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Hitlist FESTIVAL DANCE *
✽✽ Gelabert Azzopardi Companyia de Dansa A fast-paced, beautifully performed double bill from the Barcelona-based dance company. A must-see for lovers of good dancing. See preview, page 41. Edinburgh Festival Theatre,473 2000, 21–23 Aug, 8pm, £10–£28. ✽✽ Royal Ballet of Flanders Putting fidelity to the test, Penelope waits 20 years for her husband’s return, in The Return of Ulysses, an entertaining re-working of Homer’s Odyssey. See preview, left. Playhouse, 473 2000, 21–23 Aug, 8pm; 24 Aug, 2.30pm, £10–£42. ✽✽ Flhip Flhop: Everything Happens on the Break Great comic timing, top tunes and funky hip hop moves from Rannel theatre company, as two bored decorators find ways to pass the time. See review, page 41. Zoo Southside, 662 6892, until 31 Aug, 12.50pm, £10 (£8). ✽✽ Zeitgeist Butoh meets performance art, picking up burlesque and cabaret along the way. One of those unique Fringe gems that’s well worth seeking out. See review, page 42. C Chambers Street, 0845 260 1234, until 31 Aug, 10.55pm, £9.50–£11.50 (£8.50–£10.50). ✽✽ Circa An alternative take on circus skills from this talented Australian company, featuring punishing moves and moments of beauty. See review, page 41. Assembly Hall, 623 3030, until 31 Aug (not 24), 4.30pm (£14.50–£16 (£13–£15). ✽✽ Tap Kids High school life with a real kick in its heels, from this talented young American tap company. See review, page 42. New Town Theatre, 0844 477 1000, until 30 Aug, 5.45pm, £11–£12 (£9–£10). For venue addresses see index page 80.
ROYAL BALLET OF FLANDERS The last time this dynamic company was in Edinburgh, they were performing William Forsythe’s off- kilter Impressing The Czar. Two years later, the Royal Ballet of Flanders is back with another impressively unconventional work, The Return of Ulysses. Choreographed by German, Christian Spuck, and inspired by Homer’s Odyssey, the show centres on Penelope, left behind for 20 years while her husband fights in the Trojan War. Blending music by Purcell and crooners from the 1940s and 50s, expect drama and humour in equal measure. ■ Edinburgh Playhouse, 473 2000, 21–23 Aug, 8pm; 24 Aug, 2.30pm, £10–£42. 5QUESTIONS
Performing their hugely entertaining show The Visible Men at this year’s Fringe, New Art Club take time out to answer our 5 Questions 5 reasons why people should see The Visible Men The Guardian described it as ‘genuine theatrical magic’; It features award-winning dancer Anna Williams; An audience member in Munich said ‘it’s like a kind of crazy live stop frame animation’; It’s a sophisticated, funny game of peek-a-boo for adults; It’s been wowing audiences in the UK, Germany, Spain and France. 4 best things about being part of a duo Being the handsome one, the funny one, the intelligent one and having someone to hold your coat. 3 biggest influences on the New Art Club style Today I’d say: style is a strategy of evasion (Scottish poet, Don Patterson); Reeves and Mortimer; Rudolph Nureyev and Margot Fonteyn’s haircuts. 2 favourite things about playing the Fringe You can see beautiful, hilarious, wonderful shows before the rest of the world sees them; You can then store up this experience and wait until they become famous at which point you can regale your mates with stories about the time you saw The Mighty Boosh in a tiny venue when there was only 12 other people there. 1 word that sums up The Visible Men? Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious. (Kelly Apter) ■ Pleasance Courtyard, 556 6550, until 31 Aug, 2.30pm, £10–£11 (£8.50–£9.50).
40 THE LIST FESTIVAL MAGAZINE 20–27 Aug 2009