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SMASHED the dark art of juggling
ISSUE 5 – Reviews and full listings of all the best shows at the festival
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Spot the difference You’ve got to keep your wits about you at the Fringe: things change fast. Fest was hanging out with 2012 Comedy Award nominee Tony Law but this supreme nonsense-purveyor has been playing a few tricks on us. Can you spot the differences between these two photos? TONY LAW: NONSENSE OVERDRIVE 12.40-1.40PM, UNTIL 26 AUG, THE STAND COMEDY CLUB
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4 fest edinburgh festival guide 2013 | August 20 – 26
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(1) Skull replaced by jar (2) Picture frame replaced by clock (3) Tony’s s hair is mussed up (4) Tony’s neckerchief is missing (5) Tony’s cane is turned around (6) Tony’s wristband has moved to his knuckles (7) Radio replaced by teacups (8) Boater hat replaced by top hat (9) Boater hat on side table (10) 2nd cane appears across mantelpiece
Every effort has been made to check the accuracy of the information in this magazine, but we cannot accept liability for information which is inaccurate. Show times and prices are subject to changes – always check with the venue.
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Contents page 8 Features 8 Smashed Fest talks to Sean Gandini about bringing juggling out of the carnival and into the limelight.
12 The Radicalisation of Bradley Manning Inspired by the man behind the biggest security leak in modern US history.
16 We Will Be Free! The story of the Tolpuddle Martyrs provides a historical lens through which to view modern social injustice.
page 21 Comedy Reviews 23 Richard Herring The Fringe veteran returns to Edinburgh with a thoughtful monologue.
e only tival website need
29 Alexei Sayle The godfather of alternative comedy in his first standup set in decades.
31 Claudia O’Doherty A multimedia extravaganza from the pioneering Aussie comic.
page 41 Theatre Reviews
42 Squidboy Take a swim around the mind of the Fringe’s most absurd illusionist.
45 Fleabag A filthily honest monologue for the eighties' lost generation.
47 Solomon and Marion
mag.co.uk on your smartphone of the latest reviews and see ming up near you
An unlikely bond forms between two people polarised by age and race.
page 64 Music & cabaret 64 The Soil A joyous hour spent in the company of the South African a capella group.
page 68 KIDS 71 Slapdash Galaxy Is this the best puppet show ever? Our young critics certainly think so!
page 72 Listings Your essential guide to all of the shows at the Festival
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August 20 – 26 | edinburgh festival guide 2013 fest 5
Fest's Perfect Day
do everything that the Face it: you're never going to see or planning, you can at least festival has to offer. But with a bit of plan your perfect day‌ see the best. Better still, let the fest team Illustration: Dylan Gibson
: An 1.30-2.30pm Austentatious l Improvised Jane Austen Nove Laughing Horse @ The House, until 25 Aug
Counting
free, If the best things in life are this lettered yet joyfully silly improv is one of them.
5.05-6.05pm John Kea rns: Slight Gags for Perverts The Voodoo Rooms , until 25 Aug
This offbeat, free com edy riffs on Springsteen, wigs and daydreams about fatherhood. An exciting mix of the mad and mundan e.
Jungle 3.00-4.15pm Dark Vanilla , until 26 Aug Pleasance Courtyard
back Philip Ridley's new play rips e the skin and twangs your nerv r. endings like a macabre guita
k-in-Slutgress 9.45-10.45pm Tim Key: Wor Pleasance Dome, until
25 Aug
AwardEveryone's favourite Comedy is back with winning performance poet but a work-in-progress. Unfinished unmissable.
6.15pm CafĂŠ Royal West Register Street
nt Enjoy great seafood in elega bar, surroundings in this legendary Princes een betw way nestled in an alley re. Street and St Andrew Squa
: Card 7.05-8.05pm Jerry Sadowitz Tricks and Close Up Magic The Assembly Rooms, until
25 Aug
also a This notorious comedian is - watch supremely skilled magician dazzling him wow an audience with sleight of hand.
APPLE
LOBBING Thanks to Smashed, juggling with apples has never been so enjoyable – or so sinister. Lewis Porteous chats to its creator, Sean Gandini, about the creative possibilities of an art that’s often too easily dismissed. PHOTOS: CLAUDINE QUINN
W
hen Sean Gandini brought a troupe of performers to the Fringe some 20 years ago, the reviews were ecstatic. One paper even went so far as to claim that they were changing the way juggling would be perceived thereafter. Fast forward two decades and this prediction hasn’t quite come to pass, although we learn upon meeting Gandini that the journalist responsible for the line was among the previous evening’s audience. It’s with a resigned sigh and a wry smile that he says he expects to read the exact same line when he next visits a news stand. Will juggling ever be accepted as high art? Certainly, the reception afforded to Smashed since its debut three years ago suggests that Gandini and his rotating cast of collaborators are, as ever, on the cusp of achieving this elusive honour. Perhaps because of the work’s overt nods to seminal dance choreographer Pina Bausch, or the Dadaist intensity of its conclusion, it’s been embraced by intellectuals all over the world. “Somebody even wrote a thesis on the show,” remarks its creator with a mixture of confusion and pride. “I don’t understand a lot of it.” The key to the piece’s unprecedented success is its relative simplicity. What begins as an elegant fusion of circus and dance eventually strays into the territory of visceral physical theatre, as nine supremely coordinated jugglers are torn apart by insecurity, tension and hostility. It’s appropriate that a show centred on juggling should have balance as its main theme, but
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otherwise, Smashed is open to interpretation from all angles. Children can enjoy it as a charismatic hour of invention and buffoonery, while its slapstick often takes on darker tones in the eyes of adults. “A big part of the show is someone not letting you do what you want to,” Gandini explains. “You’re showing off with your juggling, but that power can be interrupted and used in many different ways. This was a theme of Pina’s, that sense of a performer’s inherent power and how it can be abused or obscured by somebody else. People describe her work as ‘theatre of cruelty’, due to its idea of somebody getting in the way while others attempt to get something right.” This is certainly the plight that most controversially befalls Smashed’s minority of female performers. After first being wooed by their counterparts, they find their ability to perform gradually hampered until their bodies are contorted against their will. Gandini recalls a performance in London’s Royal Opera House, after which a formal debate was held: “There was a woman who writes a feminist blog in the audience and she said that she found the abuse scenes gratuitous. But then the writer of a different feminist blog said ‘No, I disagree! I think they’re absolutely right.’ What I found intriguing was that they started having an argument between themselves about the nature of the themes. To me, that’s exactly what I hoped to achieve. Some people say ‘Oh, but it should resolve!’ I quite like the fact that it doesn’t. In the real world things don’t resolve.” u
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festfeature t Such is the man’s commitment to realism that he thrives on the possibility of defeat and is often delighted when cast members slip up. “There’s a complete risk of failure when we perform,” he admits. “The juggling we do in the show is reasonably straight forward for most of the performance, so we take a calculated risk. The opening parade rarely has any drops, but for us it’s better if there’s at least one because we can establish the sense of failure.” How many errors are ideal? “It’s a balancing act. Things need to be clean for the chaos at the end to work. The nature of the show is very theatrical.” Gandini compares elements of his work to director Pier Paolo Pasolini’s notoriously harrowing Salo, or the 120 Days of Sodom, a film intended to indict the pillars of society and aspects of human nature responsible for the rise of fascism in Italy. Although it’s a family-friendly crowd pleaser, Smashed is equally concerned with exposing the horror, chaos and misanthropy that lie beneath the quaint formality of social customs. To this end, any mistakes made by those on stage are welcome cracks in an otherwise benign façade. Only when the veil slips away completely does the audience glimpse the extent of the dysfunction
"It’s interesting that even reviews which say our show is fabulous are prefixed by comments to the effect that one wouldn’t expect to enjoy an hour of juggling." that lies beneath the masterful showmanship. A carefully considered work of great beauty, it’s no wonder that Edinburgh Fringe audiences are the latest to salivate over Smashed. With its extremely high approval rating, it’s become something of a modest cash cow for its creator, allowing him to bankroll a host of new projects, the latest of which is a commission from the Royal Ballet in London. Set to feature equally matched quartets of ballet dancers and jugglers, Gandini is hopeful that a crossover will result in greater acceptance of his chosen discipline, but respectability is clearly the last thing on his mind. “Generally, juggling is entertainment which hasn’t always been seen in the best light,” he says. “It’s interesting that even reviews which say our show is fabulous are prefixed by comments to the effect that one wouldn’t expect to enjoy an hour of juggling. On the one hand, we believe that juggling should be thought of in the same way as ballet, where they manipulate the balls of their feet. However, if you didn’t know that our cultures respected ballet, it would seem absurd.” “Well,” he concludes, “there’s nothing wrong with the absurd.” Assembly Hall, 6:05pm – 7:05pm, 3–26 Aug, not 13, £12 – £14
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Breaking rank With the announcement of Amnesty International’s Freedom of Expression Award just around the corner, Joe Spurgeon eyes up a particularly provocative contender: The Radicalisation of Bradley Manning. Photo: farrows creative
“T
he best art makes us see the world anew. When theatre deals with hidden stories, it can shift our judgments and our understanding – and affect the decisions we make.” Stirring words. True words, too. They belong to theatre director John E McGrath, whose National Theatre Wales-produced play, The Radicalisation of Bradley Manning, is currently thudding into the solar plexuses of enthralled audiences at this year’s Fringe. He could, however, be referring to a river of work coursing through the 2013 programme that seeks to prompt, poke and provoke; to elicit a response beyond mere sensorial titillation. Amnesty International’s Freedom of Expression Award seeks to highlight the best of such endeavours, amplifying the voices of those unheard and championing the right of a human being—any human being—to speak out. To speak the unsullied truth, without consequence.
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Neither of these things, you suspect, have been the recent privilege of Bradley Manning. Manning’s story, for those that don’t know it, is extraordinary. And the most perplexing question surrounding him provides the business of this play: just how did an American teenager schooled in West Wales become a global headline-grabber facing 90 years of jail-time for passing tens of thousands of classified military files to WikiLeaks? “I was aware of Bradley Manning’s story as part of the overall WikiLeaks affair,” recalls McGrath, “but he was really brought to my attention by Tim [Price – the playwright], who told me the story of Bradley’s school days in Wales. Clearly Tim was passionate about the issue and the more I looked into it, the more I felt it was a story we needed to tell. Over time, I’ve become much more personally caught up in Bradley’s case: the idea that this young man—at worst misguided, at best truly idealistic—is having u
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Photos: claudine quinn
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August 20 – 26 | edinburgh festival guide 2013 fest 13
Photo: Farrows Creative
"I think the message of Bradley, WikiLeaks and the whole web 2.0 generation, politically, is that we desperately need new kinds of institutions, and a new way to hold institutions to account." t the weight of the American state thrown at him is horrendous.” In fact, the American state isn’t the only institution to flex its muscles during this 90-minute, scattershot history of Manning’s life. From school to Starbucks— and of course, the US military—irresistible, nonelected powers crowd in on Manning throughout. At times, horrifically so. “Yes, if there’s one thing that the play most clearly comes out against it’s the way in which large institutions allow for bullying and cynicism. I think the message of Bradley, WikiLeaks and the whole web 2.0 generation, politically, is that we desperately need new kinds of institutions, and a new way to hold institutions to account. “Some people find the show quite brutal to watch, others find it almost joyful – partly because they are happy the story is being told, but also because there is an intense experience of release as Bradley leaks the files – something even jail can’t take from him, or us. “We try not to say whether Bradley is right or wrong in his decision—that’s a judgment for each member of the audience to make—but we do try to understand why he did what he did. “I’d say it’s challenging but also exhilarating.” It certainly is. During the play’s incendiary opening, opinions voiced through a PA cascade over one another. He’s a confused homosexual, a former coffee waiter, a whistleblower, a hero, a criminal, a terrorist. Weaving together these strands, jump cut-style, McGrath slowly unpacks Manning the man. Theatrically, at times, it’s breathtaking. “Essentially there are three stories told in the play: an imagined version of Bradley’s life as a teenager in West Wales, the more factual—but dramatised—events leading up to and immediately after his deployment to Iraq as an intel specialist; and finally, a portrayal of his brutal treatment in the brig [a Marine Corps military prison] after he was arrested. “Tim collages scenes—real and imagined—to find
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the shape, rhythms and philosophy of the whole. The piece weaves together in a complex, provocative way, rather than just showing a string of events. The actors are jumping from school uniforms to desert fatigues in moments.” Indeed, the six-strong cast play Manning (and several other characters) as an ensemble, often changing costume onstage and flipping props (a school table becomes an inhumanely small cell at one point) in a heartbeat. The pace is relentless and the production swells with ideas. Each performance is also streamed online—this is a story for the internet age, after all— with added info nuggets and a chatroom supplied to augment the experience. It really does, too. “Yes, it’s been exciting to continue our experiment with live streaming,” agrees McGrath, “While we’ve been in Edinburgh, thousands of people in 59 countries have also been watching online. It’s been great to see international audiences respond to the Welsh part of the story as well as the more familiar American and Iraqi scenes.” And McGrath’s personal response to his brush with Manning? “I follow the story constantly now. Twitter makes this much easier – and there are brilliant journalists like Alexa O’Brien and Kevin Gosztola who have been tireless in reporting from the court and providing context. As we reworked the play for Edinburgh we kept checking everything against the evidence emerging. Tim’s play is a dramatisation but we wanted to make sure we were true to the spirit. The production ends with information about the exact point the case is at on the day of performance. “Yes, Bradley’s story has changed me for sure; as for those who see the production – I hope that they will remember that history is made by small, confused people; and that gives us all a kind of hope.” Pleasance At St Thomas of Aquin’s High School, times vary, 6–25 Aug, not 11, 14, 21, £12 – £14
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Playing the
martyrs
With a 2012 Fringe hit and trade union funding behind them, Townsend Productions have returned to Edinburgh with We Will Be Free! The Tolpuddle Martyrs Story. Dominic Hinde chats to the team behind the play. Photos: Claudine Quinn
P
olitical theatre can be a minefield of clunky dialogue, shoehorned messages and simplistic politics. Having navigated the obstacles in Edinburgh last year with their acclaimed staging of Robert Tressell’s classic tale, The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists, Townsend Productions have once again impressed critics and audiences with a play that's subject matter had the potential to be a touch heavy, to say the least. We Will Be Free! is the story of The Tolpuddle Martyrs, a group of 19th century agricultural labourers who set up a society of friends to protect their interests and were exiled to an Australian penal colony for their trouble. Faced with the challenge of mounting a play that spanned the globe using a cast of two in the space of an hour, writer and actor Neil Gore turned to the concept of the mummers play. For the uninitiated, mumming is a form of low-budget folk
The Loveless at Home
The Mummers
theatre using overblown costumes, small troupes of actors and a standard format of good versus evil. Its popularity during the Martyrs’ era meant this provided the ideal frame for the story, says Gore: “We wanted to find something on which to hang the narrative and spent a lot of time doing research [into the history of the Martyrs]. It is a very complex story simplified, so that it does not get too bogged down in politics.” Producer Louise Townsend says that she has not been surprised by the popularity of the show’s unique format. “Our intention is to tell people things in an accessible way,” she explains. “Not everyone can go to the theatre.” After their Edinburgh run, Gore and Townsend will be touring the play across the UK at an eclectic mix of venues, from regional theatres to working men’s clubs – and, most notably, the 2013
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festfeature Trade Union Congress in Bournemouth. The costs of the production were in part funded by donations from a number of trade unions, and Gore is candid about the political subtext of the show. “Trade unionism is relevant whether you’re in work or not,” he says. “At the moment the whole movement is in a crisis – we’re in a world of statistics and counter statistics, and we’ve been led down this road. It’s madness.” This desire to show the human side of the workers’ movement is evident in We Will Be Free!’s finale, which unexpectedly tugs at the heartstrings. “If you want to gain something, look to the emotions”, says Gore. “I heard Tony Benn speak here in Edinburgh the other day and he said that if you want to change things, you have to encourage people. You do that through art. This is why Mi-
The Arrest
The Courtroom
Formation of the Society of Agricultural Labourers
chael Gove is such a clever man. He wants creative arts out of the education system because it is the means by which people learn to question and debate things.” The decision to focus on the story’s female characters posed an added challenge, as these figures hardly feature in historical records or previous dramatisations. “There was nothing at all really,” says actress Liz Eves, who plays the wife of one of the transported men. “But what happened to them all came out of necessity. They were starving.” The universality of the families’ plight is what makes the play so relevant, and the team behind We Will Be Free! make no bones about it. “Our work is political,” says Townsend, “and there is a definite need for it at this time.” The Assembly Rooms, 12:30 – 1:40pm, 2–25 Aug, £15
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August 20 – 26 | edinburgh festival guide 2013 fest 17
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Welcome to the House of...
OMEGA ‘...think Tod Browning's Freaks crossed with David Lynch's Eraserhead. I bet Madonna will put some of these tricks into her next tour.’
Janet Street Porter, Independent on Sunday
‘A Pandora's box of bizarre and sinister images takes place... a circus of horrors series of vignettes that vamp up their disturbing qualities to hysterical proportions." Fest Magazine
2.35pm
A POST- APOCALYPTIC VAUDEVILLE OF CIRCUS FREAKS Music Hall, 2.35pm (1hr 10) 2-25 Aug (not 12,19) blackskywhite.com | Twitter @bSw_theatre
C theFestival Bear Pit Theatre
Notes from Bermondsey Street 19–26 Aug 7:30pm C
TACT
Théâtre Sans Frontières/Teatro Tamaska
Shift Productions
A Tiny Tempest
Canary Gold
Executed for Sodomy:
18–26 Aug 2:10pm C
14 – 26 Aug 12.10pm C
31 Jul–26 Aug 6.30pm C nova
the Life Story of Caterina Linck
The Bridge
Pudasi
Lea McGowan
Smoke and Oakum Theatre
Now Leasing
The Cow Play
31 Jul – 26 Aug 9.10pm C nova
12 – 25 Aug 10.00am C
31 Jul – 26 Aug 3.35pm C nova
31 Jul – 26 Aug 4.45pm C nova
TKD Productions
Reverie Productions
Bablake Theatre Company
31 Jul – 26 Aug 9.35pm C
31 Jul – 26 Aug 11.00pm C nova
19–24 Aug 3:45pm C
Benjamin Scheuer
A Body to Die[t] For
Norian Maro
Cartwheels
The Picture of Dorian Gray
Aria Entertainment
The Road to Qatar! 1 – 26 Aug 7.20pm C too
With more than 200 shows and events across our venues in the heart of Edinburgh, we celebrate our 22nd Fringe with an inspiring international programme of cabaret, comedy, circus, dance, musicals, theatre and family shows. See it all with C venues.
HHHH It's instinct versus intellect in this spirited exploration of the mind-bending influence of porn. Page 24 photo: SHONA WASS
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festcomedy
Brett Goldstein
August 20 – 26 | edinburgh festival guide 2013 fest 21
festcomedy The Beta Males in... Superopolis
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Over a handful of Fringe runs, the Beta Males have developed a reputation for tightly written, physical, themed sketch comedy and this year is no different with this hilarious and loving homage to the comic book hero. From the opening murder of a gang of superheroes through a series of appropriately shabbily choreographed fight scenes—complete with ‘KAPOW’ signs held admist flailing limbs—to the closing showdown with a stock German villain intent on carrying out his ‘semifinal solution’, the gags (good, bad and so-badthey’re-good) come thick and fast. The Beta Males show both a mastery of and love for their craft that is a delight to behold. While their audience seems to be entirely under 30, they don’t make the common sketch annoyance of playing up the student vibe too much and—some inevi-
table geekiness and internet meme references aside—the humour here is fairly universal and accessible. Though the density of the hour is enormously impressive, the time it takes to digest everything means the Betas always seem to be a few gags ahead and some lovely lines get buried. There’s a good 90
minutes of material here and the hour does feel somewhat overstuffed, with sketches not given room to breathe and promising ones feeling cut short. The comic book theme is not just a vehicle for their humour but something that they get into thoroughly and intelligently. They send-up ex-
pertly the superhero with the tragic background trope and between all the gags you can detect them championing the colourful, old-school superheroes of the ‘60s against their slicker, colder modern successors. [Dan Heap]
material, super-skills that can raise an average sketch into something memorable. Most striking are the thespian chops and boggle-eyed demeanor of Kevin O’Loughlin, aka The Geek; imagine Peter Capaldi’s awkward younger brother. His finest moment comes early on, playing a bewilderingly realistic dummy in a ventriloquist love triangle. Their other mighty weapon is the wondrous
dancing of Graeme Rooney (The Ginge), bringing a wow factor that other troupes just couldn’t match. That’s particularly true of their big final number, a movie scene that’s been over-aped already, but never quite like this, as a ludicrously costumed Paul Charlton plays a dieting man’s dream date. That proves the most satisfying of these sketches, chiefly because it has a proper ending.
Many of the preceding efforts leave one feeling distinctly unfulfilled, as early promise fails to be fully explored, before the lights go off. They’ll presumably offset that in the series with running gags. But there’s no substitute for decent punchlines. [Si Hawkins]
Pleasance Dome, 7 – 8pm, 1– 26 Aug, £9 – £11.50
The Ginge, The Geordie and The Geek - Live
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Matinee idols in the making—given their propensity for playing extra afternoon shows before their regular evening slots every year—this hard-working trio will take to BBC2 in their own series come October. Their final pre-fame Edinburgh show is a greatest hits affair, collecting the best bits from their previous four runs, but does raise some concerns. It’s by no means bad, just not the perfect hour of power you might have expected. The 3Gs really stand out from the sketch crowd due to a few key attributes rather than any particularly sparky
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Just The Tonic at the Caves, times vary, 1–25 Aug, not 6, 13, 20, £14
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festcomedy Katie Goodman: I Didn’t F*ck It Up
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Richard Herring – We’re All Going To Die
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It takes a brave man to look at death in the face and laugh. It takes Richard Herring to poke the Grim Reaper in the eye and make everybody else chuckle at the great beyond as well. “Imagine you’re dead” isn’t exactly the most uplifting start to a hour of standup, but the Edinburgh veteran relishes taking potshots at the taboos presented by the subject. He quicky widens out his musings into love, politics and religion
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without ever abandoning his core theme – a rarity when standup show titles are often just a vague catch-all for disparate jokes. It’s very much a show of two halves, with the first seeing Herring skilfully pinball around subjects, before setting up a second 30 minutes of longer set-pieces. These include an in-depth look at the practicalities of the nursery rhyme There Was An Old Woman Who Swallowed A Fly and a masterful dissection of the “To be, or not to be” soliloquy from Hamlet. The latter is perhaps the most satisfying section, ending the show on a high and
showcasing the comedian’s sharp eye for the absurd. The structure of the set is impeccable, with barely a word wasted in the pursuit of laughs, while there’s plenty of call-backs from previous shows, blogs and podcasts for Herring’s loyal band of comedy nerds to enjoy. It’s all massively impressive stuff and, while some parts seem rather rushed, is clearly the work of a performer at the top of his game. [David Hepburn] Pleasance Courtyard, 8:00pm – 9:00pm, 31 Jul – 25 Aug, £12 – £14
Full of the sort of left-wing platitudes that could send you fascist, Katie Goodman’s well-meaning but artless hour of musical comedy only has its good intentions to recommend it. Frontwoman of the equally insipid Broad Comedy troupe, the New York-based singer-songwriter had a significant YouTube hit with her opening number, “I Didn’t F*ck It Up”, a clarion call for solidarity with anyone who isn’t The Man. But in terms of satirical wit or insight into the problems affecting the world, it’s about as powerful and effective as her appeal for everyone to turn to their neighbour and sing that no, they didn’t fuck “it” up either. Neutering her tunes of any import, Goodman tends to see the world in a simplistic, binary field of good and bad, repeatedly failing to offer concrete examples of her oppressors, while indulging in the sort of first-world problem bleating that yearns for cosy empathy but engenders zero sympathy – not least because she over-relies on the frazzled, multi-tasking mom shtick. Suggesting that the vilest homophobes are probably gay is about as subtextually sharp as she seems capable of. Her pastiches of musical styles are uniformly tired and clichéd, though it should be pointed out by way of mitigation that she has an absolutely stunning soprano vocal when called upon. Ultimately, though, Goodman is blind to her own entrenchment and intolerance, dismissing all conservatives with the humourless: “Yes, my heart bleeds but that’s because I have one.” [Jay Richardson] Gilded Balloon Teviot, 4:30pm – 5:30pm, 1 – 25 Aug, £10
August 20 – 26 | edinburgh festival guide 2013 fest 23
festcomedy The Comedy Reserve
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There’s something inherently wrong with this format. Sold as 2013’s most promising standups, the four acts in this year’s Comedy Reserve have been chosen by the Pleasance so that we might sample the talent of the future. In truth, these soulless shared bills are just the most recent in the established industry steps between open spot and an official Fringe ‘debut’. There’s no passion in these packages and at £8.50 a ticket on a punt, the promise of seeing the next Jack Whitehall doing his best 20 minutes just isn’t enough to draw any kind of crowd. Unsurprisingly the atmosphere is stale, giving each of these acts an insurmountable challenge, a wall of silence to throw their everything at. First up is tonight’s compere Tom Toal, a likeable enough guy with natural charm who aims low with the difference between American and UK sayings and a forgettable piece about Primark trousers. Not remotely warmed up, the crowd are quickly presented with Tez Ilyas, who has nicely honed comic timing but disappoints with a done-to-death spoonerism of popcorn and cop-porn that is so old it was once a plotline on One Foot in the Grave. Canadian John Hastings bounds on and takes command – his confidence dazzles but wears thin as his affected delivery becomes grating. Finally, Jack Barry satisfies with some interesting observations on street gangs and a pleasing, assured presence. None of these acts could be expected to shine in this room, the ticket price sets expectations too high for this level of content and we left largely unfulfilled. [Gemma Flynn] Pleasance Dome, 9:30 – 10:30pm,until 26 Aug, £9.50
Brett Goldstein: Contains Scenes of an Adult Nature
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A vivid, cinematic anecdote forms the centrepiece of this finely crafted hour. Brett Goldstein emerges from it perfectly poised to reflect upon how pornography warps our notions of sex. To some, the story might seem too convenient, but the points it illustrates are nonetheless timely and expressed with conviction and wit. The influences of online porn might be furrowing brows in Westminster right now, but if you ask Goldstein, warts-and-all standup is a better fit for the debate. His
opening field notes on a world deluded by unrealistic sexual imagery come from a man torn between intellect and instinct – a confessed blue-movie aficionado with an academic grounding in feminism. This allows for some winning self-irony, and he is charmingly apologetic when, for example, reliving his regret over apeing what he’d seen on screen. Then there’s the story. It’s ten years ago and Goldstein is at a New York acting school, struggling to get into the spirit of promiscuity. Circumstances—a power cut in post-9/11 Manhattan—and the ideal supporting cast (animalistic ladykiller, sultry Lolita and lesbian ‘ethical slut’) conspire
24 fest edinburgh festival guide 2013 | August 20 – 26
to put his all-brain-and-noballs Englishman persona to the test. Irrespective of whether poetic licence is at work, the tale is an entertaining backdrop for the messages at hand. We’ve forgotten what good sex is. The next generation is doomed. And though we can’t turn the tide of porn, the problem is that it’s denuded sex of all context. So here is a show that, instead of some mawkish lament for intimacy, successfully puts sex firmly, funnily back in touch with actual human experience. [Lyle Brennan] Pleasance Courtyard, 9:30pm – 10:30pm, 31 Jul – 26 Aug, not 13 Aug, £9.50 – £11
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festcomedy Lebensmüde - A Comedy Show
John-Luke Roberts: Broken Stand-Up
Promising sketch trio Lebensmüde know how to put on a damn good show. Providing serious value for money at the Free Festival, they structure their pieces so that they flow nicely, ramping up the speed and dropping in some recurring characters near the end to keep us interested all the way to the moving finale. A clear highlight is Freya Parker’s Geordie Steve, whose love of Celeste Dring’s quite subtly portrayed Viv is full of broad laughs and heartbreak in equal measure. Ed Kiely is just as strong, breaking the third wall in his portrayal of Steve’s South African friend with the right amount of knowingness; it’s enough to boost the laughs but not so much that it becomes tired. A sketch on schadenfreude gives Parker and Dring an opportunity to play with accents to wring out every laugh and send up TV conventions. The rest is a little variable – the radio presenter and the performance poet are forgettable, but they do speak to the group’s capacity for satirical commentary on top of more memorable character work. What’s most exciting here are the performances. Parker is a bouncy, ebullient delight, complemented nicely by Kiely’s wryness and Dring’s affecting, emotion-laden detail. The missing ingredient is possibly just a unique tone or identity to really get excited about, as is sometimes necessary to make an impact among the sketch group masses. As it is, this is a strong offering, demonstrating potential for Lebensmüde to become a compelling force in the future. [Gemma Flynn]
Broken Stand-Up is every bit as eccentric a proposition as you’d expect from a cofounder of the notorious Alternative Comedy Memorial Society. John-Luke Roberts cares not for conventional subject matter, is prone to shunning punchlines altogether and is evidently more committed to serving his muse than any audience. His ability to do this without coming across as remotely pretentious or confrontational, while also being hysterically funny, marks him as a truly great standup. This free Fringe show may not be to everyone’s taste, but the performer can never be accused of failure when offering up something so fully-realised and perfect in its own way. Roberts’s routines are so left-field that each could be construed as a deliberate act of self-sabotage intended to lose our trust and throw the gig off course. A thorough tribute to increasingly forgotten sitcom star Patricia Routledge is a disorientat-
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Laughing Horse @ Jekyll & Hyde, 12:45 – 1:30pm, 1–25 Aug, free
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Tom Craine: Crying On A Waltzer
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It’s rare in standup that we get to see two sides of a story. But this year’s Fringe offers precisely that opportunity, with Tom Craine and Nat Luurtsema’s respective solo shows revealing how their three-year relationship curled up and died. Voyeurs and pain-parasites rejoice: this is heartbreak in stereo. As it turns out, the double whammy is by far the most rewarding context in which to enjoy Craine’s half of the narrative. Still, in isolation his self-portrait as a hapless
ing introduction to his art, while the allegedly ursine comedian’s biographical turn concerning his formative years as a bear cub is brilliantly underplayed. Surreal material is never flagged up as such, but instead delivered with a conviction that makes it at once more playful and perplexing. As Roberts ploughs ahead with a series of washing instructions that
we may have missed, we’ve no choice but to succumb to his idiosyncrasies and accept the strange consistency of his self-contained world. Despite being an hour of total nonsense, this somehow ends up registering as one of the most personal shows on at Fringe. [Lewis Porteous]
man-boy, in free-fall after the split, is consistently entertaining. He zips along, spluttering incredulously at his inability to handle adult life, and the pathetic, endearing persona he sets up is fleshed out through punchy, well-placed anecdotes. This self-professed idiot is invariably the butt of each: the botched proposal; the ignominious move back home; a disastrous foray back into dating; and a prop-based demonstration of failing to prepare for Glastonbury. But there’s something missing. Craine is too busy stomping his ego into the dirt to give us much of a sense of
why this great love fell apart – Luurtsema, still performing with him in Jigsaw, hardly features. And so ultimately, there’s not much to set this apart from other break-up tales. He is too nice to come off the subject of his own failings, too honest to fabricate some closing epiphany – so the story arc rather peters out. For a richer experience, try a compare-and-contrast with his ex’s hour. Craine says he hasn’t seen it, but there’s a stack of her flyers on the way out. [Lyle Brennan]
26 fest edinburgh festival guide 2013 | August 20 – 26
The Voodoo Rooms, 4:15pm – 5:15pm, 3–25 Aug, not 13, free
Pleasance Courtyard, 8:20pm – 9:20pm, 31 Jul – 25 Aug, £8.50 – £10
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festcomedy Yianni in Think Big
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On 25 August, Yianni Agisilaou will play the Edinburgh International Conference Centre. Twelve-hundred people may or may not be watching. The venue is usually reserved for comics infinitely better known than him, but Agisilaou is feeling the fear and doing it anyway. This kamikaze stunt forms the basis of his Free Fringe hour, and it’s also the main reason this show is worth seeing. Think Big acts as a prologue to the main event, comprising an earnest treatise on self-belief and following dreams that, depending on what happens at the EICC, will be justified or completely debunked. Yet for someone so well-versed in the tenets of self-help, Agisilaou seems extremely unsure of himself. At today’s gig he gets talking to a crowd member who turns out to be an aspiring comic, which sets him off on a spiral of explaining his jokes, pointing out the ones that flop, and telling us that these are things no good comedian should do. It may suit the theme of ‘flawdacity’ (the audacity to reveal your flaws – one of a few neologisms he coins) but it deadens the impact of his material. The Australian gives a good account of his intelligence, affability and knack for unfurling big, effective analogies. He also makes some valid points about sour grapes and what bitching really means. There’s heart and pluck and honesty here, but ultimately Agisilaou airs little of the comic instincts that most EICC headliners boast. When the 25th rolls around (with a completely different set) he’ll need to bring out the big guns. [Lyle Brennan] The Dram House, 4:45pm – 5:45pm, 3–24 Aug, free
Mat Ricardo: Showman
HHHHH Mat Ricardo is all too aware of how jugglers are perceived, particularly at the Fringe, where circus-style antics and the enforced jollity that accompanies them can get old fast. Newcomers to Ricardo’s unique brand of showmanship should put such stereotypes from their mind, however. He practises the art of ‘gentleman juggling’, and even if you arrive with ignorance, you will leave with respect. Ricardo is, first and most obviously, an incredibly talented juggler. He has been
honing his talents for over 20 years, and it shows. He is also a smart, funny and incredibly likable performer whose involving, self-deprecating banter carries the audience ably from trick to trick. But Showman is more than the sum of its parts. It is an articulate and imaginative defence of a performing artiste lifestyle which has survived for centuries in spite of all obstacles, and remains as relevant today as it ever was. Still, Ricardo’s main selling point is the astonishing dexterity and imagination he applies to traditional juggler’s tricks. Even the most jaded audiences will be impressed
28 fest edinburgh festival guide 2013 | August 20 – 26
when bowling balls enter the equation, and a monologue wherein Ricardo explains why juggling chainsaws is actually a con sets up his decision to employ something truly dangerous... In making an unfashionable skill fresh once again, comparisons have been made between Ricardo and Derren Brown, but Ricardo brings more charm to a single hour than Brown has to his whole career, and so deserves to be seen on his own ample merits. [Sean Bell] Pleasance Dome, 6:50pm – 7:50pm, 31 Jul – 25 Aug, not 12 Aug, £7.50 – £9.50
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festcomedy Alexei Sayle
HHHHH Nostalgia ain’t what it used to be. This is Alexei Sayle’s first standup show since 1996. Now 61, he can be forgiven for looking back. “A lot has changed since I invented alternative comedy,” he says. And with such wry faux pomposity, Sayle hauls his hour from a sepia nostalgiafest to an urgent piece of work. With his tales of Christmas in a Communist household he is like left-wing comedy’s Hiroo Onoda, the Japanese soldier who was trapped on an island and didn’t realise the Second World War had ended, returned to the mainland 29 years later, and discovered he’d lost. The old battle between socialism and capitalism may be over, with everyone now funnelled into the bland consensus of coalition and the X Factor, but Sayle has more than a few things to say. He harangues comedy panel shows not for
their power to cause all comedians to regress to the mean, but for rehabilitating war criminals such as New Labour’s Alastair Campbell. The changes in tuition fees, the Labour party, the publishing industry and Lenny Henry’s career are all targets for his ire. Familiar material, yes, but coming from a veteran it’s unusually exciting stuff. There is gravitas here amidst the physical buffoonery (although when he accidentally splits his trousers it yields one of the biggest laughs). His energy and smarts make his brand of nostalgia infectious. You too will yearn for a time when comedians could make Alexander Solzhenitsyn funny. But when Sayle complains that no one does political comedy any more, he is wrong of course. Plenty do. It’s just that they’re not as good as this. [Edd McCracken] The Stand III & IV, 6:00pm – 7:05pm, 13–25 Aug, £12
Jigsaw – Jiggle It
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If there was a prize for the fastest show on the Fringe then quick-fire sketch group Jigsaw would be leading contenders. The trio—featuring Fringe regular Dan Antopolski alongside Tom Craine and Nat Luurtsema—maintain a dizzying pace throughout this fun hour of fairly traditional revue silliness. The feel of the performace is something akin to The Fast Show, but stripped of Whitehouse and company’s taste for pathos. There are more hits than misses, while the less successful ideas are never around for long enough to irritate. Each troupe member
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brings their own particular skillset to the table. Antopolski is very much the alpha male, while Craine is the classic fall guy (with a surprisingly good singing voice). Luurtsema is the lynchpin who gamely throws herself into multiple roles, even
when risking life and limb as she’s clumsily wheeled on and off stage to play some particularly suspect children. There’s a rudimentary plot arc involving a prank gone wrong and a certain controversial payday lender whose name rhymes with ‘Tonga’.
A few sketchy strands are woven throughout the hour to add further shape. But the choicest cuts are often the briefest and most throwaway of sketches; a Scottish version of Masterchef, Usain Bolt’s rejected victory celebrations and a hamster moving into a new cage are a few of the subjects successfully given the Jigsaw treatment. It’s certainly not the most groundbreaking show you’re likely to see this August, but there’s no denying that the old-fashioned sketch aesthetic makes this jigsaw a charming diversion. [David Hepburn] Pleasance Courtyard, 4:45pm – 5:45pm, 31 Jul – 26 Aug, £10 – £12
August 20 – 26 | edinburgh festival guide 2013 fest 29
festcomedy
Graham Clark: Afraid of the Clark
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We’re so familiar with fully assimilated Canadian comedians these days that it’s slightly curious to come across one with only a scant knowledge of everyday British life. Indeed, it transpires that Graham Clark’s first impressions were acquired during a fraught weekend in Blackpool, which is a slightly skewed sample. He returned though, and the Roxy is a
Lee Kern: Bitter Twitter
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Twitter is a lot like toilet paper. It’s ubiquitous. It’s functional. And after you’ve used it, nobody should have to spend an hour watching you examine what you’ve found. Lee Kern makes his audience do just that. Through the medium of PowerPoint and screenshots, this snarky Londoner recounts his vain bid to engage with self-important slebs as they broadcast every insipid detail of their lives. We find him waving for attention, dabbling in trolling and coveting the Blue Tick of Verifica-
warmer place for it. The scruffily-bearded, comically-shaped Clark is a wonderfully uplifting presence, emboldened by the hefty body of material you might expect from an experienced new arrival. Clearly enjoying the whole experience, he’s more than happy to quiz the audience about local quirks, confident that conceding a lack of knowledge needn’t also mean ceding control of the show. The moment you realise you’re in safe hands
here is when he starts rubbing them sensuously across his almost perfectly round belly, and proceeds to wring fresh juice from an initially unpromising pregnant-man premise. This is the trend throughout, Clark embarking on a subject that hardly sets the pulse racing—largely concerning food—then applying a novel twist, like the increasingly ludicrous stuffed crusts that keep luring him back to a certain pizza joint. True, he does tend to giggle
tion, all in the hope of a little acknowledgment from Peter Andre or Lee from Blue. Unsurprisingly, each step of this journey demands fluffing up with sarcastic overstatement just to stretch to the running time. Kern knows full well that there aren’t really any epiphanies to be gleaned from asking Z-listers whether they like crisps. And so, though his tone is appropriately tongue-in-cheek, there’s no escaping that this a fake quest in a virtual world, with no real drama or meaningful interactions. Which, as we eventually learn in a nicely rendered moment of clarity, is kind of Kern’s point.
There are a few interesting finds along the way – for example, a desolate chat room dedicated to Katie Price’s ex, Alex Reid, and some Ku Klux Klan art (yes, even they’re on Twitter). And Kern himself has his charms, chiefly in the blunt snarl with which he spits out his syllables. But whereas some have found fame by mastering pithy humour in 140 characters, Kern’s tweets rarely offer more than juvenile, repetitive needling. The LOLs are thin on the ground. [Lyle Brennan]
at his own gags (every night, Graham?) but rarely in isolation, and it’s intriguing to hear previously quiet corners of the audience suddenly guffaw 40 minutes in. He’s back in sexy mode for the finale, which initially elicits ‘don’t ruin it now!’ concerns, but turns out to be laced with gold. Relax, you can trust him. [Si Hawkins] Assembly Roxy, 7:00pm – 8:00pm, 31 Jul – 26 Aug, not 12 Aug, £9 – £10
Gilded Balloon Teviot, 8:15pm – 9:15pm, 31 Jul – 26 Aug, not 12 Aug, £9 – £9.50
30 fest edinburgh festival guide 2013 | August 20 – 26
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festcomedy Claudia O’Doherty: Pioneer
Wil Hodgson - Leave The Landing Light On
A uniquely jarring experience awaits those who step into Claudia O’Doherty’s domain. Last year she had audiences squirming with The Telescope, a hammy supernatural thriller that collapsed spectacularly under the weight of its own production values. Here she returns to the theme of over-ambitious staging, but in this case the technical wonders aren’t designed to malfunction – they’re just so absurdly gratuitous that it eclipses all possibility of a proper show even taking place. Amid a sensory assault of special effects, O’Doherty plays an oppressively chirpy, overconfident narcissist trying to showcase all her purported talents at the same time. She’s made the move from Australia and intends to break into “the UK entertainment industry” through unconvincing bragging, a self-mythologising autobiography and much-trumpeted
For a late-night show, with a suitably late-night vibe, Wil Hodgson delivers a perfectly listenable hour that could just as easily sit in the spoken word section of the Fringe brochure. But in recreating some of the sense of childhood fear and wonder around ghost stories, Roald Dahl’s imagination and spooky public information commercials from the Seventies, Hodgson reinforces the truism that the dark “intensifies everything”. Moving towards a universal, more inclusive form of storytelling and away from the unique, bristling, “I am what I am” attitude of his breakthrough performances, Hodgson paints himself as a sensitive, complex kid growing up. He sympathised with King Kong rather than being scared, and was attracted to Dennis the Menace comics, despite the character’s persecution of softies like himself. With the benefit of hindsight, he can identify all the oddness that made The Beano such an incongruous comic. But though it’s an easy target, like the overblown government safety films he introduces with a wry chuckle, he successfully reproduces the cocktail of emotions they stirred. The clips and slides are very much secondary to Hodgson’s oratory, mellifluous in its West Country burr. And notwithstanding a Jimmy Savile impression with appropriate disclaimer, there’s moments where he seems lost in reminiscence. Ultimately, Leave The Landing Light On is a succession of snapshots that don’t coalesce into anything with broader insight or meaning, so while enjoyable, it’s quickly forgotten. [Jay Richardson]
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Thrice
HHHHH This was never going to be the cheeriest of affairs. Not a chink of sunshine graced the recent work of the Daykin sisters, nor that of Nathan Dean Williams. So following their collaboration, here is a sketch show better witnessed in morbid fascination than in search of comic relief. Thrice’s pitch-black humour lurks somewhere between cartoon surrealism and everyday misery, a kind of gothic Viz comic populated by 2D grotesques. Stereotypes—of butch lesbians, Eastern European housewives and benefits cheats—are taken to absurd
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sections of “characters” and “acting”. From behind a translucent projection screen, she screeches about how expensive it all was – a boast repeatedly made ridiculous as she breaks off to awkwardly plug her supposed sponsors, the titular electronics company. It’s a dizzying, disjointed watch, as songs and clips butt in apropos of nothing and little subplots peek through, suggesting the terrible toll this pursuit of fame might be
having on O’Doherty’s life off stage. It could be that there’s some grand comment being made about shows outside of her own, but it’s far more likely she’s playing it purely for laughs. Whatever has inspired O’Doherty to make false incompetence her speciality, she’s certainly managed it, and in the process nails a naff aesthetic that’s very hard to fake. [Lyle Brennan]
extremes in an hour that casually, repeatedly plunges into depravity. The aesthetic seems built around two jarring juxtapositions. The first is a contrast of mundanity and perversion – corned beef and pound shops pepper an otherwise outlandish script, while the chatty voiceovers during blackouts are ‘spoken’ by illuminated sex dolls. The other is that sketches full of fear, loathing and Pinteresque pauses jolt into jaunty music and the occasional manic dance – a discombobulating shift. Sarah Daykin brings a twitchy neurosis to the table, sister Lizzie makes for an amusingly sullen victim, and
rangy, shock-headed Williams is a natural villain. While the payoff from what they create is usually just a wry satisfaction at how revolting it all is, some moments hint at the intensity of the Daykins’ 2011 outing as Toby. Most notably, the love story of two lonely, anorak-swaddled souls, bound by their dislike of almost everything, is weirdly poignant. And the finale, a horrifying extrapolation of saccharine Christmas tune 'I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus', shows some brilliantly twisted imaginations at work. [Lyle Brennan]
Pleasance Courtyard, 9:50pm – 10:50pm, until 26 Aug, £11.50
Underbelly, Cowgate, 7:50pm – 8:50pm, 1–25 Aug, not 13, £9.50 – £10.50
The Stand III & IV, 11:40pm – 12:40am, 1–25 Aug, not 12, £8
August 20 – 26 | edinburgh festival guide 2013 fest 31
festcomedy Lewis Schaffer Is Better Than You
Jon Bennett: My Dad’s Deaths
Lewis Schaffer’s shows tend to embrace one of two extremes, he reminds us during this perfunctory 40-minute set. This was the lesser-known third outcome, a rather middling three-star performance. With a cult-like status at the Fringe, where his burgeoning following is predicated on his lack of success, the presence of Stewart Lee in the crowd seems to destabilise the London-based New Yorker – though not before he beautifully clarifies his own standing on the circuit: not alternative but “failed mainstream”. Newly eschewing hair dye and accepting his greying temples, he’s typically self-lacerating about the implications of such honesty for his sex life. But as his title suggests, he’s also too good for the audience he attracts, the sort of “shit” that takes in a free show. A self-loathing, middle-aged Jew, he adopts a shifting status in relation to those watching him, alternately criticising and flirting aggressively with a young woman in the front row, all the while building himself up to lofty heights and cutting himself down. He’s got some fine, surprising one-liners that ostensibly push the boundaries of political correctness. Yet there’s an old-fashioned touch of the showbusiness lag to the delivery, making the jokes sound much practised and neutering them of some of their impact. For anyone who’s never seen him despair in a basement, Schaffer remains a festival must-see. But if you’re more familiar with his shtick, you’ll always have to accept that some shows he’s really firing on it, others not so much. [Jay Richardson]
At the beginning of an appealing variation on the emotionally weighty “Dead Dad” genre of standup that’s proved so popular at recent Fringes, Jon Bennett smilingly disclaims that his hour contains feelings of “shame, fear and sadness”. Not least because he created the Pretending Things Are a Cock show and internet meme, the Australian had a rather awkward relationship with his father, beginning on the stormy night of his birth. But this is not a reflection on a father’s passing, for Bennett Snr was a born survivor, blessed with the tremendous fortune to overcome a staggering series of life-threatening injuries, heart attacks, shark attacks and once, quite memorably, being shot. A stern but melodramatic man who fulfilled an imposing number of roles in Bennett’s childhood (including, though not limited to being his school teacher) his love of Bush poetry was matched only by
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Heroes @ The Hive, 8 – 8:50pm, 1–25 Aug, not, 21, £5
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Liam Mullone: Game Over
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Onstage nastiness is a discipline fraught with danger. Gasps may be as rewarding as laughs, but get the tone wrong and you’ll wind up with a roomful of silent irritation, like a loony ranting in a library. Liam Mullone is clearly a gifted wordsmith. Having worked for The Times for years he now writes for Henning Wehn, and actually mentions that early on here, which is rather ungracious given that Wehn is playing next door. It’s presumably intended to sound self-deprecating (given Wehn’s much longer queue)
his disdain for jokes. Against this formidable background of parental disapproval, Bennett entertainingly relates the various ways in which his father shaped his character. He recreates a school humiliation with some break-dancing volunteers, renders his misguided sexual initiation in verse and shares a clip of his teenage standup, ripping the piss out of his old man, predictably enough. Bennett occasionally diverts into an easy
but amusing showcase of inane, poorly spelt Facebook updates, very much in the style of Adam Buxton’s BUG. But generally, he maintains a loose but coherent, carefully paced narrative, bringing it to a satisfying conclusion while keeping it funny, reasonably light and mocking of manipulative storytelling convention. [Jay Richardson]
but comes across as quite the opposite, the first indication that this is going to be an oddly off-putting hour. Mullone proceeds to veer from the self-aggrandising to the self-destructive, insisting that he’ll keep playing the Fringe until he gets the recognition he deserves, then breaks off towards the end to ask this increasingly unresponsive audience whether they all came to see him after failing to get into a more popular show. The subsequent silence is excruciating. His wordplay is frequently erudite and inventive, but the set is peppered with unsuccessful, sometimes skin-crawlingly unpleasant
attempts to shock, which sit uneasily with his slightly quirky persona: imagine Harry Enfield impersonating Harry Hill, who himself is impersonating Robin Ince, but a radically repented version that prefers Mrs Thatcher to Richard Dawkins. The much more popular Ince and Mark Steel also get a snide mention here, likewise (in one particularly self-indulgent section) various broadsheets and journalists who never bother reviewing him. That may be a blessing in disguise. [Si Hawkins]
32 fest edinburgh festival guide 2013 | August 20 – 26
Underbelly, Cowgate, 7:40pm – 8:40pm, 1–25 Aug, not 13, £9 – £10.50
Just The Tonic at the Caves, 9:20pm – 10:20pm, 1–25 Aug, not 13, £7.50 – £9.50
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Y O U R F E S T I VA L S T Y L E D E S T I N AT I O N ADIDAS, BENCH, FAT FACE, FOSSIL, FRED PERRY, KAREN MILLEN, KURT GEIGER, LACOSTE, LEVI’S, NIKE FACTORY STORE AND TED BAKER
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festcomedy The Noise Next Door: Soundhouse
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Few mainstays of Fringe comedy are more difficult, or divisive, than improv. In order to pull it off with any degree of success, the comedians in question require lightningfast imagination, a vast frame of reference and an immediate sympathy with the audience who provide each initial inspiration. Much of the time, this can seem like a lot of work for a minimal return: the jokes may be extremely patchy, but we’re nevertheless impressed by the ability of the performers to conceive them in seconds, then execute them in the same. Such is the case of with The Noise Next Door. Taking the form of an intentionally disastrous variety revue, staffed by a motley collection of gurning grotesques, Soundhouse takes the classic approach of inviting suggestions from the audience for almost every aspect of each new act, then acting on those prompts almost immediately. The five-man crew never falter or allow for silence, turning one-word ideas into fully-formed characters, dance routines and sketches, and soon the cast is transformed into a sardineobsessed security guard,
The Piff the Magic Dragon Show
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It’s a surprisingly lucrative niche that John van der Put has carved out for himself under the guise of a deadpan, dragon-suited illusionist. Not only have the last few years seen him become a legitimate viral sensation while chalking up numerous TV appearances, he also spent much of 2012 on the road with Mumford and Sons,
a half-tiger waitress and a chloroform-using chef. The humour is as fastpaced as it gets, the quintet seizing upon gags as soon as they occur. This mostly succeeds, with some exceptions:
as a groan-inducing foray in ‘Chinese’ mannerisms demonstrates, ethnic stereotypes should be avoided at all costs, no matter what the audience yells. Still, for those who want to make their en-
tertainers sweat, Soundhouse is a considerable feat. [Sean Bell]
bringing magic to arena audiences usually more interested in second-hand banjos than accomplished sleight of hand. Arriving hot on the heels of his recent successes, it’s possible that Piff’s latest show is subject to levels of expectation that simply cannot be met by a laconic, fire-breathing dragon. The low energy of the character’s surprise entrance sets the tone for an hour that fails to ever really dazzle, yet is never anything less than inventive and amus-
ing. Gently contemptuous audience interaction is the order of the day here, and the nonchalance with which Piff pulls off his tricks is as charming as ever. There’s a palpable feeling of suspense within the room when his pet chihuahua is put in seemingly great danger, and if his assistant Amy Sunshine emerges from the festival without injury it will be a remarkable thing indeed. If fault can be found with the show, it’s because the
mythical creature’s trademark misanthropy is just a shade too lethargic, his set crawling wearily from each set piece to the next. The novelty of Piff’s act doubtless attracted many to him in the first place, and is still winning him new followers, but is already starting to diminish as we grow increasingly familiar with the star. [Lewis Porteous]
34 fest edinburgh festival guide 2013 | August 20 – 26
Pleasance Dome, 7:00pm – 8:00pm, 31 Jul – 26 Aug, not 7 Aug, 14 Aug, £11 – £14
Pleasance Dome, 7:10pm – 8:10pm, 1–25 Aug, £8.50 – £11
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festcomedy Marcus Brigstocke: Je m’accuse - I am Marcus
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In a departure from his usual political diatribes, Marcus Brigstocke has taken to firstperson, confessional comedy like Bambi on ice. Earlier this month, he tore his Achilles tendon in the finale of his show, ensuring he is having to complete the rest of his run on crutches. A former goth who once tipped the scales at 24 stone, he never sought to talk about his overeating disorder – but Richard Madeley, bless him, took the decision out of his hands. Brigstocke’s food addiction and spell in rehab became integral in shaping his personality, but they form only a brief section in a show that crams plenty in. Born into privilege, with a knowing awareness of the sense of entitlement and confidence that brings, Brigstocke isn’t especially concerned with correcting the terrible
Gareth Morinan Is Playing the Numbers Game
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The guy who bought a block of 11 separate listings in this year’s Fringe guide, thus effectively getting around the much steeper cost of a half-page advert—yeah, that guy—proves himself much more adept at controversial marketing schemes than comedy. Such a noisy publicity stunt needed to be backed up by something pretty special, Free Fringe or not. But Morinan’s nerdy routine where data analysis meets dating would struggle to raise a strong laugh even if you heroically trudged through all of the other 10 listings. His delivery isn’t bad at all
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opinion held of him by Radio 4-denigrating right-wingers. To wit, he isn’t afraid of putting himself up for ridicule, demonstrating the various borderline racist accents he puts on while performing chores around the house. There is no sermonising, no grand revelation or messages to be drawn from the material, beyond that shedding the weight gave him the confidence to dance in clubs and on an oil rig amongst manlier, workingclass men. He seems to revel in the lack of obligation to be satirical, with material about farting on a safari sitting easily alongside the wry anecdote of his getting checked out for testicular pain. As such, it’s all a bit much of a muchness, like a few things he just wanted to get off his chest. But it’s a diverting enough hour with a defiant, applaudable ending. [Jay Richardson] Assembly Hall, 9:10pm – 10:10pm, 1–25 Aug, not 12, £13 – £14
– if an abler writer were providing the material you could imagine him bringing it to life with pace and punch. But the former civil service data analyst’s PowerPoint-happy shtick—based predominantly around the exhausted theme of venn diagrams—feels lazily second-hand. And his surrealist animations and videomashes are wincingly weak and amateurish-looking – think David Trent running Clip Art on Windows 95. The section about trying to use his skills with number-crunching to enhance his chances with the ladies must be about variation 10million (not a scientific statistic, admittedly) on that old geeky-desperadocomedian-needs-girlfriend cliché. By the “dropping the bass” cartoon—one of the most lamely obvious play-
on-words imaginable (yup, a fish)—you’re praying for a power-cut. If there’s any real innovation displayed here, it’s Morinan’s Kickstarter-style sliding scale of cash-donation to hand-made rewards
(postcards, posters, T-shirts etc) outlined at the end, a DIY touch that feels properly in keeping with the spirit of the Free Fringe. [Malcolm Jack] Banshee Labyrinth, 6:40pm – 7:40pm, until 24 Aug, free
August 20 – 26 | edinburgh festival guide 2013 fest 35
festcomedy Martin Mor: How Do You Like Your Blueeyed Boy Mister Death?
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After walking unscathed from a motorway crash earlier this year, Martin Mor has a new outlook on life. While not exactly a shrinking violet before, Mor began to live life to the full and it’s this philosophy, appropriately paired with the Northern Irishman’s huge energy, that forms the basis of this upbeat hour of storytelling. From skydiving through new sexual explorations, to taking mind-expanding drugs in the Mexican desert, Mor shows us how he expanded his horizons after realising life was too short. Each experience is painted in beautiful, often lurid and on occasions brilliantly disgusting detail. Despite, to quote another review, him looking like a “rapist Father Christmas”, Mor’s likeability is as massive as the man himself and he drives the show through sheer force of personality. The overly frequent references to turning the crash and his subsequent adventures into material have the effect of pulling us out of the world he is creating and imply an opportunism that
Stuart Laws Absolutely Will Not Stop, Ever, Until You are Dead (1hr Show)
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This is a less than auspicious debut from Stuart Laws that’s big on audience interaction at the expense of developed material. Engaging likeability and sheer relentlessness alone can’t stop Absolutely Will Not Stop, Ever, Until You are Dead (1hr Show), feeling as over-stretched as its title.
it’s impossible to believe he possesses, but it’s only a rare mistep in a superbly crafted show. Closing by showing us pictures of his badly mangled car brings us back down to earth with a bump. Aside
from reminding us of how close we came to losing such a talent, it’s an appropriately thought-provoking and poignant end to a show which, despite its raucousness has an important lesson to impart. If we could all live
our lives more like Martin Mor, the world would be a much better, happier place. [Dan Heap]
Laws blends observational comedy, whimsy, storytelling and improvisation, but can’t really commit to any of them – which would be fine, but he’s offering a sort of postmodern take before mastering the basics. The perils of opening a dishwasher mid-cycle is the launching point for him to ask the crowd for their scariest household appliance, an early cul-de-sac that unfortunately sets the pattern for much of what follows. Demanding to know people’s favourite di-
nosaur or the “power animal” they’d choose, he riffs on the responses to little distinction, earning a certain amount of laughter from his awkward contrivances. Unfortunately, it’s a tactic that palls after the first few outings. Elaborate setups, such as him not winning the Young Ornithologist of the Year Award due to the Cold War are slowly built up, only to be punctured immediately with a surreal bit of silliness. Again, though, it becomes a
strategy of diminishing returns when he repeats it. Whether he works at becoming a nimbler improviser, beefs up his prepared routines or fully embraces the risks of anticomedy, it feels like Laws has to decide on the sort of comic he wants to be. Because at the moment he’s just offering an underwhelming mélange of motley bits and pieces. [Jay Richardson]
36 fest edinburgh festival guide 2013 | August 20 – 26
The Stand Comedy Club II, 8:20pm – 9:20pm, 2–25 Aug, not 12, £8
Dragonfly, 3:10pm – 4:10pm, 3–24 Aug, not 15, 22, free
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SS A4 Fest E13_Layout 1 04/07/2013 01:01 Page 1
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CRITICS’ CHOICE
‘AWESOME’
‘JOYOUS’
‘AMAZING’
TIME OUT
THE SCOTSMAN
INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY
MAIL ON SUNDAY
Winner of The Comedians’ Choice Award Melbourne International Comedy Festival '13
HHHHH HHHHH HHHHH HHHHH ‘HILARIOUS’
‘GENIUS’
‘BRILLIANT’
‘WONDERFUL’
WHATSONSTAGE
EVENING NEWS
BRITISH THEATRE GUIDE
HUFFINGTON POST
The Age (Melbourne)
Festival Highlights.com GILDED BALLOON TEVIOT, Bristo Sq - Fringe Venue 14 2-25 Aug (not 22) 10.30PM www.theshowstoppers.org DON’T MISS OUR NEW FAMILY HOUR : 2-13 Aug 2PM Tickets 0131 622 6552 www.gildedballoon.co.uk
31 JUL- 26 AUG (NOT AUG 12) 21:45
PLEASANCE COURTYARD BOOK NOW ON 0131 556 6550 OR VISIT WWW.PLEASANCE.CO.UK
“A delightfully unpredictable glam culture parody”
hilariously absurd comedy
Adelaide Now
19:30 (1hr) | 1-22 August (previews 1-2 Aug) Assembly George Square | George Square EH8 9LH | 0131 623 3030 | assemblyfestival.com
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RU B B E RBAN DITS
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August 20 – 26 | edinburgh festival guide 2013 fest 37
festcomedy Paul Foot: Words
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“It’s funny but you don’t know why,” sums-up Paul Foot of an hour in which he’s screamed at length about what a “palaver” life is, pedantically explored the differences between the words “rockery” and “rookery,” and attempted to inject into popular usage phrases such as “you look like a Hispanic bathtub” via a long list of brain-fart non-sequiturs entitled ‘My Madness’. Subjective opinion, Paul, much as many people in the audience tonight do seem to strongly agree with you. Even the ones in the front row drenched in spit (he fairly froths at the mouth once he gets going). Dressed in a silver lamé jacket and high-wasted trousers with a mullet and severe fringe, the high-voiced High Wycombe character comedian is the guy who would have been kicked out of 1970s Slade for looking a bit daft. It’s all part of an exuberantly silly package steeped in Pythonesque, very British absurdity. But lord, is it hard work constantly being frantically entreated to laugh not at the actual material but the fact of Foot having the crackpot gall and enthusiasm to deliver jokes he perfectly well knows are not logically funny. Long spiels on loneliness and the intricacies of mating-ritual text etiquette, angry rants about toast, that kind of thing. It’s a cult thing, basically (Foot acknowledges as much by running his own secretsociety style fan club, The Guild of Connoisseurs). The rest of us whose senses of humour just aren’t wired that way, to quote ‘My Madness’ again, will just have to “seek solace in the grief sausage”. [Malcolm Jack] Underbelly, Cowgate, 7:30pm – 8:30pm, 1–25 Aug, not 12, £10.50 – £12
Nat Luurtsema: Here She Be
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Here She Be is a complete show but only one third of a story. Nat Luurtsema is the former girlfriend of comedian Tom Craine. Craine is doing his own show at the Fringe about his breakup from Luurtsema. What’s more, they are both performing together as part of sketch trio Jigsaw. By rights there should be some sort of group pass available to watch all three shows before passing judgement. In Here She Be (which,
unlike Craine’s show, is free) Luurtsema offers her side of the story, from the first days of their romance to the indignity of suffering a panic attack in Switzerland – with some messy consequences. As a narrator she expertly handles the pace of the hour and is unflinching in her professionalism, despite her awkward persona. This compensates for a fair few jokes which don’t quite hit their targets and a PA system more geared toward pub karaoke than professional standup. The real joy is to be had in the slow reveal that Luurt-
sema is talking about a real person and not some fictional comedy ex she has invented for the purposes of the show. Apparently autofiction is morally justifiable if everyone is at it, though you do feel sorry for the third member of Jigsaw, Dan Antopolski, who has to deal with the consequences. Luurtsema is a good standup in her own right, and definitely a highlight at the Free Festival. [Dominic Hinde]
becomes cloying or sickly is a testament to Wrigglesworth’s immense talent as a storyteller. However, the delicately drawn lines are ruined midshow when Wrigglesworth spends a sizeable amount of time dwelling on an ostensibly unrelated dinner with Christine Hamilton and Iain Duncan Smith and a trip to Dubai. Though not
without some decent laughs, these are uncharacteristically blatant attempts to pad his material out to an hour. It feels rather like being dragged from beneath the warm covers after Wrigglesworth has lovingly tucked us in. [Dan Heap]
Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 2:45pm – 3:45pm, 2–26 Aug, free
Tom Wrigglesworth: Utterly At Odds With The Universe
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A Werther’s Originals-tinged exploration of the relationship between a young man and his grandfather that ends in the death of the latter was never going to have them rolling in the aisles, but this is a very touching if only gently funny hour from Sheffielder Tom Wrigglesworth. Starting with a recording of one of the many ‘interviews’ the two did together when he was a boy, Wrigglesworth recounts various childhood misadventures and—in loving detail— sketches his grandfather. He was able to fix anything with his ancient tools passed down from father to son and blessed with a workingclass philosophical mind – a man from a more-or-less bygone age. The scene in the hospital with the elder man’s hands clasped round an imaginary tool and Wrigglesworth’s around his is particularly endearing, and one does feel a certain sense of privilege to be there with a man so thoroughly and so beautifully opening up. The fact that it never
38 fest edinburgh festival guide 2013 | August 20 – 26
Pleasance Courtyard, 7:40pm – 8:40pm, 31 Jul – 25 Aug, not 13 Aug, £9 – £12
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festcomedy Fred MacAulay: 25 Fringes
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Comedian, broadcaster and general raconteur Fred MacAulay knows his audience so well it often feels like he’s playing a room filled with family and friends. He delivers demographic-specific comedy with unerring accuracy; machine-tooled to be middle class, middlebrow and middle of the road. The former accountant has appeared at a remarkable 25 consecutive Edinburgh Fringes – a quarter century run that has honed his delivery to the point where it seems effortless. He may be coasting, but at least he’s coasting with style. He’s pleasingly self-aware throughout, bidding “the middle classes” a good evening near the start and making
Adam Larter and Ali Brice: Plumpy’nut
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The Plumpy’nut experience is a lot like Stockholm Syndrome. Lo-fi staging and costumes give a feel of the absurd, which is only confirmed when Adam Larter emerges dressed something like a farmer and proceeds to serenade us with a ludicrous number about his farm. Soon he is joined by his co-star Ali Brice, who shines
several allusions to the average age of his typical paying punter being somewhere north of 60. The topics follow suit; golf, cruises and the Edinburgh trams are all present and correct, as are tales from his day job with the BBC. There’s some gentle political satire as he takes the mickey out of Scotland’s political leaders,
without ever showing any bite on the subject of independence. Yet there are moments when he comes close to breaking away from the safe, cosy material and threatens to bare his teeth. He impressively manages to drop the Cbomb without a murmur of disapproval from any of the Morningside ladies present. A
wider recurring theme looking at the use of language is astute as well as funny. Ultimately though, MacAulay is a consumate crowd-pleaser – as long as the crowd in question all look and sound like him. [David Hepburn]
as a talking pig, and there’s a reluctant feeling in the audience, almost as though we’re being forced to watch two nine-year-olds play dress-up. Surreal comedy is not unusual at the Fringe, but the haphazardness with which Larter and Brice deliver the show takes us to uncomfortable territory. Our patience is tested by their storytelling; meandering and farcical tales of a crafty bigcity cat give very little sense that this whole thing is going
anywhere or that we’re in safe hands, while aggressive audience interaction drains away any remaining comfort. At a certain point—somewhere between the talking pig getting to Vegas and the dance version of 'Up Where We Belong'—you can sense the audience give in and enjoy. To define this as anticomedy wouldn’t feel right given the sweet, shambolic nature of it all and yet there are some familiar elements, most
prominently the tendency to stretch a joke for an eternity until it transitions from tedious to funny again. What seems to happen is an uncomfortable period of adjustment, a gradual warming to Larter and Brice and eventual hilarity at the sheer madness of it all. Difficult to watch, but pretty funny in the end. [Gemma Flynn]
Assembly Rooms, 7:40pm – 8:40pm, 1–23 Aug, not 14, £15
Heroes @ The Hive, 2:44pm – 3:45pm, 3–25 Aug, £5
HHHH Time Out
31 Jul - 25 Aug | 21:30 gildedballoon.co.uk 0131 622 6552
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August 20 – 26 | edinburgh festival guide 2013 fest 39
Produced by
Presents
Robbie Thomson’s 2 – 25 August (not Weds) // 19.00 // £12/£8
“Bonkers but Brilliant! ”
Grazia
Sven Werner’s 12 – 25 August // Every 30 mins from 15.00 until 20.00 (not Weds) // £14/£9
Fringe Venue 26, Summerhall, Edinburgh Book now: 0845 874 3001 // summerhall.co.uk cryptic.org.uk // sonic-a.co.uk
CalArts Festival Theater - 10 years on the fringe!!
17:30
Whispering in the Dark
13:15
Mask
10:30
Goose
10:30 Goose 13:15 Mask (No Aug. 5, 12) 17:30 Whispering in the Dark
Dallin is turning 13, and no one Pauline and Juliet commit has come to his party. A man uncovers his wife’s matricide in 50s New Zealand O’Neill Theatre NPC infidelity after discovering he - only to meet 60 years later in Semi-finalist can remove his face the afterlife.
August 3-24 -
£8 Gen / £5 Con tix: 0707 420 1313
On Lochend Close Just off the Royal Mile 100m past Cannongate Kirk
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40 fest edinburgh festival guide 2013 | August 20 – 26
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HHHHH This is far more than first-class acrobatics; simply put, Bianco is extraordinary. Page 57 photo: SHONA WASS
festtheatre
Bianco
festtheatre Squidboy
HHHHH To see Squidboy is to step into an imaginary hall of mirrors. A fabulated fisherman tells the story of a made-up squid who eats invisible crisps and plays with a non-existent dog. Layer upon layer of unreality reflects upon itself creating the Fringe’s most wonderfully absurd illusionary universe. It may only exist in the audience’s mind’s eye, but for an hour, it is the most comically concrete place to be. The architect of this surreal cosmos is Kiwi Trygve Wakenshaw. He builds this one-man show
The Bread and the Beer
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Reimagining the mythical English folklore character John Barleycorn as a sort of pagan Dionysus, The Bread and the Beer is an epic poetic monologue about the greatest street party of all time. Written and performed by Bristol and LAMDA graduate Tristan Bernays, it’s a raucous and energetic production that revels in its hedonism. But much like the hedonistic celebrations it portrays, once the dust has settled, there’s not a huge amount to take away from this production. It’s a shallow play, with little in the way of interesting characterisation or narrative – the sparse plot taking second place behind the dense, lyrical rhythms of the script. It’s a strangely alienating piece of writing when performed; a contemporary cod-Shakespearean verse depicting modern London
entirely out of his bendy limbs, liquid facial expressions, and silent movie clowning. To try and tell the story of Squidboy would not only be a disservice, it would be misleading. There is none. Instead Wakenshaw flits from one sequence to another, following a dream logic thread. Here he is sharing an imaginary packet of crisps with the audience. Here he is playing the world’s most expansive game of fetch with his dog. Here he is massaging a cow. Now there’s a squid trapped in a lift. It sounds mad, and it is. But in Wakenshaw’s
masterful hands the audience completely buys into the physical and narrative laws of his world. He has atomic clock timing. He knows the joy and the power of repetition. And it’s significantly funnier than the majority of the Fringe’s comedy programme. Yet he might have a point. In the end, it isn’t real. The lights come up and reality replaces illusion. But in the wistfulness this engenders, the power of theatre can be found. [Edd McCracken] Assembly Roxy, 9:30pm – 10:30pm, 31 Jul – 26 Aug, not 13 Aug, 20 Aug, £8 – £10
that just doesn’t quite achieve the evocativeness it sets out to grasp. There is, however, much to be said about Tristan Bernays as a performer. Setting aside the energetic exuberance of the performance itself, Bernays is a man of noticeable charisma and beauty. His voice is strong and commanding and his range impressive: from his poetic narration to a convincing caricature of cockney tunnel-diggers, his inhabiting of the stage is thorough and commendable. For all that, the production falls short of the giddy heights reached elsewhere this August; what’s clear, though, is that the value in this piece is ultimately in its showcasing of Bernays’ talents as an actor. This is a man with the potential to go far indeed. [Ben Judge] Underbelly, Cowgate, 2:30pm – 3:30pm, 1–25 Aug, not 12, £9 – £10
42 fest edinburgh festival guide 2013 | August 20 – 26
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In Edinburgh Various venues and prices bristololdvic.org/ferment
The Islanders
1-25 Aug (exc. 12 Aug)
Written and performed Amy Mason
I Could’ve Been Better
3-26 Aug
(preview 31 Jul-2 Aug)
Idiot Child
Exposure
16-25 Aug
Presented by Jo Bannon
Sam Halmarack and the Miserablites
16-25 Aug
Presented by Sam Halmarack
Hoke’s Bluff
16-23 Aug
A performance by Action Hero
Ours Was the Fen Country
20-25 Aug (preview 19 Aug)
Presented by Still House / Dan Canham Charity No. 228235
festtheatre
Breakfast Plays: A Respectable Widow Takes to Vulgarity
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For those who can bear the early start, the Traverse’s morning plays are often the home of small, hidden treats, serving up a surprising slice of theatre while the rest of the city is still shaking off its hangover. This year, in A Respectable Widow Takes to Vulgarity, early risers are offered an unexpected abundance of expletives
Breakfast Plays: Clean
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Two years ago some bloke who wrote the dialogue for some guns and gangsters video games told Sabrina Mahfouz that the reason there were so few women in his games was because women didn’t have adventures. Or not exciting, Tarantino-style adventures, anyway. Clean is Mahfouz’s attempt to set him straight,
with their coffee and bacon butties. Douglas Maxwell’s potty-mouthed breakfast offering wraps a wry contemplation on language in an unlikely friendship between a widow and one of her late husband’s young employees. Annabelle has spent her whole life cultivating small talk, making an art out of saying nothing. After a chance encounter with plain-talking Jim at her husband’s funeral, however, Annabelle decides to unleash
every four-letter word in the book. Enlisting a reluctant and bemused Jim in this new hobby, she drops the f-bomb at local committee meetings and bellows abuse from football stands. But this is more than just swearing on a whim. Beneath the comedy of Annabelle’s unusual project, there are lingering questions about the purpose of language and how to find one’s voice. For Joanna Tope’s buttoned-up Annabelle, this outburst of suppressed vulgarity is a
glorious release, while Scott Fletcher’s awkward Jim gradually finds validation for his own form of expression. It’s difficult to escape the sense, however, that the plot is just an excuse for Maxwell to exercise his linguistic muscles. This extended skit offers its playwright, like his protagonist, an entertaining but fairly empty opportunity to get inventive with his obscenities. [Catherine Love]
but it’s woefully insufficient as an argument and fails on almost every level as a comic rebuttal. It’s a London heist drama with three thinly sketched master criminals. The twist is that they’re all women. The other twist is that they only commit “clean crimes”, not exactly victimless, but with a heavily reduced level of ultraviolence. They’re drawn into an improbable operation to steal a microchip containing the only copy of an under-
world big cheese’s precious new video game. Mahfouz’s entire project is undermined by the flaccidity of the adventure, with jabs at spy clichés and video games that are both uninformed and out of date. A far cry from Grand Theft Auto, the adventure that’s presumably intended to be empowering has all the punch of Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle. The backstory of Zainab provides the only high-score. Emma Dennis-Edwards gives
a fierce but fragile portrayal of the 24-year-old card cloner who looks forward to returning to her Muslim parents without her headscarf once she’s proved her worth in the world with filthy lucre. Clean was written in a handful of days and it’s over in less than an hour, but if you miss it, you won’t miss much. [Stewart Pringle]
44 fest edinburgh festival guide 2013 | August 20 – 26
Traverse Theatre, 9:00am – 9:45am, various dates, £14
Traverse Theatre, 9:00am – 9:45am, various dates between 14 Aug and 25 Aug, £14
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festtheatre Fleabag
HHHHH Whilst some perfectly good Fringe shows are hindered by being staged at the wrong time of day in an unsuitable space, Fleabag feels as if it was made for its evening slot and dank, underground venue. An hour of one woman sitting under a spotlight delivering monologue could be painful, but it comes out plain brilliant. Phoebe Waller-Bridge deftly handles the task of speaking apparently as both herself and as her stage persona. At different points hilarious, pitiful or just plain dark, she holds the audience’s attention from start to finish. She obsesses about being a bad feminist, “sexting”, familial breakup and the twilight world of London’s directionless twenty-something army of middle class lost children. It is all beautifully tragic and brutally honest. It has a self-awareness which saves it from self-indulgence, and Waller-Bridge’s stage self is both entertainingly unusual and terrifyingly typical in a very human way. At one point she wonders whether she is all alone in her little crisis or just one of many thinking the same thoughts as she moves from home to tube to work to bar
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to someone else’s bed. She isn’t. Fleabag is a heartfelt voice for the children of the eighties as they float around trying to make sense of the world. This is why
the humour sticks, with its tales of a very modern mix of fatalism and hedonism sustaining a merry-go-round of broken dreamers. Hyper-real, brilliant
and pleasingly shambolic. [Dominic Hinde] Underbelly, Cowgate, 9:25pm – 10:25pm, 1–25 Aug, not 13, £9.50 – £10.50
August 20 – 26 | edinburgh festival guide 2013 fest 45
festtheatre Gym Party
HHHHH If you consider yourself uncompetitive, beat the crowds and go see Gym Party. Over the course of an hour of half-drowning, character assassinations and marshmallow chomping, this funny, unsettling performance goes to great lengths to show that competition underlies every interaction we make. Gym Party takes the Thatcherite worship of free market ideals and drives it to a conclusion that looks like a sports day arranged by David Lynch. Three competitors are on stage: Chris, Jess and Jen. They each wear a different primary coloured wig. Each dons the unflattering white vests and shorts from
Our Glass House
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We go from room to room in an unremarkable endof-terrace in Wester Hailes and listen to the stories of six victims of domestic violence: four women, a man, a little boy. This almost overwhelming play compels us to confront the misery that we leave other people to suffer alone. Our Glass House is too accomplished to seem hectoring. The acting is excellent. The script, derived from victims’ testimonies, is crystal-clear. Each room is a meticulously-imagined world, to the tiniest detail playing cards scattered in the bedroom of an adolescent poledancer, toy soldiers in a little boy’s playroom. Common Wealth take bold risks, including a choreographed sequence—a masterpiece of controlled violence—in which each character’s unhappiness is reduced to a single gesture: one woman
a million periods of PE. Each sports a bloody nose. Each gives fragmentary monologues about sporting, romantic and social competition from school. The trio go head-to-head in a series of games. It starts
innocuously enough with playground challenges. But the mood refuses to settle into outright comedy and instead moves from the childlike to more uncomfortable, adult fare. The audience has to vote on who is the most
attractive, the richest, the best raised. Sticking to the principles of pure competition, those who don’t win each round are punished. Again, this shifts into uncomfortable territory via physical blows and genuinely nasty put downs. And since the audience decides the outcome, we are utterly complicit. This Darwinian competitive streak starts at school, the piece says. All pretence to live free from competition is false. And we’re doomed to repeat what we’ve learned in gym halls for the rest of our lives. In the end, the winner is always whoever gets the last dance. [Edd McCracken] Summerhall, 6:30pm – 7:30pm, 12–25 Aug, £10
bashes a typewriter and hurls handful after handful of coins into a tin box; another manically stacks and re-stacks the same set of dishes. The subject matter allows the play’s artistic limitation—you can’t follow every storyline—to become part of its design. You hear thumps and screams from elsewhere in the building and reflect on the crimes that go overlooked because it’s easier to ignore such troubling noises. The play tails off in its more conventional later sections. A scene in which child actor Luke Gordon becomes a sardonic barrister, giving voice to a beaten woman’s feeling that she is herself to blame, seems a bit showy. And the ending feels too contrived to offer much catharsis. If anything, that testifies to the remarkable intensity of what came before. [Ed Ballard] Summerhall, times vary, 13–25 Aug, not 19, free
46 fest edinburgh festival guide 2013 | August 20 – 26
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festtheatre Solomon and Marion
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Like London Road, Sea Point, another South African season play at Assembly, Solomon and Marion is a two-hander that swells the heart with its story about people polarised by age, race and economic circumstance finding unlikely understanding. But alongside the optimism, a despairing and very personal note about South Africa’s struggle with violent crime is struck. Marion (Dame Janet Suzman) is a sickly white English widow, living alone in a run-down house outside Cape Town in quiet despair. Her estranged daughter Annie lives abroad, and her son Jonathan is seven years dead, after being carjacked and brutally murdered. Into this cursed home, without knocking, walks young black street urchin Solomon
(Khayalethu Anthony), son of Marion’s former housekeeper. Determined to lift Marion’s torpor, across several more visits he persistently bestows
upon her his own special kind of generosity, offering all from chicken feet snacks to a promise to “borrow” a TV so they can watch the World Cup. Marion’s initial antipathy
and suspicion eventually melts into warmth and trust. But Solomon’s actions have personal motive, and a shocking revelation about Jonathan’s death emerges. The story invokes the tragic memory of young South African actor Brett Goldin, who was carjacked and killed in 2006 while starring in a Suzman-directed version of Hamlet. Which makes its end note of cautious hope all the more remarkable. For all their differences as actors—Suzman an Academy Award-nominated veteran, Anthony a 25-year-old debutant—they play their parts with equal humanity and truth reflecting the need for simple companionship in a dispiritingly turbulent world. [Malcolm Jack] Assembly Hall, 2:30pm – 3:45pm, 1–26 Aug, not 12, 19, £15 – £16
For festival gigs
DODGY HUDSON TAYLOR THOMAS J SPEIGHT VOLTS THEM BEATLES BAGS OF ROCK MACFLOYD
Thu 22 Aug Thu 15 Aug Sat 24 Aug Sat 3 Aug Sun 4 Aug Thu 8 Aug Fri 23 Aug
ELJAM & FEAST RECORDS SHOWCASE
Sun 25 Aug
03 - 25 August 2013 Tickets: 0131 665 2240 www.thebrunton.co.uk www.edinburghfringe.com The Brunton, Ladywell Way, Musselburgh. EH21 6AA
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August 20 – 26 | edinburgh festival guide 2013 fest 47
festtheatre Kubrick³
HHHHH If the intention behind Kubrick³ was to combine the depressingly scatalogical humour of Bottom with a performing style more befitting the Krankies, then mission accomplished. This is a bizarre tactic to take in telling what should be a compelling and multilayered story, and unfortunately it never really pays off. Taking its inspiration from the stranger-than-fiction tale of Alan Conway, a notorious fantasist who for years exploited the kindness and credulity of others by claiming to be the director Stanley Kubrick (despite his lack of an American accent, beard or any knowledge of cinema), Kubrick³ wastes this promising material by failing to give the audience any reason why it should care. As Conway’s son confronts his father’s ghost (played by multiple actors, who all act in roughly the same style), we can share the younger Conway’s disgust, but lack his motive for unravelling the fraudster’s mystery. Flashbacks devolve into a series of sketches which, despite raising laughs with a few one-liners (the best of which comes when one character introduces themselves as “not plot-relevant”), really only serve to kill time. What we know at the end of the show is what we knew within the first five minutes: Conway was a sad failure of a man who wished to be somebody else. Issues of identity and self-delusion are frequently raked over, but never investigated in any depth. This might be forgivable if the play was funnier, but unfortunately, the only ones amused by the stream of poor gags are the multiple Conways themselves. [Sean Bell]
Pigeon English
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Harri (David C Johnson) is a sweet and innocent boy with a smile to melt the hardest of hearts. Along with his mother and teenage sister, he has recently moved from Ghana to a Peckham estate; a place which chews up and spits out naivety for the fun of it. He is hunting a murderer. What begins as a harmless game, however, quickly becomes an initiation into a dark and infected world of crime and peer pressure. Despite being a fairly overpopulated theatrical concept, Pigeon English
sets itself apart with its honesty and intensity. Successfully avoiding all the clichés and stereotypes that burden typical depictions of “youth culture” allows for a seamless and faultless set of performances; the grit, bravado and audacity of each character contributing to a powerful examination of teenage fragility. The poetic dialogue and fluidity across the piece is pushed further by the cast’s sporadic use of music; creating an affecting sense of environment, as noise, rhythm and sound punctuate each poignant moment perfectly. The majority of the
show’s success, however, is due to Johnson, who is a heartbreaking talent, holding the performance together with grace and charisma. We become instantly invested in his optimism and fight for survival in a hostile, unforgiving world. This is not a forced or patronising attempt at social commentary, it is a raw and striking look at human relationships and how our environment affects our behaviour. It hits a powerful chord. [Hannah ClaphamClark] Underbelly, Cowgate, 11:30am – 1:00pm, 12–25 Aug, £9.50 – £10.50
Pleasance Courtyard, 7:10pm – 8:00pm, 1 – 26 Aug, £12.50
48 fest edinburgh festival guide 2013 | August 20 – 26
www.festmag.co.uk
festtheatre Dark Matter
HHHHH In a hidden garden in a nondescript street off Leith Walk, shadows flicker. Unearthly mist swirls around a knotted tree. Lights catch the undercarriage of plants, throwing dark shapes across the grass. A young girl enters wearing nothing but an oversized coat. She is here to meet her married lover. If the mise-enscène doesn’t give it away, the portentous soundtrack confirms that all is not well in this patch of Edinburgh. And for the first three quarters of this site-specific show, this is the most engaging thing about it. This one-woman show is big on atmosphere, small on plot. There is little in the girl’s story—her parents’ deaths, her mental breakdown, her relationship with a married
man—to explain why the audience is sitting in someone’s back garden wearing headphones and jet black ponchos. Once the initial thrill of the space fades, the artfully elliptical script and impressive acting could easily have worked in a theatre. Is this theatre’s equivalent of 3D technology in cinema – shiny bells and whistles that add
NORTHERN STAGE PRESENTS
nothing to the storytelling? And then the twist comes. The half-formed sentences and theatrical artifice become hauntingly concrete. Her story is not the kind we initially thought. Dark matters indeed. The ultimate revelation just about justifies all that goes before it. It saves the show from the ignominy of
being upstaged by swirling dry ice. In the end everything combines to create a spooky, spine-tingling confection of death, love and darkness that leaves you wary of shadows on the way home. [Edd McCracken] Summerhall, 10:00pm – 10:40pm, 15–24 Aug, not 18, £12
WORLD PREMIERE
The Times
A Younger Theatre
with
Billy Hayes
“Open-ended, easygoing and convivial” The Scotsman
Box Office 0131 558 3047 Book Online northernstage.co.uk
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23-25 August at 9pm (ends 10pm) 6552 Festival www.gildedballoon.co.uk Highlights Box Office 0131 622
.com
Illustration: Anthony D’Avino
UNTIL 24 AUGUST (not 20)10pm Venue 73 NORTHERN STAGE AT ST STEPHEN’S
August 20 – 26 | edinburgh festival guide 2013 fest 49
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37 theSpace @ Surgeons Hall
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38 theSpace on North Bridge
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festtheatre The Collision of Things
HHHHH
Tom’s moved to London to find his dad. His dad’s dead. Tom never even met him, but he’s hoping to fill that absence by walking the same streets and mouthing the strange names of boroughs and stations that made up his father’s world. When he moves in with Jan and Luciana, a happy couple trying for a child, things quietly splinter and lives are subtly rewritten. Move to Stand’s winsome piece uses light and witty moments of physical abstraction to colour the story of two people falling out of love with London while a third fights his way into it. Their lives fold open in long evenings of drinking and dreaming, as lines and languages overlap in a multicultural household that feels entirely real and identifiable.
Tom’s hunt for his father is the only element that fails to coalesce, but it allows us to see him find London as a foreigner, transforming it into an exotic location filled with East End promise. His relationship to Jan and Luciana is elusive, despite his down to earth Yorkshire demeanour. At times he feels like a wedge driven between them, while at others he rings like Clarence, the visiting angel from It’s a Wonderful Life. Presented with a welljudged, pop-up roughness, it’s an unpretentious piece of urban poetry. The Collision of Things is a surprisingly rare kind of story, one that traces the fault lines of an impact between two good people and a third, who is equally good, and has only the best of intentions. [Stewart Pringle] Pleasance Courtyard, 5:45pm – 6:45pm, 31 Jul – 26 Aug, not 13 Aug, 20 Aug, £8.50 – £11
The Three Little Pigs
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Another play brought to Edinburgh as part of Assembly’s South African season, Three Little Pigs explores the country’s deep problems with police and political corruption, through a slightly over-stretched Orwellian metaphor of people imagined as animals. Two little pigs—you can guess their profession—have been slaughtered. It’s up to the third porcine brother to assist the criminal investigation, as he undergoes an interrogative grilling (sorry) at the hands of a goat and a chicken. Evidence points to a criminal baron with a bloodily sinister past – the Big Bad Wolf. But is solving this crime really that nursery-rhyme simple? The stage is framed
by an imposing electric fence, meat-hooks hanging ominously from the ceiling. Actors James Cairns, Rob van Vuuren and Albert Pretorius
roll in their respective parts like pigs in proverbial youknow-what. But their acting is consistently more compelling than the plot, a sub-The Wire
52 fest edinburgh festival guide 2013 | August 20 – 26
mix of bent and noble cops, underworld snitches and ruthlessly careerist bosses. Some animal characterisations work well – the snivelling rat informant, or the coke-snorting coterie of hyena club trash for example. Others—such as the cat stripper, confusingly lusted after by other non-feline species— just don’t read. There are some flashes of devilishly dark humour, and no punches are pulled as the play works to illuminate South Africa’s battle with particularly vicious, often internecine, forms of criminality. “Family murder is practically a national pastime in this country,” runs one line grimly, as a clever twist in both the tale and the tail looms. [Malcolm Jack] Assembly George Sq, 5:45pm – 6:45pm, 1–26 Aug, not 12, £14 – £15
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paterson’s land The Fringe’s newest venue BabyO SensoryO Dance Derby The Garden John and Zinnie Harris
Gareth Williams and Johnny McKnight
Last One Out Kurt Weill and Bertolt Brecht
The Seven Deadly Sins Scottish Opera
9 - 26 August
is core funded by
Registered in Scotland Number SCO37531 Scottish Charity Number SCO19787
Ménage à Trois By Claire Cunningham and Gail Sneddon
9 - 25 August Part of Made in Scotland 2013. Part of British Council Edinburgh Showcase. National Theatre of Scotland, a company limited by guarantee and registered in Scotland (SC234270) is a registered Scottish charity (SCO33377). Photograph of Claire Cunningham by Sven A Hagolani.
Box Office details
Book now!
Fringe Box Office
0131 226 0000 l edfringe.com
Paterson’s Land (venue 247) 37 Holyrood Road, Edinburgh Box office open from 9 August 0131 651 1421 l patersonsland.co.uk See website for full programme. Booking fees apply
Supported by the European Union
festtheatre The Bunker Trilogy: Morgana
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As explosions rock their bunker in France, three First World War soldiers wait to go to the front. Tensions flare as Artie and Lance both dream of Gwen, the girl they left behind in Cornwall; and the mysterious Morgana Le Fay weaves her spell over Gawain. Written by Jamie Wilkes and directed by Jethro Compton, this is one of a cycle of selfcontained plays inspired by legends, with the same cast in different roles. Borrowing from the story of King Arthur, Morgana is a funny and haunting tale of friendship, love and loss.The play is full of references for the keen-eyed, from Gawain’s friends teasing
him about green knights, to a headmaster nicknamed Merlin, to the setting itself: much of Thomas Malory’s famous Le Morte d’Arthur is rooted in medieval French romance.Wilkes skilfully uses Arthurian legend as a resonating frame for the devastating loss of innocence and hope symbolised by the Great War. Arthur, Lancelot and Gawain are the only survivors of 13 school friends who called themselves the Knights of the Round Table and joined the army together.There’s no place for Camelot in Compton’s stiflingly well-realised bunker – James Marlowe’s loveable, virginal Gawain is the last bright light. Dan Wood’s anguished Arthur and Sam Donnelly’s gruff, brooding Lancelot share powerful
scenes as they wrestle with this new world.Meanwhile, Serena Manteghi moves ethereally between the three men as Gwen, a French prostitute and as the enigmatic
Morgana, singing siren-like of the past and beckoning darkly to the future. [Tom Wicker]
uncomprehending, underpaid immigrant driver show the absurdity of everyday reality for women in the country. The show is let down only by Sobaihi’s lack of awareness about Saudi social class and its treatment of Saudi decadence and consumerism as being relatively un-
problematic. This is typified in the finale which finds a solution in a particularly American feminist individualism in which she falls in love with herself. It makes her characters less likeable despite obvious hardships. Head over heels... is as informative as it is funny, and you have to admire its
sincerity of purpose. It is a political project, highlighting the plight of Saudi women, but is hamstrung by a lack of self-awareness about the artificial dream-world it inhabits. [Dominic Hinde]
C nova, 5:45pm – 6:50pm, 1 – 26 Aug, £11.50 – £13.50
Head Over Heels in Saudi Arabia
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It’s safe to say that Head Over Heels in Saudi Arabia is not being staged with the aid of the Saudi Cultural Office. The show’s creator and performer, Saudi academic and theatre professional Maisah Sobaihi, sets out to make a point about the place of women in Saudi society through small vignettes from the lives of her friends and family. Sobaihi’s stories are both tragic and entertaining. Her boundless enthusiasm compensates for an audience unwilling to get involved, perhaps in part because some of them have turned up expecting a Jim Davidson-style trip through the hilarity of statesanctioned polygamy. As Sobaihi illustrates, the situation for Saudi women is anything but hilarious. The shame of being abandoned for a younger woman, or being unable to drive to the shops without the help of an
54 fest edinburgh festival guide 2013 | August 20 – 26
Spotlites @ The Merchants’ Hall, 5:50pm – 7:05pm, 11–26 Aug, £8.50
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festtheatre The Bloody Ballad
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The music is the star of this highly enjoyable hillbilly schlockfest, which might really take off in front of a drunker, more riotous crowd. The conceit is that we’re here to watch a band, the Missing Fingers, play a gig in some dive-bar in one of America’s swampier districts. The singer, Mary (Lucy Rivers channeling Juliet Lewis in Natural Born Killers), turns up late, blood on her gingham frock. She’s had a hell of a week. She tells her story, starting out with a number about her abusive father and skipping quickly to her love affair with a charming greaser who turns out to be a psychopath. It’s the most lurid kind of southern gothic, full of dismemberment,
torture, and visions of the devil, but Rivers’ controlled script (based on a murderous Welsh Romany folk tale) rations the sweetness and horror without letting things get out of hand. It’s the songs, though, that really set this one apart, turning a fun show into a riot. The three actors—Rivers, Oliver Woods as her evil
hick boyfriend, and Hannah McPake as his demonic mother—are all very handy musicians, between them playing bass, guitar, cello, accordian, and harmonica. The other two people onstage—drummer Tom Cottle and Dan Messore on guitar—don’t get to do any acting, beyond the occasional louche smirk or
some ambient caterwauling, but Messore in partcular is a stupendous blues guitarist. These songs go down just fine at the Roxy; they would go down a treat at 1am somewhere grimy on the Cowgate. [Ed Ballard] Assembly Roxy, 7:45pm – 9:00pm, 31 Jul – 25 Aug, not 12 Aug, 19 Aug, £12 – £14
For one week only 19 – 24 August
Fuel presents Inua Ellams’
Black T-shirt Collection “A tingling resonant celebration of the art of solo performance” HHHH Evening Standard Part of the British Council Edinburgh Showcase 2013
Pleasance Courtyard, Forth 19 – 24 August, 10.45 (75 mins) Tickets: £9 – £13.50 Box Office: 0131 556 6550 pleasance.co.uk
www.festmag.co.uk
Fuel presents
RING Conceived & directed by David Rosenberg Written by Glen Neath Music & sound by Ben & Max Ringham “Disconcerting, unnerving, intense, captivating, extremely clever, intriguing and unique... an absolute must see.” HHHHH What’s on Stage Pleasance Dome, Ace 19–24 Aug, 14.00 (60 mins) Tickets: £9 - £13.50 Box Office: 0131 556 6550 pleasance.co.uk
August 20 – 26 | edinburgh festival guide 2013 fest 55
festtheatre On the Beach by John Osborne
Julien Cottereau: Imagine Toi
John Osborne is becoming the bard of British minutiae. Last year he applied his gift to finding the universal in the seemingly parochial and fleeting to John Peel’s music collection. This year, the great British seaside is given an Osbornian gloss. On the Beach is good old-fashioned storytelling. One man, one stage, one story. The only nod to an art form from this side of the fall of the Roman Empire is a screen that projects images of Osborne’s subject matter – beautifully captured moments from the seaside, all with an artfully wistful soundtrack. This is a gentle story about a lunch hour walking along the beach at Weymouth in Dorset. The beach, Osborne says, is the great equaliser. Everyone is on the same level. Everyone has left the world behind. And so he begins telling the imagined stories of those he encounters. An old couple just sitting on a bench are veterans of waltzes at the local Winter Gardens in the 1960s. The young family are not just playing cricket but forging a tradition to last the ages. A man just sitting, staring at the shifting sea, is having an existential crisis. There is no drama here, no sideshow freaks or cancer scares. Just the gentle thrum of normality. Of course it is incredibly arch. His characters are cyphers for something bigger. But in his own lo-fi way, Osborne reminds us that nothing is ever ‘just’ something. If you want to see it, he says, ‘just’ a lunchtime walk along a beach can contain the entire world. [Edd McCracken]
There are magical moments galore in this wordlessly enchanting show by contemporary circus star Julien Cottereau. But just because you can do it all—play upright bass with an imaginary string of chewing gum, then slap out ‘Popcorn’ on your vocal chords, say—doesn’t mean self-editing isn’t necessary sometimes. Think what Marcel Marceau described as “l’art du silence”, just sans the silence. It’s miming and clowning in a timeless tradition, but with live voice-generated audio embellishment, ingeniously conjuring the sound of all from a peeled banana to a growling monster lurking in the wings. Audience participation is another element Cottereau adds masterfully – even if it doesn’t always go to plan. A small boy inspired to really get into the act of booting an imaginary ball about the stage beautifully captures the fantastical potency of great mime. The site of a
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Pleasance Dome, 3pm – 4pm, 1 – 26 Aug, £7.50 – £11
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A Conversation With My Father
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He’s a left-leaning retired career copper troubled by the memory of having to raise his truncheon on rioters. She’s a professor and activist with a passion for protesting. When this father and daughter converse, in a manner of speaking, in Hannah Nicklin’s solo spoken-word piece embellished with slides and audio recordings, it’s an idiosyncratic, touching and thought-provoking thing. Nicklin’s academic area of interest is theatre and politics. Her play essentially asks whether art can be a force for
poor lady almost reduced to tears of embarrassment at being made to play catwalk model, then later an old man paralysed by befuddlement as he’s taught to act the ogre in preparation for Cottereau’s heroic pièce de résistance, proves some minds are more fertile than others. Luckily a stand-in, who’s either a natural or has done this before, comes to the rescue. But just as a neatly triumphant endpoint has been
reached, a superfluous extra five minutes softens the buzz. Similarly to the bit when he delivers a coup de grâce to a dying dog, and the strange dream sequence when he gets trapped in a box (obligatory for mime shows?), it could have been shaved to let the really spellbinding stuff shine. [Malcolm Jack]
change just as powerful, if not more so, than direct action. As she very straightforwardly discusses her thoughts and feelings on the importance and ethics of marching and the fearful experience of being ‘kettled’, her father—his voice taped from when Nicklin interviewed him for her PhD—provides an illuminatingly thoughtful insider’s perspective on the boys in blue; an atypical, openly philosophical cop discussing how conscience-testing his duties could be (policing the miner’s strike in the 1980s for example). But on another, simpler level, this is a story about a daughter and her dad, and the deep love and respect
the two share despite being on opposite sides of the fight, as it were. The narrative jumps around too often to feel consistently powerful and engrossing, but Nicklin lucidly makes an important point. Just as protestors aren’t all pacifistic sweethearts (“some protestors are dicks”), neither are all cops dehumanised brutes. When sides in a struggle are less polarised than you’d imagine, the best sort of protest, she supposes, works not on someone’s mind, but on their soul. [Malcolm Jack]
56 fest edinburgh festival guide 2013 | August 20 – 26
Assembly Roxy, 12:55pm – 2:05pm, 1–26 Aug, not 12, £12 – £14
Northern Stage at St Stephen’s, 8:05pm – 9:10pm, 14–24 Aug, not 20, £11
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festdance&physicaltheatre
Bianco
HHHHH This is far more than firstclass acrobatics; it’s an exhilarating rush of movement and emotion that whirls you up in awe and drops you into moments of sublime beauty. NoFit State Circus is back in town and it’s waiting for you to enter the tent, buy your popcorn and open your eyes. Originally produced last year with the Eden Project,
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this redeveloped touring show has the wild energy of a travelling carnival. The atmosphere buzzes as the performers jostle and laugh with each other before throwing themselves into a series of astonishing routines. Backed by a great live band, there’s a boisterous, rocky vibe as riggers shift four huge towers around to create new performance landscapes. We move with them – tourists in a madcap world
of high-flying beach bathers and acrobats swinging from enormous ceiling lights. Firenza Guidi’s production throws life into the ring in all of its manic restlessness. It’s clownish, comic and stunning to behold. A sequence in which a French-speaking female performer clambers distractedly over tables in a café is pure farce scaffolded by incredible poise. But if this show is a tribute to the power of the human
body, it’s also an incredibly moving evocation of the fragility of human existence. There are moments of lyrical beauty and heart-breaking sadness when the floor clears, a hush falls and a solitary performer spins poetry in the fading light. Simply put, Bianco is extraordinary. [Tom Wicker] NoFit State Big Top, times vary, 2–26 Aug, not 6, 13, 20, £18
August 20 – 26 | edinburgh festival guide 2013 fest 57
festdance&physicaltheatre Leo
HHHHH Some words of warning for afternoon revellers en route to Leo: go easy on the pints. This show messes with your head quite enough of its own accord. In case you have missed the well-deserved hype growing around Leo for the past two years, the show sees a nattily dressed gent discover himself locked in a strange gravity-defying room. Flouting the golden rule of magic to fabulous effect, we can watch exactly what is going on the entire time, as its performer— this year William Bonnet formerly of Montreal circus fiends The 7 Fingers—deftly contorts himself into painful looking balances to create a natural picture on the adjacent screen. And vice versa. It’s hard to believe that the
Somnambules and the 7 Deadly Sins
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If you’ve ever been to see a Derevo piece—a company with whom award-winning dancer/performers Yael Karavan and Tanya Khabarova have both worked—you’ll have some idea of what to take away from this gleefully disturbing journey into an altered sleep state. If not: good luck. Both Karavan and Khabarova are beautiful movers, but it’s their eye for a striking image—something that scratches just beneath the surface of recognition—that glints through this piece and ultimately stops it from being self-indulgent. They tease and prickle us with a grim and a beautiful series of vignettes that recall grand gothic archetypes and silent movie fiends. Khabarova is the demonic doctor, malfunctioning and out of control, making her subject
simple act of turning a camera on its side can reap such plentiful comic and acrobatic rewards. But then Leo isn’t just built on a single trick, and it’s in the first few moments that we really see what Bonnet is made of. He has a supertuned spacial awareness that allows him to judge angles and distances perfectly; something that will come in handy later on when he’s leaping all over the place. It’s the lean of his arm, the crook of his ankle that creates the mind-bending relaxedness of the screen image. Even when he’s scrawling a domestic graffiti scene all over one wall he seems able to tip his own brain sideways. A first viewing of Leo wows you with its effect; a second delights you with its execution. [Lucy Ribchester] Assembly George Sq, 6pm – 7pm, 1–25 Aug, £16
sign a Faustian pact, before she is whisked away to dance with death under a pumpkingold moon. Roses and bridal white emerge as themes. The pair duet exquisitely behind a shadow screen like conjoined twin-lovers, then emerge as posturing showmen in black hats. Suddenly, a turd falls from the sky onto a cloth map of the world, and they fling it up and down with abandon. Tightrope walking the line between horrific and charming, the result is quite enjoyable. But while the ending hints at an overarching theme of destruction, it doesn’t feel like the result of what has come before. A tighter driving force would give this piece the power it seeks to convey. That said, it’s well worth it if you’re looking for something at the twilight hour with a few more fangs than cabaret. [Lucy Ribchester] Summerhall, 9:30 – 10:35pm, 2–25 Aug, £11
Company Man
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Aggressive flyering is all part of the Fringe experience, but there aren’t many companies who try to put the hard sell on once you’re captive inside a theatre. Japanese circus troupe Cheeky*Park, however, want to woo us with sales pitches, business cards and handshakes, clambering their way through the crowd before they hit the stage for some office-based hijinks. It’s a warm start to a fun show, but unfortunately the pumped-up, chattering energy fizzles out pretty quickly after this and doesn’t really return – at least not until a mildly surreal paper-storm ending. Commuting, typing and pesky 5pm telephone calls lead the way into tricks and passages of rhythmic dance in this atypical business day. Competitive flirting segues nicely into a liquid-slick bit
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of coffee cup shuffling; later we’re treated to some impressive juggling and a whimsical penultimate scene involving about a mile and a half of telephone cord. But there’s potential for lots more physical comedy than we get – which is a shame because it’s the troupe’s strong point. A three-way adagio to Roxanne shows accomplished balancing, but can’t compete with other circuses on offer this Fringe. This goes for most of the choreography, which far outweighs the clowning. In each case it drags the momentum down until it has been zapped for good. Cheeky*Park have impressive credentials, display fabulous charisma when interacting with the audience, and it is their Edinburgh debut. Perhaps they were just having a bad day at the office. [Lucy Ribchester] C venues - C, 4:45 – 5:45pm, 1 – 26 Aug, £10.50 – £12.50
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‘really irresistible, exhilarating energy’ LE FIGARO
Don Quichotte du Trocadéro Charity No SC004694
Don Quixote of the Trocadero
Choreographed by José Montalvo A fantasy world where farce, burlesque, film, comedy, urban and contemporary dance combine in this brilliant new show. Thursday 29 – Saturday 31 August 7.30pm, Festival Theatre
Book now at eif.co.uk/montalvo 0131 473 2000
festdance&physicaltheatre A Simple Space
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The company members of Adelaide-based circus troupe Gravity & Other Myths come in like the rest of us, through the auditorium. It’s not quite a metaphor, but it does give a bit of an idea of what they are about. Dressed for the beach—except for tell-tale wrist support bands—they use low-fi Ikea-style lamps for lighting and perform on the floor rather than the stage. You could almost be forgiven for believing they are indeed like the rest of us. Until the games begin. Strip-poker skipping starts us off, the losers each peeling a layer until one man is sent packing to the stage to enact his forfeit. Later, a breath-holding endurance test turns into a hand-standoff between an upside down acrobat and his iron-lunged companions – a cheeky
comment on the common description of circus acts as “breathtaking”? This competitive spirit runs throughout the show, and might give a glimpse into exactly how this fivesome got so good. But there’s also plenty of teamwork, as they climb into heroic towers and create striking zig-zag hieroglyphs from multiple bodies. All good clean superhuman fun, with an edge of beach play and a hearty street theatre vibe. But then we get to the finale. Far be it for Fest to spoil the surprise but let’s just say that Jascha Boyce may well be the most fearless woman at the Fringe. Or possibly the world. With the final five minutes, these amiable Aussie chums will stop your heart and leave you speechless. [Lucy Ribchester] Gilded Balloon Teviot, 1:30pm – 2:20pm, 1– 26 Aug, £11
Noodles
HHHHH Even without the unexplained technical difficulties that bring today’s performance to a halt during its first five minutes, Noodles would still be an utter mess. It’s not often that NoFit State Theatre’s audiences are afforded the opportunity to enjoy the circus pioneers’ work inside traditional, seated venues, the company instead preferring to escort them through cavernous tents. This practice has enabled them to create some truly immersive experiences, moving their public from one dazzling spectacle to the next with very little time wasted.
Noodles finds its performers almost naked by contrast, with no option but to set up each stunt and setpiece before our very eyes, creating unwelcome feelings of awkwardness and tension in the process. One interlude sees an anthropomorphic cat take to the stage for a brief set of scatological standup, the purpose of which seems to escape all in attendance. Other comedy vignettes are rendered unintelligible to those without a mastery of Spanish while, elsewhere, lighting and props are painstakingly adjusted and it becomes difficult to separate the show from action traditionally left behind the scenes.
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These somewhat bizarre lulls are, however, no stranger than the many masterful highlights that justify the ticket price. Acrobats are carted onstage cocooned in the titular foodstuff or else riding atop carb-heavy chariots. A magician is tormented by his ability to inadvertently duplicate egg yolk, while weirdly respectful tribute is paid to Marilyn Monroe from atop a delicious looking tight rope. If Noodles tests your patience at times, it can also be said to reward it in equal measure. [Lewis Porteous] New Town Theatre, 12:45pm – 1:55pm, 2–25 Aug, not 6, 13, 20, £12
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festdance&physicaltheatre
Fleurs de Cimetiere / Age Freckles and Other Tall Stories
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Whether by artistic design or happy accident, Francehailing Cie Herve-Gil’s meditation on growing older just blooms deeper and more beautiful the longer it goes on. A reunion of women sit chatting in summer light. One of them (Fransoise Simon) wants to talk but
doesn’t know what to say. So she listens while the others take turns instead, speaking through minute, carefully controlled gestures; a float of the hand, a slow sweep of the spine. Interspersed with Simon’s philosophical musings— which really hit their stride when she begins talking directly to the audience— dancers filter in ones and twos onto the floor, to a soundtrack that mixes and mashes baroque, folk and a
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THE RADICALISATION OF BRADLEY MANNING
beautiful puirt a beul song, as ancient and wise as the voice that sings it. There’s a thoughtful, considered quality to the motion that demands you notice its details; tiny steps, careful drops. No flashy gestures here; there doesn’t need to be in a consort of dancers who know their bodies so wisely and well. The dance’s intelligence is mirrored by the sentiments in Dominique Wittorski’s script, which trips over subjects of
gender, youth and age. Eventually the meaning behind the piece’s name is revealed (to an audience gasp): “flowers of the cemetery” is French slang for age freckles. But there is nothing funereal flowering here. A grand performance full of inspirational grace, Fleurs de Cimetiere shows that in growing up there’s a lot to look forward to. [Lucy Ribchester] Run ended
ZOO southside
By Tim Price Directed by John E McGrath
6th - 25th August 7.30pm (2.30pm) Pleasance at St Thomas of Aquin’s High School (Venue #17)
pleasance.co.uk | 0131 556 6550 www.festmag.co.uk
August 20 – 26 | edinburgh festival guide 2013 fest 61
festinternationalfestival On Behalf of Nature
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Fragile strains of music pierce delicately but defiantly through the darkness. Silhouetted bodies writhe and reach upwards from the floor as the stage is slowly flooded with cool light. One performer stands bathed in fiery orange at the front of the stage, arms outreached and mouth opening and closing in a wordless appeal to the audience. These are just a few of the more striking moments in Meredith Monk’s tapestry of bodies and voices, woven together into a meditation on the natural environment and our place within it. The problem is that these separate and often beautiful threads are loosely knitted, resulting not in a complex web of interconnectedness between human beings and nature, but instead in a barely comprehensible tangle of images and sounds.
Abstraction and symbolism, often powerful theatrical tools, become increasingly empty without anything to connect them. Images simply appear and then dissolve. Elaine Buckholtz’s gorgeous lightning stunningly illuminates the bodies on stage and Monk’s music offers a delicate soundscape, but the disjointed beauty is hypnotic at best and soporific at worst. Monk’s subject matter is vital, even if her tactics for appealing for the environment are a little disingenuous – all those lights don’t run on nothing. But despite the brief departure from the abstract to show a series of projected film clips of the planet, contrasting natural scenes with the impact of human existence, Monk’s message is only lightly impressed upon her audience. Unlike the dire predicament of our planet, this piece never feels urgent. [Catherine Love] Run ended
Histoire d’Amour
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There are two ways of being diverted by this unpleasant play, the simple tale of a man who spots a fit girl, decides to marry her, then stalks and rapes her for an hour and a bit. One is by admiring the brilliant staging from Chilean company Teatro Cinema. Standing between two screens on which are projected swooshing, vertiginous cityscapes and unsettling interiors, the actors, Bernadita Montero and Julián Marras, are trapped in the monochrome world of a graphic novel. The set-up is ingenious but the effect is somewhat alienating. This visual language is spectacularly ill-suited to telling a story about rape.
Each assault is reduced to a comic book tableau, making sexual violence look noirish and cool. Worst is the treatment of Sofia, the victim. She simply isn’t a character. Given barely a line, she exists in a series of sexualised moans and gestures. Why present a woman this way, devoid not just of agency but of inner life? The charitable thing is
to assume that some point is being made with all this. But this mind-numbing play doesnt antagonise, it doesn’t provoke interesting questions; Histoire d’Amour is dull as well as distasteful. The odious protagonist is in prison for all of two minutes, and he loses track of his victim a couple of times, but overall his campaign of rape progresses smoothly. For
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ninety minutes. What’s the point of a story where the protagonist gets everything his own way? The second diversion, by the way, comes from sniggering at all the typos in the surtitles: “I spent many moths without seeing her.” [Ed Ballard] King’s Theatre, Edinburgh, times vary, 15–17 Aug, £12
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festinternationalfestival
Hamlet
HHHHH When the troupe of travelling actors turns up at Elsinore, Hamlet tells them he likes plays “set down with as much modesty as cunning.” He, and other people who prefer art that doesn’t show its workings, wouldn’t like the Wooster Group. The cunning outweighs the modesty in this production, more séance than staging, a study of how each new Hamlet car-
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ries the charge of all those that came before. The Wooster Group, a celebrated crew of New York hipsters, re-enact Richard Burton’s 1964 film version with breathtaking precision. As the old footage plays behind them (snatches of other cinema Hamlets also crop up occasionally), the actors mimic the movements and intonation of their dead counterparts, whose voices and faces have been edited from the footage
for long stretches. As Scott Shepherd’s Hamlet gives his soliloquy on death, Burton’s face fades into view, as though the camera has captured one of the ghosts that live in this text. There’s plenty of gleeful postmodern grandstanding. Shakespeare retains enough of an aura to allow a thrill of illicit excitement when Shepherd breaks character to announce that we’ll be skipping a few of the duller scenes, but other tricks seem glib.
Chopping up the video so that the cast has to jerk about distractingly in order to follow the fractured movements of the actors on film gets a few laughs, but this seems like a cheap shot, undermining the 1964 production and slightly trivialising this odd project, which is at heart an original and extremely accomplished attempt to present a great play in a new light. [Ed Ballard] Run ended
August 20 – 26 | edinburgh festival guide 2013 fest 63
festmusic&cabaret Adam Page
HHHHH To the uninitiated, looppedal performances can be something of an arcane art. But it doesn’t take long for Adam Page’s process to become clear. Building entire pieces of music by sampling himself playing an array of instruments through a series of effects pedals, Page’s performance is half frivolous party-trick, half genuine musical performance. But while much of Page’s set might be silly (he turns to his old trick of using an audience member’s name as a point of departure for an improvisation twice tonight), that’s not to say it lacks musical merit. No sooner, for example, is he piecing together a tune by rubbing a microphone against his greying, ZZ Top beard, than he’s performing a heartfelt saxophone cover of Radiohead’s ‘High and Dry’. What’s more, there’s no shortage to Page’s
instrumental artillery—vocals, saxophone, keyboard, guitar, bass guitar, flute, even melodica—Page can play them all. And while he might not play the guitar as well as the Jimmy with whom he shares a surname, and while his vocals may not really be any more listenable than the
droves of buskers around the city, it’s the conviction and innate, infectious sense of humour with which Page performs that’s ultimately this show’s greatest asset. Not only is Page’s show both funny and occasionally genuinely sincere, it’s one based almost entirely on
multi-taskers. Ngxanga, for instance, simultaneously hums robust bass-lines whilst beat-boxing. Opposite him, Ntsika Fana Ngxanga, with his soulful solo voice, effortlessly switches to an androgynous falsetto that complements the female member of the group, Buhlebendalo Mda, whenever necessary. Even Mda herself flits between spotlighted chanteuse and textural
supplement throughout the course of the show. The Soil are soulful a cappella outfit for whom joy is the primary (and perhaps only) objective. Not only is ‘Joy’ the title of a track from their debut album, it’s a word that’s bandied about throughout the course of tonight’s show – the collective certainly aren’t shy of interacting with the audience between songs, taking ample
improvisation. That is to say that it also boasts a spontinaeity that truly stands out among a festival of rigidly honed performances. [Sam Cleeve] Underbelly, Cowgate, 4:50pm – 5:50pm, 1–25 Aug, not 12, £10 – £11
The Soil
HHHHH Do South Africans make sad music? Even The Soil’s ‘New Year’s Resolutions’—a song about a resolution made by band-member Luphindo Ngxanga’s girlfriend to leave him come the new year—sounds a little like celebration. A three-piece a cappella soul outfit from Soweto, the band blend the faith-driven music of their homeland—concepts such as joy, life and family have a pervasive presence—with more commonplace pop music concerns – relationships and adolescent revelry. And if ‘three-piece a cappella group’ makes you wonder whether the sound might be a little thin, think again. Their mastery lies in the fact that they’re all ardent
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time to thank the audience, God, and to tease Ngxanga about his still-suffered loneliness. Utilising their surprisingly full sound to combine the music of their origins with Western pop aesthetic, The Soil’s show is one of the most heartening musical performances of this year’s Fringe. [Sam Cleeve] Assembly George Sq., 7:10pm – 8:10pm, until 26 Aug, £12 – £14
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ACOUSTIC MUSIC CENTRE @ ST BRIDE'S (VENUE 123) Monday 5 to Sunday 25 August 131 performances, 71 shows from the UK plus Australia, China, Ireland, South Korea, Spain, and USA Bar/cafe open daily- food by First Coast restaurant AMC @ St Bride's, 10 Orwell Terrace, EH11 2DZ tickets: The Queen's Hall 0131-668 2019 www.thequeenshall.net/elsewhere/2013/08 or, Fringe 0131-226 0000 www.edfringe.com
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August 20 – 26 | edinburgh festival guide 2013 fest 65
festmusic&cabaret Peter Straker’s Brel
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Peter Straker’s credentials are nothing to be sniffed at. A musical theatre veteran who formed part of the original 1968 cast of Hair, he went on to star in the likes of The Rocky Horror Show, The Rat Pack and Pete Townsend’s Tommy. But sadly that’s no assurance of quality when it comes to Brel. Not quite the heartfelt tribute it appears to be, Straker’s production is an arms-length treatment of Jaques Brel’s life and works, that sits awkwardly between musical tribute and self-indulgent musical theatre. Jaques Brel was certainly theatrical, but Straker’s thespian bent is so overblown that it makes him feel like the butt of the joke at a karaoke: jumping around the stage, staring menacingly into the eyes of audience members, and making unnecessary costume changes at the side of the stage. Even Straker’s powerful, full-bodied voice succumbs to over-theatrical temptations – that warm, aged croon bubbling over into a yelp in almost every song. The talented three-piece band try their best to augment the songs, but the soulless sound of the keyboard can only muster a shadow of the rich, sophisticated arrangements of Brel’s originals. Peter Straker’s Brel could have been a worthy tribute to the Belgian master of the chanson, but Straker’s insistence on over-gesticulating and magnifying every musical subtlety to the level of caricature made him feel like a fish out of water. Straker might have a great voice, yet you feel he’s not quite as at home here as he is upon the creaky boards of West-End theatres. [Sam Cleeve] Assembly Checkpoint, 4:55 – 5:50pm, until 26 Aug £14
Sotho Sounds: Junk Funk
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Limitations breed creativity, or so they say. Sotho Sounds—a spirited four-piece from the Kingdom of Lesotho—know more about this than most. With day jobs as herd boys in the highlands of their native country, there was never any point in crossing fingers for the chimera of Fender guitars and Moog synthesizers. But, resourceful types such as they are, Sotho Sounds have fashioned instruments entirely from discarded materials – tin cans, oil barrels, off-cuts of wood and useless lengths of wire,
Mugenkyo Taiko Drummers
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One of the most immediately impressive things about Mugenkyo Taiko Drummers is the instruments themselves. The largest amongst this collection of Japanese Taiko drums is probably six feet high, mounted so that the players have to extend their arms high above their heads to play it. And there’s a whole battery of them. So with the inevitable anticipation that this creates, the opening piece (performed by two musicians, either side of a single drum) seems disappointing. The male-female duet is equal parts ritualistic
all transformed into a charmingly rickety orchestra. While their 2012 album, Junk Funk, was certainly an interesting listen, the joy, passion and playfulness with which they perform is something that only translates in a live setting. Those southern African vocal harmonies are as authentic as they come (if world music compass is broken, think Paul Simon’s Graceland), but it’s the ramshackle accompaniment that surprises most. Because while it might initially strike as an impenetrable mess, it’s amazing how quickly the ears adjust. And from that point, you can easily find yourself in raptures. It can only be
testament to the joyfulness of Sotho Sounds’ performance that even an (admittedly insistent) open invitation to dance the Macarana on stage manages to brush sour British tempers and inhibitions aside with ease. Sotho Sounds’ interactions with the audience may be made in endearingly convoluted pidgin English, but they needn’t say anything at all. It’s clear that they’re happy simply to be playing. Even if it is on instruments costing less than the price of a latte. [Sam Cleeve]
and graceful, but prompts concerns that the show might be more a demonstration of mysterious and theatrical far-Eastern customs than an instantly rewarding performance. Those fears are soon quelled. No sooner has that piece found resolution than the stage is flooded with six new drummers, pounding away with a blistering intensity and precision. The potency of it all soon makes you realise something: the Taiko drums on stage aren’t the only instruments being pummelled here – watch out for the little drums in your ears, too. And it’s not just a banquet for the ears – there’s also an impressive visual
component to this show. The group exploit the hypnotic symmetries in the frantic movements of the musicians, using glow-in-the-dark drumsticks, masks and ribbon dancing under UV lights to dazzling effect. Mugenkyo Taiko Drummers’ show is one of discipline, power and intensity. Exotic enough to sustain interest and set itself apart from the majority of Fringe shows, while not being so esoteric as to alienate the audience, this theatrical performance is fiercely impressive. [Sam Cleeve]
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Gilded Balloon Teviot, 1:30pm – 2:30pm, 31 Jul – 26 Aug, not 14 Aug, £10 – £11
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festkids
I love the festival because... Photos: Claudine Quinn
With over 6,000 words written and 105 stars awarded to 27 shows, Fest’s kid’s panel of reviewers have had a busy time over the last few weeks reviewing the range of the kid’s shows on offer. Kids editor Caroline Black asks her team how it’s gone.
T
he kids have had their work cut out for them this year with more children’s shows on offer than ever before. And what a range! From farting princesses and unicorn ladies, to poo stew and intergalactic space puppets, they have watched performers from all over the world and have been entertained, thrilled and occasionally disappointed. Making kids laugh looks like the best way to get five stars and three of our reviewers, Minnie Stephenson, Ben Cotter and Phoebe Black enjoyed a right good laugh at some funny shows. Cheeky Minnie also enjoyed the bits that were “a little bit rude” in Little Howard’s Big Show. Whereas Ben learnt that what’s funny for one person isn’t always the same for another when the same show pretended to kill and blow up insects which he “didn’t think was funny at all”. Iona Wood also learnt something when reviewing; not to judge a show by its flyer - “I was a bit unsure about The Man Who Planted Trees as the flyer didn’t catch my eye, however I absolutely loved this play!” Wood went on to give the show her only five star review of the festival. Some of the kids have been a bit starstruck seeing performers in the flesh but the tables were turned on Archie Lamb when he met the cast of Captain Flinn and the Pirate Dinosaurs. They were very happy to meet him after reading his five star review of their show, “It made me feel really happy that they had read what I’d written and liked it!” Good manners
68 fest edinburgh festival guide 2013
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festkids got Hector Cotton out of a tricky situation when he met the performer from another show; “She asked me if I’d liked the show and I said ‘yes’, even though I hadn’t really. It would have been too rude to say ‘no’.” It seems that, whilst they loved the shows, it was just as much fun being part of the festival and seeing the city fill with interesting performers. All of the kids enjoyed the free shows and many street performers around the Royal Mile area. Ruari Black especially enjoyed “a guy with a little puppet on strings who did funny things with the audience,” whilst Eleanor Smith and her family watched some of the city’s many a capella singers and a man doing tricks on a high tightrope. But—whilst, sure, some shows were awesome— the best bit for many of the kids was choosing their own superhero character, getting dressed up and having their photographs taken. None more so than Zander Cotton and Lois Black (AKA The Clever Climber and Gymnastique) who loved the excitement of the photo shoot, “I loved doing the photos and having my own super hero cape” says Black. Cotton agrees, “It was really cool and I thought the photo was really cool too”.
Fest kid’s five star reviews The Big Bite-Size Play Factory’s Family Creatures Drum Stuck! Hush Slapdash Galaxy The Man Who Planted Trees Bec & Tom’s Awesome Laundry Comedy Club for Kids Captain Flinn and the Pirate Dinosaurs Rapunzel - May The Force Be With You! Help! My Supply Teacher is Magic
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August 20 – 26 | edinburgh festival guide 2013 fest 69
festkids Slapdash Galaxy
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This is the best puppet show in the world. It’s about Sam and his younger brother, Junior. Their planet is at war, so their mother sends them away to a different planet, with Sam in charge. In the spaceship, Junior pressed buttons that he wasn’t meant to, and he made them crash down to an unknown planet. Sam went out for spacewalk where he bumped into monsters that he had to defeat and Junior has to rescue him. Next they get abducted by pirates and put in the alien zoo. This is when you put on your 3D glasses. It’s pretty dark and you meet the monsters; some of them are really
Poopiedoopiedoop
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A king ruled over the kingdom of Poopiedoopieland, and he farted a lot. But one day the Ginger Ninja stole the king’s favourite toy which he took back to his land. People from the
The Red Tree
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The Red Tree is advertised for 7+ and suitable for children, but I just didn’t get it. The venue is quite small and the stage is surrounded by black curtains to make it really dark. There were three people in the show: a girl, who was the main character and two people who created the scenes by moving things about and were sometimes involved in playing other characters. The story is about a girl who wakes up and has a really bad day. It was all a bit doom and gloom for me. There is no talking in the story, but words are held up for you to read. It’s a really
strange and funny, I think this part of the show is the best. The show is good, I liked it a lot – it’s for kids and adults and it was really funny. The puppets could be glued a bit better (some of the wigs fell off) but it was exciting and really magical. [Hector Cotton, age 7] Underbelly, Bristo Square, 4:15pm – 5:15pm, 31 Jul – 26 Aug, not 14 Aug, £11 – £13
audience had to go on adventures across the sea and through the jungle to rescue it. On the adventures, the children had to pretend to be pirates, ninjas and explorers. We had to guess what animals they could hear. They said one was a bear,
but you don’t get bears in the jungle. The best part of the show was at the end when we all got to fight the Ginger Ninja – the kids on stage got to whack him really hard with the plastic clubs and we threw balls at him. The story is acted out by
short story but took an hour to tell. The people used torches and some props, but not many, and they were really active on the stage. I liked one bit where it looked like she was in a video game! This show might be better for adults, but not if you want to feel happy. There was a little girl who had to leave early because she was scared and started to cry which I was not surprised by because it was really dark. It is a one star show because I did not understand it which I was annoyed about. [Ruari Black, age 11 ½]
Back from the Future
Zoo, 1:45pm – 2:45pm, 2–26 Aug, £8
a man and a woman who play different characters. Their acting was okay, but I didn’t want to join in. [Hector Cotton, age 7] Gilded Balloon Teviot, 11:30am – 12:20pm, 31 Jul – 25 Aug, not 12 Aug, 13 Aug, 19 Aug, 20 Aug, £7.50 – £8.50
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This show is in a tent which feels a bit like the inside of an igloo. All the parents sat on little stools and the kids got to sit on cushions at the front. The show was just one man who said he was from the future and had come back to change something so that his dad didn’t disappear. I thought we might get to help him, but we didn’t really. He told lots of stories about time travel and there was a quiz. I’m not really into sci-fi, so maybe it would be more interesting if you were. The character then told us a really long story about a
70 fest edinburgh festival guide 2013 | August 20 – 26
king and a war. In the end it turned out it was all about Tony Blair and I don’t even know who he is! So it was lost on me. This show was a bit boring and I wouldn’t really recommend it, so I’m giving it one star. [Ruari Black, age 11 ½] Pleasance Courtyard, 4:30pm – 5:15pm, 12–25 Aug, £6
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festkids Tiddler and Other Terrific Tales
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This show had four Julia Donaldson stories in it: Monkey Puzzle; A Squash and a Squeeze; The Smartest Giant in Town; and Tiddler. There were three performers who did loads of singing and dancing and played funny instruments. They had great ideas for how to make normal things seem like animals, like when they turned their fisherman’s hats into jellyfish. The puppets were good too, and they used torches to make cool shadows on a big screen. The shark was brilliant. They used two ladders and a plank of wood in clever ways to make it seem like they were in different places, like the jungle, the farm or under the sea. It was a bit weird the way they kept stopping Monkey Puzzle, doing a different
story, and then carrying on with Monkey Puzzle again. But I really liked the cute rope monkey and the monkey song. I also really liked the old lady in A Squash and a Squeeze – her voice made me laugh! Mostly this show was really good and quite funny, and I think that most other kids would like it too. I think I maybe would have liked it better when I was three or four because I did feel a tiny bit bored a couple of times. [Archie Lamb, age 5]
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HHHHH I thought this was an excellent show. The actor held the audience’s attention really well without any props at all. The main character is Titus, a ten year old boy who lives in a flat above a Butcher’s shop. He is about to jump off the roof of his school, with all his friends, his teachers and his dad down below. But then he imagines that the audience has asked him why he’s up there, so he recounts his life story before he got to
Underbelly, Bristo Square, 11:45am – 12:35pm, 1–26 Aug, not 14, £10 – £11
Hush
This is my favourite show, it was all about secrets! On the way into the theatre a girl I didn’t know told me a secret and asked me not to tell anyone. The story is about a Princess who told us that if she cried a pool of tears then she would disappear. She wasn’t very happy and wanted to disappear into her own world. There was a boy called Nosey and another girl called Chatterbox. Nosey kept telling us Princess’s secrets which made her sad and she did cry a pool of tears. Chatterbox jumped into the pool of tears and Nosey fell in trying to save her. When they were in the pool there were sweeties that made Chatterbox turn into animals and they also both discovered
Titus
that moment. We hear about his pet piglet, what he writes on his bedroom wall, the talking crow that lands on his head, his first date with his girlfriend, and what he thinks about his dad. And what is missing from his life. You can expect to laugh and to cry and be reassured that young people sometimes understand the world in a better way than old folk. [Laurence Avery, age 10] Summerhall, 12:10pm – 12:50pm, 2–25 Aug, £8
the Princess’s secret.Her secret was that she wasn’t really a Princess at all. She just wanted everybody to like her and be her friend. Princess asked me to help her save her friends by holding onto her skirt made of curtains and pull them all out of the pool of tears. They all lived happily ever after.This show is good and I really enjoyed the story. [Minnie Stephenson, age 7] Gilded Balloon Teviot, 12:00pm – 12:50pm, 31 Jul – 26 Aug, not 13 Aug, £8 – £9
August 20 – 26 | edinburgh festival guide 2013 fest 71
Festival Listings When it's this time... ...this show is on...
22:30 ❤ Adam Buxton HHHH ... at this venue...
Assembly Hall 2–5 Aug, £16 ...on these dates...
07:00
11:00 Planet of the Japes Laughing Horse @ The Blind Poet, 2-4 Aug, £free
09:00
Joe Munrow: Jazz Monkey Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 1-25 Aug, £free
BBC: Shaun Keaveny BBC@Potterrow, 23 Aug, £free Daily at the BBC BBC@Potterrow, 2-25 Aug, £free
10:15 Bespoke Comedy for the Discerning Family Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 2-11 Aug, £free
10:30 The Improv of Being Earnest theSpace on North Bridge, 21-24 Aug, £5 BBC: MacAulay & Co BBC@Potterrow, 5-23 Aug, weekdays only, £free ❤ Henson Alternative’s Puppet Up! Uncensored HHHH Assembly Hall, Various dates from 10 Aug to 25 Aug, £16
10:45
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 other times. Check our website for more information. Dates and times can sometimes change, so check with the venue before planning ahead. If you're looking for a show to see right now, visit festmag.co.uk on your smartphone to find out what's coming up at nearby venues
...for this price
BBC: The Today Programme BBC@Potterrow, 24 Aug, £free
Fest is the only place you can get daily listings for all of the comedy and theatre shows at the Fringe.
11:40 The Twins Just The Tonic at the Caves, 1-18 Aug, not 7, 8, 12, 13, 14, 15, £4 – £6 The Birmingham Footnotes Disagree Just The Tonic at the Caves, 2-11 Aug, £5
11:50
Ray Fordyce’s Brunchtime Banter Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 1-24 Aug, not 4, 11, 18, £free
UCL Graters: Crab Salad Underbelly, Cowgate, 1-25 Aug, not 13, £6 – £9.50
BBC: Loose Ends BBC@Potterrow, 17 Aug, £free
12:00
11:05 Alexander Bennett’s Afraid Of The Dark Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 2-25 Aug, £free Dark Side of the Sun theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 12-24 Aug, not 18, £6
11:10 Bridget Christie - A Bic for Her HHH The Stand Comedy Club, 3-25 Aug, not 12, £10
11:30
An Arab Woman’s View of Life Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 2-3 Aug, £free
Shall We Just See This One? Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 1-12 Aug, £free
Death Ship 666! - The Titanic Parody Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 4-25 Aug, £free
Aaaand Now For Something Completely Improvised Pleasance Courtyard, 31 Jul - 26 Aug, £6 – £8
Pretty On the Inside The Stand Comedy Club III & IV, 1-25 Aug, not 12, £6 – £7 Tickled Pig Presents: The Noon Show / PBH’s Free Fringe Henry’s Cellar Bar, 3-24 Aug, not 15, £free Big Value Comedy’s Lunchtime Club Just The Tonic at the Caves, 1-25 Aug, not 13, £3 – £6 M.P.H.: A Comedy Compendium Laughing Horse @ The Phoenix, 1-25 Aug, £free Princess Savage Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 2-25 Aug, not 12, 19, £free Surname and Surname Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 1-25 Aug, not 13, £free The God Particle Just The Tonic at Bristo Square, 1-25 Aug, not 13, £5 – £8
Tristan Garrel Cambridge Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 1-17 Aug, £free In Cahoots Laughing Horse @ Meadow Bar, 1-25 Aug, £free Our Father Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 14-25 Aug, £free The Donfather Just The Tonic at the Caves, 2-9 Aug, £6 Doctor Brown: Bexperiments Underbelly, Cowgate, 13 Aug, £7 The Human Condition Free Show Laughing Horse @ Finnegan’s Wake, 1-24 Aug, not 4, 11, 18, £free Do a Show Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 1-13 Aug, £free Gusset Grippers Laughing Horse @ The Newsroom, 1-25 Aug, £free
12:05 Crunch the News The Cabaret Voltaire, 3-24 Aug, £free
12:10 Mike Wozniak - Take The Hit HHH The Stand Comedy Club II, 1-25 Aug, not 12, £7 – £8 Domestic Science The Canons’ Gait, 3-25 Aug, not 7, 14, 21, £free
12:15 Funny Women Pop Up Fringe Le Monde, 17 Aug, 24 Aug, £10 Joby Mageean: Condiment Soup Laughing Horse @ The Blind Poet, 1-15 Aug, £free JAM Comedy Laughing Horse @ Jekyll & Hyde, 1-11 Aug, £free MI4 Espionage - Free Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 3-25 Aug, £free Remember That I Love You Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 1-25 Aug, £free
12:20 Stick Man Laughing Horse @ Jekyll & Hyde, 12-25 Aug, not 15, £free Ellievision Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 1-24 Aug, not 15, £free In the Words of Meat Loaf... Underbelly, Bristo Square, 31 Jul - 26 Aug, not 14 Aug, £6 – £9.50 Staple/face: Bathtime With Tom’s Dad The Voodoo Rooms, 3-25 Aug, not 12, £free
12:30 Patrick Turpin: Just a Girl, Standing in Front of a Boy, Asking Him to Love Her Bannermans, 3-24 Aug, not 12, £free
Suman Biswas: Free After Amateur Transplants Whynot?, 18 Aug, 19 Aug, 20 Aug, 21 Aug, 23 Aug, £free The Bravery Test Laughing Horse @ Edinburgh City Football Club, 6-25 Aug, £free The Lunchtime Ferret Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 9-18 Aug, £free Smells Like Shit ... Tastes Like Chicken Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 4-8 Aug, £free The Lunchtime Special Just the Tonic at The Tron, 1-25 Aug, not 13, £3 – £6 Worst Show On the Fringe - Free Bristo Bar & Kitchen, 3-24 Aug, £free About Comedy: Stand-Up Comedy Courses Laughing Horse @ Edinburgh City Football Club, Various dates from 3 Aug to 24 Aug, £99 Absolute Improv Workshop theSpace @ Jury’s Inn, 5 Aug, £195 Double D’s with Jenna Wimshurst and Caroline Bridgwater Laughing Horse @ Edinburgh City Football Club, 1-5 Aug, £free Bog Standard Britain The Royal Scots Club, 16-17 Aug, £10
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72 fest edinburgh festival guide 2013 | August 20 – 26
@FollowTheCow
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comedylistings 12:40 Steve Richards’ Rock ‘n’ Roll Politics 2 Assembly George Square, 1-26 Aug, not 12, 19, £8 – £12.50 ❤ Tony Law: Nonsense Overdrive HHHH The Stand Comedy Club, 1-26 Aug, not 12, £9 – £10
12:45 The Human Centrepiece Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 3-24 Aug, not 4, 11, 18, £free FECCLES... On Love! Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 1-3 Aug, £free Ben Champion: Human Gilded Balloon Teviot, 31 Jul - 26 Aug, not 12 Aug, £5 – £9 Lebensmüde - a Comedy Show HHH Laughing Horse @ Jekyll & Hyde, 1-25 Aug, £free Mervyn Stutter’s Pick of the Fringe Pleasance Courtyard, 3-25 Aug, not 7, 13, 20, £9.50 – £10.50 Benefit Paradise in the Kirkhouse, 5-17 Aug, not 11, 12, £7.50
12:50 Helen O’Brien: Bronagh’s Big Weekend Pleasance Courtyard, 31 Jul - 25 Aug, £6 – £10
12:55 The Bear Pit Comedy Podcast podcast Southsider, 3-24 Aug, not 14, £free Sofa Specific Just The Tonic at the Caves, 1-25 Aug, not 13, £5 – £10
13:00 Barry on Arthur’s Seat Summit of Arthur’s Seat, 3-25 Aug, £free Frimston and Rowett: A Sketch Show Laughing Horse @ Bar 50, 1-25 Aug, £free Giraffe: Sketchy Comedy Underbelly, Cowgate, 1-25 Aug, not 12, £6 – £9.50 Doctor Brown: Bexperiments Underbelly, Cowgate, 13 Aug, £7 Ghosts of the Happy and High-Spirited Ciao Roma, 3-24 Aug, not 12, £free Charles Booth: We Cool? The Dram House Upstairs, 3-24 Aug, not 5, 12, 19, £free Dahle and Jones on a Plate - Free The Dram House, 3-24 Aug, not 19, £free BBC: Front Row BBC@Potterrow, 15 Aug, £free
13:05 Revill’s Selection - Free Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 2-25 Aug, not 5, 12, 19, £free
Best of Edinburgh Showcase Show Pleasance Courtyard, 1-25 Aug, £6 – £10
Pete Otway and Kiri Pritchard-Mclean Laughing Horse @ The Newsroom, 1-25 Aug, not 13, £free
13:15
The Blank Slates Chiquito, 3-24 Aug, not 7, 14, 21, £free
Alistair Green: Ping Pong Laughing Horse @ Meadow Bar, 2-25 Aug, not 13, £free Austerity Pleasures Laughing Horse @ Finnegan’s Wake, 1-24 Aug, not 4, 11, 18, £free Big Comedy Lunch Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 3-25 Aug, not 13, £free Dan & Dan Live: The First Sign of Madness The Canons’ Gait, 3-24 Aug, not 13, 20, £free Cookstown Sizzling Comedy Club Presents the Irishtorats of Comedy Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 1-25 Aug, £free When I Grow Up Gilded Balloon Teviot, 31 Jul - 26 Aug, not 13 Aug, £5 – £9
13:10
This Is Soap: The Improvised Soap Opera C venues - C, 31 Jul - 26 Aug, not 12 Aug, £6.50 – £8.50
Katie Mulgrew: Your Dad’s Not Funny HHH The Stand Comedy Club III & IV, 31 Jul - 25 Aug, not 1 Aug, 12 Aug, £6 – £7
53 Minutes about 52 Sheep (60 Minutes Long) Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 8-24 Aug, £free
Holland and Barker: How to Be... A Man. The Banshee Labyrinth, 3-24 Aug, not 12, £free
Afternoon Delight Just The Tonic at the Caves, 1-25 Aug, not 13, 17, 18, £2.50 – £5
Jessie Cave and Jenny Bede: Ain’t too Proud to Beg HHH Henry’s Cellar Bar, 3-24 Aug, not 12, £free
Josh Ross and Sunil Patel Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 2-26 Aug, £free
Matthew Collins: Puzzled Laughing Horse @ The Phoenix, 1-25 Aug, £free Soup The Voodoo Rooms, 3-24 Aug, not 6, 13, 20, £free Martin Croser - Funny Bone China The Dram House Upstairs, 3-24 Aug, not 13, £free Damn Danes Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 1-7 Aug, £free Late Night Laughs at Lunch - Free Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 2-25 Aug, not 5, 6, 12, 13, 19, 20, £free
13:20 Kindness The Cabaret Voltaire, 3-24 Aug, not 5, 12, 19, £free
Rob Lloyd: Who, Me Just The Tonic at Bristo Square, 1-25 Aug, not 13, £6 – £9
13:30
13:40
Afternoon Delight Just The Tonic at the Caves, 17-18 Aug, £5
CatSoup: Out of the Bag SpaceCabaret @ 54, 20-24 Aug, £4
Frost and Ireland: Beautiful Mess Gilded Balloon Teviot, 12-20 Aug, £7.50 – £8.50 Thünderbards HHH Gilded Balloon Teviot, 31 Jul - 26 Aug, £5 – £8 ❤ Austentatious: An Improvised Jane Austen Novel HHHH Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 1-25 Aug, not 13, £free Amused Moose Laugh Off Final theSpace @ Symposium Hall, 11 Aug, £10 Cecilia Delatori: Quick, Quick, Slough! Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 1-25 Aug, not 13, 20, £free
Baconface - It’s All Bacon! HHH The Stand Comedy Club II, 3-25 Aug, not 12, £5
Nick Bowling Laughs in the Face of Death for 45 Minutes and Then Asks Him Politely to Leave Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 15-25 Aug, not 21, £free
Amnesty’s Secret Comedy Podcast Underbelly, Bristo Square, Various dates from 2 Aug to 25 Aug, £7
The Hill and Weedon Fan Club Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 1-14 Aug, £free
Best of the Fest Daytime Assembly George Square, 2-25 Aug, not 5, 12, 19, £8 – £12.50
Thpethial Le Monde, 15-25 Aug, £5 – £10
13:25 Jonny Donahoe: Class Whore Underbelly, Bristo Square, 1-26 Aug, not 12, £6 – £8.50
Multi-Levelled Morons - Free Laughing Horse @ Jekyll & Hyde, 1-25 Aug, not 15, £free
Catherine Semark: Shadow Ape The Voodoo Rooms, 3-25 Aug, £free Lead Pencil Underbelly, Bristo Square, 31 Jul - 26 Aug, not 12 Aug, £6 – £9.50
Does My Face Look Big In This HHH Underbelly, Bristo Square, 31 Jul - 26 Aug, not 19 Aug, £6 – £9
13:45 The Barnes Identity Laughing Horse @ Jekyll & Hyde, 1-11 Aug, £free Unprepared For Life Whynot?, 3-24 Aug, not 5, 12, 19, £free Will Sidgwick Presents Will Sidgwick - Live Pilgrim, 2-22 Aug, £free Alex and Alexis Should Not Be Friends The Dram House Upstairs, 3-24 Aug, not 7, 14, 21, £free Afternoon Delight Laughing Horse @ Jekyll & Hyde, 17-25 Aug, £free Hannah Gadsby: Nakedy Nudes Assembly Checkpoint, Various dates from 2 Aug to 25 Aug, £6 – £11 An Improvised Improv Show - Free Show Laughing Horse @ Edinburgh City Football Club, 1-25 Aug, £free PC, Mac and Me: The Funny Side of Computers Laughing Horse @ City Cafe, 2-25 Aug, £free Mark Olver: Dancing About Architecture Assembly Checkpoint, 5-22 Aug, not 9, 10, 11, 16, 17, 18, £8
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The Independent
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Tickets from
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August August20 20––26 26 || edinburgh edinburghfestival festivalguide guide2013 2013 fest fest 73
comedylistings Nick Hall: Live! Bristo Bar & Kitchen, 3-24 Aug, £free A Complete and Comprehensive History of the Roman Empire in Less Than an Hour With Jokes Bannermans, 3-24 Aug, not 7, 14, 21, £free Daly’s Comedy Club @ The Edinburgh Fringe Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 1-25 Aug, £free
13:50 Quest For Comedy! Paradise in The Vault, 5-18 Aug, not 12, £5 – £7.50
14:00 This Arthurs Seat Gala Belongs to Lionel Richie Summit of Arthur’s Seat, 17 Aug, £free Lucy Frederick - In Pursuit of Cool Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 1-25 Aug, £free Eric’s Tales of the Sea A Submariner’s Yarn Just The Tonic at the Caves, 2-25 Aug, not 13, £8 – £10.50 BBC: The Richard Bacon Programme BBC@Potterrow, 19 Aug, 22 Aug, £free Sarah Hendrickx: Time Traveller Dragonfly, 3-24 Aug, £free My Name Is Sue Underbelly, Bristo Square, 12-26 Aug, £13.50 – £14.50 The Durham Revue: Friends Without Benefits Underbelly, Cowgate, 1-25 Aug, not 13, £6 – £10
14:05 Three Half Pints theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 12-24 Aug, not 18, £8
14:10 Richard Herring’s Edinburgh Fringe Podcast The Stand Comedy Club, 31 Jul - 26 Aug, not 1 Aug, 12 Aug, £9 – £10
14:15 Gagging for Attention Just The Tonic at the Caves, 1-25 Aug, not 13, £2 – £3 The Edinburgh Revue: Stand-Up Show Scottish Comedy Festival @ The Beehive Inn, 1-26 Aug, not 14, £free Paul Merton’s Impro Chums Pleasance Courtyard, 8-11 Aug, £13.50 – £14.50 Rob Collins: Jesus Christ Flew Into the Cuckoo’s Nest Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 1-25 Aug, £free Zapp and Dembina Comedy After Lunch / Free Festival Laughing Horse @ Bar 50, 1-25 Aug, not 6, 13, 20, £free Raph ‘n’ Simon Solve a Murda The Dram House Upstairs, 14-24 Aug, not 20, £free The Coin-Operated Girl - A Sex Workers Real Life Revelations of Frivolous Fornications! The Dram House, 2-24 Aug, £free
14:20
BrainSex Assembly George Square, 1-26 Aug, not 12, 19, £7 – £12
Tony Jameson Football Manager Ruined My Life HHH The Stand Comedy Club III & IV, 1-25 Aug, not 12, £6 – £7
BBC: The Culture Studio BBC@Potterrow, Various dates from 5 May to 14 Aug, £free
The Maydays: Confessions Underbelly, Cowgate, 1-25 Aug, not 13, £6 – £10.50
Barry Castagnola: The Donny Donkins ‘As (hopefully soon to be) Seen On TV’ Show Gilded Balloon Teviot, 31 Jul - 25 Aug, not 12 Aug, £5
The Peculiar Case of Kemsley and Todd The Banshee Labyrinth, 3-24 Aug, not 19, £free God, Greed and Football Just the Tonic at The Tron, 1-25 Aug, not 7, 13, 19, £4 – £6
Doctor Brown: Bexperiments Underbelly, Cowgate, 13 Aug, £7
14:25
Instant Sunshine Pleasance Dome, 2-10 Aug, £10
10 Films with My Dad The Voodoo Rooms, 3-25 Aug, £free
Bob Graham - Animal Person Scottish Comedy Festival @ The Beehive Inn, 31 Jul - 24 Aug, not 12 Aug, 19 Aug, £free Love Chiquito, 3-13 Aug, not 8, £free Be Careful What You Wish For with Alice Lashman Madogs Cocktail Bar & Grill, 3-24 Aug, not 12, £free Captain Alan of Canary Wharf Chiquito, 14-24 Aug, £free
14:30 Amy Wright’s Occupation El Barrio, 3-23 Aug, £free Silky: It Was This Show Or Have Kids The Stand Comedy Club II, 1-25 Aug, not 12, £7 – £8 Xaablargh the Conqueror’s Guide to Humons Laughing Horse @ The Phoenix, 19-25 Aug, £free Phillip and Marjorie’s Marriage Preparation Course for Regular People and The Gays The Dram House Upstairs, 3-24 Aug, not 7, 11, 14, 21, £free ❤ Arthur Smith HHHH Pleasance Courtyard, 3-18 Aug, £10 – £12 Charlie Smith: Too Tall for the Ride Laughing Horse @ The Newsroom, 1-13 Aug, £free Amused Moose Comedy Awards Final City Edinburgh, 18 Aug, £12.50 Laugh Support Machine - Free Base Nightclub, 3 Aug, 24 Aug, £free The Lost Letters of Cathy G Laughing Horse @ Finnegan’s Wake, 1-24 Aug, not 4, 11, 18, £free AAA Batteries (Not Included) - Free Laughing Horse @ Meadow Bar, 1-25 Aug, £free Atella the Pun Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 3-25 Aug, not 6, 13, 20, £free Patrick Morris: Standing Up and Saying Things Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 1-25 Aug, £free
Sy+ Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 1-25 Aug, not 13, £free Women of an Uncertain Age Gilded Balloon Teviot, 31 Jul - 26 Aug, not 8 Aug, 15 Aug, 22 Aug, £5 – £9.50 DillyDolly Laughing Horse @ The Newsroom, 14-25 Aug, £free Full of It: The True or False Game Show - The 2 Fat F*cks on Holiday Tour 2013 Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 1-25 Aug, not 7, 14, 21, £free Ian Fox - Shutter Monkey - Free Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 1-25 Aug, £free
14:35 Nathaniel Metcalfe: Enthusiast HHH The Cabaret Voltaire, 3-24 Aug, not 14, £free
14:40 Mr Susie’s To Earth With Love Just The Tonic at the Caves, 1-25 Aug, not 13, £3 – £6 Marcus Brigstocke presents Unavailable for Comment Underbelly, Bristo Square, 1-25 Aug, not 12, £8 – £13
14:44 Adam Larter and Ali Brice: Plumpy’nut HHH Heroes @ The Hive, 3-25 Aug, £5
14:45 Joz Norris Has Gone Missing Laughing Horse @ The Blind Poet, 1-25 Aug, not 13, £free Max Fletcher - Fail Beter The Dram House Upstairs, 3-24 Aug, not 6, 14, 20, £free Here She Be Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 2-26 Aug, £free Laura Levites: Selfhelpless Gilded Balloon Teviot, 31 Jul - 26 Aug, not 13 Aug, £5 – £9 The Edinburgh Revue: Sketch Show Opium, 3-24 Aug, not 7, 14, 21, £free
Hilarity Bites Comedy Club Showcase Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 1-25 Aug, £free
Bristol Improv Presents... / PBH’s Free Fringe Whynot?, 3-24 Aug, not 6, 13, 20, £free
The Little Wheel Sketch Show Citrus Club, 17-23 Aug, £free
Collier and Cox: Single, No Return Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 1-25 Aug, £free
First World Problems - Free Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 3-25 Aug, £free Greener on the Other Side Laughing Horse @ Jekyll & Hyde, 1-26 Aug, not 15, £free Gary Colman Grind - Free Whistlebinkies, 3-24 Aug, £free Gráinne Maguire’s One Hour All Night Election Special HHH Underbelly, Bristo Square, 31 Jul - 25 Aug, not 16 Aug, £6 – £10 Obie: A Comedian’s Guide to Improving Your Memory. Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 1-25 Aug, not 7, 14, 21, £free
14:50 John Williams: My Son’s Not Rainman Just The Tonic at Bristo Square, 1-25 Aug, not 13, £5 – £8 Shirley and Shirley: Carnage HHH Underbelly, Bristo Square, 31 Jul - 26 Aug, not 17 Aug, £6 – £11
15:00 Dan Willis: The Walking Dead Laughing Horse @ City Cafe, 2-25 Aug, £free Showcatcher Assembly George Square, 6-25 Aug, not 12, 19, £7.50 – £10 Toby Explains the Universe The Dram House Upstairs, 3-24 Aug, not 12, 20, £free ❤ Mitch Benn is the 37th Beatle HHHH The Stand Comedy Club III & IV, 1-25 Aug, not 12, £9 – £10 Aaaaargh! It’s the Monster Stand-Up Show - Free Laughing Horse @ Jekyll & Hyde, 1-25 Aug, £free How to Make a Killing in Bollywood Gilded Balloon Teviot, 31 Jul - 26 Aug, not 10 Aug, 11 Aug, £5 – £11.50
Doctor Brown: Bexperiments Underbelly, Cowgate, 13 Aug, £7 Dressing Down Gilded Balloon Teviot, 31 Jul - 26 Aug, not 12 Aug, £6 – £10 Raph Shirley: A Portrait of a Provincial Dickhead Bristo Bar & Kitchen, 3-24 Aug, not 17, £free Three Men and a Saucepan - Free Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 1-25 Aug, £free
15:05 Now I’m 64! theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 19-24 Aug, £8 Secrets of the Elders of Zion Paradise in The Vault, 5-26 Aug, not 12, 19, £7
15:10 Charmian Hughes: Odd One In The Banshee Labyrinth, 3-24 Aug, not 12, £free Stuart Laws Absolutely Will Not Stop, Ever, Until You are Dead (1hr Show) Dragonfly, 3-24 Aug, not 15, 22, £free
15:15 Eric and Little Ern Gilded Balloon Teviot, 31 Jul - 26 Aug, not 7 Aug, 14 Aug, £6.50 – £12.50 Everything That Happened in the 20th Century, Seen Through the Eyes of a Liar Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 5-25 Aug, £free Unmanageable Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 1-25 Aug, £free Neil Hickey: Escape Artist Pleasance Courtyard, 31 Jul - 26 Aug, not 13 Aug, £6 – £9.50 BBC: The Unbelievable Truth BBC@Potterrow, 15 Aug, £free
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74 fest edinburgh festival guide 2013 | August 20 – 26
@FollowTheCow
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comedylistings Catriona Knox: Player HHH Pleasance Courtyard, 31 Jul - 26 Aug, not 13 Aug, £6 – £10 The Oxford Imps Gilded Balloon Teviot, 31 Jul - 26 Aug, £5 – £10
15:20 The Oxford Revue: With Bits Underbelly, Cowgate, 1-25 Aug, not 12, £6 – £10 Short & Curly - A Ripe Pear Ciao Roma, 3-24 Aug, not 12, 19, £free The St Andrews Revue Just The Tonic at the Caves, 1-25 Aug, not 13, £5 – £7.50 Tania Edwards: The Art of War Pleasance Courtyard, 31 Jul - 26 Aug, not 14 Aug, £6 – £9
15:30 Wardens Assembly Roxy, 1-26 Aug, not 14, £8.50 – £13.50 Ellis & Rose: Big in Denmark Heroes @ The Hive, 1-25 Aug, not 19, £5 Chris Coltrane: Compassion is Subversive HHH Globe, 3-24 Aug, not 13, £free Men With Coconuts City Edinburgh, 4-23 Aug, not 10, 13, 17, 18, £free Nadia Kamil in: Wide Open Beavers! HHH The Stand Comedy Club III & IV, 31 Jul - 25 Aug, not 1 Aug, 12 Aug, £6 – £7 Susie McCabe: An Uncivil Partnership New Town Bar, 10 Aug, 17 Aug, £8 Awkward Hawk - Free Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 1-25 Aug, not 12, £free
Comedy Death: True Horror Stories from the Circuit The Dram House Upstairs, 3-24 Aug, not 12, 19, £free Eleanor Thom: I Am Bev HH Pleasance Courtyard, 31 Jul - 26 Aug, not 14 Aug, £6 – £10 Aaaaaaaaaaaaarrghhh! So It Goes - John Fleming’s Comedy Blog Chat Show Heroes @ Bob’s Bookshop, 19-23 Aug, £5 Are You a Technophile? - Free Laughing Horse @ Bar 50, 6-25 Aug, not 12, 19, £free Mark Stephenson: Half Man Half Amazing The Banshee Labyrinth, 3-24 Aug, £free The Bob Blackman Appreciation Society Bonanza / Free Festival Laughing Horse @ The White Horse, 1-24 Aug, not 4, 11, 18, £free
15:35 Britain’s Got F*ck All Talent! 2013 Just The Tonic at the Caves, 1-25 Aug, not 13, £5 – £7
15:40 The News at Kate 2013: World Inaction The Canons’ Gait, 3-25 Aug, not 13, £free Michael Legge - Free Wi-Fi HHH The Stand Comedy Club II, 31 Jul - 25 Aug, not 1 Aug, 12 Aug, £7 – £8 Simon Munnery: Fylm HHH The Stand Comedy Club, 1-26 Aug, not 12, £9 – £10 Dave Griffiths: C U In Court Just the Tonic at The Tron, 1-25 Aug, not 13, £5 – £8 Men With Coconuts The Canons’ Gait, 13 Aug, £free
Don’t Drop the Egg Pleasance Courtyard, 31 Jul - 26 Aug, not 12 Aug, £6 – £9.50
Roll It in Sequins Underbelly, Cowgate, 1-25 Aug, not 12, £6 – £10
Philip O’Shea HHH Scottish Comedy Festival @ The Beehive Inn, 2-25 Aug, not 23, 24, £free
That Pair: Never Liked Her Anyway HHH Just The Tonic at the Caves, 1-23 Aug, not 13, £5 – £8
This Is Your Trial Heroes @ Bob’s Bookshop, 5-9 Aug, £free – £500
The Good, the Bad and the Morally Ambiguous Chiquito, 3-24 Aug, £free
15:55
15:45
Ross vs Violich - Pistols at 3.55pm The Voodoo Rooms, 3-25 Aug, not 6, 13, 20, £free
Poetic Justice The Dram House Upstairs, 3-24 Aug, £free But It’s My Birthday! Laughing Horse @ The Phoenix, 1-25 Aug, not 3, 14, £free Making Faces: Calm and Collected Laughing Horse @ The Newsroom, 9-25 Aug, not 14, 20, £free Subtlety with Ed Mayhew Laughing Horse @ The Newsroom, 1-8 Aug, £free The Rat Pack Stand-up Comedy Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 1-25 Aug, not 11, £free ❤ Casual Violence Presents: House of Nostril HHHH Pleasance Courtyard, 4-25 Aug, £6 – £9.50
16:00
Sunday Fundraiser New Town Bar, 4 Aug, 11 Aug, 18 Aug, 25 Aug, £free
How Do I Get Up There? The Assembly Rooms, 31 Jul - 25 Aug, not 1 Aug, 12 Aug, £9 – £10
Karl Schultz: Start the Karl HH Heroes @ The Hive, 1-25 Aug, not 14, £5
❤ Rachel Parris: The Commission HHHH Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 1-25 Aug, not 13, £free
Sandi Toksvig My Valentine Pleasance Courtyard, 3-11 Aug, £14
Doctor Brown: Bexperiments Underbelly, Cowgate, 13 Aug, £7 I Am Happy! Le Monde, 16 Aug, 18 Aug, £10 LOLympics Live - Free Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 1-25 Aug, £free
Ain’t It Awkward - Harriet Dyer and Freddie Farrell Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 1-25 Aug, £free ❤ Joseph Morpurgo Truthmouth HHHH Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 1-25 Aug, not 13, £free Kriss Foster and Friend Ryan’s Cellar Bar, 3-24 Aug, not 13, £free Bright Club: Scotland’s Fringe HHH The Assembly Rooms, 31 Jul - 25 Aug, not 1 Aug, 12 Aug, £9 – £10 Chris Fitchew in Jack of All Trades Gilded Balloon Teviot, 31 Jul - 26 Aug, not 7 Aug, 14 Aug, £5 – £11 Chris Henry Isn’t Musical! Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 2-25 Aug, £free In Bits Laughing Horse @ Finnegan’s Wake, 1-24 Aug, not 4, 11, 18, £free
Stella Graham - A Pint of Stella Laughing Horse @ Jekyll & Hyde, 1-25 Aug, not 15, £free
Paul Merton’s Impro Chums Pleasance Courtyard, 12-17 Aug, £12.50 – £14.50 Rob Auton: The Sky Show The Banshee Labyrinth, 3-24 Aug, not 13, £free Robin (A One-Man Comedy) Just The Tonic at the Caves, 1-25 Aug, not 13, £5 – £8 The Human Being’s Guide to Not Being a Dick About Religion The Dram House Upstairs, 11-24 Aug, not 14, 21, £free
Gein’s Family Giftshop Laughing Horse @ The Blind Poet, 1-25 Aug, not 13, £free Nick Helm: One Man Mega Myth HHH Pleasance Courtyard, 31 Jul - 26 Aug, not 7 Aug, 14 Aug, £7 – £14
16:05 Farce Noir Presents... The Big Sheep HHH Underbelly, Bristo Square, 31 Jul - 26 Aug, not 13 Aug, £6 – £10
16:10 Fraser Millward’s Masquerade! Just The Tonic at Bristo Square, 1-25 Aug, not 13, £5 – £8.50 Peter Antoniou: Comedium Sweet Grassmarket, 1-25 Aug, £5 – £7 Ben Van der Velde’s Chain Letter HH Underbelly, Bristo Square, 31 Jul - 26 Aug, not 12 Aug, £6 – £11
Ben Verth: What Is This Place? Scottish Comedy Festival @ The Beehive Inn, 30 Jul - 25 Aug, not 8 Aug, 15 Aug, £3 – £5
Who’s Driving Adam? theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 5-10 Aug, £6
Bec Hill: Bec by Popular Demand HHH Gilded Balloon Teviot, 1-25 Aug, not 7, 14, 21, £5 – £8
Vampire Hospital Waiting Room - Free Laughing Horse @ City Cafe, 19-25 Aug, £free
16:15
Funeral Addict Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 1-25 Aug, not 12, £free
Bec Hill and Patrick Monahan’s Hour of Fun! Gilded Balloon Teviot, 14 Aug, £10
Licence to Laugh Comedy Club - Free Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 3-25 Aug, £free
Twins HH The Dram House Upstairs, 3-24 Aug, not 19, £free
Adam Strauss: The Mushroom Cure Underbelly, Cowgate, 1-25 Aug, not 14, £6 – £10
Michael J Dolan: Nothing Will Ever Be Alright Again, Ever Gilded Balloon Teviot, 31 Jul - 25 Aug, not 12 Aug, £6 – £9
Funny Bones and Wisdom Teeth Laughing Horse @ Edinburgh City Football Club, 2-24 Aug, not 11, 12, 18, 19, £free
The Tim Vine Chat Show Pleasance Courtyard, 31 Jul - 26 Aug, not 7 Aug, 14 Aug, £free – £17
Matt Forde: The Political Party HH Pleasance Dome, 31 Jul - 25 Aug, not 16 Aug, £6 – £10
❤ Ahir Shah: Anatomy HHHH Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 1-25 Aug, £free
15:50 Quiz in My Pants The Cabaret Voltaire, 3-24 Aug, not 13, £free
Demitris Deech Isn’t Sick! Laughing Horse @ Jekyll & Hyde, 1-26 Aug, £free A Tiny Gang in Some Sketches They Wrote Whynot?, 3-24 Aug, not 5, 12, 19, £free Gerardine Coyne: Venus in Fuzz Bannermans, 4-23 Aug, not 10, 17, £free ❤ John-Luke Roberts: Broken Stand-Up HHHH The Voodoo Rooms, 3-25 Aug, not 13, £free Morgan and West: A Grand Adventure Gilded Balloon Teviot, 31 Jul - 26 Aug, not 14 Aug, £6 – £10.50 Talking to Strangers on Buses Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 1-25 Aug, £free
16:20 Paul Savage - Cheerful Shambles Dragonfly, 3-24 Aug, not 14, £free Gyles Brandreth: Looking For Happiness Pleasance Courtyard, 31 Jul - 26 Aug, not 7 Aug, 14 Aug, £10 – £17 ❤ Amy Hoggart as Pattie Brewster: Just a Normal Girl Doing a Cool Show HHHH Underbelly, Bristo Square, 31 Jul - 26 Aug, not 12 Aug, £6 – £10
16:25 Stewart Lee - Much A-Stew About Nothing The Stand Comedy Club III & IV, 3-25 Aug, not 12, £10
16:30 Dan Cook: Community Service HH Pleasance Courtyard, 31 Jul - 26 Aug, not 13 Aug, £6 – £10 Katie Goodman: I Didn’t F*ck It Up HH Gilded Balloon Teviot, 31 Jul - 25 Aug, not 12 Aug, £5 – £10 Sad Faces Threw a Party Pleasance Courtyard, 31 Jul - 26 Aug, not 13 Aug, £6 – £10.50 The Ginge, the Geordie and the Geek- Live HHH Just The Tonic at the Caves, 1-25 Aug, not 6, 13, 20, £10 – £14 Chris Kent: Second Fix Gilded Balloon Teviot, 31 Jul - 26 Aug, not 2 Aug, 13 Aug, £5 – £9.50
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August August20 20––26 26 || edinburgh edinburghfestival festivalguide guide2013 2013 fest fest 75
comedylistings Gamarjobat (ga-ma-jobat) Rock Out! Gilded Balloon Teviot, 2-26 Aug, not 13, 20, £6 – £13
Bob Slayer: Worldwide Bawbag Heroes @ Bob’s Bookshop, 1-31 Aug, not 21, 27, 28, £5
BBC: In Tune BBC@Potterrow, 16 Aug, £free
The Only Way Is Downton Pleasance Courtyard, 31 Jul - 26 Aug, not 7 Aug, 14 Aug, £6.50 – £11
Live Bait Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 1-25 Aug, not 12, 13, £free Croft & Pearce Gilded Balloon Teviot, 31 Jul - 26 Aug, not 14 Aug, £5 – £9 Flipper Committed Suicide Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 3-25 Aug, not 13, £free Hannah Gadsby: Happiness is a Bedside Table Assembly Roxy, 1-25 Aug, not 12, 19, £6 – £11
16:35 AntiGraham Pleasance Courtyard, 1-25 Aug, not 12, £7 – £12 Jack Jerome Ciao Roma, 3-24 Aug, £free
16:40 John Lloyd: Liff of QI HHH Underbelly, Bristo Square, 31 Jul - 24 Aug, not 13 Aug, £7 – £13 Alan Hudson: Magician or Superhero? Just The Tonic at the Caves, 1-25 Aug, not 13, £5 – £11 Peter Searles: Bolivia & Beyond The Stand Comedy Club III & IV, 2-25 Aug, not 12, 19, 20, 21, £8 ❤ Fanfiction Comedy HHHHH Assembly George Square, 1-25 Aug, not 13, £8 – £10 ❤ Red Bastard HHHHH Assembly George Square, 1-26 Aug, not 7, 14, £7 – £13
16:45 Yianni in Think Big HH The Dram House, 3-24 Aug, not 13, £free Lenny Peters - Lost in Nonsense Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 1-25 Aug, not 5, 12, 19, £free Tamar Broadbent: Almost Epic Underbelly, Cowgate, 1-25 Aug, not 13, £6 – £10.50
17:00 BBC: Comic Fringes BBC@Potterrow, 12 Aug, £free Milo McCabe: Schiz Gilded Balloon Teviot, 31 Jul - 25 Aug, not 13 Aug, £5 – £10.50
Fin Taylor - Cramp Globe, 3-24 Aug, £free
Upstairs Downton Heroes @ The Hive, 1-25 Aug, £5
Jody Kamali: Livewire - Free Laughing Horse @ Bar 50, 1-25 Aug, not 13, £free
Alan Irwin: The Idiot Wind - Free Laughing Horse @ The Phoenix, 1-25 Aug, not 13, £free
Shhhh - An Improvised Silent Movie Gryphon Venues at the Point Hotel, 5-24 Aug, not 11, 18, £10
Doctor Brown: Bexperiments Underbelly, Cowgate, 13 Aug, £7
Going Dark! The Banshee Labyrinth, 3-24 Aug, not 12, £free Danny Ward - Pressure Point Laughing Horse @ The White Horse, 1-25 Aug, £free Jigsaw - Jiggle It HHH Pleasance Courtyard, 31 Jul - 26 Aug, £6 – £12 ❤ Sam Fletcher Drawn-out Jokes HHHH Pleasance Courtyard, 31 Jul - 26 Aug, £6 – £10 Darren Walsh: I am a Giant Heroes @ The Hive, 1-25 Aug, £free – £5 BEASTS Pleasance Courtyard, 31 Jul - 26 Aug, not 13 Aug, £6 – £10
16:50 Sally-Anne Hayward Hey Follower! The Stand Comedy Club II, 1-25 Aug, not 12, £7 – £8 Darts Wives Assembly Roxy, 31 Jul - 26 Aug, not 7 Aug, 12 Aug, £6 – £11 Ellie and Oscar Share a Time The Voodoo Rooms, 3-24 Aug, not 14, £free Ladyboner C venues - C nova, 31 Jul - 26 Aug, not 12 Aug, £8.50 – £10.50
16:55 Manos Kanellos: Greekonomics Just The Tonic at the Caves, 1-25 Aug, not 13, £4 – £7 The Oxford Revue Presents - Free The Canons’ Gait, 3-25 Aug, £free
It’s Not Really There El Barrio, 3-23 Aug, not 12, £free Lewis Schaffer Is Free Until Famous - 20th Year Laughing Horse @ Meadow Bar, 1-25 Aug, not 7, 14, 21, £free The Real MacGuffins Come Again Underbelly, Cowgate, 1-25 Aug, not 12, £6 – £10 Zoe Lyons - Pop-up Comic The Assembly Rooms, 1-25 Aug, £9 – £10 Yori Yori Love Chat Luisa and Pat Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 1-10 Aug, £free 42: My Life, My Universe, My Everything Laughing Horse @ Finnegan’s Wake, 1-24 Aug, not 4, 11, 18, £free All Our Friends Are Dead Ryan’s Cellar Bar, 5-24 Aug, not 11, 18, £free Adam Kay: How to Be a Bogus Doctor HHH Pleasance Courtyard, 31 Jul - 26 Aug, not 7 Aug, 14 Aug, £6 – £12 Chaos and Order - A True Story Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 1-28 Aug, not 16, 17, £free ComedySportz @ Laughing Horse Free Festival Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 18-25 Aug, £free I Wanna Be Like You Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 16-17 Aug, £free The Leeds Tealights: The Ultimate Indoor Experience Just The Tonic at the Caves, 1-25 Aug, not 13, £5 – £9
The G Spot New Town Bar, 5-17 Aug, not 11, £6 Geoff Norcott Occasionally Sells Out Just the Tonic at The Tron, 1-25 Aug, not 13, £5 – £9 ❤ The Play That Goes Wrong HHHH Pleasance Courtyard, 31 Jul - 26 Aug, not 13 Aug, £7 – £12.50 BBC: The Unbelievable Truth BBC@Potterrow, 15 Aug, £free Drei, Zwei, Eins mit Flange Krammer Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 2-25 Aug, not 12, 13, 14, 15, £free Aberdeen vs Glasgow vs The World - Final Round - Free Laughing Horse @ The Newsroom, 1-25 Aug, £free Christian Schulte-Loh: Attack of the 50 Foot German Comedian Base Nightclub, 3-24 Aug, not 13, 20, £free Laughing Horse Free Comedy Selection Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 1-25 Aug, £free
17:05 Flyerman 2 - This Time It’s Funny! theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 2-24 Aug, not 4, 13, 20, £5 – £7 Gavin Crawford - A Bummer Abroad theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 12-17 Aug, £9 ❤ Jessica Fostekew: Moving HHHH The Cabaret Voltaire, 3-24 Aug, £free A Lighthearted Alternative to Culture - Free Mood Nightclub, 3-13 Aug, not 5, 12, £free Sarah Campbell: Isn’t It Fun??? The Cabaret Voltaire, 3-24 Aug, not 15, £free ❤ Sight Gags for Perverts HHHH The Voodoo Rooms, 3-25 Aug, not 14, £free
17:10 Stephen K Amos Talk Show Pleasance Courtyard, 21-24 Aug, £12 – £13 The Tim Vine Chat Show Pleasance Courtyard, 19-20 Aug, £13 Nicholas Parsons’ Happy Hour Pleasance Courtyard, 1-18 Aug, not 6, 13, £6 – £13
❤ Lucy Porter – Northern Soul HHHH The Stand Comedy Club, 31 Jul - 25 Aug, not 1 Aug, 12 Aug, 19 Aug, £9 – £10
17:20
Mae Martin: Slumber Party HHH Underbelly, Cowgate, 1-25 Aug, not 14, £6 – £10.50
Gower Hour La Tasca, 3-24 Aug, not 5, 12, 19, £free
Cambridge Footlights: Canada Pleasance Dome, 31 Jul - 26 Aug, not 12 Aug, £6 – £10.50
Paul Gannon Aint Afraid Of No Ghost Just The Tonic at the Caves, 1-25 Aug, not 13, £5 – £10
17:15 Bruce Fummey - Gaelic in the Afternoon Scottish Comedy Festival @ The Beehive Inn, 2-24 Aug, not 12, 19, £3 – £5
Funny Women Pop Up Fringe Le Monde, 15-25 Aug, not 17, 24, £10
17:25
Gravity Boots Gilded Balloon Teviot, 31 Jul - 26 Aug, not 12 Aug, £6 – £9
Phil Ellis: Unplanned Orphan HH Underbelly, Bristo Square, 31 Jul - 25 Aug, not 12 Aug, £6 – £10
Matthew Highton’s It Came from the Mud HH Whistlebinkies, 3-25 Aug, £free
Rhys James Prepares / Free Festival HHH Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 2-26 Aug, not 13, £free
Split Shift Opium, 3-13 Aug, £free Present and Correct Citrus Club, 3-23 Aug, not 5, 12, 19, £free Rosie Wilby: Is Monogamy Dead? Assembly Hall, 1-25 Aug, not 12, £5 – £9 Slap and Giggle: Recharged Opium, 14-24 Aug, £free The Comedian’s Comedian Live With Stuart Goldsmith Gilded Balloon Teviot, 1-26 Aug, not 13, £5 – £9 Two Tickets to the Gum Show Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 1-25 Aug, not 6, 13, 20, £free Who Ya Gonna Call? The Dram House Upstairs, 3-24 Aug, not 6, 13, 20, £free Pam Ford - Happy In Your Skin? Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 1-25 Aug, not 14, £free Jarlath Regan - Djarlo Unchained The Assembly Rooms, 1-25 Aug, not 12, £9 – £10 Adam Belbin - The Other Half of Next Year’s Show Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 1-25 Aug, £free Life Winner Laughing Horse @ Jekyll & Hyde, 1-25 Aug, not 15, £free
17:30 Benny Boot: As Seen On TV HHH Underbelly, Bristo Square, 31 Jul - 26 Aug, not 12 Aug, £6 – £11 Heavy Petting / Free Festival Laughing Horse @ Jekyll & Hyde, 16-25 Aug, £free Mark Restuccia - The Diary of a Serial Internet Dater Just The Tonic at Bristo Square, 1-25 Aug, not 13, £5 – £8.50 McDaniel and Callaghan Pilgrim, 3-24 Aug, £free The Exciting Adventure of an Uninteresting Man Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 1-25 Aug, not 7, £free The Weegies Have Stolen the One O’Clock Gun The Jazz Bar, 3-25 Aug, £6 Tom Webb’s Wedding Dragonfly, 3-24 Aug, £free ❤ David Mills: The Gospel Truth HHHH Heroes @ The Hive, 1-25 Aug, not 14, £5 BBC: Just a Minute BBC@Potterrow, 13 Aug, £free Sion James and Friends - Free! Laughing Horse @ City Cafe, 14-25 Aug, £free Sucker Punch Laughing Horse @ City Cafe, 1-13 Aug, £free
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76 fest edinburgh festival guide 2013 | August 20 – 26
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comedylistings A Danish Bagpipe Comedian Laughing Horse @ Jekyll & Hyde, 1-15 Aug, £free Brothers and Sisters... It’s The Reverend Obadiah Steppenwolfe III HH Gilded Balloon Teviot, 31 Jul - 26 Aug, not 12 Aug, 19 Aug, £7.50 – £13.50 Dan Nightingale: Love in the Time of Cholesterol Pleasance Dome, 31 Jul - 25 Aug, not 12 Aug, £6 – £9.50 How to Be Awesome at Everything Laughing Horse @ Edinburgh City Football Club, 1-25 Aug, £free James Christopher: What Are You Doing Here? The Banshee Labyrinth, 3-24 Aug, not 7, 14, 21, £free Knightmare Live HHH Gilded Balloon Teviot, 31 Jul - 25 Aug, not 14 Aug, £7 – £11.50
Laughing Horse Free Comedy Selection Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 1-25 Aug, £free Pekka and Strangebone’s Comedy Showpiece The Voodoo Rooms, 3-24 Aug, not 12, 19, £free
17:40 Will Franken: Concert to Benefit the Victims of My Father HHH Pleasance Dome, 31 Jul - 26 Aug, not 14 Aug, £6 – £10 ❤ Kieran Hodgson Flood HHHH Underbelly, Bristo Square, 31 Jul - 26 Aug, not 15 Aug, £6 – £10
17:45 Comedy and Cupcakes Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 3-25 Aug, £free
Ian Smith - Anything HHH Pleasance Courtyard, 31 Jul - 25 Aug, not 12 Aug, £6 – £10 Pat Cahill: Start HH Pleasance Courtyard, 31 Jul - 25 Aug, not 12 Aug, £6 – £10 Sam Lloyd: Fully Committed Gilded Balloon Teviot, 31 Jul - 25 Aug, not 13 Aug, £6.50 – £12.50 At Wit’s End C venues - C aquila, 1126 Aug, £7.50 – £9.50 Diane Spencer: Hurricane Diane HHH Gilded Balloon Teviot, 31 Jul - 25 Aug, not 13 Aug, £6 – £9.50 Gordon Southern: The Kerfuffle Gilded Balloon Teviot, 31 Jul - 26 Aug, not 12 Aug, 19 Aug, £6 – £12 Chastity Butterworth & The Spanish Hamster HH Assembly Roxy, 31 Jul - 26 Aug, not 12 Aug, £6 – £10
A Pile of Wit C venues - C aquila, 1-10 Aug, £6.50 – £8.50 Sympathy for the Revill Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 1-25 Aug, not 5, 12, 19, £free
17:50 Not Suitable for Drinking Ciao Roma, 3-24 Aug, not 14, £free Phil Wang: Anti-Hero HHH Pleasance Courtyard, 31 Jul - 25 Aug, £6 – £10 Slightly Fat Features Pleasance Courtyard, 31 Jul - 26 Aug, not 12 Aug, £6 – £13 Mary Bourke: Muffragette HH The Stand Comedy Club III & IV, 31 Jul - 25 Aug, not 1 Aug, 12 Aug, £7 – £8
18:00
Various dates from 2 Aug to 25 Aug, £free
Stephen Carlin: Gambling Man Pleasance Courtyard, 31 Jul - 26 Aug, not 7 Aug, 14 Aug, £6 – £12
Old Men Can’t Jump Scottish Comedy Festival @ The Beehive Inn, 9-18 Aug, £free
Susan Calman: Always (A Work in Progress) The Stand Comedy Club III & IV, 1-12 Aug, £10 Adam Hess and David Elms HH Heroes @ The Hive, 1-25 Aug, £5 Total Hero Team The Dram House Upstairs, 3-17 Aug, £free Harry Deansway: Wrong Way Pleasance Courtyard, 31 Jul - 26 Aug, not 13 Aug, £6 – £9
Tim Renkow and Dave Millett Are Meandering With Purpose Heroes @ Bob’s Bookshop, 1-26 Aug, £5 ❤ Alexei Sayle HHHH The Stand Comedy Club III & IV, 13-25 Aug, not 19, £12 Colin Hoult: Characthorse HHH Pleasance Courtyard, 31 Jul - 26 Aug, not 13 Aug, £6 – £10.50
Ivo Graham: Binoculars HHH Pleasance Courtyard, 31 Jul - 25 Aug, not 12 Aug, £6 – £10
Gavin Webster: Don’t Give Any Money to Comic Relief and Other Opinions The Stand Comedy Club II, 31 Jul - 25 Aug, not 1 Aug, 12 Aug, £7 – £8
Maureen Younger: The Outsider - Free Show Scottish Comedy Festival @ The Beehive Inn,
Laughing Horse Free Pick of the Fringe Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 1-25 Aug, £free
COMEDY, THEATRE, CABARET AND MORE www.festmag.co.uk
OPEN 'TIL 5AM
August August20 20––26 26 || edinburgh edinburghfestival festivalguide guide2013 2013 fest fest 77
comedylistings Old Jewish Jokes Laughing Horse @ Bar 50, 1-25 Aug, not 6, 13, 20, £free
Aidan Goatley is On the Mend The Voodoo Rooms, 3-25 Aug, £free
❤ Rory and Tim: On the House HHHH The Dram House, 3-24 Aug, not 12, 13, £free
Christian Reilly: Songs of Praise The Dram House, 3-24 Aug, £free
Pun Run The Canons’ Gait, 7 Aug, 14 Aug, £free
Chris Henry Stands Up Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 2-25 Aug, £free
Birthday Girls: 2053 HHH Pleasance Courtyard, 31 Jul - 26 Aug, not 13 Aug, £6 – £9.50 Doctor Brown: Bexperiments Underbelly, Cowgate, 13 Aug, £7 Mixed Doubles Just The Tonic at the Caves, 1-25 Aug, not 13, £5 – £9.50 Matt Okine: Being Black & Chicken & S#%t HHH Underbelly, Bristo Square, 31 Jul - 26 Aug, not 13 Aug, £7 – £12 Over It - Death, Anorexia, and Other Funny Things Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 3-25 Aug, £free Yianni in Think Big (The Big One) Venue150 @ EICC, 25 Aug, £10 Scott of the Antarctic: The Musical The Dram House Upstairs, 18-24 Aug, £free David Kay The Stand Comedy Club III & IV, 19 Aug, £10 Kevin Dewsbury Out Now Laughing Horse @ The White Horse, 1-25 Aug, not 5, 12, 19, £free
Four Screws Loose in Screwtopia! Assembly George Square, 1-26 Aug, not 12, £5 – £10.50 Absolute Improv! theSpace on the Mile, 2-24 Aug, not 4, 18, £7 – £10 If the Queen Can Have an Official Birthday, So Can I, and These 22 Days Are It The Canons’ Gait, 3-25 Aug, not 7, 14, 21, £free
18:10 4Play Comedy Chiquito, 11-17 Aug, £free Festival of the Spoken Nerd - Full Frontal Nerdity HH Assembly George Square, 31 Jul - 25 Aug, not 14 Aug, £6 – £12 Ruth E. Cockburn Doesn’t Even Smoke Madogs Cocktail Bar & Grill, 3-24 Aug, £free Edward Aczel - Lives in a Meaningless Shed HHH Underbelly, Cowgate, 1-25 Aug, not 12, £6 – £11
18:15
18:05
The Pin HHH Pleasance Courtyard, 31 Jul - 26 Aug, not 12 Aug, 19 Aug, £6 – £11
All-Nude College-Girl Revue or How I Made It Through the LSE SpaceCabaret @ 54, 19-24 Aug, £6 – £7
Sean McLoughlin: Backbone Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 1-25 Aug, not 13, £free
Nathan Cassidy: Edinburgh Comedy Award Winner Laughing Horse @ Finnegan’s Wake, 1-24 Aug, not 4, 11, 18, £free At It @ 6.15 Laughing Horse @ The Phoenix, 1-25 Aug, £free Murder, She Didn’t Write Sweet Grassmarket, 1225 Aug, not 14, 21, £8 No Moral Compass Laughing Horse @ Meadow Bar, 1-25 Aug, not 12, 19, £free The Ginge, the Geordie and the Geek- Live HHH Just The Tonic at the Caves, 1-25 Aug, not 6, 13, 20, £10 – £14
18:20 Keith Farnan: Fear Itself HHH Underbelly, Cowgate, 1-25 Aug, not 13, £6 – £10.50
Tickling Jock: By Night Scottish National Portrait Gallery, 7 Aug, 21 Aug, £12
Gareth Morinan Is Playing the Numbers Game [G] The Banshee Labyrinth, 15-16 Aug, £free
Free Footlights The Dram House Upstairs, 3-24 Aug, £free
Good Breeding Dragonfly, 3-24 Aug, not 5, 12, 19, £free
Dobbing and Hamdi The Cabaret Voltaire, 3-24 Aug, £free
Chris Dangerfield: How I Spent £150,000 on Chinese Prostitutes Heroes @ The Hive, 5-24 Aug, £free
Tom Binns is Ian D Montfort: Psychic Fayre Pleasance Courtyard, 31 Jul - 25 Aug, £6 – £14.50
Rod Woodward: Funny Turn Just The Tonic at the Caves, 1-25 Aug, not 13, £5 – £8
David Sedaris - An Evening With David Sedaris Venue150 @ EICC, 17-24 Aug, £20
Gareth Morinan Is Playing the Numbers Game [E] The Banshee Labyrinth, 11-12 Aug, £free
18:30
Twice as Nice Comedy hosted by Sam Deards Dropkick Murphy’s, 3-24 Aug, not 4, 11, 18, £free
Fat Chav Le Monde, 16-25 Aug, not 17, 24, £5 – £8.50
Mike Newall: Six Weddings Just the Tonic at The Tron, 1-25 Aug, not 13, £5 – £8 ❤ WitTank presents The School HHHH Pleasance Courtyard, 31 Jul - 25 Aug, £6 – £12
BBC: It’s Not What You Know BBC@Potterrow, 6 May, 6 Aug, £free
Comedian? No. Just Italian Free Fringe George, 3-24 Aug, not 14, £free
Nik Coppin - Mixed Racist (Free Festival) Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 1-25 Aug, not 7, 14, 21, £free
Griff Rees Jokes Laughing Horse @ The Newsroom, 1-26 Aug, not 12, 19, £free
Rick Kiesewetter: Chink Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 2-25 Aug, £free
Amused Moose Comedy Awards Gangshow Just The Tonic at the Caves, 3-24 Aug, not 5, 6, 12, 13, 19, 20, £7 – £9 Bollywood Rejects Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 2-25 Aug, £free Flhip Flhop Assembly Checkpoint, 19-26 Aug, £10 – £12 Mick Ferry: Has Been Found Wanting Gilded Balloon Teviot, 31 Jul - 25 Aug, not 12 Aug, £6 – £9.50
Gareth Morinan Is Playing the Numbers Game [I] The Banshee Labyrinth, 19-20 Aug, £free
Rob Carter: Murder (and other hobbies) HHH Underbelly, Cowgate, 1-25 Aug, not 14, £6 – £10.50
I’m Fine, You? The Street, 3-24 Aug, not 7, 12, 19, £free Australia is F*cked Laughing Horse @ Jekyll & Hyde, 1-25 Aug, not 15, £free
The Thinking Drinker’s Guide to Alcohol The Assembly Rooms, 31 Jul - 25 Aug, not 1 Aug, 12 Aug, £9 – £10 ❤ Aisling Bea: C’est La Bea HHHH Gilded Balloon Teviot, 31 Jul - 26 Aug, not 13 Aug, £5 – £10.50 Javier Jarquin: Joke Ninja Assembly Hall, 1-25 Aug, not 12, 19, £5 – £10 NewsRevue 2013 Pleasance Courtyard, 31 Jul - 25 Aug, not 14 Aug, £9 – £16
Gareth Morinan Is Playing the Numbers Game [F] The Banshee Labyrinth, 13-14 Aug, £free
18:40
Gareth Morinan Is Playing the Numbers Game [Z] The Banshee Labyrinth, 23-24 Aug, £free
Gareth Morinan Is Playing the Numbers Game [B] The Banshee Labyrinth, 5-6 Aug, £free
Gareth Morinan Is Playing the Numbers Game [D] The Banshee Labyrinth, 9-10 Aug, £free
Gareth Morinan Is Playing the Numbers Game [A] The Banshee Labyrinth, 3-4 Aug, £free
Sarah Millican - Home Bird The Stand Comedy Club, 1-25 Aug, not 5, 6, 12, 13, 19, 20, £11 – £12
Gareth Morinan Is Playing the Numbers Game [H] The Banshee Labyrinth, 17-18 Aug, £free Gareth Morinan Is Playing the Numbers Game [J] The Banshee Labyrinth, 21-22 Aug, £free
Fast Fringe Pleasance Dome, 31 Jul - 24 Aug, £free – £10 Luke and Harry’s Journey to Sex Colony 01 Just The Tonic at the Caves, 1-24 Aug, not 7, 13, 20, £5 – £10
THE TOM SHOW
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78 fest edinburgh festival guide 2013 | August 20 – 26
@FollowTheCow
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comedylistings Gareth Morinan Is Playing the Numbers Game [C] The Banshee Labyrinth, 7-8 Aug, £free
18:45 Tig Notaro: Boyish-Girl Interrupted Gilded Balloon Teviot, 16-25 Aug, £14 – £15 Chris Griffin and Patrick Mulholland: Contrast and Compare Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 1-25 Aug, £free New Art Club: Feel About Your Body HHH Assembly George Square, 31 Jul - 25 Aug, not 13 Aug, 20 Aug, £6 – £14 Janey Godley Is Ungagged Gilded Balloon Teviot, 31 Jul - 15 Aug, £5 – £12 Anti-Clever Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 1-25 Aug, £free
18:50 ❤ Mat Ricardo: Showman HHHH Pleasance Dome, 31 Jul - 25 Aug, not 12 Aug, £6 – £9.50 Romesh Ranganathan Rom Com HH Underbelly, Bristo Square, 31 Jul - 25 Aug, £6 – £10.50 Lee Camp: Destruction! Distraction! Evolution? HHH Just The Tonic at Bristo Square, 1-25 Aug, not 13, £5 – £12
18:55 Steve Bugeja Tries Hard Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 1-25 Aug, £free
19:00 BBC: Just a Minute BBC@Potterrow, 13 Aug, £free Ardal O’Hanlon The Assembly Rooms, 12-18 Aug, £15
Benjamin Crellin: Comic of Duty Laughing Horse @ City Cafe, 1-25 Aug, £free
Chris Ramsey: Feeling Lucky Underbelly, Bristo Square, 23-25 Aug, £15
Killing Miss D Laughing Horse @ Jekyll & Hyde, 1-15 Aug, £free
James Acaster Lawnmower HHH Pleasance Courtyard, 31 Jul - 25 Aug, £6 – £12
Offal Comedienne Laughing Horse @ Jekyll & Hyde, 17-25 Aug, £free How to Be Rich and Thin Laughing Horse @ Edinburgh City Football Club, 1-25 Aug, not 5, 12, 19, £free Henry Paker: Classic Paker HH Underbelly, Bristo Square, 31 Jul - 26 Aug, not 13 Aug, £6 – £10.50
Sex Guru Pleasance Courtyard, 31 Jul - 25 Aug, not 12 Aug, 19 Aug, £6.50 – £12.50 ❤ The Beta Males in ... Superopolis HHHH Pleasance Dome, 31 Jul - 26 Aug, not 13 Aug, £6 – £11.50 Tony Dunn Against the Psychopaths Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 1-13 Aug, £free
Chris Stokes Tells It Like It Possibly Could Potentially Might Be Pleasance Courtyard, 31 Jul - 25 Aug, not 12 Aug, £6 – £9 Doctor Brown: Bexperiments Underbelly, Cowgate, 13 Aug, £7 Joe Bor Is Jasper Cromwell Jones Gilded Balloon Teviot, 31 Jul - 26 Aug, not 7 Aug, 14 Aug, £5 – £11 The Noise Next Door: Soundhouse HHH Pleasance Dome, 31 Jul - 26 Aug, not 7 Aug, 14 Aug, £7 – £14 Vladimir McTavish and Keir McAllister Look at the State of Britain The Stand Comedy Club III & IV, 1-25 Aug, not 12, £8 – £9 Jimmy Savile: The Punch and Judy Show Heroes @ Bob’s Bookshop, 1-26 Aug, not 12, 19, £5 David Morgan - Pretty Underbelly, Bristo Square, 31 Jul - 25 Aug, £6 – £10 ❤ Jamie Demetriou: People Day HHHHH Pleasance Courtyard, 31 Jul - 26 Aug, not 12 Aug, £6 – £10.50
Rob Delaney Live Underbelly, Bristo Square, 20-21 Aug, £19.50 Rowena Haley: There’s More to Life Than Chips Southsider, 3-24 Aug, £free Al Murray - The Pub Landlord: The Only Way is Epic Underbelly, Bristo Square, 16-17 Aug, £19.50 Damian Clark in G’Damo! Gilded Balloon Teviot, 31 Jul - 26 Aug, not 12 Aug, £5 – £10 Graham Clark: Afraid of the Clark HHH Assembly Roxy, 31 Jul - 26 Aug, not 12 Aug, £6 – £10 The G Spot New Town Bar, 5-17 Aug, not 11, £6
19:05 Chris Martin: Passionate About the Pointless Pleasance Courtyard, 31 Jul - 25 Aug, £6 – £12 Shelf Life: Lotta Quizeen’s Guide to Managing the Modern Home theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 12-17 Aug, £8
Matt and Ian’s Improv Show Sweet Grassmarket, 18 Aug, 25 Aug, £7
Jerry Sadowitz: Card Tricks and Close Up Magic The Assembly Rooms, 19-25 Aug, £15.50
Phil Kay Verbal Diary Heroes @ The Hive, 1-11 Aug, £5
A Midwife Crisis theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 19-24 Aug, £6
Charlie Chuck’s Grande Night Out theSpace @ Symposium Hall, 20-24 Aug, £8
19:10
Fernando - Taste the Difference Sweet Grassmarket, 12-24 Aug, not 14, 18, 21, £5
Seymour Mace Presents, Marmaduke Spatula’s F*ckin’ Spectacular Cabaret of Sunshine Show. HHH The Stand Comedy Club II, 1-25 Aug, not 12, £7 – £8
19:15 Ant Dewson: Now That’s What I Call Musical Comedy - Free Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 1-25 Aug, not 13, £free Lost in the Eighties The Banshee Labyrinth, 3-24 Aug, not 12, 19, £free Severe Blether Warning Scottish Comedy Festival @ The Beehive Inn, 1-26 Aug, £free Aaron Twitchen’s Princess Guide to Dating Laughing Horse @ Bar 50, 1-24 Aug, £free ❤ Joe Lycett - If Joe Lycett Then You Should’ve Put a Ring On It HHHH Pleasance Courtyard, 31 Jul - 25 Aug, not 12 Aug, £6 – £10 Working Men’s Club Laughing Horse @ The White Horse, 1-25 Aug, not 5, 12, 19, £free Mr Ambiguousness The Dram House, 3-24 Aug, not 14, £free Away An’ Bile Yer Heid Globe, 3-24 Aug, £free Marlon Davis: Crackin’ Up Pleasance Courtyard, 31 Jul - 25 Aug, not 12 Aug, £6 – £11 Rhys Mathewson - The Best £10 You’ll Ever Spend Pleasance Courtyard, 31 Jul - 26 Aug, not 13 Aug, £6 – £10 Tales from the Fringe Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 2-26 Aug, not 7, 14, 21, £free Andrew Maxwell: Banana Kingdom HHH Underbelly, Bristo Square, 31 Jul - 26 Aug, not 12 Aug, £8 – £15
AAA Stand-Up Pleasance Courtyard, 31 Jul - 26 Aug, £6 – £11 Casual Violence: Om Nom Nominous - Free The Voodoo Rooms, Various dates from 3 May to 17 Aug, £free
19:20 Vikki Stone - Definitely Underbelly, Bristo Square, 31 Jul - 25 Aug, not 14 Aug, £7 – £12 ❤ David O’Doherty: David O’Doherty Will Try to Fix Everything HHHH Pleasance Courtyard, 31 Jul - 26 Aug, not 12 Aug, £8 – £15 Amazing Charity Comedy Gala theSpace @ Symposium Hall, 18 Aug, £15 Craig Hill - Tartan About! Underbelly, Bristo Square, 1-26 Aug, not 12, 19, £7.50 – £14.50 Lights! Camera! Improvise! Underbelly, Cowgate, 1-25 Aug, not 13, £6 – £11 Bulletproof Jest theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 5-17 Aug, not 11, £6 – £7
19:30 Adam Hills: Happyism Assembly Hall, 15-25 Aug, £13 – £14 Comedy Gala 2013: In Aid of Waverley Care Edinburgh Playhouse, 22 Aug, £25 Jimeoin: Yes,Yes, Whatever...?! Venue150 @ EICC, 9-18 Aug, £15 – £17.50
COMEDY, THEATRE, CABARET AND MORE www.festmag.co.uk
OPEN 'TIL 5AM
August August20 20––26 26 || edinburgh edinburghfestival festivalguide guide2013 2013 fest fest 79
comedylistings ❤ Mark Thomas: 100 Acts of Minor Dissent HHHH The Stand Comedy Club III & IV, 3-25 Aug, not 12, £10
Bruce Fummey - The Jacobites and Bonnie Prince Charlie Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 1-25 Aug, not 12, 19, £free
Paul Foot: Words HH Underbelly, Cowgate, 1-25 Aug, not 12, £6 – £12
❤ David Baddiel - Fame: Not the Musical HHHH Assembly George Square, 31 Jul - 11 Aug, £7.50 – £17.50
Sanderson Jones and Pippa Evans - Wonder & Joy HHH Heroes @ The Hive, 1-24 Aug, not 14, 21, £free The Wireless Podcast - Free Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 1-25 Aug, £free Iain Stirling: At Home HHH Pleasance Courtyard, 31 Jul - 25 Aug, £6 – £10 Jenny Eclair: Eclairious HHH Gilded Balloon Teviot, 2-17 Aug, £13.50 – £14.50 Lee Nelson Live Assembly George Square, 12-24 Aug, £17.50 Paul F Taylor Presents The Greatest Show In The World Ever The Dram House Upstairs, 3-24 Aug, not 5, 12, 19, £free Big Value Comedy Show - Early Just The Tonic at the Caves, 1-25 Aug, not 13, £5 – £10 John Gordillo: Cheap Shots at the Defenceless HHH The Assembly Rooms, 1-25 Aug, not 12, £6 – £10 The Appalling Carly Smallman HH Gilded Balloon Teviot, 31 Jul - 25 Aug, not 13 Aug, £5 – £10 Tim FitzHigham: Challenger HH Pleasance Courtyard, 31 Jul - 26 Aug, not 14 Aug, £7 – £12.50 Will Mars: Americana Laughing Horse @ Meadow Bar, 1-25 Aug, not 13, £free Lords of Strut Assembly George Square, 1-25 Aug, not 12, £8 – £13 Matt Lacey: Classroom Warrior - Free The Voodoo Rooms, 3-24 Aug, not 13, 19, £free Alistair McGowan: Damn Labels! Gilded Balloon Teviot, Various dates from 18 Aug to 25 Aug, £13.50 – £14.50
I Am the Tag Team Champions Studio 24, 24 Aug, £7 Milton Jones On The High Road Assembly Hall, 2-14 Aug, not 5, 6, £16.50 Sean Hughes Penguins HH Gilded Balloon Teviot, 31 Jul - 25 Aug, £7.50 – £15 Bookshop Comedy Encore to the End of August Heroes @ Bob’s Bookshop, 27-31 Aug, £5
19:35 Rory O’Hanlon: Don’t Drink Don’t Smoke The Cabaret Voltaire, 3-24 Aug, not 12, £free Luke Toulson: I Don’t Know How I Feel About My Kids - Free The Cabaret Voltaire, 3-24 Aug, £free Elegant Nymphs Just The Tonic at the Caves, 1-25 Aug, not 13, £4 – £8
19:40 Tony Law: Night-Time Nonsense Overdrive The Assembly Rooms, 25 Aug, £12 Daniel Rigby: Berk in Progress Assembly Checkpoint, 7 Aug, 12 Aug, 19 Aug, £5 Tom Wrigglesworth: Utterly at Odds with the Universe Pleasance Courtyard, 31 Jul - 25 Aug, not 13 Aug, £6 – £12
Chris Mayo’s Identity Crisis Just The Tonic at the Caves, 1-25 Aug, not 13, £5 – £8.50
Tanyalee Davis - Big Trouble in Little ‘Gina The Assembly Rooms, 1-25 Aug, not 12, £9 – £10
Reginald D Hunter: In the Midst of Crackers Pleasance Courtyard, 9-24 Aug, not 13, 19, £15 – £17
Improvabunga - Some Sort of Improv Show theSpace on the Mile, 2-24 Aug, not 4, 11, 18, £5 – £7
Jason Manford - First World Problems Venue150 @ EICC, 2025 Aug, £17.50
Waking Up to Myself! Scottish Comedy Festival @ The Beehive Inn, 30 Jul - 25 Aug, not 12 Aug, £free
Tartan Ribbon Comedy Benefit Pleasance Courtyard, 13 Aug, £12
20:10
The Prima Party Scrapbook Sweet Grassmarket, 1-18 Aug, £8
19:45
Thrice HHH Underbelly, Cowgate, 1-25 Aug, not 13, £6 – £10.50
Rik n Mix Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 1-25 Aug, not 5, 12, 19, £free
Beard Envy Dragonfly, 3-24 Aug, not 7, 14, 21, £free
The Colour Ham Just The Tonic at the Caves, 1-24 Aug, not 12, 13, 14, 15, 19, 20, 21, 22, £5 – £11 Rock and Dole Opium, 3-24 Aug, £free 2 Irish Men Walk into a Bar - In a Yurt Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 1-25 Aug, £free Faux Latino Show Pony HH Assembly Hall, 1-26 Aug, not 12, £5 – £10.50 Mark Dolan - You’re Awesome! Gilded Balloon Teviot, 31 Jul - 25 Aug, not 12 Aug, £5 – £10 Standing Up For Something La Tasca, 3-24 Aug, £free Slaughterhouse Live Just The Tonic at the Caves, 19-22 Aug, £10 Instant Order: Trial By Audience The Dram House Upstairs, 3-24 Aug, not 13, £free Paco Erhard: Djerman Unchained Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 1-25 Aug, not 5, 12, 19, £free
Jon Bennett: My Dad’s Deaths HHH Underbelly, Cowgate, 1-25 Aug, not 13, £6 – £10.50
Stay at Home Dad Citrus Club, 3-20 Aug, £free
Pick Me Up Just The Tonic at the Caves, 1-25 Aug, not 13, £5 – £10
Ronny Chieng: The Ron Way HHH Underbelly, Cowgate, 1-25 Aug, not 13, £6 – £12
Laughter On the Outskirts - Free Laughing Horse @ Jekyll & Hyde, 1-25 Aug, £free
Fred MacAulay: 25 Fringes HHH The Assembly Rooms, 1-23 Aug, not 14, £14 – £15
Bobby Mair - Obviously Adopted HH Just the Tonic at The Tron, 1-25 Aug, not 13, £5 – £10
19:50
It’s Me Dayne HHH Gilded Balloon Teviot, 31 Jul - 26 Aug, not 12 Aug, 19 Aug, £5 – £8 Panto-monium: An Adult Pantomime for Gentlemen and Gentleladies Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 1-25 Aug, not 7, 14, 21, £free
19:55 The Shambles C venues - C aquila, 1-26 Aug, £7.50 – £9.50
20:00 BBC: Clare in the Community BBC@Potterrow, 16 Aug, £free Sara Pascoe vs the Truth HHH Assembly George Square, 31 Jul - 26 Aug, not 13 Aug, £6 – £12
Lewis Schaffer Is Better Than You Heroes @ The Hive, 1-25 Aug, not 7, 14, 21, £5 Paul Zerdin: No Strings Gilded Balloon Teviot, 31 Jul - 25 Aug, not 12 Aug, £7 – £12.50 Dr Professor Neal Portenza’s Interactive Goat Hour: There are no goats and the show is only 54 minutes long, excluding the bonus minute The Dram House Upstairs, 3-24 Aug, £free BBC: The News Quiz BBC@Potterrow, 8 Aug, £free Bob Doolally: A Life in Football The Stand Comedy Club III & IV, 12 Aug, £10 Norman Lovett - Old and New The Voodoo Rooms, 2-25 Aug, not 5, 12, 19, £8 – £10
BBC: Vic Galloway BBC@Potterrow, 5 Aug, £free
❤ Richard Herring We’re All Going to Die! HHHH Pleasance Courtyard, 31 Jul - 25 Aug, £7 – £14
Bourke and No Hair Bristo Bar & Kitchen, 3-24 Aug, £free
BBC: Jazz House BBC@Potterrow, 7 Aug, £free
Laughing Horse Free Comedy Selection Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 1-25 Aug, £free
Employees of the Month: Glenn Moore and Friends Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 2-26 Aug, £free
So You Think You’re Funny? Gilded Balloon Teviot, 22 Aug, £15 Terry Alderton: Season 4 HHH Pleasance Courtyard, 31 Jul - 25 Aug, not 13 Aug, £6 – £13.50 Tommy Holgate: Good Spirits Heroes @ Bob’s Bookshop, 1-26 Aug, £5 A Panda Suit, Pythagoras and Plenty of Puns Just The Tonic at the Caves, 1-22 Aug, not 13, £3 – £5 Can You Put This in the Bin for Me? - Free Laughing Horse @ Jekyll & Hyde, 16-25 Aug, £free Michael Fabbri: Buffering Laughing Horse @ City Cafe, 1-25 Aug, £free
Nish Kumar - Nish Kumar is a Comedian HHH Underbelly, Bristo Square, 31 Jul - 25 Aug, £6 – £11 Julia Sutherland - Fat Chance The Stand Comedy Club III & IV, 5 Aug, 19 Aug, £8 Lost Voice Guy - A Voice of Choice HH The Stand Comedy Club III & IV, 31 Jul - 25 Aug, not 1 Aug, 5 Aug, 12 Aug, 19 Aug, £7 – £8 Matt Green - Alive Pleasance Dome, 31 Jul - 25 Aug, not 12 Aug, £6 – £10.50 Simon Evans: Leashed HHH The Stand Comedy Club, 31 Jul - 25 Aug, not 1 Aug, 12 Aug, £6 – £12 Jeff Mirza: Meet Abu Hamsta and Paki Bashir-From Allah with Love Just The Tonic at Bristo Square, 1-25 Aug, not 7, 13, 20, £5 – £10
20:15 Gareth Richards: Gareth Goes Electric HH Pleasance Courtyard, 31 Jul - 25 Aug, £6 – £10 Light Relief Sweet Grassmarket, 1-25 Aug, £8.50
Playing Politics Acoustic Music Centre @ St Bride’s, 16 Aug, 23 Aug, £12.50
Yannis Pappas - The Happy Place Assembly Roxy, 1-25 Aug, not 12, 19, £6 – £11
20:05
Lee Kern: Bitter Twitter HH Gilded Balloon Teviot, 31 Jul - 26 Aug, not 12 Aug, £5 – £9.50
Eric Davidson Brigadoom theSpace @ Symposium Hall, 2-24 Aug, not 4, 11, 18, £10 Jim Campbell: Stupid Animals HH Underbelly, Bristo Square, 31 Jul - 26 Aug, not 13 Aug, £6 – £11 Thespianage theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 12-24 Aug, not 18, £5 Terry Clement: Din Times 8 HH Underbelly, Cowgate, 1-25 Aug, not 12, £6 – £11
Suzy Bennett - Dancing On Thin Ice Pleasance Courtyard, 31 Jul - 25 Aug, £6 – £11.50 Wagapaga Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 18-25 Aug, £free Miracles Etc Gilded Balloon Teviot, 31 Jul - 26 Aug, £6 – £12 Caroline Rhea Gilded Balloon Teviot, 31 Jul - 26 Aug, not 12 Aug, £10 – £14.50
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80 fest edinburgh festival guide 2013 | August 20 – 26
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comedylistings Rob Deb BigBang Theory of Life Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 1-17 Aug, £free Tom Rosenthal Благодаря HHH Pleasance Courtyard, 31 Jul - 25 Aug, £6 – £12
20:20 The News at Kate 2013: My Professional Opinion Ciao Roma, 3-24 Aug, not 13, £free Tom Craine: Crying On A Waltzer HHH Pleasance Courtyard, 31 Jul - 25 Aug, £6 – £10 Mr Winchester: Classic Entertainment! Pleasance Dome, 19-25 Aug, £10.50 – £14 Bob and Jim - Two Stars Underbelly, Bristo Square, 31 Jul - 25 Aug, not 12 Aug, 13 Aug, £6 – £10 Daniel Simonsen: Stranger HHH Pleasance Dome, 31 Jul - 26 Aug, not 12 Aug, 19 Aug, £6.50 – £11 Brian Appleton’s History of the World in 3 Darts Pleasance Dome, 5-11 Aug, £10 – £12 Martin Mor - How Do You Like Your Blue-eyed Boy Mister Death? The Stand Comedy Club II, 2-25 Aug, not 12, £8 ❤ Max and Ivan: The Reunion HHHH Pleasance Dome, 31 Jul - 25 Aug, not 13 Aug, £6 – £12.50
20:25 Addy Time The Canons’ Gait, 3-25 Aug, £free
20:30 ❤ Alex Horne: Lies HHHH Pleasance Courtyard, 31 Jul - 25 Aug, £6 – £10.50 Age Against the Machine Scottish Comedy Festival @ The Beehive Inn, 31 Jul - 26 Aug, not 6 Aug, 13 Aug, 20 Aug, £free Benjamin Partridge: An Audience With Jeff Goldblum HH The Banshee Labyrinth, 3-24 Aug, not 6, 13, 20, £free Kevin Shepherd: Confess Nothing - Free Laughing Horse @ The White Horse, 1-25 Aug, not 13, £free
Laughing Horse Free Pick of the Fringe Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 1-25 Aug, £free Barnardo’s Big Comedy Benefit The Assembly Rooms, 12 Aug, £20 Baby Wants Candy: The Completely Improvised Full Band Musical! Assembly George Square, 31 Jul - 26 Aug, £10 – £15 Daniel Sloss: Stand-Up Venue150 @ EICC, 2-25 Aug, not 21, £10 – £17.50 Paul McCaffrey: Name in Lights HHH Pleasance Courtyard, 31 Jul - 24 Aug, £6 – £10 Livid Failure The Dram House Upstairs, 12-24 Aug, £free Foster’s Edinburgh Comedy Awards Pleasance Courtyard, 25 Aug, £14 Phill Jupitus and Deborah FrancesWhite: Voices in Your Head - The Phill Jupitus Experiment HH Pleasance Dome, 31 Jul - 26 Aug, not 12 Aug, £6 – £14 Amateur Transplants: Adam Kay Is Going For A Number One Pleasance Courtyard, 31 Jul - 26 Aug, not 7 Aug, 14 Aug, £7 – £14 Alistair Barrie: Universal Adapter The Dram House, 3-24 Aug, not 12, £free Norwegians of Comedy The Dram House Upstairs, 3-10 Aug, £free BBC Radio New Comedy Award 2013 Edinburgh Heats BBC@Potterrow, 20-21 Aug, £7 Carl Donnelly: Now That’s What I Carl Donnelly! Volume V HHH Pleasance Courtyard, 31 Jul - 24 Aug, not 14 Aug, £6 – £10 A-Z of Backpacking - Free Laughing Horse @ Bar 50, 1-25 Aug, not 5, 12, 19, £free An Evening with Elaine C Smith Palais de Glaces Spiegeltent, 7 Aug, £25 Joey Page: Reality Is Outside, Paradise Is In Your Brain HH Pleasance Courtyard, 31 Jul - 26 Aug, not 13 Aug, £6 – £9.50
20:40 Christian O’Connell: This Is 13 HHH Underbelly, Bristo Square, 31 Jul - 20 Aug, £7 – £13.50 John Robertson - The Dark Room Underbelly, Cowgate, 1-25 Aug, not 14, £6 – £10
Abandoman: Moonrock Boombox HHH Underbelly, Bristo Square, 31 Jul - 26 Aug, not 12 Aug, 19 Aug, £7 – £14.50 Patrick Monahan Cake Charmer HH Gilded Balloon Teviot, 31 Jul - 25 Aug, not 7 Aug, £5 – £12 Best of Waterloo Comedy Club - Ralph D’iamond Hosts Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 2-6 Aug, £free
Hope & Gloria The Voodoo Rooms, 3-24 Aug, £free My Name Is Christian Grey Chiquito, 12-24 Aug, £free ❤ Jimmy McGhie: Delusions of Candour HHHH Pleasance Courtyard, 31 Jul - 25 Aug, £6 – £10 Omid Djalili Live The Assembly Rooms, 13-25 Aug, £17.50
❤ Craig Campbell’s Thrilling Mic Hunt HHHH The Assembly Rooms, 1-25 Aug, not 12, £9 – £10 Death by Murder Greenside, 12-17 Aug, £7 Jay Foreman: No More Colours HHH Pleasance Courtyard, 31 Jul - 26 Aug, not 13 Aug, £6 – £11
20:45 Bench Bites Laughing Horse @ The Phoenix, 2-25 Aug, not 10, 11, 19, £free Evolution of iMaAN Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 1-25 Aug, £free Free - 99 Club Stand-Up Selection - Cowgate Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 1-25 Aug, £free Kai Humphries Shameless Gilded Balloon Teviot, 31 Jul - 26 Aug, not 12 Aug, 20 Aug, £6 – £12 Bronston Jones: Life’s Short. I’m Not! - Free Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 1-25 Aug, £free Blind Mirth Improv Comedy Paradise in The Vault, 13-26 Aug, not 19, £6
20:50 Akmal Assembly George Square, 31 Jul - 26 Aug, not 12 Aug, 19 Aug, £7 – £12.50 Andrew Lawrence There Is No Escape Pleasance Courtyard, 31 Jul - 25 Aug, £6.50 – £13.50
20:55 Abigoliah Schamaun: Subtle Just The Tonic at the Caves, 1-25 Aug, not 13, £5 – £10 Bruce Dingerdik’s Top End Tour Spotlites @ The Merchants’ Hall, 18-26 Aug, £7 Stephen K Amos: Work in Progress The Stand Comedy Club III & IV, 1-24 Aug, not 12, 13, 19, 20, £10
Jen Carnovale: Not a Person Person - Free Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 2-25 Aug, not 5, 12, 19, £free
Bob Doolally: A Life in Football The Stand Comedy Club III & IV, 19 Aug, £9
Japanese ‘Locky’ Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 7-25 Aug, £free The Jocks and Geordies Laughing Horse @ Meadow Bar, 2-25 Aug, £free Toby Adams - Routine Laughing Horse @ The Newsroom, 1-25 Aug, £free Wilkinson Ford: Webmasters Base Nightclub, 3-24 Aug, not 7, 14, 21, £free
David Kay The Stand Comedy Club III & IV, 20 Aug, £10
21:00
Alistair Green Is Jack Spencer: Sex Addict Just the Tonic at The Tron, 1-25 Aug, not 13, £5 – £8.50 Adventures On Air – Free! Laughing Horse @ Jekyll & Hyde, Various dates from 1 Aug to 25 Aug, £free Big Value Comedy Show - Late Just The Tonic at the Caves, 1-25 Aug, not 13, £5 – £10 ❤ Pajama Men - Just the Two of Each of Us HHHHH Assembly Roxy, 31 Jul - 26 Aug, not 12 Aug, 19 Aug, £10 – £15 Scott Capurro: Islamohomophobia The Assembly Rooms, 31 Jul - 25 Aug, not 1 Aug, 12 Aug, £9 – £10 Tumi Morake in HerStory Assembly Hall, 1-26 Aug, not 12, £10 – £12 Wayne Thallon: Procreation Just The Tonic at the Caves, 6-25 Aug, not 13, £8 – £10 Dear Ray The Banshee Labyrinth, 3-24 Aug, not 19, £free ❤ Henson Alternative’s Puppet Up! Uncensored HHHH Assembly Hall, 1-26 Aug, not 12, 19, £12 – £25
Greg Proops Gilded Balloon Teviot, 31 Jul - 14 Aug, £9 – £14.50 Rocky Horror Night Frankenstein Pub, 7 Aug, 14 Aug, 21 Aug, £free Beardyman: One Album Per Hour Gilded Balloon Teviot, 15-21 Aug, £13 – £14.50 Neil Delamere: Smartbomb Pleasance Courtyard, 31 Jul - 25 Aug, not 12 Aug, £7 – £12 Scotland’s Pick of the Fringe Scottish Comedy Festival @ The Beehive Inn, 31 Jul - 25 Aug, not 12 Aug, 19 Aug, £5 The Fringe Comedy Academy: Class of 2013 The Stand Comedy Club III & IV, 13 Aug, £6 The G Spot New Town Bar, 5-17 Aug, not 11, £6
21:05 Stand Up Sat Down theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 19-24 Aug, £3
21:10 Marcus Brigstocke: ‘Je m’accuse - I am Marcus’ Assembly Hall, 1-25 Aug, not 12, £10 – £14 Alfie Brown: The Revolting Youth Underbelly, Cowgate, 1-25 Aug, £6 – £11
21:15
Jason Byrne’s Special Eye HH Underbelly, Bristo Square, 31 Jul - 25 Aug, not 12 Aug, 19 Aug, £10 – £19.50
Anil Desai’s Another Night at the Movies Laughing Horse @ City Cafe, 1-25 Aug, not 12, 19, £free
Josh Widdicombe: Incidentally... HHH Assembly George Square, 31 Jul - 15 Aug, £10 – £13
Charlie Baker: Baker’s Dozen Assembly George Square, 31 Jul - 25 Aug, not 12 Aug, £5 – £11
Dead Famous Dragonfly, 3-24 Aug, £free
Gerry Howell: Seriousnessmus HH The Dram House Upstairs, 3-24 Aug, not 12, 19, £free
Spring Day: Learn How to Take a Punch - Free Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 1-25 Aug, not 14, £free Best of So You Think You’re Funny? Gilded Balloon Teviot, 2-18 Aug, not 5, 6, 12, 13, £6 – £10.50
Will You Hold My Hand? Underbelly, Cowgate, 1-25 Aug, not 12, £6 – £10.50
Assemble: The Lovely Men - Free Laughing Horse @ Jekyll & Hyde, 3-17 Aug, not 15, £free
Tom Binns Does Ivan Brackenbury and Others Heroes @ The Hive, 1-25 Aug, £5
Gary Lynch - Dark Charisma Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 2-25 Aug, not 12, £free
101 Comedy - Free Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 1-25 Aug, £free From Beer to Paternity Laughing Horse @ Jekyll & Hyde, 4-25 Aug, not 20, £free Freda Chats Shittington Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 1-25 Aug, £free Henning Wehn’s Authentic German Christmas Do Just The Tonic at the Caves, 1-25 Aug, not 13, £7.50 – £11.50
COMEDY, THEATRE, CABARET AND MORE www.festmag.co.uk
OPEN 'TIL 5AM
August August20 20––26 26 || edinburgh edinburghfestival festivalguide guide2013 2013 fest fest 81
comedylistings Luisa Omielan: What Would Beyoncé Do?! Gilded Balloon Teviot, 2-11 Aug, £7 – £13 Alan Davies: Work in Progress Gilded Balloon Teviot, 15-26 Aug, not 20, 21, £13
21:20 Alan Committie: Fully Committied Assembly Roxy, 5-26 Aug, not 12, £11 – £12 Seann Walsh: The Lie-in King HHH Pleasance Courtyard, 31 Jul - 25 Aug, not 12 Aug, 13 Aug, £7.50 – £13 The Essential Tom Stade: 12 Nights Only! The Assembly Rooms, 13-25 Aug, not 19, £15 Gavin Crawford - A Bummer Abroad theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 19-24 Aug, £9 ❤ Pete Firman Scoundrel HHHH Pleasance Courtyard, 31 Jul - 25 Aug, £8.50 – £15 Ed Byrne – Roaring Forties Venue150 @ EICC, 2-25 Aug, not 12, 13, £17.50 – £19.50 Dana Alexander: Is This Really Happening? The Stand Comedy Club III & IV, 1-25 Aug, not 12, £7 – £8 Liam Mullone: Game Over Just The Tonic at the Caves, 1-25 Aug, not 13, £5 – £9.50
21:25 Colin Geddis: Comments Disabled Underbelly, Bristo Square, 31 Jul - 25 Aug, not 12 Aug, £6 – £10
21:30 The Big Comedy Gala in Aid of Macmillan Cancer Support Venue150 @ EICC, 12 Aug, £20 Horse & Louis’ Comedy Bingo! - FREE Laughing Horse @ New Empire Bingo, 16-17 Aug, £free KelFi & FiKel Gilded Balloon Teviot, 31 Jul - 25 Aug, not 12 Aug, £6 – £10.50 Carl Hutchinson: All the Rage Underbelly, Bristo Square, 31 Jul - 25 Aug, £6 – £10 Jem Brookes: Puntitled Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 1-25 Aug, £free
Markus Birdman - Happily Ever After HHH The Stand Comedy Club II, 1-25 Aug, not 12, £7 – £8
The Boy With Tape On His Face: More Tape Pleasance Courtyard, 3-24 Aug, not 12, 13, £12 – £13.50
The Comedy Reserve HH Pleasance Dome, 31 Jul - 26 Aug, not 12 Aug, 19 Aug, £6 – £9.50
Jonny & the Baptists: Bigger Than Judas HHH Pleasance Dome, 31 Jul - 26 Aug, not 12 Aug, £6 – £10
Howard Read: Hide and Speak HH Gilded Balloon Teviot, 31 Jul - 26 Aug, not 12 Aug, £6 – £12 ❤ John Robins - Where Is My Mind? HHHH Pleasance Courtyard, 31 Jul - 25 Aug, £6 – £11.50 Mikey Avern: Absurd Projections Just The Tonic at Bristo Square, 1-17 Aug, not 13, £3 – £5 Richard Gadd: Cheese and Crack Whores Southsider, 3-24 Aug, not 12, £free ❤ Rich Hall HHHH Assembly George Square, 1-25 Aug, not 12, £10 – £14 Brett Goldstein Contains Scenes of an Adult Nature Pleasance Courtyard, 31 Jul - 26 Aug, not 13 Aug, £6 – £11 Gareth Richards: Gareth Goes Electric HH Pleasance Courtyard, Various dates from 2 Aug to 24 Aug, £6 – £10 Lloyd Langford: Galoot HHH Gilded Balloon Teviot, 31 Jul - 26 Aug, not 12 Aug, 19 Aug, £6 – £11.50 Russell Kane: Smallness Pleasance Courtyard, 8-22 Aug, not 9, 10, 16, 17, £10 – £17.50 Suman Biswas: Still Alive After Amateur Transplants Just The Tonic at Bristo Square, 18-25 Aug, £11
21:35
❤ Brendon Burns Hasn’t Heard of You Either HHHH The Stand Comedy Club, 2-25 Aug, not 5, 12, 19, £12
21:45 Alex Kealy and Friends Kilderkin, 3-24 Aug, not 15, £free
Alfie Moore - Viva Alf’s Vegas HHH Pleasance Courtyard, 31 Jul - 25 Aug, £6 – £12 The Quint Fontana 2013 Comeback Special The Voodoo Rooms, 3-25 Aug, not 13, £free Glenn Wool: This Road Has Tolls HHH Assembly George Square, 31 Jul - 26 Aug, not 12 Aug, 19 Aug, £6 – £14
22:00 Alex Williamson Gilded Balloon Teviot, Various dates from 31 Jul to 9 Aug, £5 – £11 Gay Straight Alliance Laughing Horse @ The Phoenix, 2-26 Aug, £free
David Quirk - Shaking Hands With Danger (AUS) HHH Pleasance Courtyard, 31 Jul - 26 Aug, not 12 Aug, £6 – £10.50
Katerina Vrana: Feta With The Queen Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 2-25 Aug, not 13, 20, £free
Ginger Nation The Dram House, 3-24 Aug, not 5, 12, 19, £free
The Sitcom Trials Gilded Balloon Teviot, 21 Aug, £10
I Think So I’m Ready Laughing Horse @ Bar 50, 1-25 Aug, not 5, 12, 19, £free
Daniel Sloss - Stand-Up (Extra Shows!) Venue150 @ EICC, Various dates from 9 Aug to 24 Aug, £17.50
Bruce Fummey - My Afro Celtic Angst Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 1-25 Aug, not 12, 19, £free Peacock & Gamble: Heart-throbs Pleasance Courtyard, 31 Jul - 25 Aug, £6 – £11 Paul Pirie: Me H Laughing Horse @ The White Horse, 1-25 Aug, £free PowerCouple Stand-up Comedy from Stephen Bailey and Gary John Senior Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 1-25 Aug, £free Alan Sharp: As Seen On... The Banshee Labyrinth, 3-24 Aug, £free
Darius Davies’ HBÖ Special Laughing Horse @ Meadow Bar, 2-25 Aug, £free ❤ Joke Thieves HHHH Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 1-25 Aug, not 13, £free Künt and the Gang Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 2-25 Aug, not 11, £free So You Think You’re Funny? Gilded Balloon Teviot, Various dates from 4 Aug to 14 Aug, £10 ❤ Felicity Ward: Irregardless HHHH Underbelly, Bristo Square, 31 Jul - 26 Aug, not 12 Aug, £7 – £13 A A and A Free Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 4-22 Aug, not 9, 10, 16, 17, £free
Peter Buckley Hill and Some Comedians XVII The Canons’ Gait, 3-24 Aug, £free
❤ Gary Delaney 2: This Time It’s Not Personal HHHH Pleasance Courtyard, 31 Jul - 25 Aug, not 12 Aug, £6 – £12
Mark Smith: The Most Astonishing Name in Comedy Pleasance Courtyard, 31 Jul - 25 Aug, £6 – £10
Luke Benson: Legendary Feet Pleasance Courtyard, 31 Jul - 25 Aug, not 13 Aug, £6 – £10
21:40
21:50
❤ Carey Marx: Intensive Carey HHHH Gilded Balloon Teviot, 31 Jul - 25 Aug, not 12 Aug, £6 – £9.50
George Ryegold: Adulterated Underbelly, Bristo Square, 31 Jul - 26 Aug, not 14 Aug, £6 – £9.50
Claudia O’Doherty: Pioneer Pleasance Courtyard, 31 Jul - 26 Aug, not 12 Aug, £6.50 – £11.50
Foil, Arms and Hog Late Night Irish Sketch Comedy HHH Underbelly, Cowgate, 1-25 Aug, £6 – £10.50
#LazyTitle Laughing Horse @ The Newsroom, 1-25 Aug, not 12, £free
Loyiso Gola: The Professional Black! Assembly George Square, 1-26 Aug, not 12, 19, £7 – £11
Aug, 13 Aug, 14 Aug, 15 Aug, £8 – £13
Storytellers’ Club Pleasance Courtyard, 16-17 Aug, £10
Dave Bailey and Friends Comedy Hour Paradise in The Vault, 5-26 Aug, not 12, 19, £free
22:15
WeGotTickets New Talent Showcase Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 14 Aug, £5 Jennifer Wong: Laughable The Dram House Upstairs, 3-22 Aug, £free
Davey Connor Live! But Not in Your Living Room Gilded Balloon Teviot, 31 Jul - 26 Aug, not 7 Aug, 12 Aug, £5 – £9.50
Best New Sketch Act 2013: The Final Gilded Balloon Teviot, 20 Aug, £10
Pete Cain: Everybody Out! The Assembly Rooms, 1-25 Aug, not 12, £9 – £10
Dr Ettrick-Hogg and Guests - Stand-Up Show- Free Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 1-25 Aug, £free
Clare Harrison’s 15 Inches of Fame Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 1-26 Aug, not 17, 18, 19, £free
Hal Cruttenden: Tough Luvvie Gilded Balloon Teviot, 16-26 Aug, not 20, 21, 22, £13
Eat a Queer Foetus 4 Jesus Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 14-25 Aug, not 23, £free
Late Night Gimp Fight HHH Pleasance Dome, 31 Jul - 25 Aug, £6 – £10
Greg Proops: The Smartest Man In The World Gilded Balloon Teviot, 3 Aug, 10 Aug, 15 Aug, £13
Michael Che: Cartoon Violence HHH The Assembly Rooms, 31 Jul - 25 Aug, not 1 Aug, 12 Aug, £9 – £10
Laughing Horse Free Comedy Selection Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 1-25 Aug, not 14, £free
The Alternative Comedy Experience The Stand Comedy Club, 12 Aug, 19 Aug, £10
Woolly Mammoth Panic Attack Laughing Horse @ Jekyll & Hyde, 1-25 Aug, not 15, £free
Adrienne Truscott’s Asking for It: A One-Lady Rape About Comedy Starring Her Pussy and Little Else! Heroes @ Bob’s Bookshop, 1-26 Aug, not 12, 19, £5
Scottish Falsetto Sock Puppet Theatre - In Space Gilded Balloon Teviot, 31 Jul - 25 Aug, not 21 Aug, £5 – £11
BBC: Radio 4 Extra Stand-Up Show BBC@Potterrow, 15 Aug, 19 Aug, £free
22:05 Magpie & Stump Are Chairman Lmao and the Lolitburo theSpace on the Mile, 19-24 Aug, £6
22:10 Listen, Lancelot... Dragonfly, 3-24 Aug, £free Abominations theSpace on North Bridge, 12-24 Aug, not 18, £9 Rory McGrath and Philip Pope in Bridge Over Troubled Lager Assembly George Square, 31 Jul - 26 Aug, not 10 Aug, 11 Aug, 12
Simply the Jest Just The Tonic at the Caves, 1-25 Aug, not 13, £5 – £10
22:20 ❤ Liam Williams HHHH Just the Tonic at The Tron, 1-25 Aug, not 13, £6 – £9.50 The Dog, the Witch and the Wardrobe! theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 2-24 Aug, not 4, 11, 18, £6.50 – £10 Barry From Watford: Shooting from The (new) Hip Pleasance Courtyard, 12-25 Aug, £7.50 – £10 Musical Comedy Awards Showcase Underbelly, Bristo Square, 23-24 Aug, £14 Shirley Gnome Underbelly, Cowgate, 1-25 Aug, not 12, £6 – £9.50
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82 fest edinburgh festival guide 2013 | August 20 – 26
@FollowTheCow
www.festmag.co.uk
comedylistings 22:25
22:35
The Best of Irish Comedy The Stand Comedy Club III & IV, 2-25 Aug, not 13, £12
Gary Myers: The Psychopathology of Everyday Laughs Just The Tonic at the Caves, 14-25 Aug, £2 – £6.50
Jerry Sadowitz: Card Tricks and Close Up Magic The Assembly Rooms, 23-24 Aug, £17.50
22:30 The Showstoppers’ Improvised Musical Gilded Balloon Teviot, 2-25 Aug, not 22, £10 – £13.50 Chortle Student Comedy Award Final Pleasance Courtyard, 12-13 Aug, £8.50 Doc Brown Pleasance Courtyard, 19-25 Aug, £10.50 – £14 Fisting for Biscuits Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 1-25 Aug, £free Scott Agnew Something’s Gotta Give HH The Stand Comedy Club III & IV, 31 Jul - 25 Aug, not 1 Aug, 12 Aug, £7 – £8 The Horne Section Live in a Cow Underbelly, Bristo Square, 31 Jul - 25 Aug, £7 – £14 ❤ Adam Buxton: Kernel Panic HHHH Assembly Hall, 2-5 Aug, £16 Hardeep Singh Kohli: Hardeep Is Your Love Pleasance Courtyard, 14-18 Aug, £10 – £12 The Wrong Side of the Door Underbelly, Cowgate, 1-25 Aug, not 2, 24, £6 – £10 ❤ Trouble With Comedy HHHH Laughing Horse @ City Cafe, 2-26 Aug, not 12, £free Al Lubel is Mentally Al HH Just The Tonic at the Caves, 1-25 Aug, not 13, £5 – £10 Shane Mauss: Mating Season HH Assembly George Square, 31 Jul - 25 Aug, not 12 Aug, £8 – £12
22:40 Simon Donald - Butch Straight Poof The Stand Comedy Club II, 31 Jul - 25 Aug, not 1 Aug, 12 Aug, £7 – £8 Paul Zerdin: No Strings Gilded Balloon Teviot, 19 Aug, £10.50 Rubberbandits HHH Gilded Balloon Teviot, 31 Jul - 26 Aug, not 12 Aug, 19 Aug, £6 – £14 Viv Groskop: I Laughed, I Cried Le Monde, 18-19 Aug, £8 Edinburgh Comedy AllStars Underbelly, Bristo Square, Various dates from 1 Aug to 25 Aug, £10 – £15.50
22:45 Dave Callan: The Psychology of Laughter Gilded Balloon Teviot, 31 Jul - 10 Aug, £5 – £10 Humza Arshad presents Diary of a Badman Gilded Balloon Teviot, 11-25 Aug, £11 – £12 Rhys Nicholson: Dawn of a New Error Gilded Balloon Teviot, 31 Jul - 26 Aug, not 13 Aug, £5 – £11.50 The Comedy Zone HH Pleasance Courtyard, 31 Jul - 25 Aug, £6 – £10 Billy McGuire Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 1-25 Aug, £free Mat Ewins: Once Upon a Time in the Jest Pleasance Courtyard, 31 Jul - 26 Aug, £6 – £9 David Trent: This Is All I Have HHH Pleasance Dome, 31 Jul - 25 Aug, £6 – £12 Eleanor Conway’s Comedy Rumble Underbelly, Bristo Square, 31 Jul - 26 Aug, £6 – £10.50
Guilt & Shame: Addicted to Everything HH Underbelly, Cowgate, 1-25 Aug, not 12, £free – £9
22:50 Bad Bread: Glove Contractually Underbelly, Bristo Square, 31 Jul - 26 Aug, not 14 Aug, £6 – £10.50 Garrett Millerick: Does it Matter? Underbelly, Bristo Square, 31 Jul - 26 Aug, not 14 Aug, £6 – £9.50 Joy of Sketch Pleasance Courtyard, 9 Aug, 16 Aug, £10
23:00 The Quiz Show That Has Nothing to Do With Horses Sweet Grassmarket, 24-25 Aug, £7 Jordan, Jesse, Go! Pleasance Courtyard, 22-23 Aug, £9 A to Z Improv Comedy - Free Kilderkin, 3-24 Aug, £free Alistair Greaves and Si Beckwith: All Aboard for Funtime! Laughing Horse @ The White Horse, 2-26 Aug, not 12, 20, £free Eric Hutton’s Favourite Songs - Free Laughing Horse @ Bar 50, 2-25 Aug, not 5, 12, 13, 14, 19, £free Mrs Manning Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 1-25 Aug, not 13, £free
Chris Martin: Passionate About the Pointless - EXTRA SHOW Pleasance Courtyard, 16-18 Aug, £12
Bo Burnham: What HHH Pleasance Courtyard, 9-19 Aug, not 13, £12 – £13.50
BattleActs! Improvised Comedy - Free Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 3-22 Aug, £free
AAA Stand-Up Late Pleasance Courtyard, 31 Jul - 26 Aug, £6 – £11
Sexual Freaky Friday Laughing Horse @ Meadow Bar, 1-25 Aug, £free
Laughing Horse Free Pick of the Fringe Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 1-25 Aug, £free
Trevor Noah: The Racist Pleasance Courtyard, 22-24 Aug, £14
Obie: Hostage: A Captive Audience Scottish Comedy Festival @ The Beehive Inn, 30 Jul - 25 Aug, not 7 Aug, 14 Aug, 21 Aug, £free
School Night Pleasance Courtyard, 5-21 Aug, not 8, 9, 10, 11, 15, 16, 17, 18, £12
What Happens Next? Laughing Horse @ The Phoenix, 17-25 Aug, £free
Super Organic Me - Free Henderson’s Vegetarian Restaurant and Arts Venue, 1-25 Aug, not 13, £free
The Stand Late Show The Stand Comedy Club, Various dates from 2 Aug to 24 Aug, £15
Sugar, Spice ... All Things Nice? Laughing Horse @ The Phoenix, 2-3 Aug, £free
Jobby Hunter Laughing Horse @ Jekyll & Hyde, 1-25 Aug, not 15, £free
23:20
Aaaaaaaaaaaaarrghhh! Free! It’s the Increasingly Prestigious Malcolm Hardee Comedy Awards Show Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 23-24 Aug, £free
❤ The New Wave HHHH Pleasance Dome, 8-24 Aug, not 11, 12, 13, 14, 18, 19, 20, 21, £10
Hedluv and Passman: Two Cornish Rappers and a Casiotone Two: This Time It’s Similar Gilded Balloon Teviot, 31 Jul - 26 Aug, not 13 Aug, £5 – £11
McNeil & Pamphilon Go 8-Bit! Pleasance Dome, 10 Aug, 11 Aug, 16 Aug, 17 Aug, £10 BBC: Late Junction BBC@Potterrow, 13-14 Aug, £free Paul Currie: The Sticky Bivouac Pleasance Courtyard, 31 Jul - 26 Aug, not 13 Aug, £6 – £9.50
23:10 Voices in Your Head Pleasance Courtyard, Various dates from 1 Aug to 24 Aug, £6 – £10
23:15
Rich Hall’s Hoedown Assembly George Square, 1-25 Aug, not 12, £10 – £15
Shaggers - Free Festival Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 2-25 Aug, £free
The Noise Next Door Comedy Lock-In Pleasance Courtyard, Various dates from 2 Aug to 24 Aug, £10
The Equal Opportunities Act 2010 Presents... Free Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 1-25 Aug, not 2, 3, 9, 10, 16, 17, 23, 24, £free
Set List: Stand-Up Without a Net Pleasance Dome, 1-24 Aug, not 11, 12, 18, 19, £8 – £14
The Canadians of Comedy Gilded Balloon Teviot, 31 Jul - 26 Aug, not 19 Aug, £5 – £10
❤ The Wrestling II HHHHH Pleasance Courtyard, 13-14 Aug, £15
The Underdogs Laughing Horse @ Edinburgh City Football Club, 5-18 Aug, £free
Russ Powell: Powell to the People Pleasance Courtyard, 31 Jul - 26 Aug, not 3 Aug, £6 – £9.50
Patrick Monahan and Bob Slayer Set a World Record! Heroes @ Bob’s Bookshop, 7 Aug, £5
Recovering Catholics Anonymous(& other crosses I’ve had to bear) Ryan’s Cellar Bar, 3-26 Aug, £free
Benny Davis: The Human Jukebox Gilded Balloon Teviot, 31 Jul - 25 Aug, not 12 Aug, £6 – £10.50
Cariad & Paul: A TwoPlayer Adventure Pleasance Dome, 14 Aug, 15 Aug, 20 Aug, 21 Aug, 22 Aug, £9 – £9.50
Iain Stirling: At Home Extra Shows Underbelly, Bristo Square, Various dates from 1 Aug to 23 Aug, £6 – £10 Shit-faced Shakespeare H C venues - C, 31 Jul - 26 Aug, £9.50 – £11.50 Do The Right Thing Pleasance Courtyard, 18-21 Aug, £9
23:30 Will Seaward: Socialist Fairytales! Gilded Balloon Teviot, 31 Jul - 26 Aug, not 13 Aug, £5 – £10 Doctor Brown: Because, Becaves and Befrdfgth Underbelly, Bristo Square, 15-20 Aug, £15 Rob Deering’s Beat This Assembly George Square, 31 Jul - 25 Aug, not 5 Aug, 6 Aug, 12 Aug, 13 Aug, 19 Aug, 20 Aug, £5 – £10 The Alternative Comedy Memorial Society The Stand Comedy Club, 6-22 Aug, not 9, 10, 11, 12, 16, 17, 18, 19, £10
AAA Batteries (The Symposium) - Free Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 1-25 Aug, £free
Stu and Garry in The Catchily Titled Improv Show The Stand Comedy Club, 4 Aug, 11 Aug, 18 Aug, £10
Al Murray The Pub Landlord’s Compete For The Haggis Independence Special! Gilded Balloon Teviot, 17-18 Aug, £15
Stupid Hair and Skinny Jeans - Ryan McDonnell Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 1-26 Aug, not 8, 9, 10, 14, 19, £free
Let Me Entertain You Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 1-25 Aug, £free
23:40 Shelby Bond: People Pleaser Just the Tonic at The Tron, 1-25 Aug, not 13, £5 – £7 Wil Hodgson - Leave the Landing Light On The Stand Comedy Club III & IV, 1-25 Aug, not 12, £7 – £8
23:45 Josh Smith - From Top to Bottom Show Laughing Horse @ Edinburgh City Football Club, 16-17 Aug, £free Robert Taylor is The Musical Misfit Laughing Horse @ Edinburgh City Football Club, 1-15 Aug, £free Afterhours Comedy Assembly Roxy, 3 Aug, 10 Aug, 17 Aug, 24 Aug, £12.50 Best of Scottish Comedian of the Year Underbelly, Bristo Square, 1-25 Aug, not 7, 12, 13, 14, 19, 20, 21, £7 – £13.50 Kearse and Marrese: Raw and Uncut Laughing Horse @ City Cafe, 3-25 Aug, not 6, 13, 20, £free Sex With Animals Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 1-25 Aug, not 5, 12, 19, £free
COMEDY, THEATRE, CABARET AND MORE www.festmag.co.uk
OPEN 'TIL 5AM
August August20 20––26 26 || edinburgh edinburghfestival festivalguide guide2013 2013 fest fest 83
comedylistings 23:50 Brendon Burns and Colt Cabana Sit in a Fifty-Seater Around Midnight and Provide the Commentary to Bad Wrestling Matches The Stand Comedy Club II, 2-25 Aug, not 5, 12, 13, 19, £8 The Broken Windows Policy The Stand Comedy Club II, 5 Aug, 19 Aug, £8
23:59 The Assembly Rooms The Very Best of the Fest The Assembly Rooms, 3 Aug, 10 Aug, 17 Aug, 24 Aug, £15
Dave Callan: The Psychology of Laughter Gilded Balloon Teviot, 14-26 Aug, £10 Björn Gustafsson Gilded Balloon Teviot, 2-12 Aug, £5 – £10.50 Do We Need You After The Apocalypse? The Game Show Gilded Balloon Teviot, 15-17 Aug, £10 – £11 Comedy Countdown Gilded Balloon Teviot, 19-25 Aug, £7.50 Best of the Fest Assembly Hall, Various dates from 2 Aug to 25 Aug, £10 – £15
00:00
The Room Assembly George Square, 4 Aug, 11 Aug, 18 Aug, 25 Aug, £8
Just the Tonic Comedy Club’s Midnight Show Just The Tonic at the Caves, Various dates from 3 Aug to 25 Aug, £10 – £12
Bookshop Midnight Mayhem Heroes @ Bob’s Bookshop, 1-26 Aug, £5
Sanders and Co Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 2-26 Aug, £free
The Horne Section Live in a Cow - Extra Shows Underbelly, Bristo Square, 3 Aug, 4 Aug, 10 Aug, 17 Aug, 24 Aug, £7 – £14 Spank Underbelly, Cowgate, 3-26 Aug, £10 – £15.50 The Distraction Club The Voodoo Rooms, Various dates from 3 Aug to 26 Aug, £10
00:15 Wits End Comedy Club Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 2-12 Aug, £free Get Involved Charabang! Gilded Balloon Teviot, 3-26 Aug, not 6, 7, 13, 14, 20, 21, £12 Angelina Jolie Touched My Neighbour’s Goat Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 13-26 Aug, not 20, £free
That Funny Blind Guy Laughing Horse @ The White Horse, 3-28 Aug, not 14, 27, £free Midnight Madness Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 2-26 Aug, £free
00:20 Late Show Pleasance Courtyard, Various dates from 3 Aug to 25 Aug, £12 – £14
00:30 One of Us Might Be Famous - Free Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 2-26 Aug, not 13, 20, £free The Revolution Will Not Be Improvised Laughing Horse @ The Newsroom, 13-23 Aug, not 17, 18, 19, £free The Improverts Bedlam Theatre, 3-25 Aug, not 5, 12, 19, £6.50 – £7.50
Questions on Ducks Laughing Horse @ The Phoenix, 2-26 Aug, £free
00:45
00:55 Shit of the Fringe Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 4-26 Aug, not 8, 15, 22, £free
01:00
Fate, Dutch Courage and the Fingerless Gloves Laughing Horse @ Jekyll & Hyde, 18-26 Aug, £free
Real Men Have Beards Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 19-26 Aug, £free
The Brethren of Levity - Free Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 2-26 Aug, not 6, 13, 20, £free A Lol-along-a Luc Valvona - Free Show Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 2-26 Aug, £free Man Feelings Laughing Horse @ Jekyll & Hyde, 2-17 Aug, not 16, £free Spanktacular Underbelly, Bristo Square, 11 Aug, 18 Aug, 25 Aug, £15.50
Late’n’Live Gilded Balloon Teviot, 3-27 Aug, £10 – £15 Big Spoon, Little Spoon Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 2-18 Aug, not 5, 12, £free Paul Dennis: Almost Blunted Purpose - Free Laughing Horse @ City Cafe, 2-26 Aug, £free Barry’s Audio Tour of the Fringe Outside the Tron Kirk (Hunter Square), 3-4 Aug, £free
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84 fest edinburgh festival guide 2013 | August 20 – 26
@FollowTheCow
www.festmag.co.uk
theatrelistings 08:00
10:00
Twenty-Six Marathons in Twenty-Six Days The Royal Mile, 1-26 Aug, £free
Catastrophe / Rough for Theatre II / Breath The Hub, 31 Aug, £4
09:00 Breakfast Plays: Clean HH Traverse Theatre, Various dates from 14 Aug to 25 Aug, £14 Limbo Whitespace, 5-8 Aug, £9 Breakfast Plays: A Respectable Widow Takes To Vulgarity HHH Traverse Theatre, Various dates from 13 Aug to 24 Aug, £14
09:15 The Rimers of Eldritch Church Hill Theatre, 10 Aug, £5
❤ The Events HHHH Traverse Theatre, 4 Aug, 9 Aug, 15 Aug, 21 Aug, £18 – £20 Bedding Out Pleasance Hunt and Darton Cafe, 10 Aug, £free Ciara HHH Traverse Theatre, 8 Aug, 14 Aug, 20 Aug, 25 Aug, £18 Hunt & Darton Cafe HHH Pleasance Hunt and Darton Cafe, 3-25 Aug, not 5, 12, 19, £free Shakespeare for Breakfast C venues - C, 31 Jul - 26 Aug, not 12 Aug, £6.50 – £8.50 The Secret Agent HH Traverse Theatre, 6 Aug, 11 Aug, 17 Aug, 23 Aug, £13 – £20
All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten Church Hill Theatre, 17 Aug, £5
Cadre HHH Traverse Theatre, 10 Aug, 16 Aug, 22 Aug, £18 – £20
Sleeping Beauty and the Spinner Church Hill Theatre, 20 Aug, £5
❤ Theatre Uncut HHHH Traverse Theatre, 5 Aug, 12 Aug, 19 Aug, £7.50
Midsummer/Jersey Church Hill Theatre, 21 Aug, £5
BiDiNG TiME - walks and talks Summerhall, Various dates from 7 Aug to 24 Aug, £free
Shadows Church Hill Theatre, 19 Aug, £5
09:20 The Yellow Boat Church Hill Theatre, 7 Aug, £5 The Emperor Wolf Church Hill Theatre, 6 Aug, £5 The Brothers’ Grimm Spectaculathon Church Hill Theatre, 5 Aug, £5 The Making of Something Awesome Church Hill Theatre, 16 Aug, £5
09:30 Hamlette Church Hill Theatre, 9 Aug, £5 Speak Truth to Power Church Hill Theatre, 18 Aug, £5 What I Heard About the World Northern Stage at St Stephen’s, 20-24 Aug, £12
I’m With the Band HH Traverse Theatre, 3 Aug, 7 Aug, 13 Aug, 18 Aug, 24 Aug, £13 – £20
10:05 Tea at Five theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 11-17 Aug, £6 – £7
10:15 Argonautika Church Hill Theatre, 5 Aug, £5 Circle Game Church Hill Theatre, 19 Aug, £5 The High-Schooler’s Guide to the Galaxy Church Hill Theatre, 8 Aug, £5 Vernon God Little theSpace on Niddry St, 20 Aug, 22 Aug, £5 Under Milk Wood by Dylan Thomas theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 7 Aug, £5 Chops theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 6 Aug, £5
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Rabbit Hole Church Hill Theatre, 10 Aug, £5 The Morning After Season: The Pink Bedroom theSpace on the Mile, Various dates from 3 Aug to 24 Aug, £5 – £7 Return to the Forbidden Planet Church Hill Theatre, 17 Aug, £5 The Morning After Season: Wuthering Heights theSpace on the Mile, Various dates from 2 Aug to 23 Aug, £5 – £8 Crimes Against Comedy The Edinburgh Dungeon, 2-26 Aug, £10.50 Story Shakespeare: Pericles C venues - C too, 12-17 Aug, £7.50 – £9.50 The Laramie Project theSpace on Niddry St, 19 Aug, 21 Aug, 23 Aug, £5
❤ The System HHHH Just The Tonic at the Caves, 1-25 Aug, not 13, £6 – £7
Who Wants to Kill Yulia Tymoshenko? HH Assembly Roxy, 1-25 Aug, £8 – £12
The Scarlet Letter and Other Betrayals theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 12-17 Aug, £7
10:35
Ode to the Insignificance Festival Square, 20-21 Aug, £free
The Rimers of Eldritch Church Hill Theatre, 8 Aug, £5
The Diary of Anne Frank theSpace on North Bridge, 5-8 Aug, £8
10:45 Black T-shirt Collection Pleasance Courtyard, 19-24 Aug, £10.50 – £13.50 Blaggards Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 1-25 Aug, £free Junk C venues - C, 11-17 Aug, £6.50 – £8.50 Crimes Against Comedy The Edinburgh Dungeon, 2-26 Aug, £10.50
10:50
Pandora’s Box Church Hill Theatre, 7 Aug, £5
Everyman Underbelly, Bristo Square, 31 Jul - 25 Aug, not 12 Aug, £6 – £10
Rough Magic theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 8 Aug, £5
11:00
10:20
All That Fall The Hub, 25-26 Aug, £15 Happy Days The Hub, 31 Aug, £4 A Glee Inspired: Romeo and Juliet C venues - C, 1-13 Aug, not 7, £8.50 – £10.50 ❤ Have I No Mouth HHHH Traverse Theatre, 3 Aug, 9 Aug, 15 Aug, 21 Aug, £17 – £19 Inquiry into the Death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ Edinburgh Christadelphian Church, 9 Aug, £free 4.48 Psychosis theSpace on the Mile, 2-6 Aug, £7 Buckingham’s Finest The Royal Scots Club, 6-10 Aug, £8 ❤ Long Live The Little Knife HHHH Traverse Theatre, 2 Aug, 8 Aug, 14 Aug, 20 Aug, 25 Aug, £17 – £19
Kind Zoo Southside, 2-17 Aug, £5 – £9
The Hawke Papers Laughing Horse @ The Blind Poet, 5-25 Aug, £free
Desdemona: A Play About a Handkerchief theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 5 Aug, 9 Aug, £5
BiDiNG TiME - walks and talks Summerhall, 5 Aug, 12 Aug, 19 Aug, £free
Tea at Five theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, Various dates from 2 Aug to 24 Aug, £7
Gardening: For the Unfulfilled and Alienated HHH Pleasance Courtyard, 1-25 Aug, not 6, 13, 20, £6 – £9
Going For Gold theSpace on North Bridge, 12-17 Aug, £5
❤ Grounded HHHHH Traverse Theatre, 6 Aug, 11 Aug, 17 Aug, 23 Aug, £17 – £19
We’ll Stuff You Once You’re Dead theSpace on North Bridge, 19-22 Aug, £5
10:30 Playwriting Workshops Sweet Grassmarket, 19-20 Aug, £20 Snap theSpace on the Mile, 12-24 Aug, not 18, £7 The Big Bite-Size Breakfast Show Pleasance Dome, 31 Jul - 26 Aug, not 13 Aug, 20 Aug, £10 – £12.50
Snap Out of It! C venues - C nova, 31 Jul - 26 Aug, not 12 Aug, £7.50 – £9.50
Pirates and Mermaids: A Fairytale for Adults Scottish Storytelling Centre, 1-25 Aug, not 5, 12, 19, £8 – £10
These Halcyon Days Assembly Hall, 1-25 Aug, not 7, 12, 18, 19, £12 – £13
Goose Venue 13, 3-24 Aug, not 5, 12, £8
Arcadia Greenside, 19-24 Aug, £8
Taiwan! Here I Am Gryphon Venues at the Point Hotel, 20-24 Aug, £7
Fight Night HHH Traverse Theatre, 4 Aug, 10 Aug, 16 Aug, 22 Aug, £17 – £19
The Price of Everything Hill Street Theatre, 1425 Aug, £12
❤ Quietly HHHH Traverse Theatre, 1 Aug, 7 Aug, 13 Aug, 18 Aug, 24 Aug, £12 – £19
11:05
Love in the Past Participle theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 12-17 Aug, £7
Twelfth Night: Unplugged Church Hill Theatre, 10 Aug, £5 L.O.V.E. HH Assembly Roxy, 1-25 Aug, not 7, 12, 19, £8 – £12 Chatroom theSpace on North Bridge, 2-10 Aug, not 4, £5 – £6 Crimes Against Comedy The Edinburgh Dungeon, 2-26 Aug, £10.50 Midsummer/Jersey Church Hill Theatre, 19 Aug, £5 The Tempest in the Firth of Forth HHH Summerhall, 6-8 Aug, £17 – £20
11:20 Bedtime Solos by Jakob Holder Assembly Roxy, 1-26 Aug, not 13, 20, £5 – £12 The Brothers’ Grimm Spectaculathon Church Hill Theatre, 7 Aug, £5 The Making of Something Awesome Church Hill Theatre, 18 Aug, £5 The Fabric of Heaven Church Hill Theatre, 20 Aug, £5 The Silence of Friends Greenside, 5-8 Aug, £7 Small Steps in Random Directions Just The Tonic at the Caves, 12-25 Aug, not 13, £3 – £4
11:30
Synergy theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 5-10 Aug, £6
The Trojan Women C venues - C nova, 3-8 Aug, £8.50 – £9.50
11:10
Waves Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 2-23 Aug, not 5, 12, 19, £free
A Reason to Smile theSpace @ Venue45, 19-24 Aug, £5 Working on a Special Day Assembly George Square, 1-26 Aug, not 12, 19, £8 – £12
Anoesis Summerhall, 3-25 Aug, not 7, 12, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, £8 – £14
11:15
❤ Pigeon English HHHH Underbelly, Cowgate, 12-25 Aug, £9.50 – £10.50
The Medicine Showdown Church Hill Theatre, 5 Aug, £5
The Waiting Room Assembly George Square, 1-26 Aug, not 12, £8 – £12
August 20 – 26 | edinburgh festival guide 2013 fest 85
theatrelistings When We Embraced HHH Northern Stage at St Stephen’s, 3 Aug, 4 Aug, 6 Aug, 7 Aug, £8 – £11 Bitch Boxer Pleasance Courtyard, 18-25 Aug, £10.50 The Ghost of Twin Oaks Church Hill Theatre, 6 Aug, £5 ¡Bocón! Church Hill Theatre, 21 Aug, £5 Celebrating 40 Years of the Fringe Firsts Pleasance Courtyard, 4 Aug, 11 Aug, 18 Aug, 25 Aug, £5 The GB Project Northern Stage at St Stephen’s, 8-24 Aug, not 12, 19, £8 – £11
11:35 Grated Expectations theSpace on North Bridge, 2-10 Aug, not 4, £6 Shake the Dust theSpace on the Mile, 2-17 Aug, not 4, 11, £3.50 – £6 Rabbitskin by Dominic Grace theSpace on the Mile, 19-24 Aug, £8
11:40 Austen’s Women Assembly George Square, 3-25 Aug, not 5, 6, 12, 13, 19, £12 – £13
Crimes Against Comedy The Edinburgh Dungeon, 2-26 Aug, £10.50
Pip Utton: Churchill The Assembly Rooms, 1-25 Aug, not 12, 20, £9 – £10
Murder, Marple and Me Gilded Balloon Teviot, 16-25 Aug, not 19, £9.50 – £10.50
A Womb With a View theSpace @ Jury’s Inn, 12-24 Aug, not 18, £6 – £7
Under Milk Wood by Dylan Thomas theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 6 Aug, £5
Tracy Venue 13, 3-9 Aug, £8
The Wild Wood of Widdershin Just The Tonic at the Caves, 17-18 Aug, £6
The Cardinals Greyfriars Kirk, 19 Aug, 20 Aug, 21 Aug, 23 Aug, £12
12:10
Motherland Summerhall, 20-23 Aug, £12
12:05
Big Daddy vs Giant Haystacks HHH Assembly George Square, 1-26 Aug, not 13, 20, £7 – £12
Graceland Church Hill Theatre, 17 Aug, £5 Relationshit Venue 13, Various dates from 10 Aug to 17 Aug, £5
11:50 Handmade Tales Zoo Southside, 2-26 Aug, not 14, £8 Growing Pains theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 20-24 Aug, £6
12:00 The Snow Cabinet Gryphon Venues at the Point Hotel, 20-24 Aug, £8 The Story of Little Dombey National Library of Scotland, 7-21 Aug, £12 I Guess if the Stage Exploded... Summerhall, 19-24 Aug, £10 Gardening: For the Unfulfilled and Alienated HHH Pleasance Courtyard, 1-25 Aug, not 6, 13, 20, £6 – £9
To You, The Birdie! (Phèdre) New Media Scotland, 12 Aug, £4 The Emperor Jones; Today, I Must Sincerely Congratulate You; Rhyme ’Em to Death New Media Scotland, 13 Aug, £4
Chaucer: Hold Up Your Tale C venues - C nova, 6-10 Aug, £8.50 – £9.50
Ball at Hawking’s New Town Theatre, 2-12 Aug, £6 – £12
Everything’s Elsewhere C venues - C nova, 31 Jul - 13 Aug, £7.50 – £9.50
Beeston Rifles Underbelly, Cowgate, 1-25 Aug, £6 – £10
Hanging BruceHoward C venues - C nova, 1126 Aug, £7.50 – £9.50
House/Lights New Media Scotland, 11 Aug, £4
Gotcha C venues - C nova, 1426 Aug, £7.50 – £9.50
Rumstick Road New Media Scotland, 10 Aug, £4
Mansfield Presents Lovers’ Vows Paradise in Augustine’s, 5-17 Aug, not 11, 12, £8.50
Finding Libby Assembly Hall, 1-26 Aug, £5 – £11 Bedding Out Pleasance Hunt and Darton Cafe, 10 Aug, £free ❤ Missing HHHH Pleasance Courtyard, 8-11 Aug, £13.50 – £15 Subject to Requirement Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 18-25 Aug, £free
Men HHH Underbelly, Bristo Square, 31 Jul - 26 Aug, not 14 Aug, £6 – £10 Penelope theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 19-24 Aug, £9 Penny Dreadful theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 2-10 Aug, not 4, £3 – £5 Rules of the Game theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 12-17 Aug, £8
Nostalgia for Reality Quaker Meeting House, 5-24 Aug, not 11, 18, £9
The ‘Lockerbie Bomber’ C venues - C, 31 Jul - 13 Aug, £8.50 – £10.50
11:45
The Knight of the Box Near The Station Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 2-25 Aug, £free
Sex, Drugs and Toilet Rolls theSpace on North Bridge, 19-22 Aug, £5
The Inventor and The Escort Gilded Balloon Teviot, 31 Jul - 25 Aug, £5 – £10.50
In Holy Matri-moany theSpace on North Bridge, 12-17 Aug, £5
You Should Ask Wallace Venue 13, 18-21 Aug, £8
Magic Number Six theSpace on the Mile, 19-24 Aug, £7
The Zero Hour Venue150 @ EICC, 2024 Aug, £12
A Hundred Minus One Day theSpace on North Bridge, 12-17 Aug, £8.50
Specie Pleasance Dome, 31 Jul - 26 Aug, not 13 Aug, £6 – £10.50
Love in the Past Participle theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 2-10 Aug, not 4, £5 – £7
Chops theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 5 Aug, 9 Aug, £5 Operation: Love Story La Tasca, 3-24 Aug, £free Pirates and Mermaids: A Fairytale for Adults Scottish Storytelling Centre, 1-25 Aug, not 5, 12, 19, £8 – £10
Dustpan Odyssey New Town Theatre, 14-25 Aug, £6 – £13 The Butterfly Room theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 13-17 Aug, £7 Voluntary Departure Underbelly, Bristo Square, 31 Jul - 26 Aug, not 12 Aug, 19 Aug, £6 – £10 Don’t Wake Me: The Ballad of Nihal Armstrong with Jaye Griffiths Gilded Balloon Teviot, 5-25 Aug, not 13, 20, £10 – £12
Gordon Laughing Horse @ The Blind Poet, 16-25 Aug, £free South Downs theSpace @ Venue45, 19-22 Aug, £7 Titus Andronicus C venues - C nova, 31 Jul - 17 Aug, £7.50 – £9.50 15 Minutes C venues - C aquila, 3-10 Aug, £6.50 – £8.50
Canary Gold C venues - C, 14-26 Aug, £9.50 – £11.50
Crimes Against Comedy The Edinburgh Dungeon, 2-26 Aug, £10.50
12:15 A Play With Words and Blind Love Pilrig Studio, 7 Aug, £5 Argonautika Church Hill Theatre, 7 Aug, £5 The High-Schooler’s Guide to the Galaxy Church Hill Theatre, 10 Aug, £5 Vernon God Little theSpace on Niddry St, 19 Aug, 21 Aug, 23 Aug, £5
The Laramie Project theSpace on Niddry St, 20 Aug, 22 Aug, £5 Rough Magic theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 7 Aug, 10 Aug, £5 Shakesperience Church Hill Theatre, 8 Aug, £5 The Imaginary Invalid Church Hill Theatre, 17 Aug, £5 Wing It, Dusty theSpace on the Mile, 12-17 Aug, £5
In Association with Summerhall and The Lowry, and part of the British Council Edinburgh Showcase, Human Remain Presents
The Tin Ring
by Zdenka Fantlová
Fri 2 – Sun 25 August 8pm Red Lecture Theatre, Summerhall Tickets £14 Concessions £12 Book online at festival.summerhall.co.uk/event/the-tin-ring/ or call 0845 874 3001
86 fest edinburgh festival guide 2013 | August 20 – 26
www.festmag.co.uk
theatrelistings A Hundred Minus One Day theSpace on North Bridge, 19-24 Aug, £8.50
A Cut in the Rates by Alan Ayckbourn and Gray Matter by JD Farr Laughing Horse @ City Cafe, 19-25 Aug, £free
12:20
Preen Back Yer Lugs! Pleasance Dome, 31 Jul - 25 Aug, not 12 Aug, £6 – £12
Ali J Pleasance Courtyard, 31 Jul - 25 Aug, £6 – £10.50
Revolution Society Pleasance Dome, 13-25 Aug, not 20, £8 – £10
12:30
No Holds Bard Assembly Roxy, 1-26 Aug, not 12, 19, £8 – £12
❤ The Events HHHH Traverse Theatre, 10 Aug, 16 Aug, 22 Aug, £18 – £20
Desdemona: A Play About a Handkerchief theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 8 Aug, £5
❤ We Will Be Free! The Tolpuddle Martyrs Story HHHH The Assembly Rooms, 2-25 Aug, not 12, £14 – £15
Inside HH Gilded Balloon Teviot, 31 Jul - 26 Aug, not 13 Aug, £5 – £10 The Tempest in the Firth of Forth HHH Summerhall, 9 Aug, £20
The Penelopiad Pilrig Studio, 8 Aug, £5
12:25 Head Over Heels Church Hill Theatre, 5 Aug, £5 Leaving Iowa Pilrig Studio, 5 Aug, £5 The Uncanny Valley Underbelly, Bristo Square, 31 Jul - 25 Aug, not 12 Aug, £6 – £10
Cheesed Off Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 19-25 Aug, £free Kaffa! SpaceCabaret @ 54, 6-10 Aug, £7
Genesis/Golgotha Assembly George Square, 1-26 Aug, not 12, £10 – £14 The Ants Pilrig Studio, 6 Aug, £5
Road Greenside, 12-17 Aug, £8
The Pearl HH Pleasance Courtyard, 31 Jul - 26 Aug, not 13 Aug, £6 – £9.50
12:40
You Once Said Yes Underbelly, Cowgate, 12-25 Aug, £18
Killing Roger Underbelly, Cowgate, 1-25 Aug, not 13, £6 – £11
Threeway HH Pleasance Courtyard, 31 Jul - 26 Aug, not 12 Aug, £8 – £16
Tejas Verdes Just Festival at St John’s, 3 Aug, 10 Aug, 17 Aug, 24 Aug, £7 – £14
Shake the Dust theSpace on the Mile, 19-24 Aug, £6
I’m With the Band HH Traverse Theatre, 8 Aug, 14 Aug, 20 Aug, 25 Aug, £18
Herons Zoo, 2-26 Aug, not 11, 21, £5 – £8
La Merda (The Shit) Summerhall, 14-25 Aug, £12
Our Fathers HHH Summerhall, 2-25 Aug, not 7, 13, 20, £12
Nobel Zoo, 2-26 Aug, not 11, 18, £7
12:35
Solpadeine Is My Boyfriend Underbelly, Bristo Square, 31 Jul - 26 Aug, not 18 Aug, £6 – £11
Mrs Moneypenny Returns AGA Showroom, 2-25 Aug, not 5, 10, 12, 17, 19, 24, £15
❤ How to Occupy an Oil Rig HHHH Northern Stage at St Stephen’s, 3-24 Aug, not 5, 12, 19, £11 – £14
Snooze Laughing Horse @ City Cafe, 1-8 Aug, £free
Rockaby / Act Without Words I / That Time The Hub, 31 Aug, £4
❤ Howie the Rookie HHHH Assembly Hall, 1-25 Aug, not 7, 12, 19, £12 – £13 Happy Never After Pleasance Courtyard, 31 Jul - 26 Aug, not 7 Aug, 14 Aug, £6 – £9.50 Glory Days theSpace on the Mile, 2-17 Aug, not 4, 11, £8 The Extremists H Assembly Roxy, 1-26 Aug, not 12, £10 – £13 You Once Said Yes Underbelly, Cowgate, 12-25 Aug, £18
Double Booked Pleasance Courtyard, Various dates from 1 Aug to 25 Aug, £6 – £10 Something Fishy Pleasance Courtyard, Various dates from 2 Aug to 24 Aug, £6 – £10 The Curse of Elizabeth Faulkner Just The Tonic at the Caves, 1-25 Aug, not 13, £5 – £10 The Greatest Liar in All the World Underbelly, Cowgate, 1-25 Aug, £6 – £10 The Librarians theSpace on North Bridge, 2-17 Aug, not 4, 11, £5 – £7
12:45 Crimes Against Comedy The Edinburgh Dungeon, 2-26 Aug, £10.50 Bette Davis Ain’t for Sissies The Fiddler’s Elbow, 3-24 Aug, £free
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04/04/2013 12:22
August August20 20––26 26 || edinburgh edinburghfestival festivalguide guide2013 2013 fest fest 87
theatrelistings Dorothy Greenside, 5-10 Aug, £6.50 XY HHH Pleasance Courtyard, 31 Jul - 25 Aug, not 12 Aug, £6 – £9.50 Ben Franklin: The Rogue who Invented America Hill Street Theatre, 1-25 Aug, not 13, £6 – £12
Inquiry into the Death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ Edinburgh Christadelphian Church, 8-9 Aug, £free The Sign of Four Just The Tonic at the Caves, 1-25 Aug, not 13, £5 – £8
13:05 Going For Gold theSpace on North Bridge, 19-22 Aug, £5 Let’s Get Things Straight... theSpace on North Bridge, 12-17 Aug, £5
The Portrait Firm Summerhall, 12-24 Aug, not 15, 20, £10
Punchline theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 2-24 Aug, not 4, 18, £5 – £11
Safe theSpace on North Bridge, 2-10 Aug, not 4, £10
Bedding Out Pleasance Hunt and Darton Cafe, 9 Aug, £free
Goodbye Sun and Bear C venues - C nova, 31 Jul - 17 Aug, £7.50 – £9.50
Ciara HHH Traverse Theatre, 9 Aug, 15 Aug, 21 Aug, £18 – £20
❤ Missing HHHH Pleasance Courtyard, 2-25 Aug, not 3, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 18, £8.50 – £15
Take Care theSpace @ Jury’s Inn, 2-10 Aug, not 4, £6.50
The Early Hours Paradise in Augustine’s, 20-24 Aug, £2 – £5
One Last Thing Sweet Grassmarket, 5-18 Aug, £8
The Secret Agent HH Traverse Theatre, 7 Aug, 13 Aug, 18 Aug, 24 Aug, £18 – £20
Long Distance Affair (make possible an impossible trip) Summerhall, 2-25 Aug, £6 – £11
Ulysses HHH Paterson’s Land, 18 Aug, 25 Aug, £16 Cadre HHH Traverse Theatre, 6 Aug, 11 Aug, 17 Aug, 23 Aug, £18 – £20 Martyr’s Crossing Gryphon Venues at the Point Hotel, 6-9 Aug, £5
12:50 You Once Said Yes Underbelly, Cowgate, 12-25 Aug, £18 Look Back in Anger C venues - C too, 1-26 Aug, not 13, £9.50 – £11.50 Way Back Underbelly, Cowgate, 1-25 Aug, £6 – £10 And They Played Shang-a-Lang The Stand Comedy Club III & IV, 2-25 Aug, not 12, £10 Monkey Poet - Love Hurts Actually The Banshee Labyrinth, 3-26 Aug, not 6, 13, 20, £free
Charlie Dupré Presents... The Stories of Shakey P Just The Tonic at the Caves, 5-25 Aug, not 13, £8 – £10 ❤ Banksy: The Room in the Elephant HHHHH Pleasance Courtyard, 31 Jul - 26 Aug, not 13 Aug, 19 Aug, £7 – £12 Pants On Fire’s Pinocchio HHH Pleasance Dome, 31 Jul - 26 Aug, not 13 Aug, £6 – £10.50 The Way You Tell Them Summerhall, Various dates from 3 Aug to 15 Aug, £7 – £10 ❤ Beating McEnroe HHHH Summerhall, Various dates from 2 Aug to 16 Aug, £7 – £10 Not the Messiah Pleasance Courtyard, 1-24 Aug, £6 – £10
12:55
Gardening: For the Unfulfilled and Alienated HHH Pleasance Courtyard, 1-25 Aug, not 6, 13, 20, £6 – £9
The Lost Gatsby theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 12-17 Aug, £8
You Once Said Yes Underbelly, Cowgate, 12-25 Aug, £18
13:00 Indian Peter’s Coffee House Valvona & Crolla, Various dates from 3 Aug to 26 Aug, £12
Eugenie Grandet Assembly George Square, 2-26 Aug, not 12, £10 – £12 Making News HH Pleasance Courtyard, 31 Jul - 25 Aug, not 12 Aug, £7.50 – £15
The King and Queen of the Universe C venues - C aquila, 1-23 Aug, £7.50 – £9.50 The True Story of Ah Q (Physical Theatre) theSpace on the Mile, 12-17 Aug, £12 Between theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 2-17 Aug, not 4, 11, £5 – £8
13:10
FOX theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 12-24 Aug, not 18, £6
❤ Rites: A Children’s Tragedy HHHH Pleasance Courtyard, 1-17 Aug, £6 – £9.50
13:15
13:25
Crimes Against Comedy The Edinburgh Dungeon, 2-26 Aug, £10.50
The Shape of Things theSpace on North Bridge, 19-24 Aug, £8.50
I Could’ve Been Better Pleasance Courtyard, 31 Jul - 26 Aug, not 12 Aug, 13 Aug, £6 – £11
Big Boys Don’t Cry Paradise in The Vault, 13-26 Aug, not 18, 19, 25, £8
Mask Venue 13, 3-24 Aug, not 5, 12, £8
The Walls SpaceCabaret @ 54, 12-17 Aug, £8
Sleeping Beauty and the Spinner Church Hill Theatre, 18 Aug, £5 Fight Night HHH Traverse Theatre, 6 Aug, 11 Aug, 17 Aug, 23 Aug, £17 – £19 Hindsight HHH The Assembly Rooms, 31 Jul - 25 Aug, not 1 Aug, 12 Aug, £9 – £10 The Medicine Showdown Church Hill Theatre, 9 Aug, £5
Jordan Assembly Hall, 1-26 Aug, not 12, £8 – £12
Twelfth Night: Unplugged Church Hill Theatre, 6 Aug, £5
Tell Me A Secret C venues - C nova, Various dates from 1 Aug to 25 Aug, £7.50 – £9.50
❤ Long Live The Little Knife HHHH Traverse Theatre, 3 Aug, £19
The TEAM Makes a Play theSpace @ Symposium Hall, 2-10 Aug, £8
Sweater Curse: A Yarn About Love Sweet Grassmarket, 1-26 Aug, £6 – £8
The Dragon and George theSpace on the Mile, 19-24 Aug, £5
All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten Church Hill Theatre, 21 Aug, £5
The Unremarkable Death of Marilyn Monroe Assembly George Square, 1-26 Aug, not 13, £8 – £13
The Dumb Waiter New Town Theatre, 2-25 Aug, not 12, 13, £8
13:20
Journey to X theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 19-24 Aug, £7
PussyFooting C venues - C aquila, 1-26 Aug, £7.50 – £9.50
The Prawn King theSpace on the Mile, 5-10 Aug, £7
❤ From Where I’m Standing HHHH Underbelly, Cowgate, 1-25 Aug, not 13, £6 – £10.50
Damned C venues - C nova, Various dates from 31 Jul to 26 Aug, £7.50 – £9.50 Internal Affairs theSpace @ Jury’s Inn, 12-16 Aug, £6.50 The Sugar and Honey Cook-Along! theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 19-24 Aug, £8 You Once Said Yes Underbelly, Cowgate, 12-25 Aug, £18
❤ Have I No Mouth HHHH Traverse Theatre, 4 Aug, 10 Aug, 16 Aug, 22 Aug, £17 – £19 Speak Truth to Power Church Hill Theatre, 17 Aug, £5
You Once Said Yes Underbelly, Cowgate, 12-25 Aug, £18 Scotsman Best of the Fest Assembly George Square, 5 Aug, 12 Aug, 19 Aug, £12
The Way to Keep Him Gryphon Venues at the Point Hotel, 20-24 Aug, £5 Ciara HHH Traverse Theatre, 3 Aug, £13
13:30
❤ Long Live The Little Knife HHHH Traverse Theatre, 9 Aug, 15 Aug, 21 Aug, £17 – £19
❤ Grounded HHHHH Traverse Theatre, 1 Aug, 7 Aug, 13 Aug, 18 Aug, 24 Aug, £12 – £19
❤ Missing HHHH Pleasance Courtyard, 3 Aug, £15 The Ghost of Twin Oaks Church Hill Theatre, 8 Aug, £5
You Once Said Yes Underbelly, Cowgate, 12-25 Aug, £18
¡Bocón! Church Hill Theatre, 17 Aug, £5
Sid and Valerie Summerhall, 19-25 Aug, £10 Outside on the Street HHH Pleasance Dome, 31 Jul - 26 Aug, not 12 Aug, 20 Aug, £6 – £10 Choose Your Own Documentary By Nathan Penlington Gilded Balloon Teviot, 31 Jul - 26 Aug, not 14 Aug, £6 – £11 ❤ Quietly HHHH Traverse Theatre, 2 Aug, 8 Aug, 14 Aug, 20 Aug, 25 Aug, £17 – £19 Sh!t Theatre’s JSA (Job Seekers Anonymous) 2013 Gryphon Venues at the Point Hotel, 2-24 Aug, not 6, 7, 8, 9, 11, 18, £5 Stand Up, Woman Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 1-25 Aug, not 7, 14, 21, £free The Canterbury Tales theSpace on Niddry St, 5-10 Aug, £7 Tobacco Merchant’s Lawyer HH The Assembly Rooms, 31 Jul - 25 Aug, not 1 Aug, 12 Aug, £9 – £10
The Yellow Boat Church Hill Theatre, 5 Aug, £5
Four Walls Bedlam Theatre, 6-24 Aug, not 11, 18, £6
The Emperor Wolf Church Hill Theatre, 10 Aug, £5
Hamlette Church Hill Theatre, 7 Aug, £5
88 fest edinburgh festival guide 2013 | August 20 – 26
The Surrender HHH Gilded Balloon Teviot, 31 Jul - 26 Aug, £6 – £14
13:35 Say It Again, Sam Sweet Grassmarket, 1-25 Aug, £8
13:40 Whodidit theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 2-10 Aug, not 4, £6 – £8 Long Distance Affair (make possible an impossible trip) Summerhall, 2-25 Aug, £6 – £11 High Plains (A Western Myth) HH Underbelly, Cowgate, 1-25 Aug, not 12, £6 – £11 You Once Said Yes Underbelly, Cowgate, 12-25 Aug, £18 The Rain That Washes Pleasance Dome, 31 Jul - 17 Aug, not 7 Aug, £6.50 – £11 Sympathy Pains Pleasance Dome, 18-26 Aug, £8 – £10
13:45 The University of Westminster Presents... Body Odours theSpace on the Mile, 19-24 Aug, £4 – £7 Crimes Against Comedy The Edinburgh Dungeon, 2-26 Aug, £10.50
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theatrelistings The Confessions of Gordon Brown HHH Pleasance Courtyard, 31 Jul - 26 Aug, £7 – £12.50 Chorus Greenside, 2-17 Aug, not 11, £7 Graceland Church Hill Theatre, 19 Aug, £5 I’m With the Band HH Traverse Theatre, 4 Aug, £18 Solstice Assembly Roxy, 1-26 Aug, not 12, 19, £10 Out to Lunch Summerhall, 2-25 Aug, not 13, 20, £10 Road Greenside, 19-24 Aug, £8
13:50 Endgame The Hub, 31 Aug, £4 Journos theSpace on the Mile, 12-17 Aug, £7 Bygone Zoo, 2-26 Aug, not 12, £9 London Road, Sea Point HHH Assembly George Square, 1-26 Aug, not 12, £10 – £15 You Once Said Yes Underbelly, Cowgate, 12-25 Aug, £18
Histoire d’amour HH King’s Theatre, Edinburgh, 17 Aug, £12 Positive Paradise in the Kirkhouse, 13-26 Aug, not 19, £6.50 – £7.50 ❤ The Adventures of Alvin Sputnik: Deep Sea Explorer HHHHH Underbelly, Bristo Square, 31 Jul - 11 Aug, £8 – £15 Bedding Out Pleasance Hunt and Darton Cafe, 10 Aug, £free A Long Road Home Palmerston Place Church, 16-17 Aug, £5 A Long Road Home Central Hall, 10 Aug, 12 Aug, 13 Aug, £5 Open Wide Tour The Fiddler’s Elbow, 3-24 Aug, not 6, 13, 20, £free Play for September Pleasance Courtyard, 31 Jul - 26 Aug, not 13 Aug, £6 – £9
❤ Our Glass House HHHH Summerhall, 13-25 Aug, not 19, £free
3, 10, 14, 17, 21, 24, £7 – £14 The Boy Who Lost Christmas Just The Tonic at the Caves, 1-25 Aug, not 13, £free
14:05
Breaker HH Underbelly, Cowgate, 1-25 Aug, not 13, £7.50 – £13 Captain Gingerbeard Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 1-25 Aug, not 7, £free Cape Wrath HHH Northern Stage at St Stephen’s, 9-24 Aug, not 12, 19, £8 – £11 Faulty Towers The Dining Experience B’est Restaurant, 2-27 Aug, not 3, 10, 17, 24, £43 Minnie and Mona Play Dead Underbelly, Bristo Square, 31 Jul - 25 Aug, not 13 Aug, £6 – £11.50 Ring Pleasance Dome, 19-24 Aug, £10.50 – £13.50
The School of Night’s Spontaneous Shakespeare Gilded Balloon Teviot, 14-25 Aug, £11 – £12
Take Two Every Four Hours Pleasance Courtyard, 31 Jul - 26 Aug, not 12 Aug, £6 – £10.50
The Tree and the Abbey Lauriston Halls, 15 Aug, £7
You Once Said Yes Underbelly, Cowgate, 12-25 Aug, £18
Sleight of Mind theSpace on the Mile, 5-9 Aug, £3 The Babysitter Pleasance Courtyard, 31 Jul - 25 Aug, not 12 Aug, £6 – £10
Clown for Hire Assembly George Square, 1-26 Aug, not 12, £10 – £13
14:00
The Ghost Hunter Pleasance Courtyard, 31 Jul - 26 Aug, not 15 Aug, £6 – £12
Wyrd C venues - C nova, 31 Jul - 26 Aug, not 12 Aug, £7.50 – £9.50
Embers King’s Theatre, Edinburgh, 25 Aug, £10
Tejas Verdes Just Festival at St John’s, 2-26 Aug, not
❤ The List HHHH Summerhall, 3-25 Aug, not 5, 12, 19, 20, £12
Morning and Afternoon Pleasance Courtyard, 31 Jul - 26 Aug, not 13 Aug, 20 Aug, £6 – £12
Let’s Get Things Straight... theSpace on North Bridge, 19-22 Aug, £5 Puss-in-Boots theSpace on North Bridge, 2 Aug, 5 Aug, 7 Aug, 9 Aug, £6 – £7 The Company of Wolves theSpace on North Bridge, 3 Aug, 6 Aug, 8 Aug, 10 Aug, £6 – £7
Anoesis Summerhall, 10 Aug, 11 Aug, 17 Aug, 24 Aug, 25 Aug, £14
13:55
Island State C venues - C nova, 31 Jul - 26 Aug, not 12 Aug, £7.50 – £9.50
Bad Boy Eddie HHH C venues - C aquila, 1-26 Aug, not 13, £10.50 – £12.50 Death by Shakespeare theSpace @ Venue45, 2-10 Aug, not 4, £5 – £8 The Violinist theSpace @ Jury’s Inn, 2-10 Aug, not 4, £8 The Major SpaceCabaret @ 54, 2-10 Aug, not 4, £5 – £7 Harder Please theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 2-17 Aug, not 4, 11, £3 – £5 Sex, Drugs and Toilet Rolls theSpace on North Bridge, 12-17 Aug, £5 You All Know Me - I’m Jack Ruby! theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 2-24 Aug, not 4, 11, 18, £7
Fourplay theSpace on the Mile, Various dates from 3 Aug to 23 Aug, £6 – £7.50 A Tiny Tempest C venues - C, 18-26 Aug, £8.50 – £10.50 Impromptu Shakespeare Underbelly, Cowgate, 1-25 Aug, not 14, £6 – £9.50 You Once Said Yes Underbelly, Cowgate, 12-25 Aug, £18 Here’s Connie theSpace @ Jury’s Inn, 12-24 Aug, not 18, £5
14:15 Crimes Against Comedy The Edinburgh Dungeon, 2-26 Aug, £10.50 The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Abridged Church Hill Theatre, 17 Aug, £5 Hirsch Pleasance Courtyard, 1-25 Aug, not 14, £6 – £12.50 Northanger Abbey Gryphon Venues at the Point Hotel, 2-10 Aug, £5 – £9 Pandora’s Box Church Hill Theatre, 5 Aug, £5 Rough Magic theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 6 Aug, £5 The Imaginary Invalid Church Hill Theatre, 19 Aug, £5
14:10
The Trials and Tribulations of Mr Pickwick Hill Street Theatre, 1-25 Aug, not 13, £6 – £12
Sock Puppet HHH Pleasance Courtyard, 31 Jul - 26 Aug, not 13 Aug, £6 – £11
The Tempest in the Firth of Forth HHH Summerhall, 12-15 Aug, £20
A Play With Words and Blind Love Pilrig Studio, 8 Aug, £5 Circle Game Church Hill Theatre, 21 Aug, £5 Questioning Aslan Edinburgh Elim, 15 Aug, 21 Aug, £11 Sleeping Soldiers C venues - C, 31 Jul - 10 Aug, £7.50 – £9.50 The House Beautiful C venues - C nova, 31 Jul - 17 Aug, £7.50 – £9.50 Under Milk Wood by Dylan Thomas theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 5 Aug, 9 Aug, £5 Bridge to an Island C venues - C nova, 31 Jul - 26 Aug, £7.50 – £9.50 Chops theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 8 Aug, £5 Chariot Edinburgh Elim, 17 Aug, 23 Aug, 24 Aug, £11 Much Ado About Nothing C venues - C, 11-17 Aug, £7.50 – £9.50 Rabbit Hole Church Hill Theatre, 6 Aug, £5 Sex Lives of Others HH Pleasance Courtyard, 31 Jul - 26 Aug, not 12 Aug, 19 Aug, £6 – £12
14:20 God Bless Liz Lochhead The Assembly Rooms, 31 Jul - 25 Aug, not 1 Aug, 12 Aug, £14 – £15 Robert Golding Assembly Roxy, 1-25 Aug, not 12, £5 – £12 Sandpits Avenue Zoo Southside, 2-26 Aug, not 20, £8
FAILEONTOLOGY We all want to escape something
{
4.45pm (1hr) 2-26 August (Not 12) Venue 124 Zoo. 140 the Pleasance, EH8 9RR Box office 0131 662 6892
"Totally original fringe theatre" Mark Finbow
www.festmag.co.uk
August August20 20––26 26 || edinburgh edinburghfestival festivalguide guide2013 2013 fest fest 89
theatrelistings The Lady Vanishes Paradise in Augustine’s, 20-24 Aug, £8
Champ HHH Assembly Roxy, 1-26 Aug, not 12, £10 – £15
Kierkegaard Comedy Show - with Claus Damgaard C venues - C aquila, 1-26 Aug, £8.50 – £10.50
Good Things by Liz Lochhead St Serf’s Church Hall, 17 Aug, £9
Long Distance Affair (make possible an impossible trip) Summerhall, 2-25 Aug, £6 – £11 Desdemona: A Play About a Handkerchief theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 7 Aug, £5 The End: An Apocalypse Anthology Sweet Grassmarket, 12-13 Aug, £7 You Once Said Yes Underbelly, Cowgate, 12-25 Aug, £18 The Paper Cinema’s Odyssey Summerhall, 17-25 Aug, £14 The Penelopiad Pilrig Studio, 5 Aug, £5
14:25 Head Over Heels Church Hill Theatre, 9 Aug, £5 Albert Einstein: Relativitively Speaking Pleasance Courtyard, 31 Jul - 26 Aug, not 6 Aug, 13 Aug, 20 Aug, £6 – £9.50
14:30 David Copperfield St Ninian’s Hall, 10 Aug, 17 Aug, £12 The Ants Pilrig Studio, 7 Aug, £5 The Oldest Man in Catford New Town Theatre, 1-25 Aug, £11 – £15 You Once Said Yes Underbelly, Cowgate, 12-25 Aug, £18 Longing for Grace Hill Street Theatre, 1-25 Aug, £6 – £12 An Actor’s Lament HHH Assembly Hall, 1-20 Aug, not 5, 12, £12 – £20 Quad The Hub, 27 Aug, £6 Beckett and Contemporary Art: Make Sense Who May The Hub, 28 Aug, £6 On Behalf of Nature HH Royal Lyceum Theatre, 18 Aug, £10 All That Fall The Hub, 25-26 Aug, £15
Moonshine, Medicine and The Mob: Whisky Tasting Valvona & Crolla Scottish Foodhall@Jenners, 14 Aug, 21 Aug, £15 Sailor Beware Saughtonhall United Reformed Church, 10 Aug, £7 The Odyssey of Dave Quaker Meeting House, 12-17 Aug, £7.50 The Reluctant Doctor Quaker Meeting House, 19-24 Aug, £7 Pint Dreams Pleasance At The Antiquary, 22-25 Aug, £6.50 – £7.50 Hatches, Matches and Dispatches Mayfield Salisbury Church, 10 Aug, 17 Aug, 24 Aug, £10 Lifting the Mask theSpace on the Mile, Various dates from 4 Aug to 24 Aug, £6 – £7.50 Pirates and Mermaids: A Fairytale for Adults Scottish Storytelling Centre, 1-25 Aug, not 5, 12, 19, £8 – £10 Romeo/Juliet C venues - C too, 1-26 Aug, not 13, £8.50 – £10.50 Extreme Withdrawal Is Manifest Laughing Horse @ The Phoenix, 9-18 Aug, £free I Need a Doctor: The Unauthorised Whosical Adventure Pleasance Courtyard, 31 Jul - 26 Aug, not 14 Aug, 20 Aug, £6 – £11 Phil Nichol: The Weary Land HHH The Assembly Rooms, 1-25 Aug, not 12, £9 – £10 ❤ Solomon and Marion HHHH Assembly Hall, 1-26 Aug, not 12, 19, £10 – £16 The Bread and the Beer HHH Underbelly, Cowgate, 1-25 Aug, not 12, £6 – £10 ❤ The Radicalisation of Bradley Manning HHHH Pleasance At St Thomas of Aquin’s High School, Various dates from
7 Aug to 25 Aug, £10 – £14
14:35 The World Has Gone Mad Mood Nightclub, 3-24 Aug, not 5, 12, 19, £free Omega HHH The Assembly Rooms, 31 Jul - 25 Aug, not 12 Aug, 19 Aug, £14 – £15 An Afternoon of Playback Theatre Sweet Grassmarket, 12-17 Aug, £8 Fantastical Adventures in the Mundane Sweet Grassmarket, 19-26 Aug, £7
14:40 Can You Hear Seagulls? Sweet Grassmarket, 3-11 Aug, £8.50 ❤ Mammoth HHHH Pleasance Dome, 31 Jul - 25 Aug, not 12 Aug, £6 – £12 If Room Enough Northern Stage at St Stephen’s, 3-24 Aug, not 5, 12, 19, £11 – £14 Shakespeare: Olde Words – New Worlds Hill Street Theatre, 1-25 Aug, not 13, £6 – £9 Economy of Thought HH Assembly George Square, 1-26 Aug, not 12, 19, £8 – £14 Jack and Jill and the Red Postbox Sweet Grassmarket, 5-11 Aug, £8 Where the White Stops HHH Underbelly, Cowgate, 1-25 Aug, not 14, £6 – £11 You Once Said Yes Underbelly, Cowgate, 12-25 Aug, £18
14:45 Crimes Against Comedy The Edinburgh Dungeon, 2-26 Aug, £10.50 The Trench Pleasance Courtyard, 31 Jul - 26 Aug, not 12 Aug, £6 – £12.50 Bite the Bullet The Assembly Rooms, 16-25 Aug, £10 Children of Mine Venue 13, 3-24 Aug, not 12, £8 Mercy Killers Assembly Hall, 1-26 Aug, £5 – £10
Alice in Wonderland C venues - C nova, 31 Jul - 26 Aug, not 13 Aug, £8.50 – £10.50
Shylock with Guy Masterson Assembly Hall, 12 Aug, £15
On the Line: Media La Tasca, 3-24 Aug, not 8, 20, £free
Seven Ages (featuring Kevin Tomlinson) Just The Tonic at the Caves, 1-25 Aug, not 13, £5 – £10
Spandex Greenside, 20-24 Aug, £8 Eilish O’Carroll: Live Love Laugh Pleasance Courtyard, 31 Jul - 24 Aug, not 14 Aug, £10 – £17 Close to You Greenside, 2-17 Aug, not 11, £5 – £8 Mother F Gilded Balloon Teviot, 31 Jul - 26 Aug, £6 – £9.50
14:50 The Love Project HHH Underbelly, Cowgate, 1-25 Aug, not 14, £6 – £11 The Year I Was Gifted Sweet Grassmarket, 2-25 Aug, not 6, 12, 13, 19, 20, £8 My Pregnant Brother Pleasance Dome, 31 Jul - 26 Aug, not 13 Aug, £6 – £10 No Direction Assembly George Square, 1-26 Aug, not 13, £8 – £15 You Once Said Yes Underbelly, Cowgate, 12-25 Aug, £18
14:55 The Liz and Dick Show theSpace on North Bridge, 2-24 Aug, not 4, 11, 18, £10 What I Want to Say But Never Will Sweet Grassmarket, 13-18 Aug, £8.50 Timeline Greenside, 19-24 Aug, £10 Look Back in Anger Greenside, 4-10 Aug, £9
15:00 Metamorphosis HH King’s Theatre, Edinburgh, 12 Aug, £12
Don Quijote Summerhall, 16-24 Aug, £12
Sentinels Bedlam Theatre, 5-11 Aug, £9
Sonica Presents Sven Werner’s Tales of Magical Realism Summerhall, 12-25 Aug, not 14, 21, £14
The Bespoke Overcoat Greenside, 12-17 Aug, £8.50
Wot? No Fish! Summerhall, 2-25 Aug, not 6, 13, 20, £12
Calotype Central Hall, 17 Aug, £9
A Night to Dismember Underbelly, Bristo Square, 31 Jul - 26 Aug, not 14 Aug, £6 – £9
Adam Smith, le Grand Tour Institut français d’Ecosse, 2-26 Aug, not 12, 19, £5 – £10 Blazing Grannies St Cuthbert’s Parish Church, 17-26 Aug, £free ❤ Dark Vanilla Jungle HHHH Pleasance Courtyard, 31 Jul - 26 Aug, not 13 Aug, £6.50 – £11
On the Beach by John Osborne HHH Pleasance Dome, 31 Jul - 26 Aug, not 12 Aug, £6 – £11 Ruskin Live Scottish National Gallery, 12 Aug, 13 Aug, 15 Aug, 16 Aug, £10 The Weaver Venue150 @ EICC, 4-24 Aug, £12
Theatre Uncut: Dalgety & Fragile by David Greig Paterson’s Land, 20-24 Aug, £10
Yellow Pears Zoo, 2-26 Aug, not 12, £5 – £8
Long Distance Affair (make possible an impossible trip) Summerhall, 2-25 Aug, £6 – £11
In Holy Matri-moany theSpace on North Bridge, 19-22 Aug, £5
Conversations Not Fit for the American Dinner Table Bedlam Theatre, 12-24 Aug, £9 Hide and Seek Central Hall, Various dates from 3 Aug to 10 Aug, £7.50 – £8.50 Itch: With a Twist Pleasance Courtyard, 13 Aug, £8
15:05
We’ll Stuff You Once You’re Dead theSpace on North Bridge, 12-17 Aug, £5 Easter Eggs theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 12-24 Aug, not 18, £5 Something There That’s Missing theSpace @ Jury’s Inn, 2-24 Aug, not 4, 11, 18, £5 – £8 Duvet Dave theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 2 Aug, 3 Aug, 5 Aug, 6 Aug, 7 Aug, £5
The Secret Garden SpaceCabaret @ 54, 14-24 Aug, £8 Gardening: For the Unfulfilled and Alienated HHH Pleasance Courtyard, 1-25 Aug, not 6, 13, 20, £6 – £9
Afghan Days Babylon Nights The Royal Scots Club, 6-17 Aug, not 11, £10
Holes by Tom Basden HHH Assembly George Square, Various dates from 4 Aug to 25 Aug, £10 – £20
Four Walls Bedlam Theatre, 2-5 Aug, £4 – £6
You Once Said Yes Underbelly, Cowgate, 12-25 Aug, £18
Indian Peter’s Coffee House Valvona & Crolla, 6 Aug, 8 Aug, 12 Aug, 13 Aug, 15 Aug, £12
Who’s Afraid of Rachel Roberts? Assembly Roxy, 1-26 Aug, not 12, 19, £8 – £12
90 fest edinburgh festival guide 2013 | August 20 – 26
❤ Breaking News HHHH Summerhall, 2-25 Aug, not 12, 19, £12
Bassett theSpace on North Bridge, 5-10 Aug, £8
15:10 The Winter’s Tale theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 6-10 Aug, £5 Best Kept Secrets theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 12-17 Aug, £8 You Once Said Yes Underbelly, Cowgate, 12-25 Aug, £18
15:15 The Tempest theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 19-24 Aug, £8 – £9
www.festmag.co.uk
theatrelistings Crimes Against Comedy The Edinburgh Dungeon, 2-26 Aug, £10.50
Ciara HHH Traverse Theatre, 10 Aug, 16 Aug, 22 Aug, £18 – £20
Piracy! Comedy on the High C’s theSpace @ Venue45, 18-24 Aug, £9.50
The Secret Agent HH Traverse Theatre, 8 Aug, 14 Aug, 20 Aug, 25 Aug, £18
The Savage Planet The Fiddler’s Elbow, 3-11 Aug, £free
All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten Church Hill Theatre, 20 Aug, £5
Waist - Free The Fiddler’s Elbow, 12-24 Aug, £free Bright Lights C venues - C nova, 31 Jul - 26 Aug, not 12 Aug, £7.50 – £9.50 Collected Stories New Town Theatre, 1-25 Aug, not 5, 12, 19, £10.50 – £13.50 I’m With the Band HH Traverse Theatre, 9 Aug, 15 Aug, 21 Aug, £18 – £20 Shadows Church Hill Theatre, 17 Aug, £5 Bath Time Gilded Balloon Teviot, 31 Jul - 26 Aug, £5 – £10 Nick: An Accidental Hero HHH Assembly George Square, 1-26 Aug, not 12, 19, £8 – £12 ❤ The Events HHHH Traverse Theatre, 6 Aug, 11 Aug, 17 Aug, 23 Aug, £18 – £20 The Graveyard Slot HHH theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 3-17 Aug, not 4, 11, £7.50 – £9 The Medicine Showdown Church Hill Theatre, 7 Aug, £5 Twelfth Night: Unplugged Church Hill Theatre, 5 Aug, £5
Each of Us Pleasance Courtyard, 31 Jul - 26 Aug, £6 – £10 Speak Truth to Power Church Hill Theatre, 21 Aug, £5 ❤ Stuart: A Life Backwards HHHH Underbelly, Bristo Square, 31 Jul - 26 Aug, not 12 Aug, £7 – £14
15:40 Who Are You Supposed To Be? C venues - C aquila, 1426 Aug, £8.50 – £10.50 Auld Edinburgh Tales Sweet Grassmarket, 12-26 Aug, £8 Fault Lines theSpace on the Mile, Various dates from 3 Aug to 23 Aug, £6 – £7.50
15:20
¡Bocón! Church Hill Theatre, 16 Aug, £5
The Emperor Wolf Church Hill Theatre, 9 Aug, £5
Forever C venues - C too, 18-26 Aug, £7.50 – £9.50
Act Without Words II / A Piece of Monologue / Play The Hub, 31 Aug, £4
The Brothers’ Grimm Spectaculathon Church Hill Theatre, 8 Aug, £5
Hag HHH Underbelly, Cowgate, 1-25 Aug, not 13, £6 – £11
Diablo C venues - C aquila, 1-13 Aug, £8.50 – £10.50
The Bitches’ Box Assembly George Square, 1-23 Aug, not 13, 20, £8 – £10
The Way You Tell Them Summerhall, 19 Aug, 21 Aug, 23 Aug, £10
Long Distance Affair (make possible an impossible trip) Summerhall, 2-25 Aug, £6 – £11
The Making of Something Awesome Church Hill Theatre, 19 Aug, £5 ❤ Moving Family HHHH Just The Tonic at the Caves, 1-25 Aug, not 13, £6 – £10 You Once Said Yes Underbelly, Cowgate, 12-25 Aug, £18 The Yellow Boat Church Hill Theatre, 10 Aug, £5
15:25 The Walls SpaceCabaret @ 54, 2-11 Aug, not 4, £5 – £8 Below the Belt Pleasance Courtyard, 31 Jul - 26 Aug, not 12 Aug, £6.50 – £11
The Wedge CANCELLED Zoo Southside, 2-26 Aug, £8 Beating McEnroe Summerhall, 20 Aug, 22 Aug, £10 Trash Cuisine Pleasance Courtyard, 19-26 Aug, £12 – £15
15:45 Cadre HHH Traverse Theatre, 7 Aug, 13 Aug, 18 Aug, 24 Aug, £18 – £20 A Matter of Life and Death C venues - C, 11-17 Aug, £9.50 – £11.50
Cape Wrath HHH Northern Stage at St Stephen’s, 9-24 Aug, not 12, 19, £8 – £11
Annoying the Neighbours Hill Street Theatre, 1-25 Aug, not 13, £6 – £11
Pigmalion Zoo C venues - C nova, 31 Jul - 26 Aug, £7.50 – £9.50
Crimes Against Comedy The Edinburgh Dungeon, 2-26 Aug, £10.50
White’s Lies Assembly George Square, 1-26 Aug, not 14, £10 – £16.50
15:30
Sonica Presents Sven Werner’s Tales of Magical Realism Summerhall, 12-25 Aug, not 14, 21, £14
Book of Blakewell Underbelly, Cowgate, 1-25 Aug, not 7, 14, £6 – £10
Fight Night HHH Traverse Theatre, 7 Aug, 13 Aug, 18 Aug, 24 Aug, £17 – £19
Burton’s Last Call Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 1-24 Aug, £free
The Picture of Dorian Gray C venues - C, 19-24 Aug, £6.50 – £8.50 Lexi Heart, The Singing Magician- PBH Free Fringe Cafe Camino, 3-24 Aug, £free
15:50 Bobby Gould in Hell theSpace on the Mile, Various dates from 4 Aug to 24 Aug, £6 – £7.50 Honest Iago and Three Other Choice Villains from Shakespeare theSpace on the Mile, 2-24 Aug, not 4, 11, 18, £9
15:55
❤ Grounded HHHHH Traverse Theatre, 2 Aug, 8 Aug, 14 Aug, 20 Aug, 25 Aug, £17 – £19 I Knew a Man Called Livingstone National Library of Scotland, 7-21 Aug, £6 – £10 Hound Dog Sweet Grassmarket, 2-11 Aug, £8.50 Sonica Presents Sven Werner’s Tales of Magical Realism Summerhall, 12-25 Aug, not 14, 21, £14 Of Dice and Men: UK Premiere Acoustic Music Centre @ St Bride’s, 21 Aug, £10
I’ll Be Seeing You Paradise in The Vault, 5-26 Aug, not 12, 19, £8
❤ Quietly HHHH Traverse Theatre, 9 Aug, 15 Aug, 21 Aug, £17 – £19
16:00
Angus: Weaver of Grass Scottish Storytelling Centre, 19-25 Aug, £10
Three Women Greenside, 2-24 Aug, not 11, 18, £7 Gardening: For the Unfulfilled and Alienated HHH Pleasance Courtyard, 1-25 Aug, not 6, 13, 20, £6 – £9 Mrs Moneypenny Returns AGA Showroom, 9-25 Aug, not 12, 13, 14, 15, 19, 20, 21, 22, £15 A Poem for My Sister Royal Over-Seas League, 15-16 Aug, £10
❤ Have I No Mouth HHHH Traverse Theatre, 6 Aug, 11 Aug, 17 Aug, 23 Aug, £17 – £19 Inquiry into the Death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ Edinburgh Christadelphian Church, 7-9 Aug, £free The Islanders HHH Underbelly, Cowgate, 1-25 Aug, not 12, £6 – £11
Fight Night HHH Traverse Theatre, 1 Aug, £12
A Family Beyond The Army Sweet Grassmarket, 12-25 Aug, £8
❤ Long Live The Little Knife HHHH Traverse Theatre, 4 Aug, 10 Aug, 16 Aug, 22 Aug, £17 – £19
❤ Quietly HHHH Traverse Theatre, 3 Aug, £19
Diary of a Madman Venue 13, 3-24 Aug, not 12, £8
Silence in Court New Town Theatre, 2-25 Aug, £10 – £12.50
‘A TRULY SPECTACULAR SHOW’ THE SCOTSMAN
31 JUL - 26 AUG 5.55PM
PLEASANCE COURTYARD www.blamtheshow.com
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August August20 20––26 26 || edinburgh edinburghfestival festivalguide guide2013 2013 fest fest 91
theatrelistings Ten Out of Ten HHH Assembly Hall, 5-26 Aug, not 19, £10 – £12 Ulysses HHH Paterson’s Land, 14-26 Aug, not 18, 19, 20, 25, £16 ❤ Nirbhaya HHHH Assembly Hall, 1-26 Aug, not 12, 19, £10 – £16 The Fifth Duck Gryphon Venues at the Point Hotel, 5-9 Aug, £5
16:05 All Or Nothing theSpace on North Bridge, 2-10 Aug, not 4, £5 – £7 The Suicidal Tendencies of Sheep and a Dog Called the Hoff theSpace on North Bridge, 2-24 Aug, not 4, 11, 18, £7 Cut! Hill Street Theatre, 1-25 Aug, not 12, 13, 19, 20, £6 – £12 Concrete Duvet theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 12-24 Aug, not 18, £7 Sandel theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 2-24 Aug, not 11, £10 – £12 The Fanny Hill Project Zoo, 2-26 Aug, £5 – £8 If You’re Glad, I’ll Be Frank By Tom Stoppard theSpace @ Venue45, 12-17 Aug, £7 Cain theSpace @ Jury’s Inn, 2-24 Aug, not 4, 11, 18, £3 – £7 Very Still and Hard to See Greenside, 12-24 Aug, not 18, £10
16:10 Devil in the Deck Pleasance Dome, 31 Jul - 25 Aug, not 5 Aug, 12 Aug, 19 Aug, £6 – £9 Deimos theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 19-24 Aug, £10 Pip Utton - Adolf The Assembly Rooms, 6 Aug, 13 Aug, £15 Undone HHH Assembly George Square, 1-26 Aug, not 12, £10 – £13 Voices Made Night HHH Assembly Hall, 1-26 Aug, not 12, £10 – £15
Circle Game Church Hill Theatre, 17 Aug, £5 Expiration Date Spotlites @ The Merchants’ Hall, 3-24 Aug, not 12, 20, £8.50 Safe theSpace on North Bridge, 12-24 Aug, not 18, £10 The Agony and the Ecstasy of Steve Jobs Revisited Gilded Balloon Teviot, 31 Jul - 26 Aug, not 13 Aug, £6 – £12.50
16:20 Desdemona, a Play About a Handkerchief Sweet Grassmarket, 2-11 Aug, £8 Inspector Norse Assembly George Square, 1-25 Aug, not 12, 19, £8 – £10 Signs of Our Occupy theSpace @ Venue45, 2-10 Aug, not 4, £5.50 – £7.50 Losing the Plot HHH New Town Theatre, 1-25 Aug, £12 – £15
It’s Not What You Know... theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 2-17 Aug, not 4, 11, £7
❤ The Boss of It All HHHH Assembly Roxy, 1-26 Aug, not 12, 19, £8 – £13
Pendulums Bargain Emporium Pleasance Dome, 31 Jul - 24 Aug, not 13 Aug, £6 – £12.50
The High-Schooler’s Guide to the Galaxy Church Hill Theatre, 6 Aug, £5
She Was Probably Not a Robot Underbelly, Cowgate, 1-25 Aug, not 12, 19, £6 – £10
This Was the World and I Was King C venues - C nova, 31 Jul - 26 Aug, not 13 Aug, £7.50 – £9.50
The Veil (Le Foulard) Pleasance Dome, 31 Jul - 26 Aug, not 12 Aug, 19 Aug, £6.50 – £11
The Beginning Pleasance Courtyard, 18-24 Aug, £9 – £12
A Happy Side (As Well) Greenside, 2-10 Aug, £5 – £8
❤ The Boy Who Kicked Pigs HHHH Pleasance Courtyard, 31 Jul - 14 Aug, £6 – £11.50
Return to the Forbidden Planet Church Hill Theatre, 20-21 Aug, £5
Laugh Your Farce Off Pleasance Courtyard, 15-17 Aug, £9.50
Slapdash Galaxy: 3D Underbelly, Bristo Square, 31 Jul - 26 Aug, not 14 Aug, £7 – £13
Christina Rossetti’s Goblin Market theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 12-17 Aug, £9
16:25 Track 3 Bedlam Theatre, 4-24 Aug, £10 Head Over Heels Church Hill Theatre, 7 Aug, £5 Leaving Iowa Pilrig Studio, 6 Aug, £5
For Their Own Good Summerhall, 19-24 Aug, £10 Pint Dreams Pleasance At The Antiquary, 22-25 Aug, £6.50 – £7.50
❤ The Six Wives of Henry VIII HHHH Assembly George Square, 31 Jul - 26 Aug, not 6 Aug, 13 Aug, £8 – £12
Pirates and Mermaids: A Fairytale for Adults Scottish Storytelling Centre, 1-25 Aug, not 5, 12, 19, £8 – £10
Tango Theatre: Woman of Shadow, Woman of Light C venues - C aquila, 18-26 Aug, £7.50 – £9.50
Rough Theatre Paradise in The Vault, 5-11 Aug, £6
Roughs Zoo Southside, 2-26 Aug, £9
Family Tree Pleasance Courtyard, 31 Jul - 26 Aug, £6 – £10
Buoy C venues - C aquila, 1-17 Aug, £7.50 – £9.50
Bonanza HHH Summerhall, 2-11 Aug, £6 – £12 How to be a Modern Marvel® HHH Institut français d’Ecosse, 2-26 Aug, not 12, 19, £5 – £10 Are You Sitting Comfortably? C venues - C nova, 1126 Aug, £7.50 – £9.50 Contractions C venues - C nova, 31 Jul - 10 Aug, £7.50 – £9.50 The Ants Pilrig Studio, 8 Aug, £5 Lauder! Summerhall, 2-16 Aug, not 6, 13, £12
Bonanza HHH Summerhall, 13-25 Aug, not 19, £12
I Heart IKEA Zoo Southside, 2-14 Aug, £5 – £9
16:15
Crimes Against Comedy The Edinburgh Dungeon, 2-26 Aug, £10.50
Jewel theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 2-10 Aug, not 4, £5
A Play With Words and Blind Love Pilrig Studio, 5 Aug, £5
Pandora’s Box Church Hill Theatre, 10 Aug, £5
16:30
Leonce and Lena Venue150 @ EICC, 4-24 Aug, £12
Argonautika Church Hill Theatre, 8 Aug, £5
Shakesperience Church Hill Theatre, 5 Aug, £5
The Three Lions HHH Pleasance Courtyard, 31 Jul - 26 Aug, not 13 Aug, 20 Aug, £8 – £15
Whistleblower C venues - C nova, 31 Jul - 26 Aug, not 12 Aug, £7.50 – £9.50
Melmoth the Wanderer HH The Assembly Rooms, 1-25 Aug, not 6, 13, £14 – £15
16:35
Sonica Presents Sven Werner’s Tales of Magical Realism Summerhall, 12-25 Aug, not 14, 21, £14
16:40 The Sleeping Trees’ Odyssey Just The Tonic at the Caves, 1-25 Aug, not 13, £5 – £7.50 There Has Possibly Been an Incident HH Northern Stage at St Stephen’s, 3-24 Aug, not 5, 12, 19, £11 – £14
16:45 ❤ Major Tom HHHH Summerhall, 2-25 Aug, not 5, 12, 19, £12 Fantasy No. 10 - The Beauty of Life HHH Summerhall, 2-25 Aug, £10 Crimes Against Comedy The Edinburgh Dungeon, 2-26 Aug, £10.50 Little Foot Paradise in Augustine’s, 5-10 Aug, £5 – £6 The Cow Play C venues - C nova, 31 Jul - 26 Aug, £8.50 – £10.50 Faileontology Zoo, 2-26 Aug, not 12, £5 – £10
Binka Boo Productions
Who Are You Supposed To Be?
92 fest edinburgh festival guide 2013 | August 20 – 26
www.festmag.co.uk
theatrelistings Breaking the Silence C venues - C nova, 31 Jul - 26 Aug, not 13 Aug, £9.50 – £11.50 Landfall theSpace @ Venue45, 19-24 Aug, £8 Cadre HHH Traverse Theatre, 3 Aug, £13
16:50 Krapp’s Last Tape The Hub, 31 Aug, £4 Rave Generation Paradise in Augustine’s, 20-26 Aug, £7.50 Chaos By Design theSpace on the Mile, 2-17 Aug, not 4, 11, £5 The Shawshank Redemption HH The Assembly Rooms, 1-25 Aug, not 12, £15 – £16
16:55 Broken Holmes theSpace on the Mile, 20-24 Aug, £8
17:00 Newton Summerhall, 2-25 Aug, not 13, 20, £10 Gardening: For the Unfulfilled and Alienated HHH Pleasance Courtyard, 1-25 Aug, not 6, 13, 20, £6 – £9 Another New World Cafe Camino, 3-24 Aug, £free Caught in the Net The Edinburgh Academy, 6-10 Aug, £10 ❤ Circa: Wunderkammer HHHH Underbelly, Bristo Square, 31 Jul - 26 Aug, not 7 Aug, 13 Aug, 20 Aug, £12 – £18.50 Sonica Presents Sven Werner’s Tales of Magical Realism Summerhall, 12-25 Aug, not 14, 21, £14 76 Million People and Me Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 11-15 Aug, £free
Europa, Our First Migrant Italian Cultural Institute, 23-24 Aug, £8 Eh Joe Royal Lyceum Theatre, 31 Aug, £8 All That Fall The Hub, 25-26 Aug, £15 Titus Paradise in the Kirkhouse, 20-26 Aug, £8 Bedding Out Pleasance Hunt and Darton Cafe, 9 Aug, £free Soddin’ Flodden Scottish Storytelling Centre, 2-17 Aug, not 12, £8.50 Ulysses HHH Paterson’s Land, 9-11 Aug, £16
17:05 A Laughing Matter theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 2-10 Aug, not 4, £6 Jack, Or the Submission theSpace on North Bridge, 19-24 Aug, £7
Laughing Wild theSpace on the Mile, 19-24 Aug, £6 ❤ Repertory Theatre HHHH C venues - C, 11-26 Aug, £8.50 – £10.50 The Way of the World HHH theSpace @ Venue45, 12-17 Aug, £7.50 I (Honestly) Love You C venues - C aquila, 1-13 Aug, £8.50 – £10.50 Eleemosynary theSpace @ Jury’s Inn, 12-24 Aug, not 18, £8 Consequences theSpace @ Jury’s Inn, 2-10 Aug, not 4, £8 The Canterbury Tales theSpace on North Bridge, 2-17 Aug, not 4, 11, £9 The Emma Packer Show - What’s the Point in Living If You Can’t Cha-Cha-Cha? Mood Nightclub, 14-24 Aug, £free
17:10 Darren Maskell: A Woodlouse Trapped Underneath a Glass Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 19-25 Aug, £free The Circus of Terror Greenside, 2-24 Aug, not 11, 18, £free The Actor’s Nightmare theSpace on the Mile, 5-16 Aug, not 11, £7
17:15 Sans Salomé theSpace on Niddry St, 2-24 Aug, £8.50 – £11 The Rimers of Eldritch Church Hill Theatre, 5 Aug, £5 All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten Church Hill Theatre, 18 Aug, £5 Dumbstruck HHH Zoo, 2-26 Aug, not 14, £6 – £10
Crimes Against Comedy The Edinburgh Dungeon, 2-26 Aug, £10.50 Sleeping Beauty and the Spinner Church Hill Theatre, 21 Aug, £5 Ballad of the Burning Star Pleasance Dome, 31 Jul - 26 Aug, not 13 Aug, 20 Aug, £7.50 – £13 Midsummer/Jersey Church Hill Theatre, 16 Aug, £5 Shadows Church Hill Theatre, 20 Aug, £5 The Gypsybird Speaks C venues - C, 31 Jul - 26 Aug, not 13 Aug, £9.50 – £11.50 The Pyramids of Margate Hill Street Theatre, 1-25 Aug, £6 – £12
17:20 The Autumn of Han theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 2-24 Aug, not 4, 18, £5 – £11
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2-4 (previews), 5-10, 12-17, 19-24 August 13:45 (40 mins), £7.50/£5 (Concession) Greenside Studio 2 (venue 231), edinburgh fringe 2013
August August20 20––26 26 || edinburgh edinburghfestival festivalguide guide2013 2013 fest fest 93
theatrelistings Made for Each Other Sweet Grassmarket, 1-25 Aug, not 20, £8 The Emperor Wolf Church Hill Theatre, 7 Aug, £5 Hope Light and Nowhere HHH Underbelly, Cowgate, 1-25 Aug, £6 – £11 Mansfield Presents Lovers’ Vows Paradise in Augustine’s, 3-4 Aug, £7.50 The Vanish Inquisition Underbelly, Cowgate, 1-25 Aug, £6 – £10.50 The Fabric of Heaven Church Hill Theatre, 17 Aug, 19 Aug, £5
17:25 Raiders: The Whisky Trader Spotlites @ The Merchants’ Hall, 1-20 Aug, £8 I’ll Be Seeing You Paradise in The Vault, 3-4 Aug, £8
17:30 Why Is John Lennon Wearing a Skirt? Hill Street Theatre, 1-25 Aug, not 13, £6 – £12 American Gun Show HH Gryphon Venues at the Point Hotel, 2-24 Aug, not 11, 18, £5 – £9 ❤ Birdhouse HHHH Assembly George Square, 1-25 Aug, not 12, 19, £8 – £12 God of Carnage Greenside, 2-24 Aug, not 11, 18, £6 – £9 Of Dice and Men: UK Premiere Acoustic Music Centre @ St Bride’s, 21 Aug, £10 Hamlette Church Hill Theatre, 10 Aug, £5 Around Miss Julie C venues - C nova, 1126 Aug, £8.50 – £10.50 Ciara HHH Traverse Theatre, 4 Aug, £18 Whispering in the Dark Venue 13, 3-24 Aug, not 5, 12, £8 Human and Other Things C venues - C nova, 31 Jul - 10 Aug, £7.50 – £9.50 It’s Dark Outside HHH Underbelly, Bristo Square, 31 Jul - 26 Aug, not 13 Aug, £7 – £14.50 My Village and Other Aliens Zoo Southside, 2-26 Aug, not 12, 19, £5 – £8
17:35 Speak No Evil Spotlites @ The Merchants’ Hall, 1-14 Aug, £6.50 The Boadicea of Britannia Street New Town Theatre, 1-25 Aug, £9 – £14
17:40 The Edge of Our Bodies theSpace @ Venue45, 2-10 Aug, not 4, £10 Dick Whittington theSpace on North Bridge, 2-17 Aug, not 4, 11, £4 – £7 I Want to Tell You Something Sweet Grassmarket, 1-25 Aug, not 12, £5 – £8
17:45
Villains, Heroes and Adventurers: Whisky Tasting Valvona & Crolla Scottish Foodhall@Jenners, 14 Aug, 21 Aug, £15 Grimm Ever After Paradise in The Vault, 13-18 Aug, £7.50 ❤ The Collision of Things HHHH Pleasance Courtyard, 31 Jul - 26 Aug, not 13 Aug, 20 Aug, £6.50 – £11 The Life and Times of Victor Biktrakarawitz Paradise in The Vault, 13-18 Aug, £4.50 Itch: With a Twist Pleasance Courtyard, 12 Aug, £8 Pianoforte, My Life Spotlites @ The Merchants’ Hall, 4-10 Aug, £12
17:50
Ciara HHH Traverse Theatre, 6 Aug, 11 Aug, 17 Aug, 23 Aug, £18 – £20 Mucus Factory Pleasance Hunt and Darton Cafe, 12 Aug, £free Shakespeare’s Cymbeline Just The Tonic at the Caves, 1-25 Aug, not 13, £5 – £9 The Tree and the Abbey Lauriston Halls, 15 Aug, £7 Cadre HHH Traverse Theatre, 8 Aug, 14 Aug, 20 Aug, 25 Aug, £18 According to Oscar Mayfield Salisbury Church, 5-9 Aug, £8 Hide and Seek Central Hall, Various dates from 3 Aug to 10 Aug, £7.50 – £8.50
The Three Little Pigs HHH Assembly George Square, 1-26 Aug, not 12, £10 – £15
Head Over Heels in Saudi Arabia HHH Spotlites @ The Merchants’ Hall, 11-26 Aug, £8.50
Meal Ticket Underbelly, Cowgate, 1-25 Aug, £6 – £10
A Funny Valentine Valvona & Crolla, 14 Aug, 15 Aug, 20 Aug, £12
Measure for Measure Zoo Southside, 2-10 Aug, £5 – £7.50
Baddies theSpace on the Mile, 2-17 Aug, not 4, 11, £9
DNA Zoo Southside, 11-17 Aug, £7.50
How Hard Do You Hum When You Cum? theSpace @ Venue45, Various dates from 12 Aug to 23 Aug, £5
Crimes Against Comedy The Edinburgh Dungeon, 2-26 Aug, £10.50 ❤ If These Spasms Could Speak HHHH Pleasance Courtyard, 31 Jul - 26 Aug, not 12 Aug, £6 – £9 21st-century Poe Paradise in The Vault, 5-11 Aug, £7 I’m With the Band HH Traverse Theatre, 10 Aug, 16 Aug, 22 Aug, £18 – £20 Italia ‘n’ Caledonia Valvona & Crolla, 7 Aug, 12 Aug, 16 Aug, £12 Captive Minds theSpace on North Bridge, 19-24 Aug, £6 ❤ Credible Likeable Superstar Rolemodel HHHH Pleasance Dome, 1-25 Aug, not 5, 12, 19, £7 – £13 Moonshine, Medicine and The Mob: Whisky Tasting Valvona & Crolla Scottish Foodhall@Jenners, 6-24 Aug, not 11, 12, 14, 18, 19, 21, £15 Static - Free The Fiddler’s Elbow, 3-24 Aug, £free ❤ The Bunker Trilogy: Morgana HHHH C venues - C nova, 31 Jul - 26 Aug, £11.50 – £13.50
Shadow On Their Wall Paradise in The Vault, 3-11 Aug, £6 – £7 The Smallest Light Zoo Southside, 18-26 Aug, £8
17:55 ❤ BLAM! HHHH Pleasance Courtyard, 31 Jul - 26 Aug, not 7 Aug, 13 Aug, 20 Aug, £8 – £15 The Hat, The Cane, The Moustache C venues - C too, 1-26 Aug, £9.50 – £11.50
18:00 Sanctuary Just Festival at St John’s, 12 Aug, 13 Aug, 14 Aug, 16 Aug, £8 Sonica Presents Sven Werner’s Tales of Magical Realism Summerhall, 12-25 Aug, not 14, 21, £14 How to Avoid Making an Entrance of Yourself Pleasance Hunt and Darton Cafe, 2-25 Aug, not 5, 12, 19, £2.50 – £5 ❤ Have I No Mouth HHHH Traverse Theatre, 7 Aug, 13 Aug, 18 Aug, 24 Aug, £17 – £19 Laquearia Summerhall, 2-9 Aug, £10
18:05
Our Friends, The Enemy theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 2-24 Aug, not 4, 11, 18, £8
18:15 As You Like It The Royal Scots Club, 12-17 Aug, £12 ❤ Have I No Mouth HHHH Traverse Theatre, 1 Aug, £12
❤ The Events HHHH Traverse Theatre, 7 Aug, 13 Aug, 18 Aug, 24 Aug, £18 – £20 Northanger Abbey Gryphon Venues at the Point Hotel, 12-24 Aug, not 18, £9 Rabbit Hole Church Hill Theatre, 7 Aug, £5 The Secret Agent HH Traverse Theatre, 9 Aug, 15 Aug, 21 Aug, £18 – £20 Freeze! Summerhall, 12-25 Aug, not 19, £5 – £9 The Principle of Uncertainty Summerhall, 2-25 Aug, £10
Crimes Against Comedy The Edinburgh Dungeon, 2-26 Aug, £10.50
Sugar Kane SpaceCabaret @ 54, 9-17 Aug, £10
Find Me theSpace on North Bridge, 6-8 Aug, £5 – £7 ❤ Grounded HHHHH Traverse Theatre, 3 Aug, £19
Don’t Disturb the Driver theSpace on North Bridge, 12-24 Aug, not 18, £8 – £10
The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Abridged Church Hill Theatre, 20 Aug, £5
Ohio Impromptu / Rough for Theatre I / Not I The Hub, 31 Aug, £4
The Trilogy Paradise in Augustine’s, 3-18 Aug, not 12, £5 – £10
A Writer’s Lot theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 2-17 Aug, not 4, 11, £5 – £7 Artaud: a Trilogy C venues - C nova, 31 Jul - 26 Aug, not 13 Aug, £8.50 – £10.50 Humans Inc C venues - C, 8-26 Aug, £9.50 – £11.50 Killers HH The Assembly Rooms, 1-25 Aug, not 12, £14 – £15
94 fest edinburgh festival guide 2013 | August 20 – 26
Splatter theSpace @ Jury’s Inn, 2-17 Aug, not 4, 11, £7 – £9 The Penelopiad Pilrig Studio, 6 Aug, £5 A Killer Story Greenside, 19-24 Aug, £7 His Majesty, the Devil – a Play With Music HH Quaker Meeting House, 5-17 Aug, not 11, £8 – £9.50 My Favourite Madman Gryphon Venues at the Point Hotel, 2-10 Aug, £6 – £8
18:25 Leaving Iowa Pilrig Studio, 7-8 Aug, £5
18:30
Return to the Forbidden Planet Church Hill Theatre, 18 Aug, £5
Desperately Seeking the Exit / Free Festival Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 1-25 Aug, not 12, 19, £free
Beijing Cake theSpace on the Mile, 19-24 Aug, £5 – £8
Life theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 2-24 Aug, not 4, 18, £5 – £11
18:20
Something Beginning With Paradise in The Vault, 20-24 Aug, £7
Melodic Dystrophy theSpace @ Venue45, Various dates from 13 Aug to 24 Aug, £5
18:10
The Imaginary Invalid Church Hill Theatre, 16 Aug, £5
A Brief History of Beer Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 1-20 Aug, not 12, £free Fight Night HHH Traverse Theatre, 2 Aug, £19 Risk Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 21-25 Aug, £free Shakesperience Church Hill Theatre, 9 Aug, £5
Gym Party HHH Summerhall, 12-25 Aug, £10 ❤ Grounded HHHHH Traverse Theatre, 9 Aug, 15 Aug, 21 Aug, £17 – £19 Holes by Tom Basden HHH Assembly George Square, Various dates from 10 Aug to 25 Aug, £20 Sonica Presents Sven Werner’s Tales of Magical Realism Summerhall, 12-25 Aug, not 14, 21, £14 Fight Night HHH Traverse Theatre, 8 Aug, 14 Aug, 20 Aug, 25 Aug, £17 ❤ Quietly HHHH Traverse Theatre, 4 Aug, 10 Aug, 16 Aug, 22 Aug, £17 – £19 Chalk Farm HHH Underbelly, Cowgate, 1-25 Aug, not 13, 19, £6 – £11.50 Executed for Sodomy: the Life Story of Caterina Linck C venues - C nova, 31 Jul - 26 Aug, not 12 Aug, £7.50 – £9.50 Love Struck Central Hall, 10 Aug, 12 Aug, 13 Aug, £7.50 Pint Dreams Pleasance At The Antiquary, 22-25 Aug, £6.50 – £7.50
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theatrelistings ❤ Long Live The Little Knife HHHH Traverse Theatre, 6 Aug, 11 Aug, 17 Aug, 23 Aug, £17 – £19
18:55
Morag and Keats C venues - C nova, 31 Jul - 26 Aug, not 13 Aug, £8.50 – £10.50
The Dumb Waiter New Town Theatre, 2-25 Aug, not 12, 13, £8
Romeo and Juliet The Royal Scots Club, 5-10 Aug, £10
Forest HH Sweet Grassmarket, 1-11 Aug, £7.50
19:00
18:35
First Love Royal Lyceum Theatre, 28 Aug, 31 Aug, £8
Timeline Greenside, 2-10 Aug, £5 – £10
Eh Joe Royal Lyceum Theatre, 29 Aug, £8
Recalculating Spotlites @ The Merchants’ Hall, 12-26 Aug, £8
Embers King’s Theatre, Edinburgh, 24-25 Aug, £10
The Complete History of the BBC (Abridged) Sweet Grassmarket, 12-25 Aug, £7 – £9 On the One Hand HHH Northern Stage at St Stephen’s, 3-24 Aug, not 6, 13, 20, £11 – £14
18:40 Hidden Underbelly, Cowgate, 1-25 Aug, not 14, £6 – £10.50
18:45 Crimes Against Comedy The Edinburgh Dungeon, 2-26 Aug, £10.50 Medea Whitespace, 13-24 Aug, not 19, £8 Next Door Underbelly, Cowgate, 1-25 Aug, not 13, £6 – £10.50 Love Struck Palmerston Place Church, 14-15 Aug, £7.50 In the Kingdom of the Blind Venue 13, 3-24 Aug, not 12, £9 The Peculiar Tale of Pablo Picasso and the Mona Lisa theSpace on Niddry St, 2-24 Aug, £8.50 – £11 (As/Des)cent Sweet Grassmarket, 1-11 Aug, £9 Kiss Me Honey, Honey! Gilded Balloon Teviot, 31 Jul - 26 Aug, not 12 Aug, £8 – £13.50 For the Trumpets Shall Sound C venues - C aquila, 1-17 Aug, £8.50 – £10.50 Katie Mag C venues - C aquila, 18-26 Aug, £8.50 – £10.50 Oh My Irma HHH Hill Street Theatre, 1-25 Aug, not 13, £6 – £11
Inquiry into the Death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ Edinburgh Christadelphian Church, 7-8 Aug, £free Calotype Central Hall, 14-17 Aug, £9 Othello - Two Men Spotlites @ The Merchants’ Hall, 20-24 Aug, £7 Ciara HHH Traverse Theatre, 1 Aug, £13 The Goddess of Walnuts Paradise in The Vault, 3-18 Aug, not 12, £5 – £6 Ulysses HHH Paterson’s Land, 18 Aug, 25 Aug, £16 ‘33 (a Kabarett) Hill Street Theatre, 1-25 Aug, £6 – £12 Lockerbie: Lost Voices Scottish Storytelling Centre, 31 Jul - 26 Aug, not 7 Aug, 14 Aug, 21 Aug, £5 – £10 The Hard Man The Wee Red Bar, 1926 Aug, £8
Wyrd C venues - C nova, 31 Jul - 26 Aug, not 12 Aug, £7.50 – £9.50
The Winter’s Tale theSpace on North Bridge, 3 Aug, 5 Aug, 7 Aug, 9 Aug, £9 Jerry and Tom theSpace on the Mile, 2-24 Aug, not 4, 11, 18, £8 – £10
Sleeping Beauty and the Spinner Church Hill Theatre, 17 Aug, £5
Punk Rock theSpace on the Mile, 12-17 Aug, £8
No Place Like Zoo, 2-26 Aug, not 11, 18, £4 – £9
Black Rubix Theatre Presents: Freddie Starr Ate My Hamster theSpace @ Venue45, Various dates from 13 Aug to 24 Aug, £5
The Wolf and the North Wind: A Contest in the Sky Paradise in The Vault, Various dates from 4 Aug to 26 Aug, £free – £8
Faustus and the Snakes theSpace on the Mile, 19-24 Aug, £9
Questioning Aslan Edinburgh Elim, 16 Aug, 21 Aug, 22 Aug, £11
A Midsummer Night’s Dream theSpace on North Bridge, 2 Aug, 6 Aug, 8 Aug, 10 Aug, £9
Twelfth Night: Unplugged Church Hill Theatre, 7 Aug, £5
The Mad Hatter Bum Party theSpace @ Venue45, Various dates from 12 Aug to 23 Aug, £5 Maddy’s Many Mouths theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 2-10 Aug, not 4, £5 – £8
19:10 A Concrete Jungle Full of Wild Cars theSpace on the Mile, Various dates from 3 Aug to 10 Aug, £4.50 – £8.50
Juliet: A Dialogue About Love C venues - C, 31 Jul 10 Aug, £8.50 – £10.50
Kubrick3 HH Pleasance Courtyard, 31 Jul - 26 Aug, not 13 Aug, £6 – £12.50
A Circus Affair Zoo, 2-10 Aug, £5 – £9
Red Hanrahan theSpace @ Venue45, 2 Aug, 3 Aug, 5 Aug, 6 Aug, 7 Aug, £7 On Hold theSpace on North Bridge, Various dates from 13 Aug to 24 Aug, £6
Masters of Drip The Fiddler’s Elbow, 3-24 Aug, not 7, 13, 21, £free
Vinegar Tom C venues - C nova, 31 Jul - 13 Aug, £9.50 – £11.50
The Last Picasso theSpace @ Symposium Hall, 2-10 Aug, not 4, £5 – £7.50
Gorbella theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 2-10 Aug, not 4, £5 – £7
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Nehru: His Inner Story Paradise in The Vault, Various dates from 3 Aug to 25 Aug, £free – £8
After Ever Happily theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 12-17 Aug, £7
Kafka’s A Report to an Academy Gryphon Venues at the Point Hotel, 5-17 Aug, not 11, £6
I’m With the Band HH Traverse Theatre, 2 Aug, £13
At The Illusionist’s Table The Scotch Malt Whisky Society - 28 Queen Street, 2-24 Aug, not 4, 5, 10, 11, 12, 18, 19, £49
19:05
The Bridge That Tom Built C venues - C nova, 14-26 Aug, £8.50 – £10.50
Sonica Presents Sven Werner’s Tales of Magical Realism Summerhall, 12-25 Aug, not 14, 21, £14
19:15
Chariot Edinburgh Elim, Various dates from 13 Aug to 24 Aug, £11 Sappho ... in 9 Fragments theSpace @ Venue45, 8-10 Aug, £12
19:20 What Where / Footfalls / Come and Go The Hub, 31 Aug, £4 Daughters theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 19-24 Aug, £8 The Fabric of Heaven Church Hill Theatre, 21 Aug, £5 The Epicene Butcher and Other Stories for Consenting Adults HHH Assembly George Square, 1-26 Aug, not 12, £10 – £13 The Yellow Boat Church Hill Theatre, 8 Aug, £5
19:25 The Revenge of the Gargantuan Poo Monster Greenside, 2-17 Aug, not 11, £5
19:30 The Tragedy of Coriolanus The Edinburgh Playhouse, 20-21 Aug, £10 ❤ Hamlet HHHH Royal Lyceum Theatre, 10-13 Aug, £10
All That Fall The Hub, 25-26 Aug, £15 Chris Dugdale - Magic and Mischief! Assembly George Square, 31 Jul - 26 Aug, not 12 Aug, 19 Aug, £6 – £12 Good Things by Liz Lochhead St Serf’s Church Hall, 3-16 Aug, not 4, 11, £9 Hamlette Church Hill Theatre, 6 Aug, £5 Notes from Bermondsey Street C venues - C, 19-26 Aug, £8.50 – £10.50 Sailor Beware Saughtonhall United Reformed Church, 5-10 Aug, £7 South African Delights Sweet Grassmarket, 18-22 Aug, £8.50 Speak Truth to Power Church Hill Theatre, 19 Aug, £5 The Tea Diaries Arthur Conan Doyle Centre, 2-3 Aug, £8 Silence in Court New Town Theatre, 2-25 Aug, not 18, £10 – £12.50 Shattered! Cafe Camino, 3-24 Aug, not 6, 13, 20, £free The Edinburgh Literary Pub Tour Outside the Beehive Inn, 29 Jul - 1 Sep, £14 The Ghost of Twin Oaks Church Hill Theatre, 5 Aug, 9 Aug, £5 ¡Bocón! Church Hill Theatre, 18 Aug, £5 Whatever Gets You Through the Night The Queen’s Hall, 20 Aug, 23 Aug, £13.50 – £16.50 Dying On Stage Lauriston Halls, 13-17 Aug, £5 Pre:View Traverse Theatre, 12 Aug, 19 Aug, £6.50 Titus Andronicus: An All-female Production HHH Bedlam Theatre, 2-24 Aug, £7 – £9 David Copperfield St Ninian’s Hall, 5-17 Aug, not 11, 15, £12 Free Money Magic Show Laughing Horse @ The Newsroom, 1-25 Aug, not 5, 12, 19, £free Oresteia C venues - C, 31 Jul 17 Aug, £9.50 – £11.50 Don Quijote Summerhall, 20 Aug, 22 Aug, 23 Aug, £12
Sonica Presents Sven Werner’s Tales of Magical Realism Summerhall, 12-25 Aug, not 14, 21, £14 All Roads Lead to Rome Pleasance Hunt and Darton Cafe, 2-25 Aug, not 5, 12, 19, £2.50 – £5 Come Blow Your Horn Murrayfield Parish Church Centre, 7-17 Aug, not 11, £10.50 Phone Whore: A One Act Play With Frequent Interruptions Laughing Horse @ The Phoenix, 1-25 Aug, £free The Bacchae Holyrood Park Information Lodge, 22-24 Aug, £free Times Square Tourist theSpace @ Jury’s Inn, 2-24 Aug, not 4, 11, 18, £5 The Diary of Anne Frank Duddingston Kirk Manse Garden, 7-25 Aug, not 12, 13, 19, 20, £10 ❤ The Radicalisation of Bradley Manning HHHH Pleasance At St Thomas of Aquin’s High School, 6-25 Aug, not 7, 11, 14, 21, £10 – £14
19:35 Eve: A Balancing Act Spotlites @ The Merchants’ Hall, 11-17 Aug, £8.50 Look Back in Anger Greenside, 12-17 Aug, £9 Bin Laden: The One Man Show C venues - C nova, 31 Jul - 26 Aug, not 13 Aug, £9.50 – £11.50 Barry Brennan’s Bi-Monthly Dungeons and Dragons Sessions – A Geek Tragedy Spotlites @ The Merchants’ Hall, 3-10 Aug, £8
19:40 Agamemnon Greenside, 19-24 Aug, £6.50 Two is the Beginning of the End Sweet Grassmarket, 19-25 Aug, £8.50 We, Object theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 2-24 Aug, not 11, 20, £5 – £10 Your Problem With Men Greenside, 19-24 Aug, £15
August 20 – 26 | edinburgh festival guide 2013 fest 95
theatrelistings Wonders of Magic HH Spotlites @ The Merchants’ Hall, 13-16 Aug, £12
Histoire d’amour HH King’s Theatre, Edinburgh, 15-17 Aug, £12
Creaturamia... Spotlites @ The Merchants’ Hall, 21-25 Aug, £10
Good Mourning! VOstBil Institut français d’Ecosse, 13-18 Aug, £10
Brush C venues - C nova, 31 Jul - 26 Aug, not 12 Aug, £7.50 – £9.50
❤ The Events HHHH Traverse Theatre, 3 Aug, £13
19:45 Hatches, Matches and Dispatches Mayfield Salisbury Church, 3-23 Aug, not 4, 5, 10, 11, 12, 17, 18, 19, £10 Graceland Church Hill Theatre, 16 Aug, 20 Aug, £5 ❤ The Bloody Ballad HHHH Assembly Roxy, 31 Jul - 25 Aug, not 12 Aug, 19 Aug, £10 – £14
20:00 An Anonymous Life... and Some Sketches Laughing Horse @ Edinburgh City Football Club, 1-25 Aug, £free Faulty Towers The Dining Experience B’est Restaurant, 1-27 Aug, not 2, 3, 9, 10, 16, 17, 23, 24, £46.50 Sonica Presents Sven Werner’s Tales of Magical Realism Summerhall, 12-25 Aug, not 14, 21, £14 Original Sin/PBH’s Free Fringe Cowgatehead, 19-25 Aug, £free Touched... Like a Virgin Le Monde, 15-25 Aug, not 17, 24, £10 Motherland Summerhall, 19 Aug, 20 Aug, 22 Aug, £12 ❤ Our Glass House HHHH Summerhall, 13-25 Aug, not 19, £free The Tin Ring Summerhall, 2-25 Aug, £14 Metamorphosis HH King’s Theatre, Edinburgh, 10-11 Aug, £12 On Behalf of Nature HH Royal Lyceum Theatre, 16-17 Aug, £10 Leaving Planet Earth H Edinburgh International Conference Centre, 10-24 Aug, not 13, 20, £12.50
❤ Solfatara HHHH Summerhall, 2-25 Aug, not 8, 15, 22, £8 SingleMarriedGirl theSpace on North Bridge, 2-24 Aug, not 4, 11, 18, £6 – £10 The Devil and Billy Markham Royal Over-Seas League, 15-16 Aug, £10 Feral HHH Summerhall, 2-25 Aug, not 13, 20, £9
20:05
Donal O’Kelly’s Brace - Fionnuala and Skeffy Hill Street Theatre, 1-25 Aug, £6 – £12
Kiss, Cuddle, Torture Just Festival at St John’s, Various dates from 9 Aug to 23 Aug, £10
The High-Schooler’s Guide to the Galaxy Church Hill Theatre, 5 Aug, £5
Pugni Di Zolfo (Fists of Sulfur) – History of Caruso Zoo Southside, 2-26 Aug, not 12, 21, £5 – £8
Cinderella Lives! Venue 13, 3-24 Aug, not 12, £8 The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Abridged Church Hill Theatre, 18 Aug, £5 Pandora’s Box Church Hill Theatre, 8 Aug, £5 The Imaginary Invalid Church Hill Theatre, 20 Aug, £5 Fanny Whittington Gryphon Venues at the Point Hotel, 12-24 Aug, not 18, £7
20:20
The Ants Pilrig Studio, 5 Aug, £5 ❤ The Bunker Trilogy: Agamemnon HHHH C venues - C nova, 31 Jul - 26 Aug, £11.50 – £13.50 Fight Night HHH Traverse Theatre, 3 Aug, £19 I’m With the Band HH Traverse Theatre, 6 Aug, 11 Aug, 17 Aug, 23 Aug, £18 – £20 Italia ‘n’ Caledonia Valvona & Crolla, 17 Aug, 21 Aug, £12
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest theSpace on Niddry St, 2-24 Aug, £8.50 – £11
Paradise Zoo, Various dates from 3 Aug to 25 Aug, £5 – £8
Strangeways theSpace on North Bridge, 12-24 Aug, not 18, £7.50
In Real Life (IRL) theSpace @ Jury’s Inn, 2-24 Aug, not 4, 11, 18, £5 – £8
Waiting for Godot The Hub, 31 Aug, £4
A Conversation With My Father Northern Stage at St Stephen’s, 14-24 Aug, not 20, £8 – £11
The Penelopiad Pilrig Studio, 7 Aug, £5
Serotonin Syndrome Gryphon Venues at the Point Hotel, 2-17 Aug, not 5, 11, 12, £5 – £8
Diary of a Madman Quaker Meeting House, 5-17 Aug, not 11, £8 – £9.50
❤ The Events HHHH Traverse Theatre, 8 Aug, 14 Aug, 20 Aug, 25 Aug, £18
Comedy, Evolved theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 12-24 Aug, not 18, £12
The Exception and the Rule theSpace on the Mile, 2-10 Aug, not 4, £3 – £7
Pole Factor theSpace on the Mile, 12-24 Aug, not 18, £8
❤ Captain Amazing HHHHH Northern Stage at St Stephen’s, 3-12 Aug, not 6, £8 – £11 Comedy, Evolved theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 5-10 Aug, £8 Missing Underbelly, Cowgate, 1-25 Aug, not 12, £6 – £10.50
20:10 Dirty Water theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 2-24 Aug, not 4, 11, 12, 18, £8 A Note of Dischord theSpace @ Venue45, 12-17 Aug, £7
20:15 A Play With Words and Blind Love Pilrig Studio, 6 Aug, £5 Captain Morgan and the Sands of Time The Fiddler’s Elbow, 3-24 Aug, not 14, £free Circle Game Church Hill Theatre, 16 Aug, £5
Higgs Summerhall, 2-17 Aug, not 5, 12, £10 4.48 Psychosis C venues - C nova, 14-26 Aug, £8.50 – £10.50 Globophobia Sweet Grassmarket, 1-25 Aug, £5 – £8
20:25 Cherry On Top C venues - C, 31 Jul 10 Aug, £8.50 – £10.50 Entertaining Mr Orton C venues - C, 11-17 Aug, £9.50 – £11.50
20:30
❤ Anna HHHH Summerhall, 2-25 Aug, not 12, £10 God of Carnage The Royal Scots Club, 12-17 Aug, £12 ❤ Long Live The Little Knife HHHH Traverse Theatre, 7 Aug, 13 Aug, 18 Aug, 24 Aug, £17 – £19 Singin I’m No a Billy He’s a Tim Just Festival at St John’s, Various dates from 2 Aug to 24 Aug, £12 The Secret Agent HH Traverse Theatre, 10 Aug, 16 Aug, 22 Aug, £18 – £20
A Funny Valentine Valvona & Crolla, 5 Aug, 7 Aug, 8 Aug, 13 Aug, 19 Aug, £12
The Project Zoo, Various dates from 2 Aug to 26 Aug, £5 – £8
Creepie Stool Just Festival at St John’s, Various dates from 16 Aug to 26 Aug, £10
20:35 Fast Film Noir theSpace @ Venue45, 2-10 Aug, not 4, £9
96 fest edinburgh festival guide 2013 | August 20 – 26
Metamorphosis Spotlites @ The Merchants’ Hall, 1-10 Aug, £7.50 Running With the Firm Zoo Southside, 2-26 Aug, £7 – £10 H to He (I’m Turning Into a Man) Hill Street Theatre, 1-25 Aug, not 13, £6 – £12
20:40 Titus Andronicus theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 2-24 Aug, not 4, 11, 18, £12 The Fantasist Underbelly, Bristo Square, 21-26 Aug, £11 – £12 The Worst of Scottee Assembly George Square, 1-24 Aug, not 4, 5, 11, 12, 18, 19, £12 Substance C venues - C nova, 31 Jul - 26 Aug, £8.50 – £10.50
20:45
21:00 I’ll Go On Royal Lyceum Theatre, 25 Aug, 26 Aug, 28 Aug, 31 Aug, £8 First Love Royal Lyceum Theatre, 29-30 Aug, £8 Eh Joe Royal Lyceum Theatre, 23 Aug, 27 Aug, £8 ❤ Have I No Mouth HHHH Traverse Theatre, 8 Aug, 14 Aug, 20 Aug, £17 Popaganda Pleasance Hunt and Darton Cafe, 2-25 Aug, not 5, 12, 19, £2.50 – £5 Bedding Out Pleasance Hunt and Darton Cafe, 9 Aug, £free Ciara HHH Traverse Theatre, 7 Aug, 13 Aug, 18 Aug, 24 Aug, £18 – £20 Penthesilea Sweet Grassmarket, 1-25 Aug, £10 Riding the Midnight Express with Billy Hayes Gilded Balloon Teviot, 23-25 Aug, £15
❤ Have I No Mouth HHHH Traverse Theatre, 2 Aug, £19 Six Characters in Search of an Author C venues - C, 31 Jul 17 Aug, £9.50 – £11.50 ❤ Long Live The Little Knife HHHH Traverse Theatre, 1 Aug, £12 Cadre HHH Traverse Theatre, 4 Aug, £18
Cadre HHH Traverse Theatre, 9 Aug, 15 Aug, 21 Aug, £18 – £20 Fade Bedlam Theatre, 2-24 Aug, £5 – £8 ❤ Grounded HHHHH Traverse Theatre, 4 Aug, £17 The Crawl Frankenstein Pub, 2-16 Aug, not 4, 11, £8.50
Kabul HH Venue150 @ EICC, 4-24 Aug, £12 Unrequited Greenside, 2-10 Aug, £5 – £5.50 Agnes of God The Royal Scots Club, 5-10 Aug, £10 Fight Night HHH Traverse Theatre, 9 Aug, 15 Aug, 21 Aug, £17 – £19
The Man Who Thought the Moon Would Fall Out of the Sky Northern Stage at St Stephen’s, 20 Aug, £14 Biding Time (remix) Summerhall, 4 Aug, 11 Aug, 12 Aug, £12 Boys C venues - C aquila, 1-26 Aug, not 12, £8.50 – £10.50
20:50 After What Comes Before Greenside, 2-24 Aug, not 11, 18, £6 – £8 The Break-Up of Cause and Effect C venues - C nova, 31 Jul - 26 Aug, not 12 Aug, £8.50 – £10.50
❤ Quietly HHHH Traverse Theatre, 6 Aug, 11 Aug, 17 Aug, 23 Aug, £17 – £19 Squally Showers HHH Zoo Southside, 2-24 Aug, not 4, 11, 18, £12 Bring the Happy Live Meeting Point - Forest Fringe @ The Drill Hall, 19-23 Aug, £10
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theatrelistings 21:05 Safe theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 12-17 Aug, £10 The Vacuum Cleaner theSpace on North Bridge, 12-24 Aug, not 18, £8 Project Lolita theSpace on the Mile, 12-24 Aug, not 18, £8 The Cherry Orchard C venues - C aquila, 1-17 Aug, £8.50 – £10.50 Vessel theSpace on North Bridge, 2-24 Aug, not 11, 18, £5 – £9
21:10 Life Sentence theSpace on the Mile, 2-17 Aug, not 4, 11, £4 – £8 On Hold theSpace on North Bridge, 3 Aug, 6 Aug, 8 Aug, 10 Aug, £5 – £6 The Givers theSpace on the Mile, 19-24 Aug, £5 – £8
21:15 ❤ Grounded HHHHH Traverse Theatre, 10 Aug, 16 Aug, 22 Aug, £17 – £19 Midsummer/Jersey Church Hill Theatre, 18 Aug, £5
21:25 ❤ Fleabag HHHHH Underbelly, Cowgate, 1-25 Aug, not 13, £6 – £10.50 Dirty Laundry Underbelly, Cowgate, 1-25 Aug, not 13, £6 – £10.50 Bluebeard theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 2-17 Aug, not 4, 11, £4 – £8.50
21:30 Mejnun theSpace @ Symposium Hall, 19-24 Aug, £6 – £8 The Witness Venue 13, Various dates from 10 Aug to 17 Aug, £8
A View from the Bridge Zoo, 2-16 Aug, £5 – £9
❤ Have I No Mouth HHHH Traverse Theatre, 25 Aug, £17
Rodney & Julie J theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 2-10 Aug, not 4, £5 – £6
The Medicine Showdown Church Hill Theatre, 8 Aug, £5
This Is My Box Sweet Grassmarket, 1-18 Aug, £8.50 Billy With His Boots On Zoo, 18-26 Aug, £10 7-tik 3 Spotlites @ The Merchants’ Hall, 19-26 Aug, £5
The Brothers’ Grimm Spectaculathon Church Hill Theatre, 6 Aug, £5
21:40
Beyond Therapy theSpace on the Mile, 2-10 Aug, not 4, £7
(As/Des)cent Sweet Grassmarket, 19-25 Aug, £9
The Making of Something Awesome Church Hill Theatre, 17 Aug, £5
Two Spotlites @ The Merchants’ Hall, 1-14 Aug, £8.50
Bonk! theSpace @ Jury’s Inn, 2-24 Aug, not 4, 11, 18, £7 – £8
Kindred Greenside, 2-10 Aug, £7
The Phantom of the Fringe Spotlites @ The Merchants’ Hall, 1-26 Aug, £7
Red Noses theSpace @ Venue45, 6-10 Aug, £5 – £9
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Bent C venues - C too, 11-17 Aug, £9.50 – £11.50
22:15 Super Tuesday theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 20-24 Aug, £8
Dear Friend, Greenside, 19-24 Aug, £7
22:00
It Goes Without Saying Hill Street Theatre, 1-25 Aug, not 13, £6 – £12
Hooked HHH Sweet Grassmarket, 1-25 Aug, not 7, 14, 21, £8 Whatever Gets You Through the Night The Queen’s Hall, 20-25 Aug, £13.50 – £16.50 Boredom Pleasance Hunt and Darton Cafe, Various dates from 3 Aug to 24 Aug, £5
Your Problem With Men Greenside, 12-17 Aug, £10 Boris & Sergey II Perilous Escapade HH Pleasance Courtyard, 31 Jul - 26 Aug, not 13 Aug, 21 Aug, £6 – £11
23:15 Brand New Ancients Traverse Theatre, 20 Aug, 22 Aug, 23 Aug, 24 Aug, 25 Aug, £18 – £20
23:20 ❤ Tourniquet 2013 HHHH Summerhall, 2-25 Aug, not 7, 12, 19, £6 – £12
23:30
Miles & Coltrane Blue: (.) C venues - C, 3-26 Aug, £9.50 – £11.50
Gabe Day theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 2-17 Aug, not 4, 11, £4 – £8.50
Brand New Ancients Traverse Theatre, 2122 Aug, £18
Shakesperience Church Hill Theatre, 7 Aug, £5
Midnight at the Rue Morgue: The Madness of Edgar Allan Poe SpaceCabaret @ 54, 2-24 Aug, not 11, £10
❤ Beats by Kieran Hurley HHHH Pleasance Courtyard, 2-11 Aug, £9.50 – £13.50
❤ The Bloody Great Border Ballad Project HHHH Northern Stage at St Stephen’s, 3-24 Aug, not 6, 13, 20, £11 – £14
Forever 27 New Town Bar, 4-15 Aug, not 9, 10, £7
23:10
Séance Sweet Grassmarket, 16 Aug, 23 Aug, £10
Water Stain Venue150 @ EICC, 4-22 Aug, £12
Boris & Sergey’s Vaudevillian Adventure Underbelly, Bristo Square, 31 Jul - 26 Aug, not 13 Aug, £7 – £14
The Seer Underbelly, Cowgate, 1-25 Aug, not 13, £6 – £10.50
Timeline Greenside, 12-17 Aug, £10
22:40
22:20
The Bunker Trilogy: Macbeth C venues - C nova, 31 Jul - 26 Aug, £11.50 – £13.50
Buzzcut Pleasance Hunt and Darton Cafe, Various dates from 2 Aug to 25 Aug, £free
23:05
Engels! The Karl Marx Story theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 13-17 Aug, £7
Rabbit Hole Church Hill Theatre, 5 Aug, £5
Red Riding Hood Greenside, 5-24 Aug, not 11, 18, £7.50
22:30 Party Piece Bedlam Theatre, 2-24 Aug, not 12, £5 – £8
The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Abridged Church Hill Theatre, 16 Aug, £5
Argonautika Church Hill Theatre, 6 Aug, £5
Dark Matter Summerhall, 15-24 Aug, not 18, £12
22:05
Macbeth theSpace on the Mile, 2-17 Aug, not 4, 11, £5 – £8 A Marriage Proposal C venues - C too, 9-10 Aug, £10.50
21:55
33 HH Zoo, 2-17 Aug, £9
21:35
Nothing to Be Done theSpace on North Bridge, 19-24 Aug, £8
She Dances With Fate New Town Theatre, 1-25 Aug, £11
League of St George C venues - C nova, 31 Jul - 26 Aug, not 13 Aug, £8.50 – £10.50
In Tune With Dementia theSpace on North Bridge, 2-10 Aug, not 4, £5 – £8
22:10
Overcoat C venues - C, 31 Jul - 17 Aug, not 7 Aug, £9.50 – £11.50
❤ Squidboy HHHH Assembly Roxy, 31 Jul - 26 Aug, not 13 Aug, 20 Aug, £6 – £10
In Tune With Dementia theSpace on the Mile, 12-17 Aug, £8
War of the Waleses theSpace @ Venue45, 12-24 Aug, not 18, £7 – £9
The State vs John Hayes C venues - C nova, 31 Jul - 26 Aug, not 12 Aug, £8.50 – £10.50
Loving Dick The Fiddler’s Elbow, 3-24 Aug, not 13, £free
Shadows Church Hill Theatre, 16 Aug, £5
21:20
21:50
Can’t Buy Me Love Greenside, 12 Aug, 13 Aug, 15 Aug, 16 Aug, 17 Aug, £7
The Ballad of Agnes Bean theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 12-24 Aug, not 18, £8
The Rimers of Eldritch Church Hill Theatre, 7 Aug, £5
21:45 Where Late the Sweet Birds Sang Gryphon Venues at the Point Hotel, 5-24 Aug, not 11, 18, £10
The Mid-Knight Cowboy C venues - C nova, 31 Jul - 10 Aug, £8.50 – £10.50 Angels in America, Part One: Millennium Approaches C venues - C aquila, 11-17 Aug, £9.50 – £11.50
22:25 Head Over Heels Church Hill Theatre, 8 Aug, £5
22:45 Novemberunderground Underbelly, Cowgate, 1-25 Aug, not 12, £6 – £10.50 Real Horror Show Assembly Roxy, 1-26 Aug, not 13, £10 – £13 Jekyll & Hyde HH Assembly Roxy, 31 Jul - 25 Aug, not 13 Aug, £6 – £12
23:00 Dog Sees God The Outhouse, 7-10 Aug, £8 Cartwheels C venues - C nova, 31 Jul - 26 Aug, not 12 Aug, £7.50 – £9.50 Funeral Replacement Service Necrobus, 1-26 Aug, £5 – £7.50
Dinner is Swerved HHH C venues - C nova, 3-25 Aug, not 7, 12, 13, 14, 19, 20, 21, £14.50 – £16.50
23:45 [Life] - An Everyman’s Tale Laughing Horse @ Jekyll & Hyde, 4-17 Aug, £free
23:59 The Trial Just The Tonic at the Caves, 7-11 Aug, £10
00:30 Funeral Replacement Service Necrobus, 6-27 Aug, £7.50
01:15 Vanity Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 13-26 Aug, £free
August August20 20––26 26 || edinburgh edinburghfestival festivalguide guide2013 2013 fest fest 97
The Fest Guide to…
Getting started in the Media Photos: Shona Wass
It is no secret that arts journalism is dominated by the privileged, and nowhere is this more apparent than at the Fringe. This year Fest has teamed up with The Princes Trust to help deliver Get Started in Media, a four-week course that aimed to give 13 unemployed young people from Edinburgh a taste of life working in the festival media. From reviewing masterclasses to filming video vox-pops to Q&A sessions with experienced journalists, the budding journalists have been given a hands-on insight into the chaotic but exciting life of the festival media.
Students researching Q&A with broadcast media journalists Graeme Virtue (freelance), Emma Ailes (BBC Scotland) and Gordon Chree (STV)
98 fest edinburgh festival guide 2013 | August 20 – 26
Students getting reviewing tips from former Sunday Herald Arts Correspondent Edd McCracken
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‘He performs with remarkable poise, scoring plenty of hits. A great entertainer.’
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100 fest edinburgh festival guide 2013 | August 20 – 26
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