Fest 2015 Issue 4

70+ Reviews | Full Listings | Venue Map

KICKING

BUTT

WITH DEANNA FLEYSHER’S DAZZLING DETECTIVE Plus:

Your FREE Festival Guide

21– 24 August

festmag.co.uk

Daniel Kitson Aurora Nova Michael Legge Felicity Ward Tomorrow Ringside Camille O’Sullivan Hairy Maclary Morgan & West

Four distinctly Welsh themed productions presented at ZOO Venue and Dance Base Sally Marie’s Sweetshop Revolution

I loved you and I loved you Light, Ladd & Emberton

CAITLIN A circle of chairs. An AA meeting.

Caitlin Thomas revisits her tempestuous life.

Dance Base (Venue 22) Aug 21 - 30 (excl Mon 24)

Rapturous dance-theatre based on the life and loves of the extraordinary Welsh composer Morfydd Owen b.1891.

Zoo Sanctuary (Venue 124) Aug 21 - 30 6:40pm - 7:50pm £10 Ages 12+ (Guideline) #sweetshoprev

8:00pm - 9:00pm £10 (£8) Parental Guidance #CAITLINedfringe @CAITLINedfringe

Theatr Genedlaethol Cymru

Dawns Ysbrydion (Ghost Dance) My People Award winning dance theatre inspired

by Wales’ most controversial author, Caradoc Evans.

Zoo Sanctuary (Venue 124) Aug 24 - 29 1:00pm - 2:00pm

A story of endangered cultures, language suppression and the subjugation of nations.

Zoo Southside (Venue 82) Aug 24 - 29 10:40am - 11:50am £12 (£10) #ghostdance @theatrgencymr

£12 (£10) Ages 12+ (Guideline) #mypeople @gwynemberton

www.zoovenues.co.uk

Tel: 0131 662 6892

www.dancebase.co.uk

Tel: 0131 225 5525

TICKETS.EDFRINGE.COM

Gwyn Emberton Dance

3

Features

festmag.co.uk

4

Fest Team

Don’t Panic!

There’s still time to promote your show! ✏ The Festival is a noisy place, but what better way to shout above the racket than through the biggest and best guide to the Fringe? ✏ High-impact, cost-effective advertising packages in print and online. An estimated 1 million people read Fest and festmag.co.uk every summer. ✏ Drop our sales team a line to find out how we can help you spread the word!

0131 467 4630 sales@festmag.co.uk george@festmag.co.uk

Editor Evan Beswick Deputy Editor Jo Caird Consulting Editor Sam Friedman Lead Writer Matt Trueman Production Manager John Hewitt Jones Sales & Brand Strategist George Sully Concept Designer Sigrid Schmeisser Artworker Kyle McPartlin Photographer Mihaela Bodlovic Writing team Tim Bano, Billy Barrett, Sean Bell, Adam Bloodworth, Graeme Connelly, Si Hawkins, Tom Hackett, Jane Howard, Catherine Love, Edd McCracken, Victoria Nangle, Lewis Porteous, Stewart Pringle, Lucy Ribchester, Alice Saville, Matthew Sharpe, John Stansfield, Tom Wicker, Holly Williams Radge Media Chief Operating Officer Lara Moloney Commercial Director Nicola Taylor Editor-in-Chief Rosamund West Sales & Marketing Nicky Carter, Claire Collins, Caroline Harleaux, Issy Patience, Becca Strahan

Your FREE Guide to the Edinburgh Festivals

Review edition street dates: Issue 1 Issue 2 Issue 3 Issue 4 Issue 5 @festmag

Tuesday 11 August Friday 14 August Tuesday 18 August Friday 21 August Tuesday 25 August festmag.co.uk

/FestMagUK

General Manager Kyla Hall Contact festmag.co.uk hello@festmag.co.uk @festmag Published by Radge Media Limited, 1.9 Techcube, Summerhall, 1 Summerhall Place, Edinburgh, Scotland, EH9 1PL. Every effort has been made to check the accuracy of the information in this magazine, but we cannot accept liability for information which is inaccurate. Show times and prices are subject to changes – always check with the venue. All rights reserved.

No part of this publication may be reprodiced in whole or in part without the explicit permission of the publisher. The views and opinions expressed within this publication do not necessarily represent the views or opinions of the printer or the publisher. Printed by Acorn Web Offset Ltd., Normanton.

Distributed by doortodoordelivery.co.uk

Contents 8

Butt Kapinski In a dark alley, Deanna Fleysher spills the beans on her streetlampsporting clowndetective persona

12

Daniel Kitson

festmag.co.uk

We try and, of course, fail, to track down the most interesting—and elusive—man in comedy

14

68

26 Goose: Kablamo The espionage genre is given the frenetic oneman sketch treatment

28 Natasia Demetriou and Ellie White Sketch duo on strong, gloriously chaotic form

Theatre 45 Ringside Brave, intimate circus, for an audience of one

Aurora Nova

48 Little Thing, Big Thing

Former Fringe venueturned-arts agency brings its ever-changing experimental theatre programme to Edinburgh

An evocative Irish chase thriller with comic turns

Plus:

Venue Map & Listings The only place to find shows listed by start time, plus a handy map to get you where you need

Music 58 Camille O’Sullivan: Brel Jacques Brel’s hits vivified with unmatched vocal and theatrical aplomb

Kids 64 Kid Critics They’ll give press passes to anyone these days.

Even adults

5

Perfect Day Struggling for ideas? Brain overloaded?

Sit back and let Fest plan an ideal day at the Fringe

Michael Legge The Stand 12:10pm – 1:10pm Start your day with a witty, shouty show about the perils of music fandom. Don’t worry if you know nothing about ‘80s rock group Marillion – there’s still plenty to laugh about. Legge’s splenetic musings on music and life make for a bracing and inclusive hour of fun.

Lunch at Henderson’s Hanover Street 1:15pm One of Edinburgh’s must-visit restaurants for veggies, Henderson’s offers reassuringly healthy meals at very reasonable prices.

The meat-free menu is creative, ranging from simple salads to more complex dishes. They do the best vegetarian haggis in town, and the restaurant incorporates a gallery, so you can view contemporary art while you eat.

Heartbeats & Algorithms Pleasance Courtyard 2:15pm – 3:15pm This piece of dark new writing

by Jenny Lee explores the impact of technology on our lives.

Telling the tale of a programmer developing algorithms for an investment bank, the show unpicks the impact of the digital world on our relationships and the loneliness it can cause.

Perfect Day

6

Dinner at Assembly Checkpoint Bristo Place 7pm Now for something tasty and a little bit fancy. Located in the

festmag.co.uk

heart of the Fringe near the Pleasance Dome, this hidden joint combines a relaxed style of service and great food ranging from chicken wings to lobster thermidor.

Lolly

Adam Riches is Coach Coach

Pleasance Courtyard 4:30pm – 5:30pm

Pleasance Dome 9:45pm – 10:45pm

Perfect Day

Get in some laughs before

7

dinner with Lolly Adefope’s

Finish your day with Adam

feast of character comedy,

Riches’ weird and wonderful

in which she assumes an

character piece performed in

array of delightfully insecure

the persona of American

personalities. This show is all

college sports trainer Eric

the more amusing for the poise

Coach. It’ll make you both

and sensitivity of Adefope’s

whoop like a child and meditate

delivery.

on how we deal with adversity.

“It’s me without

my human disguise”

After directing 2013’s Red Bastard, Deanna Fleysher is back, as trench coat-wearing film noir detective, Butt Kapinski. And as she tells Tim Bano, this time it’s personal

Comedy

Credits: Mihaela Bodlovic

8

Features

festmag.co.uk

P

9

erformance artist Deanna Fleysher has a deep, almost Freudian connection with her Butt.

This is Butt Kapinski, her clownish private eye creation; a man described as “a deranged cross between Philip Marlowe and Elmer Fudd”. He roams the dark streets of Edinburgh (mostly the Liquid Room Annexe) solving murder mysteries with the help of whatever audience comes his way.

Butt wears a trench coat and a portable streetlight strapped to his back, bringing the shadowy noir world with him wherever he goes. “At heart, it’s me,” Fleysher says. “It’s me without my human disguise.”

Fittingly for the noir theme, the character came to Fleysher as she stood on a street corner in New York. “I was wearing my trenchcoat, and suddenly I went...”—she puts on Butt’s shady voice—“...‘it was a dark stweet’ and I was like, ‘oh that’s the character’. It was just so instantaneous.”

For anyone remotely familiar with Philip Marlowe or Sam Spade (though Spade’s creator Dashiell Hammett is “a little bit too pared down” for Fleysher’s tastes) it only takes a few seconds of Butt speaking for the character to be completely recognisable.

It summons up the seedy, smoky world of Bogart and Bacall, playing on the audience’s familiarity with all the old noir clichés and twisting them into something very, very funny.

Although little known in the UK, Fleysher has form at the Fringe: she directed the controversial 2013 hit Red Bastard, one of few shows to have earned the full spread of star ratings. Eric Davis’s inhibition-sapping monster in a red unitard is, in many ways, similar to Fleysher’s Butt Kapinski character: overwrought to the point of absurdity, inspired by clown and bouffon backgrounds, unafraid to demand a lot of audience participation.

But Fleysher only reluctantly admits to the audience involvement in her show. “I think a lot of interaction shows are really scary to people because a lot of them are very aggressive. My show is a little bit more inclusive. People are laughing at me, nobody’s laughing at other audience members.

Everyone’s laughing with other audience members at me.” The destruction of the fourth wall requires almost a duty of care for Fleysher. “No matter what crazy shit you’re unleashing you don’t want people to feel assaulted. They need to feel like they haven’t been shit on.”

It’s easy to see why the close relationship with the audience is an important part of Fleysher’s performance style. Before clown and bouffon training, Fleysher taught English and theatre at high school for many years. The ability to maintain the attention

of a class full of high school students is pretty similar to entertaining a room stuffed with Fringe punters.

“Honestly, I think that was my best training as a performer, a clown and a bouffon. How do you reach high school kids and get them excited about The Scarlet Letter?”

Butt sits in the comedy section of the Fringe programme, and improv is where Fleysher started out, but she’s interested in finding a middle ground between comedy and theatre. “I feel more confident telling comedy fans that they’re probably going to have a good time at my show. Someone who says they’re a comedy fan is probably not super easily offended, and my show touches a lot of buttons and is very raunchy.” At a standup gig, audience interaction is almost expected. There is no pretence that the comedian is somewhere else. If you sit in the front row, you will be picked on. “I love that finding its way into theatre,” she says.

After discovering performers in the cabaret and burlesque scenes, like drag king Murray Hill, continues

›

Comedy

10

›

Fleysher became dissatisfied with the comedy and improv scene. “Just hitting some walls there made me look elsewhere. I’ve always been interested in vulnerability and a lot of comedians are not necessarily first and foremost interested in that.”

So is Butt a vulnerable character? “Profoundly.

Butt Kapinski is trapped somewhere on the trans spectrum. People are always like, ‘what pronoun do you want for Butt Kapinski?’ and I’m kind of like ‘she-slash-he’ because the character itself is struggling with that. Wants to be a man but is not a man, wants to speak beautifully but is saddled with all these speech impediments that make people laugh.”

And part of the vulnerability is that Butt doesn’t know he’s being laughed at. “I think that Butt thinks we’re all doing this together, we’re all in this team together, we’re getting it done. We’re having fun? Oh great.” This lack of self-knowledge is a familiar trope in character comedy. Many of the great tragicomic creations assume that their audiences are laughing with, not at them. Just look at Alan Partridge, David Brent, Victor Meldrew: the humour comes from the fact that they’re all the butts of jokes, and none of them knows it.

Although Butt doesn’t really have a backstory, his existence is deeply rooted in Fleysher’s

own background. Butt’s receding “r”, his lisp, his addition of a “w” into every available word, are all based on speech impediments that Fleysher had as a child. “That was always the funny voice that my whole family used, whenever anyone wanted to say anything in a funny voice.” After years of speech therapy those idiosyncrasies disappeared but Fleysher summons them when she becomes Butt.

" I’ve always been interested in vulnerability" As a comic creation, Butt Kapinski manages to straddle a careful line between comedy and theatre.

And what’s clear is that, despite being such a broad and ridiculous character, Butt is closely bound up with his creator even if the two are, on the face of it, worlds apart. As Fleysher puts it, “If you want people to pay attention it’s got to be really personal, but not necessarily true.” ✏︎ Tim Bano

TIME:

Liquid Room Annexe 2:10pm – 3:10pm, various dates between 8 Aug and 30 Aug

TICKETS:

FREE

VENUE:

11

Tracking the K-Dog:

No Title, which he performed at the Traverse in (surprisingly enough) 2012. It was a thrice-framed show of meta-theatrical brilliance, as Kitson described the struggle of a fictionalised version of himself writing a typical Kitson show. That show within a show had all the hallmarks of his theatre work: an idiosyncratic male protagonist, a conceit that sat just the right side of whimsy, but presented as the result of nights of Kitson sweating at a keyboard, desperate not to let down his fans or fuck his rep as the K-Dog, unassuming master of all he surveys.

It continued in After the Beginning, Before the The comedians’ comedian and End, which saw Kitson trying his hand as low-fi musical legend by including a looping synth accomacclaimed theatre maker may paniment to its story of Kitson the man considernot do interviews or invite reviews ing his position as a financially secure artist with a thundering reputation built—more or less—on of his work, but it won’t stop us word-of-mouth alone. It excavated the idea of hype writing about him. Stewart Pringle and reputation, as Kitson baited his loving audience with brags about his pool table and considered the takes a 10-year retrospective potential of the orally transmitted anecdote – its power to spread in mutated forms, to give birth to aniel Kitson is late for our interview. In fact, wild, unpleasant myths.

I’m not sure he’s going to turn up at all. For If As of 1.52pm... addressed Kitson the artist, and one thing, he’s notoriously anti-publicity, and After the Beginning Kitson the man, it was easy to hasn’t done a full interview for a decade or so. And diagnose something of an artistic crisis in his work. for another, I haven’t invited him for an interview He was fully aware of this, of course, throwing it out or spoken to him about it in any way. Waste of time, there in one of the occasional emailed newsletters is what I figured. He’ll just ignore me or tell me to he shoots out to his subscribers as practically his fuck off. But that’s fine, because it feels strangely sole form of marketing support (it works – he sells appropriate to be discussing an absent Kitson, as his shows out at the drop of a MailChimp e-shot). But recent theatre shows have been a series of experwhen new show Analog.Ue hit New York with more iments in vanishing away, in ceding control of his of a whimper than a bang, with audiences and storytelling to his audience, or to technology. critics alienated by his replacement of his own voice When Kitson began creating theatre, back in with a bank of reel-to-reel tape recorders, it looked 2005 when he was already an established and like the first visible flop in anti-brand Kitson’s adored cult figure of the standup circuit, it was ascent to the quiet domination of his craft. just him, a lamp, a rug and a chair. Stories for the Analog.Ue was already booked into a run on the Wobbly Hearted was an Ur version of what would Lyttelton stage of the National Theatre before this eventually become “classic Kitson” – a mixture of minor fudge in New York. Kitson took it apart and the gentle and the tragic, that love of “the fucking put it back together, adding a little more of himself dignity of unwitnessed lives”, as he’d later come to and returning to the same anxieties about repetition term it. Ten years and a metric tonne of awards and and reputation that haunted his previous two shows. accolades later, his new show Polyphony sees him The result was one of the strongest shows he’d unwind his story from a clutch of iPods distributed built in years. The slight obscurity and austerity of among his audience. the core story was cushioned in the kind of self-rePolyphony digs into the recurring central conflexive material that had served him so well in the cerns of whatever period of Kitson’s career we’re all past. It may have been a bit of sleight-of-hand, enjoying (late-early? Early-middle? As if it matters), maybe even a climb-down from his ambitions for a namely his paradoxical relationship to his audience totally isolated recorded story. But he won the day, and his reputation. It all kicked off in As of 1.52pm and critics and audiences left happy and broken and GMT on Friday April 27th 2012, This Show Has a little bit fixed, just as it should be.

A non-encounter with Daniel Kitson

D

Comedy

12

festmag.co.uk

Features

Artist’s impression courtesy of Howard Read, whose shows Man (Work in Progress) and Annabelle’s Skirting Board Adventure are on at 4.20pm (Banshee Labyrinth, until 22nd) and 11:30 (Just the Tonic @ The Community Project, until 30th) respectively

13

The idea of a climb-down turned out to be nonsense, of course, as he was simultaneously unleashing his stunning Tree, a two-hander with Tim Key that opened at Manchester’s Royal Exchange before spreading its branches across the Old Vic in January this year. As far as slaps to the chops of his naysayers go, it couldn’t have been more perfect.

Elegantly structured, stunningly performed and with a life-sized tree as its set, it shone a light on a whole new dimension of potential work. It showed that Kitson could bring his take on heartbreak, politics and all that “fucking dignity” into a full-on theatre show. If it had looked like Kitson had painted himself into a corner, Tree saw him smashing his way out of it, and bringing the whole building down for good measure.

He’s hardly been idle since then, with a pair of scrappily awesome shows at The Stand last Fringe, a Christmas show at the Battersea Arts Centre, and

a string of previews and try-outs for what would become Polyphony. There are obviously no tickets left for its run at Summerhall’s Roundabout (you snooze: you lose – you have less than five browser windows open to attempt to book tickets: you lose), but if you can manage a good clean murder of a ticket-holder then it’s strongly advised.

Polyphony is further proof of what should have been obvious all along: that Kitson is an artist as interested in experimentation as he is in perfection. As his career progresses and his reputation continues to swell, he’s able to take a few risks and throw a few ideas at the wall. Maybe they’ll stick, maybe they won’t. But it’s going to be a blast finding out. ✏︎ Stewart Pringle Roundabout @ Summerhall 12:15pm – 1:35pm, 12–30 Aug, not 18, 25 TICKETS: £12.00 VENUE: TIME:

14 Theatre

Anti-Words

Aurora Nova:

Formerly a Fringe venue, now a Berlin-based arts agency, Aurora Nova’s 2015 programme is revealing itself as a collection of Fringe highlights. Alice Saville speaks to artistic director Wolfgang Hoffmann

Credit: Mihaela Bodlovic

An Agency With Attitude

A

co-production Hopeless Games, but we found it very hard to make ourselves visible.”

The production won a Fringe First, but despite this and further artistic success, Hoffmann rues that, “I’m really a jack of all trades. I’ve worked as a tool maker, performer, director and business manager but am inspired by artists who have found their one ‘thing’”. These include fellow Berliner Volker Gerling, The agency’s director Wolfgang Hoffmann scours whose Portraits in Motion fascinatingly documents festivals across the world to identify “work that’s an obsession with making photographic flip books unique, connects with the heart, and has relevance in that’s lasted his whole career. our time”. As Britain alternately vilifies and sympathises with the thousands of migrants fighting to enter the country from Calais, Hoffmann points to “the concentration on the topic of borders” in this year’s programme. “One of the big tragedies of our times is forced migration and the displacement of people who leave their home for economic and political reasons, but aren’t accepted in their new home,” he says.

17 Border Crossings is a witty, fascinating solo performance that explores the “arbitrariness of the lines drawn on maps to create countries”, while Palestinian circus B-Orders looks at ideas of confinement and escape. And White Rabbit Red Rabbit, a text read by a different performer each night, was created by an Iranian writer in response to a ban on him leaving his homeland.

“These works are important to raise awareness of the fact that the world is becoming a smaller place, and for the chance to get to know people from other cultures we weren’t considering before. Yet I’m also sceptical, understanding that in the theatre context we are usually speaking to the converted,” says Hoffmann.

The agency made its name by converting Edinburgh audiences to the appeal of international dance and physical theatre, nourishing a growing taste for experimental work from beyond the UK. Hoffmann explains that “there’s a universal truth in physicality: it’s understood on a visceral level and an emotional level that works without spoken words”. One such work this year is Antiwords, which explores the B-Orders movements and cameraderie of two bar room bores as they work their way (actually) through a crate of This fondness for singular projects says a lot about Czech beer. Its intense physicality speaks to the deHoffmann’s own, rigorous mindset. “The usual model mands on the bodies, as well as minds of artists.

These are demands Hoffman knows well: his in- would be that you represent the entire portfolio of an volvement in the Fringe sprang from his experiences artist, but I can only represent work that I truly believe as a dancer in East Germany’s alternative art scene. in. Which leaves artists free to follow the contacts I’ve brought them through our time working together, and In characteristically enterprising style, aged 22 he also leaves me to decide what I think is brilliant.” It’s started selling chunks of the Berlin Wall to tourists an exacting and unsentimental approach that enables to fund dance classes in the West. From there, his him to find a meeting place between artistic experihorizons broadened still further: “I came to Edincontinues burgh as an artist in 1999 with the German-Russian mentalism and commercial success.

Features

festmag.co.uk

Credit: Mihaela Bodlovic

ustralian acrobats. German flipbooks. Czech doll puppetry. Songs of Armenian exile. Aurora Nova’s programme at the Edinburgh Fringe is an eclectic cabinet of wonders, but its contents are far more than mere curios. This revolutionary agency has a talent for gathering international performances that strike an unlikely chord with Edinburgh Fringe-goers, awakening them to tastes they didn’t know they had.

15

›

Theatre

16

Portraits in Motion

›

But Hoffmann’s respect for single-minded artistic ambition doesn’t mean that he encourages artists to set out on the Fringe’s Darwinian struggle alone. Aurora Nova ran its own hugely successful venue at St Stephen’s Church from 2001 to 2007 along strictly collective lines: he might have crossed the border for dance lessons, but his East German roots remained.

“I invited companies who I admired to share the space and to promote each other’s work. The name came from this tongue-in-cheek reference to the Russian battleship that fired the starting signal for the October Revolution. We were revolutionising a new kind of way to present work by using a more collaborative model.”

But collaboration didn’t mean compromise.

The venue became famous for its high production values at a Fringe where, then as now, design is the often-neglected icing on the cake. Hoffmann brought a team of highly talented technicians, called Trollwerk, from his hometown of Potsdam.

These high standards made the Aurora Nova church a site of pilgrimage for footsore Fringe-goers, but its loss-making programme still meant that Aurora Nova had to metamorphose from venue to agency once Brighton’s Komedia pulled out of the venture. Lyn Gardner wrote on the Guardian theatre blog that, “When I first picked up my Fringe programme and discovered that Aurora Nova had been swallowed up by Assembly I felt much as I did on the day when I discovered the gerbil had escaped from its cage straight into the jaws of the cat.”

Instead of being digested by a malevolent moggy, Aurora Nova has kept hold of its own artistic integrity. But it’s certainly had to change since taking shelter under the wing of one of the big four Edinburgh Fringe venues. Hoffmann explains that “these days the agency itself is not collaborative in its model. But what remains is the fact that I’m an artist, and it’s the artists I’m representing. At heart I want to serve them as best as I can, and to be fair in the way I share revenue.” And he feels optimistic about the future of alternative economic models: “At the time I first founded Aurora Nova I was surprised that no one else seemed to have worked with this collaborative model where companies had to promote each other, because word-of-mouth is such a strong power at the Fringe. But with the Forest Fringe and the Free Fringe, there’s always something new happening, and people are always finding ways to engage with Edinburgh in a way that works for them.”

His view of Edinburgh itself is of a city in flux, under a constant state of revolution. “I kind of shudder when I think that the festival needs to keep growing. If its development stagnated it would mean a crisis for the Fringe and for Edinburgh itself.

It feels like an unstoppable movement, and it’s been perpetuated by the artists that want to present their work here.” Like any revolutionary movement, Aurora Nova is in a constantly changing state itself.

Inspiring, and unstoppable. ✏ Alice Saville Show details at auroranoa.org

Crafted from the finest Russian winter wheat,

the purest glacial water from Lake Ladoga and distilled 200 times in our state of the art distillery in the heart of St Petersburg.

THIS IS VODKA AS IT SHOULD BE DISCOVER MORE AT VODKA.COM DRINKAWARE.CO.UK for the facts

17

LEAD THEATRE CRITIC

Matt Trueman

Donny Stixx is onstage—the most hated boy alive, so the tabloids say— regaling us with tales from his life.

He wants to tell us about his magic act, about his ambitions for stardom and about his dear mum. We want to know about the killings.

Philip Ridley’s monologue – a companion piece, of sorts, to his 2012 Fringe First-winner Dark Vanilla Jungle – is a dark little yarn about a vulnerable wouldbe magician. Its satire is sharp and it’s performed with sweaty pizzazz by Sean Michael Verey, but it is nonetheless a seriously misguided piece of theatre – both as a text and in production. Tonight with Donny Stixx exploits autism as a plot point without seeking to explore or explain it.

Donny Stixx, “the boy with the tricks,” is clearly somewhere on the spectrum – though Ridley’s text never makes that explicit. Certainly, he can’t read social signals, so when his magic act gets a slot on the local shopping mall stage, he’s blind to the fact that the crowd is mocking him, not cheering him on.

The cameraphones filming away, he assumes, are recording his brilliance, not capturing his crapness ready for YouTube.

Ridley’s on the attack, here: lambasting the trolls and the snarks, snapping back at the culture of exploitation and humiliation behind Simon Cowell’s success. Stixx is every Jedward and every Ablisa. He’s all those deluded Britons that think they’ve got talent.

He’s Susan Boyle without a singing voice.

This, after all, is a world in which a mass murderer has a showbiz agent; where a vulnerable boy who needs protecting is instead cruelly cut down to size, then exposed and exploited for other people’s profit.

Tonight with Donny Stixx presents an economy of infamy, the after-dinner circuit of Max Clifford’s dreams.

You sell your soul, then you sell your story. You’ve got to kill to make a killing.

It’s not like Stixx springs from nowhere. He’s a product of a culture that values fame over everything, but he’s also wound up with a skewed view of masculinity.

Stixx is an accidental misogynist in a shit ‘70s suit.

He associates stardom with manliness, fixating on a male model/actor, and upholding outdated modes of chivalry and masculinity – all condoms and lager and too much cheap aftershave.

But Ridley wants us to both pity and fear Donny.

We know that he’s killed from the start, and he’s quick to lash out in fury at hecklers in the audience,

Tonight with Donny Stixx «« Pleasance Courtyard, 2:45pm – 4:00pm, 5–31 Aug, not 18, 25, £10 – £12

Chicken «« Roundabout @ Summerhall, 5:05pm – 6:05pm, 7–30 Aug, not 11, 18, 25, £14 – £16

Chicken

Theatre

18

Reviews

festmag.co.uk

Tonight with Donny Stixx

19

but this is still a boy with both behavioural and developmental issues. As with Dark Vanilla Jungle, in which a girl walks into her own abuse, we’re asked to judge Donny’s responsibility.

However, if Donny’s on the spectrum—and Verey’s cackhanded, cross-eyed performance makes pretty clear that he is—then there’s nothing to judge.

What’s more, it’s hard to shake the sense that a developmental disorder is used to up Donny’s idiosyncrasy and inject an element of unpredictability.

Verey’s performance, for all the vim and vigour with which he hops between characters, is just as problematic – less ‘Donny Stixx, boy with tricks’, than ‘Donny Stixx, boy with ticks’. Not only does it feel like a generic, imprecise portrayal of the way the condition manifests itself physically, it’s also completely unnecessary to act that at all.

Verey’s a slim, able-bodied actor playing an obsese character with a club foot. He doesn’t put on a limp or puff out his cheeks. So why all this blinking and ticking? It’s deeply uncomfortable.

Molly Davies’s Chicken is more unsettling than uncomfortable, but it’s a queer fish that never makes its intentions clear then stops so abruptly it’s like she’s given up mid-draft.

It’s a play that tries to do too much at once, imagining a world of witchcraft, imminent environmental catastrophe and chicken-led revolution – not to mention a newly independent East Anglia cut off from the rest of the country. Any of those might make

for a decent play. Together, they overload a bad one, and Davies doesn’t stick around long enough to see how the various elements connect.

Teenage Tesco employee Emily (Rosie Sheehy) explains that witches were swum on the site of the supermarket and now, with bad things following bad thoughts, she’s convinced she’s a witch, capable of hexing her neighbours and commanding the county’s countless chickens.

Her mum Lorraine (Josephine Butler) works at a battery farm, caring for chickens that her husband, Henry (Benjamin Dilloway), helps to slaughter. He’s a rural revolutionary on the side, “liberating” empty second homes to protect them from “returners” like Layla (Beth Cooke), who’s left London for a simpler, slower life in chicken farming.

There are some vivid and disconcerting images in here: our disrespect for nature—Henry speaks of chickens poorly slaughtered, half-stunned, necks slit, boiling alive—seems the cause for its revolt.

Japanese knotweed’s suffocating London, while foxes attack. The rising sea’s out for revenge. Witchcraft, then, is a symbol of reconnecting with the world, as Emily channels earthly energy.

It’s rare to see a rural setting, and Steven Atkinson’s straw-clad production crackles with atmosphere and an unnerving gothic allure. Then, out of nowhere, it simply stops – just when you were getting into it. Shame. ✏︎ Matt Trueman

EDITOR

Evan Beswick

What would you do with your first solo Fringe show? You’ve an hour to fill with the juciest, ripest fruits of years of labour. Perhaps you’ve done a few sub-hour runs in preparation.

Perhaps you’ve premiered the show elsewhere, tweaking it obsessively before arriving at Waverley station. Almost certainly, there’s a lot riding on this.

For starters, it’s the first and only time you’re going to be eligible for an Edinburgh Comedy newcomers’ award, along with the sweet sweet £5000 prize that might cover half of your accommodation costs for the month. So what you gonna do? Play it safe or leap for glory?

Well, if you ask Jack Barry, newcomer year is an opportunity to keep it safe and rely on the ease and charm you’ve honed over several years. Formerly a member of sketch duo Twins, and latterly the support act for rising (risen?) star James Acaster, the 27-year-old has a fair amount of experience to draw on – experience he uses to great effect. He’s a relaxed, low-key performer, and his material suits it. He opts for easy, throwaway lines rather than attempting to build outlandish crescendos. He’s self-aware and unafraid to puncture the artifice of a comedian on a soap box (“It’s hard being 27...it’s not really”). He pieces all the necessary elements together—tall stories, callbacks, obligatory audience banter with a degree of skill that belies his youth.

But this feels far too much like a man going through the motions – phoning in talent wrapped up in paper-thin material. “Everyone at the Fringe this year has a joke about Tinder, so here is mine,” he says, between jokes on stupid people and fried chicken. It’s as if he’s embarrassed to reach out of his comfort zone and risk failure. One of the showstopping moments of Twins’ show last year involved a sketch delivered entirely in Mandarin – a language Barry speaks fluently. He recalls this briefly, and shows for a brief moment what a rich seam his multilingualism can be for comedy. And then he shuts it down; fills it in. Too risky. The irony is that some of the jokes he does include—lines about “frape” and “pussy hunting”—genuinely are risky, jeopardising the impression of intelligence he’s built up. They ought to be cut, however charmingly delivered they might be.

In fact, Barry could take a leaf out of Marny Godden’s book. In Flap ‘em on the Gate, she throws handfuls of invention and oddity against the wall to

Corey White The Cane Toad Effect ««««

Comedy

20

Assembly Hall, 8:20pm – 9:20pm, 6–30 Aug, not 17, £9 – £10

Marny Godden Flap ‘em on the Gate ««« Underbelly, Cowgate, 5:20pm – 6:20pm, 6–30 Aug, not 18, £9 – £10

Jack Barry This Title Came to Me in a Dream «« Pleasance Courtyard, 7:00pm – 8:00pm, 5–31 Aug, £7 – £9

Marny Godden

festmag.co.uk

Reviews

21

see what sticks. A lot of it does. A character comedian—formerly of sketch troupe The Grandees—Godden serves up a selection of her oddest and maddest lads and ladies. Each is nicely delineated, with most of the change occurring in front of our eyes before a final, unseen, finishing flourish to complete the transformation. It’s a nice technique, adding outré touches to stock characters, and much-needed expectation to what could be simply mechanical costume changes. In fact, it’s a hallmark of Godden’s approach throughout: if a dull edge can be made more imaginative, then so it shall be.

Within these parameters, Godden introduces us to Mick the kipper fanatic, a crossword-playing poo-detective, a hoover enthusiast, a digestive-eating, Saab-driving lonely man (with whom I later end up showering – there’s audience interaction, too).

As you might imagine, with raw material like this the emphasis of Godden’s comedy is on silly and surreal, but it’s carried off with more than enough commitment and charisma from a superb comic actor. Too much commitment, perhaps: where Godden struggles is in escaping from her alter-egos. Songs are repetitive; characters hang around, fast becoming unwelcome guests rather than the flashes of inspiration they started as. Godden needs a 16-ton weight—or equivalent—to shut them up and charge on.

As an aside, Godden is to be congratulated for the way she deals with a very vocal young audience member on the afternoon I’m in. Without hint of anger or frustration, she involves him just enough to ensure he has a good time, without allowing the intrusions to dominate the show. Sure, there are ropey bits in Flap ‘em on the Gate, but Godden is a class act.

If it’s hints of Godden’s own warmth we see behind her characters then, by contrast, there’s little of Corey White we’re not exposed to. We’re shown everything, from the horror of his upbringing (criminal father; heroin-addicted mother), through his own meth addiction, and the darkest secrets of a failed relationship.

It might seem unfair to include White in a newcomers column, given that he has been gigging since 2008.

But this is the Australian’s first Edinburgh show, and what’s clear with this hyper-personal focus is that he’s absolutely gone for the no-guts-no-glory approach.

It pays off. There’s a reasonable criticism which sees confessional shows as a cynical trade-off of personal strife for laughs and pathos. This is not that show – though laughs and pathos are there in spades.

For starters, it’s off the scale in terms of the volume and quantity of strife White has to trade in. The guy should not be alive to tell us about it. Secondly, this isn’t really about White at all, but about the human

Corey White

capacity for empathy and forgiveness, with this bogan as case study. That’s the bit that turns White’s tale into human drama rather than personal confession. Never have Plato’s virtue-based ethics and comedy stood shoulder-to-shoulder in the service of human endeavour.

Technically, it’s a also great piece of standup.

White has a number of tools in his box, and he handles them adroitly, from poetic flights of fancy to surreal faux dialogues. There are also some priceless one-liners, whipped out when the mood risks becoming morose. Sure, there are long expositional sections which could do with closer attention to the writing, as well as Aussie references which might be clarified. And there’s a near-absent weapon in his armoury, namely a reluctance to make the audience feel at all uncomfortable. Only once does he refuse to ease us out with a joke, and that’s when discussing his rape, aged 10. It’s powerful, and under-used.

If White is asking us to think about the way we seek to understand others’ mistakes, he oughtn’t let us off quite so easily. Still, he’ll probably have plenty of opportunity to tweak this show. There’s absolutely no way it’s stopping in Edinburgh. Maybe just long enough to pick up an award? ✏︎ Evan Beswick

22

and

ED FEST MAG

“

HHHH

Pushes the limits what is possible... of THE PERFECT LATE EVENING ATMOSPHER E

”

9.50PM (11PM) 07 - 29 AUGUST 2015

AM

IN EQUAL MEASURE

“

”

Unique and highly original... as much a PARTY as a CIRCUS PERFORMANCE

PUBLIC REVIEWS

“ ASTONUISSEHSES Cirque Alfonse

LE DEVOIR, MONTREAL

productions PRESENTS

”

Felicity Ward A cathartic hour of comedy that deals with mental illness and toilet humour HHHH PAGE 28

Comedy Reviews

24 Comedy

League Table 1

Phil Nicol ««««« The Canadian comic returns to the Fringe with a new show that lurches spectacularly from catharsis to carnival

2

Butt Kapinski «««« US clown Deanna Fleysher investigates as private dick Butt Kapinski, casting her audience as every other role in her hilarious take on film noir

3

Angela Barnes «««« This return to the Fringe presents an hour of confessional standup that flits between the mundane and a discussion of identity

4

James Acaster «««« Nominated for the Comedy Award for the last three years running, this masterful performer is long over due a gong

5

Diane Spencer «««« After a 2014 Fringe spent at the creative beck and call of Nancy Dell'Olio, Diane Spencer is back and she's tearing that experience to shreds

Michael Legge Tell It Like It Is, Steve «««« The Stand Comedy Club 2 12:10pm – 1:10pm 6–30 Aug, not 17 TICKETS: £8 VENUE: TIME:

The Fringe is a great place for comedy in-jokes. Trusting the industry-savvy crowd to go with them, comics like Michael Legge can reference such luminaries as Tony Law, Bridget Christie and Josie Long and still keep most of their punters nodding and chuckling along. Legge skewers the modi operandi of all of the above and more in this enjoyably ranty set. It’s one of a few shows this year to take the presumed formula of an “award-winning show” and then subvert and parody it. It appears to offer us a redemptive narrative arc, then throws it gleefully back in our faces.

Legge is proudly idiosyncratic in his references more generally.

The thread running through the show is his frustrated fandom of cult singer-songwriter Robyn Hitchcock, who once told him to

“fuck off”. The show title is something that Legge once shouted at the lead singer of ‘80s rock band Marillion at a gig. But audience members who know nothing about these musicians still find plenty to laugh at here (I know because I’m one of them), testament to the shouty, sweary sincerity of Legge’s storytelling.

The overall effect is like walking into a sort of private member’s club for 40-something fans of comedy and ‘80s cult music, but finding the company so much fun that you end up staying for several pints. You feel a little sorry for the foreign tourists and much younger punters who have turned up and look a little lost. But for the rest of us, this is a bracingly rude, very witty and surprisingly inclusive show, whether or not it bags that elusive award. ✏︎ Tom Hackett

OUR LADIES of Perpetual Succour Based on The Sopranos by Alan Warner Adapted by Lee Hall Directed by Vicky Featherstone

Traverse Theatre18 - 30 Aug 2015

Box Office: 0131 228 1404 traverse.co.uk Touring to Glasgow, Aberdeen, Inverness, Kirkcaldy, Musselburgh and Newcastle.

Age recommendation: 16+ Contains swearing, sambuca & singing National Theatre of Scotland is core funded by

@NTSonline #OurLadies

nationaltheatrescotland.com

The National Theatre of Scotland reserves the right to alter casts, performances, seating or ticket arrangements and latecomers may not be admitted. National Theatre of Scotland, a company limited by guarantee and registered in Scotland (SC234270) is a registered Scottish charity (SC033377). Photograph of the cast by Simon Murphy.

25

Martha McBrier Pigeon Puncher «««« VENUE:

TIME:

TICKETS:

Laughing Horse @ Finnegan’s Wake 5:00pm – 6:00pm 6–29 Aug, not 9, 16, 23 FREE

Veteran visitors to free Fringe shows may have noticed certain conventions becoming ingrained over the years, as if everyone enrolled at the same comedy evening class. Most acts actively do the awkward money speech just before their big finish now, for maximum impact, and will often tell you how

Goose Kablamo «««« Assembly George Square Theatre TIME: 3:20pm – 4:20pm 6–30 Aug TICKETS: £9 – £10 VENUE:

“Sweat tornado!” If there’s one image that sticks in the mind after this exhausting onslaught of ideas and energy, it’s the great spray of perspiration arcing off Adam Drake’s head every time he does something wonderfully dramatic.

Which is often. It takes you back to the 1980s heyday of soul star Alexander O’Neill, drenching the front row of his grateful audience in buckets of salty soul-juice with every neck jerk. By the end of this bravura performance, Drake could probably get his audience to do

much they think the show is worth.

Which is nice of them.

Martha McBrier clearly didn’t attend that class, as she was busy teaching more important stuff—“lecturing in do-gooding”, as she puts it—while dabbling in comedy on the side. Trying to advise this diminutive Glaswegian how to run a show would be a thankless, and possibly frightening, task anyway, in truth.

As she demonstrates during one memorable story, even Glaswegian kindness can be spectacularly intimidating.

Pigeon Puncher is a pretension-free series of anecdotes, occasionally bird-related, ranging from a tremendous tale about some doomed budgies, to a more recent

pretty much anything too. And, indeed, he does.

Goose is a comedy collective with just one performer: this is officially a multi-person one-man show. But don’t dwell on the details; Goose is all about Drake, a ginger whirlwind of visual gags, wordplay and puns, some of them painful but all whizzing past at such a rate that you’re too busy keeping up to think too hard. In Goose-space, nobody can hear you groan.

Kablamo is a spy film pastiche in which Drake plays multiple characters, leaping back and forth, with added twirls for flashbacks and scene changes.

So far, so silly, but along the way there are curious bits of dialogue that don’t quite scan, and are gone before you can ponder them properly. This all turns out to be the kernel of a fiendish plot twist, which eventually ties together all loose ends, brings together

reminiscence about searching for Kate Bush tickets – which comes with an unexpected emotional punch due to a troubling revelation about McBrier’s long-term health.

The moonlighting comic is a naturally charismatic storyteller, although these really are stories rather than routines; after eliciting laughs aplenty they often fizzle toward the end, as if McBrier were a dinner party guest concerned about hogging the conversation.

With a few minor tweaks this could be up there with the best Fringe shows, although the room is packed every afternoon anyway, apparently. Make them part with a few extra pennies, Martha: you’re worth it. ✏︎ Si Hawkins

a couple of previously distant audience members, and causes absolute uproar in this hot little box. Breathtaking.

Goose, then: well worth a gander. ✏︎ Si Hawkins

Comedy

26

festmag.co.uk

Danielle Ward

TIME:

Voodoo Rooms 12:30pm – 1:25pm 8–30 Aug, not 11, 18, 25

TICKETS:

FREE

Reviews

VENUE:

27

There’s a whole lot of attitude coming from Dani Frankenstein, aspiring K-Pop star (that is, broadly speaking, South Korean pop music) and the alter ego of Danielle Ward.

The loose premise for the show is that Ward’s useless manager has set up a live broadcast of her performance, involving “all the hip hops” so that she can break into the market and become the star she deserves to be. It is a very loose premise, and doesn’t need to be an-

Credit: Idil Sukan

Dani Frankenstein ««««

ything else; Ward’s sassily explicit lyrics and onstage bonhomie are so strong and engaging it’s easy to forget there’s any kind of an arc to the show.

There’s something marvellously empowering and honest about Ward’s no-holds-barred take on female sexuality. As she calls out at the beginning, “this show’s going to be a hell of a lot better if we pretend it’s not half past 12 in the afternoon.” It’s graphic and funny,

with tracks poking fun at bad sex, one-night stands, and being blindly devoted to a useless boyfriend.

Ward’s language pulls no punches, her humour skips between light and dark with skill, and she’s an accomplished performer of music and comedy. There’s a strong message underneath the laughs, undiluted and articulately conveyed.

It’s great to have Ward adding another strong feminist voice to the Fringe. ✏︎ Victoria Nangle

28

What If There Is No Toilet? «««« Pleasance Courtyard 9:00pm – 10:00pm 5–31 Aug, not 17, TICKETS: £10 – £12 VENUE: TIME:

With comedians up and down Edinburgh this year probing their various psychological issues, it’s still rare to see a mainstream comic quite so brazen as to present a full hour on an uncomfortable illness.

Few can be less comfortable to talk about than irritable bowel syndrome, with a side helping of generalised anxiety disorder. But that’s where Felicity Ward goes in this brilliantly funny and cathartic hour, which has the Friday night crowd whooping and laughing along

Natasia Demetriou and Ellie White are Mother and Baby «««« TIME:

Banshee Labyrinth 8:30pm – 9:15pm 8–30 Aug, not 23

TICKETS:

FREE

VENUE:

If the Free Fringe has a spirit, Natasia Demetriou and Ellie White may be its living embodiments. Over the course of Mother and Baby, they are exuberant, eloquent, experimental, sardonic, surreal, self-deprecating and sadistic – sometimes simultaneously. Above all though, they are

as if nothing could be funnier than regularly shitting your pants.

Ward makes it explicitly clear from the start that we are allowed to laugh about these things: it’s not “funny bit, serious bit, funny bit”.

The stage is littered with bog rolls, along with an air freshener and a model toilet, breaking any taboo before Ward even walks on to the stage. She even encourages a shoutout from anyone in the audience who’s suffered a mental illness, and the crowd’s willingness to go with her is testament to her honest, unaffected and irreverent style.

As always with Ward, there’s plenty of spirited rudeness, as well as some truly clever lines; I particularly liked her takedown of her regular meditation sessions as “a beautiful daily reminder that I am forever alone with my own thoughts”. It’s as funny as any weekend-friendly standup show on the Fringe, but it’s also more than

that: without wanting to strain the toilet analogy too far, Ward has produced something substantial, nutty and surprisingly consistent.

It’s well worth going if you can get there in time. ✏︎ Tom Hackett

funny. They represent the vast but relatively untapped potential of the Free Fringe so well that it’s almost a shame they will likely be charging admission the next time they return to Edinburgh.

As a performance of sketch comedy, Mother and Baby is a defiantly ramshackle affair, frantic and unpolished, a fact that never once detracts from the double act’s virtues or lessens a single laugh. If anything, the fact that Demetriou and White seem to be holding the show together with nerves and giggles (not forgetting the efforts of Camille, their twerking tech) only adds to its charm.

The competitive nature of Demetriou and White’s partnership acts as a loose but surprisingly fruitful

theme: the childishly bitter rivalry between the pair provides them with every excuse for constant escalation, whether in pace, volume, density of jokes or the over-the-top intensity of their performances.

Behind the air of chaos however, it steadily becomes clear just how much thought and fine-tuning has gone into their material: the sketches, though few in number, are tightly packed with fast-paced non sequiturs and hilariously strange phrasing, combined with a manic, daredevil approach to improvisation and excellent chemistry with the crowd.

If Demetriou and White are this good when they’re shambolic, then their future should be watched with keen interest. ✏︎ Sean Bell

Comedy

Felicity Ward

Dust Never Settles In Torchlight

9:10PM AUGUST 6TH - 30TH

NakedFeet physical Theatre

carlhutchinson.net @cphutchinson BROADWAY BABY

ONE 4 REVIEW

THREE WEEKS

“BRILLIANT” MICK FOLEY

‘... a deeply Impressive Piece of Work; inventive, exhilarating, compelling and beautiful’ - Barney Norris by

3.30pm

29

23rd - 27th August

Ticket £6 / £5

NAOMi PAUL

‘Terrific deadpan delivery... topical and relevant. Audiences loved it!’ Pulse Ensemble Theatre

Aug 7-29 (not Sundays) | 08:05pm (50min) | Price £8.00 (£5.00)

Comedy

30

Luke McQueen Double Act ««« Pleasance Courtyard 9:45pm – 10:45pm 5–31 Aug, not 17 TICKETS: £8.50 – £10.50 VENUE: TIME:

It must be fascinating to live like Luke McQueen, unencumbered by the sort of crushing embarrassment that stops regular folks throwing off our dull careers, and clothes, to embark on a life in top-flight entertainment. Or whatever this is.

Double Act is a show built for a pokey portable shack, as it’s debatable whether McQueen’s act would make any sense in a bigger, better-filled room. It doesn’t always make sense in this small one, in truth. “I did this show to 11 people the other day,” he says, playing the tortured artist just a

touch too convincingly.

It probably won’t help to hear that the best two bits of this show are when the host isn’t onstage at all. The loose (and, lordy, it’s loose) theme is that McQueen has become furiously envious of his old double-act partner, now a massive TV star.

It kicks off with a promising conceit in which the comic refuses to actually appear due to the humiliatingly small crowd and talks his (very) new partner through the opening instead, like a comedy control tower. Still, we

see a whole lot of him eventually, as do several unsuspecting locals during the other big highlight: some gasp-inducingly naughty video footage. Such behaviour shouldn’t be condoned, but is horribly compelling.

Elsewhere it’s a glorious mess of knowing gags and egomania, probably aimed more at making fellow comics laugh than audiences. Some people look confused, others wet themselves – as indeed does McQueen. That’s sort of his signature thing. If you like that, you’ll love this. ✏︎ Si Hawkins

That Pair Letting it Go ««« Just the Tonic at The Caves 4:35pm – 5:35pm 6–29 Aug, not 18 TICKETS: £5 VENUE:

festmag.co.uk

There’s a goofy charm to the sketch comedy of Kathryn Bond and Lorna Shaw that gets under your skin from the outset. Letting it Go perhaps isn’t the most consistent of shows, but the infectious fun does a good job of papering over the cracks.

Most of the skits are cleverly subversive, to the point where their act becomes almost meta. They toy with the notion of self-referential humour, breaking character and observing the silliness as a third party at times, but it feels more like a spontaneous gimmick than any stylistic choice. The straight-woman, funny-woman tactic is employed to good effect, and suits both the performers’ respective talents.

Ronny Chieng Chieng Reaction ««« Underbelly, Cowgate 7:20pm – 8:20pm 6–30 Aug, not 17 TICKETS: £10 – £12 VENUE:

Reviews

TIME:

31

There’s a lot of anger in Ronny Chieng. Sure, his venom is magnified for comic effect, but it’s telling that when he finally eases up on us it’s to announce the availability of merchandise. A child of successful executives and a graduate from one of the planet’s top five law schools,

Credit: Rosie Collins

TIME:

There is a lingering sense, though, that such talents would be better served by smarter writing, rather than leaving themselves to do all the heavy comedic lifting on stage.

Aside from the catchy musical interludes, too often they resemble funny people who don’t have many funny things to say.

It’s loosely tethered to the concept of a princess party, although it’s tricky to assign any structure to

it given the number of segments devoted to different characters.

They use their audience in a way that includes them in the sketches but adroitly stops short of becoming an improvisational show performed by the viewing public. However silly the routines get (and however immersed in gleefully misjudged accents the performers become), it’s all rooted in a sense of charming simplicity. ✏︎ Matthew Sharpe

the guy was bred for greater financial stability than his career allows.

He may well be grateful to the audience for choosing his show over others, but shrewd, business-minded attempts to augment his income are entirely in keeping with the character he plays. We want to give Chieng the benefit of the doubt, but even at his most gracious he seems like kind of a bad guy.

Described on his flyer as an “Australia-based Malaysian”, his approach to comedy is quintessentially American. That is to say he ploughs through a series of unrelated routines without giving any thought to cohesion or structure.

A new subject is usually heralded by the 29-year-old yelling petulantly into the microphone. “People on Facebook are so fucking stupid,” he might begin, or, “Is there anything more annoying than people saying you should’ve backed up data?”

He’s equal parts Sadowitz and Seinfeld, and it’s compelling watching a man lose his temper over nothing. Even a protracted routine on replacing a broken phone charger ends up a ground-breaking exercise in boredom-inducing rage. Caustic and incisive, if Chieng went all-out self-parody, he’d doubtless be a hit on these shores. ✏︎ Lewis Porteous

32

ST ANDREW

SQUARE GARDEN

Returning for a second year this outdoor arena has proven to be the bestandbrightestnewFestivalhubinthecity.StAndrewSquareGarden will also play host to The Spiegeltent, plus the best in free outdoor entertainment, fantastic bars and mouth-watering food concessions!

16 jul - 31 aug

www.thestand.co.uk | tickets: 0131 558 7272 www.arfringe.com | tickets: 0844 693 3008

VOODOO ROOMS BOX OFFICE

THE STAND

COMEDY CLUB

STAND 5 & 6 STAND 3 & 4

STAND 1 & BOX OFFICE

THE ASSEMBLY ROOMS HARVEY NICHOLS

HARD ROCK CAFE STAND 2

33

& BOX OFFICE

LE MONDE

Tom Neenan The Andromeda Paradox ««« Pleasance Dome 6:40pm – 7:40pm 5–31 Aug, not 18, 19 TICKETS: £8 – £10 VENUE: TIME:

This feels like a parody, but it’s hard to say of what. It’s a one-man comedy narrative about a stuffy academic who becomes embroiled in a world of espionage, extraterrestrials and time travel. It has its roots in science fiction, but ultimately touches on so many genres

Jo Caulfield Awkward Conversations ««« The Stand Comedy Club 8:00pm – 9:00pm 7–30 Aug, not 17 TICKETS: £10 VENUE: TIME:

There’s an unsung hero of standup, subject to boundless ridicule and expecting no credit in return. His misgivings are a rich source of material. He refuses to ask for directions. He misreads social signals. He forgets to turn the oven off. I refer, of course, to the bumbling comedy husband, to whom every comic in the land seems to be wed. Jo Caulfield is one such lucky lady, and in Awkward Conversations she recounts a series of painful encounters (most of which involve her other half) with enjoyable whimsy.

that its intentions seem obscure and unfocused.

Tom Neenan presents The Andromeda Paradox as the kind of outlandish Boys Own adventure favoured by The Penny Dreadfuls, whose David Reed acts as director here. It’s set within a quintessentially English world of inflexible gender roles and rampant xenophobia, Neenan throwing himself into an array of archaic characters.

Whether embodying moustachioed men in tweed blazers or eccentric German botanists, his comedic voice remains consistent. The hour is an overwhelming torrent of wordplay and one-liners, each of which

would hit the mark were it not such a struggle to follow the intentionally convoluted narrative.

Delivered at breakneck pace, Neenan’s gags scarcely have room to breathe. The performer is to be admired for the density of his writing and the madcap energy he harnesses, but there’s no escaping the sense of him rushing through the show. We can only wonder what even stranger avenues the star would explore if he allowed himself time to expand on his comic conceits. As accomplished and amusing as The Andromeda Paradox is, the work is haunted by its own sense of possibility. ✏︎ Lewis Porteous

In attempting to harness the eponymous cringe moments, I imagine her scurrying around with a notepad, scribbling the minutes of every dinner dialogue and asking strangers who’ve just said something outlandish if they could jazz it up a bit. Having ascertained the nationality of certain punters in the crowd, that becomes their moniker for the rest of the show (“Are you in a relationship, Australia?”) and she is adept at bringing her audience into the discussion to position them on her side of the story. It becomes “us against the moment” and very quickly the anecdotes become an inclusive affair designed to strike a chord with our own experiences.

Seemingly beset on all sides by life’s most excruciating interactions, it’s easy to see why Caulfield chose to adapt her travails into standup material. For the most part it’s bristling with wit and waspish flippancy. The drawback is that it’s

neither impassioned enough to feel cathartic, nor satirical enough to transcend the anecdotes it comprises to form a greater social comment. ✏︎ Matthew Sharpe

Comedy

34

Tiernan Douieb The World’s Full of Idiots, Let’s Live in Space ««« TIME:

Liquid Room Annexe 2:30pm – 3:30pm 8–30 Aug, not 18

TICKETS:

FREE

festmag.co.uk

VENUE:

Tiernan Douieb must think performing in a NASA training uniform makes his purist approach to standup more marketable.This may be true judging by the novelty-seeking teenagers found in today’s audience, but the expressions of boredom that greet his polemic are testament to a level of misrepresentation on his part. This is solid, passionate stuff, but the bearded berk muddles his intentions by arsing about with space helmets in a crass attempt to visualise the show’s themes.

Arguing that mankind has lost all sense of perspective, the comedian

James Veitch Genius Bar ««« Pleasance Courtyard 4:45pm – 5:45pm 5–30 Aug TICKETS: £7.50 – £10.50 VENUE:

Reviews

TIME:

35

The Genius Bar is the name given to the tech support areas found in certain Apple Stores, where customers can have a team of experts return their ailing gadgets to full health. James Veitch felt it an honour to work behind one and continues to spout hyperbolic nonsense

speaks of the “overview effect” – a sense of awareness felt by astronauts as they gaze at Earth, tiny and surrounded by infinite darkness. On being confronted with such a view, many are gripped by a Zen-like calm, having risen above the trivialities that govern our existence. Looking down from space, prejudice and self-interest are absurd concepts.

An outspoken humanist, there’s conviction in Douieb’s material

that few others can match. Some might find the certainty with which he puts his points across alienating, but they’re well researched and usually always followed by a joke. It’s too bad he seems to lack confidence as a performer, muddling through sections of the set and tripping over words. He could prove capable of shocking casual audiences out of their complacency if only he’d take a more confrontational tack. ✏︎ Lewis Porteous

about Steve Jobs several years later. Dedicated to “anyone who’s ever had a broken heart or iPhone,” if this show makes anything plain, it’s that moving on professionally was very much in the performer’s best interests.

When faced with the dissolution of a promising relationship, Veitch’s instinctive response was to treat his problem as he would a piece of malfunctioning hardware. Recalling his Genius training, he troubleshot his emotions, found he had no control over such things and wrote a Fringe show about the experience.

What’s interesting here is the extent to which the audience’s percep-

tion of the performer changes over the hour. With his suppressed neurosis and lucrative skillset, he first comes across like a confident, high status Woody Allen, attempting to tug on our heart strings but unable to quite grasp emotions. This is until he exposes a more playful side in his second act, reading us email exchanges with NASA and a New Mexico-based building contractor.

It becomes more than apparent there’s a silly, impulsively funny side to Veitch, at least in writing.

Stirring as its musical conclusion may be, it’s these logic-defying dialogues that justify Genius Bar’s ticket price. ✏︎ Lewis Porteous

Steve Hall Zebra ««« The Stand Comedy Club 5 & 6 6:35pm – 7:35pm 6–30 Aug, not 17 TICKETS: £8 VENUE: TIME:

It always adds a certain frisson to a gig when someone storms off.

Which particular straw did it for that camel? Will the comic try to win them back? “I promise that was the rudest bit in the show,” pleads Steve Hall, not particularly desperately, as two older ladies flounce out after an admittedly spicy section.

“Actually, the next bit might have sent them off as well,” he grins, as the door bangs behind them.

Hall is hardly the edgiest comic at the Fringe, but then perhaps that’s how those ladies ended up here: someone told them that this is largely a poignant show about parenthood.

Paul Foot ««« Underbelly, Cowgate 7:20pm – 8:20pm 6–30 Aug, not 17 TICKETS: £10.50 – £12.50 VENUE: TIME:

One of Edinburgh’s more intriguing landmarks, found outside St Mary’s Cathedral, is an enormous foot. You wouldn’t be massively surprised if it was dedicated to, or at least now nicknamed, Paul.

Foot has become a beloved thread in Edinburgh’s ever-burgeoning tapestry during his decade-and-a-bit putting on shows up here, with his wilfully uncom-

mercial but oddly influential airs.

And hair. While other comics channelled chunks of his style and went on to wider fame, Greyfriars Paul remained at his Underbelly post, cheerfully, uncomplainingly, until he finally snapped and succumbed to the Dark Side. Suddenly, it’s Darth Paul. Heaven help us all.

Actually there’s a very funny bit about Heaven early on here—how all that perfection annoys the angels—but after a truly sensational stream of high-octane comic scenarios, Foot settles into his main theme: how to get revenge on innocent bed and breakfast landladies.

If that sounds familiar, it’s because this show is a varying

The Hertfordshire comic is best known as the relatively normal one from Fringe stalwarts We Are Klang, but they fizzled out after a BBC series didn’t work, since when Hall, ironically, has been doing lots of writing at the BBC. Zebra is his first Edinburgh show for four years, and it’s a curious mix of sentiment and a man enjoying the freedom to swear again.

He insists early on that this isn’t a “new father” show, but he does bang on about how lovely his daughter is, a lot. And while the visual aids are nice, more variety would be useful, so he isn’t just showing a paying audience his baby pictures for ages. On the other hand, there are some fine gags and a couple of hilarious visual reveals, plus some well-placed vulgarity. Eventually it becomes apparent which demographic this show is perfectly suited for: exasperated new parents. If only they could get a babysitter. ✏︎ Si Hawkins

compilation of classic routines, presumably in preparation for his forthcoming retrospective tour.

And yet his ire towards guesthouse owners must have reached a new peak, as he makes the poor fictional woman’s life a misery; ordering then ignoring a mighty breakfast, smashing her doll collection, and causing a major breakdown. That bit is genuinely harrowing.

This is all performed with manic aplomb, of course, but what can it possibly mean? Is it a bold statement about bullying? Or did Foot have a particularly bad B&B experience, years ago? He really should let it go, if so. There are, after all, hotels. ✏︎ Si Hawkins

Comedy

36

PRESENTING

the VERY BEST of LIVE PERFORMANCE ALL NEW LUNCHTIME SHOW!

www.bite-size.org

THEBIG

BREAKFAST 10.30am 5-31 Aug

BIG LUNCH HOUR THE

12.10pm 9-31 Aug

Fest recommends

The I Hate Children Children’s Show Award winning magic for kids and cool parents.

Get your tickets now!

Best

IHATECHILDREN.COM

Mornings at 11:45 Pleasance Courtyard

Children’s Show Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2011

Editor’s Choice

Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2011

The List No2

at

THE EDINBURGH FESTIVAL FRINGE 2015

THE BIGGEST NEW WRITING PROGRAMME INCLUDING: THEATRE COMEDY DANCE & PHYSICAL THEATRE MUSICALS & OPERA CABARET SPOKEN WORD SKETCH MUSIC CHILDRENS’ FESTIVAL A CAPPELLA & LOTS MORE…

at the Fringe 2013

THE LARGEST PROGRAMME ON THE FRINGE

@theSpaceUK Box Office: 0131 510 2381

www.thespaceuk.com 37

Comedy

38

Gein’s Family Giftshop Volume 2 ««« Pleasance Courtyard 10:45pm – 11:45pm 5–30 Aug, not 17 TICKETS: £7.50 – £9.50 VENUE: TIME:

Gein’s Family Giftshop bound on stage in their pants to pumped up music. They put on PE kits, and launch into an hour full of dark, funny and somewhat twisted ideas and sketches.

It’s the ideas that drive the trio, getting to the nub of a scene with an acknowledged disregard for intro or exit to any sketch. The scenes merge together like the edges of the colours of a menacing rainbow – there are differences

between them and yet the actual handovers are somewhat blurry.

There’s a sibling-style mutual confidence and easy disregard for each other’s safety or vanity as the trio engage. Some sketches give the impression of coming from a game of writer’s brinkmanship to out-gross or out-darken the other two – an exercise that mostly pays off. The gags for the most part are regular and fast – great in terms of disci-

pline, but it does mean that some punchlines are less surprising or punchy than others. And there are longer sketches that struggle to maintain the laughter along with the intrigue.

These versatile and engaging performers serve up an enjoyably dark and silly hour, amusingly wrong-footing the audience with a hearty mixture of the familiar and the downright odd. ✏︎ Victoria Nangle

Amsterdam ««« TIME:

Banshee Labyrinth 2:20pm – 3:20pm 8–30 Aug, not 17

TICKETS:

FREE

VENUE:

festmag.co.uk

Free Fringe shows don’t come a lot Fringier than this. Mark Stephenson describes himself as an “aspiring comedian”, and he’s very much of the self-aware, self-referential, indie school that often finds its audience here. His set makes reference to the sort of grand narrative shows that often bag an award, then denies

Carl Donnelly Jive Ass Honky ««« Pleasance Courtyard 8:30pm – 9:30pm 5–30 Aug, not 17 TICKETS: £8.50 – £10 VENUE:

Reviews

TIME:

39

There isn’t an artsy show inside of Carl Donnelly, waiting to get out.

That’s just not what he’s about. And, do you know what? That’s okay.

What Carl Donnelly does—and does pretty well—is to deliver a solid hour of comedy on issues relevant to his audience. He turns them over, looks at them askew, and finds the funny in some pretty dark corners.

It is to comedy’s credit that standup has become, at least on some circuits, a forum for talking about issues relating to mental health – finally opening one of Generation Y’s most studiously ignored closets. That’s important, as what happens in the arts demonstrably

us such a neat journey and instead takes us on a series of scenic routes down interesting backstreets and alleyways.

He tells us right at the start that “all comedians lie” and that he wants to do something honest. So a central figure is his estranged father, a short, burly South African who loved the younger Mark in a rather clumsy and incurious way, failing to recognise his individualism and instead boasting to family friends about his “big back”.This, and Stephenson’s lifelong struggle with selective mutism, form a central strand to the show, which is really a series of curious vignettes strung together into a rough plotline.

There are some nicely bizarre

asides, such as a recurring motif in which Stephenson reads from a biography of Michael Barrymore written by his ex-wife Cheryl, the extracts made haunting and sad by the use of Radiohead’s ‘Talk Show Host’ as a soundtrack. It’s mostly amusing, meandering stuff but there are some choice one-liners along the way: Stephenson muses at one point on the emotional state of men, “constantly ferrying between boredom and arousal”.

The revelations of the last five minutes are hilarious, as Stephenson plays with our expectations of this sort of show. Stephenson isn’t yet what you’d describe as accomplished, but this is a curious and diverting treat. ✏︎ Tom Hackett

impacts upon public discourse.

It is to Donnelly’s credit that he uses this forum so casually. This isn’t a show ‘about’ mental health, any more than it’s a show ‘about’ eating blueberries on a train (I won’t spoil that story). It’s a show about things that are funny. And for Donnelly, one of those things is an ongoing need to attend to the health of his own mind. He deals with anxiety in the same manner he does blueberries, spinning gawky, apologetic yarns which build to neat, satisfying, if not particularly whizzy punchlines.

The informality does also mean that it’s difficult to get truly excited about Jive Honky (nope, I don’t know either). It’s a safe bet – guaranteed LOLs rather than potential ROFLs. Donnelly’s focus is less on linguistic games or interesting turns of phrase than getting to the end of stories with a bang. Sure, there’s more he could do with his material, but so what. There’s plenty of fun here. ✏︎ Evan Beswick

Credit: Dominic Marley

Mark Stephenson

Reginald D Hunter Bitchproof «« Pleasance Courtyard 8:00pm – 9:00pm 5–30 Aug, not 12, 18, 24 TICKETS: £15 – £17 VENUE: TIME:

When Reginald D. Hunter releases a DVD recording of Bitchproof, its scene selection menu will read as follows: 1. Old show titles, presented as fresh material; 2. Not all black people are the same; 3. A punchline that could be construed

as transphobic; 4. Weak, aimless crowd work; 5. Human faecal matter smells unsatisfactory; 6.

Why literally all women dislike Gwyneth Paltrow; 7. A child’s rape fantasy; 8. The house lights come up ahead of time despite the show’s late start and steep ticket price; 9. The audience focuses on the positives.

Performing in the cavernous Pleasance Grand is a daunting prospect for any artist. Even if their show’s been worked out to make the most of the venue’s space, large crowds carry a weight of expectation. If the room isn’t behind an act, it’s hard to ignore its collective disappointment or apathy.

Jimmy McGhie Winged Goddess of Victory ««« Pleasance Courtyard 8:20pm – 9:20pm 5–30 Aug, not 17 TICKETS: £8.50 – £10.50 VENUE: TIME:

Cursed with one of the most nondescript names in standup, Jimmy McGhie has a stage persona to match. In checked shirt and jeans, he looks like any number of young men found in his own audience. His voice, too, is suitably dull, a gentle middle-class intonation crying out to be heard on Radio 4. Without a singular world view and few identifiable quirks or preoccupations, he relies on beautifully judged sentence construction to stand out from other, equally quick-witted, hopefuls.

His ear for amusing language is

To his credit, Hunter doesn’t seem to care about any of this.

He’s a seasoned veteran and comfortable, authoritative presence.

It’s this natural command of the stage that enables the comedian to slip into autopilot, either regurgitating previously explored themes with less bite and nuance than before, or offering reactionary insight to the human condition.

“Don’t steal pussy,” he warns us, the twinkle gone from his eye. The faithful laugh in all the right places, but do so restlessly, in the vain hope their hero will suddenly start making an effort. ✏︎ Lewis Porteous

evident in his show’s title, Winged Goddess of Victory being a phrase McGhee stumbled across while researching running shoes. In noticing it, he found drama and eccentricity in the mundane, but more often it’s the comedian who forces these qualities upon his subject matter.

What would otherwise be tediously gentle banter with some Australian latecomers is elevated enormously by this approach, as is a nostalgic routine on middle-class holidays.

This is not to say McGhie doesn’t have moments of allround inspiration. His retort to pregnant couples posting ultrasound scans to their Facebook walls is cynical and absurd, while his focus on the administrative side of dark, emotionally charged topics is notable for its odd sense of detachment. Solid as he is though, this fifth solo show from the comedian stops short of being a must-see. ✏︎ Lewis Porteous

Comedy

40

The Beau Zeaux An Improvised Comedy «« Pleasance Courtyard 5:45pm – 6:45pm 6–30 Aug, not 12, 19, 26 TICKETS: £10 – £12 VENUE:

festmag.co.uk

TIME:

Improvised comedy is always going to be hit or miss. Unfortunately The Beau Zeaux on this particular night are not firing on all cylinders.

After very quick introductions the five person team launches into the show. To prove it’s improvised the audience are asked to give suggestions to get the ball rolling.

In this case a grandfather clock is chosen as the item to focus on. One member then nips off stage to find a microphone and stays there to narrate unseen and to prompt the performers on stage into strange positions and funny conversation.

Damien Slash Übermen «« Pleasance Courtyard 5:45pm – 6:45pm 5–30 Aug, not 17 TICKETS: £7.50 – £9.50 VENUE:

Reviews

TIME:

41

You do wonder why Damien Slash—real name Daniel Barker— bothered dragging his coterie of grotesques to the Edinburgh Fringe. A prolific uploader of comic YouTube videos, Slash now finds himself frantically changing costumes in the stuffy Pleasance Attic every afternoon, when he could be knocking out more skits

They then take turns at acting out short scenes that build up the story It could be hilarious. Everyone on stage is willing. Unfortunately the whole show is littered with massive pauses and uncertainty.

Too often there is silence when the narrator and the current performer are conversing and no one knows exactly whose turn it is to speak.

Scenes that add to the rocky story don’t really contain any comedy – although they do manage to make the grandfather clock an integral

part of the tale. The lights come down between each scene for a rearranging of the few stools and chairs they use for props. During these dark moments the audience politely clap while waiting to see what will happen next. Nothing terribly funny does.

The cast enjoys it more than the audience, the biggest and loudest laughs coming from them as they sit at the side waiting their turn in what is a disappointing hour. ✏︎ Graeme Connelly

and getting more hits back home.

Is online content not the future after all?

Perhaps the web is just a means to an end for Barker, who certainly harks back to well-established TV character comics here, while also falling back on some seriously old jokes. An unpleasant sketch about a gambling addict ends with a “funny horse names” racing commentary, for example, an idea that should have been humanely destroyed years ago. And the horse names aren’t particularly amusing.

Barker begins the show—and greets the entering audience—as one of the Ideas Men, a talky concept that worked well on the

web but here is pretty much a Steve Coogan tribute act, with the occasional splash of invention.

Similarly, his socially-inept video gamer was watchable on screen due to sharp editing, but is wearyingly predictable on stage, as he passive-aggressively hits on a female audience member.

There are flashes of promise.

By far the strongest section is his popular online mineral water critic, who closes the show in an enjoyably messy fashion. But the between-skits audio bits don’t work at all, so much so that it’s sorely tempting to do a runner while his back is turned. At least a live audience can’t leave nasty comments underneath. ✏︎ Si Hawkins

42 AUG 12-16 3PM DAILY

A GRAEAE THEATRE COMPANY & THEATRE ROYAL PLYMOUTH CO-PRODUCTION

Venue 150@EICC 7th Annual!

5 DYNAMIC DANCE

COMPANIES FROM THE USA IN ONE SHOW!

bookingdance.com

5 - 30 Aug 4pm (80 mins)

0131 556 6550 | pleasance.co.uk

A dark comedy about three recently deceased characters experience of hell by Jean Paul Satre, winner of the Noble Prize for Literature. M+E version is both funny and cruel with sublime twist.

17th - 29th August, 21.05 (50 Minutes) Tickets: £12 (c £10)

www.thespaceuk.com

THE PARADISE PROJECT

FIVE FEET IN FRONT: THE BALLAD OF LITTLE JOHNNIE WYLO

THIRD ANGEL & MALA VOADORA 5.40pm

THE LETTER ROOM 9.25pm

‘fiercely intelligent’ THE GUARDIAN

‘foot stomping... wild and deadly funny’ THE LIST

NORTHERN STAGE AT SUMMERHALL (VENUE 26) UNTIL 30 AUG (NOT WED) northernstage.co.uk/edinburgh • 0131 226 0000

Tomorrow A powerful exposition on the themes of loss and decay HHHHH

Reviews

festmag.co.uk

PAGE 44

43

Theatre

Reviews

44 Theatre

League Table 1

Bromance «««««

2

Tomorrow ««««« A powerful exposition on the themes of loss and decay

3

Credit: Victor Franowski

First to bag a Fest five star this year is a physical, funny and fresh take on male relationships

Tomorrow

Smoke and Mirrors

«««««

«««««

TIME:

Sexy, stipped-back circus about staying sane in the modern world

4

This Will End Badly «««« Uncompromising new writing that explores the snarling identity of modern masculinity

5

A Gambler's Guide To Dying «««« A moving tale about the fragility of life and family relationships

Traverse Theatre times vary 11–30 Aug, not 17, 24 TICKETS: £20 VENUE:

Unadjusted as lots of us are, it is joyous to see a play about old age, about dementia, that is both serious and hilarious. The much-lauded Vanishing Point Theatre Company stage Tomorrow, a visionary sideways glance into the spiralling effects of dementia. The weighty issue is made buoyant again by the chatter of care home staff, whose work it is to get by on helping others get by.

The show explores the terror of losing oneself with a swiftness and ease that is horribly, feasibly potent. Our young protagonist, George (Samuel Keefe), could be anyone in this theatre’s audience.

To experience dementia for us all, he is stripped naked by a hospital team during what should be a trip to visit his newborn daughter.

Instead, a mask is forced over his head and George enters late life,

now trapped in his mind.

What happens next is provocative—the care home workers play a game of “Which Would You Rather Shag, If You HAD To?”— as well as riotously comedic, while being full of the sensitivity and despair of a care home. Residents race each other, on zimmer frames, to arm chairs; they put on coats and head to thought-up appointments; they wet themselves and pass away.

The Traverse’s audience has before them a set of characters richly interconnected by Pamela Carter’s text and straightforwardly staged

by Vanishing Point. It’s all elegantly, yet experimentally, washed in light and shade by Kai Fischer’s lighting and cleverly realised in Matthew Lenton’s direction, adding up to what will surely be recognised as an integral spectacle of this year’s Fringe. ✏︎ Adam Bloodworth

A Girl is a Half-formed Thing «««« Traverse Theatre times vary 6–30 Aug, not 7, 10, 17, 24 TICKETS: £20 VENUE:

festmag.co.uk

TIME:

Eimear McBride’s novel offered a glimpse of hope for independent publishing houses when it was passed over by the big ones and picked up by Galley Beggar Press in 2013. This stage version by Annie Ryan is less an adaptation and more a transcription, but its potency is entirely undiminished.

It is the recollection of an Irish girl, raped by her uncle and ravaged by life. The prose flows like a river as it runs through crises of

Ringside «««« Summerhall times vary various dates between 5 Aug and 29 Aug TICKETS: £4 VENUE:

Reviews

TIME:

45

A circus for one, Ringside gives you your own personal trapeze show – and it’s a superb examination of the ways in which we watch.

By paring back the performance event to its bare minimum— somebody watching somebody else—Ellie Dubois’s one-on-one piece reveals the dynamic between audience and performer afresh.

faith and family.

The gloomy lights go up in the most deadening silence, in which the slightest shuffle or creak is audible. Aoife Duffin dominates in that silence. She stands on a gritty, mucky stage, green and textured like moss. Four fluorescent strip lights hang in a row.

With subtle changes in voice and gesture she becomes the different characters in her stream-of-consciousness narrative. She moves little, but always with care and precision. As a child attempting to make sense of the fractured narrative of her life, her memories of her family and the people she meets are enlarged, often comic.

The Corn Exchange’s production is a fully formed thing, relying on the absolute power of two things: acting and words, both crafted to near perfection. ✏︎ Tim Bano

Alone in an animal autopsy chamber, a meat-hook hanging from the ceiling, a chalky hand takes yours. Cory Johnson, dressed in skimpy, sequinned shorts, guides you inside, inviting you to take in the trapeze above.

She stands you below it, then performs a slow, shifting routine overhead, meeting your gaze throughout.

It’s both generous and uncomfortable – a gift from performer to spectator and a challenge to reflect on the act of spectating.

When you make eye contact, there’s no escaping the situation: two people in a room, nowhere to hide, no safety net. Each pause begs a question: who’s going to

perform, you or her? Do you offer a leg-up to the bar? What do you do with your eyes? With your hands?

Do you clap?

This close, you see everything: the make-up, the callouses, the sequins and strapping. You see muscles and wobbles and toes wrapped round wood – all signs of somebody working for your viewing pleasure. Inevitably, there are hints of a lapdance—you’ve paid, don’t forget—and Johnson hangs, head below heels, like a limp piece of meat. However, the power shifts every second, and soon she’s peering down from above, towering overhead. Who, you wonder, is performing for whom?

Impeccable. ✏︎ Matt Trueman

46 Theatre

Jethro Compton’s Frontier Trilogy The Clock Strikes Noon «««« C venues – C nova 9:10pm – 10:15pm 5–31 Aug TICKETS: £11.50 – £13.50 VENUE: TIME:

Two desperate men are trapped in a church, relying on their pistols and wits to fight or argue their way out. And we’re trapped with them.

The second instalment in Jethro Compton’s Frontier Trilogy is a one-room thriller that makes full, spine-chilling use of his immersive wooden chapel setting.

The American Pacific Railroad is making its way to the coast at breakneck pace: and they’re laying the tracks almost as fast as they’re running the trains. The clearest path runs through Cooper’s Ridge, but the mountain farmers who live there won’t give up their hardearned homesteads without a fight.

The town’s sheriff Felix Jackson (a

64 Squares «««« Underbelly, Cowgate 7:30pm – 8:40pm 6–30 Aug, not 18 TICKETS: £9 – £10 VENUE: TIME:

Chess is a game of cause and effect. Every action triggers a reaction, every move needs a response. The endgame is determined, in part, by the first few moves. There’s no going back. All you can do is make the best of your circumstances.

convincingly silver-tongued Jonathan Mathews) has fought with the best of them, but he’s holed up in the church with Ben Walker (Sam Donnelly), a bullish rival for his waning authority.

Lily Davenport is sent in, white handkerchief raised, to negotiate: Bebe Sanders’s tightly wound performance is more equal to her transformation from sanctimonius railroad Daddy’s girl to gun-toting shyster. What follows is a knifeedge set of double-crossings and triple-crossings, as the farmers

bargain for their homesteads and their lives.

The idiom of Western movies is built on wide open spaces that just can’t be replicated in the theatre: rolling prairies, gunman glimpsed on a ridge, covered wagons, tumbleweed towns sleepy and waiting for trouble. Compton’s decision to confine this instalment of his trilogy to a single chapel setting, taut under the ticking omnipresence of the clock, gives it a claustrophobic power that makes it the strongest of the three. ✏︎ Alice Saville

Inspired by Stefan Zweig’s novella The Royal Game (or Chess Story), Rhum and Clay’s perky devised piece turns the Sport of Kings into a metaphor for the passage of life.

In Zweig’s story, a Nazi prisoner called Dr B survives a long stint in solitary confinement, memorising a book of historic chess matches to stay sane. Years later, on a cruise ship, he has the chance to take on a Grand Master, Mirko Czentovic, and, by recalling his past form, knows exactly which mistakes to avoid in order to win.

Rhum and Clay smartly expand

that story to split “B” in three – four if you include the silent figure sat at the drums, providing a zippy jazz backbeat for Christopher Harrison’s tumbling production. Before prison, each version of “B” had a slightly different encounter with a secretary that, down the line, determines their fate: win, lose or draw. “All you can do,” says B, “is learn to live with what you become.”

Told with a swish momentum and given a mid-century Mitteleuropean charm thanks to Amelia Jane Hankin’s design, it’s a fine illustration of the limits of our free will. ✏︎ Matt Trueman

assemblyfestival.com 0131 623 3030

AssemblyFest @AssemblyFest /AssemblyFestival

The world famous circus trailblazers return to ‘rob you of your breath’!

The Times

A show that mixes spectacle and storytelling.

The Guardian

Fest

Broadway Baby

‘Mind-blowing’ ThreeWeeks

Assembly HAll, 6 – 31 Aug, 18:00

The Times The Scotsman

DAVID O’DOHERTY, SAM SIMMONS, CHRIS RAMSEY, PIPPA EVANS, GLENN WOOL, FELICITY WARD AND MANY MORE!

Best of the Fest The biggest and best comedy line-ups!

Assembly HAll 7 – 30 Aug, Midnight 47

Little Red Riding Hood The Scotsman

Assembly Roxy 7 – 31 Aug, 15:40

Antonio Forcione & Adriano Adewale The List

Assembly GeoRGe squARe 23 – 30 Aug, 20:00

Theatre

48

Little Thing, Big Thing «««« Assembly George Square Studios TIME: 3:40pm – 5:00pm 6–30 Aug, not 17, 24 TICKETS: £12 – £14 VENUE:

While the writing here is firmly in the tradition of James Joyce and Flann O’Brien, Little Thing, Big Thing most closely resembles a Depression-era American road narrative,

at one point very deliberately using the phrase “one fine mess” to evoke Laurel and Hardy.

Thanks to a mix-up involving rolls of film, a nun and reformed career criminal find themselves fighting for their lives. Chased across Ireland by a former commander of the genocidal Nigerian army, the pair warm to each other, form a bond and finally achieve some degree of personal redemption.

Director Jim Culleton presents us with an intentionally contrived narrative, its almost post-modern use of genre tropes calling to mind the work of Martin McDonagh.The joy here is

in how Sorcha Fox and Donal O’Kelly interact with each other in a variety of guises. O’Kelly in particular has a gift for physical comedy, and exploits it to the hilt here, particularly as he’s seen staggering the stage in agony, petrol trickling down his back.

Both change character with a fluidity matching their use of language, a delirious swirl of drunken onomatopoeia and world weary pessimism. Such a mix of the profane and poetic could be considered a cliché of Irish theatre, but the balance struck here is brilliantly judged.This is wonderful, economical storytelling. ✏︎ Lewis Porteous

Key Change ««« Northern Stage at Summerhall TIME: 12:30pm – 1:30pm 8–30 Aug, not 12, 19, 26 TICKETS: £12 VENUE:

Key Change is preoccupied with time. Doing time, going back in time, marking time. The female prisoners of HMPYOI Low Newton, with whom Open Clasp devised the show, talk about the number of “sleeps” they have left. They turn back the clock with wishful urgency, reliving the events that put them

inside. And they count out the hour they have to talk to us – not half enough time to share their stories.

Those stories—raw, honest, bruising—are told on stage by Open Clasp’s excellent cast of five. At their centre are Jessica Johnson’s swaggering, mouthy Angie and Cheryl Dixon’s overwhelmed firsttime offender Lucy, very different personalities with some strikingly similar demons. It is, they mockingly tell us, meant to be “a touching story about two women who meet in prison and become friends”.

Because that’s what we want, isn’t it? The redemptive narrative, the cathartic release. Open Clasp play with that desire, fulfilling and

then refusing it. Also problematic is the representation of abuse. One woman insists “I am not a victim, I am a survivor”, yet still the violence is represented and re-represented on stage.

Despite flagging them up, Key Change never quite resolves these issues. What it does do brilliantly is evoke the jagged texture of everyday life in prison. Overlapping voices summon the relentless cacophony, while letters transform into birds that fly hopes and worries over the walls. And through it all there’s a tough, humane sense of humour, challenging preconceptions at every turn. ✏︎ Catherine Love

even steals our own Bianca (Vicki Mandelson). It layers the land in frost and devours the innards of horses. War on February is declared by Thaddeus and Selah (played convincingly by Keith Macpherson and Melody Grove).

Crescendos of live music hang like weights, and serve to buffer the play’s best part: the chronic, survivalist discourse of our pair

as they wade through the oddity. A battle takes hold at the play’s close and February is violently beaten, our civilians (narrators?) left to fight another day. Bianca is alive again. Light Boxes is an audio visual masterstroke – yet a fidgety watcher might leave perplexed. Don’t be: good versus evil rarely looks this pretty. ✏︎ Adam Bloodworth

Reviews

49

««« Summerhall times vary 7–30 Aug, not 11, 18, 25 TICKETS: £17 VENUE: TIME:

In 2011, Shane Jones, author of the novel Light Boxes, told stage director Finn den Hertog that, “it’s yours now.” Four years on and Hertog tells us the same thing in the programme for his stage adaptation. He’s right to warn us of subjectivity: this maze of creative staging is an odd, perplexing and mezmerising feast for the senses.

It’s best when taken straightforwardly, as a picture of fantasy.

Silver balloons make up the sky, wood chip is underfoot and flora and fauna is everywhere. The staging is an immersive beauty that reminds of videogame staple Zelda. The plot is as fantastical and abstract: February—the month—is ruining lives, stealing the children of bee keepers and sculptors, and it

Credit: Laurence Winram

festmag.co.uk

Light Boxes

50 Theatre

10x10x10 ««« Pleasance Courtyard, 4:30pm – 5:30pm 5–30 Aug TICKETS: £9 – £12 VENUE: TIME:

Celebrating a decade of productions, the Comedians’ Theatre Company here presents 10 monologues played in rotation, with five per show (though, for some unexplained reason, there were six at the performance I attended).

Monologues work well when it’s clear why a character is engaging in a moment of reflection, and those stories here include a women remembering all the boys she has kissed, a cage fighter deciding whether or not he’s out for the count, and an Armenian masseuse examining her femininity.

While the company laudably aims to offer comedians the opportunity to participate in kinds of performance beyond their usual range, the monologue is an odd choice for achieving this goal.

After all, isn’t a standup routine already a monologue, with the comedian playing a role? And the form requires an economy of writing and solidity of narrative which isn’t always evident here.

The tension between the instincts of those involved and the needs of monologues are evident in that in several pieces pathos and darkness are sacrificed for the sake of a gag. A recurring theme is characters trapped by circumstance and it would have been better if all had been braver about probing the seriousness of this. But it’s a fun show and an interesting experiment, and such a compilation of short pieces means that any that is weaker is swiftly replaced by something stonger. ✏︎ Brett Mills

Blake Remixed ««« Underbelly, Cowgate 10:15pm – 11:15pm 6–29 Aug, not 19 TICKETS: £9 – £10 VENUE: TIME:

From innocence to experience, Blake Remixed mashes up the life and beats of Andy Brooks (aka Testament) with the work of the great radical poet. It’s an unlikely clash of hip-hop and literature, joined by video projections and the livemixed soundtrack of DJ Woody.

Hip-hop, like William Blake, writes its own mythology.

Testament unites the two, with guest performers Soweto Kinch - Jehst and Shlomo appearing via projections in the guises of Blake’s four Zoas: Tharmas, Urizen, Luvah and Urthona. These figures guide Testament as he moves from geeky teenager to up-and-coming hip-hop artist to weary prison workshop leader, all the while looking up to his own musical deities.

Testament is a performer with as many skills as he has alter-egos.

He goes under one persona when

he’s beatboxing, another when he’s rapping, another when working with young offenders. He has a whole percussion section behind his lips and an astonishing ability to wrap his tongue around rapid-fire lyrics.

In the show, Blake’s lines are brilliantly woven into raps, his rally against the “mind-forg’d manacles” of London proving particularly—and depressingly—open to 21st-century updating. There are also hints of his radical politics and unorthodox approach to spirituality in Testament’s autobiographical narrative, which has an ambivalent relationship with religion.

This remix, though, is one that misses a beat. Though consistently engaging, Testament’s show never quite gets Blake and hip-hop to speak to each other in the way it aims for. ✏︎ Catherine Love

#EDINTFEST

‘THE MOST INDELIBLE DANCE PRODUCTION OF THE YEAR’ MUSICAL AMERICA

LO REAL / LE RÉEL / THE REAL ISRAEL GALVÁN / CONTEMPORARY FLAMENCO Wed 19 – Fri 21 August 7.30pm Festival Theatre

BOOK NOW EIF.CO.UK/LOREAL 0131 473 2000

51

Charity No SC004694 | Photo Javier del Real

Blind Man’s Song niment of Alex Judd. His repetitive ««« Pleasance Dome, 3:30pm – 4:30pm 6–30 Aug TICKETS: £9 – £12 VENUE: TIME:

Mime isn’t the most popular of disciplines. And although it might be unfair to land the blame entirely at the door of this mawkish, tedious offering fromTheatre Re, it certainly isn’t helping the cause.

Two masked performers create the whirl of emotions inside a blind man’s head using dance and mime, to the live piano and violin accompa-

Linking Rings ««« Le Monde 3:00pm – 4:00pm 7–31 Aug, not 8, 15, 22, 29 TICKETS: £10 VENUE: TIME:

Paul Zenon is a magician, but this is not a magic show. We see a few tricks: the linking rings are performed with humour and gusto; a trick flask is used subtly, the joke slowly grasped by the audience.

But that’s it. Instead, this is an autobiographical story of how it was that Zenon came to be a magician.

This is a show for people who find that the machinations of magic are often more exciting than the acts themselves.

He looks back on a childhood of reading comic books, thinking about the tricks and games you could buy from the back pages.

and meandering soundtrack combines with the production’s Magritte-inspired aesthetic, all bowler hats and wool overcoats, to create an aesthetic of haze-heavy Francophone romanticism: like the street scenes from Amélie endlessly spun out in murky darkness. Guillaume Pigé and Selma Roth’s choreography is similarly hackneyed, relying heavily on a few set gestures: there’s a lot of spinning around on a cast iron bed of wheels, fumbling shakily about with canes, almost kissing (masks) and endlessly swapping a felt bowler hat between them.

There are some striking visual moments, but the performers’ bod-

He talks about summers, and then weekends, spent at the House of Secrets in Blackpool, where he bought his first set of linking rings, and found his mentor, Bill. He talks of becoming a full-time magician at 17, performing on piers and acting in BBC TV series.

To complement these tales, Zenon brings in stories of Houdini’s assistant and mechanic, Jim Collins, discussing a man he finds as fascinating as he is enigmatic. In this, Linking Rings becomes the story of two men, looking up to an older magician who is leading their way.

Unfortunately, Zenon’s stories of Jim and Houdini don’t quite fit in this work. His own stories are told with delight, and then with love and pathos for his deceased mentor.

Alongside these, the stories of Collins feel awkwardly shoehorned.

Zenon sits more comfortably, and is more compelling, in stories that are told first-hand. ✏︎ Jane Howard

ies aren’t even nearly expressive enough to make up for the lost powers of their voices and faces.

And this loosest of plots emphasises blind people’s vulnerabilities, rather than their abilities, to create an atmosphere of mawkish sentimentalism.

With little tension or suspense, the scarcely differentiated interludes lag. “That seemed so much longer than an hour,” muttered the woman next to me. Its wittiest moment comes when Guillaume Pigé takes off his stocking to tell us to spread the word on Facebook andTinder: a show this wet would be bound to extinguish all romantic sparks. ✏︎ Alice Saville

Theatre

52

festmag.co.uk

Othello An All-Female Production ««« Underbelly Potterrow 12:20pm – 1:30pm 6–31 Aug, not 13, 20 TICKETS: £10.50 – £11.50 VENUE:

Reviews

TIME:

53

“O these men, these men!” exclaims Desdemona mere scenes before her murder. Othello is, among other things, a play about women abused by men – disbelieved, insulted and finally killed.

Except in Smooth Faced Gentlemen’s production, there are no men.

As delivered by an all-female cast, the line leaps out, underlining the masculine aggression of the play’s testosterone-soaked culture. On the whole, though, the single-sex casting quickly becomes unremarkable, more striking for its intervention in the male-dominated

canon than for what it reveals about Shakespeare’s play.

Smooth Faced Gentlemen’s Othello is stripped back and streamlined, played with swift economy.

At a brisk hour and 10 minutes, only the most necessary elements remain, keeping the narrative fairly intact but sometimes pruning back the characters a snip too far. The motivations of Iago and Othello alike are rushed as a result, Anita-Joy Uwajah’s Moor graduating with implausible speed from suspicion to anger to devastation.

Yaz Al-Shaater’s simple staging

is as economic as the action. Scenes take place between and behind a series of venetian blinds, lightly hinting at the hidden and partly glimpsed. It’s all stylishly done, even if the plain clarity of Bex Kemp’s design feels slightly at odds with the more old-school Shakespearean acting of the eight-strong ensemble.

As a response to the continued lack of major roles for women, Smooth Faced Gentleman’s work makes a vital statement. As a fresh take on Othello, though, their production has little truly new to add. ✏︎ Catherine Love

We This Way «« Summerhall 12:25pm – 1:25pm 5–30 Aug, not 11, 18, 25 TICKETS: £10 VENUE: TIME:

A real air of mystery surrounds We This Way, the latest interactive theatre show from Seth Kriebel. Few details are available to guide our expectations, while he personally asks that we don’t give specifics away to potential attendees. As such, a palpable tension hangs

over the queue outside the theatre.

The mood softens as we’re greeted by the performer and handed pairs of glow sticks, but our apprehension and curiosity remain. What follows is a sustained exercise in deflating any lingering sense of excitement.

We’re about to play a game, Kriebel tells us before offering permission to talk throughout. Admin out of the way, he proceeds to let rip with what is essentially a spoken choose-your-own adventure story in which decisions are reached by consensus. After our host has described a scenario, we’re to hold

up whatever colour glow stick corresponds with our desired course of action. Having memorised all possible outcomes, Kriebel follows the will of the majority. At certain points we hear a disembodied voice say ‘again’ and we’re back where we started.

This format is presumably intended to facilitate a discussion on group dynamics and behaviours.

We don’t always learn from our mistakes, and so there’s lots of repetition over the course of the show.

Ultimately though, there’s no sense of pay-off to justify the maddening tedium. ✏︎ Lewis Porteous

of prison, while others accept it as an occupational hazard.

The performances are tight and economic, and the design, which sets the conversations on top of a revolving wooden drum, is stunning. But there’s so little of note in the material, so little purpose or intensity, that it all feels to no avail.

There are moments of glinting theatricality, including scattered magic routines and a climactic

grand illusion, but their purpose is obscure. SKaGeN suggest a sexual angle to the relationship between prosecutor and accused, and perform a series of increasingly aggressive flirtations, but if Pardon / In Cuffs is intended as a satire of the legal system, it’s far too backwards in coming forward. It plays out like the record of a promising but dramatically unsuccessful research period. ✏︎ Stewart Pringle

Pardon / In Cuffs «« Traverse Theatre times vary 19–30 Aug, not 24 TICKETS: £8–£18 VENUE: TIME:

SKaGeN lit up the Fringe with Bigmouth in 2012, but although their interest in stark, politically engaged theatre hasn’t wavered, their work has gradually shed its punch and relevance. Pardon / In Cuffs is an extended verbatim piece examining the peculiar relationship between those in police custody and their interrogators or legal aides. Men and women from all walks of life argue and bargain for their freedom, cajoling themselves into community service to dodge custodial sentences.

We see a prostitute with a crack addiction, shoplifters and wife-beaters and career criminals. Some are horrified to find themselves teetering on the brink

Theatre

54

Filthy Talk for Troubled Times «« Basic Mountain times vary various dates between 6 Aug and 31 Aug TICKETS: £10 – £13 VENUE:

festmag.co.uk

TIME:

Why revive Neil LaBute’s 1990 debut play? It’s a short, unpleasant, rarely-performed piece set in a strip club, where dumb, cruel men and a couple of waitresses banter, each breaking out to address the audience with tales supposed to be out-there in their honesty. Maybe they had bite 25 years ago; now they reek of cliché.

All the men are aresholes, with casually racist and homophobic attitudes thrown in for cheap shocks; the women victims and sex objects.

They long for romance and a good guy, even if they are a bit sexually frank. But in a post-Sex and the City, post-Girls world, claims that women don’t have orgasms, guys won’t go down on girls, and all men

The Terrible Tale

lition and two eyes have appeared on the wall. Oh dear.

What a complete mess. If you’re going to use projection like this, your actors have one job and one job only: hit the mark. That’s it.

Stand in the right spot and let the light find its target. Here, a newspaper has half a headline and a man has been covered with wallpaper. It’s not even like the animation’s any good: facial features that might have been copied and pasted from ClipArt. If you’re intrigued by the Twiddly Widdlies, save yourself for 1927 at the International Festival.

Structurally, it’s a cabaret of dark poems: the Twiddly Widdlies

of the Twiddly Widdlies «« Pleasance Courtyard 2:15pm – 3:15pm 6–21 Aug, not 17 TICKETS: £9 – £10 VENUE:

Reviews

TIME:

55

Two men in tailcoats stand onstage, their heads completely bandaged. In theory, their faces should become projection screens, with animations providing their expressions. In reality, a moustache has just moved to someone’s forehead of its own vo-

are bastards seem extremely dusty.

The setting also feels eye-roll worthy, handily allowing gorgeous American TV actresses—Zibby Allen and Erin Pineda —to parade around in suspenders and lacy, nip-revealing bras. The show even starts with a wholly gratuitous tits-out pole dance. Bang, I’m afraid, goes any argument that the production is critiquing the objectification of women. It luxuriates in the male gaze.

It’s a tight, well-wound staging – the performances are good, if better at the sassy straight-shooting of LaBute’s sharply crafted prose than the occasionally over-egged group scenes. Director Matthew Lillard—he of movie fame, star of Scream and Scooby-Doo—exhibits a sure hand.

But a snappy staging isn’t enough to rescue a work so dated and lacking in insight. Ultimately, Lillard finds absolutely no compelling reason to revive LaBute’s play. ✏︎ Holly Williams

are child-eating pig people living in a forest; the Radio Ramblers, two 1930s BBC sorts with clipped RP accents. Clem Garritty and Oliver Jones’s writing is silly, macabre and piquant. The projections ride roughshod over the lot.

The irony is that they’re not even necessary. The best of the three concerns two Northern blokes, who decide, as a prank on “the wives”, to swap faces à la Nicolas Cage and John Travolta. Having sliced one another’s features with a hacksaw in the shed, they stand before us in bandages; the projector serving only as a stage light. A shambles; a shame. ✏︎ Matt Trueman

56 Theatre

Cut «« Underbelly, George Square times vary 5–31 Aug, not 18 TICKETS: £12.50 – £13.50 VENUE: TIME:

This noir thriller premiered at the Adelaide Fringe earlier this year. Its dark storytelling and lead performance by Hannah Norris undoubtedly strike chords, but as a play, CUT is so intent on shocking its own audience, it ends up compromising on genuine emotion.

Norris, playing an unnamed ‘Woman’, is first a flight attendant pursued by a male passenger. The same minimal set that forms the aircraft turns into a train (with Woman still pursued by the figure) and later, her own home. Plunging in and out of darkness, the audience career about the place with the Woman as she’s stalked and, finally, driven to violence.

But Norris, whose gasps and shrieks are ten-a-penny, never

I Got Dressed in Front of My Nephew «« ZOO times vary 7–30 Aug, not 17, 24 TICKETS: £9 VENUE: TIME:

Claire Stone, one half of performance duo Feral Foxy Ladies, was just 11 years old when she first learned that her body was a weapon – a tool with which to manipulate others. More than a decade later, she and fellow theatre-maker

rewards us with any sense of horror on stage. The darkness we’re plunged into feels more threatening than Woman’s constant crying wolf, whether on a plane, train or in the depths of an empty home. Eventually the villian shows up—kind of—and we are relieved of him over the course of a few brutal phases – though the meatiest parts are left offstage.

Though Norris’s performance is strong, Woman never feels truly at threat – Duncan Graham’s writing is far too thin to allow for real people, or real feelings. The irony is there is little more to the Woman or her situation than there is to the flight attendants she parodies: if their smiles aren’t real then her pursuer definitely isn’t either. ✏︎ Adam Bloodworth

Katherine Vince are beginning to interrogate what that means.

The title of their show is a reference to Stone’s young nephew, whose curious questions about her beauty regime had her asking herself what – and who – it’s all for.Told from Stone’s perspective yet performed

by Vince, the piece is a satirical look at demands for feminine perfection, skewering everything from hair removal to the absurdity of make-up colours (seriously, what the fuck is “deeply beige”?)

They’re all good gags at first. But then the same ground is covered again. And again. Stone and Vince never move the conversation forward, instead remaining fixated

on a fairly shallow interrogation of body image. It’s all content that’s addressed more effectively and with greater scope by the likes of Sh!t Theatre’s Women’s Hour, forming just the smallest corner of 21st-century feminism. And smeared, clown-like make-up is only funny so many times.

The show also begs the question of how far it’s perpetuating rather than challenging the beauty culture it targets. Vince is still very much in control of her body, still presenting us with a certain ideal of feminine beauty. She and Stone might make us laugh at and question that ideal, but they never really smash it. ✏︎ Catherine Love

CalArts Festival Theater

JUMP ABOARD THE

WORST AIRLINE IMAGINABLE

-12th Season on the fringe-

Bayou Blues

Your favourite show might be just around the corner!

w ced Ne k-Pa Quic Comedies

15:45

Francesca,Francesca...

Explore the mythology surrounding the remarkable Francesca Woodman.

17th-29th* @ 12.45pm £8.00 (£6.00) *no performance 23rd from rting Depa eTriplex Spac e 38 Venu

Enter the dream a girl named Beauty in the bayou of New Orleans.

Find out what’s on near you, plus up-to-theminute Festival reviews on festmag.co.uk

@BuckleUpTheatre

From the creator of 2014’s hit Pomegranate Jam 18:45

IamI A multimedia dreamscape within the Eversphere, following an eclectic group discovering life after death.

21:30 Bayou Blues 15:45 Francesca, Francesca... 18:45 IamI 21:30 £8.00 General | £6.00 Concession

£6-8 Study at Pleasance Dome

12.15pm 5-15 Aug

11.00am 16-31 Aug

Your FREE Guide to the Edinburgh Festivals festmag.co.uk /FestMagUK @festmag

On Lochend Close - Just off the Royal Mile 100m past Cannongate Kirk

venue13.com Aug 8-29 | tickets: WWW. 07074 20 13 13

www.venue13.co

57

58

Ecce Homo Music

«««« Pleasance Courtyard 12:45pm – 2:00pm 5–31 Aug, not 17, 24 TICKETS: £9 – £12 VENUE: TIME:

Naughty Nickers (Nick Phillips) is a man who thought, for over three decades, he’d die. But he’s still here and he treats his public to his life story in a deeply personal and moving cabaret. He tells how he became a church choir boy, a glittering gay icon and one of he longest living men with Aids. He takes his audience back to the pre-Stonewall era, the sexual liberation of the '70s and the desperation of the eighties.

His anger towards those who failed to respond properly to the Aids epidemic hits hard, just as his survivor guilt when he shows photos of many friends who died.

This show is, however, not merely a sad affair. There is hope, love, dreams and a purpose. Effortlessly accompanied by pianist Henry Burnett, Phillips decorates his chronicles with songs from the grand songbook of musical theatre.

His voice might not be pitch-perfect, but delivers everything he sings with much bravado.

Phillips rubbed shoulders with all the big names in showbiz, and he loves to brag about that – yes, he met Meryl Streep and worked with Stephen Sondheim, who apparently showed him his affection once. It’s childlike, both irritating and adorable, because he still gets excited by it. His story doesn’t need the endless namedropping, though. The modern gay history, told through the eyes of a remarkable man, is enough to reduce a substantial part of the audience to tears. ✏︎ Arnoud Breitbarth

Camille O’Sullivan Brel ««««

TIME:

The Queen's Hall 10:30pm – 12:00am

TICKETS:

RUN ENDED

VENUE:

Camille O’Sullivan is magician and glamorous assistant rolled into one: in her performances are mystery and grace, as well as viciousness and grit. She transforms an ugly pale blue concert hall into a dingy Dublin basement bar.

Her set is devoted to Jacques Brel, whose songs are given renewed life. All the hits are there, sung in both English and in French.

Some songs, like Brel’s devastating ode to the old Les Vieux, are unaccompanied and O’Sullivan stands exposed and crying as she sings “The old folks never die / They just put down their heads and go to sleep one day”. Others have the full force of her band summoning some demonic force with their noise.

Whatever she’s doing on stage

or with the front row of the audience (usually stroking their hair or mewling coquettishly) it doesn’t jolt one note out of place. The control in her voice is remarkable: she can change the atmosphere of the room with a breathy whisper or a fierce growl.

Dark theatrical elements turn O’Sullivan’s performance into a show: at one point she dons a paper pig’s head, which sits on a table with lights shining through its eyes for the rest of the performance, a creepy onstage companion. Brel’s lyrical masterpieces and all the worlds they conjure almost seem as if they were written for O’Sullivan, the Irish Piaf and Patti Smith hybrid who grants them life. ✏︎ Tim Bano

Michael Griffiths in the acclaimed cabaret that will play with your heart.

WINNER BEST CABARET ADELAIDE FRINGE 2014

18:00 06 - 31 AUG

Ludwig

Live

“A DEEPLY FELT REFLECTION OF THE MAN. SAVOR EVERY MINUTE.” – NEW YORK TIMES

NOMINA TED FOR A 20 15 DRAM A DESK AW ARD IN NEW YO RK

0131 510 2385 www.thespaceuk.com theSpace @ Symposium Hall

He’s written operas, sonatas and symphonies Now he brings his epic piano skillz to the cabaret circuit

WITH THE MUSIC AND LYRICS OF JOHN LENNON LENNON & McCARTNEY

JOHN WATERS with STEWART D’ARRIETTA 6 – 28 AUGUST

59

22:30 6–27 AUGUST

Extra shows 19:30, 10, 17, 28 August Extra Shows 14:30 17 & 24 August Extra Shows 21:00, 24 August

Music

60

The LipSinkers

TIME:

Liquid Room Annexe 10:20pm – 11:15pm 16–29 Aug

TICKETS:

FREE

VENUE:

Before John Barrowman came along and single handedly ruined it, the gay scene was synonymous with counter culture and the avant garde. The LipSinkers hark back to a time when sexuality saw individuals driven underground into hedonistic, like-minded communities.

Presenting themselves as The New York Dolls by way of Andy Warhol’s Factory, they evoke a bygone era of consequence-free experimentation that many doubtless pine for.

In terms of their attitude, however, the troupe call to mind the punks who hang around Camden

Credit: Magnus Arrevad

Evolution of the Fags «««

charging tourists to take their photos. When they unfurl a banner bearing the slogan, “Queens Rule”, it may as well read “Anarchy in the UK”. They’ve got the image down to a tee, but offer a mere facsimile of the spirit that originally informed the aesthetics.

The show consists of a handful of drag stars lip-syncing their way through a throbbing pop playlist.

Their choreographed visuals are often chaotic, most notably the seaside romp accompanying The Pogues’ ‘Siesta’, but elsewhere show tenderness and grace. Keith

Harris’s ‘Orville’s Song’ allows for a surprisingly moving portrayal of self-doubt and insecurity, while ‘Dance: Ten; Looks: Three’ from Broadway musical A Chorus Line is a joyous ode to artifice and femininity.

When the performers attempt to make a serious statement, as with Jeffrey Lewis’s ‘What Would Pussy Riot Do?’, it feels like empty posturing, but generally they attack each musical number with such vigour that the audience has no choice but to surrender itself to them. ✏︎ Lewis Porteous

Cat Loud’s Big Night In «««

TIME:

festmag.co.uk

TICKETS:

Laughing Horse @ Moriarty’s 1:55pm – 2:40pm 6–30 Aug, not 17 FREE

This is a wonderfully intimate cabaret from Catriona MacLeod, a warm and loveable young woman from the Hebrides who’s longing for love and success in the big city.

It’s her first show, but she sets the bar high. With her warm voice, MacLeod effortlessly sings a handful of classics and says some funny stuff in between.

But she’s tired of trying hard and tired of herself, and what she really craves is a night in. Not alone though, so she takes her audience home.

There she turns from a glamorous wannabe diva into lass in a onesie.

Her narrative lacks clarity and needs a bit of work, but in the songs she

Love Birds ««« Pleasance Courtyard 12:35pm – 1:35pm 5–31 Aug, not 19 TICKETS: £9 – £11.50 VENUE:

Reviews

TIME:

61

Ever wondered what Mary Poppins’ penguin waiters did next? According to his colourful, camp and family-friendly new musical, they spent the roaring twenties performing in an all-bird vaudeville revue. Not that they’re those exact penguins, they hasten to add – that would be a copyright infringement.

It’s 1923. Emcee’d by a scru-

Credit: Sarah Darling

VENUE:

really shines. Her frail rendition of Billy Joel’s ‘She’s Always a Woman’ is touchingly perfect.

Much credit goes to her very effective and skilled pianist Finn Anderson, who gives the performance a strong musical backbone – and who sings very well himself. He plays such a big part in the show

that they’re almost a duo, which would be interesting to see too.

But for now, MacLeod is a leading lady with Bette Midler-style ambition. There’s only one problem when this short cabaret show reaches its finish: you’re left hungry for more. ✏︎ Arnoud Breitbarth

pulously moral dinosaur called Armitage Shanks, the Love Birds find themselves in a tricky stylistic transition, as the demand for raunchier numbers threatens its squeaky-clean reputation. Shanks tries to keep the loose ethics of the era at bay. Robert J. Sherman’s book plays on this, seeking to find a balance between child-appropriate banter and cheeky innuendo for adult ears. A few of the revue’s avian stars do get a little too friendly with each other.

The show will be best enjoyed by adults with young children. Its whimsical kookiness, endearingly heightened by Gabriella Slade’s brash, rainbow-feathered design,

may be a bit much for other audiences, although its smattering of references to classic broadway musicals (‘Ladies Who Lunch’ from Sondheim’s Company gets a nod, among others) will be appreciated by fans of the genre.

Love Birds’ storyline’s a little thin to sustain a full-on musical running at an hour’s length, but the revue-style format almost justifies this, and the songs themselves are joyfully performed.

The dance sequences can be a little shaky at times—a prop goes flying into the front row at one point—but the show’s quirky exuberance forgives its occasional slap-dash slip. ✏︎ Billy Barrett

62

«« Assembly George Square Studios TIME: 8:00pm – 9:00pm 5–23 Aug TICKETS: £8 – £10 VENUE:

Saved not by Jesus but by rock’n’roll, Malcolm Doherty is an unlikely spiritual leader. His “church” is a gig, his congregation an intermittently hand-clapping crowd. Having narrowly avoided death after being diagnosed with leukaemia, Doherty is here to spread the joy of being alive, one song at a time.

Life-affirming though the aim may be, Doherty’s version of life is chock-full of banalities. His overarching, uncontroversial message is “music is the key; music is the answer”. Other not-so-startling insights include the revelation that “beauty comes from within” and life

Hemmed In «« theSpace on the Mile 5:30pm – 6:35pm various dates between 8 Aug and 28 Aug TICKETS: £9 VENUE: TIME:

This new musical about five troubled young women out of prison on a rehabilitation programme gets off to a flying start. That the premise—they must design and model their own clothes for a fashion show, overseen by a supermodel also on probation for bottling her boyfriend—is unlikely in the extreme, is knowingly acknowl-

is all about finding happiness. It’s the Hallmark of live entertainment.

Doherty links together a series of songs with anecdotes from his life and an account of his illness and recovery. There’s a brief guest spot—Scottish comedian Ashley Storrie on the night I attend—and a couple of semi-starry video appearances from the likes of Pakistani-born musician Rumer.

Otherwise, the screen behind Doherty and his band looks like an episode of Top of the Pops from the ‘70s or ‘80s, all garish swirls of colour and awkwardly overlaid images.

Think flowers blooming and clouds skimming across skies.

The songs themselves, with titles like ‘Diamonds and Elephants’ and lyrics as naff as Doherty’s mottos, are mostly forgettable. It’s hard not to listen and ask, “why?”

He might claim to be spreading music, love and happiness, but this cliché-ridden service feels as though it’s doing more for Doherty than for the “brothers and sisters” he preaches to. ✏︎ Catherine Love

edged early on. And the show initially takes a scalpel-sharp sense of humour to revealing the grim social realities that might undermine a redemptive story of jailbirds improving themselves.

There’s a great, sarcastic number about living on benefits that asks, “How are you supposed to restart your life on 47 quid?” Cue a long list of what such a sum could buy: “Aberdeen to Preston on the 9:30 train; eight or nine mascaras from Maybelline” – or, more darkly, one single hit...

Written by Ruth Cobbin, Hemmed In’s set-up and early songs have rapid-fire rhymes, fresh humour and clever construction. Sadly, the production

Music

The Church of Malcolm

is on a downwards trajectory.

Songs get slushier and more sentimental as the show rapidly slides into predictability, revealing each girl’s criminal past (drugs, violence, credit card fraud), their present struggles, their hopes for the future. As they prepare for the fashion show, bonding and bickering, the dialogue often feels stilted or shrill.

Un-amplified and accompanied just by keyboard, the singing isn’t the best you’ll hear on the Fringe either, with some definite dud performances. Still, this young company of recent Scottish graduates give gutsy performances and there’s promise here – it just isn’t quite runway-ready yet. ✏︎ Holly Williams

Room 2 Manoeuvre presents

Squish Squared Dance meets squash!

14th - 23rd Aug (not 18th) 1130 & 1300 (50 mins) £5 preview (£8/£6) Venue 457 | ZOO Grange Tickets: www.zoofestival.co.uk t: 0131 662 6892

63

LABELS

5th-31st August (Not 17th) Pleasance Courtyard, Bunker 1, 12.35pm (60mins)

“Powerful, important & funny” - Emma Thompson www.pleasance.co.uk @worklight_uk #LABELS

9-year-old Lauren Hunter can’t wait for Funz and Gamez Threez!

KIDS CRITICS

Lauren & Eve

What happens in the show?

Phil Ellis and his friends challenge the children to games but the adults are the ones that act like children.

Describe the show in five words Hilarious chaos for all ages.

Who was your favourite character and why?

Phil Ellis – because he didn’t know why his girlfriend was on holiday. (I told Mum I think Phil’s girlfriend is having an affair.)

What did you like most about the show?

There was a magician who just wanted to smoke cigarettes and it was very funny.

What didn’t you like about the show?

Jim the Elf didn’t do enough stuff. I like Jim the Elf. What did you think of the songs?

He did one song but also lots of ‘life lessons’.

How did the show compare to the TV programme?

I’ve seen Funz and Gamez on TV [BBC3 Pilot] and I liked it but I’ve seen both shows live and that is always better.

What did your grown-up think of the show?

My cousin Katie is 16 and thought it used children to make adults laugh and she wasn’t happy. But I am nine and a kid and I thought these were the best bits.

Would you tell your friends to come?

Yes I would. It wasn’t quite as good as the first show but then the first show was brilliant and this is still really good. I hope they do Funz and Gamez Threez. ✏︎ Lauren Hunter (age 9)

Assembly George Square Gardens, 3:20pm – 4:20pm, 6–31 Aug, not 25 TICKETS: £9 VENUE: TIME:

Kids

Funz and Gamez Tooz

64

festmag.co.uk

Hairy Maclary’s Cat Tales Eve Green, six, enjoys hearing lots of stories all in one show What happens in the show?

Riverside Hall Cat Show is on and Slinkly Malinki has stolen all the trophies. They find all the trophies through the show. There were loads of good stories and songs about Hairy Maclary as well.

Describe the show in five words Sneaky, funny, fantastic, doggy and catty.

Who was your favourite character and why?

Schnitzel von Krumm because he had a great costume and lay down like a sausage dog really well. I liked the grannies too.

Reviews

Were there any characters you didn’t like?

I wasn’t so keen on Hercules Morse because he was too big and boundy and my little sister was a bit scared of him.

65

What did you like most about the show?

I liked the Slinky Malinki song, the cats and Schnitzel von Krumm.

What didn’t you like about the show?

I’d heard some of the stories before and I wanted to see some new stories.

What did you think of the songs?

We really liked the sneaky Slinky Malinki song the best. The other songs were okay.

How did the show compare to the book?

I liked the show better than the book because you could see the faces of the people in the show, and you got to see lots of the stories all in one show.

Would you tell your friends to come?

I’d recommend it to my little sister’s friends.

What did your grown-up think of the show?

We enjoyed it but our two-year-old had a better time than the six-year-old did. The cast worked very hard and we enjoyed the animal costumes which were great at creating the characters. Scenery was pretty basic and although drawn to look like the illustrations from the book, could have been better produced and used.

Overall everyone in the audience seemed to have a good time. ✏︎ Eve Green (age 6)

Assembly George Square Theatre, times vary, 6–31 Aug, not 17, 24 TICKETS: £10 – £11 VENUE: TIME:

66

THE OVERCOAT 0131 560 1581 summerhall.co.uk

PG | SummerHall (Venue26)

11:00am ~ 11:55am

AUG 5 -30 (not 17) 9:45am (55m) 06 AUG - 30 AUG (not18)

Dr Seuss’s

5 30 August 0131 556 6550

Dragon «««««

TIME:

Royal Lyceum Theatre times vary

TICKETS:

RUN ENDED

festmag.co.uk

VENUE:

Grief eats up words. Grief hides words, locks them up in far reaches of the brain. Grief deforms words, catches them in mouths that can’t quite form the sounds.

Dragon, from writer Oliver Emanuel, is a wordless exploration of grief, as we follow teenage Tommy after the death of his mother. It is an extraordinary commitment to visual poetry: actors float between scenes, moving sets and props in and out with a simple turn, a quiet flourish. This is a world that moves on its own terms, but is still resolutely relatable.

Under fluffy clouds, Jamie Harrison’s set peers out of concentric circles of black; Simon Wilkinson’s lighting catches to make the

Shakespeare Untold Titus Andronicus (The Piemaker’s Tale) «««« Pleasance Courtyard 1:40pm – 2:30pm 5–31 Aug, not 12, 19, 26 TICKETS: £10 VENUE:

Reviews

TIME:

67

Shakespeare’s most grisly tragedy might seem like an unlikely choice for the Globe to adapt for children, but this re-telling serves up a delicious slice of easily digestible Bard pie.

We’re welcomed as prisoners of the Roman Empire, to be trained in

actors and their props shine out from the dark.

At times the work seems to rush by, but then directors Harrison and Candice Edmunds pull back, luxuriating in a moment of particular devastation, or particular humour. Tim Phillip’s lush orchestral composition, overlaid on Mark Melville’s deeply evocative sound design, at times fades away and all we hear is the minutiae of life: breaths taken in deeply, a thrown cigarette light-

er skipping across the stage.

The dragon grows and transforms along with Tommy’s grief.

She is a blanket to cover with; she is a beast to escape the world on; she is angry and mean. She’s a way to move forward.

At the end of Dragon we’ve been in the theatre for only 80 minutes.

We’ve been with Tommy for only months. And yet, it feels like we’ve been in this world forever, and also for no time at all. ✏︎ Jane Howard

the kitchens. Tom Giles, who gives a chirpy, chatty, comic performance, is our piemaker. Turns out this chef happened to be present at various key moments in the narrative of Titus Andronicus, and he recounts many marriages, deaths, mutilations and sinister baked goods, with lines from Shakespeare subtly intermingled with colloquial chatter. Fear not: this is totally kid-friendly, with no spurting blood or graphic descriptions; Lavinia’s rape is, rightly, excised.

The cute, economical conceit of this one-man show is that Giles uses bits of kitchen equipment to stand in for the characters, moving them round the filthy, realistic kitchen set, laying out the action with stolid clarity. Titus is a mon-

ogrammed tea-towel, Chiron and Demetrius a pair of peppermills, Aaron a cleaver. Bassianous is a cake – when he’s killed, Giles crumbles it into a bowl.

By casting the audience as ignorant arrivals, unaware of Rome’s history, the show can spell out and re-cap events through audience interaction and a blackboard of names without seeming patronising. Children in the audience appear perfectly able to keep up—even if they’re more politely engaged rather than rapturously enthusiastic—while those already familiar with the play get considerable pleasure in clocking the neat ways they retell the tale. It’s a tasty combination. ✏︎ Holly Williams

68

Kids

Release Your Inner Cartoonist ««« Pleasance Courtyard 11:00am – 12:00pm 7–20 Aug TICKETS: £7.50 VENUE: TIME:

Morgan & West’s Utterly Spiffing Magic Show for Kids (and Childish Grown-ups!) «««« Underbelly Med Quad 2:15pm – 3:05pm 5–31 Aug, not 24 TICKETS: £10.50 – £11 VENUE: TIME:

After several successful adult shows at the Fringe, “Victorian time-travellers” and magicians Rhys Morgan and Robert West have this year turned their attention to “people in the larval stage of humanity” (as West puts it), with funny and thrilling results.

Dressed in mid-18th-century garb against a mock-Victorian set, Morgan (of the “marvellous muttonchops”) and West (of the “wondrous whiskers”) talk in gentlemanly patter throughout, wisely choosing not to tone down the archaic language and trusting their young audience to understand their words through context. The interplay between the two is a joy.

West is unimpressed to have to perform to people with such “tiny brains”, while Morgan is a gentle giant, offsetting the sustained disdain of his partner by staying firmly on the children’s side.

There are some lovely unscripted

Credit: Steve Ullathorne

Being a cartoonist, says Harry Venning at the top of his show, is the best job in the world. His light-hearted workshop, Release Your Inner Cartoonist, feels like Venning’s way of recruiting more artists to the fold.

Venning touches briefly on the particulars of the job, but mostly focuses on the art itself. He draws cartoons live on stage and before long gets the audience involved.

There is no sitting back for the adults here: everyone hunches over their fresh sheets of white paper, scribbling away with pencils.

While Venning informs us the show has had complaints—“It’s advertised for adults and broad-minded children,” he reminds us—anything particularly shocking is taken with the laughs it deserves: if it’s a dog with an axe in his head or a touch of Adam and Eve, there are a handful of gasps, and then it’s on with the show. Venning spreads laughs throughout the hour: above all, he suggests, cartooning should be fun.

We draw cartoon eyes, conveying expression through eyebrows and simple mouths; we invent aliens; and, finally, are all invited to create our own short comic strip.

Periodically, people are invited up to share their work in what is a very supportive environment for everyone involved.

You don’t need to be good at drawing to be a cartoonist, says Venning; you just need to be funny. And we certainly have fun trying. ✏︎ Jane Howard

moments, as when a child “dressed inexplicably in a 1970s rock T-shirt” asks for Morgan to produce him a “laserbird” out of balloons. West’s reaction, to ask whether he really does mean a bird that produces “light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation,” and what wavelength he’d prefer, is typical of the pair’s spontaneous wit.

The magic itself is almost beside the point, being a mashup of familiar tropes such as soft balls under hats, and autographed cards that turn up in unfamiliar places. A particular highlight, in which West repeatedly tries to cheat the audience out of picking the right cup of water with a series of faux-logical arguments, contains almost no magic at all. But when the tricks do come they are deftly performed and impressive enough, and by the end there’s barely a child in the room who isn’t wide-eyed and grinning with delight. ✏︎ Tom Hackett

69

Cr

es c

ub

w

en

t

D an

s

k Ro

An

Te De rr an ac e Pa rk

125 artSpace@StMarks Le 322 Assembly Checkpoint nn ox 3 Assembly George Sq Gardens St reGeorge Sq Studios 17 Assembly et Assembly Hall Cla35 Qu ren rra ee139 Assembly Roxy ce 20 The Assembly Rooms 49 Bedlam Theatre nt 347 Big SexytoCircus City n E 34 C es c en t 50 C cubed 145 C nova 81 C soco at ibis ller R 58 oCwsouth 32 Bells Cowgatehead Bra e ndolph C 22 Dance Base Edinburgh Playhouse ad59 Ro 208 Edinburgh Ski Club d or 98 Electric Circus 1 Fringe Shop and Box Office 2 Fringe Central 14 Gilded Balloon et re St 236 Greenside @ Infirmary Street e ll vi 209 Greenside @ el Nicolson Square M 231 Greenside @ Royal Terrace t 127 just Festival at rSt eeJohn’s St t 88 Just the Tonic at The Caves m cen ia es ill C r Mash House 288 Just the W Tonic atsThe 51 Just the Tonic at The Tron lC 27 Just the Tonic at ol At h The Community Project 7 New Town Theatre 33 Pleasance Courtyard Torphichen 23 Pleasance Dome Street 372 Stand in the Square Lane Dewar Place 26 Summerhall 87 The Famous Spiegeltent 72 The Queen’s Hall 5 The Stand Comedy Club n Comedy Club 2 5 The Stand Lin ry P 12 The Stand Comedy Club 3 & 4 lac ad e 319 The Stand Comedy Ro Club 5 & 6 h 260 theSpace @oJury’s Inn ac pr Surgeons Hall p@ 53 theSpace A t es @ Symposium Hall 43 theSpace W 45 theSpace @ Venue45 9 theSpace on Niddry Street 39 theSpace on the Mile 15 Traverse Theatre 358 Underbelly Potterow 360 Underbelly’s CIrcus Hub on the Meadows 61 eet Underbelly, Cowgate r t S 300 Underbelly, George Square ee nd 150 Venue150@EICCath u p D ow 124 ZOO l T naal a C n 82 d ZOOonSouthside a n

re St

STRE

Ox fo rd

HOWE

et

208

ET

Terr a ce

ne

N STR

EET FRED

QUEE

dg

EET

20

Bri

REET K ST

R GE ST GE O R

REET

ERIC

an De

7

R GE ST G E OR

cen res t

EET

ROSE

E STRE

T

PRIN

CES S

T TREE THE M

OUND

St

fo af

127

35

Ra

e

Mi

EET N STR

T VER S HANO

La

en t resc d nC oa do rry R fe ns

QUEE

rd

NR LOTHIA

GRIN

OAD

DLA Y

ACE TERR TON NS H JO

AC E

STR

22

e

ac

Pl

15

TE RR

ET RK MA SS A GR

EET

REET MORRISON ST

o

t ree

Mor r i s

t ve S Gro

150

WES

BREAD STREET

ST EA

N TAI UN

ID BR

GE

FO

k

LAUR

ve Gro

W

e

ac

Pl

ACE

T

Place

k

al

o

re

N PL

HOME STREE

eet St r

n

vi

io Un

ISTO

347

el

M

iel Unin C

inf

Ba

RT

T PO

LACE ORE P

GILM

MELVIL

LE D R IVE

4

sc

re

CA ST LE

on

st

er

Co at e

e nt

et

re

St

Edinburgh Castle

125

319

231

e

Calton Hill

Ab

5

LEITH ST R

EET

E PLAC YORK

on

e rra

12

59

372

ll

87 Ab be yh i

ACE OO P L

RL WATE

C PRIN

REET ES ST

H BRI

W rse

Ho

NORT

98

JEFFREY S T

260

45 COCKBURN STRE E

39

ad

eR

236

32

ET

33

139

PLEASA

14

4 12

ET TRE

209

49

S ON

3

T

UARE GE SQ GEOR

NCE

32

2

43

OLS NIC

82

2 17 EON

ST L

Queen's D

A RD

TREET

T REE S ST

CLE RK STR

ET STRE

360

S LEUCH BUCC

H LEUC BUCC

300 8

EET TH C SOU

Meadows

K ST L ER T

58

REE

26

TON LUT

ar

CE RRA

CE PLA

dP

D TE

oo

NAR B ER

lyr

72

Ho

PLACE

358 E STRE PEL CHA

TON LAURIS

23

CE T PLA

r

D 's

en

e Qu

Th

50 145

27

34

VI

E

88

53

O TEVI

D OA

T

BRIDG

81

TRE

RS S

MBE

CHA

DR

H SOUT

288

61

E COWGAT

OO

TREE

9

51

LYR HO

S RY‘S

1 ERRACE IA T OR CT

A ST M

TREET HIGH S

TREET HIGH S

TE NGA

ET RE

T TREE

T

S KET MAR

O CAN

e Que

DGE

y nd

EAST MARKET ST

Comedy

72

“NO WORDS! JUST APPLAUSE!“ SO IN LD 32 O U CO T UN SHO TR W IE S S!

00:00 Margaret Thatcher Queen of Soho Assembly George Square Gardens, 15 Aug, 16 Aug, 22 Aug, 23 Aug, £14 Spank Underbelly, Cowgate, 8–31 Aug, £13.50—£15.50 BAGMAN Pleasance Courtyard, 8–31 Aug, not 18, 25, £5 Best of the Fest Assembly Hall, Various dates from 8 Aug to 31 Aug, £10—£15 The Room Assembly George Square Theatre, 10 Aug, 17 Aug, 24 Aug, 31 Aug, £8 Just the Tonic Comedy Club – Midnight Show Just the Tonic at The Caves, 8–30 Aug, not 17, 19, £10 David O’Doherty: We Are All in the Gutter, But Some of Us Are Looking at David O’Doherty Assembly George Square Theatre, 15 Aug, 16 Aug, 22 Aug, 23 Aug, £15 Twins: Pret A Comedy Pleasance Courtyard, 8–31 Aug, not 18, 19, 25, £5 Aardwolf Presents: Wet Behind the Ears Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 7–31 Aug, £free FLUU Pleasance Courtyard, 8–31 Aug, not 18, £5 Will Seaward’s Spooky Midnight Ghost Stories II Gilded Balloon , 6 Aug–1 Sep, not 18 Aug, £6—£9.50

THREE WEEKS

PLEASANCE BEYOND

3:15PM

5–31 AUGUST (NOT 17)

0131 556 6550 WWW.PLEASANCE.CO.UK

The Beta Males: Alpha Sketches Pleasance Courtyard, 21–24 Aug, £9—£10 Tats Nkonzo: The African With Wifi Pleasance Dome, 22–23 Aug, £10.50 Shane Todd – Sick Bro! Pleasance Courtyard, 8–31 Aug, not 18, 25, £5

00:10 Late Show Pleasance Courtyard, Various dates from 8 Aug to 30 Aug, £10—£15 Karl Schultz: Matthew Kelly – Hypnagogia Pleasance Courtyard, 8–30 Aug, not 18, 25, £5 Birthday Girls: Party Vibes Pleasance Courtyard, 25–31 Aug, £5

00:15 KINGS! Pleasance Courtyard, 8–31 Aug, not 21, 22, 23, £5 Foxdog Studios Ltd Cowgatehead, 9–30 Aug, £free Big Silly Comedy: Midnight Mash-Up! Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 7–31 Aug, £free Kirsten MacGregor: Hello Cruel World Laughing Horse @ The White Horse, 7–31 Aug, £free

00:20 Lee Nelson: Suited & Booted Pleasance Dome, 22 Aug, 23 Aug, 29 Aug, 30 Aug, £15

00:30 Spanktacular Underbelly, George Square, 16 Aug, 23 Aug, 29 Aug, 30 Aug, £16.50 This is Business Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 8–31 Aug, not 18, £free Ronan Linskey – Cult of Personality Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 7–31 Aug, £free BlundaBus: Never Mind the BusStops Heroes @ Bob’s BlundaBus, 7 Aug–1 Sep, £5 The Improverts Bedlam Theatre, 6–31 Aug, £7—£8

00:45 Irish Comedy Carnage and TedFest Toilet Duck Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 7–31 Aug, £free ABC of Musical Comedy – Luc Valvona – Free Show!

Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 7–31 Aug, £free

01:00 Mixology Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 12–21 Aug, £free The Inflatable Colonel and the Prisoner of Azkaban Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 20–31 Aug, £free The Room: The Musical Laughing Horse @ City Cafe, 7–31 Aug, not 12, 17, 24, £free

Late’n’Live Gilded Balloon , 8 Aug–1 Sep, £10—£16

01:15 Trevor Feelgood: The Dork Knight Rises in 3D Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 9–23 Aug, £free

BBC: Kaye Adams BBC@POTTERROW, 10–27 Aug, not 14, 15, 16, 21, 22, 23, £free

10:45 Present and Correct: Fan Club theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 7–29 Aug, not 9, 16, 23, £5

09:00

11:00

BBC: @BBCEdFest BBC@POTTERROW, 7–30 Aug, £free

❤ Bridget Christie: A Book For Her

BBC: Shaun Keaveny BBC@POTTERROW, 21 Aug, £free

The Stand Comedy Club, 8–31 Aug, not 17, £9

10:00 Phill Jupitus: Sketch Comic Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, 21–27 Aug, £free

10:15

HHHH

Quivertip Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 6–30 Aug, £free Pundamental Christian Laughing Horse @ The Blind Poet , 6–30 Aug, £free

11:15

Life Gives You Lemons Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 6–30 Aug, £free

David Callaghan: No Momentum Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 6–30 Aug, not 24, £free

10:20

11:40

I Hat Lenny Henry – 50p a Ticket Greenside @ Infirmary Street, 17–29 Aug, not 23, £0.50

Shaken Not Stirred Just the Tonic at The Mash House, 6–30 Aug, not 18, £2.50—£6.50

10:30 Adam Vincent: Careless Laughing Horse @ Jekyll & Hyde, Various dates from 23 Aug to 30 Aug, £free

11:45 Newcastle Brown Male Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 10 Aug, 13 Aug, 14 Aug, 17 Aug, 29 Aug, £free

12:00 Underwhelmed Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 6–30 Aug, not 16, 23, £free Murray Porter and Friends New Waverley Arches , 7–31 Aug, £free Hurt and Anderson: Sketchbombs Laughing Horse @ The Newsroom, 6–30 Aug, not 11, 17, 24, £free Groan Up Laughing Horse @ Finnegan’s Wake, 6–29 Aug, not 9, 16, 23, £free About Comedy: Stand-Up Comedy Courses Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, Various dates from 8 Aug to 29 Aug, £99 Mo Gilligan and Kae Kurd Present: Ticking All the Boxes Just the Tonic at the Caves (Salvation Rooms), 22–29 Aug, £free Maxine Jones: Full Circle Cabaret Voltaire, 10 Aug, 17 Aug, 24 Aug, £free Aaaand Now For Something Completely Improvised Pleasance Dome, 5–31 Aug, £6—£9 1 Given Head Just the Tonic at The Mash House, 6–30 Aug, not 18, £5 The Edinburgh Festival Fringe Audio Tour Outside the Tron – Hunter Square, 8 Aug, 30 Aug, £free What the Dickens!

Underbelly, Cowgate, 6–30 Aug, not 17, £6—£9

EDDYANK PRODUCTIONS present

FANTI ACROBATS INT.

Come and watch the hottest & unique African Acrobatics & cultural show

£10 (7)

Comedy Mash Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 6–30 Aug, £free

Doors to Manual Cowgatehead, 22–29 Aug, £free

Spring Day: Kept in Stitches – Free Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 6–30 Aug, £free

The Discount Comedy Checkout – Improv Show Cowgatehead, 8–21 Aug, £free

12:05 The Walking Dead: Advanced Tactics Cabaret Voltaire, 8–29 Aug, £free

festmag.co.uk

Scurochiaro Cabaret Voltaire, 8–29 Aug, not 10, 18, 24, £free

12:10 Fern Brady: People Are Idiots HHH The Stand Comedy Club 3 & 4, 6–30 Aug, not 17, £7—£8 Michael Legge: Tell it Like it is, Steve The Stand Comedy Club 2, 6–30 Aug, not 17, £7—£8 The Edinburgh Revue Stand-up Show Scottish Comedy Festival @ The Beehive Inn, 5–31 Aug, not 19, £free Off the Top Canons’ Gait, 8–30 Aug, not 18, £free

12:15 Not Disabled... Enough!

Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 6–30 Aug, not 18, £free Kishore Nayar Has a Go New Waverley Arches , 17–23 Aug, £free

Listings

Return of the Danish Bagpipe Comedian Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 6–30 Aug, not 10, 17, 24, £free

73

Joe Wenborne: Fight Back at 50 Gilded Balloon , 5–31 Aug, not 19, £5—£12 James Farmer: Ultimate Worrier Bannermans, 8–30 Aug, £free

Camden Comedy Free Lunchtime Showcase Whistlebinkies, 8–30 Aug, £free

Stu and Garry and...

The Stand Comedy Club, 7–31 Aug, not 17, £10

Henry Ginsberg – 28 Years Later Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 6–30 Aug, £free

Dani Frankenstein

The Maydays Present: Oh Boy! The Quantum Leap Show Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 7–30 Aug, not 10, 17, 24, £free Now That’s What I Call Stand-Up #2 Laughing Horse @ The Blind Poet , 6–30 Aug, £free

12:20 Tobias Persson and the Drivel Rights Movement The Stand Comedy Club 5 & 6, 7–30 Aug, not 17, £10 Class Act Just the Tonic at The Mash House, 21–24 Aug, £5

12:30 Uncanned Laughter Sportsters, 8–29 Aug, not 18, 19, £free Zach & Viggo: Thunderflop CC Blooms, 8–30 Aug, £free

❤ Danielle Ward: HHHH

Voodoo Rooms, 8–30 Aug, not 11, 18, 25, £free

That Silly Show Laughing Horse @ Jekyll & Hyde, 16–21 Aug, £free The Lunchtime Special Just the Tonic at The Tron, 6–30 Aug, not 18, £3—£6 Hilarity Bites Comedy Club Showcase Show Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 7–30 Aug, £free James Bran: Invisible Badminton and Other Dreams Cowgatehead, 8–29 Aug, £free The Underbelly Radio Shows Underbelly Med Quad, 5–28 Aug, weekdays only, £5

12:35 Lunchtime of Champions Just the Tonic at The Caves, 6–29 Aug, not 18, £3—£6

12:40 Tom Binns: The Club Sets Assembly George Square Gardens, 6–31 Aug, £6—£11

17 – 22 Aug

24 – 29 Aug

11.15 - 12.15 pm

14 - 15 pm

Mark Silcox: No Women Plenty Of Cry Just the Tonic at The Mash House, 6–30 Aug, not 18, £5 Mummy’s Gone a Bit Parental Greenside @ Infirmary Street, 17–29 Aug, not 23, £5

12:45 Nina Conti: Talking Comedy The Assembly Rooms, 21 Aug, £12 David Sheeran: Lights, Camera... America!

Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 6–30 Aug, not 8, £free 25 Stories Sweet Grassmarket, 6–30 Aug, £7 Man Up, Jonny Fluffypunk Electric Circus, 17–21 Aug, £free

12:55 Cassie Atkinson and Oh Standfast: Comedy in Progress Southsider, 8–29 Aug, not 11, 18, 25, £free

13:00 Tony Law: Frillemorphesis

HHH

Masters of the Yoniverse Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, Various dates from 17 Aug to 28 Aug, £free

13:15

Jo Coffey: Curiously Caffeinated Ciao Roma, 8–29 Aug, not 18, £free

Late Night Laughs at Lunch Laughing Horse @ The Cellar Monkey, 6–31 Aug, not 16, 17, £free

Big Value Comedy Show – Lunchtime Just the Tonic at The Community Project, 6–30 Aug, not 18, £3—£6 Gurpal Gill: India’s Strongest Man (1982) Just the Tonic at The Mash House, 6–30 Aug, not 18, £free Mervyn Stutter’s Pick of the Fringe Assembly George Square Studios, 8–30 Aug, not 12, 18, 25, £11—£12 Erich McElroy’s Imperfect Guide to Picking the Perfect President Laughing Horse @ Bar 50, 6–30 Aug, £free Fashion C venues – C nova, 5–22 Aug, not 8, £7.50—£9.50

13:05 Animal House theSpace on the Mile, 7–22 Aug, not 9, 16, £7

13:10

The Stand Comedy Club 3 & 4, 7–30 Aug, not 17, £12

F-Holes Paradise Palms, 7–30 Aug, not 12, 19, 26, £free

Set Menu with Hardeep Singh Kohli V Deep, 14–30 Aug, not 17, 18, 19, 20, 24, 25, 26, 27, £30

Best of Edinburgh Showcase Show Pleasance Courtyard, 6–30 Aug, £6—£11 Rowena Haley: My Green Astra Banshee Labyrinth, 8–30 Aug, £free

Sy Thomas: Jumper Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 6–30 Aug, not 10, 17, 24, £free

Austentatious: An Improvised Jane Austen Novel Underbelly, George Square, 6–31 Aug, not 18, £7—£12.50 Ivor Dembina: Old Jewish Jokes Laughing Horse @ Finnegan’s Wake, 6–29 Aug, not 9, 16, 17, 23, £free I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday...

Laughing Horse @ The Newsroom, 7–29 Aug, not 12, 19, 26, £free Upstairs Downton – The Improvised Episode Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 6–31 Aug, £free Afternoon Delight Just the Tonic at The Caves, 6–30 Aug, not 18, £2.50—£5 Amused Moose Comedy Award Grand Final theSpace @ Symposium Hall, 23 Aug, £12.50 Juliet Meyers: Through the Pigeonhole Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 6–30 Aug, not 18, £free Nicky Wilkinson and Friends Just the Tonic at the Caves (Salvation Rooms), 6–29 Aug, not 18, £free

Vampire Hospital Waiting Room Sin, 7–31 Aug, £free Caroline Mabey: Chaos Is a Friend of Mine Opium, 8–29 Aug, not 18, £free Mike Wozniak: One Man Dad Cat Band Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 6–30 Aug, not 17, £free Lost Voice Guy: Disability for Dunces The Stand Comedy Club 5 & 6, 5–30 Aug, not 6, 10, 17, 24, £7—£8 Beard: The Grin of Love HH Sneaky Pete’s, 8–29 Aug, not 18, £free Ed Gamble: Lawman Canons’ Gait, 8–30 Aug, £free Faye Treacy Worries Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 6–30 Aug, £free

13:20 Sameena Zehra: Homicidal Pacifist The Stand Comedy Club 3 & 4, 6–30 Aug, not 17, £7—£8 Caimh McDonnell: Bride and Prejudice Cabaret Voltaire, 8–29 Aug, not 18, £free Eleanor Morton: Allotted Mucking Around Time The Stand Comedy Club 2, 5–30 Aug, not 6, 17, £7—£8 Welcome to Tiddleminster Just the Tonic at The Mash House, 6–30 Aug, not 18, £3—£5 Alastair Clark: Getting Better Cabaret Voltaire, 8–29 Aug, £free Have a Word Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 7–30 Aug, not 19, £free

13:25 Jennie Benton Wordsmith HHH Underbelly Med Quad, 5–31 Aug, not 17, £6—£10

13:30 This Is Soap C venues – C, 5–31 Aug, not 18, £7.50—£9.50

Japanese Samurai Don Quixote Challenging Against English Giant Windmills!

Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 6–30 Aug, not 18, £free Bob Blackman’s Tray Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 24–30 Aug, £free At Least 100 Jokes Cowgatehead, 8–29 Aug, not 11, 18, 19, 20, 21, 25, £free Ali Brice presents: Eric Meat Has No Proof, Only Memories of Pasta HHH Heroes @ The Hive, 6–30 Aug, £5

Elvis McGonagall: Countrybile Stand in the Square, 17–30 Aug, £8 Bob Graham: It’s Easy to Be Cynical Scottish Comedy Festival @ The Beehive Inn, 7–29 Aug, not 17, £free

13:45 Will Seaward Has a Really Good Go at Alchemy Gilded Balloon , 5–31 Aug, not 17, £6—£10

Welcome to Clown Town – At the Fringe!

Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 6–30 Aug, not 12, 19, 26, £free Joz Norris: Hey Guys!

Heroes @ The Hive, 6–31 Aug, not 19, £5 Best of the Fest Daytime Assembly George Square Gardens, 7–30 Aug, £8—£12.50 Rhinoceros New Waverley Arches , 7–30 Aug, not 8, 12, 19, 26, £free

Kids With Beards present... ¡Niños Con Barbas TV! Just the Tonic at The Caves, 17–29 Aug, not 18, £free

14:10 The Exeter Revue: Sketchup Ciao Roma, 8–29 Aug, not 13, 20, 27, £free

❤ Butt Kapinski HHHH Liquid Room Annexe, 8–30 Aug, not 12, 18, 24, 26, 29, £free

Laurence Owen: Cinemusical Voodoo Rooms, 8–30 Aug, not 17, 24, £free

Going Underground The Rabbie Burns Whisky Bar, 3–31 Aug, not 18, 19, 20, £10

The Oxford Revue Presents – Free La Belle Angèle, 8–30 Aug, £free

I Would: A Hypothetical Sketch Show Gilded Balloon , 5–31 Aug, not 17, £5—£9

The Humble Quest for Universal Genius Assembly George Square Gardens, 21–30 Aug, £12

Leeds University Comedy Kabaret Laughing Horse @ Jekyll & Hyde, 6–30 Aug,

Journey to the Centre of Dead Cowgatehead, 7–30 Aug, not 17, 24, £free

Is This the Best of Jack Campbell?

Banshee Labyrinth, 7–31 Aug, £free

Leggoland HH Laughing Horse @ The Blind Poet , 6–30 Aug, not 17, £free

Claire Ford: Box Just the Tonic at the Caves (Salvation Rooms), 6–29 Aug, not 18, £free

Haven’t a Clue! - Free Frankenstein Pub, 17–23 Aug, £free

Diary of a Dating Addict Gilded Balloon , 5–31 Aug, not 17, £5—£9.50

Relatively Normal Opium, 8–29 Aug, not 11, 18, 25, £free

Mark Watson: Work in Progress The Stand Comedy Club, 21–30 Aug, £10

Aaaaaahhhh, it’s 101 Clean Jokes in 30 Minutes – Free Show Laughing Horse @ Dropkick Murphys, 6–30 Aug, £free

The Dead Secrets Present... The Curiositorium Underbelly, Cowgate, 6–30 Aug, not 17, £6—£9.50

Expect the Unexporcupine Cowgatehead, 8–29 Aug, not 18, £free

Pippa Evans: There Are No Guilty Pleasures Bannermans, 8–29 Aug, not 10, 17, 24, £free

This Arthur’s Seat Belongs to Lionel Richie On Top of Arthurs Seat, 22 Aug, £free

UCL Graters - 2015: A Sketch Odyssey Just the Tonic at The Caves, 6–29 Aug, £free—£7

Comedy Death: Comics Talking About Their Worst Gigs Just the Tonic at the Caves (Salvation Rooms), 8–30 Aug, not 10, 17, 18, 24, £free

13:35 ❤ Jordan Brookes: Adventures in Limited Space HHHH Just the Tonic at The Community Project, 6–30 Aug, not 18, £3—£6 Tony Jameson: Football Manager Ruined My Life (Data Update) The Stand Comedy Club 5 & 6, 6–30 Aug, not 17, £9—£10

13:40 All Made Up: This Time It’s Social Just the Tonic at The Mash House, 6–30 Aug, not 18, £6—£11 Foolball Underbelly Med Quad, 5–31 Aug, not 19, £6—£9

Sketch Thieves Laughing Horse @ City Cafe, 6–30 Aug, not 18, £free Alex Hylton and Sarah Keyworth: Chasing Tales Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 6–30 Aug, £free

13:50 The Durham Revue: Cirque du Sillý Underbelly, Cowgate, 6–30 Aug, not 19, £6—£10

Safe Eyed Coalminers Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 6–30 Aug, £free Möglich Just the Tonic at The Mash House, 6–30 Aug, not 18, £5—£7 Richard Brown: Art is Easy Dragonfly, 8–29 Aug, £free Conor O’Toole and Alison Spittle Frankenstein Pub, 24–31 Aug, £free

14:00

14:05

BBC: Janice Forsyth BBC@POTTERROW, Various dates from 10 Aug to 27 Aug, £free

The History of Gluttony Sweet Grassmarket, 6–30 Aug, £8.50

14:15

Worst Show on the Fringe Movement, 8–29 Aug, £free Baron Sternlook’s Improvised Musical theSpace on Niddry St, 17–29 Aug, not 23, £8—£8.50 Tiernan Douieb: The World’s Full of Idiots, Let’s Live in Space

HHH

Liquid Room Annexe, 8–30 Aug, not 18, £free

Aidan Killian: Holy Trinity of Whistle Blowers Heroes @ The Hive, 7–31 Aug, not 18, £5

Kevin Precious: Gecko Laughing Horse @ Bar 50, 6–30 Aug, £free

❤ Seymour Mace Niche as F*ck!

Stewart Lee: A Room With a Stew The Assembly Rooms, 8–30 Aug, not 17, £12.50

The Stand Comedy Club 2, 6–30 Aug, not 17, £7—£8

Songruiner Globe Bar, 8–29 Aug, £free David von Jones: Ethically Adventurous Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, Various dates from 6 Aug to 28 Aug, £free

14:20

Mark Stephenson: Amsterdam HHH Banshee Labyrinth, 8–30 Aug, not 17, £free Geoff Norcott: The Look of Moron Just the Tonic at The Tron, 10–29 Aug, not 18, £5

14:25 David, Tom and Sophie: Live in Scotland Chiquito, 8–29 Aug, not 19, £free

14:30 Sajeela Kershi: Shallow Halal Laughing Horse @ The Newsroom, 6–30 Aug, not 12, 17, 24, £free

HHHH

Late with Lance!

Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 6–30 Aug, not 17, 24, £free Elaine Malcolmson: Arrangements The Stand Comedy Club 3 & 4, 6–30 Aug, not 17, prices vary Paul Duncan McGarrity – Today is the Good Old Times of Tomorrow Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 6–30 Aug, not 17, £free Aidan Goatley’s 10 Films With My Dad Voodoo Rooms, 8–30 Aug, not 18, £free Laugh Train Home Presents: Chick-Ass Comedy Laughing Horse @ Finnegan’s Wake, 6–29 Aug, not 9, 16, 23, £free Aaaaaarrgghh! It’s 101 Naughty Jokes in 30 Minutes – Free Show Laughing Horse @ Dropkick Murphys, 6–30 Aug, £free Sheeps Skewer the News Laughing Horse @ The Cellar Monkey, 21–30 Aug, £free The Notorious Mary Bourke The Stand Comedy Club 5 & 6, 6–30 Aug, not 17, £7—£8 The Edinburgh Revue: Sketches in Scarlet Opium, 8–29 Aug, not 12, 19, 26, £free

Comedy

74

A new play about the impact of war on women

17-22 August @ 11:00 24-29 August @ 13:25 SanctuaryThePlay.com

I M P E R M A N E N C E DA N C E T H E A T R E

DA-DA-DARLING ‘POETIC ENERGETIC RACY VINTAGE STYLISH’

SIMON CASSON DUCKIE

7 - 31 Aug (except 17) 10.15pm (1hr) zoofestival.co.uk Guruguru Sneaky Pete’s, 8–29 Aug, £free Instant Sunshine Pleasance Courtyard, 22–29 Aug, £11—£12 Orry Gibbens and Red Richardson Better Than Crap Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 6–30 Aug, not 22, £free

festmag.co.uk

Daphna Baram: Something to Declare Just the Tonic at the Caves (Salvation Rooms), 7–29 Aug, not 10, 18, 24, £free

14:35 Suzanne Lea Shepherd: Dorothy Was Never from Kansas Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 6–30 Aug, not 18, £free Dan Mitchell: Plate Expectations Cabaret Voltaire, 8–29 Aug, not 17, £free

14:40 George Zach: Greek Tragedy Cowgatehead, 7–31 Aug, £free Laughing Stock Underbelly, Cowgate, 6–30 Aug, not 18, £6—£10 Old Men in Black Scottish Comedy Festival @ The Beehive Inn, 7–31 Aug, not 18, 25, £free Aspects of Joy – Free Hispaniola, 8–29 Aug, not 19, £free

14:45

Listings

Free Footlights La Belle Angèle, 8–30 Aug, £free

75

Everything That’s Wrong with the Universe Underbelly Med Quad, 5–31 Aug, not 18, £6—£10.50 Deborah Frances-White: Friend of a Friend of Dorothy Laughing Horse @ The Blind Poet , 6–29 Aug, not 9, 10, 16, 17, 19, 23, 24, £free Jake Lambert and Dom Lister Exist Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 6–30 Aug, not 19, £free Gary Colman: Tickling Mice Whistlebinkies, 8–29 Aug, £free Joe Hart: Dirty Rotten Apples Gilded Balloon , 5–31 Aug, £5—£10 David Tsonos: Walking the Cat Just the Tonic at the Caves (Salvation Rooms), 6–29 Aug, not 18, £free Live in the Staff Room (Sex, Fairy Tales, Serial Killers and Other Stuff) Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 6–29 Aug, not 18, £free Ian Fox – Shutter Monkey (A Comedy Show With Pictures) – Free Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 6–30 Aug, £free Puppet Fiction Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 6–30 Aug, not 10, 17, 24, £free

Carl Donnelly and Chris Martin Comedy Podcast: Live!

Laughing Horse @ The Blind Poet , Various dates from 9 Aug to 30 Aug, £free The Noise Next Door: The Really, Really Good Afternoon Show Gilded Balloon , 5–30 Aug, not 18, £5—£10.50 George Egg: Anarchist Cook Gilded Balloon , 5–31 Aug, not 17, 24, £5—£9.50

14:50 ❤ Megan Ford: Feminasty HHHH Underbelly, George Square, 5–31 Aug, not 12, 19, £6—£9

Australia: A Whinging Pom’s Guide Liquid Room Annexe, 8–30 Aug, £free John Robertson: Let’s Redecorate! HHH The Stand Comedy Club 5 & 6, 5–30 Aug, not 6, 17, £9—£10

14:55 History’s Greatest Monster Just the Tonic at The Community Project, 6–30 Aug, not 18, £4—£5 Imaginary Colin Voodoo Rooms, 8–30 Aug, not 25, £free

15:00 Mitch Benn: That Was the Future The Stand Comedy Club 3 & 4, 5–30 Aug, not 6, 17, £9—£10

Clandestine Sketch Show Laughing Horse @ Jekyll & Hyde, 6–30 Aug, not 11, 23, £free Winter is Coming.

Again.

Gilded Balloon , 5–23 Aug, not 18, £6.50—£13 Phil Kay ‘n’ Russell Hicks: Psychedelicious Heroes @ Bob’s BlundaBus, 13–23 Aug, £5 The Stupid Show for Idiots Opium, 19–29 Aug, £free Trudelights of the Fringe Just the Tonic at the Caves (Salvation Rooms), 6–29 Aug, not 18, £free The Sunny Side Show Just the Tonic at The Mash House, 6–30 Aug, not 18, £3.50—£6 The Story Of The Nervous Man (A Silent Comedy) Heroes @ Bob’s BlundaBus, 27–31 Aug, £5 Adventures of the Improvised Sherlock Holmes Just the Tonic at The Community Project, 6–30 Aug, not 18, £5 Imagine There’s No Ben Target (It’s Easy If You Try) HHH Heroes @ The Hive, 6–30 Aug, not 16, 17, 18, £5 Haus of Chi-Chi St John’s, 7–25 Aug, not 18, £free Unexpected Items in Badinage Areas Scottish Comedy Festival @ The Beehive Inn, 6–30 Aug, not 10, 17, 24, £free Lifeshambles Gilded Balloon , 5–31 Aug, not 17, 24, £5—£11

Magnum Hopeless Laughing Horse @ Moriarty’s, 6–30 Aug, £free

Notflix SpaceTriplex, 24–29 Aug, £9

The Wonderful World of Lieven Scheire Gilded Balloon , 5–31 Aug, not 17, 24, £5—£10.50

15:10

The Oxford Imps Gilded Balloon , 5–31 Aug, £5—£12 David Mulholland’s Conspiracy Cowgatehead, 7–31 Aug, not 19, £free Read All About It! Cowgatehead, 7–31 Aug, £free Lou Conran: Small Medium at Large Assembly George Square Gardens, 6–31 Aug, not 17, 24, £5—£8 Australia is F*cked George Next Door, 16–22 Aug, £free Lily Bevan – Pheasant Plucker Underbelly Med Quad, 5–31 Aug, not 17, £6—£11 Jo Burke: iScream Cowgatehead, 16–29 Aug, £free Mambalsa – One Man’s Quest to Launch a New Partner Dance Pilgrim, 8–29 Aug, £free French Fried Comedy Edinburgh Sportsters, 8–29 Aug, £free Mickey D: Good Bloke Laughing Horse @ City Cafe, 6–30 Aug, not 10, 17, 24, £free

15:05 Night of My Life theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 10–22 Aug, not 16, £7

Double Dipp’s Pick ‘n’ Mixx theSpace @ Jury’s Inn, 17–22 Aug, £6 Gamer Gamer Just the Tonic at The Caves, 6–29 Aug, not 18, £2—£10 Charmian Hughes: When Comedy Was Alternative (The Laughs and Loves of a She-Comic) HH Banshee Labyrinth, 8–30 Aug, not 17, £free Joe Fairbrother: We Can Do Anything Dragonfly, 8–29 Aug, not 17, £free

15:15 Cardinal Sin Sweet Grassmarket, 17–23 Aug, £free Jellybean Martinez: Mr Saturday Night TV Just the Tonic at The Caves, 6–29 Aug, not 18, £5—£7 Helen Duff: Smasher – Free Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 6–30 Aug, not 17, £free

❤ Daphne Do Edinburgh HHHH Pleasance Courtyard, 5–31 Aug, not 17, £6—£10.50 Rory O’Keeffe: Job’s Worth Southsider, 8–29 Aug, £free Shut Your Cakehole Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 7–30 Aug, not 19, £free

76 Comedy

Edith Dark in the

By Philip Meeks Inspired by

Edith Nesbit’s ‘Tales of Terror’

4.25pm

5-30 August (not 18)

Momentum Playhouse Venue 166

www.harrogatetheatre.co.uk/edithinthedark The Improvised Improv Show – Free Show!

Laughing Horse @ Dropkick Murphys, 6–30 Aug, £free

15:20 Nick Purves is a Recovering Snob Ciao Roma, 8–29 Aug, £free The Kagools Just the Tonic at The Mash House, 6–30 Aug, not 18, £5 Hari Sriskantha: Like Breath on a Mirror Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 6–30 Aug, not 19, £free

❤ Goose: Kablamo HHHH Assembly George Square Theatre, 6–30 Aug, £5—£10

Bat-Fan Pleasance Courtyard, 5–30 Aug, not 17, £6—£12 Gag Reflex Presents Laughing Horse @ The White Horse, 6–30 Aug, not 17, £free Nick Coyle’s Guided Meditation Lauriston Halls, 6–30 Aug, not 17, £free Rock ‘N’ Roll Radio Idiot (Free) George Next Door, 15–22 Aug, £free The Amazing Sketch Show C venues – C, 23–31 Aug, £8.50—£10.50 David Mulholland’s Conspiracy New Waverley Arches , 7–31 Aug, not 19, £free

❤ Candy Gigi – Chicken Soup

15:25 Comedy Manifesto Liquid Room Annexe, 8–30 Aug, not 17, £free AAA Batteries (Not Included) Just the Tonic at The Caves, 6–29 Aug, not 18, £5

15:30 Matthew Collins: The Benefit of Several Doubts Laughing Horse @ Jekyll & Hyde, 7–30 Aug, not 18, £free Flick and Julie: Pop-Up Penny Pinchers Cowgatehead, 10–29 Aug, not 19, £free Hydrophobia (Free) Laughing Horse @ Bar 50, 7–29 Aug, not 10, 17, 24, £free

HHHH

Heroes @ The Hive, 7–31 Aug, not 11, 18, 25, £5

Simon Munnery: And Nothing But The Stand Comedy Club, 6–31 Aug, not 17, £9—£10 Jenny Bede: Don’t Look at Me HHH Pleasance Courtyard, 6–30 Aug, not 8, 24, £6—£11 Chris Coltrane: Left-Wing Propaganda Machine HHH Banshee Labyrinth, 8–30 Aug, £free Foster’s Edinburgh Comedy Awards Show Pleasance Courtyard, 30 Aug, £14

15:40 Jim Smith: Farmed and Dangerous The Stand Comedy Club 3 & 4, 18–30 Aug, £8 Giraffe: Raisin’ the Hoof Underbelly, Cowgate, 6–30 Aug, not 17, £6—£10 Dan Nicholas: Reverb (The Love Story of Terrance the Crocodile and Julia the Mannequin) Just the Tonic at The Mash House, 6–30 Aug, not 18, £5 Markus Birdman – Grimm Realities Canons’ Gait, 8–30 Aug, not 17, £free Yianni: Why Did the Chicken Cross the Line?

The Stand Comedy Club 2, 5–30 Aug, not 6, 17, £7—£8 Eric’s Tales of the Sea – A Submariner’s Yarn Just the Tonic at The Caves, 7–29 Aug, not 18, £7—£11 Comedians’ Cinema Club Just the Tonic at The Tron, 12–29 Aug, not 18, £8 What a Load of Skit Chiquito, 23–29 Aug, £free

15:45 Kevin McMahon – Quantum Magic Gilded Balloon , 5–31 Aug, £5—£12 Matt Winning: Mugabe and Me (3D) Opium, 8–29 Aug, not 18, £free

Nev – $cum Laughing Horse @ The Cellar Monkey, 6–30 Aug, not 12, 19, 26, £free Paul Harry Allen’s Retro Delights Laughing Horse @ Finnegan’s Wake, 6–29 Aug, not 9, 16, 23, £free Stella Graham – Fox Sake Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 6–30 Aug, £free Alistair Barrie: No More Stage 3 Movement, 8–29 Aug, not 17, £free Routines Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 6–30 Aug, not 18, £free Gabriel Ebulue: Armchair Anarchist Cowgatehead, 7–31 Aug, not 11, 18, 25, £free The Rat Pack Stand-Up Comedy Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, Various dates from 9 Aug to 30 Aug, £free Nathan Cassidy: Back to the Future Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 6–29 Aug, not 9, 10, 16, 17, 23, 24, £free Card Ninja Sin, 7–30 Aug, not 17, 24, £free Comedy With a Colour-Blind Dyslexic Geordie Laughing Horse @ The Newsroom, 6–30 Aug, £free The Cambridge Footlights International Tour Show 2015: Love Handles Underbelly Med Quad, 5–30 Aug, not 17, £6—£11

Robin Morgan: Guten Morgan Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 6–30 Aug, not 19, £free

Rodney Bewes: Whatever Happened to the Likely Lad? The Assembly Rooms, 6–30 Aug, not 17, £10

Luke Toulson: Grandpa, Hitler and Me The Stand Comedy Club 5 & 6, 5–30 Aug, not 6, 17, £7—£8

Neil Henry’s Magical Mindsquirm Pleasance Dome, 5–31 Aug, not 18, £6—£10

15:50 Matt Forde: Get the Political Party Started Pleasance Courtyard, 5–30 Aug, £6—£10 Quiz in my Pants Cabaret Voltaire, 8–29 Aug, £free

15:55 Anna Morris: It’s Got To Be Perfect HH Voodoo Rooms, 8–30 Aug, not 18, £free

16:00 Paul Merton’s Impro Chums Pleasance Courtyard, 13– 22 Aug, £12.50—£14.50 Laughing Horse Free Pick of the Fringe Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 7 Aug, 12 Aug, 19 Aug, 26 Aug, £free Juliette Burton: Look At Me Gilded Balloon , 16–21 Aug, £10 Tamar Broadbent: Brave New Girl Cowgatehead, 8–29 Aug, not 9, 19, £free Niamh Marron – Stand Up Chameleon Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 6–30 Aug, not 10, 17, 24, £free

BlundaBus: RoadShow Heroes @ Bob’s BlundaBus, 26 Aug, £5 Battle of the Superheroes Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 8–29 Aug, not 12, 19, 20, 21, 26, £free Gyles Brandreth: Word Power!

Pleasance Courtyard, 5–30 Aug, not 17, £8—£18 LOLympics Live – Free Laughing Horse @ The Blind Poet , 6–30 Aug, £free Ismo Leikola: Observing the Obvious Gilded Balloon , 7–30 Aug, not 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, £5—£10

❤ LetLuce in Sea Men (A Naval Tale) HHHH

Just the Tonic at the Caves (Salvation Rooms), 6–29 Aug, not 18, £free

Nina Conti: In Your Face Pleasance Courtyard, 26 Aug, £14

❤ Rob Auton: The Water Show HHHH Banshee Labyrinth, 8–30 Aug, not 18, £free Sam and Tom from TV! Just the Tonic at The Mash House, 6–30 Aug, not 18, £3—£6

Lucie Pohl: Cry Me a Liver HH Gilded Balloon , 5–31 Aug, £5—£9

The Clean (as Possible) Comedy Show Laughing Horse @ City Cafe, 7–30 Aug, £free

Battle of the Supervillains Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 20–21 Aug, £free

❤ Minor Delays HHHH

The People’s TV Show Fingers Piano Bar, 22–30 Aug, not 24, £free

16:05 The Coin-Operated Girl – A Sex Worker’s Real Life Revelations of Frivolous Fornications Liquid Room Annexe, 8–30 Aug, not 17, 24, £free Laura Lexx: Lovely

HHH

Underbelly Med Quad, 5–30 Aug, not 18, £6—£10.50

Tiff Stevenson: Mad Man The Stand Comedy Club 5 & 6, 6–29 Aug, not 17, £9—£10

16:10

festmag.co.uk

Freestyle Comedy Scottish Comedy Festival @ The Beehive Inn, 7–30 Aug, £free Moby Alpha Assembly George Square Studios, 6–31 Aug, not 17, 24, £5—£12 Michael Brunström: The Golden Age of Steam Heroes @ The Hive, 18–23 Aug, £5 Kitten Killers: Woof Underbelly, George Square, 5–31 Aug, not 19, £6—£9 Tanyalee Davis: Actual Size Heroes @ The Hive, 24–31 Aug, £5

16:15 Karl Spain: A Time for Jokes Gilded Balloon , 5–31 Aug, not 18, £5—£9.50 Barry Cryer and Ronnie Golden – Old Masters Gilded Balloon , 16–26 Aug, not 20, 21, 22, £12

Listings

Abi Roberts: Downtown Abi Voodoo Rooms, 8–30 Aug, not 18, £free

77

Gilded Balloon , 5–30 Aug, not 17, £6—£10

Ray Bradshaw: I Dare Ray to...

Gilded Balloon , 5–31 Aug, not 17, 24, £5—£10 Stephen Bailey: Should’ve Been a Popstar Pleasance Courtyard, 5–30 Aug, not 19, £5—£11 Brydie Lee-Kennedy Loves You Two Just the Tonic at the Caves (Salvation Rooms), 6–30 Aug, not 18, £free The Missing Hancocks: Live in Edinburgh!

(Show B) The Assembly Rooms, Various dates from 6 Aug to 30 Aug, £10—£16 Best Boy: Bested Cowgatehead, 8–29 Aug, not 17, £free 48 Minutes / Free Festival Laughing Horse @ Moriarty’s, 6–30 Aug, £free Louise Reay: It’s Only Words Just the Tonic at The Community Project, 6–30 Aug, not 18, £free—£5 Stephen K Amos Talk Show Gilded Balloon , Various dates from 7 Aug to 29 Aug, £7—£14

❤ The Missing Hancocks: Live in Edinburgh! (Show A) HHHH

The Assembly Rooms, Various dates from 5 Aug to 29 Aug, £10—£16

Dyer and Whitney: You and I Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 6–30 Aug, not 17, £free

16:20 Martin Croser is an Evil Robot Sent from the Future to Destroy Us All Dragonfly, 8–29 Aug, £free Funny for a Grrrl Stand in the Square, 6–31 Aug, not 17, £9—£10

Scott Bennett: About a Roy (Stories About Me Dad) Just the Tonic at The Mash House, 6–30 Aug, not 18, £3—£6 Beth Vyse: As Funny As Cancer HHH Heroes @ The Hive, 6–30 Aug, not 18, £5 Howard Read: Man (Work in Progress) Banshee Labyrinth, 8–22 Aug, £free Stand-Up Philosophy – Free Silk, 8–29 Aug, not 13, 17, 25, £free

16:25 Katherine Ryan: Kathbum The Stand Comedy Club 3 & 4, 6–22 Aug, not 17, £10—£12 Literary Death Match The Stand Comedy Club 3 & 4, 23–30 Aug, £10

16:30 Jason Neale is Proper Funny: Fact Heroes @ Bob’s BlundaBus, 21–25 Aug, £5 Daddy and Robin I Love You (Featuring the Little Snowman) Heroes @ Bob’s BlundaBus, 10 Aug, 11 Aug, 27 Aug, 28 Aug, 29 Aug, £5

❤ Lolly HHHH Pleasance Courtyard, 5–31 Aug, not 17, £6—£9.50

John Lloyd: Emperor of the Prawns Assembly Checkpoint, 6–30 Aug, not 19, £6—£13 Suzy Bennett Gumption!

Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 7–30 Aug, not 10, 17, 24, £free

Ollie and Susie’s New Year’s Shindig Southsider, 8–29 Aug, £free

Sophie Pelham: Country Files Pleasance Courtyard, 5–30 Aug, not 18, £6—£9

Thrones! The Musical

16:35

16:50 ❤ Michael J Dolan:

An Audience with Harry Deansway Just the Tonic at The Tron, 6–29 Aug, not 18, £5

Tania Edwards: Electrifying Pleasance Courtyard, 5–31 Aug, not 18, £6—£9.50 That Pair: Letting It Go Just the Tonic at The Caves, 6–29 Aug, not 18, £5

16:40 FanFiction Comedy Assembly George Square Theatre, 6–31 Aug, not 18, £6—£10 Sad Faces Present The Dawn Chorus Underbelly, Cowgate, 6–30 Aug, not 19, £6—£10 The Leeds Tealights: Discuss Just the Tonic at The Caves, 6–29 Aug, not 12, 18, £5—£9

16:45 ❤ BEASTS: Live DVD HHHH Pleasance Courtyard, 5–31 Aug, not 18, £6—£10

James Ross – Leopardoptera Globe Bar, 8–29 Aug, not 12, 19, 26, £free Ken Crystal Afternoon Showcase Laughing Horse @ The White Horse, 6–29 Aug, not 10, 17, 24, £free Tiny Horse Comedy Laughing Horse @ Bar 50, 7–30 Aug, not 19, £free Comfort and Joy New Waverley Arches , 7–30 Aug, not 12, 19, 26, £free

Get Your Own Back: Live!

Gilded Balloon , 5–31 Aug, not 6, 20, £7—£13

Mid-Brow Pleasance Courtyard, 5–31 Aug, not 17, 24, £6—£9

Compose Mantis: The Duo-plicity of Improv New Waverley Arches , 7–31 Aug, £free

James Veitch: Genius Bar HHH Pleasance Courtyard, 5–30 Aug, £6—£10.50

BBC: In Tune BBC@POTTERROW, 21 Aug, £free

Christian Schulte-Loh: Return of the 50 Foot German Comedian Sin, 7–29 Aug, not 19, 26, £free

Rose Matafeo and Guy Montgomery Are Friends Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 6–30 Aug, £free

Rhys James: Remains Pleasance Courtyard, 5–30 Aug, £6—£11

Miserable Guts

HHHH

The Stand Comedy Club 3 & 4, 6–30 Aug, not 17, £7—£8

John Scott Presents Dissent The Stand Comedy Club 2, 6–30 Aug, not 17, £7—£8

16:55 Stuart Goldsmith: An Hour (Free Show) Canons’ Gait, 8–30 Aug, not 19, £free

17:00 Never Been Better Opium, 8–29 Aug, not 19, £free Lucky Strike Just the Tonic at The Mash House, 6–30 Aug, not 18, £5—£9.50 Paul Sinha: Postcards From the Z List The Stand Comedy Club, 5–30 Aug, not 6, 17, £5—£10 Evelyn Mok: Idiot Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 6–30 Aug, not 10, 17, 24, £free Messrs Brimson and Wilson in Lofty Expectations Cabaret Voltaire, 6–29 Aug, not 10, 17, 24, £free Mark Thomas: Trespass – Work in Progress Summerhall, 6–30 Aug, not 10, 20, £10—£12 The Maydays & Friends: Unplugged Thistle King James Hotel, 18–30 Aug, £free Sleeping Trees: Mafia?/Western?

Pleasance Courtyard, 5–22 Aug, £6—£10 Twisted Loaf Present Stale Mate Just the Tonic at The Caves, 6–29 Aug, not 18, £5—£8 Shit of the Fringe Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 7–30 Aug, £free

HH

Assembly George Square Studios, 5–31 Aug, £10—£14

Thünderbards: Chapter III Underbelly, Cowgate, 6–30 Aug, £6—£10 Jenny Say Qua Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 6–30 Aug, £free

❤ Martha McBrier: Pigeon Puncher HHHH

Laughing Horse @ Finnegan’s Wake, 6–29 Aug, not 9, 16, 23, £free

So That’s What We Voted For? The Assembly Rooms, 6–30 Aug, not 17, £9—£10 Laughing Horse Free Comedy Selection Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 7–29 Aug, £free Man-ish Laughing Horse @ The Cellar Monkey, 20–30 Aug, £free Christian Reilly: Songs of Insolence Liquid Room Annexe, 8–30 Aug, £free Jollyboat: Nerdplay Movement, 8–29 Aug, £free Kelly Kingham: Inside Out Just the Tonic at the Caves (Salvation Rooms), 6–29 Aug, not 11, 18, 25, £free Asp Cowgatehead, 8–29 Aug, £free Ivor Dembina: New Jewish Jokes The Stand Comedy Club 5 & 6, 6–30 Aug, not 17, £7—£8 Devil’s Door Bell Just the Tonic at The Mash House, 6–29 Aug, not 9, 16, 18, 23, £free Russell Hicks: Big Mouth Strikes Again Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 6–31 Aug, £free

17:05 Luke and Harry’s Jaws theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 21–22 Aug, £8

The Secret of My Failure theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 24–29 Aug, £7.50 Shellshock! Improv Live! theSpace @ Jury’s Inn, 17–29 Aug, not 23, £7

17:10 Muswell Hill theSpace on the Mile, 17–22 Aug, £6.50

17:15 James Dowdeswell’s Perfect Pub Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 6–30 Aug, £free Myrtle Throgmorton, Ancient Heckler Greenside @ Infirmary Street, 7–29 Aug, not 16, 23, £6—£10 Aaron Twitchen: Deadlines and Diets Laughing Horse @ The Blind Poet , 6–29 Aug, not 19, 26, £free Jonathan Grant: Social Intercourse Cowgatehead, 14–21 Aug, £free Jon Cozart – Laughter Ever After Underbelly Med Quad, 5–31 Aug, not 19, £6—£11 BEINGS Cowgatehead, 22–28 Aug, £free Abigoliah Schamaun: Post-Coital Confessions Gilded Balloon , 5–31 Aug, not 19, £5—£10 Milo McCabe: Genesisocide Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 6–30 Aug, £free Gareth Cooper: Mishmash Fingers Piano Bar, 7–30 Aug, not 10, 14, 15, 16, 17, 24, £free Katsura Sunshine – Let Me Tell You a Story About Japan!

Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 6–30 Aug, not 11, 18, 25, £free Lucy Frederick – In the Wild Gilded Balloon , 5–30 Aug, not 17, £5—£8.50 Alex Smith - The Art of Grooming Whistlebinkies, 8–29 Aug, not 17, £free

Micky Bartlett: Narcissilly Just the Tonic at the Caves (Salvation Rooms), 7–29 Aug, not 18, £free

❤ David Mills: Don’t

Patrick Morris: Fairly Premature Bucket List Underbelly Med Quad, 5–30 Aug, not 19, £6—£11

Get Any Ideas / Free

17:30

Voodoo Rooms, 8–30 Aug, £free

Paul Savage: Tired and Emotional Dragonfly, 8–29 Aug, not 18, £free

HHHH

Next Year’s Show (50% Abridged Version) Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 6–30 Aug, £free Virginia Ironside: Growing Old Disgracefully The Assembly Rooms, 18–30 Aug, £12

17:20 Marny Godden: Flap ‘em on the Gate Underbelly, Cowgate, 6–30 Aug, not 18, £6—£10 Yve Blake: Lie Collector HH Pleasance Dome, 5–31 Aug, not 17, £6.50—£10.50 Adam Hess: Salmon

HHH

Heroes @ The Hive, 7–31 Aug, £5

Charles Booth: Deer in the Spotlights Just the Tonic at The Mash House, 6–30 Aug, not 18, £3—£6 Tom Allen: Both Worlds

HHH

The Stand Comedy Club 5 & 6, 5–30 Aug, not 6, 17, £9—£10

Shakespeare’s Avengers Assembleth: Age of Oberon Greenside @ Royal Terrace, 7–29 Aug, not 16, 23, £4—£7 Hardeep Singh Kohli: Big Mouth Strikes Again Pleasance Dome, 5–30 Aug, not 19, £6—£12 Graham Clark Reads the Phonebook Assembly George Square Studios, 5–31 Aug, not 17, £6—£10

BBC: The Verb BBC@POTTERROW, 27 Aug, £free The Giggle Dungeon Take Over!

Laughing Horse @ Moriarty’s, 15–30 Aug, £free Lou Sanders: Excuse Me, You’re Sitting on My Penis Again

HHH

Laughing Horse @ City Cafe, 7–30 Aug, not 19, £free

At Least 100 Jokes Cowgatehead, 8–29 Aug, not 11, 18, 25, £free Matthew Collins: My Favourite Waste of Time New Waverley Arches , 7–30 Aug, not 17, £free Rosie Holt: (No) Strings Attached Frankenstein Pub, 7–31 Aug, not 19, £free Ed Aczel: The Random Flapping of a Butterfly’s Wings Heroes @ The Hive, 7–30 Aug, not 19, £6 James Christopher’s Annual Cry for Help Banshee Labyrinth, 9–30 Aug, not 15, 22, 29, £free BlundaBus: RoadShow Heroes @ Bob’s BlundaBus, 26 Aug, £5 Nick Hall: Dodekahedron Underbelly, George Square, 5–31 Aug, not 19, £6—£10 Jessie Cave: I Loved Her Underbelly, Cowgate, 8–30 Aug, £9—£10

Anything Can Be a Podcast Podcast Returns!

Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 6–30 Aug, £free Will Durst: BoomeRaging From LSD to OMG Gilded Balloon , 5–31 Aug, not 18, £5—£12.50 Amir Khoshsokhan – Milk and Hedgehogs Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 6–30 Aug, not 17, £free Alfie Moore: A Fair Cop Stands Up Assembly George Square Studios, 5–31 Aug, £6—£11 Bec Hill: Caught On Tape HHH Gilded Balloon , 5–31 Aug, not 19, £5—£9.50 The Oxford Revue: Issues Assembly George Square Studios, 5–31 Aug, not 17, 24, £5—£10

17:35 Lewis Schaffer is Free until Famous, £5 Just the Tonic at The Community Project, 6–30 Aug, not 18, £5 Al Lubel: Al Lubel Free Voodoo Rooms, 12–30 Aug, £free

17:40 Christian Talbot is Shite at Being Irish Underbelly Med Quad, 5–31 Aug, not 18, £6—£10 Bruce Fummey: A History of Scotland Stand in the Square, 5–30 Aug, not 6, 17, £7—£8

17:45 Luca Cupani: Still Falling Heroes @ Bob’s BlundaBus, 6–31 Aug, not 12, 26, £5

17:25

❤ Larry Dean: Out Now! HHHH Pleasance Courtyard, 5–30 Aug, not 17, £6—£12

Oxford Comedy Scottish Comedy Festival @ The Beehive Inn, 7–31 Aug, not 17, £free

Dead Ghost Star Just the Tonic at the Caves (Salvation Rooms), 6–29 Aug, not 18, £free

When the Sh*t Hits the Fan Assembly Hall, 6–31 Aug, not 17, 18, £5—£10

Aidan Strangeman: Horsey Gilded Balloon , 5–31 Aug, not 17, £5—£10

Tatterdemalion Assembly Roxy, 5–31 Aug, not 19, £6—£12

Andrew Bridge: AART Laughing Horse @ Dropkick Murphys, 15–30 Aug, £free

Harriet Kemsley: Puppy Fat Pleasance Courtyard, 5–31 Aug, not 18, £6—£9.50

Ivo Graham: No Filter Pleasance Courtyard, 5–30 Aug, not 17, £7—£11

Christian O’Connell: You’ve Ruined My Morning... and Other Fan Mail HH Gilded Balloon , 7–29 Aug, not 19, £6—£12

The Stand Comedy Club 2, 5–30 Aug, not 6, 17, £7—£8

Light Relief Sweet Grassmarket, 6–30 Aug, £8.50 Damien Slash: Übermen HH Pleasance Courtyard, 5–30 Aug, not 17, £6—£9.50 Cerys Nelmes Presents Pick’n’Mix – Free Southsider, 8–29 Aug, not 17, 24, £free The Beau Zeaux: An Improvised Comedy Pleasance Courtyard, 6–30 Aug, not 12, 19, 26, £6—£12 Croft & Pearce – There’s Always Something Gilded Balloon , 5–30 Aug, not 17, £5—£10

17:50 Clare Plested: The Essential Collection Ciao Roma, 8–29 Aug, not 19, £free Sarah Callaghan: Elephant HHH Pleasance Courtyard, 5–30 Aug, not 17, £6—£12

17:55 Jim Smallman: My Girls Just the Tonic at The Caves, 6–29 Aug, not 18, £3—£6

18:00 Mark of Stupidity Laughing Horse @ The White Horse, 6–30 Aug, £free The Best of Irish Comedy The Stand Comedy Club 3 & 4, 7–30 Aug, £12 Keith Farnan: Anonymous HHH Underbelly, Cowgate, 6–30 Aug, not 18, 25, £6—£11 Sam Gore: The Cryptid Crossword Laughing Horse @ Bar 50, 6–30 Aug, £free

Ria Lina: Taboo Raider

HH

Songs with Phil New Waverley Arches , 7–30 Aug, not 12, 17, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, £free Brennan Reece: Marvel

HH

Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 7–29 Aug, not 17, £free

Comedy in the Dark Just the Tonic at The Community Project, 6–30 Aug, not 18, £6—£12 Let’s See Jen Carnovale Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 6–30 Aug, not 10, 17, 24, £free Silky: The Shrieking in My Mind The Stand Comedy Club 3 & 4, 5–30 Aug, not 6, 17, £7—£8 Fin Taylor: Stink HH Pleasance Courtyard, 5–30 Aug, £6—£9.50

❤ David Elms: Mister Boy HHHH Pleasance Courtyard, 5–31 Aug, not 18, £6—£9.50 Nina Conti: In Your Face Pleasance Courtyard, 17 Aug, 24 Aug, £12 Morgan Berry: Watership Down Banshee Labyrinth, 8–30 Aug, not 10, 17, 24, £free Bucket HHH Pleasance Courtyard, 5–31 Aug, not 13, 14, £6—£10 Trygve Wakenshaw: KRAKEN Underbelly, Cowgate, 6–30 Aug, not 12, 17, 24, £7.50—£12.50 Phil Wang: Philth Pleasance Courtyard, 5–30 Aug, £6—£10 Soho Comedy at the Fringe Sin, 7–31 Aug, £free Loch Ness Monster Hunter Bedlam Theatre, 24–30 Aug, £8 One Man Breaking Bad: The Unauthorized Parody Gilded Balloon , 5–31 Aug, not 6, 17, 25, £6—£15

Comedy

78

6 - 29 Aug 9.45pm

It’s a kind of tragic...

The A to Zed Of Loving A Ned Arthur Conan Doyle Centre, 7–29 Aug, not 9, 16, 23, £6 Mark Smith: Log Flume Cowgatehead, 8–29 Aug, not 19, 26, £free

18:05 Bristol Revunions: Cream Just the Tonic at The Caves, 6–29 Aug, not 18, £3—£7

festmag.co.uk

Time at the Bar! theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 24–29 Aug, £6

18:10 The Happy Accidents: Cheer Up, It Might Never Happen – Free Chiquito, 25–29 Aug, £free

18:15 Matt Price: The Boy with Cake on His Face Laughing Horse @ Finnegan’s Wake, 6–29 Aug, not 9, 16, 23, £free Wyatt Nixon-Lloyd Has 200 Voicemails Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 7–30 Aug, not 10, 17, 24, £free Sunshine and Lollipops (and a Creeping Sense of Existential Terror) Cowgatehead, 21–31 Aug, £free

Listings

Becky Brunning and Bethan Roberts Are Not Men Just the Tonic at the Caves (Salvation Rooms), 7–29 Aug, not 18, 24, £free

79

Vladimir McTavish: Scotland, 45 Events That Shaped a Nation The Stand Comedy Club 5 & 6, 5–30 Aug, not 6, 17, £7—£8 Kevin Day: Hairline

HHH

Gilded Balloon , 5–30 Aug, not 19, £6—£11

Dave Griffiths: C U in Court Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 6–30 Aug, £free Hey Hey 16K Sneaky Pete’s, 8–22 Aug, £free Five Childmen and It – Don’t Wake the Psammead!

Sneaky Pete’s, 23–29 Aug, £free How to Win a Pub Quiz Kilderkin, 8–29 Aug, not 11, 18, 25, £free

Jewish Cockney Caribbean Female Laughing Horse @ The Cellar Monkey, 7–30 Aug, £free Katharine Ferns: Conscious Incompetent Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 6–30 Aug, £free A Very Tall Storrie Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 6–30 Aug, not 10, 17, 24, £free

18:20 Baby Wants Candy: The Graduation Show Assembly Checkpoint, 17 Aug, 24 Aug, £10 Rory O’Hanlon: It’s Great to Be Here Cabaret Voltaire, 8–30 Aug, £free

George and Co (the Solo Tour) C venues – C nova, 5–31 Aug, £8.50—£10.50

Sam and Helen: Out There Just the Tonic at The Caves, 6–29 Aug, not 18, £5—£7

The Wild Card Kitty Show Laughing Horse @ The Newsroom, 6–30 Aug, not 18, 25, £free

Sooz Kempner – Character Activist Just the Tonic at The Mash House, 6–30 Aug, not 18, £free

The Brendon Burns Show Again Liquid Room Annexe, 8–30 Aug, £free

Holly Burn: I am Kirsty K Just the Tonic at The Mash House, 6–30 Aug, not 18, £5

Rock ‘N’ Roll Radio Idiot (Free) Cowgatehead, 17–22 Aug, £free Love Bites Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 6–30 Aug, not 10, 17, 24, £free UCLU Comedy Club Presents...

Movement, 8–29 Aug, not 19, £free

Centred: A One Clown Comedy About Stuff C venues – C south, 6–31 Aug, not 16, 17, £7.50—£9.50 Tom Parry: Yellow T-shirt HHH Just the Tonic at The Tron, 6–30 Aug, not 18, £4—£5

18:25 Murder, She Didn’t Write Sweet Grassmarket, 7–29 Aug, not 12, 19, 26, £6.50—£8.50

18:30 McNeill of Tranent – The Fastest Man in the World Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 6 Aug, 7 Aug, 10 Aug, 17 Aug, 24 Aug, £free Gone with the Inflatable Colonel Laughing Horse @ Jekyll & Hyde, 19–30 Aug, £free 99 Club Stand-Up Selection – Free Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 8–30 Aug, not 10, 17, 24, £free NewsRevue 2015 Pleasance Courtyard, 5–31 Aug, not 18, £9—£16.50 Laughing Horse Free Pick of the Fringe Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 7–29 Aug, £free Paul Currie: Re-Release the Baboons Heroes @ The Hive, 6–31 Aug, not 10, 12, 19, 26, £5 Festival of the Spoken Nerd: Just for Graphs Assembly George Square Studios, 5–30 Aug, not 17, £6—£12 Super-Fragile-Nihilistic-Sexy-and-Atrocious (and Other Poems) Fingers Piano Bar, 18–22 Aug, £free

Supermassive Face Palm La Belle Angèle, 8–30 Aug, not 11, 18, 25, £free Not Just a Funny Turn Gilded Balloon , 25 Aug, £15 Shaggers Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 6–30 Aug, £free Davey Connor – So, There You Go Gilded Balloon , 5–30 Aug, not 17, £5—£8.50 Alun Cochrane: A Show with a Man in It HH The Stand Comedy Club, 6–30 Aug, not 17, £9—£10 Huntington & Hutt: Insignificant Other Just the Tonic at the Caves (Salvation Rooms), 6–29 Aug, not 18, £free

18:35 Absolute Improv! theSpace on the Mile, 7–29 Aug, not 9, 23, £6—£10 Steve Hall: Zebra

HHH

The Stand Comedy Club 5 & 6, 6–30 Aug, not 17, £5—£8

Chris Kent Stop Stalling Assembly George Square Studios, 5–31 Aug, not 18, £5—£9.50

18:40 The Thinking Drinkers’ Guide to the Legends of Liquor Pleasance Courtyard, 5–31 Aug, not 17, £7—£12.50 Tom Neenan: The Andromeda Paradox Pleasance Dome, 5–31 Aug, not 18, 19, £6—£10

Fred MacAulay: Him Off the Radio The Assembly Rooms, 6–30 Aug, not 22, £14—£15 Brody and Chadwick’s Great Blimp Deception Just the Tonic at The Mash House, 23–30 Aug, £5 Pat Cahill: Panjandrum Heroes @ The Hive, 6–30 Aug, not 19, £5 Fast Fringe Pleasance Dome, 5–29 Aug, £5—£10 John McKeever: Multifarious Underbelly, Cowgate, 6–30 Aug, not 21, £6—£11 The USOL Best Friends Club Dragonfly, 8–29 Aug, £free

18:45 Ste and Dave in Training Laughing Horse @ Moriarty’s, 6–30 Aug, not 18, £free Bristol Improv Steals the Show – Free Sportsters, 8–29 Aug, not 9, 16, 23, £free Shit-Faced Showtime Underbelly Med Quad, 5–31 Aug, not 17, £7—£12 Jody Kamali – Spectacular!

Underbelly Med Quad, 5–31 Aug, not 19, £6—£10 Nicky Wilkinson’s Happy Hour Just the Tonic at the Caves (Salvation Rooms), 6–29 Aug, not 18, £free

Comedy

80

5th-31st Aug 5.10pm pleasance.co.uk 0131 556 6550 Jack Dome WOMANz: Jou’re Welcome HHH Gilded Balloon , 5–31 Aug, not 19, £5—£10 Private Harris Cowgatehead, 8–29 Aug, not 12, 19, 26, £free Sarah Kendall: A Day in October Assembly George Square Studios, 5–31 Aug, not 17, £6—£12 Amy Howerska: Sasspot HHH Gilded Balloon , 5–30 Aug, not 17, £5—£11 Jamon Iberico and Other Short Stories New Waverley Arches , 18–28 Aug, not 20, 21, £free Rik Carranza: Charming Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 6–30 Aug, not 10, 17, 24, £free Nocturnal Sunshine of Their Spotless Minds Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 6–30 Aug, £free Will Mars: Outspoken White Guy Laughing Horse @ City Cafe, 6–30 Aug, not 18, £free

❤ Diane Spencer: Power Tool HHHH Gilded Balloon , 5–31 Aug, not 12, £6—£9.50 Jonny Pelham: Before and After Pleasance Courtyard, 5–31 Aug, £6—£9.50

18:50 Chris Dugdale: Sleightly Dishonest Assembly George Square Studios, 5–31 Aug, not 17, £6—£12.50

Richard Soames Does the Right Thing Underbelly, George Square, 5–31 Aug, not 19, £6—£10

Michelle McManus: Reloaded HHH Stand in the Square, 6–30 Aug, not 8, 17, 24, £10—£12

The Wee Man Syndrome Just the Tonic at The Mash House, 7–29 Aug, not 9, 16, 18, 23, £7

Cosmonaut by Ryan Good Underbelly, Cowgate, 7–30 Aug, not 17, 18, £6—£10

Oliver Suddon – For One Night Only!

Festival Radio, 8 Aug, 15 Aug, 22 Aug, 29 Aug, £10

Alex Williamson: That Guy from the Internet Gilded Balloon , 5–31 Aug, not 19, 26, £7—£12

Love Sick Assembly Hall, 6–30 Aug, not 17, £5—£9.50

Justin Moorhouse: Destiny Calling Gilded Balloon , 5–30 Aug, not 17, £6—£11.50

❤ Massive Dad 2.0: Step Up 2 Massive Dad HHHH

Pleasance Dome, 5–31 Aug, not 18, £6—£9.50

18:55 How to Be Fat Zoo Southside, 7–31 Aug, not 17, £7.50—£8.50 Peter Brush: Older Than the Oldest Dog That Ever Lived Just the Tonic at The Community Project, 6–30 Aug, not 18, £3—£6

❤ John-Luke Roberts: Stdad-Up

HHHH

Voodoo Rooms, 8–30 Aug, £free

19:00 GingerbeToast On Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 6–30 Aug, £free BlundaBus: RoadShow Heroes @ Bob’s BlundaBus, 26 Aug, £5 Looking Out for Linda Southsider, 7–31 Aug, not 11, 18, 25, £free Comedy at the Portrait Gallery Scottish National Portrait Gallery, 14 Aug, 21 Aug, £10 The Half Naked Chef Heroes @ Bob’s BlundaBus, 6–31 Aug, not 12, 26, £5

Laugh Train Home Comedy Showcase Laughing Horse @ Dropkick Murphys, 6–30 Aug, £free BBC: Asian Network’s Big Comedy Night BBC@POTTERROW, 23 Aug, £free Lou Conran: Small Medium at Large Assembly George Square Gardens, 6–31 Aug, not 17, 24, £5—£8 Lost Voice Guy: Disability for Dunces Stand in the Square, 24 Aug, £8 My Two Years in Tokyo Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 6–30 Aug, £free Sheffield of Dreams Cowgatehead, 10–29 Aug, not 12, 17, 25, £free Phil Jerrod: Neanderthal HHH Pleasance Courtyard, 5–30 Aug, not 17, £6—£10 Normally Abnormal Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 6–30 Aug, £free Alex Horne: Monsieur Butterfly Pleasance Courtyard, 15–29 Aug, £12

Dan Lees: Brainchild Underbelly Med Quad, 5–31 Aug, not 17, £6—£10 Ian Smith – Whereabouts Pleasance Courtyard, 5–30 Aug, not 18, £6—£10 Jack Barry: This Title Came to Me in a Dream Pleasance Courtyard, 5–31 Aug, £6—£9 The Pin: Ten Seconds with The Pin HHH Pleasance Dome, 5–31 Aug, not 17, 24, £6—£11 The Sinister Tales of Doctor Synistra Spotlites, 16–31 Aug, £5—£7.50 BBC: Live Music With Radio Nan Gàidheal BBC@POTTERROW, 28 Aug, £free

Accidental Death of an Anarchist theSpace @ Jury’s Inn, 17–22 Aug, £8 Danny Ward – St Vitus Dance Pleasance Courtyard, 5–30 Aug, £6—£9.50

19:10 The Large HArdon Collider Serenity Cafe, 8–30 Aug, not 10, 17, 24, £free Sofie Hagen: Bubblewrap Liquid Room Annexe, 7–31 Aug, £free Space Carrots Present: Where’s Keith?

Silk, 8–29 Aug, £free Tim Drain: I Know How to Make the Women I Sleep with Laugh theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 25–29 Aug, £6 Susie McCabe: The Drugs Don’t Work The Stand Comedy Club 3 & 4, 6–30 Aug, not 17, £7—£8 Gavin Webster: The Sexist’s Sexist The Stand Comedy Club 2, 6–30 Aug, not 17, £7—£8

Phill Jupitus: Sketch Comic Scottish National Gallery, 13 Aug, 20 Aug, 27 Aug, £free

19:15

Fernando – Carry On Campervan Sweet Grassmarket, 29–30 Aug, £10

Stand Up & Slam!

– Free Cowgatehead, 8–29 Aug, not 19, £free

19:05 Aidan Goatley: Year of the Goat Ciao Roma, 8–29 Aug, not 18, £free

JAM Comedy Globe Bar, 8–29 Aug, not 18, 26, £free

Cut the Mustard C venues – C nova, 5–31 Aug, not 18, £8.50—£10.50 SherwoodJam Black Medicine, 23–29 Aug, £free

❤ Dane Baptiste: Reasonable Doubts HHHH

Pleasance Courtyard, 5–30 Aug, not 17, £7—£13

Nicole Henriksen – Honeycomb Badgers on Acid Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 6–30 Aug, £free

❤ Nish Kumar: Long Word... Long Word...

Blah Blah Blah... I’m so Clever HHHH Pleasance Courtyard, 5–30 Aug, £6—£12 In Cahoots: Two White Guys Pleasance Courtyard, 5–31 Aug, £7—£10.50 AAA Stand-Up Pleasance Courtyard, 5–31 Aug, £6—£11 Moj Taylor Is in: The Pursuit of Crappiness Just the Tonic at The Caves, 6–29 Aug, not 18, £7.50—£10 Philip O’Shea Turns 30 – Live Banshee Labyrinth, Various dates from 8 Aug to 30 Aug, £free SomeNews: The Misstakes Laughing Horse @ Bar 50, 6–30 Aug, £free David O’Doherty: We Are All in the Gutter, But Some of Us Are Looking at David O’Doherty Assembly George Square Theatre, 5–31 Aug, not 18, £8—£15 Tez Ilyas: TEZ Talks

HH

Pleasance Courtyard, 5–30 Aug, not 17, £6—£12

Stephen Carlin: The Gospel According to Stephen Canons’ Gait, 8–30 Aug, not 18, £free Craig Hill: Playing With My Selfie!

Venue150@EICC, 6–30 Aug, not 17, 25, £8.50—£17.50

19:20 Ronny Chieng: Chieng Reaction HHH Underbelly, Cowgate, 6–30 Aug, not 17, £6—£12 Alfie Brown: -ism

HHH

Assembly George Square Theatre, 5–31 Aug, £6—£11

Al Murray: The Pub Landlord’s Summer Saloon Assembly George Square Gardens, 21–30 Aug, £19.50 Paul Foot HHH Underbelly, Cowgate, 6–30 Aug, not 17, £6—£12.50

festmag.co.uk

Big Value Comedy Show – Early Just the Tonic at The Community Project, 6–30 Aug, not 18, £5—£10

19:25 Pelican: A Sketch Show Just the Tonic at The Caves, 10–29 Aug, not 18, £5

19:30 Plague of Idiots Gilded Balloon , 5–30 Aug, £5—£10

❤ Liam Williams: Bonfire Night HHHH

Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 20–30 Aug, £free

Kate Lucas – Work in Progress Laughing Horse @ The White Horse, 6–31 Aug, not 12, 21, £free Totes Inappropes!

Laughing Horse @ Jekyll & Hyde, 6–30 Aug, not 18, 26, £free

Listings

Adam Hills: Clown Heart Assembly Hall, 22–30 Aug, not 28, £14—£15

81

So You Think You’re Funny? Grand Final Gilded Balloon , 27 Aug, £15

Alexander Bennett: I Can Make You a Moron Cowgatehead, 8–29 Aug, not 18, £free

Honest to Godley!

Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 6–30 Aug, £free

Jo Brand Gilded Balloon , 17 Aug, 19 Aug, 21 Aug, £15

Imaan After My Own Heart The Assembly Rooms, 6–30 Aug, not 17, £9—£10

Damian Clark - It’s a Good Day to Damo Sin, 7–31 Aug, not 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, £free

Barry Cryer’s 80th Birthday Roast Gilded Balloon , 23 Aug, £12 QI Presents: No Such Thing as a Fish Underbelly Potterrow, 26– 30 Aug, £11.50—£12.50 Milton Jones and the Temple of Daft Assembly Hall, 7–21 Aug, not 10, 17, £8.25—£18.50 Adventures in Menstruating with Chella Quint Stafford Centre, 8–28 Aug, not 12, 14, 17, 25, £free Alice Fraser: Savage

HHH

Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 6–31 Aug, £free

Simon Caine: Buddhism and Cats Just the Tonic at the Caves (Salvation Rooms), 7–29 Aug, not 18, £free Jena Friedman: American C*nt The Stand Comedy Club 5 & 6, 18–30 Aug, £7—£8 Champagne Socialist Laughing Horse @ The Cellar Monkey, 6–30 Aug, not 12, 19, £free Jimeoin: Yeehaa!

Venue150@EICC, 6–30 Aug, not 17, 25, £8.50—£17.50

❤ Ahir Shah: Distant HHHH Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 6–30 Aug, £free

Joby Mageean – Billy No Immune System Laughing Horse @ The Newsroom, 6 Aug, 21 Aug, £free Kelly Ford’s Kapers Laughing Horse @ The Newsroom, 27–30 Aug, £free Tommy Tiernan Alive in Edinburgh Gilded Balloon , 16–30 Aug, not 17, 19, 21, 23, 25, 27, 29, £15—£16 Musical Comedy Awards Showcase Underbelly Potterrow, 20–21 Aug, £12

19:40 Matthew Crosby: Smaller Than Life Just the Tonic at The Mash House, 6–30 Aug, not 18, £4—£5 Breakfast Epiphanies Just the Tonic at The Caves, 6–28 Aug, not 18, £3—£6 Heidi O’Loughlin: A Woman Talking Underbelly, Cowgate, 6–30 Aug, not 18, £6—£10 Iain Stirling: Touchy Feely HH Pleasance Courtyard, 5–29 Aug, £6—£10 Baby Wants Candy: The Improv All Star Explosion!

Assembly Checkpoint, 17 Aug, 24 Aug, £13 Imran Yusuf: Super Roar of the Underdog Turbo X: HD Remix The Stand Comedy Club 3 & 4, 21–30 Aug, £12 My Favourite Words in the English Language Just the Tonic at The Tron, 10–30 Aug, not 18, £7—£8.50 Simon Munnery’s Fylm School Heroes @ The Hive, 6–31 Aug, not 17, £5 Dr Professor Neal Portenza’s Catchy Show Title Just the Tonic at The Mash House, 6–30 Aug, not 18, £free Revan and Fennell: Fan Club C venues – C nova, 5–31 Aug, not 18, £8.50—£10.50

19:45 Gearoid Farrelly: Gearoid Less Travelled Gilded Balloon , 5–31 Aug, not 18, £5—£9.50 Katia Kvinge: 140 Karakters HHH Just the Tonic at the Caves (Salvation Rooms), 6–29 Aug, not 12, 18, £free

Joanna Neary: Faceful of Issues HHH The Assembly Rooms, 5–30 Aug, not 6, 17, £9—£10 Laughing Horse Free Comedy Selection Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 7–29 Aug, £free Private Harris St John’s, 7–31 Aug, not 11, 18, 25, £free Jocks and Geordies Whistlebinkies, 9–30 Aug, not 15, 22, 29, £free Papa CJ: Naked Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 6–23 Aug, £free

19:50 ❤ Andrew Doyle: Minimalism!

HHHH

The Stand Comedy Club 5 & 6, 5–30 Aug, not 6, 17, £9—£10

Andrew Ryan: Perfectly Inadequate Assembly George Square Studios, 5–30 Aug, not 17, £6—£11 Jonny and the Baptists: The End Is Nigh Roundabout @ Summerhall, 7–30 Aug, not 18, 25, £9—£12 Freddie Farrell: Today Was a Total Waste of Makeup Dragonfly, 8–29 Aug, £free Elf Lyons: Being Barbarella HHH Voodoo Rooms, 8–30 Aug, not 24, £free

❤ Tim Renkow: Kim Jong-Un, Muhammad, Jesus and Other Power Hungry Maniacs HHHH

Heroes @ The Hive, 7–31 Aug, not 12, 26, £5

19:55 Raymond Mearns Is Growing Old Disgracefully Scottish Comedy Festival @ The Beehive Inn, 4–31 Aug, not 17, £free

20:00 Reginald D Hunter: Bitchproof Pleasance Courtyard, 5–30 Aug, not 12, 18, 24, £9—£17 John Robins: Speakeasy Assembly George Square Studios, 5–30 Aug, not 17, £6—£12 Superhero Secret Origins Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 7–30 Aug, not 10, 17, 24, £free Nathan Caton: Straight Outta Middlesex Pleasance Dome, 5–30 Aug, not 17, £7—£11

❤ Emma Sidi: Character Breakdown HHHH

Pleasance Courtyard, 5–31 Aug, not 18, £6—£9

Joe Lycett: That’s The Way, A-Ha A-Ha, Joe Lycett Pleasance Courtyard, 24 Aug, £10 Hal Cruttenden: Straight Outta Cruttenden Pleasance Courtyard, 5–30 Aug, not 17, £9—£16 Adam Benjamin and Victor Preda: Icomeclasts Laughing Horse @ Moriarty’s, 6–30 Aug, £free HUB Fresh Pleasance Courtyard, 10 Aug, 17 Aug, 24 Aug, £free Pete Firman: Super Duper Pleasance Courtyard, 5–30 Aug, £8.50—£15 The Big Comedy Gala in Aid of Macmillan Cancer Support Venue150@EICC, 28 Aug, £18 My First Laugh Sportsters, 8–29 Aug, not 9, 16, 23, £free Wheely Wheely Wheely Wheely Wheely Cowgatehead, 8–29 Aug, not 11, 18, 25, £free

Kai Humphries: How to Be Happy Gilded Balloon , 5–30 Aug, £6—£12.50 Rob Beckett: Mouth of the South Pleasance Dome, 5–30 Aug, not 17, £7.50—£13 Sparrow-Folk: SuBIRDia Gilded Balloon , 5–30 Aug, not 17, £5—£10 Playing Politics Acoustic Music Centre @ St Bride’s, 21 Aug, 27 Aug, 28 Aug, £12.50 Joey Page: Catastrophe Party Underbelly, Cowgate, 6–30 Aug, not 18, £6—£11 Stereotypist Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 6–30 Aug, £free Super Villain Laughing Horse @ City Cafe, 13–30 Aug, £free Annie McGrath and Nico Tatarowicz #Pray4AnnieAndNico Just the Tonic at the Caves (Salvation Rooms), 7–29 Aug, not 18, 24, £free Jo Caulfield: Awkward Conversations HHH The Stand Comedy Club, 7–30 Aug, not 17, £10 Patrick Kielty: Help Assembly George Square Studios, 24–30 Aug, £12.50—£14 Frequently Asked Questions Scottish Storytelling Centre, 6–30 Aug, not 8, 10, 17, 24, £6—£8 BBC: Sue Perkins’ Big Night Out BBC@POTTERROW, 22 Aug, £free Marc Jennings: Disconnected Cowgatehead, 8–29 Aug, £free An Improvised Murder New Waverley Arches , Various dates from 16 Aug to 22 Aug, £free

20:05

Steve Bugeja: Day Release Just the Tonic at The Mash House, 6–30 Aug, not 18, £5

Price Includes Biscuits theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 7–29 Aug, not 9, 16, 23, £8

Joe Lycett: That’s The Way, A-Ha A-Ha, Joe Lycett Pleasance Courtyard, 5–30 Aug, not 10, 17, 24, £6—£12

20:10 Stewart Francis: Pun Gent The Assembly Rooms, 6–30 Aug, not 17, £14—£15

Pop Pop Underbelly Med Quad, 6–31 Aug, not 17, £6—£10.50

Abi Roberts’ Musical CID Gilded Balloon , 27–30 Aug, £8

Andrew Lawrence: Uncensored HH Assembly Roxy, 5–30 Aug, not 17, 24, £5—£12

Mark Steel: Who Do I Think I Am? Assembly George Square Studios, 5–30 Aug, not 17, £10—£14

Bruce Fummey: Scottish Comedian of the Year Winner 2014 Scottish Comedy Festival @ The Beehive Inn, 6–30 Aug, not 17, £3—£10

❤ Lazy Susan: Double Act HHHH Pleasance Dome, 5–31 Aug, not 19, £6—£10

20:15 Evan Wonders of the World Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 6–30 Aug, £free Sean McLoughlin: Whatever It Takes Pleasance Courtyard, 5–30 Aug, £6—£9.50

❤ Angela Barnes: Come As You Are

HHHH

Pleasance Courtyard, 5–30 Aug, not 17, £7—£11

Waking Up in Trees and Trucks George Next Door, 8–28 Aug, not 10, 17, 24, £free Cheeky Irish Pups Laughing Horse @ Dropkick Murphys, 6–30 Aug, not 10, 17, 24, £free Accident Avoidance Training for Cutlery Users – Level 1 Southsider, 23–29 Aug, £free Small Town Heroes Southsider, 8–22 Aug, £free Just the Tonic Comedy Club Just the Tonic at The Caves, 7–29 Aug, not 18, 26, £8—£10 Lost Property Cowgatehead, 8–22 Aug, not 19, £free Patrick Monahan – The Disco Years Gilded Balloon , 5–30 Aug, not 17, £6—£12 Jarred Christmas is Hotfoot Papa Gilded Balloon , 19–23 Aug, £10 Joseph Morpurgo: Soothing Sounds for Baby HHH Pleasance Courtyard, 5–31 Aug, not 18, £6—£10.50

Joel Creasey: The Hurricane Assembly Roxy, 18–29 Aug, £10—£11 Greg Proops: The Smartest Man In The World Gilded Balloon , 24–26 Aug, £12 Cocaine and Potatoes Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 22–30 Aug, £free

20:20 Improvabunga: Funny Side Up theSpace on the Mile, 7–29 Aug, not 9, 16, 23, £8 Rhys Nicholson – Forward Underbelly, George Square, 5–31 Aug, £6.50—£11.50 Corey White: The Cane Toad Effect Assembly Hall, 6–30 Aug, not 17, £6—£10 Max and Ivan: The End Pleasance Dome, 5–30 Aug, not 18, £6—£12.50 Viv Groskop: Say Sorry to the Lady HH The Stand Comedy Club 3 & 4, 5–30 Aug, not 6, 17, £7—£8 Kate Smurthwaite: The Wrong Sort of Feminist Ciao Roma, 8–29 Aug, not 17, £free

20:25 ONEymoon Liquid Room Annexe, 8–30 Aug, not 12, 19, 24, 26, 29, £free Eric Davidson – It’s a Wrong Way to Ukulele theSpace @ Jury’s Inn, 17–29 Aug, not 23, £10

20:30 Phil Kay MegaBusy Heroes @ Bob’s BlundaBus, 13–23 Aug, £7

❤ Alex Edelman: Everything Handed to You HHHH Pleasance Courtyard, 5–30 Aug, £6—£12 Archie Maddocks Ain’t Got No Behaviour Cowgatehead, 7–29 Aug, not 17, £free Testify Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 6–30 Aug, £free

Banshee Labyrinth, 8–30 Aug, not 23, £free

Sarah Bennetto: Fritters Away an Hour of Your Life... Mmm, Fritters HHH Laughing Horse @ Bar 50, 6–29 Aug, not 17, 24, £free The Old Fella theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 7–29 Aug, not 9, 16, 25, £9

20:35 Peablossom Cabaret Thistle King James Hotel, 7–23 Aug, £free All Our Friends Are Dead Just the Tonic at The Caves, 6–29 Aug, not 18, 24, £6—£10

Andrew Watts – How to Build a Chap Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 6–30 Aug, not 17, £free Chris Ramsey: All Growed Up Assembly George Square Theatre, 20–30 Aug, £12.50—£15 Conor Drum – Adult Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 6–30 Aug, £free Peter Dobbing: Armchair Futurologist Kilderkin, 8–28 Aug, not 11, 18, 25, £free

Eleanor Tiernan – Don’t Cry for Me Eleanor Tiernan Laughing Horse @ The White Horse, 6–30 Aug, not 24, £free

20:40 Charlie Baker: Just the One Assembly George Square Theatre, 5–30 Aug, not 17, £6—£11

Femmetamorphosis Spotlites, 6–31 Aug, £6—£8

Shaun Buswell’s Random Orchestra Challenges Cafe Camino, 8–29 Aug, £free

John Robertson – The Dark Room: Symphony of a Floating Head Underbelly, Cowgate, 6–30 Aug, £6—£10.50

Jacobs and von Jones: Best of the Fest!

Laughing Horse @ The Cellar Monkey, 6–30 Aug, £free

Daniel Sloss: Dark Venue150@EICC, 6–30 Aug, not 17, 25, £8.50—£17.50

Some Like It Thea-Skot Cowgatehead, 8–29 Aug, not 19, £free

The Heist theSpace on the Mile, 7–22 Aug, not 9, 16, £9

20:50

❤ James Acaster: Represent HHHH Pleasance Courtyard, 5–30 Aug, £6—£12 Pun-Man’s Pun Party Frankenstein Pub, 8–29 Aug, not 10, 17, 24, £free ONEymoon George Next Door, 24 Aug, 29 Aug, £free Darren Walsh: Punderbolt Pleasance Courtyard, 5–31 Aug, not 17, £6—£9 Tom Toal in Sunshine on Bexleyheath Pleasance Courtyard, 5–30 Aug, £6—£10.50

Jamie Kilstein: Sober Song Rants and a Cat Story Stand in the Square, 18–31 Aug, £12

WinstonsWow The Boards, 5–29 Aug, not 7, 8, 9, 14, 15, 16, 23, £10

Jimmy McGhie – Winged Goddess of Victory HHH Pleasance Courtyard, 5–30 Aug, not 17, £6—£10.50

HHHH

Rory McSwiggan Wants Nothing to Do With Himself Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 6–30 Aug, not 12, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, £free

Craig Campbell: Don’t Look Down The Assembly Rooms, 5–30 Aug, not 6, 17, £9—£10

Martin Mor: Away Gallivanting The Stand Comedy Club 2, 7–30 Aug, not 17, £8

Pajama Men: 2 Man 3 Musketeers HHH Assembly Roxy, 7–30 Aug, not 17, 24, £10—£15

❤ Natasia Demetriou and Ellie White are Mother and Baby

Carl Donnelly: Jive Ass Honky HHH Pleasance Courtyard, 5–30 Aug, not 17, £6—£10 Lloyd Griffith: Great Grimsby’s Big Turn On Pleasance Courtyard, 5–30 Aug, £6—£10.50

Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman Chiquito, 23–29 Aug, £free

20:45 Clusterf**k Movement, 8–29 Aug, £free Stuck!

Gilded Balloon , 17–30 Aug, £8.50—£10.50 Prey Liquid Room Annexe, 24–30 Aug, £free Chris Martin: This Show has a Soundtrack HHH Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 6–30 Aug, not 19, £free

Maxine Jones: Full Circle Cabaret Voltaire, 8–29 Aug, not 19, £free Bobby Mair: Filthy Immigrant Heroes @ The Hive, 6–31 Aug, not 17, £5 Desperately Seeking Attention Greenside @ Infirmary Street, 7–29 Aug, not 11, 16, 23, £free—£8

21:00 Jason Byrne: 20 Years a Clown Assembly Hall, 6–30 Aug, not 17, 24, £8—£19.50 Burt Lancaster Pierced My Hymen (When I Was 11) Just the Tonic at The Mash House, 6–30 Aug, not 11, 15, 18, 25, £5

Margaret Thatcher Queen of Soho Assembly George Square Gardens, 6–30 Aug, not 17, £10—£14 Sam Simmons: Spaghetti for Breakfast Underbelly Potterrow, 5–30 Aug, not 17, 24, £7.50—£14

❤ Felicity Ward: What If There Is No Toilet?

HHHH

Pleasance Courtyard, 5–31 Aug, not 17, £6—£12

Nina Conti: In Your Face Pleasance Courtyard, 5–30 Aug, not 18, £9—£15.50 BlundaBus: RoadShow Heroes @ Bob’s BlundaBus, 12 Aug, 26 Aug, £5 Harmon Leon in Porn, Corn, and Body Slamming For Jesus Banshee Labyrinth, 7–30 Aug, not 10, 17, 24, £free Chris Fitchew – Ooops!

Sin, 7–27 Aug, not 14, 15, 16, 21, 22, 23, 24, £free Funmbi Omotayo: Legal Immigrant HH Gilded Balloon , 6–30 Aug, £5—£9.50 Spencer Jones Presents: The Herbert in Proper Job HHH Heroes @ The Hive, 6–31 Aug, not 18, 25, £5 Bodell and Maxwell’s Chromatic Character Menagerie Cowgatehead, 8–29 Aug, not 17, 25, £free Künt and the Gang – Künt’ll Fix It Laughing Horse @ New Empire Bingo, 28–29 Aug, £6 Laughing Horse Free Pick of the Fringe Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 7–29 Aug, £free Savage and Ralph: Joyful Erotica Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 6–30 Aug, not 19, 26, £free Ben Fairey: Floe-Joe’s Faces Just the Tonic at The Mash House, 6–30 Aug, not 18, £free—£5 Alex Kealy and Friends Dragonfly, 8–29 Aug, not 19, £free Blind Mirth Paradise in The Vault, 8–22 Aug, not 16, £6

Comedy

82

83 H

by

Ba

H H ay

dw

H

Br oa

by

H

H Ba

ay

dw

H

H

H

H Br oa

H

ag

e

H St

H

H

H

H

Th re eW ee ks

H

Comedy

84

Joel Dommett: Conquer HH Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 6–29 Aug, not 28, £free Gay Furnish Flirt Coach Underbelly, Cowgate, 6–30 Aug, not 17, 24, £6—£12 Super Shaggers Laughing Horse @ New Empire Bingo, 21–22 Aug, £free Queens of Comedy Sin, 14–30 Aug, not 17, 18, 19, 20, 24, 25, 26, 27, £free Sunshine and Lollipops (and a Creeping Sense of Existential Terror) Laughing Horse @ Jekyll & Hyde, 21–30 Aug, £free Fresh Blood Gilded Balloon , 5–31 Aug, not 17, £5—£10 Ed Byrne – Outside Looking In Gilded Balloon , 5–30 Aug, not 17, 27, £10—£15 Latex and Roses Just the Tonic at The Caves, 6–29 Aug, not 18, £free—£5 Julian Deane Just the Tonic at The Tron, 6–30 Aug, not 18, £free Will Franken: Who Keeps Making All These People?

The Stand Comedy Club 5 & 6, 5–30 Aug, not 6, 17, £7—£8

21:10 Carl Hutchinson: Learning the Ropes

HHH

The Stand Comedy Club 5 & 6, 6–30 Aug, not 17, £9—£10

Scotland’s Pick of the Fringe Scottish Comedy Festival @ The Beehive Inn, 7–30 Aug, not 10, 17, 24, £5 Bob Doolally Football Legend The Stand Comedy Club 3 & 4, 17 Aug, 25 Aug, £10 Stephen K Amos: Work in Progress The Stand Comedy Club 3 & 4, 6–29 Aug, not 17, 18, 24, 25, £10 Kieran Hodgson: Lance Voodoo Rooms, 8–30 Aug, not 19, £free

21:15 Sean Nolan: The Retrospective Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 6–30 Aug, not 17, £free Neel Kolhatkar: Truth Be Told Gilded Balloon , 5–31 Aug, not 19, £5—£11 Al Porter Is Yours Gilded Balloon , 5–31 Aug, not 18, £5—£9.50 Bafflesmash Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 5–30 Aug, not 17, £free

21:05

Tom Ballard – Taxis & Rainbows & Hatred

Jamie MacDonald: Oblivious Assembly George Square Studios, 5–30 Aug, not 18, £5—£10

Assembly George Square Studios, 5–30 Aug, not 17, 24, £6—£11

HHH

Mae Martin: Us

HHH

Laughing Horse @ City Cafe, 6–30 Aug, not 17, £free

Christian Steel – Gloom Hunter Cowgatehead, 8–29 Aug, £free Mark Simmons – Laugh Yourself Thin Pleasance Courtyard, 5–30 Aug, £6—£9.50 Alasdair and Nick: Dangerous as Milk – Free Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 6–30 Aug, not 11, 18, 25, £free Glenn Moore: Nephew to Three Gorgeous Uncles Cowgatehead, 8–29 Aug, £free Mark Nelson: Older than Jesus Gilded Balloon , 5–30 Aug, not 17, £6—£12.50

21:20 Ian D Montfort: Under Sciencey Conditions Pleasance Courtyard, 5–30 Aug, £6—£14.50 Pappy’s Live at the Cabaret Bar! Pleasance Courtyard, 27–29 Aug, £9

❤ Glenn Wool: Creator, I am but a Pawn HHHH Assembly George Square Studios, 5–30 Aug, not 17, 24, £6.50—£12.50 Zoe Coombs Marr: Dave Underbelly, Cowgate, 6–30 Aug, not 18, £6—£11 Rob Beckett: Mouth of the South Pleasance Courtyard, 19–22 Aug, £12—£13

The Secret of My Failure theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 17–22 Aug, £7.50 Alex Lacey is Killing Jim Sweet Grassmarket, 6–29 Aug, not 12, 19, 26, £8 Ally Houston: Shandy

HHH

Just the Tonic at The Mash House, 6–30 Aug, not 18, £free—£4

21:25 Garrett Millerick: A Selection of Things I’ve Said to Taxi Drivers Underbelly Med Quad, 5–30 Aug, not 17, £6—£11 Jerry Sadowitz: Comedian, Magician, Bawbag!

The Assembly Rooms, Various dates from 20 Aug to 30 Aug, £16 Church Night theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 24–29 Aug, £5

21:30 James Hamilton Is So Lonely – Free Voodoo Rooms, 8–30 Aug, not 17, £free Waking Up in Trees and Trucks Cowgatehead, 7–29 Aug, not 10, 17, 24, £free Calypso Nights: Juan, Two? Assembly Roxy, 5–30 Aug, not 17, £6—£10 WeddingBingo – Free Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 16–23 Aug, £free

❤ Brett Goldstein: Burning Man HHHH

Pleasance Courtyard, 5–31 Aug, not 17, £6—£11

Pierre Novellie is Anxious Peter Pleasance Courtyard, 5–30 Aug, not 18, £6—£10

Baby Wants Candy: The Completely Improvised Full Band Musical Assembly George Square Studios, 5–30 Aug, £10—£15

❤ Phil Nichol: I Don’t Want to Talk About It

❤ Tats Nkonzo: The African With Wifi

HHHHH

The Stand Comedy Club 2, 6–30 Aug, not 17, 18, 19, £7—£8

James Loveridge: Funny Because It’s True Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 24–30 Aug, £free The Pleasance Comedy Reserve Pleasance Dome, 5–31 Aug, not 17, 24, £6—£9.50 Gabriel Bisset-Smith Tells the Most Original and Funny Joke in the Universe! HHH Underbelly, Cowgate, 6–30 Aug, not 19, £6—£10 Aaaaaarrgghhhh! It’s the Monster Stand-Up Show – Free Show Laughing Horse @ Dropkick Murphys, 6–30 Aug, £free A Ward Winning Storey Cowgatehead, 8–29 Aug, not 12, 20, £free

❤ Marcus Brigstocke: Why the Long Face?

HHHH

Assembly Hall, 6–30 Aug, not 17, £10—£14

❤ Aisling Bea: Plan Bea HHHH Gilded Balloon , 5–30 Aug, not 19, £7—£12

HHHH

Pleasance Courtyard, 5–31 Aug, not 17, £6—£10.50

Gary Little: Just Trying to Be Friendly The Stand Comedy Club, 7–30 Aug, not 17, £10 Paris Communal Shower Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 7–31 Aug, not 11, 18, 25, £free Shazia Mirza: A Work in Progress The Stand Comedy Club 3 & 4, 6–30 Aug, not 17, £7—£8 Mark Forward presents Mark Forward Gilded Balloon , 5–31 Aug, not 27, £5—£12 Hal Cruttenden: Straight Outta Cruttenden Pleasance Courtyard, 15 Aug, 22 Aug, £16

21:35 Goodbear Underbelly, George Square, 5–31 Aug, not 19, £6—£10.50 Shit-Faced Shakespeare Underbelly, George Square, 5–31 Aug, £7—£14.50 Nick Doody: T’ai-Po Canons’ Gait, 8–29 Aug, not 17, 24, £free

21:40 Ben Russell: The Tokyo Hotel Pleasance Dome, 5–29 Aug, not 17, 24, £6—£11 John Hastings: Marked from the Start Pleasance Courtyard, 5–30 Aug, £6—£10 Follow the Faun Spotlites, 6–31 Aug, £8.50 Australia is F*cked Cowgatehead, 19–29 Aug, £free Jess Robinson: The Rise of Mighty Voice Pleasance Dome, 5–30 Aug, not 17, 24, £6.50—£12 Abnormally Funny People Stand in the Square, 6–30 Aug, not 17, £9—£10 Tom Stade: You’re Welcome!

The Assembly Rooms, 6–30 Aug, not 17, £14—£15

❤ Nick Cody – Beard Game Strong HHHH

festmag.co.uk

Assembly George Square Studios, 5–30 Aug, not 17, £6—£12.50

Matt Reed – Stalked Just the Tonic at The Mash House, 6–30 Aug, not 18, £5—£10 Big Value Comedy Show – Late Just the Tonic at The Community Project, 6–30 Aug, not 18, £5—£10 Ben Champion: Don’t Look Down – Free Liquid Room Annexe, 23 Aug, 25 Aug, 27 Aug, 28 Aug, 30 Aug, £free St George is Cross Underbelly Med Quad, 5–31 Aug, not 18, £6—£10

Mancunian Rhapsody C venues – C cubed, 6–29 Aug, £8.50—£10.50

Oh It’s That Guy! Comedian Matt Henry Freestival St Mary’s, 7–31 Aug, £free

zazU: A Fête Worse Than Death Pleasance Courtyard, 5–31 Aug, not 19, £6—£10 Sex, Hugs and Gender Roles: A Panel Show About Sexuality Laughing Horse @ The White Horse, 6–30 Aug, not 18, £free

❤ Trygve Wakenshaw: Nautilus HHHH

Pleasance Courtyard, 6–30 Aug, not 12, 17, 24, £7—£12

Foil, Arms and Hog: Skiddlywup Underbelly, Cowgate, 6–30 Aug, £7—£12

Jem Brookes: Punisment Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 6–30 Aug, £free

If Men Ruled the World – Free Laughing Horse @ The Cellar Monkey, 6–30 Aug, £free

❤ Adam

The Barry Delusion Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 7–30 Aug, not 11, 12, 18, 19, 25, 26, £free

Riches is Coach Coach

HHHH

Pleasance Dome, 5–30 Aug, £7—£14

Chris Betts: Social Animal Pleasance Courtyard, 5–30 Aug, not 17, £6—£9.50 Bronston Jones: God Bless ‘Merica – Free Laughing Horse @ Bar 50, 6–30 Aug, £free Stephanie Laing: Nincompoop Cowgatehead, 8–29 Aug, not 11, 18, 25, £free Joshua Ladgrove Talks at You for 52 Minutes in Exchange for Some of Your Money Heroes @ Bob’s BlundaBus, 16–25 Aug, £5

21:55 ❤ Mat Ewins: Day Job HHHH Just the Tonic at The Caves, 6–29 Aug, not 18, £5

21:45 Luke McQueen: Double Act Pleasance Courtyard, 5–31 Aug, not 17, £6—£10.50

Confessions of a Peculiar Mind Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 6–31 Aug, not 7, 8, 14, 15, 21, 22, 28, 29, £free

Tim Key: Work-inSlutgress Pleasance Courtyard, 15–31 Aug, not 17, £10

Listings

Henry von Stifle’s Enter the Dragon Cowgatehead, 7–30 Aug, not 17, 24, £free

22:00

Chris Turner: XXV Pleasance Courtyard, 5–31 Aug, £6—£10

85

Honky Bonk History of The Beatles Heroes @ Bob’s BlundaBus, 27–31 Aug, £5

Elliot Steel and Jake Lambert: Lark!

Kilderkin, 8–29 Aug, not 11, 18, 25, £free Chortle Student Comedy Award Final Pleasance Courtyard, 24 Aug, £8.50

Joy is the Enemy of Progress Just the Tonic at the Caves (Salvation Rooms), 6–26 Aug, not 11, 18, £free The Alternative Comedy Memorial Society Heroes @ The Hive, 9–27 Aug, not 14, 15, 21, 22, £5 BattleActs!

Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 7–29 Aug, not 10, 17, 24, £free Aunty Donna HHH Gilded Balloon , 5–31 Aug, not 17, £5—£12 Immigrant Diaries: Sajeela Kershi and Guests The Assembly Rooms, 6–30 Aug, not 17, £9—£10 The Shuffle Show

HH

Assembly George Square Theatre, 5–30 Aug, not 17, 24, £6—£12

Daniel Sloss: Dark: Extra Shows!

Venue150@EICC, Various dates from 14 Aug to 29 Aug, £14.50—£17.50 Failure Laughing Horse @ The Newsroom, 6–30 Aug, not 19, £free Instant Sharma Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 6–30 Aug, not 19, 26, £free

22:05 Your Aunt Fanny Just the Tonic at The Caves, 19–29 Aug, £7—£8 Female Personality of the Year C venues – C nova, 16–31 Aug, £8.50—£10.50 Nick Revell: Feminist Porno Jihadi The Stand Comedy Club 5 & 6, 6–30 Aug, not 17, £7—£8

22:10 ❤ Kyle Kinane: Ghost Pizza Party HHHH Underbelly, Cowgate, 6–30 Aug, not 18, £6—£12

Free Comic: Volume Two Dragonfly, 8–29 Aug, £free

22:15 We Are Goose Present Complimentary Gin! Sweet Grassmarket, 29–30 Aug, £5 Stuart Black – Lemsip and Cigarettes Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 6–30 Aug, not 10, 17, 24, £free Hell To Play Cowgatehead, 8–29 Aug, not 18, £free Die Roten Punkte – Haus Party Assembly Checkpoint, 9 Aug, 16 Aug, 23 Aug, £10—£12 Angus Brown: Get Ready. Get Set. Ahhh F*%k It C venues – C south, 6–31 Aug, £7.50—£9.50 Joke Thieves Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 6–30 Aug, not 28, £free Kevin J: Council Estate of Mind HHH Gilded Balloon , 5–30 Aug, not 19, £5—£11 James Acaster: Represent Pleasance Dome, 20–21 Aug, £10—£12 Dysfunctionally in Order Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 6–30 Aug, £free Anil Desai – Impressions of a Hindude Sin, 6–30 Aug, not 10, 17, 24, £free

Aatif Nawaz: Muslims Do it 5 Times a Day Just the Tonic at the Caves (Salvation Rooms), 7–29 Aug, not 19, £free

The Best of Scottish Comedy The Stand Comedy Club 5 & 6, 7–30 Aug, not 17, £12

Jonny Awsum: Everything is Awsum Gilded Balloon , 5–30 Aug, not 17, £6—£8.50

Samantha Pressdee: Consume Shit and Die Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 6–30 Aug, £free

Miss Behave’s Gameshow Assembly Checkpoint, 6–29 Aug, not 9, 10, 16, 17, 23, 24, £8—£15

Stand Rising The Stand Comedy Club 3 & 4, 7–30 Aug, £8

22:20 Mick Ferry Is Just a Bloke Just the Tonic at The Tron, 6–30 Aug, not 18, £3.50—£6 Good Kids Just the Tonic at The Mash House, 6–23 Aug, not 18, £4—£8 Barry from Watford’s Bingo Bonanza Pleasance Courtyard, 13–29 Aug, not 16, 17, 18, 19, 23, 24, 25, 26, £10—£12

Jokes About Things (Redinburgh Fringe) Laughing Horse @ Moriarty’s, 6–30 Aug, £free Cassandra: Mary Canary Just the Tonic at the Caves (Salvation Rooms), 6–29 Aug, not 10, 18, 24, £free Trevor Noah: Lost in Translation Assembly Hall, 28–30 Aug, £15 Scottish Falsetto Sock Puppet Theatre – Minging Detectives Gilded Balloon , 5–30 Aug, £5—£11

Omar Hamdi: In the Valleys of the Kings Assembly George Square Studios, 5–30 Aug, £6—£12

Andrew Maxwell – Yo Contraire Assembly George Square Theatre, 5–30 Aug, not 17, 18, £7—£15

Mixtape Underbelly, Cowgate, 6–30 Aug, £6—£10

Fairy Tale Theatre: 18 & Over Assembly George Square Studios, 9–30 Aug, not 17, £10

2 Girls, 1 Cup of Comedy Just the Tonic at The Caves, 6–29 Aug, not 18, £5 The Shambles theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 7–29 Aug, not 16, £6—£8

22:25 Dead Funny Scottish Comedy Festival @ The Beehive Inn, 7–30 Aug, not 10, 11, 17, 18, 24, 25, £free

22:30 ❤ The Story Beast HHHH Pleasance Courtyard, 5–31 Aug, not 19, £6—£9.50

Diane Chorley: Duchess of Canvey

HHH

Underbelly Potterrow, 5–31 Aug, not 17, £7—£12.50

Fright Bus Service Necrobus, 5–31 Aug, £9

The Man The Assembly Rooms, 5–30 Aug, not 6, 17, £9—£10 Showstopper! The Improvised Musical Pleasance Courtyard, 5–30 Aug, £10—£15 Titty Bar Ha Ha: Club Titticana Laughing Horse @ City Cafe, 6–30 Aug, not 12, 19, 26, £free Frenchy: Live’n’Lanky Gilded Balloon , 5–31 Aug, not 19, £5—£11

22:40 The Horne Section’s Questions Sessions Gilded Balloon , 15–29 Aug, £13—£15 Ro Campbell: Exercise Ze Demon The Stand Comedy Club 2, 5–30 Aug, not 6, 17, £7—£8 Chaos Theory Underbelly, Cowgate, 6–30 Aug, £6—£10.50

Piff the Magic Dragon – Breakfast at Piffany’s Underbelly’s Circus Hub on the Meadows, 14–29 Aug, £12.50—£13.50 Imaginary Porno Charades Sweet Grassmarket, Various dates from 7 Aug to 29 Aug, £7 Franks and Skinner Present: Myself and Myself Just the Tonic at The Mash House, 6–30 Aug, not 17, 18, £5—£7 Qyeen sweeTs: NorthernXposure The Stand Comedy Club 3 & 4, 18–30 Aug, £8

22:45 Josh Widdicombe’s XFM Show Live!

Assembly George Square Studios, 22–25 Aug, £15 The Jest: The Five Humours HH Pleasance Dome, 5–30 Aug, not 19, £6—£10

aLOne – Loren O’Brien Pleasance Courtyard, 5–31 Aug, £6—£11 #BlurredMinds – Free Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 6–30 Aug, not 15, 22, £free Chris Stokes: Altruism in Birds Pleasance Courtyard, 5–30 Aug, £6—£9.50

Brickhead: Yeah Yeah Cowgatehead, 8–29 Aug, not 17, 23, £free

Folie à Deux Pleasance Courtyard, 19–23 Aug, £9—£10

Seymour Stiffs – The Undertaker Cowgatehead, 8–29 Aug, £free

Princes of Main Pleasance Courtyard, 5–31 Aug, not 17, £6—£9

22:50 The Noise Next Door’s Comedy Lock-In Pleasance Courtyard, 5–30 Aug, not 18, £7—£14

Jarred Christmas and Hobbit: The Great Comedy Beat Box Party Gilded Balloon , 19–23 Aug, £10

Lights! Camera!

Improvise! - The Improvised Movie Live on Stage Pleasance Courtyard, 28–30 Aug, £15

Comedy, Craft Beer and Curry: Live at V Deep V Deep, Various dates from 6 Aug to 29 Aug, £10

Pajama Men: Pterodactyl Nights Assembly George Square Studios, 14 Aug, 15 Aug, 21 Aug, 22 Aug, £12.50

Best of So You Think You’re Funny?

Gilded Balloon , Various dates from 7 Aug to 30 Aug, £10

22:55

Adam Blampied: I am Mr Children Man Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 6–30 Aug, not 19, £free The Wow Wow Show! with Dan Clark Assembly George Square Studios, 27–29 Aug, £12—£14 Dave Callan – A Little Less Conversation 2: A Little More Less Conversation Gilded Balloon , 6–30 Aug, not 18, 19, £5—£10.50

Afterhours Comedy Assembly Roxy, 8 Aug, 15 Aug, 22 Aug, 29 Aug, £14 Alex Edelman: Everything Handed to You Pleasance Dome, 20 Aug, 21 Aug, 22 Aug, 27 Aug, 29 Aug, £10—£12

Anarchy Cabaret (Return of the Tight Six) Ciao Roma, 8–29 Aug, not 11, 18, 25, £free

The Labour Of Laugh Underbelly Med Quad, 5–31 Aug, £5—£8

Late Night Bedlam Theatre, 7–30 Aug, £7

Gein’s Family Giftshop: Volume 2 Pleasance Courtyard, 5–30 Aug, not 17, £6—£9.50

Liz Fraser’s Podlaughs... Live!

Gilded Balloon , 24–26 Aug, £7.50

Lee Nelson: Suited & Booted Pleasance Courtyard, 5–30 Aug, £10—£15

Marcus Brigstocke: Why the Long Face?

Assembly Hall, 25–26 Aug, £13

The Comedian’s Comedian Podcast Live Black Medicine, 16–29 Aug, not 19, £free

23:00 Simon Slack – The Fantasist Banshee Labyrinth, 8–30 Aug, not 19, £free Aaaaaaaaaaaaarrghhh! It’s the Increasingly Prestigious Malcolm Hardee Comedy Awards Show – and It’s Free!

Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 28–29 Aug, £free Alternative Paradise in The Vault, 24–30 Aug, £5 Hof With His Head Laughing Horse @ The White Horse, 15–30 Aug, not 17, 24, £free

AAA Stand-Up Late Pleasance Courtyard, 5–31 Aug, £6—£11 Brendon Burns and Colt Cabana Sit in a F*cking Yurt at 11pm and Provide Comedy and Commentary to Bad Wrestling Matches Stand in the Square, 6–31 Aug, not 9, 16, 18, 23, 30, £9—£10 Molotov Cocktail Party Globe Bar, 7–31 Aug, not 17, £free Yo Mama Battle!

Laughing Horse @ New Empire Bingo, 15 Aug, 22 Aug, 29 Aug, £free BBC: Jazz on 3 BBC@POTTERROW, 24–25 Aug, £free BBC: BBC Presents...

Edinburgh 2015 BBC@POTTERROW, 29–30 Aug, £free

Edinburgh Comedy Allstars Underbelly, George Square, Various dates from 7 Aug to 30 Aug, £10.50—£16 Gilded Balloon 30th Anniversary Comedy Walk Gilded Balloon , 24–26 Aug, £12.50 I am, I am Gilded Balloon , 26–27 Aug, £9 Giving Head Just the Tonic at The Mash House, 6–30 Aug, not 18, £8 Cariad & Paul: A Two Player Adventure Pleasance Courtyard, 25–29 Aug, £8—£11 Vegas Nocturne Pleasance Courtyard, 5–31 Aug, not 17, £6—£12 Ari Shaffir: This is Not Happening Pleasance Dome, Various dates from 6 Aug to 30 Aug, £6—£12 Best of HUB Pleasance Dome, 12 Aug, 19 Aug, 26 Aug, £5 Maff Brown – On Demand, Live Laughing Horse @ Bar 50, 6–29 Aug, not 15, 22, 23, £free The Kinsey Sicks: America’s Next Top Bachelor Housewife Celebrity Hoarder Makeover Star Gone Wild!

Gilded Balloon , 5–31 Aug, not 12, 19, 26, £6—£12

23:10

Bombs, Booze and Haggis Strikes Back Laughing Horse @ Jekyll & Hyde, 7–30 Aug, not 10, 17, 24, £free

Voices in Your Head Assembly George Square Studios, Various dates from 7 Aug to 29 Aug, £6—£10

Set List: Stand-Up Without A Net The Stand Comedy Club, Various dates from 9 Aug to 30 Aug, £12.50

Aisling Bea: Plan Bea Pleasance Dome, 27–30 Aug, £11—£13

Augustus and the Holy Grail Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 6–30 Aug, not 17, 24, £free Bob Slayer: Fat Jockey Heroes @ Bob’s BlundaBus, 7–29 Aug, not 12, 19, 26, £5 BBC: BBC Presents…

BBC@POTTERROW, 9 Aug, 16 Aug, 23 Aug, 25 Aug, 26 Aug, £free Lydia King: A Date with Density Underbelly Med Quad, 5–31 Aug, not 18, £6—£9

Phil Nichol’s Cray Cray Cabaret The Assembly Rooms, 6–30 Aug, not 18, 19, £10—£12.50

23:15 Dark Side of the Mime Assembly Roxy, 5–30 Aug, not 17, 24, £6—£12 Luke Stephen: Peace, Love and Not Understanding Cowgatehead, 8–29 Aug, not 18, £free Mark Watson: Flaws Pleasance Courtyard, 28–29 Aug, £15.50 Feminazi Gilded Balloon , 5–31 Aug, £5—£12

Late Night Dark Show Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 6–31 Aug, £free Rotating Bill Laughing Horse @ The Newsroom, 6–30 Aug, £free Casual Violence: Om Nom Nom Nominous Pleasance Courtyard, 20–23 Aug, £12.50 Shaggers Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 6–30 Aug, £free Generation whY? Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 6–30 Aug, not 12, 19, 26, £free Digest TV: The Temp Greenside @ Nicolson Square, 24–29 Aug, £8 A to Z Improv Comedy Kilderkin, 8–29 Aug, not 11, 18, 25, £free

23:20 Foil, Arms and Hog: Skiddlywup (Extra Performances) Underbelly, Cowgate, Various dates from 7 Aug to 29 Aug, £12 Best of Scottish Comedian of the Year Underbelly, Cowgate, 6–30 Aug, not 12, 18, 19, 25, 26, £6—£13.50

23:25 Satan’s Cocaine, Miscellaneous Fellatio Dragonfly, 8–29 Aug, £free

23:30 Magners Comedy Festival Winner – Jim Brewsky Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 22–30 Aug, £free Bearpit Podcast (Podcast) Gala Show Just the Tonic at The Caves, 26–27 Aug, £5 The Assembly Rooms Very Best of the Fest The Assembly Rooms, Various dates from 14 Aug to 29 Aug, £15 Nathan Cassidy: Back to the Future II Gilded Balloon , 5–29 Aug, not 16, 17, 18, £6—£8 Hate ‘N’ Live Sin, 7–29 Aug, £free This Is Your Trial Assembly George Square Theatre, 5–30 Aug, not 17, £6—£12.50

❤ Richard Gadd: Waiting for Gaddot HHHH

Banshee Labyrinth, 8–30 Aug, not 17, £free

23:40 Kinetic Comedy – Edinburgh Special Underbelly, Cowgate, 27–29 Aug, £10 Iain Stirling: Touchy Feely HH Pleasance Courtyard, Various dates from 14 Aug to 29 Aug, £10

23:45 The Stand Late Club The Stand Comedy Club, Various dates from 7 Aug to 29 Aug, £15 Mimi Goes East Laughing Horse @ Moriarty’s, 6–30 Aug, not 10, 17, 24, £free Sharma Sharma Sharma Sharma Sharma Comedian!

Laughing Horse @ City Cafe, 6–30 Aug, not 19, 26, £free Alistair Williams and Edd Hedges – The Late Show Cowgatehead, 18–30 Aug, £free Laughter with Njambi McGrath and Guests Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 6–29 Aug, not 9, 16, 23, £free Jayde Adams’ Kahuzzi!

Voodoo Rooms, 8–30 Aug, not 17, 24, £free

23:55 Pappy’s Presents...The Secret Dudes Society Pleasance Dome, 11 Aug, 17 Aug, 24 Aug, 25 Aug, £7 Set List: Stand-Up Without A Net The Stand Comedy Club 3 & 4, Various dates from 7 Aug to 29 Aug, £12.50 Fright Bus Service Necrobus, Various dates from 7 Aug to 29 Aug, £9

Comedy

86

00:00 I Went To A Fabulous Party...

C venues – C too, Various dates from 15 Aug to 30 Aug, £11.50

09:00 Traverse Breakfast Plays: (in search of) Tomorrow Traverse Theatre, 18–30 Aug, not 24, £14

festmag.co.uk

09:05 Cracked Tiles Spotlites, 18–31 Aug, not 21, 22, 23, £6.50

theSpace on the Mile, 7–22 Aug, not 9, 16, £7

The Red Chair Summerhall, 24–30 Aug, £12

A Haggis Queen Abroad theSpace on the Mile, 18–22 Aug, £8

10:10 The Maids theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 7–22 Aug, not 9, 16, £8

10:15

Tissue theSpace on Niddry St, 25–29 Aug, £7

10:20

10:30

The Money City Chambers, 27–28 Aug, £10

Traverse Theatre, 15 Aug, 21 Aug, 27 Aug, £20

Theatre Uncut Roundabout @ Summerhall, 24–30 Aug, £12

Othello C venues – C too, 17–22 Aug, £7.50—£8.50

Wilde Without the Boy Assembly Hall, 6–31 Aug, not 17, £5—£10

A Girl is a Half-formed Thing by Eimear McBride Traverse Theatre, 12 Aug, 23 Aug, 29 Aug, £20

Hamlet (A One Man Play) Spotlites, 6–22 Aug, £8

Big Bite Size Breakfast Show Pleasance Dome, 5–31 Aug, not 18, 25, £7.50—£12.50 Our Ladies of Perpetual Succour Traverse Theatre, 18 Aug, 20 Aug, 26 Aug, £14—£20

❤ Swallow HHHH Traverse Theatre, 8 Aug, 13 Aug, 19 Aug, 25 Aug, 30 Aug, £14—£20

Sanctuary theSpace on Niddry St, 17–22 Aug, £8

11:10

Closing Time The Jinglin’ Geordie, 14–21 Aug, £free

Re:member theSpace on the Mile, 7–22 Aug, not 9, 16, £6—£8

11:20

Music for Dogs Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 18–29 Aug, £free

Rebounding Hail Underbelly, Cowgate, 6–30 Aug, not 17, 24, £6—£10

11:15 ❤ A Gambler’s Guide to Dying HHHH Traverse Theatre, 7 Aug, 13 Aug, 19 Aug, 25 Aug, 30 Aug, £18

❤ How to Keep an Alien HHHH

As Is Bedlam Theatre, 5–30 Aug, not 17, £7—£10

Some People Talk About Violence Summerhall, 5–23 Aug, £7—£10.50

Open ZOO, Various dates from 8 Aug to 28 Aug, £6—£8

Avicide SpaceTriplex, 17–22 Aug, £7

Cheque Please ZOO, Various dates from 7 Aug to 31 Aug, £6—£8

❤ The Communist Threat HHHH Zoo Southside, 7–31 Aug, £7—£9

Bump Gilded Balloon , 16–31 Aug, £7—£8

Pirates and Mermaids Scottish Storytelling Centre, Various dates from 10 Aug to 31 Aug, £10

10:45

❤ Tomorrow HHHHH

Stan C venues – C nova, 16–21 Aug, £8.50—£10.50

❤ The Gospel According to Jesus, Queen of Heaven

HHHH

Summerhall, 5–30 Aug, not 10, 11, 17, 18, 24, 25, £7—£12

Shazam! theSpace on the Mile, 17–22 Aug, £7.50 Crash HHH Traverse Theatre, 6 Aug, 12 Aug, 18 Aug, 23 Aug, 29 Aug, £12—£18

Traverse Theatre, 16 Aug, 22 Aug, 28 Aug, £20

Oliver Twist theSpace on Niddry St, 24–29 Aug, £7

Richard III Greenside @ Royal Terrace, 24–29 Aug, £9

❤ Fake It ‘til You Make It HHHH

Edmund the Learned Pig Summerhall, 24–30 Aug, £10

11:30

Traverse Theatre, 9 Aug, 15 Aug, 21 Aug, 27 Aug, £18

Sequamur The Assembly Rooms, 18–24 Aug, £10

Cinema HHH Northern Stage at Summerhall, 8–30 Aug, not 12, 19, 26, £8—£10

You’re Not Like the Other Girls Chrissy Pleasance Courtyard, 22–29 Aug, £9—£12

The Happiness Project Summerhall, 26–30 Aug, £8—£10 Blood Wedding Greenside @ Nicolson Square, 24–26 Aug, £7 Have a Heart Just the Tonic at The Caves, 6–29 Aug, not 18, £5—£9 Female Transport C venues – C, 16–22 Aug, £8.50—£10.50 Nudity, Free Beer, Good for Kids Venue 13, 8–29 Aug, not 11, 17, 18, 25, £8

11:05

Traverse Theatre, 11 Aug, 16 Aug, 22 Aug, 28 Aug, £18

The King of Monte Cristo theSpace on the Mile, 17–22 Aug, £8

Pardon / In Cuffs Traverse Theatre, 8 Aug, 14 Aug, 20 Aug, 26 Aug, £18

11:35 Macaroni on a Hotdog theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 7–29 Aug, not 9, 16, 23, £6—£8

Listings

Shakespeare for Breakfast C venues – C, 5–31 Aug, not 18, £7.50—£9.50

❤ The Christians HHHH

Sunshine! Japanese Rakugo Comedy in English!

Spotlites, 6–31 Aug, not 11, 18, 25, £6

Spur of the Moment C venues – C nova, 17–22 Aug, £7.50—£9.50

HHH

DNA Greenside @ Nicolson Square, 17–22 Aug, £8

11:00

The Taming of the Shrew C venues – C south, 17–22 Aug, £8.50—£10.50

10:40

Playback Impro Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 6–30 Aug, not 10, 17, 24, £free

Real Life Becomes a Rumour theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 17–22 Aug, £7

Current Location Summerhall, 17–30 Aug, not 20, £11

10:05

10:00

old man’s Gift Venue 13, 8–29 Aug, not 17, £8

Women of the Mourning Fields Paradise in The Vault, 8–30 Aug, not 16, 23, £5—£8

❤ The Beanfield HHHH

Sweet Dreams: Broadway Baby

ThreeWeeks

87

Assembly GeorGe squAre 6 – 31 Aug, 18:00

Assembly GeorGe squAre 7 – 30 Aug, 14:00

Songs by Annie Lennox

Best of the Fest Daytime

䤀一 䄀匀匀伀䌀䤀䄀吀䤀伀一 圀䤀吀䠀

吀䠀䔀

䰀 䄀䰀倀䠀䄀䈀䔀吀 䰀

䜀椀刀䰀

㜀琀栀 ⴀ ㈀㤀琀栀 䄀甀最甀猀琀 䀀 ㄀㜀㨀㄀ ⠀攀砀挀攀瀀琀 ㄀㘀琀栀 ☀ ㈀㌀爀搀⤀ ꌀ㄀ ⼀ ꌀ㤀 挀漀渀挀⸀ ⠀ꌀ㠀 瀀爀攀瘀椀攀眀猀⤀ 䀀 嘀攀渀甀攀 ㌀㤀 漀爀 䘀爀椀渀最攀 䈀漀砀 漀昀昀椀挀攀

Deadly Dungeon Murder Mystery!

A thrilling Fringe return from Scotland’s Best Visitor Attraction 2014. Last year’s sell out show returns with a brand new mystery to solve!

Join the Secret Society of Scottish Scoundrels on 7th, 12th, 14th, 19th, 21st, 26th & 28th August Limited tickets available – book now!

thedungeons.com/Edinburgh 11:40 Boys SpaceTriplex, 25–29 Aug, £8

11:45 A Very British Childhood HH Pleasance Dome, 7–30 Aug, £6—£9 The Sea Child Gilded Balloon , 18–30 Aug, not 25, £8—£9 I, Elizabeth Assembly Roxy, 7–31 Aug, not 10, 11, 17, 18, 24, 25, £8—£13

11:50 Mrs Shakespeare Paradise in The Vault, 8–30 Aug, not 16, 23, £10 Confirmation Summerhall, 22–29 Aug, £15

11:55 Can’t Spell Right theSpace on the Mile, 24–29 Aug, £7 Raymondo ZOO, 24–29 Aug, £10

12:00 Paradise: Lost theSpace on Niddry St, 17–22 Aug, £8—£10 Jo Romero Scenes of a Sensual Nature Cowgatehead, 8–29 Aug, £free Angel in the Abattoir

HHH

Gilded Balloon , 5–31 Aug, not 18, £5—£12

The Tell-Tale Heart C venues – C nova, 16–22 Aug, £7.50—£9.50 Wild at Heart Thistle King James Hotel, 19–31 Aug, £free Chopping Chillies Cowgatehead, 8–29 Aug, not 17, £free A Matter of Life and Debt Paradise in Augustines, 24–29 Aug, £8 Pip Utton: Playing Maggie The Assembly Rooms, 6–30 Aug, not 17, £9—£10 Storytape Gilded Balloon , 11–28 Aug, weekdays only, £free The 56 HHH Assembly George Square Studios, 6–31 Aug, not 16, 17, £5—£10 The Wedding Reception B’est Restaurant, 15 Aug, 16 Aug, 21 Aug, 23 Aug, £39 Fiction HHH Pleasance Dome, 5–30 Aug, not 17, 24, £7—£13.50 Twelfth Night C venues – C too, 6–31 Aug, not 18, £8.50—£10.50

❤ Tar Baby HHHH Gilded Balloon , 5–31 Aug, not 12, 19, 26, £5—£10

A Little Respect theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 17–22 Aug, £6

Cartography C venues – C nova, 5–31 Aug, not 18, £8.50—£10.50 Fake It ‘til You Make It Assembly Hall, 24 Aug, £16 Eggs Sin, 7–30 Aug, not 18, 25, £free

12:05 Plain English theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 25–29 Aug, £10 The Kitchen Sink by Tom Wells theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 17–22 Aug, £6 Kafka’s Ape Assembly George Square Studios, 6–31 Aug, not 12, 24, £5—£10 Portraits in Motion

12:10 Islands HH Underbelly, Cowgate, 6–30 Aug, not 18, £6—£10.50 Can’t Spell Right theSpace on the Mile, 17–22 Aug, £7.50 Big Bite-Size Lunch Hour: Lunch in Cairo Assembly Checkpoint, 9–31 Aug, not 18, 25, £8—£12 Umrao – The Noble Courtesan Assembly George Square Studios, 6–31 Aug, not 17, 18, £10—£12 One Above theSpace @ Jury’s Inn, 17–29 Aug, not 23, £7

12:15

Wasted Gilded Balloon , 5–31 Aug, not 18, £6—£11

❤ Tony’s Last Tape HHHH Pleasance Courtyard, 7–30 Aug, not 13, 20, 27, £7—£12

The Escapade of the Burmese Burglary Gilded Balloon , 18–30 Aug, not 24, £8—£9 The Comedy of Errors C venues – C, 16–22 Aug, £7.50—£9.50 Wojtek: The Happy Warrior New Town Theatre, 6–30 Aug, not 18, £7—£11 The Stolen Inches C venues – C nova, 5–26 Aug, £8.50—£10.50

12:20

Summerhall, 5–30 Aug, not 17, 24, £6—£10

Charolais Spotlites, 6–30 Aug, £5.50—£8

17 C venues – C, 23–30 Aug, £7.50—£9.50

Two Thirds C venues – C nova, 16–31 Aug, £8.50—£10.50

My Name is Saoirse Assembly Hall, 6–31 Aug, not 17, £5—£10

The Jennifer Tremblay Trilogy Part II: The Carousel Assembly Roxy, Various dates from 7 Aug to 31 Aug, £10—£14.50

This Language theSpace on Niddry St, 25–29 Aug, £7

A+E Pleasance Courtyard, 5–31 Aug, not 12, 19, £6—£9

Pilgrim Pleasance Courtyard, 5–31 Aug, not 17, 24, £6—£10

Beethoven in Stalingrad Spotlites, 16–31 Aug, £9

The Jennifer Tremblay Trilogy Part I: The List Assembly Roxy, Various dates from 6 Aug to 30 Aug, £10—£14.50

The Norman Conquests theSpace @ Venue45, 14–29 Aug, not 16, 23, £5—£8 Consumption theSpace on the Mile, 17–28 Aug, not 23, £9

Vanity Bites Back Gilded Balloon , 16–30 Aug, £10—£12 Polyphony Roundabout @ Summerhall, 7–30 Aug, not 11, 18, 25, £12

We This Way HH Summerhall, 5–30 Aug, not 11, 18, 25, £8—£10 Dead Man’s Cell Phone

HHH

Underbelly, Cowgate, 6–23 Aug, £6—£9

Pope Head (The Secret Life of Francis Bacon) Summerhall, 7–30 Aug, not 13, 20, £12

12:30 How I Became Myself (by Becoming Someone Else) Cowgatehead, 8–29 Aug, £free Romanovs theSpace on the Mile, 17–22 Aug, £8 What Would Spock Do? HH Gilded Balloon , 5–31 Aug, not 12, 19, 26, £6—£12

Shazam! theSpace on the Mile, 24–29 Aug, £7.50

HHH

12:25

Scaramouche Jones Underbelly, Cowgate, 6–30 Aug, £6—£11

Storytape Gilded Balloon , 11–28 Aug, weekdays only, £free A Midsummer Night’s Dream theSpace on Niddry St, 8–22 Aug, not 9, 16, £5—£9

❤ Valiant HHHH

Othello: An All-Female Production HHH Underbelly Potterrow, 6–31 Aug, not 13, 20, £6—£11.50

C venues – C nova, 5–31 Aug, £8.50—£10.50

A Divine Comedy Valvona & Crolla, Various dates from 10 Aug to 30 Aug, £15 Ross & Rachel Assembly George Square Theatre, 6–31 Aug, not 17, £6—£11

BOX assemblyfestival.com OFFICE 0131 623 3030 /AssemblyFestival

AssemblyFest

@AssemblyFest

Theatre

88

The Night Watch C venues – C nova, 5–31 Aug, £9.50—£11.50 The Free Meditation Class Laughing Horse @ Moriarty’s, 10–24 Aug, £free Current Location Summerhall, 30 Aug, £11 Key Change HHH Northern Stage at Summerhall, 8–30 Aug, not 12, 19, 26, £10—£12 Scarlet Shambles: It Used to Be Me Just the Tonic at the Caves (Salvation Rooms), 6–26 Aug, not 10, 18, £free

Bismillah! An ISIS Tragicomedy Just the Tonic at The Caves, 10–21 Aug, not 18, £5

❤ Girl from Nowhere HHHH Pleasance Courtyard, 5–31 Aug, £6—£11

The Wild Man of Orford Sweet Grassmarket, 10–23 Aug, £7 The Soaking of Vera Shrimp Pleasance Courtyard, 5–31 Aug, not 18, £6—£9.50

12:35

Buckle Up SpaceTriplex, 17–29 Aug, not 23, £8

Labels Pleasance Courtyard, 5–31 Aug, not 17, £6—£9

12:50

Let England Shake SpaceTriplex, 17–22 Aug, £7 Reclaiming Vietnam Greenside @ Infirmary Street, 17–29 Aug, not 23, £8

festmag.co.uk

12:45

...and This is My Friend Mr Laurel HH Pleasance Courtyard, 5–31 Aug, not 19, £7—£12 Madman Marathon Man theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 17–22 Aug, £9 Two Sore Legs Assembly George Square Studios, 6–31 Aug, not 17, 24, £8—£13 The Flying Ship Greenside @ Royal Terrace, 17–22 Aug, £9

12:40 Some Big Some Bang Underbelly, Cowgate, 6–30 Aug, not 18, £6—£10 The State of Concrete theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 17–22 Aug, £5 The Backside Monologues Spotlites, 31 Aug, £5 Sea Wall Paradise in The Vault, 18–22 Aug, £5

Fault Lines HHH Basic Mountain, 14 Aug, 23 Aug, 30 Aug, £10

Dendritical theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 17–22 Aug, £7

Early Grave, Fashionably Late Arthur Conan Doyle Centre, 10–29 Aug, not 12, 16, 23, £8—£10

Talking with Angels: Budapest, 1943 Summerhall, 5–30 Aug, not 10, 17, 18, 24, £6—£10

Cleansed C venues – C nova, 5–31 Aug, not 17, 24, £8.50—£10.50 The Selkie and the River God Sweet Grassmarket, 10–23 Aug, £8

12:55

Filthy Talk for Troubled Times HH Basic Mountain, 9 Aug, 22 Aug, 31 Aug, £10

Not the Horse theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 24–29 Aug, £10

A Girl is a Half-formed Thing by Eimear McBride Traverse Theatre, 13 Aug, 19 Aug, 25 Aug, 30 Aug, £20

13:00 Rhapsody In Green by Mike Maran Valvona & Crolla, 12 Aug, 14 Aug, 19 Aug, 23 Aug, 29 Aug, £12 Face to the Wall theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 24–29 Aug, £6 Hair Peace HHH Pleasance Courtyard, 5–31 Aug, not 17, 24, £6—£11 A Play, A Pie and A Pint Le Monde, 7–31 Aug, not 8, 15, 22, 29, £12.50

Complex theSpace @ Jury’s Inn, 17–22 Aug, £7 Styx theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 7–22 Aug, not 9, 16, £4—£8

13:10

13:15 ❤ Tomorrow HHHHH Traverse Theatre, 16 Aug, 22 Aug, 28 Aug, £20

This is Mary Brown Paradise in The Vault, 8–30 Aug, not 16, 17, 18, 19, 22, 23, £7

Lisa Gornick’s Live Drawing Show Gilded Balloon , 5–31 Aug, not 12, £5—£10

Pleasance Courtyard, 5–31 Aug, not 18, £6—£10

Portrait HHH Pleasance Dome, 5–29 Aug, not 17, 24, £6—£11

Romeo and Juliet theSpace on Niddry St, 17–22 Aug, £8

The Diary of Thomas Pooler Cafe Camino, 16–29 Aug, £free Hooray for All Kinds of Things The Assembly Rooms, 18–30 Aug, £10

13:20

Follow/Unfollow theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 24–29 Aug, £8.50

Ten Pound Tale C venues – C, 23–30 Aug, £7.50—£9.50

Detached theSpace on the Mile, 17–29 Aug, not 23, £10

Giving Up the Ghost theSpace @ Jury’s Inn, 25–29 Aug, £7—£8

Sweet Dreams: Le Gateau Songs

by AnnieBlack Lennox Chocolat:

89

AAssembly eorGe ssemblyGH All squAre 66––31 30Aug, Aug,18:00 16:15

The Double Life of Malcolm Drinkwater Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 6–30 Aug, not 17, 23, £free

I Gave Him an Orchid

HH

Summerhall, 5–22 Aug, not 16, £6—£12

The Count of Monte Cristo Spotlites, 23–31 Aug, £5

Storytape Gilded Balloon , 11–28 Aug, weekdays only, £free

❤ How to Keep an Alien HHHH Traverse Theatre, 22 Aug, 28 Aug, £18

Impossible HH Pleasance Dome, 5–31 Aug, not 17, £7.50—£15 Hannah and Hanna

HHH

Assembly George Square Studios, 6–30 Aug, not 17, £6—£11

The Hideout C venues – C nova, 5–31 Aug, not 18, £8.50—£10.50

Don’t Say That theSpace on the Mile, 24–28 Aug, £5

❤ Swallow HHHH Traverse Theatre, 20 Aug, 26 Aug, £20

Of Mice and Men Gilded Balloon , 5–31 Aug, not 17, £5—£12

Chopin’s Last Tour ZOO, 7–31 Aug, £6—£9

Dylan Thomas – The Man, The Myth Assembly Roxy, 6–22 Aug, not 19, £10—£14

13:25

Downton Scabby Paradise in Augustines, 24–29 Aug, £8

A Cinema in South Georgia HHH Pleasance Courtyard, 5–30 Aug, not 17, £6—£12

Broadway Baby The List

Tomorrow’s Parties Summerhall, 24–29 Aug, £8—£12

HHH

Our Ladies of Perpetual Succour Traverse Theatre, 21 Aug, 27 Aug, £20

RUN HHH Pleasance Courtyard, 5–31 Aug, not 17, £6—£10.50

Tales from Ovid C venues – C, 16–22 Aug, £8.50—£10.50

Broken Windows

Black Magic: Songs Unchained Spotlites, 6–31 Aug, £5—£10

Storytape Gilded Balloon , 11–28 Aug, weekdays only, £free

13:05

Billy Through the Window Underbelly, Cowgate, 6–30 Aug, not 18, £6—£10

Black is the Color of My Voice Gilded Balloon , 5–31 Aug, not 12, 19, £6—£10.50

Listings

Pleasance Courtyard, 5–31 Aug, not 17, £6—£9

Eating Seals and Seagulls’ Eggs HH Pleasance Dome, 5–30 Aug, not 17, 24, £6—£10

501 Things I Do in My Bedroom Just the Tonic at The Caves, 6–29 Aug, not 18, £5—£8

Piaf theSpace on Niddry St, 24–29 Aug, £7

HHH

Gruesome Playground Injuries HHH Basic Mountain, 15 Aug, 21 Aug, 29 Aug, £10

Institute Pleasance Courtyard, 5–29 Aug, not 8, 12, 18, £8.50—£14.50

Dog Play Dead theSpace on the Mile, 24–29 Aug, £7—£8

To She or Not to She

What a Grimm Tale! theSpace @ Venue45, 17–22 Aug, £7

Landline Out of the Blue Drill Hall: Outside, 29–30 Aug, £free

A Matter of Life and Debt Paradise in Augustines, 17–22 Aug, £8

Daniel Cainer: 21st Century Jew Underbelly, Cowgate, 6–30 Aug, £6—£10

Ndebele Funeral Summerhall, 5–30 Aug, not 11, 18, 25, £9—£13

Doorbells Spotlites, 16–22 Aug, £8 The Frantic Canticles of Little Brother Fish Bedlam Theatre, 17–22 Aug, £10

Sanctuary theSpace on Niddry St, 24–29 Aug, £8

❤ Fake It ‘til You Make It HHHH Traverse Theatre, 6 Aug, 12 Aug, 18 Aug, 23 Aug, 29 Aug, £12—£18

13:30 SpectreTown Assembly Hall, 6–31 Aug, not 12, 17, 24, £8—£14 Under Milk Wood (Semi Skimmed) Assembly Roxy, 23–31 Aug, £13—£14 Some Thing New C venues – C nova, 5–22 Aug, £8.50—£10.50 Be Better Bedlam Theatre, 24–30 Aug, £10 The Last Laugh The Assembly Rooms, 6–30 Aug, not 17, £9—£10

13:35 All’s Well That Ends Well theSpace on Niddry St, 17–22 Aug, £8 The Cupboard Paradise in The Vault, 17–29 Aug, not 23, £7.50

13:40 Oh Hello!

Assembly Hall, Various dates from 7 Aug to 31 Aug, £7—£11 Can’t Care, Won’t Care Banshee Labyrinth, 8–30 Aug, £free

Bestof ofthe theFest Fest Best Daytime

The biggest and best comedy line-ups!

ThreeWeeks

ssembly H GeorGe squAre All AAssembly 30Aug, Aug,Midnight 14:00 77––30

Birdland by Simon Stephens SpaceTriplex, 17–22 Aug, £8

The King of Monte Cristo theSpace on the Mile, 24–29 Aug, £8

Grav HHH Assembly Hall, Various dates from 6 Aug to 30 Aug, £7—£11

Giant Leap HHH Pleasance Courtyard, 5–31 Aug, not 18, £6—£10

13:45

Iphigenia In Splott Pleasance Dome, 24–30 Aug, £13—£15

Sex Rated G Gilded Balloon , 5–30 Aug, £5—£11 Quiet Violence Zoo Southside, 16–30 Aug, £6—£8 One Day When We Were Young by Nick Payne Assembly George Square Theatre, 6–31 Aug, not 17, 24, £7—£10

❤ Strictly Balti HHHH Gilded Balloon , 7–31 Aug, not 12, £6—£11

Sherlock and Watson: Best Friends Forever Sportsters, 8–29 Aug, £free Victoria Wood + Me Gilded Balloon , 5–31 Aug, not 12, 19, 26, £6—£10 Boris: World King Pleasance Courtyard, 5–31 Aug, not 19, £6—£10.50

❤ The Christians HHHH Traverse Theatre, 16 Aug, 22 Aug, 28 Aug, £20

Crash HHH Traverse Theatre, 7 Aug, 13 Aug, 19 Aug, 25 Aug, 30 Aug, £18 Pardon / In Cuffs Traverse Theatre, 9 Aug, 15 Aug, 21 Aug, 27 Aug, £18

13:50 Bug Bite Greenside @ Infirmary Street, 17–29 Aug, not 23, £10—£12 The Gambit Greenside @ Nicolson Square, 7–29 Aug, not 9, 16, 23, £4—£8

13:55 Last Call for Providence Just the Tonic at The Caves, 6–29 Aug, not 18, £5 Ventoux Summerhall, 13–30 Aug, £5—£10 Bathtime C venues – C nova, 5–22 Aug, £8.50—£10.50 So It Goes Underbelly, Cowgate, 24–30 Aug, £12.50—£14

14:00 Faulty Towers The Dining Experience B’est Restaurant, 7–31 Aug, not 11, 18, 25, £45—£49.50 Skins and Hoods Institut français d’Ecosse, 7–30 Aug, not 17, 24, £6—£12

❤ A Gambler’s Guide to Dying HHHH Traverse Theatre, 8 Aug, 14 Aug, 20 Aug, 26 Aug, £18 ❤ Tether HHHH Underbelly, Cowgate, 6–30 Aug, not 17, £6—£10

The Jennifer Tremblay Trilogy Part III: The Deliverance Assembly Roxy, 6–31 Aug, not 12, 17, 18, 19, 25, 26, £10—£14.50 Richard III Just Festival at St John’s , 12–31 Aug, not 16, 17, 23, 30, £8

Summerhall, 7–30 Aug, not 11, 18, 25, 26, £10

May I Have the Bill Please? by Robin Mitchell The Boards, 5–29 Aug, not 9, 16, 23, £10

The Hampstead Murder Mystery!

Pleasance Dome, 7–22 Aug, £6—£9.50

Womenswear C venues – C nova, 5–31 Aug, not 18, £8.50—£10.50

❤ A Reason to Talk HHHH

The Do’s and Don’ts of Online Dating C venues – C cubed, 6–31 Aug, not 15, 16, £7.50—£9.50 Scarfed for Life Just Festival at Central Hall, Various dates from 14 Aug to 22 Aug, £12.50 Fully Committed Starring Marcus Brigstocke Underbelly Potterrow, 5–30 Aug, not 17, £7.50—£15 The Money City Chambers, 27–28 Aug, £10 The Mountain Top Venue 13, 8–22 Aug, not 17, £8 To Sleep To Dream Summerhall @ Tom Fleming Centre, 22–23 Aug, £15 Cleansed in Blood Thistle King James Hotel, 7–31 Aug, not 12, 19, 26, £free CUT Underbelly, George Square, 5–31 Aug, not 18, £9—£13.50 Mill Girls On Tour Pilrig Studio, 28–29 Aug, £7 Teaset Pleasance Courtyard, 5–31 Aug, not 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, £6—£9.50 Goodstock HHH Pleasance Courtyard, 5–31 Aug, not 18, £6—£9.50 Titus Andronicus Spotlites, 24–27 Aug, £10 Births, Deaths & Marriages HHH Pleasance Courtyard, 5–31 Aug, not 17, £6—£9.50 Mitch’s Movie Pitches Summerhall, Various dates from 6 Aug to 29 Aug, £5 Storytape Gilded Balloon , 11–28 Aug, weekdays only, £free Marriage HH Assembly George Square Studios, 6–30 Aug, not 19, £6—£13 Women’s Hour Summerhall, Various dates from 5 Aug to 30 Aug, £6

14:05 Lord Arthur Savile’s Crime theSpace on the Mile, 17–22 Aug, £7 Every Brilliant Thing Roundabout @ Summerhall, 8–30 Aug, not 11, 18, 25, £15—£17 Stain theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 7–29 Aug, not 9, 16, 23, £10 Wild Bill: Sonnet of a Bardsterd theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 17–22 Aug, £9 Carapace theSpace on the Mile, 17–22 Aug, £5 The Intriguing Imagination of Arla Bell theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 25 Aug, 27 Aug, 29 Aug, £6 My Name is Rachel Corrie theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 24 Aug, 26 Aug, 28 Aug, £6 The Effects of Solitude Sweet Grassmarket, 6–30 Aug, £7 Islands Summerhall, 22–29 Aug, £10—£15

14:10 C’tait la Nuit Paradise in Augustines, 17–22 Aug, £8 Lear Inc. theSpace @ Venue45, 17–22 Aug, £8 Bench theSpace @ Jury’s Inn, 17–22 Aug, £7 Going Viral HHH Northern Stage at Summerhall, 8–30 Aug, not 12, 19, 26, £10—£12

14:15 Idiots HHH Pleasance Courtyard, 5–31 Aug, not 11, 17, £6—£11 The Terrible Tale of the Twiddly Widdlies HH Pleasance Courtyard, 6–21 Aug, not 17, £6—£10

❤ Heartbeats & Algorithms HHHH Pleasance Courtyard, 5–31 Aug, not 17, £6—£9

Around the World in 80 Days C venues – C south, 6–31 Aug, not 18, £8.50—£10.50

The Adventures of Nellie Bly Cafe Camino, 8–22 Aug, not 17, £free

The Misfit Analysis Pleasance Courtyard, 23–31 Aug, £9—£11 The Art of Reduction and the Distillation of Humanity: Whisky Theatre Valvona & Crolla Scottish Foodhall@Jenners, 20 Aug, 27 Aug, 30 Aug, £15 Boxed In HH Pleasance Courtyard, 5–31 Aug, not 20, £6—£11

Darkness Falls – John’s Gospel Palmerston Place Church, 21–22 Aug, £10 Disorder C venues – C nova, 5–31 Aug, £8.50—£10.50 Noises Off St Ninian’s Hall, 15 Aug, 22 Aug, £12

Scour Clouds & Soil, 8–29 Aug, £free

Hoors theSpace on the Mile, Various dates from 9 Aug to 29 Aug, £6—£9

14:20 Crusoe ZOO, Various dates from 9 Aug to 28 Aug, £12 Mata Hari: Female Spy ZOO, Various dates from 7 Aug to 30 Aug, £6—£12 Invisible Woman Just the Tonic at The Mash House, 6–30 Aug, not 18, £4—£8 Adam Long’s Dickens Abridged Pleasance Courtyard, 5–31 Aug, not 18, £6—£13.50 Checkpoint 22 Underbelly, Cowgate, 6–30 Aug, £6—£10 12.10.15 Momentum Venues @ St Stephens, 6–30 Aug, not 18, £8—£10

14:25 The Fiery Path Spotlites, 27–31 Aug, £5 The Backside Monologues Spotlites, 23–26 Aug, £5

14:30 Whisky Galore South Leith Parish Church Halls, 15 Aug, 22 Aug, £10 The London 2012 Games Closing Ceremony Closing Ceremony C venues – C nova, 5–31 Aug, not 17, £8.50—£10.50

The Fairmer Wants a Wife Mayfield Salisbury Church, 15 Aug, 22 Aug, £10

The Girl Who Fell in Love With the Moon Pleasance Dome, 5–31 Aug, not 17, £6—£10 PAN Assembly Hall, 6–31 Aug, not 9, 15, 17, 24, £10—£15 Raft Quaker Meeting House, 17–29 Aug, not 23, 24, £5—£7 Titus Andronicus C venues – C, 16–31 Aug, £8.50—£10.50 Light Boxes HHH Summerhall, 22 Aug, 23 Aug, 29 Aug, 30 Aug, £17 The Pilgrim’s Progress Edinburgh Elim, 20–21 Aug, £11 Rossetti’s Women Spotlites, 6–30 Aug, not 17, 24, £5 Storytape Gilded Balloon , 11–28 Aug, weekdays only, £free Ernie Gilded Balloon , 5–31 Aug, not 18, £6—£10 Bold Girls theSpace on the Mile, Various dates from 8 Aug to 28 Aug, £6—£9

14:35 Savage theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 24–29 Aug, £7

BOX assemblyfestival.com OFFICE 0131 623 3030 /AssemblyFestival

AssemblyFest

@AssemblyFest

Theatre

90

Explore Edinburgh’s Hidden History

Experience More in 2015: Tour | Café | Shop

The Royal Mile, Edinburgh

Imagine...

The Stories They Could Tell Tel: 0845 070 6244 www.RealMaryKingsClose.com Open 9am-10pm daily

14:40 Unmythable Pleasance Dome, 5–31 Aug, not 12, 21, £6—£10 The Cherry Orchard: Beyond the Truth C venues – C nova, 5–31 Aug, not 18, 25, £9.50—£11.50

❤ Divas HHHH

festmag.co.uk

Pleasance Dome, 5–31 Aug, not 17, £7—£12

Captain Morgan 1: The Sands of Time Pleasance Dome, Various dates from 5 Aug to 31 Aug, £6.50—£11 Shh! It’s The Very Perry Show Just the Tonic at The Mash House, 19–30 Aug, £6—£7.50 Staircases theSpace on Niddry St, 23–27 Aug, £6 Captain Morgan 2: The Sea of Souls Pleasance Dome, Various dates from 6 Aug to 30 Aug, £6.50—£11

14:45 Cornermen Pleasance Courtyard, 5–31 Aug, not 18, £6—£10 Tonight with Donny Stixx Pleasance Courtyard, 5–31 Aug, not 18, 25, £7—£12 High Torches Paradise in The Vault, 17–22 Aug, £6

Frame Narrative theSpace @ Venue45, 25–29 Aug, £8

Joan, Babs & Shelagh too Zoo Southside, 7–31 Aug, not 19, £6—£8

Storytape Gilded Balloon , 11–28 Aug, weekdays only, £free

Magdalen Paradise in The Vault, 8–30 Aug, not 16, 23, £7

❤ Circular - Strada Circolare HHHH Italian Cultural Institute, 7–21 Aug, not 8, 9, 12, 15, 16, £7

15:00

14:50 Tribute Acts HHH Assembly Roxy, 6–30 Aug, not 19, £6—£10

Waitless Greenside @ Royal Terrace, 9–22 Aug, not 16, £12

Cross the Shifting Sands C venues – C nova, 9–31 Aug, not 18, £9.50—£11.50

The Tales of Peter Rabbit and Benjamin Bunny Inveresk Lodge Garden, 29 Aug, £7.50

Brief Interviews with Hideous Men theSpace on the Mile, 24–29 Aug, £10

Splitting Sweet Grassmarket, 24–27 Aug, £9.50

The Eulogy of Toby Peach HHH Underbelly, Cowgate, 6–30 Aug, not 17, £6—£11

❤ Can I Start Again Please HHHH

We May Have to Choose Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 7–29 Aug, not 10, 11, 17, 18, 24, 25, £free Mrs Tobit Tells All St Cuthbert’s Church, 20–31 Aug, not 22, 24, £free

Summerhall, 5–30 Aug, not 10, 17, £8—£10

Miss Sarah ZOO, 7–31 Aug, not 17, 21, 24, £6—£9

Leper + Chip HHH Assembly Roxy, 6–31 Aug, not 18, 25, £5—£10 Filthy Talk for Troubled Times HH Basic Mountain, 12 Aug, 20 Aug, 23 Aug, £12

14:55 The Cagebirds Paradise in Augustines, 25–30 Aug, £5

Eat Me! Drink Me! Buy Me! C venues – C nova, 5–31 Aug, not 18, £7.50—£9.50

Manalive!

Greenside @ Infirmary Street, 7–29 Aug, not 9, 16, 23, £5—£10 For Queen and Country theSpace on the Mile, 24–29 Aug, £7

Eau de Toilette Thistle King James Hotel, 7–29 Aug, not 11, 16, 17, 24, 25, £free

I Am Not Mark Twain Basic Mountain, 21–22 Aug, £12 Corium Greenside @ Nicolson Square, 17–22 Aug, £8 Since You Went Away St.George’s School for Girls, 26 Aug, £10

❤ Trans Scripts HHHH Pleasance Courtyard, 5–31 Aug, not 18, £6—£10

BED Greenside @ Infirmary Street, 7–29 Aug, not 16, 23, £6—£8 A Divine Comedy Valvona & Crolla, 26–28 Aug, £15 Derby Day Gilded Balloon , 5–31 Aug, £6—£10 The Private Ear Sweet Grassmarket, 28–29 Aug, £7 Ada Bedlam Theatre, 5–30 Aug, not 7, 12, 19, 26, £6—£8 Linking Rings Le Monde, 7–31 Aug, not 8, 15, 22, 29, £8—£10 Gruesome Playground Injuries HHH Basic Mountain, 10 Aug, 13 Aug, 16 Aug, 19 Aug, 26 Aug, £12

Fault Lines HHH Basic Mountain, 9 Aug, 27 Aug, 28 Aug, £12

The Also-Ran theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 17–22 Aug, £8

The Garden Traverse Theatre, 18–30 Aug, not 24, £18

15:15

ménage Underbelly, George Square, 6–30 Aug, not 17, 18, £10—£14

15:05

All the Nice Girls Sweet Grassmarket, 6–29 Aug, not 17, £7 Woodbine Willie Palmerston Place Church, 29 Aug, £11

❤ Bruce HHHH

The Wendy House Trilogy: Edmund Greenside @ Infirmary Street, 24–29 Aug, £10

Underbelly, Cowgate, 6–30 Aug, £6—£12.50

A Midsummer Night’s Dream C venues – C cubed, 16– 31 Aug, £8.50—£10.50 The Wendy House Trilogy: Peter Greenside @ Infirmary Street, 17–22 Aug, £10

Comfort Slaves New Town Theatre, 6–30 Aug, not 11, 18, 25, £7—£10 Oh Gumtree C venues – C nova, 5–22 Aug, not 13, £7.50—£9.50 The Man Called Monkhouse HH Assembly Hall, 6–31 Aug, not 17, £10—£14

Wild Bill: Sonnet of a Bardsterd theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 24–29 Aug, £9

For the Love of Chocolate Spotlites, 25 Aug, 27 Aug, 29 Aug, 31 Aug, £10

A Traffic Jam on Sycamore Street theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 24–29 Aug, £7

The Wonderful Discovery of Witches in the County of Lancaster Pleasance Courtyard, 5–30 Aug, not 18, £6—£9

15:10 Somebody Out There Loves Me theSpace on the Mile, 7–22 Aug, not 9, 16, £6—£7

A Glass Half Full Spotlites, 24 Aug, 26 Aug, 28 Aug, 30 Aug, £10

A Fine Line Assembly Hall, 6–31 Aug, not 17, £6—£11 The Lost Art of Lost Art Underbelly, Cowgate, 6–30 Aug, not 19, £6—£10.50

15:20 Much Further Out Than You Thought Underbelly, Cowgate, 6–30 Aug, not 17, £6—£11

Listings

Pramkicker HHH Assembly George Square Studios, 6–31 Aug, not 17, £6—£11

Dear Cassandra and The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde theSpace @ Jury’s Inn, 24–29 Aug, £5—£7

Sweet Dreams: Broadway Baby

ThreeWeeks

91

Assembly GeorGe squAre 6 – 31 Aug, 18:00

Assembly GeorGe squAre 7 – 30 Aug, 14:00

Songs by Annie Lennox

Best of the Fest Daytime

92

❤ This Will End Badly HHHH Pleasance Courtyard, 5–31 Aug, not 18, 25, £6—£10.50

Gomaar Trilogy Summerhall, 7–30 Aug, not 11, 18, 25, £10 Acts of Redemption Underbelly, Cowgate, 6–30 Aug, not 18, £6—£10.50 I Am Beast HHH Pleasance Courtyard, 5–31 Aug, not 18, £6—£11

Blind Man’s Song

HHH

Albert Einstein: Relativitively Speaking Pleasance Courtyard, 16 Aug, 20 Aug, 23 Aug, 27 Aug, 30 Aug, £10—£11

The Dream Sequentialists ZOO, 7–30 Aug, not 18, £9

The Rhum Plants Sweet Grassmarket, 6–30 Aug, not 19, 26, £8

15:30

Wendy Hoose by Johnny McKnight The Assembly Rooms, 17–30 Aug, £15

Filthy Talk for Troubled Times HH Basic Mountain, 29 Aug, £12 Storytape Gilded Balloon , 11–28 Aug, weekdays only, £free Back to Blackbrick Pleasance Courtyard, 5–31 Aug, not 17, £6—£10 The Ghost of Sadie Kimber Spotlites, 6–22 Aug, not 17, £6—£10

❤ The Human Ear HHHH

Horrids Cafe Camino, 8–29 Aug, not 11, 18, 25, £free

Savage theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 21–22 Aug, £7

La Merda by Cristian Ceresoli, starring Silvia Gallerano Summerhall, 25–30 Aug, £10

Garden HHH Pleasance Courtyard, 5–31 Aug, not 17, £6—£10

Elective Affinities Acoustic Music Centre @ St Bride’s, 10–30 Aug, £8

Lungs Roundabout @ Summerhall, Various dates from 7 Aug to 29 Aug, £9—£17

15:25

The Element in the Room: A Radioactive Musical Comedy about the Death and Life of Marie Curie Pleasance Courtyard, Various dates from 5 Aug to 31 Aug, £6.50—£10

Paradise: Lost theSpace on Niddry St, 24–29 Aug, £8—£10

Roundabout @ Summerhall, Various dates from 6 Aug to 30 Aug, £9—£15

Pleasance Dome, 6–30 Aug, £6—£12

Dust Never Settles in Torchlight theSpace on Niddry St, 23–27 Aug, £6

festmag.co.uk

The Origin of Species

by Means of Natural Selection, or The Survival of (R)Evolutionary Theories in the Face of Scientific and Ecclesiastical Objections: Being a Musical Comedy About Charles Darwin (1809-1882) Pleasance Courtyard, 15 Aug, 19 Aug, 22 Aug, 26 Aug, 29 Aug, £10—£11

LOTTO: Karma of the Alchemist Assembly George Square Studios, 6–31 Aug, not 17, 24, £10—£14 Gruesome Playground Injuries HHH Basic Mountain, 31 Aug, £12 Attempts on Her Life C venues – C, Various dates from 6 Aug to 30 Aug, £9.50—£11.50

Walking the Tightrope: The Tension Between Art and Politics

HHH

Underbelly Potterrow, 5–31 Aug, not 17, £11—£15.50

15:40 Sweeney Todd: The Panto theSpace on Niddry St, 7–22 Aug, not 9, 16, £4—£7.50

❤ Little Thing, Big Thing HHHH Assembly George Square Studios, 6–30 Aug, not 17, 24, £10—£14

ménage Underbelly, George Square, 6–30 Aug, not 17, 18, £10—£14

15:45 Bayou Blues Venue 13, 8–29 Aug, not 10, 17, 24, £8

The River C venues – C, Various dates from 5 Aug to 31 Aug, £9.50—£11.50

❤ Tomorrow HHHHH

I Gave Him an Orchid

Bette Davis Ain’t for Sissies The Assembly Rooms, 5–30 Aug, not 6, 17, £10—£12

15:50 Touched by Fire theSpace on the Mile, 7–29 Aug, not 9, 16, 23, £8 Beowulf Sweet Grassmarket, 10–23 Aug, £8 Subsist Sweet Grassmarket, 26–30 Aug, £9 Electric Dreams Pleasance Dome, 5–30 Aug, not 17, 24, £6—£11

15:55 Clairvoyant C venues – C nova, 5–31 Aug, £8.50—£10.50

16:00 ❤ The Christians HHHH Traverse Theatre, 12 Aug, 23 Aug, 29 Aug, £20

Dark Lantern Just Festival at Central Hall, 24–31 Aug, £10

❤ Lemons, Lemons, Lemons, Lemons, Lemons HHHH Zoo Southside, 7–22 Aug, £9

Double Bill Duddingston Kirk Manse Gardens, 11–22 Aug, not 16, 17, £6

Gagarin Way theSpace on the Mile, Various dates from 9 Aug to 29 Aug, £6—£9

❤ Fake It ‘til You Make It HHHH Traverse Theatre, 7 Aug, 13 Aug, 19 Aug, 25 Aug, 30 Aug, £18

Elysium Fields Greenside @ Royal Terrace, 24–29 Aug, £8

Pardon / In Cuffs Traverse Theatre, 22 Aug, 28 Aug, £18 Jack Rooke: Good Grief Underbelly, Cowgate, 6–30 Aug, not 17, £6—£10

❤ 1972: The Future of Sex HHHH ZOO, 7–31 Aug, not 18, £6—£9 ❤ The Solid Life of Sugar Water HHHH

Pleasance Dome, 5–30 Aug, not 12, 17, 24, £6—£10

Dorian Gray Pleasance Dome, 6–31 Aug, not 17, £6—£9.50 RAZ by Jim Cartwright

HHH

Assembly George Square Studios, 6–31 Aug, not 12, 24, £10—£13.50

Rowan James: Easy for You to Say Zoo Southside, 23–30 Aug, £10 A Girl is a Half-formed Thing by Eimear McBride Traverse Theatre, 20 Aug, 26 Aug, £20 Storytape Gilded Balloon , 11–28 Aug, weekdays only, £free

Hell Hath No Fury theSpace @ Jury’s Inn, 7–29 Aug, not 9, 16, 23, £5—£6 Dead Letter Office theSpace on the Mile, Various dates from 8 Aug to 28 Aug, £6—£9 Cross Wire theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 7–29 Aug, not 9, 16, 23, £8—£10 My Friend Peter C venues – C nova, 5–31 Aug, not 18, £8.50—£10.50 Mind the Gap HHH Greenside @ Royal Terrace, 7–21 Aug, not 16, £10

16:10 The Orchid and the Crow Assembly Roxy, 6–30 Aug, not 12, 24, £7—£12 Death Actually: A Necromantic Comedy Paradise in Augustines, 24–30 Aug, £9 Brute HHH Underbelly, Cowgate, 6–30 Aug, not 19, £6—£11 Reunion Greenside @ Infirmary Street, 7–29 Aug, not 16, 23, £6—£10 Tension Square theSpace on the Mile, 24–29 Aug, £7

Traverse Theatre, 13 Aug, 19 Aug, 25 Aug, 30 Aug, £20

❤ Swallow HHHH

Soapy Smith’s Alaskana Extravaganza Church Hill Theatre, 18 Aug, 21 Aug, £5

❤ How to Keep an Alien HHHH Traverse Theatre, 6 Aug, 12 Aug, 18 Aug, 23 Aug, 29 Aug, £12—£18

Jane Austen’s Forgotten Stories Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 21–30 Aug, £free

16:05

The Times They Are a Changin’ Greenside @ Nicolson Square, 24–29 Aug, £7

Heads theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 17–22 Aug, £7

16:15

15:35

Scattered C venues – C nova, 5–31 Aug, not 17, £8.50—£10.50

Counting Stars by Atiha Sen Gupta

HHH

Academy of Risk SpaceTriplex, 24–29 Aug, £6

Assembly George Square Studios, 5–31 Aug, not 15, 16, £6—£10

Sweetness and Light SpaceTriplex, 7–29 Aug, not 9, 16, 23, £8

Hearts of Folk Paradise in The Vault, 8–30 Aug, not 12, 16, 23, £8

Fife Youth Arts Hub Fringe Picks The Edinburgh Academy, 16 Aug, 20 Aug, 21 Aug, 22 Aug, £10

The Next Moon Greenside @ Infirmary Street, 17–29 Aug, not 23, £8

HH

Summerhall, 24–29 Aug, £12

The Kitchen Sink by Tom Wells theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 24–29 Aug, £6

The Accidental Adventures of Sherlock Holmes C venues – C, 16–31 Aug, £8.50—£10.50

I Am Not Myself These Days HHH Pleasance Courtyard, 5–30 Aug, not 17, 24, £6—£11

Listings

In The Company Of Women Spotlites, 6–31 Aug, not 7, £8.50—£10

These Troubled Times C venues – C nova, 5–22 Aug, £8.50—£10.50

Traverse Theatre, 21 Aug, 27 Aug, £20

Descent Just Festival at Central Hall, 16–23 Aug, £10

Sweet Dreams: Broadway Baby

ThreeWeeks

93

Assembly GeorGe squAre 6 – 31 Aug, 18:00

Assembly GeorGe squAre 7 – 30 Aug, 14:00

Songs by Annie Lennox

Best of the Fest Daytime

Phaedra’s Love C venues – C nova, 5–31 Aug, not 17, 24, £8.50—£10.50

❤ A Gambler’s Guide to Dying HHHH Traverse Theatre, 9 Aug, 15 Aug, 21 Aug, 27 Aug, £18 16:20 ménage Underbelly, George Square, 6–30 Aug, not 17, 18, £10—£14

10x10x10 HHH Pleasance Courtyard, 5–30 Aug, £6—£12 Lunch Just the Tonic at The Community Project, 6–30 Aug, not 18, £5—£7

16:35 CELL Underbelly, Cowgate, 6–30 Aug, £6—£11

16:40

Wil Greenway – For the Ground that Grew Me Underbelly Med Quad, 6–30 Aug, not 17, £6—£10

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Family HHH Underbelly, Cowgate, 6–30 Aug, not 18, £6—£11

16:25

Molly Pleasance Courtyard, 5–30 Aug, not 17, 24, £6—£10

Edith in the Dark Momentum Venues @ St Stephens, 5–30 Aug, not 18, £8—£11.50 The Hobbit Church Hill Theatre, 21 Aug, £5

16:30 The Rape of Lucrece Assembly Hall, 6–31 Aug, not 17, £5—£10 Our Ladies of Perpetual Succour Traverse Theatre, 22 Aug, 28 Aug, £20 Crash HHH Traverse Theatre, 8 Aug, 14 Aug, 20 Aug, 26 Aug, £18 Fourth Monkey’s Grimm Tales: Rapunzel theSpace on Niddry St, 7–29 Aug, £8—£11 Big Shot Bedlam Theatre, 5–30 Aug, £6—£10 Violence of the Lambs Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 6–30 Aug, not 17, £free The Daily Tribunal Sweet Grassmarket, 17–30 Aug, £10 Whiskey Tango Foxtrot

HHH

Underbelly, Cowgate, 6–30 Aug, not 17, £6—£10

The Bad Arm: Confessions of a Dodgy Irish Dancer Gilded Balloon , 5–31 Aug, not 17, 24, £5—£12

Awakening, Sweet and Sour Sensory Composition HHH Spotlites, 6–22 Aug, not 12, £7.50—£8.50

16:45 The Furies C venues – C nova, 16–31 Aug, £9.50—£11.50 I Got Dressed in Front of My Nephew Today

HH

ZOO, 7–22 Aug, not 17, £5—£9

16:50 Le Gateau Chocolat: Black Assembly Hall, 6–30 Aug, not 17, £8—£12

16:55 Bedsocks and Secrets Spotlites, 23–31 Aug, £10 Nell Gwyn: An Epilogue Sweet Grassmarket, 6–30 Aug, £9

❤ What I Learned From Johnny Bevan HHHH

Summerhall, 7–30 Aug, not 18, £6—£12

Inglorious Insinuations of Insanity C venues – C nova, 23–31 Aug, £8.50—£10.50

17:00 Titus Andronicus: An All-Female Production Pleasance Dome, 5–31 Aug, not 13, 20, £6—£11.50 Filthy Talk for Troubled Times HH Basic Mountain, 14 Aug, 28 Aug, £12 Paintings and Cake C venues – C nova, 5–31 Aug, not 17, £8.50—£10.50 Backstage in Biscuit Land Pleasance Courtyard, 24–30 Aug, £9—£11 Citizen Puppet HHH Pleasance Courtyard, 5–30 Aug, not 17, £6—£12 Stories, Told C venues – C, 23–30 Aug, £7.50—£9.50 The Wedding Reception B’est Restaurant, 11–23 Aug, not 17, £39 Allie HH Gilded Balloon , 5–31 Aug, £6.50—£12.50 To Space Summerhall, 10–30 Aug, not 18, 25, £6—£10 The Trials of Galileo New Town Theatre, 6–30 Aug, £9—£13 Gruesome Playground Injuries HHH Basic Mountain, 7 Aug, 22 Aug, 30 Aug, £12

Chicken Roundabout @ Summerhall, 7–30 Aug, not 11, 18, 25, £9—£16

17:10 The Canterbury Tales theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 17–22 Aug, £7 John Lennon: In His Own Write Voodoo Rooms, 8–30 Aug, £free The Frida Kahlo of Penge West C venues – C nova, 5–31 Aug, not 19, £9.50—£11.50 The Alphabet Girl HH theSpace on the Mile, 7–29 Aug, not 16, 23, £8—£10 Nelson: The Sailors’ Story ZOO, 7–31 Aug, £7—£10 Spillikin – A Love Story

HHH

Pleasance Dome, 5–31 Aug, not 12, 24, £6—£10

Jethro Compton’s Frontier Trilogy: Blood Red Moon HHH C venues – C nova, 5–31 Aug, £11.50—£13.50 The Society of Strange C venues – C, 18–30 Aug, £9.50—£11.50

17:15 Dark Matter Venue 13, 8–29 Aug, not 17, £8

The HandleBards: Secret Shakespeare Bedlam Theatre, 18 Aug, 19 Aug, 25 Aug, 26 Aug, £18

Bad Boys: Whisky Theatre Valvona & Crolla Scottish Foodhall@Jenners, 20 Aug, 27 Aug, £15

To Sleep To Dream Summerhall @ Tom Fleming Centre, 27–29 Aug, £15

A Life With The Beatles Sweet Grassmarket, 6–30 Aug, £9

ménage Underbelly, George Square, 6–30 Aug, not 17, 18, £10—£14 Holly and Ivy Laughing Horse @ Jekyll & Hyde, 14–23 Aug, not 18, £free

17:05 A Face That Fits theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 7–29 Aug, not 9, 16, 23, £5—£9

The Art of Reduction and the Distillation of Humanity: Whisky Theatre Valvona & Crolla Scottish Foodhall@Jenners, 11–29 Aug, not 15, 16, 17, 18, 20, 24, 27, £15 A Walk on the Wild Side C venues – C nova, 23–31 Aug, £8.50—£10.50 Faust Greenside @ Nicolson Square, 17–22 Aug, £7

Mr Poe’s Legendarium C venues – C nova, 5–22 Aug, £8.50—£10.50

Façade theSpace on the Mile, 9–23 Aug, not 10, 12, 14, 16, 18, 20, 22, £7

17:20

The Paradise Project Northern Stage at Summerhall, 8–30 Aug, not 12, 19, 26, £10—£12

Do Not Go Gentle Church Hill Theatre, 16 Aug, 20 Aug, 21 Aug, £5

The Sunset Five

Forever House Greenside @ Infirmary Street, 24–29 Aug, £7

HHH

Pleasance Dome, 5–31 Aug, not 19, £6—£11

Man to Man Underbelly Potterrow, 5–31 Aug, not 17, £7—£12

17:25 Me, as a Penguin theSpace on the Mile, 24–29 Aug, £8

HH

ménage Underbelly, George Square, 6–30 Aug, not 17, 18, £10—£14

Pleasance Courtyard, 5–31 Aug, not 17, 24, £9—£16.50

17:45

The Titanic Orchestra

17:30 The Outsider New Town Theatre, 6–30 Aug, not 18, £8—£12 Echoes by Henry Naylor HHH Gilded Balloon , 5–31 Aug, not 19, £5—£12.50 Fills Monkey: Incredible Drum Show Pleasance Courtyard, 5–31 Aug, not 12, 17, 25, £8—£13.50 Be My Baby! theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 24–29 Aug, £7

The Very Grey Matter of Edward Blank HH Assembly Roxy, 6–31 Aug, not 18, £6—£12 PiTH theSpace on the Mile, 25 Aug, 27 Aug, 29 Aug, £8

Houseplay theSpace @ Venue45, Various dates from 18 Aug to 29 Aug, £6

Waste of Time: 1985 and 2085 theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 24–29 Aug, £7 Rabbie theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 17–23 Aug, £10.50

Gary Busey’s One-Man Hamlet as Performed

by David Carl Underbelly, Cowgate, 6–30 Aug, not 12, £6—£11

65 Days of Tracy the Marquis Mannequin Spotlites, 6–22 Aug, £7—£9.50

Love in the Time of Gilmore Girls Just the Tonic at The Mash House, 6–30 Aug, not 18, £5—£7

Catalpa Paradise in The Vault, 8–22 Aug, not 9, 16, £3—£6

17:50

17:35

17:40

A Sudden Burst of Blinding Light Zoo Southside, 7–30 Aug, not 18, £6—£9

Forget About It Paradise in The Vault, 24–30 Aug, £6 The Worry Monster Paradise in Augustines, Various dates from 9 Aug to 29 Aug, £8.50 Five Drinks Paradise in Augustines, Various dates from 8 Aug to 30 Aug, £8.50

17:55 The Unknown Soldier Spotlites, 6–31 Aug, £6.50—£10 BLAM! Pleasance Courtyard, 5–31 Aug, not 12, 18, 24, £9—£16.50

BOX assemblyfestival.com OFFICE 0131 623 3030 /AssemblyFestival

AssemblyFest

@AssemblyFest

Theatre

94

A REQUIEM FOR EDWARD SNOWDEN A digital opera by Matthew Collings and Jules Rawlinson 8pm 20-22 August 2015 Stockbridge Church (Venue 317) Tickets: £10/£7 conc/£6 students

07 – 31 August 2015

18:00 Trainspotting Assembly George Square Studios, 6–31 Aug, not 11, 18, 25, £10—£15 Playback Impro Laughing Horse @ Jekyll & Hyde, 6–30 Aug, not 10, 17, 24, £free

festmag.co.uk

CUT Underbelly, George Square, 5–31 Aug, not 18, £9—£13.50 Filthy Talk for Troubled Times HH Basic Mountain, 6 Aug, 19 Aug, 24 Aug, £free—£13 The Glorious Damnation of Eddie Small Bedlam Theatre, 5–22 Aug, not 12, £7—£10 Diary of a Madman ZOO, 7–30 Aug, not 16, 23, £10 Out of Darkness Buccleuch Free Church, 18–22 Aug, £free The Money City Chambers, 27–28 Aug, £10 Fourth Monkey’s Grimm Tales: Little Red Cap theSpace on Niddry St, 7–29 Aug, £8—£11

Midnight Cafe Paradise in The Vault, 17–30 Aug, not 23, £5—£6

Abacus Summerhall, 5–30 Aug, not 6, 11, 18, 25, £10—£15

18:05

18:15

Antigone on Antigone theSpace on Niddry St, 7–29 Aug, not 16, 23, £10

❤ How to Keep an Alien HHHH Traverse Theatre, 7 Aug, 13 Aug, 19 Aug, 25 Aug, 30 Aug, £18

If I Were Me HHH Underbelly, Cowgate, 6–30 Aug, not 17, £6—£10.50

Health Under Fire Cafe Camino, 8–29 Aug, not 26, £free

The Wendy House Trilogy: Dorothy Greenside @ Infirmary Street, 17–29 Aug, not 23, £10

Facebooked!

The Assembly Rooms, 5–30 Aug, not 6, 17, £9—£10

The Dolphin Hotel theSpace @ Jury’s Inn, 17–29 Aug, not 23, £6

Quiz theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 17–22 Aug, £6

18:10 The Edge Effect C venues – C nova, 16–22 Aug, £8.50—£10.50 Belfast Boy Spotlites, 6–31 Aug, not 17, £8.50—£10 Splitfoot C venues – C nova, 5–22 Aug, £9.50—£11.50 Dicing With Dr Death Just the Tonic at The Caves, 6–29 Aug, not 18, £5—£7.50

Gruesome Playground Injuries HHH Basic Mountain, 5 Aug, 9 Aug, 27 Aug, £free—£13

The Lonely Poet (or: The Pleonasm) Sweet Grassmarket, 6–23 Aug, not 12, 19, £5—£7

Fault Lines HHH Basic Mountain, 15 Aug, 16 Aug, 21 Aug, 26 Aug, 29 Aug, £13

The Letter: To be or to MBE HH Assembly George Square Theatre, 5–31 Aug, not 12, 24, £6—£12

Doris, Dolly and the Dressing Room Divas Assembly Hall, 6–30 Aug, not 17, 24, £10—£16

Reconciling theSpace on the Mile, 8–29 Aug, not 9, 14, 16, 21, 23, 28, £8 That Sickness Unto Death SpaceTriplex, 17–21 Aug, £4 PiTH theSpace on the Mile, 7 Aug, 14 Aug, 21 Aug, 28 Aug, £8

18:25 Future Honey Greenside @ Nicolson Square, 7–22 Aug, not 16, £8—£10 Frankenstein Greenside @ Infirmary Street, 7–22 Aug, not 16, £free—£10 Grounded Spotlites, 6–31 Aug, £7 Tumbling After HH SpaceTriplex, 7–29 Aug, not 16, £9—£11

John Godber’s Happy Jack Quaker Meeting House, 17–22 Aug, £8

Titania – A Solo Cabaret Summerhall, 5–30 Aug, not 6, 10, 17, 24, £10—£12.50

In Light of...

Sweet Grassmarket, 25 Aug, 26 Aug, 28 Aug, 29 Aug, 30 Aug, £8

I’m Not Here Right Now Roundabout @ Summerhall, 7–30 Aug, not 18, 25, £8—£13

Anon(ymous) Church Hill Theatre, 21 Aug, £5

18:30

Much Ado About Nothing The Royal Scots Club, 17–22 Aug, £12

Confessions of a Redheaded Coffeeshop Girl Gilded Balloon , 5–31 Aug, not 12, 19, 26, £5—£10 Help Yourself Just Festival at Central Hall, 17–29 Aug, not 23, £10

18:35

Down & Out in Paris and London HHH Pleasance Courtyard, 5–31 Aug, not 17, £6—£12.50

Mabinogion theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 17–22 Aug, £5

Parlour Games ZOO, 7–31 Aug, not 16, £5—£9 Fable Summerhall, 5–30 Aug, not 6, 17, 24, £7—£11 Waking Beauty C venues – C nova, 5–31 Aug, not 18, £7.50—£9.50 A Girl is a Half-formed Thing by Eimear McBride Traverse Theatre, 21 Aug, 27 Aug, £20

❤ The Christians HHHH Traverse Theatre, 13 Aug, 19 Aug, 25 Aug, 30 Aug, £20

❤ A Gambler’s Guide to Dying HHHH Traverse Theatre, 22 Aug, 28 Aug, £18 Bloody East Europeans Quaker Meeting House, 25–29 Aug, £6 Undermined Greenside @ Royal Terrace, 17–29 Aug, not 23, £8

❤ 17 Border Crossings HHHH Summerhall, 5–30 Aug, not 6, 10, 17, 24, £10—£14 A Translation of Shadows Summerhall, 25–29 Aug, £10 Lost in Transition Summerhall, 12–23 Aug, £5—£8 Phantasmagoria C venues – C nova, 5–31 Aug, not 18, £4.50—£6.50 101 Reasons Why I #@%$ Katie Hopkins Sweet Grassmarket, 6–30 Aug, not 12, 19, 26, £8

18:40 The Pie-Eyed Piper of Hamilton Assembly George Square Studios, 5–31 Aug, not 6, 17, 24, £8—£14 The Thomas Clifford Show Just the Tonic at The Mash House, 10–22 Aug, not 18, £9—£11

Ashes Afar Greenside @ Infirmary Street, 7–29 Aug, not 9, 16, 23, £6—£8

A Fistful of Hunny theSpace @ Venue45, Various dates from 17 Aug to 28 Aug, £6

The Gin Chronicles artSpace@StMarks, 10–22 Aug, not 16, £10 Shakespeare in the Garden: What You Will C venues – C south, 6–31 Aug, not 18, £7.50—£9.50

The Graduettes theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 25–29 Aug, £8 Pip Utton: Adolf The Assembly Rooms, 22 Aug, £15

Listings

The Garden Traverse Theatre, 18–30 Aug, not 24, £18

Pardon / In Cuffs Traverse Theatre, 6 Aug, 12 Aug, 18 Aug, 23 Aug, 29 Aug, £12—£18

18:20

Sweet Dreams: Broadway Baby

ThreeWeeks

95

Assembly GeorGe squAre 6 – 31 Aug, 18:00

Assembly GeorGe squAre 7 – 30 Aug, 14:00

Songs by Annie Lennox

Best of the Fest Daytime

96

Credit: Laura Porteous

31 Jul–23 Aug at Hill St Design House

after the weekend?

The final issue hits the streets Tuesday 25 August ACOrN: A Crunch or None theSpace @ Venue45, Various dates from 18 Aug to 29 Aug, £6

18:45 ❤ Tomorrow HHHHH Traverse Theatre, 20 Aug, 26 Aug, £20

The Year of The Hare Pleasance Dome, 5–31 Aug, not 17, 24, £6—£10 Our Ladies of Perpetual Succour Traverse Theatre, 23 Aug, 29 Aug, £20 Crash HHH Traverse Theatre, 9 Aug, 21 Aug, 27 Aug, £18 The HandleBards: Hamlet Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh – West Gate, 21 Aug, 23 Aug, 28 Aug, 30 Aug, £12 The HandleBards: A Midsummer Night’s Dream Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh – West Gate, 20 Aug, 22 Aug, 27 Aug, 29 Aug, £12 Francesca, Francesca...

Venue 13, 8–29 Aug, not 10, 17, 24, £8 There’s a Guy Works Down the Chip Shop Swears He’s Elvis Momentum Venues @ St Stephens, 5–30 Aug, not 18, £8—£15

18:50 Jurassic Park HHH Assembly Roxy, 5–30 Aug, not 17, £7—£12

18:55 Phantasmagoria C venues – C nova, 5–31 Aug, not 18, £4.50—£6.50

19:00 Touch New Town Theatre, 19–30 Aug, £11 And I Ran With the Gang: The Story of Alan Longmuir, the Original Bay City Roller Le Monde, 7–31 Aug, not 8, 15, 22, 29, £12—£15 Wojtek the Bear Scottish Storytelling Centre, 6–31 Aug, not 12, 19, 26, £8—£10 Since You Went Away St.George’s School for Girls, 26–28 Aug, £10 When Blair had Bush and Bunga Pleasance Courtyard, 5–31 Aug, not 17, 24, £8—£16.50

❤ Jamie Wood – O No! HHHH Assembly Roxy, 5–31 Aug, not 17, 24, £5—£12 The American Soldier Zoo Southside, 7–22 Aug, £7—£9 Fawlty Towers theSpace on the Mile, 24–29 Aug, £7 A Midsummer Night’s Dream Inveresk Lodge Garden, 29 Aug, £10.50

At the Illusionist’s Table The Scotch Malt Whisky Society, 7–31 Aug, not 9, 16, 23, 30, £59

19:15

The Ted Bundy Project Zoo Southside, 23–29 Aug, £8

❤ Butoh Medea HHHH

Rap Guide to Climate Chaos Gilded Balloon , 5–31 Aug, not 18, £7—£12

❤ Fake It ‘til You Make It HHHH Traverse Theatre, 20 Aug, 26 Aug, £18

Odd Shaped Balls SpaceTriplex, 17–29 Aug, not 23, £9

Paradise in The Vault, 8–30 Aug, not 16, 23, £5—£9

Woodbine Willie Palmerston Place Church, 25–28 Aug, £11 Light Boxes HHH Summerhall, 7–30 Aug, not 11, 18, 25, £10—£17

To Sleep To Dream Summerhall @ Tom Fleming Centre, 18–26 Aug, £8—£15

Phantasmagoria C venues – C nova, 5–31 Aug, not 18, £4.50—£6.50

19:05

Down Came the Rain Church Hill Theatre, 19 Aug, 21 Aug, £5

Confessional by Tennessee Williams C venues – C cubed, 6–31 Aug, not 17, £9.50—£11.50 Phone Whore (A One Act Play With Frequent Interruptions) Sweet Grassmarket, 6–30 Aug, not 12, 18, 19, 25, 26, £8.50 Doctor Marigold’s Prescriptions theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 7–22 Aug, not 9, 16, £7

19:10 The Colours of Kenny Roach theSpace on Niddry St, 17–29 Aug, not 23, £11 Mrs Dalloway theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 25–29 Aug, £8 Bench theSpace @ Jury’s Inn, 24–29 Aug, £7

Terry Pratchett’s Eric Paradise in Augustines, 8–22 Aug, not 16, £9

The Raven theSpace on the Mile, 7–22 Aug, not 9, £7—£8

The Edinburgh Literary Pub Tour Outside the Beehive Inn, 3 Aug–6 Sep, £14

19:25

Bortle 8 Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 6–30 Aug, not 17, £free

My Name is... HHH Northern Stage at Summerhall, 8–30 Aug, not 12, 19, 26, £11—£14 Jethro Compton presents Sirenia C venues – C nova, 5–31 Aug, £11.50—£13.50

19:30

Whisky Galore South Leith Parish Church Halls, 13–21 Aug, not 16, £10

Fourth Monkey’s Grimm Tales: Hansel and Gretel theSpace on Niddry St, 7–29 Aug, £8—£11

Leftovers ZOO, 7–31 Aug, not 12, 18, £6—£8

19:20 Night + Daze H Underbelly, Cowgate, 6–30 Aug, not 12, £6—£11

Foxfinder Bedlam Theatre, 5–30 Aug, not 16, 23, 24, £7—£10

The Marvellous Mechanical Mesmerist theSpace @ Symposium Hall, 24–29 Aug, £8

God’s Smuggler Buccleuch Free Church, 18–22 Aug, £free

A History of Feminism (As Told By a Sexist Pig) theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 7–22 Aug, not 9, 16, £5 Hamlet Spotlites, 6–31 Aug, £12 Strawberries in January C venues – C nova, 17–31 Aug, £8.50—£10.50

The Remnants: As Thyself C venues – C nova, 5–31 Aug, not 17, £9.50—£11.50 The Trepidation of the Tower Traipsing Troglodytes C venues – C nova, 5–31 Aug, not 18, £8.50—£10.50 Party Paradise in The Vault, 24–30 Aug, £7 Festivus C venues – C nova, 5–31 Aug, not 13, 17, £8.50—£10.50

Bear Hug Paradise in The Vault, 7–22 Aug, not 16, £6—£7 64 Squares Underbelly, Cowgate, 6–30 Aug, not 18, £6—£10

Noises Off St Ninian’s Hall, 10–22 Aug, not 16, 20, £12

Devious Comments Laughing Horse @ The Newsroom, 22–26 Aug, £free

Broken Biscuits theSpace on the Mile, 24–29 Aug, £10

The Good Doctor Duddingston Kirk Manse Gardens, 12–30 Aug, not 17, 18, 24, 25, £10

❤ Swallow HHHH Traverse Theatre, 22 Aug, 28 Aug, £20

Darkness Falls – John’s Gospel Palmerston Place Church, 19–21 Aug, £10 Underneath HHH Dance Base, 7–30 Aug, not 10, 17, 24, £8—£10

19:35 The Greatest Stories Never Told theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 17–29 Aug, not 23, £7 Maiden: A Recycled Fairy Tale Greenside @ Nicolson Square, 17–29 Aug, not 23, £8 Donald Does Dusty Summerhall, 17–30 Aug, not 25, £8—£12

BOX assemblyfestival.com OFFICE 0131 623 3030 /AssemblyFestival

Theatre

The Skinny Showcase

Need more

AssemblyFest

@AssemblyFest

Phantasmagoria C venues – C nova, 5–31 Aug, not 18, £4.50—£6.50

19:40 One for My Baby theSpace on the Mile, 7–29 Aug, not 9, 16, 23, £7

19:45 E15 Gilded Balloon , 16–31 Aug, £8—£10 Nina Simone Black Diva Power New Town Theatre, 6–30 Aug, not 10, 17, 24, £7—£14

❤ This Much (or An Act of Violence Towards the Institution of Marriage) HHHH

ZOO, 7–31 Aug, not 16, 24, £5—£9

The Fairmer Wants a Wife Mayfield Salisbury Church, 7–21 Aug, weekdays only, £10

festmag.co.uk

19:55 Phantasmagoria C venues – C nova, 5–31 Aug, not 18, £4.50—£6.50 An Audience With Jimmy Savile HH Assembly George Square Studios, 11–22 Aug, £15—£16

20:00 The Litvinenko Project

HHH

Summerhall, 14–30 Aug, not 20, 27, £5—£10

Filthy Talk for Troubled Times HH Basic Mountain, Various dates from 8 Aug to 30 Aug, £13 Thief Sweet Grassmarket, 6–30 Aug, £10 Morro and Jasp Do Puberty Gilded Balloon , 5–31 Aug, not 17, £5—£10 Faulty Towers The Dining Experience B’est Restaurant, 6–31 Aug, not 8, 11, 15, 18, 22, 25, 29, £45—£49.50

Village Pub Theatre Village Pub Theatre, 16–29 Aug, not 19, 26, £6 Gruesome Playground Injuries HHH Basic Mountain, 12 Aug, 14 Aug, 20 Aug, 23 Aug, 28 Aug, £13

Past Glories Paradise in The Vault, 24–26 Aug, £6

Heartlands Sweet Grassmarket, 6–30 Aug, not 12, 19, 26, £8 Munch Underbelly Med Quad, 5–31 Aug, not 19, £7—£10

To Sleep To Dream Summerhall @ Tom Fleming Centre, 27–29 Aug, £15

20:25

20:05 Sexmaniac. Anarchist Theatre Only for the Mentally Unhinged theSpace @ Jury’s Inn, 17 Aug, 19 Aug, 20 Aug, 21 Aug, 22 Aug, £8 Gods Are Fallen And All Safety Gone Summerhall, 17–29 Aug, not 23, £12

20:10 Stuart Bowden: Wilting in Reverse Underbelly, Cowgate, 6–30 Aug, not 17, 24, £6—£11

20:15 Willie and Sebastian Gilded Balloon , 5–31 Aug, not 17, £6—£14 Comfort Slaves New Town Theatre, 6–30 Aug, not 11, 18, 25, £7—£10 A Study on the Stillness of Love Zoo Southside, 7–22 Aug, £5—£9 Threesome C venues – C nova, 19–31 Aug, £8.50—£10.50 Troublesome People by Jill Haas Quaker Meeting House, 10–29 Aug, not 16, 23, £9.50—£12

Invisible City Venue 13, 8–29 Aug, not 17, 24, £8

20:35

Charlie and the Philosorappers Just the Tonic at The Mash House, 6–29 Aug, not 18, £6—£10 No Strings theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 7–29 Aug, not 9, 16, 23, £5—£10

Fault Lines HHH Basic Mountain, Various dates from 6 Aug to 31 Aug, £free—£13

Heart of Darkness SpaceTriplex, 7–29 Aug, not 9, 23, £8

20:20

Submarine theSpace on Niddry St, 7–29 Aug, not 9, 16, 23, £7.50 Jethro Compton presents Sirenia C venues – C nova, 5–31 Aug, not 28, £11.50—£13.50

❤ Antiwords HHHH Summerhall, 10–30 Aug, not 17, 24, £12

20:30 Katie O’Kelly’s Counter Culture Just Festival at St John’s , 7–30 Aug, not 8, 17, 24, £12 Trainspotting Assembly George Square Studios, 5–31 Aug, not 11, 18, 25, £10—£15 Letters to Aberlour Just Festival at Central Hall, 7–31 Aug, not 17, £12 Bakersfield Mist The Royal Scots Club, 17–22 Aug, £12 Rhapsody In Green by Mike Maran Valvona & Crolla, 11 Aug, 28 Aug, £12 A Divine Comedy Valvona & Crolla, 14 Aug, 19 Aug, 22 Aug, £15 Loot C venues – C, 5–31 Aug, not 18, £9.50—£11.50 The Long Road to Mrs MacIntyre’s Mrs MacIntyre’s Coffee House, 10–31 Aug, £7 On Track HHH Summerhall, Various dates from 8 Aug to 30 Aug, £10 Roughs (for Radio) C venues – C nova, 5–31 Aug, £9.50—£11.50

The Rules: Sex, Lies and Serial Killers theSpace on the Mile, 24–29 Aug, £8—£9

That Deadly Noir Magic Greenside @ Nicolson Square, 17–29 Aug, not 23, £8—£12 Picasso Stole the Mona Lisa C venues – C nova, 16–31 Aug, £8.50—£10.50

❤ Happy Birthday Without You HHHH Roundabout @ Summerhall, 7–30 Aug, not 11, 18, 25, £8—£12 Jekyll C venues – C, 5–31 Aug, not 18, £9.50—£11.50

Patriots Paradise in The Vault, 8–22 Aug, not 16, £8

Dearly Beloved theSpace on Niddry St, 7–29 Aug, not 9, 16, 23, £5—£7.50

Padraig Potts’ Guide to Walking Spotlites, 6–31 Aug, £8.50

20:40

20:55

❤ Jethro Compton’s Frontier Trilogy: The Clock Strikes Noon

Sing for Your Life Underbelly, Cowgate, 6–30 Aug, £6—£12

To Kill a Machine ZOO, 7–31 Aug, not 11, 18, 25, £6—£9

White Poppies Paradise in The Vault, 27–30 Aug, £6

Tripped C venues – C south, 6–31 Aug, £8.50—£10.50

The Bastard Queen! theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 7–29 Aug, not 16, 23, £10

❤ Where Do Little Birds Go? HHHH Underbelly, Cowgate, 6–30 Aug, not 17, £6—£11

Distinguished Gentlemen (But Really Just a Couple of ***ts) theSpace on the Mile, 7–29 Aug, not 9, 16, 23, £9—£11

20:45 International Stud C venues – C cubed, 6–31 Aug, £9.50—£11.50 Butterfly Greenside @ Infirmary Street, 8–29 Aug, not 9, 16, 23, £12 Coughing Sheep Just the Tonic at the Caves (Salvation Rooms), 6–29 Aug, not 18, 24, £free Elysium Fields Greenside @ Royal Terrace, 17–22 Aug, £8 Pardon / In Cuffs Traverse Theatre, 7 Aug, 13 Aug, 19 Aug, 25 Aug, 30 Aug, £18 Mistaken: A Quartet of Plays for One Actor C venues – C nova, 5–31 Aug, not 18, £9.50—£11.50 Bill Hicks: Dark Poet H Just the Tonic at The Caves, 10–23 Aug, not 18, £5

20:50 Penny Arcade: Longing Lasts Longer HHH Underbelly, Cowgate, 6–30 Aug, not 17, 24, £6—£12

HHHH

C venues – C nova, 5–31 Aug, £11.50—£13.50

The Wendy House Trilogy: Edmund Greenside @ Infirmary Street, 17–22 Aug, £10

❤ Tomorrow HHHHH Traverse Theatre, 21 Aug, 27 Aug, £20

21:00 Atomkraft Summerhall, 24–28 Aug, £10

❤ A Gambler’s Guide to Dying HHHH Traverse Theatre, 6 Aug, 12 Aug, 18 Aug, 23 Aug, 29 Aug, £12—£18 Uttoradhikaar (The Inheritance) Spotlites, 28–31 Aug, £10 Crash HHH Traverse Theatre, 22 Aug, 28 Aug, £18

❤ The Gospel According to Jesus, Queen of Heaven

The Wendy House Trilogy: Peter Greenside @ Infirmary Street, 24–29 Aug, £10

21:15 The Temptation of St Anthony Summerhall, 13–30 Aug, not 24, £7—£12

❤ How to Keep an Alien HHHH Traverse Theatre, 20 Aug, 26 Aug, £18

Summerhall @ Artspace at St Mark’s, 23 Aug, £15

The Emperor of America C venues – C too, 6–31 Aug, not 18, £9.50—£11.50

❤ Fake It ‘til You Make It HHHH Traverse Theatre, 9 Aug, 21 Aug, 27 Aug, £18

Our Ladies of Perpetual Succour Traverse Theatre, 25 Aug, 30 Aug, £20

HHHH

No Exit? theSpace @ Venue45, 17–29 Aug, not 23, £12

In Case We Disappear – Free Laughing Horse @ Moriarty’s, 6–30 Aug, not 12, 20, £free

21:10

The Sacred Obscene SpaceTriplex, 7–22 Aug, not 9, 16, £8

21:05

HP Lovecraft’s The Statement of Randolph Carter theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 24–29 Aug, £8 Vagabonds: My Phil Lynott Odyssey

21:20 Punk Rock by Simon Stephens theSpace on the Mile, 24–29 Aug, £8

HHH

ZOO, 7–31 Aug, not 19, £6—£10

Flight Lessons theSpace @ Jury’s Inn, 7–22 Aug, not 9, 16, £8

Listings

Toys theSpace @ Jury’s Inn, 24–29 Aug, £7

Hula House Zoo Southside, 11–23 Aug, not 17, 18, £7—£13.50

Sweet Dreams: Broadway Baby

ThreeWeeks

97

Assembly GeorGe squAre 6 – 31 Aug, 18:00

Assembly GeorGe squAre 7 – 30 Aug, 14:00

Songs by Annie Lennox

Best of the Fest Daytime

Theatre

98

21:25

21:40

Five Feet in Front (The Ballad of Little Johnnie Wylo) HHH Northern Stage at Summerhall, 8–30 Aug, not 12, 19, 26, £8—£10

After We Danced theSpace on the Mile, 7–22 Aug, not 9, 16, £5—£9

21:30 ❤ The Christians HHHH

The Turn of the Screw Assembly Hall, 6–30 Aug, not 17, £6—£11

21:45

Traverse Theatre, 20 Aug, 26 Aug, £20

Normal is an Illusion theSpace on the Mile, 25–29 Aug, £7

The Long Road to Mrs MacIntyre’s Mrs MacIntyre’s Coffee House, 10–31 Aug, not 12, 13, £7

ErictheFred Assembly Roxy, 8–30 Aug, not 12, 17, 24, £7—£12

Police Cops Zoo Southside, 7–31 Aug, not 19, 26, £6—£10

❤ S.E.N HHHH Bedlam Theatre, 5–30 Aug, not 18, £9

Janis Joplin: Full Tilt The Queen’s Hall, Various dates from 24 Aug to 30 Aug, £12

❤ Now Listen to Me Very Carefully HHHH

Pleasance Courtyard, 5–31 Aug, not 16, £6—£9

❤ Swallow HHHH

The Rules: Sex, Lies and Serial Killers theSpace on the Mile, 7–22 Aug, not 9, 16, £8—£9 The Star Rover Spotlites, 6–22 Aug, £5—£8

slut (r)evolution (no one gets there overnight) Sweet Grassmarket, 6–30 Aug, not 12, 18, 25, £8.50

The Last Kill Greenside @ Nicolson Square, 7–29 Aug, not 16, 23, £5—£10

22:00 A Midsummer Night’s Dream theSpace on Niddry St, 7–29 Aug, not 9, 16, 23, £7—£8 Hula House Zoo Southside, 12–23 Aug, not 17, 18, £13.50

Over There Paradise in Augustines, 17–22 Aug, £3.50

22:20 Ozymandias theSpace @ Jury’s Inn, 7–22 Aug, not 9, 16, £5—£7

La Ronde C venues – C nova, 5–31 Aug, not 18, £8.50—£10.50

22:10 Mwathirika C venues – C, 15–31 Aug, £9.50—£11.50 Titus Andronicus theSpace @ Venue45, 13–22 Aug, not 16, £8—£9.50

22:15 Indie as F*ck theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 25–29 Aug, £7 Fiesta de los Muertos theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 7–22 Aug, not 9, 16, £6.50—£12.50 The Main Yvette theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 25–29 Aug, £8 Blake Remixed Underbelly, Cowgate, 6–29 Aug, not 19, £6—£10

22:40

Here Is the News from Over There (Over There Is the News from Here) – A Borderless Twitter Ballad Fresh from the Middle East Northern Stage at Summerhall, 8–29 Aug, not 12, 19, 26, £10—£12

I Went To A Fabulous Party...

C venues – C too, 6–30 Aug, not 12, 19, 26, £11.50—£13.50

22:45

I Got Dressed in Front of My Nephew Today

HH

#Realiti theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 24–29 Aug, £10

ZOO, Various dates from 23 Aug to 30 Aug, £9

22:30

Trainspotting Assembly George Square Studios, Various dates from 8 Aug to 29 Aug, £13—£15

Jethro Compton’s Frontier Trilogy: The Rattlesnake’s Kiss

HHH

21:50

The Ascension of Mrs Leech Greenside @ Infirmary Street, 7–29 Aug, not 16, 23, £free

Free for All theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 17–29 Aug, not 23, £10

A Girl is a Half-formed Thing by Eimear McBride Traverse Theatre, 22 Aug, 28 Aug, £20

Beautiful, Terrifying, Love Paradise in The Vault, 21 Aug, £6

Bette Midler... and Me Gilded Balloon , 6–31 Aug, £5—£12

21:35

Scott Smith: Wonders at Dusk The Scotch Malt Whisky Society, Various dates from 6 Aug to 31 Aug, £7—£12

22:05

The Remnants: Threadbare C venues – C nova, 5–31 Aug, not 17, £9.50—£11.50

Venue 13, 8–29 Aug, not 10, 17, 24, £8

Near Gone Summerhall, 25–29 Aug, £10

Traverse Theatre, 23 Aug, 29 Aug, £20

21:55

❤ IamI HHHH

Today is My 100th Birthday or The Disappearance of Ubu Roi Greenside @ Infirmary Street, 17–22 Aug, £7

C venues – C nova, 5–31 Aug, £11.50—£13.50

Showbiz, or, Repeat Until Funny artSpace@StMarks, 11–29 Aug, not 16, 17, 23, 24, £10 Lungs Roundabout @ Summerhall, 24 Aug, 26 Aug, 28 Aug, 30 Aug, £15—£17 Satan Speaks: ‘Why I Don’t Exist’ A TED-ish Talk Gilded Balloon , 6–23 Aug, £5—£11 The Great Downhill Journey of Little Tommy Summerhall, 8–30 Aug, not 11, 18, 19, £10 The Fabulous Punch and Judy Show Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 6–29 Aug, not 10, 17, 24, £free war war brand war Paradise in The Vault, 17–30 Aug, not 23, £6—£8 Comfort Slaves New Town Theatre, Various dates from 7 Aug to 29 Aug, £7—£10

23:15

Fourth Monkey’s Grimm Tales: The Bloody Countess SpaceTriplex, 7–29 Aug, not 9, 16, 23, £8—£12 Glitter and Tears theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 7–22 Aug, not 9, 16, £6—£7

22:50 Richard Parker C venues – C nova, 5–31 Aug, £8.50—£10.50

If Only Diana Were Queer Greenside @ Infirmary Street, 17–29 Aug, not 23, £8.50 Am I Dead Yet? Traverse Theatre, 18–30 Aug, not 20, 24, 26, £12—£18 Oddity Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 6–27 Aug, not 7, 8, 14, 15, 21, 22, £free Daniel Sinclair Laughing Horse @ The Cellar Monkey, 6–29 Aug, not 11, 18, 25, £free

23:30

22:55 Angry Sweet Grassmarket, 17–23 Aug, £7

Am I Dead Yet? Traverse Theatre, 20 Aug, 26 Aug, £18

23:00

23:55

Night Just Before the Forests Spotlites, 16–22 Aug, £10—£12

The Furies Summerhall, 24–28 Aug, £12

23:10 Forever House Greenside @ Infirmary Street, 17–22 Aug, £7

❤ Weekend Rockstars HHHH Underbelly, Cowgate, 6–30 Aug, not 17, £6—£10

BOX assemblyfestival.com OFFICE 0131 623 3030 /AssemblyFestival

AssemblyFest

@AssemblyFest

Fringe Fashion George Egg wears practical, timeless, uncomplicated garments that reflect his no nonsense attitude and uncompromising stance.

Natural fibres, neutral colours and simple patterns in a chaotic world Apron by Nisbets (£8.99 Nisbets Catering Supplies), shirt by H&M (£5, bargain, surprise price change at till), jeans by Levi (£10, eBay), boots

by Duckfeet (£too-much, Duckfeet. com), ring by The Great Frog (£present, Great Frog), earring by Wildcat (£20, Wildcat of Brighton), flour by The Wee Boulangerie (£FOC, Wee Boulangerie Edinburgh), beard: model’s own.

Gilded Balloon , 2:45pm – 3:45pm, 5–31 Aug, not 17, 24, £8.50 – £9.50

99

Comedy

100