YOUR GUIDE TO EDINBURGH'S FESTIVALS
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ED2019 Comedy ED2019 Preview Edition ED2019 Theatre ED2019 Three To See
Three To See 2019: Horrifying Themes
By Caro Moses | Published on Sunday 4 August 2019
ThreeWeeks Co-Editor Caro Moses helps you navigate the Festival with her Three To See tips. This time three shows with horrifying themes.
La Reprise. Histoire(s) du theatre (I) | The Lyceum | 3-5 Aug
“In April 2012, Ihsane Jarfi got talking to a group of young men in a car outside a gay club in Liège. Two weeks later, he was found dead at the edge of a wood. He had been tortured and violently murdered”. This truly horrifying true story is the source for this piece of investigative theatre from the controversial Milo Rau, which stars a cast of six professional and non-professional actors and uses testimony from the young man’s family, former partner, lawyers and one of his killers. One might wonder, maybe, what purpose such a dissection serves: its aim seems to be to look at what turns people into killers, and how poverty and deprivation are linked to despair and violence. Listing here.
Nick Helm’s I Think, You Stink! | Assembly Roxy | 31 Jul-24 Aug (pictured)
Bit of a contrast to the previous recommendation, this one, because it’s from the comedy section of the Fringe programme, and rather than be genuinely horrifying, it’s a musical B-movie, drive-in horror anthology tribute. Long term (dare I say older?) Fringe-goers may remember this from years gone by, as it’s not the first time it’s been performed here. But it was last on back in 2008, and that feels like a lifetime ago. So even if you have seen it back in the day, I feel pretty sure your memories will be fuzzy enough to warrant a return visit. And younger types, who were not around back then, you are in for a treat. Listing here.
Father Of Lies | Sweet Novotel | 2-25 Aug
Another show that’s been on here before, and another we’re definitely glad to see back this year. It’s also another that’s based on an apparently true crime story, this time of a horrifying and mysterious unsolved murder that happened in Germany in the seventies, and involves haunted priests, jealous widowers and satanic cults. And I think trying to explain any more about what it’s about and what happens might minimise your enjoyment of the show, so I will stop about the content of it now. But I will add this: it’s won loads of acclaim, here in Edinburgh as well as at two London festivals, and I think it’s a must for those of you with an interest in all things horror. Listing here.
