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Edinburgh Fringe is heading online

A digital Edinburgh Fringe Festival has been announced for 2020

As part of the scheme, the Fringe Festival Society has revealed plans for a FringeMakers Crowdfunder, whereby venues and artists will be able to register as part of a central Fringe campaign, pay no fees and keeping 100 per cent of funds donated for their own cause. This will launch on 13 July.

A new “Fringe on a Friday” variety show will be streamed online, and see some of the best productions present snippets from shows online. More details are to be announced. There are also plans for a Fringe Pick n Mix – where artists can upload 60-second clips for online audiences to enjoy.

There will also be 30 digital events including panel discussions, workshops and networking sessions for those wanting to hone their skills, as well as a Fringe Marketplace to help promote tour-ready work. This will help companies project themselves onto a global stage and pick up vital commissions and programming slots for next year.

Penguin Random House will release a new audiobook while Comedy Central will release mini episodes featuring up-and-coming comedians.

Shona McCarthy, Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society chief executive, said: “It’s hard to imagine a summer without the Fringe. The explosion of creativity and community that the festival brings every year is unparalleled, and whilst we may not be able to provide a stage in Edinburgh in quite the same way this year, it feels hugely important that the spirit of this brilliant festival is kept alive.

“Little did we know way back in autumn, when we first started talking about this year’s programme artwork, how prescient the superhero theme would be today. We’re happy to be able to shine a spotlight on some of our Fringe heroes now, as we rally round to support the people that make your Fringe. On the other side of this, we’ll need them more than ever.

“The impact of Covid-19 has been devastating for the countless artists, audiences, venues, workers and small businesses that make this festival happen every year. The FringeMakers crowdfunding campaign is designed to support them, while the Fringe on a Friday live show and the Fringe Pick n Mix website aim to bring some much-needed joy to our devoted audiences both here in Scotland and all over the world.”

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2019 Total Theatre Award winners announced

Total Theatre Awards 2019

Since 1997, the Total Theatre Awards have been recognising innovative and artist-led performance at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Today the winners of the Total Theatre Awards 2019 were announced. Over the course of this year’s Edinburgh Festival Fringe 25 peer assessors, comprised of artists, producers, programmers, curators, critics and academics assessed 403 shows across the first 11 days of the festival, from which a shortlist of 27 nominated shows was announced on 15 August 2019.

 Following this, the nominated shows were viewed by a panel of 21 judges who have awarded seven awards across five categories – one Total Theatre & Theatre Deli Award for an Emerging Company / Artist; two Total Theatre, Rose Bruford & Theatre in the Mill Awards for Innovation, Experimentation & Playing with Form; one Total Theatre & Cambridge Junction Award for Physical/Visual Theatre; two Total Theatre & Jacksons Lane Awards for Circus; and one Total Theatre & The Place Award for Dance.  Following shortlisting an additional 57 eligible late opening (post short listing) shows were Assessed and Judged, resulting in a further 3Judges discretionary Awards being awarded; alongside one award for Significant Contribution.

Speaking about the award winners, Co-Directors Jo Crowley and Becki Haines said;

 Today we celebrate 27 shortlisted artists, 7 award winners, 3 judges discretionary awards and a significant contribution. These visionary artists and theatre makers show the ability the sector has to carve essential discourse with society; gently and urgently provocating with immense skill, sensitivity, consideration, craft and care. In so doing, the shortlisted and winning artists collectively offer vital reflections, perspectives and insight into our society and times. They also remind us of the necessity for collective action across a spectrum of challenges and experiences to affect necessary change.

In 2019 Total Theatre Awards process has continued to rigorously re-evaluate what performance is by championing collective conversation between peers that culminates in the recognition of some of the worlds leading artists across this festival.  Taking time for this carefully considered peer discourse, debate and dialogue, we can explore and reflect upon the vital role contemporary live performance, theatre makers and independent artists play.

The details of all the winners below:

The Total Theatre Award Winners 2019 are:

 Total Theatre & Theatre Deli Award for an Emerging Company / Artist

Burgerz by Travis Alabanza

Hackney Showroom (England)

Traverse

Total Theatre & Cambridge Junction Award for Physical / Visual Theatre

Working On My Night Moves

Julia Croft and Nisha Madhan with Zanetti Productions (New Zealand)

Summerhall

Total Theatre & Jacksons Lane Award for Circus

Knot

Nikki & JD (England)

Assembly

Staged

Circumference (England)

Zoo

Total Theatre & The Place Award for Dance

Seeking Unicorns

Chiara Bersani / Associazione Culturale Corpoceleste (Italy)

Dance Base

Total Theatre, Rose Bruford College & Theatre in the Mill Award

for

Innovation, Experimentation & Playing with Form

Frankenstein: How to Make a Monster

Battersea Arts Centre and BAC Beatbox Academy (England)

Traverse

Tricky Second Album

In Bed with My Brother (England)

Pleasance

Judges Discretionary Award

The End

Bertrand Lesca and Nasi Voutsas (England)

Summerhall

Scottee: Fat Blokes

Scottee & Friends Ltd (England)

Assembly

The Forecast

Amy Bell, presented by The Place (England)

Dance Base

Significant Contribution Award

Jessica Brough and Fringe of Colour

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Richard Gadd’s Fringe First Award-winning Edinburgh hit transfers to London

I looked at her, wanting to laugh.  Wanting her to share the joke.  But she didn’t.  She just stared.  I know then, in that moment – that she had taken it literally…’

When Edinburgh Comedy Award Winner Richard Gadd (Monkey See Monkey Do) offers a free cup of tea to a stranger, what appears to be a trivial interaction has ramifications far wider than he could ever have imagined.

Fresh from a sell-out critically acclaimed world premiere at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe where the production was awarded a Fringe First, Baby Reindeer is an unmissable debut play and chilling personal narrative exploring obsession, delusion, and the aftermath of a chance encounter.

Directed by Olivier Award-winner Jon Brittain (Rotterdam), and presented by Francesca Moody Productions in association with Bush Theatre, SEARED Productions and Julie Clare Productions, Baby Reindeer opens at the Bush Theatre on 9 October (Press night 11 October).

***** ‘A haunting, unsettling monologue about the nature of obsession’ – Evening Standard

**** ‘Jon Brittain’s production tightens its grip with terrible inexorability’ –  Guardian

***** ‘A majestic performance – a reckoning, an exorcism’ – The Stage

**** ‘A master narrator full of intelligent insight and sheer descriptive power.’  – Scotsman

***** ‘Utterly compelling’ – WhatsOnStage.com

***** ‘As taut as a classic thriller’  – The National

**** ’Baby Reindeer will follow you all the way home.’  – Financial Times

***** ‘Courageous, compelling and deeply affecting’  – British Theatre Guide 

**** ‘The stuff of nightmares’-  Independent

‘An exquisitely crafted 65 minutes’  – Lyn Gardner, Stage Door

Richard Gadd is a multi-award winning writer, performer, and actor. His show, Monkey See Monkey Do, won the prestigious Edinburgh Comedy Award for Best Show at the 2016 Edinburgh Festival Fringe where it was also nominated for a Total Theatre Award for Innovation. The show subsequently had several sell-out runs at London’s Soho Theatre, toured the UK and Europe, and had a run at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, where it was nominated for the 2017 Barry Award and was broadcast on Comedy Central. He subsequently developed a scripted television project based around Monkey See Monkey Do with Kudos Film and Television and Channel Four.

His previous shows Waiting for Gaddot, Breaking Gadd, and Cheese & Crack Whores were also fringe hits and all went on to three-week runs or more in the Soho Theatre. The former won the Amused Moose Best Show Edinburgh Fringe 2015 and was nominated for a Malcolm Hardee Award for Innovation. In addition, Richard won a Chortle Comedian’s Comedian Award 2017, as well as being nominated for an Off West End theatre award for Best Performer in the same year.

Richard is also a successful actor, who starred opposite Daniel Mays in the BAFTA-nominated BBC2 single drama Against the Law. Other key acting credits include C4’s Humans Series 3 and lead roles in BBC3’s Clique Series 2, and E4’s Tripped Series 1. Recently, Richard played a lead role in Sky Arts’ film One Normal Night. Richard is currently filming alongside Stephen Graham and Daniel Mays, in Sky One’s new six-part comedy series Code 404.

In addition, Richard is also a writer who has written episodes of Netflix smash-hit Sex Education, as well as Ultimate Worrier for Dave and The Last Leg for Channel Four where he is also one of their correspondents.

Richard has other scripted projects in development with Clerkenwell Films, Me & You Productions, Balloon Ltd. Fulwell, and Filmwave. He also recorded his own pilot for BBC Radio 4 with Dabster Productions, The Richard Gadd Show, which aired in July 2018.

Jon Brittain is a playwright, comedy writer and director. His critically acclaimed play Rotterdam earned him a nomination for the Charles Wintour Award for Most Promising Playwright at the Evening Standard Theatre Awards and won the Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement in an Affiliate Theatre. Other work includes the critically acclaimed Billionaire Boy: The Musical, the cult hit Margaret Thatcher Queen of Soho and its sequel Margaret Thatcher Queen of Game Shows, and the Scotsman Fringe First Award-winning A Super Happy Story (About Feeling Super Sad). He directed John Kearns’s Fosters Award-winning shows Sight Gags for Perverts and Shtick, and the follow-ups Don’t Bother, They’re Here and Double Take and Fade Away, Tom Allen’s Both WorldsIndeed and Absolutely, Mat Ewins’s Actually Can I Have Eight Tickets Please, and Tom Rosenthal’s Manhood. For TV he has been a staff writer on Cartoon Network’s The Amazing World of Gumball and on Netflix’s The Crown.

 

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Edinburgh Festivals Diary – Day 1

The Edinburgh Festival Fringe is the biggest arts festival in the world and takes place every August for three weeks in Scotland’s capital city: this year 3,841 shows feature in 323 venues.

It is one of the the most important events in the theatre calendar.

I arrived in town and headed for Fringe Central and bumped into West End Producer flyering near Pleasance Dome.

‘Did you miss me, dear?’ I asked.

‘Yes, dear! I’ve been looking for my Willy.’ he laughed.

WEP, as he is known in theatrical circles, is making his Edinburgh Fringe debut with West End Producer (and Guests) – Free Willy! 

‘How has it been?’ I asked.

‘Well, numbers are low and the competition is huge. But, finally, I’m beginning to enjoy myself, dear.’ WEP explained.

I arrive at Fringe Central: a resource developed for Fringe participants. During the festive they offer well over 100 free events designed to help participants and performers  make the most out of their Fringe experience.

Roots by 1927 Theatre Company at the Church Hill theatre, Edinburgh.Photograph: Murdo MacLeod

Roots by 1927 Theatre Company at the Church Hill theatre, Edinburgh.Photograph: Murdo MacLeod

Anyway, having collected my media pass, I dash across the meadows to Church Hill Theatre to see Roots. An International Festival show blending early cinema techniques, animation and live performance by 1927, the theatre company behind Golem.

This is a fresh take on 13 folk tales, or “folk jokes” as the company calls them. This is a charming, challenging and very memorable show, thanks to a combination of offbeat humour, stunning music and emotion.

Kitchen brawls don’t tend to end well for women. Crocodile Fever – presented in association with the Lyric Theatre – at Traverse, wipes the floor with the patriarchy, though.

Dwyer Hogg with Lucianne McEvoy as Alannah.Photograph: Lara Cappelli

Dwyer Hogg with Lucianne McEvoy as Alannah.Photograph: Lara Cappelli

Meghan Tyler’s gruesome play is set during the 1980’s in rural Northern Ireland and focuses on a reunion of two sisters. The snapping, crackling script whizzes by and the whole thing is kind of absurd, but also, truly unmissable.

One of the lovelier things about returning to the festival is catching up with old friends, bumping into former acquaintances and saluting the hardworking people that keep the city firing on all cylinders; bar staff, taxi drivers, cafe owners, and more.

I head for coffee and read newspapers at my favourite hotel.

I spot the manager

‘Welcome back’ he said.

‘It’s good to be back,’ I said, ‘you having fun?’

‘Thanks, Mr Woodward! I’m absolutely loving it!’ he replied. He catches me reading The Daily Mirror.

‘Oh dear…’ he said.

‘Don’t judge, I read them all.’ I replied.

‘Do you know what, I often see many, many people walk in here for breakfast with a Financial Times…. and a Daily Mirror inside!’ He laughed.

Brilliant.

The rest of the day was spent with Stephen Fry. Fry brings the nine-hour epic cut into three stage shows of his Greek legends book Mythos to the EIF as the opening dates of a UK tour – his first since hitting the road with Hugh Laurie forty years ago.

Basically, Men focuses on the Trojan War and Odysseus’s journey home. Heroes explores the legends of Hercules, Theseus and Perseus and, finally, Gods takes us back to the origins of the Greek pantheon.

I’m not saying Mr Fry’s decision to perform three shows about the same topic go on a bit – but good grief. There are 20 minute intervals, thankfully. And light relief in this well  structured lecture-slash-performance-slash-seminar come when things get interactive when the audience play ‘Mythical Pursuits’ and pose questions to his ‘oracle’. Absolutely ideal.

Stephen Fry in Mythos: A Trilogy – Gods. Heroes. Men at Edinburgh International Festival (Photo: David Cooper)

Stephen Fry in Mythos: A Trilogy – Gods. Heroes. Men at Edinburgh International Festival (Photo: David Cooper)

To be fair, the man is a walking encyclopaedia and a national treasure,  (Fun fact: the Milky Way is derived from when Hera woke and realised that she was breastfeeding an infant that wasn’t her own, she shoved him off and the spurting milk became the Milky Way.)

The Fringe and the International Festival both run until 26 August.

 

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Letters To Morrissey, produced by Edinburgh’s Traverse Theatre Company, coming to HOME Manchester 12-16 September 2017

Letters to Morrissey
Letters to Morrissey

Letters to Morrissey

Award-winning actor and playwright Gary McNair makes his second appearance at HOME on Tue 12 – Sat 16 September 2017 with touching new show Letters To Morrissey, produced by Edinburgh’s Traverse Theatre Company.

Directed by Gareth Nicholls, the theatre’s associate director, Letters To Morrissey follows up McNair’s Edinburgh Festival Fringe First hit A Gambler’s Guide to Dying, which featured in HOME’s Orbit festival in 2016.

McNair’s affectionate one-man show is the final part of a trilogy of often darkly comic works drawing on the joys and struggles of growing up in working class Scotland, explored through letters written to The Smiths’ front-man Morrissey at the turn of the millennium by a conflicted teenager from the outskirts of Glasgow.

It’s 1997. You’re 11. You’re sad, lonely, and scared of doing anything that could get you singled out by the hopeless, angry people in your home town. One day you see a man on telly. He’s mumbling, yet electrifying. He sings: “I am human and I need to be loved, just like everybody else does.” This guy gets it. You become obsessed with him. Later, when you need someone, you write to him. A lot.

Fast-forward to today, 20 years on. You find those letters and ask yourself: “Has the world changed, or have I changed?” Letters To Morrissey is about confronting the worst thing you’ve done – and hoping that you can still be good person.

Coming to HOME direct from this year’s Edinburgh Festival, where it world premiered at the Traverse Theatre, Letters To Morrissey considers our human desire to be understood, and about finding potentially false kinship in an icon you don’t actually know.

@home_mcr #LettersToMorrissey

 

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Edinburgh Fringe, Tago Korean Drum, Interview: “Our music is very sexy, intense, and sophisticated!”

TAGO Korean Drum II live
TAGO Korean Drum II live

TAGO Korean Drum II live

TAGO return to The Fringe 2017 with a new show which follows their enormously popular and successful Fringe debut last year.

‘FYI’ TAGO means ‘lighting up the world by beating drums’ and this young ensemble achieves it with a spectacular mixture of Korean traditional instruments – from gigantic drums to small percussion instruments – spiced up with extravagant martial arts movement.  TAGO’s performances are a masterful display of thrilling percussion and precisely choreographed movement that has wide audience appeal.

TAGO Korean Drum II live shot 4 players

TAGO Korean Drum II live shot 4 players

TAGO – KOREAN DRUM II is one of a collection of Korean shows at the 70th Edinburgh Festival Fringe supported by Korean Arts Management Service (KAMS), an affiliate of the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism of Korea. The collection, which consists of MEDEA on media, Behind the Mirror, TAGO: Korean Drum, Mind Goblin and SNAP is part of Korea/UK 2017-18 presented by the Korean Cultural Centre UK, a year-long cultural exchange in partnership with leading British cultural institutions, set to bring the best of Korean art to the UK.

I thought it would be nice to talk to TAGO master drummer Kim Si-Won. I was right. It was quite nice.

Here is what happened.

Hi! Can you describe TAGO KOREAN DRUM?
TAGO master drummer Kim Si-Won:  Our music is very sexy, intense, and sophisticated!  Korean drums play an important part in traditional Korean music; it’s an art that has been passed from generation to generation for hundreds of years.  In TAGO we harness our traditional music with a more modern touch combining traditional Korean instruments – from gigantic drums to small percussion – with some exciting martial arts moves!  And we wanted to break the assumption that all drums are round so we’ve built a square drum and put strings and a wooden keyboard on it so it takes four of us to play it!

Performers are always busy rehearsing, preparing or performing; how do you relax?
That’s a good question Mr Carl!  We actually practise for 3-4 hours a day because you have to constantly develop strength and technique to play the drums…but we love to find new places to eat, drink and relax.  Edinburgh has some great bars and we’re looking forward to trying out some malt whiskies.

You recently took part in the London Korean Festival. How did audiences respond?
It was absolutely amazing!  We performed a 30 minute set against a colourful backdrop and the audience were dancing and cheering.  The Kensington Olympia venue is gigantic and the sound of our drums was perfect for the big acoustics.  They also had lots of Korean food stands so we felt right at home.  We signed lots of autographs too and did many selfies with audience members.

What do you consider your greatest achievement?
Performing abroad, definitely!

How would you like this show to be remembered?
As a big, exciting and sexy show!  Also we would like people to enjoy the sounds of the different drums and percussion instruments, some of which you can only see if you come to Korea.

What do you like most about the city of Edinburgh?
The people are so friendly and the beer is great!  When we performed for the first time in 2016, we didn’t realise there were so many shows on – some of our Korean friends are here with their own shows – magic, illusion, dance, music – and we’re hoping to go and support some of them.  Last year we had to buy umbrellas…

TAGO Ho-goon Hyun on the big drum photo by Young Kyong

With the costs of putting on a show – what would be your advice for other international companies that want to bring work to Edinburgh Festival Fringe?
Don’t pack too much!  We send our biggest drums in advance and we take the smaller items on the plane with our luggage.  We could easily bring more then end up not playing them all – so, rather than have a big choice of instruments, we perform a specially designed international show that we know we can deliver.  If you try to pack everything, you can easily run out of money.

What is the Korean Arts scene like?
Really vibrant and diverse. The art of drumming has been around for centuries and you have to be very dedicated to train for many years before you can perform professionally.  Drummers usually started training intensely from the age of 10.  The K-Pop scene is huge now – Korean pop music – and young audiences are moving away from traditional art forms which is why our show is a combination of old and new.  Also the phenomenon of magic and illusion shows is very new to Korea and very popular and the Korean National Ballet (since 1993) is also very cool with people who like ballet.

What do you think audiences enjoy most about your work?
I think people really dig the huge sound of the drums – the sound really fills any performance space and it’s exciting to experience.  I think they also like our combination of drumming and martial arts moves – it’s a really hard thing to learn but very satisfying when you hear the audience cheering!

Are there any shows you are looking forward to seeing?
We are hoping to check out some comedy shows – we didn’t have chance last year – so we’re going to try and see Kwame Asante who we hear is a doctor as well as a comedian and our friends in the Korean magic show Snap which is also very funny.

 What is the most rewarding part of being a performer?
Being up there onstage with my friends is the best – we all met at university and set up Tago nearly 15 years ago.

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James Seager: Les Enfants Terribles’ Producer on Edinburgh Festival Fringe, the LET Awards and more

James Seager

James Seager

James Seager and Oliver Lansley are the masterminds behind Les Enfants Terribles. Their previous work includes multi-award-winning, international stage shows, including Dinner at the Twits, Alice’s Adventures Underground and The Vaudevillains. James Seager is Les Enfants Terribles’ Producer.

Last week I had a phone chat with Seager. We talked about the origins of their partnership. He says, “We met fifteen years ago, working on a Shakespeare play – As You Like It – and we are truly great friends. We direct together and have similar tastes,” he laughs. “We come up with ideas and 95% of the time it works, usually we are on the same page.”

Seager and Lansley recently announced the winners of the annual LET Awards. Nominees took part in a showcase at Greenwich Theatre. “It’s been pretty magic. The standard was the highest we have ever seen. We had over one hundred applicants – of which we shortlisted ten companies. All of them were brilliant and it was a very difficult decision to choose one winner.” 

Two winners were selected, Rendered Retina and BoonDog Theatre. Both will receive a performance slot at the Pleasance as part of Edinburgh Festival Fringe, £1000 cash as well as mentoring. “Rendered Retina are young, fresh and enthusiastic,” he says. “We could tell that they have a passion and genuine love for theatre. A lot of the decision was down to mine and Olly’s instinct; we felt that they could really benefit from our mentorship. What Rendered Retina did was inventive, slick and clever. Their work showed a great deal of potential for development. Both companies stood out.”

The Rendered Retina boys: Tom Mangan, Jordan Choi and Alex Mangan are upbeat about their recent win, “We are so honoured to have been offered this opportunity! The LET Awards gave us the chance to meet some incredibly talented artists and performers, and for that we are very grateful. We are excited to receive mentoring from LET, as well as the chance to showcase our work at the Edinburgh Fringe,” says Choi.

The winners of the LET Award 2017. Oliver Lansley, James Seager, (Tom Mangan, Jordan Choi, Alex Mangan - Rendered Retina Theatre Company) and Matthew Dwyer. Credit Anthony Hollis.jpg

The winners of the LET Award 2017. Oliver Lansley, James Seager, (Tom Mangan, Jordan Choi, Alex Mangan – Rendered Retina Theatre Company) and Matthew Dwyer. Credit Anthony Hollis

It’s behind Les Enfants Terribles’ love of facilitating opportunities for emerging talent, particularly the LET Awards, where their work shines. “This is the sixth year we’ve done this and there are two main ways in which we help. One is creatively; direction, storytelling and writing. Secondly: on a productivity level, we find that new company’s want more help with finance and accommodation. I.e. the nitty gritty and boring things involved in taking a show to Edinburgh. We have fifteen years under our belts of taking work to Edinburgh Fringe, so we are in a position to guide them. It’s quite expensive! Time slots, venue hire, accommodation, flyers, PR etc – it all adds up,” cautions Seager.
Les Enfant Terribles are providing an invaluable service for emerging talent.  It’s brilliant. Really very brilliant indeed. They have just announced The Stepladder Award, which is designed to support developing fringe theatre companies making original work. The emphasis of the award is on supporting a company to mount a professional tour of their Edinburgh Festival Fringe show and building their company profile and structure from the roots.

Taking a show to Edinburgh Fringe is no mean-feat. Balancing ambition with breaking even is nearly impossible, other benefits of appearing at Edinburgh are infinite. “The experience – its intense putting on a show and taking it to Edinburgh – it is a huge learning-curve,” says James. “It’s important to be there meeting new people, raising your profile and showcasing work where all the important people working in this industry are in one place. “

If the output of dynamic work is anything to go by, 2017 will see Les Enfants Terribles progress on to even more innovative projects. “As well as the Step Ladder programme, our sister company Les Petits Theatre Company have the stage adaptation of David Walliams’ ‘The First Hippo on the Moon’ out on a U.K Tour. ‘Alice Adventures Underground’ is back at The Vaults from April. We also have a brilliant outdoor show doing the Festival circuit over the summer and a really exciting show opening in London in October.” He pauses: “So, watch this space.”

ALICE’S ADVENTURE UNDERGROUND OPENS AT THE VAULTS ON 25 APRIL 2017

 

 

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Emma Bettridge, Bristol Old Vic Ferment: “I’ve never been bad cop…”

Producer Emma has got her hands full. The reason is that many of the companies she has nurtured and commissioned are about to fly the flag at Edinburgh Festival. Emma Bettridge is the curator and producer of Ferment, the artistic development department of Bristol Old Vic.

Emma Bettridge

Emma Bettridge © Jon Craig

As the artist development and work are both completely excellent, and as Ferment has quite a lot going on in it, I thought it’d be good to chat to Emma about it all. So I got her on the phone last week.

She starts by telling me what an average day is like, “Quite varied; day to day, I clear emails on my commute, meet with emerging artists and view new work. This week is particularly busy as it is Ferment Festival – a curated scheme and work in progress. What’s really exciting is that we’re currently undergoing a huge front of house redevelopment so there’s a nice space to meet and talk with audiences after the work has been presented. It’s been really positive utilising original spaces to explore new ideas; there are companies rehearsing somewhere in the city. It’s a nice vibe!”

Brilliant. So, to the casual reader what does Ferment do? “We offer tailored advice, and work closely with artists through the rehearsal process – one of the ways the department are able to advocate the very best of the South West. Bristol Old Vic have a track record of backing exciting things, just look at The Castle Builder which was developed with support from MAYK, Bristol Old Vic Ferment and Tobacco Factory Prototype and Sally Cookson’s thrilling Jayne Eyre.” She’s got a point. Furthermore, glancing at the line-up of Ferment and the dynamic work on show at Edinburgh including, Shaelee Rooke, Rachael Clerke, Propolis Theatre, Kid Carpet and Tim Bell to name a few highlights.

Beyond dealing with the fact that this year Ferment are taking the largest number of productions to Edinburgh in its seven year history, supporting eight shows across the festival, Bettridge is negotiating a path through the relentless demands placed on the modern producer. “When it gets too much or something doesn’t go to plan I always say nobody died and it’s only theatre!” So, what about balancing being the bad cop and being everyone’s friend, well… “It’s a broad title! In a way I have a more back and forth relationship – let’s be clear – there are ways of saying no. Working in artist development requires a free flowing and organic approach. I guess we meet in the middle and forge an ongoing relationship. I’ve never been bad cop…”

We chat about how she entered the industry. She says that, looking back “Ten years on I realise that doing my degree was actually really valuable. One of my first jobs was working at The Pleasance in Edinburgh, I saw a lot of shows and contributed to an organisation that does a lot of backing of and developing artists.”

Many of Bettridge’s mentors during the early stages of her career highlight the importance of sending the elevator back down. I ask her who inspired her. “Definitely Sarah Holmes (New Wolsey), Kate Sparshatt (Gecko) and of course Emma Stenning (Bristol Old Vic). I’ve been very inspired by those women working in this industry.”

At this point, I ask her what makes it all worth while and how she measures success. “One has to trust that we are working hard to refresh the pool in order to achieve maximum excitement.”

For more details on Bristol’s Edinburgh shows click HERE

Paines Plough Announces the Return of its EARLIER/LATER Roundabout Programme at Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2016

EARLIER/LATER returns to Paines Plough’s Roundabout at Summerhall this August, as part of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, after a successful series of events in 2015.

This year the EARLIER mornings will be filled with free industry workshops, aimed at introducing stage lovers to the professional world of theatre.  Leading experts in areas such as casting, producing, directing etc will hold concise, 45/60 mins long sessions that aim to lift the curtain and allow people to see behind the scenes and into diverse career opportunities within the theatre industry.  Workshops will be held by experienced professionals including Soho Theatre Casting Director Nadine Rennie and Paines Plough Joint Artistic Director James Grieve.

LATER will be filled with an eclectic late night line up of modern poetry sessions, live music, theatre, comedy and scratch nights.  The line-up includes award-winning writer Rob Auton’s The Sleep Show, following on from 2015’s The Water Show and 2014’s The Face Show; a new work in progress from Josie Long with Every Brilliant Thing co-writer Jonny DonahoeTamasha theatre company’s Split/Mixed, a captivating one-man show about a boy growing up in Rwanda in the 90s; and the return of Poleroid Theatre’s Write It: Mic It, an eclectic performance platform for the UK’s best emerging and established playwrights, comedians, spoken word artists and sketch groups.

Paines Plough’s EARLIER/LATER series offers an amazing opportunity for Festival audiences to discover some of the UK’s most up and coming and exciting new performance makers, and a dynamic space for artists to develop their work.  Paines Plough is the “UK’s national theatre of new plays” and renowned for discovering and championing exciting new artists.  Lemons, Lemons, Lemons, Lemons, Lemons by Sam Steiner and Walrus Theatre returns to the daily Roundabout programme after premiering at EARLIER/LATER in 2015.

The Programme

Poleroid Theatre presents
Write It: Mic It

After four years at Vault, Live Theatre, Hackney Attic, Manchester Castle Hotel, Wilderness Festival & Standon Calling, Poleroid Theatre’s acclaimed open ‘write’ platform returns for its second year at the Roundabout!

Triple Off-West End Award nominated Poleroid Theatre bring together the UKs most exciting emerging artists, offering audiences a sneak peak into new work at the first stage of its development and snippets of the best shows to see at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2016.

Artists include KATIE BONNA (Dirty Great Love Story/Soho Theatre), LUKE COURTIER (Musical Comedy Award Finalist 2015), MIXED DOUBLES (Dave Comedy Shorts Winners), TOM GILL (Kate Tempest Award Winner), PHOEBE ECLAIR-POWELL (Soho Theatre/Verity Bargate Award Finalist) & LAUGHING STOCK(Sketchfest Audience Choice Winners).

Tamasha Theatre presents
Split/Mixed

A Portrait of a Boy and a Country.

Split/Mixed is a captivating coming-of-age tale that tells the story of Eddy, a boy growing up in Rwanda during the 1990s.

Writer/performer Ery Nzaramba brings to life nearly a dozen characters, merging memories into a compelling narrative exploring kinship, cultural expectations and self-discovery, weaving the fantastic with the ordinary in his search for a singular voice.

Eddy’s memories of home and his changing country merge into a narrative that explores the search for personal identity of those who grew up during the genocide in Rwanda.

Josh Coates
Get Yourself Together 

One Christmas, Josh was diagnosed with depression and then hit by a car. The following year he was on Job Seekers whilst attempting to balance his sanity and gift buying. A show about being ill and being fit for work. A show about the DWP and being from Bolton. This is a show that explores the thin line between mental health as a clinical and a political issue.

Part stand up, part spoken word and part teenager in his room pretending he’s in a punk band, Get Yourself Together is the new show from Royal Exchange supported artist, Josh Coates.

PLAY Theatre Company presents
PLAY: Edinburgh

Hold on to your hats, it’s PLAYtime!

Award-winning theatre company PLAY champion a new approach to new writing, with an emphasis firmly on collaboration. We’ve brought together some of the industries’ brightest and best – 4 writers, 4 directors and 10 actors – to share a PLAYroom. Starting with a completely blank slate, they have just two weeks to collaborate, devise and create four brand new PLAYs.

Art with Heart presents
Declaration 

Instinctive, curious, bold and bouncy; Sarah is a mighty proud square peg, which wouldn’t be such a problem if the hole wasn’t so damn round.

Sarah grew up feeling different. Her childhood Dr. thought it was sugar. Her current Dr. thinks its ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder). Sarah still feels different, so what will a label do?

Declaration examines when we want, need or are forced to declare our differences and the faces we wear to fit in. With autobiographical comedy, storytelling and conversations with audiences, Art with Heart take you on vibrant and daring adventure.

Obviously We Only Want the Best for our Daughter

You’re sitting down to eat when there’s a knock at the door.  A couple introduce themselves.  They make their way inside. They seem at home here. You seem to have a lot in common. In fact, there’s something vaguely familiar about them.

The first showing of a new play by Joe Harbot (The Boy On The Swing, Arcola). Directed by Kay Michaels(Pelican’s Daughters, Shakespeare in ShoreditchRIFT).

Barrel Organ present
Nothing

Barrel Organ’s award winning debut production returns to Edinburgh after selling out in 2014. Nothing is much more than a series of monologues. It is about – among other things –cupcakes, action films, crap television, shitting, sex, buses and stalking. It is about alienation and being young.

“This young company are the future”– Lyn Gardner

Josie Long and Jonny Donahoe: We Need To Talk (work in progress)

Josie and Jonny are two lefty comedians who often get told they are preaching to the choir, living in a bubble and listening only to a social media echo chamber. They see themselves as optimists who want to make things better. That’s what they think their politics is.

If you think lefties are naïve and immature, or you don’t agree with how they see the world, come along, let’s talk.

Let’s try and be kinder to each other.

Let’s argue, but without being dicks about it.

This is a show about politics and identity and by the end of it; maybe, we will have sorted everything out and can just have a singalong.

Tap Tap Theatre present
Hansel and Gretel 

There’s one for the kids as well, with an EARLIER performance from Tap Tap Theatre: the people that brought you Captain Morgan and Handmade Tales.

Rose and her brother Ollie are going on an adventure. A big adventure. As big as the ones in storybooks. Bigger. With a rucksack stuffed with Hula Hoops and no sense of direction, follow brother and sister as they journey deeper and deeper into the forest. Climb in to the walking boots of adventurers past. Watch the forest come alive in front of your eyes. As they get loster and loster, what will they find? A boisterous and bold big adventure with an even bigger heart.

Tap Tap Theatre return to the Fringe with their spin on Hansel & Gretel, a fast and funny treat for the whole family. Featuring live music, suitable for ages 4+

Tongue Fu presents
Tongue Fu

The UK’s sharpest poets, storytellers, rappers and comedians perform with jaw-dropping improvised soundtracks from the Tongue Fu Band (Nostalgia 77, Jamie Cullum, Beardyman). Created and hosted by poet Chris Redmond (Scroobius Pip’s Beatdown- XFM; Pick of the Week- BBCR4), it is one of the UK’s liveliest and largest spoken word shows: a riotous experiment in live literature, music and improvisation.

With special guests from across the fringe.

Theatre Uncut presents
Theatre Uncut: Refugee

‘Theatre’s rapid response unit’ (Guardian)

Fringe First winners Theatre Uncut return with 6 brand new international short plays, responding to the refugee crisis, by British, Turkish & Danish writers including award winning Sabrina Mafhouz & Athia Sen Gupta. These plays were created in collaboration with Danish Teater GROB for the Copenhagen STAGE Festival.

A discussion with invited, expert guests will follow the performance.

Not Too Tame presents
TuckShop

Previous Roundabout collaborators Not Too Tame invite you to sample their TuckShop, a pick of new work from some of NTT’s favourite writers and a mix of our trademark electrifying energy, blended to create a new writing night with a twist. A night that’s not too well behaved, a little bit naughty and a little bit nice. So satisfy your sweet tooth, come get your fill and tuck into a night of fun, excitement and guaranteed good company!

Bang Said The Gun present
Bang Said The Gun

Bang Said The Gun is poetry for people who don’t like poetry. Voted the best poetry night in the UK by the Times, Bang Said The Gun has made poetry cool again.

A rollercoaster of emotions, it’s loud, raucous, political, trivial, serious and very funny. Normal rules do not apply here. Featuring a rich mix of the best and freshest talent, they will grab you by the collar and drag you into another world.

As recommended by Kate Tempest, ‘It’s like mud wrestling with words’, or as ex poet laureate, Andrew Motion puts it ‘BSTG is a vortex of energy and enthusiasm.’

Rob Auton presents
Rob Auton: The Sleep Show

Rob Auton has been standing up and saying things to audiences since 2008.

This show is about sleep. It is suitable for those who have slept. Following on from 2012’s The Yellow Show, 2013’s The Sky Show, 2014’s The Face Show, 2015’s The Water Show, award-winning writer and performer Rob Auton returns with 2016’s The Sleep Show.

The Workshops

Producer Workshop

Paines Plough is delighted to be hosting its first series of Producer workshops at this year’s Edinburgh Festival.

Here at Paines Plough we are always looking for ways to demystify how we go about commissioning, producing and touring new plays, in order to provide support for theatre makers at any stage of their careers.

Thinking about touring your show after Edinburgh? Join Paines Plough Senior Producer Hanna Streeter and Producer Francesca Moody for a first steps workshop on how to tour.

General Management Workshop 

Paines Plough is delighted to be hosting our next series of General Management workshops in Roundabout.

This workshop is a chance for anyone interested in working in theatre as a General Manager, or in Finance or Administration, to find out more about the profession.

The session will be a discussion and Q&A with members of the theatre community that work in General Management. Full panel list to be confirmed.

Acting / Directing Workshop 

Join Paines Plough Joint Artistic Director James Grieve in a workshop on working in-the-round. Looking at classic texts and new plays, this is a snapshot look at playing the most exposing, exhilarating and energising of all configurations – the round. Come on down to Paines Plough’s pop-up amphitheatre Roundabout for a quick and dirty guide to 360° theatre. Open to actors, directors and other interested parties.

Casting Workshop with Nadine Rennie

Casting Director Nadine Rennie, of Soho Theatre, joins us in Roundabout for a morning Q&A. Having worked with Writers from Dennis Kelly to Shelagh Stevenson, and Directors from Max Stafford Clark to Roxanna Silbert, Nadine has a wealth of knowledge and experience to share.

Whether you’re a budding young Casting Director, or an actor looking to find out more about the process and get advice, come along and join us for a morning of insight into casting.

Nadine has been Casting Director at Soho Theatre for the last ten years;  working on new plays by writers including Dennis Kelly, Roy Williams, Shelagh Stevenson, D C Moore, Steve Thompson, Vicky Jones and Oladipo Agboluaje. Directors she has worked with include Rufus Norris, Roxanna Silbert, Indu Rubasingham, Michael Buffong, Max Stafford Clark, Paulette Randall, Tim Crouch and Steve Marmion.

CLICK HERE FOR EARLIER/LATER Listings 

 

National Theatre Wales brings Wonderman, Yuri and A Good Clean Heart to Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2016

National Theatre Wales, Wales Millennium Centre & British Council Wales will present three shows at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe this August, showcasing some of Wales’ best artistic talent.

National Theatre Wales will team up with multi-award-winning theatre company Gagglebabble to createWonderman, a brand new gig-theatre production that celebrates some of the darker, adult stories written by Roald Dahl, who was born in Cardiff in September 1916.

Wonderman, 3 - 28 August 2016, #Wondermanfringe

Wonderman, 3 – 28 August 2016, #Wondermanfringe

Wonderman tells the story of a WWII RAF pilot Dahl, who finds himself in a hospital bed, badly injured. He slips in and out of a world of dreams, hallucinations and nightmares, down the strange and unexpected corridors and rabbit holes of Dahl’s mind. It will combine original music performed by a cracking live band, grisly plots, soaring imaginings and thrilling twists and turns, all injected with a wicked sense of humour.

Fresh from winning the Wales Theatre Award 2016 for Best Playwright in the English Language, Alun Saunders’ funny and moving play, A Good Clean Heart, marks an Edinburgh Fringe debut for his newly-formed theatre company, Neontopia, alongside Director, Mared Swain.

A Good Clean Heart is a moving coming-of-age story about two brothers raised by different families, and who speak different languages, and is performed with animated subtitles in both English and Welsh. It’s a co-production between Wales Millennium Centre and Neontopia in association with The Other Room and Theatr Genedlaethol Cymru, with National Theatre Wales and British Council Wales, and was originally produced by and premiered at Cardiff’s pub theatre The Other Room.

And one of Wales’ leading theatre companies, August 012, will be making its Edinburgh Fringe Festival debut (with Chapter Arts Centre) with Yuri; a high-pitched, absurd yet sobering farce by French playwright Fabrice Melquiot that examines the conflict between an infertile couple desperately struggling to make sense of the world around them.

Melquiot published the original play, Youri, in 2011. In 2015, it was adapted into Welsh and English by award-winning Welsh writer Daf James. It will be performed at Chapter Arts Centre in Cardiff as part of its Edinburgh Preview Festival, 26th-30th July, and will be performed in Edinburgh in English (with flashes of Welsh) by the same cast.

This will be National Theatre Wales’ third visit to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, following sell-out runs of The Dark Philosophers (with Told by an Idiot) in 2011, and The Radicalisation of Bradley Manning by Tim Price in 2013, which won the inaugural James Tait Black Award for Drama.

Kully Thiarai, Artistic Director of National Theatre Wales, said: “National Theatre Wales is delighted to be returning to Edinburgh to showcase and celebrate some of the wonderful and diverse work that makes up Wales’ rich theatre landscape. It will enable a UK-wide and international audience to experience fantastic Welsh talent, and will highlight our ongoing commitment to original and exciting new work through collaboration and partnership.”

Wales Millennium Centre’s has also presented two other productions at the Edinburgh Fringe – I’m With The Band by Tim Price, a co–production with Traverse Theatre, and Man to Man, which received four 5-star reviews in 2015.

Louise Miles-Crust, Head of Programming at Wales Millennium Centre said: “We are really excited to be teaming up with National Theatre Wales & British Council Wales on the Made in Wales strand this year, presenting three diverse and high quality pieces that truly represent some of the best that Wales has to offer. As Wales’ national cultural centre is very important for us to be able to take the best of Wales to the world and the Fringe certainly goes a long way to achieve that.”

FULL SHOW RELEASES