2012 ROUND-UP ISSUE

2012 ROUND-UP

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AND THE WINNER IS...PLEASANCE 2012

The end of the 2012 Festival Fringe is nigh and it doesn’t

seem five minutes since we were polishing the cobble stones ready for opening three weeks ago. A difficult opening week with much attention drawn to the London Olympics, Danny Boyle set an adventurous and magical start to the celebrations. Our part in the London 2012 Olympic Festival led to an exciting new project however as the Pleasance Ahoy made its way up to Edinburgh, bringing life to the riverbanks of Britain with ten pop-up comedy performances across the country. Equally thrilling was the news that during

the first week of the festival members of one of our shows, The Table, were involved in the opening ceremony down in London.

A surprisingly sunny month, the Courtyard and Dome have been bustling with life throughout, creating a truly wonderful atmosphere across our venues. There have certainly been some surprises along the way, including Eddie Izzard’s one-off show in French, The Noise Next Door’s 24 hour long improvisation challenge and the Hoff arriving in style with the famous KITT.

The month has sailed by, packed full of amazing shows ranging

from physical theatre to outlandish comedy. We’re extremely grateful to all of the companies who joined us this summer, making this one of our most successful fringes to date, and allowing us to host over 230 unique shows. Each and every performance has helped to make this an unforgettable month for the staff and audiences alike. There’s no arts festival quite like the Fringe, we’ve had a fantastic month and we can’t wait to be back next year.

Thanks very much for reading this year’s Pleasance Times.

Andy Smith & Sophie Chilvers - Editors

FRINGE FESTIVAL ROUND-UP

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AND THE WINNER IS...PLEASANCE HOSTS TWO FOSTER’S AWARD WINNERS

PANEL AWARD:

THE BOY WITH TAPE ON HIS FACE

NEWCOMER AWARD:

DANIEL SIMONSEN

The New Zealand-born comedian, winning this prestigious award, has cemented his place as a Fringe favourite amongst performers and punters alike. Having sold out most of his performances for the run, and being previously nominated for the Foster’s Best Newcomer in 2010, winning this award is a true testament to the brilliance of this performer. Bringing silent comedy to a new and modern audience in a way never seen before, The Boy With Tape On His Face has finally gained the recognition it deserves.

After being hotly tipped to win this award and appearing in Pleasance’s Comedy Reserve 2011, Foster’s have proved that the hype surrounding Daniel Simonsen and his stand-up show, Champions, is not ill-deserved. After the announcement, he was obviously elated to be receiving the award at the ceremony yesterday, having beaten off some stiff competition from Pleasance acts David Trent and Joe Lycett, among others. His unique style and hilarious show have earnt him this award, and he we predict will soon become a household name in comedy.

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TWO STAGE AWARDSFOR PLEASANCE SHOWS

At The Stage Awards for Acting Excellence last

night at Dance Base in Grassmarket, the judging panel presented awards to Nichola McAuliffe for the category of Best Actress and presented the team behind Seeing Double: Vision and Figures with the award for Best Student Production, a brand new category introduced this year.

Overwhelmed with the honour, McAuliffe expressed how happy she was to be given her award. This has been given to McAuliffe following her role as Katy in Maurice’s Jubilee - a nurse caring for an eldrely man who believes the Queen is coming to visit him for tea on the eve of her Jubilee. The performance given was consistent and moving, McAuliffe injecting soul into her performance throughout.

Another Pleasance show which was recognised last night was Seeing Double: Vision and Figures, awarded the Best Student Production award for their originality and professionalism.

The show takes place across two Pleasance venues at the same

time, the Hut and the Baby Grand. Cleverly and dexterously weaving the two performances together, running between venues throughout, these young actors have created an interesting and entertaining farce.

After having had eight nominations for Pleasance shows across the categories in this year’s awards, we are extremely pleased that these shows have been awarded by The Stage - it’s been a fantatic year.

BARBERSHOPERA

Barbershopera - three guys and a girl, an all-singing-half-dancing A cappella comedy quartet based in London. If you must know - Rob, Pete, Richard, Lara, Sarah, Molly, Robin, Russell, Tom and David all do beautiful things to achieve theatrical symbiosis.

Well this time it’s the Three Musketeers, a new adaptation of the classic tale with some original songs and plenty of silliness. Mostly faithful to the original, apart from the plum-stroking, spanking and celebration of women’s rights.

Because last summer we didn’t do an Edinburgh show and it left our hearts empty...

Pleasance 2, which happily looks a bit like a 17th century castle, with fine acoustics to boot. The tech team are lovely, the courtyard has the best atmosphere in Edinburgh and they now stay open ‘til 3am. Hooray!

We just practise. Over and over again.

Who? What?

Where?Why?

How?

THE GUYS FROM BARBERSHOPERA GET DOWN TO THE FACTS

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STRIKEOUTA MODERN TOWN GIVE US THEIR PREFERENCES

London vs Edinburgh Theatre vs Comedy

Radio vs TV(Absolute Radio 60s)

Letter vs EmailSpiderman vs Batman

Restaurant vs TakeawaySummer vs Winter

(Although Jac loves the rain...weird)Speaking vs Listening

Bob Dylan vs Bob Marley (Unfortunately the great Bob Dylan has lost it these days)

Beer vs Wine“Supper” vs “Tea”

(Isn’t dinner and option?)

PLEASANCE PICTURE SHOWHIGHLIGHTS OF ALL THE PLEASANCE HAS TO OFFER CAPTURED BY OUR RESIDENT PHOTOGRAPHER IDIL SUKAN

VIVE LE CABARET

THE DEATH OF CHATTERTON HANNIBAL BURESS

HOW TO BOOK:ONLINE ATwww.pleasance.co.ukON THE PHONE

0131 556 6550

Pleasance Courtyard, 60 Pleasance, EH8 9TJ (9am-midnight)

Pleasance Dome, 1 Bristo Square, EH8 9AL (10am-1.30am)

OR

IN PERSON AT THE BOX OFFICE

/thepleasance

@ThePleasance

/ThePleasanceTV

FIND US ONLINE:

PLEASANCE COMEDY PODCASTYOU CAN FIND THE

BY FOLLOWING THE QR CODE

The Pleasance Theatre Trust Ltd is a registered Charity in England and Wales. Charity No 1050944. And in Scotland SC043227.

Edited by Sophie Chilvers & Andy Smith2012 ROUND-UP ISSUE

COVER PHOTOS BY IDIL SUKAN