This year’s Fringe saw a new Gilded Balloon venue at Edinburgh’s Rose Street in the West End. This multi roomed space will now be the year-round home for comedy, theatre and cabaret that kicks off this November in its Main Theatre with Morag Fullarton’s critically-acclaimed sell-out show A Bottle of Wine and Patsy Cline starring the brilliantly talented Gail Watson.
The show is a celebration of the singer’s legendary life and its Edinburgh premiere comes by arrangement with the Òran Mór, whose Artistic Director of its legendary A Play, A Pie and a Pint, Morag Fullarton, said, “I’m absolutely delighted that Edinburgh audiences will get the chance to see Gail Watson’s virtuoso performance in this fantastic new venue!”
Patsy Cline’s Gail Watson, who starred in Doris, Dolly and the Dressing Room Divas in August, reprises her role as Patsy, whose career started out in the Hillbilly dance halls of Virginia before her rise to fame in the early sixties. Watson, will lead the cast for the duration of its run from the 30th of November until the end of the year, performing ‘with breath-taking accuracy’ Cline’s greatest hits, including Crazy, Sweet Dreams and Walking After Midnight. There’s even a wee bottle of wine with every ticket!
Coinciding with this, award-winning comic Dylan Moran will open Gilded Balloon’s programme in The Basement Theatre on November 23rd, playing two dates from his latest tour, Grumbling Mustard.
Karen Koren, Artistic Directors of Gilded Balloon said, “After an amazing Fringe debut, Katy and I are delighted to be presenting a year-round programme in The Basement Theatre – and we couldn’t be happier that Dylan Moran will be launching our wonderful winter season! …”
Highlights of The Basement Theatre’s winter programme include Fred MacAulay’s In Conversation, a chat show that’s had recent guests such as Kirsty Wark, Ian Hislop and Jan Ravens; Stephen Frost hosting his immersive Celebrity Murder Mystery Play where the audience turns sleuth to unravel an irreverent whodunit and Short Attention Span, The Basement Theatre’s regular scratch night for new writing in theatre and performance. Meanwhile, The Comedy Show will see the best and biggest names in comedy will take to the stage each weekend for an all-new comedy line-up show, with acts including Jay Lafferty, Jojo Sutherland, Scott Agnew and Gary Little.
The Basement Theatre will play home to innovative and alternative LGBT+ nights, featuring Civil Disobedience’s Mattachine – part-cabaret, part-social club and all-decadence for Edinburgh’s lavender gentlemen and lilac ladies – and Unfuck Yourself a fundraiser for World Aids Day and a multi-artform experience exploring equality.
Gilded Balloon’s Basement Theatre programme will also see handpicked, returning hits from the 2017 Fringe, including Captivate Theatre’s Brave Macbeth; anarchist cook George Egg in DIY Chef; Gary Lamont in yuletide extravaganza Festive Floozy; Chris Henry’s children’s show, Balloonatics, and 2016 Edinburgh Comedy Award winner Scott Gibson in Like Father, Like Son.
A Bottle of Wine and Patsy Cline listings:
Thurs 30 November – Sat 30 December 2017 at 20.00 -Sun 17:30–19:30 (not 4-5, 11-12, 18, 21 & 25-26 December
0131 622 6552 or book online at gildedballoon.co.uk