 |
Hello again! July is speeding by rather speedily, isn't it? But here we go again with another bumper edition of the TW Weekly, with plenty on offer for both cultural Londoners and those heading to the Edinburgh Festival next month. For our Edinburgh Festival readers, look out for another great interview, with beatboxer Ball-Zee from the 'Gobsmacked!' show, and a brilliant column from long-term TW favourite Penny Ashton, who is back this year with her show 'Promise And Promiscuity'. We also have some more advertising offers for those of you putting on shows this year. Our preview edition goes to press next week, and you could have a half page ad in there at the special last minute rate of just £350! Plus our digital combo offer is still available - get a banner in the TW Daily email and the iFringe app for just £140 a week. Full information below, and drop Sam an email for more information or to book your slot. For those of you in London, the Walthamstow International Film Festival takes place this weekend, and I spoke to co-founder Liza Fletcher about this great initiative earlier this week. Look out for that interview below, plus all of this week's Three To See recommendations! Have a great week! Caro Moses Editor, ThreeWeeks Edinburgh and ThisWeek London |
Lots of a capella shows come to the Edinburgh Festival each year, and to be fair, most of them are pretty excellent. Yet 'Gobsmacked!' goes a step beyond, really, offering up a slick and theatrical show that tells a story as well as incorporating all sorts of vocal styling, from the traditional to the cutting edge.
One of the members of the seven-strong cast is internationally renowned beatboxing champion Ball-Zee and, because we are fans of a capella and big fans of beatboxing too, we spoke to him ahead of the latest Edinburgh run, to find out more about the upcoming show and his career to date. Read the interview here.
'Gobsmacked!' is on at Underbelly George Square, from 3-28 Aug.
PENNY ASHTON: A TALE OF TWO NUPTIALS
If you were around at last year's Fringe, you might have noticed the triumphant return to the Fringe of Ms Penny Ashton, following an absence of an interminably long decade. She took the Festival by storm with her Jane Austen inspired one person musical 'Promise And Promiscuity', garnering plaudits galore and winning lots of new fans, who will be glad to hear that she is bringing the show back for another run.
In the intervening time, though, she began a new adventure, when she got married back home in New Zealand... which had us wondering how that would compare to marriage, Austen style. Read Penny's exclusive column here.
Penny performs 'Promise and Promiscuity' at Assembly George Square Theatre from 4-29 Aug.
Simple, by making sure your publicity is right there on the page as people work out what shows they are going to see via the ThreeWeeks magazine and daily bulletin, or in the brilliant Edinburgh reviews app iFringe. CLICK HERE for details on the various cost efficient ad packages available. Meanwhile, this week's deals!
 |
THIS WEEK'S IN PRINT ADVERTISING DEAL: extra special last minute rates on the preview edition The preview edition of the ThreeWeeks magazine goes to press next week and we have some last minute ad spots that we are offering at a very special rate, including... • One full page for just £650 +VAT • Two half pages for just £350 each +VAT. • Some quarter pages for just £250 each +VAT The preview edition is delivered door to door and venue to venue in the first week in August, reaching 20,000+ plus Edinburgh locals and thousands more Festival-goers. These slots are limited and will be sold first come first served - email TW.advertising@unlimitedmedia.co.uk to book your slot. |
 |
THIS WEEK'S DIGITAL ADVERTISING DEAL: get a banner advert in the TW Daily email and the iFringe app for a whole week for just £140! Make a big impact for a very small investment. Our digital combo deal gets your show into every edition of the TW Daily email and rotating on the iFringe app every day for a week - for just £140+VAT. The TW Daily lands in over 10,000 inboxes daily, and iFringe had about 10,000 users on iPhones alone at Festival 2015. These slots are limited and will be sold first come first served - email TW.advertising@unlimitedmedia.co.uk to book your slot. |
I've often talked to people for whom diversity was rightly an issue, and Liza Fletcher is certainly one of those. She's a co-founder of Walthamstow International Film Festival, which seeks to expose the works of younger practitioners with diverse backgrounds, and takes place as part of the E17 Art trail.
To find out more about the festival, and what motivates Liza to keep it running, I asked her some questions ahead of this weekend's events. Read the interview here.
Walthamstow International Film Festival takes place on 23 and 24 Jul at The Empire Walthamstow (Saturday) and Vestry House Museum (Sunday). Check the Facebook page for info.
FRIDAY 22 JULY 2016 >>
Hatched – Moonshine's Entirely Necessary Adventure | The Albany | 22 Jul
As the title of this show observes, it's entirely necessary, so who are you to argue? One for the family, this, in a fairly timely fashion, given that lots of schools are breaking up this week. This is about a thirteen year old girl on a journey to find out who she is, during which she meets a number of fairy tale characters and faces up to darkness. Examines some pretty worthy themes, but I don't think for a moment that will make it boring. See this page here for more info.
Trash Test Dummies | London Wonderground | 21-31 Jul
This one's another one for kids, sorry, single no-child grown-ups, but to be honest, I have a feeling this is the kind of show that adults will be sneaking into on their own anyway. This award winning team present a family friendly circus show that sounds like it mostly involves a whole lot of mucking about with wheelie bins. Except 'mucking about' is probably the wrong phrase to use, given that they are highly skilled professionals. Head this way for all the details.
Mid-Brow – The Live Show | Leicester Square Theatre | 22 Jul
Here's your intermittently offered dose of Edinburgh preview. This up and coming comedy duo won a Best New Sketch Act gong in 2015 so if sketch is your thing, then you are probably looking at a pretty safe bet here. They have also won loads of critical acclaim, so it's not all about the prizes. For more information and to book tickets, see the venue website here.
SATURDAY 23 JULY 2016 >>
Live At The Chapel | Union Chapel | 23 July
A customarily fab line up for the latest instalment of Invisible Dot's ongoing 'Live At The Chapel' series, this time with TV and live favourite Reginald D Hunter at the top of the bill. You also get top class performers Richard Todd and Aisling Bee, so you know it's going to be a good night. See this page here for more info.
Busk East International Buskers Festival | Shoreditch Park | 23 Jul
Hurrah for busking, and also this festival, which is presented in different areas in and around Shoreditch park, and features an array of international performers as well as food, stalls and carnival rides. It's all about the busking today, isn't it? Because the Busk In London festival happens this weekend too. See this page here for info on Busk East, and this here for Busk In London.
The Streets Festival | Various Locations | 23 -24 Jul (pictured)
So much festival going on. I suppose it is the summer, though, so I might have expected it. I kinda thought it was still spring until yesterday, though, when I had to actually don some summer clothes because it was warm. Anyway, this takes place in seven different boroughs – Waltham Forest, Redbridge, Greenwich, Croydon, Wandsworth, Richmond upon Thames and Kingston upon Thames – and uses high streets as performance spaces, so it's kind of a bit like the busking festivals, isn't it? Hurrah. See a list of all the many, many events here.
SUNDAY 24 JULY 2016 >>
East End Open Air Comedy Festival | Shoreditch Park | 24 Jul
So, to follow the whole busking thing that was going on over in Shoreditch yesterday comes Backyard Comedy's Club's East End Open Air Comedy Festival. Yes, more open air stuff. Isn't summer fun? And yes, we can look forward to a totally excellent line up with appearances from a list of of TW favourites so long that I can't possibly fit it here. Have a look here, instead, to see the line up, and to book your tickets.
Love Steals Us From Loneliness | Camden People's Theatre | 19-31 Jul (pictured)
A London premiere for 'Love Steals Us From Loneliness', an early work from critically acclaimed playwright Gary Owen, the creative force behind much lauded plays 'Iphigenia in Splott' and 'Violence & Son'. It's a powerful and darkly humorous piece set in Owen's home town of Bridgend, and explores themes of love, loss and grief. See the venue website here for more info and to book.
Rahul Kohli – Newcastle Brown Male | Leicester Square Theatre | 24 Jul
Gotta confess that I haven't seen this chap perform before, but he had me at 'Newcastle Brown Male'; plus I've heard from other people that he's pretty slick at this comedy lark, and covers the sort of thing everyone needs a laugh about at the moment – current affairs and the state of the world today. Head this way for more info and to book.
MONDAY 25 JULY 2016 >>
Chickenshed Kensington & Chelsea Summer Holiday Project | Chelsea Academy | 25-27 Jul
This is a three day thing for your holidaying offspring and offers an opportunity for small ones aged 6-11 to develop all manner of performance skills: drama, music, dance and singing. Led by Chickenshed's experienced teams, the children will create an original piece for performance at the end of the week. You have to bring your own lunch though. See this page here for info.
Rory O'Keeffe – Monoglot | Museum Of Comedy | 25 Jul
Much lauded up-and-comer Rory O'Keeffe presents the show he is taking up to Edinburgh this year. It's all about language, the fact that he himself only speaks English and is trying to learn another tongue, and whether men and women really speak different languages (they don't, he concludes). For more details and to book your tickets see this page right here.
Cariad & Paul – A Two Player Adventure | Soho Theatre | 25 July (pictured)
The always excellent partnership that is Cariad (Lloyd) and Paul (Foxcroft) head to Soho Theatre for one night only to perform another of their adventures in improv, using just one word from the audience to fuel a whole show. This pair have so much experience in the field of improvised comedy it's almost embarrassing, so if you're looking for a ripping bit of entertainment, you won't go wrong with this. Step this way to book.
TUESDAY 26 JULY 2016 >>
Sam Campbell – The Last Dreamer | Soho Theatre | 26-30 Jul
You may not yet have heard of Sam Campbell, but he's been doing some serious business down under, winning Director's Choice Award at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival in 2016, Best Newcomer award at Sydney Comedy Festival in 2015 and getting a nomination for Best Newcomer at Melbourne International Comedy Festival, also in 2015. His style is described as odd, weird, and absurd, but also incredibly hilarious, and this is his UK debut. For more info, see the venue website here.
Macbeths | The Hope Theatre | 26 Jul-6 Aug
You know (though you may have forgotten, given all the distracting festivals and festival previews) that there's all sorts of Shakespeare stuff going on this year because of that significant anniversary of the bard's demise, but this, which may or may not be timed to coincide with said anniversary sounds like a very different take on the classic text, but without changing a word. Follow this link here to find out the details of this interesting approach from David Fairs.
Vamos Cuba! | Sadler's Wells | 26 Jul-21 Aug
Hurrah, it's a Cuban extravaganza from acclaimed choreographer Nilda Guerra , offering a spicy mixture of traditional and modern dance styles including salsa, rumba, cha-cha-cha and reggaeton . It's set in Havana Airport, where chaos reigns as families are parted and lovers reunited. Expect a vibrant, high energy piece of entertainment. See the venue website here.
WEDNESDAY 27 JULY 2016 >>
Gulliver's Travels | Wilton's Music Hall | 27 July (pictured)
We like the company behind this show – Familia De La Noche – so much that we gave them an Editors' Award recently, for work they have done up at the Edinburgh Fringe. We are therefore very much looking forward to seeing this preview of their next Festival show, their dark and funny adaptation of the Jonathon Swift classic featuring tiny people, huge people, talking horses, mad scientists, necromancers and decrepit immortals with the secret of eternal life. See this page here for all the info.
Swansong | New Diorama | 27 Jul
Aaaaaaand DugOut, another one of our favourite companies, who we also first met in Edinburgh, are also presenting a preview of their latest edfringe show tonight, over at New Diorama. They're known for their funny, sketch-and-film influenced theatre, and I would hazard a guess that this new piece continues in that same vein, as they examine "how lies become stories and stories become legend". For more details, see the venue website here.
Rotterdam | Trafalgar Studios | 26 Jul-27 Aug
This show initially had a critically acclaimed and sell out run at the excellent Theatre503 last summer, and this year heads to Trafalgar Studios for a very limited run. It's from acclaimed writer Jon Brittain, co-creator of 'Margaret Thatcher Queen of Soho', and writer of 'What Would Spock Do?' and 'The Sexual Awakening of Peter Mayo', and is a comedy about gender and sexuality. See this page here to book.
THURSDAY 28 JULY 2016 >>
zazU – Raisins To Stay Alive | Museum Of Comedy | 28-29 Jul
We loved this comedy troupe when we saw their show in Edinburgh last year – and not just because it was called 'A Fête Worse Than Death'. Their new show, as you can see, has an equally, brilliantly groansome pun in the title, and we have very high hopes that it will consist of the same high quality ridiculousness that characterised their previous work. See the venue website here for more info.
Diary Of A Madman | Gate Theatre | 28 Jul-24 Sep
This is a new play by one of our long-term favourite playwrights Al Smith, and like all his stuff, it sounds fascinating and promising. Described as a "portrait of a man spiralling towards insanity, when his senses of personal, professional and national identity are all challenged", it tells the story of Pop Sheeran, who shoulders the family trade of restoring Scotland's iconic Forth Rail Bridge. For more details, follow this link here.
The Gideon and Hubcap Show | Soho Theatre | 28-30 Jul (pictured)
A tried and tested US import, this one, and one that's won high praise from the TW staff because of the duo's funny, engaging material, and excellent musical skill. Expect wondrous instruments, belly laughs, death-defying acts of friendship, and the highs and lows of love and other indoor sports. For info and to book, head right this way.
LONDON SHOWS: Send press releases and details of any interview opportunities to the team at TW.london@unlimitedmedia.co.uk.
 |
© UnLimited Media, a division of 3CM Enterprises Ltd ThisWeek London | ThreeWeeks Edinburgh UnLimited Media, Kemp House, 152 City Road, London EC1V 2NX t: 020 7099 9050 (editorial) 020 7099 9060 (sales) publishing@unlimitedmedia.co.uk | complaints@unlimitedmedia.co.uk |