2024

Fancy a mockumentary or two?

bruceonthefringe 2024, Edinburgh Fringe 2024, Fringe reviews, Sooo fringe, Uncategorized Tags: , , , , Leave a comment

Hey! How’s your Fringe going? Got any shows planned for this weekend? Huh? Can I recommend any? Oo, that’s a loaded question, see I can tell you what I’ve enjoyed, but as I’ve said in the past, even giving recommendations to your closest friends, who you think you know so well, can end in disappointment (and you thinking, who is this person? how could you not love that?!). So here’s a few notes on a couple of shows that I have thoroughly enjoyed, made me laugh my socks off and left me with a warm fuzzy glow afterwards.

Love the small print at the bottom!

I saw it last year, I saw it again this year, it’s brilliant, bonkers and totally Fringe, it’s The Last Gun by Will BF. I had a look back on what I wrote about it last year and I stand by everything I said, so well, I’ll just paste it here….

So, silliness incorporated, The Last Gun starring, in many many roles, Will BF and a couple of sock puppets – what’s the Fringe without a sock puppet or two?. Right from the off when an audience member was urged to put a video in a video player (he was young, not sure he had much clue what he was doing!) the tone was set, daft, a tad retro, with audience participation.

The Last Gun was a film made in 1975, it sunk with barely a trace, never finding it’s audience, this show is a documentary looking back at “the garlic of films – very stinky”. The laughs come fast and frequently in all forms, impressive wordplay and sharp, funny dialogue, the characters in the talking heads documentary sections, visual gags (an easter egg, loved it!). The audience participation bits are excellent, there’s playdough and video-gaming (Will has written operating instructions on the back of his shirt to help the other player along), Will is equally quick and hilarious on and off script. The film is well realised, in fact I’d swear I got it out of Blockbusters in the late 80’s for one of my infamous movie marathons! ☆☆☆☆½

And if you enjoy that mockumentary, he’s done another one! This year’s new offering is Moon Team IIIV on DVD, bless, the young’un didn’t even know to take the DVD out of the case before inserting it into the machine. This looks at the prequel sequel of a blockbuster sci-fi movie made twenty years after the original (are you still with me?) Again there’s plenty of talking heads recounting memories, giving opinions, all very funny and well-realised.

The film itself plays out through the show with Will BF jumping between all the characters, so much energy! Like The Last Gun Will knows his subject well, so many sci-fi references to spot and chortle at through a film with a plot to make George Lucas jealous. A big shout out for Swimothy, he was awesome! This sci-fi like it used to be, funny, action-packed, strangely compulsive, great fun with a bucket of popcorn ☆☆☆☆½

If you’ve read any of my stuff, you may have realised I rarely write anything about plots or twists, personally I don’t like sitting knowing certain points are coming up or that there’s a big, shocking reveal (kinda takes the shock out of it).

Toodle pip!

Fancy a sardine sandwich?

bruceonthefringe 2024, Comedy, Comedy duos, Comic theatre, Edinburgh Fringe 2024, Fringe reviews, Uncategorized Tags: , , , , , Leave a comment

That’s a duo of duos with a filling of Sardines; a fine concept if the showtimes had lined up, sadly not. My, a sandwich like this could really give you bizarre dreams afterwards (mmm, actually yes, probably as well it doesn’t exist). First on the board, BriTANick: Dummy.

BriTANick are from the States, a sketch comedy duo who’ve worked together for some time (oh, and the good-looking one is married to Karen Gillan). There’s a charm about them, their comedy is surreal, often subverting the audience’s expectations, but always charming. BriTANick are not afraid to follow ideas way down deep into the rabbit hole when timider comics would stop and head back to the light; the reward is a highly entertaining, deeply funny hour. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

On to the filling, Sardines a surreal comedy about William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge. I’ll admit I was very unsure about picking this, like in one of those sandwich shops where it’s all unusual fillings, so you just have to choose and hope for the best. Oh, my Fringe-dar was so on point! Truly, wonderfully silly, there’s sweet and sharp, whimsy and dark. Another brilliant production at Paradise in The Vault but take note it finishes on Saturday 17th, if you like your theatre on the absurd side, do catch it! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

And completing the sandwich are those Grubby Little Mitts with yet another ridiculously brilliant show, how do they do it? Hmmm, I reckon that Rosie and Sullivan skipped into a rabbit hole went right to the end, then extended it, and stuck in a few sneaky doublebacks just for fun – they’ve built a whole damn warren! And watch out, this is comedy with a soupsant of unease, and a shiver of disquiet (it’s Rosie, I tell you, she’s scary, looks sweet but …). Without doubt a contender for my top show of the Fringe ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 🌟

More later, toodle pip!

A few more I’ve see…

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Late last night I put up couple of pics on my Instagram story, I suppose I should say something to support them. Okay, there were three pics but I’ve already told you how great The Gummy Bears” Great War is (4½ stars, in case you missed it).

Ah, looking again I didn’t put any stars on the Shadow Necropolis pic. Another excellent production by the Mochinosha Puppet Company, revisiting some of the characters from last year’s Shadow Kingdom. This time our young heroine Minerva goes to Necropolis to rescue a new friend from the clutches of Oizys (new fact for the day, Oizys is the Greek goddess of anxiety, distress and misery).

If you’ve never seen Japanese shadow puppetry before (yeah, there’s a good chance of that), it’s not just dark shadows – there’s plenty of colours! The story is told using hundreds of colourful shadow puppets projected on to a big screen. The artistry is breathtaking and will sweep you up into the story, which fair cracks along from the off with the two puppeteers supplying distinct voices to each character.

There’s plenty of humour, intrigue and storyline to enjoy, but I did feel that some of the references to coping with anxiety were too heavy-handed and bogged the story down; a show like this is a great way to highlight anxiety issues and I applaud the company for doing this, just a lighter touch would have worked better for me. Apart from that, a top show for me ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️½

The third pic is the flyer for Hughie Shepherd-Cross’s latest play Gang Bang about a mafia gang, not an orgy as some may wonder by the name! Okay, so I did titter when the call was made for the queue to start. I may have to enquire why the author chose the name, if I do I shall let you know.

Gang Bang is an awful lot of fun, the three actors morph perfectly between the multiple characters, delivering the laughs that just kept piling up. Well, Lancashire is just a funny place anyway, stick a sicilian mafia guy Don Lambrini in there (he thought he was on a boat sailing to America), next thing it’s nearly thirty years on, time to name his successor….

Okay, so I may be a bit partisan for things set in the North of England; Blackpool is the particular setting here. The accents were delivered with gusto, like I said, there’s an awful lot to enjoy with this production. Shepherd-Cross’s writing just gets better and better, he’s definitely one to watch ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️½

Just one more mention for the night, Napoleon’s 100 Days written and performed by Andy D in one of my favourite venues Paradise In The Vault. Last year he successfully transplanted Mark Twain’s The Stolen White Elephant to England, plenty fun there, but a show about Napoleon?! Surely a tad on the dry side? Never fear, this is the story of Napoleon’s escape from exile on Elba and return to Paris and power with a just small army, his friend Stanley from Lancashire (see why I included this here?!) and a dog called Fido – some elements may be more fictional than others, but it’s all delivered with a dry but fuzzily warm northern humour.

Annoyingly, just like back in my schooldays, the historical dates, names, places refuse to nestle in my brain, but I enjoyed being along for the ride. You don’t have to be a history buff to enjoy this show, just an enquiring mind and love of a semi-factual tale ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Goodnight, sweet dreams

Norse men, bears and a bard

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August, the month of short, intense bursts of exercise, well, covering distances in a quarter of the time it would usually take. Oh, it’s not just about speed and stamina, there’s sidestepping obstacles, anticipating numpties, spotting and slipping through the slightest gaps in sprawling crowds. That was me tonight trying to get to the Gordon Aitman Theatre at George Square in time for Mythos: Ragnarok. Reader, I made it! Only because as I dashed out, 20:55 morphed into 20:50 in my head (yeah, I wouldn’t have made that).

So how was Mythos: Ragnarok a tale of Norse gods told by wrestlers? Bloody entertaining, that’s what! This particular venue often feels quite dull and sterile to me, but tonight was very different, the backdrops and effects really gave the place an atmosphere; the action was dramatic and powerful with plenty of humour and wit. Wrestling isn’t usually my thing at all, but as it’s Fringe, why not; so don’t be put off if it’s not yours either, it’s a great storyline and that noise as they slam down is something else (honestly, it sounds so painful, just as well they’re all professionals and incredibly well rehearsed). So glad I went!⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ ½

From Norse gods to Gummy Bears – only at the Fringe! As gummy bears are very small, so the timelength of the show is short, but The Gummy Bears’ Great War packs a lot of punch into thirty minutes; also, despite being tiny, the room layout means all the audience can see the stars of the show (the room being in C Alto aka The Quaker House). While we start off laughing and chuckling, the chuckles become wryer and sparser as the mood changes to a sad pathos for the absurdity of it all and the inevitable end. I was reminded of Henry Naylor’s plays on the human, personal consequences of war. Those gummy bears moved me ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ ½

Time for one more, Shakespeare For Breakfast at C Aurora (aka Lauriston Halls). The ten o’clock start is a hard one, inevitably always a rush to get there no matter my intentions the night before! This year it’s The Tempest getting the C Theatre treatment where pentameter blends nicely with modern speech, and the setting is quite farcical. You don’t have to know anything about the original play to enjoy this take on it, honest. Always a joy, it wouldn’t be the Edinburgh Fringe without Shakespeare For Breakfast one morning! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Time to hit the sack, more reviews tomorrow, promise!

A few cuts of comedy…

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Just time for a quick one!! I have a date at eight with Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman. A few notes on Comedy, methinks. The wonderful Will BF is back with two shows, The Last Gun (last year’s show) and Moon Team IIIV. I’m looking forward to seeing both, yes, both, The Last Gun was very entertaining!

Also back are Crizards, just not together, they’ve gone solo. Eddy Hare: This One’s On Me is on at the Pleasance Courtyard, so a tad pricey! While Will Rowland: Masterpiece in Progress is on at the Banshee Labyrinth, part of the Free Fringe. Interesting choices. I’m interested to see what they each bring, will I prefer one over the other?

For years Gamarjobat entertained Edinburgh Fringe-goers, first just on the streets then also with proper shows. Mime is often the butt of jokes, but Gamarjobat a double mime act from Japan were brilliant; this year just one half is back with Ketch Sketch. Hmmm, I’m not sure if one mime can create the magic that the two had together, we’ll see.

And last but definitely not the least, John-Luke Roberts is back with not one but ten different shows; a retrospective of his solo shows, if you will. I’ve seen five, do I pick one I haven’t seen before or re-visit one that I have? Hmm.

Shakespeare, Gummy Bears and a Gang Bang?!

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This is going be short and sweet, like myself! It’s very late but let’s do a quick trawl through more cuttings, tomorrow is going to be busy so that could be another non-blog day. Crikey, this time next week this year’s Edinburgh Fringe will be properly underway. Aargh.

I did have my cuttings neatly sorted, yeah, that was doomed; so what’s at the top of the heap? Aha, first a slight correction, David Alnwick has a third show, it’s listed under Theatre that’s why I missed it earlier, The Mystery of Dracula. I saw it last year and enjoyed it, he knows how to tell a story!

The coffee and croissant crew are back, yay, Shakespeare For Breakfast and I am still without a ticket! That ten o’clock start is hard work, but on average it’s been well worth getting up for. The talented Hughie Shepherd-Cross is bringing another play up, that’s three in three years! I enjoyed the previous two, Out to Lunch and Ringer so I definitely intend to see Gang Bang.

Great poster applauds for Plotters and Corpse Flower, the blurbs are quite enticing too; and looking closely second time round The Gummy Bears’ Great War has me intrigued. I suspect its a show worth queuing early for to get a front row seat – those dudes are really small!

And last for tonight two possibles, largely helped by being at one of my favourite venues Paradise In The Vault. Now I must away to my bed.

Toodle pip!

A few more notes

bruceonthefringe 2024, Cabaret and Variety, Edinburgh Fringe 2024, Music, Musicals and opera, Uncategorized Tags: , , , , , , , Leave a comment

Music. Not content with popping up a lot in Cabaret & Variety, and on occasion in Comedy, it has its own category and an extra one just for Musicals & Opera. I rarely see anything from either category but, always have a look through, just in case….

Oh my heartses, there’s two shows listed on the first two pages of Music featuring the divine Nicole Smit! On the first Sunday evening of the Fringe, she’ll be in the reopened Jazz Bar, for not just sixty but ninety minutes of jazz; I guess it needs to be that long, the show’s called “26” Songs Nicole Cassandra Smit Wants to Sing. Oh, it’s gonna be good!

Nicole is back in The Jazz Bar mid Fringe, this time with Jed Potts doing their thang with country, blues and jazz numbers; there’ll be some sweet, sad, sassy and maybe just downright silly stuff in there, depend how they’re feelin’! There’s two chances for all the out-of-towners to see Aaaah Look Who It Is: Jed Potts and Nicole Smit, Again! The Jazz Bar also sees the return of The Blueswater for five late night shows spread over the Fringe, yay! Which night to pick?! Another chance to see Jed play, and no doubt Nicole will be up for a number or two.

Much as I love all that stuff, I have other needs, heavy heavy riffs and disco (yes, I’m a moose of many musical tastes). Luckily there’s a show that covers both … in Bannermans, they’re back for two nights, Tragedy: All Metal Tribute to the Bee Gees and Beyond. It’s gonna be hot and sweaty, and gleefully, wickedly OTT!!

But have any Musicals caught my eye? Just three have tweaked my curiosity…..

It’s late, I’m pooped. A look through one of the big ones tomorrow, ooo. Sweet dreams!

Fancy some Variety with your Cabaret?

bruceonthefringe 2024, Cabaret and Variety, Edinburgh Fringe 2024, Edinburgh Fringe Programme, Uncategorized Tags: , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

I’ve probably asked this before, Cabaret & Variety and Comedy – what’s the deciding factor which category a show is marketed in when there’s elements of both? And is a music show with traces of humour and pazzazz automatically in Cabaret & Variety? Then there’s magic, and boy, there’s a lot of magic at the Edinburgh Fringe these days! Magic shows are mainly in Cabaret & Variety even the really funny ones, which to my mind could be in Comedy. It wouldn’t surprise me if magic got it’s own category one year.

Yes, I’ve had time to have a look through the first category in the Fringe programme, well, it’s only seventeen pages. So what caught my eye? Which shows have already been snipped from my cut-outs programme?

Top of the second page there’s Accordion Ryan’s Pop Bangers back again at the slightly earlier time of 10pm; I’ll definitely be popping in there at some point. Also back again, a few pages along is David Alnwick with two shows this year, oh yeah, magic shows, he’s rather good at it! Both with PBH’s Free Fringe but one is comedic, the other horror; Alnwick is a skilled storyteller weaving his magic into his tales, Necromancer may not be for those with a nervous disposition.

Over the page and An Evening with Dame Granny Smith made me laugh out loud. Ah, ventriloquism, so not a magic talking apple, then? Have to say, the picture has managed to hook me, possibly a preview ticket. From the E’s I perused right throught to the S’s til another picture winked at me, that of Surreal: The Mind-Reading Show From Berlin! Intriguing blurb, but it does say, interactive, hmmm, and it’s pricey; maybe if there’s Half Price Hut tickets?

I’m thinking that fifty minutes of Tarting About with Blues and Burlesque one afternoon could be quite fun! Part of PBH’s Free Fringe in Uno Mas, a bar I’ve never visited. Even shorter, there’s a forty-five minute show by The Unluckiest Magician, who happens to be antipodean (I have a strange weakness for anything from down under). Umm, tempted!

The final entry in Cabaret & Variety is the wonderfully titled A Young Man Dressed as a Gorilla Dressed as an Old Man Sits Rocking in a Rocking Chair for Fifty-Six Minutes and Then Leaves… 15. Yes, this is the fifteenth time it’s been performed!! I say performed, erm, I’ve never actually seen it. It’s obviously very popular as it’s in the Liquid Room Annexe/Warehouse, that’s a big venue. This year may be the year!

And, saving the best ’til last? Well, certainly amongst the best for this moose, the star that is Aidan Sadler is bringing their self-penned show Melody back again, this time to the Ballroom at The Voodoo Rooms (a better venue than last year). Flamboyant, funny, sharp, mouthy, self-deprecating, I knew all that from bumping into them regularly the last three Fringes, then I went to see the show, and wow, what a voice! There’s a distinct possibility of me seeing Aidan Sadler: Melody a second time.

So there’s some that have grabbed my eyeballs so far; oh, the importance of that tiny pic and show title! Next time, a skip through Musicals and opera and Music. Not that I’m sure whether I’ll be here all August or partly down in Yorkshireland, the matriarch is still stuck in the woods and will need a lot of tlc when she gets out. But I’ll deal with that when it happens.

Toodle pip!

Still nothing but I do have a poster

bruceonthefringe 2024, European trip 2024, Uncategorized Tags: Leave a comment

It’s only twenty-four days until the Edinburgh Fringe 2024 previews start. Any other year I’d have my previews organised, cut-outs in piles of definites, maybes, half price huts, short runs; my Fringe calendar would be printed out with around fifteen shows already marked up in pen. I’m distracted, my thoughts are often elsewhere, I ain’t committing myself to anything that I can’t drop in an instant (I do have a few tickets, friends may get lucky!)

My tales of travels and troubadours in Europe have also been a casuality of my current uncertainty and concern (mother moose was taken into hospital almost three weeks ago). I’ve always found it difficult to shut worrisome thought out of my head and get on with other stuff. To complicate things further, I have my places where I sit and write, and Yorkshireland where I’m headed back to in the morning, isn’t one of them; so getting anything down on paper (er, tablet) in the next week will be a challenge.

I do now have my Logan’s Close European Tour goodies, they may help inspire me! Or I could actually go through the Fringe programme properly and write about Fringey things, maybe. Meanwhile keep smiling, be good, and tell someone you love how much you love them 💛

Admiring my tour poster, signed by the lads

That bit of newspaper stuck on the top corner of the frame, just a little something I tore out to remind myself….

Best laid plans of mice and moose

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After my last post a week ago, I fully intended to knuckle down and write every other day about my European wanderings, and make a serious start on this year’s Fringe programme. Unfortunately the gods had other ideas and laid the moose matriarch low, very low, so everything went out the window. It’s been a busy, taut time; thank god for the NHS, they’ve been brilliant. I’m in Edinburgh for just a couple of days to sort some things out, a wee chill out, then back down to Yorkshireland tomorrow.

I arrived yesterday at noon, so was able to trot along to the Farmers Market to stock up on some good quality frozen meats to take back down (for some good, quality, hearty frozen dishes for mother’s freezer). Co Co Co. were at the Market with another new chocolate, Strawberries & Cream, well, I had to, and a packet of Crème Brûlée (mother’s favourites).

Later in the afternoon the R&R really began when I popped in Whistlebinkies to catch Jed Potts and Nicole Smit doing their thing, just what the doctor ordered! Washed down with some Olicana, Stewart’s latest brew. I’ve since checked out their tasting notes, Stewart’s say mango, grapefruit and passionfruit; I say peapod. Honestly, the first sniff was like opening a bag of peapods, the taste did nothing to change that thought. Oh, I did like it in some weird way, but I couldn’t drink a lot of it.

There’s a film in cinemas at the moment with Austin Butler, Jodie Comer and Tom Hardy, oh my heartses. The Bikeriders is one hell of a movie with a soundtrack to match (currently playing on my Spotify). The writer/director Jeff Nichols was inspired by a photo book by one Danny Lyon who took photographs and tape recordings of a chapter of outlaw motorcyclists between 1963 and 1967. Apparently the recordings Lyon made of Kathy, played by Comer in the film, are still around to listen to, gonna have to check them out. All three of the leads are mesmerising to watch, and another accent nailed by Comer! Hopefully I’ll get to see it again before it disappears from the big screen.

Time for my bed, still got a lot to do tomorrow before I hit the road south. Still no sign of a drought in Yorkshireland this summer….

G’night!