Don’t like laughing? T4’s Rick Edwards has just the joke for you...

‘My Life with the dogs’ Director Alex Byrne describes his show in his own words...

Kevin Tomlinson tells us all about his new show, ‘Truth or Dare?’

Extra show listings

Daily wordsearch

Friday 7th August 2009 The Pleasance Times Pg 4

THE TIMESYOUR FREE DAILY GUIDE TO THE BIGGEST AND BEST VENUE ON THE FRINGE

Friday 7th August

Games Corner

EXTRA SHOW LISTINGSPLEASANCE LIVE

25 GALA!!

FULL LINE UP

RHOD GILBERT(full run sold out-last chance to see

Rhod perform!)

Sarah MillicanPappy’s Fun Club

Pippa EvansAndrew Lawrence

BOOK NOW!!

Shappi Khorsadi

Pleasance One

20, 23 August

22.20-23.20

£12.00(£10.50)

Paul Merton’s Impro Chums!

The Grand

23rd August

12 pm- 13 pm

£14.50 (£13.00)

Sarah Millican

Pleasance One

22 August

22.20-23.20

£11.50 (£10.00)

What’s InsideRACHEL ROSE REID SELLS

OUT FIRST PERFORMANCE!!

Barely hours into the festival Fringe new-comer Rachel Rose Reid achieved the spectacular feat of selling out her fi rst performance. Hardly surprising after fi ve star reviews, but what you may not expect to hear is that Rachel is not a comic, nor is she an actor. She is a profes-sional story-teller. Just a few weeks ago Rachel was perform-ing on a remote stage set back in the woods at Lati-tude festival. Unbeknown to her, watching from the audience was a Guard-ian journalist who went on

to describe her act as ʻa glimpse of magicʼ. And what could be more magical than revisit-ing precious memories of story time as a child? However, donʼt be fooled, Rachel describes her stories as ʻfairy tales with the darkness put back inʼ. These are stories for adults, with depth, angst and sadness, alongside triumph, joy and humanity. Rachel spent half her childhood in London and the other half attend-ing folk festivals. This is where she learnt her craft, from hushing and engag-ing noisy pub crowds to

holding a child audience captive. Rachelʼs stories come from all over the world and date right back through history. “Today we often take a dim view of ourselves. We destroy the planet, we fi ght in wars. It can be comforting to remember that the human race has been confronting these concerns for thou-sands of years.” Rachel is keen to point out that although her act may be unusual, it is not new. “ I am so grateful to the people that have upheld the tradition of storytelling through the

years. As a story teller it is important to remember that you are a conduit for all that has gone before you. These are not the stories of my life, they are the collective stories of generations.” Rachelʼs show is going from strength to strength and is likely to sell out, book early to avoid disappointment. Look out for Rachelʼs performances in the Kidzone too!Pleasance CourtyardAttic5-25 August (not 17)£5.00 - £9.00

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Daily Word Search!!

Friday 7th August 2009 The Pleasance Times Pg 2 Friday 7th August 2009 The Pleasance Times Pg 3

ACTS!PRODUCERS!DIRECTORS!

DO YOU WANT FREE

PUBLICITY FOR YOUR SHOW IN

THE P L E A S A N C E

TIMES??

CONTACT LISA IN THE PRESS OFFICE FOR

MORE INFO.

ALL WELCOME!!!

The Pleasance Times is a free daily newsletter available to available to all visitors. You can pick it up at any of our venues and it can also be accessed online at www.pleasance.co.uk/edinburgh. Please help us to protect the environment by throwing away your copy in one of our many recycling bins. Thanks!

Box Office0131 556 6550

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Email: festival@pleasance.co.uk

KEVIN TOMLINSON - TRUTH OR DARE

ALEX BYRNE

Alex Byrneʼs show ʻMy Life With The Dogs ̓ mix-es live music with come-dy, tragedy and physical theatre. He tells us more in his own words.

Tell us about ʻMy Life With The DogsʼThis piece is based on the true story of Ivan Mishulov, who lived in Moscow and at the age of 4 he left his mothers apartment and went to live on the street, he became part of a band of feral dogs who looked after him. He survived for two years on the street through two Moscow winters until he was fi nally captured by the Police. They said that he barked and snarled like a dog. He was taken to a childrenʼs

home where the workers said that he drew pictures of dogs, he liked it at the childrenʼs home but said that “dogs are better than people because they do not lie”.You use live music, clowning and animation in this new piece. How does that fi t in with the show?I suppose that music, clowning and animation can all be dark and disturb-ing in their own way. We use clowning because we think that life, even in its darkest moments can be funny. Live music has al-ways been part of our work and I love to hear music live in the theatre. NIE are an international company. How does this

affect the work that you produce?Well, it means there are lots of different languages in the rehearsal room and, therefore, in the show. It also means that a whole variety of different ideas and perspectives feed into our work. Sometimes it leads to a lot of confusion and argument as well. Although theatre can be an international art-form there are different expectations and ways of working that are colliding and develop-ing in our work.If somebody has yet to see an NIE show, what can they expect?It is quite a wild ride, there is a vodka fuelled bedroom scene, an Elvis striptease, plenty of snow and a very

nervous policeman. Itʼs a bit of a romp through the wild east I think, but the story at the heart of the show is tragic and touching as well.What is next for NIE?Right now we are very busy preparing for two new projects, one about stories from sailors and the sea and on an NIE version of Jules Verneʼs Around the World in 80 Days. As part of that preparation, a group of us are taking a cargo ship from Antwerp to Co-lumbia (it takes about two weeks). Pleasance CourtyardPleasance Two5 - 31 August (not 11)£8.50-£11.00

For weeks T4 present-ers have been urging their viewers to send in their best jokes, and yesterday T4 presenter (and stand up comedian from way back) visited the Pleasance Dome to perform the best.Rickʼs favourite joke? “A

guy says ʻI always keep a lighter around in my pocket. I donʼt smoke, I just really like some songsʼ” (We didnʼt get it either, apparently itʼs something to do with waving light-ers in the air.)Rick told us he loves the

Pleasance and has been hoping to do something here for ages. “If I could spend the month here and just see everything I would. Itʼs like the per-fect holiday really.”In the short time Rick has been up here heʼs been making the most of the brilliant shows we have on. “ Iʼve been to see Tim Keyʼs show, he is probably the funniest man Iʼve ever met. My friend Tom Baden also has a great play on.We asked Rick if he was planning to do any more stand up himself. “I donʼt know, itʼs been four years but I love that feel-ing you get when every-body laughs so maybe!”

T4’s RICK EDWARDS VISITS THE DOME!

IN TOMORROW’S ISSUE: PAPPY’S FUN CLUB!!

With a Fringe career dating back to ʼ89, Kevin is a veteran festi-val performer. His show Truth or Dare is receiving tremendous attention from the press, and is already proving a favourite with Pleasance audiences. True stories are taken from the audience and entertaining scenes are created based on these suggestions. Key moments in life are ex-plored such as: falling in love, accepting a new job, getting married, travelling abroad, giving birth and even dying. “My show involves a blend of comedy improvi-sation mixed with pathos. The emphasis is on explor-ing things that are impor-tant in life.

Use of heavy audience participation keeps the material fresh for Kevin, and ensures a different show every night. “It makes it very playful, and peopleʼs stories bring realism and real heart to the performances. Alongside his solo work, Kevin has also performed with the cast of Whose Line is it Anyway? This year the very talented performer Fiona McKinnon will be joining Kevin for some of his per-formances. Go and see Kevinʼs show for sharp humour mixed with fascinating stories from real people.Pleasance CourtyardBelow5-31 August23.05-24.00£7.50 - £10.00