ALL EVENTS | 20 August, 2015 Order by:Date / title
The Overcoat
Brush Theatre LLC
Jenny is a mischievous little girl who loves playing with her Dad. But he has to put on his business suit, pick up his briefcase and go to work. When Jenny grabs hold of his overcoat to stop him leaving, a thread unravels and becomes the start of a magical world of adventure and discovery.
Anatomy of the Piano (for Beginners)
Will Pickvance
Will asks Father Christmas for a spaceship - he gets a piano! This is a breathtaking adventure into the world of pianos, revealing where they come from, how they evolved and why they make a pretty cool Christmas present. Featuring Bach's cave piano, Beethoven's bad moods and a jam with 'Fats' Waller.
Jack Rooke and Lynn Ruth Miller Laugh about Death
Jack Rooke / thegoodgriefproject
Some People Talk About Violence
Barrel Organ
“There is no use in rage. There is no use in screaming. There is no use in crying out and screaming ‘this is unfair’, just wait, cause no one cares.” In a world of globalization and greed, of zero-hour contracts and The Big Bang Theory, violence worms its way into every aspect of our lives.
Cinema
ZENDEH
19th August 1978. Cinema Rex fire, Iran. Four-hundred and twenty-two dead. The year of Superman and an act of terror that sparked a revolution. Who will remember the dead? Shahrzad, a cat, bargains with Death for one more life.
The Gospel According to Jesus, Queen of Heaven
Queen Jesus Plays
A humane, mischievous and loving show in which bread is shared, wine is drunk and familiar stories are reimagined by a transgender Jesus. ‘Demands to be seen’ ★★★★★ (BroadwayBaby.com). Part of Made in Scotland Showcase.
Our Teacher's a Troll
Paines Plough and Half Moon
Two terrible twins rule their school, until the arrival of a headmaster with green scaly skin, sharp gnarly fangs, and a long spiky tail. An outrageously entertaining comic caper from the writer of Matilda the Musical.
We Are the Monsters
Colette Sadler – Stammer Productions
No two people – or monsters – are exactly the same! Come along to this humorous dance performance and meet some scratchy, shimmering creatures and multi-coloured monsters, moving in strange and impossible ways. Part of Made in Scotland Showcase.
Mementronome
Upstairs Productions
The Tap Dancing Mermaid
Tessa Bide
A magical family show with stunning puppetry, original live music and tap dancing that will make you want to stick 50p pieces to your shoes and join in! 'Everything a children’s theatre experience should be' (Childplays.wordpress.com).
Independence
Ensemble Thing
Blending Scottish and post-minimalist music, John De Simone’s powerful and moving piece, Independence, is an exploration of cultural identity in Scotland from the perspective of an English-born Scottish-Italian, whose grandfather co-founded the Scottish National Party.
Taiwan Season: The Paper Play
Puppet Beings Theatre
A double bill for younger audiences and their families, exploring the incredible storytelling power of ordinary paper.
Summerhall Distillery Tour
Summerhall
Come and see where our handcrafted, small batch gin is made. You’ll learn about how we make our gin from start to finish, sample the finished product and end the tour with a perfectly poured Pickering’s & Tonic at our beautifully restored 1950’s Airstream cocktail bar.
Grandad and Me
The Letter J
A young girl, missing her grandad, traces his footsteps on a magical adventure through time and space. A story of loss, longing and the treasures of memory and imagination. ‘Luscious-looking and tremendously moving’ ★★★★ (Scotsman). ★★★★ (Herald).
Portraits in Motion
Volker Gerling in association with Aurora Nova
Gerling recounts the stories of people he met while walking over 3,500 km through Germany, creating photographic flip books. These magical studies inspire gentle, profound reflection upon our lives. 'Gerling’s flipbooks are... a poetic sensation' - Augsburger Zeitung
Polyphony
Daniel Kitson
I’ve written a play with a lot of parts. Each of them pre-recorded in isolation and will, when played back in precise unison, form a glorious theatrical polyphony. I just need enough people to press play. That’s all.
We This Way
Seth Kriebel
Choose your path through an imagined world… or perhaps your neighbour will choose for you. Without leaving your seat, you – or most of you – can go anywhere. But don’t worry. There’s always a second chance.
Key Change
Open Clasp Theatre Company in association with Live Theatre
The prison van, fences high, a magpie. 'One for sorrow. Snatched the babies. The mother fought, but it was too big and flew too high.’ Devised by women from HMPYOI Low Newton and originally toured to male prisons.
Ndebele Funeral
Smoke and Mirrors Collaborative
Winner! FringeNYC Overall Excellence Award Best Play. Hilariously heartbreaking, Ndebele Funeral examines modern health care, crime, poverty and dreams through the aspirations and loss of three characters whose lives intersect in a Soweto shack.
Talking with Angels: Budapest, 1943
Duse Studio Productions
Miraculous true story of four friends and their inspirational conversations with otherworldly beings during a time of great peril. A tour de force performance where audience meets actor for a life-changing spiritual infusion.
I Gave Him an Orchid
Flight of the Escales
Inspired by real heartbreak stories now and then; some given, some found, some stolen. An act of public self-help, melodrama and poetic meanderings around our perpetual preoccupation with this pumping organ.
A Reason to Talk
KunstZ, Big in Belgium, Richard Jordan Productions, Theatre Royal Plymouth
Is this a story of extremes, of bi-cultural upbringing, or is it simply the story of all mothers and daughters? Sachli Gholamalizad, a young Belgian actress of Iranian descent, questions her troubled relationship with her mother.
Ventoux
2Magpies Theatre
Ventoux is the story of Lance Armstrong, Marco Pantani and doping in professional cycling; set on the most fearsome mountain in France, Mont Ventoux. Join 2Magpies as they restage the race that cast their careers in opposing directions.
Mitch’s Movie Pitches
Eric Sigmundsson
With absurd movie plots, dazzling vocal loops, and a sassy demeanour, watch Mitch span and conquer the genres with his pitches. Performance artist Eric Sigmundsson presents his Edinburgh debut with this hilarious and gritty loop-pedal driven show.
The Voice Thief
Catherine Wheels Theatre Company
The Voice Thief – a five-star promenade adventure about the mysterious Institute for the Encouragement of Vocal Harmony. For everyone aged nine and over. ‘Everything a piece of theatre should be’ ★★★★★ Guardian
Every Brilliant Thing
Paines Plough and Pentabus Theatre Company
The off-Broadway smash hit returns to Edinburgh. A new play about depression and the lengths we will go to for those we love. ‘Heart-wrenching, hilarious ... possibly one of the funniest plays you'll ever see’ (Guardian)
Going Viral
An ARC Production written and performed by Daniel Bye
A new virus has broken out. Everyone in the world starts weeping. Why aren’t you affected?
A show about the spread of disease, of panic, and of ideas, from the award-winning maker of The Price of Everything.
Paradise Lost (lies unopened beside me)
The Place presents: Lost Dog
Lost Dog's restaging of the creation of everything. A show for anyone who has created anything (child, garden, paper aeroplane) and then watched it spiral out of control.
Can I Start Again Please
Sue MacLaine and Nadia Nadarajah
This bold new work written by Sue MacLaine is both duet and duel as two languages, one signed and one spoken, which are stretched to capacity and the trust between narrator and interpreter tested.
Gomaar Trilogy
Ultima Thule, Big in Belgium, Richard Jordan, Theatre Royal Plymouth
Filled with love and irony, DeWulf’s acclaimed Gomaar Trilogy combines thrilling storytelling and puppetry in a deeply human universal folk tale where discontent with life goes hand-in-hand with poetic panoramas of a village, a city and a family.
Thread
BODYART
Combining interactive video with contemporary dance, Thread is reimagining the Minotaur. Fascinating and seductive, Ariadne is a modern woman infused with the myths of the past, blurring lines between fantasy and reality, arousal and disgust, fun and violence.
Poetry Can F*ck Off
Brainfruit
By Heathcote Williams (Archangel Award winner). Poetry f*cks off tyrants. Incendiary words from revolutionary wordsmiths have changed the world... and the firestorm rages on... Leading spoken word artists give voice to Williams’ radical new work.
Chicken Licken and the Little Red Hen
DNA Puppetry and Visual Theatre
A baby chick is born and thinks the sky is falling down. On the way to tell the King, she meets Henny Penny, Ducky Lucky and Turkey Lurkey, but there's a shocking surprise! Chicken Licken grows up to be the Little Red Hen and asks her friends to help her make bread, but no one wants to play!
The Human Ear
Paines Plough
A man arrives at Lucy’s door claiming to be the brother she hasn’t seen in 10 years. But why has he come? An intriguing tale of loss, renewal and knowing who to trust.
Human Resources
Hannah Jane Walker and Chris Thorpe
You’re the kind of person who never backs down from a fight. You were the kind of kid who licked the iron. The stories become who you are. This show is a conversation about whether that is useful.
Idiot-Syncrasy
The Place presents: Igor and Moreno
We jump a lot. We sing. We jump some more. We commit. We want to change the world. We promise to persevere.
Smash It Up
Mr and Mrs Clark
Developed on the streets of Newport, Smash it Up explores the destruction of art, culture and public space. Inspired by the demolition of a piece of public art, Smash it Up asks what else is being destroyed?
What I Learned From Johnny Bevan
Luke Wright
Luke Wright’s theatre debut is a guitar-scored story of friendship, class and a really bad idea for a festival, all told in beautifully deft verse. ‘Some of the most incisive writing you’ll see’ (ExeuntMagazine.com)
To Space
Niamh Shaw
What is our attraction to Space? What are we chasing – or escaping from? In To Space, a multimedia immersive performance that buzzes with new technologies, Dr Niamh Shaw explores the beauty, darkness and humanity of Space.
Chicken
Eastern Angles and Unity Theatre, Liverpool
The UK has split, London sits as a sovereign state, the country has divided. Entire regions, communities and families are left desperate for survival. A darkly comic new play by Molly Davies (Royal Court, Hampstead Theatre, Soho Theatre).
Poker Night Blues
Beijing TinHouse Productions / Theatre Movement Bazaar
Williams’ masterpiece A Streetcar Named Desire is undone – dismantled and distilled to its essential elements in this piece of heightened physicality, dance, humour, and original text. An intense, touching and steamy fusion between East and West.
where.to
Needless Alley
A cross between a theatrical performance and a live gig. Mixing spoken word, music and dance, this new performance is an exploration into some well-known dogmas surrounding privacy and gender and how we can bring them to task.
The Paradise Project
Third Angel and mala voadora
Imagine a place better than where you are. Every day they try again, try to figure out how to live together, start to build something. The Paradise Project is full of wit, intelligence and humanity.
Women, War & Peace Film Screening: I Came to Testify
Beyond Borders Scotland
Abacus
Early Morning Opera
ABACUS is a baroque presentation delivered by Japanese cult-icon Paul Abacus about the future of national borders, the workings of contemporary persuasion, and our evolving relationship to the screens in our public and private spaces, including our pockets.
I'm Not Here Right Now
Dancing Brick and Soho Theatre
A stunning new play about a scientist with an unbelievable story to tell, a woman who doesn't know what to believe. A vibrant collaboration between the award-winning companies Dancing Brick and Soho Theatre.
Titania – A Solo Cabaret
Moon Fool
Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night’s Dream re-imagined as a modern-day musical cabaret turned bacchanal. Former principal performer with Poland's legendary Gardzienice Theatre brings you an engaging, funny, sensual and participatory night out with an amplified twist.
Fable
The Flanagan Collective
J runs so fast she bursts in to a million tiny pieces, her atoms unknitting themselves and spreading across the universe. Blair stands on a broken pier with a glass of white wine in one hand and a pint of Guinness in the other, looking up at the stars.
17 Border Crossings
Lucidity Suitcase Intercontinental in association with Aurora Nova
A chair, table, and bar of lights become the imagined settings for invasive body searches at Charles de Gaulle, ayahuasca experiments in the Amazon, KFC-smuggling in Palestine, and run-ins with Ace of Base on Croatian ferries in this engrossing look at the perplexing ins and outs of our fragile right of passage.
Lost in Transition
Written and directed by Mona Bozdog, Performed by Nikoletta Thoma
Lost in Transition looks beyond the beautiful facade of diversity and into the struggles of a Romanian immigrant in Scotland while raising the obvious yet forgotten question of: What makes us stay here despite…
To Sleep To Dream
Earfilms
To Sleep To Dream tells the story of the last dreamers in a society where dreaming is illegal. Blindfolded and seated in a 3D array of 23 speakers, lose yourself in a vivid soundscape storyworld with locations, characters and live narration that unfold around your ears and imagination.
Light Boxes
Grid Iron
February has taken away flight and plunged the town into perpetual winter. There's talk of war. Visual storytelling, sumptuous language and live music entwine in this bleak, beautiful adult fairy tale from multi award-winning Fringe regulars, Grid Iron.
My Name is...
Tamasha
When Gaby disappeared from her Scottish home, it was assumed her Pakistani father had kidnapped her. Headlines were only momentarily silenced when it emerged that Gaby may have chosen to flee. '...absolutely gripping’ (The Scotsman).
Donald Does Dusty
Diane Torr
During the early 70’s, Donald was a singer and dancer in the TV troupe, The Young Generation, and also appeared in West End shows. He later became a millionaire as a savvy antique dealer and owner of real estate. Sadly, Donald died of AIDS-related causes in 1992. Dusty died of breast cancer in 1999. Donald Does Dusty pays homage to them both.
Jonny & the Baptists: The End Is Nigh
Supporting Wall
Jonny accidentally told his toddler niece climate change would end the world. To stop her crying, the band promised to fix it... Multi award-nominated Radio 4 regulars. ‘Politically engaged... raucously silly’ (Guardian).
Project HaHa
RemoteControl Theatre
Eat your pill, put your flowery dress on, build a house and imagine, for just one instant, that gravity can disappear... Using manic physicality and hallucinogenic images, Project HaHa sees RemoteControl gripped in a danse-macabre with joy.
Gods Are Fallen And All Safety Gone
Greyscale
An investigation into what happens when we discover that our parents are flawed human beings. Intimate and funny, this play presents a lifetime of conversations, condensed into one hour.
Alchemy of the Piano
Will Pickvance
Part recital, part rehabilitation.
Genre-defying piano virtuoso and wit, Will Pickvance (creator of Anatomy of the Piano) has spent years grappling with his addiction to meandering piano solos and capricious musical mutations. Here he celebrates this very struggle, taking inspiration from Haydn's Creation through to Radiohead, with Fats Waller, Keith Jarrett and many others along the way.
Antiwords
Spitfire Company in association with Aurora Nova
Internationally acclaimed performance from Herald Angel Award winner Spitfire Company influenced by the works of Václav Havel, especially by his play Audience and its legendary film adaptation. What happens when a brewer and a persecuted politician, alter ego of Václav Havel himself, meet on stage? Two actresses, a case of Czech beer, huge original masks and absurd humour.
The Sun Ra Arkestra with Richard Youngs
Nothing Ever Happens Here...Presents
Led by the legendary alto saxophonist and original member, Marshall Allan, The Sun Ra Arkestra will be playing the Dissection Room for one night only – a truly unmissable event.
The Bevvy Sisters
The Bevvy Sisters
Thursday evenings with The Bad Boys. BBC Best of Fest. ★★★★★ (BroadwayBaby.com). ★★★★ (Scotland on Sunday, Scotsman). 'Imagine the Andrew sisters with switchblades' (Fatea-Records.co.uk). 'It's my calling to be an understudy Bevvy' (Eddi Reader).
Simon Thacker's Svara-Kanti
Simon Thacker’s Svara-Kanti
Astonishingly powerful new trio: Scotland’s visionary guitarist/composer; the mesmerising voice of Raju das Baul, exponent of Bengal’s mystical Baul tradition; and tabla master Sarvar Sabri. 'One of the most important musicians of his generation' (ThreeWeeks)
Happy Birthday Without You
PaperMash Theatre and Tricycle Theatre
Violet Fox is a live and visual spoken word vegan solo artist and occasional collaborator. In this hilarious, award-winning comedy she tells the story of how her alcoholic, melancholic, mega diva mother ruined every childhood birthday.
The Temptation of St Anthony
The Mechanical Animal Corporation
This Wellcome Trust-supported ensemble performance explores, through song and body, landscapes where mental health and religious experience collide. With insight from psychiatry and anthropology, this show plunges soul-first into the human experience of demon possession.
Five Feet in Front (The Ballad of Little Johnnie Wylo)
The Letter Room
Struggle, survival, sex, live music and a foot stomping, bath blasting, bone shaking hoedown. A wild tale about hope, and daring to have it, in the land of the downtrodden.
Shift/ – A Best of Spoken Word
Shift/
Seven of Scotland's best spoken word artists: Rachel Amey, Bram E Gieben, Harry Giles, Jenny Lindsay, Ali Maloney, Rachel McCrum and Sam Small – present original solo shows. A different show every night.
The Animotion Show
Aurora Nova Productions
The Great Downhill Journey of Little Tommy
Theater aan Zee and Richard Jordan Productions
Tommy leaves his town on the hill to see the sea. A journey through music history giving the floor to society’s outsiders. A coming of age performance told in songs and live drawings.
WRITE IT : MIC IT
Poleroid Theatre
Alien Lullabies – Songs from a Decaying Future
Fiona Soe Paing
Off-world electronica and stunning live vocals merge seamlessly with 3D animation to evolve into a multimedia artwork. ‘Extraordinary vocals’ ★★★★ (Skinny). ‘Very, very cool!’ (Vince Clarke, Depeche Mode). Part of Made in Scotland Showcase.
Ringside
Ellie Dubois
Ringside by Ellie Dubois: a one on one circus performance made just for you. A thrilling, death-defying solo trapeze act. A powerful female body up-close, personal, sweaty, stripped of sequins. Winner of 2015 Summerhall Autopsy Award for experimental performance.
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
Creating an epic new ballad of the adventures of ordinary people over 22 frantic Fringe nights.
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