ISSUE 1: 31ST JULY 2013
WELCOME TO THE PLEASANCE T
he totem pole has been erected, the cobbles have been polished and our doors are ready to be opened, so we would like to welcome you to the Pleasance Times 2013, the best place find all the news and gossip from around the Pleasance. Every other day throughout the festival we will be publishing a newspaper jammed full of news, previews, interviews and much more to give you an insight into one of the biggest and best venues at the Edinburgh Fringe. After our five printed editions last year, 2013 will see more regular issues in order to ensure you are kept up to date with all the latest news at the Pleasance. You can pick up your free copy of the Pleasance Times from both the Courtyard and the Dome so you’ll always be able to catch up on what’s going on between the shows. Now in its 29th year, the Pleasance has become renowned for its impressive programme of theatre, and comedy and, this year is no exception. With 240 shows across 27 venues, including our four off-site locations, this year’s programme of theatrical and comedic delights features returning names such as The Boy With Tape On His Face, showcasing his award winning 2012 sell out show; The Trench, returning with their emotive production; and The Pin, the criticallyacclaimed comedy duo who made a real name for themselves last year. Adding to the excitement, we have a whole host of new faces including Scroobius Pip, his first appearance at the fringe; Outside on the Street, recipients of the Charlie Hartill Special Reserve Prize; and Gardening for the Unfulfilled and the Alienated, bringing its own personal venue to the
Fringe in the form of a garden shed. A number of new venues are also popping up around the Pleasance this year. The Bunker, an intimate and cosy performance space constructed from a 1940s war bunker, is an exciting new place to catch a show and grab a drink, with venues This and That also new to 2013. The atmosphere of the Courtyard will undoubtedly be as vibrant and bustling as ever, whilst a late night programme at the Dome including Cassetteboy versus DJ Rubbish, The New Wave and Set List is also guaranteed to ensure you can party at the Pleasance until the very early hours. If
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A number of new venues are popping up around The Pleasance weekend or checking out some quality shows after a hard day at work, from Monday 12th August the Pleasance will be offering reduced price tickets on Mondays and Tuesday with discounts of up to 20% on over 200 shows, allowing everyone to enjoy as much of the festival as they can. For those who aren’t sticking around for quite so long, the next few days of the festival will feature preview shows with tickets from £5, followed by 2 for 1 tickets on the 5th and 6th August too. Festival-goers with little ones to entertain can head over to the Kidzone on The Green at the Courtyard where there will be plenty for the children to discover and create. Keep an eye out for our extra-terrestrials, designed by our 2013 Kidzone competition winners There is also a wide variety of children’s shows as part of our programme to be enjoyed by audiences of all ages! After weeks of preparation and stalwart commitment from all the Pleasance staff, crew and volunteers, the sites are finally ready to throw open their doors and welcome festival-goers and acts. With the 30th year of the Pleasance just around the corner in 2014, this 29th year will surely be a great send off to the venue’s roaring twenties!
BROUGHT TO YOU BY
PLEASANCE STATISTICS 2013
Biggest Venue: The Grand 750 Seats
200 Staff Smallest Venue: The Shed 2 Seats
27 Ven ues
1500 Performers
BOOK NOW: 0131 556 6550 www.pleasance.co.uk
Edited by Sophie Chilvers and Emily Tanner
THIS, THAT... AND THE BUNKER
HOW TO SURVIVE THE FRINGE BY...BORIS AND SERGEY
Pleasance Times head over to the Courtyard to give you a sneak peek of the three newest venues at The Pleasance
N
estled into the walls of the Pleasance Courtyard, snugly tucked between the Grand is the Bunker, a converted 1940s war bunker which will play host to a number of exciting shows this year.
The Bunker feels like stepping back in time With sweeping arches, painted in a bright white and deep green, a Home Front retro feel is created; stepping into the Bunker feels like stepping back in time to a golden age of wireless radio and roaring fires. Upon entering, you’ll find a cosy, well-stocked bar, the perfect place to catch up and drink the night away amidst a more intimate atmosphere. Through the next entrance is the
theatre space itself, a delightfully warm setting which will this year play host to a variety of top shows including Tania Edwards: The Art of War, sketch show Anti-Graham and Phil Wang: Anti-Hero. But that’s not all. After the last performance, the theatre itself becomes an extended bar as an ingenious design enables us to rearrange the comfy seats to create sociable spaces for you to enjoy with your friends until 3am.
After a hit show at the Pleasance in 2012, Boris and Sergey are back! Here’s a rundown of their top survival tips for the Edinburgh Fringe! I, Boris have devised an ingenious method of putting down my top tips, I’m going to list them in numerical fashion. FOR SCIENCE!
1
Plan ahead. Last year I made a map of all the places I wanted to go. I coloured the water in blue and the grass in green. But I coloured all the trees purple for an avant-garde effect. I didn’t know any of the place names so I made them up. I also made up lots of shows I’d like to see. I was very disappointed that none of them were on.
Beside the Bunker are This and That, another two new venues for 2013. These are conventional fringe spaces, designed and created by the Pleasance Team, temporarily erected from portacabins to create a welcoming space which allows you to feel part of the performance. So make sure you venture to this side of the Courtyard to check out our innovative, new venues.
2
Don’t ever fall asleep in a public place. Sergey says that’s when actors rifle through your pockets for spare change. If someone falls asleep in a public place, rifle through their pockets for spare change, or any trinkets you can barter in a grog house.
3
Eat, drink and be merry. Indulge in the sites, sounds and smells. Try to talk to a local, or shout at a tourist. It really is more liberating than shouting at a tourist in London, which has become old hat in my opinion.
4
Go and see everything that you can. 5 You may be pleasantly surprised... or made so furious with disappointment that you punch your sandwiches to death out of sheer despair.
MODERN ART AT THE PLEASANCE
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n the 28th February, comedian Mark Watson took to the stage at the Pleasance’s permanent home in Islington, London to perform for 25 hours in aid of Comic Relief. The show was a great success, raising an impressive amount for the charity and encouraging others to carry out their own 25 hour challenges. One such artist to stick out the full 25 hours with Mark was Markus Birdman who completed an exciting illustration during Mark Watson’s
PLEASANCE TWEETS
show. For the 2013 fringe festival, this mural will take pride of place in the Dome’s Brooke’s bar; adding to the vibrant ambiance which the new refurbishment has created. Ryan Donoghue and Claire Hillis, two interior design graduates from Edinburgh College of Art, have been working extremely hard over the past few weeks, designing, planning and creating a brand new Brookes for 2013. After winning the competition set by Pleasance Director Anthony
@ThePleasance: @PhilNWang @Ghosthunterplay @ taniaedwards @GrahamComedy @ChrisMcomedy @TomCraine @ marksmithcomedy Do you like the Bunker? #Pleasance
Alderson, the inventive pair told us of what a great opportunity this was for them to showcase their ideas and creative talent, excited to have such freedom of influence over the project: ‘the opportunity doesn’t come along every day. It’s a real experience because it’s just us, it gives us the full experience from meeting the clients to creating the space, and it’s great so many different people will use it’.
@ThePleasance: We open tomorrow! Who’s coming? #Pleasance #EdFringe
You can catch Boris, in Boris and Sergey II Perilous Escapade at Pleasance Two, 31st July - 26th August at 11.10pm
@IdiotChildCo: Duncan Goodhew is locked in a container in the pleasance courtyard. Send for help / provisions #celebritysos
The Pleasance Theatre Trust is a registered charity in England and Wales (1050944) and Scotland (SCO43227)