Bedlam Theatre, 20-25 Aug, 6.25pm.
tw rating 4/5 | [Veronika Kallus]

Bedlam Theatre, 13-18 Aug, 12.30pm.
tw rating 2/5 | [Andrew Leask]

Bedlam Theatre, 6-11 Aug, 12.30pm
tw rating 5/5 | [Alexandra Wilks]

Bedlam Theatre, 3-25 Aug (not 15), 2.00pm.
tw rating 4/5 | [Alice Taylor]

Bedlam Theatre, Aug 4-25 Aug, 9.00pm.
tw rating 3/5 | [Ting Guo]

Bedlam Theatre, 3-25 (not 12) Aug, 8.00pm.
tw rating 4/5 | [Paige Wilson]

Nominations were released late last week for both this year’s Musical Theatre Matters Awards and The Stage’s Acting Excellence At The Edinburgh Festival Fringe Awards, the former celebrating musicals staged at the Festival (obviously), and the latter commending professional acting talent appearing in the Fringe’s theatre and musical strands.

Although the theatre programmes of Pleasance, Assembly and the Traverse tend to dominate the Stage’s Awards (though not completely), the MTM Awards cover more bases, with C, Space, Gilded Balloon, Bedlam and Northern Stage shows also getting a look in. Some shows are shortlisted in both the musical and acting awards, including the Q Brothers for ‘Othello – The Remix’ (pictured) and Communicado for ‘Tam O’Shanter’.

Full shortlists are given below. The MTM Awards will be presented on Wednesday 22 Aug, and The Stage Awards on Sunday 26 Aug.

MTM AWARDS 2012: NOMINATIONS

Best Production Of An Existing Work
Anthony Rapp – Without You (Menier Chocolate Factory at Underbelly Bristo Square)
Mickey And Judy (Michael Hughes at SpaceCabaret@54)
The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (Patch Of Blue Theatre at C)
Re-Animator The Musical (Red Hen Productions, The Schramm Group LLC and Gramily Entertainment at Assembly George Square)

Best Book
Barbershopera: The Three Musketeers (Barbershopera at Pleasance Courtyard)
Clinton The Musical (Egdoh Theatre at Gilded Balloon Teviot)
Inheritance Blues (DugOut Theatre at Bedlam Theatre)
The Picture House (Play Pen Productions at theSpace on North Bridge)
Towards The Moon (One Academy Productions at C)
The Ugly Sisters (RashDash at Northern Stage at St Stephen’s)

Best Music
Death Boogie (DDMcG Productions at Assembly Roxy)
Good Grief (Gone Rogue Productions at C eca)
Songs Of Lear (Song Of The Goat Theatre at Summerhall)
Tam O’Shanter (Communicado/Horsecoss/Assembly) at Assembly Hall
Towards the Moon (One Academy at C)
The Ugly Sisters (RashDash at Northern Stage at St Stephen’s)

Best Lyrics
Barbershopera: The Three Musketeers (Barbershopera at Pleasance Courtyard)
Bereavement: The Musical (Cambridge University Musical Theatre Society at C)
Death Boogie (DDMcG Productions at Assembly Roxy)
Good Grief (Gone Rogue Productions at C eca)
Othello – The Remix (Q Brothers at Pleasance Courtyard)

Innovation in Musical Theatre
Death Boogie (DDMcG Productions at Assembly Roxy)
Inheritance Blues (DugOut Theatre at Bedlam Theatre)
Othello – The Remix (Q Brothers at Pleasance Courtyard)
Songs Of Lear (Song Of The Goat Theatre at Summerhall)
Tam O’Shanter (Communicado/Horsecoss/Assembly at Assembly Hall)

The Tods Murray Award for Best New Musical
Barbershopera: The Three Musketeers (Barbershopera at Pleasance Courtyard)
Bereavement: The Musical (Cambridge University Musical Theatre Society at C)
Clinton The Musical (Egdoh Theatre at Gilded Balloon Teviot)
Death Boogie (DDMcG Productions at Assembly Roxy)
Inheritance Blues (DugOut Theatre at Bedlam Theatre)
Good Grief (Gone Rogue Productions at C eca)
Othello – The Remix (Q Brothers at Pleasance Courtyard)
The Picture House (Play Pen Productions at theSpace on North Bridge)
Songs Of Lear (Song Of The Goat Theatre at Summerhall)
Tam O’Shanter (Communicado/Horsecoss/Assembly at Assembly Hall)
Towards the Moon (One Academy at C)
The Ugly Sisters (Rash Dash at Northern Stage at St Stephen’s)

THE STAGE’S ACTING EXCELLENCE AWARDS 2012: NOMINATIONS

Best Actor
Mike McShane for Mon Droit (Mike McShane at Pleasance Courtyard)
Julian Glover for Maurice’s Jubilee (Pleasance and PW Productions in association with Wild Thyme Productions at Pleasance Courtyard)
Bill Paterson for And No More Shall We Part (Hampstead Theatre at the Traverse Theatre)
Brian Vernel for The Static (ThickSkin at Underbelly Cowgate)
Benoit Hattet for Elephant Man (Compagnie du Fomenteur/Benoit Hattet, Isabelle Bouvrain at Institut Francais d’Ecosse)

Best Actress
Scarlet Sweeney for As Ye Sow (Theatre Of The Damned and Bare Bawds Theatre at Pleasance Dome)
Nichola McAuliffe for Maurice’s Jubilee (Pleasance and PW Productions in association with Wild Thyme Productions at Pleasance Courtyard)
Mary Gapinski for Thread (Nutshell at Assembly St Mark’s)
Claire Dargo for Thread (Nutshell at Assembly St Mark’s)
Katie Bonna for Dirty Great Love Story (Richard Marsh and Katie Bonna at Pleasance Dome)
Zoey Dawson for The Economist (MKA: Theatre of New Writing at C nova)

Best Ensemble
Baxter Theatre Centre for Mies Julie (Baxter Theatre Centre, South African State Theatre and Assembly at Assembly)
Tick Tock Productions for And the Girls In Their Sunday Dresses (The Market Theatre and Assembly at Assembly Hall)
China Plate for Mess (China Plate presents Triggered@Warwick, commissioned by BAC, Parabola Arts Centre at the Traverse Theatre)
Q Brothers for Othello – The Remix (Q Brothers, Chicago Shakespeare Theater, Richard Jordan Productions and Pleasance at Pleasance Courtyard)
Communicado for Tam O’Shanter (Communicado in co-production with Horsecross Arts and Assembly at Assembly Hall)
The Elephant And The Mouse for Repertory Theatre (The Elephant And The Mouse at C eca)

Best Solo Performer
Catherine Shipton for Soldiers’ Wives (Jermyn Street Theatre at Assembly Roxy)
Katie O’Kelly for Joyced! (Lane Of Stones at Assembly George Square)
Silvia Gallerano for The Shit/La Merda (Silvia Gallerano/Cristian Ceresoli at Summerhall)
Alexander West for My Elevator Days (Svenska Teatern at Pleasance Courtyard)
Joanna Bending for Hand Over Fist (Festival Highlights and the Comedians Theatre Company at Pleasance Courtyard)
Kieran Hurley for Beats (The Arches in association with the Traverse Theatre Company at the Traverse Thaetre)

Photo: Paul Collins

Bedlam Theatre, 3-25 Aug, times vary.
tw rating 4/5 | [Charlotte Ryan]

Bedlam Theatre 3-25 Aug, 3.25pm.
tw rating 4/5 | [Charlotte Mortimer-Talman]

ED2012 INTERVIEW: Carol Tambor has been coming to the Festival for a very long time. She is also the originator, as you might likely expect, of the Carol Tambor Award, a theatre prize awarded every year at the Fringe. An oil-painter by trade, this August she is also bringing an exhibition with her, of portraits of Fringe practitioners. It’s in aid of Fringe venue and year round home of the Edinburgh University Theatre Company, the Bedlam Theatre. ThreeWeeks caught up with Carol to find out more about her award, her art, and her love of the Festival.

TW: You’re well known here at the Edinburgh Fringe, not least because of the award that bears your name. For the uninitiated tell us more about the Carol Tambor Award, and what the winners receive.
CT: The winner of the Award receives a fully paid four-week run in The Clurman, a beautiful off Broadway house on 42nd Street. My foundation picks up all expenses – hotels, visas, air transportation, theatre rental, shipping of props, even a per diem allowance for meals – and the winners get the box office takings too. We rent the theatre for four weeks so that the company can remain after the reviews come in and word of mouth has increased the demand for tickets, and also guarantee that they go home with at least $10,000 from the box office receipts. We also present the winner’s show during the APAP’s NYC event [an annual forum organised by the US Association Of Performing Arts Presenters] when over 3500 producers descend on New York looking for work to present themselves, so it’s an amazing opportunity for any company to be seen.

TW: What motivated you to set up the Award?
CT: About ten years ago, I brought my husband Kent Lawson to Edinburgh for his first Festival. I realised that so many of the plays I had seen and loved at the Fringe had no further life, and he encouraged me to change that. I then thought New York deserved to see a bit of the magic that drew me to Edinburgh every year, and I worked out I could afford to bring one show there each year. Since the Fringe Society saw this as a perfect award for drama, in contrast to the well known then-Perrier Award for comedy [the Edinburgh Comedy Award], I was encouraged in my idea. The Scotsman newspaper also provided access to their writers as additional judges– and so it all happened!

TW: How do you choose the shows you go to see in Edinburgh?
CT: I choose the show to see in several ways: I look for companies, playwrights and actors whose work I respect and then I ask EVERYONE what they have loved. Don’t be surprised if I accost you in the street! I also have relationships with the wonderful arts writers, venue managers and producers who want me to see good work.

TW: For how many years have you been coming to the Fringe? What is it that draws you here, and what do you enjoy the most?
CT: I started coming to the Fringe about twenty years ago when I first found out I could see five plays a day and it was only 60 degrees! The creative energy in Edinburgh in August makes it the cultural capital of the world, and I immediately knew I belonged here.

TW: You are clearly a theatre lover, but have you ever trod the boards yourself?
CT: I had a dear friend in college taking a directing course, and she asked me to do a scene from ‘A View From the Bridge’. Although it was ultimately performed, and she did well in the course, the experience only increased my respect for the process and for actors, although I knew it was not for me.

TW: This year you are also bringing an exhibition of oil paintings to the Fringe, proceeds from which will go towards the renovation of the Edinburgh University owned and student run Bedlam Theatre (somewhere the ThreeWeeks editors spent a lot of time in the early nineties!). How did this come about?
CT: The exhibition of oil portraits at the Edinburgh College of Art is an outgrowth of my desire to raise money for the Bedlam Theatre. In 2008, I gave the Award to Ella Hickson’s ‘Eight’ which was on at the theatre. After, I heard some talk of the Bedlam possibly closing because of its state of disrepair. I asked Professor Sir Timothy O’Shea, Principal of the University, if I could assist in fund-raising. We came up with the idea of the exhibit, a private view and party for donors. It is a thrill to see both sides of my life come together in Edinburgh. So please come and donate for this very good cause. Bedlam is completely student run, and an enormous asset to Edinburgh.

TW: The art works in the exhibition depict actors, playwrights, directors and critics from the Fringe. How did you decide who to paint?
CT: Many of the subjects are prize winners: actors under the lights, writers, directors. Others are friends whom I’ve met during my years here. Some are actually writers and performers from the US, but it took the Festival to bring us together!

TW: One can only presume you spend much of your time in Edinburgh actually seeing shows, but is there anything else you like to do while you are here?
CT: I love everything about the city – just walking the streets and marvelling over the skyline and architecture is a treat. The surprise of the fireworks lighting the sky, the incredible Book Festival, the terrific restaurants, all add to the excitement. But the best part are the friendships that have come about because of this fabulous event each year.

TW: Finally, what advice would you have for theatre companies embarking on their first Fringe journey?
CT: If at all feasible, come to the Festival prior to presenting. Try to figure out where best your work fits, and how the Festival works. Attend many of the talks given by the Fringe Society about bringing work here. Then, make it a work of true passion. Don’t try to figure out what the audience will like, just do what your talent insists is good, and then polish it till it shines. Even if the show goes no further, you can be proud of your best effort and you’ll have learned for the next piece you do.

Faces Of The Fringe Exhibition, Edinburgh College Of Art, 6-25 Aug, 9.00am onwards.

LINKS: www.caroltambor.com | www.bestofedinburgh.org

ThreeWeeks Co-Editor Caro Moses recommends three shows from the Fringe’s theatre programme with a mythical theme.

The Girl With No Heart (pictured)
Producers Sparkle And Dark describe this as a “stark yet beautiful fable” which sees children inhabiting a world of paper, and trying to rebuild their city by folding paper bricks, one at a time. An examination of the hopelessness and senselessness of war, conveyed via puppetry, shadow play and music.
The Girl With No Heart, Bedlam Theatre, 3-25 Aug (not 13), 5.00pm, fpp281. www.sparkleanddark.com

Icarus: A Story Of Flight
Everyone knows the story of Icarus, yes? Well, it involves a bit of flying (as well as falling), so you’ll be pleased to hear that this production is the kind involving aerial circus type artistry, so this should add up to something pleasingly poetic as well as visually stunning. And this company definitely have form … our archives are packed with their 4/5 and 5/5 reviews.
Icarus: a Story Of Flight, C Venues – C eca, 1-27 Aug (not 13), 5.30pm, fpp286. www.backhandtheatre.com

Eurydice
“Eurydice always thought there would be more interesting people at her wedding. Plunged into the underworld on her big day, she must make the ultimate choice … but how can she when she can’t remember who she is?” UCLU Runaground present Sarah Ruhl’s take on the Orpheus and Eurydice myth, incorporating physical theatre, puppetry and dance. We enjoyed their show ‘King Ubu’ a few years back, so we’re expecting this to be good too.
Eurydice, C Venues – C eca, 1-27 Aug (not 14), 3.20pm, fpp277. www.runagroundeurydice.tumblr.com

ED2012 INTERVIEW: At the South end of George IV Bridge, just round the corner from the Fringe’s Bristo Square hub, you will find the Bedlam Theatre. The year-round home of the Edinburgh University Theatre Company, every year a different team of students is assembled to run the building for the festival.

They put together a programme of great shows, and then oversee every aspect of the venue, from the box office to the cafe to the lights to the sound to all the paperwork. This year that team is being led by Adam Alton, who has worked at the Fringe for the last three years, twice at the Bedlam itself. In our latest Venue Director interview, ThreeWeeks catches up with Adam to find out more.

TW: The Bedlam is famously one of the UK’s leading student-run theatres, how do things work during the Fringe?
AA: The Edinburgh Fringe at the Bedlam has always offered great opportunities for both our staff and our visiting companies. We’re so lucky to be allowed to run the Bedlam over the Festival, and I have to thank the Edinburgh University Students’ Association for trusting us to do it.

When you step back and think about it, it’s an amazing thing. We have a theatre, in a fantastic location for the Fringe, and I’m appointed to hire a team of people to run the venue for the festival. That team runs the show selection, develops any projects working to improve the space for companies and audience members, decides what the café will sell, and so on. We really do get to run the place with a lot of freedom, and when you consider that the majority of the staff are either students or recent graduates, we really are fortunate to have such a great amount of trust given to us.

It’s our chance to demonstrate what a team like this can achieve, and why opportunities like this are essential for helping the next generation of arts professionals to make a step into the industry.

TW: You’ve just graduated after four years at Edinburgh University, and four years involved in the Bedlam. Tell us about your background.
AA: To be honest, the main reason I chose to study in Edinburgh was to be part of the Bedlam. Like many other members of Bedlam Theatre’s resident company, the EUTC, it only took one step into the building for me to know it was going to be home for a number of years.

I spent my first year at the Bedlam working backstage on a number of productions, and then started looking at the admin side of running a theatre and theatre company. Some people thought it was crazy of me to volunteer to take on the administration side, but you can learn so much this way. In 2009 I was lucky enough to be hired as the Bedlam’s Fringe Technical Manager, and that was my first taste of the Festival. I remember that year’s Fringe Venue Manager telling me that while he could try and describe how it would feel when the doors first opened at the start of the Festival, however I then pictured it, it would be ten times better for real. And he was absolutely right. I saw a completely different side of theatre during the Festival, and it just made me want to do more.

I carried on as the EUTC’s Technical Manager for the rest of the year, and then worked as Theatre Manager for Fringe 2010, and stayed on in that role for the rest of the year too. Which provided more brilliant experience, focussing on the ways to provide a safe working environment in the theatre. I then spent Fringe 2011 with Pleasance on their technical crew – which was a great way to see how a multi-space venue works – before spending my last year at Edinburgh University as EUTC’s Business Manager. Now that I am at the end of my degree, I’m going out with one last job, Fringe Venue Manager. Four years on, I can now put everything I have learned into action, while also passing on knowledge to those who, like me three or four years ago, are passionate about starting to work in the theatre.

I should probably mention that, alongside all of this, I’ve been doing a degree and have just graduated with a BEng in Electronics and Electrical Engineering with Management. That’s quite some way away from the theatre, I know, though I have been able to employ some of my academic learning at the Bedlam, especially on the management side. There are a huge variety of people who enjoy making theatre happen, whether on stage, back stage, in the tech box, or on the admin side, and what is truly great about the Bedlam is that it allows people to spend some time figuring out where their skills and interests lie, and to then get hands-on experience in that area of theatre performance, production or management.

TW: How do you choose what shows to stage at the Bedlam each Fringe?
AA: Companies that want to perform are invited to apply. The team meets the day after our application deadline, and we go through each application in turn trying to assemble a programme we feel will not only work well in the venue, but also work really well as programme overall – shows we personally believe in and that remind us why theatre is such a great part of our culture. We pride ourselves on taking all and any applications and considering them equally, which means we never really know how the programme is going to turn out until every application has been considered.

In recent years, we’ve had a number of successful shows, and we often have companies who return year after year, but we are always eager to also offer emerging companies the chance to perform at a venue in a great location with a team who can really support them. It’s obviously great seeing companies return each year, but it’s also a great joy seeing companies that started off at the Bedlam returning with sell out shows at bigger venues at subsequent festivals. Companies are often born at the Bedlam, grow up here, and then move on to achieve amazing things elsewhere. It’s always a pleasure to know we recognised that potential early on, and played a part in letting other people to see it too.

In many cases, the only thing we have to go on when choosing shows is the written application that is sent in, so you do have to take a bit of a risk every now and again, and hope that the productions are as good as the applications! But I have to say, I believe we’ve done a pretty good job in recent years and I can’t wait to present the shows we have coming to the Bedlam this year.

TW: The EUTC also stages its own shows, tell us about those.
AA: Each year, members of the EUTC vote on what shows it should present as part of the Bedlam’s Fringe programme. One of them is ‘The Improverts’, a regular show for the Bedlam, now in its 23rd year at the Fringe. The Improverts are the EUTC’s resident improvised comedy troupe, performing every Friday night throughout the year. At this year’s Festival, they will perform at half past midnight every day apart from the 12 and 19 Aug. As many Fringe regulars will already know, The Improverts use audience suggestions to act out short-form improvised sketches, and are joined by a technical team who improvise too. It’s a great show and a great night out, guaranteed to surprise you with hilarious moments and ingenuity.

Following the EUTC’s long-held tradition of staging new writing at the Fringe, the other EUTC show this year is ‘Killing Time’, a dark comedy written by Andrew Edwards. ‘Killing Time’ is one of those bittersweet pieces that makes you laugh and cry at the same time. Two boys, sat together at the end of the world, talk about friendship, their lives, their families, and the impending apocalypse, their conversation often expressing some simple truths through humour. Their respective approach to the situation is very different, though they both discover that they can still laugh at what is happening, and themselves. It’s a great play and we’re really looking forward to presenting it to our audiences. It was performed earlier this year as a part of the Bedlam Festival and received excellent feedback. ‘Killing Time’ is on every day at 11am, except for Sundays, when it’s on at 12.30pm.

TW: The Bedlam has an established profile and reputation, but has a new team running it each festival. Do you think that helps keep the venue feeling fresh?
AA: Yes, having a new team each year does help keep things fresh, though having the whole team involved in compiling our programme is also important. Having our Marketing Manager involved from the very outset helps us find shows that we know can be marketed successfully; the Technical Manager and Theatre Manager are able to consider how a production will work on our stage; and with everyone having such passion for theatre, we have some great debates about what shows will fit together best, and those debates mean we always get a programme of shows that are just right for the Bedlam.

As you say, our existing profile and reputation are very strong, and while lots of new people are involved in the Fringe here each year, there will also always be some people who were on the team the previous year, and the year before that, like myself. So that while there’s always some new blood, we can still also build on the success of the previous year. Our team is also very approachable, and as a small venue, you’ll quickly recognise people here, plus everyone will have seen nearly all the shows. It’s not uncommon for audience members to end up chatting with us all in the Bedlam café after and between shows. This results in an amazing atmosphere that it would be hard to get anywhere else at the Festival but in Bedlam.

LINKS: www.bedlamfringe.co.uk

Bedlam Theatre, 7, 14, 21 Aug, 9.30pm (10.30pm), £8.00 – £9.00, fpp152.
tw rating 5/5
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Bedlam Theatre, 22 – 27 Aug, 11.05am (12.05pm), £6.50 – £8.00, fpp278.
tw rating 4/5
[kjm]

Bedlam Theatre, 5 – 27 Aug, 7.30 pm (8.20 pm), £6.00 – £8.00, fpp288.
tw rating 4/5
[df]

Bedlam Theatre, 22 – 27 Aug, 9.00pm (10.30pm), £7.00 – £8.00, fpp245.
tw rating 5/5
[pr]

Bedlam Theatre, 15 – 27 Aug, 4.30 pm (5.30pm), £6.00 – £8.00, fpp237.
tw rating 5/5
[df]

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

Bedlam Theatre, 8 – 20 Aug (not 14), 11.00am (12.00pm), £8.00, fpp241.
tw rating 4/5
[ab]

How about another batch of those Fringe First awards The Scotsman so enjoy dishing out each Friday of the Fringe? Celebrating new playwriting at the Festival, the Fringe Firsts go to what the broadsheet’s review team consider to be the best productions of brand new plays within the Fringe’s theatre programme.

Among the second batch of Fringe First winners were:

‘Tuesday At Tescos’ at Assembly, the English language adaptation of Emmanuel Darley’s ‘Le Mardi a Monoprix’, starring Simon Callow (pictured) as transexual Pauline.

‘Allotment’ by Jules Horne and produced by Nutshell, also part of the Assembly programme, though staged on an allotment in Inverleith.

‘Your Last Breath’ by Curious Directive, at the Pleasance Dome.

‘Release’ by Icon Theatre, also at the Pleasance Dome.

‘An Instinct For Kindness’, at the Pleasance Dome yet again, a play written and performed by Chris Larner and about his real-life experiences last year when he accompanied his terminally ill ex-wife to Switzerland’s Dignitas clinic.

‘The Oh Fuck Moment’ at St George’s West, by poet Hannah Jane Walker and Chris Thorpe.

‘Scary Gorgeous’ from RashDash Theatre, who won the same prize for their 2010 production, and who return to Bedlam Theatre again this year.

And finally there is the compulsory win for a Traverse presentation, with ‘Ten Plagues’ – aka the Mark Almond show – getting a Fringe First prize, the music for this piece by Conor Mitchell and the libretto by Mark Ravenhill.

Well done one and all and one.

Bedlam Theatre, 5 – 27 Aug, 6.00pm (6.50pm), £6.00 – £8.00, fpp162.
tw rating 3/5
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Bedlam Chambers, 8 – 28 Aug, 7.00pm (8.30pm) / 1.00pm (2.30pm), £8.00 – £9.00, fpp277.
tw rating 5/5
[jc]

Bedlam Theatre, 8 – 27 Aug (not 14, 21), 10.00am (10.45am), £5.00 – £6.50, fpp304.
tw rating 3/5
[ja]

Bedlam Theatre, 5 – 27 Aug, 11.00pm, £8.00, fpp255.
tw rating 3/5
[gl]

Bedlam Theatre, 5 – 27 Aug, 2.00pm (3.05pm), £7.00 – £9.00, fpp238.
tw rating 3/5
[im]

FringeReview has presented its first Outstanding Theatre Award for this year’s Edinburgh Fringe. The reviews website presents just three such prizes each Fringe, and shows must score a five star review from the publication before being considered for the accolade. Additional FringeReview reviewers will then see shortlisted shows before any winner is identified. Said winners are presented with a special FringeReview award in the shape of a teapot. In that it is a teapot.

The first winner of a FringeReview prize this year is ‘Anton’s Uncles’, a physical theatre piece presented by Theatre Movement Bazaar at the Bedlam Theatre. FringeReview’s judges praised this “homage to Chekhov for successfully combining physical theatre, dialogue, dance and music in a thrilling and masterly way”.

‘Anton’s Uncles’ runs until 27 Aug at the Bedlam each day at 2pm.

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.

ED2010 BEST BITS: Notorious for its varied programming, cheap drinks and massive red doors, the Bedlam has for many years been a bastion of accessible and affordable quality shows during the Fringe. Nicola Hazelton is managing the venue this year, so Thomas Martin threw her a few questions.

TM: So, how did you start managing the venue?
NH: We are a unique venue in that our management team changes every year, with different people being offered the opportunity. I have been involved with Bedlam since I began studying at the University of Edinburgh in 2007, and this is my third Fringe here. I began as Box Office casual staff, and then last year I was the Press and Publicity Manager. This year I decided I fancied the challenge of running the Venue, and so applied for the job and was appointed in January. It’s been fantastic, especially now that the Fringe is properly under way.

TM: The Bedlam has a diverse program of events – what’s your strategy when picking shows?
NH: My aim when programming was to have something for everyone, while at the same time having shows that complimented each other and would work well together. I think we’ve struck a good balance between straight drama, comedy and more physical theatre and dance. When it comes to actually picking, all of our managers get together and read through the many applications that we receive. We then draw up a shortlist and from that begin to compile our programme.

TM: As far as you can tell, what are the differences in managing the Bedlam as opposed to other Fringe venues? How does the Bedlam change when the Fringe comes around?
NH: I think one of the biggest differences is that we have just the one 90-seater auditorium, and a relatively small staffing team so both staff and shows all become very close-knit by the end of the Fringe. In some ways I imagine it is an easier venue to manage because it is a permanent theatre; instead of having to build the space in the run up to Fringe we are able to concentrate on making improvements to what we already have. This year we were able to carry out some significant renovation projects, which I think have benefited the theatre enormously. Bedlam is also unique in offering these kinds of management opportunities to young people just starting out in their careers, and that in itself is extremely valuable.

TM: This August, the Bedlam celebrates thirty years at the Fringe – doing anything nice to celebrate?
NH: Back in January when the Bedlam actually turned thirty there was a big party in celebration, but given that the building was originally converted into a theatre with the Fringe in mind, I feel that the whole of August is a celebration in itself. With all the work that has gone on in the building in recent months it feels almost like a new venue, and I feel very lucky to be able to run it this year especially.

TM: Arts cuts… How does the Bedlam anticipate changes in programming and development over the coming years?
NH: Because our team changes every year, and because of the level of control that the Venue Manager has, Bedlam is constantly evolving. It’s difficult to say what it might be like in five or even one year’s time, but that is one of the things I most love about Bedlam. There is always a fresh energy and enthusiasm amongst the team that makes Bedlam a very exciting place to be during August.

LINKS: www.bedlamfringe.co.uk

Photo by Kate Edwards.