 |
Hello there. So, Edinburgh Festival 2017 is basically upon us. Our Preview Edition is about to hit the presses and tomorrow the first TW Daily of the year will be unleashed. If you are a TW Weekly subscriber but not a TW Daily subscriber, and would like to receive our daily Edinburgh updates throughout August, then get signed up here. Over the next week I'll be recommending shows for you to see at this year's Festival with an assortment of Threes To See, and once that's all done the Fringe will have begun and we'll start publishing this year's reviews. The TW Daily will also features interviews galore, including the return of the Quick Quiz feature to celebrate the Edinburgh Festival's 70th anniversary. Talking of Edinburgh Fringe interviews, we have two more for you here in the TW Weekly. I spoke to Yolanda Mercy about her show 'Quarter Life Crisis' and Chris threw some questions at Helen Norton and Jonathan White about 'To Hell In A Handbag'. Plus this week sees the return of our podcast TW:TALKS, with a series of great Fringe-style interviews coming your way over the next few weeks. This week Chris chats to the brilliant Phil Wang. Check out all the info below. For those of you in London, don't worry, you'll find all the usual threes to see underneath this week's Edinburgh features. Have a great week, Caro Moses Editor, ThreeWeeks Edinburgh and ThisWeek London |
The TW:TALKS podcast returns for Edinburgh Festival 2017. In this first edition we TW:TALK with Phil Wang as he gets ready to perform his new stand-up show 'Kinabalu'. We discuss Wang's first Edinburgh show, winning Chortle awards, his Footlights stint, the sketch shows as part of Daphne, and his upcoming first UK tour.
CLICK HERE to tune in and sign up for the TW:TALKS podcast.
Phil Wang performs 'Kinabalu' at Edinburgh Festival 2017 at the Pleasance Courtyard from 2-27 Aug.
We first spoke to Yolanda Mercy about her show 'Quarter Life Crisis' when it had a short run at London's Ovalhouse earlier this year, though I didn't know when I first sought her out for a chat that she'd be headed up to my beloved Edinburgh Festival this summer.
But headed to Edinburgh she is. I organised a quick catch up, to find out more about the development of the show, and why she's chosen to take it to the Fringe. Read the interview here.
Yolanda Mercy performs 'Quarter Life Crisis' at Edinburgh Festival 2017 at Underbelly Cowgate from 3-27 Aug
In much the same way Tom Stoppard reckoned that 'Hamlet' characters Rosencrantz and Guildenstern deserved their own play, Helen Norton and Jonathan White couldn't help wondering what else we'd discover if we got to spend a little more time with Miss Prism and Canon Chasuble, two minor characters in Oscar Wilde's 'The Importance Of Being Earnest'.
Well, now we know, courtesy of their new play 'To Hell In A Handbag'. Having heard great things about the piece after its debut at the Dublin Fringe, I decided to throw some questions at the both of them as they head to Edinburgh for a festival run at the Assembly Rooms. Read the interview here.
Helen Norton and Jonathan White perform 'To Hell In A Handbag' at Edinburgh Festival 2017 at the Assembly Rooms from 3-27 Aug.
FRIDAY 28 JULY 2017 >>
Half Breed | Soho Theatre | 28-29 Jul
"Jazmin feels different. She doesn't want to stay in the village. She doesn't want to have a baby. She doesn't want to laugh at racist jokes in the local pub. She's got to get out". An award shortlisted, partly autobiographical dark comedy about being different - specifically, mixed race - and finding your voice. It's written and performed by Natasha Marshall, and is part of the venue's Soho Rising strand, see this page here for info.
Sleeping Trees | Theatre503 | 28 Jul
Ah, the excellent Sleeping Trees, who never fail to draw my attention and my desire to tip them endlessly. They're appearing at Theatre503 as part of their line up of - quelle surprise - Edinburgh previews, and the show they are performing here, 'Mafia', is one element of their acclaimed live movie trilogy, all of which they are taking back to the Fringe this year. See the venue website here for details.
Samantha Baines | Museum Of Comedy | 28 Jul (pictured)
Following an acclaimed run at last year's Edinburgh Festival, the excellent and informative Samantha Baines returns with this fab-sounding show about the lost women of science. That fact that there are lost women of science is a fact that I often rail about so you can imagine how pleased I am about that. And look, you get a chance to have a look, before it heads north, you lucky lot. Head this way for more.
SATURDAY 29 JULY 2017 >>
The Living River | Battersea Arts Centre | 29 Jul (pictured)
This is a new site-specific show created by BAC Homegrown Company and devised by a cast of local young people aged 12-25 alongside professional directors and musicians. The show, performed as a promenade at the River Wandle, will explore the stories of the river through a mixture of spoken word, music, storytelling and dance. For information and to book, see this page here.
The Concrete Jungle Book | ArtsDepot | 29 Jul
Another show making a London stop ahead of an Edinburgh run, HighRise Theatre's 'The Concrete Jungle Book' is a new hip hop musical which transfers Rudyard Kipling's classic tale to an entirely new location - inner-city Britain - and incorporates live rap music, grime, and spoken word. Sounds like a really interesting idea, see the venue website here for more info.
The Noise Next Door's Really Really Good Afternoon Show | Leicester Square Theatre | 29 Jul
I am sure you all know exactly how good The Noise Next Door are. Yes, they are really, really good. So I am not sure I need to say anything else, do I? Like the blurb says, you can expect "an epic explosion of outlandish characters, perfect punchlines and awesome songs all mixed together with the guys' trademark brand of off-the-cuff antics". Head this way for details.
SUNDAY 30 JULY 2017 >>
Rob Broderick - The Musical In My Mind | The Bill Murray | 30 Jul (pictured)
"Rob is a man with a dream - to write the world's biggest hip hop musical. Join him for a show that's two parts Drake, one part Disney, combining hip hop, comedy and animation". And you know he's capable of that because, as you know, you know him best from his work as one of Abandoman. Repetition of "you know" entirely deliberate. Head this way for details.
Screwed | The Bunker Theatre | 29-31 Jul
Three mixed bills featuring a range of international artists from a number of different dance backgrounds. It sounds fabulous - expect a "weird, wild and wonderful variety of fresh, experimental performance". Click here for more info.
Just To Get Married | Finborough Theatre | 25 Jul-19 Aug
After all this time, it surely deserves a revival: written by actress, journalist, playwright and suffragette Cicely Hamilton, and first produced at the Little Theatre in London in 1910, 'Just To Get Married' hasn't been performed since 1918. Marriage at that time largely came about as the result of economic decisions rather than romantic ones, and this play asks questions about how marriage can be equal when the sexes are not. Still relevant. See this page here for more info.
MONDAY 31 JULY 2017 >>
Ex Child Genius | Camden People's Theatre | 31 Jul-2 Aug (pictured)
Hurrah, it's time for the Camden Fringe, and here is my first choice, a brand new show from the very brilliant Richard Fry. It's all about Arthur, a schoolboy superbrain who seems destined for great things, yet has failed to live up to that promise. A show about the people who get lost along the way and the lengths they will go to find themselves again, click here for more.
Troll | Little Angel Theatre | 31 Jul-3 Aug
It's the holidays, of course, and while I expect you will all be hoping to spend a good amount of time outside, there's always time to take in a show. This one is aimed at 4-9s but I reckon grown-ups will be charmed by it too. Set on Iceland, the play weaves together popular folk tales, told through the use of puppets and an original score. See this page here for info.
The Wasp | Jermyn Street Theatre | 31 Jul-12 Aug
"Heather and Carla haven't seen each other since school. Their lives have taken very different paths- Carla lives a hand to mouth existence while Heather has a high flying career, husband and beautiful home. And yet, here they are in a cafe having tea and making awkward conversation". Morgan Lloyd Malcolm's 2015 thriller examines how we hold on to our childhood experiences, and what we are willing to do to resolve them. Details here.
TUESDAY 1 AUGUST 2017 >>
Mrs Orwell | Old Red Lion Theatre | 1-26 Aug
A play based on a true situation, set in London's University College hospital in 1949. '1984' has recently been published and George Orwell is unwell with a severe case of TB. Desperate to keep his spirits up and fight his illness, he proposes to friend Sonia Brownell, a 30 year old assistant magazine editor, who then has to decide whether or not she should enter into a platonic marriage with the renowned novelist. See this page here for more info.
A Midsummer Night's Dream | The Rose Playhouse | 1-26 Aug
It's always nice to see a staging of 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' in the summer, isn't it? And I'd especially like to see this one, given that it's being performed at the atmospheric Rose Playhouse, and promises to be a fast paced and colourful production of the Shakespeare classic. See the venue website here for details.
Scorch | Soho Theatre | 1-12 Aug (pictured)
"For those who don't feel like they're in the right life, on-line is a place to be yourself. A story of first love through the eyes of a gender-curious teen Scorch examines how the human story often gets lost amidst the headlines". You know this is going to be good, just look at all the acclaim it's had: an Adelaide Fringe Theatre & Critics Circle Award, a Fringe First, the Holden Street Theatre Award, an Irish Times Theatre Award, an Irish Writers Guild Best Theatre Script gong and and the Summerhall Vertebra Award. Wow, book your tickets here.
WEDNESDAY 2 AUGUST 2017 >>
Boom | Theatre503 | 2-26 Aug
"Jules, a marine biologist, placed a personals ad offering "sex to change the course of the world". Jo replied and has come to Jules' lab expecting a hot night of no strings sex. But this is no casual encounter, it has evolutionary significance and the future of the human race hangs in the balance. Will they survive? Will we survive? What's with the fish tank? And who is the strange woman in the corner?" Well, that sounds excellently intriguing, doesn't it? Head this way to book.
Luke Heggie - Rough Diamante | Soho Theatre | 1-5 Aug (pictured)
A UK debut from a comedian much acclaimed in his home country of Australia, though be careful, you may not be welcome at his performances if you are the sort of person who eats bananas with the string still on. Or if you have a signature that takes longer than three seconds to complete... To find out more about whether you are allowed to attend or not, see this page here.
Daniel Simonsen - No Net | The Bill Murray | 1-13 Aug
This one's from the ongoing Camden Fringe (see the festival website here for an overview of everything that's on) and is one of two shows the Norwegian comedian is performing. It's called 'No Net' because he's going on stage without any script, as the purpose of these shows is to create new material in front of your very eyes. He's a talent, so don't be too worried about what will happen. Click here for details.
THURSDAY 3 AUGUST 2017 >>
Doomed Resistance | Etcetera Theatre | 3-7 Aug
You might have noticed that over the last few days we've recommended a couple of things that are on as part of the Camden Fringe. Well, today, because I love it so much, I decided we ought to spend the entire day there. So, I thought we'd start with this, which, despite being set in the trenches of the First World War, somehow manages to be a hilarious farce. Click here for more info.
The Bad Arm - Confessions Of An Irish Dancer | Tristan Bates Theatre | 1-5 Aug
I know all about this show because we came into contact with its creator Máire Clerkin when she performed it at the 2015 Edinburgh Festival. If your experience of Irish dancing is basically a small amount of exposure to 'Riverdance', then I recommend seeing this show, which, appealingly, has been described as "the antidote to Riverdance". Book here.
Unprescribed | The Monkey House | 2-5 Aug (pictured)
"A theatrical comedy exploring anxiety, obsession and the social expectations of femininity" from a group - The Sun Apparatus - who've won critical acclaim for their work, including this, which I believe was performed first at the old edfringe a few years back. Expect a very physical, possibly surreal performance shot through with hilarity and poignancy. Head this way for all the details.
 |
At TW:CULTURE we champion the best in culture. ThisWeek London recommends Three To See in the capital every day. ThreeWeeks Edinburgh covers the best of the Edinburgh Festival. The TW:TALKS podcast talks to great cultural people. © UnLimited Media, a division of 3CM Enterprises Ltd UnLimited Media, Kemp House, 152 City Road, London EC1V 2NX t: 020 7099 9050 (editorial) 020 7099 9060 (sales) Send press releases to TWlondon@unlimitedmedia.co.uk publishing@unlimitedmedia.co.uk | complaints@unlimitedmedia.co.uk |