THURSDAY 24 AUGUST 2017 THISWEEKCULTURE.COM
  Hello there. The Edinburgh Festival is reaching its climax for another year, but we still have a packed weekend of shows to go, so if you are in or are heading to the festival city for the finale weekend, there's still plenty to see.

Plus we will be presenting our ThreeWeeks Editors' Awards on Saturday to the ten shows and performers who we think made Edinburgh Festival 2017 particularly special. We announce the winners on Saturday morning at theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, and we'll report on the winners in the TW Daily bulletin over the weekend - so look out for that!

In this edition of the TW Weekly we run through all the Edinburgh Festival coverage that is still available on the ThreeWeeks website, plus for those of you in London there are our usual Three To See show recommendations.

Have a great week,

Caro Moses
Editor, ThreeWeeks Edinburgh and ThisWeek London
Edinburgh Festival 2017 is reaching its climax - and what another very fine festival it has been. Don't forget, all our coverage is available online.

INTERVIEWS:
ThreeWeeks Editors Caro Moses and Chris Cooke have been interviewing lots of performers again this year. You can check out all the interviews they did online via the Caro Meets Index here and the Chris Meets index here.

QUICK QUIZ: As the Edinburgh Festival celebrated its 70th year, the ThreeWeeks Quick Quiz returned. We encouraged Fringe performers galore to tell stories about the highs and the lows of their Edinburgh experiences across the years. Among those getting nostalgic were Richard Herring (pictured), Clive Anderson, Morgan & West, Chris Martin, Simon Evans, Josie Lawrence, Michael Redmond and many more. Read all the Quick Quizzes from Edinburgh Festival 2017 here.

TW:TALKS: We have been putting out Edinburgh Fringe editions of the TW:TALKS podcast throughout the month - and there are more to come! Check out new interviews with Phil Wang, Rosie Wilby, Yianni Agisilaou and John Robertston, plus from the archives Mark Thomas, Lucy Porter and more. Click here to tune in and sign up.

THREE TO SEE: We have been recommending shows throughout the festival, with a daily Three To See. And we will continue doing so until Sunday.

REVIEWS: And don't forget the all-important reviews. We will carry on publishing reviews in the TW Daily and online throughout the weekend. So sign up or check the Reviews Index on the website.


FRIDAY 25 AUGUST 2017 >>

Jagjit Arts presents 'Rainmaker' with Talvin Singh and Taufiq Qureshi,
"As the rainy season begins, join us on a rhythmic journey with a stellar line up of world-renowned artists performing rare North Indian classical music compositions, culminating with an East-West ensemble led by Talvin Singh and Taufiq Qureshi". Why, thank you, I would love to. See the venue website here for details.

Jim Campbell - What Would ...And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead do? | Camden Comedy Club | 25 Aug
We're not far off the end of Camden Fringe, but there's still time to catch some of the events included in its line up, and here's one of them, a show from award-nominated comedian Jim Campbell, who has always made a good impression on our reviewers up at the Edinburgh Fringe. And frankly, how could you even hesitate, with a show title like that...? Click here for more.

How To Die Of A Broken Heart | Soho Theatre | 25-26 Aug (pictured)
Femi Martin presents this show about how heartbreak changed her body and life forever, telling stories of her failed relationships and the desperation that so many of us feel when it comes to loving, or not being loved. Promises "uncomfortable moments" but it sounds as though the play will be leavened by laughter and a focus on the idea that ultimately, a broken heart can be mended. See this page here for all the info.


SATURDAY 26 AUGUST 2017 >>

Blurred Justice | Etcetera Theatre | 26-27 Aug
Back to the soon-ending Camden Fringe for this award winning play in which the fate of one man is the responsibility of the show's audience. The action focuses on Sharif, a Yemeni Houthi soldier, who is being tried in an extraordinary court, and his story explores the meaning of the word terrorist and the complications of the Yemeni civil war. See this page here for info and to book.

Hamlet | The Park Theatre | 22 Aug-16 Sep (pictured)
A stripped down staging of 'Hamlet' starring three members of the same family: Gyles Brandreth, his lawyer/writer son Benet, and actress Kosha Engler, Benet's wife. It's an interesting-sounding adaptation - just the three performers: three family members playing three family members - and it's co-directed by Simon Evans, who, as I'm sure you're aware has done some very acclaimed stuff. Head this way for details.

Some Lovers | The Other Palace | 24 Aug-2 Sep
Part of Aria Entertainments From Page To Stage festival, this new musical is described as "a valentine to the New York we're always leaving behind" created by award winning writer Steven Sater of 'Spring Awakening' renown, and the legendary Burt Bacharach. What attracted me to this was the fact that it's inspired by 'The Gift Of The Magi', a short story by O Henry, which made a powerful impact on me when I first read it as a young person. Click here for more.


SUNDAY 27 AUGUST 2017 >>

Paul Kerensa - Navelless Gazing | Camden Comedy Club | 26-27 Aug
You don't see him out and about much these days (well, it feels like a while to me), but here he is, taking part in Camden Fringe: award-winning comedian and comedy writer Paul Kerensa performs a new show which promises to cover the fact that he has no belly button, step-bladders (?) and Cornishness. He's very good, so you can count on this show to be, well, good. See this page here for more.

Gin House Burlesque - Roaring Twenties Revue | Udderbelly Festival | 27 Sep (pictured)
All anyone has to say to get my attention is 'roaring twenties', because, if you overlook all bad stuff that preceded them, and the bad stuff that follow them, oh, and you know, the lack of all the modern things that make our life now all safe and healthy, etc, then it looks like such a great time to be alive. But this is also the work of a very talented bunch and promises opulence and debauchery, so what are you waiting for? Click here for details.

The Trap - Live! | Hen and Chickens | 27 Aug
Today is the last day of the Camden Fringe - sob - so I thought we'd top and tail today's tips with events from it. It's been a while since we've seen the members of acclaimed sketch comedy act The Trap performing, so it's a bit of a treat, really, to see them back with a new show, after a rather long break. Don't miss 'em, see this page here to book. And goodnight, Camden Fringe, see you next time.


MONDAY 28 AUGUST 2017 >>

The Turas Mor | Lloyd Park, Walthamstow | 28 Aug
"It's the day when humans get to see behind the Spider's Veil to The Kingdom of the Fairies. But the King is sick and it's up to the humans to save him..." This promenade production taking place in Lloyd Park is a community play, put together by professionals but performed by volunteers, and is set in a world of samba and carnival, which sounds lovely and cheery. Fingers crossed for nice weather, see this page here.

Family Season | The Other Palace | 28-30 Aug
Back over to the former St James Theatre now (we recently stopped by for another event in the venue's Page To Stage strand of new musical readings, showcases and productions) for something for the kids to take in before they head back to school. This consists of two musical readings, of 'Chicken Little' and 'Dino Story', and should be fun for all the family. Click here for info.

Edward II | Tristan Bates Theatre | 22 Aug-9 Sep (pictured)
The excellent Lazarus Theatre mark the fiftieth anniversary of the UK decriminalisation of homosexuality with a production of Christopher Marlow's classic play about the titular king and his beloved Gaveston. "Why would you love him who the world hates so? Because he loves me more than all the world". Head this way for details.


TUESDAY 29 AUGUST 2017 >>

The Queen's Lace Handkerchief | Wilton's Music Hall | 29-31 Aug
Apparently Johann Strauss's 'Das Spitzentuch der Konigin' was a huge success in Vienna and the US back in the 1880s but was never performed in London. Despite that, many of its tunes have become familiar to us as the composer later re-used them in his orchestral waltzes. Which seems like a very good reason to take in this first professional production of the operetta, which tells a tale of political intrigue and royal adultery. Click here for info.

Out In Africa | Arcola Theatre | 29 Aug-2 Sep (pictured)
This new play by South African TV writer and playwright Mpumelelo Paul Grootboom is based around an event in which western tourists are kidnapped in Kenya by Islamic rebels; focusing on the hostages' struggle for survival, it promises to be a gripping and powerful watch. See the venue website here for more.

Adam & Eve | Jack Studio Theatre | 29 Aug-2 Sep
"Newlyweds Adam & Eve are moving to the countryside, leaving the city behind for good. They're going to buy a house, start a family and live happily ever after. But when Adam is suspended from work and accusations are made, they're forced to question how well they really know each other". A play about the nature of truth, trust and accusations, interesting in light of how we seem to be in that post-truth society everyone's been talking about. Head this way for details.


WEDNESDAY 30 AUGUST 2017 >>

Thrill Me - The Leopold and Loeb Story | Arcola Theatre | 29 Aug-2 Sep (pictured)
We are close to the end of Arcola's Grimeborn season, but look, one more show to take in before it's all over. And it's the return of 'Thrill Me', the award-winning and hugely critically acclaimed musical about 1920s thrill killers Leopold and Loeb. We first came across it up at the Edinburgh Festival a few years ago, and it's excellent. See this page here for info.

Hyem | Theatre503 | 30 Aug-23 Sep
"Everyone says Mick and Sylv's is dangerous. So why does Dummey think it feels so much like home?" Possibly because his own home - in the Fountain Park estate, Northumberland, voted the second worst estate to live in Britain 1992 - doesn't. Established actor Philip Correia's debut play is about lost kids, with nowhere to go, coming of age in an uncertain world, click here for details.

Tom Ballard - Problematic | Soho Theatre | 29 Aug-9 Sep
The blurb doesn't say much about the content of the show, not least because it basically consists of this sentence: "a funny show about whether anything can be funny any more". But this show has already had lots of good reviews, and it's the work of someone with a lot of award nominations to his name. Head this way to book your tickets.


THURSDAY 31 AUGUST 2017 >>

Translunar Paradise | The Bunker Theatre | 31 Aug-2 Sep (pictured)
This show by the extraordinary Theatre Ad Infinitum has won so much praise over the years, I'd be surprised if you hadn't seen it already. But there will be those that haven't, and many, I am sure, who wouldn't mind seeing it again. It's poignant and beautiful, and despite focusing on bereavement, grief and letting go, it's genuinely life-affirming. See the venue website here for more.

Urzila Carlson - First Edition | Soho Theatre | 29 Aug-2 Sep
This New Zealand based comedian stops in at the Soho Theatre following a full run up at this year's Edinburgh Festival (with barely a rest in between, that's dedication). This summer was her Fringe debut but don't make the mistake of thinking she's inexperienced, she's been selling out southern hemisphere venues for years. See this page here for all the info.

Outlaws To In-Laws | King's Head Theatre | 29 Aug -23 Sep
Part of the venue's 2017 Queer Season, 'Outlaws To In-Laws' is a collection of seven short plays exploring gay lives against the backdrop of changing times, each piece set in a different decade, starting with the 1950s and finishing in the present day. Love this idea. Click here for details.
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