#Edinburgh Festival Reviews

[markagorman]

Edinburgh Fringe and Festival: Day 8

I suppose this was dance day – bookended by the medium. But the real star was Rob Madge. More on that in a minute. We started out at Assembly Dance Base. Crawler is a one woman dance show with live drums and synth. It has two themes in my opinion (and remember I’m a fucking dad dancer extraordinaire so I may be talking shite). The first seemed to be about birth and a metaphor from crawling from…

[unproduciblesmackdown]

been on a rich journey of niche productions of yore, found these production pics ft. will roland as [?] in "zombies, actually....an undead musical" performed at the new orleans fringe festival in 2011

[fringereviews]

Show 2: Chris Grace as Scarlett Johannson

I wasn’t quite sure what to expect going into this show, and although I ultimately enjoyed it, I found myself confused at times. The show builds itself up in layers - Chris is himself, then himself playing Scarlett, then Scarlett playing himself playing Scarlett, and so on and so on until the lines blur completely in the second half. As an exploration of racism and the failures of Hollywood casting, the show is sensitive and thought provoking - however, as a comedy show, it does fall flat near the end as it becomes more and more self-referential. The show shines best when Chris is himself, and I’d love to have seen more of that - his anecdotes are excellently delivered, and he’s able to connect with the audience, building rightful tension while also diffusing it every so often. It’s a shame this often becomes lost in the many many wigs and awkward dance sequences.

Rating: 3/5

[hollywoodhandle]

To Kill A Wolf Review: A Twist To A Timeless Tale

We all know how the fairy tale The Little Red Riding Hood goes. A young girl gets tricked by a sly wolf on the way to her grandmother’s home and gets eaten. Growing up, we’re left with an important moral lesson from stories like these and our parents warnings to be careful with strangers. Straying from the path can be your undoing. But what if that story was flipped entirely on its head? To Kill…

[literarylondonhq]

Edinburgh Fringe mini blog. Day 10. Performance 7. The President of the USA!

A video offering from ‘Babe’ Lincoln. I love the fringe for the camaraderie it inspires. Ellie asks me about a joke she thinks is falling flat because of cultural differences – or rather a British audiences knowledge of Abe Lincoln. I hope I help her out and I’m reminded about how kind Sir Ian Rankin was towards me when I was planning the Edinburgh Literary Pub Crawl. There’s some bad people in…

[edinburghshortfilms]

14th Edinburgh Short Film Festival - Open For Entries

14th Edinburgh Short Film Festival Now Open For Entries-International Tours & Awards The 2024 edition of the ESFF with more short film screenings in Edinburgh,International Film Festival showcases, trophies and awards including Best Animation Award. We’re also excited to be programming showcases of our best films for our international film festival partners across Europe. Max Length 25…

[miriamvowen]

Skilfully executed, fun and atmospheric - Ready Player Seven Debut at Edinburgh Jazz Festival

Ready Player Seven made their world debut at the Edinburgh Jazz & Blues festival on Sunday 26 November 2023. The seven-piece band treated the audience to a wild ride through a multitude of iconic video game themes. Ready Player Seven, led by drummer Vid Gobac, are Tolek Konior (guitar), Mike Kearney (keys), Cameron Bradley (bass), Chuck Dearness (trumpet), Patrick Darley (trombone) and Kassandra…

[teaandseats]

Hive 2, Monkey Barrel

Modern grey fold ups. Fine, if you have a few to yourself.

3***

[lovebooksgroup]

WOMEN'S FICTION FESTIVAL launches in Edinburgh! @EdWomensFicFest @kellyalacey #WhatsonEdi #Readers #Authors #RespectRomFic

WOMEN'S FICTION FESTIVAL launches in Edinburgh! @EdWomensFicFest @kellyalacey #WhatsonEdi #Readers #Authors #RespectRomFic

Edinburgh Readers Get Ready! Last night’s launch of the Edinburgh Women’s Fiction Festival was held in the stunning McLarens on the Corner restaurant in Edinburgh. It was an impressive setting for a festival that promises to be one of the literary highlights of the year. The event was hosted by the festival committee, who gave an inspiring introduction to the festival. They explained that the…

[notwiselybuttoowell]

The Science Museum has been forced to cut ties with oil giant Equinor over its sponsor’s environmental record, the Observer can reveal.

Equinor has sponsored the museum’s interactive “WonderLab” since 2016, but the relationship is now coming to close, a move that will be seen as a major victory for climate change campaigners.

The sponsorship deal had been controversial because of Equinor’s role in Rosebank, the biggest undeveloped oil and gas field in the North Sea, which the government gave the go-ahead to develop last year.

The company also inserted a “gagging clause” in its original deal with the museum, which prevented staff from making comments that could be seen as “discrediting or damaging the goodwill or reputation” of Equinor.

The move has added to pressure on the museum to cut ties with other fossil fuel sponsors, including the oil giant BP and the Indian coal-mining conglomerate Adani.

Last year the Church of England cut its fossil fuel investments after concluding no big oil and gas company was “aligned with the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement, as assessed by the Transition Pathway Initiative”.

The move is a major shift in policy by the museum, which has forcefully defended its relationships with oil and gas companies in the past. In 2019, Blatchford told the Financial Times that “even if the Science Museum were lavishly publicly funded I would still want to have sponsorship from the oil companies”.

The move comes after the controversy surrounding investment manager Baillie Gifford and its ties to Israel and fossil fuel companies.

A campaign by Fossil Free Books led to Baillie Gifford ending funding for nine book festivals, including Edinburgh, Cheltenham and the Hay festival, which was the first to decline sponsorship after speakers began to boycott the event.

[neil-gaiman]

Rumor has it that you are going to see Young & Moxie at Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Any chance you can grace your Tumblr followers with a review?

I'm incredibly unlikely to be at the Edinburgh Fringe but I'm sending everyone I know who will be there to see Young and Moxie anyway.

[markagorman]

Edinburgh Festival Review: FOOD by Geoff Sobell, Day 16.

In 2018 we saw the extraordinary HOME by Geoff Sobell at the King’s Theatre in which he built a home on stage and then residents past present and future enacted a sort of glorious farce. It was five star then (here’s a wee clip to give you the idea). Last night we saw his latest more modestly scaled production, a one man show this time, called FOOD. We had booked early so had a seat at the…

[officalroyalsofpierreland]

The Emperor & Empress of the French Arrive in Scots

Edinburgh, Kingdom of Scots

Arriving head of the wedding festivities of HRH Prince Oliver, Duke of Rothsey and HIH Madame Hortense of Francesim, Emperor Napoleon V of Francesim along side his wife, Empress Charlotte, and mother, Madame Mere, have arrived in Scots for the first visit of a French monarch in centuries.

The soon to be in laws were greeted by TM King Alexander and Queen Marie Christine, along side the future bride and groom. This is the first official visit of the Simparte family to Scots though there are reports that the Emperor was in the Highlands with the Duke on his bachelor weekend.

The Emperor then proceeded to review The King's Highlanders, one of Scots most unique regiments before the two families went into Holyroodhouse for a more relaxed conversations.

The next day, The Emperor joined the Duke and Prince Magnus of Argyll in the Duchy of Argyll to tour the Royal Scotch Distilleries that are on the properties of the Duke of Argyll. The visit was a relaxed affair with the public seeing the Emperor quickly adopting the relaxed dress code that King Alexander advises for the Highlands of collared shirt and kilt. The products of the Royal Distilleries were reportedly what Prince Oliver gifted the Emperor prior to his own nuptials and coronation, which has raised the popularity of the brand in Francesim.

Later that day, Emperor Napoleon and the Duke of Rothsey went to the Royal Naval College, donning their respective naval uniforms, to be the guests of honor at this year's officer passing out parade.

A couple of days later, the two families closed down historic Edinburgh to conduct their wedding rehearsals at St. Andrews Cathedral.

Arriving first was Prince Oliver and Madame Hortense, with this sweet moment being caught on camera.

The pair walked to the top step, with both of them wearing their respective family tartans though it is not Madame Hortense's first time in the iconic Scots fabric.

Next to arrive was Emperor Napoleon, Empress Charlotte, and Madame Mere. The Simpartes also donned tartan with the Empress opting for a sleeveless knit top to go along with the skirt while the Emperor went with a light grey suit along with his kilt.

After the arrival of the King and Queen, the families went inside the cathedral to conduct a wedding walk through and look at the wedding decor.

After the rehearsals, the couple went to speak with the crowds that were waiting outside the cathedral. The pair went down the line to taken in their well wishes.

@empiredesimparte

[fringereviews]

Show 3: Alone (Dusty Room Productions)

This show was certainly not what I was expecting - I booked the ticket on a whim, led in by promises of explorations of climate change, faith, feminism, and David Bowie. The show certainly has all of these, but also so much more. After expertly introducing us to our two characters, Holland and Dr Taylor, in a Bowie-fueled joyful dance sequence, the show gives us just enough time to grow to care for and sympathise with the pair, and understand their fundamental differences, before things on their mission start to go awry. The second half of the show is utterly fantastic, and nearly brought me to tears at several points - the two characters grapple with the inevitability of death in achingly beautiful, relatable dialogue, while still exploring both of their personal failings and flaws that have led them to this point. Even with some technical difficulties, (an LED crucial to the final scene refusing to play ball), the show left me utterly speechless - I would urge absolutely anyone to see this, although maybe with slightly more preparation for the show’s heavy subject matter.

Rating: 5/5

[terastalungrad]

One last plug for this!

I'm recording my solo standup show at Edinburgh TOMORROW at 1.30pm!

It's a high-energy, uplifting comedy show full of gags - and it all secretly builds up to a big thing at the end. Very much a show for Tumblr. Disguised as a mainstream comedy show, but is actually a queer, neurodivergent and Welsh perspective on disability and self-diagnosis. Some poignant bits, but no sad bits! Just a love hour, and you'll have a nice time.

Ticket link:

It's a big room, so every ticket bought in advance will make a big difference to my peace of mind.

This show doesn’t invite reviewers. Instead, here are reviews from audiences who’ve seen the show:

Steffan Alun is the Welsh bisexual Russell Howard.

Funny, light-hearted, and clever (yet still accessible for a tired hungover brain).

I love the way his mind works. I just want to see everything Steffan ever does from now on.

He doesn't waste a single line. Incredibly impressive show.

So satisfying. And crammed full of gags.

Brings everyone along for the ride - a rollercoaster from start to finish.

Warm, inclusive comedy that never takes the piss out of the audience (unless you're an Englishman named Mark).

Every year, Steffan gets better and better.

I took a chance on a whim, and I'm so glad I did.

Hilarious, relatable, and kind. I've never seen a show like this.

Some shows make you laugh until you cry. Some shows take your breath away. Some shows make you feel better about the world. This show does all three.

The most comforting standup I've ever seen.

Unmissable. I always come see Steffan at the Fringe, and this is my favourite show yet.

Last minute decision to catch a show before the train home and so glad I did. Funny throughout and would definitely recommend.

Steffan made everyone laugh throughout. A great start to the morning.

A show packed with laughs but also a healthy amount of poignant self reflection. Exactly the vibe of comedy I needed. I hope I'm allowed to rate a show based on my judgement of him as a person? The support was also really funny. Will be recommending this to others.

[literarylondonhq]

Edinburgh Fringe mini-blog. Day 2.

In spite of the London traffic and my growing anxiety, I managed to get to Kings Cross station half an hour before the train left. Phew! But then, even having arrived in time, there was difficulty. I paid £1 to get a luggage trolley for my vast and heavy load of print, promotional items and merchandise. (Yep, you can buy my book, a mug or a notebook! More later!) So I paid for the trolley,…