CO-PROMOTION THEATRE
PLEASANCE
CATHY Cardboard Citizens Pleasance Dome, Fri 4–Sat 26 Aug (not 9, 14, 21), 3.30pm, £8.50–£11 (£7.50–£10). Previews Wed 2 & Thu 3 Aug, £6.50. Inspired by Ken Loach’s groundbreaking i lm, Cathy Come Home, Ali Taylor’s new drama imagines a Cathy for the 21st century, looking at how homelessness and housing issues would affect her today. Cardboard Citizens is celebrating its 25th anniversary, and this year comes to the Fringe for the i rst time. Audiences will be invited to discuss how housing and homelessness should be tackled. ODYSSEY Theatre Ad Ini nitum Pleasance Dome, Sat 5–Mon 28 Aug (not 9, 15, 22), 1.15pm, £10.50–£13.50 (£9–£12). Previews Wed 2–Fri 4 Aug, £7.50. It’s toured the world for eight years. Now, Theatre Ad Ini nitum’s award-winning reimagining of Homer’s epic is back at the Fringe. Their Odyssey features just one actor (George Mann), and is told over one hour. Theatre Ad Ini nitum’s past festival hits include Translunar Paradise (back again this year) and Light.
SUSPICIOUS MINDS Tom Fowler and the Pleasance Pleasance Dome, Sat 5–Mon 28 Aug (not 9, 16), 5.30pm, £7.50–£10 (£6.50–£9). Previews Wed 2–Fri 4 Aug, £6. This new dark romantic comedy written by Tom Fowler follows Mark and Fran as they try to i x their relationship. Told in the style of radio-theatre with live foley sound effects, Suspicious Minds was shortlisted for the 2017 Charlie Hartill Special Reserve Fund. A Pleasance co–production, developed at the Battersea Arts Centre.
CONFABULATION Eamonn Fleming in association with LittleMighty Pleasance Courtyard, Sat 5–Mon 28 Aug (not 9, 16, 23), 1.40pm, £9–£12 (£8–£11). Previews Wed 2–Fri 4 Aug, £7. Eamonn Fleming goes from Motorhead to memory research in this funny and surprising play about not being able to trust a single thing that you remember from your past.
CURSE OF CRANHOLME ABBEY Young Pleasance Pleasance Courtyard, Sat 5–Sat 19 Aug, 3.30pm, £7.50–£10 (£6.50–£9). Preview Fri 4 Aug, £6. Young Pleasance presents a tale of intrigue and horror as the past and present collide. Young Pleasance is part of Pleasance Futures, the Pleasance Theatre Trust’s initiative to provide a platform for new talent and ideas. This year, the company celebrates its 22nd anniversary.
ANCIENT SHRINES AND HALF TRUTHS Interactive and immersive theatre from New Zealand’s Binge Culture
New Zealand’s Binge Culture have been making performance mischief since 2008: with three shows at the Fringe, their range of interests and styles is well represented, without being easily labelled. Ancient Shrines and Half Truths is an immersive stroll that begins in Summerhall’s courtyard and, via a user-triggered app interface, acts as an unofi cial audio tour of Edinburgh.
Joel Baxendale is sardonic about his inspiration: ‘AirBnB’s slogan “Belong Anywhere” encapsulates the sense of entitlement supposedly ‘woke’ global travellers tend to exhibit.’ He remains cynical about such ‘enlightened’ tourism, ‘this idea that you deserve to be able to consume someone else’s culture with total disregard for how this impacts actual locals as opposed to the i ve-minute locals these travellers imagine themselves as.’
This sense of caustic engagement with cultural assumptions rel ects Binge Culture’s practice, but the use of app technology makes Ancient Shrines unique within their Fringe offerings. However, Baxendale says, ‘all our work interrogates the role the audience has to play, and we always use humour to investigate serious subjects and try to be playful with that, so in those respects, this show i ts in completely.’ While the listener is free to respond to the audio guide, the guiding voices are both instructive and teasing, with live performers added into the experience, making it clear that this is no simple ofi cial history. While Ancient Shrines is fun – encouraging daft actions by the audience and performers – it subverts assumptions about how culture is merely another delight to be consumed. (Gareth K Vile)
Summerhall, Fri 4–Sun 27 Aug, 3.15 & 6.15pm, £11 (£9). Previews Wed 2 & Thu 3 Aug, 3.15pm, £9 (£8).
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