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Today was also spent with friends. We stepped up a gear and got ourselves ready for an afternoon and evening of Fringe-like fun.
Show: The Daily Telegraph Open Mic Award
Performed by: Various
When: 14:00
Where: Pleasance Over the Road 1
Cost: £9.50
Website: http://www.openmicaward.com
Hosted by Chris Addison and judged by, among others, Simon Day and Dave Gorman, this 2 hour show was an introduction to a variety of stand up comics. Some good, some not so good. I barely remember any of their names - Hils Barker stands out, but that's partly because I saw her again later in the festival.
On average, the women stand ups were poorer than the men, but there were notable exceptions (the aforementioned Ms Barker for one). In some cases, however, it was damning of certain regions that their regional winners were so poor.
Show: The In Crowd
Performed by: The In Crowd (BBC Radio 4 sketch group)
When: 17:30
Where: Pleasance One
Cost: FREE
It sounds ungrateful, since this was a free ticket, but it was probably the worst thing I saw all Fringe. The performers were not particularly untalented, but the material was shocking. I suppose that, if I had a completely different sense of humour and was much older and a Radio 4 listener, I might have found it risible... no belly laughs and few smiles. I was embarrassed for them.
Summary - pure shit!
Show: Jackie Clune is Boy Crazy
Performed by: Jackie Clune (with Al Collingwood)
When: 20:00
Where: Assembly Rooms, Supper Room
Cost: £10
Website: http://www.jackieclune.co.uk
The set up of this show was simple. Ms Clune, after 12 years of lesbian life, decides that she's actually straight and sets off to make the most of it with all the men that she can date. The show included original songs by Jackie and her accompanist Al, alongside stand-up telling her story. Exceedingly funny, exceedingly musical and very enjoyable. To me, she sings like a young Cilla, which is no bad thing. If Jackie had released a CD of crooning love songs, I'd probably put it on the headphones... as it happens she released a CD of the show, which is slightly more caustic than love songs, but just as listenable!
Show: Greg Proops
Performed by: Greg Proops
When: 22:30
Where: Assembly Rooms, Music Hall
Cost: £11
Greg Proops is a Fringe regular. I saw him 7 years ago and the show included many of the same sorts of joke he included in this one. Having said that it was great fun. Some of the audience were tired, but I contributed more than my share of laughs to the response that Mr Proops measured carefully in his notebook as he went along.
Comments on "shilt and shish" - the Scottish accompaniment to Fish and Chips (salt and sauce) were what I was expecting to hear, and I was not disappointed. I'd go again!
Show: The Establishment
Performed by: Various
When: 01:00
Where: Venue C
Cost: £5
Website: http://www.CtheFestival.com
This was my first visit to the regular gig at the C venue, round the corner from my lodgings. I was attracted by Priorite A Gauche, the pseudo-french rap group, whom I had no other chance to see at the Fringe. The exhausted crowd of mainly show-participants were hard to motivate and the compere had to work hard. There were some good moments, though and this was a regular nightly visit for me from this point forward.
At this particular gig, I met an actress from the show 5678 (which I later saw) and I was chatted up by three school girls - posh school girls - Tilly, Octavia and Becky... such fun!
Spent £35.50, saw 5 shows, of which one was abysmal and the rest were great. At the day's end:
Total spent: £52.50
Total shows seen: 7
03 September 2002
Ashley Frieze