INTERVIEW: Anthony Alderson, Director of the Pleasance Theatre Trust

Anthony Alderson is the director of the Pleasance Theatre Trust. The Pleasance opened as part of the 1985 Edinburgh Fringe with two theatres facing onto a deserted courtyard-come-car-park at an unfashionable eastern end of Edinburgh’s Old Town. Thirty-four seasons later the Pleasance has become one of the biggest and most highly respected venues at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe with the Pleasance Islington also being one of the most exciting Off-West-End theatres in London since it opened its doors in 1995. We chat to Anthony about what the pandemic has done to the Edinburgh Fringe and his hopes for the future. 

The cancelation of the 2020 Edinburgh Fringe was a devastating blow but of course, was vital in protecting people’s health. How did it feel to initially cancel the festival? 

So many mixed feelings. It was completely the right thing to do, but it was heartbreaking to know how many shows and performers we would be turning away. 

And of course, the plan is for the festival to come back stronger than ever in 2021! How do you think the work will be affected by the pandemic? 

All shows in the 2020 programme will be invited to return in 2021. It is a great line-up. However, with so many freelancers and independent small theatre companies affected, with long stretches without any income, I just hope they are able to survive to next year. 30% of our fundraising effort on Crowdfunder will go to assist shows doing their debut next year. 

The Pleasance Theatre Trust is such a fantastic organisation who are running a fabulous raffle to raise money where you can win a free pair of tickets to every Pleasance Show at the 2021 Edinburgh Fringe! Can you tell us a bit about the charity and your work with it?

Developing artistic ideas is not only challenging, but it is also expensive. At the Pleasance, we believe it is important to give people affordable space and the freedom to take risks, both on and off stage. From this spirit of innovation springs personal confidence through which they can flourish/ We give great careers a springboard. Giving our audiences the widest possible diversity of performance from the farthest reaches of the cultural spectrum is also central to the Trust’s aim. This spirit has embodied the Pleasance throughout the past 35 years, during which we have become world-renowned for spotting great talent both on and off stage, building an environment that nurtures, encourages and develops the brightest new ideas, raw talent and skill. Providing these opportunities is why we exist.

COMPETITION: Win a pair of free tickets to every show at the Pleasance next August!

The doors to the Courtyard may be closed this summer but the Pleasance Theatre Trust are already thinking ahead to 2021. To mark the first day of what would have been the 2020 Edinburgh Fringe, they are giving one lucky Fringe fan a chance to win a pair of free tickets to every show at the Pleasance next August. All you need to do is enter their extra special raffle, as part of their Crowdfunder campaign, to be in with a chance of winning the Pleasance Golden Ticket!

Enter Here! 

One lucky winner and a friend will have the opportunity to see hundreds of shows next year at the Pleasance in Edinburgh, including their annual Opening Gala. The first-class treatment doesn’t stop there: the winners will even have their own dedicated member of the Pleasance Team overseeing all their reservations and recommendations. The winner will also receive exclusive access to Brooke’s Club for the duration of the festival. This is the ultimate VIP Fringe experience, for only £5!

A chance to unlock the doors and peek behind the curtains, visit all of Pleasance’s amazing venues across Edinburgh: start your day with coffee and breakfast at the Dome then do lunch at the EICC, pop by the Courtyard for drinks and pack in as many shows as you can! This is your opportunity to ensure your Fringe 2021 is as full of pure imagination as it possibly can be.

Edinburgh’s August Festivals Will Not Take Place in 2020

1 April 2020, Edinburgh: For the first time in over 70 years, the five festivals that transform Edinburgh into the world’s leading cultural destination every August are not going ahead this year due to concerns around the Covid-19 pandemic. Edinburgh Art Festival, The Edinburgh Festival Fringe, Edinburgh International Book Festival, Edinburgh International Festival and The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo are not happening as planned in 2020. 

Together, the five August festivals comprise over 5,000 events across Scotland’s capital each summer, welcoming audiences of 4.4 million and over 25,000 artists, writers and performers from 70 countries, making them the second biggest cultural event in the world after the Olympics. 

The festivals’ history stretches back to 1947, where in the aftermath of the Second World War the Edinburgh International Festival was founded to reconcile and reunite people and nations through art, in an event that transcended political and cultural boundaries. Many years later the International Festival continues to present the world’s leading theatre, dance and music artists in Edinburgh’s magnificent venues. The Fringe story began when eight theatre groups turned up uninvited to perform on the fringes of the very first International Festival. Since the dawn of this spontaneous artistic movement, millions have flocked to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe to produce, and to enjoy art of every genre. Conceived in 1950 the iconic major event, now known as The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo, brings together a huge cast of international military and folkloric performers to perform live to 220,000 visitors each August, with many millions seeing the show on BBC TV around the world.

REVIEW: Goldilocks and Three Bears at the Kings Theatre, Edinburgh

Allan Stewart first appeared in Pantomime at Kings theatre in 1989 and this year is his 22nd consecutive year in the annual Pantomime and his Auntie May character has been established as one of the greats of Scottish Comedy . In this years Christmas production the story has been stripped back to the bear-est of plots, set in Auntie May's circus and creating the perfect location for a traditional variety show which felt like it had delved back into the archives for comedy routines. It works because it is not a one "woman" show but a great team effort with the help of Gillian Parkhouse as Goldilocks, Grant Stott as the evil Baron, Jordan Young as Joey the clown and the triumphant return of Andy Gray as the ringmaster Andy McReekie. These talented five work well together sharing the limelight and the laugh lines and creating plenty of opportunities for faux mistakes and corpsing. 

The design by Ian Westbrook is excellent creating the feel of the circus and the Greatest Show on Earth from the moment you step into the glorious Kings Theatre auditorium with its eighteen boxes festooned in fairy lights and the stage creating the inside of the big top for most scenes.