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The Week Ahead from Monday 22nd August 2011: Frank Turner, The National, Tiësto, Peter Doherty, Bring Me The Horizon, Interpol and more

Posted: 12 years ago

We can thank the upcoming Reading and Leeds Festivals for the star-studded line-up this week, due in part to many artists playing one-off headliners around the UK, with the pick of the bunch including Frank Turner, The National and Pete Doherty.

Arts-wise, the comedians are trawling the venues of Edinburgh's Fringe, so it's down to theatres to give us The Tempest, Peter Pan and a bit of Diversity.

All prices are exclusive of booking fees.

This week:

Tours

No prizes for guessing why Mr Turner is playing just one headlining gig this week - yep, it's a Leeds/Reading warm-up show. Northampton's iconic Roadmenders is Frank's chosen venue, a building synonymous with rock, metal and bikers and reasonably-priced shows like this one on Thursday night. £15.

Prior to playing at the Leeds and Reading Festivals, The National are keeping it 'Scotland' with two shows, one in Edinburgh at The Edge Festival 2011 on Tuesday (sold out) and then Glasgow on Wednesday (still available, £22.50). Possibly their last UK shows until next year, by the way.

Once again, the Dutch techno-legend limits his UK shows to one weekend, this time over the August Bank Holiday. First stop is part of the Belsonic 2011 festival in Belfast on Friday (£33), followed by Creamfields on Saturday (sold out) and finally Edinburgh on Sunday (£35 - selling fast).

Bets are being taken by some haters as to how long he'll be out of prison this time around, hopefully long enough to get next week's shows out of the way, at least. It'll be emotional for all concerned, starting with Blackburn on Thursday (£19.50) and then Leeds and Reading Festivals. He is back in September for a bigger UK tour.

Bring Me The Horizon Bring Me The Horizon
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Another band playing a pre-Reading and Leeds warm-up are these guys, this time in Belfast on Wednesday night. Tickets are still available for £21. Don't forget that BMTH are back in the UK as performers on the Machine Head tour in December, which you've gotta check out!

Purveyors of grey and gloomy angsty-rock are two a penny nowadays, but Interpol are right up there with the first and the best. Again, like other bands this week, the lads are warming up prior to Leeds/Reading, by playing a headlining show, this time in Glasgow on Tuesday. £22.50.

Jimmy Eat World Jimmy Eat World
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You get the feeling that without Leeds and Reading Festivals going on this week, this article would be featuring tribute bands and pub-singers. Jimmy Eat World play Leicester on Tuesday and The Edge Festival on Thursday before playing the big Bank Holiday bashes. £17.50.

Taking Back Sunday Taking Back Sunday
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With The Xcerts in support and a self-titled hit album under their belts, TBS should fill out a few of the venues on their upcoming UK tour which starts in Glasgow on Tuesday. After hitting Leeds and Reading Festivals, they return to the tour until Southampton on 2nd Sep. From £16.50.

Matthew and the Atlas Matthew and the Atlas
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Mr Hegarty and his crew are out to follow up their recent Mumford and Sons support slot in the US, with a string of shows in Scotland. First stop is Edinburgh on Tuesday, followed by Aberdeen, Stornoway, Ullapool, Inverness and then south to Winchester. Tickets start at £7.

A busy month awaits blues-soul fusion outfit Po' Girl as they prepare to travel across the UK from Telford on Thursday, via Nottingham, Birmingham, the No Mean City Festival in Glasgow and many more until wrapping it up in Whitstable on 24th Sep. £9 - £14.

Average White Band Average White Band
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Famous for a handful of disco-funk and jazz anthems such as "Pick Up The Pieces", "Queen Of My Soul" and "Let's Go Round Again", AWB are back in business with a UK tour from Edinburgh (Tuesday), via a three-night residency at London's Jazz Cafe and back to Scotland in Dunfermline on 4th Sep. £12.50 - £20.

Festivals

Reading Festival 2011 and Leeds Festival 2011 tickets are still available from us for the weekend or just a single day, for both events. Prices are £192.50 for the entire weekend or, if you don't trust the weather, daily for £82.50. Muse surely have to be the pull of the weekend on Friday (Leeds) and Sunday (Reading), with Pulp a close second.
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Not surprisingly, two of the biggest dance festivals in the Bank Holiday calendar have sold out, with just a few resales left for both. Creamfields offers Chemical Brothers and Swedish House Mafia and South West Four 2011 in London will deliver Underworld and Pendulum. Glow-sticks at the ready, folks.

Theatre, Comedy and Arts

The Tempest featuring Ralph Fiennes The Tempest featuring Ralph Fiennes
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Another established and respected actor will be tackling the choppy waters of Shakespeare's The Tempest from Saturday onwards, this being the turn of Ralph Fiennes. Playing at the Theatre Royal in Haymarket, seats are in short supply, even when priced at £75 each!

Racy, sexy and controversial, this is a Schnitzler play for mature audiences and no mistake. Essentially the play is comprised of 10 scenes, each one dealing with a different couple, with the following scene featuring one of the previous pair with a different partner etc. The White Bear Theatre will host a run from Tuesday until 4th Sep, tickets priced at £10 - £13.

The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged) The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged)
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Brighton's Little Theatre has certainly been coming up with the goods this year - now the tiny venue tackles the entire canon of our most celebrated bard, with an element of parody and a considerably shorter timescale. 90 minutes, in fact. Tickets cost just £7.50, surely the bargain of the year.

Peter Pan: A Musical Adventure Peter Pan: A Musical Adventure
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We don't often learn of new theatre companies, so it's refreshing to see Arbroath founding LimeLight, the town's first and only musical theatre group. Its inaugural production is a brave take on Peter Pan and plays for 5 nights from Tuesday to Saturday - tickets are £8.

The UK's leading urban dance-troupe will be appearing at the Michael Jackson Tribute Show on Sunday (not to be confused with the Cardiff show in October). £25 gets you the full dance routines as previously performed by The King Of Pop, now revitalised by Diversity, plus Britain's Got Talent runner-up, Ronan Parke in support.

Possibly the only Scottish comedian to give Billy Connolly a run for his money is this lady performing four shows at London's Soho Theatre from Wednesday 24th August onwards. Tickets to see the outspoken blogging-queen cost £10.

Happy clicking!

Paul Pledger