UA Brochure 11 by UniversalArts

4 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 28 August New Town Theatre Venue 7 Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2011

Universal Arts are a crucial part of the fabric of the Fringe, bringing music, theatre and dance from all over the world The Herald www.universalartsfestival.com

Welcome

to the 2011 Universal Arts Festival programme in possibly the most beautiful festival venue in town. Last year New Town Theatre was named Best Festival Fringe Venue (edinburghspotlight.com). For the last 22 years, Universal Arts has introduced literally thousands of artists from around the world. Companies from over 50 countries have made Edinburgh audiences laugh or cry but always delivering an excellent theatre experience. Inviting you to visit our venue this year, we are excited to present high quality and intelligent entertainment with 21 shows presented by 18 professional artists and companies from Australia, Brazil, England, Poland, Scotland, the USA and Zimbabwe. We have put together a programme with something for youngsters and adults, Fringe novices and Fringe fans. Enjoy intelligent comedy, dance, drama, musicals and music. Our line-up will allow you to forget, even for a couple of hours, the every day worries facing us all. Have fun with the exotic Pinocchio: A Fantasy of Pleasures or become a jury member in Silence in Court. Laugh and marvel at Snails and Ketchup (part of the Made in Scotland 2011 showcase) and join Fiona Kennedy for The Kist, full of Scottish treasures on a journey around the world. Hear Charlie Chaplin shouting I, The Dictator, meet Pip Utton’s Hunchback of Notre Dame, visit Macbeth in Glamis Castle, laugh and cry with the boys from Cock and Bull Story, or bump into Virginia Woolf in the Ladies’. Enjoy great music and great voices from Australia, England and the USA, and bring children and grandchildren to Alice in Wonderland. Regular audiences know our two magnificent theatres: Majestic and Mysterious, and in the past we have staged shows in the Freemasons’ kitchen and cloakroom. This year we introduce three new intimate spaces – MAGIC theatre, the glorious Freemasons’ Committee Room and there’s even a show in our grand ladies’ loos. In between shows you can relax in our bar in the marble foyer or out in the sun in our front colonnade. Our irrepressible bar manager Martyna and her sidekick Meg will even allow you to take drinks into the show.

Universal Arts Team Tomek Borkowy Artistic Director Laura Mackenzie Stuart Managing Director Sarah Robinson Operations and Front-of-House Manager Richard Bell Production and Technical Manager Chris Lord Communications Manager Trish McGuinness Press Manager press@universal-arts.co.uk Judith Procter Promoters’ Centre Manager Martyna Dargiewicz Bar Manager Tomasz Kowol Web Master www.tommedia.co.uk Design: Emma Quinn. Brochure printed on paper from sustainable sources by Forward Graphics, Glasgow.

We are grateful to all our partners and supporters without whom we would be unable to produce the programme. Thanks to: The Grand Lodge of Scotland and especially Mr David Begg and Mr Clark Wilson; Spotlight, the stage and screen casting directory who, once again, provide a centre for producers, directors and Spotlight members; our venue sponsors Cutty Sark whisky; Mr Tomasz Trafas, Polish Consul General; the Adam Mickiewicz Institute; Gdansk 2016 office; the EICC; Taiwan National Normal University; ETC and Stage Electrics for ensuring that our international companies have access to the best technical equipment and skills development and Euro Business Solutions for supporting our Box Office and communications; Sam Bloor and Simon Dawson for front-of-house design; Mr Lee and Mr Kim and Kim's Mini Meals. We also would like to thank management and staff of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society for their help and support of all Fringe participants.

There are more details about all the shows along with latest news stories on our website www.universalartsfestival.com and you can also keep up-to-date with our news and get links to press coverage by joining us on Facebook. www.facebook.com/pages/Universal-Arts/330806942825 We wish you a most fantastic Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2011. Tomek Borkowy and the Universal Arts Team I3

www.universalartsfestival.com

DV Productions & Richard Smithies (USA)

Alice in Wonderland and Other Adventures with Lewis Carroll

Waterloo

A delightful show for both adults and children. Meet a host of Alice characters including the Cheshire Cat and Humpty Dumpty in this enchanting and amusing show. Richard Smithies plays Lewis Carroll, telling the stories with great charm with many of the most-loved Alice poems set to lively music. This new Wonderland also features highlights from less familiar but equally beguiling stories and there is a chance to take part in The Hunting of the Snark.

Lively reminiscences of Napoleon and Waterloo by two delightful comic characters, a Cockney Corporal in Wellington’s army and the dashing but none-too-modest French Brigadier Gerard. Both characters were created by master of characterisation (and Edinburgh native) Arthur Conan Doyle and are played with great style by Richard Smithies in this fast-paced, exciting show. Brigadier Gerard, the self-confessed bravest soldier and greatest lover, features in over twenty stories that were as popular as those of Sherlock Holmes. The Corporal was conceived as a comic tour-de-force for Sir Henry Irving who, after its initial triumph, performed it for the rest of his life.

THEATRE: MAGIC

Dates

August 4 – 28 (not 16)

Dates

August 4 – 28 (not 16)

Times 11:30 (60 mins)

Times 16:30 (60 mins)

Tickets Aug 4 & 5 preview £5 Mon – Fri £7 (£5), family £22 Sat & Sun £8 (£6), family £25

Tickets Aug 4 & 5 preview £5 Mon – Fri £9 (£7) Sat & Sun £10 (£8)

Box Office 0131 226 0000

Icarus Theatre Collective (England)

Macbeth Spite, spectres and soothsayers … something wicked this way comes…. Highly acclaimed Icarus Theatre Collective presents a bold and exciting performance of Shakespeare’s most bloody and fear-filled tragedy before embarking on an international tour. The vicious, barbaric undercurrent in Shakespeare’s epic tragedy surfaces in this kinetic, blood-thirsty production. Unrivalled on the battlefield, Macbeth is rewarded with rank and favour by a grateful king. But with each enemy butchered to serve his vaulting ambition, Macbeth’s lust for power takes a more menacing grip. Lauded as one of the most fearless touring companies in the UK, Icarus’ new production goes straight for the jugular. Expect inventive performances and original live music. This run precedes a highly anticipated international tour. “Outstandingly subtle, heartfelt performances” ★★★★ The Scotsman (on Journey’s End) www.icarustheatre.co.uk THEATRE: MAJESTIC Dates

August 4 – 28 (not 16)

Times 13:00 (80 mins) Tickets Aug 4 & 5 preview £7.50 Mon – Fri £10 (£8) Sat & Sun £12 (£10)

www.universalartsfestival.com

Rooftop Promotions (Zimbabwe)

Rituals Rituals is a musical and inspirational journey through community-driven healing processes following traumatic and violent experiences in Zimbabwe. The piece, well received by Zimbabweans across the political divide but persecuted by State Security agencies, is based on the concept of National Healing and Reconciliation. Rituals invites you to share five unforgettable stories and to consider plausible scenarios in terms of the events that took place and solutions offered to help repair a country. It is produced by acclaimed author Stephen Chifunyise and director Daves Guzha, who’s cast recently spent four nights in gaol – not for the first time and not part of their creative process! They were acquitted in March in what has been described in the Zimbabwean press as a landmark case in terms of freedom of artistic creativity. “a loaded and provocative play” Zimbo Jam www.rooftoppromotions.org THEATRE: MAGIC Dates

August 4 – 15

Vagabond Productions (Scotland / Netherlands)

Miss Julie Descend into the servants’ quarters of his Lordship’s mansion on Midsummer Night. While the servants are waltzing in the barn, their Mistress Julie steals her father’s valet away for a dance. The pretty picture of this Swedish traditional feast is smashed to pieces as trolls and witches seem to influence relationships. The sexes battle and social classes jostle for dominance. Directed by BAFTA award-winner Andrew Dallmeyer and with both actors, Bart Vanlaere and Louise Seyffert, having been chosen as Best of the Fest in the past, this international co-production is a refreshing and innovative interpretation of one of Strindberg’s best-known plays. THEATRE: MAGIC Dates

August 17 – 28

Times 13:10 (60 mins)

Times 13:10 (65 mins)

Tickets Aug 4 & 5 preview £5 Aug 6 – 15 £8 (£6)

Tickets Aug 17 preview £5 Mon – Fri £10 (£8), family £32 Sat & Sun £12 (£10), family £40

Box Office 0131 226 0000

Teatr Wiczy (Poland)

I, the Dictator Charlie Chaplin prepares for the last scene of the film The Great Dictator. “In the light of our own Egos we’re all dethroned Monarchs” says Chaplin. This avant-vaudeville show is about power and an artist’s relationship to state authority. It is a story about a man who must make a crucial career decision, but is struggling with his weaknesses and apprehension. The show reflects on human relationships, the international community’s attitude towards Nazi Germany just before World War II, and its legacy in our contemporary world. Using tap-dance, jazz, mime and an expressive visual style, Wiczy creates another exciting and intimate theatrical experience. “highly original” Sunday Herald (on Broken Nails, Fringe 2008) www.wicza.com THEATRE: MYSTERIOUS Dates

August 4 – 28 (not 15)

ShadyJane (England)

Sailing On There must be something in the water … Imagine your surprise as a call of nature leads to a chance meeting with Virginia Woolf and Ophelia in the ladies’ loos. Not the first women to stand in the mirror and tell a story or two but perhaps not like this. ShadyJane searches for humour in the dingiest of places in this site-specific performance set in the Ladies’. Find something unique at the Fringe this year with original and exciting theatre using familiar stories made strange. Visual, intelligent and darkly comic. THEATRE: LADIES’ LOOS Dates

August 6 – 28 (not 9,16, 23)

Times 14:00 (60 mins)

Times 14:00 & 16:15 (45 mins)

Tickets Aug 4 & 5 preview £5 Mon – Fri £10 (£8) Sat & Sun £12 (£10)

Tickets Aug 6 & 7 previews £5 (£4) Mon – Fri £8 (£7) Sat & Sun £9 (£8) I7

www.universalartsfestival.com

Alter Theatre Company and Footprint Project (Brazil)

The Last Days of Gilda By Rodrigo de Roure Directed by Victor Esses Performed by Gaël Le Cornec Designed by Sophie Mosberger In a shantytown in Rio de Janeiro, amongst chickens and pigs, Gilda cooks, dreaming of love and of becoming a film star ... the men are spellbound, the women, furious, but Gilda is more dangerous and more generous than they can possibly imagine...

A poignant tragicomic tale of food, sex, violence, love and survival from the same team of the sell out 2008 Edinburgh hit Frida Kahlo: Viva la Vida! ★★★★★ (Scotsman), “a real gem ... played by the mesmerising Gaël Le Cornec ... inventive use of the audience and props ... a must see” ★★★★ (Daily Telegraph). THEATRE: MAGIC Dates

August 4 – 28 (not 9, 16, 23)

Quidem Productions (England)

Dust (UK premiere) The morning of Margaret Thatcher’s death. In his Barbican flat, Arthur Scargill and his publisher have a visitor from their past – an ageing militant miner with his own take on Scargill’s controversial legacy and a dark forty-year family secret. In a Britain partly shaped by their actions, fierce old fighters slug it out over the dust of history. Meanwhile, in Doncaster, a pregnant young woman stares at recession hit Britain. From the award-winning Quidem team of broadcast producer Ralph Bernard and acclaimed writer/director Ade Morris comes this passionate, humorous, tragic snapshot of 2011. THEATRE: MYSTERIOUS Dates

August 4 – 28 (not 16)

Times 14:50 (60 mins)

Times 15:30 (80 mins)

Tickets Aug 4 & 5 preview £5 Mon – Fri £10 (£8) Sat & Sun £11 (£9) I8

Tickets Aug 4 & 5 previews £5 Mon – Fri £11 (£9) Sat & Sun £13 (£11)

Box Office 0131 226 0000

neTTheatre / Grupa Coincidentia (Poland)

Turandot Inspired by Puccini’s opera, his letters and by William Burroughs’ Naked Lunch, Turandot is an emotional and vivid play about the composer writing his last unfinished opera. Having been wrongly accused by his wife of having an affair with a housemaid, and consequently vilified by society, Puccini immersed himself in creating the story of Turandot, which reflected these troubled final years of his life. Rising star of Polish theatre, Paweł Passini has produced something between antique tragedy and contemporary psychodrama. In graphically expressive and emotive scenes, using deaf and dumb performers as a chorus and documentary film footage to illustrate ‘the emporium of cruelty’, he creates a world where communication is reduced to a minimum and sign language is mingled with Polish and English, live music and fragments of the opera. Passini is the winner of the Grand Prix at the First Night Festival for Turandot. Together with Chorea Theatre Association he has created Europe's first Internet theatre – neTTheatre. www.nettheatre.pl www.grupacoincidentia.pl THEATRE: MAJESTIC Dates

August 4 – 27 (not 17)

Times 15:00 (75 mins) Tickets Aug 4 & 5 previews £7.50 Mon – Fri £12 (£10) Sat & Sun £13 (£11)

www.universalartsfestival.com Ramesh Meyyappan in association with Iron-Oxide (Scotland)

Snails and Ketchup Inspired by Italo Calvino’s The Baron in the Trees, Snails and Ketchup is the darkly comic tale of a dysfunctional family and follows a son taking to the trees to live an arboreal existence, escaping his brutal home environment for the solace of the forest. Ramesh Meyyappan’s physicality and extensive imagination allow him to embody four members of this quirky family and remind us that despite familial love being unconditional, it is sometimes impossible to co-exist with those we hold dear. Ramesh’s masterful storytelling and physical performance is matched with an ingenious aerial set, aerial choreography, animation and an especially commissioned live score. The creation of this work has been funded by the Unlimited programme, part of the London Cultural Olympiad. It is supported by Creative Scotland, Made in Scotland, Singapore International Foundation, The Esplanade, Singapore and funded by the National Lottery through the Olympic Lottery Distributor. THEATRE: MAJESTIC Dates

August 4 – 28 (not 9, 16, 23)

Times 17:00 (60 mins) Tickets Aug 4 & 5 previews £7.50 Mon – Fri £12 (£10) Sat & Sun £13 (£11)

I 10

Box Office 0131 226 0000

Pip Utton (England)

Pip Utton is the Hunchback of Notre Dame The Clown Prince of Opera (USA)

Operation Adelmo In this Music Hall-style show, award winning operatic baritone Adelmo Guidarelli takes the audience on a song-filled journey that New York critics likened to the work of Victor Borge. With a voice that is reminiscent of the great Bill McCue, he weaves opera into a pop culture setting for all to enjoy. Guidarelli has performed to sold out venues all over the world, including New York, Las Vegas, Rome, and of course New Jersey! Best Comedy & Best Musical Comedy Performer Male 25th Manhattan Association of Cabarets Awards, 2011. www.OperationAdelmo.com THEATRE: MYSTERIOUS Dates

August 4 – 28 (not 16)

Times 17:30 (75 mins) Tickets Aug 4 & 5 previews £5 Mon – Thu £11 (£9) Fri-Sun £13 (£11)

“Pip Utton is the Doyen of the Fringe one man show” Daily Telegraph Fringe favourite Pip Utton is back with his reworking of Victor Hugo’s classic. Premiered at last years Fringe and following a European tour, it returns to this year’s Festival. The reviews say it all: “A one man masterpiece, you must witness this!” ★★★★★ Three Weeks “As psychological as it is emotional, this play achieves beauty in its simplicity and a plea for unconditional acceptance of every human being on this earth. A must see show!” The Stage “A meditation on the meaning of beauty and a tale of unrequited love. It’s beautifully crafted and his performance is absolutely compelling.” Edinburghreview.com THEATRE: MAGIC Dates

August 4 – 28 (not 16)

Times 18:00 (60 mins) Tickets Aug 4 & 5 previews £5 Aug 8 & 9 £10 (2 for 1) Mon – Thu £9 (£7) Fri – Sun £10 (£8) I 11

www.universalartsfestival.com Company XIV (USA)

Pinocchio: A Fantasy of Pleasures Austin McCormick's Company XIV puts their Neo-Baroque spin on the beloved story by Carlo Collodi. Inspired by Commedia del’Arte and the films of Federico Fellini, this ravishing show fuses Baroque, Ballet and Flexing/Bone Breaking with sumptuous design and sound. Behold the creation of the wooden boy, his journey to ‘Pleasure Island’, a decadent Venetian Carnival where he is made to perform for spectators, his escape and, finally, the reunion with Gepetto his maker. “sex, sensuality, excess and high drama” Black Book Magazine “ brainy, high-entertainment mix of music hall, cabaret, theatre and dance” New York Times “Here’s a company with something to say and the brains and eloquence and goddamn balls with which to say it.” British Theatre Guide www.companyXIV.com THEATRE: MAJESTIC Dates

August 4 – 28

Times 19:00 (70 mins) Tickets Aug 4 & 5 previews £7.50 Mon – Thu £12 Fri-Sun £14

I 12

Box Office 0131 226 0000

EXHIBITION Joanna Srokol (Poland) Philip Hamilton (USA)

Voices Voices is a unique acappella experience that fuses vocal styles from around the world and leaves audiences both captivated and inspired. This exciting new theatre work captures the imagination and takes you on a non-stop energetic vocal journey. Immerse yourself with international techniques such as monkeychanting and hip-hop’s beat-boxing and revel in sounds that include Indian, European and African choirs and gospel. The result is non-traditional, intimate and explosive. From the brainchild of innovative composer/vocalist Philip Hamilton, whose music has been hailed as “powerful” and “cutting edge” by the New York Times, Voices is a force to be reckoned with. THEATRE: MYSTERIOUS Dates

August 4 – 28 (not 16)

Somewhere Between… Somewhere Between… is inspired by the artist’s childhood in the idyllic countryside of Poland, seen against the backdrop of wide-ranging travels in Europe and America, especially the built environments of New York and Edinburgh. The works show her fascination with these seemingly opposing influences, demonstrating transition from a period of monochrome ink to the use of vivid colour, reflecting both her internal reserve and simultaneous outward flamboyance. Joanna Srokol’s nomadic academic life has taken her from university in Lublin, Poland, via Turku in Finland, New York City and Galashiels where, for four years, she studied at Heriot Watt University. She is due to complete her MA in Printed Textiles in 2012 at Edinburgh College of Art.

Times 19:15 (75 mins) Tickets Aug 4 & 5 previews £5 Mon – Thu £11 (£9) Fri – Sun £13 (£11)

I 13

www.universalartsfestival.com Photo credit: Bill Mackellar

Photo credit: Bill Mackellar

emeraldBLUE 2011 (Scotland)

Cock and Bull Story Travis is a young up and coming boxer. Jacko, his best mate, is a ned. In this brutal and violent look at ‘street homophobia’, the worlds of Rocky and Shameless collide.

emeraldBLUE 2011 (Scotland)

“oozes testosterone and sexual double standards … hair-raisingly choreographed fight sequences.

Jennifer Lyons claims rape. Charles Brand claims it was consensual sex. There are no witnesses. There is no evidence. You, the audience, are the jury and must decide – Guilty or Not Guilty.

A fascinating piece of theatre that thrills and engages from start to end.” Edinburgh Evening News ★★★★

Silence in Court

The ultimate in interactive theatre. “An uncomfortable, yet engaging and profoundly thought-provoking experience.” Edinburgh Evening News ★★★★

THEATRE: MAGIC Dates

August 4 – 28 (not 16)

“Highly recommended show” Fringe Review ★★★★

Times 19:30 (90 mins)

THEATRE: COMMITTEE ROOM

Tickets Mon – Thu £10 Fri – Sun £12.50

Dates

August 4 – 28 (not 16)

Times 20:00 (60 mins) Tickets Mon – Thu £10 Fri – Sun £12.50

I 14

Box Office 0131 226 0000

Fiona Kennedy, Marcus Hummon and company (Scotland)

Kistceltica Fiona Kennedy, Marcus Hummon and company (Scotland)

The Kist The Kist tells the musical story of the Scots – from the tribal rhythms of the Gael to the upbeat music of today. This is entertainment at its best – a nation’s musical experience gathered from around the world wherever the Scots have roamed, and distilled in Scotland. Led by Fiona Kennedy, daughter of the late great Callum Kennedy, The Kist takes its name from the sturdy wooden chests in which migrant Scots packed their most precious belongings and with them the memories of home. Featuring new, outstanding young singers, musicians and special guest, Grammy Award-winner, Marcus Hummon.

A seven-night showcase of Scottish, celtic, country and jazz music performed by truly astonishing talent. Grammy Award-winning, Nashville based Marcus Hummon brings a touch of the soulful south to Edinburgh; 2010 Composer of the Year nominee Fraser Fifield masterfully blends Scottish folk and jazz alongside inspired guitarist Graeme Stephen; 2011 Folk Singer of the Year Kris Drever and tenor Irish banjo player Éamonn Coyne create a heady, intoxicating mix of the contemporary and the traditional; 2009 Folk Band of the Year Bodega perform stunning reinterpretations of traditional Scottish music; Blazin’ Fiddles will set the venue alight with their unrivaled energy … and there are still more acts to be announced!

THEATRE: MAJESTIC Dates

August 4 – 21

Times 21:00 (75 mins) Tickets Aug 4 preview £7.50 Aug 5 – 21 £15 (under 16s £7.50)

THEATRE: MAJESTIC Dates

August 22 – 28

Times 21:00 (75 mins) Tickets £15 (under 16s £7.50)

I 15

www.universalartsfestival.com

Becc Sanderson (Australia) Liz Merendino (Hong Kong)

Sneasons of Liz In this insane cabaret, Liz Merendino hacks and wheezes her way around the globe, falls in and out of love in seven languages and finds she really only needs three things: her passport, her Ventolin and a box of Kleenex. Written and directed by Tony Taylor and Rick Lau with music by Warren Wills and additional material by Fascinating Aida’s Adele Anderson, this little treasure of a show is not to be sneezed at.

Passionflower Singer-songwriter Becc Sanderson performs songs of Radiohead, The White Stripes, Costello and Waits, plus originals of her own making and all with flowers in their titles. Accompanied exquisitely by guitar and trombone, Becc explores cabaret and the tradition of the torch song. Passionflower is deliciously intimate, scentual and sensual, a musical and floral feast for the senses. “A voice to fry green tomatoes.” West Australian “Blues dripping from the ceiling … not sure if it gets any better than this.” The Australian www.beccsanderson.com Becc Sanderson’s costumes are exclusively designed by Joyce Paton.

THEATRE: MYSTERIOUS Dates

August 4 – 28 (not 16)

THEATRE: MAGIC Dates

August 4 – 28 (not 16)

Times 21:15 (60 mins)

Times 22:00 (60 mins)

Tickets Aug 4 & 5 previews £5 Mon – Thu £10 (£8) Fri – Sun £12 (£10)

I 16

e Impoance of Being Earnestly Profeional TOMEK BORKOWY calls for the Arts to get more professional and for joined-up thinking to safeguard creativity in Scotland. The Fringe is the biggest Performing Arts festival in the world but are we making the most of its potential to support Scottish Arts Industry?

cheerful amateur work as ‘good enough’ for them. This attitude from both, producers and consumers, rewards mediocrity and gives amateurism a quasi-professional status.

Few people automatically think of the Performing Arts as an industry that generates substantial amounts towards the country’s GDP. Although Scotland has many talented and highly trained practitioners, generally they are not regarded as educated professionals. Why does this perception prevail? And why is it important to change it?

Margaret Thatcher was deeply suspicious of professionalism and convinced that only direct control by government, cutting subsidies and market competition would solve the social and economic problems of the country. As a result, professional unions were disempowered, financial investment in the arts shrank and free market forces were imposed on the entire Performing Arts. All this was conceived and implemented by a government that didn’t understand the significance of the arts.

According to various definitions, a PROFESSIONAL is a qualified, skilled expert, practising learned abilities in order to make a living. The remuneration, practice, methods and continuous self-improvement, differentiates a professional from an amateur. In most European countries, professional arts form a significant part of education and the intellectual development of society. It is seen as an occupation with the same status as other professions. In the UK for many years however, the boundary between professional and amateur arts, and especially in the Performing Arts, has been obliterated to the point that the value of the craft of professional artists has been undermined. In theatre blame lies on both sides of the proscenium arch. On one hand, professional Performing Arts practitioners stopped fighting for their status and the importance of professionalism, frequently tolerating mediocre work. Often a ‘that will do’ complacency prevails, ‘justified’ by a lack of funds. But equally alarmingly, an ‘Oh, it’s OK’ notion predominates with audiences and typically people tend to accept sloppy, or cheap and

How has this happened? And why is it dangerous for the future of the Performing Arts in Scotland?

It was hoped that Labour would reverse Thatcher’s attacks on UK culture. Instead professionalism came under attack from a different angle. The arts were forced to take responsibility for ‘Social Inclusion’. Public financing was skewed towards arts projects that directly connected with social programmes, which in turn further reduced the status and strength of professional arts bodies. Furthermore, the state took away responsibility from the unions for determining standards and conduct that regulated entry to their profession. In time, these policies led to uncontrolled access to the arts industry and completely destroyed boundaries between amateur and professional arts. Heavily subsidised Social Inclusion projects, enhanced by university drama departments admitting more and more students in order to maintain their public subventions without improving training facilities, has resulted in massive overcrowding and lowering standards within the Performing Arts sector. I 17

Another problem, which emerged from ‘Inclusion’, is the notion that mixing talk of money with talk of arts somehow corrupts the art and that artists can and should work for free. A lot of amateurs and non-professionally-minded artists have endorsed this idea, categorising performing arts practitioners, and specifically actors, as second-rate, low-skilled, incidental workers. Although artists have a professional responsibility to their communities, they need to maintain a distinction between amateur and professional work. Saying this, I strongly believe that the amateur sector should be helped to develop and be cherished as a breeding ground for future professional practitioners. To be credible in the eyes of the general public and among other occupations, the Performing Arts sector needs to return to a point where it is regulated by its own professional bodies, actively encouraging high standards and the on-going education of its membership. Working in the Performing Arts is a vocation. It is a dedication to educate through creation and an obligation to self-development. The devotion of so many practitioners in Scotland is perhaps the strongest argument for the preservation and development of professionalism in this industry. But how important is it for all of us to understand the distinction between professional and amateur Performing Arts? How significant is it to maintain quality professional theatre in Scotland? In the current economic environment, we all need to be able to answer those questions.

A lack of clear distinction lowers standards and quality but even more damagingly, drives the best talent away from Scotland. Regrettably, there is a view that an actor, and many other creative practitioners of any calibre must go to London to succeed. In order to keep Scottish talent at home, we have to be more astutely critical about what has been presented to us. But at the same time we all, artists, policymakers and audience, have to help our professional creative industries to develop. We have to realise and accept that the Performing Arts is of benefit not only in educational and intellectual terms but also as an industry that can bring substantial employment and income to Scotland. It should be a crucial part of Scotland’s identity on the world stage. I 18

As audience members we should appreciate and encourage the efforts of amateurs and demand quality from professionals. Of course there is no absolute rule that all professional shows in the Fringe will be good and all amateur shows inferior but, regardless, we should be much more particular and demand a clear advertised distinction between professional and amateur productions. When I am choosing a show, I want to know if I am paying to see a professional production with a professional cast or I am choosing a ‘cheap and cheerful’ amateur show. I would therefore judge it with different measures and I don’t want to pay the same amount for both; professionals are doing it for a living and amateurs for their pleasure. I believe that our SNP government understands the importance of investing in Professional Arts. However, Scottish artists have to be more enterprising too. An economic impact study shows nearly £135 million is spent in Edinburgh as a result of the Fringe. But how much of it benefits Scottish Performing Arts? I believe, very little.

A great number of festival venues are run on a commercial basis, but Scottish-based companies run only a small percentage of these. All venue producers are my colleagues whom I respect, but I estimate that last year 85% or nearly £3m of venues’ gross profit left Scotland to support the Performing Arts industry elsewhere. There are five big commercial venues in the Fringe and only one, the smallest, is based in Scotland. To keep our industry vibrant, Scottish promoters, artists, unions and Creative Scotland together with the Scottish Government and Scottish sponsors have to take advantage of the biggest performing arts festival on earth here in our capital. There are commercial opportunities here, which can support Scottish Performing Arts and other creative industries. Difficult times lie ahead for the arts and we all have to think how to avert the destruction of the creative and intellectual lifeline of the nation. Being earnestly professional is the first essential step. tb@universal-arts.co.uk

a requiem for forgiveness and reconciliation

a dazzling display of Korean traditional music, percussion, dance and digital art

13 –19 August, 1730 (1hr) £10, £7 (conc.), £25 (family) Tickets: 0131 226 0000 www.facebook.com/jasmine.gwangju

Gwangju 1980 meets Tunisia 2011

TietsandInformation 0131 220 0143 (from 4 August – venue box office) 0131 226 0000 (from 10 June – Fringe box office) www.universalartsfestival.com Tickets are also available directly from www.edfringe.com Tickets for Universal Arts Festival shows can also be booked via the following venue phone sales lines: C-Venues 0845 260 1234 (from June), Paradise Green 0131 510 0022 (from 1 July), Sweet 0131 243 3596 (from 1 August).

Access We apologise for not having level access to the New Town Theatre. Access is via 8 steps up from the pavement, thereafter on the level to the Majestic space. Access to the Mysterious and Magic spaces from within the building is down 18 steps and on the level thereafter. Access to the Committee room and Spotlight Centre within the building is up 30 steps. Our staff are willing to help patrons with mobility difficulties. If you have particular requirements and would like to arrange assistance in advance, please call New Town Theatre: 0131 220 0143 (August) or our admin office: 0131 478 0195 (pre-August). Parking There is metered parking on/adjacent to George Street. Tickets are required 8.30am – 6.30pm Mon to Sat and time is limited to 2 hours. For longer-term parking: NCP Car Park on Castle Terrace close to Traverse Theatre. Public Transport New Town Theatre is easily reached by public transport as many buses serve Princes Street and George Street. Journey, day and weekly tickets available. www.lothianbuses.com

New Town Theatre

I 22

DV Productions

Alice in Wonderland

Macbeth

Rituals

Miss Julie

I, the Dictator

Sailing On

The Last Days of Gilda

Turandot

Dust

Sailing On

Waterloo

Snails and Ketchup

Operation Adelmo

Hunchback of Notre Dame

Pinnochio: A Fantasy of Pleasures Company XIV

Voices

Cock and Bull

Silence in Court

The Kist

Kistceltica

Sneasons of Liz

Passionflower

11.30 60

13.00 80

13.10 60

13.10 65

14.00 60

14.00 45

14.50 60

15.00 75

15.30 80

16.15 45

16.30 60

17.00 60

17.30 75

18.00 60

19.00 70

19.15 75

19.30 90

20.00 60

21.00 75

21.15 60

21.30 60

4 – 28 Aug

4 – 27 Aug

4 – 28 Aug

17 – 28 Aug

4 – 15 Aug

4 – 28 Aug

dates

Becc Sanderson

Liz Merendino

4 – 28 Aug

Fiona Kennedy, Marcus Hummon & Co 22 – 28 Aug

Fiona Kennedy, Marcus Hummon & Co 4 – 21 Aug

emeraldBLUE 2011

Philip Hamilton's Voices

Pip Utton

Adelmo Guidarelli

Ramesh Meyyappan & Iron-Oxide

DV Productions

ShadyJane

Quidem Productions

NetTheatre

Alter Theatre & Footprint Project

ShadyJane

Teatr Wiczy

Vagabond Productions

Rooftop Promotions

Icarus Theatre Collective

company

time minutes show Magic

Mysterious

Magic

Majestic

Majestic Mysterious Magic

page

Magic

Mysterious

Majestic

Committee Room 14

Magic

Mysterious

Majestic

Magic

Mysterious

9, 16, 23 Majestic

9, 16, 23 Ladies' Loos

9, 16, 23 Magic

9, 16, 23 Ladies' loos

no show space

Diary

I 23

fringe venue 7 Freemasons’ Hall, 96 George Street, Edinburgh, EH2 3DH www.universalartsfestival.com

Winner of ‘Best Fringe Venue’ 2010 Edinburgh Spotlight ‘a vibrant and colourful programme’ The Herald ‘a long record of welcoming international work’ The List ‘dedicated to quality’ Daily Telegraph