Edinburgh Festival Guide 2019 by List Publishing Ltd

EDINBURGH

FESTIVALe 2019

LIST.CO.UK/FESTIVAL

270WS SHTHOE ESSEUNITDIEAL + CITY G

ART BOOKS

GRAYSON PERRY

FRINGE

ROSE MCGOWAN

INTERNATIONAL JAZZ CITY GUIDE

MAKING THE FRINGE GO POP

OONA DOHERTY LUCY MCCORMICK BENJAMIN ZEPHANIAH DANNY MACASKILL CAMILLE Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;SULLIVAN CRAIG FERGUSON

FREE

FRISKY & MANNISH

BASIL BRUSH

Theatre Comedy

Kids Shows Cabaret

Circus

M us i c

S ta n d - u p Magic

Dance

s u o m a f d rl o w the

E C N A S A E L P

Visi t

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20/06/2019 16.12

E D I N B U R G H F E S T I VA L G U I D E 2 0 1 9

CONTENTS

FRONTLINES & FEATURES Top 20

The cream of a very large Edinburgh crop

Frontlines

Puns, food, cartoons

Acts from Sweden, Netherlands, Italy and Finland PHOTO: STEVE ULLATHORNE

Grayson Perry

Why dressing up is easy to do

Danny MacAskill

Riding his way through danger

Lucy McCormick

The acceptable face of arrogance

ART Cindy Sherman

Retrospective of early photography

Nicole Farhi

From skinny models to sculptural miniatures

BOOKS Benjamin Zephaniah

Still political after all these years

First Lines

Authors pick their favourite openers

FRINGE Cabaret

Frisky & Mannish, Gingzilla

Comedy

Maisie Adam, Eddie Izzard

Dance

Un Poyo Rojo, Company Chordelia

Kids

Dinosaurs, Islander

Music

Camille O’Sullivan, Andrew Wasylyk

Theatre

Rose McGowan, Frankenstein

INTERNATIONAL James McArdle

104

Scots actor gets fit for Ibsen

Stephen Fry

110

From QI to IQ

Oona Doherty

112

Taking machismo to task

‘I CAN GO AROUND COMPLETELY UNNOTICED BECAUSE I’M SMALL AND GINGER’

JAZZ Donny McCaslin

PICK U

P OUR

FREE

WEEKL Y ISSUES FESTIVAL 31 JUL, ON WED 7, 14 AU G

CHEEKY BASIL BRUSH DISCUSSES EDINBURGH ON PAGE 66

Published in July 2019 by The List Ltd Head Office: 14 High Street Edinburgh EH1 1TE Tel: 0131 550 3050 list.co.uk

©2019 The List Ltd. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the prior permission in writing of The List Ltd. ISSN: 1744-3903

Extensive efforts have been made to ensure the accuracy of the information in this publication; however the publishers cannot accept responsibility for any errors it may contain.

122

Sax man on Boards of Canada and Bowie

OTHER FESTIVALS Fringe by the Sea

127

Be Charlotte prepares for world domination

CITY GUIDE Old Town

132

Southside

139

New Town

146

West End

151

Leith and Broughton Street

159

INDEX A-Z

168

FESTIVAL BOOKING INFORMATION

EDINBURGH ART FESTIVAL 25 Jul–25 Aug edinburghartfestival.com Telephone booking: Please call venues. Many events are free but ticketed. Festival Kiosk at Institut Français d’Écosse, West Parliament Square

EDINBURGH INTERNATIONAL BOOK FESTIVAL 10–26 Aug edbookfest.co.uk Telephone booking: 0345 373 5888 In person: The Hub, Castlehill; Entrance Tent in Charlotte Square Gardens; George Street Box Office

EDINBURGH FESTIVAL FRINGE 2–26 Aug edfringe.com Telephone booking: 0131 226 0000 In person: Fringe Box Office, High Street; Virgin Money Half-Price Hut, Mound Precinct

e m o c l e W As a great philosopher once said (actually, it’s Basil Brush in this very Guide), the ongoing discussions over our future relationship with the EU have felt a bit like the hokey cokey: are we in or are we out? We tried hard (and failed) not to mention the ‘B’ word in this publication, but it’s firmly between the lines of our EU feature. There, we write about a singer, an artist, a comedian and an urban arts collective who all hail from countries which are (for now) wholly committed to playing an integral part in the European project. Bringing people and nations together is what the Edinburgh Festival has always been about. We speak to Turner Prize-winning artist Grayson Perry who loves the fact that he’s adored by both the art cognoscenti and taxi drivers. In hard times, actress Rose McGowan invented an imaginary planet which she hopes might give hope to others who feel marginalised. And our cover stars Frisky & Mannish believe the power of pop parodies and mash-ups can bring audiences together as one. Also across these pages, we speak to comedian Craig Ferguson about coming home, hear from sculptor Nicole Farhi about leaving the fashion world behind, discuss social justice with Benjamin Zephaniah, and chat with Californian sax man Donny McCaslin as he hails Scottish music. Plus we’ve got features about Cindy Sherman, Eddie Izzard, Neneh Cherry, dinosaurs, puns and Frankenstein, while Jessie Cave and Phill Jupitus have drawn us some cartoons. Don’t miss our City Guide section packed with details on all the best bars and restaurants in the capital, and as we speak, we’re making plans for three essential weekly festival magazines. Plus, we’ll provide you with the best online coverage at list.co.uk/festival while our Twitter feed keeps you in the loop with all the latest news, reviews and gossip at @thelistmagazine. The wait is almost over and the planet’s biggest arts festival is about to open its doors to the world once again. So get onboard . . .

Brian Donaldson EDINBURGH FESTIVAL GUIDE EDITOR

CONTRIBUTORS EDINBURGH INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL 2–26 Aug eif.co.uk Telephone booking: 0131 473 2000 In person: The Hub, Castlehill

PUBLISHING Festival Guide Editor Brian Donaldson City Guide Editor Jo Laidlaw Words Craig Angus, Kelly Apter, Arabella Bradley, Jessie Cave, Deborah Chu, Neil Cooper, Brian Donaldson, Mark Fisher, Simon Gage, Katharine Gemmell, Donald Hutera, Phill Jupitus, Lynsey May, Arusa Qureshi, Jay Richardson, Peter Ross, Claire Sawers, Fiona Shepherd, Stewart Smith, Gareth K Vile Subeditors Brian Donaldson, Arusa Qureshi, Mark Fisher

EDINBURGH JAZZ & BLUES FESTIVAL 12–21 Jul edinburghjazzfestival.com Telephone booking: 0131 473 2000 In person: The Hub, Castlehill

Design Lucy Munro, Seonaid Rafferty, Stuart Polson

Data Development Andy Bowles, Alan Miller, Stuart Moir

Publishing Software Development Andy Carmichael

Director of Data and Content Services Brendan Miles

Advertising, Events and Sponsorship Rachel Cree, Ross Foley, Debbie Thomson, Jakob Van den Berg, Victoria Parker, Amy Clark, Shaun Scott Publishing Director Sheri Friers DATA AND CONTENT SERVICES

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Director Robin Hodge

Content Murray Robertson, Alex Johnston, Deborah Chu, Katharine Gemmell, Sofia Matias

CEO Simon Dessain

TOP PHOTO: DAVID COOPER

INTERNATIONAL

STEPHEN FRY One of the cleverest men alive returns to the city where his glittering career started many moons ago. This year, he’s entertaining and enlightening us about some myths from Ancient Greece. See page 110. Festival Theatre, 19–25 Aug.

PHOTO: KALEIDO SHOOTS

FRINGE

INTERNATIONAL

FRINGE

Her Triple Threat was a clear highlight of 2016’s Fringe, and with Post Popular, McCormick and her dancing chums will explode into our hearts again. See page 33. Pleasance Courtyard, 31 Jul–25 Aug.

Teaming up with the Blind Boys of Alabama are Mali’s superstar duo who aim to bring a slice of West Africa into Edinburgh, while finding a connection with the blues of the Deep South. See page 109. Usher Hall, 7 Aug.

Prepare to get into a tailspin as the Skye-born daredevil takes his bike and body to places that they probably shouldn’t be going. Don’t try this at home, folks. See page 26. Circus Hub, 3–24 Aug.

LUCY MCCORMICK

FRINGE

FRISKY & MANNISH Laura Corcoran and Matthew Floyd Jones are setting up an infectious PopLab in Edinburgh this August and they need your help in setting some cracking tunes loose. See page 60. Assembly George Square Gardens, 1–25 Aug.

6 THE LIST | Edinburgh Festival Guide 2019 | list.co.uk/festival

AMADOU & MARIAM

DANNY MACASKILL

TOP 20

Another year and another Edinburgh Festival is upon us with our diaries filling up already. Over the following pages, you’ll find some essential shows and vital acts, from a cycling daredevil to a poetry pioneer, and a dance superstar to a surrealist genius as we point you in the direction of some unmissable events. Here we list 20 of the finest . . . PHOTO: EDWARD BISHOP

GRAYSON PERRY

BASIL BRUSH

FRINGE

BOOKS

One of the British art world’s saviours gives us a look at Julie Cope’s Grand Tour and proves why he is beloved of both the art intelligentsia and regular people. See page 22. Dovecot Studios, 25 Jul–2 Nov.

Our favourite fox makes his Fringe debut and hopes to rub his tail up against some famous folk in town. He’s even promising / threatening to take on the big topics of today. See page 66. Underbelly, 31 Jul–25 Aug.

Everything But the Girl may have made her name, but it was a long struggle to get there as Thorn tells us in the second part of her wonderful memoirs. See page 49. Charlotte Square Gardens, 19 Aug.

ART

TRACEY THORN

FRINGE

JAZZ

A highly interactive show which takes us back to the time when dinosaurs roamed the planet. Get intimate with T-Rex, Stegosaurus and co. See page 78. Underbelly, 31 Jul–26 Aug.

He’s played with David Bowie and Sun Kil Moon but the experienced Californian saxophonist has plenty of his own material under a very jazzy belt. See page 122. Teviot Row, 18 Jul.

ERTH’S DINOSAUR ZOO

DONNY MCCASLIN

PHOTO: ADRIAN POPE

PHOTO: MARK SELIGER

PHOTO: STUDIOBREED

FRINGE

ART

BOOKS

Some Dutch urban artists will leave you restless in your seats as they deliver a fiery mix of freerunning, BMXing and breakdancing. See page 14. EICC, 3–25 Aug.

The US photographer has made a career out of making her own portraits which veer from the glamorous to the grotesque. See page 40. Stills, until 6 Oct.

A pioneer of performance poetry is just one of the things that the Birmingham icon can put on his CV with pride. See page 50. Charlotte Square Gardens, 17 Aug.

FRINGE

INTERNATIONAL

FRINGE

The Irish queen of the Fringe returns with a full set paying homage to Nick Cave and his mercurial songwriting talent. See page 82. Pleasance Courtyard, 31 Jul–25 Aug.

David Hare has reinvigorated Ibsen’s classic with James McArdle being put through his paces in the tough lead role. See page 104. Festival Theatre, 1–10 Aug.

Not one for doing anything by halves, the stand-up brings us a work-in-progress of Great Expectations. See page 73. Assembly George Square Studios, 7–25 Aug.

ISH DANCE COLLECTIVE

CINDY SHERMAN

BENJAMIN ZEPHANIAH

PHOTO: MANUEL HARLAN

CAMILLE O’SULLIVAN

PETER GYNT

EDDIE IZZARD

PHOTO: CLARE SHILLAND

PHOTO: LUCA TRUFFARELLI

INTERNATIONAL

FRINGE

CRAIG FERGUSON

FRINGE BY THE SEA

OTHER FESTIVALS

INTERNATIONAL

The hottest dance ticket in town as the choreographer-dancer puts her own very physical stamp on masculinity. See page 112. Lyceum Theatre, 21–24 Aug.

He hasn’t performed stand-up here for 25 years so his Hobo Fabulous show will be a special event. See page 36. Edinburgh Playhouse, 11 Aug.

Another terrific out-of-town bill including Groove Armada (pictured), Be Charlotte and Alexander O’Neal. See page 127. North Berwick, 2–11 Aug.

‘Buffalo Stance’ remains a top 80s tune, but the Swedish hip-hop star has done plenty in the intervening years. See page 16. Leith Theatre, 10 Aug.

OONA DOHERTY

NENEH CHERRY

list.co.uk/festival | Edinburgh Festival Guide 2019 | THE LIST 7

AT THE EDINBURGH FRINGE

PRESENTS

UNDERBELLY BRISTO SQUARE

11AM (12PM) 31 JULY - 26 AUG (NOT 12)

UNDERBELLY BRISTO SQUARE

11.20AM (12.20PM) 31 JULY - 25 AUG (NOT 12, 19)

1PM (2PM) UNDERBELLY’S CIRCUS HUB 03 - 25 AUG (NOT 12, 19) ON THE MEADOWS

“Endlessly imaginative... exquisitely beautiful.” UNDERBELLY BRISTO SQUARE

1PM (2PM) 16 - 25 AUG

2.00PM (3.20PM) UNDERBELLY’S CIRCUS HUB 03 - 24 AUG (NOT 13, 20) ON THE MEADOWS

UNDERBELLY BRISTO SQUARE

Will Gompertz: Double Art History

DO OUR BEST UNDERBELLY COWGATE

2.45PM (4.00PM) 31 JULY - 26 AUG (NOT 12)

(The Sequel)

2.50PM (3.50PM) 01 - 25 AUG (NOT 12)

UNDERBELLY’S CIRCUS HUB ON THE MEADOWS

3PM (4PM) 03 - 24 AUG

UNDERBELLY BRISTO SQUARE

3.35PM (4.35PM) 19 - 25 AUG

FAGS MAGS and Bags

4PM (5PM) UNDERBELLY’S CIRCUS HUB ON THE MEADOWS 03 - 24 AUG (NOT 7, 12, 19)

UNDERBELLY GEORGE SQUARE

4.40PM (5.40PM) 01 - 26 AUG (NOT 12)

5.00PM (6.10PM) UNDERBELLY’S CIRCUS HUB 03 - 24 AUG (NOT 7, 12, 19) ON THE MEADOWS

u 0

LE COUP

UNDERBELLY BRISTO SQUARE

5.00PM (6.10PM) 31 JULY - 26 AUG (NOT 7, 12, 19)

6PM (7PM) UNDERBELLY’S CIRCUS HUB 03 - 24 AUG (NOT 12, 19) ON THE MEADOWS

LITTLE DEATH UNDERBELLY BRISTO SQUARE

8PM (9PM) UNDERBELLY’S CIRCUS HUB 03 - 24 AUG (NOT 12) ON THE MEADOWS

7PM (8PM) 12 AUG

7PM (8PM) UNDERBELLY’S CIRCUS HUB 02 - 24 AUG (NOT 7, 12, 19) ON THE MEADOWS

8.40PM (9.40PM) 01 - 25 AUG

9PM (10PM) UNDERBELLY’S CIRCUS HUB ON THE MEADOWS 02 - 24 AUG (NOT 7, 12, 19)

UNDERBELLY GEORGE SQUARE

9PM (11PM) 15 - 17, 22 - 25 AUG

11.30PM (12.30AM) UNDERBELLY GEORGE SQUARE 2, 3, 9, 10, 16, 17, 22, 23 24 AUG

UNDERBELLY COWGATE

RHYS NICHOLSON NICE PEOPLE NICE THINGS NICE SITUATIONS

UNDERBELLY BRISTO SQUARE

UNDERBELLY CENTRAL HALL

9.30PM (10.30PM) 31 JULY - 25 AUG (NOT 12, 19)

11.55PM (2.55AM) 02 - 25 AUG

11AM (12PM)

31 JULY - 26 AUGUST 2019 (NOT 12)

CONSPIRACY

ART HEIST UNDERBELLY COWGATE

1.55PM (2.55PM) 01 - 25 AUG (NOT 14)

UNDERBELLY COWGATE

underbellyedinburgh.co.uk underbellyedinburgh.co.uk 0131510 5100395 0395 0131

TOKYO ROSE UNDERBELLY COWGATE

4.45PM (6.00PM) 01 - 25 AUG (NOT 12)

6.55pm (7.55PM) 01 - 25 AUG (NOT 12)

#FollowTheCow underbellyedinburgh

followthecow

underbellyedinburgh

FRON T L IN E S –––––––

Puns | Food | Cartoons

–––––––

SCRAN UP Jessie Ware dishes up a Fringe treat

If theatre and comedy are the food of love, then play on. OK, that’s not the precise quote, but some Fringe shows are definitely going to whet your actual appetite Sometimes as an audience member it can be hard to concentrate on what’s happening on the stage in front of you due to a rumbly tummy. Maybe you missed that crucial snackette because you were running late for a show or your appetite has suddenly reappeared after being hungover for two solid days. Or maybe you’re foolishly attempting some sort of August diet. Whatever your problem, there are a number of theatre and comedy shows which contain actual food on stage in front of you. Enter these at your peril . . . George Egg has made a name for himself by somehow whipping up a storm in the most unusual of places and with very unlikely utensils. Previously he’s shown us how to concoct a three-course meal in a hotel room with the most basic ingredients, a trouser press and iron, while his last show had him making dinner with power tools from his shed. In Movable Feast (Assembly George Square Gardens, 1–25 Aug), he demonstrates how you can create cuisine on the road (literally) by cooking with an engine and (metaphorically) putting the jam into traffic jam. Michelle Pearson has two grub-based shows on the go as she sings for your supper in Comfort Food Cabaret (Imagination Workshop, 4–13 Aug), while Just Desserts (Underbelly, Cowgate, 1–11 Aug) has her providing pudding to a rock-pop soundtrack. Singer-songwriter

Jessie Ware serves up two live helpings of her podcast Table Manners (Gilded Balloon Patter Hoose, 2 & 3 Aug) while Dan vs Food (Pleasance Courtyard, 14 Aug) has a simple premise. In this event in aid of hunger-battling charity FareShare, a chap called Dan attempts to eat his way through an hour-long show while some comics share his stage. Among those who might put him off before he completes his task are Nick Helm, Ivo Graham, Olga Koch, Bec Hill and Spencer Jones. In A Migrant’s Son (Imagination Workshop, 14–26 Aug), Michaela Burger hands out a traditional Greek feast while regaling you with her family’s history which is filled with hardship and tragedy but softened by ingenuity and triumph. Burgerz (Traverse Theatre, 1–25 Aug) by performance artist Travis Alabanza comes with a warning that ‘real meat is used on stage’ as we hear torrid tales of transphobic violence. Back to the less serious stuff with Fawlty Towers Live Themed Dinner Show (Hilton Edinburgh Carlton Hotel, 2–26 Aug) paying homage to the classic Torquay hotel-based sitcom where everything that can go wrong does, while Dickens for Dinner (C viva, 31 Jul–26 Aug) lays on some soup for fans of the Great Expectations author. And if you like soup, all the better. ■ Full details of shows at list.co.uk/festival

10 THE LIST | Edinburgh Festival Guide 2019 | list.co.uk/festival

YOU’RE PUNBELIEVABLE Here’s our barely acclaimed annual trawl through the best and worst bits of clever-ish wordplay to be found in show titles on the Fringe. It’s up to you which of those two categories this little lot should fall under Landlord of Hope and Glory Bin Wondering Shitegeist Friday Night Sinner Children of the Quorn Across the Loony Verse Clash of the Tight Tens Persian of Interest I’m Loving Engels Instead Twat Out of Hell Eyecon Nordick Nerd World Problems Pig in Japan Sense of Tumour Orwell That Ends Well ET The Extra Testicle Emotional Black Male Mocking a Murderer Contradickhead Humble Pi Wok in Progress Into the Punset Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People About Rice If you really want to find out more about these shows, go to list.co.uk/festival

FRONTLINES

TALK OF THE ‘TOON Delivering odes to Edinburgh with words and pictures, Phill Jupitus and Jessie Cave offer us their wit and wisdom

Phill Jupitus exhibits artwork at the Pittenweem Arts Festival, Anstruther, 3–11 Aug; Phill is part of the rotating bill of performers in Whose Line Is It Anyway?, Underbelly, Bristo Square, 31 Jul–26 Aug, 7pm. Jessie Cave: Sunrise, Assembly George Square Studios, 14–25 Aug, 6.30pm; Jessie appears with her sister Bebe in Cave Women, Just the Tonic at Marlin’s Wynd, Blair Street, 15–25 Aug, 12.05pm. list.co.uk/festival | Edinburgh Festival Guide 2019 | THE LIST 11

ADVERTISING FEATURE

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your first show of the day! Head to one of the Stand Comedy Club venues near York Place and catch a lunchtime show for some serious laughs.

10am

Time to get back to festival activities by getting on your bike and heading down to the Cowgate. Check out the Underbelly or Laughing Horse venues for a range of theatre, comedy and more. Next, it’s time to head up the Royal Mile to watch the world-famous street performances.

Start off your day with a touch of tranquillity in Leith where you can take in the beautiful shore. Grab some brunch at a local eatery then get your day of cycling started. Head up the scenic Water of Leith and into the centre of Edinburgh.

12pm Once you get into the city centre, it’s time for

1pm While you’re in the centre of Edinburgh do a spot of sight-seeing at one of the city’s most popular attractions. See a work of art at the Scottish National Gallery, be wowed by illusions in the Camera Obscura or catch a glimpse of historic Edinburgh at Real Mary King’s Close.

3pm

6pm If you’ve got another show in you then the Edinburgh University campus is your next

12 THE LIST | Edinburgh Festival Guide 2019 | list.co.uk/festival

destination. Gilded Balloon, Pleasance, Assembly and Underbelly all set up a home here in August. If you’d rather soak up the atmosphere, grab some street food and chill at George Square Gardens.

9pm Finally, finish up your day at the festival by seeing Edinburgh Castle in all its glory at the internationally renowned Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo. The performances and fireworks will knock your socks off.

11pm If your bed’s not calling yet, park up your bike and head to some of Edinburgh’s bars and late night shows!

FRINGE FESTIVALS ART EXHIBITIONS IMPROV STAND UP COMEDY INTERACTIVE THEATRE CIRCUS DANCE CHILDREN'S SHOWS Do more of what you love eventbrite.co.uk

list.co.uk/festival | Edinburgh Festival Guide 2019 | THE LIST 13

EU ISH DANCE COLLECTIVE

euro

stars Just over three years ago, UK voters opted to leave the European Union. With Brexit still an unrealised dream for some and a looming nightmare for others, the continent’s future remains in flux. The Edinburgh Festival was originally set up as an arena for nations to come together and celebrate culture, safe from the threat of tyranny, with the embers of World War II only just dying out. In the spirit of European solidarity, we look at some performers from nations still committed to the EU and who will be here to light up Edinburgh in August. First off, Deborah Chu visited Deventer in the Netherlands where she met ISH Dance Collective whose urban-arts ethos is finally being embraced by the mainstream. Not that the group entirely approve . . .

14 THE LIST | Edinburgh Festival Guide 2019 | list.co.uk/festival

s urban creatures, we rarely engage with our surroundings, other than as something to navigate around, with concrete and metal monoliths passively dictating our everyday movements. But gravity and the built environment seem to work differently when ISH Dance Collective take to the stage. Freerunners spin through forbidding rebar cages. A BMX bike becomes a sensitive, balletic partner. Rails no longer contain and curtail, but instead are the spring that drives the skater’s propulsion into the air. In their gravity-defying, risk-taking show Elements of Freestyle, ISH offer us a glimpse into a different and deeply creative way of understanding the terrain around us. Twenty years ago, the urban arts (a catch-all term encompassing everything from graffiti culture to disciplines like skating and breakdancing) were, at best, critically overlooked and, at worst, considered a public nuisance. Growing up in Antwerp, Marco Gerris, ISH’s artistic director, recalls his early years as a freestyle inline skater. ‘The moment I put on my skates, I was in heaven!’ But there was an associated stigma too. ‘People drove me from the streets. They were like “fuck off!”’ he says, laughing. Moving to Amsterdam in the mid-90s, he immersed himself in its thriving underground scene. ‘Amsterdam is a crazy place where everything is possible,’ he says. And it was there in 2000 that Gerris established ISH, which platforms urban arts projects in dialogue with more conventional forms. Though Gerris and ISH were ahead of the curve at the millennium’s turn, mainstream culture is starting to take notice of urban arts, with one notable example being Cirque du Soleil’s Volta. ‘Now that we’re

ISH DANCE COLLECTIVE EU

PHOTOS: STUDIO BREED

out of the box, everyone wants a piece of the pie,’ laughs Michael van Beek, the show’s freestyle basketballer. ‘It’s a nice acknowledgement.’ But Gerris has mixed feelings about what he’s seen so far. ‘I don’t think they always use it in the right way. But that’s a style thing.’ Rather than merely showcasing the spectacle, his interest lies in highlighting the creative freedom and drive that underpin these disciplines. ‘My style is to use them in their purist form – the energy, the rawness – and translate that onto the stage. In breakdance, skating, inline or freerunning, we’re all searching for a kind of freedom. We’re all looking to push our own boundaries.’ It’s this aspect of personal expression that sets Elements of Freestyle, and urban arts in general, apart from its more orthodox kin. The show weaves together six forms (including freerunning, inline skating, breakdancing and skateboarding) while showcasing the sense of individual identity within each one. ‘That’s the definition of freestyle,’ says van Beek. ‘You’re free to do whatever you want to do. It’s different from, say, ballet which is more strict and has certain steps. With urban arts, like freerunners, they go outside and suddenly they’re jumping over a bridge. They see that potential so why not use it?’ Dez Maarsen, the show’s BMX rider, agrees. ‘When you’re riding, you’re like a piece of somebody’s soul, you know? The things you do are very personal, or at least that’s the goal: to create your own identity in your riding.’ Of course, translating public disciplines into private spaces means something must be lost. The physical parameters of the stage is one such obstacle. ‘Also the rawness you see in battles, when they stand against each other, is difficult to stage,’ adds Gerris. ‘You have to find another way to use that energy.’

But even these limitations lead to new, creative avenues. For instance, the disciplines in Elements of Freestyle are soundtracked by a live cello and violin, which lends to their disparate choreographies both a cohesive fluidity and an emotional pitch, while also bridging the gap for audiences that may be unfamiliar with the forms. And ultimately, that’s what Elements of Freestyle is here to do: to challenge preconceived ideas of what urban arts is or can be. ‘I want audiences to understand that it’s more than just sports or hanging around on the streets,’ says Gerris. Such revelations extended to the performers as well: when Maarsen would practice his riding out on the street, people derisively told him to join the circus. But Gerris, who lived nearby, also took notice and reached out to Maarsen in 2006 when he needed a rider for a show. ‘What he’s taught me is that my discipline is already artistic,’ says Maarsen. ‘He was always pushing me forward, and it made me think about myself and how I can make my work better. It’s something he unlocked in me.’ The show is also very much a love letter to the underground community that embraced Gerris in those earliest days, as seen in the performers’ playful goading and their open joy in each other’s successes. ‘This show is about friendship, about how we help each other, how to push each other, how our disciplines are born,’ Gerris says. ‘Most of the tricks we do are born out of being bored, just waiting on the street and doing nothing. Then suddenly we see a nice rail or a nice wall, and we think “ah, let’s try this.”’ ISH Dance Collective: Elements of Freestyle, Pleasance at EICC, Morrison Street, 0131 556 6550, 3–25 Aug (not 7, 12, 21), 4pm, £14–£17.50 (£10–£14.50; family ticket £11–£14.50).

list.co.uk/festival | Edinburgh Festival Guide 2019 | THE LIST 15

EU NENEH CHERRY

LET’S STANCE

A Swedish singer, rapper and true 80s icon drops into Edinburgh for a rare visit. Arusa Qureshi Cherry-picks some key moments from the career of Neneh

s one of the most diverse and musically radical pop artists around, Neneh Cherry has been leading the pack and innovating for over three decades. Across her career, which includes five solo records, multiple collaborations and notable accolades along the way, the Swedish singer and rapper has taken on genres from jazz and rock to funk and techno, with her repertoire continuing to inspire new generations of musicians. Cherry is set to make her Edinburgh International Festival debut this August and what better way to celebrate than by taking a journey through some of her finest moments? BUFFALO STANCE

As one of Cherry’s most successful hits to date, ‘Buffalo Stance’ was a highlight of her 1989 debut album Raw Like Sushi, peaking at number three in the UK Singles Chart. An early version of this track appeared as the b-side to 1987 single ‘Looking Good Diving’ by duo MorganMcVey, which featured Cherry’s future husband and producer Cameron McVey. Cherry performed the song live on Top of the Pops while seven months pregnant, raising some controversy among the tabloids who branded it ‘unsafe’. Supposedly, when questioned by a reporter about the safety of her performance, she answered ‘it’s not an illness!’ THE SLITS

Having begun her musical journey in the world of punk rock, Cherry was briefly a member of feminist postpunk group The Slits, providing backing vocals on some tracks including ‘In the Beginning There Was Rhythm’. This experience was undoubtedly hugely influential on her future as a songwriter and performer, with a defiant and subversive attitude remaining a firm fixture in all her music. Cherry was also a member of avant-funk post-punk 16 THE LIST | Edinburgh Festival Guide 2019 | list.co.uk/festival

band Rip Rig + Panic, which included members of Bristol collective The Pop Group. As lead vocalist, she added her soulful style to their free jazz and reggae roots, with their debut album God receiving high praise from publications like the NME. SLOW TRAIN TO DAWN

While Cherry’s many collaborations with acts like The Thing, Massive Attack, Youssou N’Dour and Four Tet have resulted in some of her finest work, her duet with Matt Johnson for The The’s ‘Slow Train to Dawn’ is arguably one of the most interesting. A release from the band’s 1986 album Infected, this electrifying song tracks the psychological effects of a relationship, with hints to infidelity, power and objectification in the lyrics, emphasised further in the music video which shows Cherry tied to a railway line while Johnson anxiously pilots a train towards her. BROKEN POLITICS

Released in 2018, Cherry’s fifth solo album Broken Politics has her taking a more reflective approach, with the 12-track record channeling her frustrations at the state of the world and nature of our tumultuous political climate. As with previous album Blank Project from 2014, Broken Politics was produced by Four Tet whose subtle touches of electronic chimes and samples help create a beguiling atmosphere. Lead single ‘Kong’ touches on her thoughts about Europe’s refugee crisis and the effects of colonialism, with the minimalist backdrop adding weight to her song’s function as a protest song. Cherry has forever been revolutionary as far as her art goes, examining issues as wide-ranging as abortion, gun violence and the rise of the far right. With Broken Politics taking her in a new direction musically, Cherry remains as forward-thinking and energised as ever. Neneh Cherry, Leith Theatre, Ferry Road, 0131 473 2000, 10 Aug, 8pm, £30.

THE LETTER EU

PHOTO: CINZIA CAMPANA

the write stuff Back in 1992 mime artist Paolo Nani created an enduring physical show about a simple scenario played out in various ways. Murray Robertson asks him how he keeps it fresh Italy’s Paolo Nani has been performing his oneman show The Letter for almost three decades. Accompanied only by a suitcase full of props, Nani enters the stage, sits down to write a letter, puts it in an envelope, sticks a stamp on it and starts to leave. Then he pauses, worried that his pen might have no ink, and so checks the letter before realising he’s not written a thing. He then leaves the stage, despondent. ‘That’s it!’ says Nani. Of course that’s not really ‘it’ at all. What follows are 15 hilarious iterations on this very basic story. ‘It’s one scene repeated 15 times,’ Nani says. ‘Nothing much happens in this first scene but then the same scenario is repeated backwards or with surprises.’ Nani is wary of giving too much away, keen for audiences to experience these variations for themselves. ‘There’s no music, no lighting effects, no special costume, no words. But everything is clear to the audience from its beginning to the very end.’ The sequence is replayed with a variety of twists including as a Western, performed in reverse, and without the use of his hands. Each version plays up to Nani’s immense strengths as both a clown and mime artist. In 1995, the actor and director established his company, Paolo Nani Teater, in Denmark, and it’s from there that he still creates much of his theatrical output. Some of that material is solo performance but he also works as a director and collaborator on other people’s projects. Notably, Nani has worked extensively with Kristján Ingimarsson, producer of BLAM!, the office-set hyper-physical theatre sensation which took the Fringe by storm in 2013. The Letter is Nani’s Fringe debut and its Scottish premiere. Nani reckons he’s performed the show more than 1500 times and in 40 countries since its 1992 inception. ‘And across three continents,’ he adds with a laugh. Of The Letter’s immense and enduring popularity, he admits ‘I’m the first one to be surprised.’

The Letter, Pleasance Dome, Bristo Square, 0131 556 6550, 3–25 Aug (not 12, 19), 5.30pm, £11–£12 (£9.50–£11; family ticket £9.50–£10.50). Previews 31 Jul–2 Aug, £7. list.co.uk/festival | Edinburgh Festival Guide 2019 | THE LIST 17

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HANNA TUULIKKI EU

INSTINCTS In her new work, Glasgow-based Finnish artist Hanna Tuulikki conflates a crisis in masculinity with the looming environmental catastrophe. Neil Cooper discovers how this is all wrapped up in the behaviour of deer across many diverse cultures

Highland Fling is a lot more than looking good on the dance floor in Hanna Tuulikki’s new work. Deer Dancer is the Finnish-English, Glasgow-residing visual artist, performer and composer’s new commission for Edinburgh Printmakers, and is inspired by the influence of deer on dance across various cultures, including Scotland’s ceilidh favourite. In particular, Deer Dancer focuses on the connections between male preening and the creation of hyper-macho behaviour alongside how hunting mythologies impact the environment on a global scale. ‘It’s a project that’s been developing for a couple of years now,’ says Tuulikki. ‘I received an artistic development attachment award from Magnetic North Theatre Company, which gave me the opportunity to do extensive research into the mimesis of deer dances.’ The award enabled Tuulikki to embark on first-hand researches into how deer dances have been used across the world. With this in mind, she studied the indigenous Yaqui people in Mexico as well as their descendants in Arizona. Closer to home, Tuulikki also looked at the Abbots Bromley Horn Dance of Staffordshire. The result of this is a two-screen film, in which Tuulikki embodies a series of stag archetypes, using costume and choreography to realise images of Monarch, Warrior, Young Buck, Fool and Old Sage. Filmed in a black-box theatre space, with Tuulikki playing each character, the piece will be soundtracked by an original vocal score. ‘There are two parts to the film,’ she says. ‘There’s the wilderness world where the characters first encounter each other, and out of that comes the dance. I thought about having other people play each character, but at this stage I really wanted >> list.co.uk/festival | Edinburgh Festival Guide 2019 | THE LIST 19

EU HANNA TUULIKKI

Hanna Tuulikki: Deer Dancer, Edinburgh Printmakers, Dundee Street, 0131 557 2479, 26 Jul–5 Oct, Tue–Sun, 10am–5pm, free.

On the Euro beat

PHOTO: ROS KAVANAGH

<< to understand each one through my own body. That’s going to be challenging because they’re all very different, and I have to find a different kind of movement language for each one.’ To this end, Tuulikki has been working with theatre artists Peter McMaster and Will Dickie to dramaturg and work on the choreography of the piece. Alongside the film, Tuulikki has created a series of visual-score printworks made during a residency at Edinburgh Printmakers. ‘I got really interested in tracking,’ she says, ‘and I’ve started making these visual scores of how the feet form, replacing human footprints with deer hoofprints. This will form the basis of the choreography performed in this film.’ Animal behaviour has long informed Tuulikki’s work, from the name of her first band, Nalle (which means ‘little bear’ in Finnish), to large-scale works such as ‘air falbh leis na h-eoin: away with the birds’, written for a female vocal ensemble and performed on the Isle of Canna. Performance has become a major part of Tuulikki’s increasingly intertwined practice. ‘I’m surprised I’m working so much with characters in Deer Dancer,’ she says. ‘I thought it would be much more like working in an ensemble way, but it’s ended up more individual in essence.’ Perhaps unsurprisingly, in the long-term Tuulikki aims to realise Deer Dancer onstage, extending her theatrical reimagining of ancient ritual. ‘I eventually want to work with four other women and do it live as a durational work. I want to develop that over the next year and see where it goes. Essentially it’s a life-crisis ritual for a damaged planet. There’s a crisis of masculinity and an environmental crisis, and each are intertwined. I’d like to think we could move beyond both, but it may already be too late.’

Below is a selection of other acts from EU nations entertaining us through the days and nights of July and August

t the Book Festival is France’s Marcus Malte whose The Boy is about a feral child’s journey through early 20thcentury society, while Annie Ernaux discusses post-war France from a lower middle-class perspective. Spain is represented by Javier Cercas who confronts a dark side to his nation’s history by telling the story of a man who fought for Franco, while Agustín Fernández Mallo has been credited with redrawing the literary landscape of his country with the Nocilla trilogy. Portugal gives us the Booker International shortlisted José Eduardo Agualusa, Belgium’s Stefan Hertmans delivers some thoughts on historical fiction, and Germany’s JanPhilipp Sendker completes his Rising Dragon series. Ireland comes to the Fringe with One Two One Two’s theatre-music show Everything I Do (pictured), standup preacher Tommy Tiernan jumps up on his Paddy Crazy Horse, and Dreamgun do comedic takes on some famous films. On International Festival duty are Deutsche Oper Berlin conducted by Donald Runnicles, Oedipus is updated by Internationaal Theater Amsterdam, and Portuguese conductor Joana Carneiro gets stuck into some James MacMillan. Art fans can sample the delights of France’s Aurélien Froment and Berlin-based duo Peles Empire (one half hails from Romania) in the latest NOW exhibition, while Portugal’s Joana Vasconcelos is out at Jupiter Artland. And bringing a touch of Italy to the Jazz Festival are nine-piece Bandakadabra and electro-swing group Bomba Titinka. Full details of all shows at list.co.uk/festival 20 THE LIST | Edinburgh Festival Guide 2019 | list.co.uk/festival

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list.co.uk/festival | Edinburgh Festival Guide 2019 | THE LIST 21

22 THE LIST | Edinburgh Festival Guide 2019 | list.co.uk/festival

GRAYSON PERRY

‘I wasn’t the right kind of pervert’ Admired by everyone from royalty to Rasta taxi drivers, Grayson Perry makes his solo exhibition debut in Scotland this summer. He tells Simon Gage how he’s viewed in the cross-dressing community, and that his art is about bringing people together within a divided nation

here’s an obvious freshness to Grayson Perry’s evolving look, which is getting more sophisticated as time goes by. The chic navy outfit complete with showstopping hat he wore to receive his CBE from Prince Charles was deemed to be ‘entirely appropriate’ by Palace officials, while today at his pristine studio in north London he’s in his trademark blonde bob with a short cerise dress (short enough to reveal matching cerise knickers) and clumpy platforms. And there’s nothing but freshness when it comes to his crowd-pleasing, debateprovoking exhibitions, like his first major solo exhibition in Scotland this summer. At Edinburgh’s Dovecot Studios, Julie Cope’s Grand Tour will be on display featuring work that, in his own words, is

about ‘the trials, tribulations, celebrations and mistakes of an average life’. As you would expect, it’s packed with detail, some of it funny, some of it poignant. His most recent major exhibition, at London’s Serpentine, modestly called The Most Popular Art Exhibition Ever!, had gallery-goers busily discussing the art and issues being addressed in a way that’s almost unheard of at an exhibition. ‘Well, that’s great to hear,’ says Perry in his flat, Essex tones when I tell him how surprised I was at that level of focus on work which doesn’t look especially serious at first glance. ‘That’s what it’s for. You want people to engage with it. The more people who are interested in art, the better it is for everyone. And I’m obviously interested in the idea of the relationship between culture and politics.’ >>

list.co.uk/festival | Edinburgh Festival Guide 2019 | THE LIST 23

GRAYSON PERRY

PHOTO: KATIE HYAMS AND LIVING ARCHITECTURE

<< His recent one-man shows – talks, debates, whatever you want to call them – dealt with Brexit and the divided nation it has brought about as ‘the elephant in the room’; in 2017 he made a TV documentary asking Leavers and Remainers to inspire a pair of ceramic pots. Meanwhile, his co-curation of last year’s Summer Exhibition at the Royal Academy got five-star reviews pretty much across the board, with The Guardian deeming Grayson Perry to have saved that annual event from its ‘stultified self’. ‘I’m a big believer in the power of spontaneous communication,’ he states when asked how he puts together his exhibitions and one-man shows. His ‘specialist subject’ is the ‘interesting demographic schisms’ in our country which is maybe how he manages to be one of the few public figures able to straddle that divide. ‘My absolute joy is when someone comes up to me in the street, and they’re not who I imagine. I’ve had Rasta taxi drivers shouting out of their cars going “I loved that thing you did!” and I’m “yay! I’ve got reach!”’ Some of that reach has come from the incredibly sensitive documentaries he’s produced on subjects as diverse as births, marriages and deaths, and how we deal with them in different cultures (Rites of Passage) while his mini-series on masculinity (All Man) brought him into contact with people from various backgrounds, some on the scarier side. ‘We went into a police station and I was interviewing people who’d just been arrested, young guys caught with knives and drugs. I was knocking on cell doors going “hello, would you like to be interviewed for a Channel 4 programme about masculinity?”’ And he laughs that cackle that’s become part of his national treasure status. It’s quite a broad spectrum of creative activity, I mention, the ceramics, the tapestries, the books, the TV, the one-man show? ‘I like the variety,’ he says. ‘I do want to make things and I like the collaborative side of some of what I do. And then when I’m making art, I get in the zone and enjoy that. I’m very lucky to have that balance.’ But perhaps the reason Perry is best known even to the person on the street who might not have heard of the Turner Prize let alone be able to come up with any of its winners, is the fact that he has always cross-dressed and worn make-up, hair and clothes associated with women (those clothes are often designed for him by his students at Central Saint Martins). Yes, it’s a fetish thing for him; yes, it created problems in his younger life; but no, it doesn’t need to be taken entirely seriously. ‘When I won the Turner Prize and I was on the telly, a lot of transvestites’ shoulders sagged that I wasn’t the right kind of pervert: “I don’t want to be associated with him!”’ he laughs. ‘I think the average transvestite wants to pass as a woman but I got bored with that.’ So, what are the differences between Grayson and ‘Claire’? What are the intricacies of how those two personalities meet and diverge? And how does it chime with his being married and having a daughter? ‘I hate to break it to you,’ he says with a cackle, sitting dangerously loose-legged in that cerise outfit opposite me right now. ‘But it’s just me in a dress.’ And he gets up. ‘I’m just going for a manly wee,’ he says as he clumps across the studio towards the toilet cubicle in those cerise platforms. Grayson Perry: Julie Cope’s Grand Tour, Dovecot Studios, Infirmary Street, 0131 550 3660, 25 Jul–2 Nov, Mon–Sun, 10am–5.30pm (Jul & Aug), Mon– Sat, 10am–5.30pm (Sep–Nov), £9.

24 THE LIST | Edinburgh Festival Guide 2019 | list.co.uk/festival

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DANNY MACASKILL

SKYE 26 THE LIST | Edinburgh Festival Guide 2019 | list.co.uk/festival

Taking his outdoor cycling tricks into a circus tent, Danny MacAskill is producing a Fringe show that will be both spectacular and edgy. The Dunvegan daredevil tells Claire Sawers about his utter lack of fear

RIDER list.co.uk/festival | Edinburgh Festival Guide 2019 | THE LIST 27

DANNY MACASKILL

pot of coffee arrives to the room at Hotel du Vin where Danny MacAskill is doing a day of press interviews. Pouring some into the Greggs paper cup still in his hand from earlier, he looks round the room, describing what he sees. ‘It’s a bit like when you stare out the window in school instead of working. I’m always picturing tricks I could do, or calculating if I could jump a gap,’ he says, laughing at himself. ‘Even when I’m meant to be concentrating on interviews, I’m probably imagining my bike sliding over the table.’ The 33-year-old cyclist, or ‘street trials rider’, put a video of himself on YouTube in April 2009 and hundreds of thousands of people watched it overnight. It kicked off a fast climb to internet and IRL fame which has taken him around the world. He’s marking the ten-year anniversary with his Fringe debut, Danny MacAskill’s Drop and Roll Live, a three-week run of shows alongside his display team. In that YouTube clip, which 38 million people have watched now, MacAskill jumps his bike off the rooftop of Macdonald Cycles near Lothian Road (he worked as a bike mechanic there, up until his video went viral), speeds up tree trunks in The Meadows, vaults over fences around Edinburgh Uni, bounces along walls near the castle . . . ‘I was definitely one of those kids who had no fear growing up,’ he nods. ‘I’d go out every day, every night, on my bike with my pals. I was the smallest and usually silliest enough to try things out first. I bounced pretty well; I was usually the test dummy.’ Growing up in Dunvegan on Skye, he had plenty space to try out new tricks. ‘It’s never been competitive for me; street trials are not about ending up first place on a podium. It’s more creative. It’s about riding into places you’re not supposed to go, having fun, using your imagination.’ The challenge for the live Fringe show has been adapting what fans are used to seeing on YouTube (some tricks are attempted 200 times before making it into the edit) and delivering something ‘spectacular but safe’, as MacAskill puts it. Staged in a 550-seater circus tent, MacAskill will perform with a talented team of riders including Duncan Shaw, his friend of almost 20 years. Shaw has his own popular YouTube channel, where he shares tutorials. ‘Part of the reason trials are popular is because they’re maybe more relatable,’ explains Shaw, who’s just back from Santa Cruz with the Drop and Roll team. ‘We wear normal clothes, jeans and t-shirts, not Lycra or anything. Typical trials stuff is “hoppy”, static moves: bouncing on a back wheel, 28 THE LIST | Edinburgh Festival Guide 2019 | list.co.uk/festival

for example. BMXers are more about grinding ledges, bouncing down steps, riding in skate parks. Danny pioneered a crossover between the two. Trials bikes are bigger, like mountain bikes, and don’t have stunt pegs on the wheels. So they look more like normal bikes.’ MacAskill prefers heading out into the wilderness or finding new spots to ride in a city, but thinks skate parks are also really important. ‘If you don’t give kids somewhere to use their energy, they’ll just use it elsewhere. When my bike got taken off me one summer when I was 13, I used to roll boulders off cliffs instead or light bonfires: I would annoy the local policeman quite a lot! I was lucky to grow up somewhere rural. Not every kid likes team sports, but if you hang out at a skatepark you learn your own rules. You have to wait your turn, watch out for younger kids, respect the older ones. Kids learn to govern themselves that way.’ The audiences at the Fringe shows are likely to be a mix of excited kids up for watching high-adrenaline stunts, and an increasing number of older fans. ‘Bikes can cost about £10,000 and a helmet can be £200, so we meet a lot of doctors, engineers, dentists who are into what we do: people who can afford the gear!’ The Meadows, where they’ll be performing, is a few minutes from Bristo Square – redeveloped in 2017 but once a mecca for skaters and people with bikes – and many other spots featured in MacAskill’s first YouTube video, also in the heart of Edinburgh’s festival land. ‘It’s funny because when Danny lived in Edinburgh, the festival crowds used to annoy him because there was less space,’ notes Shaw. ‘Places like Bristo, which was a real hub, became off limits and it was hard to ride in those city-centre spots.’ Ten years later, MacAskill doesn’t seem too nostalgic for the old days; he’s more excited about replicating YouTube tricks in a circus setting. The rehearsals will be tough but nothing he’s not used to. ‘The Edinburgh Festival is a really big deal for us. I mean, we’ll be riding recreationally every day for fun, as well. I’m not saying we’ll be up every morning doing yoga and juicing: we want to enjoy the festival too! But from the moment I wake up I’m usually looking for more spots. There are a million ways to view the world, but for me it’s about edges! Which railings and surfaces look good and what tricks can I try?’ Danny MacAskill’s Drop and Roll Live, Underbelly’s Circus Hub on The Meadows, 0131 510 0395, 3–24 Aug, 3pm, 7, 12, 19 Aug, 7pm, £18.50–£26 (£16.50–£24).

e t i t e p p a r u o y t e h W

ADVERTISING FEATURE

The fifth annual Edinburgh Food Festival is set to showcase a range of international cuisine, with a diverse and unique selection of producers and street-food stall-holders heading to Assembly George Square Gardens this July. To offer a small taste of what to expect, we round-up five of Edinburgh’s finest chefs who will be demonstrating their culinary flair at this year’s festival, plus five new stalls that are well worth checking out

Top 5 Edinburgh chefs showcasing their talents

BARRY BRYSON

CARINA CONTINI

SCOTT SMITH

DEREK JOHNSTONE

JÉRÔME HENRY

Fri 26 Jul Inspired by Scotland’s natural larder, Bryson will be creating a 30-minute recipe in real time using local and seasonal ingredients – the perfect midweek meal to make at home. Cater Edinburgh, cateredinburgh.com

Sat 27 Jul Carina Contini of Edinburgh’s Contini George Street, Cannonball Restaurant & Bar on Castlehill, and the Scottish Cafe at the Scottish National Gallery will be adding some Contini sunshine to the menu with authentic Italian-inspired alfresco recipes. contini.com

Sat 27 Jul Championing sustainable Scottish fish, Fhior’s Smith will be offering his top tips on the best ways to barbeque fish outdoors this summer alongside Lewis Lowrie of Lowrie Fish Merchants. Fhior, Broughton Street, fhior.com

Sun 28 Jul The Borthwick Castle Head Chef will be rediscovering some of Scotland’s lost ingredients and reinventing them in a modern and fresh way. Borthwick Castle, Gorebridge, Midlothian, borthwickcastle.com

Sun 28 Jul Chef Proprietor of the awardwinning Le Roi Fou joins Barry Bryson to give festival-goers a glimpse into their social kitchen, while they create a fresh summer menu in real time with a hyper-local flavour. Le Roi Fou, Forth Street, leroifou.com

Top 5 new stalls exhibiting at the Edinburgh Food Festival

FACEPLANT FOODS

MANA POKE

PICKERING’S GIN

FOX HAT

PUNJABI JUNCTION

FacePlant Foods started as one of Scotland’s first plantbased street-food trucks and now travels around Scotland selling their vegan goods. faceplantfoods.com

With their super-fresh and vibrant Hawaiian street food, Mana Poke have graced markets across Scotland for over a year and developed a loyal following of customers in the process. facebook.com/ ManaPokeBowls

Serving up their awardwinning gin in their miniature Japanese airport fire engine, Pickering’s will be keeping festival-goers refreshed with their range of cocktails as well as the classic Pickering’s gin and tonic. pickeringsgin.com

A BBQ experience like no other, Fox Hat serve the finest meat and produce with a true nose-to-tail philosophy. Their communal and collaborative way of cooking has won the hearts of many foodies across Scotland. fox-hat.com

The social enterprise community café offers a blend of traditional Punjab and home-cooked cuisines, whilst supporting women from Edinburgh’s minority ethnic backgrounds. punjabijunction.org

Edinburgh Food Festival, Assembly George Square Gardens, 19–28 Jul. Open from noon–late everyday. Free entry. Full Programme and event details available at edfoodfest.com list.co.uk/festival | Edinburgh Festival Guide 2019 | THE LIST 29

southside best of the

Following a successful two-year partnership, the Pleasance, Summerhall and Zoo are teaming up once again to highlight some of the best theatre, dance and family shows across the three venues. With hundreds of performances to choose from this August, ranging from spectacular aerial acrobatics to innovative new writing on the scene, there’s no better way to celebrate everything that the Fringe has to offer

PLEASANCE

ELEMENTS OF FREESTYLE ISH DANCE COLLECTIVE Pleasance at the EICC – Lennox Theatre | 3–25 Aug (not 7, 12, 21) | 4pm | £14–£17.50 (£10–£14.50) An adrenaline-fuelled explosion of extreme sports, music, dance and theatre, ISH create breathtaking poetry with every movement in this spectacular show. Elements of Freestyle is about those redeeming seconds that make a complicated trick ultimately succeed. About the freestyler’s total focus, ecstasy and feeling of freedom. ‘Sparkles with pleasure’ (Theaterkrant.nl).

HAVANA AFTER DARK

BIBLE JOHN

FISHBOWL

DANZA CUBA Pleasance at the EICC – Lennox Theatre | 5–25 Aug (not 21) | 9pm | £15-£17.50 (£12–£14.50) Ballet by day, salsa by night. The world premiere of a breathtaking new Cuban dance musical. Starring the incredible singer Luna Manzanares, a sensational seven-piece live salsa band, Havana’s top female DJ, and gorgeous star dancers from Carlos Acosta’s company, Ballet Nacional de Cuba and Ballet Revolucion. Discover the secrets of the world’s most sensual city as night falls.

POOR MICHELLE AND THE PLEASANCE Pleasance Courtyard – Pleasance Above | 31 Jul–26 Aug (not 13) | 3.50pm | £10£12 (£9–£11) 1969 at the Barrowlands Ballroom in Glasgow, three women are murdered by an Old Testament-quoting serial killer, nicknamed Bible John. He has never been caught. 2019, four women bound by their obsession with true crime want to change that. Immersing themselves in the world of Bible John and his victims, they try to solve the case, once and for all.

SIT PRODUCTIONS IN ASSOCIATION WITH LE FILS DU GRAND RÉSEAU Pleasance Courtyard – The Grand | 31 Jul–26 Aug (not 14) | 1pm | £14-£17.50 (£12–£15.50) The funniest show in Europe comes to Edinburgh after a sell-out tour and a Molière Award for Best Comedy Play. Paper-thin walls barely separate three neighbours who strike up unlikely and moving friendships. The show packs a punch with technical genius, an incredibly realistic set, and tricks and surprises that shock and delight.

30 THE LIST | Edinburgh Festival Guide 2019 | list.co.uk/festival

SUMMERHALL

NIGHTCLUBBING

DADDY DRAG

RACHAEL YOUNG Summerhall – Old Lab | 31 Jul–11 Aug | 3.45pm | £12 (£8) Rachael Young and her badass band of superhumans embrace Afrofuturism and the cult of Grace Jones in Nightclubbing; an explosive performance bringing visceral live music and intergalactic visions to start a revolution. 1981: Grace Jones releases her landmark album Nightclubbing; her body is brown and soft. 2015: Three women are refused entry into a London nightclub; their bodies are brown and soft. Supported by The Eclipse Award.

LEYLA JOSEPHINE Summerhall – Cairns Lecture Theatre | 31 Jul–25 Aug (not 1, 12, 19) | 5.45pm | £10 (£8) This is a show about dads. Good dads, daft dads, dads who wear slogan t-shirts, dads that put on barbecues, dads that tell dad jokes, dads that are bad at dancing. This is a show about dads who are absent and dads who are not very good dads at all. Leyla Josephine attempts to understand what it means to be a father through her witty performance style, drag costumes and complex but unconditional love for her dad.

BEFORE THE REVOLUTION

SH!T THEATRE DRINK RUM WITH EXPATS

TEMPLE INDEPENDENT THEATRE COMPANY (EGYPT) Summerhall – Main Hall | 13–25 Aug (not 19) | 9.50pm | £10 (£8) The Egyptian revolution was not just about the desire to change the political system. It was the expression of the accumulation of decades of oppression, deception, insecurity, violence, inefficiency and depression. Mixing fiction and non-fiction, Before The Revolution transports its audience to the moment of stagnation before an inevitable eruption.

SOHO THEATRE IN ASSOCIATION WITH SHOW AND TELL Summerhall – Main Hall | 31 Jul–25 Aug (not 1, 12) | 8.05pm | £12 (£10) Multi-award winners Sh!t Theatre return to Summerhall with their new show / excuse for getting drunk on stage. Celebrating their final year as Europeans, islandmonkeys Becca and Louise got invited to the 2018 European Capital of Culture in Malta. They went to drink rum with Brits abroad but found a lot more than they expected.

ARE WE NOT DRAWN ONWARD TO NEW ERA

STYX

ZOO

RAIDERS OF THE GREY GOLD DON GNU – PHYSICAL THEATRE & FILM ZOO Southside – Main House | 4–10 Aug | 7pm | £13 (£12) The dream of old age and the fear of reaching it! In a battle against time, the Danish theatre company DON GNU throw themselves into a physical & blazing acrobatic quest for ‘the grey gold’ and to find the beauty in the decay of time. Daredevil antics, musical poetry and humorous self-realisation is the foundation of this tragicomical struggle against the bittersweet old age.

STAGED CIRCUMFERENCE PRODUCTIONS ZOO Southside – Main House | 13–25 Aug | 7pm | £12 (£10) Featuring three performers on an aerial platform as precarious as our perceptions – a single action changes everything, but everything is not always what it seems. Circumference are the recipients of Glastonbury Arts Commission and have created Staged with the support of Jacksons Lane, the National Centre for Circus Arts, the Invisible Circus, King’s Cross, Lab:time² and Arts Council England.

ONTROEREND GOED ZOO Southside – Main House | 2–25 Aug (not 5, 12, 19) | 11am | £14 (£12) Like its title, this performance is a palindrome; you can see it forwards and backwards. Some people believe humanity is moving forward, while others believe the opposite. Some say the world’s coming to an end, others call them doomsayers. No matter who’s right, our quest for progress has dramatically changed the world we live in. Are our actions irreversible or can we undo them?

SECOND BODY ZOO Southside – Main House | 2–17 Aug | 3.05pm | £14 (£12) An award-winning theatreconcert performed by an international supergroup of musicians. An exploration of what it is to lose the memories that make us who we are and the stories that connect them. From ancient mythology to family legacy, what remains each time we turn to look back? Original songs, live sound-processing and personal recordings bring light to the experience of living and dying with dementia and the imprints that outlast us.

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"MASTER OF THE FINE ART OF BEATBOXING" INDEPENDENT

"SQUARES UP TO DEPRESSION WITH STYLE" SOHO RADIO

"A ONE MAN MUSIC FESTIVAL" TIMES

"DANGEROUSLY ENERGISED" TELEGRAPH

SK SHLOMO:

SURRENDER

THE AWARD WINNING BEATBOXER'S UPLIFTING SURVIVAL STORY PART WILD GIG - PART DEVASTATINGLY HONEST THEATRE

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LUCY MCCORMICK

The follow-up to Fringe hit Triple Threat is set to be another frank and visceral display of arrogance and exhibitionism. Kelly Apter finds that this all spills out of a performer who is a million miles away from her stage persona. So will the real Lucy McCormick please stand up?

‘You’ve got to grab people by the balls’

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LUCY MCCORMICK

he last time I saw Lucy McCormick she was being crowdsurfed across a room with her breasts falling out. Minutes earlier, she’d given birth to the baby Jesus, a finger (not her own) had been repeatedly inserted into her vagina, and a large purple dildo had doubled as a microphone. So when I arrange to meet McCormick, three years after watching her brilliantly unclassifiable Fringe show Triple Threat, I’m slightly worried I won’t recognise her with her clothes on. But then again I’m meeting Lucy, not Lucy. Sitting in the sunshine outside London’s Barbican Centre, hearing her talk in the third person about what ‘Lucy’ does on stage, it becomes clear there’s more than one of them. ‘I think I’m about ten different people,’ she says with a laugh. ‘But yes, I would definitely describe “Lucy” as a persona: she’s the best and worst bits of me. And I say ten because I feel like I’m stripping back that persona bit by bit and trying out different versions of myself.’ When she’s on stage, McCormick feels a sense of confidence and self-assurance. ‘It’s very weird,’ she insists. ‘I actually have so many body hang-ups, but when I’m on stage I just don’t care anymore. But then, you know, it is also me on stage: I think I’m just happy to play fast and loose with my own life and my own flaws. So it’s sort of a send-up of myself and an acknowledgement of how awful I am . . . and how brilliant!’ That last comment is accompanied with a big laugh and is by no means an indicator of conceit. The onstage Lucy may come across as a limelight-loving, self-obsessed narcissist, but there was a moment of vulnerability in Triple Threat that proves she’s just as insecure as the rest of us. ‘Ego and arrogance act as a front for vulnerability,’ says McCormick. ‘And it’s important to find those moments in a show where it feels like something is opened up or there’s a crack into something real and more vulnerable. Without that, I think people would just have too much fun; there needs to be that moment when you go “oh, actually, something’s not OK here”. That side of the performance is so important.’ Having tackled religion (Triple Threat refers not only to its star’s talent for acting, singing and dancing, but to the Holy Trinity), McCormick

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has now turned her attention to women in history, drawn from literature, scripture and real life. Turn up to her new show, Post Popular, and you’ll find McCormick exploring, in her own inimitable style, the lives of Mary Queen of Scots, Eve, Florence Nightingale and Lady Macbeth among others. Eve, says McCormick, is too obvious to play nude (instead she’s got a flesh-coloured suit with genitals drawn on), but it seems likely that, once again, she’ll be using her body as a prop. ‘For me, it’s about claiming agency over my body, and about choice. If you look at every single moment in Triple Threat that contains nudity or some kind of explicit bodily action, it’s always me that’s controlling it and making the decisions. It would never be that somebody is doing something to me. So it’s a way of taking in all this imagery from pop culture and trying to claim my own agency over it or subvert it in some way.’ Which is why, for those of us who love a good song and dance routine but like a bit more artistic and political nourishment than a standard delivery would provide, McCormick is the perfect meal. When she belts out a number or moves in tight unison with her dancing twosome, Samir Kennedy and Ted Rodgers (back by popular demand for this year’s show), McCormick lights up the room. But then she takes us somewhere wholly unexpected with her dark sense of humour. ‘I’ve had quite a varied background, in terms of going to drama school and training very traditionally, but then becoming interested in quite experimental performance art. Playing lots of cabarets and nightclubs, you’ve really got to be quite visual and grab people by the balls: they’re drunk, it’s dark, it’s loud, and they want to be entertained. So for me, a show absolutely has to be fun; and I love dance routines. But I also want it to be interesting and three-dimensional. I want the audience to be entertained and amused but then feel like they’ve been challenged or invited to question issues. I think with the work I make there are a lot of questions as opposed to a lot of answers.’ Lucy McCormick: Post Popular, Pleasance Courtyard, Pleasance, 0131 556 6550, 3–25 Aug (not 7, 12, 19), 8pm, £12–£14 (£10–£12). Previews 31 Jul–2 Aug, £7.

CRAIG FERGUSON

Having worked successfully in America since 1996, Craig Ferguson is back on the Fringe for a oneoff show. Jay Richardson discovers that the Cumbernauld comic’s punk attitude endures Fry and Robin Williams. He was given the prestigious Peabody Award for his interview with Archbishop Desmond Tutu, an icon whose presence induced as much trepidation in him as meeting the Sex Pistols, Buzzcocks and The Damned, bands he’d revered in his youth. The only fears that Ferguson has now concern his mortality and returning to the Fringe. He cautiously dipped his toe into the latter two years ago, recording a radio show. His appearance at the Playhouse, his first UK stand-up gig in 25 years, will probably be the Hobo Fabulous swansong. Already toured around the US and Canada, it arrives on Amazon Prime this winter.

Craig Ferguson with Jane McCarry in Still Game

36 THE LIST | Edinburgh Festival Guide 2019 | list.co.uk/festival

Does this feel like a watershed moment? ‘Yeah, it does,’ he admits. ‘I’d never become so complacent that any gig doesn’t feel like a big deal. It’s the base of operations for me, isn’t it? I started out in Edinburgh . . . fucking hell, I don’t know . . . 1986. So that’s 33 years ago. A Jesus of a lifetime ago.’ Anyone who’s read Ferguson’s entertaining but unapologetically spiritual new memoir, Riding the Elephant, will recognise the tales of scuppered dates and losing his virginity in Hobo Fabulous, the angst of his teenage desperation and punk impatience reframed. ‘Stand-up for me is a lot like playing a musical instrument. When I started out doing the Bing Hitler stuff, I knew three chords and played them very loud, over and over again. And that’s perfectly appropriate when you’re young. I’ve still got the same instrument, I’m still a man on stage talking into a microphone. But I’m not 24. I don’t want to pretend that I’m still angry about stuff that I don’t fucking care about anymore; that would just be silly. My only ambition is to be authentic, not pandering to someone else’s idea of who I should be.’ Eschewing politics and, to a great extent, current affairs (having ditched his phone’s internet browser and ceded control of his social media to his tour manager), Ferguson still speaks candidly about his loves and hates. ‘The hardest time I had in Hollywood was the pretend niceness everybody has. It’s like the court of some mad Austrian emperor in the 17th century where everyone has to believe in a certain “truth”. Pretending to make other people comfortable makes me uncomfortable.’ Instead, he seeks peace in eloquence. Currently writing a novel about Merlin and St Mungo, Glasgow’s patron saint, he’s aspiring to mythology. ‘When something’s painful, distance helps. And if you can transfer an emotion or something you’re not proud of into a document that you are proud of, there’s release in that.’ Like his tattoos which commemorate his transatlantic journey and pay homage to his loved ones, ‘at first it’s painful and vivid. But as they fade, telling the story of your life, they soften and become part of the landscape and you don’t remember the pain. It’s just something that’s there now.’ PHOTO: BBC STUDIOS SCOTLAND ALAN PEEBLES

raig Ferguson’s return to Scotland has proved to be relatively painless. For his guest role in Still Game last year, in which he played a suave stuntman, the 57-year-old Cumbernauld native recalls meeting the sitcom’s creators Greg Hemphill and Ford Kiernan in Los Angeles and asking them to write a character for him. ‘And they wrote the part of a phoney prick who comes back from California!’ Ferguson laughs, hard, about his first UK television appearance in a quarter of a century. Now back again, ensconced in Glasgow’s West End for the foreseeable future, the prodigal stand-up, actor, author, late-night chat show host and American citizen is feeling considerably more relaxed in the country of his birth, no longer the recriminatory exile. ‘I really loved doing it,’ he explains. ‘A lot of the crew were people I’d worked with 30 years before at BBC Scotland. And it was therapeutic because I realised that it was OK for me to come here and work. Everyone was perfectly nice. I’d wanted to come back and they gave me a great way in.’ Tellingly, Ferguson’s 1996 US breakthrough was playing pompously posh English boss Nigel Wick in The Drew Carey Show. There, he was channelling his resentment of a British media and showbusiness establishment that had been reluctant to embrace the hell-raising, Scottish ex-punk. Ferguson made his name a decade earlier at the Edinburgh Fringe as the ultra-aggressive, ultra-patriotic folk singer Bing Hitler. But his relationship with the UK soured and his alcoholism left him suicidal before he left for a clean break in America. Sober 27 years now, he can afford to be magnanimous. ‘There are some good people here and some arseholes,’ he maintains. ‘And there are good people and assholes in LA. It was me. I was at a different place. If you weren’t helping me, you were in my way, that’s how I used to feel. Nowadays, if you’re not helping me, that’s alright. If there’s anything a wee bit of success gives you, it’s a chance to fucking relax. And if it doesn’t, you’ve got bigger problems. And certainly, I had those. But I dealt with them as well. In all honesty, for me it was about growing the fuck up.’ As James Corden’s predecessor hosting The Late Late Show, Ferguson disrupted the cosy US late-night landscape, establishing a greater spontaneity, flirtation and rapport with returning guests like Carrie Fisher, Stephen

Craig Ferguson: Hobo Fabulous, Gilded Balloon at Edinburgh Playhouse, Greenside Place, 0131 622 6552, 11 Aug, 8pm, £23–£30.

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ART

EDINBURGH ART FESTIV AL 25 JUL–25 AUG

BRIDGET RILEY

PHOTO: © BRIDGET RILEY 2019

If you stare for long enough into some of Bridget Riley’s work (such as Blaze 1, 1962 here) you may feel the world altering ever so slightly. On show at the Royal Scottish Academy is a strong collection of dazzling abstract paintings that have entranced gallery visitors for several decades. ■ Bridget Riley, Royal Scottish Academy, The Mound, 0131 624 6200, until 22 Sep, Fri–Wed, 10am–6pm, Thu, 10am–7pm, £15.

ART CINDY SHERMAN

40 THE LIST | Edinburgh Festival Guide 2019 | list.co.uk/festival

CINDY SHERMAN ART

STILL GAME

Across five decades, New Jerseyborn photographer and filmmaker Cindy Sherman has been stunning the art world with heightened representations of her own selfimage. As a rare retrospective of early works comes to Edinburgh, we ask some EAF participants what her art means to them

arly on in her career, Cindy Sherman found a way of working which not only felt right and real, but has guided her output across the best part of 50 years. Without the means to pay for models, make-up artists or a wardrobe consultant, Sherman chose to simply do it all herself. Those financial constraints have long since lifted but the artist chose to carry on with her solo endeavours, admitting that any time she used other people in her shots or films, things never quite worked out the way she wanted them to. Gaining instant critical acclaim in the mid-70s with her early selfportraits re-imagined as film stills where she would often be reacting to something happening just out of shot (often evoking paranoia, anxiety or fear), international recognition was not far behind. Rather than repeating herself, the work soon became almost gruesome as she made herself up as grotesque clowns or stylized corpses, featuring fake limbs or plastic breasts, and surrounded by rotting food or pretend vomit. Sherman was setting out to challenge an art world >>

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ART CINDY SHERMAN

PHOTOS: CINDY SHERMAN / C/O METRO PICTURES, NEW YORK / THE SAMMLUNG VERBUND COLLECTION, VIENNA

<< which had fully embraced her, daring it to confront her new emboldened vision: ‘let’s see them put this over the dining table’ she would muse later. As she exhibits a selection of early photographs for a rare Scottish visit, we hear from other Edinburgh Art Festival participants about their personal reactions to the revolutionary work of Cindy Sherman and how it has informed their own art . . . HELEN MCCRORIE Cindy Sherman’s approach is very different to my own, but we share an interest in the performativity of gender. While Sherman restages iconic imagery from Western culture in an attempt to draw attention to the construction of the subject, I am interested in using my camera to explore and reflect on human behaviour. My new film, showing at Collective, centres on a child-led outdoor playgroup that meets in the grounds of a former military camp in Scotland. In this work I explore the way families adopt a site for imaginative play and experiential learning, using the lens to focus on narratives that are often marginalised in patriarchal society. I’m drawn to Sherman’s reflexive approach in her film-still series from 1979-80, in which female stereotypes and narratives that play out in popular cinema are called into question. Helen McCrorie: If play is neither inside nor outside, where is it?, Collective, Calton Hill, 0131 556 1264, 13 Jul–6 Oct, Tue–Sun, 10am–5pm, free. HARRY MABERLY Cindy Sherman’s (self)portraits are uncanny and alive. Her attention to detail and ability to stage what feels like a glimpse into the life of someone we know, want to know, or don’t want to know, is endlessly engaging. All images are theatrical, and Sherman uses that theatricality of presentation to analyse the extent to which a fictional image is separate from reality if we adopt it as an idea or ideal which then manifests within us. Her work is all the more captivating with the knowledge that it is Sherman herself in every one of the portraits. She’s not only exploring our society’s relationship to images and the ways in which they impact and inform our culture, but also her relationship to them as an individual trying to better understand her own identity. This honesty is what makes the photographs powerful and ageless, because the images around us change over time but we never stop aspiring towards them. Sherman takes power from the mass of images that we’re powerless to consume and produce, but shows us that we can take that power too. It’s an attitude that’s guiding me in my current pursuit to embody Kate Bush through film. Harry Maberly is part of Platform: 2019, The Fire Station at Edinburgh College of Art, Lauriston Place, 0131 651 5800, 25 Jul–25 Aug, Mon–Sun, 10am–5pm, free. DAMIAN CIFELLI For me, Cindy Sherman is a master storyteller. Her biggest influence on my work is through the Untitled Film Still series, where she captures a crucial moment from a nonexistent film. Within each photograph, she suggests a multitude of possibilities through the choice of clothing or a certain look. Each of those decisions affects the way we interpret the image and we’re compelled to fill in the rest of the story, one which will be different for every viewer. Her idea that portraiture can be set up and designed to tell a story completely re-imagines our traditional forms of storytelling. Through her photographs, I learned that withholding information can make for a better story. By giving us just a glimpse, she makes us tell it to ourselves. Damian Cifelli: Tarogramma Archive, Italian Cultural Institute, Nicolson Street, 25 Jul– 7 Aug, Mon–Thu, 10am–5pm, Fri, 10am–noon, free; The Dundas Street Gallery, Dundas Street, 10–16 Aug, Mon–Sun, 10am–7pm, free. Cindy Sherman: Early Works, 1975-80, Stills, Cockburn Street, 0131 622 6200, until 6 Oct, Mon–Sun, 11am–6pm, free. 42 THE LIST | Edinburgh Festival Guide 2019 | list.co.uk/festival

MY LAND  The List  The Scotsman  British Theatre Guide  Edinburgh Guide  Edinburgh Reporter  Voice Magazine  Fest Magazine  The Wee Review  One4Review

Paris de Nuit

 Broadway Baby  Voice Magazine  One4Review  The Reviews Hub  Across the Arts  The Wee Review  The Scotsman

ART NICOLE FARHI

COSTUME

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NICOLE FARHI ART

The solitude of an artist’s studio has brought Nicole Farhi comfort and joy since she left the hectic fashion industry. Arabella Bradley hears that sculpture is her true calling

icole Farhi is a household name in British fashion, having started in that business during the 1960s. She began in Paris before moving to London, but the cutting room was not where Farhi saw herself forever. Sculpting in her studio at home was where she felt happiest, and still does today. ‘I was not entirely satisfied with a life dedicated to fashion,’ Farhi admits. ‘I wanted to express things other than just making clothes.’ The transition from full-time designer to sculptor was very gradual. ‘I had waited a long time until I could say goodbye to fashion and dedicate the rest of my life to sculpture,’ she says. It wasn’t an easy decision to make. Farhi would take one day a week off fashion and spend the weekends in her studio, and after 35 years of juggling the two she became a full-time sculptor. She insists that sculpture was always more than just a hobby, which is evident from the way she talks about her practise: ‘it’s very absorbing, like meditation’. The paths her career has taken may not seem worlds apart – both require a hands-on approach to designing and making – but she feels that they bring her entirely different kinds of fulfilment. ‘I enjoyed the pace of fashion where every six months you start again. I liked that challenge.’ But the solitude of a studio was a welcome change. ‘I love to face my own thoughts all day long and not having anybody to talk to,’ she confesses, but that’s not to say Farhi has always enjoyed working alone. If it wasn’t for the deep admiration she had for her team (many of whom had been with her from the very beginning of her career at French Connection in the 1970s and moved with her when she founded her own label in 1982), the shift to full-time sculptor would probably have happened sooner. Sculpture has been a large part of Farhi’s creative output, just not as widely publicised as her achievements in fashion. ‘Sculpture is not really new to my life,’ she explains. ‘But it was what I wanted to do one day completely.’ Her work has been exhibited at venues including Beaux Arts and Gainsborough’s House, and she’s a member of the Royal Society of Sculptors. This summer she makes her debut in Edinburgh with a solo exhibition, Writing Heads at The Fine Art Society, which contains 25 clay busts of her favourite 20th-century literary figures, from Oscar Wilde to Joan Didion. But these are by no means the grandiose busts you might expect to see of such acclaimed individuals: they are all under 20 centimetres high. The miniature series came about almost by accident, when she began making the busts as gifts for her playwright husband David Hare whenever he opened a new production. Farhi marvelled at the enjoyment she found in working on such a tiny scale, so much so that she revisited the idea whilst working simultaneously on a large-scale work, Folds. ‘For my own pleasure, I decided to go back to the tiny little busts as a release from the large casts.’ Gradually they became a series of 25, a number she felt satisfied with. ‘After the 19th-century authors I did for David, I thought I’d do writers that I had read, starting with the books that I loved reading when I was growing up in France: Simone de Beauvoir, Camus, Duras, Cocteau. While I was doing Simone de Beauvoir I was thinking “well what about Camus?” So one called for another each time.’ Whilst the busts themselves are a highly personal exploration of Farhi’s own memories and relationships, Edinburgh is a place that holds poignancy for her too: she was a close friend of the late Eduardo Paolozzi, the city’s master sculptor. ‘Eduardo is in my mind always. He believed in what I was doing, and it was a wonderful chance in life to have met him and be his friend,’ she reminisces fondly. ‘I was very lucky and I cannot ever forget that.’ Visitors will get a sense of his influence upon her life and work, as she elaborates further on the exhibition’s content. ‘I did a portrait of Eduardo when he was alive, and one of his hand, so I think we’re going to show those. I had gone to Edinburgh with Eduardo a couple of times so I’m very happy about going back to his home.’

NGE

Nicole Farhi: Writing Heads, The Fine Art Society, Dundas Street, 0131 557 4050, 25 Jul–31 Aug, Mon–Fri, 10am–6pm, Sat, 11am–4pm, free. list.co.uk/festival | Edinburgh Festival Guide 2019 | THE LIST 45

Until 22 September 2019

Bridget Riley Royal Scottish Academy Princes Street, Edinburgh Tickets £15-£13 (concessions available) 25 & under £10-£8.50 Free for Our Friends Beat the queues and buy at nationalgalleries.org #NGSBridgetRiley

HIGHLIGHTS ART

OTHER HIGHLIGHTS Innovation and inspiration is ripe across the city as the cream of 20th-century photographers, new video artists and revered painters comprise yet another ambitious Edinburgh Art Festival programme

David Batchelor: My Own Private Bauhaus Squares, circles and triangles are celebrated in this exhibition from the Dundee-born artist which marks the centenary of the highly influential Bauhaus movement. Ingleby, Barony Street, 0131 556 4441, 24 Jul–28 Sep, Mon–Sat, 11am–5pm (Jul & Aug), Wed–Sun, 11am–5pm (Sep). Janet Cardiff and George Bures Miller: Night Walk for Edinburgh Your meeting point is The Milkman on Cockburn Street as audiences prepare to venture on a discombobulated multimedia stroll through Edinburgh’s past and present. Various venues, 0131 473 2000, 25 Jul–25 Aug, Tue–Sun, 8–10pm, £15.

Rosalind Nashashibi

Artist Rooms: Self-Evidence This blockbuster show of photographs by Francesca Woodman, Diane Arbus and Robert Mapplethorpe continues through the summer as crowds marvel at the iconic and thought-provoking work of these 20th-century proponents of the all-seeing camera eye. Scottish National Portrait Gallery, Queen Street, 0131 624 6200, until 20 Oct, Mon– Sun, 10am–6pm. Platform: 2019 The showcase for emerging artists in Scotland features work varying from sculptures inspired by the history of pleating to recreations of Kate Bush videos. The Fire Station at Edinburgh College of Art, Lauriston Place, 0131 651 5800, 25 Jul–25 Aug, Mon–Sun, 10am–5pm.

Victoria Crowe

Victoria Crowe: 50 Years of Painting Over 150 pieces across half a century’s work as Crowe takes over four floors with paintings featuring everything from the Scottish Borders to Venice, and portraits of Tam Dalyell and Professor Peter Higgs. City Art Centre, Market Street, 0131 529 3993, until 13 Oct, Mon–Sun, 10am– 5pm, £6 (£4.50).

Wild and Majestic: Romantic Visions of Scotland This bumper exhibition charts Scotland’s venture into the global imagination while pondering the continued relevance of tartan and bagpipes. National Museum of Scotland, Chambers Street, 0300 123 6789, until 10 Nov, Mon–Sun, 10am–5pm, £10 (£7.50). Rosalind Nashashibi Shot in London, Lithuania and Edinburgh, the Glasgow School of Art-educated filmmaker’s new work explores how we build our own sense of community in today’s world of seemingly rampant individualism. Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, Belford Road, 0131 624 6200, 25 Jul–25 Aug, Mon–Sun, 10am–6pm. Yokollection: Double Disaster (Closing Down) In 1969, Yoko Ono and John Lennon had a car crash in the Highlands. This related video work of Alexa Hare and Francesca Nobilucci reflects on ideas of death, sexuality and fandom. Edinburgh College of Art, Lauriston Place, 0131 651 5800, 27 Jul–18 Aug, Mon–Sun, 11am–5pm. Nathan Coley: The Future is Inside Us, It’s Not Somewhere Else Glasgow artist Coley takes his cue for this new piece from a 19th-century scenic wallpaper, going on to produce a series of large-scale lightboxes in order to reflect upon issues of identity. Parliament Hall, Parliament Square, 0131 226 6558, 25 Jul–25 Aug, Mon– Sun, 10am–5pm. All events free unless stated

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y r e v e n I ! r u o l o c

BOOKS

EDINBU INTERNATIROGH BOOK FEST NAL IVAL 10–26 AUG

TRACEY THORN

PHOTO: EDWARD BISHOP

Another Planet, the follow-up to Tracey Thorn’s 2013 memoir Bedsit Disco Queen, flits between the 1970s and 2016. That was the year she returned to her Hertfordshire village home for the first time in three decades. Tedious suburbia spawned a creative urge in the young Tracey and she has now written elegantly about how her stellar music career might not have happened without such a mundane start in life. ■ Tracey Thorn, Charlotte Square Gardens, 0345 373 5888, 19 Aug, 8.30pm, £12 (£10).

IN ASSOCIATION WITH

BOOKS BENJAMIN ZEPHANIAH

Zesty & Fresh d ...an n o t grea ys! a d i l ho

50 THE LIST | Edinburgh Festival Guide 2019 | list.co.uk/festival

BENJAMIN ZEPHANIAH BOOKS

chapter vverse erse Peaky Blinders star and pioneer of performance poetry, Benjamin Zephaniah continues to fight for social justice in both his life and work. The Birmingham activist tells Arusa Qureshi why he’s as politically motivated now as he ever was

s a poet, playwright, activist, musician and more, Benjamin Zephaniah has continually defied societal expectations. Growing up in 1960s Birmingham, with his formal education ending at the age of 13, Zephaniah’s shield against the institutional racism and oppression he faced daily was an innate ability to construct words into powerful narratives and lyrical monologues. ‘It’s really interesting because a lot of black singers will say they learnt to sing in the church,’ he notes. ‘But I wasn’t really singing with the choir. I was looking at the preacher and at the way he performed. The way he would use repetition was quite poetic, the way that he would weave storytelling and rhyme and rhythm; there’s always a rhythm to the way they speak.’ Though he wouldn’t consider himself religious now, his early experiences in church have had a profound impact on his performance style today,

with his poetry and voice renowned for its sermonlike flow, commanding audiences of all ages like the preacher he once revered. In his memoir, The Life and Rhymes of Benjamin Zephaniah, we’re presented with an account of times well lived, a social history of changing political and cultural landscapes, and the injustice faced by those on the periphery. Zephaniah’s book provides a snapshot of the workings of a pioneer, whose voice has been a key force in movements of resistance and activism in Britain and beyond. ‘It was nominated for the Costa Book Award and the National Literary Award and this really surprised me,’ he says of the book’s success. ‘The reason why it’s shaken me a little bit is because this is my life, it’s not a character I created. These people are interested in me, and now people say “what an interesting life you’ve lived”. And I just think “really? There’s so much more to do”!’ >>

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BOOKS BENJAMIN ZEPHANIAH

Soft & Velvety

...but wn e do sn't oing k o a sm jacket

<< On top of writing, touring and teaching, Zephaniah starred in three seaons of Birmingham-set Peaky Blinders as Jeremiah Jesus, which he confesses gives him a great sense of pride. But of all of the roles he’s played in his professional life, he is perhaps known best for his compelling alliance of poetry and activism. ‘Nelson Mandela once said to me “if anybody asks you whether politics and art go together, send them to me”. Why did he say that? Because he knew that in certain places, it was the poets and musicians that started getting behind movements. He knew that made a difference and made people in power listen.’ Zephaniah has been credited for having much to do with pushing poetry further into mainstream culture, something he always considered a key tenet of his quest to spread the artform’s power. So with the recent rise of ‘Instagram poets’ taking verse even further into the mainstream, how does he feel about this new generation of creatives? ‘I think it’s fantastic. I think most ways of getting poetry into people’s lives is great. Some of those poets won’t necessary be published but they’ll still be poets. And then there are crossovers between genres too. So it’s a sort-of golden age for poetry. These are the days I was dreaming of and talking about back in 1978. And sometimes people laughed at me. I’ve always said that I wanted to see it be a thriving area and, now, I’m a professor in that subject: I teach that subject!’ Despite confessing to hating school as a child, Zephaniah is in possession of no less than 16 honorary degrees, and education means far more to him now, both as a professor and artist. But above all else, he admits that his belief in the importance of education for young people has only strengthened over time. ‘The thing I realised very quickly was that the people who oppress us, the people who hold us down, the people who control us are all educated. So it’s our job to also be educated and turn things around and use our education for the better. First of all, it’s good to have knowledge of self, to understand your own history, your own people’s history. And you should not just sit down and read things that you agree with: you’ve got to understand how people you disagree with work and what their belief systems are.’ This is especially poignant within our current political climate, which Zephaniah has spoken out against both publicly and in his own work. ‘My position has always been that the way we do politics is really flawed. There’s this thing I do at the end of my show with my track “One Tribe” and I ask the audience “is anybody here from Glasgow? Is anybody here from Edinburgh? Is anybody here from Manchester?” People put their hands up and I say that it doesn’t matter. We are one tribe. The borders are fake, the flags are fake, the way we do politics and are separated into constituencies and all of this stuff is all fake. We are one people. As artists, I think it’s our duty to show people all the things we have in common and all the ways that we connect with each other.’ Having played a number of festival dates with his band The Revolutionary Minds recently, Zephaniah is heading off on a book tour to promote The Life and Rhymes, including a date in Edinburgh. ‘I’m really lucky that I’m doing what I love doing. I always thought that when I got to my age, I’d be a lot more relaxed about politics. But I’m going to keep fighting; I feel as energised and as pumped up as I was when I was 18. I don’t have any great ambitions; I just love doing what I’m doing. It’ll never be perfect, but I want to see a fair and just society. It’s our job as creative people to speak to the heart and soul of who we are, not just the political imaginations of who we are.’ Benjamin Zephaniah, Charlotte Square Gardens, 0345 373 5888, 17 Aug, 6.45pm, Pay What You Can.

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10 — 26 AUGUST 2019

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OVER 900 AUTHORS FROM 60 COUNTRIES IN 800 EVENTS BOOK & BROWSE EVENTS: EDBOOKFEST.CO.UK @EDBOOKFEST INCLUDING: Arundhati Roy Tim Winton Ali Smith Matt Haig Black Lives Matter’s DeRay McKesson Markus Zusak Cathy Newman Ian Rankin Jackie Kay Robert Macfarlane Carrie Gracie Malorie Blackman Thomas Keneally Caroline Criado Perez Deborah Levy

Salman Rushdie Chigozie Obioma Elif Shafak Chris McQueer Linton Kwesi Johnson Val McDermid Kamila Shamsie Colson Whitehead Gina Martin Xinran Xue Joe Dunthorne Ben Okri Sofie Hagen Lemn Sissay Live music Spoken word poetry

BOOKS FIRST LINES

whose first line is it anyway? We’ve all picked up a novel and either put it back down again or kept on reading after giving it the first-line test. What is it that makes a compelling beginning? We asked a bunch of authors at this year’s Book Festival to pick their own favourite opening to a novel

WILL EAVES THE INHERITORS BY WILLIAM GOLDING

“Lok was running as fast as he could. ” That opening sentence is as light and troubling as the rest of the remarkable novel that follows. Lok is a Neanderthal, as unaware of the true motivations of the New Men in the woods as he is innocent of awareness itself. The book describes and dramatises his species’ limits, and also the beauty of an enfolding sensory relation to nature and time that is lost to us, Lok’s evolutionary successors. But we will succumb, too. One day, soon enough, we will have run as far, and as fast, as we could. ■ 16 Aug (with Jessie Greengrass), 11am.

MARIELLA FROSTRUP THE MOOR’S LAST SIGH BY SALMAN RUSHDIE

“I have lost count of the days that have passed since I fled the horrors of Vasco Miranda’s mad fortress in the Andalusian mountain-village of Benengeli; ran from death under cover of darkness and left a message nailed to the door. ” I love a book with a first line that completely hooks you and although plenty fit the bill, my favourite is in Salman Rushdie’s arguably most over-looked book. It creates so many questions that as a reader you are immediately impatient for answers. It’s impossible to read that sentence and not be swept away in the safe company of an author who’s probably our most engaging living storyteller. ■ 21 Aug, 5pm; 22 Aug (Open Book Radio 4 recording), 10am, free. PHOTOS FROM TOP: JOHN CAIRNS, KATE MARTIN

Rich & Smooth

sn't t doe ...bu e a trust hav und f

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FIRST LINES BOOKS

CHARLES FERNYHOUGH LOLITA BY VLADIMIR NABOKOV

“Lolita, light of my life, fire of my loins. My sin, my soul. Lo-lee-ta: the tip of the tongue taking a trip of three steps down the palate to tap, at three, on the teeth. Lo. Lee. Ta. ” From its dazzling, disarming opening, this almost perfect novel revels in how literature can upend us morally by throwing us into unimaginable points of view. In creating sympathy for a monster, Nabokov’s genius is to turn Humbert Humbert’s tragic, wrong love into one of the greatest tales of passion ever told. ■ 21 Aug (with Colin Grant, Will Storr and Marina Warner), 4pm; 22 Aug (with Will Storr), 3.45pm, £8 (£6).

JENNY LINDSAY NINETEEN EIGHTY-FOUR BY GEORGE ORWELL

“It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen.” I first read these words aged 16 and this novel has informed a great deal of my work ever since. I wrote my undergraduate dissertation on political literature as part of my Politics degree, reinvented the character of Julia for my first stage-show, Ire & Salt, and am currently working on a series of work on Julia and Winston, updating both central characters for today’s political climate. How language confers thought has always fascinated me and is also an underlying theme of my current work, This Script. ■ 20 Aug, 8.30pm, £8 (£6).

NADINE AISHA JASSAT THE BELL JAR BY SYLVIA PLATH

“It was a queer, sultry summer, the summer they electrocuted the Rosenbergs, and I didn’t know what I was doing in New York. ” PHOTO: RYAN MCGOVERNE

This opening has stayed with me since my teenage years. I love its rhythm and how it instantly captures the dark humidity of Esther’s bell jar, and the sense of Plath looking down on the story as if it were the past itself and, with her poetic voice, submersing us in it. ■ Spark Theatre, George Street, 17 Aug (with Mariam Khan and Amna Saleem), 7.15pm; 23 Aug (with Anthony Anaxagorou), 7pm, pay what you can.

SAMANTHA SHANNON HILD BY NICOLA GRIFFITH

PHOTO: CHRIS SCOTT

“The child’s world changed late one afternoon, though she didn’t know it. She lay at the edge of the hazel coppice, one cheek pressed to the moss that smelt of worm cast and the last of the sun, listening: to the wind in the elms, rushing away from the day, to the jackdaws changing their calls from “Outward! Outward!” to “Home now, home!”, to the rustle of the last frightened shrews scuttling under the layers of leaf fall before the owls began their hunt. From far away came the indignant honking of the geese as the goosegirl herded them back inside the wattle fence, and the child knew, in the wordless way that three-year-olds reckon time, that soon Onnen would come and find her and Cian and hurry them back.” Griffith achieves so much in these three sentences. She introduces the protagonist, captures the rhythms of life in seventh-century Britain, and invokes the senses with her finely-wrought descriptions of nature. ■ Spark Theatre, George Street, 20 Aug (with Holly Black), 8.45pm.

CHRISTOPHER BROOKMYRE SWING HAMMER SWING! BY JEFF TORRINGTON

“Something really weird was happening in the Gorbals – from the battered hulk of the Planet Cinema in Scobie Street, a deepsea diver was emerging.” PHOTO: LOUISE HAYWOODSCHIEFER

I picked up this book reluctantly at first, bracing myself for a grim tale of 60s Glaswegian poverty and deprivation. This intriguing opening told me I was in for something quite different. It sets the tone perfectly for a book that is boundlessly inventive, surreal in ways that are bizarrely plausible, and constantly subverting expectations. ■ 12 Aug, 8.30pm; 17 Aug (as Ambrose Parry with Marisa Haetzman), 8.30pm.

All events at Charlotte Square Gardens and priced £12 (£10) unless stated, 0345 373 5888.

PHOTOS FROM SECOND TOP: RYAN MCGOVERNE, CHRIS SCOTT, LOUISE HAYWOOD-SCHIEFER, CHRIS CLOSE

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BOOKS OLGA GRJASNOWA

Jasmine power Olga Grjasnowa writes deeply affecting fiction about the truths of those fleeing injustice across the world. Lynsey May talks to this Germany-residing Azerbaijani author about some difficult things she’s seen along the way

Zesty & Fresh d ...an n o t grea ys! a d i l ho

uthor of three powerful novels, the Berlin-based, Baku-born Olga Grjasnowa is a formidable voice in German literature. Newly translated into English, her latest book, City of Jasmine, follows three Damascenes forced to flee their homeland and trying to survive in exile. The new novel is unflinching yet intimate in its depictions of desperation, war and brutality. Its foundation in reality, however, ensures it’s not an easy read. And it can’t have been easy to write, either, although Grjasnowa prepared herself well before starting. ‘I did a lot of research in Turkey, Lebanon and Greece where I saw many disturbing things,’ she says. ‘But what really haunted me was the sight of newborn babies and their mothers who had nowhere to go, especially since I’ve just become a mother myself. Seeing Syrian children begging for money on a highway and knowing that the only difference between them and my children isn’t that I’m a better mother or that I come from a different background or have a different mother tongue. The only difference is that I have a German passport – a bit of paper issued to me because my family was murdered during the Holocaust – and that’s something I will never forget.’ As for many others, fragile pieces of paper remain central to the course of Grjasnowa’s life. Just last year, she was invited to be writer-in-residence at Warwick and Oxford universities, and she planned to visit with her young family. Her husband, who has a Syrian passport, wasn’t awarded a permit to accompany her.

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So, with two young children, she made the hard decision to drastically shorten her stay in the UK. ‘Oxford and Warwick are wonderful places,’ Grjasnowa says, ‘but I’m still upset about the British Embassy’s decision that having the University of Oxford as our sponsor wasn’t enough to enable us to stay in Great Britain.’ The experience only highlights how essential it is that literature crosses boundaries, barriers and languages. Luckily for us, City of Jasmine has. The novel was translated into English by Katy Derbyshire, and Grjasnowa found that ‘working with her, and being translated by her, was a wonderful experience.’ And despite the nerves, shame and anxiety she finds when seeing a book in print, she still finds the process exciting. Grjasnowa always wanted to be a writer, even when she thought it was an impossible dream. Writing wasn’t presented as an option for a woman living in Germany with an immigrant background. ‘During my time at school, I was given the impression that it could never happen, that my knowledge of German would never be good enough for anything much. Studying Creative Writing in Leipzig changed my life. It was the first time that nobody questioned my background; I was judged only by my work.’ For writers and artists, there are few bigger rewards than being assessed and celebrated on merit alone. A state we should all be striving for, especially in these divisive times. Olga Grjasnowa and Sulaiman Addonia, Charlotte Square Gardens, 0345 373 5888, 22 Aug, 3.30pm, £8 (£6).

HIGHLIGHTS BOOKS

OTHER HIGHLIGHTS Once again Charlotte Square Gardens will reverberate with words and ideas from an array of writers whose creations include an adventurous travelling salesman, a guiltridden tyrant, a wizened private investigator and a very colourful elephant Kate Atkinson After a decade of writing about other literary matters, the Edinburghbased author returns to her private investigator Jackson Brodie for a corking new novel. The acclaimed Big Sky revolves around the exploitation of women and children. 10 Aug, 6.45pm, £12 (£10).

Jenni Fagan & Harry Josephine Giles Fagan and Giles were two of the writers sent by the Book Festival to journey across the Americas and explore controversial themes and exchange ideas with other scribes. They’re here to tell us their findings. 14 Aug, 1.45pm, £12 (£10).

Ma Jian Justifiably dubbed ‘China’s Solzhenitsyn’, the exiled author is holding nothing back in China Dream, his satirical novel about a leader torn apart with guilt at the lies and misdeeds he perpetrated over time on his own people. Ma’s overarching message is that constant vigilance is required by anyone who cherishes freedom and democracy. Spark Theatre, George Street, 13 Aug, 5.30pm, £12 (£10).

Mary Portas Retail guru Mary Portas wasn’t content with reshaping the high street: she’s now on a mission to change the whole culture within business to make it a fairer and less hostile environment for women to thrive in. 14 Aug, 8.30pm, £12 (£10).

Rachel Long

Roddy Doyle Accompanied onstage by Blindboy, one half of the Irish hip-hop comedy troupe The Rubberbandits, the legendary Irish author discusses what

Mary Portas

he found after a year of writing about everyday life in Dublin. 16 Aug, 11.45am, £12 (£10). Simon Armitage Recently crowned as the next Poet Laureate, the West Yorkshireman reflects here on some of his past work such as poems about Henry Moore sculptures, Brexit and PTSD. 17 Aug, 11.45am, £12 (£10).

Julia Neuberger with Richard Holloway An important debate here between West London Synagogue’s senior Rabbi and the former Bishop of Edinburgh as they tackle the thorny topic of anti-Semitism in British life and beyond. 18 Aug, 11.45am, £12 (£10). Rachel Long, Tania Nwachukwu & Hibaq Osman Part of the Babble On spoken word strand, this hour is a celebration of the Octavia poetry group which was founded by Rachel Long to help provide more opportunities in literary and academic circles for women of colour. 18 Aug, 4pm, £12 (£10). Elmer the Elephant Two events here to mark the 30th anniversary of the most colourful elephant of them all. First up is a three-hour event for kids to indulge themselves in Elmer-based crafts and activities, while later on, creator David McKee will talk about the inspirations behind his heartwarming tales. 20 Aug, 11am, free; 5pm, £5. Salman Rushdie A perfect way to sign off the festival as one of the world’s most renowned authors launches his upcoming novel, Quichotte, about an ageing travelling salesman who falls for a TV star and sets off across an America on the brink of collapse. 26 Aug, 6.45pm, £12 (£10). All events at Charlotte Square Gardens unless stated, 0345 373 5888

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FRINGE EDINBURGH FESTIVAL F RINGE 2–26 AU G

JOHN-LUKE ROBERTS

If you haven’t got on the John-Luke Roberts bandwagon yet this is the year to do it. Don’t be put off by that monstrously unwieldy title, as his freewheeling absurdism actually turns out to be perfectly accessible. Alongside his full run is a three-nights only riot of other comics coming along to help him adapt some impenetrable books. ■ John-Luke Roberts: After Me Comes the Flood (But in French) drip splosh splash drip BLUBBP BLUBBP BLUBBPBLUBBPBLUBBP!!, 2–26 Aug (not 14, 21), 5.30pm, £10–£12 (£9–£11). Previews 31 Jul & 1 Aug, £8; John-Luke Roberts: Terrible Wonderful Adaptations, 9, 16, 23 Aug, 11.30pm, £12. Both shows at Assembly George Square Studios, George Square, 0131 623 3030.

IN ASSOCIATION WITH

FRINGE | CABARET FRISKY & MANNISH

FRINGE | CABARET

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FRISKY & MANNISH CABARET | FRINGE

blinding us with science Frisky & Mannish have been locked away in their PopLab recently, mixing up various musical experiments before unleashing them onto a heavily-expectant Edinburgh. Claire Sawers chats to Frisky about stripping back their show, avoiding reviews and the whereabouts of a mysterious Mannish

s planned, three people have joined the conference call at the pre-arranged time, set up by cabaret duo Frisky & Mannish’s publicist in London. Sadly, it’s not the correct three people. There’s me up in Edinburgh, Laura Corcoran (the singer better known as Frisky) in a pub near where her parents live in Cheshire, and there’s Leonie, a 12-week-old child. ‘She’s currently attached to my boob, so she’s quite happy,’ says Corcoran, the child’s parent, in case that wasn’t obvious. Although it’s a big bonus to have newborn Leonie joining us, and it’s amazing that Corcoran can combine her two jobs as mother and comedy showgirl with such flexibility, something’s still missing. ‘I’m sure he’ll join us any minute,’ shrugs

Corcoran, sounding relaxed, a textbook example of showbiz calm that amateurs could watch and learn from. Ever the professional, even while breastfeeding, she smart-casually checks her emails with her free hand to see if one Matthew Floyd Jones has been in touch. The singer-pianist better known as Mannish, and Corcoran’s professional other half, is somewhere in the Caribbean, being a kind of ‘rent-a-diva’ as she puts it. ‘He’s got a job as a stowaway pianist. He drives around the ship with this motorised piano, sipping cocktails out a coconut. He has a pop-up candelabra and fireworks with him, and surprises guests with impromptu songs; it’s quite something.’ The cruise ship that Floyd Jones has been working on for the past five months (neatly dovetailing with his colleague’s second to fourth trimesters) is docked for the day, giving him a chance to come onto dry land for a good signal. But something must have held him up. ‘He’s

been off doing that for about five months,’ notes Corcoran. ‘I’m intrigued to see what colour his Celtic skin has gone after all that time and whether he has achieved a tan? Will it be pasty, or lobster coloured? Perhaps absolute all-over freckles?’ The results will be revealed this August when the pair return to the Fringe. Frisky & Mannish’s PopLab is their first new show since 2014, a stripped-back return to the basics with just the two of them and a piano. ‘Our previous shows were getting more ridiculous. I mean, the last time we were in Edinburgh with Just Too Much, we had a seven-minute ballet dream sequence and tons of costumes changes. This time it’s just one devastatingly glamorous outfit. And lots of fun.’ Over their ten-year career together so far, they’ve dipped their toes in various waters, from their 2009 debut and Fringe hit Frisky & Mannish’s School of Pop, via Extra-Curricular Activities (in which they poked fun at Made in Chelsea and parodied Lana Del Rey), feminist medleys on >>

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FRINGE | CABARET FRISKY & MANNISH

<< YouTube, and CabaRIOT, their foray into political hot potatoes. ‘We wrote a bunch of original songs for CabaRIOT, covering things like the queer community and social inequalities, so it was a departure from our usual Britneyfocussed fare. It all got a bit heavy for a minute, and now we’ve swung back to the original format, just us and the piano. Doing entertainment. Or infotainment.’ The revised approach spills onto their social media too, like the tweet on the day of Trump’s UK visit which daydreams ‘imagine how much better the world would be if, instead of the news, radio stations just played “Get On Your Feet” by Gloria Estefan every hour, on the hour.’ In PopLab, the duo will invent a definitive new pop periodic table, featuring Adelia and Selenium Gomez amongst other elements, and using science to explain various musical phenomena. ‘We’ll be formulating new pop compounds live in the Spiegeltent, with a fair bit of smashing together of the unexpected. Little Mix, Cliff Richard, Ed Sheeran and classic 90s dance will feature, and we think we might have found a vaccine for the contagious “tropical house” genre.’ Corcoran also hints at a section still under development, where they put pop comeback acts under the microscope, and discover a new breed of ‘composite backs’, such as New Kids on the Backstreet Boys. ‘We’re fortunate that we’ve been writing material together for years. Before Leonie was born, we were pretty organised and got a lot of the new show written. We’ll be rehearsing it when Matthew is back from cruising, with Leonie sitting in with us. Matthew is unbelievably brilliant with babies; he has the touch, so it won’t be a problem having her there.’ Corcoran is not fazed at the prospect of a Fringe comeback, this time with a new baby in tow. ‘Seriously, having a baby has not been as intense as the first Edinburgh we did, and that’s hand on 62 THE LIST | Edinburgh Festival Guide 2019 | list.co.uk/festival 118899 - JW Fringe Festival Guide Ad20/06/2019 84x33.5mm 14:03 V1 SW.indd 2

heart true. Doing the Fringe is the perfect training, actually, for the lack of sleep, by getting really good at napping, dodging illness . . . or not, as the case may be.’ When Frisky & Mannish first appeared at the Fringe in the Underbelly’s Belly Dancer space (‘a sweaty little black cave’ as Corcoran recalls), they had a great time, although she started feeling unwell towards the end of the run. ‘I went to the doctor who confirmed I had swine flu and needed to be quarantined.’ This time she’ll be bringing a clean bill of health, a baby, her husband (Frisky & Mannish’s tour manager) and her mum (the tour babysitter). ‘I’m so excited to be going back. The first show we ever did got these incredibly kind reviews. The kind of stuff you dream about. But ten years on, we’ve had all kinds of reviews. Now I don’t read them; I prefer to read the room. Our fans are super loyal and that’s what counts for us. We make a point of chatting to them after and it’s led to some lovely friendships.’ Corcoran recalls getting a bit caught up at one point in the reviews they were getting. ‘It all gets a bit navel gazey when you do that. I mean, we all know reviews are part of it, and there’s this bizarre dance that we all do, but we all know it’s bollocks too. We got to a point where we were almost writing songs with the reviews already in mind. We always said we’d only do it as long as it was fun. We were coming close to the edge. Luckily, we were both riding the same wave and both knew to take a step back. We had a break. And had lots of new ideas. Now we’re much more about being happy, and letting that come over when we perform.’ Frisky & Mannish’s PopLab, Assembly George Square Gardens, George Square, 0131 623 3030, 3–25 Aug (not 12, 19), 7pm, £14–£16 (£13–£15). Previews 1 & 2 Aug, £10.

GINGZILLA CABARET | FRINGE

MAGICAL BONES: BLACK MAGIC Richard Essien comes to the Fringe having entertained and amazed audiences for a decade, with a show which brings jawdropping street magic into an enclosed space: but can the walls of the Underbelly contain him? Underbelly, Bristo Square, 0131 510 0395, 3–25 Aug (not 12), 6.25pm, £10–£11 (£9–£10). Previews 31 Jul–2 Aug, £6.50. PHOTO: SCOTT CHALMERS

RED MY LIPS

F I cV oE

She may now be a viral sensation, but seven-foot Australian drag giant Gingzilla will always be a Fringe favourite. Arusa Qureshi finds out more about the return of this crimson queen

‘E

very year, my motto is to go BIG or go home!’ proclaims Australian drag superstar Gingzilla. As well as being a fan favourite among cabaret circuits, the self-described ‘Glamonster’ recently became a viral sensation when her audition on America’s Got Talent stunned audiences around the world. ‘My mission is to playfully deconstruct the binaries and polarities of life,’ she says, ‘creating experiences of outrageous joy and vulnerability, holding up a mirror to show the audience a reflection of themselves and then smashing it to wake them up.’ With drag quickly becoming a colossal force in popular culture, Gingzilla believes that freedom of creative expression is what people respond to most. ‘Everyday life can be mundane and boring; drag gives people a chance to loosen up and see the world as a wondrous ball of colour and excitement.’ Life as a drag queen has certainly been anything but mundane for Gingzilla over the past few years. ‘Three years ago, I started doing drag with a bra and a pair of suction pants from Primark. Now I’m being flown around the world to perform and spread my joy. My passion project Late Night Lip Service is in its third year; SQUAD GOALS, a new trio show with my sisters Cazeleon and Seann Miley Moore is about to premiere in London; and I’m creating a Christmas album.’ Despite having plenty going on, Ging can’t wait to return to Edinburgh with a smash-hit, raucous variety show where she will once again host a wild two hours of fabulous guest line-ups, live performances, lip-sync battles and more. ‘Man, I am cooking up an extravaganza to end them all!’ she insists. ‘I’m working with a musical director, costume designers and, of course, my out-of-box brain to come up with an experience that will leave you bursting with joy.’ It may be bigger and better than ever but this Glamonster will never forget her roots. ‘Three years have gone by and my looks are being refined but I still use the same suction pants. Can’t beat ‘em!’

Late Night Lip Service, Gilded Balloon Rose Theatre, Rose Street, 0131 622 6552, 3, 8–10, 15–18, 22–24 Aug, 11.30pm, £12.50. Preview 2 Aug, £10.

PAUL ZENON: TRUST ME! One of the masters of this art who was astonishing Fringe crowds last century, Zenon is back as he finds the funny as well as revealing a unique talent for deception. Le Monde, George Street, 0131 270 3900, 2–24 Aug, 5.30pm, £10 (£8).

AVA BEAUX: THE MYSTERIOUS TALES OF POE Magic may still feel like a predominantly male terrain, but hopefully the likes of Ava Beaux will alter that situation. Here, she delivers some creepy illusionism based on the stories of Edgar Allan Poe. Revolution Bar, Chambers Street, 0131 226 0000, 4–23 Aug (not 10, 17), 8.30pm, free.

KEVIN QUANTUM: NEON FUTURE Our local magic hero has two shows this year, with Neon Future exploring the fault lines between science and trickery. Gilded Balloon Patter Hoose, Chambers Street, 0131 622 6552, 3–26 Aug (not 21), 6pm, £12.50– £13.50 (£10.50–£11.50; family ticket £42–£46). Previews 31 Jul–2 Aug, £8.

MASON KING: SLEIGHT OF MIND Mentalism and mind-reading is to the fore here with an act that promises to make you question the very laws of physics. TheSpace @ Surgeons Hall, Nicolson Street, 0131 510 2384, 5–16 Aug (not 11), 5.10pm, £9 (£7; family ticket £24). Previews 2 & 3 Aug, £6 (£5; family ticket £16).

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King’s Hall

Venue #73 41A S Clerk St 0131 560 1581 canadahubfringe.com #canadahubfringe

Deer Woman My name is Lila and I am a proud Blackfoot woman. What I am doing is illegal. Performed by Cherish Violet Blood

Songs in the Key of Cree A cabaret of legendary Cree playwright Tomson Highway’s most extraordinary songs

CanadaHub in Edinburgh is produced with the primary partnership of the Canada Council for the Arts.

Blind Date One actor. One audience member. One blind date.

By and starring Rebecca Northan

Sea Sick

The ocean contains the switch of life. And that switch can be turned off. Written and performed by Alanna Mitchell

Pathetic Fallacy A hyperactive green screen.

Some strange weather. An absent performer. Every show, a different stand-in receives instructions live, onstage.

FRINGE | COMEDY BASIL BRUSH

FRINGE | COMEDY

Basil Brush has been in showbusiness across six decades, having rubbed his tail up against the likes of true icons such as Pavarotti, Abba and Stacey Dooley. Through it all, heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s retained his suave charm and infectious laugh, and at long flipping last, he makes his way to Edinburgh for a Fringe debut. Here, we throw him some of the tough questions of the day . . .

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BASIL BRUSH COMEDY | FRINGE

So, Basil, you’re making your Fringe debut with two shows, one for kids and one for the grown-ups. Have you been to Edinburgh before?

Of course I have been to the Scottish capital before! It’s a cultural hub full of history, with a castle and the Edinburgh Woollen Mill; although they’ve got both of those in Windsor where I do my pantos so I will feel at home. You have a long history of famous people and inventors. You’ve got John ‘Yogi’ Baird who invented that fantastic animated series; then, of course, Charles ‘Rennie’ Mackintosh who invented that life saver of an indigestion tablet. I always keep one in my pocket for a vindaloo moment. It’s very Scottish in Edinburgh and I can go around completely unnoticed because I am small and ginger. I will never get pestered for my autograph, I feel totally at home. I also love golf, and in Scotland you are never far from a golf course; my driving is perfect. I have Rolls Canardly: it rolls down the hills but ‘canardly’ roll up them! Ha! Ha! Boom! Boom!! Who are you hoping to bump into while you’re here?

When you are as short as I am, I don’t bump into them, I normally trip them up. I could bump into an American tourist, stars of stage and screen, maybe even Donald Trump himself if he comes over to play at one of his golf courses. He’s always known to wear the traditional kilt while he’s over here, which would give me the unbelievably opportune moment to shout ‘hey, Donald where’s your trousers?’ I love that song. My old mate Biggins might be up there, but when I bump into him I finish up in A&E: larger than life he is. But don’t remind him that I beat him on The Weakest Link, he’s very sensitive. But we have done several pantos together so we actually get on very well. If someone has no idea what the Basil Brush live experience entails, how would you describe it to them?

My family show is full of laughter, some of it in the right place. It’s a four-dimensional experience because the audience will get wet, cream-pied, and have the chance to win many prizes. It’s mad, fast and perfect for families to enjoy on many levels; the kids will be loving it, but so will the grown-ups. The evening show

is very similar but for grown-up children. Those that grew up with my show on CBBC are now in their twenties and will love to reminisce. It will have a bit of this, bit of that and plenty of the other: celebrity interviews, Foxit, Tender Tinder moments, and the chance to get on stage. Both shows are hosted by a real, live talking Fox and Mr Martin. There’s always a ‘mister’, but he could be a ‘miss’. That’s a whole other story. There a lot of famous foxes: Edward, Emilia, Liam, Glacier Mints and 20th Century. Is there any one you feel especially close to?

I feel close to all Foxes: Samantha was the classic vixen, but It was always hard to take your eyes off those two enormous . . . front teeth: just like mine! I was always very unhappy that I never got to make an advert for Fox’s Glacier Mints; they used that flippin’ polar bear. What’s he got to do with foxes!? Foxy Bingo also used that imposter; the foxes on the John Lewis advert used a couple of extras on the trampoline, so I decided that I had to put myself out there as the only talking fox on the box, and take advantage of everyone’s love of all things smooth and fluffy. Like my tail, for instance: very 21st-century fox. I do feel that I and Edward Fox are of the same suave dynasty (like the TV series but not American). The closest I feel to any fox is Fantastic Mr Fox. I’m hoping I live up to that description in Edinburgh and that they come out thinking that this fantastic Mr Fox was worth wasting an hour on the Fringe with. And there are quite a few famous Basils: Rathbone, Fawlty and The Great Mouse Detective for three. Do you like any of them?

There are many Basils that I associate with. Rathbone, of course, but I mix him up with Rathbones of London in which I have about £10 invested: ‘balloons are up, feathers are down, and nappies remain unchanged!’ Ha! Ha! Boom! Boom!! Basil Fawlty I grew up with; I have a sidekick just like Manuel. Mr Martin is my sidekick cos he stands at my side and I kick him. I could adapt one of Basil Fawlty’s sayings: ‘don’t mention Brexit. I mentioned it once but I think I got away with it!’ Especially when I have tea with Miss Nicola . . . >>

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LATHO VE UL

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FRINGE | COMEDY BASIL BRUSH

Brushes with fame: Basil hangs out with (from left, clockwise) Tom Holland, Abba, Laa-Laa, Tom Jones

<< Will you be confronting some of the day’s big issues?

We will touch on some politics, a bit of Brexit. I have to say, it depends on who I am listening to: I tend to swing both ways. Or maybe that’s just the way I walk when I am on all fours; ooh, there’s some adult content right there. It’s taken over my tea-time viewing; the next scandal is Foxit, because they have foxed up the whole process. Are we in? Are we out? Is it going to be hard or soft? It reminds me of the hokey cokey. In fact, what if the hokey cokey really is what it’s all about? Did you hear about Larry LaPrise, the man who is said to have written the hokey cokey? He died a few years ago. It was traumatic for his family because when they tried to put him in the coffin, they put his left leg in and that’s when the trouble started . . . I bet Mr David wishes he’d never started it, because he just put his foot in it!!! Where did your legendary catchphrase come from?

‘Boom! Boom!!’ actually came from the old classic music hall genre when the comic would tell a joke and then the drummer would bang the drum twice as an accent to say when to laugh. This has continued in panto to present day. But I prefer the made-up story that we were filming the David Nixon show and they used to record our voices with those classic boom mics. And one day a man in the lighting gantry dropped the mic just as I told a joke, and he shouted ‘Boom! Boom!!’ as a warning. It hit me on the head and no one could stop laughing. I tend to go out in disguise, so people don’t shout ‘Boom! Boom!!’ all the time. I sometimes disguise my brush as a candy floss but then people try to lick it when I am at the seaside. 68 THE LIST | Edinburgh Festival Guide 2019 | list.co.uk/festival 118899 - JW Fringe Festival Guide Ad20/06/2019 84x33.5mm 14:03 V1 SW.indd 2

What emotions do you feel when you walk past any pub called The Fox and Hounds?

When I go past any Fox and Hounds I feel hungry and thirsty. I just have to pop in, prop up the bar, and rummage through the bins. Did you know that according to Google, there are 48 Fox and Hounds pubs. I intend to visit them all in 48 mins with Street View; never have to leave the comfort of my own lair. But I mainly like tea shops: I love dunking my ginger nuts! What’s ahead for Basil Brush beyond the Fringe?

Saturday night telly, a ministerial position in the cabinet or a trip to the dark side of the moon in search of a flag? The sky’s the limit. I am enjoying my showbiz life but it’s about the journey not the destination and I would dearly love to have another generation say that they grew up with Basil Brush. It’s an ambition of mine to bring back some smiles onto the faces of our entire country. The world has got very serious and we must not forget to laugh, not just at things that are funny, but also at ourselves. So bring it on Edinburgh. Remember, laughter’s the best medicine. But if I’m really sick, call me an ambulance: ‘you’re an ambulance!’ All together now: HA! HA! BOOM! BOOM!! Basil Brush’s Family Fun Show, Underbelly, Bristo Square, 0131 510 0395, 3–15 Aug, 1pm, £11.50–£12.50 (£10.50–£11.50). Previews 31 Jul–2 Aug, £9.50. Basil Brush: Unleashed, Underbelly, Bristo Square, 0131 510 0395, 3–25 Aug, 6.45pm, £12–£13 (£11–£12). Previews 31 Jul–2 Aug, £7. For much (much!) more of this Q&A, go to list.co.uk/festival.

‘BELLYWRENCHING LAUGHS’

BEST COMEDY PLAY

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Le Figaro

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list.co.uk/festival | Edinburgh Festival Guide 2019 | THE LIST 69

FRINGE | COMEDY MAISIE ADAM

After an unusual start in comedy, Yorkshire stand-up Maisie Adam has scooped up awards and nominations like they’re going out of fashion. While preparing for her difficult second show, she tells Brian Donaldson that the social media blame game has to stop

t’s different for everyone, of course, but there are a few general rules about starting a career in stand-up. Get a minute of material under your belt for an open-mic spot; if that goes well, write two then five then ten minutes of gags. Gradually building up a body of work may well eventually earn you the right to consider thinking about crafting your debut Fringe hour. This was decidedly not how Maisie Adam made her own start in comedy. Despite living in a small North Yorkshire village (the brilliantly named Pannal), far from the comedy hubs in her county, chance seemed to fall straight in her lap. ‘There was a fringe festival in Ilkley, which is about half an hour away from me, and they put out a call for local people to participate in it,’ she recalls. ‘They replied to me saying that I had an hour slot in the Ilkley Playhouse theatre, and I thought “that’s nice”.’ While Adam enjoyed the experience, she doesn’t fully relish watching it back now (her best friend’s dad filmed it) and admits that perhaps only three minutes made it into Vague, her uproarious Fringe debut last year about her health (she was diagnosed at the age of 14 with juvenile myoclonic epilepsy), her height (she’s rather tall) and her happiness (all told, she’s reasonably happy). That show earned Adam a Best Newcomer nomination just 12 months after she won So You Think You’re Funny (only the fifth woman to leave Edinburgh with that award since its 1988 inception). Last August she also won an Amused Moose prize while her name appeared on the sold-out boards outside her Gilded Balloon venue on a daily basis.

If Vague was a general introduction to who Maisie Adam is, her new hour, Hang Fire, offers up opinions on our social media-led culture. ‘We’re quick to jump on each other and point the finger of blame,’ she says. ‘We like to pretend we live these faultless lives, and then condemn people who may make a human mistake. Does this one scenario mean they’re a terrible person? The show is exploring that.’ Adam admits to unfairly accusing others herself on occasion: her boyfriend got it in the neck recently when she was unable to locate her costume and wig immediately prior to an appearance at Amusical, the night run by Jayde Adams and Kiri Pritchard-McLean where comics belt out their favourite number from a musical. It all turned out OK for Adam given that her gear showed up and she ended up coming first in that night’s competition (she just can’t stop winning). Her chosen number was ‘You’re the One That I Want’, in which she performed as both Sandy and Danny. While she is keen to make the most of her time as a stand-up, Adam might one day look to cultivating an acting career. A former member of the National Youth Theatre, she played Siouxsie Sioux in Sky Arts’ Urban Myths episode where the Sex Pistols upset interviewer Bill Grundy with their snotty, punkish ways. So, is there a plum role she fancies taking on? ‘Well, Gavin and Stacey is coming back. I’m not from Essex or Wales but if they need a Yorkshire contingent in there, I’m their gal.’ Maisie Adam: Hang Fire, Gilded Balloon Teviot, Bristo Square, 0131 622 6552, 3–26 Aug, 5pm, £10.50–£11.50 (£9.50– £10.50). Previews 31 Jul–2 Aug, £6.

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EDDIE IZZARD COMEDY | FRINGE

FROM DYSLEXIA TO DICKENS

Eddie Izzard is in town not to do anything as obvious as doing stand-up in a foreign language. Oh no, he’s making a long-awaited return to the Fringe with a performance of Great Expectations. What that is going to look like remains a secret treat for those lucky enough to get tickets. We thought we’d take a step back and have a go at compiling an A-Z of one of the nation’s most innovative comedians, actors and activists >>

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FRINGE | COMEDY EDDIE IZZARD

Always on the go: (from left) Eddie Izzard running a marathon for Sport Relief; performing Stripped in 2009; appearing in Whisky Galore! as Captain Waggett

IS FOR ADEN His birthplace on 7 February 1962. His father Harold was an accountant working with BP in this British colony which is now located in the south of Yemen. IS FOR BROADWAY He’s there next year in a revival of Edward Albee’s Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, starring opposite Laurie Metcalf, an actress perhaps still best known as the fictional Roseanne’s sister Jackie.

IS FOR COWS His unaired Channel 4 sitcom in 1997. Essentially, all the members of the Johnson family (such as Pam Ferris and James Fleet) appeared in cow costumes. The end result was, we assume, pretty surreal.

IS FOR DYSLEXIA At the end of one gig, a fan first suggested that Izzard might be dyslexic because of the way he spoke about stuff. It was at this moment he realised that this might be why he had been spelling ‘cat’ with a ‘k’ and ‘ceiling’ with an ‘s’.

IS FOR EUROPHILE An avid Remainer, he insists he will be causing a continual stir until Britain gets fully back into the EU. Last year he told Billboard magazine that ‘we have to reform the EU. But you can’t reform it by running away from it. Brits don’t quit. We will not quit. I will fight forever.’

IS FOR FRANK SKINNER The Midlands comic scooped the Perrier Award in 1991 with a shortlist completed by Izzard, Jack Dee, Lily Savage and one Avner the Eccentric.

IS FOR GREATEST In Channel 4’s Greatest Stand-Ups poll of 2007, he made it to number three, slipping to five when it was re-run in 2010.

IS FOR HANNIBAL In the US TV show about the fava beans-loving cannibal, Izzard played Dr Abel Gideon, a former surgeon who claimed to be the ‘Chesapeake Ripper’.

IS FOR IGOR An animated comedy from 2008 in which he played Dr Schadenfreude, an evil genius at war with the titular character.

IS FOR JAMES MASON One of his favourite impersonations and aired quite often in his early stand-up shows.

K L

IS FOR KILT There are a lot of pictures on the internet of Izzard dressed in a kilt. A lot . . . IS FOR LANGUAGES He speaks quite a few. He not only speaks them, he actually performs his comedy in them. When recently gigging in Normandy to mark D-Day, he did a show in German then English and then French. That’s just showing off, surely?

IS FOR MAYOR He’s spoken of it before, but this time he’s serious. In 2020 he will launch his campaign to become the Mayor of London. It would almost be worth the agony of another Trump election win to have him and Izzard go at it hammer and tongs. OK, maybe it’s not really worth it that much . . .

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U V

IS FOR NAZIS He has had a lot to say about Nazis down the years, but one choice quip came in 2009’s Stripped when he reckoned they invented Scrabble to upset dyslexic folk.

IS FOR OCEAN’S TWELVE AND THIRTEEN In which he appeared as Roman Nagel, a tech genius who creates a holographic Fabergé egg.

IS FOR PYTHON Izzard insists that the Monty Python gang were his biggest comedic influences. In turn, John Cleese has remarked that Izzard deserves the title of the ‘lost Python’.

IS FOR QUESTION TIME Comedians are almost ubiquitous now on the politics panel show but back when he appeared in 2005, it was more of a novelty.

IS FOR RUNNING Not known then as especially athletic, Izzard ran seven weeks of back-toback marathons for Sport Relief in 2009. As well as raising a heap of loot he was awarded a special gong at the BBC Sports Personality of the Year ceremony that same year.

IS FOR SIX MINUTES TO MIDNIGHT A film he’s co-written which should be out in 2020. It’s set in a girls’ boarding school in 1939 where some Nazi leaders’ daughters have been sent as a way of assimilating into British life. Jim Broadbent and Judi Dench are in it.

IS FOR TRANSGENDER A long-term cross-dresser, these days he identifies as ‘somewhat boyish and somewhat girlish’. IS FOR UNIVERSITY He’s received honorary doctorates from the likes of East Anglia, Sunderland and York.

IS FOR VICTORIA & ABDUL In which he played Bertie, son of Queen Victoria (Dame Judi again) and her ultimate successor on the throne.

IS FOR WHISKY GALORE! For the 2016 remake he played Captain Waggett, a Home Guard officer who is generally against any kind of illegal behaviour.

IS FOR X-FILES In his 1997 show, Glorious, Izzard compared the suddenness of Princess Diana’s death as similar to the feeling fans would have if they killed off everyone on The X-Files overnight.

Y Z

IS FOR YEMEN See ‘A’, folks.

IS FOR, WELL, Z If you look closely at his surname, you’ll see it has two of them. Eddie Izzard: Expectations of Great Expectations, Assembly George Square Studios, George Square, 0131 623 3030, 7–25 Aug (not 12 & 13, 19 & 20), 2pm, £17.50; Eddie Izzard is at the Book Festival, Charlotte Square Gardens, 0345 373 5888, 10 Aug, 5.45pm, Pay What You Can.

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FRINGE | DANCE UN POYO ROJO

OLA EVELINA

FRINGE | DANCE

SCARLET FEVER

Un Poyo Rojo is a wild-eyed physical riot of athletic moves and homoerotic humour set in a locker room. Donald Hutera speaks to its creators about finding new charms within a decade-old work

it, funny and sexy is a pretty unbeatable combination. Created a decade ago by a handful of crazily talented Argentinians, the male locker-room dance comedy Un Poyo Rojo (a title that translates from the Spanish as ‘A Red Bench’) is a highly physical two-hander delivered with sweaty zest and hilarious flair. From humble beginnings as a tantalising cabaret routine, the performance was subsequently expanded into an hour-long entertainment that has been touring internationally to rib-tickled acclaim ever since. The men who devised it – co-choreographers and performers Luciano Rosso and Nicolás Poggi, and director Hermes Gaido – accept yet are still plainly delighted about its continued success. ‘At the beginning we wanted to create a contemporary dance play,’ says Gaido. ‘Theatre is always stronger for us, but you can also tell a story by dancing it if you want. And in doing so we drew upon the relationship of Luciano and Nicolás.’ ‘The story is quite simple,’ Rosso chimes in. ‘It has no specific genre, but the way we tell it is really particular. Early on we realised we wanted to tell something about ourselves.’ At the start, Rosso and Poggi stand stock still side by side so we are able to get a good look at them. What ensues, after a quick spate of deft gestural actions, is a delicious send-up of masculine competitiveness, Latin machismo, and both covert and overt attraction as these

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two adroit and buff fellows flip their way through a range of dance moves and goofy, gym-like athletics. There’s a breather of sorts, with the pair upstage before a small bank of lockers, and Rosso festooning himself with cigarettes as Poggi fiddles with a boombox (tuned in to live radio and so will be very different at every performance). Then the pace picks up again, waxing wackier and more comically extreme by the minute, especially when one man becomes a human radio broadcast played inside the other’s mouth. It’s a thoroughly winning, even seductive case of homoerotica and humour. If Rosso is like a naughty, wild-eyed animated devil on the stage, off it he is inevitably more thoughtful. Devising and refining was, he says, ‘a kind of a chaotic and beautiful process’. But after ten years, how does the performance stay fresh? ‘We keep on finding new things inside it,’ he continues. ‘It can be hard and tiring when we’re touring because it’s like physical training, but we still have a lot of fun doing it. And audiences love watching it. They react like kids watching cartoons.’ Un Poyo Rojo certainly provides a rollicking good time, but is it also offering any insights into male psychology? ‘We’re just playing with human behaviour,’ Gaido says. ‘The show could be about the relationship between any living creatures.’ Un Poyo Rojo, ZOO Southside, Nicolson Street, 0131 662 6892, 21–26 Aug, 5.10pm, £13 (£11).

COMPANY CHORDELIA DANCE | FRINGE

Kelly Apter talks to acclaimed choreographer Kally Lloyd-Jones about how she turned sadness into another uplifting dance work for Company Chordelia

Fe o ImVce E PHOTO: KNUT BRY

‘I reeled from one loss to the next and lived in a grey fog for quite a while,’ says Kally Lloyd-Jones, recalling the difficult year she had in 2017. ‘I lost four people who were very close to me, and all younger than me, including my best friend.’ Out of the midst of grief, however, came a desire to share not just the sadness of bereavement but the joy of life, in new work The Chosen. As a choreographer with Company Chordelia, Lloyd-Jones has become synonymous with deeply emotive narrative dance, including the award-winning Nijinsky’s Last Jump, Lady Macbeth: Unsex Me Here and Dance Derby. But although her new show’s title comes from a story, the work itself heads in a different direction. ‘The Chosen is a reference to the Chosen One in The Rite of Spring, somebody who was chosen to be sacrificed, but also considered special,’ explains Lloyd-Jones. ‘So I’m trying to look at that idea of knowing you’re going to die – or knowing that someone you love is going to die – and how you choose to spend that time. But it’s probably the most abstract thing I’ve ever made. Loosely, there’s a journey from life to death, but it isn’t completely linear. The only set is a blue floor and some mirrored boxes, because if the space is abstract then the people become real.’ Keen to open the experience out, and not just reflect her own losses, Lloyd-Jones worked closely with the six dancers to capture some universal aspects of dying. ‘I want it to feel like anybody can watch the show and see aspects of themselves or people they know,’ says Lloyd-Jones. ‘And I think if you leave enough space, people can take what they need from it. Because as much as it’s come from a very personal place in me, I want it to be for and about everybody.’

THE HOSPITAL Company Chordelia: The Chosen, Dance Base, Grassmarket, 0131 225 5525, 6–25 Aug (not 12, 19), 5pm, £13 (£11). Previews 2–4 Aug, £11 (£9).

choose life

Norway’s Jo Strømgren Kompani bring us a work that is dark, daring and intense, telling the story of three nurses who have no one to care for so inflict injuries on each other as a means of coping with the solitude. Meanwhile, something stirs outside . . . Dance Base, Grassmarket, 0131 225 5525, 21–25 Aug, 7.20pm, £13 (£11). Preview 20 Aug, £11 (£9).

GOLIATH IN THE WATER From Korea comes a work inspired by the gigantic guy who was rumoured to have been felled by David back in the day. Mixing traditional with modern forms, the piece considers our small place in the universe. Assembly Checkpoint, Bristo Place, 0131 623 3030, 2–26 Aug (not 12), noon, £12–£13 (£11–£12). Preview 1 Aug, £10.

FROM INDIA TO TRIANA Celebrating the universal language of movement, Rootless confront some of the big existential questions via flamenco, tabla and Romani dance. TheSpaceTriplex, Hill Place, 0131 510 2395, 2–24 Aug (not 11), 6.10pm, £12 (£10; family ticket £32).

SEEKING UNICORNS Italian artist Chiara Bersani suffers from a moderate form of Osteogenesis Imperfecta and is just over three feet tall. In her piece, she explores what her body means in modern society. Dance Base, Grassmarket, 0131 225 5525, 14–18 Aug, 1.15pm, £13 (£11). Preview 13 Aug, £11 (£9).

BOYS IN SYNC From the Norwegian Theatre Company comes an analysis of masculinity as three male dancers tackle desire, difference and disharmony. St Cuthbert’s Church, Lothian Road, 0131 226 0000, 22 Aug, 7pm, 23 Aug, 1.30pm, £12 (£8). list.co.uk/festival | Edinburgh Festival Guide 2019 | THE LIST 77

FRINGE | KIDS DINOSAURS

FRINGE | KIDS

Fossils fuelled As dinosaurs continue to trample across our collective psyche, a number of Fringe events take a close peek at ‘raptors and their pals. Katharine Gemmell asks those behind some blockbuster shows why kids dig dinos so much

rom the Jurassic Park franchise to Dippy’s UK tour, dinomania continues to capture the imaginations of both young and old. When these creatures are introduced to children, they create wonder and are an excellent entry point into the world of science. But what is it that kids love about them so much? Perhaps they’re an inspiring fantasy, adding a bit of danger without posing any real threat. Or maybe it’s because they signify a past that we will never truly know. Whatever it is, the likes of the T-Rex and Stegosaurus have an enduring appeal that amazes and amuses. This makes the species perfect material for children’s entertainment, and at the Fringe this year there are plenty of dino-themed shows. Professor Ben Garrod is a broadcaster, author and evolutionary biologist at the University of East Anglia who has even dug up dinosaur fossils with Sir David Attenborough. He’s also the author of six books including the So You Think You Know About Dinosaurs . . . ?! series. Now, he’s starring in his own hit stage show based on that series which he’s bringing to the Pleasance Courtyard. ‘I’m a professor of Evolutionary Biology at the University of East Anglia: sounds fancy, doesn’t it? But

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it’s the coolest job in the world,’ he says. ‘I study life and how it changes, and I share that knowledge with as many people as possible.’ Dr Ben’s show takes audiences on an interactive and educational prehistoric adventure which pits the dinosaur knowledge of adults against that of their (all-knowing) kids. ‘When we’re growing up we love to learn lots of facts about things such as the speed of fast cars or the size of planets in space,’ he notes. ‘Dinosaurs are the same, and we love to learn how fast an Allosaurus could run or discover which was the biggest. I also think they inspire us through being so big, fierce and scary.’ During the show, expect to learn about the biggest, deadliest and weirdest types. ‘Stegosaurus had tail spikes around one metre long, and Ankylosaurus had a tail club which could have destroyed a car,’ notes Garrod. ‘And they’re just the herbivores!’ Just don’t expect a mention of your favourite fictional palaeontologists (think Ross from Friends). ‘Real scientists are much better and inspire me every day. The men and women who spend their lives digging up fossils and investigating how these animals and plants lived are much cooler than a TV character.’ Over at Underbelly’s McEwan Hall, Australia’s internationally touring Erth’s Dinosaur Zoo is also setting up camp for the festival. Their show features handmade

DINOSAURS KIDS | FRINGE

bespoke dinosaur puppets that are made to scale and allow the audience to participate by getting up close and personal. ‘It’s essentially a live animal presentation done in the same way in which you’d expect an animal expert to do,’ says Scott Wright, artistic director of Erth. ‘Except our animals are dinosaurs! They have minds of their own and we can’t guarantee that they’ll do everything they’re asked to do.’ The dinosaurs have been critically informed from the work that Erth has undertaken with museums across the world for 20 years. ‘Children’s experience of dinosaurs is normally just fossils in a museum or animated characters on TV, and when they suddenly see these creatures alive on stage it’s an overwhelming moment. Wright believes that part of the appeal of dinosaurs is that they help kids into the adult world. ‘Dinosaurs are an entry point for the learning of language, natural science, natural history, animal behaviour; they become a link between adults and children. It’s amazing how many children gravitate towards dinosaurs, therefore you have an opportunity to educate them and not talk down to them.’ However, it’s not just all fun and games with dinos, there’s also an important underlying message rooted in Erth’s activist roots. ‘Dinosaurs went extinct, so what a great way of being able to have a conversation about conservation, extinction and the protection

of species. It doesn’t come into the show as a preachy thing, it’s just there.’ Overall, Wright thinks the show is a fun way to get kids learning. ‘It’s Australian so it’s very laconic and funny. It’s also really charming and there are beautiful, unpredictable moments that happen because of the different children that come on stage.’ If So You Think You Know About Dinosaurs . . . ?! and Erth’s Dinosaur Zoo get your dino-juices flowing, there are other similarlythemed children’s shows to check out. Captain Flinn and the Pirate Dinosaurs at Pleasance Courtyard is a theatre show with dinosaurs at its heart and a certain Mr T-Rex in the role of the baddie, while Monster School Jurassic! and Science Adventures at theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, and Dream Machine at Underbelly’s Cowgate also have some stellar dinosaur-related content for young people.

Digging the past: (above) scenes from Erth’s Dinosaur Zoo and (previous page) Dr Ben Garrod comes face to face with an old pal

Erth’s Dinosaur Zoo, Underbelly, Bristo Square, 0131 510 0395, 3–26 Aug (not 12), 11am, £14.50–£20.50 (£13–£14). Previews 31 Jul–2 Aug, £12.50–£17.50. So You Think You Know About Dinosaurs . . . ?! with Dr Ben Garrod, Pleasance Courtyard, Pleasance, 0131 556 6550, 9–17 Aug, 10.30am, £9–£11 (£8–£10; family ticket £8–£9.50). list.co.uk/festival | Edinburgh Festival Guide 2019 | THE LIST 79

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80 THE LIST | Edinburgh Festival Guide 2019 | list.co.uk/festival

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ISLANDER KIDS | FRINGE

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MOONBIRD From Handprint Theatre comes the moving story of how a child connects with the world when they have become profoundly deaf. Pleasance Courtyard, Pleasance, 0131 556 6550, 3–26 Aug (not 12, 20), 10.30am, £8.50–£10 (£7.50–£9; family ticket £30–£34). Previews 31 Jul–2 Aug, £6.

MONSKI MOUSE’S BABY DISCO DANCE HALL

cast away Kelly Apter speaks to Kirsty Findlay about a funny and moving musical play that proves you don’t need major production values to tell a big story A desire to explore pastures new is part of everyone’s adolescence, yet so is the need for comfort and familiarity. Living on a small island with her grandmother, Eilidh longs for adventure but can’t bear to leave behind the beauty and wildlife of home to join her mother on the busy mainland. Capturing island life and the myriad characters who come into Eilidh’s world could easily have involved a complex soundtrack, elaborate set and large cast. But in Islander, just two performers embody our young heroine, a clutch of annoying neighbours, the gran, a visiting scientist, and a mysterious girl who opens Eilidh’s eyes to the world. All of this comes without costume changes or props, just two microphones, a loop pedal, and their voices to create beautiful harmonies and evoke everyday sounds of land and sea. ‘I’d never used a loop pedal before, so it took a lot of practise and multi-tasking to get my head around it,’ laughs performer Kirsty Findlay. ‘When we were devising the show we talked a lot about the different sounds you would hear and how we could make those sounds and create a natural ambience with our voices and bodies.’ The show has been touring to widespread acclaim, playing intimate venues where the audience is inches away from Findlay and co-performer Bethany Tennick. And Summerhall’s Roundabout venue is the perfect place for Islander to call home. ‘Because the show is performed in the round, we can hear everything the audience says, like “how are they doing that!?” when we create sounds with the pedal. And the Roundabout is this little hub right in the middle of the Fringe; and I think that’s what Islander is in a way. You’re zooming in on a little part of the world, there’s loads of stuff going on outside and this is just a tiny wee story, but to the characters it means everything to them.’

Islander: A New Musical, Summerhall, 0131 560 1581, 4–25 Aug (not 6, 13, 20), 10am, £14–£15 (£8–£12). Previews 31 Jul–3 Aug, £9–£14 (£10).

Monski is a perennial Fringe favourite, and this show has her laying down some tracks from pop favourites to classic nursery rhymes. Assembly George Square Gardens, George Square, 0131 623 3030, 3 & 4, 9–11, 16–18, 23–25 Aug, 11am, £7.50. Preview 2 Aug, £5.

SPARKLE A piece about diversity which teaches the wee ones that being yourself is always better than hiding behind a group mentality. Summerhall, 0131 560 1581, 2–25 Aug (not 12, 19), 10.20am, £10 (£6; family ticket £24). Previews 31 Jul & 1 Aug, £5.

WRIGGLE AROUND THE WORLD An interactive and educational concert featuring violin and cello that encourages babies and toddlers to have a good old wriggle around. Stockbridge Church, Saxe Coburg Street, 0131 226 0000, 10–17 Aug (not 11, 14), 10.30am, 18–24 Aug (not 21), 2.30pm, £8 (£5; family ticket £22).

MR MEN AND LITTLE MISS ON STAGE It might be more than the small people who enjoy this romp around the world of the lads Bump and Tickle, and Little Misses such as Splendid and Inventor. Underbelly, George Square, 0131 510 0395, 3–26 Aug (not 12), 11am, £11–£12 (£10–£11). Previews 1 & 2 Aug, £7. list.co.uk/festival | Edinburgh Festival Guide 2019 | THE LIST 81

FRINGE | MUSIC CAMILLE O’SULLIVAN

GONE TO SEEDS

FRINGE | MUSIC

‘I

hear you do my songs.’ Thus spake St with raw yet elegantly expressed grief at the The fire and brimstone Nick of The Bad Seeds to his committed death of his teenage son Arthur. ‘I love Brel and songwriting of Nick Cave has Dylan and Cohen but I’d never heard that type disciple Camille O’Sullivan, at one of several spirit-filled encounters they’ve writer who went so dark and so vulnerable,’ long drawn Camille O’Sullivan of had over the years. ‘I couldn’t speak,’ says O’Sullivan. ‘What is exciting about singing towards interpreting his says this anointed Queen of the Fringe. ‘I had him is that you go to the depths of darkness and too much to drink.’ the depths of beauty, with possibly the best love work. She tells Fiona And lo, the former Dublin architect, who songs I’ve ever heard. He doesn’t hold back. answered her calling as a torrid interpreter of Shepherd that it took many When you see him live, that amazing preacher popular song, went forth and created her latest is like alchemy on stage.’ deep breaths before she was presence Fringe show around the sacred sounds of Nick Such vivid storytelling requires little Cave & The Bad Seeds. O’Sullivan has strewn able to compile a whole show embellishment, so Cave will be one of her sets with Bad Seeds songs over time but O’Sullivan’s barest presentations to date. ‘All of the Australian’s sacred in her 15 or so years as the most consistently we’re using is the moon,’ she says with rather acclaimed act on the Fringe, this is the first time Cave-like crypticism. back catalogue she has dedicated an entire show to a living ‘I believe in feeling stuff on stage, so he’s one of artist. my favourites to sing. For me it’s about the spirituality and brimstone ‘I’m a bit more nervous about this one,’ she says. ‘Maybe Nick Cave and fire. You’re walking through verses and creating images as you belongs to a few more people, and it took me a while to have the go. The songs really are 3D to me. And if you come with absolute confidence to dedicate one show to him. How do you try and take a love and obsession to the work, which I do, like an actress doing a measure of the man and the band? “The Ship Song” took three years Shakespeare or a Beckett part, you try and invest the best you can to get right, and now I know the way to approach Cave is to take all to make it come alive. That’s how I think of these shows, rather than rhythm out and start telling the story.’ paying a tribute. Nick Cave creates worlds and I want to live in them.’ In addition to existing interpretations such as ‘The Mercy Seat’, Camille O’Sullivan: Cave, Pleasance Courtyard, Pleasance, O’Sullivan has dusted down the darker, more obscure corners of the 0131 556 6550, 2–25 Aug (not 7, 12, 19), 9.15pm, £17.50–£22 Cave catalogue for some deep cuts, as well as treading sensitively (£15.50–£20). Previews 31 Jul & 1 Aug, £13. around his most recent album Skeleton Tree, which was suffused

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ANDREW WASYLYK FRINGE | MUSIC

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PHOTO: ROBBIE MCFADZEAN

Fo I eV E e coastal retreat Craig Angus talks to Dundonian Andrew Wasylyk about his varied musical road from indie pop songs to ornate atmospheric arrangements

LEGALLY BLONDE

PHOTO: DONALD MILNE

The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland brings us their take on sorority sister Elle Woods’ ‘journey’ to being taken seriously as a law student at Harvard. Assembly Rooms, George Street, 0131 623 3030, 3–25 Aug (not 12, 19), 10am, £14–£15 (£13–£14). Preview 2 Aug, £13.

THE ADDAMS FAMILY Two versions here of the family musical about a rather dysfunctional clan featuring Gomez, Morticia, Lurch and co. Central Hall, West Tollcross, 0131 226 0000, 3 Aug, 9.15pm, 5 Aug, 7.15pm, 6 Aug, 1.15pm, 7 Aug, 3.15pm, £5; Paradise in Augustines, George IV Bridge, 0131 510 0022, 3–10 Aug, 7pm, £15 (£13). Preview 2 Aug, 6.30pm, £12 (£10).

CRUEL INTENTIONS

‘I’ve always had broad taste in music,’ Andrew Mitchell tells me, explaining his evolution from writer of indie pop gems in The Hazey Janes to creator of lush ambient soundscapes under the Andrew Wasylyk moniker. ‘I think the drift came from a curiosity and eagerness to explore different sounds and palettes. For me, when you’re working in unfamiliar territory, asking questions of yourself, usually one of two outcomes can occur: either something unexpectedly rewarding or something deeply disappointing! Ultimately, both can be useful for progressing.’ Released in February, Wasylyk’s magnificent third album The Paralian was the result of this Dundee native decamping to Hospitalfield House in Arbroath for an extended residency, during which he composed for a Grecian harp. ‘It quickly became apparent that there would be no shortage of inspiration,’ he says of his time spent in the historic building, whose rich heritage served as creative fuel. ‘Some of the harp arrangements I wrote with minimal intentions that could weave in and out of piano progressions. The aim was delicate and ornate, to echo the building’s interior. The coastal environment infiltrated that process, at times fuelling the temptation to let areas evolve using drums, bass, brass, strings and synthesizers.’ Fresh from a run of shows with Idlewild, who he joined in 2014 (‘it’s been a privilege working with a group who have that history and output’), Wasylyk is set to recreate The Paralian at Summerhall, with a backing band of eight musicians including Pete Harvey of Modern Studies, who wrote the album’s string arrangements. ‘I’m really excited to have visual artist Tommy Perman along too,’ he adds. ‘We’ve collaborated on a few videos recently which he’ll be reimagining and projecting during our performance.’ It’s another layer of intrigue for this restless artistic polymath.

Andrew Wasylyk, Summerhall, 0131 560 1581, 6 Aug, 7pm, £12.

A 90s nostalgia dream come true for plenty as this take on Les liaisons dangereuses has plenty top tunes from the period. Assembly George Square Gardens, George Square, 0131 623 3030, 3–25 Aug (not 13), 8.30pm, £14–£17.50 (£12.50–£16). Previews 1 & 2 Aug, £10.

SISTER ACT Twin productions of this everpopular movie and divine musical comedy about a singer hiding out in a convent away from some nasty felons. Gilded Balloon Rose Theatre, Rose Street, 0131 622 6552, 2–11 Aug, 5.30pm, £16 (£14; family ticket £56); Greenside, Royal Terrace, 0131 557 2124, 12–17 Aug, 3.10pm, £10 (£8).

BONNIE AND CLYDE A great film, a terrific song (by Serge Gainsbourg), and now hopefully a tip-top musical about the illfated crims. Sweet Grassmarket, Grassmarket, 0131 243 3596, 5–17 Aug (not 13), 8.15pm, £10 (£8). list.co.uk/festival | Edinburgh Festival Guide 2019 | THE LIST 83

31 JUL - 26 AUG

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MONSKI MOUSE'S BABY DISCO DANCE HALL 02 - 25 AUG | 11:00 MONSKI MOUSE'S BABY CABARET 05 - 15 AUG | 11:00

ROSE MCGOWAN: PLANET 9 15 - 18 AUG | 13:00

FRIENDSICAL: A PARODY MUSICAL ABOUT FRIENDS 01 - 25 AUG | 13:00

CHOIR OF MAN 01 - 25 AUG | 19:30

NOISE BOYS 31 JUL - 25 AUG | 18:00

THE MAGNETS: NAKED 90S 12 - 25 AUG | 17:30

PARIS DE NUIT 01 - 25 AUG | 22:30

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FRINGE | THEATRE ROSE MCGOWAN

FRINGE | THEATRE

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ROSE MCGOWAN THEATRE | FRINGE

Having had a tough childhood and traumatic time in Hollywood, Rose McGowan is now setting herself free as both an artist and human. She tells Fiona Shepherd that plunging headlong into the energy of Edinburgh will be a blast

hen Rose McGowan was ten years old, her escapist response to her surroundings was not to invent an imaginary friend but to write about an imaginary world, which she called Planet 9. ‘It’s a place I conceived of for myself to go to as an alternative to being on this planet,’ she says. ‘I decided we could just go to a new planet in our own minds, someplace else that might be a little better for our souls.’ McGowan has been thinking about Planet 9 a lot lately. Writing a candid 2018 memoir Brave stirred up a lot of painful memories from her past, and this childhood safe place has now informed an album and a multimedia stage show which she will debut at the Fringe. ‘Go small!’ she jokes, but adds in all seriousness, ‘I needed an antidote to a lot of hard stuff I was going through. I don’t think I could have stayed sane without this music.’ The Hollywood actress-turned-activist grew up in the Children of God, a polygamous cult which recruited new members by a technique called Flirty Fishing. McGowan has said she had learned to read by the age of three yet didn’t know how to tie her shoelaces. She escaped with her father when the church began to advocate adult-child sexual relationships. ‘These were things that I parked for years,’ she says. ‘Writing about my childhood reminded me about Planet 9, how I would lay in bed and imagine that I was in a new and better place. That’s the vibe I want people to get from the show: a release from worries for at least an hour.’ The show is a concept piece, combining music, memoir, movement, politics, performance and projections. ‘It’s my first time being me,’ says McGowan, who first came to prominence in her early 20s as a cool, cult actress in horror and b-movies, working with the likes of Wes Craven in Scream, and both Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez for Grindhouse. She also gained a wide TV audience as Paige Matthews in fantasy drama Charmed. However, her profile rocketed 18 months ago when she became one of the first women to publicly accuse Harvey Weinstein of sexual misconduct, and since then has used her global platform to call out misogyny in Hollywood >>

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FRINGE | THEATRE ROSE MCGOWAN

<< and beyond. ‘How I feel now about Hollywood is complex,’ she says. ‘It established an idea of me, but it was a very toxic world and I didn’t know how to break free. It was like having these invisible handcuffs and tape across my mouth. So with my book and album, I wrote my way out of Hollywood; that was how I had to do it. It’s not all bad there, of course. It just wasn’t the right trip for me personally. I was there for a long time because I was discovered very young; and once you get famous what other job are you going to do?’ For at least the second time in her life, McGowan has escaped the system and is revelling in her artistic freedom. ‘In Hollywood you really have to toe the line. Acting is definitely an art but somebody has to give you permission and hire you first. Singing is different; I can just go and write a song and create for myself.’ Over the years, she has recorded a number of tracks, including with her expartner Marilyn Manson, and for film and TV soundtracks, but Planet 9 is her first album project, which she describes as ‘music that you can either listen to at 6am on a beach with your hands waving in the air, or lying flat on your back at night with your eyes shut.’ She has also recently taken part in her first video art piece (Tonia Arapovic’s Indecision IV) as part of a feminist group show hosted by London’s Heist Gallery at this year’s Venice Biennale. But a fleeting Fringe run will mark her live performance debut. ‘It’s kind of a big deal,’ she understates. ‘I’m flying by the seat of my pants because I’ve never really worked outside of Hollywood. But in the past, all actors had to be triple threats: they had to act, sing and dance. Art isn’t one narrow avenue and if you can do it all, why not?’ McGowan at least has some prior experience of Edinburgh as a festival city, having been one of the star attractions at last year’s Book Festival. ‘There’s so much heart and soul and love of culture in that city that it boggles my mind; it’s an amazing energy to be around.’ As someone who compared her relationship with Manson to running away to join the circus, McGowan should be right at home on the Edinburgh Fringe. But having lived in Italy, Oregon, California, London and now New York, home is a transient concept. ‘I would love to not be a rolling stone but I haven’t figured that out yet, because I don’t really feel like I belong anywhere on this planet. For me, I come in peace, and that’s more than anything how I operate. I feel I am an itinerant traveller in this world and I suppose that’s why I created Planet 9.’ Rose McGowan: Planet 9, Assembly Hall, Mound Place, 0131 623 3030, 15–18 Aug, 1pm, £19–£22. 88 THE LIST | Edinburgh Festival Guide 2019 | list.co.uk/festival

BOX SET Here are some more stars of the screen making their influence felt on Edinburgh

NICK OFFERMAN The man behind such telly legends as Parks and Recreation’s Ron Swanson and Fargo’s Karl Weathers drops in with a show title (All Rise) that suggests he’s expecting the red-carpet treatment. And you know what, he’ll most likely get it. Assembly Hall, Mound Place, 0131 623 3030, 24 Aug, 6pm, £25.

CARRIE-ANNE MOSS Executive produced by The Matrix icon, Drowning is the dark tale of four Austrian nurses who killed scores of patients in their care during the 1980s, only being caught when a doctor overheard them in a pub bragging about the murders. Pleasance Courtyard, Pleasance, 0131 556 6550, 3–26 Aug (not 13), 2.30pm, £10–£12 (£9–£11). Previews 31 Jul–2 Aug, £7.

FRANCES BARBER In the role of Billie Trix in Musik, the star of everything from Prick Up Your Ears to Doctor Who belts out some Pet Shop Boys numbers as she regales us of a life lived to the full. Assembly Rooms, George Street, 0131 623 3030, 7–24 Aug (not 12), 9.40pm, £15–£16.50 (£14–£15.50). Previews 5 & 6 Aug, £12.

IAN MCKELLEN At 80 years young, Sir Ian takes this moment to anecdotalise about his many moons in the limelight and perform excerpts from his Shakespeares and other roles. Assembly Hall, Mound Place, 0131 473 2000, 22–25 Aug, noon, £40.

RIVER PHOENIX Present only in spirit, the iconic star of My Own Private Idaho is remembered by Chris Goode in Narcolepsy, an analysis of how tough it was to be gay during the 1990s. Summerhall, 0131 560 1581, 2–25 Aug (not 12, 19), 1pm, £12 (£10). Previews 31 Jul & 1 Aug, £5.

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90 THE LIST | Edinburgh Festival Guide 2019 | list.co.uk/festival

FRANKENSTEIN THEATRE | FRINGE

Monster hits Whether you prefer your Mary Shelley with shadow puppetry or beatboxing, Mark Fisher finds there is a Frankenstein on the Fringe for almost every taste

t’s shaping up to be the year of Frankenstein. Two centuries ago, the 18-year-old Mary Shelley diverted herself from a rainy holiday in Switzerland by writing a gothic thriller. Today, her story of the man who made a monster is everywhere you look. Novelist Jeanette Winterson has just published Frankissstein, a hi-tech fantasia about AI and cryonics, while playwright Rona Munro has a stage adaptation kicking off a UK tour in September. Meanwhile, in the Frankenstein’s monster we know as the Edinburgh Fringe, you can learn about the story’s creation in Genesis: The Mary Shelley Play (C cubed), imagine a post-apocalyptic attempt to revive the human race in Quintessence (Sweet Novotel) and

witness a faithful retelling of the novel in Frankenstein (theSpace on North Bridge). That’s in addition to two of the most hotly tipped shows of the festival, the beatbox virtuosity of Frankenstein: How to Make a Monster, and the visual magic of Manual Cinema’s Frankenstein, one of four versions of the story seen in the company’s native Chicago in the past year. ‘We landed on Frankenstein for a number of reasons, one of which is its long cinematic pedigree,’ says Drew Dir, co-artistic director of Manual Cinema. ‘Another is that it’s a story about the animation of lifeless matter and, as puppeteers, that’s what we do.’ Returning to the Fringe after the success of Ada / Ava and Lula Del Ray, Manual Cinema use a line of technical trickery that would >> list.co.uk/festival | Edinburgh Festival Guide 2019 | THE LIST 91

FRINGE | THEATRE FRANKENSTEIN

Building the imperfect beast: Manual Cinema (above and main page) and Beatbox Academy (left) create their own special takes on Mary Shelley’s gothic classic

<< have impressed the scientifically minded Victor Frankenstein. As well as overhead projectors, live animation and more than 500 shadow puppets, the company fields a fourpiece orchestra and draws on several cinematic genres to tells its multimedia tale. ‘There’s an aspect of virtuosity in our shows, where we watch fellow human beings execute impossible tasks,’ adds Dir. A movie buff who grew up not only with James Whale’s 1931 Frankenstein and its sequel Bride of Frankenstein (both with Boris Karloff), but also a host of dodgy spin-offs such as Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man, Dir and the team went back to the earliest silent version from 1910 as well as checking out the Kenneth Branagh treatment of 1994. ‘We steeped ourselves in the earlier versions, then tried to forget them as much as possible.’ Specialising in non-verbal storytelling, the company was attracted to a monster who, as far as stage history goes, is traditionally wordless. The more they researched, however, the more they were drawn to the author’s life. ‘Mary Shelley had recently given birth to and lost a child,’ says Dir. ‘Victor Frankenstein executes the birth of a human being, which is against the normal processes of nature. We wanted to explore the context of birth and motherhood.’ Each of the novel’s three narrators – an Arctic sea captain, Victor Frankenstein

and the monster – is represented on stage by a different filmic style. First is the story of Shelley told with shadow puppets, then the Frankenstein narrative in the style of a silent film and, lastly, the creature’s perspective with a 3D puppet and live video. ‘Each technique helps you understand the inner conflict, emotions and point of view of that character,’ says Dir. Where Manual Cinema focuses on visual storytelling, Battersea Arts Centre’s Beatbox Academy is all about the power of the human voice. Earning a clutch of five-star raves when it debuted in London, Frankenstein: How to Make a Monster is not a straight adaptation but a sixmicrophone response to modern-day monsters and pressures of the digital age. ‘We took the themes of the book and refracted them through beatboxers’ lives,’ says David Cumming, who worked with co-director Conrad Murray on building the show with beatboxers Aminita, Glitch, Wiz-RD, Native, ABH and Grove. ‘We were inspired by the fact Mary Shelley was very young when she wrote the book, around the age of the people making the show.’ Before writing the novel, Shelley had joined in discussions with Lord Byron and her future husband Percy about ‘the nature of the principle of life, and whether there was any probability of it ever being discovered and communicated’. Scientific breakthroughs had made such speculation possible and, just as she was reacting

92 THE LIST | Edinburgh Festival Guide 2019 | list.co.uk/festival

to the technological changes of her day, so the Beatbox Academy performers are inspired by the networked world of the 21st century. For these working-class musicians, however, there’s a crucial shift in emphasis. ‘We found they mainly identified with the monster,’ says Cumming. ‘There was a lot of talk about being sidelined, pushed aside and judged at a very early age for who they were and what they did. The very nature of being beatboxers meant they stepped outside of society.’ As vocal percussionists, however, Cumming insists they also had a connection with Victor Frankenstein. ‘Beatbox is all to do with the mouth, with breath and the ability of one body and one voice. We took that corporeal idea and breathed life into the story that way. So it’s on the side of the monster without overly castigating the Frankenstein side.’ Frankenstein: How to Make a Monster, Traverse Theatre, Cambridge Street, 0131 228 1404, 7–25 Aug (not 12, 19), various times, £22 (£15–£16.50). Preview 6 Aug, 10am, £15 (£9). Manual Cinema’s Frankenstein, Underbelly, Bristo Square, 0131 510 0395, 3–26 Aug, 2.45pm, £13.50–£20.50 (£12.50–£19.50). Previews 31 Jul–2 Aug, £7–£12.

SDT AT THE

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Dundee Rep and Scottish Dance Theatre Limited is a Registered Company No. SC021201 Scottish Charity Registered No. SC017315

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PHOTO: BRYONY JACKSON

M IN D GA M ES

FRINGE | THEATRE RIDICULUSMUS

Bringing a trilogy on mental health to Edinburgh, Ridiculusmus continue their idiosyncratic strain of innovative theatre with a political twist. Gareth K Vile discovers a duo whose current work aims to help the aged

or over 25 years, the Ridiculusmus duo of David Woods and Jon Haynes have been creating theatre that manages to be provocative, engaged with serious issues, funny and formally experimental. Their roughly bi-annual visits to the Fringe are a combination of intensity and hilarity, even when (as with this year’s offering Die! Die! Die! Old People Die!) there is a dark edge to the comedy. Having shadowed palliative care workers, the duo address the erasure of old people, and explore those ways that their identities, needs and physical desires are ignored. Their three protagonists are caught up in a classic love

triangle that’s hindered and contained within a care home’s daily routines. The intention (to celebrate the aged and explore what a good death can mean in a society that privileges youthful vitality and beauty) is filtered through symbolism, mysticism and the disorientating impact of those social values. ‘The impetus came from the American psychiatric handbook’s proposal for including grief as a mental illness,’ says Woods. ‘We had dabbled with elder characters in the past; Jeanie and Jackie, my great aunt and uncle from Renfrew, were the first tribute to the wit and wisdom of elderhood that we included in our work, but this is the first full-length piece solely exploring the defiance against decrepitude.’ Die! Die! Die! Old People Die! is the climax of Ridiculusmus’ trilogy examining mental health (all three plays are to be performed on 25 August) which has engaged with radical processes for the treatment of schizophrenia and the use of MDMA for patients suffering post-traumatic stress disorder. Woods explains that this engagement comes from a variety of inspirations. ‘Personal issues, the mental health crisis and a recognition that, just like all good theatre should be “physical theatre”, every interesting play should deal with mental health issues.’ Yet the content is not

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reduced to a simple lesson. ‘We seek to embody the issues in tangible matters of the human heart,’ continues Woods. ‘Priority is given to the character’s situation and behaviour rather than making neat points to deliver learning outcomes.’ This approach is embodied by the lack of pretension, immediacy and wit of the duo’s dramaturgy, and has made them both critical and popular favourites at the Fringe and beyond. While very aware of the ‘brutal cut-throat marketplace’ of August in Edinburgh, Woods realises that it is still a month which offers unique opportunities. ‘There’s the smell of the hops, the fresh breezy air and the sheer scale of artistic endeavours, marketplace testing and a willingness of audiences to dabble in the unknown.’ But above all, he concludes, ‘we still believe that live performance is powerful, unique and ultimately worth the massive effort and commitment.’ Ridiculusmus: Die! Die! Die! Old People Die!, 15–25 Aug (not 19), 5.40pm, £10 (£8). Previews 13 & 14 Aug, £8. Give Me Your Love, 25 Aug, 4.05pm, £10 (£8). Eradication of Schizophrenia in Western Lapland, 25 Aug, 8.55pm, £10 (£8). All performances at Summerhall, 0131 560 1581.

HHHH ‘ACHINGLY FUNNY...

WORTH SEEING AGAIN AND AGAIN.’ TIME OUT

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HIGHLIGHTS FRINGE

PHOTO: THE OTH ER RICHARD

OTHER HIGHLIGHTS This year’s Fringe programme is jampacked with mustsee shows. Here we pick 20 more top attractions including everything from a horror musical to a queer utopia and kidfriendly beatboxing to barrier-pushing clowning Ahir Shah After two Edinburgh Comedy Award nominations in a row, could it be third time lucky for the London comic with Dots, another strong set of political thought and high-end gags? Monkey Barrel, Blair Street, 0845 500 1056, 2–25 Aug, 1.45pm, £7–£8. Preview 1 Aug, £5. BalletBoyz The world-renowned all-male dance group make their Fringe debut with the already mightilyacclaimed Them / Us. Underbelly, Bristo Square, 0131 510 0395, 2–15 Aug (not 7), 1pm, £16.50–£18.50 (£15.50–£17.50). Previews 31 Jul & 1 Aug, £12.50.

SK Shlomo: Surrender, Underbelly, Cowgate, 0131 510 0395, 3–23 Aug (not 12), 10.10pm, £10.50–£12.50 (£9.50–£11.50). Previews 1 & 2 Aug, £8.

Shlomo Two hyperactive shows from the beatbox impresario who has worked with Björk and Ed Sheeran. Shlomo’s Beatbox Adventure for Kids, Underbelly, Bristo Square, 0131 510 0395, 3–18 Aug, 3.35pm, £10–£11 (£9–£10). Previews 31 Jul–2 Aug, £7;

Havana After Dark Cuban dance is always a big favourite during an Edinburgh August, and this colourful and vibrant new musical should hit all the right notes, with Havana’s top DJ as well as dancers from Carlos Acosta’s company getting

Ahir Shah

fully stuck in. Pleasance at EICC, Morrison Street, 0131 556 6550, 5–25 Aug (not 21), 9pm, £15–£17.50 (£12–£14.50). Courtney Pauroso You only have to know that Gutterplum has the fingerprints of both Natalie Palamides and Doctor Brown on it to realise that Courtney Pauroso’s clowny Fringe debut could well turn out to be something

very special. Underbelly, Cowgate, 0131 510 0395, 3–25 Aug (not 13), 9.40pm, £11–£12 (£10–£11). Previews 1 & 2 Aug, £6.50.

PHOTO: GEORGE PIPER

If You’re Feeling Sinister: A Play With Songs The classic second album from Glasgow indie legends Belle and Sebastian plays a major role to this story about the reckless relationship between an artist and an academic. Gilded Balloon Patter Hoose, Chambers Street, 0131 622 6552, 2–26 Aug (not 12), 3.45pm, £14– £16.50 (£13–£15.50; familyticket £52–£62). Previews 31 Jul & 1 Aug, £10. Akala: In Conversation The hip-hop artist, writer and social entrepreneur lays some wisdom on us with a series of talks about race and class. Gilded Balloon Teviot, Bristo Square, 0131 622 6552, 2–6 Aug, 4.30pm, 9pm (not 3), £16. Nick Helm The verbose comic returns for his first Fringe run since being nominated for the big award in 2013. Plus, he’s putting on the horror(ish) musical which he brought here in 2008 and which he claims is the only show that has made him any money up here

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FRINGE HIGHLIGHTS

PHOTO: ED MOORE

Choir of Man A solid hit since they first landed at the Fringe two years ago, these vocal wonders work their magic in a pub setting on reinterpretations of numbers by the likes of Adele, Sia and Guns N’ Roses. Assembly Hall, Mound Place, 0131 623 3030, 3–25 Aug (not 12), 7.30pm, £15–£17.50 (£14–£16.50). Fishbowl The Grand will reverberate to the Chaplin-esque sights and sounds of a trio attempting to get on with each other while living in very close proximity. Pleasance Courtyard, Pleasance, 0131 556 6550, 3–26 Aug (not 14), 1pm, £14–£17.50 (£12–£15.50; family ticket £48–£60). Previews 31 Jul–2 Aug, £9. Catherine Bohart During her debut last year, the Irish comic was passively-aggressively heckled and, later, outwardly abused by a woman from her front row who thought she was ‘disgusting’. This is her hilarious retort as she ups the ante on her sex life. Pleasance Courtyard, Pleasance, 0131 556 6550, 3–25 Aug (not 13), 6pm, £9–£11.50. Previews 31 Jul–2 Aug, £6. Alfie Ordinary The multi award-winning drag act who identifies as ‘fabulous’ tells a comingof-age story set in a queer utopia

Nick Helm

The Scott Walker Songbook Singer Andy Davies and pianist Kirsty Newton have been performing their Scott Walker tribute show for some time now, but it will exude special poignancy this Fringe given the man’s recent passing. Frankenstein Pub, George IV Bridge, 0131 226 0000, 20–26 Aug, 1.15pm, £10 (£7) or Pay What You Want. Rachael Young This acclaimed theatre and live art practitioner has two shows on the go, one which celebrates Afrofuturism and Grace Jones, the other explores identity and bigotry. Nightclubbing, 2–11 Aug, 3.45pm, £12 (8). Previews 31 Jul, £5, 1 Aug, £8; Out, 15–25 Aug (not 19), 3.45pm, £12 (£8). Previews 13 & 14 Aug, £8. Both shows at Summerhall, 0131 560 1581.

Ronni Ancona and Lewis MacLeod A show full of impersonations, as you’d expect, but given a very intriguing twist in this theatrical comedy piece set in a onceglamorous Scottish hotel. Gilded Balloon at the Museum, Lothian Street, 0131 622 6552, 3–17 Aug, 9pm, £14.50–£15.50 (£12–£13). Previews 31 Jul–2 Aug, £8. Crocodile Fever Set in 1989 Northern Ireland, this world premiere written by Meghan Tyler and directed by Gareth Nicholls is a family drama featuring rebellion, piety and lots of 80s tunes. Traverse Theatre, Cambridge Street, 0131 228 1404, 4–25 Aug (not 5, 12, 19), various times, £22 (£15–£16.50). Previews 2 Aug, 7pm, 3 Aug, 10am, £15 (£9). In Conversation With Get some top-notch talk at noon with an impressive array of folk from the worlds of arts, sport and politics including Ian Rankin, Nicola Sturgeon, David Hayman, Barbara Dickson, Ruth Davidson, Shappi Khorsandi, Tom Devine and Archie Macpherson. The Stand’s New Town Theatre, George Street, 0131 558 9005, 4–24 Aug, noon, £12.50. YUCK

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The Ruff Guide to Shakespeare Take Thou That bring the Bard to the kids with a quicksharp show for fiveyear-olds and above that manages to namecheck every Will play at least once. Clever folk. Assembly George Square Studios, George Square, 0131 623 3030, 7–17 Aug, 11am, £10–£12 (£9–£11). YUCK Circus Winners at the Adelaide Fringe, this all-female Australian circus gang unleash a powerhouse show which takes aim at hypocrisy in art and life. Underbelly’s Circus Hub on the Meadows, Middle Meadow Walk, 0131 510 0395, 3–24 Aug (not 7, 12, 19), 4pm, £13.50–£15.50 (£12.50– £14.50). Stewart Lee The ‘godfather of stand-up’ is here once again with a work-in-progress show very amusingly entitled Wok in Progress. The whole thing will be seen in full on tour soon-ish, but a Stew set is always a Fringe must-see. The Stand’s New Town Theatre, George Street, 0131 558 9005, 9–15 Aug, 7.10pm, £15.

PHOTO: SAMANTHA MARTIN

(roughly 50 quid). Phoenix from the Flames, Pleasance Dome, Bristo Square, 0131 556 6550, 3–24 Aug (not 12), 5.40pm, £12.50–£14 (£11.50–£13). Previews 31 Jul–2 Aug; Nick Helm’s I Think, You Stink!, Assembly Roxy, Roxburgh Place, 0131 623 3030, 2–24 Aug (not 12), 9.45pm, £12–£14. Previews 31 Jul & 1 Aug, £8.

and featuring a soundtrack full of Sugababes and Village People. Gilded Balloon Rose Theatre, Rose Street, 0131 622 6552, 3–25 Aug, 6pm, £9–£10 (£8–£9).

Becky Barber-Sharp & Something for the Weekend present

Directed by Lisa Cagnacci 31 July - 26 August, 11:30am (not 13; 1hr)

pleasance.co.uk

0131 556 6550

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ADVERTISING FEATURE

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CRAFT SCOTLAND SUMMER SHOW

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1. NATALIE J WOOD Loop vase, orange, £65 Designer/maker inspired by the everyday culture of use, creating minimal, beautiful objects that enrich our lives through our simple interactions with them. nataliejwood.com 2. SCARLETT COHEN FRENCH ‘Chaos rising’ cocktail earrings, £390 Scarlett’s latest collection combines 3D printing, casting in silver, touches of enamel and 18ct gold to produce bold, confident and unique pieces of jewellery. scarlettcohenfrench.com 3. LAURA SPRING ‘Masked’ fabric knot wrap, £9.50 Bold, graphic prints incorporating bright colours are transformed into beautifully crafted products, produced in-house or locally to her Glasgow-based studio. lauraspring.co.uk 4. VIV LEE Ikebana stoneware J vessel, £225 Working with stoneware clay, Viv Lee hand builds functional ceramics with a focus on sculptural burnished and unglazed vessels. viv-lee.co 5. STEFANIE CHEONG Geometric Geology stacker ring, £80 Gathering rocks from all across the UK has become a key ritual in Stefanie Cheong’s practice. These found rocks are ground into pigments or broken into shards to create pattern and texture within her pieces. stefaniecheong.co.uk

6. SMITH & GIBB Dot & Block enamel earrings, £55 Rebecca E Smith is the founder, designer and maker of Smith & Gibb, a jewellery adventure inspired by her grandparents, Trevor Smith and Margaret Gibb. smithandgibb.com ■ The Craft Scotland Summer Show 2019, 2–25 August, White Stuff, Venue 205, 89 George Street. Open daily, free entry. If you can’t wait until August, visit the Craft Marketplace to start shopping now at craftscotland.org/shop.

PHOTO: SUSAN CASTILLO

The 2019 Craft Scotland Summer Show is set to be the biggest ever. Explore precious metal and mixed media jewellery, woven cushions and rugs, quilted and printed textiles, hand-thrown ceramics, vibrant glass, forged steel vessels and wooden homeware. Plus, get hands-on with inspirational maker-led workshops for adults and young people.

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INTERNATIONAL EDINB INTERNATUIROGH FESTIVALNAL MANON LESCAUT

2–26 AUG

Based on the 1731 French novel by Prévost, Manon Lescaut was composed by Puccini in the early 1890s. Despite its success, this opera has since been overshadowed by his later works, Madama Butterfly, Tosca and La Bohème. With Donald Runnicles conducting the Deutsche Oper Berlin and Sondra Radvanovsky taking on the title role, here’s a chance to put that right. ■ Manon Lescaut, Usher Hall, Lothian Road, 0131 473 2000, 22 Aug, 7.30pm, £16–£50.

PHOTO: ANDREW ECCLES

IN ASSOCIATION WITH

INTERNATIONAL JAMES MCARDLE

PEER PRESSURE Glasgow actor James McArdle doesn’t take on roles for the sake of it, having lately rejected some juicy classical parts. He tells Mark Fisher that David Hare’s new version of an iconic Ibsen play had too many good things going for it to turn down

ames McArdle skips into the National Theatre’s interview room looking like an athlete. He is slim, lithe and focused. On the table between us, he sets out his lunch. There’s a tub of pasta with Bolognese sauce, fruit porridge desert, and a glass of water. ‘I get this same lunch every day, and the same dinner as well,’ says the Glasgow-born 30-yearold. ‘I’m making sure it’s carbs and it’s healthy and I’m in bed by a certain time.’ The job he has before him requires a sportsman’s stamina. To play the title role in Peer Gynt (rechristened Peter Gynt in a new David Hare translation) takes marathon-levels of energy. He’s on stage for most of the four-hour running time and will be clocking up eight performances a week. ‘Starting with the very first scene and knowing where I end up, I have to take a deep breath,’ he says, seemingly galvanised by the prospect. ‘It takes a tenacity to make sure I get there.’ Written by Henrik Ibsen in 1867, the unwieldy 40-scene verse drama is about a fantasist who flees his family home after kidnapping a bride on her wedding day. On his folkloric journey, he meets trolls, crosses mountains and hangs around with the moneyed set, before ending up back where he started, 50 years older and little the wiser.

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It’s such an undertaking that when Dundee Rep staged it with the National Theatre of Scotland in 2007, it took two fine actors – Keith Fleming and Gerry Mulgrew – to share the role between them. For this version, it felt right for McArdle to tackle it singlehandedly. ‘It’s an adventure as big as life,’ he says. ‘He goes through sex, marriage, love, hatred, ambition, feuds, death – you name it – and by the end of it you feel you’ve lived a life. There’s a catharsis because the audience has gone through it with the one person.’ Like any good athlete, he’s been building up strength bout by bout. Peter Gynt follows such premier-league roles as King James I of Scotland in the first of Rona Munro’s trilogy of James Plays; Louis Ironson in Tony Kushner’s epic Angels in America (for which he was nominated for an Olivier Award); and the title part in Chekhov’s Platonov in Chichester. ‘Those roles trained me up for this one,’ he agrees. ‘It’s realistic and emotionally engaged, it gets really sad, it also has to be really funny, and it has a showman quality to it. I’m like the host of the evening because there’s so much direct address.’ It was in 2015’s Platonov that the seeds of Peter Gynt were sown. Bringing together McArdle with playwright Hare and director Jonathan Kent, it set a template for the collaboration to come. ‘Platonov is a difficult, unyielding play that required a real collaboration >>

JAMES MCARDLE INTERNATIONAL

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INTERNATIONAL JAMES MCARDLE

PHOTOS: MANUEL HARLAN

James town: McArdle made an impression on Edinburgh in The James Plays of 2014 (above); in the thick of rehearsals for Peter Gynt (right)

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<< between actor, writer and director,’ he says. ‘After it finished, the three of us felt that if we wanted to continue to take on these beasts, then the natural progression was Peer Gynt. Because we’d done Platonov together, David knew my rhythms. It was eerie when I read the first draft because he can hear me. David’s sentences are long and there is often an A track and a B track within the one sentence, and it requires a real muscularity to get through them.’ Coaching him through this theatrical workout is Kent, the pair now on their fifth collaboration. ‘I would walk the earth to work for Jonathan,’ McArdle says. ‘I get better working with him and learn more about the craft of acting. He’s building me up to play bigger parts and to learn how to lead an evening. I feel very lucky to have access to such experience.’ But there’s more to McArdle’s ambition than a vainglorious bid to take on formidable roles. He’s had his sights on Peer Gynt for years, but he’s a political animal and hates the idea of doing classics for the sake of it. ‘There has to be a reason to do a play. Recently, people have been asking me if I’d like to play these big parts that actors are supposed to do, and the reason I’ve said no to some of them is “why? Why are you doing it?” Peter Gynt has such a reason: it’s about fooling yourself, fake news, identity and being obsessed with the self.’ Resonating with the era of social media and #MeToo, Hare’s modernised version is performed by a predominantly Scottish cast and set in Dunoon. They reckon this decent-sized town with convenient

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access to the Highlands and the big city is not a bad match for Ibsen’s Norway. It also happens to be where McArdle’s uncle has a pub, so a cast reccy is on the cards. He reckons Peer Gynt adapts well to a selfregarding age where the line between fact and fiction is fuzzy. ‘The play was extremely satirical, political and modern in its time. Now the narcissism and chauvinism of Peter feels so vital. You see that destructive force undo him and undo the world around him. That is so relevant, as is the idea of creating narratives about ourselves, creating ourselves as icons. It’s embarrassing and it’s how Peter lives his life. David is bringing Ibsen out of the dust and into high-def. It’s brimming with wit, humour, fun and life. It’s a play for how we live now.’ So is Peter Gynt his bid for Olympic gold or merely a staging post on the way to some even greater triathlon triumph? ‘It’ll be interesting to see what parts I get offered after this,’ he says, admitting to having a sizeable role on the cards in two years’ time. ‘There are two big classical parts that keep coming back and I think if one of them is meant to be, it’ll come with full force and a distinct sense of why I should do it. I don’t have a checklist. It’s got to come with a reason to do it.’ Peter Gynt, Festival Theatre, Nicolson Street, 0131 473 2000, 3–9 Aug (not 5), 7pm, 4, 7, 9 & 10 Aug, 12.30pm, £15–£38. Previews 1 & 2 Aug, 7pm, £10–£35.

‘Happy & glorious parody reminds us what theatre is all about’ HHHH TELEGRAPH ‘Inventive fun’ HHHH GUARDIAN ‘Hilarious masterpiece’ HHHHH THEATRE WEEKLY ‘Irreverent joy from start to finish… ludicrously enjoyable’ HHHH ISLINGTON GAZETTE

“THE INDEFATIGABLE IAIN DALE ALWAYS CUTS TO THE NUB OF POLITICS” ADAM BOULTON, SKY NEWS

4PM | TEVIOT 31 JUL BARONESS SAYEEDA WARSI 1 AUG JOHNNY MERCER MP 2 AUG FI GLOVER SARAH SMITH 3 AUG KIRSTY WARK 4 AUG JESS PHILLIPS MP 5 AUG NICOLA STURGEON MSP 6 AUG JOHN MCDONNELL MP 7 AUG JACQUI SMITH DAME LOUISE CASEY 8 AUG HEIDI ALLEN MP LAYLA MORAN MP 9 AUG SADIQ KHAN 10 AUG CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR 11 AUG ALAN JOHNSON

6PM | MUSEUM 31 JUL BRANDON LEWIS ERIC PICKLES 1 AUG LEN MCCLUSKEY 2 AUG JO SWINSON 3 AUG NEIL & CHRISTINE HAMILTON 4 AUG KATE ADIE YASMIN ALIBHAI-BROWN 5 AUG CHRISTOPHER BIGGINS 6 AUG SIR NICHOLAS SOAMES 7 AUG PAUL GAMBACCINI 8 AUG MICHAEL CRICK SIR JOHN CURTICE 9 AUG DR DAVID STARKEY 10 AUG ANNE DIAMOND NICK OWEN 11 AUG GRACE CAMPBELL ANDREW DOYLE MATT FORDE

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Peter Gynt X:\Users\Marketing\MPotepski\My documents\2019\Advertising\Posters

After Henrik Ibsen National Theatre of Great Britain Starring James McArdle Written by David Hare Directed by Jonathan Kent

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1—10 August Festival Theatre Supported by Sir Ewan and Lady Brown Performance Sponsor At Pretium Jet Charter supported by Culture & Business Fund Scotland

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AMADOU & MARIAM INTERNATIONAL

gospel truth Africa meets America for a vocal feast when Amadou & Mariam hook up with Blind Boys of Alabama. Stewart Smith hears from Amadou about the musical connections between West Africa and the Deep South

alian superstars Amadou & Mariam are no strangers to collaboration, having worked with the likes of Santigold, Damon Albarn and Manu Chao. In their latest show, Bamako to Birmingham, the pair team up with gospel legends the Blind Boys of Alabama. The dialogue between Malian music and the blues has been widely noted: consider master guitarist Ali Farka Touré’s absorption of John Lee Hooker, or the way Tinariwen plug Jimi Hendrix into Tuareg traditions. But gospel is a big part of the story too. As Amadou explains via a translator, the idea is to bring American gospel back to its West African roots. ‘Undoubtedly there is a musical connection between Bamako and Birmingham, or at least this is what we aim with this project,’ he says. ‘We are long-time fans of Blind Boys of Alabama, and after speaking with our manager this idea came up. They are definitely living legends of gospel music. And we are honoured that they agree on sharing this project with us. We love their work and interpretations.’ Amadou Bagayoko and Mariam Doumbia met at Bamako’s school for the blind. She was a young singer who modelled herself on French stars like Sheila and Sylvie Vartan. Her songs (in particular ‘Teree la Sebin’ about the plight of disabled people) caught Amadou’s attention, and they soon became partners in life and music. Amadou had already enjoyed success as a guitarist for Bamako’s hottest band, Les Ambassadeurs du Motel, an adventurous outfit whose repertoire

spanned rumbas, foxtrots, French ballads, Cuban and Senegalese Wolof songs, to rock, funk and soul. That eclecticism has informed the duo’s own fusions of West African music with rock, pop, house, Cuban and Indian music. Blind Boys of Alabama formed in the 1930s and pioneered a hard-driving gospel sound that has proven hugely influential. While other gospel artists like Sam Cooke crossed over into secular music, the Blind Boys stayed true to their roots. In the 1980s they started to take their music beyond the gospel circuit, covering songs by Bob Dylan and collaborating with Southern soul legend Booker T Jones. Founding member Clarence Fountain passed away last year at the age of 88, but the group keeps keeping on. For Amadou the prospect of working with them is hugely exciting. ‘We’re working to have a complete setlist of tracks that travel the sounds from Africa to America, with originals from both groups, with new arrangements and new songs. We’ll travel from contemporary African sounds and American roots music.’ In addition to recording two new tracks with the Blind Boys, Amadou & Mariam are currently working on fresh material of their own. ‘We’ve already recorded some demos and we’re crossing fingers that we will soon get back to the studio to work on our new tracks. We’re very excited about this future album.’ Amadou & Mariam With Blind Boys of Alabama, Usher Hall, Lothian Road, 0131 473 2000, 7 Aug, 8pm, £14–£34. list.co.uk/festival | Edinburgh Festival Guide 2019 | THE LIST 109

INTERNATIONAL STEPHEN FRY

Fry’s showbusiness cream: (from left) telling tales in Mythos; keeping Alan Davies in check on QI; travelling the US for the BBC

PHOTO: DAVID COOPER

GREECE IS T Stephen Fry is one of those intelligent folk who isn’t afraid to get down and dirty in matters which are somewhat less hifalutin’. Like football or America. It’s that sort of open-mindedness that has ensured he is a shoo-in for national treasure status. As Fry prepares for an appearance in Edinburgh, we’re sidestepping an A-Z malarkey to compile a Q to I in honour of that telly thing he hosted for many years

IS FOR QI AKA Quite Interesting, the quiz show that asks obscure questions and rewards panellists for coming up with a fascinating answer even if it’s not the correct one. Fry was the host from its pilot episode in 2003 until 2016 when regular guest Sandi Toksvig took the reins. Alan Davies, the show’s ‘resident dunce’ (his own words) admitted to bringing out the schoolmaster side of Fry when he was being especially flippant. Also: Queens’ College, Cambridge, his alma mater

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IS FOR PERRIER In 1981, the first ever Perrier Award was handed out at the Edinburgh Fringe. Cambridge Footlights were the winners featuring Fry, Emma Thompson, Hugh Laurie, Tony Slattery, Penny Dwyer and Paul Shearer. The winning revue show, The Cellar Tapes, was broadcast on the BBC the following year. Also: Prime Minister Alastair Davies, Fry’s character in the last ever series of 24 that featured Jack Bauer; the Pipe Smoker of the Year Award was handed out for the final time in 2003 (it started in 1964) with Fry scooping the gong: previous winners included Tony Benn, Magnus Magnusson and Eric Morecambe

IS FOR OSCAR WILDE The Irish playwright and loquacious wit was the man Fry was born to play. In 1997 he got that chance taking on the title role in the UK movie Wilde, co-starring Jude Law, Vanessa Redgrave and Michael Sheen. Also: Old Vic Theatre hosted Fry’s pantomime version of Cinderella in 2007

STEPHEN FRY INTERNATIONAL

THE WORD N

IS FOR NORWICH Fry is a lifelong supporter of Norwich FC. He joined the board of directors in 2010, leaving that post to become an ambassador for the club in 2016. Another celeb connected to The Canaries is Delia Smith who remains the joint majority shareholder and served alongside Fry on the board during his tenure. He’s also a patron of the Norwich Playhouse. Also: New England, the first stop in his 2008 BBC travelogue across America; Nikolai Genidze, the Georgian presidential candidate he played in one episode of Veep’s sixth season

IS FOR MYTHOS The reason Fry is in Edinburgh is for an adaptation of his bestselling book in which he brings to vivid life the gods, monsters and mere mortals of ancient Greece. Set out in three rotating parts across six performances, Mythos will cement Fry’s credentials as a powerful storyteller and genial raconteur. Also: Melchett, his toady character in Blackadder; Moab is My Washpot, the first part of his memoirs which covers his life up to 20 years old

IS FOR LAURIE Fry and Hugh Laurie were close collaborators for many years. They first teamed up in Cambridge Footlights before being a proper double act for BBC’s A Bit of Fry and Laurie, later joining ITV for the hit series, Jeeves and Wooster. Ironically, in the year that Fry is on the EIF stage, Laurie will also be in town, receiving an Outstanding Achievement Award at the TV Festival. Also: The Liar, his debut novel of 1991; Latin! Or Tobacco and Boys, his debut play which won a Fringe First in 1980

IS FOR KIRSTY YOUNG The Scot was hosting Desert Island Discs when Fry became a willing castaway in 2015. Among his musical choices were classical bits

from Bach, Beethoven and Schubert. His more leftfield picks included a track from his old mucka Hugh Laurie’s band and The Archers theme tune. Also: Kingdom was an ITV comedy drama that ran for three series in which he played a Norfolk solicitor; next year, he’s adapting a new stage version of Ealing comedy classic Kind Hearts and Coronets

IS FOR JK ROWLING Fry narrated all seven of the Harry Potter audiobooks. When he read the first one, he had no idea that the author had plans for another six books until she told him over lunch. Legend has it that Fry struggled with the phrase ‘Harry pocketed it’ which appeared in book three. When he called Rowling up to ask if he could say ‘Harry put it in his pocket’ instead, she said ‘no’, hung up, and then wrote ‘Harry pocketed it’ once in each of the remaining books as a means of revenge on this perceived slight. Also: JRR Tolkien is another author he’s grappled with, playing the Master of Lake-town in two of the three Hobbit movies

IS FOR IQ Somewhat squaring the QI circle, Fry appeared in the 1994 romantic comedy IQ starring Tim Robbins and Meg Ryan. Fry played an acerbic psychology professor who eventually loses his clever fiancée (Ryan, whose uncle is Einstein as played by Walter Matthau) to Robbins’ garage mechanic. It received ‘mixed’ reviews. Also: I’m Sorry I Haven’t a Clue, the long-running radio panel show which Fry co-hosted for one series in 2009 after the death of Humphrey Lyttelton; Incomplete and Utter History of Classical Music which Fry presented on Classic FM over 20 parts Stephen Fry: Mythos – A Trilogy, Festival Theatre, Nicolson Street, 0131 473 2000, 19 & 20, 24 & 25 Aug, various times, £25–£42. list.co.uk/festival | Edinburgh Festival Guide 2019 | THE LIST 111

INTERNATIONAL OONA DOHERTY

LUCY.BROWN@SOTHEBYS.COM +44 (0)13 1558 7799 SOTHEBYS.COM

PHOTOS: LUCA TRUFFARELLI

Thinking of selling your jewellery or watch?

112 THE LIST | Edinburgh Festival Guide 2019 | list.co.uk/festival

OONA DOHERTY INTERNATIONAL

belfast wild Male physicality and repressed emotions are strong elements in the dance work of Oona Doherty. As the England-born, Northern Ireland-bred choreographer and performer brings her latest piece to Edinburgh, she tells Kelly Apter that the locals will understand where Hard to Be Soft is coming from >>

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INTERNATIONAL OONA DOHERTY

show. Yeah, it’s set in that working-class Belfast context, but to really understand your feelings, and be able to communicate that to the people around you, is hard. Feelings are really difficult; it doesn’t matter who you are or where you’re from.’ Moving to Belfast from London at the age of ten, being told by her father to ‘keep your voice down’ because of her English accent, and watching her brother have his school locker daubed with ‘Brits get out’ have all fed into the show in one way or another. And by including moments of choral music and religious symbolism, Doherty says she’s trying to ‘re-own religion’, having become ‘a bit pissed off that faith is still affecting decision-making and laws in Northern Ireland’.

Families: there’s always something going on, and basically everybody needs to shut up and have a hug.’ Sage words with a universal relevance, but Doherty is particularly keen that her work speaks to both her hometown and the one she’ll visit this August. ‘I’m really glad we’re bringing the show to the festival. What Hard to Be Soft is about should be seen in Edinburgh, because there’s something similar about the people of Northern Ireland and Scotland. They’ll get it on a deep level.’

But one episode, in particular, of Hard to Be Soft – a duet between a father and son – was born out of a very personal family situation. ‘I created “Meat Kaleidoscope” because my dad and brother stopped talking to each other about five years ago. They’re both big fellas body-wise; the whole Doherty side of my family were merchant sailors working in the shipyards for generations, big chunky men, big Belfast men. And I don’t know if it’s to do with your health, your body type or the culture, but there’s an actual posture within the spine when you’re a big, tall, heavy-set man, that makes you walk differently. So that’s one thing in the duet, the type of dander a man like that has, the weight on their body. And then the whole cultural thing of the shipyards; those hard men.’ When Hard to Be Soft opened in Belfast, Doherty sent her brother and father tickets for the show, not sitting them next to one another but hopeful the two men might speak in the bar afterwards. They didn’t. But Doherty’s uncle offered her some words of comfort. ‘He said to me “open any door in any street in Belfast and you’ll find similar stories”.

Like a prayer: the young Oona Doherty pined for a career in dance

Hard to Be Soft: A Belfast Prayer, Royal Lyceum Theatre, Grindlay Street, 0131 473 2000, 21, 24 Aug, 8pm, 22 & 23 Aug, 4pm, £20–£25.

PHOTO: SIMON HARRISON

t’s the first year of high school and Oona Doherty is attending an after-hours class at St Louise’s Comprehensive in Belfast. A relative newcomer in town, having moved from North London a year earlier, Doherty isn’t the most academic of students, but she’s about to find her feet, in every possible way. ‘The teacher put on music from the show Cats and told us to crawl around on the floor,’ she recalls. ‘I’d just been watching Big Cat Diary on TV, and when I was five or six living in London, I used to watch David Attenborough programmes and crawl on the floor pretending to be a lion. So when the teacher told us to improvise being a cat I thought “this is it, I’m made for it, I’ve been practising this for years!”’ Doherty laughs at the recollection of that serendipitous moment, but also cites it as the day she knew what to do with her life. Largely because of the praise she received. ‘When you’re 11, it doesn’t matter what it is; if an adult says to you “you’re brilliant at that” it gives you confidence. And as soon as I did that first dance class, I thought “that’s it”, and I never wobbled once. I never thought that I was going to try and do anything else, ever.’ Despite protestations from school about the need to attend university in case she ‘didn’t make it as a dancer’, Doherty says she ‘just ignored them: I had no doubt that I would get into dance school.’ And get in she did, graduating from the London School of Contemporary Dance and then Laban, before making a name for herself as a dancer you simply can’t take your eyes off. Those who saw Doherty’s 2017 Edinburgh Fringe show, Hope Hunt & The Ascension into Lazarus, will never forget the first moment she came into view. Gathered outside Dance Base on the Grassmarket, we watched as a car pulled up, music blaring from the back seat. Opening the boot, the male driver stepped aside to reveal Doherty tumbling out onto the hard pavement. Her sinuous movement, wrapped in a shiny tracksuit, gold chain and androgynous slicked-back hair, captured us in a way few performers can. Two years later, Doherty is back in Edinburgh, only this time it’s at the invitation of the International Festival. Hard to Be Soft: A Belfast Prayer features the second half of that Fringe solo (‘The Ascension into Lazarus’) in which Doherty plays a young Belfast lad who steals a car, dies and wakes up in limbo. Three other new ‘episodes’ follow, as if the young man’s life is flashing before his eyes: ‘The Sugar Army’, danced by a crew of Edinburgh-based young female hip-hop dancers, ‘Meat Kaleidoscope’, a duet for two men, and ‘Helium’, a closing solo performed by Doherty. The work as a whole, explains Doherty, is born out of a desire to create a ‘kinetic empathy’ between performers and the audience. ‘We’re all human, we’re all the same, we all struggle with what we’re feeling,’ she says. ‘And I think that’s the root of the

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CIRCUS FOR GROWN UPS

HHHHH SMUT BUTTONS 2017

HHHH½ WEEKEND NOTES 2018

HHH HHHHH HH OUT IN PERTH HI-FI WAY 2018 HHHH½ HHHH½ KRYZTOFF 2018

GLAMADELAIDE 2019

03 - 24 August 2019 | 9.50PM (10.50PM) 12 & 19 August 2019 | 6PM (7PM) (NOT 7, 14, 21)

HHHH½ ADVERTISER 2018

HHHH½ EVENTALAIDE 2019

INTERNATIONAL HIGHLIGHTS

OTHER HIGHLIGHTS Another scintillating EIF line-up will help set your August alight as theatre and dance productions tackle bigotries both ancient and contemporary, while concerts hail the glorious power of music from the USA, China and Germany

La Philharmonic A free family-friendly performance at the Hearts stadium officially kicks off another International Festival with the LA Phil and its ebullient boss Gustavo Dudamel leading their crowd through some epic film music. Over the next two fixtures at the Usher Hall, they take on Mahler, Barber, Adams and Tchaikovsky. Tynecastle Park, McLeod Street, 2 Aug, 7pm, free; Usher Hall, Lothian Road, 3 Aug, 7pm, £20–£60, 4 Aug, 7.30pm, £12.50–£50. Andreas Ottensamer & Yuja Wang Launching the Queen’s Hall series in grand fashion are Chinese piano virtuoso Yuja Wang and the Berlin Philharmonic’s chief clarinettist Andreas Ottensamer as the pair take on a programme including works by Weber, Brahms and Chopin. Queen’s Hall, Clerk Street, 3 Aug, 11am, £12–£39.

Rite of Spring

choreographer’s elegant pieces are performed with a truly striking backdrop. Jupiter Artland, Wilkieston, 9–11 Aug, 8pm, 10 & 11 Aug, 5pm, £25. Anna Calvi Another strong contemporary music bill has been assembled at the revitalised Leith Theatre, and the operatic vocals and stirring soundscapes of the twice Mercury-

La Reprise The tragic true story of the torture and murder of a gay man in Liège shocked Belgium in 2012 and its retelling in the hands of director Milo Rau will have the power to rock an EIF audience. Royal Lyceum Theatre, Grindlay Street, 3–5 Aug, 8pm, 4 Aug, 2pm, £20–£25. Trisha Brown: In Plain Site The dance world still mourns Trisha Brown’s passing in 2017, but events such as this keep her memory alive and shining brightly. A selection of the Anna Calvi 116 THE LIST | Edinburgh Festival Guide 2019 | list.co.uk/festival

Breaking the Waves Lars von Trier’s movie caused an almighty stir on its 1996 release, and this opera from Missy Mazzoli has taken on that mantel since its 2016 debut. King’s Theatre, Leven Street, 21, 23 & 24 Aug, 7.15pm, £15–£35.

PHOTO: MAISIE COUSINS

The Crucible Arthur Miller’s play about intolerance, paranoia and catastrophic ill-judgment is no less relevant now than when he wrote it back in the McCarthy era. Scottish Ballet and choreographer Helen Pickett bring the story to vivid life. Edinburgh Playhouse, Greenside Place, 3–5 Aug, 7.30pm, £15–£35.

nominated Calvi will be an undoubted highlight. Leith Theatre, Ferry Road, 11 Aug, 8pm, £30.

Rite of Spring Drawing inspiration from Tibetan life and rebirth patterns, choreographer Yang Liping (alongside Tim Yip, the Oscar-winning art director of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon) further reignites Stravinsky’s revolutionary ballet. Festival Theatre, Nicolson Street, 22–24 Aug, 8pm, £15–£35. Götterdämmerung The six-hours plus finale to Wagner’s Ring cycle has a dream team of the RSNO, conductor Sir Andrew Davis and Christine Goerke as Brünnhilde with the ancient world in freefall as human greed threatens to tip everything over the edge. Who says a 143-year-old opera doesn’t have something to say about our modern planet? Usher Hall, Lothian Road, 25 Aug, 4pm, £20–£60.w Virgin Money Fireworks Concert The explosive moment when we realise yet another Edinburgh Festival has come to an end, with this year’s Scottish Chamber Orchestra fare featuring selections from Bizet, Glinka, Dukas and Berlioz. Princes Street Gardens, 26 Aug, 9pm, £15.50–£36. For tickets call 0131 473 2000

31 JUL â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 26 AUG 2019 (NOT 12 AUG) BIG YIN

22:30

60 MINS

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CANADA EDINBURGH FESTIVALS 2019

Canada returns to Edinburgh in 2019 with an array of artists, performers, comedians, musicians, writers and many others who will descend on the city. This year, the CanadaHub @ Edinburgh Fringe will feature five performances – showcasing some of the very best of Canada’s contemporary performance scene. From circus to music, to dance and literature and everything is between – there is something for everyone!

To see all that Canada offers, at the CanadaHub and beyond, check out The List’s dedicated Canada brochure or visit www.list.co.uk/canada

JAZZ BERNADETTE KELLERMANN’S COLOURWORKS

Released at the tail end of 2018, Colourworks earned Bernadette Kellermann (‘violinist, tutor, composer, runner’) some praise from Radio Scotland’s Jazz Nights who hailed it as ‘very evocative and minimalistic’. Accompanied by a cracking band comprising pianist Fergus McCreadie, bassist Mark Hendry and drummer Graham Costello, this gig should cement Kellermann’s reputation as one to watch. ■ Bernadette Kellermann’s Colourworks, The Jazz Bar, Chambers Street, 0131 473 2000, 15 Jul, 6pm, £10.50.

EDINBU JAZZ & BLRUGH FESTIVAL ES 12–21 JUL

Thirty one concerts in two weeks featuring the rising stars of classical music Monday 5 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Friday 16 August 2019 VENUE 241, Royal Scots Club, 29-31 Abercromby Place, EH3 6QE BOOK NOW

www.edfringe.com / 0131 226 0000

SPECIAL GALA CONCERT ROSL celebrates 20 years at the Fringe Thursday 8 August, 7pm Tickets available via www.edfringe.com

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JAZZ DONNY MCCASLIN

sound & vision Some notable collaborations have made Donny McCaslin the go-to guy for artists seeking an experimental jazz twist. As the Californian sax man tells Stewart Smith, he has a wide and deep appreciation of Scotland’s modern musical heritage

axophonist Donny McCaslin has been a major name in contemporary jazz since the 1990s. But it was his contributions to David Bowie’s final album Blackstar which brought him, and his bassist Tim Lefebvre, drummer Mark Guiliana, and keyboardist Jason Lindner, to a wider audience. Although McCaslin has long been exploring rock and electronic elements in his own music, working with Bowie inspired him to cast off genre restrictions altogether. ‘David had a tremendous impact on me both personally and artistically,’ says McCaslin. ‘He embodied the fearlessness that I’ve always striven for, and his vision, humanity and total presence in every moment continues to inspire me.’ McCaslin’s 2016 album, Beyond Now, featured his takes on Bowie’s ‘Warszawa’ and ‘A Small Plot of Land’. Vocalist Jeff Taylor, who appeared on the latter track, has a more prominent role on last year’s collection Blow, co-writing several songs with McCaslin. Other album guests include Sun Kil Moon’s Mark Kozelek, Canadian indie-rocker Ryan Dahle, and Bowie collaborator Gail Ann Dorsey. ‘The main thing about Blow that differentiates it from my previous work is that it was really built around song form, lyrical content and singing,’ states McCaslin. ‘It was an entirely new process for me to collaborate with the different songwriters on this and it gave me a real appreciation for the art of setting lyrics to music and for the poetry great lyrics bring. The saxophone’s role, which had always been clear leading to my prior recordings, didn’t really take shape until we were in the studio. Though that was uncomfortable it was also exciting.’ As McCaslin explains, moving into the electronic realm was initially suggested by his long-time collaborator, friend and producer David Binney. ‘Once I started touring with that music I was fascinated by the different possibilities it offered artistically and I’ve just gone further in

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that direction. I’m now in a spot that I would have never imagined ten years ago, but I am very much excited about where I am and where the future can go from here.’ The first record McCaslin remembers falling in love with was an LP of marches by John Philip Sousa. ‘After that, it was Chuck Berry, The Beach Boys and then AC/DC,’ he adds. He was exposed to jazz through his father, a musician who played regularly in their hometown of Santa Cruz, California. Listening to his father’s group on the bandstand became a weekly ritual. ‘At the age of 12, I made an impulsive decision to start playing saxophone which I think was based on the experience of observing his band for years. He had a particularly charismatic saxophone player who would play these wild solos that were filled with squeaks and emotional ideas. I think I was drawn to that expression he personified. Once I started playing, I listened to a lot of John Coltrane, Charlie Parker and Duke Ellington and went from there.’ McCaslin studied at the Berklee College of Music alongside Tommy Smith, and he remains a great admirer of the Scottish saxophonist. ‘Tommy Smith is a tremendous musician,’ McCaslin states. ‘I’ve always been inspired by his commitment to art and his deep sense of emotional expression on the saxophone. His compositions have explored a lot of different territories and I remember him being committed to studying composition from the time we first met as teenagers. Much respect!’ McCaslin’s knowledge of Scottish music doesn’t end there. On his 2012 album Casting for Gravity he covered Boards of Canada’s ‘Alpha and Omega’, and he talks about being transfixed by the Fife electronic duo’s ‘rich palate of sonic expression’. He is also a fan of Frightened Rabbit. ‘A couple of particular tracks were very inspirational and I was, like so many people, deeply saddened by Scott Hutchison’s passing.’ Donny McCaslin, Teviot Row, Bristo Place, 18 Jul, 0131 473 2000, 8.30pm, £18.

02 – 25 AUG | 13:00

Assembly George Square

02 – 25 AUG | 23:55

02 – 25 AUG | 00:05

Assembly Hall

Assembly Rooms

We know how to push your buttons… C

#MakeYourFringe this summer

CMY

Book tickets now @ edfringe.com

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JAZZ SONS OF KEMET

F I Vl E PHOTO: JEAN-BAPTISTE MILLOT

KYLE EASTWOOD BAND He’s probably sick of being dubbed ‘son of Clint’, but Kyle has long since carved out his own career as a virtuoso bass man. He brings his five-piece band back to Scotland with pieces expected to be aired from In Transit, his album from 2017. Assembly Hall, Mound Place, 18 Jul, 8pm, £18.50–£20.50.

BOYS KEEP SWINGING

Ahead of their appearance in Edinburgh, author Peter Ross pays tribute to the Mercurynominated hot jazz squad, Sons of Kemet

ome songs you sing, some songs you cling to. ‘My Queen Is Doreen Lawrence’, by London jazzers Sons of Kemet, is of the latter sort. Joshua Idehen’s great line ‘don’t wanna take my country back, mate / I wanna take my country forward’ is a cannonball through the hull of the Good Ship Brexit. It is a song against beery racists and dreary nostalgists. What will it be like to hear it performed live in Edinburgh? Part consolation, I think, part call to arms. Yet the song’s defiance is as much in the music than the lyric, as much in how it feels as what it says: Theon Cross’ tuba, like some great growling beast; Shabaka Hutchings’ frantic sax; the antic clatter of drummers Tom Skinner, Seb Rochford and Maxwell Hallett. Together they seem a middle finger raised to the rise of the right in Britain and beyond, and to the absurdity and horror of recent years. That the parent album, Your Queen Is a Reptile, did not win the 2018 Mercury Prize is, of course, a minor injustice. Yet this engrossing record – angry, rich, strange, ambitious – needs no validation beyond its own greatness. Mostly instrumental, its titles celebrate the lives of black women, among them Harriet Tubman and Angela Davis, presenting them as an alternative monarchy. It interrogates the meaning of Britishness. ‘We the immigrants, we the children of immigrants,’ run the sleeve notes, ‘we claim our right to question your obsolete systems, your racist symbols, your monuments to genocide.’ This is music which seems to contain within it the flames of Grenfell and the bitter ashes of the Windrush scandal. It is at once a scornful portrait of contemporary Britain and an epic portrayal of the African diaspora. Mostly what it sounds like is this: joyful fury, furious joy. Sons of Kemet, George Square Spiegeltent, George Square, 0131 473 2000, 14 Jul, 8.30pm, £17.50.

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THE GIL SCOTT-HERON SONGBOOK Aki Remally is one of the foremost interpreters of Jimi Hendrix’s music, and here he takes on another 20thcentury icon in the company of rising pianist Fraser Urquhart. Expect funk, jazz and a fair bit of social conscience-tugging. Leith Depot, Leith Walk, 16 Jul, 8pm, £10.

LAURA MACDONALD HISTORY OF JAZZ SAXOPHONE A lesson for the mind and a treat on the ears as Macdonald takes us by the hand through the glittering history of her instrument via the likes of Coltrane, Young and Brecker. Teviot Row, Bristo Place, 17 Jul, 3pm, £13.

IBIBIO SOUND MACHINE Nigerian singer Eno Williams leads the way on the Ibibio juggernaut as the sounds of electronica and West African funk fill the George Square air. George Square Spiegeltent, George Square, 18 Jul, 9pm, £21.

JAN GARBAREK GROUP FEATURING TRILOK GURTU The Norwegian sax icon can’t keep away from the Edinburgh Jazz Fest and we hope that pattern continues. He’s joined by the Indian percussionist and composer Trilok Gurtu who’s played with bands such as Oregon and Tabla Beat Science. Festival Theatre, Nicolson Street, 13 Jul, 7.30pm, £27–£38.50. For tickets call 0131 473 2000

Baha’i Unity Center of New York in Association with New York University Community Affairs Presents CTC NEW YORK ENSEMBLE in

“COMPELLING, REMARKABLE, COMMANDING”

—The Times, Mike Wade

★★★★

“THUNDEROUS APPLAUSE, BEAUTIFUL, INCREDIBLE”

—Fringe Review

★★★★

“ASTOUNDING, STANDING OVATION, STANDOUT”

A MUSICAL JOURNEY BEST MUSICAL NOMINEE MUSICAL THEATRE REVIEW 2018 FRINGE INTERNATIONAL THEATRE FESTIVAL

Fingers & Thumbs

—The Fest

“INCREDIBLE JOURNEY… INSPIRING”

—BBC1, Sunday Morning Live

GILDED BALLOON PATTER HOOSE BIG YIN THEATRE Adam House, 3 Chambers Street

31 JUL - 26 AUG 2019

19:30 (60 mins)

HENRYBOXBROWNTHEMUSICAL.ORG

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Perú · Dunkeld Cathedral · INVERNESS · Outside front of Inverurie Town Hall · Botanic Cottage - Royal Botanic Gardens · Bristol · The Circle, Dundee · Dedrige Primary School · NORTH BERWICK · Santander · ABERDEEN · Consort of Voices · Kirkcaldy Galleries · GLENROTHES · Dundee Rep Theatre · Judy dobbie · LOCHGELLY · Scottish Storytelling Centre · Pisa · Nicola Donnelly · Hillhead Library · Louise Malone · The Scottish Parliament · University of Dundee · Institut français d'Ecosse · DUNKELD · Royal Mile · Inverness Cathedral · The Lawn, Eden Court · CUPAR · Hampden Park · Monica Callaghan · St Andrews Cathedral · St Andrews Cathedral · Michael Dale · Meadowbank Church · GLASGOW · Northlight Gallery · Leven Library · St Baldreds Church · Dunfermline Carnegie Library & Galleries · SOUTH UIST · Victoria Lanata Briones · ST ANDREWS · Hunterian Museum, University of Glasgow · High Life Highland · Jea Bowmore Hall · Beacon Arts Centre · Quincy · Rose Cedarbank Primary School · BEMIS Scotland · Rothes H Spoon Café · Recreation Hall, Raigmore Library · Hospital · The Worm · St Giles' ArtWorks of Cathedral · FYVIE · Crathes Earth · Gerda School · Milano The Stevenson · Jessic Clutha Bar The · Royal Botanic Gard Welcoming nne B Edinburgh · Sarah Jane Asso · Rothes Dooley · EDINBURGH · alls Library · Málaga · Bizkaia · City Squ ArtWorks of the and McManus Galleries · Perú · Gerda Stevenson Dunkeld Cathedral · INVERNES LENROTHES · Royal Outside front of Inverurie Town Hal anic Gardens Edinburgh · Botanic Cottage - Royal Botanic Gard a Reid · Sarah Jane Dooley · Bristol · The Circle, Dundee · Dedrige Pr NBURGH · Málaga · Bizkaia · School · NORTH BERWICK · Santander y Square and McManus Galleries · ABERDEEN · Consort of Voices · Kirkcaldy · Dunkeld Cathedral · INVERNESS · Galleries · GLENROTHES · Dundee Rep Theat side front of Inverurie Town Hall · Botanic LOCHGELLY · Judy dobbie · Scottish Storytelling ottage - Royal Botanic Gardens · Bristol · The Centre · Pisa · Nicola Donnelly · Hillhead Library · L le, Dundee · Dedrige Primary School · NORTH Malone · The Scottish Parliament · University of Dundee WICK · Santander · ABERDEEN · Consort of Voices Institut français d'Ecosse · DUNKELD · Royal Mile · kcaldy Galleries Dundee Rep Theatre · LOCHGELLY · Inverness Cathedral · The Lawn, Eden Court · dy dobbie · Scottish Storytelling Centre · Pisa · Nicola FALKIRK · CUPAR · Hampden Park · Monic lly · Hillhead Library · Louise Malone · The Scottish Callaghan · St Andrews Cathedral · St And arliament · University of Dundee · Institut français Cathedral · Michael Dale · Meadowba d'Ecosse · DUNKELD · Royal Mile · Inverness Church · GLASGOW · Northlight G hedral · The Lawn, Eden Court · FALKIRK · · Leven Library · ST ANDREW ANDREWS AR · Hampden Park · Monica Callaghan Baldreds Church · Dunfermline · St Andrews Cathedral · St Andrews Carnegie Library & Gallerie dral · Michael Dale · Meadowbank FYVIE · SOUTH UIST Church · GLASGOW · Northlight Victoria Lanata Brion Gallery · Leven Library · ST Hunterian Museum Jeline REWS · St Baldreds Church University of Carnegie nfermline Carnegie Library Glasgow · H Library & & Galleries · FYVIE · Life High Galleries · FYVIE · UTH UIST · Victoria Bowm SOUTH UIST · Victoria Lanata Briones · Ha Lanata Briones · Hunterian nterian Museum, Museum, University of Glasgow · High University of Life Highland · Bowmore Hall · Beacon Arts gow · High Centre · Quincy · SCOTLAND · Cedarbank Primary ghland · School · BEMIS Scotland · Spoon Café · Recreation Hall, wmore Raigmore Hospital · The Worm · St Giles' Cathedral · Crathes all · School · Milano · The Clutha Bar · The Welcoming Association · GREENOCK · George Street · Leeuwarden · Ceòlas · Scottish Poetry Library · LEVEN · Dunedin Consort · DUNFERMLINE · STIRLING · Gaelic Books Council · The Lemon Tree · INVERURIE · Cupar Library · Dawson Community Centre · Jennie Lee Library, Lochgelly Centre · The Queen's Hall Edinburgh · Huelva · Live Music Now Scotland · Fife Contemporary · Old Fruitmarket · Bearsden Hub · DUNDEE STROMNESS · Cardiff · The Clutha · Scottish Poetry Library · Carinish Community Hall · Massachusetts · Spoon Café · Fergus Weir · Annie Wheeler · KIRKCALDY Mayfield Salisbury Parish Church · The Queen's Hall · Rae Jappy and Friends · Angie Spoto · Fyvie Castle · Gemma Henry · The Clutha Trust · The Byre Theatre · SCOTLAND · Macrobert Arts Centre · Artworks of the Eart · Nicola Stubbs · Canongate Kirk · Isabel Stewart · Carlos Arredondo · Mesagne · English Speaking Union Scotland · Strathbrock Community Centre · Cary · St Andrews Library · Daniel Abercrombie · BANCHORY · Inverness Cathedral · Scottish Arts Club · Cathcart Old Parish Church · Martin Laird · Byre Theatre ·

r e h t O FESTIVALS

BRIGHT YOUNG THING Having signed to a major record company and embarked on some very exciting tours, Be Charlotte is ready to take on the world. Arusa Qureshi catches up with the Dundonian musician who is still trying to work out other people

hen we speak, Charlotte Brimmer has just released her new single ‘Brighter Without You’, her second since signing to Columbia Records. ‘I’m currently in Hamburg doing promo and really enjoying the sunshine in this lovely city,’ she says. In March, the 21-year-old Dundonian announced details of a new single, ‘Do Not Disturb’, with its heady pop soundscape signalling a new direction for the singer-songwriter. ‘Releasing music for the first time in almost three years was so liberating, and playing headline shows has been amazing. I’m feeling excited and optimistic!’ ‘Brighter Without You’ is the darker of the two singles but maintains that shimmering pop backdrop, with introspective lyrics and a colourful melody speaking directly to feelings of

heartbreak and disappointment. ‘I just try to be honest in my songwriting,’ Brimmer notes. ‘I’m trying to figure things out and grow an understanding of why people are the way they are. Both songs are coming from a similar line of thought. I wrote “Do Not Disturb” in Berlin, a few months after writing “Brighter Without You”. I’m so pleased that other people have been able to relate to the music and listen to the songs in their tough times.’ Having performed since her early teens, Brimmer has been working hard to hone her sound, progressing hugely and finding her voice in the process. ‘I feel like I’m more confident in my ideas. I’ve had the pleasure of working with lots of producers in Scotland and in London, and then in Stockholm, Berlin and Nashville. It’s been great to pick up different tips from every session and it’s helped me to understand the things I definitely don’t

like and the things I want to focus on in my songwriting. My main strength has always been the melodies, but in recent times I’ve focussed on improving my lyrics too, and all of those experiences have helped.’ As well as working and performing around the world, Brimmer has had some particular highlights over the past few years, which include playing the 3D Festival for the opening of V&A Dundee, supporting BRIT winner Tom Walker and playing Hampden Stadium for the Scotland v Jamaica women’s football match. Brimmer also undertook a schools tour in her home city and beyond, where she spoke to pupils, played some of her music and held a Q&A session. The primary goal of that tour was to encourage the next generation of musicians to think about picking up an instrument and >>

OTHER FESTIVALS FRINGE BY THE SEA / FOOD FESTIVAL

OTHER FRINGE BY THE SEA HIGHLIGHTS

<< potentially pursuing a career in the music industry. ‘I loved it!’ she says when asked about the experience. ‘I played some shows in schools because I wanted to inspire young people to make their own music as I think it’s such a positive way to express your feelings. I especially wanted to encourage young girls to go for it, whatever their aspirations might be.’ This summer, Brimmer will be supporting The Proclaimers in a series of massive shows, but also has some other exciting dates coming up including her Fringe by the Sea gig alongside indie favourites Idlewild. ‘I love that part of Scotland, it’s so beautiful on a nice day,’ she adds. ‘The audience can expect me and my band to give our everything to make sure people feel entertained. It’s the first time I’ve headlined a festival so I’m really excited to do that. We might even throw in a wee cover . . . ’ So with two singles now out in the world, and more inevitably in the pipeline, is there a full-length album on the horizon? ‘It feels weird to say I’ve written hundreds of songs but I’m not quite sure when that will become a whole album. I think all the music I’ve ever written has storytelling at its core. “Do Not Disturb” and “Brighter Without You” are definitely exploring the questions I have from childhood into teenage years, and I’m still looking for answers. It feels good to let it all out.’ Be Charlotte @ The List by the Sea Party, Lighthouse Spiegeltent, North Berwick, 9 Aug, 8pm, £12.

AND THE EAT GOES ON Katharine Gemmell takes the taste test on another Food Fest

The Edinburgh Food Festival celebrates its fifth outing this year, and as an added birthday treat organisers have revealed they’re doubling the schedule for 2019. Taking place over ten days, the event places Scottish food at its heart and offers visitors a chance to discover Scotland’s plentiful larder. As ever, the festival consists of a series of meet-the-local-producer events and chef demos, plus there are over 20 street-food holders. This year the line-up will welcome Glasgow-based FacePlant Foods (one of their tasty creations is pictured), among the country’s

first pop-up plant-based kitchens. Pickering’s Gin will also be in attendance serving their locally made spirit that has been distilled in Edinburgh for over 150 years. Other exhibitors include festival favourite Jarvis Pickle, known for their traditional savoury pies, while there’s also Mexican / Caribbean street food from Umami Spice, falafel, tagines and hummus from Chick & Pea, kebabs galore from Kebabbar, and a taste of East Lothian’s seafood and ice-cream from Alandas. Entry to the Edinburgh Food Festival is free and non-ticketed, making it one of the more accessible events on the capital’s summer calendar. Last year, Assembly welcomed 25,000 visitors and with the increase in vendors this year, they expect it to be bigger and better than ever. Edinburgh Food Festival, Assembly George Square Gardens, George Square, 0131 623 3030, 19–28 Jul.

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Another excellent Fringe by the Sea (2–11 Aug) offers an alternative to the mayhem of Edinburgh, so what better way of escaping the chaos by seeing some of the many delights laid on in North Berwick. There’s a whole host of household names showing up including Kirsty Wark discussing her new novel, The House by the Loch, David Steel in conversation with Gordon Brown, Ian Rankin talking about his new Rebus work, and Eddi Reader celebrating five decades of music-making with a special gig. Other music highlights include a genre-defying DJ set from Groove Armada, sultry soul with Alexander O’Neal and rousing indie-rock from Idlewild. The kids should be kept well entertained thanks to the likes of Dr Jones Funny Bones and Monski Mouse’s dance hall fun, while C Duncan performs at the family-friendly Major Minor Music Club, and there are circus skills to be learned from Fringe by the Sea regular Alexander the Great. Finally, a barrel-load of comedy is in store from the likes of Reginald D Hunter, Janey Godley, Glenn Moore and Simon Evans, while there are screenings of classic Scottish movies such as Ken Loach’s Ae Fond Kiss (pictured), Danny Boyle’s T2 Trainspotting and Lynne Ramsay’s Ratcatcher.

Full details of shows at list.co.uk/festival

TATTOO / JUPITER RISING OTHER FESTIVALS

COLOUR ME GOOD

Deborah Chu anticipates a spectacular kaleidoscope at the Tattoo In a season packed to its gills with sensory ravishment, The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo may truly top the bill. For what else can compete with the sheer wall of sound produced by pyrotechnics, pipes and drums at full blast? This year, the Tattoo takes inspiration from the bold and bright colours of the kaleidoscope, an invention of the Scottish physicist David Brewster. The instrument’s sublime symmetries will be captured in the Tattoo’s famously precise stagecraft, featuring military and cultural performers from home and abroad. As ever, the show will be narrated by the golden voice of Alasdair Hutton, and led by Massed Pipes and Drums, Pipers Trail, Tattoo Dance Company, and Shetland fiddlers group Hjaltibonhoga (pictured). Though the rest of the line-up has yet to be announced, the Edinburgh Castle esplanade has previously been graced by ensembles from as far-flung countries as Turkey, Mexico and Malawi. And with such a theme, there’s every expectation that this year’s spectacle will be its most colourful yet.

The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo, Edinburgh Castle, 0131 225 1188, 2–24 Aug, Mon–Fri, 9pm, Sat, 7.15pm, 10.30pm, £33–£640.

SPACED OUT

BEST OF THE REST OF THE FEST

Jupiter Rising is the latest new festival on Edinburgh’s block and Brian Donaldson finds plenty to get up for

Following on from its earlier smaller-scale Jupiter Artland incarnations (LUNARNOVA CAMPOUT in 2017 and ROMANTI-CRASH! last year), Jupiter Rising strikes out as its own perfectly formed weekend festival. The West Lothian sculpture park and gallery will buzz to the sounds of The Comet Is Coming, Cate Le

Bon (pictured), The Vaselines and Jenny Moore’s Mystic Business while there’s art and performance from Pauline And The Matches, Mary Hurrell and Jim Lambie. For night owls, a late-night stage has been curated by OH141 featuring Sarra Wild and Cucina Povera while those who like more of a sit-down

can enjoy film work from the likes of Trisha Brown’s Dance Company and Amir George. And the good people of SQIFF will be laying on their own special programme. Jupiter Rising, Jupiter Artland, Wilkieston, 01506 889900, 23–25 Aug, £85 (under 12s free).

The Edinburgh International Television Festival (22–24 Aug) extravaganza is again centred on the Edinburgh International Conference Centre with events also occuring across town. Among the top names appearing are Russell T Davies, Kirsty Wark, Hugh Laurie, Nish Kumar, Edith Bowman, and director of Losing Neverland Dan Reed. The Edinburgh Book Fringe (3–28 Aug) features lunchtime events at Lighthouse and evening talks at Golden Hare, with appearances from the likes of Elif Shafak, Marina Warner and Angela Saini. And back at the EICC, Turing Festival (27–29 Aug) explores the latest tech developments.

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Bramble Copper Blossom Indigo Yard Bar Soba The Angelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Share The Devilâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Advocate

Radisson Blu

Hotel Du Vin

Escape the bustling festival crowds and enjoy the perfect G&T at one of our Caorunn Gin partners. Caorunn Gin, cool fizzing tonic water & crisp red apple slices, built over ice. Visit our Caorunn Gin Garden at Hotel du Vin, 11 Bristo Place, Edinburgh, EH1 1EZ

#CaorunnMoment

CITY GUIDE FESTIVAL FUN

The biggest party on the planet is upon us, and to make the most of July and August, it pays to be prepared. Whether youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re looking for a postshow beverage or a meal to set yourself up for the day, you have to know where the best places are. Over the following pages, we tell you about all the top bars and restaurants across the main spots of Edinburgh while there are some hot tips from performers who know this festival city inside and out. Have a good one . . .

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OLD TOWN CITY GUIDE

EAT Angels with Bagpipes 343 High Street, 0131 220 1111, angelswithbagpipes.co.uk

A series of subtly decorated, atmospheric rooms in a 17th-century building on the Royal Mile, Angels with Bagpipes is perfectly positioned to capture the yearround tourist trade. It could have been forgiven for taking a lowest-commondenominator approach but, thankfully, does nothing of the kind. Inestead, it has put considerable effort into creating an engaging dining experience based on well-sourced ingredients and impressive modern Scottish cooking. The staff are friendly and attentive and the overall effect is a reassuring reminder that Edinburgh retains some divine food and heavenly dining experiences for visitors and residents alike. Bertie’s Restaurant & Bar 9 Victoria Street, 0131 322 1000, bertiesfishandchips.com

Bertie’s seats an astonishing 300 diners across two floors, while managing to retain a personal, friendly feel. A monument to the long-standing relationship between Scotland and Italy, it celebrates the fish-and-chip shops the first Italian immigrants opened on these shores, but with modern twists. A black pudding and sausage-meat scotch egg on beetroot ketchup kicks things off very nicely. Chargrilled halloumi with a salsa dip is equally pleasing. Mains are predominantly chip-shop staples, with comprehensive options for those with dietary requirements, including a comfortingly large portion of deep-fried veggie haggis. As it should be, though, excellent battered haddock is the star of the show. Bistro Deluxe by Paul Tamburrini 81 Holyrood Road, 0344 879 9028, paultamburrini.co.uk

It may sit just a short stroll from the bustling Royal Mile, but the calm atmosphere of Bistro Deluxe by Paul Tamburrini is a world away and feels like a real discovery. The chef-patron boasts an impressive CV, with his experience evident in a short, classy bistro menu. A starter of foie gras served with aubergine purée and a sauternes jelly is nicely balanced. Scallops make an appearance among starters and mains, where you’ll find braised ox cheek cooked to moist tenderness, accompanied by red wine jus, mushrooms and bacon. It’s the perfect foil to smoky mash in a dish that is simple yet shows off the kitchen’s skills. David Bann 56–58 St Mary’s Street, 0131 556 5888, davidbann.com

One of Edinburgh’s longest-standing vegetarian restaurants (in its current location since 2002), David Bann has a lovingly created menu of vegetablebased concoctions that won’t leave many dissatisfied diners. For starters, three chickpea-and-cashew koftas are generous – crisp on the outside, soft and spicy on the inside – and come with an unforgettable banana chutney. Quinoa salad with walnut and pomegranate is daintier, a tasty mix of crunchy ingredients and a sweet maple dressing.

Bertie's Restaurant & Bar

Baked parsnip pudding with potato and swede dauphinoise is creamily scrumptious on its pool of subtle pea purée and desserts have a wow factor too. At least a quarter of dishes are vegan and more can be made so on request.

lentil pancakes and samosas. Three or four dishes to share between two should suffice; the only agony is deciding what to choose.

Mono

Ondine has carved out a niche in Edinburgh’s culinary landscape by serving some of the very best seafood in town. Chef-patron Roy Brett eschews fuss, so full-flavoured oaksmoked salmon is simply plated in six narrow strips with shallots, capers and horseradish mayo clustered in little mounds. Lightly battered tempura squid is another winner, accompanied by a bruiser of a Vietnamese dipping sauce. Mains include a beautifully balanced curried monkfish, or you can spoil yourself with one of the decadent (though pricey) platters, piled high with shells. Service is practically faultless and there’s a well thought-out wine list and a wide range of whiskies.

85 South Bridge, 0131 466 4726, monorestaurant.co.uk

This contemporary South Bridge venue is extremely spacious and understated, and it’s remarkably easy to forget about all the hustle and bustle (and buses) outside. Waiting staff proudly present every course, taking time to detail the intricacies of each dish. And they are intricate indeed, from starters including mackerel saor (a pickled Venetian speciality) and squid-ink tagliolini to main courses such as lamb saddle and exquisite aged-parmesan risotto, laced with crispy pancetta and golden egg yolks. The à la carte is small but varied, and there are two tasting menus, including one dedicated to vegetarian dishes. Staff are exceptionally courteous and attentive. Mother India’s Café 3–5 Infirmary Street, 0131 524 9801, motherindiascafeedinburgh.co.uk

An Edinburgh institution thanks to the quality of the generous, tapas-style dishes steaming out of the kitchen. Mother India’s seasonally changing menu with daily specials revolves around staples like chilli garlic chicken, railway lamb curry and spiced haddock. The latter is supremely tasty in its Punjabi spices and goes well with the light and airy deep-fried aubergine fritters, washed down with some craft beer. Other vegetarian options include black dhal in butter and cream, aloo gobi (potato and cauliflower) and various

MY PICKS

Ondine 2 George IV Bridge, 0131 226 1888, ondinerestaurant.co.uk

The Outsider 15–16 George IV Bridge, 0131 226 3131, theoutsiderrestaurant.com

There is no online booking and the limited website shows screenshots of handwritten menus, but that doesn’t deter floods of loyal Outsider customers – this large dining room, with a mezzanine floor and great views of the castle, is frequently packed. Customers are drawn by the variety of the daily specials and keen pricing, with a wide-ranging menu including starters such as a complex pigeon dish with carrot and nutmeg purée, or perfectly moist hake with pea velouté. The witty wine list is a thing to behold, and to finish, light coconut panna cotta or a substantial chunk of chocolate and espresso pavé offer plenty of reasons to return.

ALI AFFLEK JAZZ SINGER My favourite foods are from some of the places I lived in before settling in Scotland, so for my Middle Eastern fix I head to Yeni Meze Bar on Hanover Street. Or for fabulous authentic Nepalese cuisine it has to be the Everest in Tollcross: their aloo tama is phenomenal! And for bars, as a Leither, I like Toast; it has a wonderful ambience there and is a welcome new-ish addition to the shore. However my all-time favourite place is the Jazz Bar; nothing tops the basement speakeasy vibe, the signature ginger drink, gorgeous cocktails and, of course, the best jazz musicians in the country. ■ Edinburgh Jazz & Blues Festival shows at George Square Spiegeltent, 16 Jul, 6pm; Teviot Row, 20 Jul, 2.30pm; for her various Fringe shows, see list.co.uk/festival

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PLANT-BASED DIETS

branch of Pomegranate is convenient and affordable for anyone looking for dependably tasty mezze, shawarma and wraps served in comfortable, unpretentious surroundings. A wallmounted TV plays mesmerising Arabic music videos in the background, as you start by sharing dips and warm mezze. Whipped feta has the expected salty tang but aeration and slivers of caramelised fig elevate it, while the accompanying Lebanese flat bread does the scooping job. Cauliflower fritters are served tempura-style and give good crunch, while the chargrilled marinated meat options – chicken and lamb – are meltin-the-mouth delicious. Wedgwood the Restaurant 267 Canongate, 0131 558 8737, wedgwoodtherestaurant.co.uk

It’s a rare restaurant that doesn’t have at least a few veggie and vegan options on the menu these days, but these places are at least 100% veggie and a good bet for plant-based food too

CONSIDERIT 3–5A Sciennes, 0131 667 4064, consideritchocolate.com A vegan chocolate, doughnut and ice-cream emporium on the fringe of the Meadows which is handy for Summerhall too. HARMONIUM 60 Henderson Street, Leith, 0131 555 3160, harmoniumbar.co.uk This ground-breaking, 100% vegan bar and restaurant does great food in a relaxed environment. HENDERSONS 92 & 94 Hanover Street, 67 Holyrood Road and 25c Thistle Street, hendersonsofedinburgh.co.uk Hendersons pioneered veggie catering in Edinburgh. Its handful of cafés and restaurants around town are either veggie or vegan and always good value. HOLY COW 34 Elder Street, holycowedinburgh.com A vegan café in an unassuming location behind the bus station, Holy Cow is unpretentious, fun and open well into the evening. KALPNA 2–3 St Patrick Square, 0131 667 9890, kalpnarestaurant.com Newly refurbished, stylish and

Petit Paris 38–40 Grassmarket, 0131 226 2442, petitparis-restaurant.co.uk

Smack bang in the middle of the Old Town, Petit Paris has extensive outdoor seating and charm a-plenty. Owner Mathieu Cagna manages a tiny kitchen with aplomb, churning out French classics such as snails nestling in garlic butter with a hint of Pernod, onion soup, coq au vin, Toulouse sausages and stew of the day . . . nothing is fancy, but it’s all done well. The décor is rustic

lively South Indian vegetarian restaurant, with dosas galore, a flexible thali selection and decent vegan options. A favourite for over 40 years. NOVAPIZZA VEGETARIAN KITCHEN 42 Howe Street, 0131 237 5695, novapizza.co.uk No-frills neighbourhood nook with generous portions of meat-free pizza and pasta for sit-in or takeaway. PUMPKIN BROWN 16 Grassmarket, 0131 629 1720, pumpkinbrown.com This stylish wee café in the heart of the Grassmarket is great for a quick pitstop or coffee break – expect simple, colourful vegan food and drinks. SEEDS FOR THE SOUL 167 Bruntsfield Place, 07419 582296, seedsforthesoul.co.uk A bright and friendly 100% vegan café on the main Bruntsfield strip, serving kombucha tea, healthy smoothies, pancakes and wraps. THRIVE CAFÉ BAR 171 Bruntsfield Place, 0131 623 6885, thrive-edinburgh.co.uk This chic café is mainly vegan, apart from a few egg dishes at brunch, and works hard to offer creative twists on classic dishes alongside vegan wine and beer.

with checked red-and-white plastic tablecloths and framed vintage adverts hanging on whitewashed stone walls. You’ll linger longer than you meant to over a pichet of good house red, putting the world to rights in the centre of the world heritage site. Pomegranate Express 12 Nicolson Street, 0131 557 4040, pom-express.com

Open daily from noon to 11pm and slapbang in the heart of the action, this new

134 THE LIST | Edinburgh Festival Guide 2019 | list.co.uk/festival

This smart restaurant has earned well-deserved accolades by producing consistently high-quality cooking with an emphasis on game and foraged foods. A cheddar-and-onion bread and butter pudding starter is given an extra savoury hit by intense mushroom ketchup, while cured salmon has a subtle Douglas fir char. For mains, a deft hand in the kitchen brings out the earthiness in grey mullet, complemented by potato and crab salad, while the aniseed notes of tarragon jus enhance robustly flavoured pheasant. The drink list is a particular passion; new wines are introduced on a regular basis and there’s even one from India served as a refreshing cocktail. White Horse Oyster & Seafood Bar 266 Canongate, 0131 629 5300, whitehorseoysterbar.co.uk

This transformation from the oldest bar on Edinburgh’s High Street to cool, stylish seafood restaurant is nothing short of astonishing. The front bar section is more suited to a casual experience while the rear accommodates those after more conventional dining. As the name suggests, oyster fans are particularly well-catered for with both natural and dressed options, but the bulk of the menu is made up of sharing plates. Sesame tuna with grapefruit is excellent, and octopus and merguez sausage with pine nut, mint and basil is beautifully balanced. Drink options favour bubbles and cocktails but there should be enough to please all but the pickiest drinkers.

bottles of Belgian duppel, German lager and good old, all-American beer. During quieter hours, you may be left with only your thoughts for company, but what better way to appreciate this little treasure in all its glory? Brewhemia 1a Market Street, 0131 226 9560, brewhemia.co.uk

A huge bar made up of a series of interlinked rooms, Brewhemia gives you the choice of a French-style boudoir, a subtly Scottish tartan taproom, a gin bothy that is part Highlands/part après-ski, and a copper-decked Czech beer palace that hosts bands, performers, DJs and piano players. Good-quality food takes in brunch, steaks served on a hot stone, burgers and salads, as well as more distinctive dishes such as chicken schnitzel. Always popular with groups and parties, it’s a Fringe venue in its own right in August with a huge rotating roster of free acts to enjoy with a cold beer. The City Café 19 Blair Street, 0131 220 0125, thecitycafe.co.uk

Many a lost weekend has started with a quiet game of pool at the City Café and its place in the folklore of Edinburgh nightlife has been maintained by simply not changing too much. The menu is dependably unflashy, including burgers, hot dogs, club sandwiches, nacho plates and grazing boards, with a few contemporary pub classics such as chicken Caesar salad and macaroni cheese. Dietary requirements are well catered for and breakfast (served into the evening) makes no pretence of starting your day off healthily: waffles, pancakes, French toast with maple syrup or bacon and varying styles of hollandaise and eggs will see you right. Cold Town House 4 Grassmarket, 0131 357 2865, coldtownhouse.co.uk

The Bow Bar

The newest addition to the Grassmarket, Cold Town House includes a brewhouse, prosecco-and-pizza bar and outdoor terrace housed in a cavernous former church. No expense has been spared in the creation of this shabby-chic interior, where exposed brickwork, leather upholstery and plush-fabric booths frame features such as a fire-pit at the centre of the ground floor, but the real draw is a large outdoor roof terrace with views to the castle. The brewhouse is perhaps the liveliest space, while the Italian-leaning menu features wood-fired pizzas named after Edinburgh neighbourhoods, such as the Marchmont, perfect for enjoying with its own Cold Town beer.

80 West Bow, Victoria Street, 0131 226 7667, thebowbar.co.uk

The Devil’s Advocate

DRINK On the historic curve of West Bow and Victoria Street, the Bow Bar remains delightfully traditional despite the many quirky, hipster-filled establishments that have popped up nearby. That’s not to say its choice of tipples is outdated, however. Somehow, this little nook fits in an astonishing 310 single malts, eight cask ales and six kegs. Keeping things local, it dispenses beer from Scottish brewers as well as hunting down

9 Advocate’s Close, 0131 225 4465, devilsadvocateedinburgh.co.uk

Owner Stuart McCluskey is very good at bars and has kept the old stone walls and industrial fittings of the original Victorian pump house into which the Devil’s is set. Clever lighting, filtering through 300 bottles of whisky, creates a beautiful amber glow that warms the bar, and a mezzanine floor and hidden booths add to that welcoming feeling. One

L ADYBONES By Sorcha McCaffrey | Directed by Lucia Cox

★★★★

NorthWestEnd.co.uk

BroadwayWorld.com

‘Comic, deep, clever and insightful’

pleasance.co.uk 0131 556 6550

‘Shockingly real...fresh and funny’

Jul 31-Aug 26 (not 12,19)

11.25 (1hr) £7 - £11

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cans from the attached beer shop next door, which also has a section of café-style seating. The kitchen has been outsourced to burger company Meat Stack, which does a shortand-simple but effective list of beef burgers (paneer is the vegetarian option). Brie-topped hot buffalo wings and beef dripping fries fill up on the side for a very reasonable price and there’s an excellent wee beer garden and knowledgeable staff too. Under the Stairs 3A Merchant Street, 0131 466 8550, underthestairs.org

Cold Town House

MY PICKS PHOTO: CHRIS SCOTT

of the best spots for whisky in town, it can give you a personal glow with a whisky matched with your meal, perhaps a BenRiach with the smoked fish board. Not a whisky fan? Enjoy an excellent cocktail or choose from the plentiful local beers on tap. Divino Enoteca 5 Merchant Street, 0131 225 1770, divinoedinburgh.com

DOUG JOHNSTONE AUTHOR I’ve lived in Edinburgh for 30 years, originally drinking in student pubs and late-night dive bars. These days I prefer a more chilled-out daytime space, and I live in Portobello so the Skylark is the perfect local for me. It’s a cool wee space that does simple food during the day and a great selection of craft beers, plus there’s always new art on the walls. For a restaurant, I’m going to cheat and choose two. First, if you’re looking to treat yourself, the White Horse on Canongate is amazing, with brilliant oysters and seafood platters. If it’s more homely stuff you’re after, I recommend Mother India Café on Infirmary Street, an Indian tapas-style place that’s always busy, with cheery staff, loads of great choice and a fish pakora to die for. ■ Charlotte Square Gardens, 16 Aug, 1.45pm.

This luxurious Italian restaurant and bar is tucked away beneath the arches of George IV Bridge and feels like an escape to much further afield. Softly lit and elegantly designed, the bar area is relaxed, with cosy leather banquettes and walls stacked with wine, while the main dining space is more formal and exclusively à la carte. More than just an eye-catching design feature, the wine list here is magnificent, with 32 served by the glass. Its mantra is ‘fine wine deserves fine dining’ and with prime cuts of meat and freshly caught fish presented in dainty, delicious portions, it practices what it preaches. Hemma 75 Holyrood Road, 0131 629 3327, bodabar.com/hemma

Hemma’s glossy surface belies a bright and spacious heart. Populated with low couches and wooden furniture, it’s a place where every available surface is garnished with bunting and fairy lights. Weekend days are packed with brunching families lured by the proximity of Holyrood Park, while during the week there’s a laid-back vibe with food to match. The menu features simple yet delicious Swedish-Scottish accents, like a classic smörgåsbord, hearty chowder, and fresh salads heaped with pine nuts and sun-dried tomatoes. The fridge is stocked with a mix of Scottish and Swedish brews, but a particular stunner is the light and fruity Idun’s cider sourced straight from Gothenburg.

136 THE LIST | Edinburgh Festival Guide 2019 | list.co.uk/festival

The Holyrood 9A 9A Holyrood Road, 0131 556 5044, theholyrood.co.uk

The Holyrood 9A has built its reputation as one of the city’s best burger joints with around 15 options on the menu, showcasing haggis, halloumi and everything in-between. It’s also a hotspot for beer lovers, with 25 taps of rotating brews highlighting local and international ales, ciders and beers – check the boards for the flavours of the month. If you’re in a little early for burgers and beer, fear not: breakfasts are substantial and hearty, and served till noon. There’s a neat little kids’ menu too. Beer, burgers, big breakfasts and bairns: it’s a winning combination, all right. The Pop Up Geeks 27 East Market Street, 0131 557 1224, thepopupgeeks.com

The Pop Up Geeks started out running immersive events around Edinburgh before settling in its current pocket-sized home in the New Waverley Arches. Every three months it introduces a new theme; the Upside Down, based on the cult Netflix show Stranger Things, is in place for this summer. But lay any fears of hokey themes and naff fancy dress to rest: there is a huge attention to detail here and each theme’s bespoke drink list has been carefully considered and curated. In other words, it knows its stuff – it’s geek heaven, but credible enough to cause an equal stir amongst the city’s cocktail connoisseurs. No food. Salt Horse Beer Shop & Bar 57–61 Blackfriars Street, 0131 558 8304, salthorse.beer

Salt Horse has more than 350 beers, either in two-thirds of a pint glasses from one of the twelve regularly changing beer taps, or in bottles or

This pleasing basement cocktail bar and restaurant (with bonus fish tank) manages to feel a bit hidden, despite being in the heart of the Old Town. Try an adventurous cocktail such as a Kung Fu Cantona (with rhubarb and hellfire bitters) or Red Mist Wash Over (with Vida mezcal and sun-dried tomato), or stretch your beer muscles with a guest brew such as a sour peach pale ale. There’s a compactbut-beautiful wine selection, and you won’t go hungry with small plates such as octopus escabeche and Indianspiced baba ganoush. There are larger plates including baked rainbow trout and lamb rump too, if you don’t like to share.

CAFÉS Edinburgh Larder Café 15 Blackfriars Street, 0131 556 6922, edinburghlarder.co.uk

Edinburgh Larder has owned the spot next door for a few years and has recently expanded into this second space. Billed as the Larder’s wee cousin, it is designed more as a quick pitstop, with a single-page all-day menu featuring porridge, homemade beans on toast, and a range of chunky and satisfying toasties. Next door is business as usual – an excellent and wholesome lunch and brunch menu with the likes of eggs benny and a full Scottish served until just before noon. The best of Scottish produce shines in both spaces and although it’s just off the Royal Mile, it’s a chilled spot. Gannet & Guga Unit 2, Number 3 The Arches, East Market Street, 0131 558 1762, gannetandguga.com

If you like puns in your menu, friendly chatter with your sandwich and everything made fresh, this is the spot for you. You can create your own Vietnamese banh mi, French-style baguettes filled with the ingredients on display at the counter (don’t miss the vegan aubergine bacon). There is also a pun-filled menu of pre-designed sandwich concoctions, such as the Get Ducked which comes on your choice of bread and features delicious smoked duck with a tangy hoisin kick and a salty, cured egg yolk, or the A Salmon Bun Laden where salmon pairs with horseradish mayonnaise and ripe avocado.

CITY GUIDE OLD TOWN

In association with

Loudons

Hula Juice Bar and Gallery

Lovecrumbs

The Milkman

103–105 West Bow, 0131 220 1121, hulajuicebar.co.uk

155 West Port, 0131 629 0626, lovecrumbs.co.uk

7 Cockburn Street, themilkman.coffee

Tucked into the base of Victoria Street up from the hectic Grassmarket, Hula is a welcome respite from the crowds (there’s a new branch on Fountainbridge too). You can take away freshly pressed juices and made-to-order smoothies or settle at a table and delve into its fresh take on traditional café fare. Most dishes are vegetarian and vegan friendly, such as the rainbow bowl – a rice and curry dish based on a daily selection of seasonal vegetables – or the acai bowl, which layers colourful berries and a crunch of nuts and granola over a sharp-yet-sweet banana-and-berry smoothie.

Though it does offer a handful of simple savouries, Lovecrumbs is all about the cake. With at least eight options every day, you can expect the likes of rhubarb and rose cake, lemon torte, cinnamon shortbread, vegan beetroot cake and daily gluten-free options to grace the counter. Tea lovers will appreciate the flask of hot water that comes with the loose leaves (violet petal or lemongrass and marigold are both great) and its hot chocolates are particularly comforting when the Edinburgh rain strikes. Cushions on the window bench, pot plants and wellworn furniture and floorboards make for a relaxed vibe.

Loudons

Milk at the Fruitmarket Gallery

There are plenty of coffee shops along Cockburn Street, but few compete with the Milkman’s really excellent roasts. Baristas are passionate about what they serve and everything feels carefully and lovingly selected. The house espresso is from the Edinburghbased Obadiah Collective, while a range of rotating guest coffees bring some of the world’s best roasteries to central Edinburgh. Guests may include Berlin-based Bonanza Coffee as well as Girls Who Grind, an ethical roaster supporting female coffee producers. Very much a coffee shop, it has a small food range based on cakes and pastries, and there’s sunny seating available outside.

2 Sibbald Walk, New Waverley, 0131 556 7734, loudons.co.uk

Fruitmarket Gallery, 45 Market Street, 0131 226 8195, cafemilk.co.uk/the-fruitmarket-gallery

Fountainbridge’s acclaimed café has expanded to New Waverley, much to the delight of anyone who likes to brunch. It caters cheerfully for almost any dietary requirement. All-day brunch might feature eggs Benedict made with spinach and goat’s cheese, deliciously drizzled with fresh pesto rather than hollandaise. Lunch proves that brunch isn’t its only strong suit, however; the garlic lamb burger blends Mediterranean influences of mint yoghurt and cumin-spiced lamb with all the pub-food comfort of a burger and fries. A glass counter displays freshly baked cakes. American-style pancakes topped with caramelised baked bananas and maple syrup also make a great dessert option.

Tucked in behind Waverley Station, this contemporary-art gallery is a gem of a find on its own, but the food, provided by dependable Edinburgh café brand Milk, makes the location even more note-worthy. Middle Eastern fusion dishes make up a menu that happily manages to be both healthy and exciting. A baked onion bhaji salad exceeds expectations with generous portions of winter slaw and turmeric, pickled in-house. Sandwiches on germagrain and flatbreads with toppings such as roasted cauliflower, green tahini and avocado are equally tempting. Drinks such as turmeric almond latte or homemade ginger lemonade compete with a discerning list of teas.

138 THE LIST | Edinburgh Festival Guide 2019 | list.co.uk/festival

Mimi’s Bakehouse at the City Art Centre City Art Centre, 2 Market Street, mimisbakehouse.com

Mimi’s in Leith has had a cult following for years, and now the City Art Centre’s café joins its small bakeshop on the Royal Mile to bolster its presence up town. The cakes it has built its reputation upon don’t disappoint; the decadent chocolate fudge cupcake comes with the welcome surprise of a liquid fudge centre to moisten the deep flavours of its sponge plus a generous swirl of soft icing. On the savoury side of things, the winter stovies are as comforting as you would hope, but with the added kick of sweet chilli sauce to keep this traditional dish interesting.

MY PICKS

COLIN YOUNG ACTOR A recent find of mine and an instant favourite is Nobles on Constitution Street. Having two little Frenchies in the family, it’s a great dog-friendly bar and restaurant just ten minutes from the city centre. With stained-glass windows, amazing artwork and a welcoming buzz, Nobles is a sweet spot for brunch after a night in the Fringe. As for the food, the Scottish breakfast is one of the best I’ve had in Edinburgh and being set in Leith, it’s a nice retreat from the tourist hotspots. ■ Purposeless Movements, The Studio, 19–24 Aug, various times.

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CITY GUIDE SOUTHSIDE

In association with

Bodega TollX

Pizza Geeks

36 Leven Street, 0131 228 9485, ilovebodega.com

Bodega’s Tollcross branch is a simple room with no mariachi jollity required; exposed brick, ice-cream pastel walls, monochrome portraits of Mexican wrestlers and wall-hanging greenery all feature. Kick off with a cranberry and blood orange Margarita to whet the buds for sparkly cod and tiger prawn ceviche or some chunky guac and tortillas, then it’s tacos all the way. Opt for a sharing platter or pick a couple of street-size delights each, then compare and share. You can’t go wrong, but highlights might include cochinita pibil – slow-cooked pork shoulder with feta and pretty-in-pink pickled red onion or texture-tastic avocado tempura with wasabi mayo.

PIZZA

Bread Meats Bread In a hurry or just hungry? Pizza is having a bit of a moment in Edinburgh and none of these delicious slices will disappoint

@PIZZA 4 Charlotte Lane, 0131 285 5940, atpizza.com Super-speedy pizza in a canteenstyle setting where diners construct their own pizza from a huge range of well-sourced toppings and it’s all cooked in 90 seconds. CIVERINOS SLICE 49 Forrest Road, 0131 225 4026, civerinosslice.com A bustling pizza joint in the heart of the action, specialising in unusual combos and the grandma slice, a thick, doughy pie baked in a deep Sicilian pan. DOUGH 47 South Clerk Street, 0131 667 5343 and 172 Rose Street, 0131 225 1588, dough-pizza.co.uk As the name suggests, it’s all about the dough here. There is a handful of seats in South Clerk Street, more at Rose Street, and reliable takeaway from both. EAST PIZZAS 7 Commercial Street, 0131 629 2430, eastpizzas.com Delicious sourdough pizzas topped with local ingredients such as venison salami, East flies the flag for modern, innovative pizza at the heart of Leith. LA FAVORITA 325–331 Leith Walk, 0131 554 2430, vittoriagroup.co.uk There's something for everyone in

EAT Aizle 107–109 St Leonard’s Street, 0131 662 9349, aizle.co.uk

Raising Edinburgh’s gastronomic bar, Aizle is a simply decorated, compact restaurant ideal for those times when you want the food to be the main event. The name (Gaelic for a burning coal or

this large, family-friendly pizzeria. You can takeaway from the restaurant if you’re in a rush, or order online for delivery. THE HIGH DIVE 81–85 St Leonards Street, 0131 667 4867, civerinosthehighdive.com The newest member of the Civerinos family is a pizzeria in a pub – genius. The pizza is good and cheap, as is the booze. ORIGANO 236 Leith Walk, 0131 554 6539, origano-leith.co.uk A pretty, busy restaurant where the crusts are puffy and loaded with toppings. Reasonable prices and a good option if you want to sit for a bit. PIZZA GEEKS 19 Dalry Road, 0131 347 8863, pizzageeks.co.uk A home for a once roaming street-food pizzeria, this tiny space has seating for 22 and a focused range of thin-crust pizzas with a distinctive char from the wood-fired oven. PIZZERIA 1926 85 Dalry Road, 0131 337 5757, pizzeria1926.com This casual pizzeria goes like the clappers all year round. Festival time is no exception, but the pizza is worth it – it’s as close to the real Neapolitan deal as you’ll get.

spark; rhymes with hazel) tees up diners for the fiery, no-choice, six-course tasting menu that showcases the versatility of Scotland’s larder. Expect a handful of caught and shot animals interspersed with unfamiliar foraged, home-fermented and locally grown goodies. While there may well be the odd crowd divider, overall it’s an outstanding experience, only made better by considerate service and quality wine pairings.

140 THE LIST | Edinburgh Festival Guide 2019 | list.co.uk/festival

92 Lothian Road, 0131 225 3000, breadmeatsbread.com

Bread Meats Bread’s Lothian Road hangout keeps the fast in fast food, but there are enough details to make it worth paying more than the standard chains, such as brisk table service and its own lager on tap. There is a comprehensive vegan menu, with several options made using homemade seitan as well as Moving Mountains’ B12 burger. Meat is carefully sourced too, and it shows. Nothing here could be described as dainty (though thankfully the poutine comes as a side) but it’s all part of the fun.

Bodega TollX

Chop House Bruntsfield

Passorn

88 Bruntsfield Place, 0131 629 6565, chophousesteak.co.uk

23–23A Brougham Place, 0131 229 1537, passornthai.com

Serving quality Tex-Mex food at the newest Chop House in town (there are branches at Waverley Arches and the Shore too), it creates a real sense that the team have very much perfected their formula. Food, drink and service are slick and the interior is modern, sophisticated and unpretentious, with views over Bruntsfield Links (do ask for a seat upstairs though). Settle back with a cocktail or two before choosing a world-class steak; Scottish beef is dry-aged in-house using Himalayan salts for a minimum of 35 days, then cooked on an open-flame charcoal grill. From the first bite the meat is tender, juicy and full of flavour – just don’t forget the thick-cut dripping chips.

Passorn gets it just right, with a hushed and pleasant atmosphere, soft-spoken service, wine list to make you smile and an interesting menu. Yum saow dod – spicy tenderloin beef salad – sings with lemongrass, lime leaves, chilli and mint, while kaeng phet ped yang, a mouthwatering red curry enhanced with the perfume of Thai sweet basil, handsomely soothes. Kaeng massaman lamb shank falls off the bone, as it should, into a mild, creamy curry. Puds hold their own too, with rich chocolate ice-cream countering the cleansing brightness of green tea ice-cream, while black rice pudding is warm and unctuous against coconut cream.

Konkana

La Petite Mort

30–32 Leven Street, 0131 228 6694, konkana.co.uk

32 Valleyfield Street, 0131 229 3693, lapetitemortedinburgh.co.uk

A lot of thought has gone into this elegant, seafood-focused Indian restaurant in Tollcross. The chefs take great care not to overpower the spanking fresh fish with too many spices, getting the balance right with aromatic, light sauces. The seafood appetisers deserve a look; choose from local catch of the day fried in a delicate gram flour batter and served with tamarind and mint chutney, or sea bass with a potato and pomegranate take on chaat. Presentation and service raise the bar, with fresh flowers, dainty salad garnishes and colourful sauces sitting prettily on minimal white tableware. Leave space for dessert, particularly the delicious gulab jamun.

This diminutive diner, next door to the King’s Theatre, punches way above its weight in an appropriately theatrical setting. A reassuringly small menu includes a starter of goat’s cheese mousse brought into sharp focus with a smattering of spiky pickled carrots. A hefty slice of duck terrine is loaded with aromatic leg meat, while mains include a bravura vegetarian wellington comprising three swirled pastries packed with resonant pine nut, broccoli and spinach on a bed of sweet parsnip purée, with sharp lemon zest adding brazen, bright surges. Amiable staff and a nicely priced wine list round off an authentic bistro experience.

SOUTHSIDE CITY GUIDE

Yamato 11 Lochrin Terrace, 0131 466 5964, yamatosushiedinburgh.co.uk

This is a place to enjoy quality sushi. Bluefin tuna and the highest grade waygu beef take pride of place on the menu, but every dish is fresh, expertly handled and adorned with flowers, leaves, shells or bamboo ribbons. Yellowtail sashimi is as pretty as a sunrise, with its crimson edge fading to ivory flesh, embellished with a drop of yuzu pepper paste. O-toro (tuna belly) practically melts before it hits your mouth, generous lines of fat adding depth and texture. More modern takes are worth exploring, such as the strangely delicious Yamato roll, and give yourself time to explore the extensive sake list too.

DRINK The Auld Hoose 23–25 St Leonards Street, 0131 668 2934, theauldhoose.co.uk

Sonder

There’s nothing more comforting than a plate of nachos, piled sky high and overflowing with giant dollops of salsa, sour cream, guacamole and oozing with generous amounts of melted cheese; unless perhaps it’s a leaning tower of Pisa-like mountain of onion rings. The Auld Hoose is a haven for hearty pub food, with plenty of vegetarian and vegan-friendly options. Breweries such as Tiny Rebel, Tempest and Alechemy are on tap and the fridge is stocked with interesting bottled beers, while the metal and punk-flavoured juke box is among the best in the city. It’s a friendly laidback place where dogs are welcome too.

Yamato

74–78 South Clerk Street, 0131 667 7032, restaurant-sonder.com

Opened in August 2018, Sonder shows off the eclectic culinary influences of far-travelled owner Trisha McCrae and the cooking skills of her fellow globetrotter Paul Graham. Cool colours and exposed walls give a relaxed vibe, enhanced by dining booths and banquette-style seating. A regularly changing small-plates menu is divided into snacks, garden, sea and land. Snacks could include a tastebud-tingling diced venison bresaola with yuzu mayonnaise and marjoram, served on wafer squares. Roast cauliflower with romanesco broccoli and blobs of black garlic is a popular garden selection, while the sea features the likes of monkfish with sea vegetables, enhanced by a subtle curry sauce. Tanjore

Bennets Bar 8 Leven Street, 0131 229 5143, bennetsbaredinburgh.co.uk

A beautiful traditional bar, offering a wide range of cask ales, whiskies, wine and cocktails. Busy with theatregoers heading to the King’s as well as those settling in for the night, it’s full of gorgeous original features such as cute brass water taps on the bar and the ladies’ snug: a set-apart wee room with its own serving hatch. The food is traditional too, but because it shares a kitchen (and loos) with La Petite Mort next door, it’s a cut above your average pub grub. Expect high-quality comfort food, such as mac and cheese and pulled pork brioches. The Blackbird

6–8 Clerk Street, 0131 478 6518, tanjore.co.uk

Taxidi

Ting Thai Caravan

6 Brougham Street, 0131 228 1030

Tanjore is beloved by the city’s vegan and vegetarian community for its many veggie-friendly options, while a BYOB policy without corkage means it is often bustling with large, happy parties. Its curry options are certainly no slouch, such as a Chennai mango seafood curry that successfully harmonises the creaminess of the cashew with the acidic tang of mango and tamarind. However, the menu’s true crowning glory is the dosa selection, with a special shout-out to the masala dosa, which encases a mash of spiced potatoes, tomato and onion in a wrapper that is perfectly crisp yet soft, served alongside generous portions of sambar and chutneys.

Taxidi is a cosy bistro in busy Tollcross, with authenticity in spades. Mezze options are plentiful and include squeaky sheep’s milk talagani cheese, named for the winter cape worn by Greek shepherds. Pitta bread is seasoned with lashings of olive oil and oregano (as the staff will tell you, it’s all about the olive oil). Fava Santorinia, described as Greek hummus, begs to be scooped up; it’s made from yellow split peas rounded out with caramelised onion, capers and lemon. If you’re not in the mood for sharing, mains dishes are all packed with character and flavour, and there are daily specials too.

8–9 Teviot Place, 0131 225 9801, tingthai-caravan.com

This small and always packed place serves up tasty Thai street food with skill, passion and edge. Meals mostly come in boxes, in keeping with their street-food roots. Along with the signature dishes of pad Thai and green curry, there are fat prawns in a crisp beer batter, crunchy tofu pieces with chilli jam, deep-fried eggs with crispy shallots, or larger portions of pan-fried sea bass and honey duck breast. This is a no-booking, no-lingering spot – expect to queue. The line usually moves quickly enough but if you’re pushed for time, sister restaurant Saboteur is practically next door and equally reliable.

37–39 Leven Street, 0131 228 2280, theblackbirdedinburgh.co.uk

Cocktails, beers and casual dining in a laid-back, contemporary setting with one of Edinburgh’s best beer gardens and exceptionally friendly service. The cocktail list is extensive, ranging around easy-going fruit flavours. Food-wise the beef burger comes with lots of hot, salty shoestring fries while small plates and desserts show flair. Sticky chicken wings with pomegranate molasses (complete with finger bowl) will satisfy hungry diners. Orange crème brûlée and polenta cake are both worth leaving room for. It’s worth knowing its hangover-killing breakfast is available until noon through the week, and well into the afternoon on weekends.

list.co.uk/festival | Edinburgh Festival Guide 2019 | THE LIST 141

CITY GUIDE SOUTHSIDE

MY PICKS

In association with

and efficient and reasonable prices (from £2.75 a glass) mean you can roam freely throughout the quirky wine list. Try an orange wine (closer to sherry), or a sweet one, sample biodynamic production or a grape you’ve never heard of, or sip a herb-infused Bloody Mary while grazing on decent charcuterie, some Mellis cheese or pork-and-duck gyoza, all made with attention to detail. No 1 the Grange

JOJO FRASER AUTHOR / SPEAKER Nice toilets are important to me so a gold star to the Ivy on the Square for the best smelling ones in the city (always a pleasure topping up my lipstick) and it offers delicious lunch from light, beautiful-looking salads to ribeye steak. El Cartel is a must for a nice relaxed atmosphere, fresh food and moreish frozen margaritas. Dishoom is my all-time favourite for breakfast; the chicken livers and bacon and egg nan are a true delight. The crispy sea-bass salad at Passorn is utterly delicious and takes me straight back to Thailand. For a chilled afternoon or romantic setting I adore Rhubarb at Prestonfield House. If you fancy afternoon tea, it does the best homemade raspberry jam I’ve tasted. For families, the Sheraton now does a Sunday lunch complete with a wonderful kids club by Sparkle Arts. We parents need more of this! ■ Fringe by the Sea, North Berwick, 4 Aug, 1pm.

Burlington Bros Casting Agency 11–13 Tarvit Street, 0131 466 1702, facebook.com/burlingtonbros

If there’s one thing Edinburgh has in abundance, it’s classy cocktail bars. There’s something for everyone too, which means it’s easy to become overwhelmed with choice. Burlington Bros Casting Agency aims to stand out against the rest, a small but perfectly formed cocktail bar inspired by the wordof-mouth bars of Berlin with complex booze-forward cocktails and a strict no-shake-or-garnish policy. Prefer your cocktails topped with half a fruit shop and shaken to within an inch of their life? One sip of this bar’s intricate drinks will convert you, even if the blessed silence of the no-shake doesn’t. The Fat Pony Wine Bar 47/49 Bread Street, 0131 229 5770, thefatpony.com

A relaxed setting for exploring an imaginative selection of wines and cocktails on largely loveless Bread Street. The modern décor is saved from austerity by colourful bar stools and little kitsch ponies. Service is helpful

1 Grange Road, 0131 667 2335, no1thegrange.co.uk

Food is the focus at this comfortable corner bar on the boundary of Newington and the Grange, where the bright interior and series of booths and nooks make it an ideal stop. Real thought has gone into the place, with a well-considered range of food and drinks. Behind the bar are two real-ale pumps (the emphasis is on beers from local brewers), 35 whiskies and ten gins, while the food menu offers country pub classics with a twist; a confit rabbit and black pudding sausage roll with carrot ketchup, for example, or a hearty steakand-ale pithivier. Paradise Palms 41 Lothian Street, 0131 225 4186, theparadisepalms.com

take pride of place on the bar, while the enclosed courtyard is a joy to behold. Sofi’s Southside 42–44 Buccleuch St, 0131 285 8400, bodabar.com

The Boda Bar team (behind Hemma, Boda, Akva and more) have sprinkled their Swedish magic over this bar, transforming it into a place where you want to hang out. The cosiness, quirky touches and games add to the friendly atmosphere. Drinks include crazy cocktails invented by staff, gin teapots with added cinnamon or rose and orange blossom, Sofi’s own lager on tap or a nice Drygate ale, with plenty of teas, coffee and soft drinks. They’re working hard to build a community here, and no doubt planning lots of festival shenanigans to welcome in even more new pals.

CAFÉS Beetroot Sauvage 33–41 Ratcliffe Terrace, 0131 629 4484, beetrootsauvage.co.uk

The perfect oasis, the café at Newington’s Beetroot Sauvage is completely plantbased. There’s an upstairs studio space

for yoga and other wellbeing classes and a real calm, community feel. The all-day breakfast menu moves into deli bowls, sandwiches and substantial mains, often featuring its own homemade cheese in dishes such as toasted ciabatta sandwiches with pesto and tomatoes and a substantial mac and cheese. Cakes include raw bakes, drinks range from Steampunk coffee to smoothies, loose-leaf tea and turmeric lattes, while plenty of outdoor seating make it a good bet when the crowds get too much. Brew Lab 6–8 South College Street, 0131 662 8963, brewlabcoffee.co.uk

Brew Lab offers something for the thoughtful, the gregarious and the serious coffee fan. Breakfast spans everything from fresh fruit to toast and jam, while lunch brings sandwiches from Gannet & Guga to satisfy vegetarians, vegans and carnivores. A feta, tzatziki, spiced courgette and sundried tomato baguette should ward off hunger pangs in style. That’s as well as soups and salads from Union of Genius and cakes from Grace & Co. Coffee, of course, steals the show here with four varieties – complete with tasting

It’s fun just reading the cocktail menu in this fairy-light festooned bar which is kitschy, 80s and tiki. Try a six quid classic, such as a Martini or Chaplin Smash. Sharing a teapot (‘No drinking from the spout’) is also recommended. The vegetarian/vegan soul food lines the stomach with carbs and cheese. Meat substitute seitan dominates, as in the Philly-cheese steak – seitan strips and fried onion with smoked applewood and chipotle cheese sauce, delicious with lucky spice (paprika) fries. Grab a bite before kicking back with the house DJ, live band or just hanging with a crowd who don’t take themselves too seriously. The Pear Tree House 38 West Nicolson Street, 0131 667 7533, peartreeedinburgh.co.uk

The proud possessor of the best beer garden in Edinburgh, a huge cobbled courtyard filled with picnic tables, outdoor screens and live bands during the festival. A recent refurb means the interior of the bar has now caught up with the outside, from the stylishly up-lit stairway, to the clean wooden flooring and strippedback brick walls, to the rows and rows of gleaming red-lit spirits behind the bar. Food is reasonably priced pub grub such as burgers and fish and chips. Get there early on sunny afternoons and be prepared to defend your seat. The Royal Dick Bar & Bistro 1 Summerhall, 0131 560 1572, summerhall.co.uk/the-royal-dick

As the house bar for the wonderful Summerhall arts complex, there’s a bubbling vibrancy here. There's a pubby feel to the menu, with a focus on quick bites and sandwiches, and a couple of main options thrown in for good measure. From the fryer, jalapeño poppers and puff-pastry samosas make for moreish bar snacks, while a substantial brisketfilled Reuben or a comforting aubergine parmigiana might help sop up a beer or two. Barney’s Beer and Pickering’s Gin are produced in the building and

142 THE LIST | Edinburgh Festival Guide 2019 | list.co.uk/festival

Blackbird

LLIAM PATERSON

A brand new opera for 12 to 24 month-olds

Venue No.

WORLD PREMIERE

EDINBURGH ACADEMY 2 – 16 AUG | 10am & 11.30am Co-commissoned and co-produced with Royal & Derngate, Northampton

scottishopera.org.uk Registered in Scotland Number SC037531 Scottish Charity Number SC019787

Supported by Scottish Opera’s Education Angels & New Commissions Circle Supported using public funding by Arts Council England

CITY GUIDE SOUTHSIDE

notes – while true caffeine heads can book in at the training lab to learn the intricacies of the barista’s skill.

In association with

Bennets Bar

Honeycomb & Co

Brochan 24 Marchmont Crescent, 0131 629 2622, brochan.co.uk

Health and indulgence combine in equal measure at this inspired little spot on the Marchmont café scene. Dedicated to oats and grains, Brochan serves extravagant bowls of porridge from morning until mid-afternoon. A pear crumble porridge bowl arrives beautifully drizzled with dark chocolate and a scattering of petals, with ginger-poached pears underneath complementing creamy slow cooked home-rolled oats. Vegan options are par for the course and refined sugar is off the menu altogether. Coffee lovers will also be more than satisfied with a cup of Glen Lyon, while avocado or smashed butternut squash on toast offers a less oat-focused breakfast alternative. Café 1505 18 Nicolson Street, 0131 527 1686, surgeonsquarter.com

From the outside, Café 1505 appears a little underwhelming, but inside you’ll find a decent spot that is working hard to serve every facet of the community. Families take advantage of the 10% café discount (offered if you explore the Surgeons’ Hall Museum next door beforehand) while weary Fringe performers in need of comfort foodand

MY PICKS

calm gather here. There are daily specials such as tender lamb tagine, while the gentle heat from a bowl of butternut squash soup is a delicious way to thaw off. If sitting in, you can enjoy it all while reading the fascinating timeline of Surgeons’ Hall’s history that snakes along the walls. Fieldwork 105 Fountainbridge, fieldworkcafe.co.uk

Everything about this hip café emphasises the personal and local: it is run by a husband and wife team, there are rotating art displays by Edinburgh artists, and the teas, coffees and produce are locally sourced. Homemade twists on lunch favourites include cannellini

MYSTIKA GLAMOOR PERFORMER My favourite Edinburgh bar has to be the Street on Picardy Place. Cheap drinks, queer culture and quirky artistic atmosphere: a perfect combination! I’ve performed there many times and I love that everyone is so friendly and up for a good time, especially when the legendary DJ Trendy Wendy is on. There are so many great restaurants in Edinburgh, but I’ll pick Dishoom on St Andrew Square (handily, just round the corner from the Street). It serves delicious Indian tapas; my personal favourite is the bhel puri. Plus the service and ambience there is great. As I’m writing this, all I can think about is Indian food . . . ■ Jupiter Rising at Jupiter Artland, Wilkieston, 23–25 Aug.

beans sautéed with tomatoes, thyme and basil, and served on a slice of sourdough from Leith’s Breadshare, making a deliciously adult take on beans on toast. The spiced grilled cheese melts together sharp smoked cheddar, sweet caramelised onion, and a touch of sriracha for a series of gooey, decadent mouthfuls with a satisfying kick.

bowls, sandwiches and salads, including roasted butternut squash with prosciutto and feta, piled high with colourful crispy leaves, sugar snap peas and pumpkin seeds. Coffee geeks will marvel at the equipment and beans for sale and no doubt indulge in the odd piece of selfgifting as they linger over a cup of the city’s most reliable coffee.

Machina Espresso

Söderberg The Meadows

80 Nicolson Street, 0131 629 9825, machina-espresso.co.uk

27 Simpson Loan, Quartermile, 0131 228 5876, soderberg.uk

Whether you are a die-hard coffee fanatic or simply passing by, this is a cool but casual spot for enjoying a caffeine fix made with real attention to detail. As well as cakes, pastries and bagels, menu options include smoothie

Straddling the Quartermile and the bustle of George Square and the Meadows, this roomy scandi-style coffee house with loads of outdoor seats is always a popular festival spot – but with three other cafés, a restaurant and three bake shops around town, you’re never too far from your next Söderberg cardamom bun fix. Here, floor-to-veryhigh-ceiling windows create a bright, airy space, while the counter is piled high with Swedish pastries. The classic prosciutto, mozzarella and rocket sandwich is elevated by the fresh, crusty baguette made in its own bakery, and the traditional cinnamon bun is a perfect blend of spice and texture. Summerhall Café 1 Summerhall, 0131 560 1580, summerhall.co.uk/cafe-shop

Beetroot Sauvage

144 THE LIST | Edinburgh Festival Guide 2019 | list.co.uk/festival

There’s always something interesting going on at Summerhall, and its roomy café continues the theme with its wide-windowed, peaceful space providing a contrast to the building’s imposing exterior. The menu is creative too: miso aubergine, spring onion and chickpea toasted wrap is subtly spiced and deceptively filling, and comes with a vibrant side salad dressed with a hint of aniseed. The soya bean, quinoa and avocado salad is a generous plate of well-matched flavours, layered with colour and interest until the final forkful. A great spot to take the load off and refuel while planning your next cultural foray.

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NEW TOWN CITY GUIDE

EAT BABA 130 George Street, 0131 527 4999, baba.restaurant

A contemporary take on classic Levantine dining in a shabby-chic, see-and-be-seen, restaurant where staff are well-informed and attentive without being intrusive. Even though relatively compact, the menu is a pick-and-mix of flavours, textures and price tags, so a little guidance goes a long way. Order abundantly from the snacks, side and mezze sections. Smoky trout pastirma sliced thinly and paired with sharp pickled cucumber and contrasting herb labneh is a stand-out. Throw in at least a couple of dips with flat breads and perhaps bypass a main to leave room for the desserts, showstoppers every one. Café St Honoré 34 North West Thistle Street Lane, 0131 226 2211, cafesthonore.com

Chef-director Neil Forbes confidently showcases classic technique, contemporary flourishes and impeccably sourced Scottish produce in this delightful French bistro, giving equal consideration to sustainability as to what’s on the plate. A rich mix of organic choices on a carefully selected wine list supports a focused à la carte, with plenty of dishes that can be refashioned as dairy or gluten-free. Smoked salmon terrine with horseradish and pickled cucumbers appears alongside the likes of braised pork belly with Peelham Farm nduja or North Sea hake with Shetland blueshell mussels. The fixed-price is equally appealing but don’t leave without sampling the dark chocolate fondant – it’s sensational. Chez Jules 109 Hanover Street, 0131 226 6992, chezjulesbistro.com

A French bistro transplanted straight

from the arrondissements of Paris, Chez Jules exudes quirky charm. Blackboard walls covered in cursive spell out the specials, red-and-white checked tablecloths drape over tightly clustered tables, and stacks of bottles behind the bar and near the doorway are testament to the excellent wine list. The menu is unashamedly French, focusing on classics done well, such as warm goat’s cheese salad, layering crisp leaves, a crunch of walnut and a generous drizzle of honey for a sumptuous blend of flavours and textures, while steak frîtes are some of the best in town. It’s fun, busy and incredibly good value too. Contini George Street 103 George Street, 0131 225 1550, contini.com/contini-george-street

The first things that grab you in this converted banking hall are the extraordinary Italian renaissance-style wall display, Corinthian columns and stuccoed ceiling. This opulence may prompt a double-take, because the prices really don’t match the surroundings; it’s exceptional value for the quality. Starters include a wonderfully light carpaccio served with porcini cream and caper crust, and fresh Scottish baby squid, deep fried with vegetables and served with homemade mayonnaise. Main courses include plenty of pasta options, as well as dishes such as spiced pork and sultana meatballs with nduja oil. Service is magical, and its breakfast is the perfect way to ease into your day. Dishoom 3A St Andrew Square, 0131 202 6406, dishoom.com/Edinburgh

Dishoom offers tapas-style Indian dining ranging from old familiar favourites, such as the quintessential chicken tikka to more exotic street fare such as pau bhaji – spicy mashed vegetables served alongside generously buttered buns. Other scene stealers include the signature house black dhal, a gloriously creamy

concoction that’s cooked for over 24 hours, and an unbelievably tender chicken ruby swimming in a silky sauce. Its spiced house chai is served piping-hot and subject to bottomless refills until 5pm, and breakfast guests are encouraged to linger over the incredible bacon naan rolls, filled with locally sourced, smoked streaky bacon, cream cheese and sharp chilli tomato jam.

MY PICKS

83 Hanover Street 83 Hanover Street, 0131 225 4862, 83hanoverstreet.com

Chilean flavours meld with Scottish produce in this sunny, comfy basement, served by a young team who exemplify switched-on-yet-laid-back service. There’s a confidence that belies the restaurant’s relative youth. A plate of charcuterie from the excellent East Coast Cured is served simply and cleanly, yet elsewhere on the menu it’s the accompaniments that add intrigue: sharp, oniony pebre salsa with the sopaipillas (squidgy little fried breads made to the owner’s mother’s recipe); nubbly, savoury bean stew with tender octopus; squidgy, spicy new potatoes with the punchy swordfish and chorizo skewers. There’s a short but interesting wine list too, with plenty by the glass or carafe. El Cartel New Town 64 Thistle Street, 0131 226 7171, elcartelmexicana.co.uk

There’s no booking at El Cartel, so pop your name down for a table then nip over to its sister bar Bon Vivant for a drink. The menu is as compact as the venue – seven options apiece of soft tacos and snacks, served when they’re ready. It’s stylish, spicy street food: fresh guac topped with sheep’s milk cheese and pomegranate, fun cream cheese bombers, citrusy and surprisingly chunky ceviche, sweet potato quesadillas, or a huge plate of wings. Tacos change frequently but always include a couple of veggie options. Be warned though – they love their hip hop, and they love it loud. The Lookout by Gardener’s Cottage

SANJEEV KOHLI WRITER / ACTOR I’m a big fan of a taster menu. Choice generally defeats me, so little bits of everything is right up my culinary alley. I’ve tried several times unsuccessfully to do the taster menu at the Kitchin. In fact I’ve never eaten there, which is bizarre because I actually worked there once (for two hours) for a Children in Need thing. I have had the taster menu at Castle Terrace, though, which was beyond smashing. The last restaurant I visited in Edinburgh was Dishoom, part of the recent explosion in Indian street food which I throw my FULL weight behind. It’s one of the few places in Scotland that does rumali roti (which literally translates as ‘handkerchief bread’), an utterly divine barelythere melt in the mouth version of chapati. I recommend-amundo. As a bonus, the name ‘dishoom’ comes from the sound effect that accompanied punches in old Bollywood films, combining my two very favourite things: onomatopoeia and Indian food. ■ Fags, Mags and Bags, Underbelly, George Square, 1–26 Aug, 4.40pm.

Calton Hill, 0131 322 1246, thelookoutedinburgh.co

Between the sweeping views, course after course of beautifully curated dishes and the theatre of an open kitchen, the Lookout is a feast for the senses. The views are simply stunning, perhaps the best in the city, and well worth the climb (diners with mobility restrictions must be dropped off by taxi). The team from the Gardener’s Cottage are behind the stove, so expect the best, freshest Scottish produce served precisely yet simply. There’s talk of summer barbeques on the outside terrace, and while it’s not the place for a casual dinner between shows, it’s definitely a worthy centrepiece of an occasion in its own right. Maki & Ramen 37 Leith Street, 0131 556 4719, makimaki-restaurant.co.uk

Dishoom

With three other successful locations on the Southside, this reliable wee chain has finally ventured north. Perfect for a speedy dinner or lunch pitstop. Despite the presence of some sushi

on the menu, the star of the show here is ramen, Japan’s ineffably moreish national noodle dish. Its selection includes not only the classic roast porkbased tonkotsu broth but also miso and sesame variations with chicken, tataki beef or grilled salmon, while chillilovers can level up with the ominously titled hell ramen. This Maki & Ramen isn’t quite as quirky as the others, but you can always expect a good time, a good bowlful and a good atmosphere. New Chapter 18 Eyre Place, 0131 556 0006, newchapterrestaurant.co.uk

A charming bistro, New Chapter overlays contemporary Scottish cuisine with a European influence, with executive chef Maciej Szymik fashioning skilfully composed and elegantly plated dishes, all confidently road-tested on a loyal band of returning regulars. A stand-out starter of Orkney scallops with pork belly and black pudding kicks off an evening à la carte

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CITY GUIDE NEW TOWN

MY PICKS

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and bravery does have its downside, as some flavour combinations are challenging. Service is attentive and the tasting menu comes with unusual drinks pairing options; it’s refreshing to see more than just wine on offer.

DRINK The Bon Vivant 55 Thistle Street, 0131 225 3275, bonvivantedinburgh.co.uk

YULIA KOVANOVA ARTIST Brauhaus is one of the bars I keep coming back to. It’s small but mighty, with one of the best craft beer selections in Edinburgh and very tasteful décor, featuring an old sewing machine and wood furnishing, with soft, warm lighting. As for somewhere to eat, I have always had a wonderful time in the Rabbit Hole, tucked away in my favourite part of Marchmont. Delicious food with a homely atmosphere in a quiet part of town. ■ Yulia Kovanova: Grey to Blue, Edinburgh College of Art, 25 Jul–25 Aug, 11am–5pm.

featuring rich, yielding short rib of beef with parmesan purée and bone marrow crumb. A handful of tempting cocktails support a carefully selected wine list from L’Art du Vin, and exceptionally friendly service makes this a venue well worth travelling across town for.

Tucked away on Thistle Street, this is a great spot for a quick drink or leisurely evening. Racing-green walls, retro prints and candlelight provide smart and cosy surrounds to enjoy beautifully prepared dishes and drinks. Bites are more than a mouthful and packed with flavour, with a mere couple of pounds buying the likes of cured salmon rolls with horseradish or iberico and herb arancini with sriracha mayonnaise. The full menu runs from bistro-style terrines or savoury tarte tatin to classic fish and chips or steak, crossing over to Bakewell ice-cream to finish. Knowledgeable staff provide slick service and plenty of recommendations to match tipple and tastes. Bramble 16A Queen Street, 0131 226 6343, bramblebar.co.uk

Blink and you’ll miss Bramble’s doorway, hidden at basement level with nothing but a little brass plaque to hint at what lies within. It’s a top tip for cocktail enthusiasts. Inside the cosy nooks nod to retro cool and the friendly team offer smooth service and helpful recommendations. The ever-evolving menu bursts with booze, with several pages dedicated to gins and whiskies,

The Cumberland Bar 1–3 Cumberland Street, 0131 558 3134, cumberlandbar.co.uk

A varied and loyal crowd fill the snugs of the Cumberland on a chilly day, enjoying comfort food and fine ales. Sunnier weather brings the buzz of chatter outside to sit under the huge weeping willow in the garden. Seasonal menus feature the classics, from chunky beer-battered haddock and chips to pies, bangers and burgers with Scottish accents – the likes of haggis and whisky jam are dotted throughout. A nice selection from cask and keg, both regular and guest, further verify its traditional pub credentials. This New Town favourite can be relied upon for good food and drink in a convivial atmosphere. Good Brothers Wine Bar 4–6 Dean Street, 0131 315 3311, goodbrothers.co.uk

Hidden on a side street in Stockbridge, Good Brothers Wine Bar has an unassuming frontage that belies the adventures within. A clean minimalist interior echoes the stripped-back, everevolving wine list, with an intimate, grown-up atmosphere hinting at how seriously proprietors Rory and Graeme Sutherland take their grapes. With attentive and knowledgeable staff on hand to guide your journey, the list features natural wine producers, such as Tullum Biologico from small vineyard Feudo Antico. This is definitely the place

to try something different. A selection of small plates and bar bites completes the picture. The Guildford Arms 1 West Register Street, 0131 556 4312, guildfordarms.com

This is one of Edinburgh’s most beautiful traditional bars, with gleaming dark wood and brass twinkling in the soft lights. But pubs don’t stay open for well over 100 years just because they’re pretty. That the Guildford’s social media pages feature picture after picture of its guest ales, rather than its gleaming gantry, is perhaps the key to its longevity. Beer is a serious business here, with a continuously changing range of cask and craft ales and beers gracing the taps. And while there are some familiar faces, there’s always something new to discover, whether it’s a new brewer or a single cask of something special. Hoot the Redeemer 7 Hanover Street, 0131 220 0310, hoottheredeemer.com

Step down the unremarkable staircase and push the fortune-teller hard. You’ll find yourself stepping back into a 1950s funfair complete with vintage cinema seating, booths and stools. Hoot the Redeemer is all about fun – and cocktails. There’s a large menu of house cocktails but staff will also recommend something to suit your mood or prepare one of the classics, either as you like it or with a house twist. If that’s not your thing there are plenty of bottle and draft beers and wines while boozy slushies and alcoholic Senor Scoop ice-cream (both of which are available to take away) bring out the inner child. Lady Libertine 25 West Register Street, 0131 322 1020, ladylibertine.co.uk

Split over two floors in a corner of the Edinburgh Grand, this locally led addition to St Andrew Square serves food from early until late. Ground floor and basement levels each have their own feel and menu. The bright, airy ground-level café bar offers breakfast, all-day mezze and sweets that can be coupled with a coffee, cocktail or glass of wine. In contrast, the basement bar, dripping in jewelled wallpaper and geometric pattern, offers a more extensive mezze menu including larger portions to share, and flatbreads and kebabs, while interesting cocktails are prepared with skill and more than a little panache.

Purslane 33A St Stephen Street, 0131 226 3500, purslanerestaurant.co.uk

Down a flight of stairs, this understated Stockbridge gem is inoffensively decorated in neutral tones; it’s soon clear the food does all the talking in Paul Gunning’s Purslane. Cheese gougère canapes set the scene, followed perhaps by a moist sea bream amusebouche. Clued-up diners might opt for the five or seven-course tasting menu to ease decision making. They both feature intensive bursts of flavour delivered in a selection of sized-down à la carte dishes, such as plump scallops with freshly diced peppers and dollops of a tangy romesco sauce or a refined take on a comforting and smoky Cullen skink.

The Last Word Saloon 44 St Stephen Street, 0131 225 9009, lastwordsaloon.com

Taisteal 1–3 Raeburn Place, 0131 332 9977, taisteal.co.uk

Taisteal means journey, but perhaps the word adventure is a better fit, for here chef Gordon Craig takes traditional Scottish ingredients and elevates them using techniques from across the world. Curried parsnip soup sets the tone of the menu, with a wonderful contrast of sweet and spicy, but Taisteal’s ethos is perhaps shown best by the grilled venison, paired with artichokes, wild mushrooms and a truffle-filled raviolo. It’s brave –

but the cocktails are the real highlight. Interesting ingredients, such as baconwashed Courvoisier, are developed with imaginative methods, combined creatively and presented beautifully. Some even feature the bar’s very own spirits such as Sea Wolf, Scotland’s first white rum.

Lady Libertine

148 THE LIST | Edinburgh Festival Guide 2019 | list.co.uk/festival

Tucked away in a Stockbridge basement the Last Word’s cosy, quirky atmosphere, sheepskin rugs and welcoming staff will make you feel instantly at home. While the décor may be traditional, there’s nothing conventional about the fabulous cocktail menu. A Tiger Moth is a beautifully berry-sweet blend of maraschino liqueur, gin and grenadine, while the addition of sugar-snap pea syrup gives the Lear’s Lyric a delightful savoury lift. There’s no kitchen, but nibbles are available and, if cocktails aren’t your thing, there are plenty of wines by the glass, plus rotating guest beers and an impressive array of single malts.

Taking the edge off bad ‘comedians’ since 2003. We’ll cheers to that.

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CITY GUIDE NEW TOWN

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Café Portrait

six°north 24 Howe Street, 0131 225 6490, sixdnorth.co.uk

The focus here is on Belgian beer, although the house brews are made in Stonehaven in Aberdeenshire, located six degrees of latitude north of Belgium. Each table has a tome containing information about hundreds of beers, including their percentage abv, origin and what is available on draught. If you’re firmly committed to millennial culture, you can ask to view the list on your smartphone or one of the bar’s own tablets. Beer fearers needn’t worry: there’s also an impressive wine and spirits list, including over 20 varieties of gin, while the kitchen focuses on a short menu of snacks and flatbread pizzas. Smith & Gertrude 26 Hamilton Place, 0131 629 6280, smithandgertrude.com

Whether you pop in for a quick glass of bubbles and some black-truffle crisps, or perhaps plan to settle in for a few relaxing hours with a carefully themed wine-and-cheese flight, the sophisticated and welcoming Smith & Gertrude will see you right. The wine list features well-known and less-familiar varieties from around the world, with more than just lip service paid to English producers. Edinburgh-sourced charcuterie and cheese boards (and even some locally made chocolates) make trusty accompaniments to your chosen tipple. This is a classy spot where staff really do know their wines, well worth going out of your way for.

CAFÉS Archipelago Bakery 39 Dundas Street, 07932 462 715, archipelagobakery.co.uk

In the past few years the Archipelago team have built a formidable reputation for outstanding bread, but rather than rest on their laurels, they continue

to add to the menu, whether that be creatively flavoured loaves or the recently introduced range of ice-cream. The unexpectedly light fruit scones taste even better when heaped with a vibrant homemade jam. The croissants exude rich buttery flavours within their perfectly flaky shells. Although takeaway makes up much of the bakery’s custom, the spacious interior makes for a comfy coffee stop and the outdoor seating catches those all-too-rare slivers of sun. Café Portrait Scottish National Portrait Gallery, 1 Queen Street, 0131 624 6421 heritageportfolio.co.uk/cafes

You don’t have to peruse the art to enjoy a visit to this café. The scones have their own cult following and the rest of the food has quite enough cachet to bring a regular trail of locals in for lunch, without even the pretence of art appreciation. Most alluring is a regularly changing selection of salads with creative seeds and pulses, though the tray bakes give them a run for their money and an unconventionally plump Florentine is pleasingly chewy. At times this popular spot can feel frenetic, but efficient staff know their stuff and keep things moving briskly enough. Cowan & Sons 33 Raeburn Place, 0131 343 3007

Cowan & Sons (previously Maxi’s) has served breakfast, lunch and cake to Stockbridge’s locals for twenty years. The shabby-chic interior is all reclaimed wood, exposed original tiles and mixy-matchy furniture, while the menu reads like a who’s who of local producers: baked goods from Twelve Triangles, meat from Bower’s, coffee from Williams and Johnson and beer from Campervan Brewery. Late risers will rejoice at a generous 3pm breakfast cut-off before diving into smashed avocado on sourdough or the butcher’s breakfast, while the lunch menu is compact but varied and includes daily soup and frittata specials.

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Di Giorgio 1 Brandon Terrace, Canonmills, 0131 624 4666, digiorgios.co.uk

Di Giorgio is a reliable stalwart for the Canonmills community. Alongside a lunch menu that has won over many regulars, the all-day breakfast offers a whole lot more than a fry-up or bacon roll, including a thoughtful veggie option featuring homemade baked beans with a touch of mustard, and a crispy-coated yet fluffy centred potato and chickpea cake. Banana and blueberry French toast comes stacked Jenga-fashion, with tangibly fresh fruit balancing the richness of the eggy bread. This spot isn’t looking to lead any trends. Instead, it’s rightfully focusing its energies on looking after its devoted customers and creating a genuinely warm atmosphere. Eteaket 41 Frederick Street, 0131 226 2982, eteaket.co.uk

Offering one of the largest ranges of loose-leaf teas in Edinburgh, Eteaket serves everything from Darjeeling to Isle of Harris Gin botanicals, each in an individual pot with timer to ensure the perfect brew. The cosy tea room serves breakfast, lunch and a full cake stand of afternoon tea, with freshly made scones and bakes from independent bakeries such as Archipelago, as well as savoury sandwiches such as roast chicken and pesto mayo, or smoked salmon and cream cheese. There’s also a small but perfectly formed high tea and a range of tea-inspired cocktails. All teas are available to buy and take home. Leo’s Beanery 23A Howe Street, 0131 556 8403, leosbeanery.co.uk

This family-owned café serves fresh food with a commitment to independent and local producers: bread from DoughReMi, Bower’s meat and freerange local eggs. Dietary requirements are well catered for, with veggie and vegan options and plenty of gluten-free cakes on offer, including a densely gooey award-winning brownie which

is truly not to be missed. Substantial sandwiches of roast aubergine, peppers and artichokes with olive tapenade make for a filling lunch as does the croquemon-scone, both served with salad and crisps. Breakfasts are worth waking early for, especially at weekends when tables can be hard to come by. The Pantry 1–2 North West Circus Place, 0131 629 0206, thepantryedinburgh.co.uk

One of Stockbridge’s most popular brunch spots, the Pantry also has an excellent lunch menu that combines some of its favourite breakfast items with well-crafted savoury dishes drawing on Scottish, Middle Eastern and Mediterranean influences. The line-up changes regularly, but includes options such as a fragrant spiced chickpea and tomato stew, topped with generous chunks of harissa-fried halloumi, honey labneh and a perfectly poached egg. Brunch also delivers: eggs Benedict layer a crisp English muffin, thick, succulent slices of honey roast ham, a poached egg, and silky hollandaise for a delicious mix of textures, while waffles are drenched in maple syrup and fresh blueberries. Urban Angel 121 Hanover Street, 0131 225 6215, urban-angel.co.uk

This independent café serves all-day brunch, lunch, coffee and cake. The deceptively large space comprises a deli area, with two dining rooms downstairs; one bright and fresh, the other cosy and intimate. For lunch, there are sandwiches and salads alongside heartier options such as fishcakes and haggis. Spiced organic lamb meatballs, moist and flavoursome, complemented by gremolata and a roast vegetable medley, are satisfying and colourful. For something sweet, quality in-house baking offers plenty of tempting choices. A chocolate brownie, as high as it is wide, is sweet, dense and nut-laden, while the chocolate and beetroot cake with silky ganache is earthy and light.

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Visitors to Edinburgh are spoiled by the range of top-notch theatre and concert spaces in this zone. Just off Lothian Road, the Traverse has some innovative Fringe theatre while the Usher Hall features world-class classical music, and the Royal Lyceum Theatre is another renowned staple of the International Festival theatre programme. A few minutes’ walk to the south, you'll get to the busy hub of Tollcross, where you’ll find Central Hall which this year has a selection of theatre and musicals. You’re close to the King’s Theatre, another important International Festival space. Further west towards Haymarket is the Edinburgh International Conference Centre (EICC) on Morrison Street which brings us some big Fringe comedy and dance shows and also acts as the main hub for the industry-led TV Festival. Still in the West End yet having the feel of getting away from it all are the two buildings which comprise the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art which have fabulous exhibitions inside and lovely t tree grounds outside. en S ns Que e

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Get a taste of the creative revelry that awaits you this Fringe season at our award-nominated List Festival Party on Thu 1 Aug. The ultimate way to celebrate the start of the festival season, we’ll be taking over the iconic Summerhall and all of its unique spaces once more to showcase what August has to offer this year. Sneak a peek at over 25 hand-picked preview performances including comedy, cabaret, drag and more whilst enjoying drinks by sponsors Johnnie Walker, Innis & Gunn. Supported by our friends at Red Bull. Discover what the night has in store with silent disco tours from Silent Adventures. Get festival ready with makeovers provided by Ruffians, Fantoosh and Bleach Please. Grab your pals and sing out your guilty pleasures in the new and improved Innis & Gunn karaoke room, and dance yourself silly into the wee hours with DJ Sarra Wild.

Our Instagram scavenger hunt will be returning this year with a hamper of goodies from our sponsors to win. Follow us on Instagram at @thelistuk to get more details! This exclusive event is invitation only and we’re giving our readers the chance to be there too. To be in with a chance of winning a pair of tickets to The List Festival Party at Summerhall on Thu 1 Aug (9pm – 3am), either: • follow us and like our List Festival Party video on Instagram – @thelistuk • log onto list.co.uk/offers and tell us:

Who are the drinks sponsors at this year’s List Festival Party?

Competition closes Fri 26 Jul 2019. Entrants must be over 18 years old. No cash alternative. The List’s usual rules apply.

WEST END CITY GUIDE

EAT Dine Saltire Court, 10 (1F) Cambridge Street, 0131 218 1818, dineedinburgh.co.uk

An elegant first-floor brasserie perched above the Traverse, Dine has a stylish lounge bar with sink-in leather sofas that features a strong wine list and great-value classic cocktails. Pan-fried duck breast arrives drizzled with honey harvested from beehives on the roof of the neighbouring Lyceum Theatre, dressed with red cabbage purée and light spring greens. Pretty-in-pink roast quail nestles in spiced Puy lentils and butternut squash, while john dory is paired with sea vegetables and sweet and sour grapes. There’s also a ground-level champagne terrace when weather permits. A venue that works hard to please its audience. L'Escargot Blanc Restaurant & Wine Bar 17 Queensferry Street, 0131 226 1890, lescargotblanc.co.uk

A few things make a restaurant feel truly French. Excellent service, Toulouse Lautrec pictures, bread on the table, attention to provenance; this isn’t a food trend for the French, it’s normal. At L’Escargot Blanc, owner Fred Berkmiller is out every day meeting producers, buying what’s good and wasting nothing. That could mean a homemade duck-blood black pudding to go with Orkney scallops as a starter; duck confit with gratin dauphinois for a main, while the rest might become the terrine or

casserole of the day. This is traditional French cooking at its best, right here in Edinburgh. First Coast 97–101 Dalry Road, 0131 313 4404, first-coast.co.uk

First Coast’s chef is ambitious and creative, clearly excited by creating bespoke dishes built on solid local sourcing and seasonal ingredients. Starters such as beef rendang reach well beyond the average, featuring tiny coconut infused meatballs rolled in coriander, star anise and shrimp paste with lime leaves and lemongrass adding an aromatic kick. A main of chargrilled chicken is elevated with expert touches like caponata, while venison haunch comes rare and juicy, steeped in beetroot and artichoke purée and bolstered by a deep, dark raisin-and-prune gravy. It’s all served up in a modest interior with a relaxed, easy vibe. Forage & Chatter 1A Alva Street, 0131 225 4599, forageandchatter.com

Forage & Chatter’s simply worded menu modestly lists ingredients and doesn’t even hint at the variety of appetising techniques used to elevate them. A seemingly humble oxtail starter comes as two intensely flavoured patties exuding a slow-cooked depth and bolstered by the sweetest roasted onion amid fruity dabs and creamy squash smudges. Beetroot-soaked gnocchi is more than the sum of its parts, moist, velvety and juicy with highlights of

ginger adding a racy edge. Each plate is dusted with harmonious powders, crumbs and micro-herbs that add texture and surprising accents, ably highlighting the chef’s creativity, while service is lively and congenial. Grazing by Mark Greenaway Waldorf Astoria Edinburgh: The Caledonian, Rutland Street, 0131 222 8857, markgreenaway.com/grazingrestaurant

This new opening by the eponymous Mark Greenaway gives a talented chef a huge canvas to produce creative, exciting and playful food where classic bistro dishes are elevated – still accessible yet so much more than the sum of their parts. A mackerel starter comes with a complex little salad of apple and beetroot, layering acidity over earthiness, while halibut is perfectly roasted, its herb crust turning out to be an intense, green garnish, topped with wee bits of salt beet. As for desserts, if the sticky toffee pudding soufflé is on there’s no point eyeing up anything else – it’s sweet-toothed heaven. Kanpai 8–10 Grindlay Street, 0131 228 1602, kanpaisushiedinburgh.co.uk

PHOTO: AILIDH FORLAN

After years at the top, quality shows no signs of dipping in this sushi shrine. There’s little showy about the menu but chefs are serious about their craft; each immaculate plate of traditional sushi promises clean flavours and beautiful presentation. There are classics such as tataki beef and wakame seaweed salad, as well as more unusual dishes such as delicate snow crab which offers a subtle balance of citrus ponzu and smoky bonito with a pleasing combination of textures. The sushi is hard to beat, though, especially the market specials, which offer less common fish not often seen in the city. Kyloe Restaurant & Grill The Rutland Hotel, 1–3 Rutland Street, 0131 229 3402, kyloerestaurant.com

Kyloe feels luxurious and special, without being ostentatious or making casual diners feel out of place. Know nothing about steak? No problem: your waiter will bring a board with all the cuts, explain the differences and advise how they should be cooked. All the beef is Scottish and dry-aged for at least 28 days to bring out the flavour. The expected cuts, like ribeye and fillet, are, of course, present as well as sharing cuts, and there’s plenty of choice when it comes to sides: beef dripping chips are terrific. Wine lovers will be spoilt for choice, particularly when it comes to steak-loving reds. Locanda de Gusti 102 Dalry Road, 0131 346 8800, locandadegusti.com

Otro

MY PICKS

This beautiful, traditional trattoria really does feel like it’s been transplanted direct from Italy. Diced octopus salad is perfectly paired with delicious sweet yellow pepper drops and garlic, while hot-smoked Scottish salmon comes with capers, extra virgin olive oil and fresh buffalo mozzarella. Fish and seafood are abundant; for something adventurous, try the charcoal-grilled fish and Scottish crustacea, an eye-catching

FERN BRADY COMEDIAN Fortitude is easily the best coffee shop in Edinburgh, if not the UK, as it has the magical combination of excellent coffee and sweet staff who don’t act as though being a barista is a perpetual indignity. The man that owns it calls me ‘my friend’ and they sell nice cakes and breakfasts. I don’t drink at all during the Fringe and Salt Horse has a commendable range of non-alcoholic beers plus it’s never rammed despite being in the centre of Fringe stuff. The last time I enjoyed the feeling of being drunk was when I was here on the final day of the 2017 Fringe and had some sort of sour mango beer for 12 hours with the comedian Rachel Fairburn before doing a gig where I had to be helped onstage. The staff are always sound which shocks me every time given that Edinburgh is Scotland’s London. ■ Fern Brady: Power and Chaos, Monkey Barrel, 1–25 Aug, 6pm.

plate with gorgeous smoky sea bass, prawn, scallops, swordfish, tuna steak and rainbow trout. The cosy space has a wonderful atmosphere, friendly staff seem genuinely delighted to help, and if you close your eyes, you can practically smell the Mediterranean. Otro 22 Coates Crescent, 0131 556 0004, otrorestaurant.co.uk

Nestled in a capacious network of cobalt-blue Georgian dining rooms, this bistro has a confident, businesslike air, tempered by swift, affable service and a diverse clientele. Dishes have personality without pretence. For example, a haggis-and-egg starter comes scattered with crunchy granola, while verdant parsley mash lends contrast to a pearlescent cod steak. Desserts are treated with a similar flair; a rhubarb pavlova is floridly fragrant with rosewater, while a dark chocolate fondant is spiked with sweet-sour maraschinos. There’s real life to the cooking which isn’t all about finesse and flair, and they’re particularly adept at handling groups.

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CITY GUIDE WEST END

In association with

The Pompadour

BrewDog Lothian Road

Waldorf Astoria Hotel, Princes Street, 0131 222 8857, thepompadour.com

50 Lothian Road, 0131 228 2305, brewdog.com/bars/uk/lothian-road

Elegant surroundings, soft pastel hues, circular upholstered booths, chandeliers and spectacular cherry blossom trees; the Pompadour is a class act of a dining room. Chef Daniel Ashmore’s modern British four or eight-course tasting menus look like works of art, with delicate and delicious dishes such as smoked haddock, leek and quail egg tart, or Berwick crab, crispy tapioca and pickled radish. Venison tartare with kombu and confit egg is a stand-out, with a beetroot alternative for vegetarians that appears as a mirror image. One for special occasions – although the food is fantastic, the atmosphere is quiet and somewhat formal.

Expect industrial style and BrewDog’s trademark focus on quality. With 20 taps, there is an ever-changing variety of beer from around the world as well as the bar’s own brews. Enthusiastic staff and a handy map guide drinkers between easy drinking, traditional and contemporary, so there’s plenty of help when you make your selection. Food aims to complement the brews, focusing on wings, buffalo cauliflower and burgers. The latter are well-filled and well-cooked, be they beef brisket, juicy fried chicken or seitan for veggies and vegans.

Timberyard 10 Lady Lawson Street, 0131 221 1222, timberyard.co

The double-height dining area of this old timber warehouse features exposed concrete beams, whitewashed stone walls and bare wood, yet retains an air of cosy comfort. Like the space, the food here is filled with understated character and interest. The best of Scottish produce, both grown and foraged, is combined into multi-course tasting menus that can be adapted for all diets and diners. They are supplemented by herbs and flowers grown in the courtyard, which is also a dining space. Owned by Edinburgh’s Radford family, Timberyard boldly wears the stamp of its younger generation, creating achingly cool, daringly different dining. Vesta Restaurant and Bar L'Escargot Blanc

7–8 Queensferry Street, 0131 220 0773, vestaedinburgh.co.uk

Social Bite’s innovative restaurant serves healthy comfort food to the general public and the homeless. Décor is modern and cosy with exposed brick walls, fresh potted herbs and wooden furnishings, while the menu focuses on feel-good food, with interesting vegan options too. King oyster mushroom scallops are seared until supple and very reminiscent of the fishy version. Balsamic and cherry pork loin is cut thick, pan-fried tenderly, and served with rich black pudding. Enjoyed your meal? Pay it forward and gift a similar experience to a homeless person by adding something extra to your bill.

DRINK Bar à Vin 17A Queensferry Street, 0131 226 1890, lescargotblanc.co.uk

Vesta

154 THE LIST | Edinburgh Festival Guide 2019 | list.co.uk/festival

Bar à Vin serves a decadent but simple choice of French wines, cheese and charcuterie. The mixed board offers a little bit of everything, including a surprisingly tasty tripe saucisson, which makes for a great early evening dinner paired with a glass of Domaine Yves Duport. While the food and wine is undoubtedly good, Bar à Vin really excels in its service. The evident focus on provenance and building relationships with suppliers trickles down to every member of the welcoming staff, who can all tell you the tale of each cheese and meat as well as guiding you confidently through the wine list.

Le Di-Vin Wine Bar 9 Randolph Place, 0131 538 1815, ledivin.co.uk

Le Di-Vin’s door opens into a vast, high space, lined floor to ceiling with wine; it used to be a church, but now the only god around is Bacchus. The décor is exactly as it should be: dark red walls, wooden panelling and rustic pine dressers for the bread baskets. The menu too is rustically French, dominated by les planchettes (fine charcuterie, cheese and smoked fish platters) plus a few classics such as croque monsieur at lunchtime. The main focus here is the wine, though, and you can easily spend a very happy evening sipping your way through its compact list. Filmhouse Café Bar 88 Lothian Road, 0131 229 5932, filmhousecinema.com/cafe-bar

Reading like a good cinema listing, the menu offers box-office classics such as nachos (which strike the elusive balance of cheese, sauce and crunch), and remakes with a twist, such as pizza flatbread topped with Parma ham and micro herbs. Those who prefer something a little more arthouse can try the pumpkin tortellini, while the world cinema crowd enjoy curries and chilli. The varied kids’ menu covers the family favourites. Resolutely unfancy and often a tight squeeze, this is still a handy place to have up your sleeve for a cheap and filling between-show feed. The Hanging Bat 133 Lothian Road, 0131 229 0759, thehangingbat.com

Lothian Road is now a bit of a beer destination, but the Hanging Bat was there first. It’s deceptively cavernous and across three floors, but the décor doesn’t distract from the brews. With six cask and fourteen keg lines on draught at any one time, some varieties, such as the Hanging Bat’s Chocolate Chaos (brewed with an entire chocolate cake, apparently) are dark and thick, while others such as Sanoma’s Session Pale Ale Track are eminently quaffable. In total, you can choose from around 150 mainly British beers (and lots of gins), so take advice from the bar staff – beer gurus, each and every one of them. Heads & Tales 1A Rutland Place, 0131 656 2811, headsandtalesbar.com

Hidden under the Rutland Hotel, this gin bar has a heavy, prohibition-style door at the foot of a discreet staircase. As you pass the cosy vaulted booths to enter the industrial-chic bar and lounge you’ll spot one of Edinburgh Gin’s

Vive le Fringe ! 2019

Right in the Eye

The cinema of Georges Méliès in concert 2-25 August

Worldwidewestern Raphael Gouisset Digital theatre 12-25 August

Alec Frank-Gemmill Artist credit: Daniel Brady

Plays Wagner & Brahms 13 August

Quatuor Mona String quartet 18 August

Book now at www.tickets.edfringe.com

French Institute (Venue 168) West Parliament Square Edinburgh EH1 1RF

info@ifecosse.org.uk www.ifecosse.org.uk 0131 285 6030

31 July – 24 August The Scottish Parliament

parliament.scot/WPP

156 THE LIST | Edinburgh Festival Guide 2019 | list.co.uk/festival

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FREE ENTRY

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working stills through a glass panel. Naturally, then, gin is the thing. Choose from around 80 varieties, or just ask the knowledgeable bar staff for help. There are a few beers, wines and cocktails if gin ain’t your thing. Bar snacks, centred on dumplings and bao buns, are really delicious.

an Old Fashioned, or a wine or three and relax. You’re in good hands with a neighbourhood feel, friendly crowd and lively atmosphere.

The Innis & Gunn Brewery Taproom

19 Queensferry Street, 0131 467 1411, brossbagels.com

81–83 Lothian Road, 0131 228 6392, innisandgunn.com/bars/edinburgh

After a recent refurb, Innis & Gunn changed its name to focus on its favourite thing: beer. It still does food, but it’s angled towards pub classics done well, with plenty of veggie and vegan options. With 26 beers on tap and enthusiastic, knowledgeable staff, it’s a good place to try out a few options; if you can’t decide, go for a flight. Naturally, beers from the home brewery are the stars, but it also showcases local contemporaries such as Campervan. You can fill your growler with fresh beer to take home, and there’s a surprisingly good choice of cocktails, gin and whisky. Teuchters 26 William Street, 0131 225 2973, aroomin.co.uk

A first-rate traditional bar, measuring out some of the best booze Scotland has to offer. Around 90 single malt whiskies and 20 blends line the shelves and are joined by a notable collection of Scottish gins, cask and keg beers, and a good selection of wines. The cosy dark wood and stone interiors draw in locals and tourists alike and friendly bar staff are happy to share their knowledge of all things whisky. From noon, burgers, hot dogs and pies provide good company to a well-pulled pint. Order from the mug menu and tuck into creamy mac and cheese or traditional stovies. The Voyage of Buck 29–31 William Street, 0131 225 5748, thevoyageofbuckedinburgh.co.uk

It’s to be hoped the fictitious William ‘Buck’ Clarence would like what the team have done to the place. He would no doubt enjoy reliving his travels through the extensive and entertaining cocktail list, which spreads itself around his expedition locations. The cocktails are really excellent, though, so it sounds like he was a fun guy to be around. The food also reflects the finer things in life, with interesting plates and some unusual flavour combinations. William Street is always a pretty place for a wander, generally quiet even at the busiest times, and Buck’s can be an oasis of calm relaxation, particularly mid-week. The WestRoom 3 Melville Place, 0131 629 9868, thewestroom.co.uk

Under new management, this popular West End bar now features a cicchetti menu – it means small plates, but sounds more fun in Italian. ‘Italians eat when they’re drinking,’ proclaims the menu, and who can argue with that? Mix top-notch prosciutto with zucchini fries; leek, chilli and pecorino crochette; spicy nduja sausage; tomato and burrata bruschetta; the WestRoom ravioli of the day or venison meatballs. Wash it down with four types of Negroni, a Spritz,

Southside Scran

CAFÉS Bross Bagels It’s been quite the year for Bross Bagels, which now sports three cafés across Edinburgh and Portobello. This tiny eatery is the perfect quick breakfast or lunch spot, with a handful of tables and window seats, freshly ground coffee and an array of authentic Montreal-style bagels. Classic cream cheese and lox on a poppy seed bagel is decadent, but the true stand-out are the goy bagels: traditional Jewish latkes with not-so-kosher bacon caramelised in maple syrup and finished with creamy scrambled eggs, melted cheese, and some extra avocado. It’s a towering masterpiece of perfectly balanced sweet and savoury encased in a perfectly crisp yet chewy bagel. Cairngorm Coffee Co 1 Melville Place, 0131 629 1420, cairngormcoffee.com

With its curved pink-marble facade and large counter-to-ceiling windows, Cairngorm is a distinctive hangout. It is bright and airy with long copper-andoak tables, white stools and hanging lamps creating a calm to offset the bustle at busy times. Featured roasters change regularly and it also batch brews, to serve single origins almost instantly. There are all-day breakfast, brunch and lunch options, such as granola with seasonal fruit, fresh pastries, avocado toast, rolls, soup, salad and grilled toasties. Or go for a chocolate brownie interlaced with peanut butter, which hits the spot with a smooth and fruity flat white alongside. The Chaumer Teahouse and Bar 61 Queen Street, 0131 466 7458, thechaumer.com

The Chaumer’s menu boasts a roll call of respected Scottish producers from Jarvis Pickle pies to Glutteny cakes alongside sandwiches and salads prepared onsite, with an extensive choice of teas and an approachable wine list. Asparagus and barley salad is flavoured with an unobtrusive dressing that allows the vividly fresh ingredients to speak for themselves, while the smoked cheese and Puddledub ham grilled sandwich is satisfyingly comforting. The setting, with its ornate cornices and quintessential New Town architecture, feels special while service strikes the elusive balance of true professionalism and genuine warmth.

NEW FOR 2019

If part of your festival experience involves ticking off the hot new tables in town, we’ve got you covered

CONDITA 15 Salisbury Place, 0131 667 5777, condita.co.uk Conor Toomey's tiny Newington restaurant serves a no-choice tasting menu showcasing Scotland's larder. GRAZING BY MARK GREENAWAY Waldorf Astoria Edinburgh – The Caledonian, 0131 222 8857, markgreenaway.com/grazingrestaurant Playful and confident food from a chef at the height of his powers. Greenaway is back with a bang in a stylish yet relaxed bistro space. LADY LIBERTINE 25 West Register Street, 0131 322 1020, ladylibertine.co.uk Stuart McCluskey’s latest space pairs art-deco glam with Levantine food, excellent cocktails and slick service. Food served until late too. THE LITTLE WHITE PIG 26B Dublin Street, 0131 556 3036, littlewhitepig.co.uk A cosy, laid-back neighbourhood bar with excellent, simple, food, this little piggie has a short but classy wine list and comfy sofas. THE LOOKOUT BY GARDENER'S COTTAGE Calton Hill, 0131 322 1246, thelookoutedinburgh.co It’s tempting to say it’s all about

Fortuna Coffee Bar 77 Queen Street, 0131 467 0179, fortunaqueenst.co.uk

This modern eatery is well worth knowing about for its simple, but creative, menu. While an avocado open sandwich may be par for the course, here it’s enlivened with peri peri, tomatoes and balanced with lime juice, feta and chilli flakes. Alternatively, plump for the toast

with artichoke, roasted peppers and yoghurt. Though owners Sibel and Nigel are new to the scene, they have been quick to identify some dependable local suppliers with soups from Union of Genius and coffee from Edinburgh roasters Machina. Cakes are good too, particularly the homemade brownies. A happy, bright spot for lunch or brunch.

the views, but the food from the Gardener’s Cottage team is equally note-worthy in this stunning space. MERIENDA 30 North West Circus Place, 0131 220 2020, eat-merienda. com This bijou eatery lets you build your own tasting menu, with small plates drawn from farm and pasture, field and garden, river and sea. THE PERCH 110 Hanover Street, 0131 220 1208 The Dogs’ successor is paddling its own canoe perfectly well: expect big flavours in a cosy neighbourhood-feel bistro. SOUTHSIDE SCRAN 14–17 Bruntsfield Place, 0131 342 3333, southsidescran.com Tom Kitchen ventures to the Southside in a classy reimagining of a French brasserie centred on local produce and a huge rotisserie grill. WHISKERS WINE CAFÉ 48 Raeburn Place, Stockbridge, 0131 343 3681, whiskerswinecafe.co.uk Local produce in simple small plates, but the wine is the star here with around 30 interesting varieties available by the glass or carafe.

Gooseneck Café 22 Grindlay Street, 0131 629 9331, gooseneckcafe.com

This modern café is handily positioned opposite the Lyceum Theatre, and just round the corner from the Usher Hall and Traverse. Seating is scarce though, and those lucky enough to bag the chaise longue may be tempted to linger.

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CITY GUIDE WEST END

In association with

MY PICKS

Fortuna Coffee Bar

SUZANNE ANDRADE 927 WRITER / DIRECTOR The Sheep Heid, Edinburgh’s oldest surviving pub, is the favourite place in the city for literally everyone in 1927. I met a wonderful local named Jim at our first Edinburgh Festival in 2006: I was completely lost and Jim showed me the way. He then took us to a production of The Tempest in the village of Duddingston, and for a few pints and a game of skittles at the Sheep Heid. This great pub, and the uphill walk to get there, is always a highlight of my Edinburgh trip. And, Jim, if you’re reading this, please get in touch with us at 1927! We’d love you to come and see our new show! ■ Roots, Church Hill Theatre, 9–25 Aug, various times.

Lunch is a simple line-up of toasts with avocado and goat's cheese or brie with apple and pear compote. A cranberry and cashew salad pot is packed with fresh greens, red cabbage and apple. Attention to detail shines through the drinks: chai latte is made with freshly ground house spices, while hot chocolate arrives with indulgent whipped coconut cream and croissant for dipping. Milk 232 Morrison Street, 0131 629 6022, cafemilk.co.uk

Moments away from Haymarket, Milk is the perfect mix of trendy and homey. Industrial stools and subway-tiled walls sit comfortably alongside an open counter of baked goods. Dishes have a modern, international vibe while also remaining resolutely homemade. Chicken souvlaki is a delicious alternative to the usual lunchtime sandwich, wrapping tender bites of chicken, warm potatoes fried in herbs and salty crumbles of feta in a traditional soft Mediterranean flatbread. Dessert options maintain the high standard – vegan gingerbread cake is almost impossibly moist and laced with spicy strands of fresh ginger. Strong coffee is supplied by Leith-based Better Beverage Company. Roots Deli & Salad Bar 18 William Street, 0131 225 6376, rootsedinburgh.co.uk

Passionate about sustainability, Roots’ owners try to reduce, recycle, upcycle and compost in their drive towards zero waste. They grow as much of their own produce as possible, as well as using local growers such as East Coast Organics and Dig-In to create seasonal menus. The food is mainly vegetarian and vegan, with some responsibly sourced cured meat and fish options. Breakfast features granola, porridge, smoothies and toast, while the daily changing lunch menu offers filled rolls, soup, stew, pasta and salads. Little ones and dogs are most welcome, and services include dinner kits, veg boxes, hampers and outside catering. Social Bite 89 Shandwick Place, 0131 220 8206, social-bite.co.uk

This social enterprise has been working to help tackle homelessness since 2011 and many of its team members have experienced life on the streets. Its simple cafés (there’s one on Rose Street too) offer sandwiches, salads, soup and hot lunches as well as breakfast rolls and cakes. The chicken, pesto and mozzarella sandwich is fresh and punchy, while lentil soup is spicy and warming, one of several vegan and veggie items available. Customers can also buy ‘suspended’ items which a homeless person can come in and claim during the day. Profits go towards ending homelessness.

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Bross Bagels

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After years of near neglect during the festival period, Leith is now a fully paid-up member of the August experience. The reinvigorated Leith Theatre plays host to a number of the International Festival’s contemporary music strand, while the popular Pitt Street Market (pictured) is opening its doors to a programme dominated by music. Up Leith Walk, Leith Depot puts on a number of intriguing gigs and the Out of the Blue Drill Hall has some jazz shows. At the top of Leith Walk, you'll find the Edinburgh Playhouse, which houses some big comedy charity nights at the Fringe as well as high-profile International Festival events, while nearby there’s the ever popular CC Blooms and the Acoustic Music Centre which lives perfectly up to its name but also has space for some theatre and dance. Water of Leith Veering westwards from Leith Walk and heading towards the Broughton Street area is Army @ Summerhall which focuses on theatre this year while the nearby Mansfield Traquair Centre hosts an event and exhibition. Jessfield

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LEITH AND BROUGHTON STREET OCEAN TERMINAL

Newhaven Ma in Street

Royal Park Terrace

We know the ingredients for impressive events

Our events live in the hearts and minds of guests for years to come. For professional advice on venues and sample award-winning menus, speak to our planners. 0131 287 0530 | info@hickoryfood.co.uk

160 THE LIST | Edinburgh Festival Guide 2019 | list.co.uk/festival

HICKORY hickoryfood.co.uk

LEITH & BROUGHTON STREET CITY GUIDE

EAT Aurora

lamb loin with offal meatballs, all rounded off by desserts that twist traditional flavours, like chocolate cream and mint granita.

dessert, for goodness sake make the effort; the creme brûlée is among the best in town.

187 Great Junction Street, 0131 554 5537, auroraedinburgh.co.uk

Educated Flea

36 Broughton Street, 0131 477 5000, fhior.com

In Kamil Witek’s stylish twenty-seat bistro, personal touches and a palpable sense of fun result in very enjoyable food indeed. A playful mix of cuisines mean you might have ktipiti (a feta dip) on one plate and kroppkakor on another – plump beetroot-stuffed dumplings with a dilly tumble of celeriac remoulade, all comfort and satisfaction. Not everything is perfectly executed, but that sort of adds to the charm – this is a neighbourhood bistro, slightly off the beaten track at the unfashionable end of unfashionable Junction Street, but well worth seeking out for contemporary, inventive food and wine. Excellent weekend brunches too.

32B Broughton Street, 0131 556 8092, educatedflea.co.uk

Fhior

Borough

Small but perfectly formed Educated Flea makes great shakes of its gluten-free friendliness and excellent vegan options. The eclectic menu and cosily stylish space are full of unusual personal touches, sending the message ‘love us for what we are’. Cheerfully informal service and creative dishes such as ox-cheek fritters with minted hollandaise, or confit duck with kimchi and dehydrated starfruit, brim with an idiosyncratic charm that has turned many Broughton locals into regulars. There’s a free hand with flavour, pushing classic combinations into new territories, as in a pea and mint risotto, zhooshed up with hazelnuts, carrot oil and goat’s cheese.

From the people that brought you Norn, Fhior delivers a low-key and likeable modern Scottish dining experience that is cool but not clinical, serious but not solemn. Daily changing seasonal Scottish produce is showcased and treated with considerable care and competence. The brevity of the menu descriptions are at odds with the playful imagination and skilled preparation on show. Expect foraged ingredients and unusual combinations, such as whipped Jerusalem artichoke dessert with chocolate. Menus can be wine-matched with well-chosen bottles from small artisanal producers, staff are charming and knowledgeable, and the experience is one of professionalism without pretension.

50–54 Henderson Street, 0131 554 7655, boroughrestaurant.com

L’Escargot Bleu

Fishers in Leith

56 Broughton Street, 0131 557 1600, lescargotbleu.co.uk

1 The Shore, 0131 554 5666, fishersrestaurants.co.uk/fishers-leith

Busy and bustling, L’Escargot Bleu wears its French heart on its sleeve. Enjoy steak tartare or snails for starter, or a sublimely comforting gratin de St Jacques. Owner Fred Berkmiller is passionate about provenance, knows his suppliers personally and grows as many herbs and veg as he can. Do lunch French-style with the fantasticvalue set menu and a large glass of chardonnay, or settle in for the evening with a gutsy red and a Shetland beef bourguignon. And while you may think you don’t have room for that

Set in the base of a 17th-century watchtower on the picturesque Shore, Fishers’ Leith outpost is split between two equally atmospheric sections, both panelled in dark wood and decorated with assorted nautical paraphernalia. Starters frequently celebrate shellfish and fish also dominates the mains. There’s a North African feel about hake with tomato and olive tagine, the skin coated with zesty chermoula. A thick fillet of Aberdeen cod has been on its holidays too, paired with flavoursome chorizo, pumpkin and butter bean cassoulet. Knowledgeable staff are on hand and considerable effort has been made for vegetarians and vegans with inventive separate menus available for each.

Recently re-launched under amiable chef-proprietor Darren Murray and restaurant manager Aleksandra Murray, Borough champions ethical and seasonal sourcing. Pitched neatly between the Michelin-starred glitz and more casual options nearby, it’s a sleek neighbourhood bistro, perfect for a change of pace. The availability of ingredients defines an ever-changing menu – what’s bought that day will be transformed into well-presented dishes. That might mean a clever combination of squash, carrot and crowdie followed by hake with cauliflower and blood orange dressing, or perfectly cooked

MY PICKS

The Little Chartroom

GINA MOXLEY WRITER / ACTOR / DIRECTOR I once wrote a play where the main character had a dog called Brambles so the combination of the Dogs restaurant and Brambles cocktail bar always had my name on it. Both fantastic spots. But now the Dogs is gone and Brambles is too dangerous without food. Given the subject matter of The Patient Gloria, The Royal Dick might seem appropriate but I spent a month there during Fringe 2016! So this year I’m looking forward to the casinolike timelessness of the Traverse Bar and Restaurant and will be escaping to eat at brilliant places like Kanpai, Hakataya and Absolute Thai for food that makes you feel like a good person, and then a drink in the cranky bosom of Bennets where whisky seems to make sense. Ah yeah, the Edinburgh cycle. ■ The Patient Gloria, Traverse Theatre, 1–25 Aug, various times; Spliced, Traverse at Edinburgh Sports Club, 31 Jul–25 Aug, 2.30pm.

30–31 Albert Place, Leith Walk, 0131 556 6600, thelittlechartroom.com

This petite newcomer packs a bounty of gastronomic knowledge, creativity and talent into a café-sized space where blue wood and stone-coloured panelling set a nautical theme. The prep counter also serves as a gleaming bar where a few diners can admire some nifty choreography as chef weaves silently around the tiny kitchen, turning out a compact three-courses, three-choices menu that abounds with culinary alchemy. Pickles, creams, seeds and gels lift quality ingredients to sublime and sprightly heights. Flavours are punchy yet balanced and desserts are among the best in town. Both tiny and fêted by locals, booking really is essential. Lucky Yu 62 Elm Row, Leith Walk, 0131 556 7930

Borough

This relaxed and friendly little Leith Walk eatery offers a contemporary take on fusion, with traditional Vietnamese and Japanese recipes combining with western ingredients in a bold collision of flavours. Dirty burger gyozas come stuffed with ground beef, mustard and cheddar cheese; while ichiban chicken

dumplings are loaded with blue cheese and paprika. The mains selection is short, but there is a longer list of sides and starters, including sautéed seasonal greens in a rich mirin broth, the most tender honey and tamarind ribs, and the signature sambal and garlic chicken wings. BYOB. Pera: Turkish Mangal & Meze Bar 57 Elm Row, Leith Walk, 0131 281 4515, turkishrestaurantedinburgh.co.uk

This blink and you’ll miss it Turkish delight at the top of Leith Walk offers an ever-changing mezze selection of homemade dips and vegetables, olives and bread. The charcoal grill is put to good use flavouring vegetables and bread, but really comes into its own when used to barbeque meat to caramelised glory. The sultan’s feast is a great way to try a little bit of almost everything from the vegetable dishes, followed by a platter of lamb and chicken and finished with baklava. Bring your own bottle and come hungry; you’ll leave full and happy.

list.co.uk/festival | Edinburgh Festival Guide 2019 | THE LIST 161

CITY GUIDE LEITH & BROUGHTON STREET

In association with

Le Roi Fou 1 Forth Street, 0131 557 9346, leroifou.com

There's nothing stuffy about Jérôme Henry’s warm and welcoming operation, where you can choose the full tasting menu or just as easily pop in for a single course and a glass of wine at the bar. Traditional techniques, with sauces created over days and based on years of experience, elevate the cooking to another level in dishes such as roasted wild Highland venison saddle with root vegetables, or sensational Orkney hand-dived scallops with black pudding and crispy pork belly. Desserts are plentiful for those with a sweet tooth or try a savoury end to the evening with Welsh rarebit. Smoke Stack 53–55 Broughton Street, 0131 556 6032, smokestack.org.uk

A restaurant for everyone who loves beef and a great option for a quick, filling lunch or more leisurely evening meal. There are no lengthy choices, just great beef from Shaw’s in the Borders or salmon from Loch Duart. The décor is on the minimalist side too: wooden furniture, tiled walls and handmade lampshades. The well-informed staff can recommend a wine to pair with your meal and an Argentinian malbec goes beautifully with a rare ribeye. With over 20 years’ of experience, it’s working hard to source locally, avoid single-use plastics and recycle as much as possible. The Walnut 9 Croall Place, Leith Walk, 0131 281 1236

Tiny Walnut has room for just 24 people; if you want to be one of them, you’re going to have to book in advance. But if you do manage to land a table, you’re in for a treat. Chefowner Ben Waumsley cut his teeth at the Grain Store, one of Edinburgh’s most enduring high-end restaurants, and its influence is apparent. This is rich French-Scottish fusion food full of flavour and depth with quality ingredients, kept simple with a menu of three or four dishes augmented by a specials board. There’s a compact and accessible wine list, but BYOB is welcome too (£5 corkage).

DRINK The Empress of Broughton Street 25 Broughton Street, 0131 556 6754

There are two levels – a bustling bar area below and a quieter upstairs section – in this city-centre bar with a local feel. Customers can choose from a good range of craft beers, pale ales and dark beers plus around 30 beers in bottles and cans, as well as original and classic cocktails. Alongside a couple of standard pub food items such as fish and chips and macaroni and cheese, the emphasis is on substantial burgers with diverse toppings plus homemade flatbreads. These come loaded with tomato sauce and cheese and topped with the likes of chicken and serrano ham or chargrilled veg. Decent brunch options too.

Nauticus

Finn & Bear 58 The Shore, 0131 555 4636, finnandbear.co.uk

Brunch is served all day here and as a bonus there is plenty of outdoor seating if the sun shines on Leith. Expect a fine array of waffles, cooked breakfasts and inventive eggs Benedicts. Later in the day a whisky smoked salmon is delicately flavoured and a tasty potted mackerel has a pleasing buttery lid with bagel chips for scooping. Mains include a green burger, with a falafel-like texture, livened up with contrasting flavours of avocado and pickled onions. At the bar there’s a short but varied wine menu with a good choice of beer and cocktails. Joseph Pearce’s 23 Elm Row, Leith Walk, 0131 556 4140, bodabar.com/joseph-pearces

Joseph Pearce’s has quirky décor, friendly-but-cool staff, generous food at decent prices and plenty of drinks. The menu is small but hearty – a couple of smörgåsbords, burgers, flatiron steak, salads and Swedish meatballs with mash. Children are very welcome during the day, when the toys and high-chairs come out, but evenings are for grownups only. There’s a real community feel here and if you’re planning on hanging around the city for a while it’s a great place to meet new people and get involved in activities such as the jogging club (currently doing a bit of plogging, where you pick up rubbish at the same time). Kin 1 Barony Street, 07394 705224

Kin’s owners Sam and Jody manage to achieve that rare balance between welcoming, chatty and professional in this cosy wee cocktail bar. With plenty of experience to hand (try naming an Edinburgh haunt the Hawaiian-shirted duo haven’t graced) they’ve crafted a dozen accomplished drinks where innovation is the watchword; you will almost certainly find a spirit or a mix you haven’t heard of. Settle in for the evening – pull up a bar stool or gather

162 THE LIST | Edinburgh Festival Guide 2019 | list.co.uk/festival

round a table in the cosy room behind – you’re in safe, hospitable hands here. The Lioness of Leith 21–25 Duke Street, 0131 629 0580, thelionessofleith.co.uk

Just a wee bit off the main drag and festival hot-spots, the Lioness is a popular, versatile bar with a great food menu. There’s a good range of craft beers and spirits, a decent wine selection and impressive cocktail list drawing customers with a wide range of tastes. The interior is beautiful too – a bright, open corner space which mixes original pub features with quirky decorations like arcade games and pinball machines. Its burgers are excellent – towering pieces of beef steak, free-range chicken breast and interesting vegetarian options, including panko-crumbed mushroom and Cajun bean and halloumi. Nauticus 142 Duke Street, 0131 629 9055, nauticusbar.co.uk

Leith has a long, colourful maritime history; exotic botanicals and spices flowed through the port for hundreds of years. This colourful boozy history is celebrated in Nauticus, a handsome new pub on Duke Street, a wee bit off the Shore’s familiar beaten track. Here skilled bartenders celebrate Leith and Scottish produce through their cocktail menu, from spice routes to the gin era (stop off here to sample a Trinity and Beyond featuring Arbikie Kirsty’s gin, Braemble gin liqueur and a delicious tea syrup) before continuing on to wine trading with a Leith sherry, perhaps. They know their whiskies too. Nobles Café, Bar & Restaurant 44A Constitution Street, 0131 629 7215, noblesbarleith.co.uk

Year on year, Nobles has evolved from decent pub to dining destination and has now hit the sweet spot. Its elegant Victorian dark panelled walls, stained glass and nautical curiosities celebrate the rich maritime heritage of Leith but there is nothing old-fashioned

about the menu. Chestnut mushroom and beetroot pâté comes with a tarragon gel and pickled mushrooms creating a surprising, deeply delicious combination. Shetland mussels are fat and juicy in a properly garlicky white wine broth. If you can get a table, weekend brunch is well worth a return trip (though locals might prefer if that was kept a secret). A true Leith gem. Pickles 56A Broughton Street, 0131 557 5005, getpickled.co.uk

A tiny bar hidden away in a Broughton Street basement, Pickles just works. With seating for under 30 people, the informal, friendly vibe is welcoming and there’s a cosy corner for everyone here. Generous platters of Scottish cheese and charcuterie will do more than take the edge off your hunger, so if you’re only stopping in for a couple of pre-dinner drinks opt for plump olives to accompany your tipple of choice. The excellent wine list has offerings from all over the world, including a good number by the glass, and there is also a wide selection of Scottish and international beers. The Roseleaf 23–24 Sandport Place, 0131 476 5268, roseleaf.co.uk

Roseleaf was an early adopter of the restaurant-quality food, craft beers, cocktails served in chintzy ways and revitalised-yet-classic pub interior combo, which continues to draw a loyal audience across Edinburgh. Menus include brunch, Sunday roast, afternoon tea, kids’ options and an attractive vegan selection, with options such as pork and beef belly burger on brioche with Scottish cheddar, rich mature cheddar macaroni cheese or fillet of hake braised in serrano ham served with lentils. Comfort-food classics available throughout the day include eggs Benedict with a range of toppings and a thick and creamy Cullen skink, all served in a pretty environment by laid-back staff.

ARTIST ROOMS Self Evidence: Photographs by Woodman, Arbus, and Mapplethorpe Open now – 20 October 2019 Scottish National Portrait Gallery Admission free

NOW Charles Avery Aurélien Froment Anya Gallaccio Roger Hiorns Peles Empire Zineb Sedira Open now – 22 September 2019 Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art

Cut and Paste: 400 Years of Collage Open now – 27 October 2019 Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art Beat the queues and buy tickets at nationalgalleries.org

Admission free

National Galleries of Scotland is a charity registered in Scotland (SC003728)

Anya Gallaccio, Untitled, (detail) 2018 © the artist. Image courtesy Anya Gallaccio and Thomas Dane Gallery; Robert Mapplethorpe, Self Portrait, 1980, ARTIST ROOMS National Galleries of Scotland and Tate. Acquired jointly through The d’Offay Donation with assistance from the National Heritage Memorial Fund and the Art Fund 2008 © Robert Mapplethorpe Foundation; Natalia Goncharova, Costume Design for One of the Three Kings in ‘La Liturgie’, 1915. Collection: National Galleries of Scotland. Photography: Antonia Reeve. © ADAGP, Paris and DACS, London.

CITY GUIDE LEITH & BROUGHTON STREET

Woodland Creatures

The Drill Hall Café

260–262 Leith Walk, 0131 629 5509, woodlandcreaturesleith.co.uk

36 Dalmeny Street, 0131 555 7100, outoftheblue.org.uk/cafe

With a fairly plain frontage in the middle of busy Leith Walk, there’s nothing to announce that Woodland Creatures is a great neighbourhood bar, with a decent outside space, friendly staff and (possibly) the best mac and cheese in Edinburgh. It comes laced with bacon, chorizo, haggis or black pudding with enough stringy mozzarella to create the most Instagrammable cheese pull – if you’re of that ilk. Wash it down with beer, perhaps from the popular Beavertown tap, or sip on a cocktail. When the unpretentious exposed brick and wood-furnished bar bustles, you’ll be reluctant to leave, so grab a table and party on.

Slightly off the beaten track, the Drill Hall Café seamlessly co-exists with the artistic happenings taking place around the building. The menu is simple and accessible, with fairly priced dishes including soup such as potato, broccoli and Stilton, which offers a hearty hug of powerful flavours; and specials such as sweet potato gnocchi – an elegant plate dressed with a creamy cheese sauce to complement the sweetness of the dumplings. Chocolate mousse cake is the perfect accompaniment to a coffee. A social enterprise that offers training for local people, a visit here is a tasty way to do some good with your festival budget.

CAFÉS

Polentoni

Artisan Roast The smallest of three Artisan Roasts dotted around the city, the Broughton Street branch feels a world away from the commercial mayhem of the city centre. The main attraction is, of course, the coffee: single origin in blend and sourced directly by Artisan Roast from farms around the world. Flat white, long black, pour overs or batch brews; you can have your caffeine however you like it. Coffee aside, there are tasty cakes, such as fluffy Victoria sponge, and generously filled sandwiches made in-house, all of which are good value for this part of town. Artisan is credited with starting Edinburgh’s coffee boom – look out for its roasts around town.

Polentoni is a charming Italian deli with a fantastic brunch offering. Skillets of rich house passata, roasted peppers and fennel sausage come topped with baked eggs alongside toasted sourdough for dipping. Or there are hearty plates piled high with polenta chips, crispy Parma ham, perfect runny-yolked poachers and gently roasted asparagus. A selection of mini pizzas, calzones and ciabattas (baked on the premises overnight) overflow with charcuterie and mozzarella and appeal to those looking for lunch on the move. Alternatively, the afternoon crowd might tuck into bowls of homemade gnocchi and fresh egg tagliatelle. It’s a laid-back coffeedrinking, people-watching vibe, with corkage-free BYOB.

Café Nom de Plume

Thirsty Pallet

60 Broughton Street, 0131 478 1372

15 Elm Row, Leith Walk, 0131 556 8826

57 Broughton Street, artisanroast.co.uk

Some cafés feel like someone has spent a lot of time and money trying to manufacture the authenticity that this popular, deceptively large, spot has in spades. It opened around ten years ago and its red walls and eccentric clutter of paraphernalia (toy robots, framed maps, fairy lights, zig zag curtains, plastic sunflowers) make for a warm welcome. The menu takes a globetrotting approach with hearty pumpkin and red onion tagine available alongside spicy Singapore noodles, salty French onion soup and vegetarian haggis, neeps and tatties. It’s all served by relaxed, friendly staff who don’t mind if you take some time to catch up on your emails.

38 Easter Road, 0131 661 6182, polentoni.co.uk

This friendly café in Elm Row is a good place to have on your mental map of the city; it’s neither too cool for school or expensive, and it’s handy for venues and transport options. Supplies of fresh scones and home baking are topped up every day, and there’s a nod to New York in the deli-style food like filled bagels, breakfast muffins, croissants and toasties. Upcycled wooden pallets have been made into low benches and tables where you can admire the tropical fish gliding around in the tank while you wait for your coffee and bacon roll to go, or sit-in with a black haggis cheese grill.

Café Renroc

Quay Commons

91 Montgomery Street, 0131 629 3727, caferenroc.co.uk

92 Commercial Quay, 0131 677 0244, quaycommons.co

This café has a real community feel. You’ll be equally at home grabbing a solo breakfast as meeting with friends for a leisurely brunch. Check Facebook for evening openings, like its regular Thursday-night curry club. On sunny days there is plenty of space to sit outside. Inside, the street-level space is small and bright with just a few tables, while a spiral staircase leads down to what was once the old bakery; the original baker’s oven is still in place alongside large chunky tables and sofas. Fully licenced, this neighbourhood café is certainly worth seeking out.

This multi-functional site is a butchers, bakery and prep space, a daytime café, evening bistro and wine shop. The menu features fabulous sourdough, while an open bakedgoods counter displays fresh pastries and alluring cakes, such as moist elderflower and gooseberry; all perfect accompaniments to a well-executed Williams and Johnson coffee. From noon to night, sharing platters feature delicacies such as octopus, or heartier dishes such as meat pie, with appealing daily specials. Carefully selected wines are available as off-sales or can be

164 THE LIST | Edinburgh Festival Guide 2019 | list.co.uk/festival

Bonnie Badger

OUT OF TOWN

When the buzz gets too much, try a day trip. Based in the pretty towns and villages surrounding Edinburgh, these venues are easily accessible by public transport or car and well worth some time out

THE BEACH HOUSE 57 Bath Street, Portobello, 0131 657 2636, thebeachhousecafe.co.uk A stroll along Portobello prom is a summer ritual for most Edinburgers – join them for cake and ice-cream at the Beach House. BONNIE BADGER Main Street, Gullane, 01620 621111, bonniebadger.com Tom Kitchin’s out of town venture is a classy pub, restaurant and boutique hotel in coastal Gullane, a perfect location for a walk on the beach and delicious lunch. DRIFT Canty Bay, North Berwick, 01620 892817, facebook/ DRIFTeatdrinkrelax Charming North Berwick is just a short train ride away from Edinburgh and the hike to Drift – a simple café built from shipping containers – is worth it for the views alone. THE LOBSTER SHACK The Harbour, North Berwick, lobstershack.co.uk Fast becoming an institution, this harbour-based wee stall sells the best, freshest lobster and shellfish in historic North Berwick. Go early as it can sell out. MALVAROSA 262 Portobello High Street, Portobello, 0131 669 7711, malvarosa.co.uk This relaxed restaurant offers a

opened there and then. It’s all simple and delicious, sourced from top local and ethical suppliers, in a stylish yet informal setting at affordable prices. Valvona & Crolla Caffé Bar 19 Elm Row, Leith Walk, 0131 556 6066, valvonacrolla.co.uk

If you don’t have much of an appetite when you arrive at Valvona & Crolla, you will do by the time you’ve walked through the deli, stacked to the rafters with delicious Italian produce, to the

tasty menu of Spanish food, with paella made to order, close to Edinburgh’s very own beach. THE NEWPORT 1 High Street, Newporton-Tay, 01382 541449, thenewportrestaurant.co.uk Fife fine-dining from former Masterchef: The Professionals winner Jamie Scott in a traditional coaching inn. THE PEAT INN RESTAURANT WITH ROOMS Peat Inn near St Andrews, 01334 840206, thepeatinn.co.uk Bookend your festival frolics with a luxurious meal and stay at Geoffrey Smeddle’s Peat Inn, where you’ll enjoy the best of modern Scottish cooking. SCOTTS Port Edgar Marina, Shore Road, South Queensferry, 0131 370 8166, scottssouthqueensferry.co.uk Blingy restaurant with great views of the three bridges spanning the Forth, just a short stroll from the centre of pretty South Queensferry. THE WEE RESTAURANT 17 Main Street, North Queensferry, 01383 616263, theweerestaurant.co.uk Jump on the train to the cute village of North Queensferry, then stroll down the hill for a delicious meal in the Wee Restaurant.

caffé. There’s an impressive Italian wine selection too and you can choose a bottle from the shop to accompany your meal. Dishes are light and fresh, with ingredients sourced almost exclusively from the handsome larder next door. The signature antipasto board has delicately delicious arrangements of cheese, meats and marinated or roasted vegetables, with traditional Italian pasta and meat dishes following simple, but exquisitely executed recipes – all fad-free and full of flavour.

Celebrating 10 years of debate, literature, music & art

Beyond Borders International Festival 24-25 August 2019

DOUNE THE

RABBIT HOLE FESTIVAL OF MUSIC AND ART

10TH ANNIVERSARY

19 – 21 JULY 2019

Traquair House, Innerleithen, EH44 6PW

“It’s intimate, it’s expansive, it’s joyful and an engaging festival to be at” Razia Iqbal, Journalist and Broadcaster

Programme & Box Office: 0131 290 2686

www.beyondbordersscotland.com Beyond Borders Scotland

@beyondborders__ #BBIF

@beyondbordersscotland

Beyond Borders Scotland

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list.co.uk/festival | Edinburgh Festival Guide 2019 | THE LIST 165

ADVERTISING FEATURE

Days Out

Food and Drink

Attractions

THE

The Edinburgh Festival might be the best arts bonanza on the planet, but it can still get, you FRINGE BY THE SEA fringebythesea.com Facebook: @fringebythesea2 Fancy some fresh sea air with your Fringe? Fringe By The Sea (2–11 August) in North Berwick is a short train journey from Edinburgh and offers up a programme covering music, comedy, film, books, conversation, well-being and family. From Groove Armada to Seaside Science, over 160 multi-art events await you.

OCEAN TERMINAL Visit our website for full details oceanterminal.com Shop, relax, eat and have fun. Discover something for everyone this summer. With Oor Wullie’s Big Bucket Trail, a weekly artisan farmers market, plus your favourite high street brands, there’s more to shop, more to eat and more to do at Ocean Terminal, soon to be known as Porta.

SEABIRD CENTRE The Harbour, North Berwick EH39 4SS | 01620780101 seabird.org | info@seabird.org The incredible Scottish Seabird Centre is in the heart of beautiful North Berwick, just 30 minutes by train from Edinburgh. Control live cameras to zoom in on amazing wildlife, enjoy a boat trip and discover wonderful local produce in the café and gift shop.

166 THE LIST | Edinburgh Festival Guide 2019 | list.co.uk/festival

MERCHANT CITY FESTIVAL Merchant City, Glasgow G1 1NY | 0141 287 4350 merchantcityfestival.com The Merchant City Festival is back from 25 to 28 July bringing the streets and venues of this historic part of Glasgow to life with performance, music, craft markets and The Big Feed. Watch out for the carnival events and a fantastic family day. It’s not to be missed.

THE NATIONAL WALLACE MONUMENT Abbey Craig, Hillfoots Road, Causewayhead, Stirling FK9 5LF | 01786 472140 nationalwallacemonument.com It’s the Monument’s 150th Anniversary – join in the celebrations with free activities every day in July and August! Explore the exhibition galleries to discover the life and legacy of William Wallace. Take part in Falconry, Archery, Warrior Training and much more! Open 9.30am to 6pm.

V&A DUNDEE VIDEOGAMES: DESIGN/PLAY/DISRUPT 1 Riverside Esplanade, Dundee DD1 4EZ | 01382 411 611 vam.ac.uk/dundee/videogames Escape the crowds and immerse yourself in the groundbreaking design and culture of contemporary videogames. Explore the creative process behind these playful, radical and provocative games through original design, concept art and prototypes. Be mesmerised by large-scale installations and have fun playing engaging interactives.

ADVERTISING FEATURE

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FRINGE

know, a bit much. Here are a few ideas for getting away from it all but still having a brilliant time THE GOOD SPIRITS CO. 23 Bath Street, Glasgow G2 1HW | 0141 258 8427 thegoodspiritsco.com A wee gem hidden away in a basement just four minutes from Queen Street station, the Good Spirits Co. is a treasure trove of whiskies, gins, rums, and every other spirit you can think of. Check out the latest batch of their bottled cocktails – delicious!

THE GARDEN HATCH Dobbies Garden Centres, Melville Nursery, Lasswade, Midlothian EH18 1AZ @thegardenhatch Escape the crowds at this trendy new lunch spot that’s well worth the trip out-of-town. Packed with personality, eat delicious Mexican street food served straight out of a classic Citroen truck. Enjoy hot tacos, chilled drinks and good vibes in this secret gem, hidden within Dobbies.

NATIONAL GALLERIES OF SCOTLAND Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, Modern One, 75 Belford Road, Edinburgh EH4 3DR | 0131 624 6200 nationalgalleries.org Free, fun, family art-making this summer at Kids: Cut it Out! Create your own collage masterpiece with hands-on activities every afternoon, join us at our play area for run around fun! And enjoy performances, storytelling and face-painting at our summer party family days. ALL FREE.

DALKEITH COUNTRY PARK & RESTORATION YARD Dalkeith, Edinburgh, EH2 21ST dalkeithcountrypark.co.uk info@dalkeithcountrypark.co.uk Just a few miles from Edinburgh, Dalkeith Country Park is home to the award-winning Restoration Yard Store, Restaurant, Wellbeing Lab and Fort Douglas Adventure Park. A perfect 1,000 acre country escape with waymarked walks, delicious menus and an inspiring store. Come, explore. You’ll love what you find.

TAYMOUTH MARINA

TRAQUAIR HOUSE

Kenmore, Perthshire PH15 2HW | 01887 830216 taymouthmarina.com info@taymouthmarina.com

Traquair, Innerleithen EH44 6PW | 01896 830323 traquair.co.uk

Melt the stresses of the Festivals away in the Hot Box, our giant wood-fired sauna with views across Loch Tay, before cooling down with a dip in the Loch. With a bar, firepit and inflatable trampoline, it’s a great spot for a party.

Traquair is Scotland’s Oldest Inhabited House and has strong associations with Mary Queen of Scots and the Jacobites. Have fun exploring the house and then discover the 300-year-old Brewhouse and Scotland’s largest hedged maze. Wonderful grounds, ancient woodlands and the delectable Garden Café is open for lunches and teas. Open daily until 5pm.

list.co.uk/festival | Edinburgh Festival Guide 2019 | THE LIST 167

FESTIVAL INDEX OUR A-Z OF SHOWS, EVENTS AND ACTS

Mary Hurrell

129

Mary Portas

Ruff Guide to Shakespeare, The

Mason King

Salman Rushdie

Michaela Burger

Samantha Shannon

Michelle Pearson

Sarra Wild

Monski Mouse’s Baby Disco Dance Hall

Addams Family, the

Ae Fond Kiss

128

81, 128

Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo, the

54 129

Science Adventures

Scott Walker Songbook, the

Frankenstein

Monster School Jurassic

Seeking Unicorns

Frankenstein: How to Make a Monster

Moonbird

Shlomo

Agustín Fernández Mallo

Fringe by the Sea

127

Mr Men and Little Miss on Stage

Simon Armitage

Ahir Shah

Frisky & Mannish

Nadine Aisha Jassat

Simon Evans

Akala

129

57 128

From India to Triana

Nathan Coley

Sister Act

Alexander O’Neal

128

Genesis: The Mary Shelley Play

Neneh Cherry

So You Think You Know

Alexander the Great

128

George Egg

Nick Helm

About Dinosaurs…?!

Nick Offerman

Sons of Kemet

Nicole Farhi

Sparkle

Olga Grjasnowa

SQIFF

129

Alfie Ordinary

Gil Scott-Heron Songbook, The

Amadou & Mariam

109

Gingzilla

Amir George

129

Glenn Moore

Andreas Ottensamer

116

Goliath in the Water

Andrew Wasylyk

Anna Calvi

116

124 63 128 77

One Two One Two

Gordon Brown

128

Oona Doherty

Götterdämmerung

116

Paul Zenon

Annie Ernaux

Grayson Perry

Artist Rooms: Self-Evidence

Groove Armada

128

Aurélien Froment

Hanna Tuulikki

Ava Beaux

Hard to Be Soft: A Belfast Prayer

BalletBoyz

Harry Josephine Giles

Bandakadabra

Basil Brush

Be Charlotte

127

112

Pauline and the Matches Peles Empire Peter Gynt

83 78 124 81

Stefan Hertmans

204

112

Stephen Fry

110

Stewart Lee

129 20 104

T2 Trainspotting

97 128

Tania Nwachukwu

Tommy Tiernan

20 49

Phill Jupitus

Tracey Thorn

Platform: 2019

Travis Alabanza

Harry Maberly

Puns

Trilok Gurtu

Havana After Dark

Quintessence

Trisha Brown

Helen McCrorie

Rachael Young

Turing Festival

Hibaq Osman

Rachel Long

Un Poyo Rojo

Bernadette Kellermann’s Colourworks

120

Hospital, the

Ratcatcher

128

Vaselines, the

129

Blind Boys of Alabama

109

Ian McKellen

Victoria Crowe

Benjamin Zephaniah

10 124 116, 129 129

Reginald D Hunter

128

Bomba Titinka

Ian Rankin

128

Richard Holloway

Virgin Money Fireworks Concert

Bonnie and Clyde

Ibibio Sound Machine

124

Ridiculusmus

Wild and Majestic

Boys in Sync

Idlewild

128

Rite of Spring

116

Will Eaves

River Phoenix

Wriggle Around the World

Breaking the Waves

116

Bridget Riley

C Duncan

128

If You’re Feeling Sinister: A Play With Songs

Roddy Doyle

Yokollection

In Conversation With

Ronni Ancona and Lewis MacLeod

YUCK Circus

Yuja Wang

Camille O’Sullivan

Internationaal Theater Amsterdam

Rosalind Nashashibi

Captain Flinn and the Pirate Dinosaurs

ISH Dance Collective

Rose McGowan

Islander

Carrie-Anne Moss

129

James McArdle

104

Catherine Bohart

Jan Garbarek Group

124

Charles Fernyhough

Jan-Philipp Sendker

Choir of Man

Janet Cardiff and George Bures Miller

Christopher Brookmyre

Janey Godley

128

Javier Cercas

Jenni Fagan

Cindy Sherman Comet Is Coming, the

129

Company Chordelia

Jenny Lindsay

Courtney Pauroso

Jenny Moore’s Mystic Business

Craig Ferguson

Jessie Cave

Crocodile Fever

Jessie Ware

116

Jim Lambie

129

Crucible, the

54 129 12

Cruel Intentions

Joana Carneiro

Cucina Povera

129

Joana Vasconcelos

Damian Cifelli

John-Luke Roberts

Dan vs Food

José Eduardo Agualusa

Danny MacAskill

Julia Neuberger

David Batchelor

Jupiter Rising

129

128

Kate Atkinson

David Steel Deutsche Oper Berlin Dickens for Dinner

20, 103 10

Kevin Quantum

Kirsty Wark

128

Donny McCaslin

122

Kyle Eastwood Band

124

Dr Jones Funny Bones

128

La Philharmonic

116 116

Dreamgun

La Reprise

Dream Machine

Laura Macdonald History

Eddi Reader

128

Eddie Izzard

of Jazz Saxophone Legally Blonde

124 83

Edinburgh Book Fringe

129

Letter, the

Edinburgh Food Festival

128

Lucy McCormick

Ma Jian

Magical Bones

Edinburgh International Television Festival

129

Elmer the Elephant

Maisie Adam

Erth’s Dinosaur Zoo

Manon Lescaut

70 103

Fawlty Towers Live Themed Dinner Show 10

Manual Cinema’s Frankenstein

Fishbowl

Marcus Malte

Frances Barber

Mariella Frostrup

168 THE LIST | Edinburgh Festival Guide 2019 | list.co.uk/festival

116

PHOTO: MATT LINCOLN

Cate Le Bon

47 116

George Egg

Photo David Wilkinson

Fireworks Concert

Get the best views in the City

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Hear the music on the night on Forth 1

26 AUGUST 9PM PRINCES STREET GARDENS