LIST.CO.UK/FESTIVAL Festival Noticeboard
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Fact Attack
Want to baffle the out-of-towners? Try these spurious Fest facts courtesy of comedian Maff Brown
• The purple cow is purple because it has been
holding its breath for too long. • Scottish people don’t even like haggis;
• The EICC stands for Edinburgh Is Cocking Cold. • Arthur’s Seat has been replaced by Arthur’s Futon. • The Royal Mile is what Prince Charles calls
it’s a practical joke they play on the English. his intestines.
• All street performers are really agoraphobics going through therapy.
• The free Fringe is only free because it is out on bail. • It’s impossible to look cool while walking
• The Gilded Balloon has often been mistaken on cobble stones.
for The Guild of Baboons. • The Pleasance Dome was the location for filming
• When a comedian gets an erection he calls Mad Max 3.
it his funny bone. • Summer time in Edinburgh lasts 2 hours and
• North Bridge and South Bridge often swap places 13 mins.
when no one is looking to fool tourists. • The most popular tattoo in Edinburgh is a tattoo of the Tattoo.
• Leith Walk has the highest number of people called Keith in one area in the country and can often be known as Leith’s Keiths.
• The most visited venue by comedians at last year’s • The film Groundhog Day was modelled on the
Fringe was the massage parlour on Blair Street. Edinburgh Festival.
• The Scottish love it when English people do • The Assembly Rooms will be full of schoolchildren
their accent at them. singing hymns.
• Paying £4000 for a month’s rent for a one-bedroom • Sons of clowns never take after their fathers
flat is very reasonable. as their shoes are too big to fill.
• It’s illegal to run on Leith Walk. • To order a fried breakfast in Edinburgh you must ask for a salad.
■ Maff Brown: Pacman is actually Allergic to Ghosts, Gilded Balloon Teviot, 622 6552, until 28 Aug, 5.15pm.
SCREEN TIME
Leith’s Fringe festivities enjoy a filmic injection While the Festival is, for the large part, about what can be seen on stage, Leith on the Fringe are offering something a little different down Out of the Blue way. As part of their programme, keep ’em peeled for a series of film-making events taking in documentary, fiction and live performance, held weekly throughout the Fringe. Film buffs can also enjoy workshops and presentations each Sunday before the screenings.
Ray Bird, co-director of the event explains: ‘Live Film in Leith is a weekly programme of unique cinematic content, where documentary, fiction, live performance and music video merge seamlessly in a series of interactive screening events, dynamic workshops and open studios. Linked thematically, the target is to use the mediums of film and music to engage with the audience’s imagination and challenge the modern mainstream cinema.’ Enjoy. ■ Live Film in Leith, Leith on the Fringe @ Out of the Blue Drill Hall, 554 8092, 7, 14, 21 & 28 Aug, 9.15pm, £7 (£5).
ARTS AND CULTURE NEWS COVERED IN TWO MINUTES AROUND TOWN A festival wouldn’t be a festival without a hearty mix of awards going begging, and Amnesty International have revealed that they have had a record number of entries for this year’s gong. Last year’s award went to Roadkill; look out for this year’s winner when it’s announced on Thu 25 Aug.
FRINGE So, we get that there are a lot of shows to decide between but the jury’s still out on the latest venture to capitalise on the mass indecision beholden of many a tourist to the city. Fringe Master essentially plans your itinerary so you don’t have to. Consultations are held in person with one day’s itinerary sorting of five or more shows – all for the princely sum of £30. Go meet them for yourself at Circus Café & Bistro, St Mary’s Street, until 30 Aug from 2.30–4.30pm, or check them out online at fringemaster.co.uk.
INTERNATIONAL Many of us know what it’s like to go to a show and wonder at the magic that goes on behind the scenes. Well, we need wonder no more, as those innovative folks at the EIF have created online initiative Festival Backstage, allowing us the chance to take a sneaky peak behind the curtain. Check out eif.co.uk/ festivalbackstage for a series of short films, as well as interviews with actors, dancers and musicians, directors, designers and technicians, make-up artists and more, from this year’s Festival programme. Highlights include a guide to Peking opera, a look at the original stories behind One Thousand and One Nights, an interview with Die Frau ohne Schatten director Jonathan Kent as well as insight from EIF director Jonathan Mills. 11–18 Aug 2011 THE LIST 11
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