Out of the Blue at Forest Fringe

Out of the Blue at Forest Fringe 

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The Forest Fringe grew from a totally independent, not-for-profit space in the midst of the Edinburgh Festival …

Out of the Blue grew from a totally independent, not-for-profit space in the midst of Edinburgh – all year round …

Now Out of the Blue and the Forest Fringe are engaged in a merging of space, ideas and productions at the Out of the Blue Drill Hall as part of as an ever audacious programme of experimentation and adventure which makes exciting, improbable, spectacular things happen.

Out of the Blue’s contribution of home grown Leith talent is wide ranging.

Tales from the Hanging Captain
Sat 13th & Sun 14th August

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An exuberant theatre production – made in Leith for the people of Leith – and beyond! Having previewed as part of this year’s Leith Festival the company regroup to get their stories out to the wider world.

As locals gather in the fictional Leith bar ‘The Hanging Captain’, auld Sandy takes the audience on a voyage through time and shares the stories of the Dockers involvement in the whaling industry, the ‘Darien Scheme’ and the strikes of 1913.

As Joyce Mcmillan has said: “if ever there was a town full of stories, that knew how to persevere in telling them, it’s the venerable, beautiful and unpredictable Port of Leith.”

And who better to perform the riveting stories than two of Out of the Blue’s all year round resident theatre companies, Active Inquiry and Strange Town.

Joyce McMillan said in her 2015 review of the companies’ “Persevere” production: “difficult not to be moved and shaken by the profound sense of place, time and continuity conjured up by this fine 24-strong community company” (June 2015)

Local people involved in the production also commented:

“It was a great experience to be part of a project which engaged with the history of our local area, whilst simultaneously engaging with the community that lives here now”

Chains on sink plugs
Thu 18 & Fri 19th August, 12pm

David Nicol is a long time participant at the Out of the Blue Drill Hall who is a poet and actor, musician and painter.

Chains on sink plugs is his first solo show.

Chains on sink plugs is a personal journey explore what it like being in a wheelchair from the 1970s to 21st century. What it’s like being on wheels instead of legs. And gives people a glimpse of a world many don’t know exists.

#artcore radio plays
DEAD ENDS
Fri 12th – Fri 19th August

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“DEAD ENDS” is a new radio drama serial created for and performed by 18-25 year olds, which is launching as part of this year’s Forest Fringe based at the Out of the Blue Drill Hall.  It features a realistic story about a group of young people who work in a fictitious historical/ghost tour company in Edinburgh. They are poorly trained, badly paid. Some of them care about their work and others do not . . .

The current series consists of eight episodes, released at midnight each day of the run.

To find out more, to listen to the latest episode, or to subscribe to the podcast via iTunes once it goes live on Friday 12th August, visit; www.deadendtours.co.uk

“DEAD ENDS” is produced by Strange Town for #artcore

The youth arts project, #artcore is based at Out of the Blue, and is one of nine youth arts hubs in Scotland, funded by Creative Scotland’s Time to Shine Fund

www.artcore.org.uk   www.strangetown.org.uk

Listing Information

All performances are at the Out of the Blue Drill Hall, 36 Dalmeny Street, Edinburgh, EH6 8RG

Performance dates and times

Forest Fringe: Thu 11th – Sat 20th Aug
Tales from the Hanging Captain: Sat 13th & Sun 14th August, 1pm
Chains on sink plugs: Thu 18 & Fri 19th August, 12pm
#artcore radio plays DEAD ENDS: Fri 12th – Fri 19th August

Tickets

All tickets are free by donation
To book tickets, please visit http://www.outoftheblue.org.uk/category/forest-fringe/

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ForestFringe

Don’t miss Granton Gogglebox!

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You Name It! Youth Theatre present Granton Gogglebox at Granton Youth Centre tonight at 7pm.

It’s the final performance, there are a few tickets left – it’s a great show and it’s FREE!

Book your seats by emailing wendy@grantonyouth.com or by calling Granton Youth Centre on 0131 467 5854.

Don’t Miss It!

Leaf by Niggle: Tolkein at Storytelling Centre

PUPPET STATE THEATRE COMPANY presents

JRR Tolkien’s Leaf by Niggle

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At the Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2016 and part of the Made in Scotland Showcase 2016 

Scottish Storytelling Centre, Venue 30a

Aug 4 Preview 17:00; Aug 5-28 (not 10, 15, 22, 23) 17:00 (75mins)

Aug 17 17:00 BSL interpreted performance

Performed by Richard Medrington

Soundtrack composed by Karine Polwart and Michael John McCarthy

Directed by Andy Cannon; Lighting by Gerron Stewart; Design Support by Ailie Cohen; Movement support by Janice Parker; Stage Management by Elspeth Murray

Puppet State Theatre Company returns to the Scottish Storytelling Centre for this year’s Festival Fringe, as part of Made in Scotland, with its acclaimed new production of JRR Tolkien’s little-known short story, Leaf by Niggle.

“Exquisite … so beautifully told … completely seductive” ****The Scotsman

This solo storytelling show, created and performed by Richard Medrington, draws on Richard’s personal family history as an introduction to Tolkien’s original story. Surrounded by ladders, bicycles and heirlooms, Richard Medrington (Jean from The Man Who Planted Trees) recounts Tolkien’s miniature masterpiece with a beautiful soundtrack composed by Karine Polwart and Michael John McCarthy.

“Tolkien’s lord of small things…enchanting one-man show” ****The Guardian 

Leaf by Niggle is considered by some to be Tolkien’s most autobiographical work, springing from his fear of not finishing The Lord of the Rings. In 1939, as war clouds were darkening, he woke up one morning with the story almost complete in his mind and wrote it down.

Niggle is a struggling artist who is trying to complete his magnum opus, a painting of a curious tree. He isn’t sure when he will need to set out on his journey, but he is worried that he won’t be able to finish the painting before it’s time to leave.

Leaf by Niggle is often seen as an allegory of Tolkien’s own creative process, and, to an extent, of his life. It is a tale of transformation, which examines the relationship between an artist, his creation and his community.

Richard Medrington is the artistic director of Puppet State Theatre Company and for the past nine years the company has been touring the world with its much lauded production of Jean Giono’s The Man Who Planted Trees.

This new adaptation of Leaf by Niggle is a reflection of Richard’s long held ambition to perform a staged version of the story. In 1993, Richard gave an acclaimed one-off storytelling performance of the piece at the Carberry Festival and has nurtured hopes of performing it to a wider audience ever since.

“a salve on the soul” **** The List

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As a result of appearing in the very first Made in Scotland showcase in 2009 with The Man Who Planted Trees, Puppet State’s international touring has included two tours to Australia and New Zealand. In 2013 we took part in the Sydney Opera House’s first live stream of a performance to multiple remote audiences, some over 700 miles away. I am looking forward to performing our new show, Leaf by Niggle, in this year’s Made in Scotland showcase and seeing where this unique opportunity will lead us.” Richard Medrington

“This is my first ever commission to compose for theatre and it’s a challenge and a joy to collaborate with such an accomplished creative posse. Niggle’s journey, and Richard Medrington’s beautifully personal and familial framing of it, feels quite close to the bone for me, and very relevant to our times. There are so many possible ways to receive it and get inside of it, as there are always with deep stories. But to me it’s about the fundamental human impulse to create and find meaning and beauty in life, and how duty, convention and the sheer necessity of toil can cut against this. The gap between the world as we imagine it and the world as it sometimes is – in all its reductive, mechanistic brutality – can be hard to hold in a single heart. But Niggle’s story feels hopeful nonetheless”. Karine Polwart 

With thanks to the Tolkien Trust and the Festival Theatre, Edinburgh

Supported by Creative Scotland | Produced by Alice McGrath & Red Bridge Arts

Suitable for adults and young people aged 10 and over

LISTINGS:

Scottish Storytelling Centre Venue 30a

Aug 4 Preview 17:00 (75 mins) | £6

Aug 5-28 (not 10, 15, 22, 23) 17:00 (75 mins) | £10/£8 conc. /£32 Family (2 adults, 2 children)

Aug 17 17:00 (75 mins) BSL interpreted performance

Box Office: 0131 556 9579 www. scottishstorytellingcentre.co.uk

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

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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?”

Mermalade_Manhattan Children's Theatre_image_credit Ben Linnell (1)

“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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Granton Gogglebox to pop up during Festival

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You Name It! Youth Theatre are performing a “Pop-Up Youth Theatre” during the Edinburgh International Festival this year. 

Hosted by Granton Youth Centre and made possible through Cashback for Creativity Open Arts Fund, the three performances by local young people is called GRANTON GOGGLEBOX.

You are invited to attend one of the following show times: 

Wednesday 3rd August 7pm (Doors open at 6.30pm)

Thursday 4th August 1.30 pm (Doors open at 1pm)

Thursday 4th August 7pm (Doors open at 6.30pm)

We will send you booking and confirmation details early next week by email. You will have a chance to watch the performance, meet the young people, chat with volunteers and staff, as well as eat some food!!!

Please put the dates in your diary.  Everyone involved, from organisers to young people, look forward to welcoming you to Granton Youth Centre for the performance!

Best Wishes

Wendy Weir

Office and Finance Administrator 

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cid:image032.jpg@01D0F088.7CB96E10  Wendy@grantonyouth.com
cid:image033.jpg@01D0F088.7CB96E10   0131 467 5854 (telephone)

cid:image033.jpg@01D0F088.7CB96E10  07818 718 866 (mobile)

cid:image035.jpg@01D0F088.7CB96E10  Granton Youth Centre, 3-11 West Granton Road, Edinburgh EH5 1HG

cid:image036.jpg@01D0F088.7CB96E10  www.grantonyouth.com

cid:image037.jpg@01D0F088.7CB96E10   Facebook Page

From page to stage

£2,500 grant to support young budding theatre directors

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The Saltire Society, Youth Theatre Arts Scotland (YTAS) and Traverse Theatre and have joined forces to launch a new £2,500 award to enable one promising young theatre director to further their career and stage a short production to be shown as part of the innovative Chrysalis festival this November. Continue reading From page to stage

Coming soon: Tales From The Hanging Captain

TALES FROM THE HANGING CAPTAIN

16 – 18 JUNE

An exuberant theatre production – made in Leith for the people of Leith – and beyond!

The Hanging Captain

Following on from the hugely successful production of Persevere, part of Out of the Blue’s Gretna 100 Project, this new play Tales From The Hanging Captain sees Active Inquiry and Strange Town join forces again to explore the history of Leith docks. Continue reading Coming soon: Tales From The Hanging Captain

Made in Scotland arts showcase unveiled

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Fiona Hyslop, Cabinet Secretary for Culture, Tourism and External Affairs, has announced the companies and artists selected for the 8th year of Made in Scotland – a curated showcase of music, theatre and dance performed during the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, the world’s biggest arts festival. Continue reading Made in Scotland arts showcase unveiled