Issue 581

Into The Hoods

1 Aug 2007

One of the undisputed hits of last year’s Fringe is making a welcome return to Edinburgh.

Naked Portrait

1 Aug 2007

In contrast with the ‘nude’ figure in western art history, the naked portrait still manages to present a sometimes shocking and raw view of the sitter’s personality that reaches beyond their public façade.

5 Questions - Lucy Porter

1 Aug 2007

Fast becoming a Fringe staple, Lucy Porter will this year invite us into her Love-In. Here, she gets all intimate with our limp Q&A.

The Big Ugly Monster and the Little Stone Rabbit

1 Aug 2007

There are lots of monsters appearing at this year’s Fringe, but none so ugly as this one.

Meow Meow in Beyond Glamour: The Absinthe Tour

1 Aug 2007

‘It’s sequins and razors, my darling. That’s what my show’s about,’ explains Meow Meow, who deems her real name and place of origin ‘simply not necessary’ to the conversation. It is, she coos in a faint Aussie drawl, ‘all about the art.’. . .

5 Questions - The Black Seeds

1 Aug 2007

Its not as if we need convincing that New Zealand is anything other than a prime exporter of general hedonism to the UK, and The Black Seeds, a low-slung reggae soul outfit whose feelgood party music fails miserably in making us think otherwise.

Hitlist: Festival Art

1 Aug 2007

The best exhibitions in the Edinburgh Festival

Punch Lines

1 Aug 2007

Jim Jeffries isn’t the only comic on the receiving end of trouble from their audience. Brian Donaldson compiles some tales of terror. At a late-night Spank! show, Andrew Lawrence (pictured) foolishly challenged a heckler to a duel. As Lawrence unpopped…

Debbie Does Dallas

1 Aug 2007

Turning films into musicals is nothing new, but not too many classic 70s porn flicks have undergone the same transition.

Happily N'Ever After

1 Aug 2007

Although its makers claim they conceived Happily N’Ever After long before that big green ogre Shrek took over the box office swamp, animation filmmakers Paul J Bolger and Yvette Kaplan’s procrastinations mean that this contemporary take on olde fairy…

Natasha Wood: Rolling With Laughter

1 Aug 2007

Talking to Natasha Wood is a bit like having a conversation with Rory Bremner. Answering even the most straightforward questions, she’ll shift from her bra salesman dad’s doughty Nottingham accent to the gushing California-speak of a Hollywood dating…

5 Questions - Vaudeville Cabaret Club & One O’Clock Gun

1 Aug 2007

We chat to Judith Riddle, press officer at the Vaudeville Cabaret Club, a night of eclectic exotica and risqué entertainment hosted by the ever so suave Dusty Limits (pictured). Every night at 1am it morphs into the One O’Clock Gun club, a showcase of…

5 Questions - John Stezaker

1 Aug 2007

John Stezaker, who creates collages from images found in books, magazines and postcards, gives a brief insight into his Festival show

Angus and Julia Stone

1 Aug 2007

When they’re not being unreasonable or scrapping over ridiculous things, brothers and sisters can often make beautiful music together. . .

Dan Clark

1 Aug 2007

Poor Dan Clark is worried he might be deluded about the Fringe. Not only is he hoping that he will manage August without the help of alcohol, he’s also aiming to forget about reviews and interviews and just ‘enjoy doing shows and leave feeling happy’.

Hugh Hughes in . . . Story of a Rabbit

1 Aug 2007

After contemplating the logistics of travelling to Edinburgh in a tractor, Hugh Hughes moves on to describe his new show for this year’s Fringe. ‘In it, I’m comparing and contrasting the death of my father, with the death of my neighbour’s rabbit.’

Killer Joe

1 Aug 2007

‘It’s about a corrupt family in a trailer park who try to escape their desperate situation. In a very 90s way, it’s a black comedy.’

Night Time

1 Aug 2007

When you think back, you might feel regret for some of the choices you made in your life. Careers are one thing, but choices made about love are perhaps even more significant.

Urban Cowboys

The Optimo Barn Dance

1 Aug 2007

If you have been lucky enough to enjoy one of your favourite club nights’ boat parties over the summer, you will already know how good it feels to dance to your favourite tunes in the open air. Optimo may have exhausted their supply of boats but, worry…

Dizzy Heights

1 Aug 2007

Being a cult figure in a beloved sci-fi sitcom hasn’t harmed Hattie Hayridge’s career. Doug Johnstone catches up with her. Just don’t mention Red Dwarf. Actually, it’s not a problem, mainly because Hattie Hayridge is such a laid-back character. A more…

A Conversation With Edith Head

1 Aug 2007

If you’re a film fan you’ll have recognised the superhero outfitter Edna Mode in the Pixar animation The Incredibles as an affectionate caricature of the legendary Hollywood costume designer Edith Head, who’s the subject of this one-woman show. If not…

Answer Machine

Shantha Roberts

1 Aug 2007

She’s the face of BBC Scotland’s music programmes, who puts her success down to imagining the camera is a friendly robot. But Shantha Roberts would love nothing more than to be part of a gang of talking wildlife, even if she can’t make up her mind about…

Eva Cassidy – Songbird

1 Aug 2007

Eva Cassidy’s music was virtually unknown outside her hometown of Washington DC during her lifetime.

Former Perrier nominee with a comedy campaign

Jimmy Tingle

1 Aug 2007

Last year, US comic Doug Stanhope told The List how he was going to stand for the Libertarian Party in the 2008 Presidential Election.

Golden Balls

1 Aug 2007

Mark Dolan’s comedy debut was as a child in front of some drunks. Yet Camilla Pia finds that a love of the audience helps drive him on