Fest 2011 Issue 5

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IN FROM THE COLD

eatre extraordinary Belarus Free Th Exiled in Edinburgh: meet the ISSUE 5: COMEDY, THEATRE, MUSIC AND MORE: YOUR COMPLETE GUIDE TO THE FESTIVALS

SON P M I S LEE E • C H N C N A A S R RD V HANE PLEA A H C I N•R IKE McS 4pm show GRAND O T R E M ws 22-25: ge.com G U A n o 7 PAUL MWEBSTER• i h r s f 2 d 000 e d 4pm in.com 19SUKnId 26-27: 11.30aanmce.acno.uk 01p3la1y2e2rs6.c0om mickperr 19-21 a 6550 pleas comedystore 56 0131 5

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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 Editor Evan Beswick Deputy Editor Joe Spurgeon Comedy Editor Lyle Brennan Theatre Editor Yasmin Sulaiman Music Editor Marcus Kernohan Books Editor Dan Heap Kids Editor Ruth Dawkins

festcontents

Exhibit: A are quite a at dubiously—that there We've been told—somewh ory, we're the s thi t tes To ts. par these few creative types round rein to fill e fre m pects and giving the hauling in some prime sus this page as they see fit. phic designer standup and former gra For our final issue, Irish s-to-be. e crucial advice for parent Jarlath Regan has som OT, 7:00PM – GILDED BALLOON TEVI

0 – £9.50 8:00PM, 21–29 AUG, £8.5

PRODUCTION Creative Director Matthew MacLeod Photography Editor Claudine Quinn Copy Editors Hannah Van Den Bergh, Sydney Tichenor Web Editor Marcus Kernohan Production Deputy Dan Heap Office Manager Marthe Lamp Sandvik SALES TEAM Sophie Kyle, Lara Moloney, Jan Webster CONTACT FEST hello@festmag.co.uk PUBLISHED BY FEST MEDIA LIMITED Registered in Scotland number SC344852 Cover Photo Claudine Quinn REGISTERED ADDRESS 30-38 Dalmeny Street, Edinburgh EH6 8RG 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 2011

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festcontents 8 FEATURES

8 Belarus Free Theatre

For some theatre companies, staging plays in their oppressive homeland can be a life-threatening pursuit

12 Red hot poker

Four of our favourite comedians at the Fringe 2011 go head-to-head over the card table

16 Freedom of Expression

We eye up the shortlist of performances shining a light upon a variety of human rights issues each hoping to bag a major Amnesty International award

19 COMEDY 21 Andrew Maxwell

An emphatic return to form sees the Dubliner reach new heights of incisiveness and irreverence

22 Paul Foot

Standing out among a host of supposedly surreal pretenders, the original mulleted misfit shows them how it’s done

29 Tiernan Douieb

The cuddly Douieb of old is dead. Long live this new, improved and politically literate incarnation

33 Catriona Knox

Expect messy, character-based madness as the sometime Boom Jenny hustles you into the front row

41 THEATRE 44 I, Malvolio

Tim Crouch’s re-interpretation of the Twelfth Night character hits a sweet spot

57 You Wouldn’t Know Him, He Lives in Texas

Could Skype fix long-distance relationships? We find out in a New Town flat

59 Llwyth (Tribe)

Daf James brings us a generous-hearted play, performed in Welsh with English surtitles

62 The Sexual Awakening of Peter Mayo

This modern screwball comedy from Jonathan Brittain gets us chuckling

62 KIDS

64 Forget me not

Bagpuss, Mr Benn and Rudyard Kipling bring some wistful nostalgia to the Fringe

64 Press gang

Our crack team of kid critics give their verdicts

67 BOOKS

68 Owen Jones

We chat to the author of angry social text Chavs: the Demonisation of the Working Class

70 MUSIC

70 Sounds of the summer

Tenchi Shinmei, The Alleycats, Evelyn Evelyn and more go under the fest review gun

72 LISTINGS

Your essential what's on guide to the world's biggest arts festival

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August 23-29 | edinburgh festival guide 2011 fest 5

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Allotment TS ASSEMBLY INVERLEITH ALLOTMEN

el A Conversation with Carm ST GEORGE’S WEST

will leave you Jules Horne’s lovely two-hander in this lovely yearning for your own allotment scone and mug green New Town enclosure. The of tea won’t go amiss either

at an 80th This captivating dance piece, set e’s oldest birthday party, features the Fring eperformer (83-year-old Diana Payn -stealing Myers) and its youngest (a scene baby)

14:15

11 :0 0

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Café Vivo 136 CANONGATE n foodAn affordable oasis of fine Italia : fill up stuffs in the heart of Edinburgh down on some hearty artisan soup, wolf on one a spicy meatball panini or gorge you of the piquant pasta dishes. Plus: every even get a free sweet treat with coffee. And superb coffee it is, too…

6 fest edinburgh festival guide 2011 | August 23-29

16 :0 0

Configure WHITESPACE, 11 GAYFIELD SQUARE Big, bold brush strokes and an equally vibrant collection of colours are the hallmarks of prominent Scottish figurative artist Paul Muzni whose tenth show lights up Edinburgh’s rather wonderful contemporary arts hub, Whitespace

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perfectday Camille O’Sullivan: Feel PLEASANCE COURTYARD

21 :2 0

brings her alluringly The Fringe’s favourite chanteuse nce to a diverse range raw voice and sultry stage prese ics of cabaret standards and rock class

Fantastic Indian cuisine served tapas-style – smaller portions with a canyon-wide variety. Delicious, reasonably priced, and right in the middle of town

Sanderson Jones JUST THE TONIC AT THE CAVES

in the end

18 :45

Jason Cook: The Search for Happiness PLEASANCE DOME as he Join the deft and playful Geordie contentmeanders through his quest for of wit and ment. With Cook boasting bags l get there warmth, something tells us you’l

20 :00

Mother India’s Café INFIRMARY STREET

If you want a ticket for Jones’ unruly, bawdy spectacle you’ll have to get it off the man himself. This is no mere marketing gimmick, but an innovative approach to making each performance uniquely personal

17 :30

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August 23-29 | edinburgh festival guide 2011 fest 7

THE STATE WE’RE IN Photos: Claudine Quinn

Belarus Free Theatre are beloved by Hilary Clinton and Tom Stoppard but have been persecuted and hounded from their home country. Edd McCracken chats to co-founder Natalia Kaliada about premiering the first fruits of their exile in Edinburgh

T

O SEE how powerful theatre is, turn around and leave Edinburgh.

Instead, take a two hour plane ride from London to Minsk and attempt to stage a Harold Pinter play or Sarah Kane’s 4.48 Psychosis in the capital of Belarus. Rather than five-star reviews and chin-stroking analysis, torture, imprisonment and rape await those who do.

This is the history of Belarus Free Theatre, the underground company who stood up to Europe’s last dictator with a canon of some of the most inventive, startling and brave plays written in the past decade. Now effectively in exile, the troupe is staging its first ever Fringe show in conjunction with Edinburgh veterans Fuel.

Rewind five years. Playwright Tom Stoppard sits in a small backstreet bar in Minsk. The country’s president, Alexander Lukashenko has just been elected for a third term. Stoppard has come to meet the country’s young playwrights. He shares a drink and his thoughts with theatre producer Natalia Kaliada. Minsk, he says, is utterly empty, yet expectant.

“Everything here is like a set ready to be filmed in a movie or performed in theatre,” he tells her. “But the people don’t come up on stage.”

Kaliada sips her drink and agrees. “You don’t feel alive here,” she says. “There is no life. It is as if it has just stopped.”

A year prior to Stoppard’s visit, Kaliada had begun to apply jump leads to her home country and to repopulate its stage and streets. In 2005, together with her

husband Nikolai Khalezin and director Vladimir Scherban they formed Belarus Free Theatre.

Kaliada’s inspirations were Czech playwright-turned-president Vaclav Havel and the Polish theatre groups who used their art to subvert and challenge Communist rule in the last century. And in filling the deserted theatrical space, initially with the works of Kane and Pinter but latterly with their own work, Belarus Free Theatre has tested this former Soviet state’s censorious reflex.

Perched between Russia and Poland, Belarus is a land trapped in pre-perestroika amber. The chill wind of Cold War paranoia still blows here.

It meant Belarus Free Theatre performed in secret. Audience members would be alerted via text or email of where to meet. Woods, cafes and people’s apartments all played host. At the Fringe, this is a quirky affectation – in Belarus this meant survival. Company members have been kidnapped, imprisoned and tortured.

Kaliada was detained for 18 hours last December following the protests over Lukashenko’s rigged re-election. Her guards threatened to rape her. All members of Belarus Free Theatre had to smuggle themselves out of the country to avoid being apprehended. In total more than 1,000 people were arrested in the crackdown.

Minsk 2011, which sees its world premier in Edinburgh this month, will be the first artistic fruits from the company since their escape. They have performed in New York, Chicago, London and Hong

8 fest edinburgh festival guide 2011 | August 23-29

Kong since December but always with old work, such as their award-winning Bring Pinter and Discover Love.

“In the last six months we were not able to work and produce new pieces because of the whole situation – my husband was in hiding, our manager was arrested, I was arrested,” says Kaliada. “It was endless. People were trying to understand the next stage of their lives – would we be in jail or not? Even in London we got threats and were told to watch our backs.

It is not even safe here for me.

“But now this is the moment we wait for. Our dream is to produce new performances. We are alive when we perform - and we perform to be alive. It is the main moment for us.”

Devised with Fuel, Minsk 2011 is inspired by a Kathy Acker short story, New York City in 1979. In it, the late Acker describes her city like a fever: “No one perceives. No one cares. Insane madness [comes] out like life is a terrific party.” This was the pre-sanitised New York: a city full of fading disco beats and Studio 64, of an aging Andy Warhol and junked-up Sid Vicious, of the fictional Travis Bickle and the all too real Mark David Chapman. Just like contemporary Minsk, apparently.

“Acker was discovering the society, politics, and the social problems through the sexuality of a person,” says Kaliada.

“Everything that was happening in the revolution in 1979 is happening in Belarus.

We’re trying to understand that if people do not explain themselves, maybe there is a black hole inside.”

Belarus Free Theatre does not lack for celebrity backers. In addition to support from Stoppard, Jude Law and Kevin Spacey have helped stage fundraising shows in London. Steven Spielberg and Mick Jagger are fans. Hillary Clinton even requested a meeting with Kaliada in January to discuss the situation in Belarus.

Now all the company want is for European politicians to take as much interest in Belarus as artists and the American administration.

“After the Arab Spring, it is time for the world to start to react to Belarus,” says Kaliada. “The last dictator in Europe is selling weapons to countries like Libya and Iran.

I can’t understand why the world doesn’t pay attention to European countries. We understand that there is no political interest in our country – we don’t have oil, we don’t have gas. We just have people.”

Pleasance Courtyard, 1:00pm – 2:05pm, 22–29 Aug, £10.00

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"We understand that there is no political interest in our country – we don’t have oil, we don’t have gas. We just have people.”

JOKERS IN THE PACK Photos: Claudine Quinn

Making people laugh’s one thing, but how will some of fest’s favourite comedians fare on the poker table? Si Hawkins gets his game face on

“O

H YEAH, that’s how easy it is,” grins the aptly-named Adam Riches, greedily pulling an enormous heap of chips towards him, having just won a mighty pot at Texas Hold ‘Em. “Although, to be honest,” he then admits. “I’m not entirely sure what I just did.”

It’s a weekday lunchtime, mid-Fringe, and ensconced in the back room of a backstreet bar are five comedians hunched over a black-clad table and bargaining away their fortunes. OK, so that’s a lie, as they’re actually just playing for plastic chips, but lots of other stand-ups are getting properly vexed about poker at this year’s fest.

At the head of our table is Edinburgh legend Andre Vincent, the host of Pokermen, which provides a rare opportunity for regular punters to see what goes on behind comedy clubs’ black curtains. Each night at the Assembly, Vincent invites three fellow comics to play cards, talk freely and occasionally get very cross about it all. Cards and standups aren’t always the best of bedfellows.

“It can get ugly, and we’ve had a bit of it,” he says, giving an example of one particular comic who “got the hump” with the audience after being knocked out. “It all got a little bit spiteful.”

Is it the game or the money that causes such angst? To find out we’ve invited Vincent, his regular croupier—fellow comic Ria Lina—and four hand-picked guinea pigs. Chicagoan standup Hannibal Buress is the only one who has ever actually played before. Character comic Adam Riches has a dim awareness of the rules, while sisters Sarah and Lizzie Daykin—aka Toby—haven’t the foggiest.

First up we need a quick run-through of the rules from Ria then, after which it’s eyes down and some fairly relaxed opening exchanges, which is generally the way

Hannibal ‘The Cannibal’ Buress

Experience: “I played once in a cas ino” Temperament: Seemingly bored, but fiercely competitive Also seen in: My Name is Hannibal: The Hannibal Montanabal Experience , Pleasance Courtyard

Andre ‘Victory’ Vincent

Experience: “I’ve entered a few tou rnaments but never come anywhere” Temperament: Kindly uncle with a kille r instinct Also seen at: Pokermen, Assembly

of things. Pokermen is really a chat show with a twist, and the perfect environment to keep standup egos in check, reckons Vincent. “A comic can’t help it. If someone’s telling a story they try to add something or chip in. But when you do this, people can actually start telling stories because the others are too busy with their cards, thinking ‘how much do I bet here?’ The competition is on the table.”

Our competitors’ approaches become apparent early on. Vincent acts as the avuncular elder-statesman, while also clearly itching to win. Hannibal looks seriously bored, but watches closely. The affable Riches pleads ignorance but is a definite dark horse. And the siblings play as a team, consulting each other and the rule card on a regular basis. The latter system may not look overly professional, but it works, as against all odds they take the first hand.

“To the ladies!” laughs Vincent, as the girls whoop. “So where did you two meet?” he goes on, shifting into chatshow mode while also making plain his lack of researchers. “I was solo for about two and a half years,” deadpans elder sister Sarah. 

10 fest edinburgh festival guide 2011 | August 23-29

inable’ Adam ‘Unimag Riches

Experience: st ever game” “This is my fir t: Temperamen ing ingenue cloth A card shark in : in Also seen hes, ad of Adam Ric Bring Me the He ard ty ur Co Pleasance

Sarah ‘Scarer’ Lizzie ‘Busy’ D Daykin & aykin

Experience: “Our dad tried to teach us on ce” Temperam ent: Slightly dipsy , occasionally completely la-la Also seen in : Lucky, Pleasan ce

Courtyard

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August 23-29 | edinburgh festival guide 2011 fest 11

festfeature  Does Vincent ever let novices play the real late-night game? “Andrew Maxwell could not play for love nor money,” he says, grimacing slightly at the memory.

“Audiences usually support the people who can’t play, but it got down to him and Thom Tuck, and it was on the “river” card that Thom Tuck took it, and the place just went up. It was great.”

This isn’t the most fluent game of Hold ‘Em you’ll ever see, certainly early on, as Ria is forced to explain practically everything that’s happening, but they’re soon taking it seriously. Hannibal’s inscrutable style seems to be paying off, as he’s way ahead on chips, but there’s a dramatic swing as he loses a heap to Adam after an unsuccessful bluff. “Should’ve brought my sunglasses,” smiles Buress. Meanwhile something has re-emerged from the deepest recesses of Riches’ mind. “Years ago I had a Commodore 64 and I had a poker game so I thought I’d learn how to play then become a pro,” he recalls, “having just seen the Cincinnati Kid or something.”

It’s beginning to get nicely competitive, despite the absence of cash, and with all four invited guests playing at the Pleasance Courtyard there’s even a hint of oneupmanship about how hot their rooms are. At Pokermen proper they play for their appearance fees, £60 a go, so there’s a £240 pot to be won: a useful payday if your show is losing heaps of cash every night. Things can get tense. “I won three nights in a row and one comic thought we had something going on, that we’ve got some sort of scheme,” says Vincent. “He keeps trying to work it out.”

It’s crunch time, the point in the regular show where the conversation dries up.

Vincent and Riches go all-in with their remaining chips, and hang in there.

Hannibal—once well ahead and looking every inch the card sharp—now looks vulnerable, much to the amusement of the Toby girls, despite their own precarious position.

“If you got this you could take out two people in one go,” whispers Vincent to Riches, but as the card turns he’s happy to announce that “everyone stays in!” Big cheers from the Daykins. Unfortunately, as Ria is quick to inform us, he’s completely misread it: Riches actually “won, with a straight,” and the precarious trio are out.

The girls cry out in anguish. “I’m upset right now,” says Buress, and he looks it.

The poker bug has bitten them, which isn’t always healthy, and Vincent tells

us a few horror stories of fellow comics’ struggles with gambling. There’s a lot of it about. Certain clubs have started putting poker tables in dressing rooms now, because “if they can get comedians to stay around they’re going to get good beer sales out of them until four in the morning. We sit there and play our wages.”

At Pokermen, which is debuting at this year’s Fringe, you get to see those competitive streaks in action. “Hardeep [Singh Kohli] takes it very seriously,” says Vincent. “He did a lot of whistling the other night, putting everyone off, whistling Raindrops Keep Falling on my Head.”

Did it work? “No, not really, it just got on everybody’s nerves.”

Adam and Andre—both nearly bust earlier on—are now the last men standing.

Or sitting, face to face, as the final round begins. Vincent whistles Hardeep’s song, the Toby sisters become fascinated by the nervous ticks in Riches’ shoulders, and we’re down to the final card. Adam needs a jack, Andre needs pretty much anything else, and it’s the latter who takes the prize.

Is Riches—the one-time poker wannabe—going to turn ugly and spiteful,

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having come so close?

“The right man won,” he smiles. “The guy who knew how to play.”

With thanks to the quite fabulous Voodoo Rooms who let us play poker on their premises. Find the award-winning bar and restaurant at 19a West Register St, Edinburgh, EH2 2AA; tel: 0131 556 7060; www.thevoodoorooms.com Toby - Lucky Pleasance Courtyard, 4:30pm – 5:25pm, 22–29 Aug, £9.00 – £9.50 Bring Me the Head of Adam Riches Pleasance Courtyard, 4:45pm – 5:45pm, 22–29 Aug, £10.00 – £11.00 Pokermen Assembly George Square, 11:59pm – 12:59am, 21–28 Aug, not 22, 23, 24, £12.00 My Name Is Hannibal: The Hannibal Montanabal Experience Pleasance Courtyard, 9:45pm – 10:45pm, 21–29 Aug, £10.00 – £11.50

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TEARING DOWN

THE WALL Photo: Claudine Quinn

This year Mark Thomas becomes the first ever comedian to be shortlisted for the Amnesty International Freedom of Expression Award. Here he tells Sam Friedman why comedy is often the perfect medium for exploring human rights

A

FTER A breathless, rampaging two-hour set regaling another sell-out crowd with tales from his 723km walk along the wall separating Israel and the Palestinian West Bank, an exhausted Mark Thomas sinks into a chair at the Bongo Club, a wellearned whisky dangling by his side. I’ve just informed him that his show, Extreme Rambling (Walking the Wall), is the first ever comedy show to be shortlisted for the coveted Amnesty International Freedom of Expression Award, and he’s chuckling at a certain irony. Back in 1999, Thomas was given a special “commendation” from Amnesty for his comedy TV show, the Mark Thomas Comedy Product, where he posed as a media advisor at an arms fair and was able to coax a number of Indonesian generals into extraordinary admissions of torture in East Timor. He recalls: “When I was getting the commendation the guy from Amnesty said ‘we don’t give awards to comics, but if we did…’”

Certainly since its inception (in 2001), Amnesty’s Freedom of Expression Award (FoE) has followed this mantra. The aim of the award is to reward Fringe productions that build an understanding of human rights, and the assumption that has always followed is that comedy lacks the ability to fulfil this remit with the same aesthetic power as theatre. But this year Thomas has changed all that.

Having spent nine weeks zigzagging between Palestinian and Israeli communities on either side of the wall, his show is a very clear narrative of the journey, and in particular brings to life the people he encountered with an almost ethnographic attention to detail. Some of these characters are deeply comic, such as the protesting mime artist who stays in character even when bombarded with tear gas, or the Zionist estate agent who dreams of expanding Israel’s borders as far as Iraq. But, in truth, most of the show barely resembles standup. Instead it is simple, compelling storytelling, which

eventually reaches the central conclusion that the West Bank wall is unsustainable not for political reasons, but on the basis of human rights. “This is about a wall taking people’s land, an object as a mode of oppression. The fact that you have restrictions on freedom of movement, that’s a rights issue. The fact that this is forcing people into penury is a human rights issue. For me the whole show is about human rights.”

Although Thomas has never hidden his resolute left-wing politics, what is perhaps most surprising and powerful about the show is the absence of rhetoric and political hectoring. Yes, Thomas may ultimately focus on the oppression of Palestinian communities, but he does so from a point of empirical authority based on months of observational research.

Indeed, this same insight also allows him to uncover some of the complexities that make the conflict so inscrutable – from Palestinian gang masters who exploit Palestinians seeking work in Israel, to the Israelis that work against the West Bank settlers and vehemently oppose the Israeli right-wing. “The most important thing I want to get across is that there’s not two sides to the debate, there’s just a whole load of sides,” he says. “It’s not about flag-waving, it’s not about left and right, it’s about justice.”

Thomas is also keen to talk about the role of comedy in exploring areas of conflict and human rights. He says he’s flattered to be the first comic on the FoE shortlist, but hints that cultural snobbery, rather than artistic ability, may be to blame for comedy’s absence in the past.

He’s certainly quick to point out that he is not the first comic to imaginatively probe issues of prejudice, injustice and human rights. In particular, he recalls the extraordinary storytelling powers of the late godfather of alternative comedy, Dave Allen.

“Dave Allen was just a genius. I remember he once told this amazing joke

14 fest edinburgh festival guide 2011 | August 23-29

“You have to see beyond the tribalism, and comedy gives you the chance to play around with those ideas... to capture human foibles and stupidity“ while he was recording a live show for London Weekend Television. Forgive the terrible accent, but he went, ‘I tell Irish jokes, I get into a lot of trouble for telling Irish jokes. But sod it, you’ve got to be able to laugh at yourself, don’t you agree?’ Big round of applause. ‘So I’ll tell an Irish joke… two Paddies leave Dublin and go to work in London…and the IQ of Dublin halves overnight’. Big laugh. ‘They get to London and the IQ doubles’. Deathly silence. ‘Now, I thought we agreed that you have to be able to laugh at yourselves’. And it was brilliant; he caught their prejudice squarely on the chin. And actually comedy’s got the ability to do that.

“It’s the same when we talk about Israel and Palestine. You have to see beyond the tribalism, and comedy gives you the chance to play around with those ideas to play around with prejudice and bigotry, to capture human foibles and stupidity.

And for me that’s really important.”

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August 23-29 | edinburgh festival guide 2011 fest 15

festfeature

the amnesty nominees In addition to Thomas’s Extreme Rambling, three other performances have been shortlisted for Amnesty’s Freedom of Expression award. Here’s a brief rundown Sold

PLEASANCE COURTYARD, 3–29 AUG, 11:10AM, £8–£9

Award-winning director Catherine Alexander’s new show confronts the issue of human trafficking with an uncompromisingly brutal sense of urgency. Covering the many manifestations of what the show describes as “modern day slavery”— from forced labour and domestic servitude to prostitution—Sold explores the horror of trafficking through the eyes of the victims.

Mixing starkly-realised drama with input from activists and charity workers, the stories woven

Release

PLEASANCE DOME, 3–29 AUG (NOT 17, 24), 2:00PM, £10-£11

Created after 18 months of interviews with ex-offenders, probation officers and hostel managers, Release follows three ex-inmates as they negotiate life after prison.

Fusing powerful physical theatre with imaginative set design, the play skilfully avoids political point-scoring and instead delves into the minutiae of life on the outside. Each character is first

together in Sold are based on interviews carried out with victims of sex trafficking. With a cast of graduates from the prestigious Central School of Speech & Drama, these stories of abuse at the hands of traffickers are depicted with harrowing realism.

Alexander worked closely with a number of activist organisations to develop the script, including the Poppy Project and the Human Trafficking Foundation – whose chairman, former Conservative MP Anthony Steen, appears in the play as a narrator portrayed by Peter Randall. [Marcus Kernohan]

carefully constructed, and then followed through the mundane struggles of finding employment, starting a relationship and reconnecting with family.

This rocky, complex process of adaptation is carefully observed, and an astute script captures in particular the struggle prisoners face when revealing their past life to new friends and partners. All three actors shine, but Paul Tinto is the standout performer as the eager, likeable, but ultimately damaged, Kyle. [Sam Friedman]

The Wheel

TRAVERSE THEATRE, 6–28 AUG (NOT 8, 15, 22), TIMES VARY, £17–£19

The Wheel, the latest piece from playwright Zinnie Harris and produced in collaboration with the National Theatre of Scotland, is a dark exploration of the horrors of war and the impact violence has on ordinary people and everyday life.

Opening amid a Franco-Spanish conflict from a pre-industrial age, The Wheel follows one peasant girl and a rag-tag collection of young children as they chase across a series of devas-

16 fest edinburgh festival guide 2011 | August 23-29

tated landscapes. As they travel, each new group of soldiers they encounter are echoes from different and distant eras: peasants with pitchforks, scarred veterans of the Somme’s trenches, Nazi uniforms and Vietnam-era American GIs. Although times might change, Harris is saying, human nature remains violently the same.

With its depictions of torture, murder and an underlying message that violent societies breed violent people, The Wheel is a haunting production that stays lodged in the mind long after leaving the theatre. [Ben Judge]

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SI M O N

C A L L OW

MAGNETS

Federer v Murray

Shylock

HHHH A musical comedy treat with the filthiest puppet in town Page 21 Photo: Claudine Quinn, with thanks to The Sapphire Rooms

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festcomedy

SAMMY J AND RANDY

August 23-29 | edinburgh festival guide 2011 fest 19

festcomedy Toby: Lucky

HHHHH The attention-seeker is a species indigenous to the Fringe, migrating each summer to a habitat rich in limelight. But while compulsive showing off inspires many a festival run, for real-life sisters Sarah and Lizzie Daykin it’s the story of their lives.

In Lucky, double act Toby take sibling rivalry to an uncomfortably familiar low, their tussle for mum’s approval transposed into adulthood.

The characters are fleshed out in a way only first-hand experience could afford, with family footage adding authenticity to a bitter concoction of dance lessons and deep-seated mutual hatred.

Front and centre, neurotic big sis Sarah is a domineering bitch recovering from a strange, destructive addiction.

Stage right, downtrodden Lizzie cuts a tragic figure. Arms limp by her sides, a picture of

quiet despair, she’s compelled by loyalty to let Sarah steer the show towards selfindulgent autobiography and its disastrous conclusion.

Though often pigeonholed as a sketch duo, Toby are poles apart from the peppy revue offered elsewhere. Latent loathing hangs over each offbeat, stilted routine, linking it into the Daykins’ hostilities as

they stare daggers and bicker in hushed tones.

It makes for uneasy viewing, shot through with agonising, Pinteresque pauses and cruel humour that draws both winces and sadistic cackles as Lucky creeps towards the mother of all blowups.

So convincing is the friction between the sisters, it’s hard to imagine it conjured from

nothing. If there is indeed a kernel of truth to the Daykins’ performance, their differences have presumably been settled.

That they have seemingly turned them into something so darkly entertaining is a small miracle. [Lyle Brennan]

said, conversationally it can be a little awkward as Neil and Christine compete with their guests to poke as much fun at themselves as possible. After a while, though, it begins to grate.

Nevertheless, the honesty with which they tear into themselves is refreshing, if a little staged. The opening few

minutes consists of Neil and Christine explaining that the only reason that they’re on stage at all is that they’re broke and don’t even have the luxury of being able to sue the News of the World – they’ve long since ceased to be interesting enough to have their phones hacked. This segment might feel about as spontaneous

as a royal wedding, but the pantomime-esque delivery somehow adds to the quirky charm of this show.

It’s cringeworthy stuff, but surprisingly entertaining. [Ben Judge]

Pleasance Courtyard, 4:30pm – 5:25pm, 21–29 Aug, £9.00 – £9.50

The Hamiltons: High Jinks with the Hamiltons!

HHHHH

Watching the Hamiltons in action is like watching some sort of pantomime car crash. It can be excruciatingly embarrassing, horrifically so, but you just can’t look away. Whether it’s watching Neil looking terrified as Abi Titmuss drapes herself over him, or watching Christine recreate a controversial “snog” with the head of Oxford’s Young Tories (which found its way onto the front page of The Sun back in 1997) with a young sketch comedian, this has to be among the most flat-out bizarre shows on the Fringe.

Of all the conceivably mad ways in which this could have been staged, the chat show format works reasonably well, typically involving four guests and a musical act to close. That

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Udderbelly’s Pasture, 12:45pm – 1:45pm, 22–28 Aug, £10.50 – £11.50

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festcomedy Sammy J and Randy: Ricketts Lane

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Scottish audiences first met Randy, a delightfully foulmouthed and sex-obsessed puppet, in the 2008 Edinburgh hit Sammy J and the Forest of Dreams. Now the purple-faced foam lech and his Aussie comedian co-star are finally back – with Randy, operated and voiced by talented puppeteer Heath McIvor, rightly given equal billing in this blast of a musical.

Ricketts Lane refers to the street where the tempestuous duo live when all goes awry.

Sammy is a struggling tax lawyer who is desperate to make a name for himself with a multi-million dollar fraud case.

When the trail of evidence leads back to housemate Randy he’s forced to prosecute and

Andrew Maxwell: The Lights Are On

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With the fortune to live in interesting times and the comedic skills to capitalise upon them, this is a storming Fringe return for Andrew Maxwell.

The Dubliner hasn’t been this sharp for many a year but he’s re-emerged as a social sage for a fast-changing world.

The mischief’s still there and the maturity only apparent in the wit of the analysis, for this is a conflicted individual who tries and fails to watch the London riots for gag-writing potential, a suburban father of two who’s as excited by a chocolate on a posh hotel pillow as he is by the thought of succumbing to rebellion and smashing the place in. He brooks no bullshit, his own notably excepted, demanding embezzlers face comparable justice to looters, ridiculing those who would chastise bankers for behaving like bankers, reiterating his right

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their friendship is inevitably strained as court and jail time beckon.

Highlights are numerous and the audience barely has time to recover from each masterful comic setpiece before the next is upon them – all tied together by some perfectly contrived running jokes (you’ll never pronounce “Papua New Guinea” correctly again).

The songs are all worthy of Disney, notwithstanding their resolutely R-rated lyrics, while several sketches are perfectly constructed, fully realised comic vignettes in their own right.

There are moments which actually elicit gasps – in particular an ingenious sight gag at the start of a court scene which had many audience members

rubbing their eyes in disbelief.

It’s all terribly silly of course, with an occasional overreliance on swearing to provide the chuckles, but Ricketts Lane is destined to be the highlight of many a Fringe schedule this August. [David Hepburn] Udderbelly’s Pasture, 6:00pm – 7:00pm, 21–29 Aug, £12.50 – £14.00

to laugh at fools who die in stupid circumstances – but finding genuine hope in the Arab Spring and folksy American friendliness.

UKIP are a constant inspiration, Tony Blair a recurring bad penny taken to task and Maxwell is bang on the money when pointing out the weirdness of a British psyche that can perceive Kate and Pippa Middleton so differently. He’s not the first to blame Abdelbaset al-Megrahi’s once-ill health on the Scottish lifestyle and he won’t be the last to characterise Wendi Deng as a ninja. But even here there are some good lines, and routines on junkie romance and sectarian stupidity afford variety. His conclusion on “tabloid shitstorms” isn’t fully developed, but by the time it arrives there’s been such a wealth of first-rate material that it scarcely matters. [Jay Richardson] Assembly George Sq., 9–10pm, 21–29 Aug, £13 – £15

August 23-29 | edinburgh festival guide 2011 fest 21

festcomedy Tom Goodliffe: The Good Liffe

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During his gentle afternoon show, Tom Goodliffe acknowledges a previous review that suggested he could afford to go up an extra gear and perhaps then he could become something special. We have to concur.

It’s a bit of a mystery as to what is missing from this hour. Perhaps the venue is partly to blame. Cabaret Voltaire is what one could politely describe as a “challenging space” and might not suit Goodliffe’s charming lo-fi stylings, but then its sightlines and seating arrangement aren’t ideal for anyone.

Then there is the question of shtick. The show is mainly made up of quick doodles, sketches of information about his family background and his working life before comedy. Into the gaps fall the general jokes about his height (6’6”) and accountants, a rap about his beloved maths and a list of pet peeves - a classic standup shorthand.

What this all adds up to is a good defence of cerebral pursuits and it is in no way a smug, easy or blunt dismissal of office life, but it lacks a consistent rhythm. There’s a feeling that Goodliffe could expand upon his subject matter and colour it in better as extended stories.

He certainly has the demeanour, the patience and the promise of gravitas to become a good storyteller, should he choose to go down that road. Either way his current act seems cluttered with a range of devices, a mix he might want to change for next time. [Julian Hall] Cabaret Voltaire, 3:45pm – 4:45pm, 21–29 Aug, £5.00

Paul Foot: Still Life

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Edinburgh veteran Paul Foot’s latest effort is actually listed in the Fringe programme as “performance art”. Barely five minutes into this irresistibly clever, willfully obtuse show it’s pretty clear why. The stage is dark and empty. Foot, behind a curtain at the side of the venue, is talking through what will happen when the show begins. Five minutes later, he’s still explicating.

With his thin frame, long mullet and flared trousers, Foot looks rather like a cross between the lead singer of the Darkness and Dennis Waterman circa The Sweeney.

And if his sartorial style is off the wall it’s nothing compared to his comedy. Tonight Foot doesn’t so much tell jokes as deconstruct the entire artifice of comedy, scene by painstaking scene.

After 15 minutes “we’re about ready to start the show”, with a series of what Foot calls “glimpses” – surreal premises, most memorably involving Iain Duncan Smith and a cockerel sanctuary, that aren’t so much jokes as hints at jokes. From there it’s a segue into Foot’s alter-ego, Penny, a lascivious

Todd Barry: American Hot

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It’s seven years since Todd Barry last played Edinburgh and you can’t help wondering what exactly he is doing here this time, arriving halfway through the month for 13 shows in that prestigious 3pm slot.

The Bronx-born comic is a well-known face in the US, having popped up in Flight of the Conchords, The Wrestler and on the TV standup circuit, and hardly needs practice doing longer sets as he tours the States regularly. Indeed, his tales of awkward US jaunts fill

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bisexual woman who thinks nothing of aurally assaulting audience members, before Foot climaxes with 10 minutes of quite literally talking gibberish.

By turns verbose, bawdry and witty, Foot consistently challenges the audience, who, after a little early resistance, respond with steady, sustained

laughter. It might be a performance, and at times it can feel a little too considered, but Still Life is undoubtedly the work of a quality comic near the top of his game. [Peter Geoghegan]

the first—and strongest—section of this show.

American Hot actually kicks off with an amusing if slightly overlong introductory video in which Barry and a stooge discuss whether using up several minutes of stage time with an introductory video is really fair on the audience. Well, quite.

Barry isn’t using the Fringe to showcase new material either, as a quick Google search will find him performing some of the show’s better gags at previous gigs. He doesn’t even adjust the set to suit the audience, with gags about NPR (National Public Radio) and Fritos still making the cut. In

fairness he does address that issue late on, retelling the latter gag with Quavers replacing Fritos to prove that “I have been in a shop since I arrived.”

There are some fine moments here and many of those present hang on his every deadpan word. But several punchlines fall unexpectedly flat, and those hangdog features do seem to be saying “Why am I here?” as he surveys the numerous empty seats.

Only he really knows. [Si Hawkins]

Underbelly, Cowgate, 7:40pm – 8:40pm, 21–28 Aug, £6.50 – £11.00

The Stand Comedy Club III & IV, 3:00pm – 4:00pm, 21–28 Aug, £10.00

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festcomedy Martin Mor: The Call of the Golden Frog

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Sam Simmons: Meanwhile

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Sam Simmons is not for everyone and, somewhere between showcasing his favourite pine cones and dancing with a pack of taco shells, he is completely aware of this.

“There are some of you in the audience looking incredibly confused,” he says.

“Unfortunately, this is not going to get better for you.”

From the moment he bursts onto the stage to his exhilaratingly mental finale, Simmons tears about at full pelt, re-enacting his response

W Kamau Bell

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W Kamau Bell peers in at his audience. He’s heard there’s not many “obvious ethnics” in Scotland and surveying tonight’s array of shiny white faces, it looks like his fears have been realised. But being in the minority has never worried the lauded AfricanAmerican comic before, and this year’s intelligent and refreshingly frank exploration of race and ethnicity is no different.

Presented as a pseudo sociology lecture, Bell’s central conceit is that to end racism we must first acknowledge that “race is not real”, that it

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to fake emails he’s received and showing us what is happening in other parts of the world. If this sounds odd, that’s because it is. In his underpants and wielding a trolley full of cereal, Simmons delivers bizarre material with conviction and playful self-awareness. It’s a mixture of song, dance and skits set at such a pace there’s no time to take stock - the only thing to do is go with it.

That’s what Simmons really wants: for everyone to have fun and lighten up a little. With a glint in his eye and his tendency to corpse during the more ridiculous

sections, the show is best described as an experience.

His voice fills the venue while he sweats charisma and commands the room. By the end, even the most cynical have loosened up, so energetic is his set. Of course, there are moments that descend into the incomprehensible. Some leave utterly bemused, some leave in hysterics, but either way one has to appreciate that whatever Simmons is doing.

He is very good at it. [Stevie Martin]

is simply a construct that we have imbued with social and cultural meaning. It’s a strong point and, surprisingly, a good starting point for a comedy show. Using the American news media (never a bad starting point for comedy) as well as questions about race in the American and British censuses, Bell demonstrates our elastic and often arbitrary categorisation of race (Arabs are apparently white, according to the US census).

Somewhere, though, Bell’s point seems to morph from race as an empty category to race as an affirmative tool.

Liberal whites like tonight’s audience, he implores, need to reclaim whiteness from the

extremists. And apparently the first step is for us all to reimagine the James Brown mantra and sing “Say It Loud – I’m White and I’m Proud”. Of course the problem with this is that ethnicity in Scotland is as much about national identity as skin colour, and unfortunately Bell’s US-centric show fails to fully grasp these British specificities.

But despite the occasional intellectual hole, Bell’s is an entertaining and thoughtful hour, showcasing both a playful curiosity and a light comedic touch. [Sam Friedman]

Jovial Northern Irishman Martin Mor is a comedy compere without guests, largely relying on audience interaction to deliver the goods during this old school performance.

By the end of his enjoyable set pretty much every person in the compact room, including the venue technician, has been joshed, flirted with or abused by the bearded comic formerly known as Bigpig.

As he somewhat needlessly explains early in proceedings, the show is structured around a number of headings displayed on a stand stage-left.

“The Road to Excess” signals talk about booze and drugs, “This Mortal Coil” heralds in musings on ageing, while “The Beast With Two Backs” is self-explanatory. Meanwhile, the colourful amphibian of the title gives the former circus performer a chance to do one of his catalogue of impressive party pieces.

You wonder why he bothers, though – for every laugh he gets with the act itself, he gets two louder ones by wading back into a game audience.

The twinkle in his eye gets him far – at one point he seems to threaten one front rower with serious sexual assault and make it sound jocular.

Unfortunately, the sheer gusto he displays when interacting with the punters means there is an inevitable loss of pace when he does get back to the show proper. This ends up in a catch-22 in which he needs to keep momentum up, but can only do that by going to the audience, leading to another lull when he returns to his prepared material. It’s fun but hardly essential viewing. [David Hepburn]

Pleasance Courtyard, 9:30pm – 10:30pm, 21–29 Aug, £11.00 – £12.00

The Stand Comedy Club II, 8:10pm – 9:10pm, 21–28 Aug, £9.00

Gilded Balloon Teviot, 9:15pm – 10:15pm, 21–28 Aug, £10.50 – £11.50

August 23-29 | edinburgh festival guide 2011 fest 23

THE STAND COMEDY CLUB

0131 558 7272 | thestand.co.uk

24 fest edinburgh festival guide 2011 | August 23-29

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AUGUST5-292011

THE STAND COMEDY CLUB

comedy at the heart of the fringe T: 0131 558 7272 www.thestand.co.uk Alun Cochrane // Andy Zaltzman Ava Vidal // Bob Doolally Bridget Christie // Bruce Devlin Craig Campbell // Dave Fulton Damien Crow // Francesca Martinez Fred MacAulay // Gavin Webster James Dowdeswell // Joanna Neary Josh Howie // Lee Camp // Lloyd Langford Markus Birdman // Martin Mor Michael Legge // Mick Sergeant Mitch Benn // Omid Djalili // Paul Sinha Phil Nichol // Phill Jupitus Raymond Mearns // Richard Herring Ro Campbell // Robin Ince Sally-Anne Hayward // Seymour Mace Simon Donald // Simon Munnery Singing' I'm No a Billy, he's a Tim Stephen Carlin // Steve Day // Stewart Lee Steve Gribbin // Susan Murray The Stand Late Club // Tiffany Stevenson Todd Barry // Tony Law // Vladimir McTavish Wendy Wason // Wil Hodgson

festcomedy The Beta Males: The Train Job

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A pioneering super-train, a series of unexplained deaths and disgraced former MP Stephen Byers as a conflicted hero – these are just some of the ingredients of this brilliant sketch-narrative from The Beta Males quartet. With pace and invention befitting its subject matter, The Train Job simply powers along, with some sequences advancing the plot, others merely exploiting the situation for laughs and most achieving both.

Transport secretary Phillip Hammond (Richard Soames) persuades his bitter, corrupt predecessor Byers (Jon Gracey), his crimes reeled off from Wikipedia in damning detail, to try to learn the secret of the locomotive’s propulsion system as it speeds from London to Ssc EdinburghGinAd 297x210:Layout 1

22/2/11

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Edinburgh on its maiden trip.

Designed by the schemingly suspect Evelyn Sands (John Henry Falle) and driven by his none-too-bright, maligned nephew Cyril (Guy Kelly), there’s an enjoyably retro, steam era feel to the story, which despite the contemporary allusions and more grisly moments, resembles an Ealing caper.

Also onboard are the dastardly Marquis of Thievesbury,

the detective inspector whose wife the incorrigible crook persists in sleeping with, a shadowy cabal of evil named The Four, Jack and Rose from Titanic and—making a cameo as the train shoots through Leeds—a Brief Encounter-style adulterous couple. Tightly written and performed, even the more knockabout moments are characterised by snappy dialogue. The sketches vary

from silent movie slapstick to elaborate farce, and the group have tremendous fun occasionally breaking the fourth wall.

If you’ve been waiting for a joyously daft, rail-based romp, The Beta Males have arrived at the Fringe right on time. [Jay Richardson] Pleasance Dome, 4:20pm – 5:20pm, 21–29 Aug, £10.00 – £11.00

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festcomedy Sanderson Jones: comedysale.com/ fringe

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Many months ago, in what admittedly was an obnoxiously bland tweet, I broadcast to the world that “I bloody love Bombay mix”. Fast forward to 20 minutes into Sanderson Jones’ gig, and I’m being pelted by not one, not two, but three bags of Bombay mix. “Evan bloody loves Bombay mix!” howls Jones.

Remarkably, it’s not just my name Jones has memorised.

Every member of his audience must buy their ticket, personally, from the performer. He greets each of them by name as they come in and punctuates his show with facts he has learned about them by trawling social media. Hours after the show, it occurs that this makes a truly terrifying point about the extent of our online lives, Jones’ claim that he is “from the internet” looming into focus.

His show, though, is no forum for quiet contemplation, and what’s obvious first and foremost is the superb shift in the dynamic of a standup gig Jones invokes. It’s an innovative format tailor-made for the hugely personable and charismatic dandy and, in what feels more like a pumped-up meeting than a gig, Jones

presides over an atmosphere of joyous chaos.

If there’s a criticism, it’s that a heft of Jones’ humour is fairly puerile, and so might not prove amusing for all and sundry (indeed, he has a Venn diagram to demonstrate this very fact). That said, it’s hard not to roar at his outrageous use of ChatRoulette, however

close to the winds of taste he sails. Jones is hawking his tickets in the Pleasance Courtyard every day from 1–5:30pm – just vet your Twitter feed before you seek him out. [Evan Beswick]

surprisingly limp, unceremonious fashion. The light-hearted hour that follows is a mishmash of their YouTube hits, wellobserved genre sendups that have clocked up over 25 million views, with some filler in between and a few too many jokes about Benny’s shortness.

Some jokes are geographically misplaced; few audience members here seem to know

who Ray Romano is, for instance. Other successful segments—a love song sung as a cheap German Hitler parody—demonstrate too well the kind of humour that appeals to British audiences. But the strongest part of the show comes from their trademark, constantly updated ‘Four Chords’ song, in which current and past pop hits are shown

to be built around the same chord sequence. It’s an oldie but a goody and this pleasant hour will certainly appeal to longtime fans, even if it does lack some of the spark they’ve shown in previous years.

[Yasmin Sulaiman]

Just The Tonic at the Caves, 9:20pm – 10:20pm, 21–28 Aug, £9.00 – £10.00

The Axis of Awesome

HHHHH In their four years at the Edinburgh Fringe, mock-rockers The Axis of Awesome have graduated from the grungy basement rooms of the Gilded Balloon to its de facto stadium venue, the Debating Hall. But— like other great rock bands of yore—their rise to the big time seems to have been accompanied by a sudden lack of edge.

Lee, Jordan and Benny are still lots of fun, but nothing feels new here and the threesome largely get by on charm.

Tonight’s sell-out audience amply demonstrates the width of their appeal, with stylish visiting thespians squashed up next to burly middle-aged locals. But while the atmosphere is befitting of an Eagles reunion gig, the Axis arrive on stage in

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Gilded Balloon Teviot, 9:30pm – 10:30pm, 21–29 Aug, not 25, £12.00 – £14.00

August 23-29 | edinburgh festival guide 2011 fest 27

festcomedy Nicholas Parsons’ Happy Hour

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This is the eleventh year of octogenarian stage and screen veteran Nicholas Parsons’ chat show, in which he interviews a different trio of Fringe performers each day. You have to tip your hat to the man’s simple staying power—“I’m in a profession that retires you,” he quips, “as long as there’s an audience, you’re there”—though calling this Happy Hour is putting it much too strongly.

The cravat and pinstripe blazer-sporting Englishman bears more than passing resemblance to Alan Partridge – a likeness not diminished by him trying to flog his autobiography at every turn, coming onstage to the Mission Impossible theme and patronising a lady from Sheffield in the front row with a mock Yorkshire accent. He trades in a very mild brand of humour that works a charm on a certain older demographic. But it falls to his guests to try and bring some genuine life and freshness to a show that trundles by slowly and slightly depressingly, without much form or enthusiasm.

Christopher Douglas discusses the Fringe debut of his BBC Radio 4 character Ed Reardon, a failed writer turned curmudgeonly ghost author who, he amusingly speculates—“may well have written your autobiography— Nicholas.” Doctor-turned-singer of “smutty songs”, Adam Kay showcases a few of his deliciously deadpan piano ditties.

Parsons praises Russell Kane to the heavens, but then—as with all of his guests—fails to hit him with one pertinent question and seems conspicuously unable to keep pace throughout their chat. It’d be harsh to say it’s time the business retired Parsons, but this show at least is overdue its pipe and slippers.

[Malcolm Jack] Run ended

Jason Cook: The Search for Happiness

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“We’ve got a reviewer from Fest in tonight, folks. Where is he?”

After a series of false starts I finally, at the third time of asking, make it to Jason Cook.

“Here,” I sheepishly croak from the back row, as what feels like every eye in the sell-out crowd turns on me. “Glad you made it, son. It’s a great show.”

And he’s not far wrong.

Friendly, demonstrative and genuinely funny, right from the get-go Cook forges a warm bond with the audience that serves to heighten, rather than distract from, his rich seam of comic musings on everything from being a Geordie to middle-class dinner parties.

Ostensibly a show about satisfaction, pleasure, contentment, love and intense joy—the five keys to happiness that provide the show’s loose architecture—The Search for Happiness is less a definitive quest and more an extended, gag-filled meander. Along the way we meet a bigoted taxi driver, Cook’s newborn baby and his pleasingly off-the-wall

Caroline Mabey’s One Minute Silence

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Caroline Mabey has an endearingly daft persona, superconfident and disturbed in equal measure. And there’s an amusing premise to her second Fringe show – that among the hustle and bustle of the festival, she will preside over its greatest one-minute silence.

The full extent of this challenge quickly becomes apparent as, in a flurry of hyperbole, she ramps up the life-changing possibilities of achieving this feat for the entire audience, backing it up with the pseudoscience of her projections and

28 fest edinburgh festival guide 2011 | August 23-29

mum, who, as Mohammad Al-Fayed discovered, has a penchant for pretending to know famous people.

Cook has a talent for weaving early audience interactions through his set without picking on people – as I quickly discover. “See that great narrative thread? I’d put that in your review,” he says, then checks

himself. “I’m committing career suicide right now, ladies and gentlemen.”

He smiles, the audience laughs. We all know nothing could be further from the truth. [Peter Geoghegan]

reiterating her superiority by “destroying” a “maggot” in the front row with disproportionate putdowns.

The crowd buy into this madwoman’s fantasy at first, as Mabey possesses enough bluff front and surreal nonsequiturs to make it weirdly entertaining. But unless it’s extremely well executed, a show with nothing at its core eventually starts to frustrate.

Bringing back Kip the animated coffee pot and scrambled egg Mr Skrangles from her debut is an odd move, as anyone who missed that markedly better hour will be bewildered as to their appearance here, with the pair seemingly just filling time.

Mabey slips some memorably self-deprecating lines through the cracks in her all-conquering facade and there’s some droll insight into her innermost thoughts. But her audience interaction just baffles, even if the eventual silence itself has dramatic tension, everyone wondering if anyone will break it. An ambitious, potentially maddening show like this makes big demands on a comic and Mabey doesn’t quite have the brazen skill to pull it off. [Jay Richardson]

Pleasance Dome, 5:30pm – 6:30pm, 21–29 Aug, £12.00 – £13.00

Just The Tonic at the Caves, 6:15pm – 7:15pm, 21–28 Aug, £9.00 – £10.00

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festcomedy Tiernan Douieb vs The World

foray at the Assembly Hall (in the Baillie Room not the 750-seater main hall) leaves less room for frivolity, though he still can’t resist the odd pun.

What he gains in gravitas he risks losing in comedy but— credit where it is due—he, like Josie Long, pins this squirmy proposition down as much as he can and gets the juxtaposition between heavy context and winning punchlines right when it is most needed, most notably using his mum’s take on why the recent riots calmed and how David Cameron calling the rioters “sick” would backfire on the streets.

Big issues have succeeded in making Douieb aim high, and perhaps his act may never be the same again. [Julian Hall]

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Tiernan Douieb’s political awakening, the raison d’etre of his latest show, could not have happened at a more apposite time. Though it started in the spring, its summer airing coincides with a society jolted into asking a lot of questions about itself after the recent riots in England.

While he understands those who take the “ignorance is bliss” route in the face of current affairs, the disappearance of some of his local services and the facile nature of the debate on AV has motivated the ursine jester to get serious and therefore tread a difficult line between politics and punchlines. Much less obviously cute and corny than his previous shows, this latest

The Three Englishmen: Optimists

HHHHH Favourable first impressions are clearly important to this confusingly named quartet. Having personally settled their customers into their seats like hirsute stewardesses they then kick the show off with a clutch of its strongest sketches.

The opening pastiche in which a group of old English folk singers warble about some unlikely consumer items is hugely promising, as is a hilariously homemade Transformers spoof and an elaborate one-liner about musical horses. It’s a very smooth take-off.

Sadly they don’t quite manage to maintain that early standard, and the moments of genius give way to more pedestrian fare. It can be difficult to keep sketch comedy interesting over a full hour—so many tiny intervals where the mind can wander—and their efforts to keep the tempo

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Assembly Hall, 1:45pm – 2:45pm, 22–28 Aug, £8.00 – £10.00

up backfire slightly. Some fine indie rock fills in as they disappear backstage between sketches, but the taste in tunes is a little too good and you find yourself wanting to hear, say, the rest of an old Badly Drawn Boy single rather than embark on another setup, punchline, awkward ending.

The Three Englishmen put together their Edinburgh sets by performing an hour of new material back in London every month, from which they pluck the gems. It’s an admirable policy but does also prevent Pythonesque linkage between sketches, or an overall theme which might give everything more of a coherent flow. To really keep everyone happy next year they should pack their best sketches into the first half, then put on a 30-minute indie disco. Even the Pythons never thought of that one. [Si Hawkins] Just The Tonic at the Caves, 4:00pm – 5:00pm, 21–28 Aug, £8.00 – £9.00

August 23-29 | edinburgh festival guide 2011 fest 29

festcomedy Olver: Portrait of a Serial Killer

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What did you want to be as a child? A policeman? A nurse?

A firefighter? For comedian Mark Olver, the answer he emphatically gives is a little unusual. Olver, you see, wanted to be a serial killer.

And, for an hour, he shares with us exactly how, for the last 15 or so years, he’s been making this particular dream come true.

Portrait of A Serial Killer is a show bursting with ideas.

Indeed, for a good 30 minutes or so, this is a strong, if slightly shambolic, performance which Olver marshalls to great effect. But then he reveals his particular victims of choice: clowns.

Suddenly, what looked like quite an original concept is simply waylaid by this massive cliché. This isn’t a case of being fickle: much of the last third of the set is devoted to florid descriptions of a fantasy secret war between comedians and clowns, culminating in a pre-recorded video message from Olver’s celebrity pal, Russell Howard. And all the while, I’m sitting there bored and disappointed.

And, yes, maybe it’s messy and maybe it doesn’t necessarily always work and maybe the audience interaction is a little stilted, but all this could have been forgiven were the entire premise of the show not suddenly diverted down such a contrived and dull avenue.

There are enough laughs to be had, borne out of Olver’s evident ability as a comedian and his ramshackle hold over proceedings. But, as it is, one leaves Portrait of A Serial Killer feeling more than a little underwhelmed. [Ben Judge] Just The Tonic at the Caves, 3:35pm – 4:35pm, 23–28 Aug, £7.00

Alex Horne: Seven Years in the Bathroom

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Did you know that the average man’s life will include 24 years of sleep, total earnings of £1.5 million and 55 days of sex? Alex Horne does, and he’s keen to tell you in this massively ambitious and complex multimedia standup show.

The comedian, with a little help from a few audience members, aims to recreate the expected 74-year lifespan in a 60 minute period. Thus the seven years in the bathroom of the title becomes five minutes on stage.

A screen keeps tabs on progress, adding years and pieces to the pie-chart of life as Horne demonstrates the activities—from kissing to queueing—with props and punchlines. The whole operation is carefully choreographed to the split second with a voiceover moving things on at the designated time. There’s a real joy in seeing Horne beavering around the stage, desperately trying to hit his marks while chatting with a talking panda or searching for a jar of lemon curd (we spend

Craig Campbell

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Exploding onto the stage, high-fiving as he goes, Craig Campbell is a far cry from the urbane, neurotic comedian types found elsewhere. Clad in shorts and boots with individual toes, and with all that hair, he resembles a shaved saasquatch. Indeed, he plays up his image as a bushy Canadian outdoorsman. His set is packed with stories about climbing mountains, ordering lumber and mugging muggers.

It’s a bracing change from the dinner party angst peddled by other comedians, even if it’s not intrinsically funnier.

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18 months of our lives looking for lost things).

The sheer size and scope of the show is boggling but Horne never loses sight of the need to provide laughs. In the hands of a lesser comedian this could have easily turned into an interesting, but only sporadically funny, lecture.

It’s also pretty inspirational.

By shining a light on where we waste our lives (18 months of literally doing nothing) Horne challenges us to change. As he says himself: “People say that life’s too short. It’s not – we’re just idiots.” [David Hepburn]

Campbell generally gives the impression of a man in control of his environment.

His transatlantic professionalism, perfected across many years at the Fringe, effortlessly wins over the room. Much of his material is designed to flatter an Edinburgh audience, full of anecdotes about Scottish accents and binge drinking. There is some solid observational material and the occasional nicely turned phrase, but his appeal is mostly a matter of energy and slickness. That said, whereas his chatting with the front row is assured, it doesn’t generate too many laughs tonight.

Also, while frequently reducing the audience to hysterics , none of Campbell’s routines are particularly memorable. A final, shocking story shows he could have handled a more challenging but ultimately more rewarding approach. Nevertheless, this is a thoroughly enjoyable, tightly delivered show, exactly as you would expect from a comedian of Campbell’s experience. You just somewhat wish he would venture more off the beaten track. [Jonathan Holmes]

Pleasance Dome, 8:20pm – 9:20pm, 21–28 Aug, £9.50 – £10.50

The Stand Comedy Club III & IV, 9:20pm – 10:20pm, 21–28 Aug, £10.00

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August 23-29 | edinburgh festival guide 2011 fest 31

festcomedy Patrick Monahan: Hug Me I Feel Good

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Let’s be clear: there’s very little substance in Patrick Monahan’s hour. A rough estimate might put it at 50% froth, 48% frippery, and perhaps 2% of solid material. But if Monahan’s show represents a victory of style over substance, it is certainly no pyrrhic win.

For the Irish-Iranian comic is gifted with more than enough effervescent charm to fill a full show and still have people (myself included) queueing for free hugs at the end.

Ostensibly, the show is about six good deeds Monahan has recently undertaken. These are told in his usual, gently amusing storytelling style – complete with well-honed mic work and dramatic whispering.

Six wee vignettes in an hour.

Easy, you’d think? But by story six, there’s about three

Chris Cox: Fatal Distraction

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Chris Cox is yet another of those ubiquitous, nerdily handsome young acts, the type built for TV and plastered all over Edinburgh. He is a mind-reader but, he insists, with a bit of edge about him.

Think more Derren Brown than Uri Geller.

Cox’s problem, though, is

minutes left to whizz through it because, really, the stories themselves are secondary to Monahan’s audience engagement. He chats to them; he dances with them; he invites them up for games. There are hugs, high fives and handshakes aplenty, all delivered with unlimited enthusiasm and infectious positivity. At times

it’s a little shambolic, the lack of real substance making any sort of structure an absolute impossibilty. But if there’s a performer who can charm their way through dead space, it’s Monahan.

It is perhaps no surprise that the hour ends with a participatory game loosely based around the long-running

Forsyth vehicle, Play Your Cards Right. He’s surely angling for a Saturday night TV slot and, with absolutely no snide, negative connotations, the man deserves one. [Evan Beswick]

that he isn’t much of a comedian. Whether it’s his rather wet delivery or his boyish overenthusiasm, he just isn’t really very funny. This wouldn’t necessarily be a huge problem were the quality of his mindreading tricks maintained at a high standard throughout.

But, unfortunately, the show is let down somewhat by an overlong mid-section display which appears to consist largely of statistically informed

guesswork of which at least 30 per cent is a bit off.

That said, there are moments which are genuinely impressive.

In particular, one is filled with a childish sense of awe watching Cox, accurately and in real-time, blindly recreate the drawings of three audience participants.

But most impressive of all, and without wanting to give the game away, the final showstopping moment is a remarkable experience.

There is a poignancy about Fatal Distraction that makes it very hard not to like. The central narrative theme running throughout manages to be affecting without feeling twee, and in many respects grounds a show which could otherwise feel rather aimless and disjointed. [Ben Judge]

Gilded Balloon Teviot, 8:00pm – 9:00pm, 21–28 Aug, not 22, 24, 25, £10.50 – £12.50

Pleasance Dome, 7:10pm – 8:10pm, 21–29 Aug, £12.00 – £14.00

For the best comedy downloads and CDs

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32 fest edinburgh festival guide 2011 | August 23-29

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festcomedy Catriona Knox: Packed Lunch

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A word of warning for those thinking of giving Catriona Knox’s new show a go: avoid the front row, if the idea of getting involved in live performance doesn’t appeal.

You won’t so much be picked on as thrust wholeheartedly into her comedy universe, and it gets messy.

Actually just the thought of sitting through an hour of character comedy would chill the bones of many a festival-goer, but Knox may be the girl to sink those preconceptions. One third of all-female sketch troupe The Boom Jennies, she inhabits her various creations like a squatter in an Islington townhouse: determinedly,

Peacock and Gamble Emergency Broadcast

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A chilling portent of this show’s intellectual rigor dawns as soon as you spot the unpleasant (but supposedly unwitting) pun in one of the participants’ names.

Ian Boldsworth has been working under the pseudonym Ray Peacock for several years, sometimes in cahoots with fine comics like Rob Rouse and Andrew Lawrence,

sometimes angrily. The interaction begins as you enter the room, and in truth the decision to avoid row one may well be taken out of your hands as your hostess— already deeply embedded in character—maneuvers her chosen audience members into participation-friendly positions.

Thankfully for the inhibited, when Knox does choose an accomplice she hardly lets them get a word in edgeways, and is soon onto a new scene and a new stooge. Beautifully acted, Packed Lunch is pitched midway between a sketch show and a RADA audition DVD, as Knox takes her creations through several circles of hell. It’s often excruciatingly impressive.

That old Fame adage

about paying for your craft in sweat certainly applies here as by the show’s end she’s dripping with it and various other lotions and potions, having also scattered confetti, spilt salt and spat pork scratchings all over

the stage. Poor Matt Forde, on afterwards, must look at the mess and wonder. [Si Hawkins]

and now with Ed Gamble. The duo have garnered quite a following via their regular podcast, also a show at this year’s Fringe, but for their late-night effort they really push the envelope and take shameless mugging and general puerility to bold new depths.

The Emergency Broadcast has a decent conceit—that Peacock and Gamble have been employed by the Fringe as last-minute replacements for any shows that are cancelled—but rather than attempt, say, a Reduced

Shakespeare Company-style amalgam of the other offerings on the programme, they put on what is essentially a kids’ show, albeit one no kids should ever see.

Their double act is actually fairly traditional—Gamble acting as straight man, Peacock as feral bear-child—and the material chiefly consists of silly games, songs and costumes. Peacock is oddly watchable, in a look-at-thatweirdo sort of way, but any likeability rapidly deteriorates as the material turns from

slapstick to stupidly offensive late on. Fat jokes (aimed at themselves) and you’re-asexual-deviant jibes (at the audience) are hardly rare, but some casual racism and a sight gag involving contentious ethnic headwear beggars belief.

Even the guffawing drunks fall eerily silent.

Peacock and Gable are both big, but they definitely aren’t clever. [Si Hawkins]

Udderbelly’s Pasture, 1:35pm – 2:35pm, 21–29 Aug, £9.00 – £10.00

Pleasance Dome, 10:50pm – 11:50pm, 21–28 Aug, £8.50 – £9.50

For the best comedy downloads and CDs

Don’t miss your FREE weekday comedy download fix from 23rd-29th August and see the rest of our huge range, many up to 50% off*, at audiogo.co.uk *Discounts quoted are based on RRP, offers available for limited period.

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August 23-29 | edinburgh festival guide 2011 fest 33

festcomedy Neil Delamere: Divilment

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He’s a regular on TV panel and chat shows across the Irish sea. So it seems odd, given the strength of this intelligent and almost always hilarious hour-long riff on his country’s national character, that Neil Delamere hasn’t yet followed his compatriots Ed Byrne and Dara Ó Briain in achieving similar levels of success over here.

Taking “divilment”—the Irish slang for mischievousness—as his theme, he leaps and bounds energetically through what it means to be Irish, offering up

humorous vignettes as illustrative examples and produces new, imaginative takes on such well-worn Emerald Isle topics as alcoholism, RyanAir and the IRA. The last of these is a brilliant, cutting witticism about Republicans blowing up balloons in protest at the Queen’s state visit to Ireland.

Able to find humour and hope in the darkest of corners— he even manages to make hilarious the initially alarming concept of a suicidal baby— Delamere personifies perfectly the irrepressible, cheeky sense of fun that he claims is so central to his homeland, even as it weathers one the most serious crises in its history.

He perhaps relies a little too much on audience interaction, devoting what feels like a good 10 minutes or so to an Azerbaijani dancer in the front row who has caught his wandering eye, although he does at least manage to make some substantive links between each person and his material.

Whether the Irish really are intrinsically funnier than any other nation is up for debate, but on the strength of this performance, it seems entirely possible. [Dan Heap]

driving”). Ostensibly, though, what you are paying for here is to watch three pals dick about on stage. To be fair to them, there’s more humour to squeezed out of that than one might expect. But dicking

about does not a Fringe show make – well, not a good one at least. [Evan Beswick]

Pleasance Courtyard, 7:40pm – 8:40pm, 21–28 Aug, £11.00 – £12.00

A Betrayal of Penguins: Endangered for a Reason

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The premise, we are told, is simple: A Betrayal of Penguins will take three disparate plot lines and, over the course of an hour of sketch comedy, manoeuvre them hilariously towards some sort of unity.

The reality, however, is somewhat different: be it in the lousily constructed characters, wafer-thin plotlines or acting so hammy you could make a sandwich with it, A Betrayal of Penguins: Endangered for a Reason forms a fairly shoddy hour. This might be partly attributed to the fact that the threesome’s main aim for their Fringe run appears to be to make each other corpse.

And, in this sense they aren’t entirely unsuccessful – indeed, so well do they succeed here that it actually engenders some of the shows biggest laughs. It is a poisoned chalice, though.

When the chaotic asides— asides which, on their own, lend the show a rather studenty, self-indulgent feel—prove much more enjoyable then the

actual material, one can’t help but feel there are some chasms being papered over.

The trio do manage some nice moments of comedy (“sorry I’m late; people kept getting hit by the car I was

34 fest edinburgh festival guide 2011 | August 23-29

Gilded Balloon Teviot, 5:45pm – 6:45pm, 21–29 Aug, £8.50 – £9.50

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August 23-29 | edinburgh festival guide 2011 fest 35

festcomedy John Robins: Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas to Heaven

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The middle of the road is not known as the most fertile ground for comedy. When faced with a contentious issue, the comic’s typical first instinct is to come down on one side of the fence and snipe at those on the other.

But genial, mild-mannered John Robins doesn’t take the obvious route. Instead, he preaches tolerance, moderation and a mistrust of those who take the moral high ground. As it turns out, this makes for a refreshing lack of sanctimony and an unusually convincing brand of self-deprecation – but his moderate attitude yields only middling laughs.

Religion is the loose focal

Jason John Whitehead: Letters from Mindy

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Last year, after a five year long relationship, Jason John Whitehead found himself unceremoniously dumped.

Having been stranded in Australia as a result of the Icelandic volcano eruption, he returned home to find his girlfriend had moved in with her mother and was not

point for the set, explored through stories including Robins’ self-deluding belief in “kitty heaven” and, intriguingly, his relationship with his pious estranged father. On top of this, he seeks to deflate a host of opinionated “divs”: his

“alternative” friends; smug atheist comics; purveyor of boneheaded satirical graffiti and fellow Bristolian Banksy.

As an unassuming big softie, he is well placed to do so, and offers up some salient points with minimal force.

coming back. Letters from Mindy is Whitehead’s attempt to understand and get over the breakup.

It is a charming show, full of daft stories about his friends’ less-than-successful attempts at cheering him up.

Indeed, it is as much about rekindled friendship as it is about lost love, and listening to Whitehead jovially discuss his friends’ bizarre coping strategies is a real highlight. It is with these anecdotes that

Whitehead displays a real flair for storytelling.

If there is one major flaw in this show, it’s that it lacks any convincing sense of poignancy. It is a little difficult to really care about Whitehead’s crumbled relationship when we’re never given any real personal insight into who this ex-girlfriend was and why he was in love with her. Nor do we ever get a real sense as to why the relationship ended. Perhaps it is that

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His many anecdotes are full of colour and pace, particularly that in which he is bombarded with sex toys while playing a rowdy weekend comedy club unbefitting of his gentle humour. Each is delivered with Robins’ uncool, almost Partridgesque vocabulary, comprising clunky initialisms and gratuitous overuse of “dude” – all of which goes down a treat.

But without the vehemence enjoyed by his more black-and-white contemporaries, he wends his way to a mawkish and knowingly feeble conclusion, and this perfectly enjoyable show—like some of the material contained therein—fails to pay off in any memorable fashion. [Lyle Brennan] Just The Tonic at the Caves, 7:00pm – 8:00pm, 21–28 Aug, £8.00 – £9.00

Whitehead genuinely doesn’t know. Perhaps he considers it too private to go into in such depth. But as it is, Letters From Mindy too often errs on the side of generic breakup jokes and not enough on the side of the genuinely insightful or touching. It’s good fun, but not much more than that.

[Ben Judge] Udderbelly’s Pasture, 10:25pm – 11:25pm, 21–28 Aug, £10.00 – £12.00

8:30PM

3 - 28 AUG (not 15)

36 fest edinburgh festival guide 2011 | August 23-29

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festcomedy Seann Walsh: Ying and Young

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“Things are moving so quickly,” says Seann Walsh hoarsely. With his new Fringe offering, the 25-year-old comic is on wistful form, playing the regular bloke bemused by the minutiae of modern life. He bounds around the stage with labrador cheer, affably helping latecomers to their seats and delivering five minutes from a supine position to illustrate a point.

A boyish Brightonian who readily acknowledges that his shaggy blonde hair makes him look “a bit like Justin Lee Collins”, Walsh delivers his everyman observational comedy in a rambling stream of consciousness packed with callbacks that are generally the only thread holding it all together. When he’s on form, bringing the audience with him on his ambling journey through the world we live in, Walsh can be blisteringly funny, but he spends too much time on comedic clichés—Marks & Spencer and middle-class aspirations—and bland “I hate that, when...” gags.

At times, Ying and Young can be a warmly funny reflection on mid-20s listlessness, but just when you think Walsh has committed to a theme, he drops

Eric Lampaert

HHHHH another non sequitur and darts off-piste again. There’s a charm to this lightly shambolic nature, but it’s unquestionably Walsh’s charm, not the show’s.

If he weren’t so likeable, one suspects that his lack of direction would quickly become unbearable. An awkward conversation with an especially moronic heckler knocks him off-balance, but his bafflement is disarming.

Wryly self-aware, he professes himself at peace with tepid reviews.

“Three stars!” he says, with strange pride. And here, at least, pride is in order. [Marcus Kernohan] Pleasance Courtyard, 8:15pm – 9:15pm, 21–28 Aug, £10.00 – £11.00

Having been the only remotely watchable thing on ITV2’s hideous OMG! With Peaches Geldof, Eric Lampaert makes his Fringe solo debut with an hour that showcases his many talents but ultimately fails to ignite.

The proud owner of a face designed for standup—all huge eyes and huger smile—he’s very much from the Ross Noble school of comedy. With only a limited amount of written material, the rest of the set is filled with extended improvised flights of fancy.

But, while Noble has an impressively consistent hit rate, Lampaert more often than not runs down a comedy cul-desac. Only his elfish personality and exuberant nature allow him to back away from regular dead ends with a modicum of dignity.

His material, such as

it is, sees him explain a nomadic childhood in which he had lived in seven different countries by the age of 12.

This background means he is multilingual – a talent he uses throughout, even impressively indulging in Afrikaans banter with some South African visitors. Less pleasing is a hack routine on the failings of school French (où est la plume de ma tante, anybody?).

There’s also some amusing chat about his jockey father, his acting career and a tough adolescence. It’s basically a 10-minute club set padded out to an hour-long show.

He’s certainly got the ability, but Lampaert simply needs more jokes and greater self control when it comes to the fanciful mental excursions that threaten to trip him up at every turn. [David Hepburn] Pleasance Courtyard, 6:00pm – 7:00pm, 21–29 Aug, £9.50 – £12.00

“ ”

The Scotsman

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8:30PM

3 - 28 AUG (not 15)

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August 23-29 | edinburgh festival guide 2011 fest 37

festcomedy The Boy With Tape On His Face

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With wide-eyed innocence and a deeply charming sense of mischief, Sam Wills returns to Edinburgh with his marvellous creation The Boy With Tape On His Face. 2011’s run offers Fringegoers the chance to see last year’s critically acclaimed show in a much larger setting.

The premise is simple. With a strip of gaffer tape covering his mouth, Wills channels the spirit of the great silent clowns: Chaplin, Keaton, Marceau. What follows is an hour of expertly formed silent comedy performed with captivating charisma.

Some of it may be reasonably established vaudevillian fare— Wills isn’t above throwing his arm through a lady’s dress and caressing himself—but there are more than enough smart, funny and original moments to really make this something special.

Perhaps most striking of all is that, for some reason, being unable to talk gives Wills a commanding sense of authority and wisdom. It also removes any hint of malice from his routines.

True, the audience participants are invariably the butt of the joke, but there is an affection behind the laughs that serves to reassure each new person who clambers on stage. The end result is a surprisingly intimate and interactive experience made doubly impressive by the sheer size of his audience.

Throw in a nicely selected musical playlist and the results are incredible. It may simply be a re-run of last year’s show, but for those that weren’t lucky enough to catch it first time round, The Boy With Tape On His Face is a genuine Fringe highlight. [Ben Judge] Pleasance Courtyard, 9:10pm–10:10, 21–28 Aug, £10.50 – 12.50

38 fest edinburgh festival guide 2011 | August 23-29

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WS ADDED EXTRA SHO 23rd at 5:10pm AUG 22nd &

W ADDED EXTRA SHO th AUG at 11pm SATURDAY 27

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August 23-29 | edinburgh festival guide 2011 fest 39 www.boundandgaggedcomedy.com

FEST

BEST

THEATRE

We’ve spent the best part of the last three weeks seeing hundreds of performances at this, the world’s largest arts festival.

Gathered here are the ten shows which receive Fest’s highest seal of approval: our highlights of the Fringe 2011 GRIPPING URBAN DRAMA

Bones

ZOO UNTIL 28 AUGUST, 4.10PM £9 Fest cover star Joe Doherty’s towering performance as the sweary city lad trapped in a simmering cage of social deprivation makes Bones one of the most gripping, surprisingly compassionate and heartbreakingly simple tales of the Fringe this year. “A dark, unremittingly hopeless exploration of family dysfunction, violent youth culture and a very real, very much ongoing, human tragedy,” we said.

DARK DELIGHT

The Dark Philosophers TRAVERSE, TIMES VARY, 9–28 AUG, NOT 15, 22

This rich, handsome and darkly comic staging of Gwyn Thomas's The Dark Philosophers has given its Welsh author the ultimate gift: not one, but several lives beyond his 1981 death.” It’s an intriguing premise and one that’s fully realised in a careering melting pot of comic absurdity produced by Told By An Idiot and National Theatre Wales. “Unexpected and brilliant” said we.

UPLIFTING COMEDY MUSICAL

The Monster In The Hall

TRAVERSE THEATRE UNTIL 28 AUGUST, (NOT 22), TIMES VARY, £15-£17

Prolific Edinburgh playwright David Greig’s genre-subverting comedy musical, while never skirting the serious social issues at its core, burns a huge hole of happiness in another boundary-pushing programme at the Traverse: “A thrillingly beautiful, joyfully wrong-footing gem” said our reviewer.

40 fest edinburgh festival guide 2011 | August 23-29

STUNNING MIME

Translunar Paradise

PLEASANCE DOME UNTI 29 AUGUST (NOT 22), 3.40PM, £9.50-£10 “Simultaneously theatre from nothing, and from everything; the rituals and rites of life lived, and a love that stretches out across it all and beyond,” we said of this peerless piece of wordless mime.

“An exquisitely orchestrated, physical exploration of loss and companionship… one of the most affecting love stories ever seen at the Fringe.”

FINANCIAL SATIRE

Spent

PLEASANCE DOME UNTIL 29 AUG (NOT 23), 2.55PM, £9-£9.50

As the Fringe rocks and rolls to the sounds and sights of performers taking pot-shots at the financial foolishness of the last few years, it is Ravi Jain and Adam Paolozza’s hilariously astute satire that stands out most: “Slick and polished human theatre… about the relationship between two people set against a collective and institutional lunacy that knows the price of everything and the value of nothing.”

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COMEDY

NAZI-SMASHING

Humphrey Ker

PLEASANCE COURTYARD UNTIL 29 AUG, 7.15PM, £10–£12.50 The most successful Penny Dreadful to strike out solo this year, the gangly sketch veteran’s Nazi-smashing war hero is one to get behind: “Brilliantly silly throughout – and beautifully played. A captivating hour of characterbased tomfoolery. Bayonetin-the-abdomen funny.”

SILENT BUT DEADLY ANARCHIC GENIUS

Adam Riches

PLEASANCE COURTYARD UNTIL 29 AUGUST, 4.45PM, £10-£11 “Bring me the Head of Adam Riches is never more than a whisker away from absolute chaos” we said, having spent a health-and safety-flouting hour in the company of the swirling imagination of Mr Riches. “Never less than brilliant”.

Doctor Brown

UNDERBELLY COWGATE UNTIL 29 AUGUST, 9.50PM, £9.50-£10.50

The hirsute American absurdist very much ploughs a lone farrow at this year’s Fringe. And thank goodness for that: “He has the air of an isolated tribesman working out how to interact with other humans, and failing to brilliantly strange effect.

Woe betide anyone who stumbles across Becaves without some idea of what they’re in for. But for those jaded by the pedestrian bilge that litters the comedy landscape, Doctor Brown is good for what ails you.”

MODERN POET

Luke Wright

UNDERBELLY COWGATE UNTIL 28 AUGUST, 4.15PM, £9.50-£10.50 Patriotic, impassioned and piling a fivestick of explosives up the business end of poetry as we know it, the baby-faced bard Luke Wright has been educating, agitating and enlightening for years now. Cynical Ballads weighs in with an extra punch and pathos and takes Wright to the next level: “Sometimes hysterical, sometimes sweet, sometimes poignant, but always mesmerising.”

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SKETCH SURREALISTS

The Pajama Men ASSEMBLY HALL UNTIL 29 AUGUST, 9.00PM, £13-£14

Since their 2004 debut, the nightwear pair have been slowly perfecting their already fine craft. With In The Middle Of No One comes their high watermark: “Silly voices are bleated, croaked and screamed, lines are wrung within an inch of their comedic life, bodies are shape-shifted, absurdity is tickled and the audience is floored… one of the funniest shows of this or any other Fringe”.

August 23-29 | edinburgh festival guide 2011 fest 41

wordonthestreet

LAURA From: Cornwall First impressions of the Fringe: It’s amazing, there’s so much going on.

What are you going to see? I’ve heard good stuff about Bane which is a one-man thing told in three parts and Swamp Juice – mysteriously, I’ve been told to sit and fourth row, but I don’t know why...

Anything bizarre happened to you yet? Probably – but I was too drunk to remember Talking of which, any good spots for a wee drink? I can’t really remember the name, because I was too drunk, er, what’s that patio place called?

Oh, the Urban Gardens! That was is it. I don’t know, I’m usually just taken round places....

ADAM From: Kent First time here? No, I came here two years ago to watch stuff, but this is my first time as a performer – I’m in a play called Body of Water.

What are you going to see? Bane. I’ve seen the third instalment this year and it’s very good.

Anything bizarre happened to you yet? It’s good to train your body for extreme situations. I spent last night wrestling with the show’s director at 7am.

I had his bum squashing my balls.

Favourite Fringe watering hole?

Well, because of the extortionate prices of most venues, I tend to stay at home until about 1am, then hit the Pleasance Dome or the Gilded Balloon who usually put on a good night.

42 fest edinburgh festival guide 2011 | August 23-29

LES From: Merseyside First time here? No, I used to live here as a student a long time ago.

Best show so far? The Thinking Drinker’s Guide to Alcohol at the Pleasance Courtyard. I’ve just seen it and it was bloody great; it was intelligent comedy with lots of information and they gave us free beer and drinks.

Any bizarre or scandalous stories?

Yeah, but I’m not going to tell you. I’ve drunk a lot of beer. Oh, and I took my trousers and pants off by the Tron some years back.

Favourite Fringe watering hole?

Any place where there’s good beer. Bannerman’s is very good, so is the Ale House – superb beer.

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Mystery and intrigue are the key to enjoying this immersive video goggle experience from Il Pixel Rosso Page 45

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Photo: Claudine Quinn

HHHHH

festtheatre

AND THE BIRDS FELL FROM THE SKY

August 23-29 | edinburgh festival guide 2011 fest 43

festtheatre I, Malvolio

HHHHH For a lesson in how to make Shakespeare your own, take a leaf out of Tim Crouch’s book. His one-man I, Malvolio is like seeing Twelfth Night through a kaleidoscope, and the pictures that he puts together are often hilarious, often challenging and breathe new life into a familiar classic.

Crouch—the man behind last year’s controversial The Author—says and thinks of everything his bullied and seemingly ridiculous character was never allowed to, and as Malvolio’s tragic tale teeters over the abyss of insanity we are allowed a glimpse or two into the deep.

Crouch’s Malvolio orders the audience to take part in his warped story. He tests their sanity as a counter-weight to his own and crosses personal lines in such a charming way

it has adults and children in stiches. Strained and hysterical but never tongue-tied, his rendition of the play is a bit like listening to a lecturer on absinthe. Moreover, the intimate Traverse 2 space provides Crouch with an element of control and he commands the room masterfully.

44 fest edinburgh festival guide 2011 | August 23-29

I, Malvolio is the fourth oneman Shakespeare adaptation from Crouch, who has previously taken on The Tempest (I, Caliban), A Midsummer Night’s Dream (I, Peaseblossom) and Macbeth (I, Banquo) as partners in his playful “anti-canon”.

The project, which started as a one-off in 2003, has gone from

strength to strength since its beginnings. As this new production continues its success, one can only hope Crouch puts his magic into more of Shakespeare’s works. [Marthe Lamp Sandvik] Traverse Theatre, times vary, 23–28 Aug, £15.00 – £17.00

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festtheatre And The Birds Fell From The Sky

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It’s difficult to review And The Birds Fell From The Sky without giving too much away.

A 15-minute long interactive “video goggle experience” by Il Pixel Rosso (the combined efforts of theatre director Silvia Mercuriali and film director Simon Wilkinson) in which you are thrown into a car journey with a gang of drunk clowns is all that can be said – any more would spoil this uniquely bizarre experience.

Guided through different scenes, the audience plays the central character in a series of dream-like events strung together by symbols that are constantly shifting.

The narrative is nigh-on incomprehensible, but this is not about plot or logic. This is about immersing yourself in a single moment, and how

overwhelming such moments can be. The video goggles and headphones handed out at the starting point block out any sense of those around you, making the experiences utterly solitary. Despite the reality of your fellow audience members, there is nobody other than you in that car and the result is both disarmingly personal and disorientating.

This may sound irritatingly vague, but such mystery is just as much a part of its success as the piece itself. There is something powerful about sitting in a holding room with a few other people, all with absolutely no idea what is about to happen. Weird, beautiful and wonderfully executed, see And The Birds Fell From The Sky with no preconceptions and you will not be disappointed. [Stevie Martin] C eca, until 29 Aug, times vary, £9.50

Hotel Medea

HHHHH

100 participants, 15 actors, five miles of wiring, ten rooms over three floors, a 5000 year old story – and all played out over six hours in the middle of the night. Brazilian-UK theatre company Zecora Ura have set themselves a very high bar in this ambitious retelling of the myth of Medea.

After entering the dissection labs of the old University of Edinburgh veterinary school, the audience find themselves at a Brazilian street party, the mood broken when the Argonauts, updated to motorcycle leather-clad mercenaries, storm in, killing the locals and capturing Medea. A beautiful marriage ceremony in which the audience ritually strip and wash Jason and Medea closes the first act, whereupon those with tickets only for the first part of Hotel Medea leave, giving way to a

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series of disjointed scenes in which audience members play Jason’s campaign workers and then his children, dressed in pyjamas and tucked up in bed.

Over these six hours, the audience are required to concentrate on a complicated plot, often played out in a highly oblique way. Consequently, the production requires the creation of an all-encompassing

world – one so powerful that there is no question of not being completely drawn in.

Unfortunately, this is far from the case—as evidenced by the audience’s drooping eyes and bored expressions—and one of the main protagonists bizarrely breaking character to plug another show doesn’t help.

Apart from a few extremely

powerful scenes, the long minutes spent alternately watching grainy CCTV footage and then pseudo-artistic dance routines feels like a never-ending progression of overly ambitious art college exhibitions, not the moving retelling of an ancient myth. [Dan Heap] Summerhall, 11:45pm – 5:30am, 25–27 Aug, £29.50

August 23-29 | edinburgh festival guide 2011 fest 45

festtheatre Bashir Lazhar

HHHHH

A substitute teacher’s lot is rarely a happy one: parachuted into situations not of their choosing, the butt of pranks from students who realise they’re unlikely to be around long, doomed to wander from school to school. Perhaps, without being too melodramatic, you could say that a substitute teacher is a bit like an asylum seeker – drifting in the interstices, searching but seldom finding a permanent home.

In Bashir Lazhar, Montreal writer Evelyne de la Chenelière takes this rather unlikely analogy and runs with it. The titular teacher, played with plenty of verve by Michael Peng, is an Algerian immigrant in Canada.

In this one-man show, the consistently chalk-covered Mr Lazhar struggles to bring order

to the lives of students whose previous teacher committed suicide in their classroom.

His own internal life is also in tumult as he faces deportation back to the country where his wife and three children were murdered.

Cory Sincennes and Jennifer Goodman’s giant chalkboard stage is a wonderful piece of set design and the

Diamond Dick

HHHHH

The little-known shorter fiction of F. Scott Fitzgerald, on which this show is based, contains many potboilers he resentfully wrote throughout his career as less the literary legend than a cash-strapped writer. And with its opulent art deco style posters, PaperTape Theatre’s Diamond Dick clicks straight away. This is an exercise in style, and the audience smiles at the concept as they shuffle into their seats.

Ready and waiting on stage is a movie set bustling with actors and crew. It’s the golden age of Hollywood and everything is in monochrome, from the painstakingly painted-up actors to the furniture and equipment. The audience is inside the silver screen and the illusion is stunning.

But aside from the aesthetics, and despite the slick performances, there’s

46 fest edinburgh festival guide 2011 | August 23-29

lecture theatre setting, replete with paper airplanes on most desks, complements the play nicely. Unfortunately, while the culture shock premise is a strong one and the analogy between the substitute teacher and the asylum seeker arresting, the drama feels too chaotic and the plot unnecessarily obfuscatory. The curious decision to allow Bashir to

deliver lines to invisible characters doesn’t help matters either. It’s a shame, as there are some gems in Chenelière’s script and enough innovation on stage to raise Bashir Lazhar above the Fringe humdrum.

[Peter Geoghegan] Assembly George Square, times vary, 23–28 Aug, £11.00 – £12.00

nothing here for general audiences – no meaningful story to follow and nothing really to take away. The premise that the characters are filming an adaptation of Fitzgerald’s story Diamond Dick bears no significance in its own right, and the play would likely be the same with another similar story as its central inspiration. And so when the lights go up at the end, a confused audience stays still – there must be more, right?

The show is misleading billed as “a tale of adventure and heartbreak on the streets of interwar New York” and, though strikingly elegant in its execution, this is more a demonstration of technique than a tale of anything in particular. A more accurate blurb would have been “look what we can do.” [Junta Sekimori] C venues - C soco, 7:30pm – 8:20pm, 21–29 Aug, £7.50 – £9.50

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August 23-29 | edinburgh festival guide 2011 fest 47

festtheatre One Under

HHHHH “We behave like selfish animals on the underground,” runs an especially resonant line in PartingShot’s One Under, a devised theatre piece that searches real life testimonies from tube passengers to find a kind of poetry in the dirty, sweaty, claustrophobic rat race that’s run every day beneath London’s streets.

In an opening section almost like a dance piece, four cast members move in and out of an imagined train in choreographed sequence miming to audio interviews with a cross-section of Londoners, who each respond with surprising candour to questions about their underground experiences. One young female admits to fantasising about being stuck on a broken down train with just JLS for company, while a gruff bloke grumbles about once seeing a woman breast-feeding her baby “just like she was sittin’ at ‘ome.”

The body of the show, however, is dramatised. Via inner monologues, we hear four people—all trapped together in a carriage after an emergency stop—stew in their petty annoyances at fellow travellers and reflect on hopes, joys, tensions and anxieties in their personal lives. An American young professional conducts an imaginary relationship with a stranger sitting across from her and a retired old man philosophically laments losing his wife to vascular dementia.

All told, it’s more gently thought-provoking than it is profound. But the play’s subtle dénouement is uplifting, as that unspoken code of deliberate silence, ignorance and perhaps even mean-spiritedness we all obey in the uncaring rush from A to B momentarily dissolves.

[Malcolm Jack] Pleasance Courtyard, 12:45pm – 1:45pm, 22–29 Aug, not 23, £7.50 – £8.50

My Best Friend Drowned in a Swimming Pool

HHHHH

Eva O’Connor’s latest dramatic delight refuses to reduce young people to the shallow Hollywood labels of Goth, Geek or Jock. Instead, her characters appear real, conveying brilliantly the bittersweet nature of teenage life.

A talented dramatist and actor, O’Connor rose to attention following her Fringe debut Clinical Lies, which she wrote and starred in. Her latest creation is an in depth examination of the grief that grips a close-knit group of friends after one of their number dies, and sees her once again assuming a prominent role in a small cast of five.

O’Connor has a gift for writing witty and realistic dialogue, and while the subject matter of My Best Friend Drowned... can be heavy going, the witty interactions between the characters are extremely funny. In particular, Liam—a gay Catholic and proud of it—provides much needed comic interjections that lighten the mood.

All of the cast do an

A Day in November

HHHHH

When you’re over 100 years old, you tend to forget names and faces – even your own.

However, there are certain things one is determined to remember.

This is a melancholy puppet show for adults. The marionette who plays the Old Man has a pleasing physicality and a face it’s impossible not to love. Rumen Gavanozov’s puppetry is subtle and affecting. He casts himself as a faintly embarrassed carer, annoyed by the Old Man’s tendency to fall asleep and interrupt the story. It’s a shrewd reinterpretation of the

48 fest edinburgh festival guide 2011 | August 23-29

excellent job of bringing their characters to life, but O’Connor is by far the most captivating to watch. Her character, Emily, is a dark and brooding girl whose acid tongue and razor sharp wit belies the emotional turmoil she is going through.

Teenage stereotypes are a convenient way for those who have forgotten what it is

like to be young to categorise people they do not understand.

It is clear that O’Connor understands exactly what it is like to be young and is adept at communicating it in both word and action. [Matthew Macaulay]

dependent nature of many elderly people.

A Day in November is primarily a study of age and memory: how forgetfulness forces us to redefine objects and ourselves. It can be very powerful. Images such as the Old Man staring at a tuba— oblivious to what it once meant to him—are moving.

Yet, in much thve same way that elderly relatives can invoke annoyance (and subsequent guilt at these feelings), the Old Man tries the audience’s patience. His small noises and repetitive speech quickly grow exasperating. At one point, even Gavanozov takes to drinking onstage, calling the Old Man names

with a nasty edge.

The approach makes a point about how we treat our elders, but doesn’t make enduring it less irritating. This isn’t helped by the cramped theatre and deafening noise of another show booming through the walls.

If anything, A Day in November is too successful in replicating this particularly awkward relationship.

Throughout, the Old Man keeps declaring that “This is a day worth remembering”. Unfortunately, A Day in November is not. [Jonathan Holmes]

C venues - C soco, 9:45pm – 10:40pm, 21–29 Aug, £7.50 – £9.50

Zoo Southside, 5:00pm – 6:00pm, 21–29 Aug, £8.50

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festtheatre The Strange Undoing of Prudencia Hart

HHHHH

The first thing you notice about The Strange Undoing of Prudencia Hart—one of the most wonderful, uplifting plays in David Greig’s bulging canon—is its lively, festive atmosphere. The audience are seated cabaretstyle as the actors weave between tables, chatting to punters and making them feel at home. With live traditional folk music (performed with gusto by the cast) playing you in, it’s not long before your toes are tapping and you’re chatting to your neighbours like you’ve known them for years.

Then, the invisible curtain goes up and this inventive, absorbing tale starts to unfold.

Prudencia Hart, an earnest Edinburgh academic, makes her way to a conference on

Border Ballads on a snowy winter’s night and finds herself embroiled in her own ballad-like tale of romance, heroism and supernatural goings-on. Set in the present day but told in the style of a traditional ballad (primarily in rhyming couplets), the format may sound jarring but the two worlds meld together effortlessly, creating an atmosphere that’s effervescent with merriment and mischief.

Wils Wilson’s slick direction

spreads the performance across the spacious upper floor of the atmospheric Ghillie Dhu, so the action happens all around the audience. His creative staging and the ensemble cast’s largerthan-life acting make this a blissful theatrical experience, even though the momentum slows down a touch after the interval. But Greig’s writing impresses most – he coaxes pithy jokes and well-observed details into what seems, on

the surface, a fairly restrictive metrical pattern. Fusing a reverence for balladry with an inherent recognition of the absurdities of the form, Greig skilfully brings together Prudencia Hart’s transcendental narrative and, together with Wilson and the cast, creates a heart-stopping musical finale.

[Yasmin Sulaiman] Traverse @ Ghillie Dhu, 3pm – 5:30, 21–27 Aug, not 22, £15

The seven Weill

deadly sins There’s a world of temptation out there HMV Picture House, Edinburgh Mon 29 Aug 9pm Sat 3 Sep 7pm & 9pm 0844 847 1740

O2 ABC, Glasgow Wed 31 Aug 9pm Thu 1 Sep 9pm 0844 477 2000

Book online at scottishopera.org.uk Registered in Scotland Number SCO37531 Scottish Charity Number SCO19787

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August 23-29 | edinburgh festival guide 2011 fest 49

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August 23-29 | edinburgh festival guide 2011 fest 51 th Sou

festtheatre Ink

Muscle

Helen is a middle-aged, English mother, sitting in a non-descript waiting room somewhere in Texas. She is waiting to see Thomas, the man she is in love with – only she has never met him before. And to make matters even more bizarre, this particular waiting room is in a top-security prison and Thomas is a convicted murder awaiting execution on death row.

Strangely, this central conceit is far from the least believable thing in this production. Indeed, the phenomenon of lonely women striking up relationships with condemned men on death row is surprisingly well documented. Instead, what’s incredibly difficult to buy into is the familial relationship between the mother and her daughters. Quite whether this is down to some rather woeful amateur dramatics or the sledgehammer-subtle script is difficult to say. But the consequence is that it’s difficult to particularly empathise with anyone as the unit breaks apart under the strain of Helen’s decision to fly out to Texas to watch Thomas die.

Perhaps the greatest problem with this production is that never really explains why Helen is driven to contact Thomas or why it is that she ends up falling in love with him. We see snippets of her mental state, but never an examination. Instead, we are told that she loves him and are expected to simply accept it. Consequently, Ink feels woefully shallow – more soapopera than psycho-drama.

The play ultimately overstretches itself. It glances over depression, domestic violence, love and rehabilitiation without ever giving these issues the time and attention they deserve. [Ben Judge]

Though listed under physical theatre, Muscle feels more like theatre with some physicality thrown in. In fact, some of the physical pieces actually seem a little tacked on, it being obvious there are two or three cast members adept at balletically throwing themselves around. That said, this is an excellent production exploring the many facets of masculinity with a strong cast spanning across the ages— from the young and blue-eyed to the old and bespectacled—all of whom bring something slightly different to the show.

Comprised of various short scenes depicting different forms of violence, relationships and aggression, each is set to a backdrop of screens, wheeled to form houses, prisons and back alleys. It’s simple but effective, and there really are moments of genius within these miniature scenes.

One in which a man in a taxi confronting the children he assaulted and the wife he hates, constrasted with a taxi driver reminiscing about Gaddafi’s army raping men’s wives before their eyes, is especially moving.

The pieces remain stripped

HHHHH

C venues - C soco, 8:55pm – 9:55pm, 21–29 Aug, £7.50 – £9.50

HHHHH

Pushing Up Poppies

HHHHH

As far as it is possible to discern, Pushing up Poppies sets up a farce on the battlefield of World War I and by doing so seeks to explore the maddening tedium of war.

It’s a production that seems to err on the side of showing rather than doing. It’s hard to say what is more infuriating about this production: that it comprises of a tedious collection of hackneyed, unengaging episodes; or that the comedy wouldn’t make the cut in a small-town amateur

52 fest edinburgh festival guide 2011 | August 23-29

down to their bare elements: these are simply men telling their stories, trying to figure out why they are the way they are. A longer section depicting the troubled lives of three children from an abusive background is wonderfully realised with some elements of physicality used to great effect. Despite some instances,

in which the dance-like scenes fail to fully capture visceral aggression, the subject matter is compelling, the performances admirable and the cast deliver an interesting—and important—piece of theatre.

[Stevie Martin]

pantomime.

“We should build a fire,” opens the play, the childish voice clearly identifying the character as the stock stupid one (we later find out that he is also, predictably, the cowardly one). There’s also a funny cockney one, a nicebut-dim posh Englishman and a profound Irishman – whose thickly-spread sermonising on topics such as death evokes next to no pathos. What then follows is an excruciating faux-debate on the merits of building a fire (“But it’s dark”; “Well, it’s night”) and then an even more excruciating

exchange in which the name of a dead comrade, “Watts”, is hilariously confused for the interrogative, “what?”. It’s hard not to get the point about the loss of identity in the dehumanising sphere of war.

But it’s a point made in a way somewhat reminiscent of the Chuckle Brothers, only it’s less emotionally engaging.

“All of you stop saying things,” shouts one character, Webb, at the end of another pantomime to and fro. It’s hard not to agree. [Evan Beswick]

Zoo Roxy, 8:00pm – 9:15pm, 21–29 Aug, £12.00

Hill Street Theatre, 7:15pm – 8:20pm, 21–29 Aug, £10.00

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festtheatre 

‘A genuinely new musical every time.

Has to be seen to be believed.’ TIME OUT

THE AWARD-WINNING WEST END HIT AS HEARD ON BBC RADIO FOUR Gilded Balloon Teviot, Bristo Square 5-28 Aug 10.50pm (not 17) + Tuesdays 3.20pm  0131 622 6552 ShowstopperMusical.com

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August 23-29 | edinburgh festival guide 2011 fest 53

festtheatre Allotment

HHHHH Actually finding your way to Inverleith Allotments, where Allotment is set, might be tricky (if you get lost, just follow the stately spires of Fettes College). But once you’re safely ensconced in this serene enclosure in Edinburgh’s genteel New Town, you might never want to leave again. Greeted at the gates with a mug of tea and a scone—slathered with butter and homemade plum jam—it’s a bit like being welcomed into a favourite grandparent’s home, only outside.

The audience is led down a narrow garden path and seated cosily around an allotmentcum-stage, before Jules Horne’s charming two-hander begins.

It lasts a little over half an hour

Paper Tom

HHHHH Conflict induced posttraumatic stress disorder is the harrowing condition that Handheld Arts’ Paper Tom attempts to tackle twice. The new play neatly parallels the trajectories of a World War One soldier and a contemporary British veteran of Afghanistan, but compelling similarities reap no resolutions. Though richly detailed and imaginatively staged, Paper Tom ultimately feels like two first halves of

but paints a detailed portrait of a loving yet bitter relationship between two sisters. We follow them from childhood to older age, witnessing kiddish pranks and serious life-changing moments, all of which unfold as they sow and till their family allotment.

Actors Nicola Jo Cully and Pauline Goldsmith are completely at home in this unusual theatrical setting,

rustling up bushes of mint and lavender to awaken our senses.

Their tendency to strongly emphasise their actions can be a little grating, but with the Edinburgh wind ever-ready to whip their words into oblivion, over-animation feels like something of a necessity in these environs. By turns sweet and chilling, it neatly ties in its themes of life and death with the growing vegetation

that surrounds us, without being heavy-handed. And in such a scenic outdoor location, Allotment is certainly one of the most treasurable sensory experiences on offer at this year’s Fringe – at least, when the rain stays away. [Yasmin Sulaiman]

one ruptured story.

Steven Rodger’s modern infantryman Richard bookends Paper Tom with soliloquies while anxiously folding paper pigeons: “Easier than cranes,” he says. He’s engaging and vividly sketched but his WWI counterpart is less so. Sandy King’s stiff conscript Tom is more of a stock shell-shock reference but is given roughly equal stage time to Richard. He shudders at flapping pigeons and shreds newspapers clumsily, recurring symbols that seem heavy-handed

after Rodger’s origami-adept touch. Though divided by a century, their two histories are dispiritingly repetitive: strained distant wives, crude yet intuitive barrack buddies, and the inevitable post-war public crack-up.

Narrative aside, Paper Tom succeeds in its details, layering curious factoids into the script – for instance, how Japanese folklore says that folding a thousand paper cranes grants you one wish. The company’s inventive staging is intermittently distract-

ing and devastating. Tom’s waltz across no man’s land is rather too choreographed but Richard’s balletic breakdown in a bookie’s broaches upon visceral brilliance. It’s the emotional climax of the play that then rather judders to a halt.

A gunshot abrupt ending is merely a flippant goodbye, and the play’s potential—like that of its characters—is cut tragically short. [Catherine Sylvain]

Bashir Lazhar ~Fringe Guru

~whatsonstage.com

~ edinburghguide.com

~ ThreeWeeks

Hill Street Theatre, 12:30pm – 1:45pm, 22–29 Aug, not 24, £8.50

LLWYTH [TRIBE]

~ Broadway Baby

Assembly Inverleith Allotments, times vary, 21–28 Aug, not 22, £10.00

BY DAFYDD JAMES

~ acrossthearts.co.uk

BEST ACTOR nomination - Stage Awards (Michael Peng)

In Welsh with English surtitles

“A revelation.”

“Superb.”

“Razor sharp.”

20—28 August / 11.45am St George’s West - Venue 157 0131 226 0000

All shows @14:25

Until Aug. 28th (no Mondays)

54 fest edinburgh festival guide 2011 | August 23-29

**** The Guardian

www.edfringe.com

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festtheatre Riot

HHHHH With its young ensemble, stage littered with props and bizarre subject matter, Riot could be an overly ambitious school play.

Thankfully, due to a snappy script, great cast and innovative staging, The Wardobe Ensemble from Bristol have come up with a satirical piece of theatre as original as it is compelling. With costume and scene changes taking place in full view of the audience, the actors showcase a professionalism beyond their years, and the creative use of props and lighting is—in places—nothing short of astounding.

It takes place in 2005, on the opening night of a new branch of a well-known Swedish furniture store (the name is never mentioned, but the references to meatballs should give you a good idea). The action follows the riots that ensued as the doors opened

and 6,000 people stormed the maze-like interior. Using lamps to illuminate the stages of chaos, various scenes are created using only folding chairs and physicality. Romances blossom, fists fly and the cast throw themselves around the space portraying both the coworkers and the bloodthirsty throngs.

The choreography captures the desperation of those fighting over furniture and throwing punches over plantpots, and the sound effects— often created by the actors with instruments, loops and warbled singing—add to the claustrophobic atmosphere.

A musical-esque song is perhaps unnecessary consid-

it to the heights of a child’s imagination.

Typical of their frolickings are an excited huffing and puffing at an enormous birthday cake (in technicolour child vision, everything’s huge) and a “dear diary…” reading with helium balloons. A large part

of the content also relies on audiences being able to relate nostalgically to icons from the British ‘90s, so if there are no Spice Girls or rainbow slinkies down memory lane, you may feel alienated by many of the sketches.

Colour Me Happy is an ode

ering the varying quality of the cast’s voices and the final monologue is a little jarring, but this barely detracts from a well-directed, well-choreographed and well-performed hour of truly original theatre.

[Stevie Martin] Zoo Roxy, 1:15pm – 2:15pm, 22–29 Aug, £9.00

Colour Me Happy

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Anyone who remembers their childhood should have something to take away from this dreamy bubble of a play.

In a series of vignettes devised around the memories of being little girls in the 1990s, Group 13’s doe-eyed trio takes us back to that once-upon-a-time when everything was possible and the world was a big, fluffy plaything.

Describing itself as experimental, the play has no narrative. It’s as free of beginnings, middles and ends as the bright blue sky, with just a few puffy clouds out of which to daydream shapes. Accompanied by a lullaby-like soundtrack, the actors enter playtime with the objects scattered messily around the stage. It’s a casual piece of physical theatre with stage effects stepping in to rose-tint the action, elevating

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to childhood memories. Its intentions are fairy-floss sweet and its effects gently cathartic.

Embrace it with an open-heart and you’ll have it filled with fuzz. [Junta Sekimori] Zoo, 5:10pm – 6:10pm, 21–27 Aug, not 22, £7.00 – £8.00

August 23-29 | edinburgh festival guide 2011 fest 55

CaLARTS Festival Theater - 8th Season on the Fringe!

16:00

CalArts Center for New Performance

19:00

Daugh t e r of a Cuban Revo l u t iona r y Written and Performed by Marissa Chibas

‘s

14:45

Fles hE

atin gT

iger

11:45

by Am y

To ft

e

20:30

Hôtel de l’Avenir CaLARTS Festival Theater @

Broken Wing Hôtel de l’Avenir Daughter of a Cuban Revolutionary Flesh Eating Tiger Little Eyolf

11:45 14:45 16:00 19:00 20:30

5-20 August - not 8,15,16 Aug

On Lochend Close Just off the Royal Mile 100m past Cannongate Kirk

General £5 Concessions | tix: 07074 20 13 13 | www.venue13.com 56 fest £8 edinburgh festival- guide 2011 | August 23-29 www.festmag.co.uk

festtheatre

Penny Dreadful’s Etherdome

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Penny Dreadful, the company behind Etherdome, say they are committed to telling “fascinating true stories of ordinary people who have been overlooked by history”. Certainly, nobody can accuse Etherdome of using a clichéd premise. In a vaudevillian, melodramatic style, it tells the story of the rivalry between three 19th

You Wouldn’t Know Him, He Lives in Texas

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Long-distance relationships suck. A pesky ocean or several obstinate continents in the way is all it takes to sink love’s first blush. Like the lesson from some bleak dusty text book, geography crushes romance.

Will Skype change that?

According to this charming site-specific production, it

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century scientists—Charles T. Jackson, William T.G. Morton, and Horace Wells—each seeking to discover a reliable anaesthetic.

Many aspects of the show are, indeed, excellent. All elements of its design are superlative: the set design is ingeniously adaptable—though ostensibly just a wardrobe and some basic furniture, it manages to slickly transform into a futuristic dreamland, or an operating room complete with patient—and meshes well with

the faux-Victoriana of the George Square Bosco tent. Furthermore, the few instances of music are well-crafted and well-executed reprieves.

The show’s overriding flaw, though, is its failure to define what it wants to be.

For the most part, it could be a child-friendly “edutainment” production—akin to Terry Deary’s Horrible Histories book series—until you consider the gratuitous onstage humping. Some of the plot’s more reflective

scenes (one character’s violent rage results in his demise) are genuinely tragic, but then refuse to sit well with the slapstick and lose their impact. The story told is a fairly interesting one and the farcical tomfoolery often entertaining, if a tad puerile, but the meshing of the two is unfortunately not entirely pain-free. [Joe Bunce]

might just rip up the rule book.

The audience meets at a flat in the New Town and we are welcomed in by our new giddy, toothy friend, Lizzy. She is hosting a party to introduce her friends (us) to her boyfriend, Ryan, and his friends (another audience) in Austin, Texas via Skype. The couple met in Edinburgh but have nurtured their relationship through this technology.

On both sides of the Atlantic, theatre company Look Left Look Right have realised the

party perfectly. There is nervous small talk, inane banter, silly games. A bond is formed with the punters in Texas, like linking hands through the looking glass of Skype.

So when the plot does kicks in, with a seismic shift in Lizzy and Ryan’s relationship, all the audience feels personally involved. It is a neat confidence trick – and it works.

Where the show crashes and freezes—just like Skype does at one point—is with the

rather simplistic plot. It threatens to tackle the heartbreak and emotional exhaustion of long-distance relationships and the impact of new technology on love, but pulls its punches. Like a lot of sitespecific shows, it convincingly creates a mood—and a very fun one at that—but is less effective at tackling big themes.

[Edd McCracken]

Assembly George Square, 2:10pm – 3:20pm, 22–29 Aug, £12.00 – £14.00

Meet at Underbelly, Cowgate, times vary, 21 Aug, 27 Aug, 28 Aug, £15.00

August 23-29 | edinburgh festival guide 2011 fest 57

festtheatre Llwyth (Tribe)

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In 1999, Swansea’s Russell T Davies created Queer As Folk, the first mainstream TV series about gay life. In December 2009, Welsh rugby international Gareth Thomas came out as gay. Both figures influence this hugely enjoyable, generous play about a group of gay men in Cardiff.

Aneurin has returned to the city from London for family reasons. He fancies himself as a beat poet warrior, an aspiring writer, someone who is too good for Cardiff. Its gay scene is too low rent for him.

Yet he is here, pulled by the gravity of a family situation.

On a night after Wales lose at rugby, he hits the town with his three gay friends.

The evening takes them from confrontations with rugby lads to drug-fuelled hedonism in dark, beat-filled clubs.

Performed in Welsh with English subtitles, it is a propulsive, at times breathless, tour of Cardiff’s gay scene. It could sink under the weight of

The Adventures of Wound Man and Shirley

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There’s an illustration in a 14th century medical textbook of a man, wearing what is to all intents and purposes a posing pouch, with a collection of nearly 20 knives, swords, axes and maces sticking into and out of him – an aggregation of the myriad potential wounds a soldier might incur in battle.

The figure has become known as “Wound Man”, and it’s this figure who arrives early one morning, clanking and clunking, in Shirley’s hockey stickshaped cul-de-sac to transform the gawky, depressed, gay youngster’s life.

At the centre of this produc-

its clichés: Liza Minelli, show tunes, Kylie, and Strictly Come Dancing all get a mention. The rugby lad “turned gay” by a song from Moulin Rouge is one of the main characters. So too is the 15-year-old gay kid from the Valleys.

Yet it matches such obvious

touchstones with flights of invention and magic. Surreal hallucinations, angels and a Welsh voice choir even what could be worthy material.

Plus, it subtly mixes in themes of national, linguistic and sexual identity.

Combined with a fine

ensemble performance, Llwyth can join the pantheon alongside Davies and Thomas.

As one character rightly notes: “Welsh really is queer”. [Edd McCracken]

tion is a superb one-man performance by writer Chris Goode. Sweet, vulnerable, and with a knack for the matterof-fact humour required by a fantastical tale involving this most unlikely of superheroes, Goode’s performance is worth the ticket price alone.

However, there’s a gaping sore of a problem that slashes right at the heart of The Adventures of Wound Man and Shirley, namely that it’s a show that tries to do too much. At times, Wound Man serves as a (literally) battle-scarred guide, leading Shirley through an inspirational fable about growing up. At others, he’s a physical, cathartic manifestation of emotional trauma – “you look like how I feel”, several characters tell him. More concerning

is that he is also the site of an extremely dark subplot with overtones of paedophilia – overtones that are never satisfactorily resolved. Too many ideas may be better than none at all, and this is certainly a show packed with them. But

it’s also one held together by a strong performance rather than by a cohesiveness of its own. [Evan Beswick]

58 fest edinburgh festival guide 2011 | August 23-29

St George’s West, 11:45am – 1:30pm, 22–28 Aug, £10.00

Pleasance Courtyard, 12:10pm – 1:30pm, 22–29 Aug, £10.00

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festtheatre The Oh F**k Moment

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A Conversation with Carmel

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In Barrowland Ballet’s heartwarming and intimate A Conversation with Carmel, the audience plays special guest at a series of family gatherings that centre on a grandmother’s 80th birthday celebrations.

Mixing dance with video projection, the ensemble cast recreate the collective experiences common to every family.

The inventive staging takes us from an attic and its boxes full of memories, to a buffet and a dinner table argument.

Both Natasha Gilmore’s strong ensemble choreography and the versatile dancers

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offer similar variety: the still-supple 83-year-old Diana Payne-Myers draws gapes as the grandmother, moving from contemporary to jazz to just a little bit of breaking. Matthew Hawkins, as her son, is a particular delight, his poise and comic expression injecting humour into many of the scenes.

The handful of core dancers that represent the family find their ranks swelled by dancers from the local community, who play party guests in the tradition of the great classical ballets. Courtly dances are replaced, however, by the witty staging of a series of tableaux that mimic the kind of snaps recognisable in every family photograph album.

An enchanting original score by Quee MacArthur sweeps us along with the changing scenes, and an exceptionally cute baby is wheeled in occasionally to look delighted and shamelessly steal the limelight. This is a touching and accomplished piece about the nature of family life and is by turns poignant and joyous. Add to that some video footage of septuagenarians dancing to Beyonce’s ‘Crazy in Love’, and A Conversation with Carmel becomes a completely memorable performance. [Jenny Peebles] St George’s West, 2:15pm – 3:15pm, 22–28 Aug, not 24, £10.00 – £12.00

An “Oh fuck!” moment is one of those all-too-familiar times when we realise that we’ve just done something very stupid indeed. Sent a disparaging email about someone to that very person? Accidentally invited your boss around for sex?

Crashed a plane after pulling a lever a few seconds too soon? Welcome to the club!

Set up in a manner akin to a group therapy session, performers Hannah Jane Walker and Chris Thorpe start to talk about their “Oh fuck!” moments, and ask us to do likewise. No one’s forced to or made to feel uncomfortable –instead the willing contributions make this an intimate and engaging experience.

It’s a captivating performance, and indeed a hugely likeable one, but it’s doubtful that the premise of The Oh F**k Moment is quite as profound as Walker and Thorpe make out. The pair want to hammer home the idea that, while we may hold ourselves to impossibly high standards and feel dreadful when we fall short, our original position is that of the fuck-up, the screw-up, the clumsy idiot. It’s reassuring, of course, but—and this is coming from a man reconciled to the fact that barely a day goes by without fucking something up—is it really a revelation?

Nevertheless, the friendly intimacy and poetic lyricism of this production are inherently appealling. As a cathartic outlet for sharing our more embarrassing moments, it’s certainly one of the more novel Fringe productions out there this year. [Ben Judge] St George’s West, times vary, 21–27 Aug, not 24, £10.00

August 23-29 | edinburgh festival guide 2011 fest 59

festtheatre The Table

HHHHH If you were to boil down Samuel Beckett’s works, reducing them to their existential, aching essence, you might come up with The Table: a show in which a puppet waits for nothing on a small table for 40 years. It is Beckett to the nth degree.

Blind Summit Theatre’s new show is fronted by the puppet. Given a gravelly voice by one of the three men controlling him, he nimbly gives us a tour of his tabletop home.

His plan to show us “epic puppetry”, a one-puppet dramatisation of the last 12 hours of Moses’ life, is interrupted when a woman comes and sits at the table. She is silent and unaware of him throughout.

This first interaction for 40 years caves in his puppet soul.

Technically, the show is brilliant. The puppet moves with such human liquidity that every step and minuscule movement emotes. Yet this main sequence feels rather drawn out and thin. It ends up

being technically impressive but hollow – a bit like the puppet itself.

The rest of the hour is filled with visual tricks and old-fashioned special effects.

A series of frames appear, with floating heads moving between them like a spooky fruit

machine. The story of a fugitive is storyboarded in front of the audience. Again, all very impressive, but ephemeral.

There is a nagging feeling that if all the skill on show could be applied to something greater than a series of sketches, magic will happen.

Bluebeard: A Fairy Tale for Adults

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There’s an endearing, Weimar cabaret-cum-DIY quality to young outfit Milk Presents’ innovative take on this centuries-old French folktale.

On a stage littered with low-tech props that include a gramophone, stepladder, bucket, megaphone, overhead projector and even a bicycle used to power up some stage lights, the five-strong cast weave dance, storytelling, mime, comedy and song, coaxing the sexual thrust, misogyny and, most triumphantly, the humour from this most possessing of fairy stories.

After an alarming opening involving some gratuitous

enjoyment of mashed potato and masturbation (separately), Adam Robertson’s moustachioed, twinkly-eyed Bluebeard prowls the stage like a puffed-up peacock, charming a procession of women unable to resist his self-assured seductions. Each is then coolly dispatched in increasingly

60 fest edinburgh festival guide 2011 | August 23-29

imaginative ways (a drowning in a bucket here, a suffocation with tea bags there) as it becomes quickly apparent that this one isn’t going to end happily ever after.

Indeed, Bluebeard’s traditional comeuppance at the play’s denouement is conspicuously absent here,

The lingering feeling is less Beckett, and more Pirandello – this is a group of puppeteers in search of a big idea. [Edd McCracken] Pleasance Dome, 10:00pm – 11:00pm, 21–28 Aug, £12.00 – £14.00

as the quintet opt instead to take a well-aimed pot-shot at idealistic notions of happiness wrapped up in a fantasy white wedding and a life of domestic bliss. It’s certainly a nice twist.

It doesn’t all work onstage – some projections are hard to decipher on the bedsheet at the back of the room and the din occasionally overrides any subtlety. But the buoyancy with which the fourth wall-breaking cast zip about embracing the chaos means we allow them a bit of leeway.

It’s anarchic, satirical, livewire fun – just as the Fringe should be. [Joe Spurgeon] Underbelly, Cowgate, 6:55pm – 7:45pm, 21–28 Aug, £9.50 – £10.50

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festtheatre Sold

HHHHH A young man is kicked to death for asking for his passport. A girl is drugged, beaten and forced into prostitution.

Confessing complicity in the trafficking of 800 children from a single Romanian village, an imprisoned peoplesmuggler observes with chilling flippancy that “it must be so quiet there now”.

These are not scenes drawn from some distant human rights horror show: this is, we are told, Britain today.

In Catherine Alexander’s Sold, the victims of human trafficking have their stories told with savage frankness in a brutally harrowing piece of theatre – albeit one that at times undermines its own narrative integrity.

Constructed as a series of beautifully interlaced tableaux, Sold observes the spiralling despair of the victims of trafficking through their own eyes. But in a calculated stylistic move, the exploited are given less

personality than their exploiters: they are naïfs, almost childlike in their vulnerability and completely dominated by the callous, manipulative sociopaths who deprive them of their freedom.

The acting is consistently excellent—Paula Videniece is particularly heartbreaking in her fragility as Latvian dancer Aija—while the stark, darkly

stylised staging magnifies the emotionally sickening nature of the victims’ reality. But, unfortunately, Sold proves reluctant to let its subjects speak entirely for themselves, as the drama is repeatedly put on hold while three activist narrators lament government inaction. These policy lectures have a valid purpose, but Sold’s characters are unques-

tionably strong enough to tell their own stories.

It’s deeply distressing to watch, but Sold is not about redemption. Rather, it’s about awareness, and in that it succeeds masterfully. [Marcus Kernohan]

to scribbling “I LOVE YOU” on each other’s wall in just a matter of weeks. A month later they are living together.

The conceit is simple—and, as Phillipa grows increasingly needy, their relationship’s impending doom is as obvious as it is inevitable—but the whole enterprise rattles along at a decent clop and there’s enough

sharp one-liners to keep the audience engaged.

Behind the easy laughs, though, lurk some uncomfortable modern day truths. The pair live their lives almost entirely in public and what begins as none too subtle double entendres soon becomes a direct cry of “I want sex!”, an imploration that the

entire world can see. Watching the neediness engendered in both partners by the potential for constant communication through Facebook is equally disconcerting. [Peter Geoghegan]

Pleasance Courtyard, 11:10am – 12:30pm, 22–29 Aug, £8.00 – £9.00

Phillipa and Will Are Now in a Relationship

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To poke or not to poke, that is the question. Or at least it is in this breezy tale of Phillipa and Will, two starcrossed lovers that go from Facebook friends to broken hearts in 30 rapidfire minutes.

Recounted through a series of putatively genuine wallto-wall messages, read by the two actors as they sit side-byside in front of their computer screens, Phillipa and Will Are Now in a Relationship proves the old adage that sometimes you can have too much information. As the dates and times on the screen behind them attest, “Willipa” go from snogging at the student union

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Pleasance Courtyard, 12:00pm – 12:30pm, 22–29 Aug, £7.00 – £8.00

August 23-29 | edinburgh festival guide 2011 fest 61

festtheatre 101

HHHHH In the dank and dark underbelly of the teeming C venues, ONEOHONE Theatre are preparing a triptych of shows where we, the audience, are going to be hurled into the heart of the action.

If increasingly worn buzzwords like “interactive”, “immersive” and “audiencedriven” set your bullshit antennae twitching, then you might want to give this one a wide berth. But whereas all too often participatory and/ or site-specific/walkabout theatre forgoes substance and storyline for style and the sensory, today’s folksy tale of sailors and sirens mostly manages to avoid the major pitfalls.

We’re split up into two groups and taught—cub camp-style—a few reactions, gestures and phrases to use in certain scenarios. As sailors, our unwavering allegiance to our beloved prince is surely to be tested by our salty adversaries.

And so it proves. Over the course of the next 40 minutes, we’re blindfolded, touched, tempted, and together we create a wedding, a dance and witness a human sacrifice.

Alongside the cast’s voodoo torch songs, shanties and occasional bursts of Corinthians, the atmosphere is one of insidious menace, punctuated by a tragic conclusion which may or may not be a meditation on the endurance of love, the danger of desire or just a mournful myth of heartbreak on the high seas. It may be none of these, in fact, but despite the general blurriness and the occasional actor slipping character, there’s enough here to leave a lasting impression, not least upon the audience-member-turned-martyr left prone at the end. [Joe Spurgeon] Run ended

The Sexual Awakening of Peter Mayo

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Despite his parents’ efforts to teach him about the birds and the bees, young Peter Mayo did everything he could to block the horrific idea of sex from his life. While his school friends gathered around saucy videos, he would instead spend his time hunting down documentaries decrying its dangers, and it was only after a casual viewing of Thunderbirds—with all its titillating symbolism—that sex finally found a place in his head.

Casablanca: The Gin Joint Cut

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For a film whose famous script was rewritten daily by committee, this theatrical homage is incredibly arch. Born out of the Classic Cuts series at Glasgow’s Oran Mor, writer director Morag Fullerton’s slick production mixes a straight re-staging of the film Casablanca with peering behind the curtain at the actors as they prepare to play their roles. They share facts about the film, as well as indulge in some thespian goofing.

Humphrey Bogart’s laconic and arid drawl gives way to

62 fest edinburgh festival guide 2011 | August 23-29

Ten years on, an accidental text message from a friendly libertine sets Peter on a course to discovering his wild side.

Tiptoeing into the world of internet dating sites and fetish nights, he resolves to wake up to the heady pleasures that have so far eluded him and become a contender in the no-strings-attached realm of the carnal senses.

This modern screwball comedy from Jonathan Brittain brings to light the thriving sex communities in today’s post-Belle de Jour online community with lots of heart and not a little mischief. Michael Lyle is immensely likeable as the eponymous geek on

an adventure, reminiscent of Simon Bird’s turn as Will “Briefcase Wanker” McKenzie in Channel 4’s The Inbetweeners, and supporting actors Sam Donnely and Helen Duff make polygamy look like tic-tac-toe as mentor and minx. Some resourceful theatrical devices keep the action unbroken in a narrative that swings promiscuously between the past, the present and the cyber, and some simple staging effectively articulates the merging of our online and offline lives.

[Junta Sekimori]

Gavin Mitchell’s Scottish burr between the straight scenes. It makes Mitchell’s impression all the more impressive.

Only two other actors grace the stage, Clare Waugh and Jimmy Chisholm. The trio play all the film’s roles. The chaotic and confusing costume changes are handled with pantomime humour. Where the plot allows it—like the staging of piano player Sam—slapstick and humour is mixed into the straightforward drama.

In contrast, the biggest lines are played straight and hit note perfect. Bogey’s heartbreak is all too convincing, and herein lies the show’s main strength

and weakness.

Fullerton’s comic asides and back-stage peeks fit in seamlessly. They make this a far more intriguing and off-kilter beast than a po-faced run through of the film.

And yet, the straight parts are so well handled, and the original script sings so magnificently, the lingering urge afterwards is to watch the original film again, which leaves The Gin Joint Cut feeling like a curio rather than something definitive. [Edd McCracken]

Pleasance Courtyard, 2:45pm – 3:45pm, 22–29 Aug, £8.50 – £9.50

Pleasance Courtyard, 4:30pm – 5:30pm, 21–29 Aug, not 22, £11.00 – £15.00

www.festmag.co.uk

festtheatre King of Scotland

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Scottish comedian Jonathan Watson takes on the role of Tommy McMillan, a layabout delusional forced into a government work scheme. It’s been 11 years since Iain Heggie’s adaptation of Gogol’s Diary of a Madman first opened, and Watson’s McMillan is just as compelling as his predecessors (Brian Pettifer and Gerard Kelly), all slurred words and flawless comic timing.

For 28 years, McMillan has been unemployed but, after being thrown into the world of work to do nothing but improve his employer’s reputation for taking him on in the first place, he begins to believe he is the rightful King of Scotland. His gradual mental breakdown—to which McMillan himself is completely oblivious—is subtly

Last Orders

HHHHH To an extent, this bewildering new show from David Hughes Dance and Conflux’s Al Seed— the team behind 2009’s triumphant The Red Room—requires its audience to be familiar with the figure it uses as its inspiration, Sawney Bean. The 16th century legend, whose story is associated with incest, criminality and the death of over 1,000 people through cannibalisation, is one of the most chilling in Scottish mythical history. But even for those who do know the tale, the lack of cohesion at the centre of Last Orders makes its rhythmic routines hard to follow, resulting in a dance piece that feels, for the most part, disappointingly shallow.

It begins strongly – the mangled performers crawl out onto the stage before a lone female dancer embarks on a mesmerising knocking together of limbs. Then we’re plunged into a party setting, with glitterpainted dancers and mirrors

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played, at first concealed by Watson’s ability to eke laughs from thin air but then becoming more and more evident. Talking dogs, dogs writing letters and unrequited love bordering on stalking are all highlighted

by Watson’s facial tics, which become increasingly acute as his mind unravels.

He is crude, laviscious and downright repulsive, but his

sense of entitlement is actually rather rational, emphasising the injustice of the current political and social systems. It’s hard to argue with his anger. Are those in power any different to the everyman? Both are immoral and delusional in their own ways, and what really separates the corrupt and elected from the slovenly and powerless?

King of Scotland is peppered

with McMillan’s increasingly bizarre experiences and concludes with a genuinely poignant denouement. The direction may be a bit static, but Watson’s performance sparkles, making for an engaging and highly recommended hour.

[Stevie Martin] Assembly Hall, 2:00pm – 3:00pm, 23–28 Aug, £12.00

framed with multi-coloured lights denoting the hedonistic atmosphere. So far, so coked up – but here, the production gets lost. It introduces a Billy Goats Gruff-style motif to bridge the narrative arc between the party scenes and the tale of Sawney Bean, but a few misplaced moments of humour—notably, an ensemble Macarena-style dance to Ohio Express’ ‘Yummy Yummy Yummy’—create an ambience of garbled mock-horror that fails to engage.

The most arresting feature of Last Orders is Guy Veale’s sound design, which takes snatches of pop songs and threads them into a richly textured score with ever-changing, compelling beats. But, despite a fascinating end sequence in which Alex Rigg’s Sawney Bean starts to fulfil his creepy potential, Seed’s choreography sadly fails to match up to this strong musical framework.

[Yasmin Sulaiman] Traverse Theatre, times vary, 23–28 Aug, £17.00 – £19.00

August 23-29 | edinburgh festival guide 2011 fest 63

festkids

FORGET ME NOT Joe Spurgeon looks at a raft of familiar children’s classics making a reappearance at the Fringe this year

Above: Just So Stories Below: Bagpuss Right: Mr Benn

“A

FRIEND OF mine came to see the show with his kids. He told me they now make him read the stories every night, and after about a month, he suddenly realised he was reading them in the voice of his grandfather, as he had heard them decades previously.”

Piers Beckley, company producer of Red Table Theatre, who have brought Rudyard Kipling’s lyrically nimble Just So Stories (How the Camel Got His Hump, The Crab That Played with the Sea et al) to the Fringe this year, is illustrating the enduring cross-generational power of Kipling’s much-loved tales, first published in 1902.

In fact, though you’d hesitate to call it a trend, it’s impossible to escape the swathes of classic children’s favourites and yesteryear’s TV staples making a return at this year’s festival. Shrewd marketing it may be, but there are plenty of parents only too glad of a chance of

sharing the joy of live performance with their offspring, while indulging in a bit of fanciful nostalgia too.

Having already picked up top reviews, Bagpuss, the somnolent, toy collecting moggy has already proved a hit with its snappy staging, handheld puppetry and fusion of familiar text with a more modern story arc about a woman revisiting her long forgotten childhood hang-out.

Despite only ever starring in 13 BBC episodes, the “old, saggy cloth cat” remains etched on the brains of ’70s and ’80s children, including the director of 2011’s Edinburgh incarnation, Suzanne Gorman.

“I remember distinctly having a deep connection with the television programme, but the meaning behind the

64 fest edinburgh festival guide 2011 | August 23-29

story, the idea of lost objects which the main [human] character Emily finds then restores; this idea of restoration and recycling goes against our throw-away culture and fits perfectly for 2011.

“From a child’s perspective, it opens up the world around them so whatever they pick up, wherever they are, they can give that object an identity and a story. It comes from within them. Let’s not forget, it’s often just you and your child at home on a rainy day with just your house full of stuff. You can never get away from simple things; children have a different experience of the world than they did 30 years ago, but they still apply their imaginations in the same way.”

Over at the Pleasance Courtyard, another fondly-remembered BBC hero is slipping into something a little more comfortable. Mr Benn, the

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festkids bowler hat-sporting everyman who stumbles across a magical fancy dress shop and a whole world of wonder, is also enjoying a new lease of life. The show, cramming a handful of songs, dances and costumed adventures into an exceptionally physical, deft four-hander, is directed

by London theatre outfit Tall Stories’ Toby Mitchell: “Mr Benn has endured because he’s universal, he’s a child, he’s an adult. [Original creator] David McKee has been great and hasn’t made any demands; he’s just let us get on with it. When he came to see it, he gave a little speech beforehand and said ‘when you create a character, it’s a bit like a child, and sometimes that child grows up and wants to go and do things on their own, Mr Benn is my child and he’s gone off and done this without me, and I, like you, am waiting to see what’s going to happen.’”

Did Tall Stories take many liberties? “Well we had to have ‘And suddenly, the shopkeeper appeared.’ And we had to have souvenirs too, that’s vital. David McKee was

very big on that because that’s his proof that it all happened.

We’ve changed the characters slightly—the shopkeeper’s not as much of a posh gentleman, he’s more earthy—and we’ve used bits of the music, too.

We thought hard about that, but we thought that for those that know it, they’ll love it, and for those that don’t, it doesn’t matter.”

So as the adults and anklebiters gleefully pile in in one happy mass, is the children/ family/kids pigeonholing increasingly redundant?

“I don’t know about you, but I quite often get bored watching grown-up theatre,” adds Mitchell. “I don’t think grown-up theatre tries hard enough. I think it says ‘here’s a show, we hope you like it; if you don’t, it doesn’t matter, it’s art.’ In Shakespeare’s day, that wouldn’t have been the case. They had to work bloody hard, much more like children’s theatre. I think if more grown-up theatre had the energy of some children’s or family theatre, a lot more adults would go. It’s all about a good story, told well.”

Director of the Just So Stories, Rafe Beckley agrees: “There is no such thing as children’s theatre. There is only theatre. Sure, think about where you are aiming it, but ‘children’s theatre’ has so much baggage – spin-off shows that the children have seen on telly that the adults just sit through for an hour’s peace. Let’s lose the tagging – it’s obvious it’s for children, just look at the poster, then relax and enjoy.”

Mr Benn: Run ended Bagpuss: Assembly George Square, times vary, 22–28 Aug, £12.00 – £14.00 The just So Stories: Pleasance Courtyard, times vary, 23–29 Aug, £9.00

August 23-29 | edinburgh festival guide 2011 fest 65

festkids

en by As se kid ou^r critics Reviews of kids' shows by the people who know best

Monkey Music

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Molly Robertson (9) The Incredible Book Eating Boy

for 7+ year-olds List Operators for Kids do Compooters

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List Operators for Kids do Compooters is a very funny comedy show for kids of any age. Rich is the sensible one and has built his own computer after Matt broke their laptop. You quickly notice that Matt is the silly one, and Rich struggles to make him behave after he picks his nose and tries to wipe it on the new computer.

They get everyone involved from the start by jumping into the audience and having the grownups read out lists of rude words. They make a new version of the video game Pong which is so old my dad used to play it!

They attempt to play another video game which has everything from an alien attack to unicorns in it and Matt is still as gross!

This show is excellent and had me laughing for the whole 45 minutes. [Molly Robertson] Run ended

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It’s quite a challenge to find The Incredible Book Eating Boy – the wrong venue is printed on the tickets. When you finally make it, though, it’s well worth the effort.

The performance takes place—in front of one person at a time (or one parent with a child on their knee)—in the “Black Box”. You sit in darkness, while three windows open and close in front of you, with puppetry, theatre and animation all used to re-tell Oliver Jeffers’ awardwinning story.

This is a hugely innovative and imaginative piece of theatre. As you sit on a beanbag and wait for your personal performance, you can see the mechanics of the show, taking place outside the box, but this steals none of the magic. If anything it leads to a greater appreciation of the immense amount of work and co-ordination involved.

The only disappointing thing about The Incredible Book Eating Boy is that the performance doesn’t last longer. I would happily have sat in there all day. [Ruth Dawkins]

66 fest edinburgh festival guide 2011 | August 23-29

More of a workshop than a performance, Monkey Music gives young children the chance to play instruments, dance and sing along with some catchy songs. Led on alternate days by likeable leaders Alison and Rachel—who are entirely comfortable working with children as they do it all year round—this is a fun event, which gets the level of interaction just right.

Unlike a lot of other children’s events, there is no problem with kids getting up and wandering around – in fact they are actively encour-

Kevin Cruise

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I’ve got to confess that when I saw Kevin Cruise on Britain’s Got Talent, I fell firmly into the Simon Cowell “Absolutely no comment” camp, rather than the Amanda Holden “I love him!” camp.

In person though, you can’t help falling a little bit in love with the glittery-suited Cruise.

His enthusiasm is highly infectious, and his cruiseliner-themed cabaret show is the perfect antidote to this grey Scottish summer.

We played bingo! And carved up fruit! There were sweets! By the end, even the most straightfaced of punters was

aged to do so. The show changes every few days, but on the day we went there was an opportunity for the young ‘uns to get dressed up in silly hats and scarves, as well as playing tambourines, bells and maracas.

The kids were all enchanted by the finale, with mellow music and lighting accompanied by an epic amount of bubble blowing. The only disappointment was that there wasn’t more of a role for the supposed star – we want to see more of Monkey next time, please! [Ruth Dawkins] Pleasance Courtyard, times vary, 22–27 Aug, £2.00

on their feet, shaking away to some ‘70s classics.

Amid the serious theatre of the Fringe, this serves as a good reminder that there is a place for fun shows too. Cruise is more used to adult crowds, but he has toned down the act so that it’s entirely appropriate for a family audience. This was the most feel-good, laughout-loud hour I’ve spent at the Fringe so far. Simon Cowell is missing out. [Ruth Dawkins] Assembly George Square, 3:50pm – 4:40pm, 22–29 Aug, £10.00 – £12.00

festbooks

Hot Tickets Very few tickets for the EIBF remain come August. Every issue, we’ll bring you a pick of the tickets that you can still get – if you hurry

Carol Ann Duffy 26 AUGUST, 15.30-16.30

Her evening event on 25 August is long since sold out, but fans of the Poet Laureate can still catch her at this daytime reading, aimed at families, of her most recent children’s book, The Gift, which has been intricately illustrated by the wonderful Rob Ryan. As at her other reading, she’ll be appearing here with John Sampson, a virtuoso musician who will bring an extra layer to Duffy’s always atmospheric words.

A S Byatt

28 AUGUST, 15.00-16.00

Booker Prize winner and British literary goddess AS Byatt is returning to the Festival to read from, and discuss, her latest work, which is somewhere between an autobiography and a re-telling of the Norse myth of Ragnarök. This is a deeply intriguing project, and the event promises to be a real insight into the fascinating mind of one of our greatest living authors.

William Goldsmith and Nick Hayes 28 AUGUST, 20.30-21.30

This is part of the EIBF’s Newton First Book Award series of events and offers a chance to see up-and-coming young graphic novelists Goldsmith and Hayes discuss their respective debut works. The graphic novel has been a hotly debated form of literature of late and this event will seek to prove that it is a literary artform for a new generation.

Whether you’re a fan or a skeptic, this should provide some matter for consideration – and you may well find yourself won over by the visual delights on offer. [Anna Feintuck]

www.festmag.co.uk

THE END OF THE PRINTED WORD? Will people continue to buy printed books in a world where e-readers and bargain—or even free—downloads exist? How will the roles of author and reader change? Two EIBF events this week attempted to provide answers

O

NE THING is obvious: change is imminent for everyone involved with the written word. Publishers, for example, will need to re-think their role and tactics: Nicola Solomon, general secretary of the Society of Authors and former copyright lawyer, said in this week’s EIBF even, The Rise of eBooks that “many publishers don’t have a strategy yet.” Fellow speaker Peter Burns, the publisher and, in the words of chair Angus Konstam, “eBook supremo”, agreed, saying that although he doesn’t see the printed book disappearing, publishers’ focus will change: “I can see eBooks replacing paperbacks. Publishers will focus on producing beautiful, special hardback editions.”

For authors, too, it seems that it is not a simple case of their livelihood either disappearing or flourishing. Rather, they face some difficult decisions: digital books make it easier to self-publish, which cuts out issues of low royalty rates or interference from publishers, but also creates problems regarding branding, marketing and indications of quality. “People with a cult following like Neil Gaiman might not need publishers,” Solomon says, “but most people do.”

The low costs of digital books, whilst largely being a positive for readers, is also a concern for authors. Writer Ewan Morrison, speaking in The End of Books?, said, “We need to leave behind the romantic notion of the author in the garret. Books could not work without the economic framework that supports artists, and that economic framework is changing.” Solomon feels similarly, saying, “Books are cheap as they are, they shouldn’t be free. The idea of 99p books just doesn’t work; it will drive people out and drive quality down.”

Even readers, whilst undoubtedly benefiting the most from the new technology, have cause to worry: an audience member in The End of Books? pointed out that there is a risk of us becoming a generation of “dabblers”, never focusing properly on one book because we have so much more available to us—so instantly— should we want it.

The printed book is, however, far from dead just yet. Guardian literary editor Claire Armitstead said, “As a literary editor I don’t see a decline in books coming into my office – we still get about 500 a week.”

Whether it deserves to survive is a different matter. She went on to point out that in environmental terms, the rise of the e-reader may well be a good thing, saying “There is an awful lot of rainforest being slaughtered for the production of books.”

The audience in The End of Books? voted by a fairly considerable margin against Ryan’s proposed motion, that the book is dead.

It seems, though, that while we won’t see the disappearance of printed works any time soon, there is a growing acceptance of digital of books. On only one issue were the two panels unanimous: the literary world may be changing, but as long as we have readers and writers, everything will be alright.

August 23-29 | edinburgh festival guide 2011 fest 67

festbooks

CLASS WARRIOR

Photos: Claudine Quinn

Fresh from sparring with controversial historian David Starkey on national television, the author of Chavs: The Demonization of the Working Class comes to Edinburgh. Dan Heap talks to Owen Jones

E

VERY GENERATION coins new words to come to terms with the changing world around it. Amongst the many that have entered the national vocabulary since the turn of the century, no other has taken hold so quickly and become so redolent of the supposed state-of-the nation as “chav”. It’s become the Burberry-patterned vessel into which the media, politicians and some sections of the public pour all their grievances about what they think is wrong with society.

One person challenging this, though, is Owen Jones, author of Chavs: The Demonization of the Working Class, which despite only being published in June has generated huge attention and much fervent discussion. Earlier this month, the sizeable crowd crammed into the tiny Word Power bookshop serves as a testament to this.

Fresh from his Newsnight bout with David “the whites have become black” Starkey, Jones talks to me about why so much vitriol is now directed at people who he says were once considered to be “the salt of the earth” and what can be done to shift—in a more progressive direction—attitudes about the poorest in our society, attitudes that appear to be becoming increasingly entrenched.

Jones first got the idea for the book when he heard someone at a dinner party attended by otherwise “progressive” people ask “where the chavs would get their Christmas presents” after the closing of Woolworths. Why, he wondered, had “chav” become so acceptable and gained such resonance when racist terms—which similarly make an instant negative judgement on the basis of appearance—had by and large been consigned to the dustbin of history?

“Chav as a term got national prominence from 2004,” he begins, but the

attitude from which it sprang “developed in the 1980s – that idea of everyone being middle class and those failing to be so because of their own inadequacies and their own faults.”

The hugely accelerating inequality engendered by economic restructuring in the ‘80s and ‘90s gave rise to a dominant narrative which now paints “the people who lived through those processes [as] being responsible, that they’re to blame for being unemployed and poor, which I don’t accept.”

Even over the course of its relatively short lifespan so far, the term “chav” has changed in it’s meaning, expanding to mean something very much more than a young man in a tracksuit: “the problem with the word ‘chav’ is that it’s very versatile,” says Jones. Citing the results of the Britain Thinks survey of class attitudes he tells me that “For those respondents who identified as middle class, they conflated ‘chav’ and ‘working class’. Working class had become a class-based insult.”

There has been, he says—in a phrase he uses several times during our half an hour together— an “airbrushing of the respectable working class”. He accepts my challenge that the singling out for criticism of working people in this way goes much further back than the 1980s, but he responds by pointing out the difference now is that there is no countervailing force: “Even though you had the idea of problematic people, you had a positive counterbalance: working class people were portrayed in a positive light.” Where the working classes of decades past had The Likely Lads, Only Fools and Horses and Auf Wiedersehen, Pet to project a positive image, they now have Shameless and Little Britain’s Vicky Pollard.

This erosion of any positive image

68 fest edinburgh festival guide 2011 | August 23-29

associated with the working classes again stems, according to Jones, from the huge economic changes wrought by the Thatcher revolution and consolidated

by New Labour. An “attack on working class identity” was a consequence of “the attack on trade unions and industries that propped up communities.” Whereas once, “people had jobs they were proud of, and they sustained a notion of working class pride,” the ‘80s set in motion a “dilution of working class identity. They felt that being working class was something to escape from, because there were no positive representations.”

The first step towards re-establishing the working classes as a positive presence in national life is re-establishing them as a political force after changes in the way we work and the switch from manufacturing

festbooks

to services has weakened union presence in many workplaces: “Trade unions...have to organise far more aggressively, particularly in the service sector, where people are barely in trade unions at all. Trade unions give the best possible opportunity for working people to have a voice and they represent still seven million working people – it’s the biggest democratic movement in the country by a very long way.”

Labour—which comes in for a heavy criticism throughout Chavs...—has a role to play in this and doing so would be to its advantage, Jones argues. “Labour needs to accept why it lost: the whole basis of New Labour was that in order to win, it needed middle England voters and working class voters to have nowhere to go and so they’ll stay on board, no matter what.”

Rattling off a list of grievances—five mil-

www.festmag.co.uk

lion people on the social housing waiting list, a lack of job security and stagnating wage packets—he explains the reasons why it all went wrong for Brown’s party: “Labour lost five million votes from 1997 to 2010 and the Conservatives only won a million. Labour needs to accept it didn’t lose its middle class voters. It lost its working class voters.” Again, Jones cites the restoration of a formal role for organisations representing working people within the policy-making process: “The Labour party membership isn’t very representative of British society, but unions are the most representative section of the party.” He continues: “They have to be given a strong role within the party, but there’s move now to weaken that role.”

Invoking the concept we have heard so much about in the aftermath of the

recent riots, he argues that “Labour has to to organise on a community basis and enact community politics to get people involved but, he adds, ending on a note of pessimism that contrast with Jones’ sunny, enthusiastic demeanour throughout, “it’s a long way from doing that at the moment.”

What Chavs... amounts to—more than the exercise in pop sociology that is has been accused of—is an attempt to provoke a period of national introspection about how Britain has changed over the past twenty years and what these shifts have meant for the most vulnerable in our society.

Whether Jones himself—still only 26—or someone else will work to put the lessons of Chavs... into practice is yet to be seen, but exposing the way a group that was once so central to our society has been systematically excluded is a promising start.

August 23-29 | edinburgh festival guide 2011 fest 69

festmusic&cabaret The Spaces Between

HHHHH Cabaret has come in from the fringes at the Fringe in 2011 with its own section in the brochure. Yet with The Spaces Between, Australian duo The Jane Austen Argument will do little to convince newcomers to the genre that it’s not one overly given to hammy, dewyeyed self-indulgence.

Tom Dickens and Jen Kingwell might yet present a poster boy and girl for the kind of noirish cabaret to which the likes of Amanda Palmer (whom they’ve toured their homeland in support of) has brought a new lick of indie cred – they’re a talented, striking-looking pair who harmonise tightly and slickly finish each others’ sentences in scripted passages between tunes. But they first need to redress the imbalance of a live show that ramps up the melodrama and camp at expense of genuinely moving

Dean Friedman: In Concert

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“The plan is, I’m gonna play some songs for you tonight, is that all right with you?” says the legendary singer/ songwriter Dean Friedman, as he takes to the modest stage at the Malmaison Hotel. But this upbeat and rhetorical question sets the scene for an evening of laughs, anecdotes and music, which is both entertaining and moving.

Featuring some of his classics, such as ‘Ariel’, Friedman’s Fringe gig also includes work from some of his newer albums, such as Squirrels in the Attic and his latest release, Submarine Races. While a substantial guest slot is taken up by his daughter, Hannah, the focus is clearly on Friedman himself, as the concert includes some of his best known songs,

and memorable songs – even if it does all come with a postmodern nod and a wink.

Sporting black fairy wings, Dickens is the broken-hearted boy crying Kohl-eyed tears while crooning forlornly over Kingwell’s nimble-fingered piano-playing. Their lyrics draw a narrative broadly exploring

the spaces that exist in all of our lives, both physical and emotional, whether too big or not big enough.

The pair shout their boozeslurping, broken-hearted, bedsit-dwelling boho credentials from the rooftops, then have the temerity to sing a song sending-up the “hipsters”

in their Melbourne neighbourhood, before knowingly ruffling their asymmetrical hair-dos.

They need to shelve the navelgazing and shine the spotlight on the music. [Malcolm Jack] St George’s West, 9:45pm – 10:50pm, 21–29 Aug, £9.00 – £10.00

from the outrageous ‘Death to the Neighbours’, to the controversial ‘McDonald’s Girl’, which was banned by the BBC for mentioning the name of the illustrious fast food giant too many times, to the much more moving songs in his repertoire, namely ‘Lydia’.

It’s this carefully constructed set, which gently balances between the humorous and the heartbreaking which makes the evening so successful, as the audience experience Friedman’s signature uncomplicated and brutally honest vocals. The show also showcases Friedman’s enviable talent for playing instruments - from the guitar, to the keyboard and even the ukulele. Expect laughs, smiles and the chance for a wee sing-a-long in this gig which serves as a perfect distraction from Fringe excess. [Amy Taylor]

70 fest edinburgh festival guide 2011 | August 23-29

www.festmag.co.uk

festmusic&cabaret Evelyn Evelyn

derous nursery-rhyme lyrics are here appropriated for the likes of ‘You Only Want Me ‘Cause You Want My Sister’. Webley as her other hand is rather overpowered. His voice doesn’t quite reach Palmer’s sublime levels.

Still, someone’s got to hold the left side of the accordion/guitar/ ukelele that the two share with bewildering proficiency.

Conjoining hoax with cabaret act Evelyn Evelyn’s catchy numbers mostly riff off their own conjoined status, but they’re so good you almost wish they’d move on to new areas.

That is, until closing number ‘My Space’ – it’s just about MySpace. Could their act then be apt metaphor for how we’ve all grown internet personas uncomfortably moulded to us?

Perhaps, but Evelyn Evelyn is mostly a light-hearted freak show that complies to both musical comedy and health and safety standards. [Catherine Sylvain]

HHHHH

“Now we’re going to do something a little out of the ordinary,” the sinister ragged ringmaster informs the audience. Well, he’s already shunted on stage Dresden Doll Amanda Palmer disguised as siamese twin to a conspicuously-goateed Jason Webley and coaxed them with a Twix ‘til they play a single piano one-handedly and lilt passive-aggressive laments with laughter beaks. Just how unusual can this get? A ramshackle shadow-puppet show answers this, though it’s quickly shredded to rip-roaring pieces.

Everything about Evelyn Evelyn is bespoke, from the costumes to the four-night Fringe run, but the best part of their eccentricity is just how winningly funny it is.

Palmer certainly has enough talent and personality for a second body. Her typically mur-

MOVIN’

Bojangles Ray Charles Sam Cooke Jackie Wilson James Brown Chuck Berry and more !!!

MELVIN BROWN “Exceptional, sheer brilliance...

Brown is a one-man concert!”  Scotsman C venues vibrant vivacious variety 3 – 29 Aug (not 15, 22) 7.50pm (1hr15) Tickets £11.50 – £13.50 Concessions £9.50 – £11.50 Children £7.50 – £9.50 recommended PG

MMB Edin 43 x 64.indd 1

www.festmag.co.uk

fringe box office 0131 226 0000 online sales www.edfringe.com

05/08/2011 16:10

August 23-29 | edinburgh festival guide 2011 fest 71

festmusic&cabaret The Alleycats: a cappella with cattitude

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There’s an feeling of dread heading into The Alleycats’ performance: what if the St Andrews student group are about to serve up an hour of a cappella music laden with feline punnery? It’s a blessed relief, then, when the motif extends only as far as a bit of leopard print in their wardrobe.

Silly wordplay aside, the eleven-strong group deliver a dynamic, tightly-drilled performance, closely obeying the cardinal rule of a cappella: it’s about the creativity of your vocal arrangements, not note-perfect fidelity to the original song.

Theirs is a slightly unconventional set-list for a vocal group, tracing a winding musical path from Shania Twain to Mumford & Sons, but it’s a decision that works in The Alleycats’ favour. The arrangements are spotless, with Sixpence None the Richer’s ‘Kiss Me’ and Twain’s ‘That Don’t Impress Me Much’ proving early highlights, while a couple of surreal medleys towards the end of the show (Michael Jackson meets Dizzee Rascal) are treated with the requisite lack of seriousness.

Unfortunately, the acoustic nature of their show means that the soloists, especially the sopranos, tend to be drowned out by the ten voices behind them. It’s an imbalance that impacts their performance at a very basic level. Rhythmic support is also weak, thanks to some comically bad beatboxing, but this has only a limited impact. The Alleycats give the impression that they’re having a whale of a time, and the result is an infectiously entertaining performance.

[Marcus Kernohan] C venues, 4:45pm – 5:35, 21–29 Aug, not 22, £9.50 – £11.50

Abi Roberts Takes You Up the Aisle

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Weddings are extravagant affairs; costly to attend while all the main performers (or their parents) basically bleed money. The same could be said of a Fringe run, so you’d better be pretty sure you have a show before you wed it to Edinburgh. Abi Roberts Takes You Up the Aisle is sadly not quite a show. Skirting the categories of cabaret and comedy it lands in something of a hinterland: “confessional karaoke”. It’s almost genre-defying, but not interesting enough to merit even that plaudit.

It opens with Roberts bounding up a makeshift aisle in wedding lingerie and hair rollers. She appears quite wonderfully deluded, so it’s disarming when she speaks and turns out to be rather more self-assured and responsible than her get-up suggests. “I want to be a gay icon,” she confesses, but she’s just too ordinary.

Though a competent singer, Roberts’ show dwells too heavily on dull, indulgent

Tenchi Shinmei

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All the thundering traditional Japanese drumming in the world—and there’s a frightening amount of it echoing around the cavernous hall of St John’s Church—can’t make up for a show that gets tedious for its narrow range of spectacle and paucity of dynamism.

Multi-national Naganobased group Wadaiko Tokara are clearly masters of their craft – namely taiko, a several-thousand year old art of furiously banging barrel-sized drums. Originally practiced in ancient Japan as an aid to prayer and for intimidating enemies (very

72 fest edinburgh festival guide 2011 | August 23-29

personal anecdotes between songs: a failed marriage and forays into internet dating breed few laughs, as it turns out. Her original numbers are accompanied by tinny and overproduced backing tracks which lace a dispiriting sheen on Roberts’ belting voice. “This is just quite a camp show,” we’re assured, before Roberts prays to “the God of Ryvita”

to fit into her wedding dress.

That’s not camp, that’s reality TV and beauty magazines.

Roberts needs to subvert something other than the expectations for a Fringe show if she really wants to be a gay icon. [Catherine Sylvain]

believable), over the last halfcentury it’s been adapted into a contemporary performance style.

Featuring players from Japan, Canada and Sweden, the four-member ensemble pound out incredibly detailed and exhausting-looking rhythms with all the poise and controlled aggression of martial artists. You won’t witness many more joyful and expressive performers on the Fringe than Yukari Ichise, who grins, jumps and shrieks her way through the show.

Yet in an age when the likes of Stomp have taken mass percussive performances to a new level, with the static and one-

dimensional Tenchi Shinmei Wadaiko Tokara struggle to compete. Cameos by koto group Ensemble Rivelta, an old couple on bamboo flute and Japanese harp, bring a much-needed melodic element to the show in spells, but are so fleeting as to seem added in almost like an afterthought. Budget is obviously a constraint, but it’d be interesting to see Wadaiko Tokara challenge themselves to boost the scale, aesthetics and drama of their performance, and craft something that feels like an event rather than a simple concert.

[Malcolm Jack]

The Voodoo Rooms, 6:50pm – 7:50pm, 21–28 Aug, not 22, £10.00

St John’s Church, times vary, 21–29 Aug, not 25, £12.00

www.festmag.co.uk

The Scandinavian Rock Show That Reinvents A Cappella

THE ARCHWAY CAFÉ

Pleasance Courtyard, 60 Pleasance, EH8 9TJ

Quarter_FstMag02_08.indd 1

www.festmag.co.uk

02/08/2011 12:17:27

August 23-29 | edinburgh festival guide 2011 fest 73

comedylistings

FESTIVAL

LISTINGS When it's this time...

...this show is on...

20:15 ❤ Elis James HHHH

... at this place...

Pleasance Courtyard 9-29 Aug, not 18, £9.50-£12

...for this price

...on these dates...

10:30 BBC: MacAulay & Co

BBC @ Potterrow, 23-26 Aug, £free

11:30 Let Them Eat Cake!

Quaker Meeting House, 23-27 Aug, £7

Mind Reading for Breakfast Sweet Grassmarket, 23-29 Aug, £9

Paul Merton’s Impro Chums

Quoth the Raven Free Sketch Comedy Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 23-27 Aug, £free

BBC: Off the Ball

BBC @ Potterrow, 27 Aug, £free

I am Google

Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 23 Aug, 24 Aug, 26 Aug, 27 Aug, 28 Aug, £free

The Improveteers

Cabaret Voltaire, 23-28 Aug, £3

Martin Semple ‘I Don’t Do Jokes’

Pleasance Courtyard, 26-27 Aug, £14.50

Laughing Horse @ Finnegan’s Wake, 23-27 Aug, £free

11:55

Making Life Taste Funny - Free

Croft and Pearce - Funnier Than It Sounds

Underbelly, Cowgate, 2328 Aug, £8.50 – £9.50

12:00 Eric Mutch: Schizophrene - Free

Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 23-28 Aug, £free

Live at the Gilded Balloon Podcast Gilded Balloon Teviot, 25-28 Aug, £5

Tony Law: Go Mr Tony Go!

The Stand Comedy Club II, 23-28 Aug, £8

Alison Thea-Skot: The Human Tuning Fork HH Just The Tonic at the Caves, 23-28 Aug, £6.50 – £7.50

Laughing Horse @ The Three Sisters, 23-28 Aug, £free

12:05 Best of Whyteleafe Comedy Club - Free

Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 26-28 Aug, £free

Rom Com Con - Free Medina, 24-27 Aug, £free

Sally-Anne Hayward: Don’t Judge Me The Stand Comedy Club III & IV, 23-28 Aug, £8

As Drawn on FaceTube - Free

Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 24-25 Aug, £free

12:10 Cheese-Badger presents... The Epic of Hairy Dave - Free

Laughing Horse @ The Beehive Inn , 23 Aug, 25

Fest is the only place you can get daily listings for all of the Comedy and Theatre shows at the Fringe.

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. Listings for other festivals can be found at festmag.co.uk or on the Festival websites.

Aug, 26 Aug, 27 Aug, 28 Aug, £free

12:30

12:50

13:05

Carl Sagan is My God, Oh and Richard Feynman Too

Fisting a Nun

Those Two - Free

The Banshee Labyrinth, 23-27 Aug, £free

Biscuit and Brawn Make a Meal of It

The Canons’ Gait, 23-28 Aug, £free

Laughing Horse @ The Three Sisters, 23-29 Aug, £free

12:55

Those Bloody Teenagers - Free

The Bob Blackman Appreciation Society

12:15

Laughing Horse @ City Cafe, 23-28 Aug, £free

Southsider, 23-27 Aug, £free

Aaaand Now For Something Completely Improvised! - Free

The Lunchtime Club 2011 HHH

Eric Gudmunsen - Ryanair Lost My Baby (God Bless Them) - Free

Laughing Horse @ Meadow Bar, 23-28 Aug, £free

About Comedy: Stand-up Comedy Courses

Laughing Horse @ Edinburgh City Football Club, 23 Aug, 24 Aug, 27 Aug, 28 Aug, £99

Desperately Sikhing Fusion - Free Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 23-28 Aug, £free

Shakespeare’s Monkeys

Laughing Horse @ The Three Sisters, 23 Aug, 24 Aug, 25 Aug, 26 Aug, 28 Aug, £free

We Need to Talk

Laughing Horse @ The Newsroom, 23-28 Aug, £free

Just the Tonic at The Tron, 24-28 Aug, £7

12:35 Come Hell Or High Water This Sick World Will Know I Was Here

Laughing Horse @ Jekyll & Hyde, 23-28 Aug, £free

12:40 Please Hold, You’re Being Transferred to a UK Based Asian Representative

Laughing Horse @ Finnegan’s Wake, 23-27 Aug, £free

12:45 Milo McCabe: Get Brown

Gilded Balloon Teviot, 2328 Aug, £7.50 – £8.50

Happiness - Free

The Hamiltons: High Jinks with the Hamiltons!

The Durham Revue’s 33rd Annual Surprise Party!

How Do I Get Up There?

12:20 The Voodoo Rooms, 24-27 Aug, £free

Underbelly, Cowgate, 2328 Aug, £8.50 – £9.50

74 fest edinburgh festival guide 2011 | August 23-29

Udderbelly’s Pasture, 23-28 Aug, £10.50 – £11.50

Gilded Balloon Teviot, 25-29 Aug, £8

Laughing Horse @ Jekyll & Hyde, 23-28 Aug, £free

Which One’s Fergal?

Just The Tonic at the Caves, 23-28 Aug, £7.50

Paradise in The Vault, Various dates from 23 Aug to 29 Aug, £5

Adventures in Comedy: Murder, Madness and Mayhem! - Free

Laughing Horse @ The Three Sisters, 23-28 Aug, £free

Punching Mice

Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 23-28 Aug, £free

The Right Dishonourable Dickie Daventry

Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 23-28 Aug, £free

13:00

13:10

Mervyn Stutter’s Pick of the Fringe

Underbelly, Cowgate, 2328 Aug, £8.50 – £10

Pleasance Courtyard, 2428 Aug, £9 – £10

Just the Tonic’s Afternoon Delight

Just The Tonic at the Caves, 23-28 Aug, £5

The Gherkin Fantasies

Mythbunking

Run, Deaf Boy, Run! H

The Stand Comedy Club II, 23-28 Aug, £8

The Showcase Show

Pleasance Courtyard, 2328 Aug, £8.50 – £9.50

Ciao Roma, 23-27 Aug, £free

13:15

Scott Agnew’s Scottish Breakfast Chat Show

BBC: Festival Café

Cabaret Voltaire, 23-29 Aug, £7

The Thinking Drinker’s Guide to Alcohol Pleasance Courtyard, 23-29 Aug, £9 – £11

Card Ninja

Assembly George Square, 23-28 Aug, £8

BBC @ Potterrow, 23-26 Aug, £free

Attention Deficit Let’s Go Ride Bikes!

- Free

Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 23-28 Aug, £free

Big Dave’s Gay-B-C of Life - Free

Laughing Horse @ The Beehive Inn , 23-28 Aug, £free

www.festmag.co.uk

comedylistings Laughing Penguin Showcase

Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 23-28 Aug, £free

Four Sad Faces, Suddenly

The Canons’ Gait, 23-28 Aug, £free

Fred Cooke: Comfort in Chaos

Gilded Balloon Teviot, 2329 Aug, £7.50 – £8.50

This is Soap

C venues - C, 23-29 Aug, £6.50 – £8.50

13:20 Schoolbooks in Wallpaper - Ian Perth - Free

Laughing Horse @ Finnegan’s Wake, 23-27 Aug, £free

Joe Fairbrother: Characters

Just The Tonic at the Caves, 23-28 Aug, £7 – £8

Meditation Ruined My Life Medina, 23-27 Aug, £free

Kieran and The Joes: Teampowered HHH

Chat Masala with Hardeep Singh Kohli Gilded Balloon Teviot, 26 Aug, £12

Mugging Chickens

Laughing Horse @ The Three Sisters, 23-28 Aug, £free

Sophie Alderson is Running for President HHH

The Voodoo Rooms, 24-27 Aug, £free

13:35 Pockets of Suspense - Free Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 23-27 Aug, £free

Catriona Knox: Packed Lunch

Udderbelly’s Pasture, 2329 Aug, £9 – £10

13:40 Dicking a Great Big Hole Just the Tonic at The Store (formerly GRV), 23-28 Aug, £7

This Next One is About Putting Salt in Your Tea

Just the Tonic at The Store (formerly GRV), 23-28 Aug, £8.50

The Banshee Labyrinth, 23-27 Aug, £free

Lunch With Quattro Formaggio

13:45

Underbelly, Cowgate, 2328 Aug, £8.50 – £9.50

13:25 Steve Pretty’s Perfect Mixtape HH

Underbelly, Cowgate, 2328 Aug, £9 – £9.50

Peeling PVA in Happier Maché

Laughing Horse @ The Three Sisters, 23-28 Aug, £free

Assembly Hall, 23-28 Aug, £8 – £10

Just The Tonic at the Caves, 23-28 Aug, £5

Laughing Horse @ The Newsroom, 23-28 Aug, £free

Jollyboat

After Lunch Laugh Lounge* - Free

Ben Target in Discover Ben Target

Tomorrow’s StandUp Today - Free

Laughing Horse @ The Three Sisters, 23 Aug, 24 Aug, 25 Aug, 26 Aug, 28 Aug, £free

Beckett and Smith Whistlebinkies, 23-29 Aug, £free

www.festmag.co.uk

Chat Masala with Hardeep Singh Kohli Gilded Balloon Teviot, 23 Aug, 24 Aug, 25 Aug, 27 Aug, 28 Aug, £11 – £12

The Earl and the InstruMentalist

Dragonfly, 23-29 Aug, £free

Faulty Towers the Dining Experience

B’est Restaurant, Various dates from 23 Aug to 30 Aug, £38

14:05 Cab Fare for the Common Man

theSpace @ Jury’s Inn, 23-27 Aug, £8

14:10 Seminar HH

Pleasance Courtyard, 2328 Aug, £8.50 – £9.50

14:15 Best of the Fest Daytime

Gagging For Attention

The Great Brain Robbery

The Royal Mile Tavern, 23-27 Aug, £free

Gilded Balloon Teviot, 2328 Aug, £8.50 – £9.50

The Man Who Was Nearly There - Free

13:30

Gagtanamo Bay

People I Tried to Like

Laughing Horse @ City Cafe, 23-28 Aug, £free

Tiernan Douieb vs the World

Laughing Horse @ Meadow Bar, 23-29 Aug, £free

Gilded Balloon Teviot, 24-26 Aug, £10 – £12

Assembly George Square, 23 Aug, 24 Aug, 25 Aug, 27 Aug, 28 Aug, £12 – £13

Huggers - Free Festival Family Fun

Just The Tonic at the Caves, 23-27 Aug, £5 – £7

Three Blokes Tell Jokes

Hannah Gadsby Mary. Contrary.

The Voodoo Rooms, 23-27 Aug, £free

Bannermans, 23-27 Aug, £free

14:00 It’s Two O’Clock Live at Two O’Clock The Banshee Labyrinth, 23-29 Aug, £free

Shinoxcy Presents: There’s No ‘I’ in Shinoxcy - Free

Fingers Piano Bar, 23-27 Aug, £free

Just The Tonic at the Caves, 23-28 Aug, £3

Arguments and Nosebleeds - Free

Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 23-25 Aug, £free

Do Not Take Advice From This Man - Jim Smallman and Friends - Free

Globe, 23-27 Aug, £free

Jackson Voorhaar Can’t Play Guitar - Free

Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 23-28 Aug, £free

The End of the World Show Bar 50, 23-27 Aug, £free

Tom Toal and Joe Wells Rom-Coms and Revolutions Laughing Horse @ The Three Sisters, 23-28 Aug, £free

Richard Herring’s Edinburgh Fringe Podcast

The Stand Comedy Club, 23-29 Aug, £10

Fresh Bread Presents Johnny’s Favourite Show

The Banshee Labyrinth, 24-27 Aug, £free

Seymour Mace: Happypotamus

The Stand Comedy Club II, 23-28 Aug, £7

14:25 Free Tea and Biscuit Hour The Voodoo Rooms, 23-27 Aug, £free

Richard Sandling Performs Music and Comedy as Pot Pourri and Does Some Poetry as Spak Whitman

The Canons’ Gait, 23-28 Aug, £free

Tiffany Stevenson: Cavewoman HHH

The Stand Comedy Club III & IV, 23 Aug, 24 Aug, 26 Aug, 27 Aug, 28 Aug, £8

14:30 The Seven Deadly Sings (Remastered) - Free

Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 23-28 Aug, £free

Taking the Piff

Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 23-28 Aug, £free

Cheshire Liberation Front’s Political Indoctrination Rally Buffs Club (RAOB), 2327 Aug, £free

Chris Coxen’s Space Clone Audition

Cabaret Voltaire, 23-28 Aug, £5 – £7

Jay Foreman: We’re Living in the Future

Underbelly, Cowgate, 2328 Aug, £9 – £10

Jon Richardson: It’s Not Me, It’s You

Sink or Spin

Pleasance Dome, 23-28 Aug, £12

14:20

Base Nightclub, 23-27 Aug, £free

Bannatyne’s Health Club, 23-29 Aug, £9.50

David Morgan: Triple Threat Just the Tonic at The Tron, 23-28 Aug, £6

Peeling PVA Stands Up The Squiffy Journals Just The Tonic at the Caves, 23-28 Aug, £8 – £9.50

Ray Time in the Daytime: An Audience With Ray Green and Friends

Gilded Balloon Teviot, 2328 Aug, £8.50 – £9.50

Rrrantin’ Free at the Pear Tree Laughing Horse @ The Pear Tree, 23-28 Aug, £free

Ze Hoff Und Friends - Free Laughing Horse @ The Beehive Inn , 23-28 Aug, £free

Ian Fox Exposes Himself - Free

Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 23-28 Aug, £free

Jody Kamali’s Business Coaching for Idiots - Free

Laughing Horse @ The Hive, 23-28 Aug, £free

Monkhouse and Me

SpaceCabaret @ 54, 2327 Aug, £8 – £9

14:35 Three Man Roast - Free

Laughing Horse @ Finnegan’s Wake, 23-26 Aug, £free

❤ Pointless Anger, Righteous Ire 2: Back in the Habit HHHH

The Stand Comedy Club V, 23-28 Aug, £8

Catherine Semark: The Truth About Lions Medina, 23-27 Aug, £free

14:40 Jollygoodlarks - How to Make it Huge

Just the Tonic at The Store (formerly GRV), 2328 Aug, £6 – £7.50

A Slightly Dangerous Comedy Occasion - Free The Royal Mile Tavern, 23-27 Aug, £free

Eric Hutton and Ben Ellwood - The Best of the Sh*ttest - Free Laughing Horse @ The Hive, 23-28 Aug, £free

Mike Newall’s ‘Get Better Box’ Just The Tonic at the Caves, 23-28 Aug, £5 – £8

Moonshine and Trumpery

The Voodoo Rooms, 23-27 Aug, £free

Zeus’ Pamphlet

Underbelly, Cowgate, 2328 Aug, £8 – £9.50

14:45 Free Cuddles With 007

Laughing Horse @ The Three Sisters, 23-28 Aug, £free

Making Faces: Introspectacles - Free

Laughing Horse @ The Newsroom, 23-28 Aug, £free

Music Box

C venues - C soco, 23-29 Aug, £7.50 – £9.50

Gemma Goggin: Double G HH

Gilded Balloon Teviot, 23-28 Aug, £7 – £8

Rory and Tim Are Free at Last

Rabbie Burns Cafe and Bar, 23 Aug, £free

Horse and Louis: Top Trumpin’! - Free HHH

Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 23-28 Aug, £free

Wedding Band: A Comedy by Charlie Baker Gilded Balloon Teviot, 23-29 Aug, £10.50 – £12.50

AAA Batteries (Not Included) - Free Laughing Horse @ Meadow Bar, 23-28 Aug, £free

The Edinburgh Revue Show

Opium, 23-29 Aug, £free

Meryl O’Rourke - Bad Mother...

Underbelly, Cowgate, 2328 Aug, £9 – £10

14:55 Matt Forde: Dishonourable Member HH

Udderbelly’s Pasture, 2328 Aug, £8.50 – £9.50

15:00 The 90’s in Half an Hour - Free Laughing Horse @ The Three Sisters, 23-28 Aug, £free

Todd Barry: American Hot

The Stand Comedy Club III & IV, 23-28 Aug, £10

Worbey and Farrell: Well Strung!

Udderbelly’s Pasture, 2328 Aug, £9.50 – £12

BBC: Ricky Gervais and Warwick Davis discuss the making of Life’s Too Short BBC @ Potterrow, 26 Aug, £free

August 23-29 | edinburgh festival guide 2011 fest 75

comedylistings Fran Moulds Curtains - Free

Laughing Horse @ The Three Sisters, 23 Aug, 24 Aug, 25 Aug, 26 Aug, 28 Aug, £free

Lorcan McGrath is ...

Not in Love - Free Laughing Horse @ The Beehive Inn , 23-27 Aug, £free

Alex Horne: Taskmaster II

Gilded Balloon Teviot, 26 Aug, £10

Funny as Muck

Bannermans, 23-27 Aug, £free

Mabbs & Justice: Love Machine

Just the Tonic at The Store (formerly GRV), 23-28 Aug, £7 – £8

Adam Larter: The Legend of Bob Geldof (and Other Short Stories) - Free Comedy

Laughing Horse @ City Cafe, 23-28 Aug, £free

15:05 A Brief History of Time - Free

Laughing Horse @ Jekyll & Hyde, 23-28 Aug, £free

Philosophical Investigations

Rush Bar, 23-27 Aug, £free

Writer’s Block - Free Laughing Horse @ Edinburgh City Football Club, 23-28 Aug, £free

Nobody’s Darling

theSpaces @ Surgeons Hall, 23-27 Aug, £5

15:10 Eric’s Tales of the Sea - A Submariner’s Yarn Just The Tonic at the Caves, 23-28 Aug, £8.50 – £9.50

You For Coffee?

The Banshee Labyrinth, 23-27 Aug, £free

A Kind Of Surprise

Dragonfly, 24-27 Aug, £free

15:15 James Sherwood - I Fed My Best Friend Her Favourite Cow HHH Gilded Balloon Teviot, 24-28 Aug, £8

Playtime - Free

Laughing Horse @ Jekyll & Hyde, 23-28 Aug, £free

Samurai Grandma Just The Tonic at the Caves, 23-28 Aug, £7 – £8

Tom Allen’s Afternoon Tea

Gilded Balloon Teviot, 2328 Aug, £9 – £10

15:20 Hit Comet

Bedlam Theatre, 23-27 Aug, £7

❤ David O’Doherty Presents: Rory Sheridan’s Tales of The Antarctica HHHH

Underbelly, Cowgate, 2328 Aug, £9.50 – £10

The Gentlemen of Leisure Present: The Death of the Novel HHH Just The Tonic at the Caves, 23-28 Aug, £7 – £8

Present...

Ciao Roma, 23-28 Aug, £free

15:25 ❤ Ben Brailsford - My Fortnum and Mason Hell HHHH

Pleasance Courtyard, 2328 Aug, £9 – £10

15:30 Ben Verth: Not With That Attitude The Banshee Labyrinth, 23 Aug, 24 Aug, 26 Aug, 27 Aug, £free

Max and Ivan Are Holmes and Watson

Pleasance Courtyard, 2329 Aug, £10 – £11

Morgan & West: Crime Solving Magicians

Gilded Balloon Teviot, 23-29 Aug, £9.50 – £10.50

Wendy Wason’s Flashbacks HH

The Stand Comedy Club II, 23-28 Aug, £8

Phill Jupitus Quartet - ‘Made Up’ HHH

Gilded Balloon Teviot, 24 Aug, 25 Aug, 27 Aug, 28 Aug, £12 – £14

Parris and Dowler: Special Delivery Bar 50, 24-27 Aug, £free

Enjoy Yourself - It’s Later Than You Think! - Free

Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 23-28 Aug, £free

Ford and Akram: Humdinger

Pleasance Courtyard, 2329 Aug, £8 – £9.50

Ivor’s Other Show

Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 24-28 Aug, £free

15:35 Deemed Unsafe

theSpaces on North Bridge, 23-27 Aug, £5

Wil Hodgson

The Stand Comedy Club III & IV, 23-28 Aug, £8

Olver: Portrait of a Serial Killer

Just The Tonic at the Caves, 23-28 Aug, £7

Super Crazy Fun Fun - Free

Laughing Horse @ The Three Sisters, 23-28 Aug, £free

15:40 Tom Bell Begins

Just the Tonic at The Tron, 23-28 Aug, £7 – £8.50

Bristol Revunions: National Friends

Just the Tonic at The Store (formerly GRV), 2328 Aug, £7.50 – £8.50

Simon Munnery: Hats Off for the 101ers, and Other Material HHH

The Stand Comedy Club, 23-29 Aug, £10

Richard Dawkins Does Not Exist, and We Can Prove It

The Canons’ Gait, 24-28 Aug, £free

15:45 Tom Goodliffe: The Good Liffe

Cabaret Voltaire, 23-29 Aug, £5

Just Havin’ a Fiddle Laughing Horse @ The Three Sisters, 23-28 Aug, £free

Comedy Manifesto The Voodoo Rooms, 23-28 Aug, £free

The Oxford Imps

Gilded Balloon Teviot, 2329 Aug, £8 – £10

Totally Tom

Underbelly, Cowgate, 2328 Aug, £8.50 – £10

Jo and Brydie Play Doctor

Gilded Balloon Teviot, 2329 Aug, £6.50 – £7.50

Movin’ On Up! With Politically Erect - Free

Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 23-28 Aug, £free

The Return of O’Farahan and Keith - Free

Laughing Horse @ The Hive, 23-28 Aug, £free

76 fest edinburgh festival guide 2011 | August 23-29

The Tim Vine Chat Show Pleasance Courtyard, 23-29 Aug, £12.50 – £13.50

Yorkshire Comedy Cabaret - Free

Base Nightclub, 23 Aug, 25 Aug, 26 Aug, 27 Aug, £free

15:50 Uncle Ivan Pest Controller - Free

Laughing Horse @ The Hive, 23-28 Aug, £free

Joanna Neary: Youth Club The Stand Comedy Club V, 23-28 Aug, £9

Foster’s Edinburgh Comedy Awards Show

Pleasance Courtyard, 28 Aug, £14

Hatty Ashdown: Nan-Child

Laughing Horse @ Finnegan’s Wake, 23-26 Aug, £free

❤ Kevin Cruise HHHHH

Assembly George Square, 23-29 Aug, £10 – £12

15:55 Cariad Lloyd: Lady Cariad’s Characters The Voodoo Rooms, 23-27 Aug, £free

16:00 Amused Moose Comedy Awards Showcase

Pleasance Dome, 24-27 Aug, £7.50 – £8.50

Mary Mary Quite Contrary

The Street, 23-29 Aug, £free

The Dog-Eared Collective: You’re Better Than This

Underbelly, Cowgate, 2328 Aug, £9 – £10

The Fitzrovia Radio Hour HHH

Gilded Balloon Teviot, 2329 Aug, £10 – £11

John Kearns’ Dinner Party Whistlebinkies, 23-29 Aug, £free

❤ Nick Helm - Dare to Dream HHHH

Pleasance Courtyard, 2329 Aug, £11 – £12

Me, Myself and Iona Rabbie Burns Cafe and Bar, 23-27 Aug, £free

Billy Kirkwood: Show Me Your Tattoo - Free

Laughing Horse @ The White Horse, 23-27 Aug, £free

Can You Dig It?

Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh - John Hope Gateway, 24-29 Aug, £12

Colm O’Regan: Dislike! A Facebook Guide to Crisis HH

Gilded Balloon Teviot, 2329 Aug, £8.50 – £9.50

Don’t Trust Salmon: Fin Zoo Roxy, 23-29 Aug, £8

The Baby Diary

Assembly George Square, 23-28 Aug, £8.50 – £9.50

Al Murray’s Compete for the Meat H

Assembly George Square, 23-27 Aug, £10

❤ Conor O’Toole’s Manual of Style HHHH Just the Tonic at The Store (formerly GRV), 23-28 Aug, £7.50

Manos the Greek: The Tale Of An Immigrant - Free Laughing Horse @ Meadow Bar, 23-28 Aug, £free

16:05 Flyerman

theSpaces @ Surgeons Hall, 23-27 Aug, £7

I Didn’t Mean to be a Virgin in the 80s Sweet Grassmarket, 23-29 Aug, £8

16:10 Ruby Wax: Losing It HH

Udderbelly’s Pasture, 2329 Aug, £15 – £17.50

Nathan Penlington: Uri and Me Udderbelly’s Pasture, 23-29 Aug, £9.50 – £10.50

16:15 Four Screws Loose Present ‘ScrewedOver-Again!’

Damion Larkin: Cuddly Dreamer

Bannermans, 23-26 Aug, £free

Paul Merton’s Impro Chums

Sin Club and Lounge, 23-27 Aug, £free

Just The Tonic at the Caves, 23-28 Aug, £7 – £9

Pleasance Courtyard, 2327 Aug, £13 – £14.50

Sally Outen: Non-Bio?

The Bongo Club, 23-29 Aug, £7 – £8

Rrrantin’ Free at the Pear Tree Laughing Horse @ The Pear Tree, 23-28 Aug, £free

This Next One is About Putting Salt in Your Tea

The Banshee Labyrinth, 23-26 Aug, £free

The Three Englishmen: Optimists HHH Just The Tonic at the Caves, 23-28 Aug, £8 – £9

Chortle Student Comedy Awards Final

Assembly George Square, 28 Aug, £8.50

Down and Out Comedy With Mike Belgrave

Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 23-28 Aug, £free

A Girl, a Ghost and the Little Yellow Man - Free

Laughing Horse @ The Newsroom, 23-28 Aug, £free

Yianni: Things That Make You Go ‘Oooooh!’ - Free

Scott Capurro’s Position HH

Gilded Balloon Teviot, 2328 Aug, £10 – £11

Fat Kitten vs the World The Voodoo Rooms, 23-27 Aug, £free

❤ Luke Wright’s Cynical Ballads HHHH

Underbelly, Cowgate, 23-28 Aug, £9.50 – £10.50

The Quest for Human Happiness - Free

Laughing Horse @ City Cafe, 23-28 Aug, £free

The Truth (Explained in Doodles!)

Sin Club and Lounge, 23-27 Aug, £free

16:20 The Beta Males: The Train Job Pleasance Dome, 23-29 Aug, £10 – £11

Rory O’Hanlon: Is it Just Me That’s Mental?

Just the Tonic at The Store (formerly GRV), 23-28 Aug, £7.50

www.festmag.co.uk

comedylistings Fin Taylor and Jared Hardy - With Full Orchestra

Alistair Green: Outpatient

Dragonfly, 23-29 Aug, £free

Just The Tonic at the Caves, 24-28 Aug, £7 – £8

Tweeting Beauty (and Other Stories)

16:40

The Banshee Labyrinth, 23-27 Aug, £free

Leila’s Ladies

Bridget Christie: Housewife Surrealist HH

16:50 Phil Mann’s Full Mind and Michael Keane: Intelligent Shuffle - Free

Laughing Horse @ The Three Sisters, 23-28 Aug, £free

Parents Evening The Voodoo Rooms, 23-27 Aug, £free

Fingers Piano Bar, 23-27 Aug, £free

The Stand Comedy Club II, 23-28 Aug, £8

Eric Gudmunsen - Ryanair Lost My Baby (God Bless Them) - Free

Assembly George Square, 23-29 Aug, £10

Laughing Horse @ Cafe Renroc, 23-28 Aug, £free

16:45

Edinburgh Tonight with Joe Simmons and Lorraine Chase

Laughing Horse @ Jekyll & Hyde, 23-28 Aug, £free

16:25 Andy Zaltzman: Armchair Revolutionary HHH The Stand Comedy Club III & IV, 23-28 Aug, £9

The Oxford Revue: But Seriously

Underbelly, Cowgate, 2328 Aug, £9 – £10.50

16:30 Toby - Lucky

Pleasance Courtyard, 2329 Aug, £9 – £9.50

Holden and Revill: The North South Divide - Free

Laughing Horse @ Jekyll & Hyde, 23-28 Aug, £free

The Noise Next Door – Their Finest Hour

Pleasance Courtyard, 2329 Aug, £11 – £12

The Unexpected Items Are On It, In the Zone, Off the Hook and Down With the Kids

Gilded Balloon Teviot, 24-29 Aug, £9 – £10

Pam Ford Curl Up and Dye Salon Secrets

Southsider, 23-27 Aug, £free

Ronnie Golden - First a Fender Gilded Balloon Teviot, 23-29 Aug, £9 – £10

Tony Bournemouth: Bournemouth’s All Time Second Greatest Comedian

Little Howard’s Big Show

The Ginge, the Geordie and the Geek - All New Show Just The Tonic at the Caves, 23-28 Aug, £9.50 – £12

So On and So Forth present ‘Human Era’ Just The Tonic at the Caves, 23-27 Aug, £7.50

❤ Bring Me the Head of Adam Riches HHHHH

Pleasance Courtyard, 23-29 Aug, £10 – £11

Matthew Crosby: AdventureParty HH

Pleasance Courtyard, 2329 Aug, £9.50 – £12

James Dowdeswell: Doofus

The Stand Comedy Club III & IV, 23-28 Aug, £8

Lewis Schaffer is Free Until Famous in a Smaller Room at an Earlier Time Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 23-28 Aug, £free

Sheeps: A Sketch Show HHH

Pleasance Courtyard, 2328 Aug, £8.50 – £9.50

Stuff and Nonsense

Laughing Horse @ Finnegan’s Wake, 23-26 Aug, £free

John-Luke Roberts and Nadia Kamil: The Behemoth HH Pleasance Courtyard, 23-29 Aug, £9 – £11

Jem Brookes: Pintification - Free

Brit-Hot Comedy

SpaceCabaret @ 54, 23-27 Aug, £10

16:55 Christmas For Two: Friends With You Just The Tonic at the Caves, 23-28 Aug, £6.50

17:00 Totally Ninja

Belushi’s, 27 Aug, £free

The Inflatables - Free

Ryan’s Cellar Bar, 23-27 Aug, £free

Joe Bor: In Search of the Six Pack H Just the Tonic at The Tron, 23-28 Aug, £7 – £8

RadioHead Redux - Free!

Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 23-28 Aug, £free

Alzheimer’s the Musical: A Night to Remember!

Gilded Balloon Teviot, 24-29 Aug, £10.50 – £11.50

Eddie Naessens: Butter People

Dropkick Murphy’s, 2328 Aug, £free

Smut - Free

Laughing Horse @ The Hive, 23 Aug, 25 Aug, 26 Aug, 27 Aug, 28 Aug, £free

Aberdeen vs Glasgow vs the World! - Free

Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 23-28 Aug, £free

Laughing Horse @ The Three Sisters, 23-28 Aug, £free

Who is Jean? Go the Distance

16:35

The Banshee Labyrinth, 23 Aug, 25 Aug, 26 Aug, 27 Aug, £free

And The Award Goes To...

Vinegar Knickers: Sketchy Beast

Hannah Gadsby - Mrs Chuckles

How to be Awesome: An Introduction

Laughing Horse @ The Hive, 23-28 Aug, £free

The Real MacGuffins: Skitsophrenic Pleasance Courtyard, 23-29 Aug, £9 – £11

C venues - C soco, 23-29 Aug, £7.50 – £9.50

www.festmag.co.uk

Gilded Balloon Teviot, 2329 Aug, £10 – £11

Base Nightclub, 23-27 Aug, £free

Gilded Balloon Teviot, 23-29 Aug, £8 – £9

The Leeds Tealights: Animals with Jobs Just the Tonic at The Store (formerly GRV), 23-28 Aug, £7 – £8

Paul Daniels: Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow HHH

Assembly George Square, 23-28 Aug, £14 – £15

The Warm Up Show Laughing Horse @ The White Horse, 23-28 Aug, £free

BBC Comedy Presents - Early and Late

BBC @ Potterrow, 23-27 Aug, £10

❤ Isy Suttie: Pearl and Dave HHHH

Pleasance Courtyard, 2329 Aug, £10 – £11.50

Luke McQueen - Your Love is Mine Cabaret Voltaire, 23 Aug, 25 Aug, 26 Aug, 27 Aug, 28 Aug, £7

Dave Gibson and Charlie Talbot - Battle of Britain: North vs South Underbelly, Cowgate, 23-28 Aug, £9.50 – £10.50

The Great Big Comedy Picnic - Free Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 23-28 Aug, £free

John Scott: Totally Made Up - Totally Free

Laughing Horse @ The Beehive Inn , 23-28 Aug, £free

17:05 Laugh Or Your Money Back - Free

Medina, 23 Aug, 25 Aug, 26 Aug, 27 Aug, £free

Mogic

C venues - C soco, 23-29 Aug, £7.50 – £9.50

17:15 The Good, the Bad and the Cuddlier ‘Ride Again’ VI - Free Laughing Horse @ Meadow Bar, 23-28 Aug, £free

SomeNews - The Free Topical Show

Laughing Horse @ The Newsroom, 23-28 Aug, £free

Lewis Gray and Friend

Rabbie Burns Cafe and Bar, 23-27 Aug, £free

Singles Collection Opium, 23-27 Aug, £free

Down to the Bone HHH Laughing Horse @ The Three Sisters, 23-28 Aug, £free

Maff Brown Pacman Is Actually Allergic to Ghosts

Gilded Balloon Teviot, 2328 Aug, £9 – £10

Guy Pratt - Wake up Call

Gilded Balloon Teviot, 23-29 Aug, £10

Rik ‘n’ Mix - Free

Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 23-28 Aug, £free

Stewart Lee – Flickwerk 2011.

Work In Progress

The Stand Comedy Club, 23-29 Aug, £10

17:30 Monsters: A History of Villainy

Fingers Piano Bar, 23-27 Aug, £free

Award-winning Comedian Nik Coppin - Free HH

Laughing Horse @ City Cafe, 23-27 Aug, £free

Brett Goldstein Grew Up in a Strip Club HHH

Pleasance Dome, 23-29 Aug, £8.50 – £9.50

❤ Jason Cook - The Search for Happiness HHHH

Pleasance Dome, 23-29 Aug, £12 – £13

Out - But Not on Good Behaviour

The Jazz Bar, 23-26 Aug, £5

Fresh Faces at the Free Fringe

Rush Bar, 23-27 Aug, £free

Tom Webb Fixes 2012

Dragonfly, 23-27 Aug, £free

Tokyo Game: The Body Tights Man Show

Just The Tonic at the Caves, 23 Aug, 24 Aug, 26 Aug, 27 Aug, 28 Aug, £8 – £9

So Much Potential Sin Club and Lounge, 24-27 Aug, £free

We Love Comedy

Sin Club and Lounge, 23-27 Aug, £free

17:31 Harpurs Bizarre!

Immortal Combat

17:20

The Rat Pack, 23-27 Aug, £free

Ava Vidal: The Hardest Word

Footlights in ‘Pretty Little Panic’

17:35

Big Noise

Danny Pensive’s Map of Britain

Laughing Horse @ Jekyll & Hyde, 23-27 Aug, £free

The Stand Comedy Club V, 23-28 Aug, £9 The Voodoo Rooms, 23-27 Aug, £free

Channel Hopping!

theSpaces on the Mile , 23-27 Aug, £7

17:10 Jack Whitehall and his father Michael Back Chat

Pleasance Courtyard, 2428 Aug, £11 – £12.50

Doctors Do Little

theSpaces @ Surgeons Hall, 23-27 Aug, £6

Jessica Ransom: Unsung Heroes HHH

Pleasance Courtyard, 2329 Aug, £9 – £10

Pleasance Dome, 23-29 Aug, £9 – £10

Just The Tonic at the Caves, 23-28 Aug, £6 – £7

Clare Plested: Vegas, Jesus and Me Underbelly, Cowgate, 2328 Aug, £9 – £10

Neil Dougan - Rough Rared Just the Tonic at The Store (formerly GRV), 23-28 Aug, £6 – £7

17:25 Ahir Shah: Astrology HHH Udderbelly’s Pasture, 2328 Aug, £8.50 – £9.50

James Loveridge ... and Other Losers!

- Free

Rita Trump and Julie Jones: Screw Loose Women - Free Laughing Horse @ Edinburgh City Football Club, 23-27 Aug, £free

17:40 Juliet Meyers: I’m Not Spartacus!

Just the Tonic at The Store (formerly GRV), 23-28 Aug, £7 – £8

❤ McNeil and Pamphilon: Which One Are You? HHHH Pleasance Dome, 23-28 Aug, £8.50 – £9.50

August 23-29 | edinburgh festival guide 2011 fest 77

comedylistings 17:45

17:50

Bad Bread: TV Times

Ciao Roma, 23-29 Aug, £free

Underbelly, Cowgate, 23-28 Aug, £9.50 – £10.50

Olivia Lee Chats Them Up

Assembly George Square, 23-29 Aug, £12.50 – £14.50

❤ Diane Spencer: All-Pervading Madness HHHH

Gilded Balloon Teviot, 23-28 Aug, £9

A Betrayal of Penguins: Endangered for a Reason

Gilded Balloon Teviot, 2329 Aug, £8.50 – £9.50

Rowena Haley: Nothing to Write Home About

Southsider, 23-27 Aug, £free

❤ Dan Antopolski, Tom Craine & Nat Luurtsema: Jigsaw HHHH

Pleasance Courtyard, 2329 Aug, £8.50 – £9.50

Joe Wilkinson: My Mum’s Called Stella and My Dad’s Called Brian

Pleasance Courtyard, 23 Aug, 25 Aug, 26 Aug, 27 Aug, 28 Aug, £8.50 – £9.50

Roisin Conaty: Destiny’s Dickhead HHH

Pleasance Courtyard, 2328 Aug, £8.50 – £9.50

A Free Pro-Zach: An Antidepressant Guaranteed to Lift Your Spirits but With the Side-Effect of Nullifying Your Libido Laughing Horse @ Jekyll & Hyde, 23-28 Aug, £free

Oklahomaphobia!

Gavin Webster: All Young People Are C**ts

The Stand Comedy Club II, 23-28 Aug, £8

17:55 Susan Murray’s Photo Booth

The Stand Comedy Club III & IV, 23-28 Aug, £8

Patsy Blades’ Mid-Life Crisis

Sweet Grassmarket, 23-28 Aug, £9.50

18:00 Brave New Irish Showcase - Free

Laughing Horse @ Finnegan’s Wake, 23-26 Aug, £free

Chris Mayo’s Panic Attack Just The Tonic at the Caves, 23-28 Aug, £7 – £8

Edinburgh Bloody Edinburgh

The Wee Windaes , 2329 Aug, £12

Lady Garden HH

Pleasance Courtyard, 2329 Aug, £8.50 – £9.50

Laughing Horse Free Pick of the Fringe Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 23-28 Aug, £free

❤ Sammy J and Randy: Ricketts Lane HHHH

Udderbelly’s Pasture, 2329 Aug, £12.50 – £14

Dying to Help - Free Jenny Ha’s, 23-27 Aug, £free

The Brandreth Papers

Gilded Balloon Teviot, 2329 Aug, £10 – £12

❤ Holly Walsh - The Hollycopter HHHH

Pleasance Courtyard, 2329 Aug, £8.50 – £9.50

The Canons’ Gait, 23 Aug, 25 Aug, 26 Aug, 27 Aug, 28 Aug, £free

4 Poofs and a Piano Business as Usual

OCD: The Singing Obsessive - Free

Pleasance Courtyard, 2328 Aug, £14 – £15

The Big Value Comedy Show - Early Just The Tonic at the Caves, 23-28 Aug, £10

Beer and Loathing and Lost Wages - Free

Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 23-28 Aug, £free

Eric Lampaert

Pleasance Courtyard, 2329 Aug, £9.50 – £12

❤ Kerry Godliman - Wonder Woman HHHH

Pleasance Courtyard, 2328 Aug, £11 – £12

5-Step Guide to Being German - Free Laughing Horse @ The Three Sisters, 23 Aug, 24 Aug, 25 Aug, 26 Aug, 28 Aug, £free

Original

Globe, 23-27 Aug, £free

18:05 Best of Irish Comedy The Stand Comedy Club III & IV, 23-28 Aug, £10

Absolute Improv

Transformer

theSpaces on the Mile , 23-27 Aug, £8.50 – £9.50

Hitch and Mitch Genisis

Chronic

Bedlam Theatre, 23-27 Aug, £8

The Banshee Labyrinth, 23-27 Aug, £free

Thirty-seven ways of deceiving you, the audience, into believing I have written a new one-man show for 2011 even though I probably haven’t, or something

Laughing Horse @ Cafe Renroc, 23-28 Aug, £free

Laughing Horse @ The Three Sisters, 24-28 Aug, £free

A Mixed Bag - Free

Laughing Horse @ The Three Sisters, 23-28 Aug, £free

Bob Slayer’s Marmite Gameshow - Free

Laughing Horse @ The Hive, 24-28 Aug, £free

Foil, Arms and Hog: Comedy Doesn’t Pay

Gilded Balloon Teviot, 2329 Aug, £8.50 – £10

Michael J Dolan Dress to Depress

Caroline Mabey’s One Minute Silence

James W Smith: Living in Syntax

Ian D Montfort Spirit Comedium HHH

Aaaaaaaaaaaaarghh! It’s the Malcolm Hardee Spaghetti-Juggling Contest - Year One

Outside the Beehive Inn, 24-25 Aug, £free

Aaaaaaaaaaaaarghh! It’s the Malcolm Hardee Comedy Punch-Up Debates - And They’re Free!

Laughing Horse @ The Hive, 23 Aug, £free

Neil By Mouth

Cabaret Voltaire, 23 Aug, 25 Aug, 26 Aug, 27 Aug, 28 Aug, £6.50 – £8

Delete the Banjax: Pigs and Ponies HHH

Keith Farnan: Money, Money, Money HH

18:10

18:15

Assembly George Square, 23-28 Aug, £12 – £14

❤ WitTank HHHH

Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 24-28 Aug, £free

The Royal Mile Tavern, 23-27 Aug, £free

New Art Club: Quiet Act of Destruction HHH

Pleasance Courtyard, 2329 Aug, £8.50 – £9.50

Ryan’s Cellar Bar, 23-27 Aug, £free Just The Tonic at the Caves, 23-28 Aug, £8.50 – £9.50

Laughing Horse @ The White Horse, 23-28 Aug, £free

The Stand Comedy Club V, 23-28 Aug, £9

Thomas Hardie & Co

Sarah Archer - Bumfluff and Brimstone

theSpaces @ Surgeons Hall, 23-27 Aug, £7

Josh Howie: I Am A Dick HH

Free Jewish Comedy

Just The Tonic at the Caves, 23-28 Aug, £9 – £10

Pleasance Courtyard, 2328 Aug, £10 – £11

Asian Provocateurs: Rule Britannia!

- Free

Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 23-28 Aug, £free

Dan Willis: Inspired - Free!

Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 23-28 Aug, £free

18:20

Underbelly, Cowgate, 2328 Aug, £9 – £10.50

NewsRevue

Pleasance Courtyard, 2328 Aug, £12.50 – £15

Paul McCaffrey: Saying Something Stupid

Underbelly, Cowgate, 2328 Aug, £9 – £10

Rosie’s Pop Diary Just the Tonic at The Tron, 23-28 Aug, £8 – £9

Fraser Millward’s Little Men The Voodoo Rooms, 23-27 Aug, £free

John Robertson: Dragon Punch! - Free Laughing Horse @ The Hive, 23-28 Aug, £free

18:30 Quiz in my Pants Opium, 23-27 Aug, £free

You’re Being Lied To - 2011 / PBH’s Free Fringe

An Austrian, an Italian and Someone from Slough

Andrew Doyle’s Crash Course in Depravity

The Silky Pair: Jealous People - Free

Medina, 23-27 Aug, £free

Just the Tonic at The Store (formerly GRV), 2328 Aug, £6.50 – £7.50

Laughing Horse @ Meadow Bar, 23-28 Aug, £free

Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 23-28 Aug, £free

3:45PM (4:45PM) 04-28 AUGUST 2011 (NOT 15)

78 fest edinburgh festival guide 2011 | August 23-29

tallyTom_EdinburghFringe2011_A5PreviewGuideAdvert (W64mm x01/07/2011 H43mm).indd19:26 1

www.festmag.co.uk

comedylistings Dana McCoy: ‘Cube Rat’

Rabbie Burns Cafe and Bar, 23-27 Aug, £free

The Top Secret Comedy Club

Whistlebinkies, 23-26 Aug, £free

Danny Bevins: Infectious Waste

Gilded Balloon Teviot, 2328 Aug, £8 – £9.50

Dave Callan Presents ?

Mae Day: I’m Not Waving, I’m Drowning

The Rat Pack, 24-27 Aug, £free

Andi Osho: All the Single Ladies HHH

Pleasance Courtyard, 2329 Aug, £12 – £14

Piff the Magic Dragon: Last of the Magic Dragons HHH

Gilded Balloon Teviot, 2329 Aug, £8.50 – £9.50

Just the Tonic at The Store (formerly GRV), 2328 Aug, £9 – £10

18:40

Chortle Presents: Fast Fringe

The Phoenix: A Failure On a Mission Just The Tonic at the Caves, 23-28 Aug, £7 – £9

Joel Sanders - Jokes That Got Me Kicked Out Of Tennessee Dragonfly, 23-29 Aug, £free

Laurence Clark: Health Hazard! HHH

Udderbelly’s Pasture, 2328 Aug, £9.50 – £11

Charmian Hughes: The Ten Charmandments

The Banshee Labyrinth, 23-27 Aug, £free

www.festmag.co.uk

Pleasance Dome, 23-27 Aug, £8.50 – £9.50

Rayguns Look Real Enough: Balls Deep

Assembly George Square, 23-29 Aug, £9.50 – £10.50

18:45 Richard Sandling’s Perfect Movie The Cameo Cinema, 23-28 Aug, £9

The Artisan

Sin Club and Lounge, 24-27 Aug, £free

Applied_Optimism

Sin Club and Lounge, 23 Aug, 25 Aug, 26 Aug, 27 Aug, £free

Shirley and Shirley: The Wonder Years Assembly Hall, 23-29 Aug, £10 – £11

The Naked Busker: Seeing More of Me - Free

Laughing Horse @ City Cafe, 23-28 Aug, £free

18:50

19:00 Jessica Fostekew: Luxury Tramp

Gilded Balloon Teviot, 2328 Aug, £8 – £9.50

Sara Pascoe vs the Apocalypse HHH

Pleasance Dome, 23-29 Aug, £9.50 – £12

Amateur Transplants: Adam Kay’s Smutty Songs

Pleasance Courtyard, 2329 Aug, £10 – £11.50

Pearse James Presents Freesome

Laughing Horse @ Jekyll & Hyde, 23-28 Aug, £free

Frimston and Rowett

Just the Tonic at The Store (formerly GRV), 23-28 Aug, £8

John Robins: Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas to Heaven

Chris McCausland Big Time HHH

Just The Tonic at the Caves, 23-28 Aug, £8 – £9

Best of Whyteleafe Comedy Club - Free

Dr Phil’s Rude Health Show

The Stand Comedy Club II, 23-28 Aug, £9

❤ Alun Cochrane: Moments of Alun HHHH

Mark Dolan - Sharing Too Much H

Pleasance Courtyard, 2329 Aug, £11 – £12

The Maybe Pile

Josie Long: The Future Is Another Place HHH

Southsider, 23-27 Aug, £free

Pleasance Dome, 23-28 Aug, £10 – £12

Stuart Goldsmith: Another Lovely Crisis HHH

Jarlath Regan Shock and Ahhh!

HHH

Joel Dommett: Neon Hero HHH Pleasance Dome, 23-29 Aug, £9.50 – £12

Laughing Horse @ Edinburgh City Football Club, 23-28 Aug, £free

The Stand Comedy Club, 23-29 Aug, £10

The Infinite Delusions of Victor Pope - Free

Laughing Horse @ Jekyll & Hyde, 23 Aug, 25 Aug, 26 Aug, 27 Aug, 28 Aug, £free

Pleasance Courtyard, 2328 Aug, £11 – £12

theSpace @ Symposium Hall, 23-27 Aug, £9 – £10

Gilded Balloon Teviot, 2326 Aug, £8.50 – £9.50

Pleasance Courtyard, 2328 Aug, £9 – £10

Steve Gribbin: Laugh at First Sight

❤ Imran Yusuf Bring the Thunder HHHH

Gilded Balloon Teviot, 2329 Aug, £8.50 – £9.50

The Quotidian Revue

The Bongo Club, 23-28 Aug, £9

19:05 Aslan - The Lockdown

theSpaces @ Surgeons Hall, 23-27 Aug, £8

Colin Hoult’s Inferno

Pleasance Courtyard, 2329 Aug, £12 – £14

Kev Orkian The Guilty Pianist – The Closed Venues Tour SpaceCabaret @ 54, 23-27 Aug, £12

An Evening in With Henry the Hoover and Friends

Ciao Roma, 23-27 Aug, £free

Vladimir McTavish: A Scotsman’s Guide to Betting HH The Stand Comedy Club III & IV, 23-28 Aug, £8

19:10 Chris Cox: Fatal Distraction HHH

Pleasance Dome, 23-29 Aug, £12 – £14

August 23-29 | edinburgh festival guide 2011 fest 79

comedylistings Mark Nelson - Guilty Pleasure HHH

Underbelly, Cowgate, 2328 Aug, £10 – £11

19:15 Edinburgh Bloody Edinburgh

The Wee Windaes , 2329 Aug, £12

Fear of a Brown Planet

Gilded Balloon Teviot, 2329 Aug, £8.50 – £9.50

Alistair Greaves Mixed Grill - Free

Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 23-28 Aug, £free

❤ Humphrey Ker is Dymock Watson: Nazi Smasher!

HHHH

Pleasance Courtyard, 2329 Aug, £10 – £12.50

Mickey Anderson Unlocks the Key to Human Happiness

The Banshee Labyrinth, 23 Aug, 24 Aug, 26 Aug, 27 Aug, £free

Morris & Vyse: Daylords Return

Jenny Ha’s, 23-27 Aug, £free

AAA Stand-Up

Pleasance Courtyard, 2329 Aug, £9 – £10

Lights! Camera!

Improvise!

C venues - C, 23-29 Aug, £9.50 – £11.50

Matt Rudge - We Could Be Heroes HH

Pleasance Courtyard, 2329 Aug, £11 – £12

The Social Anxiety Network

Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 23-28 Aug, £free

JEWELSH

The Canons’ Gait, 23-28 Aug, £free

Josh Widdicombe: If This Show Saves One Life HH

Free Agent - A Free Show by James Hazelden

19:20

Up to the Eyeballs

Pleasance Courtyard, 2328 Aug, £10 – £11

Spaghetti Lolognaise - Free

Laughing Horse @ The White Horse, 23-28 Aug, £free

❤ David O’Doherty is Looking Up HHHH Pleasance Courtyard, 2329 Aug, £14 – £15

One Handed Show: A History of Pornography The Royal Mile Tavern, 23-28 Aug, £free

Recovering Catholics Anonymous and Other Crosses I’ve Had to Bear - Free Laughing Horse @ The Three Sisters, 23-28 Aug, £free

Edward Aczel Doesn’t Exist HHH

Base Nightclub, 23-27 Aug, £free

Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 23-28 Aug, £free

Sarah MillicanThoroughly Modern Millican HH Assembly Hall, 23-28 Aug, £14 – £16

❤ Tim FitzHigham: Gambler HHHH

Pleasance Courtyard, 2329 Aug, £10 – £12

Andrew Bird’s Village Fete

Gilded Balloon Teviot, 2327 Aug, £8.50 – £9.50

Craig Hill - Blown By a Fan...!

Udderbelly’s Pasture, 23-29 Aug, £12.50 – £14.50

Gangsters of Laugh - Free

Underbelly, Cowgate, 23-28 Aug, £9.50 – £11.50

Laughing Horse @ The Three Sisters, 23-28 Aug, £free

19:25

Indoor Fox Hunting

Brown and Corley: Born in the 80s Just The Tonic at the Caves, 23-28 Aug, £7.50

Spring Day: Sushi Souffle - Free

Laughing Horse @ The Hive, 23-28 Aug, £free

19:30 The Ad-Libertines

Laughing Horse @ The Three Sisters, 23-25 Aug, £free

The Big Value Comedy Show Middle

Just The Tonic at the Caves, 23-28 Aug, £10

C venues - C aquila, 2329 Aug, £7.50 – £9.50

The Lastminute Comedy Club

Buffs Club (RAOB), 2327 Aug, £free

Zoe Lyons Clownbusting

Pleasance Courtyard, 2328 Aug, £10 – £12

God Bless, God Speed, God Damn You All

Laughing Horse @ The Three Sisters, 28 Aug, £free

Lewis Schaffer is Free Until Famous 18th Year

Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 23-28 Aug, £free

80 fest edinburgh festival guide 2011 | August 23-29

The Many Mental Minds of Dr Jackson The Voodoo Rooms, 23-26 Aug, £free

Pete Bennett’s Tourette’s and Stuff Cabaret Voltaire, 23-29 Aug, £8 – £9

Sitting on a Cornflake - Free

Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 23-28 Aug, £free

19:35 Daniel Sloss - The Joker HHH

Assembly George Square, 23-29 Aug, £11.50 – £13.50

Chris Martin: No. Not That One Underbelly, Cowgate, 23-28 Aug, £9.50 – £10.50

Matt Tiller: Just Du-et

Just The Tonic at the Caves, 23-28 Aug, £7 – £8

Francesca Martinez: What the **** is Normal?! HHH The Stand Comedy Club V, 24-28 Aug, £9

Hot Tub with Kurt and Kristen

Assembly George Square, 23-27 Aug, £15 – £16

19:40 Iain Stirling and Sean McLoughlin

Just the Tonic at The Store (formerly GRV), 23-28 Aug, £7 – £8

Joey Page - Sparklehorse Superbrain

❤ Paul Foot: Still Life HHHH

Underbelly, Cowgate, 2328 Aug, £10 – £11

❤ Dave Gorman’s Power Point Presentation HHHHH Assembly George Square, 23-28 Aug, £15

Improvised Plays from Austin, Texas

Trevor Browne Greaterness

Rabbie Burns Cafe and Bar, 23-29 Aug, £free

19:50 Giants of Comedy

Fingers Piano Bar, 23-27 Aug, £free

Omid Djalili: Work in Progress The Stand Comedy Club III & IV, 23-28 Aug, £10

theSpaces on the Mile , 23-27 Aug, £7

Carl Donnelly 3: Carl Donnelier! HHH

19:45

Don’t Mess

The Lalorpalooza Show Opium, 23-27 Aug, £free

How to Survive a Zombie Apocalypse: The End is Nigh Zoo Southside, 23-27 Aug, £8

The Cloud Girls and Ryan Withers - Free Laughing Horse @ The Three Sisters, 23 Aug, 26 Aug, 27 Aug, 28 Aug, £free

ACME Stand-Up - Free

Laughing Horse @ The Newsroom, 23-28 Aug, £free

The Ginge, the Geordie and the Geek - Best of 09/10 Just The Tonic at the Caves, 23-28 Aug, £9.50 – £12

Martha McBrier - I’m Eric Barthram

Udderbelly’s Pasture, 2329 Aug, £10 – £12 The Banshee Labyrinth, 23 Aug, 24 Aug, 26 Aug, 27 Aug, £free

Chastity Butterworth and the Spanish Hamster Laughing Horse @ Meadow Bar, 23-28 Aug, £free

Fingers on Buzzards: The Improvised Pub-Quiz Dragonfly, 23-27 Aug, £free

Shappi Khorsandi: Me and My Brother in Our Pants, Holding Hands HHH

Pleasance Courtyard, 2328 Aug, £13 – £14

19:55 Squirrel Party

C venues - C soco, 23-29 Aug, £7.50 – £9.50

20:00

Just the Tonic at The Tron, 23-28 Aug, £8

Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 23-28 Aug, £free

Neil Delamere: Divilment

Jim Smallman: Tattooligan HHH

Gilded Balloon Teviot, 23-28 Aug, £10

Gilded Balloon Teviot, Various dates from 23 Aug to 29 Aug, £12 – £14

Ed Byrne: Crowd Pleaser

Mark Watson’s 2012 Preview

So You Think You’re Funny? Final

Pleasance Courtyard, 2328 Aug, £11 – £12

Venue150 @ EICC, 23-27 Aug, £16.50 – £18.50

Gilded Balloon Teviot, 23-27 Aug, £15

Bob Downe: 20 Golden Greats

Gilded Balloon Teviot, 25 Aug, £15

www.festmag.co.uk

comedylistings ❤ Who Are the Jocks? HHHH

Pleasance Dome, 23-29 Aug, £9.50 – £10.50

About Tam O’Shanter

Laughing Horse @ The Beehive Inn , 23-28 Aug, £7

Golden Showers of Love

Laughing Horse @ City Cafe, 23-28 Aug, £free

Jen Brister is British(ish)

Just The Tonic at the Caves, 23-28 Aug, £9 – £10

Catie Wilkins: A Chip Off the Odd Block Udderbelly’s Pasture, 23-28 Aug, £9.50 – £10.50

Nathan Dean Williams presents...

‘The Buffet’

Just the Tonic at The Store (formerly GRV), 2328 Aug, £6.50 – £7.50

Patrick Monahan: Hug Me I Feel Good Gilded Balloon Teviot, 23 Aug, 26 Aug, 27 Aug, 28 Aug, £10.50 – £12.50

Dana Alexander: New Arrival HH

Underbelly, Cowgate, 2328 Aug, £9 – £10

Javier Jarquin: Bullets Before Bedtime

Assembly Hall, 23-29 Aug, £9 – £10

Stephens and Thomas

Sin Club and Lounge, 23-27 Aug, £free

Andrew Lawrence The Best Kept Secret in Comedy Tour

Roughhausers Comedy Sideshow

Leith on the Fringe @ Out of the Blue Drill Hall, 26-27 Aug, £10

20:05 The Queen’s Speech Laughing Horse @ Jekyll & Hyde, 23-28 Aug, £free

Nothing to Show

theSpaces on the Mile , 23-27 Aug, £7

Kevin Shepherd: Caronicle - Free HHH Laughing Horse @ The White Horse, 23-28 Aug, £free

❤ Elis James: Do You Remember the First Time? HHHH

Laughing Horse @ The Hive, 23-28 Aug, £free

The Life Doctor

Underbelly, Cowgate, 2328 Aug, £9 – £10.50

Martin Mor: The Call of the Golden Frog The Stand Comedy Club II, 23-28 Aug, £9

❤ Thom Tuck Goes Straight to DVD HHHH

Pleasance Dome, 23-29 Aug, £9 – £10

20:15 Aaaaaaaaargh! It’s the Monster Stand Up Show

Michael Winslow HHH

Des Clarke - Des Comedy Jam

Gilded Balloon Teviot, 2329 Aug, £12 – £13

The News at Kate 2011

Ciao Roma, 23-28 Aug, £free

20:25 The Canons’ Gait, 23-29 Aug, £free

Assembly George Square, 23-29 Aug, £13 – £15

Seann Walsh: Ying and Young

Pleasance Courtyard, 2328 Aug, £10 – £11

20:10 High Ape - Free Show

Just the Tonic at The Store (formerly GRV), 23-28 Aug, £8 – £9

Baby Wants Candy

Nathan Caton: Get Rich or Die Cryin’

SpaceCabaret @ 54, 23-27 Aug, £12.50

The Chris and Paul Show

Pleasance Courtyard, 2329 Aug, £9.50 – £12

Shazia Mirza: Busybody

Laughing Horse @ Jekyll & Hyde, 23-28 Aug, £free

www.festmag.co.uk

Gilded Balloon Teviot, 2329 Aug, £8.50 – £9.50

Sharron Matthews Superstar: Jesus Thinks I’m Funny

Pleasance Courtyard, 2328 Aug, £11 – £12.50

Udderbelly’s Pasture, 2329 Aug, £12 – £14

❤ DeAnne Smith: The Best DeAnne Smith DeAnne Smith Can Be HHHH

Gilded Balloon Teviot, 23-28 Aug, £10.50 – £12.50

Pleasance Courtyard, 2329 Aug, £9.50 – £12

❤ Raymond Mearns: Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Stress But Were Afraid to Ask HHHH The Stand Comedy Club III & IV, 23-28 Aug, £8

The Wee Man

Laughing Horse @ The Phoenix, 23-28 Aug, £free

20:20 Alex Horne: Seven Years in the Bathroom

Pleasance Dome, 23-28 Aug, £9.50 – £10.50

Peacock and Gamble Podcast Live Pleasance Dome, 28 Aug, £9.50

Tom Deacon: Can I Be Honest? HH

Pleasance Dome, 23-27 Aug, £8.50 – £9.50

Norman Lovett - Free

Phill Jupitus: Stand Down HHH

The Stand Comedy Club, 23-28 Aug, £12

20:30 The Best of Boyd & Metcalfe The Royal Mile Tavern, 24-27 Aug, £free

David Reed: Shamblehouse HH

Pleasance Courtyard, 2329 Aug, £10 – £12

❤ Henry Paker Cabin Fever HHHH

Pleasance Courtyard, 2329 Aug, £8.50 – £9.50

Laughing Horse Free Pick of the Fringe Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 23-28 Aug, £free

The Songs I’ll Never Sing - Free Laughing Horse @ The Beehive Inn , 23-28 Aug, £free

Idiots of Ants HHH

Pleasance Courtyard, 2329 Aug, £10 – £11

Pete Firman: Jiggery Pokery HHH Pleasance Dome, 23-28 Aug, £12 – £14

Rich Fulcher: Tiny Acts of Rebellion HHH

Gilded Balloon Teviot, 2328 Aug, £11 – £12

The Moonfish Rhumba: The Chronicles of Moonfish

Just The Tonic at the Caves, 23-28 Aug, £6.50 – £8.50

Fabulous Abs

Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 23-29 Aug, £free

Faulty Towers the Dining Experience

B’est Restaurant, Various dates from 23 Aug to 30 Aug, £43

Gareth Richards: It’s Not the End of the World HHH

Pleasance Courtyard, 2329 Aug, £8.50 – £9.50

Sammy J: Potentially Underbelly, Cowgate, 2328 Aug, £10 – £12.50

Matt Green: Too Much Information

Pleasance Courtyard, 23-28 Aug, £9 – £11

Steve Hall’s Very Still Life HHH

Pleasance Courtyard, 2329 Aug, £8.50 – £9.50

20:35 Nonsense Duet - Free

Laughing Horse @ The Three Sisters, 23-27 Aug, £free

Jenneke Wonders - Free

Laughing Horse @ Cafe Renroc, 23-28 Aug, £free

Matt Kirshen: Wide-eyed HH

Underbelly, Cowgate, 2328 Aug, £10.50 – £12

20:40 ❤ Asher Treleaven: Matador HHHH Pleasance Courtyard, 23-28 Aug, £9.50 – £10.50

Kelly Kingham and Guy Manners: Infectious - Free The Voodoo Rooms, 24-27 Aug, £free

Mud Wrestling With Words The Banshee Labyrinth, 23-27 Aug, £free

20:45 The Book of Quincy - Free

Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 23-27 Aug, £free

Claudia O’Doherty What Is Soil Erosion?

Gilded Balloon Teviot, 2328 Aug, £9 – £10

Funt

Base Nightclub, 23-27 Aug, £free

A Sketchy Idea - Free Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 23-28 Aug, £free

10 Films With my Dad / PBH’s Free Fringe

Ryan’s Cellar Bar, 23-27 Aug, £free

The Fudge Shop

The Fudge Kitchen, 2328 Aug, £7

Hiroshi Shimizu: From Japan With ‘Rub’ - Free

Laughing Horse @ The Three Sisters, 23-28 Aug, £free

Loose Men

Kiwi Bar @ Walkabout, 23-27 Aug, £free

Lach, the Waitress, the Walls & the Weirdos

Cabaret Voltaire, 23-29 Aug, £free

Pope Benedict: Bond Villain Pleasance Courtyard, 2329 Aug, £8.50 – £9.50

August 23-29 | edinburgh festival guide 2011 fest 81

comedylistings 20:50 Dawn of the Dawn

Medina, 27 Aug, £free

❤ Richard Herring: What is Love Anyway? HHHH Udderbelly’s Pasture, 23-28 Aug, £12.50 – £14.50

Alfie Brown - The Love You Take Just The Tonic at the Caves, 23-28 Aug, £7 – £8

❤ Phil Nichol: The Simple Hour HHHH The Stand Comedy Club V, 23-28 Aug, £10

❤ Russell Kane: Manscaping HHHH Pleasance Courtyard, 23-26 Aug, £17.50

20:55 Tim Clare: How to Be a Leader HHH

Underbelly, Cowgate, 2328 Aug, £9 – £10

Keeping the Captain Warm Just The Tonic at the Caves, 23-28 Aug, £7 – £8

Slim In Wonderland

The Playhouse at Hawke and Hunter Green Room, 23-29 Aug, £11.50 – £12.50

21:00 Fosters Comedy Live @ highlight highlight, 26-27 Aug, £10

Tom Stade: What Year Was That? HHH Pleasance Courtyard, 2328 Aug, £10.50 – £12

Andy Parsons: Gruntled

Assembly Hall, 23-28 Aug, £16

Asli and Ashley: Audacious and Angry

The Banshee Labyrinth, 23-27 Aug, £free

The Big Value Comedy Show - Late Just The Tonic at the Caves, 23-28 Aug, £10

What a Palaver!

- Free

Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 23-28 Aug, £free

Adventures in Comedy: Murder, Madness and Mayhem! - Free

Laughing Horse @ The Three Sisters, 23-28 Aug, £free

Chaps on Legs

Just the Tonic at The Store (formerly GRV), 23-28 Aug, £6

Found Objects Present Live Low Budget Comedy Adventures - Free

Laughing Horse @ The Newsroom, 23-28 Aug, £free

Jimeoin - Lovely!

Assembly George Square, 23-29 Aug, £12.50 – £14.50

Alan Anderson: Whisky Fir Dummies Just the Tonic at The Tron, 23-28 Aug, £10 – £11

James Christopher: Triangle Man - Free

Dragonfly, 24-27 Aug, £free

Margaret Cho - Cho Dependent HH

Assembly George Square, 23-29 Aug, £15 – £16

Aidan Bishop Misspelled

Gilded Balloon Teviot, 2328 Aug, £8.50 – £9.50

Andrew Maxwell: The Lights Are On

Assembly George Square, 23-29 Aug, £13 – £15

Fiona O’Loughlin: Spirited (Tales from an Angel in a Bottle)

Gilded Balloon Teviot, 2328 Aug, £10 – £11

❤ The Pajama Men: In the Middle of No One HHHHH Assembly Hall, 23-29 Aug, £13 – £14

David Kelly is Shameless - Free Laughing Horse @ Meadow Bar, 23-28 Aug, £free

21:05 The Artists Currently Known As Magpie & Stump theSpaces on the Mile , 23-27 Aug, £6

When I’m King

theSpaces @ Surgeons Hall, 23-27 Aug, £6

Shawn Hitchins: Survival of the Fiercest

theSpaces on North Bridge, 23-27 Aug, £12

21:10

Künt and the Gang Free HH

Laughing Horse @ The Hive, 23-28 Aug, £free

Sam Simmons Meanwhile

21:21

Warning: May Contain Jokes

Laughing Horse @ Jekyll & Hyde, 23-28 Aug, £free

Sin Club and Lounge, 23-27 Aug, £free

Adam Crow - Ashton Kutcher’s Dead Girlfriends Laughing Horse @ City Cafe, 23-29 Aug, £free

M. Croser - Unpleasant Man Sin Club and Lounge, 23-27 Aug, £free

21:20 Markus Birdman: Dreaming HH

The Stand Comedy Club II, 24-28 Aug, £8

Terry Alderton HHH

Pleasance Courtyard, 2328 Aug, £10.50 – £12

❤ Marcel Lucont Etc: A Chat Show HHHH

Randy is Sober HHH

Pistol & Jack – Smash.Glam.Sex. Music.

Udderbelly’s Pasture, 2329 Aug, £10 – £12

Jack Mink: Making Light theSpace @ Jury’s Inn, 23-27 Aug, £7

21:15 Naz Osmanoglu: 1000% Awesome

Udderbelly’s Pasture, 2328 Aug, £8.50 – £9.50

Henning Wehn No Surrender Just The Tonic at the Caves, 23-28 Aug, £6.50 – £10.50

82 fest edinburgh festival guide 2011 | August 23-29

Just The Tonic at the Caves, 23-28 Aug, £9 – £10

Gilded Balloon Teviot, 23-28 Aug, £10.50 – £11.50

The Boy With Tape On His Face Pleasance Courtyard, 23-28 Aug, £10.50 – £12.50

Sanderson Jones - ComedySale.com/ Fringe

Underbelly, Cowgate, 2328 Aug, £9 – £10

Assembly George Square, 24-28 Aug, £10 – £12

Christophe Davidson: No Less of a Man - Free Laughing Horse @ The White Horse, 23-28 Aug, £free

Shane and Eddie: Picking up the Pieces

Just the Tonic at The Store (formerly GRV), 2328 Aug, £7.50 – £8.50

Craig Campbell HHH The Stand Comedy Club III & IV, 23-28 Aug, £10

Take the Red Pill - Free

21:25 Eric Davidson Verses the World SpaceCabaret @ 54, 23-27 Aug, £10

Stephen Carlin: Guilty Bystander HH The Stand Comedy Club III & IV, 23-28 Aug, £8

21:30 Tom Rosenthal: Child of Privilege HH Pleasance Courtyard, 2329 Aug, £9.50 – £12

The Comedy Reserve

Pleasance Dome, 23-29 Aug, £8 – £9

Mick Ferry: Sod It!

Gilded Balloon Teviot, 2328 Aug, £8.50 – £9.50

All the Fun of the Unfair

Southsider, 23-27 Aug, £free

2 Comedians, 1 Bucket - Free

Bar 50, 23 Aug, 24 Aug, 26 Aug, 27 Aug, £free

The Axis of Awesome

Gilded Balloon Teviot, Various dates from 23 Aug to 29 Aug, £12 – £14

Glenn Wool: No Lands Man HHH

Assembly George Square, 23-29 Aug, £12 – £14

John Lynn: Social Notworking

Gilded Balloon Teviot, 2328 Aug, £9 – £10

Frisky and Mannish: Pop Centre Plus HHH

Udderbelly’s Pasture, 2328 Aug, £12 – £14

Jack Whitehall- Let’s Not Speak Of This Again

Venue150 @ EICC, 24-27 Aug, £15

The Rob Deering Experience

Pleasance Courtyard, 2328 Aug, £8.50 – £9.50

Bruce Fummey - My Afro Celtic Angst Laughing Horse @ The Beehive Inn , 23-28 Aug, £free

Ali Cook - Principles and Deceptions

Gilded Balloon Teviot, 2329 Aug, £12 – £13

Dregs

Underbelly, Cowgate, 2328 Aug, £9 – £10.50

Fly Me to Baboon - Free!

Laughing Horse @ Jekyll & Hyde, 23-28 Aug, £free

The W. Kamau Bell Curve – Ending Racism In About An Hour

Pleasance Courtyard, 2329 Aug, £11 – £12

21:35 London Is Funny Presents...

Ciao Roma, 23-27 Aug, £free

Peter Buckley Hill and Some Comedians XV

The Canons’ Gait, 23-27 Aug, £free

Abacus Danger Present... ‘The Search for Blank’

theSpaces @ Surgeons Hall, 23-27 Aug, £6.50

www.festmag.co.uk

comedylistings 21:40 Harmon Leon/ Bush Monologues: Comedy Double Feature Just the Tonic at The Store (formerly GRV), 23-28 Aug, £7 – £9

Jimmy McGhie: Artificial Intelligence HHH Pleasance Dome, 23-28 Aug, £8.50 – £9.50

Rich Hall

Pleasance Courtyard, 2328 Aug, £15 – £17

Arthur Smith’s Pissed-Up Chat Show

Pleasance Dome, 23-27 Aug, £10 – £11.50

The Ultimate Quiz Show featuring Silly Milly Laughing Horse @ The Beehive Inn , 23-28 Aug, £free

21:45 Agonise, the Comedy Problem Page - Free

Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 23 Aug, 24

Aug, 25 Aug, 27 Aug, 28 Aug, £free

Prepare to Be Tuned Gilded Balloon Teviot, 23-29 Aug, £10.50 – £12.50

❤ Tim Key Masterslut HHHH

Pleasance Dome, 23-29 Aug, £12 – £14

❤ James Acaster: Amongst Other Things HHHH

Pleasance Courtyard, 2329 Aug, £9.50 – £12

Benny Boot: Set-Up, Punchline... Pause for Laughter

Pleasance Courtyard, 2329 Aug, £8.50 – £9.50

Alan Sharp: Hate It With Me

The Banshee Labyrinth, 23-27 Aug, £free

Tom Price: Say When HHH Pleasance Courtyard, 2328 Aug, £9.50 – £12

❤ My Name Is Hannibal: The Hannibal Montanabal Experience HHHH

Pleasance Courtyard, 2329 Aug, £10 – £11.50

Auntie Netta and the Trouble With Asian Men

Underbelly, Cowgate, 2328 Aug, £10 – £12

Cowboys and Indians: Black Man in the White House

Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 23-28 Aug, £free

21:55 The Best of Scottish Comedy The Stand Comedy Club, 23-28 Aug, £12

To Be ... Or Not to Be ... Or Whatever It Will Be? theSpaces @ Surgeons Hall, 23-27 Aug, £5

Good

Jenny Ha’s, 23 Aug, 25 Aug, 26 Aug, 27 Aug, £free

21:50 Conway’s ‘Time of the Month’ The Voodoo Rooms, 23-27 Aug, £free

Chris Ramsey: Offermation HHH

Pleasance Courtyard, 2328 Aug, £8.50 – £9.50

❤ Doctor Brown: Becaves HHHHH Underbelly, Cowgate, 23-28 Aug, £9.50 – £10.50

One Threw Up in the Cuckoo’s Nest - Free Laughing Horse @ The Three Sisters, 23-28 Aug, £free

22:00 Armageddapocalypse: The Explosioning Just The Tonic at the Caves, 23-28 Aug, £8.50 – £9.50

R U Smarter Than an Irishman? - Free Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 23 Aug, 25 Aug, 26 Aug, 27 Aug, £free

Robert Taylor is ‘So Inappropriate’

Spotlites @ The Merchants’ Hall, Various dates from 23 Aug to 29 Aug, £12

Storytellers’ Club Pleasance Courtyard, 25-27 Aug, £10

The Kingsley and I (Free Stand Up Compilation Show)

22:05

Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 23-28 Aug, £free

theSpaces on the Mile , 23-27 Aug, £5

Alive and Breathing... Almost Sweet Grassmarket, 23-28 Aug, £7

Aaaaaaaaaaaaarghh! It’s the Malcolm Hardee Comedy Awards Show - And It’s Free!

Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 26-27 Aug, £free

Aisle16 R Kool!

The Banshee Labyrinth, 23-27 Aug, £free

Couch Impro Buffs Club (RAOB), 2327 Aug, £free

Damian Clark: Stand UP HHH Gilded Balloon Teviot, 23-28 Aug, £8 – £9

Naked in a Fishbowl Gryphon Venues at the Point Hotel, 23-27 Aug, £10

Five Alive! The Musical

Lloyd Langford: The Cold Hard Facts of Life The Stand Comedy Club V, 23-28 Aug, £9

22:10 Bob and Jim Modern Urges

Underbelly, Cowgate, 23-28 Aug, £9.50 – £10.50

Cooking Granny

theSpace @ Symposium Hall, 25-26 Aug, £10

Mary Christ - The Unmusical!

theSpace @ Jury’s Inn, 23-27 Aug, £7 – £8.50

Chimprovisations!

Spotlites @ The Merchants’ Hall, 23-29 Aug, £6.50

22:15 Matthew Highton’s Shadowed Vagary Just The Tonic at the Caves, 23-28 Aug, £6.50

Jonathan Prager August 4th -­ 27th, 2011 23:00

THE COUNTING HOUSE

38 WEST NICOLSON STREET EH8 9DD VENUE 170 0131 667 7533

www.festmag.co.uk

August 23-29 | edinburgh festival guide 2011 fest 83

comedylistings Barry and Stuart Show and Tell: The Show HH

Udderbelly’s Pasture, 2328 Aug, £12 – £14

❤ Carey Marx: Laziness and Stuff HHHH

Gilded Balloon Teviot, 2328 Aug, £8 – £9.50

Jocks and Geordies - Free!

Laughing Horse @ Meadow Bar, 23-28 Aug, £free

Simply the Jest - Free

The Banshee Labyrinth, 23-27 Aug, £free

BattleActs!

Improvised Comedy - Free Laughing Horse @ The Three Sisters, 23-28 Aug, £free

Guilt & Shame

Just The Tonic at the Caves, 23-28 Aug, £7 – £8

The Segue Sisters in ... Jailbirds

Gilded Balloon Teviot, 2328 Aug, £8 – £10

22:20 Drags Aloud

Underbelly, Cowgate, 2328 Aug, £10 – £12

Get Happy in Edinburgh

Just the Tonic at The Tron, 23-28 Aug, £8 – £9

22:25 Jason John Whitehead: Letters from Mindy

Udderbelly’s Pasture, 2328 Aug, £10 – £12

22:30 BUG Hosted By Adam Buxton

Pleasance Courtyard, 25-29 Aug, £15

Comic Strip

Assembly George Square, 28 Aug, £15

John Robertson - Blood & Charm: Disturbing Stories for Disturbing Bedtimes Assembly Hall, 23-29 Aug, £9

Kai Humphries Bare-Faced Cheek HH

Simon Donald’s Dirty Great Fringepiece

22:40

Dead Cat Bounce: Caged Heat

Underbelly, Cowgate, 23-28 Aug, £9.50 – £10.50

The Stand Comedy Club II, 23-28 Aug, £8

Pleasance Courtyard, 2328 Aug, £11 – £12

The Calpol Flashbacks - Free

Laughing Horse @ Edinburgh City Football Club, 23-28 Aug, £free

The Two Wrongies

Assembly George Square, 23-29 Aug, £9 – £10

Deborah Frances White- How to Get Almost Anyone to Want to Sleep with You Assembly Hall, 23-27 Aug, £12.50 – £14.50

Strong and Wrong get Funked Up - Free

No Pants Thursday Just The Tonic at the Caves, 23-28 Aug, £7.50

Casual Violence: Choose Death

Just the Tonic at The Store (formerly GRV), 24-28 Aug, £6

Neil Hamburger: Discounted Entertainer

Assembly George Square, 23-28 Aug, £12

Paul Sinha: Looking at the Stars HHH The Stand Comedy Club III & IV, 23-28 Aug, £9

Laughing Horse @ City Cafe, 23-28 Aug, £free

22:45

❤ Andrew O’Neill: Alternative HHHH

The Comedy Zone

Best of So You Think You’re Funny?

❤ The Hermitude of Angus, Ecstatic HHHH

Assembly George Square, 23-28 Aug, £12

Gilded Balloon Teviot, Various dates from 23 Aug to 29 Aug, £10.50

Al Murray the Pub Landlord’s Compete for the Meat - Late Night

Assembly George Square, 25-27 Aug, £15

Late Night Gimp Fight!

Pleasance Courtyard, 2329 Aug, £9.50 – £12

Puppetry of the Penis: 3D HH

Assembly George Square, 23-29 Aug, £15 – £17.50

22:35 North vs South

Laughing Horse @ Jekyll & Hyde, 24-28 Aug, £free

Rom Com Wrong

Pleasance Courtyard, 23-28 Aug, £9.50 – £10.50

Underbelly, Cowgate, 2328 Aug, £9 – £10.50

Kitty Cointreau’s BraHaHa Just The Tonic at the Caves, 23-28 Aug, £9 – £10

Michael Workman - Humans Are Beautiful

Gilded Balloon Teviot, 2328 Aug, £9 – £10

Geoff Cotton - Light Relief - Free Laughing Horse @ The Beehive Inn , 23-28 Aug, £free

The Boom Jennies: Blowout

Pleasance Courtyard, 2328 Aug, £9 – £10.50

Robin and Partridge: Worlds Collide

theSpaces @ Surgeons Hall, 23-27 Aug, £8

Pleasance Courtyard, 2329 Aug, £8.50 – £9

Wade McElwain - The Littlest Hobo

Brady, Brush and French: A Triple Action Stand-Up Show

Just The Tonic at the Caves, 23-28 Aug, £8 – £9

Lifestyles of the Weird and Aimless

Udderbelly’s Pasture, 23-29 Aug, £9.50 – £10.50

Laughing Horse @ The White Horse, 23-28 Aug, £free

Robert Taylor is ‘So Inappropriate’

Ro Campbell: Uttering Bad Shillings

Spotlites @ The Merchants’ Hall, 27 Aug, £12

Jeff Mirza’s Jihad: Heresy Or Hearsay

The Stand Comedy Club III & IV, 23-28 Aug, £8

Bar 50, 23-29 Aug, £free

Nick Gibb: Crumpled Antipodean Dandy

Southsider, 23-27 Aug, £free

Hal Sparks - Evolution Overdrive HH

Gilded Balloon Teviot, 2328 Aug, £9 – £10

84 fest edinburgh festival guide 2011 | August 23-29

Laughing Horse Free Late Night Comedy Selection Laughing Horse @ The Beehive Inn , 23-28 Aug, £free

Rubber Chicken Disorder - Free

Laughing Horse @ Jekyll & Hyde, 23-28 Aug, £free

22:50 Flood

theSpaces @ Surgeons Hall, 23-27 Aug, £8 – £9

Peacock and Gamble Emergency Broadcast

Pleasance Dome, 23-28 Aug, £8.50 – £9.50

The Silly Beggar Comedy Affair

The Voodoo Rooms, 23-27 Aug, £free

Writing Blanks Greenside, 26-27 Aug, £4

22:55 Katherine Ryan: Little Miss Conception

Pleasance Courtyard, 2329 Aug, £8 – £9.50

23:00 Dan Hoy’s Stag Do

The Banshee Labyrinth, 23-27 Aug, £free

Laughing Horse Free Pick of the Fringe Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 23-28 Aug, £free

The Special Reserve Comedy Benefit Pleasance Courtyard, 23-24 Aug, £10

Jeff Leach: A Leach On Society HH

Pleasance Courtyard, 2329 Aug, £8 – £9.50

Jo Wharmby - Dick & Gina Just the Tonic at The Store (formerly GRV), 23-28 Aug, £6

Late Night Comedy Revolution Revolution Bar, 23-25 Aug, £5

Vikki Stone & The Flashbacks: Big Neon Letters Gilded Balloon Teviot, 23-28 Aug, £9.50 – £10.50

Jonathan Prager: Live From New York! - Free

Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 23-27 Aug, £free

BBC Comedy Presents - Early and Late

BBC @ Potterrow, 23-27 Aug, £10

Men Of War HHH

23:25 Charlie Chuck’s Laughter Lounge SpaceCabaret @ 54, 23-27 Aug, £8

23:30 Hypnotist,Titan Knight

Pleasance Courtyard, 2328 Aug, £9 – £10

City Edinburgh, 23 Aug, 24 Aug, 25 Aug, 28 Aug, £13

3 Comics to Midnight

Shaggers - Free

Globe, 23-27 Aug, £free

Just for Laughs Showcase

Pleasance Dome, 23-24 Aug, £7

Rob Deering: Beat This Pleasance Courtyard, 26-27 Aug, £9.50

23:05 Urban Shaman - Free Laughing Horse @ The Three Sisters, 23-28 Aug, £free

Brian and Queen Tallulah’s Glamorous Intergalactic Magic!

The Voodoo Rooms, 23-27 Aug, £free

23:10 The Suitcase Royale in Zombatland Pleasance Courtyard, 23-28 Aug, £10

Best of Scottish Comedian of the Year

Underbelly, Cowgate, 23-28 Aug, £9.50 – £11.50

Laughing Horse @ The Three Sisters, 23-28 Aug, £free

All Over Your Face Laughing Horse @ Meadow Bar, 23-27 Aug, £free

Interpretive Dances to My Diary! (72% Non-Fiction) Gilded Balloon Teviot, 23-27 Aug, £8 – £9

Wilfredo: Erecto!

Underbelly, Cowgate, 2328 Aug, £9 – £10.50

PLAY LATE

The Playhouse at Hawke and Hunter Green Room, 28-29 Aug, £12.50

COMX

Just The Tonic at the Caves, 23-28 Aug, £8 – £10

You Shoulda Been Here Last Week

Laughing Horse @ The Newsroom, 23-28 Aug, £free

23:40 Political Collective Gone Mad HHH

23:15

The Stand Comedy Club II, 23-28 Aug, £8

Rich Hall’s Hoedown HHH

Set List: Standup Without a Net

Gags, Songs and Bombs – Free!

88MPH

Pleasance Courtyard, 2328 Aug, £15 – £17

Laughing Horse @ The Three Sisters, 23-28 Aug, £free

Just the Tonic at The Tron, 23-28 Aug, £8 – £10 Just The Tonic at the Caves, 23-28 Aug, £7.50

PLAY LATE

The Playhouse at Hawke and Hunter Green Room, Various dates from 23 Aug to 29 Aug, £10.50 – £12.50

❤ Dave Eastgate: I Wish I Had a Band HHHH

Gilded Balloon Teviot, 2328 Aug, £9 – £10

23:45 TakeOut Comedy Presents Paul Ogata - USAhole! – Free Laughing Horse @ City Cafe, 23-28 Aug, £free

The Great Big Sketch Off!

AAA Stand-Up Late

23:20

Pleasance Courtyard, 26-27 Aug, £6

The Horne Section

Dave Fulton ‘...

Based on a True Story’

Lee Camp Is: Yet Another American Mistake

Pleasance Courtyard, 2329 Aug, £9 – £10 Assembly George Square, 23-27 Aug, £12 – £14

The Stand Comedy Club V, 23-28 Aug, £9

The Stand Comedy Club III & IV, 23-28 Aug, £8

www.festmag.co.uk

comedylistings 23:50 Laughing Horse’s Funny Fillies - Free Laughing Horse @ The White Horse, 23-28 Aug, £free

Jamie Griffin’s War on Fear - Free

Laughing Horse @ Jekyll & Hyde, 23-28 Aug, £free

23:55 Tony Littler the Middle Age Punk Rides Again

Laughing Horse @ The Beehive Inn , 23-28 Aug, £free

23:59 Barry and Stuart Show and Tell: The Tell HHH

Udderbelly’s Pasture, 2328 Aug, £10 – £12

The Stand Late Show

The Stand Comedy Club, 26-28 Aug, £15

Pokermen

Assembly George Square, 25-28 Aug, £12

www.festmag.co.uk

Political Animal

The Stand Comedy Club, 23-25 Aug, £10

Best of the Fest

Assembly Hall, 25-28 Aug, £14 – £15

The Midnight Hour

The Canons’ Gait, Various dates from 23 Aug to 29 Aug, £free

00:00 This Show Left Intentionally Blank Laughing Horse @ The Beehive Inn , 28-29 Aug, £free

Car Crash Comedy / Fooling Around for Free! With Julia Sutherland and Sarah-May Philo Laughing Horse @ Jekyll & Hyde, 24-29 Aug, £free

Comedy in the Dark

Gilded Balloon Teviot, 2430 Aug, £10 – £11.50

Disco in a Dungeon Just The Tonic at the Caves, 26-29 Aug, £8

Last Orders

C Venues - C eca, 24-30 Aug, £7.50 – £9.50

Comedy Countdown Gilded Balloon Teviot, 24-26 Aug, £5

Cowboys and Indians: Black Man in the White House Laughing Horse @ The Beehive Inn , 24-29 Aug, £free

Gemma Goggin’s Celebrity Sleepover Gilded Balloon Teviot, 26-29 Aug, £8 – £9

Just the Tonic Comedy Club’s Midnight Show Just The Tonic at the Caves, 26-28 Aug, £10

Spank!

As Drawn on FaceTube - Free

Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 23-25 Aug, £free

Aug, £free

Gilded Balloon Teviot, 2330 Aug, £9 – £10

Late ‘n’ Free

Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 23-29 Aug, £free

Late Night Irish Pick and Mick’s - Free Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 23-29 Aug, £free

Laughing Horse @ The Three Sisters, 23-29 Aug, £free

Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 28-29 Aug, £free

How to Be Patient With Arseholes

The New Conway Experience

00:05

Going Nowhere

Assembly George Square, 27-28 Aug, £15

Aug, £7.50

Laughing Horse @ The

00:20

Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 26 Aug, £free

Comic Strip

Bedlam Theatre, 23-28

00:15

Underbelly, Cowgate, 2429 Aug, £10 – £15

Best of Whyteleafe Comedy Club - Free

The Improverts

Midnight Laughzzz

00:30 Briefs

Gilded Balloon Teviot, Various dates from 23 Aug to 30 Aug, £10 – £12

Three Sisters, 23-29

00:35 Sanity Valve: Get Old or Die Tryin’ - Free Laughing Horse @ Meadow Bar, Various dates from 23 Aug to 29 Aug, £free

The Late Show Underbelly, Cowgate, 26-29 Aug, £10.50 – £14.50

00:40 Bruce Devlin: Devlin After Dark The Stand Comedy Club V, 25-29 Aug, £8

After Hours Comedy Pleasance Dome, 26-28 Aug, £10.50 – £11.50

00:45 Dr Ettrick-Hogg’s Late Night Manly Stand-Ups - Free Laughing Horse @ The Newsroom, 23-29 Aug, £free

01:00 Late ‘n’ Live Gilded Balloon Teviot, 2330 Aug, £13 – £15

Dave Baucutt - Good Guy Gone Bad Ass Laughing Horse @ City Cafe, 23-27 Aug, £free

01:15 The Smiley Show - Free Laughing Horse @ The Three Sisters, 23-29 Aug, £free

August 23-29 | edinburgh festival guide 2011 fest 85

theatrelistings 10:00 ❤ The Dark Philosophers HHHHH

Traverse Theatre, 23 Aug, 27 Aug, £17 – £19

Us and Them

Quaker Meeting House, 23-24 Aug, £free

Shakespeare for Breakfast

C venues - C, 23-29 Aug, £6.50 – £8.50

❤ The Wheel HHHH Traverse Theatre, 26 Aug, £19

Timothy HHH

Bedlam Theatre, 23-27 Aug, £6.50

Alice in Wonderland

Romeo and Juliet

Alice in Cha

Alma Mater HHH

First Light

The Simple Things in Life

Alma Mater HHH

Alice in Wonderland and Other Adventures With Lewis Carroll

12:00

theSpace @ Venue45, 26-27 Aug, £free

Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh - The Simple Things in Life sheds, 23-27 Aug, £12.50

❤ I, Malvolio HHHH

Traverse Theatre, 26 Aug, 28 Aug, £15 – £17

Death of a Salesman Greenside, 23-27 Aug, £7

❤ The Monster in the Hall HHHH Traverse Theatre, 27 Aug, £17

Wondrous Flitting HHH Traverse Theatre, 24 Aug, £15

C venues - C soco, 23-29 Aug, £6.50 – £8.50

10:45

Futureproof HH

Creditors

Traverse Theatre, 24 Aug, 28 Aug, £17

theSpaces on North Bridge, 25 Aug, £6

10:30

Zoo Roxy, 23-29 Aug, £9

The Big Bite Size Breakfast

Pleasance Dome, 24-28 Aug, £10

The Golden Dragon HHH Traverse Theatre, 25 Aug, £15

Tearoom

Lauriston Hall, 23-28 Aug, £15

Blood and Roses

St George’s West, 23-27 Aug, £12 – £15

A Dish of Tea with Dr Johnson Traverse Theatre, 23 Aug, £11

Medea’s Children

St George’s West, 25-29 Aug, £8

Odd Man Out

Hotel Methuselah Summerhall, 23-26 Aug, £12

The Torture Show theSpaces on North Bridge, 26 Aug, £6

11:00 Allotment

Assembly Inverleith Allotments, 23-26 Aug, £10

Tales From the Vienna Woods

theSpace on Niddry St, 23 Aug, 25 Aug, 27 Aug, £5

The Three Lives of Lucie Cabrol

theSpace on Niddry St, 24 Aug, 26 Aug, £5

theSpaces on North Bridge, 27 Aug, £5 St George’s West, 23-29 Aug, £5

11:05 Malfi

Bedlam Theatre, 23-27 Aug, £8

11:10 Alma Mater HHH

St George’s West, 23-29 Aug, £5

New Town Theatre, 2328 Aug, £free – £8

Andrea’s Got Two Boyfriends Greenside, 23-27 Aug, £7

The Playhouse at Hawke and Hunter Green Room, 23-29 Aug, £9.50

Pleasance Bytes

The Simple Things in Life

Assembly Inverleith Allotments, 23-26 Aug, £10 Pleasance Courtyard, 27 Aug, £5

Pleasance Courtyard, 23-29 Aug, £8 – £9

11:40

The One Hour Plays

11:20

Udderbelly’s Pasture, 23-29 Aug, £8 – £9

❤ Sold HHHH

Emergence HHH

Underbelly, Cowgate, 2328 Aug, £8.50 – £9

Alma Mater HHH

St George’s West, 23-29 Aug, £5

11:25 Agamemnon by Steven Berkoff

theSpaces on North Bridge, 23-27 Aug, £8

The End

Pleasance Courtyard, 2327 Aug, £9 – £10

11:30 Please Patricia

theSpaces @ Surgeons Hall, 25-26 Aug, £7

Blood and Roses

St George’s West, 23-27 Aug, £12 – £15

The Trial: an Original Adaptation of the Novel by Franz Kafka of the Same Name Church Hill Theatre, 23 Aug, £5

86 fest edinburgh festival guide 2011 | August 23-29

The Star Child

Alma Mater HHH

St George’s West, 23-29 Aug, £5

Street Dreams HHH

Underbelly, Cowgate, 2328 Aug, £8.50 – £9

11:45 Llwyth (Tribe)

St George’s West, 23-28 Aug, £10

Much Ado About Nothing

theSpaces @ Surgeons Hall, 23-27 Aug, £9

Alphonse by Wajdi Mouawad HHH

Pleasance Courtyard, 2328 Aug, £9 – £10

The Diaries of Adam and Eve Assembly George Square, 23-29 Aug, £12 – £13

11:50 Alma Mater HHH

St George’s West, 23-29 Aug, £5

12:10 The Adventures of Wound Man and Shirley

Show Me the World

Pleasance Courtyard, 23-27 Aug, £7.50

theSpaces @ Surgeons Hall, 23-27 Aug, £6

Allotment

Invisible Show II

St George’s West, 23-29 Aug, £5

The Undoing of Man

Underbelly, Cowgate, 23-28 Aug, £8 – £9 Underbelly, Cowgate, 23-28 Aug, £8 – £9

Ethometric Museum Hill Street Theatre, 2328 Aug, £9

Alma Mater HHH

St George’s West, 23-29 Aug, £5

Phillipa and Will Are Now in a Relationship

Pleasance Courtyard, 23-29 Aug, £7 – £8

❤ Somewhere Beneath It All, A Small Fire Burns Still HHHH Gilded Balloon Teviot, 23-29 Aug, £9 – £10

Who Killed the Counsellor?

Just the Tonic at The Store (formerly GRV), 23 Aug, 24 Aug, 25 Aug, 27 Aug, £7

Exsomnia

C venues - C soco, 23-27 Aug, £6.50 – £8.50

Pool (No Water) Zoo Roxy, 23-29 Aug, £7

Pleasance Courtyard, 23-29 Aug, £10

Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh - The Simple Things in Life sheds, 23-27 Aug, £12.50

Alma Mater HHH

St George’s West, 23-29 Aug, £5

Magicians Do Exist

Pleasance Dome, 24-28 Aug, £9

12:15 Bette and Joan - The Final Curtain Assembly George Square, 23-29 Aug, £12 – £13

Julius Caesar - Free Laughing Horse @ The Three Sisters, 23-28 Aug, £free

Ovid’s Metamorphoses

Pleasance Dome, 23-29 Aug, £10 – £11

The Ballad of the Unbeatable Hearts HHH Gilded Balloon Teviot, 23-29 Aug, £9 – £10

Me, Myself and Miss Gibbs Hill Street Theatre, 2329 Aug, £8

Secret Window, Secret Garden

12:05

C venues - C soco, 23-29 Aug, £7.50 – £9.50

The Historians

Replaying Macbeth

Underbelly, Cowgate, 23-28 Aug, £8.50 – £10

Paradise in The Vault, 23-27 Aug, £6

theatrelistings The Distant Near (Shakespeare and Bengal’s Bard)

theSpaces on the Mile , 23-27 Aug, £5

If Walls Could Talk

12:30 Nostalgia for Reality theSpaces on the Mile , 23-27 Aug, £7

The Games

C venues - C aquila, 2329 Aug, £7.50 – £9.50

Zoo Roxy, 24-29 Aug, £10

Matilda and the Tales She Told HHH

Assembly Hall, 23-29 Aug, £9 – £10

Udderbelly’s Pasture, 23-29 Aug, £8 – £9

❤ White Rabbit Red Rabbit HHHH

St George’s West, 23-29 Aug, £12

12:20 Alma Mater HHH

St George’s West, 23-29 Aug, £5

12:25 The Dreamcatchers

Church Hill Theatre, 23 Aug, £5

The Overcoat HHH

Pleasance Dome, 23-29 Aug, £10 – £11

www.festmag.co.uk

Now is the Winter Tales From the Vienna Woods

Futureproof HH

Traverse Theatre, 25 Aug, £17

The Oh F**k Moment

Paper Tom HHH

Fetch HHH

Hill Street Theatre, Various dates from 23 Aug to 29 Aug, £8.50

Remember This HHH

You Once Said Yes

12:35

St George’s West, 23-27 Aug, £12 – £15

Alma Mater HHH

St George’s West, 23-29 Aug, £5

❤ Federer Versus Murray HHHH

Assembly Hall, 23-29 Aug, £13 – £14

Waiting For Alice

Pleasance Courtyard, 23-29 Aug, £7 – £9

The Observatory

Underbelly, Cowgate, 23-28 Aug, £8.50 – £10

Bedlam Theatre, 23-27 Aug, £6

Blood and Roses

St George’s West, 23-29 Aug, £5

St George’s West, 27 Aug, £10

theSpace on Niddry St, 24 Aug, 26 Aug, £5 Meet at Underbelly, Cowgate, 23-29 Aug, £15

Alma Mater HHH

The Three Lives of Lucie Cabrol

theSpace on Niddry St, 23 Aug, 25 Aug, 27 Aug, £5

I am the Dead - Free

Greenside, 23-27 Aug, £7

12:45 Fit for Purpose

Pleasance Courtyard, 23-29 Aug, £8 – £9

The Golden Dragon HHH Traverse Theatre, 26 Aug, £17

One Under HHH

Pleasance Courtyard, 2429 Aug, £7.50 – £8.50

Wondrous Flitting HHH

13:00

Traverse Theatre, 28 Aug, £15

...In for a Pound

12:50 The Truth About Black Suburban Girls theSpaces @ Surgeons Hall, 23-27 Aug, £9

You Once Said Yes

Meet at Underbelly, Cowgate, 23-29 Aug, £15

‘Tis I, Shakespeare the Brit

C Venues - C eca, 23-29 Aug, £7.50 – £9.50

Alma Mater HHH

St George’s West, 23-29 Aug, £5

12:55

The Girl Who Thought She Was Irish

❤ Singing ‘I’m No a Billy, He’s a Tim’ HHHH

12:40

Gilded Balloon Teviot, 23-24 Aug, £7

The Stand Comedy Club III & IV, 23-28 Aug, £10

You Once Said Yes

Hotel Methuselah

Lol

Laughing Horse @ Edinburgh City Football Club, 23-28 Aug, £free

Meet at Underbelly, Cowgate, 23-29 Aug, £15

Summerhall, 23-26 Aug, £12

Pleasance Courtyard, 23-29 Aug, £8

Sweet Grassmarket, 23-29 Aug, £8

Allotment

Assembly Inverleith Allotments, 23-26 Aug, £10

❤ The Dark Philosophers HHHHH

Traverse Theatre, 24 Aug, 28 Aug, £17

❤ One Million Tiny Plays About Britain HHHH Hill Street Theatre, 28 Aug, £15

❤ Little Matter HHHH

Bedlam Chambers, 2728 Aug, £9

Hammerpuzzle’s Measure for Measure Princes Mall, 23-25 Aug, £free

You Once Said Yes

Meet at Underbelly, Cowgate, 23-29 Aug, £15

August 23-29 | edinburgh festival guide 2011 fest 87

theatrelistings Belarus Free Theatre

Pleasance Courtyard, 23-29 Aug, £10

Black Slap HHH

Gilded Balloon Teviot, 23-28 Aug, £10 – £11

Italia ‘n’ Caledonia

Valvona & Crolla, 23-24 Aug, £12

The Magical Faraway Tree

Just The Tonic at the Caves, 23-28 Aug, £4

Macbeth

New Town Theatre, 2328 Aug, £10 – £12

Bond, James Bond

theSpaces @ Surgeons Hall, 23-27 Aug, £5

Alma Mater HHH

St George’s West, 23-29 Aug, £5

A Midlife Crisis: Live! HH

The Stand Comedy Club III & IV, 23-28 Aug, £8

❤ The Monster in the Hall HHHH

❤ One Thousand Paper Cranes HHHH

Traverse Theatre, 23 Aug, £15

Miss Julie

Zoo Roxy, 23-29 Aug, £9

Assembly George Square, 24-27 Aug, £10 New Town Theatre, 2328 Aug, £free – £12

Free Time Radical HHH

❤ Riot HHHH

Wondrous Flitting HHH Traverse Theatre, 25 Aug, £15

Pleasance Courtyard, 2428 Aug, £10 – £12

13:20

St George’s West, 23-29 Aug, £5

13:15

Meet at Underbelly, Cowgate, 23-29 Aug, £15

A Funny Valentine

Eunuchs in My Wardrobe

Alma Mater HHH

Valvona & Crolla, 26 Aug, 27 Aug, 29 Aug, £12

The Translator’s Dilemma Princes Mall, 23-27 Aug, £free

❤ The Wheel HHHH

Traverse Theatre, 23 Aug, 27 Aug, £17 – £19

❤ Laundry Boy HHHH

Underbelly, Cowgate, 23-28 Aug, £9.50 – £10.50

Drift

Udderbelly’s Pasture, 2329 Aug, £9 – £10

A Visit From Miss Prothero

Pleasance Courtyard, 23-28 Aug, £8 – £9

13:05 Chasing Dragons

C venues - C soco, 23-29 Aug, £7.50 – £9.50

13:10 You Once Said Yes

Meet at Underbelly, Cowgate, 23-29 Aug, £15

Assembly George Square, 23-29 Aug, £10 – £11

Nobody’s Home: A Modern Odyssey Gilded Balloon Teviot, 24-29 Aug, £9 – £10

Richard Parker

C venues - C soco, 23-29 Aug, £7.50 – £9.50

Cusp

Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 23-28 Aug, £free

You Once Said Yes

Oedipus by Steven Berkoff (After Sophocles) HH

Pleasance Courtyard, Various dates from 23 Aug to 29 Aug, £16 – £17.50

Alma Mater HHH

St George’s West, 23-29 Aug, £5

The Dante Sisters and the Dare Club

Paradise in Augustine’s, 23-27 Aug, £7

13:30

A Dish of Tea with Dr Johnson

You Once Said Yes

Traverse Theatre, 24 Aug, £15

Meet at Underbelly, Cowgate, 23-29 Aug, £15

Those Magnificent Men

Pip Utton is Charles Dickens

Udderbelly’s Pasture, 2329 Aug, £11 – £12

❤ I, Malvolio HHHH Traverse Theatre, 27 Aug, £17

How Steeple Sinderby Wanderers Won the FA Cup Gilded Balloon Teviot, 23-29 Aug, £9 – £10

St George’s West, Various dates from 23 Aug to 29 Aug, £9 – £10

Ethometric Museum Hill Street Theatre, 2328 Aug, £9

Blood and Roses

St George’s West, 23-27 Aug, £12 – £15

The Frequency D’ici & New Wolsey Theatre

Pleasance Courtyard 3 -‐ 28 Aug, 13.10 www.pleasance.co.uk thefrequencydici.co.uk

88 fest edinburgh festival guide 2011 | August 23-29

The Dick and the Rose

You Once Said Yes

Chaos

Happiness

Alma Mater HHH

Alma Mater HHH

Grim(m) Tales of the Woods - Free

The Wright Brothers

3rd Ring Out: The Emergency

Snap.Catch.Slam HHH

Waterproof HHH

Aladdin

Check, Please!

Unanswered, We Ride

Gryphon Venues at the Point Hotel, 23-27 Aug, £8

Alma Mater HHH

St George’s West, 23-29 Aug, £5

In Confidence

theSpaces on North Bridge, 23-27 Aug, £9 Pleasance Courtyard, 2327 Aug, £10 – £11 Pleasance Dome, 23-29 Aug, £8 – £9 Church Hill Theatre, 23 Aug, £5

Al Bowlly’s Croon Manifesto

The Bongo Club, 23-27 Aug, £10

Coffin Up

Pleasance Dome, 23-29 Aug, £8.50 – £9.50

Minute After Midday Gilded Balloon Teviot, 23-29 Aug, £8.50 – £9.50

13:35 ❤ The Girl With the Iron Claws HHHHH

Underbelly, Cowgate, 23-28 Aug, £8.50 – £10

Breathing Water

theSpaces on the Mile , 23-27 Aug, £10

AGM

Greenside, 23-27 Aug, £7

Meet at Underbelly, Cowgate, 23-29 Aug, £15 The Playhouse at Hawke and Hunter Green Room, 23-29 Aug, £9.50 St George’s West, 23-29 Aug, £5

Pleasance Courtyard, 23-28 Aug, £7.50

theSpaces @ Surgeons Hall, 23-27 Aug, £6

theSpaces on the Mile , 23-27 Aug, £9

13:45 The Pretender

Underbelly, Cowgate, 2328 Aug, £9.50 – £10

A Preoccupation With Romance

Zoo Southside, Various dates from 23 Aug to 29 Aug, £8

From My Sleep with Horror Paradise in The Vault, 23-27 Aug, £8

St George’s West, 23-29 Aug, £5

Laughing Horse @ Jekyll & Hyde, 23-28 Aug, £free

Pleasance Courtyard, 24-28 Aug, £9.50 – £10.50

14:00 One Thousand and One Nights Part 1

Royal Lyceum Theatre, 27 Aug, 28 Aug, 31 Aug, 2 Sep, 3 Sep, £10

❤ Fleeto HHHH

Pleasance Courtyard, 23 Aug, 25 Aug, 27 Aug, 29 Aug, £9 – £10

MonologueSlam The Ultimate Actors’ Showcase! theSpace @ Symposium Hall, 26 Aug, £10

❤ One Million Tiny Plays About Britain HHHH Hill Street Theatre, 2627 Aug, £15

Lost in Mozart

Wee Andy HHH

Whistle HHH

I, the Dictator

theSpaces on North Bridge, 23-27 Aug, £8.50 Zoo, Various dates from 23 Aug to 29 Aug, £7.50

13:50 After the End

13:40

Pleasance Courtyard, 2328 Aug, £9 – £10

Eyes Wide Open

You Once Said Yes

theSpaces @ Surgeons Hall, 24-25 Aug, £5

Pleasance Courtyard, 23-29 Aug, £11

Meet at Underbelly, Cowgate, 23-29 Aug, £15

Pleasance Courtyard, 24 Aug, 26 Aug, 28 Aug, £9 – £10 New Town Theatre, 2328 Aug, £10 – £12

You Once Said Yes

Meet at Underbelly, Cowgate, 23-29 Aug, £15

Anton’s Uncles HHH Bedlam Theatre, 23-27 Aug, £9

Howling Moon

C venues - C soco, 23-29 Aug, £7.50 – £9.50

theatrelistings Release

Pleasance Dome, Various dates from 23 Aug to 29 Aug, £10 – £11

Sailing On

New Town Theatre, 2428 Aug, £8 – £9

Two Johnnies Live Upstairs

Institut français d’Ecosse, 23-26 Aug, £10

Alma Mater HHH

St George’s West, 23-29 Aug, £5

Grisly Tales From Tumblewater

Pleasance Courtyard, 23-29 Aug, £8 – £9

Invisible Show II

Pleasance Courtyard, 23-27 Aug, £7.50

King of Scotland

Assembly Hall, 23-28 Aug, £12

Lights, Camera, Walkies

Gilded Balloon Teviot, 23-29 Aug, £9 – £10

The Split Second

C venues - C aquila, 2327 Aug, £6.50 – £8.50

Teddy and Topsy - Isadora Duncan’s Love Letters to Gordon Craig

Hill Street Theatre, Various dates from 23 Aug to 29 Aug, £11

Rachael’s Cafe

Laughing Horse @ Jekyll & Hyde, 23-28 Aug, £free

Posthumous Works Danish Institute, 27 Aug, £10

Dusk Rings a Bell Assembly George Square, 23-29 Aug, £11 – £12

www.festmag.co.uk

The Screwtape Letters

Pleasance Courtyard, 23-29 Aug, £7 – £8

C Venues - C eca, 23-29 Aug, £7.50 – £9.50

Principal Parts

C venues - C soco, 23-29 Aug, £7.50 – £9.50

Skittles

Pleasance Courtyard, 2329 Aug, £9 – £10

Splendid Isolation

Underbelly, Cowgate, 2328 Aug, £10 – £11

theSpace on Niddry St, 23-27 Aug, £8

‘Tis in My Memory Locked: an adaptation of Hamlet

Simon Callow in Tuesday at Tescos HH

Swamp Juice

A Midsummer Night’s Dream

Alma Mater HHH

14:05

Generation 9/11: So Far / So Close

Assembly Hall, 23-29 Aug, £17.50 – £20

Things in Life sheds, 23-27 Aug, £12.50

Palmerston Place Church, 24 Aug, 26 Aug, 27 Aug, £10

A Machine To See With

St George’s West, 24-28 Aug, £12

14:15

theSpaces @ Surgeons Hall, 23-27 Aug, £7

Pleasance Dome, 23-29 Aug, £12 – £14

14:10 You Once Said Yes

Meet at Underbelly, Cowgate, 23-29 Aug, £15

Heartbreak

theSpaces @ Surgeons Hall, 24-25 Aug, £6

The Secret of Monkey Island

theSpaces @ Surgeons Hall, 23 Aug, £6

Alma Mater HHH

St George’s West, 23-29 Aug, £5

Romance with a Double Bass

theSpaces @ Surgeons Hall, 26-27 Aug, £6

Penny Dreadful’s Etherdome Assembly George Square, 23-29 Aug, £12 – £14

Cry of the Mountain

Voices

St George’s West, 23-29 Aug, £5

Private Peaceful by Michael Morpurgo

Udderbelly’s Pasture, 2329 Aug, £11 – £12

14:25 Bashir Lazhar HHH Assembly George Square, 23-28 Aug, £11 – £12

Quaker Meeting House, 23-27 Aug, £6

14:30

rogerandtom

Glasgow GirlsPachamama Productions

C venues - C too, 23-29 Aug, £7.50 – £9.50

The Box - Free!

Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 27-28 Aug, £free

A Machine To See With

St George’s West, 24-28 Aug, £12

❤ Ibsen’s Hedda Gabler HHHH

Hill Street Theatre, Various dates from 23 Aug to 29 Aug, £8

Three of Hearts

C Venues - C eca, 23-29 Aug, £7.50 – £9.50

14:20 You Once Said Yes

Meet at Underbelly, Cowgate, 23-29 Aug, £15

M House

Sweet Grassmarket, 24-26 Aug, £7

❤ Mad About the Boy HHHH

Udderbelly’s Pasture, 2329 Aug, £9 – £10

The Simple Things in Life

Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh - The Simple

The Hub, 25-26 Aug, £6

Zambezi Express

Assembly George Square, 23-28 Aug, £12 – £14

You Once Said Yes

Meet at Underbelly, Cowgate, 23-29 Aug, £15

Are You Happy Now? - Free

Kiwi Bar @ Walkabout, 23-27 Aug, £free

BAC at Summerhall Summerhall, 23-27 Aug, £free

Bouncers Remix

Zoo Roxy, 24 Aug, 26 Aug, 28 Aug, £10

Alma Mater HHH

St George’s West, 23-29 Aug, £5

It Takes Four to Tango with Panto

St Peter’s, 27 Aug, £10

A Machine To See With

St George’s West, 24-28 Aug, £12

Dr Apple’s Last Lecture HH

Four For Jericho

Hotel Methuselah Summerhall, 23-26 Aug, £12

14:35

St George’s West, 24-28 Aug, £12

Summerhall, 23-27 Aug, £free

Noh No Noh

C venues - C soco, 23-29 Aug, £7.50 – £9.50

The Long Road

theSpaces on the Mile , 23-27 Aug, £8

Nuclear Family

theSpaces @ Surgeons Hall, 23-27 Aug, £10

The Infant HHH

Pleasance Courtyard, 2329 Aug, £10 – £11

14:40 You Once Said Yes

Meet at Underbelly, Cowgate, 23-29 Aug, £15

The Dumb Waiter

Motortown

Blood and Roses

Underbelly, Cowgate, 2328 Aug, £9 – £10

Jamie Blake

St George’s West, 23-29 Aug, £5

Zoo Roxy, 23 Aug, 25 Aug, 27 Aug, 29 Aug, £9.50

Pleasance Courtyard, 2329 Aug, £8.50 – £9.50

Hannah Ringham’s Free Show (Bring Money)

Go to Your God Like a Soldier

St George’s West, 23-27 Aug, £12 – £15

14:45 The Sexual Awakening of Peter Mayo

Pleasance Courtyard, 2329 Aug, £10 – £11

Fragments of Ash

Zoo Roxy, 23-29 Aug, £7.50

Assembly George Square, 23-27 Aug, £9 – £10

Gilded Balloon Teviot, 23-28 Aug, £9 – £10

Paradise in The Vault, 23-29 Aug, £8.50 – £9.50

Venue 13, 23-27 Aug, £8

Letting Go

Alma Mater HHH

Frozen Stills

theSpaces on North Bridge, 23-27 Aug, £5

A Machine To See With

Opposition

Zoo Southside, 23-28 Aug, £7 – £8

14:50 Politically Incorrect - Free

Laughing Horse @ The Phoenix, 23 Aug, 25 Aug, 26 Aug, 27 Aug, 28 Aug, £free

Time for the Good Looking Boy

Pleasance Dome, 23-29 Aug, £9 – £10

You Once Said Yes

Meet at Underbelly, Cowgate, 23-29 Aug, £15

Alma Mater HHH

St George’s West, 23-29 Aug, £5

Batman! Holy Spoof Musical Batstravaganza!

Paradise in Augustine’s, 23-29 Aug, £8.50 – £9.50

3rd Ring Out: The Emergency Pleasance Courtyard, 23-28 Aug, £7.50

August 23-29 | edinburgh festival guide 2011 fest 89

theatrelistings

Inbetween

C venues - C aquila, 2329 Aug, £7.50 – £9.50

The World Holds Everyone Apart, Apart From Us

Underbelly, Cowgate, 2328 Aug, £9 – £10

❤ Spent HHHH

Pleasance Dome, 24-29 Aug, £9 – £9.50

15:00 Debris

Valvona & Crolla, 23 Aug, 26 Aug, £10

Alma Mater HHH

St George’s West, 23-29 Aug, £5

The Matchmaker Scottish Storytelling Centre, 23-29 Aug, £9

A Machine To See With

St George’s West, 24-28 Aug, £12

The Strange Undoing of Prudencia Hart Traverse @ Ghillie Dhu, 23-27 Aug, £15

Zoo Roxy, 23 Aug, 25 Aug, 27 Aug, 29 Aug, £8

Stacy

Gutter Junky

Zanzibar Cats by Heathcote Williams

Assembly Hall, 23-28 Aug, £9

The Station: Fourstones

Zoo Roxy, 24 Aug, 26 Aug, 28 Aug, £8

Gilded Balloon Teviot, 23-29 Aug, £11 – £12

Zoo, 24-29 Aug, £9

15:05

Tearoom

Fameless

Lauriston Hall, 23-28 Aug, £15

Ethometric Museum Hill Street Theatre, 2328 Aug, £9

4.3 Miles From Nowhere Zoo, 23-29 Aug, £8 – £10

Constantinople

Electric Circus, 27 Aug, £free

If That’s All There Is?

theSpaces @ Surgeons Hall, 23-27 Aug, £8

To Have and to Hold Paradise in Augustine’s, 23-29 Aug, £7

The Extraordinary Revelations of Orca the Goldfish theSpaces on the Mile , 23-27 Aug, £7

15:10

Pleasance Courtyard, Various dates from 23 Aug to 29 Aug, £12

Alma Mater HHH

Turandot

To Hold an Apple theSpace @ Jury’s Inn, 23-27 Aug, £8

Church Hill Theatre, 23 Aug, £5

Danny and the Deep Blue Sea HHH St George’s West, 23-29 Aug, £10 – £12

Fear and Misery of the Third Reich

C venues - C soco, 23-29 Aug, £8.50 – £10.50

Babbling Comedy 2 C venues - C, 23-28 Aug, £9.50 – £11.50

The Ducks

Pleasance Courtyard, 2329 Aug, £9 – £10

Myrtle Chops

Lethal Injection

15:20 Thirty Two Teeth HH

C venues - C soco, 23-29 Aug, £7.50 – £9.50

Alma Mater HHH

St George’s West, 23-29 Aug, £5

Lullabies of Broadmoor - Venus at Broadmoor C venues - C, 27 Aug, £10.50

Sideshow

C Venues - C eca, 23-29 Aug, £7.50 – £9.50

The Tempest

Gryphon Venues at the Point Hotel, 23-27 Aug, £7.50

15:25 Body of Water

Pleasance Courtyard, 2329 Aug, £9 – £10

Pleasance Dome, 2429 Aug, £9.50 – £10

Traverse Theatre, 27 Aug, £17

A Machine To See With

Pleasance Courtyard, 2329 Aug, £9 – £10

❤ Translunar Paradise HHHHH

The Golden Dragon HHH

Pleasance Courtyard, 23-28 Aug, £10

Taketh Me Away

15:40

Princes Mall, 23-27 Aug, £free

Greenside, 23-27 Aug, £6.50

St George’s West, 24-28 Aug, £12

theSpaces @ Surgeons Hall, 23-27 Aug, £7

Blonde Compassion

Tea with Queenie

90 fest edinburgh festival guide 2011 | August 23-29

Globe, 24-27 Aug, £free

Black Mirrors

15:30

❤ Cul-De-Sac HHHH

Wireless Mystery Theatre Presents...

15:35

Paradise in The Vault, 23-29 Aug, £5

Life Still

A Dish of Tea with Dr Johnson

Pleasance Courtyard, 2329 Aug, £9 – £10

Traverse Theatre, 28 Aug, £15

Wives of War

theSpace @ Venue45, 23-27 Aug, £8

Alma Mater HHH

St George’s West, 23-29 Aug, £5

St George’s West, 24-28 Aug, £12

New Town Theatre, 2328 Aug, £11 – £13

Hill Street Theatre, Various dates from 23 Aug to 29 Aug, £9 – £11

❤ Darkness HHHH Zoo Roxy, 23-29 Aug, £10

Fire and the Rose

Ten Plagues HHH

Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 23-28 Aug, £free

Traverse Theatre, 25-26 Aug, £17 – £19

Laughing Horse @ The Beehive Inn , 23-28 Aug, £free Traverse Theatre, 23 Aug, £15

St George’s West, 24-28 Aug, £12

Beef

C venues - C soco, 23-29 Aug, £7.50 – £9.50

❤ The Monster in the Hall HHHH Traverse Theatre, 24 Aug, £15

Shylock HHH

Traverse Theatre, 26 Aug, £17

Caruso and the Monkey House Trial HHH

❤ Dust HHHH

David Lee Nelson...

Status Update

15:45 Assembly George Square, 23-29 Aug, £11 – £12

Princes Mall, 23-27 Aug, £free

St George’s West, 24 Aug, £12.50

Assembly Hall, 23-29 Aug, £12.50 – £14

One Night Stan

Welcome to the Kerryman

Adolf

Fantasmagoriana

C venues - C aquila, 2329 Aug, £8.50 – £10.50

A Machine To See With

Kiwi Bar @ Walkabout, 23-29 Aug, £free

A Machine To See With

St George’s West, 23-29 Aug, £5

St George’s West, 23-27 Aug, £12 – £15

Ink

❤ Silken Veils HHHH

Alma Mater HHH

Blood and Roses

C venues - C soco, 23-29 Aug, £8.50 – £10.50

❤ I, Malvolio HHHH

Assembly George Square, 23-28 Aug, £9 – £10

C Venues - C eca, 23-29 Aug, £7.50 – £9.50

The Little Prince

Of Sound Mind

Udderbelly’s Pasture, 2329 Aug, £10 – £12

A3 OPTION 1

New Town Theatre, 2327 Aug, £12 – £13

St George’s West, 23-29 Aug, £5

15:15 ‘New York’ by David Rimmer

Wondrous Flitting HHH

15:50 Alma Mater HHH

St George’s West, 23-29 Aug, £5

15:55 ❤ My Filthy Hunt HHHH Underbelly, Cowgate, 23-28 Aug, £9.50 – £10.50

Samira HH

C venues - C soco, 23-29 Aug, £8.50 – £10.50 www.thespaceuk.com

14:55

Vivaldi and the Number 3

on North Bridge (V36)

New Town Theatre, 2428 Aug, £free – £11

VISIBLE AREA 297mm (w) x 373mm (h)

The Last Days of Gilda

theatrelistings 16:00 Allotment Assembly Inverleith Allotments, 27-28 Aug, £10

Just Good Friends

Hill Street Theatre, 2329 Aug, £8

Request Programme Inlingua Edinburgh, 27 Aug, £12

A Dish of Tea with Dr Johnson Traverse Theatre, 25 Aug, £15

Ed Reardon: A Writer’s Burden HH

Pleasance Courtyard, 2329 Aug, £10 – £12

The Simple Things in Life Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh - The Simple Things in Life sheds, 23-27 Aug, £12.50

Two Johnnies Live Upstairs Institut français d’Ecosse, 23-26 Aug, £10

Alma Mater HHH

St George’s West, 23-29 Aug, £5

The Curse of Macbeth The Playhouse at Hawke and Hunter Green Room, 23-29 Aug, £10.50

Killing Bill Gates - Free Laughing Horse @ The Three Sisters, 24-28 Aug, £free

A Machine To See With

St George’s West, 24-28 Aug, £12

www.festmag.co.uk

Nine Suitcases Venue 13, 23-27 Aug, £8

❤ Orlando HHHHH

St George's West, Various dates from 23 Aug to 29 Aug, £9 – £12

This Twisted Tale HH

Leith on the Fringe @ Out of the Blue Drill Hall, 23-29 Aug, £12

3rd Ring Out: The Emergency

Celebration

theSpaces @ Surgeons Hall, 23-27 Aug, £7

Alma Mater HHH

St George’s West, 23-29 Aug, £5

Sleeping Beauty theSpaces on North Bridge, 23-27 Aug, £7.50

❤ Bones HHHHH Zoo, 23-28 Aug, £9

The Captain of Köpenick

theSpaces @ Surgeons Hall, 23-27 Aug, £10

Pleasance Courtyard, 23-28 Aug, £7.50

16:15

Beowulf - A Thousand Years of Baggage

A Midsummer Night’s Dream

Assembly George Square, 23-29 Aug, £14

Ten Plagues HHH Traverse Theatre, 24 Aug, 28 Aug, £17

16:05 ❤ Dream Pill HHHH Underbelly, Cowgate, 23-28 Aug, £8 – £9

Be Prepared

Greenside, 23-27 Aug, £7.50

Henna Night

Church Hill Theatre, 23 Aug, £5

Sailing On

New Town Theatre, 2428 Aug, £8 – £9

A Machine To See With

St George’s West, 24-28 Aug, £12

Ten Plagues HHH

Traverse Theatre, 23 Aug, 27 Aug, £17 – £19

Phys Ed HHH

Assembly Hall, 23-29 Aug, £10

theSpaces on the Mile , 23-27 Aug, £7.50

16:20

16:10

St George’s West, 23-29 Aug, £5

Cautionary Tales

Paradise in The Vault, 23-29 Aug, £7

The Animals and Children Took to the Streets Pleasance Courtyard, 23-28 Aug, £12

❤ An Instinct for Kindness HHHH

Pleasance Dome, 23-29 Aug, £9 – £10

Alma Mater HHH

Slavery to Star Trek C Venues - C eca, 23-29 Aug, £7.50 – £9.50

16:25 ❤ Clockheart Boy HHHH C venues - C, 23-29 Aug, £9.50 – £11.50

I See Simon

Zoo Roxy, 23-29 Aug, £7

16:30

16:45

❤ The Alchemystorium HHHH

Haverfordwest

Bedlam Theatre, 23-27 Aug, £8

theSpaces @ Surgeons Hall, 23-27 Aug, £7

Recursion

The Fall of the House of Usher

Stand Up and Be Counted

A Machine To See With

Ethometric Museum

The Mourning Party

Alma Mater HHH

16:50

C venues - C soco, 23-29 Aug, £7.50 – £9.50

Paradise in Augustine’s, 23-27 Aug, £6 Hill Street Theatre, 2328 Aug, £9

St George’s West, 23-29 Aug, £5

Casablanca: The Gin Joint Cut

Pleasance Courtyard, 2329 Aug, £11 – £15

Invisible Show II

Pleasance Courtyard, 23-27 Aug, £7.50

A Machine To See With

St George’s West, 24-28 Aug, £12

Waterloo

New Town Theatre, 2328 Aug, £free – £10

Yours, Isabel

theSpace @ Venue45, 23-27 Aug, £8

St George’s West, 24-28 Aug, £12 C venues - C soco, 23-29 Aug, £7.50 – £9.50

Alma Mater HHH

St George’s West, 23-29 Aug, £5

16:55 An Imaginary History of Tango

C venues - C aquila, 2329 Aug, £7.50 – £9.50

The First Day of My Life

Heavy Like the Weight of a Flame HH

Udderbelly’s Pasture, 2329 Aug, £10 – £12

The Prodigals

Gilded Balloon Teviot, 2329 Aug, £12.50 – £15

Alma Mater HHH

St George’s West, 23-29 Aug, £5

Uglies Do Edinburgh Gryphon Venues at the Point Hotel, 23-29 Aug, £10

A Day in November HHH Zoo Southside, 23-29 Aug, £8.50

A Machine To See With

St George’s West, 24-28 Aug, £12

Posthumous Works Danish Institute, 23-28 Aug, £10

17 Things

Brotherly Love - Free

C venues - C too, 23-29 Aug, £6.50 – £8.50

17:00

16:40

Allotment

The F Word

Assembly Inverleith Allotments, 27-28 Aug, £10

2401 Objects HHH

❤ One Million Tiny Plays About Britain HHHH

Pleasance Courtyard, 2428 Aug, £10 – £12

C venues - C, 23-29 Aug, £7.50 – £9.50

C Venues - C eca, 23-29 Aug, £7.50 – £9.50

Paradise in The Vault, 23-29 Aug, £5

theSpaces on North Bridge, 23-27 Aug, £10

Bepo & Co

Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 23-28 Aug, £free

Shopping and F***ing

Gryphon Venues at the Point Hotel, 23-27 Aug, £10

17:05 Kafka and Son HHH Assembly George Square, 23-28 Aug, £10 – £11

Alma Mater HHH

Hill Street Theatre, 28 Aug, £15

Laughing Horse @ The Phoenix, 23-28 Aug, £free

Multiple Choice

Young Pretender HHH

Soldier and Death

Ophelia

St George’s West, 23-29 Aug, £5

Underbelly, Cowgate, 23-28 Aug, £9.50 – £10.50

Repent / Words

Princes Mall, 23-27 Aug, £free

theSpaces @ Surgeons Hall, 23-27 Aug, £8 theSpaces on the Mile , 23-27 Aug, £8

August 23-29 | edinburgh festival guide 2011 fest 91

theatrelistings 17:10

17:20

Alma Mater HHH

Midnight Your Time performed by Diana Quick HH

St George’s West, 23-29 Aug, £5

Application for Life

Assembly George Square, 23-28 Aug, £12 – £15

3rd Ring Out: The Emergency

❤ Bane 1, 2 and 3 HHHH

theSpace @ Jury’s Inn, 23-27 Aug, £7

Pleasance Courtyard, 23-28 Aug, £7.50

Colour Me Happy Zoo, 23-27 Aug, £7 – £8

17:15 Donna Disco HHH

Hill Street Theatre, Various dates from 23 Aug to 29 Aug, £9

Perffection

Zoo Roxy, 23-29 Aug, £8

Tempus Incognit

theSpaces on North Bridge, 23-27 Aug, £10

Kafka’s Metamorphosis as Performed by the Actors of the Nowy Teatr Kameralny Church Hill Theatre, 23 Aug, £5

Helmsman Pete: Postcards From The Edge Of The World!

Underbelly, Cowgate, 23-28 Aug, £9.50 – £10.50

A Machine To See With

St George’s West, 24-28 Aug, £12

Pleasance Dome, 23-28 Aug, £10

Alma Mater HHH

St George’s West, 23-29 Aug, £5

Can’t Stand Up For Falling Down Greenside, 23-27 Aug, £7

17:25 Kalagora HH

Zoo Roxy, 23-29 Aug, £7.50

Are There More of You?

C venues - C aquila, 2329 Aug, £8.50 – £10.50

❤ Rose (starring Keira and Art Malik) HHHH Pleasance Courtyard, 23-29 Aug, £13.50 – £14.50

Trog and Clay (an imagined history of the electric chair)

C Venues - C eca, 23-29 Aug, £8.50 – £10.50

17:30 The Moment I Saw You I Knew I Could Love You

The Rape of Lucrece

Summerhall, 23-27 Aug, £12

Rain HHH

Paradise in The Vault, 23-29 Aug, £6

Zoo Southside, 23-28 Aug, £9 C venues - C, 23-29 Aug, £8.50 – £10.50

Agnes of God

A Hero Of Our Time Zoo, 23-29 Aug, £8

Roll Out the Beryl

Hill Street Theatre, 2328 Aug, £9

Hamlet House of Horror HHH

The Playhouse at Hawke and Hunter Green Room, 23-29 Aug, £10.50

Now That She’s Gone HH

17:45 ❤ The Dark Philosophers HHHHH

Traverse Theatre, 25 Aug, £17

The Man Who Was Hamlet

Futureproof HH

Ethometric Museum

17:50 Wrens

Two Johnnies Live Upstairs

Sweet Grassmarket, 23-28 Aug, £9

Institut français d’Ecosse, 23-26 Aug, £10

Alma Mater HHH

Alma Mater HHH

The Questionnaire

The 2 Sides of Eddie Ramone

Traverse Theatre, 26 Aug, £19

St George’s West, 23-29 Aug, £5

Assembly Hall, 23-28 Aug, £9 – £10

Spotlites @ The Merchants’ Hall, 27 Aug, £11.50

Alma Mater HHH

❤ Thirsty HHHH

Pleasance Courtyard, 2328 Aug, £10 – £11

17:55

Jus’ Like That!

Berkoff’s Graft – Tales of an Actor

C venues - C too, 23-29 Aug, £9.50 – £11.50

St George’s West, 23-29 Aug, £5 Assembly Hall, 23-29 Aug, £14 – £15

❤ John Peel’s Shed

by John Osborne HHHH Underbelly, Cowgate, 2328 Aug, £9 – £10.50

Bosom Buddies

St George’s West, 23-29 Aug, £8.50

A Machine To See With

St George’s West, 24-28 Aug, £12

The Oh F**k Moment St George’s West, 23 Aug, 27 Aug, £10

Ships of Sand

Venue 13, 23-27 Aug, £6

17:35 Superbard and the Sexy Quantum Stories

C venues - C soco, 23-29 Aug, £7.50 – £9.50

17:40 Alma Mater HHH

St George’s West, 23-29 Aug, £5

Spotlites @ The Merchants’ Hall, 23 Aug, 25 Aug, £11.50

Berkoff’s Hell

Spotlites @ The Merchants’ Hall, 24 Aug, £9

Did You Used to Be R. D. Laing?

Valvona & Crolla, 26-27 Aug, £12

Dostoevsky’s ‘Dream of a Ridiculous Man’ Spotlites @ The Merchants’ Hall, 26 Aug, £10

The Toll

C venues - C soco, 23-29 Aug, £7.50 – £9.50

Kaddish for Pinter HH

Spotlites @ The Merchants’ Hall, 23-28 Aug, £12

A Machine To See With

St George’s West, 24-28 Aug, £12

Belt Up’s Twenty Minutes to Nine HHH

C venues - C soco, 23-29 Aug, £10.50 – £12.50

theSpace on Niddry St, 23-27 Aug, £8 – £9

St George’s West, 23-29 Aug, £5

theSpaces @ Surgeons Hall, 23-27 Aug, £5

Blood Brothers

Devil in the Detail

18:00

A Machine To See With

❤ The Adventures of Alvin Sputnik HHHH

Underbelly, Cowgate, 2328 Aug, £10 – £12.50

Allotment

Assembly Inverleith Allotments, 27-28 Aug, £10

The Golden Dragon HHH Traverse Theatre, 23 Aug, 28 Aug, £15

❤ One Million Tiny Plays About Britain HHHH Hill Street Theatre, 2427 Aug, £12.50 – £15

Conference of Strange

Princes Mall, 24-27 Aug, £free

David Leddy’s ‘Untitled Love Story’ HH St George’s West, Various dates from 23 Aug to 29 Aug, £15 – £17

Request Programme Inlingua Edinburgh, 27 Aug, £12

LULLABIES OF BROADMOOR A Broadmoor Quartet

FOUR PLAYS BY STEVE HENNESSY DIRECTED BY CHRIS LOVELESS

92 fest edinburgh festival guide 2011 | August 23-29

Hill Street Theatre, 2328 Aug, £9

Zoo Roxy, 23-29 Aug, £12

St George’s West, 24-28 Aug, £12

The Lounge Room Confabulators HHH Your Lounge, 23-29 Aug, £free

Pip Utton is the Hunchback of Notre Dame New Town Theatre, 2328 Aug, £free – £10

You Wouldn’t Know Him, He Lives in Texas

Meet at Underbelly, Cowgate, 27-28 Aug, £15

18:05 The Great Goddess Bazaar Paradise in The Vault, 23-28 Aug, £8

18:10 Alma Mater HHH

St George’s West, 23-29 Aug, £5

Double Act

theSpaces @ Surgeons Hall, 23-27 Aug, £7

theatrelistings 18:15

Wondrous Flitting HHH

18:30

Peep Show

Traverse Theatre, 27

❤ What Remains HHHHH

Greenside, 23-27 Aug, £7

Aug, £17

The Crucible

Church Hill Theatre, 23 Aug, £5

Doris Day Can F**k Off HHH

18:20 Free Run HHH Udderbelly’s Pasture, 2329 Aug, £15 – £17

Zoo Southside, 23-29 Aug, £9

Rathmore’s Whippet

Kitty Litter

Aug, £7.50 – £9.50

theSpaces on the Mile , 23-27 Aug, £8

❤ I, Malvolio HHHH Traverse Theatre, 24 Aug, £15

A Machine To See With

St George’s West, 24-28 Aug, £12

The Tour Guide HHH

The Tour Guide Departing from Market Street, 23-28 Aug, £free

Theseus is Dead

C venues - C soco, 23-29 Aug, £8.50 – £10.50

C Venues - C eca, 23-29

Alma Mater HHH St George’s West, 23-29 Aug, £5

3rd Ring Out: The Emergency Pleasance Courtyard, 23-28 Aug, £7.50

18:25 Liberace: Live From Heaven Assembly George Square, 23-28 Aug, £13 – £14

1745 174 45

Traverse @ University of Edinburgh Medical School Anatomy Department, 23-28 Aug, £17 – £19

Dostoevsky’s ‘Dream of a Ridiculous Man’ Spotlites @ The Merchants’ Hall, 24 Aug, £10

A Dish of Tea with Dr Johnson Traverse Theatre, 26 Aug, £17

Medea H

Assembly George Square, 23-29 Aug, £12 – £13

One Fine Day

Zoo Roxy, 23-28 Aug, £8.50

Totty Galore and the Expanding Suitcase Quaker Meeting House, 23-27 Aug, £7

Alma Mater HHH St George’s West, 23-29 Aug, £5

A Machine To See With St George’s West, 24-28 Aug, £12

18:40 How Desperate Can it Get?

Gryphon Venues at the Point Hotel, 26-27 Aug, £7.50

Scottish Sperm

A Machine To See With St George’s West, 24-28 Aug, £12

Chamber Music theSpaces on North Bridge, 23-27 Aug, £7.50

Tomboy Blues – The Theory of Disappointment

theSpace @ Jury’s Inn, 23-27 Aug, £4

Zoo Southside, 23-28 Aug, £7 – £8

St George’s West, 23-29 Aug, £5

Gilded Balloon Teviot, 23-29 Aug, £9 – £10

Mr Kolpert

18:50

Viewless Hill Street Theatre, Various dates from 23 Aug to 29 Aug, £9

❤ The Wheel HHHH Traverse Theatre, 24 Aug, 28 Aug, £17

❤ The Monster in the Hall HHHH

Alma Mater HHH

C venues - C soco, 23-29 Aug, £8.50 – £10.50

18:45

Love Songs for a Timewaster

Naive Dance Masterclass C Venues - C eca, 23-29 Aug, £8.50 – £10.50

Third Person: Bonnie and Clyde Redux

The Trials of Galileo C venues - C aquila, 2329 Aug, £8.50 – £10.50

Traverse Theatre, 25 Aug, £15

Gryphon Venues at the Point Hotel, 23-27 Aug, £9

18:35

❤ Cutting the Cord HHHH

Spotlites @ The Merchants’ Hall, 26 Aug, £9

Underbelly, Cowgate, 23-27 Aug, £9.50 – £10.50

St George’s West, 23-29 Aug, £5

Death Song HH Udderbelly’s Pasture, 2328 Aug, £10 – £11

Berkoff’s Hell

Alma Mater HHH

FRINGE FIRST WINNERS 2009 IRON SHOES in association with the National Theatre Studio & ScenePool

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MAD ABOUT THE BOY

by Gbolahan Obisesan

Underbelly Dairy Room 2:20pm

6.05 p.m. – 6.55 p.m.

www.festmag.co.uk

August 23-29 | edinburgh festival guide 2011 fest 93

theatrelistings 18:55 Bluebeard: A Fairy Tale for Adults Underbelly, Cowgate, 23-28 Aug, £9.50 – £10.50

19:20

An Audience With Shurl

The World According to Bertie HH

Imaginarium

theSpaces on the Mile , 23-27 Aug, ÂŁ6

Yellow Moon: The Ballad of Leila and Lee

One Thousand and One Nights Part 1

C venues - C soco, 23-29 Aug, £8.50 – £10.50

Royal Lyceum Theatre, 23 Aug, 25 Aug, 30 Aug, ÂŁ10

A Machine To See With

One Thousand and One Nights Part 2

St George’s West, 24-28 Aug, £12

Royal Lyceum Theatre, 24 Aug - 3 Sep, not 25 Aug, 29 Aug, 30 Aug, ÂŁ10

Jane Austen invites...

Faust/us

Sweet Grassmarket, 23-28 Aug, ÂŁ9

Mystery and Murder on the Menu at The Scottish Cafe The Scottish Cafe & Restaurant , 23 Aug, ÂŁ39

Bedlam Chambers, 2328 Aug, ÂŁ9

19:10

National Library of Scotland, 24-28 Aug, ÂŁ8 Gryphon Venues at the Point Hotel, 28-29 Aug, ÂŁ7

19:00

â?¤ Little Matter HHHH

Robert Burns: Not in My Name

Look Back in Anger C venues - C soco, 23-29 Aug, £9.50 – £11.50

The Carroll Myth Sweet Grassmarket, 23-28 Aug, ÂŁ10

19:15 The Screwtape Letters

Royal Over-Seas League, 26-27 Aug, ÂŁ10

Palmerston Place Church, 23-26 Aug, ÂŁ10

Abbi Patrix and Linda EdsjĂś: A Concert of Stories

A Clockwork Orange HHH

19:05

VOICES

Scottish Storytelling Centre, 23-28 Aug, ÂŁ8

The Nose

theSpaces on North Bridge, 23-27 Aug, ÂŁ7

Woof! A Werepunk

Zoo, 23-29 Aug, ÂŁ7.50

C venues - C, 23-29 Aug, £9.50 – £11.50 New Town Theatre, 2328 Aug, £11 – £13

Pushing Up Poppies Hill Street Theatre, 2329 Aug, ÂŁ10

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THE EDINBURGH PLAYHOUSE Home to the biggest names in comedy

5-29 Aug, 11.15pm ‘til late Hawke & Hunter Green Room: 12 Picardy Place www.edinburghplayhouse.org.uk for details & daily line-up

94 fest edinburgh festival guide 2011 | August 23-29

C venues - C soco, 23-29 Aug, £10.50 – £12.50

Devotion

theSpaces @ Surgeons Hall, 23-27 Aug, ÂŁ10

At the Sans Hotel HHH

Assembly Hall, 23-28 Aug, £10 – £11

eXclusion

Paradise in Augustine’s, 23-28 Aug, £9.50

19:30 The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle

King’s Theatre, Edinburgh, 23-24 Aug, £10

Diamond Dick HH

C venues - C soco, 23-29 Aug, £7.50 – £9.50

Edinburgh Literary Pub Tour

Outside the Beehive Inn, 23 Aug - 4 Sep, ÂŁ10

The Perils of Love and Gravity HHH

Bedlam Theatre, 23-27 Aug, ÂŁ8

It Takes Four to Tango with Panto St Peter’s, 24-27 Aug, £10

Dinner

C venues - C, 23-25 Aug, £8.50 – £9.50

Antigone

Greenside, 23-27 Aug, ÂŁ5

Hannah Ringham’s Free Show (Bring Money) Summerhall, 23-27 Aug, £free

19:35 Sii Me

theSpace @ Venue45, 24 Aug, 26 Aug, ÂŁ5

When Abel Met Cain Paradise in The Vault, 23-28 Aug, ÂŁ5

Golden Aged

theSpace @ Venue45, 23 Aug, 25 Aug, 27 Aug, ÂŁ5

19:40 Perfectly Public

Zoo Southside, 23-27 Aug, ÂŁ7

Unnatural Selection

Cock and Bull Story

The Cherry Orchard

3rd Ring Out: The Emergency

Spotlites @ The Merchants’ Hall, 23-29 Aug, £9.50

Hydronomicon

Lullabies of Broadmoor - The Demon Box HHH

theSpaces @ Surgeons Hall, 23-27 Aug, ÂŁ8.50 Duddingston Kirk Manse Garden, 24-28 Aug, ÂŁ10

Request Programme Inlingua Edinburgh, 2326 Aug, £10 – £12

New Town Theatre, 2328 Aug, £free – £12.50

Pleasance Courtyard, 23-28 Aug, ÂŁ7.50

The Banshee Labyrinth, 23-27 Aug, ÂŁfree

Radio Deluxembourg

C venues - C, 27 Aug, ÂŁ10.50

theatrelistings 19:45

20:00

2011: A Space Oddity

Silence in Court

Zoo Roxy, 23-29 Aug, £12

May I Have the Pleasure...?

Traverse @ The Point Hotel Conference Centre, 23 Aug, 24 Aug, 27 Aug, 28 Aug, £17 – £19

Man to Man HHH Leith on the Fringe @ Out of the Blue Drill Hall, 23-28 Aug, £10

New Town Theatre, 2328 Aug, £free – £12.50

❤ What Remains HHHHH

Traverse @ University of Edinburgh Medical School Anatomy Department, 23-28 Aug, £17 – £19

Random

Square, 23-28 Aug, £12 – £13

www.festmag.co.uk

Underbelly, Cowgate, 23-28 Aug, £9.50 – £10.50

Samantha’s Hotline

20:10

7 Day Drunk HHH

Assembly George

The Zanniskinheads and the Quest for the Holy Balls

Two Johnnies Live Upstairs

The Tempest

Tonight Sandy Grierson Will Lecture, Dance and Box HHH

20:05

theSpace @ Jury’s Inn, 23-27 Aug, £7

19:50 Aug, £9.50 – £11.50

Meet at Underbelly, Cowgate, 27-28 Aug, £15

Greenside, 23-27 Aug, £7

Institut français d’Ecosse, 23-26 Aug, £10

C Venues - C eca, 23-29

You Wouldn’t Know Him, He Lives in Texas

Assembly George Square, 23-28 Aug, £12

Jawbone Of An Ass

Hill Street Theatre, Various dates from 23 Aug to 29 Aug, £9

The Arrangement

Gryphon Venues at the Point Hotel, 23-27 Aug, £15

One Man and His Masks - Arthur: Britain’s Making

theSpaces @ Surgeons Hall, 23 Aug, 25 Aug, 27 Aug, £7

One Man and His Masks - Boudicca: Britain’s Dreaming

theSpaces @ Surgeons Hall, 24 Aug, 26 Aug, £7

You Will Be Rare HH Zoo, 23-29 Aug, £9

The Lift

C Venues - C eca, 23-29 Aug, £7.50 – £9.50

Bash

theSpaces on North Bridge, 23-27 Aug, £8

I Hope My Heart Goes First HHH

St George’s West, 24 Aug, £10

❤ Leo HHHH

20:35 Manipulators theSpaces @ Surgeons Hall, 24-27 Aug, £12

St George’s West, Various dates from 23 Aug to 29 Aug, £11 – £13.50

Phantasmagoria

Zoo Roxy, 23-29 Aug, £10

Belt Up’s Outland HHH

From the Dark Hills

The Tour Guide HHH

C venues - C soco, 23-29 Aug, £10.50 – £12.50

20:15 Thugz N Tearz

The Tour Guide Departing from Market Street, 23-28 Aug, £free

20:20 Wretch

Gryphon Venues at the Point Hotel, 23-29 Aug, £8

Elegy

Whitespace, 24-28 Aug, £10

Did You Used to Be R. D. Laing?

Valvona & Crolla, 23 Aug, £12

Spotlites @ The Merchants’ Hall, 23-29 Aug, £7 theSpace @ Venue45, 24 Aug, 26 Aug, £5

Put a Sock in It Greenside, 23-27 Aug, £8

Give the Fig a Roll theSpace @ Venue45, 23 Aug, 25 Aug, 27 Aug, £5

20:40

20:30

On the Bench

Coal Head, Toadstool Mouth and Other Stories

C venues - C aquila, 2329 Aug, £7.50 – £9.50

3D Hamlet: A Lost Generation HH

A Funny Valentine

theSpaces on the Mile , 23-27 Aug, £10

theSpace @ Symposium Hall, 23-27 Aug, £7

The Golden Dragon HHH Traverse Theatre, 24 Aug, £15

Valvona & Crolla, 24 Aug, £12

❤ The Monster in the Hall HHHH Traverse Theatre, 28 Aug, £15

The Gospel Of Matthew Spotlites @ The Merchants’ Hall, 27 Aug, £11.50

August 23-29 | edinburgh festival guide 2011 fest 95

theatrelistings Futureproof HH

20:45

Traverse Theatre, 23 Aug, 27 Aug, £17 – £19

❤ The Dark Philosophers HHHHH

20:55

Traverse Theatre, 26 Aug, £19

Nourish

Rosie Thorn, Butter Would Not Melt

theSpaces @ Surgeons Hall, 23-27 Aug, £7 – £9

Ink

Paradise in The Vault, 23-28 Aug, £5

Female Hitchhiker: The Truth About

C venues - C soco, 23-29 Aug, £7.50 – £9.50

21:00 Bluebird

Bedlam Theatre, 23-27 Aug, £8

Getting Around - Free Laughing Horse @ The

Confessions of a Mormon Boy HHH

Roar HHH

Hill Street Theatre, Various dates from 23 Aug to 29 Aug, £8 – £10

C venues - C, 23-29

Festive Season

Counting House, 23-29 Aug, £free

Aug, £9.50 – £11.50

Quaker Meeting House, 23-27 Aug, £5

❤ The Wheel HHHH

The World According to Bertie HH

Traverse Theatre, 25 Aug, £17

C venues - C soco, 23-29 Aug, £10.50 – £12.50

A Dish of Tea with Dr Johnson Traverse Theatre, 27 Aug, £17

The Lounge Room Confabulators HHH Your Lounge, 23-29 Aug, £free

Entitled Lullabies of Broadmoor - The Murder Club

C venues - C, 24 Aug, 26 Aug, 27 Aug, £9.50 – £10.50

Summerhall, 23-26 Aug, £10

❤ The Monster in the Hall HHHH Traverse Theatre, 26 Aug, £17

The Oh F**k Moment Rockertinkler

Zoo Roxy, 23-29 Aug, £8

The Investigation

Zoo Southside, 23-29 Aug, £7.50

❤ I, Malvolio HHHH Traverse Theatre, 25 Aug, £15

Lullabies of Broadmoor - Venus at Broadmoor

C venues - C, 23 Aug, 25 Aug, £8.50 – £9.50

St George’s West, 25-26 Aug, £10

Wondrous Flitting HHH Traverse Theatre, 23 Aug, £15

21:05 The Presentment

Paradise in Augustine’s, 23-29 Aug, £12

Dirt HHH

C Venues - C eca, 23-29 Aug, £7.50 – £9.50

How the Money Goes

theSpaces on North Bridge, 23-27 Aug, £7 – £8

Devil in the Deck

Hitler Alone

Zoo Roxy, 24-29 Aug,

Inlingua Edinburgh, 2325 Aug, £12

£10

❤ What Remains HHHHH

21:15

Traverse @ University of Edinburgh Medical School Anatomy Department, 23-28 Aug, £17 – £19

❤ The Caroline Carter Show HHHH Zoo, 23-29 Aug, £10

Sherica

Dances for Wolves

Paradise in The Vault,

C venues - C aquila, 2329 Aug, £7.50 – £9.50

23-29 Aug, £10

Und

21:25

C venues - C soco, 23-29 Aug, £9.50 – £11.50

❤ Hex HHHH Hill Street Theatre, Various dates from 23 Aug to 29 Aug, £8

21:30 Grim(m) Tales of the Woods - Free Laughing Horse @ The Phoenix, 25-27 Aug, £free

The Gospel of Matthew by Candlelight St John’s Church, 24 Aug, 26 Aug, £10

Mojo Zoo, 23-25 Aug, £10

Witzelsucht and Moria Zoo Roxy, 23-29 Aug, £9 – £10

lloon, Next to Gilded Ba re ua Bristo Sq

Savour delicious crêpes from

Wines, Ales & Spirits

A Feast for all the Family

The Best Medieval Pub in Edinburgh

Spicy Fayre from

Succulent Meat, Burgers and Wraps from

The Sims Experience

Half_FestMag02_08.indd 1

96 fest edinburgh festival guide 2011 | August 23-29

and win prizes

02/08/2011 12:25:48

theatrelistings 21:35

Hood!

Single, Mother of Two C Venues - C eca, 23-29 Aug, £7.50 – £9.50

21:40 Babushka C venues - C aquila, 2326 Aug, £7.50 – £9.50

Dry Ice Underbelly, Cowgate, 2328 Aug, £9 – £10.50

21:45

theSpace @ Venue45, 23-27 Aug, £8

22:00 Drinking in America - Free Laughing Horse @ Cafe Renroc, 23-29 Aug, £free

The Table

Pleasance Dome, 23-28 Aug, £12 – £14

22:05 Museum of Horror H

In Your Dreams

theSpaces on the Mile , 23-27 Aug, £8

Greenside, 23-27 Aug, £6 – £8

22:10

My Best Friend Drowned in a Swimming Pool

theSpaces on North Bridge, 23-27 Aug, £10

C venues - C soco, 23-29 Aug, £7.50 – £9.50

Twelve Men Good and True theSpaces @ Surgeons Hall, 23-27 Aug, £6

Flirt Fiction

22:15 Philosophy in the Bedroom theSpaces on North Bridge, 23-27 Aug, £8 – £10

❤ Titus Andronicus HHHH C venues - C, 23-29 Aug, £9.50 – £11.50

The Bus

Paradise in The Vault, 23-29 Aug, £8

Get Carter

theSpaces @ Surgeons Hall, 23-27 Aug, £10

22:20 Lullabies of Broadmoor - Wilderness

C venues - C, 24 Aug, 26 Aug, 27 Aug, £9.50 – £10.50

Lullabies of Broadmoor - The Demon Box HHH

C venues - C, 23 Aug, 25 Aug, £8.50 – £9.50

22:30 Constantinople

Electric Circus, Various dates from 23 Aug to 29 Aug, £free

Vive le Cabaret

Pleasance Courtyard, 23-29 Aug, £12

52 Man Pickup Hill Street Theatre, Various dates from 23 Aug to 29 Aug, £8 – £10

Blood Moon Paradise in The Vault, 23-28 Aug, £7

22:50

23:15

❤ Belt Up’s The Boy James HHHHH

22:55

theSpaces @ Surgeons Hall, 23-27 Aug, £5

Love’s Labour’s Lost and Found

Around the World on 80 Quid

Underbelly, Cowgate, 2328 Aug, £9 – £10.50

C venues - C soco, 23-29 Aug, £10.50 – £12.50

To Do List

22:45

The Forum

Sodom Zoo, 23-29 Aug, £9

23:45

C Venues - C eca, 23-29 Aug, £7.50 – £9.50

Hotel Medea

Audience – Ontroerend Goed HH

Summerhall, 25-27 Aug, £29.50

What Goes Up

St George’s West, 23 Aug, 25 Aug, 26 Aug, 27 Aug, 28 Aug, £10 – £12

C venues - C soco, 23-29 Aug, £7.50 – £9.50

23:00

Looser Women HH

When Women Wee

www.virtualfestival.org, 24 Aug - 5 Sep, £free

Debbie Does My Dad HHH

The One Man Show HHH

Pleasance Courtyard, 2329 Aug, £9 – £10

Gilded Balloon Teviot, 23-29 Aug, £10 – £11

Tales from Edgar Allan Poe C Venues - C eca, 23-29 Aug, £9.50 – £11.50

00:00 (g)Host City

Underbelly, Cowgate, 2328 Aug, £9 – £10.50

Bedlam Theatre, 23-27 Aug, £8

w w w. al zh

C venues - C, 24-30 Aug, £7.50 – £9.50

ei merst he m

us ic al .c om

Alzheimer’s the Musical Award g Winnin y Comed

A night to remember!

‘Hilarious!’ The Age

August 3–29 @ 5pm Don’t forget to book!

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www.festmag.co.uk

Gilded Balloon Teviot, Bristo Square

August 23-29 | edinburgh festival guide 2011 fest 97

festafriend end— Fest has teamed up with festafri burgh Edin s help the handy website that s to see date or ds frien find oers ivalg fest pups on a shows with—to send two lucky thought… free night out. Here’s what they

Show mates

Photos: Claudine Quinn

Who Andi Osho (age “classified”, comedian) and Joel Dommett (27, comedian) What did they see?

FRISKY & MANNISH, 9:30PM – 10:30PM, 3–28 AUG, NOT 8, 15, 22, UDDERBELLY

Joel Were you nervous?

Yes. The sheer amount of TV she has appeared on in the last 12 months intimidates me.

Describe the show.

It’s become a Fringe must-see for me to visit Frisky and Mannish’s latest offering each year.

This year is much the same as the last but don’t let that put you off. I can’t really imagine anyone leaving this show not enjoying it.

Rate it out of five.

I would never give another performer a bad review, so I give it HHHHH. But I would have given it that anyway. Or would I? Yes. I would. Maybe.

Did you like your companion for the evening?

Andi was quite excellent. I started things off badly by arriving late then she evened it out by saying my hair looked shit. But we bonded over the illegal smuggling in of a pot of chips and the night was cool runnings from then on in.

Rate her out of five.

I would never give another comic a bad review so I give her HHHHH

Do you think she enjoyed the show?

I think she did. If she didn’t I think she enjoyed my constant use of the phrase “cool runnings”.

What does Andi’s laugh sound like?

Sounds like the kind of laugh that someone who is selling out the Pleasance Cabaret Bar every night.

Favourite joke/sketch from the show?

The cool runnings bit.

Who would most enjoy this show?

Everyone. Really it is quite accessible to all ages and genders.

What’s your best (or worst!) ever festival experience?

The fear of smuggling hot chips into a venue inside a coat.

I don’t do illegal acts. I’m still shaking.

Seen any other shows you’d recommend?

James Acaster, Josh Widdicombe, Thom Tuck.

98 fest edinburgh festival guide 2011 | August 23-29

AndI

Were you nervous?

Yes but that’s how I spend most of my life.

Describe the show.

It’s something that would work anywhere in the world for any type of audience, of any age.

(I think the very old and the very young may not know all the tunes but they’ll enjoy the bright colours.)

Rate it out of five.

I’m not going to pander to such star fascism. They’re just very good.

Did you like your companion for the evening?

I liked my companion greatly.

He’s just cut his own hair and I was very impressed (with the front). I think I communicated that in sensitive and considerate way. I extra-sugar-on-top like Joel because he bought me chips which we smuggled into the venue. It may not be a romantic love we share, but its love none the less.

Rate him out of five.

I’m not going to pander to such star fascism. He’s just very good though he used the phrase “cool runnings” a little too much for my liking.

Do you think he enjoyed the show?

Joel spent the first eight minutes of the show texting, onehandedly slapping his thigh and laughing into the screen of his phone so yes, I think he loved it.

He’s a busy guy.

What does Joel’s laugh sound like?

Joel’s laugh is the laugh of a busy man. I’ve got people to text, I’ve got places to be. It’s efficient.

Who would enjoy this show?

You. Seen any other shows you’d recommend?

Apart from Joel’s right? The Pyjama Men and The Horne Section have been a real highlight and for an hour of straight standup, try Hannibal Buress.

UP FOR IT? IF YOU FANCY SEEING A SHOW WITH SOMEONE, OR APPEARING IN THE NEXT ISSUE, SIGN UP AT FESTAFRIEND.COM

www.festmag.co.uk

Making ideas happen and website e editor of arts charity Nell Frizzell, the theatr once been n tha dashed and more IdeasTap, has rashed, city t ies hill the s around splashed as she bashe sheep… d ne clo ce du pro to r eve Christine Hamilton is now and I following me on Twitter These think I have trenchfoot. es I was are not quite the outcom ks at expecting from two wee Still, you the Edinburgh Fringe. h fungus can never have too muc in your life. and If the words “arts charity” us than “website” leave you more curio lander, Sean Connery’s accent in High gives allow me to explain. IdeasTap ce to funding, mentoring and advi break in to young artists as they try to nal arts. the tricky world of professio at the EdinWe have funded 12 shows companies burgh Fringe – from the 10 whopwho won £500 each, to two of our ping prizes of £10,000 as part over 100 Edinburgh Fund – as well as e projects film, music, writing and danc across the entire year. t And if you’re wondering wha one of difference £10,000 makes, winners, this year’s Edinburgh Fund been RashDash Theatre, has just Scotsawarded a Fringe First by The s have man. These two Leeds lasse r feisty charmed audiences with thei Gorgeous physical theatre and Scary stage presence. by If you fancy getting your grub own little mitts on funding for your news!

Edinburgh project, then good opens again The next Edinburgh Fund .com to in October. Just visit IdeasTap find out more. content Here at IdeasTap, we aren’t s of cash with simply handing out wad s after – we aren’t football manager set up a all. So, this year, we have also quillity tran e, peac of n have ndid sple bar, beside and free tea in the Abattoir cow in table infla lly erbe Udd huge the Bristo Square. ds IdeasTap members and frien dampened have been coming in their ialists, droves to chat to career spec And the fellow creatives and funders.

show’s not over yet – on Tuesday 23 August you can join us for a very exciting Fuel Hot Air workshop with a panel of professional producers.

What are my Edinburgh tips, I hear you ask? Well, I have hugely enjoyed the feline festivities of Kitty Litter (pictured), the splendidly odd Squirrel Party, the dogtastic Belleville Rendez-vous and the incredible immersive adventure that is Look Left, Look Right’s You Once Said Yes. Oh, and if you’re still wondering whether those souvenir tartan socks are a good idea, then let me intervene.

No. They are not. The only Edinburgh souvenir worth having this year is your

Kitty Litter

very own, individually crafted takea way poem from the splendid Ideas Fund Innovators winners Poetry Takea way.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to get back to Christine.

For more information about Ideas Tap’s Edinburgh schedule, our courses and the shows we’re funding, visit www.ideastap.com/Edinburgh

Underbelly Productions in association with World Dance Management present

Best Fringe Performance 2010

3-­29 AUGUST productions