FESTIVAL PREVIEW

FESTIVAL GUEST LIST

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5

FESTIVAL CITY A

Once a yearEdinburgh becomes THE city in Europe to be in. and over the next Iew pages we cover some at the people who make itso. But it is has hitthe headlines recently tor other reasons. The Guinness company‘s reneging on the promise to bring new headquarters to Scotland. lor instance, meant that some stout hearts turned to Murphy‘s as an alternative (seen above in Edinburgh's celebrated Cale Royal). Sadly. Edinburgh has also been closely associated with AIDS. While lastyear's Fringe saw a host at plays aboutthe issue. this year there is only one: Focus Company‘s Scottish premiere at Larry Kramer‘s moving play THE NORMAL HEART.

You can sponsoran actortor one pertormance orthe whole run Ior Focus's show. all proceeds going towards AIDS research (10-29 Aug. 9.15pm. Mandela Theatre. 652 0181). Other Fringe AIDS Benelits are offered by cabaret group The Insinuendos and by Fire Island Disco (See Cabaret).

STRDMBIES

' T‘s

ASSEMBLYV

This year marks the 200th

groupsto pertorm‘ will be

g 1“ 'I.‘ I

anniversary at Edinburgh's

Assembly Rooms. which, since opened as a Fringe venue by William

Burdett-Coutts seven years ago. has developed lrom

nothingintothe busiest

centre on the Fringe. This

year, around 100,000

visitors are expected to

pass through the doors

Despite this success story. he unhappy aboutthe current state at the Fringe. worried that such a ‘remarkable opportunity tor

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lost to many companies due to crippling costs. Already this yeara ‘Fringe Fringe' has developed a ‘Fringe Fringe' tor those companies who didn‘t make the official programme. Burdett-Coults is seriously worried that it may disintegrate. due to lack olsupporttrom local tunding bodies. ‘I thinkit‘s time that Edinburgh started to put something back into the Fringe. The Fringe comes out olthin airand gets no support at any kind. It brings a lot at money into the city and nothing is put back. . . because ithas survived. people think itcan continue to survive. Butthe

shoestring‘s near snapping.‘

STEPHEN} CONROY

At his post-graduation at Glasgow School olArtthis year. Stephen Conroy was the young mastercomplete with waistcoat, giltlrames and calling cards. And at only 22. he jumps straight into ‘The Vigorous lmagination'. the lirst-ever group exhibition of Scottish contemporary artto be shown during an Edinburgh Festival. ‘Glasgow Pups' are weaned youngerevery season.

Conroy's painting (right) is “Healing ol a Lunatic Boy'.

1986.

THEY CAME FROM AUSTRALIAN

SEE crazed corpse stealers! SEE berserk human transplants! See brutal mutants menace beautilul girls! So ran the oh-so-enticing blurb tor 1967’s dodgiest lump ot cinematic clinker ‘Astro Zombies' starring game old staged John Carradine in a morass ol mad medic mayhem Grade-Z style. This Festival it lives again. uniquely revived by writer/director/pertonner Des Mangan in a version that ran Ior three years in Sydney.

The redoubtable Mr Mangan watched the said celluloid atrocity overAOO times to rewrite the dialogue in a waythat it would be hilariouslylunny and still match the actors'

2 The List 7 20 August

THE FRINGE ' ND BEYOND

lip movements on screen. The result is ‘Double Take Meet the Astro Zombies' at the Cameo Cinema. Home Street. Incredibly. a cast ot tour lurk at the back otthe auditorium during each pertormance and their beautilully-timed ‘improved' script translorms the original turkey into a riotously bizarre Antipodean tale ol hideous slayings perpetrated by evil Dr Edelweiss and his pervy assistant Type Cast. ‘lt's like Trivial Pursuits, l Suppose.‘ says 'Mad' Mangan, ‘an idea that a lot at people thought at atone time or another. butwe were the lirst to actually go outand do it - Sophisticated it ain't, splendllerously tall-laden it is - with sundry characters including one Miss Titz

Zang Low and a certain Vladmimir Boryortitzott, the humour is determinedlyon the adolescent side, a sort at ‘Paul Hogan v Plan Nine . From Outer Space'.‘This is an 3 sounds like the scenario tor

international version at the showthough.’ daily Des goes onto explain, ‘about2 percent at the gags inthe original depended on specitically Australian names and customs, so in some cases we'vejust altered the structure at the jokes to avoid that kind at reterence. But it's background might sound a bit stupid done in our accents. I think the spirit at the thing is still the same as it everwas.’

0 Double Take MeetThe Astro Zombies. Cameo Cinema. Home Street (Venue 43). 9—29 Aug. 11.15pm—12.D5am. 24

I (23). Tickets 228 4141.

gBODGERS

gONTHECOUCHb

Two men and a couch. It

a Beckett play— in tact it‘s

; the cast at the new revue trom ex-Bodgers Moray

Hunter and John Docherty.

The couch is delinitelythe

star at the show making its stage debut atter months oI lurking suggestiver in Docherty and Hunter's old flat and drawing attention to itsellbylalling apart:

‘When you sat on it itwould

Iall into ditterentshapes.’ explains Hunter. 'lnthe show this becomesthe backdrop lorditterent scenes. It could be a ratt. lor instance. We don't have any ralt jokes. justyet. which is a slight handicap. but it could be.‘

I The show marks a return