Theatre News

Pleasance, Traverse & Forest Lead Total Field

The shortlists for the 2009 Total Theatre Awards have been announced, with 33 Edinburgh Fringe shows making the grade to be assessed by the judging panel, who will deliver their verdict on Friday (28 August).

In terms of venues, the Traverse continues a successful year with five nominations, whilst the Pleasance (Dome and Courtyard) boasts six nods. Forest Fringe, the free “miniature festival within a festival” produced at the Forest Cafe, gets four nominations, three of them in the Innovation/Interaction/Immersion category.

The Total Theatre Awards were established in 1997 to recognise those “pushing at the boundaries of traditional theatre” at the festival. Awards supporters include barbicanbite09, the London International Mime Festival and the Central School of Speech and Drama.


TOTAL THEATRE AWARDS SHORTLISTS

EMERGING ARTISTS/COMPANY

  • Antione & the Paper Aeroplane presented by Blak Wulff Productions (UK) –
    C Chambers
  • Borges & I presented by Idle Motion (UK)  -The Zoo
  • Certain Dark Things presented by You Need Me (UK) – Underbelly
  • Lilly Through the Dark presented by The River People (UK)
    – Bedlam
  • Sweeney Todd – his Life, Times and Execution presented by Finger in the Pie (UK) – Gilded Balloon
  • 6.0 How Heap & Pebble Took on the world and Won presented by Dancing Brick (UK) – Pleasance Dome

    DEVISED PERFORMANCE

  • The Doubtful Guest presented by Hoipolloi, Theatre Royal Plymouth with ETT/Escalator East to Edinburgh, – Traverse Theatre
  • Ernest and the Pale Moon presented by Les Enfants Terribles Theatre Company in association with Pins & Needles (UK) – Pleasance Courtyard
  • Everything Must Go (Or the Voluntary Attempt to Overcome Unnecessary Obstacles) presented by Beady Eye – Kristin Fredricksson  – Augustine’s
  • Horse presented by Company F/Z (UK) – Underbelly’s Hullabaloo
  • Icarus 2.0 presented by Camden People’s Theatre – Pleasance Courtyard
  • If That’s All There Is presented by Inspector Sands (UK) – Traverse Theatre

    INNOVATION/INTERACTION/IMMERSION

  • Adrian Howells: Foot-Washing for the Sole presented by The Arches at St Stephens (UK)
  • Home Sweet Home presented by Subject-to-Change (UK) – Forest Fringe
  • Internal presented by Ontroerend Goed and Richard Jordan Production (Belgium) – Traverse
  • Love Letters Straight from your Heart presented by Uninvited Guests & Fuel (UK) – McEwan Hall
  • Nic Green’s Trilogy (UK-Made in Scotland) presented by St Stephens Church
  • Power Plant presented by Mark Anderson, Anne Bean, Jony Easterby, Kristen Reynolds and others (UK) – Royal Botanical Gardens
  • The Little Box of Horrors presented by Bootworks & Forest Fringe (UK)
  • Wondermart presented by Rotozaza (UK) – Forest Fringe

    PHYSICAL/VISUAL THEATRE

  • A Lot of Nerve presented by Martha & Arthur (UK)
    – Pleasance Dome
  • C!rca presented by Assembly & Circa (Australia) – Assembly Hall
  • Cocorico presented by Patrice Thibaud/Prod Illitees (France)
    – New Town Theatre
  • Crime of the Century presented by Chickenshed (UK) – Zoo Southside
  • Raw presented by Fidget Feet Aerial Dance Theatre (Ireland) – Dance Base
  • This is Now presented by New Art Club (UK)
    – Assembly @ George St
  • Zeitgeist presented by Zen Zen Zo Physical Theatre (Australia) – C Chambers

    MUSIC & THEATRE

  • Accidental Nostalgia presented by Cynthia Hopkins With Jim Findlay and Jeff Sugg (USA) – Traverse Theatre
  • Brocante Sonore: The Mechanicians presented by Zic Zazou (France)
    – C Chambers
  • Die Roten Punkte – Robot/Lion Tour presented by Rodney Breit, Richard Jordan and Paul Lucas (Germany) – Pleasance Courtyard
  • Midsummer (A Play With Songs) presented by Traverse Theatre Company (UK)
  • My Name is Sue presented by Dafydd James and Ben Lewis (UK)
    – Pleasance Courtyard
  • Sporadical presented by Little Bulb Theatre (UK) – Forest Fringe

    The winners of the Total Theatre Awards 2009 will be announced in Edinburgh on Friday 28 August 2009.


  • For full coverage of Edinburgh 2009 – including reviews, interviews blogs, news, features & video – go to Whatsonstage.com/Edinburgh2009