Tag: Fringe2023

Fringe: One Last Week

A whole new batch of shows at theSpaceUK!

It’s not over yet: hidden gems galore, more new musicals, and juicy comedies are hitting theSpaceUK stages for one last rip-roaring week of shows.

Week 3 is here: bringing you one last knockout selection of shows. Fascinating ancient tales, energetic music bands, and frogs improvising in a box: it’s all go as we plunge into a fantastic final week at the Fringe.
 
Here’s a just a sample of the new shows gracing theSpaceUK from 21st – 26th:

Dive into ancient China
Legend of the White Snake (theSpace @ Surgeons’ Hall, 21-26)
A classic love story portrayed in traditional Kunqu opera form. Rarely performed in the West, Kunqu is one of the most ancient forms of opera in the world and the North Kunqu Opera Company is one of its leading ambassadors. Sung in Chinese, with English surtitles.

Get ready for a Musical Fiesta!
David Rivera la Båmbula (theSpace @ Surgeons’ Hall, 21-26)
David Rivera and La Båmbula will make you dance with their Caribbean sounds from Puerto Rico and Cuba. The 13-piece band is the first-ever Puerto Rican band to perform at the Fringe.

Croaky laughs guaranteed
Improv Comedy with Box of Frogs (theSpace @ Surgeons’ Hall, 21-26)
Box of Frogs, Birmingham’s premier improv group, brings you a helping of high-octane improvised comedy nonsense, based entirely on your suggestions. Expect the unexpected as quick-witted players conjure up hilarious, spontaneous songs, sketches and scenes on the spur of the moment!

Yes, you’ve already seen this show!
Good and Gaslit (theSpace @ Surgeons’ Hall, 21-26)
Good and Gaslit. A young director launching her career. A less-than-young TV executive performing her first one-woman show. It’s gonna be a gas! Come see the rehearsal, I mean, the show.

Is impostor syndrome even real?
this is a scam. (theSpace @ Surgeons’ Hall, 21-26)
Fake it ’til you make it. Lean In. How far can you stretch the truth in the name of self-optimisation? When does charisma, boldness, and self-promotion become fraud? This play aims to find out.

There’s a first time for everything
Does My Fanny Look Big In This? (theSpace @ Surgeons’ Hall, 21-26)
The anxious sex-ed class you never got in school. An exploration into the sexual world through spoken word, uncomfortable noises, an inflatable sex doll, (bad) singing, anxiety and a limerick.

An insightful play
A Night With Me, Myself and Bipolar Brenda (theSpace @ Symposium Hall, 21-26)
A captivating one-woman show, based on the critically acclaimed Amazon bestseller Me, Myself and Bipolar Brenda. Former Coronation Street actress and current Bipolar UK ambassador Natasha Rea smashes down barriers and raises awareness of bipolar, drawing on her own real-life story in this hilarious but heart-wrenching solo production.

Monsters, Inc (but it’s children)
Vida Slayman in Comedy of Terrors (theSpace on the Mile, 21-26)
Sold out at the Adelaide Fringe, now in Edinburgh! After fleeing two wars, Vida Slayman was prepared for anything life could throw at her. But then she faced a battle she couldn’t flee.

Razzle Dazzled
Las Vegas in Edinburgh (theSpace on the Mile, 21-26)
At this show, a sleight-of-hand spectacle bringing a little Vegas to Edinburgh. Marvel at the two magicians’ mind-bending illusions, brilliant comedy and incredible stage presence at the Fringe premiere on a stunning night of entertainment.

A night with a movie star
Call Me Elizabeth (theSpace @ Surgeon’s Hall, 21-26)
Fresh off her 1961 Academy Awards triumph and a recent brush with death, Elizabeth Taylor is struggling with her hardest role yet: herself.

Therefore AI am
Ctrl (theSpace on the Mile, 21-26)
Eager to stand out from the crowd, a group of teenagers turn to the assistance of AI. But what starts as a fun experiment soon turns to alarming obsession. Co-written by AI, this play questions reality and creativity.

Sailing through the high C’s
The Impresario (theSpace @ Venue 45, 21-26)
It’s 1930 and “talkies” are taking off – a film producer has the daunting task of bringing opera to the masses through the silver screen, made more challenging by diva two sopranos who both insist on top billing!

Wedding night gone wrong
Blueballs (theSpace Triplex, 21-26)
One bedroom. Two 20-year-olds. Just married and strangers until hours ago – now they are alone for the first time. A twisted version of the twisted tale Bluebeard, Blueballs is a thrilling, 40-minute tequila-shot of theatre in free verse.

New details of Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2023 app announced

Today, Tuesday 16 May, the Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society is delighted to announce details of the new Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2023 app, which will be available ahead of the festival.

The app will include many navigational features which will support audiences in exploring the wealth of performance available at the Fringe.  Users will be able to view and search full programme listings, book tickets on the go and use a ‘nearby now’ function to find shows starting soon, which are close to their location.

Based on feedback from audiences, artists, participants and venues following the 2022 Fringe, the new app will also include new features which weren’t within the previous Fringe app, last available in 2019.

Following a move to a fully e-ticketing journey in 2022, e-ticket QR codes will be stored in the app’s planner area and will be seamlessly integrated with users’ day-by-day show schedules, providing a very easy user experience.  Users will also be able to add tickets for multiple shows in one simple transaction,

In addition, two great festival-time additions will see users able to have the option to enable notifications for when their next show is about to start and will also benefit from a new ‘Shake to Search’ function which will provide users with a random show suggestion simply by shaking their phone.

The development of the 2023 app has been made possible through kind support from Scottish Enterprise, and new sponsors Playbill and Synatec. 

Since the start of 2023, the Fringe Society have been working with Australian-based agency equ on developing a new app for this year’s festival.  equ previously supported the Perth Fringe Festival with the development of their app.  Throughout the development phase, the Fringe Society team have also already started exploring potential additional features for Fringe 2024 and beyond.  

Through festival-time, users will be invited to submit feedback on the new app, encouraging suggestions of any additional features they’d like to see that would help them get even more out of the Fringe as well as provide feedback on their app experience.

Shona McCarthy, Chief Executive of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society, said: ‘Developing an app required to support the scale and complexity of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe takes a significant period of time and resource, and we are delighted to be able to share the exciting features which will be launched within the app for this year’s festival.

“We recognise the app is a key tool for Fringe artists, with many audiences using it to explore new ideas and performances they may not have yet experienced, and the “nearby now” functionality is particularly useful for performers who offer free shows within the programme.

“We’ve ensured that the new app does all that and more, and while there’s still a few more weeks before it’s fully ready, I can’t wait for Fringe audiences to download it and support the thousands of artists performing in Edinburgh this summer.’

equ Managing Director, Warren Gibbs, said: ‘We are thrilled by the opportunity to make a meaningful contribution to the ongoing success of the world’s largest arts festival, and will be looking to create a platform that adds significant value for all stakeholders including artists, venues and customers’.

The new Fringe app is designed for use on the ground in August, and will be available for download in late July, ahead of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2023.