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Curtain Falls on Record-Breaking EIF

The Edinburgh International Festival drew to a close on Sunday (31 August), after a year which has seen record numbers of ticket sales as well as the biggest-selling dance show in the festival’s history, Matthew Bourne’s Dorian Gray (See News, 22 Aug 2008). Read more

Fringe Director Jon Morgan Quits, 10% Drop in Ticket Sales

In the wake of a box office crisis that nearly toppled this year’s festival and a subsequent ten percent drop in ticket sales, Edinburgh Fringe director Jon Morgan (pictured) announced his resignation today (28 August 2008), with immediate effect.

Morgan only took over the role last June (See News, 26 Mar 2008), but in a statement issued today, the former executive producer of Manchester’s Contact Theatre said that he’d been considering the move “for some time”. His decision, according to the statement, is not a result of failures at this year’s festival, but rather a personal choice so that he can return to his “first love” of producing.

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Final Fringe Awards: Stage, Angels & If.Comedy

Winners of the If.Comedy, Herald Angels and The Stage awards were all presented over the weekend, bringing to an end a busy few days of Edinburgh awards announcements (See News, 22 Aug 2008). Read more

More Fringe Awards: Tinker, Tambor, Musical & Total

In addition to the final round of Fringe Firsts (See Today’s Other News), several other prizes were announced as part of the main Fringe awards ceremony, hosted today (23 August 2008) by actor-director Simon Callow at the Assembly @ George Street. Read more

Bourne’s Dorian Gray Smashes Festival Record

Matthew Bourne’s adaptation of Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray, which premieres today at the King’s Theatre, has been announced as the “biggest selling dance event” in the 61-year history of Edinburgh International Festival.

Over 11,000 people have already booked to see Dorian Gray, which is choreographer Bourne’s first new show in nearly three years, breaking the Festival’s previous record of 10,146 tickets for Mark Morris’s Hard Nut in 1995. A statement from the EIF said they expect that “total sales could reach a season capacity of 13,000”, which would mark an increase of nearly 30% on the previous record. Read more

Fringe Winner Once & For All Arrives at BAC, 25 Oct

Edinburgh hit Once and for all we’re gonna tell you who we are so shut up and listen, which today won a Fringe First in the final round of the Scotsman-run awards (See Today’s Other News), will transfer to south London’s Battersea Arts Centre this autumn, running for a limited four days on from 25 to 28 October 2008, following its UK premiere this month at Edinburgh’s Traverse Theatre.

The new piece, from Belgian company Ontroerend Goed, gives teenagers an opportunity to say what they think about the world today. It shows 13 young people trying to get to grips with their lives. They are rebellious, behave aggressively, feel vulnerable, play like children, but are sometimes surprisingly adult.

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Scotsman Announces Final Round of Fringe Firsts

The third and final weekly round of this year’s Fringe First Awards are announced today (22 August 2008) in Edinburgh, with five more shows being singled out for distinction. In total, 18 productions – out of 480 awards eligible shows premiered at this year’s festival – have been recognised with Fringe Firsts.

There were two more prizes for the Traverse Theatre today, bringing its Fringe Firsts total to seven for 2008. The physical theatre production of Once and for all we’re gonna tell you who we are so shut up and listen (pictured), performed by a group of 13 teenagers, is by Ontroerend Goed, the Belgian creators of last year’s The Smile Off Your Face, which also won a Fringe First. Slick, by Vox Motus and Glasgow’s Tron Theatre, concerns a skateboarding, tenement-dwelling nine-year-old named Malcolm. Read more

If.Comedy Awards Shortlist Announced

This shortlist for this year’s Intelligent Finance Comedy awards, also known as the if.comeddies, has been announced. The comedians who make up the list are stand-ups David O’Doherty, Rhod Gilbert and Russell Kane, along with New York-based double act Kristen Schaal and Kurt Braunohler (pictured).

This is the 28th year of the prestigious awards, which were formerly known as the Perrier awards. Previous winners include Steve Coogan, Lee Evans, Jenny Eclair and The League of Gentlemen. Read more

Edinburgh Fringe Announces Ticket Fiasco Inquiry

An independent inquiry is being launched into the ticketing technology fiasco that nearly derailed this year’s 62nd annual Edinburgh Fringe (See The Goss, 21 Jul 2008).Details of the inquiry were announced yesterday (19 August 2008) in Edinburgh at the AGM of the Fringe Society, which has responsibility for running the world’s largest arts festival. A steering committee, including local government bodies, will investigate “the procurement, commissioning and operation” of the failed box office system supplied by Pivotal Engineering, which has now gone into administration, and will deliver its report by November. Independent IT consultants will also advise on the best options for ticketing in future. Read more

Fringe Awards Shortlists: The Stage, Total Theatre & Musical

As the 2008 Edinburgh Fringe enters its third and final week, nominations have been announced in several of the festivals key prize-givings this weekend: the second annual Musical Theatre Awards, The Stage Awards for Acting Excellence and the Total Theatre Awards.

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