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Today the results of the songwriting contest were due. I didn't place. Moving swiftly on...
I decided to have a day of shows. The only ticket I had bought was for an 8pm performance, but I had a handful of shows I could see written on a nice wee bit of paper. I managed to rise from the dead (sorry, rise from the bed) before 10am, and so wandered over to the nearby Tesco to see if there was anything I wanted.
Perhaps the usual approach with supermarkets is to want something before walking over to spend money, but my belief was that I was bound to find something I wanted when I got there. My stomach was feeling empty and I thought I may find something useful to fill that gap and any other impulses that arose. In fact, I found myself buying an all-day mega breakfast. The chap next to me in the queue pointed out that it seemed a good quantity of food to be eating, but I felt like I had a stomach emptier than it had been in a while. With a good day of show-watching and between-show travelling, it made sense to stock up my energy levels. By 11.30 I was a satisfied man.
After a brief trip back to my lodgings to collect everything except the list of shows I meant to see (not an intentional oversight) I headed into town. I was carrying a published book and a notebook. I used the notebook to work on some ideas for a song - perhaps another one NOT to win a contest - and also to keep track of what I'd be seeing over the day. Stopping for a drink in the C venue on Chambers Street, I found a review for The Commitments. It was on soon enough and I'd met some of the cast previously and we'd had a chat - they were flyering me at the time, but I make it my policy to be nice to publicists - especially if it's their own show.
After the Commitments, I went to spend some time over at the lift, watching shows there. I saw three - back to back - quite an achievement. Outside the lift I had an encounter which I'd like to put into words here. It's not often I allow myself to make moral judgements about people I meet. I'm fairly live and let live. However, when kids are involved, I'm usually a little more interested in allowing my instincts to surface. I found myself sitting among a family - the mother, father, daughter and aunt were around with a couple of hangers on - a friend of the aunt and "some guy they'd picked up in the pub that morning" or "SGTPUITPTM" - SGP for short. SGP was teasing the little girl, with his breath reeking of garlic and the family all in some form of states of drunkenness - the girl excluded. His game was silly enough - pretending to chase the kid or being a monster coming to get her, but I didn't like the look of his behaviour. The young lass - Daisy - was maybe 6 or 7, small, blonde, with maybe a pretty face, but the principle features were her big round glasses and sticking out ears. She was clearly someone who'd be teased for her appearance by her school-mates. As a defence, she was quite bold and bright - seemingly using her bravado and wit to deal with the man who was, essentially, bullying her, rather than getting all giggly without reservation as he'd probably wanted. SGP was being an arse. He pretended to sit on Daisy - he didn't, but he scared her - this made her cry. Then he had to apologise. He told her that he was only kidding. He said nice things to her, culminating in the words "You're a pretty little girl and I like your glasses." The kid's response broke my heart - she looked up at him earnestly and said in a tiny voice - "Really?". At that moment, I wanted to take her away from the idiots she was saddled with and tell her that it was ok - she was going to have a great future and she could rely on her intellect to rise her out of the life she was living. I wanted to tell her that, but maybe I couldn't believe it. Plus, it's rather unusual to steal someone's kid from them at an Edinburgh fringe venue. In Daisy's one word of honest in that conversation, I thought I heard a voice of self-doubt and fear, of insecurity and the need to be reassured... I'm just not sure whose voice it was.
Three shows in the lift later, and after an encounter with someone I haven't seen since a student, I went to see Wicker Woman. Stopping behind after the show to make myself known to James - one of its performers and a fellow blogger - I couldn't hang around for drinks, because I had another show to go to. Off I went to see Mr Tony Hawks talk about his "new book". So new, I'd read it over 8 months ago... but I thought it was great and I got him to sign it afterwards, so it was all good stuff!
Then I crossed town again to see one of my fringe favourites from last year - the Flight of the Conchords. I first stopped by C Venue to see if I could fit in a show after FOTC. I bought a ticket for a late night show - starting midnight. I'd decided I'd not have time to do a 10 o'clock short show at the lift and then make the 10:45 FOTC show, so I thought I'd do the show after FOTC at midnight - hopefully with 15 minutes to spare. Fringe shows usually run dead on time. In fact, the less stressful route would have been to have done the lift show, since FOTC was running late. I realised that it would be better not to worry too much during their show and was glad they did an encore, since I'd foolishly stayed silent when they first asked for any requests and had to sit through a song I would not have requested, my favourite being something different. In their encore they prompted for a request and I shouted out the title - as did three other people in quick succession - the same title. It was great to hear it live again. Luckily (well, unluckily) they were not selling a new CD this year, which meant I could leave like a rocket, running 3 minutes over schedule for the next show. I ran. I ran like the wind. The show was delayed. I was an out of breath wind-like-running-fool. But I got to see the musical I was running to see.
After the musical ended, I watched the Establishment comedy gig - which worked well in its ideal venue, the basement of C venue.
However, the highlight of the evening was running into someone from the volunteering programme I did at Christmas. She's got a show at the Fringe - not a surprise, given that she studies performing arts at uni. So, I promised to go and see that and spend some time with her later on. It was good to get back in touch - we'd faltered by email.
Today I achieved a personal best - 9 shows in one day. Some were short, but some were over the usual hour. I had a range of experiences from comical play to stand-up to musical play to straight theatre... even poetry and prose. What I'm saying is, this was a classic day at the fringe. I even got home in good spirits and not all that tired!
Show: The Commitments
Performed by: Harland Hamstrings
When: 13:00
Where: Subway (not the sandwich shop)
Cost: £4
Having been accosted by a member of the cast and told "come and see this, I wear fishnets", I had decided to attempt to give it my support. The fishnets weren't the hook (har de har) since I'm not really that interested in schoolkids' legs. However, it's good to see how different groups achieve the aim of putting on a musical show and it's good to support someone prepared to talk to you about their work.
They staged the show on a simple set. The largest props being a drum kit and the four microphones that they arranged, gig style for performing songs and which got lined up out of the way for playing scenes. I had never seen the film, but had, obviously, heard the music from it. My expectations were fairly low and I was open minded. The biggest disappointment for me was that they had instruments galore, but they were miming the playing of them. This is a disappointment in the sense that I love live music. I can understand why they couldn't form a backing band of actors from a specific school in Cottingham and make it sound good enough to recreate iconic soul hits.
The singing was all live. The three female singers made me reconsider how I feel about women's voices. In a good way. Their harmony and unison singing was exceedingly listenable and the music and choreography just worked for me. The leading man, playing the gravelly Decco, was exceedingly good and good for the role.
Overall a well played show. A snip to its producers at a mere £1k per day to stage.
Show: Short Fuse
Performed by: Short Fuse
When: 15:00
Where: 5065 Lift
Cost: £3.50
Three poets in a lift. One started to get claustrophobic. No, it's not a joke.
I liked this performance. Three very different poets giving readings of small poetic works. There's no doubt that the lift was a lovely intimate setting for the transfer of ideas in this style. I think that poetry can be a sort of bogus art-form. The form is so negotiable and the content can be anything. Indeed, sometimes you can come away thinking that a poetic work was facile and dull.
However, the sparks of idea transfer in performance poetry are interesting. In this show some moments were better than others. I wasn't impressed by the guy who rhymed huge strings of words with the same ending to make his point - because anyone can do that... indeed they often do and call it hip hop. However, even this man had some images to create that provoked a reaction in the audience. That's probably what poetry, indeed art, is meant to be about.
Show: Firewoman's Lift
Performed by: Risa Mickenberg
When: 16:00
Where: 5065 Lift
Cost: £3.50
This show could so easily have not worked. You get dragged into the events of 9/11. You walk into the lift as an audience and then someone starts speaking - she's actually the performer and starts talking about the events of 9/11 from the perspective of a firewoman, trapped in a lift in Tower 1 on the fateful day. By mixing the mundane and thoughtful musings about life itself with flashes of the drama and feeling of being caught in the events, she manages to provide a thoughtful insight into the New York fireman's way of life as well as into the disaster. The show is well paced and though it can get intense, it is also balanced. Performed by a very charming actress, you come out of the lift together feeling... er... elevated.
Show: Slaves of Starbucks
Performed by: Peter Aterman
When: 17:00
Where: 5065 Lift
Cost: £3.50
Three character-based monologues which serve to expose the trivialities of modern American life. Perhaps rather cynical, these views seemed to have some sort of root in reality. The first was an Italian tour guide dealing with stupid questions from American tourists, like "When are we going to see the Eiffel Tower" - er... not in Rome - "But it says in my brochure..." and so on. The scene builds up to the point where the guide gives them the tour they are expecting, but is clearly talking nonsense - very funny.
Then a short treatise on the american dream - a figure skater who has broken down everything in her path to rise to the top, being interviewed by an ex communist. At the end of the day each has demons of their past and the american dream doesn't seem all that good.
Finally, the story of a man who gets attacked in a mall and cannot get someone to call him an ambulance. Though the mall is full of people who supply stuff, his demands, for kindness and medical attention, are not on their list of priorities. He ends up left on the floor, bleeding with the mall shut... someone has mopped around him.
Funny and dark. I enjoyed it, even though I hadn't planned to do a lift triple bill.
Show: The Wicker Woman
Performed by: Population 3
When: 18:00
Where: Pleasance Cavern
Cost: £9
Website:
http://www.population3.co.uk
I loved this show. I'd enjoyed its predecessor - Gladiatrix - last year, but this was 10 times better. It's a show with puppets, costumes, visual gags, pratt falls, silly mime, pastiches, knob gags, striptease, occasional audience asides... er... the list goes on. It is probably 3 times as detailed as most fringe shows and it was, at best, air-gaspingly hilarious. I'm tempted to see it again.
Fine performances from a good cast and the audience appreciated it. I can't begin to describe all the bits I liked - there's not the time.
Show: Tony Hawks One Hit Wonderland
Performed by: Tony Hawks
When: 20:00
Where: St George's West Church
Cost: £10
The story behind the book I read at the tail end of last year. Tony has a very charming and amusing style of delivery and he chose to summarise some of the big events in his tale, rather than retell it and spoil the book. The main joy was seeing images of his efforts and hearing most of the songs he had to write to get through his odyssey. Highlights included an "unplugged" version of "The Stutter Rap" and seeing a video of Norman Wisdom's Albanian hit record.
It was nice to shake the man's hand at his book signing. After all, he's given me many hours of reading pleasure.
Show: High on Folk
Performed by: Flight of the Conchords
When: 22:45
Where: Gilded Balloon Caves 1
Cost: £9
After a year's listening to those funky folkers, having bought their CD last year, it was a pleasure to sit in the front row and watch them weave their magic live. Their new songs did not have the familiarity of the ones I'd been listening to, so it was harder to judge the new stuff - I'm so fond of the older numbers. They are great performers and it was at times very funny and always very watchable.
I'm glad they did "Bowie" as their final request, though!
Show: An Evening with Joe Stalin: The Musical
Performed by: Cambridge University ADC
When: 00:00
Where: C Venues, Adam House -1
Cost: £9.50
I have mixed opinions on this one. Musically it was pretty good. It was performed brilliantly. There were some great visual gags, some amazingly well executed choreography - including tap and ballet. Individual performers were stunning, especially the leading lady... but then... it seemed that they'd got an element or two missing. It was hard to tell if it was a pastiche of a musical or a serious attempt at a musical. It was hard to tell if they were making light of history or making a serious point about it through wry humour. And, sadly, some of the lyrics let the songs down a bit. Some could have been kept, but it should have been edited more carefully. Perhaps a few more ideas were needed.
Having said that, it's a show with a lot going for it and I enjoyed it. I think the writer should have focussed more on the structure and detail than he did on shoehorning some silly bastardisations of song titles into his show, like "A nightingale sang in red square" and "Mrs Stalin regrets she's unable to lunch today".
Show: The Establishment
Performed by: Various
When: 01:30
Where: C Venues, Adam House -1
Cost: £0
Well, it was free and had 4 comic spots - two actual comedians and two from an impro group - who were funny too. The comedians were Hils Barker (whom I like) and Patrick Monahan, who was pretty good... despite the fact that he wanted me to breakdance on his stage.
A variety of different experiences throughout the day and a record-breaking number of shows seen. Yikes. Saw 9 shows (doubling my shows seen count) and spent a grand total of £52. That's about the price of a single London Show!
Stats to the day's end
Total shows seen: 18
Total shows performed: 3
Total spent: £109.50
09 August 2003
Ashley Frieze