NEWS, FACTS AND WILD SPECULATION
playwright Karlton Parris for the starring role in his Broadway production of A Family of Women as a direct result of her Edinburgh appearance.
I A rabbi from Los Angeles is hoping Edinburgh audiences will ‘vote with their feet’ and boycott Scottish Opera’s production of
The Death of Klinghoffer, which receives its British premier at the International Festival this week. Rabbi Abraham Cooper, associate dean of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, criticised the opera, which depicts the seizure of cruise ship by Palestinian terrorists, for ‘romanticising’ terrorism.
I Fans of the Scottish colourists are in for a treat at the sixth annual Made in Scotland auction. which takes place in Edinburgh at the end of the month. Work by artists including George Leslie Hunter (pictured. below) and PCB Cadell will go under the hammer as part of a three-day special event organised by Bonhams starting on 24 August. More than 1000 works will be auctioned. For further information call Bonhams on ()131 225 2266.
Beyond a jok
Friends of the Earth Comedy Benefit programme announced. Words: Allan Radcliffe
he Stand Comedy Club has announced its programme for this year's
lnends of the tarth Scotland benefit gig. For the first time. the event is to
be held at l ainb's House on Burgess Street in Leith, thus transporting the best of l ringe comedy to an exciting new venue that's somewhat off the beaten track. Over the years. the vrtal envrronmental campaign has received support from a number of maior comedy names. and the lineup for this year's independent event still si//|ing from the presses - is no exception.
Hosting duties on the night Will be performed by lony Carter. New Deal apprentice stand up and alter-ego of up-and~coming local comedian Will All(ll’(§‘.'i’f3. the erstwhile lap Water award Winner Will be Joined onstage by Fringe regular and star of Channel is Kings of Comedy. Boothby Graffoe. currently enthralling audiences With his cli;iraclei‘istically touching. funny comic songs and anecdotes at the Stand. One time l’errier nominee Simon Munnery. currently running through his AClt/i to packed houses. Will also be appearing. as will l dinburgh rising star Creg Mcl lugh lpicturedi. and star of the Aussie Showcase. .Julia Vi/ilsoii.
lhis benefit. Which takes place on Saturday 2/ August. should be a memorable close to the Stand's tenth anniversary l ringe programme. which h; s seen i dinbuigh’s only full time comedy club present its biggest. most successful range of acts to date. lickets. priced at 5‘8 are available from the Stand or from l rieiids of the E arth on ()1131 5:34 997/.
I festiva/U foe scot/a/ido/giik,‘ WWW. tliesta/id.r‘o.iil<
I Respect Party Chieftain and all- round political firebrand George Galloway is to take the Television Festival by storm later this month.
Galloway will breeze into town in a cloud of cigar smoke to participate in a special Question Time news and current affairs debate and will also appear on ‘In Bed with Tony and Gordon’, to discuss whether TV has the power to change social policy.
I /\ note of hope for all aspiring stars tieading the boards in l dinburgh. /\ /'(3 year old amateur actress from Cheshire is making her professional debut on Broadway. after appearing at last year's l ringe. Retired accountant Margaret Hoschi was chosen by up and coming
4 THE LIST FESTIVAL MAGAZINE ill 95) Aug i’li‘lfi
I Richard Holloway, head of the Scottish Arts Council, has said that Scotland could become a ‘new Celtic Tiger’ if politicians committed to boosting investment in the arts by £100m. Holloway believes that a new era of cultural and economic self-confidence would be ushered in were the Executive to follow the recent Cultural Commission’s recommendations and allocate 1% of the public spending budget to the arts.
I Blind Summit lheatre. whose early morning cabaret l ow l ife has been wowrng audiences at the Smirnoff Underbelly, have announced they are to extend their run to the end of the
l ringe. The piece. a kind of seedy noir pastiche starring live puppets and their puppeteers. has been descril_)ed as ‘thrillingly unconventional'.
I Comedian Anneke Svenska (below) has been causing ructions on the streets of Edinburgh with her lewd and Iascivious Fringe flyering. The performer is appearing in Sally Swallows and the Rise of Londinian at the Gilded Balloon, in which she dons a grotesque nude suit complete with inflated Pamela Anderson breasts and clown’s wig dangling between her legs. After doing a spot of marketing in the aforementioned get-up, Svenska was dismayed to receive a first warning from the Fringe office, which had received a complaint from a member of the public. To crown this achievement, Svenska was later told by a police officer that if she appeared in public in the same state of undress, she would be charged with breach of the peace.