Brian Ferguson’s diary
There’s nothing worse than turning up to a wedding with the same outfit as someone else. That fate befell me at the George Hotel at the weekend, but that was the least of our concerns as the reception unfolded.
Hardly a weekend goes past without the sight of wedding guests outside the building, so it’s a natural home for The Wedding Reception, a twohour romp through every possible nightmare scenario, including tantrums and shocking revelations that can unfold after the happy couple have tied the knot. So impressively did the four performers flit in and out of the different roles and costumes, while coping admirably with some rather well-oiled guests, that I completely failed to register that the harassed wedding planner and the stressed-out groom were played by David Tremaine. l There’s almost a full week left, but a contender for the diary’s most brilliant, bonkers and downright bewildering show of the Fringe was uncovered at C Venues after another last-minute wild card punt on a show I’d heard nothing about in advance.
Medea on Media, the Korean company Seongbukdong Beedoolkee’s take on the Euripides play, sees the classic revenge tale reimagined for the 21st century and given the fullon pop culture, celebrity obsession, media spotlight treatment. Nods to Quentin Tarantino, Walt Disney and Jerry Springer could be clearly detected amid the frenetic all-guns-blazing action in the show, which crams more drama into an hour than anything I’ve seen thus far. l With the TV festival about to get under way, it is not unusual for a late influx of celebrities into the city.
However, it is the Edinburgh International Festival that has secured a last-minute coup after securing one of the stars of Game of Thrones for a starring role in one its flagship concerts.veteran actor Charles Dance, whose other screen roles include The Jewel in the Crown and Alien 3, is narrator for the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra’s performance of Aaron Copland’s orchestral work Lincoln Portrait.
The work – which sets the words of Abraham Lincoln against orchestral composition – was first performed in 1942. Among those to take on the role since have been Gregory Peck, Paul Newman, Henry Fonda, Charlton Heston, Samuel L Jackson, Tom Hanks, Bill Clinton and Barack Obama. No pressure then.