Hello, and welcome to Pleasance Times 2012! We’re back, and in our

28th year of programming, it’s bigger and better than ever.

Releasing printed and online issues throughout the festival, Pleasance Times is the place to come for all things Pleasance. Packed full of festival news, interviews, features, previews and more, we will be bringing you all the best content we have to offer.

At the heart of the Fringe, The Pleasance is showcasing a huge and eclectic programme of comedy, theatre, music and kids shows. 2012 sees the start of a new media partnership - The Pleasance have teamed up with Fest magazine to grow our traditional daily two-page bulletin into a sixteen-page twice weekly, full colour magazine distributed with Fest – the biggest and best exposure the Pleasance Times has ever had!

We have 240 shows this year across 23 venues and we will also be releasing

editions online to keep you updated and bring you even more great content. As well as these online issues our whole digital platform is growing, so make sure you check out our podcasts and tune in to Pleasance TV for exciting news and interviews from around the cobbled streets of Edinburgh. You can watch the Pleasance TV 2012 video by clicking here, and watch this space for the new interactive iPhone app!

The get-in and set-up has been a long few days of carrying, postering, building and sweating, but the team of Pleasance staff and crew have put in the hours, and we’re ready to open our gates, doors and windows to the festival-going public!

With another year of great comedy and theatre within a festival as exciting as the Fringe, we know it’s going to be fantastic month. Many of our preview shows cost a mere £5, we can’t wait for it to begin. Let the Fringe commence!

PLEASANCE TIMES 2012: BETTER THAN EVER

Aug 01 2012 Online Preview Edition@ThePleasance

Pleasance Ahoy is the UK’s best and only canal-travelling, comedy-filled

narrow boat. Commissioned as part of the Olympic Festival, it is winding its way up to Edinburgh, landing at the Fringe on 12th August.

After promising not to invest in any more extravagant or inconceivable ventures, Anthony Alderson, Director of the Pleasance just couldn’t help himself, and charted a course for the forty-six-day voyage.

The expedition features a series of comedy gigs on the riverbanks of Britain. The sixty-nine foot long boat has sailed throughout June, July and August presenting a programme of both up-and-coming and established acts, such as REGINALD D HUNTER, CARDINAL BURNS, IDIOTS OF ANTS, HOLLY WALSH and literally a boat-load more.

The crew have braved

the conditions of the rainy summer months, and whilst the floods threatened to set the boat behind, they powered through and are making their way north as we speak.

The Pleasance Ahoy will be appearing in Glasgow on the 5th and Falkirk on the 8th for

two more hilarious riverbank gigs, before mooring up and dropping its final anchor at Edinburgh’s Cargo on the 12th August at 4pm.

With a stellar line-up and more comedy than has ever sailed before, make sure you don’t miss its arrival!

02

WHAT’S IT ALL A-BOAT?

SPECIAL OFFER - SPECIAL OFFER - SPECIAL OFFER - SPECIAL OFFER - SPECIAL OFFER - SPECIAL OFFER

Cut out and present to the Box Office for 2-for-1 tickets for

Sharron Matthews Superstar: Gold 2FOR1

DEALS AND OFFERS

15:40 - 4th & 5th August - Pleasance Courtyard

BY ANDY SMITH AND SOPHIE CHILVERS

Feature

Pleasance Theatre Trust Ltd is a registered Charity in England and Wales. Charity No 1050944. And in Scotland SC043227.

“She is a force of nature” - Three WeeksBest of the Fest 2011 - The Scotsman

03Preview

THE H

ORNE

SECT

ION: L

IVE AT

THE G

RAND Jazz, comedy, and

a variety of great guests – what more

could you want from an evening at The Pleasance? With The Horne Section Live at the Grand that is exactly what you’ll get.

Ingeniously combining stand-up comedy, audience interaction and live, improvised jazz, this is one show that will get the audience dancing and laughing in the aisles.

Bringing his show back to the Fringe for a third year running, quarter-Scottish comedian and author Alex Horne riffs and scats his way through gags and comedy songs with great flare and spontaneity. This comedy genius is combined with an equally impressive Jazz quintet whose playing is tighter than a mouse’s waistcoat. The fusion of Horne’s comedy, a host of varied guests and this brilliant band makes for a unique hour of entertainment. The audience are kept perched on the edge of their seats in anticipation of where

the show might go next, as the band improvise their way through scores of genres. Mixing cabaret, music and stand-up, the show features new and exciting stand-up guests, with different special guests featuring every night of the run. Previous line-ups have included ED BYRNE, JIMMY CARR, GREG DAVIES, NEIL HANNON, TIM MINCHIN, AL MURRAY and PETER SERAFINOWICZ.

With multiple performances, a Radio 4 series and a host of five-

star reviews from critics across the country, The Horne Section is not to be missed. Not only will Horne be appearing with his band in the Courtyard, he will also be gracing the stage for one night only at the Pleasance Dome in a duet with Tim Key on the 14th August. Within this one-off performance the pair will interview a variety of well-known faces which we can’t wait to see. You can catch The Horne Section 9-22nd August, Pleasance Courtyard at 23:15.

The Pleasance by Numbers23 Venues over 2 sites

1 floating venue making its way up to Edinburgh

236 exciting and varied shows

5500 performances over 27 days

Pleasance shows make up 1 out of 5 tickets sold at the Fringe 2011

5 printed issues of Pleasance Times

Many many millimetres of rainfall expected over the next month

9752* @ThePleasance followers on Twitter

*immediately out of date!

Pleasance Theatre Trust Ltd is a registered Charity in England and Wales. Charity No 1050944. And in Scotland SC043227.

04Who What Why Where How?

THE PIN ANSWER THE IMPORTANT QUESTIONS...

Ben Ashenden (tall), Mark Fiddaman (long hair) and Alex Owen (should be clear now). We are three middle class white guys trying their hand at sketch comedy. AT LAST!

I said “AT LAST!” ... Oh right, I see: We do quick, short sketches linked by a sort of narrative. The show starts at the end of the story and goes back in time after each sketch to see how the previous one began. There are no props or blackouts and hopefully it feels like a non-stop flow. A rare positive outing there for the phrase “non-stop flow.”

We’ve been living together for a year and nothing else has come up. We put on a football camp for 10 year olds for a bit but we didn’t have enough cones to make it good. Turns out you need HUNDREDS.

Whatever we want, usually white shirts. Oh right, I see. (Now that is the same joke, but it still sort of works.) The show’s at Below in the Pleasance Courtyard, 4.45pm. Latecomers won’t understand what’s happening.

Ben bought three train tickets. Mark claimed to know someone whose floor we could stay on. Alex had heard of the Edinburgh Festival. Ralph said he could play the flute for us. We told Ralph to piss off.

Who? What?

Where?Why?

How?

Get your uestions...

fillof the Fringe

at The Pleasance

How to Book:Online at

www.pleasance.co.ukOn the phone

0131 556 6550

Pleasance Courtyard, 60 Pleasance, EH8 9TJ (9am-midnight)

Pleasance Dome, 1 Bristo Square, EH8 9AL (10am-1.30am)

Or

In person at the box office

Pleasance Theatre Trust Ltd is a registered Charity in England and Wales. Charity No 1050944. And in Scotland SC043227.

/thepleasance

@ThePleasance

/ThePleasanceTV

Find us online:

EDITED BY ANDY SMITH & SOPHIE CHILVERS