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This was, for some venues, the last day of the fringe. It was no time for hanging around. I wanted to catch some final shows before they stopped existing.
Again, the trivia of how the day actually ran is virtually irrelevant. The question is more why did I see certain shows. The day started with female character comedy. I say the day started, it's clear it was evening, but then I was staying up until around 5am most days, so it was nearer the start of the day for me than it otherwise might seem. Rosie was a lady who was playing the lift on the last day I played it. We met and she encouraged me to watch her show. That was all I needed - the rule being to watch as many shows as possible that are recommended by their performers. It's a good rule. I'll add to that rule the fact that I had, a couple of days previously (I didn't mention it in that day's diary), done some leafleting for the lift venue and had gone round telling people to go and see Rosie's show... so I felt I had my own recommendation to follow too. Following the first show with a trip to Katherine Jakeways show was a natural progression. Katherine had been very pleasant to meet and I read some good reviews of her show as I was queuing to go and see it... I usually read reviews after I've decided to see a show. Bizarrely enough, Rosie turned up to see Katherine, making a nice circle of comedy for me.
Between Katherine and the next shows, I hung around outside the lift watching the Giant Pineapple Boys doing their thing... I watched on the monitor that is attached to the lift - the show is pretty amazing, scripted so that most of the stuff happens at the end. Clever writing. Just as time starts to get long, put more in, so the time appears to run more quickly. You'd never realise that within the lift. However, when not immersed in the show, you can see how it's done.
Then it was time to see The Dinks. I'd been introduced to Dan Antopolski, who was in fact someone I'd seen on TV a week or so before the fringe, really enjoyed watching and had decided to see perform if he was performing. The show was actually a play (i.e. the characters interact with each other not the audience) and included Craig Campbell, with whom I'd shared a bill in York. No, this is not name-dropping of people I've shared a bill with, just a nice way to feel linked to the action of the tale. I also like the feeling of having a bit of a backstage pass to the festival I enjoy watching so much.
Then Rob Deering's show. I'd been meaning to fit it into the festival at some point and, at almost the 11th hour (10.9) I got to see it. I'd also met with the fellow, discussed guitar chords and promised to see his show. We were all fulfilled by that sweaty hour in the Pleasance Hut - that was his venue, not some weird sauna.
Then I crossed town at near light-speed to get to The Stand for their late night show. I'm glad I did. Unfortunately, I could not get to a cash point and was nearly cleared out by the entrance fee. During the main interval, I was offered a drink by the people on the table next to me. We'd bonded during the smaller interval talking about the show's opening (more on that later). I pointed out that I was out of cash and could not reciprocate. I'll have a diet pepsi, I relented at their insistence. This was not good enough for them... clearly they expected that a man would only go for a diet non-alcoholic drink as a way of saving his drink buyer money. Rather than explain that I was happy sober, I accepted a lager. It was good!
After the show, I congratulated some of its performers, said hello to Martin Bigpig again (I'd seen him earlier in the week) introduced myself to Barbara Nice, because I hope to meet her professionally, and then went off to get some cash. The plan was to find somewhere to get a nightcap. The reality was that I walked past a vaguely familiar face as I cruised along North Bridge and heard that person say the name of someone I know. The name is so unusual that I reckoned it couldn't be a different person. I then loitered near this lone female until she finished her phone call and I could ask if she happened to be talking to the person I thought she was talking to. At around 3 in the morning, loitering round young girls on the street is probably not a good idea. I reckoned I could blag it. Luckily the lady in question recognised me and confirmed that she was indeed a friend of a friend. In fact, she was in a show I'd seen.
Slightly drunk, exceedingly tired and playing the damsel in distress role a little too well, the young lady enlisted my help in getting her home. The plan was to use my booming voice to hail a taxi, and my general presence as a burly man to prevent the Edinburgh population of thieves and rapists to descend. The reality was different. We wandered through the streets of Edinburgh in the general direction of her home, looking for taxis and failing to find them. We discussed the possibility of my pretending to attack her, so that a police car would stop us and drive her home. I decided against a night in the cells and we kept walking in search of the rarity - an Edinburgh taxi driver who gives a shit after 3am. Eventually, she realised that we were near the place her parents were staying. In a beautiful "reserved for daddy" voice, she rang her father - at "oh my god it's early" o'clock and got him to agree to let her in once she reached the door of their place.
I then had to explain to her that I would be able to walk her within sight of the door but would have to hold back, since her father would take one look at me and brand me the exact sort of person that I had been enlisted by the young lady to protect herself from. There's no quick way of explaining why a man of around 10 years' more seniority than his precious daughter, with weight and baldness issues, is trailing her home. I thought the message had been made clear but then, in a last ditch attempt to get back before her legs failed her, my charge decided to run the last bit. I then had to stop her, since I could not run after her, explaining that it would be even harder to explain to her father and the police why there was a young girl running through the streets, being pursued by the aforementioned overweight man. I was capable of the running, but still didn't fancy a night in the cells.
Luckily, we got her back to the door she wanted and I left the scene without being arrested. I think I even managed a few more drinks before heading home for a morning's sleep!
Show: Alice Lunt's Picnic
Performed by: Rosie (didn't get her surname)
When: 18:00
Where: 5065 Lift
Cost: £3.50
A handful of characters from the same actress. Each one engaged the audience and seemed distinct. We had the French teacher, slightly backward but adorable girl-type figure (Alice Lunt), transgender butcher and performance artist.
One or two moments missed the audience, but it was a well attended and greatly enjoyed show.
Show: Katherine Jakeways
Performed by: Katherine Jakeways
When: 19:10
Where: Pleasance Below
Cost: £10.50
A series of characters culled from real life and then adapted for performance by a gifted actress and sometime TV presenter. We had a Cliff Richard stalker, a TV presenter who could only speak in cliche and puns, a sex therapist, schoolgirl, creative writing instructor and a few more. In between characters, the action continued on screen, which gave the show a continuity... something which did not happen when John Shuttleworth used the same trick a few shows previously.
The show was solid and had a few magic moments. This from a performer making her fringe debut. Good stuff.
Show: The Dinks
Performed by: Dan Antopolski, Craig Campbell, Tony Law
When: 21:20
Where: Pleasance Above
Cost: £10.50
Crazy. Space aliens, yoghurt, pot luck suppers and potato salad. The rapier and yet somehow cheesy wit of Dan Antopolski. It was just nuts and it made me laugh a lot. The three characters played off each other very well. It seemed dominated by Dan Antopolski a bit, but perhaps that was a good thing. It's a show whose plot is almost undescribable, but it had a high gag count and included physical, visual and pun-related humour... a holy trinity indeed!
Show: Superkings
Performed by: Rob Deering
When: 22:40
Where: Pleasance Hut
Cost: £10.50
Take pop culture and a man with an encyclopaedic knowledge of it and you're bound to get something special. In a lecture about icons, from superheroes through to Jesus and Elvis, this show had everything. In a series of episodes with his guitar, Rob managed to recreate some music icons too. He's a talented man and it was an enjoyable experience.
Show: Late night comedy
Performed by: Various
When: 00:15
Where: The Stand
Cost: £9
This was an amazing show and I'm lucky to have seen it. The MC Jane McKaye (I've no idea of the spelling) started the show well - by being bitchy and horrible to everyone in the audience. This is funny until someone can't take it. Then you have to either play a battle of wills or somehow redeem yourself. The lady who could not take being spoken to was a self-centred self-important bitch. There's no two ways about it. She decided to act as though no show was happening, staring off to one side while the MC tried to engage her. This barracking from the MC lost her the audience briefly and, realising she had lost them, she gave the first act a cursory intro and a terrible room to come into.
Luckily the first act was the wonderful Simon Munnery - he won the audience immediately, meandered through a series of seemingly meaningless subjects, made jokes around his case of cancer and gave his story a happy ending. We were elated. It was all joy and exceedingly smart wordplay from him. Like the fact that there's only one road, because they're all connected to each other. A road that is not connected is not a road - it's a runway! Good point!
Then we had our first break. Followed by the "show stealing bitch" (to quote our MC) Mrs Barbara Nice. I've heard of Barbara Nice before. I've never seen anything like it. She made me laugh a lot. She started off quite gently, but then worked it up to something so surreal and silly that I just sat there giggling like a fool. As a finale, she did a stage dive which, though orchestrated carefully before she started, still had a bunch of men clamouring to help at the right moment... it was just magical. This was the first time I saw a standing ovation during the fringe festival. Top marks!
Final act - Boothby Graffoe. Same material, same man... still funny. Even when you know the jokes. Fantastic night out!
Spent £43, saw 5 shows. At the day's end:
Total shows seen: 65
Total shows performed: 10
Total spent: £469.75
27 August 2003
Ashley Frieze