ED2011 COLUMN: River People are in Edinburgh this year staging their play ‘Little Matter’ in a rather interesting way. Our reviewer called it “a delicious, dark chocolate of a show” that beguiles the audience with “whimsical humour and charming melancholy”.

So, of course, we wanted to hear more from them: here, they tell us how the show came to be, and how the company ended up using a travelling wagon theatre. Cool.

“This year at the Fringe has been by far the most challenging, worrisome, expensive yet powerfully inspirational experience we’ve had as a company. We find it really important to create shows that come from an honest place. In 2007 ‘The Ordinaries’ was about my experience of abuse in my family, from 2008 – 2009 ‘Lilly Through the Dark’ explored Claire’s feelings of grief after the passing of her father.

Each time when we take a show up to the Fringe we are welcomed like nowhere else. Since 2010 we have been working on ‘Little Matter’:  it began as a story called ‘AngelRust’, then was picked up by the Edinburgh International Festival to be developed. Now this is one of the final versions. It is a story about change and potential, it’s the story of this chapter in our lives, about growing up and facing one’s inner demons. To tell it we use live music, puppetry and honest storytelling. And bringing it to the fringe, this testing place where we get the chance to share our work with so many people, where our company can grow, has felt like a significant chapter in that story.

Ever since we teamed up with Spinney Hollow, a woodland project in Fair Oak, Hampshire, and shared the dream of a travelling wagon theatre, it has been our joint goal to bring it to the fringe. Thankfully The Bedlam Theatre have been utterly amazing in helping us to realise that goal. Our venue is a bow top wagon with a fold out stage under a tent with material walls, all lit by candle light. It’s a space that we can call our own, a little bubble away from the bustle of other fringe venues where we can create an atmosphere and welcome each individual into our world.

It’s small and intimate, there might be the sound of sirens from the street, the distant overspill from the comedy venue beneath us, the roar of crowds, a chorus of birds, the sound of rain, of the wind. But it’s all part of the experience, and everyone is in it together. And by the end, hopefully… usually… the audience are so much a part of the world that it doesn’t matter. The venue that we have made is an extension of the show, an extension of our philosophy, that although entertainment is paramount, theatre should attempt to go further, it should provide an experience, that the audience should walk away with a thought, the gift of a moment.

And after the show there is no quick get out, no company queuing up waiting to get in, the audience can spend as much time in the space as they like. They can come and chat to us, hold the puppets and explore the wagon. This has been one of the most rewarding parts of the experience, getting to hear people’s thoughts and allowing them as much time with us as they desire.

Our time at the fringe has been so affirming, we know now that this is how we want to present our theatre, this is the experience we want to provide. There is so much potential within it, just waiting to be realised”.

River People’s show ‘Little Matter’ was performed at the Bedlam Chambers during Fringe 2011.

LINKS: www.theriverpeople.co.uk

ED2011 COLUMN: Writer Steve Hennessy talks about his ‘Lullabies Of Broadmoor’ quartet: four plays telling true stories of murder and madness from 19th century Broadmoor Criminal Lunatic Asylum. 

“I love the Fringe Festival and come up every year to watch great theatre, but have never brought a show here before. This is our first trip to the greatest theatre festival in the world, and we are all incredibly excited about it! It is something we have been working towards for many years. All of the plays in the ‘Lullabies of Broadmoor’ quartet have been produced before, but this is the first time we have produced all four together with the same cast. After Edinburgh, we have a 5 week run at the Finborough Theatre in London.

I have a background of over twenty five years working in mental health, and the subject is very close to my heart. For the last 15 of these years, I have been running Stepping Out Theatre, the country’s leading mental health theatre group. Every year we produce three or four small scale studio productions on mental health themes using theatre professionals as well as a large scale community play with 30 or 40 mental health service users. The power of creativity – and in particular theatre – to heal those recovering from trauma and distress is at the heart of all that we do.

When I wrote a play about a well known 19th century resident of Broadmoor Criminal Lunatic Asylum back in 2002, I had no idea I was about to embark on a project that would stretch across almost a decade. ‘Wilderness’ grew from my fascination with the story of Dr. William Chester Minor. A surgeon during the American Civil War, he had settled in London before being sent to Broadmoor after killing a complete stranger while under the influence of his delusions. Minor was famously involved in the research for the Oxford English Dictionary.

As a writer, I quickly found myself gripped and fascinated by the challenge of writing a sequence of plays for the same group of four actors, all linked by theme and setting, with some characters appearing in more than one play. Once the idea of a linked sequence had taken root, the project would not go away. Two plays eventually led to a third, and finally a fourth.

The older archives of Broadmoor are now open to the public and the archivist offered me access to original medical records and other material to help in writing the plays. The creative team for this production were also given a tour of Broadmoor by the present Director of the Hospital, looking at the old theatre there and other places where our plays are set. It was an incredible experience.

The very existence of Broadmoor goes to the heart of the debate about murder and personal responsibility. Chester Minor, a man completely insane for much of his life, expressed deep remorse for the murder he committed. But Ronald True, another inmate, was the complete opposite. The play he features in, ‘The Murder Club’, is set against the background of the 1922 British campaign in Iraq where British airmen and politicians, in the grip of a different kind of collective insanity, cheerfully bombed and gassed their way across a whole country without apology, murdering thousands in their pursuit of the British imperial project.

Each of the four plays can be seen alone, and works perfectly well that way, but seeing two will enrich the journey for the audience, and seeing all four will provide a special theatrical experience where each play enhances the audience’s understanding and experience of seeing other plays in the sequence”.

Steve Hennessy’s show ‘Lullabies Of Broadmoor’ was performed at C Venue during Fringe 2011.

ED2011 INTERVIEW: Clean Break are a particularly interesting theatre and education company, and this August they return to the Fringe after a break of many years with their show ‘Dream Pill’.

ThreeWeeks Spoke to the group’s Executive Director Lucy Perman to find out about their work and their Edinburgh 2011 show.

TW: Tell us a bit more about Clean Break, what you do and how you were created.  
LP: Clean Break is a theatre and education company. We use theatre for personal and political change by delivering theatrical and educational projects for women in the criminal justice system. The company was founded in 1979 by two women prisoners at HMP Askham Grange. The women used theatre and new writing to tell the stories of women in the criminal justice system. When they left prison they took the company with them and today it has grown to become a critically-acclaimed new writing theatre company, also now highly respected for its education and training work with women offenders. At the heart of the company’s work is a continued commitment to commission and produce plays by leading female playwrights which dramatise women’s experience of, and relationship to, crime and punishment.

TW: How does your education programme work?
LP: Our education programme is for women offenders and women at risk of offending both in the community and in prisons. In London, we deliver year-round theatre education courses for around 100 women a year which enable them to break the cycle of offending and move onto education, employment or volunteering. Around the country, we work with around 500 women in prisons annually through playwriting residencies, and theatre education workshops. For example, we’ve just finished a three-day playwriting residency with Lucy Morrison, our Head of Artistic Programme, and Katie Hims, playwright, at HMP Askham Grange which culminated in a professional reading in the prison of the work the women had created with the support of our artists.

TW: How do you go about commissioning scripts?
LP: We commission plays from women playwrights – but only a small handful at any one time because of budgetary constraints. The upside of this is that most of the plays we commission we also produce – which is a great incentive for the writers, even if it is a bit pressurised at times! We go out and find the writers and we look for original voices, a commitment to our ethos and the world we are interested in interrogating.

TW: What is your Edinburgh 2011 show about? Who’s involved?
LP: Our Edinburgh 2011 show is Dream Pill by Rebecca Prichard and directed by Tessa Walker. It’s being staged at Underbelly until 28 August with two amazing actors Danielle Vitalis and Samantha Pearl. Dream Pill was originally produced as one of six plays in a season called Charged, which played to critical and popular acclaim at Soho Theatre in Autumn 2010. The plays told different stories of women caught up in the criminal justice system and were staged in different spaces around the theatre. Dream Pill tells the story of two young Nigerian girls trafficked to London for sexual exploitation. It’s a powerful two-hander told from the child’s perspective. It sounds heavy and, of course, it is very dark but it’s beautifully told also with humour and lightness that draws in the audience and keeps them spellbound. The Charged plays are short and flexible which means that many of them have gone onto have a further life. For example, we recently took Fatal Light (Chloe Moss) and Dancing Bears (Sam Holcroft) to Latitude Festival. A powerful 30 minute play, Dream Pill works exceptionally well in the Underbelly’s Belly Dancer space.

TW: Why did you bring it to Edinburgh? Have you brought shows to Edinburgh before?
LP: We wanted to re-stage Dream Pill as it received such an amazing response from London audiences and critics alike. We brought it to Edinburgh because we’ve long wished to play the Fringe and to open up our work to national and international audiences. We haven’t toured to Edinburgh for several years and haven’t played the Festival since the company’s early days back in the early 80s. Dream Pill felt absolutely like the right production to bring to the Festival and we hope to gain international interest because of the relevance of the story: human trafficking and enforced slavery is widespread internationally and Dream Pill itself was researched with specialist NGOs, the Metropolitan Police’s Human Trafficking Teams and other specialists. We’ve been invited to perform extracts of it at UK and international conferences to highlight the issues around trafficking and specifically sex-trafficking.

TW: Where will the show go from here?  
LP: The production’s been brilliantly received and we’re thrilled with audience and critics’ responses. We know that the important topic of sex-trafficking has been a “popular”  theme both this year and last for theatre at the Fringe. Unfortunately the problem of sex-trafficking isn’t going away and, of course, there are a million stories to be told – not just one – about this issue. We’re heartened that audiences have responded so strongly to the production and to the girls’ story. We hope the show will go onto tour – nationally and internationally. In the meantime, we’ve been really busy seeing lots of other shows and really enjoying our time in Edinburgh.

Clean Break’s show ‘Dream Pill’ was performed at Underbelly during Fringe 2011.

LINKS: www.cleanbreak.org.uk

ED2011 COLUMN: The Wrong Crowd are performing ‘The Girl With The Iron Claws’ at Underbelly this year, and it’s already drawn significant praise from our reviewer for its eerieness and the strong performances of its cast.

Director Hannah Mulder explains what inspired the show, and why fairy tales are still relevant in the 21st century.

“I first heard the story that inspired ‘The Girl with the Iron Claws’ in a yurt on Dartmoor, in midwinter. Twenty of us huddled around a wood-burner, to hear it told, in an oral tradition that surely stretches back as far as human beings have had language.

Stories, myths, folk tales and “fairy tales”, as they are so often dubbed, were designed as tools for living. It was only in the Victorian era that they were relegated to the pages of children’s books, de-sexed and sanitised.

“The Victorian version of our story involves the heroine winning her man by washing his shirt cleaner than any of the other women who might be his bride.

Whereas in our earlier, wilder version she has a pair of Iron Claws made for her so that she might climb a glass mountain, in order to rescue her beloved – surely an image of feminine power if ever there was one.

I believe that the stories a culture tells itself profoundly shape that culture and its people. Because many of these stories were written down by the Victorians, they have become frozen in that period.

Of course, we’re very grateful that they were recorded, otherwise we might have lost them altogether. But it’s time to reclaim their fluid, shape-shifting roots and unearth some of the darker, less saccharine versions and retell them for our age.

Of course children love fairy stories – they’re fantastic pieces of craft and mystery, honed over millennia to speak directly to something deep inside us.But shouldn’t we all reclaim these stories, young and old and use them in the way they were supposed to be used – as a route map for a more dignified and soulful life?”

The Wrong Crowd’s show ‘The Girl With The Iron Claws’ was performed at the Underbelly during Fringe 2011.

LINKS: www.wrongcrowdtheatre.co.uk

ED2011 INTERVIEW: Anthony Rapp is your genuine ‘Broadway type’, having risen to fame as the star of the original run of ‘Rent’, and reprised the role in the 2005 film version and a subsequent stage tour.

His film credits include ‘A Beautiful Mind’ and ‘Six Degrees Of Separation’, he’s been on ‘Law & Order: Special Victims Unit’, and played Charlie Brown in another Broadway production, the 1999 revival of ‘You’re A Good Man Charlie Brown’. What is this big name doing in Edinburgh? Appearing in ‘3D Hamlet’ at theSpaces on the Mile, that’s what.   

TW: You began your career when you were very young – how did it all happen, and how did you end up on Broadway?
AR: I was the youngest of three kids, and my mom was a single mother nurse, who above all else was fiercely committed that we all grow up as happy and active as possible. One summer when I was six, she was a nurse at a summer camp, and we kids joined her.  It was there that I auditioned for and was cast in my first show: I played the Cowardly Lion in ‘The Wizard of Oz’. I was hooked, and started doing community theatre around my home town, outside of Chicago, for a couple of years. At one point, a director recommended to my mom that I start auditioning for professional work in Chicago, and my extremely supportive mother made that possible, and I started getting work. I was extraordinarily fortunate in so many ways that I appreciate now even more than I did as a kid. So many kids in showbiz are thrust into it kicking and screaming, or have controlling and obsessive parents who suck all of the joy out of everything. My mom was nothing but supportive.

TW: Do you think you might have chosen an alternate career, had you not met with success at an early age?
AR: It’s beyond impossible for me to think of that after the fact, because everything worked out the way that it did. But I suppose I probably always would have been drawn to some sort of artistic pursuit. Or I would have been drawn to work with animals in some capacity.

TW: You’ve appeared on stage, on film and on television during your career. Do you have a favourite, or do they all have their pros and cons? If you really had to choose one element, which would it be?
AR: I don’t say this only because I’m currently participating in the world’s most famous live performance festival, but there is nothing at all as special as theatre to me.  I love being an audience member of quality films and television programmes, but even when filming is fun, it’s never as fulfilling as the best theatre experiences are. The only con I can think of regarding doing a run of a show on stage is that it can be a bit of a grind physically and emotionally, depending on the show. But I also welcome that challenge, and love the opportunity to tell the story from start to finish, with heart and soul and commitment, every performance.

TW: You have also written a book, a memoir. Was that an enjoyable thing to do?
AR: I can’t say it was always enjoyable. It was daunting, exhausting, emotionally draining, and lonely. But I am very proud of the end result, blown away by the wonderful response the book has received, and gratified that many people are finding comfort and resonance in its story.

TW: What made you decide to do a show in Edinburgh?
AR: I was invited to be a part of ’3D Hamlet’ by Sam and Nicola, the Fundamental Theatre Project’s artistic team, and jumped at the chance. The timing was perfect, and the opportunity to try my hand at one of the greatest roles ever written looked like a once in a lifetime occurrence.

TW: Is it the first time you have been to the Edinburgh Fringe? What do expect from it?
AR: I came to the Fringe a few years ago when my brother, Adam, directed his play ‘Finer Noble Gases’ here. They were extremely well received, and I had a blast for the few days I was in town. I thought the city was gloriously beautiful, I loved the energy everywhere, and I left terrifically inspired. I’m hoping that this year’s experiences will top all of that.

TW: Tell us something about the show, and the character you play.
AR: It’s a muscular, passionate, resonant 65-minute adaptation of one of the most famous plays ever written – Hamlet – that demonstrates its enduring power and relevance all these hundreds of years after it was written. I have the great good fortune of being given the chance to do my best to bring to life the Dane himself, which is an actor’s dream. Every time I get to live inside of Shakespeare’s language I discover new colours, depths, and ideas, and I only hope my version does at least a little justice to the Bard’s intentions.

Anthony Rapp’s show ’3D Hamlet: A Lost Generation’ was performed at theSpaces On The Mile during Fringe 2011.

ED2011 INTERVIEW: What’s great about the Fringe is when people use it to try their hands at something new.

Stand-up Charlie Baker is no stranger to acting, but this is the first time he’s dabbled with writing a play, taking his short career in a wedding band as inspiration. We caught up with Charlie to discuss the show, what its like to be a playwright, and how his comedy career has helped his theatrical projects.

TW: Tell us more about ‘Wedding Band’, we believe it’s based on your own experiences?
CB: Yes, it’s a play based on my five years as a jazz singer in a wedding band, and nearly everything that happens in it did happen at some point during one of my many wedding gigs. It’s set at the reception venue in the hour before the wedding party arrives, and is as much about wedding days in general as it is what it’s like to perform at these things. When you are in a wedding band you go to an awful lot of weddings, obviously, and you start to recognise certain universal truths. And it doesn’t matter whether it’s the £100,000 wedding (and I did play one of those, it was awful, no one knew anyone else, and I forgot my smart shoes and had to put gaffer tape on my Converse!) or a ‘do’ in a village hall, certain truths still stand. All those things are covered in the play. Which also doubles up as a guide to ‘what not to do at a wedding’ I suppose.

TW: Who is in it?
CB: I’m in it as Jimmy Blake, the singer who’s ambitious, but whose ambition is perhaps misplaced. He’s also a bit of a panicker, which isn’t good when you’re resting on unreliable musicians. Spencer Jones (CBBC’s ‘Big Babies’, ‘Broken Biscuits’) is the piano player, Craig Taylor – a very experienced muso who has been there and seen it all before – plays a character who has an eye for the ladies, loves eating and just wants to get the gig over with. Sam Battersea (‘Live! Girls!’, ‘Dawn French’s Christmas Cracker’) plays Sue Todd, the wedding planner who’s strict and organised, the professional who holds the purse strings and just wants everything to run smoothly. And Lee Fenwick (known for his character Mick Sergeant) plays Krazy Ken, the wedding DJ who is possibly the world’s dullest man. I am very lucky to have such brilliantly funny performers inhabiting these roles. It’s my dream cast.

TW: Did you write it specifically to bring to the Edinburgh Festival? Do you see the play having a life after Edinburgh?
CB: Not specifically for Edinburgh, no, but once I had decided to finish it, and do an edit and a reading, Edinburgh felt the natural place to take it. I’m not sure about afterwards yet, because I’m so focused on getting the show to the Fringe in a good state, that everything from September onwards hasn’t really crossed my mind yet.

TW: How did it writing a play compare to writing stand up?
CB: It’s a very different skill, but I enjoyed writing it very much. Originally it had nine characters in it, but it became clear to me that that was never going to be possible, so I edited it down to four and it became much funnier, richer and focused. Funny bits that I would normally use as stand up material have found there way into the mouths of the characters, and I like that. In a way that’s what I am trying to achieve with this, to bring the immediacy and relevance of stand up to theatre. I do believe that theatre can learn a lot from stand-up, on a number of levels, and especially at the Edinburgh Fringe when it comes to things like marketing, accessibility and fluidity.

TW: Have you directed the show?
CB: No way! I’m acting, writing and producing, so to direct as well would make me a total megalomaniac! Also I’ve never directed anything before, so wouldn’t know where to start. We have a brilliant director in Paul Clayton (‘Peep Show’). He has one of the best comic minds of anyone I’ve ever met and he is a brilliant actors’ director, pointing people in the right direction rather than driving them there.

TW: Presumably it contains some music…?
CB: Of course – it would be silly not to. I sing in the show too, but not something you would expect.

TW: You’ve now got quite a bit of acting on your CV, as well as the comedy. Which do you prefer?
CB: Stand up, stand up, stand up. It’s the greatest art form, for audience and performer alike, and nothing beats it. Acting’s great and I have been lucky enough to work with some brilliant writers – not least Graham Linehan, Steven Moffat, Sharon Horgan and Miranda Hart – but nothing beats writing a joke and telling it to 300 people. I’m hoping I’ll get a similar buzz with the play.

TW: Do you enjoy performing as part of group, or do you prefer taking to the stage on your own?
CB: One of the reasons I got into stand up was because I like being at the front with the light on me, which is in turn thrilling and terrifying. But being in a cast can have its upsides too, it softens the blow if it ever goes badly, and gives you someone to have a pint with when it goes well.

TW: Do you see yourself coming back to the Edinburgh Festival every year, or do you see yourself moving up and on?
CB: I took last year off to see if I missed it, and I really did, so I have planned what I want to do here for the next five years. It’s such a brilliant place to be as a creative person, and is a really good anchor for what you do for the rest of the year. I won’t be coming back with a stand up show every year because I want to mix it up a bit with other projects like ‘Wedding Band’, though do plan to bring a stand up show here again next year.

TW: Which do you like best, TV or live performance?
CB: I had one of the best weeks of my professional life when I mixed the two on ‘The IT Crowd’. That is TV first and foremost of course, but it’s filmed in front of a studio audience. It was brilliant and an absolute joy.

TW: Other than performing, what else are you looking forward to at Edinburgh this year?
CB: There are many brilliant people, as ever, including Lee Fenwick, who’s in the play and who is doing Mick Sergeant at The Stand, which will be great. James Acaster is incredible, Sara Pascoe is very funny, Josh Widdicombe is one of my favourites, Tom Allen is always great fun, Chris Martin’s really good and then there’s the guaranteed genius of Carl Donnolly and Josie Long. Remember, see the big names but take a punt too.

Charlie Baker’s show ‘Wedding Band’ was performed at Gilded Balloon Teviot during Fringe 2011.

LINKS: www.charliebakerlive.com

ThreeWeeks Co-Editor Caro Moses recommends three plays with numbers at Festival 2011. 

One Million Tiny Plays (pictured)
About Britain We’re always talking here in the ThreeWeeks office about how everyone’s got a shorter attention span these days, especially one ThreeWeeks editor in particular. Could this be the entertaining answer for this very modern affliction? Possibly, as it’s lots of tiny plays, originally serialised in The Guardian, and now brought to the actual stage.
Hill Street Theatre, 5 – 28 Aug (not 9, 16, 23), times vary, £9.50 – £15.00, fpp286.

Attempts On Her Life
Well, the title doesn’t have any numbers in it, but it does have a subtitle and that’s ‘Seventeen Scenarios For Theatre’, and the blurb is absolutely full of mentions of that very same number. And that’s good enough for me. Plus, I’m sure it will be a great revival of Martin Crimp’s most highly regarded play.
Greenside, 5 – 12 Aug, 4.25pm (5.55pm), £5.00 – £6.50, fpp239.

7 Day Drunk
A new one woman show from Bryony Kimmings, who last year won a Total Theatre Award for her show ‘Sex Idiot’. I think that alone is a good enough reason for you to earmark her show. But if you need an extra reason, here’s one: she’s an associate artist at The Junction in Cambridge, which is quite near me. See, it’s a goodie.
Assembly George Square, 4 – 28 Aug (not 15, 22), 8.00pm (9.00pm), £10.00 – £12.00, fpp296.

ThreeWeeks Co-Editor Caro Moses recommends three theatre shows from the Fringe 2011 programme with something of an historical touch.

Young Pretender (pictured)
The really rather good – in fact, Fringe First winning good – Nabakov return to the festival with this piece about Bonnie Prince Charlie. A company with a fantastic reputation dealing with a fascinating historical figure: definitely on my list of things to look out for.
Underbelly, 4 – 28 Aug (not 17), 4.40pm (5.40pm), £8.50 – £10.50, fpp314.

Wireless Mystery Theatre Presents…
I like things that are a bit retro (well, doesn’t everyone?) and this looks like it fits the bill: faithful recreations of old-time radio suspense according to the blurb, live music, sound effects and actual 1940s commercials. And it’s free. Which gets a yay!
Globe, 17 – 27 Aug (not 23), 3.30pm (4.30pm), free, fpp311.

Poor Caroline
You know who is sitting here, exhaustedly coming up with tips for the ThreeWeeks preview issue? It’s poor Caroline, as a matter of fact. No wonder she was immediately attracted to this and decided to tip it without even trying to find out what it was about. Happily, she subsequently found out what it was about, and felt rather pleased. Not only did it fit into her section on all things set in the past, it also promises tea, toff and tantrum action from the 1920s, officially the best decade ever. Well, in some ways: obviously the rise of fascism in Europe wasn’t awfully beneficial, but the frocks were great.
Paradise In Augustine’s, 8 – 20 Aug (not 14, 15), 11.35am (12.45pm), £6.50 – £7.50, fpp289.

ThreeWeeks Co-Editor Caro Moses recommends three spins on the bard from the Fringe 2011 theatre programme.

The Rape Of Lucrece
A solo adaptation of Shakespeare’s narrative poem, starring Olivier Award nominated RSC type Gerard Logan. Not a great deal more to say about this; a great work with strong themes, performed by a renowned actor: There’s only one thing to do, and that’s sit back and enjoy the show. Well, insofar as you
can, given the dark themes.
Zoo Southside, 5 – 28 Aug (not 15, 22), 5.15pm (6.15pm), £7.00 – £9.00, fpp291.

I, Malvolio (pictured)
Tim Crouch, re- imagining ‘Twelfth Night’ through the eyes of ill-used steward Malvolio, at the Traverse. I’d get on the phone right now, if I were you. I can’t help thinking tickets will be gone before you can say “I’ll be revenged on the whole pack of you”.
Traverse Theatre, 16 – 28 (not 22), times vary, £6.00 – £12.00, fpp271.

Ophelia
I’ve seen many shows come to Edinburgh with a spin on Hamlet, or a focus on Ophelia, but I have a good feeling about this one. To be fair, that might be because I smiled when I read their blurb: “A fresh look at Hamlet using Shakespeare’s lines, but not necessarily in the right order”.
theSpaces On The Mile, 15 – 27 Aug (not 21), 5.00pm (5.55pm), £6.50 – £8.00, fpp286.

ThreeWeeks Co-Editor Caro Moses recommends three theatrical adaptations at Fringe 2011. 

The Magical Faraway Tree
Enid Blyton’s ‘Faraway Tree’ books were some of my childhood favourites, but to be frank, that’s not why I chose this show. Obviously, that’s why the title caught my eye, but it was the blurb that made me laugh. Please don’t go expecting it to be a proper adaptation, and please don’t take any children. I’m hoping it might fall into the amusing-for-grown-ups category, however.
Just The Tonic at The Caves, 4 – 28 Aug (not 17), 1.00pm (2.00pm), £3.00 – £4.00, fpp278.

Gogol’s The Portrait (pictured)
Newbury Youth Theatre are completely brilliant. We know this, because every year they bring a production starring young people – yes, young people – and always get a glowing review. We found the consistent quality of their output so impressive that we gave them a ThreeWeeks Editors’ Award a couple of years ago for their accumulated body of good work. And at the rate they are going, we’ll have to give them another one in a couple of years time! A definite recommend.
Quaker Meeting House, 8 – 13 Aug, 2.30pm (3.30pm), £7.00 – £8.00, fpp266.

Tales From Edgar Allen Poe
It looks like there’s quite a bit of EAP at the Fringe again this year but I’m attracted to this particular adaptation because of the company behind it: Backhand Theatre gained our attention and high praise for their productions of ‘Greek Myths For Kids’ and ‘The Love Of A Clown’, both of which scored 4/5. Puppetry, gymnastics, and the voice of Derek Jacobi! It sounds like a recipe for greatness.
C Eca, 3 – 29 Aug (not 15), 10.45pm (11.45pm), £7.50 – £11.50, fpp301.

ThreeWeeks Co-Editor Caro Moses recommends three theatre shows for children at Fringe 2011.

The Enormous Turnip (pictured)
Now I come to think of it, I’m not actually sure whether this is an adaptation or not, but I very clearly remember a turnip story from my youth and I’m hoping this is based on that. But it’s too late, I’m full steam ahead, and I’m recommending this no matter what. Spotlites’ shows for preschoolers are a great experience, especially if you’ve got the kind of three year old who finds it hard to sit still and concentrate. We saw their production of ‘The Magic Porridge Pot’ last year (it’s on again this year too) and had a great time, not least because the show feels more like a warm group activity than a formal piece of theatre: the little ones are encouraged to join in, and no-one gets cross if your toddler edges into the performance space at the wrong moment…
Spotlites @ The Merchants Hall, dates vary, times vary, £6.50 (£5.50, £22.00F), fpp21. Tickets from edfringe.com.

Greek Myths For Kids
Sometimes, the old tales are the best. In this case, they’re very, very old tales. ThreeWeeks were very impressed last year by Backhand Theatre’s adaptations of these Greek myths, which they perform using a mixture of puppetry and storytelling. One that I suspect will be very entertaining for the adults, as well as for your small budding classicists.
C eca, 3 – 29 Aug, 2.15pm (3.10pm), £5.50 – £8.50, fpp21. Tickets from edfringe.com.

The Chronicles Of Bitter And Twisted
Okay. Well. This deviates slightly from the whole adaptation theme a little, because this isn’t really an adaptation at all, more a taking-something-as-a-starting-point-and-turning-it-on-its-head sort of thing. In this puppet show, dubbed an “urban sequel” to the ‘Ugly Duckling’ story, a swan makes the discovery that she is actually a duck. I think it sounds nice. Especially if it proves that it’s not just the beautiful birds that get a happy ending. Fingers crossed.
Assembly George Square, 3 – 29 Aug, 11.50pm (12.50pm), £6.00 – £8.00, fpp20. Tickets from edfringe.com.

ThreeWeeks Co-Editor Caro Moses recommends three former winners of the ThreeWeeks Editors’ Awards who return with new shows to Fringe 2011.

Cabaret Whore: More! More! More! (pictured)
A ThreeWeeks Editors’ Award winner and a perennial favourite with our reviewers, Sarah-Louise Young returns to Edinburgh this year with the latest in her series of ‘Cabaret Whore’ shows. I feel it’s not long before we can start calling her a ‘doyenne’ of the Fringe. If she keeps on coming back, that is. Anyway, roll up, roll up, for some brilliant character comedy and songs.
Underbelly, 4 – 28 Aug, 4.55pm (5.55pm), tickets from £9.00, fpp 9. 

Bane 1, 2 and 3
Last year, we gave the fabulously talented Joe Bone an award for his two shows, ‘Bane’ and ‘Bane 2′. This year he’s back with an entire trilogy, featuring the brand-new ‘Bane 3′. For the uninitiated, these one man, prop-less shows parody film genres and US pulp fiction, and have garnered plaudits all over the critical press. See ‘Bane’ on Tuesdays and Fridays, ‘Bane 2′ on Wednesdays and Saturdays, and ‘Bane 3′ on Thursdays, Mondays and Sundays.
Pleasance Dome, 3 – 28 Aug, 5.20pm (6.20pm), tickets from £10.00, fpp241.

Delete The Banjax
Our reviewers love Delete The Banjax. And we love the fact that this is a new comedy outfit who started out in the wonderful Free Fringe and subsequently moved into the comedy programme at The Pleasance. And the ratings our reviewers have given them have gone up year on year, to the 5/5 we gave them last Fringe ahead of their ThreeWeeks Editors’ Award win. Alas, our rules dictate, they can’t get a 6/5 review this year. But look, we’re recommending them without even seeing the new show, so that’s a step up. Well worth a look for some quality sketch comedy.
Pleasance Courtyard, 3 – 29 Aug, 6.20pm (7.20pm), tickets from £8.50, fpp 66.

ThreeWeeks Co-Editor Caro Moses recommends three Festival 2011 shows from previous Fringe award winners.

Bosom Buddies (pictured)
Jack Klaff won a Herald Archangel Award at last year’s festival, and is generally well known in these parts for putting on quality performances. This year he brings back ‘Bosom Buddies’, first produced in Edinburgh way back in 1994, which depicts a number of encounters between some Twentieth century giants – the likes of Einstein, Wittgenstein, Kennedy and Gandhi.
Hill Street Theatre, 5 – 16 Aug, 5.30pm (6.45pm), tickets from £8.50 & St George’s West, 19 – 29 Aug, 5.30pm (6.45pm), tickets from £8.50, fpp 266.

Nourish
‘Nourish’ was staged at the Brighton Fringe a couple of years ago and won an Angel Award from their local newspaper The Argus (don’t worry, The Herald and The Argus are published by the same company, so they’re allowed the same name for their awards!). ThreeWeeks also saw it in Brighton that year, and our reviewer said “this inspirational play is nourishment for the soul”. I didn’t get to see it then, so I’d definitely like to now it’s coming to Edinburgh. It’s about the relationship between Sylvia Pankhurst and her prison wardress, set during the period of her famed hunger and thirst strike of 1913. And the proceeds of these performances are going to Women For Women International.
Paradise in The Vault, 23 – 28 Aug, 8.45pm (9.45pm), tickets from £5.00, fpp 284.

Scary Gorgeous
This is a new show from RashDash Theatre, the youthful, energetic group who won a Fringe First from The Scotsman last year for their show ‘Another Someone’. The company return to one of my favourite venues, the Bedlam Theatre, with a new show about sex and sexiness, and how they differ. Expect singing, dancing and even a live band.
Bedlam Theatre, 5 – 20 Aug, 9.00pm (10.30pm), £10.00 (£8.00), fpp 295.