The List Festival: Week One

al v i fest 1–10 AUGUST 2022 | WEEK 1

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JINKX MONSOON THE DELIGHTFUL SAUSAGE CAMILLE O’SULLIVAN JON CULSHAW CATHERINE COHEN SK SHLOMO YOLANDA MERCY ALAN CUMMING SHEEPS

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ART | CABARET | COMEDY | DANCE | KIDS | MUSIC | THEATRE

N AT URA L Discover 14 natural botanicals in one award winning classic gin Edinburgh Gin encourages responsible drinking

2 THE LIST FESTIVAL | 1–10 August 2022

festival

FRONT & FEATURES

CONTENTS FESTIVAL 2022 | WEEK 1 | LIST.CO.UK/EDINBURGH-FESTIVAL

Top 10 The best of the Festival’s first week

6

Myra DuBois The agony aunt with an indifference

9

PICTURE: GIAN ANDREA DI STEFANO

The Delightful Sausage Meat sweats on a desert island

11

SK Shlomo The beat maker and room shaker

16

Camille O’Sullivan Covering new ground

29

ART Platform Edinburgh Art Festival’s fresh new faces

33

Daniel Silver Carving humanity out of clay

36

CABARET Ben Hart Magic, beheadings and Tom Cruise

42

Jinkx Monsoon The trials of sharing a Drag Race crown

48

COMEDY Catherine Cohen You can’t rush perfection

67

Seann Walsh Becoming Mr Nice Guy

71

Liam Williams, Al Roberts and Jonno Recounting Sheeps

74

DANCE Dance Body Yolanda Mercy achieves big goals

“

The Chosen Haram Dance, pray, love

95 100

KIDS

BURNS HAD SUCH A JINGLY, JANGLY LIFE

A Very Old Man With Enormous Wings A literary great for small ears

106

The Song Of Fergus And Kate Jay Lafferty celebrates our differences

109

MUSIC

ALAN CUMMING CONSIDERS SCOTLAND’S NATIONAL BARD

PAGE 123

Rusalka Will this whimsical tale end on a high note?

114

Sacred Paws Sunny tunes for cloudy skies

119

THEATRE

COVER PICTURE: MATT CROCKETT

Jon Culshaw The voice of Les Dawson

126

Psychodrama Making a killing on stage

134

Bloody Difficult Women Cross-gender politics

136

Published in August 2022 by List Publishing Ltd 2 Roxburgh Place, Edinburgh EH8 9SU Tel: 0131 623 3040 list.co.uk editor@list.co.uk

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FESTIVAL DATES FOR YOUR DIARY

‘We humans are so desperate to experience wonder.’ So says magic man Ben Hart in our interview. No surprise, then, that he named his new Fringe hour after this particular feeling. Like the best show titles, there’s a sneaky second meaning lurking away: how many of us wondered if we’d ever see this day again, when audiences, acts and reviewers would be gearing up for another full-blown Edinburgh Festival?

Well, it’s here now and we’re embracing the chaos with this 144-page bumper edition featuring some of the biggest hitters in town. We speak to beatboxer SK Shlomo about finding hope in the darkest corners, get some vibrant chat with Irish cabaret queen Camille O’Sullivan, and chew plenty fat with The Delightful Sausage as they take a comfort break off the M62.

Plus, Catherine Cohen talks about her Netflix success after being crowned Best Newcomer here all the way back in 2019; Yolanda Mercy discusses the perils of being a plus-sized dancer; impressionist Jon Culshaw explores a comedy legend he’ll be walking in the shoes of for a month; Seann Walsh considers the tabloid fall-out from that kiss; and Adrienne Truscott gives both barrels to the heavyweight American (male) playwrights whose undue influence has become overbearing.

There’s also a note of sadness with the departures of Dance Base leader Morag Deyes and International Festival boss Fergus Linehan as they prepare to head for new adventures elsewhere. And there’s anger, too, as some acts rightly bemoan the escalating costs of this first post-pandemic Festival and wonder (there it is again) whether excluding working-class performers and punters might threaten the Fringe’s long-term health.

But we have to be optimistic that it will, as Henning Wehn’s show title suggests, all come out in the wash. We have a lot of Festivalling to do over the coming month and hopefully you’ll stay the course with us as we bring you two more weekly magazines and a whole heap of online coverage packed with reviews of the great, the good and the not-so.

You can stop wondering: it all starts now.

EDINBURGH ART FESTIVAL 28 July–28 August edinburghartfestival.com

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Brian Donaldson

EDINBURGH INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL 12–20 August edfilmfest.org.uk

EDINBURGH FESTIVAL FRINGE 5–29 August edfringe.com

EDITOR

CONTRIBUTORS

Seonaid Rafferty

Writers: Becca Inglis, Bella Taliesen, Brian Donaldson, Carol Main, Claire Sawers, Fiona Shepherd, Gareth K Vile, Iain Leggat, Jay Richardson, Kelly Apter, Kim McAleese, Lucy Ribchester, Marissa Burgess, Mark Fisher, Megan Merino, Neil Cooper, Rachel Ashenden, Rachel Cronin, Rosanna Miller, Sean Greenhorn, Vanity von Glow

Designer

Social Media and Content Editor

Carys Tennant

Megan Merino

Sub Editors

Business Development Manager

Paul McLean, Megan Merino

Jayne Atkinson

CEO Sheri Friers Editor Brian Donaldson Art Director

EDINBURGH INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL 5–28 August eif.co.uk

Affiliates Manager Kevin Fullerton Media Sales Executive Ewan Wood Digital Operations Executive Leah Bauer

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3.30PM (4.30PM) 04-28 AUG

CIRCUS HUB ON THE MEADOWS

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@underbellyedinburgh 1–10 August 2022 | THE LIST FESTIVAL 5

FRONT

PHOTO: TOM ARTHUR

PHOTO: CLIVE BARDA

10 p o T

As an epic month of Festival shenanigans begins, take a look at our charttopping shows for a sprinkle of inspiration. There's storytelling, art, cabaret, raves, dance and plenty of silliness to kickstart your August

KIDS

THEATRE

This stripped-back adaptation of the Gabriel Garcia Márquez children’s fable finds a senior citizen with unfortunate attachments on his body facing his public in a story that offers no simple solutions. See page 106. Summerhall, 3–28 August.

Breathe is no ordinary play: it’s a Play That Becomes A Rave. And as such this high-energy affair will be one of the most hugely anticipated shows all month. The whole run is also in aid of suicide charity CALM. See page 16. Pleasance Dome, 3–28 August.

A VERY OLD MAN WITH ENORMOUS WINGS

SK SHLOMO

RUSALKA Opera director Jack Furness brings us an intriguing version of Dvorák’s fairytale in which a water nymph (the amazing Natalya Romaniw) considers giving up her magical life for love. See page 114. Festival Theatre, 6, 8 & 9 August.

BEN HART The cool magician brings us a sense of Wonder as he takes control of a prime Fringe room, showing the contenders to his throne exactly how it’s done. See page 42. Pleasance Courtyard, 3–28 August.

6 THE LIST FESTIVAL | 1–10 August 2022 | list.co.uk/edinburgh-festival

COMEDY

THEATRE

DANCE

After scooping the Best Newcomer Award for a show that has since been gobbled up by Netflix subscribers, the New York cabaret comic returns to Edinburgh with a work-inprogress that should be a joy to behold. See page 67. Pleasance Courtyard, 8–21 August.

He's turned his hand to cabaret comedy, musicals, film and TV. Now Alan Cumming prepares to whip up a dancing storm as he pokes around into the man and the myth that is Robert Burns.

A few preconceptions could be laid to rest here. See page 123.

King’s Theatre, 4–10 August.

BAFTA-nominated writer and director Yolanda Mercy responds to those who tried to drag her career down because of her size. This hopeful work aims to be a conversation starter on our attitudes to plussized women. See page 95.

Summerhall, 3–27 August.

MUSIC

COMEDY

ART

The undisputed queen of the Fringe is back with Dreaming, a shimmery affair with tunes both big and small that she will deliver with grace and aplomb.

See page 29. Underbelly Bristo Square, 3–28 August.

Amy Gledhill and Chris Cantrill follow up their 2019 awardnominated success with another oddball curio, Nowt But Sea. Costume changes and quality daftness assured. See page 25.

Monkey Barrel, 3–28 August.

Another quartet of young artists show off their wares after being ushered into the Platform programme by the likes of Lucy Skaer and DCA’s Beth Bate. See page 33.

French Institute For Scotland, until 28 August.

CATHERINE COHEN

BURN

DANCE BODY

PHOTO: ED MOORE

PHOTO: MATT CROCKETT

CABARET

PHOTO: CAMILLA GREENWELL

PHOTO: GIAN ANDREA DI STEFANO

MUSIC

CAMILLE O’SULLIVAN

THE DELIGHTFUL SAUSAGE

PLATFORM

XXX

CATCH THE ‘PICK OF THE FRINGE’ AT JOHNNIE WALKER PRINCES STREET Exclusive events series at immersive whisky experience promises to delight festival goers Official whisky partner of The Fringe, Johnnie Walker Princes Street, is gearing up for its first summer in the heart of Edinburgh’s west end, showcasing the best of The Fringe’s calendar of shows in a new series of events.

With thousands of performances across the city to choose from throughout August, figuring out which shows to see can be a conundrum for many. The eight-floor whisky experience is set to help guests ease their show dilemmas with their ‘Pick of the Fringe’ series of shows running from 11th to 28th August.

Set in Johnnie Walker Princes Street’s event space, Label Studio, two shows will run daily every Thursday – Sunday at 4.30pm and 10.15pm. Each day, three acts will be hand-picked from The Fringe’s talent for exclusive performances overlooking the cityscape. Expect a mixed bill of comedy, music and theatre, alongside some of the finest cocktails and drams in Edinburgh. Leading the line-up includes performances from Grammy and Emmywinning Soweto Gospel Choir, Britain’s Got Talent finalist, Magical Bones and Australian drag and circus act, Briefs Factory.

The team at Johnnie Walker Princes Street know a thing or two about making the perfect blend and their festival line-up proves to be no different. Tickets for ‘Pick of the Fringe’ are available to purchase now.

1 THE LIST March 2022

No trip to Scotland would be complete without sampling the national drink. The Journey of Flavour is a 90 minute tour with 3 whisky drinks tailored to your flavour preference (non alcoholic options available). Complete with a unique flavour-based quiz and personalised cocktails, the full-sensory adventure culminates in a flavour-filled celebration with three whisky drinks.

Ticketholders for any ‘Pick of the Fringe’ event receive 30% off their Journey of Flavour experience along with 20% off in the venue’s state-of-the-art retail store, subject to terms and conditions.

For tickets, head to johnniewalkerprincesstreet.com

drinkaware.co.uk for the facts

1–10 August 2022 | THE LIST FESTIVAL 7

festival

M O U T H P IE C E FRONT

Incoming director of the Edinburgh Art Festival Kim McAleese discusses her es approach to serving artists and audienc

PHOTO: STUART WHIPPS

I

arrived last month into the city, with my life packed up in a removal van and news of an impending heatwave. There’s never an ideal time to do anything, least of all to take on a role of director of an arts festival in one of the world’s most renowned and prestigious cities two weeks before it opens to the public! And yet never a better time either.

I was born in Belfast, and my career really started in the North of Ireland working with artists, designers, producers and thinkers in a place where public space is so contested and where histories are layered on top of one another with the heavy weight of conflict and colonial power structures. This has shaped my thinking about how we move in the world, what rights people have, how cities operate and what solidarity can look like.

My approach to working with art, artists and humans is valuing the strength in support structures; in listening and responding empathetically. For me, art institutions are deeply connected to politics and social histories, and have a responsibility to serve the public. Scotland has always welcomed me with open arms, and over the past decade I’ve worked with lots of artists from this region, so am keen to get stuck in here and work on the ground in the place where all these artists and audiences are from.

A return to being with one another in public space on a large scale is a really exciting prospect, especially after having experienced the past two years when gathering was almost impossible and where we had to connect with one another from afar. I have learned so much from the people around me: from colleagues and peers; from dear friends and family; from community leaders and activists; from artists, writers and performers. I cannot wait to do the same in Edinburgh over these next few intense weeks of the Festival in full flow. And also in the coming months, to present a new visual art festival to the city in 2023.  Edinburgh Art Festival runs until 28 August.

playLIST Delight your ears as well as your eyes with this issue's exclusive soundtrack, curated by The List team Hear songs by Darren McGarvey, Laurie Black, Camille O'Sullivan, Lizabett Russo, Catherine Cohen, Antonín Dvorák, Sacred Paws, Anna Meredith, Eddi Reader and many more.

Scan and listen as you read:

3 of a kind

Hello! I’m Vanity von Glow and I’m one half of the team bringing Drag Queen Wine Tasting to Mono Restaurant. Each day, myself and Beth Brickenden will be tasting three delicious wines, so here are my top three picks for you:

Barbera: one of my favourite grape varietals.

Italians spread its fresh acidity around the world, and it’s often used in blended wines. But these factoids are neither here nor there; the true reason I love it most is because it makes me think of Barbera Streisand! Well . . . what do you expect from a drag queen?

Orange wine: you’ve heard of white; you’ve heard of red; the most worldly and travelled readers may even have heard of rosé! But my favourite wines are orange wines. I tasted my first orange wine in Portugal, and they are in fact white wines made using the red-wine

process leaving skins on and giving beautiful tannins and a drier taste. Anytime I splash this down my throat I’m transported back to one sweltering night in Lisbon in 2009. Though spent mostly on my back in a bedsit with a man whose name I am only 50% sure was Carlos, I distinctly remember delicious orange wine lubricating the entire experience.

Picpoul de Pinet: perhaps less fashionable than she was a few years back, this crisp wine from the south of France had a moment in the limelight about a decade ago; or at least that’s when I first started looking at the bottle to see what I was drinking. I’m a diva who loves to disco dance, and I love how light it is on the palate and stomach. I pair it with a dinner of shellfish or Mediterranean flavours so I’m light on my feet and ready to go twirling at the nearest available discotheque.  Drag Queen Wine Tasting, Mono Restaurant, 4–28 August, noon.

PHOTO: HOLLY REVELL

COMEDY CANINES

RLEY

Lily Phillips on Blodyn: Obsessed with me PHOTO: KARLA GOWLETT

Myra Dubois gives some advice to Robert Bathurst

ra Dear My

Michelle Shaughnessy on Robocop: Absolute cutest dog in the whole PHOTO: STEVE ULLATHORNE

In the first of an epic three-part battle of the Fringe giants, Robert Bathurst (Cold Feet, Toast Of London) has something on his mind that he wants to get right off his chest. Pouring forth his woe to Myra DuBois (Yorkshire agony aunt super-extraordinaire) could be a mistake, though. Still, here she offers some advice on what ails him.

Brace yourselves . . .

Is empathy overrated? Why are we expected to feel someone’s pain when it’s actually impossible to do that, and self-destructive even to try it? Surely we should aim for compassion. It’s less showy and performative but probably more genuine and helpful. Am I wrong? Do you understand what I’m saying? Don’t you feel the way I do?

bert o R r a e D

Hal Cruttenden on Lexie: The only cockapoo in Britain who’s a trained killer PHOTO: MATT CROCKETT

Before I begin to diagnose, let alone cure, may I congratulate you on reaching out? Admitting there’s a problem is the first and invariably most difficult step. Well done you. Sadly your problem is not uncommon. In this age of social media, over-exposure to the thoughts, feelings and opinions of total strangers have left us emotionally numb, and reported cases of Empathetic Deficiency are at an all-time record high.

There is hope! Science has yet to prove that empathy exists. Indeed, evidence exists to suggest that no one in the history of the human mind has ever genuinely cared for another person at all. It’s suggested in high-brow circles that we are all, to use a psychiatric term, faking it.

Hope that helps with your [editor to enter condition] and that it clears up/heals/stops bleeding/feels better [editor to delete as appropriate] soon.

Yours in indifference, Be well,

Myra

n Myra DuBois’ A Problem Shared, Underbelly Bristo Square, 3–28 August, 7.45pm; Robert Bathurst stars in Love, Loss And Chianti, Assembly Rooms, 3–28 August, 12.55pm.

Lilly Phillips: Smut, Pleasance Courtyard, 3–28 August, 7.25pm; Michelle Shaughnessy: Be Your Own Daddy, Underbelly Bristo Square, 3–29 August, 8.30pm; Hal Cruttenden: It’s Best You Hear It From Me, Pleasance Courtyard, 3–28 August, 8.10pm. list.co.uk/edinburgh-festival |1–10 August 2022 | THE LIST FESTIVAL 9

FRONT

CHAEL WHA

PHOTO: MI

A curious phenomenon has hit the Fringe PR machine this year: comedians with pooches in their publicity pics. Here are three of them with a quick line from the owner which aims to reveal something about their cute if unsmiling pet

M

Y

Y

Y

10 THE LIST FESTIVAL | 1–10 August 2022

YORKSHIRE DELIGHTFUL SAUSAGE

SEA

After their last Edinburgh run scooped a Comedy Award nomination, expectations are high for the return of darkly daft duo The Delightful Sausage. Claire Sawers caught up with them to talk chip pans, little white lies and bringing Krankies-level energy to the stage PICTURES:

>>

ED MOORE

list.co.uk/edinburgh-festival |1–10 August 2022 | THE LIST FESTIVAL 11

DELIGHTFUL SAUSAGE 12 THE LIST FESTIVAL | 1–10 August 2022 | list.co.uk/edinburgh-festival

double act. ‘Us families are kind of exactly the same people,’ says Cantrill, in fine colloquial fashion. ‘A lot of the childhood references are the same. Weird council estates.’

‘Chip shops,’ chimes in Gledhill. ‘Chip pans.

It’s chip heavy. With whimsy.’ Gledhill brings a fizzy, occasionally fierce, often farcical delivery to their back and forths, dropping in a casual offer of ‘the cheapest speed on the circuit’ or muckying up family-friendly lines with bubbly but sinister references to murder or shagging.

Cantrill smiles inanely, often openly battling existential angst or an urge to vomit onstage, as the duo lead their audience through wholesome but slightly curdled games and jokes.

A massive part of their charm draws from the style of British light entertainers of days gone by; think classic ITV Saturday-night skits and the kind of superbly sketched-out character comedy

>>

list.co.uk/edinburgh-festival |1–10 August 2022 | THE LIST FESTIVAL 13

DELIGHTFUL SAUSAGE

T

hree years ago, in a basement on Blair Street that’s now being used as a Harry Potter-themed escape room, a delightful pair from Yorkshire invited audiences into their world. It was a world full of bendy Northern vowels, seaside smut, bizarre costumes and mild passive aggression. They called it Ginster’s Paradise. Set in a fictional Butlinsstyle holiday camp, it won Salmoncoat-wearing comedians Amy Gledhill and Chris Cantrill, aka The Delightful Sausage, a nomination for the much-feted Edinburgh Comedy Award. This year, they return with a bigger, shinier endeavour, featuring animation, music and a third member (in a venue across the road), plus two solo shows for good measure.

Although the pandemic ground The Delightful Sausage’s live work to a standstill, it let them concentrate on new writing. They starred in their own Radio 2 special and made the oddball podcast series Tiredness Kills. When we chat, they’re on the road again doing previews for a new Fringe show, Nowt But Sea, but have come off the M62 for a pit-stop between Manchester and Leeds. ‘Yeah we’re pretty busy,’ says Gledhill before making sure that this didn’t sound self-important. ‘I mean, we’re not nurses or anything. 99% of what we do just now is attaching a hi-res jpeg to emails.’

August will be spent sliding in and out of costumes as they perform three afternoon shows between them. ‘We’ll be done by 6 every day; we could be in bed by 8 if we want,’ says the unstarry Gledhill, not daunted by showbiz hard graft.

Their comedy hangs off robust, wonderfully written yet daft scripts and two sets of very funny bones. Gledhill remembers seeing Cannon And Ball at Butlins when she was young and thinking it was ‘the best thing ever’. She was always keen on performing and did well as a ballroom dancer before she took up comedy instead. ‘I’m the youngest of seven children, so I needed to do anything to get attention in a big family.’ Cantrill meanwhile worked in an office for ten years before starting comedy.

The Delightful Sausage squeezed into life five years ago after Gledhill was apparently dragged along reluctantly to see Cantrill performing. Gledhill was in a double act with her comedian friend, Nicola Redman, who insisted she see her boyfriend’s show.

Gledhill found it ‘the most beautifully bizarre, brilliant show’ and declared him her favourite comedian. When Redman became pregnant and stepped back from comedy, Gledhill and Cantrill began a

DELIGHTFUL SAUSAGE

that was big in the 80s. The recent Butlins references finally won over Gledhill’s pensioner auntie Carol too, who hated their weirder material. ‘We started out doing quite dark, fairly inaccessible surreal stuff, but as we’ve come on, we took some advice about marrying the darker stuff with something that’s true,’ says Cantrill.

They blend the silly and strange with the savvy, so although Cantrill points out that ‘we’re often titting about onstage in monster costumes’, he also describes his character Christopher Louise as ‘an arsehole; a centrist who thinks Keir Starmer is great’.

‘We’ve had comparisons to surreal, alternative British comedy stuff; people we love,’ Cantrill adds. ‘Vic ‘n’ Bob, The League Of Gentlemen; but underneath it all I’d like to think there is a kind of energy that’s much closer to Cannon And Ball or The Krankies. Fun and old-fashioned stuff.’

Their solo hours take them in different ‘nonSausagey’ directions. Gledhill’s show is The Girl Before The Girl You Marry, based on a true story about ‘a rug-pull moment’ she had one New Year’s Eve involving a proposal gone wrong.

‘Sometimes you forget that the painful moments in your life are really funny to everyone else,’ she says, with a long laugh. ‘In a lot of relationships I’ve had, the guy moves on very quickly and gets married.

Turns out it’s quite a relatable concept; like a human property developer.’ That story also features in a sitcom which Gledhill currently has in development with the BBC.

PICTURE: ED MOORE PICTURE: MATT CROCKETT

Meanwhile Cantrill, who recently relocated from Manchester to Cumbria with his family to run a B&B, took inspiration from a challenging relationship with his boisterous young son. His stand-up set The Bad Boy is about keeping his child on the straight and narrow with a little white lie that’s spun out of control. Cantrill told the boy he’d end up in prison if he didn’t behave, an idea that his son was actually very into.

Blending the pedestrian with the downright peculiar, and smothering their meat-themed material in chummy, innocent playfulness and a strong whiff of malevolence, this Sausage factory is sure to convert new cult fans with its expanded range this August.

The Delightful Sausage: Nowt But Sea, 3–28 August, 12.45pm; Amy Gledhill: The Girl Before The Girl You Marry, 4–28 August, 3.30pm; Chris Cantrill: The Bad Boy, 3–28 August, 4.20pm; all shows at Monkey Barrel.

14 THE LIST FESTIVAL | 1–10 August 2022 | list.co.uk/edinburgh-festival

40TH ANNIVERSARY FESTIVAL

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Book online at assemblyfestival.com or call 0131 623 3030 | @AssemblyFest “The jewel in the crown of the Fringe” The Scotsman

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1–10 August 2022 | THE LIST FESTIVAL 15

BUT RAVING

NOT DROWNING

SHLOMO PICTURE: NATHAN GALLAGHER

16 THE LIST FESTIVAL | 1–10 August 2022 | list.co.uk/edinburgh-festival

SK SHLOMO

PICTURE: TOM ARTHUR

I With glow stick in hand and a hopeful message from the heart, beatboxer extraordinaire SK Shlomo brings a unique theatrical experience to Edinburgh.

After holding court at the Royal Albert Hall they meet Bella Taliesen to discuss village life, mental-health struggles and making a difference

t was, perhaps inevitably, a party-hearty Scotsman who gave SK Shlomo the idea for Breathe, the new oneperson play-that-becomes-a-rave that’s heading for Edinburgh. It was 2019, and the world-record breaking beatboxer, music producer and theatre performer was at the Fringe with their last play, Surrender (Shlomo identifies as non-binary). An uplifting mental-health survival story, it received five-star reviews and was nominated for that year’s Mental Health Fringe Award. There was music, but there was definitely not supposed to be any raving. Until the first night of that show’s Underbelly run.

‘This giant Scottish person in the front row just stood up and went “GRR-YEAHHHHHH”, kicked his chair away and started dancing, and then everyone else just followed suit,’ the 39-year-old Londoner remembers with a grin.

‘And I was like, “oh, that’s what I need to do: I need to do a play and I need to do a party, and I need to do it in one show”.’

The result is Breathe: The Play That Becomes A Rave, a glorious, genre-defying mash-up of two of discerning British culture’s favourite things: theatre and clubbing.

It’s a deeply personal, staged retelling of Shlomo’s mental-health struggles. But it’s also a celebration of life and a sincere offering to ‘the holy altar of rave’.

At times, it’s a riot of colour and sound, made all the more spectacular when you realise this is all coming from one human being, a loop machine affectionately known as The Beast and a magical electronic glove (no, really).

With these, Shlomo conjures into being everything from the north London Middle Eastern community they grew up in (full of belly-dancing aunties, big-belly meals and full-belly laughter) to the mammoth raves and festivals they’ve played across the world.

At one point Shlomo single-handedly summons the atmospheric power of Glastonbury’s iconic Pyramid Stage. At other times, the room becomes very small and we’re reminded that this is just one human being. One human being battling depression. The expectations of parenthood. The challenges of gender-based society.

And finally, the oppressiveness of small-town suburbia, where everyone seems grey and dead inside, and like they couldn’t possibly understand you. At least, so you think.

Then, somehow, we wind up in Shlomo’s living room where, together, performer and audience recreate the homespun rave they believe not only saved their life but transformed a sleepy village community. Like the real thing, there are glow sticks and a lot of unselfconscious dancing. It’s all pretty joyous.

>>

PICTURE: TOM ARTHUR

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SK SHLOMO

PICTURE: KATHRYN CHAPMAN

Shlomo beams at the real-life memory. He had been struggling to assimilate into the village he and his family had made a new home of. So he put on a party. ‘It was amazing. My friends showed up with a soundsystem and an 18-inch subwoofer, and I thought, “fuck, this is legit. This is how I’m going to get better: I’m going to celebrate”.’

Breathe also serves as a manifesto of non-judgement, perhaps one of rave culture’s strongest principles. Shlomo assumed the people in his new village wouldn’t want to know them, yet here they were, raving alongside each other. ‘We jumped up and down for seven hours and I started to realise that it was me judging them; they weren’t judging me at all.’ As it happens, John from Number 23 (who worked in IT) was secretly really into drum and bass.

Janet from the school run had been to the actual Haçienda.

‘They were all ravers. Everyone used to be young!’

Unsurprisingly, Breathe provokes incredibly special and affirming post-show reactions, particularly from the Johns and Janets of the world, some of whom attended a run of pre-Fringe warm-ups earlier this summer in a sideroom at London’s Royal Albert Hall. ‘I had a beautiful conversation with this person who’s a bit older. She said, “I used to go out all the time, and my husband’s been saying you’ve gotta go dancing; you’ve gotta go”. He managed to get her to come to this, and then she was just crying these big tears of grief for what she had restricted

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herself from. While holding a glow stick in the Royal Albert Hall!’

Another ‘sweet human’ had perhaps an even more profound, life-changing moment. After raving til the very end at one of those London shows, a young man came and found Shlomo to confess he had recently been so debilitated by poor mental health that he’d come to the heart-breaking conclusion that he shouldn’t be a father.

‘But after seeing my show, and the way I was talking about fatherhood . . . ’ Shlomo takes a breath. ‘I’m gonna cry if I finish this sentence . . . I stopped him and said, “look: would you tell me that I shouldn’t be a dad?” He said, “no. And I’m gonna be one, too”.’

As promised, their voice cracks. ‘You know when you’re doing these things (and it’s been really hard making this show), the advice people always give you is, “if it helps one person, it’s worthwhile” and all that. And yeah, that’s encouraging. But when you actually hear that it’s helped one person, that is a pay-off. It’s emotional.’

Breathe has the power to help more people than even just those lucky enough to experience it first-hand in Edinburgh this summer. It’s supported by, and in aid of, suicide charity CALM (Campaign Against Living Miserably). Shlomo was keen to have them on board for a number of reasons. ‘CALM are really aligned with the values of the show’s story, but they’re also really aligned

SK SHLOMO

Breathe: The Play That Becomes A Rave, Pleasance Dome, 3–28 August, 7pm; Shlomo’s Beatbox Adventure For Kids, Pleasance Courtyard, 3–28 August, 12.05pm.

PICTURE: NATHAN GALLAGHER

with the culture.’ Not only have CALM recently shifted focus away from gender-specific mental health (something especially appreciated by Shlomo themselves) but they are ‘into having conversations with the kind of role models that young people will actually listen to’.

Shlomo is keen to contribute to these conversations at every level. So much so that they’re bringing a second show to this year’s Fringe, a children’s production that, in its own way, is also about the importance of celebrating life. Shlomo’s Beatbox Adventure For Kids, returning from an acclaimed 2019 Fringe run and sell-out UK tour, is ‘pretty much the same vibe [as Breathe] without the swearing and references to suicide’. And a lot more kids making music with their mouths.

As with Breathe, for Shlomo arguably the best part of Beatbox Adventure is what happens post-gig: the opportunities for connection. ‘I get these huge queues of kids lining up after the show, and I’m bounding up to them going, “I’ve got ADHD too!’’ I’m always crying because I see such a difference in how kids now are being supported. They’re being held.’

Holding a rave and holding us all. At the Fringe, Shlomo’s promising both.

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XXX

ARMY @ THE FRINGE RETURNS FOR ITS FIFTH YEAR IN EDINBURGH The programme aims to provoke public discussion with plays, art, poetry, and talks throughout August Army @ The Fringe is returning to Edinburgh for its fifth year this August, with new creative direction from veteran producer, writer and artist Harry Ross, and a new Chief of Engagement Lt. Col Hugo Clark MBE. Acting as a foil to the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo, this showcase of creativity aims to reframe the public perception of the military through plays, art, poetry and talks.

At the heart of this year’s programme is the theme Different Voices – One Team, a celebration of the diverse voices and perspectives which make up the modern military. Included is Heroin To Hero (Drill Hall, 5–28 August, 7.15pm), about how former heroin addict Paul Boggie kicked his habit to become a member of the Queen’s Guard; For Queen And Country (Drill Hall, 5–14 August, 8.30pm), the 1940s-set adventure of spy Major Denis Rake MC who disguised himself as a drag queen to entertain Nazi officers in a Parisian

20THE 1 THELIST LISTMarch FESTIVAL 2022| 1–10 August 2022

nightclub; and Dots And Dashes: A Bletchley Park Musical (Drill Hall, 16–28 August, 8.30pm), the empowering story of six women cracking codes to shape the outcome of World War II. Expanding on the theme of diversity are shows centring on the cultural identity of Scotland. This includes I’ll Mak You Be Fain To Follow Me (Drill Hall, 16 August, 4.30pm), a discussion from senior soldiers and officers from the Royal Regiment of Scotland on how Robert Burns’ poetry inspires them in their personal and professional lives.

Also included in the programme is a series of dramatic readings and talks from NATO allies (Drill Hall, 5–13 August, 5pm) who the army has worked with for years, as they train soldiers in Ukraine. A special concert in collaboration with Edinburgh Napier University will also take place at the end of the month (Craiglockhart Campus, 28 August, 1pm), featuring modern music from composers affected by war and student compositions inspired by the programme.

As well as highlighting diversity and inclusion within the military, this year’s Army @ The Fringe will focus on accessibility to shows, presenting more work outside central Edinburgh and making around a quarter of their shows either free or ‘pay what you can’.

Find the full Army @ The Fringe programme at armyatthefringe.org

“

DEPARTING BOSSES

Now isn’t the time to be overly cautious

”

PICTURE: MIHAELA BODLOVIC

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DEPARTING BOSSES

PICTURE: DUKE STUDIOS

Much excitement surrounds the Edinburgh Festival’s fullscale return. But for two top curators, the soundtrack to this restoration is a bittersweet symphony. Kelly Apter bids a fond farewell to Fergus Linehan and Morag Deyes

F

ergus Linehan, director of Edinburgh International Festival since 2015, will hand over the keys to Nicola Benedetti at the end of August. Meanwhile Morag Deyes, former artistic director of Dance Base and curator of its Fringe programme since 2001, will step aside to let Tony Mills take over the whole shebang from 2023.

Speaking to them both about their upcoming departures, it’s clear that emotions are mixed. Linehan admits to ‘feeling a bit demob happy’ and plans a move to Australia in September. Deyes, too, is leaving the UK to work on a range of dance-related projects. For now, though, they’ve both got a post-pandemic, 75th anniversary swansong Festival to run.

No pressure, then.

‘Yeah, it’s a biggie,’ laughs Linehan. ‘And we need to not look like we’re pulling our punches this year. We’re in a position of enormous privilege as an organisation, in terms of our stakeholders, donors and audiences, so now isn’t the time to be overly cautious and sit on our hands. A lot of organisations look to us, and others like us, so there’s a degree of trying to put confidence back into the sector. We needed to have really substantial artists, really substantial companies and be as international as we could make it.’

Walking into the role, Linehan couldn’t have predicted that midway through his tenure the entire game plan would be thrown into covid-shaped chaos. But even without the hurriedly assembled online programme of 2020 and pavilion-based shows in 2021, being Edinburgh International Festival director still brought unexpected challenges.

‘Leaving aside the pandemic, the role ended up being a lot broader than I thought it would be,’ he says. ‘One of the great joys, but also one of the great challenges, is just how multiarts the Festival is. You have people in music, dance, theatre; and they all feel a degree of ownership. So one of the things is trying to cover all the bases in some kind of meaningful way. For example, how much should you know about contemporary dance in Scotland? And

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DEPARTING BOSSES Previous page: Fergus Linehan (from far left) EIF home The Hub, Morag Deyes, Dance Base

realistically, how much can you know given all you have to do? That was a very big learning early on. Also the degree to which the role has an expectation of you being a public figure with an opinion on all sorts of big socio-political and geo-political things.’

It’s testament to the size and reach of the Festival that Linehan is asked such questions. Likewise, Deyes’ long career at Dance Base had a hugely positive impact on the Scottish dance sector generally, and the Fringe in particular.

Before Deyes began programming, dance fans were faced with slim pickings at the Fringe. Today, other venues have followed her lead and curated a diverse range of national and international work.

‘At the very beginning, I noted there was no Scottish dance on the Fringe,’ she says. ‘And of course that’s because it costs a fortune and nobody could afford it. So I wanted to champion Scottish work and give it a platform.’

Originally curating programmes at the Grouse House and Dynamic Earth, Deyes brought her Fringe line-up inhouse once Dance Base moved into its glorious premises on the Grassmarket. To make it work economically, doublebills with well-financed international artists performing alongside Scottish dance companies were assembled. With an unexpected knock-on effect.

‘I thought, “everyone’s so busy during the Fringe, they’ll just come in, do their show and leave”,’ recalls Deyes. ‘I never expected that so many collaborations would come from dressing-room chats, meeting people in dance classes and seeing each other’s shows; it’s been wonderful. Artists from all sorts of cultural backgrounds and funding situations have met. But dance is the only language they need.’

With Tony Mills waiting in the wings to take over, how does Deyes see Dance Base’s Fringe programme progressing?

‘It’s about Scottish dance being put on a platform alongside great international work. And about giving a space to dancers who haven’t had that opportunity. That’s what it has been, what it is now, and what it should be in the future.’

As for Linehan, what will he scribble on the note he leaves on Nicola Benedetti’s new desk? ‘I would say there’s more flexibility in the Festival than you think. If something doesn’t work out, it’s not necessarily the disaster you imagine it will be. And by the end of August, everyone is so sick of the sight of you, they just want you to go away until March. So as long as you don’t financially burn the place down, there’s actually quite a bit of flex in it.’

The Dance Base programme and Edinburgh International Festival both run 5–28 August. list.co.uk/edinburgh-festival |1–10 August 2022 | THE LIST FESTIVAL 23

24 THE LIST FESTIVAL | 1–10 August 2022

PICTURE: ANDY HOLLINGWORTH

With outrageous rents, dubious labour practices and ever-increasing ticket costs, Neil Cooper asks if people are being priced out of Edinburgh’s festivals. He speaks to a few acts who worry that parts of the Festival will become no-go zones for some performers and audiences

A

funny thing happened on the way to Edinburgh this year. No, really. After a pandemic-induced absence, and with all those small-is-beautiful type promises of a more bijou Festival seemingly forgotten, the class-based inequalities of an August in Edinburgh are more glaringly obvious than ever.

The exposure of dodgy working practices by some Fringe venues, and the fact that it is increasingly difficult to work at the Festival at all unless you’re from a wealthy background, mirror the chaos of late capitalist society and beyond. As too do extortionate accommodation costs, while ticket prices in some places look increasingly

out of reach for the average punter in search of a good night out. One initial reaction was the Fringe Society announcing a Working Class Producers Mentorship.

This was subsequently ‘paused’ due to a poor response, with successful applicants absorbed into the already existing Emerging Producers Development Programme.

Meanwhile, in April, comedian Tom Mayhew, who first performed in Edinburgh on the Free Fringe in 2015, spoke in an interview with Edinburgh Live saying, ‘even if you gave a working-class comedian £10k they’d still be at a disadvantage because it is so expensive; there are less working-class punters, less working-class reviewers, less working-class journalists.’

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WORKING CLASS FESTIVAL

A CLASS ACT?

WORKING CLASS FESTIVAL

PICTURE: ANDY HOLLINGWORTH

Working-class heroes: (previous page) Tom Mayhew, (from left) Sian Davies, Jack Monroe, Lauren-Nicole Mayes, Micah Hall, Molly McGuinness, Dave Johns

A grassroots initiative set up to try and address this social imbalance is House Of Class, a new bursary to support working-class comedians on the Fringe. This was founded by Best In Class, the crowdfunded, profit-sharing initiative set up in 2018 by comedian Sian Davies, with shows including Best In Class (a showcase featuring rising stand-ups such as Micah Hall, Tamsyn Kelly and Molly McGuinness) and Comedy Queers at this year’s Fringe. Aided by a grant from the Fringe Recovery Fund, it aims specifically to support those workingclass acts who face rising accommodation costs.

‘The main barrier to working-class participation at the Fringe is a financial one,’ says Davies. ‘Even when you actually make a living from comedy, as a working-class person it’s still really restrictive to get to the Fringe. Most people starting out have other jobs, and you can’t afford to just take a month off work to do the Fringe. What we’re doing isn’t the answer; it’s a sticking plaster at best. There needs to be real systemic change because people are basically being priced out of what is alleged to be an open-access arts festival.’

This seems to be borne out by Dave Johns, the comedian and actor who starred in Ken Loach’s film I, Daniel Blake.

Johns has been performing in Edinburgh since the early

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1990s. This year, he says, will be his last. ‘The way prices have gone I think it’s going to be quite a few people’s last one as well. I don’t know how anybody is going to start bringing shows up to Edinburgh or even how punters are going to start visiting. It’s just got ridiculous. People have always gone on about how expensive the Fringe is, but this year it’s crazy. We’re talking about £2500 just for two weeks’ accommodation. How can that sustain itself if you want a diverse Fringe? You’re only going to get people who can afford to come up and pay those prices.’

Lauren-Nicole Mayes is a writer-performer making her Edinburgh debut with a solo play, Dear Little Loz. This semi-autobiographical work came to fruition after an early version was spotted by director-producer Izzy Parriss.

‘Doing the Fringe is something I would never have been able to consider otherwise,’ says Blackpool-born Mayes, who works three jobs in order to supplement her writing and acting work. ‘Theatre should be accessible to everyone, but how will we ever be able to support working-class stories in a Fringe system that is so expensive?’

While harder to gauge, the other Edinburgh festivals all have various initiatives that, to some extent, address

WORKING CLASS FESTIVAL

PICTURE: ANDREW JACKSON

working-class representation. Edinburgh International Festival’s outreach work has included a three-year residency at Leith Academy, as well as Amplify, a songwriting project with young people at the Goodtrees Neighbourhood Centre in Moredun.

Edinburgh Art Festival has been working with young people at WHALE Arts (Wester Hailes Arts For Leisure And Education), while Edinburgh International Film Festival’s Talent Lab and Young Critics schemes offer support for applicants experiencing socio-economic restraints to enable them to apply for both programmes.

Edinburgh International Book Festival features Jack Monroe talking about systemic change while there are numerous Pay What You Can events. Its Citizen programme also brings together communities in north Edinburgh, Musselburgh and Tollcross to share stories across a series of events.

As well-meaning as all this is, audiences from working-class backgrounds are perfectly capable of dealing with complex ideas in classical theatre as much as they are with a fart gag and shouldn’t be patronised in the way Labour deputy leader Angela Rayner’s recent trip to the opera was. Again, money is the key. For audiences, the free-market economy means having to shell out hefty ticket prices that remain out of reach for those with little or no disposable income. For artists, it feels much the same. ‘I think the Fringe could go either way in terms of its future,’ says Mayes. ‘If it stays the way it is, working-class artists won’t get through the barriers because

of the costs and that prohibits a lot of people from getting involved.’

As Davies observes, ‘I think there’s a hierarchy at the Fringe, with performers at the bottom. But without us there’s no Festival. In any other environment, I would be lobbying for a strike, but I quite want to do my show so probably won’t do that. It’s like we need to remove ourselves from it and say, “without us you haven’t got a festival, so treat us better”.’ Johns is even blunter. ‘We should all be getting together and doing something about the insane costs. Otherwise the Fringe is going to die.’

Sian Davies: About Time, Gilded Balloon Teviot, 3–28 August, 5.40pm; Best In Class, Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 4–28 August, 8.45pm.

Comedy Queers, Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 4–28 August, 11.45pm.

Best In Class All-Star Benefit Show Featuring Frankie Boyle, Gilded Balloon Patter Hoose, 17 August, 9.30pm.

Dear Little Loz, theSpace @ Surgeons’ Hall, 5–27 August, noon; Dave Johns: A Comic’s Tale, Gilded Balloon Teviot, 16–28 August, 8.45pm.

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28 THE LIST FESTIVAL | 1–10 August 2022

PICTURE: BARRY MCCALL

The colourful cabaret queen from Cork, Camille O’Sullivan is heading back to Edinburgh for her latest rendition of handpicked hits and classic covers. She tells Rachel Cronin how a near-death experience helped make her the Fringe favourite she is today

‘I

do think the song choices are about bringing the audience on a high and low journey,’ explains Camille O’Sullivan.

‘You’re watching what the audience is like: are they happy? Are they sad? And of course, my feeling towards them is I want to hug them, you know? I’m quite a baby in that regard.’

Having lived an extraordinary life while proceeding to win multiple awards and sell out the Sydney Opera House, O’Sullivan will be casting her magic over hits by Bowie, Cohen and Radiohead. Performing regularly at the Fringe since 2004, this punchy artist is more than familiar with an Edinburgh audience.

Though this year, her show will be a mix of fan favourites and personal picks. ‘That’s what’s wonderful about this,’ she continues. ‘The songs I’m choosing, some of them will be for the audience but they’re mostly for me. I remember Bowie saying, “always sing for yourself. Don’t try and measure an audience to make them happy”. And I think that has happened over the years.’

The ex-architect turned professional singer will be returning this year with long-term friend, expartner and bandmate Feargal Murray. ‘We’re quite spiritual, the two of us,’ she says. ‘I mean, when we first met, we were partners. And then

>> list.co.uk/edinburgh-festival |1–10 August 2022 | THE LIST FESTIVAL 29

CAMILLE O’SULLIVAN

PASSION PLAY

CAMILLE O’SULLIVAN PICTURE: KIP CARROLL

when I had this car accident years ago, and we had split up like a week before, he was the person who minded me.’ Murray and O’Sullivan created this year’s setlist together, rifling through hundreds of songs, which the singer describes as ‘digging for gold. Some of them are songs I’ve loved since I was like 14 or 15. But I felt, “oh, they’re too obvious”. My thing about singing is I like to take songs that people don’t know because you’re moved by them. They make you cry and they make you laugh.’

Onstage, Camille O’Sullivan drips with charisma and passion. She recounts a friend who describes her as a ‘mouse’ backstage and a ‘tiger’ when she comes out. ‘It’s like a character; the whole thing of becoming different people in every song. The songs let you be angry or let you be sad, or let you be vulnerable or let you be sexy.

And this year will be interesting, because maybe it’s going to be more me than before . . . I’m actually a bit nervous about it.’

O’Sullivan reflects on that car accident and how surviving it helped crystallise a potential bright new future in her head. ‘I kind of first had the confidence and, really, the competence then to become a singer and leave work. It really alerted me to go, “what do you want to do?

Do you want to be an architect for the rest of your life?”

And I probably wouldn’t have ventured into this career without it because I’m a bit of a scaredy cat. Though that transforms on stage for some unknown reason. Sasha Fierce comes out.’

Dreaming is also a thank-you to those who turn up to see her perform. ‘I know this sounds ridiculous, but the notion that it could have been taken away from me makes me want to tell people I love them. I really feel quite loving to any audience that turns up for me. And also, for all these people I’ve known through the years that have come to my gigs. You know, these are connections. You really think of them and miss them. And it’s not bull. It’s real.’

Camille O’Sullivan: Dreaming, Underbelly Bristo Square, 3–28 August, 7.20pm.

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SCATTERJAM PRESENTS

0131 558 1947 10 Antigua Street, Edinburgh, EH1 3NH

12.50pm

3 - 29 August (not 15/16)

W W W. K A H A N I R E S TA U R A N T. C O . U K

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ART

ART PICTURE: COURTESY OF THE ARTISTS

PESTER & ROSSI

As part of Edinburgh Art Festival’s celebration of the Union Canal, the Glasgow-based duo of Ruby Pester and Nadia Rossi have curated an installation of sail banners. The work will be housed at Bridge 8 Hub throughout the month and weaves together the voices and ideas of individuals who live, work and play along the canal’s route. Alongside the banners, a community raft entitled A Float For The Future was created and a celebration song was penned. Community art in action.

(Brian Donaldson)  Bridge 8 Hub, until 24 August.

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PLATFORM

PICTURE: COURTESY OF THE ARTIST AND FINN RABBIT DOVE

Platform gives audiences a chance to discover emerging contemporary art talent in Scotland. Rachel Ashenden takes a look at a quartet of artists under the spotlight with work featuring everything from sculpted lambs to cooking rituals

E

very August, Edinburgh Art Festival presents a showcase of four emerging artists’ work under the banner of Platform. It’s an opportunity that provides visual artists with the budget and production support to be more ambitious with their work at the outset of their careers. Now in its eighth year, this latest edition is being staged at the French Institute For Scotland on Edinburgh’s Royal Mile.

As usual, the call for artists was open-ended, with no requirement in terms of medium or theme. ‘Rather than an overt theme, what joins them was a lack of exhibition opportunities,’ says Beth Bate, director of Dundee Contemporary Arts, who took part in this year’s selection panel alongside researcher and curator Seán Elder, and artist Lucy Skaer. Bate says the cohort of applicants stressed the need for ‘proper paid exhibition opportunities’ as artists continue to wrestle with the impact of covid. list.co.uk/edinburgh-festival |1–10 August 2022 | THE LIST FESTIVAL 33

ART

NEXT LEVEL

PLATFORM

ART

Absorbed in the limits and potential of illness, artist Jonny Walker has sculpted several spring lambs cast in a variety of materials.

Presented in various states of decomposition, these animals allude to the nature of decay.

Meanwhile, Emelia Kerr Beale takes a monumental ancient tree in Sherwood Forest as inspiration for their work. Approximately 1000 years old, the Major Oak has survived collapse through human intervention. Pruned several times over, and held by metal braces and chains since 1970, the oak’s history is one of mystery and speculation.

For Beale, the tree symbolises hope for a restructured society which has done away with the systematic negligence of disabled people. Beale presents an installation of knitted garments which provide a landscape to explore queer and feminist bodily experiences.

Alongside the garments, Beale has collaborated with Finn Rabbitt Dove and Clara Hancock to produce a non-linear, circular moving image reflective of their experiences of the pandemic.

Similarly dealing with the temporality of natural forms, Saoirse Amira Anis examines her dual heritage through sculptural collages.

Using materials and plants from Morocco and Previous page: Emelia Kerr Beale (from left) Lynsey MacKenzie, Saoirse Amira Anis

28 July–28 August

Art starts here edinburghartfestival.com @edartfest | #edartfest

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PLATFORM

Platform: 2022, French Institute For Scotland, until 28 August.

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Edinburgh International Book Festival 13–29 August 2022

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A li

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G lena odden Sa

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M ar t

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L em n S issa y

Jack M

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Over 600 live events.

Watch in-person, online and on-demand.

Book tickets: edbookfest.co.uk

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ART

PICTURE: COURTESY OF THE ARTIST

Scotland, her commission intimately explores rituals around cooking, healing and, more broadly, demonstrations of love. Through a decolonial lens, Anis’ work emits a warmth which stems from a desire for interpersonal connection. As with Beale, Anis’ priority is to move beyond capitalist configurations of society which demote authentic love and care.

The final artist chosen for Platform: 2022 is Lynsey MacKenzie, whose evocative work (aptly described by Bate as ‘joyful melancholic’) is deeply concerned with the materiality and physicality of paintings.

Panes of bold colour beautifully intersect on the canvas, lulling viewers into the artist’s suspension of time.

Although the artists were not responding to a stimulus, ruminations of bodily fragility, methods of care and the benefits of community abound in this year’s Platform. The four artists present a versatile range of practice, with the emphasis on skilled craft-making demonstrating what Bate regards as ‘a resilience from having made work from their bedrooms for the past two years’.

REVIEWS

DANIEL SILVER

ART

LOOKING lllll

PICTURE: RUTH CLARK

‘Human 1’ and ‘Human 2’ stand side by side, leaning into each other. Sculpted clay handdressed in a layer of red oil paint, their textured torsos lacking limbs or faces. Yet they are indescribably human. Without eyes, they gaze into one another. Daniel Silver’s debut Scottish exhibition, Looking, is a window to the world seen through this Jerusalem-raised artist’s eyes.

A series of sculptures are dotted around the Fruitmarket’s upper and lower galleries. Mounds of clay have gone through a metamorphic journey with Silver, which he describes in a series of audio clips available through QR codes placed around the galleries and warehouse. His tone is thoughtful when describing his works, as if they are lifelong friends that he’s watched growing old.

Perhaps a piece to be most pondered over is the gaggle of personalities presented in ‘The Audience’ (2022). A group of 18 sculptures (with more human features than totems such as ‘Human 1’ and ‘Human 2’) are gathered like a family. Presented in two rows, Silver describes the paint-coated people as a connected group who will one day have to part ways and exist as individuals. Looking is an exploration of human connectivity and togetherness that gives meaningful insight into how both artist and viewer see the world. (Rachel Cronin) n Fruitmarket, until 25 September.

CÉLINE CONDORELLI

AFTER WORK lllll

After Work presents Céline Condorelli’s reassessment of the gallery space by exposing hidden labour forces and prioritising play. Aspects of the exhibition read like a compelling manifesto; for instance, a poster suggests museums should function like a playground.

However, beyond a sculpture comprising a beach lounger and models of spinning tops, the exhibition struggles to live up to its playground promise.

This large survey of Condorelli’s output begins with clear curatorial direction. In room one, sunlight illuminates a body of work representing leisure, including houseplants which suggest the exhibition-like qualities of a garden. By stark contrast, room two is oppressively dark, focusing on a thorough investigation of labour relations in the history of rubber production.

The feminist-Marxist and environmental messages are vibrant throughout, but there is a surplus of theory and objects to grapple with. While Condorelli contends that she deliberately challenges the politics of display, this intuitive curatorial narrative feels a little lost by the final few rooms. (Rachel Ashenden) n Talbot Rice Gallery, until 1 October.

STUDIO LENCA PICTURE: ALIX MCINTOSH

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THE INVISIBLES lllll

A bare-chested man poses with a football tied on his head, with the sort of scarf that might have been sported by the daughters in Lorca’s play, The House Of Bernarda Alba, on one of their sunnier days. This is ‘Immigrante’, in which El Salvador-born Jose Campos (in his Studio Lenca guise) strikes a pose. In ‘El Historiante Blanco’, Campos stares defiantly at the camera from the next wall, a sword-wielding warrior clad in armour made not of metal and mesh, but flowers and lace, in a fancy-dress subversion of machismo.

These are two of his ongoing Los Historiantes collection, in which Campos dons the dressing-up box apparel of characters depicted by his country’s folkloric storytelling dancers, who hand down tales of colonialism and subjugation of their indigenous people. As an émigré fleeing his war-torn country (first to America and now to the UK) where he’s officially classed as ‘Other’, Campos reimagines these various identities in flamboyantly theatrical fashion. The two figures who peer from the paintings next door, ‘Hugo’ and ‘Melon Head’, are similarly colourful in appearance, both wearing shirts made of flowery silver leaf.

The mouth-watering banquet of bananas, oranges, pineapples and mangos that adorn ‘Esta fregado’ is a deceptively sumptuous-looking tablecloth turned wall hanging, created not with paint but cleaning fluid. This is Campos’ tribute to his mother, who worked as a cleaner while he was growing up. Through these five images, a whole new set of stories and hidden histories are made visible at last. (Neil Cooper) n Sierra Metro, until 28 August.

‘A Surrealist and Dreamlike Cabaret’

MR MOON

by Moon Cabaret

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my own private

shakespeare

“Magnificent performance” mooney on theatre

“outstanding” “A must-see show”

by Justin Hay, featuring select scenes by william shakespeare Directed by Mona Zaidi

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Toronto Audience reviews

2022 edinburgh fringe august 5-27

Greenside at riddle’s Court willow studio www.modernclassictheatre.com

list.co.uk/edinburgh-festival |1–10 August 2022 | THE LIST FESTIVAL 37

HIGHLIGHTS

ART HIGHLIGHTS

ART

Old-school classics and contemporary provocations feature in another top-notch display of diverse art

COOKING SECTIONS/SAKIYA

Turner nominees Cooking Sections team up with West Bank collective Sakiya for work which looks at land struggles in both Palestine and Scotland. n Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, until 18 September.

ISHIUCHI MIYAKO

The influential Japanese photographer has her debut exhibition in Scotland which includes images of Frida Kahlo’s clothes and accessories. n Stills, until 8 October.

ALAN DAVIE

The life and legacy of this painter, jeweller, polymath and jazz musician are explored through an exhibition featuring rarely viewed work from across his lengthy career. n Dovecot Studios, until 24 September.

CALUM CRAIK

Psycho Capital is the result of a new commission by this artist who splits their working time between Scotland and the US with a focus here on labour, economy and complicity. n Edinburgh Sculpture Workshop, until 4 September.

BARBARA HEPWORTH

In Art & Life, this major retrospective spans the iconic sculptor’s entire career featuring works such as ‘Cone And Sphere’ and ‘Installation View Of Orpheus’. n Scottish National Gallery Of Modern Art, until 2 October.

National Treasure: The Scottish Modern Arts Association (and bottom from left), Calum Craik, Barbara Hepworth, Cooking Sections/Sakiya

TRACEY EMIN

Another bold statement from the renowned contemporary artist with work that was mainly created over the past two years. Her art can be experienced both indoors and out; I Lay Here For You should not be missed. n Jupiter Artland, until 2 October.

NATIONAL TREASURE: THE SCOTTISH MODERN ARTS ASSOCIATION

Works from the likes of FCB Cadell, SJ Peploe, JD Fergusson and Joan Eardley are shown in this wide-ranging exhibition. n City Art Centre, until 16 October.

PICTURE: JCCOTTO

PICTURE: BOWNESS

38 THE LIST FESTIVAL | 1–10 August 2022 | list.co.uk/edinburgh-festival

JUST THE TONIC IS BACK

FOR EDFRINGE 2022 Feast your eyes upon our offerings

19:20 - 21:20

21:45 - 23:45

The most talked about smash hit show of the festival returns

18:10 - 19:10 4th - 28th August

Gloriously Funny

Unmissable

SCOTSMAN

EDINBURGH EVENING NEWS

8 PM

4-28 AUG (not 15th) WWW.TOMSTADE.COM

TICKETS

list.co.uk/edinburgh-festival |1–10 August 2022 | THE LIST FESTIVAL 39

A rollercoaster ride of comedy, chaos and misfortune New Rotterdam Wharf Scottish Opera Production Studios 40 Edington Street, Glasgow G4 9RD 11 – 20 August 6pm Book now scottishopera.org.uk

Candide Registered in Scotland Number SC037531 Scottish Charity Number SC019787

Bernstein

Supported by Friends of Scottish Opera, Scottish Opera’s Education Angels and The Scottish Opera Endowment Trust Core funded by

40 THE LIST FESTIVAL | 1–10 August 2022 | list.co.uk/edinburgh-festival

BRIEFS

Explosive, camp, playful and witty, Briefs have become a Fringe staple. Joined by singer Sahara Beck leading a live band, their return demonstrates how cabaret, burlesque and queer performance are now at the heart of Edinburgh’s August extravaganza. The Australian team balance show-stopping spectacle and broad humour in new show Bite Club, which has been honing its colourful dynamism in a British tour that included Glastonbury.

Meanwhile, the Briefs Factory workers clock on to swing and soar in a decadent yet disciplined Sweatshop celebration.

(Gareth K Vile)  Briefs: Sweatshop, Assembly George Square Gardens, 3–28 August, 10.05pm; Briefs: Bite Club, Underbelly Circus Hub, 5–27 August, 8.45pm.

list.co.uk/edinburgh-festival |1–10 August 2022 | THE LIST FESTIVAL 41

CABARET

CABARET

BEN HART

CABARET

“

I’m always happy to help people out with a beheading

Magician Ben Hart has a few things up his sleeve. Such as the fact he’s now the go-to guy for movie and theatre producers who need some trickery on their set. Ahead of his biggest foray on the Fringe to date, he tells Brian Donaldson that working with the ‘brilliant and kind’ Tom Cruise was a treat

N

ot that he would ever be so discourteous as to say it, but Ben Hart is no longer just a Fringe magician. He’s been in and out of an Edinburgh August for a decade and is now set to play the Pleasance Grand with Wonder, following in the footsteps of Colin Cloud, another of the Festival’s masterful illusionists.

‘I’ve taken the show I was doing on tour and supercharged it for that amazing room which demands a certain special something,’ Hart says.

‘I remember looking at that room ten years ago when I first did the Fringe and thinking, “that’s the end goal of the journey”. But who knows what’s next?’

What’s next might depend on which influential producer, director or star has him on speed dial.

To say that he had a recent curious encounter with Hollywood superstar Tom Cruise might be pandering to those who automatically assume that the pint-sized giant of Tinseltown has a decidedly odd streak to him. Sure, there’s the Scientology stuff for one thing and that time he jumped up and down on Oprah’s sofa

42 THE LIST FESTIVAL | 1–10 August 2022 | list.co.uk/edinburgh-festival

”

proclaiming his undying love for Katie Holmes.

But Hart is having none of that after spending time teaching the actor some sleight-of-hand trickery for him to use in the next Mission Impossible film. He insists that Cruise is ‘quite brilliant and passionate and precise and completely dedicated. He was very easy to talk to, and was kind and interested in the world. I think that’s true of all great makers of anything, that they need to have a curiosity of the world.’

And let’s face it: he’s spent weeks on a closed film set with him, and you and I haven’t. But still . . . ‘When I got the job, I received a phone call and they said, “can you be in a car at 6am tomorrow morning? You’ll have a rapid covid test, then stay in the car until we get the results back and then we go and meet Tom Cruise to talk about magic”. I said, “yes! I’m available!!”

I mean, it sounded like the set-up for a movie.’

Ahead of preparing for Wonder, Hart had been busy helping out on other projects. For a few years now he’s been involved in When Magic Goes Wrong for Mischief Theatre, a show which was co-created with two of his heroes in magic,

BEN HART

CABARET PICTURES: MATT CROCKETT

list.co.uk/edinburgh-festival |1–10 1–9 August 2022 | THE LIST FESTIVAL 43

CABARET

BEN HART

Penn & Teller. ‘I’ve been advising and designing on other people’s projects which is quite different for me. They can be fun if the brief is stimulating; I’m lucky enough in my career to be at the point where I can choose what I think I’m going to be good at.’

He was also a consultant on the Royal Shakespeare Company’s adaptation of Hilary Mantel’s historical novel The Mirror And The Light which finally reached the stage in September 2021. ‘That was also a good one,’ he purrs.

‘I’m always happy to help people out with a beheading.’

While Hart evokes a large measure of wonderment in others, what does he experience in life that instils such feelings in himself? ‘I find enjoyment and wonder in everything: good food, a nice evening out, exploring the world by walking around. I just like everything, and that’s why I like magic. This is a great profession for me because it’s the intersection between design and construction, and psychology and performance, and storytelling, comedy and history. One day I can be talking about the complicated statistical problems of a deck of playing cards and how they’re affected by shuffles. The next day I can be figuring out how it’s going to look when we chop someone’s head off. These are very diverse things.’

While stand-up comedians are almost expected to come up with a show of brand-new material pretty much every year, magicians are given a little more latitude given that it can take someone many years to hone a trick before it’s ready to be put in front of a crowd. ‘This show contains the tricks I’ve been working on the longest,’ says Hart.

‘People still see me as fresh-faced and young, but I’ve been doing some of these tricks for a long, long time. And the reason is that they evolve with you and say something different in every performance. I can do a trick one night and it will get laughter, and the next night the same trick or piece can feel as though it’s wicked and I’m Lucifer: nothing has changed other than the atmosphere. A trick and a show is a conversation with the audience.’

It’s fair to say, then, that Ben Hart is no ordinary magician. But then again, he has indeed been at this game for a long while and has probably forgotten more about magic than most of us will ever learn. ‘I’ve been doing magic since I was very young, about five years old; I actually can’t remember not doing it. The idea of it is intoxicating: it always has been for me. We as humans are so desperate to experience wonder and magic that we will find it even in something as stupid as a card trick. That to me has always been a very powerful idea.

When I was eight, I first went to a magic shop and I thought “wow, you can buy magic”. Turns out you can’t, but you can buy the dream of magic. It sold me the idea that a mortal child could have godlike powers.’

Ben Hart: Wonder, Pleasance Courtyard, 3–28 August, 7.50pm

44 THE LIST FESTIVAL | 1–10 August 2022 | list.co.uk/edinburgh-festival

MOSAICO ERRANTE

blackbluesbrothers

“Brilliant work … comical … inspirational” Atlanta Press “Insight, humour and endearing sincerity” Southern Voice A-List

GUIDE TO SURVIVING MASCULINIST TERRITORY

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21:15 3 - 28 AUG 46 THE LIST FESTIVAL | 1–10 August 2022 | list.co.uk/edinburgh-festival

GEORGE SQUARE

ba

‘Y

ou know, there’s nowhere else to go sometimes other than to laugh, scream, shout or cry,’ says Tabby Tingey, one half of TikTok-famous double act Sugarcoated Sisters. The award-winning, real-life sibling duo (completed by Chloe Tingey) will be venturing beyond our phone screens for their live debut at this year’s Fringe with cabaret comedy Bittersweet. A cringey yet cathartic reflection of awkward encounters, dating horror stories and sisterhood, it’s sure to have every mid to late twentysomething saying ‘so true’.

After moving back in with their parents over lockdown, seeing old faces and remembering unfinished business, the sisters decided to write music about their uncomfortable encounters and then posted it all on TikTok. Almost accidentally, their posts resulted in 320k followers and nearly six million likes. ‘Sometimes we think that what happens to us is so niche that no one else will possibly get where we’re coming from,’ continues Tabby. ‘But then we get hundreds of comments saying, “that literally happened to me with my friend or my ex-boyfriend or my boss”, and it just makes you feel suddenly not alone or embarrassed because none of these experiences are totally

unique. So you can all laugh about it and get that catharsis. I think that the show is quite explosive.

It’s quite rude. And it’s a shock because I don’t think people expect us to go quite so hard.’

Both from performance backgrounds, the siblings aim to promote mental-health solidarity and support through their music. ‘When I was diagnosed with bipolar four years ago, I didn’t know a single person that had it,’ explains Chloe.

‘And I felt so alone and upset, because I just needed somebody to tell me what to do and how to cope. So, we hope that by putting something out there, other people will think, “oh, if they have bipolar and can have fun and laugh about it, maybe I can do that, too”. Maybe it’s not a life sentence to a terrible, terrible time.’

‘We want our show to be a really safe place for women and non-binary people to come and actually have their experiences relayed on stage in a supportive way,’ concludes Tabby. ‘So, if we can make anyone in the audience feel that sense of solidarity, that’s what we’re hoping to achieve.’

Sugarcoated Sisters: Bittersweet, Just The Tonic At The Caves, 4–28 August, 8.50pm.

g n i c n a l

act PICTURE: STEVE ULLATHORNE

list.co.uk/edinburgh-festival |1–10 August 2022 | THE LIST FESTIVAL 47

CABARET

Sugarcoated Sisters exploded in the last two years and now make their Fringe debut with a show about solidarity and sisterhood. Rachel Cronin hears them espouse a message about catharsis that keeps the emphasis on having fun

SUGARCOATED SISTERS

CABARET

XXX

STORM 48 THE LIST FESTIVAL | 1–10 August 2022 | list.co.uk/edinburgh-festival

DAM

JINKX MONSOON

I

t feels like a marriage that was destined to happen, thwarted until now only by circumstance. Cabaret superstar, ‘horny MILF’, and winner of RuPaul’s Drag Race season five, Jinkx Monsoon (‘here to make your stepson swoon’) is finally coming to the world’s most famous stage festival. Having been courted by the Fringe for many years, eventually in 2020 Monsoon agreed to pack her suitcase full of wigs and corsets and accept an invitation. ‘And we all know how that story ends,’ she cackles down the Zoom line.

Now two years on, with even more spit and polish on her show, and fresh off the back of appearing on RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars (winner of season seven is still to be announced at time of writing), Monsoon is determined to show us She’s Still Got It, in a cabaret collaboration with her long-term stage partner Major Scales. ‘It’s a tour of our musical taste, a mix of ragtime covers of pop music and original music Major Scales has written for me throughout the years. You’re going to get a little bit of contemporary ragtime, a little bit of 90s garage-band throwback rock.’

Monsoon (aka Jerick Hoffer, who uses they/them pronouns out of drag and she/ her in drag) has known Major Scales (award-winning musician Richard Andriessen) since their college days. Originally they bonded over ‘the silliest things: we both had eccentric hats’. Later a shared love of vintage music and British sitcoms began to blossom into a working partnership. They stayed close throughout Monsoon’s rise to Drag Race fame, and she swore that as soon as she had time, they would create a show together. This came to fruition in 2013, in a one-night off-Broadway performance that turned into a four-month residency. Years later their theatrical partnership is just as strong (if tempestuous) as ever. ‘Jinkx is the domineering personality; the Major is the only one who can get through to her. And it’s not different offstage, just dialled down.’

Anyone who has seen Monsoon on stage or in Drag Race will be able to recognise some of her more famous influences: the vintage charm of Lucille Ball and the mature glamour of Jennifer Coolidge. But Monsoon says she also finds inspiration closer to home. ‘At the heart of Jinkx is just a very cheap impression of my mom.’ Having been brought up by three powerful women (her aunt, grandmother and a mother who christened that triumvirate as ‘The Omen’), Monsoon now finds herself at the centre of family disputes over who is responsible for her creation.

‘My mother and my aunt actually fight all the time about who Jinkx is based on; they’re both trying to pass off responsibility.’ Given her success, shouldn’t they be fighting over who gets to own it? ‘Jinkx has a lot of lovely qualities, but she’s also a narcissistic bitch,’ says Monsoon. ‘If you’ve seen Drag Race, that’s got a lot of Jinkx the human being infused in it: the artist who created the character. Jinkx onstage is just 100% unfiltered character. Jinkx the human being is loving and kind and openhearted and candid and honest and mindful. Jinkx the character is a little bit more of a monster.’

Despite her onstage swagger, Monsoon admits she has harboured self-doubts in the past. ‘When you win Drag Race, eventually someone else is going to win it. For each winner I think there’s a moment of like, “oh, wow, I’m not the current winner anymore”. And that’s an adjustment.’ Filming All Stars, whose line-up is comprised entirely of past Drag Race winners, helped her realise that every victor has, at some stage, felt the same way. ‘Once I regained that sight, regained the focus on why I chose drag as my medium and why performing is what I’ve always wanted to do with my life, it was like someone put jet fuel in my engine.’

Jinkx Monsoon: She’s Still Got It! (With Major Scales), Assembly George Square Gardens, 6–18 August, times vary.

AMAGE

list.co.uk/edinburgh-festival |1–10 August 2022 | THE LIST FESTIVAL 49

CABARET

RuPaul’s Drag Race winner and vintage glamourpuss Jinkx Monsoon admits to having two distinct personalities. Lucy Ribchester hears that her female family members still debate the true inspiration behind an often monstrous public persona

PREVIEWS

CABARET

AIDAN SADLER

TROPICANA

‘I try to make it a story of resilience, of overcoming your insecurities and finding humour in the darkest of times,’ says queer cabaret icon Aidan Sadler, Tropicana’s creator and single performer. ‘The overall effect is an uplifting experience that, whilst making you want to get up and dance and laugh, also puts the performer’s experience into perspective. It’s a survival story, packaged as a right good jolly.’

The synergy of gravity, humour and joy makes for a strong cocktail. Between performances of well-loved 80s hits from Spandau Ballet to Wham!, Sadler’s big act is stand-up comedy.

In a creation that ‘comes from a really dark place’, they fearlessly explore discussions around mental health while challenging gender binaries.

Havana’s El Tropicana nightclub is cabaret legend, and Sadler describes their act as an appreciation of the original venue ‘but with the character of a big gay idiot thrown in the mix’. After a year touring the country headlining shows, the same fabulous costumes are back with stand-up that has been heavily workshopped and continually developed. ‘The show appeals to people gagging for a sit-down and to watch cabaret, but it’s also for the “show before a night out” crowd. After all, Club Tropicana drinks are . . . allowed!’ (Rosanna Miller) n Assembly George Square, 3–28 August, 10.20pm.

LAURIE BLACK PICTURE: AVE.CINEMATICA

50 THE LIST FESTIVAL | 1–10 August 2022 | list.co.uk/edinburgh-festival

DYSTOPIANO

Fresh from supporting Adam Ant on tour, synth-rock cabaret pioneer Laurie Black returns to Edinburgh with her latest hour, Dystopiano, a cyber-setlist of songs reflecting ‘the feeling of impending doom that’s in the zeitgeist. We’re constantly making jokes about the end of the world so we don’t really take it seriously anymore. But I’m trying to open up conversations and remind people that we should be trying more to fix it whilst also laughing at abominations like Elon Musk.’

Historically influenced by Muse, Nine Inch Nails and Tim Minchin, and more recently Peaches and Nova Twins, Black thought the call to open for the Dandy Highwayman was an ‘elaborate joke’. Still, after the Fringe is over, she resumes touring with him in September. ‘After watching Adam Ant every night for the last month, I’m inspired by his writing and energy,’ she adds.

Also hosting late-night variety showcase Bad Luck Cabaret at the Festival once again, Black can trace her preoccupation with space and the future to her childhood.

‘I’d “zoom out” of my body, look at my piano-playing hands in awe and think, “woah, I’m in control of this!” It’s a feeling I miss having and, for me, zooming out is an important way of living with life. My song “Cosmic Indifference” explores how nothing really matters because we’re on this speck of sand floating in space. It makes most things feel very trivial and mundane, and the freedom of that really inspires me.’

(Jay Richardson) n Dystopiano, Voodoo Rooms, 6–28 August, 7.20pm; Bad Luck Cabaret, Banshee Labyrinth, 7, 14, 21 August, 1.10am; both shows are part of PBH’s Free Fringe.

Just the Tonic at The Caves (Just up the Road) Cowgate, EH1 1LG

by Stefan Harvey

17:20, Aug 4-28 (not 15 & 22) From £8 or pay what you want

“Reminds me of a young Steve Coogan” Brian, Airbnb host

Scan for tickets & info

Truth’s A Dog Must to Kennel The Strange Undoing of Prudencia Heart Blood and Gold This is Memorial Device Samsara Counting and Cracking You Know We Belong Together

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52 THE LIST FESTIVAL | 1–10 August 2022 | list.co.uk/edinburgh-festival

WILL PICKVANCE

Admitting to feeling drawn towards the absurd and ridiculous, the Fringe favourite returns with Half Man Half Piano, a show that will display his wild talents to stunning effect.  Assembly George Square, 3–28 August, 7.25pm.

AMBER TOPAZ

Greying Still Slaying showcases the cabaret sensation that is Amber Topaz, as she pays tribute to lusty libidos everywhere in this wholly adult show.  Voodoo Rooms, 5–28 August, 9.10pm.

CABARETTE SHOWTOUR

With the pick-up point on the Grassmarket, you won’t be making a discreet journey in a taxi as five intrepid souls go on a musical-comedy tour around the capital.  Grassmarket, 3–28 August, 2pm, 5pm.

Amber Topaz (and bottom from left), Ganesh & Cydney’s Clinic, Will Pickvance, Drag Race Quiz Party host Dana Alexander

CHARLIE CAPER

The winner of Sweden’s Got Talent displays his magical abilities with a show called, rightly so, Magical. Over 50 countries around the globe have been entertained by this Caper.  PBH Free Fringe @ Liquid Room Annexe, 6–28 August, 6.15pm.

GANESH & CYDNEY’S CLINIC

Glitter, filth and a hefty dose of camp should guarantee a cracking late night out if those three things are on your agenda this August. Ridding Edinburgh of lovesickness is top of this pair’s to-do list.  Underbelly Cowgate, 4–28 August, 11pm.

DRAG RACE QUIZ PARTY

Only super-fans of RuPaul’s iconic TV show and live tour should attend this quiz, hosted by Canadian comic Dana Alexander. Or perhaps it’s also one for the perennially curious.  BlundaGardens, 5, 12, 19, 26, 11.55pm.

FLADAM’S MUSICAL COMEDY HOOTENANNY!

Florence Poskitt and Adam Sowter (hence Fladam) tap into the rich traditions of British comedy in a show that’s rammed with tunes and wordplay.  Pleasance At EICC, 3–29 August, 4pm.

CABARET

CABARET HIGHLIGHTS

Life sure is a cabaret and here are some acts paying homage to that glorious form in week one

PICTURE: PETER DIBDIN

FEATURE

S W O H S D E T A R U C T S E B THE E G N I R F L A V I AT THE FEST

s r e f f O e v i s Daily Exclu m o c . t s e F d only at E

54 THE LIST LIST FESTIVAL | Edinburgh |Festival 2018 | list.co.uk/festival 54 THE 1–10Guide August 2022 | list.co.uk/edinburgh-festival

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children ASSEMBLY BROTIPO

DANCE BASE WHIRLYGIG

Assembly George Square Gardens, 5–29 August (not 16, 23), 11.55am, £10.50–£12.50 (£9.50–£11.50). Preview 4 August, £7.50.

Crazy Canadian circus for the young, premiering in Edinburgh after visiting 16 countries. The art of giving each other a chance and collaborating when the right time comes is what the Brotipos will have to learn. Two clowns touch the hearts of the audience and make them laugh through their quarrels, their acrobatics and their lonely moments. A show filled with handstands, diabolo and a hand-to-hand act that will make you sing and dance with them. Hilarious and comical, that’s Brotipo. For the young and old! Winner of eight public choice awards.

Dance Base, 11–21 August (not 15), 12.30pm, £14 (£12).

A madcap musical adventure for families, WhirlyGig is four brave musicians, 30 instruments and countless musical puzzles to solve. Join us for an extraordinary theatrical experience where music will happen in ways you have never seen before.

Musical maverick Daniel Padden comes together with award-winning Red Bridge Arts and Catherine Wheels to celebrate the thrills and spills of making music. For age 6+.

PEPPA PIG: MY FIRST CONCERT

Gilded Balloon Teviot, 6–28 August (not 10, 17, 22–24), 10.15am, £9–£9.50 (£8.50–£9).

Previews 3–5 August, £7.50.

‘Fergus himself was a little stunned and stared with eyes like dinner plates then said: “My name is Fergus”. She replied: “And mine is Kate”. In that very second, each of them had found a friend whose souls would remain entangled from now until the end.’ An interactive adventure that uses storytelling, music and animation to encourage children to celebrate their differences.

Assembly Hall, 5–21 August (not 9, 16), times vary, £14–£16 (£12–£14). Preview 4 August, £9.50–£11.50.

From Mozart to Muddy Puddles! Peppa Pig – My First Concert is a fun interactive introduction to a live orchestra with everyone’s favourite Pig family!

Join Peppa as she discovers an orchestra for the first time in this accessible, exciting concert designed for the youngest audience members, featuring Aurora Orchestra. Sing and dance with Peppa in her favourite songs, watch Daddy Pig learn to conduct, explore the sounds of the different instruments, enjoy familiar tunes and discover exciting orchestral pieces perfect for little ones. A wonderful first concert experience.

GILDED BALLOON THE SONG OF FERGUS AND KATE

JUST THE TONIC LEE KYLE: AN ACTUAL GIANT

Just The Tonic at The Caves, 4–28 August (not 15), noon, £5.

Lee Kyle is an actual giant. He smells, eats kids and everything. I mean, he’s not all that tall but you

can’t have everything. A family show for families who don’t think that kids are little angels. Lee is one of the top family comedians in the UK and there’s a real ‘anything can happen’ feel to his shows: because it can.

PLEASANCE CAT IN THE HAT

Pleasance Courtyard, 5–22 August (not 17), 10am, £13 (£11). Previews 3 & 4 August, £7.

The Cat is back! Experience mischief this Fringe and see the return of the acclaimed stage adaptation of Dr Seuss’s The Cat in the Hat. From the moment his tall, red-and-white-striped hat appears, Sally and her brother know that the Cat in the Hat is the funniest, most mischievous cat they have ever met. With the trickiest of tricks and craziest of ideas, he turns a rainy afternoon into an amazing adventure. Cat in the Hat is a lively and engaging first theatre experience for young children aged 3+.

SHLOMO’S BEATBOX ADVENTURE FOR KIDS

Pleasance Courtyard, 5–28 August (not 17), 12.05pm, £9.50–£10.50 (£8.50–£9.50).

Previews 3 & 4 August, £8.

World record-breaking beatboxer SK Shlomo makes mad music with his mouth and has performed around the world with legends like Bjork, Ed Sheeran and Rudimental. After a sell-out UK tour and multiple five-star reviews, Shlomo is back on his mission to empower the next generation of superstar beatboxers to find their true voice, no matter who they are. Anybody can become one of this sonic superhero’s sidekicks in a world of funny sounds, brilliant noises and cool music, whether they’re 1 or 101!

The Smeds And The Smoos

list.co.uk/festival | Edinburgh Festival Guide 2018 | THE LIST 55

FEATURE

theatre

CHILDREN

ASSEMBLY

THE SMEDS AND THE SMOOS

Pleasance Courtyard, 5–21 August (not 6, 17), 11am, £13.50–£14.50 (£12.50–£13.50).

Previews 3 & 4 August, £8.

Soar into space with this exciting adaptation of the award-winning book by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler. On a far-off planet, Smeds and Smoos can’t be friends. So when a young Smed and Smoo fall in love and zoom off into space together, how will their families get them back? A joyful tale of star-crossed aliens for everyone aged 3 and up, with music, laughs and interplanetary adventures. From Tall Stories, the company that brought you The Gruffalo and Room on the Broom live on stage.

UNDERBELLY DRAGONS AND MYTHICAL BEASTS

Underbelly Bristo Square, 5–21 August (not 10, 17), 11.20am, £15–£21 (£14–£15). Preview 4 August, £12.50–£17.50 (£11.50).

Calling all brave heroes! Unveil a myriad of dark secrets and come face to face with some of the most magnificent monsters and terrifying beasts ever to walk the earth. Discover the colossal Stone Troll, the mysterious Indrik and Japanese Baku, the Tooth Fairy (not as sweet as you’d think), an adorable Unicorn and majestic Griffin. Take your place among legendary heroes, just don’t wake the Dragon . . .

MANUAL CINEMA PRESENTS: LEONARDO! A WONDERFUL

BLOODY DIFFICULT WOMEN

The Song Of Fergus And Kate

SHOW ABOUT A TERRIBLE MONSTER

Underbelly Bristo Square, 6–29 August (not 15), 1.45pm, £14–£15 (£12.50–£13.50).

Previews 3–5 August, £11 (£10).

Adapted from the beloved children’s books by Mo Willems, Leonardo! tells the story of a monster who longs to be scary and the big decisions he must make along the way. This visually stunning production is realised through puppets, paper cutouts, DIY cinema and live original songs by critically acclaimed multimedia artists Manual Cinema.

BASIL BRUSH’S FAMILY FUN SHOW

Gilded Balloon Teviot, 6–21 August, 12.30pm, £12.50–£13.50 (£11.50–£12.50). Previews 3–5 August, £9.

Britain’s most loveable fox takes you on a journey of laughs, storytelling and song in a show for all the family, specially written for the live stage and packed with fun and excitement. Come join in the mayhem!

Dragons and Mythical Beasts

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Assembly Rooms, 5–28 August (not 11, 22), 2.30pm, £14–£16 (£13–£15). Previews 3 & 4 August, £12 (£11).

Tim Walker’s acclaimed Bloody Difficult Women played to packed houses at Riverside Studios in London earlier this year and its run was extended because of popular demand. It sees the tumultuous political events of recent years played out in a power struggle between two determined women. Walker’s intensely human account of the case Gina Miller brought against Theresa May makes for revealing (often hilarious) theatre, but, ultimately, it’s a tragedy where there are no winners, only losers. The story is brought up to date in a dramatic finale.

FRIENDSICAL

Assembly Rooms, 5–28 August (not 11), 7.55pm, £15.50–£17.50 (£14.50–£16.50).

Previews 3 & 4 August, £10.50 (£9.50).

When Ross’ wife leaves him for another woman, he fears he will never find love again. But then Rachel runs back into his life . . . will he end up with his true love? Featuring original songs – ‘(He’s her) Lobster!’, ‘Richard’s Moustache’ and ‘You’re Over Me? When Were You Under Me?’ – the gang take on naked Thursdays, a power cut and a dinosaur convention. What could possibly go wrong? The show has been rewritten for a special Friendsical at the Fringe, a 60-minute celebration and loving parody, not to be confused with the Warner Bros Entertainment Inc series Friends.

LES DAWSON: FLYING HIGH

Assembly George Square, 5–28 August (not 16), 4.30pm, £15–£17 (£14–£16). Previews 3 & 4 August, £10.50.

Jon Culshaw (Dead Ringers, The Impressions

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Love, Loss and Chianti

Show) stars in this funny, affectionate and poignant celebration of the much-missed comedy legend. Join Les as he summons forth a wealth of characters and incidents from his eventful life and career, as he travels on Concorde at twice the speed of sound, 68,000 feet above the Earth, in this new play from BAFTA and Olivier Awardwinning writer Tim Whitnall and director Bob Golding.

DANCE BASE BURNT OUT

Dance Base, 23–28 August, 1.30pm, £14 (£12).

Burnt Out: one Australian’s experience of our changing climate. Weaving spoken word and movement, we are taken through Australia’s fiery history including Penny’s own experiences.

Embedded in sound is the Australian Black Summer: magpies that have learnt to mimic emergency sirens, shark warnings and helicopters circling overhead. Original music by Paul Michael Henry is interwoven with the dramatic lighting of Great Snakes. An autobiographical dance-theatre work from the daughter of an environmental geochemist, bringing together fact and personal account. Burnt Out is at once an intimate story and a universal meditation on climate change.

Burnt Out

ASSEMBLY

LOVE, LOSS AND CHIANTI

Assembly Rooms, 5–28 August (not 10, 23), 12.55pm, £18–£20 (£17–£19). Previews 3 & 4 August, £12 (£11).

Much-loved TV star Robert Bathurst (Cold Feet, Downton Abbey, Toast of London) returns to the Edinburgh Fringe with Love, Loss & Chianti, an exciting double-bill intertwined with glorious animations from celebrated cartoonist Charles Peattie.

A staged adaptation in two parts by award-winning British poet Christopher Reid, Love, Loss & Chianti opened to critical acclaim at London’s Riverside Studios in 2020 and sees Bathurst star alongside Rebecca Johnson (BBC’s The Trip). They reprise their roles in the hilarious verse comedy The Song of Lunch (seen in Edinburgh in 2018), as well as the Scottish premiere production of Reid’s awardwinning verse, A Scattering.

Written during the years surrounding the death of his wife, A Scattering is Reid’s autobiographical and deeply affecting verse poem; an unsentimental depiction of loss, articulating emotions most of us find hard to express. Celebrating love and the inevitable heartbreak that follows, The Song of Lunch is a hilarious, poignant drama set in an Italian restaurant, as two former lovers recklessly attempt to rekindle lost passion.

‘I stage these books in sequence because that is the order in which Christopher Reid wrote them: A Scattering instantly followed by The Song Of Lunch,’ explains Bathurst. ‘The first is autobiographical, taking three years to write; the second is a comic fiction, an attempt by the author to lighten the mood by deflecting his grief. But can he?

‘With Reid’s sublime language and Charles Peattie’s exquisite and startling animation, we portray the turbulent mind of the poet, of relationships won and lost, in two of Reid’s most celebrated works to date.’

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FEATURE

theatre GILDED BALLOON THE INTERVENTION

Gilded Balloon Teviot, 6–29 August (not 17), 3pm, £11.50–£12 (£11–£11.50). Previews 3–5 August, £8.

It’s been two years since Finn quit his job, came off social media and disappeared. His best friend Ally is beginning to fear the worst when chance suddenly reunites them. Ally has questions. The only problem is, Finn just might answer them.

A new black comedy by Keir McAllister, awardwinning writer of The Bench, and starring Gus Lymburn (BBC Scotland’s Comedy Underground) and Gareth Mutch (STV’S Edinburgh Festival Show, Live at Five and The Late Show).

JACK DOCHERTY: NOTHING BUT

Gilded Balloon at the Museum, 6–19 August, 8pm, £14–£15 (£13–£14). Previews 3–5 August, £9.50.

Jack Docherty, BAFTA award-winning star of Scot Squad and Absolutely, returns to the festival with a tender, playful, darkly comic tale, where he grapples with lost youth, love, fatherhood, sex, secrets and truth.

MYTHOS: RAGNAROK

Gilded Balloon Patter Hoose, 6–28 August, 10.15pm, £11.50–£12.50 (£10.50–£11.50).

Previews 3–5 August, £8.50.

In this high-impact dark comedy, half-brothers Odin and Loki must overcome primordial giants, rival gods and goddesses and their own ambitions in their quest to seize power over the Nine Worlds.

Featuring full-contact fights, Nordic music and a three-sided stage that keeps the audience close to the action, The Mythological Theatre pack all the comedy, tragedy and action of their two-hour London show into 60 ludicrously intense minutes.

Will the cast survive the only theatre show in the world to use professional wrestling or will they die gloriously in battle? Let’s make history and find out!

Rocky!

JUST THE TONIC CASSIE WORKMAN: ABERDEEN

Just the Tonic Nucleus, 8–28 August (not 15, 22), 4pm, £8.50–£15.50. Previews 4–7 August, £6.50–£10.

In 1994 the world lost one of its most beloved musicians: grunge icon Kurt Cobain. Part eulogy, part fantasy, part biography, Aberdeen is an in-the-round conversation with Kurt about life and death that takes place across Washington State, including his hometown of Aberdeen.

Traverse time and space as multi award-winning comedian and storyteller Cassie Workman races in a desperate bid to save the life of her hero by atempting to manipulate time itself. Dark and surreal, Aberdeen is an epic about loss, music and memory: an extraordinarily heartfelt love poem to the voice of a generation.

PLEASANCE BLOCK’D OFF

Pleasance Courtyard, 5–29 August (not 10, 23), 3.10pm, £12–£13.50 (£11–£12.50).

One Of Two

Previews 3 & 4 August, £7.

Working-class means many things now. Everyone knows the stereotypes, but it’s time to hear their voices. A father putting his hopes on his daughter’s future. A couple of dealers attempting to flee the country. A tutor manipulating his way to normality. A florist always running from brutality.

Another young boy, stabbed too close to home.

This is a story about people trapped in the cycle of deprivation. Based on real stories and real lives, Block’d Off is a hard-hitting one-woman play exposing what it’s like to be working-class in London today. Supported by the Pleasance’s Generate Fund.

DR JOHN COOPER CLARKE  I WANNA BE YOURS

Edinburgh Playhouse, 24 August, 7.30pm, £22–£28.

In celebration of his new autobiography I Wanna Be Yours, the people’s poet Dr John Cooper Clarke’s live show is a breathtaking rollercoaster of poetry, spoken word, off-the-wall chat, riffs and wicked stories from his incredible life. Poet Laureate of Punk, rock star, fashion icon and The Bard of Salford: Dr John Cooper Clarke is a phenomenon and one of Britain’s most beloved and influential writers and performers.

MADE IN INDIA BRITAIN

Pleasance Courtyard, 5–29 August (not 9, 16, 23), 1.40pm, £11–£13.50 (£10–£12.50).

Previews 3 & 4 August, £7.

Since leaving home in Birmingham, Rinkoo Barpaga has been determined to find somewhere to settle. Along the way he’s encountered racism, discrimination and has begun asking himself: Where do I belong? Join him as he delves deep into past experiences in order to discover his true self and a place he can finally call home.

Performed by Rinkoo in British Sign Language, with live voiceover provided by an actor.

MISCHIEF MOVIE NIGHT

Pleasance at EICC, 5–28 August (not 15, 22), 6.30pm, £17–£19.50 (£15–£17.50). Previews 3 & 4 August, £10.

Mischief return to the Edinburgh Fringe stepping back to their comedy roots with Mischief Movie Night, the improvised movie live on stage. Every

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theatre profoundly moving story of a young boy’s journey from childhood innocence to child soldier. Seen through the eyes of those that love him and those that betray him, Okumu’s experience strikes straight at the heart through a powerful one-man performance. A Roots Mbili Theatre and Sheffield Theatres co-production.

MATERNITY

Rapsody

show is different with audiences suggesting a genre, location and title and Mischief hilariously bringing the show to life, complete with rewinds, directors cuts, thrilling live music and DVD extras that will have you howling with laughter.

Over 100,000 households tuned in from over 45 countries to watch the live-streamed version in lockdown; now Mischief’s Olivier-nominated improv delight is back on stage.

RAPSODY

Pleasance Courtyard, 5–29 August (not 16), 5.20pm, £12.50–£14 (£11.50–£13). Previews 3 & 4 August, £7.

Join Elz, Jams, Toni and latest arrival Jaime, as they confront the realities of our modern-day class system through live rap, trap and drill. Living in a hostel and battling impossible odds from the beginning, their worlds are upended by the arrival of a newcomer from a privileged background, with deeply held religious beliefs. As the dynamics of the hostel shift, all four struggle to get by, rapping the things they can’t bring themselves to say.

Rapsody is a raw look at inner-city life in Britain today and the 2022 recipient of the Pleasance’s Charlie Hartill Theatre Reserve.

SUMMERHALL GHOSTS OF THE NEAR FUTURE

Summerhall, 5–28 August (not 15, 22), noon, £13 (£10). Previews 3 & 4 August, £8–£10.

In Vegas, a magician performs a final disappearing act. The end of the world is a magic trick – are you watching closely? Ghosts of the Near Future is a cowboy-noir fever dream about extinction.

Combining music, storytelling and live microcinema, it is a hallucinatory road-trip through a vanishing landscape, a haunting collage of miracles and misdirection. It takes us to the brink of disaster and asks whether we’re ready for what comes next. At high noon, emma + pj present a final encore for a world living one minute to midnight.

ONE OF TWO

Summerhall, 5–28 August (not 15, 22), 11.45am, £13 (£10). Previews 3 & 4 August, £8–£10.

Trapped in the bathroom with an evil tattie, Jack wrestles with the reality of living alone. Jack Hunter’s inspiring debut comedy is full of heart

and a half-empty bag of Weetos. A true tale of twins growing up with cerebral palsy, jump aboard the ‘strugglebus’ with Jack as he steers through the intersectionality of disability, while honking at societal attitudes and Eddie Redmayne’s career choices. Supported by Summerhall’s Mary Dick Award and developed through Playwrights’ Studio Scotland’s Disabled Playwright Programme. Jack recently starred in the Pulitzer Prize-winning Cost of Living at Hampstead Theatre.

TWO FINGERS UP

Summerhall, 5–28 August (not 15, 22), 6.30pm, £12 (£10). Previews 3 & 4 August, £8–£10.

Two Fingers Up. Remember when your religion teacher taught you about ridin’? And the school nurse told you to shave your pits? Or here, discovering your clit the first time? Wait, you haven’t yet? You don’t wank? Women don’t? My hole, they don’t. Stick two fingers up and come with us on a journey back to your teenage self, to being scundered, to self-discovery, to abstinence-only sex education, to Northern Ireland: a country of wankers.

ZOO Southside, 5–28 August (not 11, 16, 22), 3.15pm, £12–£13 (£10–£11).

‘I’m still waiting for my child . . . Every man I meet, I think maybe that’s my son’. A documentary protest performance, based on a true story, gives stage to voiceless mothers. The show examines the experience of oppressed childbirth and exposes a dark affair from the 1950s about the kidnapping of immigrant children, whose fate is still unknown. Maternity searches for an emotional connection between those mothers and women from all over the world. Founded by Hana Vazana Gruwald, Frechot Ensemble is a collective of women creators dealing with issues of ethnicity, feminism and activism.

ROCKY!

ZOO Southside, 5–20 August (not 10, 16), 5.55pm, £16–£18 (£14–£15).

Award-winning political theatre based on the movie about the harmless, loser boxer Rocky, who against all odds defeats his own inferiority and unreasonable loser life. He has all the wrong opinions, though fortunately no airtime. But what happens when he breaks character and gains power? Rocky! is fiercely entertaining and will swipe you off your feet.

Friendsical

ZOO EVERY WORD WAS ONCE AN ANIMAL

ZOO Southside, 6–28 August (not 10, 15, 22), 2.15pm, £16–£17 (£14–£15). Preview 5 August, £12.

The show starts when a person comes on stage, walks to the microphone, talks. The person who is going to do all of this is good at opening scenes.

If you open the show, you set the tone for the whole show. It’s a big responsibility: if the first lines are well done, it’s magic. The beginning can’t go on forever. The rest of the show has to happen.

Forget what you just read. Half a truth is often a great lie.

FAR GONE

ZOO Southside, 5–20 August (not 12–14), 5.40pm, £12–£13 (£10–£11).

‘If I invited you to come with me on a journey, a story, will you come with me?’ When Okumu’s village in Northern Uganda is attacked by the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), he and his brother’s lives are changed forever. Far Gone is a

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FEATURE

comedy

Nina Conti

PLEASANCE

ASSEMBLY

NINA CONTI: THE DATING SHOW

ABORIGINAL COMEDY ALLSTARS

Pleasance Courtyard, 5–28 August (not 16), 6pm, £16.50–£19.50 (£15–£17.50). Previews 3 & 4 August, £10.

Following a critically acclaimed tour and West End run, Nina Conti returns to the Fringe in 2022 with The Dating Show. The quick-thinking queen of ventriloquism brings you her pioneering, dating-infused live show: there’s no promise that true love will be found, but a firm guarantee that big laughs will be had.

Nina started doing stand-up ventriloquism in 2002 and shot to fame by winning the BBC New Comedy Award that same year. Famed for her foul-mouthed ‘sidekick’ Monkey (Monk), Nina has won numerous comedy awards for her writing, acting and ventriloquism. She has taken numerous shows to the Edinburgh Fringe and has appeared at Melbourne International Comedy Festival and Montreal Comedy Festival. In 2016, her smash-hit solo show In Your Face (‘a plate-spinning feat, a hoot’ * * * * * The Guardian) enjoyed sell-out seasons in London’s West End and New York’s Off-Broadway.

Nina also brings to the Fringe this year the highly anticipated show Comedy Sassafras, a sassy-ass show hosted by Richard and Greta (risqué alter egos of Conti and fellow Fringe favourite Shenoah Allen). These gorgeous characters welcome you into their delightfully filthy world and introduce special guests nightly at Pleasance Courtyard (5–20 August, 8.45pm).

‘I’m so thrilled to be going back to Edinburgh after all this time, it’ll feel like a magic bullet tonic after these last couple of years,’ says Conti. ‘It’s easily the most fun, vibrant, and ridiculous arts festival I know and my favourite place to play. I think Edinburgh 2022 is gonna boss it.’

Nina has stormed Live at the Apollo, QI, Russell Howard’s Good News and Sunday Night at the Palladium, all without moving her lips. In 2012, she fronted two documentaries for BBC4: Make Me Happy: A Monkey’s Search for Happiness saw Nina take Monk on a journey into the world of new age and alternative therapies and the BAFTA-nominated A Ventriloquists Story: Her Masters Voice (currently available on Amazon Prime) in which Nina took the bereaved puppets of her mentor and erstwhile lover Ken Campbell on a pilgrimage to Vent Haven, the world’s only ventriloquial museum.

More recently, she was a runner-up in a major US TV network’s talent show programme (The World’s Best, NBC) and her improvised web series, In Therapy (YouTube), has amassed over 1.5 million views since 2018.

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Assembly George Square Studios, 5–28 August (not 16), 5.20pm, £11–£12.50 (£10– £11.50). Previews 3 & 4 August, £8.50.

With sell-out seasons and five-star reviews in the UK and throughout Australia, the Allstars bring huge belly laughs from the heart of the wide brown land. Starring Sean Choolburra, Elaine Crombie, Kevin Kropinyeri and Jay Wymarra. ‘Thoughtprovoking and wildly funny’ (TheWeeReview.com).

‘Properly entertaining. Exactly the kind of show the Fringe needs. Fresh voices, new perspectives.

As Kevin might say – this show is deadly’ (The Scotsman).

BEST OF THE FEST

Assembly Hall, 11–28 August (not 15–17, 22– 24), 11.55pm, £14.50–£16.50 (£13.50–£15.50).

Previews 5–7 August, £12 (£11).

The best mixed-bill comedy night in Edinburgh, featuring your favourite comedians from around the Fringe. A perfect way to experience the festival!

Previous guests include: David O’Doherty, Jason Byrne, Lou Sanders, Josh Widdicombe, Adam Hills, Milton Jones, Desiree Burch, Tom Allen, Phoebe Robinson, Phil Wang, Joe Lycett and many more. Full line-ups at assemblyfestival.com

BEST OF THE FEST: THE NEW CLASS

Assembly George Square Gardens, 5–28 August (not 8–10, 15–17, 22–24), 10.25pm, £11.50–£12.50 (£10.50–£11.50). Preview 4

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comedy August, £8.50 (£7.50).

The best place in town to catch rising comedy stars and your Fringe favourites. A different show every night, featuring new faces and Fringe stalwarts. The perfect start (or end) to your festival evening. Full line-ups at assemblyfestival.com

DANIELLE WALKER: NOSTALGIA

Assembly George Square Studios, 5–28 August (not 15), 3.35pm, £10.50–£11.50 (£9.50–£10.50). Previews 3 & 4 August, £6.50 (£5.50).

This show is a scrapbook of memories about my family. Two of them have smelt a Bigfoot. One has seen it. They all agree on a military coverup. I couldn’t get home for two years and had this anxiety that someone in my family would die and I wouldn’t have enough to remember them by. It’s relatable comedy to country people and absurd comedy to city people. 2022 Melbourne International Comedy Festival Most Outstanding Show nominee and Pinder Prize winner.

SUSIE MCCABE: BORN BELIEVER

Assembly George Square Studios, 5–28 August (not 15), 7.45pm, £11–£13.50 (£10– £12.50). Previews 3 & 4 August, £7.50.

The fastest-selling act at Glasgow International Comedy Festival three years running is back with a brand-new show! In her 40th year, Susie has decided to leave cynicism behind to be an all-new positive Susie (optimistic at best, positive is pushing it). Join the former Scottish Headliner of the Year and Glasgow favourite for what will no doubt be another barnstormer of a show. As seen and heard on Frankie Boyle’s New World Order and BBC Radio 4’s News Quiz.

GILDED BALLOON AYESHA HAZARIKA: STATE OF THE NATION – POWER,

Susie McCabe

POLITICS AND TRACTORS

Gilded Balloon Teviot, 8–14 August, 2pm, £13.50–£14.50 (£12.50–£13.50).

Following the success of her award-winning sellout show State of the Nation, Ayesha returns to Edinburgh to revisit the state of politics but this time she has called in reinforcements! Join Ayesha and her daily panel of top guests from the world of comedy and politics as they crunch through the day’s news with wit and wisdom. Is it a party? Is it a work event? Don’t tell Sue Gray. Bring your own tractor.

BEST OF SO YOU THINK YOU’RE FUNNY?

Gilded Balloon Teviot, 10–29 August (not 14–16, 25), 10.15pm, £10.50–£11 (£9.50–£10).

Previews 3–5 August, £8.

A new show for 2022 bringing you the best of the winners and finalists from 2021’s So You Think You’re Funny? comedy newcomer competition.

Enjoy a guaranteed great night seeing the best up-and-coming comedians before they make it big. This year’s show features 2021 winner Omar Badawy alongside runners-up Rae Brogan and Andy Watts. Previous winners and finalists from the competition include Aisling Bea, Tommy Tiernan, Maisie Adam, Peter Kay, Lee Mack, Fern Brady, Rob Beckett, Romesh Ranganathan, Sara Pascoe, Daniel Sloss and many more.

COMEDY NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM

Gilded Balloon at the Museum, 18–28 August, 9.30pm, £11.50–£12.50 (£10.50–£11.50).

Join the greatest comedians from across the globe as they blur the line between arte-fact and artefiction in a wholly improvised set, prompted by genuine artefacts housed in the National Museum of Scotland. This unrehearsed and unrestrained show-and-tell might not be historically, or even culturally, accurate but it’s guaranteed to be utterly entertaining. With different comics taking

Maisie Adam

to the stage each night to deliver their unscripted, uneduca-TED talks on Scotland’s most cherished relics, what could possibly go wrong?

LATE’N’LIVE

Gilded Balloon Teviot, 6–29 August, 11.30pm, £13–£14 (£12.50–£13.50). Previews 4 & 5 August, £12.50.

‘The best late-night show on the Fringe’ (Scotsman) returns in all its glory, featuring a stellar line-up of the very best acts from across the festival every night. The original and still the best late-night comedy show at the Fringe hosted by the best MCs in the country including Thanyia Moore, Kiri Pritchard-McLean, Jay Lafferty and Lou Conran. Previous acts include Johnny Vegas, Bill Bailey, Shaparak Khorsandi, Rich Hall, Lou Sanders, Jason Byrne, Adam Hills, Maisie Adam, Dara O’Briain, Russell Brand, Fred MacAulay, Jayde Adams and loads more.

MAISIE ADAM: BUZZED

Gilded Balloon Teviot, 6–29 August, 5.30pm, £12.50–£13.50 (£11.50–£12.50). Previews 3–5 August, £8.

Fresh from Live at The Apollo, Mock The Week and The Last Leg, Best Newcomer nominee Maisie Adam is back at the Edinburgh Fringe with a brand-new show for 2022, Buzzed. Rammed with witty observations, high-octane energy and some right good jokes, this show promises to be better than whatever else you had planned (unless you had plans to go dancing with Cher).

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FEATURE

comedy JUST THE TONIC ALIYA KANANI: WHERE YOU FROM, FROM?

Just the Tonic at The Tron, 5–28 August (not 15), 7.40pm, £7–£10 (£5–£7). Preview 4 August, £5.

30 countries, 10 schools, 6 languages . . . so, where’s she from? After selling out her show internationally, including at the Just for Laughs Festival, Melbourne International Comedy Festival and FringeWorld in Perth, Canadian Academy Award-nominated actress and comedian, Aliya Kanani, is excited to bring her sought-after show to Edinburgh where she makes her Fringe debut.

Aliya takes us on a turbulent journey around the world with tales of fitting in, sticking out and standing up. Her pleasant nature, combined with her fiery spirit will leave you energised and uplifted.

COMEDY IN THE DARK

Just the Tonic at the Grassmarket Centre, 5–28 August (not 10, 17, 24), 6.10pm, £12.

Preview 4 August, £6.

The sell-out, unique comedy experience returns.

Past acts include Sarah Millican, Nish Kumar, Jon Richardson, Shappi Khorsandi and Greg Davies.

JIMEON: THE CRAIC

Just the Tonic Nucleus, 8–28 August (not 15, 22), 8.40pm, £15.50–£18.50. Previews 4–7 August, £10–£15.50.

‘Classic nonsense . . . Stand-up comedy at its best’ (Scotsman). ‘Always, always funny!’ (Herald Sun). ‘Hilarious . . . It gets no better than this . . . Brilliant!’ (Time Out). World-class stand-up

Jimeon: The Craic

Aliya Kanani

from live comedy’s internationally acclaimed Irish master. Apollo, Royal Variety, Palladium, 27th Fringe! ‘True comedy legend . . . still at the top of his game’ (Advertiser, Adelaide). ‘Inspired ramblings . . . Comedy of the highest order’ (Independent). ‘Recalls the familiar at fantastically silly levels, boiling his audience down to a tearfilled, gibbering mess’ (Scotland on Sunday).

‘Hilarious . . . if laughter is the best medicine, Jimeoin is a course of steroids . . . Don’t you miss it!’ (Edinburgh Evening News).

NINA GILLIGAN: LATE DEVELOPER

Just the Tonic at The Tron, 6–28 August (not 15, 22), 2.20pm, £5–£7 (£4–£5). Previews 4 & 5 August, free.

Nina Gilligan is a so-called ‘late developer’. She’s never hit a single milestone and at 50 is still trying to grasp the complex rules of womanhood. She knows she’s not alone. As her eggs deplete and her body becomes hotter than earth’s core she is certain only of one thing: she refuses to go on a cruise. Both outrageous and loveable, Gilligan is a circuit favourite. Leicester Mercury Comedy award winner 2021.

TOM STADE: THE HIGH ROAD

Just the Tonic at La Belle Angele, 4–28 August (not 15), 8pm, £15–£16.50 (£13–£14.50).

Tom’s been trying to remember what was important before responsibility and fear got in the way. He’s simplified his life; sold his house and embarked on another round of misadventures.

Armed with his usual sense of mischief, he’ll be tackling all manner of gritty issues: What does Love Honey have to do with covid? How far would your dog go to protect you and what does Grandpa really want for Christmas? Going to places that others dare not tread, join Tom on this no-holds-barred trip as he travels the high road.

PLEASANCE BEN HART: WONDER

Pleasance Courtyard, 5–28 August (not 16), 7.50pm, £13.50–£16.50 (£12.50–£14.50).

Previews 3 & 4 August, £10.

West End star and multi award-winning magician

62 THE LIST | Edinburgh Festival Guide 2018 | list.co.uk/festival

Ben Hart returns to Edinburgh with Wonder.

Alongside his sold-out Fringe shows, Ben has performed for royalty, had dozens of UK and international TV appearances, including his own series on BBC Three, The One Show, BBC One’s Now You See It, Pure Magic, and was a Britain’s Got Talent finalist. Using only the simplest of props and the minds of the audience, Hart conjures a show that is always amazing, sometimes shocking and shines a light into the darkest corners of your imaginations. An unforgettable experience, leaving you in wonder.

LUCY PORTER: WAKE-UP CALL

Pleasance Courtyard, 5–20 August (not 15), 5.20pm, £16–£18 (£14.50–£16.50). Previews 3 & 4 August, £10.

A brand new stand-up show from the Fringe favourite, as heard on Radio 4’s The News Quiz and The Now Show. TV appearances include Would I Lie to You, QI and Live at the Apollo.

Wake-Up Call is a show about revelations, realisations and epiphanies, both large and small. Subjects covered include: bin collection schedules, the novels of Jean Rhys, cats, schoolfair booze tombolas, the Scottish Enlightenment, pressure washers and Huel. It’s an exuberant, silly show with some wisdom sprinkled on top.

SOPHIE DUKER: HAG

Pleasance Courtyard, 5–28 August (not 17), 7.30pm, £12–£14 (£11–£13). Previews 3 & 4 August, £7.

The sexy baby from Taskmaster is all grown up.

Back in 2019 she was a Babybel – round, sweet, pure. Now she’s vintage cheddar – extra mature and hiding in your fridge. As seen on Live At The Apollo and literally everywhere else, Hag is her new stand-up show: deal with it. Best Newcomer Nominee, 2019.

TIM VINE: BREEEEP!

Pleasance Courtyard, 5–28 August (not 7, 15, 22), 6pm, £14.50–£16 (£13–£14.50). Previews 3 & 4 August, £9.

Tim Vine returns with his new stand-up show. A mountain of nonsense, one-liners, stupid things, unlikely songs, wobbly props. (Plus utter drivel.)

Tim’s like the manager of a sweet shop where all

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comedy day, an all-star cast improvise a brand new Jane Austen novel based entirely on a single suggestion from the audience. Performed in period costume with live musical accompaniment, this is Austen as you’ve never seen her before: award-winning, riotous and unmissable.

DREAMGUN: FILM READS

Underbelly Bristo Square, 6–29 August (not 15), 6.50pm, £12.50–£13.50 (£11.50–£12.50).

Previews 3–5 August, £8 (£7).

Your favourite movies except an hour long and full of jokes! Dreamgun read a different film script every night, rewritten with jokes and performed by unprepared comedians. Films featured include Harry Potter, The Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, Jurassic Park and Silence of the Lambs. Check web listing for full schedule.

the sweets are replaced by jokes, and he serves them in the order he chooses. So, it’s like a sweet shop where the manager just throws sweets at you. Winner of Dave’s Best Joke of the Fringe 2010 and 2014. Star of The Tim Vine Chat Show (BBC Radio 4) and numerous TV appearances.

SUMMERHALL EDINBURGH DEAF FESTIVAL PRESENTS PERSPECTIVES WITH GAVIN LILLEY

Summerhall, 14 August, 9pm, £13 (£10).

Gavin Lilley is a deaf comedian who has performed his signed shows to audiences across Europe. In his entertaining style, Gavin shares his experiences as a deaf person navigating a hearing world with hilarious consequences. Deaf people will appreciate the hilarity of these everyday situations, while hearing people will see them from a whole new perspective. His signed BSL performances are interpreted into English, ensuring this show is inclusive for everyone. He has a talent, not only for comedy, but for bringing audiences together. A special night guaranteed to make you laugh.

EDINBURGH COMEDY ALLSTARS

Underbelly George Square, 6, 12 & 13, 19 & 20, 26 & 27 August, 11.15pm, £16 (£15).

Preview 5 August, £13.

The biggest, brightest comedians at the Edinburgh Fringe all in one huge show, staged in the famous Udderbelly. A one-stop shop for your comedy fix right in the beating heart of the festival. Every show sold out since 2017! Previous performers have included Joanne McNally, John Bishop, Olga Koch, Ahir Shah, Suzi Ruffell, Jason Byrne, Joel Dommett, Nina Conti, Phil Wang, Kiri Pritchard McLean, Fern Brady and David O’Doherty. Every weekend, Friday and Saturday nights. Nightly line-ups available at underbellyedinburgh.co.uk

EME ESSIEN: FLAT SHOES IN THE CLUB

Underbelly Bristo Square, 6–28 August (not 16), 3.45pm, £10–£11 (£9–£10). Previews 3–5 August, £7 (£6).

Ever wondered what takes a girl so long to get ready on a night out? It’s Saturday night, the big girls’ night out and this girl is just trying to get ready on time. Unfortunately, everyone else won’t stop interrupting her. Delve into her world as she figures out what to wear, how to do her hair and what to do when she gets there. Uncensored, dishevelled and sincere, this is the internal conflict of a woman trying to achieve modern ideals and aspirations, in an hour of character comedy from award winner Eme Essien.

RHYS NICHOLSON: RHYS! RHYS! RHYS!

Underbelly Bristo Square, 6–28 August, 8.25pm, £12.50–£13.50 (£11.50–£12.50).

Previews 3–5 August, £8 (£7).

How about a nice little hour where we pretend the last couple of years haven’t happened, yeah? That sounds nice doesn’t it? Yeah. A nice little comedy show with your ol’ pal Rhys. Lovely. Winner Most Outstanding Show, Melbourne International Comedy Festival 2022.

SPANK!

Underbelly Cowgate, 5–27 August, 11.55pm, £15.50–£17.50 (£14.50–£16.50).

Spank! returns for an incredible 20th and final year with hilarious hosts, awesome comedians and gratuitous nudity, showcasing the most exciting comedy and cabaret on the Fringe.

UNDERBELLY ABANDOMAN AKA ROB BRODERICK: DISCOGRAPHY

Underbelly George Square, 6–28 August (not 15, 22), 9.25pm, £15.50–£17 (£14.50–£16).

Previews 3–5 August, £11 (£10).

Ireland’s finest hip hop musical comedian is back in the Cow with his biggest show yet. Using his trademark blend of audience interaction and razorsharp improvisation, Abandoman will take you on a magical journey, transforming the audience’s likes, loathes and daydreams into hit songs and captivating tales. Combining hip hop, pop, EDM and more, Abandoman will leave you high on life without leaving George Square.

AUSTENTATIOUS

Underbelly Bristo Square, 9–13 August, 1.30pm, £15–£17 (£14–£16).

After sell-out national tours, a West End run and Radio 4 special, Austentatious returns to the Fringe for its ninth glorious year! Every single Rhys Nicholson list.co.uk/festival | Edinburgh Festival Guide 2018 | THE LIST 63

dance,

FEATURE

music ASSEMBLY THE CHOIR OF MAN

Assembly Hall, 5–29 August (not 10, 16, 23), times vary, £20−£22 (£18−£20). Preview 4 August, £12–£14.

A lock-in like no other featuring reinventions of chart-topping hits in this Olivier-nominated hour of joy for all ages. Multi-talented singers, stunning harmonies, foot-stomping singalongs and a working bar. Come drink in the action!

PLEASANCE FANTASTICALLY GREAT WOMEN WHO CHANGED THE WORLD

Pleasance Courtyard, 5–29 August (not 10, 17, 24), 1.30pm, £22 (£20). Preview 4 August, £16.50.

The Fringe premiere of new kickass-pirational pop musical from one of the producers of hit SIX, that celebrates the lives of Frida Kahlo, Rosa Parks, Emmeline Pankhurst and many more.

SUMMERHALL EFTERKLANG

Summerhall, 25 August, 7pm, £18.50.

For over 20 years, Efterklang have been pushing the barriers of experimental, electronic, emotional chamber-pop. Their sixth studio album Windflowers distills this into some of their most concise, direct and confidently Efterklang-style pop songs to date.

SACRED PAWS

Summerhall, 6 August, 7pm, £15.

Sacred Paws don’t take things too seriously. You can hear it all the way through a conversation with its two members, guitarist Rachel Aggs and drummer Eilidh Rodgers. The Glasgow-based band bring that fun and light touch to Summerhall, performing songs from SAY Award-winning album Strike a Match and acclaimed follow-up Run

Around The Sun, which showcase their unique blend of shimmering guitar riffs, snappy beats and swooning melodies.

TUNE-YARDS

Summerhall, 24 August, 7pm, £22.

From 2009 to 2018, Tune-Yards (Merrill Garbus and her partner and collaborator Nate Brenner) released four critically acclaimed albums and travelled the world relentlessly playing live. After a period of feeling creatively lost, it was reconnecting with the blissful enjoyment of music that pulled Merrill back into the studio. From this re-ignited spark came the songs that make up their fifth studio album, sketchy.

UNDERBELLY SYMPHONIC IBIZA

Underbelly Bristo Square, 18–20, 25–27 August, 11.20pm, £16.50–£18.50 (£15.50– £17.50).

Featuring some of the most famous Ibiza club anthems from the last 30 years, celebrate the European island of clubbing this summer.

Symphonic Ibiza fuses a thrilling live orchestra with high tempo beats from renowned club DJ Andy Joyce and musical genius Steve Etherington, whose credentials include residencies at Ibiza superclubs Pacha, Amnesia, Eden and Café Mambo.

UNFORTUNATE: THE UNTOLD STORY OF URSULA THE SEA WITCH

Underbelly George Square, 6–29 August (not 16), 5.55pm, £17.50–£19.50 (£16.50–£18.50).

Previews 4 & 5 August, £12.50 (£11.50).

Disney villain. Octo-woman. Plus-size icon. But who is the woman behind the tentacles? From the multi award-winning Fat Rascal Theatre and fresh from complete sell-out runs around the UK, comes the untold story of Ursula the Sea Witch.

It’s time to take the plunge as we reveal what really happened under the sea in this musical parody.

Efterklang

ASSEMBLY BEATS ON POINTE

Assembly Hall, 5–28 August (not 10, 15, 22), 7pm, £18–£20 (£16–£18). Preview 4 August, £10.50–£12.50.

Direct from Australia, this is an exciting commercial blend of electric entertainment fusing modern and old-school street-dance and ballet. Featuring a highly talented cast of dance athletes, it tells a dynamic modern story of two opposing dance worlds peppered with breaking, contemporary, acrobatics and captivating dance theatre as well as freestyle acts, singing, moments of well-timed comedy and a thumping soundtrack.

ROUGE

Assembly Hall, 5–21 August (not 10, 17), 10.20pm, £16.50–£17.50 (£15.50–£16.50).

Preview 4 August, £8.50–£10.50.

Circus for grown ups: a decadent blend of sensational acrobatics, operatic cabaret and twisted burlesque. A non-stop celebration of the astonishing, surprising, subversive and supremely sexy. Rouge is back with acts you’ve loved plus brand-new offerings to shock, delight and tease.

Australian circus cabaret at it’s finest.

DANCE BASE RED

Dance Base, 16–28 August (not 22), 2.50pm, £14 (£12).

This one-woman dance theatre work with a hint of fun and fabulousness is a poignant, riotous, glamorous and ultimately triumphant exploration of one woman’s story: an exquisite exploration of female endurance. Red is a soul-baring retelling of one woman’s journey through illness and recovery with an eye to the future.

ARE YOU GUILTY?

Dance Base, 16–28 August (not 22), 4.50pm, £16 (£14).

Korea’s TOB Group presents a double bill of contemporary dance, fusing hip hop, theatre and dance to illustrate our social landscape. Are You Guilty? showcases a radical and contemporary view of the bystander effect and explores the fine line between a perpetrator and a victim. Barcode, a bold new work about mass consumerism, questions our need to acquire goods and the value we attach to products and even people. Part of the Korean Showcase 2022.

THE DAN DAW SHOW

Dance Base, 23–28 August, 8.30pm, £16 (£14).

The Dan Daw Show is a peep into the shiny and sweaty push-pull of living with shame while bursting with pride. This is a show about care, intimacy and resilience, about letting go and reclaiming yourself. In an intimate evening with performer and collaborator Christopher Owen, this show sees Dan take back the power by being dominated on his own terms.

THIS IS NOT SWAN LAKE

Dance Base, 16–21 August, 8.30pm, £16 (£14).

There is a long way from the love story between

64 THE LIST LIST FESTIVAL | Edinburgh |Festival 2018 | list.co.uk/festival 64 THE 1–10Guide August 2022 | list.co.uk/edinburgh-festival

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, physical theatre & circus La Clique

FEATURE

ZOO NIGHT DANCES

ZOO Southside, 18–28 August (not 22), 10.30pm, £16–£17 (£14–£15). Preview 17 August, £12.50.

A series of dance poems expressing the invisible, energetic, connective tissue that joins us. An assault on the senses and an ode to the body, all breathing the same air, blood, sweat and tears. A deep groove for our eyes, ears and hearts. This one’s for all of us. The time for dancing has come.

Live music by Daniel Fox (Gilla Band).

RUNNERS

Prince Siegfried and the swan princess Odette in Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake to the real-life marriage between Tchaikovsky and his beleaguered wife, Antonina. She was his devoted student and madly in love with him but Tchaikovsky was unable to confess that he was gay. In This Is Not Swan Lake, we meet four dancers in a beautiful, touching and comic show. Dark, strange, unforgettable and with samples of the great score played live.

REMEDY FOR MEMORY

Dance Base, 23–28 August, 4.10pm, £14 (£12).

Beautiful people . . . Have you been seeking, dreaming? Of something more, something less, something beyond? Well, you’ve come to the right place. Remedy for Memory is a divine feminine fantasy, a dance theatre experience that transcends the boundaries of our reality.

Broadcast live from the abstracted realms of a TV talk show, tune in as four women explore healing, cosmic wanderings, corporate wellbeing, discovery and desire.

SUMMERHALL DANCE BODY

Summerhall, 5–27 August (not 8, 15, 22), 4.15pm, £13 (£10). Previews 3 & 4 August, £8–£10.

Dance is meant to be about self-expression. A place to explore who you are. But what if you don’t have a typical contemporary dance body?

Acclaimed writer and performer Yolanda Mercy challenges what being a plus-sized body means in the contemporary dance world; reconnecting with her dance roots and drawing on the challenges faced by plus-sized people in formal training and on the dance floor. In a joyous fusion of theatre and contemporary dance, Dance Body is reclaiming space for plus-sized bodies in dance.

THE CHOSEN HARAM

Summerhall, 6–27 August (not 4, 7 & 8, 14 & 15, 21 & 22), 9pm, £13 (£10). Previews 3, 5 August, £8–£10.

Award-winning queer circus show from an Edinburgh-born artist, telling the story of two gay men and the barriers they must overcome. Expect a heady mix of love, drugs and Islam in this unique and complex take on circus. Performed on two Chinese poles, this show is emotionally candid with moments of humour and joy.

UNDERBELLY LA CLIQUE

ZOO Southside, 8–28 August (not 10, 16, 22), 8.30pm, £16–£18 (£14–£15). Previews 5–7 August, £12.

Award-winning contemporary circus company returns with an extraordinary show looking at the hectic pace of today’s world. In a unique set design, featuring a giant treadmill, four performers and two musicians mix dance, running, cyr wheel acrobatics and original live music, while running almost a whole marathon. This UK debut for Runners marks the company’s fourth Edinburgh appearance following sell-out seasons in 2011, 2015 and 2017.

WALK-MAN

ZOO Southside, 14–28 August (not 21), 12.15pm, £16–£17 (£14–£15).

You will never cross the street in the same way again. Don Gnu digs into the tediousness of everyday routines in search of poetry and humour with muscular physicality and edgy stunt tricks.

One ordinary day, four ordinary men take an ordinary walk through the city, until one of them suddenly decides to rebel. With trademark Gnu stunts and raw physicality, WalkMan is a performance about the Red extraordinary experiences of ordinary life.

Underbelly’s Circus Hub on the Meadows, 6–27 August (not 15, 22), 7.35pm, £19–£21 (£18–£20). Preview 5 August, £14.

The multi award-winning cabaret spectacular, La Clique, features the best of circus, comedy and cabaret. Born at the Edinburgh Fringe in 2004 and subsequently gaining international acclaim, this trailblazing cabaret show brings you a collection of extraordinary new artists and unmissable favourites.

La Clique promises to be a night of laughs, gasps, naughtiness and the best in international cabaret.

CIRCA: HUMANS 2.0

Underbelly’s Circus Hub on the Meadows, 6–27 August (not 10, 15, 22), 6.35pm, £18–£21 (£17–£20). Preview 5 August, £12.

A symphony of acrobatics, sound and light, this is next-level circus by Circa. Ten bodies appear in a flash of light. They move in harmony for a fleeting moment and then descend into a sinuous trance. Towers grow and decay, bodies leap and are caught, as physical limits are pushed to their extreme. Can we ever find a perfect balance or is adapting to constant change the only way forward?

Humans 2.0 is intimate, primal and deeply engaged with the challenge of being human.

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COMEDY PICTURE: REBECCA NEED-MENEAR

NORRIS AND PARKER

OK, so the image here might not scream ‘comedy’ at you, but Katie Norris and Sinead Parker have always conducted their funny business with a dark edge on the side. This double act emerged at the 2015 Fringe with a show entitled All Our Friends Are Dead (dark enough for you?) featuring routines about burning wicker men, potato famines and soiled trousers. Their follow-up was called See You At The Gallows. You get the picture.

This year, Sirens has them amazing and amusing us with tales of nautical chaos.

(Brian Donaldson)  Monkey Barrel, 3–28 August, 9.15pm.

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CATHERINE COHEN

>>

PICTURE: EVAN MURPHY

list.co.uk/edinburgh-festival |1–10 August 2022 | THE LIST FESTIVAL 67

COMEDY

d n a y t u a e B the Beats

Catherine Cohen is an agony aunt, writer, poet, podcast host, Netflix star and winner of 2019’s Best Newcomer Award.

The cabaret comic chats to Megan Merino about trying to hold it together while attempting to have it all

CATHERINE COHEN

COMEDY

>>

“

I

n this new era of comedy, landing a Netflix special is fast becoming a pinnacle of the craft. But securing such a deal for your debut hour is an accolade few can boast. One such performer is New York City-based cabaret comedian, actor, poet (and selfprofessed model, choreographer and dancer) Catherine Cohen. Her show The Twist . . . ? She’s Gorgeous, which picked up the illustrious Best Newcomer Award at the 2019 Fringe, was recorded for the streaming platform in 2021 and released earlier this year.

‘It was a total dream come true,’ Cohen gushes over Zoom. ‘There was a billboard in Times Square. I got to go on Seth Meyers. I threw this massive party for everyone I’ve ever connected with in comedy in New York. It was a magical night,’ she says, taking a beat.

‘And then I fell into a deep depression, of course.

Because I thought my whole life was gonna change. It was like, “no girl, you’re still just you living your life.

But my life’s great, so why do I feel like this?” So I upped the Prozac, took a little time and now I’m back.

Feeling . . . positive.’

For those familiar with Cohen’s work, this highoctane straddling of hilarity and honesty is part of the appeal. You only have to listen to a few minutes of her special (‘I suffer from depression, or as I like to call it, “crying because outside smells like the past”) or her hugely successful Seek Treatment (‘a podcast about boys, sex, fucking, dating and love’) which she hosts with her best friend, and fellow comedian, Pat Regan, to hear about her all-too relatable neurosis and obsession with success and male attention. ‘I feel like I can’t relate if someone is funny but they’re not being vulnerable. Then I don’t really care. But that’s just my taste.’

During our conversation, Cohen is in London (her ‘spiritual home’) as she squeezes in live podcast recordings and a book signing for her 2021 debut God I Feel Modern Tonight: Poems From A Gal About Town, before her Fringe run of work-in-progress shows, and one very special final performance of The Twist . . . ? ‘The crowds here are great. People just appreciate live performance and theatricality in a way that I don’t feel they always do in the States.’ Earlier this year, she chose to perform The Twist . . . ? at London’s Clapham Grand, just days before the special premiered on Netflix. ‘It was just the craziest energy ever,’ she recalls, ‘but then I was like, “well, I have to do it one more time in Edinburgh”. It just felt like a cool rite of passage.’

Cohen’s final full-circle performance of The Twist . . . ? will no doubt delight Fringe audiences, as she closes the curtain on a show that beautifully captures the chaos of her twenties. ‘There’s material in there I wrote in 2016, so there are certain things that just feel so old to me,’ the 30-year-old explains. ‘I feel like in

I have a disease where I can’t finish a song

68 THE LIST FESTIVAL | 1–10 August 2022 | list.co.uk/edinburgh-festival

”

your early twenties everything is new and a delight.

Then things stop feeling that way and then you’re like, “what else is there? What can bring me excitement and joy now that I’ve seen more and gotten older”? But I still love all of it and I love performing the songs.’

Cohen’s original songs pack in gags and catchy hooks while discussing everything from women’s clothes sizes (‘don’t understand why y’all won’t make bigger clothes’ / ‘take my money, just make a size 14’) to aspirational New York millennial tropes such as going upstate (‘I could draft tweets by a lake’).

‘I have an innate feel for what I want to do and what a good melody is,’ she says, ‘but I have a disease where I can’t finish a song. At my shows I’ll just be like, “David [her pianist], play those chords and we’ll

CATHERINE COHEN

figure out with the new show. I was also such a hermit monk when I did it last time. I had to work really hard to protect my voice and stay healthy, and now I can’t wait to just do it and have fun.’

Cohen seems to be revelling in the joy of being able to perform live again, but does this ambitious cabaret queen really have it all? ‘I guess it would be nice to have a billion dollars,’ she deadpans. ‘But otherwise, what more can I need? I have amazing friends and family and I get to do this thing that I love doing. Let’s just enjoy life . . . for one second!’

Catherine Cohen: Work In Progress, 8–21 August, 9.40pm; The Twist . . . ? She’s Gorgeous, 12 August, 11.20pm; both shows at Pleasance Courtyard.

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COMEDY

just see what happens”. It’s so much more fun to play around and when I’m then paired with someone who has such skill, the songs come to life.’ However when asked if she would ever consider releasing songs outwith a comedy setting, she laughs: ‘I’d be so humiliated. Imagine not having a joke to lean back on? No thank you.’

New songs, including ‘Do It For The Memoir’ and ‘I Can Make Myself Cum With My Hand’, may well be heard in Cohen’s work-in-progress show, which she builds on regularly at her weekly set in New York’s Club Cumming (Alan Cumming’s cabaret venue). ‘It took me almost five years to do The Twist . . . ? So there’s no rush to finish the next one. I don’t want to present something if I’m not like, “it’s fucking perfect”. When I came in 2019, the show was so solid. I had nothing I wanted to change. There’s still a lot to

The 2019 sell-out show returns Discover just how bad you are at making choices.

Only 40 seats a show. Book now!

5-13 August • 4:00pm • 45mins • Tickets £10 The Space @ Surgeon’s Hall 53 Nicolson Street EH8 9DW @irrationalme20 www.irrational.me.uk

70 THE LIST FESTIVAL | 1–10 August 2022 | list.co.uk/edinburgh-festival

SEANN WALSH

COMEDY

After being tabloid fodder for a fortnight in 2018, Seann Walsh is finally getting back to producing his own brand of acerbic observational comedy. With his new show, he tells Jay Richardson that it’s time we knew more about the man who made him

HAPPY TALK list.co.uk/edinburgh-festival |1–10 August 2022 | THE LIST FESTIVAL 71

COMEDY

SEANN WALSH

‘O

h god, here we go. Oh, don’t come up to me.

I’m not the guy you come to for help. I make things worse! That’s my speciality.’ Seann Walsh is channelling his inner monologue during a recent interaction with a stranger on the London Underground. Yet it perfectly distils his socially anxious, self-flagellating persona. ‘Then she said, “does this go to South Kensington?”

He smiles. ‘And the sheer relief to just think “I know this” and confidently say “absolutely not”. She said “thank you”, jumped off and it felt fantastic. The Tube then moved away and four people said to me, “it does”.’

Affectionately introduced to television commissioners as a ‘fack up! Facking look at him!’ by his late, indelicate former agent Addison Cresswell, Walsh has endured almost four years in the stocks of public opprobrium, after he was caught kissing his Strictly Come Dancing partner Katya Jones while in a long-term relationship with the actor Rebecca Humphries.

On the front page of a tabloid newspaper for 12 consecutive days, the 36-year-old has since had treatment for anxiety and depression and says he won’t be reading Humphries’ recently published book on the saga, in which she alleges he was psychologically controlling.

With the benefit of hindsight though, it seems inconceivable that he was going to enter A-list stardom like, say, Joel Dommett, after his primetime light entertainment exposure.

And Walsh has arguably emerged from the fire of trial-bymedia a better and more interesting comic. His What’s Upset You Now? podcast with fellow comic Paul McCaffrey is a hit and he’s thrown himself into self-made content, including indie films and sitcom pilots with Harry Enfield and Miles Jupp’s regular collaborator James Kettle.

Most strikingly though, he’s the most high-profile UK comic to release a stand-up special on YouTube, the undeniably brilliant and raw Kiss, in which he reflects upon the Strictly

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fallout and how he became a comedian. Bill Bailey and Kathy Burke were among its most outspoken admirers, helping to propel it to more than 100,000 views since March. ‘Obviously, I love Bill like everyone else. But I’ve never met Kathy so I was genuinely chuffed that they shared it with their followers.’

One of Kiss’ highlights is the hitherto unseen portrayal it offers of the gifted mimic’s roistering, rollicking Irish father, an influence on his belated sobriety, love of QPR, and source of his playground response to a boy bragging about his father’s two toolboxes: ‘so what? My dad’s got two teeth!’

The comic’s latest Fringe hour, Seann Walsh: Is Dead.

Happy Now?, leaves the events of Strictly behind, but Walsh Sr will return. ‘You’ve got this very funny man who was responsible for bringing me up. And people loved my dad in that show. I just thought I would share a bit more so you can kind of understand maybe why I am the way I am. It gets a big laugh because it’s so obvious when I talk about my childhood.

You go “oh right, yeah. I get this now”.’

After consulting three comics he admires (Jupp, Jo Caulfield and Stewart Lee), he’s playing The Stand at the Festival for the first time in his nine solo shows, with the plum 10pm slot.

‘If Stewart Lee is telling you to do something in stand-up, I think you do it. I’m scared I might have said this before, but this is the first time I want to do it. I’ve never enjoyed Edinburgh; I’ve never felt like an Edinburgh comic. I thought, “you love performing, you love stand-up. But if you go up doing what you’ve always done, you’re gonna hate it again.”

It’s that Einstein quote isn’t it? Doing the same thing and expecting different results is madness.’

Shortly after, Walsh bids me good day and signs off by imploring, as he often does with journalists, ‘please try to make me not look like a cunt’.

Seann Walsh: Is Dead. Happy Now?, The Stand, 3–28 August, 10pm.

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COMEDY

SHEEPS

“

He zombies out when shit gets real

74 THE LIST FESTIVAL | 1–10 August 2022 | list.co.uk/edinburgh-festival

”

Liam Williams, Al Roberts and Daran ‘Jonno’ Johnson have been flocked together as sketch group Sheeps for a decade. Or maybe it’s a little bit more. No one is quite sure. Here, they reminisce about their favourite memory of one another in a rollicking journey (three pages long) that takes in moon pilots, death stools and iconoclastic heckling

SHEEPS

COMEDY

AL ROBERTS My favourite Liam memory My favourite Liam memory was when he performed a song Jonno and I had written for him called ‘I Wish I Was As Funny As My Friends’. The gig had gone badly, the song was eight minutes long. It had no jokes in it and Liam can’t sing for shit.

But he gave it everything. He bared his soul. Only for no one to clap at the end. No one clapped. At the end of a song. OK, there were like ten people in, but they were all close friends, experienced sketch performers themselves. They couldn’t bring themselves to clap. Harrowing stuff. But it wasn’t Liam’s fault; it was ours. Liam, my friend, I’m sorry.

My favourite Jonno memory My favourite memory of Jonno was his performance in the sketch ‘Moon Pilot’ where he played an airline pilot (Mr Moon) who loves the moon so much he wants to fly his planes there.

If that’s not a strong premise, I don’t know what is. Sadly, the audience didn’t care for it (we only performed it once) but I still think it was brilliant, and that Jonno was in the form of his life: ‘ladies and gentlemen, the destination of this flight has changed . . . to the moooooooon!’ You’re not laughing at

that?! You really don’t find that funny? Sometimes, all you can do is despair. For the sake of balance, I should say that I’ve played many failed cut-after-one-performance characters myself, including, but not limited to, Banter Boy, Christmas Cop, Steely Dan God, Spice Man, Mark Horse and Mr Hot Yellow Trombone.

LIAM WILLIAMS My favourite Al memory My favourite Al memory would be the time I nearly accidentally killed him during an extravagant piece of physical improv at a gig in Shepherd’s Bush circa 2014. Al was lying on the floor dead (most of our sketches from that time seemed to end along those lines) and I was lamenting his character’s death. I lamented so passionately that the immensely heavy bar stool I’d been sitting on went crashing towards my colleague’s skull, landing perhaps an inch away. What I thought was so great about Al in that moment was the way he had stayed completely still during his mimed death and therefore avoided a potentially fatal blow to the head for which I would have borne considerable legal responsibility. I’ll always look back with gratitude and good humour at that moment. Thanks Al!

>> list.co.uk/edinburgh-festival |1–10 August 2022 | THE LIST FESTIVAL 75

COMEDY

SHEEPS

My favourite Jonno memory My favourite memory of Jonno is the moment just before he told me I had only half completed this writing task for The List. When I read the email initially, I thought I only had to write about my favourite memory of Al and had been pleased to email that and move on with my life. But over lunch that day, Jonno pointed out that I hadn’t read the email properly and needed to write about a memory of him too, and in that moment my feelings about him changed. Subtly, yes, and not in any way that I can really blame him for but nonetheless there was a sense, in that moment, of a lost innocence, a lamentation for a simpler dynamic to our friendship, one not burdened by the prospect of yet more toil.

JONNO My favourite Liam memory My favourite memory of both Al and Liam is my first. Liam and I actually met in Edinburgh. We were queueing up for Joke-O And The Bloke-O at the Navy Rooms on High Heesh (one of many Fringe venues to come and sadly go over the years). We said ‘hi’ and we talked about the group. I was only aware of The Bloke-O from those old Chef & Kipper cartoons but I actually personally knew Joke-O a bit cos he worked the fanboats with my uncles in the 70s. But I think it was the first year that they did their two-hander thing (should’ve been the last but here’s another story for another The List).

Anyway, soon as they come on stage, almost immediately, Liam just lets them have it. I mean this guy’s really tearing them a new one. And all the audience are turning on Liam saying, ‘shut up!’ and whatever. But I’m cracking up. I’m losing it.

Stick a fork in me, y’know? I mean this guy is giving them both barrels. They cannot do their show. And the fucked-up part is that a lot of his shit is actually funnier than their shit. About halfway through their first sketch, I’m so done with these guys I shout over to Liam. I say, ‘know what’s in my crystal ball, buddy? Me and you and a couple of cold ones’ and Liam shouts

a couple more nasty things at the boys and out we go into a bold new friendship. And a heckuva lotta cash.

My favourite Al memory One year later, Liam and I are up doing our own show. And Al is in the audience. Well, as soon as we get on stage, this guy really lets us have it. I mean this guy tears us a new one. We’re up there trying to do this show (we’re both dressed as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and we’ve got hair on top that looks like Marge Simpson) and from the audience this guy is giving us both barrels. ‘You guys got big hair!’ he’s shouting. ‘What are you, the Turtles?!’ And the audience is just dying laughing; I mean they all look insane. He’s literally just describing what he sees and the audience are lapping it up.

So me and Liam (and he has no memory of this because he zombies out when shit gets real), we turn our backs to the audience and we have the first of our many little conferences.

And I’m saying, ‘hey, there’s only one way outta this one, padre; we gotta get this guy on OUR team.’ And Liam gives me one of his Cheshire Cat grins and he nods like the Churchill Dog. He is a cat and a dog in this moment, you understand. And so we turn back around and we point at Al. And now we’re screaming, ‘get up here you!’ Well, the moment he gets on stage, Al starts screaming (so we’re all three screaming now, you understand).

He’s going, ‘I’m home! I’m home!’ And we all hug (but not for long) and we all kiss (but not for long) and the rest is the future.

(I struggle to be earnest sometimes, but I love both of my friends very much and could not be more excited to do the Fringe again, so I thank you for reading this drivel. The real answer to both of these questions is just the first time we did our show in 2018 because I wasn’t sure we’d ever do it again after 2014 and being up there with my friends after a few years off felt something like a miracle.)

Sheeps: Ten Years, Ten Laughs, Pleasance Courtyard, 4–14 August, 7pm.

Al, Liam and Jonno try to remember something about one another

76 THE LIST FESTIVAL | 1–10 August 2022 | list.co.uk/edinburgh-festival

PRESENTS

BIGGEST PARTY AT THE FRINGE

CELEBRATING TEN YEARS OF HOT DUB TIME MACHINE

FRI 19TH AUG

SAT 20TH AUG S O LD O U T

It’s great to be back!

NEW DATE ADDED DUE TO DEMAND

THE ROYAL HIGHLAND CENTRE EDINBURGH FRINGE 2022

3rd - 29th August Book now at Pleasance.co.uk list.co.uk/edinburgh-festival |1–10 August 2022 | THE LIST FESTIVAL 77

THE BEST NIGHTS OUT ARE ON DICE 78 THE LIST FESTIVAL | 1–10 August 2022 | list.co.uk/edinburgh-festival

If it’s not inclusive, you can’t call it the best arts festival in the world

”

Having spent lockdown living in the woods, Australian comic Laura Davis has finally returned to comedy stages. She tells Jay Richardson that it’s good to be back but reckons the Festival needs to buck up its ideas

>>

PICTURES: MATT CROCKETT

list.co.uk/edinburgh-festival |1–10 August 2022 | THE LIST FESTIVAL 79

COMEDY

“

LAURA DAVIS

COMEDY

LAURA DAVIS

‘I

f someone’s trying to control the way people think and has fascist or neo-fascist leanings, the arts is always the thing they come for first,’ Laura Davis maintains. ‘And that’s bad enough. But when that gets internalised by artists themselves, when they start feeling the arts is a silly thing, that they should go out and get a real job; or there’s a war on and all this seems ridiculous, that’s when we’re in real trouble.’

The idea that Davis, the Australian stand-up who cemented her reputation at the Edinburgh Fringe as a daring, innovative comic with her 2018 show Ghost Machine (in which she appeared as a phantom, wearing a bed sheet and fairy lights) might be reluctant to embrace the ridiculous, seems incredible. But underappreciation of artists has been a recurring theme of her stand-up, albeit in routines that are as playful and frequently whimsical as they are often existentially bleak, discomforting and passionately conveyed.

Her latest hour, If This Is It, nominated for best show at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, is still evolving. Densely packed and opinionated, its crux is how the arts were crippled in the pandemic.

‘The refrain I heard a lot was, “oh, the arts are a luxury we can’t afford”: a frivolity,’ explains Davis. ‘I really believe it’s a forgotten primary industry because it’s a self-generating one. People are making things out of next to nothing and they can be incredibly profitable.

We need people from different backgrounds to be able to talk about this freely. Not being told that they’re selfindulgent fairies skipping around!’

Visas permitting, Davis and her husband, Kiwi comic James Nokise, have settled in the UK once again, after the pandemic took her to both New Zealand and Perth in her homeland, where strict contagion control at least meant she was able to keep gigging. However, she only grabbed a flight south with half an hour to spare before the borders closed, spending most of lockdown in the woods by her mother-in-law’s house, communing with her darkest thoughts.

She and Nokise tied the knot at the 2018 Edinburgh Fringe on their solitary day off from performing. But they can only justify coming back because they’re returning as a couple and deem it essential to ‘restart’ their UK careers. Like many, Davis is dismayed by the Festival’s disenfranchisement of working-class acts and a lack of diversity. ‘Now it seems like anyone who doesn’t have £10,000 to set fire to can’t do it,’ she observes. ‘There’s no equality. And if it’s not inclusive, you can’t call it the best arts festival in the world.

Performers from Britain can’t afford it, let alone international acts.’

So with the caveat that it’s a somewhat ‘gendered’ description, ‘I feel like men can cover a lot of topics, political topics, and it not be remarked upon. If This Is It is an angry show but it’s also a silly show. And a hopeful show.’ She doesn’t yell as hard as she once did, borne from beginning her career in loud Australian bars. Or appear beneath a sheet because ‘I was so sick of being told that I didn’t look like a comedian that I flipped out.’

Recalling her first solo show, when she was 21, as ‘adorable’, Davis is reviving material ‘that I was just too cute to be performing then. Not my fault. I look at 25-year-old me and genuinely don’t believe there’s any reason she shouldn’t have a great joke on gun control. But I can see why it wasn’t thought marketable.

Now I’ve gone back and got some of those great jokes to bring into 2022.’

Laura Davis: If This Is It, Monkey Barrel Carnivore, 4–28 August, 4pm.

80 THE LIST FESTIVAL | 1–10 August 2022 | list.co.uk/edinburgh-festival

T L E V E S O O MRS R TO LOND ON FL IE S on Skilbeck

Hint of LIME Productions presents

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“...a captivating performance”

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10:25

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4 - 29 AUG (not 15)

Comedy with a

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BY SIMON WATT & SP ECIAL GUE STS

GLY U THE AL M I AN ION T A V SER TY E R P IE SOC

rying with “Had us c s BBC Focu laughter”

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4.10pm – (5.10pm)

05 – 28 August 2022 (not 16) list.co.uk/edinburgh-festival |1–10 August 2022 | THE LIST FESTIVAL 81

FIGHTING FORM

COMEDY

CHRISTOPHER MACARTHUR-BOYD

G

Rising star Christopher Macarthur-Boyd is raring to get back on a Fringe stage after the dark days of lockdown.

He tells Marissa Burgess of his unconventional journey to stand-up via wrestling and a battle with self-worth

laswegian comedian Christopher Macarthur-Boyd may well hold the record for the earliest anyone performed a stand-up routine. He was in primary school, though his original material was considered somewhat quirky. ‘I had a Halloween-themed joke book and it was April. I think it was a bit alternative: “oh, he’s doing Halloween jokes, his influences are really interesting, he’s really playing with the form”,’ he laughs.

But his true beginnings in comedy were much later, following a dark moment that he pulled himself out of by taking on three things in life he’d always wanted to try. Music didn’t work out and wrestling was interesting for a while . . . ‘it turns out that they actually hit you and it hurts! This woman wrestler slapped me in the face and I didn’t know you had to keep your mouth closed; all my teeth dug into my cheek. Never doing wrestling again: hurt the inside of my mouth, slight concussion, glasses flew off my face. Just terrible.’

So stand-up it was. Years later, and with acclaimed solo shows to his name, Macarthur-Boyd is fully marked as one to watch. But his latest show, Oh No, addresses a second dark period in his life: losing

82 THE LIST FESTIVAL | 1–10 August 2022 | list.co.uk/edinburgh-festival

work during lockdown. ‘It’s a show about how, when you’re working class, your job kinda defines your self-worth. My dad had the same thing I had: “I’ve been a hairdresser for 40 years, I’ve never missed a day’s work. Now I’ve not been a hairdresser for four months and I don’t know who I am”. And I had exactly the same thing with stand-up.’

So as soon as he had the opportunity, MacarthurBoyd leapt at the chance of doing a show during the ‘mini’ Fringe last year. ‘It was heaven. It was not the real Fringe, but 95% of comedians sold out every show they did. Because there was half as many people but a tenth of the shows, it felt like you were doing a Fringe . . . like when you read about people going, “oh yeah, back in 1968 there were about five stand-ups and one of them was bad”.’

Last year may have been fun but he’s particularly looking forward to this August. ‘Now I’m ready to go and have a real Fringe where it’s harder to sell tickets but the show is good. I’m happy to go out in front of people and go, “this is an hour of stand-up about something”.’

Christopher Macarthur-Boyd: Oh No, Monkey Barrel Carnivore, 3–28 August, 6.20pm.

MAMA LOVE

BROADWAY WORLD

LOTHIAN LIFE

By Lea Whitcher

THE WEE REVIEW

MUMBLE THEATRE

THE SCOTSMAN

SUE

“A Tour De Force”

One woman’s journey through motherhood, from the toxic to the downright absurd.

3 – 28 August 3pm Box office 0131 226 0000 festival.summerhall.co.uk

list.co.uk/edinburgh-festival |1–10 August 2022 | THE LIST FESTIVAL 83

COMEDY

XXX

Patti Harrison makes her Fringe debut this August, but the trans actor and comedian’s career trajectory is already firmly on the up in the US. She chats to Claire Sawers about keeping her show fresh, getting kicked off Twitter and who she doesn’t want in her audience

KNIVES OUT PICTURE: TONJE THILESEN

84 THE LIST FESTIVAL | 1–10 August 2022 | list.co.uk/edinburgh-festival

PATTI HARRISON

S

Patti Harrison, Pleasance Courtyard, 3–15 August, 8.30pm.

3 To See

US tv writers PICTURE: SELA SHILON

happy accidents. I get bored doing the same show over and over again and start to fidget,’ says the 31-year-old, who was diagnosed with ADHD last year and spoke about it in an interview with The New Yorker.

The youngest of seven, with VietnameseAmerican parents, Harrison is famously fond of an elaborate prank and deadpan lie, and got booted off Twitter last year for making tonguein-cheek transphobic comments in the guise of a well-known biscuit company. ‘I think Twitter was just becoming such a specifically toxic space; I’m glad to have time away from it. I don’t know if my creative output is more per se, but I definitely feel more calm throughout my days than I was when I was there.’

As a trans comedian, how does she protect herself from being used for woke tokenism by showbiz industry contacts? ‘It is hard to balance,’ she admits. ‘Sometimes it’s unavoidable. But I try and not get too bitter about it and just keep my nose down where possible and focus on making stuff I find interesting. Sometimes your work is fun and creatively fulfilling, but when you’re trying to capitalise on your art, it inevitably becomes business. So sometimes work is just work.’

Finally, when asked what kind of people should not come and see her show, she produces a short list of those who wouldn’t be welcome: ‘paedophiles, murderers, rapists or Virgos!’

COMEDY

incerity, sarcasm and strangeness often blend into one during a conversation with Patti Harrison, whose star has been rising rapidly lately on the US alternative comedy scene. The Ohioborn, now LA-based actor and comedian brought dark, oddball laughs to body positive Portland comedy show Shrill and added some awkward lols in the surreal sketch series I Think You Should Leave With Tim Robinson. Described

by Rolling Stone as, ‘poised to become the most visible working trans comedian in America’, Harrison played a cis surrogate mother in last year’s indie film, Together Together, about a platonic friendship that blossoms during a pregnancy. That role got her a nomination for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Female Lead, previously won by the likes of Frances McDormand and Julianne Moore.

Although she’s had a busy six years or so appearing in other people’s shows (including Bojack Horseman, Broad City and Bob’s Burgers, plus voiceovers for Disney’s Raya And The Last Dragon), Edinburgh audiences can check out her stand-up when she brings a solo show to the Fringe for the first time.

‘I have never been to Edinburgh! But I have heard it is really beautiful; breathtaking views, no air conditioning, huge boobs, tiny waists etc,’ she quips about her upcoming trip. Her self-titled show is a work-in-progress that she’ll continue to tweak throughout its 13-night run.

‘It’s a lot of fun night to night seeing how each show’s different, leaving breathing room to interact with the audience, and stumbling upon

Comedy newcomers make up the vast majority of acts on the Fringe stages this August (well, that’s not definitive, but we’d happily lay some decent cash on it) and there’s also a small rump of folk who have written for telly in the US in attendance.

The BriTANick (Assembly George Square, 3–28 August, 7.45pm) duo received Emmy nominations for their writing on Saturday Night Live and make cameo appearances in Judd Apatow’s new movie. For Edinburgh, they’ll race through a hyper yet crafted hour, directed by Fringe favourite Alex Edelman.

A writer for Eric Andre and Johnny Knoxville, the ‘delightfully weird’ Sarah Sherman (Gilded Balloon Teviot, 15–21 August, 10.30pm) makes her Edinburgh debut with a heavily anticipated set. She once had a show entitled Helltrap Nightmare so we might have a vague sense of what to expect. Carrying Monsters is the name of Christopher Titus’ (Assembly George Square Studios, 3–28 August, 6.15pm) hour. He penned his own sitcom in the States and has been praised for his highly original voice. We think that means the content of what he says rather than the way it sounds when it comes out of his mouth. Either way, could be a hit. list.co.uk/edinburgh-festival |1–10 August 2022 | THE LIST FESTIVAL 85

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86 THE LIST FESTIVAL | 1–10 August 2022 | list.co.uk/edinburgh-festival

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20:40

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ASSEMBLY HALL

XXX

COMEDY

“

I’m literally an X-Man

”

Exposure on The Voice brought trans performer Jordan Gray an unexpectedly wide and mainstream audience. She tells Jay Richardson that simply being seen as accessible can be counted as a win

J

ordan Gray boasts a memorable poster, after bouncing nude on a trampoline in front of a fan for an hour. ‘We got that shot with the first or second take, then couldn’t beat it,’ the stand-up smiles. Yet as Jordan Gray: Is It A Bird? demonstrates, ‘nudity stops being scandalous after about ten seconds. Once you get over that initial surprise, it’s just silly.’ Anxious not to be seen comparing herself to ‘the greatest musical comedian of all time’, Gray’s second Fringe hour nevertheless promises a Tim Minchin-like balance of stand-up punctuated by songs about dogs, her native Essex, superheroes and life as a transgender woman.

Having worked in the music industry and trailblazed as the first trans performer on BBC One singing contest The Voice back in 2016, she reflects that ‘as a transgender person you’re put on such a pedestal and people are quite confused about the science. I may very well be the next stage of human evolution: I’m literally an X-Man . . . and we walk among you!’

As a screenwriter and screen transgender consultant, she’s worked with Matt Lucas on a sitcom he’s developing, and written ‘a live-action superhero comedy script based on very niche intellectual property from the 90s that when it comes out (fingers crossed), people will very much recognise but would never have expected to be made into a film.’ And with a ‘mantle’ as a visible trans performer, Gray embraces ‘transplaining.

My remit in life is being incredibly accessible. My audience is a broad, Middle England one; people that maybe don’t necessarily know what they’re looking at. If, by the end, they go, “fair play, I could go for a pint with you”, then I’ve succeeded’.

Identifying as an ‘underdog’ too, Gray is a working-class comic who can only afford to play the Festival because she’s making an ITV sitcom with Simon Pegg and Nick Frost’s production company Stolen Picture.

With Frost playing her boss, Gray stars as supermarket worker Liv in the upcoming Transaction. She’s also landed a Radio 4 series based on her experience on The Voice. ‘When you’re in music, you take it incredibly seriously, and The Voice exacerbates it: six million people watching does that. It’s only in the fallout you can start poking fun at yourself. So I’m playing myself without self-awareness.’

Even so, becoming a role model on The Voice was ‘exciting, with instant floods of emails from young gender-questioning people, LGBT kids that were thinking of taking their own lives, about me being the first person they could relate to,’ Gray recalls. ‘I’m pleased with how I’ve grown into the role. If you’re first, you have to make it up as you go along.’

Jordan Gray: Is It A Bird?, Assembly George Square, 3–28 August, 10.25pm.

list.co.uk/edinburgh-festival |1–10 August 2022 | THE LIST FESTIVAL 87

PREVIEWS

COMEDY

ALOK

ALOK

Internationally acclaimed writer and thinker ALOK combines poetry with comedy in an unlikely pairing that represents both humour and trauma. Author of 2017’s Femme In Public, ALOK is a widely renowned speaker on equality for the LBGTQIA+ community and people of colour. However, their show is also a personal reflection on their own life and worldview. ‘This is a deeply personal show about healing,’ they explain. ‘When I create work that is personal and relevant to myself, it resonates most with my audiences.’

As non-binary, ALOK explores the principle of the binary and what it means to venture beyond it. ‘That’s the delight and wonder of being non-binary: it’s a lesson that we can experience grief and gratitude, and happiness and sadness at the same time.’

ALOK also explores the very concept of comedy. ‘So often trans people are the butt of the joke in contemporary comedy.

This is not only to the detriment of trans people, but to the artform itself. At its best, comedy is a political genre because it denaturalises the status quo. And when it comes to these trying times, that’s more needed than ever. In my own life, humour has been one of the most compelling and effective strategies to move through grief and pain. Sometimes I laugh so hard I cry, and sometimes I cry so hard I laugh.’ (Rachel Cronin) n Traverse Theatre, 9–21 August, 9pm.

ANTHONY DEVITO

MY DAD ISN’T DANNY DEVITO

PICTURE: MINDY TUCKER

88 THE LIST FESTIVAL | 1–10 August 2022 | list.co.uk/edinburgh-festival

US comedy and the Mafia share a history tighter than piano-wire garrotting. As Kliph Nesteroff recounts in his seminal book The Comedians, if you were a stand-up performing in nightclubs postProhibition, you worked for the Mob. Yet for comic Anthony DeVito, the scars run deeper. Born in New Jersey, the Sicilian-American grew up having never met his father and believing he died in a car accident. At 19, he discovered that was only half-true.

For almost two decades, out of sensitivity to his mother who didn’t want her late husband’s links to the Mob made public, DeVito kept his father material vague. ‘When I first tried properly talking about him, I just envisioned it as another chunk of stand-up. But audiences would react in a way that suggested it was too complicated to drop into a standard set. Other comics were telling me it was a full show in itself, then more people were telling me it was a perfect Fringe show.’

Encouraged by friends who’d played Edinburgh such as Michelle Wolf, DeVito ultimately received his mother’s blessing too. ‘She saw how important it was for me, but every line has to be run by her. Because I was just a baby, their marriage is the show’s driving force.’ He has ‘tried to be respectful’ to his father’s victims. ‘It gets dark, the crimes he committed. I was really, really ashamed for a long time. And I’ve cried on stage. But I’ve realised he was indoctrinated into a life and that’s helped me have more empathy for him.’

Indeed, as a road comic, DeVito feels ‘like I could be my father in witness protection. I work nights and get paid in envelopes stuffed with cash too.’

Fortunately, he’s yet to spot one of his father’s former associates lurking at the back of a show. ‘I live in Queens, New York. There are sketchy Italian guys everywhere,’ he laughs. ‘So it’s not in my mind til I’m coming home late at night and there’s a weird Toyota Camry parked across the street. Thank god it’s usually just a drug dealer!’ (Jay Richardson) n Just The Tonic At The Mash House, 4–28 August, 7.30pm.

HAVING THE

Just the Tonic at The Caves - Up the Stairs

21:05 Aug 4th-14th, 16th-28th 16+ (Guideline)

Scan the QR code for your paperless e-ticket, or head over to https://edinburgh.justthetonic.com

list.co.uk/edinburgh-festival |1–10 August 2022 | THE LIST FESTIVAL 89

PREVIEWS

COMEDY

HENNING WEHN

IT’LL ALL COME OUT IN THE WASH

Is Henning Wehn the ultimate outsider comedian? With decades of stereotyping embedded in the British psyche that Germans have no sense of humour, this North Rhine Westphalia-born, London-based stand-up has been forging his own path for the best part of 20 years. But call him an alternative comedian and he will balk at that notion. ‘I would see myself as the ultimate representative of the establishment,’ Wehn insists. ‘I suppose what I do might be called subversive but I don’t feel I’m part of a big movement.’

The economy is on Wehn’s mind with his new show which he describes as ‘an unbiased look at the covid crisis’; this follows his equally even-handed previous comedic investigations into Brexit and immigration. ‘If I can look back at the last show, the Brexit one, I found it quite easy to be ambivalent about it, because it doesn’t really affect me one way or another. But this one was a very different story such as if you had a business for 15 years and all of a sudden, through no fault of your own, you’re told you can’t run it. Covid certainly does have more impact on people’s lives. There are plenty jokes to be made about all that but you have to be willing to see them.’ (Brian Donaldson) n Queen’s Hall, 4–6, 11–13, 18–20, 25–27 August, 7pm.

EMMANUEL SONUBI

EMANCIPATED

PICTURE: STEVE ULLATHORNE

90 THE LIST FESTIVAL | 1–10 August 2022 | list.co.uk/edinburgh-festival

Emmanuel Sonubi used to be a bouncer. And the strapping comic still occasionally vets his audience. ‘Being stood by the door is where I’m most comfortable,’ he explains.

‘People hand me tickets, I’ll ask them for ID, then really weird questions that have nothing to do with their age.

Just to see how long I can get away with it.’ When he then reappears at the mic, it can further throw the uninitiated.

But that’s Sonubi’s debut hour, Emancipated, in a nutshell.

He undermines his hardman credentials when he reveals that the reality of keeping troublemakers out of nightclubs is normally just an intense stare and dubious knowledge of youth street slang. And his cred is further compromised if he acknowledges that he grew up terrified of his five older sisters; that he’s also a musical theatre veteran who took the title role in Boney M musical Daddy Cool; that he choreographed the hit Bollywood film Sivaji The Boss, and previously worked as an IT consultant.

Although continuing to play the bouncer affords him an easy, immediate persona for crowds to latch on to, the job also taught him ‘conflict resolution’. And he applies this conversational reasonableness to the so-called culture wars and freedom of speech debate, arguing for dialogue rather than insults and ‘finger pointing’. Impressively, despite being a stand-up for only six years and having suffered heart failure and a mini-stroke in 2019, he recorded his recent Live At The Apollo debut with a mere three days’ notice.

‘I’d been planning for that call for two years, getting a tight 15 minutes and just tweaking and tweaking it,’ Sonubi recalls. He’s now planning to depart the Edinburgh Fringe ‘with a bulletproof show that I can tour, an hour that I would want to watch on Netflix.’ (Jay Richardson) n Underbelly Bristo Square, 3–29 August, 6.10pm.

STAND ONE 10.00 STEWART LEE, 3 - 28 AUG (NOT 15 OR 16) | 18+

18.45 THE FANNIES BIG NIGHT OUT (15TH ONLY) | 18+

11.45 SEYMOUR MACE, 4 - 28 AUG (NOT 15) | 14+

20.20 JO CAULFIELD, 5 - 28 AUG (NOT 15 OR 22) | 16+

13.30 MARK THOMAS, 4 - 28 AUG (NOT 15) | 14+

20.20 ELEANOR MORTON (15TH ONLY) | 16+

15.15 SIMON MUNNERY, 4 - 28 AUG (NOT 15) | 14+

22.00 SEANN WALSH, 3 - 28 AUG (NOT 15) | 16+

17.00 GARETH WAUGH, 4 - 29 AUG (NOT 15) | 14+

22.00 BOB DOOLALLY (15TH ONLY) | 18+

18.45 KAI HUMPHRIES, 4 - 28 AUG (NOT 15 OR 22) | 16+

23.55 THE STAND LATE CLUB (FRI/SATS ONLY) | 18+

STAND TWO 12.00 JOANNA NEARY, 4 - 28 AUG (NOT 15) | 16+

18.40 ROBIN GRAINGER, 4 - 28 AUG (NOT 15) | 16+

13.20 RACHEL JACKSON, 4 - 28 AUG (NOT 15 OR 24) | 16+

20.00 RYAN CULLEN, 4 - 28 AUG (NOT 15) | 16+

14.40 MARY BOURKE, 4 - 28 AUG (NOT 15) | 16+

21.20 TOM MAYHEW, 4 - 28 AUG (NOT 15) | 18+

16.00 MARJOLEIN ROBERTSON, 4 - 28 AUG (NOT 15) | 14+

22.40 LEE BROPHY, 4 - 28 AUG (NOT 15) | 18+

17.20 GAVIN WEBSTER, 4 - 28 AUG (NOT 15) | 14+

STAND NEW TOWN - GRAND HALL NOON IN CONVERSATION WITH…, 6 - 28 AUG (NOT 24)* | 12+

21.00 FRED MACAULAY- WHAT(EVER) NEXT?, 5 - 6 AUG | 16+

13.50 STEWART LEE: SNOWFLAKE, 3 - 28 AUG (NOT 15 OR 16) | 14+

21.00 JIM SMITH: THE HILLS HAVE AYES, 12 - 14 AUG | 16+

15.40 JOHN LLOYD: DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM?, 5 - 15 AUG | 14+

21.00 PIP UTTON IS ADOLF, 15, 20, 21 AUG | 16+

15.40 DARREN ‘LOKI’ MCGARVEY: THE SOCIAL DISTANCE BETWEEN US, 16 - 21 AUG | 16+

21.00 LIZ LOCHHEAD WITH STEVE KETTLEY ON SAX: BACK IN THE SADDLE, 18 & 19 AUG | 14+

17.20 OMID DJALILI: THE GOOD TIMES, 4 - 20 AUG (NOT 15) | 16+

21.15 FUN LOVIN’ CRIME WRITERS, 8 - 11 AUG | 12+

17.20 TIME’S PLAGUE- DAVID HAYMAN, 21 - 28 AUG | 14+

23.00 THE STAND’S PICK OF THE FRINGE, 5, 6, 12, 13, 19, 20, 26, 27 AUG | 16+

19.10 SH!T-FACED SHOWTIME: A PISSEDMAS CAROL, 3 - 28 AUG | 16+

STAND NEW TOWN - LOWER HALL 13.00 DES CLARKE: ONE O’ CLOCK FUN, 5 - 10, 12 - 14 AUG (NOT 11) | 14+

16.40 PAUL SINHA: ONE SINHA LIFETIME, 4 - 28 AUG (NOT 16) | 16+

13.00 MARK WATSON: MORE BANGING ON ABOUT TIME AND SIMILAR ISSUES (WORK IN PROGRESS), 15 - 19 AUG | 12+

18.30 THE BEST OF IRISH COMEDY, 5 - 28 AUG | 16+

14.50 HENRY NORMAL: THE ESCAPE PLAN, 5 - 7 AUG | 14+ 14.50 DAVID KAY: GARDEN OFFICE LEGEND, 8 - 14 AUG | 14+ 14.50 THE ECHO SALON, 15 - 26 AUG (NOT 20, 21) | 14+

20.30 THE BEST OF SCOTTISH COMEDY, 5 - 28 AUG | 18+ 22.35 LEICESTER SQUARE THEATRE ALL STARS, 5 - 14 AUG | 18+ 22.35 FLAT AND THE CURVES, 16 - 28 AUG | 14+

14.50 WORD UP, 20-21, 27-28 AUG | 14+

STAND NEW TOWN - STUDIO 12.05 POSSIBLY THE LAST CHANCE TO SEE SUSAN MORRISON, 4 - 28 AUG (NOT 16) | 16+

19.10 BOB DOOLALLY LIVE & HALF-CUT IN QATAR, 16 AUG (& AT STAND 1 ON 15 AUG) | 18+

13.30 THE CABARET OF DANGEROUS IDEAS, 5 - 28 AUG * | 14+

20.35 AFROPOLITICOOL - EUNICE OLUMIDE, 4 - 21 AUG (NOT 16) | 16+

14.55 ADA CAMPE: TOO LITTLE, TOO SOON, 4 - 28 AUG (NOT 15TH) | 14+ 16.20 PIP UTTON AS ‘BACON’, 5 - 28 AUG (NOT 9, 16, 17, 23, 24) | 14+

20.35 ABBY WAMBAUGH AND BRONWYN SWEENEY, 22 - 28 AUG | 14+ 22.00 KEVIN P. GILDAY: SPAM VALLEY, 4 - 14 AUG | 18+

16.20 POLITICS & POETRY WITH CORBYN & MCCLUSKEY, 9 AUG | 14+

22.00 A CELEBRATION OF FATHER TED WITH JOE ROONEY, 15 - 21 AUG | 18+

17.45 THE CABARET OF DANGEROUS IDEAS, 5 - 28 AUG * | 14+

22.00 PHIL DIFFER: MY MEDICAL HELL, 22 - 28 AUG | 18+

19.10 2022 - THE BEGINNING OF THE END - VLADIMIR MCTAVISH, 4 - 28 AUG (NOT 16) | 14+

standcomedyclub

standcomedyclub

standedinburgh

0131 558 9005

www.thestand.co.uk

list.co.uk/edinburgh-festival |1–10 August 2022 | THE LIST FESTIVAL 91

HIGHLIGHTS

COMEDY HIGHLIGHTS

COMEDY

Punmeisters, politicos and medics all make their mark in the Fringe’s opening salvo

BOORISH TRUMPSON

Lecoq-trained clown Claire Parry brings physicality, absurdity and serious interaction to bear in this power play that might make you think of two political bullies. n Assembly Rooms, 4–26 August, 3.30pm.

COMEDIANS WINE TASTING WITH MATT HUTCHINSON

The spot where a panel show meets a winetasting session featuring the likes of Olga Koch and Thanyia Moore. It could get messy. n Monkey Barrel, 8 August, 10.25pm.

OLAF FALAFEL

The surrealist joke-teller par excellence is back with Stoat, a show featuring levitating fruit, mindreading mic stands and ducks chucking out insults like there’s no yesterday. n Laughing Horse @ The Pear Tree, 4–28 August, 3pm.

ANGELA BARNES

In Hot Mess, the acclaimed stand-up reflects on her recent ADHD diagnosis, and how this fits almost too perfectly in a world that’s not exactly in balance. n Pleasance Courtyard, 3–28 August, 7pm.

AYESHA HAZARIKA

Political nerd and stand-up comic Hazarika conducts special instalments of her radio show

Angela Barnes (and bottom from left), Boorish Trumpson, Olaf Falafel, Ed Patrick

in which a panel of comics discuss and/or tear apart the news cycle. n Gilded Balloon Teviot, 8–14 August, 2pm.

RICHARD PULSFORD

There’ll be puns aplenty in his eighth solo show, this one under the name of A Bit More Rich. n theSpace @ Surgeons’ Hall, 5–27 August, 8.10pm.

92 THE LIST FESTIVAL | 1–10 August 2022 | list.co.uk/edinburgh-festival

ED PATRICK

This comedy medic will no doubt have tales of being on the covid frontline to share in his return to the stage with Catch Your Breath. n Just The Tonic At The Caves, 4–28 August, noon.

THE

INTERMUNDIA & LUCIA LA REZZA

SIAN CLARKE EXPERIENCE “FUNNY & TERRIFYING ANUS TIGHTENING MIND F*CK” - JORDAN GRAY

5.45PM (6.45PM)

04 - 28 AUGUST 2022 (NOT 16)

T H E M O S T I C O N I C F I L M S O U N D T R A C K S P L AY E D L I V E IN A UNIQUE HYBRID ELECTRONIC PERFORMANCE INCLUDING MUSIC FROM

S TA R WA R S HARRY POTTER P I R AT E S O F T H E C A R I B B E A N GAME OF THRONES THE LORD OF THE RINGS THE DARK KNIGHT INTERSTELLAR T H E AV E N G E R S INCEPTION AND MANY MORE…

HOW TO KEEP UP WITH THE KARDASHIANS PRESENTED BY SO LA FLAIR

DIRECTED BY LUCY LAVERTY AND SCARLETT SPICER

list.co.uk/edinburgh-festival |1–10 August 2022 | THE LIST FESTIVAL 93

DANCE

DANCE

BEATS ON POINTE

The pun in this show’s title is your gateway to understanding what’s in store. If you’re looking for highbrow, pull up to a different kerb. But if a high-octane mix of dance styles (ballet, street dance, commercial, contemporary) rubbing shoulders with beatboxing, comedy and gymnastic tumbles sounds like a fun night out, fill those boots. Australian troupe Masters Of Choreography (don’t get too excited: it’s named after its founders, Jennifer and Milo Masters, rather than being an artistic statement) know how to show audiences a good time, and whipping an early evening crowd into a feelgood frenzy is well within their grasp. (Kelly Apter)  Assembly Hall, 4–28 August, 7pm.

94 THE LIST FESTIVAL | 1–10 August 2022 | list.co.uk/edinburgh-festival

DANCE BODY

I

n her early twenties, fresh from graduating in contemporary dance at London’s Trinity Laban, one of the country’s most prestigious dance schools, Yolanda Mercy went to an audition for a show she had loved for some time. It was a show she felt destined for: ‘you know when you have that trajectory of want for your career?’ she says over Zoom. The process involved a pre-audition walk around a dance studio, before progressing to the stage where dancers could demonstrate their technique. ‘I got to the point of walking around the room, and was pulled out and told, “you are too big to audition”.’ She was a size 12. ‘I didn’t even get a chance to dance. I just walked around the space.’

list.co.uk/edinburgh-festival |1–10 August 2022 | THE LIST FESTIVAL 95

DANCE

PICTURES: CAMILLA GREENWELL

THE BIGGER PICTURE

BAFTA-nominated writer and director Yolanda Mercy is returning to the discipline she first trained in. Lucy Ribchester hears all about the trials of being a plus-sized dancer

DANCE

DANCE BODY

A friend who had attended the audition with Mercy had no training yet was invited to progress to the next stage: she was a size eight. ‘That made me think maybe there’s something wrong with me. I actually never told anyone because I was so embarrassed. I just stopped dancing.’ Having left dance behind, Mercy went on to achieve international acclaim as a writer and director. Her play Quarter Life Crisis was a critical success, leading to a publishing deal with Bloomsbury and commissions for Channel 4 and the BBC, which in turn netted her a BAFTA nomination.

But dance was always there in the background as the discipline Mercy not only loved but knew she was good at.

‘You know what you’re good at because you get told.’ The teachers at Laban, whom Mercy describes as ‘brilliant’, had always said she excelled at jumping because of her strong thighs. A few years ago she started feeling the urge to move again and went along to a contemporary dance class. ‘I thought maybe people would laugh at me because I’m big. But in fact, they were like, “you’re so good, have you danced before?” I lied. I said, “I’ve done bits and bobs”, because I was embarrassed. But then I started to question myself: what am I embarrassed about?’

It was the catalyst Mercy needed. The time had come to create a piece for plus-sized dancers, and so Dance Body was born. But there was a stumbling block. Mercy wanted to choreograph and write the show rather than dance herself, so she needed to find a plus-sized cast. She set up focus groups and auditions to attract the attention of

96 THE LIST FESTIVAL | 1–10 August 2022 | list.co.uk/edinburgh-festival

larger dancers. ‘I got a lot of people who were size 12 and 14. I didn’t get anyone who was a size 18 or 20.’ Many of the bigger dancers in those focus groups were still too traumatised by their experiences of the industry to put themselves forward.

‘I never set out to make something political, but by the nature of it, it has become so. This is a big conversation.

Where are the people who trained in contemporary dance who are size 18 or size 20 or plus? I wanted to meet you all. I want to get you on stage, but it’s been really hard to find them in the UK.’ In America, Mercy says the culture is more progressive, citing shows like Lizzo’s Watch Out For The Big Grrrls, where the musician superstar sets out to find plus-sized backing dancers. And in some non-Western cultures, being plus-sized is already synonymous with beauty. ‘In certain parts of the world they’re like, “you are beautiful, you’re a queen” and you’re like, “wait, you’re seeing me?”’

Although Dance Body is critical of Mercy’s own experiences, she describes it as a hopeful piece and believes it’s just ‘the first iteration’, both of her foray into plus-sized choreography and in normalising diverse body types on a dance stage. ‘I’m hoping the show will be a conversation starter. But in a way it’s such a sad thing that I’ve made it. That shouldn’t be a thing, right? It should just be a dance show.’

Dance Body, Summerhall, 3–27 August, 4.15pm.

list.co.uk/edinburgh-festival |1–10 August 2022 | THE LIST FESTIVAL 97

DANCE

FITRY

Like many artists during covid, acclaimed choreographer Serge Aimé Coulibaly found himself without work and wondering what the future held. He tells Kelly Apter how the creation of his latest show helped pull him through

the twilight zone

S

erge Aimé Coulibaly is used to straddling two worlds. For the past 20 years, the choreographer and founder of Faso Dance Théâtre has divided his sensibilities between Africa and Europe, his time between Burkina Faso and Belgium, and his energy between running a company and being creative. But in 2020, Coulibaly found himself in less familiar territory: between a rock and a hard place.

Having booked himself on the last flight out of Brussels before lockdown hit, the man who states ‘dance is a matter of life and death, it’s connected to everything I am’ found himself with a cancelled 50-date tour and no means of generating income.

One light in that darkness was the presence of dancer Jean Robert Koudogbo-Kiki (or ‘Robbi’ as Coulibaly calls him) who was locked down alongside him in the company’s Bobo-Dioulasso studio.

‘At the beginning it was a nightmare because everything was gone,’ says Coulibaly. ‘I felt completely powerless and didn’t know what to do with my life. All that we had built had stopped suddenly. We saw all our tour dates being cancelled and I didn’t know how to face the future. That was when the idea came to create something.’

Back in 2013, Coulibaly created and danced a solo called Fadjiri, a word that describes the period when it’s not quite morning yet, but it’s no longer night. Now, he began to devise Fitry, which means it’s not quite night yet, but it’s no longer daytime. All the anger, frustration, fear and sadness built up by the pandemic finally had somewhere to go. Only this time, Koudogbo-Kiki rather than Coulibaly would dance the solo, giving both men a place to pour their emotional experiences.

‘Robbi is a dancer who listens so closely,’ Coulibaly says. ‘You only have to think something and he dances it. We have a long experience of collaborating together, and he’s one of those dancers that can just disappear himself and be in another person’s body. And I remember the first time he performed it, at the end he was in tears because he put so much of himself into the piece.’

Coulibaly’s choreography in the solo is a mix of breakdown and defiance, disbelief and acceptance; something he feels we’ll all recognise. ‘What’s nice about Fitry is people see themselves in some moment of their life. So then it’s like going on a trip together where there’s a really strong relationship between performer and audience.’

Fitry, Dance Base, 5–14 August, 8.15pm.

PICTURE: STYLE MAKER

98 THE LIST FESTIVAL | 1–10 August 2022 | list.co.uk/edinburgh-festival



Photo © 2022 Brighton Studio; Illustration © 2022 Lisa Smith

Edinburgh49

Fringe favourites Theatre Fideri Fidera are back with a hilarious reimagining of the legend of Swiss folk hero Wilhelm Tell

Perfect Summer holiday fun!

12:00

3 - 21 AUG 2022

(Not 10/17) (60 miNs)

Will Tell 134mm x 189mm The List ad v5 REPLACEMENT.indd 1

23/06/2022 13:25

FESTIVAL FASHION KICKSTART THE EDINBURGH FESTIVALS IN TRUE STYLE From brand exclusives and immersive fashion pop-ups, to fabulous floral workshops and jewellery piercing, it’s time to get your wardrobe festival-ready with a helping hand from the fashion experts at Harvey Nichols.

RIXO RETRO BUS FASHION POP-UP Friday 5th – Sunday 7th August

FREE PEOPLE FLORAL WORKSHOP 11.30AM – 1PM on Saturday 13th August

COACH MONOGRAMMING Available every day from 15th August

MARIA BLACK PIERCING EVENT Friday 19th – Sunday 21st August Embrace the festival fever this summer and scan the QR code to book tickets and find out more.

list.co.uk/edinburgh-festival |1–10 August 2022 | THE LIST FESTIVAL 99

DANCE

THE CHOSEN HARAM

Growing up queer and Muslim led Sadiq Ali down a path of destruction that ultimately turned to self-discovery and resilience. As Lucy Ribchester discovers, the Scottish performer found a unique language to tell his story

I

n 2016, some of the most horrific images of ISIS’s reign emerged: men executed for their sexual orientation by being thrown off buildings. Despicable to behold for most of us, the images carried an extra layer of terror for Sadiq Ali. He had been brought up Muslim and, at the time, secretly identified as queer.

‘I was seeing my family’s reaction, hearing my dad telling me he believed in the death penalty for homosexuals, and I wasn’t out at the time. I needed this space to unload and see what that meant to me.’ Some years before, Ali had found a way to express himself through circus, specifically Chinese pole, which he describes as ‘a solid structure in my environment, that doesn’t shake or mess with me’. Now he had the impetus and urgency to use his skills to tell an extremely personal yet universal story, about the contradictions, shame, trauma and resilience of growing up queer and Muslim.

He had created a prototype on the subject for his end-ofyear circus training showcase, but now he put a call out on Twitter for others with similar stories to come forward. He was overwhelmed to hear experiences that both chimed and contrasted with his own. ‘I realised through speaking to lots of other people that it’s not just about the gay shame which growing up in Islam can give you. There are also people who find it gives them resilience and a way to find comfort with themselves . . . I started to meet people who were positively open about being queer and Muslim.’

The piece developed into Ali’s first full-length work, The Chosen Haram (in Islam, something ‘haram’ is forbidden), a duet that envelops a boy-meets-boy love story in a tale of trauma, addiction and ultimate redemption. Ali says the piece is not critical of Islam and is ‘also just a beautiful and fun piece, with an incredible soundtrack’. But nor does it shy away from chronicling negative experiences that have occurred within the context of faith.

Some of these are still ongoing. The Chosen Haram was selected for the prestigious Made In Scotland showcase, which promotes and generates invitations for Scottish performers to travel abroad with their productions. But there are still countries that are not safe to visit because they continue to carry the death penalty for LGBTQ+ people. ‘Within western culture, I think some things have changed,’ Ali says. ‘There are open, visible support structures. But I worry about places where people do not have access to these supports. And I worry about countries where the death penalty still exists.’

The Chosen Haram, Summerhall, 3–27 August, 9pm.

100 THE LIST FESTIVAL | 1–10 August 2022 | list.co.uk/edinburgh-festival

Express yourself

XXX PICTURE: CARNIVAL CINEMA

INTERNATIONAL

DANCE

THE PULSE

When it comes to artistically combining circus, acrobatics, theatre and music into one epic performance, few do it quite like Australian company Gravity & Other Myths. In their new production The Pulse, the troupe’s largest ensemble will perform visceral, heart-stopping physical theatre alongside National Youth Choir Of Scotland’s 30 powerful voices.

Directed by Darcy Grant, with original music composed by Ekrem Eli Phoenix, plus light and set design by Geoff Cobham (the trio behind Gravity & Other Myths’ previous award-winning show Out Of Chaos), this production is more than a series of stunts you shouldn’t try at home: it’s also a display of human nature, connection and co-operation, performed to a beat inspired by a pulsating heart.

The unique merging of extreme physicality and delicately controlled imagery, with skilled performers soaring through the air and towering atop one another, creating starling-like murmurations as they go, explains why this show is taking over Edinburgh’s biggest theatre. With space for thousands of audience members, The Pulse is sure to be a large-scale event that elevates circus theatre to new heights. (Megan Merino) n Edinburgh Playhouse, 8 August, 7.30pm; 9 August, 2pm, 7.30pm.

FRINGE

EGG/FEMME

PICTURE: CHRIS HERZFELD

From an early age, the implied destiny for cis-women and girls is that our future will be inextricably linked to the eggs in our ovaries. Will we use them? Freeze them? Ignore them? Will we even be able to use them? How late is too late to decide? It was this plethora of fertility questions that hung over Australian movement practitioner Erin Fowler, round about the time covid hit.

A Facebook ad had popped up on her feed to tell her (charmingly) that her eggs were ‘dying off’ and offering her the chance to freeze them for $15,000. This threw the single 32-year-old down an existential rabbit hole of soulsearching, which evolved into her new show EGG. Trapped at home during lockdown, Fowler made EGG in her living room, using clowning, dance, an 80s soundtrack and a rather literal costume to explore some answers to this crucial dilemma.

Motherhood, however, is not the only women’s role on Fowler’s mind. Alongside EGG she’s presenting a shorter run of her 2019 show FEMME, a catwalk-set piece that delves into the multitude of movement and dress codes women are expected to adopt over a lifetime. The piece draws on Fowler’s past experience as a fashion model and businesswoman. Expect to see the whole gamut of feminine expectations dissected, as she journeys through winsome brides, bold fashionistas, shy tomboys and powerful CEOs, eventually landing on something that may just feel like the truth. (Lucy Ribchester) EGG, 5–8, 12–15, 19–21, 26–28 August, 5pm; FEMME, 9, 11, 18, 25 August, 5pm; both shows at House Of Oz.

list.co.uk/edinburgh-festival |1–10 1–10 August 2022 | THE LIST FESTIVAL 101

HIGHLIGHTS

DANCE HIGHLIGHTS

Brave Space (and bottom from left), One, Lion, Tomato

DANCE

The best in circus, physical theatre and dance to come your way during the opening week

BRAVE SPACE

In this completely immersive show, the all-female circus band erect a smaller tent within the Spiegeltent to envelop their limited audience of just 100 in a completely transformative performance space. There may be an element of audience participation. n Underbelly Circus Hub, 4–28 August, 3.30pm.

LION

Based in both Finland and France, this contemporary troupe bring us both humour and horror (always a fine line) while paying tribute to some traditions of old-school circus. n Assembly Rooms, 3–21 August, 4.40pm.

ONE

Kathak artist Amina Khayyam uses Indian classical dance to tell a contemporary tale of migrants and refugees being exploited by nefarious forces. n Dance Base, 5–10 August, 12.30pm.

TOMATO

As part of the Taiwan Season, this half-hour piece is devised for three dancers and a ripe red fruit, with lust and desire taking centre stage in a production with a strong feminist message. n Summerhall, 3–28 August, 3.10pm.

WE SHOULD BE DANCING

Does our taste for adventure and experimentation abandon us when we get older?

This quintet examines how joy and freedom can arise from a determination to be creative. n Dance Base, 5–14 August, 1.50pm.

SCENE AFRICA

The producers of I Am Rhythm and Cell Block Soweto return with an eight-piece ensemble, intertwining original music, dance and short stories. n Underbelly Bristo Square, 3–29 August, 3.45pm.

DREAMS OF THE SMALL GODS

Inspired by myth, folklore and faerie-tales, this blend of aerial circus, masked ritual and performance art teams up for a hypnotic examination of the relationships between animals and humans. n Summerhall, 3–28 August, 7.50pm.

PICTURE: 58KG

102 THE LIST FESTIVAL | 1–10 August 2022 | list.co.uk/edinburgh-festival

list.co.uk/edinburgh-festival |1–10 August 2022 | THE LIST FESTIVAL 103

KIDS

KIDS

WILL TELL AND THE BIG BAD BARON

104 THE LIST FESTIVAL | 1–10 August 2022 | list.co.uk/edinburgh-festival

PICTURE: AMBER TANC

Storytelling and slapstick, satire and song.

It’s all there in Theatre Fideri Fidera’s new show, a retelling of Wilhelm Tell’s tale.

Whether he did actually shoot an apple off his kid’s head (with a crossbow!) is neither here nor indeed there, but what’s perhaps more important is that people learn how this Swiss freedom fighter helped take on the might of the Austro-Hungarian empire.

If this show is to be believed, it comes with the help of a Punch And Judy show, some life-size puppets and a slice of jolly jousting. (Brian Donaldson)  Gilded Balloon Patter Hoose, 3–21 August, noon.

14:35

GEORGE SQUARE

3 - 29 AUG

Remote Goat

The List

Mumble Music

TW Edinburgh

Broadway Baby

ThreeWeeks

A fun-packed, joyous drumming extravaganza!

list.co.uk/edinburgh-festival |1–10 August 2022 | THE LIST FESTIVAL 105

flight of fancy KIDS

XXX

A VERY OLD MAN WITH ENORMOUS WINGS XXX

KIDS

After creating a buzz in Ireland, Dan Colley brings his pared-down adaptation of Gabriel Garcia Márquez’s bleak children’s tale to Edinburgh. He tells Lucy Ribchester about the importance of making dark art in a safe setting

‘I

wasn’t instantly drawn to it. I read it and felt a bit unsettled.’ Director Dan Colley recalls his first encounter with Gabriel Garcia Márquez’s children’s story, A Very Old Man With Enormous Wings. This isn’t the usual ‘director falls in love with short story and decides immediately to adapt it’ kind of narrative. But then Márquez’s tale about an old man (with enormous wings) who arrives in a small town one night, inciting all kinds of awe and repulsive behaviour from the locals, isn’t your usual fable.

Colley first came across the tale in a collection of the Colombian author’s short stories, and was intrigued that it was singled out as being ‘for children’. It wasn’t until later, when the story was still echoing around his head, that he realised its ambiguities and open ending was actually the piece’s greatest strength.

‘When I returned to it, I was like, “oh, I didn’t get this because there’s nothing to get”. It is dark and strange and ambiguous and really has no moral lesson at all.’ This fact alone, Colley points out, is unusual for a children’s tale. Even some of his favourite writers for children, such as Oscar Wilde, are unable to stop lessons creeping into their stories. ‘But Márquez is like, “no”. There’s this story about an old man who gets washed up in a storm. He takes his treatment like an old dog, and it’s cruel and it’s strange. And one day he just flies away. I just thought, for me, that’s so much more reflective of my experience in the world. It’s quite magical.’

Colley, who has created the piece with Ireland’s Riverbank Arts Centre and Collapsing Horse theatre company, is no stranger to making work specifically for young audiences. In

2015 he brought the fable-esque Human Child to Edinburgh, along with the trippy, joyous Bears In Space. So far, A Very Old Man With Enormous Wings has been racking up praise and awards while touring Ireland and playing at Dublin Fringe. Though it is unequivocally bleak in parts (the old man is imprisoned in a chicken coop, gawped at, poked and prodded by the local community), Colley believes giving children a sneak preview of the world’s cruelties in a safe environment is all part of the growing process. ‘It’s that Marina Warner thing where she says the place to experience that kind of darkness and strangeness is in comfort on your mammy’s knee. It’s like a little inoculation; it’s getting to explore that darkness in the world so you can have a little experience of it, and then go around knowing a bit of what it feels like.’

Colley still remembers one of his first theatrical experiences, a trip to see the pantomime Jack And The Beanstalk, where at one point, a giant hand loomed down from up in the gods. It left him with a ‘thrill and terror’ which he still recalls. Though his own directing style is less outré (Colley describes it as putting on stage ‘only as much as people need to have an image in their heads’), he hopes the piece will be similarly memorable, opening up space for children to talk about the show with their parents and keep returning to its themes. ‘After the story, the questions come at bedtime. It kind of sticks with you, grows with you; like that hand from Jack And The Beanstalk has grown with me.’

A Very Old Man With Enormous Wings, Summerhall, 3–28 August, 10am.

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LIVE ORCHESTRA! From Mozart to Muddy Puddles!

‘An introduction to music conducted by Peppa Pig had kids snorting with pleasure’ The Sunday Times

EDINBURGH 4 - 21 August 2022

Assembly Hall 0131 623 3033 assemblyfestival.com #peppapiglive www.peppapiglive.com Peppa Pig © [2021] ABD Ltd/Ent. One UK Ltd

IBIBIO SOUND MACHINE MILTON THE CUBAN BROTHERS

JONES CLIVE ANDERSON SCOTTISH HAÇIENDA ROYAL NATIONAL ORCHESTRA HOUSE PARTY

FEAT. TODD TERRY & MARSHALL JEFFERSON

JAY RAYNER

200+ music, comedy, family, literature, wellbeing and exploration events across 10 days in North Berwick. Get your tickets now!

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108 THE LIST FESTIVAL | 1–10 August 2022 | list.co.uk/edinburgh-festival

THE SONG OF FERGUS AND KATE

G Jay Lafferty is leaving the grown-up stand-up stage to entertain kids of all ages. Rachel Cronin hears how a gap in the storytelling market inspired her new show

The Song Of Fergus And Kate, Gilded Balloon Teviot, 3–28 August, 10.15am.

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KIDS

magic moments

reenock-born comedian Jay Lafferty is channelling her roots in drama and music with the return of her interactive storytelling kids’ show. The Song Of Fergus And Kate is a medley of music, animation and mindfulness with a strong message of friendship at its core. ‘The play is rooted in mindfulness practice,’ explains the comic. ‘So it’s all about textures and sounds and noticing things, and just slowing down and being in the moment. And then the actual story is about embracing your differences; how it’s wonderful that we’re all different.’

The characters of Fergus and Kate come to life through puppets by costume designer Sophie Rowland. Animations by Henry Cruickshank are projected behind Lafferty’s storytelling, which is accompanied by DaveBeMac’s music to engage a wide range of ages. ‘It’s appropriate for children from zero, I would say, up to about eight years old,’ explains the creator. ‘So it’s quite a nice family thing. If you’ve got a four-year-old and an eight-year-old, they will both enjoy this show.’

After taking her own little one to last year’s Fringe, the Edinburghbased comedian struggled to find anything story-based for young children. ‘Last year was a much-reduced Fringe but it was obvious to me that there was really nothing for little kids. And I found it difficult to find anything that I could take my little boy to. I also feel like a lot of the shows for young children lose that element of story.’

Having created the play in 2017, Lafferty is returning to the characters as a new mother. ‘As a comedian for the last ten years, I’ve been going through IVF treatments to have my little boy. It’s quite special this year that he can come and see something that I do. So yeah, I’m really excited to be able to do it.’

The Song Of Fergus And Kate aims to encourage children who’ve missed out on important social interaction over the past two years to embrace diversity and engage both with the story and each other. ‘I think since children haven’t had the opportunity to mix, you only know what you know,’ Lafferty notes. ‘So when you see yourself and your family and what’s normal for you, then you don’t know that there are other people who have completely different lives and do things completely differently. And that’s great. It’s like a rich tapestry.’

PREVIEWS

ULTRAVIOLET PRODUCTIONS

KIDS

FOUNDATIONS

‘Clear, accessible, moving...amazing’ Guardian

‘One of the Summer’s best cultural events’ The Times

‘I loved it.

I loved all of it’ Primary Times Children's Choice Awards

‘Rather special and unique’ ★★★★ List

Join BBC Covid expert Professor Tom Solomon CBE in this fun, interactive, sell-out show 3rd-16th August (10.30am) 0131 556 6550 @RunningMadProf www.pleasance.co.uk

110 THE LIST FESTIVAL | 1–10 August 2022 | list.co.uk/edinburgh-festival

PICTURE: BECKY LATCHAM

‘We wanted to explore human relationships with technology in a fun, fantastical way,’ explains co-director Aimee Dickinson about the origins of Foundations two years ago. The play was devised collaboratively by a team of Durham University students. ‘It gradually shaped into this whimsical adventure story of a teenage girl who discovers a race of robots and their attempts to befriend and understand one another. It’s a story about having empathy for others, even if you don’t quite understand them, and the problems that can come from forcing your ideas onto other groups.’

Before Ultraviolet Productions, the show was produced with Wrong Tree Theatre Company who specialise in physical theatre. Movement, lighting and an original techno soundtrack composed by Josh Powell constitute essential elements of the storytelling. Particularly special is the use of puppetry to play the robot characters.

The ‘uncanny’ puppets were designed by co-director AV Bodrenkova for a show that has been dubbed ‘a Pixar movie brought to life’. And like all classic films from that studio (think Inside Out or WALL-E) this play is designed to appeal across the generations. As Dickinson concludes, ‘the themes of friendship, family, betrayal and forgiveness are ones that audiences of all ages can enjoy and relate to.’ (Rosanna Miller)  Underbelly Cowgate, 4–21 August, 11.05am.

PREVIEWS

PICTURE: GARRY LAKE

THE TURBINE THEATRE

THE CAT IN THE HAT

and and The The Wheel Wheel of of Science!

Science!

‘This show is what you want live children’s theatre to be.’

BROADWAYWORLD.COM

Science.

Science. Comedy.

Comedy. Kaboom!

Kaboom!

12:00 3 - 21August PLEASANCE.CO.UK 0131 556 6550

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KIDS

Is it the never-ending rhymes, a gigantic talking animal, or just the delightful notion of making a whole lot of mess while your parents are away? Whatever the magic ingredient in Dr Seuss’ classic children’s book, The Cat In The Hat has certainly stood the test of time. First published in 1957, the book was a response to those formulaic literacy primers of the time.

Countless adaptations and 65 years later, the iconic Cat and his striped hat are about to be let loose in a revival of Katie Mitchell’s popular version, created for the National Theatre in 2009. ‘We’ve all been a bored child and we’ve all wished we could be swept up by a whirlwind of excitement,’ says director Andrew Beckett. ‘The Cat In The Hat is the pinnacle of playtime, a daydream we could all wish for. It’s the accessibility of this fantasy that makes it so special and timeless.’

Timeless it may be, but there’s also an awful lot of mess to consider. In the book, the cat juggles household objects, while pint-sized terrorists (Thing One and Thing Two) raise merry hell. How easy was it to capture this on stage? ‘We looked at the book to create tableaus and moments that convey the story as Dr Seuss illustrated it,’ says Beckett. ‘When the Things are let out of the box and pandemonium occurs, the actors have so much fun with the over-sized props. And we have a lovely anarchic twist to multiply the mayhem.’ (Lucy Ribchester)  Pleasance Courtyard, 3–22 August, 10am.

HIGHLIGHTS

KIDS HIGHLIGHTS

KIDS

Science affairs meet clowning fun in an array of family-friendly entertainment on the Fringe

BOY: LOOKING FOR FRIENDS

In this clowning family show from Piotr Sikora, a lad goes on an adventure during which everything he encounters comes alive. n Laughing Horse @ Bar 50, 4–28 August, 11.15am.

MARK THOMPSON’S SPECTACULAR SCIENCE SHOW

It very much says it in the name as the Fringe regular delivers a show of scientific explosions and chemical reactions. All in the name of information and entertainment. n Gilded Balloon At The Museum, 3–21 August, 11am.

STRICTLY COME BARKING

A slapstick comedy romp about an isolated old man and a dog that’s desperately looking for a home to feel safe in. But can such a relationship endure after a few missteps? n Assembly George Square, 4–29 August, 11.35am.

Yellow Bird Chase (and bottom from left), Mark Thompson’s Spectacular Science Show, Splash Test Dummies, Boy: Looking For Friends

SPLASH TEST DUMMIES

Adelaide Fringe veterans unveil a speedy hour of acrobatics and chaos as their beach-based antics crank up a level. Barely a dry eye in the house. n Underbelly Circus Hub, 6–27 August, 12.05pm.

RETURN OF THE MATHS WITH KYLE D EVANS

Somehow succeeding in making numbers fun for a young crowd, this award-winning performer puts the mirth in arithmetic. Wait, that’s not quite right . . . n PBH Free Fringe @ Brewdog Doghouse, 6–15 August, 11.50am.

SCIENCE ADVENTURES: THE POWER PICKLE

More fun merging with a spot of education as Prof McGuffin attempts to solve a potentially catastrophic malfunction in his lab. n Pleasance Courtyard, 3–21 August, 11.30am.

PICTURE: STEVE ULLATHORNE

112 THE LIST FESTIVAL | 1–10 August 2022 | list.co.uk/edinburgh-festival

YELLOW BIRD CHASE

Masks, puppetry and indecipherable language reign supreme as a maintenance crew discover a unique bird but get rather a lot more than they bargained for. n Assembly George Square Studios, 4–29 August, noon.

THE UNICORN A PLAY BY SAM POTTER

performed by Georgina Fairbanks directed by Anthony Greyley

SUPPORTING THE ARTS

@the_unicornplay

ox productions

3RD - 29TH AUGUST 2022 - 6:30 PM 0131 556 6550 - PLEASANCE.CO.UK

NEW

PE SPE TI ES

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MUSIC

MUSIC

RUSALKA

114 THE LIST FESTIVAL | 1–10 August 2022 | list.co.uk/edinburgh-festival

PICTURE: MIHAELA BODLOVIC

It’s a busy time in Scotland for opera director Jack Furness. His new Garsington Opera production of Dvorák’s fairytale ˇ opera Rusalka opens in Edinburgh just as his even newer production of Bernstein’s Candide for Scottish Opera is about to be unveiled in Glasgow. Originally intended for the 2020 Edinburgh International Festival, Rusalka has received glowing reviews from its Garsington performances back in June. Natalya Romaniw is exceptional as the eponymous water nymph who wants to give up an enchanted magical life having fallen deeply in love with a human prince.

(Carol Main)  Festival Theatre, 6, 8 & 9 August, 7.15pm.

PICTURE: SAMUEL TEMPLE

Producer and artist SHHE is building a contemplative haven of sound structures for this year’s Fringe. Iain Leggat lends an ear as she talks of blissfully losing control in a Nordic village

MUSIC

LISTEN UP

´ DYRA

W

hile watching footage of a drive through Iceland’s Westfjords, it’s difficult not to marvel at the jaw-dropping scenery.

Witnessing snow-capped rock faces, low-lying glaciers and silky blue skies, the temptation to book yourself a plane ticket to this Nordic paradise is strong. However, capturing the serenity and beauty of Iceland is a tougher task than simply marvelling at it. Scottish producer and artist SHHE’s latest project D Ý R A resulted in her getting stuck in an Icelandic winter and changing recording plans day by day, only to realise that what she was feeling was worth exploring.

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MUSIC

´ DYRA

>> SHHE (whose real name is Su Shaw) was inspired to create D Ý R A while at a residency in a Westfjords village called Thingeyri. ‘I had never made work in that kind of environment before; one where you are not in control,’ Shaw says. ‘You had to adapt to the environment.

Something always changed or was no longer possible or available or accessible. Everything was constantly in transition and shifting.’

During a storm only a few days into her stay, Shaw’s plans of venturing out into the towering fjords were halted. Stuck inside, the microphone was pointed towards her immediate surroundings. Short recordings of life through the window, the water, the wind and harmony of snowploughs were all collected. ‘As I listened, natural rhythms, patterns and connections began to emerge. That was my first introduction to field recording; those early recordings began to inform, and eventually formed, the basis of the whole project.’

First developed in 2018 with Summerhall, her show will now play a role in creating a space to escape the frenzy of the Fringe. ‘I want it to be a place where you can find stillness, openness and a meditative state.’ Has this encouragement to find serenity within the chaos developed since 2018? ‘My ears have become much more sensitive over the last two years. How many of us became more aware of sounds in our natural environment during lockdown? When everything began to open again, when traffic returned, I realised how loud our environments really are. So much of the way we experience the world is dependent on visuals. We’ve forgotten how to listen.’

The project takes visitors on an intimate sonic journey through a reimagining of the Dýrafjörður environment and considers how a landscape can be collectively experienced. ‘Over the years that the project has been developed, I have felt and seen changes in the landscape with more erratic or abnormal weather conditions both in Iceland and where I live in Scotland,’ says Shaw. ‘With D Ý R A, I wanted to explore the ways that you can evoke the feeling of a place, to be transported to a location through sound, not just to hear but to actively listen, to gently encourage a shift in focus from the visible to the audible.’

D Ý R A, Summerhall, 3–28 August, hourly from 3–7pm.

116 THE LIST FESTIVAL | 1–10 August 2022 | list.co.uk/edinburgh-festival

Lizabett Russo

3 To See

at pianodrome Summerhall may be laying on a solid programme of innovation and intrigue with its music selection this August, but over at the Old Royal High School, Pianodrome is giving the venue a run for its bitcoins. Scotland-based Romanian artist Lizabett Russo (18 August, 9pm) has a folk sensibility which leans into the avant-garde and a stirring vocal quality that regularly pierces the soul.

As part of her PhD, sonic adventurer Lauren Sarah Hayes (24 August, 9pm) undertook research into the ways in which sound and touch interweave within the context and confines of live electronic performance. Among her mind-warping pieces are ‘Bolshevik Pool Party’, ‘Mini Savior Opt’ and ‘Crummiest Coup’.

Local acoustic innovators S!nk (19, 21, 26–28 August, times vary) released their album, PopUpOcalypse last summer and are fond of the odd guerilla gig. Further on the plus side, they have a track entitled ‘Sound Of Muesli’.

CONNECT MUSIC FESTIVAL .COM FRIDAY 26 AUG

SATURDAY 27 AUG

SUNDAY 28 AUG

THE GRAND PARADE

THE GRAND PARADE

THE GRAND PARADE

John Grant

Bonobo | The Twilight Sad

Mogwai Bombay Bicycle Club Little Simz

IDLES | Jon Hopkins The Chemical Brothers Jessie Buckley & Bernard Butler Charlotte Adigéry & Bolis Pupul Future Utopia | Maeve GUITARS & OTHER MACHINES

Joesef

Caribou

Holly Humberstone Chloe Moriondo

Self Esteem

Black Country, New Road | Rae Morris Rachel Chinouriri

GUITARS & OTHER MACHINES

Ride playing Nowhere

Moses Boyd | LYRA | Cloth Jealous of The Birds | LVRA

LOW | Matt Maltese | Willie J Healey NewDad | Swim School | Opus Kink

UNKNOWN PLEASURES

Optimo (Espacio)

I. JORDAN | Hammer | TAAHLIAH | Pocket

The National

GUITARS & OTHER MACHINES

Idlewild playing The Remote Part

Admiral Fallow | Sudan Archives | DEHD Hamish Hawk | Lizzie Reid | Geese Kathleen Frances

UNKNOWN PLEASURES

Erol Alkan | Krystal Klear

Dance System | Nightwave | Push It Nadia Summer B2B DIJA

UNKNOWN PLEASURES

Horse Meat Disco

Sam Gellaitry | Jamz Supernova Barry Can’t Swim | Rebecca Vasmant Karma Kid

26 – 28 AUGUST 2022

|

ROYAL HIGHLAND CENTRE SHOWGROUNDS

|

EDINBURGH

A DF CONCERTS PRESENTATION

11 — 13 August

BOOK YOUR TICKETS NOW AT

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Enjoy Bach or Beethoven for Breakfast

BE INSPIRED BY THE ISSUES THAT MATTER

Chopin, Gershwin or Rachmaninov after Lunch and Mozart, Brahms or Debussy at Teatime

@roslarts

list.co.uk/edinburgh-festival |1–10 August 2022 | THE LIST FESTIVAL 117

PREVIEWS

FRINGE

MUSIC

LIZARD BOY

#DANISH

At Edinburgh Festival Fringe

presented by The Danish Arts Foundation

ROCKY!

TUESDAY NIGHT SLEEPING CLUB

by Fix&Foxy

by hello!earth

 17.55 ❙ Aug 5 – 20 ZOO Southside - Main House

 21.00 ❙ Aug 9 – 26 (only Tuesday-Friday) ZOOTV

Fiercely entertaining award-winning political theatre based on the movie about the boxer.

An immersive live streamed audio experience at your home. Prepare to enter the night like you never did before!

WALKMAN

AN EVE AND AN ADAM

by Don Gnu

by Granhøj Dans

 12.15 ❙ Aug 14 – 28 ZOO Southside - Main House

 18.50 ❙ Aug 9 – 14 ❙ DANCEBASE

You will never cross the street in the same way again!

NB: Granhøj Dans presents works the whole month A rather naked duet.

www.danishedfringe.com 118 THE LIST FESTIVAL | 1–10 August 2022 | list.co.uk/edinburgh-festival

PICTURE: KEVIN BERNE

As a child, Trevor was involved in a dragon-slaying incident where he was accidentally covered in the beast’s blood and went on to develop an unsavoury skin condition: don’t you hate it when that happens? Such is the backstory of boutique three-hander musical Lizard Boy (conceived and composed

by Justin Huertas) which premiered in Seattle seven years ago and is now heading transatlantic to the Fringe with UK actors appearing in rotation with its original US cast.

Huertas himself stars as the unfortunate Trevor, a queer Filipino superhero venturing out on his first Grindr date in a year when he gets rather more action than he bargained for on the streets of Seattle. Lizard Boy is Huertas’ first musical, inspired by his love of comic books and the X-Men franchise, but also his desire to subvert those superhero fables. The show is also seasoned with a dash of Spring Awakening’s coming-of-age angst, though much lighter and more comical in its themes of alienation and acceptance, while its sound is defined by an unusual instrumental lineup of cello, guitar, ukulele, kazoo and glockenspiel.

‘I think Lizard Boy is one of the most unexpected theatre experiences out there as an actor-musician musical that skates along so many different amazing genres and themes,’ says Huertas. ‘This feels like the perfect show for the Fringe, where we have always wanted to perform: I honestly can’t wait to share it!’ (Fiona Shepherd) n Gilded Balloon Patter Hoose, 3–28 August, 6.30pm.

PREVIEWS

PICTURE: KATHERINE ROSE

FRINGE

SACRED PAWS

27 th-28th August 2022 Join us in the tranquil setting of Traquair House in the Scottish Borders for a Festival of literature, dialogue, debate, music, and visual arts, featuring Alastair Campbell, Jonathan Powell, Christina Lamb, Murray Pittock, Rosemary Goring, Bettany Hughes, Irvine Welsh, Razia Iqbal, Tina Brown, Steve Richards and many more!

Tickets, Programme & Further Information 0131 290 2686 bbintfest.com

Traquair House Innerleithen EH44 6PW list.co.uk/edinburgh-festival |1–10 August 2022 | THE LIST FESTIVAL 119

MUSIC

Sacred Paws have been mainstays in the Scottish music scene for most of the last decade. Signed to Mogwai’s Rock Action label and recipients of the 2017 Scottish Album Of The Year award, the duo of Rachel Aggs and Eilidh Rodgers furiously mix propulsive Afrobeat rhythms with anxious post-punk energy and jangly indie.

Formed after the dissolution of their former band Golden Grrrls in 2013, Aggs and Rodgers collaborated between Glasgow and London on their debut sixtrack EP and hit the live circuit. Generating a buzz with buoyant live shows, the two musicians released their anticipated debut Strike A Match in 2017 to great reviews. They followed this up with 2019’s Run Around The Sun, a more polished record which went even further to capture the sheer joy of their sound by adding layers of horns and synth.

With Aggs on guitar and Rodgers on drums, and both taking on vocal duties, Sacred Paws are a true team. Their friendship is infectious, with the yelps and pulsing rhythms that characterise their music encouraging audiences to join the party. No matter what the dreary Scottish weather outside says, Sacred Paws always bring a ray of sunshine to the stage.

(Sean Greenhorn) n Summerhall, 6 August, 7pm.

HIGHLIGHTS

MUSIC HIGHLIGHTS

Herbie Hancock (and bottom from left), Christian Löffler, Colin Steele, Anne Sofie von Otter

MUSIC

From jazz legends of the 60s to a contemporary German producer, this first week of your Festival goes off with a sonic boom

HERBIE HANCOCK

The jazz, R&B and electro-funk guy makes his International Festival debut at the age of 82, with a concert that will span the decades and woo those various generations present. n Edinburgh Playhouse, 7 August, 8pm.

ELTON CAPTAIN FANTASTIC

From Herbie’s ‘Rockit’ to Elton’s ‘Rocket Man’, as Oliver Harris transforms himself into the glam icon formerly known as Reg Dwight to perform one classic tune after another. n Frankenstein, 5–29 August, noon.

ANNE SOFIE VON OTTER

Another evergreen act is the Swedish mezzo soprano who’s in town with an eclectic programme culled from two very different composers: Franz Schubert and Rufus Wainwright. n Queen’s Hall, 10 August, 11am.

CELLO ON FIRE

Austrian cellist Peter Hudler delivers a mix of baroque, rock, jazz and folk, with the boundaries between all four somehow disappearing before your eyes and within your ears. n theSpaceTriplex, 5–13 August, times vary.

COLIN STEELE QUINTET PLAYS MILES DAVIS

Close your peepers and you might imagine you’re present at the Birth Of The Cool as Steele’s men (including Dave Milligan on piano and Konrad Wiszniewski on sax) conjure up the late, great Miles. n Jazz Bar, 6, 10 August, 10pm.

CHRISTIAN LÖFFLER

The German producer and artist has recently been reinterpreting works from the likes of Beethoven, Bach and Bizet, but who knows where he’ll go with this gig. n Summerhall, 5 August, 7pm.

JEREMY SASSOON’S MOJO

The great Jewish songbook is celebrated here with the likes of George Gershwin, Carole King, Paul Simon and Randy Newman having their wares aired. n Assembly Checkpoint, 3–28 August, 6.15pm.

PICTURE: MATS BA CKER

120 THE LIST FESTIVAL | 1–10 August 2022 | list.co.uk/edinburgh-festival

SHAME ON YOU!

By Arnold & Komarov Travelling Theatre

A radical confrontation of shame with live music, audience participation and personal testimony.

3 – 28 August 1.30pm Box office 0131 226 0000 festival.summerhall.co.uk

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THEATRE MEGALITH

Not every Fringe show will have researchers from the Natural History Museum on board, but Megalith is no ordinary theatre piece. Emerging from the erudite and innovative minds of 2018 Herald Angel winners MECHANIMAL, this performance art/physical theatre piece explores life on an ever changing planet in visceral yet poetic terms.

To make their point (about ecology, extraction and Euro-war), each show features the noisy destruction of 250kg of rock. (Brian Donaldson)  ZOO Southside, 5–13 August, 12.15pm; 21–28 August, 4pm.

PICTURE: CHELSEY CLIFF

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THEATRE

Festival favourite Alan Cumming is back and stretching himself with a new challenge. The actor tells Kelly Apter how he hopes dance will help audiences gain a deeper understanding of Robert Burns

HOT

ON THE

PICTURES: GIAN ANDREA DI STEFANO

HEELS list.co.uk/edinburgh-festival |1–10 August 2022 | THE LIST FESTIVAL 123

BURN

THEATRE

>>

U

nusually for a TV star, Alan Cumming wants us to change the channel. Not literally, but in our brains. In a bid to get under the skin of Scotland’s most famous son, Robert Burns, Cumming has stepped away from the day job as an actor and slipped on his dancing shoes. Because what better way to reacquaint ourselves with such a famous (in some ways infamous) historical figure than to view him through a different lens?

‘I always say that what I love about dance is that you’ve got to switch off the part of your brain which, if you’re watching a play, goes, “what am I supposed to think here?” or “what’s going on?”’ says Cumming. ‘You’re expected to just let it wash over you in dance and I feel like it’s a much more emotional experience. I think it will be jangling for people, and so it

should be, because Burns had such a jingly, jangly life. We’re blinded by his work, so in a way I wanted to dazzle people by telling his story in a completely different way. I actually think dance is a useful way to ask people not to switch off but to switch to a different channel.’

If, as Cumming says, we struggle to see past Burns’ literary output, then we’re also blinded by the shortbread tins, fridge magnets and swaying drunkenly to him on Hogmanay.

But knowing the first verse of ‘Auld Lang Syne’ as opposed to those inner workings of the man who wrote it are two quite different propositions, as Cumming discovered during his research for the show.

‘I feel that Burns is someone who’s so known,’ he says. ‘He really represents Scottishness; he speaks to us and for us. All the qualities he writes about are what we think of as Scottish traits.

And yet at the same time, I don’t feel we know that much about the real man; I know I didn’t.’

Among other discoveries, Cumming learned that Burns was affected by bipolar disorder, a fact now widely accepted by academics based on his writing about depression, medical records and the hypomania visible in his productivity.

‘It’s fascinating,’ says Cumming, who has spoken out about his own experiences of anxiety and depression. ‘I definitely related to his inability at times to cope with what was happening to him. I think this is a time when we’re actually looking at things like that; the pandemic has made us much more aware of mental health and not having to put up a façade all the time.’

Like many people growing up in Scotland, Burns was a regular presence for Cumming both at home and in the classroom. Taking time to delve beneath the surface has changed Burns from a larger-than-life figure into someone much more real. Does Cumming think portraying him through movement will also help audiences connect on a more human level?

‘Yes, I hope so,’ he says. ‘I’ve always loved dance and admired the way dancers can tell a story with their entire bodies. Burns was such a constant part of my upbringing but I kind of saw him as a hero; and he still is. There are a few conundrums like he had all these children and slept around, but he also talked about the need for women’s rights when no other man was talking about it. So actually, what I’ve found is that the man himself led a tragic life; so many awful things happened to him and he was constantly worried about money and fighting his bipolarity and illness. Just finding out more and more about him has made up this much more vivid picture.’

Burn, King’s Theatre, 4–10 August, times vary.

124 THE LIST FESTIVAL | 1–10 August 2022 | list.co.uk/edinburgh-festival

Two full-length musicals from one of the top performing arts institutions in the world

5-28 Aug

(alternate days)

10am Assembly Rooms, George Street

LITTLE WOMEN

Book online:

The Broadway Musical

rcs.ac.uk/ rcsedfest

GODSPELL

THIRTY/ 2 0 TH EATRE, AS S EM BLY F ESTI VA L A ND S U Z A NNA ROS ENTH A L LTD

RO B E RT BAT H U R ST

RE B ECCA JO H N S O N

BY C H R ISTO P H E R RE ID

HHHHH

‘AL M OST U N B E A R A B LY G O O D. . .

A S U P E R B EV E N I N G O F WI T, W I S D O M A N D W I N E ’ DA I LY M A I L

12:55 (95mins) 3 - 28 AUG

ROOMS GEORGE STREET

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THEATRE

XXX

126 THE LIST FESTIVAL | 1–10 August 2022 | list.co.uk/edinburgh-festival

JON CULSHAW

THEATRE

voice male Jon Culshaw is having a blast as he takes on the role of Les Dawson in a new Fringe play. The master impressionist tells Mark Fisher that this comedy legend from another era was more of a wise uncle

A

>>

PICTURES: STEVE ULLATHORNE

n online chat with Jon Culshaw is like a celebrity conference call. We have scarcely begun when the shapeshifting starts. Here is Alan Bennett, unguarded and naive. Now Professor Brian Cox, smiley and awe-struck. Then it’s David Bowie, hitting a different note with each word. Culshaw even mimics the electronic voice that says ‘recording in progress’.

‘I do it all the time,’ he says, switching back to his native Lancastrian. ‘I like to colour the conversation in.’ It is very funny, although you’ll have to take my word for it, because none of it would make much sense on the page.

What transfers to print rather better are his impressions of Les Dawson. That’s because, as well as the facial gurning and deliberately bad piano-playing, what marked out the Manchester comedian was his literary way with words.

Smacking his lips, his expression severe and voice gravelly, Culshaw speaks those words with relish.

‘I always loved and admired Les Dawson because of his luxuriant, loquacious use of language,’ he says, perfectly capturing the comic’s rhythm. ‘This lovely erudite, Shakespearean quality of description, which told the jokes in this adorable manner, giving us a vivid story, as if laden in velvet. There’s a lovely contrast as Les Dawson’s face is very still yet the words are so lugubrious: “the spiritual majesty of the crescent moon ascending the horizon into the zenith of the night sky . . . ” The words dance but the face is deadpan.’

His reason for having these lines off-pat is a starring role in Les Dawson: Flying High by Tim Whitnall. The playwright has been working his way through the icons of 1970s light entertainment with the award-winning Morecambe (about Eric) and the recent Lena (about Zavaroni) in which Culshaw played Hughie Green. He now turns his attention to Dawson, a working-class comic who built a mass audience through TV shows such as Opportunity Knocks and Blankety Blank, before his death in 1993.

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THEATRE

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Rather than dramatise the whole story, Whitnall focuses on a single journey on Concorde in 1985. Dawson had been booked to play a private party in New York and had a few hours to think about his proposed autobiography. ‘That’s a nice framing device,’ says Culshaw. ‘It’s a time to consider your life and pull together all your thoughts.’ Doing the play, he says, is ‘like spending time with a wise uncle’.

Culshaw’s own route to the top was gradual. He went straight from sixth-form college to Red Rose Radio in Preston and, as a local radio DJ, would put on voices in between the records. At Viking Radio in Hull, he interviewed Lenny Henry who was impressed by his funny voices and suggested he send a tape to Spitting Image. When Steve Coogan left that show, Culshaw got his break. Today, he is a mainstay on Radio 4’s Dead Ringers.

In turn, those experiences have given him the confidence to move into straight acting and he’s loved extending his range. ‘You’re not just reaching for exaggerations or a punchline,’ says Culshaw, who has starred in radio dramas about David Bowie and Alan Whicker. ‘You’re wanting to create the essence of the person. It’s about hitting those nuggets of truth.’

That sense of truth is his way in to what he regards as a fascinating period of popular entertainment. This is a show that will appeal, he says, not only to those familiar with the era of Bob Monkhouse, Morecambe And Wise and The Two Ronnies, but also to today’s generation. ‘I would liken it to me when I first saw Laurel And Hardy or Harold Lloyd; seeing these gems of performers with their wonderful skills from this other era. The 70s is a lovely time to discover brand new.’

Les Dawson: Flying High, Assembly George Square, 3–28 August, 4.30pm.

128 THE LIST FESTIVAL | 1–10 August 2022 | list.co.uk/edinburgh-festival

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130 THE LIST FESTIVAL | 1–10 August 2022 | list.co.uk/edinburgh-festival

MASTERCLASS PICTURES: STE MURRAY

THEATRE

GENIUS BAR In Masterclass, Adrienne Truscott takes mighty exception to conventional wisdom about certain revered male playwrights.

Neil Cooper discovers the performer pulling no punches as she questions their hallowed status

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>>

hen Adrienne Truscott read in 2017 that playwright David Mamet had imposed a ban on post-show discussions of his work, she wondered why the writer of such acclaimed plays as Glengarry Glen Ross and Oleanna wasn’t keen on meeting his public. The result is Masterclass, a parody of the sort of exchanges that might occur if those grand old men of American playwriting were put in the spotlight alongside a fawning interviewer.

Out of this comes a seriously funny discourse on privilege and power in a world where tough guys still appear to rule the roost.

‘There are some writers that are esteemed and given the name “genius”,’ says Truscott of her collaboration with the Dublin-based theatre company Brokentalkers. ‘And they’re shit. I guess I felt there was some lazy mythologising going on, and if you actually look at the work, there is some really bad writing which shaped how people my age thought what good playwriting is.’

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THEATRE

MASTERCLASS

As well as Mamet, Truscott (along with fellow performer Feidlim Cannon and co-writer Gary Keegan) looked at the work of Neil LaBute and Aaron Sorkin as occupants of the same bullpen. Some of this unholy trinity’s actual words are used in Masterclass, which premiered at the 2021 Dublin Fringe.

‘These writers have a name for doing these really tough, provocative takes, particularly on gender,’ says Truscott.

‘But if you look at it, it’s hilarious just how bad it is. As if that wasn’t mind-numbing enough, you can hear critics going on about this tight, taut, tense, muscular writing. It’s just an abomination.’

Truscott’s Edinburgh appearances to date include being one half of radical cabaret duo The Wau Wau Sisters, while her solo work, Adrienne Truscott’s Asking For It, 132 THE LIST FESTIVAL | 1–10 August 2022 | list.co.uk/edinburgh-festival

won Spirit Of The Fringe and the Malcolm Hardee Award For Comic Originality in 2013. Brokentalkers, meanwhile, have been pushing theatrical boundaries for more than two decades, and won a Total Theatre Award in Edinburgh for their 2013 show, Have I No Mouth.

As Truscott and Brokentalkers move beyond the oldschool boys’ club approach, what, one wonders, might happen if Mamet and co turned up mobhanded to see Masterclass? ‘It would be so thrilling for me to have them hear their own words with a particular light that we’re shining on them,’ says Truscott. ‘If I could arrange for them to be in the audience, I would die a happy woman.’

Masterclass, Pleasance Dome, 3–28 August, 5.40pm.

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THEATRE

stage fright One-woman revenge drama Psychodrama tells of a theatre auteur who abused his power with vulnerable actors. Emily Bruni assures Mark Fisher that her own director is perfectly safe

134 THE LIST FESTIVAL | 1–10 August 2022 | list.co.uk/edinburgh-festival

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ow many actors will want to strangle their directors before the end of August? The ingredients are all there: the intensity, status games, anxiety, box-office stats. Mix with alcohol, leaven with exhaustion and toss into the Fringe pressure cooker and you have the perfect recipe for a backstage murder.

But what if it really did happen? That’s the premise of Psychodrama, written and directed by Matt Wilkinson, in which a visionary director has been found dead. The finger of suspicion points towards his leading actor who’s appearing in an adaptation of Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho when she’s implicated in the crime.

Played by Emily Bruni (best known as Gail Huggins, neighbour to Mitchell and Webb’s hapless duo in Peep Show), she has motivation aplenty; not least in an industry that loses interest in female performers once they pass 40. If the play’s stories of ill treatment seem too much, just remember they’re based on real life.

‘It’s an insiders’ view,’ says Bruni. ‘All the stories are researched and come from within our community. A producer friend came and couldn’t believe the stories were real, but they’re just everyday, weekly stories; just stuff that happens to actors.’

PSYCHODRAMA

you’re given access to subtle injustices and betrayals that can occur to actors who, in some cases, are very successful.’

Forming a noirish backdrop to the police investigation is Psycho’s heightened drama. Our actor has been cast as Marion Crane, an unhappy secretary on the run with stolen cash who makes another ill-fated decision by checking into the Bates Motel. But even as Psychodrama goes into the dark heart of showbiz and the actor faces up to her loss of selfworth, Wilkinson’s play switches tone. ‘It’s told very wittily,’ Bruni says. ‘People in extremely uncomfortable situations can be very funny.’

And so to the inevitable question. Is Bruni ready to bump off Wilkinson? ‘No!’ she laughs. ‘He’s brilliant!’

THEATRE

Wilkinson’s play, a hit already in London, does not venture as far as the abuses that sparked #MeToo, but it does identify a pattern. Actors are doubly vulnerable: one, because they’re driven to do a job they love (and will do at all costs) and two, because the nature of that job makes them emotionally exposed. For unscrupulous directors, actors are easy prey.

‘You are using your vulnerability as part of the transaction,’ says Bruni. ‘You’re cast on how you look and you rely on someone else to help you form the performance. You’re using a lot of emotional intimacy. The director is being a sort-of super-parent in order for you to be in this playful state. Their gaze is what draws your performance out and their quality of attention helps you create. It can inspire devotion when it’s good and there are many times when there are no dark overtones. The play is not a moan, a rant or a piece of political theatre. It’s a brilliant story about a murder and, along the way,

Psychodrama, Traverse Theatre, 4–28 August, times vary.

PICTURES: THE OTHER RICHARD

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BLOODY DIFFICULT WOMEN

THEATRE

Six years after the referendum that divided this nation, Brexit is still a fresh wound for many. Becca Inglis chats to Tim Walker about his new play which focuses on two highprofile women at the heart of this political turmoil

B

Bloody Difficult Women, Assembly Rooms, 3–28 August, 2.30pm.

NEVER GONNA GIVE EU UP

PICTURES: MARK SENIOR

loody Difficult Women follows the clash in 2016 between Theresa May, the newly nominated Conservative leader attempting to trigger Article 50 without parliamentary scrutiny, and the campaigner Gina Miller, who is fighting to thwart her. Rather than succumb to a dry account rife with legalese, Tim Walker’s political play looks for the human conflict at the centre of Brexit.

Though it was May whom Ken Clarke called a ‘bloody difficult woman’ in 2016, the title could apply to either woman. What makes them ‘bloody difficult’ for the political establishment, according to Walker, is their determination in the face of adversity. ‘A lot of men took the view that women shouldn’t rise to a high position in politics,’ he says. ‘Same as Gina Miller and working in the City. Gina also had to face an element of racism. They’re both very tough.’

May and Miller share quite a bit in common when you dig down into it, Walker ventures.

‘They both are very patriotic and believe in their country,’ he says. May was also once a Remainer, despite landing a role as one of Brexit’s key architects. ‘I think in any other situation, Miller and May could have been great friends.’

The polarising nature of Brexit (and the benefit of hindsight) lends itself well to a good versus bad plot, but Walker has resisted that line. ‘It was tempting to really go for the jugular with May and make Gina the perfect heroine. But the fact is, life’s more complicated than that.’ Besides, both have a bigger enemy.

Former Daily Mail editor Paul Dacre represents the toxic power structure in Westminster and the media, which simultaneously holds May hostage and paints Miller as an enemy of the people. ‘The Daily Mail, in particular, has a hold over the Conservative Party,’ says Walker.

‘So where does the power lie? I would argue it does not lie in Downing Street. It lies in the Daily Mail editor’s office.’

Although the play’s original headlinegrabbing moments took place in the courtroom, Walker seeks drama in more private settings.

He finds it at home with Miller and her husband Alan; in a junior reporter fawning for Dacre’s approval in his office; and between May’s civil servants (one hopelessly lusts after the other, which for Walker is emblematic of the ‘impossible dream’ that was Brexit).

‘Somebody said to me, “your play is essentially about doomed and tragic relationships”. It all comes down to humanity. It’s why we screw everything up.’

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PREVIEWS

FRINGE

PICTURE: TIM MOROZZO

IN THE WEEDS

THEATRE

‘In The Weeds was commissioned by An Tobar and Mull Theatre specifically to speak to our Hebridean island home,’ explains producer Mark Iles. ‘The play is woven through with folk and ghost stories from Scotland and Japan, and the connections between them.’ Following the story of a man hunting a sea monster on a remote Hebridean island, and who begins to suspect his lover might be a mythical being, the work comes from a company dedicated to expressing the identity of place.

‘Our location defines the work we choose to make,’ says Iles. ‘In The Weeds, in particular, draws on the importance of the natural environment in shaping our day-to-day lives, and on the Gaelic notion of “dúthchas”: a shared responsibility for our place and its people that we all hold.’

With a Japanese protagonist, Kazumi, the show recognises global interconnection in a mystery that is both gothic and distinctively Scottish.

‘And more than Scottish: Hebridean,’ Iles adds. ‘The design of the piece evokes that essence of Scottish islands beautifully; all water and mist and natural magic. The script draws on Scottish folk tales and even the score is built from “found sound”, recordings made of the natural environment of Mull woven together in an eerie, visceral soundscape.’

Yet this is no mere tourist advert. ‘There’s wit and rage and complexity and grime,’ he concludes. Between a mystical past and a contemporary dynamism, In The Weeds brings Mull to Edinburgh in all its beauty and depth. (Gareth K Vile) n Summerhall, 3–28 August, 1.10pm.

PICTURE: ROBLING PHOTOGRAPHY

FRINGE

BLOOD HARMONY

There was a time when it was hard to pin down ThickSkin to one location. Its founding directors had bases in Glasgow, London and Manchester, and several of its shows had strong Scottish pedigrees: Davey Anderson wrote Blackout and The Static, Kieran Hurley and Julia Taudevin penned Chalk Farm, and Nicola McCartney and Dritan Kastrati gave us How Not To Drown.

Now the company has settled in the north of England, but its commitment to what it calls ‘young, new and diverse’ audiences, not to mention its love of the physical and cinematic, remains.

Written by Welsh playwright Matthew Bulgo, Blood Harmony is a study in grief as three twentysomething sisters gather in the family home for their mother’s funeral. Despite their urge to flee, they’re drawn together by shared memories while all face a turning point in life. Offsetting their meditations on living it up, holding down a career and staying at home, the three actors give harmonious renditions of an indie-folk score by The Staves.

Also by the same company is the engaging Eavesdropping: Walk This Play, a headphone-guided tour of Tollcross and The Meadows by Hannah Lavery and Sarah MacGillivray, returning after its debut last year. (Mark Fisher) n Blood Harmony, Traverse Theatre, 2–28 August, times vary; Eavesdropping: Walk This Play, city centre, 5–28 August, 11.15am, 2.15pm, 6.45pm.

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THEATRE

FRINGE

LIGHTWEIGHT

PICTURE: MANDEE JOHNSON

Amie Enriquez’s one-woman show explores several important themes: eating disorders, post-9/11 New York and what she calls ‘toxic positivity . . . that puts immense pressure on a person to bury their true feelings and put on a façade to pacify others.’

Having won best debut at New York’s United Solo Theatre Festival last year, Enriquez hopes Edinburgh audiences will gain a new perspective on anorexia ‘by hearing it from someone on the inside of the experience’ in a show that combines humour and seriousness.

While creating the piece and finding herself ‘trying to turn such dark subject matter into a comedy’, Enriquez admits that she struggled with imposter syndrome, until ‘I realised that I had every right to tell this story because it is my story!’ Recognising the relationship between personal experience and the public trauma of 9/11, her script offers an examination of social and intimate anxiety.

‘Every time I perform, it is absolutely cathartic,’ Enriquez says.

‘As soon as I step onto that stage, it is this incredible out-ofbody experience. It’s as if the younger me who was sick, dying and starving herself is in the front row thinking, “if that’s the future me, then I guess it’s worth living for”.’ (Gareth K Vile) n Underbelly George Square, 3–29 August, 2.50pm.

FRINGE

BROWN BOYS SWIM

PICTURE: CHLOÉ NELKIN CONSUTING

Mohsen and Kash stand on the precipice of adulthood in Karim Khan’s Brown Boys Swim, which imbues the comingof-age trope (seen in classics like Stand By Me) with a distinctly Islamic teenagedom. Jokes about pubic hair, crushes on teachers and Snapchat mingle with halal Haribo, visits to the mosque and agitations in public spaces (nowhere more so than the local swimming pool).

‘I think swimming pools are in some ways microcosmic of other public spaces which might feel just as racist,’ says Khan. ‘There’s something intensely personal, and at times uncomfortable, about your body sharing the same water as someone else, which reveals prejudices and biases one might not ever be fully aware of.’

Swimming pools have long been political arenas. In the United States, they were once heavily segregated; even after the Civil Rights Act, municipal-owned pools found ways to bar African-American communities. ‘That formed a vital historical basis for the play,’ continues Khan. ‘More presently, I was intrigued by the way Muslim women are banned from wearing burkinis in France.’

Having secured an invitation to their classmates’ birthday pool party, Mohsen and Kash face another problem: neither knows how to swim. As they help each other learn to float, kick and hold their breath, their time in the water reveals questions about racism and their own Islamic identity. ‘The show is full of fun and humour of a uniquely South-Asian Muslim friendship, with culturally specific details and in-jokes,’ insists Khan.

‘Islam connects and unifies them and forms a crucial part of who they are as individuals and as friends.’ (Becca Inglis) n Pleasance Dome, 3–28 August, 2.30pm.

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HIGHLIGHTS

THEATRE

Unhappy ghosts, disability rights and dodgy dictators are all in play with this selection of upcoming staged treats

THEATRE HIGHLIGHTS

PUSH (and bottom from left), Ghost Therapy, ETC’s Our Teacher’s A Troll, Tinted

PROJECT DICTATOR

Authoritarianism is always rife for a stiff poke in the eye, and Rhum & Clay deliver it firmly with this clowning satire which considers how you create art when freedom is curtailed. n Pleasance Courtyard, 3–26 August, 3.30pm.

THE STONES

From Signal House comes a story of guilt and retribution written by Kit Brookman and soloperformed by Luke Mullins. n Assembly Roxy, 8–29 August, 12.30pm.

ETC

PICTURE:

Two productions from the student company marking their tenth year at the Fringe, as they unleash Our Teacher’s A Troll and The Hound Of The Baskervilles. n theSpace On North Bridge/On The Mile, 8–13 August, times vary.

THE OTHE

THE LAST RETURN

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TINTED

Being visually impaired is not a flaw, even if some people treat it that way. But, in this new play by activist Amy Bethan Evans, when you’re disabled, the lines of consent can get blurred. n Gilded Balloon Patter Hoose, 3–28 August, 12.20pm.

R RICHAR

A group queue to get their ticket to the hottest show in town. Sounds simple. But an engrossing battle over territory ensues with peace and conflict rubbing against each other. n Traverse Theatre, 4–28 August, times vary.

GHOST THERAPY

Can a medic called Dr Soul really help ghosts and ghouls find some inner peace? Find out in this family-friendly caper. n ZOO Playground, 5–13 August, 11.50am, 7.20pm.

140 THE LIST FESTIVAL | 1–10 August 2022 | list.co.uk/edinburgh-festival

PUSH

A one-woman look at non-maternal instincts in this new production from the acclaimed Popelei Theatre whose past projects include Manuelita and 100 Years. n Pleasance Courtyard, 3–29 August, 2pm.

#EDINTFEST

COUNTING AND CRACKING THE ADELAIDE REVIEW

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‘a true epic for these times’

PART OF THE UK/AUSTRALIA SEASON 2021–22

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PICTURE: DREW FORSYTH

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PICTURE: FLORIN BONDRILA

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FESTIVAL HOT SHOTS She helped lift spirits during lockdown by pouring some gags at the online Covid Arms but Kiri Pritchard-McLean is back on a live stage now to entertain the punters at Monkey Barrel all month. She’ll be delivering Home Truths for thirsty comedy fans.

That cheeky fox Basil Brush has got himself dressed for the occasion before bringing two shows to the Fringe. Gilded Balloon Teviot will be his den during August for a family show as well as a more grown-up version. It’s boom (boom) time for Baz. While the EIF boasts a strong contemporary music strand, it’s good to consider traditions that aren’t always represented in August. Romany supergroup Taraf de Caliu play Leith Theatre on 10 August giving a platform to ancient folk sounds.

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