The Front
Festival news and gossip
‘People ask why we don’t have the Naval Mast
THE QUOTES
Well, it doesn’t
exist anymore. And the Gun Run? Doesn’t exist. RAF Police Dogs? Don’t exist.’
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How to chill on the Fringe
Tunnel vision of womb with a view. Words: Donald Hutera
l'lligO-WOJW bodies and souls. take heart. There is
relief from all your running and cultural excess, most
of it tucked away in the Talks 8. Events section of the Fringe programme. Sayita Burke's Healing Sounds-Mantra Chanting workshops (Quaker Meeting House. 13—1 8 Aug. 835.50l promise "colourful vocal sounds to make you cry or laugh'. Soundworks' ‘sound baths' (Edinburgh Academy. lS~t8 Aug. Sol employ Tibetan and crystal singing bowls to soothe Fringed-out spirits. The priCier Energetics lNeal's Yard Remedies. 4—27 Aug. Silo-€18) offers seated. clothed acupressure massage. plus free herbal tea.
But the best bet for a bargain respite. or re-charge. is Arcazaar (Aug 5—27. ‘23) by Nottingham-based Architects of Air. From the outside it looks like the most elab0rate bOuncy castle you've ever seen. InSide. the pneumatic caverns of Zippered and glued plastic. illuminated solely by natural light. are right out of the mid-60$ SCI-fi flick Fantastic Voiage. The trompe-I'oeil undulations and
4 THE LIST FESTIVAL GUIDE 2—9 Aug :eoi
Arcazaar is ‘somewhere between
a womb and a cathedral’ ‘I loathe those stand-up
coffins where you have to close the door on yourself. I get so claustrophobic that I have a hot flush and start thrashing around like a whale in a blender.’
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‘A nuclear bomb would go off and nobody would notice.’ Fringe rm Wit M v [glut A'fgirte/i/ on the a//»i:(inscrnirii; lli'lftllt‘ it' We fest/it'll
‘lt’ll be fun. We’ll go shopping.’
Anti corpomte git/:1 fly/(10H)! K/i ’l/l making a date with a recent
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‘In the early 803, it was all just student stuff and medical revues. When I suggested that comics go on stage and talk in front of a mic, they told me it would never catch on.’
Ai’exei Sat/e takes; the credit or b/ame for the Fringe's comedy tron/i:
‘I regard this as a larger struggle against corporate power.’
Rot) Nev. rnan e,-',')/;i/ris why he '3; ask/rig stand-41,03 to boycott the Perrier
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‘lt’ll still taste the same.’ A Per/ii,” snows/nan addresses the rea/ is“.th at; the water compact ponders [Op/{IC/llf} the Juxtaposition of saturated hues ioven»coil orange. g/ass hott/e mth /)./{1.';i'l(,’. membranous red. hot pink. neon blue. iridescent copper. lollipop green) make the eyes dance. The effect as you \‘rander through. accompanied by an amorphous ambient soundtrack and the occasional rush of air. is simultaneOusly disorienting and comforting. stimulating and serene. No wonder. as Parkinson says. its been described as somewhere between a womb and a cathedral'. Parkinson. 51. is a former probation officer and community worker whose father was a sheet metal engineer. Self-taught, he dubs himself ‘a kind of artist'. He designed Arcaz’aar after a research Visit to Iran. With their lozenge shapes and diamond—web patterns. the domes and tunnels are influenced by Persan bazaars. The structure combines clasSical geometr, and Islamic forms. Questioned about its therapeutic potential. Parkinson admits. 'I want Arcazaar to give people something they
actually need. particularly in a spiritual sense.‘ Rob Newman