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3: COMEDY, THEATRE, MUSIC AND MORE – YOUR DEFINITIVE GUIDE TO THE FESTIVAL ISSUE 5:
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MICK PERRIN FOR
all k out Chec ails at et the d rin.com per k c i m
CellAr
arfringe.com 0844 693 3008
gildedballoon.co.uk 0131 622 6552
edinburghplayhouse.org.uk 0844 871 3014
underbelly.co.uk 0844 545 8252
pleasance.co.uk 0131 556 6550
edfringe.com 0131 226 0000
productions Underbelly Productions and Strut & Fret Production House present
HHHH HHHH HHHH
THREE HOURS OF IMMERSIVE LATE-NIGHT REVELRY IN THE UNDERBELLY vaults
‘GLORIOUS’ TIME OUT
‘AUDIENCE GRABBING’
Beatboxing virtuoso and star of Edinburgh hit Tom Tom Crew
TOM THUM
‘BRILLIANT’ EVENING STANDARD
THE TIMES
‘TRAIL BLAZING, HELL-RAISING CABARET’ TIME OUT
BOOM BOOM CLUB
THE
VOCAL
5.15PM 2-27 AUGUST
“Thum is truly phenomenal” The Independent
ORCHESTRA
12.30AM 8-26 AUGUST
“Tom Thum appears to have swallowed an entire orchestra and several backing singers”
CREATED BY SHLOMO
The Guardian
6.45PM 2-27 AUGUST
E TUMBLCIRCUS
UNDERBELLY PRODUCTIONS AND TUMBLE CIRCUS PRESENT
BRIEFS
£83
11.15pm 1 - 27 August
£52
WINNER OF THE CANADIAN SPOKEN WORD OLYMPICS
LATE SHOW
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12.15am 3-26 Aug (Thu - Sun)
Full line-ups at underbelly.co.uk/lateshow
ONE MAN LORD OF THE RINGS
ONE MAN STAR WARS
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£52 , HEATH FRANKLIN S
CHOPPER A HARD
TALK ROCKER LATE NIGHT LAUGHS HAND-PICKED BY UNDERBELLY
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SPANK
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NOW IN ITS 11TH STELLAR YEAR!
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3.40pm 2-27 August
£52 THE INTERNATIONAL HIT COMEDY
ER
FRINGE FIRST AWARD WINN KAHLIL ASHANTI IN
8.50pm , 1-19 Aug BASTARD S
BEST POETRY READING
SHAYNE KOYCZAN
The Scotsman
HE HAS AN ABILITY TO TAKE YOU STRAIGHT TO THE HEART....
GUIDE TO
BASIC TRAINING
LIFE (OR HOW TO BE LESS
OF A FUCKTARD)
Guardian
, AUSTRALIA S FUNNIEST
7.30PM 13-27 AUG
COMEDY CHARACTER
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more info: www.laughingstock.com.au
B*tch Boxer
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4pm 2-26 August
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YOU CAN’T CHOOSE YOUR FAMILY... BUT YOU CAN CHANGE IT...
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6.10PM 1-27 AUG
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One Hour Only
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5pm 2-26 August
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Welcome to
Fest
FEST IS YOUR FREE GUIDE TO THE EDINBURGH FESTIVALS Pick us up from venues across Edinburgh PUBLISHER Sam Friedman EDITORIAL
Editor Ben Judge Deputy Editor Charlotte Lytton Comedy Editor Stevie Martin Theatre Editor Caroline Bishop Kids Editor Caroline Black Editorial Consultant Evan Beswick
PRODUCTION
Creative Director Matthew MacLeod Photography Editor Claudine Quinn Office Manager Hannah Putsey Web Editor Anna Feintuck
SALES TEAM
Lara Moloney, George Sully, Tom McCarthy, Michaela Hall CONTACT FEST hello@festmag.co.uk PUBLISHED BY FEST MEDIA LIMITED Registered in Scotland number SC344852
Cover Photo Claudine Quinn, www.lensonlegs.co.uk
REGISTERED ADDRESS 3 Coates Place, Edinburgh, EH3 7AA Every effort has been made to check the accuracy of the information in this magazine, but the publisher cannot accept liability for information which is inaccurate. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in whole or in part without the explicit permission of the publisher. The views and opinions expressed within this publication do not necessarily represent the views or opinions of the printer or the publisher. Š Fest Media Limited 2012
4 fest edinburgh festival guide 2012
festcontents
SHAPING the fringe
festival acts to describe what the Fest asks some top Fringe viously. Ob . ine stic the medium of pla means to them, through
(by Othello the Remix) Pegacorn the Remix e,
s, wine cap, lov , plasticine, whisky top Ingredients: cardboard chopstick. asus. Charlie the corn made love with a peg Description: Once, a uni on a magical n me ny born. She brought ma rapping pegacorn twas Hype, the the by ied pan om Hawk and acc journey. Overseen by the alti s at this tude that unknown heights. It wa crew flew to previously heart. re "ninjas for life." Also, poo the boys realised they we
festcontents 8 FEATURES
8 Nick Mohammed
He's a maths whizz with an A+ in standup and a rip roaring new character comic show.
12 Agony and Ecstacy of Steve Jobs
Grant O'Rourke stages Mike Daisey's controversial monologue about computing giant Apple.
16 Claudia O'Doherty
The new Fringe favourite is ditching comedy with hilarious consequences.
21 COMEDY 26 The Rubberbandits
These hip hop heroes are Ireland's answer to Goldie Lookin' Chain.
27 Paul Foot
It's business at the front, party at the back for everyone's favourite mullet-toting comic.
37 Simon Munnery's La Concepta
Lunchtime goes loony with standup's king of experimental comedy.
38 Bridget Christie
Christie makes an ass of herself in her latest donkey themed show.
43 THEATRE 47 Alan Bisset's The Red Hourglass
Arachnophobes beware - things are going to get hairy in this venture from Alan Bisset.
53 Still Life
Painter's muse Henrietta Moraes is the star of this accomplished one-woman show.
59 Songs of Lear
Polish theatre makers Polska Arts bring their innovative choral take on King Lear to the festival.
60 Metamorphoses
This all female cast bring Ovid's classic to life with startling poignancy.
64 MUSIC
64 Frisky and Mannish
Get ready for a kitsch explosion as the Fringe veterans make their return.
69 The Les Clรถchards
These boho hobos have gone from the mean streets of Corsica to the the Royal Mile.
70 KIDS
70 Kid reviewers festival round-up
Our esteemed kiddie critics tell us the highs and lows of their Edinburgh experience.
73 Horrible Histories
Knowledge gets gnarly in this award winning treat for all the family.
76 LISTINGS
Your essential what's on guide to the world's biggest arts festival.
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Contact sales@festmag.co.uk for more information
August 21 - 27 | edinburgh festival guide 2012 fest 5
perfectday
y a d t c e f r e p e h t
ing that the ing to see or do everyth n at least Face it: you're never go a bit of planning, you ca th wi t Bu er. off to ve festivals ha perfect day e fest team plan your th let ll, sti r tte Be st. see the be Bridget Christie: War Donkey THE ASSEMBLY ROOMS
Snax BUCCLEUCH STREET weeks and You've been at the Festival for two without bacon the thought of starting the day greasy spoon—a makes you feel ill. Head to this road from favourite of locals—just along the Bristo Square.
l In this bold, barmy yet thoughtfu her brew, Christie has really found comic voice.
13:30 0 :3 2 1
10 :0 0
15 :15
e Tony Law: Maximum Nonsens THE STAND doing it Whatever he's trying to do, he's aching. right.You'll leave with your face And that's not hyperbole.
6 fest edinburgh festival guide 2012 | August 21 - 27
Mess TRAVERSE a curious An eating disorder may sound like many are there but dy, come for e sourc which are light moments during the piece remarkably self-aware.
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perfectday Markus Birdman THE STAND
The Grain Store VICTORIA STREET Just off of the Royal Mile, this cosy restaurant offers a mouthwatering selection of meals using the best local produce.
21 :20
22 :4 0
There’s no shying away from ly life’s big questions in this fierce sh personal standup set from Engli comic Markus Birdman.
19 :30
Re-Animator: The Musical ASSEMBLY GEORGE SQ. A slick, professional and spectacularly messy stage adaptation of the cult zombie classic.
17 :0 0
Letter of Last Resort and Good With People TRAVERSE Few productions offer better value for money than this Traverse double-header from two of Scotland's leading playwrights.
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August 21 - 27 | edinburgh festival guide 2012 fest 7
+
+
NUMB3R CRUNCH3R
+
Photos: Claudine Quinn
+
Comedian, maths genius and all-round top class le estimator of quantifiab med situations, Nick Moham st. is put to the ultimate te Stevie Martin finds out how he gets on.
Nick Mohammed is more than just a character comedian; his latest show, Mr Swallow 2012, displays some serious mathematical genius. From guessing your age, to solving a rubix cube, to pulling off a Countdown-style number heist with jaw dropping consequences, we just had to put him to the test. Every year countless punters wonder around Edinburgh not knowing, for example, how many mimes are flyering at any one point, or the quantity of Romeo and Juliet being simultaneously performed in C Venues at 2.30pm. We boiled such numerical musings down, streamlined them into a quickfire mathematical obstacle course, and invited Mohammed to try and complete it. Sure, the answers can’t be verified but who needs cold hard fact when you have estimations from a mathematical genius?
Question one
The number of modern adaptations of classic plays put on by students per Fringe? “Hmm, I’d probably say around the 178 mark. You have to understand that is a complete guess. It could easily be 179. No, I’m going to stick to my guns (weird phrase isn’t it?!) and settle on 178. There – done.”
Nick’s estimation: 178
8 fest edinburgh festival guide 2012 | August 21 - 27
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Question two
The number of instances per week the average person snaps and behaves violently towards a flyerer?
“Well I suspect the number amplifies as the festival nears the end and so I’ve averaged this out somewhat so that it’s not bias towards either end of the month.”
Nick’s estimation: 20
Question three
The number of times the average person goes to the wrong Assembly
"I genuinely don’t even know how many different Assembly venues there are now. Last time I checked the Fringe Guide it was around the 1,083,103 mark. They’re doing really well."
Nick’s estimation: 6
Question four
The number of shows an average performer sees on his day off "The number promised is inversely proportional to the number physically attended. I’ve tried to avoid the dilemma by not having a day off at all this year. But if I did have a day off, I’d promise to see 4 shows I reckon. All of which clash – keeps everyone on their toes. "
Nick’s estimation: 4 www.festmag.co.uk
Question five
How many litres of condensation/ drippy goo will be inhaled by the average audience member/performer at the Underbelly on Cowgate?
"Yuck!" Nick’s estimation: 0.75 Litres
But that’s not all. Using his super-sharp maths skills, Mohammed takes things a step further. Using these answers to make up the sum total of Fringe shows on this year: 2,695. Can he do it? Nick gets it ALMOST spot-on. Consider the Fringe well and truly calculated. Pleasance Courtyard, 6:00pm – 7:00pm, 1–26 Aug, £6.00 – £12.00
10 fest edinburgh festival guide 2012 | August 21 - 27
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August 21 - 27 | edinburgh festival guide 2012 fest 11
A BITE OUT OF THE
APPLE
Shortlisted for the Amnesty International Freedom of Expression Award, The Agony & Ecstasy of Steve Jobs tells an uncomfortable truth about our favourite computing brands, writes Caroline Bishop.
A
CTOR GRANT O’Rourke isn’t a devotee of electronics giant Apple. “I had an iPod about five years after everyone else. I don’t have any [other] Apple products, I just can’t afford them.” Later, he adds: “I bought my first phone in 14 years just last year.” It was a Blackberry. He’s a rare breed. These days most of us upgrade our phone once a year at least. Thousands queue outside Apple stores to buy the latest product the day it’s released. According to a March 2012 report by CNBC, half of American households own at least one Apple product: that’s a staggering 55 million homes. Mike Daisey was one of the obsessed: a tech geek who worshipped at the altar of Apple, until the American actor and writer took a trip to the Foxconn factory in Shenzhen, China, where Apple and many other major electronic brands make their products. His resultant monologue, The Agony & Ecstasy of Steve Jobs—which premiered in the US in 2010—told of fre-
quent suicides, punishing working hours and cramped dorms in the estimated 430,000-worker factory. After performing it himself to much acclaim and no small amount of controversy, Daisey has now made his play available for anyone to stage. This production at the Gilded Balloon was initially adapted by Andy Arnold, Artistic Director of Glasgow’s Tron theatre, for O’Rourke and director Marcus Roche, who further cut the original two-hour monologue to fit an hour-long festival slot. It’s shaped around a dual premise, says O’Rourke: “It’s a guy who has a crisis of faith, almost, about these products that he loves and all the things that he does as a result, like going to China, and then…about [late Apple boss] Steve Jobs being a genius of design and vision. Those were the two contrasting angles we wanted to play.” It’s a hard-hitting hour, and an “uncomfortable truth,” says O’Rourke, for anyone who owns an Apple product – or indeed, any other brand manufactured by
12 fest edinburgh festival guide 2012 | August 21 - 27
Foxconn: “The play isn’t about Steve Jobs being responsible for all this stuff happening,” says O’Rourke. “It’s the entire industry. Almost all the electronics are being made in one city, and it’s because of the pressure from the markets, our desire to have these new products all the time, as well as these margins they have to push.” But Daisey’s claims about Foxconn’s working conditions came under fire when, following a retracted broadcast of the monologue on US radio show This American Life, it emerged that some of what Daisey said he experienced first-hand in Shenzhen were actually stories borrowed from others. The subsequent media storm led New York’s Public Theater, where the show was then playing, to issue a statement reading: “Mike is an artist, not a journalist. Nevertheless, we wish he had been more precise with us and our audiences about what was and wasn’t his personal experience in the piece.” Daisey admitted this blurred line between reportage and theatre, and u
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August 21 - 27 | edinburgh festival guide 2012 fest 13
festfeature “The play isn’t about Steve Jobs being responsible for all this stuff happening... it’s the entire industry." t excised the material in question, while his claims about Foxconn have since been corroborated by news outlets including The Guardian and The New York Times. “At the end of the day all the things that are in our production are true, they have happened,” says O’Rourke. “If you research the subject of Foxconn, there are some awful, harrowing reports that we found. A lot of cynical people have just researched the play and it’s led them down this alley way of all this controversy that surrounded it in America. But nobody’s actually researched the subject itself. What’s incredibly vindicating for the play is if Amnesty have noticed that this is a story worth telling.” Though they stress they’re no activists and were “hired for the job,” it’s clear the play has become important to O’Rourke and Roche. “It’s very rewarding to be able to do something where it does actually make a difference to some people,” says O’Rourke. “If everyone came to see it and just went ‘well that’s a bunch of bollocks and I’m not going to do anything,’ I’d be disappointed.” A handout distributed at the end of the show details some of the ways you can act on what you’ve heard – by emailing Apple, for example, or not upgrading your phone every year. “It’s a call for people not just to accept everything,” says Roche. “It sows the seeds. If you know your computer is handmade then you start to question what else is handmade.” Strangely though, both say working on the play has given them a “massive respect” for Jobs, for his vision and genius. “He cared so passionately about design,” says O’Rourke. “He created these incredible products but he blinded himself to the fact that the way in which a thing is made is part of the design itself.” f
14 fest edinburgh festival guide
THE AMNESTY NOMINEES Five other productions have made the Freedom of Expression Award shortlist. All That Is Wrong Performing in near-silence, 18 year-old Koba Ryckewaert creates a mind-map on the floor, writing words in chalk on a blackboard which is gradually enlarged to contain the complexities of the teenager’s personal and social anxieties. Whether those concern familial relationships, physical insecurities or fears on a more global scale, this unusual production shows the teenage mind to be crammed with worries, large and small. Theatre Uncut Theatre Uncut returns—and makes its Edinburgh debut—with a second series of short plays by wellknown writers, this time with a global perspective. The Eurozone crisis, the Occupy movement and the state of global capitalism are addressed by international writers including Neil LaBute, David Greig, Anders Lustgarten, Mohammad Al Attar and Lena Kitsopoulou.
The Two Worlds of Charlie F Devised by Masterclass, an educational initiative of London’s Theatre Royal Haymarket, this production was borne out of a desire to help rehabilitate and inspire injured soldiers returning from Afghanistan. Derived from interviews conducted with service personnel, and starring wounded soldiers themselves, Charlie F addresses, in unambiguous terms, both the physical and mental fallout suffered by men and women returning from war. Why Do You Stand There in the Rain? Peter Arnott’s new play tells the story of the Bonus Army, a group of US WWI veterans who marched on Washington during the Great Depression to demand work and the payment of promised bonuses. They remained for three months, until they were forcefully, violently removed. The young student cast illuminates this powerful story exploring the consequences of financial crisis on individuals and the strength it takes to affect political change. Mies Julie Mies Julie is director Yael Farber’s reimagining of Strindberg’s Miss Julie, set in a contemporary South Africa where violence and injustice remain 20 years after the end of apartheid. Fully making Strindberg’s work her own, Farber has created a powerful, intensely sexual production simmering with erotic tension. Deeply affecting, and at times brutal, Farber’s production ingeniously makes a classic play pertinent for our times.
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COMEDY NEEDS A NEW ICON. Discover Southampton Solent University’s Comedy and Performance Degree www.solent.ac.uk/comedy E: fcis.registry@solent.ac.uk Tel: +44 (0)23 8031 9536
CLAUDIA O’DOHERTY AFTER THE LAUGHTER Photos: Claudine Quinn
Aussie standup Claudia O'Doherty is leaving comedy behind; she's decided to get into Serious Theatre. Only her new show, The Telescope, keeps going horribly wrong. Lyle Brennan investigates.
S
HE’S HAD a good run: two successful Fringes, a clutch of awards and respect from peers and punters alike. But as it turns out, Claudia O’Doherty has hated every moment of it, and this year she’s throwing in the towel. She’s almost out of contract with the ruthless commercial comedy agency that’s held her hostage for three years, and now the time is ripe for change. Welcome to her audacious first step into what she portentously terms “Difficult Theatre.” Its name is The Telescope. It is black and white and red. It is serious. There is blood. “No more jokes,” goes the tagline. So why does everyone keep laughing? Well, last night, The Telescope went calamitously, risibly wrong. A technical meltdown saw this most ambitious of productions reduced to snatches of pre-recorded dialogue and malfunctioning props as the artist was eaten alive by her own creation. O’Doherty flapped and winced, the audience cackled back. The thing is, precisely this sort of disaster has struck the show with alarming regularity. Every night, in fact – it’s almost as if it were deliberate… Today O’Doherty has come to the Traverse, Edinburgh’s home of challenging new drama, to talk about dipping her toe into these unknown waters. “I think I’m still getting across the spirit of the work,” she insists. “The integrity of the work stays intact.” But, she concedes: “There’s been a lot of technical blunders – every single night.” The Telescope tells a story of suicide and secrets, of murder and monks, a cursed spyglass and star-crossed soulmates doomed to live centuries apart. At least, it might do – if only O’Doherty could stop it falling to pieces. Just how did an entertainer come up with such a grand, nightmarish vision? “Well… I had to register a title,” she says.
“I felt like The Telescope could come across as a serious theatre show title. And then I had to think of the show. “I was like: ‘Well, I know there’s going to be a telescope in it. And I think I’d like to be a New York City cop for a bit and I’d like to do karate kicks. But I’d also like to be a convict washerwoman, so how can I do that?’ Well, if this telescope can communicate through time, all that stuff is achievable!” Word has got out about the spectacle of half-baked incompetence; among those
16 fest edinburgh festival guide 2012 | August 21 - 27
queuing stood examples of the world O’Doherty claims to be sidestepping, and that which she aspires to conquer. First was Mock the Week host Dara Ó Briain, an upper-echelon standup whose star status found him trying to keep a low profile under a black baseball cap. No such luck. A few feet behind him, barely noticed, was a fellow comic and friend of O’Doherty’s, the venerable Daniel Kitson. He’s one of that rare breed who has made the leap from standup to sincere drama
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"I was 14 and I had to do a monologue about getting an abortion. I could not have been more ill-equipped to do something like that."
and come out smelling of roses, now reigning in the venue where his friend sits today. Faced with a choice between Ó Briain’s over-exposure and Kitson’s indie acclaim, it would be easy to see why O’Doherty might try for a slice of the Difficult Theatre action. That is, of course, if she had any real intention of doing so. For it’s no secret that The Telescope is not a sincere venture into dramatic territory, but O’Doherty’s
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latest attempt yet at what she calls “high-concept stupidity.” Like her previous adventures, Monster of the Deep 3D and What is Soil Erosion?, the idea is to begin with an outlandish or obscure premise, then veer sharply off course. At its heart is her inability to keep a straight face in the presence of earnest performance. It is inspired partly by friends in the Difficult Theatre business, partly by the acting classes she suffered as a teenager. “I had to do a monologue from Sweet Bird of Youth,” she recalls, “and I’m not saying Tennessee Williams is bad at all—he’s very good—but I was 14 and I had to do a monologue about getting an abortion. I could not have been more ill-equipped to do something like that. “I got quite a talking to from my teacher. He was like: ‘You have to do it. You have to do it properly.’” Now free of adolescent self-consciousness, she’s still not able to take these things seriously. Not that she’s out to attack anyone – she respects both the serious drama she bungles and the mainstream comedy of her show’s “standup
factory” backstory. As ever, the only butt of the joke is her. Incredibly, the set-up for The Telescope is based very much on a real-life Fringe nightmare. Last year’s What is Soil Erosion? hinged precariously on some 85 technical cues, and so when a stand-in tech turned up to cover for the usual guy, the gremlins readied to pounce. “During the finale the tech just stopped the video,” she says. “It was the sound and the vision for the entire finale and so everybody thought it was a joke. And he just turned the lights on and was like: ‘I can’t get it going again’. “It was incredibly awkward because I just had to say that that was the end of the show. And people still thought: ‘Oh, we get it. This is just a really intense joke.’ And I was like: ‘Nope. Not a joke… OK, so… that’s it. You have to go now… sorry.’” And so here she is, having taken that horror and made it her own. She derives great comedy from bad theatre. She trips up like a consummate pro. f Underbelly, Cowgate, 7:45pm – 8:45pm, 19–26 Aug, £9.00 – £10.00
August 21 - 27 | edinburgh festival guide 2012 fest 17
THE STAND COMEDY CLUB
0131 558 7272 | thestand.co.uk
THE ASSEMBLY ROOMS
54 George Street 0844 693 3008 www.arfringe.com
CtheFestival Bonnie Davies
I’m High On Life: What Are You On? 1 – 27 Aug 9.45pm C eca
C presents... & Showdown Productions
News Smash
C theatre
Shakespeare for Breakfast 1 – 27 Aug 10.00am C
Showdown Productions
CW Productions & C theatre
Giddy Goat
1 – 27 Aug 5.30pm C
1 – 27 Aug 12.15pm C
Kipper Tie Theatre & C theatre
Light in the Dark Storytellers
19 – 27 Aug 2.00pm C nova
Xavier Toby: Binge Thinking
The Ugly Duckling
2 – 27 Aug 6.00pm C nova
1 – 27 Aug 10.00am C
C theatre
C theatre
Dead Posh Productions
1 – 27 Aug 1.15pm C
1 – 27 Aug 11.15am C
2 – 27 Aug 3.20pm C aquila
2 – 27 Aug 10.00pm C nova
This Is Soap
Hansel and Gretel
C theatre
The Madness of King Lear
Still Life (also known as Brief Encounter)
Forgotten Heroes
Lewis Barlow
Return of the Close Up Magician 19 – 27 Aug 8.00pm C nova
With more than 210 shows and events across our venues in the heart of Edinburgh, we celebrate our 21st year with a huge programme of theatre, musicals, and international work at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. See it all with C venues.
HHHHH
Studied, controlled and absolutely sublime surrealism Page 27 Photo: Claudine Quinn
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festcomedy
PAUL FOOT
August 21 - 27 | edinburgh festival guide 2012 fest 21
festcomedy Sean Hughes: Life Becomes Noises
HHHHH
The veteran comic returns to the Fringe with two shows this year. Sean Hughes Stands Up, as its title suggests, is what we’ve come to expect from him in recent times, a relatively conventional set tackling the usual staples of comedy. Life Becomes Noises, by contrast, is a thematically unified and theatrically staged work which frequently delves into disconcertingly personal territory. Though basing shows around paternal bereavement is something of a trend at present, no one else has had the nerve to deal with the subject in such frank and unsentimental terms. Concerned that we take death too seriously, Hughes gallops on stage dressed as a jockey. He comments on our lacklustre reaction to what we discover is a dream sequence and insists that we play along with more enthusiasm. He goes on to interact with glove puppets, chat conversationally
Late Night Gimp Fight
HHHHH
Opening a show by projecting your worst reviews onto a large screen might seem a brave business. In reality, it’s a risk-free but rather clever way of hauling an audience onside from the start – a shortcut to blitz the dull arbiters of taste who would insist that the smut the audience are giggling uncontrollably at isn’t, in fact, funny. It’s not the only smart choice this foursome make: in an hour which is all about fun rather than close-to-the-bone comedy, this collection of sketches doesn’t really demonstrate the claimed commitment to the “depraved” so much as to bawdy toilet humour. It’s all the excitement of feeling part of a
with his sound technician and have the front row create a distraction during a costume change. As these self-aware antics recur throughout the hour, one is reminded of Sean’s Show, his third-wall breaking meta-sitcom from the early 90s. Where once these were whimsical moments of anarchic innocence, they now seem like a form of desperate escapism and contrast starkly with the man’s newly acquired age, wisdom and experience. What makes Life Becomes Noises so affecting is that darkness seeps into it despite Hughes’ best intentions. For every jocular recollection of his father’s confused answer phone etiquette is a candid memory that the performer acknowledges will haunt him for the rest of his life. Certainly, an audience member could make the same claim about this innovative and hugely accomplished show. [Lewis Porteous] Pleasance Courtyard, 5:30pm – 6:30pm, 19–27 Aug, £13.00 – £14.00
subversive comedy movement, without actually needing to leave feeling “dirty and used” – a fact of which I am extremely thankful. One does, however, leave feeling pretty drained on account of laughing for the large part of an hour – again, a positive in my book. What Late Night Gimp Fight serves up here is a pacy, slick and largely original whirlwind of sketches. Crediting their audience with some degree of intelligence (another smart move), the group are freed from the need to spell out setups or punchlines. The result is a set which errs on the side of grabbing the laughs and sprinting on, rather than on the side of indulgence. Indeed, those few longer sketches—presumably added to vary the pace—feel laboured by comparison, say, to
22 fest edinburgh festival guide 2012 | August 21 - 27
a 10 second visual joke about the Kamikaze Pilots Reunion 2012. Much more exciting variation is provided by mixing punchlines so obvious you can see them lumbering for miles with ones that creep up and
crack you in the side of the head. Smart choices; big laughs. [Evan Beswick] Pleasance Courtyard, 10:00pm – 11:00pm, 18–27 Aug, £12.50 – £14.00
THE ASSEMBLY ROOMS
54 George Street 0844 693 3008 www.arfringe.com
festcomedy
Oyster Eyes: Some Rice
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Hedgehogs off to Oyster Eyes for deciding on a style, and furiously committing to it. No, that wasn’t a typo, but a nonsequitur. Something the foursome have latched onto and are, quite frankly, proceeding to pound their audience over the head with. This is loud, fast, energetically performed and very silly stuff. Saying it’s too silly would
Deborah Frances White: The Cult Following
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By this point into the Fringe you will have lost count of how many times you have been assailed by flyerers, but is it more or less tiresome than being bothered by Jehovah’s Witnesses? It apparently takes 5000 hours for this religious group to convert someone (making one wonder what the ratio stats are for flyers to audience members), one of the many intriguing facts you will learn from Deborah Frances-White. Given that we have all been door-stepped by the members of the Watch Tower
be like pointing out Richard Herring shouldn’t talk so much about cocks; they’ve made their choice, and that’s that. If you like it, you like it. If it’s not your thing, then prepare for a painful hour. Out-of-context gags have been kind to Fringe shows over the years but it’s another thing altogether when every line is left-field and every phrase is a self contained joke. There’s nothing to latch on to and it doesn’t help that, while there are some
nice concepts there’s also far too much reliance on cheap laughs. As in, people shitting themselves, wearing wigs and then shitting themselves again. A Chicago spoof is refreshing (finally something we can recognise as normal) and particularly well-executed, before descending into unnecessary cheapness once more. The lowpoint comes early—a skit on polygamy where volume and looking weird are substitutes for humour—and it’s difficult to get back in
once you’ve been lost. Also, putting a man in a dress and having him stare and shout non-sequiturs is about as lazy as comedy gets. However, a good three quarters of the foursome give good performances and much of the audience had a bloody riot. Why not take a gamble and see which side you fall on? [Stevie Martin]
Bible and Tract Society, it is as, Frances-White points out, surprising how little we know about these doom-mongering vegans, as she portrays them, with their very specific concept of heaven. FrancesWhite herself speaks from considerable experience. Vulnerable and lonely in her childhood she was ripe for recruitment into a cult, but she soon started having her doubts, especially after she was persuaded against going to university. The story of how she finally dropped out is one of two anecdotes told as monologue flashbacks interspersed with her more free-form, and occasionally interactive, delve into the Jehovah’s Witness psyche.
It’s a study that remembers to see the lighter side and there is much deliberation the religion’s apparent reverence of fruit. Smart, funny and interesting, Frances-White’s problem is that she has too much to say, trying to get a
two-for-one out of the monologue conceit and elsewhere telling her story in too much of a scrapbook form. [Julian Hall]
24 fest edinburgh festival guide 2012 | August 21 - 27
Underbelly, Cowgate, 10:25pm – 11:25pm, 19–26 Aug, £9.00 – £10.00
Assembly Roxy, 4:15pm – 5:15pm, 19–27 Aug, £10.00 – £11.00
BY SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT WITH LISA WHITE AT GLORIOUS MANAGEMENT ARE PROUD TO PRESENT
“You’re in the presence of a potential megastar” THE GUARDIAN
“One of the funniest shows you’ll see all year, anywhere” THE DAILY TELEGRAPH
“A wonderfully crazy funny hour” THE SCOTSMAN
ED EXT RA SHO WS ADD 7.50 AUG 21 @ 5.10PM & AUG 23 @
DIRECTED BY MATT PEOVER
PM
www.gloriousmanagement.com www.nickhelm.co.uk
www.boundandgaggedcomedy.com
BoundAndGaggedComedy
@BandGComedy
festcomedy The Rubberbandits
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The Rubberbandits are already hip hop heroes in their homeland thanks to a winning combination of their Limerick twang and the ability to drop references to Dr Dre and hurling in the same breath. The easiest point of reference would be Goldie Lookin’ Chain, South Wales’s answer to the Wu-Tang Clan. But this would do the ‘Bandits little justice – and you wouldn’t dare say it to their faces. Mr Chrome and Blindboy Boat Club are a fearsome pair – hubcap-stealing, glue-huffing scumbags wearing balaclavas fashioned from plastic bags. Behind them on the decks, in a moustachioed rubber mask, is DJ Willie O’Dea-J; it seems Ireland’s former Minister for Defence has found his true calling and is even more of a reprobate than his bandmates. Attention drifts to the sight of Willie slowly, mutely losing his mind on a deadly mix of Class-As.
Tonight it’s standing room only, a wise move that fosters a suitably riotous atmosphere. Beefed up with big beats and slick visuals, the songs are tightly written – pleasingly juvenile but shot through with daft satire and character, and never a forced rhyme. ‘Spastic Hawk’ and ‘Black
Man’, as the titles suggest, dice with shockingly bad taste, while ‘Up the RA’ is a hopelessly misinformed lesson in Irish history. But it’s ‘Spoiling Ivan’ that proves the highlight, a touching story of what happens when a bag-faced lunatic falls for a six year-old boy. It’s a delicate
balance of platonic innocence and implied menace that, crucially, never ventures into the truly wrong, and shows the Rubberbandits at their finest. [Lyle Brennan]
has unwittingly become an alien host, but dashing Oscar Rocketteer (think Rick Mayall’s Lord Flashheart in Blackadder) is too cocky to notice, leaving his brother Derek, a farmer, with the task of saving the world. The Beta Males quartet— John Henry Falle, Richard Soames, Jon Gracey and Guy
Kelly—throw themselves into the performance; all possess more than enough wit, charm and exuberance to ensure that the energy levels rarely dip below full-throttle. There are one too many routines—particularly a lengthy segment about animals in space—that feel tangential and just not quite
funny enough, but overall there are sufficient laughs, high jinks and general whimsy to keep the audience engaged throughout. It’s space Jim, but not as we know it. [Peter Geoghegan]
Gilded Balloon Teviot, 10:30pm – 11:30pm, 19–26 Aug, not 20, 21, 22, 23, £14
The Beta Males in... The Space Race
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It’s May 1969 and all is not quite right in the village of Lower Birchley. Beneath the bucolic façade, scientists in a secret bunker are working furiously on a plan to send a man to the Moon. But when a test flight goes awry, crash landing in nearby Upper Birchley, Britain’s hopes of winning the space race – and, indeed, the future of mankind – are left hanging in the balance. One part James Bond, one part Space Odyssey and ten parts Plan 9 From Outer Space, The Beta Males In…The Space Race is a wonderfully goodnatured take on the classic B-movie romp. As a result of his accident, test flight pilot Professor Brian Brilliance
26 fest edinburgh festival guide 2012 | August 21 - 27
Pleasance Courtyard, 5:45pm – 6:45pm, 19–27 Aug, £10.00 – £11.00
www.festmag.co.uk
festcomedy Paul Foot: Kenny Larch is Dead
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For many years a fixture on the comedy circuit, Paul Foot has endured something of a marginalized presence. Standing by his surrealism in the days before the success of Stewart Lee expanded the market for alternative comedy in the UK and provided the antidote to Michael McIntyrestyle easily digestible observational humour. Indeed, because Foot’s particular approach to standup stands resolutely in the world of the surreal, he has often been dismissed as alienating. But this year’s offering, Kenny Larch is Dead, is a consistently brilliant and truly accomplished example of his finely-honed skill, not to mention a joyously refreshing departure from the TV-ready comedy that Edinburgh audiences are drowning in this year. In typically esoteric fashion, Foot offers up musings on topics as wildly diverse as a cheddar collection and lesbian salmon via an inspired imagining of actress Sue Johnston bouncing around on a trampoline. But this table of contents doesn’t do justice to the mastery at work here; Foot’s delivery and mannerisms are sometimes wild, sometimes more subtle, but always expertly controlled and utterly hilarious. Indeed, the great skill of Paul Foot is that, whether he is fumbling to open a bag to find a note confirming his absurd punch lines or screaming ferociously in the face of an audience member, there’s a sense of subtly constructed synchronicity, finding laughter in every inch of the material. There are not-so-subtle suggestions in Kenny Larch is Dead that Foot is well aware of his reputation for inhabit-
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ing the most extreme alternative end of the spectrum. At one point he wryly proclaims: “I know how to play the game” and proceeds to placate his supposedly disappointed managers with a segment on supermarket anagrams. Of course, with the Paul Foot treatment it’s a showstopper, but it’s also a slap in the face
for those who might argue that taking the less-travelled route in looking for a laugh is in some way inferior. The finale sees him comfortably push the boundaries of the form further, abandoning whole sentences altogether and merely saying individual words. Foot’s control of intonation and cadence
is masterful, the tone and pitch of his voice providing the laughs. There is nothing random about Foot’s surrealism; it is studied and controlled. It is, frankly, sublime. [Gemma Flynn] Underbelly, Cowgate, 7:30pm – 8:30pm, 19–26 Aug, £10.50 – £12.00
August 21 - 27 | edinburgh festival guide 2012 fest 27
festcomedy Rick Shapiro: Rebirth Jarred Christmas: Let’s Go MoFo HHHHH It’s clear from the moment Rick Shapiro shuffles onto the stage that he shouldn’t be here. A recent coronary condition has left him weak and shaky, while he’s still suffering from amnesia caused by a car accident four years ago. He’s barely able to get through two consecutive lines for the first five minutes of the show, never mind deliver a fully-formed joke. Stuttering non sequiturs give way to baffling rants and pointless misanthropy, punctuated by apologetic mutterings about his health. “Stay with me,” he pleads. “I had a heart attack and I’m on more drugs now than when I did drugs”. In many ways it’s comedy at its most tragic, yet as the show progresses he gains in confidence and delivers sparks of inspiration – even if he’s incapable of following them up. Shapiro would no doubt loathe the description, but it’s a performance of tremendous bravery which, between the numerous references to oral sex, often sees him bare his soul. His description of leaning against the shower wall “like a broken down Spiderman” while a nurse washes him is just one of the poignant moments which unexpectedly crop up. Ultimately, in a world where standup is constantly accused of bland homogenisation, Shapiro is still a true original fighting against the system (and his own doctor). “I used to be afraid of nothing,” he confides when contemplating his own death. “Now I’m afraid of nothingness”. Here’s hoping this newfound respect for life will see him take a much-needed extended holiday and return angrier and better than ever next year. [David Hepburn] Assembly George Sq, 6:10pm – 7:10pm, 22, 24 & 25 Aug, £13 – £14
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If there’s one thing Jarred Christmas loves more than comedy, it’s dance. So deep runs this love, in fact, that his new show fuses his standup routine with random bursts of the stuff, with some pretty serious shapes being thrown in between anecdotes about World War II and fatherhood. His set may not be wildly outlandish, but it does have the occasional element of surprise, and this is not to be underestimated. Christmas covers reasonably safe ground: his “sexy” Kiwi accent, life with two young children and the early days of courtship between his grandparents. This isn’t earth shatteringly new territory, but for the most part it works, particularly the material centring on his own familial life. Revealing his criteria for the perfect mate (“someone who eats cheeseburgers and can protect me in a fight”) and a distaste for waxed men, Christmas is engaging in his vitriol. Where things slow down, though, are during the repeated anecdotes about WWII, which interrupt
Elis James: Speaking as a Mother
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Elis James struggles with rough audiences. The critical reception of his 2011 show Do You Remember the First Time was somewhat marred by a gang of 25 Glasgow Rangers fans on a stag do– one of the perils of inviting the entire Fringe press-pack on the same night. Unfortunately there are a couple of tricky customers in tonight, a gaggle of drunk women who chatter throughout, heckle (albeit politely) and generally put James off his stride.
28 fest edinburgh festival guide 2012 | August 21 - 27
an otherwise linear narrative. The links made between present and past feel tenuous at times, and this hinders the pace of what is otherwise an incredibly energetic set. A gag (literally) about accidentally fellating an Irish setter as a teen soon sees the laughs rolling back in, and the finale is undeniably amongst the greatest to ever grace the
Fringe (just make sure you’re sitting in the front two rows). Christmas is well on par with a number of his comic contemporaries, and a few more years on the circuit should see him receiving the acclaim he deserves. [Charlotte Lytton]
James perhaps struggles with assertiveness, a characteristic that manifests itself in his stories about being mugged by boys on bikes, and sexually harassed by teenage girls. But this put-upon quality is key to his charm: the Welsh valley-boy, seemingly out of his depth in the big bad world. Speaking As A Mother is his collection of stories borne of life as a fish out of water. It should be pointed out that James is a naturally funny comedian. His gentle Welsh lilt—like that once adopted by Mark Watson in years gone by—imbues each sentence with a joyous charm that can’t help but be infectious. His
whole demeanour conveys a boyish innocence, and it can’t pass unnoticed that one or two older ladies in the audience look protectively upon him with a motherly affection. Unfortunately, though, this is a by-product of there being no edge to the show. Nothing in his material is particularly new or fresh, nothing particularly dangerous or exciting. For a comedian consistently lauded as an exciting up-andcomer, this is disappointingly middle-of-the-road stuff. [Ben Judge]
Gilded Balloon Teviot, 9:30pm – 10:30pm, 19–26 Aug, £10.50 – £11.50
Pleasance Courtyard, 7:00pm – 8:00pm, 19–27 Aug, £10.00 – £12.00
www.festmag.co.uk
THE ASSEMBLY ROOMS
54 George Street 0844 693 3008 www.arfringe.com
Beatboxing virtuoso and star of Edinburgh hit Tom Tom Crew Underbelly Productions and Strut & Fret Production House present
Frontman of Australia’s TOM TOM CREW and beatbox addict Tom Thum returns to Edinburgh for his highly anticipated solo debut.
“Thum is truly phenomenal” “True larynx magic” THE INDEPENDENT
EVENING STANDARD
“Tom Thum appears to have swallowed an entire orchestra and several backing singers” THE GUARDIAN
– WINNER –
UNDERBELLY AWARD ADELAIDE FRINGE 2012
6.45PM (7.45PM)
2-27 AUGUST 2012 (not 8, 13 or 20)
30 fest edinburgh festival guide 2012 | August 21 - 27
www.festmag.co.uk
festcomedy Alfie Brown: Soul For Sale
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Since his death in 1994, comedy has been haunted by Bill Hicks. As his image loomed larger in popular culture, countless other comedians who fuel their jokes with articulate rage have risked being unfairly branded ‘Hicks-lite.’ Alfie Brown has broken that cycle; he completely owns his anger, forges a distinct philosophy, and succeeds in making his roaring, profane, crusading humour feel entirely unique and very funny. Take a random sampling of Fringe standups this year, and you’ll find more than a few peddling familiar, storebought ire at easy targets like celebrity culture and the Tory government. But a very necessary element of this comedy of rage is to identify those sacred cows which need a dose of verbal napalm, but which seem to be a blind spot for everyone else. Luckily, this is second nature to Brown, as demonstrated by an opening which destroys the cult of Adele, before moving on to other deserving targets.
respect for Michael McIntyre as a human being will find it obliterated by Brown’s merciless impression of his grinning vapidity. At one point, Brown relates the story of an industry scumbag giving him the following unsolicited advice:
“Be funny, not clever. No one cares that you’re clever.” We can all be grateful that Brown is, in fact, both. [Sean Bell]
Seann Walsh is like a sexy fan-fiction spin-off of Michael McIntyre. He refracts similar mannerisms and material through an attractive figure of a shaggy-haired Brighton blonde. The telly regular’s fame has even been bolstered by his viral impression of McIntyre and can only grow. Like his contemporary, Walsh bounds back and forth across the stage throughout Seann To Be Wild as if completing an observational comedy bleep test, at each end hitting typical topics in impressively original ways. A vajazzle jibe,
despite drawing applause, is unrepeatable for its overhashed subject matter. The challenge of rendering tired material interesting seems the source of Walsh’s energy. When the show’s underlying theme of his own binge drinking hijinks kicks in, it also lags. A taxonomy of vomits and drunken dances doesn’t build to the same comic crescendo as a more generic evening out in a restaurant does. Yet his delivery remains wonderfully spontaneous; a bombast undercut by vulnerability that means whenever anyone pops out for a piss he pursues them like a needy child. Walsh is also a physical comedian, mastering the ‘show
don’t tell’ school of narrative in ways that show the audience themselves up. Impressions of subconscious reactions to smoke alarms, snooze buttons, and bus seating arrangements are so unsettlingly familiar you may fear for your own individuality. But Walsh becomes swaggeringly sure of his targets as the show continues. When a final Jägerbomb gag is more brash than accurate he doesn’t appear to notice. Those enamoured by his stadium charm may not too. [Catherine Sylvain]
www.festmag.co.uk
August 21 - 27 | edinburgh festival guide 2012 fest 31
Seann Walsh: Seann To Be Wild
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What makes Brown special is the fact he trades in ideas as well as anger. He cares deeply about the artistic possibilities of comedy, which is why he’s so disgusted by the “cartoon nightmare” it’s become anyone with any lingering
Underbelly, Cowgate, 6:25pm – 7:25pm, 19–26 Aug, £9.50 – £10.50
Pleasance Courtyard, 7:50pm – 8:50pm, 19–26 Aug, not 23, £11.00 – £12.00
festcomedy Seymour Mace: Squeg
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Basing half an hour of your show on topics the audience suggests means that, obviously, some days work better than others. Unfortunately this particular day, while a perfectly genial way to spend half an hour, didn’t exactly blow the roof off Stand 2. Combining whimsical tangents, homemade fans and cartoons drawn by Mace himself (a definite highlight) the material he has prepared is odd but pleasant, delivered in an unintimidating, funny-guydown-the-pub style. The suggestions from the audience are patchy, however, with Mace mining strong stuff from a couple of people, while struggling with the others; it’s rarely a good sign when a comic has to resort to telling people to fuck off for laughs. It’s also rarely particularly funny. However, he’s a likeable guy with some seriously amusing doodles of bizarre contexts and strange scenarios; it’s a shame the audience participation section drags so much. But that’s the point of the hour as he himself announces at the top- it’s not prepared, it’s not tightly written, it’s just a guy having some fun with people in a room. By the end, everyone’s chipping in- we learn a new riddle, a woman tells us she’s from Newcastle- and while Mace keeps the conversation fairly interesting, you can’t help feeling you’ve paid for jokes. So where are the jokes? Riffing may be an exciting concept, but when there’s not much to riff from, it just looks lazy. And there are enough quality moments to hint that when this works, it works well. Today, it doesn’t quite work but, thankfully, the weirdly wonderful cartoons and Mace’s charm just about rescue it. [Stevie Martin] The Stand II, 7:00pm – 8:00pm, 19–26 Aug, £8.00
Fred MacAulay
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“If there’s anyone here to see that nice man on the radio then strap in,” Fred MacAulay warns the packed house in the Lothian and Borders Police Club (aka Stand 3). Macaulay, who presents a regular show on Radio Scotland and is a stalwart of Radio 4’s News Quiz, needn’t have worried: the, er, mature crowd (“the oldest demographic on the Fringe”) know exactly what to expect, and appear to love every minute of it. Legally Bald 2 is less a show and more a collection of funny anecdotes about everything from Scottish trains and the Olympics, to getting old, all delivered with a wry smile, effortless comic timing and enough punchlines to keep everyone satisfied. MacAulay’s rapport with his overwhelmingly Scottish audience is excellent, and it’s easy to see why so many hands are raised when he asked who saw last year’s show. Smiling a bit too often for his bona fide grumpy old git schtick, his tirades against corporate “bland shite” are admittedly well aimed and
Vikki Stone: Hot Mess
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Vikki Stone is hardly a hot mess. Sure, she mentions it a couple of times at the top of the show before the rest of the hour becomes an unconnected series of songs on popular culture, bits of standup and a fair few parodies, but there’s nothing messy about her. She’s got a strong voice, can play the shit out of a piano and her standup is well rehearsed without much of the promised chaos. Coming across as slick and likeable, unfortunately there just aren’t enough jokes.
32 fest edinburgh festival guide 2012 | August 21 - 27
the overwhelmingly goodnatured atmosphere (thanks to the adoring audience) also allows him to push the envelope occasionally, such as when he asks for a show of hands on that most divisive of subjects, Scottish independence.
He might not be cutting edge, but Fred MacAulay remains one of the most amiable acts on the Fringe. [Peter Geoghegan]
And the parodies—those of Hilary Devay and an especially long, drawn out Deal or No Deal routine—are more wacky than full-on belly laugh inducing. Such observations on pop culture are intentionally silly, but go no further than cartoonish, rather obvious lampooning and the songs themselves do all sound remarkably similar. One that talks of a well endowed lover is probably the strongest, but it’s still far from comedy gold, despite her energetic delivery. In terms of the show as a whole, well yes it’s a bit of a structural mess – which is how Stone wants it. Putting in
a song about how reviewers hate how vulgar she is (despite there being very little vulgarity in the hour) and complaining about the fact that comics always need to have a structure means she gets away with it – or so she tells us. But, whether this was intentional or not, it just looks like a lazy way of excusing incoherence. She is certainly talented, but this hour isn’t a worthy showcase of what Vikki Stone is truly capable of. [Stevie Martin]
The Stand Comedy Club III & IV, 7:45pm – 8:45pm, 19–26 Aug, not 20, £10.00
Underbelly, Bristo Square, 8:10pm – 9:10pm, 19–26 Aug, £10.00 – £11.00
www.festmag.co.uk
festcomedy Craig Hill: Jock’s Trap
Pretending things are a Cock
It must be pretty galling as a young comedian, risking everything to bust a gut at the largest festival of arts in the world, to see Craig Hill filling big venues night after night after night. Self-professed ringmaster of “the poofiest show” at the Fringe, Hill is blessed with audiences who hang on his every word. And to audiences most comics couldn’t dream of, night after night, he delivers the most complacent hour of standup going. So, Hill draws confidently and repeatedly from his tried and tested box of tricks. Ostensibly, this involves asking audience members where they are from, making a derogatory remark about the location, then optionally following this up with a catty remark about the respondent (“I see you came dressed as a cleaner tonight”). It’s all very friendly stuff, and he is an undoubtedly slick performer, whose unparalleled ability to build rapport with an audience is by far his strongest suit. But, at times, even chinks in that red leather armour appear. A man from Australia tells him Perth is “a boring hellhole,” yet Hill ploughs on regardless with his 10 minutes on how chirpy Australians are. “Sometimes it just comes out of my mooth!” he protests, after deriding a head of un-conditioned hair. He’s not wrong: Hill could do about 50 minutes of tonight’s set on autopilot. But, ultimately none of this matters. Craig Hill has something money can’t buy: enough charisma to fill Bristo Square and beyond. And, damnit, that sells. [Evan Beswick]
In a long and increasingly amusing introduction, Aussie Jon Bennett demonstrates an intense preoccupation with audience expectations of his show. It’s an entirely reasonable preoccupation: a show about a man travelling the world for three years, taking over 300 photos of various objects protruding from his groin could easily be an hour of unattractive laddishness. It could conform to the boorish stereotype of the hypermacho white, Australian male, stomping the globe on a relentlessly depraved tour of the hospitality industry. In fact, the younger brother to a fairly rotten-sounding school bully, Bennett couldn’t be less laddish if he tried. As he tells us in a quote dubiously attributed to Plato, “behind every cock is a story.” It’s these stories that are his focus – the cocks serving as metaphorical hooks over which he drapes his narratives. So, for instance, “Machu Picchu cock” thrusts us into a lovely little story about the blossoming of a friendship with a Swedish
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Underbelly, Bristo Square, 7:30pm – 8:30pm, 19–27 Aug, not 20, £12.50 – £14.50
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Nina Conti: Dolly Mixtures
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Nina Conti’s recent BBC Four documentaries used her ventriloquism for some startling and touching self-analysis. Dolly Mixtures continues in this vein, bringing to life new characters based on people from her past or aspects of her personality. This means that Monk the monkey, her partner of over a decade, makes only a fleeting appearance. More explicitly playing Conti’s id than ever before, the cheeky chimp proves a natural compere, loosening up the audience with his blunt
34 fest edinburgh festival guide 2012 | August 21 - 27
man he met in South America; “door snake cock” provides the seed for a tale about the day he bested his brother. Part travelogue, part personal adventure, Bennett tells these stories engagingly, swinging nicely between the hilarious and the sublime. So what about puerile? It’s a criticism Pretending Things are a C*ck struggles a little more to escape from,
and every so often Bennett permits a peek at the childishness which has largely driven the escapade. But, then again, there’s a fiver here for anyone who doesn’t raise a smile at the majestic “New York City skyline sunset cock.” [Evan Beswick]
jibes. Yet soon he’s back in his bag and it’s time to meet the new cast. Dolly Mixtures is commendably ambitious. A more versatile and skilled ventriloquist than her years with Monk would suggest, seeing Conti stretch herself is one of the great pleasures of the show. Occasionally riotously funny and imaginative, it is fun meeting the new faces. That said, some characters are underdeveloped and too much time is spent simply playing with Conti’s new toys. Indeed, while Monk looks more like a teddy bear than a mannequin, many of the new puppets have an ugly
joke-shop aesthetic that makes them hard to like. Also the psychological themes often have to be explained rather than revealed. Yet much as Conti has always disguised dark humour with a sunny persona, Dolly Mixture’s sombre moments have a way of sneaking up on you. Dolly Mixtures isn’t a triumph, but fans will love its balance of sweet and bitter moments. Most exciting is the sense that Conti has finally found her own voice. [Jonathan Holmes]
Pleasance Courtyard, 9:45pm – 10:45pm, 19–27 Aug, not 20, £9.00 – £10.00
Pleasance Dome, times vary, 19–27 Aug, not 20, £13.00 – £14.00
www.festmag.co.uk
Star of ITV Mad Mad World & Murray from Flight of the Conchords
WINNER
Fred Award Best Show, 2012 NZ Comedy Festival
8PM www.rhysdarby.com |
www.festmag.co.uk
“He’s just absolutely brilliant.
He’s got that Peter Sellers madness inside him”
1-27 AUGUST
Jim Carrey
AVAILABLE NOW
Except 8, 14 Previews 1, 2, 3
0131 556 6550 | www.pleasance.co.uk
@rhysiedarby |
rhysdarby
www.boundandgaggedcomedy.com
August 21 - 27 | edinburgh festival guide 2012 fest 35
festcomedy Sheeps: Dancing with Lisa
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Youth, health and wealth: assets we all yearn to keep hold of, unless you’re in a sketch troupe at the Fringe, where, frankly, they’re frowned upon. Sheeps are relatively recent graduates from Cambridge Footlights, that illustrious comedy conveyer belt, and you can’t help but wonder if some of this curiously divided crowd have come with arms readyfolded. More fool them, as the well-honed trio are fabulously funny. They’re far from the poshest troupe, in truth, and their roles are nicely defined here. Liam Williams brings northern grit, the lanky Alastair Roberts boasts a haughty hint of Joe Cornish, and if Sheeps were Ghostbusters, Daran Johnson would definitely be Ray. In fact
Patrick Monahan: Shooting From The Lip!
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Many comedians promise the earth. Your jaw or ass, or both, will fall off with laughter. Your side will need suturing. Universal hyperbole makes most claims seem like white noise and yet Patrick Monahan—yes, unfashionably pre-watershed friendly standup Patrick Monahan— actually delivers his unlikely pledge. “By the end of tonight’s show you will hug complete strangers,” he says offstage in his Teeside squeal. And he’s right. Within the hour your reviewer hugged at least three random people. Like a good cuddle, there is something charmingly unreconstructed about Monahan. After half an hour of waiting for the show to really start— he just chats to the audience, getting them on stage to
Cornish is a useful reference point, as Sheeps are cut from a similar cloth to the much-loved (but once sneered at for their schooling) Adam and Joe: lots of ingenious but unpretentious wordplay and an air of saucy niceness. The show begins with a simple but convention-busting visual gag and continues in that vein, actively testing the tropes of sketch comedy. There’s a running mystical
thread about an ethereal riddle and an iconic eagle—“the owl of the night,” says a portentous but bewildered Williams—and the pacing is all but perfect. Bar a slight late dip, it’s a controlled torrent of sly silliness that often leaves you marvelling at their inventiveness. Not that everyone in this particular audience would agree. While the vast majority are in delirious hysterics, a small but noticeable faction
watch on stony-faced. This includes one of TV’s bestknown comedians, perhaps envying their youthful vigour. But even he eventually cracks, and it’s intriguing to watch other steadfast frowns melt along the way. These cunning clowns will wear you down eventually. [Si Hawkins] Pleasance Courtyard, 5:10pm – 6:10pm, 19–26 Aug, £10.00 – £11.00
demonstrate the art of the perfect hug, gently ribbing two male friends for wearing the same checked shirt—you realise that this is, in fact, the show. There is no theme, no gimmick, no political message. It is a reminder of why most go to see comedy: to encounter someone with charisma to burn who can brighten an hour of their life. Most are content not to go beyond that, and Monahan delivers for them in spades. When he does revert to a script it is clear where his strength lies – the hour sags. At heart he is a people person, almost pathologically so; at points the show feels like an elaborate excuse for him to spoon strangers. Weirdly, this isn’t creepy. Instead, like a lingering hug, Monahan oozes feel-good endorphins. [Edd McCracken] Gilded Balloon Teviot, 8:00pm – 9:00pm, 19–26 Aug, £10.50 – £12.50
36 fest edinburgh festival guide 2012 | August 21 - 27
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festcomedy Simon Munnery’s La Concepta
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Any show where an audience comprises of only eight members might indicate that the artist has a dud on their hands. But this is a feature of design for Simon Munnery’s La Concepta, “le restaurant conceptuel” where dining out comes “without the shame of eating.” This anti-culinary adventure begins on a quiet residential road tucked away in New Town, where prospective diners form an orderly queue at the behest of the bouncer (Munnery). Whittling away the minutes spent in line by telling a succession of doorman jokes (“how many doormen does it take to screw in a light bulb?” etc etc), diners are soon shut into
a narrow hallway, eagerly awaiting their foodless feast. After being screamed at by a neo-Nazi in a contamination suit, we are welcomed into La Concepta, where a moustachioed Munnery flits between the roles of maitre d’, chef and waiter. This is an impossibly unusual experience, but an experience it is. After being seated at the table, each participant must select an item off the menu, perhaps the Plat Belgique, where the entire country is fitted onto one plate, or the Pasta for One, which contains no pasta but a lot of swearing. Abstract, whimsical madness doesn’t even begin to cover it. Munnery’s energy is unwavering, and his stint as the maitre d’ is where he really shines. But one can’t help but question what he is trying
to achieve in this madcap 40 minutes – is this supposed to be an out and out farce, or an informed polemic on the absurdity of haute cuisine? It’s quite impossible to tell. Then
again, I expect that may be the point. [Charlotte Lytton] La Concepta @ Whitespace, times vary, 19–25 Aug, £11.50 – £13.50
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August 21 - 27 | edinburgh festival guide 2012 fest 37
festcomedy Bridget Christie: War Donkey
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Bridget Christie has been riffing on the pigeonholing of female comedians for some time now. In 2010 she donned an ant costume and complained about how “ant comedians” are treated as novelty acts on the circuit, expected only to joke about ant issues. She pulls off the same trick this year by arriving, even more surreally, dressed as a “war donkey,” with a similar roster of complaints on behalf of the “donkeyhood.” So it’s with seemingly genuine embarrassment that she reveals that this show is a feminist one, directly and sincerely tackling “women’s issues.” It’s a great credit to Christie’s rapidly increasing maturity and skill as a comic that this mixture of daft surrealism and political rhetoric works so well. She spends much of the gig in a series of silly costumes and
David Trent: Spontaneous Comedian
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As an unlikely primary school teacher, David Trent has endured 16 years of his superiors urging him to bring his lessons “to life.” For tonight’s class, the solution is a multimedia mashup of scrawled flashcards and offbeat video snippets. A grand assertion sets up this much-hyped Edinburgh debut: “Comedy is the only truly spontaneous art form.” But with a rigid, pre-programmed format, Trent debunks this premise in no time. From the moment he comes roaring and stomping on, his lines tie up with what’s on screen, and at first it seems this irony will lead into a meditation on the white lies that make “authentic” standup tick. For the most part, though, Trent just uses
still manages to convince us of the breathtaking mendacity of “Tory women” such as Louise Mensch. She has some brilliantly immature fart jokes and still makes us pause at the true horror of a labia minora reduction. Very occasionally the subject matter is too serious for a joke to be made; at
these points, Christie makes her own discomfort the source of humour, a neat trick that not many comics could pull off as well as she does here. Almost inevitably in such a bold, barmy yet thoughtful brew, there are points where it doesn’t quite come together. But Christie has really found
her comic voice this year: she’s refusing to be anyone else’s idea of a ‘comedienne’, and carving out a highly original and entertaining niche in the process. [Tom Hackett]
it to frame bastardised footage from the weirder, dirtier corners of the web. He throws his all into every routine. When it works, it heightens pleasingly gauche, quick-cut sequences on a rockstar’s struggle to master the ‘guitar spin’ or Chris Rock’s attempt at midwifery. But when it comes to his weaker ideas—particularly a trite number about God’s Facebook—Trent oversells them with that same zeal, and the laughs peter out while he’s still hammering the point home. A stale persona doesn’t help matters: the braggart failing to mask his insecurities; the charmless man making clammy-palmed advances on his audience. Ultimately, the fact that Trent’s self-conscious script anticipates a chilly response— by pointing out his reliance on gimmicks over more honest
techniques—comes as little compensation. This debut boasts ambition and vigour, incorporating some neat surprises and an intriguing mix of highconcept and low-brow. Yet, on
this evidence, the fuss over Trent is less than wholly justified. [Lyle Brennan]
38 fest edinburgh festival guide 2012 | August 21 - 27
The Assembly Rooms, 1:30pm – 2:30pm, 19–26 Aug, £10.00
Pleasance Courtyard, 10:45pm – 11:45pm, 19–27 Aug, £9.50 – £12.00
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festcomedy The Magical Adventures of Pete Heat
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If there was ever a niche in the market for hip twentysomething fans of minimalist stage magic, it is now well and truly filled. Pete Heat (Pete Hathway) is surely the Channel 4 generation’s Houdini, and his Fringe run should absolutely not be missed. By interweaving absurdly shit non-tricks into an otherwise legitimately impressive line-up of actual tricks, Hathway’s audience is artfully bewitched into an altogether unusual state of goofy awe. If at times that conceit means that the ‘real’ magic pops up too abruptly for its audience to register what’s happened, it should not be at the cost of those absurd non-magic gems (something to do with a loaf of bread and an angry weasel). Hathway, in a nutshell, may very well be the most charming magician you’ll come across at the Fringe. An argument could be made that he is the most likeable magician working today, full-stop, but that may not sound like much amid the cocaine-crusted Criss Angels and borderlinesmarmy Derren Browns of the world. He’s Noel Fielding performing sleight of hand, some lanky, cuddly love-child of Demitri Martin and Mitch Hedberg, and a welcome
alternative to straight standup and/or that particular type of laboured punk-magic that’s been cropping up since the early noughties. Even when he botches a trick toward the
end of the performance, his man-pixie demeanour alleviates any awkwardness and, frankly, prods our curiosity about the actual execution of these tricks in a way that
shiny Vegas-magic never really does. [Arianna Reiche] Gilded Balloon at Third Door, 5:45pm – 6:45pm, 19–27 Aug, £10.00 – £12.00
AT THE FRINGE
CElEbRATING 10 yEARs oF FEmAlE ComEdy Specially curated ShowS with complimentary goodieS from the BENEFIT COSMETICS BENEBUS
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August 21 - 27 | edinburgh festival guide 2012 fest 39
festcomedy Markus Birdman: Love, Life and Death
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There’s no shying away from life’s big questions in this fiercely personal standup set from English comic Markus Birdman. The generously quiffed vicar’s son was moved to contemplate his place in the world after suffering an unexplained stroke shortly after his 40th birthday — a birthday he celebrated by getting a large Mexican Day of the Dead skull tattooed onto his arm. The same skull motif is repeated on a large, intricately hand-drawn poster used as a stage backdrop, such impressive artwork including illustrations and key words and phrases from the set. It’s a meaningful backdrop for a comic with a lot to say. Birdman’s illness makes up the first half of the show and he talks in great detail about losing a quarter of his vision as a result of the stroke. Sure, it all sounds a little heavy, but it’s testament to his talents that even brain scans and injections of radioactive dye provide fertile ground for jokes. A short section on religion, which includes some of his most razor-sharp barbs, makes way for a second half which is basically a self-help seminar with gags. He lists his recommended ‘tips for living’ which appear trite in isolation (take pleasure in the little things, don’t be scared, do what you love) but are made just about palatable by Birdman’s easy-going charm and obvious sincerity. A rousing finish, sticking two fingers up to death, concludes a solidly satisfying hour. [David Hepburn] The Stand Comedy Club II, 9:20pm – 10:20pm, 19–26 Aug, not 20, £8.00
Sarah Kendall: Get Up, Stand Up
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Sarah Kendall doesn’t do improvisation. She doesn’t like it; she doesn’t feel comfortable doing it. Well, fair enough – it’s a brave admission in a comedy world where ruining hecklers is taken as the mark of a humourist’s stature, or at least the size of their cojones. It also goes some way to explaining why her first 20 minutes feel distinctly lacklustre. Yes, toddlers can be naughty; obviously that’s a bit of a nightmare on planes; sure, being flyered by your own flyering team is faintly amusing. It’s perfectly pleasant, conversational comedy – the sort that’s designed to sound like off-the-cuff observations made between last night’s show and tonight’s. Before long, however, one starts to sense that Kendall hasn’t opened with her strongest suit. A long scene about a rapper, Pitbull, and his latest video involving three hotel employees “lezzing it up” in a hotel room for his delectation could easily be mindless grumbling about what trash the youth are listening to today. Instead, it’s
Greg Proops
HHHHH Sassy and sarcastic San Franciscan comedian Greg Proops is known by many for his dry and quirky contributions to Whose Line Is It Anyway? back in the nineties. In his standup he’s more reminiscent of a camp male version of a Valley Girl, snide and cutting and taking no prisoners. For the first part of tonight it feels like he’s here, but his UK material has failed to greet him at the airport. References to life in Delaware have parallels on this side of the pond, but Proops takes his time landing
40 fest edinburgh festival guide 2012 | August 21 - 27
a nicely weighted set piece which develops unexpectedly and sets the scene for a running theme about perceptions of women in the arts industry. It’s refreshing to hear an eloquent female voice jamming home some truths about an industry with a record for exploitation. It’s also pretty clear that Kendall is steadily moving towards ground upon which she is
more comfortable. And then, with a melodramatic—yet oddly hard-hitting—”I have a dream” speech, Kendall hits her stride. Tightly scripted, unashamedly righteous and beautifully performed, Kendall ends big and clever. [Evan Beswick]
on a direct target, despite a caustic and acerbic attitude in full flow. As you have gathered, Proops is a man that many adjectives can be ascribed to, and a utiliser of many too. Sometimes his descriptive rhythm makes his routines sound almost poetic, bordering on conceited. He’s certainly uncharitable when it comes to Ireland, the subject of an extended section that begins “for the purposes of this joke I went to Ireland,” an example of his occasional deconstruction. While his take on how the potato famine may have started is something everyone can enjoy, his character
assassination of the country as lacking “gumption” and “ambition” is surprisingly harsh and devoid of any irony. While many of his waspish remarks surprise rather than smart, there’s a detachment about Proops that makes him intermittently impenetrable tonight. Leaving his more accessible material on the US—namely the presidential race—as a closing post-script; Proops leaves on a high note, but it’s been a puzzling journey at times. [Julian Hall]
Pleasance Courtyard, 8:30pm – 9:30pm, 19–27 Aug, £10.00 – £11.00
Assembly George Square, 6:15pm – 7:15pm, 19–25 Aug, £15.00 – £16.00
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festcomedy Sammy J and Randy: The Inheritance
Chris McCausland: Not Blind Enough
Sammy J and his foul-mouthed foam friend Randy (voiced and brought to life by formidable puppeteer Heath McIvor) are back in town for another musical adventure – and it’s arguably their best yet. Last time we saw the unusual double act they were dealing with tax avoidance in the sublime Rickett’s Lane. Now, in The Inheritance, the Aussie twosome are once more on the money trail following the death of Randy’s wealthy 107 year-old uncle. A clever false start fills newcomers in on the simple dynamic between Sammy (innocent, skinny) and Randy (vulgar, purple). Then it’s swiftly onto the opening number – a hyperactive ditty about filling in the census which, were it not for the filthy language, would not sound out of place on Broadway. A trip to Uncle Edgar’s haunted house in England follows, where mysteries are investigated, swords are swung and puns are milked within an inch of their lives.
Chris McCausland has never defined his comedy by his blindness. However, a recent encounter with a TV executive who told him that he was not blind enough for TV, that he should take advantage of this ‘unique selling point’, has pushed him to address the issue head on. The result is a thoughtful hour which reveals as much about the comedy industry as it does about issues of disability, but tends towards sombre reflection rather than consistent laughter. Much of McCausland’s show is a personal reflection on what he, as a comedian who happens to be blind, should discuss in standup. He sends up the idea of constructing an entire hour around blindness, likening his plight to that of female comedians—in that there is material to be found in his particular ‘USP’—and commenting on how oversaturation on a subject can yield diminishing returns. He bemoans the ethos behind the Paralympics, arguing that it’s a shame for anyone to be defined as ‘less than Olympic’ when they can, in many cases, compete in sport unaffected by their disability. These are all good points, carefully made, if noticeably without considerable laughter. But there is much to reflect on in Not Blind Enough. McCausland’s depiction of the standup world as increasingly television-centred and, as a result, dangerously reductive, is particularly apt and nicely encapsulates some of the problems of the shifting roles of the Edinburgh Fringe. The relative lack of laughter is an issue here, however McCausland compensates by demonstrating a keen reflexivity and a promising ability to grapple with important subjects. [Gemma Flynn]
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Shappi Khorsandi: Dirty Looks and Hopscotch
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I was going to begin by asking, with a mixture of rhetoric and cattiness, am I interested in Shappi Khorsandi’s love life? This is what the veteran of the Fringe and Radio 4 brings on a platter, spun out in explicit detail over an hour. After years of being dismissive of trashy women’s magazines obsessing over the private lives of celebrities, my gut reaction was ‘not at all’. And then I found myself vainly spending an hour on the internet trying to work out who the mysterious
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There’s a wealth of ideas, all tightly-scripted and performed with glee. It would be easy to be over-reliant on the simple pleasures of a swearing puppet but there’s real depth here. Shadow-puppetry, selfreverential asides and more of those wonderful songs combine to produce a daftly entertaining hour. The Inheritance should be
a hit with both Randy virgins and hardcore fans. Admittedly some of the more visual jokes have made appearances in previous outings, but when the gags are this good they can be forgiven for a little recycling. [David Hepburn]
two-timing rock star was that she dated for eight months last year. This late night Google session is testament to Khorsandi’s storytelling ability. She makes the tale of her destructive, potentially nasty breakup with a sociopathic indie musician something most of the audience can relate to. Basically, she’s a great gossip. She drip feeds enough details to keep us hooked—a text here, a threesome there— but also weaves in some finely tuned observations on growing older and the infantilising myths women tell themselves. She complains about how young girls never get over their encouragement
to be princesses, hence their choice of wedding attire. She praises men for getting over their childhood obsessions, otherwise grooms would be at the altar dressed as cowboys and astronauts. But for all her home truths for the women, ultimately this show is Khorsandi’s takedown of her odious ex-boyfriend. As a comedy show, it just about works. Her charisma carries proceedings on the odd occasion when the material flags. As a two-fingered salute, however, it is pretty damn satisfying. [Edd McCracken]
Underbelly, Bristo Square, 6:05pm – 7:05pm, 19–27 Aug, £13.00 – £15.00
Pleasance Courtyard, 8:30pm – 9:30pm, 19–26 Aug, £11.00 – £12.00
Pleasance Courtyard, 4:30pm – 5:30pm, 19–26 Aug, £11 – £12
August 21 - 27 | edinburgh festival guide 2012 fest 41
42 fest edinburgh festival guide 2012 | August 21 - 27
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An amusing anthropomorphisation of six eight-legged creepy crawlies Page 47 Photo: Kate Edwards
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festtheatre
ALAN BISSETT: THE RED HOURGLASS
August 21 - 27 | edinburgh festival guide 2012 fest 43
festtheatre Mother to Mother
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Mother to Mother’s title may imply a broad theme: motherhood, and the shared experience of mothers worldwide. And to some extent the universality of motherhood does play into Sindiwe Magona’s one-woman show, performed powerfully by South African actress Thembi Mtshali-Jones. But Mother to Mother’s focus is far narrower than it might seem at first glance. The show is specifically about one mother on one particular day in Cape Town’s Gugulethu township. Mandisa (Magona), a mother of three, is addressing the mother of Amy Biehl, an anti-apartheid activist who was murdered by a violent mob in 1993. As Mandisa’s story becomes tied to Biehl’s, we witness a heart-wrenching unravelling of a family against the backdrop of an already volatile refugee society. Mtshali-Jones delivers a performance balanced between colourful theatricality and sombre restraint. Mandisa’s descent into the tragic truth of her family is one
The Lonely One
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Using light manipulation and shadow puppetry techniques, the four performers in The Lonely One weave a suspenseful tale with inflections of Agatha Christie and Edgar Allan Poe. It’s actually based on an extract from Dandelion Wine, a collection of short stories by Ray Bradbury, but it’s a simple story so there’s no need to be familiar with the book before you see this show. Set in a town in the American Midwest in 1928, it’s a slow burner: two young ladies, Francine and Lavinia, are on their way to see a Charlie Chaplin film when they decide to cross the dark ravine that
which requires its performer to have a keen awareness of both African history and the personal stories of the families in order to pull it off tastefully. The women involved in Mother to Mother clearly have both in spades. It is those moments when Mandisa addresses Biehl’s
mother directly, caught somewhere between attrition and self-defence, when we are given glimpses of the complexity of modern African identity. It may have lent more depth to Mandisa’s story to know more about her son, implicated in Biehl’s murder. But perhaps it’s our own tired tendency to cast
that wide aperture on history – and Magona’s story truly is about one (maybe two) mothers, their individual stories and their ill-fated children. [Arianna Reiche]
divides Lavinia’s house from the movie theatre. It’s an inadvisable move, considering that one young girl from the town is missing, and a dangerous strangler—known as The Lonely One—is still on the loose. There’s just the right level of murder mystery hamminess at work in this first production from Dotted Line Theatre. Rachel Warr’s Lavinia is elegantly played, though her American accent needs some work. A company co-founder, Warr also wrote the script and directed the play, and it’s a promising debut. But while this particular show has some lovely moments—like its splendid shadow puppetry—the story is so slow that it loses momentum sev-
eral times throughout the hour. It still comes to a satisfying conclusion but generally The Lonely One needs a sharper narrative and slicker execution. All the same, Dotted Line Theatre certainly seem like a
company capable of making arresting work in the future. [Yasmin Sulaiman]
44 fest edinburgh festival guide 2012 | August 21 - 27
Assembly George Square, 4:00pm – 5:00pm, 18–27 Aug, £14.00 – £15.00
Underbelly, Cowgate, 6:50pm – 7:50pm, 18–26 Aug, £10.00 – £11.00
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festtheatre The Prize
HHHHH It’s not the winning, it’s the taking part that counts, right? Maybe not for the hundreds of determined Olympic hopefuls we have anxiously watched compete during London 2012. It is this passion and intense desire to succeed that is explored in this delicately constructed verbatim piece from Murmur and Live Theatre, drawing on interviews with British athletes past, present and future. For them, failing is simply not an option. Performed by a cast of five on an almost bare stage, the power and the poignancy rightly lies with the voices of those interviewed, their experiences communicated through the actors. Murmur
Monkey Bars
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According to almost every major indicator, the UK is—so far as the developed world is concerned—a particularly difficult place to be a child. Be it a lack of things to do, a highly materialistic culture, demonisation by the tabloid press or the fact that, statistically speaking, those under 18 are the age group most likely to be victims of violent crime, UNICEF has placed the UK bottom of its child happiness league table. Chris Goode wants to give a voice to these unheard children. His latest production, Monkey Bars, is verbatim theatre with a twist. In preparing the show, Goode commissioned Karl James to interview children aged eight to 10 years old about the issues affecting them: their hopes, their dreams, their fears. But, on stage, these children’s words are spoken by adult actors, a conceit designed to make us pay attention to what they are saying, to treat them seriously.
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has spoken to a huge range of athletes, from a female diver who competed in the 1950s, when the honour really was the taking part, to athletes with ambitions for this year’s Olympics and Paralympics. The carefully selected and assembled snatches of the resulting interviews reveal the athletes’ drive, dedication and struggles without ever tipping into the trite sentimentalism that the media around the Games has often fallen prey to. The principal emotional manipulation comes courtesy of projected text revealing whether or not those speaking qualified for the Games, a device that could be intrusive and heavy handed but is here executed with heartbreaking simplicity. Propelled by the energy of the Games’ success and look-
ing towards the Paralympics, The Prize resonates perfectly with current national feeling. But by being so of the moment, it is difficult to envisage much of a future life for the piece. Beautifully formed
though it is, it feels—much like the sporting triumph it revolves around—fleetingly ephemeral. [Catherine Love] Underbelly, Bristo Sq, 2:50pm – 4pm, 19–26 Aug, £11 – £12
Unfortunately, however, the effect is rather different. As the adults converse in a number of settings—delivering speeches on the political pulpit, facing a grilling during a job interview, discussing celebrity around the office water-cooler—the children’s naïveté of language and simplicity of thought is played for laughs. It’s a jarring experience, which seems to be mocking the children, rather than siding with them. Of course, there are a few poignant moments—particularly when James is talking to two young Muslim boys—but these segments make up only a small portion of the play. Goode sets out to give children a voice, but the extent to which these voices are undermined throughout seems to suggest that, actually, they don’t have much to say. This, one suspects, isn’t quite the point he was trying to make. [Ben Judge] Traverse Theatre, times vary, 18–26 Aug, not 20, £17 – £19
August 21 - 27 | edinburgh festival guide 2012 fest 45
festtheatre Confessions of a Grindr Addict
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For those who have never come across it, Grindr is a location-based social networking app for gay men. It enables users to locate, chat to, and meet up with other guys within a given proximity. This year the application hit four million users across 192 countries, with over one million logging on every day. Put simply, where homosexual dating is concerned, it’s a pretty big deal. It’s also an absolutely fascinating topic for theatre, opening up possibilites for interesting takes on a popular, highly technologised, mechanised form of human interaction. Unfortunately, it’s the one area Confessions of a Grindr Addict steadfastly refuses to go, preferring instead to indulge in camp titillation regarding various Grindr escapades. So, we learn that Felix, our protagonist, met a foot fetishist using the app, and that it once helped him haul in 10 men in 14 days. There’s plenty more, but I won’t spoil the excitement any further. Needless to say, beyond a throwaway line about Grindr’s one-tap potential to “strip away all the mess” of meeting partners, and a moment’s reflection on the fact that it is indeed different to normal, face-to-face dating, it’s hard to see what it is that lifts this into the realms of drama. Gavin Roach provides a confident and sassy one-man performance, though relies heavily on repetitious mannerisms – taking a slurp of wine, for instance, just before choking out a particularly gossipy oneliner. Then again, it’s gossip that takes centre stage in a slightly vacuous piece which seems far more interested in the idea of anonymous sex than in its implications. [Evan Beswick] Assembly Hall, 9pm – 10pm, 18–26 Aug, £11.00 – £12.00
Uninvited
HHHHH In the festering heart of suburbia, behind the neatly trimmed privet hedge, an intruder lurks. Or does he? This new piece by Fat Git Theatre, adapted from Peter Mortimer’s novella of the same name, prods at human neuroses with the blackest of humour, as one man finds his secure haven gradually transfigured into an anarchic nightmare. Fat Git’s surreal and grotesque performance aesthetic finds its perfect partner in the swirling, dreamlike paranoia of Mortimer’s protagonist. Managing his single household
Uncoupled
HHHHH Louise Templeton certainly hasn’t picked an easy topic for her first Fringe acting role. Uncoupled is a tale of a troubled marriage, with a novel issue at the root of the distress: porn addiction. An over-reliance on porn is probably a common factor in many modern break-ups but isn’t a subject that regularly crops up on stage or screen, as a chap furtively browsing the web offers less potential for drama than a clandestine fling. Or so you may think. This one-woman show— written by regular Fringe scribe Richard Bickley—is
46 fest edinburgh festival guide 2012 | August 21 - 27
with obsessively meticulous care, his control-crazed movements are watched with boredom and amusement by the wallpaper, until a distraction is found in the sudden appearance of a whistling stranger. As the lone bachelor struggles to maintain the order he clings to, things progressively fall apart. The care taken in the crafting of this piece is evident, from the precisely judged looks with which the three wallpaper figures curiously regard the audience to the sinisterly dissonant sound effect of a finger skimming the edge of a wine glass. Menace infects the piece, generated
by both the oddly ominous nonsense of the text and the choreographed strangeness of the performances. As suffocatingly strange as Fat Git’s bizarre creation can be, this peculiarity traps the audience within the same unsettling nightmare world as the unravelling man at its centre. It also makes us think. Despite the dreamlike unreality of this world, it taps into something psychologically, uncannily true about loneliness and anxiety, remaining wedged in the mind long after it departs. [Catherine Love]
testing relatively uncharted waters then, and takes a light, often humorous, if sometimes achingly sad approach to the subject. Rather than dwell grimly on the pornography, this is really a show about a woman’s journey through a marriage, a union that suffers from both a lack of communication and, significantly in this case, copulation. Templeton is wonderfully believable as Suzanne, who develops a deeper understanding of her own psyche while uncovering husband Adam’s burgeoning obsession. Suzanne’s reaction to the initial revelation is intriguing—that stumbling upon a secret stash
of pornographic magazines is somehow worse than finding out about an affair—and Bickley’s play offers an interesting insight into the apportioning of blame in such situations. There are a couple of dramatic set pieces along the way that don’t quite ring true, and their telling is an unnecessary detour from Suzanne’s emotional travels. Overall, though, this is a beautifully realised production and the hankies are out in force come the conclusion. Thankfully these are the only soiled tissues on show. [Si Hawkins]
Bedlam Theatre, 2:00pm – 3:00pm, 19–25 Aug, £8.00
Gilded Balloon Teviot, 12:45pm – 1:35pm, 19–27 Aug, £9 – £10
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festtheatre Alan Bissett: The Red Hourglass
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If you, like me, are involuntarily appointed spider catcher in a home where you can be called into service at any moment by a distinctive petrified scream from your other half, then you too will probably be given to grumpily re-treading arachnid truisms like: “it’s tiny” and “it’s more scared of you.” Scottish Writer of the Year Alan Bissett—his household’s spider siren—here amusingly anthropomorphises six eightlegged creepy crawlies as a study of the irrationality of certain human fears, without concealing the discomforting and in some cases even dangerous habits to which arachnids are naturally predisposed. Held captive in a St Andrews laboratory, there’s a bantering Glaswegian house spider, a
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jumpy New Yoiker recluse spider, a macho revolutionary Venezuelan tarantula, a black widow—the lethal female arachnid, imagined as a nasty temptress in kinky black boots—and a hawk wasp, played as a passive-aggressive blabbermouth counsellor. As in the critically lauded Moira Monologues, Bissett’s a joy to watch as a solo actor, skilfully giving life to each
character through versatility of voice and mannerisms. His language is crisply economic, and punctuated by whip-smart, distinctly Scottish humour – be it when he pokes fun at himself by making the hawk wasp question the tarantula’s dodgy accent, or when the house spider takes political umbrage at being called “common.” We’re forced to confront socially constructed fear in the
human world, and the frightening immutability of nature, which for all our efforts to control it through science always finds a way of creeping back up on us. As, at the end, our stomachs nervously tighten at footage of a scurrying black widow in close-up, it’s us that feel small. [Malcolm Jack] National Library of Scotland, 7pm – 8pm, 18–25 Aug, £12
August 21 - 27 | edinburgh festival guide 2012 fest 47
festtheatre The Shit
Unhappy Birthday
Before Summerhall was an arts venue, it was part of Edinburgh’s Veterinary College and in the austere white space of its high-ceilinged Demonstration Room students would have sat on the hard benches and made notes as they watched animals being dissected – each incision revealing more bone and muscle. There could be no room more appropriate for a performance of the violent and physical satire The Shit. Cristian Ceresoli’s The Shit is doubly satiric. On the one level it is a satire about a young woman’s pursuit of fame. On another her body is made to represent Italy’s modern consumerist bunga, bunga society. It is not, however, the satire which is memorable – but rather the physical presence of its performer, actress Silvia Gallerano. It is the way she perches naked on a makeshift wooden platform, looking almost diabolical, with a crimson clown mouth and hair wrenched back into two horn-like buns on either side of her head. It is the way she shudders and jerks continuously. It is the way she incants the stream-of-consciousness monologue – the petulant voice rhythmically punctuated by nervous half laughs. And it’s the way that every so often, in the manner of a Victorian medium, she shouts out in a deep rasping voice. The Shit is one of the more discussed works on the fringe. And yet, the satirical dismemberment is never especially illuminating and there is something terribly old-fashioned, almost troubling, in making the permeable, dehumanised female body a metaphor for the nation-state. [Miranda Kiek]
A long-established nightclub hostess—of the much-loved London bash Duckie—Amy Lamé knows how to throw a good party. She’s also pretty adept at throwing an unhappy one, which is a less celebrated skill but proves a potent platform for her latest solo venture. A word of warning though: Unhappy Birthday very much relies on audience participation. It’s seated in the round and revolves around an elaborate version of pass-the-parcel, to a soundtrack from The Smiths, whose old frontman Morrissey is the show’s focal figure. One seat is reserved in his honour. Fans of Lamé’s witty, matronly broadcasting work may be taken aback by the tone of this show: it soon becomes apparent that we’re witnessing an extreme, almost unhinged version of the New Jersey native. It’s an extraordinary, uncompromising performance, watched in open-mouthed wonder by the party guests, when we aren’t being launched into a bizarrely elaborate parlour game.
HHHHH
Summerhall, 9:15pm – 10:15pm, 19–26 Aug, £10.00
HHHHH
NOLA
HHHHH Since December 2010, Londonbased company Look Left Look Right has been visiting New Orleans and the Gulf of Mexico to interview those affected by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. In this, a piece of “documentary theatre,” a selection of these interviews are delivered verbatim by actors. But while the group has had success with this technique in the past, one can’t help but wonder here what exactly the distancing presence of actors adds. In a large part, the issue seems to be that the cast of four can’t resist hamming up the folksy dignity of the Gulf
48 fest edinburgh festival guide 2012 | August 21 - 27
It isn’t the jolly hour you might expect, then. There are lingering, sometimes excruciating periods where our hostess determinedly undertakes some laboriously arcane task, and the room itself is rather dark and stark for a party. But then that gloom suits the subject matter, as Morrissey has always been a poster boy for lonely bedroom-dwellers. Unhappy Birthday is really an exploration of obsessive fandom, Lamé parading the excesses of such behaviour in
an increasingly manic fashion, as the unresponsive Manc star tests her loyalty. It’s a fascinating project to be a part of—more of an installation than a celebration—and clearly a bonding experience for the attendees, who stagger blinking back into the light like recently-released hostages. Safety, here we come. [Si Hawkins]
residents, while officials and academics, by contrast, are played lazily for laughs. The voice of a BBC journalist, for instance, is camped up – a seemingly aimless pop when, in fact, his description of the humbling of the hyperconfident oilmen is fascinating. Where it works best—the moving testimony of a civil litigator whose son died in the explosion—it’s because the delivery is understated and the mannerisms tightly restrained. Overall, though, one wishes the voices of the real people were allowed to ring through unmediated. But if the theatrics are clunky, the documentary aspect of this piece is anything
but. What’s impressive is the care with which the team has selected participants, and the sensitivity with which they have been interviewed. In conversations with riggers, conservationists and fishing boat owners, the interviewers allow the victims of big oil’s negligence to speak eloquently, digging deeply yet tactfully, all the while keeping the interviewer’s voice largely hidden. NOLA is largely saved by the importance of the story it tells, rather than the manner in which it tells it. [Evan Beswick]
Assembly George Square, 6:40pm – 7:40pm, 18–26 Aug, not 20, £10.00 – £12.00
Underbelly, Cowgate, 3:30pm – 4:40pm, 19–26 Aug, £10.00 – £11.00
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festtheatre The Pride
HHHHH Three, as they say, is a crowd. This observation is certainly true for married couple Bruce and Linda, whose over-friendly next door neighbour James gradually wedges his way between them. So far, so familiar. The only difference being that Bruce, Linda and James are lions. This funny little oddity from Australian company Perth Theatre is a surprising comedic treat. It only takes the performers to emerge in their fur-adorned onesies to conjure a grin, and from thereon in the quirky comedy carries the piece through. Initially arriving as an extra hand for Bruce’s home renovations, James shows an increasing interest in his neighbour’s life, leaving the alpha male scrapping for his pride in every sense of the word. It is—a lot like the increasingly desperate Bruce—a bit rough around the edges, but its charm begs forgiveness for its faults. The offbeat humour also reveals small, quietly poignant truths. As newlywed infatuation melts into dull routine, something as simple as the transition from energetic high fives to resigned handshakes speaks powerfully of the fading shine of marriage. The seeming obsession with the feature wall jointly assembled by Bruce and James, meanwhile, is a hilarious but acutely observed comment on our impulse to acquire and improve, and a warning against DIY if there ever was one. There is little particularly new or memorable being said here, and the running time could easily be tightened without much loss. But even if its only lasting image is of a grown man moonwalking in a lion onesie, it’s an image worth the flaws. [Catherine Love] Underbelly, Cowgate, 6:20pm – 7:25pm, 18–26 Aug, £10.00 – £12.50
Oh, The Humanity And Other Good Intentions
HHHHH
Will Eno’s Oh, The Humanity And Other Good Intentions is a quintet of short plays about what it is to be human. Something akin to The LoveSong of Alfred J Prufrock, life is set out in all its pathos and absurdity and in such a way as to create a sort of hyperreality, more true to life than life itself. The Prufrocks we encounter in Eno’s play include a football coach facing the reality of ageing, a man and a woman recording profiles for a dating website—collaps-
Mon Droit
HHHHH This curious two-hander is inspired by the real-life discovery of royal-obsessive Robert Moore’s body on an island in London’s St James’s Park in 2011. Mike McShane (still perhaps best known for improv comedy show Whose Line is it Anyway?) both writes and stars as Moore in the play, working backwards from the grim find to imagine how the mentally ill American met his fate. It opens with Moore in Kansas discussing a complex “protocol” of drugs with his doctor (played by Suki Webster
52 fest edinburgh festival guide 2012 | August 21 - 27
ing themselves into a list of their likes and dislikes—and a spokesperson who addresses the relatives of those who died in a plane crash with more honesty than formality. Eno’s writing has the effect of making each line—even the most throwaway—seem to be imbued with deep meaning. Simple requests, such as that for a name: “And who are you, my love,” take on a double life as existential queries. A script so deliberately off-kilter, so self-consciously profound, could easily seem pretentious. But such is the restraint of Erica Whyman’s direction, and the understated exactitude of her actors,
that for the most part this is avoided. Lucy Ellinson, in particular, is always recognisably human in the face of all the ramped up surrealism of the writing. Between each short play, the simple white screens which form the backdrop of the stage open wide and the audience is given an unobstructed view of backstage: the ropes, the pulleys, the stage-hands. Sometimes in destroying the illusion of reality, you achieve something more real. [Miranda Kiek]
who gamely takes on multiple roles). Carrying a shopping bag with the Queen’s face emblazoned across it and sporting a homemade badge of the monarch he cuts a comic figure, unconvincingly insisting he has his condition under control. A stressful day at work causes his fragile sanity to slip. He leaves his job as a manager in a car hire business, hits the bottle and flies to London to follow his imagined destiny: to usurp the Duke of Edinburgh and take up his rightful place at the side of Elizabeth II. Setting himself up in a hotel overlooking Buckingham Palace he meets a homeless
girl and a prostitute, who each play a role in guiding him on his “pilgrimage.” As an examination of mental illness it’s a little shallow, and some of the humour seems incongruous with the central plot, particularly the emotive ending. That Mon Droit—part of the Royal Family’s motto, literally meaning “my right”— is successful as a piece of entertainment is testament to the two actors who both give fine, committed performances. [David Hepburn]
Northern Stage at St Stephen’s, 6:40pm – 8:00pm, 18–25 Aug, not 21, £14.00
Pleasance Courtyard, 2:00pm – 3:00pm, 19–27 Aug, £10.00 – £11.00
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festtheatre DDLE´S
WINSTON RU
CIRQUE
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August 21 - 27 | edinburgh festival guide 2012 fest 53
festtheatre A Soldier’s Song
HHHHH
In 1992, Ken Lukowiak published A Soldier’s Song: True Stories from the Falklands to critical acclaim. In 1998, Guy Masterson’s one-man theatrical adaptation of the book wowed critics and won him a Stage Award nomination for Best Actor. And now, in 2012—which marks the 30th anniversary of the Falklands War—Masterson has revived the show, with Lukowiak himself replacing him as the sole performer. It’s a simple premise: Lukowiak simply stands on stage and tells us about his experiences as a soldier in the Falklands through flashbacks to fierce fighting at Goose Green. His story doesn’t shy away from the contradictions inherent in being a soldier and a human being; how it feels to want someone dead, but simultaneously to want not to kill them. There’s no sympathy for the military here, and every opportunity to underline incompetence in the upper ranks is justly taken. But it’s not a sob story either; Lukowiak faces his contrary wartime emotions with courage and honesty and one scene in which he shoots an Argentine soldier after a ceasefire has been called is particularly affecting. Masterson’s adapted script
One Hour Only
HHHHH
“There’s people like people everywhere,” says Marley to AJ. Marley is a sex-worker who keeps not needles, but textbooks on forensic biology beneath her pillow. AJ, her almost-client, is a Muslim youth who would rather learn how to build bridges at Cardiff University than how to build bombs in the Yemen.
is first-rate too, exuding raw, gritty humour. But if anything hampers A Soldier’s Song, it’s Lukowiak’s delivery. His ability to re-enact—to essentially re-live—his own experiences
in the Falklands is hugely admirable, but his stiff movements and slightly awkward physicality detracts from its potency just a touch. Still, it’s an electrifying piece of writing
that shows no sign of losing its relevancy. [Yasmin Sulaiman]
Sometimes the subversion of a stereotype can be just as predictable as the stereotype itself. One Hour Only, part of the Old Vic New Voices Edinburgh season, is a sex comedy without the sex. First-time prostitute Marley and putative punter AJ end up foregoing sexual intercourse in favour of the verbal sort. They discuss everything from London to their home life to their aca-
demic ambitions. They even build a bridge together, an activity so fraught with meaning it’s a minor miracle the bridge does not collapse under its own symbolic weight. Written by performance poet Sabrina Mahfouz (who is such an old hand at bringing plays to the Fringe as to make her inclusion in the New Voices season mystifying), One Hour Only has more laughs than much of the rest of New
Voices season. However, although its two performers prove themselves competent at comedy (Faraz Ayub as AJ in particular) their characters struggle to convince. The strained cockney accent Nadia Clifford gives Marley slips more frequently than her sexy, silky dressing gown. [Miranda Kiek]
54 fest edinburgh festival guide 2012 | August 21 - 27
Assembly Roxy, 5:05pm – 6:10pm, 18–26 Aug, £11.00 – £13.00
Underbelly, Cowgate, 5:20pm – 6:20pm, 18–26 Aug, £10.00 – £11.00
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Me & Mr C GARY KITCHING with Greyscale, Northern Stage & The Empty Space
★★★★
The Telegraph
★★★★
Broadway Baby
UNTIL 25 AUGUST 8:15pm Venue 73 NORTHERN STAGE AT ST STEPHEN’S 4 - 25 AUGUST Box Office 0131 558 3047 Book Online northernstage.co.uk
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THE STORY OF WOODY GUTHRIE
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August 21 - 27 | edinburgh festival guide 2012 fest 55
festtheatre Still Life: an Audience with Henrietta Moraes
HHHHH
“This is what we’ll be working with today. The raw materials,” begins Sue MacLaine, writer and performer of this one-woman show about Henrietta Moraes, the model and muse for artists such as Francis Bacon and Lucian Freud. It’s an unsettling start: delivered with wide-eyed glee by a nude MacLaine, it places the small audience in precisely the same position as the (mostly male) painters who repeatedly “stole her soul” for art – a soul which, with self-destructive nonchalance, Moraes repeatedly offered up. Armed with paper and pencils, we revisit the invasive acts which, in Bacon paintings such as Lying Figure with Hypodermic Syringe, saw Moraes used as artistic material rather than human flesh. If there’s a small niggle,
it’s that at times MacLaine preaches in the impenetrable argot of the art school set (“the non-being negates the being it negates”), a language which feels designed to mystify rather than to be understood. But when she turns this language against herself the results are quite wonderful, sparking looping avenues of enquiry on the technical and emotional relationship between the artist and the subject of art. “Am I giving the illusion of depth?” she asks, adopting a pose which this reviewer’s drawing skills summarily fail to tackle. The question is beautifully rhetorical: in a slow, thoughtful work, MacLaine once again makes Henrietta Moraes the subject of art, but in a manner which gives her a voice to whisper back at the artist, the audience and, indeed, the critic. [Evan Beswick] Whitespace, 5:15pm – 6:15pm, 18–26 Aug, not 21, £12
The Price of Everything
HHHHH As a performance lecture, The Price of Everything is “more culturally valuable, but less enjoyable, than a piece of theatre,” according to creator Daniel Bye. And perhaps he’s right: gone is the spectator’s ability to simply sit back and immerse themselves in the drama onstage, and in its place, an impulse to internally question the information we are given. Putting an exact monetary figure on things that play a role in our day to day lives, such as a pint of milk (51p) or our bone marrow (£13.8m), this is a thoughtful hour which challenges how we ascertain the value of all we encounter.The nub of the piece concerns the fictional tale of Bye’s attempts at random acts of kindness, and the ways in which society
might be reshaped if this self-sacrificing caught on. But here it begins to feel somewhat derivative, namely of Danny Wallace’s 2002 ‘Join Me’ initiative, where the writer/ comedian asked for people who were willing to perform good deeds to then inform him of how their selflessness prevailed. Bye’s closing speech, in which he asks a random
56 fest edinburgh festival guide 2012 | August 21 - 27
audience member to take an envelope containing £20 and use it to treat a stranger, seems virtually indistinguishable.The show’s premise is certainly interesting, but it doesn’t feel provocative enough in its current form. Indeed, the best measure of its influence is how many people bothered to return their empty glasses (of complimentary
milk bought by Bye) after the show had ended. Judging by the number left strewn over seats as everyone filed out, it appears the piece makes for thought-provoking, but ultimately ineffectual, viewing. [Charlotte Lytton] Northern Stage at St Stephen’s, 11:30am – 12:30pm, 19–25 Aug, not 20, £10.00
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T THE GIN JOINT CU
festtheatre
Molly Naylor and the Middle Ones: My Robot Heart
HHHHH
A complete lack of robots is just about the only disappointment in this charming storytelling show which turns the whimsy up to 11. The magnetic Molly Naylor precedes her tall tales with an explanation of their genesis: a period of her life when she was miserable after dumping her boyfriend. She returns to her personal story throughout
Hitler’s Li’l Abomination
HHHHH
American actress Annette Roman brings her debut solo show to the Fringe in the provocatively-named Hitler’s Li’l Abomination. This title, along with her swastika-emblazoned publicity material, make it pretty clear—as she readily admits—that she’s aiming to put bums on seats with a little bit of sensationalist promotion. In truth, there’s nothing notably offensive about her performance, and
the show, musically accompanied by two-piece indie twee band The Middle Ones. Naylor describes the three main characters in the overlapping tales as imaginary robots created by her to run the programme of love – something science has shown to last only around 18 months. It’s a slightly clunky conceit which is the only weak link in the entire monologue. She draws parallels between her imaginary automatons and a robot designed by a Japanese scientist to experience love
which was scrapped after it behaved “illogically.” It’s an irony not wasted on Naylor. The three interlocking stories introduce a young woman facing uncertainty on the eve of her wedding, her younger step-brother who has to choose between popularity and morality, and her wayward father who left his wife “for the love of Glasgow’s folk music scene.” It’s all wonderful, lyrical stuff, which effortlessly includes more than enough decent jokes to keep the
momentum going. The affectionate interplay between the performer and her musicians is a particular comedic highlight. The combination of the live music and Naylor’s playful delivery draws the audience into the world of robotic hearts so completely that the hour passes with something close to indecent haste. [David Hepburn]
instead she presents a quirky and potentially interesting look at the emotional and psychological impact of WWII on those involved. On the surface, this is an interesting premise for a show. Roman’s father is a Hungarian Holocaust survivor, and her mother a former member of Bund Deutscher Mädel – “Hitler Youth for girls.” Hence the title – Roman reasonably considers herself to be the embodiment of what Hitler would have found abominable. A mostly autobiographical
tale, Roman recounts several stories from both her childhood and adulthood—such as her father’s Holocaust bedtime stories, and an aunt’s swastika-adorned kitchen knife—in the form of reasonably arresting characterisations, interspersed with some deliberations on the philosophical nature of these events. Her parents make up the bulk of her performance, and she manages to paint a fairly vivid picture of them. Unfortunately, the show is also littered with throwaway minor characters who seem
wholly unnecessary. Coupled with the nonlinear timeline— Roman frequently flips between her present life in California and arbitrary points in her past—the narrative becomes unclear and difficult to follow. There’s no doubt Roman has an interesting tale to tell. But without a solid sense of story and structure, we’re left with little idea of what it is. [Matthew MacLeod]
58 fest edinburgh festival guide 2012 | August 21 - 27
Pleasance Courtyard, 3:25pm – 4:25pm, 19–27 Aug, £9.00 – £10.50
theSpace @ Jury’s Inn, 7:05pm – 7:55pm, 18–25 Aug, not 19, £9.50
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festtheatre
5
FEST BEST
Songs of Lear
HHHHH
Polish company Song of the Goat is renowned for pulling theatre apart at the seams and fearlessly reassembling its components in new and exciting ways. This year, the company’s ongoing research project takes a massive stride forward with Songs of Lear, an experimental triumph that sees them using choral song to retell Shakespeare’s King Lear. The idea behind Songs of Lear, shaven-headed Company Director Grzegorz Bral explains early on, is to see Lear as a painting where the music represents the paint, where the songs conjure vivid pictures and where vocal harmony can invoke the rhythm of tragedy. Each of the 10 choral pieces that follow represent small but perfectly formed jigsaw pieces in the Lear plot: the summoning of Lear’s harmonious
kingdom; the king’s painful estrangement from Cordelia; and his eventul spiralling descent into madness. After each recital the agitated Bral jumps from his seat and strides centre stage to interject, imparting pivotal nuggets of context and narration like a professor lecturing to students. It is a powerful, arresting approach to theatrical storytelling and it perfectly adumbrates the complexity of Lear. Yet the performance’s formidable power resides largely in the intensity of the music itself. The 10-strong choir possess remarkable vocal dexterity, and their harmonies expertly manoeuvre the audience through the contours of Cordelia’s weeping lament before building to a frightening crescendo, as Lear’s kingdom dissolves into ruin. Innovative, ambitious and expertly realised, this is majestic theatre that will reverberate inside you long after the last song. [Sam Friedman] Summerhall, 7:15pm – 8:15pm, 19–24 Aug, £11.00
Four new operas packed full of emotion
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The Lady from the Sea In the Locked Room & Ghost Patrol
Clemency Wed 29 Aug to Sun 2 Sep PART OF THE EDINBURGH INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL Traverse Theatre Edinburgh/ King’s Theatre, Edinburgh Call 0131 473 2000 to book
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Book online at scottishopera.org.uk Registered in Scotland Number SCO37531 Scottish Charity Number SCO19787 Registered Office: 39 Elmbank Crescent, Glasgow G2 4PT
August 21 - 27 | edinburgh festival guide 2012 fest 59
festtheatre Metamorphoses: Fables from Ovid
HHHHH
In a boarding school dormitory, four girls lie giggling and singing. Tomorrow is their debutante ball, and they are too excited to sleep. Their matron, apparently fearsome but actually played with a subtle warmth by Gemma Reynolds, is persuaded to tell them a story, which the girls act out, each then telling her own tale. And what tales they are. We hear, in graphic detail, tales of a father-daughter sexual relationship; a husband who rapes his wife’s sister and cuts out her tongue, inciting the wife to murder her only son and feed him to the husband; men turning into women and women turning into trees; a young girl transformed into a
Oliver Reed: Wild Thing
HHHHH
Oliver Reed sits in a pub and, in a manner which manages to bridge the gap between thespian raconteur and the Ancient Mariner, fixes the audience with a glittering eye and proceeds to recount his life story. With extraordinary frequency he pauses to down a bottle of beer, a glass of wine,
The Most Dangerous Toy
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Working from original texts, Playades theatre company has devised this interesting piece exploring the events of 1882, the year Friedrich Nietzsche spent with Lou Salomé, an intellectual and fiercely independent woman. Interesting in the sense that it grapples with the legacy of one of the most complex thinkers of Western thought. But in the end, the piece can’t support the grav-
spider by a jealous goddess... Each member of this young, all-female company shines individually, bringing, by turns, an unsettling innocence and a vivacious enthusiasm to their characters. The fables all speak of the challenges of being female, but the girlish glee with which they are performed is infectious, and what could have
been a disturbing 45 minutes is, in fact, strangely uplifting. There is a beautiful simplicity to the production: they use bedsheets as props, by turns twisting them into snakes and ropes and wearing them as billowing cloaks. When Philomela is raped, a silhouette looms over her behind a backlit, hung sheet – a cheap trick, perhaps,
but a lot more threatening than watching two schoolgirls act it out. Pared-down Metamorphoses it may be, but it’s full of charisma and completely engaging. [Anna Feintuck]
a large whisky, another beer... Not least admirable about Rob Crouch’s performance as Reed is his bladder capacity. He is also superb at capturing Reed in all his fallibility, vulnerability and rabble-rousing monumentalism. It is the type of theatre that catches you out. Reed enters in a gorilla suit – you laugh, it is a reference to his Wild Thing. He regales you with anecdotes and you laugh. In the grandiloquent
tones of a great actor he says things of such staggering egotism – you laugh again. But gradually you realise that all this grandeur, all this solipsistic insistence on being the “last of the shit-kickers” is a terrible defiant bravado; an attempt to prove to himself and anyone else that might be listening that although it became a tragic spectator sport, his life—like that of an ancient Roman gladiator—was still glorious.
The script has been adapted with admirable dexterity by Mark Davis and Rob Crouch from Reed’s out-of-print autobiography and archive film footage of interviews. The play loses pace in the last 15 minutes, however Crouch’s bravura realisation of the role more than compensates. [Miranda Kiek]
ity of the task it undertakes, sinking under the weight of intellectual simplification and dramatic shortcuts. To take the first point, The Most Dangerous Toy seeks to make the case that the events of 1882 directly led to the production of Also Spracht Zarathustra. But, in fact, between 1882 and his death in 1889, Nietzsche completed eight books touching on a range of interests so broad that to draw a straight line from 1882 to his madness and death seems careless. Nor can
the philosopher’s rejection by Salomé be used to account for his misogyny – a strain demonstrated throughout his life’s work, just as it was in that of one of his earliest influences, Arthur Schopenhauer. The second issue concerns the characterisation of Nietzsche himself, a man whom Freud said had “a more penetrating knowledge of himself than any other man who lived or was ever likely to live.” The Most Dangerous Toy tries to grapple with the man as a shorthand philosophical
concept, a dialectic between passionate, Dionysian impulses and the clearer calmer Appolonian intellect. Jamie Laird performs the character with commitment (as does Maria Alexe playing Salomé). But the result is an infuriating, somewhat pathetic fool – the mesmerising teacher Lou Salomé travelled to Germany to share a flat with remains largely hidden. [Evan Beswick]
60 fest edinburgh festival guide 2012 | August 21 - 27
theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 4:25pm – 5:10pm, 20–25 Aug, £9
Gilded Balloon Teviot, 3:30pm – 4:35pm, 19–27 Aug, £10.00 – £11.00
theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 7:05pm – 7:55pm, 18 Aug, £8.00
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Best of the Fests 2012 2-26 August
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Assembly George Square Spiegeltent – Teatro (Tuesday to Sunday)
Assembly George Square Spiegeltent – Teatro (Thursday to Sunday)
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as the place to be ‘round midnight. Stellar line-ups listed daily.
festtheatre Punch & Judy
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Pleasance Courtyard, 12:45pm – 1:45pm, 19–27 Aug, £9.00 – £10.00
US Beef
HHHHH Ever wondered how your burger got from cow to cardboard container? It’s certainly not the first time the ethically dubious practices of fast food corporations have been on the agenda, but Missing String Theatre Company manages to broach such issues with fresh laughter in this satirical take on America’s fiercely consumerist obsession with cheap meat. Central character Buck, our narrator of sorts, starts at the bottom of the fat-oiled corporate ladder as a door to door meat salesman for the oddly
The School of Night
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It’s an odd clash of cultural genres, but audience-wise The School of Night is curiously reminiscent of a Silent Disco, the popular festival event where punters wear headphones, listen to a choice of different songs and thus all dance, chant and cheer at different junctures. This is how the laughs work at The School of Night, in which five modern dandies create a new Shakespearean play each afternoon. A snatch of seemingly impenetrable dialogue elicits a knowing chuckle from one chap at the back; a larger faction guffaws at a broader bit of physical
62 fest edinburgh festival guide 2012 | August 21 - 27
unsavoury sounding Meatbox, a corporate monster promising a pseudo-democratic vision of meat for the masses. Through his personal story of grubby corporate climbing, Missing String deploys its satirical barbs using a wacky blend of comedy, drama and country music. From soulless marketing speak to the hypocrisy of the supposedly ethical consumer, little emerges unscathed. This is also a satire in which the consumer, and therefore the audience, is deeply implicated. As one fast food outlet employee accusatorily tells us, we are “the cog that turns this
machine,” the demand that drives the increasingly unethical supply. This dirty complicity, however, is not taken as far as it could be. By making only half-hearted attempts at addressing spectators, Missing String neglects an opportunity to make the audience squirm and, as a result of that discomfort, think. It might make you pause before tearing off that next chunk of meat, but this is unlikely to create many vegetarians. [Catherine Love]
humour, and a younger fellow goes into paroxysms as they pastiche a specific facet of the Bard’s work which passes the rest of us by. This show evidently isn’t for everyone. Originally (re) convened by the late Ken Campbell, the assembled players are a modern embodiment of a 16th century sect rumoured to have written Shakespeare’s plays by channelling various muses. Knowledge of that backstory is useful as this collective also makes much of channelling ethereal sources, without ever explicitly explaining what’s going on. The main muse for their new play is the audience, who is encouraged to offer a
standard array of improv suggestions: themes, memories, even modern authors. They make an active attempt to explain their in-construction plot by reinterpreting it via more recent writers, but the show is most rewarding when one of them breaks character and explains, without flounce, what Shakespearean theme his colleague is currently attempting. The School of Night is frequently bewildering and teeters perilously on the precipice of smugness, but you might just learn something, like it or not. [Si Hawkins]
Pleasance Dome, 12:20pm – 1:10pm, 19–27 Aug, £8.50 – £9.50
Pleasance Courtyard, 3:05pm – 4:15pm, 19–26 Aug, £10.00 – £11.00 Charity NoNo SC004694. Charity SC004694. Photo: Gadi Dagon Photo: Gadi Dagon
In the midst of a festival where puppetry is back in vogue, Tea Break Theatre is pushing against the tide. This ramshackle rendition of the traditional seaside favourite trades puppets for actors, with three performers taking on the roles of Punch, his put-upon wife and the wide cast of supporting players. All the usual suspects are present, from the sausageguzzling crocodile to the incompetent constable, rolled out in a constant, chaotic merry-go-round of costume changes. Making little attempt to break away from the show’s groaningly recognisable conventions, Punch encounters these characters one by one in an anarchic succession of scenes, piling up the bodies as he goes but achieving little else along the way. Even the sitting duck of the banker gets off with the lightest of satires. If, by swapping puppets for humans, Tea Break Theatre has aimed to give this sprawling farce any real life contemporary resonance, it is almost impossible to detect. The early scenes are so packed with below-par slapstick and strained humour that when events do take a turn for the darker, any sense of menace is unearned. Only in the dying moments, as desperation cracks his pasted on smile, does the image of Punch gain anything approaching potency. “If you be happy,” Punch says to the audience as the show opens, “me be happy too.” By these standards, Punch’s smile is not about to return any time soon. [Catherine Love]
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Charity No SC004694. Photo: Gadi Dagon
2012
Hora
Hora Batsheva Dance Dance Company Company Batsheva Choreographer Ohad Ohad Naharin Naharin Choreographer Science fiction, fiction, martial martial arts arts and and classical classical Science music collide in dance that’s out of this this world world music collide in dance that’s out of
Thursday 30 30 August August –– Batsheva Dance CompanyThursday Saturday 1 September 7.30pm Saturday 1 September 7.30pm
Choreographer Ohad Naharin
‘highly intelligent, intelligent, superbly superbly ‘highly Book now at articulate dancers’ dancers’ Science fiction, martial arts and classical articulate eif.co.uk/hora Los Angeles Times music collide in dance that’s out of this world Los Angeles Times 0131 473 2000 Thursday 30 August – Saturday 1 September 7.30pm
‘superb’ ‘superb’
The Daily Daily Telegraph Telegraph on on Batsheva Batsheva The Dance Company, Company, Festival Festival 2008 2008 Dance
Tickets from £10
festmusic&cabaret Re-Animator: The Musical
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The turn of the millennium heralded something of a renaissance of the zombie horror genre. But even amid this, and the current trend for adapting every film going into a musical, a stage adaptation of cult gore flick Re-Animator is an unexpected surprise. As a pretty faithful adaptation of the screenplay—itself based on the the H.P. Lovecraft story Herbert West - Reanimator—this is a slick, professional and spectacularly messy achievement. Medical student Herbert West discovers a serum capable of returning the dead to life – but the process is far from perfect, leading to some gory outcomes for characters and audience alike. Stuart Gordon—director of the 1985 film—reprises his role here, as do the writing team of Norris and Paoli. The cast are uniformly excellent: lead couple Dan and Meg portray a convincing deadpan romance, West’s bug-eyed exhorta-
Frisky and Mannish: Extra-Curricular Activities
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Fringe stalwarts Frisky and Mannish have invaded Scotland once more, and if the half mile queue outside Assembly Hall is anything to go by, the duo haven’t lost their ability to pack out the festival’s largest venues. Extra-Curricular Activities is their latest kitsch offering, and whilst evidently still a commercial hit, it feels like something of a let-down. The gags are too obvious, and the lack of any kind of premise or plot cheapens what could be, and has in the past been, a good show. Frisky’s voice remains the
tions are genuinely creepy, and Dean Halsey—played by George Wendt, better known as Norm from Cheers—provides barrels of laughs as he’s torn limb from limb. Composer Mark Nutter’s original score is a pitch perfect mash-up of a classic horror soundtrack with Gilbert and Sullivan, although the production’s heavy reliance
on spectacular mess, splatter and special effects does leave choreographer Cynthia Carle with relatively little to do. While there’s not much more to this than a straight-up retelling of the film, fans of the cult classic will get real enjoyment out of the often startling faithfulness to it’s source, and there’s a spectacle
on offer here for all gorelovers. Just remember, if you’re sitting in the front few rows, you’d be well advised to wear some old clothes – things are going to get messy. [Matthew MacLeod]
real star, and the pair compliment each other well over the course of the hour. But there is nothing much to their material, and many of the numbers lack the amusing rewrites of their past performances. The medleys seem to be plucked at random, and the songs selected to riff on are unvaried, which does not help the narrow feel of the piece. A number about the clichéd lyrics of “elephant in the room” Kelly Clarkson, which replaces her phrases with well worn proverbs, seems too basic to be ironic, and simply guilty of the banality they are supposedly parodying. Their audience engagement is second to none, and the speed with which they
have the 700 seater venue dancing in the aisles is impressive. It is this fun loving, frou frou schtick that has earned them such a vast following, and their prancing does make for an amusing spectacle.
Ultimately, though, the piece is just too vacuous to cause a stir. [Charlotte Lytton]
64 fest edinburgh festival guide 2012 | August 21 - 27
Assembly George Square, 10:40pm – 12:00am, 19–27 Aug, not 20, £12.00 – £14.00
Assembly Hall, 7:30pm – 8:30pm, 19–26 Aug, not 20, 21, 22, £16.00
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August 21 - 27 | edinburgh festival guide 2012 fest 65
festmusic&cabaret
Vocal is Lekka
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An elderly man, suited and booted in white, stalks onto the stage and winks flirtatiously at the audience before performing ‘It Must be Love,’ giving a virtuoso air trumpet and then, with a little wiggle of his hips, prowling off. The audience is bemused but amused. A state in which it stays for much of the time during the South African
Facehunters
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Set amidst the trendy young arty types of east London, the ambitious musical Facehunters is a clever reimagining of Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray. But instead of a Victorian dandy remaining ever youthful while his image on a portrait in his attic grows horrifyingly older, it’s two young hipster girls who retain their place on the east London scene over passing decades while a Polaroid taken
a capella group’s performance. The band speak only Afrikaans. What they say must be pretty funny – one person keeps guffawing loudly. That in itself has its comic side, of course, and Vocal is Lekka do prove themselves able to mine the communication gap for humour. As it happens, it’s the upbeat Afrikaans songs which are the most enjoyable. In the future it could be an idea to focus more on these songs when performing in the UK.
The group are done a disservice by the time and venue of their act—4.55pm in the large 1920s night club-style space of Elegance in The Assembly at George Square—meaning the audience sits in daylight while a heavily-miked Vocal is Lekka perform on a stage lit in dark moody blues. The aesthetic is appropriate for a large, boozy audience late at night, and not for a sunny tent populated by a dozen odd stone cold sober
festival-goers in the midafternoon. But this quibble is one of mechanics, and although the act still has a long way to go—especially in terms of choreography and staging— their vocal range makes for a pleasingly harmonious blend. [Miranda Kiek]
30 years previously ages in their place. It’s a neat updating from Leeds-based theatre company The Hungry Bitches, and the large-scale, energetic production—with a cast of almost 20 and a five-piece band which plays the show’s original music pretty much throughout—sets its sights very high. The choreography of the 15-strong chorus is particularly impressive, with tight moves and formations that gather and disperse with well-reheased slickness.
Many of the leads are strong: the angelic Sweetie has a fine voice, and her ex-boyfriend Bruce has a good stage presence. The ever-youthful duo of Katherine and Juliette are well-matched and naturally charismatic.But there’s also the feeling that the company may have overstretched itself. Apart from a couple of exceptions, the songs are generally unmemorable, and their American soft-rock style feels somewhat at odds with the contemporary hipster setting. The energetic
chorus is an almost constant presence on stage, leaving us begging for moments of quiet and calm – there’s little light and shade in the piece. And despite the good performances, the lead characters lack depth, and we feel little emotional connection with them. It’s an enjoyable show, but it could have been so much stronger. [Benjamin Edwards]
66 fest edinburgh festival guide 2012 | August 21 - 27
Assembly George Square, 4:55pm – 5:55pm, 19–27 Aug, not 20, £15.00 – £16.00
C venues - C, 8:50pm – 10:05pm, 19–27 Aug, £8.50 – £10.50
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festmusic&cabaret Kate Daisy Grant with Nick Pynn
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As the first part of a double bill of sorts, with both artists taking it in turns to play backing musician to the other’s songs in back-to-back sets, Kate Daisy Grant’s catchy pop is the more straightforward half compared to Nick Pynn’s mesmerising avant-folk. That’s not to say, however, that there’s anything routine about this singer-songwriter’s material, as her simple, accessible melodies are set against wonderfully inventive arrangements making use of toy pianos, brightly coloured miniature bells, Pynn’s theremin, violin, guitar and at one point, a set of wine glasses used to surprising effect, alongside Grant’s strong and emotive voice. Managing to make an intimate setting that exudes warmth from a rather plain room in a language school in
the West End, the set looks impressive on arrival, with an array of acoustic instruments and novel percussion devices packed into the small space. Grant is a cheery and winning personality on stage, whilst Pynn is a masterful backing player, adding colour and mood to Grant’s largely piano-led songs. Grant is at her best
when in upbeat pop mode, with Pynn decorating the tunes with his excellent violin work, achieving a sound that seems larger than the sum of its parts. With comedy and theatre taking centre stage at the Fringe, musicians are often forgotten amidst the frantic promotion and fevered hype
surrounding the major venues. This is a show that encapsulates what the Fringe should be all about, and it deserves an audience as much as anything happening this August. [Andrew Chadwick] Inlingua Edinburgh, 8:15pm – 9:15pm, 19–26 Aug, not 20, £8.00
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2-26 AUG (NO SHOW 14) AT 22.25 (1 HR) GEORGE SQUARE - SPIEGELTENT TEATRO August 21 - 27 | edinburgh festival guide 2012 fest 67
festmusic&cabaret Bereavement: the Musical
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An unapologetic Broadway pastiche, Bereavement: the Musical seeks to present a weighty subject through an unconventional frame of lighthearted humour. Six musical vignettes of individuals dealing with the fallout of recent bereavements are interspersed with some general ruminations on “life’s unavoidable tragedy,” and while the show makes a spirited attempt to explore the complex personal effects of grief, it’s ultimately hard to discern an overall narrative. An uncomfortably believable portrayal of a businesswoman relying on work to distract her from her mother’s death is both funny and touching, while a 15 year-old boy wondering ‘Is it wrong to have a wank when your mum’s dead?’ may evoke a few cheap laughs, but manages to be almost agonisingly honest. However, some characters rely too heavily on shallow sentimentality and lack the
Chaz Royal presents the Sexy Circus Sideshow
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“This floor’s covered in jewels, sparkles and blood,” muses a dapper dwarf, as he surveys the post-show carnage. “That’s the sign of a good night.” Indeed, this sexy circus even comes complete with pre-show safety instructions, due to the presence of whirling naked flames. There are naked bodies too, of course, or near enough. Burlesque has become an acceptable middle-class evening-out in recent years, a bit of gentle titillation before settling down with another few chapters of 50 Shades of Grey. Chaz Royal’s affair is from the darker side of the tracks, however, some-
irreverence which makes others more entertaining and memorable. Composer Jeff Carpenter’s original piano score is sparkling and engaging throughout, conveying a well-balanced sense of playfulness and sentiment, and is certainly the most polished element of this production. This is supported
by good use of the bare set, minimal props and skillful lighting. But while the cast are broadly able to hold a tune, some seem to struggle during their solo pieces, and the group numbers lack a sense of co-ordination and balance. But stand-out vocal performances by Rosie Brown and Will Karani are genuinely spine-tingling.
This is an innovative, unusual and engaging production featuring some excellent technical achievements, unfortunately let down slightly by a muddled narrative which fails to play to its own strengths. [Matthew Macleod]
where between Cabaret-era Berlin, Freaks and The Rocky Horror Show. This evening’s main act are the Monsters of Schlock, two heavy metal dudes who hold several world records and tell bad jokes while inserting sharp things into themselves, with the assistance of female audience members. A giggly girl called Roxanne steals the show here, twisting herself like a trainee contortionist as she extracts a large nail while pointing everything in the opposite direction. Then it’s time for the showgirls, and a varied array of shapes and skills. The ‘stripping is empowering’ argument doesn’t appease everyone but there is something oddly heart-warming about a cellulite-heavy backside
jiggling proudly, to whoops and hollers, without the input of Gok Wan. But the show’s real hero emerges when the Monsters of Schlock then reappear. As they scour the back row for a volunteer after 40 minutes
of thoroughly entertaining onstage mayhem, one chap is clearly asleep. Now that really is impressive. [Si Hawkins]
68 fest edinburgh festival guide 2012 | August 21 - 27
C venues, 6:40pm – 7:40pm, 19–27 Aug, £9.50 – £11.50
Assembly George Square, 11:45pm – 12:45am, 19–26 Aug, not 20, £10.00 – £13.00
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festmusic&cabaret Les Clöchards: Dirty But Nice
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Imagine if The Libertines, Les Negresses Vertes and The Wurzels exploded their various body parts and were reanimated into five people, complete with random hat wear, and you have a mental image of boho band The Les Clöchards. Legend—or at least their PR material—has it that these buskers played their way from an island off Corsica to the mainland. Their subsequent renown rests on energetic reworkings of classic (mainly 80s) rock and pop hits. Of the various pleasing examples in their canon is a raunchy version of Roxette’s already raunchy ‘You’ve Got The Look’, but if you doubt they have range then try their flamenco twist to Dirty Dancing anthem ‘(I’ve Had) The Time Of My Life,’ or their
Dr Quimpugh’s Compendium of Peculiar Afflictions
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Treading the line somewhere between opera and musical theatre, this strange little piece by Martin Ward and Phil Porter concerns legacy and what it means to make the most of a life. Nearing the end of his days, the eponymous Dr Quimpugh worries about what he is leaving behind, prompting his two nurses to remind him of his life’s work and trigger a musical skip down memory lane. The doctor’s speciality, it emerges, is odd and unusual ailments. As hallucinatory memories form before him in his study, the piece takes us back through a category of increasingly bizarre complaints, from one woman whose hand has a mind of its own to another determined to eat every object she can lay her hands on. Embarrassing Bodies
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initially coy ballad version of Madonna’s ‘Like A Virgin’, which increases in tempo with a little help from a refrain of Michael Jackson’s ‘Earth Song’. There’s a dash of Sinatra, both Frank and Nancy, in the mix as well as the Renato Carsone jazz standard ‘Tu Vuò
Fà L’Americano’. It’s great fun and ultimately irresistible. The clowning from the band might well be limited to gurning, posturing and some brief patter (for example, how everyone at the Fringe seems to have five stars), but it’s their musical dexterity that brings a smile to
your face. A cabaret act and not a comedy one for sure, but no less enjoyable for that, The Les Clöchards make for a refreshing and somewhat nostalgic Fringe diversion. [Julian Hall] Assembly George Sq, 7:30pm – 8:30pm, 21–27 Aug, £10 – £11
has nothing on Dr Quimpugh’s clientele. A musical freak show of sorts, this succession of strangeness muddles on with little purpose. Peculiar it certainly is, but even peculiarity can become dull. While Ward’s score is skilfully sung by the cast, accompanied by a trio of onstage musicians, the eccentric charm that the piece reaches for remains just out of its grasp. Despite this, there is something intriguing and potentially moving about the piece’s central question; as Quimpugh despairingly sings, “what will they write on my grave?” the doctor doubts the worth of a career essentially fed by the misfortune of others, questioning the value of the knowledge he has accrued. It is just a shame that such questions are not more engagingly interrogated. [Catherine Love] Summerhall, 5pm – 6:10pm, 19–26 Aug, not 21, £12
August 21 - 27 | edinburgh festival guide 2012 fest 69
festkids
2012 Festival Round-up up with Kids Editor Caroline Black meets d out what fin her team of mini reviewers to festival. they’ve enjoyed about this year’s Eleanor Smith (age 9)
Eleanor is clear about what has been the best bit of her school holidays; her “summer job” reviewing for Fest. “I’ve enjoyed going to see all of the shows as I don’t normally go to loads of the Fringe stuff. Crazy Dr Brown was the funniest thing I saw. He didn’t speak; he only mimed.” Not one single word in the whole show? “Well he did say "OOOOO" and "EEEEE" when he was playing tennis. But apart from that the singing tiger did everything.” And with two five star shows—Dr Brown and The Curious Scrapbook of Josephine Bean—under her belt, which of the two was her favourite? “Oh no. I don’t know. No. It’s impossible to choose.” So, were there any parts that she really didn’t enjoy? “The worst bit was in the Pleasance. It was a nice setting but the toilets were really hard to find. You had to go down the stairs and then there were two pathways and you didn’t know which way to go.” Venues, take note.
Ross Salters (age 11)
This was the second year being a Fest Kids Reviewer for Ross Salters, a seasoned hack. “I think it was definitely better this year as I felt like I knew what I was doing. I took notes during the show and then I’d write my review straight after the show so the ideas were still fresh.”
Below (L-R): Max, Ben, Ross, Eleanor, Ailis, Lois & Billy
Lois Black (age 6)
“After the show Nanny I had a hot chocolate and a chocolate brownie with icecream, but I didn’t like the ice cream.” It seems that Lois Black was less impressed by the shows and more by what followed them. But were there any shows that she will remember? “I liked Andy and Mike’s Tick Tock Show the best, Mike was crazy. But I didn’t like Polly; the drawing pencils were rubbish. We also saw people just standing in the street next to Greyfriars Bobby playing guitar and singing a nice song. When we walked past they were just finishing so we got to see them curtsey and go ‘Ta Da’.” But what was the best bit about being a Fest Kids Reviewer? “I like having the pass. I like the wee picture of a fox with a walking stick. I’ll put it in my special drawer.”
70 fest edinburgh festival guide 2012 | August 21 - 27
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festkids Ross lives and goes to school in Fife so coming into Edinburgh when it is so busy was part of the fun. “There were loads of things going on when I went down the High Street. There were a couple of girls playing guitars and singing. There was a really freaky one with a little girl pretending to be dead on the street. It was very life-like but a bit, well, yuck. I didn’t stay long but she’d probably been there for quite a while.”
Billy Salters (age 6)
Above: Eleanor with Dr Brown & His Signing Tiger
According to his mum, Billy Salters was a bit miffed last year when he was too little to be a Fest Kids Reviewer. “Yeah, I was a bit sad that I didn’t get to do it but my big brothers did.” But this year lived up to expectations. “I really enjoyed the shows, it was quite new as I don’t normally go to the theatre.” “Captain Codless and the Legend of Plunge Island was my favourite, it was really funny. I liked when they went to the Olympics. Did you watch the Olympics? Did you see the high jump? There was this lady and she nearly made it, it was just her foot that knocked it off. If she didn’t have any feet then she’d have been fine.” So, in Edinburgh 2013 would Billy like to be a Fest Kids Reviewer again? “Hmm, no thank you. When I did it this time I didn’t really have a choice as Mum just signed me up.”
Ben Salters (age 11)
I suspect that we might just see Ben Salters involved in future Edinburgh Festivals. “When I grow up I’d like to be a photographer or a journalist. And after watching Comedy 4 Kids I’d quite like to try being a comedian.” Ben obviously loved the whole atmosphere of the Fringe and being involved. “I really loved being in Edinburgh when it was so busy. I also quite liked having my Fringe Reviewer pass on. Everyone would look at you and be like ‘How has he got one?’” “I took notes during the show and wrote some of my reviews just afterwards when I was waiting for the bus. I do enjoy writing; I just don’t like the thought of it. But writing is my favourite subject at school. Would he join us again? “Yeah, I’d love to!”
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Ailis Black (age 6)
“I just liked the bubbles. The best one was the one that went up to the ceiling and then popped,” Ailis Black says of her favourite bubble in her favourite show, The Amazing Bubble Man. Ailis lives in the seaside town of North Berwick so coming into Edinburgh itself was quite a treat. “I got the train with Mum which was fun. And I got to go for lunch in Pizza Express, just Mum and me. It was fun because I got to eat pizza. It was nice not to be in North Berwick. I like Edinburgh best.” Of all the things that Ailis saw on her travels—the double dutch skipping team, a man juggling chainsaws—none tickled her quite like the hilarity of seeing “a boy in a tutu.” This was her favourite. “It was difficult being a Fest Kids Reviewer, but it was fun. I would like to do it. So would my brother.”
Maxwell Stephenson (age 9)
“I normally see loads of shows in the festival. Deciding how many stars the show should get was the easy part, it was thinking what to say in the review that was hard.” Maxwell Stephenson might be an experienced Fringe visitor but writing about shows didn’t always come easily. “I took notes during the show but it was still hard.” His Dad came up with a good way to encourage him: “After the show my Dad said we could go to McDonalds as long as I wrote a bit of a practice review. It was nice when I finally finished them and I’ve already taken them in to show my teacher.” Edinburgh based Maxwell might be used to street entertainment, but even he was surprised this year. “I got given £10. I was asked to join the show and had to stand holding two balloons whilst the performer told jokes and whipped real lion-whips in front of me. I was shivering and laughing at his jokes. I was happy but extremely scared.” f
fest 71
festkids
By kids, for kids! ...
Fest calls in the miniature experts Superjohn
HHHHH The venue that I went to had good seats and was big enough for all the people but you could hear the show next door which is very distracting when you are trying to enjoy a show. The show itself is about a boy named John who is in hospital. He imagines he’s a super hero, Super John. John imagines he must get the Orb of Invincibility to become strong again. Meanwhile his sister Star is getting very frustrated at all the attention her brother is getting. Neither of them get along but can they join forces to defeat the evil Heema. The actors were very good at switching characters and doing facial expressions. I felt it
probably had a good storyline, but I didn’t have a clue what was going on half the time. Also some bits were a bit boring. I think children eight and under would enjoy this more. [Ross Salters, age 11] Pleasance Courtyard, 11:25am – 12:40pm, 20–27 Aug, £9.00 – £10.00
Comedy Club 4 Kids
Horrible Histories: Barmy Britain
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The Bongo Club is a place where comedians can try and make children laugh and they certainly did a good job. There were three comedians and one compere, all of whom were hilariously funny. These comedians put the fun into funny. The venue was very big and there was lots of space for the comedians to perform. There was one comedian who was only 16 and I think that they should have more jokers and jesters that age because it’s a lot more inspirational. The compere was a bit crazy and he got the audience to throw their jumpers onto the stage. He ended up with 15 jumpers on at one point. He was definitely the second fun-
HHHHH
niest. The last comedian was the funniest whose jokes were about his children and what they get up to with him. Go see this show and you’ll have sore cheeks from laughing. [Ben Salters, age 11] The Bongo Club, 5:30pm – 6:30pm, 19–26 Aug, £7.00 – £9.00
72 fest edinburgh festival guide 2012 | August 21 - 27
Horrible Histories was lots of different stories. There was a lady and a man on stage. They had lots of costumes that they wore and changed in front of you. I liked the man best. He was very funny when he threw the baby away. My favourite story was about the King and the Queen. The King was very fussy and wanted a baby boy not a baby girl. He killed his wife which was funny. The funniest bit was when the lady thought she was going to sneeze and went ‘ah ah ah..’ but then she didn’t sneeze. Then she went ‘choo’ all over the baby. I didn’t like
the bit with the blood stuff on the sheets. I liked the show but think older children would like it a lot. It was quite loud and they talked very quickly. [Lois Black, age 6] Pleasance Courtyard, 12:00pm – 1:00pm, 21–26 Aug, £11.50
www.festmag.co.uk
festkids
Scamp Theatre & Watford Palace Theatre present:
The Freedom Family Circus
Untitled-2 1
27/07/2012 15:3
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This show was amazingly jaw dropping, extraordinarily brilliant. The amount of skill, balance and bravery was superb! From Phoenix to Arizona—and not forgetting Wales—these actors are spectacular. I cannot stress enough how surprising this is. I especially liked Hermy the Clown who was very funny. This show is full of street performers; knife jugglers, unicyclists and lots of other hair raising daredevil acts. One of the performers even balanced a sword—pointed end down— on his forehead! Another balanced a bowling pin on his head while spinning a football with one hand and juggling tennis balls with the other. There was also a band that played Mexican style music and I really liked the girl in it who played the trumpet.
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& other terrific tales from
Julia Donaldson & Axel Scheffler Reviews for Stick Man - Live on Stage!
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‘Wonderfully exuberant & imaginative’
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Time Out Critics’ Choice
‘Zesty and delightful’ Independent
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Sunday Express
They have different acts on each time so the audience will always be surprised. I found the staff very friendly as were the performers and volunteers. The venue was a good size too, it had a good vibe about it. I would rate The Freedom Family Circus four stars as they dropped a few items while performing. But this is easily done under tense circumstances. [Ben Salters, age 11]
11.15AM (12.05PM)
Point Hotel, 1:40pm – 2:40pm, 20–25 Aug, £7.00
2 - 27 AUG 2012 (not 9th)
19/04/2012 August 21 - 27 | edinburgh festival guide 2012 fest 73
AD277_Print_ChildrensShows.indd 1
12:48
festkids
The Magician’s Daughter
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Shakespeare’s The Tempest is given a colourful re-telling for tots in this Royal Shakespeare Company collaboration with London puppet maestros, Little Angel Theatre, aimed at children aged three and upwards. It’s years since Prospero left the island and Miranda now has a daughter, Isabella,
Cloud Man
HHHHH A million miles from the brightly coloured, noisy spectacle of Sesame Street Live or Mother Africa, this quiet, lyrical play for young children takes place in a pale world of cotton wool clouds, beige-green mountains and tiny, chalk-white men. A beautiful piece of set design as well as an intriguing piece of storytelling, it had the children at the performance I saw
who loves to hear stories of her late grandfather’s magic. As a never-ending rainstorm hits their Italian village, Isabella, unable to sleep, opens Prospero’s famous book and finds herself transported to the isle where a green big-bellied Caliban and blue feather-haired Ariel still reside, each in possession of half of their former master’s broken staff. If there’s a villain to the piece, it’s Caliban who wants to take control of the
island but really he is the most adorable wannabe-tyrant, forgetting Isabella’s name, cursing in nonsense language and constantly coveting Ariel’s tree of “fruity fruit.” This is a big-hearted, vibrant production full of eccentric instruments and gentle audience involvement. Michael Rosen’s text weaves in some of Shakespeare’s best loved lines, through song or repetition, making it a lovely first encounter with Shakespeare
for the very young. Older children might find the telling style a little over-emphasised, but the message of sharing and cooperation is sweet and nicely put across, and seeing Prospero’s staff with a carrot nose singing songs about being broken in half will bring a smile to the grown-ups’ faces. [Lucy Ribchester]
rapt with concentration and wonder throughout. Our heroine is a scientist who has devoted her life to finding the elusive “cloud men” that live in the sky. Dressed stereotypically in large glasses and an anorak, but sympathetically portrayed in a subtle performance by Jen Edgar, she sets up camp at the top of “the cloudiest mountain in the world.” There, she sets about taking measurements with tiny instruments, sometimes
finding a possession of the cloud man’s: a miniature sock, a little vest. The tale evokes the slowburn thrill of scientific discovery, whilst gently sending up its main character’s insistence on recording and cataloguing every small detail of this apparently magical phenomenon. The cloud man himself is tantalisingly absent for a good 20 minutes, making his eventual appearance—a series of personable puppets inside a
large cotton-wool cloud, operated by Edgar herself—all the more magical. The moral dilemma of the final section is interesting, but glossed over a little too quickly: children could have coped with a little more dramatic tension before the happy ending. Nevertheless, this pastel world will linger in their imaginations long after they’ve left the theatre. [Tom Hackett]
74 fest edinburgh festival guide 2012 | August 21 - 27
Underbelly, Bristo Square, 1:15pm – 2:00pm, 20–27 Aug, £11.00 – £12.00
Run Ended
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August 21 - 27 | edinburgh festival guide 2012 fest 75
comedylistings
FESTIVAL
LISTINGS When it's this time...
...this show is on...
❤ Richard Herring HHHH
...on these dates...
10:00 1000 Years of Scotland’s Dark Past
The Edinburgh Dungeon, 20 Aug - 2 Sep, £10.50
10:15 BBC: Front Row
BBC @ Potterrow, 22 Aug, £free
10:30 1000 Years of Scotland’s Dark Past
The Edinburgh Dungeon, 20 Aug - 2 Sep, £10.50
11:00 1000 Years of Scotland’s Dark Past
The Edinburgh Dungeon, 20 Aug - 2 Sep, £10.50
11:20 Card Ninja: ReDeal
Assembly George Square, 21-26 Aug, £9
11:30 Mind Reading for Breakfast
Sweet Grassmarket, Various dates from 20 Aug to 27 Aug, £9
... at this place...
...for this price
11:50 Graters: Julian Ignores his Friend and Talks to a Pretty Girl
Underbelly, Cowgate, 2026 Aug, £8.50 – £9.50
12:00 FunBags present Unusual Suspects
Just The Tonic at the Caves, 20-25 Aug, £5
Austerity Pleasures
Laughing Horse @ Finnegan’s Wake, 20-25 Aug, £free
Cheese-Badger presents... Midge (a Two-Man Musical) - Free
Laughing Horse @ The Newsroom, 21-26 Aug, £free
Sally-Anne Hayward: The Inbetweeny Lady
The Stand Comedy Club III & IV, 20-26 Aug, £8
Aaaand Now for Something Completely Improvised - Free Laughing Horse @ Meadow Bar, 20-26 Aug, £free
Ivo Graham and Liam Williams
The listings are arranged by type - Comedy or Theatre - and then by time. We've listed the dates that each show is running, but remember that it might be on at different times too - check our website for more information. Dates and times can sometimes change, so check with the venue before planning ahead.
20:15 Underbelly, Bristo Square 7-26 Aug, £14 – £16
Fest is the only place you can get daily listings for all of the comedy and theatre shows at the Fringe.
If you're looking for a show to see right now, visit festmag.co.uk on your smartphone to find out what's coming up near your current location.
Croft & Pearce Do It Like A Lady HHH
Gilded Balloon Teviot, 2027 Aug, £8.50 – £9.50
Lucy Cox: Attractive Audience Required - Free Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 20-26 Aug, £free
Juliet Meyers: Raised By Fridge Magnets
The Stand Comedy Club II, 20-26 Aug, £8
Jerry Bucham: Freelance Activist
Laughing Horse @ Jekyll & Hyde, 20-26 Aug, £free
The Cradle of Comedy
Hill Street Theatre, 2026 Aug, £5
Introducing Stu Introducing Will - Free
Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 20-26 Aug, £free
The Aspidistras - Hi Noon! HH Just The Tonic at the Caves, 20-26 Aug, £5
Eggball
Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 20-26 Aug, £free
1000 Years of Scotland’s Dark Past
Laughing Horse @ Captain Taylor’s Coffee House, 20-26 Aug, £free
1000 Years of Scotland’s Dark Past
11:40
James Redmond and Ellie Taylor - Free Festival
The Tourists - A Free Festival Sketch Show
The Edinburgh Dungeon, 20 Aug - 2 Sep, £10.50
The Durham Revue
Underbelly, Cowgate, 2226 Aug, £9 – £10
Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 20-26 Aug, £free
The Edinburgh Dungeon, 20 Aug - 2 Sep, £10.50
Laughing Horse @ Edinburgh City Football Club, 20-26 Aug, £free
12:05 Gareth Morinan Presents A Wilmops Good Improv Show The Cabaret Voltaire, 20-25 Aug, £free
Failure and How to Achieve It The Voodoo Rooms, 20-25 Aug, £free
12:10 ❤ Simon Munnery’s La Concepta HHHH La Concepta @ Whitespace, 20-25 Aug, £11.50 – £13.50
Richard Wiseman: Psychobabble The Canons’ Gait, 22 Aug, £free
Graham Rex
Underbelly, Bristo Square, 20-27 Aug, £8 – £9
Domestic Science
The Canons’ Gait, Various dates from 20 Aug to 26 Aug, £free
Politics Now. Politics Wow! Scottish Comedy Festival @ The Beehive Inn, 2026 Aug, £free
Anne Edmonds in My Banjo’s Name is Steven HHH
Underbelly, Bristo Square, 20-27 Aug, £8 – £9
12:15 Stu and Garry in The Lunchtime Show The Assembly Rooms, 20-26 Aug, £10
About Comedy Stand-up Comedy Courses
Laughing Horse @ Edinburgh City Football Club, 21 Aug, 25 Aug, £99
Cucu-rucu-cu in the French Alps
Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 20-26 Aug, £free
Nick Hayman: Middle Aged, Useless and Talented! - Free
Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, Various dates from 20 Aug to 26 Aug, £free
The Comedian’s Comedian Live with Stuart Goldsmith Gilded Balloon Teviot, 24-26 Aug, £7.50
12:20 Bob and Jim - Go
Underbelly, Bristo Square, 20-27 Aug, £8 – £9
12:30 Ted & Co The Dinner Show Hilton Edinburgh Grosvenor, 25 Aug, £39
Rock N Roll Politics presented by Steve Richards
Assembly George Square, Various dates from 20 Aug to 26 Aug, £10 – £12.50
❤ Tony Law Maximum Nonsense HHHH The Stand Comedy Club, 20-27 Aug, £8
BUY TICKETS ON
76 fest edinburgh festival guide 2012 | August 21 - 27
FACEBOOK.COM/UNDERBELLYEDINBURGH
FOR ALL UNDERBELLY SHOWS
One in a Million - Free
Laughing Horse @ City Cafe, Various dates from 20 Aug to 26 Aug, £free
Sam Fletcher - Good on Paper Bannermans, 20-25 Aug, £free
Cirque du Charlie Chuck SpaceCabaret @ 54, 20-25 Aug, £8
1000 Years of Scotland’s Dark Past
The Edinburgh Dungeon, 20 Aug - 2 Sep, £10.50
Big Value Comedy’s Lunchtime Club Just The Tonic at the Caves, 20-26 Aug, £5 – £6
Fragments of Monotony / An Audience With Sir Dickie Benson
Whynot? , 20-25 Aug, £free
12:35 Man Feelings
Laughing Horse @ Jekyll & Hyde, 20-26 Aug, £free
12:50 Jenny Fawcett
Pleasance Courtyard, 2027 Aug, £8 – £8.50
12:55 Funk Rocket 5000 Just The Tonic at the Caves, 20-26 Aug, £5 – £6
Horse & Louis: The Curse of...
Underbelly, Cowgate, 2026 Aug, £9 – £9.50
comedylistings 13:00 E4 Udderbelly Podcalf 2012
Underbelly, Bristo Square, 22-26 Aug, £6
The Temps
Pleasance Courtyard, 21-27 Aug, £8 – £9
The Comedy Sandwich
Laughing Horse @ Finnegan’s Wake, 20-25 Aug, £free
Anthony King: Songs of Love and Death Just The Tonic at the Caves, 20-26 Aug, £8 – £9.50
Short & Curly: A Captive Audience
Ciao Roma, 20-25 Aug, £free
Mervyn Stutter’s Pick of the Fringe
Pleasance Courtyard, Various dates from 20 Aug to 26 Aug, £9 – £10
Sad Faces Remember It Differently
Underbelly, Cowgate, 2026 Aug, £8.50 – £9.50
Jim Smallman’s Group Therapy
Just the Tonic at The Tron, 20-26 Aug, £5
Mr Susan’s ‘Cheeky Flippin’ Nice’ - Free
Laughing Horse @ The Newsroom, 20-26 Aug, £free
This Arthur’s Seat Belongs to Lionel Richie
Summit of Arthur’s Seat, 20-27 Aug, £free
1000 Years of Scotland’s Dark Past
The Edinburgh Dungeon, 20 Aug - 2 Sep, £10.50
The Human Condition - Free
Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 21-26 Aug, £free
Amnesty’s Secret Comedy Podcast
Underbelly, Bristo Square, 20 Aug, 21 Aug, 27 Aug, £free
13:05 Frankie from the Valley - Free
Laughing Horse @ Jekyll & Hyde, 20-26 Aug, £free
Revill’s Selection - Free
Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 21-26 Aug, £free
Cracking Yolks - Free Range Comedy Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 20-26 Aug, £free
Life, the Universe, Whatever...
Laughing Horse @ Jekyll & Hyde, Various dates from 20 Aug to 26 Aug, £free
The Three Half Pints
Laughing Horse @ Edinburgh City Football Club, Various dates from 20 Aug to 26 Aug, £free
Mike Sheer in Undergod - Free
Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 20-26 Aug, £free
BDOOL (Best Days of Our Lives) - Free Laughing Horse @ The Phoenix, 20-26 Aug, £free
13:10 Bless You In Advance
Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 20-26 Aug, £free
❤ Simon Munnery’s La Concepta HHHH La Concepta @ Whitespace, 20-25 Aug, £11.50 – £13.50
They’re Gonna Crucify Me
The Banshee Labyrinth, 20-25 Aug, £free
Tony Jameson and Katie Mulgrew Tell Tales
The Stand Comedy Club III & IV, 20-26 Aug, £8
Best of Edinburgh The Showcase Show
Pleasance Courtyard, 2026 Aug, £8.50 – £9.50
Iszi Lawrence’s Wotnot
The Stand Comedy Club II, 20-26 Aug, £8
13:15 BBC: The Richard Bacon Show
BBC @ Potterrow, 22-23 Aug, £free
Soap Box - The Comedy Debate Slam
Scottish Comedy Festival @ The Beehive Inn, 2026 Aug, £free
Austentatious: An Improvised Jane Austen Novel
Kieran Hodgson: Supervillain
Gareth Morinan: Truth Doodler
The Canons’ Gait, Various dates from 20 Aug to 26 Aug, £free
The Voodoo Rooms, 20-25 Aug, £free
Adam Larter: Happy New Year - A Free Comedy Show Laughing Horse @ Captain Taylor’s Coffee House, 20-26 Aug, £free
This Is Soap
C venues - C, 20-27 Aug, £6.50 – £8.50
13:20 Will Marsh’s Ruination
Just The Tonic at the Caves, 20-26 Aug, £5 – £8
Three for Free
Belushi’s, 20-25 Aug, £free
Bowling and Todd +1 The Cabaret Voltaire, 20-25 Aug, £free
13:25 Jay Foreman’s Mixtape
Underbelly, Cowgate, 2026 Aug, £9 – £10
The Look of an Angel on the Devil Himself Sweet Grassmarket, Various dates from 20 Aug to 27 Aug, £7
Bob Graham Work Ethic
A Coach Load of Lesley
The Voodoo Rooms, 20-25 Aug, £free
Kelly Kingham: Goody Two-Shoes - Free
The Royal Mile Tavern, 20-25 Aug, £free
Back to School
Pleasance at Braidwood Centre, 24-26 Aug, £15
1000 Years of Scotland’s Dark Past
The Edinburgh Dungeon, 20 Aug - 2 Sep, £10.50
❤ Bridget Christie: War Donkey HHHH The Assembly Rooms, 20-26 Aug, £10
13:40 Jessica Pidsley’s I Can Make You Thin(k)
Underbelly, Bristo Square, 20-27 Aug, £8 – £9
13:45 Giant Talking Cat Free Festival
Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 20-26 Aug, £free
13:30
Free Footlights
Gentlemen Bears
The Hudson Hotel, 2025 Aug, £free
Ian Smith and Tom Toal
Afternoon Delight
Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 21-26 Aug, £free
Underbelly, Bristo Square, 20-26 Aug, £8.50 – £9.50
George Ryegold’s God-In-A-Bag HH
❤ Chris Corcoran and Elis James - The Committee Meeting HHHH
Working Men’s Club
Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 20-26 Aug, £free
Scottish Comedy Festival @ The Beehive Inn, 2126 Aug, £free
Whistlebinkies, 20-25 Aug, £free
Just The Tonic at the Caves, 20-26 Aug, £5
Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 20-26 Aug, £free
Mace and Burton: Rom Com Con
Mugging Chickens
Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 20-26 Aug, £free
Pam Ford Salon Secrets - Free
Underbelly, Bristo Square, 20-27 Aug, £9 – £10 Le Monde, 20-25 Aug, £free
Josh Richards: Keith Looks Back in Anger - Free
Alternative Fringe @ The Hive, 20-26 Aug, £free
Control Alt Delete - The Funny Side of Computers
Underbelly, Bristo Square, 20-27 Aug, £9 – £10
Laughing Horse @ City Cafe, Various dates from 20 Aug to 26 Aug, £free
California Beach Bungalow
Speak Easy with Kristen and Kurt
C venues - C aquila, 2027 Aug, £6.50 – £8.50
The Jam House, 21-22 Aug, £free
14:00 Hannah Gadsby Mary. Contrary.
Gilded Balloon Teviot, 23-26 Aug, £9.50 – £10.50
Bristol Revunions: Destination Adventure Just The Tonic at the Caves, 20-26 Aug, £7.50 – £8.50
The Early Edition
Underbelly, Bristo Square, 20-25 Aug, £11 – £13
Dixon of Fogg Green - Free
Alternative Fringe @ The Hive, 20-26 Aug, £free
Luke and Harry’s Dot Dot Dot Just The Tonic at the Caves, 20-26 Aug, £8 – £9
Phil Buckley - Simple Things - Free Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 20-26 Aug, £free
Gagging for Attention
Just The Tonic at the Caves, 20-26 Aug, £3
Activism Is Fun
Globe, 20-25 Aug, £free
Nutters of the British Isles: The Complete Field Guide - Free
Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 20-26 Aug, £free
Best of the Fest Daytime
Assembly George Square, 21-26 Aug, £10 – £12.50
Roland Rides The Rail’s! (again) - Free
Fliss Russell - Life is Fliss
Laughing Horse @ Finnegan’s Wake, Various dates from 20 Aug to 27 Aug, £free
Lara A King - People Pleaser
Richard Herring’s Edinburgh Fringe Podcast
Dragonfly, 20-25 Aug, £free
Assembly George Square, 20-26 Aug, £10
Sandi Toksvig Live: My Valentine Pleasance Courtyard, 20-23 Aug, £14
The Two O’Clock Show
The Banshee Labyrinth, 20-25 Aug, £free
1000 Years of Scotland’s Dark Past
The Edinburgh Dungeon, 20 Aug - 2 Sep, £10.50
All the Fun of the Unfair 2012
Siglo, 20-25 Aug, £free
14:05 AAA Batteries (Not Included) - Free Laughing Horse @ Meadow Bar, 20-26 Aug, £free
The Stand Comedy Club, 20-27 Aug, £10
14:20 Eric’s Tales of the Sea - A Submariner’s Yarn Just The Tonic at the Caves, 20-26 Aug, £9 – £10.50
Jack Jerome’s Journey of Life
Just the Tonic at The Tron, 20-26 Aug, £8
Eleanor Tiernan Rogue H
The Stand Comedy Club III & IV, 20-26 Aug, £8
Silky: Nut Allegory
The Stand Comedy Club II, 20-26 Aug, £8
Tom Lauri: Good With His Fingers
Under Your Feet
Southsider, 20-25 Aug, £free
Sweet Grassmarket, Various dates from 20 Aug to 27 Aug, £7
Helsinki
The One Hour Plays
Laughing Horse @ Jekyll & Hyde, Various dates from 20 Aug to 26 Aug, £free
Underbelly, Cowgate, 2026 Aug, £8 – £9.50
14:15
Sarah Jones: Does Not Play Well With Others
It’s Not Us, It’s You - Free
Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 20-26 Aug, £free
BEASTS
Pleasance Courtyard, 20-27 Aug, £8 – £9
14:30 C venues - C aquila, 2027 Aug, £8.50 – £10.50
Angela Barnes and Matt Richardson
Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 20-26 Aug, £free
COMEDY, THEATRE, CABARET AND MORE www.festmag.co.uk
OPEN 'TIL 5AM
August 21 - 27 | edinburgh festival guide 2012 fest 77
comedylistings Jessie Cave: Bookworm HHH
Underbelly, Cowgate, 2026 Aug, £9 – £10
Ian Fox - Shutter Monkey (The Comedy Show With Pictures) - Free
Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 20-26 Aug, £free
The One-Eyed Men’s Friendship Formula - Free Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 20-26 Aug, £free
The Edinburgh Revue Stand Up Show
Scottish Comedy Festival @ The Beehive Inn, 2026 Aug, £free
Tennyson Hanbury’s Condensed Cabaret Belushi’s, 20-25 Aug, £free
This Comedy Mob Belongs to Lionel Richie
The Scott Monument, 25 Aug, £free
Barbara Nice: Mrs Nice HH
The Assembly Rooms, 20-25 Aug, £10
Square Eye Pair
Gilded Balloon Teviot, Various dates from 20 Aug to 27 Aug, £8.50 – £9.50
1000 Years of Scotland’s Dark Past
The Edinburgh Dungeon, 20 Aug - 2 Sep, £10.50
14:35 Convicted
The Cabaret Voltaire, 20 Aug, 21 Aug, 23 Aug, 24 Aug, 25 Aug, £free
14:40 Billy Kirkwood’s - Show Me Your Tattoo 2012
Scottish Comedy Festival @ The Beehive Inn, 2125 Aug, £free
Vinegar Knickers: On The Edge HH Just The Tonic at the Caves, 20-26 Aug, £8 – £9.50
10 Films With My Dad The Voodoo Rooms, 20-25 Aug, £free
14:45 Bec Hill is More Afraid of You Than You Are of Her! HHH Gilded Balloon Teviot, 20-26 Aug, £8 – £9
Slap and Giggle: Retrial
Opium, 20-25 Aug, £free
Best of Waterloo Comedy Club
Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 20-26 Aug, £free
Someone, Somewhere
The Royal Mile Tavern, 20-25 Aug, £free
American Girlfriend: Laura Levites
Alternative Fringe @ The Hive, 20-26 Aug, £free
In Vino Veritas - Free Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, Various dates from 20 Aug to 26 Aug, £free
And Still Rarely Rong
Whistlebinkies, 20-25 Aug, £free
14:50 Hennessy & Friends: A History of Violence
Underbelly, Bristo Square, 20-27 Aug, £9 – £10
Fran Moulds: Significant Human Error HHH Underbelly, Bristo Square, 20-26 Aug, £8.50 – £9.50
15:00 RadioHead Redux 2012
Ship of Fools: Children of Twelchford
Bannermans, 20 Aug, 21 Aug, 23 Aug, 24 Aug, 25 Aug, £free
Mitch Benn: Reduced Circumstances HHH
The Stand Comedy Club III & IV, 20-26 Aug, £10
The Cradle of Comedy
Destiny Church Gorgie, 20-26 Aug, £5
2012: An Improv Odyssey
Rush Bar, 20-25 Aug, £free
15:05 Men of Character - Free
Laughing Horse @ Jekyll & Hyde, 20-26 Aug, £free
Kaput
Underbelly, Bristo Square, 21-27 Aug, £11 – £13
15:10 Jamie Demetriou’s People Day (and Special Guests)
Dragonfly, 20 Aug, 22 Aug, 23 Aug, 24 Aug, 25 Aug, £free
Parris and Dowler Know What They’re Doing
Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, Various dates from 20 Aug to 26 Aug, £free
Laughing Horse @ City Cafe, Various dates from 20 Aug to 26 Aug, £free
My Stepson Stole My Sonic Screwdriver
BBC: Crossing the Media
It’s Grimm Up North
Gilded Balloon Teviot, 2026 Aug, £10 – £11
BBC @ Potterrow, 26 Aug, £free
theSpace @ Symposium Hall, 20-25 Aug, £6 – £8
Gemma Arrowsmith: Defender of Earth
15:15
Le Monde, 20-25 Aug, £free
Rachel Stubbings Is Stubbing Out Problems
Underbelly, Bristo Square, 20-27 Aug, £8 – £9
Bristol Improv for Hire
Whynot? , 20 Aug, 22 Aug, 23 Aug, 24 Aug, 25 Aug, £free
What a Weird and Wonderful Festival! The Voodoo Rooms, 25 Aug, £free
1000 Years of Scotland’s Dark Past
The Edinburgh Dungeon, 20 Aug - 2 Sep, £10.50
Comedy Brass - Free Laughing Horse @ Meadow Bar, 20-26 Aug, £free
❤ Kieran and Joe: Friends of Steel HHHH
Pleasance Courtyard, 2027 Aug, £8.50 – £9.50
Stand-Up at the Jekyll & Hyde - Free Laughing Horse @ Jekyll & Hyde, 20-26 Aug, £free
Katherine Ryan: Nature’s Candy HHH Gilded Balloon at Third Door, 20-25 Aug, £9.50 – £10
Ford and Akram: Bamp! HH
Pleasance Courtyard, 2027 Aug, £9 – £9.50
Luke Milford Things I Like Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 20-26 Aug, £free
Plenty More Fish (But I Don’t Have a Fish Fetish) The Fiddler’s Elbow, 20-25 Aug, £free
The Intimate Strangers
Just The Tonic at the Caves, 20-26 Aug, £8.50 – £9.50
The Oxford Imps
Gilded Balloon Teviot, 2027 Aug, £10.50 – £12
Forget Therapy - Just Drink - Free Laughing Horse @ The Phoenix, 21-26 Aug, £free
15:20 Kevin Tomlinson: Seven Ages!
Just The Tonic at the Caves, 21 Aug, 23 Aug, 25 Aug, £10 – £11
Four Screws Loose in #screwtheworld Assembly George Square, 20-27 Aug, £9 – £10
The Comedy Manifesto
Ciao Roma, 20-25 Aug, £free
Kevin Tomlinson: Crazy Little Thing Called Love!
Just The Tonic at the Caves, 20 Aug, 22 Aug, 24 Aug, 26 Aug, £10 – £11
15:25 The Silky Pair: Happy to Help (Plus Special Guests) Just The Tonic at the Caves, 20-26 Aug, £6
15:30 Foster’s Edinburgh Comedy Awards Show
Pleasance Courtyard, 26 Aug, £14
Dave McNeill: Canoe Ride 3000
Pleasance Courtyard, 2026 Aug, £8 – £10
No Turn Unstoned
The Banshee Labyrinth, 20-25 Aug, £free
Chris Henry: We Need to Talk!
Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, Various
dates from 20 Aug to 26 Aug, £free
LOLympics Live - Free
Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 20-26 Aug, £free
Patterson and Ranganathan
Laughing Horse @ The White Horse, 20-26 Aug, £free
Max and Ivan Are... Con Artists
Pleasance Courtyard, 2027 Aug, £9.50 – £12
Ladies and Gentlemen - Free
Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 20-26 Aug, £free
Michael Legge: What a Shame HHH The Stand Comedy Club II, 20-26 Aug, £8
Helen Keen: Robot Woman of Tomorrow HHH Pleasance Courtyard, 2026 Aug, £8.50 – £9.50
Ladies Live Longer: Ladylike
C venues - C nova, 20-27 Aug, £7.50 – £9.50
RH: Live
C venues - C aquila, 2027 Aug, £8.50 – £10.50
BBC: Four Thought BBC @ Potterrow, 20 Aug, £free
Nick Page: My Glorious Hypothetical Life As a Eunuch The Shack Comedy Club & Nightclub, 20-25 Aug, £8
Liam Mullone: A Land Fit For F*ckwits HHH
The Stand Comedy Club III & IV, 20-26 Aug, £8
1000 Years of Scotland’s Dark Past
The Edinburgh Dungeon, 20 Aug - 2 Sep, £10.50
Monumental Information’s Product of the Year 2017
Laughing Horse @ Edinburgh City Football Club, 20-26 Aug, £free
15:35 Peter Antoniou’s Psychic Circus
Sweet Grassmarket, Various dates from 20 Aug to 26 Aug, £8
Bruce Hammers’ Bananapocalypse Just The Tonic at the Caves, 20-26 Aug, £5 – £6
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78 fest edinburgh festival guide 2012 | August 21 - 27
FACEBOOK.COM/UNDERBELLYEDINBURGH
FOR ALL UNDERBELLY SHOWS
Through the Looking Screen Underbelly, Cowgate, Various dates from 20 Aug to 26 Aug, £10 – £11
15:40 An Indie Boy’s Guide to Sex and Girls Chiquito, 20-25 Aug, £free
Tom Goodliffe: All in Good Time Just the Tonic at The Tron, 20-26 Aug, £6 – £7
Thea-Skot’s Miss Adventures
Just The Tonic at the Caves, 20-26 Aug, £7 – £8
Phil O’Shea
Belushi’s, 20-25 Aug, £free
Sharron Matthews Superstar: Gold
Pleasance Courtyard, 2127 Aug, £12.50 – £14
Owen Niblock: Codemaker
The Voodoo Rooms, 20-25 Aug, £free
15:45 David Mills is Smart Casual - Free
Alternative Fringe @ The Hive, 20-27 Aug, £free
The Tim Vine Chat Show
Pleasance Courtyard, 2027 Aug, £14 – £15
Sean Hegarty and Tom O’Mahoney Live - Free
Laughing Horse @ Captain Taylor’s Coffee House, 20-26 Aug, £free
❤ Sarfraz Manzoor: The Boss Rules HHHH The Assembly Rooms, 20-26 Aug, £10
Munfred Bernstein’s Cabinet of Wonder
Gilded Balloon Teviot, Various dates from 20 Aug to 27 Aug, £8.50 – £9.50
Fark
Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 20-26 Aug, £free
Discograffiti - Free
Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 20-26 Aug, £free
Simon Munnery: Fylm-Makker HHH
The Stand Comedy Club, 20-27 Aug, £10
comedylistings I Am Google
Laughing Horse @ Espionage, Various dates from 20 Aug to 26 Aug, £free
15:50 Dec Munro’s Got Chutzpah
The Royal Mile Tavern, 20-25 Aug, £free
❤ Mark CooperJones: Geography Teacher - Free HHHH The Cabaret Voltaire, 21-24 Aug, £free
Loughborough Players: Athletes of Comedy
GHQ, 20-25 Aug, £free
Quiz in My Pants
The Cabaret Voltaire, 20-25 Aug, £free
The Dog-Eared Collective: You’re Amazing, Now Look at Me HH
Underbelly, Cowgate, 2026 Aug, £10 – £11
15:55 Niall McCamley: Lemon Jousting and Other Shenanigans
Scottish Comedy Festival @ The Beehive Inn, Various dates from 20 Aug to 26 Aug, £free
Dolly Mixture
The Voodoo Rooms, 20-25 Aug, £free
16:00 Jody Kamali: Dirty Filthy Rich - Free
Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 20-26 Aug, £free
Phill Jupitus is Porky the Poet in 27 Years On The Jam House, 20-25 Aug, £free
The Cambridge Footlights: Perfect Strangers
Pleasance Dome, 20-27 Aug, £9 – £10
Fred Cooke: Standing, tilted HH
Gilded Balloon Teviot, 2027 Aug, £8.50 – £9.50
The Oxford Revue Prattle Royale
Underbelly, Cowgate, 2026 Aug, £9 – £10
Back to School
Pleasance at Braidwood Centre, 21-26 Aug, £10 – £15
Beard
Assembly Hall, 20-27 Aug, £8 – £10
Damien Crow: The World According to Damien Crow HH The Assembly Rooms, 20-26 Aug, £10
Rob Auton: The Yellow Show
The Banshee Labyrinth, 20-25 Aug, £free
Constant Craving - Free
Laughing Horse @ Espionage, Various dates from 20 Aug to 26 Aug, £free
1000 Years of Scotland’s Dark Past
The Edinburgh Dungeon, 20 Aug - 2 Sep, £10.50
Arguments and Nosebleeds - Free
Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 26 Aug, £free
Paul Merton’s Impro Chums
Occupied
Mae Day HHH
16:05
Pleasance Courtyard, 2025 Aug, £13 – £14.50 Just The Tonic at the Caves, 20-26 Aug, £7
Matthew Crosby is Matthew Crosby in Matthew Crosby (The Show) HHH
Pleasance Courtyard, 2027 Aug, £10 – £12
The Quadrantines Opium, 20-25 Aug, £free
Daniel-Ryan Spaulding: How Dare You!
53 Frederick St Guest House, 21-25 Aug, £free
Matt Forde: Eyes to the Right, Nose to the Left HHH Underbelly, Bristo Square, 20-26 Aug, £8.50 – £9.50
16:10 Shirley and Shirley Unleashed
Underbelly, Bristo Square, 20-27 Aug, £10 – £11
The Hudson Hotel, 2025 Aug, £free
16:15
This Barry Ferns Belongs to Lionel Richie
Deborah Frances-White: Cult Following
Alternative Fringe @ The Hive, 20-27 Aug, £free
Assembly Roxy, 20-27 Aug, £10 – £11
John Hastings: UnRelentless
Laughing Horse @ City Cafe, 20-26 Aug, £free
Genevieve Swallow is Sharing Le Monde, 20-25 Aug, £free
Gerry Howell: Glorious Invention Bannermans, 20-24 Aug, £free
The Pigeon Hole Presents: Stand-Up Comedy - PBH’s Free Fringe Mood Nightclub, 20-25 Aug, £free
Making Life Taste Funnier
Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 20-26 Aug, £free
Rory O’Hanlon: A Bit of Craic in the Afternoon
Rush Bar, 20-25 Aug, £free
Do Not Adjust Your Stage
Whynot? , 20 Aug, 22 Aug, 23 Aug, 24 Aug, 25 Aug, £free
16:20 Gráinne Maguire: Where Are All the Fun Places and Are Lots of People There Having Better Fun? Underbelly, Bristo Square, 20-26 Aug, £8.50 – £9.50
Gravity Boots
Gilded Balloon Teviot, 20-26 Aug, £8 – £9
An Austrian and Someone from Slough
Laughing Horse @ Jekyll & Hyde, Various dates from 20 Aug to 26 Aug, £free
Half of Next Year’s Show - Free Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 20-26 Aug, £free
16:30 The McLough-Hess Monster
Laughing Horse @ Jekyll & Hyde, 20-26 Aug, £free
Lead Pencil
The Fiddler’s Elbow, 20-25 Aug, £free
Thomas Nelstrop: Great(ish) Hits HH
Pleasance Courtyard, 2027 Aug, £10 – £11
McNeil and Pamphilon
Pleasance Courtyard, 2027 Aug, £10 – £11
Aberdeen vs. Glasgow vs. The World II - Free
Laughing Horse @ The Newsroom, 20-26 Aug, £free
Asher Treleaven: Troubadour HHH
Gilded Balloon Teviot, 20-26 Aug, £9.50 – £10.50
Kevin Dewsbury: In...Sane - Free Laughing Horse @ Meadow Bar, 20-26 Aug, £free
Fresh Faces at the Free Fringe
Southsider, 20-25 Aug, £free
BBC: In Tune
BBC @ Potterrow, 24 Aug, £free
Morgan & West: Clockwork Miracles Gilded Balloon Teviot, 20-27 Aug, £9.50 – £10.50
16:45 The Pin HHH
Pleasance Courtyard, 2127 Aug, £8.50 – £9.50
Jackson Voorhaar’s One True Love(s) - Free Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 20-26 Aug, £free
Lewis Schaffer: No YOU Shut Up! - Free
Alternative Fringe @ The Hive, Various dates from 20 Aug to 26 Aug, £free
Erich McElroy: The Brit Identity
Pleasance Courtyard, 2027 Aug, £11 – £12
The Ginge, the Geordie and the Geek- All New Show 2012 Just The Tonic at the Caves, 20-26 Aug, £9.50 – £12
Cariad Lloyd - The Freewheelin’ Cariad Lloyd HHH
Pleasance Courtyard, 2027 Aug, £9 – £10
Jim Smallman: Let’s Be Friends HHH
Jigsaw: Gettin’ Jiggy HHH
Gilded Balloon Teviot, 20-26 Aug, £9
Pleasance Courtyard, 2027 Aug, £8.50 – £9.50
1000 Years of Scotland’s Dark Past
Dissecting Comedy - Free
The Edinburgh Dungeon, 20 Aug - 2 Sep, £10.50
Chris McCausland: Not Blind Enough
Pleasance Courtyard, 2026 Aug, £11 – £12
Paul Dennis’s Inappropriate Bits - Free
Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 20-26 Aug, £free
16:40 ❤ Mary Bourke: Hail Mary! HHHH
The Stand Comedy Club III & IV, 20-26 Aug, £8
Otto Kuhnle: Ich Bin Ein Berliner HH
Assembly George Square, 20-26 Aug, £8.50 – £10.50
David Longley: My Favourite Things HHH
The Stand Comedy Club II, 20-26 Aug, £8
Holly Burn: The H Club
Just The Tonic at the Caves, 20-26 Aug, £7 – £8
Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 20-26 Aug, £free
Jem Brookes: Thumbs Up - Free
Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 20-26 Aug, £free
Not Treasure Island Just The Tonic at the Caves, 20-26 Aug, £5
Computer Programmer Extraordinaire
Globe, 20-25 Aug, £free
The Edinburgh Revue Sketch Show
The Banshee Labyrinth, 20 Aug, 21 Aug, 23 Aug, 24 Aug, 25 Aug, £free
16:50 Michelle de Swarte Belushi’s, 20-25 Aug, £free
16:55 ❤ Discover Ben Target HHHH
Underbelly, Cowgate, 2026 Aug, £9 – £10
Yianni: Numb and Number - Free
The Canons’ Gait, 20-25 Aug, £free
Simply the Jest presents Middle Class Tripe
Chiquito, 20-25 Aug, £free
Alan Hudson’s Not So Secret World of Magic Just The Tonic at the Caves, 20-26 Aug, £7 – £9
17:00 Bad Musical
Gilded Balloon Teviot, 2027 Aug, £10 – £11
Leads & Stern HH
Underbelly, Cowgate, 2026 Aug, £9 – £10
End of the World Show 2012
Ryan’s Cellar Bar, 20-25 Aug, £free
The Pauly Show Episode One HHH Just the Tonic at The Tron, 20-26 Aug, £7 – £10
The Tim and Pat Show
The Cabaret Voltaire, 21-25 Aug, £free
The Great Big Comedy Picnic - Free Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 20-26 Aug, £free
John Robertson - The Dark Room - Free Alternative Fringe @ The Hive, 20-27 Aug, £free
Geoff Norcott Avoids a Double Dip The Shack Comedy Club & Nightclub, 20-25 Aug, £7
Diane Spencer: Exquisite Bad Taste HHH Gilded Balloon Teviot, 20-26 Aug, £10
One Rogue Reporter HHH
Fat Kitten vs. the World
Pleasance Courtyard, 20-27 Aug, £9.50 – £10.50
Lights! Camera! Improvise!
Jarlath Regan: The Audacity of Hope and the Inspirational Stupidity of Perseverance HHH
The Voodoo Rooms, 20 Aug, 21 Aug, 23 Aug, 24 Aug, 25 Aug, £free
Underbelly, Bristo Square, 20-27 Aug, £10 – £11
The Assembly Rooms, 20-26 Aug, £10
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OPEN 'TIL 5AM
August 21 - 27 | edinburgh festival guide 2012 fest 79
comedylistings Ferris Bueller’s Way of...
Laughing Horse @ Espionage, Various dates from 20 Aug to 26 Aug, £free
Britain’s Got F*ck All Talent! The Shack Comedy Club & Nightclub, 20-25 Aug, £7
Passion, Pints and Potatoes - An Irish Guide to Life
Dropkick Murphy’s, 2025 Aug, £free
German Comedian
Base Nightclub, 21-25 Aug, £free
The Leeds Tealights: Sexy Chubby Just The Tonic at the Caves, 20-26 Aug, £7 – £9
The Noise Next Door: Bring The Noise HHH
Pleasance Courtyard, 2027 Aug, £13 – £14
1000 Years of Scotland’s Dark Past
The Edinburgh Dungeon, 20 Aug - 2 Sep, £10.50
17:05 Blind Date Ruined My Life
Sweet Grassmarket, Various dates from 20 Aug to 26 Aug, £7.50
Rosie Thorn and The Patsy Cornish Saga theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 21-25 Aug, £7
Rory & Tim: Good for Nothing
17:15 Man 1, Bank 0
Gilded Balloon Teviot, 20-26 Aug, £10.50 – £12.50
The Thinking Drinkers Guide to Alcohol
The Assembly Rooms, 20-26 Aug, £10
Michael Redmond: Mannequins, Fishmongers, Guacamole and Me ... and Other Things Gilded Balloon Teviot, 2127 Aug, £8.50 – £9.50
Lucy Porter - People Person HHH The Stand Comedy Club, 21-26 Aug, £10
Do Not Trust the Animals - Free
Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 20-27 Aug, £free
Gadd and Winning: Well, This is Awkwarder Opium, 20-25 Aug, £free
Birth Order
Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 20-26 Aug, £free
David O’Doherty Presents 403 Second Masterworks Gilded Balloon Teviot, 20 Aug, £11.50
17:20 Laurence Clark: Inspired
The Voodoo Rooms, 20-25 Aug, £free
Underbelly, Bristo Square, 20-27 Aug, £9.50 – £11
17:10
Bad Bread: 2012 The Survival Guide
The Tim Vine Chat Show
Pleasance Courtyard, 21 Aug, £14
Sheeps - Dancing with Lisa
Pleasance Courtyard, 2026 Aug, £10 – £11
Nicholas Parsons’ Happy Hour
Pleasance Courtyard, Various dates from 20 Aug to 26 Aug, £11 – £12
Underbelly, Cowgate, 20-26 Aug, £9.50 – £10.50
Hanks and Conran Pigs in Blankets Just The Tonic at the Caves, 20-26 Aug, £7.50
17:30 Nik Coppin’s Caricatures - Free Festival
Monkey Poet - Potty Mouth The Banshee Labyrinth, 20-25 Aug, £free
Laughing Horse @ City Cafe, Various dates from 20 Aug to 27 Aug, £free
Ben Verth: Alsatian and Chips
Laughing Horse Free Comedy Selection
Scottish Comedy Festival @ The Beehive Inn, 2026 Aug, £free
Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 20-26 Aug, £free
❤ Sean Hughes - Life Becomes Noises HHHH Pleasance Courtyard, 2027 Aug, £13 – £14
Phil Mann’s Full Mind
Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 20-26 Aug, £free
Benny Boot: Def-Con 4
Underbelly, Bristo Square, 20-27 Aug, £9.50 – £10.50
❤ Nick Helm: This Means War! HHHH
Pleasance Dome, 20-27 Aug, £12.50 – £13.50
Scientist Turned Comedian: Tim Lee HH
Assembly Roxy, 20-27 Aug, £11 – £12
The SomeNews Live Show - Free Laughing Horse @ Captain Taylor’s Coffee House, 20-26 Aug, £free
Cammy’s Teatime The Jazz Bar, 22-26 Aug, £5
Folken Britain
Le Monde, 21-25 Aug, £free
Jennifer Carnovale - Scraping the Barrel - Free
Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, Various dates from 20 Aug to 26 Aug, £free
1000 Years of Scotland’s Dark Past
The Edinburgh Dungeon, 20 Aug - 2 Sep, £10.50
James Christopher: Bring Me the Head of Russell Kane - Free
The Banshee Labyrinth, 20 Aug, 21 Aug, 23 Aug, 24 Aug, 25 Aug, £free
The Great Puppet Horn HHH
Underbelly, Cowgate, 2026 Aug, £9 – £10.50
17:35 Ryan Withers - One Woman Showe - Free Laughing Horse @ Jekyll & Hyde, 20-26 Aug, £free
Milo McCabe: Kenny Moon This Is Your Life
Gilded Balloon Teviot, 2026 Aug, £8.50 – £10
17:40
Hill and Weedon
❤ Catriona Knox Hellcat HHHH
Underbelly, Bristo Square, 20-27 Aug, £9 – £10
The Three Englishmen: Squares
Laughing Horse @ Jekyll & Hyde, 20-26 Aug, £free
3 Days Off Jesus - Free
Pleasance Dome, 20-27 Aug, £9 – £9.50
Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, Various dates from 20 Aug to 26 Aug, £free
17:45
Chris Dangerfield: Sex Tourist
The Magical Adventures of Pete Heat
Alternative Fringe @ The Hive, 20-26 Aug, £free
Ladystache
Laughing Horse @ Meadow Bar, 20-26 Aug, £free
Gilded Balloon at Third Door, 20-27 Aug, £10 – £12
Laughing Horse @ The Phoenix, 20-26 Aug, £free
Ed Eales-White: Champions HHH
Aaaand Now for Something Completely Wireless - Free
17:50
Pleasance Courtyard, 20-27 Aug, £11.50 – £12.50
Loretta Maine: Bipolar HHH
Just The Tonic at the Caves, 20-26 Aug, £9 – £10
The Full Irish
Laughing Horse @ Finnegan’s Wake, 20-26 Aug, £free
All Star Stand-Up Showcase - Free
Laughing Horse @ The White Horse, 20-26 Aug, £free
Fresh Faces at the Free Fringe
Belushi’s, 20-25 Aug, £free
Pleasance Courtyard, 2027 Aug, £7.50 – £9
Wil Hodgson: Kidnapped By Catwoman
Billy Watson - Sex, Drugs and Marriage - Free
The Stand Comedy Club III & IV, 20-26 Aug, £8
Pleasance Courtyard, 2026 Aug, £11 – £12
Test Tube Comedy
Rob Beckett’s Summer Holiday
Laughing Horse @ The Newsroom, 21-25 Aug, £free
Chris Brain: A Better Place
Gilded Balloon Teviot, Various dates from 20 Aug to 27 Aug, £8.50 – £9.50
Maff Brown’s Parade of This Gilded Balloon Teviot, 20-26 Aug, £8 – £9
The Fitzrovia Radio Hour
Gilded Balloon Teviot, 2027 Aug, £10 – £11
BBC: The Kitchen Cabinet
BBC @ Potterrow, 26 Aug, £free
The Beta Males in... The Space Race
Pleasance Courtyard, 2027 Aug, £10 – £11
Well Done You - Free Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 20-26 Aug, £free
Matthew Highton’s End of the Road
Siglo, 20-26 Aug, £free
Chris Stokes: An Opera Written On Napkins Pleasance Courtyard, 20-27 Aug, £8 – £9
Garrett Millerick: Which One’s Fergal?
Southsider, 20 Aug, 21 Aug, 23 Aug, 24 Aug, 25 Aug, £free
Ciao Roma, 20-25 Aug, £free
Gavin Webster: Bill Hicks Wasn’t Very Good HH
The Stand Comedy Club II, 20-26 Aug, £8
18:00 Big Value Comedy Show - Early Just The Tonic at the Caves, 20-26 Aug, £9 – £10
Nick Mohammed is Mr Swallow: 2012
Pleasance Courtyard, 2027 Aug, £10 – £12
The Six O’Clock Club Kilderkin, 20-25 Aug, £free
Suzi Ruffell: Let’s Get Ready to Ruffell
Pleasance Courtyard, 2026 Aug, £10 – £11
Susan Calman: This Lady’s Not for Turning Either
Underbelly, Bristo Square, 20-27 Aug, £11 – £12
Xavier Toby: Binge Thinking HH
Jimeoin - What?! HH
The Best of Irish Comedy
1000 Years of Scotland’s Dark Past
Ben Hustwayte & Jack Campbell: Get It On
Laughing Horse Free Pick of the Fringe
C venues - C nova, 20-27 Aug, £8.50 – £10.50
The Stand Comedy Club III & IV, 20-26 Aug, £10
Globe, 20-25 Aug, £free
Trevor Lock’s Amateur Sex Tape Theory
Alternative Fringe @ The Hive, 20-26 Aug, £5
Dirty Thirties
Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 20-26 Aug, £free
Stephen Carlin: Pandas vs Penguins HHH
Pleasance Courtyard, 2027 Aug, £11 – £12
BUY TICKETS ON
80 fest edinburgh festival guide 2012 | August 21 - 27
❤ Josie Long: Romance and Adventure HHHH
FACEBOOK.COM/UNDERBELLYEDINBURGH
FOR ALL UNDERBELLY SHOWS
Venue150 @ EICC, 20 Aug, 25 Aug, 26 Aug, £13.50 – £15.50
The Edinburgh Dungeon, 20 Aug - 2 Sep, £10.50
Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 20-26 Aug, £free
18:05 Black Country Cider Lions - Free Laughing Horse @ Bar 50, 20-26 Aug, £free
Richard Wiseman: Psychobabble The Canons’ Gait, 22 Aug, £free
George’s Marvellous Medics theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 20-25 Aug, £6
comedylistings Stewart Lee - Carpet Remnant World The Assembly Rooms, 21-26 Aug, £15
Oliver Dean and His Fantastic Ego! Live theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 20-25 Aug, £3
❤ Sammy J and Randy - The Inheritance HHHH
Underbelly, Bristo Square, 20-27 Aug, £13 – £15
10 Films With My Dad
The Voodoo Rooms, 20 Aug, £free
18:10 Rick Shapiro: Rebirth
Assembly George Square, 22 Aug, 24 Aug, 25 Aug, £13 – £14
Basic Training
Underbelly, Bristo Square, 20-27 Aug, £11 – £12
Michelle Wormleighton Bewildered
Chiquito, 21-25 Aug, £free
Chris Dugdale’s 2 Faced Deception HHH
Assembly George Square, 20-27 Aug, £11 – £12
Adam Strauss: Varieties of Religious Experience The Royal Mile Tavern, 20-25 Aug, £free
18:15 ❤ Michael Workman - Mercy HHHH
Gilded Balloon Teviot, 2026 Aug, £9 – £10
Nick Beaton Does Not Play Well With Others
Sajeela Kershi: Regret-Me-Nots
Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 21-26 Aug, £free
Helen Arney - Voice of an Angle HHH
Underbelly, Cowgate, 2026 Aug, £10 – £11
Sweet Grassmarket, Various dates from 20 Aug to 27 Aug, £8
Greg Proops
Assembly George Square, 20-25 Aug, £15 – £16
Frimston and Rowett: Huge Mistakes
Just The Tonic at the Caves, 20-26 Aug, £8
BBC: The Philosopher’s Arms BBC @ Potterrow, 21 Aug, £free
Gordon Southern’s A Brief History of History Gilded Balloon Teviot, 20-26 Aug, £12
18:20 WitTank HHH
Pleasance Courtyard, 2026 Aug, £8.50 – £9.50
Caimh McDonnell: The Art of Conversation Just the Tonic at The Tron, 20-26 Aug, £6 – £7
2 Facedbook 3
Jack Barry and Patrick Turpin: Your New Mild Friends
Marek Larwood Typecast
Billy The Mime HHH Just The Tonic at the Caves, 20-26 Aug, £8 – £10
You Are Being Lied To 2012
Base Nightclub, 20 Aug, 21 Aug, 23 Aug, 24 Aug, 25 Aug, £free
Inspired - Life 101
Laughing Horse @ Espionage, Various dates from 20 Aug to 26 Aug, £free
The Harri-Parris - The Leaving Do
Peter Edwards: Love Everyone
Matt and Ian’s Improv Show
The Cabaret Voltaire, 20-25 Aug, £free
Pleasance Courtyard, 2026 Aug, £10 – £12
NewsRevue
Pleasance Courtyard, 2026 Aug, £12.50 – £15
❤ Carl Hutchinson: Acceptable? HHHH Just The Tonic at the Caves, 20-26 Aug, £6 – £7.50
18:25 Alfie Brown: Soul for Sale Underbelly, Cowgate, 20-26 Aug, £9.50 – £10.50
Dan Nightingale: The 11 and a 1/2 Ill-conceived Edinburgh Shows of Dan Nightingale
18:30
Tim FitzHigham: Stop the Pigeon HH Pleasance Courtyard, 25 Aug, £11
18:50
Ian D. Montfort Unbelievable
Pleasance Courtyard, 2026 Aug, £12 – £14
Sex Ed: The Musical!
Scottish Comedy Festival @ The Beehive Inn, 2026 Aug, £free
18:35
Scottish Comedy Festival @ The Beehive Inn, 2026 Aug, £free
Thatcher’s Death Party
The Shack Comedy Club & Nightclub, 20-25 Aug, £7 – £8
Buffs Club (RAOB), 21-25 Aug, £free
Stuart Mitchell Presents ‘It’s Just a Phrase I Am Going Through’
theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 20-25 Aug, £8 – £9
Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, Various dates from 20 Aug to 26 Aug, £free
Spring Day: Learn How to Take a Punch - Free
Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 20-26 Aug, £free
Damian Kingsley: Work in Progress - Free
Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 20-26 Aug, £free
Rookie Mistakes
The Street, 20-25 Aug, £free
The Top Secret Comedy Club
Whistlebinkies, 20-24 Aug, £free
Denise Scott Regrets HH
Assembly Hall, 20-26 Aug, £9.50 – £10.50
The Durham Revue Underbelly, Cowgate, 20-21 Aug, £9
Would You Let Your Daughter Marry A Weegie? The Hudson Hotel, 2025 Aug, £free
Distract and Conquer
18:40 Zoo, 20-26 Aug, £9
Chortle Presents: Fast Fringe
Pleasance Dome, 20-25 Aug, £8.50 – £9.50
Kerry Gilbert Triumphs
Just The Tonic at the Caves, 20-26 Aug, £7 – £8.50
Totally Tom
Underbelly, Bristo Square, 20-27 Aug, £10 – £11
Mark Nelson - Under the Radar HHH
Underbelly, Cowgate, 2026 Aug, £10 – £11
Charmian Hughes: Charmageddon!
The Banshee Labyrinth, 20 Aug, 22 Aug, 23 Aug, 24 Aug, 25 Aug, £free
18:45 Laughing Horse Free Comedy Selection Laughing Horse @ City Cafe, 20-26 Aug, £free
Aidan Killian: Free to Obey - Free Alternative Fringe @ The Hive, Various dates from 20 Aug to 27 Aug, £free
Absolute Improv!
C venues - C nova, 20-27 Aug, £8.50 – £10.50
Bus-ting to Laugh - Free
Amarone, 20-25 Aug, £free
Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 20-26 Aug, £free
Max Fletcher: Delicious
Alexis Dubus: Cars & Girls HHH
Opium, 20-25 Aug, £free
Daniel Sloss - The Show
Venue150 @ EICC, Various dates from 20 Aug to 26 Aug, £13.50 – £15.50
Celia Pacquola Delayed HHH
Underbelly, Bristo Square, 20-26 Aug, £9.50 – £11
Would Like to Meet - Free
Laughing Horse @ Jekyll & Hyde, 20-26 Aug, £free
Andrew Bird’s Global Village Fete HH
Gilded Balloon Teviot, 2025 Aug, £8.50 – £9.50
19:00 Amateur Transplants: Adam Kay’s Bum Notes
Pleasance Courtyard, 2027 Aug, £12 – £13
Bob Slayer: He’s A Very Naughty Boy
Alternative Fringe @ The Hive, Various dates from 20 Aug to 26 Aug, £5
❤ Jim Campbell: Nine-Year-Old Man HHHH
Underbelly, Bristo Square, 20-27 Aug, £9 – £10
BBC: Tonight With Rory Bremner BBC @ Potterrow, 22 Aug, £free
Barry Castagnola in Where’s Barry
Gilded Balloon at Third Door, 20-26 Aug, £9.50 – £10.50
5-Step Guide to Being German 2.0 - Free
Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 21-26 Aug, £free
101 Comedy Club - Free
1000 Years of Scotland’s Dark Past
The Edinburgh Dungeon, 20 Aug - 2 Sep, £10.50
Alistair Barrie: Urban Fogey HHH
Totally Wired! Reunion Farewell (Welfare) Tour - A Sperm’s Tail and Other Tales - Free
Phill Jupitus - You’re Probably Wondering Why I’ve Asked You Here...
Gilded Balloon Teviot, 2026 Aug, £8 – £9.50
The Stand Comedy Club, 20-27 Aug, £12
Elis James: Speaking As a Mother...
Pleasance Courtyard, 2027 Aug, £10 – £12
Trevor Browne - I Think ... I Am
❤ Jessica Fostekew: Brave New Word HHHH
Alternative Fringe @ The Hive, 27 Aug, £5
Pleasance Dome, 20-26 Aug, £8.50 – £10.50
Assembly Roxy, 20-26 Aug, £9.50 – £10.50
Laughing Horse @ Captain Taylor’s Coffee House, 20-26 Aug, £free
Heroes of Alternative Fringe
Gilded Balloon Teviot, 2026 Aug, £8.50 – £9.50
Laughing Horse @ Meadow Bar, 20-26 Aug, £free
Aaron Twitchen’s Quarter Life Crisis
Southsider, 20-25 Aug, £free
Seymour Mace: Squeg!
The Stand Comedy Club II, 20-26 Aug, £8
Gilded Balloon Teviot, 20-27 Aug, £9.50 – £10.50
Funny’s Funny: Fantastic Fringe Finale - Free
Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 20-26 Aug, £free
Suggs: My Life Story in Words and Music The Queen’s Hall, 21-24 Aug, £22.50
Vladimir McTavish and Keir McAllister Look at the State of Scotland HHH
The Stand Comedy Club III & IV, 20-26 Aug, £8
1000 Years of Scotland’s Dark Past
The Edinburgh Dungeon, 20 Aug - 2 Sep, £10.50
Karma Comedian Stella Graham - Free Laughing Horse @ Jekyll & Hyde, 20-26 Aug, £free
Josh Widdicombe: The Further Adventures of... HHH
Pleasance Courtyard, Various dates from 20 Aug to 26 Aug, £11 – £12
❤ Daniel Simonsen Champions HHHH
Pleasance Courtyard, 2127 Aug, £8.50 – £10
Tom Deacon: Deaconator HHH
Pleasance Dome, 20-25 Aug, £8.50 – £9.50
This Time It’s Personal
Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 20-26 Aug, £free
Giacinto Palmieri: Pagliaccio
Laughing Horse @ The Newsroom, 20-26 Aug, £free
19:05 Sploshy: A Sketch Show
Ciao Roma, 20 Aug, 21 Aug, 23 Aug, 24 Aug, 25 Aug, £free
COMEDY, THEATRE, CABARET AND MORE www.festmag.co.uk
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August 21 - 27 | edinburgh festival guide 2012 fest 81
comedylistings 19:15 Upstaging: A Modern Guide to Acting for Gentlemen and Gentleladies - Free Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 21-26 Aug, £free
19:30 Künt’s on Daytime TV - Free
Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 20-26 Aug, £free
Ted & Co The Dinner Show
AAA Stand-Up
Hilton Edinburgh Grosvenor, 24-25 Aug, £46
❤ Trevor Noah: The Racist HHHH
Yorkshire Comedy Cabaret IV: Jokers, Born and Interbred - Free
Pleasance Courtyard, 2027 Aug, £9 – £10
Pleasance Courtyard, 2027 Aug, £9 – £10
Light Relief
C venues - C nova, 20-27 Aug, £8.50 – £10.50
Marlon Davis: Enter the Davism
Pleasance Courtyard, 2026 Aug, £10 – £11
Perfectly Bananas
Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 20-27 Aug, £free
Charlie Baker Freshly Baked HHH
Pleasance Courtyard, 2026 Aug, £10 – £11
Andrew O’Neill and Marc Burrows Do Music and Comedy and Hideous Murders The Canons’ Gait, 20-26 Aug, £free
The 7:15pm StandUp Show - Free Laughing Horse @ The White Horse, 20-26 Aug, £free
Base Nightclub, 20 Aug, 21 Aug, 23 Aug, 24 Aug, 25 Aug, £free
❤ Carl-Einar Häckner: Handluggage HHHH Gilded Balloon Teviot, 20-27 Aug, £9.50 – £10.50
Born to be Mild
The Shack Comedy Club & Nightclub, 20-25 Aug, £7
Craig Hill - Jock’s Trap!
Underbelly, Bristo Square, 21-27 Aug, £12.50 – £14.50
Bungo Menebla!
Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 20-26 Aug, £free
The Funeral of Conor O’Toole HHH
Underbelly, Bristo Square, 20-26 Aug, £8 – £9
Stinky Show
Frisky & Mannish: Extra-Curricular Activities
19:20
DeAnne Smith: Livin’ The Sweet Life HHH
The Banshee Labyrinth, 20-25 Aug, £free
John Robins: Incredible Scenes! Just The Tonic at the Caves, 20-26 Aug, £9 – £10
Barry Morgan’s World of Organs HH
Underbelly, Bristo Square, 21-27 Aug, £11.50 – £13.50
❤ David O’Doherty: Seize the David O’Doherty HHHH
Pleasance Courtyard, 2027 Aug, £14 – £15
Assembly Hall, 23-26 Aug, £16
Gilded Balloon Teviot, 2026 Aug, £9 – £10
Paul Foot - Kenny Larch Is Dead
Lloyd Langford: One Day in the Life of Lloyd Owen Langford HHH
Just The Tonic at the Caves, 20-26 Aug, £9 – £10
Comedy Gala 2012: In Aid of Waverley Care Festival Theatre Edinburgh, 23 Aug, £25
Mace and Burton: Heartbreak Hotel
Buffs Club (RAOB), 20 Aug, 22 Aug, 23 Aug, 24 Aug, 25 Aug, £free
19:35 The Mysterious World of Clovis Van Darkhelm The Cabaret Voltaire, 20-25 Aug, £free
Jen Brister - Now and Then HHH Just The Tonic at the Caves, 20-26 Aug, £9 – £10
19:40 The Not Quite Quartet
Just The Tonic at the Caves, 20-26 Aug, £7.50 – £8.50
Raymond Mearns - Rock’n’Roll Comedian - The Therapy Sessions
Scottish Comedy Festival @ The Beehive Inn, 2026 Aug, £free
Andrew Ryan: Ryanopoly
The Assembly Rooms, 20-26 Aug, £10
Can You Put This in the Bin for Me? - Free
Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 20-26 Aug, £free
Nick Sun: Potty Time!
Alternative Fringe @ The Hive, 21-26 Aug, £free
Catie Wilkins: Joy Is My Middle Name Underbelly, Cowgate, 20-26 Aug, £9.50 – £10.50
The Ginge, the Geordie and the Geek- All New Show 2012 Just The Tonic at the Caves, Various dates from 20 Aug to 26 Aug, £9.50 – £12
❤ Claudia O’Doherty - The Telescope HHHH
Underbelly, Cowgate, 2026 Aug, £9 – £10
People Person
Opium, 20-25 Aug, £free
Fred MacAulay: Legally Bald 2 HHH
The Stand Comedy Club III & IV, 21-26 Aug, £10
The History Girls Present: A Summary of Things So Far Assembly Hall, 20-27 Aug, £11 – £12
Dan Willis: A Comedian’s Life
Thomas Hardie Presents: Where’s Thomas, Hardie?
❤ Mark Watson: The Information HHHH
Michael Downey Standing Up Again
Tim FitzHigham: Stop the Pigeon HH
School of Comedy
Saskia’s Surprise Party
The Voodoo Rooms, 21-25 Aug, £free
Pleasance Courtyard, 2027 Aug, £11 – £12.50
19:25
Baby Wants Candy: The Completely Improvised Full Band Musical!
Paradise in The Vault, 21-27 Aug, £8
Big Value Comedy Show - Middle
Pleasance Courtyard, 2026 Aug, £9 – £10
Seann Walsh: Seann to be Wild
Just the Tonic at The Tron, 20-26 Aug, £7 – £8.50
Underbelly, Cowgate, 2026 Aug, £10.50 – £12
Owen O’Neill: Struck By Lightning
Songs, Stories and Downright Lies
19:45
Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, Various dates from 20 Aug to 26 Aug, £free
Bobby Carroll: Low Voltage - Free The Royal Mile Tavern, 20-25 Aug, £free
Stuart Goldsmith: Pr!ck HHH
The Assembly Rooms, 20-26 Aug, £10
Assembly George Square, 20-27 Aug, £13 – £15
Assembly George Square, 21-27 Aug, £15 Assembly Hall, 20-26 Aug, £10
Rhod Gilbert: The Man With the Flaming Battenberg Tattoo
Venue150 @ EICC, 22-26 Aug, £20
Chris Ramsey: Feeling Lucky HHH
Pleasance Courtyard, 2026 Aug, £8.50 – £9.50
Gilded Balloon Teviot, 21-26 Aug, £8 – £9
Amarone, 20-25 Aug, £free
Brides of Comedy HH
C venues - C aquila, 2027 Aug, £8.50 – £10.50
19:50 Pattie Brewster’s Friendship Venture (For Some Friends)
The Banshee Labyrinth, 21-25 Aug, £free
Pleasance Courtyard, Various dates from 20 Aug to 26 Aug, £11 – £12
Tiffany Stevenson: Uncomfortably Numb
Underbelly, Cowgate, 2026 Aug, £10 – £11
Nice People Have Ruined My Life
Dragonfly, 21-25 Aug, £free
20:00 Jimeoin - What?! Extra Shows!
Venue150 @ EICC, 21 Aug, 23 Aug, £13.50
Sound & Fury’s Doc Faustus
Underbelly, Cowgate, 2026 Aug, £9 – £10
Pleasance Courtyard, 20-27 Aug, £17.50 – £18.50
Des Clarke: Final Destination HH
Assembly George Square, 20-27 Aug, £13 – £14
Lie. Cheat. Steal. Confessions of a Real Hustler Zoo, 20-26 Aug, £10 – £12
Derek Ryan: Time Lord - Free
Laughing Horse @ Captain Taylor’s Coffee House, Various dates from 20 Aug to 26 Aug, £free
Reshape While Damp
So You Think You’re Funny? FINAL
Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 20-26 Aug, £free
Hyde and Lyons
Assembly Roxy, 20-27 Aug, £11.50 – £12.50
Gilded Balloon Teviot, 23 Aug, £15 Mood Nightclub, 20-25 Aug, £free
Andrew Doyle: Whatever It Takes HHH Just The Tonic at the Caves, 20-26 Aug, £6.50 – £7.50
Tom Stade Totally Rocks! HH
Pleasance Courtyard, 2026 Aug, £11.50 – £13
The Fringe Comedy Academy: Class of 2012
The Stand Comedy Club III & IV, 20 Aug, £6
Daniel Sloss - Extra Shows!
Venue150 @ EICC, 24-25 Aug, £15.50
Him and Me: Sketch Circus - Free
Laughing Horse @ City Cafe, 20-25 Aug, £free
Patrick Monahan – Shooting From The Lip!
Gilded Balloon Teviot, 20-26 Aug, £10.50 – £12.50
Bob Downe ... Smokin’
Gilded Balloon Teviot, Various dates from 20 Aug to 26 Aug, £12.50 – £14
Naz Osmanoglu: Ottoman Without An Empire HHH Underbelly, Bristo Square, 20-26 Aug, £8.50 – £9.50
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82 fest edinburgh festival guide 2012 | August 21 - 27
Rhys Darby - This Way to Spaceship HHH
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FOR ALL UNDERBELLY SHOWS
Kumail Nanjiani
Dylan Moran: Yeah, Yeah
Edinburgh Playhouse, 23 Aug, £24
20:05 All About the Craic
Laughing Horse @ Jekyll & Hyde, 20-26 Aug, £free
Nothing to Show
theSpace on the Mile , 20-25 Aug, £7.50
20:10 Kev Orkian in Concert - The World’s Favourite Foreigner theSpace @ Symposium Hall, 20-25 Aug, £10
Vikki Stone: Hot Mess
Underbelly, Bristo Square, 20-26 Aug, £10 – £11
Martin Mor: A Man You Don’t Meet Everyday HH
The Stand Comedy Club II, 20-26 Aug, £8
Steve Gribbin: Viva Gribbostania!
The Stand Comedy Club III & IV, 20-26 Aug, £8
Hannah Gadsby - Hannah Wants a Wife HHH
Gilded Balloon Teviot, 20-26 Aug, £9.50 – £10.50
Thom Tuck Flips Out Pleasance Dome, 20-27 Aug, £10 – £11
comedylistings Return of the Lumberjacks (Back by Poplar Demand) HHH The Assembly Rooms, 21-26 Aug, £15
20:15 FNT Live presents... The Jingling Lane Family Singers
C venues - C aquila, 2027 Aug, £8.50 – £10.50
Jo Caulfield - Thinking Bad Thoughts HH The Stand Comedy Club, 20-26 Aug, £10
Joel Dommett Nunchuck Silver Medallist 2002 HH
Pleasance Courtyard, 2026 Aug, £10 – £12
❤ Richard Herring: Talking C*ck - The Second Coming HHHH Underbelly, Bristo Square, 20-26 Aug, £14 – £16
Sean Hughes Stands Up HH
Gilded Balloon Teviot, 2027 Aug, £13 – £14
Rob Deb - the Dork Knight Triumphant - Free
Laughing Horse @ Jekyll & Hyde, 20-26 Aug, £free
Alan Francis Expands
Gilded Balloon at Third Door, 21-26 Aug, £9 – £10
James Acaster Prompt HHH
Pleasance Courtyard, 2026 Aug, £10 – £12
Gearoid Farrelly: Turbulence
Gilded Balloon Teviot, 2026 Aug, £8.50 – £9.50
Al Pitcher – Tiny Triumphs HHH
Gilded Balloon Teviot, 20-26 Aug, £9.50 – £10.50
A Good Catholic Boy Laughing Horse @ The Phoenix, 20-26 Aug, £free
Kemsley and Callaghan: Keeping Their Cool
Laughing Horse @ The Newsroom, 21-26 Aug, £free
GirlBand Improv - Free
Laughing Horse @ Meadow Bar, 21-26 Aug, £free
Lewis Schaffer: No YOU Shut Up! - Free
Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, Various dates from 20 Aug to 26 Aug, £free
Nish Kumar - Who Is Nish Kumar? HHH
Underbelly, Bristo Square, 20-27 Aug, £9 – £10
The News at Kate 2012
Ciao Roma, 20-25 Aug, £free
Danielle Ward - Speakeasy / Playdead
Pleasance Dome, 20-26 Aug, £8.50 – £9.50
Cardinal Burns
Pleasance Dome, 20-25 Aug, £10 – £11
Rob Deering - The One HH
20:25
Two for None
The Canons’ Gait, 21-26 Aug, £free
Pleasance Courtyard, 2027 Aug, £11 – £12 Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 20-26 Aug, £free
20:20 ❤ Pappy’s: Last Show Ever! HHHH
Pleasance Dome, 20-27 Aug, £12.50 – £14
Look at This Massive Picture of My Face
20:30 Abigoliah Schamaun: Girl Going to Hell Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 20-27 Aug, £free
Phil Walker: Is This It?
Laughing Horse @ The White Horse, 20-26 Aug, £free
Danny McLoughlin - The Truth, the Half-Truth and Nothing Like the Truth
Pleasance Courtyard, 2027 Aug, £9.50 – £12
Shappi Khorsandi: Dirty Looks and Hopscotch
Pleasance Courtyard, 2026 Aug, £11 – £12
Tim Roast’s Animals - Free Laughing Horse @ Edinburgh City Football Club, 20-26 Aug, £free
Simon Amstell: Numb
The Bongo Club, 20-26 Aug, £16.50
Playing Politics
Carl Donnelly: Different Gravy HH
Pleasance Courtyard, 2026 Aug, £10 – £12
LOLd on a Minute!
Sweet Grassmarket, Various dates from 20 Aug to 26 Aug, £7
Joe Lycett: Some Lycett Hot HHH
Pleasance Courtyard, 2026 Aug, £8.50 – £9.50
Nathan Cassidy: Free Pound The Royal Mile Tavern, 20-25 Aug, £free
Pat Burtscher’s Patopotamoose
Pleasance Courtyard, 2027 Aug, £11 – £12
Nina Conti: Dolly Mixtures
Pleasance Dome, 21-27 Aug, £13 – £14
Laughing Horse Free Pick of the Fringe
Acoustic Music Centre @ St Bride’s, 23 Aug, £10
Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 20-26 Aug, £free
Sarah Kendall - Get Up, Stand-Up
The Cradle of Comedy
Pleasance Courtyard, 2027 Aug, £10 – £11
Destiny Church Gorgie, 20-25 Aug, £5
The Gubernaculum presents
THE EJACULATE CONCEPTION venue 145
C venues vibrant vivacious variety
0845 260 1234
Tickets £8.50 – £10.50 Concessions £6.50 – £8.50
INDIA BUILDINGS VICTORIA STREET
www.CtheFestival.com
19 – 27 Aug 8.40pm (1hr)
fringe box office 0131 226 0000 online sales www.edfringe.com
COMEDY, THEATRE, CABARET AND MORE www.festmag.co.uk
OPEN 'TIL 5AM
August 21 - 27 | edinburgh festival guide 2012 fest 83
comedylistings 10 Films With My Dad
The Banshee Labyrinth, 25 Aug, £free
20:40 Pete Johansson Utopian Crack Pipe HHH
Underbelly, Bristo Square, 20-27 Aug, £10 – £12.50
The Ejaculate Conception
C venues - C nova, 20-27 Aug, £8.50 – £10.50
The Chris and Paul Show Just The Tonic at the Caves, 20-26 Aug, £8 – £9
❤ Roisin Conaty: Lifehunter HHHH
Pleasance Courtyard, 2026 Aug, £8.50 – £9.50
20:45 Devvo Dole Queue Hero is Free
Alternative Fringe @ The Hive, 20-26 Aug, £free
Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaargh! It’s the Monster StandUp Show - Free
Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 20-26 Aug, £free
Pick of the Fringe
Scottish Comedy Festival @ The Beehive Inn, 2126 Aug, £free
Chris Martin - Spot the Difference HHH
Gilded Balloon Teviot, 2027 Aug, £10 – £12
Magnus Betnér Live
The Assembly Rooms, Various dates from 20 Aug to 26 Aug, £10
Sex Money Death
The Shack Comedy Club & Nightclub, 20-25 Aug, £7
An Audience with the King
The Shack Comedy Club & Nightclub, 20-25 Aug, £9 – £10
Luke Benson Backseat Hero HH
Newcastle University Comedy Society Showcase / PBH’s Free Fringe Buffs Club (RAOB), 2025 Aug, £free
20:50 Des Bishop Likes to Bang
Assembly George Square, 21-26 Aug, £11 – £12
Matt Price: Fugly.
Opium, 20 Aug, 21 Aug, 23 Aug, 24 Aug, 25 Aug, £free
❤ Jim Jefferies: Fully Functional HHHH
Andrew Lawrence is Coming to Get You
Phil Nichol Rants! HHH
Pleasance Courtyard, 2026 Aug, £11 – £12.50
The Assembly Rooms, 20-26 Aug, £10
Lord Nelson Presents...
Dr Ettrick-Hogg’s Manly Stand-Ups - Free
GHQ, 20-25 Aug, £free
Max Dickins: This Will Only Take A Moment... The Cabaret Voltaire, 20-25 Aug, £free
Benny Boot Def-Con 4
Underbelly, Bristo Square, 24 Aug, £10
Susan Calman: This Lady’s Not for Turning Either - EXTRA SHOW
Underbelly, Bristo Square, 25 Aug, £12
20:55 The Sensational Alex Salmond Gastric Band presents Oliver Pissed
Scottish Comedy Festival @ The Beehive Inn, Various dates from 20 Aug to 26 Aug, £free
The Super Serious Show
Assembly George Square, 20-26 Aug, £10 – £13
Checkley and Bush’s Comedy Riot! Just The Tonic at the Caves, 20-26 Aug, £7 – £8
Al Murray - The Pub Landlord: The Only Way is Epic (Special Previews)
Assembly George Square, 20-25 Aug, £12 – £14
We Love Comedy
Aaaaaaaaaaaaarghh! It’s the Greatest Show on Legs
Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 20-26 Aug, £free
You Have Nothing to Fear...
Assembly Hall, 20-26 Aug, £16 – £17.50
21:00
Alpine Horn with Flange Krammer - Free
Pleasance Courtyard, 2026 Aug, £10 – £11
The Cabaret Voltaire, 20-25 Aug, £free
Pleasance Courtyard, 2026 Aug, £9 – £10 Base Nightclub, 20-25 Aug, £free
❤ Neil Delamere: DelaMere Mortal HHHH
Alternative Fringe @ The Hive, 22-26 Aug, £5
Glorified Disasters
The Banshee Labyrinth, 20-25 Aug, £free
Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 20-26 Aug, £free
No Pants Thursday: T’il Death Do Us Party Just The Tonic at the Caves, 20-26 Aug, £7.50 – £8.50
Chris Kent - Plugged In
Gilded Balloon Teviot, 2026 Aug, £8.50 – £9.50
Dear Dan Brown...
Dragonfly, 20-24 Aug, £free
Heroes of Alternative Fringe
Alternative Fringe @ The Hive, 20-21 Aug, £5
Hurt and Anderson: Scenes of a Vignette-ish Nature - Free
Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, Various dates from 20 Aug to 26 Aug, £free
The Fairytale Forest Ukrainian Club, 20 Aug, £8
Big Value Comedy Show - Late Just The Tonic at the Caves, 20-26 Aug, £9 – £10
Russell Kane: Posturing Delivery The Assembly Rooms, 20-24 Aug, £15
Alan Anderson: Whisky For Dafties Just the Tonic at The Tron, 20-26 Aug, £9 – £12
One Track Minds - Free
Amarone, 20-25 Aug, £free
21:05 ❤ Doctor Brown Befrdfgth HHHHH Underbelly, Cowgate, 21-26 Aug, £10.50 – £11.50
Magpie and Stump in Lolitary Confinement
theSpace on the Mile , 20-25 Aug, £5
Luke Toulson - Luke Who’s Talking Underbelly, Cowgate, 20-26 Aug, £9.50 – £10.50
Andrew Maxwell: That’s the Spirit
Assembly George Square, 20-27 Aug, £15 – £16
St Andrews Presents - Blind Mirth Improv Comedy theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 20-25 Aug, £5 – £7
21:10 Barely Legal: The 18-Year-Old Democracy
Assembly Roxy, 20-27 Aug, £13 – £14
Pete Firman Hoodwinker HH
Pleasance Courtyard, 2026 Aug, £12 – £15
Marcus Brigstocke: The Brig Society HHH Assembly Hall, 20-25 Aug, £12 – £14
Jonny & the Baptists
Underbelly, Cowgate, 2026 Aug, £9 – £10
Darkness Rising
theSpace on North Bridge, 20-25 Aug, £7
21:15 Kevin Shepherd: Thus Spoke Kev - Free
Laughing Horse @ Captain Taylor’s Coffee House, 20-26 Aug, £free
Bob Doolally’s Euro Crisis
The Stand Comedy Club III & IV, 21 Aug, £9
Laughing Horse Free Comedy Selection Laughing Horse @ City Cafe, 20-26 Aug, £free
Stephen K Amos Work in Progress
The Stand Comedy Club III & IV, 22-25 Aug, £10
Owen and Bettesworth: Sung and Unsung
Sweet Grassmarket, Various dates from 20 Aug to 26 Aug, £7
Henning Wehn: Henning Knows Bestest
Just The Tonic at the Caves, 20-26 Aug, £8.50 – £11.50
Rory Scovel: Illuminati Only CANCELLED
Assembly Roxy, 20-27 Aug, £11.50 – £12.50
❤ Sam Simmons About the Weather HHHH Gilded Balloon Teviot, 20-26 Aug, £10.50 – £11.50
❤ Sara Pascoe - The Musical! HHHH
Assembly George Square, 20-27 Aug, £9.50 – £12
21:20
Laughing Horse @ Meadow Bar, 20-26 Aug, £free
Armageddapocalypse: Threat Level Dead HHH Underbelly, Bristo Square, 20-27 Aug, £8.50 – £9.50
Graham Whistler: Stand-Up, Fall Down - Free
Laughing Horse @ The Newsroom, 20-27 Aug, £free
The Blanks’ Big Break HHH
Gilded Balloon Teviot, Various dates from 20 Aug to 27 Aug, £12 – £14
Mark Restuccia: How to Succeed at Internet Dating HH
Geoff the Entertainer HHH
Gilded Balloon at Third Door, 20-27 Aug, £9.50 – £10.50
Jimmy Carr: Gagging Order
Pleasance Dome, 21-27 Aug, £8 – £9
Elaine Malcolmson: Relevant Experience
Laughing Horse @ The Phoenix, 20-27 Aug, £free
The Stand Comedy Club III & IV, 20-26 Aug, £8
Venue150 @ EICC, 23-25 Aug, £18.50
The Stand Comedy Club II, 20 Aug, £8
Markus Birdman – Love, Life and Death HHH The Stand Comedy Club II, 21-26 Aug, £8
Danny Buckler: The Phantom Just The Tonic at the Caves, 20-26 Aug, £9
Paul McCaffrey: Pills’n’Thrills and Belly Laughs
Underbelly, Bristo Square, 20-26 Aug, £8.50 – £9.50
Sexytime! HHH
Underbelly, Cowgate, 2026 Aug, £9 – £10
Reginald D. Hunter - Work in Progress... and Niggas with John Gordillo Pleasance Courtyard, 20-27 Aug, £13
Always Be Comedy
Laughing Horse @ Jekyll & Hyde, 20-26 Aug, £free
21:25 Truth
Underbelly, Cowgate, 2026 Aug, £10 – £11
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84 fest edinburgh festival guide 2012 | August 21 - 27
21:30 The Jocks and Geordies
FACEBOOK.COM/UNDERBELLYEDINBURGH
FOR ALL UNDERBELLY SHOWS
The Comedy Reserve
Conor Drum - A Sense of Humour
Simon Evans: Friendly Fire
Pleasance Courtyard, 2026 Aug, £11 – £12
Lou Sanders And Now For A Nice Evening With Wallan Pleasance Courtyard, 20-26 Aug, £9.50 – £10.50
Applause
Laughing Horse @ Jekyll & Hyde, 20-26 Aug, £free
Jeff Leach: Boyfriend Experience HHH Gilded Balloon Teviot, Various dates from 20 Aug to 27 Aug, £9.50 – £10
Michael Mittermeier: A German on Safari HH Pleasance Courtyard, 21-27 Aug, £9 – £10
Jarred Christmas: Let’s Go MoFo
Gilded Balloon Teviot, 20-26 Aug, £10.50 – £11.50
Dan Wright: Michael Jackson Touched Me HH
Gilded Balloon Teviot, 2026 Aug, £9 – £10
comedylistings Swedenborg, the Devil and Me
Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 20-26 Aug, £free
Dan and Tom: Two for the Price of None Southsider, 20-25 Aug, £free
21:35 Gareth Morinan Explains Why David Cameron Should Be Fired for Crimes Against Short People (Among Other Things) Ciao Roma, 20 Aug, 23 Aug, £free
Bogan Bingo / Free Festival
Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 21-26 Aug, £free
Peter Buckley Hill and Some Comedians XVI
The Canons’ Gait, 20-25 Aug, £free
Gareth Morinan Presents the Saturday Debates (3+4) Ciao Roma, 25 Aug, £free
21:40 ❤ The Boy With Tape On His Face More Tape HHHH
Pleasance Courtyard, 20-26 Aug, £12.50 – £13.50
Iain Stirling: Happy to Be the Clown? HHH Underbelly, Bristo Square, 20-26 Aug, £8.50 – £9.50
Michael Winslow Noizeyman
Underbelly, Bristo Square, 20-27 Aug, £12.50 – £14.50
Peacock & Gamble Don’t Even Want To Be On Telly Anyway HH
Pleasance Dome, 20-26 Aug, £8.50 – £9.50
John Shuttleworth: Out of Our Sheds Pleasance Dome, 20 Aug, £10
Josh Widdicombe: The Further Adventures of... Extra Show Pleasance Dome, 22 Aug, £11
21:45 Gareth Richards: Introvert - Never Been To Disneyland HHH
Pleasance Courtyard, 2027 Aug, £8.50 – £9.50
Eat a Queer Fetus 4 Jesus - Free
Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 20-26 Aug, £free
Pretending Things Are a C*ck Pleasance Courtyard, 21-27 Aug, £9 – £10
Chilly Gonzales
The Queen’s Hall, 26 Aug, £14
Alan Sharp: Careful What You Wish For
The Banshee Labyrinth, 20-25 Aug, £free
❤ Hannibal Buress: Still Saying Stuff HHHH
Pleasance Courtyard, Various dates from 20 Aug to 26 Aug, £10 – £10.50
My Damage is My Gift! - Free
Laughing Horse @ Edinburgh City Football Club, 20-25 Aug, £free
Abandoman - Party in the Key of C Major Pleasance Dome, Various dates from 20 Aug to 27 Aug, £13 – £14
Marcus Ryan: Home and Away - Free
Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 20-26 Aug, £free
Laughing Horse’s Funny Fillies
Laughing Horse @ The White Horse, 20-26 Aug, £free
The Best Of Scottish Comedy The Stand Comedy Club, 20-26 Aug, £12
❤ Hal Cruttenden Tough Luvvie HHHH Pleasance Courtyard, 2026 Aug, £9 – £11
I’m High On Life: What Are You On?
C Venues - C eca, 20-27 Aug, £8.50 – £10.50
21:50 Paul Chowdhry What’s Happening White People
Pleasance Courtyard, 2026 Aug, £11 – £12
Alfie Moore - I Predicted a Riot
Pleasance Courtyard, 2027 Aug, £10 – £12
All My Friends
Laughing Horse @ Bar 50, 20-26 Aug, £free
Jayde Adams is Master of None
Sweet Grassmarket, 20-24 Aug, £9
Colin Mars: A Life Full of Lemons HH
theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 20-25 Aug, £7.50
22:00 Paul T Eyres: T.Eyres of a Clown / Laughing Horse Pick of the Fringe - Free Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 20-27 Aug, £free
❤ Brendon Burns, Home Stretch Baby HHHH
Pleasance Dome, Various dates from 20 Aug to 26 Aug, £12.50 – £14.50
How the World Wags C venues - C aquila, 2026 Aug, £8.50 – £10.50
Late Night Gimp Fight
Pleasance Courtyard, 2027 Aug, £12.50 – £14
❤ Felicity Ward: The Hedgehog Dilemma HHHH
from 20 Aug to 26 Aug, £8
Bad Advice - Free
Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 20-26 Aug, £free
22:05 I’m Not Crying in the Bathroom: I’m Crying in the Supply Closet theSpace on the Mile , 20-25 Aug, £free – £8
22:10 Car Crash Comedy 2012
Scottish Comedy Festival @ The Beehive Inn, 2025 Aug, £free
Believe - Starring Shane Dundas from the Umbilical Brothers
Assembly George Square, 20-27 Aug, £12 – £14
It’s Grimm Up North
theSpace @ Symposium Hall, 20-25 Aug, £6 – £8
22:15 Learning to Pray in Front of the Television
Underbelly, Bristo Square, 20-27 Aug, £10 – £12
Gryphon Venues at the Point Hotel, 20 Aug, £8
Storytellers’ Club
David Whitney Struggling to Evolve
Pleasance Courtyard, 23-25 Aug, £10
The Late Night Shack Show
The Shack Comedy Club & Nightclub, 20-25 Aug, £10 – £12
Back to School’s Disco
Pleasance at Braidwood Centre, 25-26 Aug, £10
Suggs: My Life Story in Words and Music The Queen’s Hall, 24 Aug, £22.50
News Smash
C venues - C nova, 20-27 Aug, £8.50 – £10.50
Liam and Owen - A Cracking One Off Show!
Scottish Comedy Festival @ The Beehive Inn, 2026 Aug, £free
Gilded Balloon Teviot, 2027 Aug, £10 – £11
Google / Complex
Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 20-26 Aug, £free
John Robertson: The Old Whore H Assembly Hall, 20-26 Aug, £5
KWAT: Greetings from KWAT Just The Tonic at the Caves, 20-26 Aug, £8 – £10
Fat Whore HH
The Assembly Rooms, 20-26 Aug, £10
22:20 Paul Ricketts - Ironic Infinity
Nina Conti: Dolly Mixtures
Just The Tonic at the Caves, Various dates from 20 Aug to 26 Aug, £6.50 – £7.50
Casual Violence: A Kick In The Teeth HHH
Mark Little: THEbullsh*tARTIST HH
Pleasance Dome, 23 Aug, £13
Just The Tonic at the Caves, Various dates
Assembly George Square, 20-27 Aug, £15 – £16
Sh*t-faced Shakespeare
C venues - C, 20-27 Aug, £9.50 – £11.50
The Wonderful World of Wilfredo
Just the Tonic at The Tron, 20-26 Aug, £7.50 – £9.50
The Sitcom Double Bill
Pleasance Courtyard, 2027 Aug, £9 – £10
22:25 Jimeoin - What?! (Whatever...)
The Assembly Rooms, 24 Aug, £15.50
Simon Donald’s School of Swearing HHH The Stand Comedy Club II, 20-26 Aug, £8
Terry Alderton
Gilded Balloon Teviot, 20 Aug, 21 Aug, 24 Aug, 25 Aug, 26 Aug, £10.50 – £12
Dan Mitchell - Free Egg
Assembly Roxy, 20-27 Aug, £9.50 – £12
Cheap Laughs (Are Better Than No Laughs) - Free
Oyster Eyes Presents: Some Rice
Laughing Horse @ Captain Taylor’s Coffee House, 20-26 Aug, £free
Marcel Lucont: Gallic Symbol HHH
Marcus Brigstocke: The Brig Society EXTRA SHOW
Underbelly, Cowgate, 2026 Aug, £9 – £10
Underbelly, Cowgate, 20-26 Aug, £9.50 – £10.50
22:30 John Scott - Totally Fed Up
The Stand Comedy Club III & IV, 20-26 Aug, £8
Assembly Hall, 24 Aug, £13
22:35 Things We Did Before Reality
Just The Tonic at the Caves, 20-26 Aug, £10 – £11
Dead Cat Bounce... Howl of the She-Leopard HHH
Dana Alexander: Breaking Through
❤ The Imaginary Radio Programme: Drennon Davis Presented by The Pajama Men HHHH
James and Amy: Dysfunctional Legends
Pleasance Courtyard, 2026 Aug, £11 – £12
Assembly Roxy, 20-26 Aug, £10 – £12
Greg Proops Podcast: The Smartest Man in the World Gilded Balloon Teviot, 22 Aug, £13
Künt and the Gang - Free
Laughing Horse @ City Cafe, 20-26 Aug, £free
Foil Arms and Hog - Late Night Sketch Comedy
Underbelly, Cowgate, 2026 Aug, £9 – £10
Rubberbandits
Gilded Balloon Teviot, 24-26 Aug, £14
Underbelly, Bristo Square, 20-27 Aug, £9.50 – £10.50
Laughing Horse @ Jekyll & Hyde, 20-25 Aug, £free
Ian Shaw - A Bit of a Mouthful HH
The Stand Comedy Club III & IV, 20-26 Aug, £10
22:40 Best of Scottish Comedian of the Year
Underbelly, Cowgate, 2026 Aug, £9.50 – £11.50
Scottish Comedian of the Year 2011 Jamie Dalgleish Just The Tonic at the Caves, 20-26 Aug, £7 – £9
Idiots of Ants ANThology
The Scottish Falsetto Sock Puppet Theatre - Boo Lingerie
Pleasance Courtyard, 2325 Aug, £11 – £12
Gilded Balloon Teviot, 2026 Aug, £9 – £10
Comedy Film Nights
Comic Strip HHH
Hill Street Theatre, 2326 Aug, £5 – £8
Assembly George Square, 21-26 Aug, £12 – £15
COMEDY, THEATRE, CABARET AND MORE www.festmag.co.uk
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August 21 - 27 | edinburgh festival guide 2012 fest 85
comedylistings 22:45 ❤ Andrew O’Neill is Easily Distracted HHHH
Pleasance Courtyard, 2027 Aug, £11 – £12
Michael Pope is Gay for Pay - Free
Laughing Horse @ The Phoenix, Various dates from 20 Aug to 26 Aug, £free
Davey Connor, Lucy Beaumont and Ed Patrick - The Big Comedy Showcase Show
Gilded Balloon Teviot, 2127 Aug, £9 – £9.50
The Special Reserve Comedy Benefit Pleasance Courtyard, 22-23 Aug, £10
What Would Beyoncé Do? - Free Laughing Horse @ Meadow Bar, 20-26 Aug, £free
The Comedy Zone
Pleasance Courtyard, 2026 Aug, £8.50 – £9.50
Late Night Laughs
Gilded Balloon Teviot, 2026 Aug, £9.50 – £12
Splitting the Bill – Michael Workman & Tommy Little Gilded Balloon Teviot, 20-26 Aug, £9.50 – £10.50
David Trent Spontaneous Comedian HHH
Pleasance Courtyard, 2027 Aug, £9.50 – £12
Demitris Deech: Stop, Collaborate and Listen - Free
Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 20-25 Aug, £free
The Good, the Bad and the Irish!
Laughing Horse @ Jekyll & Hyde, 20-26 Aug, £free
The Boom Jennies: Mischief
Pleasance Dome, 20-26 Aug, £11 – £12
James Dowdeswell: Urban Wurzel HHH
Pleasance Courtyard, 2026 Aug, £8.50 – £9.50
Tom Cottle’s These Twisted Folk
Underbelly, Cowgate, 2026 Aug, £9 – £10
Alistair Green: Jack Spencer - Why Anything?
Laughing Horse @ The Newsroom, 20-26 Aug, £free
22:50 Tania Edwards Killer Instinct
Underbelly, Bristo Square, 20-26 Aug, £9.50 – £10.50
Eddie Naessens: The Thing Is This... Ciao Roma, 20-25 Aug, £free
23:00 Mark Watson’s Edinborolympics
Pleasance Courtyard, 20-21 Aug, £8
Aaaaaaaaaaaaarghh! It’s the Malcolm Hardee Comedy Awards Show with Miss Behave - and It’s Free!
Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 24-25 Aug, £free
Steve Shanyaski’s Life-Survival Bible Pleasance Courtyard, 20-26 Aug, £8.50 – £10.50
AAA Stand-Up Late
Pleasance Courtyard, 2027 Aug, £9 – £10
Japanese TerminatoL Laughing Horse @ The White Horse, 20-26 Aug, £free
Bring Me the Head of Adam Riches
Garrett Millerick: Sensible Answers to Stupid Questions HHH Underbelly, Bristo Square, 20-27 Aug, £8.50 – £9.50
Laughing Horse Free Pick of the Fringe Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 20-26 Aug, £free
Rob Deering’s Beat This Pleasance Courtyard, 24-25 Aug, £10
23:05 Barbershopera: The Three Musketeers HHH Pleasance Courtyard, 21-27 Aug, £11.50 – £12.50
Monkey Toast: The Improvised Chat Show HHH
Pleasance Dome, 20-26 Aug, £10 – £11
Absolute Stripping! theSpace on North Bridge, 20-25 Aug, £8.50 – £9.50
Heavy Petting
Laughing Horse @ Bar 50, 20-26 Aug, £free
23:15 Tim Key - Masterslut Pleasance Courtyard, 23-25 Aug, £14
I Am, I Am
Gilded Balloon Teviot, 21-27 Aug, £8 – £9
The Horne Section - Live at the Grand! HHH Pleasance Courtyard, 20-22 Aug, £10
Pleasance Dome, 22-25 Aug, £12 – £14
23:20
BBC: Comedy Presents
Underbelly, Bristo Square, 23-25 Aug, £10
BBC @ Potterrow, 20 Aug, 22 Aug, 24 Aug, 25 Aug, 26 Aug, £12
Eric Hutton: Every Other Show in the Fringe Sucks - Free
Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 20-26 Aug, £free
BBC: Late Junction BBC @ Potterrow, 21 Aug, 23 Aug, £free
Shaggers - Free Festival
Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 20-25 Aug, £free
Voices in Your Head
COMX
Just The Tonic at the Caves, 20-26 Aug, £8 – £10
23:30 Battle Ducks: Activate!
C venues - C nova, 20-27 Aug, £8.50 – £10.50
LOL-ocaust
Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, Various dates from 20 Aug to 26 Aug, £free
23:40 Scott Agnew: Tales of the Sauna
The Stand Comedy Club III & IV, 20-26 Aug, £8
❤ Eddie Pepitone’s Bloodbath HHHH Just the Tonic at The Tron, 20-26 Aug, £8 – £10
Ro Campbell: Midnight Meltdown The Stand Comedy Club II, 20-26 Aug, £8
Chris Ramsey: Feeling Lucky HHH Pleasance Courtyard, 25-26 Aug, £9.50
23:45 Denis Krasnov’s Hour of Intellectual Filth Just The Tonic at the Caves, 20-26 Aug, £7 – £9
Joe Munrow: One Big Joke - Free Laughing Horse @ Captain Taylor’s Coffee House, 21-26 Aug, £free
Guilt & Shame: Up All Night HH
Underbelly, Cowgate, 2126 Aug, £8 – £9.50
Guardian Reader HHH Just The Tonic at the Caves, 20-26 Aug, £8 – £9
Frisky & Mannish: 27 Club
Assembly George Square, 20-22 Aug, £12
23:55 The New Conway Dimension
Gilded Balloon Teviot, 2027 Aug, £8.50 – £9.50
The Stand Late Show The Stand Comedy Club, 24-25 Aug, £15
Set List: Stand-Up Without a Net Just The Tonic at the Caves, 21-25 Aug, £9 – £11
Edinburgh Comedy Tour
www.walkingheads.net, 20 Aug - 2 Sep, £free
The Assembly Rooms The Very Best of the Fest
The Assembly Rooms, 25-26 Aug, £15
Morgan & West: Lying, Cheating Scoundrels
Gilded Balloon Teviot, 22-26 Aug, £16
Best of the Fest
Assembly Hall, 23-26 Aug, £14 – £15
00:00 Gay Straight Alliance Laughing Horse @ The Phoenix, 21-27 Aug, £free
Me My Selfish Self
Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 21-25 Aug, £free
School Night
Just The Tonic at the Caves, 21-23 Aug, £10
Life’s Short. I’m Not! - Free
Laughing Horse @ Meadow Bar, 21-27 Aug, £free
Spank!
Underbelly, Cowgate, 21-27 Aug, £13.50 – £15.50
Just the Tonic Comedy Club’s Midnight Show
23:59
DeadBadgers Sketchy Bits
Underbelly, Bristo Square, 20-27 Aug, £9 – £10
Tim Key - Masterslut Pleasance Dome, 20-21 Aug, £14
Gilded Balloon Teviot, 20-27 Aug, £9 – £10
Taylor Glenn Reverse Psycomedy
The Death of Comedy
86 fest edinburgh festival guide 2012 | August 21 - 27
The Stand Comedy Club, 20 Aug, 21 Aug, 22 Aug, 23 Aug, 26 Aug, £10
Eleanor Conway’s Midnight Rumble
A Little Perspective with Imaan
Gilded Balloon Teviot, 20-26 Aug, £8 – £9
Where Once Was Wonder by Daniel Kitson
Gilded Balloon Teviot, 2226 Aug, £8.50 – £9.50
Just The Tonic at the Caves, 24-26 Aug, £10
Laughing Horse @ The Newsroom, 21-27 Aug, £free
Midnight Comedy at Genting Club Fountainpark
Genting Club Fountainpark, 21-23 Aug, £free
00:15 The Late Show
Underbelly, Bristo Square, 20 Aug, 24 Aug, 25 Aug, 26 Aug, 27 Aug, £12.50 – £14.50
Harriet Dyer (Plus the Odd Pal) - What a Palaver! Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 20-27 Aug, £free
00:25 The Room
Assembly George Square, 20 Aug, 27 Aug, £8
00:30 Hedluv and Passman: Two Cornish Rappers and a Casiotone HH
Gilded Balloon Teviot, 2028 Aug, £10 – £11
The Improverts
Bedlam Theatre, 21-26 Aug, £7.50
BattleActs! Presents...
Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 20-28 Aug, £free
00:40 After Hours Comedy Pleasance Dome, 24-26 Aug, £10.50 – £11.50
00:45 Leo and Stephen Go Down On You!
Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, Various dates from 20 Aug to 27 Aug, £free
00:50 Spanktacular!
Underbelly, Bristo Square, 26 Aug, £15.50
01:00 Not the Adventures of Moleman
Laughing Horse @ City Cafe, 20-27 Aug, £free
Late ‘n’ Live
Gilded Balloon Teviot, 2028 Aug, £13 – £15
01:15 Set List: Stand-Up Without a Net
Just The Tonic at the Caves, 25-26 Aug, £11
The only festival website you need Visit festmag.co.uk on your smartphone to get all of the latest reviews and see what’s coming up near you
theatrelistings 10:30
❤ Killing Time HHHH
24h
The Crucible
Bedlam Theatre, 20-25 Aug, £6
Dream Plays (Scenes From a Play I’ll Never Write)
Angels HHH
09:00
Greenside, 20-25 Aug, £8
Summerhall, 22 Aug, 25 Aug, £1
Traverse Theatre, 25 Aug, £19
Traverse Theatre, 21-26 Aug, £12
The Big Bite-Size Breakfast Show
The Stranger
Summerhall, 20 Aug, 21 Aug, 24 Aug, 25 Aug, £12
Here! Internet Cafe, 20-27 Aug, £5
10:00
Bullet Catch HHH
The Two Most Perfect Things
Kaya - Dream Interpreter HH
❤ Mess HHHH
Assembly George Square, Various dates from 20 Aug to 27 Aug, £9 – £11
Traverse Theatre, 24 Aug, £19
Monkey Bars HHH Traverse Theatre, 22 Aug, £17
❤ And No More Shall We Part HHHH
❤ Blink HHHH
Traverse Theatre, 22 Aug, 26 Aug, £18
Traverse Theatre, 23 Aug, £17
Shakespeare for Breakfast
C venues - C, 20-27 Aug, £6.50 – £8.50
Theatre Uncut
Traverse Theatre, 20 Aug, £6.50
theSpace on Niddry St, 21 Aug, 23 Aug, 25 Aug, £5
24h
Summerhall, 22 Aug, 25 Aug, £1
11:00
Born to Run
Traverse Theatre, 21 Aug, 25 Aug, £13 – £20
24h
Summerhall, 22 Aug, 25 Aug, £1
Mark Thomas: Bravo Figaro! HHH
Peep HHH
Traverse Theatre, 23 Aug, £18
Pleasance Courtyard, 20-27 Aug, £6
Underbelly, Cowgate, 20-26 Aug, £8.50 – £9.50
11:40
11:15 Forever Young
theSpace @ Symposium Hall, 20-24 Aug, £6
Captain Ferguson’s School for Balloon Warfare HH
All in the Timing
Oh, What a Lovely War
Traverse Theatre, 24 Aug, £20
Bye Bye World
Candida
Romeo and Juliet
theSpace on Niddry St, 20 Aug, 22 Aug, 24 Aug, £5
11:35
Assembly Roxy, 21-27 Aug, £13
Assembly Roxy, 21-27 Aug, £10 – £12
Machinal
❤ The Letter of Last Resort and Good With People HHHH
❤ The Letter of Last Resort and Good With People HHHH
Pleasance Courtyard, 25 Aug, £4
theSpace on the Mile , 20-25 Aug, £7 – £9
10:45 theSpace @ Venue45, 21-25 Aug, £5
Seeing Double: Vision HHH
Pleasance Bytes
Pleasance Dome, Various dates from 20 Aug to 26 Aug, £10.50 – £11.50 Traverse Theatre, 21 Aug, 26 Aug, £17
The Life and Sort of Death of Eric Argyle
Northern Stage at St Stephen’s, 21-25 Aug, £10
Pleasance Courtyard, 20-27 Aug, £7 – £8
11:10 The Ride of the Bluebottles
Suzanne
The Price of Everything HHH
Assembly George Square, 20-27 Aug, £10 – £12
11:45 Hell’s Bells by Lynne Truss Pleasance Courtyard, 21-27 Aug, £8 – £9
Female Gothic
Church Hill Theatre, 20 Aug, £5
Assembly George Square, 20-27 Aug, £12 – £13
Thin Ice HHH
11:20
Pleasance Courtyard, Various dates from 20 Aug to 27 Aug, £9 – £10
The Property Known As Garland theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 20-25 Aug, £8 – £10
12:00 As Ye Sow
11:30
Pleasance Dome, 20-27 Aug, £10 – £11.50
Seeing Double: Figures HHH
An Audience With the Duke of Windsor - Bob Kingdom
Pleasance Courtyard, 20-27 Aug, £7 – £8
Plastic Beach HH
Zoo Southside, Various dates from 20 Aug to 27 Aug, £7
Assembly Hall, 20-27 Aug, £10 – £11
Bigmouth
Summerhall, 20-26 Aug, £10
Pleasance Dome, 20-27 Aug, £8.50 – £9.50
Traverse Theatre, 21 Aug, 25 Aug, £18 – £20
❤ The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists HHHH
Assembly George Square, 20-27 Aug, £11 – £12
Churchill HHH
The Assembly Rooms, 20-26 Aug, £10
24h
Summerhall, 22 Aug, 25 Aug, £1
Peep HHH
Pleasance Courtyard, 20-27 Aug, £6
Comedy Playhouse - Balloon - Free
Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 20-26 Aug, £free
Firing Blanks
Zoo, 20-27 Aug, £9 – £10
Tam O’Shanter
Assembly Hall, 21-26 Aug, £14 – £15
12:05 Wild Allegations
theSpace on North Bridge, 20-25 Aug, £6
12:10 Continuous Growth HHH
Pleasance Dome, 21-27 Aug, £10 – £11
12:15 Statements After an Arrest Under the Immorality Act by Athol Fugard HH Assembly Hall, 21-27 Aug, £14 – £16
Virginia Ironside: Growing Old Disgracefully
Gilded Balloon Teviot, Various dates from 20 Aug to 26 Aug, £10 – £11
Wonderland
Church Hill Theatre, 20 Aug, £5
12:20
Hunt & Darton Cafe
Lord of the Flies
BOX
Miss Julie
Hunt & Darton Cafe , 21-26 Aug, £free
C venues - C nova, 2026 Aug, £7.50 – £9.50
❤ Horrible Histories - Barmy Britain HHHHH Pleasance Courtyard, 21-26 Aug, £10.50 – £11.50
Razing Eddie HH
Underbelly, Cowgate, 20-26 Aug, £8.50 – £10
Paradise in Augustine’s, 21-27 Aug, £8.50 theSpace on North Bridge, 20-25 Aug, £10 – £11
The Bravery of Miss Anne and Other Tales of Splendorous Adventure The Voodoo Rooms, 21-25 Aug, £free
Machinal
theSpace on Niddry St, 21 Aug, 23 Aug, 25 Aug, £5
HHHH “Bloody, marvellous stuff!”
D. Express
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www.festmag.co.uk
August 21 - 27 | edinburgh festival guide 2012 fest 89
theatrelistings Oh, What a Lovely War
Soldiers’ Wives HHH
theSpace on Niddry St, 20 Aug, 22 Aug, 24 Aug, £5
Assembly Roxy, 20-27 Aug, £10 – £12
The Mermaid of Zennor
Pleasance Courtyard, 21-27 Aug, £9 – £10
C venues - C too, 20-27 Aug, £7.50 – £9.50
US Beef HHH
Pleasance Dome, 20-27 Aug, £8.50 – £9.50
12:25 Ma Biche et Mon Lapin
Institut français d’Ecosse, 20-24 Aug, £5
The Fantasist HHH Underbelly, Bristo Square, 20-27 Aug, £8 – £9
12:30 ❤ And No More Shall We Part HHHH Traverse Theatre, 23 Aug, £18
Round ‘ere
Venue 13, 20-25 Aug, £free
The Yellow Wallpaper
Gryphon Venues at the Point Hotel, 21-25 Aug, £8
Rut
Bedlam Theatre, 20-25 Aug, £7
Born to Run
Traverse Theatre, 22 Aug, 26 Aug, £18
As You Like It
Zoo, 20-27 Aug, £8
All Turn! - Free
Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 20-26 Aug, £free
My Elevator Days
12:35 Land of the Dead / Helter Skelter Greenside, 20-25 Aug, £9
12:40 The Musicians
theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 20-25 Aug, £7.50
Jubilate! by Rosalind Adler Pleasance Courtyard, 20-25 Aug, £8 – £9
FAT
Pleasance Courtyard, 23-26 Aug, £9
The Silencer - David Calvitto Pleasance Courtyard, 20-26 Aug, £10 – £11
12:45 Punch & Judy HH
Pleasance Courtyard, 20-27 Aug, £9 – £10
❤ Uncoupled HHHH Gilded Balloon Teviot, 20-27 Aug, £9 – £10
The Boy with the Cuckoo Clock Heart HHH Pleasance Courtyard, 20-27 Aug, £8.50 – £10
The Turn of the Screw
Zoo Southside, 20-27 Aug, £7
❤ Mess HHHH
Traverse Theatre, 25 Aug, £19
Monkey Bars HHH Traverse Theatre, 23 Aug, £17
❤ Best in the World HHHH Northern Stage at St Stephen’s, 21-25 Aug, £14
12:50 Locked In
theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 20-25 Aug, £10
Monkey Poet’s Murder Mystery
The Banshee Labyrinth, 20-25 Aug, £free
13:00 Eat $h*t: How Our Waste Can Save the World
C venues - C nova, 20-27 Aug, £6.50 – £8.50
Angels HHH
Traverse Theatre, 21 Aug, 26 Aug, £17
My Wrestle Mania
Six and a Tanner
The Assembly Rooms, 20-26 Aug, £15
❤ Slapdash Galaxy HHHHH Underbelly, Cowgate, 20-26 Aug, £10 – £11.50
Everything Else Happened HHH
Assembly Roxy, 20-27 Aug, £10 – £12
Detention HHH
Summerhall, 21-26 Aug, £12
❤ Slice by Mel Giedroyc HHHH
Gilded Balloon Teviot, 21-27 Aug, £9 – £10
❤ Blink HHHH
Traverse Theatre, 24 Aug, £19
Bound
C venues - C aquila, 20-27 Aug, £8.50 – £10.50
Princes Mall, 25 Aug, £free
13:05
Bullet Catch HHH
theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 20-25 Aug, £6
Traverse Theatre, 22 Aug, £17
Platero Y Yo by Juan Ramon Jimenez Valvona & Crolla, 22-27 Aug, weekdays only, £12
Textually Transmitted
C venues - C nova, 20-27 Aug, £7.50 – £9.50
24h
Summerhall, 22 Aug, 25 Aug, £1
Peep HHH
Pleasance Courtyard, 20-27 Aug, £6
Evil
The Bongo Club, 21-25 Aug, £6
Wild Turkey
The Spirit of Frances Wright (Love is an Action Verb)
Sweet Grassmarket, Various dates from 20 Aug to 27 Aug, £8
Shakespeare Didn’t Write This
❤ The Trench HHHHH
Pleasance Courtyard, Various dates from 20 Aug to 27 Aug, £10 – £12
Letter to the Man (from the Boy) Underbelly, Cowgate, 20-26 Aug, £8.50 – £9.50
Photographing the Dead
Paradise in The Vault, Various dates from 21 Aug to 27 Aug, £7
Pleasance Dome, 20-27 Aug, £9 – £10
13:30 The Economist
13:15
The Lad Himself HHH
C venues - C nova, 20-27 Aug, £7.50 – £9.50
Him
theSpace on the Mile , 21-25 Aug, £7 – £8
Gilded Balloon Teviot, 20-26 Aug, £9.50 – £12.50
Educating Ronnie HHH
❤ Camille Claudel HHHH
Assembly George Square, 21-26 Aug, £10 – £12
The Miller’s Tale: Wahala Dey Oh!
C venues - C, 20-27 Aug, £8.50 – £10.50
Night of the Big Wind HHH
Underbelly, Cowgate, 20-25 Aug, £8.50 – £10
Unlucky for Some
Love Child
Gilded Balloon Teviot, 21-27 Aug, £10 – £12
Poe’s Last Night - Free
Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 20-26 Aug, £free
Mark Thomas: Bravo Figaro! HHH Traverse Theatre, 24 Aug, £20
Mostellaria (The Haunted House)
Church Hill Theatre, 20 Aug, £5
Eastern Angles in association with
***** WHATSONSTAGE.COM, 2011 — WORLD POETRY SLAM CHAMPION
❤ Dirty Great Love Story HHHH
Sweet Grassmarket, 20-24 Aug, £8
Venue 13, 20-25 Aug, £free
13:10
13:20
Pleasance Courtyard, Various dates from 20 Aug to 27 Aug, £8.50 – £9.50
As You Like It
Pleasance Dome, 20-27 Aug, £7.50 – £9
Dirty Barbie and other girlhood tales HHH Assembly Hall, Various dates from 20 Aug to 27 Aug, £7 – £9
And the Girls in Their Sunday Dresses HHH
Assembly George Square, 20-27 Aug, £14 – £15
The Good Person of Szechwan
theSpace @ Symposium Hall, 20-25 Aug, £5
Big Sean, Mikey and Me HH Gilded Balloon Teviot, 20-27 Aug, £10
Simple Matters HH Gilded Balloon Teviot, 21-26 Aug, £10 – £11
Key Theatre Peterborough
I PETERBOROUGH
PROPER POP–UP PURPLE PAPER PEOPLE HARRY BAKER
A dark ly ncom ic play by Writte by Joel
Horwood. Direct Frinedge t win by Firs Ivan Cuttin g ner & JoelJoel HorwoHor od wood
12.00, 6—24th August (exc. Sundaes) Royal Oak, 1 Infirmary St.
CONTAINS STRONG LANGUAGE
HHHH Independent
AUGUST 1ST - 27TH AT 5.35PM
Free entry, anytime...
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90 fest edinburgh festival guide 2012 | August 21 - 27
08/08/2012 23:22
theatrelistings You Obviously Know What I’m Talking About HHH Underbelly, Cowgate, 20-26 Aug, £9 – £11
Ruthlessness
C Venues - C eca, 21-27 Aug, £7.50 – £9.50
Carnival of Crows
Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 20-24 Aug, £free
13:40 Botallack O’Clock
Gilded Balloon Teviot, Various dates from 20 Aug to 27 Aug, £9
13:55 ❤ Othello - The Remix HHHH
Pleasance Courtyard, Various dates from 20 Aug to 27 Aug, £12.50 – £15
Exterminating Angel - An Improvisation
Pleasance Courtyard, 2127 Aug, £10 – £11
❤ Flâneurs HHHH
Ellipsis
Summerhall, 20-26 Aug, £8
Listen! The River
Pleasance Courtyard, 20-27 Aug, £10 – £11
theSpace @ Jury’s Inn, 20-25 Aug, £5 theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 20-25 Aug, £8
❤ Hand Over Fist HHHH
Pleasance Courtyard, 20-27 Aug, £10 – £11
Mon Droit HHH
❤ Crypted HHHH
C venues - C nova, 2026 Aug, £8.50 – £10.50
The Edinburgh International Circus Festival
14:00
Ocean Terminal Big Top, 25-26 Aug, £free
theSpace on the Mile , 21-25 Aug, £5
The List
Werther’s Sorrows
13:45
❤ Coalition HHHH
Pretty When I’m Drunk
End to End
Bannermans, 20-25 Aug, £free
Perle HHH
Assembly Roxy, 20-26 Aug, £9 – £10
Urban Fairytale
theSpace @ Venue45, 20-25 Aug, £8
Unmythable
Zoo, 20-27 Aug, £10
Theseus and the Minotaur: A Love Story
theSpace on North Bridge, 20-25 Aug, £10
13:50 Irreconcilable Differences
Gryphon Venues at the Point Hotel, 20-25 Aug, £8
Executive Stress / Corporate Retreat
C Venues - C eca, 20-27 Aug, £7.50 – £9.50
www.festmag.co.uk
Summerhall, 21-25 Aug, £12 Pleasance Dome, 20-26 Aug, £13.50 – £14.50
Baby With the Bathwater
theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 20-25 Aug, £10
Martin Dockery: Wanderlust
Gilded Balloon Teviot, 20-27 Aug, £9 – £10
Anything But (A One-Woman Play)
Zoo Southside, 21 Aug, 23 Aug, 25 Aug, 27 Aug, £8
Proof
Pleasance Courtyard, 20-27 Aug, £8.50 – £9.50
Kin
The Playhouse on the Fringe, Various dates from 20 Aug to 27 Aug, £10
Faulty Towers the Dining Experience
Pleasance Courtyard, 20-27 Aug, £8 – £9
B’est Restaurant, 20-28 Aug, not 25, £43 – £46.50
Forgotten Heroes
24h
C venues - C nova, 20-27 Aug, £7.50 – £9.50
The World’s Greatest Walking Tour of Edinburgh Pleasance Dome, Various dates from 21 Aug to 27 Aug, £8 – £9
The Half HHH
Assembly George Square, 20-26 Aug, £12 – £14
Summerhall, 22 Aug, 25 Aug, £1
Peep HHH
Pleasance Courtyard, 20-27 Aug, £6
❤ Mies Julie HHHH Assembly Hall, 21-27 Aug, £14 – £16
Salome By Oscar Wilde
Zoo Southside, 22 Aug, 24 Aug, 26 Aug, £8
The Celebrity
PASS (Performing Arts Studio Scotland), 22-25 Aug, £8
A Donkey and a Parrot
Gilded Balloon at Third Door, 21-27 Aug, £8 – £9
My Sister
The Fiddler’s Elbow, 20 Aug, 22 Aug, 23 Aug, 24 Aug, 25 Aug, £free
True Colours
Northern Stage at St Stephen’s, 21-25 Aug, £5
Bottleneck HHH
Pleasance Courtyard, 20-26 Aug, £9 – £10
Mayday Mayday
Panning for Gold - Free
Laughing Horse @ The Phoenix, Various dates from 20 Aug to 26 Aug, £free
Cut!
theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 20-25 Aug, £7.50
When Alice (Cooper) Met (Prince) Harry Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 20-26 Aug, £free
14:10 The Wheelchair on My Face HHH Pleasance Courtyard, Various dates from 20 Aug to 27 Aug, £8 – £10
Pleasance Dome, 20-27 Aug, £9 – £11
14:15
❤ Uninvited HHHH
Scotsman Best of the Fest
Bedlam Theatre, 20-25 Aug, £8
Shakespeare’s Queens: She-Wolves and Serpents C Venues - C eca, 20-25 Aug, £8.50 – £10.50
Couleur Café
C venues - C nova, 20-27 Aug, £12.50 – £14.50
14:05 The Yellow Wallpaper
theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 20-25 Aug, £5
Comedy Playhouse - Shopping for Bacon - Free
Laughing Horse @ The Newsroom, 20-26 Aug, £free
Now.Here
Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 20-26 Aug, £free
Assembly George Square, 20 Aug, £12
The Pilgrim’s Progress
Palmerston Place Church, 22 Aug, 24 Aug, 25 Aug, £10
Sedition
Zoo, 20 Aug, 22 Aug, 24 Aug, 26 Aug, £8
Almost, Maine
Church Hill Theatre, 20 Aug, £5
Village of Idiots
Church Hill Theatre, 21 Aug, £5
Chariot: The Eric Liddell Story
Edinburgh Elim, 24-25 Aug, £10
❤ The Agony and the Ecstasy of Steve Jobs by Mike Daisey HHHH Gilded Balloon Teviot, 20-27 Aug, £10 – £11
Angels in Heels
Laughing Horse @ Edinburgh City Football Club, 21-26 Aug, £free
14:20 Love All HHH
Assembly Roxy, 21-26 Aug, £10 – £12
Satan’s Playground HHH Underbelly, Cowgate, 20-26 Aug, £9 – £10
Sherlock Holmes and the Sound of the Baskervilles
Paradise in Augustine’s, 21-27 Aug, £9.50
14:30 Primer for a Failed Superpower The Hub, 24 Aug, £6
As of 1.52pm GMT on Friday April 27th 2012, This Show Has No Title. HH Traverse Theatre, 22 Aug, 26 Aug, £12
❤ Teach Me HHHH Hill Street Theatre, 2126 Aug, £9 – £12
Miriam Margolyes Dickens’ Women
Pleasance Courtyard, 20 Aug, 22 Aug, 23 Aug, 24 Aug, 25 Aug, £16.50 – £17.50
Comedian Dies in the Middle of Joke HH
Pleasance Dome, 20-27 Aug, £9.50 – £10.50
Visiting Time
Gilded Balloon Teviot, 20-26 Aug, £10 – £12
Cancer Time
Venue 13, 20-25 Aug, £8
August 21 - 27 | edinburgh festival guide 2012 fest 91
theatrelistings 14:35 Am I Good Friend?
The Cabaret Voltaire, 20 Aug, 22 Aug, 23 Aug, 24 Aug, 25 Aug, £free
❤ CountryBoy’s Struggle HHHH
Pleasance Courtyard, 20-27 Aug, £9.50 – £11.50
21A - Free
GHQ, 20 Aug, 22 Aug, 23 Aug, 24 Aug, 25 Aug, £free
14:40 The Sewing Machine Assembly George Square, 21-27 Aug, £13 – £14
❤ This Way Up HHHH
C venues - C, 20-27 Aug, £8.50 – £10.50
The Static
Underbelly, Cowgate, 2126 Aug, £10 – £11
Once in a House on Fire HHH Northern Stage at St Stephen’s, 21-25 Aug, £14
Probably the Greatest Goal Ever Scored (and Other Tales) Sweet Grassmarket, 20-24 Aug, £7
14:45 Thread
Assembly St Mark’s, 23 Aug, £10
❤ Dylan Thomas: Return Journey - Bob Kingdom, Original Direction by Anthony Hopkins HHHH Assembly Hall, 20-27 Aug, £10 – £11
Krapp’s Last Tape
The Assembly Rooms, 20-26 Aug, £10
The Good, the Bad and the Extraterrestrials
Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 20-26 Aug, £free
14:50 Jigsy HHH
The Assembly Rooms, 20-26 Aug, £15
❤ The Prize HHHH Underbelly, Bristo Square, 20-26 Aug, £11 – £12
The Cagebirds
C Venues - C eca, 20 Aug, 22 Aug, 24 Aug, 26 Aug, £8.50 – £10.50
Chapel Street HHH Underbelly, Cowgate, 20-26 Aug, £10 – £11
❤ Peter Panic HHHH
Pleasance Dome, 20-26 Aug, £8 – £10
Besides the Obvious C Venues - C eca, 21 Aug, 23 Aug, 25 Aug, 27 Aug, £8.50 – £10.50
14:55
Kes
Self-Criticism
Paradise in Augustine’s, 21-27 Aug, £8
Paradise in The Vault, 21-25 Aug, £6
Winston on the Run
A Man for All Times: W. E. B. DuBois
Pleasance Courtyard, Various dates from 20 Aug to 27 Aug, £9 – £10
theSpace @ Jury’s Inn, 20-25 Aug, £8.50 – £9.50
15:00 As of 1.52pm GMT on Friday April 27th 2012, This Show Has No Title. HH Traverse Theatre, 23 Aug, £12
Villains, Heroes and Adventurers
Valvona & Crolla Scottish Foodhall@Jenners, 20 Aug, 21 Aug, 22 Aug, 24 Aug, 25 Aug, £15
Githa
C venues - C nova, 20-27 Aug, £8.50 – £10.50
Remember Me
Summerhall, 21-26 Aug, £6
Pages from the Book of...
Summerhall, 20-24 Aug, £10
The Dead Memory House HHH Summerhall, 20-26 Aug, £10
24h
Summerhall, 22 Aug, 25 Aug, £1
Peep HHH
Pleasance Courtyard, 20-27 Aug, £6
Holmes and Watson: The Farewell Tour Valvona & Crolla, 22 Aug, 23 Aug, 25 Aug, 26 Aug, £12
True Colours
Northern Stage at St Stephen’s, 21-25 Aug, £5
Tokyo Trilogy
C Venues - C eca, 20-27 Aug, £7.50 – £9.50
Miss Havisham’s Expectations
Gilded Balloon Teviot, 20-27 Aug, £10 – £11
92 fest edinburgh festival guide 2012 | August 21 - 27
The Day the Sky Turned Black
Assembly Roxy, 20-26 Aug, £11 – £12
15:05 Karen’s Way: A Kindertransport Life theSpace @ Venue45, 20-25 Aug, £10
Journos
theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 20-25 Aug, £6.50
Not My Cup of Tea theSpace on the Mile , 20-25 Aug, £7.50
The School of Night HHH Pleasance Courtyard, 20-26 Aug, £10 – £11
15:10 Appointment With The Wicker Man HHH The Assembly Rooms, 21-26 Aug, £16
Miss Julie
theSpace on North Bridge, 20-25 Aug, £5
15:15 Murder, Marple and Me
Gilded Balloon Teviot, 21-26 Aug, £9.50 – £10.50
Porphyria HHH
Zoo Southside, 20 Aug, £7.50
Rubber Dinghy
Zoo Southside, 21-27 Aug, £8
Bullet Catch HHH Traverse Theatre, 23 Aug, £17
I, Tommy HH
Gilded Balloon Teviot, 20-27 Aug, £14 – £16
Recent Tragic Events
Sweet Grassmarket, 20-24 Aug, £9
❤ Mess HHHH
Traverse Theatre, 21 Aug, 26 Aug, £17
Monkey Bars HHH Traverse Theatre, 24 Aug, £19
The Darkroom HH
C venues - C nova, 20-27 Aug, £8.50 – £10.50
❤ Blink HHHH
Traverse Theatre, 25 Aug, £19
15:20 Cover HHH
C venues - C nova, 20-27 Aug, £7.50 – £9.50
Maurice Roëves: Just a Gigolo HH
Assembly George Square, 20-27 Aug, £14 – £15
Eurydice
C Venues - C eca, 20-27 Aug, £8.50 – £10.50
Still Life (or Brief Encounter)
C venues - C aquila, 2027 Aug, £9.50 – £11.50
I Never Saw Another Butterfly Church Hill Theatre, 20 Aug, £5
Excuse Me, I’m Trying to Please You Zoo Southside, 20-27 Aug, £8
15:25 The Idiot at the Wall Bedlam Theatre, 20-25 Aug, £9
Ma Biche et Mon Lapin
Institut français d’Ecosse, 20-24 Aug, £5
Rodney Bewes as A Boy Growing Up. An Entertainment from the stories of Dylan Thomas Assembly George Square, 20-27 Aug, £11 – £12
❤ Molly Naylor and the Middle Ones: My Robot Heart HHHH Pleasance Courtyard, 20-27 Aug, £9 – £10.50
15:30 As of 1.52pm GMT on Friday April 27th 2012, This Show Has No Title. HH Traverse Theatre, 21 Aug, 24 Aug, 25 Aug, £12
Treasure Island
C venues - C too, 20-27 Aug, £9.50 – £11.50
Nothing Is Really Difficult Assembly George Square, 22-26 Aug, £10
Remember Me
Summerhall, 21-26 Aug, £6
The Softening of MAO-A Summerhall, 20-26 Aug, £10
Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus Underbelly, Bristo Square, 20-27 Aug, £11 – £12
Angels HHH
Traverse Theatre, 22 Aug, £17
Oliver Reed: Wild Thing
Gilded Balloon Teviot, 20-27 Aug, £10 – £11
Cleansed
theSpace on North Bridge, 20-25 Aug, £7
NOLA HHH
Underbelly, Cowgate, 20-26 Aug, £10 – £11
How a Man Crumbled HH
Summerhall, 20-26 Aug, £10
theatrelistings Serve Cold
Gryphon Venues at the Point Hotel, 20-27 Aug, £8
Still Home
Gryphon Venues at the Point Hotel, 23-24 Aug, £10
15:35 Sophie Shadow
Paradise in The Vault, 21-26 Aug, £9
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
Attempts on Her Life - Free
The Indescribable Phenomenon
Lingua Frank HH
Paradise in Augustine’s, 21-25 Aug, £8
Greenside, 20-25 Aug, £9
16:00 Elephant Man
15:40
theSpace on Niddry St, 20 Aug, 22 Aug, £10
❤ Tumble Circus: This Is What We Do For a Living HHHH
Institut français d’Ecosse, 20-24 Aug, £10
Underbelly, Bristo Square, 20-27 Aug, £12 – £14
Dirty Hands
Sweet Grassmarket, Various dates from 20 Aug to 26 Aug, £8
After the Rainfall HHH Pleasance Dome, 20-27 Aug, £12 – £13
❤ Punch HHHH
Underbelly, Cowgate, 20-26 Aug, £10 – £11
A Clockwork Orange Pleasance Courtyard, 20-26 Aug, £13.50 – £14.50
15:45 ❤ Waiting for Stanley HHHHH
Assembly Roxy, 20-26 Aug, £10 – £12
15:50 Tagged
C Venues - C eca, 21 Aug, 23 Aug, 25 Aug, 27 Aug, £8.50 – £10.50
It’s So Nice
Sparkleshark
St Peter’s, 25 Aug, £6
A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Assembly George Square, 21-27 Aug, £14 – £15
The Eighth Day Venue 13, 20-25 Aug, £7
❤ Mother to Mother HHHH Assembly George Square, 20-27 Aug, £14 – £15
❤ Woza Albert! HHHH
Assembly Hall, 20-27 Aug, £14 – £16
Nights at the Circus theSpace on Niddry St, 24 Aug, £10
Kemble’s Riot HH
Pleasance Dome, 20-27 Aug, £11 – £12
The Erpingham Camp
theSpace on Niddry St, 21 Aug, 23 Aug, 25 Aug, £10
Fabled
The Bongo Club, 20-25 Aug, £5
Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 21-24 Aug, £free The Playhouse on the Fringe, 20-27 Aug, £10
Angus: Weaver of Grass
Scottish Storytelling Centre, 20-26 Aug, £10
How’s About That Then? HHH
Gilded Balloon Teviot, 20-27 Aug, £11 – £12
❤ An Evening With Dementia HHHH
25: 13 Red, 12 Blue
Maria, 1968
Boy In a Dress HHH
theSpace on the Mile , 20-25 Aug, £9 C venues - C, 20-27 Aug, £8.50 – £10.50
16:10 The House of Shadows
theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 20-25 Aug, £7
Me Before Marilyn theSpace @ Jury’s Inn, 20-25 Aug, £6
C venues - C aquila, 20-27 Aug, £8.50 – £10.50
The Stand Comedy Club III & IV, 20-26 Aug, £10
16:25 Hervé - A Collection of Songs, Dances and Stories Underbelly, Bristo Square, 20-27 Aug, £10.50 – £11.50
24h
Subliminal Nonsense
Metamorphoses: Fables from Ovid
theSpace on the Mile , 21-25 Aug, £10
theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 20-25 Aug, £9
Peep HHH
Strong Arm HHH
Pleasance Courtyard, 20-27 Aug, £6
Underbelly, Cowgate, 20-26 Aug, £10 – £11
Maurice’s Jubilee
Rod is God HH
16:15
Summerhall, 22 Aug, 25 Aug, £1
Pleasance Dome, Various dates from 20 Aug to 27 Aug, £9.50 – £12
Edinburgh
Summerhall, 20 Aug, £5
B*tch Boxer HHH
Underbelly, Cowgate, 20-26 Aug, £10 – £11
True Colours
Northern Stage at St Stephen’s, 21-25 Aug, £5
A Modern Town HH Pleasance Courtyard, 20-27 Aug, £9 – £10
East - by Steven Berkoff
Douglas House, 20-25 Aug, £8
16:05 You Left Me in the Dark theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 20-25 Aug, £8
Thread
Assembly St Mark’s, 23 Aug, £10
Paul Dabek Presents Thurston The Voodoo Rooms, 20-25 Aug, £free
Sister Annunciata’s Secret Hill Street Theatre, 2026 Aug, £10 – £11
Pleasance Courtyard, Various dates from 20 Aug to 27 Aug, £12.50 – £15.50
The Hand-Me-Down People HH
C venues - C nova, 20-27 Aug, £8.50 – £10.50
16:30 Gob Shop
Sapphire Rooms, 22-26 Aug, £7
Wojtek the Bear
❤ Juana in a Million HHHH
Hill Street Theatre, 2026 Aug, £11 – £12
Cubicle Four
Gilded Balloon at Third Door, 21-26 Aug, £9 – £10
Pleasance Dome, Various dates from 20 Aug to 26 Aug, £9 – £10 Paradise in The Vault, 21-27 Aug, £10
16:20 A Thousand Shards of Glass Northern Stage at St Stephen’s, 21-25 Aug, £14
Shopping Centre by Matthew Osborn HHH
A Dirty Martini
Zoo Southside, 20-27 Aug, £8.50
Swamp Juice
Underbelly, Bristo Square, 20-27 Aug, £11 – £13
Thinking of you - Free
Laughing Horse @ The Phoenix, 21-26 Aug, £free
Three by Poe
C venues - C nova, 20-27 Aug, £9.50 – £11.50
A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Paradise in Augustine’s, 21-27 Aug, £8
Walk Like a Black Man
C Venues - C eca, 20-27 Aug, £8.50 – £10.50
Gilbert and Sullivan in Brief(s) Pleasance Courtyard, Various dates from 20 Aug to 27 Aug, £10 – £12
16:35 Little Women
theSpace @ Venue45, 20-25 Aug, £8
Superheroes
theSpace on North Bridge, 20-25 Aug, £7
16:45 Right Honourable Member HH C venues - C aquila, 20-27 Aug, £8.50 – £10.50
Peter Piper - The Man Behind the Legend Princes Mall, 20-25 Aug, £free
❤ Joyced! HHHH
Assembly George Square, 21-27 Aug, £10 – £12
Formby
Assembly George Square, Various dates from 20 Aug to 27 Aug, £11 – £13
2.20pm @ Just the Tonic at The Tron. £8/£6
www.festmag.co.uk
August 21 - 27 | edinburgh festival guide 2012 fest 93
theatrelistings Rainbow
Zoo Southside, 20-27 Aug, £9
16:50 Someone Who’ll Watch Over Me
C Venues - C eca, 20 Aug, 22 Aug, 24 Aug, 26 Aug, £9.50 – £11.50
Misanthropy HH
C Venues - C eca, 21 Aug, 23 Aug, 25 Aug, 27 Aug, £9.50 – £11.50
Made for Each Other - Free
Laughing Horse @ Bar 50, 20-26 Aug, £free
Hearts on Fire HHH
C venues - C nova, 20-27 Aug, £9.50 – £11.50
16:55 The Submarine Show
C venues - C too, 20-27 Aug, £8.50 – £10.50
17:00
The Edinburgh International Circus Festival Ocean Terminal Big Top, 21-26 Aug, £free
❤ Glory Dazed HHHH
Underbelly, Cowgate, 20-26 Aug, £10 – £11
Breathing Corpses by Laura Wade Zoo, Various dates from 20 Aug to 27 Aug, £8
❤ The Letter of Last Resort and Good With People HHHH Traverse Theatre, 22 Aug, 26 Aug, £18
A Brief History of Scotland - We Done Loads! Sweet Grassmarket, 20-24 Aug, £9.50
There’s Absolutely Nothing Wrong With Oscar Pike Sweet Grassmarket, Various dates from 20 Aug to 26 Aug, £7
Threads
theSpace on the Mile , 20-25 Aug, £8.50 – £9.50
A Sky Burial
theSpace on North Bridge, 20 Aug, 22 Aug, 24 Aug, £7
❤ A Soldier’s Song HHHH
Assembly Roxy, 20-26 Aug, £11 – £13
Marcel Pursued By the Hounds by Michel Tremblay
Summerhall, 22 Aug, 25 Aug, £1
Peep HHH
Pleasance Courtyard, 20-27 Aug, £6
The Girl With No Heart
Gryphon Venues at the Point Hotel, 25-26 Aug, £7
theSpace @ Jury’s Inn, 20-25 Aug, £8
24h
Paradise in The Vault, 21-27 Aug, £6
Nothing Is Really Difficult
My City Saturday
Burns: Rough Cut HHH
17:10
Skye
Assembly George Square, 22-26 Aug, £10
theSpace on North Bridge, 21 Aug, 23 Aug, 25 Aug, £7
Rémy
Primer for a Failed Superpower The Hub, 24 Aug, £6
Swordy-Well
Greenside, 20-25 Aug, £5
Bedlam Theatre, 20-25 Aug, £8
True Colours
Northern Stage at St Stephen’s, 21-25 Aug, £5
Bhagwaan Dhoondo - An Indian musical interactive theatre performance Lauriston Halls, 27 Aug, £free
17:05 A Grave Reunion
theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 20-25 Aug, £7.50
Casablanca: The Gin Joint Cut
17:30
Gilded Balloon Teviot, 21-27 Aug, £12 – £14
Icarus: a Story of Flight HHH
Sealand
Zoo, 20-27 Aug, £9
The Shape of Things by Neil LaBute theSpace on the Mile , 22 Aug, 25 Aug, £6
17:20 Her Right Mind
Greenside, 20-25 Aug, £7 – £8
One Hour Only HHH Underbelly, Cowgate, 20-26 Aug, £10 – £11
Bane 1, 2 & 3
Pleasance Dome, 20-26 Aug, £10 – £12
theSpace on the Mile , 21 Aug, 24 Aug, £6
17:25
17:15
C venues - C nova, 2026 Aug, £8.50 – £10.50
❤ Dirty Paki Lingerie HHHH
Assembly Hall, 20-26 Aug, £8 – £9
❤ Still Life: An Audience With Henrietta Moraes HHHH Whitespace, Various dates from 20 Aug to 26 Aug, £12
Words and Women
The Street, 20-25 Aug, £free
Sinful - Free
Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 20-26 Aug, £free
After the Accident by Julian Armitstead theSpace on the Mile , 20 Aug, 23 Aug, £6
SOS Courtship
Church Hill Theatre, 20 Aug, £5
94 fest edinburgh festival guide 2012 | August 21 - 27
Excess
❤ Translunar Paradise HHHHH
Pleasance Dome, Various dates from 20 Aug to 27 Aug, £10 – £12
Ma Biche et Mon Lapin
C Venues - C eca, 20-27 Aug, £9.50 – £11.50
99.9 Degrees
C Venues - C eca, 20-27 Aug, £7.50 – £9.50
The Madness of King Lear
C venues - C, 20-27 Aug, £9.50 – £11.50
Born to Run
Traverse Theatre, 23 Aug, £18
Monkey Bars HHH Traverse Theatre, 25 Aug, £19
Legs 11
Summerhall, 20-26 Aug, £10
17:35 Swan Song
theSpace on North Bridge, 20-25 Aug, £8.50
I Heart Peterborough HHH
Pleasance Courtyard, Various dates from 20 Aug to 27 Aug, £10 – £11
17:40 Educating Rita HHH
Institut français d’Ecosse, 20-24 Aug, £5
Assembly George Square, 20-26 Aug, £15 – £16
Tea with the Old Queen
17:45
C venues - C aquila, 20-27 Aug, £8.50 – £10.50
Don Quixote! Don Quixote! HH Pleasance Dome, Various dates from 20 Aug to 27 Aug, £9 – £10
Amusements HHH Summerhall, 20-26 Aug, £8
Angels HHH
Traverse Theatre, 23 Aug, £17
Nights at the Circus theSpace on Niddry St, 22 Aug, £10
Leonce and Lena
C venues - C nova, 20-27 Aug, £8.50 – £10.50
Italia ‘n’ Caledonia Valvona & Crolla, 21 Aug, 22 Aug, 24 Aug, £12
Bullet Catch HHH Traverse Theatre, 24 Aug, £19
Platero Y Yo by Juan Ramon Jimenez Valvona & Crolla, 25 Aug, £12
Holmes and Watson: The Farewell Tour Valvona & Crolla, 20 Aug, 27 Aug, £12
Divine Words
theSpace on Niddry St, 20 Aug, 24 Aug, £10
❤ Mess HHHH
Traverse Theatre, 22 Aug, £17
Minotaur
theSpace on Niddry St, 21 Aug, 23 Aug, 25 Aug, £10
❤ Blink HHHH
Traverse Theatre, 21 Aug, 26 Aug, £17
Unplugged
Zoo Southside, 20-27 Aug, £9 – £10
17:55 Villains, Heroes and Adventurers
Valvona & Crolla Scottish Foodhall@Jenners, 23 Aug, £15
Love and Understanding
C venues - C aquila, 20-27 Aug, £8.50 – £10.50
18:00 Les Naufragés du Fol Espoir (Aurores)
Lowland Hall, Royal Highland Centre, 23 Aug, 24
theatrelistings Aug, 25 Aug, 27 Aug, 28 Aug, £35
Dracula
PASS (Performing Arts Studio Scotland), 21-25 Aug, £7
The World’s Greatest Walking Tour of Edinburgh Pleasance Dome, Various dates from 21 Aug to 27 Aug, £8 – £9
❤ And No More Shall We Part HHHH Traverse Theatre, 24 Aug, £20
The Dead Memory House HHH Summerhall, 20-26 Aug, £10
24h
Summerhall, 22 Aug, 25 Aug, £1
Peep HHH
Pleasance Courtyard, 20-27 Aug, £6
Desperately Seeking the Exit - Free
Laughing Horse @ Edinburgh City Football Club, 20-26 Aug, £free
Blackbird
Edinburgh Training and Conference Venue, 2024 Aug, £7
The Picture of Dorian Gray
Princes Mall, 20-25 Aug, £free
18:05
18:20
Built for Two
The Pride HHH
theSpace on the Mile , 20-25 Aug, £6
The Disintegration Loops theSpace @ Venue45, 20 Aug, 22 Aug, 24 Aug, £5
Stick Stock Stone Dead
theSpace on the Mile , 20-25 Aug, £10
Lust in Translation theSpace @ Venue45, 21 Aug, 23 Aug, 25 Aug, £5
18:10 Happy
Greenside, 20-25 Aug, £5
The Music Box
Paradise in The Vault, 21-27 Aug, £7
Pierrepoint - The Hangman’s Tale Sweet Grassmarket, 20-24 Aug, £8.50
18:15 ❤ National Theatre of Scotland Presents Love Letters to the Public Transport System By Molly Taylor HHHH The Assembly Rooms, 21-26 Aug, £10
Underbelly, Cowgate, 20-26 Aug, £10 – £12.50
The Taming of the Shrew Sweet Grassmarket, 20-24 Aug, £7.50
18:25 Mr Braithwaite Has a New Boy
C venues - C aquila, 2127 Aug, £9.50 – £11.50
Tissue
Bedlam Theatre, 20-25 Aug, £6
We Got Rhythm
theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 20-25 Aug, £5
18:30 Nothing Is Really Difficult
Aug, 23 Aug, 24 Aug, 25 Aug, £14
Unhappy Birthday Assembly George Square, 21-26 Aug, £10 – £12
A Real Man’s Guide to Sainthood Underbelly, Cowgate, 20-26 Aug, £9.50 – £10.50
1984
Zoo, Various dates from 20 Aug to 27 Aug, £8
18:45 Deirdre and Me
C venues - C nova, 20-27 Aug, £9.50 – £11.50
Thread
Assembly St Mark’s, 21 Aug, 22 Aug, 24 Aug, 25 Aug, 26 Aug, £10
Assembly George Square, 22-26 Aug, £10
Don Juan
Belt Up Theatre’s A Little Princess HHH
18:50
C venues - C nova, 20-27 Aug, £10.50 – £12.50
The Boat Factory
Hill Street Theatre, 2026 Aug, £11 – £13
Rubies in the Attic Assembly Roxy, 21-27 Aug, £12 – £13
Bareback Ink
C Venues - C eca, 20-27 Aug, £8.50 – £10.50
The Lonely One HHH
Underbelly, Cowgate, 20-26 Aug, £10 – £11
Back to the Future The Pantomime Paradise in Augustine’s, 21-27 Aug, £9.50
Whitespace, 22-24 Aug, £free
19:00
Hinge Presents: Scooped
18:40
Going Green the Wong Way
Traverse Theatre, 21 Aug, 25 Aug, £18 – £20
Festen
theSpace on North Bridge, 20-25 Aug, £5 – £7
Peer Gynt
Wonderland
❤ Oh, The Humanity and Other Good Intentions HHHH
❤ Mr Carmen HHHH Assembly Roxy, 21-27 Aug, £12 – £14
Mark Thomas: Bravo Figaro! HHH
C Venues - C eca, 20-27 Aug, £8.50 – £10.50
Hill Street Theatre, 2026 Aug, £7 – £8 theSpace on North Bridge, 20-25 Aug, £7 Church Hill Theatre, 21 Aug, £5
The Weigh In
Northern Stage at St Stephen’s, 20 Aug, 22
❤ Caesarean Section - Essays on Suicide HHHH
19:10
Ben Okri’s The Comic Destiny
Hunger
Secret Weapons
On the Harmful Effects of Tobacco / Can Cause Death
Summerhall, 20 Aug, £11
Scottish Storytelling Centre, 20-26 Aug, £10 Gryphon Venues at the Point Hotel, 22-26 Aug, £6
24h
Summerhall, 22 Aug, 25 Aug, £1
Peep HHH
Pleasance Courtyard, 20-27 Aug, £6
❤ Alan Bissett: The Red Hourglass HHHHH National Library of Scotland, 20-25 Aug, £12
19:05 How to Start a Riot theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 20-25 Aug, £7
Solve
theSpace on the Mile , 20-25 Aug, £6
Hitler’s Li’l Abomination
theSpace @ Jury’s Inn, 20-25 Aug, £9.50
Food For Thought
XXXO HH
Pleasance Courtyard, 20-26 Aug, £9 – £10.50 Paradise in Augustine’s, 21 Aug, 23 Aug, 25 Aug, 27 Aug, £10
C venues - C aquila, 20-27 Aug, £8.50 – £10.50
19:15 Elephant Man
theSpace on Niddry St, 24 Aug, £10
Machinal
C venues - C nova, 2026 Aug, £9.50 – £11.50
The Pilgrim’s Progress
Palmerston Place Church, 22-24 Aug, £10
A Woman Inside
theSpace on the Mile , 21-25 Aug, £7
Small Narration
Summerhall, 21-23 Aug, £9
Nights at the Circus theSpace on Niddry St, 20 Aug, £10
Sir Gawain, the Yellow Knight
Church Hill Theatre, 20 Aug, £5
theSpace @ Venue45, 20 Aug, 22 Aug, 24 Aug, £5
More Light
Venue 13, 20-25 Aug, £8
The Intervention HHH
Remember Me
The Assembly Rooms, 20-26 Aug, £15
theSpace on Niddry St, 22 Aug, £10
Summerhall, 21-26 Aug, £6
La Línea
Lauriston Halls, 24 Aug, 25 Aug, 27 Aug, £7
Dragged Up
theSpace @ Venue45, 21 Aug, 23 Aug, 25 Aug, £5
C Venues - C eca, 20-27 Aug, £9.50 – £11.50
Divine Words
Songs of Lear
Summerhall, 20-24 Aug, £11
Winfamy
Laughing Horse @ Edinburgh City Football
presents:
Other Voices: Spoken Word Cabaret
A whirlwind of sumptuous wit and panache! Come and hear some wonderful words from the other side of the door...
14:50- the venue 15:50 Labyrinth 156 http://bit.ly/othervoicespbh
Banshee
www.festmag.co.uk
August 21 - 27 | edinburgh festival guide 2012 fest 95
theatrelistings Club, Various dates from 20 Aug to 26 Aug, £free
Remember Me
Chariot: The Eric Liddell Story
The Proposal
Edinburgh Elim, 21-24 Aug, £10
19:20 Mixed Doubles
The Edinburgh Academy, 20-24 Aug, £8
4.48 Psychosis
theSpace on Niddry St, 21 Aug, 23 Aug, 25 Aug, £10
19:25 The Last Fairytale
Sweet Grassmarket, Various dates from 20 Aug to 26 Aug, £8.50
A Middle-Aged Man’s Uncertainty Theory
C Venues - C eca, 20-27 Aug, £7.50 – £9.50
Montmorency
C venues - C, 20-27 Aug, £9.50 – £11.50
19:30 Wonderland
Royal Lyceum Theatre, 29 Aug - 1 Sep, £10
Villa+Discurso
The Hub, 20-21 Aug, £25
A Midsummer Night’s Dream (As You Like It)
Summerhall, 21-26 Aug, £6 theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 20-25 Aug, £10
The Original Edinburgh Literary Pub Tour
Outside the Beehive Inn, 20 Aug - 2 Sep, £10
30 Days to Edinburgh
Summerhall, 26 Aug, £8
Ghetto
Greenside, 21-25 Aug, £6
❤ The Letter of Last Resort and Good With People HHHH Traverse Theatre, 23 Aug, £18
The Tragedie of MacClegg
Paradise in The Vault, 22-26 Aug, £5
Dancing at Lughnasa
Duddingston Kirk Manse Garden, 22-26 Aug, £10
People Show 121: The Detective Show Assembly George Square, 20-27 Aug, £10
Treasure in Clay Jars Mayfield Salisbury Church, 20-21 Aug, £free
King’s Theatre, 24-25 Aug, £free – £12
19:35
Sparkleshark
Greenside, 20-25 Aug, £9.50
St Peter’s, 21-25 Aug, £6
Three Cities
Sweet Grassmarket, Various dates from 20 Aug to 26 Aug, £8
A Dastardly Fiction
Half a Person: My Life As Told By The Smiths HH Zoo Southside, 20-27 Aug, £8
Faust/us
Sweet Grassmarket, 20-23 Aug, £9
Hearts on Fire HHH
C venues - C nova, 20-27 Aug, £9.50 – £11.50
20:00 Gulliver’s Travels King’s Theatre, 20 Aug, £12
Elephant Man
Institut français d’Ecosse, 20-24 Aug, £10
Return of the Close-Up Magician
C venues - C nova, 20-27 Aug, £9.50 – £10.50
Captain Ko and the Planet of Rice Underbelly, Cowgate, 20-26 Aug, £9.50 – £10.50
The Edinburgh International Circus Festival Ocean Terminal Big Top, 24-25 Aug, £free
Faulty Towers the Dining Experience
B’est Restaurant, Various dates from 20 Aug to 28 Aug, £49
Bullet Catch HHH Traverse Theatre, 25 Aug, £19
24h
Summerhall, 22 Aug, 25 Aug, £1
❤ Mess HHHH
19:50
Traverse Theatre, 23 Aug, £17
Death Boogie HHH
❤ Grit HHHH
Assembly Roxy, 21-27 Aug, £10 – £12
Bedlam Theatre, 20-25 Aug, £9
Monkey Bars HHH
Gotcha!
Traverse Theatre, 21 Aug, 26 Aug, £17
theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 20-25 Aug, £6 – £7
20:05 How to Climb Mount Everest theSpace on North Bridge, 20-25 Aug, £7 – £10
❤ Blink HHHH
Traverse Theatre, 22 Aug, £17
Mark Thomas: Bravo Figaro! HHH Traverse Theatre, 26 Aug, £18
The Tale of Nada
theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 20-25 Aug, £7.50
One in Three
20:10
Hill Street Theatre, 2026 Aug, £7 – £8
The Beast HHH
20:25
Underbelly, Cowgate, 20-26 Aug, £9.50 – £10.50
Mark Thomas: Bravo Figaro! HHH Traverse Theatre, 22 Aug, £18
White Rabbit Red Rabbit
Summerhall, 20 Aug, 22 Aug, £10
20:35 I Heart Hamas: And Other Things I’m Afraid to Tell You HHH Gryphon Venues at the Point Hotel, 21-25 Aug, £10
Tranquility, Serenity, Calm
The Company of Wolves
Zoo, 20-27 Aug, £7.50
C Venues - C eca, 20-27 Aug, £8.50 – £10.50
20:30
20:40
theSpace @ Jury’s Inn, 20-25 Aug, £7
Romeo and Juliet
Dracula: Sex, Sucking and Stardom
20:15
Hinge Presents: Ordinary Things
In a Handbag, Darkly
theSpace on North Bridge, 20-25 Aug, £8
Firebird
Venue 13, 20-25 Aug, £8
Thread
Assembly St Mark’s, 21 Aug, 22 Aug, 24 Aug, 25 Aug, 26 Aug, £10
Angels HHH
Traverse Theatre, 24 Aug, £19
❤ And No More Shall We Part HHHH Traverse Theatre, 21 Aug, 25 Aug, £18 – £20
Panga HHH
Hill Street Theatre, 2026 Aug, £11 – £13
Platero Y Yo by Juan Ramon Jimenez Valvona & Crolla, 21 Aug, £12
Holmes and Watson: The Farewell Tour Valvona & Crolla, 24 Aug, £12
Pornography
theSpace @ Venue45, 20-25 Aug, £8
Zelda
Midnight at the Boar’s Head
Greenside, 20-25 Aug, £10
Zoo Southside, 20-27 Aug, £9 – £10
Me and Mr C
Hill Street Theatre, 2026 Aug, £7 – £8
Sancho Panza 2012
Northern Stage at St Stephen’s, 20 Aug, 22 Aug, 23 Aug, 24 Aug, 25 Aug, £10
Paradise in The Vault, 21-27 Aug, £8 – £9
Awkward!
theSpace on the Mile , 20-25 Aug, £6 – £7
20:45 Puellae (The truth about chips and other things) Summerhall, 20-26 Aug, £10
Future Tales (Sierakowski)
Summerhall, 20-26 Aug, £10
20:50 Kiss Me and You Will See How Important I Am HHH
theSpaces @ Surgeons Hall, 20-25 Aug, £8
C venues - C aquila, 20-27 Aug, £8.50 – £10.50
Born to Run
Pinch in Love
Traverse Theatre, 24 Aug, £20
Paradise in The Vault, 21-27 Aug, £7
North London Collegiate School present
World Premiere of new Drama & Dance.
96 fest edinburgh festival guide 2012 | August 21 - 27
theatrelistings 20:55 One Man Star Wars Trilogy
Underbelly, Bristo Square, 21 Aug, 23 Aug, 25 Aug, 27 Aug, £15 – £16
The Night Porters
Paradise in Augustine’s, 21-27 Aug, £10 – £14
One Man Lord of the Rings Underbelly, Bristo Square, 20 Aug, 22 Aug, 24 Aug, 26 Aug, £15 – £16
21:00 The Rape of Lucrece Royal Lyceum Theatre, 22-26 Aug, £20
Sparkleshark
St Peter’s, 24 Aug, £6
Defunct Pig - Free
The Hudson Hotel, 2025 Aug, £free
Confessions of a Grindr Addict HH
Belt Up Theatre’s Outland
C venues - C nova, 20-27 Aug, £10.50 – £12.50
Macbeth
C venues - C, 20-27 Aug, £9.50 – £11.50
21:10 Peaceful
theSpace @ Jury’s Inn, 20-25 Aug, £7
21:30 Underbelly, Cowgate, 20-26 Aug, £9.50 – £10.50
Hitler Alone
Inlingua Edinburgh, 20-23 Aug, £14
Monstrous Acts
Riot Squat
Zoo Southside, 21-26 Aug, £8.50
Whitespace, 22-26 Aug, £9
24h
21:35
Bring the Happy
Northern Stage at St Stephen’s, 21 Aug, £14
21:05
The Bloody Chamber HHH
The Awesome Show theSpace on North Bridge, 20-25 Aug, £8 – £9
Wrecked
theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 20-25 Aug, £10
Call Me!
Sweet Grassmarket, Various dates from 20 Aug to 26 Aug, £7.50
Question No One
theSpace @ Venue45, 20-25 Aug, £8.50
22:15 Beatle Mal’s Legendary Band
theSpace on Niddry St, 20-22 Aug, £8
Trojan Women
Hinge Presents: Dorian
theSpace on North Bridge, 20-25 Aug, £7
Quantum Battlestar Deep-Space Voyager Tardis Wars: The Million-Dollar Space Epic
21:45 C venues - C, 20-27 Aug, £8.50 – £10.50
Zoo, 20-27 Aug, £8
Hill Street Theatre, 2027 Aug, £7 – £8
C venues - C nova, 20-27 Aug, £8.50 – £10.50
Jack: A Ripper’s Tale
Paradise in The Vault, 21-27 Aug, £8
Vitamin
Leather
Summerhall, 22 Aug, 25 Aug, £1
C Venues - C eca, 20-27 Aug, £8.50 – £10.50
The Three Faces of Doctor Crippen
22:25
theSpace on North Bridge, 20-25 Aug, £6
22:10
Tenderpits
Zoo, 23 Aug, 25 Aug, 27 Aug, £8
The World Over
22:05
Summerhall, 20-26 Aug, £10
Centralia
24h
The Sh*t / La Merda HHH
Closer
Old College Quad, 20-26 Aug, £13 – £15
Northern Stage at St Stephen’s, 20 Aug, 22 Aug, 23 Aug, 24 Aug, 25 Aug, £14
Paradise in The Vault, 21-27 Aug, £6.50
C venues - C aquila, 2127 Aug, £8.50 – £10.50
Planet Lem
The Ugly Sisters HHH
21:15
Assembly Hall, 20-26 Aug, £11 – £12
Summerhall, 22 Aug, 25 Aug, £1
22:00
Of Mice and Men
Settimana
Assembly Roxy, 21-27 Aug, £12 – £14
22:20 Piatto Finale
Zoo, 20 Aug, 22 Aug, 24 Aug, 26 Aug, £8
Paradise in Augustine’s, 21-27 Aug, £9.50
22:30 Who’s Your Daddy? Assembly Hall, 20-26 Aug, £11 – £12
Holmes and Watson: The Farewell Tour Valvona & Crolla, 23 Aug, 25 Aug, £12
The Blind HH
Old College Quad, 20-27 Aug, £13 – £15
DugOut Theatre’s Inheritance Blues HHH
Bedlam Theatre, 20-25 Aug, £8
22:40 Re-Animator The Musical
Assembly George Square, 21-27 Aug, £12 – £14
22:45 A Guide to Second Date Sex HHH Underbelly, Cowgate, 20-26 Aug, £9.50 – £10.50
Belt Up Theatre’s The Boy James
C venues - C nova, 20-27 Aug, £10.50 – £12.50
23:00 Who’s Dorian Gray? Laughing Horse @ Edinburgh City Football Club, Various dates from 20 Aug to 26 Aug, £free
Tales from Edgar Allan Poe
C Venues - C eca, 20-27 Aug, £9.50 – £11.50
24h
Summerhall, 22 Aug, 25 Aug, £1
Daughters of Lot
theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 20-25 Aug, £7
Beats
Traverse Theatre, 21-26 Aug, £17 – £19
❤ Boris & Sergey’s Vaudevillian Adventure HHHHH Pleasance Courtyard, Various dates from 20 Aug to 27 Aug, £9 – £10
23:05 Strip Search
SpaceCabaret @ 54, 20-25 Aug, £12
Couleur Café
C venues - C nova, 21-28 Aug, £12.50 – £14.50
01:00 24h
Summerhall, 23 Aug, 26 Aug, £1
02:00 24h
Summerhall, 23 Aug, 26 Aug, £1
03:00 24h
Summerhall, 23 Aug, 26 Aug, £1
04:00 24h
Summerhall, 23 Aug, 26 Aug, £1
05:00 24h
Summerhall, 23 Aug, 26 Aug, £1
06:00 24h
Summerhall, 22 Aug, 25 Aug, £1
23:15
07:00
Medea Hardcore
24h
Assembly Roxy, 22-26 Aug, £12 – £14
Summerhall, 22 Aug, 25 Aug, £1
00:00
08:00
24h
24h
Summerhall, 23 Aug, 26 Aug, £1
Summerhall, 22 Aug, 25 Aug, £1
r. harmonY with Your partne with the intent to live in “You leave the theatre missed!“
not to be
elle magazine
DJ TOm LOUD’S
HOT DUB Time macHine
Underbelly bristo sqUare : ermintrUde 3.30pm
www.festmag.co.uk
August 21 - 27 | edinburgh festival guide 2012 fest 97
festbackpage
Amnesty International Comics vs Critics Football Match Comics 4 v Critics 3 In a hard-fought derby between football's two fiercest rivals, the Comedians—led by Mark Watson—snatched a late victory against the Critics. A hattrick by the Comedians' star player, Kai Humphreys, putting the Critics to the sword. After going down to an early 2-0 deficit, the Critics pulled things back by half-time courtesy of an own goal and a screamer from Peter Geoghegan. Ultimately, the Comedians' superior bench—turning up with eleven substitutes to the Critics' two—paid dividends, as two second-half goals secured victory. This victory brings the Comedians level in the Amnesty International annual series, following last year's 7-3 defeat at the Critics hands. Comedians squad: Mark Watson (Captain), Joel Dommett, Mark Nelson, Markus Birdman, Paul Sweeney, Chris Martin, Andrew Ryan, Barry Castagnola, Jimeoin, Daniel Sloss, Kai Humphries, Terry Alderton, Owen O'Neill, Tim Key, Richard Lett, Patrick Turpin, Ben Cottam, Jack Hartnell, , Mark Smith, Lloyd Griffith, Ian Stirling. Critics squad: Edd McCracken (Captain), James Fritz, Gary Flockhart, Malcolm Jack, Tommy Holgate, Peter Geoghegan, Tim Arthur, Evan Beswick, Brian Logan, Ben Judge, Kenny Cavey, Daniel Burg, Tom Martin. 98 fest edinburgh festival guide 2012 | August 21 - 27
www.festmag.co.uk
Congratulations! You’ve survived the Fringe. So what next? Whether you want to start planning for next year’s show or keep the momentum from Edinburgh going, we can help. After Edinburgh – What next? Make the most of your experiences with free advice from HighTide’s Literary Manager Rob Drummer. Weds 12th September, 3.30pm - 5.30pm at IdeasTap. For further info visit www.ideastap.com/spa Edinburgh 2013 – Start planning now Tips on how to get ahead from Michael Brazier, Director of National Student Drama Festival, and Mark Makin Programme Manager, house. Online forum and live event. Weds 10th October, 4.00pm - 6.00pm For further info visit www.ideastap.com/spa Funding Whatever your show, we’ve got pots of performing arts funding to help you make it happen. For further info visit www.ideastap.com/funding
To view all of our upcoming opportunities sign up for free at www.ideastap.com and follow us @IdeasTap
THE ASSEMBLY ROOMS
&
APPOINTMENT WICKER MAN MOLLY WOBBLY'S TIT FACTORY THE INTERVENTION JIGSY SIX AND A TANNER WITH THE
NATIONAL THEATRE OF SCOTLAND
LYRIC THEATRE BELFAST
COMEDIANS THEATRE COMPANY
CHURCHILL
PIP UTTON
TOM KRAPP'S LAST TAPE OWEN
RETURN LUMBERJACKS STEWART LEE RUSSELL KANE JIMEOIN OWEN JERRY SADOWITZ MICK FOLEY O’NEILL OF THE
STEWART FRANCIS, GLENN WOOL & CRAIG CAMPBELL
MUSIC
LLOYD LANGFORD PHIL NICHOL BRIDGET CHRISTIE STU & GARRY THE THINKING DRINKERS GUIDE SARFRAZ MANZOOR KRISTINE LEVINE MAGNUS BETNÉR MRS BARBARA NICE JARLATH REGAN DAMIEN CROW
COMEDY
DAVID HAYMAN
LES DENNIS
BRAZIL BRAZIL PRESENTS LATIN LIVE THE BIG FAT ELECTRIC CEILIDH PIAF
CAMILLE O’SULLIVAN KAREN MATHESON
SHOOGLENIFTY THE LOST FINGERS SASKWATCH NEW ROPE STRING BAND BREABACH MICHAEL MCGOLDRICK, JOHN MCCUSKER & JOHN DOYLE JAMES GRANT SAFEHOUSE FLAP SONGS OF STRUGGLE JIMMIE MACGREGOR
CLUB SPIEGEL LA CLIQUE VIRGINIA GAY
PLUS LIZ LOCHHEAD KIDS
LADY CAROL MIKELANGELO FLAMENCO HIP HOP THE BOY AND THE BUNNET
CABARET
THEATRE
BACK ON THE FRINGE 2012
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