The Braineater Gazette & Clarion

There's no particular need in the world for another Fringe guide but I want to write this so what the heck.

1) What is the Fringe and why would I want to go?
Basically, over three weeks in August in Edinburgh there are a bunch of different festivals- film, books, international theatre and music, jazz- but the Fringe overshadows them all. It's the biggest arts festival in the world by quite some margin, featuring nearly 3,500 shows over three weeks (on any given day there are probably only 2,500 performances. People need a day off now and again.) There are a LOT of venues, mostly smallish rooms in cellars hastily transformed for the occasion. More than half of the shows are comedy, but that still leave a lot that aren't!
It's one of the main engines of the British performing arts scene, and shapes pretty much everything about how live comedy works here (performers work up an hour-long show for the Fringe and then tour it; winners of the Best Comedy and Best Newcomer awards get a lot of opportunities.) It's an immersion into a different world, with its own priorities, vocabulary and time zone. Also, Edinburgh is an amazing city.

2) OK, I'm sold, that sounds cool. Why are you doing a guide specifically for a middle-aged person?
Because teenagers may be able to see 8 shows a day, drink 20 pints a night, sleep on the floor for a week, and not break themselves, but I can't. I have handy hints and tips if you can't either.

3)Is there any need for the whole guide to be in Q and A format?
No.

My main points, I suppose, are to cover some of the issues that you wouldn't necessarily realise when you first think about going, and to strongly suggest you keep in mind what you already know about what keeps you happy.
( now read on... )

Edinburgh notes, Saturday
( Read more... )

Back from Edinburgh! Wish I was still there! (I was definitely planning to not go next year. Maaayyyybe just for a weekend?)

Amount of booze, coffee and doughnuts consumed: Less than last year. Though probably only because the doughnut van wasn't there this year.
Sleep deprivation: About the same as last year
Poor planning leading to much dashing from old town to new town: Quite a lot less than last year, well done my spreadsheet skills!
Shows seen over three full days and two part days: 22 (of which 1 dance, 1 acrobatics, 20 comedy- 3 of which were instances of Alternative Comedy Memorial Society)
Days without a sore throat that hurts every time I laugh: 1
Shows missed: 4 (Decided to get up late and miss a morning one; decided to go to bed early and miss a midnight one; previous show badly overran; couldn't find venue. Like, I defy someone to walk down Victoria Street and find The Liquid Room, it DOES NOT EXIST.)
Performers making reference to the same army recruitment ad: 2
Most times seeing same performer: 3 (in own show and two mixed bills)
Unexpected onstage male nudity incidents: 2 (with a further 3 extremely revealing male skintight bodysuit incidents)
Unexpected onstage hats with rabbits on: 2

Plans to write up gigs properly: *out of cucumber error, please reboot*

Edinburgh show notes again.
( Wednesday )

( Thursday )

So I spent 8 days at the Edinburgh festival and went to 49 events, featuring well over a hundred performers. List post! (I'll post brief notes from the gigs later with a cut so non-comedy-obsessives can skip it.)

Days that went entirely to plan: 2 (not bad!)
Things I intended to see but completely forgot about because they were free and therefore I didn't have a ticket to remind me where to go next: 2
Things I missed for other reasons: 4 (misread time on ticket, left stuff at hotel and had to fetch it instead of going to next gig, realised I had overestimated my stamina for walks at 10 in the morning, realised it was too far from the next gig)
Things I walked out of: 2 (one too loud, one turned out to be audience-walks-around-performers and my joints hurt)
Days it rained: 4
Days of rain that coincided with days I had hopefully put on sandals: 3
Most alcohol drunk in a day: 3 units (not in my twenties any more)
Most servings of fruit/veg in a day: 3 (oops)
Most coffee drunk in a day: 3 cups
Doughnuts eaten: 9 (but six of them were those mini ones)
Least hours of sleep in a night: 5 (not in my twenties any more)
Paracetamol: 8 (see above re: joints hurting)
Number of times crossed North Bridge: at least 20
Number of people killed for getting in my bloody way and blocking the bloody pavement, don't they realise there's a whole bloody festival's-worth of people behind them trying to get somewhere, for god's sake: 0 (excellent!)
Number of free shows attended: 6
Number of non-comedy events attended: 4 (Japanese theatre, Baroque music, meditation, circus)
Number of shows featuring at least one woman: 24 (Shows that didn't were a mix of solo male stand-ups, showcase things with changing line-ups that didn't have women that day, and all-male sketch groups)
Number of shows featuring at least one person of colour: 3 (two of which weren't comedy.)
Amount of beer spilt over my bag: 1/4 pint
Shows where an audience member was chucked out: 2 (both for drunkeness in the middle of the day)
Favourite things seen in the street: A chap flyering in a dragon costume and carrying a chihuahua, a woman telling a children's story about a tiger eating somebody's mother and meeting a gory end.
Show I most regret missing: Voices In Your Head
Best show seen on a whim: Squidboy
Performers/gigs I hadn't seen before but will definitely try to see again: the Alternative Comedy Memorial Society, Set List, School Night, Mischief Theatre, Casual Violence, Beta Males, Theatre Beating, Late Night Gimp Fight, Jigsaw, Giraffe, The Horne Section, Croft and Pearce, Birthday Girls, John-Luke Roberts, Caroline Hardie, Mike Wozniak, Rachel Parris, John Robins, Chris Coltrane, The Boy With Tape on his Face.
Badges won for being best audience member: 1
Times I wanted to come home: 0