Edinburgh Fringe 2024

A few finishing scenes

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So, how did I finish my Fringe, with a bang or a resigned sigh? Did I make it to the Farmers Market early doors? Ha, best intentions but I wasn’t there until about one, I’d been to a show late morning, hmmm. I’m not saying it was a turkey, maybe a lame duck! The curry I made with the chicken thighs from Brewsters had more meat in it than that play; but as the Fringe is over I won’t give name to the offenders.

The show I took a chance on that evening more than made up for the morning’s disappointment, phew. An Evening with Mere Mortals was a blast, well two blasts, two short plays in fifty-five minutes, not a second was wasted, both packed with crazy full-on plotlines and great characters delivering deliciously sharp dialogue.

Stjälkar was like an early 70s espionage movie (okay, so the eyeball bit may have been a bit excessive?!) Inbound is more of an action movie, and special mention to the Tech here, wow, the effects really added big time to the energy of this section, impressive. The three actors were all very versatile and highly entertaining to watch. Good to know my Fringe-dar was still working fine! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

No time for a proper tea, so I had yet another vegetarian pizza slice from the Tony Macaroni pizza stand at Hunters Square (they are very tasty) on my way to the Voodoo Rooms. Aidan Sadler was performing their show Melody for the last time, only they, and we the audience, decided to go off piste for the last night, so instead, it was chat with the songs from Melody. And it was utterly delightful! Aidan is one of my favourite humans on the Fringe, warm, funny, smart, and a hugger! 💛

Sunday wasn’t a time for risks, I needed happy. Plus I was very tired from being out ’til after four in the morning dancing to The Scat Rats in Whistlebinkies. First up, brilliant and bonkers Will BF: The Last Gun, for one last time that antipodean whirlwind John Robertson with his fuzzed up uke, finishing with the ever delightful Accordion Ryan in what felt like a sauna (he gave a “it gets toasty”warning and handed out some mist spray bottles at the start!) My soul was soaring after that, a shame my body needed a lie down, so no ACMS for me (truly I couldn’t).

And on to the final day, the fizzle out. Absolutely definitely I was going to see Will BF: Moon Team IIIV again; three weeks since I first saw it and boy, there’s been some tweaking going on! (I was aware there’d been a few changes through the run, one of the reasons I wanted to see it again, yeah, a few plus a few more) Unfortunately the multimedia tech acted up a bit, but no mind, it just seemed to add to the surreal silliness of it all. Indeed, a fine note to finish on if I chose to, or?

I was vaguely meandering over to the university area, just flicking mentally through my Fringe as I walked; I remember realising I had only seen Thom Tuck in passing on the street this year (he seems to have developed guerilla Fringe tactics), oh well. Next thing, there’s Mr Tuck in the fenced off chill area by the Pleasance Dome, well, think of the devil and…! He noticed me walking up, probably looking a tad bemused, “Oh hello, are you here for the unrehearsed reading of the screenplay of The Princess Bride?” Er no, but hell, why not?

So I found myself listening to Thom Tuck acting as narrator reading all the directions, with a motley crew reading and vaguely acting out the roles. They got as far as Fezzik falling down dead, it seemed like a good place to stop after possibly one of the best scenes in the film (“never get involved in a land war in Asia”). What a most enjoyable, delightful Fringey way to end the Fringe! Sure, I could have gone on to another show, but my soul felt nicely sated.

A big thanks to all who kept my spirits up through this Fringe, you crazy, brilliant, sweet fools. Missing you already! Toodle pip!

《More analysis on my Fringe this year will follow, and maybe a few Brucies, but I’m shortly back off to Yorkshireland, I shall be a tad busy》

The final weekend, again

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It’s late-ish on the final Friday of the Fringe, the sounds of the traffic let me know it’s very wet out there. Yeah, I’ve no wish to go out, and I do want to be up early tomorrow (really, it will happen, it will). I’d say there’s still three more nights to go, but we all know that’s a joke! Oo, I can hear the bangs and crackles of the end of Tattoo fireworks, you know I haven’t seen them at all this year, at one time I would make tweaks to my evenings just so I would be on the Royal Mile to see them!

I was out late last night to see The Blueswater at The Jazz Bar, a mighty fine time, the joint was swinging! If you like a ginger beer, then definitely try their mix; it’s not just a ginger beer from a bottle or can, this is The Jazz Bar’s Ginger Beer, wow, it kicks! At £14 this is the most I’ve spent on a Fringe show ticket – but that is ninety minutes of the best sounds, so worth it. Indeedily ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Earlier yesterday evening I went back for more electrically distorted ukulele with John Robertson: The Human Hurricane. God, he is so much fun!! Every show is so unique as he plays around with the audience, this time there was a chap with a melodica, he kind of, em, tried to menace John with it?! Of course, it was taken up on stage where John attempted to play it and his ukulele at the same time. See, if Laughing Horse @ The Counting House continued until the final Monday, The Human Hurricane would be a great show to end my Fringe. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I was also back the Delhi Belly in the Underbelly yesterday morning, my third show there (Bishops and Dr Dolittle), how would Michael Kunze: Infinity Mirror measure up? After such quintessentially British shows, Infinity Mirror is brashly American. Mind, I did wonder if I’d gone into the right show at the start, as he was on stage making sandwiches! No worries, his character Mitch Coony works in a deli, he had a story to share with us…

It’s a rise and fall tale of a young actor and his brother (who’s a horse), and trying to get into the VIP rooms at Tom Hanks’ sex parties (did I mention it’s a tad surreal and silly?) The story arc is good, sometimes overtaken by the sketches, but the payoffs are great, very nicely done. Kunze interacts well with an audience, but it was when he was shooting off one-liners that he had me in stitches. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I’ve been think of my Fringe end, honestly, so much is over and already packing up on the Monday. I could finish with a bang on Sunday night, there’s The Human Hurricane, then I could catch Accordion Ryan’s Pop Bangers (note to self, would have to remember to queue in good time, he’s so popular he’s having to turn folk away!) Later on to the Alternative Comedy Memorial Society? It’s the final one, so awards time, very very silly awards ’til about three in the morning. Well, it’s a plan, and not too bad for making Will BF‘s final Moon Team IIIV just after noon on Monday.

G’night!

A Casio-carrying comic and a Volcano

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Another rainy night in Edinburgh, it’s late but just time for a couple of musings….

Huge Davies: Album For My Ancestors (Dead) is billed as “musical comedy, stand-up” and yes it is, stand-up with a huge Casio keyboard slung low in front – personally I think a ukulele would be so much easier. Oh, and Huge is correct, not a spelling error. Huge is also very deadpan, very. He’s that guy you can’t suss out, does he hate you, everyone in general, or is he actually just taking the piss? Does he just enjoy being miserable and moany?

Apparently, we were the worst audience ever (sure, I bet he says that to all his crowds!), and woe betide anyone not clapping or finger-clicking as required, or disrespecting his family; the deadpan delivery also continues in his songs. Huge is obviously quite an accomplished musician (a strong one too, carrying that thing around) and his comic lyrics are sharp to the point and wickedly funny, some even a tad catchy.

It took me a while to warm to him (or was it a Fringe version of the Stockholm syndrome?!) but with songs about pokemon, aliens, Pearl Harbour, Grampa Joe (from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Huge really had a bee in his bonnet about him!), well, I do like a witty ditty. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I was intrigued by Volcano: Ben Miller, a Pay What You Want show on at Just the Tonic at The Caves. Yes, of course I realised it wasn’t the Ben Miller but I bet I wasn’t the only one who went along anyway thanks to the non-connection. The show zipped along, Ben was pleasantly personable and engaging, but while it was quite interesting and entertaining, there could have been more, well, oomph. ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Oops, definitely time for bed. Sweet dreams!

Deep in the Belly….

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This Fringe I’ve been rediscovering my love of Green & Black’s Organic Intense Dark 70% cocoa chocolate. Oh, it’s a tad too intense to start, but then it oozes in and canoodles your senses; I don’t leave the moose cave now without a piece slowly melting in my mouth. A very pleasurable sensation!

And a pleasure it was to see those men of the cloth again and with a new show, Bishops: Farewell Bruce Porcelain. Another very funny show, this time sketches with a narrative running through (well, loosely skipping through). I was utterly delighted that they revisited one of my favourite bits from last year, but I can’t believe how long it took me to twig it was that again!! No, I won’t say which bit, to say anything would give it away, but boy, it killed me, twice. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Staying in the Underbelly in the Cowgate, I went to see My Last Two Brain Cells in the Iron Belly, which reminds me, I was rushing to the show, tore up the stairwell unsure which floor it was on (note to Underbelly, it would help to put signs on the stairwell doors through to each floor), gasping I asked an Underbelly employee sat in the stairwell which floor Iron Belly was on – I got a vacant look and shrug back! Jeez, not a lot of brain activity there.

Anyhoo, My Last Two Brain Cells starts with Brain Cell 64,928,460,783 (with clipboard in hand) welcoming us to the first tour of Gary’s brain; then Brain Cell 12 turns up wanting to liven things up a little. Hmm, a brain cell buddy show?! Indeed, 64,928…. is the efficient but dull worker (useful but you wouldn’t go for drinks after work with him, and from here on in known as Clive), while 12 is fun, fun, fun (but you’re glad you don’t work in the same team as him). Oh, and of course these two have a history together…

MLTBC is very silly and surreal; Joe Pike and Tom Hazelden are such a talented pair, the energy of these two is full-on but oddly charming. They seem to pack a helluva lot into an hour, did all that happen in one hour? A crazy exhilarating hour ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️½

Ah, I seem to have inadvertently stayed in the Underbelly in this post. I’ve also stayed with the theme of absurd silliness, it must be something in the air there. Dr Dolittle Kills a Man (and Reads Extracts From His New Book) was recommended to me, oh, such a sweet call! My god, another brilliantly bonkers show – what a great Fringe it’s been for me!

Dr Dolittle Kills a Man just ticked so many boxes: comedy that’s silly but sharp too, a ridiculous plot reminiscent of an 80’s movie or two, a pitch perfect performance, a great baddie, a surprise cameo, oh and great incidental music and visuals (loved all the maps). If this is what Aidan Pittman can do for a debut solo show, well, just, wow ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Must fly, another show to see. Toodle pip!

Music, murder and mind-reading

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It’s Sunday evening of the second Fringe week, I’m feeling somewhat peeved as I’ve just lost two days fringing to a lurgy! Oh, it’s my own personal lurgy that likes to pop up and lay me low at the most annoying times. It wasn’t going to stop me seeing Logan’s Close last evening though, oh no, an afternoon dozing on the couch sipping lemon and honey was just enough to pep an old moose up.

The lads along with two other acts were meant to be playing on a stage on an open area at the top of St James Quarter, but this is Edinburgh in August. Yeah, no, that wasn’t going to happen, of course the weather was not going to play ball! So the bands played on the third floor, but hey, it was grand, the Close were on top form; a lush intro going into Babestation and they were off. Previous LC drummer Alex was filling in for Gavin, busy elsewhere at the Fringe. What’s happening in the pic? Check it out on Instagram! What an utter joy, a mid Fringe dose of Elsie. A much-needed tonic 💛

I’ve done absolutely zilcharoony today, so now as my head is starting to clear, a few more Fringe musings…

First up The Grim a darkly comic piece of theatre. I really enjoyed it, the banter between the two undertakers, one a real geezer type and the other a more timid Irish Catholic lad, was great but one couldn’t help looking at the covered over corpse on the table and wondering… This is the second play I’ve seen by Edmund Morris, I very much look forward to his third. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Surreal: The Mind-Reading Show From Berlin! is something very different. Even as we sat waiting for the show to begin the animated vintage-style projections were incredibly beautiful and set the tone (at the end of the show we learnt that they were created by Vivian). Roman Von Thurau and Vivian Sommer are like creatures from another era, almost otherworldly, their storytelling pulled the audience in and their mind-reading kept us all enthralled. I like to think myself as open-minded with a healthy dose of cynicism; that was some show, quite unnerving ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Musical theatre, anyone? The Man Who Wouldn’t Be Murdered is performed in the round (or, more square in this case), and impressively without mics. Centre stage is the musical accompaniment, keyboards played by the writer/composer Lily Blundell who also plays a character too! She is Josephine, wife of Tony Morino, owners of a bar in 1930s America. Business is not good, Tony comes up with a plan to get some money, but Death has other ideas. A little different to my usual fare but again my Fringe-dar hit the mark, a deliciously dark, funny tale, brilliantly performed by all ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️½

It’s late, I need my bed. I’ll leave you with one last mention, John Robertson: The Human Hurricane quite simply, bloody awesome!! The last time he did free Fringe show he had an old guitarist to accompany him, this time he’s playing an electric ukulele himself. John is as brilliant and gleefully manic as ever. The evening I saw him there was a dog in the audience (he is all inclusive) and a gentleman who kept John supplied with shots of whisky – a fine, fine show for us, quite what The Dark Room would have been like after it is another matter! I’ll definitely go see The Human Hurricane again ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

He’s a big softie at heart

An apple, an ironing board and a very bitter man

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Just now, as I sat to write this post the heavens opened, it’s bucketing down outside! Such a change from yesterday with blazing hot sun and a balmy breeze, that’s Fringe weather for you.

It’s the middle Thursday, some shows only have a few performances left as they finish this weekend. Some shows only come to the Fringe for a week, some for two weeks; there seem to be a lot more finishing this weekend than last weekend – is the third week pricier than the other two? Mind, the third week happens to coincide with the Edinburgh TV Festival, maybe some shows only want to bother doing the third week so’s to catch the attention of all the TV people up.

Ironing Board Man is one that finishes on Saturday. Oh, not just one ironing board, he has eight of the things (including two small ones as his children). The manoeuvring of so many ironing board characters did seem a bit clunky to me, but that will have gotten slicker as the show progressed (I saw it on the 3rd) and it gives a certain rough’n’ready charm, though some of the front row looked a tad alarmed at times at the proximity of the moving objects with their faces (they were very close to the action, it’s on in The Crate).

Ironing Board Man has a plot like a nineties movie, and the soundtrack to match. When the hero puts on the red jacket you know arses are gonna get kicked. It’s all great fun, hats off to Jody Kamali for such a wonderful creation; whilst anyone will enjoy this, I reckon a certain generation will embrace it a little more (and wonder that they didn’t see the original with Bruce Willis, on a rented video). ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Saturday is also your last chance to spend An Evening with Dame Granny Smith a wonderful feisty old antipodean, oh, and her assistant David Salter (I can’t be the only to have thought there’s a shade of Dame Edna in there). Those who’ve followed me a while will know my love of all things antipodean, well that now includes talking apples!

What a lovely, lovely show! Sweet but with plenty bite, old but still sassy, hilarity and bittersweet poignancy. The mention of Dame Maggie Smith was an utter joy, had me in stitches. Oo, now that would be fun An Evening with two Dames called Smith! I’d definitely go to that! Having written this, I’m actually tempted to go see her one more time, she’s worth it ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️½

Time will also stop for The Whirligig of Time on Saturday. I caught this yesterday with a Half Price Hut ticket, bought because the one man in this show is Robin Leetham who was excellent as Shakespeare’s Fool. This time he plays Malvolio, a few months after the events of Twelfth Night; remember how he swore revenge on all?

This tells how he did it – and how eloquently he tells the tale! The wordplay is a treat, sharp and droll; I wish I had a brain capable of recalling swathes of great lines (like that friend who can blithely quote from films seen just once!) I shall count this as part of my Shakespeare for this Fringe, I’m sure the bard wouldn’t mind ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The sun is now vaguely out, though the traffic outside sounds like the roads are still pretty wet. I should step out and see what delights are on offer today, or, first just check the Half Price Hut tickets online in case there’s something there. Wow, so many shows on the list, Dame Granny Smith is on there, but at the same time Aidan Sadler: Melody is also a HPH in the Voodoo Rooms. Or, I am intrigued by Bad Clowns: Hostage, another overlap. Decisions, decisions.

Toodle pip!

Let’s be totally clear about this….

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And he’s back!! I arrived back in Edinburgh last night, the moose matriarch will soon be back in her home, the rest of the family are all on to everything. So, the second part of my Fringe, this is weird, I would usually have lots of shows lined up, so many semi-plans, but it’s all big gaps on my calendar, not even lots of pencil scratchings. The uncertainty and worry over my mother, I didn’t want to think anything past a few weeks; it’s hard when the bedrock of your life is brought down low. So, if I’m to regale her with Fringe stories (well, she always claims to enjoy hearing all about it!) I’d best get on.

Wow, my inbox has invites to review shows! This is a new experience for me! I’ll have to go through them, reply to folk. So, if you’re reading this and have sent me an email but haven’t heard anything back from me, well, big reason see above; but also, there’s something I think I should make sure everyone is clear about, especially folk who’ve come across my musings this year. I’m not a professional critic.

This blog is just me, a moose rambling on about life on the fringe; years ago, friends kept telling me that I should do something with all my accumulated Fringe knowledge, the history, my insights, my love of Fringe (probably just to make me shut up saying it all to them). After a few years mulling it over, everything takes time to process with me, I started this blog in 2017. It’s my hobby, hell, I even pay to write this rubbish, I couldn’t bare to have crappy adverts hovering about, so I pay! Well, it’s cheaper than therapy.

So, not a professional writer, not a critic for any press (not that I’ve ever pretended or claimed to be such) just a moose who likes to share their Fringe experience (and generally my life in Edinburgh Old Town). The idea of doing whatever to get an official press thingy – see I don’t even know what it’s called, nevermind how to go about getting one. It has been suggested to me by Fringe friends but somehow I feel it would change my relationship with the Fringe, yes I know you’re thinking that’s weird, but that’s me. I’ll need another few years to mull it over.

People may enjoy my ramblings and want to take a chance that I’ll like their show and will wax lyrical about it afterwards, or I may now get second emails saying, oh I thought you were serious, consider the ticket offer rescinded. Hey ho, no worries, she’ll be right, worse things happen at sea, my cup runneth over anyway. Just thought I should set the record straight, that and I recently had an odd encounter with a performer, a misunderstanding or possibly mistaken identity, I don’t know, but it has disturbed me and I really didn’t need it, not at this time!

Well, there’s Half Price Hut offerings that I haven’t checked out yet this year. I’ll leave you with something entirely different – those beautiful boys Logan’s Close are playing on top of St James Quarter on Saturday evening, oh my heartses! I managed to grab a ticket, yay! (they’re all gone now)

And have a pic from the other evening in Yorkshireland….

Fancy a mockumentary or two?

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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?

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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