Having posted not much other than reviews and show recommendations I thought it would be worth chatting about other great aspects of the Fringe.
One of the highlights of the festival is the Royal Mile.
Right in the centre of the old town the street comes alive as 100's of street performers, theatre groups, flyerers and a few tramps all compete for attention.
If you want to soak up the Fringe atmosphere this is the first place to head. The street performers will keep the kids entertained for hours, there are three mobile stages with acts doing short preview performances every 20 minutes. If you wander between the three of them you are pretty much constantly watching something new.
If you like anything you see you can buy tickets from the fringe office which is right there in the middle of the Royal Mile. (There are also a lot of year round tourist attractions there - head further up the hill to see the Camera Obscura - one of the world's oldest visitor attractions).
You'll also see people trying to invent new ways of getting attention. Lying in the road pretending to be dead seems to be popular at the moment, which can be quite annoying when there is a big crowd trying to get past.
Yet there are still people handing out flyers without so much as a smile!
See my posting from last year for tips:
http://alocalsguidetothefringe.blogspot.com/2008/07/flyers-flyers-flyers.html
A mention should go to the cast of "Much Ado About Nothing" for attracting photographers with their posing, before dancing in the middle of the street with each other (and encouraging passers by to join in). Geat way to get attention. Good luck with your show!
Also the cast of "Showstopper" deserve a mention for a very entertaining improvised song. Their show looks great.
If the weather holds I will probably head back down today.
Tuesday, 18 August 2009
Monday, 17 August 2009
Shows for Non-English Speakers
I've been asked for recommendations for shows that would be appreciated by non-English speakers at the fringe...
My first thought was Gamarojobot, a Japanese mime act who often perform a mixture of magic and mime on the High Street and usually do a full show at a venue as well.
I say usually, because unfortunately I haven't seen them listed this year.... so on to the shows that are.....
The Soweto Gospel Choir are Fringe veterans. They've been coming for years and always get good reviews. I've only seen them on the street busking/promoting, and heard them on the radio. I've never seen a full show, but I have no doubt they will be impressive.
I saw the group running "Venezuela Viva" three years ago and although there is a storyline to the show, it's bursting with energy and is mainly dance based. It got 5* reviews all round and the girl I was seeing at the time loved it.
Tao - Samurai Magical Drumming I think would be another safe show to see although I know less about it.
The "Dance and Physical Theatre" section will have more ideas. The Japanese/Eastern dance acts are always spectacular.
If I spot anything of interest I'll add it to this post.
Here's a couple more:
The Magnets at the E4 Udderbelly are worth a look. They creata a big band sound using only their voices.
Or you could hang out at Whistlebinkies and see the best Scottish traditional and contemporary music. They have stuff on all day during the fringe.
My first thought was Gamarojobot, a Japanese mime act who often perform a mixture of magic and mime on the High Street and usually do a full show at a venue as well.
I say usually, because unfortunately I haven't seen them listed this year.... so on to the shows that are.....
The Soweto Gospel Choir are Fringe veterans. They've been coming for years and always get good reviews. I've only seen them on the street busking/promoting, and heard them on the radio. I've never seen a full show, but I have no doubt they will be impressive.
I saw the group running "Venezuela Viva" three years ago and although there is a storyline to the show, it's bursting with energy and is mainly dance based. It got 5* reviews all round and the girl I was seeing at the time loved it.
Tao - Samurai Magical Drumming I think would be another safe show to see although I know less about it.
The "Dance and Physical Theatre" section will have more ideas. The Japanese/Eastern dance acts are always spectacular.
If I spot anything of interest I'll add it to this post.
Here's a couple more:
The Magnets at the E4 Udderbelly are worth a look. They creata a big band sound using only their voices.
Or you could hang out at Whistlebinkies and see the best Scottish traditional and contemporary music. They have stuff on all day during the fringe.
Sunday, 16 August 2009
The Heresy Project: Kill Your God ****
Be afraid... Be very afraid..... for the two comedians brave enough to put on a show with this title, let alone the content within the show.
The advertising for the show is not subtle "...makes Richard Dawkins look like the Archbishop of Canterbury" screams the poster. This show is clearly not for people with imaginary friends!
I've taken a keen interest in the god debate in recent years, so this is my kind of show and I knew it would be.
The show pulls no punches. Zero. Imagine the most blasphemous thing you can possibly think of, then add willies to it. And Donkeys. With willies. For every major religion.... So, you get the idea of the content. On to the show itself.
The show is a well presented and well prepared hour which makes good use of mulitmedia without being overly flashy and dependent on it. But what impressed me most was the preparation that has obviously gone in to preparing the dialogue itself. The two comedians did have their scripts on stage to refer to, just in case they went off track but they didn't take too many peeks so it never took away from the show itself.
What we ended up with was two passionate comedians talking about something that they believe in with a good on stage rapport as well as a natural talent for being funny.
Although there is a lot of goofiness and a fair bit of equating people they don't like to other people they don't like (Christian Voice are a bit like the BNP apparently) some of the central arguments of the atheist perspective are put across quite well, in a simplified, offensive kind of way.
So... if blasphemy is your kind of thing, go and see it. If it's not, don't.
The Heresy Project: Kill Your God is on at Espionage at 20.40
4/5
http://www.edfringe.com/ticketing/detail.php?id=14852
The advertising for the show is not subtle "...makes Richard Dawkins look like the Archbishop of Canterbury" screams the poster. This show is clearly not for people with imaginary friends!
I've taken a keen interest in the god debate in recent years, so this is my kind of show and I knew it would be.
The show pulls no punches. Zero. Imagine the most blasphemous thing you can possibly think of, then add willies to it. And Donkeys. With willies. For every major religion.... So, you get the idea of the content. On to the show itself.
The show is a well presented and well prepared hour which makes good use of mulitmedia without being overly flashy and dependent on it. But what impressed me most was the preparation that has obviously gone in to preparing the dialogue itself. The two comedians did have their scripts on stage to refer to, just in case they went off track but they didn't take too many peeks so it never took away from the show itself.
What we ended up with was two passionate comedians talking about something that they believe in with a good on stage rapport as well as a natural talent for being funny.
Although there is a lot of goofiness and a fair bit of equating people they don't like to other people they don't like (Christian Voice are a bit like the BNP apparently) some of the central arguments of the atheist perspective are put across quite well, in a simplified, offensive kind of way.
So... if blasphemy is your kind of thing, go and see it. If it's not, don't.
The Heresy Project: Kill Your God is on at Espionage at 20.40
4/5
http://www.edfringe.com/ticketing/detail.php?id=14852
Shaggers Part 1&2 ****
I've been to Shaggers three times since it started last week and I've seen some good stuff...
For thse of you who haven't read my previous posts, it's basically a show lasting 60-80 minutes with guest comedians who are given one rule: You must talk about sex.
It's a late show at the Counting House and it starts at 11.40pm in the ballroom upstairs. I don't claim to remember the names of every act on stage but there have been some seriously good ones.
Here are the highlights...
Marcel Lucont: An absolute class act both times. He's got some cracking on stage banter as well as some great prepared material. He has his own show at the Underbelly around 10pm, which I'll hopefully get a chance to see before the end of the fringe.
Dan Willis: Solid shagging stories from an experienced comedian. He's on quite regularly so there's a good chance you'll see him if you head down. If not he's got a solo show around 6pm in Espionage and he comeres "Northern Talent" in the Meadow Bar.
Lewis Schaffer: Got to gives him kudos for pushing the boundaries. He managed to get about 10 eopl eot walk out with his humour but alos provided me with the best joke to repeat to all my sick and twisted mates (which I'm not repeating on here). His show, which is definately not for the feint hearted or easily offended is on at the Counting House at 6.40pm.
Nik Coppin: My lodger for the fringe... superb compere (he'd kill me if I said anything else but it's true). He also has a solo show at Espionage at 7.20pm.
Ben Dover: Porn star, but also a pretty competent stand up judging by his preformance. Alhtough I have friends who went to his show last night and apparently a few people walked out it was so bad! Funny how comics can kill one night and die the next. Pretty good based on what I saw though.
I've also stuck my head it to the tail end of a few of the free shows when I've been drinking at the venues... Donald MacIntyre had a few good jokes, but with a tough crowd. Kai Bosh was compering a late show and had some great filler material in the 5-10 minutes I saw him. Imran Yusuf also had a great short set.
For thse of you who haven't read my previous posts, it's basically a show lasting 60-80 minutes with guest comedians who are given one rule: You must talk about sex.
It's a late show at the Counting House and it starts at 11.40pm in the ballroom upstairs. I don't claim to remember the names of every act on stage but there have been some seriously good ones.
Here are the highlights...
Marcel Lucont: An absolute class act both times. He's got some cracking on stage banter as well as some great prepared material. He has his own show at the Underbelly around 10pm, which I'll hopefully get a chance to see before the end of the fringe.
Dan Willis: Solid shagging stories from an experienced comedian. He's on quite regularly so there's a good chance you'll see him if you head down. If not he's got a solo show around 6pm in Espionage and he comeres "Northern Talent" in the Meadow Bar.
Lewis Schaffer: Got to gives him kudos for pushing the boundaries. He managed to get about 10 eopl eot walk out with his humour but alos provided me with the best joke to repeat to all my sick and twisted mates (which I'm not repeating on here). His show, which is definately not for the feint hearted or easily offended is on at the Counting House at 6.40pm.
Nik Coppin: My lodger for the fringe... superb compere (he'd kill me if I said anything else but it's true). He also has a solo show at Espionage at 7.20pm.
Ben Dover: Porn star, but also a pretty competent stand up judging by his preformance. Alhtough I have friends who went to his show last night and apparently a few people walked out it was so bad! Funny how comics can kill one night and die the next. Pretty good based on what I saw though.
I've also stuck my head it to the tail end of a few of the free shows when I've been drinking at the venues... Donald MacIntyre had a few good jokes, but with a tough crowd. Kai Bosh was compering a late show and had some great filler material in the 5-10 minutes I saw him. Imran Yusuf also had a great short set.
Nick Mohammed in Apollo 21 **
The blurb for the show doesn't tell you much, other than it's a show about the moon landings and it's listed in the "comedy" section.
Unfortunately I didn't really figure it out. It's all very much moon related, but I just don't think he really took the theme anywhere. The show followed the timelines of the moon landings in a loose fashion but he didn't really try to go in one direction.
The show started with, and kept going back to imressions of Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins although Mohammed strangely chose to put on an accent for Collins, but use his own accent when playing the art of Aldrin).
Rather than talking about things that actually happened he chose to imagine how they may have bitched about each other then repeat his thoughts to the audience. There were one or two witty observations scattered in there but mostly it was predictable... pooing and peeing in space, Michael Collins being jealous because he didn't get to land on the moon etc.
He touched on the subject of the debunking the conspiracy theorists who try to claim that the moon landings were faked, but again didn't really take it anywhere.
Unfortunately the best part of the show came when he had a major technical problem with the projector and couldn't get it to work. This lead to some funny interactions and ad libing while the computer restarted and we got to see his screensaver.
So there is proof that there is a good comedian out there, he just didn't manage to show it in this show.
Nick Mohammed is at The Pleasance Upstairs at 16.45
2/5
http://www.edfringe.com/ticketing/detail.php?id=15094
Unfortunately I didn't really figure it out. It's all very much moon related, but I just don't think he really took the theme anywhere. The show followed the timelines of the moon landings in a loose fashion but he didn't really try to go in one direction.
The show started with, and kept going back to imressions of Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins although Mohammed strangely chose to put on an accent for Collins, but use his own accent when playing the art of Aldrin).
Rather than talking about things that actually happened he chose to imagine how they may have bitched about each other then repeat his thoughts to the audience. There were one or two witty observations scattered in there but mostly it was predictable... pooing and peeing in space, Michael Collins being jealous because he didn't get to land on the moon etc.
He touched on the subject of the debunking the conspiracy theorists who try to claim that the moon landings were faked, but again didn't really take it anywhere.
Unfortunately the best part of the show came when he had a major technical problem with the projector and couldn't get it to work. This lead to some funny interactions and ad libing while the computer restarted and we got to see his screensaver.
So there is proof that there is a good comedian out there, he just didn't manage to show it in this show.
Nick Mohammed is at The Pleasance Upstairs at 16.45
2/5
http://www.edfringe.com/ticketing/detail.php?id=15094
Friday, 14 August 2009
The Motherwokfantastic - Daniel Rigby ***
Daniel Rigby is a very interesting charachter. His ridiculous style of comedy which mixes deadpan with stupid songs and on stage giggling makes him really hard to define or take seriously.
His deadpan style comes across as a little arrogant at first. I got the impression he thought he was a genius and was just waiting for us to realise it at first, but he won me over by the end of the show.
Some of the sketches were repeated, getting more surreal each time.
I really can't decide if I like him or not. There's a good chance he's the sort of act that grows on you the more you see them (there is more than just a tip of the hat to Monty Python in his sketches)... I could quite easily see him next year and give him 5 stars. He could just as easily fall of the face of the earth.
Why not go and see him for yourself and post a comment below....
Daniel Rigby is at the Pleasance Cellar at 18.00
3/5
http://www.edfringe.com/ticketing/detail.php?id=15028
His deadpan style comes across as a little arrogant at first. I got the impression he thought he was a genius and was just waiting for us to realise it at first, but he won me over by the end of the show.
Some of the sketches were repeated, getting more surreal each time.
I really can't decide if I like him or not. There's a good chance he's the sort of act that grows on you the more you see them (there is more than just a tip of the hat to Monty Python in his sketches)... I could quite easily see him next year and give him 5 stars. He could just as easily fall of the face of the earth.
Why not go and see him for yourself and post a comment below....
Daniel Rigby is at the Pleasance Cellar at 18.00
3/5
http://www.edfringe.com/ticketing/detail.php?id=15028
Regret Me Not **
You can sit and watch someone who is clearly talented and recognise their talents, but still not enjoy the show all that much.
Andrea Dovovan is likeable and I don't know if it was that tiredness was starting to set in, but I didn't get in to the show at all.
With no-one to bounce off on stage and no audience interaction (which I admit was a relief afer Adam Riches) the show was far too one-dimensional. The costume changes took up quite a bit of time and although the charachters could have been funny, they took too long to establish.
She'll go on to do well I think. Other people in the audience were enjoying the show more than me, but it was definatley smile to yourself funny rather than laugh out loud funny.
I expect to see Andrea Donovan have success in the future, possibly getting parts in comedy acting... I don't know how exerienced she is... if this is her first Edinburgh show then it could be a good starting point for her, but she will need some new ideas to really get on... more props, people starring alongside her.... use of multimedia in the show could all help take her to the next level (Her youtube trailer for the show is decent - link below).
Regret Me Not is at the Peasance Hut at 16.45:
2/5
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H-SeZfQnDM8
http://www.edfringe.com/ticketing/detail.php?id=13991
Andrea Dovovan is likeable and I don't know if it was that tiredness was starting to set in, but I didn't get in to the show at all.
With no-one to bounce off on stage and no audience interaction (which I admit was a relief afer Adam Riches) the show was far too one-dimensional. The costume changes took up quite a bit of time and although the charachters could have been funny, they took too long to establish.
She'll go on to do well I think. Other people in the audience were enjoying the show more than me, but it was definatley smile to yourself funny rather than laugh out loud funny.
I expect to see Andrea Donovan have success in the future, possibly getting parts in comedy acting... I don't know how exerienced she is... if this is her first Edinburgh show then it could be a good starting point for her, but she will need some new ideas to really get on... more props, people starring alongside her.... use of multimedia in the show could all help take her to the next level (Her youtube trailer for the show is decent - link below).
Regret Me Not is at the Peasance Hut at 16.45:
2/5
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H-SeZfQnDM8
http://www.edfringe.com/ticketing/detail.php?id=13991
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