http://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/rss/festivalnews.xmlLatest Edinburgh Festival Blog from Scotsman.comen-GBCopyright 2011, Johnston Press PlcFri, 26 Aug 2011 15:31:23 GMThttp://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss30 http://www.scotsman.com/template/group/images/rss/SCOT_rss.gif http://www.scotsman.com 144 http://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=108It's been 26 years (I think) since I did a show here. Still raining...http://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=108Fri, 26 Aug 2011 15:31:23 GMThttp://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=107Eight things we at Wishbone Theatre love about Edinburgh...http://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=107Fri, 26 Aug 2011 15:27:55 GMThttp://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=106Comedian Paul Sinha bemoans the fact the Pleasance dominates the shortlists for the Foster's Edinburgh Comedy Awards this year...http://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=106Fri, 26 Aug 2011 15:24:07 GMThttp://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=105andquot;I hear you're going to Edinburgh for the festival? That'll be nice.andquot;http://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=105Wed, 24 Aug 2011 14:46:40 GMThttp://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=104While other festival performers are fretting about selling tickets, various technical problems and the fact someone has pasted a poster on top of the one they just put up, my main concern is: what on earth is happening to my allotment while I'm away?http://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=104Wed, 24 Aug 2011 14:45:31 GMThttp://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=103The herbs, vegetables and flowers of the Garden of Eichstatt in Bavaria, from castor-oil plants to clematis and sunflowers, made it famous as the most extravagant European garden of its day, 400 years ago...http://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=103Wed, 24 Aug 2011 14:44:20 GMThttp://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=102A HIGH-PLACED Fringe source reveals the driving force behind the event's success: FOMO. Not a foam-like substance wielded by Fringe technical wizards, or a new initiative from Festivals Edinburgh.http://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=102Tue, 23 Aug 2011 12:21:49 GMThttp://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=101Last time I came to Edinburgh it was 2004. My company, TheatreRUN, brought Horror Vacui: A Twisted Tale, our first show.http://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=101Tue, 23 Aug 2011 10:44:40 GMThttp://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=100I've been at the festival every year since 2002. I love the smell of Edinburgh. I love the whisky. I love the enthusiastic teenage actors who, by a cunning form of osmosis, I absorb all of my energy from. But most of all, I love the sauce.http://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=100Tue, 23 Aug 2011 10:43:01 GMThttp://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=99Dear Alex Salmond, How are you? Hope you're well. Don't be hoodwinked by that chatty intro as we're writing to you with a solution to not one, but two problems we've noticed since being here at the Edinburgh Fringe...http://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=99Mon, 22 Aug 2011 14:37:35 GMThttp://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=98When you open the Fringe Guide, you are overwhelmed with images, quotes and promises, both empty and real, for what will be the greatest night of your life...http://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=98Mon, 22 Aug 2011 14:35:47 GMThttp://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=97Delighted to see Jim Haynes back on his feet for his 55th Fringe, with the support of a small army of well-wishers...http://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=97Mon, 22 Aug 2011 14:34:19 GMThttp://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=96This year the Edinburgh Fringe Guide lists 2,542 shows, a quite ludicrous number when you consider that it started in 1946 with just three...http://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=96Sat, 20 Aug 2011 15:07:20 GMThttp://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=95Every year the number of shows at the Fringe gets bigger and bigger blah blah blah...http://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=95Sat, 20 Aug 2011 15:06:02 GMThttp://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=94Pity poor Camille O'Sullivan - unintroduced as the 7:30pm warm-up act at the Fringe Select dinner for the big corporate donors at this year's festival...http://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=94Sat, 20 Aug 2011 15:02:24 GMThttp://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=93So what's going on with all the audience participation at this year's festival?http://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=93Fri, 19 Aug 2011 12:55:17 GMThttp://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=92Let's face it. Flyering can be an interminable, soul-destroying experience designed to slowly break your spirit until you wish you'd never brought a show up to the Fringe...http://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=92Fri, 19 Aug 2011 12:52:27 GMThttp://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=91Nearly two weeks in, actor John Malkovich still leads the celebrity stakes this festival...http://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=91Fri, 19 Aug 2011 12:50:38 GMThttp://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=90Growing my beard for the Fringe is now a tradition...http://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=90Thu, 18 Aug 2011 12:32:35 GMThttp://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=89Once again, in Blast Theory, we have created a piece of theatre that sails a bit close to the wind...http://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=89Thu, 18 Aug 2011 12:31:19 GMThttp://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=88The front row at the Usher Hall was wetter than a dolphin show at Disneyland on Tuesday night as Chinese composer Tan Dun made a splash with his eccentric Water Concerto.http://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=88Thu, 18 Aug 2011 12:29:15 GMThttp://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=87I've been receiving a lot of sympathy lately from folks around the festival...http://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=87Wed, 17 Aug 2011 12:31:51 GMThttp://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=86As five first-time performers at the Edinburgh Fringe with the show Theseus is Dead, we have so far survived a whirlwind fortnight of rain, flyering, rain, fantastic shows and a bit more rain...http://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=86Wed, 17 Aug 2011 12:30:38 GMThttp://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=85It may sound odd for a native New Yorker to say this, but arriving in Edinburgh reminds me of my childhood...http://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=85Wed, 17 Aug 2011 12:29:20 GMThttp://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=84Has the Fringe run out of cunning stunts? John Fleming, the driving force behind the Malcolm Hardee Cunning Stunt Award, handed out to the most outrageous publicity stunt at the Fringe, laments on his website that there is barely a single worthy contender this year.http://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=84Wed, 17 Aug 2011 12:27:54 GMThttp://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=83This is a day in the life of Delete the Banjax...http://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=83Tue, 16 Aug 2011 14:31:22 GMThttp://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=82This is an average Fringe comedian's day. Wake up with phone ringing to do interview you had forgotten about last night. Make it through interview while ONLY JUST remembering what your show is about and when and where it is.http://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=82Tue, 16 Aug 2011 14:29:37 GMThttp://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=81How to frame the perfect Fringe day? At 10:30am, From the Fire at Zoo Roxy, daily until just this Saturday. At 10:30pm, on seven nights between today and the 24 August, the continuing complete Beethoven string quartets, in Greyfriars Kirk.http://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=81Tue, 16 Aug 2011 14:27:24 GMThttp://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=80I DO my own flyering. That will come as a surprise to you, what with me being really famous and all.http://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=80Mon, 15 Aug 2011 12:30:49 GMThttp://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=79SET aside for a minute any concern about whether the Edinburgh International Festival's embrace of big state-funded spectacles from China or elsewhere has in anyway compromised its freedom of thought. Are the shows delivering the goods?http://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=79Mon, 15 Aug 2011 12:16:57 GMThttp://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=78Producer Richard Jordan is currently involved in the growing touring opportunities for last year's sweeping Fringe hit Roadkill...http://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=78Fri, 12 Aug 2011 14:14:41 GMThttp://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=77I write this on behalf of all the women performing comedy at this year's Fringe...http://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=77Fri, 12 Aug 2011 14:12:53 GMThttp://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=76My venue this year is The Stand IV, which the rest of the year is the Lothian andamp; Borders Police Club's photocopier room, where drunk detectives go to immortalise their genitals forever on pieces of paper.http://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=76Fri, 12 Aug 2011 14:11:26 GMThttp://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=75The first time I came to work the Fringe I did a two-hour show in a huge church. After about a week and a half I noticed most of the others were doing a 55-minute set...http://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=75Wed, 10 Aug 2011 15:49:32 GMThttp://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=74By day I wear pigtails, rosy cheeks and clown shoes and by night I don false eyelashes, fishnets and high heels...http://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=74Wed, 10 Aug 2011 15:41:45 GMThttp://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=73For everyone performing at the Edinburgh Festival, sparing a thought outside the realm of the Fringe is a rare occurrence...http://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=73Wed, 10 Aug 2011 15:40:14 GMThttp://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=72Greenside venue is offering the ultimate relaxation to strung-out performers and overworked, underpaid festival volunteers: massage and aromatherapy...http://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=72Wed, 10 Aug 2011 15:36:08 GMThttp://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=71You can take the boy out of the Fringe, but you can't take the Fringe out of the boy. Two former Fringe directors are in the line-up for this year's programme, unable to kick that festival habit.http://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=71Tue, 09 Aug 2011 11:29:35 GMThttp://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=70THE Edinburgh Fringe seems like some benign theatrical lichen, spreading organically across the city, growing bigger every year. This year there are over 350 venues, and new and unusual spaces continually sprout up, from tents to public toilets to residential flats to swimming pools.http://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=70Tue, 09 Aug 2011 11:21:17 GMThttp://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=69IT SEEMS somewhat remiss of a Welshman to criticise Edinburgh's weather, but here goes anyway.http://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=69Tue, 09 Aug 2011 11:20:37 GMThttp://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=68We're an Anglo-American Pop-Rock Mash-Up act who got together when Pistol's accompanist perished and Jack's band deserted him in the States, leaving us both looking for a new direction.http://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=68Tue, 09 Aug 2011 10:48:59 GMThttp://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=67When I first started doing comedy, back when jokes were in Latin, the Fringe wasn't the cultural and financial behemoth it is today.http://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=67Tue, 09 Aug 2011 10:47:44 GMThttp://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=66‘I nearly choke on my Highland venison strips as my father tells me the one about the £440m Edinburgh tram line’http://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=66Sun, 07 Aug 2011 17:38:49 GMThttp://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=65So this is my first visit to Edinburgh. The first few minutes here, a very nice lady informed me that the proper pronunciation of this fine city should be andquot;ED IN Butterandquot;.http://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=65Sat, 06 Aug 2011 13:50:26 GMThttp://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=64During the Edinburgh Festival I often stand in the Pleasance Courtyard in disguise. I wear a hoodie and look like a teenage boy about to rob someone.http://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=64Sat, 06 Aug 2011 13:49:06 GMThttp://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=63The concept of a Free Fringe almost sounds too good to be true. Armed with an umbrella and an open mind, Nick Mitchell spent an afternoon panning for no-fee comedy gold...http://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=63Fri, 05 Aug 2011 15:42:12 GMThttp://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=62In keeping with the trend for interactive theatre on this year’s Fringe, East Yorkshire outfit Penguin Pie Productions, invite you to “see, hear and smell” their new show Chips on Shoulders.http://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=62Thu, 04 Aug 2011 11:43:16 GMThttp://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=61IT was an even more starry weekend than usual at the Gilded Balloon as famous friends popped in to say their thank-yous to artistic director Karen Koren - celebrating 25 years on the Fringe.http://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=61Tue, 31 Aug 2010 09:56:59 GMThttp://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=60One of the great traditions of the Fringe is revived tonight with Arthur Smith's moonlit tour of the Royal Mile.http://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=60Fri, 27 Aug 2010 09:58:11 GMThttp://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=59Every year, packing for Edinburgh begins in mid-July. Lined up are a veritable rainbow of at least 15 pairs of peep-toe pin-up heels, 1950s petticoats and a pile of pencil skirts.http://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=59Thu, 26 Aug 2010 15:20:13 GMThttp://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=58ONE night in Edinburgh 2008, I walked through the rain to perform at a late show compered by Ivor Dembina. Four other comics turned up. Two punters did too, but they left.http://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=58Thu, 26 Aug 2010 15:18:35 GMThttp://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=57THE weirdest gig I ever did in Edinburgh was an andquot;Eco-Friendly, Black-Tie Dinnerandquot; for the Prince's Trust. It was in a posh hotel, and most of the guests were business leaders fishing for ethically-farmed, Fair Trade Knighthoods.http://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=57Thu, 26 Aug 2010 15:17:16 GMThttp://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=56I AM Sarah, and I have arrived from Wellington, New Zealand to do my first Edinburgh festival. Edinburgh is a delightful city. Everything is made out of castle. Cobbled streets invoke all kinds of wonderous imagery, of garroted prostitutes, of andquot;catch-me-if-you-canandquot; messages smeared in blood and baffled coppers. Delightful.http://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=56Wed, 25 Aug 2010 10:49:55 GMThttp://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=55THIS is only my third Edinburgh Festival. It seems like a lifetime ago when I did my first one two years ago, and yet I've noticed a pattern emerging in the past few years in conversations with most stand-ups.http://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=55Wed, 25 Aug 2010 10:49:02 GMThttp://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=54As a part-time comedian and full-time geek, the data of the Edinburgh Fringe Festival is interesting to me. I know I'm one of over 21,000 performers, who are giving 40,254 performances of 2,453 shows in 259 venues, but that's not enough, the social data of the world's largest arts festival fascinates me.http://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=54Tue, 24 Aug 2010 15:14:11 GMThttp://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=53I started to call myself a cabaret performer about three years ago, but I think I was one long before I knew it. What happened three years ago was that I stumbled upon a whole scene of people with the same love of vintage music and dressing-up, and the same interest in creating characters on stage and being entertainers as well as musicians.http://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=53Tue, 24 Aug 2010 15:11:22 GMThttp://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=52THE memory of everyone's favourite Festival maverick continues to live on, thanks to the Fringe award named in his honour. Nominations for this year's Malcolm Hardee awards for comic originality include a New Yorker who performs outside the mosque, a web- footed pianist and comedian's comedian Stewart Lee.http://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=52Tue, 24 Aug 2010 11:00:38 GMThttp://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=51It’s easier to have small dreams for your life. If your only dream is to eat a decently good spaghetti, and perhaps own a hamster, then you’re unlikely to feel the pressure that comes with trying to reach your goals.http://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=51Mon, 23 Aug 2010 15:17:35 GMThttp://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=50I woke up this morning and was immediately gripped by the worst of Edinburgh fears. Worse than waking up in a strange flat on the other side of town. Worse than being woken up by a text message urging you not to read the review of your show that’s just been published.http://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=50Mon, 23 Aug 2010 15:15:02 GMThttp://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=49andquot;Cold day?andquot; andquot;Feeling a bit blue?andquot; andquot;Are you in the Blue Man Group?andquot; andquot;OH MY GOD IT'S THE HULK!andquot; These are just some of the hilarious heckles I have received while promoting on the streets of Edinburgh.http://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=49Sat, 21 Aug 2010 16:10:47 GMThttp://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=48Remember the first holiday you went on without your family? Perhaps with your mate's more relaxed, easy-going parents (and your mate, hopefully. Swapping your child for someone else's is TOO easy-going).http://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=48Sat, 21 Aug 2010 16:09:14 GMThttp://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=47SELKIRK actor and storyteller John Nichol will attempt to recite Tam O’ Shanter 12 consecutive times tomorrow, performing it in every pub in Rose Street.http://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=47Sat, 21 Aug 2010 12:44:24 GMThttp://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=46I don't know you, Edinburgh, but I'm learning and the lessons are coming thick and fast. I know you've got strong legs and sturdy ankles. You developed these by simply going about your business. Your cobbles can easily lead to the broken bones of lesser folk who choose to walk them.http://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=46Fri, 20 Aug 2010 14:13:47 GMThttp://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=45Greetings from the colonies to those of you who were left behind. So I'm in a band called Tripod. This is our fourth visit to that international carnival of What the F***, the Edinburgh Fringe/Comedy/Arts/Writing/Drinking/Whatever-the-hell-it-actually-is festival.http://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=45Fri, 20 Aug 2010 14:11:12 GMThttp://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=44HE HAS a key role in the powerful open-air Fringe play Decky Does a Bronco, which is being staged every night at Scotland Yard park in the New Town. But John Kielty is still finding time away from the Grid Iron production — set around a set of swings on a working-class housing estate - for more light-hearted festival fayre.http://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=44Fri, 20 Aug 2010 10:15:36 GMThttp://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=43It’s day 15 in Edinburgh. Halfway through. Halfway dead. Worn out, physically, mentally and “perspectively”, and I’m pretty sure I made that last word up, but I need it.http://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=43Thu, 19 Aug 2010 13:13:37 GMThttp://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=42I shouldn’t be here. I have two small children, two boys aged six and two. I miss them so much. I shouldn’t be away from them for a day and yet, here I am, performing in Edinburgh for a month. What am I doing? It’s counterintuitive and yet, if it wasn’t for them, I wouldn’t be here.http://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=42Thu, 19 Aug 2010 13:08:00 GMThttp://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=41MONTEZUMA. Oh dear. The opera, which launched on the Edinburgh International Festival's opening weekend, was looking by the run's end like a Springtime for Hitler moment: A show so bad it was almost good.http://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=41Thu, 19 Aug 2010 10:28:58 GMThttp://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=40The most amazing thing about a 15-minute, get-in is that it is actually possible. One audience leaves, another one gathers, and in less time than it takes to drink a coffee, the lights are going down.http://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=40Wed, 18 Aug 2010 13:45:33 GMThttp://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=39We all know the Fringe is growing and growing, and I hear people talking about the effect this has on size of audiences, or on performance opportunities, but I don't hear many talk about the effect on decent accommodation. It's the elephant in the room. If it weren't staying with us, I wouldn't have to sleep on the floor.http://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=39Wed, 18 Aug 2010 13:42:32 GMThttp://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=38PASSIONATE photography collectors Michael Mattis and Judith Hochberg are in the city this week from New York to celebrate the fine exhibition of Edward Weston's vintage prints at the City Art Centre.http://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=38Wed, 18 Aug 2010 11:00:47 GMThttp://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=37WHEN I was a teenager my Aberdonian husband used to hitchhike down to Auld Reekie from the Granite City to watch bands. Yesterday he took me on a tour of venues from his youth.http://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=37Tue, 17 Aug 2010 13:39:31 GMThttp://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=36Some are born loving the Fringe and some have love of the Fringe thrust upon them. Ten years ago, a confirmed Edinburgh Festival sceptic, I found myself working in the capital, living in the capital and underappreciating the festival in the capital.http://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=36Tue, 17 Aug 2010 13:36:37 GMThttp://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=35AN EPIDEMIC of modest behaviour is sweeping the Fringe.Actor Andy Linden, at the Gilded Balloon with his storytelling show, I kid you not, tells everyone he is andquot;aiming for mediocrityandquot;.http://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=35Tue, 17 Aug 2010 10:49:13 GMThttp://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=34For Lady Garden, the festival is a carnival of contradictions.http://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=34Mon, 16 Aug 2010 15:32:40 GMThttp://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=33Last year I found myself up the duff and was given a due date slap bang in the middle of the Edinburgh Festival.http://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=33Mon, 16 Aug 2010 15:31:47 GMThttp://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=32These are words I never thought I'd write: I really identified with Noah this week. The angry Old Testament God is alive and well and in charge of Scottish weather.http://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=32Mon, 16 Aug 2010 15:30:59 GMThttp://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=31You people don't know how lucky you are. andquot;Allandquot; you have to do is go to work, then go home.http://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=31Sat, 14 Aug 2010 14:07:37 GMThttp://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=30Rule 1. Don't read a single review, just wait for people to inexplicably become your new best friend or look at you with pity and tilt their heads.
http://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=30Sat, 14 Aug 2010 14:06:30 GMThttp://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=29We'll never forget our first Fringe. We, the Wau Wau Sisters, would be up at the High Street at the crack of dawn, flyers in hand, sweet smell of last night's vodka still on our breath, waiting to assault the millions of potential theatre-goers before they'd even had their tea. We would flyer for 7-8 hours, take a 15-minute break for some coffee and booze, eat a flyer, and then continue flyering until showtime.

http://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=29Sat, 14 Aug 2010 14:05:28 GMThttp://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=28Ever had that nightmare where you're trapped in a darkened room with 30 chirpy ukulele players singing and strumming andquot;You are my sunshine, my only sunshineandquot; in perfect unison with maniacal grins on their faces? Me too.http://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=28Fri, 13 Aug 2010 12:50:45 GMThttp://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=27First off, I'm Sally, and I'm a dog. And this has taken me ages to type. So read on. Second off: this is my very first Fringe and my first time in Scotland. Initial impressions: Very Fresh.http://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=27Fri, 13 Aug 2010 12:44:42 GMThttp://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=26Arthur Smith will only give out review tickets to critics who appear on stage with him. In fact, says the troublesome comic: andquot;I am happy to offer £100 to any reviewer who is game to juggle three kippers (or, indeed, any large fish) at once on stage.andquot; http://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=26Fri, 13 Aug 2010 09:41:13 GMThttp://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=25‘Why are you doing your own flyering, Bill?” asked the ‘total sell-out’ comedian as I shuffled around outside the Assembly Rooms. ‘You’re a successful comedy producer - you’ve done TV and radio shows - don’t you have people?’http://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=25Thu, 12 Aug 2010 14:12:12 GMThttp://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=24Flyering is a desperate task. One stands in the street, one thrusts cards towards disinterested tourists, one lies unashamedly about the suitability of absurd farce for the screaming infant attempting to escape their parental clutches. And one does it in the rain.http://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=24Thu, 12 Aug 2010 14:10:22 GMThttp://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=23I’ve got myself partly to blame, as I realised when a Scot posed the question on the Royal Mile: “Aren’t you expecting a lot hoping Scots will see a show about England?” No, I thought it would be the perfect place, in front of the auld enemy. Surely no one else has more knowledge of English foibles.http://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=23Thu, 12 Aug 2010 14:08:41 GMThttp://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=22Calling all cars: this diary is keen to hear of, or from, the cabbie who picked up Owen Dudley Edwards, long-time observer of this festival and our favourite literary polymath, outside the Cameron Toll supermarket.http://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=22Thu, 12 Aug 2010 10:54:59 GMThttp://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=21From the outset I don't want sympathy. The Fringe is tough for everyone. There's the competition for audiences, stress of success, trying to get seen by the right people - it is tough.http://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=21Wed, 11 Aug 2010 13:07:18 GMThttp://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=20Um, excuse me? British Government? Where are you and why aren't you coming to more Fringe shows? You might think that the Fringe is all drama freaks drinking excessive amounts of whisky, but amidst the drunken haze there are some extremely important policy developments going on.http://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=20Wed, 11 Aug 2010 13:03:41 GMThttp://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=19All hail Edinburgh Festival Rentals! I am housed. So centrally I could spit on the Heart of Midlothian were it not that I have so many other things to spit on in August that I have no free saliva. Talking of which: just a few notes to Edinburgh's letting agencies. And landlords.http://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=19Tue, 10 Aug 2010 15:56:40 GMThttp://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=18I have never been to the Edinburgh Fringe before. In my own absence, I developed certain ill-informed ideas about what it is like to bring a show here. For instance, I read that when Bruce Robinson, the writer and director of Withnail andamp; I, was making his way as an actor, he shared a house with so many other young thespians that he had to sleep in the bathroom. I always imagined that such arrangements must prevail at the Fringe and must therefore be part of its charmingly bohemian appeal.http://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=18Mon, 09 Aug 2010 19:01:30 GMThttp://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=17No matter how many times you come to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe you are never really prepared for your first day. The performers arrive, all fresh-faced and fancy-free, continually reminding themselves and each other that this year is their year. Definitely. Despite the 2,452 other shows jostling for people’s attention. The countdown has started, and the punters and the critics won’t wait for anyone.http://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=17Mon, 09 Aug 2010 18:57:57 GMThttp://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=16It’s that special time of year again when the Scottish people open their arms really wide to welcome a bunch of comedy misfits onto the streets of your capital.http://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=16Sat, 07 Aug 2010 15:01:56 GMThttp://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=15My friend and fellow Newcastle comic Sarah Millican’s third Edinburgh show has sold out this year, before she’s even set foot in her venue, The Stand. I have sold 12 advance tickets for my first Edinburgh.http://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=15Fri, 06 Aug 2010 15:04:47 GMThttp://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=14So, this year’s Edinburgh International Film Festival has once again passed by like a high speed blur of celluloid and premieres. And maybe you only got to catch a fraction of the 111 feature films on offer, but who has time to do any more than that?http://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=14Sat, 26 Jun 2010 12:40:26 GMThttp://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=13As the close of this year’s EIFF creeps ever nearer, attentions are likely to be turning expectantly to the Closing Night Gala, which this year features poignant road-trip movie Third Star.http://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=13Thu, 24 Jun 2010 14:59:02 GMThttp://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=12Bobby Podesta and Mike Venturini, directing animators of DisneyPixar’s Toy Story 3, tell scotsman.com what they think of the EIFF,how their film’s pushing the boundaries of animation and just which of its lovable characters is their favourite.http://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=12Tue, 22 Jun 2010 13:38:17 GMThttp://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=11Who said cartoons were just for kids? This year, the Edinburgh International Film Festival boasts a high quality pick-and-mix of non-age-specific (and some adult-only) animation.http://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=11Sat, 19 Jun 2010 16:10:56 GMThttp://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=10Let’s hope there aren’t any hecklers amidst the crowd at tonight’s premiere of Huge, Ben Miller's directorial debut.http://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=10Fri, 18 Jun 2010 12:27:24 GMThttp://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=9The stars came out last night as this year's EIFF officially launched with the world premiere of The Illusionist at the city's Festival Theatre.http://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=9Thu, 17 Jun 2010 11:35:53 GMThttp://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=8The EIFF strand which last year gave us Duncan Jones’ award-winning Moon is making a high profile return, boasting some of the biggest names from British film and TV.http://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=8Wed, 16 Jun 2010 11:51:36 GMThttp://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=7Who’d have known that age 8½ was actually our ‘film birthday’? That’s what EIFF patron Tilda Swinton plans to tell this year’s audience when she launches her latest venture, the 8½ Foundation, along with collaborator and filmmaker, Mark Cousins.http://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=7Tue, 15 Jun 2010 12:05:13 GMThttp://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=6Digesting the ingredients of the Fringe programme is always a daunting prospect - and this year it's more of an Alka-Selzer-inducing banquet than ever before. For its 64th year, the Edinburgh comedy, theatre and music extravaganza has swelled considerably, from 2,098 shows last year to 2,453 in 2010 - a belt-popping increase of 17 percent.http://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=6Thu, 10 Jun 2010 13:45:04 GMThttp://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=5One of the clear standouts from yesterday's launch of the Edinburgh International Film Festival was Sylvain Chomet's The Illusionist.http://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=5Thu, 03 Jun 2010 13:57:37 GMThttp://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=4Hannah McGill, artistic director of the Edinburgh International Film Festival, tells The Scotsman's arts correspondent Tim Cornwell how she's excited by this year's event, why she's not concerned by the World Cup and the challenge of funding one of the world's biggest movie events.http://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=4Tue, 01 Jun 2010 16:50:56 GMThttp://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=3Hannah McGill, artistic director of the Edinburgh International Film Festival, revealed some of this year's most eye-catching screenings at the official launch of the 64th edition of the event this morning.http://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewblog.aspx?id=3Tue, 01 Jun 2010 13:29:33 GMT