The Stage

Edinburgh Festival Fringe ‘08 lineup unveiled

Published Thursday 5 June 2008 at 11:20 by Alistair Smith

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Comedian Michael Barrymore is to make his Edinburgh Festival Fringe theatre debut this summer when he stars in a new play about Spike Milligan.

Surviving Spike by Richard Harris, which will be produced by Bill Kenwright and run at the Assembly Rooms, is one of the highlights of this year’s fringe 2008 programme, unveiled today.

Meanwhile, two plays at the fringe this year will address massacres in US schools.

The Boy from Centreville, staged at the Pleasance Courtyard, is a piece of verbatim theatre concerning last year’s events at Virginia Tech University, while Columbinus bills itself as a “sensitive docudrama” about the Columbine High School massacre.

Welsh theatre company Sherman Cymru will bring Deep Cut to the Traverse Theatre, a play about the soldier who died from gunshot wounds while training at Deepcut Barracks.

The Traverse will also host Pornography - the latest play from Simon Stephens, which “captures Britain as it crashes from the euphoria and promise of the 2012 Olympics announcement into the devastation of 7/7.”

On the comedy front, the fringe will this year see shows from Ruby Wax, Bill Bailey, Clive James, Ed Byrne, Jimmy Carr and Jim Bowen, among others. Neil and Christine Hamilton will also return for another Lunch with the Hamiltons - the pair’s live daytime chat show.

Meanwhile, other big names appearing at the fringe this year include Joan Rivers, Brit Ekland, Simon Callow and Jill Halfpenny.

Jon Morgan, director of the fringe, said: “The wide range of shows that connect with current issues in our world demonstrates that the fringe is an incredibly flexible platform for artists. The fringe was founded on the principle of open-access for all performers and it continues to be the best place to showcase new work.”