tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-72717367423316972462024-03-08T10:04:41.420+00:00personal the blog at the Edinburgh FestivalNow covering the Edinburgh Festival! Canadian student and journalist reads the Guardian so you don't have to. Current affairs and media criticism from the UK and abroad, queer revolution, and even a little photography.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger42125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7271736742331697246.post-36126984747371698822007-08-25T10:00:00.000+01:002007-08-25T10:05:46.901+01:00"I'm asking Turkey to face its own history"Turkish historian and dissident Taner Akçam added to Book Festival programThe Armenian genocide is probably the most controversial topic a Turkish historian can study. That's why Taner Akçam's mother wishes he had written his PhD thesis on something else. "She is so upset with me. She says, 'You just settled yourself after all your troubles – couldn't you find something else?'" Years later, he Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7271736742331697246.post-24253865413981089712007-08-24T10:54:00.001+01:002007-08-24T10:56:10.696+01:00Andrew Alderson and Neil Mackay at the Book FestivalFrom 17 August. Originally published in ThreeWeeks."Does anyone here know anything about finance?" This small question catapulted Andrew Alderson, a former investment banker, to de facto Chancellor of the Exchequer for southern Iraq. Alderson's 'Bankrolling Basra' is by turns hilarious and depressing - by his estimation, the team of Brits that he worked with in Basra had the region stabilised Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7271736742331697246.post-1773141265043605712007-08-23T10:55:00.001+01:002007-08-23T10:57:15.830+01:00Paddy Docherty and Edna Fernandes at the Book FestivalFrom 15 August. Originally published in ThreeWeeks.Technical problems kept Paddy Docherty from showing us a photo where he is holding a hunk of hashish "the size of a child's head". The image, from a market near the Khyber pass, stuck with me anyway. Countless armies have traveled the Khyber on their way to India, and Docherty's book 'The Khyber Pass: A History Of Empire And Invasion' looks at Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7271736742331697246.post-75768974474842616942007-08-22T18:02:00.001+01:002007-08-22T18:06:03.153+01:00Apocalyptic SunsetThis is really how it looked. The whole city stopped to stare for a few minutes.From EdinburghUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7271736742331697246.post-86191257786109766892007-08-22T17:51:00.000+01:002007-08-22T17:55:31.309+01:00Tariq Ramadan at the Book FestivalFrom 11 August. Originally published in ThreeWeeks.Controversy follows Tariq Ramadan to an almost baffling degree. Born and educated in Switzerland, Ramadan is probably the best-known Muslim scholar in Europe. Famously denied a visa to work at an American university, he now studies at Oxford. Ramadan's latest book, 'The Messenger', is a biography of Muhammad. He says that for interfaith dialogue Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7271736742331697246.post-64710773680278495812007-08-22T17:42:00.000+01:002007-08-22T17:44:23.415+01:00Murder and MarmaladeOne last theatre review, of a show that isn't playing anymore, but was some of the best fun I've had at the Fringe. Originally published in ThreeWeeks.Something strange is happening in a West Country tea shop, and a ramshackle crew of comic characters seem incapable of getting to the bottom of it. Produced by Fringe veterans SNUG, an 'integrated' theatre project, 'Murder And Marmalade' includes Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7271736742331697246.post-30761333833481256162007-08-22T13:30:00.000+01:002007-08-22T13:32:51.722+01:00Tina Cassidy at the Book FestivalFrom 13 August. Originally published by ThreeWeeks.There were only four men in this session by Tina Cassidy about her book 'Birth: A Surprising History Of How We Are Born', but there were plenty of women, mostly in groups, who cast significant glances to each other or nodded in agreement as Cassidy spoke. Drawing on her skills as a journalist and her personal experience giving birth to her first Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7271736742331697246.post-38395465034067567342007-08-17T10:00:00.000+01:002007-08-17T10:05:03.089+01:00Edmund WhiteSince I'm covering the Book Festival for ThreeWeeks, I'm reviewing one-off readings. It's hard to know what to say most of the time, or why people would read them, so I probably won't repost all of them, but here's my first..."I always feel the imagination is greatly overrated". Strange words from a novelist, but Edmund White is more interested in playing with facts than making things up, and it Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7271736742331697246.post-57541549173276215132007-08-16T09:43:00.000+01:002007-08-16T09:46:17.046+01:00Walking home from Charlotte Square GardensFrom EdinburghUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7271736742331697246.post-67501077457768927732007-08-15T16:13:00.000+01:002007-08-15T16:21:26.531+01:00Heelz on WheelsOriginally published in ThreeWeeks.Like Rocky Horror with wheelchairs, this show tells the story of Butch, whose dreary existence in a crumbling Northern town is brightened by the discovery of a shoe shop full of "sex, crips and queers". There are plentiful sequins, minimalist, poetic dialogue and music - Sally Clay's beautiful, versatile voice is worth the price of admission on its own. The Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7271736742331697246.post-48007752946698472542007-08-15T16:07:00.000+01:002007-08-15T16:11:55.944+01:00Blood from StoneOriginally published in ThreeWeeks.Some shows are less than the sum of their parts. This musical about a museum where the statues come alive at night is full of players who can evidentially dance, sing and act, yet we only catch a glimpse of their potential. Plot points are the first distraction - the sculptures claim not to remember being the mythological figures they resemble, but then freely Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7271736742331697246.post-36592535713991890722007-08-13T09:13:00.000+01:002007-08-14T08:26:11.331+01:00FleshOriginally published in ThreeWeeks.This is youth theatre at its best. Commissioned by Westminister Abbey, 'Flesh' brings together students from three secondary schools in London to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the abolition of slavery. Using the story of one man, music and movement, they pack dozens of perspectives on the slave trade into this short production. Clarity suffers a little inUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7271736742331697246.post-62209274817452542152007-08-13T09:11:00.000+01:002007-08-14T08:42:33.586+01:00Corpus ChristiOriginally published in ThreeWeeks.I expected controversy from this re-imagined New Testament tale - something cynical and cutting edge. What I didn't expect, or expect to enjoy, was sincerity. The company loves this story, they tell us so straight away - and by the end, you will love it too. In this version, our saviour (Joshua) is born to rotten parents in modern-day Texas. The other twist - Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7271736742331697246.post-52572611934292729102007-08-13T09:00:00.000+01:002007-08-14T08:26:11.332+01:00Exits and Entrances - Athol FugardOriginally published in ThreeWeeks.If there is peril in writing a play about the theatre, writing yourself in as a passionate, idealistic playwright must be nearly fatal. But this is what Athol Fugard does in his latest work. 'Exits And Entrances' is based on Fugard's relationship with the Afrikaans actor Andre Huguenet - "South Africa's Olivier". Morlan Higgins fills the theatre as Andre - you Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7271736742331697246.post-82285884371024188602007-08-12T11:21:00.000+01:002007-08-14T08:26:11.332+01:00In My Father's HouseOriginally published in ThreeWeeks.Part cooking demonstration, part improvisation, 'In My Father's House' is ostensibly about plums, but might have more to do with death or religion, if you're looking for deeper meaning. The performers are in character from the moment we enter the theatre - but who are these characters, exactly? If you need definite answers, this is not the production for you. Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7271736742331697246.post-56382620338335019072007-08-12T11:19:00.001+01:002007-08-14T08:26:11.333+01:00Little Shop of Horrrors (ExADUS)Originally published in ThreeWeeks.How many missed notes does it take to turn off a full house? Not many, it seems. ExADUS Theatre Company's production of the darkly comic musical 'Little Shop Of Horrors' is fast-paced and well-rehearsed, with creative staging and several good performances. Thomas Holmes is particularly effortless as Seymour, letting us both laugh at and sympathise with the Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7271736742331697246.post-64494666884859829952007-08-11T19:11:00.000+01:002007-08-14T08:41:00.251+01:00Mind the cracksThe last eleven months, when Edinburgh seemed to do little but renovate, repair and plan for the Festival, it was easy to forget that the month of August itself has little to do with the people who live here. Much of the audience is from away, as are the performers and a substantial number of organisers and writers. It's an awkward embrace, sometimes. Take this tip from the ThreeWeeks Ladies Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7271736742331697246.post-17777016147597222872007-08-11T18:46:00.000+01:002007-08-14T08:42:33.587+01:00On reading homophobic writersI'm covering the Edinburgh International Book Festival now, which is pretty exciting - that tent in Charlotte Square Gardens is like an alternate universe based entirely on books. :)My first reading was a discussion with Tariq Ramadan. He's a Muslim scholar currently at Oxford, one of the best-known in Europe. It was a fantastic session - I'll post more about it once I've written my ThreeWeeks Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7271736742331697246.post-45806578228690779462007-08-10T08:41:00.000+01:002007-08-14T08:40:19.168+01:00Faith, Hope, and... Genocide?Originally published in ThreeWeeks.A play about genocide is not the first place you would look for a story of faith and forgiveness. But the tagline to Leslie Lewis Sword’s one-woman show ‘Miracle In Rwanda’ is “finding God in genocide”, and she sees no contradiction. The show, Sword’s Fringe debut, tells the true story of Immaculée Ilibagiza. Ilibagiza lost her family in the 1994 Rwandan Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7271736742331697246.post-31018693175575579072007-08-09T15:38:00.000+01:002007-08-14T08:39:55.123+01:00Like Watching A Car WreckOriginally published in ThreeWeeks.What gives a car a “fascinating sound”? For Christian von Richthofen, the percussionist who destroys vehicles, in rhythm, each night during ‘Auto Auto’, the answer is obvious. “How it’s built, what it’s made of. And of course cheaper cars sound better, because there is not so much material inside,” he says. “Never play on Mercedes or Rolls Royce - they sound Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7271736742331697246.post-62668352386086575282007-08-09T15:29:00.000+01:002007-08-14T08:41:00.252+01:00East End of Princes StreetTaken late evening, a few weeks ago.From EdinburghUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7271736742331697246.post-90329949587515403232007-08-09T12:47:00.001+01:002007-08-14T08:42:33.588+01:00StonewallOriginally published in ThreeWeeks.This glitter-drenched production recalls the events that led to a 1969 raid on the Stonewall Inn, a gay bar in New York; a raid which turned into a riot, then days of riots, and then the first Pride parade. It's no Andrew Lloyd Webber - the sixties girl group soundtrack is lip synched, and the dance sequences wouldn't hold up on Broadway. But the punchlines hit Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7271736742331697246.post-31985808506388764852007-08-06T20:54:00.000+01:002007-08-06T20:58:15.650+01:00Cherry SmokeOriginally published in ThreeWeeks.Superb performances unfortunately serve to underline the problems with James McManus' script, in this drama about amateur boxing, abuse and devotion. We follow no-good Fish from childhood to disaster, and the boxing aspect is well-integrated and interesting. Jason Planitzer is fantastic as Fish's long-suffering brother and kudos goes to the actors for flawlesslyUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7271736742331697246.post-73041851408090923982007-08-06T20:31:00.000+01:002007-08-06T20:40:23.727+01:00CollywobblesOriginally published in ThreeWeeks.Early in his show, Stan Stanley greeted some latecomers with the line: "We're having an awkward moment". Unfortunately that was too true. Stanley's Fringe solo debut, a self-deprecating stand-up routine about embarrassment and awkwardness, had solid moments rather than a solid whole. You get the sense that Stanley is charming and funny in the pub, but not yet Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7271736742331697246.post-16338752187786594072007-08-06T09:25:00.000+01:002007-08-06T09:31:29.814+01:00Heaps of ReviewsFringe Review has compiled a list of nearly all the review sites. The volume is a bit overwhelming, but do have a poke around.My choice this morning is View from the Stalls - there is lots of intelligent content up already.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3