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Post by Deleted on Aug 18, 2018 7:34:14 GMT
Fighting the urge to book a train ticket and return for the day on Tuesday to re-experience Electrolyte and catch a few other bits I missed.
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Post by n1david on Aug 19, 2018 12:15:22 GMT
Favourites for me were LOVE SONG TO LAVENDER MENACE - what sounds like a small play about a gay bookshop in Edinburgh touches on so many issues like the power of literature, city gentrification, the importance of safe spaces and being part of a tribe. It's also hilarious and beautifully acted. Started at the Royal Lyceum studio last year, when it was a 2-hour show, it's now only 75 minutes but I wish I'd seen the full version as there were a couple of hints at subplots that were probably cut.
MARMITE was the best 'small play' I saw - a three hander exploring monogamy in gay relationships. Slight, but clever writing and great performances.
GAMES by Henry Naylor powerful - the story of the only Jewish German athlete at the Berlin Olympics.
On the lighter side, Larry Dean best standup, Denim the fiercest and cleverest drag, Tony Slattery the most moving hour of the week.
Getting a bit fed up though of what seems to be a regular trend in small venues of "fill from the back, no gaps". In more than one show, arriving early meant squashed in a completely full back row while those who stroll in 30 seconds before the start - or even 5 minutes after the start - get a mostly-empty front row. I appreciate the issues of show turnaround times, particularly when shows are completely sold out, but this year I felt squashed more often than usual. I am so looking forward to my next show that has a seat number on my ticket...
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Post by firefingers on Aug 20, 2018 9:31:57 GMT
Snuck up for my day off after a two show Saturday and caught four shows:
LEGACY: A MOTHER’S SONG. Scittiah conservatoire actor-muso show about motherhood. Last years Atlantic stuff was five stars, this only four. Really great folk-y numbers and concept, with some gorgeous singing but some bits of duff acting and lyrics brought it down.
ANDREW O’NEILL. Anarcic tcomedian on the free fringe. Seen him at rock festivals but great to finally see a full show. Very funny, totally my sort of humour, five stars.
FLIGHT. Immersive airplane experience.... don’t want to say too much as it would spoil it but if you don’t have a fear of flying go see this show. Almost entirely in pitch black, you wear headphones and descend into a black mirror episode. Unnerving, disorientating, and a fantastic way to spend half an hour. Five stars.
MIDSUMMER. Slightly immersive musical. My first time seeing something at the international festival (and not the fringe) which made me feel young as the average age was about twice mine. Great to see something set in Edinburgh, lovely set design with audience on four sides, and great sound. Songs were a bit forgettable mind, but the energy of the performers really carried it. Four stars.
Now charging back to London to make my show call this afternoon. Proof that a quick fringe trip can always be squeezed into my schedule so will be doing at least a day next year if I’m in the country.
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Post by duncan on Aug 20, 2018 20:50:57 GMT
The Improvised James Bond Film - starring Roger Moore, and Bonds drink problem, in The Pug Who Loved Me. Amiable enough nonsense, some on the nose stuff regarding the film Bond liking big tits and a pretty face over personality and a nice scene with Q pretending to be his own children but it struggled with the Pug aspect of it. Not brilliant but for a free show that I put £5 in the bucket at the end it was perfectly passable.
Crowd - 150 (approx.)
The Singalong Sitcom Quiz - wonderfully entertaining as the audience singalong to 10 sitcom theme tunes after answering some random trivia questions on them. Probably the only show at this years Fringe showing clips of "Come Back Mrs Noah" and John Inman asking about rock,cock. The prizes are sweets being thrown into the audience and I felt terribly sorry for the 3 Americans who had no idea about the 7 non-American shows and who didn't understand why the room collapsed into hysterics when the Only Fools bar scene and the "Your name is also going on the list...." scenes were played out but my goodness such a simple concept turned into a joyous time in a basement in Edinburgh as we had a room full of people singing the theme to Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads etc.
Crowd - 20
Jeremy Nicholas - the voice of FIFA invites you to take a humorous look at his broadcasting career and wonders why everyone he has ever worked with has become more famous than him. Again an amiable enough show but it lacks any real laughs, there are some chuckle some moments but the real highlight was when someone in the audience corrected him on his pronunciation of Bradford and we went off script for a couple of humorous moments. Its also structured very oddly - the show grinds to a sombre halt halfway through as he recalls the day he was working for BBC Nottingham at Hillsborough, there really isn't anywhere you can go that's amusing after talking about how you saw 95 people being killed.
Crowd - 20
Ken - Terry Johnson writes in and stars in a show about his erstwhile friend Ken Campbell. Its mainly about Ken putting on a 24 hour play at the Edinburgh festival but the last 20 minutes or so are about what happened in the years afterwards. We get Terry playing himself and a wonderfully eye browed Jeremy Stockwell as the titular man himself.
Glorious stuff.
Whilst Terry stands at a lectern on stage telling us about the ins and outs of working with Ken, "Ken" is going round the room sitting next to audience members and so on whilst telling his side of the story from amongst the people and it works fantastically. The knicker elastic and brick moment that was a part of the Roadshow required most of the audience to move out of the way for a hysterical punchline and Stockwell is also adlibbing certain comments depending on who he is sat next to at any given point
It gets a bit maudlin towards the end but it highlights the love, and exasperation, that people had for Ken and his methods of attempting to make performance art more interesting. You don't need to know anything about Ken to see this show, if you don't it highlights a time when the Festival involved a lot more risk taking and is the story of a friendship that lasted on and off for nearly 30 years.
I was also sat right next to Mark Thomas, who bizarrely laughed loudest at a clitoris gag.
Crowd - 50
Aye, Elvis
Fit like, an Aberdonian quine sets out to win the Scottish Elvis tribute act award and with it fulfil her dream of a trip to Gracelands. Done in the doric this is your typical underdog story of a part time impersonator looking to make it big interspersed with some well known Elvis songs being performed in the north Eastern dialect.
Joyce Falconer is our Elvis obsessed fan and steals the show in an entertaining production that walks a well worn path but which gets away with it as its Elvis as done by an Aberdonian.
Crowd - 30
Wonder - the wonder being it was cancelled earlier in the week, the whole run.
The Thief - and this was cancelled this evening, messaged at 1842 to tell me the 1920 show had been pulled owing to the actor injuring his back. Ho hum, I'm getting my money back for the 2 shows so mustn't grumble. It allowed me an extra 90 minutes in bed this morning and I got home an hour earlier***
Nick Revell - in Stand 4, a disappointing shaggy dog story in which Vladimir Putins bum decides to move to Berlin whilst Nick is also dealing with a broken dreamcatcher and Gwyneth Paltrow. The problem here being its clearly 2x30 minute stories that he has merged into 1x60 and thus it doesn't have a sustained focus - just as we get interested in finding out what concessions the Bum wants to facilitate its return to Moscow we move back to Gwyneth and Nick having a discussion about Rugby League.
In the individual half hours its clear that the targets are LGBT rights in Russia and Paltrow parting fools from their money on Goop but this becomes a jumble of thoughts and ideas that just didn't work as a cohesive whole.
Attendance - 20
The 5:30 Cabaret Show - an hour of five different acts from across the festival, a stand-up as the host followed by another stand-up, then an acrobat (in a rather skimpy pair of y-fronts, I was palpitating!!! ) followed by Bubbleman where the poor mans act died on its arse as his bubbles just wouldn't do what they were supposed to and then finished off by Jesus Loreal Christ, which is a man portraying Jesus as a modern day Pilates coach or the 10 minutes we got of his hour show was Jesus as a pilates coach.
Very entertaining, the line up changes every day and its good to get a small insight into acts I'm not going to see - even if it does all go wrong.
Attendance - 200
Brexit - Pleasance Beyond
Britain, the near future. A new PM must deliver Brexit, mustn't he? Acting on an idea from his political consultant he appoints the rabidly Brexit Simon as Trade minister and the staunch remainier Diana as Brexit minister in the hope that they'll cancel each other out and nothing will actually happen going forward.
A comedy! Good grief!!! I was thinking this was going to be 75 minutes of tedium going over the same tired old ground that's bored me to death since 24th June 2016 but instead we get an inspired cross between a farce (the Prime Minister being shown to have 2 meetings at the same time and getting more and more frazzled as he switches between them) and a straight comedy about how the political system in the UK and Europe means that the best thing to do is actually to do nothing.
The cast enjoy themselves with David Archer himself (Tim Bentinck) as the PM, Hal Cruttenden as the not at all inspired by JRM "smug and supercilious" rabid anti-EU new trade minister and Mike McShane being the most recognisable names in the cast. Which does highlight the one issue I do have with the show, the 2 female roles aren't as showy and meaty as the male roles. We get Pippa Evans as the straight laced remainer whose only personality trait is to say "hugs and kisses" when ending a phone call and Jo Caulfield has the back of the fag packet role in the cast of 5 as the EU negotiator whose role is to point out the absurdity of leaving the EU and not much else. Its odd in a comedy about doing nothing being the best thing for all concerned regarding Brexit that the PM isn't played by someone of the same gender as the current incumbent (who herself seems to be aiming to do just that, oooh little bit of politics there!) - maybe when writing it they thought Mrs May would have been replaced by now.
Its refreshing to have something frothy and light about a subject that the fringe has overall driven into the ground over the last 3 runnings and no doubt will do again. Its not a comedy that sets out which side is right and which side is wrong - its more Yes Prime Minister about the machinations of those in power rather than the actual realities of policy and I had a good time at it.
Attendance - 400
*** - and yeah, part of me is thinking that with the refund I could mop up some more shows on the last full day of the festival next Sunday.
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Post by n1david on Aug 20, 2018 21:09:01 GMT
Londoners get the chance to see 'Brexit' at a rather more intimate venue, the Kings Head, from 30 Oct - 17 Nov.
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Post by zahidf on Aug 21, 2018 1:08:09 GMT
Flight was excellent
Loved a play called Trojan horse, well worth a watch
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Post by Mr Snow on Aug 21, 2018 7:14:53 GMT
Loved a play called Trojan horse, well worth a watch Excellent production and cast. Selective with its viewpoint, convenient excuses for recorded problem attitudes on LBGT issues and Feminism. It ended with a speech urging us on the left to get our act together. Was it a play? I think this is a subject that will be looked at by others, hopefully with a more nuanced view of what happened. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Trojan_Horse
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Post by Mr Snow on Aug 21, 2018 12:04:18 GMT
Two plays we saw at Summerhall Stages.
I can strongly recommend Sticks and Stones. This was a really well written piece performed with gusto. In the modern world its easy to say the wrong thing and then the nightmare begins…
Dolly Would. sh*t faced theatre group throw a lot of stuff in the air. Is it related by more than a name? Is it fun? Is it audacious? Pretentious? Why not give it a try. It’s that sort of bizarre theatre that sits so well at Edinburgh, but I’m not so sure it would satisfy as a night on its own, as it goes on tour after.
PS if you are interested in the Fascinating Genius that was Orson Welles, pop upstairs for a free exhibition of some of his daubs (I hesitate to call it artwork).
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Post by zahidf on Aug 22, 2018 18:55:20 GMT
Today I saw
Island town: summerhall. Very good three piece, very moving
Ulster american: traverse. Very dark, very funny. Can see why it's controversial.
My left/right foot the musical: very good farce with great singing
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Post by smallperson on Aug 22, 2018 19:48:15 GMT
The family is all back from Edinburgh now and still time for our recommendations with a week to go. My favourites at EIF (gone but will they reappear somewhere?) were Waiting for Godot (Druid never disappoint in my book) and The Beggars Opera which got some iffy reviews but I loved the old John Gay songs in a modern setting. My favourites at the Fringe were Kieran Hodgson 75 (at the time of writing nominated for what was the Perrier – fingers crossed!), Mark Watson at the Pleasance and Mark Thomas celebrating and critiquing the NHS at 70. Tacita Dean (who is EVERYWHERE at the moment) has a show at the Fruitmarket Gallery which includes Event for a Stage which she made with Stephen Dillane in 2015 and which anyone interested in theatre (am I on the right Board?) would find fascinating I think. Plus her His Picture in Little with Ben Whishaw, David Warner and Stephen Dillane which I missed at the NPG in May. The children have voted for Aye Elvis which I did not see but would probably have hated, Underground Railroad Game which I did see and did not know where to look, Comedy in the Dark and lots of free stuff which they went out and found on the Free Fringe and thought was good enough to spend time and a bit of money seeing late at night when us oldies were getting our beauty sleep for the next day.
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Post by Stephen on Aug 24, 2018 4:27:08 GMT
Upon googling 'flight' I was surprised that it isn't being produced/performed by Fuel Theatre. They did a really good piece similar to this a few years ago in Edinburgh and an even better one called 'Ring' at Tramway in Glasgow. It seems the idea has caught on and this iteration sounds exciting!
There was a moment during 'ring' where it sounded as though every other audience member left the room leaving you alone. Genuinely one of the most unsettling moments of my life and really scary and powerful stuff...all done by sound and removing certain senses!
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Post by Deleted on Oct 2, 2018 10:34:42 GMT
Did anyone catch A War With Newts at the Fringe this year? Its in Manchester this week and contemplating it...
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Post by QueerTheatre on Nov 12, 2018 11:39:28 GMT
Posting a cheeky bump to this thread as my Edinburgh fringe show from this summer transfers to Theatre 503 this week, and i'd love some friendly TheatreBoard faces to come check it out! theatre503.com/whats-on/polaris/
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