News, reviews, features and podcast on theatre across the UK
The British Theatre Guide Newsletter
No 1119: 6 August 2023
Editorial
The world’s largest arts festival, the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, opened on Friday, as did the Edinburgh International Festival, with the Edinburgh International Book Festival to follow next Saturday. But more on these later.
There were two deaths of artistic directors that shocked the British theatre world this week. The one that made the biggest headlines was Michael Boyd, former artistic director of the Royal Shakespeare Company, who has died of cancer at the age of 68. He led the RSC for ten years from 2002 after more than six years as an associate director, overseeing the move into the new Royal Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford. His many achievements include his Shakespeare History Cycle, the Complete Works Festival and commissioning Matilda the Musical.
I never spoke to Michael, but I did interview Abdul Shayek for the BTG podcast when he had just taken over as Artistic Director of Tara Arts in 2020, and so his death at the age of just 39 came as more of a shock to me. From my brief contact with him, he seemed like a lovely guy who was full of enthusiasm and ideas and I’m sure his loss will be felt deeply by the artistic community as well as by his family.
But back to Edinburgh, we have our first Fringe review online, from Robin Strapp, and it’s a five-star review (we do star ratings for Edinburgh Fringe, but not for anything else). Keep an eye on our Edinburgh 2023 page, which will change frequently over the next three weeks.
Philip Fisher has written a feature this week on the joys of visiting the festivals in Edinburgh titled “Exhausting But Exhilarating”, which I think sums up the experience accurately. My own feature from last year with advice on visiting the festivals is still online, and G D Mills has spoken to a Berlin-based, English-speaking improvisation group that will be visiting Scotland this month.
If you do have a show in Edinburgh this year, please do send in your press releases and invitations, but don’t expect a reply, as there’s just me sorting through the hundreds of e-mails we receive. However I do look at them all and make them available for all of our reviewing team in Edinburgh to see.
Usually, I have received between 1,000 and 1,200 e-mails about shows in Edinburgh by the festivals’ end, but this year I have close to 900 already and we are only three days in, so it could be a busy year.
Gypsy opens Pitlochry rep season Shona White (Rose) and Blythe Jandoo (Louise) from the cast of Gypsy and other shows at Pitlochry Festival Theatre in 2023
Rock Follies Chichester Festival Theatre at Minerva Theatre, Chichester
The Crown Jewels Simon Friend Entertainment in association with Adam Kenwright, Trafalgar Theatre Productions, Jenny King, David Adkin and JAS Productions at Garrick Theatre
Shrek the Musical Mark Goucher, Matthew Gale, Galvin Kalin and Lawrence Myers. at The Opera House, Manchester
Macbeth Shakespeare's Globe at Shakespeare's Globe
Hey Duggee The Live Theatre Show (Cuffe and Taylor with Kenny Wax Family Entertainment and BBC Studios) - Theatre Royal Bath / Ustinov Studio / the egg, Bath, –
