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Hello there. Here we go again, July is nearly upon us and Edinburgh's festival month is getting ever closer. And here we are in your inbox with two more Fringe style interviews. This week I spoke to Alison Skilbeck about her show 'The Power Behind The Crone', which is being performed at Assembly George Square, while Chris spoke to John Hastings about his show 'Audacity', which you can see at Pleasance Courtyard. Elsewhere in this week's TW Weekly you will find our customary guide to the cultural week ahead in London, with Threes To See aplenty plus a Q&A with Matt Sheahan about the comical play 'Instructions For American Servicemen In Britain'. We'll be back with more cultural tips and interviews in a week's time. Don't forget to tell friends, family, colleagues and vague acquaintances that if they too would like to receive the TW Weekly, they can sign up here, and to get daily updates during the Edinburgh Fringe itself, they should sign up here. Have a great week, Caro Moses Editor, ThreeWeeks Edinburgh and ThisWeek London |
If you were around for last year's Fringe, and you were lucky enough to get a ticket, you may have seen Alison Skilbeck's excellent 2016 offering 'Mrs Roosevelt Flies to London'.
And if you did, you'll be pleased to hear, as was I, that she returns to the Edinburgh Festival again this year with a new one woman show, 'The Power Behind The Crone'.
I put some questions to Alison to find out more about the show and its inspiration. Read the interview here.
Alison performs 'The Power Behind The Crone' at Edinburgh Festival 2017 at Assembly George Square from 3-28 Aug.
Canadian import John Hastings first caught our attention when he brought his first show to Edinburgh in 2012, and swiftly became what we might call a bit of a TW Favourite. He's back with his fifth show this time and we are expecting good things.
To find out more about John - and his bold decision to wear only pants in his publicity shots this year - I arranged to have a quick chat. Read the interview here.
John Hastings performs 'Audacity' at Edinburgh Festival 2017 at the Pleasance Courtyard from 2 to 28 Aug.
'Instructions For American Servicemen In Britain', opening this month at Jermyn Street Theatre, is the work of a quartet of creatives - Dan March, Jim Millard, Matt Sheahan and John Walton - three of whom you might recognise as members of highly successful sketch troupe The Real MacGuffins.
This comical play has already done lots of touring, and has met with huge acclaim along the way. To find out more, I spoke to one of that aforementioned quartet, Matt Sheahan. Read the interview here.
'Instructions For American Servicemen In Britain' is on at Jermyn Street Theatre from 3-29 Jul, see the venue website here for details.
FRIDAY 30 JUNE 2016 >>
Superhero | Southwark Playhouse | 28 Jun-22 Jul
"Colin is a loving husband and stay-at-home dad who adores his daughter. But mistakes are made, and he finds himself in the fight of his life climbing Big Ben dressed as a superhero. How did he get here? And why couldn't he get a bigger cape?" I have to be honest, I hesitated over this one man musical, because it appears to be inspired by the antics of Fathers 4 Justice, and I don't trust them (and not because I don't believe in equal rights for fathers), but you know, this is fiction, and it sounds good. See this page here for all the info.
The View From Nowhere | The Park Theatre | 27 Jun-22 Jul
A show with an interesting premise, brought to you by a great creative team. It tells the tale of a a brilliant biochemist whose experiments prove that a popular herbicide is carcinogenic, who must fight for action against those whose vested interests are at stake. For more information and to book, see this page here.
The Paper Cinema's MacBeth - Scratch | Battersea Arts Centre | 30 Jun (pictured)
It's a scratch performance, which might switch some of you off a bit, but don't switch off, actually, because it's from a great, acclaimed company - The Paper Cinema - whose blend of live animation and music will completely captivate you, scratch night or not. This re-imagining of 'MacBeth' as a cautionary tale promises epic battle scenes and intricate characters in a "silent film created before your eyes". See this page here for details.
SATURDAY 1 JULY 2016 >>
Iguana Mum | Museum Of Comedy | 1 Jul (pictured)
"Wish big, wish high, but be careful what you wish for". The very excellent Sindhu Vee heads to the Museum Of Comedy with this preview of the show she is taking up to Auld Reekie this summer. Expect to hear of "power, Vikings, mothering, Wall Street, benign dictatorship and love... all the key building blocks of family life. Oh, and a hilarious story about "going a little bit" to prison". More info here.
Droll | Rosemary Branch Theatre | 1 Jul
This is another show that's going to be on up in Edinburgh in August, but it's very different. Award winning theatre company Owle Schreame return with their short, partly improvised, rough and bawdy 16th and 17th century plays, which were first performed secretly and chaotically back in the time in our history when theatre was outlawed. You might already have seen these guys at work in recent times, but every show will be different (and a guaranteed madhouse) so there's no reason to rule it out. See the venue website here for details.
Hangwire | Jacksons Lane | 1 Jul
It's the third year for Jacksons Lane's annual short-form circus residency programme, during which eight artists come together to experiment with new work. You can expect some cutting-edge contemporary circus from emerging companies and solo artists in this end-of-week showcase. Click here for more.
SUNDAY 2 JULY 2016 >>
Miniaturists 63 | Arcola Theatre | 2 Jul
The short play experts present their latest collection of works by both new and established playwrights, and this particular selection comes courtesy of writers Kate Webster, Charlie Howitt, Gaia Fenn, David Ralf and Michelle Sewell. I love this format, I love the fact that these guys know that small can be beautiful. See this page here for info.
The Tortoise And The Hare | Greenwich Theatre | 2 Jul
Here's a nice looking adaptation of the traditional tale for younger children aged 3 and over. Hatty the Hare thinks she's destined to win the long distance race at the School Sports Day, but Tilly the Tortoise signs up and gives her a run for her money! Interaction, music and games will keep your little ones engaged, click here for details.
And The Rope Still Tugging Her Feet | White Bear Theatre | 2-3 Jul (pictured)
This dark and comical one woman show, created and performed by Caroline Burns Cooke, was inspired by the 1984 Kerry Babies scandal, which raised questions about the treatment of unmarried mothers in Irish society. It's a piece that won much acclaim when staged at the Brighton and Edinburgh Festivals in 2016, and more recently at Vault. See the venue website here for more.
MONDAY 3 JULY 2016 >>
Orwell That Ends Well | Museum Of Comedy | 3 Jul (pictured)
I think y'all might be aware by now that we are suckers for a punny title, so that might be one reason for our decision to include this show in the tips, but we also have great confidence in recent Funny Women finalist Lolly Jones, whose third satirical stand up show this is. In it she explores our digital footprints, to get to the bottom of why Amazon seems to know what we need before we do, and how Facebook can predict future friendships. See the venue website here for more.
All Hell Toupee | Leicester Square Theatre 3-5 Jul
Well, look at that. Another punny title for us, and you can expect another one woman-experience, this time from Kate Bowes Renna, who performs this tale of love, blackmail and hair loss which she co-devised with Jeremy Stockwell, who also directs. Expect "bizarre characters and ingenious twists, also music, wigs and guacamole". Click here for info.
The Cavalry Behind You | Theatre503 | 3-4 Jul
"A soldier lies breathless in the mud of the Somme, and cannot bring himself to fire another shot. In the mountains of Austria, a man swears he'll never fire one. Leaving his wife in England, a volunteer stalks a man he has sworn to destroy. A wife endures a life of loneliness and slavery, and a son leaves the father who hates him. A young girl fills shells with gunpowder, and the war stumbles madly into its fourth year". Six different World War One stories, based on truth, guaranteed to be poignant. Details here.
TUESDAY 4 JULY 2016 >>
Jen Brister - The Other One | Soho Theatre | 4-6 Jul (pictured)
"Jen Brister's not THAT ONE, she's the OTHER ONE, in all things, not least becoming a Mum. Confused? Check out the haircut. So, what does it mean to be gay parent in 2017? And does life really get better in your 40s? Let's hope so". The excellent, acclaimed and needs-no-introduction comedian heads to Soho Theatre for a three night run, so head this way to book your tickets.
Torn Apart (Dissolution) | The Hope Theatre | 4-22 Jul
This show says it's a love story set in three different times, and I am not too sure whether that means three separate love stories, or the same tale told in different ways... or... well, I may not be too sure what to expect, but I am certainly intrigued enough to want to see it. Not least because it's primarily about women, and explores feminism, immigration, male repression, fate, homosexuality, and the human condition. See the venue website here for info.
Mirrors | King's Head Theatre | 4-8 Jul
This is also rather female focused (the theme was not intentional) and is described as both a black comedy and a modern fairy tale which offers an exploration of beauty, narcissism, and the neuroses of contemporary women, groomed by the media and social expectation. Writer and performer Siobhan MacMillan tells the story of a shy girl, waiting for a date that never comes, and the anger that ensues. See this page here for details.
WEDNESDAY 5 JULY 2016 >>
The Scar Test | Soho Theatre | 5-22 Aug (pictured)
'The Scar Test' refers to a flawed procedure used to determine whether refugees have undergone torture in their home countries or not, and gives its name to this new play about life inside the Yarl's Wood Detention centre, based on verbatim interviews and research, and created by award winning writer Hannah Khalil. Expect something powerful and possibly disturbing, given the controversial conditions detainees have faced there. See this page here for more.
Low Lily | Green Note | 5 Jul
US based trio Low Lily combine traditional influences - ranging from bluegrass to Irish, Scottish, New England and Old Time Appalachian - with modern inspirations and sensibilities to create a sound which should very much appeal to those of you whose musical tastes lean towards the rootsy and folky kind. Click here for a taster, and to book your tickets.
Instructions For American Servicemen In Britain | Jermyn Street Theatre | 3-29 Jul
"It's 1942 and a horde of Yankee servicemen have just arrived in England - where the locals speak a strange dialect, boil all their food, and talk endlessly about the weather. Two American officers have been charged with explaining British life to their recently arrived countrymen. Will the plucky team succeed or will Hitler's propaganda split the allies asunder? The future of the free world hangs in the balance". Funny stuff from a brilliant team, see the venue website here for more.
THURSDAY 6 JULY 2016 >>
The Thinking Drinkers Sessions | Museum Of Comedy | 6 Jul
You probably already know all about the Thinking Drinkers because you will undoubtedly have read the Q&A we did with them last year about the show they were doing at that time. But for those who don't, the perfect introduction might be one of their regular spots at the Museum Of Comedy, and this one's all 4th of July themed, despite the fact that it's on 6 Jul. As the blurb so aptly puts it "It's not a comedy show, it's essentially a tasting. But not one that's f***ing boring". Hurrah. Click here for more.
Figs In Wigs - Often Onstage | Battersea Arts Centre | 6-8 Jul (pictured)
We've long been fans of Figs In Wigs, and their work that in many ways defies categorisation, and this show in particular got a resounding thumbs up from our reviewer who saw it at last year's Edinburgh Festival. Expect "an offbeat facetious romp that explores the ins and outs of the stage through the medium of dance", and head this way for more info and to book.
Secret Life Of Humans | New Diorama | 6-7 Jul
"In 1949, Dr Jacob Bronowski installs a secret, alarmed room in his house. Fifty years later his grandson discovers his secrets, unearthing echoes from across six million years of human history, told from the perspective of a century in which every year is a revolutionary year". Take a sneaky peak at this show inspired by Yuval Harari's international bestseller 'Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind', which is headed for the Edinburgh Fringe this summer. See the venue website here for details.
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