Luke Toulson On … How the Fringe Messes With Your Mind
August 30, 2009
My first day in Edinburgh this year, I was walking along the pavement and the wing mirror of a passing bus brushed through my hair. Even though I was less than an inch away from death, my first thought was, “That would have been great publicity for my show. I would definitely have sold out.” Read more
Five Reasons to See … Marc Hogan’s Actions Speak Louder Than Birds
August 29, 2009
Marc Hogan, whose ‘day job’ is as a corporate trainer, makes his stage debut at this year’s Edinburgh Fringe with his one-man comedy show Actions Speak Louder Than Birds at Zoo Southside. Here are his further instructions as to why you should see his show. Read more
Brief Encounter With…The Play About Charlotte‘s Writer-Director Hannah C Patterson
August 28, 2009
Hannah C Patterson is the author and director of The Play About Charlotte, which is at C Soco during the Fringe, having premiered earlier this year at Stage@leeds theatre in Leeds, where Patterson – and her company – are currently studying. Read more
Paddy Lennox On … Family Trees
August 27, 2009
Earlier this year I was hit by a car and taken to hospital. I had amnesia and two broken ribs. Oh, and I thought I was Oliver Cromwell. Why did I tell them I was Oliver Cromwell? Wasn’t he the bad guy? I mean, I am Irish, terrible at history and quite a nice fella.
It came as a bit of a shock when my mother confirmed that I was a direct descendent of Oliver Cromwell. Questions had to be answered! That is the starting point to the rollicking ride I take in my show through 400 years of family skeletons. I get tangled in my family tree and find the humour in the colourful characters, contradictions and gruesome past of my ancestry. Read more
Five Reasons to See … The Boom Jennies
August 26, 2009
Comedy trio The Boom Jennies are presenting their new show at this year’s Edinburgh Fringe and promising a “boisterous sketch carnival, filled with so much joy, wonder and fun that by the end of the show you’ll have arranged a dinner meeting with strangers in neighbouring rows (possibly)”. Aside from that, the ladies offer five more compelling reasons to check it out… Read more
daniel k On … Surveying Your Audience
August 25, 2009
Singapore-based choreographer and performer daniel k’s performances have toured Tokyo, Hong Kong and Bangkok. His key works include Melatonin, Melatonin2, Anaglyphs, MERCURY, MERCURY2 and Morpheus, which was featured as part of Singapore Arts Festival 2007. He came in first on the 2007 Straits Times list of “Faces to Watch” in the Singapore arts scene and in 2008 was awarded the Young Artist Award (Dance) by the National Arts Council. He studied at Goldsmith’s College and the Laban Centre in London.
His new interactive dance work Q&A, in which he echoes the quirks of democracy and consumerist culture in trying to create the “perfect” dance, opens today at New Town Theatre, running for six performances only as part of the Edinburgh Fringe. Read more
Edinburgh Moment: Guess Who Stefan Golaszewski Met?
August 24, 2009
It was Edinburgh 2006. I was performing in Cowards in the Pleasance Attic. I’d just been for a curry at the Mosque and was trying to get back through the rain to my flat. I was soaked, exhausted by three weeks of drinking and performing, and slipped miserably into the Tesco’s doorway. A man stood there by the automatic doors, making them stutter and open, his coat high up, his umbrella dripping by his side. I said hello to him and tried not to yelp. It was Nicholas Lyndhurst. Read more
Ben Clare On … The Credit Crunch
August 24, 2009
Ben Clare is a playwright and graduate of the Royal Court Young Writers Programme. His recent work includes Face in the Crowd at last year’s Edinburgh Festival, which was nominated for The Stage Award for Best Ensemble. He was recently shortlisted for the Old Vic 24 Hour Plays. His latest play Stuck in a Rut premieres at the Underbelly as part of the Edinburgh Festival from 6 – 30 August.
“They are the New Labour generation, the class of 2009: the most educated, the most indebted and potentially the least employed ever.” Read more
Brief Encounter With … Land Without Words‘ Lucy Ellinson
August 23, 2009
Lucy Ellinson is performing the one-woman show Land Without Words. The poetic realist play is based on the true experiences of one of Germany’s greatest living playwrights, Dea Loher, in Kabul, Afghanistan. Lucy is also presenting her own show at the Forest Fringe.
Tell us about your character in Land Without Words.
The ‘voice’ in the play is struggling to find the words that could truthfully communicate her experiences and feelings about working and living in Kabul. She decides to take on the role of a painter, hoping that this ‘role’ will provide the language she needs to express herself and make sense of her experience. She says ‘painter’, but it could be a writer, actor, sculptor. It’s an open window and the audience are invited to imagine themselves in – in this way. It feels like a mutual investigation as to whether these experiences can have a place in art at all.
Brief Encounter With … Monsieur Montpellier
August 22, 2009
Famous Frenchman Monsieur Montpellier, “the world’s greatest magician, storyteller, and illusionist”, presents his new show Monsieur Montpellier: Entertainer Extraordinaire!, at this year’s Fringe.
So how did you become the world’s greatest magician, storyteller and illusionist?
Well, first, may I say thank you for saying that and that you are indeed correct. I didn’t so much choose that role, rather the role chose me.
EIF: 14 August-6 September
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