ThreeWeeks in Edinburgh 2007 wk1

Last week included a packed
One of the ‘Cirque Surreal’ cast
calendar of press launches as Look, it’s that Bob Downe fella,
takes time off from launching this
each Fringe venue opened strutting his stuff at the Spiegeltent
year’s show at the Meadows Big
their doors for the ﬁ rst time this launch earlier last week. He’s going
Top to read up on Festival 07 via the
year. Performers were dressed to to be live and swinging throughout
ThreeWeeks preview edition - a ﬁ ne
the nines as the Gilded Balloon the Fringe.
way, we think, to spend your break.
launched its 2007 programme.
3
03-04 // STARTPOINT
it starts here…
dear fringe-goer...
edinburgh 07: the biggest of the biggest
WE DON’T know if this is
Humphrey Ker and Thom Tuck
SIZE DOESN’T matter, the cliché goes, but at the more – because they have bigger posters and
your ﬁ rst or ﬁ fteenth trip to
photo by Idil Sukan
Edinburgh Festival it often does. adverts and brochures. And because they
the Festival, so we felt that
have bigger performance spaces hosting rather than burden you with
First, there’s the size of the Festival itself – which
the bigger names. But the important thing to
is, of course, very very big. The biggest, in fact.
multitudinous hints and tips
remember here is that big isn’t always best.
And this year’s Festival is, by all accounts, the
concerning Edinburgh as a city
That’s not to say there aren’t some cracking
biggest yet. The biggest of the biggest. This
or as a festival, we would, rather,
shows on at the big venues, because there
is important because it is all this big-ness that
are. And it’s not to say that the big names
attempt to shape your mental
makes the Edinburgh Festival so very exciting,
aren’t putting on great shows, because many
outlook. The Festival is big, you
because it is the sheer number of shows which
are. But often the really special shows are put are small and there is so much
makes it all stand out, and which ensures that,
on by smaller companies in smaller venues,
whatever it is you like – theatre, ﬁ lm, comedy,
to see and do. Without you,
making them quite easy to overlook as you try
music, musicals, dance, literature, art – there
however, the whole thing is less
to navigate what’s on offer.
are a vast array of shows to choose from.
fun. You, the ordinary festival-
All this talk of big-ness is basically another goer, are the bricks of which
The big-ness is also important, however,
way to explain why ThreeWeeks exists. One
because it is also one of the biggest problems
the Festival house is built. Don’t
EDINBURGH SURVIVAL GUIDE by The Penny
of the best ways to navigate this Festival is by
with the Edinburgh Festival. Arguably, in many
ever let anybody talk down to
using the media – letting us newspapers and
Dreadfuls / Aeneas Faversham Returns
ways, the Festival is now just too big, making it
magazines and radio stations and websites
you because you are not part of
a nightmare to navigate. Where do you start
do a bit of the navigating for you. The
an award-winning Tasmanian
will be some genuine nuggets of of the Taiwanese sex industry-
when presented with a programme that lists
problem there is that the Edinburgh Festival puppet-juggling hip-hopera. gold. Half the fun of the Fringe centric short ﬁ lm you’ve just
over 2000 different shows, and where that is
is now so big, even the biggest of the media
These guys would be demeaning
just one of the several programmes you should
is being able to say in ﬁ ve years seen is the most potent form
struggle to cover every little corner of what’s
be consulting? How are you meant to digest
themselves to large, empty
time that you saw [insert name of advertising there is. If you
on offer. And the little corners, as we’ve
all that information, and decide which shows
venues if you did not put the
here] playing to two American love something, sell it (and
established, sometimes house the greatest
to see? Especially when you’ve never heard of
shows. And that’s why ThreeWeeks is here.
money you earned delivering
high school kids and yourself expect to see that on t-shirts
many of the shows and performers. You can’t
Created around an entirely different business
babies or ﬁ ghting overseas into
in a cupboard under the stairs everywhere at Glastonbury next
really.
model – a not-for-proﬁ t venture built on the
tickets for their shows. That said,
at Holyrood Palace. This is year). Finally, enjoy yourself.
Another problem with the big-ness is that,
back of a totally unique media education try not to talk down to them in
immeasurably more satisfying If you are not having fun then
because the Festival at large is so big, when
programme – ThreeWeeks has by far the
return, no matter how palpably
than telling your mates you you need to shift your goalposts
it comes to navigating what’s on offer, it is all
biggest team of reviewers, and sets out to
real your actual job may be in saw “that guy off that thing”
until having a ghastly time
too easy to hone in on those venues or shows
cover more of this Festival than anyone else,
and to tell you about what we ﬁ nd in as many
comparison. because they will only counter
becomes precisely your idea of
which are, in themselves, pretty big. You hone
in on the big things because they stand out
different places as possible. I’m not claiming
with “Oh yeah? We saw Sean having a good time.
we leave every single stone unturned, but we
Little shows need you so much Connery arguing with a cabby
get a lot closer to that goal than anyone else. more than big shows. While it
outside the Opal Lounge.” And Yours
Which is why, hopefully, this Week One edition
may seem like a safe bet to go
Sean Connery is the universal Aeneas Faversham Returns
of ThreeWeeks, plus our daily review sheets
and see shows who have paid the
celebrity-sighting trump card.
and review-packed website, are important most people to ﬂ yer for them, Aeneas Faversham Returns,
tools in helping you ‘do’ the Edinburgh
or who you have seen ﬂ eetingly
Don’t be ashamed to love The Penny Dreadfuls, Smirnoff
Festival. Size, you see, is important. This is
on TV, there is so much more
something you see. You Underbelly, 2 - 26 Aug, 6:10pm
the biggest arts festival on the planet, and
satisfaction in stumbling across a
it needs an operation as big as ThreeWeeks
blubbering about the beauty (7:05pm), prices vary, fpp24.
to do it justice. With our reviews in hand
group of Bolivian students who
hopefully big-ness will be less of a problem,
do a hilarious hour of musical
Reginald D Hunter + Auto Auto + Improverts + Jason
and instead simply the thing that makes instrument impressions.
Edinburgh so special. Enjoy.
Byrne + Breaker Morant + Mark Dolan + Leslie Lewis Sword
Of course, there will be crap.
+ Ladies McMonthly + Claire Bayley + loads of reviews =
Chris Cooke, ThreeWeeks Founder & Co-Editor
But in amongst the crap there ThreeWeeksWeekOne – your ﬁ rst main edition for 07
more reviews more often – check out the very latest Edinburgh Festival reviews every day at www.threeweeks.co.uk ThreeWeeks
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