Highlight #12 - Rendition Monologues

One of the finest things about the various Edinburgh-based festivals happening at this time of year is that there's space and opportunity for shows that cater to every taste and form of expression.

The Edinburgh Festival of Spirituality & Peace is a particularly commendable example of that diversity, featuring a programme of drama, music, dance and events which celebrate the human spirit - or highlight crimes against it.

One such example is Rendition Monologues, a four-man piece of verbatim theatre which retells real-life, first-hand accounts of victims of the CIA's 'rendition' program. That practice, yet to be rescinded, allows the agency to transport known or suspected terrorists for imprisonment in countries where torture is still a recognised form of interrogation.

Rendition Monologues interweaves the actual words of four victims of this program -including Binyam Mohamed, a former UK resident - in what promises to be an hour of moving, hard-hitting and intensely personal theatre.

The show is a co-production between iceandfire theatre, a group who specialise in exploring and publicising human rights issues through performance; and Reprieve UK, a legal charity organisation who provided the transcripts which make up Rendition Monologues' script. A representative from Reprieve UK will be conducting a 30-minute Q&A session after each performance of this show, allowing you to delve deeper into some of the issues and facts behind what you will have just witnessed.

Whatever your political viewpoint and stance on the "War on Terror", Rendition Monologues provides a platform for voices that would otherwise perhaps never have been heard. For that alone, it deserves attention.

Rendition Monologues runs from the 17th - 23rd August at St John's Church as part of the Edinburgh Festival of Spirituality & Peace. £8 full, £5 concesssion.

Photo of the day #1 - The Heat is On

Street performers have started "warming up" the crowds on the Royal Mile prior to the official start of the Edinburgh Fringe (click on image to view full-size)

Want to appear here in a photo of the day? Email me.

Highlight #11 - Time Out Of Joint

Whilst we're (loosely) on the topic of Shakespeare, Not/Applicable & Heart Productions' Time Out Of Joint looks an interesting one.

A play set whilst Shakespeare is penning Hamlet, it aims to explore his inner mind and outer turmoil, focusing not only on his motivation and inspiration for the themes underlying the Prince of Denmark's struggle, but also the external influences of his twin muses and lovers. The Dark Lady from his sonnets, a mysterious svengali's machinations and Ophelia herself weave an intricate tapestry around Shakespeare as he puts quill to parchment and unfolds one of the world's greatest dramas.

Equally, the team behind Time Out Critics Choice award-winner Shooting Clouds - writer Frank Bramwell and director Arnaud Mugglestone - toy with the notions of what is real and what is imagined in a play that looks set to collide in an exploration of love, drama and intrigue.

Time Out Of Joint is also central to an interesting promotional initiative running at this year's Fringe. Shakespeare At The Fringe aims to collate and publicise all 39 shows this year which feature The Bard in one shape or form, and are arranging several events as a result (the Where's Willy? competition sounds particularly interesting...) Check out the site for more details and updated news.

Time Out Of Joint runs from 5th to 31st August at C Soco. Prices various from £8.50.

Highlight #10 - The Scottish Falsetto Sock Puppet Theatre Goes To Hollywood

Altogether now: "I'm a sock, I'm a sock, you wear me on your feet not on your co..."

Ahem. Now, where were we?

The Scottish Falsetto Sock Puppet Theatre are an Edinburgh Fringe (and UK comedy circuit) institution. At first glance, the amateurish-looking puppet booth and mangy-looking socks with google eyes and lolling tongues may lead you to believe this show would be best suited for the under-fives. Give it five seconds however, and you'll quickly realise that this one-man / two-sock outfit actually offers some of the funniest, fastest-paced and smartest comedy appearing at the Fringe.

TSFSPT is the brainchild of Kev Sutherland, who quickly realised the comedy potential of sock puppets. With Scottish accents. Speaking and singing in falsetto voices. What's not to like?

Especially when the comedy is equal parts ad-lib, improv, rude, corny and (in what may be the biggest surprise to the uninitiated) extremely clever. TSFSPT's shows always contain at least one longish parody of a famous movie or a Shakespeare play, and here the literary in-jokes and puns fly fast, proving that Sutherland is a smart writer as well as an energetic and accomplished performer. With this year's show title being The Scottish Falsetto Sock Puppet Theatre Goes To Hollywood, expect some razor-sharp spoofing of some celluloid classic or other (although secretly, I'm hoping for another Shakespeare rip-off...)

Appearing again in the sweatbox that is the Gilded Balloon Teviot, expect to be fooled by the conceit that you are watching two daft socks quipping and snipping at each other; until the very end, when a drenched and scarlet Sutherland will likely emerge, deserving of the applause you'll surely give him.

The Scottish Falsetto Sock Puppet Theatre Goes To Hollywood runs from 5th to 30th August at Gilded Balloon Teviot. Prices from £9.

Highlight #9 - The Overcoat by Gecko Theatre

An award-winning and accomplished young theatre group from the UK, Gecko return to the Edinburgh Fringe with The Overcoat, a piece inspired by a short story by Russian novelist Gogol.

With what promises to be visually compelling staging and a style reminiscent of a silent movie, The Overcoat tells the tale of young office worker Akakki as he persues his twin desires - a female colleague he is infatuated with and a brown overcoat that seems to possess almost magical qualities...

With little in the way of coherent dialogue (the cast speak in a variety of languages), The Overcoat is not so much a straightforward storytelling piece, but instead looks to be a tour de force of imagery and movement, with comic interludes and a beguiling style. Imaginative use of sets and lighting, coupled with a cast that have backgrounds in dance as well as acting, look set to ensure The Overcoat lives up to expectations as a powerful piece of physical theatre.

The Overcoat runs from the 13th to 29th (not 18th or 25th) August in the Pleasance Courtyard. Prices various from £7.

Review to follow on 21st August,

All That Jazz

For many, the Edinburgh Jazz & Blues Festival Mardi Gras is the first event of the Festival season.

A free event in Edinburgh's Grassmarket, the Mardi Gras brings a slice of carnival atmosphere to one of the city's oldest and most historic places, filling it with a riot of colour, sounds and people entering into the jazz (and alcohol) fuelled spirit of the day.

The weather was kind, and the sun put in an appearance for most of the event, shining down on the likes of the Criterion Parade Band and the infectious rhythms and showgirl glamour of the Edinburgh Samba School, whilst other artists, bands and singers entertained the packed crowd from temporary stages dotted along the cobbled street.

The atmosphere was relaxed and happy, as tourists on passing open-top buses stared down in envy at the buzz below and fortunate pub and restaurant owners reaped the rewards of having a captive hungry & thirsty crowd on their doorstep.

A great start to proceedings, the Mardi Gras ushered in the Festival with a splash of carnival atmosphere that hinted at the frantic and unmissable weeks to come.

Highlight #8 - Socially Retarded by Tomfoolery

We humans can be a cruel bunch. Often, we love nothing more than revelling in people's misfortunes, whilst at other times we seem fascinated by the ineptitudes and embarassing failures of others. As long as it's not happening to us, it's funny, right?

Thomas and Thomas of Tomfoolery understand this, and selflessly exploit it for our entertainment and enjoyment with Socially Retarded - The Fringe Cringe Comedy, in which they parade a series of increasingly desperate and toecurling characters in a fast-paced sketch show that's already becoming one to look out for.

Morris dancers, men in y-fronts, gangsta wannabes and builders struggling with their feminine sides - all these and more are here for your voyeuristic amusement, portrayed with some cutting observational comedy and (intentionally) cringeworthy moments which you may have to watch from behind your fingers.

With their infectious enthusiasm (at least one Thomas has been known to yelp like a girl) and affable personalities, Tomfoolery will be hard to miss this year: whether they're flyering on the Royal Mile, tweeting incessantly about their show (but hey, we're all guilty of that...) or just genuinely enjoying the fact they're here in Edinburgh with everything it has to offer at this time of year.

Hopefully they remember to actually turn up and perform their show...

Socially Retarded runs from 7th - 22nd August (not Sundays) at the Spaces @ Royal College of Surgeons, price £7