YOUR GUIDE TO EDINBURGH'S FESTIVALS
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ED2014 News
ThreeWeeks Editor’s Letter: Preview edition is go!
By Caro Moses | Published on Friday 25 July 2014
Yes, the Festival is now almost upon us, and the ThreeWeeks Preview Edition for 2014 is now available to download. Meanwhile those of you living in Central Edinburgh may see a copy of our guide landing on your doormats in the next few days, and when the Fringe cranks into operation on Wednesday, you’ll be able to pick up your copy in venues.
You can download the PDF version (16MB) by clicking here, or check it out in digital form via this page here. Some features from this edition are already online, and the rest will be appearing over the next few days, with alerts here in your ThreeWeeks Daily email.
Once again our preview issue is packed full of hints and tips, and we hope that they’ll help you with your personal Fringe decision making processes. As usual, I’ve trawled the programmes looking for shows that look interesting, shows that I know will be good, and shows that someone else has convinced me will be worth seeing, and I’ve written about them all in our 3 To See previews.
Furthermore, four guest contributors – all former winners of ThreeWeeks Editors’ Awards no less – have also been perusing the listings to provide some top five recommendations from their own genre specialisms: Richard Tyrone Jones recommends spoken word events, Daniel Cainer selects the music, Sarah-Louise Young offers you her cabaret picks, and Tamzin Fitzgerald gives you tips for the dance programme.
But that’s not all, of course. Aside from all the tips and picks, we have loads of interviews and columns, all featuring acts and companies that we love. Some of them are Fringe stalwarts, others relative newcomers, and we have high hopes for them all. In this issue you’ll find Q&As with stand-up types Susan Calman, Zoe Lyons and Dan Schreiber, as well as with the talented people behind a number of theatrical pieces: Apphia Campbell, star of ‘Black Is The Color Of My Voice’, Lucy Benson-Brown from ‘Cutting Off Kate Bush’, and ‘Blind Hamlet’ director Ramin Grey. We also spoke to Natasha Gilmore, choreographer from linked physical shows ‘Tiger’ and ‘Tiger Tail’, Guy Retallack, director of the musical ‘Thrill Me’, the team behind family show ‘Potted Sherlock’, and spoken word performer Nadia Brooks.
And it doesn’t end there; we’ve also ceded the floor to a number of guest columnists, who have written enlightening articles for us, and you, on a variety of subjects. Comedian Chris Turner tells us about his descent from archaeology to comedy, Allen Barton outlines the genesis of his play ‘Years To The Day’, and Sarah Campbell shares her top Fringe worries. Don’t worry, though, it will all be okay.
And, once you’ve read them all, I bet you will be much better prepared to attack the Festival. Informed, armed, and with at least a few shows to aim for. However, I would urge you not to leave it all up to us. Or indeed, our fellow media. There are thousands of shows, and only a fraction of them get picked up by the press; only a small number feature in pre-Festival preview picks, and not every show will get a review – from an established publication – in print or online.
So, when someone hands you a flyer, or when you are perusing the Fringe Programme and for some reason notice a particular show title, don’t write it off because it has no “press quotes” in its blurb, or because you can’t find a review of it online. It might be brilliant, it’s just nobody knows it yet. And yes, you take a risk when you go to see a show like that – you might end up wasting your money and time on an hour of pap – but it might be a risk that pays off.
You might make a huge discovery. You might sit in a near-deserted performance space and watch a show by a fantastic new talent, you might go out and tell your friends. You might start a word-of-mouth movement that ensures a trickle of custom to that show every day. By the end of the Festival, there might be a queue for it all down the Cowgate… wouldn’t it be exciting to be a part of that?
Caro @ ThreeWeeks
