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What's the most important thing about comedy? Timing of course! So, what's the most important thing about diaries? Timing? Well, probably. Again, attention to detail is what can make a diary most interesting. I suppose it can also make it most tedious - if every little detail is over explained. However, writing the events of the tail end of my second week at the fringe with a few days' distance is probably not the best way to capture the exact nature of those hours.
What is my source material? Well, I'm about to work from some ticket stubs that I have kept from the day in question. Looking at these stubs it all starts to come back to me. I awoke, late probably, showered and went out of the flat. Actually, I do that every day, so nothing original there. I will most probably have breakfasted on the finest quality ingredients and then decided my plan for the day. In fact, on this day I was keen to get back into show watching. I had written a list of the shows I'd originally scheduled on my fringe planner and I went off to see how many I could get tickets for.
I chose to see Godspell because I'd been flyered by one of its cast, who had assured me that one of my favourite songs from the show had been given a good review. My expectations were, thusly, high enough to warrant giving the show a go. Before Godspell started, I went along to the Pleasance to pre-book my evening's shows and found myself unable to see some of them. Quickly replanning, I ended up buying tickets for Mel and Sue - sure to sell out later on - Priorite a Gauche and Jo Caulfield. Then I zoomed off to the Smirnoff Underbelly to see if I could get into Little Shop Of Horrors. I think I got the last ticket.
Having sat through a bunch of shows over the course of the day, I realised I could also fit in the show "George Orwell's 1984 School Disco" in the lift, which I bought sometime just before it started.
Ending the evening at the Smirnoff Underbelly watching Little Shop Of Horrors was in itself a treat. Plus, I found myself in conversation with a deeply charming young lady (actually about my age, but I consider most sub middle-aged ladies to be young ladies) on the subject of musicals. It is frequently at the end of good nights out that I find myself in deep conversation on the subject of musicals with charming young ladies. I know some men try to steer the conversation onto more provocative subjects, like the possibility of retiring to someone's place and getting a coffee. I'm quite happy discussing the works of the great composers and librettists.
In the case of the lady with whom I found myself passing a pleasant couple of post show hours on Thursday evening, we had much to talk about with both musicals and other aspects of the world in which we live. We even established a common bond through the North East of England - she originally hailed from Alnwick. It was my pleasure to find someone as pernickety as I am about apostrophes and other language abuse, which is not rising "exponentially to infinity" we agreed. It was also a pleasure to walk the person as far home as we could go without deviating from our individual route home. Parting company was also part of the deal. At the end of the day, some relationships are only meant to last an evening. I say that without rancour, perhaps even with fondness. Such is the nature of the fringe. I think it's a pleasure to meet like-minded people at random.
So, what's the show summary? Well, I'm glad you asked!
Show: Godspell
Performed by: University of Gloucestershire
When: 14:30
Where: C Main
Cost: £8.50
This is not one of my favourite musicals and it is a show that I had never seen before Thursday. However, there are some songs in it that I like a lot - "All for the best" being one of them. Indeed, after I had my original copy of the show on CD stolen, I specifically sought out a replacement copy. I decided to give this student production a go.
The result of the group's efforts was an entertaining hour or so of performance. You cannot fault the group for the poor writing of the show, and it is a pretty weird show both in terms of book and lyrics. There's almost no dramatic progression through the show until you get to the last supper. This show is basically a few bible stories interspersed with some songs. The cast made these stories come to life with a series of skits, some of which had been updated to use the pop-culture of the year 2003, which worked really well. They used puppetry, comedy, choreography and their minimal set to the best effect. It was pleasant to watch and came with some impressive set pieces.
I was disappointed with the fact that the song "All for the best", which has a fast paced vaudeville-style verse sung over an alternative verse and tune sung at half its pace, was only done as a duet. I've heard it done with the chorus breaking into two parts for the climax, which would have been an amazing tour de force, given the complexity of the piece.
Perhaps the biggest problem with this otherwise excellent show was that some members of the ensemble were significantly less capable than others. There were a few ropey individual performances, which spoiled their songs - they should not have been on that stage. In addition, there were one or two individual members of the ensemble who were too good. To see a stage covered in a cast and only really notice two people from that cast, owing to their excellent presence and performance, is just as great a problem as noticing only two because they're rubbish. The director might have been advised to tone down a couple of the show's stars.
I enjoyed the show. Live theatre's always good. The band were pretty good too, though perhaps without that much soul.
Show: Mel and Sue
Performed by: Mel and Sue
When: 17:45
Where: Pleasance One
Cost: £12
I've always liked Mel and Sue. They're female comics who do comedy that's not specifically girlie nor post-feminist nor anything. It's just good straightforward amusement. I don't think they need to compromise their gender to achieve it, which is probably a lesson for a number of lesser comics out there.
Their performances were superb, the script was pretty good and their command of the trials of live theatre also pretty amazing. Knowing when to go off script is as important as knowing when to stay on it.
It's always odd to see a TV star up close. As we were leaving, Sue came out to clear up the set and it's just unusual to accept the reality of that person being so close. Having said that, it's easier to do that than accept the fact that you just walked past a famous person in the street. I'm sure Nicholas Parsons is stalking me.
Show: Tour De Force
Performed by: Priorite a Gauche
When: 19:00
Where: Pleasance Cabaret Bar
Cost: £9.50
Once upon a time I was billed to be a support act to these pretend French rap stars. It was going to be the crowning glory of my amateur stand-up career. Then it got rescheduled and I did not take up the offer to go to the club and accept a guest-list place to see them perform without me. However, I remained fans enough to go along and see their new show at Edinburgh.
I saw these guys last year and was upset that I only saw them do a few songs, rather than their entire show. This year's show is different and, as far as I can tell, had none of last year's songs in it. I remembered them being very very funny and in this show they were just very funny. They were, however, exceedingly artful at being very funny. The problem is that comedy songs just are not about laughing your guts out - it's too slow for the gags to have impact. However, their comedy stories about trying to take on America did get the laughs, and some of their songs did have some great gags in them. With a modified Eiffel Tower guitar finale, after a lot of well executed songs on various stringed instruments, including the double-bass, these guys impressed the hell out of me.
Show: Jo Caulfield
Performed by: Jo Caulfield
When: 20:15
Where: Pleasance Cabaret Bar
Cost: £9.50
No sooner out of the bar than back in it. This time watching Jo Caulfield. I'd never seen this fringe favourite and thought I'd give her a go. Her stock warm up gags, excellent stage presence and audience interaction were superb. I know she's worked as an MC and I can see that she's probably one of the best people to do that job. She managed to keep the room happily cheerful throughout the show with a good mix of scripted and interaction based comedy. I was hoping she'd single me out and ask what I'd do. I would have told her that I'm a professional pedant. She would have asked what that meant and I could then have pointed out that her boards with three questions on "Whats your name, Where are you from? Whats your job?" were missing two apostrophes and that their border - "Whats your name? were u from? whats your job?" were missing two apostrophes and an H.
Better luck next time.
Show: George Orwell's 1984 School Disco
Performed by: Steve Keyworth (written by)
When: 22:00
Where: 5065 Lift
Cost: £3.50
Take the setup of 1984, throw in some 80's pop music a twister board, some time travelling and George Orwell himself as a character in the story. Put in the sexual tension between two teenagers at a school disco. Perform the whole thing on the twister board in a lift where the audience have to stand around the edges.
An unusual experience, but well written and well played. I found myself wondering why I never went to school discos and met girls in 1984. Then, I remembered. I was 10 and at an all-boys school.
Show: Little Shop Of Horrors
Performed by: Mean Green Productions
When: 23:00
Where: Smirnoff Underbelly - Big Belly
Cost: £7
Possibly one of the best value shows I've seen. A good ticket price for a top class musical. The band were excellent and the principals fantastic. The score is a dream and the lyrics are artful. The only faults with this show were the female chorus. They used three chorus girls who looked pretty in their dresses but sang weakly. Indeed, the technical problems that made them sound fairly quiet were probably fortunate, since I'm not sure they kept in tune nor had strong enough voices for the fairly strong soul-music the musical contains.
Perhaps it's hard to get chorus members. The rest of the cast were so good, that it didn't matter too much. Seymour and Audrey were superb, recreating the sort of voices I'd expected to hear from my soundtrack CD. Audrey's accent and cutesy blonde high-pitched squeak tended to disappear as she got into the songs... which was great because this woman could really sing. It was beautiful to hear the score given such a sympathetic treatment.
I quite enjoyed some of the props, including the puppetry of the plant, but even including the dentist's nitrous oxide mask, which appeared to have been constructed from some tubing, some grey diet coke bottles and the main belly of a water cooler bottle! Fantastic!
Spent £50, saw 6 shows. At the day's end:
Total shows seen: 37
Total shows performed: 7
Total spent: £243.50
18 August 2003
Ashley Frieze