Half Price Hut

An apple, an ironing board and a very bitter man

bruceonthefringe 2024, Edinburgh Fringe 2024, Fringe reviews, Half Price Hut, Theatre, Uncategorized Tags: , , , , , , , Leave a comment

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!

The Final Push

bruceonthefringe 2023, a rant, Comedy, Comic theatre, Edinburgh Fringe 2023, Half Price Hut, Uncategorized Tags: , , , , , Leave a comment

At the start it stretches ahead, but now it’s shortening unseemingly quickly. Now it’s the beginning of the final weekend, hoards descend upon the town from Down South, party time! Then from the aftermath of Saturday night, everything just fizzles out. Sunday morning some shows and venues are already packing up. Still, one more blow out on Sunday night, hey? Before more packing up with sore heads Monday morning.

Monday the last remaining flyerers will scrabble around looking for the last punters, it can be quite tragic to witness! Those final few are probably very glad to depart what feels like a ghost town by Tuesday. Yes, I know it isn’t, dur, but for those few Fringe workers still around, all the Fringey places that were so full of life are now empty. Like I’ve said before, let’s end the Fringe on the Sunday, hey, the official start day has been brought forward over the years, so too can the end date.

Anyway, there’s flyering to be done and shows to see, a Half Price Hut to check. I’m not sure how much the HPH list gets updated this year, there may be some additions later on?! I notice that Mark Twain’s The Stolen White Elephant (5☆ from me) and How to Eat a Bear (4☆) are on there again.

Also on, I saw them the other night but haven’t got to writing a review, the utterly fabulous (and even more talented than I’d perceived them to be from our many chats) Aidan Sadler with their new show Melody, well worth 5☆. All their own songs too! Not on the HPH list yet, but it has appeared plenty, Yippee Ki Yay, I saw it yesterday, intrigued as it’s a different actor from last year and oh boy, so, so, so glad I went 5☆!

Oo, just glanced out of my window, it’s teeming down out there!! Jeepers! On the one hand flyering will be bloody soggy, on the other, folk will be more inclined to go indoors. This last week has been mostly sunshine with gentle warm breezes, folk wanted to make the most of it, not sit in stuffy dark rooms in the middle of the day.

Ah well, no rest for the wicked! I must have caffeine and away, but I’ll leave you with a quick list of shows that I’ve enjoyed this year, for your consideration this final weekend. I’ve scribbled it down quickly from looking at my Fringe schedule, so some may not be on any more.

Have a great day, whatever you’re doing, mes amis!

You may want to, but can you?

bruceonthefringe 2023, Edinburgh Fringe 2023, Fringe tickets, Half Price Hut Tags: , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

Uufh, time is marching quickly on! Less than four weeks to go now. Still no mention about this year’s Half Price Hut setup nor a peep from Assembly about ticket offers for locals. I have a pile of possibles if they are HPH-ed and a pile of Assembly offer possibles, and another pile to be moved over if Assembly don’t come through. Oh, I have lots of piles, hahaha. There’ll be some whittling down, obviously; without further cheaper options it’ll be an axing not a little whittle.

On closer inspection of all my possibilities I’ve spotted there is a distinction between Pay What You Want and Pay What You Can. Call me unobservant, well, I was kind of aware, just not paying much attention.

Pay What You Want has been going a few years now, most noticeably at Monkey Barrel Comedy and Just the Tonic. Oo, I’ve spotted that a couple of my fancies are PWYW at Paradise in The Vault, which I believe is new for that venue (it happens to be one of my favourites). Hmm, I wonder how it works, does a venue have to okay having PWYW tickets or is it just up to the shows themselves?

I notice Ahir Shah is doing a show at Monkey Barrel, he’s very popular (well, he is a very intelligent, funny guy), always does very well; tickets are £12 to guarantee entry or PWYW – you’d have to be there pretty early to be in with a chance of seeing the show without a ticket, there’ll be some seats still available but not many!

Pay What You Can is the new kid on the block from the Free Festival folk (possibly brought in as a response to controls during covid?), alongside their free non-ticketed shows. Rather than one ticket price there’s usually three or four options ranging from £5 to £12.50 to guarantee entry, or donate at the end. There is occasionally a £2.50 option – c’mon, that’s just a deposit, I would definitely give more at the end, unless it was a really duff show.

Whilst these newer payment options are great and no doubt help to put bums on seats, they are a cause of consternation for some Fringe-goers. They shuffle out past the bucketholder quietly mortified or feebly mumbling, “I bought a ticket, honest”, poor things (I am a bit like that at times, it depends on the demeanour of the bucket-person!) Of course, there’ll be others who feel great that they can breeze out of a show without anyone knowing they haven’t parted with any money (w*****s).

So there you go, the difference between Want and Can. You may Want to see a show but can’t because you didn’t buy a ticket, but you Can see a show when you’ve already paid what you could. Got that?

Toodle pip!

Another sunny day in Fringeland

bruceonthefringe 2022, a rant, Edinburgh Fringe, Edinburgh Fringe 2022, Half Price Hut, Uncategorized Tags: , , , Leave a comment

It’s another glorious day in old Edinburgh town, gonna be hot today, maybe I should escape the Fringe madness for a couple of hours and go down to Portobello beach, soak up a few rays. For the Fringe acts this is the day it gets real – the giddiness of arriving in Edinburgh, previews, first weekend going wild, the packed houses of the 241 days, that’s all done now. Of course, apart from the initial Yay! We’re in Edinburgh! the PWYC (pay what you can) shows and the Free Fringe hit reality sooner, especially as folk (myself included) will have been making the most of the cheap offers, but now the pendulum swings the other way. The free Fringe shows puts the punters in charge of how much a show is worth, do they pay a tenner for a show that turns out to be rubbish or see a show that may turn out to be really good and worth every penny of that tenner? Or fiver or fifteen pounds if you’re really flush.

Today is also the day the Half Price Hut usually opens for business, sadly it’s no longer on the Mound and open until nine o’clock in the evening so that revellers can decide on a whim to take in a show as part of their evening. Instead, this year the day’s offers will be posted online and must be bought by six o’clock at the Fringe Box Office – am I the only one that thinks this is rather rubbish? For starters, the Fringe was going to make itself more popular with locals, hmmm, be at work, get home, eat, maybe a change of clothes, catch the bus into town and have already decided what you want to see, all by quarter to six?? (There will be a queue at the box office, let’s face it) Sorry, if you have a day job to go to and don’t live in the very centre of town you can forget HPH-ing for a fun evening.

The Hut’s old location also gave flyerers somewhere else to hang around, ready to give punters that extra push towards their show, the Royal Mile is packed enough as it is. There were obviously staff rotas for up until nine previously, so why not until nine now to help manage the crush there’s going to be late afternoon? Anyone who’s been on the Royal Mile in the last week knows it’s back up to peak capacity already in the afternoon; the times and place may deter some from bothering to get HPH tickets. I get that the old Hut was past it’s sell date and the Fringe don’t have the funds right now to get another one, but surely there’s a business in Edinburgh or Scotland that would like the publicity and prestige of putting up the dosh for a new hut? We need a new hut and laserboard, next year will do.

End of unexpected rant. Normal service will resume next post.

Toodle pip!

coming up next time, the Establishment comes apart!

Ring, ring! Yorkshire calling Edinburgh!

bruceonthefringe Cleaning up, Comedy, Edinburgh Fringe, Half Price Hut, Uncategorized Tags: , , , , Leave a comment

Suddenly in August I get phone calls “So how’s Edinburgh? I was just wondering…..?” The rest of the year hardly a peep, not that I mind that; I did think I’d gotten away with it this year, usually a call comes at the start of August not half way through. Of course, I still have things I want to see, and my moose cave, well, when I say it’s a pit, I mean it’s really a pit right now, like the pittiest pit ever, August is not a month for cleaning.

And what to take them to? Good call that I bought two tickets with my Friends of the Fringe discount for Sleeping Trees: Christmas Special, if they don’t find that funny they’re dead to me! I’m thinking of Privates: A Sperm Odyssey too, any excuse to see it again, truly epic in silliness. Eggs Benedict at Em’s Kitchen is a must. Oo, yay, Logan’s Close are playing at the Cowshed tonight at 10pm, its probably gonna be heaving, but not to be missed.

I should go and at least do some washing up,  I suppose. Show willing, play the host. Wonder if I’m gonna get a call that they got lost after leaving Waverley Station? Said they knew where to come, hmmm.

Toodle pip!

 

Let’s hit the Hut….

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And just like that the previews, the 241 days and Black Wednesday are behind us, only two and a half weeks to go! At least now the Half Price Hut is open. Let’s see what’s on…..

Flicking quickly through my eye is drawn to The Pat Hobby Stories at Gilded Balloon Teviot, hmmm. Oo, The Stander Gang is there, I saw this play last week after being flyered by the lads performing it. I enjoyed it, it was a little disjointed, but hey, there was a lot of story to put in; I did realise I’d heard of Andre Stander when I was speaking to them, a notorious policeman turned criminal in South Africa (a film was made of him starring Thomas Jane). They’re only on until Sunday 11th, So If you fancy it, be quick.

The Grey Cat And The Flounder is there, I do love this poster, it speaks to me! Mind, I also really like the poster for Monsoon Season but reading the blurb I have a niggling doubt about it. Maybe if it’s still at the HPH later in the Fringe when I’ve had a chance to see some reviews.

I see Modern Maori Quartet: Two Worlds is there, lovely chaps. I went to their Garage Party last week, noticed there’s a slight change in the line-up, gonna need another photo! The Three Deaths of Ebony Black and The Long Pigs are both there, I’ve seen them both, both shows are proper Fringe stuff. The Long Pigs was in the wonderful Assembly Roxy Central; the Roxy does tend to attract weird shows and this show really proves the point – it’s odd, it’s bizarre, it’s surreal and mesmerising. What’s it about? Erm, warped clowns, that’s all I’ll say; if ordinary clowns freak you out then this isn’t the show for you.

Goodness me, Max & Ivan are doing HPH tickets. Hmmm, I did used to quite like them but the last couple of times I saw them I wasn’t keen in the direction they seemed to be going in. Moon: We Cannot Get Out is there, I saw that last night and quite enjoyed it. I’ll clarify quite, some parts and some of their ideas were really good, but some just didn’t do it for me, having said that I will watch out for them again next year.

Guess I should get out and find some eggs benedict to eat before my first show, that’s Super Hugh-Man, ticket bought at the Half Price Hut yesterday evening. Another kiwi! Oo yeah, Laser Kiwi have tickets at the HPH too, just sayin’.

Toodle pip!

Damned statistics!!

bruceonthefringe a rant, Edinburgh Fringe, Half Price Hut, Ticket prices, Uncategorized Tags: , , 1 Comment

Pardon me for not blogging recently and now I’m back just to have a rant! I have this particular rant every year around this time, every year? I hear you ask, yes indeed, let me tell you all about it, you might want to make yourself a cup of tea first…….

Ready? Then I’ll begin. Edinburgh Fringe 2018 put a post on Facebook to announce another record breaking year with ticket sales up 5% on last year. But Brucie, surely that’s good, isn’t it? Ah, but, dear friends, that statistic doesn’t really mean much on it’s own. The next statistic was just laughable, that ticket sales were up “a whooping 52% on the 2009 figures”, I should bloody hope so considering how much bigger the Fringe is now!

They also attached an article from The Scotsman about the latest statistics from the International, Book and Fringe Festivals, which was a bit more illuminating as it pointed out that in 2017 there were 53,232 performances of 3,398 shows compared with 56,796 performances of 3,548 shows this year. Hmmm, so that 5% increase in ticket sales isn’t a big deal considering the increase in tickets on sale, was it even enough for audience percentages to remain the same?

Oo, I was going to mention that the Pleasance audience figures were up this year, but on reading and re-reading and re-re-reading that part of the article again I rather think that bit is somewhat ambiguous (at least I don’t think it’s very clear). I think they are up, but not as much as I thought on first reading. Hurrah for the spokesman for Space UK, he said attendances were up 11% and they had a 20% increase in sold out performances. At least that does mean more bums on seats.

See, that’s my point! A 5% increase in ticket sales doesn’t mean diddlysquat on it’s own. So there was 5% more bums on seats, but if the overall number of seats for bums to sit on (ie, the number of seats available for every performance of every show) has also increased by 5% then there’s no real increase at all and a 6% increase in seats would mean audience numbers are down – audience statistics would be a far better way of judging whether the Fringe was more successful than previously.

Also, might one enquire how many tickets were sold at the Half Price Hut? After all, every ticket sold there is kind of like half a ticket, and let’s not forget the Friends of the Fringe 2 for 1 tickets, again they’re like half tickets too. They might make a company feel better seeing more faces but if all the tickets sold were at half price, how much of a comfort is that?

As a punter I love the Half Price Hut, it is a necessity with the Fringe having become so huge to help some shows get folk in, I check it most days hoping one of my possibles comes up. On the other hand, there wouldn’t be such a need for it if the Fringe had a slightly smaller huge choice of shows. Ok, so no one outside of the big acts makes any money, but if a show with tickets priced at £8 only manages to sell tickets at £4 it’s not doing well at all, surely?

Now I’m feeling despondent for all the little shows trying desperately not to sink beneath the waves of the great ocean that is Fringe. I do love the Fringe but sometimes I wonder where it’s going.

Nighty night  x

 

 

The Mid Fringe Blues

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Halfway through Fringe is Point Knackered, folk feel all fringed out, tired from never enough sleep, the flyerers don’t even try to summon up any enthusiasm, the flyered don’t even notice the flyerers anymore. Some shows with a full run can lose a bit of their sparkle in this dip. Maybe with awareness of this maudlin moment, many shows take a day off this week; this can catch folk out (me included), as one didn’t spot the one pale date in the middle of the run, this year 13th, 14th or 15th, and head expectantly to the venue only to be told, no show today!

Even I, looking through my possibility pieces, find my enthusiasm flagging, this is when more pieces get screwed up and flung in the general vicinity of the bin. Nothing I want to see is coming up at the Half Price Hut, gonna have to be more stringent in my planning, the Fringe Fund wallet doesn’t bulge anymore. This morning the HPH part of the Fringe app wasn’t even working, aaargh!!!

And then, something in the air changes….. it’s the second wind!

The app is back up running properly and three of my possibilities are at the HPH today!! Yay! Woohoo! No rain forecast today; Brendon Burns is over his tonsilitis; everywhere everyone will be picking up again, miraculously recharged and ready to take on the world, well, Edinburgh. Flyerers will be over enthusiastic and annoying again, yay!

So I shall have me a strong cup of coffee and head out to see some shows.

Toodle pip!

Anya Anastasia sings again

bruceonthefringe Cabaret and Variety, Comedy, Edinburgh Fringe, Edinburgh Fringe Programme, Half Price Hut, Uncategorized Tags: , , , , , 1 Comment

It’s a tad late, I’ve been perusing the Fringe programme again and lost track of time but thought I might share with you some of the possibilities I found this evening and why they caught my eye. I’ve taken to marking up on each cutout a rough time of day, in case there’s enough earlier shows to warrant booking more annual leave off work.

First to catch my eye Accordion Fight Show, it’s late night in the final week, only a fiver and apparently has “the world’s loudest, nakedest accordion player”!! No it wasn’t “nakedest” that got my attention, I happen to enjoy accordion music!

Anya Anastasia I’ve seen before, oo, she’s moved venues again, this time to the Gilded Balloon; fun, a sharp wit, pretty good voice and wickedly dark songs, but still, it’s pricey,  marked up EVE and HPH (half price hut). Another from the Cabaret & Variety section is The Voice Behind the Stars the story of Marni Nixon, ghost singer on so many musicals I used to watch as a young calf; tempting but another HPH.

Adam Larter: Boogie Knights caught my attention ’cause of his starey eyes in the picture, that and “just a typical medieval story told through disco”!? So that’s an AFT and PWYW (pay what you want), how bad could it be?

And how bad will Ciaran Dowd be in his first solo show Don Rodolfo without his fellow Beasts? I ponder this as the first Beasts show I saw was outstanding with plenty of hysterically funny ideas but their follow-up show was disappointingly unoriginal; this one may need more checks, so REVIEWS and LATE.

To end this evening in the Comedy D’s, Douglas Walker Presents: Of Christmas Past, “the sinister, absurd true story of Christmas” with a picture of a chap in polar gear gazing into the distance, my fringe-dar is definitely beeping at this one!

You know, I think I may be starting to feel ever so slightly excited about this Fringe lark again  😊