by Mark Fisher Published February 2012"Every single page of this book is enhanced by Mark Fisher’s lifelong enthusiasm for, and commitment to, the Edinburgh Festival Fringe – the greatest arts festival in the world." Kath M Mainland Chief executive, Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society  James remembered
NO ACTOR appeared on the stage of Pitlochry Festival Theatre more than Martyn James (right). He had a similarly formidable record at Perth Theatre. His generosity of spirit charmed audiences and colleagues, many of whom will be attending A Celebration of the Life of Martyn James on Sunday 19 February. The afternoon event will celebrate the 43-year career of the actor, who died at the start of the year at the age of 63. There will be contributions from his family as well as tributes, recollections and reminiscences from those who worked with him. Tickets are free and will be available from noon on Wednesday 8 February from the PFT box office: 01796 484626. The 2012 summer season at PFT will be dedicated to the actor.  Rants and games
ST ANDREWS is the largest town to win a Creative Place Award from Creative Scotland in recognition of its contribution to the cultural life of the community. Totalling £380,000, the fund is being shared between St Andrews, Wigtown and West Kilbride, with special awards going also to Creetown and Huntly. St Andrews is putting its £150,000 towards a Year of Celebration which will include a large-scale musical production at the Byre (left) Macpherson's Rant will bring professional actors, singers and musicians together – plus a community element – for a production pencilled in for November. Creative Scotland has also been putting money into festivals. Among the recipients of the £300,000 One Step Further fund are Traquair Shakespeare Festival, which gets £5000 for its programme of Shakespeare-related productions, workshops and masterclasses; Behaviour at Glasgow's Arches, which gets £37,640 for off-site work to encourage people to see the city in a new way; and Glasgow's Merchant City Festival, which gets £30,000 to put on site-specific work at transport hubs leading to Hampden where some of the Olympic Games will take place.  Cheek it out
AFTER making an open call for performance proposals, the Cheeky Breakfast, a group of independent producers, is launching The Pitch, a night of physical theatre, devised drama, film and improvised movement. Taking place at Glasgow's CCA on 28 February, the evening has an end-of-the-world theme and includes work by architectural designer David Tinto, physical theatre group Nux, silent film accompanists the Apostrophe Ensemble, young director Rachael Murray and filmmaker Simone Louise Smith. Informal performances – such as One Night Skype Stand by Alice Ladenburg (right) – will continue in the bar after the main show. "It’s almost like a mini one-night-only performance festival, but you’re unlikely to find such an amazing variety of work in one place at one time anywhere else," says co-producer Callum Smith. "We have well-established artists presenting work alongside first-year university students who are just starting to create work. In programming the evening, we didn’t look for experience – we just wanted the best and most interesting pieces we could find.” OPENING SOON 2h:9m:37s, Kris Haddow, on tour, Feb 2–18 Jason and the Argonauts, Visible Fictions, Feb 3–Apr 14 Born to Run, A Play, a Pie and a Pint, Oran Mor, Glasgow, Feb 6–11 Barflies, Grid Iron, on tour, Feb 6–Mar 24 Someone Who’ll Watch Over Me, Perth Theatre, Feb 10–25 Mwana, Ankur/Tron, on tour, Feb 10–25 Passing Through, Peapod, on tour, Feb 10–Mar 4 LAST CHANCE TO SEE Sex, Chips and the Holy Ghost, A Play, a Pie and a Pint, Oran Mor, Glasgow, Jan 30–Feb 4 Divided City, Citizens, Glasgow Feb 2–4 |  | |
| 30 January 2012 Northings By Hamish MacDonald. A Dogstar Theatre review. 
25 January 2012 The Guardian By Peter Arnott. A Vox Motus/Royal LyceumTheatre review. |
