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                        Synopsis 
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We've listed those shows that from the listings look likely to be about the environment, food, transport, utopian 
and dystopian futures, animals, a sense of place, walking, politics or global finance, or that deal with social matters and ecological themes.  The surprise this year was the number of dance and physical theatre pieces.   3 - 27 August  www.edfringe.com
      
 theatre   |  dance and physical theatre  | children's shows | spoken word | music |  comedy
      
 
 theatre        
 After The Rainfall   
genre: devised, multimedia 
 group: curious directive / Watford Palace Theatre / Escalator East to Edinburgh  venue: Pleasance Dome Navigating the arid Egyptian desert, continental Europe, the British Museum and a quiet village green, the 
production weaves multidimensional narratives about the aftermath of the Empire, unpicking Britain's relationship 
to artefacts, mining and the secret life of ants.  
 Allotment    
site-specific   Nutshell  Assembly Inverleith Allotments A Fringe First 2011 
winner, and winner of the CSPA Fringe Award for Sustainable 
Production, Allotment returns. In this tale of sibling rivalry played out on the earth of a real 
allotment, sisters Maddy and Dora battle over flying teddies, stubborn weeds and the eternal question - do flowers 
matter more than vegetables.   
Angus Weaver of Grass 
   
multimedia, puppetry   Horse + Bamboo   Scottish Storytelling CentreAngus MacPhee’s life is a tale of illness, lost traditions and magical hats of grass. Raised on South Uist, and traumatised by WWII, Angus spent 50 years in a psychiatric hospital. He did not speak; instead he wove remarkable costumes from grass. This work is now in the Collection de l'Art Brut, Switzerland. The show features Gaelic songs and grass replicas. 
 
Birds on a Wire    
drama, new writing  Hardin-Simmons University [USA]  The greatest ecological disaster in American history occurred during the throes of one of the greatest economic disasters - the American Dust Bowl and the Great Depression. Birds on a Wire is about an immigrant Russian-Jewish family living in Texas, displaying resilience to stay and save their family farm from the ravages of dust, drought, grasshoppers and death.  
 The Day the Sky Turned Black   theatre  Best of Sydney Fringe   Assembly Roxy Black Saturday 2009: Australia is 
ravaged by firestorms equalling 1500 atomic bombs. The drama is inspired by interviews with survivors of Australia's Black Saturday bushfires, and is a story of courage, humour amidst adversity and hope.  
Eat $h*t: How Our Waste Can Save the World    comedy   The POOP Project with WTE Theatre [USA]  C venues - C nova Step aside Al Gore, the environment has a new champion: the PURU. His honest potty humour tackles the global sanitation crisis. His demand to idle sh*tters everywhere: Come out of the water closet and proudly proclaim, 'I'm a pooper!' He's changing the world, one flush at a time.  
Fukushima: 
A Silent Prayer of Poetry    
documentary   Drama Education Company [Japan]  Spotlites @ The Merchants' Hall
Radiation falls. The night is silent. Composed of Fukushima poet Ryoichi Wago’s continued tweets and poetry on 
Twitter, started soon after the earthquake on 11th March 2011. Presented as a reading combined with traditional 
Japanese arts, the Tsugaru Shamisen musical instrument and photos from Fukushima, followed by a talk.
 
Going Green the Wong Way    
comedy  CalArts Festival Theater / Kristina Wong [USA]   Venue 13GGTWW is American public media/marketplace/radio commentator Kristina Wong’s comedy about her triumphs and pitfalls in sustainable living. She tracks her journey in the green movement from young environmental martyr to the patron saint of carless Los Angeles living. Featuring a set made of reclaimed materials and trash, free breakfast served at morning shows and prize giveaways. 
 
 Here's What I Know about Humans By Lulu the Dog     contemporary, devised   Theatro Transcendental [Cyprus] / PBH's Free Fringe   Princes Mall Left alone for many hours, Lulu scours through newspapers, searching for fresh information, facts that might lead her closer to understanding human society.
  
How to Climb Mount Everest   comedy, drama  Autojeu Theatre   theSpace on North Bridge One man’s epic rise from 
the doldrums of his office existence to become a Mount Everest conqueror, his journey spirals from the mundane to 
the ridiculous along the way. 
 
Hunt and Darton Cafe   installation, performance art  Hunt & Darton / Escalator East to Edinburgh   Hunt & Darton Cafe Hunt and Darton open a cafe. From the food served, to the people serving, from the décor to the profit and loss, all is considered and presented as art. 
 
 Kes    
drama, family   Beacon Theatre Group   Paradise in Augustine's 
Barry Hines' tale is adapted by Lawrence Till. Billy Casper has just one chance - a beautiful but untamed young hawk, Kes. 
 
King Lear    adaptation, tragedy   Act One   Zoo
A dystopian adaptation of Shakespeare's tragedy, it is set in a post-apocalyptic Britain, where society has crumbled and criminal gangs control the ruined cities. King Lear leads a gang of survivors. Disillusioned, he gives up power to his two brutal daughters, leaving him at their mercy.  
The Mermaid of Zennor    family, storytelling   Bear Pit  C venues - C too  The sea gave the folk of Zennor fish and made a wavy road to row from town to town. Hours were reckoned not by clocks but by the ebb and flow of the tide. One day, from the depths of this ocean, came the Mermaid. Devised around the classic Cornish myth, this is a show about love, desire and sacrifice. 
 
A Midsummer Night's Dream   comedy, multimedia   Drunk Tank Productions   Paradise in Augustine's   Shakespeare’s comedy set in a post-apocalyptic era. In the eerie dystopia of a post-nuclear war the rich and powerful have retreated to safety underground, leaving the rest to become decadent and distorted, creating the divide between humans and fairies. However, despite the bleak background, lost love still prevails as the most pressing problem. 
 
A Modern Town    theatre  When I Say Jump   Pleasance CourtyardNewton Basset was a glorious seaside resort with a famous funfair, beautiful beach and a bright future. Now the town is lost, forgotten by the public and the community has given up hope, until three mysterious businessmen arrive, offering to invest in the local supermarket. But as the businessmen's stature grows, the townsfolk watch their identities erode. 
 
 National Theatre of Scotland presents Love Letters to the Public Transport System    
new writing, solo show   National Theatre of Scotland / Molly Taylor / The Stand Comedy Club   The Assembly Rooms
In this fast-moving world where no one stays around for long, Love Letters to the Public Transport System seeks to find and thank the people who transport us daily; to friends, to lovers, to work, to moments of significance in our lives.
 
 NOLA    drama, verbatim   Look Left Look Right / Escalator East To Edinburgh   Underbelly, CowgateThe Deepwater Horizon explosion has been described as the largest accidental marine oil spill in the history of the petroleum industry.  NOLA investigate the true cost of the BP oil spill. Told by those directly affected, from families of the victims to local fishermen and Peak Oil scientists, this compelling documentary play explores the disaster and its consequences. 
 
 On the Edge   new writing   Theatre On The Edge   Gryphon Venues at the Point Hotel Frank's cliff top home is about to fall into the sea and he's had notice to quit by the council. He refuses to budge as his kids hold an emergency family meeting in his garden shed. When the house goes over the cliff, Frank's children are faced with a new problem, what to do with him. Frank has his own ideas about his destiny and solves the problem in a Prospero-like way. 
 
One Minute Birdwatching    performance art, site-specific   Holly Rumble / Escalator East to Edinburgh   West Princes Street Gardens Noisy and irreverent birdwatching for everyone. Start when instructed, whenever you see a bird say either its name (if you know it), or ‘bird’ (if you don’t), one word per bird, stop when instructed. The resulting birdwatching surveys will be recorded as audio tracks and posted online. 
 
Plastic Beach   contemporary, devised   Theatre with Teeth  Zoo Southside  7,200 yellow rubber ducks fall into the ocean, spreading like confetti. Plastic Beach follows the story of Ebbis, a lonely beachcomber who devotes his life to tracking where these friendly floatees have come to shore. This ensemble piece explores how one person can become so wrapped up in an obsession that he loses touch with the other pieces that make up his life.
 
 The Price of Everything  satire, storytelling   Daniel Bye 
Northern Stage at St Stephen’s  How much is beauty worth? What will people pay for an air guitar on eBay? Can I have a glass of milk? These urgent questions and others are answered. Part performance lecture, part stand-up storytelling, Daniel Bye performs a tour of bizarre facts and impassioned arguments about value. 
  
 
Quick! Save the Pizza   comedy, devised   Mirror Mirror Theatre Company theSpace @ Surgeons Hall The global financial crisis has reached the boiling point. The banks have no money, the world is ending. Few countries are safe. As the GFC gets worse, countries start disappearing off the map, taking with them everything we love about the country. With much of the world at risk of becoming extinct, who can save us?  
 
 Reynard  adaptation   Charlie May Acoustic Music Centre @ St Bride's Charlie May retells the satirical Van den Vos Reynaerde (literally: Of Reynard the Fox), the Flemish epic literary masterpiece by 13th-century writer Willem about the sly fox Reynard and the corruption of society.  
 Sealand    contemporary, new writing  Alchemist  Zoo  Ted and his son escape from broken Britain to create a perfect nation seven miles out at sea. They are joined by another family and together they battle to raise their children and create a new society. Based on a true story, Sealand looks at one man's obsession with utopia. 
  
The Softening of MAO-A    performance art, science   Mechanical Animal Corporation   Summerhall 
What if art influences you genetically? The Softening of MAO-A is a bio-theatre experiment. The MAO-A is a gene scientifically proven to influence impulsive violence in humans and macaques. The Mechanical Animal Corporation presents a sequence of aesthetic stimuli contrived to soften it. Might art play a role in natural selection? In collaboration with Darwin Futures. 
 
Solve    contemporary, new writing  Bracket Theatre theSpace on the MileWhen the world's overpopulation becomes a serious public concern the government introduces 'Solving' - organised Russian roulette. Tensions and emotions run high in the Solve waiting room as each new member of the public is given one gun, one bullet and a numbered ticket. 
 
Swamp Juice  comedy, puppetry  Bunk Puppets and Scamp Theatre 
Underbelly, Bristo SquareBickering toads, overbearing fairies and a rather gentle swamp monster. Using shadow puppetry, Canadian performer Jeff Achtem's show is about life in a swamp. 
  
Swordy Well   comedy, horror University of Manchester Drama Society theSpace on North BridgeSwordy-Well Family Meatworks is one of the last independent British abattoirs and a haven of rural tenderness. Its proprietor Joseph Orty struggles to maintain the balance between mankind and cowkind. But when the workforce receive a hypermarket offer to quadruple their cattle kills, not even the sonnets of John Clare can stop the pat from hitting the fan. 
 
Tea is an Evening Meal   performance art, storytelling  Faye Draper in association with Third Angel and Northern Stage  Northern Stage at St Stephen’sIn this intimate show, audiences gather around the teatime table in drinking distance of a good brew, and listen to Faye’s table tales. A personal glimpse into other people's meal-time experiences. 
 
Thin Ice   multimedia, physical theatre  Shams / Time Won't Wait / Escalator East to Edinburgh Pleasance CourtyardMay 1940. Greenland. Cut off from civilisation and surrounded by ice, Daniel sits frozen to death in a tiny hut. As Richard and Laura arrive too late to rescue him, the body thaws and secrets surface - threatening their marriage, beliefs and ultimately their survival. A wartime thriller and polar love story. 
 
US Beef   comedy, music   Missing String Theatre Company  Pleasance Dome Buck Matthews is Meatbox Incorporated's new truck driver. He's standing on the brink, staring into the abyss of the corporate chasm of morally challenged employers, questionable working conditions, animal rights issues and potential environmental destruction. Soon Buck finds himself salivating on the juicy ladder of corporate success, but at what price? 
 
Whale Tale    new writing, puppetry   Ricochet  theSpace @ Surgeons HallJourney through the sea inside the belly of Earth’s largest mammal. Two women find themselves trapped inside a whale. Witness their frustration, panic and reconciliation. Feel the heartbeat of the oceanic gentle giant, and share its own journey. 
 
 Wojtek the Bear  contemporary, drama   Theatre Objektiv   Hill Street Theatre The story of the Polish soldier bear who fought at Monte Cassino and died in Edinburgh Zoo. The story of a man who mothers a bear and how they go to war together and how they survive in post-war Britain. An emotive journey from the Soviet Gulag and Persia to the Middle East, Italy and Scotland. 
 
The Yarn   comedy, physical theatre MATE Drama Workshop  theSpace @ Venue45 Step beyond the golden haystacks into a 1800s rural village fighting for survival and be woven into a ragged patchwork of joyous tales, painful rituals and bizarre superstitions. With the coming of the industrial age the villagers descend into poverty and the tales they tell become increasingly comic and fantastical.
 
     
 
 dance and physical theatre         
Cadillac  genre: contemporary, physical theatre  group: Mouth to Mouth Republic [Poland]   venue: Summerhall   dates:  The performance is a lottery show where you can win the main prize. The rules are simple: everyone who buys a ticket and takes part in the lottery has a chance to win the Cadillac. Is this a fair game? Cadillac is a performance about the lust for wealth, love, power and other attributes associated with happiness. 
  
City Dance Edinburgh  dance, interactive   City Dance Edinburgh / Audicia Lynne Morley / Taira Restar  Calton Hill 
Based on the work of Anna Halprin, whose choreography often deals closely with the natural world, this is an opportunity to explore, create and perform in a site-specific performance project using the City of Edinburgh as the stage. It is open to everyone.   
e-Station   dance, physical theatre, multimedia  Beijing Young Dramatist Association [China]  Sweet Grassmarkete-Station experiments with extreme slowness and quietness. The complex relationship between the human body and electronic products is examined. During the rehearsals, the performers interacted with various public spaces: corridors, lobbies, busy streets, and parks, silently transforming them into new social spaces.  
Enter the Woods  music, physical theatre  Flying High Theatre Company   theSpace @ Venue45 This production focuses on the darker side of stories and real life happenings which are centred deep in the woods. Using myths and legends, Enter the Woods uses contemporary dance, physical theatre and music to communicate the mystery and secrets of a traditionally frightening environment. 
 
High North Movement  performance art, political Haugen Productions [Norway] C venues - C eca Having lived half her life in the midst of Europe, a dance artist returns to Norway to discover that oil had turned her homeland into a place of great political interest and opportunistic investments. Regional cross-border dilemmas are present all over the world. Featuring a training programme, a Russian sister-in-law and Supertramp.   
Jishin  dance, physical theatre LAN-T003 [Japan]  Zoo Southside 
'Jishin' means both confidence and earthquake in Japanese. The 2011 earthquake in Japan had a strong impact on LAN-T003's dance, a reminder that nothing stays the same. A split-second of incredible violent natural energy irrevocably changed many lives. Jishin asks what is important when nothing lasts forever?  
Machines for Living   drama, physical theatre   Let Slip  Zoo Two architects move into the tower block they have designed - engineered to encourage kinship and social harmony. Can their marriage survive as the building degenerates and the blame falls on them? How will they fare cuddling up to cockroaches and coming up with answers? 
 
MEITHEAL and Worst Case Scenario   dance max.IMEALLdance Company and Taciturn Dance Company
  Dance Base - National Centre for Dance Meitheal is influenced by ritual, routine and way of life in an exploration of how our past inspires our present and then informs our sense of community. Taciturn offers a survival guide for dealing with our worst-case scenarios. 'Hope for the best, expect the worst.'  
My Plaice / The Lake   dance, physical theatre   The Lincoln Company   C venues - C aquila The life-cycle of fish and fowl is explored in a dance double-bill. My Plaice is an interpretation based on emotions, relationships and activities that fish undergo in their lifetime, in a comical way. The Lake evokes the dark world of the corps-de-ballet swans who are left fighting the need to escape the confines of stillness at the peripheries of the stage.  
Percurso - Course    dance, physical theatre   Grupo Contemporâneo de Dança Livre [Brazil]
  Greenside Course approaches human relations and their cycles in relation to the course of a river, the metaphor for life and the flow of all things. These relations raise questions of the lust for life, desire for immortality, evolution, self-dispersal and communion. 
  
 Rime  adaptation, circus   Square Peg Contemporary Circus   Summerhall A circus show based on Coleridge's epic poem The Rime of the Ancient Mariner. Square Peg are associate artists at the Roundhouse and Jacksons Lane. Rime is co-commissioned by the National Theatre.  
The Shaman's Dream   circus, theatre   Stella Polaris [Norway]  Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art Stella Polaris are celebrating their 25th anniversary as the oldest street performing theatre in Norway. The Shaman’s Dream is inspired by Nordic mythology; a ritual celebrating life, nature and history, with figures on stilts, animal masks, balls of fire and drums.   
Undercovered   devised, physical theatre   RHUL Drama Society   theSpace on North Bridge Based on the true story of policeman Mark Kennedy, Undercovered explores identity misrepresentation through a montage of gripping physicality and visual media. Merging dynamic movement and non-fiction, this devised piece follows Kennedy’s seven-year journey as an undercover cop working with a group of environmental activists.  
Within This Dust   dance, political  Smallpetitklein Dance Company Dance Base - National Centre for Dance  Three live dance works interwoven with film and sound explore Richard Drew’s iconic photographs of a man falling from the World Trade Center during the 9/11 attacks. This evocative work was a sell-out at the 2011 Fringe. The programme includes Falling Man, as featured on the BBC2 Culture Show.  
     
 
 children's shows        
Bernard the Ferret (Happy to be Himself)   genre: puppetry   group: Spin Off Theatre Company   venue: various venues    
Bernard the Ferret has been part of the Fringe since 2005. - The show incorporates puppetry, storytelling and a workshop in making a puppet ferret. 
  
The Boy and the Bunnet   music, storytelling   Big Sky / The Famous Spiegeltent   The Famous Spiegeltent  A musical adventure written in Scots by James Robertson with music by James Ross. When Neil gets lost in the deep, dark forest what can his animal friends do to help him home before the Urisk finds him? 
 
Cloud Man   puppetry, storytelling  Ailie Cohen Puppet Maker   Scottish Storytelling CentreCloudia has always had her head in the clouds. She is a cloud expert and all her life has dreamt of seeing a Cloud Man, an extremely rare creature that lives a quiet life high up in the sky.  
 The Enormous Turnip  interactive, theatre   Spotlites Theatre Productions  Spotlites @ The Merchants' HallHelp Grandad plant 
the tiny seed. Slide in the snail slime. Heave up the enormous turnip. Interactive theatre for kids. The family’s hungry - what will grow? Will there be enough for tea? Will the turnip ever stop growing? 
 Firebird  puppetry, storytelling  ikou! theSpace @ Jury's InnLost, afraid and alone, the last firebird struggles on.Firebird is a story of courage, combining magical puppetry and live music. This tale is different at each performance, as the audience’s choices determine the journey taken.
 
 Giddy Goat  musical theatre, storytelling  C theatre  C venues - C  It's not easy being scared of heights. Especially when you live on a mountain like Giddy Goat. Can crazy Uncle Hoof help him find courage and get over his vertigoat? Will Giddy learn to play rock rounders with his brothers on Needle Mountain?  
The Golden Cowpat   music, storytelling  Tucked In Pleasance Courtyard  Join naughty cow Betty and her farmer Hector on their magical adventure. This new fairytale is told through a concoction of storytelling and folk music. 
  
James and the Giant Peach    Eltham College  Sweet Grassmarket
Roald Dahl's story is adapted by Richard R George. Join orphan James Henry Trotter as he escapes from his cruel aunts and crosses the Atlantic in a giant peach full of cantankerous insects that include a bossy centipede, a kindly ladybird, an ingenious spider and a gloomy earthworm. 
 
 The Jungle Book   adaptation  American High School Theatre Festival Church Hill Theatre Mowgli is brought up to be courageous like the wolves that raised him. When he learns he is actually human, he is torn by his new identity. Does he remain part of the wolf pack or return to the human world?  
Luminous Tales   puppetry   Ripstop Theatre / Escalator East to Edinburgh  Pleasance CourtyardThere's a little old lady who hates the night so much she wants to get rid of it. She dreams and schemes and tells of times 
past when there was no light until the crow stole some and of the little girl who wants to play with the moon and on her way meets the boxing hares who live up there. An animated mix of shadow play and storytelling.  
The Machine   clown, comedy Little Cauliflower
  Pleasance CourtyardThe Machine travels around the world planting all the trees, the grass and the flowers. This morning, it broke down. Two bumbling assistants have been left in charge and they need help.  
The Man Who Planted Trees   puppetry, storytelling  Puppet State Theatre Company   Scottish Storytelling CentreThis multi 
award-winning adaptation of Jean Giono's classic environmental tale by Edinburgh-based Puppet State Theatre Company has been touring internationally for the past four years, with appearances off Broadway and at the Sydney Opera House. A unique blend of comedy, puppetry and inspiring storytelling.  
 Nessie the Loch Ness Monster  puppetry, theatre  Purves Puppets  Fairmilehead Parish Church HallHughie McDhui and Mairi Glengarry are caught up in the world of Spike the hedgehog, where animals talk and even form rock-groups. They make friends with Nessie, who talks with a Scottish upper-class accent and is an expert at dodging research submarines. 
 
Night of the Big Wind    
devised, puppetry   Little Cauliflower   Underbelly, Cowgate  A fishing village in Ireland is hit by a terrifying storm. Puppetry and innovative props tell a tale of a young boy's battle against the weather.
 
 Petya and the Wolf  clown, musical theatre
 Theatre La Pushkin / Russian Season 2012   Assembly Roxy  Musical fairytale for children aged 4-99. A dramatic story re-telling by two clowns. A puppet theatre without puppets. A mute opera. A pocket circus. 
 Pips and Panda Meet the Three Bears  puppetry, theatre  Purves Puppets  Fairmilehead Parish Church Hall An ultraviolet performance. Pips and Panda meet the Three Bears. Panda finds himself flying through the air with Goldilocks' kite and dancing with two frogs. 
 
 
The Rabbit and the Rose  family, theatre  
Flyaway Theatre Sweet GrassmarketLuke, a young guitarist, will do anything to understand pain, and rabbit who will do anything to help him. Together they journey through dark places, butlers, average music, shooting stars, fennel, needy statues, heartbreak, hope and an incredible number of knives to one very terrible flower.  
 
 The Snail and the Whale  musical theatre, storytelling   Tall Stories  Pleasance Courtyard A Julia Donaldson adaptation. A tiny snail longs to see the world, so she hitches a lift on the tail of a humpback whale. Follow the tiny snail’s amazing journey, as seen through the eyes of an adventurous young girl and her seafaring father. 
  
The Ugly Duckling  musical theatre, storytelling  Kipper Tie Theatre with C theatre  C venues - C Byrnes and Fowler adapt Hans Christian Andersen's tale of an unhappy duckling who grows into a beautiful swan and discovers that true beauty lies within. 
The Velveteen Rabbit   drama, puppetry   Backhand Theatre with C theatre  C venues - C eca An adaptation of the story by Margery Williams. One boy's favourite toy was loved so much that he became real.   
The Wind in the Willows   children's, family   TwoSquared Productions in Association With Debbie Hicks   Paradise in Augustine'sFollow the adventures of Rat, Mole, Badger and Toad as they explore the world of the riverbank and beyond. Join them as they do battle with the infamous Wild Wooders, mess about in boats and learn the true value of a door scraper.  
   
 
 spoken word        
Occupied with What?  genre: storytelling, true-life   group: Clara Lilly  venue: The Fiddler's Elbow   dates: 8 - 26 August  Occupied With What? Why are we here? What are we doing? Clara Lilly hitched from Edinburgh to camp with Occupy London. True stories of events and people she met. Appeals, evictions, Syrian embassy protests and snow. In verse. With soundtrack.   
 Protest Moans and Megaphones poetry, political  Henry Raby / PBH’s Free Fringe   The Banshee Labyrinth Can a poem change the world? Can poetry ever be dangerous? How easily can political literature become propaganda? With millions of people across the world marching, striking and occupying; what are the poems of history that have inflamed action and been inspired by civil disobedience? A brief history of political poetry and theatrical resistance. 
 
Tesco Chainsaw Massacre  comedy, theatre   Stan Skinny / PBH's Free Fringe The Royal Oak   6 - 23 August Humorous British satire on consumerism, politics and wearing leather past the age of 25. With poems, songs, frantic desperation and Zumba dancing. See one man's struggle against the tyrant of Tesco and finding a decent pair of jeans shorts. 
  
   
 
 music        
Animal Songs: Bestiaries in English, French and German  
genre: classical, vocal   group: Stephen Swanson, baritone and David Gompper, piano   venue: St Mark's artSpace   dates: 11 - 14 August  25 songs by Ravel, Reger, Flanders and Swann, and Gompper tell of two peacocks, mice, chickens, bees, warthogs, and buffalo; an armadillo, cricket, swan, kingfisher, guinea fowl, sloth, wild boar, spider, hedgehog, fly, cat, rooster, stork, charley horse (!), polar bear, camel and vulture; as well as other denizens of the barnyard, jungle and ocean. 
  
1,000 Suns  musical theatre, new writing   VF Theatre   theSpace on North Bridge  6 - 11 August  This folk-rock musical is set in an alternate future where the American survivors of a nuclear war shelter in a huge crater from the fallout that remains in the world above. A group of young people struggle with their own identities, the harshness of their world and the ignorant authority of their elders. 
 
   
 
 comedy        
 Activism is Fun  group: Chris Coltrane / PBH’s Free Fringe   venue: Globe  When the government makes you sad, fight back with love and mischief. Come for the jokes, stay for the revolution. 
Andrew Bird's Global Village Fete  
Andrew Bird  KCP  Andrew Bird returns to lift the gloom of the modern world with the delightful madness of the village. This time it's global. 
Do Not Trust the Animals - Free  
Paddy Magee / Laughing Horse Free Festival  Laughing Horse @ Espionage  Paddy will take apart the most beloved fables of your childhood (including that time my Dad told me eels could chase me home) and then put them back together, in a show that’s half stand-up comedy, half craft get-together and half animals! 
 
Humans v Nature: Engineering FTW 
Matt Parker and Timandra Harkness  Assembly George Square  
Gadgets and old school mechanics celebrating the triumph of engineering over pesky nature: darkness, disease, gravity. See how engineering helps humanity defy nature and beat boredom into submission.
 
Jerry Bucham: Freeland Activist  Rob Gilroy / Laughing Horse Free Festival  Laughing Horse @ Jekyll & Hyde Protest singer, Jerry Bucham, wants to do his bit for the planet. The only problem is, he doesn't really keep up with the news. Still, there's no harm in having a stab at it. Armed with his guitar he aims to save the world one song at a time.
 
Life, the Universe, Whatever ... 
Genevieve Cytko, Gareth Mutch, Ray Fordyce  Laughing Horse @ Jekyll & Hyde As the world becomes more skewed and regular life becomes more complicated, these three comedians take on the challenge of living life in a normal fashion. Try as they may, things always happen.
  
 Marcus Brigstocke: The Brig Society Off The Kerb Productions in association with Corduroy Productions  
Assembly Hall  No less than the total restructuring of every aspect of life in Britain organised through the medium of jokes. See this show: Win! a free hospital or school! Second prize: a major High Street bank.    
Stephanie Laing and Martin Croser: Greens!  
Stephanie Laing / Martin Croser / PBH’s Free Fringe  The Caberet Voltaire Stephanie and Martin do comedy at you for as long as is palatable / socially acceptable, about 25 minutes each plus five minutes of banter.    
  
    
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