After his first solo show at the Pleasance in 2005, Edinburgh Fringe wouldn’t be complete without Mark Watson, who will be heading to the new pop-up venue at Pleasance Courtyard.
To celebrate a decade in comedy, Brennan Reece is going to tell you absolutely everything he has ever thought with the greatest hits from his trilogy of critically acclaimed shows Everglow, Everlong and Evermore.
Joe Thomas – a 37-year-old, of The Inbetweeners fame will bring his debut stand-up show Trying Not To Panic to the Pleasance.
Recipient of Pleasance’s National Partnership Award with York Theatre Royal, Eugene is a show about what happens when we give technology power over us.
Screen 9
At the Colorado premiere of The Dark Knight Rises, gun violence turned a celebration of cinema to tragedy. Devastated by one man’s actions, a community refused to be torn apart. This hard-hitting verbatim piece follows the survivors’ remarkable testimonies of the infamous Batman Shootings, as they attempted to respond and recover from the tragedy. In Screen 9, Bold new company Piccolo Theatre – this year’s recipient of the Pleasance’s Charlie Hartill Theatre Reserve – reclaim the story of the survivors to interrogate the debate around gun violence. Pleasance @ EICC (Lomond) from Tuesday 10th – Sunday 29th August 2021 (not 16th, 23rd).
Patricia Gets Ready (for a date with the man who used to hit her)
Patricia Gets Ready (for a date with the man who used to hit her) is a striking show which aims to shatter the stereotype of the ‘broken woman’ and instead presents a survivor. After spending a year crafting a kick ass speech while recovering from an abusive relationship, Patricia bumps into her ex and accidentally agrees to a date. Join Patricia as she gets ready, tells stories of her past, how it has affected her present and looks honestly at her future. Based on writer Martha Watson Allpress’ own experiences, this production shines a light on the realities of domestic abuse. Pleasance @ EICC (Lomond) from Tuesday 17th – Sunday 29th August 2021 (not 23rd).
PUSH
A hell of a lot can happen in the time you await the results of a pregnancy test. PUSH is the story of a woman staring down the barrel of motherhood, torn between her own ambivalence and an uncontrollable urge to push. Award-winning Popelei have burst out of isolation and onto our screens with their darkly comic theatre production, reimagined for film after its preview at VAULT Festival 2020. Fusing theatre, movement and dance the company have embraced this new medium, collaborating with cinematographer Jack Offord. Pleasance Festival Online from Friday 6th – Monday 30th August 2021.
Kill Me Now
A dark comedy about coming to terms with grief, Kill Me Now is by critically acclaimed Welsh new writing theatre company Dirty Protest (Sugar Baby, How to be Brave) and award-winning playwright Rhiannon Boyle. This funny and heart-wrenching piece is created specifically for a Zoom audience as we join undertaker Anna Morgan-Jones’ live webinar for the Edinburgh Fringe 2021. After a year when many lost loved ones and many were touched by grief, Kill Me Now is about the healing power of connection. Summerhall Livestreaming Platform from Tuesday 17th – Saturday 21st August 2021.
Ithaca
Ithaca is a feminist one-woman adaptation of Homer’s Odyssey from Phoebe Angeni. Exploring contemporary social issues, Ithaca follows the journey of Nobody, a feminine aspect of Odysseus, as she re-defines her relationship with self and home. Fantasy and reality merge in this dynamic and darkly comic production about Nobody’s journey to find home. While the play draws heavily from Homer’s work, Angeni has taken its broad themes and used them to tell her own story, having always related to the obstacles Odysseus faces. Edinburgh Fringe On Demand from Friday 6th – Monday 30th August 2021.
A tragicomedy about ancient history, recent past and present lies, Mediocre White Male follows the central character, aged 30, still living in the same town and trapped in a job where he can’t open his mouth without offending a younger colleague. He longs for a simpler time of Pokémon cards, school nicknames and stable pronouns. But nostalgia is always dangerous… Everything seems to be changing but him. With his job under threat and a figure from his past returning to haunt him, it might just be time to face up to some uncomfortable truths. Assembly Roxy (Central) from Wednesday 4th – Sunday 15th August 2021.
This year might not be the biggest Fringe, but it is certainly the most anticipated. After the 18 month of horror the world has endured, we need the Arts like never before to make sense of this new world, entertain us, and make us laugh.
Wishing everyone a brilliant Fringe 2021! 
But how do these artists maintain the confidence to do so?
‘Work-out’ is the most misused suggestion. People believe that the only way to be confident while naked, is to be perfect. Too many believe that confidence only comes from a lack of imperfection. This is a terribly damaging outlook for young artists on the screen and stage, as they search for a perfection that doesn’t exist.
For those who want to become more physically attractive, critique is fantastic. It can guide us in ways we wouldn’t understand before, but to become obsessed with one’s flaws is a dangerous thing. Dancers and Actors training and constantly judging their reflections in a mirror allows them to understand their bodies far better than they otherwise would, but they have to be careful of one essential problem.
Do not forget the art.
The definition of Art is ‘the expression or application of human creative skill and imagination… … producing works to be appreciated primarily for their beauty or emotional power.’
This is why the phenomenon of artists becoming obsessed with physicality is very worrying. A dancer is not just the way he looks motionless and tensing. He is the gentle flow of his arms through the air, he is in the languorous tilt of his head, he is in his perfect musical timing. An actress is not a perfect hourglass figure in a bikini. She is the body language of her character, the raw emotion in her voice, the soul of her role shining out from behind her eyes.
The history of nudity as an effect within art is varied. A Greek sculptor, would portray his idea of masculinity within the fierce musculature of a man’s torso. Statues of a man and woman during intercourse are considered to portray the ‘divine perfection’ of femininity and masculinity as one.
Even the Catholic Church during the Middle Ages, a time where sexuality was heavily repressed and desire looked on with disdain, portray the Virgin Mary with one breast out. Symbolising her femininity, fertility, and original sin. The point of Art was not to agree or disagree with these symbolic statements, but rather an Artist’s attempt to show ideas, philosophies, and meanings. This is how true artists maintain their body confidence whilst naked. It is not stripping off on stage or screen, it is surrendering oneself, and become one with the art form itself.
Present day artists such as Javier De Frutos, Spanish director and choreographer, expand on these ideas. He wants to ‘work with raw nerve, to choreograph the organs and work with the effect of light on naked skin.’ Using dancers’ nudity as a performance effect. Combining the aesthetic placement of lighting, with the emotional power of nudity to create and control the feelings within the audience.
The dangers of nudity
Nudity is powerful. Whether fully naked, or only partially so, this inherent power that we all have a connection to, should be used for the sake of the art. A director may employ it to demonstrate vulnerability, or perhaps confidence. It is a tool for the art and the story therein, but as with any tool it is devalued when used incorrectly.
Unfortunately, misuse is rife. Recently during the #metoo movement actors and actresses have stepped forward and recounted their stories of Directors abusing the power of their position in order to demand nudity from their actors and actresses during production. Salma Hayek, Debra Harding, and Sarah Jessica Parker are among the actresses naming and shaming directors such as Harvey Weinstein and Steven Seagal for their indecent behaviour, and extreme pressuring for nudity during filming.
As the classic song says ‘This is a Man’s World’, the pressure for performing nude scenes falls almost exclusively on women. According to the University of Southern California, within the top grossing films of 2016, 25.6% of named or speaking female roles were either heavily exposed, or nude, compared with an extremely low 9.2% of men.
If all nudity was correctly used to express an idea, emotion, or effect, the rates would be much more equal. Frequently nudity is used simply for nudity’s sake, and unfortunately not every actress is in the position to address unfair situations. Many aspiring actresses in their first roles are susceptible to overbearing directors, and submit to demands in order to get their ‘big break’.
Thankfully, things are changing, perhaps because of the #metoo movement, or perhaps because actors and actresses are now being backed up by organisations such as SAG – AFTRA, who provide protection and require prior notice of nude content to be displayed before auditions begin.
Proof of these new times is with Game of Thrones star Emilia Clarke, who performed numerous nude scenes throughout the series, and was fortunate enough to call the shots on when and how. She declared that she is comfortable with nude scenes, only if it ‘forwards a story or is shot in a way that adds insight into characters. Sometimes explicit scenes are required and make sense for the characters/story, as they do in Westeros, If it’s gratuitous for gratuitous sake, then I will discuss with a director on how to make it more subtle.’
For all young artists out there, we must be careful of those who wish to misuse the power nudity within art, but also remember one thing. To attempt to appear attractive is fine, to look perfect is impossible. We must look beyond the flaws and realise that our beauty is within our Art, not our muscles. It is within what we do, not how we appear.
Art is not skin-deep. It is inside us. 
Amongst the repertoire involved will be performances such as an adaptation of Chekov’s Uncle Vanya from Theatrical Niche, Baaba’s Footsteps by Susan Hingley, and The Two of Us created and performed by Mariana Aristizábal Pardo, alongside many other pieces yet to be confirmed.
Far from being an online streaming service requiring paid membership, these shows will be online and free-to-access for all who choose to watch them. However, in an effort to maintain the livelihoods of the artists and of the Fringe itself, donations are requested and very much needed. 10% of all donations are being returned to the festival organisers themselves, and the remaining 90% going to the artists, and directors behind these pieces of art.
Online Fringes become the new normal
It seems that the online trend has begun. We are seeing similar efforts being coordinated amongst fellow Fringe Festivals across the globe. Cincinatti, Nanaimo, and Paris are among many locations holding online Fringe festivals this year with minor changes from festival to festival.
The Paris Fringe organisers attempted a different approach to Edinburgh. Signing up productions from Australia, Brazil, Albania, Canada, India, Italy, Belgium, the UK, USA and France itself, the Paris Fringe wanted to maintain as much of the live atmosphere as it could. Preserving 80% of the shows as live performances was an incredible effort from the Festival this June, with some acts able to live stream directly from theatres and other locations. Other performances were adapted in incredible ways and were live streamed from living-rooms and other home locations. Programme Director Anton Bonnici insisted ‘We wanted to keep that sense of being at a live event, as if you are in the room with the performers’. A challenging, unique, and admirable approach, the birth of the online Fringe Festival seemed to be a success. With thousands of viewers around the world tuning in to watch these pieces, the magic of the arts is being maintained a little while longer, despite the adversity and difficulties being faced.
Across the arts, the desire to overcome our challenges together has been spreading. British artist Frank Turner in collaboration with Music Venue Trust has been performing live gigs from his living room in an attempt to raise money for independent venues in multiple locations. Launching the hashtag #independentvenuelove he has been raising donations to support smaller venues, and their staff, during this incredibly difficult time.
Secondly, the theatres themselves will fail without proper support.
Theatres are training grounds where small plays can be tested and tweaked before taking off, launching new productions every year and creating generations of groundbreaking performances. With the use of repetitive online services and reruns of prerecorded shows, stage managers, technical managers, and other backstage crew are being forced out of work. These hard-working individuals are not acting on the stage, but their skill sets are invaluable and necessary to any working theatre. The more who are forced to change profession, the more knowledge and skill is lost. If that happens, theatres will find themselves hard-pressed to deliver live performances once back up and running.
The saving grace
Currently the Arts are making the best of a terrible situation. With their groundbreaking attempts at bringing Festivals to the masses via online services, they are sending a reminder to everyone that the Arts are not just alive, but necessary to our lives.
Hopefully a lesson will be learned from these troubled times, and 2021 will bring a packed Edinburgh Fringe Festival. We will stand shoulder-to-shoulder with fellow art lovers, watching the beauty and fragility of live performance. We will once more bask in the ethereal atmosphere of theatres, and never again take for granted what we lost this year.