Puppets, poems, pussies, Peter, prizes and poo
I Bagpuss The most important. The most beautiful. The most magical, saggy old cloth cat in the whole wide world is coming. Introducing our favourite cat to a whole new generation: the sleepy and a bit loose-at-the-seams old charm lives on in this adaptation by Perret and Limb. Pleasance Dome, 556 6550, 3 &4Aug,10&11Aug,24&25 Aug 17.15; 3 8 4Aug, 24 8 25 Aug, noon, £5 (£3).
I Dr Bunhead and the Kamikaze Cowpats Self destructive poo follows on from last year’s show on snot. Dr Bunhead is kids’ heaven; a paradise of all things gross and gruesome where the maestro explores the way food goes in and out. Explosions and excretions ensured. George Square Theatre, 662 8740, 2—1 1 Aug (not 7), 70.30am; 15—19 Aug, 22—25 Aug, 77.30am, £7 (£35).
I John Hegley This dry rhymester better known for his twisting of words from the wry to the ridiculous for an adult crowd turns his hand to children's verse. My Dog is a Carrot promises a wealth of verbal treats. feats. beats and possibly even a carrot. Pleasance Dome, 556 6550, 6—7 8 Aug, noon, £7 (85).
I Peter Rabbit Trail Peter Rabbit is 100 years old and the Book Festival is celebrating with a trail around the garden. Hunt for his missing friends. maybe under the flower pot or in the watering can, but be careful not to leave your shoes or catch a cold. Cakes. goodies and prizes to be won: hopefully something a little more than camomile tea. Book Festival, Charlotte Square Gardens, 624 5050, 16 Aug, all day, £3.50.
I Cinderella The life of a modern gal is tough: so much to do. so little time. Juggling work and play, burning the candle at both ends and all before the clock strikes twelve. No wonder Cinderella is having a stressful day. Shona Reppe Puppets puts a contemporary spin on the grand old fairy tale. Netherbow Theatre, 556 9579, 5-1 7 Aug, 4.30pm, £5 (£3).
28 THE LIST 18 Jui—l Aug 2002
FESTIVAL MUSIC
If music be the food of love, make mine a festival fry-up
DJ Shadow More than just a deity for DJs and goatee stroking b- boys. Shadow is a true hip hop entertainer and makes only his second ever solo live appearance in Scotland at T on the Fringe — his first was supporting Radiohead in Aberdeen. would you believe. His 1997 debut Endtroducing blended the hip hop, head music divide line (I bet you never even knew there was one) while new album. The Private Press. is a more eclectic but no less gregarious proposition. Live? Well. who knows what to expect really: we reckon something between the alien landing in Close Encounters and the car chase sequence from The French Connection all reshaped as an expansive. expressive hip hop
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block party. Should be a brain l‘lOHOl’. Corn [C'xclia/ige. 0870 7690/00, 7Aug. 7.30pm. FIE).
it Parsifal is big always beautiful? It is if you are dealing with one of Wagner's most lf)O\.‘./(}l'ftll. epic operas. sung by the cream of Europe's vocalists. backed by the Gustav Mahler Jugendorchester. led by conductor Claudio Abbado. With the whole shebang under the auspicious direction of the legendary Peter St 3in. Enough for you? Tickets for the best seats may well be a hundred quid but they do start at a liver and if you look in the dictionary under ‘once in a lifetime experience. you may well find a description of this kind of performance. festival l'liei'itre. 4/3 2000, 12. if) (81 78 Aug. ppm. 5‘55-1‘100.
li‘l Jerry Springer: The Opera If there was an anti—Parsifal then this is it. Surely destined for l ondon's West lnd after its l-zdinburgh run. the trash come out of the trailers as Ai‘ierica's most ludicrous talk show is taken from low rent to high art.
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This is no ham salad though; it boasts a cast of twenty professional opera singers under the directorial guidance of bequiffed Edinburgh veteran Stewart Lee. A show which straddles the genres of music and comedy like a boozed-up. dysfunctional. transsexual truck driver Mr Springer would be proud of. Assembly Rooms. 226 2428. 2- 26 Aug. 2.35pm, {TS—£74.50 (E5-
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E Elvis Costello Enjoying something of a renaissance over the last few years. Costello has covered a myriad of musical bases. From the wild eyes and beard-you-could-lose- a~badger—in phase of Mighty Like a Rose to the clipped. angular stylings of his collaboration with the Brodsky Quartet. and even his getting in bed \vith lounge god Burt Bacharach on Painted from Memory. he's run a gamut of styles and sound in 25 years that few could manage in a lifetime. With new album When / was Cruel. Costello roughs it up and rocks things up a little with his first extensive tour in several years.
Corn Exchange. 087 0 1690700. 20 Aug. 7.30pm. 5378.50.
fl Roots@the Reid An under- used festival venue comes into its own as one of the hubs for festival music with 2‘: acts all performing under the loose banner of ‘roots'. There's no folking turnips here mate. this is serious cream of the crop stuff: a smorgasbord from the world of traditional and contemporary styles. Choose from the satirical tones of Dundee's finest son. Michael lvlarra. the sibling string action of the Wrigley Sisters or even some full-on guitar action from the likes of Colin Reid and the legendary Bert Jansch. The idea is that no matter how refined your palette. there's always something to get your teeth into. RootsCa‘xthe Reid. Reid Hall, (561? 8740, 3-2-4 Aug. various times. various prices.
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