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The 2015 Edinburgh Festival Fringe dates were 07 – 31 August.

Full list of awards.

 

Allen Wright Award
Winner – Griselda Murray Brown
Special Commendation – Holly Williams
Special Commendation – George Sully

 

Amused Moose Comedy Awards
Winner: Richard Gadd – Waiting for Gaddot (Banshee Labyrinth)
People’s Champion: Jess Robinson – The Rise of Mighty Voice (Pleasance)

 

The Asian Arts Awards
Winner – Best Production: The Cherry Orchard: Beyond the Truth – Theater Margot (Korea) (C Venues)
Winner – Best Directing: Ms. Shubhra Bhardwaj – Ticket to Bollywood – Ferriswheel Entertainment Pvt. Ltd. (New Town Theatre)

Brighton Fringe Award for Excellence in association with Sweet Venues
Winner: Police Cops – This Theatre – Zoo Venues

 

The Broadway Baby Bobby Award
Winners: Captain Morgan 1: The Sands of Time and Captain Morgan 2: The Sea of Souls – Ben Behrens / Tap Tap Theatre (Pleasance)
Richard III – Brite Theatre – Just Festival
Luke McQueen: Double Act – Luke McQueen / The Invisible Dot Ltd. (Pleasance)

 

Carol Tambor Best of Edinburgh Award
Winner: Key Change – Open Clasp Theatre Company in association with Live Theatre (Summerhall)

 

Dave’s Funniest Joke of the Fringe
Darren Walsh (Pleasance)

 

Edinburgh Comedy Poster Awards
Panel Prize: Tom Parry – Yellow Tshirt (Just the Tonic)
Audience Award: Michael Stranney & Olaf Falafel – Expect the Unexporcupine (Cowgatehead)

 

Euan’s Guide Accessible Fringe Awards
Winner: The Solid Life of Sugar Water (Pleasance)
Runner Up: Wendy Hoose by Johnny McKnight (Assembly Rooms)
Accessible Venue Award: Dance Base

 

The Foster’s Edinburgh Comedy Awards
Best Comedy Show – Sam Simmons – Spaghetti for Breakfast (Underbelly)
Best Newcomer – Sofie Hagen – Bubblewrap (Liquid Room Annexe)
Panel Prize – Karen Koren

 

Fringe Review Outstanding Theatre Awards
The Frantic Canticles of Little Brother Fish (Bedlam Theatre)

Pip Utton…Playing Maggie (Assembly Rooms)

 

2015 Fringe Sustainable Practice Award
Lungs (Summerhall)

 

The Herald Angel Award

Winners – Week 1
Correction (Zoo Venues)
Fake it till you Make it (Traverse Theatre)
Little Devil Award: The artists and facilitators of Underbelly Circus Hub

Winners – Week 2

Penny Arcade: Longing Lasts Longer (Underbelly)

Aceh Meukondore (C Venues)

Winners – Week 3

Herald Archangel Award: Maureen Beattie for The Jennifer Tremblay Trilogy  (Assembly Festival)

Herald Angel Award: Cathal McConnell
Little Devil Award: Our Ladies of Perpetual Succour (Traverse Theatre)

Holden Street Theatres Award
A Gambler’s Guide to Dying (Traverse Theatre)
Labels (Pleasance)

 

The Malcom Hardee Awards
Comic Originality – Michael Brunstrom
Cunning Stunt Award – Matt Roper
Act Most likely to make a million quid – Laurence Owen

The Scottish Arts Club Award for Best Scottish Play

Swallow – Stef Smith (Traverse Theatre)

 

The Scotsman Fringe First Awards

Winners – Week 1
A Gambler’s Guide to Dying (Traverse Theatre)
Going Viral  (Summerhall)
The Christians (Traverse Theatre)
Swallow  (Traverse Theatre)
The Deliverance (Assembly Festival)
Underneath (Dance Base)
The History of the World Through Banalities (Summerhall)

Winners – Week 2

Light Boxes (Summerhall)

Raz (Assembly Festival)

Citizen Puppet  (Pleasance)

Labels  (Pleasance)

Tar Baby  (Gilded Balloon)

Trans Scripts  (Pleasance)

The Great Downhill Journey of Little Tommy (Summerhall)

Winners – Week 3

A Girl is a Half-formed Thing by Eimear McBride (Traverse Theatre)

Our Ladies of Perpetual Succour (Traverse Theatre)

Penny Arcade: Longing Lasts Longer (Underbelly)

What I Learned From Johnny Bevan (Summerhall)

A Reason to Talk (Summerhall)

Primary Times Children’s Choice Award
The Voice Thief (Summerhall)

 

So You Think You’re Funny?
Luca Cupani: Still Falling (Heroes @ Bob’s Blundabus)

 

The Stage Awards for Acting Excellence

Winners – Week 1
Molly Vevers – Ross and Rachel (Assembly Festival)
Aoife Duffin – A Girl Is A Half-Formed Thing (Traverse Theatre)

Winners – Week 2

Andy Gray – Willie & Sabastian  (Gilded Balloon)

Sean Michael Verey – Tonight with Donny Stixx (Pleasance)

1972: The Future of Sex  (Zoo Venues)

Pip Utton…Playing Maggie (Assembly Rooms)

Winners – Week 3

Ensemble from Police Cops – This Theatre (Zoo Venues)

Maureen Beattie – The Jennifer Tremblay Trilogy  (Assembly Festival)

Ensemble from UKIP! The Musical  (theSpaceUK)

Lizzie Clarke – Molly  (Pleasance)

Ensemble from Our Ladies of Perpetual Succour (Traverse Theatre)

Total Theatre Awards

Emerging Company/Artist: The Beanfield  (theSpaceUK)
Physical/Visual Theatre: Oog  (Dance Base)
Innovation/Experimentation & Playing with Form: Can I Start Again Please (Summerhall)
Portraits In Motion (Summerhall)
Total Theatre & The Place Award for Dance: Vertical Influences  (Assembly Festival)
Total Theatre & Jacksons Lane Award for Circus: B-Orders (Underbelly) and
Smoke and Mirrors  (Assembly Festival)

After 50,459 performances of 3,314 shows in 313 venues across Edinburgh, the curtain falls and the house lights go up on the 2015 Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

The Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society has announced that by Monday afternoon, with hundreds of performances still to take place, an estimated 2,298,090 tickets had been issued for shows across Scotland’s capital. The number of tickets issued reflects a 5.24% increase in comparison to tickets issued by the same point last year.

Kath M Mainland CBE, Chief Executive of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society said:

“As this year’s Fringe draws to a close we can reflect on what a spectacular success it has been. Once again artists and audiences have travelled from across the globe to be a part of this unique cultural event. And with an estimated 2,298,090 tickets issued and many thousands of people attending the 800 free shows in the programme, I’ve no doubt every single person who watched a Fringe show, or experienced this wonderful festival city, will take away unforgettable memories. 

 

“With incredible talent from 49 countries from all over the world taking part this year, the Fringe has once again demonstrated itself to be both truly international and profoundly Scottish.  The 2015 season has firmly cemented Edinburgh’s reputation as the world’s leading festival city. “

Fringe Society Chair, Sir Tim O’Shea added:

“On behalf of everyone who visited and enjoyed this year’s Fringe, I would like to thank all the creative souls, both onstage and backstage, who brought their work here. Their courage, creativity and sheer hard work is unrivalled anywhere in the world, and without them, the Fringe simply wouldn’t be possible.”

Fiona Hyslop MSP, Cabinet Secretary for Culture, Europe and External Affairs added:

“This has been another incredible year for the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. The festival continues to evolve and work with the city to expand and offer more and more to audiences from across the world. The Edinburgh Festival Fringe demonstrates the innovative spirit that makes Scottish culture so vibrant. “

One new initiative this year was a scheme launched by the Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society, in collaboration with the City of Edinburgh Council and Virgin Money aimed at providing complimentary tickets to Fringe shows for children and young people who are being cared for by City of Edinburgh Council. The project calledAccess Fringe – Looked After Children made £173,172.00 worth of tickets from 233 shows in 38 venues available to children and young people whose circumstances would not normally allow them to participate in cultural activity. Access Fringe – Looked After Children is a part of the Fringe Society’s commitment to making the Fringe accessible to all and is one of a series of initiatives over the years to come to tackle the physical, economic, social and geographic barriers that prevent people from participating.

Other highlights in 2015 included the participation of a total of fourteen new venues across the city. These included the return of the famous St. Stephen’s Church in Stockbridge under the banner of Momentum Venues, Underbelly launching their Circus Hub on the Meadows in the city’s southside and SpaceUK debuting a new three floor venue called SpaceTriplex in The Prince Philip Building on Hill Place.

The Fringe Society unveiled two new commercial partnerships in 2015; with Airbnb and the Caledonian Sleeper. Both these relationships offered new opportunities for Fringe participants and audiences.

The Royal Mail celebrated this year’s Edinburgh Festival Fringe by issuing a special postmark, applied to stamped UK mail from 07-31 August. Royal Mail’s postmarks are reserved for special occasions and are used to recognise significant events, historical anniversaries or support of charity. It was the first time in the Royal Mail’s 500 year history that a festival has been featured on a postmark.

Award-winning comedian and theatre-maker Bryony Kimmings delivered the 2015 Fringe Central Welcome Address to participants, organised by the Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society. The welcome address, designed to welcome and inspire participants, was attended by a record number of people. Bryony Kimmings, an Associate Artist at Soho Theatre and a Fringe participant herself, encouraged participants to take advantage of over 85 free events hosted throughout August, to help develop performance skills, expand networks and advance careers.

A wide range of awards were on offer throughout the festival organised by a range of organisations. Euan’s Guide, the disabled access review website launched their Fringe awards, acknowledging a show and a venue for their outstanding efforts to include disabled audiences at this year’s Fringe.

 

Fans of Loose Women star Jane McDonald have walked out of her musical Cats because they don’t recognise her in costume.

Others have posted ­negative reviews voicing their disappointment she didn’t turn up to perform – even though she was there writes Janine Yaqoob in the Sunday People.

The confused fans did not recognise the singer in elaborate cat costume and heavy face paint as Grizabella.

Jane, 52, has won top reviews from critics for her performances at the Winter Gardens Theatre, Blackpool.

She took over the role from former X Factor judge Nicole Scherzinger.

She said: “We had a problem with people saying ‘Well it would be nice if the star actually turned up on the show’.

“I haven’t missed a performance – I’ve done every single one and haven’t missed a night.”

The first ever Arabic language adaptation of Oliver!, starring a cast comprised of Syrian refugees and under-privileged Jordanian children, will premiere next month.

The production, which will run at a local community centre in Amman in Jordan, has been spearheaded by journalist and filmmaker Charlotte Eager and William Sterling, of Refuge Drama Productions.

Producer and Oliver! rights-holder Cameron Mackintosh said: “I couldn’t imagine a better way of presenting the story of Oliver Twist’s contemporary relevance than this exciting and imaginative production performed by refugees and children who have had an even harder start to life than Oliver himself.”

The production’s director Khaled Abol Naga, who is a UNICEF goodwill ambassador, added: “We are aiming for an outcome that transforms the refugee and under-privileged children so they become a pride for society.”

Featuring a cast of 36 children, Oliver! opens on 1 September.

Absurdist comic Sam Simmons has won this year’s Forster’s Edinburgh Comedy Award with his show Spaghetti for Breakfast.

Simmons topped a shortlist that also included four-time nominee James Acaster, as well as Joseph Morpurgo, Kieran Hodgson, Nish Kumar, Sarah Kendall, Seymour Mace and Trygve Wakenshaw.

Awards producer Nica Burns said: “Sam Simmons has funny bones. He is a complete original, combining physical comedy with great verbal jokes and a unique take on life.

“His 2015 Edinburgh show is outstanding. This is a comedian at the top of his craft who has grown substantially since his two earlier nominations.”

The Best Newcomer prize went to Sofie Hagen, who Burns described as “a young comic with an effortless engaging style”.

The discretionary panel prize was given to Gilded Balloon founder and artistic director Karen Koren, who is stepping down after a 30-year tenure.

Sky’s head of comedy Lucy Lumsden, who chaired this year’s panel, said: “Karen Koren encapsulates the true spirit of the fringe in so many ways. Entrepreneurial, warm-hearted, a great survivor and a huge supporter and spotter of new talent.”

Simmons takes home a prize of £10,000, while Hagen and Koren win £5,000 each.

Dawn French is reprising her solo show 30 Million Minutes later this year and has announced new dates ahead of its West End run.

The new dates are at the Liverpool Empire (3 November), Fairfield Halls in Croydon (5 November), Worthing Pavilion Theatre (6 November) and Swan Theatre in High Wycombe (8 November).

As previously announced, 30 Million Minutes will run at the Vaudeville Theatre from 11 November to 5 December.

French said: “Look, it’s not a play, it’s not stand up, it’s not a monologue, it’s not a slide show, but it’s something a bit like all of those with some alarming extreme striptease thrown in.”

Dawn French: 30 Million Minutes is directed by Michael Grandage, with set and costume design by Lez Brotherston and lighting design by Willie Williams.

Stars of the UK’s fastest-selling panto, Danny Adams and Clive Webb met with Heart North East Breakfast show presenters Justin and Kelly as it was announced that Heart will be the media partner of the Newcastle Theatre Royal panto, Dick Whittington this year.

 

Father and son team Danny and Clive, were given a tour of the brand new Heart North East studios at Gallowgate, right in the heart of the city centre, as well as a few minutes on the mic for the comedy duo.

 

Hearth North East’s media partnership means the station will be supporting the famous show all the way – in the run up to opening on the Tuesday 24 November 2015, right through until the final curtain on Sun 17 January 2016.

 

Dick Whittington – The Magical Panto Adventure! stars Danny Adams as Dick Whittington , Clive Webb as Councillor Fitzfenwick, and Geordie favourite Chris Hayward as the lovable Dame Rita Fitzfenwick and this year added sparkle and glitter will be showered over the stage by Spirit of the Tyne, played by much-loved North East actress and former Emmerdale star Charlie Hardwick.

 

Year after year the Theatre Royal’s panto continues to be the fastest selling in the country and owes its enduring popularity to the massive talent of its three main stars, visionary producer Michael Harrison and amazing special effects produced by The Twins FX.

 

Father and son duo, Danny and Clive, will feature on Heart’s competition campaign, and local drive presenters Justin and Kelly will lend their voices to the Theatre’s digital panto game.  The Theatre is also providing 400 tickets to Heart North East who will split them across their three chosen charities so that disadvantaged children from across the North East can come and take a sneak peak at the panto during the dress rehearsal.

 

The Newcastle Theatre Royal panto attracts audiences of over 90,000 every year, and this year 60,000 tickets have already been sold a staggering 12 weeks before opening night.

 

Dick Whittington appears at Newcastle Theatre Royal from Tue 24 Nov 2015 – Sun 17 Jan 2016. Tickets are from £12.50 (save 50p per ticket when you book online) and can be purchased from the Theatre Royal Box Office on 08448 11 21 21 (calls cost 7ppm plus your phone company’s access charge) or book online at www.theatreroyal.co.uk

 

Photographs from the press night of McQueen at Theatre Royal Haymarket, which was last night 27 August. The after show party was at The Club at the Hotel Café Royal.

THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION

A MAJOR NEW STAGE PRODUCTION

 

OPENS NEXT WEEK AT LEEDS GRAND THEATRE

 

STARRING

 

IAN KELSEY AS ANDY DUFRESNE

 

PATRICK ROBINSON AS ELLIS ‘RED’ REDDING

 

On announcing he was to bring to an end his role as practice manager Howard Bellamy in BBC One’s Doctors, there was immediate speculation as to what would be next for Ian Kelsey – now, the Yorkshire-born actor is heading back North to star in The Shawshank Redemption at Leeds Grand Theatre next week.

Ian leaves his starring role in a closely guarded story line this November to play Andy Dufresne, a banker who, having been handed a double life sentence for the brutal murder of his wife and her lover, finds himself incarcerated in the notorious Shawshank penitentiary.

 

Joining Ian is television’s Patrick Robinson whose impressive TV career has spanned more than two decades. Patrick is best known for his role as staff nurse-turned-consultant Martin ‘Ash’ Ashford in BBC’s Casualty.

Unflinching in his protests of innocence, Andy strikes up an unlikely friendship with the prison fixer Red, played by Robinson, and things take a slight turn for the better. However, when Warden Stammas decides to bully Andy into subservience and exploit his talents for accountancy, a desperate plan is quietly hatched.

Based on the 1982 novella Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption by celebrated author Stephen King, the playexamines desperation, injustice, friendship and hope behind the claustrophobic bars of a maximum security facility.

The 1994 feature film, regularly voted the number one all-time movie, starred Tim Robbins as Andy Dufresne andMorgan Freeman as Ellis ‘Red’ Redding and was nominated for seven Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Actor for Freeman.

The Shawshank Redemption is at Leeds Grand Theatre from Monday August 31^st to Saturday September 5^th.

Tickets are on sale now priced from £18.50 to £35.

Book online at leedsgrandtheatre.com or call Box Office on 0844 848 2700.

TOURING CONSORTIUM THEATRE COMPANY AND ROYAL & DERNGATE NORTHAMPTON PRESENT

THE WORLD PREMIERE OF A NEW STAGE ADAPTATION OF

ALDOUS HUXLEY’S DYSTOPIAN MASTERPIECE

BRAVE NEW WORLD

BY DAWN KING

DIRECTED BY JAMES DACRE

WITH ORIGINAL MUSIC BY THESE NEW PURITANS

OPENING IN NORTHAMPTON FOLLOWED BY A UK TOUR

 

I don’t want comfort. I want danger. I want freedom. I want sin.

 

Brave New World, widely considered to be one of the finest and most prophetic dystopian novels of the twentieth century, bursts into life on stage in an adaptation by award-winning playwright Dawn King, directed by James Dacre and designed by Naomi Dawson, with an original new music by the ground breaking British band These New Puritans.

Sophie Ward, whose extensive screen credits include TV series Land Girls, Heartbeat and Holby City, and films including Jane Eyre,Wuthering Heights and Young Sherlock, will play ‘Margaret Mond’, the Regional World Controller for Western Europe (a character that was the male ‘Mustapha Mond’ in the original novel),. Her theatre work includes One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Go Back For Murder and Private Lives. Olivier Award-winning Abigail McKern, last seen in Northampton in A Tale of Two Cities and fresh fromShakespeare in Love in the West End, takes the role of ‘Linda’. The ensemble cast also includes Olivia Morgan (Macbeth, West End,The Taming of the Shrew, Shakespeare’s Globe), William Postlethwaite (King Lear, Bath Theatre Royal, Collaborators, National Theatre) as John the Savage, Scott Karim (The Merchant of Venice, Shakespeare’s Globe, Great Britain, National Theatre) as Helmholtz Watson, and Gruffudd Glyn (Three Sisters, Young Vic, Hamlet, RSC) as Bernard. The cast also includes Theo Ogundipe as Benito, Samantha Pearl as Polly, James Howard as the Director and David Burnett as Henry.