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Aug. 23rd, 2018 04:57 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
shark_hatNotes from the Edinburgh Festival Fringe
Last year one person said they'd have liked to see a post about what I saw, but I'd taken notes in a notebook like a stone age person (who had invented paper, pens and writing) and didn't feel up to transcribing my terrible handwriting; this year I used my phone like Google wants me to, so it's a lot easier. Behind the cut, mostly links to reviews of things I enjoyed.
This year I've only seen one of the Comedy Award nominated acts- https://www.comedy.co.uk/live/news/3234/edinburgh_shortlist_2018/- Ahir Shah, who I saw at ARGcomFest, a lovely little previews festival in July. (I enjoyed Shah's gig but wouldn't necessarily have said it was one of the best seven shows of the year).
My actual favourites from ARG were Delightful Sausage (https://www.chortle.co.uk/review/2018/08/06/40700/the_delightful_sausage:_regeneration_game), Mawaan Rizwan (https://www.standard.co.uk/go/london/arts/edinburgh-fringe-reviews-mawaan-rizwan-spins-a-very-funny-yarn-a3917446.html), and John-Luke Roberts (https://www.chortle.co.uk/review/2018/08/05/40691/john-luke_roberts:_all_i_wanna_do_is_%5bfx:_gunshots%5d_with_a_%5bfx:_gun_reloading%5d_and_a_%5bfx:_cash_register%5d_and_perform_some_comedy!). I saw Roberts again in Edinburgh, by which time he'd actually sorted out the ending and was even better.
Naturally, I also went to Roberts' and Thom Tuck's Alternative Comedy Memorial Society http://broadwaybaby.com/shows/the-alternative-comedy-memorial-society/707766 as many times as I could. (This was quite a bad idea since it ran until 3 AM; I can't really cope with that little sleep several days running any more.) Some of the best snippets: Matt Houghton roping in a bemused Belgian man to help him perform a puppet show without puppets; Pierre Novellie mournfully telling us about a joke he's had to take out of his regular set- "Saturday audiences hate Dutch Golden Age portraiture gags"; Elf Lyons's unconvincing American accent in a song about economists; Amy Annette talking about trying to train herself out of doing emotional labour; Paul Foxcroft getting audience members to play Toilet Quest live (http://questingtime.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/Toilet-Quest-2.html); Tim Fitzhigham commentating on his invisible friend's standup act; a student reviewer scathingly and ignorantly commenting on all the other acts.
The other late-night show I did was Questing Time, http://www.threeweeksedinburgh.com/article/questing-time-monkey-toast/ which the night I saw it had Mike McShane squashing Audrey II, a lethal trombone attack (with actual trombone) and an accidental Die Hard ending. I'm going to have to try to get down to London at some point to see this again, if Foxcroft ever gets round to putting the dates on the website.
The other shows I most enjoyed:
Egg in Richard Pictures: https://edinburghfestival.list.co.uk/article/102553-egg-richard-pictures/
Wigwam Wonder Jam- literally some people messing about in a yurt
Sketch Thieves: sketch groups perform one or two of their own sketches, then swap and copy each other's.
Boogie Knights, aka the latest Adam Lartner Takes Most Of His Clothes Off play: https://www.chortle.co.uk/review/2018/08/08/40740/adam_larter:_boogie_knights (I enjoyed it more than this reviewer did, though)
OS Map Fan Club- a pleasant trip through one woman's enjoyment of maps, their history and the walks they take her on https://www.westendwilma.com/review-the-os-map-fan-club/
Austentatious, an improvised Jane Austen novel; this one featured a wicked lord saved by the love of a good dog. https://www.upper-circle.com/home/review-austentatious-the-savoy-theatre
Tom Neenan's It's Always Infinity, a character piece about a self-absorbed idiot making his girlfriend's disappearance all about himself https://www.chortle.co.uk/review/2018/08/23/41034/tom_neenan:_its_always_infinity
Claire Sullivan, an Aussie absurdist http://popculture-y.com/2017/04/review-claire-sullivans-owed-hotel-dogs/
Shows I was sorriest to miss: zazU (left before I got there); Daniel Kitson (sold out before I saw he was on); Terrible Wonderful Adaptations (clashed with something else); Ben Target (clashed); Police Cops In Space (clashed).
Last year one person said they'd have liked to see a post about what I saw, but I'd taken notes in a notebook like a stone age person (who had invented paper, pens and writing) and didn't feel up to transcribing my terrible handwriting; this year I used my phone like Google wants me to, so it's a lot easier. Behind the cut, mostly links to reviews of things I enjoyed.
This year I've only seen one of the Comedy Award nominated acts- https://www.comedy.co.uk/live/news/3234/edinburgh_shortlist_2018/- Ahir Shah, who I saw at ARGcomFest, a lovely little previews festival in July. (I enjoyed Shah's gig but wouldn't necessarily have said it was one of the best seven shows of the year).
My actual favourites from ARG were Delightful Sausage (https://www.chortle.co.uk/review/2018/08/06/40700/the_delightful_sausage:_regeneration_game), Mawaan Rizwan (https://www.standard.co.uk/go/london/arts/edinburgh-fringe-reviews-mawaan-rizwan-spins-a-very-funny-yarn-a3917446.html), and John-Luke Roberts (https://www.chortle.co.uk/review/2018/08/05/40691/john-luke_roberts:_all_i_wanna_do_is_%5bfx:_gunshots%5d_with_a_%5bfx:_gun_reloading%5d_and_a_%5bfx:_cash_register%5d_and_perform_some_comedy!). I saw Roberts again in Edinburgh, by which time he'd actually sorted out the ending and was even better.
Naturally, I also went to Roberts' and Thom Tuck's Alternative Comedy Memorial Society http://broadwaybaby.com/shows/the-alternative-comedy-memorial-society/707766 as many times as I could. (This was quite a bad idea since it ran until 3 AM; I can't really cope with that little sleep several days running any more.) Some of the best snippets: Matt Houghton roping in a bemused Belgian man to help him perform a puppet show without puppets; Pierre Novellie mournfully telling us about a joke he's had to take out of his regular set- "Saturday audiences hate Dutch Golden Age portraiture gags"; Elf Lyons's unconvincing American accent in a song about economists; Amy Annette talking about trying to train herself out of doing emotional labour; Paul Foxcroft getting audience members to play Toilet Quest live (http://questingtime.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/Toilet-Quest-2.html); Tim Fitzhigham commentating on his invisible friend's standup act; a student reviewer scathingly and ignorantly commenting on all the other acts.
The other late-night show I did was Questing Time, http://www.threeweeksedinburgh.com/article/questing-time-monkey-toast/ which the night I saw it had Mike McShane squashing Audrey II, a lethal trombone attack (with actual trombone) and an accidental Die Hard ending. I'm going to have to try to get down to London at some point to see this again, if Foxcroft ever gets round to putting the dates on the website.
The other shows I most enjoyed:
Egg in Richard Pictures: https://edinburghfestival.list.co.uk/article/102553-egg-richard-pictures/
Wigwam Wonder Jam- literally some people messing about in a yurt
Sketch Thieves: sketch groups perform one or two of their own sketches, then swap and copy each other's.
Boogie Knights, aka the latest Adam Lartner Takes Most Of His Clothes Off play: https://www.chortle.co.uk/review/2018/08/08/40740/adam_larter:_boogie_knights (I enjoyed it more than this reviewer did, though)
OS Map Fan Club- a pleasant trip through one woman's enjoyment of maps, their history and the walks they take her on https://www.westendwilma.com/review-the-os-map-fan-club/
Austentatious, an improvised Jane Austen novel; this one featured a wicked lord saved by the love of a good dog. https://www.upper-circle.com/home/review-austentatious-the-savoy-theatre
Tom Neenan's It's Always Infinity, a character piece about a self-absorbed idiot making his girlfriend's disappearance all about himself https://www.chortle.co.uk/review/2018/08/23/41034/tom_neenan:_its_always_infinity
Claire Sullivan, an Aussie absurdist http://popculture-y.com/2017/04/review-claire-sullivans-owed-hotel-dogs/
Shows I was sorriest to miss: zazU (left before I got there); Daniel Kitson (sold out before I saw he was on); Terrible Wonderful Adaptations (clashed with something else); Ben Target (clashed); Police Cops In Space (clashed).
no subject
Date: 2018-08-23 08:12 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2018-08-23 08:26 pm (UTC)My favourite part was what I have in my notes as "doppleganger lifts", a juggle duel was exciting, and they used a big mirror in really cool ways.
(Also, in comedy, I forgot about Holt and Talbot https://chortle.co.uk/review/2018/08/22/41017/holt_and_talbot%3A_mansplaining_feminism)