EDINBURGH FESTIVALS: THE BEST OF UP TO DATE COMEDY MUSIC THEATRE BOOKS DANCE ART LISTINGS AT edfe stmag.com
SUMMER 2013
WIN
A GOLDEN TICKET TO THE BEST OF THE FEST
ABANDOMAN TAKING THE RAP FOR LAUGHS JASON BYRNE TV’S NEWEST FATHER FIGURE MILTON JONES D ROA HITS THE
EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEWS OMID DJALILI KATE MOSSE ALEXEI SAYLE PHILL JUPITUS RICK WAKEMAN DAVID BADDIEL
SHOW ME THE FUNNfaY ces 21 new comedy
GEMMA WHELAN IT’S A FUNNY OLD GAME OF THRONES
ED BYRNE
Roars to Forty
TIA FULL E SAYING N R TO BEYON O CÉ
9 771478 907993
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£3.99
ISSN 1478-9078
02/07/2013 17:28
ALI MACGREGOR THE AMAZING BUBBLE MAN ARDALO’HANLON BREABACH CAPERCAILLIE CHRISTINE BOVILL DONNIE MUNRO DOUGIE MACLEAN THE FIVE-THIRTY CABARET FRED MACAULAY GOD BLESS LIZ LOCHHEAD
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HORSE HUE AND CRY JERRY SADOWITZ KILLERS LA CLIQUE LOVE AND MONEY MARTHA REEVES & THE VANDELLAS MELMOTH THE WANDERER MOGWAI OMEGA OMID DJALILI
PEATBOG FAERIES PORTICO QUARTET PRINCESS PUMPALOT THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION TOM STADE VERY BEST OF THE FEST WE WILL BE FREE: FREE! THE TOLPUDDLE MARTYRS STORY AND MANY MORE
27/06/2013 17:33
T H E
COMEDY CLUB 5 York Place, Edinburgh
0131 558 7272 www.thestand.co.uk StandEdinburgh
@StandComedyClub
Alexei Sayle ACMS Bacon Face Best Of Irish Comedy Bob Doolally Brendon Burns Bridget Christie Broken Windows Policy Colt Cabana Dana Alexander David Kay Gavin Webster Jonny Pelham Julia Sutherland Katie Mulgrew Keir McAllister Lee Kyle Lost Voice Guy Lucy Porter Mark Thomas Markus Birdman Martin Mor Mary Bourke Michael Legge Mike Wozniak Mitch Benn Nadia Kamil Peter Searles Richard Herring Sally-Anne Hayward Sarah Millican Scott Agnew Seymour Mace Shang-A-Lang Si Buglass Silky Simon Donald Simon Evans Simon Munnery Stephen K Amos Stewart Lee Stu & Garry Susan Calman S W Tony Jameson SHOERY Tony Law EV Y Vladimir McTavish DA Wil Hodgson
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EDINBURGH 2013 AS PART OF THE LAUGHING HORSE FREE FESTIVAL LISA THOMAS MANAGEMENT PRESENTS
ELLIE TAYLOR Charismatic, personable and bright CHORTLE AS SEEN ON:
Snog Marry Avoid, BBC3, Fake Reaction, ITV2 8 out of 10 Cats, Channel 4
ELLIEvision The Counting House, 38 West Nicolson St Venue 170
12:20 in the afternoon 1st-24th AugusT Free Entry
ellietaylorcomedy.com
@EllieJaneTaylor
BY ARRANGEMENT WITH PRESENT
BY ARRANGEMENT WITH LISA THOMAS MANAGEMENT PRESENT
CREATOR AND STAR OF BBC1'S FATHER FIGURE AS SEEN ON BBC 1'S LIVE AT THE APOLLO, ITV'S COMEDY ANNUAL AND DAVE’S ONE NIGHT STAND
14:3
c ‘THE OUTRIGHT KING OF LIVE COMEDY’
‘Sharp observational comedy... inspired one liners... Manford certainly knows how to get the laughs’ METRO
THE TIMES
6 NIGHTS ONLY!
★★★★★ ★★★★★ ★★★★ ★★★★ MIRROR
METRO
CHORTLE
MAIL ON SUNDAY
7:40PM SEE BACK COVER FOR FULL TOUR DETAILS
WWW.JASONBYRNE.IE
20-25 AUGUST www.edfringe.com
SEE OPPOSITE PAGE FOR FULL TOUR DETAILS.
www.jasonmanford.com
metro entertainment.ie stagewon
LATE NIGHT IRISH SKETCH COMEDY
the latest fest chortle the skinny threeweeks
10PM (1(11PM) 1PM) 01-25 AUG. 2013
www.lisathomasmanagement.com
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BY ARRANGEMENT WITH LISA THOMAS MANAGEMENT PRESENT
TOUR 2013/14
JUNE 2013 13 SHREWSBURY Theatre Severn 14 / 15 HALIFAX Victoria Theatre 19 / 20 BOURNEMOUTH Pavilion 21 / 22 PLYMOUTH Pavilions 26 / 27 STEVENAGE Concert Hall@Gordon Craig Theatre 28 / 29 SALISBURY City Hall JULY 2013 3/4 HIGH WYCOMBE Swan 5/6 NORTHAMPTON Derngate 10 / 11 CARLISLE Sands Centre 12 / 13 DUNFERMLINE Alhambra 17 / 18 TUNBRIDGE WELLS Assembly Halls 19 / 20 MIDDLESBROUGH Town Hall 24 / 25 CHESTERFIELD Winding Wheel AUGUST 2013 20 - 25 EDINBURGH Venue 150 28 / 29 ABERDEEN Music Hall 30 / 31 GLASGOW Pavilion SEPTEMBER 2013 3 WOKING New Victoria Theatre 4/5 BIRMINGHAM Alexandra 6/7 STOKE Victoria Hall 9 / 10 CAMBRIDGE Corn Exchange 11 / 12 NEW BRIGHTON Floral Pavilion 13 / 14 BRADFORD St George's Hall 16 / 17 HARROGATE Grand Hall 18 / 19 SOUTHAMPTON Guildhall 20 / 21 BLACKBURN King George's Hall 23 / 24 OXFORD New Theatre 25 / 26 BASINGSTOKE Anvil 27 / 28 CARDIFF St David's Hall 30 LEICESTER De Montfort Hall
01743 281 281 01422 351 158 0844 576 3000 08451 461 460 01438 363 200 01722 434 434 01494 512 000 01604 624 811 01228 633 766 01383 740 384 01892 530 613 01642 729 729 01246 345 334 08448 471 639 01224 641 122 0141 332 1846 08448 717 645 08448 472 302 08448 717 649 01223 573 851 0151 666 0000 01274 432 000 01423 502 116 023 8063 2601 08448 471 664 08448 713 020 01256 844 244 02920 878 444 0116 233 3111
OCTOBER 2013 1 LEICESTER De Montfort Hall 2/3 ISLE OF MAN The Royal Hall - Villa Marina 4/5 PORTSMOUTH Guildhall 7/8 PRESTON Guild Hall 9 / 10 SHEFFIELD City Hall 11 / 12 BRIGHTON Dome 14 / 15 LLANDUDNO Venue Cymru 16 / 17 LIVERPOOL Empire 18 / 19 READING Hexagon 23 / 24 BELFAST Waterfront Hall 25 / 26 NEWCASTLE City Hall 27 MILTON KEYNES Milton Keynes Theatre
30/31 LONDON Hammersmith Apollo NOVEMBER 2013 4/5 CHELTENHAM Town Hall 6/7 YORK Barbican 8/9 SUNDERLAND Sunderland Empire 11 / 12 COVENTRY WAC 13 / 14 DERBY Assembly Halls 15 / 16 BRISTOL Hippodrome 18 / 19 SCUNTHORPE Bath Halls 21 / 22 NOTTINGHAM Royal Concert Hall 25 / 26 AYLESBURY Waterside Theatre 27 / 28 DUBLIN Vicar Street 29 / 30 SOUTHPORT Southport Theatre DECEMBER 2013 2/3 DUDLEY Concert Hall 4/5 IPSWICH Regent Theatre
0116 233 3111 01624 600 555 023 9282 4355 0845 344 2012 01142 789 789 01273 709 709 01492 872 000 08448 472 525 0118 960 6060 02890 334 455 0191 2778 030 08448 717 652
0844 249 1000 0844 576 2210 08448 542 757 08448 713 022 02476 524 524 01332 255 800 08448 713 012 08448 542 776 0115 989 5555 08448 717 607 0818 719 300 08448 713 021 01384 812 812 01473 433 100
6 / 7 MANCHESTER Manchester Arena 08448 478 000 12 MARGATE Winter Gardens 13 / 14 WARRINGTON Parr Hall 17 CHESTERFIELD Winding Wheel 18 / 19 MIDDLESBROUGH Town Hall 20 HARROGATE Royal Hall JANUARY 2014 3/4 ABERDEEN Music Hall 7 SOUTHEND Cliffs Pavilion 8 GUILDFORD G Live 9 SCARBOROUGH Spa Pavilion 10 NORTHAMPTON Derngate 11 BLACKBURN King George’s Hall 13 HUDDERSFIELD Town Hall 14 READING Hexagon 15 COVENTRY Warwick Arts Centre 16 WESTON SUPER MARE Weston Playhouse 17 NEW BRIGHTON Floral Pavilion 18 HALIFAX Victoria Theatre 21 FOLKESTONE Leas Cliff Hall 22 STOKE Victoria Halls 23 BLACKPOOL Grand 24 WOLVES Civic 25 CARDIFF St David's Hall
01843 296 111 01925 442 345 01246 345 222 01642 729 729 01423 502 116 01224 641 122 01702 351 135 0844 7701 797 01723 357869 01604 624811 0844 847 1664 01484 223 200 0118 960 6060 024 7652 4524 01934 645 544 0151 666 0000 01422 351 158 0844 871 3015 0844 871 7649 01253 290 190 0870 320 7000 029 2087 8444
DUE TO OUTSTANDING PUBLIC DEMAND - EXTRA DATES ADDED!
‘Sharp observational comedy... inspired one liners... Manford certainly knows how to get the laughs’
METRO
www.lisathomasmanagement.com
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FEBRUARY 2014 5 DARTFORD Orchard 6 CROYDON Fairfield Halls 7 LEEDS City Varieties 8 DONCASTER Dome 11 & 12 SWINDON Wyvern 13 & 14 STAFFORD Gatehouse 15 WATFORD Collosseum 18 & 19 SHREWSBURY Theatre Severn 21 & 22 DARLINGTON Civic 25 & 26 ST ALBANS Alban Arena 27 & 28 HAYES Beck Theatre MARCH 2014 1 HASTINGS White Rock 4&5 JERSEY Opera House 7&8 NEWARK Palace Theatre 10 & 11 INVERNESS Eden Court 13 & 14 WESTON SUPER MARE Weston Playhouse 15 SWANSEA Grand 18 & 19 BEDFORD Corn Exchange 20 REDHILL The Harlequin 21 GUILDFORD G Live 22 LOWESTOFT Marina Theatre 26 LEEDS City Varieties 27 PETERBOROUGH Cresset 28 & 29 LINCOLN The Engine Shed 31 TELFORD Okengates APRIL 2014 2 TRURO Hall For Cornwall 3 BARNSTAPLE Queens Theatre 4&5 YEOVIL Octagon Theatre 8&9 ALDERSHOT Princes Theatre 10 CREWE Lyceum 11 KENDAL Leisure Centre 12 HULL City Hall
www.seetickets.com
01322 220 000 020 8688 9291 0113 243 0808 01302 342 349 01793 524 481 01785 254 653 08450 753 993 01743 281 281 01325 486 555 01727 844 488 02085 618 371 01424 462 288 01534 511 115 01636 655 755 01463 234 234 01934 645 544 01792 475 715 01234 269 519 01737 276 500 08447 701 797 01502 533 200 0113 243 0808 01733 842 500 0844 888 8767 01952 382 382 01872 262 466 01271 324 242 01935 422 884 01252 329 155 01270 368 242 01539 729 777 01482 300 300
www.jasonmanford.com
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t h nt wit anagemen ngeme tM by arra Ward Artis Mandy
O S P M I EE S
L • H C N A R V D R A N E H E C I T R S • E N V .com O e E g T n T i R r f M E S T E R •S1 226 0000 ed L U A om M P P 013 B k 4 E yers.c u a . l o p G W e c . r ysto .com comed mickperrin S U K556I 6550 pleasance M | 12-17 AU P 0131 5 1 : 2 G U A 1 1 8
N
OND ICHM RIC R TO: E PHO
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ARDAL O’HANLON LIVE 2o13
STAR OF
FATH E R TE D
“CHARM, INTELLIGENCE AND FABULOUS PHRASE-MAKING” The Guardian
★★★★ ★★★★ The Daily Telegraph
The Times
IN ASSOCIATION WITH
DAWN SEDGWICK MANAGEMENT
12-18 AUG 7pm edfringe.com 0131 226 0000 mickperrin.com
“His presence and intelligence make him one of the most brilliantly unpredictable comics in the country.” The Sunday Times
9-24 AUGUST NOT 13 + 19
PLEASANCE GRAND 8PM
0131 556 6550 pleasance.co.uk 0131 226 0000 edfringe.com
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mickperrin.com
BY ARRANGEMENT WITH MANDY WARD ARTIST MANAGEMENT
01/07/2013 11:38
Productions
LONDON ROAD, SEA POINT
THE THREE LITTLE PIGS
CLOWN FOR HIRE
1-26 Aug, 13:50
1-26 Aug, 17:45
1-26 Aug, 14:00
SOLOMON AND MARION
TUMI MORAKE
THE SOIL
1-26 Aug, 14:30
1-26 Aug, 21:00
1-26 Aug, 19:10
UNDONE
VOICES MADE NIGHT
1-26 Aug, 16:10
1-26 Aug, 16:10
ALAN COMMITTIE 5-26 Aug, 21:20
CHAMP
THE EPICENE BUTCHER 1-26 Aug, 14:30
1–26 Aug, 19:20
Join us for a pre-Fringe drink from July 19! We are open for Edinburgh Jazz and Blues Festival, July 19-28 at Assembly Checkpoint, 3 Bristo Place and Assembly George Square Gardens We look forward to seeing you at all of our Assembly venues from July 31 for Assembly Festival at Edinburgh Festival Fringe!
See www.assemblyfestival.com for full programme, festival news and daily deals. /assemblyfestival
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@assemblyfest
/assemblyfest
27/06/2013 17:42
An Actor’s Lament
group
16-26 Aug, 21:00
BY STEVEN BERKOFF
1-26 Aug, 12:55
1-20 Aug, 14:30
1-26 Aug, 19:50
1-26 Aug, 16:00
2-25 Aug, 23:59
31 Jul-26 Aug, 21:00
THATHA 1-26 Aug, 16:25
DRUM ! K STRUC 2-26 Aug, 10:50 A S S E M B L Y
1-26 Aug, 12:30 /ASSEMBLYFESTIVAL @ASSEMBLYFEST
2-25 Aug, 13:20
1-26 Aug, 18:00
31 Jul-26 Aug, 20:50
1-26 Aug, 12:40
P R E S E N T S
Genesis/ Golgotha
showcatcher.com
2-26 Aug, 22:30
1 - 26 AUGUST 13:30
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Leo 1-25 Aug, 18:00 assemblyfest.tumblr.com
/assemblyfest
showcatcher.com
27/06/2013 17:43
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THE QUEEN’S GALLERY PALACE OF HOLYROODHOUSE
LEONARDO DA VINCI THE MECHANICS OF MAN OPENS 2 AUGUST – BOOK NOW www.royalcollection.org.uk +44 (0)131 556 5100
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Enjoy free re-admission for a year if you buy your ticket directly from us.
01/07/2013 11:29
2013
‘dance as an art of happiness’ LE MONDE
‘really irresistible exhilarating energy’ LE FIGARO
Don Quichotte du Trocadéro
Burlesque, farce, hip hop, slapstick comedy…
Choreographed by José Montalvo Thursday 29 – Saturday 31 August 7.30pm
Don Quixote of the Trocadero
Charity No SC004694.
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Book tickets now at eif.co.uk/montalvo or call 0131 473 2000 01/07/2013 11:30
CONTENTS www.edfestmag.com
What’s Inside COMEDY
WIN A GOLDEN TICKET TO PREMIER EVENTS
26 ED BYRNE Not slowing down at 40 30 ALEXEI SAYLE Back in the game 34 OMID DJALILI On readjusting his comedy and rediscovering his faith 44 PHILL JUPITUS On his love of Edinburgh 47 GEMMA WHELAN Shows her funnybone 48 ABANDOMAN The rise of the Irish rapper 51 DAVID BADDIEL Back after 15 years 69 ONES TO WATCH Brightest Fringe talents 79 BLAM! Mind-bending stunts 91 GYLES BRANDRETH On finding happiness 168 COMEDY GUIDE Comedy to see
DANCE 82 BENJAMIN MILLEPIED Black Swan drama at the EIF 86 JOSE MANTALVO Don Quixote on Paris Metro 163 DANCE GUIDE For those tapping feet
THEATRE 28 BLYTHE DUFF On returning to her first love 38 WUNDERKAMMER An emotional circus 74 WOOSTER GROUP Hamlet like never before 76 JANET SUZMAN Rediscovers her homeland 80 GRID IRON Leaving Planet Earth 85 SMASHED Juggling like never before 154 THEATRE GUIDE Top plays to see 18
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MUSIC 63 RICK WAKEMAN He’s a Grumpy Old Man 64 AIRNADETTE French lip-syncing rock stars 67 TIA FULLER On her musical upbringing 89 UKULELE ORCHESTRA Wellington’s ready to rock 109 MILITARY TATTOO With Natural Scotland 146 MUSIC GUIDE Wash your blues away www.edfestmag.com
05/07/2013 14:19
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SEE THE MUSEUM IN A DIFFERENT LIGHT Escape the daytime crowds for a Saturday night to remember at the National Museum of Scotland. Enjoy entry to our fascinating Mary, Queen of Scots exhibition and explore the collections, with bars, live music and performances in the spectacular Grand Gallery. Museum After Hours promises to be an unmissable part of your Edinburgh Festivals season. In association with C venues at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.
Book now on 0300 123 6789 or nms.ac.uk/afterhours Media Partner
Museum After Hours: Sat 17 and 24 August 19:00 - 22:30 | Tickets £15/£12 Over 18s only.
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CONTENTS www.edfestmag.com
ART FOOD
36 FASHION FIRST A century of Condé Nast 96 MAN RAY Breaking the mould 98 PETER DOIG Around the world in art 142 ART GUIDE Something to draw on
110 FOODIES FESTIVAL Edinburgh’s food festival 113 RESTAURANT GUIDE Top places to eat
CHILDREN 107 PHILIPPE GENTY Household puppets 105 CERRIE BURNELL CBeebies star’s new play 166 CHILDREN’S GUIDE To occupy the little ones
REGULARS 24 DIARY DATES Day-by-day shows 40 A to Z What not to miss 53 FESTIVAL FAVOURITES Our top recommendations 61 COMPETITION Win a Golden Ticket 178 MY EDINBURGH Downton’s Elizabeth McGovern www.edfestmag.com
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BOOKS 33 KATE MOSSE On contemporary feminism 93 SANDI TOKSVIG Looks forward to Edinburgh 95 FAB BAKER BROTHERS Share chefs’ secrets 152 BOOKS GUIDE Start a new chapter
CITY GUIDE 101 21 PLACES TO GO Family fun for all 137 SHOPPING Scotland’s best designers 141 RELAX Treatments to look your best EDINBURGH FESTIVALS 2013
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WELCOME www.edfestmag.com
A sporting chance W
E MAY NOT ALL BE BEST FRIENDS with horses, like Game of Thrones’ Gemma Whelan [below] and her comedy character Chastity Butterworth, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t take a bet on an outsider when it comes to trying new shows at the festivals. Who knows which comedian will be first-past-the-post come Comedy Award time? It could be an old hand like Alexei Sayle, David Baddiel or Phill Jupitus, all of whom we’ve spoken to in this issue. Or it could be a newcomer like Whelan, who, in addition to her comedy show, is starring in Dark Vanilla Jungle, a moody drama at the Pleasance Courtyard. Turn to page 47 to read more. If you are looking for a fresh perspective and new ideas, make sure you check out all the acts in our ‘Ones to Watch’ section, starting on page 69. In previous years we’ve featured Jack Whitehall, Sarah Millican and Doc Brown on those very pages, so you know you’ve got the inside line. If comedy isn’t your thing, there is still plenty to enjoy at this year’s festivals. How about dance from Benjamin Millepied, star of Black Swan? Or something edgy from Blam! or Smashed? We’ve been talking to all of them, and if there’s one thing we’ve learned, it’s that dance and physical theatre are more exciting than ever before. So once you’ve seen all the runners and riders, take a chance - you could be betting on the next big thing. SUE HITCHEN
Don’t forget to bsite check our we ag.com www.edfestm for daily reviews
HOW TO BOOK
Festival Fringe 2nd – 26th August Box Office: 180 High Street Tel: 0131 226 0000 Web: edfringe.com International Festival 9th August – 1st September Box Office: The Hub, EH1 2NE Tel: 0131 473 2099 Web: eif.co.uk Book Festival 10th – 26th August Box Office: The Hub, EH1 2NE Tel: 0845 373 5888 Web: edbookfest.co.uk Jazz and Blues Festival 19th – 28th July Box Office: The Hub, EH1 2NE Tel: 0131 473 2000 Web: edinburghjazzfestival.com Military Tattoo 2nd – 24th August Box Office: 33-34 Market Street Tel: 0131 225 1188 Web: edintattoo.co.uk Edinburgh Art Festival 1st August – 1st September Tel: 0131 226 6558 Web: edinburghartfestival.com
EDITORIAL TEAM Editor Sue Hitchen Art Director Angela McKean Production Lucy Wormell, Charis Stewart Digital Imaging Malcolm Irving Sub Editors Ruth Walker, Caroline Whitham Editorial Assistants Amy McGoldrick, Lisa Chanos
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Rob Adams, Kelly Apter, Mark Fisher, Julian Hall, Amy McGoldrick, Jay Richardson, Fiona Shepherd, Claire Smith, Jonathan Trew, Ruth Walker
Foodies Festival Edinburgh 9th – 11th August Inverleith Park Tel: 0844 995 1111 Web: foodiesfestival.com
ADVERTISING TEAM Advertising Manager Bill Mackay Matthew Magee, Rebecca Bain, Ryan Sutherland, Alan Forsyth
Edinburgh Mela 31st August – 1st September Leith Links, EH6 8BW Tel: 0131 661 7100 Web: edinburgh-mela.co.uk
Edinburgh Festivals Issue 11 Published annually by The Media Company Publications Ltd, 21 Royal Circus, Edinburgh, EH3 6TL 0131 226 7766 www.edfestmag.com Printed by ET Heronprint. 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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Festival of Spirituality and Peace 2nd – 26th August 2013 St John’s Church, EH2 4BJ Tel: 0131 228 4249 Web: festivalofspirituality.org.uk www.edfestmag.com
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DIARY DATES www.edfestmag.com Pack your month full of fun with our daily guide to what’s great at this year’s festivals WORDS AMY MCGOLDRICK
31
THE AMAZING BUBBLE MAN THE ASSEMBLY ROOMS
Science and fun with bubbles. TOM ROSENTHAL PLEASANCE COURTYARD
Award-winning Best Newcomer.
1
HENSON ALTERNATIVE’S PUPPET UP! ASSEMBLY HALL
A glorious adults-only, uncensored, provocative show. HELP! MY SUPPLY TEACHER IS MAGIC UNDERBELLY, BRISTO SQUARE
Incredible magical illusions for all the family, from the hit TV show.
2
LA CLIQUE THE FAMOUS SPIEGELTENT
Outrageous cabaret – with acrobatics.
3
ALI MCGREGOR’S JAZZMATAZZ THE FAMOUS SPIEGELTENT
Live jazz and dancing for kids.
4
HORSE THE ASSEMBLY ROOMS
Showcasing her stunning ninth album.
5
THE CURIOUS CASE OF UGGLIE WUMP QUAKER MEETING HOUSE
Spooky storytelling.
MARTHA REEVES AND THE VANDELLAS THE ASSEMBLY ROOMS
Motown legends’ greatest hits.
(clockwise) Doc Brown, Eh Joe, Dido and Aeneas, Midori, The Les Clöchards, The Poet Speaks, Ali McGregor, Be Captivated, The Amazing Bubbleman, American Lulu, Carol Ann Duffy, Foodies Festival, Chiaroscuro Quartet, Ben Fogle: In The Name Of Adventure, Russell Kane, Ruby Wax
7
10
BBC: JAZZ HOUSE BBC@POTTERROW
Two hours of top jazz.
THE LES CLÖCHARDS: THE BOYS ARE BACK IN TOWN ASSEMBLY CHECKPOINT
6
8
Rock’n’roll insanity.
Wild walk through Ben’s travels.
BEN FOGLE: IN THE NAME OF ADVENTURE THE ASSEMBLY ROOMS
HENDRICK’S CARNIVAL OF KNOWLEDGE 1 ROYAL CIRCUS
A travelling parlour of wit.
FOODIES FESTIVAL INVERLEITH PARK
The UK’s largest food and drink festival comes into town.
11
CAROL ANN DUFFY BOOK FESTIVAL
An hour with the Poet Laureate.
12
CHIAROSCURO QUARTET THE QUEEN’S HALL
A young group with invigorating performances.
14
DONG YI’S PROGRAMME FOR CHINESE LOVERS’ DAY GEORGE ST
A concert on the love stories of China. RUBY WAX: SANE NEW WORLD BOOK FESTIVAL
The comedian talks mental health and overcoming the societal stigma.
15
JAY RAYNER THE ASSEMBLY ROOMS
Breaking conventional foodie wisdom.
RUSSELL KANE: SMALLNESS PLEASANCE COURTYARD
Comedy from the Essex lad with a big heart.
9
BO BURNHAM: WHAT PLEASANCE COURTYARD
YouTube sensation. 24
EDINBURGH FESTIVALS 2013
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IAN RANKIN BOOK FESTIVAL
Rebus is back in the new novel from Scotland’s number one crime writer.
13
THE POET SPEAKS THE EDINBURGH PLAYHOUSE
Patti Smith and Philip Glass celebrate beat poet Allen Ginsberg.
POMMERY CHAMPAGNE BAR SIGNET LIBRARY
Enjoy the beautiful surroundings at Pommery’s pop-up bar.
16
AL MURRAY – THE PUB LANDLORD UNDERBELLY, BRISTO SQUARE
The Landlord talks on the state of Britain today. www.edfestmag.com
04/07/2013 14:36
17
MISERABLE LESBIANS: THE PARODY MUSICAL SPOTLITES @ THE MERCHANTS’ HALL
Satire set in 19th Century France, based on your favourite musicals.
18
ALISTAIR MCGOWAN: DAMN LABELS! GILDED BALLOON TEVIOT
Funny songs, spot-on impressions and some deep questions.
19
RUSSIAN NATIONAL ORCHESTRA USHER HALL
Rachmaninov’s beloved Second Piano Concerto. DOC BROWN PLEASANCE COURTYARD
International rapper-turnedcomedian with a new perspective on hip-hop culture.
20
JASON MANFORD: FIRST WORLD PROBLEMS VENUE 150 @ EICC
Jason brings his fresh, laid-back approach to the Fringe. www.edfestmag.com
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21
STEPHEN K AMOS PLEASANCE COURTYARD
Stephen engages with theatre, comedy and music.
24
DIDO AND AENEAS BLUEBEARD’S CASTLE FESTIVAL THEATRE
Two masterpieces of opera brought together in this daring production.
JOANNE HARRIS: MILK CHOCOLATE AND MINARETS BOOK FESTIVAL
CEILIDH IN THE KIRK GREYFRIARS KIRK
The Chocolat author travelled to the French town in which it’s set.
Traditional tunes in the most atmospheric of settings.
22
25
NEIL GAIMAN BOOK FESTIVAL
Gaiman explores his childhood. MIDORI THE QUEEN’S HALL
CAITLIN MORAN: ORWELL, BUT WITH TITS BOOK FESTIVAL
Talking about her new book, Moranthology.
The internationally-renowned violinist in the first of two concerts.
26
23
Bowen talks about the Arab Spring from his experiences.
BANG ON A CAN ALLSTARS USHER HALL
Musical pioneers in concert. AULD REEKIE ROLLER GIRLS MEADOWBANK SPORTS CENTRE
Live roller-derby action, with the Twisted Thistles vs. Stockholm.
JEREMY BOWEN BOOK FESTIVAL
27
EH JOE ROYAL LYCEUM THEATRE
Michael Gambon takes on Beckett.
28
ENSEMBLE MUSIKFABRIK USHER HALL
A celebration of Frank Zappa.
29
MEDIA SKINS FESTIVAL THEATRE
30
AMERICAN LULU KING’S THEATRE
Artist Hyung Su Kim’s exploration of public art.
A radical rework of Alban Berg’s unfinished opera.
1
VIRGIN MONEY FIREWORKS CONCERT ROSS THEATRE AND PRINCES ST GARDENS
Incredible pyrotechnics in the festival closer, set against the backdrop of the stunning Edinburgh Castle. 25
04/07/2013 14:37
COMEDY ED BYRNE
KING OF THE HILL He is taking over one of the biggest venues of the Fringe, but Ed Byrne has even bigger mountains to climb WORDS JULIAN HALL
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COMEDY ED BYRNE A U G U S T
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HIS NOVEMBER ED BYRNE WILL celebrate his 20th year in comedy. It’s a milestone to make a generation of comedy-goers feel old, though the 41-year-old Irishman remains on sprightly form. Byrne’s Fringe home this year will be the Edinburgh International Conference Centre, one of the city’s largest festival venues, where he will be on an impressive 20-date run to debut his latest live show, Roaring Forties. He modestly points out that the EICC can be adapted to seat anything between 600 and 1,200 people, and is bemused by all the fuss about its Fringe status. “I’ve played a lot of equally large venues such as the Music Hall, the Assembly Mound and the bigger Pleasance venues, but the EICC is the only one where I have been told by any publication that I wouldn’t be reviewed, since the EICC isn’t part of the ‘Edinburgh Comedy Festival’ cabal.” Despite his standing in the comedy world, Byrne maintains he needs to go to Edinburgh as much as anyone else does. “I’m playing larger venues than I ever did, but so is everybody else. The real measure of fame is playing corporate gigs. They used to be tough, but now people know who I am they are a lot easier.” I wonder if there is a certain amount of jockeying for position that still takes place among his peers, nonetheless? “I tend not to tour at the same time as Dara [O’Briain]. I think he would probably be someone who would take tickets from me, but I don’t bother going, ‘Oh McInytre’s on tour’ or ‘Sarah Millican’s on tour’ because I would never go out on the road.” On the day Byrne and I meet, O’Briain has been reported as suggesting Mock The Week, the panel show both Irishmen appear on from time to time, has become more fun since Frankie Boyle left, and Byrne feels that is partly true. “It feels a lot freer, but it was because Frankie and Russell Howard left. Frankie’s one-liners would cut right through a subject and Russell’s more verbose style needed a lot more space.” Freedom and space are two qualities Byrne feels he has always had from the Fringe, going so far as to say that missing a few years in the early 2000s may have adversely impacted on his career. Though he has solid acting experience (with indie movie
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Zemanovaload and sitcoms The Cassidys and Sam’s Game - the latter with Davina McCall), he says: “If someone writes a sitcom now they will get Jack Whitehall to do it or Chris Ramsey. I’ve been up to bat in that way. The most I can hope for is wait another ten years and I can play the dad.” Reflective, he may be. But he’s not bitter. Byrne’s touring kudos is in the pink, thanks to universally popular shows such as Different Class and Crowd Pleaser, and now he’s a family man with two children, Magnus and Cosmo, his job means he gets to see his children in daylight hours, unlike some friends he knows in the corporate world. “If I’m on tour and I’m south of Manchester, I’ll come home.” Inevitably, fatherhood has had an impact on opportunities to find material (“I’ll be doing some jokes about it that people without kids can relate to; I couldn’t earn a living out of parents - they never go out”). Meanwhile, free time - a commodity comedians are used to having in abundance - is at a premium now. “When you are no longer out on the pull you have a ‘When you lot of time on your hands and you start to do are no longer out things you last did as on the pull, you start a kid, then you have to do things you kids and you have no time whatsoever.” last did as a kid’ However, something Byrne will be taking time out for a while in Scotland is his love of hillwalking. Not immediately regarded as an outdoorsy type, the comedian will be off to the Highlands for a break between his Fringe dates, and his scenic sorties don’t stop there. “I have been doing a bit of writing for a magazine called The Great Outdoors which has involved me, among other things, walking barefoot through the Lake District with a lady called ‘the Barefoot Shepherdess’. This Sunday I am going to the Peak District to be a body for rescue dogs.” Now, if anyone can get some cracking material out of that situation, it’s Ed Byrne.
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WHEN & WHERE
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Ed Byrne: Roaring Forties Venue150 @ EICC, 2-25 August (not 12, 13), 9.20pm. From £17.50, 0844 847 1639
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04/07/2013 14:42
THEATRE BLYTHE DUFF
Not missing a beat Blythe Duff is leaving DS Jackie Reid behind and proving her mettle all over again with powerful stage performances WORDS MARK FISHER
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OR 21 YEARS, BLYTHE DUFF was hardly away from our television screens. As DS Jackie Reid, she was the longest serving cast member in Taggart, itself one of the UK’s longest-running police series. After such an innings, you wouldn’t blame the East Kilbride-born actor if she decided to live off the royalties or accepted nothing but high-profile screen work. But that’s not Duff’s style. Her first love is the stage and, in the past couple of years, this least starry of stars has been back on and she is pursuing a profitable career in her own right the studio-theatre circuit where she began. She has set up as a gallery owner, she is not able to escape her family’s her own company, Datum Point, and turned in a series of dark past as cleanly as either of them would have liked. top-notch performances in the most intimate of spaces. It’s as if Ciara is an embodiment of a city that has morphed In 2011, she was nominated for a CATS award for from razor-gang central to cappuccino capital without her starring role in David Harrower’s Good stopping to reflect. With People in Glasgow’s lunchtime theatre “David came to me and said, ‘I want to ‘My bank season, A Play, a Pie and a Pint. And in this write something about the changing face manager’s face is of Glasgow, and I want to tell it through year’s CATS, she was named Best Female Performer for her role as a husband-killer tripping him. There a woman’s eyes,’” says Duff. “She’s in Rona Munro’s Iron, produced by the in a criminal past but she’s at one will come a point when rooted tiny Borders company Firebrand. remove from it. This is a well-groomed, I have to go out and well-healed, sorted business lady who “Don’t get me wrong – my bank manager’s face is tripping him,” she understands her game and knows how to earn some laughs. “There will come a point when handle the world she exists in. Does that money’ I’ll have to go out and earn some money. I come from acumen or is it because of think it’s just because I’ve been interested in the way she’s been brought up? There’s a the writers I’ve been working with and they tend to lot of darkness that she’s carrying in be a bit more studio. I’ve really enjoyed being part of the a big Louis Vuitton trunk.” Traverse Theatre again and, now it’s come round to its 50th What Duff excels at is playing against expectations, anniversary, it feels right and timely that I’m going back to creating a tension by expressing one emotion and behaving rediscover what I loved when I started out.” in a way that contradicts it. That could prove the key to It was thanks to her part in Good With People, which unlocking a character who is so much in denial about her subsequently played on the Fringe and in New York, that background. “You don’t know you carry rage until that she is back in Edinburgh in Ciara. She and playwright button is pushed,” she says. “I remember years ago when Harrower, the author of Knives In Hens and Blackbird, hit it I was younger and something happened that brought off so well he wrote the new play specially for her. me to a rage and I thought, ‘Oh my God, I didn’t realise “Good With People was the first time our paths had I was capable of feeling this.’ I always think if you meet crossed,” she says. “I had been in a bit of a Taggart bubble somebody in a really bad mood, none of us knows what’s so I wasn’t even massively familiar with David’s work. happened in that person’s life and I always try and take one Now that I have caught up, I can totally understand why step back and give them the benefit of the doubt.” everybody falls over themselves. To have somebody of his calibre writing with me in mind has just been lovely. He WHEN & WHERE runs wee moments past me and says, ‘Do you think she would say this?’ It’s nice that I’ve had as much input.” Ciara In this one-woman show, a centrepiece of the Traverse’s Traverse Theatre, 1–25 August (not 2, 5, 12, 19), Fringe season, Duff plays the grown-up daughter of a times vary. From £6, Tel: 0131 228 1404 Glasgow gangland crime lord. Although he is now dead
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Ciara, above left, and in Tally’s Blood
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A U G U S T
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I
N 1979, ALEXEI SAYLE BECAME The Comedy Store’s first compere, before reputedly performing the Edinburgh Fringe’s earliest comedy show with Tony Allen the following year. There followed a succession of roles in The Young Ones and The Comic Strip films before he went on to front three different sketch shows for the BBC. So why, with his reputation as an alternative comedy pioneer assured, is he returning to the festival after more than two decades away? And is he, as his wife despairs, “diluting the legacy”? The delight the roguish, 60-year-old Scouser derives in sharing her remark on stage, told with an endearing blend of self-deprecation and selfpuffery, reflects his mixed emotions about forsaking retirement. In his short story collection Barcelona Plates, he wrote of a comedygoing public “tired of being shouted The original at by fat men about things that ‘angry young man’ weren’t their fault”. Sayle used to be that fat, of alternative comedy, angry man. Throughout the Alexei Sayle is returning 1980s, his comedy persona, to stand-up, and while Coco - a violently agitated, working-class intellectual, he’s grown more reflective No Young Ones reunion is on the perpetually denouncing with age, some things horizon, but what would he do if he Margaret Thatcher and abusing bumped into Elton at a party? “We’d his own audience - “did really still have the power probably be perfectly polite to each well because I was the first, I to rile him other,” he says. “While it’s true that I’m was aggressive and I had all WORDS JAY RICHARDSON very bitter with Ben because he’s much more these mad ideas”. successful than I am, that routine is also about When he eventually the impossibility of reconciliation.” quit stand-up in 1996, he was In short, his comeback has been going “unnervingly acknowledging “people realising that they didn’t have to well”. He says: “I feel like a young comic because I’m put up with my insanity, that you could have material that made you think without the obnoxiousness and the strident improving. I don’t think I’ve got much arrogance about who I was. I’m going to be judged on what I’m doing right stuff”. Over time, Coco had become as constricting as his now.” too-tight, two-tone suit. And his creator wanted to Despite his appearances at the Book Festival explore deeper ideas through writing his own ‘I’m very over the last decade, he’d grown ignorant novels. bitter with of the Fringe and UK stand-up. He took “No-one’s guaranteed audiences or advice from Lee about playing The Stand respect, you’ve got to continually work for Ben because and relies on fellow comic Josh Howie to them,” Sayle reflects. “And you go out of he’s much guide him through Edinburgh, London’s fashion. But then you come back.” more clubs and the comedy circuit. He returned to live comedy two years He relishes the opportunity that this ago, following an invitation to perform successful affords him, observing: “People seem excited at Stewart Lee’s At Last! The 1981 Show than I am’ retrospective and a realisation that his public by what I’m doing, and most of them are book readings were becoming increasingly young. I remember going to a Randy reminiscent of stand-up. With fewer firmly held Newman concert a few years ago and convictions than in his firebrand youth, he found he everyone was exactly the same age, early sixties, which is a could at least be more flexible, honest and personal in his kind of death for an artist. Whether my audience feel angry storytelling. “I’d always assumed it was impossible but it or not, they certainly seem to like me getting angry.” turns out it was just Coco who couldn’t bear contradictory With his frequently spiky new hour, Sayle is in danger of or complex ideas,” he explains. eclipsing his own reputation. “I don’t necessarily have to be With all “fixed positions” relinquished, his act retains angry with audiences for coming to see me,” he explains. low-level political undertones. But he adds: “It’s also about “There’s no pandering. I’m not feeding or confirming how ridiculous I am really - my hypocrisy and ambiguity. anyone’s prejudices and there are no easy solutions. I’m too It’s very much about not setting myself up as some kind of old for all that and too genial. It’s all on my terms now.” exemplar.” Recalling his late mother heckling him as he read from WHEN & WHERE his coming-of-age-as-a-communist memoir Stalin Ate My Alexei Sayle Homework, as well as reflecting on “selling out” to do The Stand Comedy Club III & IV, 13 - 25 August (not 19), adverts and even his humiliation at the hands of former 6pm. From £12, Tel: 0131 558 7272 comrade-in-arms turned nemesis Ben Elton, the target of his humour is now always to some extent himself.
No need to
shout
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COMEDY ALEXEI SAYLE A U G U S T
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02/07/2013 20:07
ADVERTISING FEATURE
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FASHION
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02/07/2013 22:33
BOOKS KATE MOSSE A U G U S T
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No longer a dirty word, feminism is once more front and centre at this year’s Book Festival, says historical novelist Kate Mosse
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WORDS CLAIRE SMITH 11
Woman in history
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EMINISM IS BACK, SAYS matter what sex they are or where they live bestselling author Kate Mosse, who should have equal opportunity.” believes a whole new generation is As one of the festival’s guest selectors embracing the F-word. she will be hosting events on women in the Mosse, who writes historical novels with arts, on parenting, and discussing heroines female heroines and who co-founded the in children’s literature in an event entitled Where Have All the Brave Girls Gone?. Orange Prize, is one of the authors of Fifty Shades of Feminism. “I have programmed four or As a guest selector at five events very loosely themed ‘Feminism Edinburgh International around the idea of women in had become one Book Festival, the Labyrinth the 21st century. author will host a series “I was thrilled to be of those dirty words, of events that focus on asked to be one of the but young people are the role of women in the festival’s guest selectors using it again and world today. - particularly when there “‘Feminism’ had become defining themselves are people like Margaret one of those dirty words. Atwood, Gavin Esler and that way’ But over the last 18 months Neil Gaiman on the lineor two years it has come back. up.” A lot of young people are using the Mosse will be also word again and defining themselves that talking to audiences in Edinburgh about reway. My son and my daughter both define imagining history from a female perspective themselves as feminists. in her latest novel, Citadel, the third of a trilogy set in wartime France. “This generation are not very political “There were many women active in the but they are very, very focused on fairness. Resistance in the south west of France, but People have realised that things are not not much is written in the history books.” going to get better on their own. The author, who has spent five years “It is much more seen as an attitude of researching and writing Citadel, says it will mind - not about whether you are a man or be her last about women in the Resistance. a woman. It is about saying everyone, no
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“It has been very emotionally exhausting. It is a very grim part of history - reading all these testimonies of women tortured by Klaus Barbie. “But it is has been a huge, huge part of my life.” Mosse has been taking a break from novel writing. She has just finished work on a collection of gothic short stories, The Mistletoe Bride, to be published just before Christmas. And the author herself has recently returned from trips to Australia, South Africa and New Zealand, where she has enjoyed lively debates with audiences of all ages. Mosse has been delighted by the new wave of feminism that has been sweeping the world. “People of my generation, who call themselves feminists, have been waiting for this to happen for years. “It is about women and men being free to be the people they want to be.”
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WHEN & WHERE
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Fifty Shades of Feminism Charlotte Square, 20 August, 3pm. From £8, Tel: 0845 373 5888
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04/07/2013 14:48
THEATRE OMID DJALILI
It’s a dramatic departure from his more familiar comedy roles, but Omid Djalili doesn’t seem to be worried too much about taking on the legend that is The Shawshank Redemption WORDS JAY RICHARDSON
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EING NATURALLY FUNNY can be something of a life sentence, a blessing and a curse. At 22, Omid Djalili was just an aspiring actor, until an undignified squabble with a London tobacconist got him thinking about comedy. “I wasn’t nicked,” he marvels, “because the policeman was laughing so hard that he let me go.” Since then, Djalili’s inherent ridiculousness has helped turn the AngloIranian into one of the UK’s most popular stand-ups, which he has supplemented with an impressive resumé of Hollywood film roles. But he still gets into trouble. Fired from Pirates of the Caribbean III for messing about in a group shot, in Gladiator
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he tested Russell Crowe’s temper after Ridley Scott asked him to befriend the surly Australian for the good of the production. Before the West End run of What The Butler Saw last year, the director had to remind him to not look at the audience on a big laugh. “I wasn’t even aware of it,” the 47-year-old admits sheepishly. All of which makes him an unlikely choice to play Red in The Shawshank Redemption, a role famously imbued with measured, authoritative dignity by Morgan Freeman, when he befriends Tim Robbins’ wrongfully imprisoned banker Andy Dufresne. Unlikely that is, until you appreciate that writers Owen O’Neill and Dave Johns
have returned to Stephen King’s original novella for this Assembly Rooms production of the stirring survival saga, rendering it “more hardcore” in Djalili’s estimation. Notwithstanding that King’s Red was Irish and Djalili’s is half-Native American, and that he’ll be getting into shape because “I don’t think Red should look like an overfed Arab”, he isn’t too concerned about inheriting the role from Freeman, because he’s already followed Rowan Atkinson, “a comedy hero of mine”, as Fagin in the musical Oliver!. Moreover, after playing countless other money-grubbing lowlifes, from a sly slave trader in Gladiator to his forthcoming turn as an unscrupulous jeweller in Sky 1’s Ray Winstone vehicle Moonfleet, he argues that he’s better equipped to be a prison ‘fixer’ than the US screen legend anyway. “Morgan Freeman has so much gravitas,” he ventures. “If there was any chink in that performance, it’s that he wasn’t as wheelerwww.edfestmag.com
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THEATRE OMID DJALILI A U G U S T
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‘If there was any chink in Morgan Freeman’s performance, it’s that he wasn’t as wheeler-dealery as he could be’
dealery as he could be. That’s an aspect I want to bring out more.” Delighted to be working alongside Ian Lavender, with the ‘Dad’s Army’ star playing Brooksie, an institutionalised older prisoner - “he looked completely different when he came in to read for the part, a shock of white hair and soft beard, he really moved me” - Djalili will also be drawing on the experiences of his uncle, imprisoned in Iran for practising the Baha’i faith. A passionate advocate of all unjustly incarcerated Iranians, the comic relishes the defiance of anybody who, like Andy Dufresne, overcomes a corrupt system. He beams: “My uncle was writing letters to my dad saying, ‘Having a great time, the food’s fantastic and the company is marvellous’. It wasn’t even reverse psychology, he’s just a very happy-golucky guy and he could say that even after a beating. They were vetting the letters, thought he was taking the piss and www.edfestmag.com
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eventually just said, ‘Get him out of here’.” Faith has become increasingly important to Djalili’s stand-up, too. For ten years, he would bombard crowds with his highenergy, ‘just off the boat’ shtick, before abruptly dropping the Middle-Eastern accent for the voice of a snorting, posh English thespian. He recalls dismissing Eddie Izzard’s advice that the performance was “too funny”. He said: “It’s bomb, after bomb, after bomb. Then you go, ‘I don’t really talk like that’ and the audience feels cheated.” He went on to create a series of hugely popular, critically acclaimed shows that considered the war on terror, becoming the first comic of Middle-Eastern origin to play New York after 9/11. Today, though, he feels that even shows like 2005’s No Agenda were disconnected and defined by easy crowd pleasing. So he has repositioned himself as an unapologetically religious comic, challenging mainstream, mostly secular audiences “as the new alternative”. Forsaking God-given clowning talent to be nearer one’s spiritual self might seem amusingly ironic. But Djalili is genuinely worried that his new outlook is not as
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hilarious. He’s hoping he can “re-find the funny” by committing to more “authentic”, personal routines, citing US comics Louis CK and Lewis Black as examples of his inspirations. In Edinburgh, his stand-up show will include “a bit you either love or hate, I can’t say what it is. The stuff I did before I can do because I’m a performer, I can switch it on. But the crowd really love it when you’re properly committed.” When he maintains he’s “nowhere near where I want to be yet”, he’s talking about his material. But this is a journey that will ultimately take him back to Iran. “I’m preparing by talking Farsi with friends,” he reveals. “Right now, because I’m Baha’i, I’d get slung into prison. And I can only tell a few dirty jokes. But what Eddie [Izzard] did, performing stand-up in French in Paris was so radical and so difficult, it’s inspirational. I want to connect with Iranians and perform in my mother tongue. I’d love to go back and have a triumphant homecoming when it finally opens up”.
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WHEN & WHERE
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Omid Djalili Live The Assembly Rooms, 13-25 August, 8.40pm. From £15.50, 0844 693 3008 The Shawshank Redemption The Assembly Rooms, 1–25 August (not 12), 4.50pm. From £12, 0844 693 3008
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ART COMING INTO FASHION
FASHION FIRST
With unprecedented access to the CondĂŠ Nast archives in New York, Milan, Paris and London, curator Nathalie Herschdorfer has connected modern fashion photography for the first time as an exhibition. From Edward Steichen in 1911, to visionaries such as David Bailey, Guy Bourdin, Erwin Blumenfeld and Corinne Day, these luminaries have lit up the pages of Vogue, Glamour and many more for almost a century.
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ART COMING INTO FASHION (clockwise from left) Clifford Coffin: American Vogue (1949), Sebastian Kim: Teen Vogue (2011), Constantin Joffé: American Vogue (1945), Deborah Turbeville: American Vogue (1975), Sølve Sundsbø: Spring/ Summer (2011), Albert Watson: American Vogue (1977),
A U G U S T
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WHEN & WHERE
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Coming into Fashion: A Century of Photography at Condé Nast 15 June - 8 September, City Art Centre, From £2.50 Tel: 0131 529 3993
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04/07/2013 14:54
DANCE WUNDERKAMMER
Oh, whatacircus! Beyond physical prowess, beyond comedy and grace; Wunderkammer may just move you to tears WORDS MARK FISHER
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T’S AN HOUR BEFORE CURTAIN UP ON THE stage of Madrid’s Teatro Circo Price. High up on a pole, an acrobat is balanced weightlessly, as if he’s drifting in space. In his hand is a peacock’s feather. He takes aim and propels it downwards. At floor level, another acrobat catches its stem on his forehead and balances it magically in the air. “That’s my new favourite trick,” he cries. It’s impressive stuff. And it’s not even in the show. We’re nearing the end of the lengthy exercises the seven performers of Australia’s Circa go through before every performance of ‘Wunderkammer’. They start with notes from the previous night’s show, get into gear with an hourlong warm-up, then try out fresh ideas for the evening’s performance in their daily ‘show call’. What this supple young bunch of athletes get up to even as they limber up – handstands, backflips, human pyramids, tricks with feathers – is an Olympian spectacle in itself. Which is why it comes as something of a relief to discover their director is as much of a klutz as I am. “I can’t even do a forward roll,” I confess to Yaron Lifschitz as he draws on a post-show cigarette in the balmy Spanish air. “I’ve done one and I’m still recovering,” he laughs. “I get to take out my own physical inadequacy on a bunch of people who aren’t physically inadequate. That’s a rare privilege and perhaps a sick enterprise.” What sets Circa out from the new-circus pack, as those who saw its eponymous 2009 Fringe hit will attest, is Lifschitz’s mixing of emotional depth with the performers’ physical prowess. The company’s mission statement is to move the heart, the mind and the soul. “Our work tries to make the audience feel something beyond wow and surprise and risk,” he says. “It aims to be the expression of an emotion that doesn’t yet have a name.” It’s an approach that takes its toll on the
company. “Last night after the show one of our performers was in tears – not because anything was wrong, just because it’s really intense,” says Freyja Edney, a whizz at the hula-hoop. “We’ve all been there. It’s a show where you give so much that you affect your emotions in a profound way.” With the mood varying from free-floating poetry to dystopian chaos by way of whimsical comedy and tender interdependence, ‘’Wunderkammer’ often seems as much like a piece of exquisite modern dance as circus. Lifschitz, however, is careful to make the distinction. “The movement languages are drawn from circus, although we do use some techniques that are drawn from dance to modulate those languages,” he says. “In dance, the movement is the thing, whereas here, I hope there’s a sense of the performance and the people. At its core, these are highly skilled 38
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WHEN & WHERE Circa: Wunderkammer Underbelly, 31 July–26 August (not 7, 13, 20), 5pm. From £12, Tel: 0844 545 8252
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04/07/2013 14:57
DANCE WUNDERKAMMER A U G U S T
‘Our work tries to make the audience feel something beyond wow and surprise and risk’
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acrobats doing difficult, dangerous, complex things.” Because so much rests on their agility and precision, the acrobats are central to the creation of the show, both in the routines they perform and in their night-by-night spontaneity. Costume designer Libby McDonnell says she never knows what outfits they will turn up in from scene to scene; they just grab whatever takes their fancy backstage. “Our methods are based on a kind of jazz,” says Lifschitz. “The performers are the authors of tonight’s performance. Andy Warhol said that sex and parties were the two things you had to be there for: I’d add circus to that. It’s created in front of you and the risks are real.”
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Performer Lewis West agrees: “You have to be in there feeling it and living it. The shows change. A scene might one day be happy if before the show you’re feeling happy and one day might be more intense or have a harder edge. That keeps it real and fresh.” For the acrobats, it’s a case of double exposure. In this ‘cabinet of wonders’, they reveal themselves both emotionally and physically. In scene after scene, they remove their clothes, stripping off the layers as if to bare their souls. Jarred Dewey even manages to strip while perched precariously on a rope string. It means they get through a lot of clothes. McDonnell’s costumes may be skimpy but they account for most of the production’s excess baggage as it tours the world. “We play with the idea of how many ways you can strip,” says West. “Sure, you can strip your clothes, but can you strip your identity, your emotions, your humanity?” It’s an open-ended question. Lifschitz, meanwhile, has a more fundamental reason for seeing ‘Wunderkammer’: “Circus for me is simply a place in which the performers do stuff that mortals can’t do.” EDINBURGH FESTIVALS 2013
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A TO Z www.edfestmag.com ANDREW MAXWELL: BANANA KINGDOM Underbelly, Bristo Square, 31 July-26 August (not 12) Sardonic, laid-back and firing on all cylinders, Andrew Maxwell is as savvy and smart as ever with his new show.
RED HOT CHILLI PIPERS BEARDYMAN: ONE ALBUM PER HOUR
The Queen’s Hall, 14 August Blazing with attitude, these Scottish rockers will have you dizzy from their sheer energy and talent.
Gilded Balloon Teviot, 15-21 August What it says on the tin. Beardyman produces a masterclass in high-production music based on audience’s suggestions – concocting an album in his hour long set.
DIANE SPENCER: HURRICANE DIANE Gilded Balloon Teviot, 31 July-25 August (not 12) Confessing all from her rooftop set, Diane Spencer tells her dark stories and hilarious observations in her trademark candid style. 40
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FELICITY WARD: IRREGARDLESS Underbelly, Bristo Square, 31 July-26 August (not 12) Award-winning Felicity Ward takes us through what’s on her mind, and the silliness of being a comic as a grown-up.
LITTLE ERN ERIC AND Te viot,
on Gilded Ballo ) gust (not 7, 14 Au 6 -2 31 July e legendary th to e ut ib tr ving A vivid and lo g some of the tin ea cr d Wise, re Morecambe an d moments. duo’s best-love www.edfestmag.com
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AUSTENTATIOUS: AN IMPROVISED JANE AUSTEN NOVEL Laughing Horse @ The Counting House 1-25 August (not 13) Clever, hilarious and free with their favours, Austentatious are back for a second Fringe and have lost none of their charm.
THE GINGE, THE GEORDIE AND THE GEEK Just the Tonic at The Caves, 1-25 August (not 6, 13, 20) This threesome have now made it to the big time with their upcoming BBC2 series. Watch the best sketches from the show, along with stage favourites.
HAIRY MACLARY AND FRIENDS FEATURING SLINKY MALINKI Assembly George Square, 2-26 August (not 12) Fans of the story books – young and old alike – will fall in love with these interactive adventures. With two new stories and plenty of favourites.
JASON MANFORD: FIRST WORLD PROBLEMS
KILLERS
Venue150 @ EICC, 20-25 August More banter from Manchester’s infamous comedian. Likeable, chirpy and full of insight.
The Assembly Rooms, 1-25 August (not 12) From the creator of Taggart comes this incredible drama, revealing the secret letters between some of Britain’s most notorious and reviled murderers, and their adoring ‘fans’.
MR WINCHESTER: CLASSIC ENTERTAINMENT! Pleasance Dome, 19-25 August From the man who brought us Angelos Epithemiou and Tom Verall comes Mr Winchester, packed with jokes and featuring a top performance from Dan Skinner himself.
LEE NELSON LIVE Assembly George Square, 12-24 August The hottest thing in character comedy, Lee Nelson’s alter egos will be messing around with audience interaction and laugh-a-minute gags. 41
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A TO Z www.edfestmag.com LATE NIGHT GIMP FIGHT
OUT OF HIS SKIN Zoo Southside, 2-26 August (not 7, 14, 21) This all-male group of contemporary dancers pushes the boundaries of fitness and timing to leave you breathless.
Pleasance Dome, 31 July-25 August Five men in thongs and gimp masks sounds vaguely threatening, but trust us when we say that these sketches will have you falling off your seat.
RUMPELSTILTSKIN Sweet Grassmarket, 19-23 August A young team of actor/musicians entertain and teach the little ones as they’re taken on an adventure through Kingdom Quagmire.
SEANN WALSH: THE LIE-IN KING Pleasance Courtyard, 31 July – 25 August (not 12) Hot talent from Brighton, Seann will be performing his slick stand-up, packed with gags and charm.
WARDENS Assembly Roxy, 1-26 August (not 14) What if the country united against the tyranny of traffic wardens? Riots hit the streets and heads will roll in this play starring Thom Tuck.
VAMM The Assembly Rooms, 24 August Three beautifully gifted musicians, two fiddles and a låtmandola will enchant with incredible Celtic arrangements.
XARA VAUGHAN New Town Theatre, 1-25 August (not 5, 12, 19) Cabaret star Xara lived as a Buddhist nun before escaping the Himalayas to join a punk band.
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THE BIG BITE-SIZE BREAKFAST SHOW: QUEST FOR TURKEY Pleasance Dome, 31 July-26 August (not 13, 20) Short, sweet and a breath of fresh air, Bite-Size give consistently brilliant performances to get you set up for the rest of the day.
PIFF THE MAGIC DRAGON & MR PIFFLES Pleasance Dome, 1-25 August Illusions dazzle, while the World’s First Magic Performing Chihuaha Mr Piffles makes for an adorable sidekick.
TRICITY VOGUE: CALAMITOUS LIAISONS Laughing Horse @ The Counting House 1-18 August (not 12) Get there early for this free show, as cabaret seductress Tricity and her trusty ukulele are sure to bring in the crowds.
D OTHER TIDDLER ATN LES TERRIFIC A re,
YURTAKIDS! Summerhall, 3-25 August (not 12, 19) Children’s theatre with a difference, sharing family favourites such as The Red Bike, all inside a yurt.
isto Squa Underbelly, Br (not 14) 1-26 August Gruffalo’s Julia a book by The m eatre Adapted fro ng Scamp Th e award-winni s. ie Donaldson, th or st of n ical collectio perform a mag
ZOE LYONS: POP-UP COMIC The Assembly Rooms, 1-25 August Satire, sharp wit and one-liners that cut through the nonsense. Zoe is a TV regular, but she’s back on stage and doing what she does best. Book early.
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04/07/2013 15:00
THEATRE PHILL JUPITUS
THREE GIGS PHILL Phill Jupitus muses on his full Fringe diary, the best haggis burger in Edinburgh and earning his hash browns WORDS AMY MCGOLDRICK
How many years have you been coming to the Fringe?
I suppose my first time would have been the early 1990s. There was a fairly long time when I didn’t go, but I must have been about 15-20 times by now. What makes it so special for you?
Edinburgh is four weekends, three weeks, and you learn a kind of discipline in doing regular shows. It weeds out people with poor attitudes. I’m often fascinated by people who get dispirited by the Edinburgh experience; there are 2,500 shows on, and of course some aren’t going to do as well as others. But the point is, you’re part of that mélange, that mix. You going and doing your little show that only gets eight people a day makes you as valid as someone doing the Conference Centre. Is there something about the crowds that makes it special?
Along with Boston and Verona, it’s one of my three favourite cities in the world. It’s an absolutely brilliant place. Even if you take the Fringe out of the equation, Edinburgh is still the best place in the world, then you throw the Fringe on top of that – there’s the cherry. I can’t even begin to explain how magical it is to me. What’s your best memory of Edinburgh?
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THEATRE PHILL JUPITUS What’s the best advice you’ve ever been given?
I like to keep doing lots of different things. The Fringe in and of itself is fun to do; I go to shows – admittedly not that many, because I’m doing several in a day. Do you look at the brochure beforehand?
I was in a pub recently and saw the Fringe brochure in front of me so I picked it up. I’m looking at it in front of me and I’m drinking my pint, and I’ve decided I’m not going to look. I’m only going to go and see the things people say, “You should definitely see this.” You’re doing very diverse performances this year; tell us about them.
At 1pm, I shall be appearing in Making News, a play written by Robert Khan and Tom Salinsky, which is about news gathering at the BBC. I play the Director General of the BBC, Roger
WHEN & WHERE
Eddie Izzard once said to me that the audience are there to see you, so what you say is almost irrelevant, which really helped. What they like in comedians is speed of thought. It’s about you putting unvarnished thoughts out there at speed. I quite like that as a way of looking at what we do. When I got on to TV, Micky Hutton, also a stand-up, said: “It’s just television, and it won’t be around forever. It’s very much a by-product of your job,” and I do view TV like that. TV has been really lovely to me, and allowed me to work with some wonderful people and have terrific fun, especially on something like QI. Sitting in a room with that man [Stephen Fry], and letting the stuff fall out of his head is incredible. We do no preparation for it. I literally just turn up, and we start recording. I used to ask what the questions would be about, but now I don’t want to know anything. What happens, happens.
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Seabright. As someone who’s worked at the BBC a lot in my life, it’s fascinating. At Do you have any hidden talents? the BBC’s best, it’s the most innovative and The terrible thing about me is that I creative media organisation in the world, prostitute all my talents for my job. It used and at its worst, it’s like the civil service – a to be that I played musical instruments at government department. When I was at 6 Music, I got tired of arguing. I didn’t see the home, but now I’m in a band [The Idiot Bastard Band] with Ade Edmondson, Neil point in them hiring me if they were just Innes and Rowland Rivron. That has now going to give me lists of records to play. On been turned into part of the job. I’m a my first show, they made me play Coldplay. cartoonist, but again Robin Ince hired me They made a liar of me on my first day. to do some cartoons for the New Statesman I have a couple of hours off before last Christmas, so no hidden ones. I can heading to the Jam House at 5pm, where cook, bet you didn’t know that. Man I’m doing Zeitgeist Limbo. This is my Porky the Poet Free Fringe alive, I can cook up a risotto. show, so that’s available for I’ve had more commitment anyone to get into. Then, at ‘Your show that to risottos than I’ve had 8.30pm at the Pleasance to some girlfriends. It gets eight people Dome, the Phill Jupitus demands a lot of you, but a day makes you as there’s something very Experiment will be taking place. Deborah valid as someone in therapeutic about just Frances White, who is an sitting and smashing the the Conference extraordinarily brilliant starch out of rice. Where are your favourite writer and improviser, sets Centre’ places to eat and drink in up scenarios where I have to Edinburgh? play a character on stage on my The Square, down by own, but she is like a disembodied The Stand Comedy Club. I absolutely love voice, talking to me offstage. Situations the William Wallace Burger, it’s amazing. are contrived by her, the team and the It’s half-haggis, half-Aberdeen Angus beef. audience. Every night, I don’t know what’s I love breakfast at The Balmoral. There’s going to be done to me. We’ve done it something about that place that’s so cool. about five times now and it is a bit of a I like Zest, the Indian restaurant by The headfuck. But it’s tremendous fun. The last Stand. Bar Napoli rocks hard – the lads one we did, people simply didn’t believe we are great, you can sit in there until the sun hadn’t written it beforehand. I’m also doing comes up, eating amazing food. I also enjoy a benefit gig for Stonewall. Kay’s and The Oxford. I had cranachan for the first time in my life the other day. It should just be called crack.
Phill Jupitus and Deborah Frances-White: Voices in Your Head – The Phill Jupitus Experiment Pleasance Dome, 31 July – 26 August (not 12), 8.30pm. From £12.50, 0131 556 6550. Phill Jupitus is Porky the Poet in Zeitgeist Limbo The Jam House, 3 – 24 August (not 12), 5pm. Free, 0131 226 4380. Making News Pleasance Courtyard, 31 July – 25 August (not 12), 1pm. From £14, 0131 556 6550.
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Have you ever been up Arthur’s Seat?
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Yeah, last year. Twice. I try and do it every year. I always go up Calton Hill. If the weather’s good, I get up early and try and do it first thing, before breakfast. If you want a big breakfast, you have to go up the crag at least, and if you want a side of hash browns you have to go up Arthur’s Seat. EDINBURGH FESTIVALS 2013
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COMEDY GEMMA WHELAN A U G U S T
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Both sides now
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Not content with making the most memorable entrance ever on Game Of Thrones, Gemma Whelan is riding into Edinburgh with two very different shows
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WORDS CLAIRE SMITH
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ANS OF GAME OF THRONES will know Gemma Whelan as Yara Greyjoy - the spirited heir to the Iron Islands who was first seen giving her unwitting brother Theon a ride on horseback to her father’s castle. “People ask if they have seen me in it and I tell them, ‘Yes, I’m the one that gets fingered on a horse!” Whelan has a reputation for playing out-of-the-ordinary female roles - she was a cross-dressing gangster Rachel Crabbe in the West End hit One Man, Two Guvnors and festival audiences this year will see her in the world premiere of Philip Ridley’s new play Dark Vanilla Jungle, a psychological drama set in the criminal underworld. “I knew Philip Ridley because he wrote the screenplay for the film The Krays,” she says. “I watched it when I was researching the role of Rachel, and I loved it.” This year Whelan is also doing her first full-length comedy
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show at the Fringe, as Chastity Butterworth, terrible, risqué things. She curtsies a lot. a buttoned up out of time heroine with She is very grateful to the audience for a filthy mouth. “I’m going to be busy this any laughter or applause. She is a woman year,” she says. who is of her time and who is out of touch She can’t reveal too much about the with what’s going on in the world, but plot of Dark Vanilla Jungle. “We has this magic little world that is want to keep the audience going on in her mind.” ‘The more guessing,” she says. Shenoah Allen of the prim and “But I can say it covers Pajama Men, who are gangs, sexual abuse and producing the show, says proper I childhood neglect. It’s Chastity Butterworth was dressed up about someone who a natural choice. “Gemma the more filthy grows up craving family is a brilliant young comic, and home.” extremely charming, my material The role of Andrea is ridiculous and a fantastic was’ multidimensional and she actor. relishes it. “The writing is “Comedy’s a man’s great,” she says. “And it’s very funny game so often, but a as well. But as the character unravels you chance to present a creative woman on start to see the darkness underneath.” stage is a chance we’d like to take.” When it comes to comedy, Whelan, who originally trained as a dancer, always liked WHEN & WHERE wild comics - people who say unsayable things. She tried a couple of gigs as a standChastity Butterworth & The Spanish Hamster up but struggled to find her voice. Assembly Roxy, 31 July-26 August (not “Then someone came to see me and 12), 5.45pm. From £9, 0131 623 3030 said, ‘There’s something of the Jane Austen Dark Vanilla Jungle, about you. Why don’t you dress up? Pleasance Courtyard, 31 July-26 August “I discovered that the more prim and (not 13 August), 3pm. proper I dressed up the more filthy my From £6.50, 0131 556 6550 material was. Chastity Butterworth is very buttoned up but she is saying these EDINBURGH FESTIVALS 2013
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COMEDY ABANDOMAN
Believe
A U G U S T
the hype
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Comic rapper Abandoman talks Kanye, Jason Byrne and his favourite things about Edinburgh
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WORDS AMY MCGOLDRICK
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What’s your show about this year?
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It’s a big hip-hop mash-up show. The songs all come from chatting with the audience. We’re going as a four-piece band, so we’re going to do more musical styles, and songs will crash together more than they have before.
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What’s left on your bucket list to accomplish?
Gigging with Kanye, that’s something I want to make happen. That, plus little frivolous things. Myself and a lad from the band have taken dance classes and it’s really hard. We spend two hours learning all our moves, and then she puts on the music at the end and we realise that it comes to about eight seconds.
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Best gig ever?
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We did Brixton Academy, opening for Ed Sheeran at the start of 2012. We were super nervous. We got out there and I said: “Hello, I’m Rob and I’m an Irish rapper,” and elements of the crowd booed. Just from that line. But the gig just turned out to be so lovely.
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Is Edinburgh a good gig?
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‘I listened to all gangsta rap. I picked a side in the same way people pick a football team’
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I love Edinburgh; it’s both intimidating and brilliant. You get to play your show 27 nights in a row. I love that. Every year I go up, I always see something that’s a little bit insane which I didn’t know could be done. Last year, I saw Vocal Electric Circus, who were an acapella group doing amazing mash-ups with their voices. Who were your great role models?
I grew up in Dublin, and at the time there was no Internet and I didn’t know many people were into hiphop. I listened to all the gangsta rap; I picked a side. I identified with the West Coast, in the same way people pick a football team. Comedically, I went to see Jason Byrne when I was 17, and walked away thinking it was the most fantastic thing I’d ever seen. I had always seen stand-up as fairly traditional, I didn’t think people could improvise like that. Anyone you’re looking forward to watching?
There’s a couple of Irish crews, like Lords of Strut, who are into riverdancing/hip-hop combinations. Aisling Bea won So You Think You’re Funny and she’s amazing, so I’m looking forward to seeing her show.
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Where is your favourite place to eat in Edinburgh?
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Henderson’s is really good, and that was the first time I had haggis. I didn’t realise it was vegetarian haggis, but it was so tasty.
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Where’s your favourite place to drink?
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WHEN & WHERE
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Abandoman: Moonrock Boombox Underbelly Bristo Sq, 1-26 Aug (not 12, 19) 8.45pm. From £13.50 Tel: 0844 545 8252
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I walk out of a gig and will grab one pint rather than go boozing. I love the courtyard spaces. The Pleasance Courtyard’s lovely, the Udderbelly drinking area is really nice. I love being outdoors, and having an excuse to drink outside. I feel like I’m drinking and 16 again, rapping, which is pretty much how Abandoman started.
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VIVIENNE SMITH MANAGEMENT PRESENTS
SUNDAY TIMES
THE TIMES
SUNDAY TELEGRAPH
9.20PM 2-25 August
(NOT 12 & 13 AUGUST)
ED BYRNE
CROWD PLEASER
DVD AVAILABLE NOW
www.edbyrne.com
www.edfringe.com PRESENTS
SEPTEMBER: 06 LISKEARD Sterts Theatre 21 SHETLAND Clickimin Centre 24 OBAN Corran Halls 25 DUNOON Queen's Hall 26 PERTH Concert Hall 27 DUNFERMLINE Alhambra 28 ABERDEEN Music Hall 29 INVERNESS Eden Court Theatre OCTOBER: 01 OXFORD New Theatre 02 LLANDUDNO Venue Cymru 03 DERBY Assembly Hall 04 MIDDLESBROUGH Town Hall 05 SHEFFIELD City Hall 07 LEEDS City Varieties 08 LEEDS City Varieties 09 IPSWICH Regent 10 TUNBRIDGE WELLS Assembly Halls 11 BELFAST Waterfront 14 DUDLEY Concert Hall 15 YORK Barbican
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01579 362 382 01595 745 555 01631 567 333 01369 702 800 01738 621 031 01383 740 384 01224 641 122 01463 234 234 0844 871 3020 01492 872 000 01332 255 800 01642 729 729 01142 789 789 0113 243 0808 0113 243 0808 01473 433 100 01892 530 613 028 9033 4455 01384 812 812 0844 854 2757
Ed ByrnE on tour in Autumn 2013:
17 BRIGHTON The Dome 01273 709 709 18 STEVENAGE Concert Hall@Gordon Craig Theatre 01438 363 200 19 HIGH WYCOMBE Swan 01494 512 000 22 TELFORD Oakengates 01952 382 382 23 READING Hexagon 0118 960 6060 25 BIRMINGHAM Symphony Hall 0121 345 0600 26 BRADFORD St George's Hall 01274 432 000 28 JERSEY Opera House 01534 511 115 29 JERSEY Opera House 01534 511 115 30 SOUTHAMPTON Guildhall 023 8063 2601 31 LEICESTER De Montfort Hall 0116 233 3111 NOVEMBER: 01 CARLISLE Sands Centre 01228 633 766 02 GLASGOW Pavilion 0141 332 1846 06 PLYMOUTH Pavilions 0845 146 1460 07 BOURNEMOUTH Pavilions 0844 576 3000 08 SALISBURY City Hall 01722 434 434 09 NEW BRIGHTON Floral Pavillion 0151 666 0000 10 BUXTON Opera House 0845 127 2190 12 SHREWSBURY Theatre Severn 01743 281 281 13 SWANSEA Grand Theatre 01792 475 715 14 MILTON KEYNES Milton Keynes Theatre 0844 871 7652
15 CAMBRIDGE Corn Exchange 17 BASINGSTOKE The Anvil 19 KING’S LYNN Corn Exchange 20 SOUTHEND Cliffs Pavillion 21 NORTHAMPTON Derngate 22 CHELTENHAM Town Hall 24 LIVERPOOL Empire 26 GUILDFORD G Live 27 AYLESBURY Waterside Theatre 28 NOTTINGHAM Royal Concert Hall 29 CARDIFF St David's Hall DECEMBER: 01 ST ALBANS Alban Arena 03 HALIFAX Victoria Theatre 04 COVENTRY Warwick Arts Centre 06 BRISTOL Colston Hall 09 CHESTERFIELD Winding Wheel 10 SCUNTHORPE Baths Hall 11 NEWCASTLE City Hall 12 MANCHESTER Apollo 13 LONDON Hammersmith Apollo
01223 357 851 01256 844 244 01553 764 864 01702 351 135 01604 624 811 0844 576 2210 0844 871 3017 0844 7701 797 0844 871 7607 0115 989 5555 029 2087 8444 01727 844 488 01422 351 158 02476 524 524 0117 922 3686 01246 345 222 0844 854 2776 0191 277 8030 08444 777 677 0844 249 1000
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COMEDY DAVID BADDIEL
ALMOST FAMOUS It’s been so long since David Baddiel did the stand-up circuit, he fears his audience may not recognise him anymore - or will confuse him with someone else WORDS JULIAN HALL
T
HIS YEAR’S FRINGE SEES the return of a clutch of comedy legends including Alexei Sayle, Jenny Eclair and the man who co-owns the honour of making comedy ‘the new rock ‘n’ roll’, David Baddiel. It is 15 years since Baddiel was last at the Fringe and his return with ‘Fame: Not The Musical’ is one of the most eagerly anticipated shows this year, fully unveiling itself after a number of celebrity-attended London premieres. Baddiel, former comedy sparring partner to Rob Newman and later ‘I am Frank Skinner, and repeatedly now an author and mistaken film maker, insists he is “not that famous” for Ben Elton now. He has chosen by Andrew to return to stand-up with a personal view Lloyd-Webber’ on what it is like to be in the public eye. “It’s about the disorientation you feel when when you are represented as something that isn’t quite you, living with a 200ft projection of yourself,” the 49-yearold explains. The idea came from a talk Baddiel gave to 5 x 15, a London-based venture that gets speakers to tell “unscripted stories of passion, obsession and adventure”. “It got really big laughs,” he says, “surprisingly to me, so I thought if I was going to return to stand-up, which I had been thinking about, I wanted to come back with a coherent statement and not just do gag-gag-gag stuff, which didn’t feel appropriate for a bloke approaching 50.” It feels like the right kind of show for Baddiel to come back with after so long, grown up, and with the right perspective to look back on the heady stadium days of comedy he shared with Newman, and the crest of the ‘lad comedy’ wave he rode with Fantasy Football and Frank Skinner. Nonetheless, talking about one’s celebrity status, however modestly, comes with a stigma. “I had never seen anyone talk about what it was like to be famous before,” admits Baddiel. “I think it’s because people are
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worried that talking about their fame will set them apart from ‘ordinary people’ which is a description I hate to use, but you know what I mean.” Much of what Baddiel has to say comes from mistaken identity, both the concept of the distortion of the self by the media, and in the classic sense of the phrase. “I am repeatedly mistaken for Ben Elton by Andrew Lloyd-Webber,” he reveals, adding, “I have an archetypal beardy, glassesy, Jewish face. There are loads of people online who say they look like me they don’t, but they say they have been mistaken for me.” At other times Baddiel’s fame game has played out weirdly because of an altogether different type of freak occurrence, one involving a camel. “The only photos from the marriage of Russell Brand and Katy Perry was of me and my daughter on a camel,” he explains. “Russell had given strict instructions not to leave the compound, but my daughter convinced me to go outside for a camel ride.” Baddiel’s Edinburgh run is likely to be much less of a bumpy ride, with a prevailing wind of goodwill gusting him northwards. Prior to taking himself “out of the game”, the Edinburgh Fringe was a regular stomping ground. And, though he says he is not much of a drinker, “drinking” is perhaps his abiding memory of the city. “I mean that in various ways,” he qualifies. “Firstly, there is the smell of the breweries, which is very evocative. Then there is drinking itself. I was doing a panel one year and afterwards found a stall where they were giving away free flavoured vodkas. I ended up talking to William G Stewart from Fifteen-to-One, with him giving me advice about showbusiness. The next thing I remember is waking up in my hotel room. To this day I’m not sure if he carried me there.”
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WHEN & WHERE
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Fame: Not the Musical Assembly George Square, 31 July - 11 August, 19:30pm. From £15, Tel: 0131 623 3030
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FESTIVAL FAVOURITES CABARET
Whether a Fringe firsttimer or an old pro, these are the acts you won’t want to miss WORDS AMY MCGOLDRICK
Acts of love
BRIEFS Describe your troupe in three words. Brazen, gifted and idiotic. What’s your show about this year? We are really excited about bringing something sparkly and new. The show is still all male, all vaudeville and all trash. Best gig ever? When we eventually get to be back up dancers for Dolly Parton! Briefs: The Second Coming Assembly George Square, 1-26 August (not 13), 7.50pm. From £14, Tel: 0131 623 3030
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FESTIVAL FAVOURITES MUSIC
TIGER LILLIES How would you describe your music? Impossible to describe! Satanic Folk, Death Oompa, Belgian Street Opera, Twisted Cabaret, Brechtian Punk. Still haven’t found one that really fits that well. Best gig ever? We played a short free concert for government protestors in Syntagma Square, Athens in 2011 that had riot police firing off tear gas while we were playing to thousands of people. That was pretty intense and emotional! Most embarrassing moment on stage? We played to a full opera house in Seattle without a soundcheck as it was a festival, and immediately realised as we started to play the first song that the accordion had been damaged on the flight over and all the buttons were locked down. We went offstage to try and fix it and when we returned 20 minutes later, the audience had all left. The Tiger Lillies – Live in Concert Underbelly, Bristo Square, 6-17 August (not 5, 12), 10.20pm. From £14, Tel: 0844 545 8252 www.edfestmag.com
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FESTIVAL FAVOURITES COMEDY JENNY ÉCLAIR What’s your show about? Eclairious is a sixty-minute scream for attention with fart gags, some stuff about spies, the joy of sneezing, a 50th birthday re-enactment and a visit to the doctors, amongst others. I’m also at the Book Festival for my new book, Life, Death and Vanilla Slices.
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Can people can learn to be funny? Some people have naturally funny bones. But sometimes the fakers are good. Describe yourself in 3 words. Short-sighted HRT user. Most embarrassing moment? My tampon’s slid out; more than once.
How do you manage to relax over this month of mayhem? I take my swimming costume and pretend I’m going swimming. When it’s too much, I go under the duvet. Jenny Éclair: Eclairious Gilded Balloon Teviot, 2-17 August, 7.30pm. From £13, 0131 622 6552
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Sweet Grassmarket: Apex City Hotel, Grassmarket Venue 18 • Box Office 0131 243 3596 • www.sweetvenues.com
Two Is The Beginning Of The End
Aug 19-25 19:40 (1hr) £8.50 (£6.50) A fast-paced, brutally poignant coming-of-age story
A Family Beyond The Army
Aug 12-25 16:00 (1hr) £8.00 New writing with proceeds going to charity
Can You Hear Seagulls?
The Complete History of the BBC (Abridged)
Aug 12-25 18:35 (1hr 15mins) £9.00 (£7.00) (Preview: 12th - £7) A history of the greatest public broadcasting institution ever
Hooked
Aug 1-6,8-13,15-20,22-25 22:30 (1hr) £8.00 Seven notorious and obsessed 20th Century women
Dean Friedman's Smelly Feet
Dean Friedman Words & Music
Aug 7-11,14-18,21-25 21:00 (1hr 30mins) £18.00 (£16.00) Legendary songwriter performs hits, Ariel, Lucky Stars, Lydia & more
The Lara Collective
Aug 15-16 19:45 (45mins) £10.00(£8.00) Folk, indie and ethnic vocal styling by this Greek singer/songwriter
Survival of The Fittest
Drops of Fire Memorias Perdidas
Aug 1-11 17:15 (1hr 10mins) £8.50(£7.00) The life in music of celebrated flamenco dancer Marc Aurelio
The Prima Party Scrapbook
Aug 1-18 19:40 (1hr) £8.00(£6.00) Join Matthew on a wild journey of self-discovery
Sweater Curse: A Yarn About Love
Dean Friedman’s
A Children’s Musical that Really STINKS!
Aug 3-11 14:40 (1hr) £8.50 (£7.50) Funny and thought-provoking story of one couple at the end of life
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Aug 1-6, 8-13, 15-20, 22-25 (1hr) £8 (£5.00) (£20 Family Ticket) A children’s toe tickling quest to cure Pete’s smelly feet
Aug 1-11 15:30 (50mins) £9.50(£8.00) (Preview: 1st - £7.50) Energetic double bill of contemporary dance combined with martial arts
Aug 1-26 13:15 (1hr) £8.00(£6.00) (Preview: 4th & 5th - £6) Smart new comedy about love, movies, great literature and unfinished jumpers
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LUCY PORTER What’s your show about this year? My show’s called Northern Soul and it’s basically about my quest to lose Croydon and to shed myself of my South London shackles. What’s your most embarrassing moment on stage? I did one performance completely drunk; I was at a thing in the afternoon and forgot I had a gig that evening. I got a call asking where I was, so I had to leap in a taxi and get to this gig. I don’t remember any of it; my first gag of the night was downing a pint of Guinness in one! It went from bad to worse.
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Who were your great motivators/role models? Dave Allen is always the first name who springs to mind. I still adore his comedy and everything about him. Is there something on your bucket list that you’ve yet to accomplish? I’ve never done Late and Live. Every year I wonder if I can be bothered. But it is the rite of passage for every comedian, as it’s meant to be the toughest gig in Edinburgh. How do you manage to relax over the Fringe? I have two very small children with me. I know when I get home it’s time to put
them to bed, give them their baths and they’re always in a bad mood! Stage time is the most relaxing. No one’s asking me for anything, and the audience just sit down and shut up rather than asking me for a banana or wiping their nose on my sleeve! What would you be doing if you weren’t a performer? I always say I’m a florist, because I would have been in another life. Although it’s a lot of early mornings! Lucy Porter: Northern Soul The Stand Comedy Club, 31 July25 August (not 12, 19), 5.10pm. From £9, Tel: 0131 558 7272
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FESTIVAL FAVOURITES COMEDY
JASON BYRNE Tell us about your new show, Father Figure, which is currently being filmed? It’s about a stay-at-home dad, who is surrounded by mayhem. My real life, really. It’s adapted from my BBC Radio 2 series, coming to BBC One. Describe yourself in three words. Tall, red and squinty.
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Is Edinburgh a good venue to debut comedy? If you mean a new show, then no. But, if you mean a good platform for a new act with a honed show, then yes, it’s the best place in the world. What would you be doing if you weren’t a performer? A vet. I trained for three years, but I kept stealing kittens.
Best gig ever? I did a show in Donegal, Letterkenny, in a home which was for the physically handicapped. You haven’t lived until you’ve been heckled by a voice computer. What’s your most embarrassing moment on stage? When I asked a man how old he was, he said he wasn’t a
man, he was a woman. I then turned to his/her sister to ask her if this was true, and then the sister turned out to actually be her brother. Jason Byrne’s Special Eye Underbelly, Bristo Square, 31 July-25 August (not 12, 19), 9pm. From £16.50. Tel: 0844 545 8252
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FESTIVAL FAVOURITES COMEDY
MILTON JONES Anyone you’re looking forward to watching perform this year? I won’t be watching comedy. Maybe some Romanian acrobats or Zulu ventrioloquists. How do you manage to relax over this month of mayhem? Go for runs, watching DVD boxsets. Counting clouds (one big one, as I remember, in Edinburgh). Did you always want to be a performer? No, generally I don’t like to be around show-offs. My parents are shy people – they never use a car horn. Is there anything you’d have done differently over your career thus far? There are many individual mistakes in individual shows. But they’ve all gone down to experience. Who were your great motivators/role models? Rowan Atkinson, Ronnie Barker and Leonard Rossiter. What’s on your bucket list? Buy a bucket.
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Is Edinburgh a good venue to debut comedy? It’s good for a young comic to do a lot of gigs in a row and become ‘Edinburgh sharp’. For pros it’s a good incentive to write new stuff. Describe yourself in three words. Quiet. Sharp. Clumsy. Best gig ever? The first one I ever got paid for. A tiny club in London. What would you be doing if you weren’t a performer? Some sort of teacher (supply, probably). Most embarrassing moment on stage? Never admit to embarrassment. What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received? “Never give up” – Edward VIII. How does live stand-up compare to a radio? You can read a radio performance. Plus no one heckles. But you can’t pull faces. Milton Jones On The High Road Assembly Hall, 2-14 August (not 5, 6), 7.30pm. £16.50, 0131 623 3030
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COMPETITION www.edfestmag.com
Win a Golden Ticket
for a fun-filled weekend at the Festival
Y
OU AND A FRIEND HAVE the chance to spend the ultimate weekend at the Festival over the weekend of August 10th & 11th. Start your festival fun with weekend VIP tickets to Foodies Festival at Inverleith Park, a bottle of bubbly to share and front row seats to see Stephen K Amos and Gyles Brandreth cooking in the Chefs Theatre. At the Book Festival on Sunday 11th August, you will see Sandi Totsvig talk about her new novel Valentine Grey in ‘From the Norse’s Mouth’ at 11.30am. You can follow in the footsteps of royalty and visit The Royal Yacht Brittania to discover the heart and soul of this most special of Royal residences. Next, you can indulge in a delicious
afternoon tea at Eteket, including sandwiches, scones and cakes. In the evening, head to the Pleasance Courtyard to see the new comic performance, ‘Blam!’ described as “Die Hard meets The Office”, and then on to fun and frivolous cabaret show ‘Briefs’ at the Assembly Rooms. To finish off the evening, join top comedian Ed Byrne for his show at the EICC. All you need to do to enter is to answer the following question: Which top comedian’s show is called “Roaring Forties”? Send your answers to competition@ edfestmag.com including your email address and your mobile number so we can contact you. The winner will be picked on 5th August.
Terms and conditions: The editor’s decision is final. There is no cash alternative.
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MUSIC RICK WAKEMAN A U G U S T
Grumpy old piano man
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It was only a matter of time before Rick Wakeman combined his piano talents and art of conversation in a single show
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HERE WAS A TIME WHEN charge. “I used to climb out of bed and sit Rick Wakeman was best known at the bottom of the stairs and hear them. for mountainous banks of I just wanted to join in. It was all I wanted keyboards, concept albums about to do.” the Tudors and live spectaculars involving He went on to study at the Royal jousting on ice. But these days he is just College of Music and started out as a as recognisable from his appearances on session musician, most notably playing TV shows such as Countdown, Grumpy the mellotron on David Bowie’s Space Old Men and Watchdog, and it is this dual Oddity, before joining The Strawbs and existence he celebrates in the one-man then progressive rock behemoths ‘Yes’, show he’s bringing to Edinburgh with whom he has had an on-off this year. relationship (currently off) ‘ Of all the “People started coming since 1971. events to play at, along not just to hear the In recognition of a music but to hear the lifetime in lamé capes, the Edinburgh ridiculously stupid stories Wakeman was awarded festival is one Classic Rock magazine’s I tell – and I have got that I think Spirit of Prog Award a plethora of ludicrous a couple of years ago. stories,” he says. “The everybody wants “I was very chuffed to audience isn’t changing, to tick off’ get it because for many it’s expanding and you’re years prog rock was the introducing people who didn’t equivalent of the porn know the music to the music, and of the music industry. If you went into a people who didn’t know the silliness to the record shop, you would whisper, ‘Have you silliness.” got any prog rock?’ and it would be given Wakeman has been playing piano since in a brown paper bag. But the younger he was five years old and synthesizers since musicians of the last 20 years have realised he was 12. His parents were members of a that prog was really about breaking rules.” concert party in the 1940s and Wakeman His six children all play music for still recalls the Sunday evening sessions pleasure and his two eldest sons, Oliver round the piano with his father leading the
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and Adam, are professional touring keyboard players. Despite being a self-styled Grumpy Old Man, Wakeman is proud of their achievements and appreciative of the opportunities life has brought him. “I’ve been very lucky,” he says. “I’ve played Madison Square Gardens, the Albert Hall and Wembley. But of all the events to play at, the Edinburgh festival is one that I think everybody wants to tick off. It’s almost become what the summer season used to be in the theatre. It’s like something is missing in your year if you haven’t done it.” But what will there be left for him to do, once he has ticked the Fringe off his bucket list? “I would do it again,” he says.
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MUSIC AIRNADETTE A U G U S T
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All the fun of the air Airnadette have been playing stadium gigs with their infectious mix of pop culture, lip-syncing and classic film scripts; now they’re set to be the guilty pleasure of this year’s Fringe WORDS MARK FISHER
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T STARTED AS A JOKE between friends. Instead of having a solitary air guitarist on stage, they asked, what would happen if there was a whole band of air musicians? And as well as miming to their favourite records, how would it be if the six of them also lip-synced to the dialogue from classic movies? The result – a daft collision of mass-market sound-bites – turned this bunch of Parisians into an overnight success. As Airnadette, they had played only two gigs when French singing star Camille asked them to open for her at La Cigale, a 1,000-seater venue favoured by Prince, Red Hot Chili Peppers and David Bowie. “We did five shows in a row,” says performer Scotch Brit, still amazed. “We were like, ‘What’s going on?’” Her name, incidentally, dates
Bercy stadium in Paris. Now, they’re talking to a top French producer about making a film and they’ve set their sights on conquering the Edinburgh Fringe with a specially devised English-language show. “Every time we make a wish, it happens,” she says. “We make from the time she wore a tartan crazier and crazier wishes and it skirt to do her Britney Spears seems unstoppable. We’re living a routine. Scotch Brit also sounds like dream life.” the domestic cleaning product By accident or design, they’ve Scotch Brite, which seems struck upon a formula just about right for the that people love: a mix‘I spent so band’s pop-culture and-match comedy much time tastes. “When you constructed out of are a kid, your learning lyrics as a our guilty musical parents tell you and kid and my parents pleasures to stop watching the films we love couldn’t see the TV, but we can say to hate. “For the we were actually audience, it’s like a point. Now they right,” she says. “It’s shot of energy,” she kind of do’ now our job. I spent says. “It’s the best so much time learning of pop culture lyrics as a kid and my parents cut up and mixed couldn’t see the point. Now they together to be the soundtrack of kind of do.” your life – then we make comedy Their initial good fortune stayed by taking stuff out of context and with them. Touring to the US, they creating absurd anachronisms.” ran into another French megastar, Although they met on the airMatthieu Chedid, who invited them guitar-and-hairbrush scene, their to open for him at the 17,000-seater rock-god posturing is no more. “Air
guitar is very boring because it’s just one guy,” she says, explaining that having six people on stage with such different tastes makes the very choice of songs seem funny. “We had Britney Spears, Queens of the Stone Age, Celine Dion and hip hop singers. Our characters previously existed because of air guitar, so we knew what kind of movies could be good to use; then we had the massive job of listening to the movie soundtracks and putting the show together like a puzzle.” Performing takes razor-sharp timing and concentration, but even after playing 300 gigs in four years, Scotch Brit can’t wait to unleash their work on Edinburgh. “It’s a show that gives pleasure and happiness to people, so for as long as it goes on, we’ll be very glad to do it.”
WHEN & WHERE Airnadette Underbelly Bristo Square, 31 July–26 August (not 7, 13, 19), 8.50pm. From £10, Tel: 0844 545 8252
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MUSIC TIA FULLER
Destiny’s child
Growing up in a musical family, Tia Fuller knew she would end up in the business … and then she got a call from Beyoncé WORDS ROB ADAMS
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HE’S THE WOMAN WHO SAID NO TO Beyoncé – and not many people in the music business do that once, let alone three times, as Tia Fuller knows from personal experience. The saxophonist and cover star of this year’s Edinburgh Jazz & Blues Festival toured the world with Beyoncé’s band for five years and felt privileged, and excited, to gain “the inside scoop” on how the singer has been so successful. “For me, as a bandleader, it was fascinating to watch this woman who is an artist and a visionary operate,” says Fuller. “She gets what she wants and makes it almost impossible for anyone to say no to her but she does it in a very diplomatic way. I learned a lot and really enjoyed working with her and, although I’ve been busy the last three times she’s called, I hope to work with her again.” Fuller has been hell-bent on a music career since the days when she watched her parents rehearse in their basement at home in Aurora, Colorado, and then go out to work with their band. Her mother is a singer, her father a bass player, and she loves them dearly but one thing about them did bother her: they always hired a saxophonist. “I used to think, ‘That’s my gig’,” she says, “and when they got my sister Shamie into the band on piano, I thought, ‘This could be my chance.’ So it was an incentive, not that I really needed one, to practise. “I’d been used to playing the flute, a relatively quiet instrument, and I remember taking this alto sax up to the loft and blowing a low B flat,” she says. “The whole house vibrated and I felt empowered by this loud noise I could suddenly make. And that was it: I became a saxophone player.” After studying in Atlanta and Boulder, Colorado, Fuller moved to New Jersey two days before September 11, 2001. She used the events of this dark day as a spur and, having been spotted playing in a big band at a fish fry (“the only one I’ve ever played”), she began to get regular gigs around New York. Beyoncé’s band followed stints with legends Jimmy Heath and Nancy Wilson, and as a recording artist in her own right, she’s now touring with a band that includes her pianist sister Shamie. “My brother-in-law’s in the band too, so it’s a real family affair,” she says. “I like that because when we’re travelling we all look out for each other, which is important, and when we go out on stage, there’s an instant connection. I just know that wherever I go musically they’ll be right there with me.”
WHEN & WHERE Tia Fuller The Queen’s Hall, 19 July, 8.30pm. Price from £15,,Tel: 0131 668 2019
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A U G U S T
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COMEDY ONES TO WATCH PAT CAHILL
ONES TO WATCH
Who is he? Enjoyably weird winner of the New Act of the Year Award and Chortle’s Best Newcomer 2012. What’s the show about? Jaunty, ridiculous tunes bookended by downbeat but stupidly inventive gags. WTF? An avid angler who can’t drive, he asks taxis to stop at a particular tree on the river. Pat Cahill: Start, Pleasance Courtyard, 31 July – 25 August (not 12), 5.45pm. From £8, 0131 556 6550
With our ears to the ground, here’s the best up-andcoming bright sparks in comedy this year WORDS JAY RICHARDSON
NADIA KAMIL Who is she? One half of sketch duo and Fringe favourites The Behemoth, the Welsh-Iraqi is a Radio 4 regular and appears in Ruth Jones’ sitcom Stella. What’s the show about? A smorgasbord of jokes, songs and characters featuring a unique tribute to eighteenth century feminist pioneer Mary Wollstonecraft. WTF? She was in Baghdad when
Sadaam Hussein was captured in 2003. She received no reward. Nadia Kamil in: Wide Open Beavers! The Stand Comedy Club III & IV, 31 July – 25 August (not 1, 12), 3.30pm. From £6, 0131 558 7272
AISLING BEA
DAN COOK Who is he? The most excitable member of late, lamented sketch group Delete The Banjax. What’s the show about? A mix of sketches, songs and hyperactive acting, Cook has committed a petty crime and been sentenced to perform this hour of nonsense as recompense. WTF? Has visited the set of defunct soap opera Eldorado. Twice. Dan Cook: Community Service, Pleasance Courtyard, 31 July – 26 August (not 13), 4.30pm. From £7, 0131 556 6550
CHRIS FITCHEW Who is he? Exuberant TV and character comic, previously of double-act Lick and Chew. What’s the show about? A series of larger-than-life, recognisable creations, including Tom Cruise and Hilary Devey.
NATHANIEL METCALFE Who is he? Self-deprecatingly witty and original performer with an engaging, jovial style. What’s the show about? An obscure set of hobbies and plenty of time spent unemployed to cultivate them, Metcalfe champions Through The Keyhole
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WTF? Chris is obsessed with both historical disasters and global catastrophes. Chris Fitchew in Jack of All Trades, Gilded Balloon Teviot, 31 July – 26 August (not 7, 14), 3.45pm. From £8.50, 0131 622 6552
and Danny Dyer, delivering a memorable Disney theme tune in tribute to Uncle Walt’s dream factory.
Who is she? Last year’s So You Think You’re Funny winner, appeared in the sitcom Dead Boss and the sketch show Cardinal Burns. What’s the show about? Hip-hop, 90s dance moves, horse riding and trying to explain London life to her Irish mammy. WTF? Working on a stud farm as a teenager, it was her job to show tourists the horses having sex. Aisling Bea: C’est La Bea, Gilded Balloon Teviot, 31 July – 26 August (not 13), 6.30pm. From £8.50, 0131 622 6552
WTF? Once beat up Bill Oddie in a radio play. “I was playing a bully and Oddie was playing a school boy. Don’t ask.” Nathaniel Metcalfe: Enthusiast, The Cabaret Voltaire, 3 – 24 August (not 14), 2.35pm. Free, 0131 226 0000
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COMEDY ONES TO WATCH MICHAEL CHE Who is he? Che only began performing in 2009 but the New Yorker has already been tipped as one to watch by Rolling Stone and the New York Times. What’s the show about? A greatest hits compilation of his
best bits so far, expect insights into relationships, race relations, gay marriage and world hunger. WTF? The only sport
injury he’s ever sustained was two broken fingers while bowling. Michael Che: Cartoon Violence, The Assembly Rooms, 31 July – 25 August (not 1, 12), 10pm. From £9, 0844 693 3008
JOSEPH MORPURGO Who is he? Improv and character comic. What’s the show about? Eccentric character comedy WTF? Was on Tomorrow’s World aged 9 with his sisters, testing the first commercially available digital TV box. They made a pyramid of Beanie Babies instead. Joseph Morpurgo Truthmouth, Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 1 – 25 August (not 13), 3.45pm. Free, 0131 667 7533
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Who is he? Voted The Funniest Person on Twitter by Comedy Central, the strapping American is unfailingly honest and brutally frank about his sexual predilections. What’s the show about? The startling confessions of a comic who hit rock bottom and is now a proud parent, veering between horrific and endearing. WTF? Beat Jennifer Lopez in a triathlon. Not impressive because she’d had twins earlier that year and he hadn’t. Rob Delaney Live, Underbelly, Bristo Square 20, 21 August, 7pm. From £18.50, 0844 545 8252
IAN SMITH Who is he? Actor and standup with a relaxed, understated delivery that belies his quirky, distinctive material. What’s the show about? The sum total of everything he’s learned from life thus far, a collection of anecdotes steeped in embarrassment and frustration. WTF? Still collects Monster in my Pocket toys. Ian Smith - Anything Pleasance Courtyard, 31 July – 25 August (not 12), 5.45pm. From £6.50, 0131 556 6550
KATIE MULGREW Who is she? Bright-eyed, engaging, cynical storyteller What’s the show about? How she never wanted to follow her father Jimmy Cricket into comedy and instead hoped to become a hairdresser, Jet from Gladiators or Michelle Pfeiffer. WTF? Aged 10, she spent a month in a wheelchair after her mum spilt chicken and white wine sauce on her feet straight from the oven. Katie Mulgrew: Your Dad’s Not Funny, The Stand Comedy Club III & IV, 31 July – 25 August (not 1, 12), 1.10pm. From £6, 0131 558 7272
CHRISTIAN O’CONNELL Who is he? Host of the Christian O’Connell Breakfast Show on Absolute Radio. What’s the show about? The race to complete the list of dreams he had when he was 13, including challenging a pensioner and dating his 80s heartthrob, all before his first Edinburgh show. WTF? The only man a PM has ever sworn at during a live interview. That was Tony Blair, incidentally. Christian O’Connell: This Is 13, Underbelly, Bristo Square 31 July – 20 August, 8.40pm. £12.50, 0844 545 8252
ROB DELANEY
BEN VAN DER VELDE Who is he? Quick-witted, engaging ‘Jew Geordie’ with an impressive trove of sharply written gags. What’s the show about? Overwhelmed by social media, he’s trying to revive the epistolary art with a chain letter ... WTF? Allergic to alpacas, llamas, donkeys, cats, horses, dogs, camels, mules, ponies and pumas. And has evidence to prove it.
Ben Van der Velde’s Chain Letter, Underbelly, Bristo Square 31 July – 26 August (not 12), 4.10pm. From £9, 0844 545 8252
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COMEDY ONES TO WATCH PHIL WANG Who is he? The biggest Wang in comedy. An ex-president of the Cambridge Footlights, he was crowned Chortle’s Student Comedian of the Year in 2010. What’s the show about? With a mischievous twist on his celebrity lookalikes, Wang dissects textspeak and confesses his less attractive habits. WTF? “In accordance with stereotype, I actually have a black belt in Shaolin Kung Fu.” Phil Wang: Anti-Hero Pleasance Courtyard, 31July – 25 August, 5.50pm, From £7, 0131 556 6550
LOST VOICE GUY Who is he? Lee Ridley, who lost his speech as a baby when he developed cerebral palsy and uses an iPad voice app to deliver his material. What’s the show about? Embracing his disability, Ridley’s chief source of humour is himself. He’s also performing the free
show Are You A Technophile? in Bar 50 with Emily Wood. WTF? “I used to take horse riding lessons when I was little. They decided to give me a horse with one
eye. Obviously I mustn’t have looked disabled enough already.” Lost Voice Guy – A Voice of Choice The Stand Comedy Club III & IV, 31 July – 25 August (not 1, 5, 12, 19), 8.10pm. From £7, 0131 558 7272
RUSS POWELL Who is he? With some excellent gags, an assured delivery and ease bantering with the audience Powell has progressed rapidly in just a few years. What’s the show about? An anecdotal travelogue through the people and places that have shaped his outlook on life. And food. WTF? Once ate 72 chicken nuggets in under an hour to win a bet. Russ Powell: Powell to the People Pleasance Courtyard, 31 July – 26 August (not 3), 10.45pm, From £6.50, 0131 556 6550
IVO GRAHAM SUZY BENNETT Who is she? A warm, confident lady, preoccupied with men and food. What’s the show about? A huge Dancing on Ice fan, this is about her quest to follow her heroes into skates and a sparkly costume. WTF? Has a pair of knickers signed by the actor Edward Woodward. Suzy Bennett – Dancing On Thin Ice Pleasance Courtyard, 31 July – 25 August, 8.15pm. From £7, 0131 556 6550
CASETTEBOY Who is he? He is Mark Bolton and Steve Warlin, video mashup pranksters with millions of hits on YouTube, accompanied by DJ Rubbish What’s the show about? The scourge of public figures, they’ll be editing footage to make celebrities
TIG NOTARO Who is she? Cult US comic who made headlines with the candid onstage confession that she had breast cancer, with a set of black humour that Louis CK described as “truly masterful”. What’s the show about? Notaro’s mother had just died, the comic has recently split up with
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look stupid and all with a late-night, disco vibe. WTF? Like The Rubberbandits and Daft Punk, they’re never seen in public without their masks on. Cassetteboy vs DJ Rubbish, Pleasance Dome, 2 – 25 August (not 5-7, 12-14, 19-21), 12.30pm. From £10, 0131 556 6550
Who is he? The youngest ever winner of So You Think You’re Funny, aged just 18. What’s the show about? He delivers compelling tales of sibling rivalry and historical boardgames. WTF? Voted off The Weakest Link in 2009 in the third round for getting questions wrong about the Two Ronnies and the restaurant El Bulli. Ivo Graham: Binoculars, Pleasance Courtyard, 31 July – 25 August (not 12), 6pm. From £6.50, 0131 556 6550
her long-term girlfriend. Then she got the diagnosis. No shortage of material. WTF? She loves wearing Cowichan sweaters. Tig Notaro: Boyish-Girl Interrupted, Gilded Balloon Teviot, 16 – 25 August, 6.45pm. From £13, 0131 622 6552
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THEATRE HAMLET
THE FILM’S THE THING A production of Hamlet that echoes a legendary movie version left actor Scott Shepherd with a dilemma - to be Richard Burton, or not? WORDS MARK FISHER
T
HE ‘NEW YORK TIMES’ ONCE SAID SCOTT Shepherd was a practitioner of “extreme acting”. “It was a long time ago,” laughs the Wooster Group stalwart when I remind him of the quote. “Maybe I’ve got less extreme with age.” There’s no doubt the newspaper had a point. This is an actor who played every part in ‘Macbeth’ in a one-man staging nearly 20 years before Alan Cumming had the same idea. More recently, Shepherd memorised The Great Gatsby in its entirety for a celebrated six-and-a-half-hour performance. By contrast, playing the lead role in ‘Hamlet’ may sound like taking it easy. Except, with the Wooster Group involved, this is no straightforward Shakespeare. We’re talking about the experimental theatre company whose production of La Didone six years ago in the Edinburgh International Festival managed to fuse a 1641 opera with a 1965 B-movie. The Wooster Group does not do conventional. True to form, Hamlet is less a staging of the play than a staging of a movie of the play. In 1964, Richard Burton played the doomy Dane in a Broadway production directed by John Gielgud. At the end of the run, in a move that now seems 40 years ahead of its time, the company filmed
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the show with 17 cameras and, thanks to “the miracle of Electronovision”, screened it for two nights only in 2,000 US cinemas. Now, director Elizabeth LeCompte has dug up what remains of that rare movie footage and used it as the basis for her Hamlet. Splicing the two things together, she gives us live and recorded Shakespeare at the same time. It means Shepherd has the task of playing Burton playing Hamlet, synching every gesture and articulation with that of the great movie star. “In certain forms of Japanese theatre you spend years meticulously copying the performance of some kind of master,” says Shepherd. “In the western tradition, we think it’s each actor’s duty to bring some original idea. Their performance is supposed to spring from them as some kind of self-expression.” By working from recordings, the actor found himself freed from this expectation. “It’s a way of getting beyond your own tricks, clichés and impulses,” he says. “You’re doing gestures because you’ve been instructed to. I’ve got to move my arm here now because that’s what’s happening in the movie. Out of that emerges a performance that you begin to understand and shape to yourself. Making your performance becomes a process of discovery.” Shepherd can say this now, but it took time to get into the right frame of mind. His impulse was to play Hamlet in his own way, almost as a comment on how Burton played it. That, though, was too confusing to watch. “I thought I would put my performance next to his. I suppose I thought I could compete with him. But I soon learned that wasn’t going to work and there was more to be discovered by finding some sort of collaboration with him. I had to learn how to channel the ghost of that performance from 50 years ago and build my performance on top of that.” For Shepherd, once he went with the flow and stopped thinking of Burton’s style as old-fashioned, it has been www.edfestmag.com
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‘I learned to appreciate what he was doing and find those impulses within myself’
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like having a personal masterclass with one of the greats. “I learned to appreciate what he was doing and find those impulses within myself,” he says. “It’s kinesthetic. By doing the movement, you begin to understand something that you don’t understand by watching. It’s an education for me and the group as a whole.” He hasn’t started talking in a Welsh accent but he has felt Burton’s influence on his work. “There’s something that I keyed into about his confidence with the language of Shakespeare. With a lot of actors, you end up feeling their struggle to sell Shakespeare’s expressions as natural. Burton didn’t have that anxiety. I tried to learn that from him.” Bringing Burton back to life may sound like a gimmick, but there is method in the madness. Hamlet is haunted by the ghost of his father and, here, Shepherd is effectively haunted by the ghost of Burton. “A looming figure comes back from the grave to give him instructions that he doesn’t entirely agree with,” says Shepherd, who has been obsessed by the play since directing it at college and “inadvertently” memorising it. “It may come as a surprise to connect the Wooster Group with this old Broadway play from the 1960s, but this is a genuine connection.”
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Hamlet Royal Lyceum Theatre, 10–13 August, 7.30pm. From £10, Tel: 0131 473 2000
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THEATRE JANET SUZMAN
LOST FOUND and
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ROM THE MOMENT DAME JANET SUZMAN picked up Lara Foot’s play Solomon and Marion, she knew she had something special in her hands. “It is very rare that I read a play and say immediately, ‘Oh yes, when are we going to do this?’” Suzman, the South African-born actress who made her name playing great classical and Shakespearean roles, relishes the opportunity to bring a taste of the new South Africa to the Edinburgh Fringe. “Solomon and Marion is a great little play; a twohander, which is also a rarity.” She plays Marion, a lonely elderly white woman whose life is transformed by an encounter with a young black man. “It’s about replacing loss with trust and love,” she says. “An old woman finds her door open one dark and windy night and finds a young black man standing there.
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“They are different in age, gender, colour and background. It is a very optimistic play because it asks people to reach across divides. “It is a most finely balanced, beautifully written role about loss and about grief. It has the kind of optimism the new South Africa and the world needs about an unlikely friendship. The play is misleadingly comic - but it has a real sting in the tail.” Suzman has nothing but praise for her young co-star Khayalethu Anthony - who at 25 is almost 50 years her junior and has a vastly different experience of life, having come up through theatre in the townships. “We both got on terrifically well from day one,” she says. “He is very talented, which is the important thing.” The actress, who left South Africa in the late 1950s, has lived in London for many years but has always stayed in touch with the theatre scene in her homeland and had a real rapport with playwright Lara Foot. “We clicked straight away. She is my kind of gal. And we come from the same tradition which grew up around
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Shakespearean actress Dame Janet Suzman is bringing audiences a post-apartheid South Africa just starting to find its voice WORDS CLAIRE SMITH
Benny Simon and the Market Theatre Laboratory in Johannesburg. It was a very famous protest theatre which grew up during the apartheid years.” Before coming to Assembly Theatre for its European premiere, Solomon and Marion played in Johannesburg - giving Suzman an opportunity to work in her homeland. She says: “It’s exciting to be back in the country of my birth, seeing how it has grown out of all recognition.” The country today is hugely different to the one she left behind. “My whole generation left. Everybody got out because the feeling was this place is doomed. Now lots of people are coming back.” Nonetheless, South Africa is still struggling with the legacy of violence. “It feels very busy here. Part of it feels like Chicago in the 1930s: it is murderous and very tough.” Playing the part of Marion in South Africa, she noticed how the theme of loss had a special resonance with audiences: “Somebody said to me at the theatre in Johannesburg, ‘Everyone who is in this audience today knows somebody who has lost ‘Theatre plays someone precious.’ It’s like an important a country at war. There are so many people who have role in authoritarian lost their children through regimes of violence.” helping people say As you might expect, Suzman has been a frequent what needs to visitor to Edinburgh over the be said’ years but she anticipates her visit to the Fringe this year will be a new kind of experience. “I have been there quite frequently - but usually in quite a grand way with the RSC. I played in the Taming of the Shrew and Hedda Gabler. “I am very pleased to be coming back in a new piece of original work rather than a classic.” At the age of 74, she says she would not return to live in South Africa. “I live in London because my child is there,” she explains. But, by helping to promote and celebrate the theatre of South Africa, she is proud to be helping the country to find its voice. “Theatre plays an important role in authoritarian regimes of helping people say what needs to be said - possibly less so in a democracy. “It is quite rare in a lifetime that you have the opportunity of being part of a new nation.”
WHEN & WHERE Solomon and Marion Assembly Hall, 1-26 August (not 12, 19), 4.30pm. From £15, 0131 623 3030
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04/07/2013 15:21
THEATRE JANET SUZMAN A U G U S T
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COMEDY BLAM A U G U S T
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CRASH BLAM! Physical comedy meets some serious circus skills in a visual extravaganza about escaping office life WORDS CLAIRE SMITH
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HEY DO THINGS DIFFERENTLY numerous films - including Apocalypse in Iceland. So when Kristján Now, Iron Man, Superman and The Hulk. Although ultra violent, the action is Ingimarsson set out to create a theatre show he wanted to make cartoonish - which somehow makes it joyful. Ingimarsson says: “It becomes funny something no one had seen before. because you have these four boring office The result is Blam! - a high octane mix of slapstick, physical theatre, circus skills, guys who really want to live life. They are puppetry and free running - which has so serious about it and they go really been described as “Die Hard over the top.” meets The Office.” When putting together ‘Working in “What is a blam? A Blam! the show, actor-director an office is not is a game which becomes Ingimarsson, an Icelander some sort of break out - or based in Denmark, put natural. There is revolution.” together an international nothing natural The show, which has cast with an extraordinary about sitting in won numerous awards in range of skills. Iceland and in Denmark, Joen Hajerslev, who a cubicle shows four bored office plays the stressed out boss all day’ workers break out of their who flips into thinking he daily routine and begin to act is a super villain, is a like action heroes. classically-trained Danish Office equipment becomes body armour, actor and a devotee of extreme sports and filing cabinets become vehicles and the martial arts. Didier Oberle, is a parkour office drinking fountain develops a life of specialist who has helped teach the cast its own. to run up walls, while Lars Gregersen Movie buffs and comic book fans is another Dane with a background in will enjoy spotting visual references to slapstick and physical theatre.
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One of the things audiences in Iceland, Denmark and Norway have loved is the way the show celebrates boys being boys - or rather men being boys. As well as showing off some extraordinary physical skills, Blam! also gives the four cast members the opportunity to be ridiculously macho and outrageously silly. “The audience reaction has been incredible. Seeing people laughing like that is really something.” Underneath the cartoon violence is a serious question about why we spend so much of our lives staring at a computer screen. “Working in an office is not natural. There is nothing natural about sitting in a cubicle all day long. I want to leave people with that thought.” Kristján Ingimarsson hopes Edinburgh will love the show and give it the boost it needs to become truly international: “I really hope we break through here. I want to do this show for as many people as possible.”
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WHEN & WHERE
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Blam! Pleasance Courtyard, 31 July — 26 August (not 7, 13, 20) 5.55pm. From £13.50, Tel: 0131 556 6550
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THEATRE GRID IRON
are thrilled by the possibilities opening up to them. “Science-fiction is a genre where you can ask big, existential questions in a playful, imaginative way,” says Hetherington, when we meet in a Glasgow bistro. The theatremaker spends most of his time working on community education projects and small-scale Fringe shows, but says: “You have WORDS MARK FISHER to bring the same integrity to everything. If I approach things with humour and creativity, then hopefully it will shine through in the work.” ATRIN EVANS FANCIED DOING A SHOW Evans agrees with Hetherington about sci-fi: “The about the future of our planet. She’d read an imagery is so appealing as an artist. The way in which a article by George Monbiot about the Earth being million years will pass or they’ll jump many light years. the ultimate disposable item. She thought that There’s something so exciting about expecting a reader to was an interesting premise for a play and wondered if she take that imaginative leap. You turn the page and you’re on could tie it in with her obsession with Battlestar Galactica. a different planet. Theatre can do that. Let’s not be scared This was early 2010 and she was thinking small scale. of making those leaps.” Perhaps it would be a one-man show performed The audience of Leaving Planet Earth will be in an attic. She got talking to the people from ‘The audienc e bussed out from the city centre and cast in the role of colonisers of New Earth. They have Grid Iron, the Edinburgh theatre company of Leaving Planet left behind an environmentally exhausted famed for its site-specific shows in airports, department stores and playgrounds. They Earth will be bussed planet, bringing with them a hope for the future as well as fond memories of the liked the idea and encouraged her to out and cast in old place. At the destination, the ground develop it. the role of crew hope to have predicted the way the It developed and developed. Before colonisers will adapt to this brave new she knew it, Evans was commandeering colonisers world. a major production light years from of New Earth’ Moving from level to level in the otherher original concept. Instead of a lowworldly landscape of the towering key performance for a few insiders, Leaving Planet Earth was now a flagship production former quarry, the audience will find it in the Edinburgh International Festival. Instead of easy to imagine themselves in another part of the galaxy. intimate staging, it would now be performed against the “It’ll be an experience,” says Evans. “You are new arrivals monumental backdrop of the Edinburgh International on New Earth and that’s really exciting for us because it Climbing Arena in the former Ratho quarry, one of the gives a reason for the audience to be in the space in real biggest centres in the world of its kind. time. They’ll meet characters who have been preparing As her ambitions rocketed, she brought in Lewis the ground for their arrival. The character of Vela is the Hetherington to work alongside her as writer and director. psychological architect of New Earth and, through her, He, too, is staying calm in the face of their galactic we’re exploring the idea that there are knowns that science challenge. Far from being daunted, in fact, the two directors can predict, but what are the unpredictable things like human behaviour? Vela is important in that role because she has helped design the transitioning process to another planet that the audience will be taken on.” To lend plausibility to the sci-fi concept, Evans and Hetherington are collaborating with scientists from the University of Edinburgh Centre for Design Informatics. They have developed an interactive bracelet for the audience to wear. “They’re looking at the wisdom-of-thecrowd theory,” says Hetherington. “It’s the idea that if a group of people all guess how much a rhino weighs, the mean average will be pretty much spot on.” For the audience, this will all add to the fun and the sense of being on a space-age adventure. There are serious aspects too, says Evans: “We’re challenging some of those narratives about growth and about what individualism means, which is tied up in how we treat our planet.” More than a simple environmental polemic, however, Leaving Planet Earth takes a broader look at how society functions. “The idea of throwing away a planet when
The International Festival will be leaving Earth behind thanks to sitespecific specialists Grid Iron
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The reboot of Star Trek on the big screen proved that sci-fi is as popular as ever
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THEATRE GRID IRON A U G U S T
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you’ve used it up has taken on a metaphorical meaning about dealing with your past,” says Hetherington. “How do you move forward and how do you get better?” Whether or not the human race will ever really colonise another planet is something none of us is likely to find out. By raising the possibility, however, Evans thinks she can address more pressing concerns. “The thing we can question is our right to end up on another planet,” she says. “The right to have everything is a big theme in society at the moment. I think art can challenge those assumed narratives that are being pumped out all the time.”
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Leaving Planet Earth Edinburgh International Conference Centre, 10–24 August (not 13, 20), 8pm. From £12.50, Tel: 0131 473 2000
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04/07/2013 15:23
DANCE BENJAMIN MILLEPIED
Swan drive F
ROM THE SIXTEEN YEARS HE SPENT dancing with New York City Ballet to choreographing Natalie Portman in Black Swan, classical ballet runs through Benjamin Millepied like words through a stick of rock. Yet in 2011, everything changed. The 36-year-old Frenchman left his home in New York, moved to Los Angeles and set up a contemporary dance company with a difference. Founded by Millepied and four other visionaries from the worlds of music, visual art, stage and film, L.A. Dance Project is a true artists’ collective. Less than twelve months after its first public performance, the company has already secured dates at international festivals and venues other dance organisations could only dream of. So what is it doing right? Part of the appeal is Millepied himself: charismatic, driven, multi-talented and with a burgeoning celebrity status that has helped keep L.A. Dance Project in the spotlight. Born in Bordeaux, he started dancing at the age of eight, taught at first by his mother (also a dancer) then at dance schools in both France and America. At New York City Ballet he quickly rose through the ranks from corps de ballet to principal, before moving into choreography. But it was his role in Darren Aronofsky’s 2010 film, Black Swan that really catapulted Millepied into the big league. Playing the Prince to Natalie Portman’s Odette during the Swan Lake scenes, he also choreographed the ballet movement, a job that not only brought him into the public eye, but changed his personal life completely. A year after the film’s release, Millepied and Portman had a son together, and they were married in 2012. Millepied was also the subject of press interest when it was announced he would take over as director of Paris Opera Ballet in late 2014. Despite the juggling act of running a dance company, a film company and being one half of a Hollywood couple, Millepied is, says L.A. Dance Project’s manager, Kathryn Luckstone, totally committed to the vision he created. “The way Benjamin set up L.A. Dance Project gives those of us who work here full-time a lot of freedom to uphold his vision,” she says. “So we don’t necessarily need him to be around 24/7. It’s so clear how much he cares about this company, and he’s aware of
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L.A. Dance Project’s director Benjamin Millepied danced Swan Lake with Natalie Portman - and married her soon after WORDS KELLY APTER
all the day-to-day operations. His public status has never interfered with the relationship we have with him as the director.” Millepied, Portman and their young son Aleph will move to Paris next year, but for now, Los Angeles is the perfect environment for Millepied to help this fresh and exciting new dance company to ‘Sometimes flourish. “Los Angeles was strategic, it wasn’t arbitrary,” explains Luckstone. we are challenged “Benjamin already knew when he as an audience to moved to Los Angeles that the think or feel a certain vibe and the atmosphere here is completely different from New York, way, and it may which has, in a way, become quite not always institutionalised. In New York, it can be pretty’ be very challenging and expensive for artists to try and do things differently – whereas the spirit of L.A. is that a lot of things can happen here very quickly.” Before taking on her role at L.A. Dance Project, Luckstone worked for Mikhail Baryshnikov – a man Millepied has recently been compared to in the press. Luckstone agrees, but says it’s not just because both have moved from classical into contemporary dance, but because of their shared “passion, vision and willingness www.edfestmag.com
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to take risks, that you don’t really see in many artists.” That desire to take risks is evident in L.A. Dance Project’s Edinburgh programme, which features William Forsythe’s Quintett, Merce Cunningham’s Winterbranch and Millepied’s own Moving Parts. An entertaining and moving triple-bill, but certainly not an easy one. “It’s a mixture of old and new and melodic and challenging,” says Luckstone, “and it goes back to Benjamin’s idea that not all art is comfortable. Sometimes we are challenged as an audience to think or feel a certain way, and it may not always be pretty – but that’s part of the experience, too. “That’s something that is so inspiring about working with Benjamin, because there is no middle ground with him. When you set the bar high, you go big or go home – that’s the saying here.” With performances across Europe already under their belt this summer, and Edinburgh on the horizon, L.A. Dance Project isn’t going home anytime soon.
L.A. Dance Project will be bringing three challenging pieces to the International Festival in their Triple Bill www.edfestmag.com
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WHEN & WHERE
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L.A. Dance Project, Edinburgh Playhouse, 24 – 26 August, 7.30pm. From £17, Tel: 0131 524 3333
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Tickets on sale May 1st
PRESENTS
B A T T E R S E A PA R K AU G U S T 1 6 , 1 7 & 1 8 Feast in style with
POP UP RESTAURANTS LIVE MUSIC CHEFS CHAMPAGNE BEACH COCKTAILS ARTISAN FOOD VINEYARD FARM BBQ COOK OFFS CAKE AND BAKE Buy tickets at www.foodiesfestival.com or 0844 995 1111 EF2013_FEAST.indd 84
05/07/2013 14:26
PHYSICAL THEATRE SMASHED
Smashed hit W
ITH BACK-TO-BACK SHOWS running in every venue during the Fringe, one of the key skills all companies must master is a quick clean-up. For London-based Gandini Juggling, this matters more than most. Because at the end of each performance of Smashed, Gandini’s critically acclaimed blend of dance, theatre and juggling, there’s a bit of a mess. Eighty apples, bitten, thrown and dropped, litter the stage, along with four sets of crockery smashed to pieces by nine talented and exuberant jugglers. “It normally takes 15 to 20 minutes to clear it all up,” says company founder Sean Gandini. “In France, where we work a lot, they have these enormous cleaning machines. But in Edinburgh, I think we’ll have to get all nine performers plus the stage manager cleaning up. There’s a stand-up comedian on after us, so hopefully we’ll be OK.” Practicalities aside, Smashed is entertaining; receiving praise for its humour, soundtrack (featuring everything from country to classical) and incredible juggling. Dance theatre aficionados in the audience will also spot a distinct reference to the late, great Pina Bausch, and in particular her 1978 work Kontakthof. “In the dance world, there’s a clear acknowledgement of Pina’s influence, which is enormous,” says Gandini. “But in the circus world, the influence is there but it’s never really been acknowledged. So when she died in 2009, we wanted to pay tribute to her.”
If you think you know juggling, wait till you see it blended with dance and theatre in this exuberant show WORDS KELLY APTER
It’s hard not to be impressed by the fact that all nine of the jugglers coming to Edinburgh have been training and performing for over ten years, and “on a good day” Gandini says he can juggle nine objects at the same time (“seven on an average day”). And yet as a theatrical artform, juggling rarely receives the recognition it deserves. “In the UK, juggling has an unfortunate stereotypical association,” says Gandini. “In the last 25 years there has been a lot of very good work taking place globally. But it’s still a hard thing for people to take seriously.” After juggling meticulously in unison for much of Smashed, the performers then let their hair down and start dropping their apples, smashing the crockery and shouting at one another. For both the audience and jugglers, it’s a cathartic moment. It also gives Gandini and his team a chance to have a sly poke at those who feel juggling can’t share the stage with higher art forms. “There seems to be a healthy cynicism about juggling in the UK, and I quite like that,” he says. “People say, ‘You can’t really do a serious hour with juggling?’ – and then we prove them wrong. And in Smashed, when we start shouting at each other, we play on that whole perception. We performed in the Royal Opera House recently, and we were shouting, ‘Jugglers in an opera house? How ridiculous.’”
WHEN & WHERE Smashed Assembly Hall, 3 – 26 August (not 13), 6.05pm. From £12, Tel: 0131 623 3030
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José Montalvo’s modern interpretation of Don Quixote fuses flamenco with ballet, tap and hip hop to spectacular effect WORDS KELLY APTER
No more heroes F
ROM READING WITH HIS GRANDMOTHER “I remember when my grandmother read it to me for as a young boy, to playing the Edinburgh the first time,” he says. “And when you’re a child, you hear International Festival - José Montalvo’s relationship stories like that and they become mixed up with reality. with Don Quixote spans many years. But my grandmother would always bring me back down Born to Spanish parents but raised in France, Montalvo to earth by saying, ‘Don’t be your Don Quichotte’ – it’s a has an abundance of memories of Cervantes’ 17th-century Spanish expression which means don’t think that you can novel. For him, Don Quichotte (as he is called in French) be a hero, remember it’s only a story.” was a ubiquitous part of childhood visits to Spain. Cervantes’ original story undergoes quite a “He was everywhere,” recalls Montalvo. “He was on transformation in Montalvo’s new work. No longer set in ashtrays, fans, pens, napkins – it was very kitsch. Spain in the 1600s, the action now takes place on And I wanted to re-live those memories.” the Paris metro. A middle-aged man, played by ‘My mother When we meet in Paris, where his new acclaimed French comic actor Patrice Thibaud, was a flamenco show Don Quichotte du Trocadéro is journeys across the underground, meeting a premiering, Montalvo’s connection to the myriad of characters along the way. dancer, I was a book is palpable. Known for his innovative use of film contemporary (as seen in 2007’s International Festival dancer. I know every show On Danse), Montalvo once again supplements the on-stage action with discipline you see clever footage shot on trains, platforms in the show’ and escalators. It serves as a colourful and amusing backdrop to the diverse movement of the performers. For, unlike most dance companies, Montalvo’s doesn’t focus on one particular style. Instead, the show features ballet, tap, contemporary, flamenco, hip hop and, at times, a dynamic hybrid of two or three put together.
Montalvo uses video in creative ways to enhance his work
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DANCE JOSÉ MONTALVO A U G U S T
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For Montalvo, it’s the most natural thing in the world. “Maybe because of my history, mixture is completely normal for me – it’s the only way I see dance,” he says. “My mother was a flamenco dancer, I was a contemporary dancer. I know every discipline you see in the show – and that’s why I choose dancers who are at such a high level, because I know all these movement styles so well.” Blending so many styles together in one company could easily lead to each dancer being a Jack of all trades, master of none. Yet here, nothing could be further from the truth. What does Montalvo look for in a new recruit? “Firstly, virtuosity,” he says. “The dancers I choose need to be very good in their own discipline. But then they also need to be open-minded and have a team spirit. To be able not only to concentrate on their own style, but understand that this company is full of a mixture of beautiful styles.” Sharon Sultan is one such dancer. Like Montalvo’s www.edfestmag.com
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mother, her speciality is flamenco, but she concurs with Montalvo that being part of his company has helped her grow in other areas. “You learn all the time in a company like this,” she says. “Because there are 13 dancers, and each one of us has their own discipline – classical, contemporary, flamenco, tap dancing – it’s very cosmopolitan. “We don’t learn steps from José, he just takes our material and creates something with his ideas,” explains Sultan. “He gives us space and freedom, then leads us towards something he knows is good for us. Working with José is always nice, because he’s so modest, and creating Don Quichotte in particular has been an amazing journey.” Fusing disparate styles together in the same show marks Montalvo out as something of a maverick in the dance world. But he has stayed true to his ideals for over 30 years, and his public has learned to expect the unexpected. “To begin with, people told me that mixing dancers in this way would never work,” says Montalvo. “They didn’t consider me a contemporary choreographer. But I kept going, no matter what anybody else said.”
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Don Quichotte du Trocadéro Edinburgh Festival Theatre, 29 – 31 August, 7.30pm. From £17, 0131 473 2000
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RAT PACK “Frank would be proud”
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05/07/2013 17:47
MUSIC UKULELE A U G U S T
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UKE CAN DO IT Morrissey, Bonnie Tyler, Lady Gaga … is no act immune to the power of the ukulele? WORDS FIONA SHEPHERD
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RET MCKENZIE, THE shorter half of Flight of the Conchords, has been seeing other jocular musicians. Since 2005, he has been a member of the Wellington International Ukulele Orchestra, a 12-strong ensemble (with one double bass) which came together by osmosis when he and his friend Age Pryor started jamming at their local café and were gradually joined by more uke-wielding enthusiasts. “The last person to join was Bek, the cafe’s dishwasher,” says Pryor, “and it was like finishing a puzzle - we knew we had a complete group from that point onwards.” This motley ensemble aims to create “a living room kind of feeling” at
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Britain already has some form in this area, their hi-octane, humorous concerts. “Every with a couple of past runs at the festival. night is different, but somehow we always But Pryor insists there is no ukuleles-atfeel like we’ve hung out with the audience dawn rivalry. for a while, as well as them hanging out “It’s quite hard to be rivals around an with us. The ukulele has an amazing ability instrument like the ukulele, everyone’s just to put smiles on people’s faces. It can also too nice,” he says. “The Brits are certainly distil music to its essence - whether you an institution. We like to think we’re play Bon Jovi or Lady Gaga or Bob Dylan, completely different. They call us ‘anarchic’, you hear the song in a simple, pure form, we would call them ‘very well organised’.” and you can appreciate it in an entirely new way.” The Wellington Orchestra’s most The orchestra’s repertoire famous member is a Fringe is packed with kara-uke veteran himself but won’t make ‘ Whether standards from That’s Amore it over for this run, owing you play Bon Jovi to Conchords and other to It’s A Heartache, ranges from Maori material commitments. However, or Lady Gaga to Africa by Toto and Pryor is philosophical or Bob Dylan, you features unexpected about his buddy Bret’s hear the song reworkings of I Could sporadic attendance. Never Take The Place Of “After starting our group in a simple, Your Man by Prince and The together, I suggested that he pure form’ Smiths’ This Charming Man, start a wildly successful folkwhich responds particularly well comedy-parody-duo with to the ukulele treatment. Jemaine [Clement, the “There is a mysterious, unspoken process taller half of Flight of the Conchords] and around our song selection,” says Pryor. “I gave him a few top-level contacts at HBO,” think some of our group are trying to create he says. “Looking back, I probably should a fool-proof system so their own song have kept my mouth shut and had a jam choices are always accepted by everyone with Jemaine myself, but I guess you can’t else. But it’s like alchemy - and woe to the have everything.” sorry fools who mess blindly with such powerful magic.” WHEN & WHERE The Wellington International Ukulele Wellington International Ukulele Orchestra may be the only international Orchestra, 31 July – 26 August (not 12, ukulele orchestra to emerge from 19), Gilded Balloon Teviot, 6pm. Wellington, New Zealand, but they are not From £12.50, 0131 622 6552 the only uke orchestra to appear at the Fringe. The Ukulele Orchestra of Great EDINBURGH FESTIVALS 2013
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COMEDY GYLES BRANDRETH
BURSTING WITH JOY
A U G U S T
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Former MP, author and comedy performer Gyles Brandreth is on the hunt for perfect happiness
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WORDS CLAIRE SMITH
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N THE COURSE OF RESEARCHING “I like to do something his show about happiness, Gyles different every time.” Brandreth uncovered some new Brandreth describes the information about his great-greatshow, which was written grandfather. with the late psychiatrist and “His name was Benjamin Brandreth and broadcaster Dr Anthony Clare, as: he was a medical man in the United States. “part stand up comedy, part group He made a fortune. And he sold Happiness psychotherapy.” Inevitably it’s awash Pills.” with celebrity gossip, with Brandreth Just like his enterprising sharing insights about happiness ancestor, Brandreth is not derived from encounters averse to flamboyant with Frank Sinatra, Elton ‘I have advertising and claims John, Margaret Thatcher, discovered the watching his new Fringe Archbishop Desmond Tutu seven secrets of show Looking For and the Queen. Happiness could change Although his natural happiness and I your life. state appears to be reveal them at the “I have discovered the absurdly ebullient, seven secrets of happiness, Brandreth reveals he is end of the show’ and I reveal them at the end not always as cheery as his of the show. And according to public persona suggests. some very serious research from “Anyone who saw me in Manchester University people who are the 80s wearing the jumpers on TV AM and happy live nine to ten years longer, so this is Countdown would think I was annoyingly happy. And I have no reason not to be a show that can actually extend your life.” happy: I have a good living, good health, a The former Conservative MP, writer and good wife. broadcaster has been a fan of the Fringe “And yet I haven’t always felt totally since 2000, when he came and performed happy.” 100 musicals in 100 minutes. Three years He admits that losing his seat as an MP ago he came as a stand-up, but says his new in the great Blair Landslide of 1997 hit him show at the Pleasance is something else.
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hard. Brandreth says: “It was the most satisfying working period of my life. I loved being a Government Whip.” Coming to the Fringe for the first time in 2000 was one of the things that helped him find his feet again. It was also the experience which set him off on his quest to understand the nature of happiness. “I found coming to Edinburgh was like a sea change. It was very cleansing. I needed to rethink my life.” The performer promises an interactive show - in which he will talk to his audience about their own experiences. As well as touring the show he is also planning to turn it into a book. But don’t ask him to reveal his secrets in advance. Like his great grandfather Brandreth is a showman at heart. “You’ll have to come and see it for yourself.”
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WHEN & WHERE
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Looking for Happiness Pleasance One, 31st July-26th August, (not 7th & 14th), 4.20pm. From £15, Tel: 0131 556 6550
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BOOKS SANDY TOKSVIG A U G U S T
Oh, Sandy!
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Looking forward to this year and showing her son around the city, Sandy Toksvig has a lot of happy memories of the Festivals
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WORDS AMY MCGOLDRICK
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What appearances will you be making this August?
At the Book Festival, I’ll be talking about my novel, Valentine Grey, which is going to be out in paperback. It’s a novel about a woman dressed up as a man in the Boer War in 1899. I’m also doing my one-woman show: it’s a mix of anecdotes and silly stories. Also this year, for the first time I’m going to be talking about manners, interacting with the audience about what makes good manners and bad manners. You do so much more than just make jokes – what keeps you coming back to stand-up?
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but the cost of living has gone up. Everybody has to pay their own accommodation, their own entry into the Fringe brochure now. I think the days are gone where you thought it was a holiday, had a laugh and slept on someone’s floor. Maybe next time I’ll come up and do a free show?
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How do you enjoy the Book Festival in comparison?
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I go to all the literary festivals, but Edinburgh’s is famous. It’s one of the best-organised festivals. Sitting in a yurt in Edinburgh is going to be fantastic. You can never tell which author is going to step through the tent-flap, and it’s quite often someone I know. It’ll be lovely to have some unexpected reunions.
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I always enjoy interacting with the audience, and every show is so different. You can never quite predict what’s going to happen, so I think As a member of the first all-women show at Cambridge Footlights, would you it literally keeps you on your toes. Although say comedy’s attitudes to female at the moment, I’ve hurt my foot, so maybe this year it’ll be some sort ‘I’m going to performers is improving? I’d like to say yes, but not of sitting-down stand-up. see Martha and As a person who’s always particularly. If you look at lived in the countryside, most of the big shows on the Vandellas. what do you like about television, and probably quite I can’t quite believe Edinburgh? a lot on the radio, they’re I’m going to be at the fairly – as it were – boy-heavy. I love Edinburgh, I think it’s a really, really exciting city. I It’s rare for me not to be the same festival as love history, and it seems to me only woman on a show. them’ Does your family come with that if you make sure you keep you to the festivals? looking up in Edinburgh, you’ll My son’s coming up this time. always see something fantastic. How does the mania of the Fringe He’s at drama school, so he wants to see lots of compare to the rest of your year? shows. I get to show him around, which will be To be honest, my life is mostly manic, but the nice. He’s really good fun. Who were your role models growing up? Fringe is definitely crazy. If you want to get in, I grew up in New York, so it’s mostly you have to book early. I booked the first day Americans. There was a brilliantly funny the tickets were on sale, because I’m going actress called Eve Arden, I’m a big fan of Lily to see Martha and The Vandellas. Motown Tomlin, Lucille Ball, Goldie Hawn when she legends! I can’t quite believe I’m going to be at was in Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In. Lots of the same festival as them. Where would you suggest first-timers to incredibly funny women. go?
What’s next?
If you’re only going for a short while, for me a rite of passage is to walk down the Royal Mile and see all those wonderful – mostly young – people handing out all their leaflets. The stilt walkers, the jugglers, the clowns, people trying to persuade you to see their one-man Hamlet.
I’ve just finished a new book, to be published in October, called Peas and Queues all about modern manners, and I’m half-way through writing a musical about Dusty Springfield.
How many times have you been?
So many times that I actually can’t remember. More than thirty. I first went when I was with Cambridge University. I don’t want to say “it wasn’t the same in my day”, but there just weren’t as many shows. I think it would now be impossible to see everything that’s on offer. There are less free shows, which is a shame,
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WHEN & WHERE
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From the Norse’s Mouth Baillie Gifford Main Theatre, 11 August, 11.30am. From £8, Tel: 0845 373 5888 My Valentine Pleasance Courtyard, 3-11 August, 4pm. From £13, Tel: 0131 556 6550
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BOOKS THE BAKER BROTHERS
He ain’t heavy ...
A U G U S T
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Henry Herbert, of the Fabulous Baker Brothers, dishes the dirt on keeping it in the family, kitchen disasters and smelly chefs
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WORDS AMY MCGOLDRICK
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What’s the biggest myth about chefs?
That they smell nice. Chefs smell like onions, deep fat fryers, sweat, normally booze, so it’s what I would call an “exotically intoxicating smell”. Full of excitement and mystery. Although my wife probably disagrees.
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What made you decide to work with your brother?
Forced! No choice, albatross round my neck… No, we work in the family business, and we’ve worked together pretty much all our lives, apart from when I left and lived in London for six years. I’ve always worked with him, so it never seems unusual. But people see Tom and I and assume we woke up one day and decided we wanted to be on TV. That was never our intention, and we feel very lucky, but there was a lot of hard work beforehand, and that’s still true. What most excites you about the restaurant industry these days?
In Britain, a lot is changing. Chefs out in the rural areas are cottoning on to seasonal and local produce. We’ve known for a long time that we have great produce, and we’re really proud of it. We have more artisan cheese makers than France, which is pretty incredible. What culinary gadget could you not live without?
I’d say the knife. I don’t think you need loads of knives, you just need a few good ones. With a very good cook’s knife, a bread knife, a boning knife and a paring knife,
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you can do pretty much anything. I go to so many people’s houses, and they just have vast amounts of crap knives. Get rid. Any kitchen disasters?
I set fire to quite a lot of things. Almost any place I go to, the fire alarm goes off at some point. It’s become a game now. No massive major incidents; I’ve broken quite a lot of things. There are kitchen disasters all the time – it’s how you deal with them. If you’ve made a beautiful cake for someone and you drop it, and they don’t know, it’s how you react and what you do to the cake that makes the difference. If you had to cook a nice meal in 30 minutes, what would you make?
Sounds like my everyday life. My life’s like Ready, Steady, Cook. I get home and have to look in the fridge to see what my wife’s bought. It can be anything. I’d probably say a risotto, with broad beans and asparagus. What do you eat when you’re feeling lazy?
Sticking my fingers into the peanut butter jar. It’s bloody delicious. I don’t do it very often – only a couple of times a day. What’s your favourite place to eat in Edinburgh? www.edfestmag.com
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Last time we came, it was suggested that we eat at Ondine. Roy Brett was the nicest guy ever. I’d met Roy at 10 Downing Street with Nick Nairn, obviously one of the classic Scottish chefs. So five months later, we decided to go. There were quite a few of us and they were fully booked, but Roy came out and said: “Don’t worry, we’ll make space.” So they put us in their private dining room and treated us like absolute kings. I had this amazing fruits de mer, I was in heaven. They gave us pudding on the house and a glass of champagne, and then he came out and chatted to us for about two hours. He was a real gentleman, a great host and it’s definitely a highlight meal for me. Who would you most like to cook for?
I’d have to say Winston Churchill, Barack Obama, Hugh Dennis and Jim Morrison. I met Hugh recently, and he was hilarious. Jim might be a bit spaced out and not talk very much, but he’d be great. Food brings people together, it’s a fact.
WHEN & WHERE
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The Fabulous Baker Brothers: Sibling Ribaldry in the Kitchen ScottishPower Studio Theatre, 15 August, 3.30pm. From £10, Tel: 0845 373 5888
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ART MAN RAY
Hereisthemuse I
T WAS A HEART-IN-THE-MOUTH MOMENT. is the first solo exhibition of the pioneering American As far as curator Terrence Pepper was concerned, there artist’s work. It takes its place at the heart of the collection, was one image that had to be the centrepiece of his along with Pepper’s other favourite: Noire et Blanche, featuring the porcelain-white face of de Montparnasse lying exhibition of Man Ray photographic portraits. It’s the as if asleep on a table adjacent to a black African mask. picture of Lee Miller in profile. Her face is relaxed as she The show, already acclaimed at the National Portrait gazes somewhere to our right. The light catches her Gallery in London, takes us through Man Ray’s hair, which is cut boyishly short and tucked career in the US and Paris between 1916 and behind her ear. Her neck is long and elegant, ‘You want 1968. Featuring over 100 works, it shows her dress plain. Thanks to a technique to show things the artist as a key player in the Dada and known as solarisation there is a dark Surrealist movements, even while he was outline to her features as if someone has that have never working as a commercial photographer for drawn around her face. been seen before, magazines such as French Vogue. Along with Alice Prin (aka Kiki de as well as finding “You want to show things that have never Montparnasse), Miller was one of been seen before, as well as finding the core Man Ray’s great muses and Pepper the core of Man of Man Ray’s work,” says Pepper. “You’re couldn’t imagine his exhibition without Ray’s work’ trying to appeal to the person who’s never this picture. But there was a problem. He seen Man Ray and the people who know spoke to Tony Penrose, Miller’s son, only to be him, so we had to keep the standard high.” told: “I’d be pleased to help you but unfortunately By including portraits the artist made throughout his there’s another show I’ve lent this to and you can’t have it.” career, Pepper reveals those less well-known corners of the It was a major blow. canon. “In the past, people have stopped looking at Man Fortunately for Pepper, the rival tour fell apart and his Ray after the Second World War,” he says. “But he carried prize image was available once more. It’s now the one you on and surreptitiously did work in the Hollywood of the see on the poster for Man Ray Portraits, which, remarkably,
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(l-r) Ava Gardner, Catherine Deneuve
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ART MAN RAY A U G U S T
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A combination of Man Ray’s most iconic works and pieces that have never been seen before provide an enlightening portrait of the photographer
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1940s. That work hasn’t really been shown before. It’s quite a revelation that he was not working officially as a photographer, but still taking the odd picture.” The work is fascinating from an artistic point of view, as well as in terms of the sitters. Man Ray had intimate access to many of the key figures of his day. As well as de Montparnasse and Miller, who became a noted photographer in her own right, he was in a position to shoot figures such as Pablo Picasso, Salvador Dali, Ernest Hemingway and James Joyce. “It’s a cultural history of the 20th century,” says Pepper. “As part of the Surrealist and Dada movement, he had this insider view.” Famous or not, it is the modernity of the images that hits home today. “It’s one thing about great photographs that they do look contemporary,” he says. “There’s a woman who looks just like Gwyneth Paltrow. We don’t know who she is, but the face is completely of the now.”
(clockwise) Juliet, Barbette double exposure, Juliet with headdress, Solarized portrait of Lee Miller
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WHEN & WHERE
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Man Ray Portraits Scottish National Portrait Gallery, until 22 September, 10am–5pm. From £5, Tel: 0131 624 6200
www.edfestmag.com
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ART PETER DOIG
WORLD VIEW Peter Doig brings elements of Canada, Trinidad, India, Germany - and his Edinburgh birthplace - to his vivid, large-scale paintings WORDS MARK FISHER
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HERE DOES PETER Doig come from? Is it Edinburgh, where he was born? Is it Canada, where he moved in 1966 at the age of seven? Is it London, where he studied at Wimbledon, St Martin’s and Chelsea schools of art? Is it Trinidad, where he has lived and worked since 2002? Or is it Germany, where he is a professor at the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf? To look at his paintings, it could be all of the above. Many of his large-scale canvases have the kind of Tahitian heat you see in Gauguin, their colours vibrant, their bold landscapes pushing towards the abstract. Others, though, are altogether cooler, their chill blue atmospheres and washed-out palates suggesting more temperate climes. This, says curator Julie-Ann Delaney, is typical of an artist who draws inspiration not only from his own intercontinental
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travels but also from found photographs and from master painters such as Munch, Monet and Klimt. “There are some that you would assume were Trinidad, because that’s where he is based, but they’re actually a found photograph from India,” she says. “One work called ‘House of Pictures’ is based on a photograph he took of a commercial gallery in Vienna and, within that, there’s a figure, and the photograph of the figure was taken in Vancouver. Even when he’s been working in Trinidad, he’s been working off photography from Canada. The fact that it could be any place is what’s really exciting about them.” She adds: “The times we live in now, people can move. It’s not as if you belong to one place and that’s it. Especially for artists: it’s important that they migrate and experience different cultures.” Doig’s wanderlust means Delaney’s www.edfestmag.com
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ART PETER DOIG A U G U S T
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Delany is structuring the exhibition around several themes, including some of Doig’s most regular motifs
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ten-year overview is less a homecoming more historical methods.” than a chance to catch up with a long-lost What she’s most looking forward to is Edinburgh son. The exhibition title, No seeing these hallucinatory paintings up Foreign Lands, is a quote from that close. Reproductions do scant justice other well-travelled Scot, Robert either to their size (up to 3m Louis Stevenson, who wrote by 3.5m) or their distinctive ‘It’s not as in The Silverado Squatters: paint work. “You really need if you belong “There are no foreign to see the surface and the to one place and lands. It is the traveller way the paint is applied,” only who is foreign.” that’s it. Especially she says. “He pushes Doig’s work has a strong himself and tries to use for artists: it’s sense of place, even paint differently to keep though it is not necessarily himself interested in the important that the same place or even a work and to ensure things they migrate’ totally real place. don’t become stale. They “He takes inspiration from are large-scale and the other artists, but for him, it’s about RSA rooms are really the taking elements of their work but making it only ones in Scotland that could cope with his own,” says Delaney. “He paints modern the scale of his work. You really need that settings – for example, there’s a series physical presence.” called ‘The Heart of Old San Juan’ that Bringing together nearly 120 works, depicts a basketball court – but he’s using including several brand new pieces, she www.edfestmag.com
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is structuring No Foreign Lands around a series of themes. She wants to illuminate Doig’s preoccupations – among them ping pong, pelicans and canoes – and also to give an insight into his working methods, from small study right up to major oil painting. “There are specific forms in his work that migrate,” she says. “There are certain things that you’ll see in paintings reminiscent of Canada that will move into a Trinidad setting. We’re looking at about 20 different themes and then forms migrate from one theme to another. He’s an incredible painter.”
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WHEN & WHERE
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No Foreign Lands: Peter Doig Scottish National Gallery, 3 August–3 November, 10am–5pm. From £6 Tel: 0131 624 6200
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CITY GUIDE 21 PLACES TO GO
Here comes the fun GET AWAY WITH INNERTUBE CYCLING
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Try something a little different at this year’s festival with our favourite 21 WORDS AMY MCGOLDRICK
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CHANGE YOUR PERSPECTIVE AT THE CAMERA OBSCURA
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Founded in 1853, the Camera Obscura was Edinburgh’s first purpose-built tourist attraction. 160 years later, it still doesn’t disappoint. Take in breathtaking panoramic views across the Lothians from the rooftop terrace and enjoy 5 floors of mind-bending optical illusions.
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One of the largest and most historic collections of surgical pathology in the world. This August, enjoy the Women and Warfare: Words and Deeds. Find out the true story of James Miranda Barry, Inspector General of the Crimean War, who turned out to be a woman!
www.camera-obscura.co.uk
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GET MOVING AT THE SHARMANKA KINETIC THEATRE
Founded in St. Petersburg in 1989, this Glasgow-based production demonstrates the intricacy of human creation. With hundreds of carved figures and repurposed pieces of scrap, Sharmanka uses unique music, choreography and light to tell stories of the funny and the tragic. www.sharmanka.com
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MAKE YOUR FORTUNE AT THE MUSEUM ON THE MOUND
This museum takes a fresh approach to money, and everything
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DELVE INTO THE ROYAL SURGEON’S HALL
that surrounds it – including art, technology, crime and much, much more. See what a million pounds actually looks like, strike a replica medieval Scottish coin, crack a safe and see for yourself how much Edinburgh has changed. How has money evolved over the last 4,000 years? Also available is The Money Trail, an activity booklet for 7-11 year olds. Fun and informative for all the family. For more information, visit the website.
www.surgeonshall.com
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HUNT FOR TREASURE WITH TREASURE TRAILS
Enjoy a self-guided tour with a twist; follow set directions, find clues, answer puzzles. Choose from The Royal Mile Murder Mystery Trail, Edinburgh Greyfriars Treasure Hunt, Edinburgh New Town Spy Mission and Edinburgh Old Town Treasure Hunt.
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SAIL AWAY TO INCHCOLM ISLAND
Inchcolm Island has a rich history. There’s the gorgeous former Augustine Abbey, which resides on the island. Maid of the Forth provide sightseeing boat trips under the Bridge and to the Island. Make sure to book their Jazz Band and BBQ trip for some stunning views.
www.museumonthemound.com
Look beyond the walls with the Green Yonders Tour, exploring the hidden secrets of the Royal Mile and beyond. Each with a story to tell, you’ll hear all about the grand gardens of the past and the history of Edinburgh itself.
www.edfestmag.com
www.20milers.blogspot.co.uk
www.treasuretrails.co.uk
GET LOST ON THE HIDDEN GARDEN TOUR
www.greenyondertours.com
Edinburgh Innertube makes use of abandoned tracks around Edinburgh, turning them into cycle paths and green spaces. Join the Edinburgh 20 Milers for a chance to ride off the beaten track – although suitable for people of all ages, including children. They meet on the second Saturday of every month.
www.maidoftheforth.co.uk
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INDULGE YOUR SWEET TOOTH WITH BIBI’S CUPCAKES
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Stacked with artistic cupcakes with natural flavourings. Baked fresh daily, you can even watch them being made. Coeliacs and vegans are catered for as well. Visit their website for details on cake decoration classes. www.bibisbakery.co.uk
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CITY GUIDE 21 PLACES TO GO
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COOK UP A STORM AT FOODIES FESTIVAL
Inverleith Park will be hosting its third Foodies Festival, the largest food and drink festival in the UK. Over 9th, 10th and 11th August, enjoy the best in local and international foods. Keep your budding chefs entertained in the Childrens Cookery Theatre. www.foodiesfestival.com MEET THE ANIMALS AT GORGIE CITY FARM
A real farm in the heart of Edinburgh, Gorgie City Farm has everything for you and your little ones. With a beautiful café supplying fresh, homemade produce for coffee, tea, breakfast and lunch, you can also explore the real working farm, with sheep, goats, cows, pigs, chickens and even a pony. Pony rides are also available for £2 a session. www.gorgiecityfarm.org.uk
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GO BACK IN TIME WITH OUR DYNAMIC EARTH
Our Dynamic Earth takes you through our planet’s past, present and future. With interactive exhibits, start from the Big Bang and watch children’s eyes light up. Explore the dry tundra, the bottom of the ocean and feel the heat of the rainforest. The exhibit now features We Are Aliens, a short film on a 360º degree screen, narrated by Harry Potter star Rupert Grint. www.dynamicearth.co.uk
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FLOAT AWAY ON THE UNION CANAL
Union Canal was opened in 1822 for trade. Now you can enjoy boating, canoeing, rowing and fishing, as well as the famous Falkirk Wheel. With plenty of opportunities to hire boating equipment, this 32-mile canal from Edinburgh Quay is a great way to explore the region at your own pace.
www.scottishcanals.co.uk/ourcanals/union-canal
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MONKEY AROUND AT EDINBURGH
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Edinburgh Zoo welcomes the births of two yellowbreasted capuchins this year. Critically endangered in the wild, www.edfestmag.com
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MAKE A SPLASH AT THE ROYAL YACHT BRITANNIA
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Celebrating its 60th anniversary this year, Royal Yacht Britannia has proven a firm favourite. Home to the Royal Family for more than 40 years, and described famously by the Queen as “the one place I can truly relax”, you can enjoy a tour of the five decks, see the magnificent State Apartments and also treat yourself to lunch, or tea and cake in the beautiful Royal Deck Tea Room.
The largest monument to a writer anywhere in the world, the 287 steps leading up to the top are well worth the effort. The stunning views of Edinburgh stretch for miles. To find out more about Walter Scott himself, it’s well worth making a trip to the Writers’ Museum, off the Royal Mile.
TAKE THE LONG ROAD UP THE WALTER SCOTT MONUMENT
www.edinburghmuseums.org/ venues/scott-monument
www.royalyachtbritannia.co.uk
there are approximately only 300 left. Their high intelligence means they’re well worth a view – not to mention Edinburgh’s Giant Pandas! www.edinburghzoo.org.uk
DANCE THE NIGHT AWAY WITH DANCE BASE
Scotland’s National Centre for Dance has one mission: to get people moving. With a staggering variety of courses, drop-in sessions, workshops and treatments, Dance Base appears to be on its way to doing just that! Right in the centre of Old Town at Grassmarket, it’s never been easier to come along for their Disco and Hip Hop class, or try their Michael Jackson Mania session – rise to the challenge of mastering his ‘Beat It’ choreography! www.dancebase.co.uk
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DISCOVER YOUR CREATIVITY WITH WALKING WITH POETS
The renowned Scottish Poetry Library has teamed up with the Royal Botanic Gardens to create “Walking with Poets”, a free event. Share your thoughts, views and revelations and immerse
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FULL DAY KEEPER EXPERIENCE
Edinburgh Zoo are offering the opportunity for you or a lucky loved one to become a real zoo keeper for a day! Get hands-on with your favourite animals, help with their feeds and watch them train. Learn all about the life of a zookeeper and how you can enrich the animals’ lives firsthand. Visit their website for more details. www.edinburghzoo.org.uk/ shop/keeperexperiences
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CIRCUS CAVALCADE
Fun for all the family, Circus Cavalcade has come to Edinburgh from all across the UK. These highly-skilled performers will be showcasing their vast talents for the first time – including a pre-show circus workshop for kids. See them in action at the Edinburgh Royal Botanic Gardens on the 8th, 9th and 10th. www.edfringe.com/event/ CIRCUSC
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CHILDRENS CERRIE BURNELL
Free your mind
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Cerrie Burnell is happy to be a role model for people with disabilities, but the issues her show addresses are universal
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WORDS MARK FISHER
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HE LAST TIME CERRIE BURNELL WAS IN a play in Edinburgh she was visibly pregnant. It was 2008 and she had been cast as a nurse in The First to Go, a tough drama by Nabil Shaban about the relatively unknown Nazi programme to exterminate people with disabilities. “The character had a baby at the end of the play, so it was a bit of an in-joke,” she recalls. This was before Burnell came to national attention as a children’s television presenter. The fact that her right arm finishes at the elbow was all it took for small-minded viewers to complain to the BBC, claiming she was “scaring” their children and giving them nightmares. Happily, Burnell is too well-balanced and comfortable with her own body to let such prejudice get her down. “I’ve had it all my life, so I think about it as much as I think ‘I’ve had about the colour of my eyes or my it all my life, big toe,” she says. “It’s just part of me.” so I think about it That’s not to say the issue of as much as I think disability rights is not dear to about the colour her. She says: “I consider it in terms of my work, but I don’t of my eyes or consider it on a personal basis.” my big toe’ It is a theme she has returned to repeatedly in her work. Her first play for children, 2007’s Winged: A Fairytale, was about a one-winged fairy. Her forthcoming picture book, Snowflakes is about a girl who discovers she is “perfect in her own way”. And her new Fringe show, The Magical Playroom, is about a girl who wants to be a ballerina and is furious when she is told she has to wear a false arm for dancing lessons. Premiering in Edinburgh before a national tour, the one-woman show follows Liberty Rose as she rebels against this imposition, just as the nine-year-old Burnell herself did (she hasn’t worn a prosthetic arm since). The little girl’s only escape from the injustice of the adult world lies in the imaginative landscape of her toys. www.edfestmag.com
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“The Magical Playroom is a very different story to Winged, but it’s kind of about the same thing,” says Burnell, who stars in the play. “I’m in a really lucky position to have the CBeebies audience already on board. Because I am a disabled role model (whether I wanted that or not), I want to use that in the most positive way I can by telling a story that hasn’t been told before.” She knows she is describing a very particular set of circumstances, but the play has a resonance that affects all audiences. “The real message is a universal theme that anyone can understand, which is about disobeying the authority of your parents,” says Burnell, whose daughter, now five, will be accompanying her to Edinburgh. “It’s something every child goes through. It’s about children being able to have autonomy over their lives and being able to make choices. It’s also about the importance of listening to children – I hope it inspires the parents to be more confident to do that.”
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Burnell joined CBeebies as a presenter in 2009
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WHEN & WHERE
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The Magical Playroom Pleasance Courtyard, 31 July–18 August (not 14), 11am. From £7.50, Tel: 0131 556 6550
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CHILDRENS PHILIPPE GENTY A U G U S T
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Homerfrom home A magical retelling of the Odyssey from a kitchen table puts the skills of puppeteer Philippe Genty into perspective WORDS MARK FISHER
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ANS OF PHILIPPE GENTY are chocolates and his boat is a dustpan are used to seeing puppetry on a set on top of a brush with a fan for a sail. A very big scale. The internationally soda fountain is a whale spurting up water lauded French master specialises and the table as sea, desert and island. in out-size, fantastical visions: a woman “This time we’re bringing a very small cradled in an enormous blue show but Philippe never has a hand; a man colliding with a ‘ The puppet small imagination,” says Mary floating pink orb; a creepy Underwood, Genty’s wife is very insect the size of a human and collaborator of 45 being crawling the stage; years. “When Philippe real and not a platoon of naked babies picks an object it has an object any parachuting from above... to have a metaphorical more. It’s By contrast, the meaning.” 75-year-old’s latest show Performed in English much more is an intimate affair. Pitched by three actors, Dustpan imaginative’ Odyssey is enlivened by at family audiences, Dustpan Odyssey takes place on nothing songs and constant bigger than a table top. In this movement. With light-hearted retelling of Homer’s ancient the complicity of the audience, the Greek epic, the characters and props are transformation is complete. “The puppet is household objects. Our wandering hero very real and not an object any more,” says Odysseus is played by a corkscrew. His men Genty. “It’s much more imaginative.”
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To grown-ups, this may seem unusual. To younger audiences, it is second nature. When children are at play, they continually transform one thing into another. “The idea of object theatre comes from the children,” says Underwood. “If you watch children playing, they will take an object and transform it into a boat or a snake.” Genty, who remains active despite suffering a stroke two years ago, attributes his restless imagination and roaming spirit to a troubled childhood. “When I was six, my father was killed in a skiing accident and my mother didn’t tell me he had been killed until a year later. I felt very guilty because she put me straight into a boarding school. I escaped from 16 boarding schools. I just couldn’t stand the discipline.” His next escape was into the arts. He qualified as a graphic designer before running off on a four-year world tour in a 2CV. Nowadays, Philippe escapes into the world of the imagination where he finds the theme of escape cropping up time and time again. Small-scale or large, he refuses to accept barriers, bringing in whatever technique serves his intentions best. “We take a long time to pick our artists,” says Underwood. “We always say to them, ‘If you want to be an actor and just talk, you’re not for us. If you want to be a dancer and just want to dance, you’re not for us. You have to learn to manipulate, to talk and to move.’”
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WHEN & WHERE
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Dustpan Odyssey, New Town Theatre, 14–25 August, 12.10pm. From £6, Tel: 0131 220 0143
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MUSIC TATTOO
Piping hot
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Brigadier David Allfrey MBE explains what’s behind the Tattoo spectacle
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HEN THE LAST producer of the Tattoo resigned, there was a good, strong field of competent contenders. So I was slightly surprised when they offered me the job. It was a scary 24 hours, talking with my wife, deciding if we were going to leave the Army early to come and do this. But Edinburgh’s a fantastic place to live and work and everyone’s been so nice. I have three roles: there’s the private sector and the charity sector to balance – we have given about £10 million over the years to charities and give a grant to the Edinburgh International Festival. There’s also an element of engaging with governments both here and around the world.
I’m very new to this - most of the people 2013 is the Year of Natural Scotland, so in my office have been doing the job much our theme is Our Wonderful World. The longer than I have. I’ve had two years of two great theorists of evolution, Wallace intense training, coming up to my third and Darwin, both have a connection show now. to Scotland. Darwin is connected to All of us are trying to put on amazing Edinburgh University and Wallace himself shows when the economics are quite tough, was Scottish, so there’s a tremendous sense and people are pretty discriminating of evolution here. about when and how they spend We’ve got night and day, life and their money. The challenge is death and the four seasons. ‘Everyone not just to entertain, but to Spring will be represented thinks we have a inspire. by South Korea, with Every night, the cherry blossom and wonderful life, audience is 8,800. wonderful dancers with working really 220,000 people see the fans. Of course, the sun hard in August show each year. If you rises in the east, so that’s compare that to booking the first place to get spring. then skiving Wembley Arena five nights We then head to Mexico for for 11 months’ in a row, there aren’t many summer. There’s going to who would contemplate it. be a wonderful sound, My lasting memory is of bringing with all the trumpets my own son aged seven, and watching him and 120 mariachi and dancers. They also standing on his chair, dancing and swinging celebrate the Day of the Dead in Mexico, his kilt in the rain. when they lay out gifts and food for their long-dead relations, so we’ve got a little bit of darkness in the middle of the show. After a long vigil in the cemeteries, there is a massive Mexican party before we go to autumn, played by New Zealand. Russia will be winter. In amongst that, we have our more traditional acts. The Highland dancers will do daybreak and the Lochiel Marching Drill Team will do nightfall. The Lone Piper, drums and everyone will all fit around this. Everyone thinks we have a wonderful life, working really hard in August then skiving for the remaining 11 months. The reality is that each show takes up to three years to build. But it’s been great, and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed it. Unlike normal concert promoters, almost all of our acts are relianton a government supporting them. Last year we had Patrick Doyle, the composer of Disney’s Brave, and this year we’ve been talking about the score of The Hobbit. We get very emotional about the soundtrack; it’s right at the heart of the show, beyond everything. It’s the music that catches people out.
WHEN & WHERE
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The 2013 Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo, 2 – 24 August, times vary. Price from £26, 0131 225 1188
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FOOD FOODIES FESTIVAL
Fest’s best Edinburgh’s biggest food festival is back at Inverleith Park with the usual fun and new surprises WORDS AMY MCGOLDRICK
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IGGER AND BETTER THAN EVER, Foodies Festival is back in Inverleith Park for the third year running on 9th, 10th and 11th August. Both Fringe fans and foodies will be flocking to the gates for this jam-packed weekend. With Michelinstarred chefs, the all-new Cake & Bake Theatre, Chocolate Theatre and BBQ Area, alongside over 200 exhibitors, don’t miss out on an unrivalled fun day out. Sponsored by Aga Rangemaster and Jamie magazine, Foodies Festival started in Edinburgh and is now the UK’s largest food and drink festival. With masterclasses, live entertainment and chef demonstrations from Michelinstarred and top chefs, visitors will pick up expert tips and inspiration. Familiar Fringe faces will also be making an appearance, with Stephen K Amos and Gyles Brandreth heading up the list of funnymen who’ll be cooking up favourite recipes. In the Chefs Theatre, witness the Balmoral’s Michelinstarred head chef Jeff Bland cook his signature dishes live to the audience. Mark Greenaway will also be drawing in the crowds. It’ll be a welcome return for Jacqueline O’Donnell, of Glasgow’s The Sisters, as she demonstrates her approachable recipes. A new face to look out for is Craig Sandle of the Pompadour by Galvin in The Caledonian. The Pompadour recently won Best Urban Restaurant at the Scottish Restaurant Awards, and Craig has proved himself a tour de force in the kitchen. Walk through the Street Food Avenue and enjoy everything from kangaroo burgers to Tunisian tagines. International flavours and spices combine with local and artisan produce to bring you the very best in global cuisine. Meanwhile, Edinburgh’s top restaurants will be serving tasters of their best dishes,
TOP 5 AT FOODIES FESTIVAL Cocktail masterclass Whip up an incredible cocktail with Edinburgh’s Treacle bar Stephen K Amos The Foodies favourite will be on stage in the Chefs Theatre Sciolti Chocolates Using foraged ingredients from the English countryside, Fiona Sciolti demonstrates that
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luxury chocolate doesn’t have to cost the earth. Tucker’s Exotic Pick up your ostrich, kangaroo and biltong here. Tuck in! Elemis spa bus Luxurious treatments help you to forget the hustle and bustle of the festival.
allowing you the chance to sit back and relax with fine food from Edinburgh’s best-known hotspots. In the Drinks Theatre this year they have GMTV’s Charles Metcalfe, bringing his extensive knowledge of the world of wine. Enjoy sherry tastings, wine and food matching and champagne classes all weekend. Local boutique Eteaket will be showcasing their fascinating tea and cocktail masterclass. Learn what treats you can whip up with a shaker of green tea or some left over Earl Grey and gin. www.edfestmag.com
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Geraldine Coates is on hand to take you through the world of gin; her Gintime masterclasses take a trip through the sights, smells and history of one of the UK’s favourite spirits. ‘The VIP tent The Cake & Bake Theatre will host will offer a glass the greatest that sugarcraft, breads of bubbly on arrival, and sweet treats have to offer. Top experts will be taking you through priority seating for their intricate but easy recipes to wow the masterclasses your friends and family at home. Also new this year is the Chocolate Theatre; and a two-course Coeur de Xocolat will be giving chocolate taster meal’ and wine matching classes, alongside demonstrations on how to make your own chocolate truffles. Sample and buy quality champagnes courtesy of Lamson, new gin from Pinkmeisters and delectable wines from www.edfestmag.com
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Discover the Origin. Whether you’re after top tips, delicious dishes, artisan food and drinks or just a fun day out with friends, come along and get involved! VIP ticketholders will have access to their own exclusive tent, which will offer a glass of bubbly on arrival, priority seating for the masterclasses and a taster meal from the pop-up restaurants - not to mention a goody bag. Tickets are on sale now, so visit www.foodiesfestival. com to order online, or call 0844 995 1111. Children under 12 go free. Buy one, get one free with the earlybird code FOODIES241.
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Foodies Festival (www.foodiesfestival.com) Inverleith Park, 9-11 Aug. From £12, Tel: 0844 995 1111
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HIGH-END RESTAURANTS www.edfestmag.com main focus of the regular menu from head chef Matti Camorani, a protégé gnocchi of Giorgio Locatelli. Think pork fillet, saffron gremolata and basil crust or guinea fowl stuffed with mushrooms and cabbage with roasted vegetables. The desserts, especially the poached pear, honey ice cream and amaretto jelly, are more experimental. The restaurant won the Italian Restaurant of the Year award at the Scottish Restaurant Awards in 2011, 2012 and were nominated again this year.
From Michelin star extravagance to simply delicious dinners, sample the best WORDS JONATHAN TREW
21212 3 Royal Terrace Tel: 0845 222 1212 www.21212restaurant.co.uk Near Five minutes from the Playhouse
Having opened in May 2009, Paul Kitching’s opulent restaurant was awarded a Michelin star the following January. The contemporary dining room and open kitchen are housed in an elegant Georgian townhouse but the food is cutting-edge modern. Expect the unexpected from the daily changing menu, with many of the dishes featuring head-spinning numbers of ingredients all carefully balanced. A typical dish might be the starter of white crab claw slaw; a creamy gourmet mushroom risotto including shitake, shimeji, button, morel, truffle and chestnut; cucumber wafers; smoked duck and pak choi with a morel mushroom, Madeira and white truffle oil sauce. It’s a bold, sometimes baffling and unique experience, though Kitching claims to have calmed his more extravagant tendencies. AMBER RESTAURANT Scotch Whisky Experience 354 Castlehill Tel: 0131 477 8477 www.amberrestaurant.co.uk Near Two minutes from the Tattoo
With 300 malts, this restaurant café at the top of the Royal Mile will put a smile on the face of any whisky fan. During the day, the café menu includes dishes such as Scottish tapas or lamb stovies. In the evening, the candles come out and the operation kicks up a couple of gears, with options such as guinea fowl beast with skirlie, spinach and
THE FORTH FLOOR at Harvey Nichols, 30-34 St Andrew Square Tel: 0131 524 8350 www.harveynichols.com Near Five minutes to The Stand
glazed carrots. Whisky heads can ask the sommelier to match malts to each course of their meal. If you want to push the boat out, try private dining in the vault, housing the Diageo Claive Didiz Scotch Whisky Collection. BLACKWOOD’S BAR & GRILL 10 Gloucester Place Tel: 0131 225 2720 www.niracaledonia.com Near Five minutes to St Stephen’s
Impeccably sourced Scottish ingredients, much of it cooked in a charcoal-fired Josper grill, are at the heart of this restaurant. Blackwood’s is part of the Nira Caledonia hotel and the dining room is as elegant as the Georgian townhouse it sits in. The food tends towards the honest and simple. Grass-fed Highland cattle provide the dry aged steaks. Given a light, smoky tang from the Josper served with a shallot and port wine jus, it’s hard to see past the sirloin steak; but there’s a good case for starters such as the Shetland mussels cooked with white wine and chilli. CASTLE TERRACE 33-35 Castle Terrace Edinburgh Tel: 0131 229 1222 www.castleterracerestaurant.com Near Five minutes from Traverse
Tom Kitchin, the Michelin hotshot chef and owner of The Kitchin, opened this new venture in 2010 and it was given its own star by the Michelin Guide in October 2011. Kitchin’s old friend and colleague Dominic Jack, who had had a similarly stellar career to Kitchin, is the main man in the kitchen. They have also won both Restaurant of the Year and Most Innovative Restaurant at the 2012 Scottish Restaurant Awards. Sourced, seasonal, local produce with a touch of the Med is the house style. Think seared fillet of North Sea John Dory, served on a ragout of coco beans, artichoke and aged balsamic. The three-course lunch is for £26.50. One of Edinburgh’s top restaurants. CUCINA AT HOTEL MISSONI 1 George IV Bridge Tel: 0131 240 1666 www.hotelmissoni.com Near Two minutes from Underbelly
(l-r) Forth Floor, 21212, The Kitchin www.edfestmag.com
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Opened in June 2009, Hotel Missoni was the first in a series of hotels from the Italian fashion and design house Missoni. The first-floor restaurant is a buzzy space majoring in a modern take on classic Italian cooking. Well-sourced, seasonal ingredients treated simply are the
With views across the city skyline, very professional staff and a good wine list, Harvey Nicks has a lot going for it. In the recently revamped restaurant (ask for a booth), head chef Stuart Muir rustles up main courses such as the roast saddle of Highland venison with pomme mousseline, braised cabbage, stuffed plum with haggis and cocoa nibs. The brasserie menu is simpler and correspondingly cheaper. Typical dishes might be the roast Loch Duart salmon with sautéed potatoes and cherry tomatoes or the pan-fried calf’s liver. On a sunny afternoon, if you can get a seat, the balcony is a great place for a steak frites or seafood platter. They are pretty nifty with a cocktail shaker as well. THE HONOURS 58a North Castle Street Tel: 0131220 2513 www.thehonours.co.uk Near Five minutes to Book Festival
Having kick-started Edinburgh’s Michelin star rush with his eponymous fine dining restaurant in Leith, Martin Wishart’s city centre venture is his take on a classic Parisian brasserie. It certainly looks like a grand old European institution – all high ceilings, mirrors and marble effect floors. The menus consist mainly of polished brasserie classics. Think salt cod with carrot and star anise purée, rigatoni and black pudding sauce, or crispy pork belly with spiced lentils, sea scallops and apple. Paul Tamburrini, an old compadre of Wishart’s, heads up the kitchen. The set lunch and pretheatre menus are good value for money, too. EDINBURGH FESTIVALS 2013
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HIGH-END RESTAURANTS www.edfestmag.com THE KITCHIN 78 Commercial Quay, Leith Tel: 0131 555 1755 www.thekitchin.com Near Ten minutes by taxi to City centre
Open less than a year before gaining its first Michelin star, Tom Kitchin’s restaurant has lit up Edinburgh’s dining scene and his subsequent TV appearances have further polished his reputation. The chef trained with big names such as Pierre Koffmann and Alain Ducasse, which is reflected in the classical French slant to the food. ‘From nature to plate’ is the restaurant’s philosophy and a recent menu boasted dishes such as seared, hand-dived Orkney scallop served with a ragoût of sea kale from Eassie Farm; poached monkfish tail from Scrabster, cooked on the bone with saffron, squid, winkles and squid ink pasta and roast breast of duck from Loomswood Farm served with duck leg pastille, endive tatin and an orange sauce. You’ll pay top whack, but remember the meal long after the bill stops stinging. MITHAS 7 Dock Place Tel: 0131 554 0008 www.mithas.co.uk Near Ten minute taxi to Playhouse
Although run by the same people as the popular Khushi’s, Mithas bears as much relation to the standard Indian restaurant as foie gras does to liverwurst. Having won Best Indian Restaurant at the Scottish Restaurant Awards last year, they aim to redefine what its customers think of as a typical Indian restaurant. Mithas is pitched at the fine-dining end of the market. Forget chicken tikka masala and think monkfish tikka, tandoori duck and whole tawa lobster, delicately spiced before being cooked on the tawa grill.
LUNCH AND BRUNCH HOT SPOTS CITY CAFÉ 19 Blair Street, EH1 1QR www.thecitycafe.co.uk Great value for money – and a full stomach! SPOON 6a Nicolson Street EH8 9DH www.spoonedinburgh.co.uk Fresh, affordable, organic produce. ROSELEAF 23/24 Sandport Place, EH6 6EW www.roseleaf.co.uk Cosy, relaxed and comfortable. URBAN ANGEL 121 Hanover Street, EH2 1DJ www.urban-angel. co.uk A varied menu both fills and refreshes. BREW BAR 6-8 South College Street, EH8 9AA www.brewlabcoffee.co.uk
Single-origin, sumptuous coffee with a Wifi connection to die for. BLACK MEDICINE COFFEE COMPANY 2 Nicolson Street, EH8 9DH www.blackmed.co.uk Carved wooden tables, great homemade food and a solid internet connection. HELLERS KITCHEN 15 Salisbury Place, EH9 1SL www.hellerskitchen.co.uk Enjoy Hellers’ packed breakfasts. LOOKING GLASS BOOKS 36 Simpson Loan, EH3 9GG This independent bookshopmeets-café is described as a ‘sanctuary for book lovers’, and has great coffee to boot. LOUDON’S 94b Fountainbridge, EH3 9QA Freshly made produce, spacious and central.
NUMBER ONE Balmoral Hotel, 1 Princes Street Tel: 0131 557 6727 www.restaurantnumberone.com Near Five minutes to Playhouse
Head Chef Jeff Bland secured a Michelin star at number one in 2003 and shows no sign of relinquishing it. The basement restaurant is as sumptuous as you might expect at one of Rocco Forte’s flagship hotels and it has deluxe food to match. Beef sirloin, tongue, shallot spelt risotto and aubergine purée is a feature on the menu. The a la carte is £64 for three courses. The multi-course taster menu offers a blow-out at £70 plus £55 if you want to spoil yourself with selected matching wines. ONDINE 2 George IV Bridge Tel: 0131 226 1888 www.ondinerestaurant.co.uk Near One minute to the Underbelly
Ondine is a smart, chic place whose distinguishing feature is a horseshoe crustacean bar where diners perch on stools, sip champers and tuck away oysters, clams and lobster.
THE MULROY 11a William Street Tel: 0131 225 6061 www.themulroy.co.uk Near Five minutes to Book Festival
Almost certainly Edinburgh’s most blue-blooded restaurant, the Mulroy is the baby of Clemens and Patricia Hoss-Estenfeld, a couple with close links to European royalty. You don’t need a king’s ransom to eat here, just an appreciation of top-notch French food courtesy of chef Damian Rolain, formerly of Abstract and The Atrium, plus assorted French Michelin-star restaurants. A typical main course might be the duo of Border spring lamb: roast saddle and braised shoulder, button mushroom, mint and green pea purée, chive pomme dauphine and lemon thyme jus.
(l-r) Plumed Horse, Urban Angel www.edfestmag.com
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HIGH-END RESTAURANTS www.edfestmag.com The hot shellfish platter with aioli is Brett’s signature dish but there are plenty of earthy meat options. Brett used to work for Rick Stein and shares his enthusiasm for sustainability. It’s always nice to know that your grilled langoustines in pastis butter are ethically sourced. Ondine is said to be Alex Salmond’s favourite restaurant.
STEAK 12 Picardy Place Tel: 0131 557 0952 www.steakedinburgh.com Near Two minutes to Playhouse
This new, dramatically designed restaurant has Jason Wright at the helm of the chargrill. An update on the steak house, it pulls in a young, swish crowd with a large variety of different beef cuts and breeds which are sold by the 100g. Very good it is too, although the aesthetic may not be for everyone.
PLUMED HORSE 50-54 Henderson Street Tel: 0131 554 5556 www,plumedhorse.co.uk Near Ten minutes by taxi to the City centre
THE TOWER Museum Of Scotland, Chambers Street Tel: 0131 225 3003 www.tower-restaurant.com Near Five minutes to Festival Theatre
Complex, classical cooking is the name of the game here. A typical starter would be guinea fowl and leek terrine with shallot and prune purée and pickled shimeji mushroom salad. Sautéed tranche of calves liver and pancetta, alongside horseradish mashed potato, broccoli, dubonnet and orange and shallot sauce is the sort of dish that might appear among the changing main courses. POMPADOUR BY GALVIN The Caledonian, A Waldorf Astoria Hotel, Princes Street Tel: 0131 222 8975 www.thepompadourbygalvin. com Near Five minutes from Usher Hall
The flagship restaurant of the relaunched Caledonian, a Waldorf Astoria Hotel, Pompadour by Galvin is a classic and high end French restaurant. Chris and Jeff Galvins’ surname is on the door but the day-to-day cooking is done by the talented Craig Sandle. Presented with verve and precision, dishes such as the roulade of foie gras and ham hock, pineapple purée and fennel croutons keep it innovative while respecting French traditions. The signature dish of chicken cooked in a pig’s bladder with foie gras sauce is a real showstopper. It won’t be a surprise if this adds to the growing haul of Michelin stars.
This has some of the best viewing to be had across the Grassmarket to the castle. Rock oysters, hand-dived scallops and very posh Isle of Mull crab fish fingers are among the shellfish options while the house venison Wellington; eggs Benedict with Bodega ham and bouillabaisse are typical of the Tower favourites. The wine list has won a Wine Spectator Award of Excellence.
RESTAURANT MARK GREENAWAY 69 North Castle Street Tel: 0131 226 1155 www.restaurantmarkgreenaway. com Near Five minutes from Assembly Rooms
Now in new premises, Mark continues to develop his own take on contemporary British cooking. Never dull, his dishes aim to surprise without feeling forced. A typical main course might be the Goosnargh duck, cooked sous vide and served with crispy skin, duck leg croquettes, watermelon, toast purée and tarragon jus. A three course dinner is upwards of £35 while the set lunch/pre-theatre starts at £16.50 for two courses.
RESTAURANT MARTIN WISHART 54 The Shore Tel: 0131 553 3557 www.martin-wishart.co.uk Near Ten minute taxi ride to City centre
Wishart trained with Michel and Albert Roux and worked alongside Marco Pierre White, so it is no surprise that his elegant cooking is strongly influenced by the classic French tradition. A typical dish might be the Shetland monkfish, with thinly sliced, confit tomato, Pecorino sardo, verjus and crispy shallot. Lunch is £70 for three a la carte courses, or £75 for six tasting courses. Unusually for a restaurant of this calibre, it has a dedicated vegetarian tasting menu. RHUBARB Prestonfield House Tel: 0131 225 1333 www.prestonfield.com Near Ten minute taxi to Pleasance
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Before James Thomson took over, Prestonfield House was showing its age. Enjoy its theatricality, where a typical dish might be a roast loin of Strathspey red deer, black pudding crumble, red cabbage purée and potato mousse.
WEDGWOOD THE RESTAURANT 267 Canongate, EH8 8BQ Tel: 0131 558 8737 www.wedgwoodtherestaurant. co.uk Near Five minutes to the Tattoo
Intimate and cosy, Wedgwood lets the food do the talking. Lacking any obvious pretention, the space is well utilised. With seasonal, local ingredients even foraged by the chefs themselves, Paul sources his flavours and textures keenly. Enjoy a starter of diver-caught king scallops with cauliflower korma, pistachio and peanut dust, pineapple and capers, and perhaps a main course of seaweed-crusted lamb loin with truffled goat’s cheese dauphinoise, black pudding and anchovy cream. THE WITCHERY BY THE CASTLE 352 Castlehill, Royal Mile Tel: 0131 225 5613 www.thewitchery.com Near Two minutes to the Tattoo
The building goes back centuries; candlelight, oak panelling and beamed ceilings complete the picture. Sourcing of ingredients is well signposted and the food hearty, with seafood platters jostling for space with double sirloin steaks served with goose fat chips. The wine list has won awards. www.edfestmag.com
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MID-RANGE RESTAURANTS www.edfestmag.com AMARONE 13 St Andrew Square Tel: 0131 523 1171 www.amaronerestaurant.co.uk Near Five minutes to Assembly Rooms
Decorated with blown glass and pictures of Italy, it aims to be more of a stylish Milanese restaurant than a rustic trattoria. The pizza and pasta sell well but don’t overlook popular dishes such as the chargrilled veal cutlet, dressed with a lemon and rosemary-infused olive oil with sautéed potatoes. THE ANGEL’S SHARE 9-11 Hope Street Tel: 0131 247 7000 www.angelssharehotel.com Near Five minutes to Usher Hall
The Angel’s Share has an opulent bar, restaurant and late night club called the Devil’s Cut. Lit by numerous chandeliers, the bar is covered with photos of famous Scots past and present. The menu flies the flag for Caledonian produce in dishes such as the Orkney cheddar macaroni cheese with a salted beef pot; slow cooked belly of pork stuffed with Stornoway black pudding and prime Scotch beef burgers topped with haggis. ANGELS WITH BAGPIPES 343 High Street Tel: 0131 220 1111 www.angelswithbagpipes.com Near Ten minutes to Tattoo
This atmospheric restaurant specialises in Scottish ingredients that are given a little Italian tweak. An example might be the rump of Highland lamb with pea, sweetbread, anchovy and Romesco. Check out the Halo Room which hangs out above Roxburgh’s Close. BAR SOBA 104 Hanover Street Tel: 0131 225 6220 www.barsoba.co.uk Near Two Minutes to Assembly Rooms
‘Eat, drink, dance and get lucky’ is
COCKTAIL HOTSPOTS BRAMBLE BAR 16a Queen Street, EH2 1JE www.bramblebar.co.uk An electric atmosphere and great music, this bar is a stylish hideaway. 99 HANOVER ST 99 Hanover Street, EH2 1DJ www.99hanoverstreet.com Comfy armchairs, candles, drapes and decadent lighting and reasonably-priced drinks abound. AMICUS APPLE 17 Frederick Street, EH2 2EY www.amicusapple.com Tasty tipples and a small menu of lovely food to keep you going.
the strap line for this lively, newish bar. You’re on your own when it comes to getting lucky, but the Pan-Asian street food is the name of the game and the menu reads like a greatest hits package of South East Asia’s cuisines with Singapore noodles and Korean kimchee broth rubbing spicy shoulders with tempura, sushi and sticky pork salads. The DJs may make Bar Soba more suitable for younger diners rather than a place to take Gran. BIA BISTROT 19 Colinton Road Tel: 0131 452 8453 www.biabistrot.co.uk Near Ten minutes from King’s Theatre
Roisin and Matthias Llorente have worked all over the world, including Ramsays. Fresh, local, sustainable and homemade is their mantra. This means starters such as roasted bone marrow, red onion jam and toasted sourdough or the Clash Farm pork ballotine with pickled vegetables and quince jelly. Main courses might feature wood pigeon and onion and bacon tartlet with wild garlic.
BOND NO 9 8a Commercial Street, EH6 6LL Stylish and contemporary, offering great cocktails and great champagne. UNDER THE STAIRS 3a Merchant Street, EH1 2QD www.underthestairs.org A secret staircase into heaven, combining great food and drinks. MONTEITHS 61 High Street, EH1 1SR www.monteithsrestaurant.co.uk This speakeasy-style bar and restaurant offers bespoke surroundings, service and drink.
BLACKBIRD 37-39 Leven Street Tel: 0131 228 2280 www.theblackbirdedinburgh. co.uk Near Two Minutes to King’s Theatre
All stripped walls, vintage mirrors and artwork from students at the nearby Edinburgh College of Art. Buttermilk-fried chicken with sea salt and lemon or the braised chicken, apple and cider hotpot are among the more adventurous choices along side the burgers, fish stews and melting lamb shanks. BLACKFRIARS 61 Blackfriars Street Tel: 0131 558 8684 www.blackfriarsedinburgh.co.uk Near Ten minutes to Pleasance
The chef patron here used to be a sous chef at Martin Wishart’s Michelin-starred Leith establishment. The place has a no frills, bare brick decor and concise menus listing simple but tempting dishes. This means crackling and Bramley apple sauce, salt cod fritters and pork pies. Typical starters might include cured sea trout with lemon oil and fennel. BRITANNIA SPICE 150 Commercial Street Tel: 0131 555 2255 www.britanniaspice.co.uk Near Ten minute taxi ride from City Centre
(l-r) Bia Bistrot, Blackbird www.edfestmag.com
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Named after the Royal Yacht Britannia, Britannia Spice has a seafaring bearing to its interior. The menus are also well travelled with options from North India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Thailand
and Sri Lanka. Without getting your passport out, you can skim between Sri Lankan shahi chicken, Himalayan spicy trout and king prawns cooked in Bangladeshi style with mustard paste, green chillies and yoghurt. CAFÉ FISH 15 North West Circus Place Tel: 0131 538 6131 www.cafefish.net Near Five minutes to St Stephen’s
Café Fish offers a modern take on a seafood restaurant so expect starters such as spiced Bloody Mary oyster shooter and main courses like baked Scrabster lemon sole with brown shrimps, capers and parsley and lemon butter. Lunch is an inventive tapas style menu. LE CAFÉ ST HONORE 34 North West Thistle Street Lane Tel: 0131 226 2211 www.cafesthonore.com Near Five minutes to The Assembly Rooms
Organic where possible, seasonal and locally produced, the menus name check their suppliers. Head chef Neil Forbes, winner of the Chef of the Year award at the 2011 Scottish Restaurant Awards, is passionate about dishes such as their own hot smoked salmon, pickled cucumber, crème fraiche and toasted oats. CALISTOGA 70 Rose Street Lane North Tel: 0131 225 1233 www.calistoga.co.uk Near Five minutes to National Gallery of Scotland
Californian cooking is the flavour of the day and a typical starter might be the crab and lemon ravioli with shellfish tomato sauce, while Buccleuch flat iron steak, chargrilled with skinny fries and sweet chilli sauce is the sort of dish that appears among the main courses. The owner is a Californian wine enthusiast and sells a wide selection of them in the restaurant at just £5 above cost price. CENTOTRE 103 George Street Tel: 0131 225 1550 www.centotre.com Near Five minutes to Book Festival
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MID-RANGE RESTAURANTS www.edfestmag.com in the country, to provide the fireworks. From a 400g T-bone pork steak from Clash Farm served with Nonino Grappa apple salsa and raw Italian courgette salad to orecchiette pasta with cremini mushrooms, dried porcini, rocket, fresh cream and Parmigiano Reggiano. Delicious.
L’ESCARGOT BLANC 17 Queensferry Street Tel: 0131 226 1890 www.lescargotblanc.co.uk Near Five minutes to Book Festival
CHAOPHRAYA 4th Floor, 33 Castle Street Tel: 0131 226 7614 www.chaophraya.co.uk Near Five minutes from Assembly Rooms
Chaophraya boasts an extensive menu that covers the Thai classics, plus interesting crossover dishes. Papaya salads, spicy soups, curries and stir-fries are all present and correct but you may choose to investigate creations such as the seared scallops and black pudding which comes with fresh mango. DAVID BANN 56-58 St Mary’s Street Tel: 0131 556 5888 www.davidbann.com Near Two minutes to Pleasance Courtyard
Long a champion of vegan and vegetarian food in Edinburgh, David Bann’s much-lauded venture is a smart 21st century vegetarian restaurant and bar. As well as snacks and light meals, main courses include dishes such as the chilli pancake with grilled sweet potato, courgette and chocolate sauce or the beetroot, apple and Dunsyre Blue pudding which arrives as a soufflé. There are some interesting wines and local beers on the drinks list.
DIVINO 5 Merchant Street Tel: 0131 225 1770 www.vittoriagroup.co.uk Near One minute from Underbelly
Italian wine is the driving force at this suave wine bar. Think Valtellina Beef Carpaccio with rocket, Parmesan shaving and olive oil, made in-house ravioli and roast veal with potato purée and caponata. THE EDINBURGH LARDER BISTRO 1a Alva Street Tel: 0131 225 4599 www.edinburghlarder.co.uk Near Five minutes to Traverse
Ethically-sourced, seasonal Scottish ingredients. Expect foraged ingredients and a fair amount of pickling and smoking. Typical dishes are the braised Gartmorn Farm duck leg with gizzard pie, barley and seasonal cabbage or the braised chicory with Clava Brie parcel with Phantassie leaves and pickled vegetables. L’ESCARGOT BLEU 56 Broughton Street Tel: 0131 557 1600 www.lescargotbleu.co.uk Near Five minutes to The Playhouse
A hint of Piaf, Pernod ads on the wall and the smell of slowly cooking boeuf bourgignon drifting in from the kitchen make this pair of familyrun French brasseries very popular. The carefully-sourced Scottish produce is used extensively here to make dishes such as homemade fresh salmon and cod duet in filo parcel with tapenade and vierge sauce or the fresh fish served in fish soup with rouille, croutons and gruyère. FIELD 41 West Nicolson Street Tel: 0131 667 7010 www.fieldrestaurant.co.uk Near Five minutes to Gilded Balloon
Field is a cosy bistro with big ideas and a team that boasts some serious CVs. Situated between the Gilded Balloon and the Pleasance Courtyard, the 30 cover restaurant is perfectly located to pick up plenty of festive goers. The menu is inventive. A starter of Scottish salmon is beetroot-cured and served with a saffron crème fraiche; raisin and caper compote, cauliflower, pickled cucumber and a crispy crab ball while a roast lamb rump is served with an aubergine lasagne, polenta cake and basil jus. FIRST COAST 97-101 Dalry Road Tel: 0131 313 4404 www.first-coast.co.uk Near Five minutes from EICC
This bistro focuses on the simple, wholesome approach. Starters include marinated fillet with roasted red pepper salad. Expect main dishes like monkfish cheeks, red pepper and coconut stew, with baby potatoes and palm oil. The three course set menu is £24.50. FISHERS The Shore Tel: 0131 554 5666 Near Ten minute taxi ride to City Centre FISHERS IN THE CITY 54-58 Thistle Street Tel: 0131 225 5109 www.fishersbistros.co.uk Near Five minutes to Assembly Rooms
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As well as offering meaty options, the Leith branch of Fishers and www.edfestmag.com
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MID-RANGE RESTAURANTS www.edfestmag.com its City Centre offspring make full use of the teeming waters of Scotland’s coastline. Whole sea bass with crispy capers, smoked sea salt and charred lime with new potatoes and fillet of Loch Duart salmon en croute with sorrel butter sauce and sea salt roast potatoes make appearances on the regularly updated menus. There are daily specials as well as old favourites, such as fish cakes and soup. GALVIN BRASSERIE DE LUXE The Caledonian, A Waldorf Astoria Hotel, Princes Street Tel: 0131 222 8988 www.galvinbrasseriedeluxe.com Near Five minutes from the Usher Hall
As part of a multi-million pound refurbishment of The Caledonian Hotel, Michelin-starred chefs Chris and Jeff Galvin opened two new ventures in the Princes Street landmark. Galvin Brasserie de Luxe is their contemporary tribute to the great Parisian brasseries of yesteryear and Craig Sandle, formerly of The Balmoral, is the much praised Edinburgh chef who has been charged with realising their vision. A Scottish crustacea bar forms the centre piece of the space while a large circular bar is ideal for people who want to nip in for a quick lunch. Those with more time to spare could start with some razor clams or half a dozen Crerar oysters before moving on to the lemon sole Meuniere or perhaps the calves’ liver. At £15.50 for two courses, the set menu offers good value in a five star setting. LA GARRIGUE 31 Jeffrey Street Tel: 0131 557 3032 Near Ten minutes to the Pleasance LA GARRIGUE IN LEITH 88 Commercial Street Tel: 0131 553 5933 www.lagarrigue.co.uk Near Ten minutes to City Centre
Named after his place of birth in the Languedoc, La Garrigue is the award-winning baby of Jean-Michel Gauffre. French provincial cuisine is the general order of the day so look out for hearty, rustic dishes like the French rabbit filled with walnut and liver farce, on a bed of salsify and winter vegetables with parsley and garlic. An appearance on Gordon Ramsay’s Best Restaurants show led to Gauffre opening another branch, which is more informal and offers a lighter menu as well as a la carte. www.edfestmag.com
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HEWAT’S 19-21b Causewayside Tel: 0131 466 6660 www.hewatsrestaurant.com Near Five minutes from Queen’s Hall
(left) The Huxley GATEWAY RESTAURANT Royal Botanic Gardens, Arboretum Place Tel: 0131 552 2674 www.gatewayrestaurant.net Near Five minutes from Inverleith House
The Gateway Restaurant has cracking views over Edinburgh’s Botanic Gardens. Open for breakfast, lunch and afternoon tea, locally sourced, seasonal food is the mantra. Typical dishes might be eggs benedict and smoked haddock or creamed leek and connage clava crepes. Upmarket sarnies, afternoon teas and a waistline-expanding cake selection complete the line-up. GARDENER’S COTTAGE Royal Terrace Gardens Tel: 0131 558 1221 www.thegardenerscottage.co/ Near Five minutes to Playhouse
The Gardener’s Cottage is possibly the city’s most radical restaurant. Housed in a converted gardener’s cottage, the restaurant comprises two white-washed dining rooms separated by an open plan kitchen. Guests eat communally at large tables to a background wash of
old blues and jazz standards from a record player. In the evenings, dinner is a daily changing six course set menu for £30. Enthusiastically dedicated to local producers, typical dishes might be the duck and salt crust turnip served with a beer and onion purée. It’s genuinely good fun and as rewarding as it is different. THE HANGING BAT 133 Lothian Road Tel: 0131 229 0759 www.thehangingbat.com Near Two minutes to Filmhouse
One of a new wave of hip craft beer bars which are opening up, The Hanging Bat has its own microbrewery; an ever changing roster of artisan ales; a splendid collection of bottled beers from around the world and a mindwarping spread of gin – all of which are sufficient reason to visit. Should you need any further prompting, they serve dude food/street food/ beer food such as pulled pork rolls, beer mac ‘n’ cheese, smoked chicken wings and an inventive selection of hot dogs including the Greyfriars Bobby which, of course, is topped with haggis.
CRAFT BEERS AND BEER GARDENS HANGING BAT 133 Lothian Road, EH3 9AB www.thehangingbat.com Enjoy 6 cask and 14 keg lines for a night to quench your thirst. HOLYROOD 9A 9a Holyrood Road, EH8 8AE www.theholyrood.co.uk This dark pub produces 25 beer lines – 10 of them rotational. THE VINTAGE 60 Henderson Street, EH6 6DE www.thevintageleith. co.uk A great beer selection (even 2/3 of a pint!), and sharing platters.
PEAR TREE West Nicolson St, EH8 9DD www.pear-tree-house. co.uk The Pear Tree’s infamous cobbled courtyard and garden is the perfect place to unwind in the sunshine. THE OUTHOUSE 12A Broughton Street Lane, EH1 3LY www.outhouseedinburgh.co.uk With live music, world beers and a dynamic atmosphere, the Outhouse packs a punch.
Modern Scottish cooking is the name of the game which means starters such as Cullen skink with clams and main courses like rump of new season lamb with rosemary and redcurrant jus served with Delmonico potatoes, red cabbage, grilled courgette and vine tomatoes. HOTEL DU VIN 11 Bristo Place Tel: 0131 247 4900 www.hotelduvin.com Near One minute to Gilded Balloon
The wine theme is much evidenced in terms of the décor as well as lengthy, interesting wine list. The food is mainly classic French bistro dishes such as onion soup, oven roasted pork belly served with meaux mustard dauphinoise and Agen prune sauce and half a Normandy chicken. The grill menu, especially the Bistro Burger, has proved popular. THE HUXLEY 1 Rutland Street Tel: 0131 229 3402 www.thehuxley.co.uk Near Five minutes to Usher Hall
Edinburgh has seen a significant handful of craft beer bars opening up; enthusiastic about Scottish beers, keen on American-style menu items and fashionably scruffy. The Huxley is their slightly older, more polished brother. The Scottish craft beers are still on the taps but they also do cocktails. Gourmet sandwiches, burgers and hot dogs feature prominently but they are well travelled. At The Huxley, the Slum Dog comes with mango mayo, crispy onion bhaji flakes and mint crème fraiche. ‘Jai ho!’ as they say in Edinburgh’s West End. IGG’S 15 Jeffrey Street Tel: 0131 557 8284 www.iggs.co.uk Near Five minutes to the Pleasance
Iggy Campos makes the most of his Spanish roots. After a recent visit from the Restaurant Inspector of TV show fame, the operation has had a bit of a shake-up and all dishes are now available in small or large EDINBURGH FESTIVALS 2013
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MID-RANGE RESTAURANTS www.edfestmag.com portions. Think wood pigeon with wild mushrooms, crispy jamon and amontillado sherry jus; roast suckling pig with roasted vegetables and confit garlic; cod roulade with smoked salmon and spinach with a mussel broth and tomato concasse.
The eponymous Mr Neave may is definitely making a splash with his first restaurant. Neave is a big advocate of Scotland’s larder and ingredients such as West Coast scallops and Mull cheddar pepper his menus. The cooking has its roots in classic French technique but isn’t afraid to be a little experimental on occasion. An example would be the Perthshire roe deer served with carrot and lavender purée and a rosemary and Auchentoshan sauce.
IRIS 47a Thistle Street Tel: 0131 220 2111 www.irisedinburgh.co.uk Near Five minutes from Assembly Rooms
This City Centre restaurant boasts a modern menu that matches its smart casual looks. Some of the starters such as the roasted quail with spicy potatoes, orange and rocket salad look abroad for their culinary cue. Others such as the rib eye steak with black pepper and a squeeze of lemon or the roast duck breast coated with Drambuie and raspberries find inspiration closer to home. JAMIE’S ITALIAN 54 George Street Tel: 0131 202 5452 www.jamieoliver.com Near In the Assembly Rooms
The popular TV chef continues to roll out his chain of Italian restaurants. The recently refurbished Assembly Rooms offer a suitably grand setting. During the festival, the restaurant is not taking bookings for groups of less than eight. Last year, just after the branch opened, this policy meant that walk-ins, particularly during peak times, could be looking at a lengthy wait before tucking into their wild rabbit tagliolini. One suspects that Jamie’s pulling power hasn’t diminished since then. KANPAI 8-10 Grindlay Street Tel: 0131 228 1602 www.kanpaisushi.co.uk Near One minute to Lyceum
Edinburgh’s, some would say, best Japanese restaurant. Indeed, it won the Best Oriental Restaurant at the Scottish Restaurant Awards 2012. You can sit at the bar and watch the chefs, or just take a table and order a sushi and sashimi feast. We would recommend the dragon roll, mixed veg tempura and the grilled aubergine in sweet miso sauce close to paradise on a plate. KWEILIN 19 Dundas Street Tel: 0131 557 1875 www.kweilin.net Near Ten minutes to National Galleries
among their past customers. If that’s good enough for you then get stuck in to their tandoori chicken; fenugreek lamb and king prawn biryani. With three separate dining rooms, and cuisine that flows between Bengali and French. If the choice is too much then just let the staff guide you through one of their set menus. MICHAEL NEAVE KITCHEN AND WHISKY BAR 21 Old Fishmarket Close Tel: 0131 226 4747 www.michaelneave.co.uk Near Five minutes from Underbelly
MONTEITHS 61 High Street Tel: 0131 557 0330 www.monteithsbar.co.uk Near Five minutes from Pleasance Courtyard
Half funky bar, half proper restaurant, it serves delicious dishes, such as East Lothian asparagus with potted baked cheese and roasted onion or main courses such as wood pigeon served with black pudding and rhubarb chutney. The seriousness of the kitchen is contrasted with playful décor that includes a spider lamp made with several Anglepoise lights and a 3D paper stag head.
Serving Cantonese food for more than 25 years. Barbecued spare ribs, steamed fresh scallops with black bean sauce and chicken siu-mai are popular starters, while main courses range from the familiar char siu pork in honey sauce to fresh lobster. KYLOE 1-3 Rutland Street Tel: 0131 229 3402 www.therutlandhotel.com Near Five minutes from the Usher Hall
The striking ranch-style décor in Kyloe (it’s an old Scots word for cattle) may be distracting for some, but enjoy the tremendous views down Princes Street and across to the Castle. Beef, and more specifically, steak take pride of place on the menu and the latter comes in some interesting cuts as well as the better known forms. The inventive David Haetzman means that the non-grill dishes are worth investigating as well. Think grilled fillet of Shetland cod or saffron and Jerusalem artichoke risotto. LANCERS 5 Hamilton Place Tel: 0131 332 3444 www.lancersbrasserie.co.uk Near Five minutes to St Stephen’s
(l-r) The Vintage, Stac Polly, North Bridge Brasserie www.edfestmag.com
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MID-RANGE RESTAURANTS www.edfestmag.com NORTH BRIDGE BRASSERIE 20 North Bridge Tel: 0131 622 2900 www.northbridgebrasserie.com Near Five minutes from Edinburgh Festival Theatre
The Scotsman Hotel is a beautiful mix of wood panelling, marble and an enviable location in the heart of the city. The dishes tend to be seasonal, locally sourced and with a pronounced Scottish flavour. With three AA Rosettes this is no tartan tourist trap. Think of seared Isle of Sky scallops served with a chestnut and artichoke purée, orange and baby turnip or the rump of rare breed pork served with orzo and Stilton risotto, Granny Smith apple and crackling. NUMBER 11 11 Brunswick Street Tel: 0131 5576910 www.11brunswickst.co.uk Near Ten Minutes from Playhouse
Part of a recently refurbished Georgian town house hotel, the Brasserie at No11 is a spacious dining room, with walls lit up by exhibits from local artists. The
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Brunswick Street location is very handy for the Playhouse. Typical starters might be the smoked venison and cranberry tartlets or the Scotch broth. Among the main courses, pepper-cracked, honey smoked salmon tossed in cream and served on a bed of spaghetti or whisky smoked beef on fresh salad leaves feature on sample menus.
premises complete the day time offer. The menus change regularly but a typical evening main course might be the shin of beef, served with barley, spinach, a shallot purée, and red wine jus. The shop serves much of the menu in eat at home form. PETIT PARIS 38 Grassmarket Tel: 0131 226 2442 www.petitparis-restaurant.co.uk Near One minute from C venue
ONE SQUARE Sheraton Hotel 1 Festival Square Tel: 0131221 6422 www.onesquareedinburgh.co.uk Near Two minutes to Usher Hall
Local produce is to the fore with St Brides free range chicken, Thistly Cross cider and Macsween haggis all flying the flag for Scotland’s larder. Think Cullen skink, Ayrshire ham haugh terrine and Scottish langoustines grilled with garlic butter. THE PANTRY STOCKBRIDGE 1-2 North West Circus Place Tel: 0131 6290 206 www.thepantryedinburgh.co.uk Near Five minutes to St Stephen’s
Fresh, locally sourced and tasty
food is the aim at this New Town farm shop and kitchen. A family-run business, it offers breakfasts such as black pudding and Jerusalem artichokes, apple purée and cider vinegar dressed leaves or, if you are feeling healthy, the ‘bridge boost: hemp seed pancakes served with walnuts, banana, honey and sea buckthorn yoghurt. Light bites, lunches and cakes baked on the
Petit Paris was founded in 1998 but has been recently revamped. This is a cosy and often bustling little bistro that serves all the classics. Steak, grilled snails with garlic and Pernod, bouillabaisse, grilled Toulouse sausages and crème brûlée: it is all here. The outside seating is great for people-watching on a warm day. THE ROAMIN’ NOSE 4 Eyre Place Tel: 0131 629 3135 www.theroaminnose.com Near Ten minutes from St Stephen’s
At night, you might be feasting
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MID-RANGE RESTAURANTS www.edfestmag.com on grilled chicken, Prosciutto crudo and a squash, fennel and courgette salad or a rabbit stew in red wine. Yet, they are just as happy for visitors to pop in for a coffee and a lemon custard tart. The honey and walnut cake looks good, too. PURSLANE RESTAURANT 33a St Stephens Street Tel: 0131 226 3500 www.purslanerestaurant.co.uk Near St Stephen’s
Chef patron Paul Gunning is aiming for casual fine dining. Purslane has garnered pretty solid reviews for starters like the potted shrimp with caviar and melba toast, and mains of the harissa marinated rump of lamb with spiced cous cous and pickled carrots. SCOTTISH CAFÉ AND RESTAURANT The National Gallery of Scotland, The Mound Tel: 0131 226 6524 www.thescottishcafe andrestaurant.com Near The National Gallery
Winners of the Best Service Award 2012, at the National Gallery of Scotland, they are concentrating on sourcing the best ingredients direct from independent Scottish producers as well as their own garden. It is all used in starters such as seared Burnside Farm venison salad with pickled walnuts and radish, or main courses such as Pattullo asparagus bread and butter pudding, with spinach and nutmeg cream. SCRAN AND SCALLIE 1 Comely Bank Road Tel: 0131 332 6281 www.scranandscallie.com Near Ten minutes from St Stephen’s
This menu delivers Scottish dishes such as sheep’s heid broth as well
COOL TREATS CHOCOLATE TREE 123 Bruntsfield Place, EH10 4EQ www.the-chocolate-tree.co.uk Organic, indulgent delights to wow the senses. FRISKY 13 Forrest Road, EH1 2QH www.friskyfroyo.com Be as healthy or exorbitant as you like! MEADOWBERRY 10 Barclay Terrace, EH10 4HP www.meadowberry. co.uk All-natura, healthy alternatives to ice cream.
as turbo-charged pub favourites and hearty, traditional classics. So, the fish and chips are grilled monkfish tail with garlic, butter and chips; the house burger is made with Wagyu beef. SHEBEEN 8 Morrison Street Tel: 0131 629 0261 www.shebeenbar.co.uk Near Five Minutes from Usher Hall
Majoring in South African wines, beers and sport with contributions from the braai or barbeque. South African specialities like Boerewers sausage are great, but the steaks are the stars. SHILLA 13 Dundas Street Tel: 0131 556 4840 www.shilla-edinburgh.com Near Ten minutes from Portrait Gallery
One of Edinburgh’s few Korean restaurants, it has four different rooms. We’re talking fiery seafood hotpots, savoury omelettes, hot and sour soups, sushi, assorted stews and a selection of chargrilled meats.
PETER’S YARD 27 Simpson Loan, EH3 9GG www.petersyard.com Selling the best in ice cream, soups and sandwiches as well! CUCKOO’S BAKERY 150 Dundas Street, EH3 5DQ www.cuckoosbakery.co.uk This tea room offers takeaway lunches and a delivery service.
Influenced by the Slow Food movement. On the plate this might mean a small plate comprising a hand-dived scallop, brown shrimp and parsley or a main course-sized portion of hay-smoked chicken breast, wild leek and black pudding.
SCOOPZ MILKSHAKES 25-27 West Nicolson Street, EH8 9DB www.scoopz-uk.com Edinburgh’s largest range of simply mouthwatering milkshakes.
VALVONA AND CROLLA 19 Elm Row Tel: 0131 556 6066 www.valvonacrolla.co.uk Near Two minutes to The Playhouse
SPOON 6a Nicolson Street Tel: 0131 557 4567 www.spoonedinburgh.co.uk Near One minute from Festival Theatre
Hale, hearty and wholesome are the watchwords in dishes like the pork sirloin with hot and sour broth and pak choi, or mixed grill. THE SHORE 3 The Shore Tel: 0131 553 5080 www.fishersbistros.co.uk/ theshore Near Ten minute ride to City Centre
A small but smartish dining room off the bar. Look out for favourite main dishes such as the venison casserole, or sea bass with chorizo, butterbeans and black olive tapenade. It’s not unheard of for live music sessions to break out. STAC POLLY 29-33 Dublin Street Tel: 0131 556 2231 Near Ten minutes to the Playhouse 38 St Mary Street, Edinburgh 0131 557 5754 www.stacpolly.com Near Five minutes to Pleasance Courtyard
(l-r) L’Escargot Bleu, Timberyard www.edfestmag.com
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TIMBERYARD 10 Lady Lawson Street Tel: 0131 221 1222 www.timberyard.co Near Five minutes to Traverse
Dishes might include a starter of Loch Fyne queen scallops grilled in the shell topped with a smoked salmon and citrus butter, with a main of Borders lamb rump with a herb crust. A new development at Dublin Street branch is a transformation into a brasserie, gin and wine bar.
The menu changes daily but you can feast on meals such as Italian cooked ham, artichoke, cremini mushrooms, olives and mozzarella. WOODLAND CREATURES 260–262 Leith Walk Tel: 0131 629 5509 Near Five minutes from Out of the Blue Drill Hall
A wide selection of veggie dishes. Herbed mushroom pate with oatcakes and gnocchi in tomato sauce are prominent, but those with other preferences aren’t left out. THE VINTAGE 60 Henderson Street Tel: 0131 563 5293 www.thevintageleith.co.uk Near Ten minute taxi to Playhouse
The ballotine of rabbit filled with black pudding, served with parsnip and apple mash, bacon and cabbage means food here does more than simply soak up the extensive draught beers. YENI MEZE BAR 73 Hanover Street Tel: 0131 225 5755 www.yenirestaurant.com Near Five minutes from Assembly Rooms
Middle Eastern and Mediterranean meze dishes are offered along with a selection of mini-mains such as the Turkish speciality Iskender YUMMYTORI 90-92 Lothian Road Tel: 0131 229 2206 www.yummytori.co.uk Near Five minutes from Traverse
Japanese cocktails, many involving sake, are one of the attractions at this Japanese take on tapas. EDINBURGH FESTIVALS 2013
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ROXBURGH COURT - EDINBURGH -
ALSO AT EDINBURGH QUAY - QUEENSFERRY ST - OCEAN TERMINAL BOOK YOUR TABLE NOW at www.zizzi.co.uk or call 0131 2262661 Head to www.zizzi.co.uk for information, news and exclusive offers.
HOW TO FIND US 1 Roxburgh Court, Edinburgh, EH1 1PG Find us on Warriston’s close, next to Mary King’s Close
WE ARE HERE
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VALUE RESTAURANTS www.edfestmag.com Massive ceilings and windows mean plenty of light, even on the dreichest of August days, while the massive portraits give you something to chew over if your dining companion is being dull. Decent coffee and cakes plus well sourced, local ingredients.
ANN PURNA 45 St Patrick’s Square Tel: 0131 662 1807 www.annpurna-edinburgh.co.uk Near Five minutes to Queen’s Hall
A modest vegetarian restaurant that specialises in Gujerati cooking, the Ann Purna has long been a quiet success. A temple to healthy living, it is one of the few kitchens in Edinburgh which can take vegan customers without blinking. BEIRUT 14 - 20 Marshall Street 0131 667 9919 www.beirutrestaurant.co.uk Near Two minutes to Gilded Balloon
You can get food from most corners of the world in Edinburgh but Beirut would seem to be the city’s only Lebanese restaurant. As you would expect, they serve a massive range of mezze, or hot and cold starters, such as hummus topped with marinated lamb, falafel and tabouleh salad. Chargrilled meat takes pride of place in the mains selection. BLUERAPA 6 Torphichen Place Tel: 0131 629 0447 www.bluerapathai.co.uk Near Five minutes from EICC
Compact and simply decorated, this Thai restaurant next to Diane’s Pool Hall is a wee cracker. A family-run affair, its menu offers a tempting mix of familiar Thai restaurant dishes plus some less well known choices. This means that the expected green and red curries plus pad Thai are all present and correct but there is also a much wider than usual range of spicy salads and lots of seafood. The prices, not to mention the BYOB policy, will be a pleasant surprise. BONSAI BAR BISTRO 14 Broughton St 0131 557 5093
CHEZ JULES 109 Hanover Street Tel: 0131 226 6992 www.chezjulesbistro.com Near Five minutes to National Gallery
CAFE ANDALUZ 77 George Street Tel: 0131 220 9980 www.cafeandaluz.com Near Five minutes to Book Festival
This spacious and largely hidden tapas restaurant looks the part: all Moorish tiles and ceramics. In general, the tapas selection is fairly lively. The albondigas and gambas pil pil are all present along with slightly more intriguing options like the Andalucian black pudding with onion and apple chutney; the chiperones or crisp baby squid and the roast, salted padron peppers. Eating the latter is a little like playing Russian roulette.
sautéed potato and rosemary vinaigrette. Think rack of Borders lamb with slow baked coriander and garlic aubergine, or rose veal chop with wilted little gem lettuce and a poached duck egg. CAFE PORTRAIT Scottish National Portrait Gallery Cafe 1 Queen St Tel: 0131 624 6200 www.nationalgalleries.org Near Ten minutes from Assembly Rooms
The dynamic Frenchman Pierre Levicky’s Chez Jules bistro joins his flagship Pierre Victoire on Eyre Place. Expect simple French bistro dishes such as steak frites, frogs’ legs and coq au vin at keen prices. CHOP CHOP 248 Morrison Street Tel: 0131 221 1155 Near Five minutes from EICC 76 Commercial Quay 0131 553 1818 www.chop-chop.co.uk Near Ten minute taxi to City Centre
Chop Chop offers authentic
CAFÉ MARLAYNE 76 Thistle Street 0131 226 2230 Near Five minutes to Assembly Rooms 13 Antigua Street Tel: 0131 558 8244 www.cafemarlayne.com Near Two minutes to Playhouse
The original Café Marlayne on Thistle Street booked up fast so the more recent and more casual branch on Antigua Street at the top of Leith Walk is a welcome addition. French cooking comes through most clearly in dishes such as the starter of boudin noir with king scallops,
BONSAI BAR BISTRO 46 West Richmond Street Tel: 0131 668 3847 www.bonsaibarbistro.co.uk Near Five minutes from Festival Theatre
Living up to its name, this Japanese restaurant is a petit, homely affair that serves sushi, sashimi and yakatori dishes. Try the shiitake mushrooms in soy and garlic butter or the beef tataki. Bonsai does do French fries but they come with Japanese brown sauce. www.edfestmag.com
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VALUE RESTAURANTS www.edfestmag.com dishes from the north east of China and there is nothing else quite like it in town. Highlights of the menu are the dumplings which come boiled or fried. Try the pork and chive versions although the pork and celery versions also have their fans. The garlicky, sticky panfried aubergines are also a must. An appearance on Gordon Ramsay’s F Word has made it harder to get a table.
way. Just a short lurch from the Pleasance, The Holyrood is a neat bar restaurant. They have twenty beers on tap ranging from mass market standards to Scottish artisan brews. Gourmet burgers form the meaty heart of the menu. Take a walk on the wild side with, say, The Bohemian which pairs the burger with chilli Gouda, sliced turkey, prosciutto and pesto mayo.
THE DOGS 110 Hanover Street Tel: 0131 220 1208 www.thedogsonline.co.uk Near Five minutes from Assembly Hall
(left) Holyrood
Idiosyncratic restaurateur David Ramsden has got it right at his quirkily stylish, city centre venue. The old school British food is honest, straight forward and priced to go. It’s earthy, filling stuff. Think along the lines of devilled liver, onions, bacon and mushrooms on toast; braised lamb shank, horseradish and spelt stew, with fresh mint and oil, and fish and seafood pie with mash and cheese crust.
GUCCHI 9/10 Commercial Street Tel: 0131 555 5604 www.guchhi.com Near Ten minute taxi to city centre
EARTHY 1-6 Canonmills Bridge Tel: 0131 556 9696 www.earthy.co.uk Near Ten minutes from St Stephens
HANEDAN 41 West Preston Street Tel: 0131 667 4242 www.hanedan.co.uk Near Five minutes from Queens Hall
If farmers’ markets had funky indoor cafes then they would probably look like this. Opened this spring, Earthy is all about local, seasonal foods and a fair deal for the people who produce them. Cracking sandwiches; classy salads; elegant risotto and meaty game pies are typical fare along with very good cakes. LA FAVORITA 3-331 Leith Walk Tel: 0131 554 2430 www.la-favorita.com Near Ten minutes from Playhouse
La Favorita is a recently revamped, smart-casual pizzeria and gourmet pasta restaurant. Using two woodfired ovens, Tony Crolla wants to ‘make the best pizzas in Scotland’. Few would argue that he makes a very decent stab at it and his claim is backed with an AA rosette. Try the Montanara: tomato sauce, mozzarella, woodland mushrooms, Italian sausage and truffle oil. www.edfestmag.com
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An Indian seafood restaurant. Yes, they serve the food that everyone else does but they also dish up more adventurous choices such as the oven-baked scallops in a Bombay Duck sauce, tandoori crab and a seafood platter with Indian dips.
This small Turkish restaurant has made itself a welcome fixture in the Southside. The mixed mezze are fresh and zingy but save space for the chargrill. There are veggie options available but the various kebabs are a meat-eater’s dream. Only two dishes cost more than a tenner which, combined with the generous portions, means you would be hard pushed to eat more than £15 per head here. THE HOLYROOD 9A 9a Holyrood Road Tel: 0131 556 5044 www.theholyrood.co.uk Near Two minutes to Pleasance Courtyard
Love beer? Like burgers? Step this
TOP CLUB HAUNTS LULU 125b George Street, EH2 4JN www.luluedinburgh. co.uk Georgian architecture with 21st century wowfactor. OPAL 51a George Street, EH2 2HT www.opallounge.co.uk A bespoke club with great DJs.. ELECTRIC CIRCUS 36 Market Street, EH1 1DF www.theelectriccircus.biz A colourfulvenue with a great live stage. CITY NIGHTCLUB 1a Market Street, EH1 1DE www.cityedinburgh. co.uk Dance the night away!
ESPIONAGE 4 India Buildings, Victoria Street, EH1 2EX www.espionage007. co.uk/edinburgh With five floors. REVOLUTION 30a Chambers Street, EH1 1HU www.revolution-bars.co.uk/ edinburgh Tasty food and flowing vodka. LAVA & IGNITE 3 West Tollcross, EH3 9BP www.lavaignite.com/edinburgh A night out suited to all! HMV PICTUREHOUSE 31 Lothian Road, EH1 2DJ www.mamacolive.com/ thepicturehouse This venue continually hosts the cream of the gigging crop.
ILLEGAL JACK’S 113 Lothian Road Tel: 0131 622 7499 www.illegal- jacks.co.uk Near Five minutes to Lyceum
A relatively recent settler on Lothian Road, the eponymous Jack has quickly made a name for himself thanks to his fresh, fast and good value take on Tex Mex or South West food. Burritos, tacos, quesadillas, chilli bowls and fajitas form the backbone of the menu. Where Jack differs from his High Street competitors is that all his food is fresh and prepped on the day, except the meat which is marinated overnight. The fast and casual format sounds simple, but it’s enough to have won quite a following very quickly. KALPNA 2-3 St Patrick Square Tel: 0131 667 9890 www.kalpnarestaurant.com Near Two minutes to Assembly George Square
On the go for nearly thirty years, the Kalpna is obviously doing several things right. A vegetarian restaurant specialising in Punjabi, Gujerati and southern Indian cooking, its lunchtime buffets are definitely well loved. Their signature dish is the Dam Aloo Kashmeri, potato barrels filled with mixed vegetables, paneer and nuts served in a combination of a fresh tomato, honey and ginger sauce and a creamy almond and saffron sauce. KASTURI 35-37 Shandwick Place Tel: 0131 228 2441 www.kasturi-ed.co.uk Near Five minutes to St George’s West
The linen table cloths and ornate cornicing of Kasturi make it very much an Indian restaurant rather than a down home curry house. The menu doesn’t stray too far from the staples of Anglo-Indian cuisine but they do them with care. The spicing is spot on and the meat seems cooked to order. EDINBURGH FESTIVALS 2013
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VALUE RESTAURANTS www.edfestmag.com is on offer at this restaurant which specialises in a wide range of hot and cold mezze such as fatoush along with a good selection of meat cooked over charcoal. There’s a shisha lounge if you fancy a puff between shows.
KEBAB MAHAL 7 Nicolson Square Tel: 0131 667 5214 www.kebab-mahal.co.uk Near Two minutes from Gilded Balloon
With its canteen style décor, closely packed tables, if you want good, freshly made curries at knock-down prices then this is the place. The most expensive main course is £7.50 and most are under a fiver. KHUSHI’S 10 Antigua Street Tel: 0131 558 1947 www.khushis.com Near One minute to Playhouse
An Edinburgh icon, Khushi’s has been feeding the city curry and tandoori dishes since just after The Second World War. The menu is compact and contains few surprises but, at their best, every dish zings with fresh, vibrant flavours. KOYAMA 20 Forrest Road Tel: 0131 225 6555 www.koyama.co.uk Near Two minutes to Udder Belly
Koyama is one of a number of informal Japanese and Far East restaurants to have popped up in Edinburgh over the last couple of years. Wok-fried and soupy noodles jostle for space on the menu along with the sushi, sashimi and tempura. MAMMA’S 30 Grassmarket Tel: 0131 225 6464 www.mammas.co.uk Near Two minutes to C
Mamma’s American Pizza Company has been going strong in the Grassmarket for a quarter of a century. All the pizzas are freshly made and, as well as standard toppings such as mushroom and ham, customers can choose from exotics such as banana, haggis and cactus. Pizza is the point here but if that don’t float your boat then try the steak and Cajun salmon served on a hot stone. LOS CARDOS 281 Leith Walk Tel: 0131 555 6619 www.loscardos.co.uk Near Five minutes from Out of the Blue
Halfway between a takeaway and a cantina, this new place is ideal for a quick bite between shows. They call it ‘fresh Mex’ and the friendly staff whip up burritos, quesadillas www.edfestmag.com
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THE OLIVE BRANCH BISTRO 91 Broughton St Tel: 0131 557 8589 www.theolivebranchscotland. co.uk Near Five minutes to Playhouse (left) Mother India’s Café
and tacos to order. Fill ‘em up with marinated steak, chicken, slow roasted pork or even haggis. ‘Arriba, pal!’ as they say on Leith Walk. MOSQUE KITCHEN 29-33 Nicolson Square 0131 667 4035 www.mosquekitchen.co.uk Near Two minutes to Festival Theatre
For years, the Mosque Kitchen fed the faithful, students and anyone else looking for a decent, cheap curry from the car park of Edinburgh Central Mosque. It has since relocated around the corner to proper restaurant premises but the USP remains the same: filling plates of curry for not much moolah. A plate of any curry is a fiver or under.
a tapas- style affair offering a few dozen choice dishes, all under a fiver. Options like the chilli chicken dosa, lamb cooked with mint and aubergine fritters are winning new fans for the owner Monir. NAWROZ 26 Potterrow Tel: 0131 667 2299 www.nawrozrestaurant.com Near One minute from Gilded Balloon
Kurdish and Middle Eastern food
This airy, all day bistro has done well since opening on a previously volatile site on the ever hip Broughton Street. It’s a breezy, informal place but they take care over what comes out of the kitchen whether you pop in for breakfast, a gourmet sandwich or something more substantial like the rabbit, chorizo and berlotti bean stew with parsley pesto. THE OUTSIDER 15-16 George IV Bridge 0131 226 3131 Near Two minutes to Underbelly
A funky joint that attracts many of Edinburgh’s young hipsters.
MUSEUM BRASSERIE National Museum of Scotland, Chambers Street Tel: 0300 123 6789 www.benugo.com Near Five minutes from Gilded Balloon
The freshly revamped National Museum of Scotland is stunning and the Brasserie in the vaulted basement is pretty neat as well. Whether you want a football- sized scone and cup of coffee or prefer to make a meal of it with Peterhead crab and salmon cakes followed by the Scotch beef burger, their menus are gratifyingly packed with local produce. Service is snappy and they are geared up for children. MOTHER INDIA’S CAFÉ 3-5 Infirmary Street Tel: 0131 524 9801 www.motherindia.co.uk Near Five minutes to the Pleasance
The Mother India brand is already a success in Glasgow thanks to their confident and generous use of fresh herbs and spices. The menu is EDINBURGH FESTIVALS 2013
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VALUE RESTAURANTS www.edfestmag.com The menu includes a section dedicated to ‘chunky, healthy lines’ which are skewers served with pitta bread and an apple, beetroot and raisin slaw. Typical fillings include roast monkfish, vine cherry tomato and sauce vierge. Conventional choices range from the whole roast sea bass to the skirt steak with pepper and hand cut chips. PETER’S YARD COFFEE HOUSE Quartermile, 27 Simpson Loan Tel: 0131 228 5876 Near Five minutes from Gilded Balloon
The founder of the famous Pierre Victoire chain is back in the city where his empire first started. His venture offers a greatest hits of French bistro cooking. We’re talking fondue savoyarde for two, with comte and gruyère cheese and white wine; braised French rabbit with Dijon mustard, rib eye steaks with garlic butter and chips.
PETER’S YARD PIZZA 3 Deanhaugh Street Tel: 0131 332 2901 www.petersyard.com Near Five minutes from St Stephen’s
POMEGRANATE 1 Antigua Street Tel: 0131 556 8337 www.pomegranatesrestaurant. com Near Two minutes from Playhouse
All about artisan baking: great sandwiches, fantastic bread and cakes. The Stockbridge branch specialises in pizza. Called the ‘no compromise pizza’ and made with the best ingredients that the chefs can get their hands on, these come in three simple varieties: veggie, with anchovies and meat.
Diners are encouraged to graze on several hot and cold mezze or have a mezze dish as a starter before tackling a Qozy lamb dish or one of the chargrilled kebabs. Desserts such as the saffron and cardamom ice cream look intriguing. There is a shisha pipe area outside and the BYOB policy appeals.
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Edinburgh and on to Fife and, inside, the cake display is also pretty easy on the eye. The menu is very flexible. Enjoy good food, from breakfast and light bites through to more substantial dishes like the fish pie or the beef olives with horseradish mash.
PIERRE VICTOIRE 18 Eyre Place Tel: 0131 556 0006 www.pierrelevicky.co.uk Near Ten minutes to City Centre
RICE TERRACES 93 St Leonard’s Street 0131 629 9877 www.rice-terraces.com Near Five minutes to the Pleasance
PORTO AND FI 9 North Bank Street Tel: 0131 225 9494 www.portofi.com Near Two minutes to Assembly Hall
The city centre branch of a popular, family-run Newhaven cafe deli, Porto and Fi on the Mound is well placed to capitalise on the festival. It has stunning views out over
Edinburgh’s first Filipino restaurant is a homely little place. The menu is a mix of Chinese, American, Spanish and Malay influences. Barbecue-style grilled pork chops with papaya salad; chicken with plantain bananas, chorizo and vegetables and breaded shrimps in sweet and sour sauce give an idea of the range of main courses. SPRIO AND CO 39 St Stephen Street Tel: 0131 226 7533 www.sprio.co.uk Near Two minutes from St Stephens
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VALUE RESTAURANTS www.edfestmag.com This family-run Italian café is tiny but the simple panini and soups are lip-smacking. Copies of the sports pages from the Italian press sit under the glass tables or just sit at the window seats and watch Stockbridge’s life stroll by. STACK DIM SUM BAR 42 Dalmeny Street Tel: 0131 553 7330 https://www.facebook.com/ pages/Stack-Dim-Sum-Bar Near One minute to Out of the Blue Drill Hall
Not terribly promising from the outside, Stack is nonetheless developing a reputation for brilliant dim sum. From soya skin rolls in oyster sauce to the classic Cantonese pot sticker dumplings via steamed pork buns, it is all made fresh and in-house. Whether you choose a multi dim sum blow out or a couple of sui mai pork dumplings and then move onto a bowl of noodles is entirely up to you. SYLVESTERS 55-57 West Nicolson Street Tel: 0131 662 4493 www.sylvestersedinburgh.co.uk Near One minute from Udderbelly
Opening at the beginning of May in 2013, Sylvesters is a cosy, familyrun brasserie which has taken over the site formerly occupied by Pink Olive. Open from 8am until late, their offer starts with a fine range of breakfasts before rolling through lunch, pre-theatre and dinner menus. The haggis bon bons come with a spicy chilli and ginger jam while the gourmet burger might be accompanied by Asian slaw. Elsewhere, the menu plays it straight down the line with pollock and chips; and 28-day, dry aged sirloin steak with chunky chips and chipotle chutney. THE TAILEND RESTAURANT AND FISH BAR 12-14 Albert Place, Leith Walk Tel: 0131 555 3577 Near Ten minutes from the Playhouse
A collaboration between an Arbroath fish merchant and an award-winning chippie owner, this popular restaurant/chippie offers foam-fresh seafood in simple surrounds at wallet friendly prices. Pride of place goes to the classic haddock fish tea but other choices include griddled king scallops with herb butter or langoustine tails. www.edfestmag.com
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TANJORE 6-8 Clerk Street Tel: 0131 478 6518 www.tanjore.co.uk Near Two minutes from Assembly George Square
TUK TUK INDIAN STREET FOOD 1 Leven Street Tel: 0131 228 3322 www.tuktukonline.com Near One minute from King’s Theatre
Tanjore is rather different from most of Edinburgh’s Indian restaurants. There are curries but pride of place goes to the idli (steamed rice and lentil cakes), the dosa (crispy crepes) and vadai (lentil donuts) which are variously stuffed, dipped and sunk in subtly spiced sauces. It’s a cafe style place and veggies are very well catered for.
Chicken lollipops, pakora platters, samosas and snack-sized portions of curry make up the main thrust of the menu. It’s BYOB for beer and wine but many prefer to drink Thums Up, the cola of Bombay.
TAPA 19 Shore Place 0131 476 6776 www.tapaedinburgh.co.uk Near Ten minute taxi ride to City Centre
Tapas in Leith is good value, fun and as authentic a Spanish tapas bar as you are likely to find. With its white-washed walls and interlinked rooms, it even feels like an authentic bodega. From homemade Spanish chicken croquettes, through traditional Spanish-baked egg cassoulet of chorizo, morcilla and jamon, the menu switches between the inventive and familiar. There is even a global tapas selection of fusion bites. LA TASCA 9 South Charlotte Street Tel: 0131 220 0011 www.latasca.co.uk Near One minute to Book Festival
URBAN ANGEL 121 Hanover Street Tel: 0131 225 6215
(l-r) Pomegranate, La Tasca
We Brits have embraced the idea of tapas but don’t like the hassle of wandering from bar to bar to find them as the Spanish do. Tapas such as wild Patagonian tiger prawns, Spanish black pudding and beef and pork meatballs are among the choices. TIAN TIAN 8 Gillespie Place Tel: 0131 622 0482 Near The Meadows
With no website, this hotspot is not the most accessible but it’s worth persevering with. Guests are served a cauldron of spicy, boiling broth and a tray of thinly sliced meats, a mass of raw seafood and plenty of fungus, seaweed and noodles. The idea is to cook it yourself.
FOR A SPOT OF TIFFIN BALMORAL 1 Princes Street, EH2 2EQ www.thebalmoralhotel.com Served from 12-5:30pm. THE SCOTSMAN HOTEL 20 North Bridge, EH1 1TR www. thescotsmanhotel. co.uk The Scotsman also provides a gluten-free version. LOOPY LORNA’S TEA HOUSE 33a Morningside Road, EH10 4DR www.loopylornas.com A vast selection of teas and a menu to be proud of.
ETEAKET 41 Frederick Street, EH2 1EP www.eteaket.co.uk This elegant tearoom also allows you to buy their products wholesale. ELLIOT 23 Waterloo Place, EH1 3BH www.apexhotels.co.uk Flair, style and incredible views of the city. THE DOME 14 George Street, EH2 2PF www. thedomeedinburgh. com Served from 2pm-5pm. The opulent features are sure to please.
1 Forth Street Tel: 0131 556 6323 www.urban-angel.co.uk Near Two Minutes to Assembly Rooms
Fair trade, organic and locally sourced. Brunches of oatmeal porridge with honey to dishes of Arbroath smokie with poached egg, spinach and hollandaise via roast vine tomatoes and organic smoked salmon. VIETNAMESE HOUSE 3 Grove Street Tel: 0131 228 3383 www.vietnamhousescotland.com Near Five minutes from EICC
Pho takes pride of place on the menu alongside chicken curries, fresh spring rolls, spicy braised fish and chaoga. VITTORIA 113 Brunswick Street Tel: 0131 556 6171 19 George IV Bridge Tel: 0131 225 1740 www.vittoriarestaurant.com Near Five minutes from the Castle
A bustling sort of place at most times of day. The extensive menu does pretty much everything from pizza and pasta to steak dishes and creamy milkshakes. The full Vittoria breakfast come into their own. Children are very welcome. WANNABURGER 7/8 Queensferry Street Tel: 0131 220 0036 www.wannaburger.com Near Five minutes from Usher Hall
Good fast food usually seems like a contradiction but this locally owned burger bar does its best. The beef is reared humanely in the Borders. Aberdeen Angus beef burgers start at £2.95. Shakes, salads and breakfasts complete the picture. EDINBURGH FESTIVALS 2013
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CITY GUIDE SHOPPING
Buy, buy baby Avoid the predictable purchases of the High Street and discover some independent Scottish gems WORDS RUTH WALKER
O
XFORD STREET. THE Champs Elysees. Rodeo Drive. Few would argue that, at one time, Edinburgh’s Princes Street ranked among those most famous shopping avenues. But times changed, rents hit the roof and protracted tram works forced all but the most successful chains from that celebrated address. So, while favourite stores on Princes Street still include the likes of Urban Outfitters, Zara and Topshop, the intrepid shopper may have to explore slightly further afield to be sure of bagging something a little more special. Begin by venturing north, to George Street, where Kooples (for super-chic, understated French tailoring), Whistles (for grown-up, fashion-forward separates), teen-favourite Hollister and Scottish designer independent Cruise (labels
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include Vivienne Westwood and Chinese Laundry for women; Stone Island and Y-3 for men) reside. Further north again and you reach Thistle Street, where, in just one block, there are three treats in store. First is family-owned Jane Davidson, a boutique in the very best sense of the word, which stocks hand-picked luxury labels such as Missoni, Diane Von Furstenberg and Roksanda Illincic. The Erdem collection, in particular, stands out as being spectacular. Just a hop across the cobbles is shoe heaven Pam Jenkins, where red-soled Louboutins stand alongside sky-high Jimmy Choos and on-trend Tory Burch pumps. A few doors along, Karina at Kakao by K specialises in the kind of Scandinavian designers you can’t get anywhere else in the UK. Malene Birger you will probably have heard of; Noa Noa, Edith & Ella and House
of Lykke you may not – but once you discover them you might wonder how you got by without them. And the Lamb 1887 handbags are fabulously covetable. To the west, in the Stafford Street district, there is scrumptious lingerie at Odyssey (Fleur of England makes the most EDINBURGH FESTIVALS 2013
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CITY GUIDE SHOPPING MUST HAVE
Jane Gowans Silver Fathom ring £153 www.harveynichols.com Lamb 1887 Verona Tote, £220 Kakao by K www.kakao.co.uk
Red Brick Robbery in a Sweetie Shop scarf £68 Godiva www.godivaboutique.co.uk Chinti and Parker jumper, Price on request Frontiers www.frontiersboutique.com
Aldershot jacket £230 Common People commonpeople clothing.co.uk Embroidered playsuit Ark&Co £98 www indiechic boutique.co.uk 138
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cashmere are made just a few miles away in the Borders. Speaking of local designers, special mention must go to Harvey Nichols, on St Andrew Square, which has championed jeweller Jane Gowans and milliner William Chambers, both wildly talented Scots with a promising future ahead. In Stockbridge, just a ten-minute walk from the city centre, to St Stephen Street, where Kestin Hare has opened his first store. The former head of design at Nigel Cabourne, Hare launched Common People last year, a menswear label with craftsmanship and quality. Another rising star is Indie ‘Look out for Chic, on Broughton Street, Scottish knitwear irresistible undies), whose lovely, lacy pieces and labels such as Almost of lingerie sit alongside label Eribe, whose Famous, Allegra Hicks and really interesting dresses, timeless cashmere Goat at Arkangel & Felon. knitwear, separates and is made just a few A personal favourite accessories. is Jane Forbes’ Frontiers Last word goes to the miles away in the which, like Jane Davidson, lovely ladies at Godiva, Borders’ is another one of those who combine vintage gems that never fails to excite. gorgeousness with Labels such as Orla Kiely, Samantha individual designers such Sung and Baum Und Pfertgarten single as Red Brick (another seriously good this store out as a true star. Look out Scottish label), Mollie Brown (whose stock especially for Scottish knitwear label in trade is cute 1950s-style dresses) and Eribe, whose timeless pieces of exquisite Irregular Choice. www.edfestmag.com
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Fashion | Food | Feelgood
Princes Street, Edinburgh www.shopprincesmall.com
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CITY GUIDE SPA
As much as we all love the Festivals, sometimes everyone needs to take a moment to relax and refresh WORDS RUTH WALKER
The great escape T
HE WORD ‘SPA’ MEANS different things to different people. For some, it’s a chance to unwind, relax, zone out from the world; for others, it’s about regenerating and refocusing our energies. The more modern interpretation, meanwhile, is for the so-called medispa, an ever more hi-tech destination that encompasses everything from facials to fillers and includes the most advanced procedures available. During the madness that is the Edinburgh Festivals, all of the above have their place. So when feet that have pounded the cobbled streets, squeezing in six shows in a day, are in need of some TLC, take them off to Chamomile Sanctuary (www. chamomilesanctuary.com). The full monty – over an hour of filing, cuticle tidying, exfoliation, massage and polish – comes in at just £38 (reduced from £60). Manicures are best at Nails Inc, within Harvey Nichols (www.nailsinc.com), where a glass of champagne might help ease the pain of that ill-chosen one-man show in a draughty church hall for which you were the sole audience member. When it’s the body that needs attention, the Balmoral Hotel (www. thebalmoralhotel.com) delivers the goods with an ESPA massage that can be tailored to detox (those after-show beers can take their toll), boost the immune system or
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knock the jet lag into the long grass (£75 for 55 minutes). If you have more time to spare, One Spa at The Sheraton (www.onespa. com) is still unmatched. Its thermal suite and rooftop pool have seen it consistently voted among the best urban spas in Europe. Spend three hours unwinding and recharging with the Escape at One package (£70). Facials are the order of the day at Hotel Missoni (www. hotelmissoni.com), whose signature products come from Natura Bisse and Eve Lom (prices from £49). Fans include Beyonce and Stella Tennant, so you’ll be in glam company. There’s a more hi-tech approach at Zen Lifestyle (www.zen-lifestyle. com), where the menu starts with a collagen treatment (£75 for one hour) or microdermabrasion for men (£52) and goes up to more
Nailed it: get your hands in top condition at Nails Inc
intense procedures such as Dermaroller (from £50) and Clear + Brilliant fractional laser (£195). You might want to take a night off from the shows with those last two – they leave your face temporarily flushed. Beyond MediSpa (www. beyondmedispa.co.uk) is one of the few places in Scotland to offer the placenta facial, which uses protein-rich products and cutting-edge skincare technology to provide a non-invasive but intensive anti-ageing treatment for the face. Alternatively, its onsite doctors are on hand to perform injectable therapies. There comes a time in every culture vulture’s life, however, when a slap of moisturiser and a day off the booze can no longer quite cut it. So if a little extra help is required from science, the award-winning Dermal Clinic (www.dermalclinic.co.uk) has all the very latest treatments, from botox to fillers, to skin peels, a non-surgical nose job and something called the ‘vampire treatment’ (£500), which involves reinjecting your own collagen-rich blood back into your skin. It works wonders on laughter lines. EDINBURGH FESTIVALS 2013
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ART www.edfestmag.com ALBERTO MORROCCO: DRAWING ON LIFE Open Eye Gallery 12 August – 4 September 2013
ANA MARIA PACHECO: MEMÓRIA ROUBADA St Albert’s Catholic Chaplaincy 1 – 30 August 2013
Works spanning the artist’s entire career, from early student drawings and sculptures to paintings and graphics produced in his final years, many of which are being exhibited in public for the first time.
At the heart of this exhibition are two sculptural works characteristic of both Pacheco’s practice and her personal and political concerns about the exercise of power.
ÂNGELA FERREIRA: POLITICAL CAMERAs Stills 2 August – 27 October 2013
For her first solo exhibition in a public gallery in the UK, Ângela Ferreira presents her renowned 2011 project with a new commission, referencing the legacy of David Livingstone’s life and work. AMAZING AMBER National Museum of Scotland 24 May – 29 September 2013
Bringing together highlights from the National Museum’s collection for the first time, this exhibition explores the many facets of this beautiful and versatile material, revealing its origins and diverse properties.
BOBBY NIVEN: PALM OF THE HAND Old Ambulance Depot 1 August – 1 September 2013
Made from mud, sprayed concrete and carved wood, Bobby Niven’s sculptures act as plinths for found objects and artefacts which they generously offer up to the viewer. COLLECTORS’ CHOICE The Royal Scottish Academy of Art & Architecture 20 July – 8 September 2013
The motivations, processes and benefits of collecting contemporary art, through a survey of works owned by a wide variety of participating collectors: from firsttime buyers to corporates, and from family collections to those held by national institutions.
COMING INTO FASHION: A CENTURY OF PHOTOGRAPHY AT CONDÉ NAST City Art Centre 15 June – 8 September 2013
Glamour, beauty and success, work by fashion photography luminaries is on display as they appeared in the pages of Vogue, Glamour and other Condé Nast publications. DOIG KLASSE: DÜSSELDORF – EDINBURGh Canongate Venture 1 August – 1 September 2013
Peter Doig has maintained a professorship at Kunstakademie in Düsseldorf since 2004, and this exhibition displays Doig’s students together for the first time in Edinburgh, employing a variety of practices and around a shared interest in narrative. FIONA BANNER, THE VANITY PRESS Summerhall 2 – 31 August 2013
This exhibition premiers new film works and recent publications with a focus on performance, showcasing the artist’s belief in publishing as a performative act. GABRIEL OROZCO: THINKING IN CIRCLES The Fruitmarket Gallery 1 August – 18 October 2013
Orozco’s The Eye of Go is the starting point for this exhibition which looks at how the circular geometric motif - a way of thinking for Orozco - migrates into other work with his practice. GAME CHANGER Collective 1 August – 1 September 2013 142
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(clockwise) Leaf in Mexican Amber, Heaven is a Place on Earth, Norman Parkinson, Gabriel Orozco
Bringing together works by Rachel Adams, Jacob Dahlgren, Nilbar Güres and Haroon Mirza at Meadowbank Sports Centre, this exhibition considers materials, space, physicality and body image within the context of the sporting arena. GARAGE 3 - 4, 10 - 11, 17 - 18 August 2013
GARAGE presents new works and collaborations by artists created during a series of micro-residencies in this unique project space which comprises three garages and a garden. FOLLOW THE THREAD - FLEECE TO FIBRE: THE MAKING OF THE LARGE TREE GROUP TAPESTRY Dovecot Studios 2 August – 14 September 2013
Three distinct exhibitions celebrating the diversity, skill and ingenuity of textile artists, including the exposition of the process behind the transformation of Victoria Crowe’s Large Tree Group into a tapestry. FROM DEATH TO DEATH AND OTHER SMALL TALES: MASTERPIECES FROM THE SCOTTISH NATIONAL GALLERY OF MODERN ART AND THE D. DASKALOPOULOS COLLECTION Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art 15 December 2012 – 8 September 2013
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ART www.edfestmag.com MARY, QUEEN OF SCOTS National Museum of Scotland 24 May – 29 September 2013
This major exhibition provides a unique opportunity to re-evaluate much that has been speculated about Mary Queen of Scots, drawing together surviving relics intimately connected with this charismatic monarch. MOSTLY WEST: FRANZ WEST AND ARTIST COLLABORATIONS Inverleith House 13 July – 22 September 2013
The first exhibition of work by the great Austrian sculptor Franz West (1947-2012) focusing on his collaborations with other leading visual artists. important private collections of modern and contemporary art, highlighting the significance of the body as a theme in 20th and 21st century art practice. GREGOR SCHNEIDER: SÜSSER DUFT EDINBURGH 2013 (SWEET SCENT EDINBURGH 2013) AND Summerhall 2 – 31 August 2013
Schneider’s major new installation has been created especially for Summerhall’s imposing and ominous basement; an intense experience alluding to racism and slavery. Other exhibitions include Fiona Banner’s The Vanity Press. JAMES LUMSDEN: CHROMATIC VISIONS Scottish Arts Club 20 – 31 August 2013
Commissioned for the festival, this exhibition presents Edinburgh based artist James Lumsden’s highly personal, enigmatic abstract paintings. Process driven, each work reveals its own rhythms, movement and atmosphere.
JEREMY DELLER WITH ALAN KANE Jupiter Artland 3 August – 15 September 2013
In the year he represents the UK at the Venice Biennale, Jeremy Deller and his long-standing collaborator Alan Kane will be exhibiting works including their Steam Powered Internet Machine. Also on show are Deller’s colourful banners made with Ed Hall.
PAUL REID: NEW PAINTINGS The Scottish Gallery 2 August – 4 September 2013
Ovid has inspired painters since the Renaissance, but the paintings of Paul Reid uniquely focus on incidental details and precursory moments from these classical myths, creating curious, enigmatic and sometimes disquieting images.
PAUL ROONEY AND LEEDS UNITED Edinburgh College of Art 1 August – 1 September 2013
Exploring notions of narrative, myth and identity, Paul Rooney and the artist collective Leeds United present new video and text works, including the documentation of an attempt to claim the Loch Ness monster. PETER DOIG NO FOREIGN LANDS Scottish National Gallery 3 August – 3 November 2013
Doig’s first major exhibition in the country of his birth, this internationally-renowned painter is exhibiting paintings and works on paper, focusing on his approach to serial motifs and recurring imagery. PETER LIVERSIDGE: DOPPELGÄNGER Ingleby Gallery 1 August – 21 September 2013
Unpicking the powerful and strange story of the 1881 Ein Handschuh by Max Klinger, Liversidge creates his response to the story of a lost glove of a beautiful rollerskater.
IIANA HALPERIN: THE LIBRARY National Museum of Scotland 24 May – 29 September 2013
Exploring notions of time, Halperin presents a new exhibition of rocks, minerals and geological artefacts in a remarkable light. Through the exhibition, she traces a permeable line between geology and biology; culture and nature. LOVELY SKY (PARTICIPATORY IMAGINEERING) Rhubaba Gallery and Studios 1 August – 1 September 2013
For the duration of Edinburgh Art Festival, artist Lucy Pawlak will adopt the role of Producer for a narrative feature, developing through collaboration with a writing team of imagineers and advisors. MAN RAY PORTRAITS Scottish National Portrait Gallery 22 June – 22 September 2013
This is the first major museum retrospective of this highly influential Surrealist/Dadaist artist’s photographic portraits. It features over 100 works from his career in America and Paris, from 1916-1968. See feature. www.edfestmag.com
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ART www.edfestmag.com exhibition, Paik prophesied changes that would shape the contemporary world, bringing the television into the realm of art for the very first time. THE VODNJAN COLLECTIVE: CROATIA SCOTIA Doubtfire Gallery 3 – 31 August 2013
An exhibition of ten artists who are based in Scotland to coincide with the admission of Croatia into the European Union in 2013, and created in response to the time thay each of the artists spent in the Vodnjan. (clockwise) Alberto Morrocco, Paul Reid, William Littlejohn, Sam Durant PRODUCT Edinburgh Sculpture Workshop 3 – 17 August 2013
Edinburgh Sculpture Workshop presents new works produced through its residency and curatorial programmes, including a new installation and live public performance by Kate Owens. RACHEL MACLEAN: I HEART SCOTLAND Edinburgh Printmakers 2 August – 7 September 2013
Solo exhibition by Glasgow-based Rachel Maclean premieres a new film and series of screenprints. Violently positive and grotesquely kitsch, Maclean references Scotland’s romantic past through the lens of contemporary political debate. SCAFFOLD Jupiter Artland 3 August – 15 September 2013
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The award-winning sculpture park’s 5 year programme presents Sam Durant’s Scaffold, an arresting, immense and powerful wooden structure by the LA-based artist.
TRANSMITTED LIVE: NAM JUNE PAIK RESOUNDS Talbot Rice Gallery 9 August – 19 October 2013
Celebrating the incredible 50th anniversary of his first solo
WITCHES & WICKED BODIES Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art 15 December 2012 – 8 September 2013
This exhibition at the Gallery of Modern Art reveals how witches and witchcraft have been depicted over the past 500 years, with works by esteemed creatives such as Albrecht Dürer, Francisco de Goya and William Blake, alongside pieces by artists such as Paula Rego and Kiki Smith.
SCOTTISHNESS IN ART: 1750 – 1980 Bourne Fine Art 5 July – 31 August 2013
Concisely exploring the competing romanticism and realism of Scottish art from 1750 – 1970. If Walter Scott created a literary idea of Scotland as the site of the romantic ‘other’, painters have sought the images that would do the same. STAPLE MATTER Patriothall Gallery 6 – 25 August 2013
Patriothall Gallery hosts Staple Matter where Kjersti Sletteland and Despina Nissiriou explore the building’s secrets, creating work that has a dialogue with its history.
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MUSIC www.edfestmag.com ADMIRAL FALLOW Queen’s Hall 13 August, 8pm
Tremendous Scottish indie-folk five-piece with moving melodies and soulful vocals. If you like Elbow, you’ll love Admiral Fallow. ALEXANDER NEVSKY Usher Hall 9 August, 7.30pm
The Edinburgh International Festival (EIF) kicks off with an evening of Prokofiev as Russia’s Valery Gergiev conducts his compatriots mezzo soprano Yulia Matochkina and pianist Daniil Trifonov alongside the Royal Scottish National Orchestra and the Edinburgh Festival Choir.
ANATOMY OF THE PIANO Summerhall 2–25 August, 9.50pm
ARDETTI QUARTET Queen’s Hall 27 August, 11am
AMERICAN LULU King’s Theatre 30–31 August, 7.15pm
Lively piano playing coupled with a not-entirely-serious lecture about the instrument by Will Pickvance in a musical and theatrical treat. ANTONIO FORCIONE GROUP Assembly George Square 16–26 August, 9pm
Just because the Ardetti Quartet is best known for contemporary music doesn’t mean it can’t turn in sensitive readings of such classical pieces as Janácek’s First String Quartet as well as the work of maverick composer Conlon Nancarrow.
The Italian virtuoso guitarist is a must-see. Here, he runs through his greatest hits, with Latin, African and Jazz sounds along the way.
ASTRID STRING QUARTET Greyfriars Kirk 12–16 August, 1pm
Scottish Opera joins forces with the Opera Group for an EIF staging of Olga Neuwirth’s reworking of Alban Berg’s unfinished 1934 opera. The Australian composer reimagines this tale of sex, murder and violence in terms of Las Vegas jazz and the US civil rights movement.
Five string quintets in five days – and five special guests. Favourites by Schubert, Brahms, Dvoák and Elgar with world premieres by Claire McCue and Richard Greer on 14 August. Part of Made in Scotland. ATLANTIC CROSSINGS Canongate Kirk 16 August, 2pm
Music from America, Scotland and Ireland arranged for soprano, flute and piano. With the UK premiere of Lori Laitman’s Fathers song cycle. Part of Made in Scotland. SOPHIE BANCROFT AND LOUISE DURRA TRIO Jazz Bar 12, 13, 18 August, 10pm
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The band that has helped put the nation’s culture on the world map for four decades. Famed for combining bagpipes, fiddle, keyboards and guitar. BAVARIAN RADIO SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA Usher Hall 11 August, 7.30pm & 12 August, 8pm
The internationally celebrated orchestra performs an evening of Beethoven and Tchaikovsky followed the next day by a rendition of Mahler’s Symphony No 2 with the Edinburgh Festival Chorus. LA BELLE ET LA BETE Edinburgh Playhouse 10–11 August, 8pm
Philip Glass returns to Jean Cocteau’s 1946 movie, strips out the original music and dialogue and adds his own score. The whole story is performed live by the Philip Glass Ensemble for the EIF.
The soulful Scottish songwriter Bancroft joins forces with the Herald Angel Award-winning Louis Durra, a mash-up jazz pianist from LA. Part of Made in Scotland.
THE BLACK DIAMOND EXPRESS PRESENTS MIDNIGHT TRAIN Assembly Rooms 3, 10, 17, 24, 11.59pm
BANG ON A CAN ALL-STARS Usher Hall 23 August, 8pm
Weekly residency from Edinburgh nine-piece with a penchant for old time blues and work songs. Part of Made in Scotland.
On the eclectic bill for this line-up of classical, electronica, folk, indie and live art is a piece by Laurie Anderson specially commissioned by the EIF. The Brooklyn electric chamber orchestra will be looking back at a century of recorded sound and image. 146
BATTLEFIELD BAND Queen’s Hall 11 August, 8pm
BLUEFLINT Acoustic Music Centre @ St Bride’s 16–17 August, 7pm
The Edinburgh band are back with their distinctive Americana sound. Part of Made in Scotland. www.edfestmag.com
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MUSIC www.edfestmag.com DIGI-BHANG LIVE Assembly Rooms 16 August, 10.30pm
Tigerstyle puts together a fine fusion of Indian bhangra and contemporary electronics in this showcase by musicians of Scottish and Asian backgrounds. Part of Made in Scotland.
(clockwise) Tubular Bells, Anatomy of the Piano, Dean Friedman
Late night music-based comedy with the double-act famed on YouTube for the subversive film cut-ups they call “plunder phonics”. With “idiot rapper” DJ Rubbish, they turn a comedy show into a nightclub.
CADENZA AT THE FRINGE Greyfriars Kirk 24 August, 8pm
The Scottish choir tackles Dvorák’s Mass in D, Rutter’s Gloria and Britten’s Rejoice in the Lamb with Jenny Sumerling conducting. CAFÉ CONCERTS The Hub 12–15, 19, 22, 23, 25–29 August, times vary
THE CHAIR Queen’s Hall 16 August, 8pm
Informal evening concerts in celebration of the great violinist Yehudi Menuhin who kept close ties with the EIF until his death in 1999. Curated by Live Music Now. CAPERCAILLIE Assembly Rooms 5 August, 8.30pm
Enjoying a lap of honour in celebration of 30 years on the go, the Scottish favourites showcase their old and new albums. CASSETTEBOY VS DJ RUBBISH Pleasance Dome 2 - 25 August (not Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays) 12.30am
Gary Hill’s staging of Beethoven’s ode to liberty and truth is a space age adventure. Performed by Opéra de Lyon for the EIF, it is set on a spaceship hurtling into infinity. DEAN FRIEDMAN: WORDS AND MUSIC Sweet Grassmarket 7–18 August (not 12, 13), 9pm
AMY DUNCAN Acoustic Music Centre @ St Brides 14 August, 8pm
The Lucky Stars singer is back sharing some of the songs from throughout his 30-year career.
Edinburgh singer-songwriter (and sometime classically trained double bassist) performs acoustic songs from her new folk album Cycles of Life. Part of Made in Scotland.
DICK GAUGHAN Acoustic Music Centre @ St Bride’s 22 August, 8pm
ENSEMBLE MUSIKFABRIK Usher Hall 28 August, 8pm
The wayward talents of the late Frank Zappa are celebrated by the Cologne-based contemporary music group led from the drum kit by percussionist Dirk Rothbrust. FIDELIO Festival Theatre 10 & 12 August, 7.15pm
Annual solo appearance on the Fringe from the holder of a lifetime achievement award in the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards. BELLA HARDY AND THE MIDNIGHT WATCH Queen’s Hall 15 August, 8pm
Prolific singer-songwriter promoting her album Battleplan, captivating audiences with her heavenly voice and original take on traditional folk. Part of Made in Scotland.
Orkney eight-piece drum up a fastpaced, foot-stomping, floor-filling riot of traditional folk blended with rock, jazz and zydeco influences. Part of Made in Scotland. CHAMBER ORCHESTRA OF EUROPE Usher Hall 16 August, 8pm & 18 August, 7.30pm
The continent’s finest musicians come together under the expert guidance of conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin for two mixed bills of Strauss, Beethoven, Haydn and Mozart. CYBRAPHON National Museum of Scotland From 9 August, 10am–5pm
From Scottish artist collective Found comes this autonomous emotional robot band in a box. The machine Googles itself every 15 seconds to see how popular it is. The more popular, the more cheery the music it plays. Part of the EIF. DIDO AND AENEAS/ BLUEBEARD’S CASTLE Edinburgh Festival Theatre 24–25 August, 7.15pm
Opera Frankfurt teams Henry Purcell’s Trojan war love story with Béla Bartók’s gothic psychological horror for the EIF. www.edfestmag.com
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Guest artists including:
Deana Martin (Dean’s Daughter) Hayley Sanderson (Strictly Come Dancing) Bob Anderson (Vegas Legend) …and many more surprise guests
2 - 26 AUGUST 22:30 - 23:30
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MUSIC www.edfestmag.com HEBRIDES ENSEMBLE AND THOMAS BLOCH Queen’s Hall 26 August, 11am
(l-r) Be Captivated, Crying Out Loud Presents Flown, Greed and It Needs Horses & Home For Broken Turns
The spinning crystal bowls of the glass harmonica form the unusual centrepiece of this Mozart performance by the ensemble. The concert also features pieces by George Crumb and a new Mozart arrangement by Lyell Cresswell. HERO AS RIDDLE Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art One 14 August, 7pm
Saxophonist Martin Kershaw wrote Hero as Riddle in honour of the late Eduardo Paolozzi. His ten-piece group reunites to perform it again for Made in Scotland. HORSE Assembly Rooms 4 August, 8.15pm
A rare acoustic evening with Horse McDonald and her powerful voice, celebrating the release of her ninth album, Home, and old favourites. HOT DUB TIME MACHINE Underbelly 2–3, 8–10, 15–17, 22–25 August, 12.15am
A late-night ride back in time with Adelaide DJ Tom Loud, who helps us party through history with the tunes from 1956 to the present day. HUE AND CRY Assembly Rooms 9 August, 8.30pm
Pat Kane is best known as a polemist and thinker, but many have never forgotten him and his brother in their heyday with Labour of Love and Looking for Linda. BARB JUNGR – STOCKPORT TO MEMPHIS Queen’s Hall 21 August, 7pm
The Fringe favourite showcases her latest album with its covers of Sam Cooke, Bob Dylan and Tom Waits, as well as a handful of originals.
THE ORIGINAL SILENT DISCO Assembly Checkpoint 1–25 August (not 5, 6, 12, 13, 19, 20), 23.59pm
Headphones on for the dancefloor, dancing to different tunes. JOHN OTWAY The Jam House 12 Aug, 5pm
KING CREOSOTE Queen’s Hall 3 August, 8pm
Mercury nominee and mainstay of the Fence Collective, Kenny Anderson kicks off with a solo set before being joined by his band for some top Scottish indie pop. VANESSA KNIGHT Jazz Bar 9–10 August, 7pm
Raved about for the past three years, the singer-songwriter delights with her rousing piano ballads. DOUGIE MACLEAN IN CONCERT Assembly Rooms 10 August, 8pm
NOSFERATU – WITH NEW LIVE SOUNDTRACK Jazz Bar 22–23 August, 1.30pm
While Philip Glass re-scores La Belle et La Bête in the EIF, here on the Fringe, Graeme Stephen creates a soundtrack for the classic silent film Nosferatu with cellist Ben Davis. MIKE OLDFIELD’S TUBULAR BELLS FOR TWO Underbelly 31 August–26 August, 5.45pm
Only on the Fringe would you expect to find an album as notoriously complex as Tubular Bells being covered by just two musicians. Back for a second run after last year’s run.
He may be only a two-hit wonder, but that’s no deterrent when “national treasure” Otway takes to the stage. Fun! THE POET SPEAKS Edinburgh Playhouse 13 August, 8.30pm
High priestess of punk Patti Smith joins forces with minimalist composer Philip Glass to pay homage to the great beat poet Allen Ginsberg. The EIF show features poetry, music and song. KARINE POLWART Queen’s Hall 17 August, 8pm
Nominated for three awards in this year’s BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards, promoting her latest album Traces. Part of Made in Scotland.
Celebrated as one of Scotland’s national musical treasures, MacLean returns for a night of memorable songs. THE MAGNETS: ALL THIS TIME Underbelly 1–26 August (not 12), 5.50pm
Building up a Fringe reputation over the past few years, the Magnets are a six-piece a cappella troupe specialising in easy-listening pop covers by the likes of the Killers, David Bowie and Lady Gaga. NIKOLAI LUGANSKY Queen’s Hall 15 August, 11am
Before starring with the Russian National Orchestra, the formidable pianist works out with pieces by Janácek, Schubert, Rachmaninov, Liszt and Wagner. The concert will be broadcast live on BBC Radio 3.
(above) Amy Duncan (left) Hot Dub Time Machine www.edfestmag.com
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paterson’s land The Fringe’s newest venue BabyO SensoryO Dance Derby The Garden John and Zinnie Harris
Gareth Williams and Johnny McKnight
Last One Out Kurt Weill and Bertolt Brecht
The Seven Deadly Sins Scottish Opera
9 - 26 August
is core funded by
Registered in Scotland Number SCO37531 Scottish Charity Number SCO19787
Ménage à Trois By Claire Cunningham and Gail Sneddon
9 - 25 August
Supported by the European Union
Part of Made in Scotland 2013. Part of British Council Edinburgh Showcase. National Theatre of Scotland, a company limited by guarantee and registered in Scotland (SC234270) is a registered Scottish charity (SCO33377). Photograph of Claire Cunningham by Sven A Hagolani.
Box Office details
Book now!
Fringe Box Office
0131 226 0000 l edfringe.com
Paterson’s Land (venue 247) 37 Holyrood Road, Edinburgh Box office open from 9 August 0131 651 1421 l patersonsland.co.uk See website for full programme. Booking fees apply
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MUSIC www.edfestmag.com RANT Acoustic Music Centre @ St Bride’s 18 August, 8pm
WHATEVER GETS YOU THROUGH THE NIGHT Queen’s Hall 20–25 August, times vary
From the Shetland Islands and the Highlands come the country’s finest fiddlers to launch their debut album. Part of Made in Scotland.
Actors, writers and musicians come together in this ambitious fusion. Part of Made in Scotland.
MARTHA REEVES AND THE VANDELLAS Assembly Rooms 6–7 August, 9.30pm
A touch of Motown magic in the heart of the Fringe as the band behind hits as Dancing in the Street, Heatwave and Nowhere to Run make their Fringe debut.
WITHERED HAND Queen’s Hall 10 August, 8pm (above and below) Withered Hand, King Creosote SCOTTISH SAXOPHONE ENSEMBLE AND GUESTS Summerhall 13 August, 9pm
CHRISTOPHER ROUSSET St Cecilia’s Hall 22–23 August, 5.34pm
Anything from Philip Glass and Chic Corea to Will Gregory of Goldfrapp. Part of Made in Scotland.
Edinburgh’s St Celia’s Hall Museum has one of the world’s finest collections of harpsichords, and virtuoso player Rousset is able to match the model of instrument with the music that was written for it.
THE SLOAN’S PROJECT Scottish Arts Club 15 August, 7pm; 18 August, 12pm
RUSSIAN NATIONAL ORCHESTRA Usher Hall 19–20 August, 7.30pm
The gifted pianist Nikolai Lugansky, playing sonatas by ear by the age of five, stars in two Russian-themed concerts featuring Rachmaninov, Glazunov and Scriabin. SAINT SEVEN Summerhall 14 & 15 August, 10pm
Inventive contemporary music ensemble performing in the round for their fusion of experimental, folk and classical chamber music. Part of Made in Scotland. ANDREAS SCHOLL AND TAMAR HALPERIN Queen’s Hall 29 August, 11am
Superstar countertenor Scholl joins pianist Halperin for a morning of song by Schubert, Brahms, Haydn and Mozart. Part of the EIF.
This promenade piece by NOISE is worth it for novelty alone. The piece, written by composer Gareth Williams and librettist David Brock, captures the emotional life of a pub. Part of Made in Scotland.
THE 27 CLUB Acoustic Music Centre @ St Bride’s 13–24 August (not 18, 19), 6pm
Irish singer-songwriter Jack Lukeman pays tribute to the musicians who died at 27. VIRGIN MONEY FIREWORKS CONCERT Princes Street Gardens 1 September, 9pm
Mussorgsky’s Pictures by the Scottish Chamber Orchestra. RICK WAKEMAN Assembly Hall 6–18 August (not 12), 10.30pm
Twelve nights of keyboard craziness. See feature.
One of the leading lights of Fife’s Fence Collective and performs here with his new-look band. RODDY WOOMBLE Assembly Rooms 7 August, 9.30pm
Here he’s running through a mix of his solo acoustic tunes and a few band favourites. ALEX YELLOWLEES/HOT CLUB JAZZ QUARTET Acoustic Music Centre @ St Brides 15 August, 8pm
Influenced by the gypsy jazz guitar of Django Rheinhart and the mellow violin of Stephane Grappelli. Part of Made in Scotland. WORDS MARK FISHER
SOME I KNOW, SOME I DON’T Summerhall 17 August, 10pm
The Glasgow Improvisers Orchestra are showing a commission from Sonic Youth’s Jim O’Rourke and spicing it up with theatrics and film. Part of Made in Scotland. STORY’S END Summerhall 14–18 August, 11.30pm
A collaboration between a band a filmmaker, an author, an animator and two artists, in a world of Weimar cabaret. Part of Made in Scotland. TO DREAM AGAIN New Media Scotland 22–24 August, 9pm
Cellist Peter Gregson has created a digital recording system designed to let the music decay over time. To Dream Again emerges through exhanges between the audience and Gregson’s systems. TONHALLE ORCHESTRA Usher Hall 24 & 26 August, 8pm
Two evenings of Brahms, the first with the greatest violinist Frank Peter Zimmermann, the second with singers Rachel Harnisch and Florian Bösch. Part of the EIF. www.edfestmag.com
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BOOKS www.edfestmag.com ALAN BISSETT ON TRAINSPOTTING 14 August, 1pm
Part of a programme of reading workshops running throughout the Book Festival, this is a chance to join novelist Alan Bissett in a look at Irvine Welsh’s seminal novel of a drug-taking Edinburgh underclass. ALASDAIR GRAY 14 August, 3pm
Headlines at the ready as the author of Lanark returns to controversial waters to explain his theory that outsiders living in Scotland are either settlers or colonists. ALI SMITH 17 August, 12pm
The brilliant Scottish novelist proves she is just as playful and inventive in the world of non-fiction as she talks about her collection of essays and her “sort of memoir”. AL KENNEDY 12 August, 11.30m
The Book Festival regular considers the nature of her job as she talks about the themes in her anthology of essays On Writing.
ANN WIDDECOMBE 12 August, 4.30pm
The strident politician has told her life story in Strictly Ann. Chairperson Ruth Wishart will try to find the real Ann Widdecombe. ARNE DAHL & ALEX GRAY 19 August, 6.45pm
Sweden’s Jan Arnald (aka Arne Dahl) joins Scotland’s Alex Gray, whose The Swedish Girl takes a Glaswegian perspective on Scandinavia. BARONESS SUSAN GREENFIELD 14 August, 10am
This second of two appearances by the first-time novelist draws on her expertise in neuroscience to speculate on the relationship between memory and imagination. CAITLIN MORAN 25 August, 6.30pm
The entertaining journalist has brought together her best essays in Moranthology, so expect to hear her talking about anything from the death of Amy Winehouse to the outrage of library councillors.
CERYS MATTHEWS 13 August, 3pm
The Catatonia singer turned Radio 6 DJ believes everyone can sing and is turning the event into a big family sing-along to prove her point. DBC PIERRE 22 August, 7pm
The author of Vernon God Little is back in typically playful and funny form with a collection of short stories called Petit Mal. DENISE MINA 15 August, 8.30pm
The great Glasgow crime novelist talks about her latest novel, The Red Road, the latest Alex Morrow instalment in which a highprofile lawyer is on the run from an assassin. Mina also appears elsewhere, talking about TV adaptations and graphic novels. EDNA O’BRIEN 24 August, 10am
In her autobiography Country Girl, the Irish novelist looks over a life that has been through everything from the repression of rural Ireland to the glamour of Hollywood. Expect many an anecdote.
(clockwise from left) Anne Fine, Margaret Atwood, Ian Rankin, Salman Rushdie JENNY ECLAIR 15 August, 4.30pm
Best known as a comedian and game-show panellist, Eclair has been branching out as a novelist and today will be talking about her latest, Life, Death and Vanilla Slices. JOANNE HARRIS 21 August, 11.30am
In Peaches for Monsieur Le Curé, the author of Chocolat has returned to Lansquenet-sous-Tannes where her heroine Vianne Rocher finds things are changing. JOE SACCO & CHRIS WARE 14 August, 7pm
You can see both of these masters of the graphic novel at separate events, but here is a chance to see them together discussing the possibilities of the comic-book form. JOHN TAYLOR 17 August, 9.30pm
The bass player in Duran Duran has many a heady pop tale to tell about the perils of success and letting adulation go to your head.
THE FABULOUS BAKER BROTHERS 15 August, 3.30pm
KATE ATKINSON 10 August, 11.30am
Channel 4 stars Henry and Tom Herbert step out of the kitchen to promote their attempts to enliven Great British classic meals from various corners of the country.
How might our lives have turned out differently? That’s the question Atkinson asks in Life After Life, in which she repeatedly kills and revives her protagonist.
GEORGE MONBIOT 11 August, 3pm
The environmental campaigner and polemicist has been getting back to nature in his latest book, Feral, which asks how we can re-engage with our damaged ecosystem. GRANT MORRISON 23 August, 8pm
It’s a bumper year for graphic novelists at the Book Festival – and if you want a primer, you could do no better than start here with the author of Supergods, a history of the American superhero. 152
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BOOKS www.edfestmag.com RUBY WAX 14 August, 4.30pm
SIMON SEBAG MONTEFIORE 26 August, 3pm
Wax draws on her own experience to talk about maintaining mental health in our manic modern world.
The historian talks about dealing with fact and fiction, particularly in light of his novel, One Night in Winter, about the children arrested and accused of conspiracy by Stalin.
RUPERT EVERETT 18 August, 6.30pm
The star of Another Country and My Best Friend’s Wedding is a brilliant memoirist, as his second volume of backstage observations, Vanished Years, attests. SALMAN RUSHDIE 10 August, 3pm
KATE MOSSE 22 August, 11.30am
NATE SILVER 13 August, 10am
There are a few chances to catch one of this year’s guest selectors. In this, she’ll discuss Citadel, the final instalment of her Languedoc trilogy.
His shrewd understanding of statistics led him to predict correctly the results in all 50 states in the 2013 US presidential elections. Here he celebrates the power of mathematical probability.
LIZ LOCHHEAD 15 August, 6.30pm
Scotland’s makar shares some of her best-loved poems. She’s back on 19 August looking back over 30 years of Scottish culture. MA JIAN 12 August, 6.45pm
They’re not keen on Ma Jian in China; his involvement in the Tiananmen Square protests and his criticism of policy led to his books being banned. His new novel The Dark Road shows the effects of the one-child policy. MARK WATSON 16 August, 9.30pm
Not content with his quiz-show guest slots and marathon comedy performances (most recently a nonstop 25 hours for Comic Relief), Watson is also a novelist. MARGARET ATWOOD 24 August, 8pm
The Man Booker prize-winning Canadian is making several appearances in Charlotte Square. In this one, she is celebrating the completion of a trilogy with the publication of MaddAddam.
NEIL GAIMAN 22 August, 8pm
As the Book Festival looks back over its first 30 years, who better to enrich the commentary than a man who was shortlisted for the Booker Prize in 1983 and has experienced show shocking highs and lows in the intervening time?
The author of The Girl with the Pearl Earring talks about her latest novel, The Last Runaway, set in an Ohio countryside where things are not as idyllic as they first appear.
SANDY TOKSVIG 11 August, 11.30am
TRACEY THORN 18 August, 8pm
Her novel Valentine Grey is the focus of attention at this morning’s session, but no doubt it will be just one of many topics up for discussion by the multitalented comedian and presenter.
One of the most acclaimed pop memoirs of recent years comes from the unassuming singer from Everything But the Girl, whose book helped her get back to songwriting.
TRACY CHEVALIER 15 August, 3pm
WORDS MARK FISHER
PETER HOOK 10 August, 8.30pm
Ian Rankin introduces the Joy Division bassist, whose Unknown Pleasures reflects on his days as a cornerstone of Manchester’s gloomy post-punk music scene. PHYLLIDA LAW 13 August, 11.30pm
Mother of Emma and Sophie Thompson, she is speaking as a daughter, coping with her own mother’s dementia. ROBERT PESTON 17 August, 6.30pm
One of the journalists at the forefront of the coverage of the recent financial collapse has brought his thoughts together in How Do We Fix This Mess? RODDY DOYLE 10 August, 8pm
Take a secret journey into Afghanistan with the two-times Man Booker Prize nominee whose novel The Blind Man’s Garden is set in a post-9/11 Middle East.
The author of The Commitments has caught up with Jimmy Rabbitte Jr, the manager of the band, to find out how he’s is getting on in modern-day Dublin, a 25 years on.
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The lead singer of the Charlatans recalls the thrills and spills of his rock’n’roll career in the company of the Rebus novelist and music fan.
With a particularly strong focus on comic books, the Festival has programmed several appearances by Gaiman. This one focuses on his new fantasy novel, The Ocean at the End of the Lane.
NADEEM ASLAM 12 August, 10.15am
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THEATRE www.edfestmag.com AN ACTOR’S LAMENT Assembly Hall 1 – 20 August (not 5, 12), 2.30pm
THE AGONY AND THE ECSTASY OF STEVE JOBS REVISITED Gilded Balloon 31 July – 11 August, 4.15pm
The Fringe institution that is Steven Berkoff turns his attentions to the profession he knows best: that of the actor. In this world premiere, he stars alongside Jay Benedict and Andree Bernard as he satirises life backstage.
The excellent Scottish actor Grant O’Rourke was nominated for Best Male Performance in this year’s CATS awards for this exposé about the uncomfortable truths about big western companies, such as Apple, using cheap eastern labour for our beloved consumer products. Andy Arnold of Glasgow’s Tron Theatre directs a show that’s been updated to take in the latest Apple events.
ADAM SMITH, LE GRAND TOUR Institut français d’Ecosse 2 – 26 August (not 12, 19), 3pm
The great economist is a figure of the Scottish Enlightenment, but it has taken French company Compagnie Les Labyrinthes to get to grips with what he really stood for. Performer and author Vanessa Oltra holds a PhD in economics, so don’t doubt she knows her stuff. THE ADVENTURES OF ALVIN SPUTNIK: DEEP SEA EXPLORER Underbelly Bristo Square 31 July – 11 August, 2pm
A playful and imaginative puppet show for grown-ups (and kids). The Australian company is also here with a new show, It’s Dark Outside.
ANNA Summerhall 2 – 25 August (not 12), 8.30pm
Anna Politkovskaya was the humanrights journalist who was shot dead in the lift of her Moscow apartment in 2006. No one took the blame, but it looked like a contract killing. In Badac Theatre’s tribute, Shetlandborn actor Marnie Baxter makes the case for campaigning journalism. BEATS Pleasance Courtyard 2 – 11 August, 10.20pm
Winner of Best New Play in
the 2012 CATS awards, Kieran Hurley’s one-man show (plus live DJ) is a brilliant evocation of that moment in the early 90s when the government suddenly got wise to the illegal raves that were sweeping the country. Second visit to the Fringe.
as Lorne Campbell, the newly appointed artistic director of Newcastle’s Northern Stage, invites a host of talented performers, including Chris Thorpe, Dan Bye, Kieran Hurley and Cora Bissett, to create short pieces that will contribute to an epic ballad.
BECKETT AT THE FESTIVAL Royal Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh 23 – 31 August, times vary
BORIS & SERGEY’S VAUDEVILLIAN ADVENTURE Underbelly Bristo Square 31 July – 26 August (not 13), 10pm
Bringing in Ireland’s Pan Pan Theatre and the Gate Theatre, Dublin, the EIF is celebrating work by Samuel Beckett that was not written for the stage. In addition to film screenings at the Hub, you can see Embers, All That Fall, I’ll Go On, Eh Joe and First Love. BIG DADDY VS GIANT HAYSTACKS Assembly George Square 1 – 26 August (not 13, 20), 12.15pm
There was a time when the wrestling was the big spectator sport in Britain – and showmen such as Big Daddy and Giant Haystacks were household names. This “British heavyweight champion comedy” retells their story. THE BLOODY GREAT BORDER BALLAD PROJECT Northern Stage at St Stephen’s 3 – 24 August (not Tuesdays), 10pm
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Returning after a clutch of fivestar reviews last year, Flabbergast Theatre is back with an extra dose of adult puppetry and racy latenight improv. And if you like that, stay on for the even later-night sequel, Boris & Sergey II: Perilous Escapade. THE BOSS OF IT ALL Assembly Roxy 1 – 26 August (not 12, 19), 4.15pm
One of a number of film adaptations on the Fringe this year, this one is based on a lesser known Lars Von Trier comedy about an out-of-work actor who has to stand in for the boss of a failing company. The staff are none too pleased with him. BREAKING NEWS Summerhall 2 – 25 August (not 12, 19), 3pm
A hit show in Iceland, this ambitious www.edfestmag.com
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THEATRE www.edfestmag.com Walk before being taken to a domestic garden where a dark tale about a woman waiting for her lover unfolds. Edinburgh’s Vision Mechanics transforms this ordinary setting into something extraordinary. DARK VANILLA JUNGLE Pleasance Courtyard 31 July – 26 August (not 13), 3pm
Game of Thrones actor Gemma Whelan stars in this premiere by the versatile Philip Ridley – the first time one of his plays has opened on the Fringe. A drama about one girl’s craving for family and home – and what she will do to achieve them. DONAL O’KELLY’S BRACE – FIONNUALA AND SKEFFY Hill Street Theatre 1 – 25 August, 8.15pm (l-r) Boris and Sergey, The Bloody Ballad, Big Daddy, The Agony and Ecstasy of Steve Jobs Revisited
multimedia show stars an animated dressing gown who, in the absence of human company, attempts to connect to the outside world by means of televisions, radios, computers and newspapers. CAPE WRATH Northern Stage at St Stephen’s 9 – 24 August (not 12, 19), times vary
All aboard for an epic journey in a stationary minibus as Third Angel tell an intimate tale about the longest bus journey in Britain. Alex Kelly recreates the route taken by his grandfather to the far northwest of the country. CHALK FARM Underbelly Cowgate 1 – 25 August (not 13, 19), 6.30pm
The Made in Scotland season provides a welcome chance to catch up with this response to the riots
in London in 2011. It’s written by Julia Taudevin and Kieran Hurley (see BEATS above) and has been reworked since its premiere in A Play, a Pie and a Pint. CIARA Traverse Theatre 1 – 25 August (not 2, 5, 12, 19), times vary
Two new plays from the awardwinning Irish playwright showing on alternate nights. Fionnuala is a piece of magical realism about a major gas project in Mayo and Skeffy is about Francis SheehySkeffington, a pacifist who was executed in Dublin in Easter 1916.
DUSTPAN ODYSSEY New Town Theatre 14 – 25 August, 12.10pm
French puppet master Philippe Genty creates a table-top Greek epic using everyday objects as his cast. A comic voyage into the imagination, suitable for old and young. See feature. THE EVENTS Traverse Theatre 31 July – 25 August (not 1, 2, 5, 12, 19), times vary
Behind every tragic news story lies a community that may take many years to recover from what has happened in its midst. The prolific Edinburgh playwright David Greig imagines one such scenario and asks how much we can forgive. THE EXTREMISTS Assembly Roxy 1 – 26 August (not 27), 12.40pm
CJ Hopkins’s political satire is about a talk-show host and an expert on terrorism whose conversation loops into a labyrinthine confusion of doublespeak. Staged by Fringe regulars Clancy Productions from New York.
Taggart actor Blythe Duff stars in the premiere of David Harrower’s play about a woman freeing herself from her father’s gangland past. Harrower wrote the play with Duff in mind after their success with Good With People. See feature. CIRCA: WUNDERKAMMER Underbelly Bristo Square 31 July – 26 August (not 7, 13, 20), 5pm
Not just spectacular acrobatics but also powerful atmospheres and emotions as Australia’s Circa returns to the Fringe with a seven-strong company of agile young performers. The title translates as “cabinet of wonders”. See feature. THE CONFESSIONS OF GORDON BROWN Pleasance Courtyard 31 July – 26 August, 1.45pm
Ian Grieve stars as the former PM in this behind-the-scenes comedy that exposes the darkest secrets of life in the top job from stab-in-the-back plots to a ready supply of hair gel. Based on interviews with Gordon Brown’s close leadership circle. DARK MATTER Summerhall 15 – 24 August (not 18), 10pm
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THEATRE www.edfestmag.com FERAL Summerhall 2–25 August (not 13, 20), 8pm
The enterprising young Edinburgh company Tortoise in a Nutshell combines object theatre, film and live sound for an investigation of Utopia in this premiere. Imaginative puppetry for adults. FIGHT NIGHT Traverse Theatre 1 – 25 August (not Mondays), times vary
The ever-inventive Belgian company Ontroerend Goed hands control over to the audience as we get to vote on which of the five actors remains on stage after five rounds. Over at Summerhall, there is a season of similarly enterprising Belgian companies. HAMLET Royal Lyceum Theatre Aug 10 – 13, 7.30pm
A meta-theatrical game from New York’s Wooster Group in which the actors take their cue from the film of a 1964 Broadway production of Hamlet starring Richard Burton. Part of the arts and technology theme of this year’s EIF. See feature. HELA Summerhall 2 – 25 August, 6.45pm
Adura Onashile investigates the extraordinary story of Henrietta Lacks who, in 1951, attended a Baltimore hospital where a cell sample was taken without her permission. Do the scientific discoveries that followed justify this act? Part of Made in Scotland. HOLES Assembly George Square 4– 25 August, times vary
We’re off to the seaside as Tom Basden takes us to a tropical island where the only survivors of a plane crash make comically pathetic efforts to sort themselves out. The ticket involves a bus ride to a secret location.
HOWIE THE ROOKIE Assembly Hall 1 – 25 August (not 7, 12, 19), 12.40pm
I KNEW A MAN CALLED LIVINGSTONE National Library of Scotland 7 – 21 August, 4pm
Return of this funny and vicious play by Mark O’Rowe about lowlife Dublin. Instead of two actors playing the parallel monologues, Tom Vaughan-Lawlor takes on both in a production directed by the playwright.
Explorer David Livingstone was much loved by the people he met in Africa, most of whom had never seen a white man. Toto Tales tells from their perspective. I’M WITH THE BAND Traverse Theatre 2 – 25 August (not Mondays), times vary
HOW TO OCCUPY AN OIL RIG Northern Stage at St Stephen’s 3 – 24 August (not 5, 12, 19), 12.35pm
Daniel Bye, who is also giving another airing to The Price of Everything, aims to provoke a bit of debate as he considers the nature of protest and the possibility of change. H TO HE (I’M TURNING INTO A MAN) Hill Street Theatre 1 – 25 August (not 13), 8.35pm
As Scotland contemplates next year’s referendum on independence, the Traverse brings in Welsh playwright Tim Price to consider the state of the union – at least, the union of a rock band whose fractious members come from our four countries. KISS ME HONEY, HONEY! Gilded Balloon Teviot 31 July – 26 August (not 12), 6.45pm
We’re used to seeing Grant Stott and Andy Gray bring down the house every year at the King’s
This is the first time in Edinburgh for Claire Dowie’s hit comedy, which takes its lead from Kafka’s Metamorphosis with an extra gender-changing twist. Dowie is also performing her old favourite, Why is John Lennon Wearing a Skirt? in the same venue at 5.30pm. IF THESE SPASMS COULD SPEAK Pleasance Courtyard 31 July – 26 August (not 12), 5.45pm
Robert Softley, an actor and writer with cerebral palsy, puts himself centrestage to tell a series of stories about disabled people and their bodies. This is one of several solo shows which are by disabled peoplem who are performing this year on the Fringe. Part of Made in Scotland.
(left) Kiss Me Honey, Honey! (right) If These Spasms Could Speak www.edfestmag.com
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more incendiary ground with a play inspired by the assault of a woman on an Indian bus last December. OMEGA Assembly Rooms 31 July–25 August (not 12, 19), 2.35pm
LEAVING PLANET EARTH Edinburgh International Conference Centre 10 – 24 August (not 13, 20), 8pm
The site-specific experts of Grid Iron take us to a whole new planet, while the audience take on the role of ex-pats from an environmentally doomed Earth. The EIF show involves a coach journey out of town. See feature. LEO Assembly George Square 1 – 25 August, 6pm
Comic physical theatre ingenuity as Tobias Wegner appears to defy gravity thanks to live video projections and his own dexterity. Brought to us by Germany’s Circle of Eleven, back for the third year after wild acclaim. THE LIST Summerhall 3 – 25 August (not Mondays, 20), 2pm
The excellent Maureen Beattie stars in this Stellar Quines production of a play about a woman with an obsessive list-making habit. The equally brilliant John Byrne is on the design team. Winner of Best Production at the CATS awards. LONG LIVE THE LITTLE KNIFE Traverse Theatre 1 – 25 August (not Mondays)
David Leddy makes a belated Traverse debut with this imaginative comedy about art forgery, castration and drunkenness – and a crazy scheme to raise £250,000. L.O.V.E. Assembly Roxy 1 – 25 August (not 7, 12, 19), 11.15am
Shakespeare’s sonnets get
From Moscow, the award-winning blackSKYwhite returns to the Fringe with an apocalyptic sideshow cabaret of dark intensity. The show arrives in Edinburgh after an appearance at Glastonbury. a welcome new airing as Volcano Theatre returns with its characteristic blend of passion and physicality. First seen in 1992 and still turning heads. THE LOVE PROJECT Underbelly Cowgate 1–25 August (not 14), 2.50pm
Look Left Look Right uses interviews with people in the East End of London to create a patchwork college of romantic memories. Don’t miss the same company’s repeat run of You Once Said Yes, a site-specific odyssey through the streets of Edinburgh.
METAMORPHOSIS King’s Theatre, Edinburgh 10 – 12 August, times vary
Wu Hsing-kuo of Taiwan’s Contemporary Legend Theatre was last in the EIF with a one-man Hamlet. This time, the striking performer is drawing out the modern-day parallels of Kafka’s tale of alienation and transformation. NIRBHAYA Assembly Hall 1 – 26 August (not 12, 19), 4pm
The big hit of last year’s Fringe was Yael Farber’s highly charged version of Strindberg’s Miss Julie. Now the South African playwright is on even
ON THE ONE HAND Northern Stage at St Stephen’s 3 – 24 August (not Tuesdays), 6.35pm
The verbatim theatre specialists of Paper Bird depict six women at different stages of life. This contemplation of the aging process takes us from the young full of ambition to the old ready to slow down. THE PAPER CINEMA’S ODYSSEY Summerhall 17 – 25 August, 2.15pm
The closest thing to watching
MAKING NEWS Pleasance Courtyard 31 July – 25 August (not 12), 1pm
The BBC’s job is to report the news but recently it has often been the news. This comedy from the makers of last year’s Coalition is about a woman who is suddenly promoted to head of news. Phill Jupitus plays the director general. MENAGE A TROIS Paterson’s Land 9 – 25 August (not 10, 12-13, 15, 19-20, 22), times vary
It often seems to Claire Cunningham that her closest relationship is with her crutches. In this CATS-award winning show, she explores this unusual love triangle. Part of Made in Scotland.
(above) Making news (left) L.O.V.E www.edfestmag.com
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Peep is a reproduction peep-show booth that requires audiences to peer through a letter-box size hole to witness the non-stop erotic theatre inside. This year you’ll find eight plays, one Argentine dance piece, one durational live art show and two cabaret performances. In all, there’s seven and a half hours of performance, across five art forms.
PIRATES AND MERMAIDS Scottish Storytelling Centre 1 – 25 August (not Mondays), 4.30pm
Cultural differences abound as Edinburgh’s Poorboy goes transatlantic with a play about a long-distance love affair. Your appreciation of it will vary according to whether you say “sweets” or “candy”, a “swally” or a “drink”. Arriving in Edinburgh after being warmly received in NYC. QUIETLY Traverse Theatre 1 – 25 August (not Mondays), times vary
PHIL NICHOL: THE WEARY LAND Assembly Rooms 1 – 25 August (not 12), 2.30pm
Dublin’s Abbey Theatre brings Owen McCafferty’s three-hander about the meeting of men with violent pasts trying to find a path to reconciliation. Nominated for an Irish Times Theatre Award for best new play.
The brilliant stand-up comedian and mainstay of the Comedians Theatre Company moves into spoken-word territory as he discusses his failed marriage and subsequent recovery. Don’t worry, laughs too.
THE RADICALISATION OF BRADLEY MANNING Pleasance at St Thomas of Aquins 6 – 25 August (not 5, 11, 14, 21), times vary
A busy year for Tim Price whose I’m With the Band is playing at the Traverse as well as this National Theatre Wales production of his topical drama about the US soldier accused of leaking military secrets to Wikipedia.
With five Fringe First-winning productions under her belt, director Hannah Eidinow is always worth following. Here, she stages Keely Winstone’s comedy about what the neighbours are really up to between the sheets.
THE SECRET AGENT Traverse Theatre 6 – 25 August (not Mondays), times vary
THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION Assembly Rooms 1 – 25 August (not 12), 4.50pm
Joseph Conrad’s novel is about a terrorist who realises that rather than aiming for a place of strategic importance, he can have more impact hitting a site of symbolic significance – such as the Greenwich Observatory. Theatre O has adapted this story.
Likely to be the biggest production on this year’s Fringe and certainly one of the most eagerly anticipated, this adaptation of the much-loved movie stars Omid Djalili as Red, Owen O’Neill as Warden Stammas and Ian Lavender as Brooksie.
SEX LIVES OF OTHERS Pleasance Courtyard 31 July – 26 August (not 12, 19), 2.15pm
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SOLOMON AND MARION Assembly Hall 1 – 26 August (not 12, 19), 2.30pm
Among many South African
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THEATRE www.edfestmag.com hours of the morning in this ambitious music-theatre fusion. The brainchild of Cora Bissett, David Greig and Swimmer One. Part of Made in Scotland. WHO WANTS TO KILL JULIA TYMOSHENKO? Assembly Roxy 1 – 25 August, 11am
The European Court of Human Rights called the indefinite pre-trial detention of former Ukrainian prime minister Julia Tymoshenko “arbitrary and unlawful”. Hrvoje Hitrec’s play raises questions about this and other abuses. Stars Ines Wurth. THE WORST OF SCOTTEE Assembly George Square 1 – 24 August (not 4, 5, 11, 12, 18, 19), 8.40pm (clockwise) Trash Cuisine, The Surrender, Quietly The Abbey, Beats
productions on the Fringe, Lara Foot’s post-Apartheid drama stars Dame Janet Suzman as a white woman looking for redemption and hope. This has been produced by the Baxter Theatre Centre in Cape Town which was also responsible for last year’s big Fringe hit, Mies Julie. STUART: A LIFE BACKWARDS Underbelly Bristo Square 31 July – 26 August (not 12), 3.30pm
The award-winning book by Alexander Masters has been adapted for TV; now his study of the troubled childhood of a criminal has been brought to the stage by Jack Thorne.
THE SURRENDER Gilded Balloon Teviot 31 July – 26 August, 1.30pm
This year, you can catch the National Theatre of Scotland and National Theatre Wales – to add to the set, here’s the Spanish National Theatre with an English-language erotic memoir by Toni Bentley.
WHATEVER GETS YOU THROUGH THE NIGHT Queen’s Hall 20 – 25 August, times vary
A formidable array of actors, writers and musicians come together to contemplate the wee small
Directed by the talented Chris Goode, this is the debut solo show of Scottee, a 27-year-old experimental theatremaker who encounters past flames, ex-friends and people who no longer like him to find out where he went wrong. WORDS MARK FISHER
THE TRAGEDY OF CORIOLANUS Playhouse Theatre Aug 20 – 21, 7.30pm
To give his staging of Shakespeare a driving contemporary edge, director Beijing People’s Art Theatre has drafted in not one but two Chinese heavy-metal bands who appear live on stage. A huge cast plays out the story of the great warrior who refuses to pander to the people. TRASH CUISINE Pleasance Courtyard Aug 19 – 26, 3.30pm
The remarkable Belarus Free Theatre, exiled from its home country because of speaking out against the repressive regime, takes on the tough topic of state torture and capital punishment using the metaphor of food. Highly acclaimed upon its London debut. ULYSSES Paterson’s Land 9 – 26 August (not 12, 13, 19, 20), times vary
Glasgow’s Tron Theatre with an ambitious staging of Dermot Bolger’s adaptation of the James Joyce novel, creating a teeming population of students, aesthetes, prostitutes and chambermaids, through the day-in-the-life tale. www.edfestmag.com
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DANCE www.edfestmag.com BE CAPTIVATED New Town Theatre 1 – 12 August, 8.05pm
(clockwise) Be Captivated, It Needs Horses & Home For Broken Turns Crying Out Loud Presents Flown and Greed
London’s Central School of Ballet is one of the UK’s finest dance institutions, and the final year students that populate its company, Ballet Central, are the stars of the future. Catch them now, as they make their Fringe debut.
GREED Zoo Southside 19 – 26 August, 1.20pm
BOOKING DANCE FESTIVAL Edinburgh International Conference Centre 14 – 18 August, times vary
Inspired by his Zimbabwean roots, but based in the UK, choreographer Bawren Tavaziva blends both worlds in the work he creates for Tavaziva Dance. He explores our relationship with the deadly sins.
This annual ‘festival within a festival’ is your shortcut to the next big dance acts from the USA. Choose from a double bill at the weekend, or a jam packed showcase each day, shining a spotlight on seven different dance companies.
IT NEEDS HORSES & HOME FOR BROKEN TURNS Zoo Southside 18 – 25 August, 11.40am
Two theatrical innovators, Lost Dog and Trestle, team up for this darkly comic piece of dance theatre, asking why people run away to join the circus.
CAMBUYÓN Assembly Roxy 31 July – 26 August (not 13), 6pm
Seven percussion artists from the Canary Islands create rhythm with their hands, bodies, voices, wooden crates and more. High energy hip hop and tap dancing add to the mix. CRYING OUT LOUD PRESENTS FLOWN Underbelly 1 – 26 August (not Tuesdays), 4.20pm
Aerial hoops, tightrope walking, tricky balancing, Chinese poles and an overlay of slapstick comedy, performed by nine circus artists with a head for heights and enviable upper body strength.
THE DANCE DOME Dance Base 19 – 26 August, times vary
Step inside this portable, 360º cinema taking up temporary residence on the Grassmarket, and immerse yourself in three specially commissioned dance films showcasing Welsh contemporary dance. DANCE ODYSSEYS Edinburgh Festival Theatre 16 – 19 August, times vary
Scottish Ballet, Scottish Dance Theatre and Spain’s Gelabert Azzopardi Companyia de Dansa team up to deliver four days of unmissable dance. Some of the world’s renowned choreographers sit alongside creations by exciting young dancemakers, backed by a programme of films, talks and discussions. DON QUICHOTTE DU TROCADÉRO Edinburgh Festival Theatre 29 – 31 August, 7.30pm
French choreographer and video maker José Montalvo, takes Cervantes’ 17th century novel Don Quixote, and gives it a new twist. Different styles, such as ballet, hip hop, contemporary, tap and flamenco combine and complement in this fun tale set in the Parisian underground. See feature. www.edfestmag.com
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DANCE www.edfestmag.com SMASHED Assembly Hall 3 – 26 August (not 13), 6.05pm
KNEE DEEP Assembly George Square 1 – 26 August (not Mondays), 6.10pm
Take nine jugglers, 80 apples, four crockery sets and a soundtrack featuring everything from Tammy Wynette to Back and what is there? A whole lot of mess, and some very impressive manoeuvres, all inspired by the late, great Pina Bausch.
Back for another year, after wowing the crowds at the 2012 Fringe, Australian circus troupe Casus combine strength and delicacy in this clever, jaw-dropping show. L. A. DANCE PROJECT Edinburgh Playhouse 24 – 26 August, 7.30pm
Benjamin Millepied, the man who choreographed Black Swan, brings his cutting edge contemporary dance company to Edinburgh. Seasoned work by William Forsythe and Merce Cunningham sits alongside Millepied’s own new creation in this diverse triple-bill. THE LOCK IN Zoo Southside 3 – 16 August (not 13), 7.10pm
Set in a local pub, this entertaining show from hip hop dancers Breaking Tradition and awardwinning folk band The Demon Barbers proves that when cultures collide, great things can happen. MADAME FREEDOM King’s Theatre 20 – 21 August, 8pm
Inspired by the eponymous 1956 South Korean film, this innovative coming together of dance and film by Your Media Arts Project explores notions of identity and freedom, both historical and current. MÉNAGE À TROIS Paterson’s Land 9 – 25 August (not 10, 12-13, 15, 19-20, 22), times vary
The captivating Claire Cunningham teams up with video artist Gail Sneddon and the NToS to explore her relationship with her crutches.
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SQUISH Dance Base 2 - 17 August (not Mondays), times vary
Dancer/choreographer Tony Mills fuses his hip hop and contemporary dance background in this new solo piece about the price we pay to achieve our goals.
OUT OF HIS SKIN Zoo Southside 2 – 26 August (not Wednesdays), 3.15pm
One of the UK’s most popular all-male outfits, 2Faced Dance Company, returns to the Fringe with its high energy blend of hip hop and contemporary dance. This time they’re searching for the ultimate high. REFUGEES OF THE SEPTIC HEART Dance Base 20 – 24 August, times vary
Known for their darkly atmospheric staging, innovative use of digital technology and pounding soundscapes, Tom Dale Company returns to the Fringe to explore life on the brink of change. From the creators of 2011’s I Infinite.
THERE WE HAVE BEEN Zoo Southside 19 – 26 August, 10.30am
Short but striking duet, inspired by author Haruki Murakami’s novel Norwegian Wood, during which the woman never touches the ground. Created by the winner of Matthew Bourne’s choreographic award. (clockwise) Ménage À Trois, There We Have Been and The Lock In
WORDS KELLY APTER
SECOND COMING Zoo Southside 20 – 25 August, 7.30pm
Taking the hip hop he learned growing up on the streets of LA, and mixing it with contemporary music to create his own unique style, choreographer Victor Quijada has created a witty, unexpected new work for Scottish Dance Theatre.
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CHILDRENS www.edfestmag.com THE ADVENTURE Pleasance Up the Hill 2–25 August (not 5, 12, 19), 11am, 2pm and 5pm
Venture into a mysterious building for a site-specific interactive journey to help solve the case of an abducted scientist. For ages 7–13. ANOESIS Summerhall 3–17 August (not 7, 12), times vary
Glasgow youth theatre, Junction 25, reflect on the education system in a dramatically staged impressionistic collage suitable for older children and adults. BABY O Paterson’s Land 9–26 August (not 12, 19), 11.30am
Scottish Opera presents a beguiling piece of opera for the youngest children, where three singers take us through the routines of a toddler’s day, from waking up to going to sleep. The same company is also staging Sensory O aimed at children who’ve reached the grand old age of two.
BOY-EATING MONSTERS AND DIABOLICAL BADDIES WITH JOHN FARDELL Charlotte Square Gardens 15 August, 3.30pm
This Book Festival favourite shows you the secrets behind his picture books and adventure novels with the help of notebooks, rough drafts, artwork and models. THE BOY IN THE BUNNET Acoustic Music Centre @ St Bride’s 12–18 August, 2.30pm
(clockwise) Noodles, Baby O, Starbird, My Brother Is A Robot, Help! My Supply Teacher Is Magic
Scots adventure story about a boy getting lost in a forest. Written by James Robertson and performed by Big Sky with the help of seven musicians and the music of James Ross. Part of Made in Scotland. DOLLS, DRAGONS AND DINOSAURS WITH JULIA DONALDSON Charlotte Square Gardens 10 August, 10am
The retired children’s laureate brings some favourite stories to life in a morning of song, stories and drama. Her first of four appearances at Edinburgh Book Festival.
DUSTPAN ODYSSEY New Town Theatre 14–25 August, 12.10pm
Puppet master Philippe Genty invites you to join Ulysses and his shipmates for an incredible journey, with domestic objects. See feature. FRANK COTTRELL BOYCE Charlotte Square Gardens 12 August, 10.30am
Everyone loves Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, so what was it like being the author given the chance to write two sequels? Discover the story behind the latest instalment, The Race Against Time. HAIRY MACLARY AND FRIENDS SHOW FEATURING SLINKY MALINKI Assembly George Square 2–26 August, 10.50am
Nonsense Room Productions adapts the loveable story of Hairy Maclary and his band of canine chums and this time throws in new stories. HELP! MY SUPPLY TEACHER IS MAGIC Underbelly Bristo Square 1–25 August, 13.10pm
KATIE MORAG WITH MAIRI HEDDERWICK Charlotte Square Gardens 17 August, 10am
After nearly 30 years, young Katie Morag is about to get her own series on CBeebies which will bring her adventures on the Isle of Struay to a new audience. Hedderwick talks about this and other books. KILLING TIME WITH EOIN COLFER Charlotte Square Gardens 11 August, 1.30pm
Eoin Colfer is joined by actors and a magician to help him give him three-dimensional form to the characters from his novel WARP: The Reluctant Assassin. Expect illusions and thrilling tales. LAPIN WANTS BREAKFAST Institut français d’Ecosse 2–18 August (not 12), 10am
Introduce young ones to the French language courtesy of Le Petit Monde and Lapin the rabbit who is finding things getting too hot for comfort on the beach.
Favourite magicians from the TV series, including John Archer, Katherine Mills and James Went, will leave you scratching your head. I BELIEVE IN UNICORNS Pleasance Courtyard 31 July–26 August (not 12), 11.45am
Danyah Miller stages Michael Morpurgo’s tale of Thomas, whose world is turned upside down when he meets the unicorn and the unicorn lady. The exact shape of the show is influenced by audience suggestions. 166
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CHILDRENS www.edfestmag.com STARBIRD Scottish Storytelling Centre 2–26 August (not 7, 14, 19), 11am
TITUS Summerhall 2–25 August (not 5, 16, 19), 12.10pm
Toto Tales draws on Scottish and African cultures for a fusion of storytelling, dance, costume, song and puppetry, of a nocturnal bird threatened by a hunter.
Much praised show about telling big lies and small truths, about pigs that fall in love, about crows that talk, about fish that fall from the sky, and about running away and finding yourself. Part of Made in Scotland.
TONY ROSS Charlotte Square Gardens 18 August, 2pm
As well as his own Little Princess series, Ross has provided illustrations for everyone from Francesca Simon to David Walliams. Now, he has two new pictures books – Hippopotamus and Prince Charmless – to talk about.
LITTLE HOWARD’S BIG SHOW FOR KIDS Underbelly Bristo Square 31 July–26 August (not 12), 2.45pm
The stars of CBBC’s Little Howard’s Big Question (one 3D, the other 2D) return for more family comedy. LOUISE RENNISON: BORN TO BE WILD Charlotte Square Gardens 21 August, 5pm
Tallulah and her pals dance their way through The Taming of the Tights. NOODLES New Town Theatre 2–25 August, 12.45pm
Fringe favourite Tall Stories (the company behind The Gruffalo) in a futuristic tale about a girl whose father builds her a robot brother for company. ONE GIANT LEAP Summerhall 2–25 August (not 5, 12, 19), 10.15am
RASTAMOUSE WITH MICHAEL DA SOUZA AND GENEVIEVE WEBSTER Charlotte Square Gardens 13 August, 12pm
MALORIE BLACKMAN Charlotte Square Gardens 24 August, 10.30am
The creators of the cult cartoon and picture books tell you about the latest adventures of your favourite Caribbean crime-busting rodent.
A beautiful and atmospheric puppet retelling of the story of the girl who is given one night to spin straw into gold.
Loved by adults and children, this beguiling show by Puppet State Theatre Company is about a man who transforms the landscape by planting trees.
THE SHOWSTOPPERS’ FAMILY HOUR Gilded Balloon Teviot 2–13 August, 2pm
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YURTAKIDS! Summerhall 5-25 (not 12, 19), times vary
An all-day showcase of children’s theatre from Italy, featuring five productions, most of them awardwinning. Look out for Cinderella, 24583 Little Creepy Wonders, Unleashed_Scaténàti, A Story of a Man and His Shadow and The Red Bike. WORDS MARK FISHER
RUMPELSTILTSKIN & THE WHEEL OF FORTUNE Scottish Storytelling Centre 1–25 August (not 19), 1pm
THE MAN WHO PLANTED TREES Scottish Storytelling Centre 30 July–17 August (not 5, 12), 3pm
MY BROTHER THE ROBOT Pleasance Courtyard 31 July–25 August (not 14), 2.55pm
A Julia Donaldson adaptation by Scamp (the company that brought us Stickman), combining favourite stories such as Monkey Puzzle, The Smartest Giant in Town and A Squash and a Squeeze into one show.
Children’s author and singer Richard Digance takes us on an interactive musical journey beneath the earth for some gooey, gungy fun.
The small step taken by Neil Armstrong 40 years ago when he set foot upon the moon is the jumping-off point for a celebration of all who have up-turned religious and scientific orthodoxy to present a new vision for our place in the cosmos. Part of Made in Scotland.
NoFit State Circus bend the frontiers of reality as aerialists, acrobats and magicians try to escape from knotty problems.
The new children’s laureate talks about her latest book, Noble Conflict, an apocalyptic fantasy about love, trust and betrayal.
TIDDLER AND OTHER TERRIFIC TALES Underbelly Bristo Square 1–26 August (not 14), 11.45am
WAR OF THE WORMS New Town Theatre 1–25 August (not 9, 10, 20)
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COMEDY www.edfestmag.com AMY HOGGART AS PATTIE BREWSTER: JUST A NORMAL GIRL DOING A COOL SHOW Underbelly, Bristo Square 31 July – 26 August (not 12), 4.20pm
The unnerving creation of Amy Hoggart, pint-sized Pattie Brewster has a desperate desire to ingratiate herself with her audience, which this year extends to the publication of her book Pattie Brewster’s Self-Help Guide To Life/ Pattie! Combining video clips with a not at all creepy live performance, she’s a maelstrom of odd but entertaining tics. ANDREW LAWRENCE – THERE IS NO ESCAPE Pleasance Courtyard 31 July – 25 August, 8.50pm
Recently returned from the prestigious Just For Laughs Festival in Montreal, the misanthropic Lawrence is one of the Fringe’s most consistent performers. A sometime regular on Channel 4’s Stand Up For The Week, with three Radio 4 series, his disgust with the comedy industry is all too genuine.
ANDREW MAXWELL: BANANA KINGDOM Underbelly, Bristo Square 31 July – 26 August (not 12), 7.15pm
The rascally Dubliner forsakes the compulsion of most comics at the Fringe to simply talk about themselves. Although there’s a few travel tales in here, he once again focuses on dissecting the turbulent times we live in. Sporting his insight lightly on his sleeve, Maxwell enjoys chewing the fat with anyone, reporting back on the weird, late-night conversations he’s participated in. ARTHUR SMITH Pleasance Courtyard 3 August – 18 August, 2.30pm
Thirteen years since last performing his masterpiece at the Fringe, Arthur Smith is back with another tribute to legendary songwriter Leonard Cohen. Ignoring the fact that Smith’s singing is even worse than his inspiration, the arid wit and beauty in the great Canadian’s lyrics should once again find their ideal accompaniment in the lugubrious comic’s musings.
BACONFACE – IT’S ALL BACON! The Stand Comedy Club II 3 August – 25 August (not 12), 1.20pm
A cult Canadian stand-up, this gruff, enigmatic figure is a programme associate on the third series of Stewart Lee’s Comedy Vehicle on BBC 2. Little is known about him, beyond his claims to have influenced all Canadian comics and his catchphrase, “it’s all bacon!” BENNY BOOT: AS SEEN ON TV Underbelly, Bristo Square 31 July – 26 August (not 12), 5.30pm
Gag-for-gag, Australian Benny Boot is one of the best and most distinctive joke writers in the UK. His problem is sustaining the quality over an hour; though one day, you intuit, he’ll produce a truly barnstorming show. Supposedly filming his first television special, this could well be it. Or an enjoyable near-miss. THE BETA MALES IN … SUPERPOLIS Pleasance Dome 31 July – 26 August (not 13), 7pm
The Beta Males do ripping yarns better than almost any other sketch group. There’s always been a comic book quality to their manic, farcical narratives and this year they present an epic show which is set in a city of superheroes. 168
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BRETT GOLDSTEIN CONTAINS SCENES OF AN ADULT NATURE Pleasance Courtyard 31 July – 26 August (not 13), 9.30pm
Following his appearances in Ricky Gervais’ Derek on Channel 4 and a brief cameo in arthouse film The Comedian, this slick storyteller and prolific gag writer returns with more tales about sex, exploring the rise of online pornography and explaining how to survive a blackout without self-loathing. BRIDGET CHRISTIE – A BIC FOR HER The Stand Comedy Club 3 August – 25 August (not 12), 11.10am
The comic builds on the frustration of last year’s War Donkey to ask why Margaret Thatcher and Beyoncé are feminist icons and why she wasn’t allowed to write about Malala Yousafzai, the 15-yearold Pakistani schoolgirl shot by the Taliban. Dispensing with the characters and costumes for once, she’ll simply be an agitated stand-up. CARL DONNELLY: NOW THAT’S WHAT I CALL DONNELLY! VOLUME V Pleasance Courtyard 31 July – 25 August (not 14), 8.30pm
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COMEDY www.edfestmag.com reputation won’t have been harmed by his recent Lumberjacks tour with fellow top Canucks Stewart Francis and Glenn Wool. He recently became the first UK-based comic to release a DVD via iTunes only and now he’s back with more tales of misadventures in the great outdoors. DANIEL SIMONSEN: STRANGER Pleasance Dome 31 July – 26 August (not 12, 19), 8.20pm
(clockwise from left) Chris Kent, Claudia O’Doherty, David O’Doherty, Baconface
anniversary of the Now! Music compilations, Carl Donnelly has decided to get in on the act with a wry presentation. Appreciating that his personal quirks are his strongest suit, this entertaining spinner of yarns looks back on an eventful 12 months and advises the world how to cope. CHRIS KENT: SECOND FIX Gilded Balloon Teviot 31 July – 26 August (not 2, 13), 4.30pm
One of the most talked about new talents in Irish comedy, his rich, densely detailed stories at his own expense are full of surprising twists and turns. A bout of mumps laid him low during his debut last year. But expect him to come back stronger with an hilarious account of his cheese-induced night terrors. CLAUDIA O’DOHERTY: PIONEER Pleasance Courtyard 31 July – 26 August (not 12), 9.50pm
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Last year’s Edinburgh Comedy Award nominee returns with another bizarre offering, supposedly caving to the commercialism of the Fringe by permitting herself to be sponsored by Pioneer projections. Featuring post-feminist maternal angst and a flying baby.
Last year’s Edinburgh Comedy Award best newcomer returns with another hour showcasing his off-kilter observations and accomplished physical dexterity. Entertainingly awkward, his talent has been noted by Vic Reeves and Bob Mortimer, who have cast him as Bob’s sulky Norwegian son in their forthcoming BBC sitcom House of Fools. DAVID O’DOHERTY: DAVID O’DOHERTY WILL TRY TO FIX EVERYTHING Pleasance Courtyard 31 July – 25 August (not 12), 7.20pm
Following a downbeat 2012 that saw him struggle to cope with the Lance Armstrong doping scandal while still reeling from Pluto’s downgrade from planetary status, the agitated, keyboard-wielding Irishman is back with a more upbeat hour, including reflections on swastika branding, girls not texting you and a tremendous tune about cycling at night. DAVID TRENT: THIS IS ALL I HAVE Pleasance Dome 31 July – 25 August, 10.45pm
Emerging from nowhere last year to earn an Edinburgh Comedy Award best newcomer nomination, Trent’s inventive use of multimedia technology puts him in a class of his own. The former primary school teacher has an aggressive, swaggering stage presence and a huge number of videos to cuttingly rip the mickey out of. DIANE SPENCER: HURRICANE DIANE Gilded Balloon Teviot 31 July – 25 August (not 13), 5.45pm
COLIN HOULT: CHARACTHORSE Pleasance Courtyard 31 July – 26 August (not 13), 6pm
With perhaps his weirdest and most personal show yet, the character comic delves back into his childhood for a nightmarish tale of apocalyptic giant space ducks and an outlandish mythical creature called The Characthorse. Highlights include a Transformers strip bar and the actor Patrick Stewart dispensing dubious wisdom. CRAIG CAMPBELL’S THRILLING MIC HUNT The Assembly Rooms 1 – 25 August (not 12), 8.45pm
Few comics can be guaranteed to storm a gig more routinely than the force-of-nature Canadian. And his
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COMEDY www.edfestmag.com A natural disaster area and tempest of bad taste, Diane Spencer reflects on a problematic relationship with her mother that has seen the pair enter into a euthanasia pact, with the comic ultimately responsible for pulling the plug. Unable to bear her mother knowing her most embarrassing indiscretions, she burned her diary, with catastrophic results. Never shy about opening up, Spencer lays it all bare on the stage. DOCTOR BROWN: BECAUSE, BECAVES AND BEFRDFGTH Underbelly, Bristo Square 15 – 20 August, 11.30pm
Reprising each of his last three shows twice, including last year’s Edinburgh Comedy Awardwinning Befrdfgth, playfully sexualised clown Doctor Brown is also performing an experimental all-day show on August 13 at the Underbelly, Cowgate. Bexperiments comprises eight consecutive 50 minute shows. Each will start from the best material generated in the previous one, so it gradually gets honed for Doctor Brown’s final show at 7pm.
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GEORGE RYEGOLD: ADULTERATED Underbelly, Bristo Square 31 July – 26 August (not 14), 9.40pm
FELICITY WARD: IRREGARDLESS Underbelly, Bristo Square 31 July – 26 August (not 13), 9.30pm
Lauded for last year’s show The Hedgehog Dilemma, Felicity Ward has nevertheless suffered extreme anxiety attacks at the Fringe and faces up to them here with a show that also acknowledges what a ridiculous job performing comedy is and her unfortunate attraction to junkies. Lately settled in the UK, she’s an instinctively confessional, accomplished storyteller. GAMARJOBAT (GA-MA-JO-BAT) ROCK OUT! Gilded Balloon Teviot 2 – 26 August (not 13, 20), 4.30pm
Japanese silent comics Gamarjobat have become a Fringe institution since making their Edinburgh debut in 2004. This year they’re attempting to join the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame, performing their trademark acrobatic tomfoolery to the songs of the Rolling Stones, Michael Jackson and others. GARY DELANEY 2: THIS TIME IT’S NOT PERSONAL Pleasance Courtyard 31 July – 25 August (not 12), 9.45pm
The one-liner specialist has nevertheless progressed from being a mainstay of the live circuit to a Fringe performer worth seeking out. For the sheer quantity of quotable gags in an hour, few stand-ups offer better value for money.
The return of Toby Williams’ hilariously bad doctor. George has been taking evening classes and brings his formidable intellect to bear on more earth-shattering theories. This year, it’s a dissection of art, a solution to world hunger and the truth about adultery. GLENN WOOL: THIS ROAD HAS TOLLS Assembly George Square 31 July – 26 August (not 12, 19), 9.50pm
Roadhound Glenn Wool has been to many places with his singular brand of insightful philosophical comedy. His trips to exotic and not-so-exotic locales have exacted a price but happily for Fringegoers, he retains his keen eye for the ridiculous and self-mocking inclinations, so let him take you on a journey. GREG PROOPS Gilded Balloon Teviot 31 July – 14 August, 9pm
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COMEDY www.edfestmag.com While it’s frustrating that Whose Line Is It Anyway? has returned to US television screens but not here in the UK, at least we still get to hear one of the transatlantic show’s sharpest and snarkiest deliver a two week run. Fans of his peerless podcast can catch three recordings at the same venue, while his improv admirers should seek out his Set List in the Pleasance Dome. HANNAH GADSBY: HAPPINESS IS A BEDSIDE TABLE Assembly Roxy 1 – 25 August (not 12, 19), 4.30pm
A show that won rave reviews in Hannah Gadsby’s native Australia, this new hour charts her acceptance of adulthood, life-altering anecdotes about her loss of innocence and cutting reflections on lesbian cliches. Once again she’s also performing a show about art, the lecture Nakedy Nudes at the Assembly Checkpoint. THE HORNE SECTION LIVE IN A COW Underbelly, Bristo Square 31 July – 25 August, 10.30pm
Accompanying different Fringe performers every night with their intuitive musical backing, Alex Horne’s outstanding band are now established festival favourites. Performing a children’s version of the show earlier in the day at the same venue, Horne also performs solo with his show Lies.
JAMES ACASTER LAWNMOWER Pleasance Courtyard 31 July – 25 August, 7pm
James Acaster is nevertheless one of the most distinctive young comics in the UK, with his last show last earning him an Edinburgh Comedy Award nomination. A quirky and confident performer, his fixations currently include tackling the hardest questionnaire question of all time and for the audience to figure out how happy he is from his smile. JANEY GODLEY IS UNGAGGED Gilded Balloon Teviot 31 July – 15 August, 6.45pm
Supported by her daughter Ashley Storrie, who performs 15 minutes at the top of her hour, the outspoken Glaswegian expounds upon freedom of speech and death threats. Compelling and frequently dark stories, delivered with passion but a glint in the eye. JIGSAW – JIGGLE IT Pleasance Courtyard 31 July – 26 August, 4.45pm
JOHN LLOYD: LIFF OF QI Underbelly, Bristo Square 31 July – 24 August (not 13), 4.40pm
The debut solo show from QI creator John Lloyd, whose other television and radio hits include Blackadder, Spitting Image, Not The Nine O’Clock News, To The Manor Born and The News Quiz. Partly inspired by The Meaning Of Liff, the classic, 30-year-old comedy dictionary providing words for things that should have a name but don’t, which he co-wrote with Douglas Adams. JOSH WIDDICOMBE: INCIDENTALLY ... Assembly George Square 31 July – 15 August (not 2, 9), 9pm
About to join the front ranks
The pacey sketch trio of stand-ups Dan Antopolski, Nat Luurtsema and Tom Craine return with more than 50 skits. Last year’s Fringe show was one of the best reviewed at the festival and they’re planning to incorporate more musical numbers this time.
HOWARD READ: HIDE AND SPEAK Gilded Balloon Teviot 31 July – 26 August (not 12), 9.30pm
JOHN GORDILLO: CHEAP SHOTS AT THE DEFENCELESS The Assembly Rooms 1 – 25 August (not 12), 7.30pm
Using adapted games console controllers, pioneering animator and stand-up Howard Read is bringing some of his cartoon creations to life and asking them to improvise with a live audience. Also in the Children’s Listings, for his appearance in the afternoon at Bristo Square.
Still better known as a director of shows by comics like Eddie Izzard and Reginald D Hunter, and for not quite getting the TV break that his talent deserves, John Gordillo is an acute social commentator who currently finds himself decrying our culture’s unholy union of love, marketing and showbusiness.
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COMEDY www.edfestmag.com of the biggest-selling standups, following a meteoric rise in his relatively brief career capped by appearances on Channel 4’s hit show The Last Leg, Josh Widdicombe releases a debut DVD soon, doubtless consolidating his status as the slickest, curmudgeonly young observational comic currently plying his trade. KEITH FARNAN: FEAR ITSELF Underbelly, Cowgate 1 – 25 August (not 13), 6.20pm
A relaxed and assured conversationalist, Keith Farnan has made a habit of exploring big themes and politically weighty subjects at the festival without ever forgetting to bring the funny. This year, he’s focusing on fear, which in the current financial climate, gives him plenty to explore. LATE NIGHT GIMP FIGHT Pleasance Dome 31 July – 25 August, 10pm
Back as a five-piece, the Gimps
are promising a more intimate show this year. Yet you can rest assured that their sketches will be as gleefully offensive and unruly as ever, with themes including childhood heroes, performanceenhancing drugs and Dracula. LIAM MULLONE: GAME OVER Just the Tonic at The Caves 1 – 25 August (not 13), 9.20pm
A professional contrarian with an instinctive hatred of liberal received wisdom, the fiercely intelligent, incisive Liam Mullone can be relied upon to argue his corner provocatively and challenge all those cows you once held sacred. With that in mind, he’s advising us to sit back, relax and enjoy the twenty-first century apocalypse. LUCY PORTER – NORTHERN SOUL The Stand Comedy Club 31 July – 25 August (not 1, 12, 19), 5.10pm
Having taken a few years off for motherhood, the likeable Lucy Porter’s comeback continues apace with this reflection on belonging, declaring her attachment to the north of the UK. But despite performing all over the world, she’s still to find her spiritual home. Maybe it’s in a comedy club? MARCUS BRIGSTOCKE: ‘JE M’ACCUSE – I AM MARCUS’ Assembly Hall 1 July – 25 August (not 12), 9.10pm
Laying out the wreckage of his life,
including the affair that destroyed his marriage, his battles with drugs and an eating disorder, the politically-inclined comic turns the spotlight squarely on himself. Even so, he’s also hosting the political improv show Unavailable for Comment most afternoons at the Underbelly in Bristo Square. MARK THOMAS: 100 ACTS OF MINOR DISSENT The Stand Comedy Club III & IV 3 – 25 August (not 12), 7.30pm
Gatecrashing Apple’s flagship London store to protest against the company’s tax avoidance recently, Mark Thomas is on a mission to perform 100 acts of minor dissent before May next year. Considering the widespread criticism of the Fringe as an over-priced trade fair beset by corporate sponsorship, it’ll be intriguing to see what mischiefmaking he contrives during his Edinburgh run. MARY BOURKE: MUFFRAGETTE The Stand Comedy Club III & IV 31 July – 25 August (not 1, 12), 5.50pm
Picking up where her last show, Hail Mary!, left off, with strong misgivings about the rise of misogyny on the comedy circuit, this is the wickedly sharp gag writer’s attempt to reclaim feminism while forsaking preachiness. Pithy and uncompromising, she also appears with her husband and fellow comic Simon Clayton in the free show Bourke and No Hair at the Bristo Bar and Kitchen. MIKE WOZNIAK – TAKE THE HIT The Stand Comedy Club II 1 – 25 August (not 12), 12.10pm
Trying to prove that there are no such thing as hack subjects, only hack approaches, Mike Wozniak will be dusting off a few mother-inlaw gags as a desperate response to his wife’s parents living with them. Having caught the eye in countless television shows, and with his distinctive moustache about to co-star in Greg Davies’ school sitcom Man Down, this is a welcome stand-up return from the sometime Edinburgh Comedy award nominee. NEIL DELAMERE: SMARTBOMB Pleasance Courtyard 31 July – 25 August (not 12), 9pm
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COMEDY www.edfestmag.com stand-up shows to the festival, this irreverent Irishman is a television fixture back home and the definition of slick. This year, he’s dispensing advice on attracting the opposite sex, what not to wear at a football match and how we can all avoid future recessions. NEW ART CLUB: FEEL ABOUT YOUR BODY Assembly George Square 31 July – 25 August (not 13, 20), 6.45pm
Tom Roden and Pete Shenton’s latest hybrid is an upbeat exploration of physicality, to stimulate intellect and hormones. The show will also feature a man talking to his own bottom and what to do in the case of a heart attack.
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NICK HELM: ONE MAN MEGA MYTH Pleasance Courtyard 31 July – 26 August (not 7, 14), 4pm
PAJAMA MEN – JUST THE TWO OF EACH OF US Assembly Roxy 31 July – 26 August (not 12, 19), 9pm
Having just released his debut album, Hot ‘N’ Heavy, and with a forthcoming sitcom - called Uncle - for BBC 3 in which he plays the suicidal main character, Nick Helm might find it hard to top all the praise and hyperbole heaped on him during recent festivals. Expect a full-on, snarling, sweating performance of song, poetry, selfloathing and aggressive audience involvement.
Sticking to the format of pacey physical comedy, bizarre characters and sharp one liners that characterised their Fringe breakthrough, Shenoah Allen and Mark Chavez present another densely packed action spectacular. Appearing as a medieval king and his hunchbacked sorcerer, along with countless other freaks, the inventive US duo aren’t wedded to their script and will improvise when the mood seizes them.
NISH KUMAR – NISH KUMAR IS A COMEDIAN Underbelly, Bristo Square 31 July – 25 August, 8.10pm
Having just signed up to appear in the second series of the Alternative Comedy Experience on Comedy Central, Nish Kumar of the double act The Gentlemen of Leisure follows last year’s compelling solo debut with an hour about what happens when you’re the victim of online identity theft. He is an assured, self-effacing storyteller.
PEACOCK & GAMBLE: HEARTTHROBS Pleasance Courtyard 31 July – 24 August, 9.45pm
Ray Peacock and his commendably patient sidekick Ed Gamble recently recorded their Emergency Broadcast for Radio 4 and return to Edinburgh with the tale of how they’ve become big in Japan. More chaotic imbecility from a pair who aren’t afraid or indeed, able, to stop themselves looking stupid.
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COMEDY www.edfestmag.com RICHARD HERRING – WE’RE ALL GOING TO DIE! Pleasance Courtyard 31 July – 25 August, 8pm
SCOTT CAPURRO: ISLAMOHOMOPHOBIA The Assembly Rooms 31 July – 25 August (not 1, 12), 9pm
Stephen Fry’s recent revelation about his suicide bid last year, shared on Richard Herring’s podcast and picked up across the national media, reiterated what a committed, forward-thinking comic he is. In that vein, he’s also been musing on death and for his tenth distinctive stand-up show in ten years, he’ll be raging hard against the dying of the light. You can also catch the podcast being recorded at the Stand Comedy Club. RICH HALL Assembly George Square 1 – 25 August (not 12), 9.30pm
He might be the grizzled veteran of countless performances but Rich Hall still sets the benchmark for younger comics, especially after winning Australia’s prestigious Barry Award earlier this year. Look out for his outstanding lament on why Bob Dylan can’t cut it live anymore. The American is also performing his traditional late-night Hoedown with bandmates at the same venue, so make sure to catch that at 11pm. RUBBERBANDITS Gilded Balloon Teviot 31 July – 26 August (not 12, 19), 10.40pm
Winners of best musical comedy act in the Chortle Awards and the Malcolm Hardee gong for comic originality. These Irish, plastic bag-sporting scamps known as the Rubberbandits won’t be the surprise package they were last year. But no matter, because the avant-garde gangster rappers can still be relied upon to deliver a hilarious, taboobusting show.
With gay marriage a hot issue around the world, caustic San Franciscan Scott Capurro ponders reactions to his union with his Brazilian groom, while devoting ample time to considering Islamic teachings on homosexuality. Never one to suffer holy fools without withering sarcasm, we can expect him to probe near the knuckle once again. (clockwise from left) Sarah Millican, Rubberbandits, Nick Helm SARAH MILLICAN – HOME BIRD The Stand Comedy Club 1 – 25 August (not 5, 6, 12, 13, 19, 20), 6.40pm
Featuring in the current series of Who Do You Think You Are? is surely evidence enough that the South Shields native is now a cultural icon. Irrespective of the huge DVD sales behind her and a third series of The Sarah Millican Television Programme just filmed for the BBC, live is where she performs best and The Stand is an intimate venue to catch her.
SCOTT AGNEW – SOMETHING’S GOT TO GIVE The Stand Comedy Club III & IV 31 July – 25 August (not 1, 12), 10.30pm
Challenging the cliché that hard work brings reward, Scott Agnew is in a grumpy funk. He gets a few things off his chest but ultimately lays the blame on himself. Also appearing at the Scottish National Portrait Gallery in a tribute to legend Chic Murray, and with Des Clarke playing iconic duo Francie and Josie.
SEAN HUGHES - PENGUINS Gilded Balloon Teviot 31 July – 25 August, 7.30pm
Last year’s show Life Becomes Noises confirmed that the former Perrier Award winner’s comeback had legs and his forthcoming Radio 4 show I Thought You Were Dead will reiterate his preoccupation with mortality and reaffirm his philosophical chops. He explores the entirety of human foibles in Penguins, soundtracked by Edith Piaf and The Human League.
SANDERSON JONES AND PIPPA EVANS – WONDER & JOY Heroes @ The Hive 1 – 24 August (not 14, 21), 7.30pm
Sanderson Jones and Pippa Evans are the founders of the widely publicised atheist church known as ‘The Sunday Assembly’, bringing a little of that feelgood, godless celebration of existence to this free show where singalongs and insightful lectures are to the fore. Very enjoyable. SARA PASCOE VS THE TRUTH Assembly George Square 31 July – 26 August (not 13), 8pm
Since shedding the aloof persona with which she made her name in order to perform as her self, Sara Pascoe has become a far more compelling comedienne. Known as a regular on Channel 4’s Stand Up For The Week, she has also appeared in the likes of Twenty Twelve and The Thick Of It and can be seen in the satirical play Making News alongside Phill Jupitus and Hal Cruttenden in Edinburgh, written by Robert Khan and Tom Salinsky. www.edfestmag.com
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COMEDY www.edfestmag.com SEANN WALSH: THE LIE-IN KING Pleasance Courtyard 31 July – 25 August (not 12), 9.20pm
On the cusp of becoming one of the next big comics, Seann Walsh will release his debut DVD and front two shows on Comedy Central soon. Not bad for a man who gets exhausted grating cheese and despises his alarm clock. Although some might demand greater ambition from such a natural, technically brilliant comic, it’s hard to dispute that he’s one of the most charismatic, gifted observational comics in the UK. SIMON EVANS: LEASHED The Stand Comedy Club 31 July – 25 August (not 12), 8.10pm
Pining for his youth, when he roamed across Europe on a shoestring, Simon Evans employs his masterful grasp of language to romantically reminisce, before confessing that his reawakened lust for spontaneity has only led to him buying a dog. A merciless critic of middle-class pretension, come hear his latest disdainful diatribes.
TONY LAW: NONSENSE OVERDRIVE The Stand Comedy Club 1 – 26 August (not 12), 12.40pm
SIMON MUNNERY: FYLM The Stand Comedy Club 1 – 26 August (not 12), 3.40pm
(above) Zoe Lyons (below) Tony Law
Continuing his experiments with a tiny camera and a projector, Simon Munnery is once again exploring the space between live theatre and cinema. Expect sketches with rudimentary cardboard puppetry, witty bon mots aplenty and possibly song.
another addiction – gambling. With a wry, witty account of his failed relationship with Lady Luck, the Scot will proffer hard-won wisdom on beating the odds in life.
STEPHEN CARLIN: GAMBLING MAN Pleasance Courtyard 31 July – 26 August (not 7, 14), 6pm
Stephen Carlin follows his disavowal of alcohol to admit
TOM BINNS IS IAN D MONTFORT: PSYCHIC FAYRE Pleasance Courtyard 31 July – 25 August, 6.40pm
If this is to be Tom Binns’ final outing as spoof psychic Ian D Montfort, a character imbued with greater “mind-reading” skill than most of the charlatans he sends up, you’d be advised to catch this intriguingly complex and very funny creation while you still can. Also back as his Comedy Awardnominated hospital radio DJ Ivan Brackenbury at Heroes @ The Hive. TOM ROSENTHAL Pleasance Courtyard 31 July – 25 August, 8.15pm
His title’s from the Bulgarian word for “thank you”. The Friday Night Dinner and Plebs star is intelligent and ambitious, who thinks that his audience is as smart and as comedy-savvy as he is. Having explored Eastern Europe, he’s telling how it changed him.
Whimsical buffoonery is exceptionally tricky to pull off but Tony Law has cracked it better than anyone in recent years, culminating in last year’s Edinburgh Comedy Award-nominated hour Maximum Nonsense. Returning with another afternoon show of weirdly costumed, surreal bellowing, the Canadian is at the top of his game. TROUBLE WITH COMEDY Laughing Horse @ City Cafe 2 – 26 August (not 12), 10.30pm
The question of whether Ian Cognito can complete his first Edinburgh run for 15 years will be on many Fringegoers’ minds as the irascible wit has a combustible, provocative reputation that saw burly comic Ricky Grover punch him out in the Gilded Balloon the last time here Fringe festival. Back to settle old scores, when he’s on point he’s a phenomenal comic and criminally overlooked. WILL FRANKEN: CONCERT TO BENEFIT THE VICTIMS OF MY FATHER Pleasance Dome 31 July – 26 August (not 14), 5.40pm
A one-man, surreal tsunami of character comedy and mimicry, US comedian Will Franken certainly didn’t get the credit his debut show deserved. But his current residency in London is causing more and more people to pay attention to this peerless performer and he’s guaranteed to be a hot ticket this time round. ZOE LYONS – POP-UP COMIC The Assembly Rooms 1 – 25 August, 5pm
Ignoring the major issues of the day, Zoe Lyons will instead be focusing on the minutiae of life, asking why there are so many motion-sensitive air fresheners in the world and debating the purpose of dog prams. With a string of television credits to her name including Mock the Week and Michael McIntyre’s Comedy Roadshow and radio credits from the likes of The Jon Richardson Show and The Christian O’Connell Solution she’ll also be expounding on the embarrassing small screen moments that she might reasonably have been expected to keep off of her CV. WORDS JAY RICHARDSON
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MY EDINBURGH ELIZABETH MCGOVERN Hot-headed woman Elizabeth McGovern may be best-known for her role on Downton Abbey, but she can’t wait to bring her music to the city she loves What brings you to the Fringe for the first time? I’m coming to the Fringe to perform with my band, Sadie and The Hotheads. Our music ranges from delicate folk to classic country. How long have you been in the band? We’ve known each other for a decade, but I suppose we officially became a band when the name came into my head in 2006 while I was sitting in a cafe having coffee with Simon, my husband. I wrote on a napkin: Sadie and The Hotheads. I still have the napkin in my desk drawer.
Have you any favourite places to eat and drink in Edinburgh? Anything and everything. I think it’s one of the most beautiful cities in the world. Describe your music in three words. Whimsical. Fun. Warm. What are you looking forward to doing in Edinburgh on this trip? The first time I saw the city was when I flew to Edinburgh to meet up with my husbandto-be, who was attending the TV festival at the time. The next time I was there watching my daughter, Grace, make her professional stage debut with The School of Comedy at The Fringe Festival. It’s definitely an important city for our family.
Any favourite Scottish food? I am part Scottish [her grandfather, William Montgomery McGovern, was an explorer and may have been the original inspiration for Indiana Jones], so I adore haggis. And Scotch, of course. Are you interested in visiting any historic spots? I love the magic of being always in
the shadow of Edinburgh Castle. I can’t wait! Bring it on, in all its glory. Any family coming with you? My aforementioned daughter and husband.
WHEN & WHERE Sadie and The Hot Heads New Town Theatre, 17-25 August, 10.45pm. From £10, Tel: 0131 220 0143
‘I am part Scottish, so I love haggis. And Scotch, of course’
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LTM_JasonByrne_300x220_EdFestMag_LTM_JasonByrne_300x220_EdFestMag 21/06/2013 16:01 Page 1
BY ARRANGEMENT WITH LISA THOMAS MAnAgeMenT PRESENT
CREATOR AND STAR OF BBC1'S FATHER FIGURE AS SEEN ON BBC 1'S LIVE AT THE APOLLO, ITV'S COMEDY ANNUAL AND DAVE’S ONE NIGHT STAND
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★★★★ MAIL ON SUNDAY
‘THE OUTRIGHT KING OF LIVE COMEDY’ THE TIMES
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SEE JASON BYRNE’S SPECIAL EYE ON TOUR THIS AUTUMN: OCTOBER 2013 17 LEEDS CITY VARIETIES 18 BIRMINGHAM TOWN HALL 20 BRIGHTON DOME NOVEMBER 2013 1 LONDON BLOOMSBURY THEATRE 2 LONDON BLOOMSBURY THEATRE 8 MIDDLESBROUGH THE CRYPT 9 CARDIFF ST DAVID’S HALL
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0113 243 0808 0121 345 0600 01273 709 709 0207 388 8822 0207 388 8822 01642 729 729 029 2087 8444
10 MANCHESTER APOLLO 15 DUNFERMLINE ALHAMBRA 16 GLASGOW THEATRE ROYAL 28 READING HEXAGON 29 CANTERBURY GULBENKIAN 30 NEWCASTLE TYNE THEATRE DECEMBER 2013 1 LIVERPOOL EMPIRE 8 BELFAST ULSTER HALL
08444 777 677 01383 740 384 0844 871 7647 0118 960 6060 01227 769 075 0844 493 9999 0844 871 3017 028 9033 4455
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