The Week in Lighting & Sound

Fringe Figures - Ticket sales at this year's Edinburgh Fringe are up by an estimated 5%, according to its organisers. The Fringe Society said more than 1,943,000 tickets were issued, with some shows still to have their final performance. It follows a slight drop in ticket sales last year caused by a clash with the Olympics being held in London. Many individual venues are reporting even higher increases, with established venues up between 20% and 30%.

The 2013 programme for the Fringe, the biggest arts festival in the world, featured 45,464 performances of 2,871 shows at a total of 273 venues across the city. The programme contained 713 free shows which do not sell tickets but asked the audience to contribute at the end of the show. These shows were not included in the box office ticket sales. Kath Mainland, chief executive of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society, said,"Our loyal and enthusiastic audience has once again been treated to the most amazing cultural experience and has been both challenged and entertained by a programme of spectacular work across all art forms from all around the world."

Saigon Revival - Miss Saigon is to return to the West End from 3 May to 25 October, 2014. The new production, which marks the musical's 25th anniversary year since it was staged at Theatre Royal Drury Lane, will run at the Prince Edward Theatre. The revival by Cameron Mackintosh will be based on a "reimagined" version of the musical that was first staged 10 years ago, directed by Laurence Connor. The show is directed by Connor and will have musical staging by Bob Avian and additional choreography by Geoffrey Garratt.

MTV Awards - Justin Timberlake picked up the big prizes at the MTV video awards as he reunited with his 'N Sync bandmates on stage. Timberlake won video of the year for Mirrors and collected the lifetime achievement award. One Direction picked up song of the summer for Best Song Ever at the Brooklyn event. But it was former Disney star Miley Cyrus who sparked a social media storm following her raunchy performance. The 20-year-old shrugged off her Hannah Montana squeaky clean image by stripping down to a nude-coloured latex bikini, sporting a giant foam finger and dancing provocatively with R&B singer Robin Thicke as he sang Blurred Lines.

- A black knitted tie that belonged to John Lennon has sold for more than £3,000 at an auction in Liverpool. Lennon gave the tie to Joyce McWilliams in 1962 when she was 15 and used to attend the lunchtime sessions at the Cavern Club. Rare photographs of The Beatles were also sold at he auction at the Beatles Shop in Mathew Street. Manager Stephen Bailey, said the auction had gone well. "Every year we think that the quality and number of rare items offered for auction must decrease and we are always proved wrong," he said. "It is amazing, people just keep coming into the shop month after month with the most unusual rare items."

(Jim Evans)

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