Issue #20 - Thursday 26th August - FREE
PLEASANCE’s Seven NOMINATIONS
Foster’s edinburgh comedy award nominations for bo burnham, greg davies, russell kane, asher treleavan, gareth richards, roisin conarty & Late night gimp fight
Left to Right: Greg Davies, Russell Kane and Bo Burnham recieved nominations
Seven Pleasance acts have received nominations in the 2010 Foster’s Edinburgh Comedy Awards. Shortlisted acts for the two categories, Best Comedy Show and Best Newcomer, were announced yesterday afternoon after a lengthy judging and selection process. Nominated for the Best Comedy Show are Bo Burnham: Words, Words, Words, Greg Davies: Firing Cheeseballs at a Dog and Russell Kane: Smokescreens and Castles. Newcomers nominated are Asher Treleaven: Secret Door, Gareth Richards: Stand Up Between Songs, Roisin Conarty: Hero, Warrior,
Fireman, Liar and sketch group Late Night Gimp Fight! Together, this means that seven out of the eleven possible nominations were awarded to performers at the Pleasance. Ryan Taylor, comedy programmer for the Pleasance, was thrilled with the result. “It’s brilliant! We are delighted that once again we have so many acts in the nominations list. It represents the great talent that we have at our venue year on year. We are incredibly proud of the entire programme, and it’s fantastic that these nominations reflect this high standard. Congratulations to them all.”
Now in its 30th year, the Edinburgh Comedy Awards have become a highly coveted and internationally prized institution. Nica Burns, who produces the awards, commented that the shortlists “reflect the enormous changes in the comedy landscape” since its inception. Nica called 20 year old Bo Burnham’s show “an outstanding Edinburgh debut”, and congratulated “Greg Davies from We Are Klang in his first debut show and Russell Kane winning his third consecutive nomination”. The judging process, she added, “took a very impassioned, intense debate to select the nominees from an extremely strong and diverse long list.” The shows of all the nominees continue over the next few days. There will also be two shows featuring winners and nominees from the awards. The first is on Sunday 29 Aug at 23:15 the second on Monday 30th at 20:00, both at the Pleasance Grand. The final results will be announced on Friday lunchtime, after a final discussion between the judges. With such a strong selection of performers, the task will not be an easy one. Ryan Taylor added that “We wish all nominated acts the very best of luck, and look forward to Friday’s announcement.”
INTERVIEW - SPRING AWAKENING Produced by the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama, Spring Awakening brings talented young performers to the stage. Helen Hart and Rachel Middle, who play Wendla and Ilse respectively in the show, talk to The Pleasance Times. What does it mean for you to be here, and to perform Spring Awakening? HH: There’s a lot of hype surrounding the show, putting us in a fortunate positioning. Many people love it for its music, writing or even its past stars. It has a huge following, and we’ve been packing the house for almost every show as a result. RM: It’s an uniquely different musical – really a play with songs. The songs don’t drive the narrative but are almost
stepping out of the play for a moment. HH: It isn’t a classic musical like Oklahoma or The Sound of Music, it’s definitely a contemporary musical. And contemporary is important? HH: So much of musical theatre now is becoming contemporary in style. There’s an overwhelming number of ‘jukebox musicals’ like Mamma Mia and We Will Rock You, and performers are using pop songs in auditions. For us, it is a good experience to try before graduating because it is an extremely popular trend. Some of the play’s subject matter is quite adult themed, how do you approach it? HH: Andrew Panton, our director, makes conscious choices about the different scenes and lines that will
engage different types of people. Often you don’t need to work that hard to engage audiences because it is so well written. RM: The show has a wide appeal with various ages. It’s important that you get to see it from both adult and young eyes. The opening scene is about a mother trying to explain sex to her daughter – it’s hilarious because the mum cannot articulate what she means. Audiences can appreciate that whether they’ve been on the receiving end or as a parent themselves. With backgrounds in musical theatre, how is the jump to this rockbased style? RM: We’ve been trained to do certain things for an entire year, and with Spring Awakening we’ve been told to ignore lots of it. Spring Awakening is less
well and truly taken its toll and your body is feeling a little like Paul Gascoigne and minds are dazed by the many desperate performers still selling shows. We, Clever Peter, are precisely those performers and we’re not ashamed to admit it but our show does happen to be great; you should come and see it before the Festival winds up. As seasoned Festival veterans we’ve put together some performers’ top tips for the last few remaining days of
all other readers): 1. Talk profusely for many hours about escaping the Edinburgh bubble and going up Arthur’s Seat... only to not bother for yet another year. 2. Eat some vegetables and drink some water! (Please note: Beer is not a vegetable so barley/hops does not count as one of your 5-a-day!) 3. You’ve been bumping into the same person every day for the last 20 days, and promised
have been to see your show... three times. Go and see their show. 4. Don’t be envious of other shows, and don’t let reviews get you down (ours have been brilliant, Clever Peter, 10 Dome, 21:40. Plug 2 done.) 5. Try, though probably the weariest you’ve ever been, to have some fun; see people you want to see and see shows you want to see... oh, and kick yourself for not buying tickets to your own ‘must-see’ show before
about the beauty of the voice – although of course that helps – and more about telling the story. HH: The academy takes performers who are good at certain specialities and then help you fill the gaps; you have to know every style. It’s about coming out as a more finished product, and I think audiences can really appreciate that. Spring Awakening Pleasance Courtyard 4-30 Aug 15:05
Clever Peter’s festival stamina TIPS they sold out... idiot. to see their show. They So, the month has the fringe just for you (and
Clever Peter Pleasance Dome 4-29 Aug 21:40
Edward Eales-White of Clever Peter, upset about the festival’s imminent end
How Babies Are Born With An Ear For Music
Angie Coates - Founder and MD of Monkey Music It may be months before they sing, dance or play a musical instrument, but experts agree that every newborn baby is born with innate musical abilities. As you sing and rock your tiny still newborn he will respond by silently sending positive ‘messages’ to his brain. The engaging sound of your voice will be ‘wiring up’ his brain and speeding up mental development. Music is a fundamental part of our babies’ mental, physical and social development, helping our children develop their speech and improve their coordination. Dr Denham of Plymouth University points out that music reflects the rhythm and content of speech. A tiny baby listening to his mother in this way will be
making important mental connections which are also linked to future language development. Your child will naturally develop through a succession of musical milestones. At Monkey Music these are explored through our progressive curricula. Our babies and children move up through 4 separate stages. At each stage the children take part in specific musical activities which enhance and support their natural musical development. As your baby grows, the sound of your voice continues to be an important factor in how effectively your child engages with musical activities. A music making parent, whether musically competent or not, will give their child the confidence
to make music himself. It is this music making throughout the first six years of a child’s life that will lead to basic musical competence. According to Dr Edwin Gordon, an expert in music learning theory, “regardless of the level of music aptitude with which children are born, they must have formal and informal experiences in music to maintain that level of potential”. Dr Gordon adds that without
these “a child’s innate music aptitude, be it high or low, will diminish, possibly vanishing almost to nothing”. Just as language skills are developed early in life, so is musical talent. Pre-school music gives children the best opportunity to expand their own development and learning. Monkey Music Pleasance Courtyard (Ark) 4-28 Aug 11:30
JOHN HEGLEY WRITES TO MUM & DAD Dear Mum and Dad I am at the Edinburgh Festivities of Summertimes again. 28 years of coming it is now. And every year I’ve done a show except for once in ‘99, but even then I still came up to make a visit. It’s an inspiring place to visit. With the crags above the city in your eyeline, you’re reminded just how brief and fragile are our days. People open up about the best of shows to go to and the buses you can take from George Street going up Lothian Road (11, 12, 16). Today, I took the 13 to the marvellous Museum of Modern Art where I go every year to inspect and to reflect upon the permanent collection. Every year those wonderful exhibits make me vow that I will try to wow the audience with scenery and props of great invention. There was one year, Dad, I had one of your paintings as the backdrop and as I lugged it from the venue at the end of my residing there I felt so proud to have performed beside your bright and atmospherical depicition, even though all the perspective’s a bit wrong. Mum,z could you please knit me a long-sleeve jumper, for next year. Love, John. John Hegley: Morning Worship, Pleasance Courtyard, 4-29 Aug 11:30
@ThePleasance #pleasancetimes RT @gomitotheatre My Fringe recommendation of the day...For 2 nights only Ernest and the Pale Moon at the Pleasance Courtyard. RT @norwegiancheese Off to see School of Comedy at Pleasance Beneath! Too excited! #edfringe
THURSDAY 26TH AFTER HOURS Pleasance Dome 00:40 Rufus Hound Glenn Wool Carl Donnelly Romesh Rangananthan BBC COMEDY PRESENTS Pleasance Dome 23:00 Susan Calman Golden Lizard James Acaster Dan Antopolski Jimeoin BEST OF EDINBURGH: THE SHOWCASE SHOW Pleasance Courtyard 13:10 MC JOHN ROBINS DAVID WHITNEY JAMES DOWDESWELL ASHER TRELEAVEN MICHAEL FABBRI
MERVYN STUTTER’S PICK OF THE FRINGE Pleasance Courtyard 12:55 Brazil Brazil Marill Grant Aindrias de Staic Simon Evans Marcel Lucont Call Mr Robeson Roam RONNA AND BEVERLY Pleasance Courtyard 17:45 Susan Calman Brendan Burns Please note that all line-ups are subject to change. Check the Box Office for the latest information.
THE HORNE SECTION Pleasance Dome 00:20 David O’ Doherty Josie Long Tim Key Tim Minchin VIVE LE CABARET Pleasance at Ghillie Dhu 21:30 Desmond O’Connor (host) Jonny Woo, Pete Firman, Missy Malone, Mr B, Kitsch Kats, Gypsy Charms, New Art Club
THE DAVE HILL EXPLOSION Pleasance Courtyard 23:00 CHRIS CORCORAN STUART GOLDSMITH ELIS JAMES ANDI OSHO ITCH: A SCRATCH EVENT Pleasance Courtyard 14:00 Hattie Hayridge (Red Dwarf) Seymour Mace (Ideal) Carey Marx Gordon Southern Felicity Ward Celia Paquola Segue Sisters Clovis van Darkhelm
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