Info & Links to Previews of the 2007 Festivals

Contents of this page:

Programme Launches with Initial Thoughts from Critics and Punters

Initial Thoughts on the International Festival Programme
Fringe Programme Unveiled
Punters’ Thoughts on the Fringe Programme
Visual Arts Details
Book Festival Programme Launched
Jazz and Blues Festival Details
Film Festival Programme Launched

News / Previews / Articles

Useful Links to Monitor for Festival Info
Early Previews / Articles

General preview information has just about come to an end. Therefore, I will probably not update this page again.

Final update on 5th August, 2007.

Initial Thoughts on the International Festival Programme

“The first cuckoo of spring”, alias the International Festival Programme, was heard yesterday (28^th March 2007) when this year’s offerings were announced.  An online version of the programme brochure (7MB in pdf format) can be downloaded from the EIF’s web site.  Unsurprisingly, much early media comment surrounds Jonathan Mills, the new festival director.

Here are links to the initial reports / thoughts of the professional critics ..

http://news.scotsman.com/topics.cfm?tid=1104 The Scotsman (29^th March 2007)

http://arts.guardian.co.uk/theatre/drama/story/0,,2045213,00.html Billington article on the new director and the programme in The Guardian (29^th March 2007)

http://arts.guardian.co.uk/theatre/news/story/0,,2044875,00.html The Guardian (29^th March 2007)

http://www.thestage.co.uk/news/newsstory.php/16361/new-director-mills-unveils-edinburgh The Stage (29th March 2007)

http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/article1582499.ece The Times (29th March 2007)

http://www.theherald.co.uk/features/features/display.var.1292729.0.0.php The Herald (29th March 2007)

http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/s2.cfm?id=490762007 Scotsman article on the new director and his first programme (30^th March 2007)

http://scotlandonsunday.scotsman.com/review.cfm?id=502512007 Scotland on Sunday article on the new director and his first programme (1^st April 2007)

What do the punters think? One thought from a drama punter (me) is that this art form seems, as in recent years, to figure little during the first week. I cynically wonder if this is a deliberate ploy to minimise the competition from the Fringe. On the plus side, the first week this year will feature a co-production with The National Theatre of Scotland, in association with The Lyric (Hammersmith), of The Bacchae by Euripides.

Meanwhile with my visual arts hat on, I notice that it makes a return this year after a long period of shameful neglect. Site specific installations by Michael Lin, Apolonija Susteric and Richard Wright around the theme of Jardins Publics have been commissioned.

Here are more coherent thoughts on music and opera from Susan, a friend and fellow punter, when I emailed her yesterday. “One of my previous criticisms of the Festival was its lack of choral and period music. So, I am very pleased to see that there is a special series of choral music and that even the opera is mostly devoted to early music. That will be a real feast as the groups which are appearing are excellent. That is definitely, for me, the strong point of this year's Festival. However, as expected, opera in general has taken a real hit. There is only one later opera and it was just performed in Edinburgh a few years ago. While the groups producing the operas seem very good, the operas being presented are very limited in scope and there are very few of the great new and established vocal stars of the past. This is what I had loved the most---the opportunity to see so much opera and talent. What a loss! This is especially true of male vocal artists....Sad, sad, sad....

With regard to orchestral concerts at Usher Hall, there are some very exciting orchestras and conductors like Tilson Thomas, Maris Johns, Thomas Ades, so this seems far less affected, thankfully. Queens Hall is, however, very disappointing, much fewer vocal concerts and not the exciting chamber music of the past. It is mostly performers doing other performances as well. This, of course, was somewhat true in the past but many other artists would come to Edinburgh just to sing there. Of course, it doesn't help that poor old Queen's Hall seems slated to be a thing of the past as well. This too is such a loss because in the past, so many very talented artists were introduced to the world through the Festival. There were so many artists we discovered there, whom we never would have known about, and have since followed as their fame grows and grows. Again, the decrease in vocal artists is such a loss....”

Fringe Programme Unveiled

The programme for this year’s Fringe was announced on the 7^th June 2007. The number of shows will top 2,000 this year, a fact which is much trumpeted by the organisers. I am not convinced that ever bigger is good … but I will leave my thoughts for another day. Initial thoughts on the programme quickly followed from the media with The Scotsman stable leading the way, as expected.

http://edinburghnews.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=891592007 The Evening News was first out of the blocks with its summary of the highlights on the same day …

http://news.scotsman.com/topics.cfm?tid=933&id=894232007 followed by the initial thoughts from the Scotsman reviewers (8^th June 2007) …

http://news.scotsman.com/topics.cfm?tid=933&id=895342007 and another piece in The Scotsman on the same day (8^th June 2007).

http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/theatre/2007/06/for_editors_1.html Initial thoughts from Lyn Gardner in the Guardian (8^th June 2007)

http://www.whatsonstage.com/index.php?pg=207&story=E8821181223230 … and from WhatsOnStage.com (7^th June 2007).

The Fringe programme contains somewhat terse descriptions of its shows due to space constraints (there are 2000+ shows to fit in). If you require more information it is best to consult the programmes of individual venues where they are available. I will update the following list as information becomes available.

• The Traverse Theatre programme is now available. It can be downloaded from this page (2MB pdf file)
• The Assembly programme is now on their web site
• The Aurora Nova programme is available here
• The C Venues programme is now available on their web site
• The Pleasance programme seems to be only partially available on this page (21^st June 2007)
• The Udderbelly programme can be browsed on this page. A joint Gilded Balloon/Udderbelly programme brochure is available (was provided in the Scotland on Sunday on 17^th June 2007)
• DanceBase’s programme can be downloaded from this page (630KB pdf file)
• Gilded Balloon’s programme is available on this page (including the ability to order a programme brochure)
• Zoo’s programme can be browsed on their web site
• Free Edinburgh Fringe Festival (alias Laughing Horse) programme can be browsed on this page
• The Free Fringe (PBH) programme can be browsed on this page.

Punters’ Thoughts on the Fringe Programme

26^th June 2007 … There appears to be a general feeling that, on first glance, the Traverse programme looks quite strong this year. I tend to agree and it will probably form the basis of our drama choices: Damascus, Long Time Dead, Walworth Farce, Is This about Sex, Venus as a Boy and Yellow Moon are near certainties. We enjoyed Tim Crouch in The Oak Tree a couple of years back and look forward to seeing him again in England.

Elsewhere, Nijinsky (Teatr Jaracza), Chaplin (Pip Utton), Romeo and Juliet (Aquila Theatre) and Macbeth: Who is that Bloodied Man? are among those drama shows that are on our initial shortlist.

We are Aurora Nova fans and probables for us at this venue include Astronomy for Insects (blackSKYwhite) and Hangman (DO-Theatre), while the opportunity to listen to Jos Houben of Complicite on The Art of Laughter is unlikely to be missed.  Lacrimosa and Leitmotif are also possibles at the moment.

We are probably not the people to listen to with regard to comedy; the new breed mostly does nothing for us. For what it is worth: Jerry Sadowitz – comedian, magician, psychopath is a must see (this assumes that you know what to expect from him?!); Will Adamsdale in The Human Computer (very good in The Receipt last year) will get our vote; while Johnson & Boswell Late but Live sounds intriguing (but perhaps we are just falling for the marketing device?!).

Visual Arts Details

The Art Festival issued a press release, dated 7^th June 2007, which provides details of all exhibitions this summer in a 14 page pdf document.

The larger galleries which come under the National Galleries umbrella had previously provided details of their exhibitions.

Picasso on Paper, Warhol and Naked Portrait are all appealing to us.

Book Festival Programme Launched

The Edinburgh International Book Festival programme for 2007 was launched today (14^th June 2007). It will be sponsored this year by The Times, running from 11^th to 27^th August 2007 and featuring 700+ events with over 600 authors.

Major themes this year include: Focus on China & India, Slavery Stories, and East & West (relations between the Islamic world and the West). 

Full details, including the press release can be found on their website from where the full brochure can be downloaded (pdf format, but beware that it is quite large, circa. 7 megabytes).

http://news.scotsman.com/edinburgh.cfm?id=932672007 Initial thoughts in the Evening News (14^th June 2007)

Jazz and Blues Festival Details

Details of this year’s Edinburgh Jazz and Blues Festival programme, which will run from 27^th July to 5^th August 2007, are now available on their website, including details of ticket deals for children and students. The full brochure can be downloaded from the website. It is in pdf format and circa. 3 megabytes in size).

http://news.scotsman.com/edinburgh.cfm?id=917502007 Initial thoughts in the Evening News (12^th June 2007).

Film Festival Programme Launched

The programme for this year’s festival was announced today (11^th July 2007). It will run from the 15^th to the 26^th August 2007. Stars that are making appearances include Bob Hoskins, Samantha Morton, director Mike Leigh and Trainspotting author Irvine Welsh.

Details of the programme can be found on the Film Festival Web Site. A written article and a video on the highlights can also be found there.

http://news.scotsman.com/entertainment.cfm?id=1079792007 Initial thoughts on the programme in the Evening News (11^th July 2007).

Useful Links to Monitor for Festival Info

Here are those links that are particularly valuable to monitor festival coverage in the media:

http://news.scotsman.com/topics.cfm?tid=933 Base link for the Scotsman’s news coverage of the Fringe

http://news.scotsman.com/topics.cfm?tid=1104 Base link for the Scotsman’s news coverage of the International Festival

http://arts.guardian.co.uk/edinburgh2007/0,,2102154,00.html Guardian home page for 2007 coverage

http://living.scotsman.com/performing.cfm Performing Arts section of the Living.Scotsman provides general coverage of the festival

http://living.scotsman.com/music.cfm Music section of Living.Scotsman

http://living.scotsman.com/visual.cfm Visual Arts section of Living.Scotsman includes the exhibitions that are on in August

http://living.scotsman.com/comedy.cfm Comedy section of Living.Scotsman includes items on comedy on the Fringe

http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/specials/edinburgh/ The Times

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/edinburgh Telegraph home page for 2007 coverage.

Early Previews / Articles

The items in this section are predominantly in chronological order. There are many feature articles on individual shows on the Internet but with a few exceptions I generally tend to ignore them, cynically viewing them as glorified advertisements for the already famous and those who have dreamed up a device that appeals to the media. For the rest – who do need the publicity – BroadwayBaby.com allows performing groups to submit their press releases for publication while video clips can be found at http://www.festivalpreviews.com/.

http://living.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=858632007 Interview with Martin Hammer, curator of the Naked Portrait exhibition in the Scotland on Sunday (3^rd June 2007)

http://news.scotsman.com/topics.cfm?tid=933&id=975102007 Article with views on each of the Fringe super-venues plus brief thoughts on their shows to look out for – Scotsman (22^nd June 2007).

http://news.scotsman.com/topics.cfm?tid=933&id=1025092007 Brief article on the now rival camps of the Free Fringe and the Laughing Horse who both offer free shows on the Fringe – Scotsman (30^th June 2007).

http://living.scotsman.com/topics.cfm?tid=1104&id=1058102007 Getting to know the new directors at this year’s festivals – Scotsman (7^th July 2007).

http://arts.guardian.co.uk/theatre/drama/story/0,,2123724,00.html “The show must go on – even if it bankrupts the lot of us” – a salutary tale of the costs of putting on a Fringe show – The Guardian (7^th July 2007).

http://www.theherald.co.uk/features/features/display.var.1534755.0.0.php Article on Harmony and Humanity series of concerts at the International Festival in The Herald (10^th July 2007).

http://www.theherald.co.uk/features/features/display.var.1538086.0.0.php Interview with Tilda Swinton, new patron of the Film Festival – The Herald (12^th July 2007).

Slide Show of 10 items from the Naked Portrait exhibition – Daily Telegraph.

http://living.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=1032072007 Preview of Picasso on Paper exhibition at the Dean Gallery – The Scotsman (3^rd July 2007).

http://www.musicomh.com/classical_features/edinburgh-preview_0707.htm Preview of music on the International Festival – musicOMH.com (12^th July 2007).

http://living.scotsman.com/performing.cfm?id=1090532007 Article on “building” Traverse 3, i.e. adapting the Drill Hall (13^th July 2007).

http://living.scotsman.com/performing.cfm?id=1096652007 Hurrah! First sighting (unless you know better) of the “50 things you must not miss this August”. Useful read – Scotsman (14^th July 2007).

http://observer.guardian.co.uk/review/story/0,,2126374,00.html The primary means of generating publicity around festival time (or simply filling space in the paper) used to be the stories of outraged councillors who wanted to run some second-rate show out of town, usually on the grounds of offending the moral decency of the good people of Edinburgh. Lately, this wheeze seems to have been replaced by “will Edinburgh lose out to other British cities that see festivals as a good way of increasing tourism”. Yawn … I feel a rant coming on … but not until after this year’s feast. Meanwhile, if you are interested then here is an early example this year (no doubt there will be more) – The Observer (15^th July 2007).

Having put our own twopenneth in earlier, here are the initial thoughts of some other punters that I have come across: View from the Stalls, Benjamin Yeoh and Fourth Angel Theatre – added 16^th July 2007.

http://arts.guardian.co.uk/theatre/drama/story/0,,2129367,00.html Second sighting of “the 50 best”, this time from The Guardian (19^th July 2007).

http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/specials/edinburgh/ closely followed by The Times previews and recommendations. Follow the links to comedy & theatre, opera & dance, music and kids & art. Er, have they not heard of the “50 best” then – which journalist school did they go to? (21^st July 2007).

http://scotlandonsunday.scotsman.com/review.cfm?id=1136612007 Preview of the Warhol exhibition - Scotland on Sunday (22^nd July 2007).

http://seaninthestalls.blogspot.com/2007/07/edinburgh-delight.html Another blog uncovered: seaninthestalls – added 23^rd July 2007.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/edinburgh_and_east/6911992.stm Announcement of exhibition of Richard Demarco’s archives at the National Portrait Gallery to celebrate his involvement in the arts in Edinburgh – added 24^th July 2007. Longer article in the Evening News later that day.

Festival recommendations - Evening Standard (25^th July 2007).

http://arts.independent.co.uk/theatre/features/article2800178.ece Quelle surprise ... another article on Manchester challenging Edinburgh – Independent (25h July 2007).

http://www.britishtheatreguide.info/articles/220707.htm Useful preview opener from editor Peter Lathan at the British Theatre Guide (25^th July 2007).

http://www.festmag.co.uk/blog/index/ Previews in the form of blogs. I am confused as to whether or not Festmag are collaborating with The Skinny this year (25^th July 2007).

More from Peter Lathan – general previews, Shakespeare productions and classic productions – British Theatre Guide (27^th July 2007).

http://living.scotsman.com/music.cfm?id=1175232007 Last minute preview of the Jazz & Blues Festival which starts today – Evening News (27^th July 2007).

http://arts.guardian.co.uk/edinburgh2007/story/0,,2135620,00.html Lyn Gardner tells those would-be punters out there why the Edinburgh Festival is the greatest show on earth – us paid-up punters already know of course … but it’s still good to hear it - Guardian (27^th July 2007).

Preview of Picasso: Fired with Passion at the National Museum of Scotland - The Times (27^th July 2007).

The Telegraph has upped the stakes … 100 must-do things at the Festival – Daily Telegraph (27^th July 2007).

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/30cb1070-3c55-11dc-b067-0000779fd2ac.html somewhat perfunctory preview of the Festival – FT (28^th July 2007).

The Times has got the message; the Sunday paper weighs in with “100 best” (29^th July 2007)

http://arts.guardian.co.uk/edinburgh2007/story/0,,2137038,00.html We are all over the place! I was only just getting used to the “100 must-do things” in The Torygraph (and The Sunday Times just this morning) when here is The Observer bringing it down to a paltry “best 25”! (29^th July 2007).

Slide show of 10 of the items from the Warhol exhibition – Daily Telegraph (31^st July 2007).

http://living.scotsman.com/performing.cfm?id=1194752007 Article on how to find free shows – The Scotsman (1^st August 2007).

http://arts.independent.co.uk/theatre/features/article2824043.ece Article about American comedians at the Fringe, ending up with a pick of comics on the Fringe – none of which are American?! – Independent (1^st August 2007).

http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/this_britain/article2826117.ece  Is the Edinburgh Festival still the most important in the world asks the Independent – er, yes … next question (2^nd August 2007).

http://www.theherald.co.uk/news/news/display.var.1589570.0.0.php That old chestnut - warning about comedy taking over the Fringe – Herald (2^nd August 2007)

http://www.list.co.uk/article/2654-just-an-illusion/ Magicians at this year’s festival – The List (2^nd August 2007).

http://living.scotsman.com/performing.cfm?id=1211692007 The National Theatre of Scotland is important to the festival, to the theatre and to Scotland. Joyce McMillan writes about their festival shows and forthcoming productions in the autumn – Scotsman (3^rd August 2007).

http://edinburgh.threeweeks.co.uk/browse.asp?all=true&cnt=feature ThreeWeeks gets going. Features page includes recommendations across festivals – ThreeWeeks (3^rd August 2007).

http://living.scotsman.com/performing.cfm?id=1217302007 Article which rightly encourages you to go off the beaten track to discover hidden gems that may be lurking there – Evening News (3^rd August 2007).

http://living.scotsman.com/music.cfm?id=1217422007 Music on the Fringe – article about T on the Fringe – Evening News (3^rd August 2007).

http://news.scotsman.com/topics.cfm?tid=933&id=1218432007 Some of the Musicals on the Fringe – Scotsman (4^th August 2007).

http://news.scotsman.com/topics.cfm?tid=933&id=1218412007 Safe Bets – shows that the Scotsman has seen before (4^th August 2007).

http://www.edinburghguide.com/festival/2007 A revamped EdinburghGuide.com has appeared. It looks on first glance as if coverage of the festival will be much reduced – I hope that I am wrong (4^th August 2007).

http://arts.independent.co.uk/theatre/features/article2829259.ece Recommendations in the Independent on Sunday (5^th August 2007).

Recommendations in the Sunday Telegraph (5^th August 2007).