Latest news with #Underbelly
The National
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- The National
Alba playwright puts working-class voices on stage at Edinburgh Fringe
The Glaswegian isn't afraid to tackle controversial issues either. Fresh from touring Alba, his critically acclaimed show about the Scottish independence referendum, he is about to stage a play dealing with toxic masculinity. Full of Glaswegian patter, it's one of three pieces of Scottish theatre presented by Underbelly during the Fringe this year and seems set to be as much of a hit as Alba. 'I'm pouring all my savings into it to get us there, but I think it's worthwhile,' he told the Sunday National. 'When we did Alba, we only did 12 days and we made the money back that we put in, plus a wee bit more. 'I think Going Soft has a broader appeal, so we'll hopefully see an increase in audience numbers for this and we've got a better spot during the day. The last show, with a name like Alba, had the potential to turn people away if they just assumed it was about a certain political party or a certain political view.' With prices now so high for renting venues and accommodation at the Fringe, making sure Scottish working-class voices are heard is becoming more difficult, but Byrne feels it is essential for Scottish actors, playwrights and theatre companies to continue to take part. 'It's something I'm passionate about and I've got a goal going into it, but the prices are just going up and up,' he said. 'For working-class people, being able to just put on a show, you're just getting out-priced. 'But as Scots, we've got to make sure we've still got a seat at the table and we've still got a voice in this festival, especially when it's on our home turf, so that we can network with other artists from Scotland and also globally.' Byrne agrees there is a danger that Scottish voices could be squeezed out but is optimistic this can be overcome. 'It's always a possibility with the amount of stuff from elsewhere that it starts to diminish the Scottish voice,' he said. 'But I think we'll always be loud, as a people and as a nation. I don't think we'll let ourselves go quietly. There'll always be somebody there shouting for us.' Making sure that some of those voices are working class is what led him to start his theatre company, Action Theatre Scotland. 'That's something that we really push,' he said. 'The goal with the last show and now with this one is to get working-class voices on the stage and heard, because you don't hear them as much on this kind of platform, especially when it's the world's biggest arts festival. We want to carve out a wee space for working-class theatre. It's nice to get a voice out there.' Going Soft is centred on a Glasgow prison-themed bar where the co-owners are attempting to set up an adults-only soft play. 'I always want to focus on issues that are prevalent in society,' said Byrne. 'That's why we're called Action Theatre Scotland – because we want to focus on important issues in a kind of call to action.' He believes toxic masculinity, the focus of the recent hit TV series Adolescence, is still a huge problem in society. 'It's a real issue because young men feel they need to act a certain way and can't just express themselves or be themselves, so I wanted to tell that story through this lens of the two working-class guys in working-class Glasgow, and show my experience of it,' said Byrne. Going Soft was inspired by prison-themed bars south of the Border where punters are presented with orange jumpsuits to wear while they are drinking. 'I want to put my spin on it, a Glaswegian spin, so it is a fast-paced, high-energy show, dealing with heavier themes but with that comedic edge,' said Byrne. Going Soft runs from July 31 to August 24 with the exception of August 12. Two of the other Scottish shows at Underbelly during the Fringe are Desperate Wee Gay Boy, a Fringe debut from writer-performer Fraser Kelsey about a thrill-seeking Scot navigating London's queer nightlife and Mary, Queen of Rock!, above, from a female-led Pretty Knicker Productions, who staged Salamander in 2023 which garnered a host of five and four-star reviews. It is described as a fun piece of gig theatre set against a surrealist backdrop of the Scottish Reformation where rock'n'roll has been banned. Mary Stuart, reimagined as the world's biggest rockstar, is tasked with reclaiming the throne of rock. Anyone with EH, G, KY or FK postcodes can benefit from 20% shows on a Wednesday and Thursday with the code LOCALHERD at the checkout – or in person at box offices during the festival.
Scotsman
15-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Scotsman
Unleash your inner Italian with Stefania Licari's new Edinburgh Fringe show
Award winning Stefania Licari, Italian expat and medic turned comic returns to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe this summer with a brand-new one-woman show. Sign up to our Arts and Culture newsletter, get the latest news and reviews from our specialist arts writers Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... I Can Make You Italian in 55 Minutes is an outrageously stylish crash course in all things Italian. 'I can't make you 100% more sexy,' Licari admits, 'but let's be realistic about this and say 12.5%. I'm a woman of science, after all.' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The uproariously funny and heartwarming hour runs at Underbelly, Bristo Square from 30 July to 24 August at 4.15pm. Stefania Licari rides into the city with her new show at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. The show is a celebration of language and culture in a post-Brexit landscape that has seen increasing tensions around immigration. 'Italians are jovial. In a time of conflict, it's good to be reminded that foreign countries shouldn't be feared but can offer a source of fascination. We don't just fight with other cultures, but we fall in love with them.' But this is no lecture. With Stefania's signature blend of first-person experiences and social observations, this is the only guide you'll ever need to Italian living. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'In only a few steps, you can sound more Italian. It's the vowels, the big smile and that inimitable walk of Italian confidence. Being more in touch with your emotions and most importantly, to always accessorise.' Stefania Licari's new Edinburgh Festival Fringe show, I Can Make You Italian in 55 Minutes. And the best part? You don't even need to book flights. 'Due to the cost of living it's so expensive to travel to Italy, so why not stay in Edinburgh and still learn how to be Italian?' Stefania Licari's, I Can Make You Italian in 55 Minutes is a feel-good homage to heritage, identity, and style. 'This show offers you a more authentic experience than two weeks all-inclusive in Rome, but without the pick-pocketing.' Whether you are an Italophile or simply looking for an hour of well-observed comedy with heart, this is one show not to miss.
Metro
19-06-2025
- Metro
Man shot dead in front of his wife in 'gangland hit' at Bali villa
Three suspects face the death penalty for plotting the murder of an Australian man gunned down in a gangland-style hit at a villa in Bali. Zivan Radmanovic, 32, was killed just after midnight on June 13 after two men broke into his villa near Munggu Beach in Bali's Badung district. Sanar Ghanim, 34, was also shot in the attack and remains in hospital, while a third man was badly beaten. Radmanovic was shot in a bathroom, where police found 17 bullet casings and two intact bullets. His wife, Gourdeas Jazmyn, 30, told police that she suddenly woke up when she heard her husband screaming. She cowered under a blanket when she heard multiple gunshots. She later found her husband's body and the injured Australian, whose wife has also testified to seeing the attackers. Mr Ghanim was previously in a relationship with the step-daughter of the late Carl Williams, a prominent Melbourne underworld figure, according to reports in Australia. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Williams rose from a low-level drug dealer to one of the kingpins in the city's bloody gangland wars of the late 1990s and early 2000s which were later dramatized in the hit TV series Underbelly. He was convicted in 2007 of ordering several killings and was serving a life sentence when he was bludgeoned to death by a fellow inmate three years later. Reports link Mr Ghanim to the criminal underworld, stating he had served jail time over a non-fatal shooting in Melbourne in 2014. Police earlier said they had detained two suspects, but further investigation led police to arrest a third man who helped them to prepare the killing, Bali Police Chief Daniel Adityajaya said. He added: 'The three suspects are Australian men, and they are now being held and questioned for further investigation.' At least three witnesses at the villa told investigators that two gunmen, one wearing orange jacket with a dark helmet and another wearing a dark green jacket, a black mask and a dark helmet, arrived on a scooter at the villa around midnight. Mr Adityajaya said the evidence collected so far means 'we have confidence that the three (suspects) are the perpetrators'. Two of the men were arrested late Tuesday in Singapore and at Jakarta's Soekarno Hatta International Airport, while trying to flee. Indonesian police didn't say where the third suspect was apprehended. More Trending Mr Adityajaya said the men are now being held in Bali and can face various charges, including murder and firearm charges, that could carry up to a life sentence or the death penalty if found guilty. He said police are still investigating the motive and how they got the weapon as firearm ownership and use are heavily regulated in Indonesia. 'We are still investigating the possibility of other suspects,' Mr Adityajaya said. He praised the collaboration between Indonesian police and immigration agencies in tracking the whereabouts of the suspects with the support of the Australian Federal Police and Interpol in the Southeast Asia region. Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@ For more stories like this, check our news page. MORE: Tributes pour in for mum found strangled after husband charged with her murder MORE: Drug mule mum jailed after cannabis bust at Manchester Airport MORE: Man found 'tortured' to death in home was bound by ankles, court hears
Scotsman
18-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Scotsman
Emmy award-winning TV producer swaps the control room for stand-up in Edinburgh debut
Britt Migs brings her sharp-witted, deeply personal show 'Dolphin Mode' to the Fringe following sold-out US run. Sign up to our daily newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to Edinburgh News, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... She's won an Emmy for her work behind the scenes in American television – but this August, Britt Migs is stepping into the spotlight with the UK debut of her hit comedy show Dolphin Mode, running at Underbelly's brand-new Buttercup venue in George Square from July 30 to August 24 (not 11th). A seasoned New York-based TV and digital producer, Migs is best known Stateside for her work on award-winning broadcast and digital content. Now, she's bringing a far more personal story to Edinburgh: a blisteringly funny hour chronicling the collapse of her marriage, her bisexual awakening, and the absurd world of post-divorce dating. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The show, which premiered to a sold-out audience at Caveat in New York before selling out again during the New York Comedy Festival and at the Knockouts Comedy Festival this year, is part stand-up, part confessional – and wholly unfiltered. Britt Migs It all started on one fateful Super Bowl weekend. On the Friday, Migs lost her job. By Sunday, she was getting divorced. 'My ex-husband was extorted by a sex bot on Instagram,' she says, still stunned. 'He sent it a $700 iTunes gift card. That was when I knew I had to write a show.' The comedy that followed is both outrageous and relatable – a rollercoaster of heartbreak, online scammers, dismal dating apps, and self-discovery. With biting humour and emotional candour, Migs also unpacks the reality of coming out in her 30s, navigating queer relationships, and leaving behind the life she thought she was supposed to want. 'It turns out I wasn't just straight and sad,' she laughs. 'I was closeted and angry.' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Though new to the UK comedy scene, Migs is no stranger to a live audience. She regularly hosts Sunday Sauce, a popular bi-monthly stand-up show at Union Hall in Brooklyn, and her sharp writing has appeared in Reductress, Slackjaw, and FlexxMag. Her sketches have been featured on Cracked's digital platforms. But it's this deeply personal shift – from award-winning producer to stand-up storyteller – that marks a new chapter for the New Yorker. 'Comedy saved me,' she says. 'I got divorced, came out, shaved my entire body smooth like a dolphin for a date who ghosted me, and somehow ended up here. Edinburgh feels like the right place to tell this story.' If Dolphin Mode is anything like her track record, it's one not to miss.
Daily Mail
15-06-2025
- Daily Mail
Dramatic update after two Aussies were gunned down by a 'death in paradise' hit squad at their luxury villa in Bali
One of the Australian underworld figures shot in a suspected hit linked to Melbourne 's feuding Middle Eastern crime gangs has been discharged from hospital. Zivan 'Stipe' Radmanovic, 35, and Sanar Ghanim, 34, from Melbourne, were shot just after midnight on Saturday at a villa in Munggu, in Badung Regency in Bali's south. Radmanovic died at the scene after he was shot twice in the chest and once in the foot, while Ghanim is fighting for life in Kuta's BIMC Hospital after he was reportedly shot seven times. Ghanim, who was brutally bashed during the attack, was seen being wheeled out of the hospital while surrounded by several staff on Sunday afternoon. It's understood he and Radmanovic and were in Bali celebrating Radmanovic's wife's 30th birthday. The couple have six kids. Police found 17 bullet casings and 55 bullet fragments at the scene. The killers - said by witnesses to have 'thick Australian accents' - were last seen fleeing the villa on scooters. Bali detectives fear the gunmen went straight to the nearby airport and immediately flew out of the country while police were still rushing to the scene. Ghanim is the former partner of Danielle Stephens, stepdaughter of slain Underbelly drug kingpin Carl Williams, and the couple had a daughter together. Radmanovic was a career criminal with a lengthy list of 175 court appearances, and was at the villa with his partner Jazmyn Gourdeas who witnessed the ruthless attack. Her sister, Daniella Gourdeas, is linked on social media to assassinated Melbourne gangster Sam 'The Punisher' Abdulrahim. Ghanim is said to have been in the villa with his wife, identified only by local police as Daniella, when the gunmen struck. The Gourdeas family link to Abdulrahim comes five months after the notorious gangster was also gunned down in an underworld hit in a hotel car park in Melbourne's north. The bikie-turned-boxer had previously been the target of three murder contracts, a prison bashing, three assaults, a dozen fire bombings and seven shootings. Radmanovic appeared to be a devoted dad who loved his mum, but a touching family picture of him in October 2020 revealed he was wearing an electronic ankle monitor on his left leg. In Victoria, ankle monitors are most commonly worn by suspected major drug dealers who can afford the expensive self-funded devices worn while on bail. Radmanovic shared a close bond with his stepchildren, particularly Ms Gourdeas' daughter Olympia, now aged five. He began dating Ms Gourdeas when Olympia was eight months old and described becoming a stepdad as the 'biggest blessing' in an emotional tribute for the youngster's first birthday. 'I can't wait to watch you grow and become the amazing and gorgeous girl that I know you will become,' Radmanovic wrote to his stepdaughter on Facebook. 'You, your siblings and your mum Jazmyn Gourdeas are the biggest blessing in my life and I'm so grateful for you all coming into my life!! I love you Olympia and I hope you have a beautiful day princess!!' Radmanovic's social media is littered with family pictures of his wife, stepchildren, mother and grandmother. In one picture, where he embraced his grandmother, who he affectionately called 'Baba', he thanked her for making 'me the man I am today'. 'I love you with all my heart baba, words can't describe how much I appreciate everything you've done for me,' he wrote. In another picture, Radmanovic posed with his mother and wrote: 'I love you with all my heart and soul.' On the night of the brutal shooting, The Bali Tribune reported Radmanovic's wife was asleep when she heard her husband screaming at 12.15am. Peeking out from behind a blanket, she saw a man wearing an orange jacket and a second man gunning down her husband in the toilet. Images from the villa show a man, believed to be Radmanovic, lying motionless next to a toilet. Moments later, Ms Gourdeas heard more gunfire before Ghanim screamed. It's understood Ghanim suffered seven gunshot wounds in his bed before Ms Gourdeas tried to stop the bleeding as they waited for emergency services to arrive. '[She] ran out of the room and shouted when she saw Sanar was bleeding and went back to the toilet to check her husband's condition by checking his pulse,' an unnamed Bali Police officer told local media. 'After seeing the perpetrator escape outside the villa, this witness helped the victim of Sanar stop the bleeding.' A fourth person in the villa - believed to be another family member - told police she saw a gunman in a green jacket wearing a mask and a helmet burst into their room. She heard more gunshots and a window being smashed before the hit squad ran from room to room in the villa as she fled for her life. 'The witness ran out the villa before she saw two motorcycles [or scooters] parked outside while she heard more gunshots,' added the police officer. '[She ran to] the main road where she asked for help.' By the time bystanders had calmed the down and taken her back to the villa, police were already on the scene. The gangland connection has fuelled speculation the shooting was a targeted attack. Bali Police Chief Inspector Daniel Adityajaya said on Sunday they were liaising with Australian Federal Police on the investigation. 'Our team are still working on it,' he told Daily Mail Australia. 'We have coordinate with the Immigration, the Australian Federal Police, the forensic team, and many other institution to uncover this case.' Badung Police chief Arif Batubara added: 'We are currently still in the investigation phase. 'The forensic lab team is also still conducting a comprehensive investigation in the field. 'The investigation also involving Indonesia Automatic Fingerprint Identification System (INAFIS team), mobile brigade (Brimob), the forensic lab, K9 unit (dog unit), and rapid response unit (Sabhara). 'The National Police Headquarters (Mabes) is also assisting. From the crime scene investigation conducted yesterday, several bullet holes were found at the scene.' Photos taken at the scene showed the area taped off, while a trail of blood stained the step at the doorway to the villa. Radmanovic's body was taken to Prof. Ngoerah Hospital in Bali for an autopsy. The Bali attack comes after exiled Melbourne tobacco overlord Kazem 'Kaz' Hamad is suspected by Australian underworld figures of ordering the hit on Abdulrahim. Abdulrahim reportedly went into hiding in May 2024 after narrowly escaping an ambush outside his northern suburbs home, where gunmen shot at him 17 times. In his last weeks alive, Abdulrahim was said to have become 'something of a ghost' as he moved between Melbourne, Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand. It's understood Abdulrahim flew into Melbourne the day before his as-yet unsolved murder. Hamad rules his criminal empire from the Middle East with violence and extortion and underworld sources say the ruthless kingpin has the means to order an offshore hit. Abdulrahim's dwindling allies were believed to have gone into hiding themselves after his murder.
