Latest news with #EdinburghFestivalFringe
Scotsman
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Scotsman
A new voice rises on the farm: Sam Blythe takes the reins in Animal Farm
Guy Masterson's legendary solo show returns to Edinburgh Fringe for its 30th anniversary – with a bold new lead Sign up to our daily newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to Edinburgh News, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... This summer at 13.00 at George Square Studio Four at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, a barnyard revolution will be stirring once more. To mark 80 years since the publication of George Orwell's Animal Farm, and three decades since its world-famous solo adaptation first took the Fringe by storm, Guy Masterson's powerhouse production returns – this time with a new name on the bill. Actor Sam Blythe takes the mantle in a stirring reimagining of this theatrical classic, directed by Masterson himself. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad First performed by Masterson in 1995 and now a global touchstone of solo performance, Animal Farm has long been lauded for its visceral intensity and political bite. Now, Blythe brings his own formidable energy and physicality to Orwell's iconic cast of creatures, from the idealistic Snowball to the tyrannical Napoleon, the noble Boxer to the cunning Squealer – not to mention the sheep, hens, ducks, dogs, and even the cats. Sam Blythe in Animal Farm 'Animal magic! Not to be missed!' hailed BBC Radio, while The Times famously quipped, 'Some shows are more equal than others!' And critics agree – this new incarnation is every bit as electrifying as the original. Masterson, an Olivier Award-winner and Fringe stalwart whose solo work includes Under Milk Wood, Shylock, and A Christmas Carol, remains at the helm as director. But it's Blythe's turn in the spotlight – and he rises to the challenge with grace, grit, and a compelling stage presence honed through immersive work in Peaky Blinders: The Rise, Doctor Who: Time Fracture, and the Dickensian feast show The Great Christmas Feast. His solo Hamlet, Method In My Madness, debuted to critical acclaim at EdFringe 2024 and returns this year as a festival favourite (10:40, George Square Studio 4). With Animal Farm, Blythe transforms a bare stage into Orwell's chillingly familiar world – a world where the promises of revolution curdle into tyranny, and where the line between human and beast blurs under the weight of power. His performance is a tour de force of physical theatre, conjuring a full cast of characters with nothing but voice, movement, and sheer conviction. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad As the show's 30th anniversary underscores the timeless urgency of Orwell's allegory, Animal Farm in 2025 is not just a revival – it's a reckoning. 'I mean,' asks the play with a wink and a warning, 'it could never happen to us… could it?'
Scotsman
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Scotsman
The UK's only female stand-up rapper makes her fringe debut with 'Forget Me Not'
Described by Angela Barnes as a 'star in the making,' Amelia Hamilton (BBC New Comedy Awards Nominee 2024) invites you to party at the end of the world from July 30 to August 24 at Pleasance Courtyard - The Attic at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe - but first she needs to do the dishes at her parents' house … Where she lives. Sign up to our daily newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to Edinburgh News, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Amelia's generation was told they can be anything that they wanted to be, and she was told that one day she would grow up and have a family - she just didn't realise it would be the same one again. No wonder she is contemplating the end of all things. Now self-identifying as a woman in STEM, Amelia, your new best friend and the UK's only female rap comedian (that she knows of), wonders if - like they say - everything will burn in the final days. God must have left his straighteners on too, right? Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad With that in mind, Forget Me Not, set to an original soundtrack of live beats, combines eulogies, fire and family to produce a relatable rapper's requiem and a comedic celebration. Amelia Hamilton is making her eagerly awaited Edinburgh Fringe debut with 'Forget Me Not' Amelia says: 'This show is an anthem for anyone who wants to be everything; a lover and a fighter, a girl boss and also wear ASOS, a rapper and a woman in STEM, to be famous but also to be forgotten.' Yes, Amelia wants you to love her and to forget her, and by the end of the hour, she will convince you that the ultimate freedom is to be erased. Amelia Hamilton is the UK's only female stand-up rap comedian (as far as she knows), blending razor-sharp stand-up with rapid-fire rhymes to create a unique and unforgettable performance. A regular across the UK comedy circuit, she has performed everywhere from the Komedia in Brighton to The Stand in Edinburgh, making her mark in rooms up and down the country. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad A finalist in the 2023 Musical Comedy Awards, Amelia was also the runner-up in the prestigious Komedia New Comedy Awards in 2024 and a BBC New Comedy Awards Nominee in the same year, cementing her status as one of the freshest and most exciting voices on the comedy scene. Amelia Hamilton: Forget Me Not In 2025, she has been supporting both Zoe Lyons and internet sensation Derek Mitchell on tour. Amelia's witty, earworm tracks have earned her airplay on BBC Radio and featured on BBC iPlayer. She is currently working on a comedy rap album to accompany her debut hour.
Scotsman
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Scotsman
The UK's only female stand-up rapper makes her Fringe debut with 'Forget Me Not'
Described by Angela Barnes as a 'star in the making,' Amelia Hamilton (BBC New Comedy Awards Nominee 2024) invites you to party at the end of the world from 30 July to 24 August at Pleasance Courtyard - The Attic at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe - but first she needs to do the dishes at her parents' house … Where she lives. Sign up to our Arts and Culture newsletter, get the latest news and reviews from our specialist arts writers Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Amelia's generation was told they can be anything that they wanted to be, and she was told that one day she would grow up and have a family - she just didn't realise it would be the same one again. No wonder she is contemplating the end of all things. Now self-identifying as a woman in STEM, Amelia, your new best friend and the UK's only female rap comedian (that she knows of), wonders if - like they say - everything will burn in the final days. God must have left his straighteners on too, right? Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad With that in mind, Forget Me Not, set to an original soundtrack of live beats, combines eulogies, fire and family to produce a relatable rapper's requiem and a comedic celebration. Amelia says: 'This show is an anthem for anyone who wants to be everything; a lover and a fighter, a girl boss and also wear ASOS, a rapper and a woman in STEM, to be famous but also to be forgotten.' Amelia Hamilton: Forget Me Not Yes, Amelia wants you to love her and to forget her, and by the end of the hour, she will convince you that the ultimate freedom is to be erased. Amelia Hamilton is the UK's only female stand-up rap comedian (as far as she knows), blending razor-sharp stand-up with rapid-fire rhymes to create a unique and unforgettable performance. A regular across the UK comedy circuit, she has performed everywhere from the Komedia in Brighton to The Stand in Edinburgh, making her mark in rooms up and down the country. A finalist in the 2023 Musical Comedy Awards, Amelia was also the runner-up in the prestigious Komedia New Comedy Awards in 2024 and a BBC New Comedy Awards Nominee in the same year, cementing her status as one of the freshest and most exciting voices on the comedy scene. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad In 2025, she has been supporting both Zoe Lyons and internet sensation Derek Mitchell on tour. Amelia's witty, earworm tracks have earned her airplay on BBC Radio and featured on BBC iPlayer. She is currently working on a comedy rap album to accompany her debut hour.
The Herald Scotland
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Herald Scotland
Glasgow Jazz Festival returns with five-day extravaganza
The festival offers five days of performances from both international stars and homegrown talent, with more than 100 musicians taking part in over 35 events across the city. Jill Rodger, director of the Glasgow Jazz Festival, said: "We are thrilled to welcome audiences to the 39th edition of Glasgow Jazz Festival. "The festival celebrates jazz in all its forms, showcasing the genre's rich diversity and multi-generational appeal and popularity. "The city will be alive with the sounds of the jazz world for five days, and with some shows sold out, I would encourage music fans to snap up their tickets and take the chance to soak up the magic of jazz in the heart of Glasgow." Read more: Special show celebrates jazz musicians who have made Glasgow their home 'Britain was black, white and grey - punk hit it like a carpet bomb' Why are Oasis and their fans seen as a threat to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe? This year's line-up features legendary US musician Brian Jackson, best known for his work with Gil Scott-Heron, who will perform at Saint Luke's on Friday, June 20. Grammy Award-winning pianist and vocalist Jon Cleary will also take to the stage with his signature New Orleans sound. The festival continues to spotlight UK talent, including innovative tuba player Theon Cross, who will appear at Óran Mòr on Saturday, June 21, alongside Scottish drummer Graham Costello and DJ Rebecca Vasmant. Xhosa Cole will headline the Beyond Borders show Poesis, a Take Five commission making its Scottish debut, and Fat-Suit will perform a set inspired by classic video game soundtracks. Rising Scottish saxophonist Matt Carmichael is set to deliver an emotive set on Thursday, June 19, while vocalist Marianne McGregor and guitarist Timmy Allan add further Scottish flair to the line-up. Timmy Allan, who won the BBC Radio Scotland Young Jazz Musician 2024 title, said: "I'm very excited and honoured to be included in this year's Glasgow Jazz Festival. "I can't wait to play with my incredible band, which is Norman Willmore, Brodie Laird-Jarvie, and Roan Anderson. "The line-up for the festival is incredible as well, and it's great to have my name alongside the likes of Matt Carmichael, Modern Vikings, Marianne McGregor, Fat-Suit – the list goes on." The festival is supported by Creative Scotland and the Glasgow 850 Festivals Fund. More information and tickets are available on the Jazz Festival's website.
The Herald Scotland
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Herald Scotland
Oasis shows blamed for Edinburgh Festival Fringe ticket woes
And there are fears that the Fringe, which relies heavily on last-minute ticket sales, will be badly affected in August when the festival will clash for the first time with concerts at Murrayfield. Read more: The Fringe Society and venue operators are expected to launch eleventh-hour efforts to try to boost ticket sales in areas within easy reach of Edinburgh, as well as encourage concert-goers to take in festival shows. Assembly runs several venues in the George Square area during the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. (Image: Assembly) Three Oasis shows and an AC/DC concert are expected to attract more than 290,000 ticket-holders in total to the home of Scottish rugby between August 9 and 21. However major Fringe venues are reporting slower ticket sales compared to this time last year. Oasis and AC/DC will be staging stadium shows at Murrayfield this summer during the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. (Image: Jane Barlow/PA) There are concerns that the scheduling of the shows may have already put off many Fringe performers and regular attendees at the festival due to the impact they have had on demand to be in the city in August. Some city centre hotels are charging upwards of £800 a room for the second Friday in August when Oasis will play the first of three shows. The Pleasance Courtyard is one of the busiest Fringe venues. (Image: Neil Hanna) The cheapest available hostel or accommodation on August 12, when Oasis will play their final show in the city, is £200 for a bed. One Fringe operator told The Herald: 'The last thing the Fringe needed was these concerts being staged in August. 'We are looking at a situation where thousands of people who have booked to stay in the city during the Fringe are going to be going nowhere near Fringe venues. 'These concerts are going to make it harder to book accommodation over the next few weeks and harder to get in and out of the city.' Another long-time promoter said: 'The staging of these concerts in August doesn't just affect the dates when these shows are on at Murrayfield. 'They have affected the cost of accommodation throughout August, which is putting off people who have coming to the Fringe for years and usually see loads of shows when they are in the city.' William Burdett-Coutts, founder of Assembly, the longest-running venue operator on the Fringe, told The Herald that its advance sales were down by 35 per cent year-on-year. He said: 'We are constantly getting anecdotal feedback that people are finding it too expensive to visit Edinburgh for the festival, especially with the Oasis concerts that are on this year. 'Personally, I don't think they are a good thing. They are taking up a lot of days when the Fringe is on. 'Oasis can go on tour anytime and get the audience that they get. We are trying to attract people to Edinburgh to come to a festival which is all about introducing new talent and don't have the same level of exposure. 'I don't think these concerts are going to be beneficial to the overall festival as it's going to be really hard to get accommodation now. 'We will have to do more marketing of our shows to a local audience than we would normally do. At the end of the day, they will still be able to come. 'A lot of our ticket sales are very last minute. We probably only sell 20 per cent of our tickets before August. Anything that impacts on that period is really important. 'Our budgets are built on what we normally do, which is selling around half a million tickets. That's a major undertaking. 'The whole economy of the Fringe depends on ticket sales. People take the risk to come to Edinburgh with their shows on the basis that audiences are going to be there.' Sam Gough, who leads the programming of Summerhall, one of the Fringe's biggest venues, said: 'I don't think that people who are coming to Edinburgh to see Oasis or AC/DC are not going to stay for more than a night. They will be in the stadium for around 5pm, they won't get any further than the west end and will be on trains the next day. 'I think the city will feel emptier on the days when these concerts on because of the number of people who are going to Murrayfield. 'I think our audiences are very different to some of the bigger venues who will probably be affected by these concerts way more. 'But I think it will affect the city and it has already affected the bigger picture of artists deciding whether they are coming to the Fringe.' Pleasance director Anthony Alderson urged Oasis fans visiting Edinburgh for their concerts and local residents living near Murrayfield to take in the Fringe this summer. He told The Herald: 'It is hard to imagine that any fan of Oasis, travelling to Edinburgh for the concert, won't want to also enjoy the world's greatest arts festival. 'We would encourage anybody attending the Oasis concerts to come and see shows at the Fringe. If you live in the west side of the city you may want to come and enjoy the Fringe to escape the noise and people. That whole of that side of Edinburgh will undoubtedly be affected. 'Concerts of this scale in a city that is already very busy will, of course, have an impact but it's difficult to currently see what that will be. 'What's important to note is there is no doubt that the rise in accommodation costs have an impact on visitors. 'We know this has a negative impact on the festival in terms of affordability for both artists and audiences.' A spokesperson for the Fringe Society said it was planning a 'tactical marketing campaign' to encourage ticket-holders for the Murrayfield concerts to see Fringe shows while they are in Edinburgh. Tourism bodies will be asked to help promote the Fringe to people staying in the city overnight, while transport operators will be asked to ensure they increase services at during pea The spokesperson added: 'Each year the rhythm and pattern of ticket sales is unique and can be affected by a range of factors, including timing of early ticket sales, marketing efforts, individual venue programmes, and broader economic and social factors.' Neil Ellis, chair of the Edinburgh Hotels Association, said: "Supply and demand will always dictate a destination's room rates around the world and we all have to accept that. Unfortunately for Oasis and AC/DC fans and Fringe-goers, the venue and promoters chose the August dates. "We're sure that had they been playing outside of the Festival in a quieter period, rates for accommodation and essential travel costs to Edinburgh would be lower. "Edinburgh is on the bucket-list of many people and the city offering is always improving in order to keep us there. "From our fantastic array of hotels, Michelin-starred restaurants, world-renowned festivals, museums and visitor attractions, parks and green spaces, and an airport connecting over 160 destinations, we certainly think Edinburgh provides value all year round to suit every type of visitor."
