World Premiere: Mermalade

Manhattan Children’s Theatre presents

MERMALADE

World premiere

Based on the children’s book by Clare Cockburn-Martin
Illustrated by Anna Welsh
Directed and adapted for the stage by Laura Stevens

A Little Mermaid she is not.

A fast paced, interactive comedy. A universal quest. A play for all ages

Left with a cryptic note, a pearl, and three annoying oysters for company, MERMALADE is determined to make sense of it all. She’s brave enough to approach the biggest forces in the universe. She’s strong enough to confront those that get in her way. But is she wise enough to find her answer?

Add three life size Oysters as narrators, cameos from the Moon, Sun, Stars, Thor (God of Thunder), a beach setting, a splattering of pop music and one strong-willed 11-year-old girl that never quits and what do you get?

Unlike traditional fairy tales, MERMALADE’s story holds no moral decree. In the Socratic Spirit, the show offers more questions than answers with WHY? being at the top of the list.

Why does everyone tell me what to do and feel?

Why is a pearl so special?

Why do I have to keep asking “WHY?”

“If you’re tired of Once upon a time same old, same old, you should visit Manhattan Children’s Theatre for The Last of the Dragons.” – New York Times

“The idea of a damsel in distress being rescued by a handsome man has been around for so long, we hardly notice it’s there. Which is exactly why it’s so damaging as a stereotype. So hurrah for Manhattan Children’s Theatre for joining a burgeoning list of storytellers re-dressing the balance.”

wow24/7 **** review of The Last of the Dragons

“This is a tale of bravery, intelligence and unexpected NEW traditions. Beautifully set for the stage and directed by Laura Stevens (…) with an all-Edinburgh cast, this show will delight young and old.”

Families Edinburgh on The Last of the Dragons

Manhattan Children’s Theatre offers complimentary tickets for local youth groups for the preview dates of MERMALADE (3-4 August). Also, on non-performance days the show will be visiting local Edinburgh schools.

Laura Stevens, who recently moved to Edinburgh from her native New York, co-founded Manhattan Children’s Theatre in 2002 and directed over 30 plays since, including theatrical productions for very young audiences (Little Tales, based on folk tales from around the world). Between 2002 and 2011, MCT welcomed over 250,000 audience members through its doors. Laura’s production of The Last of the Dragons debuted at Fringe in 2015 to rave reviews and toured to Biggar in Scotland and Warsaw in Poland to sold-out audiences.

Now Scotland-based, the mission of Manhattan Children’s Theatre is one of providing affordable, high quality theatre entertainment to audiences in Scotland, children in particular.

Mermalade

www.mermalade.org

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Lothian ladies live it up at the Fringe!

Meet Edinburgh’s senior Fringe reviewers!

Mary Ferrie (80) from Bathgate and Helen Orr (81) from Harthill took it in their stride when 50+ health and wellbeing website Living it Up asked them to join its crew to review the Fringe.

The pair – from West Lothian 50+ Network – got their glad rags on and joined Living it Up’s researcher and cameraman to do some schmoozing at the press launch, before reviewing three shows and grilling the performers to camera.

Mary and Helen first met in 1976 – when Helen was lecturing on nursery nursing – and they’ve been firm friends ever since.

Mary said: “When the Living it Up team contacted us about being guest reviewers, for their coverage of the Edinburgh Fringe, we jumped at the chance! Their website is for people like us who want to keep their independence, try new experiences and just have fun.

“The best act we reviewed was Victoria Wood and Me, by a lady called Mo Shapiro. It was excellent and we told her we thoroughly enjoyed it.”

Helen added: “The press launch was great fun too. We haven’t done anything like this before, so it was a good laugh. One of the acts said ‘laughter’s the best medicine’. That’s true; no matter what age you are.”

The budding reviewers were given chalk boards to mark each act they saw out of 10. They later sat down for face-to-face interviews behind the scenes with the actors, which were recorded byLiving it Up’s sound crew.

Click here to view the video

livingitup.org.uk is a digital service with health, care and wellbeing tools and information for people over the age of 50 in Scotland. It’s supported by NHS24 and the Scottish Government and covers Forth Valley, Highland, Lothian, Moray and Western Isles, including remote areas.

A spokesperson for Living it Up said: “Mary and Helen did us proud! It’s great for us to feature people like them, as they’re a true example of what older people can be and do, if they have tools and inspiration at their fingertips.”

She explained: “Our website has four strands: DISCOVER, SHINE, CONNECT and FLOURISH – all of which have different health and wellbeing themes and resources.

“For example, in our website’s FLOURISH section, we have experience guides. These are written by real people to shed light on living with specific conditions and to highlight coping mechanisms for life experiences.

“In our SHINE section, there’s inspiration to re-ignite an old hobby or skill, perhaps in a voluntary capacity. Our CONNECT part teaches people about the latest technology, with step-by-step-instructions. It also inspires some ‘upskilling’ by highlighting local classes for like-minded people. By clicking on our DISCOVER section, users can type in their local area and find activities and resources relevant to them within reach.”

A CHANCE TO WIN

Living it Up has been given tickets for the Fringe, thanks to festival host Gilded Balloon. To be in with a chance of winning, check out the competition on Facebook.

Now Doogie’s mixing with the luvvies!

Watch out for Doogie Goodstuff – festival reviewer with a social enterprise twist!

For those people not yet acquainted with Edinburgh Social Enterprise Network’s mascot Doogie Goodstuff – you will have a chance to meet him as he reviews shows from some of festivals exciting social enterprise venues across Edinburgh.

Doogie Goodstuff is now taking his message to out to festival goers to buy from the 200 social enterprises across the city, as it gets into full festival swing. And for a bit of fun Doogie has turned his hand to reviewing three festival shows at social enterprise venues in the city.

Doogie’s festival reviews have been arranged with the Scottish Storytelling Centre, Out of the Blue and the Just Festival who are members of Edinburgh Social Enterprise Network.

Land of the Dragon by PuppetSoup at the Scottish Storytelling Centre

I was thrilled to hear about the magical adventures of my fire-breathing Welsh cousins at Land of the Dragon in the Scottish Storytelling Centre. It was a thrilling tale, with stunning sets and puppetry, from Welsh social enterprise PuppetSoup. I was scared to get too near the red and white dragons in case they melted my fur while they were fighting but I did befriend the sheep who was a lot less frightening!

This is Not a Magic Show by Vincent Gambini, part of the Forest Fringe at Out of the Blue (pictured)

My eyes almost popped out of my head when I saw the astonishing tricks that Vincent Gambini performed with coins and cards. His patter and sideways look at magic made the show come alive. I felt a little sad that my fingers would always be too fluffy for prestidigitation but Vincent cheered me up by showing me how to make a playing card pop out of my mouth!

Afropella Night by Alabaster Box, part of the Just Festival at St John’s Church

The acoustics of St John’s Church brought out the wonderful voices and beats of Alabaster Box who had travelled from Ghana to take part in the Just Festival. I was a little blue that there wasn’t any room for me in the group, as they already have a baritone. My mood soon lifted when they encouraged me to come out into the central aisle of the church to show my monster moves as I danced along to the music. They also told me that my Ghanaian name is Kwame because I was born on a Saturday.

Linsay Chalmers, Network Coordinator at Edinburgh Social Enterprise Network said: “We welcome all the support we can get, so if festival goers meet Doogie Goodstuff please feel free to ask about our “Buy the Good Stuff” campaign and check out Doogie’s reviews on our website www.buythegoodstuff.co.uk “

Farewell then, Festival Fringe

Following 49,497 performances of 3,193 shows in 299 venues across Scotland’s capital city, The Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2014 has come to an end for another year.

The Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society has announced that by Monday afternoon, with hundreds of performances still to take place, an estimated 2,183,591 tickets had been issued for shows and events in 299 venues across the city, reflecting the continuing popularity and cultural significance of the Fringe. This is 12% more than the overall number of tickets estimated to have been issued by the same point last year.

Kath M Mainland, Chief Executive of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society said: “Once again audiences from Edinburgh, Scotland, the UK and across the globe have been exposed to a completely fantastic cultural experience. Over the last 25 days performers, writers and artists have given their all on stages across Edinburgh in a truly international celebration of culture and entertainment.

“On behalf of everyone who visited and enjoyed this year’s Fringe, I would like to thank all of the immensely talented and courageous participants who brought their work to the Scottish Capital during August – without them this festival would simply not be possible.

“It’s wonderful that after 67 years the Fringe remains the ultimate destination for audiences embrace the arts. With over 2,183,591 tickets issued and many thousands seeing over 706 free shows it seems there is still a huge cultural appetite amongst audiences in Edinburgh and much further afield. In a year that places Scotland on the world stage, the Fringe has once again responded by being the greatest explosion of arts and entertainment on the planet.”

The 2014 Fringe saw a range of new developments to enhance the experience of the world’s largest arts festival for both audiences and participants. Customers could use a new online ticketing experience designed to make searching for shows and buying tickets easier, particularly for the increasing number of people accessing Fringe information on tablets or smartphones.

Visitors to edfringe.com could also create their own calendar of events and share booked and favourite shows with their family and friends. They have also been able to use the website to search for information on venue accessibility. For the first time ever audience members were able to post reviews of any shows they saw directly onto edfringe.com, bringing the concept of word of mouth recommendations into the twenty first century.

Fringe participants were able to add more content to their online show listings by adding social media links, sneak previews and other media files.

The number of Ticket Collection Points around Edinburgh was once again extended to make things easier audience members. New collection points this year included the Institut français d’Ecosse in the west end of the city and the Domestic Arrivals Hall at Edinburgh Airport. For the third year running Fringe tickets could also be collected from Glasgow Queen Street Train Station, allowing those at the Commonwealth Games a convenient collection point.

There were a number of new venues for audiences to visit during the 2014 Fringe proving the continuing growth of the festival. Northern Stage moved to a new premise at the King’s Hall on South Clerk Street whilst for the first time ever The Famous Spiegeltent was located in St Andrew’s Square, alongside Stand in the Square. The city also boasted some new pop up venues for site specific works including Sandy’s Boxing Gym, Summerhall@Portobello Beach and even a rickshaw.

During August the Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society hosted the second World Fringe Congress as part of the Culture 2014 Programme which accompanied the Commonwealth Games taking place in Glasgow. This year’s congress was attended by 56 delegates from 38 fringes from around the world and was supported by the City of Edinburgh Council, Creative Scotland, Event Scotland and the British Council Scotland. The World Fringe Congress underlined the important role of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe at the heart of a worldwide network of fringe festivals. This network offers huge possibilities for artists to present their work across the globe.

Following the success of last year’s inaugural Fringe Central Welcome Address, the Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society once again invited distinguished Fringe alumni to welcome participants to the Fringe and introduce them to the extensive range of events on offer throughout August. This year’s addressed was delivered by multiple award-winning director Rachel Chavkin and four time Fringe First winning writer Chris Thorpe.

Awards continue to be an integral part of the Fringe and as always a huge number were on offer throughout the festival arranged by a wide range of organisations. 2014 marked the 20^thyear of The Stage Awards for Acting Excellence which exists to recognise outstanding theatre performances on the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. A Special Award was created to mark the anniversary and was presented to performer, writer and director Chris Goode from Men in the Cities (Traverse Theatre).

Full list of awards (and it’s a long list!)

Allen Wright Award
Ben Williams from Time Out Magazine

Amused Moose Laughter Award 2014
Celia Pacquola: Let Me Know How It All Works Out

Amnesty International Freedom of Expression Award
Cuckooed (Traverse Theatre)

The Arches Brick Award
Christeene: The Christeene Machine (Underbelly)

Brighton Fringe Emerging Talent Award
Lorraine & Allan (Pleasance)

The Broadway Baby Bobby Awards
Thrill Me: The Leopold & Loeb Story (C Venues)
Semi-Toned: Toned Up! (SpaceUK)
The Duck Pond (Bedlam Theatre)

Carol Tambor Best of Edinburgh Award
The Object Lesson (Summerhall)

The Chortle Student Comedy Award
Jamali Maddix (Laughing Horse@The Free Sisters)

Dave’s Funniest Joke of the Fringe
Tim Vine

The Foster’s Edinburgh Comedy Awards

Best Comedy Show
John Kearns: Shtick (Voodoo Rooms)
Best Newcomer
Alex Edelman: Millennial (Pleasance)
Panel Prize
Funz And Gamez (Just The Tonic)

Fringe Review Outstanding Theatre Awards
Death, Duck and Tulip (Summerhall)
Belfast Boy (Spotlites)

2014 Fringe Sustainable Practice Award
The Handlebards/Peculius (Royal Botanic Gardens Edinburgh)

The Herald Angels

Archangel:
Olwen Fouere from RIVERRUN (Traverse Theatre)

Angels:
Lippy (Traverse Theatre)
Falling in love with Frida (Dance Base)
La Loba (Zoo)
Clara Brennan for Spine (Underbelly)
HUFF (Traverse Theatre)
Black Grace (Assembly)
Chris Stout and Catriona McKay for Scotland’s Harps (St Andrew and St Georges West)

Little Devil Awards:
Andrew Maxwell: Hubble Bubble (Assembly Rooms)
Louisa Adamson, Production Manager for The God That Comes (Summerhall)

Holden Street Theatres Awards
Mush and Me (Underbelly)
Blood at the Root (Assembly)

The Malcolm Hardee Awards

The Malcolm Hardee Award for Comic Originality:
Candy Gigi: I’m Not Lonely(The Hive)

The Malcolm Hardee Cunning Stunt Award (for best Edinburgh Fringe publicity stunt):
Christian Talbot: Hello Cruel World (Underbelly)

The Malcolm Hardee Act Most Likely/Act Least Likely To Make A Million Quid’ Award:
Luisa Omielan

The Musical Theatre Network Awards 2014
Alba – A New Scottish Musical (SpaceUK)
Bonenkai (Underbelly)
The Duck Pond (Bedlam Theatre)
The Future for Beginners (Summerhall)
Janis Joplin: Full Tilt (Assembly)
Lorraine & Alan (Pleasance)
The Outback Games: A New Musical (SpaceUK)
Riptide: The Slasher Musical (Sweet Venues)
Symphony by Ella Hickson, Nick Payne and Tom Wells (Assembly)
Victorian Vices – The Picture of Dorian Gray (SpaceUK)

Primary Times Children’s Choice Award
Arabian Nights (Gilded Balloon)

The Scottish Arts Club / Edinburgh Guide Award
Donald Robertson is Not a Stand-up Comedian (Traverse Theatre)

The Scotsman Fringe First Awards

Winners – Week 1:
Cuckooed (Traverse Theatre)
Chef (Underbelly)
The Collector (Gilded Balloon)
Confirmation (Northern Stage)
Men in the Cities (Traverse Theatre)
Spoiling (Traverse Theatre)

Winners – Week 2:
Sanitise (Underbelly)
The Carousel (Traverse Theatre)
Pioneer (Zoo)
The Day Sam Died (New Town Theatre)
The Object Lesson (Summerhall)
The Initiate (Summerhall)
Lippy (Traverse Theatre)

Winners – Week 3:
Spine (Underbelly)
Travesti (Pleasance)
Letters Home (Edinburgh International Book Festival)
No Guts, No Heart, No Glory (Northern Stage)
Hand Made in China: Moons, Migration and Messages (Summerhall)
Pondling (Underbelly)

So You Think You’re Funny?
Aidan Strangeman

The Stage Awards for Acting Excellence
Benny Young for Unfaithful (Traverse Theatre)
Olwen Fouere for RIVERRUN (Traverse Theatre)
Rosie Wyatt forSpine (Underbelly)
The ensemble of Tumanishvili Film Actors Theatre Company of Tbilisi for Animal Farm (Assembly)
The ensemble of Sirens (Summerhall)
The ensemble of The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quijote of La Mancha (ZOO)
Declan Perring from Belfast Boy (Spotlites)
Bryan Burroughs from Beowulf: The Blockbuster (Pleasance)
April Hughes from Freak (Assembly)
Special Award Winner:
Chris Goode from Men in the Cities (Traverse Theatre)

Three Weeks Editors’ Awards
Bec And Tom’s Awesome Laundry (Gilded Balloon)
Tamsin Clarke for Manuelita (Underbelly)
Cariad Lloyd
Matt Panesh for Monkey Poet: Shit Flinging (Banshee Labyrinth)
Klanghaus (Summerhall)
Unbound Productions for Travesti (Pleasance)
Divallusion with Christina Bianco and Velma Celli (Assembly)
The cast and crew of The Bunker Trilogy: Agamemnon (C Venus)
Will Franken: The Stuff They Put in Sleep (Just The Tonic)
Ricardo Garcia

Total Theatre Awards

Emerging Company/Artist:
Backstage in Biscuit Land (Pleasance)

Physical/Visual Theatre:
The Object Lesson (Summerhall)

Innovation, Experimentation & Playing with Form:
Lippy (Traverse Theatre)
Near Gone (Summerhall)

Total Theatre & Jacksons Lane Award for Circus:
Bromance (Underbelly)

The Judges Award:
Looking for Paul (Summerhall)
Kim Noble: You’re Not Alone (Traverse Theatre)

Significant Contribution Award:
Ridiculusmus

And remember – if you just can’t get enough culture, the official Edinburgh Festival goes on until this weekend!