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Edinburgh Festivals

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Tim Key interview: the poet discusses Edinburgh, Alan Partridge and 'sexy baths'

Tim Key interview: the poet discusses Edinburgh, Alan Partridge and 'sexy baths'

Comedy Award winner brings his Masterslut show to the 2011 Fringe

21 Sep 2011

The List has just presented Tim Key with two pages of facts about himself. ‘This is a very good piece of research,’ he says, commending the 16-year-old work experience person who compiled them. ‘I didn’t get to do anything like this on work experience.

Scottish Storytelling Festival 2011

Scottish Storytelling Festival 2011

21st festival includes Homer’s Odyssey and contributions from Corsica, Cypus and Sardinia

20 Sep 2011

Reaching 21 is a landmark event for everyone, and the Scottish Storytelling Festival is no exception. From fairly humble beginnings at the former Netherbow Theatre, the Festival has grown to encompass not just Edinburgh and Glasgow, but Dundee…

Re-Triptych

Re-Triptych

Mesmerising epic journey of dance

(5 stars)2 Sep 2011

Even as we file into the auditorium, the mesmerising spectacle has begun. The dancers sit holding golden bowls, calmly anointing the final touches on a huge mandala - a geometric Buddhist symbol - made from blue and white confetti covering the whole…

Scottish Ballet

Scottish Ballet

An evening of contemporary classics

(4 stars)1 Sep 2011

For a programme dominated by music from the great canon of composers, the opening to Finnish choreographer Jorma Elo’s Kings 2 Ends, a silent dynamic solo, comes as a surprise. But it’s curiously pleasing. It lets the clean stretched lines of the dance…

Movin' Melvin Brown: Just Singing and Dancing ... You Can Do It!

Movin' Melvin Brown: Just Singing and Dancing ... You Can Do It!

Slick foot-stomping but too much audience on show

(3 stars)1 Sep 2011

Movin’ Melvin Brown certainly got his stage name right. There’s no denying the Texan man can move. And move he does, sometimes so fast his gold shoed feet go into a little fuzzy cloud of slick rhythm and frantic toe-tapping. The best thing by far…

Fringe 2011 awards roundup

Fringe 2011 awards roundup

Multi-award winners include Mission Drift, Leo, Simon Callow and Silent

30 Aug 2011

As the dust settles from this year’s Edinburgh Festival Fringe, we see which figures are poised to stand tall on the cultural landscape with a clutch of awards under their belts The Scotsman Fringe First Awards One for productions appearing at the…

Rory Sheridan's Tales of the Antarctica

Rory Sheridan's Tales of the Antarctica

David O’Doherty in very funny piece that risks becoming one-note in tone

(3 stars)30 Aug 2011

Rory Sheridan is a lovesick man, who inadvertently ends up on an Antarctic expedition to win his bride. Sheridan is no Scott or Shackleton, he complains too much for a start – about the penguins, about the cabbage he has to eat, about the farts that…

Sammy J and Randy: Ricketts Lane

Sammy J and Randy: Ricketts Lane

Extraordinary performances in an endearing show

(4 stars)30 Aug 2011

It’s been a busy month for comedian Sammy J and his antipodean compatriot Randy the purple puppet (performed by Heath McIvor). As well as their respective solo shows they pair up for this high-energy musical about companionship and tax evasion. After…

John Scott: Totally Made Up

John Scott: Totally Made Up

Exemplary observational material worked hard in stifling venue

(4 stars)30 Aug 2011

Winner of last year’s Take the Mic competition, John Scott has his work cut out in this stifling venue. That he manages to get laughs out of our sticky situation is a testament to his immense likeability. There’s some racy stuff but Scott’s charm takes…

BUG Hosted by Adam Buxton

BUG Hosted by Adam Buxton

Entertaining but unchallenging music video presentation

(3 stars)26 Aug 2011

The usually BFI-based BUG organisation’s remit is to celebrate ‘global creativity in music video’, and in that respect, this show succeeds admirably. Videos from acts as diverse as US indie-rockers Manchester Orchestra, electro artists The Chase and…

If That's All There Is?

If That's All There Is?

Eccentric study of a banal relationship

(3 stars)26 Aug 2011

What happens when you realise the man you're marrying is actually utterly dull? Such is the fate that befalls Frances, no sooner than her new husband Daniel has finished his painfully long wedding speech. In the opening scene, we are the guests and as…

The Pleasure of Being: Washing, Feeding, Holding

The Pleasure of Being: Washing, Feeding, Holding

A cure for loneliness?

(3 stars)26 Aug 2011

This one-on-one hotel room experience is Adrian Howells’ attempt at total care for a single audience member. It starts with a warm bath filled with rose petals. I undress and step in. ‘It’s my honour to bathe you,’ Howells says, with no hint of…

Fringe 2011 comedy blogs: Desmond O’Connor

Fringe 2011 comedy blogs: Desmond O’Connor

The worst possible time to lose your voice

26 Aug 2011

It couldn’t have happened at a worse time; I was looking forward to the most exciting night of the Fringe in three of the seven shows on which I am working and I woke to find myself facing the worst nightmare that a performer can be forced to endure.

Giants of Comedy – Darren Walsh, Leo Kearse & Lindsay Sharman

Giants of Comedy – Darren Walsh, Leo Kearse & Lindsay Sharman

They might be giants, and they're definitely tall

(4 stars)26 Aug 2011

There's a Jurassic Park moment on the approach as the ground starts shaking and concentric rings appear in the pints of the wary audience... and then they arrive: the 3 aptly titled Giants of Comedy. Compering by the comparatively short and extremely…

Fringe 2011 - behind the scenes

Fringe 2011 - behind the scenes

Some highlights from the folks who keep the Assembly venues running

26 Aug 2011

Laura Donaldson – press tickets officer This is my first time working for any festival. There’s always good banter in the press office to get you through mountains of last minute requests. Meeting performers such as The Twoks who have blown me away and…

The Pretender

The Pretender

One man show about lying gets out of control

(2 stars)26 Aug 2011

Lying: people often do it to get over life's hurdles. Whether in politics, relationships, or childhood, lies are part of everyday social tactics, but can often spiral out of control. In this play, we're complicit in one such fib. Our host, a nameless…

Soldier and Death

Soldier and Death

Soldier fable let down by tiny puppets

(2 stars)26 Aug 2011

There’s bags of potential in this talented young troupe of puppeteers who tell the fable-esque tale of a soldier who cheats death. All are compelling storytellers, taking turns as the narrator. But the puppets are miniscule, dwarfed by multiple…

Edinburgh Comedy Award 2011 shortlist

Edinburgh Comedy Award 2011 shortlist

Plus the 10 funniest jokes from the Fringe

25 Aug 2011

The shortlist for the 2011 Foster's Edinburgh Comedy Awards have been announced. Nominations for best comedy show and for best newcomer. The winners will be announced on Saturday 27th August.

Scottish Ballet

Scottish Ballet at 2011 Edinburgh International Festival

Ashley Page and Jorma Elo on the EIF programme

25 Aug 2011

Ashley Page maintains that, when putting together Scottish Ballet’s new double bill for the Edinburgh International Festival, pairing the legendary Scottish choreographer Kenneth MacMillan’s neo-classical 1965 piece Song of the Earth with a completely…

Nourish

Nourish

Thought-provoking suffragette drama

(3 stars)25 Aug 2011

1913 was a year when suffragette militant violence turned inwards with devastating consequences. But while Emily Wilding Davison made headlines by stepping in front of the King’s horse at the Derby, Sylvia Pankhurst was engaged in a quieter but no less…

Hiroshi Sugimoto: Lightning Fields and Photogenic Drawings

Hiroshi Sugimoto: Lightning Fields and Photogenic Drawings

Breathtaking exploration of both photography and science

(4 stars)25 Aug 2011

To say that Sugimoto's contribution to the Edinburgh International Festival is striking would be an understatement. This is the first time these works have been displayed in Europe. The Japanese photography pioneer’s huge analogue 'Lightning Fields…

The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle

The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle

Haruki Marukami's novel is given multimedia stage adaptation by Stephen Earnhart

(4 stars)24 Aug 2011

Toru Okada is 29 and shares an apartment with his wife, Kumiko and their cat. When both the wife and cat vanish and don’t come back for several days, Toru tries to work out what’s happened to them, with the help of a spiritualist who doubles as a…

Pack mentality - Alan Bissett interview

Interview - Alan Bissett

Writer tackles Scotland’s sectarian shame in fourth novel Pack Men

24 Aug 2011

With the rivalry between the Old Firm reaching dangerously manic levels recently, you’d think that sectarianism would be reflected in our nation’s fiction, but it’s hard to think of many novels that examine our unique bigotry. Step forward Alan Bissett…

Profile: Best Coast

Profile: Best Coast

Californian surf-pop duo set for Edinburgh date

24 Aug 2011

That name rings a bell... Refresh my memory? Gladly. It’s a boy/girl duo of Bethany Cosentino and Bobb Bruno, with Ali Koehler on drums. What does their music sound like? A sad look back at a really incredible, life-changing, but ultimately…

Americans in Edinburgh interview: Amanda Palmer, Kurt Braunohler and Kristen Schaal and Mark Chavez of the Pajama Men

Amanda Palmer, Kurt Braunohler and Kristen Schaal and Mark Chavez

The Americans visiting the Fringe share their reflections on Edinburgh

24 Aug 2011

The Yanks are here, and they’re ready to paint the town red, white and blue. Amanda ‘Fucking’ Palmer of the Dresden Dolls, Kurt Braunohler and Kristen Schaal of variety show Hot Tub, and Mark Chavez of physical comedy duo The Pajama Men take a long look…

Drought and Rain (Re-creation 2011) at Edinburgh International Festival

Drought and Rain (Re-creation 2011) at Edinburgh International Festival

Ea Sola dance piece gives voice to the pain of war

24 Aug 2011

In 1995, when Vietnamese choreographer Ea Sola created her original version of Drought and Rain, she cast elderly women who were once dancers in their youth. Due to circumstances – a war raging through their country – the women had swapped dancing shoes…

Eat sleep breathe: Joan as Police Woman

Eat sleep breathe: Joan as Police Woman

The singer-songwriter divulges some of her eating habits

24 Aug 2011

What time is breakfast? Depending on the night before, 9 or 11.30. Tea or coffee? Rooibos tea. The doctor swore me off coffee even though I die inside every time I smell it... Smoking or non-smoking? One after the show. Thankfully I don’t long…

A writers guide to Fringe journalism – A view from the other side

A writer's guide to Fringe journalism – A view from the other side

Behind the scenes at the Edinburgh festivals

24 Aug 2011

Walking around Edinburgh during the month of August is an experience that will stay with you long after the festival crowds have abandoned the capital's streets and returned to whence they came. Areas of the city normally quiet and empty are transformed…

Conway's Time of the Month

Conway's Time of the Month

Hardeep Singh Kohli, Andi Osho and Imran Yusuf guest at free Edinburgh show

(4 stars)24 Aug 2011

London-based presenter and comedian Eleanor Conway brings her 5 star thighs, the news, and a host of comedy guests to Edinburgh's cosy Space 3 at the Voodoo Rooms. On the platter of entertainment are Hardeep Singh (BBC), Andi Osho (Stand up for the…

Interview: John Byrne

Interview: John Byrne

Painter and playwright at 2011 Edinburgh Art Festival

24 Aug 2011

What came first – the art or the writing? It must have been the drawing and the art, because my mother used to tell people that I was drawing in my pram. We have to take her word for it – she was a very honest woman. Do you hold writing and art in…

Ravi Shankar - Usher Hall, Edinburgh, Mon 22 Aug

Ravi Shankar - Usher Hall, Edinburgh, Mon 22 Aug

A mesmerising show of classical Indian music as part of 2011 EIF

(4 stars)24 Aug 2011

Ravi Shankar crossed over into popular culture with his associations with various 60s musicians, working with and/or influencing the likes of The Beatles, The Kinks and The Byrds. Going on to play at iconic festivals such as Woodstock and The Monterey…

Rod Jones & The Birthday Suit set for UK tour

Rod Jones & The Birthday Suit set for UK tour

Idlewild guitarist learns drums for second solo album

24 Aug 2011

When Idlewild took indefinite leave in 2010, it appeared guitarist Rod Jones would follow singer Roddy Woomble down the folk route. After all, 2009’s A Sentimental Education suggested a man at one with his acoustic guitar. When he sat down to write and…

Stage whispers: Fringe performer Martha Wollner on her first Fringe

Stage whispers: Fringe performer Martha Wollner on her first Fringe

Sense of community experienced at first Fringe

24 Aug 2011

‘First Fringe?’ That’s what old festival hands kept asking, followed by advice on how to build audiences: get sleep, see shows and, as one producer put it, ‘Generally gird your loins!’ But upon arrival, our ensemble began to experience something…

The Simple Things in Life

The Simple Things in Life

Five opportunities to meditate on what we should value

(3 stars)24 Aug 2011

Against the backdrop of festival chaos, Fuel theatre provides individual spaces for a slightly different, enclosed experience. Walking through the gates of the Botanic Gardens already provides respite from pounding the cobbles of the Royal Mile, and the…

Top of the props: Best use of objects in Edinburgh 2011 Fringe comedy

Top of the props: Best use of objects in Edinburgh 2011 Fringe comedy

Including a levitating dog, a liver and a bag of urine

24 Aug 2011

The best items on the comedy conveyor belt. A levitating dog. Brave old Mr Piffles might have his own polo neck jumper, but for the purposes of this column, he’s a prop, right? In Piff the Magic Dragon’s super show, he floats above the very ground (with…

Shen Wei Dance Arts perform Re-Triptych at 2011 Edinburgh International Festival

Shen Wei Dance Arts perform Re-Triptych at 2011 Edinburgh International Festival

Five reasons why missing it is not an option

24 Aug 2011

1: The Inspiration Shen Wei made a personal pilgrimage to Cambodia, Tibet and his birthplace, China to create Re (i), (ii) and (iii). Now the three works have been sewn together to form Re-Triptych, they form a diverse, largely abstract emotional…

lengthy literary works

EIBF 2011: five lengthy literary works

featuring Adam Levin, Thomas Pynchon, David Foster Wallace, Stephen King and Tolstoy

24 Aug 2011

The Instructions The story of a megalomaniac 10-year-old boy who may or may not be the messiah takes place over the course of just four frenetic days, but Levin’s massive book takes in Israel’s battle for existence and an entire religion’s search for…

Sriyah

Sriyah

Ancient dance in a modern era

24 Aug 2011

Studying for ten hours a day, six days a week for six years, the dancers at the Nrityagram school near Bangalore know that to truly absorb Indian classical dance takes time. The first student to emerge from the residential course, Surupa Sen graduated…

Example

Example

Picture House, Edinburgh, Mon 15 Aug 2011

(4 stars)24 Aug 2011

As Mike Skinner’s sometime protégé it’s easy to pigeonhole London rapper Elliot Gleave as the new bearer of the crown soon to be abandoned by The Streets. Yet what he does is subtly different – where both men are outright crowd pleasers, Skinner’s…

Jane Harris

Jane Harris

The author of The Observations and Gillespie and I on making Glasgow an evocative character

24 Aug 2011

‘The secret was what I began with,’ says Jane Harris about her most recent work, Gillespie and I. And what a mystery we unravel, as narrator Harriet Baxter reflects on her time in 1880s Glasgow and the consequences of a chance meeting with ‘soulmate…

Rebecca Hunt

Rebecca Hunt

The author of Mr Chartwell creates a credible and empathetic vision of illness

24 Aug 2011

One of the most intriguing and delectably-crafted debut novels of the past year is Mr Chartwell by Rebecca Hunt. The black dog of Winston Churchill’s legendary deep depression is brought vividly to life through the eponymous mutt (also known as Black…

Janice Galloway

Janice Galloway

The All Made Up author takes on our Q&A

24 Aug 2011

Give us five words to describe All Made Up? True. Funny. Sad. Teen-to-adult. Novel. Which author should be more famous than they are now? VS Naipaul. Because he’s irritating, self-regarding and self-involved enough that massive fame would be in…

Beckett & Smith

Beckett & Smith

A genuinely funny 60 minutes

(4 stars)24 Aug 2011

There are some real gems on the free festival circuit, but picking the wheat from the chaff can be a daunting prospect. Split into two halves, Ian Smith launches this hour of stand up with some freewheeling rambling that at times cuts close to the bone…

Interview: Ian Billings

Interview: Ian Billings

Children’s TV writer turned stand-up

24 Aug 2011

What inspired you to do stand-up comedy for kids? The money! I earned £1 last year and I’m still wondering where to invest it. Also the sheer joy of being surrounded by gigglesome, joyous hoots of delight at something I’ve invented. What’s the most…

Marcel Lucont Etc

Marcel Lucont Etc

Barbed wit from the deadpan Frenchman

(4 stars)24 Aug 2011

Marcel Lucont is the prince of the chat show genre in 2011. While his haughty Frenchman shtick could wear thin over the course of an hour-long solo set, the chat show format allows him to spar with guests and disdainfully berate late-comers to great…

Chat Masala with Hardeep Singh Kohli

Chat Masala with Hardeep Singh Kohli

Glaswegian chef's chat show lacks spice

(2 stars)24 Aug 2011

Hardeep Singh Kohli is a friendly figure on stage, and seems in his element when fixing up his daily curry (which a few lucky audience members will get to taste), but he's by no means a magnetic presence. With the exception of Indian comedian Vir Das…

High Jinks with the Hamiltons

High Jinks with the Hamiltons

Bizarre yet mundane chat show from Neil and Christine

(2 stars)24 Aug 2011

The role of chat show host is a tricky one to master – one has to take centre stage if conversation is dragging, but yield the spotlight when guests are ready to shine. This concept has bypassed Neil and Christine Hamilton entirely, as they rely solely…

Alison Thea-Skot

Alison Thea-Skot

Delightfully batty character affair

(3 stars)24 Aug 2011

Tiff Mason is an arch vocal coach with domestic worries, leading to a spell in chokey where she runs rap rehabilitation classes. In this delightfully batty character affair, Skot also introduces us to a terrible Aussie social worker, nervy barrister and…

Tom Allen's Afternoon Tea

Tom Allen's Afternoon Tea

Well-balanced chat show from the camp charmer

(3 stars)24 Aug 2011

Tom Allen occupies the host’s chair with ease: his equal parts campy and charming persona comes across like a less grating Graham Norton, and he reins it in appropriately when guests Craig Hill and Diane Spencer takes the stage with lashings of innuendo…

Edinburgh Tonight with Joe Simmons and Lorraine Chase

Edinburgh Tonight with Joe Simmons and Lorraine Chase

Charming chat show double-act

(3 stars)24 Aug 2011

Joe Simmons and Lorraine Chase make a great team, as he dazzles the hectic barrage of guests with his massive pearly-white gnashers, and she comes back to earth every now and again to say something wonderfully batty.

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