THIS WAY TO THE BEST KIDS’ SHOWS IN TOWN

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ISSUE 13: 24TH AUGUST 2013

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Tom Salinsky and Robert Khan’s last outing to the Fringe with Coalition saw rapacious and incompetent politicians

lampooned. After last year’s success, the duo has returned to Edinburgh with a newly penned satire, Making News, a play that explores the woes of the BBC, a public spectacle that has proved equally fertile ground for playwrights and comedians.

A rift between News and Current affairs; staff bedevilled by indecision and misdirection; a bumptious presenter whose aspirations of serious journalism are replaced by dreams of foxtrotting on Strictly Come Dancing. A set of circumstances that seems all too familiar, you need only to turn up the dial slightly and you have a fast-paced drama that is as knee-slapping in its comedy as it is withering in its assessment of the BBC.

At the start of another 24 hour news cycle, Rachel Clarke has found herself thrust into the role of acting Head of News. Her promotion coincides with a Panorama reporter claiming the existence of an unhealthy propinquity between the Director General and a secret cult that has been secretly received public money.

An all-star cast including Suki Webster, Hal Cruttenden, Sara Pascoe, Liam Williams, Dan Starkey and Phill Jupitus has seen the show receive critical acclaim and a clutch of 4 star review. Libby Purves described it as a “pleasant hour” and Phill Jupitus as “splendid” in his role as Director General

Catch Making News until 25 August at 13.00 in Pleasance One

MAKING NEWS AT THE PLEASANCE

The Edinburgh Festival Fringe is drawing to a close and with it, the long summer holidays. But don’t let the thought of homework and school runs dampen your Fringe spirit. Make the most of the remaining days at the festival and the plethora

of shows on offer and let Pleasance Times point you in the direction of the best children’s shows. Don’t forget Pleasance Kidzone in the Courtyard open daily from 10am - 6pm.

Written by Fringe First winner Oliver Birch and directed by Artistic Director Dan Bird, The Adventure is a unique experience for 7-13 year olds. Presented Pleasance’s off-site venue, Pleasance Up the Hill, audience members will find themselves at the very heart of a thrilling interactive mystery.

THE ADVENTURE

THE MAGICAL PLAYROOM

Of CBeebies fame, Cerrie Burnell’s new show features a story inspired by Cerrie’s own childhood. Cerrie plays Liberty Jones whoes dreams of becoming a ballerina. But when she is asked to wear a false arm for dancing lessons, she refuses and seeks refuge in her playroom. Suddenely the toys magically come to life. Will Liberty’s friends help her become a famous ballerina?

Once upon a time in the future, Bobbie lives with her inventor father in a house filled with technology. Bobbie has everything she needs, except a playmate. Her dad decides to builds her a robot little brother. But having a robot in the family can cause all sorts of trouble. Enjoy music, magic and mechanical mayhem from the company that brought you The Gruffalo and The Snail and the Whale.

THE I HATE CHILDREN CHILDREN’S SHOW

MY BROTHER THE ROBOT

The only children’s show in town with sweets and a drop of Champagne for the adults is back with more mayhem and magic. Paul Nathan and John Anaya present an hour of fun, farce and a heavy dose of Darwinism. Two years ago, Paul lost a bet, as a result of which he had to do a children’s show at the festival. He puts the show’s success down to two things. Firstly, Edinburgh hates children and secondly, children’s shows make a lot of money. Paul’s wry wit and enchanting magic is a jewel in the Pleasance’s crown.

Image of the day: Sex Guru Wolfgang Weinberger aims to raise a few eyebrows with his show every night in the Pleasance Courtyard at 19.00

The Pleasance Theatre Trust is a registered charity in England and Wales (1050944) and Scotland (SCO43227)

Edited by Jonathan Bucks & Emily Tanner. Photography by Jassy Earl

@JillOffman Check out @docbrown at

Pleasance. Manages to be funny about sexism and homophobia with noteable absence of tofu

@ThePleasance CONGRATULATIONS

@SnuffBoxTheatre #BitchBoxer on

winning the Holden Street Theatres Award

& transferring to Australia

@dwprescott Earlier today I was rather charmed by John Osborne’s On The Beach at the

Pleasance Dome

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PICTURESHOW

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PLEASANCE TIMES

WORD PLAY: SCROOBIUS PIP SHARES HIS WORDS

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Scroobius Pip does not seem like a star of the UK hip hop and electronic scene. He is understated, grateful and truly humble

as he talks about his show, Words, the reception it has so far received, his work in the music world and love of comedy, and does not for one moment seem anything but a normal guy, albeit an incredibly talented one.

A spoken word performance at a festival best known for comedy and theatre may seem like a slightly odd fit and something many performers wouldn’t initially consider doing. “When I toured it in December,” Pip begins as I ask what made him bring a spoken word show to the Fringe this year, I wanted to play in rock venues to show people you can have a good night out at a spoken word gig (in fact, Pip comments that one of the reasons he chose the Ace Dome was because it has a bar) and Tim Key and Brett Goldstein caught it and suggested I bring it up the Fringe this year. Just to have them think I could do something at the Fringe was great as I’m a massive fan of them both.”

The good time ethic Pip sees as key to his work was there at the birth of Words when he

premiered the show during the Saturday night headline spot at Latitude Festival last year. Initially expecting an audience of two or three hundred people he arrived onstage to find a 4000 strong crowd Pip was overwhelmed with the show’s initial reception . “It was the Saturday night headline slot,” he almost shakes his head in slight disbelief, “You would except people to want to go out and go dancing but they’d had to stand everyone up as there were about 4000 people in the tent. And they stayed there, and listened to the whole thing and it meant the world to me. It was so overwhelming, such a wonderful reaction.” Known also for his work in music, something which may well have drawn the impressive Latitude crowd, often with Dans Le Sac, Pip notes he often forgets people know him foremost for this and ask if he’ll be doing “any of the songs” in his set. “Well,” he smiles, “I think yeah, but the delivery won’t be the same and the inflections too, some of ‘the songs’ will be there but it will be different.”

Scroobius Pip has always engaged with society in his work. Whilst many poets and spoken word artists can be concerned with introspective subjects life Pip’s work constantly strives to connect to the wider society. “I do this partly because I’m a fan of hip hop,” he begins, “Along with spoken word it’s always the quickest to respond to things. A great example is the Treyvon Martin case, where artists reacted to the ‘stand your ground law’ in America during the trial, It’s such an instant response.”

Although Pip mentioned he was a comedy nerd at the beginning of our conversation, I was still surprised by his knowledge and response

when I asked what he’s most excited to see at the Fringe this year. As we talked of ex-rapper Doc Brown, Doctor Brown and his silent comedy, Tom Rosenthal and many others Pip is keen to catch, Pip is constantly enthused and passionate about something he clearly loves. “Being around the comedians and pretending I’m meant to be to be here is great. Chris Ramsey came along to the show last night and it was great to chat and hang out after. It’s not a comedy show but there are some light-hearted moments, and having people like Brett and Tim previously credit my work is amazing. The main focus is me trying to play it cool around these comedians without being all ‘you know who I am!’”

Scroobius Pip has words a plenty to share. You can catch his show Words until 26th August in the Pleasance Dome at 21.40.

ISSUE 6: 10TH AUGUST 2013

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BROUGHT TO YOU BY BOOK NOW:

STOP PRESS:

TARTAN RIBBON COMEDY BENEFITLINE UP!

The Boy With Tape

On His Face

David O’Doherty

Tim Vine

Hal Cruttenden

Slightly Fat

Features

Mat Ricardo

And ManyMore

TUESDAY 13 AUG

PLEASANCECOURTYARD

“Being around comedians and pretending I’m meant to be

here is great”

“It was so overwhelming,

such a wonderful reaction”

Image of the day: Backstage at the tech rehersal as Scroobius Pip prepares for this debut Fringe show, Words

Watch video clips, behind the scenes footage and festival exclusives.

PLEASANCE TV

This year Pleasance’s very own TV station has been working tirelessly to capture every moment of the festival. From behind the scenes

footage of how the Pleasance comes together each year to short films of the venue’s biggest names such as Scroobius Pip, Tim Key and Bo Burnham Pleasance TV is the place to go to relive our festival highlights on screen. 2013 has seen Theo Davies pick up his camera, grab the boom and head out into the Pleasance to make some stunning festival films. We caught up with Theo as the fringe draws to a close to discuss what he’s most enjoyed about the year.

After spending five years with the Pleasance this is the first time Theo has been involved with Pleasance

Connect. In previous years he has worked as a member of the venue crew and has been drawn back to the Pleasance each and every year. “What else would I do?” Theo smiles, “It gets to a point where you have no choice but to return.” Yet this time Theo is trying something new and has had some great experiences as a result. “I loved working with Colt Cobanna in The Wrestling promo video, it was so much fun to shoot and such a cool event to be a part of. Scroobius Pip was also a real joy and I thoroughly enjoyed filming with The Little Soldiers.” Catch up with Pleasance TV at http://vimeo.com/pleasance

PLEASANCE CONNECT: CATCH UP WHEREVER YOU ARE

A 21 year old student from Glasgow, Jassy Earl has had an exciting Fringe as the official photographer for the Pleasance. With stunning images from four and

five star shows, exclusive shots from one off events such as The Wrestling, The Tartan Ribbon and The Press Launch, and artistic photo shoots with acts such as James Acaster and David Trent, Jassy has been documenting everything going on at the Pleasance this year. Check out Jassy’s stunning photos via www.pleasance.co.uk/connect

Produced daily and available to download and keep forever, the Pleasance Comedy Podcast has this year featured some of the hottest acts at the Fringe. All of the biggest stars will have at some point featured on the Podcast this year with shows including BBC 6 Music’s Shaun Keaveny, Joe Lycett, sketch troupe

Birthday Girls, Fosters Comedy Award Nominees Max and Ivan, Pappy’s Matthew Crosby, stars of Voices in Your Head Phill Jupitus and Deborah Francis White and many, many more. If you missed any acts at this year’s festival or just want to relive the laughs then check out the Podcast today at www.pleasance.co.uk/connect or on iTunes.

PLEASANCE TV

EDINBURGH PICTURE SHOWPLEASANCE COMEDY PODCAST

Down in the car park by the Grand you will find a small garden shed looking somewhat out of place at the Fringe festival. But this is the smallest venue at the Pleasance

this year, The Shed, which plays host to one of the festival’s most unique shows Gardening for the Unfulfilled and Alienated. With just a capacity of two for each show, Gardening offers a truly unique and intimate experience of site specific theatre.

When Owain finds a self help book which inspires him to take up gardening he finds he has a hidden skill. The garden shed is often seen as the place of escape for men in the modern world and for Owain this is the place he can go to leave the pressures of his life behind. Yet inside his garden shed a dark secret lies. What starts as a gentle play about the joys of gardening soon turns into something significantly darker.

Undeb Theatre, the producers of Gardening, are renowned for their innovative uses of space and this show is no exception. With just room for two inside Owain’s potting shed the storytelling becomes intimate and inescapable as the themes of

horticulture, death and obsession are developed throughout in this dark, bittersweet comedy.

The show has received a number of four and five star reviews throughout the fringe and is one of the most original pieces on offer at the Pleasance this year. With sell out shows on every day of the Fringe, as Gardening for the Unfulfilled and Alienated reaches the end of its run it will be remembered for its exceptional originality by all who were fortunate enough to participate in the

unique experience.

GARDENING FOR THE UNFULFILLED AND ALIENATED

Congratulations to the Pleasance shows who yesterday scooped up top Fringe awards. Bryony Kimmings’ Credible Likable Superstar Rolemodel picked up both a Scotsman Fringe First and Arches Brick Award whilst Gardening for the Unfulfilled and Alientaed grabbed a Scotsman Fringe First as well. Snuff Box Theatre were awarded the Holden Theatre’s Award and are transferring to the Adelaide Fringe with their show Bitch Boxer.

For fans of comedy the Fosters Comedy Awards will be announced this afternoon with coverage in Pleasance Times’s final edition of the Fringe, out on Monday.

AWARDS SEASON AT THE PLEASANCE

Finally the pages in your hands right now form the last piece in the jigsaw of Pleasance Connect. The Pleasance Times has been produced every other day by Emily Tanner and Jonathan Bucks and has contained all the news, previews and behind the scenes interviews of this year’s Fringe. Highlights

from the festival include coverage of The Wrestling and Tartan Ribbon in the Issue 8 Sepcial Edition, interviews with Scroobius Pip, Belarus Free Theatre and The Pin plus features on all the most exciting shows from the Pleasance this year and backstage gossip from around the venue. Catch up on all the festival news at www.issuu.com/pleasancetimes

PLEASANCE TIMES