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DR CARNESKY’S INCREDIBLE BLEEDING WOMAN Academic and subversive theatre-maker Dr Carnesky takes on the taboo of menstruation with an all-star cast, including burlesque legend Fancy Chance. Drawing on mythology, classic horror movies, notions of femininity and traditional cultural attitudes to women and blood, Carnesky’s vivid theatricality shapes a feminist contemporary ritual. Pleasance Courtyard, 4–28 Aug (not 9, 21), times vary, £8–£10 (£7–£9). Previews 2–4 Aug, £6.
Top Tips | FESTIVAL THEATRE
the sexualisation of our children. Directed by John Hoggarth.
BIN LADEN: THE ONE MAN SHOW
C, 2–28 Aug (not 15), 6.30pm, £9.50–£11.50 (£7.50–£9.50). The world’s most notorious terrorist tells his remarkable, provocative and multi award-winning story. After a critically- acclaimed USA tour, this incendiary show provides fresh perspective; creating a space for debate and dialogue within the unthinkable.
BREXIT THE MUSICAL C, 2–28 Aug (not 15), 6.55pm, £13.50–£15.50 (£11.50–£13.50). There’s a plan for Brexit. Just one hitch – no one knows where it is! It’s up to one man, Boris, to find it. After accidentally winning the referendum, this is his only way to gain redemption and save the nation from Brexit. Ably assisted by his sidekick Govey, our hero faces his most important mission yet. Will they save the day?
7PM ECHOES
ZOO, 4–28 Aug, 7pm, £10 (£8). In a Black Mirror-esque near future, two men face each other across a table. A bomb has been dropped on purpose on the motherland’s civilian population. Why? A taut two-hander that will generate long discussions and food for thought.
THE PRINCIPLE OF UNCERTAINTY
Sweet Holyrood, 3–27 Aug (not 24 & 25), 7pm, £10 (£8). Written by a PhD in quantum mechanics, The Principle of Uncertainty blends some of the more advanced ideas of physics with an emotional punch that promises to leave the audience reeling.
6PM
THE B*EASTS Underbelly Cowgate, 5–27 Aug (not 14), 6pm, £10–£11 (£9–£10). Previews 3 & 4 Aug, £6.50. Setting the modern obsession with putting your own child first against our responsibility as a society towards children as a whole, this dark tale, written by and starring BAFTA award-winning actress Monica Dolan, explores how far one mum will go to give her child what she wants. An exploration of the pornification of our culture and
THE BEARPIT ZOO Southside, 6–19 Aug, 3.05pm, £10 (£9). Previews 4 & 5 Aug, £7. Flora and Nic appear to have the perfect relationship but privately are completely atomised. Weaving movement, original music and text into a two-person show, Kopfkino’s debut piece interrogates what we tell ourselves to be true versus the reality raging beneath the surface.
BUZZ: A NEW MUSICAL Pleasance Courtyard, 5–28 Aug (not 14, 21), 3.30pm, £8.50–£11 (£7.50–£10). Previews 2–4 Aug, £6.50. Winner of the 2016 Eddies Award, the sell-out hit Buzz returns; a hilarious musical journey through the history of the vibrator and a brutally honest story of a singleton’s quest to fall back in love with herself. Sex education meets showstopping tunes.
BLEACH 48 Below, 3–11 Aug, 3.45pm, free. A soul-jolting new one-man show about sex, violence and city living. Laced with crippling honesty and dark wit, Bleach is sure to keep your pulse racing and your mind churning.
TRANSLUNAR PARADISE Pleasance Courtyard, 5–28 Aug (not 9, 15, 22), 3.45pm, £10.50– £13.50 (£9–£12.50). Previews 2–4 Aug, £6.50. Theatre Ad Infinitum return with their award-winning journey of life, death and enduring love. After his wife passes away, William escapes to a paradise of past memories, a place far from his grief. Returning from beyond the grave, Rose revisits her widowed companion
to perform one last act of love: to help him let go. A poignant, life-affirming tale without words.
BLANK TILES Assembly George Square Studios, 5–28 Aug (not 14), 3.55pm, £10–£11. Previews 3 & 4 Aug, £6. Scrabble world champion, Austin Michaels (played by Dylan Cole) knew over 200,000 words. Then he was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. Since then Austin has been in a race against time to document his memories, his greatest achievements, before they fade from his mind forever.
4PM CREATIVES
Pleasance Courtyard, 5–28 Aug (not 15, 22), 4pm, £11–£14.50 (£9–£13.50). Previews 2–4 Aug, £8. A dark, comic pop-opera by Irvine Welsh and Don De Grazia. See feature, page 103.
5PM
RICHARD CARPENTER IS CLOSE TO YOU
Underbelly George Square, 5–27 Aug (not 15), 5.20pm, £10.50–£11.50 (£9–£10.50). Previews 2–4 Aug, £6.50. Richard from The Carpenters used to be on top of the world looking down on creation, to the left of (and slightly behind) Karen. Now, he’s back at the piano once more in this razor- sharp tragicomedy that takes you on the ultimate ticket to ride. Written and performed by Matthew Floyd Jones, the piano player from Frisky & Mannish.
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STAGING WITTGENSTEIN It’s a brave choice to base a performance on The Tractatus, Wittgenstein’s poetic yet dense meditation on language. Placing the two actors inside balloons adds an element of fun — and danger. Will theatre explain philosophy, or will the balloon explode in everyone’s faces? Regardless, the Fringe is rarely this unpredictable. C, 2–28 Aug (not 9, 16, 23), 7.40pm, £9.50– £11.50 (£7.50–£9.50).
3–10 Aug 2017 THE LIST FESTIVAL 119