This is the final instalment in our special weekly Edinburgh video picks feature, in conjunction with the Whatsonstage.com Television
channel, a rapidly expanding archive of theatre-related video content.
As well as our exclusive first night reports, we regularly add show
trailers, event promos, interviews, video diaries and behind-the-scenes
footage.
You can view these – & many more – clips on the Whatsonstage.com Television Channel. If you’ve seen something you think is worth a watch for theatregoers, then please email us the clip or a link to it. Thanks for watching!
Absolute enlightenment? – One of the most talked about productions to be brought to the EIF for quite some time, National Theatre Sibiu’s epic re-telling of Faust was a big hit with critics and audiences alike. Featuring a huge cast, live music, promenade staging and a constant flux of visual effects and surprises, Silviu Purcarete‘s wild adaptation of the classic tale of life and death could well enjoy further success post-Edinburgh, but in case you missed it, here are some edited highlights. (N.B. As with the live production, this video clip contains scenes of an adult nature and may not be to everyone’s theatrical taste.)
Musical Theatre Matters – Having just won the Whatsonstage.com supported MTM UK Award for Best Music for a new Musical (See News, 25 Aug 2009), the future looks bright for Christopher Hamilton’s Over the Threshold. Premiered at the Perfect Pitch showcase for new musicals in 2006, Hamilton has had many famous faces help him realise this musical’s full potential, with the likes of of Tony Award winner Frances Ruffelle, Wicked’s Dianne Pilkington and current star of Sister Act!Katie Rowley Jones all stepping in at some point to lend their voices to the project. It enjoyed a further outing Upstairs at the Gatehouse and now finds itself playing to great acclaim at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. This clip features Hamilton as well as musical clips from rehearsals in London.
A musical welcome – Presented in partnership with the Dean Gallery and the National Galleries of Scotland, Gabrielle de Vietri brings a fascinating presence to Festival crowds this year. Hark! is an interesting idea which sees the daily news, horoscopes, stock exchange information and other current affairs of the day sung to the audience by a team of performers, recalling the way information was delivered to people prior to the Enlightenment (the theme for this year’s EIF), long before mass literacy was commonplace. If you’re not convinced, head down to the Dean gallery and hear the weekly weather forecast in glorious vocal harmony.
Zombies greet Opening Night… – For those looking for something slightly more trivial but brilliantly enjoyable all the same, Obstacle Productions latest show is just the thing. Having found its perfect audience during its post-pub time slot, Opening Night of the Living Dead is a light-hearted affair focusing on a failing production of Romeo and Juliet which seems to go from bad to worse. The title says it all and the versatile cast deliver everything you would expect and at break neck speed. Will they make it to opening night…?
Selections by David Grewcock. You can view these – & many more – clips on tvision.whatsonstage.com. If you’ve seen something you think is worth a watch for theatregoers, then please email us the clip or a link to it.
For full coverage of Edinburgh 2009, including reviews, interviews, news, gossip, blogs, features and videos, log on to Whatsonstage.com/Edinburgh2009
