Ahead of the Fringe Robert Burns, Zog the Dragon and Elaine C Smith grace the stages of the capital in July as well as the return of the Old Lady of Leven Street.
The clock is ticking and the countdown on to the 79th Edinburgh Festival Fringe, which will runs from 7-31 August.
Some 3,649 productions have registered to play across 258 venues with a total of 53,884 performances between them this year. Looking at the programme genre by genre it always saddens me to see that comedy continues its domination of a festival that, from its inception championed theatre, and exciting new theatre at that.
This year’s breakdown finds 1,401 comedy shows listed, 1,025 productions registered under the theatre banner, with music in third place (388 shows), musical theatre/opera next (168 productions) followed by cabaret/variety (168) and spoken word (155). Bringing up the rear are children’s shows (127 shows) and dance/physical theatre/circus (115).
That said, a browse of the programme quickly establishes how ‘loose’ those categories actually are. I’ve been trawling them all over the last couple of weeks ahead of putting together my Must See Fringe recommendations for next month’s spread and there’s certainly an international feel to the event – 71 different countries are represented at this year’s arts extravaganza, still the largest arts festival in the world.
To be honest, it has been a bit of a chore, so many solo pity plays with synopses that read like public therapy sessions join the many stand-ups that have been doing just that for years. Thankfully, I’ve also discovered some exciting new writing, quality productions by teams with strong track records and other well loved titles with impressive creatives. It’s a mix that guarantees a number of little gems in a very diluted programme. I look forward to sharing them with you next month.
But I’m getting ahead of myself, we still have July to get through and as always, the approach of the Fringe and the Edinburgh International Festival (you’ll also find my Top 5 EIF picks in next month’s edition), sees fewer productions coming to town as venues prepare for August.
Ahead of the EIF both The Playhouse and Festival Theatre have a programme of mostly one-nighters, unlike the Royal Lyceum where, they manage to present two very different productions at the beginning of the month.
Intimate is the word to describe my first pick for July, but be warned, you have just five days to see it. Directed by Olivier award-winning Cora Bissett, The Burns Project (until 5 July) is staged around an ‘immaculately designed’ dinner table in the Henry Irving Room of the Royal Lyceum.
There, the audience seated around the Bard’s table, become a part of what is a unique theatrical experience exploring the complicated life and legacy of Robert Burns. And as the set comes alive with hidden voices, music and secrets that are titillating, shameful and surprising in equal measure, they too become part of the story as the piece’s creator, writer and performer James Clements, brings the room to life.
Running time 1 hour, with no interval, tickets https://lyceum.org.uk/events/the-burns-project
Staying at The Lyceum, another Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler musical, Zog (7-12 July), arrives to keep the wee ones happy. Suitable for ages 3+, the feel-good story of the keenest dragon in Madam Dragon’s school comes from the same stable as Stick Man. Zog, however, is also the most accident-prone dragon, flying into trees, and even setting his own wing alight. Thankfully, a kind girl comes along to patch up his scratches and scrapes… but can she help him with his biggest challenge yet, winning a golden star?
Running time 1 hour, no interval, tickets https://lyceum.org.uk/events/zog
Around the corner, The Traverse starts its Fringe programme early with the World Premiere of Cathy (31 July-30 August), starring Elaine C Smith. Written and directed by Eilidh Loan, Cathy is a new comedy inspired by her grandmother, and how she dealt with grief in a unique way after losing her husband. It was Eilidh’s grandmother, the real Cathy, who insisted Smith should play the role. Guaranteed to be hit with a long life ahead of it, make sure to be amongst the first to see it at this year’s Fringe.
Two Doors Down favourite Smith is joined on stage by an impressive cast comprised of Michele Gallagher as Flo, Chloe Hodgson as Amy, Sally Reid as Lizze and Alan Orr as Colin.
Running time 1 hour 10 minutes, no interval, tickets https://www.traverse.co.uk/whats-on/event/cathy
The last local highlight this month falls on 31 July with the long-awaited reopening of the Old Lady of Leven Street, yes the King’s Theatre officially throws open its doors once again. In the run up to the official reopening, there are three Dress Rehearsal events (23-25 July), you’ll find details on the Capital Theatres website – so you know what to do if you want to be first to experience the redeveloped King’s.
If you are happy to wait, the Leven Street theatre will then host five EIF events in August ahead of its first new season of entertainment in four years.
Dress rehearsal tickets here https://www.capitaltheatres.com/festivals/kings-dress-rehearsals/
Finally this month, the dearth of local entertainment makes July the perfect month for a theatre break and if you happen to be a lover of the musical Rent, ahead of the return of the musical to London’s West End as part of the Pulitzer Prize winning show’s 30th anniversary celebrations, this month brings The Jonathan Larson Project (9 July-22 August) to the Southwark Playhouse.
An electrifying celebration of the unknown and unheard songs of Larson, the composer of Rent, it’s only the second production of The Larson Project in the world and follows its New York premiere.
A show about a young man following his heart in New York City while trying to change the world, the show offers a rare and exhilarating window into Larson’s creative world, featuring previously unheard songs from the his archives. For many it will be a bitter sweet production – Larson tragically died in January 1996 just one day before Rent’s first performance in New York.
Running time 1 hour 30 minutes, tickets https://southwarkplayhouse.co.uk/productions/the-jonathan-larson-project/
And that’s it from me. Don’t forget to pop on to www.MustSeeTheatre.com for all my reviews and latest theatre news from Edinburgh and across the UK. Have a read and share – it costs nothing but really does help the site flourish.
Until next month and all the usual Fringe mayhem, Happy theatre-going, Liam.
