Aidan Sadler: Melody

A few finishing scenes

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

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》

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!

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!