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Eels, eggs and bolognese

bruceonthefringe Comedy, Comic theatre, Edinburgh Fringe 2025, Fringe Venues, Uncategorized Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

Finally yesterday morning there were only the lightest of breezes, so I took myself off to the Park and up Moose Ridge. There was a wildfire up over the other side of Arthur’s Seat on Crow Hill a few days ago, great plumes of smoke could be seen for miles! Of course, the most popular joke was that the volcano had come back to life (Arthur’s Seat is a very old very extinct volcano), I had intended to go and check out the damage. Unfortunately, I’d forgotten my water so at the top of Moose Ridge (I’m gonna keep calling it that until it catches on), I took Pipers Walk back down, and home via Old Wood Cafe at St Leonard’s to try their Eggs Benedict, not bad.

The afternoon saw me stepping into the darkness of the Banshee Labyrinth Cinema Room to bear witness to The Night Mouth. I had no idea what to expect, certainly not the Childcatcher! Ye gods, the stuff of nightmares, oh, and two school dinner ladies from hell (Lady Bolognese) popped in. Silly, and comically disturbing, mind, it was Pittman and Hughes behind it; and as you can’t have too much of a good thing, I later popped into Carbon to see God’s Longest again (it was the last of three shows, and being impro it’s always different). Hmmm, some folk’s deepest, darkest secrets really should remain secret!

My childhood trauma came a-knocking!

Evening time found me at that fine old institution the Bedlam Theatre to see Eelmageddon by Intrepid Fools. Yes, it’s as it sounds, the imminent end of the world as we know it, brought about by eels (some days looking at the news, would it be that surprising?!). Only a mad scientist and his assistant stand in their way, one wants to understand them, the other wants to eat them; but they’re running out of time and the super secret underwater science bunker is developing cracks.

Eelmageddon is a laugh-out-loud comedy with a great plotline running through the silliness, and oh, Mother Eel is a fine big bad with a voice to send chills through her enemies (it had me back to watching Dr Who as a young calf). For a small theatre company, they’ve put together a great show, just one thing grated by the end (and if they’re reading this, I bet they know what I’m going to say) – the professor’s voice, obviously a well-travelled scientist as the accent went everywhere and beyond, which, yes does have comedy value, but for me it tipped over into grating. Sorry, that’s just me, but I did love the creativity of Intrepid Fools, their comedy, the sound and lighting (a lot more important to making a production well-rounded than many realise, but then, if you don’t notice, then job well done!), and a cracking song to end on, what great voices! This is grassroots theatre, I look forward to whatever they do next. ⭐️⭐️⭐️½

That’s enough from me for now, I have another show to see. Toodle pip!

I pondered lonely as a moose

[Edit. It helps if I press the Publish button twice as instructed!]

A little bit of bonkers!

bruceonthefringe 2025, Comedy, Edinburgh Fringe 2025, Late night shows, Sooo fringe, Stand-up comedy, Uncategorized Tags: , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

Today is the day that many Fringe shows with full runs take off, and it’s not bad at all out there. It is rather cloudy but the winds have abated down to breezes, and it’s a nice 20°ish. Pretty good for a scottish summer! I did a proper big shop earlier, think I’m still buoyed up from last night at the Jazz Bar. I had a grand time enjoying some quality blues and rock’n’roll from The Blueswater, always a blast! A little sad though, as it reminded me how much I miss seeing Nicole and the Back-up Crew and The Buccaneers playing in Stramash, ah well, times move on. But back to the present, and the near future, there’s just two more chances to catch The Blueswater this Fringe, that’s on Thursday 14th and Sunday 24th (see the Fringe out with a bang, why not?) at eleven o’clock in the Jazz Bar.

One chap who’s not resting up at all this Fringe is the lovely Alex Farrow (in fact in the absence of Mr Goatley, Alex may be the loveliest person on the Fringe now, hmmm, I’ll have to recalibrate). He’s back with a new show Alex Farrow: New Order, as well as his two usual, hosting Stand-up Philosophy and featuring in Stand-up Science; he’s also directing a play at the Pleasance Courtyard! Busy, busy! He did tell me it’s name when I ran into him last week, but no, it’s gone (there’ll probably be an edit here later!).

Oops, just popped out a while there! I noticed one of my post-it notes had a mention of a free Fringe show starting very shortly, so I legged it up to Carbon on the Cowgate to see God’s Longest, I didn’t actually remember anything about it, but I’d written it down, so I obviously wanted to see it. Ah ha, it’s Aidan Pittman and Hudson Hughes (Dr Dolittle Kills a Man) along with Anand Sankar and Alex Berr doing improv, very surreal improv; this is improv that runs down rabbit holes with manic glee. They’re all very funny and watching them bouncing off each other, wow, pure joy, the situations and characters they conjured up were brilliantly bonkers ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

And on bonkers, (hmm, does that need re-wording?! nope, it stays) I tootled along to see Will & Noah: Too Much Time on Their Phones at the Underbelly, Bristo Square. Oh, they had me at the opening sketch of skimming stones; as someone who cannot pass by any stretch of water without looking down to find a flat stone, this was hilarious (and please can I borrow that sound effect to make myself feel better about my own attempts?). Will BF has a silly streak a mile long, and sharing a stage with Noah Geelan, well, the pair take silly to new levels, I would give the finding things on the floor of a nightclub sketch as prime evidence, it went there and beyond! Audience participation is plentiful and the day I went the audience were very game. The Where’s Wally sketch was an absolute hoot; and when they started on the final furlong, it was like a mad dash of the callbacks to reach the finish line. Just bonkers! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️½

Toodle pip!

A Barr, a king and a clown

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So far Edinburgh has had pretty good temperatures this Fringe (touch wood!), but I do wish all the crazy winds would calm down. See, I like to have my windows open a smidgen in summer, but even only having the top sash down a wee bit will result in all my Fringe cuttings being strewn everywhere whenever I’m out awhile. No, I can’t put them away, really. Back home from the Farmer’s Market, I picked the latest windfalls, oh, the picture of James Barr looked reproachfully back at me, oops. It had been right at the front to remind me, yeah, let’s do it….

James Barr: Sorry I Hurt Your Son (Said My Ex to My Mum) was at the Fringe last year, I remember pondering on seeing it, but never went. Time to give it a shot, and yes, another success for my Fringe-dar! James Barr opens up to the audience about his life and the domestic abuse he suffered in a four year relationship; it sounds like quite a personal and harrowing subject for a Fringe comedy show, but Barr injects plenty of quips and wit into his narrative. This is his story and he tells it well; he would take us down into the darkness, then neatly bring us back up with a deliciously funny quip, a roller-coaster of a show! I walked out feeling quite buoyed up, and I got a badge too! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

How times change, in years past the Pleasance Courtyard and Dome were regular features on my Fringe Calendar, especially during the previews, but last year I saw nothing at all at the Pleasance Dome and this year there’s been one (I’d say, so far, but that could well be the only one). Mind, that one was great fun! Up the stairs in the King Dome is Alasdair Beckett-King: King of Crumbs, oo, three kings there! Wow, an hour packed full of laugh-out-loud one liners, surreal silliness, a dollop of whimsy, and, as he called them, some “sad jokes”. There were plenty of nice little call-backs and a continuing phone gag that just kept on giving! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️½

It’s late, again, but I mentioned last time that I’d report on Scaramouche Jones – it’s brilliant! And it’s on until the very last day of the Fringe (excluding Monday 11th), I may well be back, ‘twould be a great way to round off my Fringe. The part could have almost been written for Thom Tuck, he inhabits it so well; and the Big Yurt, with it’s makeshift nature, is the perfect setting for this picaresque tale. It’s a story that spans the twentieth century, an old clown has just come off stage from his final performance and speaks for the first time in fifty years as the time ticks towards the final midnight of 1999, the first stroke of which will be exactly a hundred years since Scaramouche’s birth on a fishmonger’s slab in Port of Spain.

The script is full of vibrant descriptions of the places and people in Scaramouche’s life, and Tuck’s lustrous tones paint them even more vividly, his talent for accents comes in as Scaramouche journeys around the world meeting all manner of people. When Tuck expresses young Scaramouche’s delight in knowing his father was an Englishman, his youthful pomposity is sweetly hilarious. There’s so much to love about this production – I’m already looking forward to seeing Scaramouche Jones in ten years time! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Toodle pip!

An impersonator, a barista and the real deal

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Sunday was ladies day, not that I planned it like that, but casting an eye over my Fringe calendar I realised I had three one woman shows in a row (hmmm, another trio)…

I had Motorhome Marilyn as a possibility but really wasn’t sure, until Gilded Balloon once again had their Locals offer, yay. I was intrigued, it’s always interesting when someone so well-known from the telly comes to the Fringe. I mean, why? Will they feel very exposed in a small venue with the audience up so very close? What were they expecting? Is it a lifelong dream they’ve finally gotten to do?

Wow, Motorhome Marilyn is great, Michelle Collins plays a Marilyn Munro impersonator, getting on a bit, realising it’ll never get any better, especially with her past catching up to her. She may be in Vegas but she’s still a Southend girl and a survivor, with a snake called Bobby for company; we’re listening in as she tells the snake all her dreams and darkest secrets. Collins’ voice rings perfect in this, but then it was she who came up with the original idea and the part was written for her; of course, that’s not to say it would necessarily be any good, but by’eck, it bloody is!!

Motorhome Marilyn is a duck with the eye in the right place (to paraphase David Lynch) – it’s funny, it’s dark, it’s poignant, it’s sharp. And what a set, the motorhome interior is so well realised. It was a feast for the eyes with all the kitsch Marilyn Munro paraphernalia. Collins sashays through the story and gets to sing too (with a couple of costume changes thrown in); with a wonderful script to work with, Collins brings out Denise’s vulnerabilities as she lives defiantly independently, oh, and there’s the odd interesting reveal about Denise along the way! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️½

Confessions of a Redheaded Coffeeshop Girl was previously performed at the Edinburgh Fringe in 2015, writer/performer Rebecca Perry has brought it back for tenth anniversary run and why not? It’s a funny, playful hour’s escape. Our barista, Joanie, (like many others who work in coffeeshops) is a graduate hoping for better, wanting to use that degree in Anthropology, wanting to be like her hero Jane Goodall. We hear about life at the coffeeshop, her daydreams, her crush!

She’s a joyful soul, happy to burst into song (like musical interludes to gently break up the monologue), and what a voice! Of course, it had to be in there, Black Coffee (no, not the All Saints song, the one written back in 1948), a favourite of mine and boy, she did it justice, wowzah! Like I said, a sweet, joyful hour ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I’ve saved the best for last, The Other Mozart, an incredible production about the life of Mozart’s older sister, Maria. I wasn’t even aware he had one, nevermind that she too was a brilliant musician and composer, were you? Sylvia Milo became aware of her existence and created this work so that others could know about this extraordinary woman. And wow, I was blown away by it all; first off, the incredible dress that covers the stage, the music (new compositions for the show and music from the time period), the lighting and sound, all perfectly complimented and brought a deeper richness to the performance and story.

Maria tells us about her life from before her little brother was born, how the two of them toured and performed across Europe with their father whilst quite young, but then societal mores saw her left behind, expected to be respectable and marry. Sylvia Milo shares the part of Maria with Daniella Galli (who I saw in the role), alternating days, well, at seventy five minutes long, solo on stage, it makes sense! Not that it felt that long, Maria’s life was so fascinating (the play uses historical facts, and letters sent between the family); Galli was stunning in the role, really bringing it to life. Probably one of the best things I’ll get to see this Fringe ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💛

To watch is not necessarily to follow

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I shall make a start on this post but I will be popping out in a bit to see Scaramouche Jones, or maybe not as it’s still exceptionally windy out there and yesterday’s performance had to be cancelled! It’s in a yurt, you see, next to the Potterrow underpass. Storm Floris wreaked havoc across Scotland yesterday and the winds are still going strong (no, I haven’t been anywhere near the Park, I don’t want to end up in Fife!!).

Anyhoo, that last show last Friday, it was at the Assembly Rooms in George Street, well, close by, the Front Room is actually a large white box in the street outside the Assembly Rooms. The opening music was O Fortuna played on banjos, oh-kay, best strap in (well, I’m pretty sure it was O Fortuna, conjuring up the dark, magnificent Excalibar for me, the Old Spice ad for others). A large laundry bag was pushed inside the box by stage hands, it awkwardly moved itself further into the room before unzipping and our man extracted himself from it.

Jonah Non Grata is a one man performance, it was bemusing, confusing and a tad disconcerting; full on absurd. An old adventure choice book was to hand, and left in the audience’s whilst he went outside, we just kept playing wondering when he would reappear, what else to do?! Later on, he led us all outside, just to lead us back in, oh, we all followed obediently on (not sure how much time had elapsed in the box, I did wonder if he’d just wander off and that would be the end of the show). I have no idea what it was about, had I missed something? A brief check with a few other audience members afterwards, it wasn’t just me, phew, none of them really made sense of this strange experience we had witnessed together, but, you know, we all kinda enjoyed it. ⭐️⭐️⭐️½

There was a storyline to The Mayor and His Daughter: A Genuine Appreciation of Comedy but for me it got a bit lost in the sketches and the two strange personalities ( I say two, I think the daughter had a few going on there). This is absurd comedy with a dash of horror and a Russell Howard dvd boxset; very funny, a dash unsettling. It reminded me of how I felt about The Establishment, hysterically silly but with something dark and uncontrollable lurking underneath (Is that just me? Anyone else?) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

So I nipped out to see Scaramouche Jones, absolutely superb, a triumph for Tuck, but more on that later. Since then, I’ve been out at another show and had a mushroom pizza from Moratti, on the corner of St Mary’s Street and Holyrood Road (tasty and reasonably priced). Now, on to the third in this trio of surreal absurdities…

A Haunted House began with a very impressive model of a very haunted looking house, welcome to the nightmare! Car broken down outside? Come in and stay for the night, have a tour of the old place – if you dare! There’s all manner of ghoulish creatures, brought to life (or undeadness) by grotesque mime and dark surreal comedy. While there’s definitely nods to The League of Gentlemen, the eyes loop bit (sorry, it would be insanely difficult to describe it more, but if you see A Haunted House you’ll know the part I mean) had me thinking of Guillermo del Toro. I’ll admit, while I enjoyed David Hoskin‘s performance (he is great at physical comedy), I kinda lost the narrative at times, though, maybe it was just loosely there, anyway? Oh, and the Blue Moon part, loved it! ⭐️⭐️⭐️½

A very haunted house!

It’s late again!! One of these nights I intend to be asleep before midnight!

After breakfast things improved

bruceonthefringe 2025, Absurd comedy, Comedy, Comic theatre, Edinburgh Fringe 2025, Fringe Venues, Uncategorized Tags: , , , , , , Leave a comment

A few weeks ago I was talking Fringe with a friend, about how to choose which shows to see. Reviews are a handy measure, of course, then my friend said that they tend not to trust reviewers who always give high ratings to everything, like a sickeningly sycophantic tv host (oh yeah, I know which they meant). The conversation has lingered about in my head, were they including me in that? Hey, I’ve been Fringing for thirty plus years now, my Fringe-dar is finely tuned, thank you very much.

And yes, it might look like I’ve been throwing stars around willy-nilly on Instagram recently, but they were all acts that I’ve enjoyed at previous Fringes; a damn fine first Fringe Friday was the plan. Mind, sometimes returning acts can be disappointing….

Friday morning was an early rise (for Fringe time) to make it to Lauriston Halls for Shakespeare For Breakfast at ten o’clock in time to grab a coffee and croissant on my way in. The thing with Shakespeare For Breakfast is that while the premis of goofing around with a Shakespeare play is the same, the actors and writers are always different from year to year, so the feel and style is very varied; the faithful returning audiences rely on the company getting it right, again.

For me, this year it felt a bit lame, a bit little one of those Radio4 afternoon comedy plays at times (if you know what I mean), oh, some parts were pretty funny but not enough to really raise it up. The performances were enjoyable enough, and the torch song to a croissant was brilliantly sung, but it lacked something for me. Oh well, it’ll be something different next year. ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Next up were Finlay and Joe: Pretend It’s Fine at the Dovecot Studios where used to be Infirmary Street Baths (more on the venue later). I saw them two years ago performing Past Our Bedtime, in my Fringe diary I put, “Will see these two again in the future”, and indeedily, yes I have!

Off to a great start, opening with a song to the music of the Beach Boys’ I Get Around (great choice of tune and wow, they have great singing voices!) and looking very dapper in blue suits with flames flickering up the bottom of the sleeves and trouser legs. Pretend It’s Fine is a sketch show but there’s a story arc going on, and a bit of improv thrown in for good measure; some sketches are surreally stitched together, other times we’re jolted back to the story, like, oh yeah, that’s where we were; it’s sharp, silly, surreal, full of quick, good-humoured wit and warmth. It says family-friendly in the programme blurb, and it is, British humour at it’s best ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

After a late lunch of scrambled eggs (with leek and cheese) on toast, it was up to Appleton Tower (the latest Gilded Balloon venue while Teviot is still closed) for Ironing Board Man, well I really enjoyed it last time and reckoned there would be changes from last year’s show, so why not? Jody Kamali has created a wonderful parody of an 80’s action/romance blockbuster movie with an amazing soundtrack; I’ve no doubt the soundtrack was a labour of love (like making the perfect mixed tape where the right order was vital!) but that hour of sound must have taken sooo long to get just right. Good choice to go back, even better this year! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️½

One more return for the day Bad Clowns seen last year, twice actually, I saw the unrehearsed Role Swap version of Hostage and then the proper version (I actually preferred the role swap version, it was hysterically funny!). This year it’s Bad Clowns: Long Live the King! actually the King dies at the start of it and our clowns are all contenders to be the new king! These three guys are all very funny in their own right, but the dynamic and chemistry between them makes comedy gold (see, that alchemy again!). Long Live the King! is a silly, gleeful romp with plenty of audience participation and laughs a-plenty, loved it! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️½

Now, I did those four shows in one day (there was another one too later in the evening, but I reckon it fits in better with the next two shows, and right now it’s quite late!), but like I said I’m a seasoned Fringer, if you attempt those last three shows in one day, please wear a girdle or your sides may literally split, you have been warned!

G’night, sweet dreams!

A few definite possibilities

bruceonthefringe 2025, Comedy, Edinburgh Fringe 2025, Edinburgh Fringe Programme, Free Fringe, Uncategorized Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

I remember back when the Edinburgh Festival Fringe programme would come out, early to mid June and folk would rush to get a copy to scour through it picking out their must-sees, ready for when the box office opened about a week later. It was all quite exciting, the anticipation. Nowadays tickets are woozily released from the start of the year, okay so I may take the odd peek, but I still wait on the proper physical paper programme to book tickets (okay, so there’s been the odd rare occasion), I prefer to see everything that’s on before I start to plan.

Only now, there’s also plenty of shows announced after the programme is out. Has it always like this but I just wasn’t aware? Okay, so there was always the odd one here and there (the Sleeping Trees and The Chocolate Factory comes to mind, it was a known late add-on to watch out for!), usually they were free or late night shows, probably thought up over a few drinks and cobbled together! Back in 2007 Rhys Darby was over performing in a play, next thing he’d got a slot in the Pleasance Courtyard Attic and photocopied some handwritten flyers, it wasn’t his best but we didn’t care, it was great seeing him do his thing.

These days, of course, there’s social media to keep an eye on for late announcements, like Lord Christian Brighty‘s of a three night run at the Pleasance Courtyard, yay. There’s always an odd extra show or two that’s not in the paper programme at Monkey Barrel Comedy but I know to actually read their emails just in case; and huzzah, John-Luke Roberts is back in the final week with a WIP.

And extra joys, Aidan Pittman and Hudson Hughes, the co-creators of the bloody brilliant Dr Dolittle Kills a Man (one of my top favourites of last year’s Fringe) are back doing various bits and bobs as part of PBH’s Free Fringe in the middle week. Quick edit here: well, he did announce it late! Will BF is bringing back his sci-fi romp Moon Team IIIV to a late slot at the Underbelly, starting on Tuesday 12th. Considering how many changes he made to it within a month last year, it could be an entirely different show by now! Still bonkers and laugh out loud daft, of course.

But there’s always the odd show in the Fringe programme that doesn’t happen, and sadly it’s not happening for Crybabies: The Scaring, they’ve had to cancel their run due to an unforeseen health issue (wishing a full recovery for whoever it is). However, I just saw on Instagram a couple of days ago that Crybabies have a series of four one-off comedy adventures coming to Radio 4 through August! Excellent news!

Well, it’s very late, way past time I should be asleep. I shall leave you with a picture of my cut-out Comedy possibles. G’night!

A little splash of cabaret

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Time to look through the cut-outs I’ve gathered from Cabaret and Variety before the behemoth that is Comedy at the Edinburgh Fringe. There’s only a few, and three of them are for the same chap! Yes, he’s back, the busiest magician on the Fringe.

David Alnwick is performing three shows everyday from Saturday 2nd until Sunday 24th August, no rest days! The first is at the Liquid Room Studio, I love the title Objectively the Best Magician, haha, well he is rather excellent. From there it’s along to the Banshee Labyrinth for Occult Illusionist; he does like a sense of theatre, I suspect there’ll be plenty in this one. From the supernatural to horror (with plenty of dark humour, no doubt), The Dare Witch Project in the Voodoo Rooms. All three are under the PBH’S Free Fringe banner but be warned, there will be queues.

Another magician now, oh, there’s plenty of them at the Fringe, The Great Mysterio has piqued my curiosity. Another with PBH’s Free Fringe down at Uno Mas on Picardy Place (I’ve been in during a previous incarnation of the place). I do like a spot of magic, you know, preferably with humour rather than shiny pizzazz; with a natural lustre rather than a polished gleam.

Of course, shiny pizzazz does have it’s place, especially in cabaret; sparkles and sequins and accordions, darling. Well, one accordion, yes, he’s here again after wow-ing audiences in Australia, New Zealand and Glastonbury, Accordion Ryan is back with his Pop Bangers, yay! This time he’s bringing the joy to Gilded Balloon at Appleton Tower. I wonder what this year’s selection of bangers will be, and he was asking for suggestions of Scottish and gaelic songs on Instagram, he does love a challenge (Ryan makes a point of finding songs from the local culture wherever he travels, quite the musical linguist!)

More music of a very different texture in The Ballroom at The Voodoo Rooms. The gloriously charismatic Aidan Sadler presents Moonage Rhapsody, a love letter to Freddie Mercury and David Bowie; Aidan certainly has the pipes for it, I expect nothing short of fabulous. Dammit, how am I meant to shorten my list of possibilities with all these treats before me?! How can I make a decision against going to An Evening with Dame Granny Smith? Yes, I saw her last year, should I pass her up for something new? But it was such a wonderful hour spent with her.

Ho hum, I’d be absolutely crap at choosing my Desert Island Discs. Time is marching on, only ten days to go. Honestly, after tea I’ll get on my Comedy cut-outs. Y’know, it does actually help, talking through my options with you. Thanks for listening. Toodle pip!

A few happy returns to the stage

bruceonthefringe 2025, Comic theatre, Edinburgh Fringe 2025, Returning Fringe shows, Theatre, Uncategorized Tags: , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

I have a table covered with cut-outs from the Comedy section of this year’s Edinburgh Fringe Festival programme, but before that, a few more theatrical musings….

I knew I recognised the name, yup, three years ago I gave him five stars, so I reckon I’ll give Ben Moor: A Three Thing Day a go; I remember he had a wonderful voice that whisked you away into his stories. Henry Naylor is back with a new play, Monstering the Rocketman which sounds interesting; as the name gives away it’s about Elton John, him and that big kerfuffle with The Sun, could be pretty juicy (Naylor does do his research).

Looking back through my Fringe diary (I must remember to buy a new notebook, the last one’s full), it was also 2022 when I saw Space Hippo, an epic sci-fi adventure told in the medium of Japanese shadow puppetry. I notice the company name is different, has the story also had changes made? It was a wonderful experience last time, I am rather tempted, maybe late on, see how things go.

And a few pages later I wrote about Neil Frost: Nan’s House of Fun (omg, this is getting silly, it was also the year I last saw one of Henry Naylor’s plays!) A wonderfully silly, but bittersweet, show that’s morphed into The Door (well, that is the very disturbing Ricky Mouse in the picture). I gave the original 4½ stars, if I only had Hermione’s watch I’d go see Mr Frost again, truly a joy. Mind, he’s here for the whole month so I’ll keep an eye out for him popping up elsewhere, he’s that type, you know!

Those defiant wee bears are back and they’ve brought a bag of tatties with them. Yay, Batisfera are back with two short plays this year; The Gummy Bears’ Great War was one of my highlights from last year’s Fringe (4½ stars), can Tale of a Potato possibly be as good? I’ll let you know, I already have a ticket for this one! I also have my ticket for that great Fringe institution Shakespeare For Breakfast, always entertaining, okay, so some years have been better than others, but I wouldn’t miss it (or the croissant and coffee).

One last happy return, Scaramouche Jones is back, as Thom Tuck said, ten years later (he first performed it twenty years ago and declared that he intends to perform it every ten years, maybe even reaching the clown’s old age if he’s lucky). Scaramouche Jones is a 100 year old clown, born on the stroke of midnight 1899 and now a hundred years later on the eve of a new century, after not speaking in fifty years, the old clown speaks to tell his life story before he dies. Ten years ago I wrote “Thom Tuck at his very best” and gave him five stars.

I’m starting to get a bit excited about this Fringe. Toodle pip!

The possibilities seem endless

bruceonthefringe 2025, Edinburgh Fringe 2025, Edinburgh Fringe Programme, Theatre, Uncategorized Tags: , , , Leave a comment

I did intend to post about all the possibles I’ve cut out of the Theatre section of this year’s Fringe programme. Instead I’ve taken an impromptu roadtrip! Well, you only live once, unless you’re a cat, and it seemed like a good idea, still is, apart from langostines I had for tea (tasty but a very messy affair). I should be back in Auld Reekie by Friday, mainly because there’s a band in at Stramash that I fancy seeing.

So, nothing really to say yet, but I did take this picture of all my theatre possibilities…

There are some groupings in there, lefthandside is the start of the Fringe, righthandside are all the last week of the Fringe, go figure what’s in the middle top! There’s clusters for the big venues. I couldn’t resist putting Pip Utton’s Lear at the bottom right, well, he is quite the last word in Fringe theatre.

Obviously, plenty will be whittled away for one reason or another. Some more may be added to the mix, and I’ve not a proper, thorough go through of Comedy yet!!

Anyhoo, it’s very late and i need my beauty sleep. Sweet dreams!