The Edinburgh Fringe Festival Programme Launch 2008
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The Edinburgh Fringe Festival Programme Launch 2008
Preparing for the Edinburgh Fringe Programme launch on Waverley Market Roof
The Director of the Fringe Jon Morgan with the Edinburgh Fringe Programme
The Sapranos with the Edinburgh Fringe Festival Programme on the Waverley Market Roof
The Sapranos on the Waverley Market Roof with the 2008 programme
The Sapranos Tiffany Felicity Redman at the Fringe
Edinburgh Fringe Shop on the Royal Mile
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Information from the Edinburgh Fringe Festival
FRINGE 2008: THE STAGE IS SET
The stage is set for the
2088 shows appearing at 62nd Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Across the programme - in Theatre, Comedy,
Children’s shows, Dance and Physical Theatre - performers are engaging with
topical issues and events that shape contemporary life.
Jon
Morgan, Director of the Fringe, says, 'the wide range of shows that
connect with current issues in our world demonstrates that the Fringe is an
incredibly flexible platform for artists. The Fringe was founded on the
principle of open-access for all performers and it continues to be the best
place to showcase new work.'
Reflecting society’s growing obsession with digital
communication, we follow one comedian as he purges his electronic address books
in Justin Moorhouse's Ever Decreasing Social Circle. Also in
Comedy this year, Dan Marsh - My Myspace Baby tells us about
his MySpace love affair and subsequent offspring. The cast of Disco
Feeling (Rush-N-Disco) believe
they are the original YouTube cover band and in The Golden
Record guest comedians deliver messages to
extraterrestrials on behalf of the human race. Edward Aczel also poses the
question Do I Really Have to Communicate With You?.
Theatre productions also consider the impact of technology
on human relationships. In Free Outgoing (Royal Court Theatre
International Playwrights - A Genesis Project), a mobile phone video clip of a
girl having sex in her classroom is spread across a nation. About
Face(book) (Penn Theatre Ensemble), Table 23 (Hot Tubs
and Trampolines) and I Love You, Bro (Three To a Room) all peer
into the darker side of online social networking and internet chatrooms.
By focusing on recent events, Theatre tackles other serious
issues. Deep Cut (Sherman Cymru) explores the deaths at Deepcut
Barracks using dialogue based on testimonies from the investigation. Charlie
Victor Romeo (Scamp Theatre in Association With Mercury Colchester
& Theatre Royal Bury St. Edmunds) goes one step further using transcripts
of real-life black box flight recordings. Pornography (Traverse
Theatre Company & Birmingham Repertory Theatre Company) documents the
period between London’s successful 2012 Olympic bid and the devastation of the
7/7 bombings. The recent phenomenon of westerners travelling to Iran for
cosmetic surgery is the focus of Plastic (30 Bird) and Blue
on Blue (Play Ball Theatre) covers the collision of cultures on the
battlefields of Afghanistan.
Architecting (TEAM & National Theatre of
Scotland Workshop) delivers a requiem for modern America. The Virginia
Tech University massacre is documented in The Boy from Centreville
(Central School of Speech and Drama) and Columbinus (Syracuse
University Drama Department) returns to the horror of the Columbine High School
killings. The unjust realities of current dictatorships are the focus of I
Am Robert Mugabe and Requiem for Robert Mugabe (both,
Exit Theatre.) The Burma Play - A Comedy of Terror (Northern
International Theatre) is supported by Amnesty International and looks at the
struggle for democracy over the last twenty years.
Is Comedy at this years Fringe really such
a laughing matter? Comedians get contemporary and
controversial on issues that have captured recent public and media
attention. In Eco-Friendly Jihad (Abie Philbin Bowman), an
environmentalist joins Al Qaeda in a fight to reduce US carbon emissions. The
Arab, the Jew and the Chicken (Conflictrelief), written
and performed by Arab, Israeli, Jewish and Muslim actors, exploring
conflict, identity and everyday life in the Middle East. Cowboys and
Indians (Craig Ricci Shaynak/Laughing Horse Free Festival) poses the
question: American Dream or Worst Nightmare? In issues close to home, Dan
Atkinson tells us about The Credit Crunch and other Biscuits
(Avalon Promotions) and according to The
Comedy Bus (On A Roll Entertainment), our 'public transport
is a joke... this bus no exception'. Peter Aitchinson sums it up in his show All
Fact No Fiction (Peter Aitchison / PBH's
Free Fringe), 'the truth is a funny thing'.
Several Children’s shows also get topical as Chinese zodiac
animals enter a pop idol style talent show in Animal Olympics
(Francesca Beard). Let the Earth Breath (KeNoDeKe) explores
the problems our planet is facing through interactive theatre performance. Cloudcuckooland (Onassis Programme - Festival Highlights) even attempts to save the world using only bird poo.
Finally, with a new take on an old classic, Goldilocks and the Three
Hoods (Dramawise) introduces us to a girl with a habit for house
breaking.
Music at the Fringe is as strong as ever. Edge Festival
headliners include Tricky, Digitalism, Dizzee
Rascal, Maximo Park and Kate Nash. Old
Fringe favourites return as Soweto Gospel Choir, African
Children’s Choir and Camille take to the stage. Silent
Disco also makes a come back with its distinctive dance floor delights.
Musicals and Opera keep it contemporary with Miss
Sign-On (Read Dance and Theatre Company) and Tony of
Arabia (White Rose Theatre), which promises an update on the recent
antics of Blair. In the year Scottish Opera make their Fringe debut with Cinderella,
the art form looks for a new audience with A Bite at the Opera (Lora
Gadd) Opera Shorts (Opera Shorts) and A Night at the Operas
(Edinburgh Grand Opera).
Dance and Physical Theatre shows also follow the twists and
turns of modern life. Rise (Tom Dale Company/ Escalator East to
Edinburgh) deals with the claustrophobic nature of society and The
Factory (Precarious) concentrates on the shallow demands of the 21st
Century. Driven (Neel de Jong) addresses the boundaries of human
freedom and Shut up! - Listen! (Theatre Company ‘SU’) imagines a
future where humans pay for the privilege of being heard. In Enclosure 44
– Humans (Janis Claxton Dance) performers are the caged attraction at
Edinburgh Zoo. Finally, Transgression (EHX) involves a free
running conflict between B-boys at an urban gap site.
Innovative audience experience makes its mark this year with
Scavengers (Joshua Sofaer/Escalator East To Edinburgh) where
participants contribute to a unique exhibition after 40 teams follow the lead
on clues across Edinburgh. In Death by Chocolate (IMMI HQ) audiences experience an interactive
chocolate-tasting murder mystery. In the Liar Show (Liarshow),
audience listen to four storytellers, but which one is telling the truth?
Audiences experience a claustrophobic cellar space in The Factory
(Badac Theatre Company/Escalator East to Edinburgh in Association With the
Pleasance), which conveys the experience of the Auschwitz/Birkenau gas
chambers. The Caravan (Look Left Look Right) takes place in a
tiny caravan and focuses on the plight of thousands of British people still
living in temporary housing after the floods of 2007.
Audiences will be separated into different categories in Beautiful
People (Don't Travel Economy) (Cattle Class Box Office & Robert
Yule) and into different job roles at Office Party (Underbelly
Productions and Assembly), two shows where the line between performers and
audience is blurred. From interaction to voyeurism, Supper
(Puppet Lab) allows people to eavesdrop, through headphones, on the thoughts of
two couples at a dinner party.
Finally the Fringe wouldn’t be the same without lots of
celebrities appearing in shows for the first time or returning from sell-out
seasons in previous years. Personalities gracing Edinburgh’s shores for Fringe
2008 include Clive James, Joan Rivers, Brit Ekland,
Bill Bailey, Jimmy Carr, Jason Byrne, Ed Byrne,
Mark Watson, Ruby Wax, Simon Callow, Hazel O’Connor, Michael
Barrymore, Jill Halfpenny, Roy Walker and Jim Bowen.
Culture Minister, Linda Fabiani
said, ‘The 62nd Edinburgh Festival Fringe
boasts a fantastic programme. Edinburgh is a principal destination for festival
lovers everywhere, attracting tourists and boosting our economy as well as
showcasing Scotland on the international stage. I look forward to enjoying The
Fringe again this year and taking in a variety of performances over the
summer.’
SPECIAL TICKET ANNOUNCEMENT
Fringe Ticket Frenzy
For the first time in Fringe history, everything must go on
the final day of the Fringe. On Monday 25 August all artists will be offered
the opportunity to sell all remaining tickets at half price.
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