Where to begin? The official stats say that Edinburgh’s summer festivals in 2015 were their biggest ever, with Edinburgh International Festival selling 19% more tickets than last year, while Edinburgh Festival Fringe shows issued a whopping 2.3 million tickets between them, an increase of 5% on 2014.
At Edinburgh49, following the launch of our dedicated +3 page, we also saw a massive increase in popularity this August, peaking at 1,000 visits per day, while the number of followers and subscribers to our site doubled in the same period.
We’re really proud of that achievement, and I would personally like to thank our fantastic team: Dan Lentell, Alan Brown and Jacob Close for their contributions this festival season. Thanks also to our friends at Cult Espresso for their support, and to every one of you – the companies and punters who’ve come to us for informed reviews, and who’ve spread the word far and wide.
Several people have asked me what my favourite shows were from this year, and for me that’s always a difficult one to answer as it’s hard to compare shows across genres. What I learned from Johnny Bevan – a one-man show written and performed by Luke Wright – is definitely up there, as is Doris, Dolly and the Dressing Room Divas – a production conceived in Scotland that I sincerely hope gets the chance to be toured further afield. The Gin Chronicles, Jurassic Park and Promise and Promiscuity were all theatrical hits in my book, while La Meute (which I didn’t review) and Smother were my favourite dance/circus acts. In His Own Write and Aunty Donna certainly made me laugh the most, while Trans Scripts, To Kill A Machine and Out of The Blue’s emotional final show in their current line-up left me sobbing helplessly. Sexy, I know.
It’s certainly been a very different Festival experience for me this year, as my reviewing has taken me to many shows that I would not otherwise have considered, often with serendipitous results. And what with juggling a full-time job, working around the team’s schedules and needing to sleep once in a while, it is with a pang of regret that I must apologise to those companies who invited us to shows we were unfortunately unable to make. One of those, Guru Dudu, has extended its run until this weekend, and would very much welcome an audience – I’ve heard great things about it.
Now September’s here and Edinburgh slowly gets itself back to normal, I hand the reins back over to Alan, and I look forward to what delights will be shared in Edinburgh’s theatres for the next 49 weeks.
– Steve Griffin, Editor Edinburgh49 +3
ALL OUR #EDFRINGE15 REVIEWS & FEATURES
- #Realiti (theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 24 – 29 Aug : 22.45 : 1 hr) (8/30/2015)
- 49 +3 Shows to See #EdFringe15 (6/18/2015)
- 49 +3 Twitter Accounts You Should Follow This Fringe (6/2/2015)
- Kind of a BIG Deal – S02E03 – Neil Mackinnon (6/15/2015)
- A Storm in a D Cup (Assembly Roxy: 5-30 Aug. 21.30, 1hr) (8/10/2015)
- An Improvised Murder (New Waverley Arches, 16 – 22 Aug : 20:00 : 1hr) (8/17/2015)
- Aunty Donna (Gilded Balloon, 5 – 31 Aug : 22.00 : 1hr) (8/22/2015)
- Bonsoir Monsieur Nightfall (Assembly Roxy, 5 Aug – 30 Aug : 22:45 : 1hr) (8/6/2015)
- Calypso Nights: Juan, Two? (Assembly Roxy: 5 – 30 Aug : 21:30 : 1hr) (8/30/2015)
- Charolais (Spotlites: 6 – 30 Aug.’15) (8/29/2015)
- Chicken (Summerhall, 8th-10th 12th – 17th 19th – 24th 26th – 30th Aug : 17:05 : 1hr) (8/9/2015)
- Cleansed in Blood (Thistle King James Hotel: 20-25, 27-31Aug : 14:00 : 45mins) (8/30/2015)
- Consumption (theSpace on the Mile, 14 Aug – 28 Aug: 11:05 : 55 mins) (8/13/2015)
- Correction (ZOO Southside, 11- 19 Aug : 20.15 : 55mins) (8/16/2015)
- Danza del Caribe: Itara (Assembly Roxy 5-31 Aug : 17:00 : 1hr) (8/9/2015)
- Doris, Dolly and the Dressing Room Divas (Assembly Hall: 6 – 30 Aug. 18.15 : 1hr 15 mins) (8/10/2015)
- Edinburgh Gin’s Night of Literature and Liquor (Edinburgh Gin Distillery, 10 – 31 Aug (Mondays only) : 19.00 : 1hr 30 mins) (8/26/2015)
- Edinburgh: Festival City Explorer Tour (Venue 363, Aug 7-20, 22, 24-31 : 10:00 : 1hr 45mins) (Preview) (7/12/2015)
- Edith in the Dark (Momentum Venues @ St Stephens, 5 – 30 Aug : 16.25 : 1hr 20 mins) (8/25/2015)
- ErictheFred (Assembly Roxy, 8-30 Aug : 21.45 : 55 mins) (8/9/2015)
- Flight (Assembly Roxy: 6 – 31 Aug’15, 1230, 50m) (8/10/2015)
- Floe-Joe’s Faces (Just The Tonic @ The Mash House, 24 -30 Aug : 21.00 : 1hr) (8/29/2015)
- Going Viral (Summerhall, Sat 8th Aug – Sun 30th Aug: 14:10 : 70 mins) (8/9/2015)
- Hannah and Hanna (Assembly George Square, 6 – 30 Aug : 13.20 : 1hr) (8/25/2015)
- I, Elizabeth (Assembly Roxy, Aug 7-9, 12-16, 19-23, 26-31 : 11:45 : 1hr 15mins) (8/7/2015)
- In His Own Write (The Voodoo Rooms, 8 – 30 Aug : 17.10 : 1hr) (8/26/2015)
- India Flamenco (Alba Flamenca, 7 -31 Aug : 18.15 : 1hr) (8/24/2015)
- Jane Austen’s Persuasion: A New Musical Drama (Assembly Rooms, 6 Aug – 9 Aug : 21:30 : 2hr 45) (8/7/2015)
- John Robertson – The Dark Room: Symphony of a Floating Head (Underbelly Cowgate, 6-30 Aug : 20.40 : 1hr) (8/15/2015)
- Jurassic Park (Assembly Roxy: 5 – 30 Aug : 18.50 : 1hr) (8/7/2015)
- K’rd Strip: A Place to Stand (Assembly Roxy, 7-31 Aug : 18.40 : 1hr 10mins) (8/8/2015)
- Learning to Live (Espionage, Pravda room, 24 – 30 Aug : 19:45 : 1hr) (8/28/2015)
- Leper + Chip (Assembly Roxy, 6-31 Aug : 15.00 : 50mins) (8/9/2015)
- Mansplaining Masculinity (Cabaret Voltaire, 8 – 30 Aug : 12.05pm : 1hr) (8/23/2015)
- Melody (Clerk’s Bar, 8 Aug – 29 Aug : 16:45 : 50mins) (8/30/2015)
- My Name Is… (Summerhall, 13 – 30 Aug: 19:25 : 1hr 20mins) (8/16/2015)
- My round-up of this year’s Edinburgh Festival Fringe (9/3/2015)
- Nailed It! (Assembly Roxy, 7-11, 14-17 Aug : 20.15 : 1hr) (8/8/2015)
- Odd Shaped Balls (theSpace, 17 – 29 Aug : 19.15 : 50 mins) (8/29/2015)
- Pajama Men: 2 Man 3 Musketeers (Assembly Roxy, 7-30 Aug : 20.20 : 1hr) (8/9/2015)
- Poetry Can F*ck Off (Summerhall, 14 – 22 Aug : 15.30 : 55 mins) (8/16/2015)
- Promise and Promiscuity: A New Musical by Jane Austen and Penny Ashton (Assembly George Square, 6-13 Aug : 14:40 : 1hr 10 mins) (8/10/2015)
- Qyeen SweeTs: NorthernXposure (The Stand, 18 – 30 Aug : 22.40 : 1hr) (8/19/2015)
- RENT (Greenside @ Nicolson Square, 7- 30 Aug : 22.00 : 2hr 30 mins) (8/16/2015)
- RENT (Paradise in St Augustine’s, 7 – 30 Aug : 18.00 : 2hrs 40 mins) (9/1/2015)
- Smother (ZOO, 7 – 22 Aug : 18.40 : 55 mins) (8/16/2015)
- Sophie Pelham: Country Files (Pleasance Courtyard, 7 – 30 Aug : 16.45 : 1hr) (8/23/2015)
- Submarine (theSpace Niddry Street: 1 – 29 Aug: 20:25 : 1hr 25mins) (8/27/2015)
- TES (Underbelly, George Square : 5 – 31 Aug : 13.15 : 1hr 15 mins) (8/16/2015)
- The Art of Reduction and the Distillation of Humanity (Jenners: Aug. 19, 21 – 23, 25 – 26, 28 – 29 : 1hr 30m) (8/15/2015)
- The Bakewell Bake Off: A New Musical (C, 5 – 22 Aug : 17.00 : 1hr 10 mins) (8/17/2015)
- The Bookbinder (Assembly Roxy : 6- 31 Aug : 1340 : 50m) (8/10/2015)
- The Misfits of London: The Gin Chronicles (artSpace@StMarks, 10 – 22 Aug : 18.30 : 1hr) (8/24/2015)
- The Orchid and the Crow (Assembly Roxy, 6-30 Aug : 16.10 : 1hr 15 mins) (8/10/2015)
- The Oxford Gargoyles (C : 5-15 August : 13.00 : 50 mins) (8/10/2015)
- The Rape of Lucrece (Assembly Hall : 10 – 31 Aug : 16:30 : 1hr) (8/11/2015)
- The Sons of Pitches (Gilded Balloon, 7-13 Aug : 22.30 : 1hr) (8/8/2015)
- The Turn of the Screw (Assembly Hall, Aug 6 – Aug 30 : 21:40 : 1hr) (8/9/2015)
- The Very Grey Matter of Edward Blank (Assembly Roxy, 7 – 31 Aug : 17.35 : 55mins) (8/7/2015)
- Ticket to Bollywood (New Town Theatre, 7 – 30 Aug : 21.30 : 1hr) (8/27/2015)
- To Kill A Machine (ZOO, 7 – 31 Aug : 20.55 : 1hr) (8/18/2015)
- Trans Scripts (Pleasance Courtyard, 5 – 31 Aug : 15.00 : 1hr 30 mins) (8/23/2015)
- Tribute Acts (Assembly Roxy : 8 – 30 Aug : 14:50 : 1hr) (8/14/2015)
- Unexpected Excesses (Edinburgh Drawing School Gallery : 9 -30 Aug : from 11am) (8/19/2015)
- Ushers: The Front of House Musical (Momentum Venues @ St Stephens: 5 – 30 Aug. 21.30: 1hr 20mins) (8/11/2015)
- Vertical Influences (Assembly @ Murrayfield Ice Rink, 8 – 29 Aug : various times : 1hr 30 mins) (8/25/2015)
- Waitless (Greenside @ Royal Terrace: 9 – 22 Aug : 15:00 : 55 mins) (8/19/2015)
- What I learned from Johnny Bevan (Summerhall, 7 – 30 Aug : 16.55 : 1hr) (8/16/2015)
- Wings in my Heart (Big Sexy Circus City : 7-30 Aug : 14.30 & 20.00 : 2hrs 30 mins) (8/13/2015)