With the Edinburgh Festival about to kick off for another year, the Preview Edition of ThreeWeeks is out now and will start appearing at Edinburgh homes and venues over the next couple of days. Check it out for nine great Q&As with some of our favourite Fringe performers plus no less than 25 sets of Three To See recommendations.
You can download a digital version of the magazine here.
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I'm always on the lookout for children's shows doing something truly different. Many productions for younger festival-goers repeat similar stories and themes, even if they do them brilliantly. But as soon as I heard about this play it stood out, because it's about a subject I have literally never seen tackled by a theatre company before. And, as you might imagine, I have seen a lot of companies tackling a lot of themes!
'Ogg 'n' Ugg 'n' Dogg' is about how people in ancient times domesticated animals - specifically, in this case, dogs - and it looks brilliant. To find out more about the show and the company behind it, I spoke to Colin Granger, writer and director. Read the interview here.
'Ogg 'n' Ugg 'n' Dogg' is on at Edinburgh Festival 2019 at Gilded Balloon Teviot from 31 Jul-26 Aug. Listing here.
THREE MUSICALS>>
Islander: A New Musical | Roundabout @ Summerhall | 31 Jul-25 Aug
"Eilidh stares out to sea and dreams of a new life beyond her lonely island. Myth and reality collide when the tide washes a mysterious stranger onto her beach, changing her life forever". I like to look out for new musicals that are on at the Fringe, and that's how I came across this one. And oh, does it sound like a goodie. It's got a contemporary Scottish folk inspired score, and the cast live-record and layer their voices, which, I'm assured, will "create an ethereal adventure for the ears and imagination". Lovely. Listing here.
Paradise Lodge | Underbelly Bristo Square | 31 Jul-26 Aug
And from the ethereal to the hilarious: 'Paradise Lodge' is a funny yet heart-wrenching piece of musical theatre that explores writer and performer Steve Cooper's experience of caring for his mother in law as she succumbed to dementia. The show explores the nature of identity, reality and loss, as Eric and Kylie, a dysfunctional ukulele musical duo called The Doodlebugs, embark on their first gig together at the Paradise Lodge Care Home, and take their audience back to a time when their whole lives lay ahead of them. It promises to have audiences "laughing, crying and singing their hearts out", so yes, I will be there. Listing here.
Beat | Pleasance Dome | 31 Jul-26 Aug
This isn't exactly a new show. It's been performed to great acclaim across Europe following its 2011 premiere, and has won a Moliere Award, which, you may already know, is basically a French equivalent to the Olivier Award. But hurray for the fact that it's now getting its UK premiere and we get to witness it in all its glory. It tells the story of Alfie, who is not like the other kids: his parents are irritated, his teachers are exasperated, but Alfie doesn't care as long as he can play his drums, and turn "his everyday routine into a life bursting with wonder and music". Sounds ace, and I reckon this might have some appeal for teenagers, if you are struggling to entertain one this summer. Listing here.
Cassandra, Sandra | Omnibus Theatre | 30 Jul
Hurrah, festivals are happening all over London, and although we are admittedly slightly distracted by that very big one up in Scotland, we're still excited about such events happening down here in the capital. Let's start with this one, a reading from the Out Of The Wings festival, which explores theatre from the Spanish and Portuguese speaking world. It's about Alex, who returns home to Santiago to clear his recently deceased mother's flat, and who is desperate to get the job done quickly and go back to the US, but who ends up confronting old memories, and learning about the kindness of strangers. More about this event here, and more about the strand here.
The Mikvah Project | Orange Tree Theatre | 3-10 Aug
"Eitan is 17. Avi is 35. Eitan loves Arsenal. Avi loves his wife. Eitan goes to college. Avi is trying for a child. They are in completely different places in their lives.Yet, every Friday, Eitan and Avi meet at the Mikvah to take part in the Jewish ritual of submerging in the water. As they chat about life in the synagogue, football, the nature of marriage and desire they form an unexpected bond that threatens to disrupt life outside the Mikvah". This fab play is being staged in rep alongside four others as part of Orange Tree Theatre's Directors' Festival 2019, and is directed by Georgia Green. See this page here for more info about the show, and this link here for a festival overview.
This Is Black | The Bunker Theatre | 5-24 Aug (pictured)
As with the Directors' Festival above, This Is Black is a festival of four excellent sounding plays, written by black writers, but because they're staged slightly differently - as two alternating double bills - I thought I would just talk about the whole thing. Double bill 1 consists of 'All The Shit I Can't Say To My Dad' by Abraham Adeyemi and 'Blue Beneath My Skin' Macadie Amoroso, while double bill 2 comprises 'Pyneapple' by Chantelle Alle and Melissa Saint and 'Teleportation' by Ronke Adekoluejo. There's also an accompanying exhibition, curated by Sophia Tassew and featuring work by Amaal Mohamed, Sharon Adebisi and Taja Boodie. Info right about here.
THREE FROM CAMDEN FRINGE>>
David Mills: A More Dynamite Future | The Albany | 30 Jul
Hurrah, and not only are there the Festival events we have detailed above to look forward to, here's a whole section devoted to the delightful festival that is Camden Fringe. Our first choice is David Mills, who we have always enjoyed seeing up at the old edfringe, so it's great to see him on as part of the rather more youthful camfringe. "Focus people! Shit's about to get real. Comedy for a world in crisis from a comic who's not kidding around. A wander through our terrifying 24-hour reality television cartoon dystopia with an eye on the amazing a frightening future that awaits us". Details here.
When It Happens | The Actors' Centre | 30 Jul-3 Aug
"A surreal and outrageous comedy following the lives of three women on what they thought would be a normal day of micro-aggressions and self-doubt. Then it happens... At 2.16pm, a strange phenomenon occurs and each woman experiences a transformation, breaking free from the roles they've been forced to play and starting a rebellion against everything and everyone who put them there in the first place". I am very intrigued by the sound of this. Head right this way to sort out your tickets if you are too.
Socially (Un)acceptable | Etcetera Theatre | 29 Jul-1 Aug
And so to our final choice in this section (but certainly not our last Camden Fringe recommendation for 2019) which is this spoken word piece focusing on the rather heavy and serious issue of rape and sexual assault. Don't let that stop you though, because this is such a high quality, and has won much acclaim for its series of autobiographical vignettes and stories about "socially acceptable" sexual assault. This show comes from Australia, but at a time when the number of rape cases prosecuted in England and Wales has fallen to an extraordinary low, it's an issue we need to be thinking about. More here.
THREE MORE SHOWS WE'D LIKE TO SEE THIS WEEK>>
Miss Havisham's Wedding Night | Arcola Theatre | 1-3 Aug
You could argue, and quite strongly, actually, that this could very easily have been included in the first section about festival shows, because this is part of Grimeborn, Arcola's festival of opera. But I tend to think of it as a season rather than festival, and that's why it ended up here on this occasion. Anyway, this sounds right up my street, and hopefully also yours: Aaron Copland's song-cycle 'Twelve Poems by Emily Dickinson' and Dominick Argento's 'Miss Havisham's Wedding Night', featuring soprano Sarah Minns. All the info is here.
The Colours | Soho Theatre | 30 Jul-17 Aug
"Five people lie on a Welsh beach, moving through fantasy, memory and reality as they process the most profound yet ordinary of experiences: nearing the end of life. As they describe moments from their lives, dig into their present experience and reflect on what the future has in store, we are taken on a rollercoaster ride of the human imagination... and transported all the way to the brink; as far as the eye can see". An amazing sounding piece of work on difficult themes from Harriet Madeley. See the venue website here for details.
Still No Idea | The Bunker Theatre | 1-2 Aug (pictured)
In 'Still No Idea' - described as part-verbatim theatre, part-confession, part-comedy sketch show with a bit of singing and dancing thrown in - Lisa Hammond and Rachael Spence explore attitudes to disability, ten + years on from their first show 'No Idea'. "Lisa and Rachael want to make a show, but there's a problem: they don't have any ideas. So who do they turn to? The Great British Public of course! They make a pact. They'll go onto the streets, interview people, and whatever story the public come up with - that will be the show. No backing out, no changing what they don't like. Deal". More here.
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