PBH’s Free Fringe

A bugbear, minions and music

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As the Fringe gets ever closer, the rain gods are once again perfecting their sudden deluge from nowhere techniques, so don’t forget to bring a brolly (a sturdy one, it can get very windy here). Oh, and don’t forget to bring some commonsense too, honestly, you would not believe the number of people wandering around Edinburgh who clearly leave theirs at home (we have enough local numpties, and, well, it looks bad when the headline says “tourist in Edinburgh….”, okay?); but that’s a rant I’ll save for another time.

The town is noticeable more bustly now, not what I’d consider busy yet just bustlier (not bustier as spellchecker tried to insist). Heck, there were even people drinking after ten in George IV Bar on Friday evening – it’s busy through the day while people are coming in to eat, but it does seem be very quiet once the kitchen close. Oh yeah, that reminds me! A bugbear. Pubs that have that sign “Please Wait To Be Seated” just inside the door and don’t remove it after dining is over? Sure, some of us know when to ignore it, but some hover, glancing around, trying to appear nonchalant but we can all see the embarrassment in their eyes. A quick timely removal of that sign wouldn’t take a minute, well, maybe two or three.

I’d been to the cinema to see Minions & Monsters, wow, such bloody good fun and so many cheeky wee film references, had me grinning and guffawing right the way through it. The voice cast was perfect with Christopher Waltz and Jeff Bridges in there, and of course, Pierre Coffin (the man is a genius); the story skips and trips along, aided by hilariously wonderful montages. There’s been plenty of films about the beginnings of Hollywood, honestly, this could be my new favourite (Friday evening was the second time I’d seen it, so ).

Feel that passion, yeah!

Anyhoo. It made sense to head to George IV Bar – bluesman Louis Crosland was playing there before heading to Whistlebinkies for the midnight slot (plus band), total sense. How good to hear acoustic then electric versions of All Along the Watchtower, brand new to Louis’s setlist and an old favourite of mine (I do incline towards the Hendrix version). I’ve put a reel that incorporates both on my Instagram, please do check it out. I was also treated to Gilbert O’Sullivan’s Alone Again Naturally, another new one on the setlist, nice, I liked Louis’s take on it. FYI, Louis will be playing the Canons’ Gait at nine o’clock on Wednesday nights through August.

The Canons’ Gait and Whistlebinkies are once again venues for PBH’s Free Fringe along with plenty other pubs in the city, the rest are part of the Laughing Horse stable, nah not really, but it can feel like every pub in Edinburgh becomes a Fringe venue! Of course, it helps if there’s an actual separate room available and plenty of the old pubs have weird and wonderful spaces!

Time I was creeping off to bed. Back to Fringe nuggets tomorrow.

Sweet dreams, mes amis!

Possibilities for my Fringe26 ptII

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The Edinburgh Fringe programme has a section Spoken Word, it makes me smile, I mean, duh, yeah, unless it’s mime (probably in Dance, Physical theatre and Circus) or sung (covered in Music and Musicals and Opera). It seems to be a grey area, when are words just spoken?… monologues just seem to be placed wherever the performer best thinks the title will catch the eye, does Spoken Word sound a trifle too dry to them? Comedy and Theatre take in performances alluding to being more, even Cabaret (I would expect a certain pazzazz there), but those are big categories to compete for attention. A good title may actually stand out better in this smaller category filled with interview shows and talks/lectures; the lists of these go on a fair bit – there’s just short of a hundred, nope, not for me. Only three shows piqued my interest…

Call me old-fashioned, I like large paper maps, I still have all the Official Tourist Maps that I bought for various holidays back over the years. X marks the spots of various campsites and pubs, well, you never know, I might still make it back that way some day! So when I saw Mistakes on Maps I immediately reached for the scissors, a show about historical maps each with a fascinating flaw? I could go for that. Let People Like You had me at “expect saucy ostriches”, Free Fringe too, a definite possibility. The third I’ll admit is just a vague possibility but I think worth cutting out so that I’ll remember it’s on. Adorable Comedians Performing Funny Poetry and Telling Lovely Stories has the potential to be a warm fuzzy hug of a show or somewhat cringey, depending on the line-up, a foremention on who’s on each day might entice me (or not).

I don’t really expect to see anything much in Dance, Physical Theatre and Circus but I’ll always check through it (well, my fomo makes me). The blurb for Final Queen mentions “blood-soaked hula hooping”, horror and it’s antipodean (always a bonus point); it’s a full run so I can watch out for reviews before deciding. There’s only three performances of The Masquerade, I have no idea what the picture is about, a masquerade deity lives in someone’s stomach?! Hmmm, but I found myself cutting it out, okay.

Now was the time to go to the beginning, Cabaret and Variety. I just got curious there, when did this section appear? I was sure it didn’t use to be there, hmm. A quick dive into the shelves behind me and indeed, Cabaret first got it’s own section in the programme in 2011, Variety was added to it in 2015 (were there meetings debating whether such nuances should be recognised? handbags and hissy fits thrown?!) I wonder, will Magic and Burlesque be next? There’s an awful lot of magic in C&V, plenty of which appears under PBH’s Free Fringe, yay (please remember while these shows are free entry, only a real schmuck would leave without giving anything, don’t be that person). The busiest magician on the Fringe is back with two shows, full runs not a single day off, David Alnwick always puts on a great show. The blurb shows that one goes for humour, while the other, as Alnwick likes to do, is more theatrical, that one’s in the Speakeasy at the Voodoo Rooms (a great setting for a spooky show).

Another magician who’s played the Fringe plenty is Charlie Caper, I’ve never gotten round to seeing him before; his key words are magic and variety, maybe this year? The Cult of Astaroth promises magic and horror at the Banshee Labyrinth, a fitting venue! A title that immediately held my gaze was Dan Bastianelli: The Boy Who Drew Doors, magic with storytelling, I get an impression of whimsiness, no bad thing, as is the venue theSpace@Surgeons’ Hall (a place that I’ve seen plenty of great shows). One more magic show cut-out, this one illustrates my earlier point as The Man With the Golden Hands – Stuart Lightbody was listed under Theatre in 2024; it tells a true story of a magician recruited by the CIA, yeah, a possibility.

There’s plenty and allsorts of musical choices in C&V, of course. Fingers Piano Bar is the place for ABBA singalongs, and for two nights only Alice Cooper – Welcome To My Cabaret Nightmare, that could be excellent fun (or really naff). I do quite fancy the tribute to Tom Waits in the Voodoo Rooms, will it be a dip into everything, or the more accessible? (some of his stuff I really can’t get). Last but definitely not least, that grande dame of fruit is back, the incomparable Dame Granny Smith is once again in The Wee Coo in George Square Gardens. No doubt there’ll be a song or two from her, let’s hope her voice holds out as she’s on from the first preview day right through until the (real) final day, Monday 31st, with only one day off.

So far so good, my pile of possibilities isn’t ridiculously large, yet. Just the big two, Theatre and Comedy are left; the Theatre section alone is thicker than the whole of the 2001 Fringe programme, yikes. How’s anyone supposed to choose these days?

Toodle pips!

A moose and a Dame

A few definite possibilities

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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!

Fancy some Variety with your Cabaret?

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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!

Things that made me go, hmm

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It’s Saturday afternoon and time for the annual defrosting of my fridge freezer, well, I’m waiting for it to defrost completely, then I’ll clean it. No meat from the Farmers Market this morning, instead I’m letting mince and chicken thaw out for cooking later; the subsequent bolognaise sauce and chicken curry will refill the freezer in mealsize portions. There’s method in the madness!

Now, while the freezer slowly warms up, on with “things I’ve spotted in the Fringe programme” with pauses to occasionally go through and mop up the gathering puddle. Oo yeah, definitely possible, the gorgeous Rose Matafeo will be at Monkey Barrel 4 for only £7 or PWYW, bargain! Unfortunately whilst in the Box Office in June I overheard the chap at the next till being told that Rose was already sold out, so that’s almost definitely impossible, then. I say almost, apparently a few seats will be available on the day, good luck getting one of them!

The show with what has to be the longest title is back again, one performance only. It’s part of PBH’s Free Fringe, I’ve never seen it but maybe this is the year for A Young Man Dressed as a Gorilla Dressed as an Old Man Sits Rocking in a Rocking Chair for 56 Minutes and Then Leaves… 14. Would you be tempted? I really don’t know, I suppose it is free, very much a see-how-I-feel-on-the-day. I wonder how many will go, and has anyone gone to it more than once?

So …Gorilla… is now pencilled with brackets in my calendar, supposing he never does it again? Someone who won’t be back at the Fringe ever again is the late great comedy legend that was Barry Cryer who sadly died last year. For the last twenty years Barry was part of the Fringe in a double act, this year instead it’s Ronnie Golden: Allo Keith! Remembering Barry Cryer, I came over quite emotional seeing that!

What do you reckon “unusual old-school Fringe activities” will entail? Apparently Mark Watson’s Churchfest will be seven hours of the stuff on Tuesday 22nd. Churchfest because the venue is St Peter’s Church up at Lutton Place on the Southside (it has a lovely garden beside it). I do like Mark Watson, he’s intelligent with a slight of whimsy, he has me intrigued with this show (and it’s free non-ticketed).

Back in my school days I studied Murder In The Cathedral by T.S.Eliot for English Lit A-level, even got to see it performed in York Minster. This year, for one night only it’s on at Old Saint Paul’s Church. I’m don’t remember ever seeing it in a Fringe programme before, an OMG moment when I spotted it; but no, well, I’ve already seen it, haven’t I?

More from me tomorrow, I have a Jazz Festival to attend just now. Toodle pip!

Some nonsense is good, some is just nonsense.

bruceonthefringe Absurd comedy, Edinburgh Fringe 2021, Edinburgh Fringe reviews 2021, Free Fringe, Fringe Venues, Uncategorized Tags: , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

Yesterday I caught three more shows, a lot of sitting around in darkened rooms, so I had a brisk walk around the Park and a strong coffee beforehand. Ah, I haven’t had a coffee yet, excuse me. That’s better, I’ll crack on. The third show I saw and am gonna give third place in ranking was Drown Your Sorrows in theSpace @ Symphony Hall. It wasn’t a good start when the music was too loud for the actors to be heard! Luckily the music wasn’t on long but even then some of the lines seemed a tad gabbled; what ever happened to enunciation and projection?! Mind, this was their first night so hopefully some director’s notes will steer them right.

Sorry, but much as I wanted to enjoy it, I did find it a bit lame. Oh, some in the audience, one area in particular, found it immensely funny – maybe they were in the sweet acoustic spot! Oh, it wasn’t all bad, the plot was okay and a few great moments and ideas. I bet in a normal Fringe year they’d be out flyering in the dinghy on the Royal Mile, oh they should do that anyway, grab any attention they can!

In second place I’ll put Kate Smurthwaite: The Last Mayor of Fihalhohi. She was in the Cinema Room at the Banshee Labyrinth, a small but sweet venue with well tiered, comfy seats. Having been pre-warned about the Banshee Labyrinth’s system, I turned up very early so that I could collect a “ticket” and head back into the sunshine awhile. It’s a PBH’s Free Fringe venue but the bar room and nooks and crannies, especially this year, are too small for the amount of people who might be wanting to hang around to catch a show (the shows here are always very popular). “Tickets” are available for each show up to an hour in advance from the man at the door, that way they can say when there’s no seats left (sometimes within five minutes the tickets being up for grabs), a much more civilised way than an arm across the venue doorway just after your friends have all got in and you’re left out!

That’s a great surname Smurthwaite! What with that and Fihalhohi in the show title, I had to go check it out, plus the blurb, “the most mind-blowing lockdown story you’ll ever hear”. It’s certainly a lockdown story that’ll be very hard to beat, it’s almost like a Bond movie – exotic islands, dramatic action, intrigue, a villain, a go-to guy, and, of course, some saucy shenanigans. It is good tale but one little niggle – as the time went by the narration became a bit clunky, like a slide projector clunking between slides. It may well have just been me that noticed it, but I suddenly had a vivid recollection of a teacher telling me that while my story was good, I should come up with other ways to say “and then”, funny the things that come back to you! Niggle aside, I did enjoy it, she is quite a lady!

My top spot for yesterday goes to Rob Duncan and Dan Lees: Extreme Nonsense. I was looking forward to this show – Dan Lees is one half of The Establishment, an absurdist duo who’ve been entertaining/disturbing me for a few years now. You’ll spot the title has just two names in it but there was another on stage with them, one third of Privates! Oh yay! These three gents are all very tall which added to the comedy as there was a large beam across the ceiling just above the front area of the stage – rather lower than all of them! Dave Alnwick must not be as tall as them, that or he kept well back from it! Once again I was in the cellar bar at the Canon’s Gait, in the same seat too (do other folk also tend to gravitate to seats they’ve sat in before?).

A seriously silly show! Not to everyone’s taste, these guys really know their absurdities. Some of it can almost come across as sinister and creepy, it doesn’t help knowing you have no clue what they might do next, well, maybe another refrain of “Call me Daddy”? Dan plays guitar for the songs, then Tom joined in on violin, he was rather good, I won’t say what he pulled out of the Gents loo at the side of the stage but he was rather good on that too! To be fair to the other shows I’ve reviewed, there were a few misses in this for me – they were too absurd?!

Hey, this means that though Privates have not brought their new show up to the Fringe, I will get to see all three of them! The other two thirds of Privates are up with their solo shows, yes, of course I have tickets. Anyway, must dash, I have a show to go to!

Shine on Elsie Diamond

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The end is in sight, this time next week Edinburgh will seem so bare and empty, sigh. So to cheer myself up from the impending gloom I took myself off down to CC Blooms to the exquisite Elsie Diamond in her new one woman show, The Sensible Undresser. I first saw Elsie last year as The Sensible Dresser, where she recounted tales of a dresser in an Opera House who has dreams of being a great singer; some hilarious stories, some bittersweet and a singing voice to raise you up or break your heart, oh, and a finale from Les Mis that really showed her vocal prowess and other charms!

Did I mention Elsie is a burlesque performer? Costumes are put on behind a screen at the side of the stage to be teased off again to music, and give the girl a couple of large feather fans, wowzah! Hubba hubba!

This year’s tale of the Undresser is about Joanne who on seeing a burlesque show decides to become Winnie Sparkletits, from underdog to success to saggy tits to final self-awareness and acceptance (and another astoundingly good final number). The costumes are brilliant (love that headdress), voice as stunning as ever, beautiful, sexy, smart, saucy and charming! All in one delightful package!

Wowzah!

 

 

 

 

Uke Hooting!

bruceonthefringe Fringe Venues, Places to go, Pubs, Uncategorized Tags: , , , Leave a comment

I did intend to write another post tonight but then I decided instead to go to the Kilderkin for the Uke Hoot. Now I’m home, it’s late, so just a quickie! Uke Hoot is a bunch of people who meet in a pub to play all sorts of tunes on ukuleles, it really is a hoot. I first came across this phenomenon a couple of years ago by happy accident.

Anyone can turn up uke in hand, you don’t have to be a great player, just enthusiastic, though be warned – they do tend to play everything at 100 miles an hour! No worries about the music, there is a large bag with all the song books and most songs had the little chord diagrams somewhere on the page.

Usually it’s on at the Kilderkin, down near the bottom of the Royal Mile, at 7.30 on a Wednesday, but as the Kilderkin will be using the side room as part of PBH’s Free Fringe, for the month of August Uke Hoot moves to the Blue Blazer, another fine real ale pub on the corner of Bread Street and Spittal Street (well worth a visit).

Witnessing the Uke Hoot would be almost like a free show itself, or if you’re in town and happen to have a ukulele about your person, do go along!