Formation Fest
2019 Formation Festival Listings
Annexe Arts Hub’s Formation Festival returns this week for six days of new, innovative and small scale work with a dozen shows at Assembly Roxy.
Formation Festival 2019 will run from Monday 25 to Wednesday 27 February, takes a break on Thursday 28 and then continues from Friday 1 to Sunday 3 march 2019.
A scene from Ganymede, getting a welcome revival at the Formation Festival. Pic Alex Addison
While the emphasis is on emerging artists, the headline production is far being such with Michael Daviot starring as Sherlock Holmes and Mark Kydd as Watson in a new two-hander.
Sherlock Holmes: The Final Reckoning from David Stuart Davies is directed by Emily Ingram and is a bold new investigation into the most famous relationship in the world of detective fiction.
Two of the shows are returning after successful outings at EdFringe 2018. TypeCast Productions’ re-examine of As You Like It as a transition story in Ganymede. And Pretty Knickers revive their pacy comedy Sob Story .
Speaking about the festival, Annexe Arts Hub founder Dave McFarlane (also of Black Dingo Productions) said: “Formation is our attempt to plug the hole left by government with its abandonment of the arts in recent years.
“We believe that theatre is for everyone, so we have tried to make an accessible local festival which highlights the great work made and performed in Edinburgh year round.”
All shows take place at the Assembly Roxy, 2 Roxburgh Place, EH8 9SU.
Listings
Beast – Liam McCormick
Mon 25 – Wed 27 Feb: 8pm (Downstairs)
BEAST is about survival. From victim to perpetrator to bystander; this show challenges men to take an unflinching look in the mirror. How can we break the cycle of violence? Is it even possible? Book here. Book here.
Sherlock Holmes: The Final Reckoning – Twisted Thistle
Full festival run: Upstairs.
Mon 25 – Wed 27 Feb: 6.45pm
Fri 1 – Sun March 3: 5pm.
Discover Holmes and Watson as never before. This unorthodox new psycho-drama by David Stuart Davies, doyen of British Sherlockians, looks at the immortal duo from a new, harrowing perspective. The final reckoning! Book here.
A Letter From The End Of The World – Annexe Repertory Theatre & Criticism Inc.
Mon 25 – Wed 27 Feb: 8.30pm.
A theatre manifesto written by over 30 different artists, performed by members of the Annexe Repertory Theatre. Part physical poetry, part end of days cult gig. We invite you to drink the collective Kool Aid of identity as we try and figure out how to Make. Everyone. Stop. Speaking. At. Once.
Book here.
Ganymede – TypeCast Productions
Tuesday 26/Wednesday 27 & Friday 1: 7pm (Main)
Typecast revive their adaptation of Shakespeare’s As You Like It, retold as a transition story: Ganymede emerges from the shadow of a girl called Rosalind, and along the way meets Orlando and leaves Celia behind. See Æ’s EdFringe 2018 review: ★★★☆☆ Timely reworking. Book here.
Food Bank 2019 – As It Is Theatre
Tuesday 26/Wednesday 27: 8.30pm (Main)
As it is Theatre bring their travelling food bank to Assembly Roxy. Come in to hear stories of real people on the front line of poverty in Scotland. Think it only happens to other people? Think again! Book here.
Foxgloves – Strawmoddie Theatre
Fri 1 – Sun 3 March: 6.30pm (Downstairs)
An estranged brother & sister return one last time to the family farm, to sift through the junk left from a lifetime that has no other place to go. But it’s more than just memories they unearth, they discover a dark family history that should have stayed buried forever. Join them in the darkness and decide if it’s memories that haunt them or something more. Book here.
Everyone Keeps Broken Pens – Mayne Event Theatre Company
Sat 2/ Sun 3 March: 8pm (Downstairs)
Welcome to Hotel Sabattoir (a.k.a Kate’s brain). Today, she’s resigning. If she can find a working pen, that is…
Told through spoken word and character comedy, this is a show for anyone who’s ever had unhelpful thoughts. Book here.
Where Are You Really From? – Lubna Kerr
Friday 2 March: 9.15pm (Downstairs)
A blend of stand-up and character comedy from Lubna Kerr. From the joys of living in Scotland and the perils of visiting America whilst being Asian, to the tedium of wrangling idiots and dealing with other people’s dogs, no subject, no matter how weird, random or seemingly small is off limits. Book here.
A Note Of Explanation – Some Kind of Theatre
Fri 1 – Sun 3 March: 6.45pm (Upstairs)
The queen’s dolls house is in disarray and its maker, Edwin, sets out to find the culprit, a noisy sprite, who has lived through every event in fairy tale history. Can Edwin discover how the sprite came to be stuck in the house? And can the sprite find a way to return to Faerie? Book here.
Sob Story – Pretty Knickers
Fri 1 – Sun 3 March: 8.15pm (Upstairs)
What does it take to win Yorkshire’s Got Talent? Six friends reunite in the hope of sweeping the contest, but rehearsals get derailed when they realise talent isn’t enough – they need a tale of tragedy to win the judges’ hearts. Æ review from EdFringe 2018: ★★★☆☆ Uneasy combination. Book here.
In Burrows
Sat 2/Sun 3: 7pm (Main)
“In my hands is a photograph, I’m going to describe it to you. Then something will happen – I hope.”
A delicate conversation about language and translation, improvised in spoken English by Andy Edwards and translated into British Sign Language by Amy Cheskin. Book here.
Nothing But The Gallows – Annexe Repertory Theatre
Fri 1 – Sun 3 March: 8.30pm (Main)
‘Be the change you wish to see’ is not always good advice, especially when you have billions to back it up. A tycoon’s suicide leads his estranged brother down a rabbit-hole of manipulation, vlogging, and violent revolution, there to discover a god-like power to change things for better or worse. Book here.
ENDS
