Theatre ■ TRON THEATRE 63 Trongate, 552 4267. True Colours + The Trouble With Me Thu 21 Jun, 2pm & 7.45pm. £6 (£4). Two devised works from Ignite Theatre, exploring what happens when you stray from the tourist trail into dangerous territory. Part of Refugee Week. Ankur Ha Ha Thu 21 Jun, 7.30pm. £8 (£5). A showcase of work produced by Ankur Ha Ha, a project supported by the Citizens’ Theatre to mentor and develop artists working in a range of genres. Part of Refugee Week. FREE Refugee Week Scotland Media Awards and Asylum Monologues Fri 22 Jun, 6pm. Free but ticketed. Annual awards, hosted by the British Red Cross, highlighting exceptional reporting of asylum and refugee issues in the Scottish press. Followed by a performance of iceandfire’s Asylum Monologues, first hand accounts of the UK asylum system. Part of Refugee Week.
✽ Homeward Bound Fri 22 & Sat 23 Jun, 7.30pm. £8 (£5). A play created
by Articulate in response to the Dutch TV game show where refused asylum seekers competed to win a lump sum with which to re-start their lives in their country of origin. The play re-imagines this show in a Scottish context, reflecting upon the UK’s asylum system. See Stage Whispers, page 111. Part of Refugee Week. Tiny Songbirds, Lullaby Spirit Sat 23 Jun, 8pm. £8 (£6). Albscott presents Tiny Songbirds, a collection of lullabies from around the world, which is followed by Lullaby Spirit, a dance piece choreographed by Natasha Gilmore (Barrowland Ballet) and taking inspiration from the same music. The night concludes with some lively samba drumming and dance from Samba Ya Bamba. Part of Refugee Week. A Song and a Sip Sun 24 Jun, 4pm. £12. Cabaret afternoon with songs from the musicals, courtesy of Insideout Productions in the Tron’s Victorian Bar. Still Game – The Original Stage Play Tue 26 Jun–Sun 1 Jul, Tue–Sat 8pm (Tue & Sat mat 2.45pm), Sun 2.45pm only. £10 (£7). The original stage version of Ford Kiernan and Greg Hemphill’s TV sitcom of ageing disgracefully. City of Strangers Tue 26–Sat 30 Jun, 8.30pm. £10 (£7). Linden Tree presents the songs of Stephen Sondheim. Living Theatre Workshop Wed 4 Jul, 6pm. £5. The Tron, together with the Scottish Psychodrama Network, presents a new type of participatory performance: the public engages with a live theatre event, defining the action around a starting theme. No previous drama training is required. This session is based around Cora Bissett’s Glasgow Girls.
✽ Stones in His Pockets Thu 5– Sat 21 Jul (not Sun/Mon), 7.45pm.
£7–£15. Popular West End comedy about the arrival of a major Hollywood film studio to a rural Irish village, performed by Keith Fleming and Robbie Jack. See preview, page 113.
EDINBURGH
■ 42 ROYAL PARK TERRACE house-concerts-42.posterous.com In A Sma’ Room Thu 21 Jun, 8pm. £10. Jazz and folk music blended with drama to tell the life story of Scottish poet William Soutar. House gig, tickets can be reserved by emailing douglasinscotland@ blueyonder.co.uk ■ BRUNTON THEATRE Ladywell Way, Musselburgh, 665 2240. Morag Alexander School of Dance Annual Show Thu 21–Sat 23 Jun, 7pm (Sat mat 3pm). £11–£16. The school’s annual performance of singing and dancing, with styles ranging from traditional Scottish to hip hop. East Lothian Youth Theatre Showcase Tue 26 & Thu 28 Jun, 7pm.
116 THE LIST 21 Jun–19 Jul 2012
£6.50 (family £24). Annual showcase with a ‘Time’ theme.
✽ Ornithology Fri 29 Jun, 7.30pm. £10.75 (£8.75; under 18s £6). Strange
Bird Zirkus presents a work combining Chinese pole and floor acrobatics and a double-option soundtrack to tell a surrealist story. See preview, below.
■ CASTLE STREET bigdanceedin.co.uk
✽ FREE The Big Dance at Castle Street Sat 30 Jun & Sun 1 Jul,
11am–5pm. The centre of the city’s Big Dance celebrations, with different groups performing every 20 minutes throughout the two days. Dance styles covered include salsa, Zumba, belly dance, Irish, Capoeira, tap, Cuban and flamenco. See feature, page 112. Part of the Big Dance. FREE Step in Time Sat 30 Jun, 6–8.45pm. Dance from stage and screen by the students of MGA Academy of performing arts, including styles from hip hop to fox trot, tango to cancan. Part of the Big Dance.
Sun 1 Jul, 3.30–4pm. Have a go at burlesque with the Academy of Burlesque and Cabaret. Part of the Big Dance.
■ THE EDINBURGH PLAYHOUSE 18-22 Greenside Place, 0844 871 3014.
✽ Oliver! ●●●●● Until Sat 23 Jun, 7.30pm (Thu & Sat mat 2.30pm). £21.50–£55.50. After last year’s 50th anniversary, Lionel Bart’s musical take on Dickens’ classic transfers to Scotland, featuring Brian Conley as Fagin. See review, page 113. Midnight Tango Wed 27–Sat 30 Jun, 7.30pm (Sat mat 2.30pm). £21.50–£44. Strictly Come Dancing regulars Vincent Simone and Flavia Cacace bring the heady passions of Buenos Aires to town in this tango extravaganza. Starlight Express Tue 3 Jul–Sat 14 Jul (not Sun), 7.30pm (Wed & Sat mat 2.30pm). £19.50–£46. One of the longest running musicals in theatre history rolls into town, featuring 20 of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s greatest songs, and turbo charged roller racing excitement for all.
■ DANCE BASE 14–16 Grassmarket, 225 5525. FREE All or Nothing Dance Theatre Aerial Dance Extravaganza Sun 1 Jul, noon–3.30pm. Hourly aerial dance performances on the hour, by the All or Nothing flyers, with taster sessions at 12.30pm & 1.30pm (tickets released one hour beforehand). Part of the Big Dance. FREE Burlesque Taster Session ■ EDINBURGH FESTIVAL THEATRE 13–29 Nicolson Street, 529 6000. Pilrig Park: The American Dream Tue 26 Jun, 7.30pm. £8. Local arts- specialist school Pilrig Park presents its latest show. Telford College: Cross Currents 2012 Thu 28 Jun, 7.30pm. £13 (£10). Students perform contemporary and jazz dance pieces.
■ GRASSMARKET bigdanceedin.co.uk FREE The Big Dance at the Grassmarket Sat 30 Jun, 11am–4pm & Sun 1 Jul, 11am–4.30pm. Outdoor dance performances throughout the weekend, with styles including jazz, modern, traditional Scottish, ballet, tango, and lots of Dance Base’s children’s dance classes. Part of the Big Dance. ■ HARVEY NICHOLS 30-34 St Andrew’s Square, 524 8388. FREE The Big Dance at Harvey Nichols Sat 30 Jun & Sun 1 Jul, 1–4pm. Don’t be too surprised if you encounter some poppin’ and lockin’ by the perfume counter, or tango in the aisles – Harvey Nics’ ground floor is being taken over as part of a weekend of dance all over the city. Part of the Big Dance.
■ NATIONAL MUSEUM OF SCOTLAND Chambers Street, 0300 123 6789. FREE The Big Dance at the National Museum of Scotland Sat 30 Jun, 10.30am–5pm & Sun 1 Jul, 11am–4pm. The Big Dance takes over NMS’ Grand Gallery, Learning Centre and Auditorium with a two-day programme of workshops, taster sessions for kids and adults, talks, film screenings and mini-performances, from the likes of Scottish Ballet, Angela Watson School of Dance, Agnes Ness Dance and more. Part of the Big Dance. ■ ROYAL LYCEUM THEATRE Grindlay Street, 248 4848. Magic and Variety Gala Show Fri 29 Jun, 2.30pm & 7pm. £16–£20 (£12–£16; children £10; matinee all tickets £10). The Edinburgh International Magic Festival kicks off with a gala show featuring many of the acts performing across the festival. Part of Edinburgh International Magic Festival.
✽ Voyageurs Egarés: An Unavoidable Trip into an
Imaginary World Sat 30 Jun, 2.30– 3.30pm. £15 (£12; children £5). French performance artists flit between the roles of clowns, jugglers and illusionists to take you on a journey into a fantasy world, built with shadow theatre and comic escapades. Part of Edinburgh International Magic Festival.
PREVIEW AERIAL CIRCUS STRANGEBIRD ZIRKUS: ORNITHOLOGY Brunton Theatre, Musselburgh, Fri 29 Jun; Arches, Glasgow, Thu 5 Jul, then touring
Ever sat in the theatre and wished you could change the channel? Well now you can, courtesy of the latest production from Edinburgh-based aerial company Strangebird Zirkus. While the visual aspect of Ornithology may remain the same (and if
the company’s previous show, Unchartered Waters is anything to go by, you wouldn’t want it any other way) the aural experience is up for grabs. Wearing headphones, audience members can choose between a purely musical soundtrack, or the musings of an ornithologist watching the other characters on stage.
‘We felt it would be an interesting challenge to create a physical
story which was a stand alone piece of gestural theatre with a musical soundscape,’ explains Lucy Deacon of Strangebird, ‘whilst at the same time offering a second listening option – that of the ornithologist’s observations. Audiences can choose to hear music and make their own interpretation, or switch channels and share the ornithologist’s view of it.’ Formed in 2009, Strangebird Zirkus is a partnership between Deacon
from Scotland and Moritz Linkmann from Germany. Fusing Chinese pole, aerial hoop and fl oor acrobatics, this latest piece explores notions of watching and being watched, and the often absurd way our behaviour changes when we’re trying to attract a potential mate. ‘All the characters in Ornithology are somewhat bizarre,’ says Deacon, ‘but they caricature behaviour that is very recognisable. Hopefully people will see that despite a broad spectrum of appearances and identities, we human beings have a lot in common and shouldn’t take ourselves too seriously.’ (Kelly Apter)
■ SAPPHIRE ROOMS 81–83 Lothian Road, 229 6391. ArtWank! Sun 24 Jun, 7–8.30pm. £8; festival weekend tickets £40 (£35). London Cabaret Award nominee ArtWank seeks to stir debate about the nature of human sexuality through a multimedia-infused comic cabaret event. Part of the Festival of the Erotic Arts. ■ SCOTTISH STORYTELLING CENTRE 43–45 High Street, 556 9579. Ordinary Days Thu 21–Sat 23 Jun, 7.30pm. £12 (£10). New touring musical theatre company Green Room presents a story of four intersecting lives in New York City. Colin McLeod: Sheer Luck? Sat 30 Jun, noon. £12 (£10; children £5). In his attempt to be a modern, magical Sherlock Holmes, Colin McLeod attempts to reveal audience members’ secrets, find hidden objects, memorise information and solve a murder mystery devised by the audience. Ages 12+. Part of Edinburgh International Magic Festival. Matthew J Dowden: Magic of the Movies Sat 30 Jun & Sun 1 Jul, 5pm; Tue 3–Fri 6 Jul, 7pm. £10 (£8; children £5; family £25). Using magic, song and impersonations, Matthew J Dowden brings to life a selection of his favourite films and actors, from the likes of Disney classics to Hollywood blockbusters. Part of Edinburgh International Magic Festival. Bruce Glen: The Gentleman Magician Sat 30 Jun–Fri 6 Jul, 8.30pm. £10 (£8; children £5; family £25). Show combining storytelling, magic