into madness an extra kick. Despite this, The Telescope remains an ambitious, accomplished debut- she aims higher than most and the result is a refreshingly different, wickedly funny must-see show. [Stevie Martin]
for us in a graphic and inventive fashion, but there’s no doubting the performer’s empathy with the victims. Even the most steadfast opponent of the monarchy is liable to be moved by an unashamedly sentimental, populist sequence concerning Prince Charles and Lady Diana in which the neglected wastrel is forced into the arms of another man.
Though he’s primarily concerned with real life horrors, the highlight of this afternoon’s show finds the mute performer serenading a woman plucked from the audience. Their interaction is hilarious and would not seem out of place in this year’s The Boy With Tape on His Face. Though being a funny mime is supposedly Billy’s unique
selling point, the moments of high comedy that punctuate his show don’t always gel with the poignancy of scenes such as ‘Whitney Houston’s Last Bath’ and render the hour somewhat disjointed in feel. [Lewis Porteous]
Underbelly, Cowgate, 7:45pm – 8:45pm, 12–26 Aug, not 13, £9.00 – £10.00
Billy the Mime
HHHHH
Although marketed as a taboo-breaking proponent of the politically incorrect, Billy the Mime is a surprisingly sensitive proposition. The themes and events depicted in his show may be of a darker nature than those usually tackled by the medium, yet his routines are always elegiac and imbued with respect and dignity. ‘A Night in a Gay Bar, 1979’ may generate laughs from its depiction of rough anal sex, but it’s hard not to feel moved as its protagonist shrinks from a dance to a shiver, succumbing to an early strain of AIDS. Elsewhere, an altar boy is abused and forced into silence by a priest. It’s amusing to watch a mime illustrate obscene acts
34 fest edinburgh festival guide 2012 | August 14 - 16
Just The Tonic at the Caves, 6:15pm – 7:15pm, 12–26 Aug, not 14, £7.00 – £10.00
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Star of ITV Mad Mad World & Murray from Flight of the Conchords
WINNER
Fred Award Best Show, 2012 NZ Comedy Festival
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“He’s just absolutely brilliant.
He’s got that Peter Sellers madness inside him”
1-27 AUGUST
Jim Carrey
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August 14 - 16 | edinburgh festival guide 2012 fest 35
festcomedy Alexis Dubus: Cars and Girls
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Alexis Dubus is deeply defensive of childishness, though he does acknowledge that a comedian with arrested development is not exactly a novelty. For him, it’s more than a state of mind; sometimes, it’s the best way of dealing with the hand life deals you. Dubus, however, is the best kind of childish comedian: one that is actually very smart. His new hour is less thematically strict than previous Fringe lectures on swearing and nudity and, while the eponymous Cars and Girls provide a structure, it is far looser, allowing Dubus to practice his mastery of tangential storytelling. His anecdotal humour winningly recounts his experiences with women and automobiles, and the unexpected roles each has played in his life. No curve balls there, then. An epic hitchhiking journey to Morocco in the company of a university girlfriend succeeds via the human kindness of a string of debauched truck drivers, while a post-heartbreak sojourn to Burning Man brings with it a memorable cast of friendly desert bohemians, who assist Dubus towards enlightenment with a combination of drugs and screwdrivers. While the show gets off to a shaky start and there isn’t quite enough material for the running time, Dubus gives us genuine insight into his journeys, emotional and physical, and makes us care in a way that few comedians can. By the end of his warm, relatable performance, the ever-childish Dubus has grown up a little, and it was a pleasure to watch him do so. [Sean Bell] Assembly Roxy, 6:45pm – 7:45pm, 12–26 Aug, not 14, £9.50 – £10.50
Mary Bourke: Hail Mary
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Mary Bourke introduces her show Hail Mary by warning us that this will not adhere to the conventions of the typically successful Edinburgh Fringe setlist; there will be no overarching emotional narrative, there won’t be a big reveal, she won’t be using Powerpoint, instead there will be jokes. There are jokes, by the truckload, and they are some of the most disarming and expertly constructed you’ll find on the
Josh Widdicombe: The Further Adventures Of
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There will always be observational comedy, a medium requiring skills subtler than an incredulous “...what’s that about?” to remain engaging for an hour. Josh Widdicombe has mastered such skills and, though he repeats the formula relentlessly throughout his show, it doesn’t lag. In the fictional sounding Further Adventures of, Widdicombe indeed constructs a character; a consumer culture curmudgeon whose stayat-home status is frequently unsettled. The Devon native’s bracing dissatisfaction with
36 fest edinburgh festival guide 2012 | August 14 - 16
Fringe. Indeed, in less certain hands a segment in which tweets are judged would seem trite, but Bourke’s obvious skill is such that the audience are never less than utterly delighted. Her reverence towards a relatively stripped-back stand up style doesn’t come at the expense of a lack of depth. One of the truly impressive achievements of Hail Mary is her thoroughly assured dressing-down of misogyny in comedy, as well as a readiness to apply her biting wit to genuine women’s issues, rather
than indulging in the selfloathing Bourke concedes too often defines female standups. But whether she is satirizing Mumsnet and Fifty Shades of Grey or the East Coast/West Coast rap wars, Bourke’s persona as the cool and collected Anjelica Huston of standup and her keen observations of the comedy world make Hail Mary an accomplished and thoroughly enjoyable work. [Gemma Flynn]
everything on the high street is a highlight. “I just don’t think these things should be combined” he says, before mulching the names of various brands bizarrely placed side-by-side in shops and restaurants to a delightful and original effect. This anger at random couplings doesn’t always ring true—tights sold in chemists are pretty useful really—while his targets are rarely novel. The 29-year-old could certainly have fresher material given his age; giant Toblerones, Wetherspoons, and cereal variety packs have been around a while. An iPhone battery-life gag proves more successful. Widdicombe’s character is single-note, a shame when
you consider his experience and positioning on the current circuit. Young, attractive and systematically ticking off Live at the Apollo, various TV panel shows and supporting Michael McIntyre on tour, the fact he has trouble dating and needs to be coaxed outside by his flatmate feels a little lazy. His irateness directed at everything also becomes exhausting due to a lack of variation; he’s an undeniably confident performer, though, just one with often fairly welltrodden, mundane material. [Catherine Sylvain]
The Stand Comedy Club III & IV, 4:40pm – 5:40pm, 12–26 Aug, not 13, £8.00
Pleasance Courtyard, 7:00pm – 8:00pm, 12–26 Aug, not 13, 23, £11.00 – £12.00
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festcomedy Josie Long: Romance and Adventure
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Josie Long continues to be one of the most adorable and sharp comics at the Fringe; if you don’t leave uplifted and sort of wanting to be her best mate, you’re probably dead inside. Yes, she’s still politically active, but she’s also starting to get weary. Romance and Adventure explores what it’s like to fee small and unimportant; she suffered a breakup, started getting a taste for posh pursuits whilst campaigning for social justice and, to top it off, David Cameron’s stolen the NHS. Her attacks (mainly on the Tories) are kept on the right side of angry, tempered with ridiculous impersonations and a penchant for illustrating
important points in a 1920s film noir accent. She’s as enthusiastic and loveable as she is frustrated; anyone who’s been unemployed, dumped or alone will feel that twitch of recognition, and more than a little twinge of sympathy. While her personal frustration is often poignant, because it’s Josie, it comes drenched in 300 gallons of funny. Sure, she
probably spends cumulatively a good half an hour ripping the piss out of rich people, but you get the feeling nobody in that hallowed one per cent will hold it against her. If she starts getting too preachy, she reigns it in with a self-deprecating dig, excessively camp impression or an unpredictable, well-observed side-step into hyperbole. A few of her later routines
are a little joke-lite as her enthusiasm for socialism gets the better of her, but, whatever your political orientation, this is a return to top form for Long and you’ll definitely want to buy her a pint afterwards. [Stevie Martin] Pleasance Courtyard, 6:00pm – 7:00pm, 12–27 Aug, not 18, 19, £11.50 – £12.50
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August 14 - 16 | edinburgh festival guide 2012 fest 37
festcomedy Tim FitzHigham: Stop the Pigeon
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As his show veers toward anticlimax, Tim FitzHigham speaks enviously of comedians whose sets consist of actual jokes. They, he says, are in a position of total control over their material whereas “if you tell the truth, tell a story, you never know what the ending’s going to be.” What he means by this is that if you construct a show around a pointless bet that you’ve made with a fellow comic purely in order to generate material, its ending will most likely be as unsatisfying as the premise of the show itself. Can the performer transport a letter over a distance of fifty miles within an hour, using only technology that was available to 18th century aristocrats? Deep down, it’s unlikely that even Tim FitzHigham cares. Still, the star tries his best to keep our energy levels up. He gamely bellows phrases like “that’s genius!” and “let’s do this!” to an admittedly receptive audience and assures us that everything we hear “is absolutely true.” All the while, he employs a wide-eyed, hectoring style of delivery that places emphasis on his every word and kills countless good lines. The key problem with Stop the Pigeon is that the protagonist’s motivations are never clear. We just have to accept that he naturally feels inclined to follow bad ideas through to conclusion. That the relatively dry telling of an unremarkable story forms the backbone of this multimedia show is unfortunate and one suspects that the performer would be better off applying himself to the whimsical word play in which he excels. [Lewis Porteous] Pleasance Courtyard, 7:30pm – 8:30pm, 12–27 Aug, not 15, £11.00 – £12.50
The Noise Next Door: Bring the Noise
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For this, The Noise Next Door’s sixth Fringe, the boys present an hour of improvised comedy sketches and songs not driven by any particular concept, which suits them. Allowing individual sketches to go wherever the audience dictates, it also means we meet a whole host of madcap characters throughout the course of the hour. In many ways, The Noise Next Door are far slicker than some of the more ramshackle improv troupes often so rife at the Fringe. Bring The
Monkey Toast: The Improvised Chat Show
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The landscape of comedy is a well ploughed field, but Monkey Toast has succeeded in introducing a new form to the Fringe: the improv-view. Blending chat show style interviews with improvised scenes based on what has just been discussed, a conveyor belt of comedy’s fastest rising stars take to the floor each night in a bid to create spur of the moment comic chemistry. Hosted by genial Canadian comic David Shore, Sunday
38 fest edinburgh festival guide 2012 | August 14 - 16
Noise maintains a consistently speedy pace and they are never fazed by the audience’s wackier suggestions, seeming—if anything—to relish the absurd. There are also plenty of quirky touches and kooky gimmicks: one of the sketches, Archie Fox, is filmed each day to be later serialised on YouTube. Unfortunately, there are moments where they descend into the formulaic. Their audience warm-up, for example, involves the sort of predictable fare we’ve seen countless times before and the gags are frequently nothing special. Easy laughs, sure, but you’d think that with minds as sharp as theirs evidently
are they could think of something slightly more original. Furthermore, while structure is obviously necessary in an improv show, theirs is often quite transparent, shoehorning audience suggestions into pre-existing song and dance routines; it adds to the show’s polish, but is a little lacking in spontaneity. Nonetheless, finding yourself wondering how on earth they think it all up so quickly is always a good sign, and The Noise Next Door certainly leave the illusion of perfect improvisation intact. [Anna Feintuck]
night saw Loretta Maine and Nish Kumar in the spotlight discussing a range of topics from parents to prime ministers (Kumar can chronologically list every British PM from the mid 1950s to present). It was then up to the six improv actors, including Cariad Lloyd, and The Beta Males’ Richard Soames, to devise wacky skits pertaining to the discussions between Shore and his guests. This is where the piece begins to unravel, as a number of the anecdotes upon which the improv are based are not intriguing enough to power entire scenes. Two of the skits
raise decent laughs, but in an hour long show, this feels somewhat paltry. Though the premise of Monkey Toast is novel, most humour arises in the timing and telling of jokes, and thus watching people interpret the witty asides of others seems to dilute the scope for laughs. The show is certainly enjoyable, yet one can’t help but feel there is a reason why improv and standup usually occupy separate comedic realms. [Charlotte Lytton]
Pleasance Courtyard, 5:00pm – 6:00pm, 12–27 Aug, not 14, £13.00 – £14.00
Pleasance Dome, 11:05pm – 12:05am, 12–26 Aug, not 14, £10.00 – £11.00
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festcomedy Kieran and Joe: Friends of Steel
about murder, paedophilia, incest and euthanasia seem oddly sweet as opposed to offensive or shocking. Theirs is very much the classic double-act dynamic and they wisely don’t stray too far from the template; Kieran is the loveable idiot,
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Double act Kieran Hodgson and Joe Parham reckon they know the key to the perfect friendship – it’s a secret they want to pass on in this upbeat, pacy series of sketches centred around a ‘friendship training seminar.’ Their “six golden rules of friendship” are each explored using skits, while the narrative throughline fleshes out the characters’ history and evolving relationship through a series of shorter vignettes. Considering these are all performed by two hyperactive men in matching sportswear—strangely evoking the Chuckle Brothers—Kieran and Joe explore some fairly edgy subjects. But it’s an indication of the pair’s affability that jokes
while Joe is the uptight grump. Each sticks to their respective roles with verve and there’s an almost tangible amount of chemistry; it wouldn’t be surprising if the two finished each others’ sentences off the stage, never mind on. A fair bit of audience
interaction adds to the variety (avoid the front row if that’s not your thing) and is well worked – a skit using Eminem’s Stan is every bit as dark as the original. And a lot funnier. It’s all nicely structured and their performances are strong even when the pace slows during a weaker middle section it’s only a momentary lapse. The dynamic duo quickly get back into their stride for the increasingly silly home straight, finishing (of course) with a song. [David Hepburn] Pleasance Courtyard, 3:15pm – 4:15pm, 12–27 Aug, £8.50 – £9.50
Al Pitcher: Tiny Triumphs
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“I think we all take things for granted,” says Al Pitcher at the start of this quirky lifeaffirming set. “I think we all see triumphant things every day”. Thus starts a trip through the ‘tiny triumphs’ the comedian has witnessed in the preceding hours, days and weeks in Edinburgh and beyond.
Much of the hour is taken up with flicking through a series of his latest photographs. Refreshingly, the snaps are simply projected onto a screen with none of the bells and whistles beloved of so many PowerPoint-obsessed comics. Even the most prosaic subjects become amusing when viewed through Pitcher’s active imagination. It’s a world where a covered bike becomes a baby elephant and a simple piece of
graffiti inspires a tall tale. The strongest routines are when the likeable Kiwi addresses pictures taken on the same day as the show and his more prepared material fails to elicit as many laughs – the traditional standup tropes lack the simple immediacy of familiar Edinburgh sights given a comic slant. It’s a novel structure, meaning the show should be substantially different each
day, giving a satisfying feeling of experiencing something unique. It concludes with audience members being given the chance to become a ‘tiny triumph’ themselves – it’s heartwarming, but the laughs don’t come quite often enough to make it truly triumphant. [David Hepburn] Gilded Balloon Teviot, 8:15pm – 9:15pm, 12–26 Aug, £9.50 – £10.50
AT THE FRINGE
CElEbRATING 10 yEARs oF FEmAlE ComEdy Specially curated ShowS with complimentary goodieS from the BENEFIT COSMETICS BENEBUS
Supported by
2012 funny women awardS Semi-finalS lara a king - people pleaSer WINNEr OF 2011 FUNNy WOMEN AWArdS
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3-26 AuG 2.00pm
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@funnywomen
August 14 - 16 | edinburgh festival guide 2012 fest 39
40 fest edinburgh festival guide 2012 | August 14 - 16
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HHHH Think of a Blue Peter summer expedition crossed with Bang Goes the Theory Page 48 Photo: Claudine Quinn
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festtheatre
WHAT I HEARD ABOUT THE WORLD
August 14 - 16 | edinburgh festival guide 2012 fest 41
festtheatre Everything Else Happened
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Is it possible to identify a Fringe show purely on the basis of its queue? Is the line for Al Murray full of lairy men with beer bellies? Or the crowd for The Boy with Tape on His Face populated by frustrated Pierrot clowns? Certainly the queue snaking around the outside of the Roxy for Everything Else Happened, a new play based on the short stories of US writer Jonathan Safran Foer, adapted by David Kantounas, was a dead giveaway. Behind me in the line an earnest ingénue was busy explaining to her friends how Foer’s book Eating Animals “turned me vegan.” Elsewhere people in horn-rimmed glass turned the pages of weighty novels. Foer is, in the cliché du jour, a marmite novelist: you love him, or you hate him. Acolytes of Foer’s careful, lapidary prose and his playful, neurotic humour will find much to love in the four short, unconnected plays that comprise Everything Else Happened. For those with an aversion
Hearts on Fire
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In 2009 three devotees of new age guru James Arthur Ray died in the Arizona desert while taking part in a spiritual retreat. This site-specific play from Edinburgh favourite Peculius Stage is a flawed but fascinating dramatisation of the tragedy. The star of the production is the venue – a Native American sweat lodge built in a Victorian office block in Edinburgh’s Old Town. It’s a wonderfully disorienting experience to tramp up endless grey staircases to be welcomed into a claustrophobic cocoon of multi-coloured canvas with a
to Foer—or, a useful proxy, Woody Allen—it’s a show best avoided. That’s not to say that there’s nothing to applaud here. Some of Foer’s characters, most notably Rhoda, an
over-bearing matriarch played with aplomb by Patti Love, are beautifully drawn; the simple, one-room set is perfectly realised by Anne Gry Skovdal; the acting is generally excellent. But, for this critic,
too often these brief plays buckle under the weight of Foer’s elliptical writing. [Peter Geoghegan]
floor of sand and rock. Desert noises piped into the intimate venue complete the illusion as the tale unfurls – the line between audience member and performer becoming blurred as the unhinged “motivational speaker” invites audience members to transform themselves from “peasants” to “spiritual warriors.” While the surroundings are the undoubted highlight, Nigel Barber is the main human attraction, bringing a real danger to the emotionally unstable Ray. No simple villain, his motivation is as questionable as his sanity. Sadly his wannabe acolytes lack any such characterisation, coming across as
simple stereotypes: the hippy backpacker, the father having a midlife crisis, the rebelling privileged girl and the bored middle-aged woman. As the heat rises in the lodge and the gruesome denouement arrives, it’s hard to feel any emotional attachment to these cartoonish characters,
and the closing scenes feel rushed. Even with these faults, Hearts of Fire can claim to be a true Fringe experience which will stay with you long after August ends. [David Hepburn]
42 fest edinburgh festival guide 2012 | August 14 - 16
Assembly Roxy, 1pm – 2pm, 12–27 Aug, not 13, £10 – £12
C venues - C nova, times vary, 11–27 Aug, £9.50 – £11.50
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festtheatre
5
FEST BEST
The Trench
HHHHH Something rotten stalks the crumbling tunnels beneath the trenches of WWI – a product of the stench of death and excrement; of the “sounds which crawl deep down within the mind.” In this latest production, the award-winning Les Enfant Terribles craft an image of hell forged in the ruined minds of the men sent to the fields of
Mark Thomas: Bravo Figaro
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Making the Kitsonian leap from standup comedy to theatrical (though still funny) monologue, Mark Thomas is a performer perfectly at home on the Traverse stage. Bravo Figaro is the story of his father’s love of opera, of working-class aspiration, difficult relationships, social stratification and, ultimately, love. It has its touching moments and it’s
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France to die. It’s theatre which cuts deep and doesn’t heal until long after the curtain has gone down. At its solid heart, this is a sound piece of writing: ostensibly a quest narrative of the homesick, lovesick traveller, yet set against a war whose waste no reparations can either justify or redeem. Sam Wyer’s script gives this 20th century Ulysses the full force of manmade destruction amplified to epic proportions. But there’s an immediacy to this production
which means it’s only afterwards these resonances begin to ring and multiply. One might distinguish two notable worthies in a pantheon of successes. The first is the stunningly inventive use of props, puppets and physicality. Theirs is a hell with uncanny ghouls and tunnel walls that bear down all too oppressively. The second is Alexander Wolfe’s live music, which outs the singer-songwriter as a sensitive collaborator with a strong sense of the dramatic form.
In this joint Jubilee and Olympic year, Britain’s recent past seems intent on ossifying into a Keep Calm and Carry On cartoon of itself. Here, however, the mythical arena of “times long past” provides space for an examination of our history which is at once mournfully distant and pressingly modern. [Evan Beswick]
really rather beautifully written, performed with warmth, sponteneity and care. But all this has been done before. Very recently. And in very high profile. Indeed, it was only two years ago that Russell Kane picked up the Edinburgh Comedy Award for his show Smokescreens and Castles, a show that dealt with precisely the same issues of class, social mobility, troubled father-son relationships and grief. This isn’t to say Bravo
Figaro is not a good show. It is, even though—given his unwillingness to fully expose the darker side of his father’s character—it does seem to be holding too much back. But it just doesn’t feel fresh. Nevertheless, if you’ve somehow avoided similarly confessional pieces over the last few years, there is certainly plenty to recommend in Thomas’s show. The breadth of emotion and his easy command of the stage betray a performer of superior quality.
His stories are peppered with gentle nostalgia; his jokes— lapped up by a greying audience—pay pleasant homage to the days of industry, vinyl records and the Marxist sincerity of the 1980s performance art scene. It is a nice, enjoyable show. But one just cannot shake the impression of having seen it all before. [Ben Judge]
Pleasance Courtyard, 1:10pm – 2:10pm, 12–27 Aug, not 14, 25, £10.00 – £12.00
Traverse Theatre, times vary, 11–26 Aug, not 13, 20, £18.00 – £20.00
August 14 - 16 | edinburgh festival guide 2012 fest 43
festtheatre An Evening with Dementia
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It doesn’t sound like the most enticing of prospects but Trevor T Smith’s astonishing turn as a person with dementia doesn’t just make this play bearable, it makes it funny. Written and performed by Smith, An Evening with Dementia is an enlightening journey into a mind in descent. He doesn’t ‘suffer’ from dementia, he says very clearly, he simply ‘has’ it. From the comfort of his armchair, he tells us about his life with the disease and focuses on affecting details: his strategies to cover up the fact he’s forgotten someone’s name, his misery at wetting himself because he doesn’t want to ask for help to visit the toilet, his son’s anguish when he doesn’t recognise his wife. It’s an arresting monologue
with just the right balance of humour and dejection. Smith, an accomplished actor, is riveting in his role. He gives such a great performance that when he gets out of his chair to have a walk around, it’s all you can do to stop yourself rising to give him a hand down the stairs. He continually repeats facts about his life—like, “I used to be an actor, you know”—and by the end, people are nodding as you might when talking to an elderly relative. The show really strikes a chord with the audience, many of whom—young and old—are sobbing when the house lights go up. But it’s not depressing: rather, it’s extraordinarily life-affirming and a real Fringe highlight away from the usual big venues. [Yasmin Sulaiman] theSpace on the Mile, 4:05pm – 4:55pm, 12–25 Aug, £9.00
I, Tommy
HHHHH Tommy Sheridan is arguably the most complex, engaging, and ultimately flawed politician of his generation. A firebrand orator, he swept to prominence during the poll-tax protests, briefly made the Scottish Socialist Party the most successful Trotskyist movement in Western Europe, before immolating his, and the SSP’s, political future when he sued The News of the World for defamation after the paper alleged he had visited swingers’ clubs. Sheridan won his court case but was subsequently convicted of perjury, in 2010. SSP members testified against Sheridan in both cases, engendering a split that destroyed both the party and its former leader. A charismatic teetotaller who rose from nothing to become a national leader then risked his career—and lost—in a
fit of hubris: Sheridan’s tale is, as the title hints, one of Roman proportions. Unfortunately, writer Ian Pattison’s Tommy is one of the shallowest, most one-dimensional caricatures you are likely to see this Fringe. Pattison, creator of Glaswegian anti-hero Rab C Nesbitt, strips Sheridan of all complexity, reducing him to a shallow womaniser with
44 fest edinburgh festival guide 2012 | August 14 - 16
an oompa loompa tan and a bathetic turn of phrase. The supporting characters, Sheridan’s mother Alice and his wife Gail, are empty ciphers of Glasgow Catholicism, while Alan McCombes, Sheridan’s erstwhile SSP colleague and author of the book from which I, Tommy is largely drawn, is limp and ineffectual. Des McLean and Colin
McCredie, as Sheridan and McCombes respectively, try gamely but are let down by a flabby script. The laughs, when they come, are cheap, easy and quickly forgotten. Like its protagonist, a wasted opportunity. [Peter Geoghegan] Gilded Balloon Teviot, 3:15pm – 4:45pm, 12–27 Aug, not 13, £14.00 – £16.00
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festtheatre As of 1.52pm GMT on Friday April 27th 2012, This Show Has No Title
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Daniel Kitson sits in the middle of an empty stage, reading the script of his latest, barely finished play off printed sheets of A4. “This is literally it,” he reveals in one of his many offscript asides. Except it isn’t really: what Kitson attempts here (either by design or by default, we’re never quite sure which) is a bravura display of theatrical reflexivity, self-referential linguistic dexterity and postmodern delight in fiddling with dramatic convention. And, while it takes all of his considerable skill as a performer to do it, he largely pulls this off in a manner that will make Kitson fans love the man even more. But therein is the problem. It’s hard to know where to
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start criticising a performer whose extraordinary selfawareness means he has already done most of that leg-work himself. As of 1.52pm GMT... finds Kitson analysing and articulating (probably better than any critic has done) the theatrical mode he has so brilliantly mastered (“I’m thinking; I’m crying; I’m lauging. Yes! You’ve been Kitsoned!”) simultaneously revelling in and
destroying his own creative accomplishments. But just because Kitson knows this is self-absorbed, esoteric, showing off doesn’t necessarily forgive its being so. While there’s a lot here to chew over regarding storytelling and the writing process, far and away this performance’s main subject is Kitson himself. All of the jokes, the accomplished word-painting,
the grasp of the idiosyncracies of dialogue, must first pass through a door marked ‘Daniel Kitson.’ Years from now, Kitson scholars will find much to pore fruitfully over here. But it’s a work that has no life away from that of its writer and protagonist. [Evan Beswick] Traverse Theatre, times vary, 12–26 Aug, not 13, 20, £12.00
August 14 - 16 | edinburgh festival guide 2012 fest 45
festtheatre Grit
HHHHH Since the success of The Last Miner at the Fringe in 2010, puppet theatre company Tortoise in a Nutshell has gone from strength to strength, with director Ross MacKay recently being supported by the National Theatre of Scotland. But while much of its previous efforts have focused on younger audiences, Grit isn’t specifically aimed at children, though it does have their welfare at heart. The story focuses on a war photographer, whose daughter—portrayed by a large ragdoll-like puppet—is looking through his boxes and the pictures he’s taken. His travels come to life through the manipulation of overhead projections and shadow puppetry, and he spends a lot of time with children whose lives have been torn apart by war. We’re presented with strong visual images, such as a boy in a sand pit
whose joyous playground slowly turns into a battlefield. And the climactic scene towards the end, in which the photographer faces tanks in Syria, is stunningly relayed in an obstacle course of boxes, paper towers and cardboard cut-outs. This is stylish work, its illustrative style reminiscent
of war-set graphic novels like Joe Sacco’s Palestine and Guy Delisle’s Burma Chronicles. Jim Harbourne’s captivating score adds to the atmosphere, which turns from innocent to forbidding. There are also fantastic child-like performances from the talented cast and MacKay’s direction is quietly affecting too. In fact, the only
thing wrong with Grit is its length: at 40 minutes, it’s just too short. And with scenes as urgent and haunting as these, we’re left wanting more from this remarkable theatre company. [Yasmin Sulaiman]
beauty therapist, does her hair. Then there’s Anne, a Sergeant’s wife struggling to cope, and Sue, whose husband is in hospital following an incident in Afghanistan which affects them all. “I didn’t pull rank,” says Lucy, when rebuffed by Sue. With few props and no costume changes, Shipton
switches between characters using body language and voice, each wife talking directly to us as though we’re a visitor to the base. Shipton is highly watchable, and deals deftly with some touching moments in Daniels’ script, such as Anne’s distress on assuming that a visit from the pastor means the worst.
This isn’t groundbreaking theatre, but offers an interesting insight into a world few of us know much about, where the best you can do is wait, hope and deal with the consequences. [Caroline Bishop]
Bedlam Theatre, 8:00pm – 8:40pm, 11–25 Aug, not 12, £9.00
Soldiers’ Wives
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The world of the army base is a tight knit one, according to this piece by Sarah Daniels: one rife with gossip, rivalry and class hierarchy, but tight knit none the less. Like any family, it may be occasionally stifling but it’s always supportive and in times of need it’s all you have to cling to. Daniels portrays all this in Soldiers’ Wives, a monologue in which Catherine Shipton plays five women on an army base, dealing with everyday life and the stress of having a husband at war. Seguing between the five parts with ease, Shipton begins as Lucy, the well-to-do wife of a Major, who, reflecting her husband’s rank, is boss of the base. Ruby, the wife of a low ranking soldier, cleans Lucy’s house; Kate, the base’s
46 fest edinburgh festival guide 2012 | August 14 - 16
Assembly Roxy, 12:30pm – 1:30pm, 12–27 Aug, not 13, £10.00 – £12.00
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festtheatre Juana in a Million
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The Fringe may be inundated with monologues, but it takes a strong performer to illuminate the text and engage the audience all the way through. Mexican actress Vicky Araico Casas is one such performer, making this story of illegal immigrants to the UK if not quite one in a million, then certainly a stand-out piece on the monologue menu. She plays Juana, a young woman who leaves Mexico’s violence and drug cartels behind in search of a better life in London. But with no official papers and little comprehension of the English language, Juana is ripe for exploitation. Desperate to succeed, she takes a job in a Mexican restaurant, where she’s groped by her sexist boss and manipulated by her manager. Ever hopeful, she starts afresh, only to find she’s caught in a caustic cycle which seems determined to break her spirit.
Vivacious and highly watchable, Araico Casas fills the small stage with her energetic, intensely physical performance, creating neardance routines out of the natural rhythms of Juana’s mundane jobs. She’s accompanied by a lone musician, whose trumpet-playing and sound effects lend the piece an almost spiritual quality at times. As well as capturing Juana’s naïve optimism and dogged determination, Araico Casas inhabits a range of characters with humour and pathos: the oaf Juana has to share her bed with, the fellow Mexican who promises to help but lets her down, the mother she has left behind. It’s a poignant piece of work, and there’s perhaps no better vehicle than a monologue for the story of a woman alone in a hostile world. [Caroline Bishop] Pleasance Dome, 4:15pm – 5:15pm, 12–26 Aug, not 15, 22, £9.00 – £10.00
Four new operas packed full of emotion
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The Lady from the Sea In the Locked Room & Ghost Patrol
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August 14 - 16 | edinburgh festival guide 2012 fest 47
festtheatre What I Heard About The World
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Think of a Blue Peter summer expedition crossed with Bang Goes the Theory and you’ll have an approximation of the feel of this eclectic devised piece which rummages around in the world and extracts its quirks. Three men sit in a set strewn with idiosyncratic objects: a chemist shop sign, a life-ring, a stag’s head, a stuffed fox, a coat stand. These objects reflect the diverse nature of this unusual show which attempts to sum up the world in a series of anecdotes, amusingly illustrated by the three performers using props, languages and a guitar. All the anecdotes tell of fakery and deception: so we hear of donkeys being painted like zebras in Gaza zoo, a ‘confession’ phone line called The Line of the Lord, robots dressed as children
camel-racing in the United Arab Emirates. The trio demonstrate a ‘solution’ to global warming by drinking salt water in the manner of a science experiment, and convey a massacre by spraying red paint from a water gun. A fish tank doubles as the ocean crash site of a jumbo jet, cardboard cut-outs demonstrate
the five sanctioned men’s haircuts in North Korea. This collaboration between Sheffield-based Third Angel and Portuguese company Mala Voadora—the result of considerable research and ‘story-mapping’—is entertaining, inventive and hugely informative. Not all the stories come off success-
fully, at times the piece loses flow, and the sound balance doesn’t seem quite sorted yet. But you’re certain to come away knowing more about the world than you did. [Caroline Bishop]
seen the man rather than the legend, although we’re still not sure how accurate a portrait it really is. In any case, Gavin Paul is entirely convincing in a solid yet sensitive performance that ranges from pompous grandstanding to whining complaint. He conveys Burns as a real man, with real worries and real passions, and he’s unafraid
to make us question Burns’ desires and uncertainties. The play’s final note, with the poet denied access to an illegimitate child he has fathered, only confirms the impression we’ve already formed of a man with doubtful morals but also needy insecurities. It’s a bit strange, though, to open the show with a film of Paul delivering the monologue
in locations around Edinburgh, and the transition to the live section could be smoother. All in all, it’s a speculative piece that we can’t trust to shed accurate new light on Burns, but a fine performance nonetheless. [Benjamin Edwards]
Northern Stage at St Stephen’s, 4:35pm – 5:45pm, 12–19 Aug, not 13, £14.00
Burns: Rough Cut
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Playwright Donald Smith’s rich monologue traces poet Robert Burns’ brief stay in Edinburgh in 1786-88. It’s a fictionalised account, described in the programme as “recreating Burns’ lost—or unwritten—diaries” that sees Scotland’s national bard entering a mysterious den of gambling and prostitution, encountering the infamous Deacon Brodie, and describing his liaisons with some of the city’s young women – in quite a bit of detail. As a result of the invention, it’s hard not to take it all with quite a large pinch of salt. But Smith’s intention to rob Burns of his mythical status and present him instead as a raw and real person shines through. We feel like we’ve
48 fest edinburgh festival guide 2012 | August 14 - 16
theSpace @ Jury’s Inn, 5:05pm – 6:00pm, 12–25 Aug, not 19, £8.00
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festtheatre
And No More Shall We Part
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An usher offers tissues at the end of And No More Shall We Part and, judging by the sobs from the audience, they’re much needed. You’d have a hard heart indeed not to be moved by Tom Holloway’s quiet story of a couple coming to terms with the end of their time together. Pam is dying of a terminal illness whose name
XXXO
HHHHH There’s a narcissism to XXXO that’s sure to deter some theatregoers. Supported by renowned Belgian company Ontroerend Goed, which has a reputation for making audiences squirm, it’s an interesting premise—two girls try to make one another cry on stage—but ultimately failed by its own self-indulgence. Charlotte and Nathalie like
is never spoken. Unwilling to put herself through the inevitably painful and undignified end that awaits, she chooses a cocktail of lethal drugs instead. We meet her after she’s swallowed the pills, waiting, in bed, with her husband Don by her side. The concept sounds mawkish and melodramatic, but actually it’s a subtle piece of writing. Though topical, it’s not, at heart, an examination of the right to die; rather, it’s a love story between two
people who have weathered life together. Consequently, Pam’s decision is seen by Don as a betrayal, as though she’s deliberately leaving him. Holloway shows, rather than tells of, the strength of feeling between the couple, his dialogue littered with half-sentences and unspoken sentiment, deftly handled by Dearbhla Molloy and Bill Paterson. While Pam is calm and considered, Don is disabled by emotion, unable to articulate his feelings.
There are some charged moments—the silence of their last meal together, Pam’s one outburst of emotion after she takes the concoction— and their impact is enhanced by the restraint of the rest of the piece. Only let down by the final scene, which verges on melodrama, this is a beautiful play. [Caroline Bishop]
taking pictures of themselves crying in front of their laptops, the screens of which are projected on to the back of the stage. During the show, they use a variety of fictional and non-fictional stimulants to reduce one another to tears. First, it’s the turn of fiction: they reenact famous film and TV clips, like Jack’s death scene in Titanic, an argument between Carrie and Miranda in Sex and the City and, bewilderingly, a routine from Home and Away.
It’s unexpectedly funny and implicitly, the girls are poking fun at themselves and the ridiculousness of crying at these scenes. But there’s a quick change of tone when they turn to non-fiction, playing distressing YouTube clips of 9/11 calls and a girl dying on camera in Iran. It feels misjudged to place these serious moments so close to the humour that’s come before it, and their gravity only serves to underline the essential
artificiality of the experiment being conducted on stage. The end arrives very quickly too, adding to XXXO’s generally thin feeling. Still, Charlotte and Nathalie are natural performers and with a bit more development—and in a smaller, more intimate venue— this could be a more significant work. [Yasmin Sulaiman]
52 fest edinburgh festival guide 2012 | August 14 - 16
Traverse Theatre, times vary, 12–26 Aug, not 13, 20, £18 – £20
Pleasance Courtyard, 7:10pm – 8:00pm, 12–26 Aug, not 14, £9.00 – £10.50
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festtheatre DDLE´S
WINSTON RU
CIRQUE
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August 14 - 16 | edinburgh festival guide 2012 fest 53
festtheatre Love All
HHHHH The true story of Vere St Ledger Goold, tennis champion, womaniser and bon viveur, is adapted for the stage as a topping two-hander by Tadhg Hickey and Aideen Wylde, a talented duo from Cork. Vere’s history is as “chequered as gingham table-cloth”: a melange of Wimbledon wizardry, playing the tables (and the women) in Monte Carlo, and multiple murders. And the pair’s presentation of the history is equally mixed, combining a pleasing pastiche of vaudeville, Victorian Melodrama and the odd touch of post-modern meta-theatricality. The play is filled with exquisitely observed details such as the jerky foreshortened swing of old-fashioned tennis matches. Hickey, as Vere, never lets his upper-crust accent slip and Wylde is equally convincing as his deadlier-than-themale French wife, Marie Violet Giordan. As a pair they enjoy a symbiotic relationship, delivering their lines and interacting physically with pitch-perfect timing. Some 45 of the play’s 65 minutes running time is a pacey, utterly delightful romp. However, during the last twenty minutes the metatheatrical sections start to drag and the pair seems to be unable to draw Vere’s history to an end (an inherent danger when dealing with a real as opposed to fictional life story). Apparently Hickey and Wylde decided to turn to theatre after not being able to find employment in a depressed Ireland. We should be thankful they couldn’t, for, if not quite a case of Love All, it is certainly one of Love-almost-All. [Miranda Kiek] Assembly Roxy, 2:20pm – 3:25pm, 12–26 Aug, not 13, 20, £10.00 – £12.00
Best in the World
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The world of darts might seem an unlikely setting for a show about achieving your potential, but by the end of Alex Elliott’s inspirational monologue Best in the World, you’ll be thinking about it. Don’t worry, it’s not a motivational lecture (although at times it veers surprisingly close). But in this small-scale yet slick production directed by Annie Rigby, Elliott makes you consider how being the best can simply mean doing the right thing at the right time, achieving excellence through years of practice – or, of course,
54 fest edinburgh festival guide 2012 | August 14 - 16
scoring that elusive 180 on the dartboard. Darts, he reassures us, has moved on from its old image of flabby men in beer halls, and Elliott tells the often moving stories of the men who transformed it: Jockey Wilson, Eric Bristow, Phil Taylor. But right from the start, he broadens things out to make the show relevant to all of us, and in fact the audience plays a central role. We’re provided with emergency bananas should energy levels flag, and later there’s paper aeroplane throwing, memories of our good deeds from the past and, of course, a chance to try our
hand on the oche. Elliott delivers the piece with an engaging naturalism, and we’re with him all the way in his memories of successes and failures from the past. The pace is tight and the script resonant. At times it seems a little self-indulgent, or too feelgood to be true. But by the end, we’re rooting for the audience’s amateur darts team and aware of the fact that we’re all capable of achieving success, large or small. [Benjamin Edwards] Northern Stage at St Stephen’s, 12:45pm – 1:45pm, 12–25 Aug, not 13, 20, £14
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August 14 - 16 | edinburgh festival guide 2012 fest 55
festtheatre After The Rainfall
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In theatre, simplicity is not always a virtue. Often, especially at the Fringe, it is made necessary by budget and space constraints, but it would be wrong to assume that being complicated is bad. Curious Directive’s After The Rainfall is as ambitious in narrative scope as it is in technical delivery, and respects the audience enough to expect them to handle a nonlinear, multi-stranded plot and enough sensory overload for three plays. Across four different time periods, an agent of the British Empire finds and then loses a friend while conducting reconnaissance in Egypt, an art student deals with the repercussions of the Haig Pit closure as well as her brother’s death, two former lovers battle it out in an Al Jazeera interview brimming with barely restrained spite, and a survivor of the Egyptian uprising makes a pilgrimage across Europe to see the Rosetta Stone. Whereas most plays might have one overarching theme, After the Rainfall has several. This is not always to its detriment, but it does mean that some are more involving than others. The play’s treatment of colonialism’s pillaging of the world’s treasures is deeply moving, but its larger theme—a parallel between how the societies of ants and humans operate—is less successful. Similarly, the technical gimmicks and elaborate lighting that lace the production achieve their effect half the time, but otherwise serve as a distraction. Given a little more coherence, it could be excellent. But as it is, After the Rainfall is, if sprawling, still brave and fascinating. [Sean Bell] Pleasance Dome, 3:40pm – 4:55pm, 12–27 Aug, not 13, £12.00 – £13.00
Othello: the remix
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It’s a quarter past three in the Pleasance Courtyard. A man in the row in front of me is on his feet, fingers aimed skywards, bouncing to a heavy hip-hop beat. He is well beyond retirement age and has just indulged in quite possibly his first hour of rap, a fact of which he could not appear more pleased. This is indeed Othello, but as you’ve never heard it before: the tale of MC Othello and his crew. It’s an affirmation of both Shakespeare’s depth as a resource for exploring the human condition, and of the power of
Chapel Street
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“Now it’s time to go out, because that’s all there is isn’t it? At least we’ve got that to look forward to. That’s what being young is all about. Isn’t it?” Chapel Street is bleak. Too bleak. For any parent of a teenager watching, it must be almost unbearable. Luke Barnes’ script interweaves the two monologues of a girl and a boy on a night out. She is 14 and in school. He is 25 and on the dole. She worries about what other people think of her. He tries to
56 fest edinburgh festival guide 2012 | August 14 - 16
hip-hop as a living, breathing art form for meaningful expression. On a first pass, comparing a collection of hip-hop beats to Shakespeare’s original seems an exercise in missing the point: Othello: the Remix is interesting perhaps because it is so different. But, on further inspection, the comparison is quite instructive. What else is hip-hop for if not making language work as hard as it can? With clever use of rhythm, rhyme and allusion, words sparkle with much more than the sum of their individual parts. If there’s one criticism, it’s that Chicago Shakespeare
Theatre doesn’t always adhere to the high lyrical standards it sets itself. Compare the quarto and folio editions of Shakespeare and one finds the bard editing away the odd shoddy couplet. Othello: the Remix finds itself in prefolio mode: there’s still some tightening to do on those few lines which don’t have the flow, poise or inventiveness of the brilliant whole. They jar only by comparison; the understudy players on a truly remarkable stage. [Evan Beswick]
come to terms with a life lacking prospects. Eventually, in an episode of understated tragedy, the two of them briefly cross paths. Undoubtedly it is when this happens that the play is at its strongest. Allowing an audience access to the thoughts of different characters on the same subject may be a well-worn device, but it gives the script some much needed humour and subtlety. Ria Zmitrowicz brings a clumsy naivety to the part of the girl and an excellent ear for comic timing. Cary Crankson’s
performance as the boy is equally well-judged – deftly balancing defensiveness and vulnerability. There are times when it feels like the lines have been forced into the play rather than stemming naturally from it. One wonders how much Barnes has lifted verbatim from his own or overheard conversations. But the play’s two voices are so searingly real that this is a minor quibble. [Miranda Kiek]
Pleasance Courtyard, 1:55pm – 3:10pm, 12–27 Aug, not 14, 21, £12.50 – £15.00
Underbelly, Cowgate, 2:50pm – 3:50pm, 12–26 Aug, not 14, £10 – £11
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festtheatre You Obviously Know What I’m Talking About
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There’s much to like in this whimsical play about loneliness and isolation. The set, for starters, is another character in itself: it’s a loving re-creation of a cramped bedsit, complete with a boiling kettle, a running tap, and an arresting mosaic of photos adorning the wall above the bed. In this wacky space lives Winfield ScottBoring, a sweet but isolated man who hasn’t left his flat for several years and is dedicated to the rigid schedule he’s created for himself. But one day, he gets out of bed on the wrong side and sod’s law dictates that everything goes wrong. And when a beautiful neighbour asks for help, he begins to reconsider an existence outside his flat once again. Winfield barely speaks a word, but he’s brilliantly played with understated sweetness by Richard Kiess. Most of the action is related by three quirky narrators who pop out through the set’s various doors and windows. Again, they’re adroit performers but the characters grate after a while and although the play has the right elements and sets an attractive, playful tone, the plot itself lacks substance and the pace flags towards the end. You Obviously Know What I’m Talking About is written by Teresa Burns and Eva Sampson, who brought us the likeable Waterproof last year. Like that play, this new one shows real promise, but it needs a stronger plot to match its distinctive style. Still, it’s a lovely piece that reminds us how important it is to connect with the world around us. [Yasmin Sulaiman] Underbelly, Cowgate, 1:30pm – 2:30pm, 12–26 Aug, not 14, £9.00 – £11.00
Educating Ronnie
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A gap year trip to Uganda to visit his aunt was to prove life changing for 18-year-old Joe Douglas, but not in the usual way. Yes, the clichés apply: it was eye-opening, it was a culture shock, it left him with western liberal guilt. But it was meeting Ugandan teenager Ronnie that made a lasting impact. Back home in Stockport Douglas receives a text message from Ronnie asking for £20 a month to help him complete his O Levels. He agrees – and soon this turns into supporting Ronnie through A Levels, then £300 a term for university fees, then the odd payment for food, for hospital fees and, years later, even a bribe to police. The thousands he has gifted Ronnie over a decade have, inevitably, prompted much soul-searching in Douglas. This he now turns into a monologue, which he performs, laying out the questions he has asked himself over the years: should he have done it? Was it a scam? Should he have ignored the “residual guilt” his aunt warned of? It’s an interesting story and Douglas draws it simply
Our Island
HHHHH Singapore’s I Theatre company and UK-based Kipper Tie theatre team up for this delightful show which finds three characters washed up on an island. There’s one problem: none of the three speak the same language – or, indeed, any comprehensible language at all. So, like a three-way Lear nonsense poem, the trio “wau wau,” “ding ding” and “mong mong” their way to understanding and eventual friendship. What follows, on a microscale, is the development of a
58 fest edinburgh festival guide 2012 | August 14 - 16
but effectively. He tells us he’s no actor—he’s a director by trade—and at times that shows, particularly when he momentarily plays Ronnie. But the truthfulness of the story balances out this callowness. When Ronnie’s actual words— taken from text messages and emails sent over the years—are
spoken by an unseen actor and projected onto a screen, it brings this reality home and makes you wonder, what would you have done? [Caroline Bishop]
tiny society as the group mimes their way through names, the marking of territory, possessions, the development of ritual – even the investiture of emotion in inanimate objects. It’s a mini anthropological history but one which, fortunately, happens also to be quite a lot of fun. There’s a real emphasis on humour here, of the idiosyncrasies of humans grappling with bizarre situations, which keeps this energetic production firmly on the side of entertainment. It’s by no means a show without flaws. Some of the mimes are a little unclear and, it seems, the troupe recognises
this. Those weaker movements, however, rarely improve through repetition. There are long periods, too, which drag a little: too ponderous to keep the kids’ attention; too aimless to warrant that of the adults. Nonetheless, this remains a truly enjoyable international collaboration and one with a strong message that, whatever the language and cultural barriers, humans are invariably better off together. [Evan Beswick]
Assembly George Square, 1:15pm – 2:15pm, 12–26 Aug, not 13, 20, £10.00 – £12.00
C venues - C too, 1:20pm – 2:10pm, 12–27 Aug, not 14, 21, £7.50 – £9.50
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festtheatre Liz Lochhead: Making Nothing Happen
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It’s by no means an insult to suggest that Scotland’s makar, Liz Lochhead, doesn’t deliver the most controversial, raucous or highly-charged hour on the Fringe. A prolific and popular poet since the early 70s, Lochhead’s show at the Assembly Rooms (where, as it happens, she made her Fringe debut) has a lot of ground to cover and, while she is still producing reams of great work, it’s older poems and monologues which make up the bulk of this afternoon’s performance. So there’s an inevitable air of nostalgia. But Making Nothing Happen—a line taken from Auden’s poem ‘In Memory of WB Yeats’—is a little misleading. Much less the “ranches of isolation” and “busy griefs” of Auden’s lament, this hour with Lochhead fizzles with wit,
The Half
HHHHH ‘The half’ is the time before a performance by which all actors must be present in the theatre. As the term suggests, it is typically half an hour, just long enough for an actor to steady themselves, finalise their lines, or, if they choose, implode in a mist of boozy self-loathing. No prizes for guessing how Guy Masterson’s aging soak passes the 30 minutes before the opening night of his first acting gig in 15 years, Hamlet Uncut: the One Man Show, a self-directed four and a half hour epic into which he has sunk all his meagre savings. “Every minute counts,” he tells himself, but as the clock ticks down towards the curtain call, all his demons emerge in the half-light of his dressing room. Dreams of playing King Lear in the West End (“the
warmth, and the well-honed sense of drama that have made publishers, directors, educators and even First Ministers pick up the phone to the North Lanarkshire native. Indeed, there’s plenty of what Lochhead terms “first the phonecall” poems – those poems written on commission or for a purpose. They’re great selections, showcasing
Lochhead’s technical dexterity and manipulation of multiple dialects, but also her ability to get inside the heads of others— be it the school kid, the bad kid or the struggling adult—and voice their motives and misapprehensions with respectful believability. Clearly, these are performances Lochhead has sharpened over years of
readings, and they benefit from her practised ability to let their playfulness sing. In short, here’s a show which finds Lochhead living energetically by her credo: “just tell the story, make it make sense.” [Evan Beswick] Charlotte Square Gardens, 4:30pm – 5:30pm, 22 Aug, £10.00
veteran’s Everest”) and earning a knighthood evaporate into a whiskey-induced stupor, punctuated by tirades against his estranged wife and his own lack of self-restraint. There are shades of Richard E Grant’s Withnail at 50 in Guy Masterson’s RADA-trained ham, and echoes of Bruce Robinson’s screenplay in Richard Dormer’s dark, mordant script. But for a meta-play—a one-man play about a play—to really work it needs to be fresh. Too often the material feels predictable and clichéd (Hamlet; the drunken actor; the wrecked marriage). There are some wellrealised comic moments—and Masterson revels in the role— but not quite enough to raise The Half to something a bit fuller. [Peter Geoghegan] Assembly George Square, 2:00pm – 3:10pm, 12–26 Aug, not 13, £12.00 – £14.00
60 fest edinburgh festival guide 2012 | August 14 - 16
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festdance&physicaltheatre Within This Dust
Mr Carmen
Among the images published in the aftermath of 11 September 2001, one of the most controversial was Richard Drew’s photograph of a man falling between the twin towers. Smallpetitklein’s thoughtfully executed triple bill is not only a beautiful piece of dance, an elegy to the estimated 200 people who died in this way on 9/11, but also a sensitive reminder that theirs was a situation any one of us could have faced. In Embers, leaves of pure-white paper fall one by one from a bundle in Marta Masiero’s clutch. Later she tosses and turns in the endless mass, singling out several pages and pressing them flat, each as individual in its shape as a person. The tragic beauty of S/HE continues to haunt long after it has finished. Masiero and Tom Pritchard evoke a deep sense of loss in this duet that sees them mirroring, gliding, lifting and balancing weightlessly against one another. Finally, Falling Man uses text from Tom Junod’s 2009
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GOD (Grumpy Old Dancers) and A Beautiful Hell
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With titles like these, who could resist pairing these two contrasting pieces as a double bill? But they have more to complement each other than their names, one being an unashamed celebration of grumpiness by two veterans of dance, the other a study of the cruelty and beauty of youth. Andy Howitt and Alan Greig are Grumpy Old Dancers who have wanted to perform together for 25 years. To a chuntering soundtrack that throws up lines like “bloody nonsense” and “he comes in
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Esquire article on Drew’s famous image to echo movement that suggests not only the freedom of flying but also the terror of falling. There is a moment when, lying prostrate, an unseen force pins Pritchard’s legs and arms back. At the utter mercy of the elements he rides this wave peacefully
for a few moments. When it passes, and he falls flat again, it seems that whatever circumstances came together to cause it, he has had his moment of grace. [Lucy Ribchester]
every day with a new idea,” they swing in and out of a sensitive duet that occasionally turns savage with the odd headlock, but overall leaves us feeling rather affectionate towards grumpiness. Savagery emerges in darker form in Edge FWD’s A Beautiful Hell. And what a hell it is. Dreamlike lighting creates a liminal state as a cast of pyjama-bottom-clad male dancers enact cruel nightmares like sadistic angels around Joseph Reay-Reid. A string quartet blares Jimmy Hendrix’s ‘Purple Haze’ as he is beaten, Lord of the Flies style, by the others. Later, he shouts unheard as they preen and posture to Roy Orbison.
An underlying current of aggression fizzles through their movements, both dizzily sensual and darkly unsettling, and continues through ReayReid’s final stormy solo. Seeing performers push their bodies to the limits is one of the great pleasures of watching dance, and the energy that comes off this ensemble is electric. When they fling themselves, they really fling themselves, when they scream, they mean it. Just as well those grumpy old dancers know the next generation of dance is in good hands. [Lucy Ribchester]
As we enter the theatre, a game is in progress. Two men check and swap cards with one another, occasionally peering out through opera glasses into the crowd, reminding us of the artifice we are about to be party to and establishing a edge of playful menace that never quite goes away throughout this eerie, spectral show. This is St Petersburg-based AKHE’s paring down of Prosper Mérimée’s novella (probably better known as the basis for Bizet’s opera) into a stand-off between the two lead characters, Carmen and Jose. Engaged in a power battle pageant, Maksim Isaev and Pavel Semchenko spell out the characters’ names in increasingly creative ways, only for them to be cruelly destroyed or vanish of their own accord. Mr Carmen dips a rose in red wine and holds it between his toes to scrawl across a sheet of brown paper. Jose drinks vinegar and sprays it into a spotlight illuminating his name in the mist. It’s these rag-and-bone stage innovations that elevate this show to the level of magic, drawing you into its war of words, keeping you guessing at what will happen next and more importantly how it will be won out. The sensory experience is total, not just through Vadim Gololobov’s chiaroscuro lighting but with delicious-scented cigars, acidic notes of paint and vinegar hanging in the air and the tactile materials—roses, sugar, coffee—produced only to be ravaged. A little more clarity might do better justice to AKHE’s unbridled creativity. But the dreamscape the company creates is so mesmerising, it’s enough just to allow yourself to be spellbound. [Lucy Ribchester]
Dance Base - National Centre for Dance, 5:00pm – 5:50pm, 12 Aug, £10.00
Assembly Roxy, 6:00pm – 7:00pm, 12–27 Aug, not 13, 20, £12.00 – £14.00
Dance Base - National Centre for Dance, 6:30pm – 7:50pm, 12–19 Aug, not 13, £12.00
August 14 - 16 | edinburgh festival guide 2012 fest 61
festmusic&cabaret Piff the Magic Dragon in... Jurassic Bark
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“Mr Piffles is a stunt chihuahua,” says the voiceover at the beginning of the show, inducing an air of hushed excitement amongst the audience. Will there be backflips? Somersaults? Will he free himself from the jaws of a crocodile right at the crucial moment? Well, no, there’s no time for all that. Because tiny Mr Piffles spends most of the show falling asleep on the winged collar of his dragon costume. For spectators in search of high octane entertainment, the show falls well short of the mark. But for those who enjoy watching a man dressed as a dragon performing some reasonably impressive tricks, with the odd satirical joke thrown in for good measure, Jurassic Bark comes up trumps.
Lady Sings It Better
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It is a testament to the bewitching power of a catchy tune that the lyrics are the last thing people pay attention to. Sometimes the most famous songs belie some pretty dubious messages. Take for example, Billy Joel’s ‘She’s Always A Woman.’ It’s a beautiful paean to the endurable loveliness of womankind, right? Nope. With lyrics equating being “always
With any magic show, the “how do they do it?” factor is integral, and there are certainly moments of wonder during Piff’s performance. What is lacking, though, is something truly spectacular to set it apart from other comedy magic shows – some kind of extraordinary, death defying stunt to really make it special. Much is made of disgruntled Piff’s talent compared with his near narcoleptic pooch, but the bigger tricks do not feel celebrated enough, and the magician’s lack of enunciation means that important proclamations sometimes slip into the ether. It may not set the world alight, but Jurassic Bark offers a fun hour of canines and card tricks scarcely found elsewhere at the festival. [Charlotte Lytton] Pleasance Dome, 7:10pm – 8:10pm, 12–26 Aug, £10.00 – £11.00
a woman” to such things as “She’ll promise you more than the Garden of Eden/Then she’ll carelessly cut you and laugh while you’re bleeding,” it seems that Mr Joel thinks the fairer sex is a gender of Judases. The same could be said for much of popular music written by men. Lady Sings It Better, a six-piece all-girl vocal cabaret act dressed like dishevelled Pollyannas, have made it their mission to remove the waxy build-up of misogyny from
62 fest edinburgh festival guide 2012 | August 14 - 16
our ears. Armed with tonges in cheeks, slick banter, and heavenly harmonies they are reinterpreting bright pop hits by the likes of Joel, The Knack and Otis Redding, to show music’s dark underbelly. This is no exercise in academic deconstructionism. You could be completely oblivious to the show’s subversive nature and have a total ball. Backed by an incredibly tight three-piece band, the sextet masterfully belt out Michael Jackson medleys, give AC/DC
a Mary Poppins make-over, and make Nine Inch Nails’ most bestial impulses sound positively civilised. The tunes are big, with the bigger message there if you want it. But it is at its strongest when the ladies reclaim pop for the girls. It will make you want to burn your music penned by men. Or dance. Or both. [Edd McCracken] Gilded Balloon Teviot, 6:45pm – 7:45pm, 12–27 Aug, not 14, 21, £12 – £14
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festmusic&cabaret The Showstoppers
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The premise is simple: an entirely improvised musical, based on audience suggestions and consequently completely different every night. Making it look easy, however, is a different matter, and The Showstoppers is a slick example of how entertaining and downright impressive longform improvisation can be. A prologue explains that the director (co-founder Dylan Emery) has one night to create a smash hit musical. Stuck for ideas, he turns to the audience. More ridiculous suggestions are vetted, with a final verdict being decided by an audience vote – on this occasion, a zombie musical. The crowd also choose the setting, and the styles for the piece’s hit songs. The troupe will have a go at anything, from the obvious
(Rocky Horror Show) to the niche (2011’s London Road, anyone?). There is an element of conscious crafting to the show: Emery stops the action from time to time to ask the cast for extra explanation or to take things in a different direction. Combined with his consideration of proffered ideas, this gives the piece coherence,
stopping the cast from getting stuck playing out a deliberately obtuse suggestion or becoming caught up in dialogue that isn’t going anywhere. This is not to say, however, that the show lacks spontaneity – anything but. The interaction between the band and the cast, in particular, is incredible. It’s impossible to say who decides the direction of
the songs, which reflects how polished the performance as a whole feels. Accomplished and professional, The Showstoppers merit a second viewing, if only to check that they really don’t have a formula: it almost feels too good. [Anna Feintuck] Gilded Balloon Teviot, 11:00pm – 12:10am, 11–26 Aug, not 23, £11.50 – £12.50
August 14 - 16 | edinburgh festival guide 2012 fest 63
festmusic&cabaret Wild West End
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Wild West End is a good-humoured satire-cum-celebration of the West End musical from the team behind sell-out show Fresher: The Musical. Jackie (a winning performance from Lawrence Haynes) wants nothing more than to write a musical, but he’s stymied in his attempts by a gargantuan case of writer’s block (“Any theme will do, ah-ah-ahhh”). When the fabulously angsty fairy Linda (played with perfect comic timing by Laura Kaye Thomson) transports him to Sparkletown, the magical land of musicals, he must prove once and for all that he is a worthy heir to all things Andrew Lloyd Webber. As he does so he collects a motley crew of companions, including a sexually frustrated Dorothy, a homosexual Phantom and The
La Clique Royale: The Queen’s Selection
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The problem with developing a reputation as a daring, sexy, tongue-in-cheek circus-cumcabaret is that returning audiences expect a lot. For the most part La Clique—regulars at the beautiful Spiegeltent—don’t disappoint, but this Jubileethemed edition has a few distractions from the spectacle. But what a spectacle it offers. Acrobats of such physicality they’d hold their own against Olympic gymnasts are mixed with acts of raunchy humour, such as a bell-ringing Austrian milk maid with an unusual talent, and a vampy hula hoop expert. The highlight of the show is the Wau Wau Sisters, a duo of trapeze artists fashioned in slutty punk-rock outfits whose impeccably honed act is as provocative as it is gasp-inducing: clutching and groping at each other, they negotiate the trapeze with
Lion King’s Mustafa – who just wants to live beyond Act One. There is nothing especially profound in lampooning musicals, and Wild West End inhabits very much the same sort of territory as Shrek – except with more sex and sharper satire. While inevitably focusing on the eternal clichés of the genre, from jazz hands
to the relentless hawking of over-priced merchandise (the subject for a splendidly witty re-write of ‘Who Will Buy’ from Bart’s Oliver!), the show feels pleasingly of the moment. And in the manner of the great 19th century musical satirists Gilbert and Sullivan, it casts a parodic eye over contemporary cultural trends – including Webber’s
series of television musical talent shows. Self-consciously corny, unapologetically camp and a real showstopper, Wild West End is a cut above its musical contemporaries. [Miranda Kiek] Pleasance Dome, 6:50pm – 7:50pm, 12–27 Aug, not 14, £11.00 – £12.00
consummate skill, each other’s life literally in the other’s hands – or feet, or thighs. It’s just a shame we don’t see more of this. A bequiffed club singer and comic magician Paul Zenon are meant to offer a change of pace, an injection of humour, and that they do. But they can’t match their colleagues for entertainment value. Zenon, as compere, delivers an old-fashioned humour which doesn’t always hit the mark, and with so many comedians at the Fringe, you can’t help but hanker for better. The same can be said for the ‘Queen,’ played by Gerry Connolly, who gives the show its regal theme in this Jubilee year. Topical gags about Camilla, i-thrones and royal equestrians go down well, but you’re left wanting less of this and more of that special spectacle. [Caroline Bishop] The Famous Spiegeltent, 9:30pm – 11:00pm, 12–26 Aug, not 13, 20, £20.00
64 fest edinburgh festival guide 2012 | August 14 - 16
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festmusic&cabaret Briefs
HHHHH It doesn’t take long for the clothes to start coming off in this all-male cabaret, but then what does one expect in a show named after gentlemen’s pants? The boys have enviable muscles and even more enviable fake eyelashes, and after making the crowd squeal with some carefree juggling of their abandoned suits, they launch into something altogether less conventionally macho – an ostrich feather fan dance. It’s testament to their charisma, however, that they can inject even this with a distinctly testosterone-fuelled attitude, and this sets the flavour for a show that is, as host Shivannah—surely the sweetest, friendliest drag queen in town— says, “a little bit of butch with a fuckload of camp.” The line-up gives us Davy Gravy, the deadpan plate
spinner who eats protein shake with a spoon; Johnny Domino, a 1950s housewife’s fantasy of moustachioed frying-pan bending strong man; and the enfant terrible of the ensemble, Captain Kidd, aka Las Vegas’s 2011 King of Burlesque, aka Nadia, the beer-spitting, nippleflashing, mangina-waving reject from Australia’s Olympic gymnastics team. He is a force
of bad behaviour to be reckoned with, teetering into scenes, adding a frisson of the unpredictable, and giving a spectacularly limber cloudswing finale. Indeed, in every case there are the skills to back up the posturing, no more so than with Natano Fa’anana on the aerial silks, infusing what is usually a graceful female domain with a powerful dynamism, his tat-
tooed body twisting between two weightless slices of red fabric. Beefy and brassy they may be but don’t believe this classy cabaret when they describe themselves as “trash.” [Lucy Ribchester] Underbelly, Bristo Square, 11:15pm – 12:15am, 12–27 Aug, not 15, £10.00 – £15.00
“Now’s the time to bow down at the altar of four-strong a cappella group FORK” METRO
2-26 AUG (NO SHOW 14) AT 22.25 (1 HR) GEORGE SQUARE - SPIEGELTENT TEATRO
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August 14 - 16 | edinburgh festival guide 2012 fest 65
festkids
The healing power
of imagination Photos: Robert Workman
For sick children, having an active imagination can be a vital part of coping with illness. Caroline Black talks to the team behind Superjohn about their real life experiences.
W
HEN RACHEL Parish shared a childhood anecdote in a creative workshop, it sparked a series of events and experiences that have culminated in the creation of Superjohn – a family show that’s full of adventure and imagination. “Superjohn was in my pre-school class when I was four,” Parish tells me in her quick-talking Louisiana accent “he was a child that was so much fun, always wore a Superman outfit and was just so cool, full of energy. Obviously his name was John but everyone knew him as Superjohn, that was just his name,” she says matter of factly. “But he’d go away for periods of time and you knew that when was away that he was doing something dangerous. So you were scared for him but you also knew that if anyone could do it, Superjohn could do it because we all believed he had superpowers.” In reality, Superjohn was away from school having treatment for cancer: adopting this additional aspect to his personality was his way of coping. Parish, Tim Johanson and the team at Firehouse Creative started to explore the role of imagination in dealing with things, and how we all use it in our daily lives. The beginnings of a story emerged, exploring where a child has “a necessity for a deep investment in imagination,” says Parish. “We stuck with that basic frame of the real-life anecdote and then we started drawing influences from a number of old myths, as well as looking at contemporary super hero stories such as X Men and Scott Pilgrim, and built up a new narrative.” But, as Johansen tells me, creating a play that delved into such an alien subject without really understanding it wasn’t something that the team was willing to
do. “We didn’t want to make a play that delved into this world without really understanding it. We did the majority of our work with the Whittington Hospital in North London as well as some medical advisors at Great Ormond Street Hospital.” Were the medical staff supportive of the request for guidance from this group of artists? “It was exceptionally well received,” smiles Parish. “Whittington’s
66 fest edinburgh festival guide 2012 | August 14 - 16
Pediatric Oncology nurse specialist just opened the doors for us and allowed us to sit in on their weekly clinics. And it was just this whole new world, it’s really unique and it’s absolutely fascinating. You’ve got this massive group of people who are invested in these families, who are woven into their lives; doctors, play workers, nutritionists, psychologists. Everybody would just come in and out
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festkids and it was very familial and everybody worked simultaneously, but in a way that you didn’t really see when the treatment was happening. It was so networked.” The team got very involved with the patients, too, running workshops for their whole families and medical professionals which offered them the chance to explore their own creativity. Some of the play’s more surreal and fun elements were taken directly from these sessions. I wonder, after all of their in-depth research, just what sort of show they were left with. Is it a play based in a hospital ward, which could potentially be a rather depressing watch? Johanson is clear: “The word cancer never appears in our play. I’ve never heard the word cancer used in a clinic. It doesn’t mean anything to the kids. All they care about is ‘Why do I have to spend time in a hospital? Why can’t I go out with my friends?’ To them it’s a pain in the neck.” Parish laughs. “We’re not trying to whitewash anything,” she says, “but we’ve really told it through the eyes of the children, through imagination. So Superjohn has adventures and fights villains like The Purple Claw and The Blade, there are supernovas and portals that transport him, he has to find the Orb of Invisibility – it’s a real adventure.” Their hope for the show is that everyone will take something different from it. Parish likens it to the Pixar film Up, with many layers to the story that all ages can enjoy and engage with. “It’s a fun show, the design is kind of Scooby Doo-like with bold colours and it’s very visual.” But Johanson is interested in getting older kids to see it too. “Although there’s a lot of singing and dancing for the younger kids who will enjoy it at face value, I believe it would be very interesting for eight, nine and ten year olds and upwards who will take something more from it.” And what of the original Superjohn? Parish tells me: “I heard he grew up to be a graphic artist working on comic books.” Has she been in touch to tell him about the play? “No, no he doesn’t know about it. I absolutely will tell him but I do wonder how I’d frame it: ‘Hi, I was in your preschool and I’ve made a play about you.’ On one side it could be wonderful and on the other side it could be a little freaky.” Pleasance Courtyard, 11:25am – 12:40pm, 13–27 Aug, not 14, £9.00 – £10.00
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Q&A: Andy Day
Andy Day is a BAFTA nominated CBeebies television presenter who is one half of Andy and Mike’s Tick-Tock Time Machine. Fest caught up with him to ask about his own childhood ambitions and Dizzee Rascal. Andy, what can we expect from The Tick Tock Time Machine? Fast paced, silly, interactive and musical for the kids. Fast paced, silly, interactive musical and nostalgic for the parents! What did you want to be when you were little? I think I wanted to be Superman, but I’d settle for Batman these days. How did you and Mike end up making shows together? Mikey and I have been friends since we were the size of a mere ant. We decided that because we both love children’s theatre and we both love messing around we thought why not put that into a show. Any tips for kids wanting to become a performer themselves? Absolutely, don’t do it because you want to be on TV. Do it because you want to express what you love doing and you want to share that with everyone and entertain them. Describe the sort of kid that would love your show. We hope all kids will get something out of our show whether it’s the clapping, the colours, the time machine, the songs, or even just the funny noises. It’s really family entertainment; we have tried to include something for everyone. Will you and CBeebies Sid be doing a new ‘Numbers’ rap any time soon? It’s a classic. Ha ha ha. Of course, we’re thinking of breaking into the rap world; Dizzee Rascal has been in contact. Pleasance Courtyard, 11:00am – 12:00pm, 12–19 Aug, £9.00 – £9.50
August 14 - 16 | edinburgh festival guide 2012 fest 67
festkids The Ballad of Pondlife McGurk
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This is a blissfully simple work by Scottish children’s theatre company Catherine Wheels, which won a Fringe First in 2010 for White. Although The Ballad of Pondlife McGurk has been made for young audiences, there are just as many adults without children here, and everyone clamours to sit cross-legged on the cosy floor mats provided. Andy Manley, the sole performer, zips around the space with ease to tell us the story of Martin and Simon, two best friends who become separated by a brutal fight. It’s an imaginative, charismatic performance that feels a bit like story time at a library if the characters from a book came to life – which is apt, given this takes place at the Traverse stage in the Scottish Book Trust. Co-created by Manley, Rob Evans and Gill Robertson, it’s an effortlessly winning work
that doesn’t flinch from the cruelty that children often mete out. With no props except four boxes, Manley paints the story in vivid detail, from Martin and Simon’s initial meeting at primary school to their glorious summer adventures and heartwrenching falling-out. It’s an understated performance but
an astonishing one and—with a little help from a soundtrack of ELO’s ‘Mr Blue Sky’—Manley reveals the poignancy of an idyllic childhood friendship shattered by the selfishness of adolescence. Fused with Evans’ moving text and Robertson’s energetic direction, The Ballad of Pondlife McGurk encourages
adults to re-visit their own childhood memories, especially those of lost friendships. And no matter what age you are, it’s emotional, uplifting and completely unforgettable. [Yasmin Sulaiman]
since her failed tennis career. The sub plot of her unrequited love—illustrated with shadow puppetry—gives us a further glimpse into her fanatical nature. On stage Cave ropes in her little sister Bebe to help and their relationship is one of the highlights of the show; bossy older sister, compliant little
sister. Bebe isn’t allowed to step out of line for one minute and her dejected deadpan face gives some of the biggest laughs. Cave is wise enough to know that the Harry Potter connection will get people through the door—she references it herself on stage—but she does a great job once they’re in. The laughs might not
necessarily come from straight up jokes but they certainly come from the hugely likeable geeky characters. I suspect we’ll be seeing more of Cave in the coming years. [Caroline Black]
Traverse @ Scottish Book Trust, times vary, 12–26 Aug, not 13, 20, £10.00
Jessie Cave: Book Worm
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This is one for teens, not small kids. Teens will know that actress Jessie Cave played Lavender Brown in the Harry Potter series. But this is Cave in character—albeit with the same name—nerdy and obsessive with big specs and a Narnia sweatshirt. The show sees Cave’s character welcoming us to her very first book club—Bookworms United—that she has prepared obsessively for; the stage is filled with handmade props such as the cardboard box Wendy house and hand drawn signs. What follows is a mix of comedy and storytelling as she gushes enthusiastically about the books that have influenced her over the years
68 fest edinburgh festival guide 2012 | August 14 - 16
Underbelly, Cowgate, 2:30pm – 3:30pm, 12–26 Aug, not 13, £9.00 – £10.00
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festkids By kids, for kids! ...
Fest calls in the miniature experts Hi-Kick
HHHHH I went to go to see Hi-kick at the Assembly Hall. It was an energetic football and dance show, but more dancing than football, sadly. The performers were all from Korea but spoke in English. The story reminded me of the one in The Karate Kid because there was a really good team and a rubbish one. The rubbish team were trained how to play and at the end there was a big football match. I thought it was funny because there was a lot of clowning around. There were also some amazing tricks. They did keepy-uppies, overhead kicks and headers. I have seen most of them before but it was still pretty amazing.
It is not just for kids, I think there is something for everybody. At the end they chucked signed footballs randomly into the audience and we got to keep them. [Maxwell Stephenson, age 9] Assembly Hall, 4:05pm – 5:05pm, 11–27 Aug, not 13, 20, £13.00 – £15.00 Untitled-2 1
Slapdash Galaxy
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Slapdash Galaxy starts with a man in tights telling you about a story of two brothers then—using toy soldiers, plastic bottles and a load of other ordinary objects—he makes extraordinary shadows that turn into space spiders, giant chefs and pirates. Anything can happen with his assortment of props. He included the audience, with peoples’ hair being ‘the shaggy planet’ and noses and mouths being ‘the mountain ranges’. The three big white boards he used turned everything—from balloons to bottles—into entertaining shadows. What I especially liked were his rings and baubles made of smoke which he fired through the air. All throughout the show
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Scamp Theatre & Watford Palace Theatre present:
27/07/2012 15:3
& other terrific tales from
Julia Donaldson & Axel Scheffler Reviews for Stick Man - Live on Stage!
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‘Wonderfully exuberant & imaginative’
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Time Out Critics’ Choice
‘Zesty and delightful’ Independent
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Sunday Express
he used man-made noise and he used the props expertly. Nothing went wrong and I was thoroughly entertained from start to finish. Anyone will enjoy this; child or adult. [Ross Salters, age 11] Underbelly, Cowgate, 1:00pm – 1:50pm, 12–26 Aug, not 13, £10.00 – £11.50
11.15AM (12.05PM)
2 - 27 AUG 2012 (not 9th)
19/04/2012 August 14 - 16 | edinburgh festival guide 2012 fest 69
AD277_Print_ChildrensShows.indd 1
12:48
comedylistings
FESTIVAL
LISTINGS When it's this time...
...this show is on...
❤ Richard Herring HHHH
...on these dates...
... at this place...
...for this price
10:00
11:30
1000 Years of Scotland’s Dark Past
1000 Years of Scotland’s Dark Past
10:15
Mind Reading for Breakfast
The Edinburgh Dungeon, 7 Aug - 2 Sep, £10.50
BBC: Front Row
BBC @ Potterrow, 22 Aug, £free
10:30 1000 Years of Scotland’s Dark Past
The Edinburgh Dungeon, 7 Aug - 2 Sep, £10.50
BBC: MacAulay and Co
BBC @ Potterrow, 7-17 Aug, weekdays only, £free
10:40 Humans v Nature: Engineering FTW
Assembly George Square, 7-14 Aug, £10 – £12
11:00 BBC: Loose Ends
BBC @ Potterrow, 18 Aug, £free
1000 Years of Scotland’s Dark Past
The Edinburgh Dungeon, 7 Aug - 2 Sep, £10.50
11:20 Card Ninja: ReDeal
Assembly George Square, 7-26 Aug, not 13, 20, £9
The Edinburgh Dungeon, 7 Aug - 2 Sep, £10.50
Sweet Grassmarket, 11-27 Aug, not 18, 25, £9
11:40 The Durham Revue
Underbelly, Cowgate, 12-26 Aug, not 15, 19, 20, 21, £9 – £10
11:45 Tommy Talks
The listings are arranged by type - Comedy or Theatre - and then by time. We've listed the dates that each show is running, but remember that it might be on at different times too - check our website for more information. Dates and times can sometimes change, so check with the venue before planning ahead.
20:15 Underbelly, Bristo Square 7-26 Aug, £14 – £16
Fest is the only place you can get daily listings for all of the comedy and theatre shows at the Fringe.
If you're looking for a show to see right now, visit festmag.co.uk on your smartphone to find out what's coming up near your current location.
Survivor - A Broad Irish Idiot
Laughing Horse @ Finnegan’s Wake, 7-11 Aug, £free
Lucy Cox: Attractive Audience Required - Free Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 7-26 Aug, £free
Juliet Meyers: Raised By Fridge Magnets The Stand Comedy Club II, 7-26 Aug, not 13, £8
BBC: Off the Ball
BBC @ Potterrow, 11 Aug, £free
Jerry Bucham: Freelance Activist
Gilded Balloon Teviot, 7-12 Aug, £5
Laughing Horse @ Jekyll & Hyde, 7-26 Aug, not 12, 16, £free
11:50
The Cradle of Comedy
Graters: Julian Ignores his Friend and Talks to a Pretty Girl Underbelly, Cowgate, 7-26 Aug, not 13, £8.50 – £9.50
12:00 James Redmond and Ellie Taylor - Free Festival Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 7-26 Aug, not 13, £free
Croft & Pearce Do It Like A Lady HHH
Gilded Balloon Teviot, 7-27 Aug, not 15, £8.50 – £9.50
Hill Street Theatre, 7-26 Aug, £5
Introducing Stu Introducing Will - Free
Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 7-26 Aug, £free
The Aspidistras - Hi Noon!
Just The Tonic at the Caves, 13-26 Aug, not 14, £5
Eggball
Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 7-26 Aug, not 14, £free
1000 Years of Scotland’s Dark Past
The Edinburgh Dungeon, 7 Aug - 2 Sep, £10.50
The Tourists - A Free Festival Sketch Show Laughing Horse @ Edinburgh City Football Club, 19-26 Aug, £free
Ivo Graham and Liam Williams Laughing Horse @ Captain Taylor’s Coffee House, 7-26 Aug, not 13, £free
Austerity Pleasures
Laughing Horse @ Finnegan’s Wake, 13-25 Aug, not 19, £free
Dancing About Architecture
Just The Tonic at the Caves, 7-12 Aug, £5 – £6
FunBags present Unusual Suspects
Just The Tonic at the Caves, 7-25 Aug, not 14, £5
Cheese-Badger presents... Midge (a Two-Man Musical) - Free Laughing Horse @ The Newsroom, 7-26 Aug, not 13, 20, £free
Sally-Anne Hayward: The Inbetweeny Lady The Stand Comedy Club III & IV, 7-26 Aug, not 13, £8
Aaaand Now for Something Completely Improvised - Free
Laughing Horse @ Meadow Bar, 7-26 Aug, £free
Black Monday - The Longest Laugh All Day Gong Show
The Shack Comedy Club & Nightclub, 13-14 Aug, £10
Beast of the East - Free Comedy Showcase Laughing Horse @ The Phoenix, 13-17 Aug, £free
12:05 Gareth Morinan Presents A Wilmops Good Improv Show The Cabaret Voltaire, 7-25 Aug, £free
Jack and Nikki: Killing Machines
The Voodoo Rooms, 7-14 Aug, £free
Failure and How to Achieve It The Voodoo Rooms, 15-25 Aug, £free
12:10 Simon Munnery’s La Concepta
La Concepta @ Whitespace, 7-25 Aug, not 14, £11.50 – £13.50
Graham Rex
Underbelly, Bristo Square, 7-27 Aug, not 14, £8 – £9
Richard Wiseman: Psychobabble
The Canons’ Gait, 8 Aug, 15 Aug, 22 Aug, £free
Domestic Science
The Canons’ Gait, 7-26 Aug, not 8, 15, 22, £free
BUY TICKETS ON
70 fest edinburgh festival guide 2012 | August 14 - 16
FACEBOOK.COM/UNDERBELLYEDINBURGH
FOR ALL UNDERBELLY SHOWS
Politics Now. Politics Wow! Scottish Comedy Festival @ The Beehive Inn, 7-26 Aug, not 13, £free
Anne Edmonds in My Banjo’s Name is Steven
Underbelly, Bristo Square, 7-27 Aug, not 15, £8 – £9
12:15 Nick Hayman: Middle Aged, Useless and Talented! - Free Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 7-26 Aug, not 11, 18, 25, £free
The Comedian’s Comedian Live with Stuart Goldsmith
Gilded Balloon Teviot, 10-26 Aug, not 13, 14, 15, 16, 20, 21, 22, 23, £7.50
Stu and Garry in The Lunchtime Show The Assembly Rooms, 7-26 Aug, not 13, £10
About Comedy Stand-up Comedy Courses
Laughing Horse @ Edinburgh City Football Club, Various dates from 7 Aug to 25 Aug, £99
Cucu-rucu-cu in the French Alps
Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 7-26 Aug, £free
12:20 Crunch the News
The Voodoo Rooms, 7-18 Aug, £free
comedylistings Bob and Jim - Go
Underbelly, Bristo Square, 7-27 Aug, not 14, £8 – £9
12:30 One in a Million - Free Laughing Horse @ City Cafe, 7-26 Aug, not 8, 15, 22, £free
Jerry Sadowitz: Card Tricks and Close Up Magic The Assembly Rooms, 14-18 Aug, £15.50
Sam Fletcher - Good on Paper
Bannermans, 7-25 Aug, £free
Cirque du Charlie Chuck SpaceCabaret @ 54, 13-25 Aug, £8
1000 Years of Scotland’s Dark Past
The Edinburgh Dungeon, 7 Aug - 2 Sep, £10.50
Big Value Comedy’s Lunchtime Club Just The Tonic at the Caves, 7-26 Aug, not 14, £5 – £6
Tales from the Unaccepted
Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 7-12 Aug, £free
Ted & Co The Dinner Show Hilton Edinburgh Grosvenor, 11 Aug, 25 Aug, £39
Rock N Roll Politics presented by Steve Richards
Assembly George Square, 7-26 Aug, not 13, 21, £10 – £12.50
❤ Tony Law Maximum Nonsense HHHH The Stand Comedy Club, 7-27 Aug, not 13, £8
Fragments of Monotony / An Audience With Sir Dickie Benson Whynot? , 7-25 Aug, £free
12:35 Because I Felt Like It - Free
Laughing Horse @ Jekyll & Hyde, 11-17 Aug, £free
Man Feelings
Laughing Horse @ Jekyll & Hyde, 7-26 Aug, not 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, £free
12:40 The St Andrews Revue
Just The Tonic at the Caves, 7-19 Aug, not 14, £6 – £7
12:45 Gordon Southern’s A Brief History of History
Gilded Balloon Teviot, 7 Aug, 9 Aug, 10 Aug, 11 Aug, £12
12:50 Jenny Fawcett
Pleasance Courtyard, 7-27 Aug, not 13, £8 – £8.50
12:55 Funk Rocket 5000 Just The Tonic at the Caves, 7-26 Aug, not 14, £5 – £6
Horse & Louis: The Curse of... Underbelly, Cowgate, 7-26 Aug, not 14, £9 – £9.50
13:00 Anthony King: Songs of Love and Death Just The Tonic at the Caves, 7-26 Aug, not 14, £8 – £9.50
Short & Curly: A Captive Audience
Ciao Roma, 7-25 Aug, not 13, £free
Mervyn Stutter’s Pick of the Fringe
Pleasance Courtyard, 7-26 Aug, not 8, 14, 21, £9 – £10
Sad Faces Remember It Differently Underbelly, Cowgate, 7-26 Aug, not 13, £8.50 – £9.50
Jim Smallman’s Group Therapy
Just the Tonic at The Tron, 7-26 Aug, not 14, £5
Mr Susan’s ‘Cheeky Flippin’ Nice’ - Free Laughing Horse @ The Newsroom, 7-26 Aug, not 12, £free
This Arthur’s Seat Belongs to Lionel Richie
Summit of Arthur’s Seat, 7-27 Aug, £free
1000 Years of Scotland’s Dark Past
The Edinburgh Dungeon, 7 Aug - 2 Sep, £10.50
Amnesty’s Secret Comedy Podcast
Underbelly, Bristo Square, Various dates from 7 Aug to 27 Aug, £free
E4 Udderbelly Podcalf 2012
Underbelly, Bristo Square, 8-26 Aug, not 13, 14, 20, 21, £6
The Temps
Pleasance Courtyard, 7-27 Aug, not 13, 20, £8 – £9
The Comedy Sandwich
Laughing Horse @ Finnegan’s Wake, 7-25 Aug, not 12, 19, £free
The Human Condition - Free
Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 7-26 Aug, not 13, 20, £free
13:05 BDOOL (Best Days of Our Lives) - Free Laughing Horse @ The Phoenix, 8-26 Aug, not 14, £free
Mike Sheer in Undergod - Free
Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 7-26 Aug, £free
Life, the Universe, Whatever...
Laughing Horse @ Jekyll & Hyde, 7-26 Aug, not 15, 16, 21, £free
They Came With Outer Script - Free
Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 7-11 Aug, £free
The Three Half Pints Laughing Horse @ Edinburgh City Football Club, 7-26 Aug, not 8, 22, £free
Frankie from the Valley - Free
Laughing Horse @ Jekyll & Hyde, 7-26 Aug, not 19, £free
Revill’s Selection - Free
Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 7-26 Aug, not 13, 20, £free
Cracking Yolks - Free Range Comedy
Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 12-26 Aug, £free
13:10 Bless You In Advance Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 17-26 Aug, £free
Simon Munnery’s La Concepta
13:20
La Concepta @ Whitespace, 7-25 Aug, not 14, £11.50 – £13.50
Bowling and Todd +1
They’re Gonna Crucify Me
Three for Free
The Banshee Labyrinth, 11-25 Aug, £free
Tony Jameson and Katie Mulgrew Tell Tales
The Stand Comedy Club III & IV, 7-26 Aug, not 13, £8
Stay at Home Dad - Free
Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 7-15 Aug, £free
Best of Edinburgh The Showcase Show
Pleasance Courtyard, 7-26 Aug, £8.50 – £9.50
Iszi Lawrence’s Wotnot
The Stand Comedy Club II, 7-26 Aug, not 13, £8
13:15 This Is Soap
C venues - C, 7-27 Aug, not 14, £6.50 – £8.50
BBC: The Festival Cafe
BBC @ Potterrow, 7-17 Aug, weekdays only, £free
BBC: The Richard Bacon Show
BBC @ Potterrow, 22-23 Aug, £free
Mugging Chickens
Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 7-26 Aug, £free
Afternoon Delight
Just The Tonic at the Caves, 7-26 Aug, not 14, £5
Working Men’s Club
Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 7-26 Aug, not 13, 20, £free
Soap Box - The Comedy Debate Slam Scottish Comedy Festival @ The Beehive Inn, 7-26 Aug, £free
Mace and Burton: Rom Com Con
The Canons’ Gait, 8-26 Aug, not 14, 21, £free
Kieran Hodgson: Supervillain
The Voodoo Rooms, 7-25 Aug, £free
Adam Larter: Happy New Year - A Free Comedy Show
Laughing Horse @ Captain Taylor’s Coffee House, 7-26 Aug, £free
The Cabaret Voltaire, 7-25 Aug, £free
Belushi’s, 7-25 Aug, £free
Will Marsh’s Ruination
Just The Tonic at the Caves, 7-26 Aug, not 14, £5 – £8
13:25 Jay Foreman’s Mixtape
Underbelly, Cowgate, 1926 Aug, £9 – £10
The Look of an Angel on the Devil Himself
Sweet Grassmarket, 7-27 Aug, not 18, 25, £7
Bob Graham Work Ethic
Scottish Comedy Festival @ The Beehive Inn, 8-26 Aug, not 13, 19, 20, £free
13:30 Gareth Morinan: Truth Doodler
Underbelly, Bristo Square, 7-26 Aug, not 14, £8.50 – £9.50
A Coach Load of Lesley
The Voodoo Rooms, 7-25 Aug, not 13, £free
Kelly Kingham: Goody Two-Shoes - Free
The Royal Mile Tavern, 7-25 Aug, £free
Back to School
Pleasance at Braidwood Centre, 10-26 Aug, not 13, 14, 15, 16, 20, 21, 22, 23, £15
David O’Doherty Presents 403 Second Masterworks Gilded Balloon Teviot, 14 Aug, £11.50
1000 Years of Scotland’s Dark Past
The Edinburgh Dungeon, 7 Aug - 2 Sep, £10.50
Bridget Christie: War Donkey The Assembly Rooms, 7-26 Aug, not 13, £10
Gentlemen Bears
The Hudson Hotel, 7-25 Aug, £free
Ian Smith and Tom Toal Whistlebinkies, 7-25 Aug, £free
Chris Corcoran and Elis James - The Committee Meeting
Underbelly, Bristo Square, 7-27 Aug, not 14, £9 – £10
California Beach Bungalow
C venues - C aquila, 7-27 Aug, not 13, £6.50 – £8.50
Pam Ford Salon Secrets - Free
Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 7-26 Aug, £free
Austentatious: An Improvised Jane Austen Novel
Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 7-26 Aug, not 14, £free
13:40 Jessica Pidsley’s I Can Make You Thin(k)
Underbelly, Bristo Square, 7-27 Aug, not 13, £8 – £9
13:45 Josh Richards: Keith Looks Back in Anger - Free
Alternative Fringe @ The Hive, 7-26 Aug, £free
Control Alt Delete - The Funny Side of Computers
Laughing Horse @ City Cafe, 8-26 Aug, not 14, 21, £free
Josie Long and Sam Schäfer’s Awkward Romance Mood Nightclub, 13-17 Aug, £free
George Ryegold’s God-In-A-Bag
Underbelly, Bristo Square, 7-27 Aug, not 13, £9 – £10
The Joke Circus - Free Bannermans, 7-11 Aug, £free
Giant Talking Cat Free Festival
Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 17-26 Aug, £free
Free Footlights
Le Monde, 7-25 Aug, not 15, £free
14:00 Hannah Gadsby Mary. Contrary.
Gilded Balloon Teviot, 9-26 Aug, not 13, 14, 15, 20, 21, 22, £9.50 – £10.50
COMEDY, THEATRE, CABARET AND MORE www.festmag.co.uk
OPEN 'TIL 5AM
August 14 - 16 | edinburgh festival guide 2012 fest 71
comedylistings Bristol Revunions: Destination Adventure
Just The Tonic at the Caves, 7-26 Aug, not 14, £7.50 – £8.50
The Early Edition
Underbelly, Bristo Square, 7-25 Aug, not 13, £11 – £13
Dixon of Fogg Green - Free
Alternative Fringe @ The Hive, 19-26 Aug, £free
Funny Women at the Fringe
Assembly George Square, 8-17 Aug, £10 – £12
Luke and Harry’s Dot Dot Dot Just The Tonic at the Caves, 7-26 Aug, not 14, £8 – £9
Fliss Russell - Life is Fliss
Dragonfly, 7-25 Aug, not 16, £free
Lara A King - People Pleaser
Assembly George Square, Various dates from 7 Aug to 26 Aug, £10
Sandi Toksvig Live: My Valentine
Pleasance Courtyard, 1723 Aug, £10 – £14
The Two O’Clock Show
The Banshee Labyrinth, 7-25 Aug, not 13, £free
This Arthur’s Seat Gala Belongs to Lionel Richie
Summit of Arthur’s Seat, 18 Aug, £free
1000 Years of Scotland’s Dark Past
The Edinburgh Dungeon, 7 Aug - 2 Sep, £10.50
All the Fun of the Unfair 2012
Siglo, 7-25 Aug, £free
Amnesty International Comedians vs Critics Football Match
The Meadows, 8 Aug, Free
14:05
Best of the Fest Daytime
Assembly George Square, 7-26 Aug, not 13, 20, £10 – £12.50
Roland Rides The Rail’s! (again) - Free
Under Your Feet
Laughing Horse @ Finnegan’s Wake, 7-27 Aug, not 11, 18, 25, £free
Helsinki
Richard Herring’s Edinburgh Fringe Podcast
Southsider, 7-25 Aug, £free Laughing Horse @ Jekyll & Hyde, 7-26 Aug, not 9, 16, 23, £free
Amused Moose Laughter Awards Top Ten Semi-Final The Bongo Club, 17 Aug, £10
AAA Batteries (Not Included) - Free
Laughing Horse @ Meadow Bar, 7-26 Aug, £free
No Poofs No Piano
theSpace on the Mile , 7-18 Aug, not 12, £5
Amused Moose Comedy Awards Final The Bongo Club, 19 Aug, £12
14:15 Gagging for Attention
Just The Tonic at the Caves, 7-26 Aug, not 14, £3
Activism Is Fun
Globe, 7-25 Aug, not 13, £free
BBC: Comic Fringes BBC @ Potterrow, 18 Aug, £free
Nutters of the British Isles: The Complete Field Guide - Free
Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 7-26 Aug, not 14, £free
The Stand Comedy Club, 7-27 Aug, not 13, £10
It’s Not Us, It’s You - Free
Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 7-26 Aug, £free
BEASTS
Pleasance Courtyard, 7-27 Aug, not 14, £8 – £9
Phil Buckley - Simple Things - Free Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 7-26 Aug, £free
14:20 Eric’s Tales of the Sea - A Submariner’s Yarn Just The Tonic at the Caves, 7-26 Aug, not 14, £9 – £10.50
Jack Jerome’s Journey of Life
Just the Tonic at The Tron, 7-26 Aug, not 14, £8
Eleanor Tiernan Rogue H
The Stand Comedy Club III & IV, 7-26 Aug, not 13, £8
The One Hour Plays Underbelly, Cowgate, 7-26 Aug, not 14, £8 – £9.50
14:25
Reshape While Damp
Paradise in The Vault, 7-19 Aug, not 13, £7.50
Laughing Horse @ Captain Taylor’s Coffee House, 7-12 Aug, £free
14:30
1000 Years of Scotland’s Dark Past
Sarah Jones: Does Not Play Well With Others
Tennyson Hanbury’s Condensed Cabaret
C venues - C aquila, 19-27 Aug, £8.50 – £10.50
Angela Barnes and Matt Richardson Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 7-26 Aug, not 15, £free
The Birmingham Footnotes Drop Their Trousers Base Nightclub, 7-11 Aug, £free
Jessie Cave: Bookworm HHH
Underbelly, Cowgate, 7-26 Aug, not 13, £9 – £10
Ian Fox - Shutter Monkey (The Comedy Show With Pictures) - Free
Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 7-26 Aug, £free
The One-Eyed Men’s Friendship Formula - Free Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 7-26 Aug, not 11, 18, £free
Tom Lauri: Good With His Fingers
BBC: Christopher Brookmyre’s Comedy Bookcase
Sweet Grassmarket, 11-27 Aug, not 18, 25, £7
Scottish Comedy Festival @ The Beehive Inn, 7-26 Aug, not 16, £free
Once Upon A Time...
Silky: Nut Allegory
The Stand Comedy Club II, 7-26 Aug, not 13, £8
The Edinburgh Revue Stand Up Show
BBC @ Potterrow, 7-9 Aug, £free
The Edinburgh Dungeon, 7 Aug - 2 Sep, £10.50
Belushi’s, 7-25 Aug, £free
This Comedy Mob Belongs to Lionel Richie
The Scott Monument, 25 Aug, £free
Barbara Nice: Mrs Nice HH
The Assembly Rooms, 7-25 Aug, not 13, £10
Square Eye Pair
Gilded Balloon Teviot, 7-27 Aug, not 14, 21, £8.50 – £9.50
14:35 Convicted
The Cabaret Voltaire, 7-25 Aug, not 8, 15, 22, £free
14:40 Billy Kirkwood’s Show Me Your Tattoo 2012 Scottish Comedy Festival @ The Beehive Inn, 7-25 Aug, not 13, 20, £free
Vinegar Knickers: On The Edge Just The Tonic at the Caves, 7-26 Aug, not 14, 16, 17, £8 – £9.50
10 Films With My Dad
The Voodoo Rooms, 7-25 Aug, not 14, £free
BUY TICKETS ON
72 fest edinburgh festival guide 2012 | August 14 - 16
FACEBOOK.COM/UNDERBELLYEDINBURGH
FOR ALL UNDERBELLY SHOWS
14:45 In Vino Veritas - Free Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 7-26 Aug, not 11, 18, 25, £free
And Still Rarely Rong Whistlebinkies, 7-25 Aug, £free
Bec Hill is More Afraid of You Than You Are of Her!
Gilded Balloon Teviot, 7-26 Aug, not 15, £8 – £9
Santa’s Dead and We Have Killed Him Opium, 7-11 Aug, £free
Slap and Giggle: Retrial
Opium, 12-25 Aug, £free
Best of Waterloo Comedy Club
Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 18-26 Aug, £free
Someone, Somewhere
The Royal Mile Tavern, 7-25 Aug, £free
American Girlfriend: Laura Levites
Alternative Fringe @ The Hive, 7-26 Aug, not 14, £free
14:50 Hennessy & Friends: A History of Violence Underbelly, Bristo Square, 7-27 Aug, not 13, £9 – £10
Fran Moulds: Significant Human Error
Underbelly, Bristo Square, 7-26 Aug, £8.50 – £9.50
comedylistings 15:00 RadioHead Redux 2012
Laughing Horse @ City Cafe, 8-26 Aug, not 14, 21, £free
No Pressure to Be Funny Venue150 @ EICC, 18 Aug, £10
BBC: Crossing the Media BBC @ Potterrow, 26 Aug, £free
Gemma Arrowsmith: Defender of Earth Le Monde, 7-25 Aug, £free
Rachel Stubbings Is Stubbing Out Problems
Underbelly, Bristo Square, 7-27 Aug, not 14, £8 – £9
Bristol Improv for Hire
Whynot? , 8-25 Aug, not 14, 21, £free
What a Weird and Wonderful Festival! The Voodoo Rooms, 25 Aug, £free
Visual Aids
Rush Bar, 7-18 Aug, £free
1000 Years of Scotland’s Dark Past
The Edinburgh Dungeon, 7 Aug - 2 Sep, £10.50
Ship of Fools: Children of Twelchford
Bannermans, 7-25 Aug, not 8, 15, 22, £free
Mitch Benn: Reduced Circumstances HHH The Stand Comedy Club III & IV, 7-26 Aug, not 8, 13, £10
The Cradle of Comedy
Destiny Church Gorgie, 7-26 Aug, £5
2012: An Improv Odyssey
Rush Bar, 19-25 Aug, £free
15:05
15:10 Parris and Dowler Know What They’re Doing Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 7-26 Aug, not 14, 21, £free
My Stepson Stole My Sonic Screwdriver Gilded Balloon Teviot, 7-26 Aug, not 15, £10 – £11
It’s Grimm Up North
theSpace @ Symposium Hall, 7-25 Aug, not 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, £6 – £8
Jamie Demetriou’s People Day (and Special Guests) Dragonfly, 8-25 Aug, not 14, 21, £free
15:15 Comedy Brass - Free
Laughing Horse @ Meadow Bar, 7-26 Aug, £free
BBC: The Unbelievable Truth BBC @ Potterrow, 13 Aug, £free
❤ Kieran and Joe: Friends of Steel HHHH
Pleasance Courtyard, 7-27 Aug, £8.50 – £9.50
Stand-Up at the Jekyll & Hyde - Free
Laughing Horse @ Jekyll & Hyde, 7-26 Aug, not 16, £free
Katherine Ryan: Nature’s Candy HHH
Gilded Balloon at Third Door, 7-27 Aug, not 13, 26, £9.50 – £10
Ford and Akram: Bamp! HH
Pleasance Courtyard, 7-27 Aug, not 13, £9 – £9.50
Luke Milford Things I Like Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 7-26 Aug, £free
Kaput
BBC: Front Row
Tim Honnef - Life
Cirque du Charlie Chuck
Men of Character - Free
Plenty More Fish (But I Don’t Have a Fish Fetish)
Underbelly, Bristo Square, 7-27 Aug, not 13, 20, £11 – £13 theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 7-18 Aug, not 12, £7 – £8
Laughing Horse @ Jekyll & Hyde, 7-26 Aug, £free
BBC @ Potterrow, 15 Aug, £free
theSpace on North Bridge, 7-11 Aug, £8
The Fiddler’s Elbow, 7-25 Aug, £free
The Intimate Strangers
Just The Tonic at the Caves, 7-26 Aug, not 14, £8.50 – £9.50
The Oxford Imps
Gilded Balloon Teviot, 7-27 Aug, £10.50 – £12
Forget Therapy - Just Drink - Free Laughing Horse @ The Phoenix, 7-26 Aug, not 13, 20, £free
15:20 Kevin Tomlinson: Crazy Little Thing Called Love!
Just The Tonic at the Caves, Various dates from 8 Aug to 26 Aug, £10 – £11
Kevin Tomlinson: Seven Ages!
Just The Tonic at the Caves, Various dates from 7 Aug to 25 Aug, £10 – £11
Four Screws Loose in #screwtheworld Assembly George Square, 7-27 Aug, not 11, £9 – £10
The Comedy Manifesto
Ciao Roma, 7-25 Aug, not 14, £free
15:25 The Silky Pair: Happy to Help (Plus Special Guests) Just The Tonic at the Caves, 7-26 Aug, not 14, £6
15:30 Foster’s Edinburgh Comedy Awards Show
Pleasance Courtyard, 26 Aug, £14
Dave McNeill: Canoe Ride 3000 Pleasance Courtyard, 7-26 Aug, not 14, £8 – £10
No Turn Unstoned
The Banshee Labyrinth, 7-25 Aug, £free
Chris Henry: We Need to Talk!
Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 7-26 Aug, not 24, £free
LOLympics Live - Free Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 7-26 Aug, £free
Patterson and Ranganathan
Laughing Horse @ The White Horse, 7-26 Aug, £free
Max and Ivan Are... Con Artists Pleasance Courtyard, 7-27 Aug, not 14, £9.50 – £12
The Expeditionary Force in The First Supper
Laughing Horse @ Edinburgh City Football Club, 7-12 Aug, £free
Ladies and Gentlemen - Free
Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 7-26 Aug, £free
Monumental Information’s Product of the Year 2017
Laughing Horse @ Edinburgh City Football Club, 16-26 Aug, £free
Ladies Live Longer: Ladylike
C venues - C nova, 7-27 Aug, £7.50 – £9.50
Nick Page: My Glorious Hypothetical Life As a Eunuch The Shack Comedy Club & Nightclub, 7-25 Aug, not 13, £8
Liam Mullone: A Land Fit For F*ckwits The Stand Comedy Club III & IV, 7-26 Aug, not 13, £8
1000 Years of Scotland’s Dark Past
The Edinburgh Dungeon, 7 Aug - 2 Sep, £10.50
Michael Legge: What a Shame
The Stand Comedy Club II, 7-26 Aug, not 13, £8
Helen Keen: Robot Woman of Tomorrow HHH
Pleasance Courtyard, 7-26 Aug, £8.50 – £9.50
RH: Live
C venues - C aquila, 12-27 Aug, £8.50 – £10.50
BBC: Four Thought BBC @ Potterrow, 20 Aug, £free
15:35 Bruce Hammers’ Bananapocalypse
Just The Tonic at the Caves, 7-26 Aug, not 14, £5 – £6
15:40 Sharron Matthews Superstar: Gold
Pleasance Courtyard, 7-27 Aug, not 13, 20, £12.50 – £14
Owen Niblock: Codemaker
The Voodoo Rooms, 7-25 Aug, not 13, £free
Phil O’Shea
Belushi’s, 7-25 Aug, £free
An Indie Boy’s Guide to Sex and Girls Chiquito, 7-25 Aug, £free
Tom Goodliffe: All in Good Time
Just the Tonic at The Tron, 7-26 Aug, not 14, £6 – £7
Thea-Skot’s Miss Adventures
Just The Tonic at the Caves, 7-26 Aug, not 14, £7 – £8
15:50 Loughborough Players: Athletes of Comedy GHQ, 7-25 Aug, not 13, £free
Quiz in My Pants
The Cabaret Voltaire, 7-25 Aug, not 14, £free
The Dog-Eared Collective: You’re Amazing, Now Look at Me HH Underbelly, Cowgate, 7-26 Aug, not 14, £10 – £11
Dec Munro’s Got Chutzpah
The Royal Mile Tavern, 15-25 Aug, £free
Mark Cooper-Jones: Geography Teacher - Free The Cabaret Voltaire, 7-24 Aug, not 14, 20, £free
David Mills is Smart Casual - Free
15:55
Alternative Fringe @ The Hive, 7-27 Aug, £free
The Tim Vine Chat Show
Pleasance Courtyard, 7-27 Aug, not 8, 14, £14 – £15
Sean Hegarty and Tom O’Mahoney Live - Free
Laughing Horse @ Captain Taylor’s Coffee House, 7-26 Aug, £free
Sarfraz Manzoor: The Boss Rules The Assembly Rooms, 7-26 Aug, not 13, £10
Fark
Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 7-26 Aug, not 15, 16, £free
Discograffiti - Free
Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 11-26 Aug, £free
I Am Google
Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 7-26 Aug, not 8, 15, 22, £free
Through the Looking Screen
Peter Antoniou’s Psychic Circus
Free Improv Show - The Discount Comedy Checkout
Sweet Grassmarket, 7-26 Aug, not 18, 25, £8
Gilded Balloon Teviot, 7-27 Aug, not 14, 21, £8.50 – £9.50
15:45
Simon Munnery: Fylm-Makker HHH
Underbelly, Cowgate, 7-26 Aug, not 8, 15, 22, £10 – £11
Munfred Bernstein’s Cabinet of Wonder
The Stand Comedy Club, 7-27 Aug, not 13, £10
Base Nightclub, 7-18 Aug, £free
Niall McCamley: Lemon Jousting and Other Shenanigans
Scottish Comedy Festival @ The Beehive Inn, 7-26 Aug, not 8, 15, 22, £free
Dolly Mixture
The Voodoo Rooms, 7-25 Aug, not 15, £free
16:00 Jody Kamali: Dirty Filthy Rich - Free
Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 7-26 Aug, not 13, £free
Paul Merton’s Impro Chums
Pleasance Courtyard, 16-25 Aug, £13 – £14.50
Mae Day HHH
Just The Tonic at the Caves, 7-26 Aug, not 14, £7
BBC: Christopher Brookmyre’s Comedy Bookcase BBC @ Potterrow, 7-9 Aug, £free
Matthew Crosby is Matthew Crosby in Matthew Crosby (The Show) HHH Pleasance Courtyard, 7-27 Aug, not 14, £10 – £12
The Quadrantines
Opium, 7-25 Aug, £free
COMEDY, THEATRE, CABARET AND MORE www.festmag.co.uk
OPEN 'TIL 5AM
August 14 - 16 | edinburgh festival guide 2012 fest 73
comedylistings Kierkegaard Comedy Show Danish Institute, 8-19 Aug, £10
Daniel-Ryan Spaulding: How Dare You! The Hudson Hotel, 7-25 Aug, not 10, 11, £free
This Barry Ferns Belongs to Lionel Richie
Alternative Fringe @ The Hive, 7-27 Aug, not 15, £free
Phill Jupitus is Porky the Poet in 27 Years On The Jam House, 7-25 Aug, not 13, £free
Pun Run
Gilded Balloon Teviot, 15 Aug, £12
The Cambridge Footlights: Perfect Strangers
Pleasance Dome, 7-27 Aug, £9 – £10
Fred Cooke: Standing, tilted
Gilded Balloon Teviot, 7-27 Aug, not 13, £8.50 – £9.50
The Oxford Revue Prattle Royale Underbelly, Cowgate, 7-26 Aug, not 15, £9 – £10
Back to School
Pleasance at Braidwood Centre, 7-26 Aug, not 13, 20, £10 – £15
Beard
Assembly Hall, 7-27 Aug, not 15, £8 – £10
Damien Crow: The World According to Damien Crow HH
The Assembly Rooms, 7-26 Aug, not 13, £10
Rob Auton: The Yellow Show
The Banshee Labyrinth, 7-25 Aug, not 14, £free
Constant Craving - Free
Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 7-26 Aug, not 11, 18, 25, £free
BBC: Just a Minute BBC @ Potterrow, 14 Aug, £free
6 Foot Silly - Free
Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 7-17 Aug, not 11, £free
1000 Years of Scotland’s Dark Past
The Edinburgh Dungeon, 7 Aug - 2 Sep, £10.50
Arguments and Nosebleeds - Free
Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 26 Aug, £free
Occupied
53 Frederick St Guest House, 10-25 Aug, not 13, 20, £free
16:05 Matt Forde: Eyes to the Right, Nose to the Left
Underbelly, Bristo Square, 7-26 Aug, £8.50 – £9.50
An Austrian and Someone from Slough
Laughing Horse @ Jekyll & Hyde, 7-26 Aug, not 14, 21, £free
Half of Next Year’s Show - Free
Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 7-26 Aug, £free
16:10
16:30
Shirley and Shirley Unleashed
Chris McCausland: Not Blind Enough
Underbelly, Bristo Square, 7-27 Aug, not 13, £10 – £11
16:15 The Pigeon Hole Presents: Stand-Up Comedy - PBH’s Free Fringe Mood Nightclub, 7-25 Aug, £free
Making Life Taste Funnier
Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 7-26 Aug, £free
Rory O’Hanlon: A Bit of Craic in the Afternoon
Rush Bar, 7-25 Aug, not 13, 16, 17, £free
Do Not Adjust Your Stage
Whynot? , 7-25 Aug, not 14, 21, £free
Deborah FrancesWhite: Cult Following Assembly Roxy, 7-27 Aug, not 13, £10 – £11
John Hastings: UnRelentless
Laughing Horse @ City Cafe, 7-26 Aug, £free
Genevieve Swallow is Sharing Le Monde, 7-25 Aug, not 15, £free
Gerry Howell: Glorious Invention
Bannermans, 7-24 Aug, not 11, 18, £free
16:20 Gráinne Maguire: Where Are All the Fun Places and Are Lots of People There Having Better Fun?
Underbelly, Bristo Square, 7-26 Aug, not 15, £8.50 – £9.50
Gravity Boots
Gilded Balloon Teviot, 7-26 Aug, not 13, £8 – £9
Pleasance Courtyard, 7-26 Aug, not 14, £11 – £12
Paul Dennis’s Inappropriate Bits - Free Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 7-26 Aug, not 15, £free
1000 Years of Scotland’s Dark Past
The Edinburgh Dungeon, 7 Aug - 2 Sep, £10.50
The Bob Blackman Appreciation Society Presents - Free Laughing Horse @ Meadow Bar, 7-12 Aug, £free
Jim Smallman: Let’s Be Friends Gilded Balloon Teviot, 7-26 Aug, not 14, £9
Lead Pencil
The Fiddler’s Elbow, 1325 Aug, £free
The McLough-Hess Monster
Laughing Horse @ Jekyll & Hyde, 7-26 Aug, not 16, £free
Itch: A Scratch Event Pleasance Courtyard, 14 Aug, £8
Thomas Nelstrop: Great(ish) Hits HH Pleasance Courtyard, 7-27 Aug, not 14, £10 – £11
McNeil and Pamphilon
Pleasance Courtyard, 7-27 Aug, not 14, £10 – £11
Aberdeen vs. Glasgow vs. The World II - Free
Laughing Horse @ The Newsroom, 7-26 Aug, £free
Asher Treleaven: Troubadour HHH
Gilded Balloon Teviot, 7-26 Aug, not 13, £9.50 – £10.50
Kevin Dewsbury: In... Sane - Free Laughing Horse @ Meadow Bar, 13-26 Aug, £free
Fresh Faces at the Free Fringe
Southsider, 7-25 Aug, £free
Dissecting Comedy - Free
BBC: In Tune
Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 7-26 Aug, £free
Morgan & West: Clockwork Miracles
Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 7-26 Aug, £free
BBC @ Potterrow, 24 Aug, £free
Gilded Balloon Teviot, 7-27 Aug, not 14, £9.50 – £10.50
16:40 David Longley: My Favourite Things HHH
The Stand Comedy Club II, 7-26 Aug, not 13, £8
Holly Burn: The H Club
Just The Tonic at the Caves, 7-26 Aug, not 14, £7 – £8
Otto Kuhnle: Ich Bin Ein Berliner
Assembly George Square, 7-26 Aug, not 14, £8.50 – £10.50
❤ Mary Bourke: Hail Mary! HHHH The Stand Comedy Club III & IV, 7-26 Aug, not 13, £8
16:45
Jem Brookes: Thumbs Up - Free
Not Treasure Island Just The Tonic at the Caves, 7-26 Aug, not 14, £5 – £6
Pleasance Courtyard, 7-27 Aug, not 13, 20, £8.50 – £9.50
Jackson Voorhaar’s One True Love(s) - Free
Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 7-26 Aug, not 13, £free
Lewis Schaffer: No YOU Shut Up! - Free
Alternative Fringe @ The Hive, 7-26 Aug, not 8, 15, 22, £free
Erich McElroy: The Brit Identity
Pleasance Courtyard, 7-27 Aug, not 8, 14, £11 – £12
The Ginge, the Geordie and the Geek- All New Show 2012 Just The Tonic at the Caves, 7-26 Aug, not 14, £9.50 – £12
Cariad Lloyd - The Freewheelin’ Cariad Lloyd HHH Pleasance Courtyard, 7-27 Aug, not 14, £9 – £10
Jigsaw: Gettin’ Jiggy HHH
Pleasance Courtyard, 7-27 Aug, £8.50 – £9.50
Born to be Mild
The Shack Comedy Club & Nightclub, 7-18 Aug, not 13, £7
No Country for Old Men
Scottish Comedy Festival @ The Beehive Inn, 11-18 Aug, £free
Leads & Stern
The Edinburgh Revue Sketch Show
End of the World Show 2012
Globe, 7-25 Aug, not 14, £free
The Banshee Labyrinth, 7-25 Aug, not 8, 15, 22, £free
16:50 Angus and Cameron: Village Idiots - Free
Laughing Horse @ Bar 50, 7-14 Aug, £free
Lights! Camera! Improvise!
Underbelly, Bristo Square, 7-27 Aug, not 13, £10 – £11
Fat Kitten vs. the World
Fat Kitten Goes Speed Dating
The Voodoo Rooms, Various dates from 7 Aug to 14 Aug, £free
Michelle de Swarte
Belushi’s, 7-25 Aug, not 15, £free
16:55 Alan Hudson’s Not So Secret World of Magic
Just The Tonic at the Caves, 7-26 Aug, not 14, £7 – £9
Discover Ben Target Underbelly, Cowgate, 7-26 Aug, not 13, £9 – £10
Yianni: Numb and Number - Free
The Canons’ Gait, 7-25 Aug, not 14, £free
Simply the Jest presents Middle Class Tripe
Chiquito, 10-25 Aug, £free
17:00 Bad Musical
Gilded Balloon Teviot, 7-27 Aug, not 13, £10 – £11
BUY TICKETS ON
74 fest edinburgh festival guide 2012 | August 14 - 16
BBC @ Potterrow, 13 Aug, £free
Computer Programmer Extraordinaire
The Voodoo Rooms, 1625 Aug, not 22, £free
The Pin
BBC: The Unbelievable Truth
FACEBOOK.COM/UNDERBELLYEDINBURGH
FOR ALL UNDERBELLY SHOWS
Underbelly, Cowgate, 7-26 Aug, not 14, £9 – £10
Ryan’s Cellar Bar, 7-25 Aug, not 12, 19, £free
The Pauly Show Episode One
Just the Tonic at The Tron, 7-26 Aug, not 14, £7 – £10
The Tim and Pat Show
The Cabaret Voltaire, 7-25 Aug, not 13, 20, £free
The Great Big Comedy Picnic - Free
Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 7-26 Aug, £free
John Robertson - The Dark Room - Free Alternative Fringe @ The Hive, 7-27 Aug, £free
Geoff Norcott Avoids a Double Dip The Shack Comedy Club & Nightclub, 19-25 Aug, £7
Diane Spencer: Exquisite Bad Taste
Gilded Balloon Teviot, 7-26 Aug, not 13, £10
One Rogue Reporter HHH Pleasance Courtyard, 7-27 Aug, not 14, £9.50 – £10.50
Jarlath Regan: The Audacity of Hope and the Inspirational Stupidity of Perseverance The Assembly Rooms, 7-26 Aug, not 13, £10
Ferris Bueller’s Way of...
Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 8-26 Aug, not 14, 21, £free
Britain’s Got F*ck All Talent! The Shack Comedy Club & Nightclub, 7-25 Aug, not 13, £7
Firenado! The Sketch Show Buffs Club (RAOB), 7-13 Aug, £free
comedylistings Passion, Pints and Potatoes - An Irish Guide to Life
Dropkick Murphy’s, 7-25 Aug, not 12, 19, £free
German Comedian
Base Nightclub, 7-25 Aug, not 13, 20, £free
The Leeds Tealights: Sexy Chubby Just The Tonic at the Caves, 7-26 Aug, not 14, £7 – £9
The Noise Next Door: Bring The Noise HHH Pleasance Courtyard, 7-27 Aug, not 8, 14, £13 – £14
The SomeNews Live Show - Free
The Great Puppet Horn
The Fitzrovia Radio Hour
The Best of Irish Comedy
Cammy’s Teatime
17:35
Ben Hustwayte & Jack Campbell: Get It On
Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 7-27 Aug, not 16, £free
Folken Britain
Milo McCabe: Kenny Moon This Is Your Life
BBC: The Kitchen Cabinet
The Beta Males in... The Space Race
Trevor Lock’s Amateur Sex Tape Theory
Birth Order
BBC: Just a Minute
Well Done You - Free
Nick Mohammed is Mr Swallow: 2012
17:15 Christian Reilly: This Is Not A Love Song Whistlebinkies, 7-18 Aug, £free
Do Not Trust the Animals - Free
Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 7-26 Aug, £free
BBC: Dilemma
BBC @ Potterrow, 16 Aug, £free
1000 Years of Scotland’s Dark Past
Gadd and Winning: Well, This is Awkwarder
17:05
David O’Doherty Presents 403 Second Masterworks
The Edinburgh Dungeon, 7 Aug - 2 Sep, £10.50
Rory & Tim: Good for Nothing
The Voodoo Rooms, 7-25 Aug, not 13, £free
Blind Date Ruined My Life
Sweet Grassmarket, 7-26 Aug, not 18, 25, £7.50
Stephanie Laing and Martin Croser: Greens! The Cabaret Voltaire, 7-17 Aug, £free
Rosie Thorn and The Patsy Cornish Saga theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 21-25 Aug, £7
Opium, 11-25 Aug, £free
The Assembly Rooms, 7-26 Aug, not 13, £10
Michael Redmond: Mannequins, Fishmongers, Guacamole and Me ... and Other Things
The Stand Comedy Club, 7-26 Aug, not 13, 20, £10
Monkey Poet - Potty Mouth
17:20
Ben Verth: Alsatian and Chips
Underbelly, Bristo Square, 7-27 Aug, not 13, £9.50 – £11
Pleasance Courtyard, 21 Aug, £14
Sheeps - Dancing with Lisa
Pleasance Courtyard, 7-26 Aug, not 13, £10 – £11
Josh Widdicombe: The Further Adventures of... Extra Show
Pleasance Courtyard, 14 Aug, £11
Jennifer Carnovale - Scraping the Barrel - Free Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 7-26 Aug, not 11, 18, 25, £free
1000 Years of Scotland’s Dark Past
The Edinburgh Dungeon, 7 Aug - 2 Sep, £10.50
The Thinking Drinkers Guide to Alcohol
Lucy Porter - People Person HHH
The Tim Vine Chat Show
BBC @ Potterrow, 14 Aug, £free
Nik Coppin’s Caricatures - Free Festival
Gilded Balloon Teviot, 11-26 Aug, £10.50 – £12.50
Nicholas Parsons’ Happy Hour
Scottish Comedy Festival @ The Beehive Inn, 7-26 Aug, not 9, 16, £free
Le Monde, 7-25 Aug, not 13, 20, £free
Man 1, Bank 0
Gilded Balloon Teviot, 7-27 Aug, not 13, 20, £8.50 – £9.50
The Banshee Labyrinth, 7-25 Aug, not 14, £free
The Jazz Bar, 22-26 Aug, £5
James Christopher: Bring Me the Head of Russell Kane - Free
Gilded Balloon Teviot, 20 Aug, £11.50
17:10 Pleasance Courtyard, 9-26 Aug, not 14, 21, £11 – £12
Laughing Horse @ Captain Taylor’s Coffee House, 7-26 Aug, £free
Laurence Clark: Inspired
Bad Bread: 2012 The Survival Guide Underbelly, Cowgate, 7-26 Aug, not 14, £9.50 – £10.50
Hanks and Conran Pigs in Blankets Just The Tonic at the Caves, 7-26 Aug, not 14, £7.50
17:30 Scientist Turned Comedian: Tim Lee HH
Assembly Roxy, 7-27 Aug, not 13, £11 – £12
The Banshee Labyrinth, 7-25 Aug, not 8, 15, 22, £free
Laughing Horse @ City Cafe, 7-27 Aug, not 8, 15, 22, £free
Laughing Horse Free Comedy Selection Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 7-26 Aug, £free
Barry Cryer and Ronnie Golden Going Gaga
Gilded Balloon Teviot, 7-10 Aug, £12
Sean Hughes - Life Becomes Noises Pleasance Courtyard, 7-27 Aug, not 8, 14, £13 – £14
Phil Mann’s Full Mind Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 7-26 Aug, £free
Benny Boot: Def-Con 4
Underbelly, Bristo Square, 7-27 Aug, not 13, £9.50 – £10.50
❤ Nick Helm: This Means War! HHHH
Pleasance Dome, 7-27 Aug, not 8, 14, £12.50 – £13.50
Lost Voice Guy and Jeff Lantern - Not Afraid of Tablets Laughing Horse @ City Cafe, 8 Aug, 15 Aug, £free
Underbelly, Cowgate, 7-26 Aug, not 15, £9 – £10.50
Gilded Balloon Teviot, 7-26 Aug, not 13, £8.50 – £10
Ryan Withers - One Woman Showe - Free
Laughing Horse @ Jekyll & Hyde, 7-26 Aug, £free
Gilded Balloon Teviot, 7-27 Aug, not 15, £10 – £11
BBC @ Potterrow, 26 Aug, £free
Pleasance Courtyard, 7-27 Aug, not 14, £10 – £11
17:40
Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 7-26 Aug, not 13, £free
❤ Catriona Knox Hellcat HHHH
Matthew Highton’s End of the Road
Underbelly, Bristo Square, 7-27 Aug, not 13, £9 – £10
The Three Englishmen: Squares
Siglo, 7-26 Aug, £free
Chris Stokes: An Opera Written On Napkins
Pleasance Dome, 7-27 Aug, not 11, £9 – £9.50
Pleasance Courtyard, 7-27 Aug, not 14, £8 – £9
17:45
Garrett Millerick: Which One’s Fergal?
Ed Eales-White: Champions
Pleasance Courtyard, 7-27 Aug, not 13, £7.50 – £9
The Kids We Used To Be - Free Laughing Horse @ The Phoenix, 7-14 Aug, £free
Aaaand Now for Something Completely Wireless - Free Laughing Horse @ Meadow Bar, 7-26 Aug, £free
The Magical Adventures of Pete Heat Gilded Balloon at Third Door, 7-27 Aug, £10 – £12
Ladystache
Laughing Horse @ The Phoenix, 15-26 Aug, £free
Billy Watson - Sex, Drugs and Marriage - Free Laughing Horse @ The Newsroom, 7-25 Aug, not 13, 20, £free
Chris Brain: A Better Place Gilded Balloon Teviot, 7-27 Aug, not 14, 21, £8.50 – £9.50
Maff Brown’s Parade of This Gilded Balloon Teviot, 7-26 Aug, not 8, 13, £8 – £9
Southsider, 7-25 Aug, not 8, 15, 22, £free
Hill and Weedon
Laughing Horse @ Jekyll & Hyde, 7-26 Aug, not 16, £free
3 Days Off Jesus - Free
Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 7-26 Aug, not 8, 15, 22, £free
Chris Dangerfield: Sex Tourist
Alternative Fringe @ The Hive, 7-26 Aug, £free
17:50 Wil Hodgson: Kidnapped By Catwoman
The Stand Comedy Club III & IV, 7-26 Aug, not 13, £8
Test Tube Comedy
Ciao Roma, 7-25 Aug, £free
Gavin Webster: Bill Hicks Wasn’t Very Good HH
The Stand Comedy Club II, 7-26 Aug, not 13, £8
18:00 Big Value Comedy Show - Early
Just The Tonic at the Caves, 7-26 Aug, not 14, £9 – £10
Xavier Toby: Binge Thinking
C venues - C nova, 7-27 Aug, £8.50 – £10.50
The Stand Comedy Club III & IV, 7-26 Aug, £10
Globe, 7-25 Aug, £free
Alternative Fringe @ The Hive, 7-26 Aug, £5
Pleasance Courtyard, 7-26 Aug, £11 – £12
Dirty Thirties
Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 7-26 Aug, £free
Stephen Carlin: Pandas vs Penguins HHH Pleasance Courtyard, 7-27 Aug, not 8, 14, £11 – £12
Josie Long: Romance and Adventure Pleasance Courtyard, 7-27 Aug, not 18, 19, £11.50 – £12.50
Loretta Maine: Bipolar HHH
Just The Tonic at the Caves, 7-26 Aug, not 14, £9 – £10
The Full Irish
Laughing Horse @ Finnegan’s Wake, 7-26 Aug, £free
All Star Stand-Up Showcase - Free
Laughing Horse @ The White Horse, 7-26 Aug, £free
Fresh Faces at the Free Fringe Belushi’s, 7-25 Aug, £free
Rob Beckett’s Summer Holiday
Pleasance Courtyard, 7-27 Aug, not 14, £10 – £12
The Six O’Clock Club
Kilderkin, 7-25 Aug, not 13, £free
Suzi Ruffell: Let’s Get Ready to Ruffell Pleasance Courtyard, 7-26 Aug, not 13, £10 – £11
Susan Calman: This Lady’s Not for Turning Either
Underbelly, Bristo Square, 7-27 Aug, not 13, £11 – £12
Jimeoin - What?!
Venue150 @ EICC, 7-26 Aug, not 21, 22, 23, 24, £13.50 – £15.50
COMEDY, THEATRE, CABARET AND MORE www.festmag.co.uk
OPEN 'TIL 5AM
August 14 - 16 | edinburgh festival guide 2012 fest 75
comedylistings 1000 Years of Scotland’s Dark Past
The Edinburgh Dungeon, 7 Aug - 2 Sep, £10.50
Laughing Horse Free Pick of the Fringe Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 7-26 Aug, £free
The Axis of Awesome: Cry Yourself A River HH Pleasance Courtyard, 7-19 Aug, £14 – £16
18:05 Richard Wiseman: Psychobabble
The Canons’ Gait, 8 Aug, 15 Aug, 22 Aug, £free
George’s Marvellous Medics theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 20-25 Aug, £6
Stewart Lee - Carpet Remnant World The Assembly Rooms, 7-26 Aug, not 13, 20, £15
Black Country Cider Lions - Free
Laughing Horse @ Bar 50, 7-26 Aug, £free
Nick Beaton Does Not Play Well With Others
The Shack Comedy Club & Nightclub, 7-25 Aug, not 13, £7 – £8
A Betrayal of Penguins - Harmed and Dangerous
Gilded Balloon Teviot, 7-11 Aug, £9.50 – £10
Jack Barry and Patrick Turpin: Your New Mild Friends
Buffs Club (RAOB), 7-25 Aug, not 13, 20, £free
Billy The Mime HHH
Underbelly, Bristo Square, 7-27 Aug, not 19, £11 – £12
Chris Dugdale’s 2 Faced Deception
Assembly George Square, 7-27 Aug, £11 – £12
Adam Strauss: Varieties of Religious Experience The Royal Mile Tavern, 7-25 Aug, not 14, £free
Rick Shapiro: Rebirth Assembly George Square, 7-27 Aug, not 13, £13 – £14
Michelle Wormleighton Bewildered
Chiquito, 7-25 Aug, not 13, 20, £free
18:15 Michael Workman - Mercy
Gilded Balloon Teviot, 7-26 Aug, not 13, £9 – £10
NewsRevue
Pleasance Courtyard, 7-26 Aug, not 14, £12.50 – £15
❤ Carl Hutchinson: Acceptable? HHHH Just The Tonic at the Caves, 7-26 Aug, not 14, £6 – £7.50
WitTank HHH
Base Nightclub, 7-25 Aug, not 8, 15, 22, £free
BBC: The Philosopher’s Arms BBC @ Potterrow, 21 Aug, £free
Gordon Southern’s A Brief History of History
Sammy J and Randy The Inheritance
Basic Training
Pleasance Courtyard, 7-26 Aug, not 13, £10 – £12
You Are Being Lied To 2012
Scottish Comedy Festival @ The Beehive Inn, 7-26 Aug, £free
18:10
Marek Larwood Typecast
Norwegians of Comedy
Gilded Balloon Teviot, 12-26 Aug, £12
Underbelly, Bristo Square, 7-27 Aug, not 13, £13 – £15
The Cabaret Voltaire, 7-25 Aug, £free
Just The Tonic at the Caves, 7-26 Aug, not 14, £6 – £10
Oliver Dean and His Fantastic Ego! Live
theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 7-25 Aug, not 12, 19, £3
2 Facedbook 3
Thatcher’s Death Party
Matt and Ian’s Improv Show
Sweet Grassmarket, 7-27 Aug, not 18, 25, £8
Frimston and Rowett: Huge Mistakes
Just The Tonic at the Caves, 7-26 Aug, not 14, £8
Inspired - Life 101
Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 8-26 Aug, not 14, 21, £free
Sajeela Kershi: Regret-Me-Nots
Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 7-26 Aug, not 13, 20, £free
Helen Arney - Voice of an Angle HHH Underbelly, Cowgate, 7-26 Aug, not 15, £10 – £11
Greg Proops
Assembly George Square, 16-25 Aug, £15 – £16
18:20 Caimh McDonnell: The Art of Conversation
Just the Tonic at The Tron, 7-26 Aug, not 14, 15, £6 – £7
GHQ, 7-19 Aug, £free Pleasance Courtyard, 7-26 Aug, not 14, £8.50 – £9.50
18:25 Harrison Greenbaum: What Just Happened? - CANCELLED Underbelly, Cowgate, 7-26 Aug, not 14, £9.50 – £10.50
Alfie Brown: Soul for Sale Underbelly, Cowgate, 7-26 Aug, £9.50 – £10.50
Stuart Mitchell Presents ‘It’s Just a Phrase I Am Going Through’
Scottish Comedy Festival @ The Beehive Inn, 7-26 Aug, £free
18:30 Sex Ed: The Musical! theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 7-25 Aug, not 12, 19, £8 – £9
Peter Edwards: Love Everyone Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 7-26 Aug, not 11, 18, 25, £free
Spring Day: Learn How to Take a Punch - Free
Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 7-26 Aug, £free
Damian Kingsley: Work in Progress - Free
Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 12-26 Aug, £free
Rookie Mistakes
The Street, 15-25 Aug, £free
The Top Secret Comedy Club
Whistlebinkies, 7-24 Aug, not 11, 18, £free
Denise Scott Regrets
Totally Tom
Assembly Hall, 7-26 Aug, not 13, £9.50 – £10.50
The Durham Revue
Underbelly, Cowgate, 7-21 Aug, not 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, £9 – £10
Max Fletcher: Delicious
Opium, 7-25 Aug, £free
1000 Years of Scotland’s Dark Past
The Edinburgh Dungeon, 7 Aug - 2 Sep, £10.50
Would You Let Your Daughter Marry A Weegie?
The Hudson Hotel, 7-25 Aug, £free
Underbelly, Bristo Square, 7-27 Aug, not 13, £10 – £11
Charmian Hughes: Charmageddon!
The Banshee Labyrinth, 7-25 Aug, not 14, 21, £free
18:45 Alexis Dubus: Cars & Girls HHH Assembly Roxy, 7-26 Aug, not 14, £9.50 – £10.50
Totally Wired! Reunion Farewell (Welfare) Tour - A Sperm’s Tail and Other Tales - Free
Underbelly, Bristo Square, 7-26 Aug, not 13, £9.50 – £11
19:00 Trevor Browne - I Think ... I Am
Gilded Balloon Teviot, 7-26 Aug, not 13, £8.50 – £9.50
101 Comedy Club - Free
Laughing Horse @ Meadow Bar, 7-26 Aug, £free
Aaron Twitchen’s Quarter Life Crisis
Southsider, 7-25 Aug, £free
Laughing Horse @ Captain Taylor’s Coffee House, 19-26 Aug, £free
Seymour Mace: Squeg!
Venue150 @ EICC, 7-26 Aug, not 22, £13.50 – £15.50
Phill Jupitus - You’re Probably Wondering Why I’ve Asked You Here...
Elis James: Speaking As a Mother...
❤ Jessica Fostekew: Brave New Word HHHH
Absolute Improv!
Distract and Conquer Amarone, 7-25 Aug, £free
Daniel Sloss - The Show
Gilded Balloon Teviot, 7-26 Aug, not 14, £8 – £9.50
BBC: John Finnemore’s Souvenir Programme
BBC @ Potterrow, 18 Aug, £free
18:35 Ian D. Montfort Unbelievable
Pleasance Courtyard, 7-27 Aug, £12 – £14
18:40 Overexposed: A Slightly Awkward Peep Show
Fingers Piano Bar, 7-18 Aug, not 13, £free
Mark Nelson - Under the Radar HHH Underbelly, Cowgate, 7-26 Aug, not 15, £10 – £11
The Harri-Parris - The Leaving Do Zoo, 7-26 Aug, not 15, £9
Chortle Presents: Fast Fringe
Pleasance Dome, 7-25 Aug, £8.50 – £9.50
Kerry Gilbert Triumphs
Just The Tonic at the Caves, 7-26 Aug, not 14, £7 – £8.50
The Stand Comedy Club, 7-27 Aug, not 13, £12 C venues - C nova, 7-27 Aug, £8.50 – £10.50
Bus-ting to Laugh - Free
Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 7-26 Aug, £free
The Stand Comedy Club II, 7-26 Aug, not 13, £8
Pleasance Courtyard, 7-27 Aug, not 14, £10 – £12
Celia Pacquola Delayed HHH
Gilded Balloon Teviot, 7-27 Aug, not 14, £9.50 – £10.50
Funny’s Funny: Fantastic Fringe Finale - Free
Laughing Horse Free Comedy Selection
Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 7-26 Aug, £free
Aidan Killian: Free to Obey - Free
The Queen’s Hall, 21-24 Aug, £22.50
Laughing Horse @ City Cafe, 7-26 Aug, £free
Alternative Fringe @ The Hive, 7-27 Aug, not 21, 24, £free
18:50 Stories from the Middle
Laughing Horse @ Jekyll & Hyde, 7-14 Aug, £free
Dan Nightingale: The 11 and a 1/2 Ill-conceived Edinburgh Shows of Dan Nightingale Pleasance Dome, 7-26 Aug, not 13, £8.50 – £10.50
Andrew Bird’s Global Village Fete HH
Gilded Balloon Teviot, 7-25 Aug, £8.50 – £9.50
Would Like to Meet - Free
Laughing Horse @ Jekyll & Hyde, 15-26 Aug, £free
BUY TICKETS ON
76 fest edinburgh festival guide 2012 | August 14 - 16
Alistair Barrie: Urban Fogey HHH
FACEBOOK.COM/UNDERBELLYEDINBURGH
FOR ALL UNDERBELLY SHOWS
Suggs: My Life Story in Words and Music
Vladimir McTavish and Keir McAllister Look at the State of Scotland The Stand Comedy Club III & IV, 7-26 Aug, not 13, £8
1000 Years of Scotland’s Dark Past
The Edinburgh Dungeon, 7 Aug - 2 Sep, £10.50
Henry Rollins
The Queen’s Hall, 8-10 Aug, £15
Karma Comedian Stella Graham - Free Laughing Horse @ Jekyll & Hyde, 7-26 Aug, not 16, £free
Amateur Transplants: Adam Kay’s Bum Notes Pleasance Courtyard, 7-27 Aug, not 8, 14, £12 – £13
comedylistings Bob Slayer: He’s A Very Naughty Boy
Alternative Fringe @ The Hive, 7-26 Aug, not 14, 21, £5
Jim Campbell: Nine-Year-Old Man
Underbelly, Bristo Square, 7-27 Aug, not 14, £9 – £10
Itch: A Scratch Event Pleasance Courtyard, 13 Aug, £8
BBC: Tonight With Rory Bremner BBC @ Potterrow, 22 Aug, £free
Barry Castagnola in Where’s Barry
Gilded Balloon at Third Door, 7-26 Aug, not 13, £9.50 – £10.50
5-Step Guide to Being German 2.0 - Free
Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 7-26 Aug, not 13, 20, £free
Josh Widdicombe: The Further Adventures of... HHH
Charlie Baker Freshly Baked Pleasance Courtyard, 7-26 Aug, not 13, £10 – £11
Andrew O’Neill and Marc Burrows Do Music and Comedy and Hideous Murders The Canons’ Gait, 7-26 Aug, not 13, £free
The 7:15pm StandUp Show - Free
Laughing Horse @ The White Horse, 7-26 Aug, £free
Stinky Show
The Banshee Labyrinth, 7-25 Aug, not 14, £free
A Theory of Everything - Free
Laughing Horse @ Edinburgh City Football Club, 7-15 Aug, £free
AAA Stand-Up
Pleasance Courtyard, 7-27 Aug, £9 – £10
Light Relief
C venues - C nova, 7-27 Aug, not 13, £8.50 – £10.50
Pleasance Courtyard, 7-26 Aug, not 13, 23, £11 – £12
Manners Costs Nothing
❤ Daniel Simonsen Champions HHHH
Upstaging: A Modern Guide to Acting for Gentlemen and Gentleladies - Free
Pleasance Courtyard, 7-27 Aug, not 13, 20, £8.50 – £10
Tom Deacon: Deaconator HHH
Pleasance Dome, 7-25 Aug, £8.50 – £9.50
This Time It’s Personal
Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 7-26 Aug, not 13, £free
Giacinto Palmieri: Pagliaccio
Laughing Horse @ The Newsroom, 7-26 Aug, £free
Heroes of Alternative Fringe
Alternative Fringe @ The Hive, 27 Aug, £5
19:05 Sploshy: A Sketch Show
Ciao Roma, 11-25 Aug, not 15, 22, £free
19:15 Marlon Davis: Enter the Davism Pleasance Courtyard, 7-26 Aug, not 13, £10 – £11
Perfectly Bananas
Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 7-27 Aug, £free
Globe, 7-18 Aug, £free
Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 7-26 Aug, not 13, 20, £free
Trevor Noah: The Racist
Pleasance Courtyard, 7-27 Aug, not 13, £9 – £10
19:20 John Robins: Incredible Scenes!
Just The Tonic at the Caves, 7-26 Aug, not 14, £9 – £10
Barry Morgan’s World of Organs HH
Underbelly, Bristo Square, 7-27 Aug, not 13, 20, £11.50 – £13.50
David O’Doherty: Seize the David O’Doherty
Pleasance Courtyard, 7-27 Aug, not 13, £14 – £15
Bobby Carroll: Low Voltage - Free The Royal Mile Tavern, 7-25 Aug, £free
19:25 Songs, Stories and Downright Lies Paradise in The Vault, 21-27 Aug, £8
Danny Bhoy: Dear Epson
Venue150 @ EICC, 7-8 Aug, £16.50
19:30 Paul Foot - Kenny Larch Is Dead Underbelly, Cowgate, 7-26 Aug, not 15, £10.50 – £12
Thomas Hardie Presents: Where’s Thomas, Hardie?
The Voodoo Rooms, 7-25 Aug, not 13, 20, £free
Tim FitzHigham: Stop the Pigeon HH Pleasance Courtyard, 7-27 Aug, not 15, £11 – £12.50
Owen O’Neill: Struck By Lightning The Assembly Rooms, 7-26 Aug, not 13, £10
Baby Wants Candy: The Completely Improvised Full Band Musical! Assembly George Square, 7-27 Aug, £13 – £15
Stuart Goldsmith: Pr!ck HHH
Catch Comedy Presents: Edinburgh Fringe Showcase Cafe Camino, 13-17 Aug, £free
Künt’s on Daytime TV - Free
Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 7-26 Aug, not 11, £free
Ted & Co The Dinner Show
Hilton Edinburgh Grosvenor, 10 Aug, 11 Aug, 24 Aug, 25 Aug, £46
Bob Doolally’s Euro Crisis
The Stand Comedy Club, 13 Aug, £10
Yorkshire Comedy Cabaret IV: Jokers, Born and Interbred - Free Base Nightclub, 7-25 Aug, not 8, 15, 22, £free
❤ Carl-Einar Häckner: Handluggage HHHH Gilded Balloon Teviot, 7-27 Aug, not 13, £9.50 – £10.50
Born to be Mild
Pleasance Courtyard, 7-26 Aug, not 15, £9 – £10
The Shack Comedy Club & Nightclub, 19-25 Aug, £7
Big Value Comedy Show - Middle
Bungo Menebla!
Just The Tonic at the Caves, 7-26 Aug, not 14, £9 – £10
BBC: London 2012 Olympics Closing Ceremony Screening BBC @ Potterrow, 12 Aug, £free
Comedy Gala 2012: In Aid of Waverley Care Festival Theatre Edinburgh, 23 Aug, £25
Horne and Key and... Pleasance Dome, 14 Aug, £12
Mace and Burton: Heartbreak Hotel
Buffs Club (RAOB), 8-25 Aug, not 14, 21, £free
Craig Hill - Jock’s Trap!
Underbelly, Bristo Square, 7-27 Aug, not 13, 20, £12.50 – £14.50
The Funeral of Conor O’Toole HHH
Underbelly, Bristo Square, 7-26 Aug, not 13, £8 – £9
Frisky & Mannish: Extra-Curricular Activities Assembly Hall, 16-26 Aug, not 20, 21, 22, £16
Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 13-26 Aug, £free
DeAnne Smith: Livin’ The Sweet Life HHH Gilded Balloon Teviot, 7-26 Aug, not 14, £9 – £10
Rhod Gilbert: The Man With the Flaming Battenberg Tattoo
Venue150 @ EICC, 15-26 Aug, not 20, 21, £20
The Not Quite Quartet
Just The Tonic at the Caves, 7-26 Aug, not 14, £7.50 – £8.50
Adam Hills: Mess Around Assembly Hall, 7-19 Aug, £12 – £13
Andrew Ryan: Ryanopoly
Just the Tonic at The Tron, 7-26 Aug, not 14, £7 – £8.50
❤ Mark Watson: The Information HHHH
Assembly George Square, 7-27 Aug, not 13, 20, £15
Alan Davies - Life is Pain HHH
Venue150 @ EICC, 9-14 Aug, £20
School of Comedy
Assembly Hall, 20-26 Aug, £10
19:45 People Person
Opium, 7-25 Aug, £free
Fred MacAulay: Legally Bald 2
The Stand Comedy Club III & IV, 7-26 Aug, not 13, 20, £10
The History Girls Present: A Summary of Things So Far
Catie Wilkins: Joy Is My Middle Name Underbelly, Cowgate, 7-26 Aug, not 14, £9.50 – £10.50
Lloyd Langford: One Day in the Life of Lloyd Owen Langford HHH The Assembly Rooms, 7-26 Aug, not 13, £10
Can You Put This in the Bin for Me? - Free Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 14-26 Aug, £free
The Ginge, the Geordie and the Geek- All New Show 2012 Just The Tonic at the Caves, 7-26 Aug, not 14, £9.50 – £12
❤ Claudia O’Doherty - The Telescope HHHH Underbelly, Cowgate, 7-26 Aug, not 13, £9 – £10
19:50 Pattie Brewster’s Friendship Venture (For Some Friends)
The Banshee Labyrinth, 7-25 Aug, not 20, £free
The Quiz Show That Has Nothing to Do With Horses Sweet Grassmarket, 17 Aug, £5
Seann Walsh: Seann to be Wild Pleasance Courtyard, 7-26 Aug, not 13, 23, £11 – £12
19:35
Assembly Hall, 7-27 Aug, not 13, £11 – £12
The Mysterious World of Clovis Van Darkhelm
Dan Willis: A Comedian’s Life
Tiffany Stevenson: Uncomfortably Numb
Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 8-26 Aug, not 14, 21, £free
Underbelly, Cowgate, 7-26 Aug, not 13, £10 – £11
Big In Dubai!
Michael Downey Standing Up Again
Nice People Have Ruined My Life
The Cabaret Voltaire, 7-25 Aug, £free
GHQ, 7-11 Aug, £free
Jen Brister - Now and Then Just The Tonic at the Caves, 7-26 Aug, not 14, £9 – £10
19:40 Chris Ramsey: Feeling Lucky HHH Pleasance Courtyard, 7-26 Aug, not 17, £8.50 – £9.50
Raymond Mearns - Rock’n’Roll Comedian - The Therapy Sessions
Scottish Comedy Festival @ The Beehive Inn, 7-26 Aug, not 13, £free
Gilded Balloon Teviot, 7-26 Aug, not 8, 13, 20, £8 – £9
Dragonfly, 7-25 Aug, not 13, 20, £free
Saskia’s Surprise Party
Sweet Grassmarket, 16 Aug, £5
Amarone, 12-25 Aug, £free
Brides of Comedy
C venues - C aquila, 7-27 Aug, not 13, £8.50 – £10.50
Opinions Are Free
Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 7-13 Aug, £free
Nick Sun: Potty Time!
Alternative Fringe @ The Hive, 7-26 Aug, not 13, 20, £free
Hello Everybody!
20:00 Reshape While Damp Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 17-26 Aug, £free
Kumail Nanjiani
Assembly Roxy, 14-27 Aug, £11.50 – £12.50
Dylan Moran: Yeah, Yeah
Edinburgh Playhouse, 15 Aug, 23 Aug, £24
COMEDY, THEATRE, CABARET AND MORE www.festmag.co.uk
OPEN 'TIL 5AM
August 14 - 16 | edinburgh festival guide 2012 fest 77
comedylistings Air Guitar Can Save the World Mood Nightclub, 7-18 Aug, £free
Andrew Doyle: Whatever It Takes HHH
Just The Tonic at the Caves, 7-26 Aug, not 14, £6.50 – £7.50
Rhys Darby - This Way to Spaceship HHH
Pleasance Courtyard, 7-27 Aug, not 8, 14, £17.50 – £18.50
Lie. Cheat. Steal. Confessions of a Real Hustler Zoo, 7-27 Aug, £10 – £12
Him and Me: Sketch Circus - Free Laughing Horse @ City Cafe, 7-25 Aug, £free
Bob Downe ... Smokin’
Gilded Balloon Teviot, 7-26 Aug, not 14, 23, £12.50 – £14
Tartan Ribbon Comedy Benefit
Pleasance Courtyard, 14 Aug, £12
Naz Osmanoglu: Ottoman Without An Empire HHH
Underbelly, Bristo Square, 7-26 Aug, not 14, £8.50 – £9.50
Derek Ryan: Time Lord - Free
20:15 Lewis Schaffer: No YOU Shut Up! - Free
Pleasance Courtyard, 7-26 Aug, £10 – £12
Rob Deering - The One HH
Gilded Balloon Teviot, 7-26 Aug, not 13, £8.50 – £9.50
Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 7-26 Aug, not 8, 15, 22, £free
Pleasance Courtyard, 7-27 Aug, not 8, 14, £11 – £12
Two for None
Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 12-26 Aug, £free
❤ Richard Herring: Talking C*ck - The Second Coming HHHH
Laughing Horse @ Captain Taylor’s Coffee House, 8-26 Aug, not 14, 21, £free
Underbelly, Bristo Square, 7-26 Aug, £14 – £16
Gilded Balloon Teviot, 7-26 Aug, not 14, £10.50 – £12.50
20:05
Laughing Horse @ Meadow Bar, 7-26 Aug, not 13, 20, £free
Des Clarke: Final Destination
theSpace @ Symposium Hall, 7-11 Aug, £10
Patrick Monahan – Shooting From The Lip!
Assembly George Square, 7-27 Aug, not 8, 14, £13 – £14
Povs and Hefter Uncensored
Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 7-16 Aug, £free
Bairns’ Night
The Assembly Rooms, 13 Aug, £20
Jimeoin - What?! Extra Shows!
Venue150 @ EICC, 21 Aug, 23 Aug, £13.50
Sound & Fury’s Doc Faustus Underbelly, Cowgate, 7-26 Aug, not 15, £9 – £10
So You Think You’re Funny? FINAL
Gilded Balloon Teviot, 23 Aug, £15
Hyde and Lyons
Mood Nightclub, 7-25 Aug, not 15, £free
Tom Stade Totally Rocks! Pleasance Courtyard, 7-26 Aug, not 14, £11.50 – £13
The Fringe Comedy Academy: Class of 2012
The Stand Comedy Club III & IV, 20 Aug, £6
Daniel Sloss - Extra Shows!
Venue150 @ EICC, Various dates from 10 Aug to 25 Aug, £15.50
Eric Davidson - The Only Way is Eric’s Nothing to Show
theSpace on the Mile , 7-25 Aug, not 12, 19, £7.50
All About the Craic
Laughing Horse @ Jekyll & Hyde, 7-26 Aug, £free
20:10
James Acaster Prompt HHH
GirlBand Improv - Free
Sean Hughes Stands Up Gilded Balloon Teviot, 7-27 Aug, not 8, 14, £13 – £14
FNT Live presents... The Jingling Lane Family Singers
C venues - C aquila, 7-27 Aug, not 13, £8.50 – £10.50
Gearoid Farrelly: Turbulence
A Good Catholic Boy Laughing Horse @ The Phoenix, 7-26 Aug, £free
Kemsley and Callaghan: Keeping Their Cool Laughing Horse @ The Newsroom, 7-26 Aug, not 13, 20, £free
20:20
Pleasance Dome, 8-27 Aug, £8.50 – £9.50
Cardinal Burns
Pleasance Dome, 20-25 Aug, £10 – £11
Mick Miller and Jimmy Cricket
Pleasance Dome, 18 Aug, £12
Pleasance Dome, Various dates from 8 Aug to 17 Aug, £8.50 – £9.50
Joel Dommett Nunchuck Silver Medallist 2002 HH
Underbelly, Bristo Square, 7-27 Aug, not 14, £9 – £10
BBC: Alex Horne Presents The Horne Section
Pleasance Dome, 7-27 Aug, not 14, £12.50 – £14
The Stand Comedy Club II, 7-26 Aug, not 13, £8
Steve Gribbin: Viva Gribbostania!
The Stand Comedy Club III & IV, 7-26 Aug, not 13, £8
Hannah Gadsby - Hannah Wants a Wife HHH
Gilded Balloon Teviot, 7-26 Aug, not 13, £9.50 – £10.50
Thom Tuck Flips Out
The Stand Comedy Club, 7-26 Aug, not 13, £10
Pleasance Courtyard, 7-26 Aug, £10 – £12
BBC @ Potterrow, 19 Aug, £free
Rob Deb - the Dork Knight Triumphant - Free
Laughing Horse @ Jekyll & Hyde, 7-26 Aug, not 16, £free
Amused Moose Comedy Awards Showcases
Nish Kumar - Who Is Nish Kumar? HHH
Pappy’s: Last Show Ever!
The News at Kate 2012
Ciao Roma, 7-25 Aug, not 14, £free
20:25 Look at This Massive Picture of My Face
Pleasance Dome, 7-27 Aug, not 12, £10 – £11
BBC: Wondermentalist Cabaret
The Canons’ Gait, 7-26 Aug, not 13, 20, £free
Return of the Lumberjacks (Back by Poplar Demand)
Alan Francis Expands
Bellylicious the Sequel - Confessions of a Belly Dance Diva
The Assembly Rooms, 7-26 Aug, not 13, 20, £15
BBC @ Potterrow, 9 Aug, £free Gilded Balloon at Third Door, 7-26 Aug, not 13, 20, £9 – £10
Pleasance Courtyard, 7-27 Aug, not 14, £9.50 – £12
Shappi Khorsandi: Dirty Looks and Hopscotch Pleasance Courtyard, 7-26 Aug, not 13, £11 – £12
Tim Roast’s Animals - Free
Danielle Ward - Speakeasy / Playdead
Jo Caulfield - Thinking Bad Thoughts HH
Martin Mor: A Man You Don’t Meet Everyday HH
Phil Walker: Is This It?
Danny McLoughlin - The Truth, the Half-Truth and Nothing Like the Truth
Gilded Balloon Teviot, 7-26 Aug, £9.50 – £10.50
Vikki Stone: Hot Mess
Underbelly, Bristo Square, 7-26 Aug, not 14, £10 – £11
Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 7-27 Aug, not 15, £free
Laughing Horse @ The White Horse, 7-26 Aug, not 13, £free
The Ferret’s Free Live Comedy Podcast
theSpace @ Symposium Hall, 13-25 Aug, £10
Abigoliah Schamaun: Girl Going to Hell
Al Pitcher – Tiny Triumphs HHH
Kev Orkian in Concert - The World’s Favourite Foreigner
Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 7-11 Aug, £free
20:30
Gryphon Venues at the Point Hotel, 7-11 Aug, £10
Laughing Horse @ Edinburgh City Football Club, 7-26 Aug, not 15, £free
Simon Amstell: Numb
The Bongo Club, 20-26 Aug, £16.50
Festival of the Spoken Nerd
Venue150 @ EICC, 7 Aug, £13
Nina Conti: Dolly Mixtures
Pleasance Dome, 7-27 Aug, not 13, 20, £13 – £14
Playing Politics
Acoustic Music Centre @ St Bride’s, 17 Aug, 23 Aug, £10
Sarah Kendall - Get Up, Stand-Up Pleasance Courtyard, 7-27 Aug, not 13, £10 – £11
Carl Donnelly: Different Gravy HH Pleasance Courtyard, 7-26 Aug, not 13, £10 – £12
LOLd on a Minute! Sweet Grassmarket, 12-26 Aug, not 18, 25, £7
Joe Lycett: Some Lycett Hot HHH
Pleasance Courtyard, 7-26 Aug, not 13, £8.50 – £9.50
Nathan Cassidy: Free Pound
The Royal Mile Tavern, 7-25 Aug, not 15, £free
BUY TICKETS ON
78 fest edinburgh festival guide 2012 | August 14 - 16
FACEBOOK.COM/UNDERBELLYEDINBURGH
FOR ALL UNDERBELLY SHOWS
Pat Burtscher’s Patopotamoose
Pleasance Courtyard, 7-27 Aug, not 8, 14, £11 – £12
Laughing Horse Free Pick of the Fringe Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 7-26 Aug, £free
The Cradle of Comedy
Destiny Church Gorgie, 7-25 Aug, not 12, 19, £5
20:35 Stephen Bailey and Zoe Iqbal - Subject to Change - Free
Laughing Horse @ Bar 50, 7-12 Aug, £free
20:40 Roisin Conaty: Lifehunter
Pleasance Courtyard, 7-26 Aug, not 13, £8.50 – £9.50
The Ejaculate Conception
C venues - C nova, 19-27 Aug, £8.50 – £10.50
Pete Johansson Utopian Crack Pipe HHH
Underbelly, Bristo Square, 7-27 Aug, not 13, £10 – £12.50
The Chris and Paul Show
Just The Tonic at the Caves, 7-26 Aug, not 14, £8 – £9
20:45 An Audience with the King
The Shack Comedy Club & Nightclub, 7-25 Aug, not 13, £9 – £10
Luke Benson Backseat Hero
Pleasance Courtyard, 7-26 Aug, not 13, £9 – £10
We Love Comedy
Base Nightclub, 7-25 Aug, £free
Alpine Horn with Flange Krammer - Free
Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 7-26 Aug, £free
Newcastle University Comedy Society Showcase / PBH’s Free Fringe
Buffs Club (RAOB), 7-25 Aug, £free
Devvo Dole Queue Hero is Free
Alternative Fringe @ The Hive, 7-26 Aug, £free
comedylistings Pick of the Fringe
Scottish Comedy Festival @ The Beehive Inn, 7-26 Aug, not 13, 20, £free
Unstable Fables Greenside, 13-18 Aug, £7
Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaargh! It’s the Monster Stand-Up Show - Free Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 7-26 Aug, £free
Chris Martin - Spot the Difference HHH Gilded Balloon Teviot, 7-27 Aug, not 14, £10 – £12
Matt Price: Fugly. The Cabaret Voltaire, 7-25 Aug, £free
Andrew Lawrence is Coming to Get You Pleasance Courtyard, 7-26 Aug, £11 – £12.50
Scottish Comedy Festival @ The Beehive Inn, 8-26 Aug, not 21, £free
Lord Nelson Presents...
The Super Serious Show
GHQ, 17-25 Aug, £free
Max Dickins: This Will Only Take A Moment... The Cabaret Voltaire, 7-25 Aug, £free
Magnus Betnér Live
Heath Franklin’s Chopper in A Hard Bastard’s Guide to Life HH
Sex Money Death
20:55
The Assembly Rooms, 7-26 Aug, not 13, 16, £10
The Shack Comedy Club & Nightclub, 7-25 Aug, not 13, £7
20:50 Des Bishop Likes to Bang
Assembly George Square, 7-26 Aug, not 13, 20, £11 – £12
The Sensational Alex Salmond Gastric Band presents Oliver Pissed
Underbelly, Bristo Square, 7-19 Aug, £11 – £12
Al Murray - The Pub Landlord: The Only Way is Epic (Special Previews)
Assembly George Square, 13-25 Aug, £12 – £14
Musical Comedy Awards Showcase
Underbelly, Bristo Square, 10-11 Aug, £14
Assembly George Square, 7-26 Aug, not 14, £10 – £13
Checkley and Bush’s Comedy Riot! Just The Tonic at the Caves, 7-26 Aug, not 14, £7 – £8
21:00 Phil Nichol Rants!
The Assembly Rooms, 7-26 Aug, not 13, £10
The Pajama Men’s Improv Show
Assembly George Square, 7-12 Aug, £14 – £15
Dr Ettrick-Hogg’s Manly Stand-Ups - Free
Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 7-26 Aug, £free
No Pants Thursday: T’il Death Do Us Party Just The Tonic at the Caves, 7-26 Aug, not 14, £7.50 – £8.50
Chris Kent - Plugged In Gilded Balloon Teviot, 7-26 Aug, not 13, £8.50 – £9.50
Dear Dan Brown...
Dragonfly, 7-24 Aug, £free
Heroes of Alternative Fringe
Alternative Fringe @ The Hive, 7-21 Aug, £5
Hurt and Anderson: Scenes of a Vignetteish Nature - Free Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 8-26 Aug, not 16, 21, £free
The Fairytale Forest Ukrainian Club, 16-20 Aug, £8
Big Value Comedy Show - Late
Just The Tonic at the Caves, 7-26 Aug, not 14, £9 – £10
Russell Kane: Posturing Delivery The Assembly Rooms, 13-24 Aug, £15
Alan Anderson: Whisky For Dafties
Just the Tonic at The Tron, 7-26 Aug, not 13, 14, £9 – £12
One Track Minds - Free
Amarone, 7-25 Aug, £free
Aaaaaaaaaaaaarghh! It’s the Greatest Show on Legs Alternative Fringe @ The Hive, 22-26 Aug, £5
❤ Jim Jefferies: Fully Functional HHHH Assembly Hall, 7-26 Aug, not 13, £16 – £17.50
Henning Wehn: Henning Knows Bestest
Just the Tonic at The Tron, 13 Aug, £6
Teeth In Eggcups
Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 7-16 Aug, not 10, 11, £free
Glorified Disasters The Banshee Labyrinth, 7-25 Aug, not 14, 15, £free
Neil Delamere: DelaMere Mortal Pleasance Courtyard, 7-26 Aug, not 13, £10 – £11
You Have Nothing to Fear... Opium, 7-25 Aug, not 8, 15, 22, £free
BBC: Radio 2 New Comedy Award BBC @ Potterrow, 11 Aug, £7
21:05 ❤ Doctor Brown Befrdfgth HHHHH Underbelly, Cowgate, 7-26 Aug, not 13, 20, £10.50 – £11.50
Magpie and Stump in Lolitary Confinement theSpace on the Mile , 20-25 Aug, £5
The Gubernaculum presents
THE EJACULATE CONCEPTION venue 145
C venues vibrant vivacious variety
0845 260 1234
Tickets £8.50 – £10.50 Concessions £6.50 – £8.50
INDIA BUILDINGS VICTORIA STREET
www.CtheFestival.com
19 – 27 Aug 8.40pm (1hr)
fringe box office 0131 226 0000 online sales www.edfringe.com
COMEDY, THEATRE, CABARET AND MORE www.festmag.co.uk
OPEN 'TIL 5AM
August 14 - 16 | edinburgh festival guide 2012 fest 79
comedylistings Luke Toulson - Luke Who’s Talking Underbelly, Cowgate, 7-26 Aug, £9.50 – £10.50
Andrew Maxwell: That’s the Spirit
Assembly George Square, 7-27 Aug, not 13, £15 – £16
Obsession - A Life With Magic Zoo, 7-18 Aug, £10
St Andrews Presents - Blind Mirth Improv Comedy theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 7-25 Aug, not 12, 19, £5 – £7
21:10 Darkness Rising
theSpace on North Bridge, 7-25 Aug, not 12, 19, £7
Barely Legal: The 18-Year-Old Democracy
Assembly Roxy, 7-27 Aug, not 13, £13 – £14
Pete Firman Hoodwinker
Pleasance Courtyard, 7-26 Aug, £12 – £15
Marcus Brigstocke: The Brig Society HHH
Assembly Hall, 7-25 Aug, not 13, £12 – £14
Jonny & the Baptists Underbelly, Cowgate, 7-26 Aug, not 15, £9 – £10
21:15 Henning Wehn: Henning Knows Bestest
Just The Tonic at the Caves, 15-26 Aug, £8.50 – £11.50
Rory Scovel: Illuminati Only CANCELLED
Assembly Roxy, 7-27 Aug, not 13, £11.50 – £12.50
❤ Sam Simmons About the Weather HHHH
Gilded Balloon Teviot, 7-26 Aug, not 13, £10.50 – £11.50
❤ Sara Pascoe - The Musical! HHHH
Assembly George Square, 7-27 Aug, not 14, £9.50 – £12
The Colour Ham HH
Just The Tonic at the Caves, 7-12 Aug, £9.50 – £10.50
The Suggestibles
Northern Stage at St Stephen’s, 7 Aug, £14
Kevin Shepherd: Thus Spoke Kev - Free
Laughing Horse @ Captain Taylor’s Coffee House, 7-26 Aug, £free
Bob Doolally’s Euro Crisis
The Stand Comedy Club III & IV, 21 Aug, £9
Laughing Horse Free Comedy Selection Laughing Horse @ City Cafe, 7-26 Aug, £free
Stephen K Amos Work in Progress
The Stand Comedy Club III & IV, 7-25 Aug, not 8, 13, 14, 20, 21, £10
Owen and Bettesworth: Sung and Unsung
Sweet Grassmarket, 7-26 Aug, not 18, 25, £7
21:20 Geoff the Entertainer HHH The Stand Comedy Club III & IV, 7-26 Aug, not 13, £8
Jimmy Carr: Gagging Order
Venue150 @ EICC, Various dates from 16 Aug to 25 Aug, £18.50
Elaine Malcolmson: Relevant Experience
The Stand Comedy Club II, 20 Aug, £8
Markus Birdman – Love, Life and Death The Stand Comedy Club II, 7-26 Aug, not 13, 20, £8
Danny Buckler: The Phantom Just The Tonic at the Caves, 7-26 Aug, not 14, £9 – £10
Paul McCaffrey: Pills’n’Thrills and Belly Laughs
Underbelly, Bristo Square, 7-26 Aug, £8.50 – £9.50
Sexytime!
Underbelly, Cowgate, 7-26 Aug, not 14, £9 – £10
Logic for a 5 Year Old theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 7-11 Aug, £3
Frenemies
Laughing Horse @ Jekyll & Hyde, 7-11 Aug, £free
Reginald D. Hunter - Work in Progress... and Niggas with John Gordillo Pleasance Courtyard, 7-27 Aug, not 13, £13
Always Be Comedy
Laughing Horse @ Jekyll & Hyde, 12-26 Aug, £free
Jason Byrne: People’s Puppeteer HHH Venue150 @ EICC, 7-12 Aug, £17.50 – £19.50
21:25 Truth
Underbelly, Cowgate, 7-26 Aug, not 14, £10 – £11
21:30 Steven Davidson: Gamesmaster
The Constitution, 8-12 Aug, £6.50
The Jocks and Geordies
Laughing Horse @ Meadow Bar, 7-26 Aug, £free
Armageddapocalypse: Threat Level Dead
Underbelly, Bristo Square, 7-27 Aug, not 15, £8.50 – £9.50
Word:Play
theSpace on the Mile , 14-18 Aug, £6
Graham Whistler: Stand-Up, Fall Down - Free
Laughing Horse @ The Newsroom, 7-27 Aug, £free
The Blanks’ Big Break HHH
Gilded Balloon Teviot, 7-27 Aug, not 14, 23, £12 – £14
Mark Restuccia: How to Succeed at Internet Dating HH
Gilded Balloon at Third Door, 7-27 Aug, not 13, £9.50 – £10.50
The Big Comedy Gala in Aid of Macmillan Cancer Support Venue150 @ EICC, 13 Aug, £22
The Comedy Reserve Pleasance Dome, 7-27 Aug, not 13, 20, £8 – £9
Dodger’s Comedy Presents... - Free
Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 7-11 Aug, £free
Dan and Tom: Two for the Price of None Southsider, 7-25 Aug, £free
Simon Evans: Friendly Fire
Pleasance Courtyard, 7-26 Aug, not 13, £11 – £12
Michael Mittermeier: A German on Safari
Don’t Like Each Other - Free
Gareth Morinan Explains Why David Cameron Should Be Fired for Crimes Against Short People (Among Other Things)
Swedenborg, the Devil and Me
Bogan Bingo / Free Festival
Conor Drum - A Sense of Humour
Peter Buckley Hill and Some Comedians XVI
Pleasance Courtyard, 7-27 Aug, not 13, 20, £9 – £10
Laughing Horse @ Jekyll & Hyde, 7-14 Aug, £free
Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 12-26 Aug, not 19, £free
Laughing Horse @ The Phoenix, 7-27 Aug, not 15, £free
Ciao Roma, 20 Aug, 23 Aug, £free
Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 9-26 Aug, not 13, 20, £free
The Canons’ Gait, 7-25 Aug, £free
And Now for a Nice Evening With Wallan
21:40
Applause
Pleasance Courtyard, 7-26 Aug, not 14, £12.50 – £13.50
Pleasance Courtyard, 7-26 Aug, not 15, £9.50 – £10.50
Laughing Horse @ Jekyll & Hyde, 15-26 Aug, not 16, £free
Jeff Leach: Boyfriend Experience HHH Gilded Balloon Teviot, 7-27 Aug, not 13, £9.50 – £10
Jarred Christmas: Let’s Go MoFo
Gilded Balloon Teviot, 7-26 Aug, £10.50 – £11.50
Dan Wright: Michael Jackson Touched Me Gilded Balloon Teviot, 7-26 Aug, not 13, £9 – £10
21:35 Gareth Morinan Presents the Saturday Debates (3+4)
Ciao Roma, 18 Aug, 25 Aug, £free
Gareth Morinan Explains How Ricky Gervais is a ‘Mong’ for Cutting Gareth Morinan Out of Life’s Too Short (BBC/HBO) Ciao Roma, 9 Aug, £free
Gareth Morinan Pitches a Better Version of Life’s Too Short (Starring Gareth Morinan) to BBC, HBO, C4, ITV, Sky, etc
Ciao Roma, 13 Aug, 16 Aug, £free
Gareth Morinan Presents the Saturday Debates (1+2) Ciao Roma, 11 Aug, £free
❤ The Boy With Tape On His Face More Tape HHHH
Iain Stirling: Happy to Be the Clown? HHH
Underbelly, Bristo Square, 7-26 Aug, £8.50 – £9.50
John Shuttleworth: Out of Our Sheds
Pleasance Dome, 13-20 Aug, £10 – £12.50
Josh Widdicombe: The Further Adventures of... Extra Show
Pleasance Dome, 9 Aug, 10 Aug, 11 Aug, 12 Aug, 22 Aug, £11 – £12
Michael Winslow Noizeyman
Underbelly, Bristo Square, 7-27 Aug, not 14, £12.50 – £14.50
Peacock & Gamble Don’t Even Want To Be On Telly Anyway HH Pleasance Dome, 7-26 Aug, £8.50 – £9.50
21:45 Gareth Richards: Introvert - Never Been To Disneyland HHH
Pleasance Courtyard, 7-27 Aug, £8.50 – £9.50
Eat a Queer Fetus 4 Jesus - Free Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 7-26 Aug, £free
Pretending Things Are a C*ck
Pleasance Courtyard, 7-27 Aug, not 13, 20, £9 – £10
BUY TICKETS ON
80 fest edinburgh festival guide 2012 | August 14 - 16
FACEBOOK.COM/UNDERBELLYEDINBURGH
FOR ALL UNDERBELLY SHOWS
Sam Fisher and Friends - Free
Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 7-8 Aug, £free
Chilly Gonzales
The Queen’s Hall, 26 Aug, £14
I’m High On Life: What Are You On?
C Venues - C eca, 7-27 Aug, £8.50 – £10.50
Marcus Ryan: Home and Away - Free
Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 7-26 Aug, £free
Laughing Horse’s Funny Fillies
Laughing Horse @ The White Horse, 7-26 Aug, £free
❤ Hal Cruttenden Tough Luvvie HHHH Pleasance Courtyard, 7-26 Aug, not 13, £9 – £11
Alan Sharp: Careful What You Wish For
The Banshee Labyrinth, 7-25 Aug, £free
❤ Hannibal Buress: Still Saying Stuff HHHH
Pleasance Courtyard, 7-26 Aug, not 13, 21, £10 – £10.50
My Damage is My Gift! - Free
Laughing Horse @ Edinburgh City Football Club, 7-25 Aug, not 13, 14, £free
Abandoman - Party in the Key of C Major Pleasance Dome, 7-27 Aug, not 14, 26, £13 – £14
The Best Of Scottish Comedy The Stand Comedy Club, 7-26 Aug, £12
21:50 Alfie Moore - I Predicted a Riot
Pleasance Courtyard, 7-27 Aug, £10 – £12
All My Friends
Laughing Horse @ Bar 50, 7-26 Aug, £free
Jayde Adams is Master of None
Sweet Grassmarket, 1324 Aug, not 18, £9
Paul Chowdhry What’s Happening White People Pleasance Courtyard, 7-26 Aug, not 13, £11 – £12
Colin Mars: A Life Full of Lemons HH theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 7-25 Aug, not 12, 19, £7.50
comedylistings 22:00 Bad Advice - Free
Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 7-26 Aug, not 13, £free
How the World Wags C venues - C aquila, 1626 Aug, £8.50 – £10.50
Late Night Gimp Fight
Pleasance Courtyard, 7-27 Aug, not 14, £12.50 – £14
Casual Violence: A Kick In The Teeth
Just The Tonic at the Caves, 7-26 Aug, not 14, 21, £8
Liam and Owen - A Cracking One Off Show!
Scottish Comedy Festival @ The Beehive Inn, 7-26 Aug, £free
Storytellers’ Club
Pleasance Courtyard, 9-25 Aug, not 12, 13, 14, 15, 19, 20, 21, 22, £10
The Late Night Shack Show The Shack Comedy Club & Nightclub, 7-25 Aug, not 13, £10 – £12
Back to School’s Disco
Pleasance at Braidwood Centre, Various dates from 10 Aug to 25 Aug, £10
Stand Up for Freedom
Venue150 @ EICC, 15 Aug, £18
Suggs: My Life Story in Words and Music The Queen’s Hall, 24 Aug, £22.50
News Smash
C venues - C nova, 7-27 Aug, £8.50 – £10.50
Paul T Eyres: T.Eyres of a Clown / Laughing Horse Pick of the Fringe - Free Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 7-27 Aug, £free
22:05 I’m Not Crying in the Bathroom: I’m Crying in the Supply Closet theSpace on the Mile , 13-25 Aug, not 19, £8 – £10
22:10 Believe - Starring Shane Dundas from the Umbilical Brothers
Assembly George Square, 7-27 Aug, not 13, £12 – £14
It’s Grimm Up North
theSpace @ Symposium Hall, 7-25 Aug, £6 – £8
Car Crash Comedy 2012
Scottish Comedy Festival @ The Beehive Inn, 7-25 Aug, £free
22:15 Learning to Pray in Front of the Television
Gryphon Venues at the Point Hotel, 13-20 Aug, £8
David Whitney Struggling to Evolve Gilded Balloon Teviot, 7-27 Aug, not 14, £10 – £11
Google / Complex
Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 7-26 Aug, £free
John Robertson: The Old Whore Assembly Hall, 7-26 Aug, £5
KWAT: Greetings from KWAT
Just The Tonic at the Caves, 7-26 Aug, not 14, £8 – £10
Fat Whore HH
The Assembly Rooms, 7-26 Aug, not 13, £10
22:20 Paul Ricketts - Ironic Infinity
❤ Brendon Burns, Home Stretch Baby HHHH
Just The Tonic at the Caves, 7-26 Aug, not 14, 23, £6.50 – £7.50
Art of Procrastination
Assembly George Square, 7-27 Aug, not 8, 14, £15 – £16
Pleasance Dome, 7-26 Aug, not 9, 16, 23, £12.50 – £14.50
Paradise in The Vault, 7-19 Aug, not 13, £6
❤ Felicity Ward: The Hedgehog Dilemma HHHH
Underbelly, Bristo Square, 7-27 Aug, not 13, £10 – £12
Mark Little: THEbullsh*tARTIST
The Sitcom Double Bill Pleasance Courtyard, 7-27 Aug, £9 – £10
Sh*t-faced Shakespeare
C venues - C, 7-27 Aug, not 13, £9.50 – £11.50
The Wonderful World of Wilfredo Just the Tonic at The Tron, 7-26 Aug, not 14, £7.50 – £9.50
22:25 Oyster Eyes Presents: Some Rice Underbelly, Cowgate, 7-26 Aug, not 14, £9 – £10
Jerry Sadowitz: Adults Only
The Assembly Rooms, 17-18 Aug, £17.50
Marcel Lucont: Gallic Symbol Underbelly, Cowgate, 7-26 Aug, not 14, £9.50 – £10.50
Mick Foley: Prisoner of Raw The Assembly Rooms, 8-11 Aug, £15
Jimeoin - What?! (Whatever...)
The Assembly Rooms, 24 Aug, £15.50
22:30 John Scott - Totally Fed Up
The Stand Comedy Club III & IV, 7-26 Aug, not 13, £8
Foil Arms and Hog - Late Night Sketch Comedy Underbelly, Cowgate, 7-26 Aug, not 15, £9 – £10
So You Think You’re Funny? Gilded Balloon Teviot, 7 Aug, 12 Aug, 13 Aug, 14 Aug, 15 Aug, £10
Rubberbandits
Gilded Balloon Teviot, 8-26 Aug, not 13, 17, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, £12 – £14
Idiots of Ants ANThology
Pleasance Courtyard, 2325 Aug, £11 – £12
Marcus Brigstocke: The Brig Society EXTRA SHOW Assembly Hall, 24 Aug, £13
Comedy Film Nights
Hill Street Theatre, Various dates from 9 Aug to 26 Aug, £5 – £8
Who’s Your Daddy?
Assembly Hall, 7-26 Aug, not 13, £11 – £12
❤ The Imaginary Radio Programme: Drennon Davis Presented by The Pajama Men HHHH
Assembly Roxy, 7-26 Aug, not 13, £10 – £12
Greg Proops Podcast: The Smartest Man in the World Gilded Balloon Teviot, 16 Aug, 19 Aug, 22 Aug, £13
Künt and the Gang - Free Laughing Horse @ City Cafe, 7-26 Aug, not 11, £free
Gilded Balloon Teviot, 7-26 Aug, £9 – £10
Comic Strip HHH
Assembly George Square, 7-26 Aug, not 13, 20, £12 – £15
Best of Scottish Comedian of the Year Underbelly, Cowgate, 7-26 Aug, £9.50 – £11.50
Scottish Comedian of the Year 2011 Jamie Dalgleish Just The Tonic at the Caves, 7-26 Aug, not 14, £7 – £9
Chortle Student Comedy Award Final Pleasance Courtyard, 13-14 Aug, £8
Terry Alderton
Dan Mitchell - Free Egg
Pleasance Courtyard, 7-26 Aug, not 13, £11 – £12
The Scottish Falsetto Sock Puppet Theatre - Boo Lingerie
22:45
The Joy of Sketch
Dead Cat Bounce... Howl of the She-Leopard
22:40
❤ Andrew O’Neill is Easily Distracted HHHH
The Stand Comedy Club II, 7-26 Aug, not 13, £8
Gilded Balloon Teviot, Various dates from 17 Aug to 26 Aug, £10.50 – £12
Pleasance Courtyard, 10 Aug, 17 Aug, £12
Laughing Horse @ Jekyll & Hyde, 7-25 Aug, not 12, £free
Simon Donald’s School of Swearing
Best of So You Think You’re Funny? Gilded Balloon Teviot, 8-11 Aug, £10.50
James and Amy: Dysfunctional Legends
Assembly Roxy, 7-27 Aug, not 14, £9.50 – £12
Cheap Laughs (Are Better Than No Laughs) - Free
Laughing Horse @ Captain Taylor’s Coffee House, 7-26 Aug, £free
Jon Richardson Funny Magnet
Assembly Hall, 16-19 Aug, £14
22:35 Ian Shaw - A Bit of a Mouthful HH The Stand Comedy Club III & IV, 7-26 Aug, not 13, £10
Things We Did Before Reality
Just The Tonic at the Caves, 7-26 Aug, not 14, £10 – £11
Dana Alexander: Breaking Through
Underbelly, Bristo Square, 7-27 Aug, not 13, £9.50 – £10.50
Pleasance Courtyard, 7-27 Aug, not 8, 14, £11 – £12
Michael Pope is Gay for Pay - Free
Laughing Horse @ The Phoenix, 7-26 Aug, not 8, 15, 22, £free
Davey Connor, Lucy Beaumont and Ed Patrick - The Big Comedy Showcase Show
Gilded Balloon Teviot, 7-27 Aug, not 13, 20, £9 – £9.50
David Trent - Spontaneous Comedian Pleasance Courtyard, 7-27 Aug, not 14, £9.50 – £12
Demitris Deech: Stop, Collaborate and Listen - Free Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 7-25 Aug, £free
The Good, the Bad and the Irish!
Laughing Horse @ Jekyll & Hyde, 7-26 Aug, not 16, £free
The Boom Jennies: Mischief
Pleasance Dome, 7-26 Aug, not 13, £11 – £12
James Dowdeswell: Urban Wurzel Pleasance Courtyard, 7-26 Aug, not 13, £8.50 – £9.50
Tom Cottle’s These Twisted Folk Underbelly, Cowgate, 7-26 Aug, not 14, £9 – £10
The Dirty Uncle Comedy Roadshow - Free
Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 14-17 Aug, £free
An Evening with Jay Sodagar Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 7-13 Aug, £free
Alistair Green: Jack Spencer - Why Anything?
Laughing Horse @ The Newsroom, 7-26 Aug, not 15, £free
22:50 The Shambles
C venues - C aquila, 7-18 Aug, £8.50 – £10.50
The Special Reserve Comedy Benefit
Tania Edwards Killer Instinct
What Would Beyoncé Do? - Free
Eddie Naessens: The Thing Is This...
Pleasance Courtyard, 22-23 Aug, £10
Laughing Horse @ Meadow Bar, 7-26 Aug, not 13, £free
The Comedy Zone
Pleasance Courtyard, 7-26 Aug, £8.50 – £9.50
Late Night Laughs
Gilded Balloon Teviot, 7-26 Aug, £9.50 – £12
Splitting the Bill – Michael Workman & Tommy Little
Gilded Balloon Teviot, 7-26 Aug, not 13, £9.50 – £10.50
Underbelly, Bristo Square, 7-26 Aug, not 14, £9.50 – £10.50
Ciao Roma, 7-25 Aug, £free
23:00 BBC: Comedy Presents
BBC @ Potterrow, 7-26 Aug, not 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 21, 23, £12
Eric Hutton: Every Other Show in the Fringe Sucks - Free Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 7-26 Aug, £free
COMEDY, THEATRE, CABARET AND MORE www.festmag.co.uk
OPEN 'TIL 5AM
August 14 - 16 | edinburgh festival guide 2012 fest 81
comedylistings BBC: Late Junction BBC @ Potterrow, 21 Aug, 23 Aug, £free
Shaggers - Free Festival
Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 7-25 Aug, £free
Garrett Millerick: Sensible Answers to Stupid Questions
Underbelly, Bristo Square, 7-27 Aug, not 15, £8.50 – £9.50
Laughing Horse Free Pick of the Fringe Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 7-26 Aug, £free
BBC: Radio 1’s Fun and Filth Cabaret
BBC @ Potterrow, 13-16 Aug, £free
Rob Deering’s Beat This
Pleasance Courtyard, Various dates from 10 Aug to 25 Aug, £10
Steve Shanyaski’s Life-Survival Bible Pleasance Courtyard, 7-26 Aug, not 13, £8.50 – £10.50
Mark Watson’s Edinborolympics
Pleasance Courtyard, Various dates from 15 Aug to 21 Aug, £8
Aaaaaaaaaaaaarghh! It’s the Malcolm Hardee Comedy Awards Show with Miss Behave - and It’s Free! Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 24-25 Aug, £free
Ward and Bartlett’s Double Impact
Globe, 7-18 Aug, £free
AAA Stand-Up Late Pleasance Courtyard, 7-27 Aug, £9 – £10
Japanese TerminatoL Laughing Horse @ The White Horse, 7-26 Aug, not 15, £free
Bring Me the Head of Adam Riches Pleasance Dome, 22-25 Aug, £12 – £14
23:05 Barbershopera: The Three Musketeers HHH Pleasance Courtyard, 7-27 Aug, not 13, 20, £11.50 – £12.50
Back and to the Left in the Turkish Prison
Laughing Horse @ Bar 50, 7-15 Aug, £free
Monkey Toast: The Improvised Chat Show HHH
Pleasance Dome, 7-26 Aug, not 14, £10 – £11
Absolute Stripping! theSpace on North Bridge, 7-25 Aug, not 12, 19, £8.50 – £9.50
Heavy Petting
Laughing Horse @ Bar 50, 16-26 Aug, £free
23:10 Humphrey Ker is... Dymock Watson: Nazi Smasher!
Pleasance Dome, 7-14 Aug, £12.50 – £15
23:15 Tim Key - Masterslut Pleasance Courtyard, 23-25 Aug, £14
I Am, I Am
Gilded Balloon Teviot, 7-27 Aug, not 13, 20, £8 – £9
The Horne Section Live at the Grand! Pleasance Courtyard, 9-22 Aug, £10 – £12
23:20 COMX
Just The Tonic at the Caves, 7-26 Aug, not 14, £8 – £10
Pappy’s Flatshare Slamdown
Pleasance Courtyard, 7 Aug, 12 Aug, £8.50
Do The Right Thing
Pleasance Courtyard, 8 Aug, 9 Aug, 13 Aug, 14 Aug, £8.50
Voices in Your Head
Underbelly, Bristo Square, 9-25 Aug, not 12, 13, 14, 15, 19, 20, 21, 22, £10
Simon Evans: Friendly Fire Extra Show
LOL-ocaust
Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 8-26 Aug, not 14, 21, £free
23:40 Chris Ramsey: Feeling Lucky HHH
Pleasance Courtyard, 10 Aug, 18 Aug, £9.50
❤ Eddie Pepitone’s Bloodbath HHHH
Just the Tonic at The Tron, 7-26 Aug, not 14, £8 – £10
Scott Agnew: Tales of the Sauna
The Stand Comedy Club III & IV, 7-26 Aug, not 13, £8
Ro Campbell: Midnight Meltdown
The Stand Comedy Club II, 7-26 Aug, not 13, £8
23:45 Al Murray the Pub Landlord: The Guv’s Olympic Pub Quiz
Assembly George Square, 16-18 Aug, £15
Guardian Reader HHH
Just The Tonic at the Caves, 7-26 Aug, not 14, £8 – £9
Frisky & Mannish: 27 Club
Assembly George Square, 20-22 Aug, £12
Joe Munrow: One Big Joke - Free
Taylor Glenn - Reverse Psycomedy Gilded Balloon Teviot, 7-26 Aug, not 13, £8 – £9
The Assembly Rooms, 11 Aug, 18 Aug, 25 Aug, £15
Morgan & West: Lying, Cheating Scoundrels
Gilded Balloon Teviot, 8-26 Aug, not 13, 14, 20, 21, £16
Best of the Fest
Assembly Hall, 9-26 Aug, not 13, 14, 15, 20, 21, 22, £14 – £15
A Little Perspective with Imaan Gilded Balloon Teviot, 7-27 Aug, not 14, £9 – £10
The Death of Comedy
Gilded Balloon Teviot, 7-26 Aug, not 13, £8.50 – £9.50
Where Once Was Wonder by Daniel Kitson
The Stand Comedy Club, 7-26 Aug, not 10, 11, 17, 18, 24, 25, £10
The Stand Late Show The Stand Comedy Club, Various dates from 10 Aug to 25 Aug, £15
Setlist: Stand-Up Without a Net
Underbelly, Cowgate, 7-26 Aug, not 13, 20, £8 – £9.50
Denis Krasnov’s Hour of Intellectual Filth
23:50
Pleasance Dome, 16-21 Aug, £14
The Assembly Rooms The Very Best of the Fest
Guilt & Shame: Up All Night HH
23:30
Tim Key - Masterslut
23:59
Adam Hills: Mess Around
Pleasance Courtyard, 17-18 Aug, £12
C venues - C nova, 7-27 Aug, not 14, £8.50 – £10.50
Underbelly, Bristo Square, 7-27 Aug, not 15, £9 – £10
Laughing Horse @ Captain Taylor’s Coffee House, 7-26 Aug, not 13, 20, £free
Just The Tonic at the Caves, 7-26 Aug, not 14, £7 – £9
Battle Ducks: Activate!
Eleanor Conway’s Midnight Rumble
Live At The Electric: Live At The Fringe Pleasance Courtyard, 17-19 Aug, £10
Assembly Hall, 17-18 Aug, £13
Just The Tonic at the Caves, 7-25 Aug, not 12, 13, 14, 19, 20, £9 – £11
Edinburgh Comedy Tour
www.walkingheads.net, 7 Aug - 2 Sep, £free
00:00 Liam Grahame Olsen: Half Pint - Live
Me My Selfish Self
Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 20-25 Aug, £free
Becks Dugs and Rotten Hole
Laughing Horse @ The Phoenix, 15-19 Aug, £free
School Night
Just The Tonic at the Caves, Various dates from 8 Aug to 23 Aug, £10
Midnight Comedy at Genting Club Fountainpark
Genting Club Fountainpark, 8-23 Aug, not 10, 11, 12, 13, 17, 18, 19, 20, £free
Joz Norris is Matt Fisher: Überperson - Free Laughing Horse @ The Phoenix, 8-13 Aug, £free
Life’s Short. I’m Not! - Free
Laughing Horse @ Meadow Bar, 8-27 Aug, £free
Spank!
Underbelly, Cowgate, 8-27 Aug, £13.50 – £15.50
Julie Jepson Personal Triumph
Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 9-13 Aug, £free
Leaves on the Line
Laughing Horse @ The Newsroom, 8-13 Aug, £free
Just the Tonic Comedy Club’s Midnight Show Just The Tonic at the Caves, 10-26 Aug, not 13, 14, 15, 16, 20, 21, 22, 23, £10
Midnight Hour
The Canons’ Gait, 8-26 Aug, not 13, 20, £free
DeadBadgers Sketchy Bits
Laughing Horse @ The Newsroom, 14-27 Aug, £free
00:15
23:55
Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 16-19 Aug, £free
The Humble Quest for Universal Genius
Unknowable Tantrum Wind
Underbelly, Bristo Square, 10-27 Aug, not 14, 15, 16, 21, 22, 23, £12.50 – £14.50
Gay Straight Alliance
Harriet Dyer (Plus the Odd Pal) - What a Palaver!
Gilded Balloon Teviot, 7-10 Aug, £9 – £10
The New Conway Dimension
Gilded Balloon Teviot, 1127 Aug, £8.50 – £9.50
Laughing Horse @ Jekyll & Hyde, 8-14 Aug, £free Laughing Horse @ The Phoenix, 20-27 Aug, £free
The Late Show
Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 7-27 Aug, £free
BUY TICKETS ON
82 fest edinburgh festival guide 2012 | August 14 - 16
FACEBOOK.COM/UNDERBELLYEDINBURGH
FOR ALL UNDERBELLY SHOWS
00:20 The Beta Males’ Midnight Movie Theatre
Pleasance Courtyard, 11 Aug, 12 Aug, 18 Aug, 19 Aug, £10
00:25 The Room
Assembly George Square, 13 Aug, 20 Aug, 27 Aug, £8
00:30 The Improverts
Bedlam Theatre, 7-26 Aug, not 13, 20, £7.50
BattleActs! Presents...
Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 7-28 Aug, £free
Hedluv and Passman: Two Cornish Rappers and a Casiotone HH Gilded Balloon Teviot, 7-28 Aug, not 15, £10 – £11
00:40 After Hours Comedy Pleasance Dome, 10-26 Aug, not 13, 14, 15, 16, 20, 21, 22, 23, £10.50 – £11.50
00:45 Leo and Stephen Go Down On You! Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 8-27 Aug, not 14, 21, £free
00:50 Spanktacular!
Underbelly, Bristo Square, 12 Aug, 19 Aug, 26 Aug, £15.50
01:00 Not the Adventures of Moleman Laughing Horse @ City Cafe, 8-27 Aug, £free
Late ‘n’ Live
Gilded Balloon Teviot, 7-28 Aug, £13 – £15
01:15 Setlist: Stand-Up Without a Net
Just The Tonic at the Caves, Various dates from 11 Aug to 26 Aug, £11
theatrelistings 08:00
10:00
How May We Be of Service?
Born to Run
Everywhere, Anywhere, 12-17 Aug, £free
24h
Summerhall, 22 Aug, 25 Aug, £1
09:00 24h
Summerhall, 22 Aug, 25 Aug, £1
Dream Plays (Scenes From a Play I’ll Never Write) Traverse Theatre, 14-26 Aug, not 20, £12
Suzanne
Here! Internet Cafe, 7-27 Aug, £5
09:15 Birds on a Wire
theSpace @ Venue45, 11 Aug, £5
Grimaldi: King of the Clowns
Traverse Theatre, 21 Aug, 25 Aug, £13 – £20
Mark Thomas: Bravo Figaro! HHH
Traverse Theatre, 8 Aug, 12 Aug, 15 Aug, 19 Aug, 23 Aug, £18
Kaya - Dream Interpreter
Assembly George Square, 7-27 Aug, not 13, 21, £9 – £11
❤ And No More Shall We Part HHHH Traverse Theatre, Various dates from 7 Aug to 26 Aug, £18 – £20
Shakespeare for Breakfast
C venues - C, 7-27 Aug, not 14, £6.50 – £8.50
Theatre Uncut
Traverse Theatre, 13 Aug, 20 Aug, £6.50
The Letter of Last Resort and Good With People
The Crucible
24h
Angels HHH
Peep HHH
The Iliad, The Odyssey and All of Greek Mythology in 99 Minutes or Less
11:05
Noël Coward’s Tonight at 8:30
Greenside, 20-25 Aug, £8 Traverse Theatre, 7 Aug, 12 Aug, 14 Aug, 19 Aug, 25 Aug, £17 – £19
All That is Wrong HHH Traverse Theatre, 9 Aug, £17
The Adding Machine Church Hill Theatre, 8 Aug, £5
Fables Here and Then
Church Hill Theatre, 7 Aug, £5
The Big Bite-Size Breakfast Show
Pleasance Dome, 7-26 Aug, not 14, 21, £10.50 – £11.50
Bullet Catch HHH
Traverse Theatre, 8 Aug, 15 Aug, 21 Aug, 26 Aug, £17
Mess
Traverse Theatre, 11 Aug, 18 Aug, 24 Aug, £19
Summerhall, 22 Aug, 25 Aug, £1 Pleasance Courtyard, 7-27 Aug, not 17, £6
All the Things I Never Said
theSpace on North Bridge, 13-16 Aug, £5
Under the Ladder
theSpace on North Bridge, 7-11 Aug, £5
Anon(ymous)
C venues - C, 7-11 Aug, £8.50 – £9.50
11:10 The Ride of the Bluebottles
theSpace on the Mile , 7-25 Aug, not 12, 19, £7 – £9
The Two Most Perfect Things
Assembly Roxy, 7-27 Aug, not 13, 20, £13
11:15
theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 8 Aug, 11 Aug, £5
Traverse Theatre, 9 Aug, 16 Aug, 24 Aug, £18 – £20
The Hole
24h
Romeo and Juliet
Church Hill Theatre, 7 Aug, £5
Summerhall, 22 Aug, 25 Aug, £1
theSpace @ Symposium Hall, 13-24 Aug, not 19, £6
American Gothic: The Poetry of Edgar Lee Masters
Morning HHH
Machinal
Traverse Theatre, 10 Aug, 17 Aug, £20
Grimaldi: King of the Clowns
theSpace @ Venue45, 9 Aug, £5
The Iliad, The Odyssey and All of Greek Mythology in 99 Minutes or Less
theSpace @ Venue45, 8 Aug, £5
09:20 What the Heart Remembers: The Women and Children of Darfur theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 9 Aug, £5
09:30 One Minute Birdwatching - Free
West Princes Street Gardens, 7-9 Aug, £free
Platero Y Yo
theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 7 Aug, 10 Aug, £5
09:45 After Orpheus
theSpace @ Venue45, 7 Aug, 10 Aug, £5
www.festmag.co.uk
10:05 Frontline
theSpace on North Bridge, 13-16 Aug, £5
In Tents
theSpace on North Bridge, 7-11 Aug, £5
10:15 Dearly Departed
Church Hill Theatre, 11 Aug, £5
The Browning Version
theSpace on the Mile , 7-11 Aug, £8
10:30 Monkey Bars
Traverse Theatre, 16 Aug, 22 Aug, £17
❤ Blink HHHH
Traverse Theatre, 10 Aug, 17 Aug, 23 Aug, £17 – £19
Going Green the Wong Way
Venue 13, 7-18 Aug, not 13, £8
10:45 theSpace @ Venue45, 21-25 Aug, £5 theSpace on Niddry St, 20 Aug, 22 Aug, 24 Aug, £5
Oh, What a Lovely War
theSpace on Niddry St, 21 Aug, 23 Aug, 25 Aug, £5
11:00 Killing Time
Bedlam Theatre, 7-25 Aug, not 12, 19, £6
The Stranger
Summerhall, 10-25 Aug, not 22, 23, £12
Afghan Days Babylon Nights
The Royal Scots Club, Various dates from 8 Aug to 17 Aug, £9
Invisible People
Around Edinburgh, 7-11 Aug, £1
Allotment
Assembly Inverleith Allotments, 10 Aug, 14 Aug, 15 Aug, 16 Aug, 17 Aug, £10
Story Shakespeare: All’s Well That Ends Well C venues - C too, 13-18 Aug, £7.50 – £9.50
Forever Young
theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 9 Aug, £5
Captain Ferguson’s School for Balloon Warfare HH Assembly Roxy, 7-27 Aug, not 13, 20, £10 – £12
The Cactus Gulch Opry House
Church Hill Theatre, 7 Aug, £5
Moth to the Flame
Paradise in Augustine’s, 7-8 Aug, £8
All in the Timing
Church Hill Theatre, 20 Aug, £5
Sir Gawain, the Yellow Knight
theSpace @ Venue45, 7 Aug, 11 Aug, £5
theSpace on Niddry St, 13-18 Aug, £7 – £9
Seeing Double: Vision HHH
Pleasance Courtyard, 7-27 Aug, not 13, £7 – £8
Pleasance Bytes
Pleasance Courtyard, 11 Aug, 18 Aug, 25 Aug, £4
SOS Courtship
Platero Y Yo
Church Hill Theatre, 19 Aug, £5
theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 8 Aug, 11 Aug, £5
Birds on a Wire
Apocalypse or Bust!
theSpace @ Venue45, 9 Aug, £5
Church Hill Theatre, 8 Aug, £5
11:20
11:35
I Never Saw Another Butterfly
Life Is Too Good To Be True HH
Church Hill Theatre, 18 Aug, £5
Chicken Bones for the Teenage Soup
Church Hill Theatre, 10 Aug, £5
What the Heart Remembers: The Women and Children of Darfur theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 7 Aug, 10 Aug, £5
Underbelly, Cowgate, 7-13 Aug, £8.50 – £9.50
John Peel’s Shed by John Osborne Underbelly, Cowgate, 7-12 Aug, £10 – £11
Bye Bye World
Underbelly, Cowgate, 1526 Aug, £8.50 – £9.50
11:40
Miss Julie
Candida
theSpace on North Bridge, 13-18 Aug, £5 – £11
Assembly George Square, 7-27 Aug, not 13, £10 – £12
Dream On
Two Dogs
The Property Known As Garland
Beyond Hillsborough
Paradise in Augustine’s, 14-18 Aug, £8
theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 7-25 Aug, not 12, 19, £8 – £10
11:25 Last Supper
Greenside, 7-11 Aug, £6
Miss Marchbanks
Paradise in The Vault, 7-18 Aug, not 12, 13, £8.50
11:30 Seeing Double: Figures HHH
Sweet Grassmarket, 8-17 Aug, £10 Quaker Meeting House, 7-11 Aug, £8
11:45 Oddlie
Venue 13, 7-18 Aug, not 13, £8
Hell’s Bells by Lynne Truss Pleasance Courtyard, 7-27 Aug, not 9, 10, 13, 20, £8 – £9
Female Gothic
Assembly George Square, 7-27 Aug, not 14, £12 – £13
Church Hill Theatre, 17 Aug, £5
Pleasance Courtyard, 7-27 Aug, not 13, £7 – £8
Normal
For the Love of Willie
The Hole
Plastic Beach
The Ash Girl
Zoo Southside, 7-27 Aug, not 13, 21, £7
theSpace @ Venue45, 13-16 Aug, £8
American Gothic: The Poetry of Edgar Lee Masters
The Price of Everything
11:50
Paradise in Augustine’s, 9-11 Aug, £8 Church Hill Theatre, 11 Aug, £5
theSpace @ Venue45, 8 Aug, 10 Aug, £5
Quaker Meeting House, 13-18 Aug, £7
Northern Stage at St Stephen’s, 7-25 Aug, not 13, 20, £10
Thin Ice HHH
Pleasance Courtyard, 8-27 Aug, not 14, 21, £9 – £10
Built for Two
theSpace on the Mile , 7-18 Aug, not 12, £6
August 14 - 16 | edinburgh festival guide 2012 fest 83
theatrelistings 12:00 Puellae (The truth about chips and other things) Summerhall, 7-15 Aug, £10
As Ye Sow
Pleasance Dome, 7-27 Aug, not 13, £10 – £11.50
An Audience With the Duke of Windsor - Bob Kingdom Assembly Hall, 7-27 Aug, £10 – £11
A Few Good Men
C venues - C eca, 12-18 Aug, £8.50 – £10.50
Bigmouth
Summerhall, 19-26 Aug, £5 – £10
Theatre Tasters - Free
Laughing Horse @ The Phoenix, 7-12 Aug, £free
I Shall Be Remembered - The Story of Madame de Pompadour
Venue150 @ EICC, 15-19 Aug, £12
The Merry Wives of Osaka
The Letter of Last Resort and Good With People
Traverse Theatre, 21 Aug, 25 Aug, £18 – £20
The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists
Assembly George Square, 7-27 Aug, not 13, £11 – £12
Bedlam Theatre, 12 Aug, 19 Aug, £6
The Last Days of Judas Iscariot
Shirtwaist
theSpace on North Bridge, 20-25 Aug, £10 – £11
Romeo and Juliet
Bedlam Theatre, 13-18 Aug, £7
Zoo, 7-11 Aug, £7.50
Razing Eddie
Underbelly, Cowgate, 7-26 Aug, not 14, £8.50 – £10
24h
The Template for Lack of Conversation
Summerhall, 22 Aug, 25 Aug, £1
Peep HHH
Pleasance Courtyard, 7-27 Aug, not 17, £6
Comedy Playhouse Balloon - Free Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 7-26 Aug, £free
The Knowledge Emporium
Northern Stage at St Stephen’s, 9-12 Aug, £free
Firing Blanks
Zoo, 19-27 Aug, £9 – £10
Double Edge’s Apples
The Life and Sort of Death of Eric Argyle
Hunt & Darton Cafe
Assembly Inverleith Allotments, 10 Aug, 14 Aug, 15 Aug, 16 Aug, 17 Aug, £10
Miss Julie
Tam O’Shanter
The Assembly Rooms, 11-26 Aug, not 13, £9 – £10
Underbelly, Cowgate, 12-18 Aug, £8 – £9
Allotment
The Talented Mr. Ripley
Zoo, 7-18 Aug, £8
Churchill
C venues - C too, 13-18 Aug, £8.50 – £10.50
Pleasance Dome, 7-27 Aug, not 13, £8.50 – £9.50
What’s He Building in There? HHH
Hunt & Darton Cafe , 7-26 Aug, not 13, 20, £free
BOX
C venues - C nova, 7-26 Aug, £7.50 – £9.50
Les Impossibles
Sweet Grassmarket, 8-12 Aug, £9
❤ Horrible Histories - Barmy Britain HHHHH Pleasance Courtyard, 7-26 Aug, not 13, 20, £10.50 – £11.50
Assembly Hall, 7-26 Aug, not 8, 13, 20, £14 – £15
Laughing Horse @ Edinburgh City Football Club, 7-18 Aug, £free
12:05 Wild Allegations
theSpace on North Bridge, 20-25 Aug, £6
Church Hill Theatre, 10 Aug, £5 Summerhall, 11-18 Aug, £10
❤ And No More Shall We Part HHHH
Traverse Theatre, 8 Aug, 12 Aug, £18
Dearly Departed
Church Hill Theatre, 9 Aug, £5
Almost, Maine
Church Hill Theatre, 18 Aug, £5
King Lear
Zoo, 12-18 Aug, £7.50
Virginia Ironside: Growing Old Disgracefully
Gilded Balloon Teviot, 8-26 Aug, not 14, 21, £10 – £11
Wonderland
The Jhiva of Nietzsche
theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 7-18 Aug, not 12, £7
In Tents
theSpace on North Bridge, 13-16 Aug, £5
Salt and Pepper
Church Hill Theatre, 20 Aug, £5
12:20 Oh, What a Lovely War
theSpace on Niddry St, 20 Aug, 22 Aug, 24 Aug, £5
theSpace on Niddry St, 7-11 Aug, £8
The Bravery of Miss Anne and Other Tales of Splendorous Adventure The Voodoo Rooms, 21-25 Aug, £free
Machinal
theSpace on Niddry St, 21 Aug, 23 Aug, 25 Aug, £5
12:25
The Fantasist HHH
12:30
12:15
Assembly Hall, 7-27 Aug, not 13, 20, £14 – £16
30 Neo-Futurist Plays From Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind
Born to Run
Traverse Theatre, 22 Aug, 26 Aug, £18
As You Like It
Zoo, 19-27 Aug, £5 – £8
All Turn! - Free
Pilrig Studio, 9 Aug, £5
Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 13-26 Aug, £free
Lord of the Flies
Soldiers’ Wives HHH
Paradise in Augustine’s, 21-27 Aug, £8.50
Assembly Roxy, 7-27 Aug, not 13, £10 – £12
Eastern Angles in association with
***** WHATSONSTAGE.COM, 2011 — WORLD POETRY SLAM CHAMPION
Picnic Apocalyptic
Bedlam Theatre, 7-11 Aug, £8
Deadly Medley
Institut français d’Ecosse, 7-24 Aug, weekdays only, £5
The Exonerated
Statements After an Arrest Under the Immorality Act by Athol Fugard
C venues - C, 12-18 Aug, £8.50 – £10.50
Ma Biche et Mon Lapin
Paradise in The Vault, 7-8 Aug, £5
Continuous Growth
Pleasance Dome, 7-27 Aug, not 15, £8.50 – £9.50
A Funny Thing Happened On the Way to the Forum
Would Be Nice Though...
C venues - C too, 20-27 Aug, £7.50 – £9.50
US Beef
Pleasance Courtyard, 7-27 Aug, not 13, 20, £9 – £10
Medieval Miracle, The Fall Of Man
Pleasance Courtyard, 7-18 Aug, £8 – £9
12:10
Pilrig Studio, 8 Aug, £5
My Elevator Days
A Servant to Two Masters
Underbelly, Bristo Square, 7-27 Aug, not 15, £8 – £9
Pleasance Dome, 7-27 Aug, not 13, 20, £10 – £11
Spaghetti Junction
The Death of Chatterton
The Mermaid of Zennor
theSpace on North Bridge, 7-11 Aug, £5
Killing Time
theSpace on the Mile , 7-11 Aug, £6
Pleasance at Essential Edinburgh, 7-18 Aug, £8 – £9 Pilrig Studio, 7 Aug, £5
❤ And No More Shall We Part HHHH Traverse Theatre, 15 Aug, 19 Aug, 23 Aug, £18
Round ‘ere
Venue 13, 19-25 Aug, £free
The Yellow Wallpaper
Gryphon Venues at the Point Hotel, 21-25 Aug, £8
The Letter of Last Resort and Good With People Traverse Theatre, 10 Aug, 17 Aug, £20
Rut
Bedlam Theatre, 20-25 Aug, £7
Key Theatre Peterborough
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84 fest edinburgh festival guide 2012 | August 14 - 16
08/08/2012 23:22
theatrelistings Morning HHH
Uncoupled
Traverse Theatre, 7 Aug, 11 Aug, 14 Aug, 18 Aug, £18 – £20
Gilded Balloon Teviot, 7-27 Aug, not 13, £9 – £10
12:35 Land of the Dead / Helter Skelter
12:55
Dubrovski
Underbelly, Cowgate, 12-18 Aug, £8 – £9
theSpace on North Bridge, 7-11 Aug, £7
12:40
The Boy with the Cuckoo Clock Heart HHH
The Musicians
theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 20-25 Aug, £7.50
Pleasance Courtyard, 7-27 Aug, not 13, £8.50 – £10
Jubilate! by Rosalind Adler Pleasance Courtyard, 14-25 Aug, £8 – £9
Utopia (Beyond the Words) and Clothes
FAT
theSpace on the Mile , 14-18 Aug, £7
Pleasance Courtyard, 9-26 Aug, not 13, 14, 15, 20, 21, 22, £9
Bullet Catch HHH Traverse Theatre, 9 Aug, £17
The Silencer - David Calvitto
The Turn of the Screw
Pleasance Courtyard, 7-26 Aug, not 14, £10 – £11
Zoo Southside, 7-27 Aug, not 13, £7
12:45
Mess
Traverse Theatre, 7 Aug, 12 Aug, 14 Aug, 25 Aug, £17 – £19
Monkey Bars
Traverse Theatre, 17 Aug, 23 Aug, £17 – £19
12:50
❤ Best in the World HHHH
Just
C Venues - C eca, 13-18 Aug, £5.50 – £7.50
Northern Stage at St Stephen’s, 7-25 Aug, not 13, 20, £14
Why Do You Stand There in the Rain?
Theseus and the Minotaur: A Love Story
C venues - C, 7-11 Aug, £8.50 – £9.50
theSpace on North Bridge, 13-18 Aug, £10
Locked In
theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 13-25 Aug, not 19, £7 – £10
Punch & Judy
Pleasance Courtyard, 7-27 Aug, not 14, £9 – £10
Social Husbandry Inc - Breeding a Brighter Society Since 2012
The Institute
theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 7-11 Aug, £4
The Fiddler’s Elbow, 13-19 Aug, £free
The Banshee Labyrinth, 7-25 Aug, not 14, £free
All That is Wrong HHH
Traverse Theatre, 10 Aug, £19
Greenside, 7-25 Aug, not 12, 19, £9
Monkey Poet’s Murder Mystery
Double Edge’s Spring Awakening
Peep HHH
Wild Turkey
Cancer Time
Evil
13:10
Birds on a Wire
Pleasance Courtyard, 7-27 Aug, not 17, £6 The Bongo Club, 21-25 Aug, £6
Proof
theSpace on the Mile , 7-18 Aug, not 12, £7
Mess
Hanafuda Denki (A Tale of Fantastic Traditional Playing Cards)
Traverse Theatre, 19 Aug, £17
Six and a Tanner
C venues - C, 12-18 Aug, £9.50 – £11.50
The Assembly Rooms, 7-26 Aug, not 10, 13, £15
❤ Slapdash Galaxy HHHHH
13:00 Eat $h*t: How Our Waste Can Save the World C venues - C nova, 7-27 Aug, not 13, £6.50 – £8.50
Underbelly, Cowgate, 7-26 Aug, not 13, £10 – £11.50
Everything Else Happened HHH
Angels HHH
Traverse Theatre, 8 Aug, 15 Aug, 21 Aug, 26 Aug, £17
My Wrestle Mania Princes Mall, 25 Aug, £free
Allotment
Assembly Inverleith Allotments, 10 Aug, 14 Aug, 15 Aug, 16 Aug, 17 Aug, £10
Bullet Catch HHH
Assembly Roxy, 7-27 Aug, not 13, £10 – £12
Platero Y Yo by Juan Ramon Jimenez Valvona & Crolla, 7-27 Aug, not 12, 13, 19, 20, 21, 25, 26, £12
C venues - C nova, 7-27 Aug, £7.50 – £9.50
Summerhall, 22 Aug, 25 Aug, £1
Quick! Save the Pizza!
theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 13-18 Aug, £8
Married With Snails
Sweet Grassmarket, 7-17 Aug, £8.50
Letter to the Man (from the Boy) Underbelly, Cowgate, 7-26 Aug, not 13, £8.50 – £9.50
Photographing the Dead
❤ Slice by Mel Giedroyc HHHH
The Spirit of Frances Wright (Love is an Action Verb)
Summerhall, 7-26 Aug, not 13, 20, £12
Gilded Balloon Teviot, 7-27 Aug, not 13, 20, £9 – £10
❤ Blink HHHH
Traverse Theatre, 11 Aug, 18 Aug, 24 Aug, £19 C venues - C aquila, 7-27 Aug, not 13, £8.50 – £10.50
13:05 theSpace on North Bridge, 13-16 Aug, £5
Frontline
theSpace on North Bridge, 7-11 Aug, £5
24h
Pleasance Courtyard, 7-27 Aug, not 14, 25, £10 – £12
Detention
Under the Ladder
Textually Transmitted
❤ The Trench HHHHH
Paradise in The Vault, 14-27 Aug, not 19, 20, 26, £7
Bound
Traverse Theatre, 16 Aug, 22 Aug, £17
theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 20-25 Aug, £6
Trojan Women
theSpace @ Symposium Hall, 7-18 Aug, £9
Sweet Grassmarket, 7-27 Aug, not 18, 25, £8
Shakespeare Didn’t Write This Sweet Grassmarket, 9-24 Aug, not 18, £8
13:15 You Don’t Know Me Church Hill Theatre, 7 Aug, £5
Poe’s Last Night - Free
Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 7-26 Aug, £free
Mark Thomas: Bravo Figaro! HHH Traverse Theatre, 9 Aug, 16 Aug, 24 Aug, £18 – £20
Venue 13, 7-18 Aug, not 13, £8 theSpace @ Venue45, 8 Aug, £5
Acts of Contrition
theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 7-11 Aug, £10
Mostellaria (The Haunted House)
Church Hill Theatre, 17-20 Aug, weekdays only, £5
Marat / Sade
Church Hill Theatre, 8 Aug, £5
Say You Love Me
Cafe Camino, 7-12 Aug, £free
Him
theSpace on the Mile , 21-25 Aug, £7 – £8
Spring Awakening (After Wedekind)
Paradise in Augustine’s, 14-18 Aug, £8
Educating Ronnie HHH
Assembly George Square, 7-26 Aug, not 13, 20, £10 – £12
All in the Timing
Church Hill Theatre, 18 Aug, £5
Sir Gawain, the Yellow Knight
Church Hill Theatre, 19 Aug, £5
The Miller’s Tale: Wahala Dey Oh!
C venues - C, 7-27 Aug, £8.50 – £10.50
Night of the Big Wind HHH
Underbelly, Cowgate, 7-25 Aug, £8.50 – £10
American Gothic: The Poetry of Edgar Lee Masters theSpace @ Venue45, 7 Aug, £5
HHHH “Bloody, marvellous stuff!”
D. Express
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August 14 - 16 | edinburgh festival guide 2012 fest 85
theatrelistings Unlucky for Some
Venue 13, 19-25 Aug, £free
Love Child
Gilded Balloon Teviot, 7-27 Aug, not 13, 20, £10 – £12
13:20 ❤ Dirty Great Love Story HHHH
Pleasance Dome, 7-27 Aug, not 14, £9 – £10
13:30 The Economist
C venues - C nova, 7-27 Aug, £7.50 – £9.50
The Lad Himself HHH
Big Sean, Mikey and Me HH Gilded Balloon Teviot, 7-27 Aug, £10
Hamlet and Other Theatrical Nightmares
Church Hill Theatre, 9 Aug, £5
Simple Matters HH
Gilded Balloon Teviot, 8-26 Aug, not 14, 20, £10 – £11
You Obviously Know What I’m Talking About HHH Underbelly, Cowgate, 7-26 Aug, not 14, £9 – £11
Gilded Balloon Teviot, 7-26 Aug, not 11, £9.50 – £12.50
Give and Take
Camille Claudel
Ruthlessness
Church Hill Theatre, 10 Aug, £5
Pleasance Courtyard, 8-27 Aug, not 14, 21, £8.50 – £9.50
C Venues - C eca, 12-27 Aug, not 20, £7.50 – £9.50
As You Like It
Carnival of Crows
Pleasance Dome, 7-27 Aug, not 13, £7.50 – £9
Dirty Barbie HHH Assembly Hall, 7-27 Aug, not 14, 21, £7 – £9
The Canterville Ghost
Greenside, 7-10 Aug, £5.50
And the Girls in Their Sunday Dresses HHH Assembly George Square, 7-27 Aug, not 13, £14 – £15
The Good Person of Szechwan
theSpace @ Symposium Hall, 20-25 Aug, £5
One Minute Birdwatching - Free
West Princes Street Gardens, 7-9 Aug, £free
Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 7-24 Aug, not 11, 18, £free
13:35 Country Air - A Contemporary Ghost Story Paradise in The Vault, 7-11 Aug, £5.50
Romeo and Juliet Greenside, 13-18 Aug, £7
13:40 Botallack O’Clock
Gilded Balloon Teviot, 7-27 Aug, not 14, 21, £9
Pretty When I’m Drunk
theSpace on the Mile , 21-25 Aug, £5
13:45 End to End
Bannermans, 12-25 Aug, £free
Antigone
theSpace on the Mile , 7-11 Aug, £4.50
Stand Up, Woman - Free
Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 13-16 Aug, £free
Perle HHH
Assembly Roxy, 7-26 Aug, not 13, £9 – £10
Urban Fairytale
theSpace @ Venue45, 20-25 Aug, £8
The Two Worlds of Charlie F
Pleasance Courtyard, 7-11 Aug, £12.50 – £15
I Shall Be Remembered - The Story of Madame de Pompadour Venue150 @ EICC, 7-12 Aug, £12
Wrong Place, Right Time
Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 7-12 Aug, £free
Unmythable
Zoo, 7-27 Aug, not 15, £10
After Orpheus
theSpace @ Venue45, 9 Aug, £5
Theseus and the Minotaur: A Love Story
13:50 Executive Stress / Corporate Retreat
C Venues - C eca, 7-27 Aug, not 14, £7.50 – £9.50
Irreconcilable Differences
Gryphon Venues at the Point Hotel, 7-25 Aug, not 12, 19, £8
13:55 ❤ Othello - The Remix HHHH
Pleasance Courtyard, 8-27 Aug, not 14, 21, £12.50 – £15
Ellipsis
theSpace @ Jury’s Inn, 1325 Aug, not 19, £5
Listen! The River
theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 13-25 Aug, not 19, £5 – £8
❤ Hand Over Fist HHHH
Pleasance Courtyard, 7-27 Aug, not 8, 15, £10 – £11
14:00 A Donkey and a Parrot
Gilded Balloon at Third Door, 7-27 Aug, not 13, 20, £8 – £9
My Sister
The Fiddler’s Elbow, 8-25 Aug, not 14, 21, £free
True Colours
Northern Stage at St Stephen’s, 21-25 Aug, £5
Uninvited
Bedlam Theatre, 7-25 Aug, not 15, £8
Endure: A Run Woman Show
Assembly George Square, 9-19 Aug, not 13, 14, £7
Shakespeare’s Queens: She-Wolves and Serpents C Venues - C eca, 7-25 Aug, £8.50 – £10.50
Couleur Café
C venues - C nova, 11-27 Aug, £12.50 – £14.50
2008: Macbeth
Lowland Hall, Royal Highland Centre, 15 Aug, £35
Meine faire Dame ein Sprachlabor
Lowland Hall, Royal Highland Centre, 17-18 Aug, £30
The List
Summerhall, 7-25 Aug, not 12, 13, 20, £12
❤ Coalition HHHH
Pleasance Dome, 7-26 Aug, not 13, £13.50 – £14.50
The Tempest
theSpace on Niddry St, 7-18 Aug, not 12, £8
Baby With the Bathwater
theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 20-25 Aug, £10
Martin Dockery: Wanderlust
Gilded Balloon Teviot, 7-27 Aug, not 14, £9 – £10
The World’s Greatest Walking Tour of Edinburgh Pleasance Dome, 7-27 Aug, not 8, 13, 15, 20, 22, £8 – £9
The Half HHH
Assembly George Square, 7-26 Aug, not 13, £12 – £14
Exterminating Angel - An Improvisation Pleasance Courtyard, 7-27 Aug, not 13, 20, £10 – £11
Poison
C venues - C nova, 12-18 Aug, £8.50 – £10.50
Flâneurs
Summerhall, 7-26 Aug, not 17, 18, £8
Mon Droit
Pleasance Courtyard, 7-27 Aug, not 16, £10 – £11
Crypted
C venues - C nova, 7-26 Aug, not 13, £8.50 – £10.50
The Edinburgh International Circus Festival
Ocean Terminal Big Top, 7-26 Aug, not 15, 16, 17, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, £free
Grace!
St John’s Church, 8-18 Aug, £10
Werther’s Sorrows
Zoo Southside, Various dates from 7 Aug to 25 Aug, £8
Bottleneck HHH
Anything But (A One-Woman Play)
theSpace on North Bridge, 20-25 Aug, £10
Pleasance Courtyard, 7-26 Aug, not 13, £9 – £10
Pleasance Courtyard, 7-27 Aug, not 15, £8 – £9
Pleasance Courtyard, 7-27 Aug, £8.50 – £9.50
Undateable
Mayday Mayday
Forgotten Heroes
The Playhouse on the Fringe, 8-27 Aug, not 14, 21, £10
Whynot? , 7-12 Aug, £free
'Blastocyst.org.uk Festival Fringe coverage. You might learn something... Download regular podcasts, hosted by Jonny Brick, from Blastocast.Podomatic.com.
86 fest edinburgh festival guide 2012 | August 14 - 16
Pleasance Dome, 7-27 Aug, not 13, £9 – £11
C venues - C nova, 19-27 Aug, £7.50 – £9.50
Proof
Kin
theatrelistings Faulty Towers the Dining Experience
B’est Restaurant, 7-28 Aug, not 11, 18, 25, £43 – £46.50
24h
Summerhall, 22 Aug, 25 Aug, £1
Peep HHH
Pleasance Courtyard, 7-27 Aug, not 17, £6
Mies Julie
Assembly Hall, 7-27 Aug, not 13, 20, £14 – £16
Salome By Oscar Wilde
Zoo Southside, Various dates from 8 Aug to 26 Aug, £8
The Celebrity
PASS (Performing Arts Studio Scotland), 22-25 Aug, £8
14:05 One Night Stand
theSpace on the Mile , 13-18 Aug, £7.50
The Yellow Wallpaper
theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 13-25 Aug, not 19, £5
Salt and Pepper
theSpace on North Bridge, 13-16 Aug, £5
Comedy Playhouse - Shopping for Bacon - Free Laughing Horse @ The Newsroom, 7-26 Aug, £free
Letters, Boxes and Other Things That Shouldn’t Be Opened
C venues - C nova, 7-11 Aug, £9.50 – £10.50
Iron Assumptions
theSpace on North Bridge, 7-11 Aug, £5
www.festmag.co.uk
Now.Here
Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 15-26 Aug, £free
The Adult History of Great Britain Part 1 - Free Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 7-14 Aug, £free
Panning for Gold - Free
Laughing Horse @ The Phoenix, 8-26 Aug, not 14, 21, £free
Cut!
theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 13-25 Aug, not 19, £7.50
Blake’s Doors
theSpace on North Bridge, 7-18 Aug, not 12, £5
When Alice (Cooper) Met (Prince) Harry Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 7-26 Aug, £free
14:10 Whale Tale
Sedition
Zoo, Various dates from 8 Aug to 26 Aug, £8
Almost, Maine
Church Hill Theatre, 20 Aug, £5
Village of Idiots
Church Hill Theatre, 17 Aug, 21 Aug, £5
Chariot: The Eric Liddell Story
Edinburgh Elim, 17 Aug, 18 Aug, 24 Aug, 25 Aug, £10
❤ The Agony and the Ecstasy of Steve Jobs by Mike Daisey HHHH Gilded Balloon Teviot, 7-27 Aug, not 14, £10 – £11
A Streetcar Named Desire
Pilrig Studio, 7 Aug, £5
Angels in Heels
Laughing Horse @ Edinburgh City Football Club, 7-26 Aug, not 13, 20, £free
theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 7-11 Aug, £7
14:20
The House of Shadows
Pilrig Studio, 9 Aug, £5
3.2 Seconds
theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 7-11 Aug, £8
14:30 Ne’er the Twain
St Peter’s, 11 Aug, 18 Aug, £10
Trouble in the Tolbooth
Saughtonhall United Reformed Church, 11 Aug, £7
Ronnie and the Other World
Quaker Meeting House, 13-18 Aug, £7
Visiting Time
Gilded Balloon Teviot, 7-26 Aug, £10 – £12
Cancer Time
Venue 13, 19-25 Aug, £8
Rosie Wilby - How (Not) To Make It In Britpop
The Bongo Club, 10-14 Aug, £8
Well Behaved Women Rarely Make History
The Exonerated
C venues - C aquila, 1318 Aug, £8.50 – £10.50
Love All HHH
Gulliver’s Travels
Pleasance Courtyard, 7-27 Aug, not 13, 21, £8 – £10
Satan’s Playground
Primer for a Failed Superpower
14:15
Sherlock Holmes and the Sound of the Baskervilles
theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 7-11 Aug, £7
The Wheelchair on My Face
Scotsman Best of the Fest
Assembly George Square, 13 Aug, 20 Aug, £12
The Pilgrim’s Progress
Palmerston Place Church, 22 Aug, 24 Aug, 25 Aug, £10
Assembly Roxy, 7-26 Aug, not 13, 20, £10 – £12 Underbelly, Cowgate, 7-26 Aug, not 13, £9 – £10
Paradise in Augustine’s, 21-27 Aug, £9.50
14:25 How Much is Your Iron? and Dansen Sweet Grassmarket, 11-17 Aug, £7
King’s Theatre, 19 Aug, £12
The Hub, 24 Aug, £6
As of 1.52pm GMT on Friday April 27th 2012, This Show Has No Title. HH Traverse Theatre, 22 Aug, 26 Aug, £12
Teach Me
Hill Street Theatre, 7-26 Aug, not 13, 20, £9 – £12
MacBeth in Scots
St Ninian’s Hall, 11 Aug, 18 Aug, £10
Tartuffe
21A - Free
Becoming Conocido
14:40
Church Hill Theatre, 7 Aug, £5 Venue 13, 7-18 Aug, not 13, £8
Operation Stork
St Serf’s Church Hall, 18 Aug, £9
Miriam Margolyes Dickens’ Women
Pleasance Courtyard, 8-25 Aug, not 14, 21, £16.50 – £17.50
Deadly Medley
Pilrig Studio, 8 Aug, £5
Strawberry Sauce
C venues - C aquila, 7-11 Aug, £8.50 – £9.50
Adolf
The Assembly Rooms, 13 Aug, £12
Fables Here and Then
Church Hill Theatre, 11 Aug, £5
Comedian Dies in the Middle of Joke Pleasance Dome, 7-27 Aug, not 13, £9.50 – £10.50
Three Words
The Bongo Club, 7-8 Aug, £7
14:35
GHQ, 8-25 Aug, not 14, 21, £free
This Way Up
C venues - C, 7-27 Aug, not 14, £8.50 – £10.50
The Static
Underbelly, Cowgate, 7-26 Aug, not 20, £10 – £11
Once in a House on Fire
Northern Stage at St Stephen’s, 11-25 Aug, not 13, 20, £10 – £14
Probably the Greatest Goal Ever Scored (and Other Tales) Sweet Grassmarket, 20-24 Aug, £7
Tea is an Evening Meal
Northern Stage at St Stephen’s, 7-10 Aug, £10
The Sewing Machine
Assembly George Square, 7-27 Aug, not 13, 20, £13 – £14
14:45 Thread
The Importance of Being Earnest
Assembly St Mark’s, 9 Aug, 16 Aug, 23 Aug, £10
Am I Good Friend?
Paradise in Augustine’s, 21-27 Aug, £8
Greenside, 13-18 Aug, £7
The Cabaret Voltaire, 8-25 Aug, not 14, 21, £free
Biloxi Blues
Sweet Grassmarket, 7-10 Aug, £9
CountryBoy’s Struggle
Pleasance Courtyard, 7-27 Aug, not 13, £9.50 – £11.50
Kes
Winston on the Run Pleasance Courtyard, 7-27 Aug, not 8, 15, 22, £9 – £10
❤ Dylan Thomas: Return Journey - Bob Kingdom, Original Direction by Anthony Hopkins HHHH Assembly Hall, 7-27 Aug, £10 – £11
August 14 - 16 | edinburgh festival guide 2012 fest 87
theatrelistings Krapp’s Last Tape
The Assembly Rooms, 7-26 Aug, not 13, £10
The Good, the Bad and the Extraterrestrials
Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 7-26 Aug, £free
14:50 Double Edge’s Almost Nothing to Do with Frogs Underbelly, Cowgate, 12-18 Aug, £8 – £9
The Smoking Boy
Greenside, 7-11 Aug, £9
Jigsy HHH
The Assembly Rooms, 7-26 Aug, not 13, £15
Nikotine
Paradise in The Vault, 14-19 Aug, £8.50
The Prize
A Man for All Times: W. E. B. DuBois theSpace @ Jury’s Inn, 7-25 Aug, not 12, 19, £8.50 – £9.50
15:00 As of 1.52pm GMT on Friday April 27th 2012, This Show Has No Title. HH
Traverse Theatre, 7-23 Aug, not 9, 10, 13, 16, 17, 20, 21, 22, £12
Villains, Heroes and Adventurers
Valvona & Crolla Scottish Foodhall@Jenners, 7-25 Aug, not 9, 12, 14, 15, 16, 19, 23, £15
Githa
C venues - C nova, 14-27 Aug, £8.50 – £10.50
Underbelly, Bristo Square, 7-26 Aug, not 15, £11 – £12
Remember Me
The Cagebirds
Macbeth Unsexed!
C Venues - C eca, Various dates from 8 Aug to 26 Aug, £8.50 – £10.50
Chapel Street HHH Underbelly, Cowgate, 7-26 Aug, not 14, £10 – £11
Peter Panic
Pleasance Dome, 7-26 Aug, not 13, £8 – £10
Besides the Obvious C Venues - C eca, Various dates from 7 Aug to 27 Aug, £8.50 – £10.50
Summerhall, 21-26 Aug, £6 C Venues - C eca, 7-11 Aug, £9.50 – £10.50
The Fastest Train to Anywhere C venues - C nova, 7-12 Aug, £8.50 – £9.50
Pages from the Book of...
Summerhall, 10-24 Aug, £10
Bullet Catch HHH Traverse Theatre, 10 Aug, £19
The Dead Memory House HHH
14:55
Summerhall, 7-26 Aug, £10
Be My Baby
24h
Paradise in The Vault, 7-12 Aug, £6.50
Summerhall, 22 Aug, 25 Aug, £1
Self-Criticism
Peep HHH
Paradise in The Vault, 21-25 Aug, £6
Pleasance Courtyard, 7-27 Aug, not 17, £6
Oedipus - The Hour
Paradise in Augustine’s, 7-19 Aug, not 13, £7.50
Holmes and Watson: The Farewell Tour
Valvona & Crolla, Various dates from 18 Aug to 26 Aug, £12
True Colours
Northern Stage at St Stephen’s, 21-25 Aug, £5
Tokyo Trilogy
C Venues - C eca, 13-27 Aug, £7.50 – £9.50
Ruskin Live!
Scottish National Gallery, 13 Aug, 14 Aug, 16 Aug, 17 Aug, £10
Miss Havisham’s Expectations
Gilded Balloon Teviot, 7-27 Aug, not 8, 15, £10 – £11
The Day the Sky Turned Black
Assembly Roxy, 7-26 Aug, not 13, £11 – £12
The Stranger
Summerhall, 7 Aug, 9 Aug, £12
15:05
Iron Assumptions
theSpace on North Bridge, 13-16 Aug, £5
15:10 Appointment With The Wicker Man HHH
Sir Gawain, the Yellow Knight
theSpace on North Bridge, 13-18 Aug, £6
On the Edge
Gryphon Venues at the Point Hotel, 13-19 Aug, £8
Miss Julie
Journos
theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 20-25 Aug, £6.50
Not My Cup of Tea theSpace on the Mile , 7-25 Aug, not 12, 19, £7.50
88 fest edinburgh festival guide 2012 | August 14 - 16
Zoo Southside, 21-27 Aug, £8
Church Hill Theatre, 18 Aug, £5
Bullet Catch HHH
Traverse Theatre, 17 Aug, 23 Aug, £17 – £19
I, Tommy HH
theSpace on North Bridge, 20-25 Aug, £5
Gilded Balloon Teviot, 7-27 Aug, not 13, £14 – £16
15:15
Recent Tragic Events
SOS Courtship
Church Hill Theatre, 17 Aug, £5
Monkey Bars
Traverse Theatre, 18 Aug, 24 Aug, £19
The Darkroom
C venues - C nova, 7-27 Aug, £8.50 – £10.50
Karen’s Way: A Kindertransport Life
theSpace on North Bridge, 7-11 Aug, £5
Excuse Me, I’m Trying to Please You
Zoo Southside, 7-20 Aug, £7.50
Titanic Sinks Titswilly
Mostellaria (The Haunted House)
All the Things I Never Said
Porphyria
Rubber Dinghy
❤ Blink HHHH
theSpace @ Venue45, 13-25 Aug, not 19, £10
I Never Saw Another Butterfly
Traverse Theatre, 11 Aug, £19
The Assembly Rooms, 7-26 Aug, not 13, 20, £16
The School of Night Pleasance Courtyard, 7-26 Aug, not 15, £10 – £11
All That is Wrong HHH
Traverse Theatre, 7 Aug, 12 Aug, 14 Aug, 25 Aug, £17 – £19
Church Hill Theatre, 19 Aug, £5
Murder, Marple and Me
Gilded Balloon Teviot, 7-26 Aug, not 13, 20, £9.50 – £10.50
The Cactus Gulch Opry House
Sweet Grassmarket, 19-24 Aug, £9
Mess
Traverse Theatre, 8 Aug, 15 Aug, 21 Aug, 26 Aug, £17
15:20 Cover
C venues - C nova, 7-27 Aug, not 13, £7.50 – £9.50
Zoo Southside, 7-27 Aug, not 13, £8
Chicken Bones for the Teenage Soup Church Hill Theatre, 8 Aug, £5
15:25 The Idiot at the Wall
Bedlam Theatre, 7-25 Aug, £9
Ma Biche et Mon Lapin
Institut français d’Ecosse, 7-24 Aug, weekdays only, £5
Rodney Bewes as A Boy Growing Up. An Entertainment from the stories of Dylan Thomas
Assembly George Square, 7-27 Aug, not 13, £11 – £12
Molly Naylor and the Middle Ones: My Robot Heart Pleasance Courtyard, 7-27 Aug, not 13, £9 – £10.50
Maurice Roëves: Just a Gigolo
15:30
Eurydice
As of 1.52pm GMT on Friday April 27th 2012, This Show Has No Title. HH
Assembly George Square, 7-27 Aug, not 13, £14 – £15 C Venues - C eca, 7-27 Aug, not 14, £8.50 – £10.50
Traverse Theatre, 9 Aug, 21 Aug, 24 Aug, 25 Aug, £12
Still Life (or Brief Encounter)
C venues - C too, 7-27 Aug, not 14, £9.50 – £11.50
Church Hill Theatre, 9 Aug, £5
C venues - C aquila, 7-27 Aug, not 12, £9.50 – £11.50
Angels HHH
Outward Bound
Traverse Theatre, 9 Aug, £17
Church Hill Theatre, 20 Aug, £5
theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 7-11 Aug, £8
Treasure Island
Nothing Is Really Difficult
Assembly George Square, 8-26 Aug, not 13, 14, 20, 21, £10
theatrelistings Remember Me
Summerhall, 21-26 Aug, £6
The Softening of MAO-A
Summerhall, 11-26 Aug, £8 – £10
Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus
Apocalypse or Bust! Church Hill Theatre, 10 Aug, £5
Still Home
Gryphon Venues at the Point Hotel, 23-24 Aug, £10
15:35 Sophie Shadow
Underbelly, Bristo Square, 7-27 Aug, not 13, £11 – £12
Paradise in The Vault, 1426 Aug, not 20, £9
Angels HHH
Tumble Circus: This Is What We Do For a Living
Traverse Theatre, 16 Aug, 22 Aug, £17
As You Like It
C venues - C, 7-18 Aug, £8.50 – £10.50
Oliver Reed: Wild Thing
Gilded Balloon Teviot, 7-27 Aug, not 8, 15, £10 – £11
15:40 Underbelly, Bristo Square, 7-27 Aug, not 13, £12 – £14
Dirty Hands
Sweet Grassmarket, Various dates from 19 Aug to 26 Aug, £8
Cleansed
After the Rainfall HHH
theSpace on North Bridge, 20-25 Aug, £7
Pleasance Dome, 7-27 Aug, not 13, £12 – £13
NOLA
❤ Punch HHHH
Underbelly, Cowgate, 7-26 Aug, not 14, £10 – £11
How a Man Crumbled HH Summerhall, 7-26 Aug, not 17, 18, £10
A One Man Hamlet
C venues - C aquila, 7-11 Aug, £10.50 – £11.50
Hamlet and Other Theatrical Nightmares
Church Hill Theatre, 11 Aug, £5
Serve Cold
Gryphon Venues at the Point Hotel, 7-27 Aug, not 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, £8
❤ Blink HHHH
Traverse Theatre, 19 Aug, £17
Underbelly, Cowgate, 7-26 Aug, not 9, 16, £10 – £11
A Clockwork Orange Pleasance Courtyard, 7-26 Aug, not 13, £13.50 – £14.50
15:45 Justine and Tony
Paradise in The Vault, 7-11 Aug, £8
Dead Man’s Cell Phone HHH
C venues - C, 7-11 Aug, £9.50 – £10.50
As of 1.52pm GMT on Friday April 27th 2012, This Show Has No Title. HH Traverse Theatre, 10 Aug, 16 Aug, 17 Aug, £12
Waiting for Stanley
Assembly Roxy, 7-26 Aug, not 13, £10 – £12
15:50 Spring Awakening (After Wedekind)
Paradise in Augustine’s, 19 Aug, £8
Tagged
C Venues - C eca, Various dates from 7 Aug to 27 Aug, £8.50 – £10.50
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time Paradise in Augustine’s, 21-25 Aug, £8
The Indescribable Phenomenon Greenside, 20-25 Aug, £9
16:00 B*tch Boxer HHH Underbelly, Cowgate, 7-26 Aug, not 14, £10 – £11
True Colours
Northern Stage at St Stephen’s, 21-25 Aug, £5
A Modern Town HH Pleasance Courtyard, 7-27 Aug, not 14, £9 – £10
East - by Steven Berkoff
Douglas House, 19-25 Aug, £8
Elephant Man
theSpace on Niddry St, 14 Aug, 20 Aug, 22 Aug, £10
It’s So Nice
Institut français d’Ecosse, 7-24 Aug, weekdays only, £10
Sparkleshark
St Peter’s, 25 Aug, £6
A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Angus: Weaver of Grass
Mother Tongue
How’s About That Then? HHH
Assembly George Square, 7-27 Aug, not 20, £14 – £15 Summerhall, 7-15 Aug, £9
Superheroes
Italian Cultural Institute, 10 Aug, £5
The Eighth Day Venue 13, 19-25 Aug, £7
Mother to Mother
Assembly George Square, 7-27 Aug, not 13, £14 – £15
Woza Albert!
Assembly Hall, 7-27 Aug, not 13, £14 – £16
Dream/Life
Zoo, 7-18 Aug, £8
Nights at the Circus theSpace on Niddry St, 8 Aug, 16 Aug, 24 Aug, £10
Kemble’s Riot HH
Pleasance Dome, 7-27 Aug, not 13, £11 – £12
The Erpingham Camp
Scottish Storytelling Centre, 16-26 Aug, £10
Gilded Balloon Teviot, 7-27 Aug, not 15, £11 – £12
Request Programme Inlingua Edinburgh, 11 Aug, 12 Aug, 18 Aug, 19 Aug, £12
24h
Summerhall, 22 Aug, 25 Aug, £1
Peep HHH
Pleasance Courtyard, 7-27 Aug, not 17, £6
Rod is God
Pleasance Dome, 7-27 Aug, not 24, 26, £9.50 – £12
Edinburgh
Summerhall, 9 Aug, 16 Aug, £5
Divine Words
theSpace on Niddry St, 10 Aug, 12 Aug, 18 Aug, £10
You Left Me in the Dark theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 13-25 Aug, not 19, £8
A Cry Too Far From Heaven theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 7-11 Aug, £8.50
Fat Joe’s Chicken Shack
theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 7-11 Aug, £5
❤ An Evening With Dementia HHHH theSpace on the Mile , 7-25 Aug, £9
Maria, 1968
C venues - C, 7-27 Aug, not 14, £8.50 – £10.50
16:10 The House of Shadows
theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 13-25 Aug, not 19, £7
Me Before Marilyn theSpace @ Jury’s Inn, 20-25 Aug, £6
Ellipsis
theSpace @ Jury’s Inn, 7-11 Aug, £5
Strange Hungers
Subliminal Nonsense
Fabled
Gods
Richard III
The Bongo Club, 7-25 Aug, not 17, 19, £5
Venue 13, 7-18 Aug, not 13, £8
Allotment
The Knowledge Emporium
theSpace on Niddry St, Various dates from 7 Aug to 25 Aug, £10
Assembly Inverleith Allotments, 11 Aug, 12 Aug, 18 Aug, 19 Aug, £10
Attempts on Her Life - Free
Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 21-24 Aug, £free
Lingua Frank HH
The Playhouse on the Fringe, 7-27 Aug, not 13, £10
Summerhall, 18-19 Aug, £10
Northern Stage at St Stephen’s, 13 Aug, £free
Irish Shorts Two
Duddingston Kirk Manse Garden, 7-18 Aug, not 12, 13, £6
16:05 Anna.
theSpace @ Jury’s Inn, 13-18 Aug, £6.50
theSpace on the Mile , 21-25 Aug, £10
theSpace @ Venue45, 7-11 Aug, £5
I Am a Moon
theSpace on North Bridge, 8-9 Aug, £7
Party Time
theSpace on North Bridge, 13-18 Aug, £7
Strong Arm
Underbelly, Cowgate, 7-26 Aug, not 13, £10 – £11
The Sun is Not for Us theSpace on North Bridge, 7 Aug, 10 Aug, 11 Aug, £7
2.20pm @ Just the Tonic at The Tron. £8/£6
www.festmag.co.uk
August 14 - 16 | edinburgh festival guide 2012 fest 89
theatrelistings 16:15 Thread
Assembly St Mark’s, 9 Aug, 16 Aug, 23 Aug, £10
Paul Dabek Presents Thurston
The Voodoo Rooms, 7-25 Aug, £free
Sister Annunciata’s Secret Hill Street Theatre, 1526 Aug, £5 – £11
Lady M
C Venues - C eca, 7-18 Aug, not 13, £9.50 – £11.50
An Eggcellent Adventure
16:25 Hervé - A Collection of Songs, Dances and Stories
Underbelly, Bristo Square, 7-27 Aug, not 15, £10.50 – £11.50
Metamorphoses: Fables from Ovid
theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 13-25 Aug, not 19, £9
Maurice’s Jubilee
Pleasance Courtyard, 7-27 Aug, not 14, 21, £12.50 – £15.50
The Hand-Me-Down People C venues - C nova, 7-27 Aug, not 13, £8.50 – £10.50
Lauriston Halls, 7-9 Aug, £5
16:30
❤ Juana in a Million HHHH
Three by Poe
Pleasance Dome, 7-26 Aug, not 8, 15, 22, £9 – £10
Almost, Maine
Church Hill Theatre, 17 Aug, £5
Village of Idiots
Church Hill Theatre, 19 Aug, £5
Punk Rock
theSpace on the Mile , 7-18 Aug, not 12, £9
Cubicle Four
Paradise in The Vault, 7-27 Aug, not 13, 20, £10
A Streetcar Named Desire
Pilrig Studio, 8 Aug, £5
Sleep to Wake: Robert Browning Remembers Elizabeth
Hill Street Theatre, 7-13 Aug, £10 – £12
16:20 Boy In a Dress HHH The Stand Comedy Club III & IV, 7-26 Aug, not 13, £10
Doll
theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 7-11 Aug, £4
A Thousand Shards of Glass Northern Stage at St Stephen’s, 21-25 Aug, £14
25: 13 Red, 12 Blue
C venues - C aquila, 7-27 Aug, not 13, £8.50 – £10.50
C venues - C nova, 7-27 Aug, £9.50 – £11.50
A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Paradise in Augustine’s, 7-27 Aug, not 13, 20, £8
Walk Like a Black Man
C Venues - C eca, 7-27 Aug, £8.50 – £10.50
Gilbert and Sullivan in Brief(s) Pleasance Courtyard, 7-27 Aug, not 13, 21, £10 – £12
Gob Shop
Sapphire Rooms, 8-26 Aug, not 13, 14, 20, 21, £7
Wojtek the Bear
Hill Street Theatre, 7-26 Aug, not 14, £11 – £12
Would Be Nice Though...
Pleasance at Essential Edinburgh, 7-18 Aug, £8 – £9
Deadly Medley
Pilrig Studio, 9 Aug, £5
Shopping Centre by Matthew Osborn HHH
Gilded Balloon at Third Door, 7-26 Aug, not 13, 20, £9 – £10
A Dirty Martini
Zoo Southside, 12-27 Aug, £8.50
The Adding Machine Church Hill Theatre, 11 Aug, £5
Fables Here and Then
Church Hill Theatre, 10 Aug, £5
Swamp Juice
Underbelly, Bristo Square, 14-27 Aug, £11 – £13
Thinking of you - Free
Laughing Horse @ The Phoenix, 7-26 Aug, not 13, 20, £free
16:35 Little Women
theSpace @ Venue45, 20-25 Aug, £8
❤ What I Heard About the World HHHH
Northern Stage at St Stephen’s, 8-19 Aug, not 13, £14
Superheroes
theSpace on North Bridge, 13-25 Aug, not 19, £7
16:45 Joyced!
Assembly George Square, 7-27 Aug, not 13, 20, £10 – £12
Formby
Assembly George Square, 7-27 Aug, not 13, 21, £11 – £13
Rainbow
Zoo Southside, 7-27 Aug, £9
Right Honourable Member
C venues - C aquila, 7-27 Aug, not 16, 17, £8.50 – £10.50
Dating George Orwell - Free
Laughing Horse @ The White Horse, 7-18 Aug, £free
Best Served Cold
theSpace @ Venue45, 13-18 Aug, £7
Peter Piper - The Man Behind the Legend
Princes Mall, 7-25 Aug, £free
16:50 Someone Who’ll Watch Over Me
C Venues - C eca, Various dates from 8 Aug to 26 Aug, £9.50 – £11.50
Misanthropy HH
C Venues - C eca, Various dates from 7 Aug to 27 Aug, £9.50 – £11.50
Adolf
The Assembly Rooms, 14 Aug, £12
Queue
Sweet Grassmarket, 7-17 Aug, £8
90 fest edinburgh festival guide 2012 | August 14 - 16
Made for Each Other - Free
Laughing Horse @ Bar 50, 15-26 Aug, £free
The Letter of Last Resort and Good With People
Hearts on Fire HHH
Traverse Theatre, 22 Aug, 26 Aug, £18
16:55
Paradise in The Vault, 7-27 Aug, not 13, 20, £6
C venues - C nova, 7-27 Aug, £9.50 – £11.50
The Submarine Show
C venues - C too, 7-27 Aug, not 14, £8.50 – £10.50
17:00 The Girl With No Heart
Bedlam Theatre, 7-25 Aug, not 13, £8
True Colours
Northern Stage at St Stephen’s, 21-25 Aug, £5
Bhagwaan Dhoondo - An Indian musical interactive theatre performance Lauriston Halls, 27 Aug, £free
Rémy
24h
Summerhall, 22 Aug, 25 Aug, £1
Peep HHH
Pleasance Courtyard, 7-27 Aug, not 17, £6
Skye
Greenside, 20-25 Aug, £5
The Harmonettes Go Into Orbit Gryphon Venues at the Point Hotel, 7-18 Aug, not 12, £7
17:05 A Grave Reunion
theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 20-25 Aug, £7.50
Swordy-Well
Primer for a Failed Superpower
theSpace on North Bridge, Various dates from 13 Aug to 25 Aug, £7
Nothing Is Really Difficult
Burns: Rough Cut HHH
My City Saturday
The Complete History of the BBC in 60 Minutes
The Hub, 24 Aug, £6
Assembly George Square, 8-26 Aug, not 13, 14, 20, 21, £10 Gryphon Venues at the Point Hotel, 25-26 Aug, £7
A Brief History of Scotland - We Done Loads! Sweet Grassmarket, 7-24 Aug, not 18, £9.50
There’s Absolutely Nothing Wrong With Oscar Pike
Sweet Grassmarket, Various dates from 20 Aug to 26 Aug, £7
The Edinburgh International Circus Festival Ocean Terminal Big Top, 7-26 Aug, not 15, 20, £free
❤ Glory Dazed HHHH
Underbelly, Cowgate, 7-26 Aug, not 15, £10 – £11
theSpace @ Jury’s Inn, 7-25 Aug, not 19, £8
Sweet Grassmarket, 7-19 Aug, not 18, £9
Threads
theSpace on the Mile , 7-25 Aug, not 12, 19, £8.50 – £9.50
A Sky Burial
theSpace on North Bridge, 16 Aug, 18 Aug, 20 Aug, 22 Aug, 24 Aug, £7
A Soldier’s Song
Assembly Roxy, 7-26 Aug, not 13, £11 – £13
17:10 Town: a Spirited Story
C venues - C, 7-11 Aug, £8.50 – £9.50
The Letters of Jane Austen
theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 7-18 Aug, not 12, £7 – £8
Breathing Corpses by Laura Wade
Marcel Pursued By the Hounds by Michel Tremblay
Allotment
Playing Fate
Zoo, 7-27 Aug, not 13, 21, £8 Assembly Inverleith Allotments, 11 Aug, 12 Aug, 18 Aug, 19 Aug, £10
theSpace on the Mile , 21 Aug, 24 Aug, £6 theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 7-18 Aug, not 12, £6
17:15 A Midsummer Night’s Dream
theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 7-11 Aug, £7
❤ Dirty Paki Lingerie HHHH Assembly Hall, 7-26 Aug, not 13, £8 – £9
Still Life: An Audience With Henrietta Moraes Whitespace, 8-27 Aug, not 14, 21, £12
We Are Chechens!
Summerhall, 8-9 Aug, £10
The Cactus Gulch Opry House
Church Hill Theatre, 11 Aug, £5
All in the Timing
Church Hill Theatre, 19 Aug, £5
Words and Women
The Street, 7-25 Aug, £free
After the Accident by Julian Armitstead
theSpace on the Mile , 20 Aug, 23 Aug, £6
We Are Not Here Summerhall, 11-16 Aug, £11
You Don’t Know Me Church Hill Theatre, 10 Aug, £5
SOS Courtship
Church Hill Theatre, 18 Aug, 20 Aug, £5
Casablanca: The Gin Joint Cut Gilded Balloon Teviot, 7-27 Aug, not 13, 20, £12 – £14
Sealand
Zoo, 7-27 Aug, £9
The Shape of Things by Neil LaBute
theSpace on the Mile , 22 Aug, 25 Aug, £6
Marat / Sade
Church Hill Theatre, 9 Aug, £5
17:20 I Never Saw Another Butterfly Church Hill Theatre, 17 Aug, £5
Exit Stage Left
Greenside, 7-18 Aug, not 12, £5
Bane 1, 2 & 3
Pleasance Dome, 7-26 Aug, not 13, £10 – £12
Her Right Mind
Greenside, 7-25 Aug, not 12, 19, £7 – £8
theatrelistings Dad Doesn’t Dance theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 7-18 Aug, not 12, £8
One Hour Only
Underbelly, Cowgate, 7-26 Aug, not 13, £10 – £11
The Yarn
theSpace @ Venue45, 7-11 Aug, £7
Chatroom
theSpace on North Bridge, 7-11 Aug, £8
17:25 Nikotine
Paradise in The Vault, 7-12 Aug, £8.50
Excess
C venues - C nova, 7-26 Aug, not 13, £8.50 – £10.50
Translunar Paradise Pleasance Dome, 7-27 Aug, not 14, 21, £10 – £12
Ma Biche et Mon Lapin
Institut français d’Ecosse, 7-24 Aug, weekdays only, £5
Tea with the Old Queen
C venues - C aquila, 7-27 Aug, £8.50 – £10.50
Don Quixote! Don Quixote! HH
Pleasance Dome, 7-27 Aug, not 14, 21, £9 – £10
17:30
Angels HHH
Traverse Theatre, 10 Aug, £19
All That is Wrong HHH Traverse Theatre, 12 Aug, £17
99.9 Degrees
C Venues - C eca, 7-27 Aug, not 14, £7.50 – £9.50
The Letter of Last Resort and Good With People
Traverse Theatre, 7 Aug, 11 Aug, 14 Aug, 18 Aug, £18 – £20
Hamlet and Other Theatrical Nightmares
Church Hill Theatre, 8 Aug, £5
The Madness of King Lear C venues - C, 7-27 Aug, not 14, £9.50 – £11.50
Mess
Traverse Theatre, 9 Aug, £17
Morning HHH
C Venues - C eca, 7-27 Aug, not 13, £9.50 – £11.50
Romeo and Juliet Cafe Camino, 7 Aug, £free
I Heart Peterborough HHH
Pleasance Courtyard, 8-27 Aug, not 14, 21, £10 – £11
Swan Song
theSpace on North Bridge, 20-25 Aug, £8.50
17:40 Educating Rita HHH
Assembly George Square, 7-27 Aug, not 13, £15 – £16
Bitesize Chekhov
Spotlites @ The Merchants’ Hall, 7-15 Aug, £7.50
17:45
Traverse Theatre, 25 Aug, £19
Script in Hand
Summerhall, 7-18 Aug, £9
Legs 11
Summerhall, 19-26 Aug, £10
Italia ‘n’ Caledonia
Valvona & Crolla, 10 Aug, 16 Aug, 21 Aug, 22 Aug, 24 Aug, £12
Bullet Catch HHH Traverse Theatre, 11 Aug, 18 Aug, 24 Aug, £19
Platero Y Yo by Juan Ramon Jimenez Valvona & Crolla, 25 Aug, £12
Holmes and Watson: The Farewell Tour Valvona & Crolla, 20 Aug, 27 Aug, £12
Dracula
PASS (Performing Arts Studio Scotland), 21-25 Aug, £7
The World’s Greatest Walking Tour of Edinburgh Pleasance Dome, 7-27 Aug, not 8, 13, 15, 20, 22, £8 – £9
❤ And No More Shall We Part HHHH
Traverse Theatre, 9 Aug, 24 Aug, £18 – £20
Allotment
Assembly Inverleith Allotments, 11 Aug, 12 Aug, 18 Aug, 19 Aug, £10
The Trial
Princes Mall, 7-11 Aug, £free
theSpace on Niddry St, Various dates from 7 Aug to 25 Aug, £10
Mess
❤ Blink HHHH
Morning HHH
Unplugged
Traverse Theatre, 23 Aug, £18
Leonce and Lena
C venues - C nova, 7-27 Aug, not 14, £8.50 – £10.50
Aug, 25 Aug, 27 Aug, 28 Aug, £35
The Dead Memory House HHH
Minotaur
Give and Take
Born to Run
Traverse Theatre, 7 Aug, £17
Reynard
Traverse Theatre, 14 Aug, 19 Aug, £12 – £17
Traverse Theatre, 8 Aug, 15 Aug, 19 Aug, £18 Church Hill Theatre, 7 Aug, £5
All That is Wrong HHH
Divine Words
Monkey Bars
Traverse Theatre, 8 Aug, 15 Aug, 21 Aug, 26 Aug, £17
Monkey Bars
Icarus: a Story of Flight HHH
17:35
Zoo Southside, 7-27 Aug, not 15, £9 – £10
Elephant Man
theSpace on Niddry St, 12 Aug, 16 Aug, £10
Amusements
Summerhall, 11-26 Aug, £8
Angels HHH
theSpace on Niddry St, 8 Aug, 14 Aug, 20 Aug, 24 Aug, £10 Traverse Theatre, 16 Aug, 22 Aug, £17 Traverse Theatre, 12 Aug, £18
17:55 Villains, Heroes and Adventurers
Valvona & Crolla Scottish Foodhall@Jenners, 9 Aug, 16 Aug, 23 Aug, £15
Love and Understanding
C venues - C aquila, 1127 Aug, £8.50 – £10.50
Traverse Theatre, 17 Aug, 23 Aug, £17 – £19
18:00
Nights at the Circus
Les Naufragés du Fol Espoir (Aurores)
theSpace on Niddry St, 10 Aug, 18 Aug, 22 Aug, £10
Lowland Hall, Royal Highland Centre, 23 Aug, 24
Acoustic Music Centre @ St Bride’s, 13-15 Aug, £8
Summerhall, 7-26 Aug, £10
24h
Summerhall, 22 Aug, 25 Aug, £1
Peep HHH
Pleasance Courtyard, 7-27 Aug, not 17, £6
Desperately Seeking the Exit - Free Laughing Horse @ Edinburgh City Football Club, 7-26 Aug, not 13, £free
Here’s What I Know About Humans, By Lulu the Dog
Princes Mall, 12-16 Aug, £free
Unneeded Baggage Princes Mall, 7-8 Aug, £free
Sinful - Free
Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 7-26 Aug, £free
The Six O’Clock News
Northern Stage at St Stephen’s, 7 Aug, £7
Katianna Was Here
Leith on the Fringe @ Out of the Blue Drill Hall, 16-18 Aug, £8
Blackbird
Edinburgh Training and Conference Venue, 1724 Aug, £7
The Picture of Dorian Gray
Princes Mall, 19-25 Aug, £free
The Rise and Fall of Little Voice
The Royal Scots Club, 13 Aug, 14 Aug, 15 Aug, 17 Aug, 18 Aug, £12
❤ Mr Carmen HHHH Assembly Roxy, 7-27 Aug, not 13, 20, £12 – £14
Mark Thomas: Bravo Figaro! HHH
Traverse Theatre, 21 Aug, 25 Aug, £18 – £20
Romeo and Juliet
C venues - C too, 12-18 Aug, £9.50 – £11.50
18:05 The Society of Ethical Cat Burglars theSpace @ Jury’s Inn, 13-18 Aug, £9
Lust in Translation
theSpace @ Venue45, Various dates from 14 Aug to 25 Aug, £5
Built for Two
theSpace on the Mile , 20-25 Aug, £6
The Complex: Oedipus
theSpace on the Mile , 8 Aug, 10 Aug, 13
presents:
Other Voices: Spoken Word Cabaret
A whirlwind of sumptuous wit and panache! Come and hear some wonderful words from the other side of the door...
14:50- the venue 15:50 Labyrinth 156 http://bit.ly/othervoicespbh
Banshee
www.festmag.co.uk
August 14 - 16 | edinburgh festival guide 2012 fest 91
theatrelistings Aug, 15 Aug, 17 Aug, £7 – £9
The Disintegration Loops
theSpace @ Venue45, Various dates from 13 Aug to 24 Aug, £5
The Complex: Electra theSpace on the Mile , Various dates from 7 Aug to 18 Aug, £7 – £9
Stick Stock Stone Dead
theSpace on the Mile , 20-25 Aug, £10
18:10 Happy
Greenside, 20-25 Aug, £5
Influence
theSpace @ Jury’s Inn, 7-11 Aug, £6
The Music Box
Paradise in The Vault, 1427 Aug, not 20, £7
Salome
theSpace on the Mile , 7-18 Aug, not 12, £8
Pierrepoint - The Hangman’s Tale Sweet Grassmarket, 7-24 Aug, not 18, £8.50
18:15 Repertory Theatre HH C Venues - C eca, 7-18 Aug, £7.50 – £9.50
Moth to the Flame
Paradise in The Vault, 7-8 Aug, £8
Mark Thomas: Bravo Figaro! HHH Traverse Theatre, 10 Aug, 17 Aug, £20
Wonderland
Church Hill Theatre, 19 Aug, 21 Aug, £5
Doctor Faustus
18:20 30 Neo-Futurist Plays From Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind
All About Dickens Black Comedy
The Boat Factory
Mood Nightclub, 12-13 Aug, £free
Pilrig Studio, 7 Aug, £5
Quaker Meeting House, 7-11 Aug, £7
Double Edge’s Flames Over New Jersey
Hill Street Theatre, 7-26 Aug, not 14, £11 – £13
Underbelly, Cowgate, 12-18 Aug, £8 – £9
The Pride
Underbelly, Cowgate, 7-26 Aug, not 13, £10 – £12.50
The Taming of the Shrew
Sweet Grassmarket, 1324 Aug, not 18, £7.50
18:25 We Got Rhythm
theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 13-25 Aug, not 19, £8
Mr Braithwaite Has a New Boy C venues - C aquila, 7-27 Aug, not 13, 20, £9.50 – £11.50
Rubies in the Attic Assembly Roxy, 7-27 Aug, not 8, 13, 20, £12 – £13
Macbeth on Inchcolm Island Summerhall, 10 Aug, 11 Aug, 16 Aug, 17 Aug, 19 Aug, £25
Bareback Ink
Whitespace, 22-24 Aug, £free
18:35 Dirty Blood
theSpace on North Bridge, 7-18 Aug, not 12, £8
18:40 1984
Quick! Save the Pizza!
Zoo, 7-27 Aug, not 8, 15, 19, 22, £8
Twentysomething HH
theSpace on North Bridge, 20-25 Aug, £5 – £7
theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 7-11 Aug, £8
Spotlites @ The Merchants’ Hall, 7-19 Aug, £8
Tissue
Bedlam Theatre, 20-25 Aug, £6
18:30 Nothing Is Really Difficult
Assembly George Square, 8-26 Aug, not 13, 14, 20, 21, £10
This Land: The Story of Woody Guthrie
The Weigh In
Oh, The Humanity and Other Good Intentions Northern Stage at St Stephen’s, 9-25 Aug, not 13, 21, £10 – £14
Unhappy Birthday
Assembly George Square, 7-26 Aug, not 12, 13, 20, £10 – £12
A Real Man’s Guide to Sainthood Underbelly, Cowgate, 7-26 Aug, not 9, 10, £9.50 – £10.50
The Royal Scots Club, 7-11 Aug, £10
Zoo Southside, 7-18 Aug, £12
18:45
National Theatre of Scotland Presents Love Letters to the Public Transport System By Molly Taylor
The Election: A Silent Comedy
Deirdre and Me
Bedlam Theatre, 7-18 Aug, £7
C venues - C nova, 7-27 Aug, not 14, £9.50 – £11.50
Tartuffe
Thread
The Assembly Rooms, 7-26 Aug, not 13, 20, £10
Hinge Presents: Scooped
Hill Street Theatre, 7-26 Aug, not 14, £7 – £8
❤ And No More Shall We Part HHHH Traverse Theatre, 16 Aug, £18
Festen
theSpace on North Bridge, 20-25 Aug, £7
Church Hill Theatre, 10 Aug, £5
Do You Still Throw Spears at Each Other? - Free
Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 7-11 Aug, £free
Fables Here and Then
Church Hill Theatre, 8 Aug, £5
Belt Up Theatre’s A Little Princess HHH C venues - C nova, 7-27 Aug, £10.50 – £12.50
Don Juan
C Venues - C eca, 7-27 Aug, not 14, £8.50 – £10.50
Mayfield Salisbury Church, 7-10 Aug, £9
Assembly St Mark’s, 7-26 Aug, not 9, 13, 16, 20, 23, £10
Tea With Terrorists - Free
Laughing Horse @ Captain Taylor’s Coffee House, 7-18 Aug, £free
Moondial
Whitespace, 11 Aug, 12 Aug, 13 Aug, 15 Aug, 16 Aug, £8
That Face
Gryphon Venues at the Point Hotel, 7-9 Aug, £7
92 fest edinburgh festival guide 2012 | August 14 - 16
Defunct Pig - Free
18:50 The Wind in the Willows
Paradise in Augustine’s, 14-19 Aug, £8
The Lonely One
Underbelly, Cowgate, 7-26 Aug, not 14, £10 – £11
Back to the Future The Pantomime Paradise in Augustine’s, 21-27 Aug, £9.50
19:00 Going Green the Wong Way Venue 13, 19-25 Aug, £8
Lysistrata - The Sex Strike theSpace @ Venue45, 7-11 Aug, £9.50
Food For Thought
theSpace @ Venue45, Various dates from 13 Aug to 24 Aug, £5
The Intervention HHH
The Assembly Rooms, 7-26 Aug, not 13, £15
The Most Dangerous Toy theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 7-18 Aug, not 12, £8
Dragged Up
theSpace @ Venue45, Various dates from 14 Aug to 25 Aug, £5
Heaven’s Gate
theSpace on the Mile , 7-18 Aug, not 12, £7
19:10 One Month Early
Small Narration
Summerhall, 13-23 Aug, not 20, £9
Nights at the Circus theSpace on Niddry St, 12 Aug, 14 Aug, 20 Aug, £10
All in the Timing
Church Hill Theatre, 17 Aug, £5
Sir Gawain, the Yellow Knight
Church Hill Theatre, 20 Aug, £5
More Light
C Venues - C eca, 7-27 Aug, £9.50 – £11.50
The Hole
Church Hill Theatre, 8 Aug, 10 Aug, £5
Divine Words
theSpace on Niddry St, 16 Aug, 22 Aug, £10
You Don’t Know Me Church Hill Theatre, 11 Aug, £5
Remember Me
theSpace on North Bridge, 13-18 Aug, £7.50
Songs of Lear
Summerhall, 21-26 Aug, £6
The Mungo Boys
Hunger
Winfamy
On the Harmful Effects of Tobacco / Can Cause Death
Chariot: The Eric Liddell Story
Lauriston Halls, 9-11 Aug, £6
La Línea
Lauriston Halls, 24 Aug, 25 Aug, 27 Aug, £7
Caesarean Section Essays on Suicide
Summerhall, 9-20 Aug, not 14, £11
Paradise in Augustine’s, 14-27 Aug, not 15, 17, 20, 22, 24, 26, £10
C venues - C aquila, 7-27 Aug, £8.50 – £10.50
Summerhall, 12-24 Aug, £11 Laughing Horse @ Edinburgh City Football Club, 16-26 Aug, not 21, £free
Edinburgh Elim, 15-24 Aug, not 19, 20, £10
Macbeth on Inchcolm Island
Mostellaria (The Haunted House)
Scottish Storytelling Centre, 14-26 Aug, £10
Summerhall, 10 Aug, 11 Aug, 16 Aug, 17 Aug, 19 Aug, £20
Secret Weapons
Meat
19:20
Ben Okri’s The Comic Destiny
Gryphon Venues at the Point Hotel, 22-26 Aug, £6
24h
Summerhall, 22 Aug, 25 Aug, £1
Peep HHH
Paradise in The Vault, 7-19 Aug, not 13, £6
XXXO HH
Pleasance Courtyard, 7-26 Aug, not 14, £9 – £10.50
Church Hill Theatre, 18 Aug, £5
4.48 Psychosis
theSpace on Niddry St, Various dates from 7 Aug to 25 Aug, £10
I Never Saw Another Butterfly Church Hill Theatre, 19 Aug, £5
Pleasance Courtyard, 7-27 Aug, not 17, £6
19:15
Alan Bissett: The Red Hourglass
Elephant Man
The Indescribable Phenomenon
Machinal
Chicken Bones for the Teenage Soup
National Library of Scotland, 15-25 Aug, not 17, £12
19:05 How to Start a Riot
theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 7-25 Aug, not 12, 19, £7
Solve
theSpace on the Mile , 20-25 Aug, £6
Hitler’s Li’l Abomination
theSpace @ Jury’s Inn, 7-25 Aug, not 12, 19, £9.50
theSpace on Niddry St, 8 Aug, 10 Aug, 18 Aug, 24 Aug, £10 C venues - C nova, 7-26 Aug, not 13, £9.50 – £11.50
We Are Chechens! Summerhall, 7-13 Aug, £10
Greenside, 13-18 Aug, £9
Church Hill Theatre, 7 Aug, £5
Mixed Doubles
The Edinburgh Academy, 20-24 Aug, £8
The Pilgrim’s Progress
Tibetan Book of the Dead: The Musical - Free
A Woman Inside
Nggrfg
Palmerston Place Church, 22-24 Aug, £10 theSpace on the Mile , 21-25 Aug, £7
Laughing Horse @ Bar 50, 7-15 Aug, £free
theSpace on the Mile , 7-18 Aug, not 12, £7
www.festmag.co.uk
August 14 - 16 | edinburgh festival guide 2012 fest 93
theatrelistings 19:25 Presidential Suite: a Modern Fairy Tale C Venues - C eca, 7-18 Aug, £9.50 – £11.50
The Last Fairytale
Sweet Grassmarket, 7-26 Aug, not 18, 25, £8.50
A Middle-Aged Man’s Uncertainty Theory C Venues - C eca, 19-27 Aug, £7.50 – £9.50
Montmorency
C venues - C, 7-27 Aug, not 16, 17, £9.50 – £11.50
19:30 2008: Macbeth
Lowland Hall, Royal Highland Centre, Various dates from 11 Aug to 18 Aug, £35
Wonderland
Royal Lyceum Theatre, 29 Aug - 1 Sep, £10
Villa+Discurso
The Hub, 20-21 Aug, £25
A Midsummer Night’s Dream (As You Like It)
King’s Theatre, 24-25 Aug, £free – £12
Meine faire Dame ein Sprachlabor
Lowland Hall, Royal Highland Centre, 14 Aug, 15 Aug, 19 Aug, £30
Sparkleshark
St Peter’s, 21-25 Aug, £6
Three Cities
Sweet Grassmarket, 13-26 Aug, not 18, 25, £8
Remember Me
Summerhall, 21-26 Aug, £6
The Proposal
theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 7-25 Aug, not 12, 19, £10
MacBeth in Scots
St Ninian’s Hall, 7-18 Aug, not 12, £10
Operation Stork
St Serf’s Church Hall, 7-17 Aug, not 12, £9
The Original Edinburgh Literary Pub Tour
Outside the Beehive Inn, 7 Aug - 2 Sep, £10
Blithe Spirit
Murrayfield Parish Church Centre, 8-18 Aug, not 12, £10.50
30 Days to Edinburgh
Summerhall, 26 Aug, £8
Ghetto
Greenside, 21-25 Aug, £6
The Letter of Last Resort and Good With People Traverse Theatre, 23 Aug, £18
The Tragedie of MacClegg
Paradise in The Vault, 22-26 Aug, £5
Trouble in the Tolbooth
Saughtonhall United Reformed Church, 7-11 Aug, £7
Treasure in Clay Jars Mayfield Salisbury Church, 20-21 Aug, £free
Soddin Flodden
Paradise in The Vault, 14-19 Aug, £8
Apocalypse or Bust! Church Hill Theatre, 9 Aug, £5
19:35 A Dastardly Fiction
Greenside, 7-25 Aug, not 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, £9.50
A Geisha Samurai
Paradise in The Vault, 7-12 Aug, £12
19:40 People Like Us
theSpace on North Bridge, 7-18 Aug, not 12, £7
19:45 ‘Allo ‘Allo
Spotlites @ The Merchants’ Hall, 7-11 Aug, £10
Request Programme
Fukushima - A Silent Prayer of Poetry
Dancing at Lughnasa
Bullet Catch HHH
Inlingua Edinburgh, 7-19 Aug, not 13, £10 – £12 Duddingston Kirk Manse Garden, 8-26 Aug, not 13, 14, 20, 21, £10
People Show 121: The Detective Show
Spotlites @ The Merchants’ Hall, 15-19 Aug, £10 Traverse Theatre, 12 Aug, £17
Mess
Traverse Theatre, 10 Aug, £19
Assembly George Square, 7-27 Aug, £10
19:50
Ne’er the Twain
Assembly Roxy, 7-27 Aug, not 13, 20, £10 – £12
St Peter’s, 7-17 Aug, not 12, 13, £10
Death Boogie
Half a Person: My Life As Told By The Smiths HH
Faulty Towers the Dining Experience
How to Climb Mount Everest
Zoo Southside, 7-27 Aug, not 15, £8
B’est Restaurant, 7-28 Aug, not 10, 11, 17, 18, 24, 25, £49
Faust/us
Bullet Catch HHH
Sweet Grassmarket, 7-12 Aug, £9
Traverse Theatre, 7 Aug, 25 Aug, £17 – £19
20:10
Hearts on Fire HHH
The Letter of Last Resort and Good With People
C venues - C nova, 7-27 Aug, £9.50 – £11.50
Traverse Theatre, 8 Aug, 15 Aug, 19 Aug, £18
20:00
24h
Summerhall, 22 Aug, 25 Aug, £1
Gulliver’s Travels
King’s Theatre, 17-20 Aug, £12
Mess
Traverse Theatre, 17 Aug, 23 Aug, £17 – £19
Watt
Royal Lyceum Theatre, 11-14 Aug, £10
❤ Grit HHHH
Bedlam Theatre, 7-25 Aug, not 12, £9
Waiting for Orestes: Electra
Monkey Bars
King’s Theatre, 11-13 Aug, £12
Traverse Theatre, 21 Aug, 26 Aug, £17
Elephant Man
Institut français d’Ecosse, 7-24 Aug, weekdays only, £10
❤ Blink HHHH
Return of the Close-Up Magician
20:05
C venues - C nova, 19-27 Aug, £9.50 – £11.50
Captain Ko and the Planet of Rice
Traverse Theatre, 9 Aug, £17
The Tale of Nada
theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 20-25 Aug, £7.50
Those People My Parents
Underbelly, Cowgate, 7-26 Aug, not 13, £9.50 – £10.50
theSpace @ Jury’s Inn, 7-11 Aug, £8.50
The Complete Works of William Shakespeare Abridged
Dare I Say It?
Greenside, 14-18 Aug, £5
Interruption
theSpace @ Venue45, 7 Aug, 9 Aug, 11 Aug, £8
The Edinburgh International Circus Festival
Billy Liar
C venues - C nova, 7-18 Aug, £8.50 – £10.50
theSpace @ Venue45, 13-18 Aug, £8
Ocean Terminal Big Top, Various dates from 10 Aug to 25 Aug, £free
Three Tall Women
theSpace @ Venue45, 8 Aug, 10 Aug, £8
theSpace on North Bridge, 20-25 Aug, £7 – £10
The Beast HHH
Underbelly, Cowgate, 7-26 Aug, not 13, £9.50 – £10.50
In a Handbag, Darkly theSpace on North Bridge, 13-25 Aug, not 19, £6 – £8
Firebird
theSpace @ Jury’s Inn, 1325 Aug, not 19, £7
HURT
theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 7-11 Aug, £7.50
20:15 Midnight at the Boar’s Head
Zoo Southside, 7-27 Aug, not 15, £9 – £10
Village of Idiots
Church Hill Theatre, 18 Aug, £5
Me and Mr C
Northern Stage at St Stephen’s, 8-25 Aug, not 13, 21, £10
Gotcha!
theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 13-25 Aug, not 19, £6 – £7
Monkey Bars
Traverse Theatre, 15 Aug, £17
❤ Blink HHHH
Traverse Theatre, 16 Aug, 22 Aug, £17
Mark Thomas: Bravo Figaro! HHH Traverse Theatre, 26 Aug, £18
A Streetcar Named Desire
Pilrig Studio, 9 Aug, £5
North London Collegiate School present
World Premiere of new Drama & Dance.
94 fest edinburgh festival guide 2012 | August 14 - 16
theatrelistings Wonderland
Church Hill Theatre, 17 Aug, £5
One in Three
Hill Street Theatre, 7-26 Aug, not 14, £7 – £8
Thread
Assembly St Mark’s, 7-26 Aug, not 9, 13, 16, 20, 23, £10
The Trojan Women
Quaker Meeting House, 7-11 Aug, £7
The Talented Mr. Ripley
Church Hill Theatre, 7 Aug, 11 Aug, £5
Angels HHH
Traverse Theatre, 11 Aug, 18 Aug, 24 Aug, £19
20:25
Born to Run
Tranquility, Serenity, Calm
Zoo, 7-27 Aug, not 13, £7.50
Proof
20:30
Mark Thomas: Bravo Figaro! HHH
Nobody Will Ever Forgive Us
The Royal Scots Club, 7-11 Aug, £10
Romeo and Juliet Venue 13, 19-25 Aug, £8
Tartuffe
Church Hill Theatre, 8 Aug, £5
❤ And No More Shall We Part HHHH
❤ And No More Shall We Part HHHH
Traverse Theatre, 10 Aug, 17 Aug, £20
All That is Wrong HHH
Hill Street Theatre, 7-26 Aug, not 14, £7 – £8
Traverse Theatre, 21 Aug, 25 Aug, £18 – £20
Traverse Theatre, 8 Aug, £17
Bullet Catch HHH Traverse Theatre, 14 Aug, 19 Aug, £17
The Letter of Last Resort and Good With People Traverse Theatre, 12 Aug, £18
Pornography
theSpace @ Venue45, 20-25 Aug, £8
Almost, Maine
Church Hill Theatre, 19 Aug, £5
20:20 30 Neo-Futurist Plays From Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind Pilrig Studio, 8 Aug, £5
The Exonerated
Pilrig Studio, 7 Aug, £5
Traverse Theatre, 24 Aug, £20
Hinge Presents: Ordinary Things
The Adding Machine Church Hill Theatre, 9 Aug, £5
Panga HHH
Hill Street Theatre, 7-26 Aug, not 14, £11 – £13
Platero Y Yo by Juan Ramon Jimenez Valvona & Crolla, 21 Aug, £12
Holmes and Watson: The Farewell Tour
Valvona & Crolla, 16 Aug, 24 Aug, £12
Zelda
Greenside, 20-25 Aug, £10
Morning HHH
Traverse Theatre, 9 Aug, £18
Sancho Panza 2012
theSpaces @ Surgeons Hall, 7-25 Aug, not 12, 19, £8
The Royal Scots Club, 13-18 Aug, £12
20:45 Puellae (The truth about chips and other things) Summerhall, 19-26 Aug, £10
One Man Lord of the Rings
Underbelly, Bristo Square, Various dates from 14 Aug to 26 Aug, £15 – £16
21:00
Future Tales (Sierakowski)
Planet Lem
Venue 13, Various dates from 11 Aug to 18 Aug, £8
Morning HHH
The Blind HH
White Rabbit Red Rabbit
Mark Thomas: Bravo Figaro! HHH
Traverse Theatre, 22 Aug, £18
Rhinoceros
Summerhall, 18 Aug, 20 Aug, 22 Aug, £10
20:35 The Company of Wolves
C Venues - C eca, 7-27 Aug, not 14, £8.50 – £10.50
I Heart Hamas: And Other Things I’m Afraid to Tell You
Gryphon Venues at the Point Hotel, 7-25 Aug, not 12, 13, 19, 20, £10
How to Disappear Completely and Never Be Found
theSpace on the Mile , 7-11 Aug, £7
Sex, Lyres and Audiotape
theSpace on the Mile , 13-18 Aug, £5 – £7
20:40 Dracula: Sex, Sucking and Stardom
Paradise in The Vault, 7-27 Aug, not 13, 20, £8 – £9
Awkward!
theSpace on the Mile , 20-25 Aug, £6 – £7
Summerhall, 15-26 Aug, £10 Traverse Theatre, 16 Aug, £18
Traverse Theatre, 7 Aug, 11 Aug, 14 Aug, 18 Aug, £18 – £20
20:50 Mod Girl
theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 7 Aug, 9 Aug, 11 Aug, £7
Practice, Memory and Song
theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 8 Aug, 10 Aug, £7
Kiss Me and You Will See How Important I Am HHH
C venues - C aquila, 7-27 Aug, £8.50 – £10.50
Pinch in Love
Paradise in The Vault, 7-27 Aug, not 13, 20, £7
20:55 One Man Star Wars Trilogy
Underbelly, Bristo Square, 13-27 Aug, not 14, 16, 18, 20, 22, 24, 26, £15 – £16
The Night Porters
Paradise in Augustine’s, 7-27 Aug, not 13, 20, £10 – £14
Old College Quad, 16-26 Aug, £7 – £15 Old College Quad, 7-15 Aug, £13 – £15
Bring the Happy
Northern Stage at St Stephen’s, 21 Aug, £14
The Rape of Lucrece Royal Lyceum Theatre, 22-26 Aug, £20
Sparkleshark
St Peter’s, 24 Aug, £6
Defunct Pig - Free
The Hudson Hotel, 1425 Aug, £free
Confessions of a Grindr Addict
Assembly Hall, 7-26 Aug, not 13, £11 – £12
Closer
Zoo Southside, 14-26 Aug, not 18, 20, £8.50
24h
Summerhall, 22 Aug, 25 Aug, £1
Rites and Regulations
Zoo Southside, Various dates from 7 Aug to 13 Aug, £9
21:05 Looby Loo: No Strings Attached
C venues - C nova, 7-19 Aug, £9.50 – £11.50
Vitamin
Zoo, 20-27 Aug, £8
Trojan Women
theSpace on North Bridge, 7-25 Aug, not 12, 19, £7
Hardcore Pawn With Mick, Lewis and Shaun theSpace on the Mile , 7-8 Aug, £5
Swan Song
Sweet Grassmarket, 11-17 Aug, £8.50
Belt Up Theatre’s Outland
C venues - C nova, 7-27 Aug, £10.50 – £12.50
Wuthering Heights theSpace on the Mile , 13-18 Aug, £8
It’s My Wonderful Life
theSpace @ Jury’s Inn, 7-18 Aug, not 12, £5 – £6.50
Macbeth
C venues - C, 7-27 Aug, not 13, £9.50 – £11.50
21:10 Peaceful
theSpace @ Jury’s Inn, 20-25 Aug, £7
21:15 The Sh*t / La Merda Summerhall, 7-26 Aug, not 17, 18, £10
You Don’t Know Me Church Hill Theatre, 8 Aug, £5
Marat / Sade
Church Hill Theatre, 7 Aug, £5
21:30 Give and Take
Church Hill Theatre, 9 Aug, £5
Tenderpits
Underbelly, Cowgate, 7-26 Aug, not 13, £9.50 – £10.50
Hitler Alone
Inlingua Edinburgh, 9-23 Aug, £14
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DJ TOm LOUD’S
HOT DUB Time macHine
Underbelly bristo sqUare : ermintrUde 3.30pm
www.festmag.co.uk
August 14 - 16 | edinburgh festival guide 2012 fest 95
theatrelistings Monstrous Acts
C venues - C aquila, 7-27 Aug, not 13, 20, £8.50 – £10.50
Riot Squat
Whitespace, 22-26 Aug, £9
The Guild of Cheesemakers
Summerhall, 14-18 Aug, £20
Jack: A Ripper’s Tale Paradise in The Vault, 21-27 Aug, £6.50
The Talented Mr. Ripley
Church Hill Theatre, 9 Aug, £5
The Sidcup Family Portrait
22:05
Spotlites @ The Merchants’ Hall, 8-19 Aug, £6
C Venues - C eca, 7-27 Aug, not 14, £8.50 – £10.50
Dirty Pretty Money
Enter the Woods
21:40
The Awesome Show
Dearly Departed
21:35 The Bloody Chamber
The Indescribable Phenomenon
Greenside, 7-11 Aug, £9
21:45 Hinge Presents: Dorian
Hill Street Theatre, 7-27 Aug, not 14, £7 – £8
The Three Faces of Doctor Crippen
C venues - C, 7-27 Aug, not 16, 17, £8.50 – £10.50
22:00 The Ugly Sisters
Northern Stage at St Stephen’s, 8-25 Aug, not 13, 21, £14
That Old Noir Magic - A Film Noir Jazz Journey Into Night, in Story and Song Greenside, 14-18 Aug, £12
Rock HHH
Institut français d’Ecosse, 7-18 Aug, not 11, 12, 13, £10
Grim(m) - Unreal Stories for Real Times Greenside, 7 Aug, 9 Aug, 10 Aug, 11 Aug, £7
24h
Summerhall, 22 Aug, 25 Aug, £1
theSpace on the Mile , 7-11 Aug, £8 – £9
theSpace on North Bridge, 7-25 Aug, not 12, 19, £8 – £9
theSpace @ Venue45, 13-18 Aug, £7.50 Church Hill Theatre, 8 Aug, £5
Of Mice and Men
22:10
theSpace on Niddry St, 20-22 Aug, £8
This is Who I Am!
22:20
theSpace on the Mile , 7-10 Aug, £5
Peaceful
theSpace @ Jury’s Inn, 13-18 Aug, £7
Wrecked
theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 7-25 Aug, not 12, 19, £10
Call Me!
Sweet Grassmarket, 7-26 Aug, not 13, 18, 25, £7.50
Question No One
theSpace @ Venue45, 20-25 Aug, £8.50
22:15 Settimana
Assembly Roxy, 7-27 Aug, not 13, 20, £12 – £14
Dracula
theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 13-18 Aug, £7.50 – £8
Beatle Mal’s Legendary Band Paradise in The Vault, 7-27 Aug, not 13, 20, £8
Piatto Finale
Zoo, Various dates from 8 Aug to 26 Aug, £8
Centralia
Zoo, Various dates from 7 Aug to 27 Aug, £8
22:25 Leather
C venues - C nova, 7-27 Aug, not 14, £8.50 – £10.50
Broken
Spotlites @ The Merchants’ Hall, 7 Aug, £5
The World Over
theSpace on North Bridge, 13-25 Aug, not 16, 19, £6
Quantum Battlestar Deep-Space Voyager Tardis Wars: The Million-Dollar Space Epic Paradise in Augustine’s, 21-27 Aug, £9.50
22:30 Adele’s Heart
theSpace on North Bridge, 7-11 Aug, £7.50 – £8.50
96 fest edinburgh festival guide 2011 | August 14 - 16
The Blind HH
Old College Quad, 16-27 Aug, £13 – £15
All an Act
theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 7-18 Aug, not 12, £7
Carmen Funebre
Old College Quad, 14 Aug, £10
DugOut Theatre’s Inheritance Blues HHH
Bedlam Theatre, 7-25 Aug, £8
Macbeth: Who is that Bloodied Man? Old College Quad, 7-13 Aug, £13 – £15
Pool of Blood
theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 7-11 Aug, £6 – £7
The Barwell Prophecy theSpace @ Venue45, 7-11 Aug, £10
Holmes and Watson: The Farewell Tour
Valvona & Crolla, 17 Aug, 18 Aug, 23 Aug, 25 Aug, £12
The Table
Pleasance Courtyard, 11-14 Aug, £14
22:40 Re-Animator The Musical
Assembly George Square, 7-27 Aug, not 13, 20, £12 – £14
22:45 A Guide to Second Date Sex HHH
Underbelly, Cowgate, 7-26 Aug, not 15, £9.50 – £10.50
Belt Up Theatre’s The Boy James C venues - C nova, 7-27 Aug, £10.50 – £12.50
23:00
00:00
Who’s Dorian Gray?
24h
Laughing Horse @ Edinburgh City Football Club, 7-26 Aug, not 9, 16, 23, £free
Tales from Edgar Allan Poe
C Venues - C eca, 7-27 Aug, not 13, £9.50 – £11.50
24h
Summerhall, 22 Aug, 25 Aug, £1
Accidental Olympian theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 7-9 Aug, £8
Daughters of Lot theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 13-25 Aug, not 19, £5.50 – £7
Beats
Traverse Theatre, 14-26 Aug, not 20, £12 – £19
❤ Boris & Sergey’s Vaudevillian Adventure HHHHH Pleasance Courtyard, 7-27 Aug, not 13, 21, £9 – £10
23:05 A Dastardly Fiction
Greenside, 13-18 Aug, £9.50
Strip Search
SpaceCabaret @ 54, 7-25 Aug, not 19, £12
23:15 Medea Hardcore
Assembly Roxy, 7-26 Aug, not 8, 13, 14, 20, 21, £12 – £14
Summerhall, 23 Aug, 26 Aug, £1
Couleur Café
C venues - C nova, 12-28 Aug, £12.50 – £14.50
01:00 24h
Summerhall, 23 Aug, 26 Aug, £1
02:00 24h
Summerhall, 23 Aug, 26 Aug, £1
03:00 24h
Summerhall, 23 Aug, 26 Aug, £1
04:00 24h
Summerhall, 23 Aug, 26 Aug, £1
05:00 24h
Summerhall, 23 Aug, 26 Aug, £1
06:00 24h
Summerhall, 22 Aug, 25 Aug, £1
07:00 24h
Summerhall, 22 Aug, 25 Aug, £1
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98 fest edinburgh festival guide 2012 | August 14 - 16
www.festmag.co.uk
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