TO SEE OR NOT TO SEE
That is question as festival time features Hamlet with a twist, some Grimm goings-on and a Boris reboot
IT’S that time of year again. Whether you’re an opera buff, a ballet nut or a sucker for a slice of stand-up, the largest and longest running arts festival in the world will deliver. This year’s festival promises everything from a celebrated Shakespearean production to a 55-minute re-telling of the entire collection of Grimm’s Fairytales – with international movie stars, ballet dancers and a one-man play about Boris Johnson in between. Here we round up the wild, the wacky, and the worth seeing at the 2016 Edinburgh Festival.
THE GLASS MENAGERIE KING’S THEATRE AUGUST 7-21
TENNESSEE Williams’ classic family saga is reimagined by John Tiffany, the celebrated director who recently brought Harry Potter and the Cursed Child to the West End in London. Originally debuted on Broadway, where it was a smash hit sell-out, Tiffany’s production features the American actress Cherry Jones – best known as President Taylor in TV series 24 – and famed Broadway actor Michael Esper. Tickets will sell out fast for this one. Tickets: eif.co.uk or 0131 473 2000
HAMLET IN BED PLEASANCE COURTYARD AUG 3-9, 11-15, 17-22, 24-29
IF you prefer your Shakespeare a little less traditional then this astounding play, a huge hit during its recent off Broadway season, may just fit the bill. The tale focuses on an unbalanced young actor who is obsessed with finding his mother – and playing Hamlet in a Shakespearean play. Sex, death and theatre all play their parts and garnered rave reviews for writer/performer Michael Laurence in New York. The play also features the Oscarnominated actress Annette O’Toole as the woman who may – or may not – his mother. Tickets: edfringe.com or 0131 226 0000
ALAN CUMMING SINGS SAPPY SONGS THE HUB , AUGUST 6-27
THE celebrated actor Alan Cumming hasn’t endeared himself to Britain, lately. Last week he railed against Britain’s decision to leave the EU, blaming the result on ‘stupid English people’. He has since apologised but has left many noses out of joint. If you can forgive his politics however, Cumming – who is now an American citizen – is still one of Broadway’s biggest stars, as well as a TV A-lister in the US thanks to his star turn on the hit series the Good Wife. At this year’s festival you can catch his cabaret show Alan Cumming Sings Sappy Songs, which promises a mix of anecdotes, songs and intimate confessions. Tickets: eif.co.uk or 0131 473 2000
NATALIA OSIPOVA AND GUESTS FESTIVAL THEATRE AUGUST 12-14
IF ballet is your bag then you can’t do better in today’s dance world than Natalia Osipova. This award-winning classical Russian ballerina brings her Sadler’s Wells production to Edinburgh featuring three brand-new choreographed works featuring Natalia and, amongst others, the celebrated Ukrainian ballet dancer Sergei Polunin, who became the Royal Ballet’s youngest ever principal at the age of 19, only to walk out of the company in 2013. Technically brilliant and surprisingly emotional, prepare yourself for a rollercoaster ride of thrilling contemporary dance. Tickets: eif.co.uk or 0131 473 2000
BBC AT THE EDINBURGH FESTIVALS BBC (VENUE 25) TIMES AND DATES VARY
YOUR chance to be in the audience for a wide-ranging roster of BBC shows. There are live recordings of BBC Radio 4 stalwarts such as Just a Minute, Loose Ends, Front Row and Open Book, as well as Radio 2 shows such as Steve Wright in the Afternoon and Al Murray. There will also be recordings of the One Show, a number of World Service shows and some RSPB themed shows on nature. You can also witness the semi-finals of the BBC Radio New Comedy Award. With such variety there’s likely to be a show for every taste. Tickets: tickets. edfringe.com or 0131 226 0000
British-iranian comedian shappi Khorsandi is a firm Fringe favourite and has been performing at Edinburgh for years – once while eight months pregnant. in her latest show she stages a comedic love letter to her adopted homeland, where she has now lived for 40 years since her father – a celebrated iranian satirist – was forced to flee the country in the 1970s. a radio 4 stalwart who has appeared frequently on BBC’s Live at the apollo expect her stand-up routine to be sharp, warm and affectionate. Tickets: tickets.edfringe.com or 0131 226 0000
BROTHERS GRIMM SPECULATION CHURCH HILL THEATRE AUGUST 14, 16-18
OnE of the wackier and arguably more imaginative shows at this year’s Fringe is this clever retelling of the sinister and timeless tales of the Brothers Grimm. using a small cast of actors the show will attempt to tell all 209 Grimm tales in just 55 minutes, from their famed stories of love and loss including Cinderella, snow White and hansel and Gretel to some of the creepier and less well-known tales in the Grimm canon. Expect bags of originality and comedy, as well as a healthy dose of audience participation. not for the faint hearted. Tickets: tickets.edfringe.com or 0131 226 0000
DAS RHEINGOLD USHER HALL, AUGUST 15
Fans of richard Wagner will no doubt flock to this production of one of his most astounding,
and rather shorter works. Das rheingold introduces the vast, complex and occasionally ludicrous world of Wagner’s revered ring Cycle with an operatic bang. staged by Mariinsky Opera, the respected russian company based in st Petersburg that first performed some of Wagner’s operas, prepare yourself for a loud visual feast of jealous gods, plait-haired women and sinister dwarves. tickets are already selling out for this one night only production – move fast if you want a seat. Tickets: eif.co.uk or 0131 473 2000
COSI FAN TUTTE FESTIVAL THEATRE AUGUST 25-28
YOu can’t go wrong with a Mozart opera, and Cosi Fan tutte – with its comic plot examining the power of fidelity amongst a quartet of lovers – is one of his finest, and most famed. Featuring celebrated French soprano sandrine Piau as Despina and american baritone rod Gilfry as Don alfonso, this brand-new production from this year’s aix-en-Provence festival (where it was a huge hit) sets this rakish tale of love and infidelity in East african Eritrea in the 1930s. it is, its producers promise, both provocative and ‘sexually explicit’. Whatever would Mozart have said? Tickets: eif.co.uk or 0131 473 2000
BURNISTOUN, LIVE AT THE FRINGE GILDED BALLOON TEVIOT, AUGUST 4-14
hOt on the heels of still Game live, which ran a record sell-out show at the Glasgow hydro in 2014 comes Burnistoun, still Game’s edgier, younger tV sibling. Burnistoun is the brainchild of iain Connell and robert Florence, two Glaswegian comedians who created a successful comedy sketch series on BBC scotland based around the strange and occasionally sinister fictional Glasgow suburb of Burnistoun. With plenty of recognisable Glaswegian characters and dark scenarios it remains to see how well this occasionally risqué tV show will translate to the stage. Tickets: tickets.edfringe.com or 0131 226 0000
RICHARD III THE LYCEUM, AUGUST 24-28
this year’s top shakespearean offering is undoubtedly this gritty and thrilling richard iii at the Lyceum. the production, from Berlin’s celebrated schaubühne theatre, presents a compelling, psychopathic portrayal of the damaged and twisted king, with the famed German actor Lars Eidinger playing a hideously disfigured and disturbing richard. the play’s director, thomas Ostermeier, is widely regarded as one of the theatre world’s most provocative directors, and this traditional retelling of the shakespearean saga is satisfyingly terrifying. Prepare to be shocked and mesmerised. Tickets: eif.co.uk or 0131 473 2000
BORIS WORLD KING EDINBURGH FESTIVAL FRINGE PLEASANCE DOME AUGUST 3-9, 11-16, 18-23, AND 25-29
a suPErB and biting parody of the new Foreign secretary as he blunderingly navigates the curious post-Brexit world. this one-man show originally ran at the Fringe in 2015, imagining Boris Johnson in his final days as Mayor of London, starring in his own West End show. starring David Benson as Boris and written by tom Crenshaw, the original show included plenty of jokes about wiff-waff, pay as you go bikes and ancient Greek. Expect more of the same, with a hefty dose of Brexit humour. Tickets: tickets.edfringe.com or 0131 226 0000