The Pleasance has announced the final shows to go on sale for Edinburgh Fringe 2018.
Revenants by Nichola McAuliffe, set twenty-five years after the murder of the Romanovs and twenty-five years before the murder of Martin Luther King, looks at oppression, prejudice and revolution. Marking the ten year anniversary of the death of Ken Campbell, Terry Johnson’s Ken comes to its spiritual home in Edinburgh celebrating the life of the maverick writer and theatre director. It’s 50 years since Peter Straker appeared on the London stage in the original production Hair – now one of the greatest ever interpreters of Brel’s music is at Pleasance in Peter Straker Sings Brel. And, in this the centenary year of Spike Milligan’s birth, Chris Larner and Jeremy Stockwell celebrate the life and work of this British comedy legend with laughs, songs, philosophy and utter, utter silliness in A Sockful of Custard.
Tricky Second Album sees the return of In Bed with My Brother (We Are Ian) for a one night spectacular, and award-winning ZooCo returns to stick two fingers up at gender expectations with their trademark visual story-telling, stunning projections and electro-folk soundtrack in Sirens. Frank Skinner is well-known as a comedian but now he turns his hand to theatre and presents his debut play Nina’s Got News. Back for its third year is The Cat in the Hat – based on the much-loved book by Dr Seuss, and award-winning Fever Dream Theatre return to the Fringe with their new show Impact – hear from the perpetrators and the victims and see who you want to listen to.
The Power Plays are a site-specific showcase staged in an actual house. Written by female writers from Soho Writers Lab and Royal Court Young Writers programme, there is only capacity for 15 people per performance. This programme runs alongside a Fringe survey and data activism campaign which aims to analyse and expose gender inequality in fringe and grassroots theatre.
Female led solo shows such as these have become known as a powerful and passionate style of performance. Exploring identity, White blends live vocal looping and spoken word as Koko Brown carefully considers the concept of mixed-race privilege, tries to connect clashing cultures and explores what it means to grow up mixed race in contemporary Britain. Using spoken word, poetry, projection and an original soundscape, Pricks is an urgent new show telling a moving story about Type 1 Diabetics and how we can learn to better care for one another. How To Be Amazingly Happy! (With A Strong Sense Of Purpose, Identity & Belonging) is a big hearted, big thinking show asking how to find happiness in life, no matter what the circumstances.
The whole Pleasance season, including Theatre, Children’s Theatre and Comedy can be found here.
