Tom Neenan

Who needs a good bear, when you have Camels?

bruceonthefringe Comedy, Comedy duos, Comic theatre, Edinburgh Fringe, Fringe Venues, Places to go, Shakespeare, Uncategorized Tags: , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

Ok, so I mentioned in So long, farewell, ta-ra, toodle pip! three shows I’ve seen but hadn’t mentioned before, well, they’ve gone now anyway! Bloody good shows they were too!

What of all the other shows you’ve seen, Brucie, I hear you ask (mooses have very good hearing), and you said you’d tell us more about the early shows?! Yes, I know, but it’s hard in the madness that is Fringe to keep all one’s plates spinning. So I’ll press on and rundown my shows til I had to depart Edinburgh on my mission of mercy.

Preview Friday I managed six shows, yup, six, but that was from ten in the morning ’til one the following morning! The Shakespeare For Breakfast crew were on top form again!! I was surprised how many seats were left, hopefully they’re now selling out with their excellent modern twist on The Taming of The Shrew. A great start to my day!

Next up, new to me Camels, which excitingly was in part of the all-new singing, dancing underneath of McEwan Hall; very modern and entered via the blob thing in Teviot Square. Oo these chaps are good, recalling my Seeing double post from last year, this comedy duo make up for a lack of Goodbear this year! Tom Neenan’s: It’s Always Infinity was another corker from him (maybe not quite to the heights of last year’s Attenborough) it took a wee while to pull me in, but by the end, with the by-then obvious punchline in sight, the audience were all sitting cosily in the palm of Tom’s hand. What a piece of genius writing, long may he grace the Fringe with his wit and style! I did spot, though it took me a while, that the chap in the video clips was non other that David Reed from the Penny Dreadfuls (as is Thom Tuck).

Next up was a show in a big blue box, from Switzerland, umm, the humour just didn’t translate for me, and I’m going to leave that one at that. I recovered myself with a curry at the Mosque Kitchen for tea, first visit this Fringe and it won’t be the last; good, quick, tasty grub. I finished my day at the Gilded Balloon with first the Scottish Falsetto Sock Puppet Theatre: Superheroes, finishing with the wonderful Will Seaward now telling his ghostly tales in the Dining Room. The SFSPT:S was good but having seen plenty of trial bits previously on their Facebook page, I think some of the dumped bits were better. If you hadn’t seen them, then the show is perfectly fine with plenty of laughs and groans, and some rather obscurer fanboy jokes. Then the clock struck twelve and it was Will Time!! Nuff said really, another late hour of terrifying tales and howling horrors but in a bigger room this year!

And then it was home to bed! Well, it’s time for me to maybe venture oot into the rain. It’s been chucking down all day, hence my catching up here. Time to book a few more shows, methinks.

Toodle pip!

Antipodeans at Large

bruceonthefringe Antipodean acts, Australian bands, Badges, Edinburgh Fringe, Music, Music shows, Uncategorized Tags: , , , , , Leave a comment

Just looked up antipodes in my dictionary, it said “places diametrically opposite (to each other), esp. Australasia as region on opposite side of earth to Europe.” Hmmm, so technically we’re antipodean to someone living in Auckland or Melbourne. It’s just that we stuck in on Australasia first, or they bagsied the word. Personally I think it’s a great word, an-tipo-des, it trips off the tongue.

But why did you need to look it up, Bruce, didn’t you know what it means? Yes, but I wanted to be sure, words can be such tricksy things. Like on that last paragraph I was going to continue the sentence on “and it evokes” but the words of what it evokes escaped me! There is evoking going on it’s just indescribable for a moose.

I have a slightly better chance of describing how good the Modern Maori Quartet: Two Worlds were this afternoon, awesome! And not just great singing, the storyline was a slow reveal as we learnt more about the characters, their current situation and their truths. Yes, the truth will set you free (very important to the show) but, as shown it can be hard to admit and own. Some thought-provoking stuff going on, all delivered with that wry, no-nonsense antipodean humour. So if you have a mid afternoon free, you could do a helluva lot worse!

And while I’m on antipodeans, I’m sooo looking forward to seeing the Ukulele Death Squad this evening. Also from Oz, The Aspirations of Daise Morrow is on at the Assembly George Square Gardens in the wonderful Spiegeltent Palais Du Variete, but be warned, it’s after lunch, in a warm tent, beautiful soothing live music and lazy aussie drawls. Yeah, do go see it but have a coffee first! And have I mentioned how delightful Felicity Ward was?

Oo yeah, badges, to misquote Blazing Saddles “we DO need stinkin’ badges”, extra points to shows with free badges at the end. For a few years plenty of shows were giving out badges,  not so many now. Yay, to Tom Neenan and the Modern Maori Quartet for having badges, my only two so far.

Well it’s nearly time for me to trot down Leith Walk to see the Squad. This fringing and blogging thing is tricky, I want to tell you about all the brilliant stuff going on here – but I’m too busy out enjoying it!!

Toodle pip!

 

 

First night at the Fringe

bruceonthefringe Aussie comedians, Edinburgh Fringe, Fringe Venues, Uncategorized Tags: , , , , , , Leave a comment

It’s quite late now, but hey, I only have work in the morning. Just thought I’d jot down a few words about the previews I saw today. Silly, enjoyable, outrageous, Jimicaw, hot, unpolished, entertaining.

Tom Neenan: Attenborough is in Buttercup, a large box in the Medical School Quad. Silly, Jimicaw, entertaining and most definitely needs polishing, but that’s what previews are for, and as Tom has a rather endearing way about him, forgiven. You may be wondering was a Jimicaw is, a bloody good gag that’s what, along with Sample Text, no I’m not going to explain either. A special mention should go to his supporting actor Shutterstock (pretty certain that was his name), a great performance there. Yes, a few slipups today but utterly charming, this moose was well amused.

Next up were Brendon Burns and Craig Quartermaine in Race Off. This is in the Night Club at the Gilded Balloon, a strange room that doesn’t always work well, but it kinda suited them. After a quick recap of how they met (part of last year’s show), but this time with Craig’s perspective on it too, they then moved the story on, with the narrative ball being smoothly bounced between them. As usual Brendon wasn’t without a few tricks to try to unsettle and discomfort the audience, though some snares didn’t work quite as well as he’d hoped – plenty of us were obviously big fans and so savvy to how Burnsy works. And one thing he likes is a twist in the tail, another great ending played for and got. Not sure Craig will ever manage to show his angry face though, he’s enjoying himself way too much.

And lastly, Dan Antopolski has returned, so lovely to see him again, though I’m not that keen on that room, Studio Five at Assembly George Square, a little lecture theatre. Largely I really enjoyed the show but a few parts seemed to miss a bit, preview problems? Maybe. He speaks mainly about his marriage break up and his daughters, always good rich veins for material. I’ve always laughed at his stuff and this year was no exception.

The fingers on the clock are wagging at me for being up so late. Night all!

 

It’s the wrong order, Gromit!

bruceonthefringe Edinburgh Fringe, Uncategorized Tags: , , 1 Comment

So I ummed and aahed and settled on getting preview tickets for Tom Neenan: Attenborough and Shakespeare for Breakfast. I have a very finite Fringe Fund (which I diligently put money into every month) compared to a seemingly infinite number of shows I’d like to see. Previews will be the cheapest way to see them this year – I could have chanced Tom Neenan being at the Half Price Hut for a midweek performance but no, he is rather good, so preview it is.

This irks me because neither show is in the right place.  S4B should be on the Friday of the second week and Tom should be around then or the third week, but why? I hear you ask, because they should! Did you (anyone over 50) used to make compilation tapes, which though only 60 or 90 minutes in length would take at least twice as long to put together because the tracks had to be in the right order? Well, my Fringe has a right order too, or it did up until a couple of years ago when after eighteen years of fringing together, my Fringe Buddy up and left to explore pastures new.

As I mentioned in Perusing the Programme, I like to be organised, in previous years I would have tickets for shows throughout the Fringe by now, we would have booked our days off work, probably already used up half our quota of Friends of the Fringe 2 for 1 tickets. Yes, I would have organised everything with the cutouts of shows and my timetable sheet, each show in the right place, enough time in between shows, not putting all the best shows together, spreading them through as cheaply as possible. I like some order, then the spaces can be played with. Bud on the other hand was perfectly happy to merely agree on what to see, actually organising anything was not really his forte, he enjoyed the Fringe too, as long as he just had to turn up.

Now the only planning ahead I do is sorting my Previews out and the odd one or two other. I am still a Friend of the Fringe though it won’t benefit me much anymore. But why not take other friends with you? Oh, I may to a few shows, but they’re not really bothered about the Fringe, and organising others? Oofph, I was spoilt with Bud, it was easy, we both really got each other and wanted similar things. I have a pile of cutouts for shows I’m hoping will be at the Half Price Hut, a pile for Free Fringe shows and a pile of “Buy a ticket or Pay on the door.” It does have a certain thrill to it, not knowing how the next three weeks will pan out!

Hey Ho, it’s all part of life’s rich tapestry, or tapas tray, if you’re feeling peckish!