Edinburgh Festival Insider - Venue of the year 2009

With 100s of venues across the city - from the 'big three' of the Assembly, Pleasance and Gilded Balloon to the likes of private residences and restaurants - there's almost as wide a choice of places to see shows as there are performances to enjoy.

The nominations for the Edinburgh Festival Insider Venue of the Year Award 2009 are:

• C Venues. Particularly the multi-levelled labyrinth in Chambers Street, culminating in the wonderful Urban Garden. A great place to hang out and mingle with performers who keep the spirit of the Fringe alive.
• Venue 150 at the EICC. With its air-conditioning, ample legroom and modern decor, this feels far removed from many of the hot, cramped and crumbling venues elsewhere.
• St George's West. Few things can compare to witnessing some world-class music being performed in front of St George's beautiful stained-glass rose window.
• Spaces venues. Played host to some small first-time groups on a budget and therefore brought some interesting - and in the case of productions like Stitches, exceptional - new talent to the Fringe
  
• New Town Theatre / Universal Arts. A wonderfully diverse programme in the grand and only slightly spooky Masonic Hall on George Street.

And the winner is...

Venue 150 at the EICC

Although the EICC has been used as a Fringe venue in the past, this year it featured a far wider and more adventurous programme than ever. With close ties to Universal Arts and The World Festival, it saw two amazing world music shows, the wonderful Sambor Dudzinksi and his Time(less) Machine, Fred MacAulay's daily breakfast show, Fringe Select, a great cafe and more.
Besides its aforementioned comfort, its willingness to take a little bit of a risk results in it being my favourite venue this year - especially as its success during the Fringe could see more and more shows of a similar ilk being featured there outwith the Festival season.

For a resident like me, the chance of that is enough for me to give Venue 150 the:

Review - Creole Choir of Cuba *****

Once again, Toby Gough has curated a superb programme at St George's West under the banner of The World Festival. Bringing together acts from Africa, South & Central America and Sri Lanka, he has given us a rare and treasured opportunity to see some of the best performers on the world music scene today.

Having seen all the shows on offer this year, the absolute highlight for me was the Creole Choir of Cuba. A 10-strong group of Haitian immigrants settled in Cuba, the choir are capable of producing some spine-tingling vocal harmonies which are perfectly suited to the wonderful acoustics of the venue.

Symbolically representing the journey of Haitians to Cuba, the set contains songs of spiritual devotion to ancient gods, proud laments for a departed homeland and some beautifully uplifting and moving songs of celebration and joy.

The choir possess some of the best voices I have ever heard, with the main female vocalist having a marvellously rich and impressive range, backed by harmonies which surround her voice like velvet. Special mention must also go to the two acapella bass singers, who underpin each number with vocal rhythms and deep, rich tones which complement the rest of the voices perfectly.

The Creole Choir of Cuba was a joy from start to finish and they and Toby Gough should be proud of a show which shines like the Caribbean sunshine from the doors of St George's West.

Creole Choir of Cuba runs until 31st August at St George's West. £15 (£12 concession, £5 child)

Review: Capoeira Knights: The Boys from Brazil ****

After last year's sell-out run, The Boys are back in town and are once more packing them in at St George's West, with a repeat performance of their Capoeira Knights music and dance spectacular.

The 70-minute show tells the story of Capoeira itself, from its roots in slavery to its modern day incarnation as a martial art practiced on the streets of Brazil. Pumping samba and rumba music fills the almost-bursting church as the boys dazzle with their expert moves and acrobatics, with the biggest applause going to their standout routines in which they leap, flip, kick and spin in a stunning display of physical prowess.

This year, they certainly know their audience and the venue is packed with young eager females appreciating the boys' sweaty bodies and toned six-packs. Indeed, as they return for an encore bare-chested and wearing kilts (sorry ladies, they're not true Scotsmen...) it is almost as if you are seeing the Brazilian Chippendales before you, and the high-pitched screams from the female contingent almost drown out the samba drums pounding in the background.

All great fun though, and it doesn't detract from a show that is uplifting, cracking to watch and listen to and probably one of the best nights out at the Fringe.

Capoeira Knights: The Boys from Brazil runs until Aug 31st at St George's West. £15 (£12 concession, £5 child)

Review: Ranganika, Island of Dance ****

Ranganika, Island of Dance is a joyous, colourful and uplifting show by a talented and exuberant young troupe of Sri Lankan dancers and drummers.

Part of the World Festival at the beautiful St George's West, Ranganika is made up of a number of traditional & contemporary pieces, featuring beautiful dancing and costumes, striking masks, pounding drums and - in the finale - a vivid and exciting portrayal of traditional village life in Sri Lanka.

The obvious enthusiasm and talent of the youthful cast are hard to resist, and Ranganika is a great example of the kind of performance The World Festival specialises in: one which gives you a rare and privileged glimpse into another culture's music, tradition and heritage.

Ranganika, Island of Dance runs until 30th August at St George's West (not Mondays). £10 (£8 concession, £5 child)

The World Festival at St George's West

Last year, The World Festival at St George’s West was an absolute highlight of the Fringe. The brainchild of Toby Gough, it brought an eclectic fusion of top-quality world music to Edinburgh in an explosion of colour, energy and sheer unbridled joie de vivre.

Winning last year’s Scotsman’s Spirit of the Fringe award, The World Festival is back with an equally varied and entertaining cocktail of voices, rhythms and atmosphere rarely seen in Edinburgh – even during Festival time.

Last night’s press preview treated us to short excerpts from all the acts' shows, giving a tantalising taster of the full programme set to run at the beautiful and atmospheric St George’s West venue throughout August.

First up were the the beguiling rhythms and sounds of A Town Called Addis, an Ethiopian ensemble that bring the pumping sounds of Addis Ababa music halls and nightclubs to Edinburgh’s rather more austeure and hallowed halls. Some great sounds from this charismatic nine-piece band definintely made me look forward to seeing the full show next week.

Based on last night’s snippet, Mercy Madonna of Malawi looks set to be the funniest thing at the Fringe this year, bar none. A “black musical comedy” (sic), this is based on Madonna’s much-publicised adoption of Malawian orphans, and not only explores that episode but also the ethical and moral dilemmas and issues behind it. Already stirring up controversy in the national press, this is definitely one to catch.

So what’s funny about it? Well, the loose lyrical interpretations of songs such as “Like A Prayer”, the adult cast dressed in nappies and ‘adopt me’ t-shirts, and Madonna being played by a six-foot tall Malawian male in a blonde wig – and that’s just for starters. Apparently, The World Festival have offered Madonna free tickets to this show, but it has yet to be confirmed if she will attend…

The Creole Choir of Cuba are a 14-strong troupe of Haitian immigrants living in Cuba, who bring their colourful costumes and spellbinding harmonies to Edinburgh after making a big impression at this year’s WOMAD and Big Tent festivals. Drawing on Haitian customs, rituals, religion and culture, the Creole Choir of Cuba must have been working their magic on the hairs on the back of my neck at one point. Stunning stuff.

The young Sri Lankan dancers of Ranganika – Island of Dance stormed the stage next in a riot of colour, percussion and movement. In fact, I don’t think they stood still for one second of their set, faces rapt with joy as they treated us to their cultural music and dance in a display of colour and happiness.

It was left to last year’s hit act, Capoeira Knights: Boys From Brazil to end proceedings. The blend of martial-arts, dancing and uplifting pumping live music creates a show that is unmissable and breathtaking in its feats of stunning acrobatics and muscular energy. Deserving and more than capable of taking their show on a world tour or similar, Capoeria Knights are the jewel in The World Festival’s already studded crown.

As a finale, all the acts got up on stage together, in a routine that summed up and demonstrated that The World Festival is aptly-named. Seeing dancers from Sri Lanka gleefully moving to music from Brazil as Malawian artistes danced together with colourfully-attired Cuban singers was an emotionally uplifting sight that brought shivers to my spine, even more so when the entire troupe spilled out of the venue to startle, bemuse and ultimately entertain unwitting passers by on Shandwick Place.

I love the World Festival: it encapsulates everything that is wonderful about the Fringe – and the world itself, given freedom to express itself and its many and varied cultures.

My advice? Go to all the shows. Go to some of them twice. Just make sure you go.