The List Festival: Week Two by List Publishing Ltd

N AT URA L Discover 14 natural botanicals in one award winning classic gin Edinburgh Gin encourages responsible drinking

2 THE LIST FESTIVAL | 10–16 August 2022 | list.co.uk/edinburgh-festival

festival

FRONT & FEATURES

CONTENTS FESTIVAL 2022 | WEEK 2 | LIST.CO.UK/EDINBURGH-FESTIVAL

Mouthpiece 8 David Keenan on Memorial Device making it to the stage Myra DuBois Robert Bathurst receives some frank advice

PICTURE: WILL BREMRIDGE

Aftersun Paul Mescal feels the fatherly heat

Coppélia Scottish Ballet go all robotic

ART Ruth Ewan Taking down the rich

BOOKS Nick Drnaso Following up a graphic glory

CABARET Blunderland Skilful and saucy late-night shenanigans

COMEDY Liz Kingsman Flying solo from her Massive Dad

The Delightful Sausage Northern duo meat all expectations

DANCE See You Taiwan Season kicks off with a blast

“

FILM Luck How to put good into the world

I JUST WANT A WIG; A BIG CURLY WIG!

KIDS Chores Messing up is not hard to do

LIZ KINGSMAN ON HER FUTURE CAREER DIRECTION

PAGE 52

MUSIC Los Bitchos Where psych pop meets Latin licks

THEATRE COVER PICTURE: PETER DIBDIN

In The Interest Of Health And Safety... How much power should the kids get?

103

Boy An identity story that is full of pain

109

Published in August 2022 by List Publishing Ltd 2 Roxburgh Place, Edinburgh EH8 9SU Tel: 0131 623 3040 list.co.uk editor@list.co.uk

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HOT SHOTS

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Sarah Sherman gets gory

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FESTIVAL DATES FOR YOUR DIARY

EDINBURGH ART FESTIVAL 28 July–28 August edinburghartfestival.com

EDINBURGH INTERNATIONAL BOOK FESTIVAL 13–29 August edbookfest.co.uk

EDINBURGH INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL 12–20 August edfilmfest.org.uk

e m o c l e W You can stop rubbing your eyes now: yes, we are in the middle of a no-holds barred, full-fat Festival with all the trimmings and none of that solid eight-hours sleep nonsense. Depriving yourself of some shut-eye is all part of the Festival fun, right? And how can you sleep on the job when there’s so much good stuff out there to see. Our comedy interviewees from last issue, The Delightful Sausage, have brought home the bacon (oh dear) with a five-star extravaganza of wilful mayhem and Boosh-like daftness at Monkey Barrel, while in the dance world, the Taiwan Season got into its stride with a sensational effort at Dance Base as See You wholly merited its top rating. We are known (some might say notorious) for being extremely selective when it comes to dishing out five stars, so when they get slapped on a poster with our name beside it, you know it’s fully deserved. And for the record, there might be one or two others coming down the pipe quite soon . . . It’s not all about the reviews though; we also carry some great interviews this issue with our cover star Adura Onashile as she takes on the role of a lifetime in Medea; we chat with star Paul Mescal and director Charlotte Wells about Aftersun, which opens the Edinburgh International Film Festival; and we hear from Scottish Ballet about their electric new version of Coppélia. Oh, and we have some chat with Los Bitchos, Nick Drnaso and Liz Kingsman, plus we look at the Festival shows which are doing their bit for deaf actors, comedians and audiences. OK, time to sort out another half dozen shows. What was it the Beastie Boys shouted again: no sleep til September . . . .

Brian Donaldson EDITOR

EDINBURGH FESTIVAL FRINGE 5–29 August edfringe.com

CONTRIBUTORS Business Development Manager

Carys Tennant

Writers: Becca Inglis, Brian Donaldson, Claire L Heuchan, Claire Sawers, David Keenan, Eddie Harrison, Gareth K Vile, Iain Leggat, James Mottram, Jay Richardson, Jo Laidlaw, Kelly Apter, Kevin Fullerton, Lucy Ribchester, Lynsey May, Marissa Burgess, Megan Merino, Murray Robertson, Neil Cooper, Paul Dale, Rachel Ashenden, Rachel Cronin, Rosanna Miller, Sean Greenhorn, Zara Janjua

Sub Editors

Social Media and Content Editor

Leah Bauer

Paul McLean, Megan Merino

Megan Merino

CEO Sheri Friers Editor Brian Donaldson Art Director Seonaid Rafferty Designer

EDINBURGH INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL 5–28 August eif.co.uk

Jayne Atkinson Affiliates Manager Kevin Fullerton Media Sales Executive Ewan Wood Digital Operations Executive

World Class Circus on the Meadows

CIRQUE ALFONSE: ANIMAL CANADA BLUNDERLAND AUSTRALIA LA CLIQUE UK BRIEFS: BITE CLUB AUSTRALIA CIRCA: HUMANS 2.0 AUSTRALIA HOTEL PARADISO UK CIRCUS ABYSSINIA: TULU ETHIOPIA BRAVE SPACE USA REBEL AUSTRALIA SPLASH TEST DUMMIES AUSTRALIA

BOOK NOW underbellyedinburgh.co.uk

list.co.uk/edinburgh-festival |10–16 August 2022 | THE LIST FESTIVAL 5

FRONT

PICTURE: ED MOORE

PICTURE: JULIE HOWDEN

10 p o T

As the Book and Film Festivals join the fray, we pick out a mere ten top events to relish in the coming week, from a comedy duo to an instrumental quartet plus stunning choreography and pitch-perfect family drama

BOOKS

COMEDY

The first author to be nominated for a Booker Prize with a graphic novel is back with Acting Class, a tale of a group under the spell of a creepy instructor. See page 38. Edinburgh College Of Art, 13 August.

Amy Gledhill and Chris Cantrill have done it again, concocting a triumph of silliness by creating a world and cramming it full of great gags. See page 59. Monkey Barrel, until 28 August.

THE DELIGHTFUL SAUSAGE

NICK DRNASO

PICTURE: CHEN CHIH-CHANG

THEATRE

MEDEA

Adura Onashile takes on the role of a lifetime as a tortured woman at the heart of Euripides’ tale, adapted here by Liz Lochhead. See page 10. The Hub, 10–28 August.

PICTURE: GAVIN SMART

DANCE

MUSIC

KIDS

The Taiwan Season has truly taken off with this scintillating piece of choreography from the hugely talented Lai Hung-Chung. See page 75. Dance Base, until 28 August

Latin rhythms meet psych-pop for a unique experience from this infectious and international quartet, touring on the back of their debut album. See page 96. Summerhall, 16 August.

An Australian circus duo create chaotic fun in this tale of siblings trying to clear up their bedroom. See page 89. Assembly George Square Gardens, until 28 August.

THEATRE

FILM

Lucy Gaizely’s 21Common resurrect their 2019 piece which considers whether we should let children run things. See page 103. Assembly Rooms, 15–21 August.

Scottish director Charlotte Wells' big-screen debut is a touching father/daughter story starring Normal People’s Paul Mescal. See page 22. VUE Omni, 12 August; Filmhouse, 15 August.

SEE YOU

LOS BITCHOS

CHORES

PICTURE: JAMES DEACON

COMEDY

LIZ KINGSMAN

DANCE

COPPÉLIA

Jess And Morgs update this ballet inspired by ETA Hoffmann's story, transplanting its tale of control and robots to contemporary Silicon Valley. See page 25. Festival Theatre, 14–16 August. 6 THE LIST FESTIVAL | 10–16 August 2022 | list.co.uk/edinburgh-festival

After scooping a South Bank Award for her One-Woman Show, the Massive Dad member brings this meta affair and tests it out on the Fringe. See page 52. Traverse Theatre, 16–28 August.

IN THE INTEREST OF HEALTH AND SAFETY

AFTERSUN

XXX

TOP TALENT CONTINUE TO DAZZLE VISITORS AT JOHNNIE WALKER PRINCES STREET For those who are yet to experience Johnnie Walker Princes Street, going into the Journey of Flavour tour is best kept as a surprise, ready for you to explore. The 90-minute experience covers the 200-year history of Johnnie Walker through personalised cocktails,light shows, projections and performance. Guests can expect to wind their way through a series of rooms as they learn about the world of whisky. Bringing the story to life is a series of actors and hosts who guide guests through this one-of- a-kind building. Working in the senior management team is Tony Broonford, who trained at one of London’s top drama schools. His career has taken him across the world for the last 22 years, including appearing in a film starring Ewan MacGregor and touring productions of Cabaret, before landing at Johnnie Walker Princes Street Speaking about the Journey of Flavour tour, Tony said: “I love watching people visit who think it’s going to be a standard whisky tour and walk out of our Journey of Flavour whisky tour who are just blown away with what this tour delivers in experience, knowledge and originality. “We’re all so excited for our doors being open during The Fringe Festival for the first time and welcoming people from around the world as they descend on Edinburgh to celebrate the arts and culture.” Helping Tony in welcoming guests to Edinburgh, is Sarah and Andrew.

Joining the team from launch, the pair are no strangers to the Fringe. In 2017, Sarah co-wrote and performed a show in the free festival, going on to win the Scottish Arts Club Bright Spark Award that year. In his spare time from welcoming guests to Johnnie Walker Princes Street, Andrew will also be hosting his own show at The Fringe Festival in a production of Kinky Boots. Speaking on the Fringe, Sarah said: “I love how alive the city becomes; how anything goes and how every ‘nook and cranny’ is transformed into some sort of performance space. We’ll even be hosting our own Pick of the Fringe series in the venue, which we’re all snapping up tickets for. It’s my favourite month of the year and still my favourite place to be in August.” Departing several times an hour, seven days a week, festival goers can catch Andrew and Sarah perform as part of the Journey of Flavour tour and enjoy a show like no other before embarking through the history of Scotland, drink in hand.

Book now at johnniewalkerprincesstreet.com

drinkaware.co.uk for the facts list.co.uk/edinburgh-festival |10–16 August 2022 | THE LIST FESTIVAL 7

festival

M O U T H P IE C E FRONT

sition Author David Keenan talks about the tran and from page to stage of his debut novel p, its portrayal of fictional Airdrie rock grou Memorial Device

wrote This Is Memorial Device out of fantasy and gratitude. Gratitude, for the magical childhood I had growing up in a supposedly crap town (Airdrie), and fantasy, as I recalled my fevered imaginings of how all the post-punk and alternative kids I would see mooching around the high street were living their liberated lives. I pictured the poets they were reading, the music they were working on, their daring love lives, all of the drugs they were taking, and I knew that one day I would memorialise this glorious moment when the streets of working-class towns felt like daring catwalks, like avant-garde theatre. But I came to realise that Memorial Device were never mine, exclusively, and never could be. As the cult around the book grew, strangers would approach me in the street and tell me some mad story, inevitably prefacing it with ‘this is pure Memorial Device’. A Twitter account sprung up (@memorialdevice which currently has 33K followers) that literally read the book’s mind, that understood it completely, despite being run by a complete stranger.

The true story of post-punk was never the big bands that made it into the NME or onto Top Of The Pops. It was more truly visioned by the band that made one inspired demo tape and then split, by the girls that published a couple of fanzines, the group of kids that started promoting shows in their hometown, pasting up posters and handing out DIY flyers. And the question the book asks is this: is it possible to be perfectly in that moment, to understand the significance of the time as it happens? Or is it only in retrospect that we realise its magic? As the theatre production opens in Edinburgh, I can feel my grip on the world of Memorial Device loosening still. It’s a world that has to exist in countless iterations, because everyone has their own ‘pure Memorial Device’ story, their own artistic/musical/sexual epiphanies, their own precious memories of the times. And so it is a telling that demands multiple takes, contradictory readings, even, in the style of the book itself. This Is Memorial Device is also about force of belief and evangelism. Paul Higgins, as the narrator Ross Raymond, seems the perfect choice to bring that kind of revivifying monomania to life and to conjure his own (your own, my own) Memorial Device. Because it’s not easy being Iggy Pop in Airdrie, for anyone, anywhere.  This Is Memorial Device, Edinburgh College Of Art, 13 August, 3.30pm, 14–29 August, 8.30pm; David Keenan, Edinburgh College Of Art, 13 August, 9.30pm.

joke alarm There are some traditions that are eternally bound up in an Edinburgh August: locals whining about the streets being too busy; a ‘classic’ Auld Reekie downpour resulting in several bouts of trench foot; early September having the empty, haunting vibe of a ghost town as Scotland’s capital is effectively abandoned by the citizens of England’s capital. But when magician Mat Ricardo was confronted with yet another standard Festival occurrence (that of a venue alarm going off mid-show), he simply took his act onto the pavement just outside Teviot and regaled the viewing public with his adaptable skills. We know that Basil Brush’s show was also interrupted but the Fox news was that he laid low while panic ensued then abated.  Mat Ricardo: The Extraordinary Gentleman, Gilded Balloon Teviot, until 28 August, 12.15pm.

8 THE LIST FESTIVAL | 10–16 August 2022 | list.co.uk/edinburgh-festival

playLIST More of this year's Festival is summed up in song in our latest playList, featuring artists like Japan, Gary Puckett, The Beatles, Ella Fitzgerald, John Williams, Mr Scruff, Squarepusher, Los Bitchos, Foreigner and many more. Scan and listen as you read:

PICTURE: HOLLY REVELL

AUTHOR ANIMALS

MICHAEL

Rob Biddulph on Ringo:

WHARLEY

He's named after the famous Beatle, but my Ringo is more interested in ham rolls than drum rolls. PICTURE: KITTY BIDDULPH

Myra Dubois gives some more advice to Robert Bathurst

CA Fletcher on Jip:

Good, becoming moderate, occasionally poor.

In the second of an epic three-part battle of the Fringe behemoths, Robert Bathurst airs a problem and pleads, nay begs, for some comfort. Quite why he would choose to seek solace from Myra DuBois is unclear. Well, except for the fact that we asked him to. Anyway, gird all your loins for another spot of auntie agonising . . .

ra Dear My

I am a squirrel in an area of outstanding natural beauty. I lost my parents at an early age and have had no advice and guidance to help me survive in a dangerous world. My question is: where should I keep my nuts?

bert o R r a e D

Firstly, my condolences. An area of outstanding natural beauty (my money is on Leith) is little comfort to the bereaved, and to be orphaned at such a young age would tug at any heart string I imagine. Re: your nuts, I would suggest storage in conditions that will see them preserved across the seasons. Somewhere deep, dark and moist should do the trick. The roots of an elderly birch? The damp soil of an ornate flower bed? The rectal cavity of a consenting loved one?

Georgina Stevens on Geoffrey:

My beautiful dog’s name is Geoffrey and she’s a nine-year-old springer spaniel, named after my grandpa! She is hilarious, obsessed with balls and very affectionate!

Myra

Yours in suggestions, Be well,

n Myra DuBois’ A Problem Shared, Underbelly Bristo Square, until 28 August, 7.45pm; Robert Bathurst stars in Love, Loss And Chianti, Assembly Rooms, until 28 August, 12.55pm.

Rob Biddulph, Saturday 13 August, 10am; CA Fletcher (with Ewan Morrison), Friday 19 August, 5.30pm; Georgina Stevens, Tuesday 30 August, 1.30pm; all events at Edinburgh College Of Art. list.co.uk/edinburgh-festival |10–16 August 2022 | THE LIST FESTIVAL 9

FRONT

PICTURE:

Last week, we had comedians and their canines. This time around we spied that three authors were pictured with their pooches in the Book Festival programme. Here they all are with a quick line about their cute little doggy

ADURA ONASHILE

MEDEA

“

I can absolutely resonate with that feeling of not belonging 10 THE LIST FESTIVAL | 10–16 August 2022 | list.co.uk/edinburgh-festival

”

MEDEA

How do you approach making a notorious character sympathetic? Adura Onashile is attempting that near-impossible task with Medea. Claire L Heuchan talks to this writing, directing and acting triple threat about shaking up the theatre establishment ADURA ONASHILE

PICTURES: JULIE HOWDEN

MEDEA

ADURA ONASHILE

edea is the role of a lifetime for Adura Onashile. She has performed for a range of prestigious groups, including the Royal Shakespeare Company, but this production with National Theatre Of Scotland marks a significant first in her career. ‘As a Black woman, I was getting very particular roles,’ she says. ‘Always playing either enslaved people or prostitutes. And my dream was always to play a classical Greek heroine.’ People began to sit up and take notice of Onashile after her one-woman show, HeLa, in 2013, but disillusioned by the limited roles on offer to Black actors in Scotland, she took matters into her own hands. For the last seven years she focused instead on writing and directing, resulting in sell-

PICTURES: JULIE HOWDEN

12 THE LIST FESTIVAL | 10–16 August 2022 | list.co.uk/edinburgh-festival

out shows and award wins with productions such as Expensive Shit in 2016 and last year’s Ghosts, also for NTS. Her success was undeniable. But Onashile never lost her passion for acting. She auditioned for Liz Lochhead’s Medea with little hope of winning the titular part, but is delighted to be bringing this rebooted classic back onto the stage. ‘It means something to be taking on this character as a Black woman in a Scottish production at the International Festival. It’s part of my own desire to shake things up; to tell the sorts of stories that I don’t see told, by the sorts of people that I don’t see represented.’ There is no bitterness in Onashile as she explains how discrimination has affected the trajectory of her career. She talks openly about how these

ADURA ONASHILE

experiences inform her approach to the role. ‘The truth is you bring yourself to a character. And what’s interesting for me is that Medea is an outsider. She’s not a Greek. There’s a certain suspicion because she’s an immigrant in Corinth. I can absolutely resonate with that feeling of not belonging; that people view you not based on what you’ve done, but where you are from and what you look like. For me, as a Black woman, I feel like I can bring some of that to bear on Medea.’ Outsider or not, Medea isn’t a blameless figure. Betrayed by Jason (her fated love, thanks to Aphrodite’s arrow) she takes a terrible revenge. And yet, though Onashile is a mother herself, she finds empathy for this notorious character. ‘The purpose of her life is to protect Jason. And when he betrays that, she has nothing.’ Onashile’s great hope is that this production will foster empathy in audiences. ‘The real question will be: can you sympathise with a woman who takes her children’s lives? It goes to the heart of whether we can forgive people when they commit actions we find abhorrent. And I think if we can make people sympathise, it will have been a production worth putting on.’ Scotland’s former Makar, Liz Lochhead, who revamped Euripides’ tragedy, is renowned for her subversive storytelling. This only added to the appeal of this role for Onashile. ‘Generally, culture has a problem with depicting women as morally compromised, problematic, or even evil: which is a word I don’t adhere to. But we still have that problem.’ Onashile sees this attempt to show Medea in a different light, to reframe the villain as anti-hero, as a kind of resistance to sexist storytelling. ‘Liz takes a character like Medea and says, “I dare you to look at this woman in all her ugliness, in all her machinations; the places you wouldn’t dare dream of a woman going. I dare you to look at her and still have compassion for her”. Liz Lochhead’s Medea is asking us to really consider what we think women can do, and how we think women can be.’ As well as taking pride in the character, Onashile is thrilled to be bringing this production to Edinburgh. ‘People come from everywhere to the Festival,’ she says. ‘And there’s something about the chemistry of that environment which I don’t experience very often in theatre.’ In Onashile’s view, the Edinburgh Festival offers exciting possibilities for Scottish culture. ‘I’m not saying the Festival achieves it, but there’s definitely the opportunity to have more diverse audiences and more diverse shows. To keep striving to represent the world as we see it and as we live it.’ Onashile’s career in theatre has an international span. She has travelled across continents and time zones performing for a wide range of audiences who experience the same stories from different cultural contexts. This has taught Onashile valuable lessons about her craft. ‘To a large extent, art is about how it’s received, not what its intention is. And that’s right: the alchemy of it should be happening in the viewer. You can create your work. After that you just have to let it fly, and know that it lives in other people’s heads and hearts in a way that you won’t ever be able to imagine. That’s the beauty of it: letting go of that control.’ When it comes to the subject of creation, Onashile lights up. Her next project is all mapped out. ‘After Medea I go back to finish a film called Girl,’ she says. ‘It’s about a complicated relationship between a mother and a daughter. Girl is a feature film, so it was a big undertaking. I’m really proud of it. I wrote and directed it, which is the most intense thing I’ve ever done in my entire life.’ Medea, The Hub, 10–28 August, times vary.

list.co.uk/edinburgh-festival |10–16 August 2022 | THE LIST FESTIVAL 13

Winner Hard Seltzer Category. Survey of 9,897 people by Kantar.

FIND US AT @eastside.edinburgh

@candybaredinburgh

14 THE LIST FESTIVAL | 10–16 August 2022 | list.co.uk/edinburgh-festival

MEDEA

PICTURE: ALASTAIR COOK

the medea is the message

ven across a Zoom call, Liz Lochhead’s enthusiasm for the new production of her Medea is evident. From its initial staging 20 years ago (around the time, she observes, that National Theatre Of Scotland was emerging), her version of Euripides’ tragedy has become something of a contemporary classic. Her distinctive approach towards adaptations, whether the comedies of Molière, medieval mystery plays or classical scripts, combines a respect for the source material alongside a modern sensitivity and a dash of Scottish wit. Like Euripides’ script, Lochhead’s Medea is subversive and forceful, immediate and relevant, but equally timeless and philosophical. ‘It has been absolutely fantastic,’ Lochhead says of the NTS decision to develop a new production. ‘It’s been five years coming to fruition, since Jackie Wylie asked to have a meeting with me. She had read Medea on the beach and wanted to do it.’ Although covid has interrupted the process, NTS are finally bringing the show to the International Festival, with a team that has Lochhead excited to see the results. ‘I suggested that Michael Boyd could direct it. He’s been a friend for years; he directed my first play Blood And Ice in 1982.’ Boyd has subsequently been the artistic director of the Royal Shakespeare Company and was knighted in 2012. ‘In the autumn of 2019, he found the Medea he wanted to work with in Adura,’ Lochhead continues. ‘And he is absolutely right: she is fantastic. From the minute I met her, I knew she would be extraordinary. And from then on, it was all go. Until it was postponed!’ The 2000 production is remembered for its fiery impact and Maureen Beattie’s astonishing central performance as well as its ability to depict the conflict between a man and a woman in a way that was both domestic and universal. Lochhead recalls how Euripides’ text was opened up by director Graham McLaren’s insistence that he wanted her version. ‘I was faithful to it, right up to the very end,’ she says. Yet those changes she made reflect both her integrity (the conclusion didn’t sit right with her) and the attitude of classical playwrights. ‘The Greeks used to change it as they went along, and there are various versions of the myth of Medea.’ The script’s subsequent intensity comes from the two minds of Lochhead and Euripides meeting in sympathy. The power of Greek tragedy is not sacrificed. ‘These characters are our contemporaries,’ adds Lochhead. ‘Humans haven’t changed since these Greeks started to tell stories in a different way; you can tell even in the translations that Euripides is radical and cheeky and funny. There is black humour there.’ His tone clearly appeals to Lochhead’s own aesthetic, which drives a script that has become one of the most iconic Scottish theatrical works of the 21st century. ‘It is not a distant and classical thing,’ Lochhead concludes. ‘It is very alive and dynamic.’ The National Theatre Of Scotland version of Liz Lochhead’s Medea is published by Nick Hern Books on 18 August.

list.co.uk/edinburgh-festival |10–16 August 2022 | THE LIST FESTIVAL 15

LIZ LOCHHEAD

Gareth K Vile chats to Liz Lochhead about the enduring quality of her take on Euripides’ classic and why this Greek tragedy remains completely contemporary

PICTURE: 58KG

Tomato

Taiwan Season returns to the Fringe, providing audiences with A Glimpse Of Taiwan The Fringe’s Taiwan Season has been a welcome presence throughout the festival since its inception in 2014, carving out a unique space in Edinburgh with its dynamic and inventive programme of theatre, interpretive dance and innovative talks. Corralling the shows this year is the theme ‘A Glimpse Of Taiwan’, which presents four works mixing ingenuity and originality. Light Of Life (Assembly George Square, until 28 August, 1pm) by the long-established Diabolo Dance Theatre, is emblematic of the creativity on display in the season. This multimedia circus performance uses the Taiwanese toy diabolo to spin a magical tale of sea goddesses and the four elements. Placing an exciting twist on traditional Taiwanese culture, it’s an awe-inspiring acrobatic spectacle for all ages. Combining feminism and sex positivity with absurdist dance is TOMATO (Summerhall, until 28 August, 3.10pm), which showcases the skills and playful humour of choreographer Chou Kuan Jou. 16 THE LIST FESTIVAL | 10–16 August 2022 | list.co.uk/edinburgh-festival

The production, which includes live camera documentation as part of its performance, sees three dancers explore sexuality in scenes rife with humour and wit. Want a dance performance with some bite? This is the show for you. Wrestling with humanist issues is Shinehouse Theatre’s original work The Whisper Of The Waves (Summerhall, until 28 August, 4.10pm). The show follows the life of a lonely taxi driver and his beloved pot plant, and a same-sex couple debating the merits of surrogate parenting, as they pick up the pieces from a major disaster. Their travails are communicated indirectly through a spirit medium in poetic monologues layered with hope, empathy and an astute understanding of complex social discussions. See You (Summerhall, until 28 August, 5.30pm) continues the season’s theme of the modern meeting the traditional, as dance derived from t’ai chi blends with contemporary concerns. Here, well regarded director Lai Hung-Chung takes the unknowable

PICTURE: CHEN CHIH-CHANG, HUANG YU-HSUAN

See You

PICTURE: TERRY LIN

The Whisper of the Waves

Delve into world-class dance, sensational circus and riveting theatre with this year’s programme

complexity of the human mind and presents it in dance form. In doing so, he studies antisocial characters, attempting to understand their failure to connect with those around them and, by extension, the increasing detachment of society in a globalised world. Complementing the performances are three Connecting With Taiwan seminars, available both online or as free ticketed events, taking place throughout August. These 90-minute talks will expand on themes tackled in the ‘A Glimpse Of Taiwan’ programme, starting with Experimentation And Innovation: Crossing Boundaries In Digital And Performing Arts (Online, 15 August, 11am), which explores the link between online and live shows, and how the world of live touring has altered in the aftermath of covid. Next is Loud And Clear And In Sight: Female Visibility And Creative Voices In The Performing Arts (Dance Base, 15 August, 1.15pm), a timely discussion on the prominence of female artists in the

wake of Taiwan’s first edition of the WOW (Women of the World) Festival, as well as cultural diversity, equality and increasing opportunities for women artists in Taiwan and abroad. Finally, Knowledge In Action: How PerformanceMakers Address Climate Change (Fringe Central, 16 August, 1.30pm) compiles and presents case studies on climate change in a brainstorming session on how performers can harness sustainability in their practice.

Find the full Taiwan Season programme at twseason-edfringe.com.

list.co.uk/edinburgh-festival |10–16 August 2022 | THE LIST FESTIVAL 17

VISIT KALEIDOSCOPE,VOTED GLOBAL WHISKY BAR OF THE YEAR 2022

Scan the code to book your table at Kaleidoscope and quote ‘The List’ to receive your free gift on paying your bill. Why not check out our fringe show To Dram or Not to Dram which is running throughout festival month from Tuesday 9th August.

28 Queen Street, Edinburgh, EH2 1JX 18 THE LIST FESTIVAL | 10–16 August 2022 | list.co.uk/edinburgh-festival

ara Ricote is a deaf Mexican-American-Venezuelan comedian. She is a mixed-race, differently abled, twentysomething-year-old woman. Lara Ricote has redefined ‘triple threat’. ‘Can you imagine I was queer too?’ she laughs. ‘Everybody loves minorities right now and I’m so happy about that. I started putting videos on TikTok about being hard of hearing and all of a sudden, people were like, “I love deaf humour and hard of hearing humour: they rock”.’ Across this year’s Edinburgh Festival, deaf representation is under the spotlight as it follows a period of mainstream breakthroughs: in 2021 Lauren Ridloff became Marvel’s first deaf superhero, playing Makkari in Eternals; this year Troy Kotsur was the first deaf male actor to win an Academy Award; and Tasha Ghouri entered the Love Island villa as the first deaf contestant. And Lara Ricote’s career is skyrocketing following her Funny Women stage award last year (the same one Katherine Ryan scooped in 2008 before blowing up mainstream). Since then, she has been selling out shows, appearing on TV and generally living her best life with a burgeoning comedy career. She debuts in Edinburgh with her stand-up show GRL/LATNX/DEF. ‘There’s a grade of separation between you and the situation all the time,’ says Ricote who was born with degenerative hearing loss and uses both a hearing aid and lip reading to navigate her condition. ‘I feel so disabled when I go to a new country or if anybody speaks in a different accent. I rely so heavily on specific ways mouths move, so if that changes I understand nothing. I don’t know how to sign, which is a lot like the climate crisis. People think, “it’s fine, we don’t need to become vegetarians; someone’s working on it”. I think I don’t need to learn to sign because somebody’s working on that but it’s such a dumbass thing: it’s the one thing that could save me.’ Ricote’s identity is morphing; she admits to only recently realising she was a person of colour. ‘Nobody had told me that’s what I was until I moved to Europe. I always thought I was white.’ When it comes to the complexity of intersectionality, Rinkoo Barpaga’s one-man theatre show Made In India Britain addresses identity through the lens of race and disability.

Sign of the times

list.co.uk/edinburgh-festival |10–16 August 2022 | THE LIST FESTIVAL 19

DEAF CULTURE

Better representation of deaf people in the arts can give us new and alternative perspectives. Zara Janjua catches up with a few of the acts hoping to bring that experience to audiences this August

Lara Ricote: GRL/LATNX/DEF, Monkey Barrel The Hive, until 28 August, 3.20pm. Made In India Britain, Pleasance Courtyard, until 29 August, 1.40pm. Sarah Smith: Hear No Evil, Edinburgh College Of Art, 14 August, 1pm. Earwig, Assembly Rooms, until 27 August, 2.10pm. Edinburgh Deaf Festival, various venues, 12–19 August.

20 THE LIST FESTIVAL | 10–16 August 2022 | list.co.uk/edinburgh-festival

PICTURE: TOM BARKER

DEAF CULTURE

It tells the story of South Asian deaf people through his lived experience as a second-generation immigrant growing up against the urban backdrop of Birmingham. ‘I’m deaf and brown, so both of those things were quite a difficult journey. I faced barriers but always found a way around them.’ Barpaga believes the biggest challenge for deaf artists is interpretation. ‘Translators work the same way that Hollywood directors do when they interpret an idea or vision into a film. The interpreter has the same creative licence so it’s translated in a perspective that doesn’t always correlate with what’s happening on stage.’ In the early 19th century, sign language was in its infancy; British Sign Language (BSL) was only officially recognised by the UK government in 2003. At the Edinburgh International Book Festival this year comes Hear No Evil, a performance based on the Bloody Scotland-shortlisted book by Sarah Smith. It tells the story of Jean Campbell, a deaf woman in Glasgow who, in 1817, was accused of murder when her child drowned in the Clyde. The performance explores what was a turning point for deaf rights in Scotland when a helper found a way to interpret Campbell’s hand gestures in court. ‘I was surprised I’d never heard of Jean’s story since it was such a landmark legal case and, although there were newspaper accounts and transcripts of the trial, Jean’s own account was missing,’ says Smith. ‘It took so long for deaf culture and sign language to be recognised as equal. There was so much damage done to generations of deaf children on the receiving end of educational systems that promoted oralism and punished signing.’ Infamously, the term ‘deaf and dumb’ was used widely, creating the stereotype of lower intellect and, as such, deaf people were often overlooked. Back on the Fringe, Time & Again Theatre Company bring us their brand-new show Earwig. Set in 1927, it features the tale of Marigold Webb, a deaf insect collector whose work was ignored. The show captures all that fabulous decadence of the roaring 20s and art-deco style, combined with the weird and wonderfully wacky world of entomology. But at its heart is an exploration of the deaf experience in the early 20th century. ‘There is still a lot of fear around people who are different (discrimination is rooted in fear) and it’s about breaking that down and creating a space to have conversations. Theatre is so good for that,’ says Earwig writer Laura Crow who, like the show’s main character Marigold, became deaf after contracting meningitis. ‘Being deaf does not make you stupid, inarticulate or helpless; it’s merely a different way of experiencing the world. If Earwig makes anyone feel a little more empowered and inspired or if it prompts you to read about women in STEM and notice the huge disparities that still exist today, then we’d see this show as a huge success.’ The Edinburgh Deaf Festival has also launched this year. Running from 12–19 August, this ‘festival-within-a-festival’ is organised by Deaf Action to celebrate deaf culture, language and heritage with shows like Spill Your Drink: A Deaf Cabaret which features drag and drama using BSL, and a Deaf Rave in the underground car park at St James Quarter. Deaf representation offers audiences new perspectives, alternative views and a wealth of stories and experiences. Hopefully, this August marks a long overdue celebration of deaf culture.

Previous page: Lara Ricote, (from top) Earwig, Made In India Britain, Spill Your Drink

FUEL YOUR CREATIVITY

ARTIST MEALS* 7 P M - 1 0 P M D A I LY 28 JUL - 28 AUG festival.summerhall.co.uk

*Any participants of Ed Fringe, while stocks last! list.co.uk/edinburgh-festival |10–16 August 2022 | THE LIST FESTIVAL 21

AFTERSUN

family matters

Charlotte Wells 22 THE LIST FESTIVAL | 10–16 August 2022 | list.co.uk/edinburgh-festival

AFTERSUN

Charlotte Wells has made a lauded debut feature about a father and daughter relationship. As Aftersun prepares to open up the Edinburgh International Film Festival, James Mottram speaks to this Scottish director and Irish star Paul Mescal about photo albums, big ideas and the 1990s

harlotte Wells is sitting in a noisy beach bar alongside a moustachioed Paul Mescal, the Irish actor whose career took off two years ago when he starred in the BBC adaptation of Sally Rooney’s Normal People. We’re at the Cannes Film Festival, where Wells’ debut Aftersun has just played in Critics’ Week. The early reviews have been glowing: trade paper Variety called it ‘sensuous’, ‘sharply moving’ and ‘one of the more crisp, confident first films to emerge from the British independent scene of late’. Now it’s opening this year’s Edinburgh International Film Festival. Set in the 1990s in a Turkish island holiday resort, Aftersun follows the undulating relationship between Calum (Mescal) and his 11-yearold daughter Sophie (Frankie Corio), who now lives with her mother in Glasgow. Sophie was born when he was young, and Calum struggles with the idea of fatherhood and responsibility. ‘My parents were young when I was born,’ says Wells. ‘Flipping through holiday albums, I was just struck how young they looked, especially as I neared the age that they were in those photographs.’ If this was a starting point for the 35-year-old Wells, she clearly has nostalgia for the era. ‘I was pretty bang on Frankie’s age in the late 90s,’ she says. Blur’s ‘Tender’ and REM’s ‘Losing My Religion’ dreamily float across the soundtrack. ‘I remember those songs. I remember standing in HMV, contemplating what I could afford. A single on tape or, like, do you splurge for the single on CD?’ Mescal, who was born in

1996, has the faintest recollections of the decade. ‘When I think about the 90s, I think about photographs of my family,’ he smiles. Physical media, and how much emotion we attach to it, is central to the film, with the older Sophie (Celia Rowlson-Hall) looking back through old video-tape footage of her father, which is used as a framing device. Similarly, Wells has a tape of herself, aged ten, playing chess with her father. ‘We’re all cut off from the neck up,’ she says. ‘Our heads are not in the footage. Just our bodies. For a full hour of just silent chess playing, music in the background. And it’s absurd. But it has such meaning to you when you look back, regardless of what it is. Though it is often really banal.’ Yet there’s nothing banal about Mescal’s performance, nor the bond he and Corio form on screen. ‘I truly fell in love with Calum when I first read the script,’ he says. ‘I love when you see a character trying their hardest and failing; it’s a total tragedy to me. I think he’s fundamentally a good father. I think he’s got this duality with what he wants from his life versus what’s actually happening.’ Like his grand plan to open a café. ‘I think there’s something kind of Willy Loman-esque about that. The aspiration of your life versus the reality.’ He recalls one scene, a conversation between Calum and Sophie, all shot in the reflection of a turned-off TV set in their hotel bedroom. ‘I hadn’t even finished it at that point. I phoned my agent and said, “this is astounding’’.’ He’s not the only one to think that. Wells, who studied film at NYU after reading classics at King’s College London, benefitted from Moonlight director Barry Jenkins’ ‘very astute eye’, with his company Pastel producing Aftersun. But will she come back to Scotland to make a film? ‘Yeah, one day. I’m not sure when. I find myself constantly writing from some type of personal place.’ Aftersun screens at VUE Omni, 12 August, 6.50pm, 7pm, and at Filmhouse, 15 August, 1.30pm; the film goes on general release in November. list.co.uk/edinburgh-festival |10–16 August 2022 | THE LIST FESTIVAL 23

24 THE LIST FESTIVAL | 10–16 August 2022 | list.co.uk/edinburgh-festival

COPPÉLIA

POWER OFF

PICTURES: GAVIN SMART

Scottish Ballet’s new production of an old story marks another bold moment in Edinburgh International Festival’s recent history. As dance-film choreographers Jess And Morgs bring Coppélia bang up to date, Lucy Ribchester hears about a tale of robots, mansplaining and villainous CEOs

>> list.co.uk/edinburgh-festival |10–16 August 2022 | THE LIST FESTIVAL 25

COPPÉLIA

t’s a story about distorted reality, a human avatar and falling for someone who isn’t real. ETA Hoffmann’s ‘Der Sandmann’ (a short story that inspired the ballet Coppélia) was penned in 1816 but could have been written for current times. Now Scottish Ballet have commissioned a new version of Coppélia, choreographed and directed by dance-film duo, Jess And Morgs (aka Jessica Wright and Morgann Runacre-Temple), which the company have described as one of their ‘most ambitious productions yet’. Mixing digital and live action, it aims to bring Hoffmann’s sinister, comic tale bang up to date, while tackling head on the fears and follies of artificial intelligence. ‘What drew us to the story was the idea of artifice and illusion,’ says Runacre-Temple. ‘The preoccupation with what is real, and what is fantasy. We’re interested in working a lot with that on film. And that slightly surreal,

26 THE LIST FESTIVAL | 10–16 August 2022 | list.co.uk/edinburgh-festival

uncanny territory is part of the original story.’ The themes of Hoffmann’s tale have certainly stood the test of time. A young man falls for an automaton, and believing her to be real, ‘woos’ her with a chivalrous cocktail of mansplaining, bad poetry (obviously she is too blown away to respond) and public praise for her passive feminine behaviour. In the ballet version, all this is disrupted by the young man’s fiancée, Swanhilda, who takes matters into her own hands to win him back, along the way exposing us to some crucial differences between humans and dolls. Runacre-Temple calls Swanhilda ‘the big saviour of the story’, and says that ‘for us, certainly, she is somebody that tells us quite clearly the female body is not an object’. Meanwhile, pulling all the strings is inventor Dr Coppelius, on a quest to push the boundaries of technology and further his own power.

COPPÉLIA

It was this latter theme, particularly, that caught the attention of Jess And Morgs, and led to them characterising Dr Coppelius as a Silicon Valley CEO. ‘We were very interested in this kind of cult-like figure,’ continues RunacreTemple, ‘and the power that goes with a cult-like brand; the unregulated power that becomes so huge and unwieldy.’ They started thinking about Steve Jobs (‘who obviously isn’t villainous,’ adds Runacre-Temple) before the idea branched out to include figures like Elon Musk and others ‘who kind of feel like they’re slightly losing their grip on reality’. Jess And Morgs are no strangers to mixing the real and the artificial in their own work. They met as dancers at Central Ballet School 20 years ago and began making dance films on early phone cameras. This led to further projects, garnering them awards on the festival circuit and screenings on Channel 4 and the BBC. They first began working with Scottish Ballet in 2019 on dance film Tremble, before directing the company’s first feature film, The Secret Theatre (2020). Their Coppélia aims to bear out as a playful, mind-bending mixture of live action, live capture and pre-recorded

action, with dancers filming each other in real time, and the audience having to question what exactly they’re witnessing. ‘We’re playing with that illusion of what’s really happening before our own eyes and what isn’t happening,’ says Runacre-Temple. ‘The play with time and space carries over as the form of how we’re choosing to tell this story.’ With that in mind, does Runacre-Temple worry about the future, or is technology something essential to our lives (and their work)? ‘It’s funny isn’t it,’ she says. ‘When you talk about technology, you can quite quickly talk about your fears. And I do have a lot of fears. I have a daughter, and I wonder, “is she going to learn about the world through social media? Is that going to be her first experience of relationships?” But on a daily basis, you know . . . we’re going to Zoom with the video designer tomorrow. We’re talking to the composer on Zoom . . . technology is absolutely incredible.’ Scottish Ballet: Coppélia, Festival Theatre, 14–16 August, 7.30pm; 16 August, 2.30pm.

list.co.uk/edinburgh-festival |10–16 August 2022 | THE LIST FESTIVAL 27

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28 THE LIST FESTIVAL | 10–16 August 2022 | list.co.uk/edinburgh-festival

ART ART LATE

Exhibitions and live work, plus curators and artists in conversation, are the order of the day as Art Late (another offshoot of the main Edinburgh Art Festival) returns with a blast. The first night of two (the second on 25 August is strictly an online affair) features performances from Quinie (pictured), Ashanti Harris and Cooking Sections whose exhibition with Sakiya can also be spied here. Plus, there’s a stamp workshop and seed planting as organisers try to get as far away from a traditional art happening as possible. (Brian Donaldson)  Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, 11 August, 6.30pm.

list.co.uk/edinburgh-festival |10–16 August 2022 | THE LIST FESTIVAL 29

REVIEWS

COOKING SECTIONS & SAKIYA

ART

IN THE EDDY OF THE STREAM lllll

LORNA ROBERTSON

THOUGHTS, MEALS, DAYS lllll

'Bright colours only' appears to be the credo of Glasgow-based artist Lorna Robertson in her exhibition of new paintings. These are possessed with a vintage air, both in the figures of women who occupy them (like they might have walked out of a Katherine Mansfield short story) and in the sense of psychoanalysis-induced free associations that seem to spirit from their minds, beyond their blank mannequin visages. Lined up like showroom dummies in pink and lemon apparel, these silent women appear to have taken a wrong turn while lost in their own dreamings, finding themselves among some cartoon foliage, out of which their minds rush with images both pastoral and domestic. In ‘Dumb’, Robertson’s women could be a display in a milliner’s window. ‘We are the robots’ sees them perusing vases of flowers like judges at a fete. In ‘Words murmured’, they share swishy conspiracies. Elsewhere, they are all but hidden by barricades of busy, allangles abstractions. thoughts, meals, days is an animated feature waiting to happen. Then again, perhaps Robertson’s inscrutable characters prefer the stillness, hiding in plain sight while their minds race onwards. (Neil Cooper)

RUTH EWAN

THE BEAST lllll

A comment on morality in the face of capitalism, Ruth Ewan’s The Beast combines animation, wall text and geological exhibits. Known for her commitment to social justice and anti-capitalism, this Aberdeenborn artist explores the morality of entrepreneurship through Scottish-American steel tycoon Andrew Carnegie in A Christmas Carol-style reflection on a life of wealth and gluttony. The Beast portrays an animated conversation between Carnegie and a Diplodocus carnegii, a dinosaur he named after himself, its fossil having been discovered in Wyoming on an 1899 expedition he funded. The dinosaur confronts Carnegie in a memorable and straight-to-the-point dialogue that leaves viewers pondering the meaning of money. Animated in the style of 19th-century satirical magazine Puck, we see a kilted Carnegie face the wrongdoings he committed in the accumulation of his wealth. Complementing the short film are two collections of artefacts relating to Carnegie and his work, as well as geological minerals connected to steel production, donated by Edinburgh University’s Cockburn Geological Museum. A subtle yet affecting element of the exhibition is a wall text adjacent to Ewan’s animation. A list of those who died at the Battle Of Homestead (Carnegie’s steel factory) in 1892 highlights the individuals who lost their lives fighting for fairer pay and better working conditions. Homestead was a bloody event that reportedly ended unionisation in the US steel industry for 40 years. This thoughtful and direct criticism of capitalism, wealth and greed is more than worth the walk up Calton Hill. (Rachel Cronin) n Collective, until 18 September.

30 THE LIST FESTIVAL | 10–16 August 2022 | list.co.uk/edinburgh-festival

PICTURE: JCCOTTO

This summer, Inverleith House has been transformed into an experimental dimension where the synergies between plants and politics are ripe for the picking. A unique union between the work of Cooking Sections and the Palestinian collective Sakiya, In The Eddy Of The Stream cleverly illuminates how land ownership can cause long-term harm to communities and nonhuman species. Testament to the exhibition’s thoughtful curation, Sakiya presents some panels translated in Scots Gaelic and Arabic (a rarity for galleries in the UK). Through a decolonial lens, they amend the histories of Palestinian plant pressings belonging to the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh. As a collective, they’re skilled at responding to site-specific stimulus; however, without advanced knowledge in botany, this section of the exhibition is difficult to understand. Cooking Sections installation/performance ‘Oyster Readings’ steals the show; a hauntingly intimate and introspective experience which feels dangerously therapeutic. While 'Oyster Readings' tells of Scottish waters, ‘Mussel Beach’ transports visitors to California through a surreal audio workout. This installation is less harmonious in the space, but most of the other work responds successfully to the striking surroundings of the Botanics. (Rachel Ashenden) n Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, until 18 September.

ART

ART HIGHLIGHTS

The Edinburgh Art Festival continues to thrive with exhibitions celebrating Italian renaissance artists and Scottish nature

DANIEL SILVER

PICTURE: ANAT

The Jerusalem-raised artist brings us an exploration of connectivity and togetherness via an array of clay ‘humans’. n Fruitmarket, until 25 September.

NADIA MYRE

OMICAL

A multi-format show from this Montreal-based artist exploring migratory routes starting on the Union Canal. n Edinburgh Printmakers, until 28 August.

MUSEUM COLLEC

DUNCAN SHANKS

TION, UN

Anatomy (and bottom from left), Daniel Silver, Duncan Shanks, Platform

IVERSITY

Working from his home in the Clyde Valley, this Scottish painter finds inspiration in the transience of nature. n Scottish Gallery, until 27 August.

OF EDINBU

PLATFORM

ANATOMY

An exhibition that goes deep under the skin of Edinburgh’s anatomical past and considers the ethical complexities of medical advancement. n National Museum Of Scotland, until 30 October.

RGH

Four graduates from Glasgow, Dundee and Edinburgh have their work showcased in an annual bonanza of emerging talent. n French Institute Of Scotland, until 28 August.

RAPHAEL

This digital art exhibition and contemporary tapestry marks just over 500 years since the birth of the iconic Italian renaissance artist. n Dovecot Studios, until 24 September.

YAN WANG PRESTON

An audio-visual installation which explores the ecological term ‘non-native and invasive species’, relating it to both xenophobia and rhododendrons. n Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, until 28 August.

PICTURE: SALLY JUBB PHOTGRAPHY

PICTURE: SØLVE SUNDSBØ

list.co.uk/edinburgh-festival |10–16 August 2022 | THE LIST FESTIVAL 31

G N I R F L A V I T S E F E T TH A S W O H S D E T A R THE BEST CU

m o .c t s e F d E t a s fer f O e v i s u l c x E y l Dai

comedy

she from? After selling out her show internationally, including at the Just for Laughs Festival, Melbourne International Comedy Festival and FringeWorld in Perth, Canadian Academy Award-nominated actress and comedian, Aliya Kanani, is excited to bring her sought-after show for her Edinburgh Fringe debut! Aliya takes us on a turbulent journey around the world with tales of fitting in, sticking out and standing up. Her pleasant nature, combined with her fiery spirit will leave you energized and uplifted. ‘Feel connected to humanity through humour’ (FourthWallMedia.wordpress.com).

PLEASANCE TARTAN RIBBON COMEDY BENEFIT

Pleasance Courtyard, 16th August, 19:30, £15 The best night of comedy on the Fringe returns! Join us for a raucous night of laughter, raising much-needed funds for Waverley Care – Scotland’s HIV and Hepatitis C charity. The Tartan Ribbon has become a much-loved staple of the Fringe each year. Previous acts include: Michael McIntyre, Russell Howard, Katherine Ryan, Tim Vine, Jason Byrne and loads more big names. Following two years of affected services, raising both money and a smile for Waverley Care has never been more important! It’s guaranteed to sell out, so book your tickets early!

GILDED BALLOON Late ‘n’ Live

ASSEMBLY

festival! Previous guests include: David O’Doherty, Jason Byrne, Lou Sanders, Josh Widdicombe, Adam Hills, Milton Jones, Desiree Burch, Tom Allen, Phoebe Robinson, Phil Wang, Joe Lycett and many more. Full line-ups at assemblyfestival.com.

BEST OF THE FEST

JUST THE TONIC

Assembly Hall – Main Hall, 5-7, 11-14, 18-21, 25-28 August, 23:55 £13.50-£16.50 (£13.50£15.50). Preview 5th, 6th, 7th £11-£12 The best mixed-bill comedy night in Edinburgh, featuring your favourite comedians from around the Fringe. A perfect way to experience the

ALIYA KANANI: WHERE YOU FROM, FROM?

Just The Tonic at The Tron, 4-14, 16-28 August, 19:40 £7-£10 (£5-£7) Preview 4th August, £5 30 countries, 10 schools, 6 languages... so, where’s

32 THE LIST FESTIVAL | 10–16 August 2022 | list.co.uk/edinburgh-festival

LATE’N’LIVE

Gilded Balloon Teviot – Debating Hall, 4-29 August, 23:30, £13-£15 (£12.50 - £14.50), Preview 4th and 5th, £12.50 ‘The best late-night show on the Fringe’ (The Scotsman) returns in all its glory, featuring a stellar line-up of the very best acts from across the festival every night. The original and still the best late-night comedy show at the Fringe hosted by the best MCs in the country including Thanyia Moore, Kiri Pritchard-McLean, Jay Lafferty and Lou Conran. Previous acts include Johnny Vegas, Bill Bailey, Shaparak Khorsandi, Rich Hall, Lou Sanders, Jason Byrne, Adam Hills, Maisie Adam, Dara O’Briain, Russell Brand, Fred MacAulay, Jayde Adams and loads more.

BOOK ONLINE AT EDFEST.COM

ZOO DON’T SAY MACBETH

ZOO Playground – Playground 2, 5-9, 11-16, 18-23, 25-28 August, 15:35, £12-£13 (£10-£11) Preview 5th and 6th £8 Come backstage for the world premiere of soonto-be smash-hit Double Bubble: The Musical. That’s right. It’s Macbeth from the perspective of the three witches. Unfortunately, things aren’t going to plan. The composers have stolen the songs, the performers have forgotten their lines and the technical team are technically incompetent. In under one hour, can this company ruin music and Macbeth for a generation? Join us as we crash through the canon of musical theatre and find out what happens when the hurlyburly’s done. Under rehearsed, under slept and under extreme duress, GOYA presents a musical catastrophe.

PLEASANCE FANTASTICALLY GREAT WOMEN WHO CHANGED THE WORLD

Pleasance Courtyard – The Grand, 4-9,11-16, 18-23, 25-29 August, 13:30 £22 (£20) Preview 4th £16.50 The Fringe premiere of new kickass-pirational pop musical from one of the producers of hit SIX, that celebrates the lives of Frida Kahlo, Rosa

musicals & opera Parks, Emmeline Pankhurst and many more. Join our inquisitive heroine Jade as she breaks away from her class to take a peek at the not yet open Gallery of Greatness in the local museum where she meets some of history’s incredible wonder women. Celebrated dramatist Chris Bush and No 1 hit songwriter Miranda Cooper (Girls Aloud, Kylie Minogue) adapt suffragette descendent Kate Pankhurst’s award-winning picture book.

UNDERBELLY UNFORTUNATE: THE UNTOLD STORY OF URSULA THE SEA WITCH

Underbelly, George Square – Udderbelly, 3-29 August, 17:55 £17.50-£19.50 (£16.50£18.50) Previews 3rd, 4th, 5th £12.50 (£11.50) Disney villain. Octo-woman. Plus-size icon. From multi award-winning Fat Rascal Theatre and fresh from sell-out runs around the UK comes this critically acclaimed hit parody musical. Unfortunate splashes into Edinburgh with a 70-minute festival version – and things are gonna get wet. Join everyone’s favourite Disney Diva, Ursula, as she gives her take on what really happened all those years ago under the sea. With an original hot pop soundtrack and trademark filthy humour, the legendary queer queen is ready to spill, in this tell-all tale of sex, sorcery and suckers.

GILDED BALLOON LIZARD BOY

Gilded Balloon Patter Hoose – Big Yin, 3-14, 16-28 August, 18:30 £14-£16(£13-£15) Previews 3rd, 4th, 5th £10 During a bizarre childhood accident, Trevor was drenched head to toe in dragon’s blood. Growing green and scaly skin, he withdrew from the world. Tonight – 20 years later – Trevor meets a cute guy on a first date and ends up on an adventure of mythic proportions. Equal parts comic book lore and coming-of-age love story, Lizard Boy is the thrilling original rock musical that’s been called ‘ingenious’ (San Francisco Chronicle), ‘phenomenal’ (MercuryNews.com) and ‘ferocious and funny’ (Seattle Times). Featuring the award-winning, original American cast and starring author/actor Justin Huertas. Unfortunate: The Untold Story of Ursula The Sea Witch

CABARET & VARIETY ASSEMBLY BRIEFS: SWEATSHOP

Assembly George Square Gardens – Palais du Variete, 3-14, 16-21, 23-28 August, 22:05 £15.50-£17.50 (£14.50-£16.50) Previews 3rd and 4th £12.50 (£11.50) Show up, clock in, get in formation and be ready to claim time and a half because this entertainment will cost you – and our preferred method of payment is sweat. Sweatshop gathers a labour force of your favourite Briefs Factory boys, under the steely stewardship of host Tash York, leading a core production line of workers into overtime. Manufacturing a conveyor belt of high-quality circus treats, cultivated by a warehouse of sweaty, motivated mischief-makers gunning for employee of the month. You want fun? This is the factory of fun!

SUMMERHALL LIFE IS SOFT

Summerhall – Anatomy Lecture Theatre, 3, 5-14 August, 20:20 £13 (£11) Preview 3rd August £13 (£11) Life is Soft – Martin Creed, Turner prize-winning artist. Performer. Composer. ‘Punk poet’ (The

Guardian). Anti-war. Warm-hearted. Heartwarming. Head-scratching. Hair-combing. Talk. Songs. ‘Catchy punk-folk-minimalist tunes’ (New York Times). Cabaret. Feelings. Spoken word. Love. Jokes. Tricks. Friendly. ‘Creed is a social artist’ (The Observer Observer). Loneliness. Experimental. Piano. Juggling. Clothes, including socks. Ideas. Thoughts. Bums. How to live. Spelling mistakes. Hard-hitting. Easy-going.

UNDERBELLY CIRQUE ALFONSE: ANIMAL

Underbelly’s Circus Hub on the Meadows – The Lafayette 6-9, 11-14, 16-21, 23-27 August, 16:25 £17.50-£19.50 (£16.50-£18.50) Cirque Alfonse takes us through a series of surreal farm fables served up with a touch of irreverence, impressive virtuosity and the company’s familiar comic touch. In this reinvented agricultural world, the farm is turned upside down! Yet again, the Cirque Alfonse clan has favoured its multidisciplinary approach where circus, song, dance and theatre all come together, driven by original live music... an irresistible mix of trad and soul that the troupe calls agricultural funk! A production for young and old alike, Animal is the farm gone haywire!

DANCE BASE RED

Dance Base – Studio 1, 16-21, 23-28 August, 14:50 £14-£15 (£12-£13) Red is fearless, Red is fierce, Red is powerful – a one-woman dance theatre work with a hint of fun and fabulousness. You will laugh, you’ll cry, you won’t forget. A poignant, riotous, glamorous and ultimately triumphant exploration of one woman’s story – an exquisite exploration of female endurance. Described as unforgettable, shattering and hilarious, Red is a soul-baring retelling of one woman’s journey through illness and recovery with an eye to the future. Honest, face-to-face dialogue with the audience, balanced with beautifully framed film and movement.

list.co.uk/edinburgh-festival |10–16 August 2022 | THE LIST FESTIVAL 33 Briefs: Sweatshop

#EDINTFEST

ROOM SUPPORTED BY SIR EWAN AND LADY BROWN

LA COMPAGNIE DU HANNETON JAMES THIERRÉE CREATOR, DIRECTOR & ORIGINAL MUSIC

WITH ADDITIONAL SUPPORT FROM INSTITUT FRANÇAIS DU ROYAUME-UNI

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34 THE LIST FESTIVAL | 10–16 August 2022 | list.co.uk/edinburgh-festival

Room © Richard Haughton Charity No SC004694

Enter an extraordinary world of wonder

NADIFA MOHAMED

A couple of years back, Nadifa Mohamed could be seen jousting amicably with Irvine Welsh on his Sky TV documentary about offensiveness. In her Booker-shortlisted novel, The Fortune Men, she tackles a topic that is truly shocking: a British justice system that is skewed for and against certain kinds of people. Her tale may be set in the early 1950s but it could just as easily be planted in the depressing here and now. She chats at the Edinburgh International Book Festival with Jess Brough as they ponder the question, ‘for whom is justice served?’ (Brian Donaldson)  Edinburgh College Of Art, 16 August, 1.30pm.

list.co.uk/edinburgh-festival |10–16 August 2022 | THE LIST FESTIVAL 35

BOOKS

“

BOOKS

MOHSIN HAMID

We are culturally merging with machines

”

PICTURE: JILLIAN EDELSTEIN

36 THE LIST FESTIVAL | 10–16 August 2022 | list.co.uk/edinburgh-festival

MOHSIN HAMID

BOOKS

The signature imagination of Mohsin Hamid takes on race in his latest novel. Zara Janjua speaks to the Booker-nominated author as he desperately searches for hope in troubled times

or more than 20 years, Mohsin Hamid has been confronting racial prejudice and challenging violent ideologies through a series of ingeniously crafted, timely novels. The New York Times-bestselling author was shortlisted for the Booker Prize in 2017 for Exit West, in which he imagined a world where magical portals allowed unrestricted travel for refugees, eroding the dynamics of nationalism and xenophobia. His previous titles (Moth Smoke, How To Get Filthy Rich In Rising Asia and The Reluctant Fundamentalist) were globally acclaimed, with the latter adapted by Hollywood in 2013, starring British actor Riz Ahmed. In his latest work, The Last White Man, Mohsin follows Anders, a white man who wakes up one morning with dark skin, as a mysterious condition spreads throughout his town, forcing people to address their latent biases. ‘Race is not a physically objective thing that exists outside us, it’s something we’ve imagined into existence; it’s fictional but made real by people’s belief in it,’ Hamid says. ‘We are culturally merging with machines into this binary way of thinking: you’re a one or a zero. You’re either somebody like me or not like me; you’re either British or you should be thrown out of the country. It’s a very inhumane way of thinking about things.’ The idea was formed following the catastrophic, world-shaking events of 9/11. ‘I lost my partial whiteness,’ says Hamid, who was born in Pakistan but spent a large portion of his life in the US and UK. For the first time, he was being subjected to airport screenings, held at immigration and noticed uncomfortable public reactions to South Asians. ‘I was suddenly being viewed as this person of suspicion and maybe a threat. I began to wonder what I had been complicit in. I also felt this profound sense of loss and it wasn’t clear to me what exactly I’d lost.’ Grief is a central theme throughout his new story, concerning both the death of loved ones and the loss of perceived identity. ‘I think that

there are many facets to identity,’ says Hamid. ‘I don’t think that one’s identity exists in a vacuum; it’s reactive. When I describe myself, it depends on who’s asking and what the context is. But we should be free to change our answers; what I say to you today shouldn’t bind me a year from now.’ His book is an invitation to the reader to enter a world in which race is hugely destabilised. It was penned during the pandemic as the world reeled from a series of unprecedented events: civil unrest, the death of George Floyd and subsequent Black Lives Matter movement. ‘These are things that we would have thought of as inconceivable. The pandemic revealed to all of us that what we consider as reality is actually a very thin veneer that can be rent or torn with incredible ease.’ Examining racial identity as a socially constructed fiction was Hamid’s antidote to the pessimism he feels towards global politics. ‘So much of my life, I lived under the impression that the world was gradually getting better, and lately I’ve been struggling with that. I find my sense of optimism and hope has been knocked. I’m very often fighting off a sense of profound political depression. For me, this book is partly trying to imagine my way out of that; to say, “is it possible to think of a plausible, desirable, inclusive future?” Because if we can’t even imagine that, then in a sense all hope is lost.’ Mohsin Hamid, Central Hall, 13 August, 2.30pm.

list.co.uk/edinburgh-festival |10–16 August 2022 | THE LIST FESTIVAL 37

BOOKS

NICK DRNASO

draw the line

PICTURE: SARAH LEITTEN

Sabrina was the first graphic novel to be longlisted for a Booker Prize. Ahead of Nick Drnaso’s Book Festival appearance, Rosanna Miller learns how the storyteller’s insightful style has continued to blossom

n Acting Class, Nick Drnaso’s latest graphic novel, finely balanced words and pictures unravel snapshots of the lives and psyches of a diverse set of people. There’s a married couple, a single mother, an ex-convict and life model, to name but a few. An ad for a free acting class captures the interest of these characters who are encumbered by social exclusion, interpersonal tensions, identity crises and cognitive disorders. Brought together in this class, the motley troupe are led through a series of imaginative exercises by their creepy, enigmatic instructor, John Smith. The dramatic consequences blur limits between honesty and pretence. Drnaso is transforming the American graphic novel’s status. His 2018 book, Sabrina, which explores dark dimensions of manipulation by digital technology, is the first and to date only graphic novel to be longlisted for a Booker Prize. ‘Acting Class is certainly less bleak, but it’s not really an upbeat story either,’ says the author when comparing his two books. ‘It’s more expansive and less structured than Sabrina but working with an ensemble as opposed to a few main characters was appealing. Visually, Acting Class is a bit more descriptive than Sabrina, which was a goal at the outset.’

>> 38 THE LIST FESTIVAL | 10–16 1–10 August August2022 2022| |list.co.uk/edinburgh-festival list.co.uk/edinburgh-festival

presents

PRINCES ST. GARDENS AUGUST 2022

MICHAEL KIWANUKA SIMPLY RED TOM JONES SIMPLE MINDS MON 08 AUG

+ BROOKE COMBE

TUE 09 AUG WITH SPECIAL GUESTS

WED 10 AUG THU 11 AUG

SECOND NIGHT ADDED DUE TO DEMAND

FRI 12 AUG SAT 13 AUG

+ THE SHIRES

FRI 12 AUG

WED 24 AUGUST ROYAL HIGHLAND SHOWGROUND EDINBURGH

+ WALT DISCO

SAT 13 AUG

+ HAMISH HAWK

SAT 13 AUG ONLY - SPECIAL ANNIVERSARY SHOW - PERFORMING

NEW GOLD DREAM IN FULL + THEIR GREATEST HITS IN AID OF UNICEF’S UKRAINE APPEAL

SUN 14 AUG

TRAVIS

+ FATHERSON

GIGSINSCOTLAND.COM A DF CONCERTS PRESENTATION BY ARRANGEMENT WITH ITB

TICKETS ON SALE NOW SMMRSESSIONS.COM

KING TUT’S

SUMMER NIGHTS

TENEMENT TRAIL

[SEVEN WEEKS OF SUMMER]

14th july - 27th august 2022 > kingtuts.co.uk > #ktsn22

1 TICKET MULTI VENUE

FESTIVAL OF MUSIC DISCOVERY

SAT 8TH OCT 2022

thurs 14th july

fri 15th july

sat 16th july

sun 17th july

SWEET DREAMER

BOOK KLUB

PLASTICINE

GHOSTBABY

HIGHSCHOOL

HUMOUR

LAVENDER LANE

DEAD PONY

ISABELLA STRANGE

MICKEY CALLISTO

PLEASURE HEADS

QUEEN MILLZ

SHE'S IN PARTIES

JOSHUA GRANT PIZZA CRUNCH

RIANNE DOWNEY

SIV JAKOBSEN

SPYRES

SIXPEACE

STRANGE DIMENSIONS

THE DINNER PARTY TOM A SMITH

GALLUS

SHE SLIX

THE BIG DAY

THE KATUNS THE RILLS THE ROYSTON CLUB UNINVITED

WASHINGTON

+ MORE TBA

GLASGOW BARROWLAND BARROWLAND 2

ST LUKE’S

THE WINGED OX

BAAD

VAN WINKLE

sat 23rd july

sun 24th july

SNASH

ECHO MACHINE

RILEY

+ LO RAYS + WINE MOMS + PERMO

+ DILLON SQUIRE + ROSIE H SULLIVAN + TIARA FILTH + CORTNE + THE ABSTRACT DANCERS + KATE KYLE

thurs 28th july

fri 29th july

sat 30th july

sun 31st july

THE HUT SESSIONS

THE KATUNS

KARDO

BROGEAL

+ MATTHEW HALL + BER + CARA MCBRIDE + CALUM VENICE

+ STRAID + VIGILANTI + THE VAUNTS

+ THE FIN + LAZY MONEY + SWAN SONG

+ PANDAS + FUZZY + MADDERAM

thurs 4th aug

fri 5th aug

sat 6th aug

sun 7th aug

ANDREW DICKSON

MIRACLE GLASS COMPANY

NOISE

+ LEWIS MCLAUGHLIN + LEWIS ROSS + MEGAN BLACK

+ CHERRY + CHARLIE

ARCHIE

+ ROBYN RED + SARA RAE + BECKI RUTHERFORD

+ NEWTOWN + CLOAKS + PEDALO

fri 12th aug

sat 13th aug

sun 14th aug

MOY

BOOTLACE

GREG PEARSON

+ AMUR + PENNY MOB + THE THAW thurs 18th aug

STRANGE DIMENSIONS (14+) + NO WINDOWS + THE WITS + GLASS RASPBERRY

thurs 25th aug

+ OTHERS TBC

fri 22nd july

thurs 21st july

UP2STNDRD PRESENTS: NORTHERN LIGHTS

CHEAP TEETH

+ SNEDZ & FINNFM + BITTER SUITE + FUZZY LOP

+ PRESSURE RETREAT + GOODNIGHT LOUISA + BOTTLE ROCKETS

FT: KIKO, CLARISSA WOODS, K-1, PSWEATPANTS, EDZ, MAYO

CALUM BOWIE

+ L-PLATE + LUNA J + STEREO FIRE

+ KATIE GREGSON-MACLEOD + SHORTHOUSE + C4SUAL

OUT (14+) CALUM SOLDBOWIE + SUPPORT

+ STRAWBEY + PHOEBE HALL + KUBA

+ JAMIE RAFFERTY + TOMMY MCGUIRE + CHRISTIE OLIVER

fri 19th aug

sat 20th aug

MEMES

MORRELL

+ ISABELLA STRANGE + THE EXHALES + KILGOUR

sun 21st aug

+ COLA + ARCADE STATE + THE NOTIONS

SILVI

+ MAJESTY PALM + JENNIFER STEWART + DEL PREZ

fri 26th aug

sat 27th aug

SIXPEACE

PIZZA CRUNCH

+ FRIGHT YEARS + CHERRY RED + BEN WALKER

+ VANSLEEP + TINA SANDWICH + STATIC

list.co.uk/edinburgh-festival |10–16 August 2022 | THE LIST FESTIVAL 39

NICK DRNASO

BOOKS

The reader is engaged in trying to discern what is real and what is imagined or pretended, searching for clues in every panel. Such an act places them under the book’s gaze and susceptible to John Smith’s acting exercises. Drnaso’s cartoon style is remarkably subtle, drawing attention to the slightest change of facial expression. ‘I’ve been fashioning a somewhat stiff and contrived drawing style for a number of years, so there was a feeling or a hope that the classroom environment with untrained actors would be a natural fit.’ As the barriers around individual characters break down, they become psychologically intriguing. ‘Speaking only for myself, the people in the story did seem to have some dimension. That was a phenomenon that I think I’ve experienced in smaller ways over the years, like maybe in my first book [Beverly]. But

40 THE LIST FESTIVAL | 10–16 August 2022 | list.co.uk/edinburgh-festival

somehow that was lost in Sabrina and the characters just became these blank dolls whose role was to propel the narrative forward. So it was nice to feel like things were shifting and progressing in that regard.’ As the actors are artfully exposed, their vulnerabilities as well as their tendencies to inflict harm are foregrounded. Characters and readers are confronted with uncomfortable questions about how far empathy really coincides with morality. ‘There are certainly moral questions that are posed to the reader,’ says Drnaso. ‘That was my only hope; that it would be the type of book where a reader would place themselves in the class and wonder how they would handle certain situations or prompts.’ Nick Drnaso, Edinburgh College Of Art, 13 August, 1.30pm.

l Va

Edinburgh International Book Festival 13–29 August 2022

erm

v i Srid h ar

al Wa

de it

Patrick

O cea

A nt h o

H w oro

Over 600 live events. Watch in-person, online and on-demand.

itz

Book tickets: edbookfest.co.uk

PRESENTS

BIGGEST PARTY AT THE FRINGE

CELEBRATING TEN YEARS OF HOT DUB TIME MACHINE

FRI 19TH AUG NEW DATE ADDED DUE TO DEMAND

SAT 20TH AUG S O LD O U T

THE ROYAL HIGHLAND CENTRE EDINBURGH FRINGE 2022 list.co.uk/edinburgh-festival |10–16 August 2022 | THE LIST FESTIVAL 41

PREVIEWS

Top 5

BOOKS

Yvette Fielding’s favourite scary movies THE EXORCIST I remember my mum telling me about going to see this film at the cinema. She described how there were long queues outside, and as the people waited, local church members and St John Ambulance volunteers were trying to persuade people not to go in and watch such a terrifying film. My mum also told me she’d been so frightened after watching it that she kept peeping over my cot to see if I was alright and hadn’t turned Into a possessed demon. THE OTHERS What a wonderful movie this is. I loved watching it as it represented what I and many others believe really happens when we die. The ghosts are still living inside their home, and only now and then do they see and hear the new occupants. The ghosts truly believe that they are the ones being haunted. It scared me to death! THE WOMAN IN BLACK My wonderful friend and fabulous actor Mark Curry starred in the West End production of this remarkable play. With just three actors on the stage, I was rather dubious, thinking ‘how on earth is this play going to scare me?’ My god! It certainly did, and at the end of the play I screamed louder than anyone else. I had another shock as I went backstage to congratulate my

PROFILE

SARAH HALL

The work of Sarah Hall delves into the darkness, absurdities and complications of life, so it’s no surprise that her most recent novel asks how it feels to love while the world falls apart. Burntcoat tells the story of Edith, sculptor and single mother, and her new relationship with Halit, an immigrant chef. Their love affair is accelerated by lockdown, which prompts him to move into her home and studio in a large, converted warehouse called Burntcoat. Hall is at the Book Festival to talk about a novel set in Scotland, her tale pitting the small against the large; a new domestic arrangement against the backdrop of a world where a spreading virus reveals and accelerates fault lines. It’s a dystopian vision, but Hall’s focus is on the themes that define humanity: love, artistry, sexuality. These are themes that feature widely in Hall’s shortstory collections and novels, from the Booker-shortlisted The Electric Michelangelo to The Carhullan Army and The Wolf Border. Her work often features hungry, sinuous and shifting characters and scenarios, and they are all teased out to perfection in this short, tense novel. (Lynsey May) n Edinburgh College Of Art, Tuesday 16 August, 10am.

42 THE LIST FESTIVAL | 10–16 August 2022 | list.co.uk/edinburgh-festival

friend on his spellbinding performance only to come face to face with the actor who played the ghost: she smiled then whispered ‘hi’ and puffed happily away on her cigarette. A CHRISTMAS CAROL Every Christmas I have to put this wonderful adaptation of the Dickens masterpiece on TV. There are many versions but for me and my family. it has to be the film with Alastair Sim as Scrooge. Even now, I tremble as the sounds of Marley’s clanking chains scrape and bang along the corridor towards a terrified Ebenezer. Christmas is not Christmas without A Christmas Carol. POLTERGEIST This Spielberg movie started it all for me. I first saw this film at home and was mesmerised. Yes, I was scared, but is this true? What is a poltergeist? I was hooked although scared. I then began to research hauntings and poltergeist activity and it’s captivated me to this day. A poltergeist is just a noisy ghost and I love interacting with them. How bizarre that I get so excited by strange activity which defies logic. n Yvette Fielding, 16 August, 10.30am; Most Haunted Ghost Tour With Yvette Fielding, 16 August, 3pm, 5pm; all events at Edinburgh College Of Art.

PATRICIA LOCKWOOD

What does it mean to live your life online? The American poet will be appearing remotely to discuss a subject that worries some, excites others and terrifies yet another set of people n Edinburgh College Of Art, 14 August, 7.30pm.

MICHAEL MORPURGO

A feast of poems and stories will bring to bear this author’s fascination with and love of the animal kingdom. n Central Hall, 13 August, 11.30am.

JANEY GODLEY

One of Scotland’s most outspoken comedians (there are a few contenders for that crown) turns to the books with a 1970s-set debut novel about life in a tough Glasgow tenement. n Central Hall, 15 August, 11.30am.

VESNA GOLDSWORTHY & KIM THÚY

A Serbian and Vietnamese author have displacement and exile on their minds in this event as they come together to talk about their own novels which tackle these often traumatic subjects. n Edinburgh College Of Art, 14 August, 3.30pm.

HOWARD JACOBSON

A late bloomer in the publishing game, the Booker winner has certainly made up for lost time and here he discusses his childhood days growing up in Manchester. n Edinburgh College Of Art, 15 August, 1pm.

Howard Jacobson (and bottom from left), Janey Godley, Patricia Lockwood, Stuart Cosgrove

STUART COSGROVE

The popular broadcaster and author chats to our very own Fiona Shepherd about the ways in which Black music has impacted on the American political landscape. n Edinburgh College Of Art, 16 August, 5.30pm.

JAMES RUNCIE

A very different sonic canon is explored by The Grantchester Mysteries author as he looks at Bach’s ‘St Matthew Passion’ in a talk accompanied by the Dunedin Consort’s violinist. n Edinburgh College Of Art, 16 August, 4pm.

list.co.uk/edinburgh-festival |10–16 August 2022 | THE LIST FESTIVAL 43

BOOKS

BOOKS HIGHLIGHTS

The Edinburgh International Book Festival kicks off this week and here we take note of events about exile, childhood and music

THERE’S SOME NEW QUEENZ IN TOWN...

21:40 6 - 28 AUG (not 15 + 22)

BOOK assemblyfestival.com ONLINE @AssemblyFest 0131 623 3030

16:45

ASSEMBLY ROOMS

3 - 28 AUG

44 THE LIST FESTIVAL | 10–16 August 2022 | list.co.uk/edinburgh-festival

ROOMS GEORGE STREET

13:40

ROOMS

4 - 29 AUG

GEORGE STREET

16:45

GEORGE SQUARE

3 - 28 AUG

THE FLICK

As the Fringe’s ultimate subterranean hangout, this cosy cabaret venue is home to drag queen extraordinaire Diane Chorley. Chatting With Chorley, Modern Love and Down The Flick are the drumbeat events taking place throughout the month, while special guests including Catherine Cohen, Olga Koch, Sophie Duker and Briefs take over the space with variety shows, karaoke and frivolous fun. Oh, and the party goes late into the night with DJs helping revellers stick around until 5am. Forget ‘Hive till five’, The Flick is where it’s at. (Megan Merino)  Assembly George Square Studios, until 28 August, times vary.

list.co.uk/edinburgh-festival |10–16 August 2022 | THE LIST FESTIVAL 45

CABARET

REVIEWS

DOM CHAMBERS

CABARET

FAKE WIZARD lllll

PICTURE: MONICA PRONK

It’s safe to say that magic is due an image overhaul, so it’s refreshing to see Dom Chambers pop onto stage in a black t-shirt and jeans with nary a top hat or (shudder) glamourous assistant to be seen. He makes a strong start, conjuring a round of beer from nowhere to share with the audience (Edinburgh, your reputation clearly precedes you), all before the final notes of his intro music have faded. ‘Fake wizard’ is his job title, he explains, and it’s not something his parents are especially proud of: cue an extended run of Siri-based banter that feels a little bit like filler, although it is topped off by a cracking trick. A debate about the merits of ‘serious’ magic leads to a very funny bit of condom and cards action, and this is where Chambers really shines. He has the ability to shake up the mechanics of a well-known set-up with physical comedy and a truly satisfying ‘how did he do that?’ conclusion. His genial, all-mates-together patter and serious sleight-of-hand skills make this an easy watch, though the breakneck pace brings the act in under an hour which may leave some feeling a little short-changed. (Jo Laidlaw) n Assembly George Square, until 28 August, 5.50pm.

AMBER TOPAZ

GREYING STILL SLAYING lllll

Multi award-winning cabaret queen Amber Topaz emerges, draped in red harem pants and a hood resembling a vulva. Complete with uterus waist-chain, her outlandish outfit sets the tone for the remainder of her uncensored spectacle of a show. This comedy cabaret comments on everything from modern dating and social media to the phenomenon of the female body. Packed with original songs and kooky characters, this unfiltered frenzy of a show can barely keep up with itself. Greying Still Slaying is a retelling of Topaz’s life as a woman, and she is unabashed and unafraid of touching on several taboo topics. Despite some unsureness at times, Topaz has an undoubted ability to carry an audience. From a whole song dedicated to masturbation to a masterclass on finding the clitoris, she takes her room on a wild ride they won’t forget in a hurry. (Rachel Cronin) n Voodoo Rooms, until 28 August, 9.10pm.

LIVER AND LUNG PRODUCTIONS

GANESH AND CYDNEY’S CLINIC lllll Seeking shelter in a crumbling cave to escape a crowded and pungent Cowgate, only to be pounced on by three eccentrics in latex and leather, could well be Edinburgh Fringe’s alternate beginning to The Rocky Horror Picture Show. In a cavernous cabaret act which is flamboyant, risqué and packed with original tunes sung by horny agony aunts Ganesh and Cydney (played by Shafeeq Shajahan and the newly cast Natalie Durkin), the duo preach and lament to their ‘patients’ (the audience) about the perils of lovesickness. The central concept of a clinic means crowd work is integral to this pair’s administering of treatment and ability to get laughs. Some interactions are more successful than others, but most are simply awkward and half-baked. The show’s twist gives way for a more serious tone to be struck, as both clinicians reveal their own individual sexrelated traumas. These touching moments of honesty are impactful, with strong writing providing the show as a whole with a solid backbone. However, the mediocrity of songs throughout makes the performance lose momentum, with not even abundant innuendos able to fully invigorate a late-night crowd. In their desperate attempt to be vulgar and shocking, Ganesh and Cydney just don’t go far enough. (Megan Merino) n Underbelly Cowgate, until 28 August, 11pm.

46 THE LIST FESTIVAL | 10–16 August 2022 | list.co.uk/edinburgh-festival



Edinburgh49

Fringe favourites Theatre Fideri Fidera are back with a hilarious reimagining of the legend of Swiss folk hero Wilhelm Tell

Perfect Summer holiday fun!

12:00

3 - 21 AUG 2022 (Not 10/17) (60 miNs)

Will Tell 134mm x 189mm The List ad v5 REPLACEMENT.indd 1

23/06/2022 13:25

“There’s no one else we’d rather watch onstage” PENN & TELLER

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WORLD MAGIC REVIEW

BEN HART WONDER

AS SEEN ON BRITAIN’S GOT TALENT, PURE MAGIC, KILLER MAGIC, NOW YOU SEE IT AND THE ONE SHOW

12+ PLEASANCE GRAND 3RD – 28TH AUGUST, 7:50PM BOX OFFICE: 0131 556 6550 PLEASANCE.CO.UK

list.co.uk/edinburgh-festival |10–16 August 2022 | THE LIST FESTIVAL 47

REVIEWS

ADA CAMPE

CABARET

TOO LITTLE, TOO SOON lllll

Fringe regular Ada Campe returns wackier and as unpredictable as ever. Song, dance, magic and comedy are just the tip of the Campe iceberg; a walking whirlwind of glitter and bright colours, she never lets an audience know her next move. Draped in her signature drag-style make-up and wonderfully outrageous outfit (complete with sequined headpiece), this vivacious variety act lives up to her surname. Too Little, Too Soon is a reflection on the time Campe spent researching her family over the past two years. In this deeply personal cabaret/comedy, we’re given interesting (if slightly confusing) insight into the theatrical backgrounds of her fellow thespian family members. Her tales cover everything from amphibian-themed ballets to long-lost lesbian love, and despite almost losing the audience at times, Campe reels them back in with hypnotic storytelling, quick quips and just a touch of magic. Audience involvement is key to Campe’s charismatic performance which has the crowd grinning and giggling, both at the performer and each other. A bouncy and kooky show with a heap of heart, Ada Campe’s queer cabaret has a strong message of family at its core. (Rachel Cronin) n The Stand’s New Town Theatre, until 28 August, 2.55pm.

TOM BRACE

EMBRACE THE IMPOSSIBLE! lllll

Framed against a backdrop of his childhood bedroom, both the set and theme of Tom Brace’s magic show are based around a nicely nostalgic visit to the 1990s. With nods to Roald Dahl and Back To The Future, Brace showcases his deft close-up magic and memory tricks. Smartly executed, the man knows his stuff. Familiar spectacles are present (guess the playing card, sleight of hand, mysteriously reattaching ropes) making this a great introduction to magic. Hopefully there are plenty budding conjurors in the room each day as this teatime show is perfect family fodder. He even squeezes a few adult gags by the unknowing kids, just for the mums and dads. Fuzzily warm crowd interaction is, of course, order of the day but Brace makes a rather courageous move when he gets an audience member to phone his brother; there’s always scope for that kind of thing to go horribly wrong. A well-handled, lovely show. (Marissa Burgess) n Underbelly Bristo Square, until 29 August, 4.55pm.

BLUNDERLAND VARIETY

BLUNDERLAND lllll

John Waters would be proud of Blunderland, an Australian queer circus/cabaret act that revels in the raucous. With an astonishing bag of tricks and as few clothes as possible, this troupe of sexually charged clowns indulge in jaw-dropping acrobatics after ‘snorting’ a suspicious bag of white powder, discuss hallucinogenics in intricate detail and pull condoms from their nether regions with the grace of Rudolf Nureyev. ‘If you’re looking for a story, fuck off!’ says the riotously care-free host Eric Schmalenberger, getting to the crux of the show with typical delicacy. This is a context-free celebration of naughtiness that lets its freak flag fly. But much like a Waters production, there’s a very traditional commitment to craft underpinning the surface-level outrageousness and gross-out humour. Every performer in this variety show is awe-inspiringly talented, from prodigious skipping to inconceivably agile hula-hooping to nailbitingly intense ropework. Class As and clumsiness propel the gags, but the skills on show are undeniable. If there are any misgivings about this hour of entertainment, they’re minor to the point of nit-picking. A few of the more seriously presented performances feel at odds with the X-rated frivolity of the overall piece, and a few of Schmalenberger’s stand-up segments (while the stage is set for the next performance) err on the wrong side of time-filling. But nothing dampens the irrepressible mood created in Blunderland. It’s vivid, it’s sexy, it’s hilarious, and very well worth your time. (Kevin Fullerton) n Underbelly’s Circus Hub, until 27 August, 9.55pm.

48 THE LIST FESTIVAL | 10–16 August 2022 | list.co.uk/edinburgh-festival

KEVIN QUANTUM

It feels like it’s been a while since he was on Channel 4’s Faking It . . . because it is. In any case, Quantum is the real deal with card tricks and the like to keep your jaw on the floor. n Gilded Balloon Teviot, until 29 August, 3.30pm.

LIZA PULMAN

CABARET

CABARET HIGHLIGHTS

Life continues to be a cabaret and here are some more acts doing their utmost to keep that torch aflame into the Festival’s second week

Pulman takes a little detour from her Fascinating Aida gig to go solo for one night. She has a new album to punt and is still feeding off the success of her Streisand covers. n Assembly George Square, 14 August, 6pm.

PUPPETS

Olivia Ruggiero is on a search for love and behind her all the way are a bunch of puppets. Whether they help or hinder is another matter. n TheSpace On North Bridge, 15–20 August, 10.45pm.

THE FAILURE CABARET

The Fremonts sing tunes all about their not-great marriage and about happier days when they first met in New York. But will it have a happy ending? n Underbelly Cowgate, until 28 August, 9.05pm.

THE THINKING DRINKERS PUB QUIZ

Most folk like a bit of a swally and others love a good quiz. Join the two together and you have this show, pretty much. n Underbelly Bristo Square, until 28 August, 6.40pm.

Kevin Quantum (and bottom from left), Liza Pulman, Puppets, The Thinking Drinkers

1 HOUR STRAITJACKET ESCAPE MAGIC SHOW

Apparently Arron Jones like to throw the rulebook out the window. But he might need it if he’s chained up in a straitjacket. Let’s see how he gets out of that one. n PBH’s Free Fringe @ Pilgrim, until 28 August, 5.30pm.

CHRIS DUGDALE

With Ethermind, Dugdale will be doing more of his magic and mind control business. He’s bamboozled Beyoncé and Queen Liz so you’ll be in good company if you’re stumped. n Assembly Rooms, until 28 August, 6.35pm.

PICTURE: STEVE ULLATHORNE

PICTURE: MONIQUE HARMER PHOTOGRAPHY

list.co.uk/edinburgh-festival |10–16 August 2022 | THE LIST FESTIVAL 49

presents

THE CHARLIE WILLIAMS STORY By Chris England (An Evening with Gary Lineker) Starring Tony Marshall (Casualty, Only Fools and Horses, Life On Mars)

8TH - 29TH AUGUST 3:10PM

Pleasance Two, Pleasance Courtyard

simonﬁelder.com

0131 558 1947 10 Antigua Street, Edinburgh, EH1 3NH W W W. K A H A N I R E S TA U R A N T. C O . U K

50 THE LIST FESTIVAL | 10–16 August 2022 | list.co.uk/edinburgh-festival

COMEDY

PHIL WANG

Riding high on securing a Netflix special for his pun-tastic show Philly Philly Wang Wang, writing a book about his multinational background and appearing regularly on our screens on shows like Taskmaster, Phil Wang’s short Edinburgh stint this year is fast approaching sell-out territory. In what will no doubt be a crowdpleasing hour of stand-up, the BritishMalaysian comic will tackle family, culture, race and general life updates in The Real Hero In All This, as he continues solidifying his place as a household name on the UK comedy circuit. (Megan Merino)  Assembly George Square, 15–21 August, 9pm.

list.co.uk/edinburgh-festival |10–16 August 2022 | THE LIST FESTIVAL 51

LIZ KINGSMAN

“

COMEDY

Please get me in a corset and put me on a horse for goodness sake!

”

PICTURES: WILL BREMRIDGE

52 THE LIST FESTIVAL | 10–16 August 2022 | list.co.uk/edinburgh-festival

LIZ KINGSMAN

COMEDY

Expectations are sky high for Liz Kingsman whose meta One-Woman Show has already wowed critics in London. Marissa Burgess discovered that all the comedian really craves is throwing herself into a period drama

t’s usually the case that when a comedy show emerges with a buzz around it, that reputation is initially garnered at the Fringe. But due to covid, Liz Kingsman debuted her One-Woman Show earlier this year at London’s Soho Theatre. To say it was wellreceived would be a massive understatement: it picked up a plethora of five-star reviews and Kingsman recently won a South Bank Award for breakthrough talent. Was there a point where she realised she had created something a bit special? ‘I was walking around a park in the middle of nowhere a couple of weeks after the Soho run and I thought, “oh I get it!” I had a moment of clarity and texted the producers, “I think it went well, guys”,’ Kingsman laughs. Like many performers, she is quick to doubt her talent. ‘If you feel happy, this industry will find a way to make you feel doubtful. I’m really proud of the show and of everyone who has worked on it. It would be disingenuous if I was to be all faux humble about it, but we’ve already had a really amazing time at Soho. It was far more than I could have hoped for.’ One-Woman Show has been described as a parody of the likes of Fleabag,, and Kingsman certainly skewers the young, white, middle-class experience and its potential for egotism. Her take on the genre is a distinctly meta one, where a performer gets stuck inside her own one-woman show, giving Kingsman the opportunity to use her sharply honed wit to send up each aspect of it. ‘I watched the film Jumanji a lot and wanted to do this whole thing about someone being trapped inside their own one-woman show. Like Robin Williams (who becomes trapped in a board game in the film), this woman had been trapped inside her own piece of work for 50 years or something.’ Where do you even start with writing a work that is so layered? Kingsman has form for taking her time, with her acclaimed sketch troupe Massive Dad taking

a while to come to fruition. This has been no different. ‘Its original iteration was much more complex,’ Kingsman adds. ‘It starts with all these different conflicting ideas and all this scope and ambition: “I’m gonna do all this stuff with multimedia”! Everything always starts enormous and then you have a moment during the writing when you throw out 95%. Then I realised I was going to have to write the thing I was trying to comment on, too (the play within the play), and figure out what that actually is.’ Kingsman studied English and History at uni but always had a hankering to act. Too intimidated to audition for serious drama productions, instead she segued into comedy. ‘What I could do was audition for this comedy group as that didn’t feel as scary to me as going to audition for Marat/Sade. Which was genuinely the play that they put on in our first term at uni. But it wasn’t accidental; I’ve always loved comedy, watched it and wanted to do it.’ Eventually she formed Massive Dad with Tessa Coates and Stevie Martin. Since then, she’s had a string of roles including a starring performance in the French sitcom Parlement, but there’s one type of part she’s itching to take on. ‘I really want to wear period costume: please get me in a corset and put me on a horse for goodness sake! All my acting jobs are always set in the present day. I’m like, “aargh! I just want a wig; a big curly wig!”’ Casting directors take note . . . Liz Kingsman: One-Woman Show, Traverse Theatre, 16–28 August, 10pm.

list.co.uk/edinburgh-festival |10–16 August 2022 | THE LIST FESTIVAL 53

REVIEWS

CHRIS GETHARD

COMEDY

A FATHER AND THE SUN lllll

After recently becoming a father to a boy, Chris Gethard has begun to reassess his relationship with his own dad. Aged 42, he happily recognises that he’s in the firm grip of a midlife crisis. This recently prompted him to become a volunteer ambulance driver in his home town in New Jersey, something to give his life more purpose than simply being a parent (and comedian, writer and actor). After a long preamble, Gethard talks about the pressures of trying to successfully raise a young child, while analysing his own upbringing in a search for clues to good parenting. His fondness for dissection extends to evaluating the crowd’s response to jokes right after he’s told them, a process which only serves to impede the momentum he’s built. Unfortunately, many of Gethard’s stories, while well told, are entirely unembellished with jokes. He explains (at length) the difference between US public service broadcasting and cable TV in order to set up a routine about Sesame Street, but it’s just dry exposition without any gags. There are some nice moments in A Father And The Sun, including a joyously cathartic public outing of his school bully, but it could do with a little less analysis and a bit more humour. (Murray Robertson) n Gilded Balloon Teviot, until 28 August, 6pm.

PEOPLE PERSON lllll

As a stand-up, Jo Griffin is something of an impressionist. Largely rejecting set-ups and punchlines, she instead shares a chatty but relentless monologue of her anxieties and insecurities. Her humour emerges incrementally in broad brush strokes of wry self-analysis and casual crowd interrogation, even when she’s only seeking reassurance that she might be more-or-less normal. In her mid-thirties, tutoring over-privileged kids who ask her destabilising questions, their panicking parents an ever-present background hum in her life, Griffin shares an overcrowded home with strangers and struggles with her ex’s engagement to another woman. And she yearns in vain to eavesdrop on men sharing their true feelings. There may not be anything particularly profound or unique in her concerns about being an instinctive people-pleaser who has perhaps sidelined her own happiness. But she’s an engaging talker and the show closes on a winningly upbeat note. (Jay Richardson) n Assembly Roxy, until 28 August, 7.10pm.

54 THE LIST FESTIVAL | 10–16 August 2022 | list.co.uk/edinburgh-festival

PICTURE: REBECCA NEED-MENEAR

JO GRIFFIN

REVIEWS

CONRAD KOCH

WHITE NOISE 

MAX DIC KIN S

D I R E CT E D BY

HANNAH E I D I N OW

3.30PM (4.30PM) 04-28 AUGUST 2022

list.co.uk/edinburgh-festival |10–16 August 2022 | THE LIST FESTIVAL 55

COMEDY

PICTURE: STAN KAPLAN

Fiercely intelligent and equally crude, ventriloquist Conrad Koch aims his whip-smart wit at the Achilles heel of anti-racism allies: white guilt and latent racism. In White Noise, he plays the moderate progressive, whose belief in a hopeful future where love conquers all is savagely dashed by a frank cynic, his puppet Chester Missing. For the most part Koch’s ventriloquism is convincing, though his and Chester’s rapid-fire sparring does trigger a few lapses. This is forgivable, given the sheer amount of ground that is covered. The ripostes between puppet and puppeteer bring a frenzied hilarity, as well as self-deprecating social commentary; their so-called psychic connection allows Chester to unmask how white people like Koch pay lip service to anti-racism without doing the proper work. At times the performance veers a little close to think-piece territory. The idea that western journalists are more comfortable with Ukrainian refugees because they are white, or that apologies for colonialism are less impactful than reparations, aren’t particularly radical, though they are topical. Koch’s performance is strongest when his own experiences of whiteness shine through. His testimony of when he first realised that he lived under apartheid (aged six, when his mother urged him to ‘thank your lucky stars that you weren’t born Black in South Africa’) feels especially impactful for a British audience, whose experiences of racism are more insidious. Koch acknowledges the difficulty of telling jokes about white privilege without veering into white saviourism, but he carries it off with flair and a self-aware wink. (Becca Inglis)  Pleasance Courtyard, until 29 August, 9.45pm.

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56 THE LIST FESTIVAL | 10–16 August 2022 | list.co.uk/edinburgh-festival

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JULIA MASLI

CHOOSH! lllll

COMEDY

Already acclaimed for award-winning Fringe shows like Legs and Logs, Julia Masli’s latest invention is yet another mind-boggling hour of highly creative absurdist comedy. Few performers would be able to captivate an audience with only a pair of googly eyes and some body paint, but Masli proves less is more when you have bucket-loads of imagination. The Estonian clown may describe her work as ‘radically unintellectual’, but the punchlines of many sequences feel multi-layered and thought provoking. Through telling the (presumably semi-autobiographical) story of how she became a performer, Masli manages to hilariously dissect the frivolousness of topics (from marriage to American capitalism) using basic DIY props and less than three-word sentences. From snow and water to Maltesers and condoms, all manner of substances make an appearance on stage, each masterfully used to build and defuse tension. Clunky transitions are part of the shtick and audience engagement is the show’s main driving force. Sadly, the only thing that slows Masli down during this particular performance is an apprehensive crowd who don’t always match the energy she emits. But her instantly likeable nature and ingenious concepts keep things ticking along, even when onlookers aren’t prepared to get on her level. (Megan Merino) n Assembly Roxy, until 28 August, 9.55pm.

PICTURE: LINDA BLACKER

COLIN HOULT

THE DEATH OF ANNA MANN lllll

After a five-year hiatus, the fizzingly fierce and fiendishly femme Anna Mann returns for one last hurrah. Her creator and host body, Colin Hoult, has decided to lay his endlessly eccentric alter ego to rest in one last boisterous Fringe blowout. In a magnificent memoir of Mann’s extraordinary life (so incredible you’d think it was made up), we’re journeyed through tales of ex-husbands and showbiz as well as various slices of utter nonsense. Hoult’s quickfire delivery keeps the audience on their toes; they’ve barely caught a breath from the last laugh before the next punchline hits them right in the face. A long-term fixture on the Fringe who is perhaps more recognisable to many from Netflix’s After Life and BBC One’s This Time With Alan Partridge, Hoult’s untameable understanding for the mechanics of comedy create an expertly written character that has his audience beside themselves repeating Mann’s catchphrase of ‘fuck off, I love it!’ (Rachel Cronin) n Pleasance Courtyard, until 28 August, 9.10pm.

PICTURE: MATT CROCKETT

MAISIE ADAM

BUZZED lllll

Maisie Adam is flying high and gleeful over life’s wins: travelling around for her dream job, getting recently engaged and, best of all, being able to boast about her footballing talent (a special surprise). OK, the famous haircut has presented minor hassles, but Adam points out its versatility for Zoom gigs. It’s a treat to hear about the hilarious yet very believable marriage proposal, the antics of her competitive granny, and her special rapport with Ian Hislop. And the news of how this heterosexual northerner has been welcomed in Brighton is truly touching. It’s hard to know how much emphasis to put on feminism when considering Buzzed; Adam pinpoints an irritation at some critics’ obsession with the fact that she’s a female who makes jokes. Yet like a candle to a balloon she effortlessly obliterates their significance. As she discusses her wedding plans, however, attempts to skirt around the Autotrader-like transactional elements of a traditional ceremony and surname arrangements throw up some conundrums. But puzzles are what make life interesting and her indefatigably cheerful attitude defuses most tensions. When Adam reaches the part about wedding speeches, the genius twist that triggers the audience’s howls is one of the most empowering things you’ll witness on stage this month. Warmly spirited in her mockery of people, Adam’s anecdotal expressions of frustration are hard to take seriously when you can just picture her trying to check the corners of her mouth from grinning. She presents a gloriously untroubled attitude. (Rosanna Miller) n Gilded Balloon Teviot, until 29 August, 5.30pm.

list.co.uk/edinburgh-festival |10–16 August 2022 | THE LIST FESTIVAL 57

STAND ONE 10.00 STEWART LEE, 3 - 28 AUG (NOT 15 OR 16) | 18+

18.45 THE FANNIES BIG NIGHT OUT (15TH ONLY) | 18+

11.45 SEYMOUR MACE, 4 - 28 AUG (NOT 15) | 14+

20.20 JO CAULFIELD, 5 - 28 AUG (NOT 15 OR 22) | 16+

13.30 MARK THOMAS, 4 - 28 AUG (NOT 15) | 14+

20.20 ELEANOR MORTON (15TH ONLY) | 16+

15.15 SIMON MUNNERY, 4 - 28 AUG (NOT 15) | 14+

22.00 SEANN WALSH, 3 - 28 AUG (NOT 15) | 16+

17.00 GARETH WAUGH, 4 - 29 AUG (NOT 15) | 14+

22.00 BOB DOOLALLY (15TH ONLY) | 18+

18.45 KAI HUMPHRIES, 4 - 28 AUG (NOT 15 OR 22) | 16+

23.55 THE STAND LATE CLUB (FRI/SATS ONLY) | 18+

STAND TWO 12.00 JOANNA NEARY, 4 - 28 AUG (NOT 15) | 16+

18.40 ROBIN GRAINGER, 4 - 28 AUG (NOT 15) | 16+

13.20 RACHEL JACKSON, 4 - 28 AUG (NOT 15 OR 24) | 16+

20.00 RYAN CULLEN, 4 - 28 AUG (NOT 15) | 16+

14.40 MARY BOURKE, 4 - 28 AUG (NOT 15) | 16+

21.20 TOM MAYHEW, 4 - 28 AUG (NOT 15) | 18+

16.00 MARJOLEIN ROBERTSON, 4 - 28 AUG (NOT 15) | 14+

22.40 LEE BROPHY, 4 - 28 AUG (NOT 15) | 18+

17.20 GAVIN WEBSTER, 4 - 28 AUG (NOT 15) | 14+

STAND NEW TOWN - GRAND HALL NOON IN CONVERSATION WITH…, 6 - 28 AUG (NOT 24)* | 12+

21.00 FRED MACAULAY- WHAT(EVER) NEXT?, 5 - 6 AUG | 16+

13.50 STEWART LEE: SNOWFLAKE, 3 - 28 AUG (NOT 15 OR 16) | 14+

21.00 JIM SMITH: THE HILLS HAVE AYES, 12 - 14 AUG | 16+

15.40 JOHN LLOYD: DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM?, 5 - 15 AUG | 14+

21.00 PIP UTTON IS ADOLF, 15, 20, 21 AUG | 16+

15.40 DARREN ‘LOKI’ MCGARVEY: THE SOCIAL DISTANCE BETWEEN US, 16 - 21 AUG | 16+

21.00 LIZ LOCHHEAD WITH STEVE KETTLEY ON SAX: BACK IN THE SADDLE, 18 & 19 AUG | 14+

17.20 OMID DJALILI: THE GOOD TIMES, 4 - 20 AUG (NOT 15) | 16+

21.15 FUN LOVIN’ CRIME WRITERS, 8 - 11 AUG | 12+

17.20 TIME’S PLAGUE- DAVID HAYMAN, 21 - 28 AUG | 14+

23.00 THE STAND’S PICK OF THE FRINGE, 5, 6, 12, 13, 19, 20, 26, 27 AUG | 16+

19.10 SH!T-FACED SHOWTIME: A PISSEDMAS CAROL, 3 - 28 AUG | 16+

STAND NEW TOWN - LOWER HALL 13.00 DES CLARKE: ONE O’ CLOCK FUN, 5 - 10, 12 - 14 AUG (NOT 11) | 14+

16.40 PAUL SINHA: ONE SINHA LIFETIME, 4 - 28 AUG (NOT 16) | 16+

13.00 MARK WATSON: MORE BANGING ON ABOUT TIME AND SIMILAR ISSUES (WORK IN PROGRESS), 15 - 19 AUG | 12+

18.30 THE BEST OF IRISH COMEDY, 5 - 28 AUG | 16+

14.50 HENRY NORMAL: THE ESCAPE PLAN, 5 - 7 AUG | 14+ 14.50 DAVID KAY: GARDEN OFFICE LEGEND, 8 - 14 AUG | 14+ 14.50 THE ECHO SALON, 15 - 26 AUG (NOT 20, 21) | 14+

20.30 THE BEST OF SCOTTISH COMEDY, 5 - 28 AUG | 18+ 22.35 LEICESTER SQUARE THEATRE ALL STARS, 5 - 14 AUG | 18+ 22.35 FLAT AND THE CURVES, 16 - 28 AUG | 14+

14.50 WORD UP, 20-21, 27-28 AUG | 14+

STAND NEW TOWN - STUDIO 12.05 POSSIBLY THE LAST CHANCE TO SEE SUSAN MORRISON, 4 - 28 AUG (NOT 16) | 16+

19.10 BOB DOOLALLY LIVE & HALF-CUT IN QATAR, 16 AUG (& AT STAND 1 ON 15 AUG) | 18+

13.30 THE CABARET OF DANGEROUS IDEAS, 5 - 28 AUG * | 14+

20.35 AFROPOLITICOOL - EUNICE OLUMIDE, 4 - 21 AUG (NOT 16) | 16+

14.55 ADA CAMPE: TOO LITTLE, TOO SOON, 4 - 28 AUG (NOT 15TH) | 14+ 16.20 PIP UTTON AS ‘BACON’, 5 - 28 AUG (NOT 9, 16, 17, 23, 24) | 14+

20.35 ABBY WAMBAUGH AND BRONWYN SWEENEY, 22 - 28 AUG | 14+ 22.00 KEVIN P. GILDAY: SPAM VALLEY, 4 - 14 AUG | 18+

16.20 POLITICS & POETRY WITH CORBYN & MCCLUSKEY, 9 AUG | 14+

22.00 A CELEBRATION OF FATHER TED WITH JOE ROONEY, 15 - 21 AUG | 18+

17.45 THE CABARET OF DANGEROUS IDEAS, 5 - 28 AUG * | 14+

22.00 PHIL DIFFER: MY MEDICAL HELL, 22 - 28 AUG | 18+

19.10 2022 - THE BEGINNING OF THE END - VLADIMIR MCTAVISH, 4 - 28 AUG (NOT 16) | 14+

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58 THE LIST FESTIVAL | 10–16 August 2022 | list.co.uk/edinburgh-festival

standedinburgh

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THE DELIGHTFUL SAUSAGE

elcome to the world of The Delightful Sausage, a comedy duo with a knack for eccentric one-liners, delectably weird set-ups and an oddball eye for storytelling that would make Tim And Eric jealous. The ingredients of this sausage are Amy Gledhill and Christopher Cantrill, who were nominated for the Edinburgh Comedy Award in 2019. This latest hour, Nowt But Sea, finds them smashing through a set with the confidence of household names. In keeping with their flair for dark absurdism, the show takes on the structure of an A-grade episode of The Mighty Boosh, starting with a brief slice of warm-up material before launching into a high-stakes adventure as the pair get stranded on a private island owned by a celebrity agent. The premise may sound vague on paper but, without wanting to spoil any of their many surprises, it’s plotted with the intricacy and satisfying pay-off of a great sitcom. Jokes that seemed to be one-offs reappear half an hour later fully formed, and the strange bricolage of sight gags littered throughout the set helps build to a riotous and dark finale. These aren’t simple call-backs; they’re the backbone of the most fun tale you’ll hear this Fringe.

The glue holding everything together is Gledhill and Cantrill’s classic double-act chemistry, which paints them both as stupid and self-important to varying degrees. Despite performing as selfish, needy grotesques, they’re clearly incredibly giving performers, regularly lining up gags for each other to knock out of the park. ‘Are you willing to be generous and open-minded?’ asks Gledhill needlessly at the top of the show, as this duo could make the most reluctant audience member loosen up within minutes. The Delightful Sausage have been championed on Harry Hill’s Clubnite, and it’s easy to see why. Like the big-collared one in his prime, they’ve created a uniquely silly world and language, grounding it with lines about celebrity culture, the ‘smart and booby’ talents of Victoria Coren Mitchell, and visual gags that are as relentless as they are hilarious. There are no negatives here; this show is teeming with inventive jokes, is a visual treat and happens to be much cleverer than Gledhill and Cantrill let on. If you tuck into one sausage at the Fringe this year, make sure it’s as delightful as Nowt But Sea.

COMEDY

The Delightful Sausage bring classic doubleact chemistry to their delectably weird and utterly first-rate show. Kevin Fullerton finds no negatives to speak of in the most relentlessly hilarious tale you’ll hear in Edinburgh all month

Monkey Barrel, until 28 August, 12.45pm.

w o h s k y e e d w e e th f m o o c y•c

y• c

e om d 5 STARS

omed

PICTURE: ED MOORE

list.co.uk/edinburgh-festival |10–16 August 2022 | THE LIST FESTIVAL 59

REVIEWS PICTURE: MATT CROCKETT

ERIKA EHLER

COMEDY

FEMCEL 

Erika Ehler starts her set rather unassumingly, her demeanour perhaps influenced by unhappy experiences growing up as a bullied mixed-race child in Canada. Unusually, she has contemporaneous evidence in the form of video diaries which she uses to illustrate her younger self’s lack of confidence. Happily, in the context of this show, these short films are funny rather than tragic. Ehler claims to have joined a vague movement of ‘female manipulators’ who like to mess around with men, and she has some nice dating stories which bring out big laughs. Much of her material is provocative and it sometimes seems as if she’s testing the crowd to see how far they’ll be pushed. But Ehler has a fitful method of telling jokes which repeatedly brings momentum to a halt as soon as she delivers a punchline, and this idiosyncrasy eventually starts to sap energy from the room. ‘About half of you like me,’ she comments midway through her set. It’s a remark that needles the crowd and does nothing to help the atmosphere. Erika Ehler is a smart comedian with some great one-liners but her style of delivery can sometimes get in the way. (Murray Robertson)  Monkey Barrel Carnivore, until 28 August, 9.40pm.

PICTURE: ALAN POWDRILL

OLAF FALAFEL

STOAT 

Olaf Falafel (Derek Chickpeas’ daftly endearing alter ego) graces any day of Fringe comedygoing with his singular presence. Delivering a smorgasbord of puns, prop comedy, song pastiches, video gags, crowd engagement and general feelgood silliness, STOAT ought to appeal to all ages and anyone with a sense of humour. With the motto that ‘fun needs structure’, he breezes through his list of set-pieces, which include levitating a strawberry and a glorious running joke in which he updates that dismissive 1990s brush-off ‘talk to the hand’ for millennials. A childish sense of play is instinctive in everything Falafel does. And his video content testifies to a happy home life with his daughters and cats, the latter of whom come to play an increasingly important role in the show and afford it an unexpected bit of emotional heft by its finale. Superior, multi-disciplinary idiocy. (Jay Richardson)  Laughing Horse @ The Pear Tree, until 28 August, 3pm.

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60 THE LIST FESTIVAL | 10–16 August 2022 | list.co.uk/edinburgh-festival

REVIEWS

ELF LYONS

RAVEN lllll

3rd - 29th August Book now at Pleasance.co.uk list.co.uk/edinburgh-festival |10–16 August 2022 | THE LIST FESTIVAL 61

COMEDY

It’s great to be back!

Bizarre, glorious and completely unhinged, Elf Lyons blurs the boundaries between stand-up and clowning in this offthe-wall experiment in horror comedy. Stephen King, she tells us, is her all-time favourite author, and this show has been designed as a tribute to his genius, with many of his favourite motifs reimagined through physical theatre. More than that, though, Raven feels like a personal attempt at catharsis. Lyons recalls her clowning instructor at École Philippe Gaulier in Paris, who told her that when she stops trying to be likeable and embraces being a bitch, ‘then we love you.’ Clowning allows Lyons to be unabashedly grotesque, whether she’s fantasising about killing an annoying woman on a train or threatening to cut audience members’ dicks off; it’s as if she is daring us to look away, horrified, and we love her for it. Lyons is undeniably entertaining, though her performance feels a little scrappy. The writing lacks an obvious through-line that ties one section to the next, so we career clumsily between skits about boarding school and Kevin Bacon, and a mime segment about a spider. Lyons herself seems disoriented when she trips on her delivery. Yet there is something refreshing about her takeit-or-leave-it attitude. ‘You can’t say this isn’t Fringe,’ she rages at the show’s climax, as she squeezes and smashes pieces of fruit before slathering herself in juice. She’s not wrong. Raven may be a tad rough and ready, but it is certainly memorable. (Becca Inglis) n Gilded Balloon Teviot, until 29 August, 8.30pm.

REVIEWS

PHIL ELLIS

HEDGEHOG lllll

COMEDY

There’s a thin line between success and failure at a comedy gig, one that becomes even more blurred when confronted with Phil Ellis’ brand of controlled chaos. During his latest show Hedgehog, he stutters through anecdotes with imprecision, seems intent on an endless series of digressions and strikes out on as many punchlines as he hits. Yet his haphazard style meshes perfectly with his sadsack persona. The thematic core of this overly ragged hour revolves around Ellis as he enters his 40s wondering whether he’s taken a wrong turn in life, rambling about topics such as house-sharing, children that sound like adults, outdated lyrics to classic songs and rubbish circuses. On the surface, his observations are as run-of-the-mill as any seasoned club comic, but the deliberate lack of slickness and Ellis’ willingness to epitomise self-loathing fling seemingly trite observations into uncharted territory. The standard anecdote about doing a bad gig, for instance, is given a new lease of life here by the sheer number of strange and unexpectedly bleak elements he throws into the mix. It’s a solid show but also somewhat grab-bag, never finding a through route or hitting a discernible high note. But Ellis’ willingness to play tricks on his audience, an obvious skill with one-liners and fleet-footedness with a crowd give Hedgehog an edge sorely lacking from most midlife-crisis comedy shows. (Kevin Fullerton) n Just The Tonic At The Caves, until 28 August, 6.40pm.

HARRIET KEMSLEY

HONEYSUCKLE ISLAND lllll

BE YOUR OWN DADDY lllll

Tackling her first Fringe only months after moving to the UK from Toronto, Michelle Shaughnessy is taking her shot at making it big on this side of the pond. The thirtysomethingyear-old’s debut hour covers the basics, as she shares tales of this big move (motivated by a desire to escape her comfort zone as a well-to-do housewife), a ‘vanilla’ marriage to an older gentleman, and her family back in Canada. Slick responses from crowd-work kept the room alive but a few cultural miscommunications exposed the comic’s lack of self-awareness, while recurring comments about her wealth left a sour taste in the mouth. Shaughnessy’s unshakeable stage presence and gift of the gab makes this hour a comfortable watch, despite few bellyache-worthy moments ever arising. As a comic, she shows real star quality, but as a show, Be Your Own Daddy lacks substance and, most importantly, punchlines. (Megan Merino) n Underbelly Bristo Square, until 29 August, 8.30pm.

62 THE LIST FESTIVAL | 10–16 August 2022 | list.co.uk/edinburgh-festival

PICTURE: STEVE ULLATHORNE

MICHELLE SHAUGHNESSY

PICTURE: MATT CROCKETT

Harriet Kemsley bounds onto the stage and launches straight into her set, fondly derogating her 2017 wedding to fellow comedian Bobby Mair. Considering their entire nuptial process was the subject of its own TV series, Bobby And Harriet Get Married, it’s not surprising to learn that Kemsley has few boundaries when it comes to talking about her personal life. Describing herself as a ‘chlamydia survivor’, she opens up about her post-natal body changes and concerns about the sort of world her seven-month-old daughter will likely encounter when she grows up. If any of that sounds downbeat, it’s not. Throughout Honeysuckle Island, Kemsley is unrelentingly cheery and she delivers her most challenging material with a grin so implacable that even her sharpest barbs are instantly blunted. Still, her freewheeling style could benefit from a little more structure; she introduces us to a box of teenage mementos which might have been a nice focus for the show, but it’s barely used, and many of her punchlines get lost in a hurried delivery. Nevertheless, she’s a joyous presence, unafraid to explore the dark stuff with a smile. (Murray Robertson) n Monkey Barrel Carnivore, until 25 August, 9.10pm.

T PRESENTS

ION WITH PBJ MANAGEMEN

SHOW AND TELL IN ASSOCIAT

Swimming

SIMON MUNNERY

Trials and Tribulations

EMMY BLOTNICK

Pleasance Courtyard | Attic

The Stand | One

Assembly George Square | Studio Five

ATSUKO OKATSUKA

CELYA AB

Pleasance Courtyard | Bunker Three

The Intruder

18:00

19:15

15:15

The 30 Fragrances of Jennifer Lopez...

18:40

MARY BETH BARONE

COMEDY JANEANE JACQUELINE SASSAFRAS GAROFALO NOVAK

Silly Little Girl

Pardon My Tangent

Get On Your Knees

Gilded Balloon | Wine Bar

Pleasance Courtyard | Forth 22:00 11-14 Aug only

Pleasance Courtyard | Upstairs

20:30

Pleasance Courtyard | Beside 20:45 5-20 Aug only

19:15

list.co.uk/edinburgh-festival |10–16 August 2022 | THE LIST FESTIVAL 63

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64 THE LIST FESTIVAL | 10–16 August 2022 | list.co.uk/edinburgh-festival

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CELYA AB

SWIMMING lllll

PICTURE: RACHEL SHERLOCK

ALISON SPITTLE

WET lllll

For an ex-Catholic, Alison Spittle is still very fond of confession. Whether it’s her own sins or the misdemeanours of those around her, she goes into excruciating detail about subjects that would absolutely horrify the church. A vast swathe of the show is dedicated to her convoluted misadventures with various methods of contraception and Spittle blithely laments her impudent coil and the NHS’s protracted efforts to remove it. In other comedians’ hands this section would be overkill, but she has a canny knack of wringing the last drop of humour from any awkward situation. She rails against injustice, particularly assaults experienced by herself or others, and she meticulously works these otherwise harrowing episodes into her set so that, no matter how grim the situation is, she always makes it funny. Wet is an eye-opening confessional and Spittle is a delightfully sparky storyteller. (Murray Robertson) n Pleasance Courtyard, until 28 August, 4.45pm.

JACOB HAWLEY

BUMP lllll

PICTURE: OLI BOLLAND

Time was that Jacob Hawley worried he was growing so successful as a laddish, working-class stand-up and authority on drugs that he was becoming middle-class, dull and detached from his roots. Then covid hit, gigs disappeared, and he found himself grasping for any sort of identity whatsoever, penning Grease-related gags for payment in fast food and pimping out his possessions online to perverts. The biggest destabilisation for him, though, was when his new girlfriend told him she was pregnant, fatherhood being almost inconceivable to someone who largely still perceives themselves as a rascally child. Expressive and upfront about his personal failings, Hawley overplays the arrested development shtick a little. But the jeopardy for him and his nascent family was, and is, real, his anxieties all-too relatable. His girlfriend is sketchily conveyed but he gets some strong laughs out of an Oedipal discomfort at her similarity to his mother, and how her occupation as a midwife places her on a moral footing above him, affording her licence to disrupt his artist’s lieins with painful, whispered home truths. Class awareness remains one of Hawley’s strongest suits. And though there’s nothing too revelatory in his observations about how everyone tends to grow more right-wing as they age, he’s very funny on his own sudden shift to empathising with infamous burglar dispatcher, Tony Martin. There will doubtless be more bumps along the road for him, further shifts in perspective. But for now he’s adapting with scrambling good humour. (Jay Richardson) n Monkey Barrel The Hive, until 28 August, 1.25pm.

list.co.uk/edinburgh-festival |10–16 August 2022 | THE LIST FESTIVAL 65

COMEDY

Effortlessly charming and undeniably talented, Celya AB kicks off her Fringe debut with a splash. This bisexual French-Algerian comic introduces herself as a shameless ‘pick-me’ girl who hates books, loves movies and is willing to fake seven pregnancies for the maternity leave. Oh, she also learned to swim at 25. Despite having only been a full-time comedian since March, this funny woman was (rightly) named 2022’s Chortle Best Newcomer, already racking up appearances on the BBC and Comedy Central. With material that’s relatable yet original, she shares with the audience her experience of moving from Paris to Birmingham, befriending Brexiteers, and dating men who could have been professional footballers (if it wasn’t for that knee injury). Celya AB works the crowd with natural comedic flare. Classy and hilarious, this is a Fringe debut that is certain to catapult the fresh-faced comic to further success. (Rachel Cronin) n Pleasance Courtyard, until 29 August, 7.15pm.

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UNTIL 29 AUGUST 66 THE LIST FESTIVAL | 10–16 August 2022 | list.co.uk/edinburgh-festival

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REVIEWS

JESSICA FOSTEKEW

WENCH lllll

COMEDY

PICTURE: MATT STRONGE

Jessica Fostekew has had quite the year. After coming to terms with the realisation that she’s gay, she ended a nine-year relationship with a man and has fallen passionately in love with a woman. Although evidently elated by her sexual epiphany, she’s also understandably discombobulated by the whole experience and this feeds into her broader exploration of the world around her. Fostekew isn’t one to settle on surface appearances and will always probe a little deeper. She’s particularly baffled by the tribulations of Generation Z, a demographic which fascinates and terrifies Fostekew in equal measure. Part of that dismay is possibly manifested by the thought of her six-year-old son eventually having to navigate a culture that’s constantly in flux. As a woman on the cusp of her fifth decade, she’s also concerned about the ridiculous demands society makes of women, and she’s both horrified and conflicted by the pressure to use Botox. Fostekew’s rapid delivery is remarkable, with thoughts cascading from her mouth. Sparingly, she goes full throttle to good effect, and her numerous diatribes are particular highlights. In 2019, her polemical work Hench was nominated for the Edinburgh Comedy Award. Despite its similar title, Wench is a much more relaxed hour which broadly avoids anything too heavy. After the turbulent and fruitful year she’s had, it’s a shame that Wench isn’t a bit more focused, but it’s nice to see Fostekew so happy and self-assured. (Murray Robertson) n Monkey Barrel, until 28 August, 4.45pm.

JOANNA NEARY

WASP IN A CARDIGAN lllll

Joanna Neary breaks with character comedy tradition and surprisingly opens her show by briefly appearing as herself, sharing the pitfalls of living as an eccentric freelance artiste in the vanilla confines of Eastbourne. Elsewhere, however, all the usual wonderful Neary hallmarks are in place. Twittish romantic Celia Johnson hosts a whole gang of larger-than-life characters plucked from Neary’s own experience or very loosely inspired by famous folk. There’s Cornish school friend Morwenna, a version of Kate Bush who is obsessed with the drawer in everyone’s kitchen where the junk lives, and Björk singing about whatever it is Björk sings about. They move through the hour entertaining us with interpretive dances and a cavalcade of dodgy wigs while the titular wasp climbs up the charity totaliser cardigan, feeding on the applause. Neary’s universe is eclectic and other-worldly; you can’t help but wonder whether it was the Cornish upbringing that put the quirk in her bones. But over that she lays an almost instinctive turn of phrase, squeezing humour out of tall tales of the WI, Cornish friendships and bizarre celebrity impressions; you don’t get much more ‘Fringe’ than this. For those already on board, you should go, as this is typical Neary brilliance. For the uninitiated, where have you been? (Marissa Burgess) n The Stand 2, until 28 August, noon.

PICTURE: JENNIFER MEIN MEIN LIN

HANNAH PILKES

A WOMAN ON THE VERGE lllll

Writing as someone reluctantly pulled on stage in this show, playing a child opposite his hot mom in a schlock slasher movie, some comedians can make audience interaction absolutely horrific. Others make it literally sing and forge a communal atmosphere, with Hannah Pilkes firmly in the latter camp. The character comic’s sketches run the gamut of tightly honed (her opening skit in which the tall, angular, very white American hilariously twists herself in knots at her intermediate hip-hop dance class) to later sequences set in a restaurant and beer-tasting meeting which lack a strong premise. But even in these, she engagingly shoots the breeze with her confused volunteers, the ease of her improv belying its skill. Forever distracted from the supposed start of this show, some early David Bowie Labyrinth nods hint at the comedian’s crazed wedding fantasy to come. Although a little patchy in places, Pilkes is thoroughly winning as she channels seemingly real pre-nuptial insecurities into this loopy debut. (Jay Richardson) n Underbelly Bristo Square, until 29 August, 7.15pm.

list.co.uk/edinburgh-festival |10–16 August 2022 | THE LIST FESTIVAL 67

REVIEWS

LAUREN PATTISON

IT IS WHAT IT IS lllll

COMEDY

A couple of years ago, Lauren Pattison appeared to have the world at her feet, performing at Sydney Opera House and expecting to become engaged to her boyfriend. Then the pandemic hit and she split from her partner, prompting what can only be characterised as an almighty personal overhaul and professional reset. Struggling to find a job until live comedy resumed, then finally securing work in a supermarket, the engine driving her subsequent awakenings is once again the subject of class. In retrospect, she can see how unsuited she was to living in London, which she did for the sake of her career, and how she’s now prioritised her mental health in returning to her native Newcastle. Fiercely protective of the ‘Toon against ridicule and stereotype, it’s part of her broader defiance not to simply people-please anymore. Although this feels like a resurgence-inprogress somewhat, Lauren Pattison has successfully reapplied for her role as one of the UK’s most exciting twentysomething comics. (Jay Richardson) n Monkey Barrel, until 28 August, 12.30pm.

TOM DETRINIS

I HATE NEW YORK lllll

PICTURE: PATRICK MAUS

Via a precisely penned monologue peppered with vignettes depicting his family, friends and lovers, Tom DeTrinis tells us about his life story so far. Growing up gay in an Italian family in Long Island, New York, his Christian relatives looked at the young DeTrinis and his arch yet feminine ways with suspicion. He soon realised that his best bet was to hide his true nature. This is a decidedly candid account before he even gets to the list of secrets he’s prepared to divulge. He paints evocative images throughout: the beige sweater which a ten-yearold DeTrinis got for Christmas is a particularly enjoyable one. The characters in his life are conjured vividly too; he creates three versions of his imaginary ‘had he lived’ uncle namesake while his pious aunt Miriam sounds a blast and most of us have experienced the obstructive bartender. An hour well spent. (Marissa Burgess) n Assembly Rooms, until 27 August, 6.20pm.

GLENN MOORE

WILL YOU STILL NEED ME, WILL YOU STILL FEED ME, GLENN I’M SIXTY MOORE lllll

PICTURE: NATASHA PSZENICKI

68 THE LIST FESTIVAL | 10–16 August 2022 | list.co.uk/edinburgh-festival

Glenn Moore never drops out of fifth gear in this greasedlightning show. He doesn’t pause to bask in the laughs from his last gag as he hurtles on to the next harassed punchline. His breathless, intense delivery is irresistible and a lot of his material focuses on his ‘always on’, work-obsessed, insomniac style. Another chunk of this densely written routine takes on the big dilemmas of a thirtysomething; namely, squaring the honest reality that he truly dreads becoming a parent with the tough prospect of losing his girlfriend over it. But among the storyline about his girlfriend’s crush on her exboyfriend and his hearse-driving brother, Moore has jokes. Plenty of them. Old-fashioned puns, clever plays on words, masterful deadpan one-liners in the wholesome style of Eric And Ernie, crossed with the self-deprecating darkness of a posher, more English Rodney Dangerfield. Moore is already a regular guest on TV shows such as Mock The Week and The Stand-Up Sketch Show, but you could easily imagine him being very comfortable doing more mainstream telly. At least there you would have the advantage of the pause and rewind buttons for some of the more breakneck sections of his fantastic fast-forward quips. (Claire Sawers) n Pleasance Courtyard, until 28 August, 4.05pm.

“Magnificent performance”

mooney on theatre

“outstanding” “A must-see show” Toronto Audience reviews

my own private

shakespeare by Justin Hay, featuring select scenes by william shakespeare Directed by Mona Zaidi

2022 edinburgh fringe august 5-27 Greenside at riddle’s Court willow studio

www.modernclassictheatre.com

scan code for more info and tickets

list.co.uk/edinburgh-festival |10–16 August 2022 | THE LIST FESTIVAL 69

HIGHLIGHTS

COMEDY HIGHLIGHTS

COMEDY

Spooky double acts, celebs, sharp young comics and people off the telly gather up for some comedy fun this week

ALEX KEALY

One of the sharpest young comedy minds in the biz takes on tech giants, advertising and addiction in his new Winner Takes All show.  Monkey Barrel, until 28 August, 4.15pm.

BOORISH TRUMPSON

Lecoq-trained clown Claire Parry brings physicality, absurdity and serious interaction to bear in this power play that might make you think of two political bullies.  Assembly Rooms, until 26 August, 3.30pm.

ANGELA BARNES

Alex Kealy (and bottom from left), Seann Walsh, Janeane Garofalo, Simon Evans

PICTURE:

In Hot Mess, the acclaimed stand-up reflects on her recent ADHD diagnosis, and how this fits almost too perfectly in a world that’s not exactly in balance.  Pleasance Courtyard, until 28 August, 7pm.

NORRIS & PARKER

SEANN WALSH

He’s still feeling the fall-out from the Strictly kiss, but Seann’s show this year is more about his dad and how he passed on certain things to his young lad.  The Stand, until 28 August, 10pm.

ED MOO

This duo, Katie and Sinead, like a dark joke or sinister routine and they’re at it again with a nautical extravaganza entitled Sirens.  Monkey Barrel, until 28 August, 9.15pm.

JANEANE GAROFALO

The star of many a great US TV show gets up on stage for a full run at the Fringe for the first time ever with a show entitled Pardon My Tangent.  Gilded Balloon Teviot, until 28 August, 7.15pm.

70 THE LIST FESTIVAL | 10–16 August 2022 | list.co.uk/edinburgh-festival

SIMON EVANS

This year, ole clever clogs is bringing us His Big Ideas, with a show all about philosophy and politics.  Assembly George Square, 15–28 August, 7.45pm.

JUST THE TONIC IS BACK

FOR EDFRINGE 2022 Feast your eyes upon our offerings

19:20 - 21:20

21:45 - 23:45

The most talked about smash hit show of the festival returns

18:10 - 19:10 4th - 28th August

Gloriously Funny

Unmissable

SCOTSMAN

EDINBURGH EVENING NEWS

8 PM

4-28 AUG (not 15th) WWW.TOMSTADE.COM

TICKETS

list.co.uk/edinburgh-festival |10–16 August 2022 | THE LIST FESTIVAL 71

DANCE

DANCE PICTURE: AMY SINEAD PHOTOGRAPHY

CHARLOTTE MCLEAN

Charlotte Mclean has named her Fringe show And. There are reasons why, which are best laid out by her in the blurb for her show: ‘And is a dance poem, a new autobiographical work that explores identity and womanhood . . . And is a tribute to every living creature on this earth . . . And is to feel, to fail, to experience, to share and to be.’ But above all, ‘And is hope’. Something that we all need to believe in right now. (Brian Donaldson)  Dance Base, 16–28 August, 6pm.

72 THE LIST FESTIVAL | 10–16 August 2022 | list.co.uk/edinburgh-festival

REVIEWS PICTURE: PIERRE TAPPON

STEPHEN PELTON DANCE THEATRE

END WITHOUT DAYS 

DANCE

Choreographer Stephen Pelton has created a beguiling mystery in this duet, elegantly performed by Freya Jeffs and Edd Mitton. His programme notes are not explanations (nor explorations) but instead presented as ‘clues’: in 2017 he watched a friend faint, and saw a book whose upside-down title gave its name to the piece; a year later, the US government enacted an immigration policy separating children from their parents; 20 years ago, Pelton dreamt he was facing a firing squad. They’re all arresting images to plant in the viewer’s mind, but they also have the effect of turning this piece into a David Lynch-style puzzle. There are echoes of separation (and the devastating inability to reverse time) in patterns of backward movement and repeated fugues. Images of blindness and the need to be supported come in fingers touching lightly, or hands raised to eyes. Perhaps unintentionally (nevertheless beautifully), Jeffs’ and Mitton’s shadows are replicated in enormous form on the theatre walls. Marc Kate’s score intersects Purcell with low electronic rumbles, creating a dream-like atmosphere that contrasts clarity with disorientation. This isn’t a puzzle you will definitively solve, but that doesn’t matter; the dance is poetry on its own terms. (Lucy Ribchester)  Dance Base, until 21 August, 7.30pm.

PICTURE: JASSY EARL

SARAH HOPFINGER

PAIN AND I 

Sarah Hopfinger has created something extraordinary in Pain And I. Part poetry, part memoir, it’s a piece where dance and movement are laid against total stillness, and unbridled raving contrasts with tender caresses. Every moment is a revelation, in a performance that examines Hopfinger’s long-term relationship with chronic pain. She opens by making sure we all feel comfortable in the space. ‘Stand, lie down . . . stim, snack . . . close your eyes.’ Hopfinger wants us to know we don’t have to be polite here. She appears fully nude, peeling away layers of social conditioning to become raw and honest. ‘I’m scared of this body,’ she says. And yet the same body also generates total power as she cavorts shamanically across the stage. Performed live at Summerhall, there are also audio versions, a graphic score and BSL interpretations available. Despite it being a hugely personal work, Hopfinger has thought carefully about how to include everyone in her story. (Lucy Ribchester)  Summerhall, until 28 August, 1.25pm.

CIRK LA PUTYKA

BOOM 

Spread out evenly across the stage, pairs of Ukrainian and Czech performers cling to each other. One couple are ten feet off the ground, suspended by a trapeze; they spin slightly as if in the wind. Another pairing embrace at the top of a black pole that runs from ceiling to floor. Dotted around the stage are more groups of two, arms around their partners. Some are contorted in acrobatic poses, some stand with their feet planted firmly on the ground. Cirk La Putyka and Kyiv Municipal Academy Of Variety And Circus Art collaborate on this incredibly heartfelt and personal performance. The act’s undeniable talent spans gymnastics, juggling, trapeze and dance. But what’s most impressive about Boom is their young members’ ability to remain joyous in the face of adversity and war; over the course of an hour-long routine, we’re told several of the performers’ stories, some of whom had to flee Ukraine earlier this year. The performance’s untidiness at times only adds to its authenticity. Boom’s cast share their personal passions and talents with us, in a way that appears part-improvised and free from rigidity. Their inspiring honesty helps the audience get to know them as people as well as performers. Boom is more than a circus performance: it’s a revealing look into the personalities and lives of its cast, and a celebration of the joy they find in movement. (Rachel Cronin)  Underbelly Bristo Square, until 28 August, 3.30pm.

list.co.uk/edinburgh-festival |10–16 August 2022 | THE LIST FESTIVAL 73

HHHH ‘ACHINGLY FUNNY... WORTH SEEING AGAIN AND AGAIN.’ TIME OUT

74 THE LIST FESTIVAL | 10–16 August 2022 | list.co.uk/edinburgh-festival

SEE YOU

DANCE

dance showof the week e•d

e•d

anc 5 STARS

anc

PICTURE: HUANG YU-HSUAN

Choreographer Lai Hung-Chung is a rising star in his home country of Taiwan. Lucy Ribchester hails this startling talent as his brilliant company scoop a rave review for See You

few years ago, Taiwanese choreographer Lai Hung-Chung witnessed a car accident. Shocked and disturbed by it, he nevertheless found himself unable to articulate his turbulent thoughts. Soon however, Lai came to realise that this ‘indescribable state’ was something we all experience at different points in our lives, triggered by many different events: death, loss, separation. See You is the work that evolved from his exploration of the indescribable. By its nature it’s not a literal piece of dance, and yet in among Lai’s discombobulating landscape of movement are fleeting images we recognise: a slumped body, an embrace, two people trying desperately to connect. These come and go with the ebb and flow of the movement, in among unsettling moods and moments of tenderness that ambush you to take your breath away. Lai’s vision has the precision of calligraphy and the breadth of a symphony, brought into being by a phenomenal team of dancers. One of the great powers of choreography is to put images into your mind that you’ve never seen before and may never see again. In See You, it’s the line of tightly pressed dancers shuffling side by side, one of them clasped horizontally at waist height, their

trapped legs flailing helplessly. Or a maze of bodies shape-shifting to block the path of an individual as she tries to escape. Or the multi-headed snake of dancers, all facing forwards, necks whipping from side to side. Yet the piece also blindsides you with its descriptions of intimacy and longing. Two dancers stand staring at each other, mirroring tiny movements as the distance between them shrinks but never quite closes; it’s a heart-breaking image of the bittersweetness of grief. Yang Yu-Teh has designed costumes that echo this state of disruption. Deceptively plain, in ivory linen, on closer inspection they reveal ruches and irregular patterns of embroidery or are sharply bisected by a slash of fabric in another colour. The score, composed by Hsu Chia-Wei, similarly welds together unexpected sounds; ghostly electro interrupted by the groaning of strings, or electrical clicks that are later contrasted with the soft pattering of rain. Lai Hung-Chung is still a young choreographer who, in the last six or so years, has been scooping up awards in his home country. He is a startling and rare talent. Let’s hope this won’t be the last time that Edinburgh Festival audiences see him and his brilliant company. Dance Base, until 28 August, 5.30pm.

PICTURE: CHEN CHIH-CHANG

list.co.uk/edinburgh-festival |10–16 August 2022 | THE LIST FESTIVAL 75

REVIEWS

DANCE

BREAKING 

This innovative, high-energy piece, performed by Korea’s national contemporary dance company, combines the jagged, bold angles of contemporary dance with the flow and fluidity of hip hop. Choreographer Lee Kyungeun has taken the notion of breaking free from society’s constraints, and created a piece that journeys through disparate patterns and disjointed worlds, to arrive at a bold communal dance party, thrumming with uplifting vitality. The ensemble appear in clothing cut from the same green and pale fabric, although one or two buck the mould with a pop of black or tie-dye. They peer curiously around, first at us, then at the back wall of the stage, as if these are the boundaries of their existence. They break off as individuals and become lost in their own dance, while folkloric echoes (bell chimes and traditional melodies) ripple through the score. A dancer appears bearing a giant Perspex sheet, which he squashes suffocatingly against his hands. More Perspex sheets appear, with more dancers piling up in them; it all looks crushingly painful. And yet as they trudge with the sheets on their backs, the reflection also creates a mirror image of the dance, as if it’s being performed twice, once bearing heavily on the dancer, the other weightless in some parallel world. This hopeful reflection eventually comes to pass. The walls are broken; the disjointed movements of that first half all melt into an infectious, wild harmony, and the ending (full of popping and street dance) is joyous. (Lucy Ribchester)  Dance Base, until 14 August, 9.30pm.

76 THE LIST FESTIVAL | 10–16 August 2022 | list.co.uk/edinburgh-festival

PICTURE: AIDEN HWANG

KOREA NATIONAL CONTEMPORARY DANCE COMPANY

REVIEWS PICTURE: KATIE BENNETT

CASUS CREATIONS & MAD DANCE HOUSE

COLLISION 

PICTURE: BAMBU

KALLO COLLECTIVE

RECEPTIONISTS 

A five-star hotel, a customer service desk, a telephone and a bowl of fruit: welcome to the world of the receptionists, brought to life by Kallo Collective’s comedic geniuses, whose physical humour and nonsensical, disorganised dialogue prove slapstick clownish comedy is far from dead. Inga Björn and Kristiina Tammisalo have an original and chaotic chemistry that lets pandemonium take over. Their indescribably bizarre customer service methods have the audience in bits for the majority of this hour-long show of fantastic Finnish clownery. They refuse to answer the phone, poorly attempt to fold towel swans and, above all, try to keep themselves entertained when there’s a lack of customers: these ridiculous receptionists make the mundane marvellously funny. The show’s traditional slapstick comedy doesn’t feel outdated, but instead totally classic, and deliciously suited to the Fringe. Bouncing off the walls and the audience, this duo are definitely an act to watch. (Rachel Cronin)  Summerhall, until 28 August, 4.15pm.

list.co.uk/edinburgh-festival |10–16 August 2022 | THE LIST FESTIVAL 77

DANCE

Dance and circus skills melt together in this glorious show from Brisbane companies Casus Creations and Mad Dance House. Six young, exceptionally bendy performers flex with grace and power to a soundtrack of new hip hop and R&B plus classic Tupac, Stevie Wonder and Salt-N-Pepa. There are impressive group routines where bodies tessellate and stack effortlessly upon each other, plus dazzling solos (come early for a seat near the front to properly appreciate all the footwork). Wanida Serce is part of Brisbane’s vogue ballroom scene (House Of Alexander) and brings an early highlight with her liquid, robotic dance routine. Queer performance artist/gymnast Riley Colquist contorts and writhes elegantly with flesh-coloured stilettos on their hands and feet, while Sam Evans mimes classic circus tricks of juggling and plate spinning, with body popping and Robocop choreography. Acrobat Amy Stuart gracefully hula hoops then casually carries colleagues on her shoulders, and butch, swaggery B-boy Benny Bucho has a bus-stop dance battle with the lithe Colquist. It would be a spoiler to reveal what Ela Bart’s special skills are near the end, but the whole show is an extra-tightly packed, freshly squeezed extravaganza of amazing acrobatic poetry in motion. (Claire Sawers)  Assembly George Square Gardens, until 28 August, 2.55pm.

XXX

spotlight CANADA Edinburgh Art Festival

TELL ME OF YOUR BOATS AND YOUR WATERS —WHERE DO THEY COME FROM, WHERE DO THEY GO? - Nadia Myre Edinburgh Printmakers

Edinburgh International Film Festival FRAMING AGNES Filmhouse & Vue Omni

Edinburgh International Festival

THE BOOK OF LIFE - Volcano, Canada and Woman Cultural Centre, Rwanda Church Hill Theatre

Edinburgh Festival Fringe AGE IS A FEELING - Haley Mcgee Summerhall FAMOUS PUPPET DEATH SCENES - The Old Trout Puppet Workshop Assembly Roxy FELT - Bill Coleman Dance Base ONE ARRIVAL - Gaurav Bhatti & Vikram Iyengar Dance Base SOMETHING IN THE WATER - Scantily Glad Theatre Summerhall

Edinburgh International Book Festival

AISHA BUSHBY ● ALEXANDER MACLEOD ● ALYCIA PIRMOHAMED DANNY RAMADAN ● EMILY ST JOHN MANDEL ● ESI EDUGYAN ● KIM THÚY ● LENNIE GOODINGS ● MARTHA WAINWRIGHT ● MATTHIEU AIKINS ● MICHAEL IGNATIEFF ● MIRIAM TOEWS ● SHEILA HETI

1 78THE THELIST LISTMarch FESTIVAL 2022| 10–16 August 2022 | list.co.uk/edinburgh-festival

CIRCUS ABYSSINIA

Taking the story of the first African woman to win a gold medal at the Olympic Games, Tulu is a mesmerising and breathtaking display of acrobatics and juggling. n Underbelly Circus Hub, until 27 August, 2.15pm.

DANCE

DANCE HIGHLIGHTS

Another week of yet more treats in the worlds of dance, circus and physical theatre for all you lucky Festival-goers

Angel Monster (and bottom from left), CIrcus Abyssinia, Closing Party, The Rest Of Our Lives

DONUTS

CTURE: FE N LAN

In this fun-filled homage to popular culture of the 90s and 00s, we see a trio of pals getting prepared for a night on the town when the spirit of dance suddenly captivates them. n Assembly George Square Gardens, until 14 August, 4.25pm.

PHOTOG

MATERIA

RAHPY /

What would you do if a piece of polystyrene came alive? This is the dilemma posed in a show which drifts between darkness and serenity. n Summerhall, until 14 August, 10.15am.

SEAN DO WLING DE

CLOSING PARTY

HEROES

Czech group Losers Cirque Company are on winning form in this pantomime crossed with an acrobatics show. n ZOO Southside, until 19 August, 4pm.

SIGN

This marks the final part of Wooshing Machine’s trilogy, an absurd and ironic ball which denotes nothing less than the end of someone’s history. n Dance Base, until 14 August, 4.50pm.

ANGEL MONSTER

Consent and empowerment do battle in this visceral and modern affair from Australia’s Phluxus2 Dance Collective. n Assembly Checkpoint, until 28 August, 3.10pm.

THE REST OF OUR LIVES

A former dancer and an ageing clown collaborate for this joyful cabaret-style explosion of circus, dance, theatre and games. n Summerhall, 16–28 August, 10.15am.

PICTURE: CATRIONA JAMES

PICTURE: BROC276

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FEATURE

FEST IVAL PARTY

For decades The List Festival Party has been the number one way to kick off the busiest time in Edinburgh’s calendar. On Thursday 4 August, crowds descended on Summerhall for our annual shindig and were treated to a bevy of shows from a diverse range of performers. So, indulge us as we spend the next 200 words saying a Fringe-sized thank you to everyone who came along and every company that helped make our evening a roaring success. First up, thank you to our incredible sponsors Johnnie Walker Princes Street, Three Fold, DICE, LNER, Bounce Back and Dishoom. Thanks also go to LOOKLOOK for letting our guests capture memories in its photobooth, Fantoosh for their face painting expertise, Silent Adventures ˇ for bringing their silent disco craziness to the party, Giles Walker for sorting the tunes in the Cafe and DJ Trendy Wendy for keeping the evening rolling with her excellent tunes in the Dissection Room. A massive shout out also goes to James Gourlay on photography and video duties, and to Katie Bevan, Linsey Nicol, Eve Davidson, Olivia Bird, Tom Hermanovský and Gilly Bain at YOURgb Events for taking on event management and helping make this a night to remember. To all of our brilliant volunteers and, of course, a big thank you to Graham Main, Brian Hutchison, and Izzy Almond from Summerhall for all their work. And now onto our amazing roster of acts, starting with the evening’s compères Eric Davidson, Dan Kelly, Tina Del Twist, Shirley Gnome and Baby Lame. And thank you to all the performers who entertained us throughout the evening; The Chosen Haram, Boorish Trumpson, Cirque Berserk, Dom Chambers, Just These Please, Best Of Burlesque, Johnnie Walker Whisky Tasting, Magical Bones, Martin Creed, Something In The Water, Conrad Koch, Grant Busé, Sugarcoated Sisters, Diane Chorley, Jesus L’oreal, Fills Monkey, QUEENZ, Aidan Sadler, Kate Butch, Rosy Carrick, Marcel Lucont, Erick Acuña, Eunice Olumide, Living A Little, Jim The Magician, Freddie Hayes, Milly-Liu, Pianodrome and Reuben Kaye. To everyone who came along, we hope you enjoyed yourself. We’ll see you next year for 2023’s #ListFestivalParty.

#LISTFESTIVALPARTY

list.co.uk/festival | 11 - 20 August 2022 | THE LIST 11

FILM

FLUX GOURMET

They’ve appeared in two of the biggest TV shows of the past decade but now Gwendoline Christie (Game Of Thrones) and Asa Butterfield (Sex Education) are thrown together in another wonderful if weird slice of cinema from Peter Strickland. The English director follows up the lavish Duke Of Burgundy and In Fabric with the curious tale of a performance art trio getting themselves engorged in a residency at an institute where no one and nothing seems especially grounded. There’s food, there’s flatulence and there’s a firestorm of creativity in every frame. (Brian Donaldson)  Filmhouse, 14 August, 8.20pm; VUE Omni, 15 August, 1.30pm.

82 THE LIST FESTIVAL | 10–16 August 2022 | list.co.uk/edinburgh-festival

REVIEWS

A CAT CALLED DOM

(DIRECTED BY WILL ANDERSON)

lllll

FILM

‘It’s supposed to be a funny film. About cancer. But it’s not funny . . . ’ Film-maker Will Anderson finds the stresses of working as an animator in an Edinburgh studio are put into perspective when his mother is diagnosed with mouth cancer: could a cartoon cat save the day? This documentary mixes animation, found footage and re-creations to tell Anderson’s story, but the real star is an animated cat called Dom. Anderson and Ainslie Henderson created Dom, a painstaking process that they describe as ‘putting life into something.’ Lo-fi Dom is a little bit Felix The Cat via David Shrigley, and Anderson’s conversations with his creation provide a valuable outlet for his anxieties. Trigger warnings apply to those who want to avoid the serious subject matter. But this BBC Scotland production is also easy to empathise with, and helping Anderson get in touch with his own feelings is just one of the useful services that Dom provides. ‘The things that you make are your conversation with the world . . . ’ is the take-away here, and A Cat Called Dom is more than a documentary about illness; it offers a positive mental health message in a quirky, upbeat way. (Eddie Harrison) n Cameo, 13 August, 5.30pm; Filmhouse, 19 August, 7pm.

A CLEVER WOMAN (DIRECTED BY JON SANDERS) lllll Quietly poignant, A Clever Woman portrays a bittersweet navigation of the complexities of family life and loss. The impeccable Josie Lawrence and Tanya Myers play sisters Dot and Phoebe who must return to their childhood home on the Isle of Wight to clear away their late mother’s belongings. Simultaneously, they must confront uncomfortable truths about their parents. Mourning is presented as a long and complicated journey in this convincingly funny and ever-surprising film. Jon Sanders and Anna Mottram’s production style seems almost improvised at times; Lawrence and Myers’ dialogue is an intricate dance that adds to the film’s painful rawness. David Scott’s hauntingly nostalgic cinematography contributes to themes of sisterhood, emptiness and the need to face an unspoken past. A Clever Woman (the title inspired by poet Mary Coleridge, whose work is prominent throughout) is an intimate, uncut exploration into the intricacies of family life. (Rachel Cronin) n Everyman, 15 August, 4pm; Filmhouse, 17 August, 11.15am.

FUNNY PAGES

(DIRECTED BY OWEN KLINE) lllll Owen Kline’s directorial debut is a throwback indie to the grungy days when filmmakers like Todd Solondz were in vogue. Set around an aspiring comic book artist, it’s a film that bucks the trend for superheroes. Instead, teenager Robert (Daniel Zolghadri) wants to be a sort of subversive creator from the underground scene, like Robert Crumb or Peter Bagge. Right from its perverse opening, Funny Pages plays like an adolescent American Splendor, the 2003 biopic of irascible comics guru Harvey Pekar that starred Paul Giamatti. Leaving behind his comfy suburban lifestyle with his longsuffering parents (Maria Dizzia, Josh Pais), Robert moves to New Jersey, to a horrifying basement-level hole-in-thewall owned by Barry (Michael Townsend Wright), who sits all day in his underwear due to the extreme heat. With his childhood friend Miles (Miles Emanuel), Robert dreams of finding a gateway into the business, an opening which materialises in the shape of Wallace (Matthew Maher), whom he meets through his part-time work. A former colourist for the famed Image Comics, the older Wallace becomes something of a hero to Robert, despite his anti-social behaviour, and Kline deploys him like an explosive device in the final hilarious and hysterical act. For a film whose characters essentially bum around, the script boasts precision timing. Son to stars Kevin Kline and Phoebe Cates and a former actor (he appeared as the younger brother in The Squid And The Whale), Kline coaxes sublime work from his cast, in a film that’ll have you squirming and laughing in equal measure. (James Mottram) n Filmhouse, 14 August, 6pm; 19 August, 11.50am.

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REVIEWS

LUCK

FILM

(DIRECTED BY PEGGY HOLMES)  A cute and colourful animation, Luck is a modern-day fantasy that will appease children with its airy charm. The protagonist is Sam Greenfield (voiced by Eva Noblezada), an 18-year-old foster care kid who was never adopted. She also has a stream of constant bad luck (losing keys, bike tyres deflating and so on). But despite all this, she’s an upbeat optimist who wants to find her fellow in-care friend Hazel a ‘forever family’. The search leads her to look for a lucky penny, which she finds, only to lose it. Typical. It turns out this charmed coin belongs to Bob (Simon Pegg), a talking Scottish-accented black cat who happens to be an emissary from the Land of Luck. Intrigued, Sam follows Bob into the portal that leads him back to this netherworld, where luck is randomly attributed. The CEO of this sparkly universe is a pink-suited dragon (Jane Fonda), who can sniff out misfortune a mile off. ‘The tiniest amount of bad luck can shut down our operation,’ she roars. While Sam plagues the feline to help her find the lucky penny for Hazel, the plot is perhaps less interesting than the atmosphere director Peggy Holmes and her team conjure. Madonna’s ‘Lucky Star’ pipes jauntily across the soundtrack, a German-sounding unicorn pops up and Sam passes special departments (‘jam side up’) where fortune is doled out. With a clear message about putting good into the world, it may not be as emotional as a Pixar project, but it’s still a heartfelt ride. (James Mottram)  VUE Omni, 13 August, 10.30am.

CONNECT MUSIC FESTIVAL .COM

A DF CONCERTS PRESENTATION

FRIDAY 26 AUG

SATURDAY 27 AUG

SUNDAY 28 AUG

THE GRAND PARADE

John Grant

Bonobo | The Twilight Sad

Mogwai Bombay Bicycle Club Little Simz

IDLES | Jon Hopkins Jessie Buckley & Bernard Butler The Mysterines Charlotte Adigéry & Bolis Pupul Future Utopia | Maeve

The Chemical Brothers Caribou

Holly Humberstone

Chloe Moriondo | Lucia & The Best Boys

GUITARS & OTHER MACHINES

Joesef

Ride playing Nowhere

Moses Boyd | CMAT | LYRA | Cloth Jealous of The Birds | LVRA

UNKNOWN PLEASURES

Erol Alkan | Krystal Klear

I. JORDAN | Hammer | TAAHLIAH KILIMANJARO | Pocket

Dance System | Nightwave | Push It Nadia Summer B2B DIJA

SPEAKEASY

Black Scot Pod LVRA In Conversation | Tiny Changes Keynote LVRA Fern Brady | Sean McLoughlin | Mark Nelson Katie Pritchard | Connor Burns

Leyla Josephine Marjolein Robertson Stuart Braithwaite & James Graham In Conversation Tom Cashman | Finlay Christie | Jenny Bede Brennan Reece

26 – 28 AUGUST 2022

84 THE LIST FESTIVAL | 10–16 August 2022 | list.co.uk/edinburgh-festival

Black Country, New Road | Rae Morris Rachel Chinouriri GUITARS & OTHER MACHINES

Idlewild playing The Remote Part

UNKNOWN PLEASURES

Horse Meat Disco

in association with A selection of comedy, spoken word, story telling, conversations, and live podcasts

ROYAL HIGHLAND CENTRE SHOWGROUNDS

Self Esteem

Admiral Fallow | Sudan Archives DEHD | Hamish Hawk Lizzie Reid | Kathleen Frances

Optimo (Espacio)

in association with A selection of comedy, spoken word, story telling, conversations, and live podcasts

The National

EDINBURGH

Sam Gellaitry | Jamz Supernova Barry Can’t Swim | Rebecca Vasmant Karma Kid SPEAKEASY

in association with A selection of comedy, spoken word, story telling, conversations, and live podcasts

Darren McGarvey Rebecca Vasmant In Conversation Alycia Pirmohamed | Justin Moorhouse Becky Lucas | Joe Wells | Troy Hawke Jo Caufield

REVIEWS

ELECTRIC MALADY

(DIRECTED BY MARIE LIDÉN)



FATHER’S DAY

(DIRECTED BY KIVU RUHORAHOZA)



Kivu Ruhorahoza (Grey Matter, Things Of The Aimless Wanderer) is one of a number of gifted Rwandan filmmakers currently making waves in world cinema. In a national industry barely two decades old, Ruhorahoza (along with the likes of Marie Clementine Dusabejambo, Shyaka Kagame and Samuel Ishimwe Karemangingo) has taken the baton passed by the father of Rwandan cinema, Eric Kabera (Africa United), and used it to rail against the perceptions of genocide and trauma that consume their country’s narrative. Ruhorahoza’s fifth feature is a slow, quietly brooding meditation on grief and the patriarchy’s idiocy. On the outskirts of modern-day Kigali, two women find healing and redemption from different kinds of trauma in their friendship with one another. Meanwhile, an unhinged street hustler poisons the mind of his charge with casual violence and cruelty. Father’s Day is a film of pregnant pauses and simple framing: wide or close up, it’s always static, with the occasional self-conscious flourish of Godardian camera shift or slow fade to black closing a scene. It’s a film about collective loss, deprivation and disempowerment, whose representation of female connection is tender, moving and at times magical. (Paul Dale)  VUE Omni, 14 August, 11am; Filmhouse, 18 August, 1.15pm.

. . MUSIC

DANCE

VIVE FUNK

BAMBOOZLED

jesse rae

sonia killmann

THEATRE

S-EX-IETY purple soup crew, asbl

Aug 10-17

Aug 5-14, 16-22, 24-27

20:30 | 8+

20:30 | 14+

15:00 | 16+

MUSIC

STEVENSONGS

paris: from piaf to pop!

Aug 6-8

fergessen, bvzk Aug 5-9, 11-14, 16-22, 24-27 18:00 | 12+

The List 1 2 advert.indd 1

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christine bovill Aug 18-22, 24-28 20:30 | 5+

18/07/2022 11:40:14

list.co.uk/edinburgh-festival |10–16 August 2022 | THE LIST FESTIVAL 85

FILM

Marie Lidén’s documentary film deals with electro-sensitivity, a condition in which the patient suffers from exposure to modern technology. Closing credits include a World Health Organisation estimate that up to three per cent of the population suffer similarly, but it’s rarely discussed, making Lidén’s film a welcome breach in a dam of silence. Will lives in Sweden; he suffers from a condition that has caused him to physically withdraw, his head hidden under a mess of fine cotton threads that earn him the description ‘the ghost.’ Will’s family, who warmly describe him as a ‘vole’ and a ‘poppet’, support him, but with the local social security system denying his illness exists, it’s an uphill struggle to identify the cause. With Faraday cages and aluminium mosquito nets pressed into service, Electric Malady details the work-arounds required to manage Will’s condition. He finds solace in music, from Fairport Convention to Sinéad O’Connor, even if he has to listen with a cake tin over the CD player. Pertinent comparisons are made with smoking, asbestos or DDT; it’s clear that there’s much we don’t yet know about electro-sensitivity, and Lidén’s sensitive, caring documentary provides us with an instructive look at an empathetic patient zero. (Eddie Harrison)  Filmhouse, 13 August, 4.15pm; 18 August, 8.20pm

FILM HIGHLIGHTS

FILM

HIGHLIGHTS

Movies from Canada to Chile and Australia to Argentina put the international in Edinburgh International Film Festival’s opening salvo

PHANTOM PROJECT

This new Chilean movie features a haunted cardigan as a bunch of twentysomething creatives try to make ends meet and keep their house plants from dying. n VUE Omni, 14 August, 2.15pm; Cameo, 15 August, 9.20pm.

DREAM LIFE

The first narrative feature in Quebec to be directed by a woman, this female-led groundbreaker from 1972 revolves around the tight friendship between two pals who finally realise that hanging around for a man is a barmy idea. n Filmhouse, 13 August, 4.30pm.

THE TERRITORY

A Brazil led by Bolsonaro is one in which indigenous people are under constant threat. This film looks at those who are saying no to state repression and finally fighting back. n VUE Omni, 13 August, 2pm; Everyman, 19 August, 6pm.

SISSY

Dubbed as the ‘missing link between glitter and gore’, this Australian feature looks at how childhood bullying can lead to big trouble further down the line. n VUE Omni, 16 August, 9.30pm; Cameo, 19 August, 5pm.

WINNERS

An ode to Iranian cinema, this film from Hassan Nazer follows two young children who discover a precious golden statue, a find that opens up a whole new world to them. n Filmhouse, 13 August, 8.15pm; 15 August, 1pm.

Our Happiest Days (and bottom from left), Phantom Project, Sissy, The Territory

OUR HAPPIEST DAYS

Imagine you were in your 70s and woke up one day as your eight-year-old self: you probably can’t do it. In this film, such a leftfield scenario simply opens up some old family wounds. n Filmhouse, 13 August, noon; 17 August, 6.10pm.

86 THE LIST FESTIVAL | 10–16 August 2022 | list.co.uk/edinburgh-festival

HEART OF OAK

With no words spoken, this nature documentary allows the viewer to soak in the majesty of an old oak tree and revel in the cast of furry (and otherwise) characters who inhabit that world. n VUE Omni, 14 August, noon; Filmhouse, 18 August, 6.10pm.

GUITAR DANCES Luca Villani

Valtzes, Rondó, Malambo and Fandango

27th-28th August 2022

Aug 18 & 23 @ 6pm Aug 20 @ 1pm Fringe Box Office

Valvona & Crolla

+44 (0)131 226 0026 +44 (0)131 556 6066

VALVONA & CROLLA, VENUE 67 19 ELM ROW, EH7 4AA

CLASSICAL GUITAR & BEL CANTO

It’s intimate, it’s expansive, it’s joyful and an engaging festival to be at. Razia Iqbal, Journalist and Broadcaster

Silvia Mirarchi Soprano Luca Villani Guitar Songs from Dowland to Brouwer and Operatic Arias

Traquair House Innerleithen EH44 6PW

£12/£10 concession

Tickets available now 0131 290 2686 bbintfest.com

Aug 15 & 22 @ 1pm Aug 19 @ 6pm

#BBIF

www.patrickmaillouxluthier.com

NEW

PE SPE TI ES

list.co.uk/edinburgh-festival |10–16 August 2022 | THE LIST FESTIVAL 87

KIDS

I PIANO

A piano and a little girl fly out of their house and around the world, meeting a conductor in a mountain, a monk at the North Pole and an octopus having a whale of a time at the bottom of the sea. But what they’re really after is the music that the piano has lost so that they can truly reconnect with each other again. This tale is created by Adrian Hornsby who previously worked on an opera with Ai Weiwei. And if ever a venue was suited to host such a magical show, Pianodrome has to be it. (Brian Donaldson)  Pianodrome At The Old Royal High, until 14 August, 11am, 3pm.

88 THE LIST FESTIVAL | 10–16 August 2022 | list.co.uk/edinburgh-festival

CHORES

k i ds

s• k

• ki d 4 STARS

id s •

Chores is a relentlessly brilliant and silly slice of circus for young kids. Lucy Ribchester savours a pair of bedroom-tidying clowns who could create physical comedy from any situation

hat better way is there to introduce young children to circus than through a scenario they are all bound to recognise: being told to tidy their room. Thus begins Chores, with the classic cartoon-style offstage voice of Mother, issuing instructions to her recalcitrant, messy darlings. These darlings are Australian circus duo, Shannon Vitali and Christian Nimri, of Hoopla Clique, who bound onto the stage, dungaree-clad and speaking a toddler proto-language. They’ve been promised a ride on their bikes if only they will clear up the clothes, toys and teddies strewn across their bedroom floor. Cue an hour of clowning, face-pulling, acrobatics, slapstick, bottom jokes and some water-based audience participation (caution: if your children are sensitive to being sprayed with water, do warn them in advance). Nimri and Vitali are both slick, skilled acrobats (and deceptively good roller skaters, skidding about on a minuscule stage space). They find ways to turn that tumbling, arm-flailing energy which children seem to possess into routines involving flinging each other around, or using each other’s bodies as climbing frames. At one point, Vitali falls asleep on a building block and Nimri has to carefully manoeuvre her into all sorts of delicate positions in order to build a precarious tower, before shimmying to the top. Though it’s all carefully choreographed, it feels terrifyingly spontaneous. They’re also fabulous at frothing up the kids in the crowd with their inability to understand the simple instructions being yelled at them. They ‘accidentally’ turn a block with ‘C’ painted on it the wrong way up, which prompts a host of tiny voices to point and shout, ‘the C! The C!’ Nimri frowns. ‘C? Ah, Sí, Español!’ The children combust with yelling. But it is Vitali and Nimri’s rapport with each other, and their ability to perfectly embody the anarchic personalities of young kids that carries the show: you get the impression that, like all the best clowns, they could draw physical comedy out of anything. They find creative ways to steal each other’s soft toys and stick pants on one another’s heads, while Vitali has a scene-stealing meltdown at a (wrongly accused) farting teddy bear. It’s relentlessly, brilliantly silly, with the kind of observational accuracy about kids’ gleeful, malicious behaviour that parents will either find triggering or hilarious (but probably the latter). Assembly George Square Gardens, until 28 August, 1.25pm.

list.co.uk/edinburgh-festival |10–16 August 2022 | THE LIST FESTIVAL 89

KIDS

kids showof the week

REVIEWS

PICTURE: NATHAN GALLAGHER

SK SHLOMO

KIDS

SHLOMO’S BEATBOX ADVENTURE FOR KIDS 

When you think about it, beatboxing is the perfect entertainment for families. What kid doesn’t love blowing raspberries? And what adult doesn’t enjoy reminiscing about music from their youth? In Shlomo’s Beatbox Adventure For Kids, award-winning beatboxer SK Shlomo condenses hip-hop culture into an easily digestible hour that is engrossing for kids and grown-ups alike. Rather than a straight performance, Shlomo packs in a Beatboxing 101. By the end of the show, they promise, the audience too will be ‘superstar beatboxers’. Shlomo skilfully breaks down basic hip-hop concepts, from a brief trip back to its New York origins (with the audience making suitable timetravel noises with their mouths) to learning to make a hallmark appreciative bass face (first nod, then frown ‘like you’ve just eaten a piece of broccoli’). Shlomo evidently knows how to command a young audience, keeping them engaged with regular quips and calls for interaction. Equally, when a quick tutorial in spitting bars culminates in a beatboxing championship, Shlomo is thoughtful and approachable enough that even the youngest competitors can take part with confidence. As for the beatboxing, it’s clear that Shlomo has been practising since they were eight, showing incredible dexterity when they swoop from record scratches to screechy bass, with drum loops and even a trumpet thrown into the mix. The full spectrum of the genre’s legacy is on display, as Shlomo manoeuvres between OG hip-hop beats, dubstep and drum’n’bass. It’s clubland for kids, with enough 1990s throwbacks (Fresh Prince, anyone?) to indulge the parents too. (Becca Inglis)  Pleasance Courtyard, until 28 August, 12.05pm.

WORLD CLASS FAMILY SHOWS EVERY DAY

BE SOCIAL

EDINBURGH PREMIERES!

90 THE LIST FESTIVAL | 10–16 August 2022 | list.co.uk/edinburgh-festival

ALL SHOWS

REVIEWS

GEMMA SOLDATI

THE ADVENTURES OF SLEEPYHEAD 

DOKTOR KABOOM

DOKTOR KABOOM AND THE WHEEL OF SCIENCE! 

PICTURE: FAT YETI PHOTOGRAPHY

Doktor Kaboom (aka performer David Epley) is your quintessential mad scientist: steampunk goggles, canary yellow hair, fire painted onto his boots, crazy accent. But he also has the goods with which to back up his larger-than-life stage persona. There’s an element of chance to this show, based around a Wheel Of Fortune set-up, where each spin results in an experiment. At this show, we were treated to demonstrations of electron-proton attraction using giant zorb-style bodysuits; a hovercraft made from a poker table and leaf blower; and a pickle lightbulb. It’s all wild and wacky enough to make kids’ eyes pop, while also being meticulously, carefully explained in a way that empowers children to know that they too can become scientists, with nothing more than an inquisitive mind. Like a magic show, but all the better for the mind-bending explanations behind the magic. (Lucy Ribchester)  Pleasance Courtyard, until 21 August, noon.

‘Clear, accessible, moving...amazing’ Guardian

‘One of the Summer’s best cultural events’ The Times

‘I loved it. I loved all of it’ Primary Times Children's Choice Awards

‘Rather special and unique’ ★★★★ List

Join BBC Covid expert Professor Tom Solomon CBE in this fun, interactive, sell-out show 3rd-16th August (10.30am) 0131 556 6550 @RunningMadProf www.pleasance.co.uk

list.co.uk/edinburgh-festival |10–16 August 2022 | THE LIST FESTIVAL 91

KIDS

PICTURE: DAN DERBY

Dreams are at the heart of this children’s show, as the protagonist Sleepyhead, played by awardwinning clown Gemma Soldati, takes audiences on a coming-of-age journey to reach the mythical destination of ‘adulthood’. In this engaging hour, children and parents are invited to share their bedtime stories and sleep-related tips, all the while kept on call to wake Sleepyhead when she inevitably nods off. Many sensory boxes are ticked, with the inclusion of jazz music, glistening props and even a shadow-puppet sequence. Mess is also embraced, with a classic shaving foam/whipped cream bit and a dream cook-along, which calls for ingredients like glitter, sand and many, many feathers. The narrative follows Sleepyhead on her quest against time to keep her childhood dreams alive, with assistance from the moon and sun (both depicted as large static puppets voiced by Soldati’s parents). With the performance suitable for children of all ages, Sleepyhead isn’t startled by baby heckles and, in fact, embraces them, moulding deviating moments into jokes which the adults in attendance can enjoy. A few wobbles from forgotten lines were well recovered from and, most impressively, little ones remained enthralled in the action for a full hour. (Megan Merino)  Assembly Roxy, until 29 August, 11.10am.

REVIEWS

ARC CIRCUS

KIDS

BEE STORY 

PICTURE: KAI LEISHMAN

Queen Bee Lizzie McRae of ARC Circus sure knows how to make an entrance. We don’t want to spoil any surprises, but it’s safe to say that even if you’re sitting behind the person with the biggest hat in the theatre, you’ll still be able to spot her. Australian-based ARC has created a charming piece set around the story of two bees (bossy Queen McRae and her eager, put-upon worker bee Robbie Curtis) as they try to find the perfect hive. Both McRae and Curtis are outrageously talented: McRae plays Lizzo’s ‘Juice’ on flute while being flung every which way; Curtis climbs precarious towers and juggles on a unicycle (there is so much Fringe nostalgia for a child of the 80s seeing someone juggle cutlasses on a unicycle); and both of them hoist each other aloft. The sticky honey that holds the show together, however, is the clowning, and while the characters McRae and Curtis have created are clear and loveable, they don’t always hit the mark with their humour or storytelling: it feels at times more like a series of skits than a continuous tale. Still, there is plenty of sweetness with zero sting in this buzzing Bee Story. (Lucy Ribchester)  Underbelly Bristo Square, until 28 August, 11.45am.

TRUNK THEATRE PROJECT

MARY, CHRIS, MARS 

PICTURE: SIEN PARK

A sweet story of space exploration and finding a friend, Trunk Theatre Project’s Mary, Chris, Mars is a light-hearted and expertly put-together piece of puppetry and theatre, telling a heart-warming story of two lonely astronauts who meet by chance on Christmas Day. Accompanied by Hahyungki Baek’s dreamy live music compositions, mainly played on bass, this multimedia show forms part of the Korean Showcase 2022. From old-school projectors to glove-puppet astronauts, this pleasant and peaceful performance doesn’t heavily rely on new technology. Yeeun Cho, Wonjun Ryu and Hyeon Park (Mary, Chris and Mars, respectively) are positively captivating, working seamlessly together to portray a cosy tale. Flitting between Korean and English language passages, this small cast transcend through the night sky in a spacey show that reminds us to remain in awe of the stars and also to cherish our friends. (Rachel Cronin)  Summerhall, until 28 August, 1.30pm.

BASIL BRUSH

BASIL BRUSH’S FAMILY FUN SHOW 

92 THE LIST FESTIVAL | 10–16 August 2022 | list.co.uk/edinburgh-festival

PICTURE: STEVE ULLATHORNE

With an influence that spans generations, the UK’s favourite fox is back with a boom boom! He’s celebrating 60 years in showbusiness with a birthday party, and the whole family is invited. Joined by his loveable sidekick Mr Martin (and special robotic visitor P.A.N.T.S), our ginger icon hosts an afternoon of song, dance, storytelling and laughs. Buttoned up in his signature green blazer (complete with shiny sequins: it’s a party, after all), Basil captures the attention of tiny tots and pre-teenagers alike. Kicking off with a mega-mix of party songs (plus snacks if you can catch them), Mr Martin and his furry friend have their young audience in a foxy frenzy. The pair bounce off each other with an energy that mesmerises kids and adults alike. Water pistols, magic tricks gone wrong and group singalongs are more than enough to keep little ones in fits (with a few jokes sprinkled in for the adults too). Mr Martin has a visible passion for entertainment, ensuring every face in the crowd (including his own) is lit up with laughter. It’s no wonder Basil Brush has lasted in the business since 1962; he satisfies an obvious element of nostalgia for parents and, having developed several new generations of fans, our fluffytailed friend continues to keep the kids smiling too. (Rachel Cronin)  Gilded Balloon Teviot, until 21 August, 12.30pm.

EVERYTHING HAS CHANGED

Rhum + Clay bring their unique theatrical vision to a children’s show all about the chaos of the last few years in the world and how best to deal with it.  Pleasance Courtyard, until 16 August, 10.40am.

MARCEL LUCONT: LES ENFANTS TERRIBLES  A GAMESHOW FOR AWFUL CHILDREN

Shows with negative names for kids have become all the rage at recent Fringes, and who better to take this sub-genre one step too far than the laconic and caustic Frenchman.  Gilded Balloon Teviot, until 14 August, 1pm.

DINOSAURS AND ALL THAT RUBBISH

Michael Foreman’s classic children’s book is 50 years old and here comes a wildly imaginative retelling of his environmental tale, featuring dancing dinosaurs, rock’n’roll, and a whole heap of anarchic fun.  Assembly George Square Studios, until 21 August, 10am. Dolly Diamond (and bottom from left), Leonardo! Whirlygig, Dinosaurs And All That Rubbish

DOLLY DIAMOND’S STORYTIME

Just four chances to see this Australian open up her beloved Story Box Library which features fun and sometimes fruity tales for the family.  House Of Oz, 12 & 13, 19 & 20 August, 11am.

FLAMENKIDS

A fun introduction to the classic Spanish dance for the little ones, with lots of chances to make a fine old noise with castanets, percussion instruments and passionate clapping.  St Andrew’s And St George’s West, 14, 21 August, 2.30pm.

WHIRLYGIG

Co-produced by Catherine Wheels, this zany adventure features sonic puzzles, courageous musicians and around 30 instruments for your pleasure.  Dance Base, 11–21 August, 12.30pm.

MANUAL CINEMA PRESENTS: LEONARDO!

What if you were a monster who wasn’t especially scary? Multimedia giants Manual Cinema tell the tale of one such creature.  Underbelly Bristo Square, until 29 August, 1.45pm.

PICTURE: CRAIG FULLER

PICTURE: MIHAELA BODLOVIC

PICTURE: MO WILLEMS

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KIDS

KIDS HIGHLIGHTS

A laconic Frenchman, Australian storytellers and Spanish dancing all hit the spot for kids in this second week of the Fringe

94 THE LIST FESTIVAL | 10–16 August 2022 | list.co.uk/edinburgh-festival

´ DYRA

MUSIC

SQUAREPUSHER

PICTURE: DONALD MILNE

Almost certainly the most frenetic live show being put on by the International Festival this August, Squarepusher (aka Tom Jenkinson) will take no prisoners with his hardcore drill and bass antics. Initially inspired to be a musician by Metallica but later admitting that Frank Zappa is his key influence, you can just about hear both of those acts in his uncompromising stance to the work. If you love Squarepusher, this is the night for you. If you have even half a cheek on the fence: good luck. (Brian Donaldson)  Leith Theatre, 13 August, 8pm.

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GET THE PARTY

MUSIC

LOS BITCHOS

96 THE LIST FESTIVAL | 10–16 August 2022 | list.co.uk/edinburgh-festival

With their infectious Latin psych-pop energy, Los Bitchos are bringing good times to Edinburgh. Iain Leggat discovers the four-piece revelling in being back on the road and praying that a certain celeb will show up at one of their gigs

os Bitchos are on a mission to get everyone dancing. After releasing their debut album, Let The Festivities Begin!, in February, the ragtag band haven’t exactly eased gently back into live gigs post-pandemic. Completing a short supporting tour with Belle And Sebastian, as well as stints at SXSW in Austin, Texas, six weeks in Europe and three weeks back in the US, the band have barely caught a breath. ‘It’s been hectic, but such an adventure,’ drummer Nic Crawshaw tells me over email. ‘We’ve played 67 shows since the album came out. At one stage a couple of years ago, it was

hard to imagine being able to travel this much again. But now we’re getting the chance to do a percussion jam with Belle And Sebastian during “Legal Man”.’ The party has been a long time coming. Production for their album ﬁnished up in early 2020, and ﬂights were booked to head out to SXSW, but the pandemic pushed everything back. The internet, however, found a way for their infectious musical energy to burst through, and success via the popular online KEXP live performance show brought a whole new audience; session opener ‘Lindsay Goes To Mykonos’ (inspired by cult TV show Lindsay Lohan’s Beach Club) provides a most perfect intro to the Los Bitchos fun. Offering groove, Latin rhythms and psychedelic rock vibes, Los Bitchos supply style, stunning fashion and enough genre-blending to allow their audience to choose what kind of party they want. ‘It’s up to the listener. I think there’s something in there for all occasions,’ guitarist Serra Petale says. ‘You can choose your own adventure. You can party, cry, make your dinner or dance your ass off.’ The audience’s adventure is set within the musical landscape of 70s and 80s cumbia, a genre originating from South America with swaying grooves and twangy guitar riffs. The music is a perfect soundtrack to lazy days in the sunshine; however, it’s given a truly vibrant jolt when performed live.

MUSIC

STARTED

LOS BITCHOS

‘We all have a background of playing in punk bands, and that energy comes through live,’ Crawshaw says. ‘We all play a bit heavier live, and people come up for a party and a dance and that’s awesome to see from the stage. We really feed off that energy; it’s a two-way exchange.’ Is this all part of the band’s ethos? ‘We haven’t exactly formulated an ethos yet,’ bassist Joseﬁne Jonsson explains, ‘but I’d say it would be something to the tune of only doing things that are fun. And don’t overthink anything!’ The globetrotting band met in the cultural melting-pot of London, with the four members hailing from Australia, Uruguay, Sweden and Britain. ‘London exposed us to a wider range of music and cultures,’ Petale says. The group also managed to catch the attention of Franz Ferdinand frontman Alex Kapranos, whose extensive musical knowledge swayed the band into asking him to produce the album. ‘Alex has become an honorary member of Los Bitchos,’ Petale adds. ‘He embodies all of that Scottish wit and humour and eternal optimism, which is so fantastic to work with.’ The band will get a chance to bring their honorary ‘Bitchos’ on stage when they support Franz Ferdinand soon. And one name will remain ﬁrmly on their guestlist, as it has through all of 2022: Lindsay Lohan. Any luck getting her to a show yet? ‘No!’ Jonsson exclaims. ‘But we keep manifesting her arrival will happen.’ Los Bitchos, Summerhall, 16 August, 7pm. list.co.uk/edinburgh-festival |10–16 August 2022 | THE LIST FESTIVAL 97

98 THE LIST FESTIVAL | 10–16 August 2022 | list.co.uk/edinburgh-festival

REVIEWS

INTERMUNDIA & LUCIA LA REZZA

EPIC FILM MUSIC CONCERT  MUSIC

In separating the score from the screen, this group of talented Italian musicians endearingly rearrange and perform wellknown film music with limited instruments, while trying to teach audiences a thing or two about leitmotifs. Covering works from John Williams to Hans Zimmer, bandleader, synth player and pianist Edoardo Romussi provides interesting context to every song and quizzes audiences on which films they appear in. Fellow arranger and core member of Intermundia, Luca Montorsi, is on electric guitar while guest member Lucia La Rezza brings a compelling energy to the show as she thrashes on an electric violin, adding frills and solos to every track. But despite undeniable musicianship, the compositions on this particular day were too quiet to be cinematic and too synthetic to be emotive. Drum synthesisers attempt to emulate the booming bass of battle drums while La Rezza’s impressive solos could barely be heard over the GarageBand-esque metronome clearly intended to keep everyone together. The trio also manage to sprinkle in a couple of original compositions, which a slightly apprehensive first-show audience politely listen to with less than whole-hearted enthusiasm. With most of the crowd clearly there to hear ‘Hedwig’s Theme’ from Harry Potter, the major highlights rely on familiarity (and a particularly uncanny version of Game Of Thrones’ main theme). This perhaps confirms that Intermundia’s strength lies in their ability to replicate epic rock-infused music you might hear in a fantasy film rather than creating cinematic universes of their own. (Megan Merino)  Gilded Balloon Teviot, until 29 August, 2.30pm.

DUANE FORREST

CLIMB 

‘I like talking to people,’ says Duane Forrest in the opening to his one-man show Climb, a beaming smile adding to his innate sense of charm. Part travelogue and part song showcase, this breezy hour revolves around our singer-songwriter’s jaunts across the globe and his encounters with beautiful women along the way. His earnest admiration of the female form allows him to segue into a few lilting guitar tunes of love, loss and sensuality. The result is akin to hearing your mate’s anecdotes about their gap year, an experience underlined by Forrest’s Eat Pray Love-esque descriptions of locales as ‘healing’, ‘magical’ or simply ‘good’. The women in his tales are sold equally short, reduced exclusively to their physical traits. I couldn’t tell you a thing about his ex-girlfriend’s personality, but her gorgeous legs are mentioned with the regularity of a horndog’s vocal tic. Remedying the shallow narrative are Forrest’s silky vocals and the easy-going nature of his songwriting. Tangents into his mental health promise a weighty theme that goes sorely underexplored. It needs work, but Forrest’s unaffected songcraft and obvious charisma makes this a pleasant, if airless, climb. (Kevin Fullerton)  Underbelly Bristo Square, until 29 August, 5.45pm.

HIPHOP ORCHESTRA EXPERIENCE 

Mashing together classical music and contemporary jazz/hip hop has the potential to produce obvious results. It’s to the credit, then, of composer JooWan Kim and his crew that it’s actually rather thrilling. Working with 15 musicians from the Royal Conservatoire Of Scotland, Kim’s three-man ensemble produce a fairly blistering hour-long set. A large part of the success is due to LJ Alexander, whose exploratory jazz drumming offers a welcome bridge between styles. Meanwhile, at the centre of the stage, MC Young Rashad is a charming presence, though sometimes overshadowed by the compositions themselves. The show is tight and, at times, the amount of talent in the room seems like a real force to be reckoned with. However, it’s perhaps one soaring tune away from being a real firecracker of an evening. Overall, a fun, slightly diverting performance that threatens to tip into powerful territory. (Sean Greenhorn)  TheSpaceTriplex, until 14 August, 11.35pm.

PICTURE: PAT MAZERRA

ENSEMBLE MIK NAWOOJ

HIGHLIGHTS

MUSIC HIGHLIGHTS

MUSIC

From Fringe queens to new-jazz kings, and digeridoos to karaokes, the music will play on well into the Festival’s second week

THE MOULD THAT CHANGED THE WORLD

A pacy musical thriller might not be what you’d expect from the story of Alexander Fleming and his magical world of antibiotics, but this is pretty much what we have here. n Edinburgh Academy, 11–17 August, 7.30pm; 13 August, 2pm.

CAMILLE O’SULLIVAN

The Fringe queen is back with Dreaming, featuring tunes both big and small that she will undoubtedly deliver with style and substance. Very few acts can command a stage and crowd like Camille. n Underbelly Bristo Square, until 28 August, 7.20pm.

SONS OF KEMET

PICTURE:

London’s jazz scene is hotter than ever, and these guys are positively scorching, with their Afro-Caribbean style merging with strong political sentiments. And in Shabaka Hutchings, they have an astute bandleader of great authority and talent. n Leith Theatre, 14 August, 8pm.

HAUER PH

DJSCHIFF

SHONA THE MUSICAL CHOIR

MASSAOKE

OTOGRAPH

Inspired by and named after events surrounding the Shona tribe in Africa, the cross-cultural music of this choir is something to behold. n Pleasance At EICC, 10–14 August, 2.10pm.

START TO END: HEAVEN OR LAS VEGAS

House band Rockstar Weekend are in town for, quite probably, the biggest party Edinburgh will be throwing this August. Get your spandex on and prepare to sing along at this mass karaoke. Wonder if that’s how they got their name . . . n Assembly George Square Gardens, until 28 August, 11.45pm.

This classic Cocteau Twins album from 1990 is the Start To End guys’ latest show, which is sure to be an ethereal treat. Good luck to whoever is attempting Liz Fraser’s voice, though. n Summerhall, 14 August, 7pm.

CHINEKE! CHAMBER ENSEMBLE & WILLIAM BARTON

William Barton is a didgeridoo master and this collaboration with the innovative Chineke! Chamber Ensemble is set to be a delight as they play pieces by Mendelssohn and Barton himself. n Queen’s Hall, 12 August, 11am.

PICTURE: UDOMA JANSSEN

PICTURE: NTANDO BROWN

Top: Massaoke (and bottom from left), Chineke! Chamber Ensemble, Sons Of Kemet, Camille O'Sullivan

100 THE LIST FESTIVAL | 10–16 August 2022 | list.co.uk/edinburgh-festival

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THEATRE ROOM

Swiss artist James Thierrée was last at the Edinburgh International Festival in 2016 with The Toad Knew. Did the man know he was to be back within a decade? Well, here he is with Room, another vibrant, visual and hallucinatory piece of theatre which fuses live music, dance and mime to create pretty much something that is both singular and largely unclassifiable. (Brian Donaldson)  King’s Theatre, 13–16 August, 8pm; 17 August, 3pm.

PICTURE: RICHARD HAUGHTON

102 THE LIST FESTIVAL | 10–16 August 2022 | list.co.uk/edinburgh-festival

THEATRE

e c n a d y t safe

IN THE INTEREST OF HEALTH AND SAFETY

21Common’s ‘deranged disco’ of a show puts a collection of 7 to 14-year-olds centre stage and in control. Lucy Ribchester wonders whether we should dare embrace the pedarchy

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THEATRE

IN THE INTEREST OF HEALTH AND SAFETY

xxx

t’s a sign most people will have seen at one time or another in public spaces. Indeed 21Common lead artists Lucy Gaizely and Gary Gardiner were in Glasgow’s Tramway 20 years ago with their two-year-old son, when he fell and hit his head. The response of a nearby member of staff? To point to a poster instructing them to keep a better eye on their child. ‘At the time our instinct when parenting had been to take risks and allow exploration,’ says Gaizely. ‘We were naive to the more middle-class parenting frameworks!’ The incident stayed with the Glasgow-based theatre practitioners, and many years (and a few more children) later, they decided to make a show interrogating the idea of childhood safeguarding. ‘We became interested not only in the idea of children and obvious risk but the contradictions that us parents have regarding ideas of risk,’ adds Gaizely, pointing out that children these days are more likely to have access to the internet than they are to be allowed to play on the street or go on a bus into town alone. ‘Our perception is that some things are distasteful and need to be feared, whereas constant media images of unattainable sex appeal and beauty like Ariana Grande are harmless. We wanted to make a show that directly challenges these ideas.’ From the outset (the show was first produced in 2019) it was essential to 21Common that they involve children in the creation process.

The company put out a call for 8 to 13-yearolds with an enthusiasm for theatre and dance. This time around, some of the cast are returning while others join for the first time, making the age range slightly wider (7–14). ‘The children are not professional performers,’ Gaizely says. ‘So it provides the work with an authentic sense that anything might happen. We explore pedarchy, which essentially means “a society run by children”. We’re interested in the rules we impose on children that they wouldn’t impose on themselves.’ Have there been challenges working with such a young cast? ‘Risk and safeguarding, ironically!’ Gaizely says. ‘We have to spend a long time bringing the kids into the theme so they understand some of the more complex adult ideas. We obviously seek permission from parents and talk about some of those themes.’ Gaizely believes our risk-averse approach to contemporary parenting is ‘very human’ but in the end comes at a cost. ‘I feel like we can see the consequences already. We have generations of lonely young people who live a virtual existence. I would hope that seeing the work, people will experience a sense of joy and exhilaration at the freedom.’ In The Interest Of Health And Safety Can Patrons Kindly Supervise Their Children At All Times, Assembly Rooms, 15, 17–21 August, 1pm.

104 THE LIST FESTIVAL | 10–16 August 2022 | list.co.uk/edinburgh-festival

Two full-length musicals from one of the top performing arts institutions in the world

5-28 Aug

(alternate days)

10am

LITTLE WOMEN

The Broadway Musical

Assembly Rooms, George Street

Book online:

rcs.ac.uk/ rcsedfest

GODSPELL

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REVIEWS

IAN MCKELLEN & PETER SCHAUFUSS

THEATRE

HAMLET WITH IAN MCKELLEN lllll

PICTURE: DEVIN DE VIL

There has been no shortage of full-length, in-depth versions of Hamlet since Shakespeare gifted it to the world in the early 1600s. So why bemoan the fact that this one isn’t the ‘real deal’? A 75-minute truncated version of one of the most performed plays ever written, conveyed almost entirely through the medium of dance instantly makes it very singular. The fact that a British theatrical legend plays the titular role is almost incidental: this is a ballet from start to finish. With those expectations managed, let’s focus on the show’s very real appeal. Ian McKellen is, as you might imagine, magnificent. Every word that drips disdainfully from his mouth takes you to the heart of this character’s pain. Brief snatches of those infamous soliloquies are peppered throughout, but it’s a light dusting not an avalanche. Much of the storytelling is done through dance, with Caroline Rees as the emotionally torn Gertrude and Chauncey Parsons playing the villainous, newly crowned Claudius, while Kate Rose is the lovelorn Ophelia; all of them carry the heaviness of their roles with aplomb. Luke Schaufuss (son of director and choreographer Peter Schaufuss) is a dancing dynamo as Horatio and members of Edinburgh Festival Ballet fill out the stage nicely as courtiers. At the heart of this piece lies the role of Hamlet, played by both McKellen and dancer Johan Christensen almost as if they were conjoined twins. Christensen conveys grief, despair and anger with his body; McKellen conveys it with his voice and demeanour. A glossy production (sadly, but understandably, set to recorded music) surrounds them, which may not break any boundaries but most certainly entertains. (Kelly Apter) n Ashton Hall, St Stephen’s Stockbridge, until 28 August, 7pm

SALVADOR DINOSAUR

THE ANNIVERSARY lllll

The Anniversary is a determinedly old-fashioned physical comedy. A couple prepare for their 50th anniversary party, only to find themselves defeated by weather, clumsiness and the rigours of old age. Climaxing in a knife fight, they not only destroy their elegantly presented buffet, but even the pet rabbit and their entire relationship. The humour is broad, the slapstick straightforward and, while there is an uncurrent of discomfort (these are pensioners eating cat food and losing control of their bodily functions), the tone is consistently jocular. Although there’s plenty of energy from the duo, and a charming guest appearance from a puppet cat, the humour disguises a lack of depth in the characterisation. Both Barb and Jim are stereotypical old people: there are moments of affection but they rarely reveal any connection. If the plot is never sentimental, it also never takes advantage of any potential pathos, leaving it rather mean-spirited in the tormenting of this couple. The broad strokes of these characters establish a mild antagonism from the first scene and, even as the action escalates through pratfalls towards a deluge that finally sweeps them away, there is little development. The Anniversary has plenty of belly laughs but little dramatic tension. (Gareth K Vile) n Pleasance Dome, until 28 August, noon.

CHARLOTTE ANNE-TILLEY

ALMOST ADULT lllll

This one-person show centres on Hope, a garishly immature young woman who moves from a small Northern town to London, saddled with misplaced expectations. Tracing Hope’s journey from naivety to self-awareness, Almost Adult combines comedy and trauma through hilarious dancing and heart-wrenching soliloquies. While the protagonist’s presence is strong, as the plot intensifies and the actor slips in and out of accents, at times it’s hard to decipher which character is speaking. Almost Adult is an important yet didactic introduction to the concept of enthusiastic consent. There’s a sense that the dialogue around consent could be pushed further; instead, the baddies are stereotypical, including a sleazy boss and a horrifying Tinder date. Still, the show does successfully portray the scope of how sexual assault might be perpetuated in a workplace. If the writing was less reliant on deploying the naivety card, there might have been more depth to Hope’s character. In the aftermath of sexual assault, she’s stripped of this unworldliness, and the absence of her most integral quality invertedly seems like a punishment. Although lacking in some nuance, if the show teaches just one person about the necessity of enthusiastic consent, then Almost Adult has done its job. (Rachel Ashenden) n Gilded Balloon Patter Hoose, until 28 August, 1.40pm.

REVIEWS

HARLOW PLAYHOUSE

WRECKAGE 

THEATRE

Sam and Noel are lovers who thought they would be together forever, before everyday tragedy rips them apart. As Tom Ratcliffe’s play makes clear, however, lost love is more than purely a physical thing. Opening on the fateful day when everything changed, the play flits between past, present and future. We see the mutual devotion between this couple, rewinding to how they met before lurching to the pain that follows as ghosts linger while life goes on. Director Rikki Beadle-Blair makes his actors (Ratcliffe as Sam, Michael Walters as Noel) jump through a series of emotional hoops in a narrative whirligig that would be easy to lose control of if not paced as carefully as it is. Ratcliffe and Walters, on stage throughout, are to be admired for their restraint. As a series of projected photographs illustrates key moments, the scenario here is familiar from the likes of Truly Madly Deeply and Ghost. Despite its dramatic invention, the play’s structure perhaps lends itself more to the screen. But its final moments take a leap beyond all that, fast-forwarding through a matter of life and death in heartrending fashion. (Neil Cooper)  Summerhall, until 28 August, noon.

PICTURE: GRANT ARCHER

HOPE MILL THEATRE

CLASSIC! 

In what can only be described as brilliantly organised chaos, Hope Mill Theatre’s cast of six attempt to squeeze the complicated and even dreary plots of 42 classic novels into just an hour. From Pride And Prejudice as a silent film to Tess Of The D’Urbervilles in barbershop-quartet style, Classic! is a juggernaut of haphazardness that has its audience in fits at times. This quick-paced show, created by Coronation Street writers Lindsay Williams and Peter Kerry, and directed by Joyce Branagh (sister of you-know-who), has a cast who bounce off each other (and the crowd) in a pantomime-like performance packed with music, comedy and witty improv. Audience participation and terribly made props only add to its quirky charm and originality. But beware: those in the front row can expect a bonnet or straw hat to be dumped on their head at any given moment. (Rachel Cronin)  Pleasance Courtyard, until 29 August, 2.40pm.

REDBEARD THEATRE

AFGHANISTAN IS NOT FUNNY BY HENRY NAYLOR 

PICTURE: ROSALIND FURLONG

Henry Naylor’s newest work revisits his hit 2003 play Finding Bin Laden. In that show, the comedian and former Spitting Image writer reckoned with the gruelling conflict in Afghanistan through satirical farce. For this new piece, Naylor himself guides the audience through a personal journey that seeks to ask questions about our humanity along with wider ethical questions around the west’s involvement in Afghanistan. Naylor is a talented comedian and his commanding stage presence combined with his personal attachment to the material, gives the show a gravity it would lack in less able hands. The play is structured around a therapist visit, and a sizeable chunk has Naylor recounting a research trip he made to Kabul during the development of Finding Bin Laden. A screen shows images from that journey, with striking shots that add authenticity to his words. Naylor questions his humanity and empathy through what he perceives as his selfish pursuits in the face of conflict he has seen. However, some of this comes across as a bit confused; despite multiple moments of self-realisation throughout his life, Naylor nonetheless does centre himself in this story. The deeper ruminations on human connection he seems to want to convey become somewhat lost next to anecdotes about Hugh Grant. Ultimately, the absence of deeper thematic heft or revelatory satire prevents the show from being as thought-provoking as it could be. However, it does manage to balance its serious subject with moments of levity to create an engaging piece of theatre. (Sean Greenhorn)  Gilded Balloon Teviot, until 29 August, 4pm.

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108 THE LIST FESTIVAL | 10–16 August 2022 | list.co.uk/edinburgh-festival

BOY

THEATRE

theatre showof the week PICTURE: STEF STESSEL

e •t In Boy, a botched circumcision has distressing and farreaching consequences for a child and his family. Gareth K Vile praises a powerful gender identity tale that is both subtle and troubling

a he t r

e• t

a he t r 4 STARS

lthough the true story behind Boy shares a resemblance with many shows about gender identity, its moral conundrum is a matter of medical ethics and abuse. After a circumcision goes horribly wrong, Bruce becomes Brenda and a Harvard-educated doctor insists that love and hormones can complete a male to female transition. But Brenda is a child, no consent is possible, and their parents are naively optimistic about the power of science. Despite the cuddly toys that stand in for the characters, this is an uncompromising critique of how the medical industry can ruin lives through over-confidence while molestation is often hidden by authority. The understated performances and dramaturgy demonstrate how to dramatise a real-life horror without sensationalism. Teddy bears are torn apart, but the tone is gentle, even forensic. Told from the perspective of the parents, who place their faith in a doctor, the play sketches the case out, completing its story with video footage but denying melodramatic responses. The sparseness of the staging and lack of hysteria only make the suffering more emotive, more immediate. Yet without any moralising, the script makes its condemnation of a system that claims to be scientific and rational all the more direct.

There are moments that appear to comment on the polarisation of male and female identity, but the narrative is not interested in exploring this beyond a context for Bruce/Brenda’s childhood. Given a sewing machine, Brenda takes it apart with a screwdriver; sent to school in a dress, she nevertheless longs to climb trees and fight. The suggestion that Brenda’s male identity is trying to emerge is not, however, a defence of the idea that gender is fixed but rather an expression of how imposition of identity is traumatic. The two parents, with Mennonite heritage but a desire to be modern, are victims of a doctor who has an arrogant confidence in his understanding of gender but is also a paedophile; their two children are both damaged beyond repair by their treatment. Brenda’s twin brother struggles with drug abuse, while Brenda, having finally learned the truth of her transition, begins to live happily as a man. The power of this production is both in a calmness of presentation and a willingness not to dictate meaning but allow the story to speak for itself. Subtle and troubling, Boy is a profoundly ethical work that finds a way to draw from life without relying on shock and awe. Summerhall, until 28 August, 11.30am.

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XXX

SCRIPPED UP

TINTED lllll

THEATRE

Six years on from #MeToo, Tinted tells the story of Laura, a seemingly ‘undateable’ woman who is living with sight loss and coming to terms with a traumatic historic sexual assault. The show reveals her unique challenges in life and love as we revisit significant memories, time-hopping through a story that’s punctuated by the legacy of a single moment that changed everything. At its heart is a decent performance from Fringe newcomer Charlotte Eyres. Barefoot in pyjamas, she holds the audience with authenticity and presence throughout, shining in the more dynamic, high-energy moments (a burst of song showcases a talented voice we would have liked to hear more of). It’s regrettable, then, that one particular emotional moment fell flat, overwhelmed by the unnecessarily loud, constant whizzing of a room fan. For a story that promises to provide a new lens on its subject, Tinted ends without much impact, lacking the framework required to prop up its message. (Zara Janjua) n Gilded Balloon Patter Hoose, until 28 August, 12.20pm.

ROSY CARRICK

MUSCLEBOUND lllll

Perfectly poignant and profound, Rosy Carrick returns to the Fringe with a funny and reflective retelling of her journey of self-discovery and sexual expression. This is a journey with an unlikely starting point (an erotic obsession with 80s bodybuilder action movies, specifically ones with humiliating torture scenes) and an unexpected end (an attempt to reclaim Carrick’s dwindling sexual power). After multi award-winning debut Passionate Machine, Carrick’s quirkiness continues to crack us up. With witty anecdotes, honest opinions and an undoubted sense of realness, she leaves the audience laughing with relatability and nodding in agreement. Not only does Musclebound drip with Carrick’s charisma and burst with originality, it also presents an honest story of a woman and her adolescent daughter navigating the world of sex and desire. A few technical difficulties here and there only add to the show’s raw authenticity, and Carrick expertly carries the crowd with her despite them. A niche subject matter to say the least, Musclebound is more than a woman exposing a fetish for what she describes as ‘tortured beefcake’. At the piece’s heart is an important revelation and conversation on the shame that surrounds female desire. (Rachel Cronin) n Assembly Roxy, until 28 August, 5.50pm.

VOODOO MONKEYS

TODAY I KILLED MY VERY FIRST BIRD lllll Posing as a gritty melodrama with a poetic heart, Today I Killed My Very First Bird describes the life of a man nurtured towards violence and degradation. There is a climax of ambiguous redemption, a cataloguing of abuses rendered and received, and a journey into the darkness of a gangster life that is ultimately too familiar to shock but raw enough to provoke questions about the possibility of grace. Beginning with a monologue from this thuggish protagonist, the script draws focused performances from a cast of five. By turns, an addicted mother, sex workers, allies, enemies and victims are paraded, each character depicting the criminal’s descent into a deeper mire of brutal sex, drugs and vengeful violence. The savage scenes are abruptly replaced by a moment of understanding in a conclusion that is equal parts bloody and spiritual. This finale feels awkward and incongruous but has a dramatic intensity that insists on the potential of good somehow always breaking through. Yet the impact is lessened by both a mundane dramaturgy and a script in rhyme. Attempting to mimic the flexibility of hip hop, this text frequently drops vulgar dialect for easy rhyming and the format (performers seated at a long table) refuses the plot’s energy for a sedate sequence of talking heads. By dissipating the flow, the drama slips into a facsimile of gangster threat. It is a lairy and provocative tale that promises horror but lacks theatrical fury. (Gareth K Vile) n Pleasance Courtyard, until 29 August, 2.10pm.

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REVIEWS

PINTOZOR PRODUCTIONS

GUIDE TO SURVIVING MASCULINIST TERRITORY lllll

THEATRE

Boasting an intriguing title and even more fascinating concept, this audio-led guided walk straddles multiple disciplines and packs in meaty themes. After a swift technical set-up and simple-to-follow instructions, groups head off behind a guide on a scenic walk around Edinburgh’s Old Town while a Scottish woman (to make the tale feel more localised, presumably) talks about a man who has haunted her life. As the first-person narrator describes her dealings with this increasingly lonely and desperate-sounding male, a sinister story begins to reveal itself in the slightly muddied script. In what can only be described as an origin story of the online incel subculture, Guide To Surviving Masculinist Territory explains the thought processes of male supremacists and their progression to violence. This seriousness is oddly diffused with satire in parts, with ‘I Want To Know What Love Is’ played in its entirety at one point and a penis-shaped sweet included in a goody bag at the end. The piece does a good job of educating listeners about the origins and ideologies of incels while managing to present some horrific real-life events in a way that isn’t overly sensational or potentially triggering (disclaimers are made at the start). But to avoid disappointment, this ought to be described as a piece of performance art rather than a typical theatre show. Expect to leave having learned something shocking and new, while slightly questioning what just happened. (Megan Merino) n Summerhall, until 28 August, 8.30pm, 9pm, 9.30pm.

TRAVERSE THEATRE COMPANY

THIS IS PARADISE lllll

PICTURE: LOTTIE AMOR

Set against the backdrop of the Good Friday Agreement, Michael John O’Neill’s monologue wanders through the memories of a woman who, during her pregnancy, finds herself drawn back to an earlier, turbulent lover. Amy Molloy captures the anxiety of a woman caught between a dangerous past and brighter future as a mother, meandering through her memories of a man who clearly controlled her when she was too young to recognise the nature of abuse. Molloy is captivating, worrying over her brokenness even as she tries to honestly evaluate her earlier life: O’Neill’s script lightly connects the peace of the Good Friday Agreement to her attempts at resolving her past, allowing them to become metaphors for each other. The colonialism that has shaped Irish politics is hinted at gently; the hope of a better nation hidden beneath the rocks while shifting perspectives question whether the changes are sculpting a better time or merely destructive. Despite its minimal set and single performer, this production is expansive, unafraid to mesh the personal and the political, the domestic and the spiritual. Expressive of the Traverse’s identity, This Is Paradise is tightly directed, superbly performed and alternates between compassion and horror: Molloy’s Kate is a fully formed character who has compromised and suffered but continues to grow throughout the monologue. The bittersweet ending is inconclusive about what the future may bring, but this ambiguity is grounded in an elegant use of naturalistic language and an uncomfortable underworld milieu, creating a subtle character study and reflection on how identity is shaped. (Gareth K Vile) n Traverse Theatre, until 28 August, times vary.

LOREE DRAUDE

I FEEL THE NEED lllll

Named after the famous line in Top Gun (‘I feel the need for speed’), Loree Draude’s show looks back on her time flying US Navy jets. One of the first women to fly in combat squadrons in the Persian Gulf, she relives the casual misogyny she had to endure. But Draude is far from bitter; this is an enjoyable tale of emancipation and self-love (sometimes involving highpressure shower heads) from a woman who has survived a strict Catholic upbringing, a marriage breakdown and post-natal depression. Since then, she’s written a book and gone through ‘mental fitness’ coaching and brings a twinkly energy to her tightly scripted monologue. A few audience plane nerds are disappointed she doesn’t share more combat stories and are confused by her sassy, bodypositive spin on her military memoir. The focus here is personal not political, so don’t expect material on the moral rights or wrongs of US warmongering. But do strap in for a slick onewoman show from the aviator formerly known as ‘Rowdy’. (Claire Sawers) n Assembly Rooms, until 27 August, 1pm. 112 THE LIST FESTIVAL | 10–16 August 2022 | list.co.uk/edinburgh-festival

SOPHIE BENTINCK

PAULINE lllll

THEATRE

Sophie Bentinck’s Pauline mixes autobiography and family history, jumping between the life and diary of her nan and contemporary anxieties (not least her relationship with her mother). At the narrative’s heart is her grandmother’s suicide note, yet the connections between three generations of women is ultimately, and frustratingly, unresolved. When the final words fade into silence, the show stumbles to an ending that leaves various themes and threads dangling. The script is cleverly structured, interspersing recordings into Bentinck’s performance, and captures moments of joy and disappointment: the absence of her nan, who died before her birth, is poignant and echoed in her mother’s ageing. Bentinck is an engaging performer and the juxtaposition of her teenage diary with her nan’s reflections on the life of a woman hemmed in by domesticity make wry comments on the continuity of patriarchal oppression. Yet the dispersed tales never fully cohere, leaving the stories fragmented and the investigation’s intention unclear. Bentinck discusses whether telling this story is a tribute or an insult to her grandmother and there’s an incisive description of the mundane prison of a post-war housewife. But despite the lively pace, the stories never quite sizzle. (Gareth K Vile) n Pleasance Courtyard, until 29 August, 12.20pm.

PICTURE: CLAUDIA GRAHAM

BRIAN COX & ACTORS RISING PRODUCTIONS

SHE/HER lllll

PICTURE: ANDY PHILIPSON

She/Her is an uplifting show which brings together a diverse female cast and their varied life experiences. All seven women take turns to share their stories, ranging from surviving domestic abuse to discovering how to orgasm. While a lone spotlit performer tells her story, the other six chime in to enhance the play’s narrative, through musical interludes or some character voices. A number of the cast are exceptionally talented musicians; in particular, an accordion player uses her instrument as if it is an extension of her soul, communicating great anguish as well as a vivid sense of hope. Pitched as a multimedia performance, the screen behind these women is only occasionally used and with minimal impact. She/Her could be improved with more artful use of this technology, but despite this, all seven stories remain distinct and memorable. (Rachel Ashenden) n Assembly George Square Studios, until 29 August, 2.15pm.

ARNOLD AND KOMAROV TRAVELLING THEATRE

SHAME ON YOU! lllll

If a burden shared is a burden halved, then Shame On You! relieves a few hundred by reading their confessions. Trixa Arnold and Ilja Komarov have collected 450 stories about shame, far more than they could read in an hour onstage, so we hear a random assortment Komarov retrieves from his pocket. Some are funny, some sad, and some infer a commonality of human experiences; many will cringe in empathy with the writer who found her own sanitary towel on the pavement, while others will recognise the body shame felt in bed with a partner. But, for the most part, the presentation feels like it lacks depth. The slips are read out one by one with little analysis, which feels amiss when the performance has the stylings of a stripped-back lecture. In one topical moment, Komarov recounts the anecdote of a hitchhiker who spent a drunken night sleeping on a park bench in ‘a country fighting for its independence’. A local invites them to breakfast the next day and implores them to ‘tell your country to stop killing our children’. The confessor, Komarov reveals, was a Russian visiting Georgia. ‘After this war, we will have many stories like that,’ Komarov adds, before a musical number cuts the tension. There are many ways to experience shame, the production implies; whether we’re ashamed of our nation, ourselves or just glad that shame keeps us in check. But they all emerge here in a bit of a jumble. (Becca Inglis) n Summerhall, until 28 August, 1.30pm.

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Truth’s A Dog Must to Kennel The Strange Undoing of Prudencia Heart Blood and Gold This is Memorial Device Samsara Counting and Cracking You Know We Belong Together

TICKETS 0131 248 4848 | lyceum.org.uk

114 THE LIST FESTIVAL | 10–16 August 2022 | list.co.uk/edinburgh-festival

Design www.MadeBy.DO

REVIEWS

PAINES PLOUGH & ROSE THEATRE KINGSTON

A SUDDEN VIOLENT BURST OF RAIN 

THEATRE

Something biblical pervades throughout Sami Ibrahim’s 21st-century fable, and it’s not just the weather. It may have something to do with how the eternal tale of migrants fleeing from dangerous lands only to face new obstacles, transcends its bleak roots to become a poetic fantasia; it ultimately resembles a bedtime story rather than being a damning indictment of an inhumane system. Elif shears sheep for a rich landowner, with the discarded piles of wool floating into the air to become clouds. In between lobbying the king for citizenship, a dalliance with the landowner’s son leads to further displacement, with Elif and her daughter Lily embarking on a Mother Courage-style quest for survival. As performed by Sara Hazemi, Princess Khumalo and Samuel Tracy, there are shades of John Berger by way of Italo Calvino in the depth that lies beyond the deceptively playful simplicity of Yasmin Hafesji’s production. As the world closes in on Elif and Lily, rather than attempt to offer any kind of solution, Ibrahim’s play becomes an essential hand-me-down guide that uses the imagination to highlight a perilous way of being that exists dangerously close to home. (Neil Cooper)  Roundabout @ Summerhall, until 27 August, times vary.

ALIEN JEFFERSON

ENTER MR CITRUS MAN 

Enter Mr Citrus Man is a four-handed, heavy-handed parable that struggles to rise above easy caricatures and ends with a hopeful message about love and safety that is weakened by its reliance on simplistic characterisation. A couple live in innocent harmony when the Citrus Man comes along and steals away the woman with promises of fulfilment but is rapidly revealed as a self-serving liar. The bright set and sinister presence of the Citrus Man lend this production charm and threat, but a lack of depth to the emotions on display is more alienating than intriguing. The measured pace and uneven performances battle with a script that, while never falling into cliché, reduces their parable to the childlike. The appearance of a puppet is an amusing interlude, but adds little to the drama and, while not quite comedic, this production lacks the necessary tension to express its message with dynamism. (Gareth K Vile)  ZOO Playground, until 20 August, 3.15pm.

PECHO MAMA

OEDIPUS ELECTRONICA 

PICTURE: CAMERON CARVER

The Greek myth of Oedipus (in which the bastard child kills his father, has sex with his mother and pokes out his own eye for his sins) is salacious and symbolically potent enough fodder that it’s a miracle to visit the Fringe without seeing a new version. Oedipus Electronica mines this well-worn territory, creating a new and thoroughly modern interpretation of the text. Struggling screenwriter Jocasta is battling with a looming deadline on the day she finds out she’s pregnant. After a rushed visit to the hospital with her husband Laius, the pregnancy is revealed to be ectopic, a trauma which resurfaces memories of a stillborn child she had with Laius when they were teenagers. What follows is a long night of the creative soul as Jocasta writes a script which imagines what might have happened had her son lived. A live electronic score drives the action, maintaining momentum when the narrative slows down and providing squalls of noise to underscore tension. Although it uses the Oedipus myth as its jumping-off point, this is a play more interested in self-reflexivity and the power of creative imagination. There are stumbles in its third act as, almost inevitably, the metatextual elements threaten to swallow the play whole and clunky comments on the exploitation of entertainment fail to pass muster. Yet this is a well-produced effort with powerful performances. It may not all work, but it’s rarely less than thrilling. (Kevin Fullerton)  Pleasance Courtyard, until 26 August, 3.30pm.

list.co.uk/edinburgh-festival |10–16 August 2022 | THE LIST FESTIVAL 115

HIGHLIGHTS

THEATRE

The theatre programme still looks strong into the second week with a queer romcom, immersive works and war stories

LOTS AND NOT LOTS

Created by performance artist/composer Greg Sinclair, this piece features choral singing, linedancing and a series of blackouts. Not quite what you think it is going to be. n Summerhall, 16–21 August, 5.45pm.

HAPPY MEAL

A joyful queer romcom where different generations attempt to see eye to eye as the piece moves from a jaunty culture romp into something a little more serious about identity. n Traverse Theatre, until 28 August, times vary.

THEATRE HIGHLIGHTS

Muster Station: Leith (and bottom from left), The Book Of Life, Head Set

ATTENBOROUGH AND HIS ANIMALS

PICTURE:

A clowning duo attempt to bring the natural world of David Attenborough alive on stage featuring an array of animals, the likes of which you’ve never seen before at the Fringe . . . n Gilded Balloon At The Museum, until 21 August, 3.30pm.

LAURENCE

MUSTER STATION: LEITH

THE GODS, THE GODS, THE GODS

An immersive gig-theatre piece from Wright & Grainger which follows on from their Orpheus and Euripides works and is all about people being able to gather together. Quite topical. n Assembly Rooms, until 27 August, 8.30pm.

WINRAM

Grid Iron are back doing what they’re renowned for: immersive promenade work. This piece imagines that people have been forced to flee their homes and co-operate with others they normally wouldn’t give the time of day to. n Leith Academy, 15–26 August, times vary.

THE BOOK OF LIFE

Kiki Katese is a writer and activist who will share some powerful stories of those affected by the Rwandan genocide, a calamity that will never be forgotten by those who lived through or near it. n Church Hill Theatre, 13–16 August, 8pm; 14 August, 2pm.

PICTURE: ROSIE POWELL

PICTURE: DAHLIA KATZ

116 THE LIST FESTIVAL | 10–16 August 2022 | list.co.uk/edinburgh-festival

HEAD SET

Delving into amateur stand-up culture and trying to make peace with her own messy brain, this documentary-theatre show from Victoria Melody sees her don wearable tech to uncover exactly what goes on in the brain when you tell a joke. n Pleasance Courtyard, until 28 August, 4.50pm.

GUARDIAN

STAGE

EDFESTMAG

SCOTSMAN

ARTSHUB

‘A PERFECTLY PROGRAMMED HIGH-ART THEME PARK RIDE’ EXEUNT MAGAZINE

STRANGE WORLDS UNFOLD INSIDE SHIPPING CONTAINERS

SÉANCE & FLIGHT PLEASANCE, BRISTO SQUARE 3-29 AUGUST

BOOK NOW

EULOGY SUMMERHALL TERRACE 3-28 AUGUST list.co.uk/edinburgh-festival |10–16 August 2022 | THE LIST FESTIVAL 117

BACK

PICTURE: MATTHEW ARTHUR WILLIAMS

PICTURE: FEN LAN PHOTOGRAPHY / SEAN DOWLING DESIGN

1 2 3

FESTIVAL HOT SHOTS Edinburgh Art Festival is in full swing and Ashanti Harris is taking over Edinburgh Sculpture Workshop with her new exhibition Dancing A Peripheral Quadrille (until 28 August). This blend of performance art and sculpture is Harris’ latest meditation on West Indian carnivals which fuels discussions around cultural identity and expression. Communicating the societal pressures of womanhood through contemporary dance, Angel Monster is the beautifully haunting work of Australian dance troupe Phluxus2 Dance Collective, on at Assembly Checkpoint until 28 August. You may know her as a fresh new face on SNL, but Sarah Sherman has crossed the pond to introduce British audiences to her hilariously absurd solo work and love of body horror. If being simultaneously amused and repulsed is your thing, catch her self-titled show from 15 August at Gilded Balloon Teviot.

118 THE LIST FESTIVAL | 10–16 August 2022 | list.co.uk/edinburgh-festival

SEOUL S EOUL OU OUL UL L

PHOTO PHOTO HOTO B BOOTH OOTH @ Assembly George Square (WED) ~ 28 (SUN) AUG. 24(WED) 24 28(SUN) AUG. 2 2022 022 The photo booth runs from 1pm till 6pm at Studio bar (EH8 9JX). Take a picture with your family and friends.

2023 ? ? AWARDS Korean S e as o n

Each August since 2015, Korean Season has brought a selected Korean programme of music, dance, physical theatre and family shows to the Fringe. With the 7th Korean Season run by AtoBIZ and Assembly, the Awards will be unveiled and announced this October. And a special award ceremony will be held at Edinburgh every year from 2023.

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120 THE LIST FESTIVAL | 10–16 August 2022 | list.co.uk/edinburgh-festival

The List Festival: Week Two

Articles inside

Blunderland

Liz Kingsman