It was comedy’s turn in the spotlight this week at the Edinburgh fringe, with the unveiling of the nominees for the prestigious Foster's Edinburgh comedy awards, formerly known as the Perriers. Comics in the running for the main award include Adam Riches, Josie Long and Andrew Maxwell (pictured). The widely tipped Josh Widdicombe is up for Best Newcomer. The winners are announced over the weekend, a day before the Fringe’s main acting awards are handed out at The Stage Awards for Acting Excellence Photograph: PR
Over in New York, meanwhile, Kander and Ebb's Chicago becomes the longest running home-grown musical on Broadway this week, clocking up an impressive 6,138 performances, which is an awful lot of razzle-dazzling. It passes A Chorus Line into fourth spot overall, with the top three places all held by UK-originated shows – Phantom of the Opera, Cats and Les Miserables. Phantom is still going strong after 23 years Photograph: Greg Allen / Rex Features
Less welcome news for West End impresario Cameron Mackintosh, whose Betty Blue Eyes has posted closing notices at the Novello Theatre. Despite boasting an animatronic pig voiced by Kylie Minogue, it has failed to bring home the bacon and will close after six months. Mackintosh blamed the “prevailing economic uncertainties” for discouraging risk-taking in audiences, who he claims are still packing out old favourites such as Les Miserables and Phantom of the Opera. If you want to take a last butchers at Betty, you’ve got until September 24 Photograph: Tristram Kenton
It’s not just commercial theatre feeling the pinch. Sad news from the National Association of Youth Theatres, which warns that it is facing closure next year unless it can raise £100,000 to keep itself afloat. The organisation, which was founded 30 years ago and supports 1,300 youth groups across the UK, recently lost funding from both Arts Council England and the Department for Education, totalling nearly £250,000. It now needs to find private support to ensure its survival Photograph: PR
The only show in the West End other than Betty Blue Eyes to feature performing pigs –Shrek the Musical – is faring rather better at the box office. Despite losing its leading lady this week when Amanda Holden (pictured) announced she was pregnant, it has managed to draft in Girls Aloud’s Kimberley Walsh to replace her in the role of Princess Fiona. Walsh has previously performed a cameo in Les Miserables in the West End, but this will mark her major stage debut Photograph: PR
Meanwhile, if you fancy dressing up as a fairytale princess, you might like to pop down to the Royal Opera House’s production workshop in Essex next month. The company will be flogging off more than 1,500 costumes from 14 operas and one ballet no longer in the ROH repertory. They include Dior-inspired costumes from Boulevard Solitude, modern day suits from a 2009 production of Cosi fan tutte and ‘lavish and sumptuous costumes’ for a 2005 production of Masquerade Photograph: PR
Finally this week, Scotland's premier new writing theatre, The Traverse, will have a new head as of early next year, with the news that Orla O'Loughlin is to succeed Dominic Hill as the company's artistic director. Hill leaves in October to take over the Glasgow Citizens and O'Loughlin will join in January. She comes from four years of leading touring company Pentabus Theatre, and prior to that had a stint as international associate at the Royal Court. Playwright David Grieg, who works regularly with the Edinburgh theatre, described O'Loughlin's vision as "fresh, passionate, full of ideas and connected to community" Photograph: PR
