Edinburgh Festivals Magazine 2018

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YOUR ESSENTIAL FESTIVAL GUIDE

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EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEWS

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EDINBURGH FESTIVALS 2018

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FOOD and Fun We've got it coVeRed.

Right in the heart of the festival action, between Princes Street and Waverley Station, you’ll find a great collection of stores selling fashion, beauty and festival essentials, as well as lots of places to eat and drink.

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EDFESTMAG.COM CONTENTS

What’s Inside 36

46

COMEDY 24 NINA CONTI

Turns to the furry side 46 LUISA OMIELAN

Gets down to business 48 JAMALI MADDIX

Is he a saint or sinner?

67 KIRI PRITCHARD McLEAN

Puts gaslighting under the

spotlight 79 JAYDE ADAMS

Bristol's next gay icon 82 ONES TO WATCH

Meet our predictions for the

next big thing 86 LOST VOICE GUY

Smiles via synthesiser 91 MR SWALLOW

On breaking Hollywood 183 COMEDY GUIDE

Our top 55 stand-ups

88

“Time for jokes, songs, and fabulous gowns”

80

JAYDE ADAMS, PAGE 79

DANCE

THEATRE 22 JULIE HESMONDHALGH

The Corrie star talks theatre 26 NIGEL SLATER

His biography hits the stage 30 ROBERT BATHURST

Gets poetic in this new play 38 PETER BROOK

Explores the power of fable 45 SU POLLARD

Says bye bye Birdie in Harpy 51 CORA BISSETT

Her teenage rock'n'roll dream 68 HOME

What makes a house a home?

73 FRANK SKINNER

Puts pen to paper 80 UNDERGROUND RAILROAD

GAME

Playing the race card 168 THEATRE GUIDE

Our top 65 shows

44

34 WAYNE McGREGOR

Written on the body 70 AKRAM KHAN

His swansong performance 180 DANCE GUIDE

Our top 20 dance shows

CABARET & CIRCUS 29

36

88

92

MAUREEN LIPMAN Gets straight to the point COURTNEY ACT The CBB winner's reality TV takeover CABARET & DRAG Get your glitter on CIRCUS GUIDE Defying gravity

98

MUSIC 20 PALOMA FAITH

Her message for change 94 PUSSY RIOT

On punk, protest and Putin 96 KEYON HARROLD

On jazz and activism 98 THE BEGGAR'S OPERA

Opera for the musical theatre fan 164 MUSIC GUIDE

Our top 30 music events

88

60 MIN

ALL TH E LI G HTS ARE O N S U M M E R H A LL

TH E ARTI ST

55 MIN

C I R C O A E R E O A N D TH O M M O N C K TO N

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AU G U S T 1 - 27

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EDFESTMAG.COM CONTENTS

52

121

94

ART

FOOD

114 JENNY SAVILLE

Looks back at her retrospective 117 ORSON WELLES

Mark Cousins reflects on the

director's sketches 160 ART GUIDE

The best of the Art Festival

118

121

BOOKS

CHILDREN 111

113

177

33 RUTH JONES Creates the new rom-com

101 JIM BROADBENT

The actor's dark inspirations 103 GREG WISE

Pays tribute to his sister 166 BOOK GUIDE

Catch the reading bug

DICK & DOM Pick your side DAVID BADDIEL Turns to the wild side KIDS GUIDE The 30 best shows for the youngest audience members

74

111 18

FOODIES FESTIVAL A feasting extravaganza RESTAURANT GUIDE Take a tasting tour of the city

REGULARS

101

18 DIARY DATES

You don't want to miss these 40 A TO Z

The full spectrum of the Festival 52 FESTIVAL FAVOURITES

The acts that keep us coming

back for more 74 AWARD WINNERS

Last year's champions return 194 MY EDINBURGH

Comic Zoe Lyons looks forward

to the Fringe

118

CITY GUIDE 155 www.edfestmag.com

159

105 21 THINGS TO DO

Take a break from the Festival 155 SHOPPING

Fringe-ready day to night looks 159 SPA GUIDE

Spa solutions for every woe EDINBURGH FESTIVALS 2018

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Don’t forget to bsite check our we g.com a www.edfestm ws for daily revie

Bold at heart W

“

OMEN are, unarguably, the MVPs of this year's Fringe: funny women, powerful women, inspiring women, talented women. And in the year of #MeToo, we say it's about time.

Edinburgh in August is a time to be daring, and that's just what our cover star Paloma Faith is doing, using her platform to shout out a message of charity and kindness.

Comedian Luisa Omielan also has something to say and a challenge to set, evolving from party girl to political queen as she confronts government cuts to the NHS with no mercy.

Famed ventrilioquist Nina Conti is changing up her image too as she waves goodbye to the naive Nina of the Noughties, pulls on the mask of Monkey, and lets the real Nina rip. Maureen Lipman, true to form, is taking no prisoners as she returns to the Fringe after 50 years, while Kiri Pritchard-McLean lifts the taboo on gaslighting.

Of course, glass ceilings aren't broken without a little bravery. Coronation Street fan favourite Julie Hesmondhalgh lets her true self shine after leaving the Street for the stage, Ruth Jones expands her talents into the literary world, and Hi-de-Hi!'s Su Pollard challenges herself with a meaty dramatic role. Meanwhile, Celebrity Big Brother winner Courtney Act continues her mission to destroy the gender barrier as the queen of reality TV. That's not to say that the men aren't holding their own, though. At 93, theatre legend Peter Brook returns with a brand new play, while Cold Feet's Robert Bathurst takes on the role of the poet in a verse comedy twohander, and chef Nigel Slater gets emotional as his biography, Toast, makes the move to the stage. Plus, famed choreographer Wayne McGregor merges dance with science in a unique and progressive piece inspired by the human genome.

With the spirit of the Fringe as your guide, stride boldly into the creative paradise of the Festival and let yourself free in a world of new experiences.

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Rob Adams, Gayle Anderson, Kelly Apter, Stephen Armstrong, Dominic Cavendish, Kate Copstick, Andrew Dickson, Mark Fisher, Lyn Gardner, Chiara Margiotta, Craig McLean, Jay Richardson, Sanjoy Roy, Fiona Shepherd, Claire Smith

Festival Fringe 3rd - 27th August Box Office: 180 High Street Tel: 0131 226 0000 Web: edfringe.com International Festival 3rd - 27th August Box Office: The Hub, Castlehill Tel: 0131 473 2000 Web: eif.co.uk International Book Festival 11th - 27th August Box Office: 5 Charlotte Square Tel: 0345 373 5888 Web: edbookfest.co.uk Jazz and Blues Festival 13th - 22rd July Box Office: The Hub, Castlehill Tel: 0131 473 2000 Web: edinburghjazzfestival.com Edinburgh Military Tattoo 3rd - 25th August Box Office: 1-3 Cockburn Street Tel: 0131 225 1188 Web: edintattoo.co.uk

BEST OF COMEDY MUSIC THEATRE BOOKS DANCE ART

COMEDY DANCE THEATRE CIRCUS CABARET BOOKS MUSIC ART KIDS REGINALD

D HUNTER

NINA CONTI

SUMMER 2018

NIGEL SLATER

YOUR ESSENTIAL FESTIVAL GUIDE

MAUREEN LIPMAN SPEAKS HER MIND

ALL HAIL THE QUEEN

100

STAND-UP STARS LUISA OMIELAN CAUSING TROUBLE

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEWS

RUTH JONES

CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER Idil Sukan

ROBERT BATHURST

GETTING LIPPY

COURTNEY ACT

GAVIN & STACEY STAR EDINBURGH FESTIVALS SUMMER 2018

EDITORIAL Editor Sue Hitchen Deputy Editor & Website Editor Chiara Margiotta Art Director Vicky Axelson Production Sarah Hitchen Sub Editor Caroline Whitham Editorial Assistants Emily J. Hall & Grace Balfour-Harle Advertising Design Stephanie Finlay

HOW TO BOOK

PALOMA FAITH

BARES HER SOUL

PETER BROOK JIM BROADBENT JENNY SAVILLE WAYNE MCGREGOR

200

Foodies Festival Edinburgh 3rd - 5th August Inverleith Park Tel: 0844 995 1111 Web: foodiesfestival.com

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Edinburgh Art Festival 26th July - 26th August Box Office: W. Parliament Square Tel: 0131 226 6558 Web: edinburghartfestival.com

28/06/2018 12:25

SALES MANAGER Erin Culley

Edinburgh Mela Festival 1st -2nd September Leith Links Tel: 0131 661 7100 Web: edinburgh-mela.co.uk

Front cover image: Paloma Faith by Ben Riggott/Corbis via Getty Edinburgh Festivals Issue 1 6 Published annually by The Media Company Publications Ltd, 26a St Andrews Square, Edinburgh EH2 1AF www.edfestmag.com Printed by Buxton Press. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or part without permission is strictly forbidden.

All prices and offers correct at time of going to press but subject to change. ISSN 1478-9078

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A D F C O N C E RT S P R ES E N TAT I O N

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DIARY DATES EDFESTMAG.COM

Get your diary out, we've got magical moments and unmissable events for every single day of the Festival 3 AUGUST Tape Facebook Live!

Pleasance Dome The gaffer-faced clown pits top Fringe acts against a global audience.

4 AUGUST Kathy Lette's Girl Talk Underbelly George Square Kathy Lette is whole-heartedly honest on anything and everything.

10 AUGUST

5 AUGUST Julia Donaldson Underbelly George Square Find out what's going on withThe Gruffalo, the Witch and the Warthog.

6 AUGUST Cold Blood King's Theatre The hands do the talking in this dance piece performed by fingers.

7 AUGUST Limmy's Vines The Stand's New Town Theatre The comedian on his most notorious vines.

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8 AUGUST Russell Howard - Work in Progress Assembly George Square Studios Find out how the Good News comic's latest work is coming along.

9 AUGUST Vertical Influences Assembly at Murrayfield Ice Rink Street dance meets figure skating in this unique icy performance.

Frankie Boyle: Prometheus Vol. 3 Edinburgh Playhouse Boyle is back and as vicious as ever on every topic.

11 AUGUST Harry Hill: Funnyman Baillie Gifford Main Theatre Hill gets real with young comics in his new kids book. www.edfestmag.com

28/06/2018 17:46

EDFESTMAG.COM DIARY DATES

12 AUGUST

18 AUGUST

Claire Sweeney Underbelly McEwan Hall See the theatre diva live in Don't Tell Me Not To Fly.

Dylan Moran: Dr Cosmos The Stand Comedy Club Trademark wit from the BAFTA award winning comedian.

13 AUGUST

19 AUGUST

Underbelly's Big Brain Tumour Benefit Underbelly McEwan Hall Susan Calman hosts the fundraiser.

Ruby Wax Baillie Gifford Main Theatre Wax proves that laughter really is the best medicine.

14 AUGUST

20 AUGUST

Sean Hughes: A Tribute Gilded Balloon Teviot Phill Jupitus pays tribute to his Never Mind the Buzzcocks co-host.

Show & Tell at The Queen's Hall The Queen's Hall A one-off all-star comedy show with The Mash Report's Nish Kumar.

15 AUGUST

21 AUGUST

Rory Bremner & Jan Ravens Underbelly George Square Politics is played for laughs by the UK's top impressionists.

Helen Lederer Asks Why the Fuss?

Laughing Horse @ The Pear Tree The comedian goes chat show host.

16 AUGUST

Jason Donovan and His Amazing Midlife Crisis Assembly George Square Gardens Meet the Jason underneath the technicolour dream coat.

Katherine Ryan Edinburgh Playhouse Ryan returns for one night only.

17 AUGUST Adam Kay: This is Going to Hurt Pleasance at EICC Adam Kay finds comedy in his diaries as a junior doctor.

22 AUGUST

23 AUGUST Starman Assembly Hall The Bowie cabaret gets an encore.

24 AUGUST Reverend Richard Coles: Confessions Edinburgh Playhouse An hour of candid chat from the 80s pop star turned vicar.

25 AUGUST Alan Cumming presents Club Cumming Leith Theatre Get down and dirty as Alan Cumming takes over the decks at the Leith Theatre.

26 AUGUST The Guilty Feminist Underbelly McEwan Hall With over 30 million downloads under her belt, Deborah Frances-White's podcast is the best around.

27 AUGUST Woke Gilded Balloon Teviot Last year, Woke took the Fringe by storm. Don't miss your chance to catch it again.

www.edfestmag.com

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MUSIC PALOMA FAITH

KEEP

Pop diva Paloma Faith is using her platform for progress, promoting charity and change as she performs her new album, The Architect, at the Edinburgh Summer Sessions WORDS FIONA SHEPHERD

P

aloma Faith is remembering the first time she saw activism in action. She was on a childhood trip to Paris, where she was bewitched by a silent street protest.

“I was ten and I couldn’t understand why all these people were laying in the street and blocking the traffic, and my mum said ‘they’re protesting’. That’s all they did and they’d made an impact. It was beautiful.”

Faith is big on beauty. In fact, her debut album, released nine years ago, was titled Do You Want the Truth or Something Beautiful?, full of songs about the romance of illusion. These days, as one of the UK’s most successful and recognisable pop stars, she prefers to confront truth with beauty, using her celebrity to promote causes close to her heart, from child refugee charity War Child to women’s rights organisation Womankind.

For all her star quality, Faith remains a refreshing, relatable character. In recent weeks, she has been paying online tribute to those activists who have gone before, hailing the likes of Annie Lennox and Erykah Badu as #PalomasInspirations. “I’m so happy because Annie Lennox commented on hers – I love her!” she gushes.

In person, Faith is chatty and a bit batty, but with a quirky, unapologetic presence which has made her something of a beacon for the outsider. That’s hardly unusual – pop music in all its flamboyance, from David Bowie to Lady Gaga, has long been a refuge for the weirdo. What was arguably much weirder was her decision to take left-wing political commentator Owen Jones on tour with her as her opening act in 2015.

“It went as expected,” says Faith of Jones’s warm-up pep talk. “People found it challenging, some found it annoying. But it made a statement by default and what was being said was not controversial, it was actually really kind; it was about responsibility to vote and it was about hope. I’m glad I did it and I won’t back down - I think he’s amazing!”

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PALOMA FAITH MUSIC

THE FAITH Jones also appears as a guest on Faith’s current album, The Architect, on a track entitled ‘Politics of Hope’, which gives some indication of how she intends to use her burgeoning fame. Over the past decade, she has evolved into our most colourful home-grown pop diva, complete with a big voice, out-there outfits and a naturally eccentric stage presence.

With a number of chart-topping hits around the world and a Brit Award for Best Female Artist under her belt, Faith was keenly aware that more eyes and ears than ever were trained on her and has responded with a resolutely non-preachy album of commercial pop songs inspired by issues including Brexit, climate change and the refugee crisis. “I was three albums in and I thought it was time to use my platform,” she says.

But there was also a far more personal imperative behind making the most of her privileged position. Faith became a mum in 2016 and has been disarmingly candid about how motherhood has changed her life, challenged her career and impacted on her worldview. She has been deliberately less forthcoming on her child’s name and gender, wanting to preserve their privacy and raise them in a gender-neutral environment. But her child was front and centre in her mind when she was making The Architect.

“On a day-to-day basis you can live more charitably as a person”

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WHERE & WHEN Paloma Faith, Princes Street Gardens, 17 August, 6pm, from £49.50

“I was scared because I was bringing a new person into the world and I knew when they got older they might say to me, ‘what did you do when you were pregnant with me?’ So I wanted to put a message in [the album] about the human qualities that I think are the most valuable - compassion, kindness and empathy. I feel the way the world is at the moment, there is a lack of all those things.

“We live in an age when people are very quick to jump from calm to completely enraged in a second, where it’s socially acceptable to escalate without any kind of diplomacy or measuredness. I do think that rage and anger only fuels the problem.”

Faith says she never did find out what those peaceful Parisians were protesting about, but would love to see something similar on the streets of her native London.

“If you had every single Londoner go out on a march, that would create a massive impact and London would stop functioning because everyone would take the day off work to do it. That’s a gentle protest and it’s so dignified to do those things, like the American football players who bowed the knee when the National Anthem was played [to highlight issues of racial inequality and police brutality in the US].”

So Faith has proposed her own gentle protest, which she is calling Epidemic of

Kindness, effectively a digital age rebranding of the old Random Acts of Kindness initiative where she encourages her fans to affect small changes in their immediate environment. “Some people have been proud to announce very simple things, young kids in particular saying ‘I told my friend “you look nice today” and I don’t normally do that’. Even just the fact that they’re thinking about it is really important.

“I feel like on a day-to-day basis you can live more charitably as a person and I just wanted to provoke that and maybe get people’s thoughts going. It’s not good enough just to give £1 to a homeless person, it’s about changing your view of the way you exist and [the way that] you consider and empathise with other people all the time,” she says. “It’s like a modern idea of charity.”

Really, what Faith is proposing is an older idea of charity, closer to its original meaning of sacrificial love. Her skill is in promoting her passions so persistently without the ego or bombast often associated with artists backing worthy causes. So while fans can certainly expect more engaging chat in this vein among the tunes at her Edinburgh Summer Sessions show in Princes Street Gardens this August, there will be no political support acts and no lectures, just a petite woman with a big heart offering Faith, hope and charity.

EDINBURGH FESTIVALS 2018

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THEATRE JULIE HESMONDHALGH

“Going back to theatre has been lovely. It’s my happy place”

RIGHT UP HER STREET Coronation Street star Julie Hesmondhalgh brings her acting chops to the Traverse in a one-woman play written for her by the man who knows her best – her husband WORDS LYN GARDNER PORTRAIT JAY BROOKS (CAMERA PRESS)

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PHOTOS JONATHAN KEENAN

JULIE HESMONDHALGH THEATRE

I

“Something I thought was dead was only sleeping”

n 2016 Julie Hesmondhalgh’s husband, the writer and actor Ian Kershaw, gave her an unusual and very special Christmas present: a one-woman play.

“I was always telling him he should write something we could do together, something small and low tech that we could tour even when we were in our seventies,” says Hesmondhalgh, whose years in indestructible. Sending them into deepest Coronation Street as Hayley Cropper, space suggests a touching human faith in the first transgender character in a British the idea that perhaps, as Hesmondhalgh soap, and subsequent roles in Happy Valley says, “we are not alone.” That’s one of the and Broadchurch, have made her one of themes of Greatest Play, which begins with TV’s most familiar faces. “I’d noticed that he kept slipping away for an hour here and a man waking up to find the world there, but it was still a lovely surprise.” has stopped.

That Christmas gift, the optimistically If the show’s interest in multiverses owes titled The Greatest Play in the History of something to Nick Payne’s Constellations, the World… is at the Traverse this festival, Hesmondhalgh puts it’s simple storytelling style closer to Daniel Kitson’s intricately directed by Raz Shaw. Reports from a spun tales, and Duncan MacMillan brief try-out at the Royal Exchange in and Johnny Donahoe’s Manchester in 2017 suggest that Hesmondhalgh may Every Brilliant Thing. still be touring this time “I love the fact that it travelling love story set on speaks so directly to the Preston Road when she is audience. For me, theatre is a centenarian. a communal thing. I love that feeling you get (when it’s really The Greatest Play takes working) that we are all in this its inspiration from another together, we are part of this gift, one also made to the Julie with husband instant community which has future. The Golden Records Ian Kershaw been created in this single are two discs that were space.” blasted into space by NASA But for all her love of theatre, in 1977 on the Voyager space probes.

Hesmondhalgh was almost lost to it.

Their intention was to give alien life a sense She adored playing Hayley and couldn’t of what Earth is like. The records include imagine ever leaving Corrie. the sounds of humpback whales and birds, music by Bach and Chuck Berry, “I thought I’d be carried out in a box. greetings in 60 languages and images of The people were brilliant, the writing was people going about their daily lives. beautiful, and it was an acting job that came The records are designed to be with holidays. It was such a great place to be

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as an older actress too. I thought I had lost all ambition to go back to the theatre.”

But she knew Sylvia Lancaster, the mother of Sophie, the young woman kicked to death by a group of teenagers in a Lancashire Park in 2007 simply because, dressed as a goth, she looked different. In 2012, when Manchester’s Royal Exchange decided to stage Simon Armitage’s unbearably moving poetic elegy, Black Roses: The Killing of Sophie Lancaster, Hesmondhalgh knew she couldn’t refuse the role of Sylvia.

While doing the play she realised, “Something I thought was dead in me was only sleeping.” By Christmas she had told Coronation Street she was leaving.

She thought she might never work again, but she has been in demand not just for TV but also at theatres from the Royal Court to the Royal Exchange.

“I think people thought that I’d just go off and do pantomine, but going back to theatre has been lovely. It’s my happy place.”

Not that working with husband Ian on The Greatest Play has been all plain sailing. Hesmondhalgh always reads all of Kershaw’s work, casting herself as her husband’s unofficial script editor.

“I’ve always been his red pen,” she says.

So, as soon as she got into the rehearsal room, she started editing and changing the lines. “Ian and Raz didn’t say anything.

But after a few days I understood that what Ian had written was way better than all my rewrites. They were just waiting quietly for me to realise it myself. The pair of them played me like a violin.”

WHERE & WHEN The Greatest Play in the History of the World…Traverse Theatre, 2-26 August (not 6, 13, 20), times vary, from £13 Tel: 0131 228 1404

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28/06/2018 17:20

COMEDY NINA CONTI

E E S Y E K N MO MONKEY DO Nina Conti pulls on the mask of Monkey in order to lift

L

ike so many things, it all started with Star Wars. Nina Conti – she of the foulmouthed Monkey, demure stage persona and ambitiously intellectual approach to the dark art of ventriloquism – was cast in the recent movie. “I got cut,” she sighs and shrugs.

“I’m probably not even allowed to tell you this, but I met the woman who makes Chewbacca and it got me thinking. Eventually I asked her, “could you make me a monkey suit, that looks exactly like my little puppet, but that I can walk and talk in?” So that was the sensible reason.

The other reason is much darker and deeper.”

Anyone who’s seen Conti’s shows progress over the years might guess at the other reason.

Her 2007 Fringe debut saw her looking pretty, a little bit sexy, delivering well-spoken and charming patter with this fluffy little monkey puppet on her arm that spewed out filth like it was Irvine Welsh having a fight with Gordon Ramsay. Gradually, as the show progressed, Monkey rebelled, slowly taking control of her body, with his muffled voice coming from within, as her naked hand wrestled for control.

For a man like myself who steadfastly refuses to pay to watch juggling, Morris dancing or ventriloquism, this contrast was surprisingly refreshing and very funny.

In later shows, Conti possessed members of the audience, forcing them to say unspeakable things, undermining ventriloquism whilst rejuvenating it. She’s constantly laughing with a slightly manic edge, reminding the audience that this is just an act, but confessing that she has no idea what’s coming next. It’s sharp, clever and funny, but most of all, a bit scary, and that’s where the darkness comes in.

“I’ve become slightly irritated with the constructed

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PHOTOGRAPHY CARLA GULER

Nina who´s alongside Monkey, disingenuously giggling,” she explains.

“There must be a quality of safety I provide the audience – something that makes it palatable – but I’m just a little bored with doing that. My mum always wanted me to curl my hair and put eyeliner on and my dad always wanted me to be a good girl, so I think I syphoned up all the vile thoughts, released it down my arm and it came out in Monkey. Because Monkey is the truer me and I’m vulgar.”

For the show she’s in the Chewbacca-sized monkey suit – which looks exactly the same as her old glove puppet – mixing audience improv with obscene rants. “I’m just like a bloke with a

“Monkey is the truer me and I’m vulgar”

mike. I’m not wearing heels, my feet are flat on the ground and I don’t have to start a shampoo routine at 5am. It is, unexpectedly, a much more feminist issue than I thought it would be.”

Conti’s ultimate deconstruction of ventriloquism might be because she discovered it doing experimental theatre with the late improv genius Ken Campbell after he enticed her into the RSC. Daughter of the actors Tom Conti and Kara Wilson, she fought against her yearning to become an actress for years, studying philosophy and working in publishing.

Then she went to see Campbell doing some one man skits at the National Theatre, “which were taking philosophy and making it funny,” bumped into him in Hampstead, and ended up in the cast of one of his 24-hour plays.

“He was subversive, a real maverick,” she explains. “He didn’t want me being a normal actress at the RSC. One day, he gave me a teach-yourself-ventriloquism kit and wrote a one-woman ventriloquism play for me. Arthur Smith saw it and insisted I enter the Hackney Empire New Act of the Year competition.”

The rest is history. Or evolution. Or possibly devolution, as she returns to the ape within.

And yet Nina still exists – she’s just finished workshopping a play with her dad that’s she’s written about Nina writing a play for her dad.

She’s been through a divorce, has two kids and is finally getting to grips with who she really is.

“I suppose my thing of this innocent girl and this rude puppet really played very well into the noughties idea of how to remain fuckable,” she laughs.

“That was my main thing: jeans hanging off my hips doing this love dance on stage. Now I’m just getting more and more comfortable with the kind of plural aspect of being a person. I promise you – life is much more enjoyable if you don’t worry about being consistent.”

PHOTOGRAPHY IDIL SUKAN (LEFT)

WORDS STEPHEN ARMSTRONG

the mask on the real Nina in her brand new show

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28/06/2018 14:58

NINA CONTI COMEDY

WHERE & WHEN Nina Conti is Monkey, Underbelly McEwan Hall, 1-27 August (not 13), 7pm, from £16 Tel: 0131 510 0395

“

Life is much more enjoyable if you don’t worry about being consistent

“

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“COULD YOU MAKE ME A MONKEY SUIT?” This year, Monkey gets an upgrade from puppet to person

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28/06/2018 14:59

THEATRE NIGEL SLATER’S TOAST

I

WARM AS

TOAST A new stage adaptation of Nigel Slater’s memoir revels in the joy of cooking and the tragedy of a lonely boy who didn’t fit in WORDS LYN GARDNER PHOTO THE OTHER RICHARD

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f there’s one show to make the mouth water in Edinburgh this summer, it’s Nigel Slater’s Toast. Food writer Slater’s delicious and touching memoir of growing up in 1960s suburban England is a bitter-sweet pleasure stuffed with Angel Delight, tinned peach flan, farting jelly and death. It’s been adapted by Henry Filloux-Bennett, whose name makes him sound like a delectable morsel of French patisserie.

Toast is a deceptive book. At first it seems like an exercise in nostalgia but becomes something else: a Proustian journey through food into the dysfunctions and tragedies of one family, seen through the eyes of a timid nine-year-old boy. The prose aches with the hunger of a child who just wants to be loved for what he is, not what a boy growing up in the 1960s is expected to be.

One who is also trying to fill the gnawing hole left by the death of his mother.

Slater has already seen Toast five times, making the journey to Salford when it previewed at the The Lowry in May, and crying at every performance. “I said I wasn’t going to cry, but it gets me every time,” says Slater when we meet for breakfast. “It’s seeing there on stage that shy, fragile little boy who I once was. There are triggers: the last thing my nine-year-old self says to my mother before she dies; watching the scene in which my dad beats me. It makes me so upset.

To see him at the end of his tether with this little boy who was everything he didn’t want his son to be. He wanted a son who would follow in his footsteps and take over running the factory, not one who wanted to bake rock cakes.”

Before Toast, Slater hadn’t been to the theatre for years, but he’s been enchanted by the whole process, if aghast at the fragility of the economics and the brutality of auditions.

“I really hadn’t realised that theatre is held together by string and paper clips,” he says, adding that when he sat in on castings he found it almost painful because “you don’t want anyone not to get the part.” www.edfestmag.com

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NIGEL SLATER’S TOAST THEATRE

But although Toast has been a book, a radio adaptation and a TV film, it almost didn’t make it to the stage. When Filloux-Bennett proposed the project, Slater and his agent said no, unable to imagine how it might work. But Filloux-Bennett was persistent.

“He just kept on coming back,” recalls Slater, “and I become increasingly intrigued at how what is essentially a book of essays about my childhood could become a play.” The first version he saw lasted for three hours, took monologue form, and was, recalls Slater, “pure Alan Bennett.”

Now the play is much shorter and is an ensemble piece, featuring dance, movement and the smell of food drifting across the auditorium.

There may even be some sweet treats for the audience. Slater’s business partner, James Thompson, is credited as the production’s Food Director, a title that Slater says initially stumped Equity.

Because of the previous TV film and radio adaptation, Sam Newton is the fourth actor who Slater has seen playing Nigel.

“They’ve all been very different, and I’ve loved them all, but one of the things I like about Sam’s Nigel is that he captures the steeliness below the fragility of the child.

I grew up terrified of my father.

I discovered much later in life that beneath that fear there was also a strength. Sam shows that it’s there.”

But the hardest and most rewarding thing for Slater is not seeing himself portrayed on stage, but watching Lizzie Muncey playing his mother.

“She captures my mother’s unspoken anxiety about what would happen to me, and her frustration about all the things she couldn’t do with me as a child because of her illness.

The way she had to sit in a chair and couldn’t play. Lizzie reminds me how much my mother loved me, this strange little boy who was a complete and utter mistake.” He pauses and examines the toast crusts he has left uneaten on his plate. “I wish she was here to see this play and see me now. I wish she could see how everything worked out.” www.edfestmag.com

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"I said I wasn’t going to cry, but it gets me every time”

WHERE & WHEN Nigel Slater’s Toast, Traverse Theatre, 7-26 August (not 13, 20), times vary, from £15 Tel: 0131 228 1404

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28/06/2018 17:40 22/06/2018 09:55:53

MAUREEN LIPMAN CABARET

NO LIP SERVICE

M

aureen Lipman can remember her last time on the Fringe, just.

Well, it was 53 years ago.

The year was 1965, and the beloved actress/writer/performer was studying at LAMDA. She took the place of a fellow student, “who got the part in Hair,” and was “the great white hope of the year”.

Limbering up for a return to Edinburgh after more than half a century, she’s been trying to dig up some memories, and some intel, on the play in which she performed, The Burn by Kerry Crabbe.

Alas, “I can only remember that we came out into the audience and I was wearing a turquoise jumpsuit and wiggled all over [late Sunday Times drama critic] Harold Hobson, who of course was totally titillated.

So he gave us three stars, and we became something of a hit.

“Of course, at that time there were about twelve shows in Edinburgh,” she adds, before remembering the cultural cacophony that is the modern Fringe. “I think I’m about to get the shock of my life.”

The 72-year-old, though, is surely unshockable. To paraphrase the title of her new show, Maureen Lipman Is Up For It. That might mean taking Jeremy Corbyn to blistering task for not doing more to rid the Labour Party of anti-Semitism, or counselling caution in what she sees as a post-Harvey Weinstein witch-hunt. She doesn’t approve of reverse-engineered moralising – the idea that we can no longer enjoy the seasons of House of Cards starring Kevin Spacey – and similarly disapproves of the toppling of colonial-era statues.

“We have to put things in context.

We know more now, and we’re a little bit more careful. But there are thought police out there who are stopping anything to do with humour. I can’t tell you the last time I heard a joke. I was thinking about asking the audience to throw me a subject and see if I could make a joke about it. But every joke that I remember will be horribly [politically] incorrect. And the tweets will be out all over Edinburgh,” she shudders.

Lipman, then, readily and refreshingly speaks her mind on most topics.

And, just as eagerly, she’s hoping to reclaim the reputation of the good old-fashioned comedy revue with her new production.

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Maureen Lipman is singing, dancing and laughing her way back to the Fringe 50 years on with her own cabaret revue WORDS CRAIG McLEAN PHOTOGRAPHY JAY BROOKS

“It’s not an Evening With…,” she clarifies, “a name-droppy show about that time I worked with Hugh Jackman. ’Cause I feel I’ve done that. It’s more, ‘what about this, what about that?’”

Onstage she’ll be telling jokes, recounting monologues, singing and quite possibly dancing, in the company of jazz singer Jacqui Dankworth and blues keyboardist/singer Charlie Wood. Nothing is off-limits, she says, as befits an entertainer who’s as joyfully versatile as she is sharply opinionated. True to unfettered Fringe spirit, she adds, “I’m quite happy for anything to happen. As long as it’s not violent.”

“I think I’m about to get the shock of my life” One of her riffs is a semi-comic, semiserious point about the lot of aging actors.

“You get pushed into presentation work,” she says mildly. “So the minute that you’re no longer able to play doctors, detectives or wicked ladies, they say: ‘Oh, would you like to go bobbing about England, pointing at things?’

“And you say, ‘yeah, please!’, because you’re just so grateful to be on the television – and because you don’t watch it any more, you don’t know what it’s like.

So, off you go, and everything you see, you have to take part in.”

So, while we can’t expect a turquoise jumpsuit, we can expect candid, self-deprecating observations from an entertainment legend.

“I know – 53 years!” she exclaims again.

“How can it be that Jack died 14 years ago,” she says of her late husband, the celebrated TV playwright Jack Rosenthal, “or it’s always bloody Christmas, or it’s always Friday night? I don’t get it. Is time really so distorting as you get older?”

Maureen Lipman Is Up For Explaining The Vagaries of Aging? Maybe that’s one for Fringe 2019.

WHERE & WHEN Maureen Lipman Is ‘Up for It’, Assembly George Square Theatre, 1-12 August, 5.45pm, from £13.50 Tel: 0131 623 3030 EDINBURGH FESTIVALS 2018

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THEATRE ROBERT BATHURST

WAXING LYRICAL Cold Feet’s Robert Bathurst is out to lunch in a hilarious new play by poet Christopher Reid WORDS CRAIG McLEAN PHOTOGRAPHY ALEX BRENNER

I

t’s a rare morning off for Robert Bathurst – rare because the intense, four-month shoot for the latest series of rebooted TV drama Cold Feet is hurtling towards a close in Manchester. But if he’s under the cosh, the thoughtful, urbane actor isn’t showing it.

After filming alongside Jimmy Nesbitt, Fay Ripley et al wraps, Bathurst will be turning his attention fully to his Fringe show. The Song of Lunch is a comedy about a lunch date in an Italian restaurant in London’s Soho that goes disastrously wrong, in which Bathurst and Rebecca Johnson (The Trip) play old flames.

But this is far from “straight” acting, nor pure farce. For one thing, there’s Bathurst’s delivery – some of it direct to the audience – of the piece by Costa Award-winning poet and memoirist Christopher Reid. The actor admits that, during an earlier outing in Chichester, “I lied in my marketing: I didn’t use the word ‘poetry’ once. I called it lyrical narrative.

For Edinburgh I’m calling it verse comedy.”

To be very clear: the 61-year-old certainly isn’t rapping, but his rendition of Reid’s versified writing is, “part of my war on the poetry voice,” he notes cheerfully. “I can’t bear the fluting, high church Anglican vicar type voice you have to put on when doing poetry.

This is nothing like that.”

Then there’s the production’s use of projected animations by cartoonist Charles Peattie. He and Bathurst previously worked together on a dramatisation of the Alex

cartoons by Peattie and Russell Taylor, a financial satire with which they toured the world. As the publicity materials trumpet, in The Song of Lunch the new cartoons, “create a visual feast, illustrating both the action and the characters’ flights of fancy”.

Just as important to Bathurst is the provenance of The Song of Lunch. Reid began writing it the day he finished writing A Scattering, a three-year project about the death of his wife. That memoir won the Costa, the first verse book to do so. An inspired and moved Bathurst has already performed a stage version of A Scattering for Radio 4.

“For Christopher, writing The Song of Lunch was a farcical diversion from the mood that had

overtaken him with the illness and death, and the aftermath.

“So it’s a direct descendant of A Scattering in that, although it’s about a disastrous date at an Italian restaurant, it’s also a doomed attempt to retrieve a lost relationship. So the themes of love and loss pervade. There’s a comic element, but the poignancy and the sadness is still there.

“The whole project is a celebration of language,” notes this stage and TV veteran.

“Christopher can express things which ordinary mortals can’t. I just adore doing it. A Scattering is very sad, but also uplifting. But The Song of Lunch is the funny one, so that felt like the one to bring to Edinburgh.”

Before that, though, he has to wrap Cold Feet. He admits to relief that the comeback of the beloved Nineties dramedy has been both a critical and ratings hit.

“There seems to be an artistic purpose to doing it, in the sense that it’s not just a marketing exercise to fill in the hole that Downton Abbey left, which is what I was worried about when I first heard about it.

“We’re older. The first outing, the first five years, was about people clinging on to their youth. And now we’re through that – but then what do you do? We’re faced with experiences and situations and pickles that we have no capacity to deal with. So it is evolving, like life is, and reflecting on it very cleverly and enjoyably.

So it isn’t just rehashing the same old tunes.”

“I’m calling it verse comedy” 30

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ROBERT BATHURST THEATRE

“The whole project is a celebration of language”

WHERE & WHEN The Song of Lunch, Pleasance Courtyard, 1-27 August, 2.20pm, from £12.50 Tel: 0131 556 6550

www.edfestmag.com

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28/06/2018 15:00

FRINGE FIRST!

‘Perfect comedy timing’ British Theatre Guide

It’s the worst wedding reception you’ll ever go to - and everyone is invited!!

AGE 3+ ‘A MOST MEMORABLE EVENING.’ THE MUMBLE THEATRE

‘IT’S NOT A FIRM

FRINGE SELL-OUT FOR NOTHING’ BROADWAY BABY

INTERACTIVE CHILDREN’S THEATRE “A Must See Show” Childfriendly Brighton

“Monty Python for Kids” Children’s Theatre Review’s

“Superb Clowning”

Remote Goat

2-27 August p_32.indd 32

The Principal Edinburgh 0845 1544 145 George Street Hotel, EH2 2PB (v119) interactivetheatre.com.au 28/06/2018 17:41

RUTH JONES BOOKS

“I

was asked to read the audio book but I couldn’t bring myself to, because of the sex. I kept imagining my mother listening to me reading it and I cringed, so the brilliant Sharon Small read it instead,” laughs Ruth Jones as she celebrates the success of her first novel, Never Greener.

Jones first appeared on our screens in Little Britain, co-wrote and starred in the brilliant Gavin and Stacey, then went on to create the popular Sky sitcom, Stella. She made her name writing and playing earthy, hilarious, straight-talking women, but her first novel reveals another side to her altogether.

Never Greener is a beautifully written story of infidelity that explores what happens when a famous actress comes back into the life of her former lover. “I’ve been asked a lot if it’s a comedy or a love story, and I describe it as a relationship story,” she says.

The novel began as a screenplay, which she wrote in 2003 before Gavin and Stacey. “At the time people were into Friends Reunited, and I was fascinated by people’s obsessions with reigniting old friendships. I just wondered about the idea of two people rekindling an illicit affair. They shouldn’t really do it. They should walk away, but what happens if they don’t?”

The story of Kate and Callum’s affair and the consequences is a real page turner. “I have to say I’ve been hugely complimented by people’s reactions to it. My sister finished reading it at 3.30 in the morning and texted me saying ‘Thanks a lot. I couldn’t stop reading it and I have to get up for work in four hours.’”

All the characters have a vivid, true-to-life quality that makes them leap off the page. As she writes, Jones always uses her skills as a performer to help bring her characters to life. “I guess the skill in common with acting was seeing how the dialogue worked. I’d read it aloud to check it rang true, a bit like I was acting the part myself.”

Never Greener’s Kate is a successful TV actress, which meant Jones could bring a lot of insight and authenticity into the descriptions of life in the public eye. “I guess I know about the TV world, so I could take what I knew and embellish it to make it more

“Celebrities are always being scrutinised”

DON’T LOOK BACK dramatic, which created moments like the BAFTA night, the chat-show and the behindthe-scenes of Kate’s work. And then added to that, I know personally the pressure that actors and celebrities are put under – they are always being scrutinised, followed and papped or ending up in the news.”

Away from the cameras Kate’s life is far from perfect. “I liked the idea of presenting a character who was brilliant at her job, a successful and talented actress, but who fought inner turmoil all day long.

“I think her addictions – the booze, cocaine, food – are all symptoms of a lack of connection, a self-loathing, that can affect anyone, no matter what job they do.”

Having hit the bestseller lists with Never Greener, Ruth is now halfway through her second novel. It is, she says, a far more solitary process than TV writing but, “I’ve loved every minute of it. I’m really pleased I had a go.”

She’s also planning a return to the theatre. “I’m going back on stage in October, for the first time in twelve years. It’s a new play produced by Bath Theatre Royal called The Nightingales.

We’re doing a short tour and then it may go to the West End. I’m terrified. But also very excited.” www.edfestmag.com

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Gavin and Stacey’s Ruth Jones shares the inside story on her first novel, a tale of celebrity, addiction and a scandalous affair WORDS CLAIRE SMITH PHOTO CHRIS MCANDREW / CAMERA PRESS

WHERE & WHEN Ruth Jones, Baillie Gifford Main Theatre, 13 August, 8.30pm, £12 Tel: 0345 373 5888

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28/06/2018 17:30

DANCE WAYNE McGREGOR

BODY TALKS PHOTO PAL HANSEN

A typical autobiography might focus on the Hollywood films, the Royal Ballet or the global commissions, but Wayne McGregor believes in going deeper right down to the genetic level WORDS SANJOY ROY PHOTO ANDREJ USPENSKI

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ayne McGregor has a fascinating life story. Born in Stockport, he did ballroom and Latin and disco dancing before studying contemporary dance, and founding his own dance company aged 22. Since then, he has also become resident choreographer at the Royal Ballet, worked on Harry Potter films and Thom Yorke videos, participated in science research programmes in California and Cambridge, and set up studios in the Indian Ocean and in East London. He’ll also be choreographing the new film version of Cats.

None of that appears in his teasingly titled 2017 work, Autobiography. What fascinated McGregor’s characteristically enquiring mind was a different kind of story altogether, one that was no less (and perhaps far more) formative of his life: his own genetic code.

Where did that idea spring from? As his company was celebrating its 25th season, McGregor says, he found himself, “looking backwards and forwards at the same time. I wanted to make a piece that was both personal and utilised my developing interest in genetics.”

He had his own genome analysed by a research lab and, drawing inspiration from the splicing of science and story in Siddhartha Mukherjee’s acclaimed 2016 book The Gene: An Intimate History, he used the resulting data and patterns, alongside more traditional life-writing prompts such as photographs, objects or texts with a personal meaning, to inspire Autobiography.

That sounds like a lot to hold on to – and indeed it is. But McGregor, ever the analyst, breaks the piece down for me into three components, each based on the Greek etymology of the title: “AUTO: the self, in the form of personal histories and reflections.

BIO: his genetic code, as the basis of life.

GRAPHY: dance as a kind of writing, making marks in real time.” www.edfestmag.com

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WAYNE McGREGOR DANCE

Spelled out like that, I can get a handle on it.

It’s the middle section, genetics, that really informs the deep structure of the piece. Just as the human genome is made from 23 pairs of chromosomes, so McGregor created 23 distinct episodes, each one drawing on those life-writing prompts. Like genetic material shuffled and recombined, those episodes are then selected and sequenced by a computer algorithm, so that every performance of Autobiography is ordered differently, with only the first and last sections remaining as constants. That means the number of possible versions vastly outstrips the number of performances it could ever have.

You might think of any one performance of Autobiography as the unique expression of a larger choreographic genotype.

If that were the only scrambler going on, it might still be graspable by the human mind – but it’s not. “Each section also has many permutations inside it,” McGregor explains.

“Different dancers perform different roles.

There are different orders to parts of the choreography, improvisations that emerge and vanish. The sections are not simply set and shuffled, but each also has a unique behaviour that evolves.” No wonder that McGregor leaves such mind-boggling variety to a higher power – a computer – to sort out.

But hasn’t he, as choreographer, sometimes sneakily put his oar into that system when he sees something he particularly likes, and wants to keep it that way? “Never,” he says, though he confesses that “I do have my own fantasy structural order. And no, it’s not come about so far!”

The story of Autobiography is beginning to sound like metaphysics: a piece built upon the intersections between chance, choice and destiny, just as existence is. Yet it doesn’t feel like an abstract work: there is memory and blood and desire pumping through it, even if McGregor doesn’t narrate them.

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He has given titles to each section that mean something to him (‘Lucent’ – his partner of 15 years; ‘Traces’ – a poem he wrote a decade ago), but to the audience these are no more than suggestive words. Likewise, when I ask him why he chose to fix the first and last section as part of his choreographic system, his equivocal answer is: “Birth. Death. Maybe?”

Maybe? Maybe. If McGregor can choose auto/bio/graphy as his keyword, I decide that I can have may/be as mine. It seems to me an excellent word for the piece – and in the end, whose life is it anyway?

“I have my own fantasy structural order”

Wayne McGregor breaks it down

AUTO: the self, in the form of personal histories and reflections.

BIO: his own genetic code, as the basis of his life.

GRAPHY: dance as a kind of writing, making marks in real time.

WHERE & WHEN Autobiography, Festival Theatre, 11-13 August, 7.30pm, from £14 Tel: 0131 473 2000

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CABARET & CIRCUS COURTNEY ACT

“DRAG IS PUNK” After winning Celebrity Big Brother, Courtney Act is well on her way to glitter-spangled world domination WORDS CHIARA MARGIOTTA PHOTO MIHAELA BODLOVIC

N

ever one to shy away from the spotlight, Courtney Act made headlines both on her way in and on her way out of the Celebrity Big Brother house. Her notoriously revealing entrance might not have been her most glamorous moment, but her exit is one that has left its spangled stamp on pop culture forever.

“I think a drag queen winning Big Brother is definitely subversive,” Shane Jenek - the boy behind queen Courtney tells me. “Even if the show is mainstream.”

Celebrity Big Brother might be considered mainstream thanks to the size of its audience, the range of ages it entertains and its primetime slot, but after Courtney’s time in the house, it could hardly be considered a bastion of conservative mainstream ideas.

Shane’s relationship with right-wing politician Ann Widdecombe had plenty of articles throwing the term ‘feud’ into the ring, but their discussions were more than simple tabloid fodder. As both Shane and Courtney, Jenek’s frank words on gender, sexuality and identity opened up a powerful dialogue that went beyond the screen and into the living rooms of millions of viewers. Although he frequently wore the robes of teacher in the house, did Shane learn anything from his housemates?

“I learnt the importance of empathy,” he tells me. “Because I was able to at least try to understand Ann’s experience through Ann’s lens, it meant that I didn’t feel mad at her when I found out that she had voted against every piece of pro-LGBT legislation that had ever come before her, and I was able to just have a dialogue with her.”

While he asserts that Ann is “not hateful”, he can’t deny her faults, either.

“Unfortunately I think it was that lack of empathy that meant that Ann had that voting record, as she wasn’t able to understand life through someone else’s experience”.

And in experience-terms, this seasoned performer has plenty. Born when Shane was 18, Courtney Act started out in clubs in Down Under before launching on Australian Idol. From there, her career exploded across the pond after she worked her way to the top three on RuPaul’s Drag Race. With its move to Netflix, Drag Race has gained a fierce new armada of fans, opening up the show to criticisms from some veteran viewers who are worried that the move has diluted the rebellious power of drag.

Shane, however, isn’t convinced.

“Drag is punk. Punk is subversive by nature. But drag can also intersect with gender and sexuality to inform and educate wider audiences. That is subversive but with that subversion comes education, which leads to acceptance and understanding. Drag becoming more mainstream is a wonderful thing.”

That’s not to say that Drag Race gets off without being read by that astute critical eye Shane became known for on CBB. Quoting Trixie Mattel [RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars winner], he notes that, “‘if you say you love drag but only watch Drag Race, that’s like saying you love music but only watch American Idol’, or, I mean, Pop Idol?”.

Pop Idol may not have been on British TV since 2003, but as Jenek has only very recently made the move from Hollywood to London, we’ll forgive the newly minted Brit that slight slip up. As Courtney tells us in her latest show, Under the Covers, she’s so new to the country, she can only purchase a prepaid phone.

The title of the show refers to famous pop songs that people may not have realised were actually covers, from Dolly Parton’s version of ‘I Will Always Love You’ to the original version of ‘Valerie’, made famous by Amy Winehouse. However, the intimacy in Under the Covers doesn’t just come from the innuendo in the name. More than just showcasing her vocal prowess, some strikingly personal moments grant us permission to slip under the covers with her, in a performance that offers a look at the real Courtney.

“In reality TV, the editors decide how you come across.

They choose 10% of you and show that, with a catchphrase and a look. That’s what Drag Race does so well. On Big Brother there’s 12 hours of viewing a week, so there’s a lot more content. But with my own shows I can show the parts of me that I really want people to see.”

After seeing her live, I had many questions for Courtney Act, but there was one that was particularly urgent.

“You could see it from the back?” she laughs. “I use two shades from the Anastasia Beverly Hills highlighter palette and another by Inglot on top. I was going to use four, but it sounds like three highlighters is enough.”

“Drag becoming more mainstream is a wonderful thing”

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COURTNEY ACT CABARET & CIRCUS

“I can show the parts of me that I really want people to see”

WHERE & WHEN Courtney Act: Under the Covers, Underbelly’s Circus Hub, 3-18 August (not 7, 8, 13), 6pm, £18 Tel: 0131 510 0395

www.edfestmag.com

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THEATRE PETER BROOK

A SENSE OF SPACE Legendary director Peter Brook brings a real-life fable to the stage – a young man standing alone outside a prison for years WORDS DOMINIC CAVENDISH PHOTO SIMON ANNAND

“I

can take any empty space and call it a bare stage,” Peter Brook famously asserted at the start of The Empty Space, a slim volume of musings which, at a stroke, altered the general perception of what was possible in the theatre. To this day it challenges theatremakers to work miracles with the minimum and legitimises a lack of clutter, opulence, stuff.

It’s typical of Britain’s most influential living director – longest-serving, too, with a career dating back to 1945 – that the 50th anniversary of the publication of The Empty Space has crept up on him unnoticed. “Is it that long ago?” he says, surprised. Now 93, he has been otherwise engaged with his most recent piece, The Prisoner, which gets its UK premiere as part of a residency for the Theatre des Bouffes du Nord within the EIF programme. Brook was instrumental in the restoration of the crumbling Parisian theatre and ran it from 1974 to 2011.

He pronounces himself delighted to be coming back to Edinburgh, but you have to consult the archives to discover that he first came here with John Gielgud playing Leontes in The Winter’s Tale in 1951.

“I don’t hang on to dates,” he confesses, his mental alertness nonetheless unmistakable as he talks in his office in Paris. He made it his home after his landmark RSC production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream in 1970. “I’m only interested in the present. To me, what’s past is past.”

There’s a curious link between The Empty Space and The Prisoner. Brook used the money raised from the lecture series that fed into the book to fund his mid-Sixties wanderlust: what happened during the resulting trip to Afghanistan has, he says, “haunted” him ever since, but has only now found artistic expression.

In his 1999 memoir Threads of Time, he recounted what ensued when he met a young Sufi, known as the Black Dervish, on the outskirts of Kabul. “I spoke with him several times,” Brook recalls, taking up the story. “We were due to leave for Kandahar – and as we said goodbye, he said: ‘It will be worth your while turning off the road before you reach the city and heading up a track for a couple of kilometres. You’ll see a prison

and opposite it a young man staring up at it.

He committed an unspeakable crime, but because I knew he had many deep qualities of character that would be destroyed by imprisonment, I asked the judge if I could invent the punishment – which he agreed to. So, instead of being inside the prison he must face it for the duration of his sentence. He knows that he can get up and walk away but he also knows he must honour his own punishment.’”

“Of course, that was irresistible,” Brook continues.

“I found the way, saw the prisoner, and sat with him in silence. I sat there for a time, then left. I don’t know what happened to him, or what the crime was, but the story was so potent that whenever I told it people were interested.”

It’s like a naturally occurring fable, I suggest. “That’s exactly the word we use,” he replies. “It has the quality of a fable yet it’s something I witnessed.”

It has taken him half a lifetime to find a means of giving it a full artistic shape. Initially, he was seized by the idea that it would make a good film but as he explains, “We couldn’t find the right place or the right language to film it in.

We went to various locations – even an Indian community near Santa Fe – but we never found the answer. So the script stayed untouched until a year and a half ago when Marie-Hélène Estienne [French playwright and Brook’s long-term collaborator] said: “Why don’t we see it if it’s right for the theatre?” We looked again and realised: of course! A film would be far too naturalistic.

All our work in theatre has been developing to a point of evocation and suggestion. What we have found is that wherever we’ve played it, it touches people – I think it gives them hope that somewhere there is light.”

New work sustains Brook, all the more so perhaps since the death in 2015 of his wife of more than 60 years, the actress Natasha Parry. “I don’t feel I’m slowing down,” he says, wonderingly. “The biggest horror would be to retire because for me retirement is an abdication. I can’t stop. I want to be as useful as possible.”

“I think it gives them hope that somewhere there is light”

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PETER BROOK THEATRE

“It has the quality of a fable yet it’s something I witnessed”

WHERE & WHEN The Prisoner, The Lyceum, 22-26 August, times vary, from £17 Tel: 0131 473 2000

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A TO Z EDFESTMAG.COM

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BOWJANGLES

CAZELEON

Gilded Balloon Teviot, 1-26 Aug A quartet like no other, Bowjangles bring the strings to the party.

A

ADAM HESS Pleasance Courtyard, 1-27 Aug Adam Hess has had a chaotic year, and he's back to tell you all about it.

D

Gilded Balloon Teviot, 1-27 Aug This award-winning cinema-inspired cabaret will have you gripped from opening to closing credits.

DENIM JUNIORS Assembly George Square Gardens, 3-19 Aug This drag pop concert for kids has a message for every age.

Y T I C T E B A H P AL S E M O C E B EDINBURGH

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I

JEN BRISTER

IVY PAIGE

Assembly George Square Theatre, 1-26 Aug Fresh from her turn on The Voice, burlesque diva Ivy Paige is here to seduce the Fringe.

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Monkey Barrel, 2-26 Aug Stand-up favourite Jen Brister tries to find the meaning of it all in a hilariously existential hour.

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SOWETO KINCH Teviot Row, 21 July Mercury Prize nominee Kinch is here to bring the house down at the Jazz & Blues Festival.

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FOIL ARMS & HOG Underbelly McEwan Hall, 1-26 Aug The Irish dream team are back for more after 9 years of sold-out shows.

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G

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HOCUS POCUS

GAMES BY HENRY NAYLOR

The Studio, 10-12 Aug Dance, theatre, and visual art come together in this magical piece that will captivate adults just as much as children.

Gilded Balloon Teviot, 1-27 Aug Award-winner playwright Henry Naylor returns with another hardhitting drama.

EMMA SIDI Pleasance Courtyard, 1-26 Aug An hour of character comedy from a fabulously physical comedian.

Z A M O R F Y T R A P S L A V I T S AS THE FE

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MYRA DUBOIS Underbelly George Square, 1-26 Aug Razor sharp diva Myra DuBois brings in the festive feelings - even if they are from the wrong season.

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LUCY PORTER Pleasance Courtyard, 1-26 Aug Legacy is the word of the hour in Fringe favourite Lucy Porter's latest show.

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NORRIS & PARKER Pleasance Courtyard, 1-26 Aug Dark and debaucherous, Norris & Parker present sketch comedy for the late night crowd.

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PHOTO: IDIL SUKAN

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ONE WOMAN SEX & THE CITY

PADDINGTON BEAR'S FIRST CONCERT

Underbelly Bristo Square, 1-27 Aug Celebrate the 20th anniversary of SATC with Kerry Ipema's parody tale of the fabulous four.

Underbelly Bristo Square, 1-26 Aug Paddington is joined by a live orchestra in this show where kids can learn to love classical music.

Q QUEENS OF SHEBA Underbelly Cowgate, 2-26Aug This piece tackles misogyny and racism with passion and drive.

R E T H G U A L D N A S L L I P S THRILLS,

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ST VINCENT

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The Stand, 1-26 Aug Rivas puts masculinity under the microscope in his international debut.

WRENNE

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UNBECOMING RAMON RIVAS

PHOTO: YOKO HARAOKA

Edinburgh Playhouse, 26 Aug See the Grammy Award winner live as she performs her latest album in St. Vincent's trademark transgressive style.

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Assembly George Square Studios, 2-26 Aug Experience a completely unique musical journey with Wrenne's genre-busting multimedia show.

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REBELS OF BALLROOM Underbelly Bristo Square, 1-27 Aug Ballroom gets a new look with Burn the Floor's electrifying dance piece.

An international spectacular.

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THOR & LOKI Assembly Roxy, 1-26 Aug Featuring gods, giants, and tapdancing trolls, this is a musical comedy with heart.

SLUTTY JOAN Voodoo Rooms, 4-25 Aug Harriet Kemsley is calling time on slut shaming in deeply personal stand-up hour, Slutty Joan

D E R E V O C U O Y E V A H S L A THE FESTIV YUVAL ZOMMER Baillie Gifford Imagination Lab, 18 Aug Children's book illustrator Yuval Zommer takes the lead in an interactive illustration event.

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Z

EXHIBITION: GATEWAY

ZAZUTINANY

Jupiter Artland, 12 May - 30 Sept The artwork is supersized in Portuguese artist Joana Vasconcelos' crafty new exhibition.

Underbelly Bristo Square, 1-12 Aug Bring your A-game and get involved with comedy troupe zazU's brand new action-packed game show.

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FRI 16 NOV 2018: 7.30PM USHER HALL, EDINBURGH SAT 17 NOV 2018: 7.30PM GLASGOW ROYAL CONCERT HALL Legendary composers David Arnold, Patrick Doyle and Rachel Portman join the RSNO for a celebration of the finest film scores from the Varèse Sarabande label. Including Game of Thrones, The Matrix, Back to the Future, Alien, Spartacus, The Last of the Mohicans and more!

Diego Navarro

CONDUCTOR

Sara Andon

rsno.org.uk/live

FLUTE

Robert Townson

PRESENTER

RSNO Chorus

The RSNO is supported by the Scottish Government

Knowing I had the support of Help Musicians UK was incredibly reassuring during a volatile and unpredictable time.

Your support means we can help more musicians like Oli make the transition from student to professional.

Donate at helpmusicians.org.uk or call 020 7239 9100

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Registered Charity No. 228089

21/06/2018 12:51:26

28/06/2018 17:42

SU POLLARD THEATRE

“H

ello this is Miss Su, how are you?” goes Su Pollard’s breezy, disarming introduction, setting the tone for an encounter that’s all jollity, candour, and lust-for-life zip.

If audiences at the actress/singer/comedian’s Fringe production get even half of her energy and engagement, they’ll be laughing.

They will, too, it seems, be thoroughly moved. Harpy is a one-woman drama in which Pollard – best known for towering Eighties sitcom Hi-De-Hi! but recently sprinkling fairy dust on TV all over again in comedy reality show Last Laugh In Vegas – plays a troubled soul named Birdie. She’s a woman derided by her neighbours as a harridan and weirdo whose obsessive hoarding is evidence of there-goes-the-neighbourhood anti-social behaviour and madness. The truth, of course, is more powerful and nuanced than that.

“There some great fun elements in the play,” says Pollard, highlighting a soundtrack of Sixties, Seventies and Eighties music.

“But obviously the poor woman’s situation suggests things have happened in her life. I think that’s the case with hoarders: at some point in their life, a significant thing has happened.

“It’s become a nationally known mental disorder – you can’t now poo-poo people who are hoarders.

And it’s amazing how many people I’ve spoken to while rehearsing this piece – blimey, loads of people are hoarders!” she rattles in a distinctive, Nottingham-accented voice that exerts a powerful muscle memory for anyone who grew up on Eighties telly.

“Maybe not as extreme as Birdie,” she adds, “but we’ve all got a capacity for just stuffing things in a cupboard.”

Harpy is written by Fringe First-winner Philip Meeks (Kiss Me Honey, Honey!).

He and Pollard first met when they shared a pantomime stage.

“It’s so nice to still bring pleasure to people” “He was a dame, I was the old wicked queen. And he said one day, ‘I think I’ve got something that would be right up your street and I’d really like you to do it.’ And from that little seed…

“It’s really nice to have something written for you,” Pollard continues. “You feel extra confident with the material.”

It sounds like she’ll need that confidence to play a character as complex as Birdie.

As Meeks says: “I’ve suffered from mental health problems all my life… I guess I’ve started to believe that everyone has mental health issues to some degree or another. Madness is normal. So, in this play, the Harpy knows people think she’s mad, but she embraces her identity and this gives her freedom. She has a sad story to tell but she should also be an inspiration.”

OOH U S S S I M her Pollard turns u S re u s a e tr t mental National us story abou o ri e s a to e y comic e y Harpy les in new pla health strugg G McLEAN WORDS CRAI

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A GLOWETT PHOTO KARL

A challenging role, then, but the indomitable Pollard seems more than up to the task. She’s equally excited that her Edinburgh debut will also be a chance to reunite with her old pal Jeffrey Holland.

He played Spike in Hi-De-Hi! and is here doing a one-man show about Laurel & Hardy.

“I said, ‘right Jeff, we have to go out to dinner.’” And tweet the pic to the diehard fans of your holiday camp classic?

“Oh that’s a good idea!” the 68-year-old hoots. “But I don’t do social media!

The great thing as well, darling, is that You Rang M’Lord?, which we did afterwards is really big in Hungary. Can you believe it? So in September all us remaining cast are off to Budapest. They’re going to give us a nice lovely weekend in a beautiful hotel, and we’re just going to wander about, see the sights, and smile a lot and pose for pictures.

“It’s lovely, it keeps everything alive.

The great thing is, darling, it’s so nice to think you’ve been involved with something that still brings pleasure to people.”

Hang on to your hats, Edinburgh and Budapest, the mighty Miss Su is coming to town.

WHERE & WHEN Harpy, Underbelly Cowgate, 2-26 August (not 13), 4pm, from £6.50 Tel: 0131 510 0395

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COMEDY LUISA OMIELAN

STAND UP & SHOUT After a shock drop out of last year’s Fringe following the passing of her mother, Luisa Omielan is back with something to say – and she’s here to make you listen WORDS KATE COPSTICK PHOTO KARLA GOWLETT

L

uisa Omielan is a force of nature, an extraordinary performer who could be said to have created her own comedy genre. Somewhere between the thinking woman’s hen party and laugh-out-loud, fearlessly feminist standup, Omielan’s debut, What Would Beyoncé Do?, came out of nowhere to take the 2012 Fringe by storm. The show has now toured worldwide, filling auditorium after auditorium with a totally new kind of comedy fan.

Omielan touched the laughing parts of women worldwide, leaving them entertained and empowered.

Her second show, Am I Right Ladies?!, picked up the Spanx discarded by Beyoncé and ground them into the floors of stages everywhere. She had no PR team or production machine, no big booking agent, nothing but talent, chutzpah, and charisma. And Helena, her mum: her inspiration, her best friend, her production manager, and whatever else she needed to be to get Luisa on the road.

Together they were conquering the world.

They made an appearance together on Comic Relief to much acclaim, and Team HelLu were even making solid progress up that slipperiest of poles, TV comedy. Luisa was booked for Live at the Apollo.

And then, last year happened. “I still don’t understand it, she did everything right. “[She was] super slim, super healthy,

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LUISA OMIELAN COMEDY

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“I feel closer to her when I am on stage” Luisa Omielan performs Politics for Bitches

PHOTO: PAUL STEPHENSON FOR BBC/KING BERT

didn’t drink or smoke or eat much meat, she did everything she was supposed to but she started feeling unwell,” Omielan says.

“She went to the doctors 12 times and was told there was nothing wrong. She tried to get a colonoscopy and was made to wait six weeks. She finally went for the appointment only to be told it was not a colonoscopy but an appointment with a nurse to see if she warranted one. Apparently she didn’t, despite showing clear symptoms, and was sent home. I took her to A&E, where she was diagnosed with stomach and bowel cancer but couldn’t get a full diagnosis until she saw a oncologist. He only worked on Mondays and wasn’t available for 3 weeks but that week was a Bank Holiday so we had to wait four weeks to see someone. She was sent home on a feeding tube machine and Calpol, and died 7 weeks later. It was brutal.”

It was as if both died then. Certainly, the Luisa Omielan who takes to the stage now is a different animal. What Beyoncé has done is nothing, since Luisa lost Helena.

“I actually haven’t been able to do that show, or Am I Right Ladies?!, since then. I changed my live shows to the story of my mum. I don’t think I can ever do those shows again. They were entrenched in my mum and her love and support. I’ve bombed a lot recently. Unless I can talk about my mum, I can’t seem to do well.”

This Fringe, there’s a new Luisa on the stage – and she has a bigger message to send. “Before, I used to sell positive body image and ‘don’t worry if you have a thigh gap or not.’ Now I’m like, fuck that, I’ve got bigger fish to fry.

I’ve put on three stone; I don’t care if you have body issues.

People are being failed with fatal consequences.

“Let’s talk about why an MP is still in position as Health Secretary when the people he represents have had to march in protest of his policies. Fuck a thigh gap, babe. Watch someone you love vomit shit out of their own mouth and then see how much you care about whether a guy would fuck you depending on your thighs touching.”

In memory of Helena, Luisa has started a charity in support of the hospice movement and has already raised and distributed over £40,000. “It was a hospice who gave my mum peace, and hospices are charity funded.

Palliative care receives minimal government funding. When you are dying, you don’t want your pain relief to be based on how many

“I’ve got bigger fish to fry” cupcakes a school can sell at a fête. Once you are dying, you are spat out. With all the support around cancer, how can they let someone die so horrifically?”

Helena was in constant, agonising pain, for which, it seemed, modern medicine could do nothing. So Omielan looked for other means of helping. “Cannabis oil is a natural substance with huge healing benefits, but it’s a class A drug. I used it for my mum as an effective pain relief; she would be sleepy but could still walk around the house. She wouldn’t be in huge amounts of pain and it was manageable.

Eventually, after three and a half weeks, my mum saw the oncologist who said she had no real treatment options.

“I told him about the oils, he refused to comment, and prescribed a high dose

WHERE & WHEN Luisa Omielan: Politics for Bitches Gilded Balloon Teviot, 1-26 August (not 14, 23), 9pm, from £14 Tel: 0131 622 6552

syringe driver of morphine. Within 24 hours my mum’s condition deteriorated and she was dying with pneumonia. We got her back into hospital, off the morphine and I told them she never reacted badly to cannabis oil, at which point one of the doctors reported me. The police came out to bring me to the station. The matron intervened and explained, the officer left and was lovely about it. He said he didn’t want to arrest me but had to follow procedure. Why don’t they punish the doctor who missed [the cancer] twelve times, or the oncologist who made her wait so long, or the management head of the NHS who allowed this to happen?”

So now, as well as raising the much needed money to help fund hospices, Omielan is – onstage and off – a vociferous advocate of legalising cannabis. And there is one other reason she gets back onstage: “I feel closer to her when I’m onstage and flying. For some reason, when I get that love from the audience, I feel like she’s there. Recently I played Belfast, one of my favourite places and they were so connected and interactive and they all gave me a standing ovation but were proper clapping and laughing and high energy and then we all just started dancing. And my mum loved dancing and in my head, I’m like, ‘Mum, look, they’re dancing. I’m dancing,’ and I feel like she’s there going, ‘I know darling, I’m dancing too.”

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COMEDY JAMALI MADDIX

“Just because I don’t think you should be a Nazi doesn’t mean the rest of my life is pure and perfect”

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JAMALI MADDIX COMEDY

Fresh off the back of his acclaimed Vice series, Hate Thy Neighbour, Jamali Maddix is back at the Fringe with his trademark blend of blunt and brazen comedy WORDS STEPHEN ARMSTRONG PHOTO JAMES DEACON

A

t 16 years old, young Jamali Maddix wasn’t having the best time of his life. He was struggling at school and lacking direction, until late one night watching 100 Greatest Comedians on Channel 4 he saw a brief burst of a Bill Hicks routine.

“That style – the black clothes, the cigarette, the ‘fuckthe-government’ attitude – I’d never saw anything like that… there were no cats like that in east London,” he recalls with an affectionate smile. “That angry indignation – that was watching someone talk the way I thought.”

Maddix set about building his stand-up career almost instantly, mixing Hicks-style outraged anger – fuelled by his outsider, mixed-race standpoint (dad black, mum Italian-British) – with daft, goofy physical comedy.

One skit during his TV debut on Comedy Central saw him riffing on being white for a day, ending with asking a woman for the time after dark. “Which is why black people are always late,” he deadpans. “We gotta tell time by the moon…” and he slips into a pantomime squint, gazing up at the sky and shrugging, “I think it’s 10 o’clock…”

He’s back at the Fringe with Vape Lord, a whole new show after spending the last few years touring the world filming his Vice TV show, Hate Thy Neighbour, where he travelled the planet meeting the likes of neo-Nazis, black nationalists and the English Defence League. His teasing of the Nordic Aryan Youth may be a masterpiece of gotcha journalism, but he’s worried that the two seasons of the show pushed away his funny.

“One of the problems with the Vice show is I got too righteous,” he explains. “It changed me. I saw everything from the Calais jungle burning down to kids in prison.

That’s why I had to kick it up a gear in stand-up so that I was saying more silly, funny, messed up stuff – like, I still smoke weed, I still go to strip clubs, I still do fucked up shit.

Just because I don’t think you should be a Nazi doesn’t mean the rest of my life is pure and perfect.”

The Edinburgh run is the first leg in his debut world tour, which includes gigs in Latvia, Estonia, Finland, Norway, Denmark, Switzerland, Ireland, The Netherlands, Lithuania and the USA. “You’d be amazed at how many places watch Vice,” he shrugs.

To be fair, he’s been gigging in Europe since he was 24. That’s surprising, I say - you seem so rooted in your Ilford upbringing, London chat

“Joyous is a better word than funny”

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and British sensibilities that I wouldn’t have thought your material would translate.

He laughs. “I had to change my accent and slow down a little, but any experience can be universal if you say it right – sometimes it’s as simple as talking about trains rather than tubes. As long as you’ve got the emotion, it translates.”

He still seems faintly bemused by his success – we speak on FaceTime as he’s in Las Vegas filming a new show for Channel 4 – mainly because he was convinced he’d never escape Ilford. He was kicked out of his first university and headed to the University of Salford – Peter Kay and Jason Manford’s alma mater – to spruce up his performing. In his first year, Manford came to watch the final year students deliver stand-up routines. At the end, Maddix went on “I had a good set… as good as you can in a classroom.”

Manford told him to quit the course: “you’re a comic and there’s nothing they can teach you.”

“All I want to do is make you laugh” He’s pleased to see the slow increase in non-white comics playing the Fringe. “Edinburgh is still pretty white – on stage and in the crowd,” he nods. “A lot of non-white comedians get disheartened and don’t want to go, thinking we’re going to be overlooked and marginalized – and it’s expensive to play which makes it hard for working class voices. It’s good to see Dane Baptiste, Funbi, Darren Harriot breaking through that.”

He’s keen to keep his material fresh, and although there’s a few references to his Vice show, there’s just as many about his fear of cats and his scorn for vaping.

“The main thing is, I don’t want chin rubbers in my show,” he gives a little smile. “There’s still sections of this country that think the British Empire was a good thing, but younger people are mixing it up so we’re not holding on to dead people’s baggage so much. There’s just two things that I hate: maybe you don’t understand what I’m saying but don’t tell me I’m wrong for saying it, and don’t sit there nodding earnestly. All I want you to do is laugh.”

WHERE & WHEN Jamali Maddix: Vape Lord Monkey Barrel, 2-26 August (not 13), 6pm, from £6 Tel: 0131 225 5149

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BACK TO THE 80S WITH THE

A CAPPELLA ALL-STARS!

★★★★★

A CAPPELLA SINGING STRAIGHT FROM THE GODS

★★★★ A SONIC PHENOMENON The Guardian

★★★★★

A BREATHTAKING, SEXY AND POSTMODERN SHOW

Edinburgh Evening News

The Scotsman

★★★★★

★★★★★

Adelaide Advertiser

The West Australian

ALL THRILLER, NO FILLER

RARE AND STYLISH

19:00 02 - 26 AUG

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CORA BISSETT THEATRE

GIRLS ON TOUR WORDS MARK FISHER

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PHOTOGRAPHY MIHAELA BODLOVIC

he’s the actor who gave up the stage in order to tell other people’s stories.

Having re-invented herself as a theatre director in 2010, Cora Bissett went on to bring us true-life tales of sex trafficking (Roadkill), deportations (Glasgow Girls) and transgender oppression (Adam).

Now, with What Girls Are Made Of, she is not only putting herself centre stage again, but telling a story that’s much closer to home.

“I was never remotely interested in telling my own story,” she says. “But maybe in making those other shows, I did reflect on my own journey to becoming who I am.”

In 1992, Bissett was set to be the next big thing. With her Kirkcaldy band Darlingheart, the 17 year old had landed a five-album deal with Phonogram.

She was so young her parents had to sign the contract. Soon came gigs supporting Blur, Radiohead and the Cranberries. For a heady period, she lived the rock’n’roll high life, but fame did not come calling. Their debut album was called Serendipity – it was anything but. Before they knew it, the band was dropped and they were back in Fife with a £40,000 debt.

“It happened so early and I got spat out so quickly,” she says, without bitterness. “I had to pick up the pieces and ask, ‘How do I begin to create myself in the world?’”

After her father died three years ago, she found herself rummaging through her teenage diaries in his attic. It was only then she realised the potential of her own life story.

“My diaries were really detailed,” she says.

“I had this studious school-girl thing about me and even though I was on a rock’n’roll tour supporting Blur and partying every night, I’d still go up to my bedroom and dutifully write down, ‘Well, today, Damon said this…’”

It’s hilarious in its attention to detail.”

Now a mother herself, she started wondering what advice she would give her two-year-old daughter Naia about the years ahead. The answer is locked into What Girls Are Made Of, a rise-and-fall piece of gig theatre complete with live renditions of 1990s hits (and the odd, forgotten Darlingheart tune) directed by the Traverse Theatre’s Artistic Director, Orla O’Loughlin.

“Reading through ten of these A4 diaries, I could see myself growing up,” she says. “I could see my language changing and my understanding of myself evolving. When I started to write the play, I realised it was also about my daughter, about becoming a mum and thinking about that young girl now. It made me reflect on my mum letting me go off.

She must have been terrified!”

How, then, would she react if the same thing happened to Naia?

“I would be a hypocrite from hell if I was to stand in the way of whatever her soul was asking her to do,” she laughs.

“Yes, it was very damaging at the time and it affected me in a lot of ways, but I wouldn’t change it, either.”

PHOTOS LAUREN MCLAY

She was just a kid herself when her band Darlingheart became rockstars over night, so now, with a daughter of her own, director Cora Bissett has decided it’s time to stage her own story

PHOTOS: IAN CARGILL, MICHAEL LAING

“I was on a rock’n’roll tour supporting Blur”

Cora with her band, Darlingheart

www.edfestmag.com

WHERE & WHEN What Girls Are Made Of, Traverse, 3-26 August (not 6, 13, 20), times vary, from £9, Tel: 0131 228 1404

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FESTIVAL FAVOURITES CABARET

TENS TENS TENS It’s guaranteed tens across the board with our Festival Favourites

BRIEFS WORDS KATE COPSTICK PHOTO AITOR SANTOME

Over the years, do you think that you’ve come to terms with Edinburgh or has Edinburgh come to terms with Briefs?

I think Briefs and Edinburgh have come to terms with each other since meeting each other in 2013. Like many relationships it is hard work, romantic, rewarding, exhausting and a fine line between love and hate. This is our biggest production to date.

There are so many elements that the team worked so hard on and we can’t wait to show them off to Edinburgh audiences.

Do you have a special preparation routine?

There is a certain amount of bracing that happens before Edinburgh, but there is no special preparation routine. Like every season, we need to stock up on lashes, booze and strapping tape among many other important things. Edinburgh Fringe is one big endurance course.

You’re really very political beneath the spangles – do you feel that the world is finally catching up with you?

I think the conversation around gender has had a turbulent history, which is why the conversation can feel defensive and sometimes laboured. I also think that while we have worked through some landmarks, the conversation will be one that is ongoing. There will never be a foolproof formula for terminology that will satisfy and address each stunning and unique individual on this planet. Nor should there be. People are complicated and the language we use around this is complicated. I hope we will all eventually be next level transcendent beings that will defy definition. Politicians and politics would be so much more palatable if it was always under spangles and presented in drag, circus, burlesque, and variety format!

WHERE & WHEN Briefs: Close Encounters, Assembly Hall, 2-26 August (not 8, 13, 20), 7.15pm, from £14 Tel: 0131 623 3030

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28/06/2018 15:20

CABARET FESTIVAL FAVOURITES

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We need to stock up on lashes, booze and strapping tape among other important things

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The only thing that remains to be done is be made mayor of Britain

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COMEDY FESTIVAL FAVOURITES

REGINALD D HUNTER WORDS KATE COPSTICK PHOTO KASH YUSUF

This is your 20th year at the Festival do you have a favourite Fringe?

Is there more than one? I thought it was just one long Fringe! I guess my favourite has to be my first proper Fringe in 2002. I had a futon in a small room in Leith with a married couple - boy, were they surprised to find out I was living there!

You are/were an actor too - do you think all stand-up is really acting?

I tell you what…when I’m doing stand up comedy I never think of acting and when I’m acting I never think of stand up comedy but they must overlap somewhere because they are both in me.

Is this how you thought things would pan out when you left the land of rednecks and terrible coffee?

Yes, things turned out exactly as I thought they would. No personal hiccups, no grief, no let downs, no heart ache. Just straight to the top as I expected. The only thing that remains to be done is to be made mayor of Britain!

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So many shows now have a director.

Do you feel responsible for starting the trend?

I never considered being responsible for that trend until I was asked this question. For those people who thrive better on collaboration it can be an ideal situation but it’s not necessary for everybody. I mean, until someone gets a BAFTA for best stand-up comedy directing they should probably continue to receive the lack of respect that is mildly sprinkled in this question.

How different is Edinburgh Reg from Comedy Circut Reg? Edinburgh Reg has a narrative arc point.

Comedy circuit Reg just has a nap. A great Edinburgh makes you a demon dog on the circuit.

WHERE & WHEN Reginald D Hunter: An American Facing the Beast and Niggas, Pleasance at EICC, 1-26 August (not 8, 14, 20), 8.30pm, from £9 Tel: 0131 556 6550

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FESTIVAL FAVOURITES COMEDY

ROSE MATAFEO WORDS KATE COPSTICK PHOTO ANDI CROWN

You’ve said that what drew you to stand-up was that it offered total control. So is this girly charmfest a front for the cold hard control freak underneath?

First of all – thank you for flirting with me. The way to a girl’s heart is to compliment her, so she can then politely reject the compliment but secretly let it give her power.

I love being in control, but I think there’s a lot of that in comedy, a real wonderful auteurship. I’m known to be very specific about the fonts used on my posters and the music played before my shows. I am the Stanley Kubrick of pre-show music.

I read that you feel nothing but relief after a gig?

I’m not particularly resilient and very hard on myself, but I really think that’s the only way I can get better at comedy which is pretty messed up. I think some comedians see every gig as an opportunity to be great, whereas I see every show as an opportunity to fail.

But apart from that, I am a very fun and easy going person - I promise!

How many more Fringes do you have in you?

Edinburgh is like a boyfriend who does not have his shit together at all, but he’s really good looking and has a good heart and also you’re logged into his Netflix.

So, knowing me, I’ll probably come back every year until my friends are like “you need to leave him for good!” and I’ll be like “you seriously don’t know him like I do!

He gave me a 3 star review that totally read as a FOUR!” WHERE & WHEN Rose Matafeo: Horndog, Pleasance Courtyard, 1-26 (not 14), 6.20pm, from £6 Tel: 0131 556 6550 56

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28/06/2018 15:22

COMEDY FESTIVAL FAVOURITES

BRETT GOLDSTEIN WORDS JONATHAN TREW PHOTO IDIL SUKAN

Your show tackles sex, porn, love and addiction.

Has your love life been a bit rocky of late?

I now have great gratitude for the relationship that broke me. It forced me to address various things about my mental state, and how I had been approaching life and relationships. And it gave me a new Fringe show. Oi! Oi! Internet dating and porn has radically altered dating.

Is face-to-face dating the answer?

These days your experience of personal connection involves looking into a rectangle. It ignores three of your senses. It also can only increase narcissism because most of these things involve you actually talking to a mirror, looking lovingly into a screen, which also has your own face on. We’re all fucked.

Does being an actor help make you a better comic?

I think being a comic teaches you to be truthful.

Audiences can smell something disingenuous. You can’t ‘act’ stand-up. Hopefully it has made my acting better in that I get huge alarm bells going off in my head if I am not being truthful in a performance. Most pretentious answer I’ve given. Excuse me while I go and hate myself in a mirror.

Would you rather be stuck on a desert island with ten comics or ten actors?

Ten comics. No hesitation. Ten actors on an island is some kind of horrific nightmare – I’d rather have gone down with the ship.

WHERE & WHEN Brett Goldstein: What Is Love Baby Don’t Hurt Me, Pleasance Courtyard, 1-26, 7pm, from £6 Tel: 0131 556 6550

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FESTIVAL FAVOURITES COMEDY

MARK WATSON WORDS JONATHAN TREW PHOTO PATRICK BALLS

After your experience on Bear Gryll’s Celebrity Island, do bad gigs, unruly crowds and hecklers hold any fear?

It certainly recalibrated my ideas about what danger is.

An audience would have to do a lot more to scare me than might have been the case previously.

It must have given you plenty of material though?

Most of what I took from the island was genuine self-improvement and the actual stuff of life. I have had no success making comedy out of it. It genuinely did scar me quite a bit.

It sounds as though it was a life-changing experience I had a strange couple of existential seconds seeing a headline about my own death. The Mirror ran a story with a headline saying ‘Shock death on Celebrity Island?’. They had seen the trailer for an episode in which I said I felt I was going to die and they had written a story around this.

The thing is, I had been back home for about four months before the show was broadcast so it seemed odd to be reading about my imminent death.

Has Celebrity Island changed your audience?

It brought me to the attention of people who had no idea of who I was before. Whether or not I have a gained a new and sustainable audience remains to be seen. If people come to my live shows expecting to see me shivering on an island or picking limpets off rocks than they are going to be disappointed.

WHERE & WHEN Mark Watson: The Infinite Show, Pleasance Courtyard, 1-27 August (not 13, 24, 25), 7pm, from £14.50 Tel: 0131 556 6550 Mark Watson: How You Can Almost Win (Work in Progress), The Stand Comedy Club, 14-23 August, 1.35pm, £10 Tel: 0131 558 9005

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www.edfestmag.com

28/06/2018 15:22

COMEDY FESTIVAL FAVOURITES

RACHEL PARRIS WORDS JAY RICHARDSON PHOTO IDIL SUKAN

You’re a musician, improviser, character comic, stand- up, actor, and now satirist. What do you tell customs officials you do?

I just say actor! Much easier. If pushed, I say comedian or musician. Musician is easier because if you say comedian they ask you to “tell us a joke then”. But if you say musician they don’t say “play us a concerto”.

Has writing and performing on The Mash Report changed your stand-up?

Yeah, it’s made me feel more confident to include political and topical material.

What can we expect from your Musical Comedy Club?

It’ll be a relaxed, super-fun jamboree of different musical comedy styles. Guests include Pippa Evans, Jess Robinson and Harry And Chris. I’ll be belting out a few of my favourites too, plus a couple of new ones, including a Greatest Showman-inspired power ballad!

What do you enjoy about late-night Fringe gigs?

There’s just a more relaxed, joyful and often quite drunk vibe; it can create a party atmosphere. My favourite late-night show I do is Austentatious’ cross dressing charity show, Crosstentatious. It’s usually late, lots of the audience dress in drag and it’s a totally different feel from our daytime shows.

Are improvisers more spontaneous than others?

In real life? I think years of saying, “yes, and...” on stage, of your goal being to work together to build something and to keep something going rather than “winning” a scene, does eventually seep into you and makes you more likely to say yes, in groups, in conversations, down the pub. For better and worse.

WHERE & WHEN Rachel Parris’ Musical Comedy Club, Pleasance Dome, 14, 21, 23 August, times vary, £13 Tel: 0131 556 6550 Austentatious, Underbelly Bristo Square, 15-24 August, 1.10pm, from £14 Tel: 0131 510 0395

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FESTIVAL FAVOURITES COMEDY

LARRY DEAN WORDS KATE COPSTICK PHOTO MATT CROCKETT

You’ve won or been nominated for a major award almost every year since 2011. Which one do you have your eyes on this year?

Sounds pure corny, but I really just hope my show is good and that people enjoy it. I mean, hopefully the industry like it as well. They’re people too, I guess. If I was pushed for what award though, I guess I’d aim high. I’d like to be the first comedian to win Best Newcomer after being nominated 4 years ago, because someone realised they made a huge mistake giving the prize to the person who DID win. That, or the Nobel prize for bitterness.

Do you like Edinburgh audiences?

I do. Especially now that I have a wee bit more of a following. When I did my first and second solo shows, some days I could tell that most of the audience had been flyered for my show, had no idea what to expect, and felt disappointed that I wasn’t their type of comic. In my first year, two old men asked for a refund because they hadn’t been warned I was gay before they’d bought tickets. What I love about Fringe audiences though, is that they tend

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to laugh at jokes that no other festival audiences will get.

They’re proper comedy savvy. Nothing like Dubai, where the audiences are wanting you to do a clubby set in a hotel function room. I guess it’s variety that keeps the job interesting.

Do you still identify as a bender?

Aye, I still call myself a bender. Mainly because it gets a laugh and the word ‘gay’ often gets used in place of negative words like ‘rubbish’ or ‘fluffy’. My sexuality itself is a very small part of who I am, though. I don’t define myself by who I want to pump. I don’t really identify myself as anything. I think it’s just a way of creating boundaries and walls to make you feel safe, which ultimately ‘others’ people who don’t identify with your group, leading to less communication. Maybe that’s just because I’m Scottish, though.

WHERE & WHEN Larry Dean: Bampot, Assembly Checkpoint, 2-26 August (not 15), 4.40pm, £8 Tel: 0131 226 0000

www.edfestmag.com

28/06/2018 15:23

COMEDY FESTIVAL FAVOURITES

JESS ROBINSON WORDS JONATHAN TREW PHOTO KARLA GLOWETT

Can you tell us a little about the show?

It’s called No Filter and it’s a little bit naughtier than before. I’m not tied to Britain’s Got Talent anymore so I can say what I want. I’m opening up a bit more about celebrities. I’m not saying that this year is really rude. I’m not going to be dropping any C-bombs. There might be a little mild swearing but I’ve not suddenly turned into Jerry Sadowitz. It’s me but unfiltered.

When did you start doing impressions?

My mum was a teacher at my school.

I felt that I needed to be the first person to take the mickey before any of my friends could, so I started imitating her.

I love her so much and I felt awful. She just says whatever she thinks. I need to be more like that. I’m so polite and such a people-pleaser. I’m trying to find a balance between saying what I really think and not being rude. Perhaps doing impressions wasn’t the wisest career choice.

Have you ever been tempted to use your talents for evil?

As in prank calls? I’ve often done that.

I was thinking more along the lines of getting past a bank’s voice recognition security?

It would have to be a sort of Robin Hood situation. For example, I could take all of Katie Hopkins’ money and give it to refugees. She would hate that.

WHERE & WHEN Jess Robinson: No Filter, Assembly George Square Gardens, 2-26 August (not 13, 20), from £9 Tel: 0131 623 3030

www.edfestmag.com

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FESTIVAL FAVOURITES CABARET

ALI MCGREGOR WORDS KATE COPSTICK PHOTO CLAUDIO RASCHELLA

Do you ever miss opera?

I do sometimes miss the discipline of opera. Probably more the classical/ romantic genres of Mozart, Rossini, Massenet, Puccini though. There’s something thrilling about finding ways to make a performance unique that has been done in exactly the same way by thousands of other singers. To find ways of putting your own spin on notes that must be sung ‘just so’.

Festival over the past 3 years has meant that I’ve made it my job to see as much cabaret as possible while at the Fringe.

The last three years I have seen around 40-50 shows a season. So I now feel like I am qualified in a sense. I have loved seeing performers grow into their acts, their characters, their skin while doing what can only be described as a masters degree in performance which is what a Fringe festival is, really.

You are now not just a Fringe favourite but something of an institution - is it a great responsibility?

I think it is utterly delightful to be considered an ‘institution’. My role as Artistic Director of the Adelaide Cabaret

What draws you to a song?

I do believe a great song is a great song, no matter what genre. Coming from opera I have always sung other people’s songs. I don’t consider them cover songs really but rather I take a song that hits me somehow

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and see if I can make it my own. There have been many songs that I love but I can’t bring new light to. And there have been accidental songs that I didn’t even think I liked but that took on a new form once I stripped it of all its connotations.

Is there any musical genre that can’t be given a McGregor-over?

No! I once did a hard core metal song as a jazz beat poem and it was killer! I can safely say that if I can put Aqua and Radiohead in the same setlist I have no fear of genre.

WHERE & WHEN Ali McGregor: Decadence, Assembly Hall, 2-12 August (not 8), 6pm, £12 Tel: 0131 623 3030 www.edfestmag.com

28/06/2018 15:23

COMEDY FESTIVAL FAVOURITES

LOU SANDERS WORDS KATE COPSTICK PHOTO IDIL SUKAN

Your bios all say ‘writer, stand-up comic, actress’. Is that the order in which you see yourself?

Well I spend a lot more time eating than I do acting, but I guess that doesn’t look as good on the CV. Do you find the three disciplines feed off each other?

Yes, for sure. You have to be good at writing, as it’s half the job with stand up.

The writing is something that I’ve really had to work hard on as it didn’t come easily at first, but I really love it now.

We all want instant results, but there’s something quite satisfying about grafting and seeing the progress.

Do you ever get a little twinge when someone else gets a huge laugh with a line you wrote?

Nah, I feel pride. Validated, like it’s a win for the team. Unless it’s very much in my voice and not theirs, then I feel a tiny twinge. But I still feel pleased that I got something in that went well. You have to remind yourself that creativity is endless, otherwise you’re acting from fear which is the enemy of creativity. www.edfestmag.com

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You’ve been open about your sobriety, but the Fringe is a boozy environment.

Does it ever get hard to stick to your guns?

Whenever I feel slightly tempted I just think of all the hideous things I’ve done when I’m drunk and the pang goes away quite quickly. I just fast forward the night and think, ‘nah, I’m good.’

Then I eat instead.

Finally – what gives with the piggy?

I just wanted to meet a pig. Pure and simple. Me and some quality pig time.

No – I called the show various things in previews including An Apology to All the Guys I’ve Touched, just as a nod to the fact I can be a creep too. But then, Shame Pig was snappier so I chose that. Then I thought, ‘well, you gotta have a pig.’ On that note, a big shout out to Kew Little Pigs who were great and treat their pigs very nicely.

WHERE & WHEN Lou Sanders: Shame Pig, Monkey Barrel Comedy Club, 2-26 August (not 15), 12.30pm, PWYW Tel: 0131 225 5149 EDINBURGH FESTIVALS 2018

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FESTIVAL FAVOURITES COMEDY

FELICITY WARD WORDS KATE COPSTICK PHOTO PHILLIP GATWARD

What does this year’s hour hold?

Weirdly, this is my least painful show in years. I chose Busting a Nut as a title because it means to work hard, which I do on stage. It also has jizz-y connotations, and I do some blue material, and ‘nut’ is a light slur against the mentally ill, so I thought it covered the bases nicely. It turns out I’ve written an hour of just good old-fashioned, straight up stand-up. But it’s me, so there’ll be enough weirdness to keep it interesting.

I hope. No story. No learning. Hopefully just sore ribs.

For someone living with depression, Edinburgh in August can be a stressful place. How do you get through it?

Oh mate, if I knew the answer to that I’d be a millionaire. I try each year to put more things in place to make it easier for longer. I don’t read reviews. I don’t find out if reviewers or any industry are coming in that night.

I get a food shop delivered when I arrive, and half way through. I swim as often as I can. I occasionally do yoga. Don’t do many or any late-night gigs. I try to surround myself with like-minded people who are just trying to get through it. And I try to book in nice social things so I don’t get my head caught too far up my own corkhole.

I have to work on myself in the lead up, too.

Bloody hell, it’s a lot of work being me.

Do you think stand-up can be therapeutic?

I never do stand-up as a therapeutic measure. I think it’s a bit dangerous for people like me to sort my shit out in front of an audience. With any of my shows that are on the “heavier” side, or could be described as “deeply personal”, I’ve talked about all that stuff with a therapist first. But that doesn’t mean I’m immune to audience reactions; it still hurts when you’re pouring your heart out in the funniest way you know how and they’re like “meh”. At the same time, the connection I’ve received from audiences has been wonderful whenever I’ve really dived into it.

WHERE & WHEN Felicity Ward: Busting a Nut, Pleasance Courtyard, 1-26 (not 13), 9pm, from £7 Tel: 0131 556 6550

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28/06/2018 15:24

CIRCUS FESTIVAL FAVOURITES

CIRCA WORDS JONATHAN TREW PHOTO DAMIEN BREDBERG

Can you give me Wolfgang in a nutshell?

Wolfgang is a new circus creation for children using the music of Mozart with acrobatics, slapstick, clowning and theatrical magic.

Is entertaining children with Mozart a risk?

Or is that underestimating both children and the music of Mozart?

It’s always risky creating a new work and this one is no different, but the music in the show has an energy and vivacity that is charming and delightful. Finding ways for our physical languages to engage with the music has been one of the wonderful challenges of the creation.

They say never work with kids or animals but Wolfgang has some audience participation?

Yes, there is a scene where Wolfgang gets a little too fussy and needs a replacement! In terms of behaviour, acrobats have always got a bit of animal in them but our young audiences have been delightful.

Is this going to be a more intimate show than some of the large scale Circa extravaganzas we have seen at the Fringe?

This show is very different to our previous work.

It’s very intimate in some ways, as well as playful, funny and delightful.

WHERE & WHEN Circa: Wolfgang, Underbelly’s Circus Hub, 4-25 (not 8, 13, 20), 2pm, from £14 Tel: 0131 510 0395

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KIRI PRITCHARD-McLEAN COMEDY

Seeing the

LIGHT After exploring the dark side of comedy as writer and director of Gein’s Family Giftshop, Kiri Pritchard-McLean turns the spotlight on her own darkest hour with her most personal stand-up show yet WORDS STEPHEN ARMSTRONG

“I

find this very hard to talk about,” says Kiri Pritchard-McLean.

“But there was a really terrifying bit where I was convinced I was completely mad – because I trusted him, I loved him and I believed him.”

‘He’ is Pritchard-McLean’s exboyfriend and the unnamed, absent co-star of her complicated, dark and funny tale of lies, cheating and gaslighting. The couple had been together for a while when Kiri heard a rumour that he’d been unfaithful.

He denied it so convincingly that she accepted his story – and then, as things started happening that didn’t add up, he told her it was all in her head, that she was going mad, that everyone was worried about her because she was being so irrational…

It’s a textbook piece of gaslighting – a psychology term named after the eponymous 1940 film where a husband torments his wife by playing with the gaslights then denying they’d flickered at all. Gaslighting has bubbled into public consciousness recently but Kiri was convinced it could never happen to her.

“I didn’t realise that I was in quite a dangerous situation, because I’m tough, smart, university educated, and I’m an empowered woman,” she explains. “I know what a victim looks like and it doesn’t look like me. I’m the person who looks after everyone in my life so it couldn’t be me that needed help.”

The resulting deeply personal show is a departure for the 31-yearold, whose recent forays to the Fringe have been high concept stuff, from writing and directing gothic comedy troupe Gein’s Family Giftshop, through 2016’s stand-up debut about sexism in comedy to last year’s show about mentoring a vulnerable teenager.

“I was originally writing about

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PHOTOGRAPHY KAYLA WREN

our empathy deficit – talking to non-offending paedophiles because that’s a group I think we all struggle to empathise with,” she says with a smile.

“Eventually I realized – I can’t not talk about this. I felt like I was being silenced in loads of different ways and, with stand-up, I’ll be expressing myself in the purest way possible – so I can’t be misconstrued or misinterpreted.”

It’s a typically bold move from a bold comic – born tough, or rapidly made so growing up on a farm near Anglesey with two big brothers, a dad, “who’s a proper Del Boy” and a mum from farming stock who worked in an old people’s home, “wiping arses, as she so eloquently put it.”

She’s always been ferocious about her art – playing tough rooms and working hard to ensure her feminist critiques of the industry came from experience and that, “any of you sexist old bastards who’ve been on bills with me have watched me turn a tough room around,” she says defiantly. “I’ve earned my right to have this conversation.”

Does she think this will be a #metoo festival? She snorts.

“Not in the sense of dealing with the sexual harassment in the industry but people are at least talking about it on stage. I’m not saying the problems won’t take a very long time to solve but the conversation is only ever moving forward. For me, I have to tell my own story and that’s what the show is about. Being really honest and talking about stuff that matters is difficult but it’s comedy at its best.”

“I’ve earned my right to have this conversation”

WHERE & WHEN Kiri Pritchard-McLean: Victim, Complex Pleasance Courtyard, 1–27 August, 8pm, from £10.50 Tel: 0131 556 6550 All Killa No Filla Live, Underbelly George Square, 5, 12, 19, 26 August, times vary, £14 Tel: 0131 510 0395

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THEATRE HOME

A HOUSE FOR A HOME Fringe favourite Geoff Sobelle heads to the International Festival, where his latest piece builds a two-storey house on stage every night to bring everyone together under one roof: the home WORDS LYN GARDNER PHOTO HILLARIE JASON

brilliantly engaging, multi-award-winning The Object Lesson at Summerhall in 2014.

The Object Lesson — a show in which Sobelle wryly commented on “the thin line between vintage and crap”— probed our relationship with stuff, and the objects, emotions and memories that we accumulate over a lifetime. It was inspired by a period when Sobelle’s own life was in upheaval and most of his possessions were packed up in boxes.

“I’m not super logical or rational when I am making something. Everything I do springs from a gut feeling, an instinct. I have got to have a personal connection to the material or I can’t make the show,” says Sobelle.

HOME takes its inspiration from the 100-year-old house Sobelle lived in in Philadelphia, where he discovered traces of previous occupants in the dents on the walls and the layers of linoleum on the kitchen floor.

“Removing the layers of linoleum was like an archaeological excavation,” recalls Sobelle, “and it made me imagine all the people who had lived there before me. It had once been their home and now it was mine and at some point in the future, someone else would

“Everything I do springs from a gut feeling” call it their home.” It also

B

uilding a two-storey house on stage every day is no mean feat, but it’s one that Geoff Sobelle and his company will undertake each night at the King’s Theatre for the run of HOME, a show cocommissioned by the Edinburgh International Festival.

“We’re a ragged little outfit, and trying to find a way to make a great spectacle on this scale has been challenging,” admits Sobelle, who at one point during the piece’s making didn’t just want to build a house, but wanted it to collapse and fall apart too. Just in time he realised “that was another show entirely.”

Sorting the good ideas from the impossible ones — what theatre-maker Emma Rice once described as knowing the difference between “strong” and “wrong” — is part of the long process for Sobelle’s non-script-based pieces. His shows will be familiar to Edinburgh Fringe audiences from Flesh and Blood and Fish and Fowl at the Traverse in 2010, and the 68

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made him ponder on the differences between a house and a home.

Sobelle’s work takes him away on tour a great deal, but the theatre is the place that he most thinks of as home. Arriving at each new theatre, “feels like taking a boat into port, a safe haven,” he says.

Making each of his shows is a slow, painstaking process of assembling a like-minded family around him who come together to work collaboratively and create a piece that is as much sculpted as it is written.

HOME features an illusion designer and a choreographer as well as a scenic designer and a director. Sobelle also turned to his sister Stefanie Sobelle, an academic specialising in the www.edfestmag.com

28/06/2018 18:04

HOME THEATRE

“I hope people go in as strangers and come out as a congregation”

“It’s about how we share space” A two-storey house is built on stage during each performance

intersections between art and architecture, to work as dramaturg, and his Los Angeles high school friend, Elvis Perkins, to provide the songs. Perkins, the folk-rock singing son of Psycho star Anthony, describes his wandering troubadour role as being that of “a one-man Greek choral figure who comes and goes, commenting on what is happening.”

If Flesh and Blood and Fish and Fowl could be read as a savage absurdist comedy about the environment, and The Object Lesson seen as a comment on consumerism, www.edfestmag.com

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space. It’s ultimately about love and taking care then HOME can be interpreted in numerous of other people. I think of the whole evening as ways. Perhaps as a metaphor for the way we a theatrically geeky way of trying to get people are only temporary custodians of the planet, to go to a party. What I hope happens is that to a meditation on Trump’s desire to build people go into the theatre as strangers and walls to keep people out, and Europe’s ongoing come out as a congregation as refugee crisis. our pulses and hearts come “It’s meant something together and start beating different everywhere we have WHERE & WHEN together. It’s a sneaky way of taken it,” says Sobelle. “But HOME, King’s Theatre getting people to bond with ultimately it’s about how 22-26 August, times vary, strangers without realising that we share space and how we from £17 is what’s happening.” welcome people into that Tel: 0131 473 2000 EDINBURGH FESTIVALS 2018

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DANCE AKRAM KHAN

THE LOST STORIES For his dancing swansong, Akram Khan takes to the stage with a performance that turns a spotlight on the Indian soldiers of WW1 WORDS KELLY APTER PHOTOGRAPHY JEAN LOUIS FERNANDEZ

H

alfway through Xenos, the latest production from Akram Khan Company, we hear a series of men’s names emanating from a battered gramophone.

Anonymous and unknown, they represent a fraction of the 1.5 million Indian soldiers who lost their lives during the First World War. Those who survived returned home from the trenches to find an Independent India had no interest in those who fought for the British Empire.

A hundred years after the war ended, theirs and other stories are slowly being told – something Khan was keen to be a part of.

“I was always interested in telling my own stories,” he says. “But more and more I’m becoming interested in telling other people’s stories – the stories that are not heard. While we were creating Xenos, lots of articles were coming out, stuff that was fuelling what we were doing.

“I think as a society, we have to embrace the fact

“It’s not about the movement, it’s about the intention” that there is always a 360 degree perspective, but the media, the government and the colonial winners have always written history in a very particular way.”

Xenos, meaning ‘stranger’ or ‘foreigner’, finds Khan sharing the stage with five classical Indian musicians, and an epic set design which slopes up the back wall like a hillside. Depicting a lone soldier remembering his life as a dancer before being sent to fight, and incorporating aspects of Prometheus, a hero from Greek mythology, this is an important work for Khan in more than one way.

Not only does it help redress the balance of history, and whose narratives we’re taught in school, but it will be Khan’s final full-length show as a performer. Having formed his company in 2000, after training in the classical Indian dance style of Kathak since childhood then studying contemporary dance, Khan has always had a spellbinding, inimitable style. Many will mourn the loss of seeing him dance on stage, but as Khan

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turns 44 this year, his body no longer feels the way it did.

“The piece takes a lot out of me emotionally and physically, but it’s not performing I have a problem with,” he says. “Once you’re on stage, the concept of time disappears because it’s so heightened.

It’s suspended for a moment, and that’s what art can do sometimes, but then you come back into reality.” And the reality, of course, is lots and lots of training – something made easier in the recent past, by the addition of a studio in Khan’s garden.

“It was great to have my studio in the back, otherwise I would not be doing Xenos,” he says with all seriousness. “I just wouldn’t have survived it I would have avoided going to train.”

Although Xenos signals the end of a chapter in Khan’s life, the reality is some way off. After playing this year’s Edinburgh International Festival, the show will tour then return to London in 2020. Only then will it be time for Khan to say goodbye to the dynamic solos he’s become so famous for.

“It hasn’t hit me yet because I’m still dancing and still dealing with physios and all the pain, so that keeps me busy,” he laughs. “But I think in terms of letting go, I will be sad at the last show.”

One of the key factors in Khan’s decisionmaking, was the realisation that “I don’t need my body, that my mind can dance through other people’s bodies” – as witnessed in his highly acclaimed 2016 production of Giselle for English National Ballet.

We’ll also get a glimpse of that in Edinburgh this summer, when Kadamati, a short work created by Khan will be performed by hundreds of local dancers in the grounds outside Holyrood Palace.Like Xenos, the piece is inspired by the First World War, and will focus on connection, identity and hope.

“It’s really exciting and very beautiful to go back to grassroots and work with a mass of people collectively,” says Khan. “I experienced that a little bit in the Olympics, but there were 51 of us – this is going to be between 600 to 800 people. It’s quite an extraordinary feeling, because it’s not about the vocabulary anymore, it’s not about the movement, it’s about the intention.”

www.edfestmag.com

28/06/2018 18:06

AKRAM KHAN DANCE

“I’m interested in telling other people’s stories - the stories that are not heard”

WHERE & WHEN Xenos, Festival Theatre, 16-18 August, 8pm, from £14 Tel: 0131 473 2000 Kadamati, Palace of Holyroodhouse, 22 August, 6.15pm, free

www.edfestmag.com

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A GRAND GRAND DAY DAY OUT OUT A

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FRANK SKINNER THEATRE

POWER OF THE PEN

This year Frank Skinner passes up the microphone to debut his first play WORDS CRAIG McLEAN

F

rank Skinner has a confession to make.

For all his deep and wide experience in the entertainment industry, from stand-up to TV presenting to memoir-writing to pretending to be Johnny Cash in a whimsical, self-written Sky Arts drama the other month, he still wouldn’t have written his first play if he hadn’t received a phone call saying: “Would you like to write a play that would be put on in Edinburgh?”

Why not?

“I think because all my background is in television,” he replies. “That’s what I know best, even though I go to the theatre a lot. But if I was to chart why I love this job, I could write a book, ‘Frank Skinner’s 25 Phone Calls’, in which I’d just list those exciting calls when you get job offers.”

This exciting call came via BBC Arts and agents Avalon. They partnered in a project called Debut, aimed at encouraging writers to try their hand at a new format. Actress Katherine Parkinson (The IT Crowd, Humans) has written Sitting, while Skinner has penned Nina’s Got News.

Skinner wrote the first draft in ten days, working fast with his gift for, as he puts it, “expression rather than invention”.

But, perhaps out of first-timer’s nerves, he declines to give away too much of the plot – “I’ve heard you’re not meant to,” he jokes, as if it’s some “Scottish play”-type curse.

Still, he will say that it looks at the importance of belief and whether ex-partners can remain just good friends. In brief, “it tells the story of Nina’s truly incredible news, how her ex-boyfriend and her best friend react to it, and whether they can possibly believe her.”

In terms of casting, “it’s three people, in their late twenties, so there’s no place for me,” the remarkably youthful 61-year-old replies. But he has tapped fast-rising comedian/poet Rob Auton to act after Skinner caught an instalment of his anarchic show Bang Said The Gun, a spoken word night that’s featured guest turns from the likes of Kate Tempest, Roger McGough and Jarvis Cocker.

Still, one thing seems certain: it will be funny. And if anyone knows the heartbeat of the Fringe, it’s the man who first performed in Edinburgh 31 years ago and who,

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“I always got laughs in the pub, so I thought I’d just do that” four years later, won the Perrier Award, beating Eddie Izzard and Jack Dee. On that first visit, in 1987, Skinner was acting in a student production. But in his spare time he obsessively watched the late night cabaret at Pleasance, hosted by his future Fantasy Football partner David Baddiel.

“I got back from that visit and decided I wanted to do a comedy show the next year,” he recalls. “So I called up Calton Studios and said I wanted to do a stand-up show in Edinburgh. They said, ‘well, that’s quite an early booking…’ ‘But I just want to get it sorted. How much is it?’ “Well, how long will you do?’ ‘I dunno, two hours?’

‘Nobody does two hours.’

“So I said I’d do an hour, they said that would be £400. I had 435 quid in the bank, so I sent them 400.”

To be clear, he adds with a smile, he had, by this point, found sobriety after several years of ruinous drinking. So this was a sober decision?

“It was!” he chirps. “I hadn’t even written any jokes! I had nothing. But at that point, my original idea – and I swear this is true – was not to do any comedy in the interim: just turn up to Edinburgh the next year and do a show. Without writing any material. I always got laughs in the pub, so I thought I’d just do that.”

Still, common sense of a sort prevailed.“I did do a couple of gigs where I died on my arse.

And I always wondered: might I have quit after those two disastrous shows had I not already spent that 400 quid?”

WHERE & WHEN Nina’s Got News by Frank Skinner, Pleasance Dome, 1–26 August, 2.50pm, £14 Tel: 0131 556 6550

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AWARD WINNERS EDFESTMAG.COM

NATALIE PALAMIDES

ANYA ANASTASIA

Tell us about your show My show follows a pretty cool dude, Nate, on his journey to find love. On the surface, he appears to suffer from toxic masculinity, but on the inside he’s got a big heart and when it comes to the ladies, he always makes sure to get consent.

Tell us about your show The Executioners is a refreshedevery-minute contemporary cabaret holding a mirror up to the modern world (or rather, taking a selfie with it). My character is a 6 foot tall, smart phone-wielding, futuristic vision in white spandex and stacked heels with a serious tech addiction.

She hits on socially relevant hot topics like they’re Tinder profiles, and asks hard, insightful questions despite being a narcissistic idiot.

Needless to say, she's an immensely fun character to play, especially as she is backed by a supremely more insightful (and far less obnoxious) off-sider played by musical maestro Gareth Chin.

What has been your weirdest Fringe moment?

Shoving my finger in Neal Portenza’s butt in a bit we did with Dr. Brown last year.

Best Newcomer 2017

What would be your number one tip for newcomers?

Don’t read the reviews! Who cares how many stars you have. The sky will have more than you ever will anyway, so just look up at night.

What's the best and worst thing about the festival?

The best thing is that there are so many different shows by so many different artists. That’s also the worst thing, because you never get a chance to see everything and always miss out on something really great!

WHERE & WHEN Natalie Palamides: Nate, Pleasance Courtyard, 1-26 Aug (not 13), 6pm, from £7

COMEDY CHAMPS

What would be your number one tip for newcomers?

B is for box of vegetables. Buy one at the start of the Fringe. It will be your daily reminder to occasionally consume something that isn’t one of the other Fringe food Bs: beige, battered, and beer.

What's the best and worst thing about the festival?

Best: My fashion choices make sense.

You can wear a headdress made of mannequin hands and 15 iPhones and nobody bats an eyelid. Worst: Trying to find a place to charge 15 iPhones at once.

WHERE & WHEN Anya Anastasia: The Executioners, Gilded Balloon Teviot, 1-26 August (not 13), 8pm, from £8

Made In Adelaide Award

Last year's Fringe stars are back for more WORDS CHIARA MARGIOTTA

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28/06/2018 21:48

w

EDFESTMAG.COM AWARD WINNERS

ROB KEMP

Barry Awards Best Performer

What has been your weirdest Fringe moment?

I know I should be cool and blasé about this, but getting applause from comedians I admire was a bit mind-blowing. Saying that, I saw a

IAN SMITH Tell us about your show My show is a stand-up show mixed with the obligation to include some unusual elements, like origami and not actually being inside the venue at all times during the performance.

It also includes some shouting, a theme tune and I'll be sitting on a stool for one joke.

What has been your weirdest Fringe moment?

Probably punching through some watermelons onstage during Late 'n' Live. What they don't tell you about watermelons is how difficult it is to get rid of the smell from your hand after you've punched through them.

What is your number one tip for newcomers?

I think Heidi Regan’s show,

Tell us about your show I'm doingThe Elvis Dead again, which is Evil Dead II retold through the songs of Elvis Presley.

It's some of the most fun I've ever had on stage. Wheel of Shows is the, 'how do I follow such unexpected success,' show. It's kind of about anxiety and indecisiveness. The starting conceit is that I have a wheel with a number of show ideas on it. I'll spin the wheel and perform whichever idea it lands on. It's a different kind of show, but hopefully the disparate parts will hang together in a coherent way.

Heidi vs Sharks, will be fantastic. I saw a really brilliant preview of it in February – and February is ages away from August, so I imagine it will be even better!

What's the best and worst thing about the festival?

The best thing is the fish and chips from City Restaurant and the worst thing is how I feel about myself after a month of eating just fish and chips from the City Restaurant.

WHERE & WHEN Ian Smith: Craft, Underbelly Bristo Square, 1-26 August (not 13), 5.15pm, from £6.50

Amused Moose People's Champio n

crowd of people applauding a dog hunched over doing a walk/poop manoeuvre on Bristo Square, so the value of applause is relative (they gave it three stars).

What would be your number one tip for newcomers?

That stupid idea of yours?

Run with it! Trust your instincts, and remember to have fun - if you perform like you're fed up with your stuff, the audience will see it.

New festival attendees? Take a chance on a show you don't know, a free show, or a different artistic medium. Try pizza crunch (but only once), and try haggis too!

WHERE & WHEN Rob Kemp: The Elvis Dead, Pleasance Courtyard, 1-26 Aug (not 6-7, 13-14, 20-21), 10.20pm, from £7 Rob Kemp's Wheel of Shows, Monkey Barrel, 3-26 August (not 13), 1.15pm, PWYW

LAUREN PATTISON Tell us about your show My show loosely picks up where the last one ended. I figured people would want to know what's gone on in my life since then, so this one takes a look at the past year. It's about pushing through and also how to do a push up.

What would be your number one tip for newcomers?

Don't go out and get hammered every night! It can be so tempting and you might have that fear that you're missing out but you only get one shot at your debut and feeling fresh for it every day is so beneficial – to you and your audience who haven't paid good money to see someone hungover stumbling over their words.

The Herald Angel Award

What's the best and worst thing about the festival?

The best is being in the same place as your mates who you don't get to see so much of through the year.

The worst is that it can be a bit of a slog to power through the month, and it's also very expensive.

WHERE & WHEN Lauren Pattison: Peachy, Pleasance Courtyard, 1-26 August (not 13), 7pm, from £6.50

www.edfestmag.com

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AWARD WINNERS EDFESTMAG.COM

JO CAULFIELD Tell us about your show Killing Time is about my favourite subject – ME. I'm a stand-up comedian. I don't go for themes.

There's no bells or whistles. It's just me and a microphone. And to be honest, if there wasn't an audience, I'd still be talking!

What has been your weirdest Fringe moment?

It was a bittersweet experience.

It was my first year at the Fringe and I was excited seeing all my posters.

Three days in, I was walking just after midnight, and I saw a man looking at my poster. As I got closer I realised he was drunk and he was urinating on my face.

What would be your number one tip for newcomers?

Don’t read reviews. The audience response tells you everything you need to know. And don’t read anyone else’s reviews. Don’t get into the trap of being jealous of someone else’s good review or secretly happy about someone else’s bad review. You are NOT in competition with anyone.

No one is forcing you to do this. No one is holding a gun to your head.

Relax and remember how incredibly lucky you are to be doing something you actually want to do. And deals

The Herald Angels Archangel Prize

PROM KWEEN Tell us about your show Prom Kween is every high school movie you ever watched, infused with pop culture and the hot mess that is American politics. Dipped in glitter. With songs. And drag.

What would be your number one tip for newcomers?

Eating ISN'T cheating. Line your stomach before you inevitably go out on the lash after your show every day.

Vomming on the pavement is not a good look, hun.

Also don’t drunkenly promise anyone to climb Arthur’s Seat with them because, like Liam Neeson they will find you, and it will kill you.

Mervyn Stutter Spirit of the Fringe Award

are NEVER made in the Loft Bar at midnight. ‘Networking’ is for bankers and insurance salesmen.

WHERE & WHEN Jo Caulfield: Killing Time, The Stand, 3-26 August (not 13, 20), 7.40pm, £10

What's the best and worst thing about the festival?

The best thing is being a part of a city full of creativity and imagination. It’s an incredibly inspiring place if you’re open to it. The worst thing is when you’re not at all open to it, when you suddenly become aware that you can’t get away from your job and would much rather be somewhere relaxing and quiet not thinking about theatre. Can’t be that bad though – we always go back for more.

The Stage Edinburgh Awards

WHERE & WHEN Prom Kween, Assembly George Square Gardens, 2-26 August (not 13), 9.05pm, from £10

GANDINI JUGGLING Tell us about your show: 8 Songs tries to conjure the inner spirit of eight rock and roll songs, from sexual attraction to devious pleasures and lost love.

What has been your weirdest Fringe moment?

During a performance of Smashed, I mistook The Times critic for an old friend started hitting him with a rolled up newspaper.

Surprisingly, we got a good review.

What would be your number one tip for newcomers?

Trust your ideas and know that in the tunnel of the show there will be moments of self doubt. Also, nobody other than stand-ups and flashy circus makers make any money!

What's the best and worst thing about the festival?

Edinburgh is a city with history. The ghosts of the past hover in its alleyways. An ocean of humanity comes to see shows. This brings out the best and – very rarely – the worst in both the performer and the audience.

WHERE & WHEN 8 Songs, Assembly Roxy, 1-27 August (not 7-9, 15, 21), 4.40pm, £10 Gibbon, Assembly Rooms, 2-25 August (not 7-9, 15, 21), 1.30pm, £8

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www.edfestmag.com

28/06/2018 18:13

TERRY ALDERTON

gospel choir? He reckons we should do it after 20 minutes, but I think we need to do it right at the end. But then, it’s not me paying for them all to come here from New York!

Tell us about your show It’s going to be the best show I’ve ever done!

It’s a musical. What more do you need to know? I think some people are going to love it, some people will think it’s a little peculiar and some people will hate it and walk out in the middle – you know, a normal Terry Alderton show.

We’ve been working for a while now on our Radio 4 shows – and they’re wild!

So this show is a continuation of that. I’ve been working with Owen Parker, he got nominated for a Grammy and has worked with Girls Aloud, Pet Shop Boys, Billy Bragg, Robbie Williams, Simple Minds and loads of other people, so the songs are really good.

We’re either going to leave with another award or I’m going to get sectioned.

We’re really trying to do something new and original and I can’t wait for people to see it. Last year we got loads of 5 star reviews, but one reviewer gave us 1 star and described the show as, “a toxic spew of irrelevant bile.” That was my favourite review of them all!

I have to be incredibly grateful to Richard Melvin; he’s helped me put the show together. He’s a real comedy connoisseur and a brilliant producer. Our main argument though, is at what point in the show do we drop the curtain to reveal the 80-strong

What has been your weirdest Fringe moment?

I once ate a very dry chicken shwarma.

I couldn’t understand why it was so dry.

Half way through I realized I was eating the napkin it was wrapped in at the same time. I also got a really nice table and a free meal at a very swanky restaurant because the staff there thought I was Harry Hill.

Weirdest of all though was the time a fellow comedian bit me on the nipple in the middle of an argument about England’s midfield selection.

What would be your number one tip for newcomers?

It’s a marathon, not a sprint. Enjoy it and make the most of all the opportunities.

If someone offers you the red pill – take it!

And don’t worry too much, it’s not that big of a deal. It’s not a proper job.

What's the best and worst thing about the festival?

Seeing all my friends and seeing all my friends.

WHERE & WHEN Terry Alderton: The Musical, Assembly George Square Studios, 1-27 August (not 13), 6.30pm, from £7.50

KEN CHENG Tell us about your show It's a real departure from my first show; this is a much more personal storytelling show. I was a weird kid, and when I was young my only friends were my hundred toy lambs who I ended up creating my own sci-fi universe with. It's very much a show that unravels, revealing more weird stuff about my childhood and my family.

Over the past couple years I found out so much dark stuff about my family and I was like, "Whoa. This is really crazy. Better make a show out of it."

What has been your weirdest Fringe moment?

One Fringe, I stayed in a flat that was above a Scotland shop which only ever played bagpipe cover songs, so every morning I would wake up to the sound of well-known pop songs but done with bagpipes. I went slowly insane over the month as this noise seeped into my subconscious and became the incidental music for my life. I could not escape it.

Dave's Best Joke Award

Malcolm Hardee Award for Comic Originality

What would be your number one tip for newcomers?

The whole pressure of it being your "debut year" is way higher than it should be. Ultimately it's about the long-game and you have to accept that this year will be the hardest year, but it will also be the one where you most improve. If you have a harder than expected debut, don't lose hope. In the long run, none of that matters. If things don't go as expected, don't feel defeated but instead learn from it.

When I got back from the Fringe last year I had improved so much and it's how you capitalise on that experience that's the important part.

What's the best and worst thing about the festival?

The best thing is that everyone's there. It's great for the social aspect. The comedy community feels sparse and disjointed the other eleven months of the year. The worst part is feeling like ultimately you are all cogs in a machine that is becoming more and more corporate and less and less favourable towards the performer. I know that a lot of people are going to lose a lot of money and time for no reward.

WHERE & WHEN Ken Cheng: Best Dad Ever, Bedlam Theatre, 1-26 Aug (not 15), 3.30pm, £10

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ASSEMBLY FESTIVAL PRESENTS THE CLASSIC SPRING PRODUCTION

SIMON CALLOWin

DE PROFUNDIS oscar Wil de

ADAPTED BY

FRANK McGUINNESS DIRECTED BY

MARK ROSENBLATT ‘AN ILLUMINATING, AFFECTING EVENING’

DRESS UP.

TELEGRAPH

SING LOUD .

THIS IS THE GREATEST SHOW.

WHATSONSTAGE

TIMES

© 2017 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. All rights reserved.

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JAYDE ADAMS COMEDY

DIVINE

DIVA Channelling the Divine Miss M, Jayde Adams is leaving vulnerability behind in favour of bright lights and big numbers, Bette Midler-style WORDS KATE COPSTICK

PHOTOGRAPHY SUZIE LARKE

This year’s show title is an homage to Bette Midler – have you always been a Bette fan?

For all her rom-coms, massive music career, Vegas shows (and let’s not forget she’s queen of the gays) Bette Midler has been an idol of mine my whole life. I won’t be plagiarising anything she’s done (except the title) but if I can get reviewers to say things like, “she’s the next Bette Midler” or, “Jayde Adams is a gay icon,” I’ll be chuffed. I’ve been doing vulnerable for the last couple of years, but I don’t feel like that anymore. Time for some jokes and songs and fabulous gowns I say! Most of the gay icons that I adore are from the US, but why can’t a gay icon be from Bristol?

You experienced the classic comedy rite of passage – finding your funny as a form of defence. Were you aware that was what you were doing?

Mum sent us to a nice school to have a good education, but that meant I fell into an obvious stereotype as a normal Brizzle girl in one of the top schools in the South.

I was the fat, plain, working class, Bristolian yokel when I was growing up. To be honest, I’m still all of those things with a few surprises up my sleeve for all the judgmental people who never thought I’d amount to anything.

Now laughter has become the way I pay the rent.

Before I was just trying to get attention and I couldn’t do it by showing off my sporting skills or how sexually desirable I was or how clever I was. Survival, ain’t it!

But it took your sister’s death to free your funny completely. Do you feel she would be proud of you?

Wherever she is, she’s jealous! Sooooo jealous.

There would be a part of her that would be proud but she loved attention as much as me. When she got cancer – as much as it scared her and she didn’t want it – the attention she got from it was something she didn’t deny. Humans are odd, ain’t they? And Jenna Adams was no exception. She also would love how much I have to talk about her in interviews and would totally take all credit for my success. But yes, of course www.edfestmag.com

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“Why can’t a gay icon be from Bristol?” she’s always with me. I don’t know what I believe but it comforts me massively to know she’s somewhere near by, smoking fags and giving me a wink and a nod.

My brother, who is still alive, does not give a fig about my job. I asked him once, “why don’t you come watch me perform?” And he said, “well you don’t watch me do electrics do you?” Fair play.

Do you think having had experience of dancing competitively and singing from a young age helped you with stand-up?

The first time I performed in front of people was when I was five, and at least once a week until today. A lot of standups’ first time on stage is their first gig.

I’m very lucky that my mum spent 12 years making me do something I never wanted to do. Kicking and screaming up the road, “I don’t want to go! Don’t make me do it!” 12 years that woman put up with me being a wimp. She’s harder than anyone I’ve ever met.

You’ve had several wins since taking home the Funny Women 2014 prize. Is the winning important to you?

I hate competitions, and I hate that people feel like they’re in competition with others in comedy. I entered Funny Women because Lynne [Parker] had asked me loads and I kept saying I wasn’t ready. I was shoved into competitions as a teenager with my talented sibling, and she’d always win and I would lose. Competitions are horrendous. I will admit it’s lush to be recognised after working this hard, but there are always loads of people who don’t think you deserve it. And yes, I love it when the audience are in the palm of my hand but I have to remember that my shit still stinks and I don’t know the answer to anything.

Does being Bristolian help with the funny?

Mate. Before the jokes, there was the accent. I cannot deny it. I’m blessed! I’ve been ridiculed by middle class people my whole life, instructed to say words like “butter” and “purple.” And the best thing is that people think I’m putting it on! We traced my family ancestry back to the 14th century and do you know what we found out? That we’re originally from Bristol. I’m a thoroughbred my lovely, and I’m proud. I fly the Bristol flag up high (we don’t have a flag).

WHERE & WHEN Jayde Adams: The Divine Ms Jayde, Pleasance Courtyard, 1-27 August, 9.30pm, from £7.50 Tel: 0131 556 6550

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THEATRE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD GAME

E M A G A E C A R OF liberal y rubs up against er av sl of y or st hi The Game erground Railroad white guilt as Und erse slips into the Trav RDNER

WORDS LYN GA

S

PHOTO BEN ARON

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hen the New York Times recently published its list of the 25 Best American Plays since Angels in America, nestling in at number 21 amidst already acknowledged modern classics, including Lynn Nottage’s Ruined and Brue Norris’ Clybourne Park, was Underground Railroad Game.

Arriving at the Traverse this festival, it’s a savagely comic two hander about how hard it is to talk about the legacy of slavery. It is created and performed by Jennifer Kidwell – who is black – and Scott R Sheppard – who is white. During the show both put their bodies on the line to make visible how the past impacts on the present.

These upcoming Traverse performances are likely to leave British audiences as discomforted as their American counterparts have been.

In the US, many found themselves caught somewhere between horrified, sometimes guilty, laughter and free flowing tears.

“You use the same muscle group to laugh and cry,” explains Kidwell, who says that “comedy allows us to access deeper truths, and we are constantly playing with the danger of laughter and what it reveals. You can almost feel people looking at each other in the audience and nervously asking: ‘do you find that funny?’ Sometimes people smile as if to reassure themselves that what has been said is safe.”

“How the audience react is always absorbed into the play,” says Sheppard. “It has a very porous fourth wall.

But people experience it differently. Some people leave very upset and others leave bewildered that others have found it controversial.”

Kidwell and Sheppard met when they were graduate students at the Pig Iron School for Advanced Performance Training in Philadelphia, and the show’s inspiration came from Sheppard’s childhood memory of taking part in a school history class in which students were divided into two groups: those trying to help the enslaved escape using the network known as the underground railway and those on the Confederate side trying to prevent them.

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“I’ve got bigger fish to fry”

“Race is its own performance” www.edfestmag.com

28/06/2018 15:27

UNDERGROUND RAILROAD GAME THEATRE

“We’re constantly playing with the danger of laughter” In the show, Kidwell and Sheppard play teachers, Caroline and Stuart, instigating a similar game amongst their pupils – the audience. There may be no actual physical audience participation, but that doesn’t mean that we aren’t put on the spot as it becomes increasingly clear that Caroline and Stuart’s relationship is more than simply professional.

Race, desire, power and sexual bondage are all put under the theatrical microscope in a piece that employs clowning and buffoonery, as well as popular tropes from romantic comedy, historical re-enactments and sex play. Kidwell describes the show as, “a meditation on performance, because race is its own performance,” and Sheppard adds it is very much, “a piece about modes of storytelling.”

As Kiddwell observes: “It’s a look at how we create this thing called history. What happened in the past is everyone’s history. But our individual perceptions of it are often very different.”

The show began as a student project back in 2013 and while it has become a fruitful creative partnership, it was not always an easy one.

Kidwell and Sheppard have had to fight through their differences, but both reckon it is those differences that lend the piece it’s complexity and power in a world where the legacy of slavery can lead to white and black taking up polarised positions.

www.edfestmag.com

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Because the pair have been working on the play for so long, Kidwell says that the piece has changed over time to reflect current history as it unfolds, including #MeToo and Black Lives Matter, and the election of Donald Trump.

“It shifts as the molecules around it shift. It makes it interesting to perform, interesting and often snarly and entangled because what it’s looking at is snarly and often difficult to talk about,” says Kidwell.

That’s reflected in the fact that Underground Railroad Game, often described by US critics as ‘lacerating’, refuses to let a white, liberal audience – and most theatre audiences are just that – off the hook.

“We are not trying to make people look like assholes,” says Sheppard, but neither are they trying to comfort the audience.

“Most plays have some kind of catharsis,” says Kidwell. “But here the catharsis, or the lack of it, WHERE & WHEN is deliberately murky. We don’t offer Underground Railroad any answers about how we might Game, Traverse Theatre, move forward. Not everyone can deal 2-26 August (not 3, 6, 13, with that.”

20, 25), times vary, from £15 Tel: 0131 228 1404

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COMEDY ONES TO WATCH

MICKY OVERMAN The background bit Dutch-born Micky offers up an unusual combo of whimsy and brutal honesty in her sharp social commentary. Expect a selfassured, edgy delivery from the Canadiantrained comic.

The show bit While discussing some of the more questionable decisions in her own life, Micky attempts to figure out how to set an example for the next generation of women.

The extra bit The show was inspired by her day job of being a nanny.

WHERE & WHEN Micky Overman: Role Model, Pleasance Courtyard, 1-26 August (not 13), 10.30pm, from £6

GET FRESH

GEORGE LEWIS The background bit After successes in almost every New Act competition over the last couple of years, the Stockport stand-up and Top Gear: Extra Gear presenter brings his confessions of a nerdy youth to Edinburgh.

The show bit A wonderful meander through George's socially awkward teenage years.

Be prepared for overuse of the word, 'cool'.

The extra bit: He won Celebrity Mastermind answering questions about his heroes, Oasis.

WHERE & WHEN George Lewis: A Man, A Plan, A Girl With A Fake Tan, Pleasance Courtyard, 1-26 August (not 13), 5.45pm, from £6

Check out these new faces on the comedy block before they get scooped up for a Netflix special, says Gayle Anderson

CATHERINE BOHART

MAISIE ADAM The background bit The quirky Yorkshire comic combines observational and anecdotal humour with some fantastic physicality. She's the 2017 'So You Thing You're Funny?' winner.

The show bit A self-confessed party animal and 'slave to the sesh,' Maisie explains the difficulties involved in combining the recklessness of youth with a medical condition that requires her to be a part-time 'sensible Susan'.

The extra bit Maisie's comedy heroes are Victoria Wood, Lucille Ball, Peter Kay, Micky Flanagan and her Nan. WHERE & WHEN Maisie Adam : Vague, Gilded Balloon Teviot, 1-27 August, 4.30pm, from £6

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The background bit Listed on the BBC Talent Hotlist 2017, the Irish rising star has already been described as, "pretty much the perfect comedy package." Expect an abundance of personal revelations and razor-sharp gags.

The show bit As the bisexual, OCD daughter of a Roman Catholic deacon, when it comes to perfect comedy material, Catherine doesn't need to search too far from home.

The extra bit As a comedy writer Catherine has contributed material to The Mash Report and Frankie Boyle's New World Order.

WHERE & WHEN Catherine Bohart: Immaculate, Pleasance Courtyard, 1-26 August (not 14), 4.15pm, from £6

GARY MEIKLE The background bit Instantly likeable and wonderfully understated, this Glaswegian comic is a direct, punchy storyteller.

The show bit From surviving the care system to becoming a father at the age of seventeen, Gary has turned his own difficult life experiences into an inspirational and very funny - first hour.

The extra bit Gary previously worked as a debt collector.

WHERE & WHEN Gary Meikle: Before All This, Gilded Balloon Rose Theatre, 1-26 August (not 13), 7.15pm, from £6

www.edfestmag.com

ONES TO WATCH COMEDY

ALICE SNEDDEN The background bit A rising star on the New Zealand comedy scene, Alice studied improv at the same New York theatre school as Amy Poehler. Deliciously dry humour.

The show bit Snedden uses her extended family and weird and wacky upbringing as the backdrop for the show.

The extra bit She's a qualified lawyer who did her first comedy gig the night before being admitted to the bar.

WHERE & WHEN Alice Snedden: Self-Titled, Pleasance Courtyard, 1-26 August (not 14), 9.45pm, from £6

CHRISTOPHER MACARTHUR-BOYD The background bit The fresh-faced, bespectacled Glaswegian has a nice line in self-deprecation, once describing himself as, 'Gok Wan meets Ronnie Corbett.' Big things are predicted for this three-time Scottish Comedian of The Year finalist.

The show bit 3.4 million adults in the UK still live with their parents.

Christopher is one of them.

Expect jokes about wrestling, modern masculinity and crying in train stations as he describes this uniquely millennial problem.

The extra bit Christopher loves his gran so much that he got a tattoo in her honour. She hates it.

WHERE & WHEN Christopher MacarthurBoyd: Home Sweet Home, Gilded Balloon Teviot, 1-26 August (not 13), 10.15pm, from £6

KATE BERLANT

ASHLEY BLAKER

The background bit With her surreal, experimental style, YouTube sensation Berlant is at the forefront of the US alt comedy scene.

The show bit Berlant uses improvised monologues and a host of weird and wonderful characters to push the boundaries of conventional comedy. Expected the unexpected – like, is she really psychic?

The extra bit Kate voiced several characters on Netflix's BoJack Horseman series.

WHERE & WHEN Kate Berlant: Communikate, Assembly George Square Studios, 1-26 August (not 13), 9.15pm, from £6.50

The background bit The UK's only strictly Orthodox Jewish comedian, Ashley brings his show directly from an Off-Broadway run.

The humour is witty and drier than a Matzo cracker.

The show bit It offers him the chance to debunk some myths about his religion and in the process, maybe create a few new ones.

The extra bit Before stand-up, Ashley was a successful TV producer.

He's the man responsible for unleashing Little Britain on the masses.

WHERE & WHEN Ashley Blaker: Observant Jew, Underbelly Bristo Square, 1-26 August (not 4, 11, 18, 25), 3pm, from £6.50

MURRAY HILL The background bit The New York gender-bending legend brings his signature blend of hammy humour, torch song crooning and outrageous audience interaction to the Fringe for the first time.

The show bit An all-singing, all-dancing throwback to old-school comedy entertainers, www.edfestmag.com

Hill contemplates the struggles and heartbreaks of his years in showbiz.

The extra bit Murray has performed at the private parties of Joan Rivers and Liza Minelli.

WHERE & WHEN Murray Hill: About To Break, Gilded Balloon Teviot, 1-27 August (not 13), 9.15pm, from £7 EDINBURGH FESTIVALS 2018

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ONES TO WATCH COMEDY

ROSIE JONES The background bit Mischievous and irreverent, Rosie's passion is to make disability less of a taboo subject in comedy.

The show bit She ponders what life would be like without cerebral palsy. Who is 'able-bodied' Rosie?

Powerful, thought-provoking and stonkingly funny stuff that delves into disability and sexuality.

The extra bit When working as a researcher for 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown, Rosie's first gag on TV came out of Jimmy Carr's mouth.

WHERE & WHEN Rosie Jones: Fifteen Minutes, Pleasance Courtyard, 1-26 August (not 13), 8.30pm, from £6

SINDHU VEE The background bit Indian-born former investment banker and all-round clever clogs Sindhu Vee is the host of BBC Radio 4's Comedy of the Week podcast.

The show bit Being the generation responsible for both children and aging parents is no laughing matter - or is it? Sindhu offers up super sharp observations and relaxed story-telling.

The extra bit The Vee is short for Venkatanarayanan.

WHERE & WHEN Sindhu Vee: Sandhog, Pleasance Courtyard, 1-26 August, 4.30pm, from £6

SARAH KEYWORTH The background bit Deadpan with a side order of sarcasm, Sarah's anecdotal story-telling is punctuated with sharp one-liners.

The show bit A refreshingly honest, semi-autobiographical tale about expectations, gender, and self-acceptance.

The extra bit She once dressed up as Ed Byrne during a gig.

WHERE & WHEN Sarah Keyworth: Dark Horse, Pleasance Courtyard, 1-26 August, 5.30pm, from £6

JAKE LAMBERT The background bit Shedloads of sharp one-liners and a sunny disposition are Jake's stock-in-trade. When he's not doing stand-up, he can be found writing for 8 Out Of 10 Cats, Mock The Week and The News Quiz.

The show bit Described by a few people (including his own girlfriend) as, 'the weirdest normal person they've ever met,' Jake's show extols the virtues of cutting your own hair, remembering the exact date you first tasted certain foods, and owning a one-eyed cat.

The extra bit Jake decided to give stand-up a try after gaining a Twitter following of over 19k under the pseudonym, @LittleLostLad. WHERE & WHEN Jake Lambert: Little Lost Lad, Pleasance Courtyard, 1-26 August (not 13), 6pm, from £6

MYQ KAPLAN JACQUELINE NOVAK The background bit A straight-talking, often shocking New York-based stand-up, Jacqueline has appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon and The Late Late Show with James Corden.

The show bit Things get a touch hot under the collar as Novak shares some blush-worthy personal stories to help us decide what we should and shouldn't get embarrassed about.

The extra bit A published author, she's written a self-help book on how to cope with depression.

WHERE & WHEN Jacqueline Novak: How Embarrassing For Her, Pleasance Courtyard, 1-26 August, 5.45pm, from £6. www.edfestmag.com

The background bit New York's cosmic joke slinger, Myq (it's pronounced Mike) has proper comedy chops. He's appeared on all of the US late night chat shows, reached the quarter finals of America's Got Talent, and has his own Netflix special.

The show bit A self-confessed weirdo, he ponders universal topics like love, death and bathrooms. There's also some Nickelback and Kanye thrown in for good measure.

The extra bit Myq once battled a robot in a joke writing competition.

WHERE & WHEN Myq Kaplan: All Killing Aside, Underbelly Bristo Square, 1-26 August (not 13), 9.15pm, from £7

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COMEDY LOST VOICE GUY

Silent but

DEADLY Britain’s Got Talent 2018 winner Lee Ridley - better known as Lost Voice Guy - might have lost his voice to cerebral palsy, but he hasn’t let that take a toll on his funny bones WORDS JONATHAN TREW

PHOTOGRAPHY STEVE ULLATHORNE

A

fter challenging his comedy hero Ross Noble to a Stephen Hawking impersonation battle in 2012, Lee Ridley, armed with his voice synthesiser and an impressive catalogue of jokes, has taken the comedy circuit by storm.

I read that if you won BGT, you would buy a Geordie voice for your synthesiser. Surely the temptation must be to get a range of voices for different situations?

LVG: It would be quite nice not to sound like a posh version of Robocop anymore. Then again, I’ve had a voice similar to the one I have currently for most of my life, so it might be weird to change it now. Anyway, the posh accent makes my jokes funnier.

What effect do you think your win will have on the way that disability is viewed by the general public?

LVG: I hope that by seeing disabled people like

myself on national television, some of the stigma will be taken away from disability. When I was growing up, I was always getting picked on because of my condition, but that was only because people didn’t understand properly.

And that’s still a problem today. So I hope that people will get more used to disabled people if they see more of us on television.

By making fun of yourself, you give the audience permission to laugh at the absurdities of your condition. Do you think the audience’s relief at being allowed to laugh makes for bigger laughs?

LVG: Yes, I do think I get bigger laughs because the audience feels awkward at first. When I first walk on stage, they’re not sure what to expect or how to behave. Once they know it’s OK to laugh and that we’re all on the same side, they seem to enjoy themselves!

How do you deal with hecklers at live gigs?

LVG: I’ve actually never been heckled yet.

But I do have some comebacks stored just in case. I’m dying to use them!

So much comedy depends on pauses and intonation. Do you need to program your synthesiser for comedic effect?

LVG: It was one of my main concerns when I first started doing stand up, and it’s still something I have to think a lot about. It’s slightly harder for me to stop in the middle of a joke and allow laughter. If I know a laugh is coming, I can get ready to pause it, but every audience is different. Sometimes I put random punctuation in a joke so that there’s time for people to laugh, too. It’s just a case of knowing how to use things to your advantage.

WHERE & WHEN Lost Voice Guy: Inspiration Porn Gilded Balloon Teviot, 1-26 August (not 13), 4pm, from £6 Tel: 0131 622 6552

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“It’s just a case of knowing how to use things to your advantage”

In your act, you explore how a person with a disability might use it to their advantage.

There isn’t a right way to phrase this but what are the top three ‘perks’ to your condition?

LVG: 1. Getting a seat on the train, even when it’s busy.

2. Getting out of an argument by pretending my batteries are dead.

3. ALL THE FREE PARKING.

www.edfestmag.com

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SVEN RATZKE: HOMME FATALE Homme Fatale brings the drama to a man's world.

The most devastatingly theatrical, iconic, and fabulous of performers from Bowie to Reed are given the cabaret treatment in signature Sven style, complete with custom costumes by Thierry Mugler.

WHERE & WHEN Assembly Hall, 14-26 August (not 20), 6pm, from £13

JONNY WOO'S ALL STAR BREXIT CABARET Brexit gets glamorous with the Jonny Woo treatment. Join the drag diva and his gang of superstars, from Olivier Award-winning composer Richard Thomas to comedy queen Jayde Adams, for a cabaret spectacular that really makes politics pop.

WHERE & WHEN Assembly George Square Gardens, 2-27 Aug (13, 20), 6pm, from £14

Y A H SAS

ON STAGE You'll find charisma, uniqueness, nerve, and talent in abundance amongst the stars of this year's drag and cabaret extravaganzas WORDS CHIARA MARGIOTTA

THE MISS BEHAVE GAME SHOW The only show at the Fringe where phones are encouraged, iconic cabaret nightmare team Miss Behave and Tiffany are collapsing all the rules and all the barriers in a celebration of chaos and anarchy, complete with a splash of camp.

WHERE & WHEN Gilded Balloon Teviot, 8-18 Aug, 10.30pm, from £12.50

GINGZILLA The queen of the night is back with a drag doublebill, taking glamour into the wee hours. Join the 7ft Glamonster for a cinematic extravaganza, then follow her into the witching hour for Late Night Lip Service.

WHERE & WHEN Assembly George Square Theatre, 1-26 August (8, 14, 21), 8pm, from £10; Gilded Balloon Rose Theatre, 3-5, 10-11, 17-18, 24-25 August, 12am, from £10 88

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CABARET & DRAG ROUND-UP CABARET & CIRCUS

HOT BROWN HONEY

YUMMY Yummy knows drag isn't just a boys' club.

This multi-gender, multi-talented, multicoloured troupe encapsulates the best of cabaret, dance, circus and music in an award-winning show that's simply delicious.

WHERE & WHEN Assembly Roxy, 1-26 August (not 8, 14, 21), 9.40pm, from £13

The Honeys are back and dancing ever closer to world domination.

Be inspired and let them change your world. Whether it's circus, aerial work or song, their message won't be silenced: fight the power, support women, decolonise and moisturise.

WHERE & WHEN Gilded Balloon Teviot, 1-27 Aug (not 2, 8, 23), 7.30pm, from £15.50

YANA ALANA: BETWEEN THE CRACKS On stage in a costume of blue paint and some scattered gems, Yana Alana may be exposed, but performer Sarah Ward is always in control. Prepare for diva tantrums, progressive politics, and fearless subversion - all presented with a voice you'll never forget.

WHERE & WHEN Assembly Checkpoint, 2-26 August (not 8, 13, 20), 8pm, from £12

LITTLE DEATH CLUB

LE GATEAU CHOCOLAT: ICONS Icons from Whitney Houston to Pavarotti get the cabaret treatment courtesy of the rich baritone of Le Gateau Chocolat, an icon in his own right.

WHERE & WHEN Assembly George Square Gardens, 2-26 August (not 13, 20), 7.30pm, from £13

www.edfestmag.com

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Debauchery, decadence, and devilish darkness take hold at Little Death Club, hosted by the inimitable Bernie Dieter of La Clique fame.

Expect gender bending, suprise performances, and burlesque like no other in this utterly modern, utterly unique take on Weimar kabarett.

WHERE & WHEN Underbelly's Circus Hub, 3-25 August (not 13), 8pm, from £12.50

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FROM THE AWARD WINNING COMPANY THAT BROUGHT YOU

KNEE DEEP AND DRIFTWOOD

THE IMPORTANCE OF STAYING VISIBLE

IN A WORLD OF CLOSED DOORS “The most magnificent show of the Festival.”

Edinburgh Festival Magazine (Driftwood, 2017)

15:10

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ROXBURGH PLACE

Two brothers have to hurry to clean up their room before their Mum comes back

What could possibly go wrong?

A circus comedy for the whole family 12:00 p_90.indd 90

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THE PICCOLO

28/06/2018 20:15

MR SWALLOW COMEDY

AND FOR HIS NEXT

TRICK...

I

t’s the elephant in the room. How can Edinburgh Fringe darling Mr Swallow top his all-singing, all-dancing Dracula musical of four years ago? Or his 2016 Houdini performance, which saw him dramatically free himself from chains and a water tank?

For his most spectacular show yet, Nick Mohammed’s excitable, misguided alter-ego is back performing solo. Except, that is, for his new co-star, Hayley the elephant, whom he’s pledged to make disappear.

Quite how this will be accomplished, Mohammed - a Magic Circle member currently writing his second children’s novel about magicians - is keeping cloaked with a veil of secrecy. “We’re still trying to work some things out” he sighs.

“I’ve got so much more to say as Mr Swallow” The camp, vainglorious, gaffeprone Mr Swallow “is suddenly in the hands of another big machine of a show that he can’t quite control, but he’s trying his best”.

As the voice of a “very sweet, hesitant and childlike” Piglet in Disney’s live-action feature Christopher Robin, after recent comic turns in Bridget Jones’s Baby and Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie, the irrepressible Mohammed scarcely needs the Fringe to boost his career.

“But I adore it, I absolutely love it,” he maintains. “The motivation is obviously slightly different to when I first started [as part of the Cambridge Footlights in 2004]. I just want the creative freedom, especially now that Mr Swallow has found an audience in Edinburgh and London. I feel like I can do things on a grander scale. Besides, being on the front www.edfestmag.com

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He’s mastered Houdini’s escape tricks, sang his heart out as Dracula, and this year Mr Swallow is going to make an elephant disappear. Is there anything he can’t do?

WORDS JAY RICHARDSON PHOTOGRAPHY REBECCA PITT

line, presenting yourself to an audience is still such a thrill. And a challenge. I’ve got so much more to say as Mr Swallow. I’ll keep coming until I’ve no longer got new ideas for him.”

A huge fan of Michael Crawford’s daredevil physical comedy, he reveals “there’s a routine in this new show that’s a bit hairy in terms of the danger side of it”. In defence of these antics, he says, “I’m a strong believer in throwing in as many gimmicks as Mr Swallow can get away with. Because he’s so distracted and flitty, he just goes from one thing to another.

“The concluding joke with him is always that he can actually do the thing that you assume he can’t. There’s a lot of fun to be had in promising something, undermining it and being unable to deliver. But then showing you can in a roundabout way at the end.”

From appearing as an English butler in a starry, transatlantic cast for Disney’s The Nutcracker and the Four Realms to playing a chemistry teacher in Joe Cornish’s upcoming children’s movie The Kid Who Would Be King, Mohammed’s latest film choices have been influenced by him becoming a father of two young boys.

Even so, he’s also about to appear in longtime collaborator Julia Davis’ black bisexuality comedy Sally4Eva for Sky and HBO, is writing a sitcom about GCHQ spooks with a big American television star attached and is piloting a Mr Swallow chat show for Channel 4.

“We’re filming that in the autumn,” the workaholic comic sighs again. “We were going to try to squeeze it in before Edinburgh.

But it’s just not been possible with all these vanishing elephants.”

WHERE & WHEN Mr Swallow and the Vanishing Elephant, Pleasance Courtyard, 1-26 August, 7.30pm, from £7 Tel: 0131 556 6550

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CASUS: YOU AND I Bringing a more intimate form of circus to the stage, Casus co-founders Jesse Scott and Lachlan McAuly perform a particularly personal two-hander, telling the story of their love and relationship through movement. Expect gaspworthy acrobatics infused with a lot of heart.

WHERE & WHEN Assembly Roxy, 2-26 August (not 13, 20), 3.10pm, from £10

A GOOD CATCH: CASTING OFF Circus gets an intergenerational spin in Casting Off, where stereotypes are thrown to the wind and the performers take to the skies, too. Political yet funny, raunchy yet refined, this talented troupe are here to prove you're never too old or too young to have fun.

WHERE & WHEN Assembly George Square Gardens, 2-26 August (not 13, 20), 5.15pm, from £10

TOP OF

CIRQUE BERSERK! Making its Fringe debut this year, renowned extravaganza experts Cirque Berserk! are here to up the ante with a high stakes circus variety performance.

WHERE & WHEN Pleasance at EICC, 3-26 August (not 22), times vary, from £12

THE BIG TOP Celebrate the 250th anniversary of circus with some of the most jaw-dropping acts in town WORDS CHIARA MARGIOTTA

BARELY METHODICAL TROUPE: SHIFT After last year's smash hit, KIN, Barely Methodical Troupe are back with another hard-hitting dose of gut-wrenching acrobatics, impressive displays of strength and cyr wheel tricks.

WHERE & WHEN Underbelly's Circus Hub on the Meadows, 4-25 August (not 8, 13, 20), 4pm, from £10 92

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CIRCUS ROUND-UP CABARET & CIRCUS UNIVERSOUL CIRCUS With over 25 years under their belts as legends of the American circus scene, UniverSoul make their Fringe debut with Hip-Hop Under the Big Top, a beat-based acrobatic spectacular. Ringmaster Lucky Malatsi comperes the show, bringing together clowns, contortionists, dancers, acrobats, and high-wire experts for the ultimate variety experience.

WHERE & WHEN Underbelly's Circus Hub, 4-25 August, 5pm, from £19.50

FLIP FABRIQUE: ATTRAPE MOI Missed Flip FabriQue last year?

Never fear, the sell-out favourites are back with ultra-modern show Attrape Moi, featuring adrenalinefilled tricks from trampoline wall stunts to gasp-worthy parkour.

Extreme, fun, and truly unique, this troupe bring circus bang up to date.

WHERE & WHEN Assembly Hall, 2-27 August (not 8, 13, 20), 5.30pm, from £15

THE 7 FINGERS: RÉVERSIBLE Circus with a story is the order of the hour with the latest show from world renowned performers, The 7 Fingers.

Taking inspiration from the relationships shared between generations, the emotive Réversible may blend acrobatics with theatre, but that's not to say the physical performance is any less impressive in skill and drama.

WHERE & WHEN Assembly Rooms, 2-26 August (not 8, 13, 20), 6.15pm, from £12

CIRQUE ALFONSE: TABARNAK Live electro-trad music sets the scene for this impressive performance by Quebecois troupe Cirque Alfonse. Their latest show is inspired by the community church of their childhood and amped up to the max by their trademark anarchist style, full of demanding stunts and high-energy impact.

WHERE & WHEN Underbelly's Circus Hub, 4-25 August (not 8, 13, 20), 7pm, £17.50 www.edfestmag.com

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MUSIC PUSSY RIOT

FIGHT FOR T H G I R R U O Y turing their or in with a multimedia show fea do h urg inb Ed the k kic t Rio Pussy t movement of art from the Free Pussy Rio protest songs and an exhibition TOGRAPHY JACK KIRWIN WORDS CLAIRE SMITH PHO

T

he image of three young women enclosed in a cage in a Russian court was one of the most striking images of 2011. Pussy Riot, the feminist punk art group were imprisoned for their guerrilla performance of ‘Punk Prayer’ in front of the altar of the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow.

The story of the protest, the trial and the aftermath is told in Pussy Riot: Riot Days, a Fringe performance featuring Maria Alyokhina, who was imprisoned for two years for opposing President Vladimir Putin.

Producer Alexander Cheparukhin, says, “I think what the world saw were three women, looking fragile but remaining strong and daring to protest against a powerful regime.

“Riot Days is based on the book by Maria

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Alyokhina, also known as Masha. She won three lawsuits after the case, and become a symbol of resistance.”

Nastya AWOTT, another original Pussy Riot member is also in the cast. Her surname, which is always written in capitals, is a pseudonym which stands for Asian Women on the Telephone.

The show will incorporate many different forms, combining text, song, performance, archive videos, and physical theatre. “It is built around the three essential songs of Pussy Riot: ‘Putin has Pissed Himself’, ‘Punk Prayer: Mother of God Drive Putin Away’ and ‘Putin Lights the Fire for Revolution’.”

Members of Pussy Riot, wearing brightly colourful balaclavas, began staging protests in 2011 after President Dmitri Medvedev announced that Vladimir Putin would be the presidential candidate, www.edfestmag.com

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PUSSY RIOT MUSIC

‘FREE PUSSY RIOT’

by Jamie Reid, 2012

“The most important thing is to feel free” ‘PUTIN FEAR NO ART’

by Layla Sailor, 2012 despite having already served two terms. The move was supported by the Russian Orthodox Church.

After their protest performance, Alyokhina, Tollonikhova and Yekaterina Semutchevich were found guilty of ‘hooliganism motivated by religious hatred.’ Their dignified speeches from a cage in the dock made them world famous.

Chepharukhin, a theatrical producer and festival promoter, was one of the people who persuaded those with power in the rock and pop world to make statements in favour of Pussy Riot.

Madonna took off her t-shirt in concert in Moscow to reveal the words Pussy Riot on her back. Yoko Ono, Peter Gabriel and Patti Smith sent messages of support, and Paul McCartney, who is a particularly huge star in Russia, replied to an email asking for help within hours.

Some of these messages of support are displayed at Summerhall as part of Free the Pussy!, an exhibition curated by artist Tamsyn Challenger, who was part of the international Free Pussy Riot movement. www.edfestmag.com

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‘FREE THE PUSSY’

by Billy Chyldish, 2012

WHERE & WHEN Pussy Riots: Riot Days, Summerhall, 10-19 August, 7pm, £17.50 Tel: 0131 560 1581 Free the Pussy!, Summerhall, 2 August-23 September, free

But as Chepharukhin says: “It is not just about Putin and Russia. A lot of people in different countries have come to us and said you have inspired us to protest about what is happening in our countries.

“Many people still think Pussy Riot were a real punk band – but they were political activists.

There were many people involved.”

Just as punk rock said that anyone could pick up a guitar and form a band, Pussy Riot was always meant to be a protest movement. Maria Alyokhina, who was a journalism student at the time of her arrest, continues to be an activist and, with Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, founded MediaZona, which is now an alternative source of news in Russia.

As Alyokhina likes to remind people: “I was always free because I felt free. It’s very important to be free inside. The most important thing is to feel free.”

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MUSIC KEYON HARROLD

JAZZ FOR JUSTICE

Edinburgh Jazz Festival headliner Keyon Harrold might be a musical star, but his message goes deeper than just jazz as he uses music as a platform to spread social awareness WORDS ROB ADAMS

R

olling Stone magazine named him as one of the ten new artists who readers needed to know about in 2017.

Wynton Marsalis described him as “the future of the trumpet.” And when film director Don Cheadle was looking for someone to embody the musical voice of jazz legend Miles Davis in his Grammy-winning Davis biopic, Miles Ahead, he turned to Keyon Harrold.

But jazz is only part of Harrold’s story.

Aretha Franklin, The Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, Marvin Gaye, Bob Dylan, Michael Jackson and Radiohead all made an impression as his musical tastes formed. And his wide experience since becoming a professional musician includes tours and recordings with Beyonce, Mary J Blige, Erykah Badu, Rihanna and Jay-Z as well as jazz players such as his mentor, trumpeter Charles Tolliver and organist Dr Lonnie Smith.

Having grown up with nine siblings in a musical family, Harrold has early memories of his grandfather leading a drum and bugle corps, where Harrold later learned to play trumpet, and of watching his sisters bringing the house down with their singing at church functions. His older brothers all played musical instruments and he couldn’t wait to follow in their footsteps.

“Being around so many good singers and

PHOTOGRAPHY DENEKA PENISTON

Glasper encouraged Harrold to concentrate more on his own music after the trumpeter had spent almost ten years working as a hired hand to the famous. He also guested on the resulting album, The Mugician, released last year.

“The Mugician came from a conversation I had with Don Cheadle after we’d finished work on Miles Ahead,” says Harrold.

“Don said that what I’d brought to the soundtrack was the work of a magician and that morphed into mugician.”

An amalgam of funk, jazz, hip-hop and pop, The Mugician has been enthusiastically received and will form the basis of Harrold’s Edinburgh set-list where the most important element will be, he says, “music that comes from the heart.”

A native of Ferguson, Missouri which came to international attention after a young black man, Michael Brown was fatally

shot by a white policeman in August 2014 Harrold acknowledges the compliments paid to him. However, while he’s honoured to be chosen as this year’s Edinburgh Jazz & Blues Festival brochure cover star, if he had his way, the word jazz wouldn’t feature alongside his name.

“Obviously we need marketing terms to help package things,” he says. “But the idea of what my music is can’t be reduced to a four letter word.”

Harrold, whose music is inspired by everything that’s going on around him, including the Michael Brown shooting, would rather be called a ‘social music activist’ than a jazz musician.

“As a musician, I have a platform to say something to people who may not realize that racism is still a problem or that injustice is still a problem,” he says of his music’s political content. “At the same time I don’t like to purposefully go over somebody’s head.

I want anything I do to be singable.”

“The idea of what my music is can’t be reduced to a four letter word” musicians at home kept me on my toes”, he says.

“It also taught me the importance of teamwork in music. But just to be on a par with my siblings I needed to work extra hard on my playing.”

He was rewarded for this by winning a muchcoveted place on the Mannes Jazz Program at The New School in New York where he met the now hugely influential pianist and producer Robert Glasper.

WHERE & WHEN Keyon Harrold, George Square Spiegeltent, 14 July, 7.30pm, £20.50 Tel: 0131 473 2000 96

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28/06/2018 20:15

MUSIC THE BEGGAR’S OPERA

T

he Edinburgh International Festival doesn’t generally go in for jukebox musicals. Tempting though it is to imagine, it seems unlikely that Mamma Mia! or We Will Rock You will be gracing the Royal Lyceum or Festival theatres mid-August any time soon.

But 2018 is different: EIF is playing host to a show that is arguably the grandfather of all musicals. Before anyone organises demonstrations of outrage, it should be pointed out that the work in question dates from 1728 and is by the esteemed Georgian playwright John Gay. Furthermore, the word “opera” is in the title.

Yet a jukebox musical is absolutely what The Beggar’s Opera is, insists director Robert Carsen. “It’s really a play interrupted by songs, a musical in the truest sense of the word.

It’s utterly subversive. That’s one of the great things about it.”

Although The Beggar’s Opera has become part of history as one of the few early eighteenth-century dramatic works to be regularly revived, we would do well to remember how revolutionary it once was, says Carsen. The story of its creation has become legendary: Gay – then a conspicuously unsuccessful poet – had the idea of writing a script satirising Italian opera

by Handel and the like, all the rage in London at the time, in the hope of making a fast buck.

It was a radical idea.

Instead of starring goddesses and epic heroes, this new work would feature a motley crew of prostitutes, gaolers and spivs, focusing on the criminal and sexual antics of a highwayman called Macheath. And rather than commissioning a composer to write fresh music, Gay simply ransacked popular folktunes and songs.

NEW OLD FASHIONED Cops, robbers, and prostitutes take to the stage in this fresh, subversive take on The Beggars Opera WORDS ANDREW DICKSON

PHOTO PATRICK BERGER

“It’s a musical in the truest sense of the word” The finished piece took aim at everyone from political hypocrisy to the corruption of the legal system. “There are no sacred cows,” says Carsen. “Morality is turned upside-down.”

The Beggar’s Opera was a wild success.

The first production ran for an unheard-of 62 performances - the Mamma Mia! of its day.

Indeed, Gay’s producer was able to build a new theatre in Covent Garden from the proceeds.

In an irony that might have tickled the playwright, that theatre went on to become the Royal Opera House.

Carsen’s new version makes a few tweaks.

The setting is still London, but we’re three centuries later. Instead of breeches and bodices, his criminals and molls are kitted out in hoodies and pleather miniskirts. The action occurs in a warehouse full of stolen goods.

Perhaps more controversially, the text has had a refresher. Eagle-eared listeners might hear 98

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MUSIC THE BEGGAR’S OPERA

phrases such as “strong and stable” and “for the many, not the few” flitting past.

“You have to keep it alive,” Carsen argues.

“So many of the things in it are topical – references to eighteenth-century events.

A lot of that gets lost. We wanted the references to be to now.”

Purists may be relieved to hear that the music is very much intact – as indeed it should be, given that the renowned Baroque specialist William Christie and musicians from Les Arts Florissants are the house band.

“We’ve taken a fresh look at the orchestration, and changed a few words, but the tunes are so wonderful that you wouldn’t want to interfere.”

That said, there might still be the odd surprise. “You might hear hints of Kurt Weill,” Carsen adds. “But that’s in the spirit of the piece. It’s like eighteenth-century jazz, in a way. It needs to feel improvisatory and fluid.”

Anyway, as its vigorous life on stage suggests – from Weill’s scabrous Weimar-era reimagining The Threepenny Opera (1928) to Vaclav Havel’s anti-Soviet Czech vesion (1976) – some things never change. The Beggar’s Opera will always be full of venal politicians and bent coppers; in its cheerful, topsy-turvy celebration of that world, Gay’s masterwork invariably has something to say. “That’s one of the best things about the piece. It has this amazing energy. And it’s utterly merciless.”

And Carsen appears to have a few surprises left up his sleeve. After opening earlier this year at the Bouffes du Nord theatre in Paris, the show is currently making its way around Europe. Along the way, the director has been unable to resist making a few tweaks for local audiences.

There’s a rumour, I say, that some topical Scottish political references might yet be inserted. Any comment? Carsen pauses, tactfully.

“You’ll have to wait and see.”

www.edfestmag.com

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WHERE & WHEN The Beggar’s Opera, King’s Theatre, 16-19 August, 7.30pm, from £16 Tel: 0131 473 2000

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www.qmu.ac.uk 28/06/2018 20:16

JIM BROADBENT BOOKS

T

he character of Dull Margaret began to take shape in Jim Broadbent’s head more than ten years ago.

Inspired by a Breugel painting, the wellloved actor began to formulate the story of a female hermit who lived by the marshes catching eels.

Originally a screenplay, the story has finally come to life as a graphic novel, with artwork by Dix. Broadbent says, “I got into the whole idea of fairy stories – grown up fairy stories. I am from Lincolnshire and I’ve spent a lot of time on the Lincolnshire coast and the marshes – I have always loved the bleakness of them.

“I’ve also always loved the art of Bosch, Bruegel and also Goya. In particular there was one picture by Bruegel called ‘Dulle Gret’ of a woman walking past the gates of hell. It is also called ‘Mad Meg’ – but I liked the word dull.”

One of the UK’s most successful actors, Broadbent is known for his roles in Paddington, Harry Potter, and Moulin Rouge. He won an Oscar for his role as John Bayley in Iris and a BAFTA for the Channel 4 drama Longford. In keeping with his roots, he originally hoped Dull Margaret would be a film.

“I wrote it as a screenplay but it is a tough process and for one reason and another they couldn’t see any way of turning my ideas into a feature film. But I always had it in mind that it could be a graphic novel.”

WHERE & WHEN Jim Broadbent & Dix, Baillie Gifford Main Theatre, 23 August, 3.15pm, £12, Tel: 0345 373 5888

DARK AT HEART Inspired by a painting of a woman facing down hell, Jim Broadbent’s graphic novel with Dix is a true passion project WORDS CLAIRE SMITH PHOTO ROB GREIG / TIME OUT / CAMERA PRESS

Broadbent came across the cartoonist Dix through ‘Roll Up! Roll Up!’, the story of a poverty stricken circus. When Broadbent first got in touch the cartoonist was starstruck: “I kept telling him how good he was in Only Fools and Horses.”

The two began talking on the phone and through email, with Dix incorporating Jim’s visual descriptions of the story, and what would become Dull Margaret began to take shape. “I asked Jim for feedback and he kept telling me he liked everything,” says Dix. As for Dull Margaret herself, the artist was a fan. “I had a lot of empathy for the character. She is quite strong and there is humour in there as well. Jim thought of me because I have a very dark sense of humour.”

Broadbent echoes this feeling.

“I’d like people to like Margaret www.edfestmag.com

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“I have a very dark sense of humour” A sneak peek at the style of Dull

and I’d like them to be sympathetic to her and not feel she’s a bad person. I empathise with her and want the best for her.”

More than this, he’s delighted with the final product. “I’m very pleased with it. It came back very much how I pictured it – but better. I like the look and the feel of it. I haven’t really got a writer’s mentality, I haven’t got that gene but I like narrative.”

Last year, Broadbent appeared in Game of Thrones and talks of the filming experience in Belfast fondly. “It was extraordinary to be part of that production juggernaut – several episodes being shot at the same time with different directors.”

But on the question of whether his character will return, he maintains the suspense: “he isn’t dead – so he may.”

His appearance at the Edinburgh International Book Festival with Dix marks a return to the city for Broadbent, who spent many happy summers in Edinburgh, particularly with the National Theatre of Brent.

However, he’ll only be in the capital for one day, before rushing away to rehearsals for the West End production of Martin McDonagh’s play, A Very Very Very Dark Matter, about the life of Hans Christian Anderson.

Much like Dull Margaret, he says of the play, “it’s very good, but really dark, which is why it appealed to me.”

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GREG WISE BOOKS

Completing his sister’s online diary after her death helped actor Greg Wise see how her legacy could help others WORDS CLAIRE SMITH PHOTOGRAPHY ANTONIO ZAZUETA OLMOS

LABOUR OF LOVE W

Her relationships with men had taken second hen publishers approached him place to her career – but Greg had always about turning a blog about his been there for her. “Because she was not sister’s death into a book, actor able to do that kind of love I was her go-to Greg Wise had one condition: guy.”

“I said: the bottom line is that not one single Fortunately, Greg’s wife, actress Emma piece of editing can be done on this. This has to Thompson, understood. “Emma was always be a real time account.” wonderfully open to that,” he says. “She was Not that Kind of Love begins with the online always very supportive.” diary written by Clare Wise about her treatment At the time, Phyllida Law, Emma for breast cancer; it ends with Greg’s account of Thompson’s mother, was also facing serious her final illness and death.

“She started it when she was first diagnosed health problems, with what was later diagnosed as Parkinson’s disease. But there was never any and it kept going pretty sporadically – and then question that Greg should help his sister, who the cancer came back,” he says. “She was in a lot lived in the same street in West of pain and she didn’t have the Hampstead. strength to keep going, so when “The work I do meant I could I moved in with her for the last drop everything. I was incredibly three and a bit months I took lucky to be able to be with her it over.” for the last three months. It was The blog started as a a real gift.” practical way of updating Greg, who is currently filming friends and family when the a new supernatural CBS drama days were full of the timecalled Strange Angel, spoke to consuming care needed by someone very sick. But Not many experts in end of life care and thought deeply about how to That Kind of Love became support his sister. a moving, intimate and “I think we have to realise sometimes funny account of WHERE & WHEN ● Greg Wise, Baillie that the journey to death is dealing with the end of life. It is part of the journey of life,” also a beautiful testament to Gifford Main Theatre, 17 he says. the closeness between brother August, 6.45pm, from £10 ● Greg Wise with Sally Despite this, he’s still very and sister. open about his own emotions, Clare had worked as a film Magnusson, Baillie Gifford admitting that, “the most executive for Universal Pictures, Main Theatre, 18 August, frustrated I got with my sister meaning long hours, doing 11.45am, from £10 was the day before she died.” deals, flying around the world.

Tel: 0345 373 5888

www.edfestmag.com

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“The journey to death is part of the journey of life” He looks back on this day in the book, describing how Clare was becoming so weak she was barely able to say what she wanted from her days. Exasperated, he reminded himself: “IT’S HER GIG. I am merely her roadie.”

The very next day she died, “within minutes of me posting the previous evening’s blog about the ‘sameness of days’ and that I was going to have to make a unilateral decision, Clare was busy making other plans.”

The chapters written by Clare reveal a person honestly evaluating her life, appreciating everything she has but also wondering if she should have loved more and worked less.

Reflecting on the legacy of her words, Greg sums it up by saying, “it is a wonderful testament to my sister that she is being helpful to people.”

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28/06/2018 17:16

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28/06/2018 20:17

21 THINGS TO DO CITY GUIDE

2

1 GET YOUR SKATES ON

r boots d fill your rolle Clap, cheer an head u yo h spirit as with Edinburg ie ek Re d ul A e th along to watch r ei th le rl and jost Roller Girls whi k. Who knows, e rin way around th nging find yourself si d en ev ht ig ul you m 'A t, an famous ch along to their '. ne Fi So Reekie, You're

ALL ABOARD Level up your night and climb aboard the non-stop party bus. It’s not just about saving your heels from the cobblestones, it’s about getting the most out of a single night out in Edinburgh. Perks include queue jumping, waived cover fees and complimentary VIP, letting you cruise the city in style. By the time the night is done, you’ll have partied in three bars and a club on a night you’ll never forget – if you can manage to remember it in the first place. www.clubclassbus.com

Tales of the unexpected

uk www.arrg.co.

3

Go beyond the Fringe and try something different this summer WORDS EMILY JENNIFER HALL

4 CITY OF MUSIC Get the full story behind the National Museum's latest exhibition, Rip it Up The Story of Scottish Pop, along with free admission. Edinburgh Music Tours will open your eyes and ears to the music underground of Edinburgh and explain how its pop, punk and funk have gone on to influence the rest of the world. www.glasgowmusic citytours.com

TIME FOR TEA Step into Edinburgh's most prestigious department store and join Mr. Jenner himself for an afternoon tea to remember.

As you enjoy tipples and treats, the legend will entertain with stories of the city, allowing you to feel a part of the one of the most iconic destinations in the capital.

After you finish up, be sure to explore everything the shop has to offer – it even has the Queen's stamp of approval, after all. www.valvonacrolla.co.uk

5

SAVE THE DINOSAURS www.edfestmag.com

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Rescue dinosaurs after a volcanic eruption at Dynamic Earth. This brand new interactive exhibition offers up a storytelling adventure where fiction meets science to inspire and challenge young learners.

Along the way, they will get an opportunity to handle real dinosaur teeth, claws and bones.

The hardest part of the puzzle is bound to be getting your child to leave when the fun is over. www.dynamicearth.co.uk

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CITY GUIDE 21 THINGS TO DO

6

7

TAKE THE MIKE

GIN SAFARsI and get

n-tinted glasse Put on your gi inburgh er the best Ed ov sc ready to di . This ts iri sp r pe juni has to offer in h the ug kes you thro walking tour ta taste to ce an ch you the city and gives d an G&T cured salmon the likes of ginenty of pl as – as well marshmallows se. ur co of o, to Scottish gins ari.com af ds oo hf rg www.edinbu

9

Hunt for your own piece of Edinburgh in the beautiful Royal Botanical Gardens, where many of Scotland’s finest artisans will gather for a three-day fair of high-end handmade wares. You'll find everything from pottery to fashion, or for something extra special, try putting in a bespoke commission for a one-of-a-kind souvenir. www.handmadeinbritain.co.uk

Take to the stage at Brig Below, where every Monday the house band turns the mike over to the public.

The delicious cantina food is discounted, cocktails sell by the pitcher and you’re the main event. Sing your heart out, and don’t hold back – rumour has it bad performances are quickly forgiven with a round on you. www.barbrig.com

WRITTEN IN THE STARS

Stargaze from Edinburgh’s iconic Royal Observatory.

Their open days are the perfect occasion to indulge your astronomical curiosities, so climb up to the viewing gallery and stare out into the night, handle real meteorites, and learn the timeless lessons of the stars. www.roe.ac.uk

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HIGHLAND GAMES Toss your caber in the ring and try your hand at the Highland Games. After all, your chances are much better when you choose your opponents from your own mates.

Great Away Days will throw you and nine of your pals your own miniature highland games, with a full schedule of events from hurling wellies to tossing hammers. www.greatawaydays.co.uk

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OUT ON THE TILES

Channel your creativity with Helen Miles, who will provide all of the materials and expertise to guide you through your first mosaic design.

Get inspired and unwind as you style your own pattern using gorgeous coloured tile, then take your new masterpiece home. www.helenmilesmosaics.org

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MAD AS A HATTER Join in the Mad Hatter's spoon playing workshop.

You’ll learn to play the utensil to whimsical tunes inspired by Wonderland, and the guest with the wackiest Wonderland wardrobe gets a prize, but everyone will leave playing spoons like a pro or at the very least, looking mad whilst trying. www.bessybass.com

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ALL BLOWN UP Inflate imagination in the Museum of Childhood with an afternoon aimed at the youngest of audience members.

In this short workshop, little ones will master the twists and turns of transforming air and elastic into swords and animals in a hands-on class kids will love. www.edinburghmuseums.org.uk www.edfestmag.com

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Featuring Arts & Music Food & Drink in the Walled Garden

Beyond Borders International Festival 25-26 August 2018

Traquair House, Innerleithen, EH44 6PW

Programme & Box Office: 0131 290 2686

www.beyondbordersscotland.com

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“It’s like joining a rather wonderful party, but you are talking about serious matters, interesting matters” Kate Adie, Former BBC Chief News Correspondent

28/06/2018 20:19

Visit

Fife Fife Events App Coming soon!

Find out whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s on in Fife this Summer by visiting

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21 THINGS TO DO CITY GUIDE

SAY CHEESE

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Taste your way through the best cheese in town at Edinburgh's beloved cheesemonger, I.J. Mellis. These renowned experts have been dealing in all forms of dairy deliciousness for decades, from creamy bries to flavourpacked blues, so join them on their dedicated cheese tasting evening where you'll be guided through the very best on offer. www.mellischeese.net

15 PUPPY PAMPER

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AY, TEQUILA!

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SAY IT AIN'T SEWd

Bottoms up – the Tequila Festival is in town. Discover an array of tequila cocktails while you experience the very best in Mexican street food, enjoy a live mariachi band, and get stuck into piñatas galore. Upon arrival you’ll be handed a complimentary shot and a “tequila bible” to help get the party started. www.thetequilafestival.co.uk

of-a-kin Stitch a oneu sip a luxury creation as yo ret Voltaire's ba cocktail at Ca s stitch club. new-age cros provided, so Materials are bring is your to all you need a little thirst. creativity and SEdinburgh IA www.fb.com/S

SNAP HAPPY

19 18 BUZZ BUZZ Escape the city and get a taste for the wild life with Colstoun House's beekeeping course. Nature's hardest workers don’t do it alone, and this course teaches you how to maintain a colony from pollination to honey crop collection, complete with a delicious lunch inspired by the sweet nectar halfway through. www.colstoun.co.uk

www.edfestmag.com

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Treat your pooch to a full body Swedish massage and learn the skills to repeat the steps at home with this canine massage class.

You may already know how to pet your pup, but after this workshop, you'll have all the skills you need to really bond with man's best friend. www.caninetherapy.co.uk

Snap the perfect picture wherever you are with the one device you always already have with you.

This unique photography class gives you the chance to ensure the Instagram likes will come rolling in. We all experience the same Edinburgh, but when the posters come down and we all go home, these photos will keep the memories alive. www.rbge.org.uk

MARCH OF THE PENGUINS March along to Edinburgh Zoo and witness the most majestic event in the city: the penguin parade.

This beloved tradition sees penguins you can’t help but love waddle from their habitat through the zoo, putting on a show along the way. Perfect for animal lovers of all ages. edinburghzoo.org.uk

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PART TIME PERFUMER

Design your own signature scent at the Sleeping Beauty Salon. Sample and test eighteen exquisite blends and consult with a professional perfumer to handcraft a brand new scent that's completely unique. www.sleepingbeautysalon.com

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A gin crafted for the enlightened mind

House of Elrick gin is the premium craft gin from House of Elrick, Aberdeen. The core botanicals are a complement of juniper, coriander seeds, angelica root and citrus peel, built around heather, pink peppercorns, sweet fennel and rose petals, distilled with purified water from Loch Ness.

Wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t you join us for a drink?

www.houseofelrick.com @houseofelrick Please drink responsibly ¡ www.drinkaware.co.uk

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28/06/2018 20:20

DICK & DOM KIDS

W

orking together for more than twenty years, Dick and Dom’s anarchic silliness – especially on their CBBC show Dick and Dom in Da Bungalow – has won them a fanbase which stretches from school kids to parents who themselves grew up with the pair. Given the adversarial nature of their Fringe show, ºDick V Dom, we tried to get them to indulge in some prematch needle.

In 2005, questions were asked in the House of Commons about the suitability of your show for children. Best publicity ever?

Dick: An MP decided that he didn’t like the program; stopped his daughter from watching it and brought up the show in the House of

Commons. You can’t get better publicity than that. There have only been two children’s shows mentioned in the House of Commons: Blue Peter and Dick and Dom in Da Bungalow. Both for very different reasons.

Dom: It was an indication of the success of the program. We couldn’t have asked for more.

s n a e m s Thi

WAR

You have worked together for longer than many marriages.

What’s the secret?

Dick: We were best friends before we became Dick and Dom. Since then, we have remained friends first. Business comes second. If you don’t have that friendship then the brand will collapse.

Dom: Absolutely. Audiences can tell when presenters are forced into looking as though they like one another. When anyone has a genuine synergy, the friendship shines through.

It’s key to what we do.

There must be some things you don’t see eye to eye on?

Dom: Rich has a penchant for over-ripe bananas in the car. The overload of potassium in the air makes me sick.

That is as large as our differences get. In fact, it’s the only thing that stops us from being the new Ant ‘n’ Dec.

An interactive, family show set in a boxing ring, Dick V Dom is the Fringe debut for quadruple BAFTA winners Richard ‘Dick’ McCourt and Dominic ‘Dom’ Wood.

WORDS JONATHAN TREW PHOTOGRAPHY PAT MCKEEMAN

DOM DICK

Dom, you have kids. Do they watch your shows?

Dom: They occasionally watch some of the newer stuff and...

Dick butts in: One of his kids came up on the stage last night and stole the show. He came out on stage, looked at me and said, “Which one are you? Ant or Dec?” Dom: He got the biggest laugh.

Do we need to stop being silly as we get older?

Dick: No, everyone’s a bit of a big kid at heart.

We’re still quite young at heart although we are in our forties now. The silliness is the basis of our act. It’s what people like.

Dom: I don’t think so. In fact, there is something wonderfully amusing about old people misbehaving. Perhaps our second brush with fame might come when we look like two old men.

Your show involves splitting the audiences into The Dicks and The Doms for eight rounds of games in a boxing ring. Let’s hear your best pre-match trash talk.

Dick: Dom is too small to win. He is only the height of a child.

Dom: Rich has a big nose.

That’s proper fighting talk.

“Everyone’s a bit of a big kid at heart” WHERE & WHEN Dick and Dom: Dick V Dom, Underbelly McEwan Hall, 1-12 August, 1pm, from £9 Tel: 0131 510 0395

www.edfestmag.com

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28/06/2018 20:21

DAVID BADDIEL COMEDY

GOING WILD

tre in Animal feelings are front and cen el’s this new adaptation of David Baddi children’s book, Animalcolm E PORTER WORDS KELLY APTER PHOTO STEV

H

e’s no stranger to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, having ventured there for the first time in 1982. And, over the years, David Baddiel has pulled in the crowds alongside famous comedy partners including Rob Newman and Frank Skinner.

This year, however, he’ll be attracting audiences without even setting foot in the city. Adapted and performed by awardwinning children’s theatre company, Story Pocket, AniMalcolm is the tale of a young boy whose dislike of animals is called into question when he turns into a whole series of them during a school trip to a farm.

Based on Baddiel’s 2016 children’s book, the show will feature new songs, energetic staging and puppetry. What it won’t do is radically alter Baddiel’s original story.

“It’s very faithful to the book,” says Baddiel.

“Which I think is probably for the best, because young audiences don’t want lots of mucking about with what they know – they want to see what they’ve read on the stage.”

Thankfully, Adam Fletcher-Forde who adapted the story is in agreement. “An awful lot of what happens has been transferred straight to the stage,” says Fletcher-Forde. “David’s biggest concern was whether the show

“I want to take the hero and the readers on a journey” www.edfestmag.com

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would be funny, and I told him the dialogue will stay the same, because I’m not going to try to be funnier than you are.

“The words are already there, so our job has been to keep it vibrant and pacey, and use lots of stylised movement to transform Malcolm into a tortoise, cat, sheep or whatever it is he’s becoming next.”

One of five children’s books Baddiel has written for the 9-12 year old market, AniMalcolm captures what the comedian feels is a fundamental childhood passion – animals. Only in Malcolm’s case, it isn’t.

“Every time I write a kids book I try to tap into some kind of primal interest in children,” explains Baddiel, “and I think animals are one of them.

But rather than make the book about a child who’s obsessed with animals, I thought I’d do the opposite – because you want to take your hero and your readers on a journey.

“So I decided to make it about a boy who doesn’t like animals – he doesn’t hate them, he just doesn’t get why his family wants to hang out with creatures who can’t talk.”

Much like Malcolm, whose family is obsessed with animals, Baddiel lives with four cats and a guinea pig, claiming he’s “not entirely happy unless there’s an animal in the house.” He also shares his home with his wife, comedy actor and writer Morwenna Banks, and their two children Dolly and Ezra. Have they been useful sounding boards over the years?

“Yes, I show them bits of the book and try things out on them,” says WHERE & WHEN Baddiel, “and if they’re enjoying the David Baddiel’s story, that’s good. Also, all my kids AniMalcolm, Gilded books are all set in the same school, so Balloon Teviot, 1-19 August I’ll ask Dolly and Ezra what their school (not 13), 11.30am, from is like – they’re very useful for that.” £10 Tel: 0131 622 6552 EDINBURGH FESTIVALS 2018

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ART JENNY SAVILLE

PHOTO A. SAVILLE

Left: Jenny Saville Right: Aleppo

HEAVENLY BODIES A long awaited exhibition in Edinburgh sees Jenny Saville return to the city where she trained, and the gallery where she dreamed she’d one day see her work WORDS ANDREW DICKSON ARTWORK COURTESY OF JENNY SAVILLE

J

enny Saville could be forgiven for forgetting which continent she’s on. A few days before we speak, she was in Athens for the opening of a new showing of her work at the George Economou Collection. Not long before that, she was putting the finishing touches to a major exhibition at the Gagosian Gallery over in New York.

Then there’s the little matter of her retrospective at the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art in Edinburgh, another 17 works, which she installed earlier in the spring.

“I’ll be honest, it’s been brutally hard,” Saville says.

“I’m not sure where the last six months have gone. I really

Rosetta II

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want to go back to Scotland to visit the show in the summer light. It’ll be like seeing it all over again.”

Though Saville is far from an unknown figure – her breakthrough happened back in the 1990s, when she was one of the fêted Young British Artists – success came gradually.

For a start, she was something of an oddball, a figurative painter in an art world in thrall to conceptualism.

She also worked painfully slowly, taking many months to craft the fleshy, monumental nudes she spread over vast canvases.

The SNGMA exhibition is only her third museum show, and her first solo exhibition ever in Scotland. Saville is too polite to say so, but recognition in the country where she trained has been a while coming.

Serendipity plays a role, it turns out. In 2016, Saville found herself in Edinburgh on the way back from a family holiday, and popped into the SNGMA for the first time in years.

“I thought, ‘if I ever have a show in Scotland, this is where I’d like it to be.’” Two weeks later, she got the invitation letter.

Technically this is a group exhibition, with Saville’s work shown alongside that of other living artists who share her obsession with the body, but Saville is very much the star.

The Scotsman’s awestruck reviewer compared her not just to Lucien Freud – understandable enough, given their fascination with voluptuous naked skin – but to Picasso.

A more revealing reference might be Titian, another artist who made it his life’s work to render the sensual luxuriance of flesh in oil paint. In Edinburgh, the connection is made palpable: while the bulk of Saville’s work hangs at the Modern Art museum, a substantial new canvas, ‘Aleppo’, has been given pride of place at the National Gallery on the Mound, flanked by the Venetian master’s ‘Diana and Actaeon’ and ‘Diana and Callisto’. It’s a pairing she has dreamed of since visiting Venice as a teenager and spending hour after hour in front of Titian altarpieces.

“He’s been the artist for me, in many ways,” she says.

“I thought, I can’t pass up that opportunity. And if the work doesn’t measure up, then I’ll still learn.” www.edfestmag.com

28/06/2018 18:38

JENNY SAVILLE ART

"Why would you not want the whole of society represented, rather than just half? It doesn’t make sense”

Clockwise from top: Olympia, Study for Branded, Trace, Red Stare Head IV

www.edfestmag.com

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WHERE & WHEN NOW: Jenny Saville, Sara Barker, Christine Borland, Robin Rhode, Markus Schinwald, Catherine Street, Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art (Modern One), until 16 September

Saville denies that she is unduly self-critical, but it’s hard to think of how else to describe it: talk to her for even a few minutes and you sense her zeal to push her technique further than ever before. “I just want to improve, it’s as simple as that,” she says. “I’ve always done it, made critiques of my work, gone back to it: ‘this worked’, ‘that didn’t’. I can’t imagine operating any other way.”

Some have detected a change in her output in recent years. Where once she portrayed single bodies, filling the canvas with their architectural heft, these days her work has more fluidity. Multiple figures dance or writhe, viewpoints are skewed or collide. The sense is not of the body’s solidity, but its elusiveness.

How does she think her work has evolved over the years? “I’ve become more open, more mysterious and poetic, I hope. But you also lose something too; you have to lose things in order to develop in another area.”

One thing she is satisfied by is the visibility of female artists in this year’s Edinburgh Art Festival: in addition to Saville’s show, Tacita Dean has an exhibition at the Fruitmarket, and the sculptors Phyllida Barlow and Lucy Skaer are also showing new work. The art world is catching up with reality, she believes. “Why would you not want the whole of society represented, rather than just half? It just doesn’t make any sense to me.”

For herself, right now she is desperate to do what she loves most: get back into the studio and start again.

Having completed such a large run of paintings, she might draw for a bit, and see how that goes. “There’ll be something new to discover,” she says. “There always is.”

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TASTY & HONEST DISCOVER HOW A CRAFTY SCOTTISH DISTILLERY ARE OFFERING UP VIBRANT CRAFT SPIRITS, TOURS & TASTY LOCAL PRODUCE.

TAKE A TOUR Only a two hour drive from Glasgow and Edinburgh, why not take your taste buds on a tour of our modern distillery to learn the secrets of our process, from how we make our very own spirit, to the botanicals we’ve selected to create our unique and vibrant gin.

After the tour you’ll get a perfect serve of our Hills & Harbour Gin, and enjoy enviable views over the Galloway countryside.

ENJOY A UNIQUE TASTE OF THE REGION Our Galloway Picnic concept brings you a unique taste of Galloway from the regions best producers. Grab a basket and a chopping board, then help yourself to a range of cheeses, smoked goods, fresh breads and a range of preserves. We will also be serving up some fantastic artisan roasted coffee from The Good Coffee Cartel based in Glasgow.

CRAFTY COCKTAILS We’re shaking up a range of tasty cocktails at the bar for everyone who likes a tipple.

Why not try our most famous creation to date The Galloway Forager.

We take 50ml of Hills & Harbour Gin, 25ml of Elderflower Cordial and a dash of homemade Grapefruit Oleo (grapefruit bitters) to an ice filled shaker. We then add a sprig of fresh Noble Fir and shake. Strain into a glass over ice and top with soda. Garnish with a sprig of Noble Fir and a slice of grapefruit.

TOURS: MONDAY TO SATURDAY - 12NOON & 3PM

TO BOOK A TOUR PLEASE CALL US ON: 01671 404040

CRAFTY DISTILLERY, WIGTOWN RD

CAFE: TUESDAY TO SATURDAY - 11AM - 5PM

OR VISIT US ONLINE: WWW.CRAFTYDISTILLERY.COM

NEW TON STEWART, DG8 6AS

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28/06/2018 20:22

ORSON WELLES ART

A TWINKLE IN THE EYE The artistic vision of Orson Welles was always apparent in his films, but what few people know is that he was as creative on paper as he was on celluloid WORDS MARK FISHER ARTWORK BEATRICE WELLES

PHOTO PETER SHILLINGFORD/CAMERA PRESS

W

hen Beatrice Welles asks you to come up and see her etchings, you do not refuse. She is the youngest daughter of Orson Welles and administrator of the great film director’s estate. The etchings in question – a treasure trove of doodles, sketches and paintings – were created by her father over the course of his extraordinary lifetime. Until now, few people knew of their existence and fewer still had seen them.

Naturally, when she invited Mark Cousins “It’s so exciting,” says Cousins. “This is the first time that this art has been shown. Welles to look them over at her home in the Midwest did not study filmmaking but he did study art and in a storage facility in New York, he didn’t at the Art Institute of Chicago. He drew out of hesitate. “We had a gin martini and then another frustration. He had a restless imagination and gin martini,” says the filmmaker about the didn’t make as many films as he wanted to, so time they met at the Traverse City Film Festival he needed a creative outlet. He drew everywhere in Michigan where some of her father’s work around the world: on napkins, love letters and was on show. “After the second one, she said, diaries and then, more formally, paintings and ‘Would you like to make a film about my father’s sketchbooks.” drawings and paintings?’”

Where his film has five The encounter had two themes, ranging from Welles’s outcomes. First came WHERE & WHEN ● Orson Welles: passion for social justice to The Eyes of Orson Welles, his love of Shakespeare, the a “two-hour video letter” Drawings and Sketches, exhibition groups the art rapturously received at Cannes Summerhall, 2 August–23 more abstractly. Categories and the recent Edinburgh September, free include “despair”, “cities” and International Film Festival.

Tel: 0131 560 1580 ● Mark Cousins: What Are “Christmas” – one surprise It goes on general release in is that the collection includes August. Second, an exclusive You Looking At?, Spark around 50 hand-made for the Scottish capital: ‘Orson Theatre, 24 August, 8.45pm, Christmas cards.

Welles Drawings and Sketches’, from £10, Tel: 0131 718 5666 ● The Eyes of Orson Welles, “If you re-order material, you a major exhibition of around see unexpected connections,” 150 pieces. in cinemas from 17 August

www.edfestmag.com

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“He drew everywhere: on napkins, love letters and diaries” says Cousins. “In the art, you can see someone who is off-duty, familial, remorseful – there are letters to spurned lovers where he draws himself or his wife crying. Some of it is remarkably intimate. If he’s feeling bad about something, particularly in the area of romance, then he’ll draw himself looking disconsolate or forlorn.”

After spending a year immersed in Welles’s work, Cousins is no less in awe of a man he calls “one of the great image-makers of the 20th century”.

“I see the mental energy of a Picasso or a Jean Cocteau,” he says. “That unstoppablility, that inability to control the flow of your own creativity. It’s like a volcanic thing. He was massively attracted to the Celtic world, the Latin world and the Arab world. In other words, worlds of excess, where the heart is worn on the outside. There’s something about his passion, his lust for life, that punky, unplugged energy that you can see in these drawings.”

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FOOD FOODIES FESTIVAL

FIT FOR A FEAST Foodies Festival returns to Inverleith Park on the 3rd, 4th & 5th of August – and this year, it’s even bigger than ever, featuring top local chefs, a brand new live music stage, and the best street food around WORDS CHIARA MARGIOTTA

F

OODIES FESTIVAL returns to its Edinburgh home, celebrating the summer with a weekend of good food, good music, and good times at its Inverleith Park home from the 3-5 of August.

Helping kickstart the celebrations is MasterChef 2018 champion Kenny Tutt. In his very first Edinburgh appearance, he’ll be taking guests through a live demonstration of his winning scallop starter from the MasterChef final so you can learn the tricks that took him to the top.

Some of Edinburgh’s local legends join Kenny in the Chefs Theatre to demonstrate their signature dishes and share their tips for amateur chefs. Be sure to catch Six by Nico founder Nico Simeone, Ondine’s Roy Brett, Mark Greenaway, and The Pompadour by Galvin’s head chef Daniel Ashmore, who was recently named Fine Dining Chef of the Year.

Meanwhile, in the Cake & Bake Theatre, compere Charlotte White gets into the festival spirit with her Cake & Cabaret demo. Plus, Larah Bross of Bross Bagels shows you how to make her speciality – the delicious bagels that are frequently heralded as the best in Edinburgh.

All of that got you feeling thirsty? Head to the Drinks Theatre and raise a glass with Diana Thompson, who will be heading up wine and Champagne tastings, or find your new favourite

brew with guided craft beer tasting sessions.

After that, take a stroll along the Street Food Avenue and sample fabulous international cuisine, or head over to the Producers Market where you can browse through artisan foodie goods to take home.

This year also marks the launch of the brand new live music stage, programmed in partnership with Musicians Against Homelessness. Headliners Toploader, The Hoosiers and The Oasis Experience will take the festivities through to the evening, while local talent will keep the tunes flowing over the course of the weekend.

Don’t miss your chance to experience Edinburgh’s own gastronomic Glastonbury and celebrate the summer with the very best of food and drink at Foodies Festival. www.foodiesfestival.com

Appearing

Live

Toploader The Hoosiers the oasis experience

TOP FIVE AT FOODIES FESTIVAL MEET KENNY TUTT The MasterChef 2018 winner joins us in the Chefs Theatre for his Edinburgh debut.

DANCE AT THE LIVE MUSIC STAGE Toploader, The Hoosiers, and The Oasis Experience headline the live music stage.

DISCOVER CHEESE TOWN Taste your way through every type of cheesy street food imaginable, and join in with interactive cheese stretching workshops.

RAISE A GLASS IN THE DRINKS THEATRE Amp up your knowledge and taste your way through first class Champagne in the Drinks Theatre. Cheers!

BE BRAVE AT THE CHILLI EATING COMPETITION Challenge your friends to get stuck into the chilli eating competition.

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28/06/2018 18:23

FOODIES FESTIVAL FOOD

“Experience Edinburgh’s own gastronomic Glastonbury”

WHERE & WHEN Foodies Festival, Inverleith Park, 3-5 August, 11am Fri, 10am Sat & Sun, from £17 Tel: 0844 995 1111

www.edfestmag.com

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At the newly opened Mono, we focus on a complete experience.

In doing so, we aim to highlight the relationship between raw nature, our ingredients and our cultural history.

Our research lab is directed by Michelin star experienced Chef Zielinski, alongside Italian foodie Joseph Crolla and his sensational team.

No fuss, no muss.

Book your table now!

MONO RESTAURANT, 85 SOUTH BRIDGE, EDINBURGH, EH1 1HN TEL: 0131 466 4726

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MICHELIN STAR FOOD

Don’t forget your body while you’re feeding your mind. Whether you’re in the mood for Michelin-starred magic or food truck fries, we’ve got you covered WORDS CHIARA MARGIOTTA

Food for thought 21212 The Kitchin

3 Royal Terrace ££££ www.21212restaurant.co.uk

Edinburgh’s only Michelinstarred restaurant with rooms, 21212 calls a stunning listed Georgian townhouse home, and offers up the luxury experience from dining room to bedroom. Chef Patron Paul Kitching may be classically trained, but his quirky menu has ensured Kitching has made a name for himself as a unique and creative chef. With options ranging from ‘Eggs Nest’ to ‘Not Mushroom for Dessert’ bringing interest to the weekly changing menu, 21212 brings the fun and excitement back to fine dining.

Signature dish: Keep things zesty for summer with Paul Kitching’s fresh Lemon ‘Curd’ Tart 23.

RESTAURANT MARTIN WISHART 54 The Shore ££££ restaurantmartinwishart.co.uk

21212 NUMBER ONE 1 Princes Street ££££ www.roccofortehotels.com

An Edinburgh landmark in its own right, Number One is the signature restaurant of one of the capital’s most renowned hotels, The Balmoral, and sits in pride of place at the most prestigious www.edfestmag.com

address in the city. Holders of a Michelin star for over sixteen years, Number One is regularly heralded as the pinnacle of fine dining, known for seamlessly incorporating fine Scottish ingredients with classic techniques for a menu that’s refined, carefully curated, and utterly memorable.

Signature dish: No trip to Number One is complete without trying Head Chef Brian Grigor’s trademark smoked salmon.

Restaurant Martin Wishart

Trained under the likes of Albert Roux and Marco Pierre White, Martin Wishart’s credentials are not to be sniffed at. For further proof, just look at Restaurant Martin Wishart’s track record, which includes 17 years of Michelin stardom and a listing in the top 50 restaurants in the UK. The 8-course tasting menu offers the full experience, featuring top-of-the-line ingredients from Orkney scallops to Lindisfarne oysters, while the lunch menu is fantastic value, offering a snapshot

of award-winning cooking at just £32 for 3 courses.

Signature dish: Go all out with the Valrhona Alpaco chocolate mousse, a rich and heady chocolate assault to the senses, brightened up with sharp sea buckthorn.

THE KITCHIN 78 Commercial Street ££££ www.thekitchin.com

Scottish produce comes first at The Kitchin, where seasonality is key and the ethos behind the stove is ‘from nature to plate’.

The menu reads like a tasting tour of Scotland, celebrating the best and brightest from her larder from Isle of Barra razor clams and Peterhead halibut to Border roe deer and Inverurie veal sweetbreads. Put your faith in Chef Patron Tom Kitchin and go for the chef’s surprise tasting menu – we promise you won’t be disappointed.

Signature dish: Known for his nose-to-tail philosophy, Tom Kitchin lets nothing go to waste.

Try something new with the pig’s head starter, partnered with Tobermory langoustine.

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FOOD FINE DINING

Can’t decide? Experience the full spectrum of food with a tasting menu

The Pompadour

by Galvin

dark chocolate delice with salted caramel ice cream is every sweet tooth’s dream.

WEDGWOOD THE RESTAURANT 267 Canongate £££ www.wedgwoodtherestaurant.co.uk

BOROUGH 50-54 Henderson Street £££ www.boroughrestaurant.com

Former Norn head chef Darren Murray takes the helm at this brand new restaurant. Aiming to combine the first-class fare of fine dining with the relaxed vibes of neighbourhood bistros, Borough serves up an ever-changing menu of small and large plates using Scottish ingredients and European inspiration – plus plenty of great wine to enjoy.

Signature dish: The menu changes regularly, but you can always count on discovering something you’ve never tried before.

THE POMPADOUR BY GALVIN Princes Street £££ www.galvinedinburgh.com

French dining at its finest, the Galvin brothers’ Scottish destination may well boast one of the most beautiful dining rooms in the city. Full of crisp white linen, pastel hues, and artistic flourishes from the floral painted walls to the impeccably presented dishes themselves, this is one for those on the hunt for a taste of the finer things. The menu boasts the likes of beetroot marinated short rib and dashi poached wild turbot, showcasing a creative treatment of well loved and high-end ingredients.

Signature dish: You can’t go wrong with the fresh scallop ceviche, partnered with zesty lemongrass and lime yoghurt.

THE WITCHERY 352 Castlehill ££££ www.thewitchery.com

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describe the baroque glamour of The Witchery, but it’s difficult to do this showstopper of a dining room justice. Drama and theatre are at the forefront here, and the magical atmosphere is bound to impress on those romantic evenings.

Signature dish: Amp up the romance and share the lamb wellington with ratatouille and basil mash for two.

Scottish heritage takes pride of place at Wedgwood, from the historical location just off the Royal Mile to the locally sourced and foraged menu. Let Chef Patron Paul Wedgwood guide you through the very best Caledonia has to offer with the Wee Tour of Scotland menu, a 7-course tasting menu that merges the best of the local larder with creativity and care.

Signature dish: The Highland venison with West Calder black pudding showcases two of Scotland’s top ingredients in a combination you’ll love.

CASTLE TERRACE 33-35 Castle Terrace ££££ www.castleterracerestaurant.com

Sister restaurant of The Kitchin, Castle Terrace follows the same ethos towards strict seasonality, cultivating a similar ‘from nature to plate’ attitude that has distinguished the restaurant group as one of Scotland’s finest.

Tucked beneath Edinburgh Castle, the recently renovated space offers an innovative and modern take on Scottish fine dining.

Signature dish: Keep it sweet with the Scottish heather honey soufflé, balanced by tart sour cream ice cream.

The Gardeners Cottage

TASTING MENUS AIZLE

RESTAURANT MARK GREENAWAY

107 St Leonard’s Street £££ www.aizle.co.uk

69 North Castle Street £££ www.markgreenaway.com

This is a restaurant for adventurous diners. The joy of Aizle comes in the form of a surprise, with the menu changing according to the best the season and local suppliers have to offer. Dishes last from anywhere between a couple of days and a few weeks, but each one is treated with care and respect, from the homemade sourdough and hand churned butter down to the housemade tonic in their G&Ts. Signature dish: There is no signature dish at Aizle, just sit back and enjoy.

Known for his artistic approach to cooking, innovative style and picture-perfect plating, Mark Greenaway is the number one stop for those who firmly believe that we eat first with our eyes. That’s not to say his dishes don’t deliver on taste, however; with menu options including reinventions of classics from mushrooms on toast to apple crumble, you can be sure that all of the flavour roots are firmly in place.

Signature dish: The complex “Knot” Chocolate Tart features a mastery of chocolate your eyes won’t quite believe.

PURSLANE 33A St Stephen Street ££ www.purslanerestaurant.co.uk

Fine dining food without the fuss, Purslane combine the relaxed and casual air of rustic dining with top quality cooking and ingredients for a meal that ticks every box. As well as structuring the menu around the seasons, they also take the ethos of local produce to heart, sourcing 80% of their ingredients from Stockbridge suppliers.

Signature dish: One for the confirmed chocolate addict, the

The Witchery

TIMBERYARD 10 Lady Lawson Street £££ www.timberyard.co

In a city as ancient as Edinburgh, it’s tricky to find a truly different space, but Timberyard has done just that. Housed in an authentic brick warehouse, it’s like no other restaurant in the city. This is not an eatery to be written off as a backdrop for Instagram, however.

Their four, six or eight course tasting menus are all elegantly put together and packed full of produce from local growers and suppliers, while the wine list is all natural and the herbs and edible flowers come from their own garden.

Signature dish: The tasting menus change regularly, but expect pared back dishes where the ingredients are left to do the talking, like mackerel served with lovage, fennel and apple.

THE GARDENER’S COTTAGE 1 Royal Terrace Gardens ££ www.thegardenerscottage.co

As it says on the tin, The Gardener’s Cottage is just that: a cosy cottage set back in the picturesque Royal www.edfestmag.com

TASTING MENUS

Terrace Gardens. The fairytale look makes it easy to forget you’re in the middle of the city, but the gardens offer up more than aesthetics, providing herbs and vegetables for this refined-yet-rustic restaurant.

The communal family-style tables make it fun to forge new friendships, but it’s the unfussy, perfectly curated dishes that will keep you coming back.

Signature dish: Look out for dishes that make the most of the garden’s larder, from nettle soup to wild garlic purees.

EDINBURGH FOOD STUDIO 158 Dalkeith Road ££ www.edinburghfoodstudio.com

The Edinburgh Food Studio is an adventurous diner’s dream.

An experimental kitchen where no two meals are ever the same, they offer up one dinner sitting every weekend where diners can enjoy a set menu full of the best produce available and dishes inspired by the research done by the chefs. Keep an eye out for guest chef residencies to try exciting menus from internationally recognised chefs.

Signature dish: There’s no set menu here, but global, innovative creativity is always the signature of the day.

Timberyard

SIX BY NICO 97 Hanover Street ££ www.sixbynico.co.uk

Specialising in making fantasies, dreams, and memories edible, Six by Nico offers a uniquely thematic dining experience.

The six course tasting menu changes every six weeks to reflect a new theme, with each dish a creative reimagining of something familiar. With previous menus inspired by the likes of the good old fashioned chippie and Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, anything is possible.

Signature dish: There’s no predicting the signature dish here, but we can predict each meal will be something special.

MONO 85 South Bridge ££££ www.monorestaurant.co.uk

Bringing Italian cuisine bang up to date, Mono transposes the flavours of Italy into a modern tasting

MICHELIN STAR RESTAURANT, OVERLOOKING THE WATER OF LEITH, OFFERING THE VERY BEST OF SCOTTISH INGREDIENTS.

experience. Scottish staples like Borders lamb are paired with Italian classics like anchovy-based bagna cauda, while rice pudding meets lemon, basil, and gelato Milanese.

You might think you know Italian food, but you don’t know Mono.

Signature dish: You might be an olive lover, but you’ve never had olives like this: the Evoo olive oil sponge cake is light and moist, while the accompanying Taggiasca olive sorbet is a completely unique delight.

Michelin star restaurant with eight luxury suites run by husband and wife team Geoffrey & Katherine Smeddle

Open Tuesday to Saturday for lunch, dinner & accommodation

LUNCH SET MENU / £32 TASTING MENU / FROM £85 À LA CARTE / £90 RESERVATIONS: 0131 553 3557 54 / THE SHORE / EDINBURGH

WWW.MARTIN-WISHART.CO.UK www.edfestmag.com

The Peat Inn, by St Andrews, Fife KY15 5LH T 01334 840206 E stay@thepeatinn.co.uk @ThePeatInn www.thepeatinn.co.uk EDINBURGH FESTIVALS 2018

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SCOTTISH FOOD

Adventure through Scotland’s larder at these eateries that celebrate the best of local ingredients and ideas ANGELS WITH BAGPIPES 343 High Street ££ www.angelswithbagpipes.co.uk

Calling Edinburgh’s most historic street home, Angels with Bagpipes on the Royal Mile brings the very best of Scottish cuisine to the table. Seasonal additions keep the menu interesting, while top Scottish produce keeps the dishes authentic.

Signature dish: The panna cotta with whisky, honey and raspberry is a refined take on the classic Scottish pud, cranachan.

CANNONBALL Clockwise from top: The Stockbridge Restaurant, Fhior

356 Castlehill ££ www.contini.com

Boasting views across Edinburgh Castle and the Royal Mile, Cannonball offers diners fine Scottish dining in an iconic location.

The food is traditional but made with care and a focus on flavourpacked local ingredients. Finish off your meal in the brand new Whisky Bar for the full experience.

Signature dish Go full Scot with the haggis cannonballs, complete with pickled turnip and Glengoyne 10-year-old whisky.

oysters with rhubarb granita to palm sugar chillies on puds.

The wine list is impressively wideranging, but if you’re struggling to choose, put your faith in their highlighted wines of the season.

Signature dish Go tropical with the smooth and sweet peanut and coconut mousse, brightened up with mango salsa.

FHIOR

DINE 10 Cambridge Street ££ www.dineedinburgh.co.uk

Heading to the Traverse theatre?

Make a night of it and head upstairs to Dine, the glamorous dining room above. Boasting an award-winning cocktail bar and and impressive tree centrepiece, this intimate brasserie is the perfect place to enjoy fabulous food and catch up on your thoughts after the play.

Signature dish Be sure to start things off with the monkfish cheeks: accompanied by parsnip and vanilla puree and edamame beans, it’s a guaranteed winner.

36 Broughton Street ££ www.fhior.com

Headed up by Scott Smith, formerly of the acclaimed Norn, Fhior brings a modern Scottish dining experience to Broughton Street. Expect Scandi-style minimalist dishes that let the Scottish ingredients do the talking on a menu that changes with the season.

Signature dish Smith is renowned for his signature beremeal bread.

FORAGE & CHATTER 1A Alva Street ££ www.forageandchatter.com

As it says on the tin, foraged ingredients take pride of place at Forage & Chatter, where the dishes are designed around wild produce.

A warm and cosy restaurant in the West End, it’s a great spot for couples looking to try the best of the Scottish larder.

Signature dish The North Sea cod with fresh and vibrant herb veloute makes the most of wild greenery.

LOVAGE 38 St Mary’s Street ££ www.lovagerestaurant.co.uk

Scottish produce with a modern European feel, Lovage combines two culinary traditions in a menu that is unique, creative, and colourful. The menu changes regularly, but we’re yet to try something we haven’t loved.

Signature dish Their rice pudding is the one to beat, topped with rhubarb granita and Douglas fir chocolate oil.

ONE SQUARE 1 Festival Square £££ www.onesquareedinburgh.co.uk

Take in the iconic Fringe Festival fireworks while you feast at One Square. Its prime central location and glass front allow for direct views to the castle, making every meal a special event.

The menu is updated regularly to showcase the best of Scotland’s seasonal larder, and even includes a map so you can track your favourites, from Scrabster hake to Dumfries beef. Be sure to start dinner off right with a G&T from their extensive gin list, including their very own Edinburgh-distilled One Square gin.

Signature dish: Keep things classic with One Square’s super smooth chicken liver pâté, jazzed up with orange jelly and pistachios.

RHUBARB

FIELD 41 West Nicolson Street ££ www.fieldrestaurant.co.uk

Field has a notable reputation in the city, known for their passion for seasonality, keen innovation, and proud sense of sustainability. They specialise in unique dishes that pair the familiar with the new, from www.edfestmag.com

Priestfield Road £££ www.prestonfield.com

The signature restaurant of the 5-star Prestonfield House, Rhubarb has luxury in abundance.

Lavishly decorated, it’s well established as one of the city’s most romantic restaurants, and the menu is impressive too.

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WHISKY SCOTCH 1 Princes Street www.roccofortehotels.com

The beautiful Scotch at The Balmoral is perfect for a dram after dinner in one of the hotel’s restaurants, or simply for a drink in its own right.

Whisky lovers can expand their knowledge with their Whisky Journey, a guided tasting trail through 5 different whiskies.

THE KALEIDOSCOPE BAR 28 Queen Street www.smws.com

A whisky lover’s haven, The Kaleidoscope is the signature bar of the Scotch Malt Whisky Society.

Bond with other malt fans as you choose from over 200 whiskies from an ever rotating list, alongside some rare single casks.

USQUABAE 2-4 Hope Street www.usquabae.co.uk

A central watering hole in Edinburgh’s West End, Usquabae has all of your whisky needs covered. Take the chance to discover new and unusual drams by tasting your way through one of their carefully curated whisky flights.

WHISKI 119 High Street www.whiskibar.co.uk

Enjoy Scotland’s most iconic drink on one of its most iconic streets at Whiski, just off the Royal Mile. With over 200 Scotch malt whiskies adorning the shelves, views down the Mound and over the museums, plus the added bonus of live Scottish music seven days a week, a night in Whiski is a true taste of Scotland indeed.

Match your dram with something tasty from their food menu – including their classic, award-winning haggis– to complete the night.

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Packed with the likes of roe deer, turbot, and Chateaubriand, every choice is a good choice.

Signature dish Make sure you bring a dining partner that you trust and order the tarte tatin for two.

STAC POLLY 29-33 Dublin Street ££ www.stacpolly.com

Known as The Scottish Restaurant and with good reason, Stac Polly boasts a menu full of top quality Scottish produce and culinary classics, served up in a beautiful stone-walled dining room. Start the meal off right with a visit to their wine and gin bar upstairs, or keep things traditional, and finish off with a whisky.

Signature dish No trip to Edinburgh is complete without trying their traditional cullen skink.

Clockwise from above: The Scran & Scallie, Cannonball

THE DINING ROOM 28 Queen Street ££ thediningroomedinburgh.co.uk

Calling the Scottish Malt Whisky Society home, it’s no surprise that the famed Scottish spirit takes pride of place at The Dining Room. Some of the very creative dishes on offer incorporate whisky within the food itself, or opt for the taster menu, which is paired with an array of fine malts.

Signature dish: Mix it up with their kumquat tarte tatin, paired with chocolate and balsamic sauce and fennel pollen ice cream.

THE DOGS 110 Hanover Street £ www.thedogsonline.co.uk

Good food, good value, good vibes – the dining situation at the dogs is simply good. Looking out over the New Town from what was originally a townhouse, there’s a sense of comfort at this eccentric restaurant, where you’ll struggle to find a dish above £15.

Signature dish: The pork belly is marinated for three days to create an unparalleled flavour.

THE GRAIN STORE 30 Victoria Street ££ www.grainstore-restaurant.co.uk

Housed amongst the historic stone archways of Victoria Street, The Grain Store is a restaurant steeped in Edinburgh atmosphere, from the stone walls to the flickering candlelight. With a fine line in rich and hearty fare made with top quality Scottish produce, this is proper date night decadence.

Signature dish: The Borders pigeon, roasted and served with carrots, red cabbage and confit potato, sums up their menu to a tee.

THE SCRAN AND SCALLIE 1 Comely Bank Road ££ www.scranandscallie.com

Combining the best of pub comforts, from cosy furnishings

and wood panelling to hearty, wholesome food, Tom Kitchin’s The Scran and Scallie elevates the humble Scottish pub to something truly special. Look out for the likes of homemade sausage and mash, and ham, egg and chips.

Signature dish: The Scran & Scallie fish pie is famously the one to beat.

THE STOCKBRIDGE RESTAURANT 54 St Stephen Street ££ thestockbridgerestaurant.co.uk

Tucked amongst the cobbled streets of Stockbridge, this eatery has all the hallmarks of a local favourite, with the added bonus of seriously impressive food. Look out for classically rich and indulgent dishes made with top Scottish ingredients from rabbit to pigeon.

Signature dish: The hearty rack of lamb goes perfectly with cassoulet bean stew, confit garlic, roast potatoes and rosemary sauce.

THE TOWER Chambers Street £££ www.tower-restaurant.com

A unique fixture in the Edinburgh food scene, The Tower stands high above the National Museum of Scotland, offering panoramic views across the city. Scottish culinary traditions sit front and centre, from Dingwall haggis to brown crab and Loch Etive salmon.

Signature dish: The Tower’s renowned shellfish bouillabaisse has it all, prawns, scallops, crayfish and more. www.edfestmag.com

LOCAL INGREDIENTS WITH MODERN FLAIR & CHARM A HIDDEN GEM IN THE NEWTOWN, EDINBURGH

1 Albany Street, Edinburgh, EH1 3PY 0131 557 4366 www.themagnumrestaurant.co.uk

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Here at The Magnum Restaurant ingredients and work closely with local suppliers in Scotland to guarantee freshness and quality.

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bar parties cocktails chef’s table private dining salon dining room

Tel 0131 557 3032 reservations@lagarrigue.co.uk

31 Jeffrey Street, Edinburgh, EH11DH

www.lagarrigue.co.uk

"LE French Bistro" Enjoy traditional French food and delicious wines in Edinburgh’s city centre.

Festival Opening Hours 12pm - 12am Monday to Sunday Reservations: 0131 226 6992 109 Hanover Street, Edinburgh , EH2 1DJ /chezjulesedinburgh www.chezjulesbistro.com

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FRENCH FOOD

Experience the Auld Alliance in all its glory at Edinburgh’s top hotspots for French cuisine

is the perfect combo of Scottish meat and French technique.

Sunday is BYOB. CAFE TARTINE 72 Commercial Street ££ www.cafetartine.co.uk

In a welcoming location right at the Shore, you could almost believe you were at a cafe by the Seine at Cafe Tartine. Choose from bistro staples from moules marineres to French onion soup, or head along on a relaxed Sunday afternoon to enjoy their trademark savoury crepes, washed down with a glass of chablis.

Signature dish: The smoky, spicy tiger prawns have a sauce that’s just begging to be mopped up with a slice of sourdough.

BRASSERIE PRINCE 1 Princes Street ££ www.roccofortehotels.com

The brainchild of Alain Roux and his father Michel Roux, Brasserie Prince is the latest addition to The Balmoral’s league of renowned restaurants.

Choose oysters, crab or salmon ceviche at the raw bar, fill the table with your selection from their wide range of small plates, or enjoy the full French bistro experience by opting for their daily changing specials, ranging from veal blanquette to rabbit with mustard and boeuf bourguignon.

Signature dish: Keep it classic with the roasted challandais duck with orange sauce to share.

CHEZ JULES 109 Hanover Street £ www.chezjulesbistro.com

Above: Cafe St Honore

CAFE MARLAYNE 76 Thistle Street £ 13 Antigua Street £ www.cafemarlayne.com

Cosy and intimate with a menu focused on wholesome bistro classics, the two Cafe Marlayne locations are city mainstays.

The handwritten menus change regularly, and with hearty threecourse lunches coming in at just £14.90, you’ll find neighbourhood vibes in a city centre location.

Signature dish: Boudin noir, French black pudding, is served up with crispy bacon and apple compote in a plateful of comforting flavour pairings.

CAFE ST HONORE 34 Thistle Street N W Lane ££ www.cafesthonore.com

French fine dining with a Scottish twist, Cafe St Honore marries classic techniques with the very best of the Scottish larder.

Head online to check the daily changing menu, a system which allows the talented kitchen team to get creative with the produce of the moment. Expect simple, seasonal dishes where the ingredients are allowed to shine.

Signature dish: The confit duck leg from Gartmorn Farm with lentils

CHEESE IJ MELLIS CHEESEMONGER 30 Victoria Street www.mellischeese.net

With over 20 years in the business, IJ Mellis know their dairy. Let their expert team guide you into curating the cheeseboard of your dreams.

VALVONA & CROLLA 19 Elm Row www.valvonacrolla.co.uk

The famed Italian deli has it all from top wines to charcuterie, but their www.edfestmag.com

From the red checked tablecloths and the tumblers of wine to the extra strong garlic butter with the escargot, Chez Jules is traditional Parisian bistro through and through. Enjoy three courses for £9.90 at lunch and relax with

cheese selection is particularly impressive. Obviously, the Italian choices are second to none.

CHEESEE PEASEE Stockbridge Market www.cheesee-peasee. com

Staples of Stockbridge Market, the Cheesee Peasee van brings the best of French cheese to one of Edinburgh’s most popular markets every Saturday. The products change regularly, so you can try something new each week.

Are you looking to awaken your pallet, and, or, introduce it to something new? riveRLife prides itself for being the only restaurant serving an unusual combination of French - Caribbean dishes in the the capital.

We are a small friendly, family run restaurant, 5 minutes walk from Haymarket Train Station in Edinburgh.

BYOB with no corkage charge We look forward to welcoming you and yours here at riveRLife Restaurant.

84 Dalry Road, Edinburgh EH11 2AX T: 0131 337 3995 | E: info@riverlifeedinburgh.co.uk

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DELIS HENRI 48 Raeburn Place www.henrisofedinburgh.com

A boutique deli in the heart of Stockbridge, Henri is your one stop shop for the best in cheese, charcuterie, and natural and biodynamic wines. Make your selection and take your treasure home, or join them after 6pm ThursdaySunday where the kitchen opens and you can tuck in to an array of freshly made delights.

friends in a cosy eatery that’s full of atmosphere, great food and great wine.

Signature dish: For the full experience, be sure to try the authentic frog legs with garlic.

GALVIN BRASSERIE DE LUXE Rutland Street ££ www.galvinbrasseriedeluxe.com

Brasserie staples served up with an extra touch of class is the order of the day at the Galvin Brasserie.

Peruse the seafood bar where you can enjoy the freshest oysters and lobster, or opt for the seasonal menu to taste your way through the best produce of the moment, carefully curated by the Galvin chefs.

Signature dish: Renowned Berwick crab is served simply and beautiful on toasted granary bread.

INDABA DELI 17 Causewayside www.indabadeli.com

A little more niche than your traditional deli, Indaba specialises in Spanish and South African produce. Run by the team behind South African tapas restaurant, Indaba, here you’re sure to go on a journey of international taste discovery.

LUPE PINTOS 24 Leven Street www.lupepintos.com

Spice up your homecooking with a little help from the heat experts at Lupe Pintos.

An array of chillies and hot sauces galore fill the shelves, while you’ll always find Mexican produce in abundance. Don’t leave without picking up their famous chilli con carne recipe – once you try it, you’ll never go back to basic chilli.

VICTOR HUGO 26-29 Melville Terrace www.victorhugodeli.com

A picturesque spot on the edge of the Meadows, Victor Hugo is dressed like a Parisian cafe, and with outdoor seating and bold red paint, it’s ideal for a coffee on a sunny afternoon.

More than that, the continental deli options range from cheese to oils and spices in every form you could need.

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LA GARRIGUE 31 Jeffrey Street ££ www.lagarrigue.co.uk

Taking inspiration from the traditional cuisine of chef patron Jean Michel Gauffre’s hometown of Languedoc, La Garrigue has an impressive reputation in the capital, holding 2 AA rosettes and the grand title of Gordon Ramsay’s favourite French bistro.

Rich authentic fare is partnered with fantastic wine sourced from Languedoc for the total dining experience.

Signature dish: The duck foie gras is homemade, and is guaranteed to be some of the best you’ll ever taste.

Above: Le Roi Fou Below: The Honours

L’ESCARGOT BLANC 17 Queensferry Street ££ www.lescargotblanc.co.uk

After twenty years in the city, L’escargot Blanc has become a much loved staple of the capital.

As well as offering up first class French dishes in the restaurant section, their popular wine bar serves the very best in cheese and charcuterie, coupled with a huge selection of fine French wines.

Signature dish: Their famous, rich homemade casseroles, which change daily to incorporate the best in Scottish meat.

L’ESCARGOT BLEU 56 Broughton Street ££ www.lescargotbleu.co.uk

France meets Scotland in the younger L’escargot. Award-winning chef Fred Berkmiller’s restaurant puts provinence first, marrying French classics like escargot with Scottish produce like snails from Barra. Start things off with a Kir to keep things authentic.

Signature dish: Ultra traditional steak tartare is given the Scottish treatment with the addition of fantastic Orkney beef.

LE ROI FOU 1 Forth Street ££ www.leroifou.com

Artistic leanings set this bijou restaurant apart from the rest.

Run by former Mosimann head chef Jérôme Henry, this impressive eatery opened just last year but has already swept up on the awards front. If the à la carte options are too good to choose from, treat yourself to their tasting menu to enjoy all their best dishes.

Signature dish: The rich and decadent Valrhona chocolate marquise is cut through with a spicy and intriguing black sesame and ginger ice cream.

MAISON BLEUE 36-38 Victoria Street ££ www.maisonbleuerestaurant.com

Celebrating their twentieth year in the capital this year, Maison Bleue’s reputation speaks for itself. Set on the picturesque Victoria Street, this restaurant brings a unique offering to the Edinburgh food scene, combining culinary inspirations from France with North African flavours.

Signature dish: Be sure to try their famous Merguez sausage and spiced chicken skewers.

THE HONOURS 58A North Castle Street ££ www.thehonours.co.uk

Michelin-starred chef Martin Wishart brings his culinary talents to the French brasserie scene with The Honours. Choose from an array of mouth-watering grilled meat, or enjoy rich and hearty dishes from ox cheeks to guinea fowl.

Food with the Michelin stamp of approval but without the fuss – or the pricetag.

Signature dish: The Honours trademark noisette of lamb is as good as it gets. www.edfestmag.com

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ITALIAN FOOD

Sit back and enjoy the view at these Italian masters – you deserve a dish full of la dolce vita

destination location. The expansive wine list has won multiple awards, while the menu ranges from handmade pasta to lamb shoulder and rabbit, so there’s something for everyone.

Signature dish: Be sure to try the traditional and delicious risotto with pecorino and guanciale.

LOCANDA DE GUSTI 102 Dalry Road ££

CONTINI 103 George Street ££ www.contini.com

www.locandadegusti.com

Complete with picturesque columns, romantic painted wallpaper and a menu that’s designed to be shared, Contini is perfect for date night. Offering a more modern form of Italian dining, pasta comes in smaller portions to share as part of a mezze alongside dishes that combine classic Italian ingredients with creative techniques and Scottish produce.

Signature dish: Mozzarella di Bufala is jazzed up with the addition of mint marinated melon and sundried tomato crisps.

Authentic Neapolitan cuisine takes centre stage at this popular neighbourhood restaurant.

Their homemade pasta is famous, with choices ranging from orecchiette with a rich slow-cooked meat ragu to daily ravioli specials.

Chef Rosario Sartore has even mastered his own gluten-free pasta recipe, so nobody need miss out.

Signature dish: We love the handmade linguine, served with a stunning array of Scottish seafood.

CUCINA 1 George IV Bridge ££

Dantes

Signature dish: The classic mushroom risotto, given extra depth of flavour with the addition of hearty smoked cheddar.

www.radissoncollection.com

Artistically designed and packed with colour and flair, Cucina is a striking restaurant that will appeal to those with an eye for aesthetics.

Set in the heart of the Fringe side of the city, it’s a prime spot to enjoy the fine dining form of Italian cuisine without having to rush to your next show.

DANTES 48-50 Bridge Road ££

your faith in the chef’s creativity and opt for one of the daily changing fish specials.

Signature dish: Go for the 12oz veal chop with rosemary butter – we challenge you not to chew the bone.

www.dantesrestaurant.co.uk

A stylish family-run restaurant that’s been a local favourite for nearly twenty years, Dantes offers some respite from the crowds of the city centre. Keep it classic with homemade pizza and pasta, or put

DIVINO ENOTECA 5 Merchant Street ££

of the freshest mozzarella fior di latte DOP, Tuscan sausage, and even their homemade Irn Bru BBQ sauce, it’s easy to see why.

There’s even vegan cheese so everyone can enjoy.

Signature dish: Get patriotic with the Scozia, topped with Macsweens haggis, Stornoway black pudding, smoked pancetta and an egg.

all your favourites and topped with parmesan and Parma ham.

www.vittoriagroup.co.uk

A romantic wine bar within a historic cellar in Edinburgh’s Old Town, Divino Enoteca is a true

OSTERIA DEL TEMPO PERSO 208 Bruntsfield Place ££ www.osteriadeltempoperso.info

Sister restaurant to the original Osteria in Italy, this eatery offers diners a true Italian experience.

Work your way through the likes of caprese salad, homemade meatballs, risotto, and ravioli, all washed down with a top notch Italian red, of course.

Signature dish: Nothing beats a homemade lasagne, so don’t miss out on the chance to try this one.

PIZZA CIVERINOS 5 Hunter Square £ www.civerinos.com

Civerinos has become a cult staple in Edinburgh. The restaurant is fun and welcoming, while the pizza itself ranges from the classics – pepperoni with homemade sugo – to the creative – roast pear, prosciutto, and gorgonzola.

Order a whole one or grab it by the generous slice, and finish off with one of their speciality boozy slushies.

Signature dish: The Civerinos pizza, topped with Sicilian sausage, pepperoni, rosemary and burrata.

DOUGH PIZZERIA 172 Rose Street £ www.dough-pizza.co.uk

Rarely will you find Dough without hungry locals crowded around.

With toppings featuring the likes www.edfestmag.com

LA FAVORITA 331-325 Leith Walk £ www.vittoriagroup.co.uk

An award-winning pizzeria that’s kept the city in hot cheesy goodness for years on end, La Favorita is a staple of the Edinburgh pizza scene. All of their pizza come in 10in or 14in options, as well as all being available with gluten-free bases, so you can make sure your slice is perfect for you.

Signature dish: Their infamous calzone, stuffed to the brim with

NOVAPIZZA 42 Howe Street £ www.novapizza.wixsite.com/ novapizza

Veggies and vegans rejoice – Novapizza have you covered.

This completely plant-based restaurant has it all, from lasagne to calzone. After trying their meatfree ragu and huge range of plantbased cheese, you won’t miss the meat at all.

Signature dish: Recently gone vegan and missing the classics?

Try the Vulcano, made with vegan mozzarella and pepperoni.

ORIGANO 236 Leith Walk £ www.origano-leith.co.uk

Spacious yet intimate, Origano is as well suited to date night dining

as it is group celebrations.

Their pizza bases – both classic and gluten free – are renowned around the city (as the perpetually thronged tables will tell you) and finished off with the very freshest of toppings.

Signature dish: Our go-to favourite is always the spicy Zucchini Piccante, topped with courgette, nduja, ricotta and basil.

PIZZERIA 1926 85 Dalry Road £ www.pizzeria1926.com

Checked tablecloths, jugs of wine and colourful football shirts set the scene at Pizzeria 1926, but the monster pizza oven steals the show. Expect top quality bases, hearty sauce, and true Neapolitan toppings.

Signature dish: The pizza fritta, a crisp fried calzone filled with pork crackling and cheese.

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SPANISH & MEXICAN FOOD

Nibble on tapas, share a paella or snack on serrano – whatever you fancy these Spanish stars will give you a true Edinburgh welcome BLACK PIG AND OYSTER 82 Commercial Street ££ www.blackpigandoysteredinburgh. com

Get a taste of Spain by the Shore, order a jug of homemade sangria and get settled in at Black Pig and Oyster. Tender and flavoursome pork from the Iberian black pig takes centre stage here, married with top quality seafood, surf’n’turf style. Make sure you bring a trusted dining companion for this one – you might find you don’t want to share the tapas.

Signature dish: It’s named that for a reason – try black pig and tempura oysters, all pulled together by a fresh mojo verde.

CASA DE MARA 14 Eyre Place ££ www.casademara.com

A new addition to Edinburgh’s Spanish scene, Casa de Mara’s menu is based on dishes perfected by the best cook that head chef Mara knows – her mum. The daily set menu offers up 3 courses

MEXICAN BODEGA 36 Leven Street £ 62 Elm Row £ www.ilovebodega.com

It’s all about the tacos at this friendly taqueria. There’s plenty of variety, with fillings ranging from sticky Vietnamese pork belly with kimchi to crispy buffalo chicken to avocado tempura, while the daily special tacos keep things interesting with innovative and creative flavour pairings.

Signature dish: The American inspired crispy buffalo chicken taco, topped with hot sauce and blue cheese dressing.

EL CARTEL 64 Thistle Street £ www.elcartelmexicana.co.uk

You’ll need to be quick to nab yourself a table at this tiny cantina.

A local favourite, El Cartel is rarely without a waiting list, but once the food arrives, you’ll understand www.edfestmag.com

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for just £9.95, or dip into the expansive à la carte menu to discover an array of Catalunyan dishes. Try the paella for two.

Signature dish: The squid ink and seafood paella is a truly impressive centrepiece.

INDABA 3 Lochrin Terrace ££ www.edindaba.co.uk

Think you know your tapas?

Think again. At Indaba, you’ll find Spanish and South African dishes, creating a tapas menu that is completely unique and absolutely packed with flavour.

Keep an eye on the specials board where they list the croquetas of the day.

why. Hand-pressed tacos are filled with the likes of crispy duck leg, battered cod, and charred beetroot, while the street food-style corn on the cob is generously doused in crema and spiced cheese.

Don’t leave without trying one of their infamous daily changing frozen margaritas.

Signature dish: The cochinita pibil taco, with achiote pork shoulder and orange, is an instant classic.

MIROS CANTINA 184 Rose Street ££ www.miroscantinamexicana.com

Miros Cantina moves the focus away from Mexican-style street food, specialising on rustic, homecooked Mexican cuisine instead. Regional stews, paella, and meat dishes offer diners the chance to try the kind of fare eaten in homes across Mexico, all made by marrying local produce with imported Mexican spices.

Signature dish: Try the famous mole poblano, a traditional sauce made with nuts, chocolate and

Signature dish: Their homemade meatballs with the signature Indaba tomato sauce.

SERRANO MANCHEGO 297 Leith Walk ££ www.serranoandmanchego.co.uk

This bustling restaurant keeps the neighbourhood happy and full from morning to night. Head along for Mediterranean-style cooked breakfasts, served until 5pm, or grab some friends in the evening and work your way through their yummy tapas menu.

Top Dish We never miss the chance to get stuck into the queso de cabra, molten goat’s cheese topped with sweet Pedro Ximenex syrup and raisins.

spices, served up with chicken and rice.

THE BASEMENT 10a-12a Broughton Steet £ basement-bar-edinburgh.co.uk

The Basement takes Mexico as its inspiration and runs with it, crafting creative and unique cocktails made with tequila and mescal, and mixing up their own sangritas chasers to pair with the tequila flights. More than the drinks though, their food menu ranges from hearty bar snacks to impressively well balanced Mexican dishes

TAPA 19 Shore Place ££ www.tapaedinburgh.co.uk

Authentic through and through, Tapa source everything from various regions of Spain, from their meat and cheese, to their impressive selection of gin and wine. The large menu has an impressive selection of meat, seafood, and vegetarian dishes, which is just as well as you’ll quickly find you can’t wait to try it all.

Signature dish: The croquetas de carrilladas showcase one of Spain’s top ingredients, Iberian black pig cheeks, rolled into croquettes and served with homemade apple sauce.

like salmon and prawn ceviche.

Signature dish: Tuck into the rich chilli, made with slow-cooked beef brisket, chorizo and chocolate.

WAHACA 16 South St Andrew Street ££ www.wahaca.co.uk

Vibrant and full of bold colours, Wahaca captures the spirit and fun of a Mexican cantina. Whether you opt for a burrito for one, or a table full of small plates to dig into together, you’re in a for a treat.

Signature dish: We love the crispy duck and sweet potato croquetas.

Wahaca

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30/07/2018 14:00

OPEN NOW 4-8 Lochrin Buildings Gilmore Place, Edinburgh, EH3 9NB (Just OPPOSITE KINGS THEATRE)

OPEn 7 DAYS 12pm-11pm

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STEAK, BURGERS & GRILLS FOOD Meat eaters rejoice, you’ll feel the thrill of the grill however rare your taste at these carnivorous havens

BURGERS

CHOP HOUSE Arch 15 East Market Street ££ www.chophousesteak.co.uk

With three popular Edinburgh locations, Chop House have made their bones as one of the capital’s favourite destinations for steak.

Whether you go for fillet, sirloin, or a sharing cut for two, make sure you order some of their famous sauces to go with – our favourite is the bone marrow gravy.

Signature dish: Every Chop House steak is a good steak, but the 500g Surf & Turf sharer is the ultimate meat feast.

FAZENDA 102 George Street ££ www.fazenda.co.uk

Brazil is famous for its meat, and Fazenda brings the best of traditional Brazilian dining to Edinburgh with their rodizio experience. Control the pace of service with the flip of a card, and take the opportunity to try an array of sizzling grilled meats served up by expert Passadores.

Options range from pork belly to beef tenderloin and spicy chorizo.

Signature dish: The picanha skewer, a juicy cap of rump, is always cooked to perfection.

Wahaca Clockwise from top: Chop House, Gaucho, Hawksmoor

BREAD MEATS BREAD 92 Lothian Road www.breadmeatsbread.com

GAUCHO 4 St Andrew Square £££ www.gauchorestaurants.com

Argentinian meat is showcased in its finest form at this stylishly designed fine dining restaurant.

The selection is huge, with dishes ranging from the classic ribeye and fillet to churrasco de chorizo, a spiral cut sirloin. Top off your choice of steak with Argentine red prawns or truffle and black pepper butter, and you’re onto a winner.

Signature dish Can’t settle on a main? Opt for the Gaucho sampler and get a taste of four cuts.

Signature dish: Keep it classic with a perfectly cooked fillet.

We like it topped with Stichelton hollandaise.

KYLOE

HAWKSMOOR 42 West Register Street £££ www.thehawksmoor.com

Newly launched in the prestigious Edinburgh Grand, the London favourite brings their famous steak expertise to Edinburgh.

Boasting luxury and style, this will be the next big thing.

1-3 Rutland Street ££ www.kyloerestaurant.com

From the cow statue at the entrance to the rawhide-covered seats to the bovine-inspired art covering the walls, Kyloe is forever paying tribute to its most valued ingredient: beef. Choose from their array of pedigree Aberden Angus steaks, or put your faith in the expert team and go for one of the ever-changing guest breed cuts.

The creative desserts here are well worth a mention too – as is the beef shin mac’n’cheese side.

Signature dish: Pick your partner and take on the 475g Chateaubriand, complete with your choice of 3 sides.

MILLER & CARTER 29-31 Frederick Street ££ www.millerandcarter.co.uk

At Miller & Carter, the aim is simple: great quality meat, cooked with care. The knowledgeable team will help guide you to your perfect steak, from the 30 day aged classics to the more unusual 50 day aged special cuts, so you’re guaranteed the best experience possible.

Signature dish: The tender black Angus sirloin is just the thing for those seeking something new. www.edfestmag.com

Bread Meats Bread does exactly what it says on the tin, but that doesn’t mean they don’t take their burgers seriously.

The classic black label patties come with a range of tasty toppings, or try the spicy ‘nduja infused red label burgers for extra kick. There’s also buttermilk fried chicken burgers and a selection of thoughtful veggie and vegan burgers on offer, too.

Signaure dish: The fully loaded Lothian Wolf, topped with bacon, pulled pork, fried onions and ‘nduja.

BURGER. 94A Fountainbridge www.burgeruk.co.uk

This stylish burger joint in Fountainbridge keeps their burgers interesting, topping off homemade patties with the likes of slow-cooked brisket, brie, maple bacon and harissa mayo. Vegans aren’t forgotten about either, with a plant-based patty of tempeh, chickpea, beetroot and sweet potato.

Signature dish: The fabulous Blues burger with Stilton and crispy bacon.

BURGERS & BEERS GRILLHOUSE 192A High Street burgersandbeersgrillhouse.co.uk

Set in the heart of the Festivalside of town, Burgers & Beers on the Royal Mile is perfect for a post-show fix. All of their burgers are crafted by hand with 100% Aberdeen Angus beef, locally sourced from Fife. There’s plenty of toppings to choose from, but with beef this good, the meat speaks for itself.

Signature dish: The Frying Scotsman, topped with a haggis fritter and pepper sauce, is as patriotic as any bun gets.

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ADDRESS

5 Hamilton Place Stockbridge Edinburgh EH3 5BA

W E â&#x20AC;&#x2122; R E

B A C K

Bringing you delectably fresh, contemporary Indian cuisine in luxurious and chic surroundings.

BOOK ONLINE

lancersbrasserie.co.uk

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B O O K AT TA B L E

0131 315 4335 O P E N 7 DAYS

12PM - 11PM

28/06/2018 20:30

INDIAN FOOD

Edinburgh’s Indian eateries embrace all the shades of the Subcontinent, whether you’re in the mood for a dosa or a curry feast 10 TO 10 IN DELHI 67 Nicolson Street £ www.fb.com/10-to-10-in-delhi

10 to 10 in Delhi might not be the most spacious restaurant in town, but what it lacks in size it makes up for in charm.

Patterned cushions and bright colours add to the cosy vibe, but the simple, honest food and the most reasonable prices in Edinburgh keeps the place packed from day through evening.

Signature dish: The rich and comforting lamb keema sheema with peas and butter beans, at just £5.50.

DISHOOM 3a St Andrew Square ££ www.dishoom.com

Dishoom might be a relatively new addition to Edinburgh, but it’s cemented a rock solid reputation in no time. Weekends frequently see queues form, but once you get in, the Bombay cafe style tapas will win you over in no time.

Plus, their brunch – including the famous bacon naan – can cure any Fringe-induced hangover in no time.

Signature dish: The house black daal is almost impossibly silken.

Worth a trip just for this alone.

KALPNA 2-3 St Patrick Square £ www.kalpnarestaurant.com

Indian cuisine has long been safe ground for veggie diners, but Kalpna scraps the need for meat entirely. Their vegan and vegetarian menu is full of crispy street food treats, potato-based dishes, and hearty curries. Who needs meat, anyway?

Signature dish: Kalpna’s speciality is the Dum Aloo Kashmiri, a fresh tomato and ginger sauce and a creamy almond sauce atop stuffed potato barrels.

KHUSHI’S 10 Antigua Street £ www.khushis.com

Edinburgh’s first Indian restaurant, Khushi’s is still going strong after over 70 years. And with this much experience under their belts, www.edfestmag.com

Dishoom

Khushi’s guarantees diners a chance to enjoy the classics done well, from traditional goat curry to tandoori lamb chops.

Signature dish: The homestyle chicken curry allows you to tailor the dish to suit you to a tee.

NAVADHANYA 88 Haymarket Terrace ££ www.navadhanya-scotland.co.uk

Keeping Indian food fresh and modern is the name of the game at Navadhanya. We recommend

going for their tasting menu to really experience everything they have to offer – and at only £39.99 for 7 course, why not?

Signature dish: The marinated pineapple baked in the tandoor.

LANCERS 5 Hamilton Place ££ www.lancersbrasserie.co.uk

Something of a Stockbridge institution since their opening in 1985, Lancer’s has just recently undergone a bit of a revamp, resulting in a sleek and elegant look and a menu that’s modern and street-food inspired, but still true to the traditional flavours that cemented their status back in the 80s. Look out for the likes of venison vindaloo, Lahori lamb burgers, and king prawn tacos.

Signature dish: The goat step biryani, topped with cucumber rhaita, is true Indian comfort food.

MOTHER INDIA’S CAFE 3-5 Infirmary Street £ www.motherindia.co.uk

Sharing is caring at Mother India’s Cafe, where the food comes tapastyle and wandering hands are very much encouraged.

The wide-ranging menu is as kind to vegetarians as it is to meat-eaters, so everyone can get involved. Affordable and festivalcentral, it’s a winner on all fronts.

Signature dish: We’re never great when it comes to sharing the Aloo Saag Dosa, a crisp lentil pancake stuffed full of fluffy potato and spinach.

IN THE WESTEND OF THE CITY CENTRE

Business Lunches available from

£7.95 pp

35-37 Shandwick Place Edinburgh, EH2 4RG 0131 228 2441

www.kasturi-ed.co.uk EDINBURGH FESTIVALS 2018

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THAI RESTAURANT

AUTHENTIC , THAI DINING, TAKEAWAY HOME DELIVERY 6 TORPHICHEN PLACE, Haymarket BYOB only (for bookings: 0131 629 0447) Come and try our famous Pad Thai by Mr 9M! Lunch box £6.95. Order 10 or more, free delivery to your office. Advance order is essential.

Friday 2 Course Lunch Special at £8.95 12pm - 2.30pm

www.bluerapathai.co.uk

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ASIAN & STREET FOOD FOOD

STREET FOOD BENTO 52 South Bridge £ www.bento.uk.com

Situated in the middle of the Pleasance and George Square Gardens, Bento is just the ticket for an afternoon feed between shows. Choose from fresh handmade sushi, dim sum, and rice bowls for the perfect bespoke lunch.

Signature dish: We love the steamed pork bao bun.

RANSACKED BLACK OVEN 27-29 Marshall Street £ www.ransackedblackoven.co.uk

CHAOPHRAYA 4th Floor, 33 Castle Street ££ www.chaophraya.co.uk

Chaophraya brings Thai cuisine into the fine dining sphere.

An elegantly designed restaurant complete with a signature cocktail bar and rooftop tables looking out across the city, it’s the full package aesthetics-wise, but the food is just as good. Fresh and jam-packed full of flavour, the dishes range from street food style skewers and speciality salads to traditional slowcooked curries.

Signature dish: Originally created for the Thai royal family, the lamb massaman curry will have you feeling like royalty yourself.

CHOP CHOP 248 Morrison Street £ www.chop-chop.co.uk

Chop Chop’s dumplings are famous, and have undoubtedly become the standard by which all others in the city are judged by.

To really give yourself the chance to try everything, opt for their unlimited banquet option, which brings you all of their signature dishes, as well as the chance to re-order any of your favourites for no extra cost.

Signature dish: We love the soft and fragrant pork and coriander dumplings.

With this many delicious options to choose from, their banquet option may well be your saviour. Made up of seven starters and five mains to share between two, you’ll get to taste a wide range of flavours, and you’re guaranteed to go home satisfied.

Signature dish: King prawns are chargrilled with lemongrass in the aromatic Gung Takrai.

KAREN’S UNICORN 8B Abercromby Place ££ www.karensunicorn.com

Authentic yet contemporary, New Town favourite Karen’s Unicorn has perfected Cantonese cuisine.

The stylish restaurant suits any occasion, while the menu runs from classics like Singapore rice noodles to more unusual dishes like ginger steamed seabass and crispy almond king prawns.

Signature dish: You can never have enough dim sum, so go for the dim sum platter to taste your way through four different varieties of dumplings.

NOK’S KITCHEN 8 Gloucester Street ££ www.nokskitchen.co.uk

A hidden gem, Nok’s Kitchen has long been a favourite amongst Stockbridge locals. Flavour comes first here, and all of the dishes are authentic to the tried and true methods that have been passed down through generations.

Signature dish: It might not be new, but it’s definitely still one of the best: we can’t help ourselves going back for Nok Kitchen’s Thai green curry again and again.

PASSORN 23 Brougham Place ££ www.passornthai.com

Passorn takes traditional Thai recipes and presents them in a chic way, combining Scottish meat and seafood with Thai vegetables and herbs. Presentation is always impressive, and the excellent staff add to the fine dining experience.

Signature dish: The pla samun pri features crispy monkfish in a sumptuous coconut broth.

Changing up conventions, Ransacked Black Oven takes inspiration from the Middle East when it comes to street food.

Look out for chicken shawarma in sourdough wraps and Lebanese style pizzas, or get stuck into their tasty brunch options.

Signature dish: The fresh homemade haggis pakora is a real treat.

TING THAI CARAVAN 8-9 Teviot Place £ www.tingthai-caravan.com

Originally a Fringe stall serving up South East Asian dishes, Ting Thai Caravan is a true street food success story. Get in early though - you’ll rarely find it without a queue out the door.

Signature dish: Don’t leave without getting your hands dirty with the Bangkok style chicken wings.

TUK TUK 1 Leven Street www.tuktukonline.com

Tuk Tuk’s stacked copper tiffin tins are the answer to any hungry stomach in a rush.

Fuss-free Indian street food with plenty of flavour, every dish is as a good as the next.

Thrifty diners shouldn’t miss out on their £12 lunch deal.

Signature dish: There’s nothing better than their mango lassi on a hot day.

DUSIT 49A Thistle Street ££ www.dusit.co.uk

This established Thai spot offers diners a huge menu to choose from, with meat, veggie, curry, stir-fry, and salads all well represented in abundance. www.edfestmag.com

Clockwise from top: Chaophraya, Ransacked Black Oven, Tuk Tuk

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FOOD MIDDLE EASTERN & VEGETARIAN

VEGETARIAN DAVID BANN 56-58 St Mary’s Street ££ www.davidbann.com

Edinburgh’s original vegetarian restaurant, David Bann provides the full fine dining experience without the meat. The menu is full of internationally inspired dishes, but all are made with fresh, organic ingredients and plenty of creativity.

Signature dish: You’ll never miss barbecue again after trying David Bann’s aubergine, chickpea and cashew kofta.

HARMONIUM 60 Henderson Street www.harmoniumbar.co.uk

New vegan impresarios Harmonium have upped the ante in the plant-based game.

Look out for vegan pizzas, burgers with homemade seitan patties, and beer battered tofu-fish, as well as dishes that simply showcase veggies at their best.

Top Dish Their jackfruit kuzhambu is the ultimate curry.

HENDERSON’S VEGAN 25 Thistle Street hendersonsofedinburgh.co.uk

Edinburgh’s first vegan restaurant, Henderson’s are experts in meat-free meals.

They’re so committed that even their wine and beer list is completely vegan.

Top Dish Try their brand new vegan tapas menu to get a taste of everything on offer.

The hottest thing on the foodie scene, Middle Eastern cooking has taken the capital by storm - find out why with our top picks BABA

POMEGRANATE

130 George Street ££ www.baba.restaurant

1 Antigua Street £ www.pomegranatesrestaurant.com

Recently launched BABA has taken over the mezze game, bringing adventurous diners creative and beautifully presented dishes packed full of flavours from the Levant. Be sure to dive into the Lebanese section of the wine list the hearty reds are especially great.

Signature dish: Bold beetroot hummus contrasts perfectly with sharp whipped feta. Perfect for digging into with BABA’s handmade pittas.

Social dining comes first at Pomegranate, where the colours are bright, the seats comfy, and mezze is the focus. Tuck in all together then head out on to the private outdoor shisha terrace to finish off the evening.

Signature dish: You might need to order two portions of the lamb samboussek - they’re bound to run out quickly.

HULA JUICE BAR 103-105 West Bow www.hulajuicebar.co.uk

A brunchtime favourite, this Grassmarket juice bar always draws in the crowds.

Their superjuices can hold their own against any Fringe-induced hangover, while their lunch options are equally tasty.

Top Dish The acai bowl has become Instagram famous in the city.

dishes inspired by the flavours and traditions of the Mediterranean and the Middle East. If mezze isn’t your style, there’s also delicious mains – which means you don’t have to share.

Signature dish: Grab a chicken shawarma wrap for the ideal Fringe lunch.

SOUQ

HANAM’S

57-59 South Clerk Street £ www.souq-edinburgh.com

3 Johnston Terrace £ www.hanams.com

The youngest sibling from the Hanam’s team, Souq combines

Middle Eastern fare with Moroccan cuisine to create a menu that’s full of unique street food style dishes.

Make sure to check out their tagine menu too - it’s the only one of it’s kind in Edinburgh.

Signature dish: Tagine just screams comfort food and Souq’s chicken and olive version is our ultimate favourite.

YENI MEZE 73 Hanover Street £ www.yenirestaurant.com

Traditional Turkish flavours are brought to Edinburgh at Yeni Meze where – you guessed it – the mezze menu is the star of the show.

Hot, cold, meat, fish, or veggie, all of these dishes are delicious and the sharing style of eating allows you to taste your way through as many as you have room for.

Signature dish: Hummus is a mezze staple, but Yeni spices things up by sprinkling panfried lamb loin and pine nuts on top of their homemade version of the famous dip.

This award-winning restaurant has a coveted spot at the top of the Royal Mile, where diners can enjoy traditional dishes from Kurdistan and the Middle East with an excellent view. Grab some friends and fill the table with an array of mezze for the best kind of social dining.

Top Dish Hearty and rich, the Lamb Tashreeb casserole features lamb on the bone sat atop sauce-soaked naan.

LAILA’S BISTRO 63 Cockburn Street £ www.lailas-bistro.co.uk

Laila’s keeps things relaxed and friendly, offering up a wide range of 142

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An award-winning restaurant with a Social Conscience serving up the best of Scottish Seafood.

Exciting playful food.

Inspiring Scottish ingredients.

Nourishing community values.

Winners of the Scottish Food Awards for Most Ethical Destination Best use of Real & Local Food Services to Ethical & Social Causes Bistro Chef of the Year

Top 10 UK Seafood Restaurant of the Year

112 St Stephen Street, Stockbridge, Edinburgh T: 0131 2206677 www.kiltedlobster.co.uk

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SEAFOOD & SUSHI FOOD

Scotland’s seafood is the best in the world, so head on down when the boat comes in

both. Enjoy the freshest seafood right by the sea at this maritime destination and toast to the summer with a glass of fizz in one hand and an oyster in the other.

Signature dish: If you love big flavours, you’ll adore the Ship’s famous smokehouse platter, filled with smoked halibut, scallops, salmon, mussels, oysters and more.

FISHERS IN THE CITY 58 Thistle Street ££ www.fishersrestaurants.co.uk

With 20 years under their belt, Fishers remains a city favourite.

Scottish seafood is the star of the show, but international influences keep things interesting, with dishes ranging from surf clam linguini to monkfish and king prawn curry.

Signature dish: The grilled whole lemon sole with cicely and sumac butter lets the first class fish shine.

WHITE HORSE 266 Canongate ££ www.whitehorseoysterbar.co.uk

ONDINE 2 George IV Bridge £££ www.ondinerestaurant.co.uk

Edinburgh’s leading fine dining seafood restaurant, Ondine is headed up by Roy Brett, who trained under Rick Stein before becoming a renowned chef himself. The menu maps out the Scottish origin of all of the fish and seafood on offer, so you know provenance is at the forefront here.

Signature dish: Head along from 5.30pm to 6.30pm throughout the week for oyster happy hour, where each shuck is just £1.

THE FISHMARKET 24-25 Pier Place £ www.thefishmarketnewhaven.co.uk

This new opening is a collaboration between Ondine’s Roy Brett and fishmonger Gary Welch which aims to highlight the jewels of the Scottish sea. There’s the big guns – Dunbar lobster, dived scallops

Clockwise from above: White Horse, The Fishmarket, Harajuku Kitchen, Kanpai

and oysters – as well as some familiar faces given a new lease of life in the form of The Fishmarket’s ‘proper’ fish and chips, made with Peterhead haddock.

Signature dish: Pay tribute to the Edinburgh classic and go for fish and chips with chippy sauce.

fishcakes and, of course, lobster.

The vibe is friendly and casual, but the food never misses a beat.

Signature dish: It has to be the namesake lobster, served with crayfish butter, green beans and roast sweet potato.

THE KILTED LOBSTER

24-26 Shore ££ www.theshipontheshore.co.uk

The team behind Chop House have made the move from steak to seafood with White Horse.

Situated on the historic Royal Mile, this intimate restaurant specialises in oysters and shellfish platters, but their hot seafood small plates are of particular note, too.

Dishes boast innovative flavour pairings like scallops with apple, tarragon and sherry caramel and monkfish skewers with satay sauce.

Wash it all down with one of their signature handcrafted cocktails.

Signature dish: The house sharing platter boasts the best of Scottish seafood, from crab claws and lobster to salmon and mussels.

THE SHIP ON THE SHORE 112 St Stephen Street ££ www.kiltedlobster.com

This local seafood restaurant has it all: garlicky mussels, calamari,

Seafood and a glass of champagne, what could be better? Luckily The Ship on the Shore specialise in

JAPANESE & SUSHI BENTOYA 13 Bread Street £ www.bentoya-edinburgh.com

This casual fusion restaurant is cosy and welcoming. The menu is wide-ranging which is great for sushi newbies finding their feet and for sushi aficionados looking to try something new.

Signature dish: The fresh, vibrant green dragon roll.

HARAJUKU KITCHEN 10 Gillespie Place £ www.harajukukitchen.co.uk

From the murals on the walls to the exquisite presentation, Harajuku Kitchen is as chic as the www.edfestmag.com

neighbourhood it’s named after.

The menu is full of family recipes refined to awardwinning perfection.

Signature dish: Their pork gyoza dumplings are famous.

KANPAI 8-10 Grindlay Street ££ www.kanpaisushiedinburgh.co.uk

Sushi with a fine dining edge, Kanpai is a sophisticated restaurant with equally elegant food. Dishes are presented with a flourish, and the carefully curated sake list is impressive to boot.

Signature dish: We can never get over the super fresh scallop sashimi.

MAKI & RAMEN 13 West Richmond Street £ www.makimaki-restaurant.co.uk

There’s no doubt as to the specialities at Maki & Ramen, but that doesn’t mean their skills are to be sniffed at. One sip of their warming homemade ramen and you’ll be healed of any festivalrelated sins.

Signature dish: Stick to the classic, flavour-packed Tonkotsu ramen, or branch out with the creamy curried beef tataki ramen.

YAMATO 11 Lochrin Terrace £ www.yamatosushiedinburgh.co.uk

The Kanpai team strike gold again with Yamato. The ethos here is on great ingredients put together simply, with wagyu beef appearing as the star player of the menu.

Signature dish: The melt-in-yourmouth wagyu nigiri.

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A NEW FAMILY EATERI NOW OPEN IN STOCKBRIDGE

the chocolate café

D U R I N G T H E F E S T I VA L

Great food served all day. Delicious desserts and drinks, fresh coffee and tasti teas.

55 Raeburn Place, Stockbridge, Edinburgh EH4 1HX 0131 315 2346 info@tastifood.co.uk www.tastifood.co.uk

13 Frederick St. EDINBURGH, EH2 2EY

5 Howard St. EDINBURGH, EH3 5JP

241 Sauchiehall St. GLASGOW, G2 3EZ

www.corochocolate.co.uk

CROLLA’S IS ONE OF SCOTLAND’S FAVOURITE GELATERIAS. Sitting on the Shore in Leith, Crolla’s is home to a huge variety of delicious desserts, hot food and authentic Italian coffee. Pop in and check out our extensive menu in a beautiful setting.

ICE CREAM • SUNDAES • CHOCOLATES COOKIE DOUGH • REAL ITALIAN COFFEE • Café Marlayne French Restaurants in SANDWICHES AND MORE! Edinburgh | Open 7 days

Antigua Street Thistle Street N O T HE SHORE! U O Y SEE558 8244 0131 0131 226 2230 /WWW.CROLLASGELATERIA.COM// www.cafemarlayne.com/MENU

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Artisan Cheesecakes, 104 Bruntsfield Place Edinburgh, EH10 4ES, Tel: 0131 629 5775 Open: 10am - 6pm Mon - Saturday,12 - 6pm Sunday

1 Coal Hill, The Shore, Leith, Explore creations 0131 555 3664 our cheesecake Edinburgh, EH6 6RH

www.artisancheesecakes.com

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AFTERNOON TEA & CAFES FOOD

LOVECRUMBS

CAFES

155 West Port £ www.lovecrumbs.co.uk

ETEAKET 41 Frederick Street £ www.eteaket.co.uk

Eteaket know the value of a really good cuppa, so they always put the tea first. Their ethically-sourced loose leaf tea comes in a huge variety of flavours, from classic blends to creative flavours like the sea buckthorn herbal tea and Isle of Harris gin tea.

There’s always plenty of cakes and snacks on offer at their snug and charming central tea room, but to really treat yourself, try one of their tea cocktails.

KITCHEN TABLE 148 Duke Street £ www.twelvetriangles.com

Twelve Triangles bakery is renowned for their first-class sourdough bread and fabulous bear claws and croissants, so when they opened up the Kitchen Table, a neighbourhood-style cafe, the locals rejoiced. Not only can you enjoy breakfast, lunch, cakes and coffee, but you can take away their bakes, too.

COFFEE

Clockwise from top: Brew Lab, Quay Commons, Colonnades at The Signet Library, Lovecrumbs

BREW LAB 6-8 South College Street £ www.brewlabcoffee.co.uk

One of the forerunners in speciality coffee in the city, Brew Lab make a cuppa into a science – and an art. Their singleorigin filter and fine espresso is brewed meticulously, while the cold brew is perfect for sunny days. They even open up as a wine bar in the evening, shaking up the best espresso martinis, of course.

CAIRNGORM COFFEE 41A Frederick Street £ www.cairngormcoffee.com

Super central and always welcoming, Cairngorm Coffee offers a friendly neighbourhood vibe just off of Princes Street.

The coffee is fabulous but not intimidating, and they offer a range of dairy free milk, too.

Be sure to try their notoriously gooey cheese toasties.

FORTITUDE COFFEE 3c York Place £ www.fortitudecoffee.com

Fortitude really know coffee.

Whether you’re an espresso purist, flat white diehard, or an anything-with-caffeine-goes kind of coffee lover, they’ve got you covered. They roast their own beans for a perfectly balanced brew, but also offer monthly changing guest espressos from different speciality roasters.

Also of note is their homemade cold brew and their fabulous hot chocolates.

This cosy cafe is a local hero, showcasing top Edinburgh producers from Company Bakery sourdough bread to Coco Chocolatier hot chocolate – and, of course, their own famous cakes. Antique furniture and tea flasks add to the eclectic charm, and if you can nab the window seat on a sunny Sunday afternoon, cake in hand, you’ll never want to leave.

QUAY COMMONS 92 Commercial Street £ www.quaycommons.co

This latest venture from the team at Gardener’s Cottage, Quay Commons does it all.

Operating as a bakery, curing house, cafe, and wine shop, it fulfils every foodie desire.

Grab fresh bread on a weekend, join them for tea and pastries, or pop along for a glass of wine in their outdoor seating area.

AFTERNOON TEA BEFORENOON TEA AT MIMI’S BAKEHOUSE 63 Shore £ www.mimisbakehouse.com

Afternoon tea gets a revamp for brunch lovers at this quaint bakehouse by the shore. Mimi’s Beforenoon Tea stacks its tiers with cheddar cheese and chive scones and hot bacon butties on the savoury side and the likes of yoghurt and granola, cinnamon swirls, muffins, and dulce de leche waffles on the sweet side.

AFTERNOON TEA AT THE IVY 6 St Andrew Square £ www.theivyedinburgh.com

Art deco stylings, a stunning gold and green bar, and a Parisianstyle outdoor terrace have distinguished this new outpost of London’s famous The Ivy as one of Edinburgh’s most fabulous eateries, and their afternoon tea more than www.edfestmag.com

lives up to its glowing reputation.

Keeping things classic, there are scones and cucumber sandwiches, but a truffled chicken brioche roll and crème brûlée doughtnut add a dash of interest.

PALM COURT AT THE BALMORAL 1 Princes Street ££ www.roccofortehotels.com

The Balmoral’s signature salon, the decadently designed Palm Court has become famous for a reason. The columned walls feature landscape drawings, and the glass dome and Venetian chandelier add drama and glamour. Their awardwinning afternoon tea comprises a constantly updated selection of sandwiches and savouries, homemade scones and seasonal pastries, while the tea itself comes in the form of The Balmoral’s own signature blend of leaves.

THE COLONNADES AT THE SIGNET LIBRARY Parliament Square ££ www.thesignetlibrary.co.uk

Frequently named as the home of Edinburgh’s finest afternoon tea, The Signet Library simply screams elegance. From the columns lining the walls to the bespoke silver tea stands, every little detail is refined to perfection. The tea selection is creatively executed, boasting savouries like salmon and beetroot meringue and smoked mozzarella panna cotta, while the sweets are equally innovative, ranging from rose water battenburg to a strawberry and basil tart.

wicker chairs. Their unique Twilight Tea is served from 11am til 9.45pm and incorporates Middle Eastern influences. Look out for savouries such as harissa spiced sausage rolls and polenta chips, as well as sweets including a pistachio and strawberry eclair and a honeycomb chocolate bar.

TWILIGHT TEA AT THE GARDEN 38 Charlotte Square £ www.gardenedinburgh.com

Decorated like a greenhouse, the beautiful Garden has a glass roof, hanging plants galore and EDINBURGH FESTIVALS 2018

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BRUNCH & BLOODY MARYS FOOD

BRUNCH

PARADISE PALMS 41 Lothian Street £ www.theparadisepalms.com

EDINBURGH LARDER 15 Blackfriars Street £ www.edinburghlarder.co.uk

Tucked just off the Royal Mile, the Edinburgh Larder produces brunches with serious finesse.

Seasonal, local produce fills the plates, from eggs Benedict made with Linz Farm eggs, Belhaven smoked salmon or Ramsay’s bacon, to granary bread baked in Edinburgh. Even the drinks are local, with Eteaket providing the tea and Williams & Johnson roasting the coffee beans.

Signature dish: Treat yourself: go for the Larder’s full breakfast.

It has all of the good stuff, plus homemade beans.

HONEYCOMB & CO 1 Merchiston Place £ www.honeycombandco.com

Honey is the MVP at Honeycomb & Co, making an appearance on a number of dishes, including their home-roasted granola and their signature honey and cardamom buns. Brunch is serious business here, and often involves a touch of Middle Eastern flair, so try one of their more creative and ambitious dishes like the sweetcorn hotcakes with eggs, asparagus and avocado mayo to mix up your breakfast game.

Signature dish: We recommend the hot and spicy French toast, topped with bacon, sweet chilli jam, tahini yoghurt and dukkah.

PAPII 101 Hanover Street £ www.fb.com/papiicafe

Tiny, unfussy and casual, Papii might seem unassuming, but

Clockwise from top: The Pantry, Honeycomb & Co if you turn up on a weekend morning, expect to get in line. Their homemade hollandaise is famous, as is their super fluffy buttermilk vanilla waffles. Get in the queue – we promise it’s worth it.

Signature dish: Whichever way you like them, make sure you order the eggs papii.

THE BLACKBIRD 37-39 Leven Street £ www.theblackbirdedinburgh.co.uk

BLOODY MARYS

Opt for liquid brunch at Paradise Palms. Sitting in the heart of the festival side of town, this heavily decorated bar is a real social hub. Grab a seat outside on the sunny terrace and let their Bloody Mary revive you while you peoplewatch.

THE ROSELEAF

THE CANNY MAN’S 237 Morningside Road £ www.cannymans.co.uk

Established in 1871, The Canny Man’s has a big reputation – and their signature Bloody Mary has an even bigger one. Often considered the best in Edinburgh, it’s been endorsed by loyal regulars, Rick Stein, and the BBC.

23-24 Sandport Place £ www.roseleaf.co.uk

This cosy family-run bar by the seaside offers up a truly unique Bloody Mary. Named the ‘Bloody Rose’, The Roseleaf’s version of the morning classic includes their extra hot house spice blend and a Buckfast kiss.

When in Edinburgh, eh?

If you thought The Blackbird was just a bar, think again. Their all-day menu is great, but the breakfast plates are the true stand outs. Served until 4pm on Saturdays and Sundays, feast upon homemade waffles or hearty full Scottish breakfasts (meat and veggie options available) and we’re sure that in no time at all you’ll be ready to step back out into the world of the Fringe.

Signature dish: Coconut and sweet potato hotcakes offer up an unusual breakfast option – especially when paired with tart pickled strawberries.

THE PANTRY 1 North West Circus Place £ www.thepantryedinburgh.co.uk

The Pantry’s brunches are famous.

The porridge varieties change daily, the waffles are the biggest you’ve ever seen, and there’s an abundance of tasty additions to put on your eggs. If you’re lucky, you might nab one of the outdoor tables on a sunny afternoon, in which case, congratulations – you’ve achieved bliss.

Signature dish: The Sunshine on Stockbridge is a Pantry staple, consisting of sweet potato, tomatoes, courgette, eggs, guasacaca and poblano. Plus, add on a couple of bbq chorizo, if you feel like going really wild. www.edfestmag.com

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WINE BARS & BEER FOOD

SMITH & GERTRUDE 26 Hamilton Place £ www.smithandgertrude.com

WINE BARS

Elegant yet relaxed, this Stockbridge wine bar keeps the focus on quality time. The long family-style table in the centre of the bar encourages patrons to get to know one another, while the huge array of wine and cheese to try means that sharing is basically a prerequisite.

Signature dish: Can’t make up your mind? Go for the cheese and wine flight to sample three different flavour pairings.

CLARK AND LAKE 8 Gillespie Place £ www.clarkandlake.co.uk

This friendly bar keeps things international with an exciting, wide-ranging wine list and a cheese and charcuterie board to match.

Curate your very own bespoke charcuterie board, or dive into their hearty and wholesome small plates menu. Dishes range from savoury snacks like fried stuffed olives and whitebait to their deliciously rustic meatballs.

Signature dish: The outrageously indulgent raclette, melted over potatoes and cornichons.

GOOD BROTHERS 4-6 Dean Street ££ www.goodbrothers.co.uk

Natural wine is the name of the game at Good Brothers, and you’d be hard pressed to find a more extensive wine list in the city. However, they also boast a seriously impressive food menu, full of clean, refined dishes where

BEER BREWDOG Festival Square £ www.brewdog.com

The Scottish success story of the beer world, BrewDog’s beer is known worldwide – and what better place to try the full range than in their brand new Edinburgh bar? Decorated with industrial chic and serving up burgers and wings as well as pints, you’re in for a treat.

HOLYROOD 9A 9a Holyrood Road £ www.theholyrood.co.uk

Located right beside the Pleasance, this bustling bar is famed for it’s wide ranging craft beer selection. Taps rotate on the regular to keep things interesting, but the best of Scottish craft beer always has a key role up front and centre. Plus, you can’t mention Holyrood 9a without talking about their gourmet burgers. Made with Scottish beef and topped with everything from haggis to grilled garlic king prawns, nothing goes better with a beer than these impressive buns. www.edfestmag.com

Smith & Gertrude

TOAST two or three select ingredients are really allowed to shine. They also operate as a bottle shop, so you can take your favourites home, too.

Signature dish: The menu changes regularly, but expect the likes of baked ricotta with heritage tomates.

PICKLES 56a Broughton Street £ www.getpickled.co.uk

This basement bar is a real hidden

gem. They don’t take bookings, but you’d better arrive early if you want to nab yourself a table in the cosy space. Fuss-free and casual, they serve up good wine with generous charcuterie boards, complete with paté, Edinburgh Preserves chutney and the best olives in town.

Signature dish: A meat and cheese board with a bottle of house wine is £30 – what more could you need?

65 Shore £ www.toastleith.co.uk

A newcomer to the Shore, Toast has already become a hit with locals.

There’s plenty of organic wine to discover, and, food-wise, choose from their sharing platters, or go for the Mediterranean small plates.

They’re not short of some seriously excellent patisserie, too.

Signature dish: Pop in for an afternoon tipple and go for their miso roast aubergine sourdough sandwich.

SALT HORSE 119 High Street £ www.whiskibar.co.uk

Not just a craft beer bar, but a craft beer shop too, at Salt Horse you can discover your new favourite brew with a little help from their knowledgable team, and then take a couple of bottles home with you to continue the party. At any one time, they stock around 400 different beers, so this is the ideal location for aficionados looking for something new, or for newbies on the hunt for their signature pint.

THE HANGING BAT 133 Lothian Road www.thehangingbat.com

The Hanging Bat take their beer seriously, even running their own in-house brewery where they can experiment with new concoctions.

The constantly changing beer selection here does the classics justice, but puts a focus on giving a platform to the weird and wonderful too. Past guest taps have included cherry blossom IPA and peanut butter milk stout. One for the adventurous drinkers.

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COCKTAIL BARS & GIN FOOD

LUCKY LIQUOR CO

COCKTAILS

39A Queen Street www.luckyliquorco.com

BRAMBLE

The core philosophy at Lucky Liquor revolves around the number 13: thirteen spirits behind the bar, thirteen drinks on the menu, for thirteen weeks. This constant changing keeps them on their toes, and you can always rely on their list to be innovative and creative, no matter what you order.

16A Queen Street www.bramblebar.co.uk

Bramble might not be the easiest bar to find, tucked away as it is, but it’s well worth the hunt. Considered not just one of the best cocktail bars in Edinburgh but in the world, these mixologists can shake it up with the best of them. Make it a priority of any Edinburgh trip.

BRYANT & MACK 89 Rose Street North Lane www.fb.com/bryantandmack

Cocktails with an extra dash of mystery, this speakeasy bar takes the disguise of a private detective’s office. The film-noir style moody atmosphere adds a bit of extra interest to drinks out with friends, while the smartly dressed bartenders shake up some truly exceptional cocktails. Choose from their creative list of signature drinks, or request a classic favourite. Whatever your poison, they’ve got it under control.

GIN 56 NORTH 2 West Crosscauseway www.fiftysixnorth.co.uk

It’s all gin everything at 56 North.

Their gin list might strike you as impossibly huge at first, but it’s helpfully broken up into flavour categories to help guide you, and the bar team know everything there is to know about juniper and can happily help you along the way. There’s bespoke mixers and garnishes paired with each gin, and they even offer gin masterclasses and tours around their own in-house distillery for patrons who have really caught the bug.

www.edfestmag.com

TONIC 34A North Castle Street www.bar-tonic.co.uk

Panda & Sons NIGHTCAP

PANDA & SONS

3 York Place www.nightcapbar.co.uk

79 Queen Street www.pandaandsons.com

This tardis-like location opens with a small cocktail bar, but explore a bit further and you’ll find it expands below ground into a series of labyrinth-like alcoves. The cocktails are shaken up with style and the spirit selection is huge, but the best kept secret is their in-house restaurant, Feed, which serves American soul food from ribs to wings late into the night.

You’ll need to push through a hidden door to get into this speakeasy bar. Wood-panelled and atmospheric, it’s easy to imagine you’ve gone back in time, and once you’re in, you won’t want to leave.

The drinks are famously creative, from the High Society sharing cocktail, served in a hat, to the Shreddy to Rock, with shredded wheat infused gin.

This award-winning cocktail bar is small and intimate, with talented bartenders who are always moving onto the next big thing. From their signature cocktail menu, the Scrumdiddlyumptious is a local favourite: made with chocolate milk washed vodka, marshmallow infused Briottet Cacao Blanc and garnished with hundreds and thousand. Head here before any night out, sip something interesting, and let their resident DJs get you in the mood to head out and party.

HEADS & TALES 1a Rutland Place www.headsandtalesbar.com

Heads & Tales is Edinburgh Gin’s signature bar, even holding two of their copper stills within the bar.

Naturally, gin graces the menu many times over, but there’s also the ‘gin traitors’ section of the menu for those with different tastes. Choose one of their recommended cocktails, or work with the bartender to build your own bespoke drink.

THE ROYAL DICK 1 Summerhall Place www.summerhall.co.uk

No trip to Summerhall is complete without nipping into The Royal Dick. This quirky bar was originally part of the Dick Vet School, and pays homage to its heritage with historical accents, accessories, and artwork. There’s plenty to choose from, drinks-wise, but they also have the unique privilege of having the only gin on tap in Edinburgh. The Pickerings Gin distillery also calls Summerhall home, and they pump their fabulous gin direct to the bar so you can get the freshest G&T around. Garnished with a slice of pink grapefruit, it’s the ideal drink for a post-show catch up.

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SHOPPING CITY GUIDE

THE “GOES WITH EVERYTHING” MAC Barena linen popover dolfin shirt, £115 www.dicks-edinburgh.co.uk

Bella Ballou Asian garden print silk scarf, £79 www.alceshop.com

Throw it on over your favourite jeans, signature little black dress, or classic A-line skirt for a jacket that has you covered come rain or shine - and knowing Edinburgh’s infamously unpredictable weather, we’re sure you’ll thank us when those summer showers make an inevitable appearance.

Monokel Cleo sunglasses, £119 www.frontiers-woman.com

1 Mackintosh bonded cotton raincoat, £705 www.dicks-edinburgh.co.uk

Pop! Art Curve necklace, £55 www.hannahzakari.co.uk

Style by

DAY

Hartford Jemina denim skirt, £80.50 www.biscuit.clothing

Make the Royal Mile your catwalk with these festival friendly day looks from Edinburgh’s top boutiques

2

WORDS CHIARA MARGIOTTA

Chinti & Parker mult Breton knit, £349 www.biscuit.clothing

Link hoop earrings, £45 www.alceshop.com

Tara Jarmon striped shirt dress, £299 www.biscuit.clothing

3

THE SIGNATURE ACCESSORIES Trusty Birkenstocks will be your best friend during walks along the Royal Mile, while this shopper bag is perfect for carrying all of your essentials, from money and makeup to the folio of fliers you’re bound to accumulate on your travels.

Architecural Monona ring, £60 www.thoushaltcovet.com

Newman bag, £50 www.godivaboutique.co.uk White denim Poe shorts, £105 www.frontiers-woman.com

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Yaya big leather shopper bag, £119.95 www.biscuit.clothing

Birkenstocks, £70 www.epitomeofedinburgh.com

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CITY GUIDE SHOPPING Baby pink fade Muir glasses, £65 www.iolla.com DVF Carrington scarf, £151 www.janedavidson.co.uk

2

Polygon eco leather earrings, £14 www.godivaboutique.co.uk

1

Stine Goya Michaela Stars wrap dress, £449 www.biscuit.clothing

Style by

Pom Amsterdam Blue Palace jacket, £169 www.biscuit.clothing

NIGHT

Amethyst ring, £54 www.thoushaltcovet.com

Be the star of your own show and take on the Fringe nightlife with these evening looks

Stine Goya Delia Yellow maxi dress, £299 www.biscuit.clothing

Beetle ring, £50 www.thoushaltcovet.com

Little Galaxy earrings, £55 www.hannahzakari.co.uk

3

Bellu Glitz clutch, £90 www.thoushaltcovet.com

THE “SMART BUT CASUAL” ACCESSORIES This pretty patterned bomber can more than handle double-duty, suited to both daytime wanders and night-time shows, while you’ll never feel the need for a heel in these glammed up flats.

Pretty Ballerinas Ella Jungla flat, £209 www.pamjenkins.co.uk

Blaze metallic shine pod clutch, £87 www.thoushaltcovet.com

Handmade bomber jacket, £160 www.godivaboutique.co.uk

STOCKISTS ALC, 61 Thistle Street; Biscuit, 22 Thistle Street & 132 Bruntsfield Place; Covet, 20 Thistle Street; Dick’s Edinburgh, 3 North West Circus Place; Epitome of Edinburgh, 35 Dundas Street; Frontiers Woman, 16B Stafford Street; Godiva, 9 West Port; Hannah Zakari, 43 Candlemaker Row; Iolla, 22 North West Circus Place; Jane Davidson, 52 Thistle Street; Pam Jenkins, 41 Thistle Street 156

EDINBURGH FESTIVALS 2018

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Celebrate Summer with Caorunn Gin at Hotel du Vin From 6th July throughout the Festival A peaceful yet vibrant outdoor sanctuary to escape the bustling festival crowds Caorunn Gin cocktails and al fresco dining. @CaorunnGin

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11 Bristo Place, Edinburgh EH1 1EZ

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28/06/2018 20:41

SPAS CITY GUIDE

Need to glam up for a night at the cabaret?

Need nails in a flash?

Spent too long sitting in shows?

THE SOLUTION: ishga Express Massage WHERE? The Spa at The Principal, 38 Charlotte Square HOW MUCH? £45 HOW LONG? 25min

It’s hard to resist the plethora of fantastic shows on offer at the

Fringe, but those hard festival chairs are definitely not your back’s best friend. Ease off some of that pressure with a quick stop at the super central spa at The Principal, where their 25 minute back saviour will sort you out in no time.

THE SOLUTION: Speedy Gel Manicure WHERE? Nails Inc at Harvey Nichols, 30 St Andrew Square HOW MUCH? £35 HOW LONG? 25min

Who has time to fuss with polish and files at home when there’s the world’s biggest arts festival at your door? Start your Fringe with a quick stop at the Nails Inc nail bar for a speedy gel manicure that will last the full festival.

Spa solutions

Soothe any stresses the festival throws your way with these spa saviours WORDS CHIARA MARGIOTTA

Overdone it on your walks around the city?

THE SOLUTION: Spa Pedicure WHERE? Zen Lifestyle, 84 Hanover Street HOW MUCH? £58 HOW LONG? 60 min

Those walks up and down the Royal Mile take their toll, so treat those tired feet to a little relaxation with Zen’s signature pedicure. A foot spa and pressure point massage will relieve any tension, while a professional polish will keep your toes sandal ready for 7 days.

No time for morning make-up?

Had one too many nights on the town?

THE SOLUTION: LVL lashes WHERE? The Wax Bar, 122 Rose Street North Lane HOW MUCH? £50 HOW LONG? 45min

THE SOLUTION: Soothe & Nurture Organic Facial WHERE? The Balmoral Spa, 1 Princes Street HOW MUCH? £45 HOW LONG? 25min

The Fringe comes but once a year, so don’t waste precious time on laborious morning make up routines. The Wax Bar’s long-lasting LVL lashes give you curl and length without the need for extensions, so you’ll be ready to head out the door as soon as you wake up.

Stuck with a hair emergency?

THE SOLUTION: Make-up application WHERE? Lauren Gollan, 11 East Market Street HOW MUCH? £50 HOW LONG? 45 min

Don’t be outdone by the queens onstage and make sure you look like just as much of a star with a little help from the make up experts at Lauren Gollan.

Each application is bespoke, so whether you’re after a stunning smoky eye or a show-stopping bold lip, your look will be perfectly tailored to suit you.

Need some time to unwind?

THE SOLUTION: Renew Spa Day WHERE? One Spa, 8 Conference Square HOW MUCH? £122 HOW LONG? All day

Even amidst the fun of the Festival, it’s important not to forget your own self-care, so put yourself first and take a day to spoil yourself at One Spa. The Renew spa day includes a full body scrub, facial, and head massage, as well as the chance to experience their renowned facilities.

We all know that Fringe night outs are the best around, but there’s no denying that the party lifestyle can wreak havoc on your skin.

Wave dull, tired skin away with The Balmoral’s ultra detoxifying express facial. And the best part?

At only 25 minutes, you won’t even have to miss any of the fun of the festival.

THE SOLUTION: Life’s a Beach blow dry WHERE? All About Eve, 118 Brunstfield Place HOW MUCH? £25 HOW LONG? 45min

All About Eve have all of your hair needs covered. In less than an hour, you’ll be transformed from flat to fabulous with their Life’s a Beach blowdry, giving you those coveted beachy waves that’ll keep you turning heads from day to night. www.edfestmag.com

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LISTINGS ART

From paint to textiles, and the old masters to the new, this year's Art Festival has it all ADAM LEWIS JACOB

ART OF GLASS

Institut Français d’Écosse 26 July-26 August

National Museum of Scotland 6 April-16 September

An experimental moving image installation inspired by J G Ballard’s novel Kingdom Come. Using the language of video advertising, the work explores the construction of identity and political opinion within late capitalism and postBrexit Britain.

Highlighting the work of contemporary artists within the field of glass, this exhibition shows how their work pushes the boundaries of techniques and challenges the perception of glass as merely a material for creating functional objects, presenting it as an artistic medium in its own right instead.

ANDY CUMMING: ADAM LINKLATER: MYTHOPOEIA

OUR TOP 20 ART EXHIBITIONS

Maritime Lane Collective 2-26 August

CANALETTO & THE ART OF VENICE

DEAD IMAGES

Adam Linklater: Mythopoeia showcases the art of occult artist, shaman and alternative researcher Adam Linklater. Gathered since his disappearance at the Standing Stones at Callanish, the work on display will include footage of Linklater’s video and sound performances as well as his distinctive mixed media compositions.

The Queen’s Gallery 11 May-21 October

ECA studios 28 July-25 August

The largest exhibition of paintings by Canaletto to ever come to Scotland, this exhibition displays over 100 paintings, drawings and prints, presenting the work of Venice’s most famous view-painter alongside that of his contemporaries for a complete and well-rounded experience.

DEAD IMAGES reveals the contentious legacy of collections of human skulls held in public institutions in Europe, exhibiting a photograph of over 8,000 skulls held in the Vienna Natural History Museum.

DOZEN The Number Shop 23 August-2 September

The Number Shop will showcase new contemporary art by the studio's resident artists and special guests. Varied themes will be explored through a variety of diverse mediums including embroidery, video essays, illustration, found footage, painting, sculpture and printmaking.

HANS K CLAUSEN & KJERSTI SLETTELAND: ANATOMY OF FLEETING MOMENTS The Anatomical Museum 16-25 August

Clausen and Sletteland, artists based at Edinburgh Sculpture Workshop, have collected handsqueezed porcelain ‘impressions’ from over 700 patients, staff and visitors of NHS Lothian, causing the playful and primal act of squeezing to become a creative act.

HEMISPHERIC PHASES Edinburgh Sculpture Workshop 28 July-25 August

Edinburgh Sculpture Workshop presents newly commissioned work by Birthe Jorgensen, Santiago Poggio and Scott Rogers, the culmination of a six-month exchange between Argentina and Scotland.

EMIL NOLDE: COLOUR IS LIFE

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JACOB’S LADDER

Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art 14 July-21 October

Ingleby 26 July-26 October

This full-scale retrospective charts the entire career of one of Germany’s most accomplished modern artists from 1901 up until 1950, with many of the works rarely seen outside of Germany.

A group show of both rare, historical works and contemporary artists, Jacob’s Ladder celebrates mankind’s relationship with space and our enduring attempts to fathom the unfathomable.

www.edfestmag.com

TIBETAN MONKS from

Tashi Lhunpo Monastery Live at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2018

Clockwise from top: Emile Nolde: Colour is Life, Liberty Art Fabrics & Fashion, Edwin G. Lucas

KATE MCMILLAN: THE PAST IS SINGING IN OUR TEETH Arusha Gallery 27 July-26 August

Playing at Arusha Gallery, Kate McMillan has created a two-channel video work following a young girl’s journey as she rediscovers a powerful, mystical heritage that is partly beyond conscious reach. Supported by sculptures and sound performances, the installation reinforces the role of art as an active agent in the memory process.

Tibet - the Land of Snows: eight Buddhist monks from Tashi Lhunpo Monastery perform the sacred music of the Himalayas, with masked dancers in brocade robes, ritual chant and a display of the traditional art of debate.

Performances 6th-22nd August (not Sundays) and from 6th-11th August a sand mandala and workshops on Tibetan monastic art.

VENUE 40 - QUAKER MEETING HOUSE 7 Victoria Terrace, EH1 2JL August 6th - 22nd The monks will be touring in Europe until the end of September 2018. For more information please visit www.tashi-lhunpo.org.uk

TASHI LHUNPO MONASTERY UK TRUST - Regd. Charity No. 1100175

W: www.tashi-lhunpo.org.uk E: info@tashi-lhunpo.org.uk

tashi.lhunpo.monks

@tashimonks

LIBERTY ART FABRICS & FASHION Dovecot Gallery 28 July 2018-12 January 2019

JOANA VASCONCELOS: GATEWAY Jupiter Artland 12 May-30 September

Known for her large-scale surreal sculptures, Vasconcelos displays works throughout the indoor galleries at Jupiter Artland.

Using various domestic objects, she constructs stunning, playful, and direct images that reference socio-political topics, from immigration to gender violence.

JOHN BELLANY: THE WILD DAYS Open Eye Gallery 28 July-27 August

Visit Open Eye Gallery for the chance to see work by John Bellany from his most turbulent period in the 1980s.

Featuring many previously unseen paintings, the exhibition includes some of the most fervent examples of the ideas and iconography that preoccupied one of the most significant Scottish painters of the twentieth century. www.edfestmag.com

This new fashion exhibition at Dovecot Gallery features over 100 Liberty garments and fabrics spanning 140 years in a display which explores how textiles bring art into everyday life.

LUCY SKAER: THE GREEN MAN Talbot Rice Gallery 26 July-6 October

Taking at its heart an exploration of the desire to collect, for this show Skaer will select from the collections of the University of Edinburgh, and has invited fellow artists – Fiona Connor, Will Holder, Hanneline Visnes and Nashashibi/ Skaer – to inhabit the galleries of Talbot Rice alongside her.

NÀDAR / PRAKRITI Edinburgh Printmakers 27 July-20 October

Ravi Agarwal, artist and environmental campaigner, explores the various pressures and challenges posed to nature in Scotland and India and his research of conservation projects through newly commissioned print works.

#madeinscotland #dbfest18 EDINBURGH FESTIVALS 2018

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LISTINGS ART

NOW: JENNY SAVILLE

scottishstorytellingcentre.co.uk

Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art 24 March-16 September

This major exhibition traces Saville’s 25 year career and demonstrates the monumental physicality of her practice. Alongside is work by five artists investigating themes of the body, performance, process and materiality: Sara Barker, Christine Borland, Robin Rhode, Markus Schinwald and Catherine Street.

OLLIE DOOK: OF LANDSCAPE IMMERSION Jupiter Artland 28 July-30 September

21 Superb Shows A Vibrant Arts Venue Come #IntoTheUnknown with us & soak up the atmosphere

Ollie Dook’s newly commissioned sculptural enclosure explores the notion that zoos mimic the natural habitat of animals, inspired by Jupiter Artland’s landscape and the animals that call it home.

Transfigurations series by internationally acclaimed video artist Bill Viola and his wife and close collaborator, Kira Perov.

In this work, a mother and her daughters enact a transfiguration when they choose to pass through the threshold of water and briefly enter an illuminated realm.

RAQIB SHAW: REINVENTING THE OLD MASTERS Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art 19 May-28 October

This exhibition incorporates a display of eight major paintings by Raqib Shaw, alongside two works normally found at the Scottish National Gallery that have inspired two of his most recent paintings: Joseph Noel Paton’s 'The Quarrel of Oberon and Titania', 1849 and Lucas Cranach’s 'An Allegory of Melancholy', 1528.

PARTNERS Edwin G. Lucas: A Travelling Eye City Art Centre 4 August 2018-10 February 2019

The first major exhibition to focus on Edwin G. Lucas, one of the most unique Scottish painters of the 20th century. The show will trace his development from early watercolours to his boldly experimental later oil paintings.

PLATFORM: 2018 City Art Centre 27 July-26 August

Platform is a dedicated showcase at Edinburgh Art Festival for artists at the beginning of their careers.

The 2018 edition brings together work by four female artists: Renèe Helèna Browne, Annie Crabtree, Isobel Lutz-Smith and Rae-Yen Song.

BILL VIOLA: THREE WOMEN The Parish Church of St Cuthberts 1 May-1 September

Three Women is part of the

REMBRANDT: BRITAIN’S DISCOVERY OF THE MASTER Scottish National Gallery 7 July-14 October

Bringing together key works from British collections as well as masterpieces from across the globe, this exhibition reveals how the taste for Rembrandt’s work in Britain has evolved over the past 400 years, as well as the profound impact his art had on the British imagination.

ROBERT POWELL: BETWEEN THE LOST PLACES The Fine Art Society Edinburgh 20 July-3 September

A series of new etchings and sculptures depicting satirical and dark humoured scenes by Powell. The resulting exhibition is a meditation on real and imagined topographies, cartography and modern travel, invoking the sensibility of Edinburgh, Powell’s home city.

Velvet Easel Gallery

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@thevelveteasel www.edfestmag.com

ART LISTINGS

TRAVELLING GALLERY AT 40 City Art Centre 27 July-4 November

A celebration of the Travelling Gallery, a bus that transported art to every part of the country to improve access for people from all backgrounds. Original artworks and archive documents will demonstrate its incredible exhibition history.

VICTORIA CROWE: A CERTAIN LIGHT The Scottish Gallery 2 August-1 September

‘A Certain Light’ demonstrates Crowe’s exploration of variability of light in the natural world, from twilight to shadowy snowscapes and evening sun over Venice.

THE DAYS NEVER SEEM THE SAME Stills: Centre for Photography 27 July-28 October

Clockwise from top: Raquib Shaw, Helen Maurer in Art of Glass, Isobel Lutz-Smith in Platform: 2018

ROSS BIRRELL & DAVID HARDING Trinity Apse 26 July-26 August

Ross Birrell & David Harding present a new film installation, Triptych, in the historic setting of Edinburgh's Trinity Apse. Taking as its focus a performance in Athens involving the Syrian Expat Philharmonic Orchestra, this work reflects on themes of flight and dispossession.

The first in a series of flag artworks to be flown from a newly installed flagpole at Rhubaba Gallery is by visual artist and Rhubaba studio holder, Rabiya Choudhry, whose work explores themes of identity and cultural displacement in contemporary Britain through dark humour.

TACITA DEAN The Fruitmarket Gallery 7 July-30 September

Devised by Glasgow-based artist Ruth Ewan, who creates artworks as a direct response to particular public spaces, Sympathetick Magick will use the ancient art of street performance to bring socially engaged magic onto the streets of Edinburgh.

This exhibition is built around regular screenings of Tacita Dean’s ‘bewilderingly intricate’, 'Event for a Stage', from 2015. Presented alongside other films, drawings and photogravures, the show will examine the relationship of performance to fiction, the imagination and the collective effort of artist and audience.

Renowned Indian artist Shilpa Gupta presents a multi-channel sound installation giving voice to writers imprisoned throughout the centuries. By bringing together fragments of work by 100 poets, the artist offers a powerful reflection on freedom of expression. www.edfestmag.com

‘Beyond Likeness’ celebrates Victoria Crowe, one of the UK’s most distinguished figurative artists, through a career-spanning exhibition representing some of the people who have influenced her own thinking and understanding.

STANDARD BEARERS #1

RUTH EWAN

SHILPA GUPTA

Scottish National Portrait Gallery 12 May-18 November

Rhubaba Gallery From 28 July

Various locations 26 July-26 August

Engine House, The Fire Station, Edinburgh College of Art 26 July-26 August

This exhibition brings together the work of Gunnie Moberg and Margaret Tait. Both artists shared a strong connection to Orkney’s people and landscape and the show continues Stills’ interest in showcasing important work from Scottish archives and collections.

VICTORIA CROWE: BEYOND LIKENESS

THE COMMON SENSE Edinburgh College of Art 26 July-26 August

A presentation of Melanie Gilligan’s dystopian drama, The Common Sense, set over 15 short episodes, tracking the impact of a new immersive technology that enables individuals to tap into the sensations of others.

Edinburgh’s famous fossil shop.

Fossils, minerals, meteorites and jewellery from around the world.

Mr Wood’s Fossils 5 Cowgatehead Edinburgh EH1 1JY 0131 220 1344 shop@mrwoodsfossils.co.uk www.mrwoodsfossils.co.uk EDINBURGH FESTIVALS 2018

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LISTINGS MUSIC

40TH ANNIVERSARY JAZZ BLUES GALA Assembly Hall, 13 & 20 July, 8pm

Celebration of the 40th Edinburgh Jazz and Blues Festival with Seonaid Aitken, Tommy Smith, Carol Kidd and more representing the jazz community on 13 July and the mighty Maggie Bell joined by Tim Elliot for the Blues Gala on the 20th.

ANNA MEREDITH & SOUTHBANK SINFONIA Leith Theatre, 11 August, 7.30pm

It’s going to be a busy Festival for composer Anna Meredith.

Here, she collaborates with the hip Southbank Symphonia to perform her Scottish Album of the Year Award-winning Varmints, but will also provide the soundtrack for the EIF opening event and reprise her electric reworking of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons, Anno: Vivaldi, at the EICC.

Alan Gorrie and Onnie McIntyre still helm this tight-but-loose soul, funk and R&B ensemble.

OUR TOP 30 MUSIC EVENTS

BALTIMORE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA: A BERNSTEIN CELEBRATION Usher Hall, 25 August, 7.45pm

Conductor Marin Alsop leads with Baltimore Symphony in this centenary celebration of the irrepressible canon of charismatic composer Leonard Bernstein, featuring era-defining music from two of his best loved musicals, West Side Story and On The Town.

BETTYE LAVETTE Assembly Hall, 16 July, 8pm

This indomitable Detroit R&B diva may not be the household name she deserves to be but it will be hard to rival Lavette's intense performance power at the Jazz and Blues Festival.

AVERAGE WHITE BAND Festival Theatre, 21 July, 7.30pm

BRIAN WILSON

Dundee’s finest funkateers were famously the first British band to top the US singles and album charts simultaneously. More than forty years later, founding members

Princes Street Gardens, 19 August, 6pm

The Beach Boys le gend is one of the all-time great pop composers/ arrangers with an unparalleled setlist of stone cold symphonic

Rag'n'Bone Man

surf classics to choose from.

His comeback over the last couple of decades has been a joy to behold.

CATRIONA MORISON & SIMON LEPPER Queens Hall, 15 August, 11am

Edinburgh-born mezzo soprano Catriona Morison is the only British winner of the prestigious Cardiff Singer of the World competition, lifting the title in 2017. She is joined by pianist Simon Lepper for her debut EIF recital, featuring songs by Brahms, Mahler and Korngold lieder and settings of poems by Mary, Queen of Scots.

CHRIS DIFFORD: SOME FANTASTIC PLACE, MY LIFE IN AND OUT OF SQUEEZE Assembly Checkpoint, 6-12 August, 3.30pm

A selection of stories, songs and stand-up from the co-frontman of beloved new wave favourites Squeeze, marking the publication of Difford’s autobiography.

Singer/guitarist Boo Hewerdine provides backing on Squeeze standards such as 'Cool For Cats' and 'Up the Junction'.

DOME NIGHTS – INSPIRED BY THE MUSIC OF PINK FLOYD Dynamic Earth, 3-27 August, times vary

Three separate son et lumiere extravaganzas at Dynamic Earth, each featuring the playback of a classic Pink Floyd album in cosmic surround sound accompanied by immersive visuals. Choose between Dark Side of the Moon, Wish You Were Here and The Wall or collect the full set.

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EUROVISION YOUNG MUSICIANS 2018 Usher Hall, 23 August, 7pm

EIF marks the Year of Young People with a programme of youth orchestras and choirs at the Usher Hall, culminating in the final of this biennial competition to find Europe’s most talented young classical musicians.

AN EVENING WITH AMANDA F***ING PALMER Queens Hall, 9-10, 17-18 August, times vary

Four evenings from the former Dresden Doll. Expect material from throughout her career rendered idiosyncratically on Steinway piano and ukulele in her strident but ebullient style.

FIVE TELEGRAMS St Andrew Square, 3 August, 10.30pm

EIF's free Opening Event is another audio-visual spectacular designed by digital artists 59 Productions on the theme of wartime communication. Five Telegrams will be soundtracked with a newly commissioned orchestral score by composer Anna Meredith, inspired by WW1 telegrams.

GOBLIN PERFORM DAWN OF THE DEAD/SUSPIRIA – 40TH ANNIVERSARY Summerhall, 5-6 August, times vary

Veteran Italian prog-rock band Goblin perform their two most celebrated cult horror soundtracks – the psychedelic fever dream of Suspiria and the steely electronica of Dawn of the Dead - synched live to screenings of the two films. www.edfestmag.com

MUSIC LISTINGS

as the SCO’s principal conductor at these concerts, rounding off a fruitful nine-year partnership with the orchestra with a cycle of the four Brahms symphonies across two nights at Usher Hall.

SINCE YESTERDAY Leith Theatre, 24 August, 7pm

Anna Meredith GRUFF RHYS: RESIST PHONEY ENCORES! Pleasance, 17-25 August, 11pm

A late night soiree with the Super Furry Animals frontman who will be playing melodic gems from across his career as well as celebrating his longstanding tradition of using audience prompt cards as a way of overcoming his shyness.

JOHN GRANT Playhouse, 16 August, 7.30pm

Former Czars frontman John Grant has been one of the vocal and songwriting revelations of the last decade, mining his turbulent past and romantic present for caustic contemporary crooner material delivered in his rich, emotive baritone.

KARINE POLWART’S SCOTTISH SONGBOOK

MOGWAI Leith Theatre, 22-23 August, 7pm

Two dates from the esteemed Glaswegian instrumentalists who return to EIF to melt a few more faces with their punishingly loud wall of guitars.

A celebration of Scotland’s female musicians featuring the uplifting Afro/indie interface of Sacred Paws, esoteric pop energy of Bossy Love and garagey girl gang The Van Ts alongside clips from a new documentary by Teen Canteen frontwoman Carla J Easton and filmmaker Blair Young highlighting the unsung sheroes of Scottish pop.

SOWETO GOSPEL CHOIR

NEU! REEKIE! #1 & 2

Assembly Hall, 2-26 August, 2.30pm

Leith Theatre, 12 & 17 August, 7pm

This tremendous choir, hailing from the sprawling South African township of Soweto, are mainstays of the Fringe, but whether this is your first or fiftieth time in the audience, there is never a bad time to get acquainted with their uplifting presence, energetic performance, heavenly harmonies and emotional punch.

Edinburgh-based cross-cultural curators Neu! Reekie! host two eclectic evenings as part of EIF’s Light on the Shore. Krautrock maestro Michael Rother, New York punk doyenne Lydia Lunch and Edinburgh post-punk legends The Fire Engines converge for the first event, while Glasgow’s indie godfathers/mothers The Pastels and The Vaselines are joined by poet, sage and gentleman Linton Kwesi Johnson.

Leith Theatre, 20 August, 7.30pm

PALOMA FAITH

Polwart is a hugely evocative singer/ songwriter in her own right but she is also a supreme interpreter so this personal compendium of her favourite Scottish pop songs of the last fifty years looks set to be a highlight of the EIF’s Light on the Shore strand.

Princes Street Gardens, 17 Aug, 6pm

LAU-LAND

Summerhall, 10-19 August, 7pm

Leith Theatre, 18 August, 7pm

The infamous Russian protest performance collective present their semi-autobiographical multi-media show, using lo-fi electro punk, cut-and-paste visuals, homemade costumes and righteous rage to tell the story of their politically motivated trial and imprisonment for protesting Putin’s presidency.

STORIES AND SONGS WITH BEANS ON TOAST Voodoo Rooms, 14-26 August, 7.50pm

Self-styled drunk folk storyteller Jay McAllister, who goes by the troubadour handle Beans on Toast, makes his Fringe debut with a set of pithy political protest songs and whimsical minstrelsy.

ST VINCENT Playhouse, 26 August, 8pm

One of the most distinctive musical stylists of recent years, not to mention a phenomenal guitarist, St Vincent brings her latest show, Fear the Future, in all its vivid colour, pop seduction and quirky humour.

VAUGHN WILLIAMS’S A SEA SYMPHONY Usher Hall, 9 August, 8pm

Martyn Brabbins conducts the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra on Vaughn Williams’s epic Sea Symphony and the Scottish premiere of Thea Musgrave’s Turbulent Landscapes, inspired by Turner’s paintings.

WORDS BY FIONA SHEPHERD

Paloma Faith brings her slick soul pop, flamboyant costumes and effervescent stage presence to Edinburgh in the hopes of spreading her self-styled Epidemic of Kindness to the festival city.

PUSSY RIOT: RIOT DAYS

It's another visit to Lau-Land, an occasional mini-festival curated by the much garlanded Edinburgh folk trio Lau, who are joined by the talented US singer/instrumentalist Joan As Policewoman, Egyptian experimental artist Nadal El Shazly, psychedelic folk singer James Holden & the Animal Spirits and trad troubadour Alasdair Roberts.

MARTYN BENNETT’S BOTHY CULTURE Playhouse, 21 August, 8pm

A welcome reprise for the undoubted highlight of this year’s Celtic Connections – a massed symphonic performance of the late Martyn Bennett’s Bothy Culture, rendered by the explosively energetic Grit Orchestra. www.edfestmag.com

RAG’N’BONE MAN Princes Street Gardens, 14 August, 6pm

Tattoed soul man mountain Rag’n’Bone Man was the breakout success story of 2017. Catch him at the Edinburgh Summer Sessions.

SCOTTISH CHAMBER ORCHESTRA Usher Hall, 17-18 August, 7.45pm

Robin Ticciati takes his final bow EDINBURGH FESTIVALS 2018

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LISTINGS BOOKS

ADAM KAY 16th August, 7.15pm

Junior doctor turned comedian Adam Kay recalls the torture of 97hour working weeks at the NHS, and wonders if This is Going to Hurt.

Commentator Macpherson examines the evidence and looks to the future in Adventures in the Golden Age.

OUR TOP 40 BOOK EVENTS

GINA MILLER 26th August, 6.45pm

Gina Miller became the face of democracy when she successfully took the British government to the Supreme Court, challenging its authority to trigger Brexit without parliamentary approval. In her first book, Rise, she looks at the costs and rewards of standing up for what you believe in.

BRETT ANDERSON AKALA

25th August, 8.30pm

24th August, 8.30pm

The Suede frontman’s memoir, Coal Black Mornings, recalls the heady days of Britpop and the unlikely rise to fame of a taxi driver’s son from Hayward’s Heath.

Cerebral hip hop artist Akala confronts the legacy of the British Empire in his searing non-fiction polemic, Natives, and looks at how racism affected his own life and continues to shape Britain today.

ALI SMITH 18th August, 4.30pm

How to Be Both is adapted by Julie Taudevin and Claire Duffy for a 45-minute stage performance, followed by a discussion with Smith about her philosophical novel.

Plus, on 21st August, she delivers an adapted version of last year’s Muriel Spark Society Annual Lecture.

ARCHIE MACPHERSON 14th August, 7.15pm

Given Scotland’s history as a world-class football team, why the slump into two decades of failure?

Brett Anderson

GORDON BROWN 15th August, 1.30pm

BRIAN MAY

CHELSEA CLINTON

15th August, 5.00pm

20th August, 10.00am

Musician and polymath May joins Professor Roger Taylor as they discuss 19th-century photographer George Washington Wilson. Examining his life and work, they will also show a selection of his stereoscopic photographs, projected in 3D.

The daughter of two of the most powerful people in the world, Chelsea Clinton has forged her own path fighting for women’s rights.

She speaks with Sally Magnusson about her own female role models and her latest children’s book, She Persisted Around the World. On the 19th August she hosts a special event for children and families, too.

BRUCE DICKINSON 18th August, 8.30pm

Iron Maiden frontman, pilot, radio DJ, and fencing enthusiast are just some of the titles Dickinson has accumulated. Come and hear what the rocker has to say in his memoir, What Does This Button Do?

DAG SOLSTAD 15th August, 5.45pm

An elder statesman of Norway’s literary scene, Solstad explores the love and loneliness of a small-town librarian in his latest novel, T Singer.

DAMBISA MOYO

Former Prime Minister and mastermind of the Vow, Gordon Brown looks back on his political career and charts his successes and failures in his latest memoir, My Life, Our Times.

HARD TRUTHS 12th August, 6.45pm

Curated by highly respected photographer Arthur Ollman and international picture editor David Furst, the New York Times brings an exhibition of over 60 images from photojournalists around the world to the Book Festival. Listen in as a panel of acclaimed journalists and photographers have a wide-ranging discussion on topics including digital manipulation and the era of 'fake news'.

18th August, 1.30pm

Controversial economist Moyo examines the global economy and finds it wanting in her latest book, Edge of Chaos. She discusses what’s going wrong with economic growth and how to fix it.

DJ TARGET 19th August, 9.45pm

The Radio 1 DJ goes on a grime spree as he digs into the roots of the musical movement and its political leanings in his first book, Grime Kids: The Inside Story of the Global Grime Takeover.

ED WARNER 19th August, 8.45pm

Just how corrupt is elite sport? As the former chair of UK Athletics and current chair of World Para Athletics, Ed Warner is well placed to blow the lid off sport’s money problem in the explosive Sports Inc. GAËL FAYE

JEREMY CORBYN 20th August, 8.30pm

One of the UK’s most divisive figures, the Labour Party leader has shifted political discourse in the UK and reinvigorated the Left.

In conversation with economist Yanis Varoufakis, he discusses the return of socialism, the media and how grassroots campaigning changed the outcome of the last election.

JESSE NORMAN 15th August, 8.30pm

Making waves from the centre, MP and compassionate Conservative Jesse Norman is pegged as a possible future Tory leader. His latest book, Adam Smith: What He Thought, and Why it Matters, goes beyond biography to look at the philosophy of one of the world’s foundational economic thinkers and how his theories apply today.

26th August, 7.00pm

Music and performance combine as Faye’s debut novel, Small Country, is published in English for the first time. Actor Thierry Lawson and musician Samuel Kamanzi help to bring the coming-of-age tale about the Rwandan genocide to the stage.

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JO NESBO 26th August, 8.30pm

Nesbo’s latest crime thriller puts a twist on the Scottish play, as his anti-hero Inspector Macbeth deals with paranoia and murder in his own police department. www.edfestmag.com

28/06/2018 19:33

BOOKS LISTINGS

JUNE SARPONG

SHAMI CHAKRABARTI

TONY ADAMS

15th August, 11.45am

18th August, 6.15pm

19th August, 6.45pm

TV presenter Sarpong is a familiar face thanks to E4 and Saturday morning TV, but her political thinking has always been distinctly grown-up. She talks to Ruth Wishart about the case for diversity.

As director of Liberty, Chakrabarti fought for civil rights and was discribed as, "probably the most effective ... lobbyist of the past 20 years." Her continuing mission is to put pressure on the most prevalent global human rights abuse, gender inequality, and with her new book Of Women she carries on the fight.

If a brilliant footballing career tarnished by alcoholism sounds like an all-too-familiar tale, Adams is a living example that there can be a happy ending after recovery.

LOUISE MINCHIN 16th August, 11.45am

An object lesson in the power of positive thinking, Minchin’s rise from TV presenter and cycling amateur to representing Great Britain at the World Triathlon Championship is truly inspiring. Find out how she travelled so far in three years as she discusses her passion.

Chelsea Clinton exile from his beloved home country and discusses his updated prison memoir, Wrestling with the Devil.

RACHEL KUSHNER 14th August, 12.15pm

MARK BEAUMONT 27th August, 2.15pm

Phileas Fogg needed trains, boats and the occasional elephant to make his journey around the world in 80 days. Mark Beaumont needed only his trusty bike (and a flight or two across the ocean) to complete the same task in 78 days, beating the world record by over a third.

Kushner’s breathlessly anticipated third novel, The Mars Room, is an unflinching portrait of a mother starting a life sentence in the American prison system.

Human rights activist Jennifer Clement is on hand to dig deep into the inspiration behind Kushner’s latest work.

REINHARD KLEIST

MARTIN ROWSON & MOHAMMAD SABAANEH 18th August, 7.30pm

The two cartoonists discuss their latest works with Phill Jupitus, looking at Rowson’s adaptation of the Communist Manifesto and Sabaaneh’s Palestine. As a former political prisoner of Israel, Sabaaneh will provide fascinating insight into what it’s really like to suffer for one’s beliefs.

NEAL ASCHERSON 11th August, 10.15am

Well-known as a journalist, Ascherson presents his first novel at this year’s festival. The strange true tale of a French destroyer that exploded in the Clyde in 1940, The Death of the Frosnac is in the running for this year’s First Book award.

NICOLA STURGEON 20th August, 5.00pm

The First Minister pops across the road from her official residence at Bute House to talk with Ali Smith about the author’s series of Brexitinspired novels, particularly the latest installment, Winter.

SUSAN CALMAN 22nd August, 11.45am

12th August, 6.30pm

In a world where the Internet has divided us more than it’s brought us together, as vitriolic comments, extreme views and online bullying become more and more commonplace. Strictly Come Dancing star and comedian Calman has a solution. She talks about her new plan – The Kindness Quest.

TOM GAULD & HAMISH STEELE 12th August, 1.45pm

Lighthearted discussions of lemon drizzle cake, philosophy, Egyptian gods and more are on the cards as cartoonists Tom Gauld and Hamish Steele discuss their latest works, Baking with Kafka and Pantheon.

The German cartoonist returns to one of his favourite subjects, musician Nick Cave, for an evening of music, visuals and live drawing as he launches his latest graphic biography, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds: An Art Book.

VIC GALLOWAY 16th August, 8.45pm

BBC Radio Scotland favourite Galloway has seen the highs and lows of our music scene over a long career in the media. He looks at why Scottish bands, such as Simple Minds and Franz Ferdinand, have so often found huge global success.

ZINDZI MANDELA 14th August, 8.30pm

Nelson Mandela’s youngest daughter is a political activist in her own right, and currently serves as South Africa’s ambassador to Denmark. She talks about what it was like growing up in the shadow of such an incredible man, and on the 13th holds a special event for kids about the book she wrote with her own children, Grandad Mandela.

WORDS BY CAROLINE WHITHAM

WIGTOWN BOOK FESTIVAL

ROSE MCGOWAN 13th August, 3.15pm

One of the first to expose the culture of sexual assault and rape in Hollywood, McGowan has steadfastly fought her corner against all attackers. Hear her tell her story to Afua Hirsch as she discusses her book, Brave.

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RUBY WAX 19th August, 3.15pm

From outspoken comedian to mental health campaigner, Wax has been painfully honest about her own struggles with depression. Now armed with a degree in Cognitive Therapy, she’s on a mission to bring mindfulness to the masses with her new book, How to Be Human.

SALLY MAGNUSSON

NGUGI WA THIONG’O

19th August, 7.15pm

11th August, 6.45pm

Magnusson is the hardest-working woman at the festival, as she chairs talks with Greg Wise, Ali Smith and Chelsea Clinton. On the 19th of August she presents her own first novel, The Sealwoman’s Gift.

Four decades on from his incarceration and release as a political prisoner in Kenya, Marxist playwright and novelist Ngugi reflects on a life spent in www.edfestmag.com

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LISTINGS THEATRE Take your seat and prepare to be dazzled by the brightest theatre stars the Fringe has to offer THE ABODE Underbelly, Cowgate 2-16 August, 12.30pm

Every other year, the students of Pepperdine University in California collaborate with a Scottish writer to present a topical drama. This time, it’s the turn of Davey Anderson who tries to get to grips with the chip-on-the-shoulder mind-set of America’s “oppressed” white men.

THE APPROACH Assembly Hall

about a 14-year-old girl whose best friend has mysteriously disappeared and instantly her priorities have to change.

AILSA BENSON IS MISSING Assembly Rooms 2-25 August (not 13), 2.20pm

Samara MacLaren stars in a play

THE BALLAD OF THE APATHETIC SON AND HIS NARCISSISTIC MOTHER Summerhall 14-26 August (not 20), 1.45pm

ANOTHER ONE Summerhall 1-26 August (not 6, 11-13, 20), 10am

Early-morning wordless drama from group Vooruit, Arenbergschouwburg, as part of the Big in Belgium programme. It’s about the art of tolerance and the art of being tolerated.

2-26 August (not 8, 15, 22), 1.25pm

Irish playwright Mark O’Rowe looks set to add to his tally of Fringe hits with this vehicle for Cathy Belton, Derbhle Crotty and Aisling O’Sullivan, three of his country’s finest actors. It’s described as a psychological puzzle and a devastating tragedy.

OUR TOP 65 THEATRE SHOWS

AYE, ELVIS Gilded Balloon 1-26 August (not 9, 20), 7.30pm

After entertaining lunchtime audiences at Glasgow’s A Play, a Pie and a Pint, actor Joyce Falconer has another run in Morna Young’s comic three-hander about a north-eastern Elvis impersonator.

Hoping to escape the daily drudgery, she sets her sights on the Ultimate Elvis competition. Ken Alexander directs.

A mother-and-son double act from Glasgow’s 21 Common, featuring performance artist Lucy Gaizley and 15-year-old Raedie trying to straddle the generation gap through their mutual love of pop videos. Part of Made in Scotland.

THE BASEMENT TAPES Summerhall 1-26 August (not 2, 13, 20), 6.30pm

Award-winning New Zealand mystery about a girl making an unexpected discovery after the death of her grandmother. In the old woman’s basement, she finds a stash of tapes left to posterity.

BLACKOUT Summerhall 1-26 August (not 8, 13, 20) 4.20pm

Return of Mark Jeary’s punchy verbatim-style collage of stories of euphoria, hedonism, recklessness, violence, hangovers and depression brought on by excess alcohol.

Drawing on interviews with fellow recovering alcoholics, the playwright takes us beyond the first convivial drinks to the helpless blackouts. Part of Made in Scotland.

This page: Aye Elvis, Blackout Opposite: In for a Penny

NHS. To mark its 70th anniversary, and looking ahead to its centenary, he reports back on his talks with top experts about what it will take to keep the health service on track.

A CHRISTMAS CAROL Assembly George Square Studios 4-27 August (not 13), 12pm

Fringe fixture Guy Masterson makes a single-handed, not to mention unseasonal, attempt on the Dickens favourite, showing off his acclaimed vocal prowess.

CLASS Traverse

BUILD A ROCKET Pleasance Courtyard

2-26 August (not 6, 13, 20), times vary

1-27 August, 4.30pm

Irish theatremakers Iseult Golden and David Horan give their Dublin Theatre Festival hit a further lease of life with an Edinburgh run. It’s about a separated couple who are called in to school to talk about their son’s supposed learning difficulties.

The overarching theme is class, in both senses of the word.

Scarborough’s Stephen Joseph Theatre is best known for its long association with Alan Ayckbourn.

Here, though, the company is making its Fringe debut with a play

by Christopher York. It’s about a young girl on the brink of a big decision about her life.

CHASE SCENES Canada Hub at King’s Hall 1-26 August (not 6, 13, 20), 2.25pm

Movies are full of chase sequences.

This show has nothing but. Using live-feed video, it sends three women on a breakneck series of cat-and-mouse adventures to comic and alarming effect.

CHECK UP: OUR NHS AT 70 Traverse 4-26 August (not 6, 13, 20), times vary

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THEATRE LISTINGS

FIRST SNOW/PREMIÈRE NEIGE Canada Hub at King’s Hall

is back with the true story of fencer Helene Mayer who was selected as the Nazi’s token Jewish athlete for the Berlin Games. How different is the mood of the times in today’s Europe?

1-26 August (not 6, 13, 20), 6.10pm

A transatlantic collaboration between the National Theatre of Scotland and Canada’s Théâtre PàP and Hôtel-Motel, this new play is about a family reunion in Québec where the right-and-left tensions of society at large come under one roof. The big question: who does the future belong to? Part of Made in Scotland.

THE GREATEST PLAY IN THE HISTORY OF THE WORLD… Traverse 2-26 August (not 6, 13, 20), times vary

Julie Hesmondhalgh, a familiar face from Coronation Street and Broadchurch, stars in this modestly titled love story written for her by husband Ian Kershaw. It’s about a couple who look out of their windows one night and catch each other's eye across the street.

THE FISHERMEN Assembly George Square 2-27 August (not 13, 20), 1.20pm

CORIOLANUS VANISHES Traverse

DRESSED. Underbelly, Cowgate

2-26 August (not 6, 13, 20), times vary

2-26 August (not 14), 6pm

First time around, playwright David Leddy performed this absorbing solo show himself, playing a man struggling to find his soul as he contemplates his empty relationships with his loved ones and his colleagues in the arms business. As Leddy always intended, this new production is played by a woman (6 Characters in Search of an Author's Irene Allan) without a word being changed.

Part of Made in Scotland.

DE FUUT Summerhall 8-26 August (not 13, 20), times vary

As part of the Big in Belgium programme, Bastiaan Vandendriessche wonders how honest we can be in a time of moral ambiguity. Is there a sliding scale of sexual misdemeanours or is he playing a character who is a delusional predator who needs to be stopped?

DOCTORS OF PHILOSOPHY Charlotte Square Gardens 19 August, 5.30pm

Muriel Spark’s only work written specifically for the stage is given a one-off rehearsed reading as a collaboration between the Royal Lyceum and Edinburgh International Book Festival.

The text has been edited by playwright David Greig (who calls it, “a mixture of Pirandello, Wilde and Joe Orton.”) and is directed by Marilyn Imrie. www.edfestmag.com

The true story of a woman who, in response to a sexual assault in which she was stripped at gun point, chooses to wear nothing but clothes she has made herself.

ThisEgg’s show includes music, choreography - and live sewing.

Shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize in 2015, Chigozie Obioma’s novel is an allegory of brotherhood, vengeance and fate. For New Perspectives, in association with HOME, playwright Gbolahan Obisesan adapts his story of two Nigerian brothers on an illicit fishing trip.

HENRY Pleasance Dome 11-26 August, 3.30pm

After its Fringe-First winning success with The Table and Citizen Puppet, Blind Summit presents a theatrical memoir from beyond the grave in an attempt to find the difference between acting and puppetry. Expect irreverent humour.

GAMES Gilded Balloon 1-27 August (not 15), 4.30pm

Henry Naylor, the comedian turned Fringe-First winning playwright,

EREHWON Magnetic North Summerhall 1-26 August (not 6, 13, 20), 1.25pm

Samuel Butler’s 1872 sci-fi novel, spelling “Nowhere” backwards, is adapted for the stage by New Zealand playwright Arthur Meek and directed by Edinburgh’s Nicholas Bone. Expect a timetravelling blend of 21st-century and Victorian technology.

EUROPEAN CITIZEN POPSONG Summerhall 1-26 August (not 2, 6, 13, 20), 6pm

In an attempt to find unity in the current era of Brexit, Marieke Dermul has travelled Europe in search of words and music that could bring us all together.

This is the story of her quest for a common European identity. Part of Big in Belgium.

EXTINGUISHED THINGS Summerhall 1-26 August (not 2, 20), 7.25pm

Molly Taylor, whose Love Letters to the Public Transport System was a delight, returns to Scotland with the story of a neighbour who can’t resist peeking into the flat of a couple who have been together for 40 years.

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LISTINGS THEATRE

HEROINE Assembly Hall

MEEK Traverse Theatre

2-27 August (not 21), 12pm

4-26 August (not 6, 13, 20), times vary

Powerfully performed one-woman show by Mary Jane Wells about sexual abuse in the US army and the subsequent recovery process.

Based on the true story of Danna Davis who spent ten years in the military. Part of Made in Scotland.

Penelope Skinner’s latest play is about a woman standing up to her incarceration by an oppressive state. As her case attracts international attention, pressure starts to mount. Directed by Amy Hodge for Headlong.

HOME King’s Theatre

MIDSUMMER The Hub

22-25 August, 8pm

One of a select group of artists to make the transition from the Fringe to the Edinburgh International Festival, Geoff Sobelle invites the audience to join him in making a house together. The question then is how to turn a house into a home.

THE HOUSE Assembly George Square Studios 2-27 August (not 13, 21), 2.50pm

Expect a high-density volley of language from the gifted playwright Brian Parks, reunited here with fellow American David Cavitto, not to mention Scotland’s Pauline Goldsmith. It’s about a couple who sell their dream home to the

2-26 August, 8pm

Love Song for Lavender Menace perfect buyers - only to discover that they have less than perfect intentions.

IN FOR A PENNY Gilded Balloon Teviot 1-27 August (not 13), 2.45pm

Libby McArthur ended up behind bars for failing to respond to her parking-fine demands. With help of playwright David Cosgrove, she brings to life the shoplifters, sex workers, lawyers and parking attendants she met on her journey into the judicial system.

IT’S TRUE, IT’S TRUE, IT’S TRUE Underbelly Cowgate 2-26 August (not 13), 2.50pm

The #MeToo movement has put sexual misconduct in the spotlight, but the story is not new.

Breach Theatre goes all the way back to court transcripts from renaissance Rome to consider the case of the 1612 trial of Agostino Tassi for the rape of baroque painter Artemisia Gentileschi.

LET’S INHERIT THE EARTH Pleasance Courtyard

MY LEFT RIGHT FOOT – THE MUSICAL Assembly Roxy

10-26 August (not 13, 20), 12.20pm

1-27 August (not 8, 14, 21), 6.10pm

Scotland’s Dogstar company makes another international collaboration, this time with Sweden’s Profilteatern on an ecological comedy by Morna Pearson. Ben Harrison directs.

Expect social satire aplenty as Birds of Paradise Theatre Company teams up with the National Theatre of Scotland for a musical about an amateur dramatic society trying to stage My Left Foot. By casting “the disabled,” they hope to comply with the equalities agenda if only they could find some disabled actors. Part of Made in Scotland.

LOVE SONG TO LAVENDER MENACE Summerhall 1-26 August (not 6, 13, 20), 12.55pm

Lavender Menace was an Edinburgh bookshop that sold gay and lesbian publications for five years from 1982. For many, its very existence was a beacon of hope.

James Ley’s funny and celebratory play evokes the atmosphere of that era. Part of Made in Scotland.

LA MALADIE DE LA MORT Royal Lyceum 16-18 August, 8pm

Marguerite Duras’s novella is a dreamlike portrait of an intense sexual relationship between a man who has lost the ability to love and the woman he pays to help him re-engage. Playwright Alice Birch and director Katie Mitchell update it to the modern age of internet pornography in a fascinating production that is as much film as theatre. Staged by the Bouffes du Nord for the Edinburgh International Festival.

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This mid-life romantic comedy by playwright David Greig and musician Gordon McIntyre appeared ten years ago as a modest two hander about a lost weekend, but struck such a chord it went on to enjoy an extended international life. Now it’s back, courtesy of the National Theatre of Scotland and the Edinburgh International Festival, in a beefedup version complete with a live band.

NELE NEEDS A HOLIDAY: THE MUSICAL Summerhall 1-26 August (not 2, 6, 13, 20), 10.15pm

Compagnie Cornelius field an all-female band for this tongue-incheek pop opera about a Belgian girl who dreams of finding pop stardom in London only to be sorely disappointed. Part of Big in Belgium.

NIGEL SLATER’S TOAST Traverse 7-26 August (not 6, 13, 20), times vary

Manchester's Lowry Theatre adapts Slater's 2003 autobiography, Toast - the Story of a Boy’s Hunger, an evocation of the tastes and smells of the food writer's childhood that won him the National Book Awards British Biography of the Year.

www.edfestmag.com

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BABYFACE Katy Dye

Hey baby! Welcome to a world of knee socks, bunches, lollipops, bubblegum and models adopting the childlike expressions of six-year-old girls.

A daring exploration into the paradox of living in a society that continues to infantilise women. Paedophilia is not OK yet fetishised images of women as prepubescent girls are. In this brave and outlandish performance a grown woman attempts to be your baby to discover if innocence really is as sexy as we're told it is.

WINNER of the AUTOPSY AWARD 2018 'Full of the pain of living in a world that encourages boys to be men, but women to be girls' - Exeunt

Time: 1.30pm Duration: 50 mins Age Suitability: 16+ Venue: Summerhall (Demonstration Room) Tickets: £9 full, £7 concession, £5 preview

‘Those fearsome innovators Headlong’ Telegraph

Headlong in association with Birmingham Repertory Theatre present

By

Penelope Skinner Directed by

Amy Hodge

31 July – 26 August (Not 1,2,3,6,13,20) traverse.co.uk | 0131 228 1404

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@HeadlongTheatre #MeekThePlay

28/06/2018 20:43

THEATRE LISTINGS

the stage with musician Liam Grundy for a homage to the 1970s TV private eye Jim Rockford complete with added roots music.

NINA’S GOT NEWS BY FRANK SKINNER Pleasance Dome 1-26 August, 2.50pm

SILENCE Pleasance at the EICC

He made his name as a stand-up on the Fringe, now the popular TV face is back with his debut play.

It’s about a woman who has something incredible to tell her exboyfriend and best friend - and it’s touch and go if they’ll believe her.

3-26 August (not 20), 9.30pm

OFF KILTER Dance Base 3-26 August (not 6, 13, 20), 3.30pm

Ramesh Meyyappan was shortlisted in the Critics’ Awards for Theatre in Scotland for his non-verbal performance in this darkly comic piece of storytelling about feeling a little bit different from everybody else. Part of Made in Scotland.

OLD BOY Scottish Storytelling Centre

Silence THE POLITICAL HISTORY OF SMACK AND CRACK Summerhall 1-27 August (not 7, 14, 21), 5.30pm

True-life tales from the heroin epidemic of the Thatcher years when rioting erupted in cities such as Manchester. Ed Edwards’s play is directed by Cressida Brown.

18-19, 24-26 August, 11am

The excellent Glas(s) Performance puts real-life grandfathers and grandsons on the stage to explore male family relationships and the legacy that is passed down through generations. Part of Made in Scotland.

ON THE EXHALE Traverse Theatre 2-26 August (not 6, 13, 20), times vary

American gun culture comes under the spotlight in the UK premiere of Martín Zimmerman’s play about a woman’s intense reaction to a school massacre. Directed by Christopher Haydon for China Plate.

ONE LIFE STAND Roundabout @ Summerhall 1-26 August (not 2, 7, 14, 21), 9.45pm

Glasgow’s Eve Nicol teams up with Middle Child for an investigation of intimacy and relationships in a hyper-sexualised world of online dating. Music by James Frewer and Honeyblood in a show described as “gig theatre”.

PICKLE JAR Underbelly 2-26 August (not 14), 4.40pm

Maddie Rice starred in the touring revival of Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s Fleabag to some acclaim.

This Fringe, she returns in a new play of her own devising about a teacher dealing with the pressures of the modern world. www.edfestmag.com

PREHISTORIC Summerhall 3-26 August (not 2, 6, 13, 20), 9.15pm

Winner of the Best Performance award at the Melbourne Fringe Festival, this slice of punk theatre

by Elbow Room is about a group forming in the late-70s era of a corrupt Queensland government.

because their skin was too dark.

Such “misogynoir” (misogyny directed towards black women) is the subject of a polemical show by four young women standing up to oppression in 21st century Britian.

THE ROCKFORD FILE Pleasance Dome 1-27 August (not 13, 20), 2.50pm

At the tone leave your name and number. Red Shift's director Jonathan Holloway takes to

Teatr Biuro Podrozy, the Polish company that brought us the Bosnian-war spectacle Carmen Funebre in 1995 (back for a reprise from the 16-19 August this year), returns for a sequel.

Performed outdoors, Silence presents a vision of refugees after a military conflict, the risks they take, and the friction their movement creates.

SITTING BY KATHERINE PARKINSON Gilded Balloon Teviot 1-26 August, 3.15pm

This Fringe, the star of The IT Crowd, Doc Martin,The Honourable Woman and Humans turns playwright. Katherine Parkinson's first play is about a series of people sitting for their weekly portrait session, sharing their stories as they do so.

P R E S E N TS

THE PRISONER Royal Lyceum Theatre 22-26 August, 7.30pm

One of three productions from the Théâtre des Bouffes du Nord in the Edinburgh International Festival, this study of justice and guilt is directed by the celebrated Peter Brook. Drawing on research from several countries, it fields an international cast to reflect on who gets to decide whether someone is innocent or not.

PROPELLER Pleasance Courtyard

N AT U R A L D U T Y A ONE (WO)MAN SHOW

‘A N A B S O LU T E TO U R D E FO R C E . . .

B R E AT H TA K I N G ’ T H E G AY U K .CO M

‘ E X U D E S C L AS S & E XC E L L E N C E ’ B R OA DWAYWO R L D.CO M

1-27 August (not 13, 21), 1pm

A second ensemble of young Scottish theatremakers is fielded by the Network, an offshoot of the Scottish Drama Training Network.

Working with director Caitlin Skinner, they ask whether it’s possible to change the world in an era of information overload.

‘ N OT TO B E M I S S E D ! ’ T H E S P Y I N STA L L S .CO M

‘ C A N ’ T B E FAU LT E D ’ M U S I C A LT H E AT R E R E V I E W.CO M

‘ O OZ E S PAS S I O N ’ LO N D O N T H E AT R E 1 .CO M

QUEENS OF SHEEBA Underbelly Cowgate 2-26 August (not 13), 6.50pm

In 2015, a London nightclub was accused of turning women away

3.30PM

(60MIN) 1 – 27 AU G ( N OT 1 3 ) 0131 556 6550 pleasance.co.uk

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“OUTSTANDING...

“RAVISHINGLY ENTERTAINING”

DON’T MISS IT!” ACROSS THE ARTS

HERALD

“IT WOULD BE CRIMINAL NOT TO

LOVE THIS EXTRAVAGANZA” TIMES

“BRISK, INVENTIVE CHOREOGRAPHY” STAGE

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THEATRE LISTINGS

SOUTH BEND National Museum of Scotland

WAR WITH THE NEWTS Summerhall

1-27 August (not 7, 14, 21), 3pm

1-26 August (not 2, 20), times vary

It’s been a busy year for actorturned-playwright Martin McCormick. After the Tron/NTS staging of Pa, Ma and the Little Mouths, he teams up with Grid Iron to tell the true story of his mismatched transatlantic relationship with a woman who seemed to change personality.

Karel Capek’s apocalyptic sciencefiction satire is given an immersive adaptation by Knaïve Theatre with a surround-sound installation by sonic artist Robert Bentall.

WHAT GIRLS ARE MADE OF Traverse 3-26 August (not 6, 13, 20), times vary

THE SPINNERS Dance Base

Above: Square Go Below: Tetra-Decathlon

3-19 August (not 6, 13), 4.45pm

Dance-theatre by Al Seed and Limosani ProjeKts, taking a journey into myth and imagination with a re-telling of the story of the Moirai, or fates, of Greek mythology.

Part of Made in Scotland.

SQUARE GO Roundabout @ Summerhall 1-26 August (not 2, 7, 14, 21), 8.20pm

We’re used to seeing Kieran Hurley and Gary McNair as solo performers in their own shows, so it’ll be interesting to see how they got on sharing the stage with other actors in their new joint piece.

Square Go considers the tensions and violence of the playground.

Is this where toxic masculinity begins?

STATUS Summerhall

TETRA-DECATHLON Summerhall 14-26 August (not 20), 11.55am

Lauren Hendry pole-vaults into Edinburgh to describe her attempt to partake in a 14-event athletics competition despite never having set foot on a running track.

Jenna Watt directs.

ULSTER AMERICAN Traverse Theatre 2-26 August (not 6, 13, 20), times vary

Playwright David Ireland imagines the explosive consequences of three ambitious artists coming together to put on a show: one is an American actor eager to connect to his Northern Irish roots, one is a director in search of a hit, and the third is a Northern Irish playwright trying to get her voice heard.

specific play by Chris Goode uses headphones and smartphones to explore the digital legacy of someone who has died.

WAITING FOR GODOT Royal Lyceum Theatre 4-12 August, 7.30pm

Garry Hynes directs Ireland’s Druid company in the Samuel Beckett absurdist classic about the time we fill between life and death.

Stars Garrett Lombard, Aaron Monaghan, Rory Nolan and Marty Rea.

Before Cora Bissett was a director, she was the lead singer of indiehopefuls Darlingheart, who landed a record deal and supported Blur and Radiohead. Now she returns to her teenage diaries to remember the highs and lows of rock’n’roll.

WHERE IT HURTS Summerhall 1-26 August (not 2, 6, 13, 20), 8.30pm

The Grassmarket Project is championing the NHS in its 70th year by talking to local residents, carers and health professionals about their experiences.

WORDS BY MARK FISHER

1-26 August (not 2, 13), 7.55pm

Fringe favourite Chris Thorpe works with talented US director Rachel Chavkin to think about what happens when we deny our own nationality. How much do we depend on the stories of nationhood that have been handed down to us?

UNDERGROUND RAILROAD GAME Traverse Theatre 2-26 August (not 3, 6, 13, 20, 25), times vary

Much raved-about award-winner makes its UK debut. Described

by The Washington Post as a “scathing, shocking, incandescently original performance piece,” it brings the shameful story of slavery into the classroom where teachers try to turn it into a game.

UNSUNG Summerhall 1-26 August (not 6, 13, 20), 12pm

Return visit from BigMouth creator Valentijn Dhaenens, this time giving a forensic examination of a politician who is hooked on power and alienated from his friends and family. Part of Big in Belgium.

USER NOT FOUND Traverse at Jeelie Piece café 3-26 August (not 6, 13, 20), 8pm

An off-site contribution to the Traverse’s programme, this sitewww.edfestmag.com

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28/06/2018 20:45

CHILDREN LISTINGS

BABY LOVES DISCO Jam House

OUR TOP 30 KIDS SHOWS

CIRCA: WOLFGANG Underbelly’s Circus Hub on the Meadows

5, 12, 18-19 and 25 August, times vary

4–25 August (not 8, 13, 20), 2pm

Daytime clubbing with a ten-year track record as club DJs line-up a family-friendly soundtrack of retro favourites. There’s also a chill-out room, face painting, dressing up and birthday cake.

One of the sharpest of the new generation of circus companies, Circa returns to Edinburgh with a show pitched at young audiences.

It’s about Mozart, whose musical genius is given an acrobatic twist.

Above: Ade Edmondson Below: Eaten

BAMBINO Edinburgh Academy 7–19 August (not 13), times vary

Once you’ve passed the age of two you’re too old for Scottish Opera’s Bambino, an interactive babyfriendly show that introduces the youngest of audiences to the world of music.

THE BEAR Pleasance Courtyard

BRAINIAC LIVE! Underbelly Bristo Square 1–27 August (not 13), 11am

There’s a “don’t try this at home” warning as the West End hit show based on the award-winning TV series brings an explosively entertaining set of experiments to the stage in the name of science education.

1–27 August (not 20), 12pm

Imagine an enormous polar bear in your bedroom. Now imagine no more, as Pins and Needles Productions recreates the mischievous magic of Raymond Briggs’s picture book with large-aslife puppetry – and a good deal of humour.

CHORES Assembly George Square 2–26 August (not 13), 12pm

Circus tomfoolery from Australia as two brothers are left to tidy their room but, however hard they try, just can’t get the job done. For anyone who’s ever made a mess.

DAVID BADDIEL’S ANIMALCOLM Gilded Balloon Teviot 1–19 August (not 13), 11.30am

Published as a novel two years ago, this hilarious children’s caper is about the animal-hating Malcolm who learns more than he bargained for about the natural world when he goes on a school trip to a farm.

The book is turned into a musical by Story Pocket Theatre.

DENIM: THE DENIM JUNIORS Assembly George Square Gardens 3–19 August (not 13), 4.35pm

Better known for outrageous cabaret antics after hours, Denim broadens its market to the overfours with a drag-queen pop concert about the power of being yourself.

DICK AND DOM: DICK V DOM Underbelly Bristo Square

that Talked, his freshly published comic novel about a bendy boy with the remarkable ability to talk to animals.

THE END OF EDDY The Studio, Edinburgh Festival Theatre 21–26 August, 7pm

The Edinburgh International Festival maintains its commitment to younger audiences with this new adaptation of the autobiographical novel by Édouard Louis. Directed by the talented Scottish director Stewart Laing, working with writer Pamela Carter, it’s the coming-ofage story of a boy growing up in poverty.

THE GRUFFALO, THE WITCH AND THE WARTHOG WITH JULIA DONALDSON Underbelly, George Square 2–27 August (not 15), 11am

In the company of four actors, the much-loved author brings six of her stories off the page with songs and puppets. You can also see Donaldson at the Edinburgh International Book Festival on 25 August, talking about her latest book, The Girl, the Bear and the Magic Shoes.

1–12 August, 1pm

The children’s TV favourites and four time BAFTA winners make their Fringe debut with a riotous round of interactive games and organised silliness. Expect mess and chaos.

presents

DUCKIE Summerhall 1–12 August (not 2), 2pm

shing sma long -a sing

un-bear advent lievable ures !

Cabaret star Le Gateau Chocolat reimagines Hans Christian Andersen’s The Ugly Duckling in fabulous style as he revels in its message of self-acceptance and tolerance.

EATEN Scottish Storytelling Centre 2–19 August (not 8), 12.30pm

m ar m mad alade ness

tious p m u r sc elling t y r o t s

Nominated in this year’s Critics’ Awards for Theatre in Scotland for Best Production for Children and Young People, Mamoru Iriguchi’s entertaining show starts off with a lion eating a human before going onto an educational journey into the body.

ADRIAN EDMONDSON: TALK TO THE ANIMALS Baillie Gifford Main Theatre 12 August, 10am

Switching from The Young Ones to the young ones, Edmondson reads from Junkyard Jack and the Horse www.edfestmag.com

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Lliam Paterson

A first operatic adventure for 6 to 18 month olds

The Herald

EDINBURGH ACADEMY 7 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 19 AUG | 10am & 11.30am Also touring to Glasgow, Aberdeen, Inverness, Perth, Motherwell & Lerwick

The Observer

A co-production with Manchester International Festival & Improbable

scottishopera.org.uk Registered in Scotland Number SC037531 Scottish Charity Number SC019787

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CHILDREN LISTINGS

HARRY HILL Baillie Gifford Main Theatre

stuck to the furniture, the next he’s making friends with a small army of ice-lolly sticks. Part of Made in Scotland.

11 August, 10am

The TV funny-man knows all there is to know about stand-up comedy, so for would-be comedians his new book, Matt Millz, is a must. It’s about a boy who enters the school talent show after playing local comedy clubs by night.

HOCUS POCUS Edinburgh Festival Theatre 10–12 August, 6pm

The Edinburgh International Festival welcomes the Philippe Saire Company from France for a spectacular amalgam of dance, theatre and visual art for the oversevens. The dreamlike show is accompanied by music based on Grieg’s Peer Gynt suites.

IS THIS A DAGGER? THE STORY OF MACBETH Scottish Storytelling Centre 22–26 August, 12.30pm

The brilliant Andy Cannon gives a one-man rendition of the story of Macbeth – the real one and Shakespeare’s – and reminds us what an exciting tale it is.

STOEL (CHAIR) Zoo Southside 3–14 August, 1pm

Above: The Lost Things Below: Duckie from keys to loved ones – end up.

Staged in a black domed yurt and pitched at the over eights.

MAMABABAME Pleasance at EICC 1–17 August (not 6, 13), times vary

Dance, physical theatre and live music aimed at for babies and young children up to the age of three. Created by Starcatchers and Curious Seed, it features a live cello and is about the bonds between parent and child. Part of Made in Scotland.

Contemporary dance from Belgium in which two figures transform the space with 15 chairs in constant movement. Suitable for everyone over the age of three.

MARK THOMPSON’S SPECTACULAR SCIENCE SHOW Gilded Balloon at the Museum

Scientific Romance Theatre Company. Directed by performer Andy Cannon.

DAVID WALLIAMS: BIG LAUGHS Baillie Gifford Main Theatre 23 August, 5pm

The Little Britain star has transformed himself into one of the country’s most successful children’s novelists. He’s back with another helping of hilarity as he talks about his latest book, Bad Dad. WORDS BY MARK FISHER

3–26 August (not 13), 4.30pm

A repeat visitor to the Fringe, the acclaimed scientist goes out of his way to prove how exciting his profession is by demonstrating the magical properties of matter and the explosive capabilities of chemicals.

THE TIME MACHINE Scottish Storytelling Centre 2–19 August (not 15), 2.30pm

THE MAN WHO PLANTED TREES Scottish Storytelling Centre

Puppetry meets science fiction in this adaptation of the HG Wells classic staged by Scotland’s

20–27 August, 2.30pm

JAN TAIT AND THE BEAR Summerhall 8-9, 13-16 August, times vary

Ensemble Thing turns the medieval story of a rugged and roguish Shetlander into a comedic chamber opera. Emily Doolittle’s blend of music and folklore takes us to Norway where our hero comes face to face with a fearsome bear.

Part of Made in Scotland.

Loved by adults as much as children, this beguiling show by Puppet State Theatre Company is about a man who transforms the landscape by planting trees. It has been applauded everywhere from New York to the Sydney Opera House.

MICHAEL MORPURGO’S KENSUKE’S KINGDOM Pleasance Courtyard 1–27 August, 12.30pm

JOHN HEGLEY: MORNING WORDSHIP Pleasance Courtyard 4-5, 9–12, 16–19 August, 10.30am

Songs, stories and puns with the popular poet, who combines deadpan delivery with a freewheeling imagination.

Using the adaptation by Scottish playwright Stuart Paterson, WildChild Productions recreates Morpurgo’s adventurous tale with puppetry and music.

PHILIP PULLMAN Baillie Gifford Main Theatre

THREE DELICIOUS, ROTATING ‘MENUS’ OF INTERNATIONAL SHORT PLAYS

WITH FREE COFFEE & TEA CROISSANT STRAWBERRIES!

BIG BREAKFAST THE

QUEEN DOME 10.30am daily

S H O W

11 August, 5pm

KAPUT Assembly George Square Gardens 2–26 August (not 15, 22), 1.30pm

Return visit for Tom Flanagan’s homage to silent-movie greats such as Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton. Expect slapstick, visual comedy and acrobatics.

THE LOST THINGS Pleasance at EICC 4–19 August (not 13), times vary

First seen in 2015, Tortoise in a Nutshell’s atmospheric piece of object theatre is about a terrifying world where all the lost things – www.edfestmag.com

A rare chance to meet the master storyteller, author of His Dark Materials. Lyra, the hero of that book, is the focus of La Belle Sauvage: The Book of Dust Volume One, published last year.

STICK BY ME Dance Base 3–26 August (not 6, 13, 20), 12.30pm Highly recommended wordless show starring Andy Manley who plays with the idea of sticks and stickiness to hilarious – and occasionally touching – effect. One minute he’s

14.15 4-27 Aug

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LISTINGS DANCE

OUR TOP 20 DANCE SHOWS

AUTOBIOGRAPHY Festival Theatre 11-13 August, 7.30pm

Resident choreographer at the Royal Ballet, but creating contemporary work for his own company, Wayne McGregor returns to the International Festival with this multi-layered work inspired by science and memory.

BLUE SCAR C Venues 1-27 August, 3.20pm

Welsh hip hop company Avant Cymru present this family-friendly show inspired by growing up in the South Wales Valleys during the 70s and 80s, accompanied by original hip hop music and beatboxing from Wales.

BREAK FREE Underbelly, Bristo Square 1-27 August (not 13), 4.35pm

Wasabeats, a crew of worldclass breakdancers from Japan demonstrate how they won their records – including dancer Aichi Ono, the Guinness World Record holder for fastest head-spins.

BURN THE FLOOR: REBELS OF BALLROOM Underbelly, Bristo Square 1-27 August (not 8, 15, 20), 3pm

Having toured the world with its sizzling blend of tango, samba, rumba, cha-cha and jive, Burn the Floor make its Fringe debut with dancers from TV and the competitive circuit.

COLD BLOOD King’s Theatre 4-6 August,times vary

It’s dance, but not as you know it.

Belgium’s Kiss & Cry Collective present a coming together of choreography and film, with dancers using just their fingers, tiny sets and projections to tell their story.

DISTINCTION Zoo Southside 19-27 August, 4pm

A chance to see some of the best emerging choreographers and companies on the British dance scene today, curated by DanceXchange and Dance 4.

DJUKI MALA Assembly George Square Theatre 1-26 August (not 13, 20), 4.10pm

A huge hit at last year’s Fringe, the Indigenous Australian company returns with its infectious blend of high energy dance and music, peppered with fun tales of their adventures to date.

8 SONGS Assembly Roxy 1-27 August (not 7-9, 15, 21) 4.40pm

The Gandini company returns to the Fringe with this mix of wild juggling and rock ‘n’ roll, featuring music by Bob Dylan, David Bowie and the Velvet Underground.

ELICITATIONS Greenside @ Royal Terrace 3-18 August (not 12), 3pm

Folklore entwines three past folk stories from the South West using contemporary dance and puppetry to tell a new narrative with original music by Dorset folk-duo Ninebarrow.

Classical ballet is often in short supply at the Fringe, so London’s Hack Ballet is coming to plug the gap, with three poignant works by British/Australian choreographer, Briar Adams. ÉOWYN EMERALD AND DANCERS Greenside @ Royal Terrace 3-25 Aug (not 12, 19), 1.50pm

Emerald, a Canadian dancemaker now based in 180

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OSCILLATE Dance Base 15-26 August (not 20), 3.20pm

Tap dance group Old Kent Road brought the house down at last year’s Fringe, and now they’re back with a new show set to electronic music, exploring the relationship between light and sound.

POP-UP DUETS (FRAGMENTS OF LOVE) National Museum of Scotland 15-26 August (not 20-21), 3.30pm

These short dance vignettes by choreographer Janis Claxton are a joy to behold as they pop up around the Museum, complete with gorgeous original soundtrack.

QUEER WORDS Greenside @ Infirmary Street 13-25 August (not 19), 4.15pm

Stand-up comedy and dance theatre rub shoulders in this provocative piece by Birminghambased Autin Dance Theatre, featuring personal stories about gender, inequality and homophobia.

SOWHERETO AFRICA Dance Base 3-26 August (not 6, 13, 20), 2.30pm

Clockwise from top: Sushi Tap Show, Love Cycle, Éowyn Emerald & Dancers

The company behind 2016’s smash Fringe hit ‘I Am Rhythm’ returns with another dynamic, feel-good hour of live music, dance and stories from South Africa.

Scotland, makes a very welcome return to the Fringe with her mix of strong dancing and dynamic choreography.

Greenside @ Nicholson Square 3-25 August (not 12, 19), 4.10pm

SUSHI TAP SHOW

Dance Base 3-19 August (not 6, 13), 8.45pm

Japanese company Tokyo Tap Do! returns to the Fringe after its last sell-out show, bringing its inimitable mix of great tap dancing and absurd comic staging.

Ballet Ireland present this classic tale of love, betrayal and revenge, choreographed by former Royal Ballet dancer Ludovic Ondiviela.

Army @ The Fringe 10-25 Aug (not 12,-13, 19-20), 8.30pm

GISELLE

KADAMATI Palace of Holyroodhouse 22 August, 6.15pm

Akram Khan choreographs this free, outdoor performance by hundreds of community dancers, marking 100 years since the end of the First World War. LOVE CYCLE King’s Theatre 9-12 August, 8pm

Two separate but complementary shows from the hugely talented creative duo, Sharon Eyal and Gai Behar of L-E-V Dance Company.

See OCD Love on 9 & 11 Aug and Love Chapter 2 on 10 & 12 Aug. www.edfestmag.com

THE TROTH

Acclaimed choreographer Gary Clarke creates this new work for London-based Indian dance company Akademi, which moves from rural Punjab to the Belgian trenches.

XENOS Festival Theatre 16-18 August, 8pm

Akram Khan, one of the most exciting dancers and choreographers of the past 20 years, bids farewell to performance in this dramatic solo inspired by Indian soldiers fighting in the First World War. WORDS BY KELLY APTER EDINBURGH FESTIVALS 2018

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COMEDY LISTINGS OUR TOP 55 COMEDY SHOWS

DAVID O’DOHERTY: YOU HAVE TO LAUGH Assembly George Square Theatre, 1-27 August (not 14), 7.30pm

ADAM RICHES: THREE SHOWS Various venues, times and dates

PHOTOS: IDIL SUKAN & STEVE ULLATHORNE

Previous Edinburgh Comedy Award winner Adams looks set to be a busy man this August as he performs three shows. Famed for his character comedy, he plays a washed-up sports coach, a lone dueller and the suspiciously nice guy you meet after a long-term relationship. Be afraid.

ADAM ROWE: UNDENIABLE Just The Tonic at The Caves, 2-26 August (not 13), 7.40pm

In 2011, Rowe was named Liverpool Comedian of the Year.

Fast forward a few years and Adam is fresh from a sell-out tour which asks ‘What does it take to become undeniably good at what you do?’ We recommend bribes and blackmail. He cites determination, arrogance, selfishness and sacrifices.

ALICE FRASER: ETHOS Underbelly Bristo Square, 1-27 August (not 13), 7.55pm

What does it mean to be human in an age of increasingly powerful artificial intelligence? See the funny side of the singularity before we are all terminated by our toasters. A former lawyer, Alice mixes the silly with the cerebral.

ALISTAIR WILLIAMS: GREAT WHITE MALE

Above: Adam Riches Below: Andrew Maxwell himself. Now, he is an up and coming comic with an appetite to tackle divisive subjects such as race and gender.

ANDREW MAXWELL: SHAKE A LEG Assembly George Square Theatre, 1-26 August (not 13), 9pm

We imagine that Mr Maxwell was the sort of cheeky but charming school pupil who inspired report cards along the lines of ‘Andrew will either do very well. Or very, very badly’. Fortunately for us, his laidback storytelling and well developed sense of mischief have served him well at the Fringe and on TV stations all over the world.

Just The Tonic at The Caves, 2-26 August (not 13), 5.25pm

CHRIS MCCAUSLAND: SPEAKY BLINDER

Five years ago, Alistair had a job, a mortgage and an urge to top

Underbelly Bristo Square, 1-26 August (not 13), 6.35pm

If comedy awards were doled out on the basis of show titles alone, Chris would surely be a winner this year. An hereditary eye disease left him blind in his twenties, but not being able to see his audience has proved no impediment to his comedy career and Chris smashed an appearance on Live at the Apollo earlier this year.

Perhaps not surprisingly, his humour has become more cynical as he gets older and it has translated into large followings in Australia and the States.

A charming sense of underachievement runs through O’Doherty’s comedy, manifesting itself in a biog that claims he is the least famous person ever to have hosted an episode of Nevermind the Buzzcocks. If you've ever seen him perform before, you'll know that's nonsense. O’Doherty’s whimsical chat and quirky songs, played on a crap keyboard, are irresistible.

DYLAN MORAN: DR COSMOS Various venues, 14-26 Aug (not 20, 21), times vary

Professionally rumpled and often comically disgruntled, the BAFTA and Perrier awardwinning comedian returns to the Fringe for the umpteenth time with Dr Cosmos, his new show.

The Irishman’s sardonic wit was most recently winning fans on a Canadian tour. For this Edinburgh stint, he seems to be spreading the love and laughs with a comedy crawl around several venues.

presents

A musical comedy about ambition, anxiety and avocados, from award-winning songwriter

‘Feminism with wit and bite set to toe-tapping, rousing music’

West End Frame

‘Brings the house down’

Musical Theatre Review

The Skinny

The Australia Times

‘Impeccable comic timing’

‘A genuine triple threat’

The Stage

Fest

West End Wilma

DANIEL SLOSS: X Pleasance at EICC, 2-26 August (not 13, 20), 7pm

Sloss was a stand-up hit long before he could shave. Now on his eleventh Fringe and heading towards his thirties, his longevity proves that there was more to his act than precocious charm. www.edfestmag.com

Female Arts

Broadway Baby

A Younger Theatre

on As heardo 4’s BBC Radi

Rip It Up Adelaide

The Now Show

2.20PM (3.20PM) 02 - 26 AUGUST 2018

(NOT 13)

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Sweet Grassmarket - Apex Grassmarket Hotel VENUE 18 Sweet Novotel - Novotel Lauriston Place VENUE 188 Box Office: 0131 243 3596 - www.sweetvenues.com

SAMEENA ZEHRA: EXISTERHOOD

WESTMINSTER HOUR

3-7, 9-14, 16-26 Aug, 16:20, £8 / £6 COMEDY

3-12, 20-26 Aug, 17:55, £10 / £8 THEATRE

Power balances are shifting. But can we really get rid of all the arsebiscuits? And what about the menz? Intent. Consequence. Power. Control.

These are words. I will use them. You will laugh.

(Terms and conditions apply.)

Darkly comedic drama with unexpected twists, a corrupt politician and a newspaper editor linked to a historic cover-up face fatal consequences. From the writer of cult play 3000 Trees: The Death of William MacRae

JOJO BELLINI: AGENTS PROVOCATEURS

ANIMAL MANAGEMENT

2-12, 14-26 Aug, 17:05, £8 / £6 CABARET

3-12 Aug, 15:00, £8 / £6 THEATRE

A one-woman cabaret about history's greatest female spies. Brassy, bombastic bombshell blasts brilliant ballads about the lethal ladies of the espionage world. A celebration of history, subterfuge, and the women who did it all.

The Enquiry: Generation Z - not tough enough or the victims of an anxious world that just doesn’t care? The experiment: one observation room, two psychologists and seven subjects.

Stress them, test them and see what happens...

COME DIE WITH US

HAMLET (AN EXPERIENCE)

2-26 Aug, 15:55, £8.50 / £6.50 THEATRE

2-14, 16-26 Aug, 15:00, £10 / £8 THEATRE

What if you didn’t know you were dead? A dark new comedy about Laurel, a funeral home sales agent who kills herself and is in denial she’s dead. One person’s story, from three points of view.

Brite Theater reinvent Shakespearean performance with this new solo production. Hamlet needs your help to resolve the great questions of life. Journey through the play together, immersed in the story like never before.

BENDY HOUSE IMPROV

INDIVIDUAL MEDLEY

13-26 Aug, 16:20, £8 / £6 COMEDY

6-19 Aug, 11:55, £7 / £5 SPOKEN WORD

From the kitchen of a Romford semi, to the ministry of weather control on the planet Zarg - where will they take you today? Two people, two chairs, no script, infinite possibilities.

Q. What happens when you move a 12-year-old from Basingstoke to Zambia? A: She swims.

Katrina weaves together poetry, swimming lessons and 00s R’n’B in a mesmerising coming-of-age memoir about crossing borders.

ALLAN HAVEY STANDS UP

TRIPTYCH

2-13, 15-26 Aug, 19:10, £9 COMEDY

3-7, 9-20, 22-26 Aug, 13:00, £8 / £6 DANCE & PHYSICAL THEATRE

Class comedy from Allan Havey - Star of Mad Men & Billions making his fringe debut.

‘One of the best I've ever seen’ Jon Stewart ‘Cocksure, Irreverent and very funny’ New York Times.

Three stories meet on stage. Lior might sing for you, Aya dares not to like dogs and Nofar wonders why she was never harassed as a teen.

They’ll fight to win a game with no winners.

ADAM PATEL: BROWN MAGIC

DON QUIXOTE UNBOUND

2-12 Aug, 18:40, £8.50 CABARET

3-26 Aug, 15:40, £10 / £8 THEATRE

Following from his TV special on Amazon Prime, one of the UK’s top street magicians Adam Patel, hits the stage for magic and mind games in his debut fringe show.

Miguel de Cervantes is woken from his eternal slumber by celebrations of the anniversary of his death. Discombobulated, he magically alternates between being himself and his creation. What is their impossible dream?

Enjoy the best of the Fringe at Sweet Venues. Visit us at Sweet Grassmarket and Sweet Novotel for children’s shows, theatre, comedy, music, physical theatre and musicals across 7 venues. @SweetVenues #SweetGrassmarket #SweetNovotel p_184.indd 184

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COMEDY LISTINGS

ED NIGHT: AN AESTHETIC

Docherty is a comedy veteran. A prolific writer and producer, the Scot has been in the limelight in the last few years with his characters Chief Commissioner Cameron Miekelson and the spittle-flecked patriot McGlashan.

Pleasance Courtyard, 1-26 August, 9.15pm

After watching last year’s Fringe show, one critic reckoned that ‘Ed Night stands at the dawn of the new age of stand-up’. When not wowing comedy critics, Gen Z Ed is acting in short films, writing for BBC Radio 4’s Newsjack and starring in BBC Radio 1’s Ed and Lauren Get On.

PHOTOS: STEVE ULLATHORNE

JANEANE GAROFALO: PUT A PIN IN THAT

ELF LYONS: CHIFFCHAFF Pleasance Dome, 1-27 August (not 13), 6.50pm

Elf is busy. When not clowning around on stage, she might be writing an article on polyamorous relationships for The Guardian or contributing to a book on economics with her father. For this show, she is dissecting our fiscal situation through the mediums of songs about Japan and tapdancing about South Korea.

FELICITY WARD: BUSTING A NUT

Gilded Balloon Teviot, 13-19 August, 6.45pm

Pleasance Courtyard, 1-26 August (not 13), 9pm

If we overlook old school comics like Jim Davidson then self-confessed Conservativesupporting comics are thin on the ground. Norcott has found a way of finding the funny in free market policies and the laughs in neo-liberalism. His stints on The Mash Report mean that many more floating voters will be putting their X beside Norcott’s name this Fringe.

Back at the Fringe after a two-year break, the Australian comic is full to leaking point with new material.

Not that she has been slacking.

Podcasts, Radio 4 series Channel 4 Blaps, mental health advocacy, yoga and, oh yeah, getting married have kept her busy.

FRANKIE BOYLE: PROMETHEUS VOLUME III OVERVIEW Edinburgh Playhouse, 7-10th August, 8pm

GRÁINNE MAGUIRE: I FORGIVE YOU; PLEASE LIKE ME

While no-one would accuse Frankie of mellowing, he has, over the years, begun to display more of both a social and political conscience. Of course, fans can rest assured that his more thoughtful views will still be weaponised with a hard coating of vitriolic spleen. This show is billed as Volume Three of his eightvolume Prometheus sequence.

Gilded Balloon Teviot, 1-26 August, 3.15pm

The prolific comic, actor, peace activist and ‘self-confessed’ botox fan is one of the few comics to be papped by the Daily Mail for showing off her ‘fuller lips’.

Exactly the sort of body-shaming, petty press intrusion that her comedy rips to pieces.

JASON BYRNE: YOU CAN COME IN, BUT DON’T START ANYTHING

Above: Alice Fraser Below: Alistair Williams

GEOFF NORCOTT: TRADITIONALISM

Gilded Balloon Teviot, 1-19 August (not 13), 9.15pm

JACK DOCHERTY: MIEKELSON AND MCGLASHAN – SERIOUS MEN Gilded Balloon at the Museum, 1-27 August (not 13, 20), 9pm

Having had a hand in everything from Spitting Image to Absolutely,

Assembly Hall, 2-26 August, (not 13, 20), 9pm

Vengeful wives, fickle fate and assorted ‘eejits’ loom large in this Irish act's good-natured routines.

Actually, ‘routines’ is the wrong word for Byrne’s free-wheeling chaos and elaborate stunts.

Rising steadily through the ranks, Gráinne has an impeccable CV of writing credits, TV and radio stints plus well reviewed stand-up slots. As well as her stand-up hour, the comic will also be doing a topical news satire at The Laughing Horse.

HELEN LEDERER: I MIGHT AS WELL SAY IT Underbelly Bristo Square, 2-25 August (not 13), 5.05pm

The Young Ones, Naked Video, Bottom, Ab Fab and, er, Celebrity Big Brother. Leaving aside the last of these, Helen has been an ace face on the British comedy scene since she first set off on stage at The Comedy Store in the Eighties.

She barrels into Edinburgh with a stand-up hour, plus a free chat show from the 21-25th at the Laughing Horse. www.edfestmag.com

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LISTINGS COMEDY

JAY LAFFERTY: WHEESHT! Gilded Balloon Teviot, 1-27 August (not 20), 6.30pm.

The Renaissance woman of Scottish comedy, Jay is a stand-up, producer, writer and director who has been rising through the ranks since 2005. Her comedy has been described as ‘chocolate-covered grenades’ and this show looks at the unexpected consequences of keeping her gob shut.

JAYDE ADAMS: THE DIVINE MS JAYDE Pleasance Courtyard, 1-27 August, 9.30pm

No less an authority than Dawn French has said that, ‘Jayde Adams is the third funniest woman in the world’. The Scottish Sun went further, awarding her their Best Show of Edinburgh Fringe 2017 gong. This year, she has gone full diva with garish gowns, acerbic charm and show-stopping music.

M TAVARÉ: FROM DEADPAN TO BEDPAN Laughing Horse @ the Counting House, 2-26 Aug (not 13), 4.15pm

Back at the Fringe for the first

time in 20 years, the Essex comic is best known for his work on The Sketch Show and his role in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. This new show has been inspired by a car accident that left him with a long list of broken bones. Make your own gags about his funny bone remaining intact.

JO CAULFIELD: KILLING TIME The Stand Comedy Club, 3-26 August (not 13, 20), 7.40pm

As well as performing in a play, Brexit, Jo will be tearing up a prime slot at The Stand. Don’t expect gimmicks – just a solid hour of top notch observational laughs from a comic with three decades of experience under her belt.

JOHN CULSHAW AND BILL DARE: THE GREAT BRITISH TAKE OFF Gilded Balloon Teviot, 13-26 August, 1.30pm

Comic impressionist Culshaw has teamed up with writer/producer Bill Dare for this audience-led, unscripted comedy conversation.

Behind the scenes, anecdotes and celebrity roasts are promised.

Above: Jay Lafferty Below: Gráinne Maguire JOHN KEARNS: DON’T WORRY THEY’RE HERE Pleasance Dome, 1-12 August, 8.20pm

Returning to the Fringe with last year’s critically acclaimed show, John Kearns is the only comic to have won the Best Newcomer and Best Show Edinburgh Comedy Awards in consecutive years.

Find out why with Don’t Worry They’re Here, a show which has been variously described as ‘heart-warming’, ‘hilarious’ and ‘emotional’, a regrettably rare combo in comedy.

JUDAH FRIEDLANDER: AMERICA... STILL NUMBER ONE Gilded Balloon Teviot, 19-22 August, 10.30pm

Trump campaigned on a promise to ‘make America great again’.

Judah takes a different approach as demonstrated by the film he released last year: America Is the Greatest Country In the United States. Friedlander has no shortage of material to work with.

KATHY LETTE: GIRL TALK

the lives of serial killers – Kiri returns to the Fringe with her third full-length stand-up show.

Her comedy has been described as passionate and raw and in this show, she will be directing her ire on the connections between victims, women, love and lies.

LARRY DEAN: BAMPOT The Big Cave @ The Hive, 2-26 August (not 15), 4.40pm

Described on his Twitter as a ‘Glaswegian “comedian” and "vagina dodger", Larry’s charisma, conversational style and autobiographical approach to comedy have won him plenty of awards and many more fans.

It will be no surprise if we all see a lot more of Larry.

LIMMY: LIMMY’S VINES The Stand’s New Town Theatre, 3-12 August, 7.10pm

Surreal, creepy, deeply daft and with an undercurrent of off-kilter menace, Limmy’s brand of comedy has always been as unsettling as it is funny. This show is a collection of his Vine clips followed by a Q&A.

Underbelly George Square, 4-11 August, 3.30pm

KIRI PRITCHARD-MCLEAN: VICTIM, COMPLEX Pleasance Courtyard, 1-27 August, 8pm

As well as four live shows of All Killa no Filla – a cult podcast about 186

EDINBURGH FESTIVALS 2018

PHOTO: IDIL SUKAN

The Aussie author talks frankly about love, lust, men, marriage, pregnancy, childbirth, and the trials and rewards of raising a child on the autistic spectrum.

Bookies are offering even money on a pun count of 7 per minute.

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OFF THE KERB PRODUCTIONS PRESENTS

@OffTheKerb

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CHARLIE BAKER

ROSE-TINTED

PRESENTS THE GREATEST GOAT OF ALL TIME

CHRISTOPHER MACARTHUR-BOYD HOME SWEET HOME

BESIDE 7.15PM PLEASANCE

PICCOLO 3.00PM ASSEMBLY

BALLOON TURRET 10.15PM GILDED

FOIL, ARMS &CRAIC-LING HOG

GEORGE LEWIS A MAN, A PLAN,

HENRY PAKER

BRISTO SQUARE 9.00PM UNDERBELLY

ATTIC 5.45PM PLEASANCE

LABYRINTH CHAMBER ROOM 5.10PM BANSHEE

ISMO

IVO GRAHAM

JAKE LAMBERT

10 DOME 8.20PM PLEASANCE

CABARET BAR 6.40PM PLEASANCE

THIS 6.00PM PLEASANCE

JOANNE McNALLY WINE TAMER

MARCUS BRIGSTOCKE DEVIL MAY CARE

STUDIO FOUR 5.35PM ASSEMBLY

BEYOND 6.30PM PLEASANCE

BALLROOM 9.30PM ASSEMBLY

NEIL DELAMERE

PHILL JUPITUS

PORKY THE POET LIVING IN A WORLD WHERE

BALLOON BILLIARD ROOM 7.30PM GILDED

BACK CAVE 12.30PM BANNERMANS

ROOMS FRENCH QUARTER 3.05PM VOODOO

ANGELA BARNES

MAN ALIVE

A GIRL WITH FAKE TAN

WORDS APART

MOTION SICKNESS

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LITTLE LOST LAD

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MARK STEEL EVERY LITTLE THING’S GONNA BE ALRIGHT

THEY THROW THE DUCKS AT THE BREAD

FREEVIOUSLY

C

PHILL JUPITUS SASSY KNACK

M

Y

CM

MY

4.30PM

THE STAND THREE

CY

CMY

K

SIMON EVANS GENIUS 2.0

STUDIO TWO 8.20PM ASSEMBLY

SEANN WALSH

ROSIE JONES FIFTEEN MINUTES

AFTER THIS ONE, I’M GOING HOME

"Unquestionably the best observational comic of his generation" The Guardian

8.30PM

BEYOND 9.20PM PLEASANCE

"One of comedy's hottest PLEASANCE properties... Very talented, very funny" THIS Evening Standard "He remains one of the most entertaining observational comics on the block" Independent

SUZI RUFFELL

TOM LUCY

AFTER THIS ONE, 9.45PM BELOW I'M GOING HOME

ATTIC 8.15PM PLEASANCE

NOCTURNAL

RELUCTANT MILLENNIAL

PLEASANCE

THE BIGGEST AND FUNNIEST SHOW AT THE FRINGE!

COMEDY GALA 2018 TWITTER: @SEANNWALSH

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ALL TICKETS AVAILABLE FROM: www.offthekerb.co.uk/edinburgh-festival

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LISTINGS COMEDY

LAZY SUSAN: FORGIVE ME, MOTHER!

MARCUS BRIGSTOCKE: DEVIL MAY CARE

Assembly George Square Theatre, 1-27 August (not 14), 4.20pm

Pleasance Courtyard, 1-26 August (not 13), 6.30pm

Critically-acclaimed sketches from the pair behind delightfully dotty Radio 4 series, The East Coast Listening Post. No word yet on whether Celeste Dring's hilarious take on Beatrice from The Windsors will be popping in to steal the show.

Mr Brigstocke has had a portfolio career including stand-up, musicals, a book, a spell as P.T. Barnum, the world’s greatest showman, and, most recently, the face of Experian, the financial rating company. In this show he tries to establish the difference between good and bad.

Philosophers have debated this for centuries. Brigstocke is aiming for answers in an hour.

LUISA OMIELAN: POLITICS FOR BITCHES Gilded Balloon Teviot, 1-26 August (not 14, 23), 9pm

Her two stand-up shows – What Would Beyoncé Do? and Am I Right Ladies?! – were billed as party comedies. Or rather PARRTYY!! comedies. A quick glance at Luisa’s Twitter feed reveals that party politics have been rather more on her mind recently. Expect controversial opnions on the NHS and cannabis legalisation and a distinctly darker bent, as she works through the death of her mother. With a prime slot at Gilded Balloon this year, we're expecting big things.

MARK WATSON: THE INFINITE SHOW Pleasance Courtyard, 1-27 August (not 12, 24, 25), 7pm

Last year, starvation and chest pains curtailed this comic’s stay on Bear Grylls’ Celebrity Island.

But what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, doesn’t it? One of comedy’s thinnest stand-ups relates what he learned from the experience and explores notions of empathy, while you can get a peek at next year's show in his work-inprogress hour at The Stand.

Above: Ed Night Below: Marcus Brigstocke NATALIE PALAMIDES: NATE Pleasance Courtyard, 1-26 August (not 13), 6pm

Last year, this American producer, actor, voice over artist and comic was named the Edinburgh Comedy Awards Best Newcomer for her egg-based show, Laid. Likely to be just as imaginative, Nate examines just how hard it is to be a man in the early 21st century.

NINA CONTI IS MONKEY Underbelly Bristo Square, 1-27 August (not 13), 7pm

For years, Nina has played the organ grinder to Monkey, her little ventriloquist’s puppet.

What happens when the roles are reversed and Nina becomes the monkey? Over the last few years, Ms Conti has given new life to the concept of ventriloquism, and this show looks to push those definitions further.

NISH KUMAR: IT’S IN YOUR NATURE TO DESTROY YOURSELVES Monkey Barrel Comedy Club, 2-26 August (not 14), 4.30pm.

Nish has been a familiar face on our screens recently in his role as the host of The Mash Report.

The show’s political and social satire has rubbed off on his Fringe show which looks at man’s capacity for self-destruction.

Don’t worry, there will be jokes.

They once got a standing ovation at Download, a metal festival where badly received acts are greeted with thrown bottles of urine.

PAUL FOOT: IMAGE CONSCIOUS Underbelly Cowgate, 2-26 August (not 13), 7pm

Lots of comics tediously proclaim their oddball quirks. Paul Foot is the real deal, a genuine eccentric whose comedy makes its own rules. His fans are called the Guild of Connoisseurs and they attend events such as spoof lectures and attempts to tackle a 32,000 piece jigsaw puzzle.

REGINALD D HUNTER: AN AMERICAN FACING THE BEAST AND NIGGAS Pleasance at EICC, 1-26 August (not 8, 14, 20), 8.30pm

Race, sexuality, love and the sometimes uneasy relationship between all three are grist to Reginald’s abiding comedy mill.

The American comic has been building an audience at the Fringe for twenty years and shows no sign of losing his edge.

THE NOISE NEXT DOOR: REALLY, REALLY, GOOD AFTERNOON SHOW (AT SEA) Gilded Balloon Teviot, 1-26 August (not 15), 3pm

This much lauded, four-piece improv troupe are brave.

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COMEDY LISTINGS

ROSE MATAFEO: HORNDOG Pleasance Courtyard, 1-26 August (not 14), 6.20pm

Having started her stand-up career in her native New Zealand at the age of fifteen, Rose is, at the age of 26, a stage veteran.

For Horndog, her third Fringe show, she examines that evergreen comedy topic: horniness. Expect stand-up, sketch and mid-twenties angst.

Above: Elf Lyons Below: Mark Thomas

RHOD GILBERT: WORK IN VERY VERY EARLY PROGRESS

ROBIN INCE: CHAOS OF DELIGHT

Gilded Balloon Teviot, 20-26 August (not 23), 9.15pm

Gilded Balloon at the Museum, 1526 August, 1.30pm

Apart from a handful of charity gigs and some low key pub performances, the hugely successful Welsh comic and selfdeclared shy man has been absent from the stage for the best part of six years. In fact, he's claiming to be ‘rustier than a Welsh barbecue’.

Bet he's still fab though. Better get in quick when booking your tickets – we're predicting a sell-out.

One of Robin Ince’s earliest Fringe appearances was in the Cafe Royal in a triple header with Jimmy Carr and Ricky Gervais. While Carr and Gervais have gone beyond mainstream, Ince’s unique blend of comedy, science and literature is much more satisfying – and definitely unique. If there is a new wave of cerebral comedy, Ince was one of its pioneers.

www.edfestmag.com

RUSSELL HOWARD: WORK IN PROGRESS

SCOTT GIBSON: ANYWHERE BUT HERE Gilded Balloon Teviot, 1-27 August, 3.45pm

The winner of the Edinburgh Comedy Award Best Newcomer is back with not one but two shows, presenting Tales from the Battlefield, as well. Expect expert storytelling and brutal honesty from the fast-rising Scot.

Tipping comics for the top is fraught with egg-on-face risk but this is a banker of a bet.

Assembly George Square Studios, 1-12 August, 6.35pm

STUART MITCHELL: GORDON RAMSAY’S KARMA CAFÉ

One of the country’s most popular comics, this is a rare chance to see Russell in a venue which isn’t an enormodome.

New ideas and new routines are promised.

Presumably delivered with Russell’s usual mix of good natured aplomb and wide-eyed exasperation.

Gilded Balloon Teviot, 1-27 August (not 13), 6.30pm.

In another life, Stuart used to work for Gordon Brown at the Treasury.

Finance’s loss is comedy’s gain as the stand-up returns to the Fringe with a new hour of confessional comedy which links the famous chef and high finance.

EDINBURGH FESTIVALS 2018

191

‘BEST NIGHT EVER’ WHAT’S ON

‘THE EUPHORIA OF A MASS KARAOKE SESH WITH YOUR MATES – ON STEROIDS’ METRO

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COMEDY LISTINGS

Clockwise from top: Tom Ward, Suzi Ruffell, Tom Houghton

can't be denied. The self-labelled ‘dormant bisexual’ is back at the Fringe with an hour’s worth of musing on the somewhat thorny topics of sex, intimacy and blame culture.

TONY LAW: A LOST SHOW Monkey Barrel Comedy Club, 2-26 August (not 13), 3pm

SUZI RUFFELL Pleasance Courtyard, 1-26 August (not 13), 9.45pm

Anxiety seems to be increasingly common and Suzi Ruffell aims to find out why. In her case, everything from global human rights to her cat’s quality of life are nagging away at her. When not feeling an unspecified dread, the Portsmouth-born comic is busy knocking out material for The Last Leg, Mock The Week and 8 Out Of 10 Cats.

THE TAPE FACE SHOW Pleasance Courtyard, 1-26 August (not 14), 9.40pm

Who could have predicted that a Kiwi busker turned mime artist would end up with a Vegas residency? And it’s all thanks to the beguiling wit and innocence of Sam Wills’ act. Taking a break from his residency at Harrah’s, Tape Face returns to Edinburgh with an all-new show.

TERRY ALDERTON: THE MUSICAL Assembly George Square Studios, 1-27 August (not 13), 6.30pm

Not many people can please both The Sun, who named Alderton their Comedian of the Year in 2010, and comic cognoscenti such as Frank Skinner and Eddie Izzard. Never one to do what is expected, the former EastEnders actor and, er, CIA employee returns to Edinburgh with a career retrospective in the form of a musical, complete with original music by Grammy award nominee Owen Parker.

TIM KEYS: MEGADATE Pleasance Courtyard, 16-26 August (not 21, 22), 11.15pm

His role as Alan Partridge’s Sidekick Simon boosted his profile

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hugely but Tim Key’s clever comedy has long been a Fringe favourite. No mean feat when your acts eschews over-the-top displays for quirky poetry, oddball musings and a charming sense of melancholy.

TOM HOUGHTON: THE HONOURABLE TOM HOUGHTON Pleasance Dome, 1-26 August, 8.10pm

Move over Miles Jupp, there's a new posh boy in Comicville.

Tom’s Dad used to run the UK’s armed forces and has just been inducted into the House of Lords.

By contrast, Tom has been sacked from Wetherspoons twice.

All of which makes for entertaining comedy but, one imagines, awkward family lunches.

TOM WARD: POPCORN LUNG Just The Tonic @ The Mash House, 2-26 August (not 13), 7pm

With last year’s Chortle Comedy Newcomer Award under his belt, Ward has proven that his somewhat whimsical charm

The mighty Canadian comic is back with another shambling, absurdist show. Described as an effort to bring healing and comfort to the audience, this hour will no doubt provide upbeat nonsense aplenty as well.

ZOE LYONS: ENTRY LEVEL HUMAN Gilded Balloon Teviot,1-26 Aug, 5.45pm

A TV and radio regular, the award-winning comic turns her sights on the pernicious effects of technology. While Elon Musk predicts that AI will end the human race, Zoe is more concerned about the deleterious effects of selfie culture.

WORDS BY JONATHAN TREW

WILLIAM ANDREWS: WILLY Pleasance Courtyard, 1-26 August (not 14), 4.45pm

Back in the Noughties, William Andrews made waves on the comedy circuit with his idiotsavant character, Tony Carter.

And then he was in Alan Partridge and then the second series of Broadchurch. And then ... nothing for a while except his gloriously obtuse blog. What can we expect on his stand-up return?

Odd seems a good bet.

IMPATIENT PRODUCTIONS PRESENTS

MARK WATSON

THE INFINITE SHOW

Pleasance Courtyard – Forth 1—27 August 2018 NOT 12, 24 + 26 • 19:00

MARK WATSON

HOW YOU CAN ALMOST WIN [WIP] The Stand 1 14—23 August 2018 • 13:35

JOHN-LUKE ROBERTS

ALL I WANNA DO IS [FX: GUNSHOTS] WITH A [FX: GUN RELOADING] AND A [FX: CASH REGISTER] AND PERFORM SOME COMEDY! Assembly George Square Studios – Five 1—27 August 2018 NOT 15 • 17:30

JOHN-LUKE ROBERTS

TERRIBLE WONDERFUL ADAPTATIONS Pleasance Dome – KingDome 10, 17, 24 August 2018 • 23:20

MATT WINNING

CLIMATE STRANGE

Just the Tonic at The Mash House – Just the Attic 2—26 August 2018 NOT 13 • 17:00

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MY EDINBURGH ZOE LYONS

LUCKY 13 I

f we overlook the 1989 student play she appeared in, Zoe Lyons has been coming to the Fringe since 2005. This year, the awardwinning comic returns to Edinburgh with her new show Entry Level Human. We talk failure, success and organic eggs with Zoe. What would today’s Zoe have told first-time-atEdinburgh-Fringe Zoe? Don’t lose sight of what you’re doing and don’t be too bothered about how well other people are doing. Or, rather, how well they say they are doing. Don’t get bogged down in the ridiculous competitiveness of it all.

On the circuit comics are usually very supportive. We’re a relatively small number of people doing a strange job dotted around the country.

And then you get us all concentrated at the Fringe and you are looking at each other’s faces and each other’s queues for a month. That’s when all supportiveness goes out the window and it’s every man for himself.

Returning for her 13th year, Zoe Lyons knows the Fringe inside and out, from the pressure to the penguins WORDS JONATHAN TREW PHOTOGRAPHY MARK VESSEY

“Don’t lose sight of what you’re doing”

Do you have any sort of preperformance Edinburgh ritual?

I like a good fifteen-minute walk to my show. That clears my head.

I hate having to rush to get to the show. I used to have little lucky trinkets but I kept losing them and that made me anxious.

I figured that if I got rid of them then the potential source of anxiety would not be there in the first place.

Fringe accommodation: heaven or hell?

For the last three years I have stayed in a granny flat under a lovely house in Newington.

The owners go away sailing and I look after their chickens. It’s like having a smallholding. I have

bribed people with organic eggs for tickets to shows before. Apparently, the hens have stopped laying this year.

But at least there will be four decent Sunday lunches.

Can you still rock the late party nights?

I used to go hell for leather. There was one Fringe when there was not one day I got home without the sun being up. At the end of it, you’re a scurvyriddled wreck. These days, I tend to be very good for the first couple of weeks and don’t drink. Then I slowly unravel. When I started, I also used to do all of the gigs. All of them; including the pointless 3am concerts where you go on stage and the front row have just been sick on themselves. Now I know that I don’t have to do that.

If you could be anyone else at the Fringe for a day, who would you be?

I would be one of the penguins at the zoo. I remember seeing a penguin parade and thought it was better than anything I’ve seen at the Fringe. It has physical theatre, clowning and they get a nice lunch at the end of it. And they get a huge audience. Much bigger than my audience.

What is your most humbling Fringe memory?

The first solo show I did took a while to find its audience. At one show, I think I had five people in. As I left my basement venue I found myself at the end of the queue for Simon Amstell.

His 800-strong queue snaked the whole way around the Pleasance Courtyard. It was pissing with rain and I just had that feeling of complete and utter failure. That same year, I was nominated for Best Newcomer so I had my lowest point and my highest point that year.

WHERE & WHEN Zoe Lyons: Entry Level Human, Gilded Balloon, 1-26 August, 5.45pm, from £6 Tel: 0131 622 6552

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