Theatre, Issue 635

Conversation Pieces at Royal Concert Hall

Bill includes Michael Palin, Kenny Logan and Sir Peter Maxwell Davies

Michael Palin, Kenny Logan and Sir Peter Maxwell are just a clutch of the names rocking up to the Royal Concert Hall as part of their Conversation Pieces season. The talks, held in September and October, boast talents from across the board, including…

Tartan Clef Awards, Reclaiming the Rainbow and We Will Rock You

The Homecoming Scotland Tartan Clef Awards will this year take place on Fri 27 Nov at the SECC in Glasgow, in a bid to create a bigger profile for the event. Last year Peter Kay attended to award Sharleen Spiteri with her Outstanding Contribution to…

Michael Jackson - Off The Wall

The King of Pop at the Gates of Heaven and Hell in Edinburgh

It was bound to happen but still we at List Towers couldn’t help but raise a smile at the news that Michael Jackson at the Gates of Heaven and Hell is rocking into town and landing at the Big Belly. In a series of sketches, audiences will hear from…

The Legend of Magnificent Moon & A Most Curious Quest

Double helping of African tales

Having discovered two great stories ripe for adaptation, Mara Menzies of Toto Tales was torn between which show to deliver at this year’s Fringe. But help was at hand. ‘I was deliberating for weeks, when my 7-year-old niece piped up, “Why don’t you do…

Kataklo Athletic Dance Theatre - Love Machines

Art-inspired precision

Nearly five hundred years after his death, the creative genius of Leonardo da Vinci continues to exert influence. Most recently on Italian company, Kataklo, who blend athletic physical dexterity with an appreciation of art. ‘I’ve always had a great…

Walden

Magnetic North adapt Henry David Thoreau’s classic

Henry David Thoreau’s classic experimental, unclassifiable autobiographical novel is adapted for the stage by up-and-coming young company Magnetic North. Catch it during this brief run in Glasgow before it gets absorbed into the theatrical melting pot…

Kids Hitlist

Our pick of shows for the little festival goer to enjoy

Andy and Mike's Big Box of Bananas, Giraffes Can't Dance,Rapunzel and the Tower of Doom, Room on the Broom, Wind in the Willows, Patrick Monahan's Stories and Fables for Kids that like to sit at Tables!

Giraffes Can't Dance

Uplifting story for little ones

With so many shows to choose from on the Fringe, parents have to be canny about what they take their young charges to. In recent years, the wise money has been spent on a ticket to see Blunderbus Theatre Company. Specialising in musical tales for…

Circa

Emotionally-charged circus

It’s circus, but not as we know it. Australian company, Circa takes the jaw-dropping, spine-bending moves every good acrobatic outfit should have – then injects them with something special. Although as far as Circa’s artistic director, Yaron Lifschitz…

Lola: The Life of Lola Montez

Biographical flamenco drama

During the 19th century, Irish-born Lola Montez plied a career as an unlikely Spanish dancer across Europe, Australia and the US while bedding the likes of King Ludwig I of Bavaria along the way. Her story is one of scandal and celebrity. ‘Lola is a…

Jumping Mouse

A rodent on a quest

Like its previous Fringe successes – Funeral Games and No Obvious Trauma – Unpacked’s first show for children, Jumping Mouse, has a darkly comic feel. ‘Not that it will be frightening or unappealing,’ says the show’s director, Darren East, ‘but there’s…

Ice Cream Man and the Jelly Incident

Fun with food for kids

Writer Jonny Berliner certainly knows how to create an attention-grabbing show title. After the huge success of Dude! Where’s my Teddy Bear? – which went from Edinburgh sell-out in 2003/4 to runs at festivals nationwide, including Glastonbury…

5 Questions: Martha and Arthur

Cabaret duo, Martha & Arthur prepare to make you howl with laughter while they hoof their hearts out in A Lot of Nerve. But first they answer our five questions

Edinburgh Mela

Edinburgh's most multicultural festival

The 15th Edinburgh Mela is something of a milestone for the massive multicultural music, art, theatre and food festival celebrating Asian Scottish culture, and not just because it is returning to its original home of Pilrig Park. ‘This year, we’re…

Room on the Broom

If it’s innovative storytelling, great characterisation and witty dialogue you’re after, then Tall Stories theatre company should tick all your requisite boxes. The same could easily be said of children’s writer, Julia Donaldson – so it’s great to see…

Man versus machine: Sambor Dudzinski

The Polish musician is gearing up for his Fringe debut. He meets Anna Docherty

‘I sing, but I’m not a singer; I play piano, but I’m not a piano player; I act, but I’m not an actor,’ says Polish conceptual artist, Sambor Dudzinski. By way of alternative explanation he simply says: ‘I am timeless.’ And he’s not being deliberately…

Theatre Hitlist

Our recommends on the pick of the festival's theatre

Barflies, Beachy Head, Girls of Slender Means, Orphans, Precious Little Talent, Tartuffe, Trial, Trilogy, White Tea

Bodies in motion

Five of the best physical theatre shows

Cocorico: Funny French mime in the company of celebrated physical comedian Patrice Thibaud and acrobatic pianist Phillipe Leygnac. First Class: The acclaimed international company Half-Wit Theatre brings its wonderfully creative brand of physical…

Out of site - Shows in unusual venues

Hotels? Islands? Toilets?? Grid Iron isn’t the only company at this year’s Fringe to set their work

Faulty Towers the Dining Experience. Join Basil, Sybil and their put-upon manservant Manuel for this outrageous twist on the concept of ‘dinner-theatre’. Three-course meal included. Whatever you do … don’t mention the war! B’est Restaurant, 556 4448…

In vino veritas: Grid Iron's Barflies

Steve Cramer meets the team behind Barflies, Grid Iron’s new piece about drinking and creativity

‘An alcoholic is someone you don’t like who drinks as much as you.’ Dylan Thomas’s observation about alcohol abuse and the selective moralism that goes with it, seems an apt way in to the new show from Grid Iron in which the work of another tippler…

Tuning in: music's influence on theatre

Miles Fielder asks what inspires theatre-makers to create plays based on popular music

The Fringe always arrives with a ready-made soundtrack composed of musicals, opera and gigs as well as the tuneful accompaniments to theatre shows, to say nothing of the raucous racket generated morning, noon and night by street performers. This year…

Edinburgh Festival theatre day-planner

Keen to see some great theatre but not sure where to start? We help you map out your Fringe-going day, from morning to midnight

Crime or reason in Orphans

Dennis Kelly and Roxana Silbert, talk about a more thoughtful urban crime thriller

In Sydney, it’s not uncommon to hear of people being beaten up for their wallet. Even in its new zero tolerance incarnation, New York still sees its share of muggings, while Johannesburg continues to see a good deal of robbery with violence.

Interactive theatre at the Fringe

Yasmin Sulaiman talks to Adrian Howells about crossing the third wall

While site-specific productions such as the public toilets-set Waiting for Godot might have chins wagging, interactive shows promise to provide the more meaningful experiences in 2009.

The Girls of Slender Means - Spark of genius

There’s much more to Muriel Spark than Miss Jean Brodie

Muriel Sparks talents are paraded this festival with performances from two of her works, including her most celebrated one of course.