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Before the fireworks kick off tonight, time for one final TW Daily bulletin as we complete this, our 21st year covering the Edinburgh Festival. Once again we've had a great time sampling and championing the many great shows, performances and events that have been staged at Edinburgh's festivals this summer. And we look forward to our 22nd year in 2017! You can check all our reviews from this year's Festival here. Don't forget, we recommend great stuff to do all year round in London, and we'll be shouting about the shows we've loved here as and when they arrive down south. If you are based in or around London, then you should sign up for our TW Weekly bulletin, which comes out each and every Thursday. Click here to do just that. And, of course, we launched our brand new podcast TW:TALKS this month, which will feature guests from the worlds of comedy, theatre, music, musicals, cabaret, spoken word and more, all year round. Look out for more information on that below. Enjoy the final evening of the Festival! Caro Moses Editor, ThreeWeeks Edinburgh and ThisWeek London |
FINAL FRINGE FIRSTS
The Scotsman presented the final set of its Fringe First trophies to the new plays its critics most rated this year. And the third and final batch was an even bigger windfall for Summerhall, which has totally dominated these awards this year. Summerhall shows 'One Hundred Homes', 'Scorch', 'Growth' and 'Letters To Windsor House' all got a gong, as did 'The Duke' at the Pleasance and 'JOAN' at Underbelly.
THE STAGE EDINBURGH AWARDS
Theatre industry newspaper The Stage also dished out its annual Edinburgh Fringe awards this month, which these days are presented throughout the Festival, rather than in one final batch at the end. These celebrate performers and ensembles, with winners including: Kill The Beast for 'Don't Wake The Damp'; Liam Brennan for 'Diary Of A Madman'; Charlotte Josephine for 'Blush'; Penelope McDonald and Emma Romy-Jones for 'Care Takers'; Lucy Jane Parkinson for 'JOAN'; Nancy Sullivan for 'Fabric'; and One Year Lease for 'Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally'. Mark Thomas also got a special award.
THE TOTAL THEATRE AWARDS
The Total Theatre Awards, celebrating 'total theatre experiences', also returned this Fringe, with seven awards presented in five categories. 'Ockham's Razor:Tipping Point' took the circus prize; Mauro Paccagnella and Alessandro Bernardeschi won the dance gong for 'Happy Hour'; and Briefs Factory won in the 'playing with form' category for 'Hot Brown Honey'. And there were two winners in the emerging company category – FK Alexander for '(I Could Go On Singing) Over The Rainbow' and Yinka Kuitenbrouwer for 'One Hundred Homes' – and also in the physical/visual theatre category – 'Bildraum' and 'Cock And Bull'.
EDINBURGH COMEDY AWARDS
Onto the Edinburgh Comedy Awards, and you all presumably know already that Richard Gadd took the big prize this time at the now Lastminute.com sponsored comedy awards shindig, while Scott Gibson was named Best Newcomer. The customary Panel Prize went to Bob Slayer and team for the 'Iraq Out & Loud' project.
THE MALCOLM HARDEE AWARD
More comedy shenanigans, and The Malcolm Hardee Awards returned once again this Fringe. Paul Vickers took the main prize for Comic Originality for his show 'Twonkey's Mumbo Jumbo Hotel', while 'Come Look At The Baby' – a show where you come and look at a baby for half an hour – was declared the Act Most Likely To Make A Million Quid. The publicity stunt celebrating Cunning Stunt award went to Becky Fury for flyering on Tindr and bragging about being a Lastminute Comedy finalist, thanks to once being a finalist at a comedy club called Lastminute.
SO YOU THINK YOU'RE FUNNY (pictured)
Some more comedy, and Gilded Balloon's new-talent fest So You Think You're Funny had its final for 2016 last week, with Heidi Regan winning, and Ruth Hunter the first runner-up and Danielle Walker the second.
THREEWEEKS EDITORS' AWARDS
And don't forget, we presented the ThreeWeeks Editors' Awards yesterday, celebrating the ten people and projects that we think made this year's Edinburgh Festival extra special. And the winners were: zazU, John Robertson, ACJ Productions for 'Tomorrow, Maybe', Gideon Irving, Gaël Le Cornec, Wil Greenway, Bob Slayer, RashDash, Electric Voice Theatre for 'Superwomen Of Science' and Goose.
This was ThreeWeeks' 21st year covering the Edinburgh Festival, and to celebrate we sat down and interviewed five former cover stars for our all new podcast TW:TALKS.
That podcast launched in the middle of the Festival, with two of the interviews already available to listen to, and the other three coming up in the next few weeks.
Hear Mark Thomas discuss his three decades at the Fringe, including some of the best - and worst - shows he has seen over that time. He also talks about how his comedy combined with journalism and theatre as it evolved over the years. Listen to TW:TALKS talking to Mark Thomas here.
Hear Brendon Burns discuss the highs and the lows of his two decades at the Fringe, and what he thinks about Brits who take so much pride in their ability to laugh about themselves. Plus find out why unusual venues and the Free Fringe really work for his kind of comedy, and the audience he wants to perform to. Listen to TW:TALKS talking to Brendon Burns here.
Hear Susan Calman discuss her disastrous first year at the Fringe, and how things have got much better since! Plus pigeon-holing in comedy, and the impact Netflix and Amazon is having on the industry. Listen to TW:TALKS talking to Susan Calman on Thursday 1 Sep.
Hear Lucy Porter discuss her first ever Fringe experience, as a comedy dream-maker (and breaker) while judging for the Edinburgh Comedy Awards. Plus find out about her move from critiquing comedy to performing it, and why the Edinburgh Fringe remains such an important part of her year. Listen to TW:TALKS talking to Lucy Porter on Thursday 8 Sep.
Hear Mark Watson discuss his theatrical beginnings at the Edinburgh Festival, how the Fringe made him want to do stand-up, and why he continues to come back and perform here each summer. Plus those crazy 24 hours+ shows, why he did them, and how you can keep going for so long on stage. Listen to TW:TALKS talking to Mark Watson on Thursday 15 Sep.
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