Edinburgh Festival Reviews

Mark Shenton Guest Contributor Two years ago, the Edinburgh Festival — comprised of film and TV events but dominated by the much larger Fringe festival — was entirely canceled by COVID. In 2021, it returned in a much truncated edition that was a hybrid of live and online performances. This year, which is the 75th anniversary of the Fringe’s founding, it has roared back to nearly full strength, at least from the point of view of performances seeking to find an audience. (There are some 3,582 shows to choose from, playing at 277 different venues.) It was at the Edinburgh Festival in 1969 that Ian McKellen, then 30, first made his mark playing Richard II in a performance that the then-Sunday Times critic Harold Hobson called “the uncontested triumph” of that year’s festival; now, more than half a century later, and aged 82, he is back on the Fringe, still pushing personal boundaries as he appears in a 75-minute danced version of “Hamlet,” performing five soliloquies from the play while dancers, choreographed by Peter Schaufuss — who in the 1980s was director of London Festival Ballet (since rebranded the English National Ballet) — enact them physically.

Netflix charts. The new TV streaming show stars the likes of Golden Globe winning Matt Bomer, Schitts Creek actress Karen Robinson and Mission: Impossible actress Michelle Monaghan, who plays identical twins Leni and Gina McCleary.It tells the story of identical twins who secretly decided to swap lives as children.READ MORE: Netflix and Amazon Prime bidding for Man Utd doc - but fans think Glazers will block itAs adults they lead a double life as they share homes, two husbands and a child.However their world is turned upside down with dire consequences as one of the pair goes missing.But since its debut on the service the thriller has received a mostly negative reception from critics and viewers online.On Rotten Tomatoes, the Vanessa Gazy helmed series has received a 28% rating from 18 critics with an average audience score of just 41%.One critic wrote: "Netflix has made a mint on mystery series full of flat, uninteresting characters that are driven purely by plot and mid-tier actors who provide the sheen of prestige...

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief “Coo-Coo 043,” a family drama set in the world of racing pigeons, has been set as the opening film of the 2022 Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival. The closing film is comedy “Marry My Dead Body.”  “Coo-Coo 043” is the second film directed by Chan Ching-lin (“The Island That All Flow By”) and stars Golden Bell Awards winners Yu An-shun and Yang Li-yin, along with Golden Harvest Awards best new performer Hu Jhih-ciang and emerging new talent Rimong Ihwar. Chan was previously nominated for Golden Horse Awards best short film for “A Breath From the Bottom,” and as best new director with his feature debut “The Island That All Flow By.” As a work in progress, “Coo-Coo 043” previously participated in the 2021 Golden Horse Film Project Promotion.

LOVE Islander Paige Thorne has shared an ill-timed snap dancing on top of a bus stop at London's Notting Hill Carnival. The reality TV star - who rose to fame on the ITV2 show this summer - could be seen posing on the structure in a series of snaps shared with her fans. However her Insta snaps came after a group of people nearly crushed passers-by doing the same thing.

Get ready for some clucking good fun as the world’s largest chicken wing festival is set to be held at Manchester’s Trafford Centre for the first time.

Waste and cleansing services in Edinburgh are to resume after nearly two weeks of industrial action.

Addie Morfoot Contributor Laura Poitras’ “All the Beauty and the Bloodshed,” Steve James’ “A Compassionate Spy” and Evgeny Afineevsky’s “Freedom on Fire: Ukraine’s Fight for Freedom” are among 11 documentaries making their world premieres at the Venice Film Festival this year, with Poitras’ competition title vying for a Golden Lion — a rare feat for a doc at a major international film festival. The growing number of high-profile non-fiction films in and out of competition at Venice suggests that major European film festivals have finally accepted documentaries as viable, cinematic art.While docs at the Toronto International Film Festival and major U.S. fests, including Sundance, Telluride and South by Southwest, have long been the belles of the ball, the most prominent international festivals, including Venice, Cannes and Berlin, have been slow to embrace non-fiction content, especially in competition.  

Mad Cool Sunset festival has announced it will no longer take place next month after not being able to find a “suitable” replacement for Rage Against The Machine. See the announcement below.The inaugural live event was set to take place in Madrid on September 10, with a one-day line-up featuring Biffy Clyro, Glass Animals, Stereophonics, Run The Jewels and more.RATM were to be the main act of Mad Cool Sunset, but the band recently cancelled their forthcoming UK and European tour dates after a July 1 performance that saw frontman Zack de la Rocha injuring his leg on stage.On August 11 the band shared that due to “medical guidance”, de la Rocha had been advised not to proceed with performing.

Lily Moayeri The Brookside Golf Club at the Rose Bowl has seen a lot of foot traffic over the last few months, much of it unrelated to the sport. The expansive course has become a convenient setting for several music festivals and cultural events, including This Ain’t No Picnic, which touched down in Pasadena this past weekend. The all-ages, family-friendly, two-day festival — named after the Minutemen song — boasted a bill that read like an NPR playlist. A clear replacement for Los Angeles’ defunct, and sorely missed FYF Fest, This Ain’t No Picnic had a musical something for everyone — pop, hip-hop, dance, punk and rock were well-represented genres — and featured the sort of left-of-center artists who’ve become darlings of the indie scene, like Phoebe Bridgers, Wet Leg, Beach House, Courtney Barnett (pictured above), and of the last 20 years, as represented by Le Tigre, Caroline Polachek, and headliners the Strokes and LCD Soundsystem.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Michelle Yeoh will receive the Toronto International Film Festival’s inaugural Share Her Journey Groundbreaker Award. The TIFF Share Her Journey Groundbreaker Award recognizes a woman who is a leader in the film industry and has made a positive impact for women throughout their career. The award, sponsored by Bulgari, will be presented at an in-person gala fundraiser on Sunday, Sept. 11 at the Fairmont Royal York Hotel. “Michelle Yeoh is the definition of groundbreaking,” said Cameron Bailey, TIFF CEO. “Her screen work has spanned continents, genres and decades. This year she delivered a performance in ‘Everything Everywhere All at Once’ that shows her limitless abilities.”

drug overdose during a music festival has been identified.Police were called to the site of the Leeds Festival at around 10.16pm when David Celino suddenly became ill on Saturday (August 27).He was rushed to hospital but was sadly pronounced dead yesterday (August 28).READ MORE: Super-isolated Amazon tribe discovered in 1970s declared extinct as last member diesWest Yorkshire Police has launched an investigation, but it is believed that he had taken a particular type of the MDMA drug.Assistant Chief Constable Catherine Hankinson, of West Yorkshire Police, commented: “Our thoughts are with the family of the boy who has died, and we have officers supporting them at this very difficult time.“While the exact cause of his death is yet to be established, one line of enquiry is that he had taken a particular type of ecstasy (MDMA) tablet, which was described as a grey or black oblong shape.“At this moment in time this is believed to be an isolated incident as we have not received any similar reports.“Users of any drug which is not professionally prescribed can never be sure of their contents and the risks involved with taking the substance.And now his family has opened up about just why the teenager was at the festival – he was there celebrating his GCSE results.According to a spokesman for the family, David had been given a “fabulous” set of results, had been accepted into a college and was looking to read computer science at a “top university” afterwards.The spokesman said: “Our David was a beautiful, fiercely independent and warm character who lived every day at 110% and who loved to spend time enjoying music with his friends.“Leeds Festival was the highlight of his summer; ultimately it was to take his life in the most

The family of a teenager who is believed to have died after falling ill after taking drugs at Leeds Festival have paid tribute to the 16-year-old.

Bring Me The Horizon welcomed Yungblud on stage during their Leeds Festival 2022 headline set last night (August 28) – watch them perform ‘Obey’ below.The band closed out the northern leg of the annual festivals alongside Arctic Monkeys on Sunday evening, and Yungblud joined them for their collaborative 2020 single.The performance was Bring Me The Horizon’s second collaborative one of the weekend, having welcomed Ed Sheeran on stage at Reading on Saturday (August 27) to perform their version of Sheeran’s 2021 hit ‘Bad Habits’.The Leeds set was not the first time that Bring Me The Horizon and Yungblud had played ‘Obey’ live.

Caroline Flack's mother Christine got emotional while hearing the song that was played at her daughter's funeral.The late TV presenter, who passed away in February 2020, was honoured last month at Flackstock Festival in Reading, Berkshire. A documentary about the festival aired on Sky Max and Sky Showcase on Sunday 28 August.

Halsey battled a "terrible" case of food poisoning shortly before their appearance at a festival in the U. K. over the weekend.

Leeds Festival over the weekend.West Yorkshire police were reportedly called to Leeds Festival on Saturday night (August 27) around 10.16pm and were informed that after falling ill, the teenage boy had been taken to a medical tent.The unnamed festival goer was taken to hospital but died early on Sunday (August 28). His parents have been informed.Officers have launched an investigation into the teenager’s suspected drug-related death.

Halsey closed out the west-side main stage at this year’s Reading Festival last night (August 28), delivering a stack of hits from across their four-album catalogue, declaring the UK to be their favourite region to perform in, and eliciting a rather unique chant from the packed-out crowd.The show was particularly notable for riding on the heels of Halsey’s turbulent appearance at Leeds Festival on Friday (August 27); during that set, they were forced to stop performing midway through their rendition of ‘Honey’ due to illness. They later revealed that they’d performed the set with “terrible food poisoning” and “felt like [they were] on Jupiter the whole time”.Halsey was in tip-top shape for their appearance at Reading, though.

The 1975 paid tribute to Rage Against The Machine during their headline set at Reading Festival tonight (August 28).Earlier this month, The 1975 were announced as the last-minute replacement for Rage Against The Machine’s headline appearance at Reading & Leeds 2022; the latter band were forced to pull out after frontman Zack de la Rocha suffered a leg injury on their North American tour.Closing out the third and final day of Reading earlier tonight, an interlude in The 1975’s performance saw frontman Matt Healy begin by asking the crowd if they enjoyed Saturday’s (August 27) headlining set from Arctic Monkeys.He then riled punters up, urging them to “get your Doctor Martens, and your fishnets and your vinyl… get it all out” before addressing their role as a replacement act, and apologising for the fact that Rage Against The Machine couldn’t appear.“We fucking love Rage Against The Machine,” Healy said. “Give it up for Rage Against The Machine. If we had the time, we would have done a cover of Rage Against The Machine.

A family from Edinburgh have been left 'flabbergasted' after they were forced to cancel their first holiday in years after their energy bills rose from £199 a month in January to a whopping £756 per month.