Edinburgh preview 1
Lyn Gardner has done her own personal preview of the Edinburgh fringe – see link here.
I’m hoping to go up but it’s likely I won’t be able to stay very long, so what would I see…
I am an admirer of Chris Goode’s work (as long time readers can probably tell) so his home show with Lucy Ellinson, Henry & Elizabeth is intriguing – details I think will be posted here. I think his Hippo World Guest book (which you can also catch in the artsadmin season on June 16, last night of my play so can’t make it) may also be going up. Have a look at Hippo World.
I never made it to Sheffield to see Fin Kennedy’s play, which is my loss, but MEHNDI NIGHT I’m sure will be worth seeing:
“At a traditional Bengali celebration the night before a wedding, the women of the community gather to sing, dance and bless the bride-to-be. But when an uninvited guest turns up bringing painful memories from the past, everyone present is forced to confront their own fears, prejudices and longings. An extraordinary insight into a community all too often overlooked by British theatre, MEHNDI NIGHT puts third generation Bengali women centre stage and reveals the joy and the pain of a 21st century cross-cultural identity.”
I loved Tim Crouch’s OAK TREE and he has ENGLAND going on at the Traverse
‘The patients like to look at the art. It helps them to feel better.’ Two guides in a gallery. A bad transaction. A bad translation. A transplantation.
And as usual the Traverse line up looks very strong Lynda Radley’s ART OF SWIMMING, David Greig’s DAMASCUS, Rona Munro’s LONG TIME DEAD and National Theatre of Scotland doing VENUS AS A BOY.
NToS are also doing a version (Greig from a literal by Ian Ruffell) of the BACCHAE with Alan Cumming (which will come to the Lyric in Hammersmith London and Theatre Royal, Glasgow too).
There’s likely to be a lot more interesting stuff and I really want to make it to Aurora Nova work but here I’m influenced by Andrew Field who has an intriguing Edinburgh drinking game to try out…
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6 Responses to “Edinburgh preview 1”
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About me
I'm a playwright and investment analyst. I have a broad range of interests: food, gardening, innovation & intellectual property, sustainability, architecture & design, writing and the arts. I sit on the board of Talawa Theatre Company and advise a CIS investment trust on socially responsible investments.
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Recent Work
Recent plays include, for theatre: Nakamitsu, Yellow Gentlemen, Lost in Peru, Lemon Love. For radio: Places in Between (R4), Patent Breaking Life Saving (WS).
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Nakamitsu
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Yellow Gentlemen
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dear ben, may i recommend my show? Aeneas Faversham Returns at the Underbelly at 6:10…i hope mr field will testify to our
funny. thom
–Yes you can recommend your show, but you might want to say why? BY
Thanks for that run through of suggestions – I haven’t really faced trawling through teh programme yet. Edinburgh Festival time is one of those rare occasions where I don’t feel completely isolated from all the regular discussions of London based productions so I’ll try and make an effort to see and review a good number of shows. I’d already booked “The Bacchae” when it visits Glasgow and also Nonsenseroom’s production “The Ballad of James II” in the stunning setting of Rosslyn Chapel (their last two productions were wonderful). I’d also recommend TAG’s production of David Greig’s “Yellow Moon” (nominated for two CATS awards) which I caught at The Citizens last year.
Look forward to seeing more of your suggestions.
Haven’t actually goy my hands on a copy of the programme yet but the Traverse looks pretty exciting this year it has to be said, as do Chris’ shows.
And I’m with ‘Statler’ on the production at Rosslyn chapel – looks a good one!
As far as AN’s concerned I think blackSKYwhite’s show is going to be one of those Russian things that looks like nothing else you’ve ever seen (you should see the publicity shots…!). I’d also recommend Victoria which is apparently is heartbreakingly sad and the frankly mental sounding Pinochio in which two girls from Rotozaza and Shunt drive an audience of three round edinburgh in a car performing Pinochio – amazing.
Hopefully I can get a proper look (and maybe have a round or two on the drinking game…) in a little bit.
Firmed up some of our plans tonight after much debate – got about 3 days worth at the moment but hoping to schedule a couple of midweek visits to pick up some of the shows whose dates/times don’t fit our current plans.
As well as “James II” I’m intrigued by “Emergence-See” and have hopes for “Armageddon & Fishcakes” despite an 11:30am start. The Arches reputation was the deciding factor in seeing “Pit” and the involvement of the NTS secured “Venus as a Boy” a place in our plans.
And if things don’t live up to expectations I’m relying on “Rebus McTaggart:Crimewarrior” to be a worthy successor to last years hilarious piece.
Full current plans (11 shows) plus reviews of “Lord of the Flies”, “Rebus McTaggart” and “Yellow Moon” from earlier performances now posted at View From The Stalls
Thanks for the plug Ben!
Hello Ben
I saw Nakamitsu – very interesting. Good performances, good blood-dribbling, good joke with the Abbott going slowly and saying he’s going fast, etc. (Anway, this isn’t a review, so I’ll stop there).
I, too, loved Tim Crouch’s ‘An Oak Tree’. So much so that I booked to see ‘My Arm’ a few days later and I loved that, too. I’m going up to Edinburgh and I’m looking forward to seeing his show up there.
Well done on Nakamitsu.