23 AUG 2012 ISSUE #06
FOSTER’S COMEDY NOMINATIONS
FOSTER’S COMEDY AWARD NOMINATIONS
02
S
torming back this year with six out of ten shortlist nominations for the Foster’s Edinburgh Comedy Awards 2012, The Pleasance has proved itself once again as a hub for new and established comedy.
Commenting on the nominations, Pleasance’s Comedy Programmer Ryan Taylor said ‘Once again it has been an exceptional year for Comedy at The Pleasance. We are proud of the diverse talent that we have presented this year. We are really pleased that this talent has once again been recognised by Foster’s Edinburgh Comedy Awards Judges with so many of the nominees being from Pleasance. Over the years the Awards have acted as a catalyst in the careers of many of today’s best known comedians. We wish the very best to all of the nominees’
BEST COMEDY SHOW Pappy’s: Last Show Ever The Pappy’s boys are back, and with Last Show Ever, they bring us their best ideas and funniest sketches to date. Having been nominated for the Award in this category back in 2007, the group are no strangers to notoriety on the comedy circuit and this nomination could cement their place on the Fringe. The show consists of a reel of quick-fire sketches, delivered with apt silliness and irreverent brilliance. All of this is underpinned by a storyline about how the group came to an end, one fateful night. Having gained a handful of five-star reviews, this is a stand-out show on this year’s Fringe.
COVER STORY
James Acaster: Prompt James Acaster brings his second solo show, Prompt, to the Fringe this year, and has been met with huge praise. His unique and individual style of observational comedy has struck a chord with audiences and reviewers alike, his comedy moving between a great number of topics: from football chants to bread, from mythical monsters to wooden ducks. Having supported the likes of Milton Jones and fellow nominee Josie Long on national tours, James Acaster is one stand-up to watch out for on the scene in the very near future.
T
Josie Long: Romance and Adventure This is Josie Long’s sixth solo show at the Fringe, and after the amazing success of the last five years, Romance and Adventure is one of her best and most hotly anticipated shows to date. Josie’s show is based around the dual realisations of her turning 30 and awakening to political activism – airing her views on everything from the online list of ‘Things To Do Before You’re 30’ to the problems with the Coalition Government. Josie won the Best Newcomer Award in 2006, and is a serious contender for this year’s Best Comedy Show award.
BEST NEWCOMER Daniel Simonsen: Champions The Gaurdian’s ‘One to Watch’, Daniel Simonsen has had a great year and is now in with a chance of winning a Fosters Comedy Award. Having toured this year with Simon Amstell and appearing on Russell Howard’s Good News, he has brought his solo show Champions up to Edinburgh this Fringe. In an hour of imaginative stand-up Simonsen is hilarious with his observational comedy, portraying himself as a comic misfit. This is a brilliant stand-up show, with an edgy style that makes it unique. Full of clever wit and oddity we are pleased this Norwegian comedian has been recognised by these awards.
David Trent: Spontaneous Comedian In an ingenious fusion of music, video, animation and comedy, David Trent uses a mix of media to create his show Spontaneous Comedian. Covering various topics including ‘The Next Generation’, ‘A Cup of Tea’ and ‘Excess Baggage’, Trent, contradictory to his title moves through his scripted pieces with great creativity. This is his first show up in Edinburgh and, having been nominated for many comedy awards but yet to win one, we are glad to see him in the running for this Fringe award. Joe Lycett: Some Lycett Hot A finalist in the 2011 BBC New Comedy Awards, Joe Lycett brings his debut show Some Lycett Hot to Edinburgh, receiving great reviews. Working his stand-up around the reality of his life as inspiration, Joe has a cheeky and youthful approach to comedy in the show, covering topics such as gender, sexuality and masculinity. This young comedian has appeared on Channel 4’s 8 Out of 10 Cats and E4’s Show and Tell and we predict big things for the future.
04
DEAR DAIRY... A COW’S-EYE-VIEW OF EDINBURGH
B
ringing her brand new show The Golden Cowpat to the Pleasance Kidzone this year, Betty gave us an account of her arrival at the Fringe Festival... ‘Moo mooooo moo moooooo mooo mooo. (The following is a translation from Betty’s native tongue; Mooglish) I have never left my farm before, so I was very surprised to hear that I was to visit sunny Edinburgh. Cows don’t usually get to star in theatre shows, apart from my friend Diddle Diddle, who could jump over the moon. She used to sneak out of the field to go to gymnastics on Tuesday nights. When I first arrived I looked around and found plenty of tasty grass to chew. But all that digesting made me sleeeeepy. I had heard a lot of people talking about some man
T
called Arthur and his famous seat. I thought it sounded like the perfect opportunity for a bit of a rest so I set off on a quest to locate it. I swished my tail and wandered into town. There seemed to be a lot of people shouting on the Royal Mile, although I couldn’t see any Kings or Queens. I’m used to the peace and quiet of a nice green field so I put my best hoof forward and hurried off to a place called Bristo Square. I was alarmed when I saw my friend Purple lying upside down. She looked quite tired and people where dancing and chatting around her. Perhaps she had been cow tipped? Pesky humans, don’t trust them. So I plodded as far away as I could until I found a friendly courtyard. A kind man with a yellow t-shirt led me through. People
gazed at me in wonder and he eventually directed me to an igloo. It wasn’t cold inside though and it was called the Green. A natural place for a cow to relax and lay a cowpat, I thought. So I got to it and... I was astonished. It was a GOLDEN COWPAT. Well, well. What luck! What will I do with it? I could… write a play… for families? Oh... I never did find that man, Arthur and his seat... ho hum!’ The Golden Cowpat is performed daily at 10:45 & 11:50 at the Green in the Pleasance Courtyard. It stars Betty the Cow. The Kidzone is open all throughout the festival with loads of arts, crafts and fun for kids and parents to get stuck into!
DOUBLE TROUBLE
BY SOPHIE CHILVERS & ANDY SMITH
O
VISION
ne hour, two venues and two halves of the same story. Greenlight theatre present Seeing Double, a play within a play. As a group of young hopefuls try to pull together an adaptation of Macbeth nothing goes quite to plan. Cleverly organised and precise, with an atmosphere of spontaneity, the cast perform two plays at once, dashing between the Baby Grand and the Hut to reveal the different sides of this chaotic tale. In one half of this performance, Vision, the audience of the Baby Grand watch the group as they prepare for their big performance of Macbeth. Confusing a stranger for a famous director, chaos ensues as he attempts to create the show in a laissez-faire manner. This performance is energetic to say the least. Dashing on and off the stage, the fast pace of the show makes it all the more gripping. The use of a live television link up also allows the audience to glimpse the second half of this play exactly as it happens.
FIGURES
M
eanwhile, in the Hut, the audience of Figures get to experience the behind-thescenes trials and tribulations of the show. The production team are under instructions that they are not under any circumstances allowed to attend production rehearsals, all they have to go on is that the actors are doing a version of Macbeth. The result is a hilarious farce which sees the morethan-stressed creative team guessing at what shape the production will take. The snippets we get of the rehearsals, through the live video feed from the Baby Grand, offer a glimpse of progress, leading to guesses at an avant-garde dance piece with sex toys and whips. Getting more and more slapstick and ridiculous, the play comes to a guffaw-inducing head, actors running between the two shows and events between the two coinciding with perfect timing. A great concept, the two shows running simultaneously and then coming together makes for a well acted and hilarious show.
Both shows are on at 11:30am at the Pleasance Courtyard until the 27th August
06
FOR
DEALS AND OFFERS
21
STRIKEOUT MOLLY NAYLOR STRIKES OUT
Cut out and present at the Box Office for 2-for-1 tickets for:
The Wind in the Willows A brand new musical based on the classic children’s story
11am 23rd August Pleasance Courtyard Above
London vs Edinburgh (Or Norwich. Seriously, I actually live there) Restaurant vs Takeaway (Preferably one with a pretentious menu) Spiderman vs Batman Bob Dylan vs Bob Marley (There are better Bobs out there) Poetry vs Prose “Supper” vs “Tea” (If it’s food I’ll eat it) Dome vs Courtyard Dogs vs Cats Letter vs E-mail (Even though I haven’t written one for 20 years) My Robot Heart is on at the Pleasance Courtyard at 3.25pm until the 27th August
T
@DAVIDHASSELHOFF: LOVING IT HERE AT THE FRINGE IN #EDINBURGH! SEEY YOU AT THE PLEASANCE GRAND
BORIS & SERGEY LITTLE SERGEY GIVES US THE LOW-DOWN ABOUT THIER SHOW
Who?
Seregy of Boris & Sergey; a tatterdemalion rogue, vagabond and lovable rascal hailing from Russia (the big part by the river), Flabbergast Theatre’s Vadevillian superstar and one half of simply the greatest comedy duo ever to grace the small stage!
A manically handsome Bunraku puppet with a suave and sophisticated personality and more uncooked sex appeal than a banana, with a smidgen or two of homicidal tendencies in addition to a penchant for casual violence. Co-lead in Boris & Sergey’s Vaudevillian Adventure.
Why?
Because everyone should bear witness to two rip-roaringly rambunctious comedic titans of puppetry embroiled in a herculean struggle of wits and whimsy! Who wouldnt be interested in guaranteed gadabouts, geeks, lackeys and rakes, tantalising endeavours to enthuse your bipeadal appendages, grease your garters, and mystify your merrimen?
At the Pleasance Courtyard Below at 11pm and soon on every TV and in every movie theatre in the land #worlddomination @Boris_Sergey, watch out for category A theatre runs in excess of two years...
How?
What?
Where?
Every which way but up, my perversions know no bounds! I’ll try anything a handful of times... you give me a time and I’ll be there, unless I’m performing in which case you can wait in the wings and I’ll warm you up between skits! Leather, rubber, Japanese rope bondage, paddles, whips, stockings, cock rings, sex toys of a dubious nature all up my alley! Ask and ye shall receive!
Boris & Sergey’s Vaudevillian Adventure is on at the Pleasance Courtyard at 11pm until the 27th August
08
THE DEATH OF CHATTERTON
YOUNG
PLEASANCE
P
leasance Times talks to the associate directors of Young Pleasance, brother and sister Kathryn and Tim Norton, about YP’s latest production. After 16 Years on the Fringe The Death of Chatterton is one of the most ambitions and imaginative pieces they have ever staged. Tell us about the inspiration behind the story. The inspiration is entirely from looking at the painting at Tate Britain about four years ago and thinking that
T
there was something mesmerising about the image - and the immediate thought flashed through my mind, there’s a story here. I was fascinated by the fact that Henry Wallis’s painting of a starving artist in the throes of death, painted 100 years after the character had lived, caused a sensation at the Royal Academy, and I wanted to write a modern play about our current obsessions with celebrity, instant fame and the cult of the teenager; obviously an ideal vehicle for YP! But it was only through discovering Chatterton’s story, after research in Bristol and London, that the idea arose that actually there was a much more fascinating jigsaw puzzle of facts surrounding Chatterton’s life which demanded further investigation. How has it been being part of Young Pleasance? YP aims to foster a company ethos to inspire young people to come back and audition year after year - every so often we start with a new younger generation as older ones move on to creating their own work; this year alone nearly 50 young people trained by YP are involved in their own productions at the Fringe. Aisha El-Telbani who
first performed with the company in Edinburgh last year comments ‘Having taken part in last year’s Young Pleasance new and original ensemble adaptation of Godber’s Teechers, there was nothing I was looking forward to more than returning to Edinburgh and taking to the stage once again with our highly talented cast and crew. Not only has the experience fostered a unity and a family with all the cast members, but I’ve honed my skills as a performer and have learnt a vast amount about stage craft and technical theatre in a space of two weeks.’. What are your plans for after the fringe? Kathryn comments ‘after sixteen years we’re still having ideas for original new work. We have a small, but formidable creative team and a tremendous support staff, many of whom were once members of YP themselves, and I think it is vital to be inclusive with any forward planning. We’ll tap into the creative talents of this extraordinary group of people as we begin to plan the next production’.
HOW TO BOOK:
FIND US ONLINE:
ONLINE AT
/thepleasance
www.pleasance.co.uk
@ThePleasance
ON THE PHONE
0131 556 6550
/ThePleasanceTV
OR
IN PERSON AT THE BOX OFFICE Pleasance Courtyard, 60 Pleasance, EH8 9TJ (9am-midnight) Pleasance Dome, 1 Bristo Square, EH8 9AL (10am-1.30am) YOU CAN FIND THE
PLEASANCE COMEDY PODCAST BY FOLLOWING THE QR CODE
The Pleasance Theatre Trust Ltd is a registered Charity in England and Wales. Charity No 1050944. And in Scotland SC043227. COVER PHOTOS BY IDIL SUKAN
23 AUG 2012 ISSUE #06
Edited by Sophie Chilvers & An
dy Smith