My Fringe

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Sadly this isn’t a post about my hair. My stylist doesn’t like me talking about his methods.

Rather, I thought that I would share with you a few of the shows I’ve seen at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival this August. There are thousands of things going on in the city at this time of year so you end up just having to dive in somewhere and float up gradually to the surface. It can be quite expensive and debauched too what with all the clubs licensed to keep their doors open until 5am. I’m not actually terribly fussed about what I go to see usually, as you always seem to find things to enjoy in most shows. I try to give each performer or troupe of performers a fair chance but will occasionally descend into heckle-mode after a few sherries. This year I have been fairly well behaved – although my counseling group still agree that sherry is no good for a person of my temperament and that I should avoid all major brands including my beloved Harvey’s Bristol Cream.

Re-Animator The Musical

This is a musical based on the 1985 cult hit Re-Animator, which in turn was based on an H.P Lovecraft story about a crazed medical student who has inadvertently discovered how to revivify the dead. I’m not a musicals man but this one wasn’t too painful. We sat in the second row and were given a poncho to wear during the performance. We soon discovered that this was to stop our clothes getting spattered in all manner of exciting fluids that would be flying around during the show, blood, brains, guts and even rogue droplets of the lead actor’s spit which your narrator found particularly unpleasant. Came out happy though and appreciated the general gore.

Marcel Lucont – Gallic Symbol

Marcel Lucont is a raconteur, flaneur, bon viveur and all-round French piss-artist. In his extremely funny outing at this year’s Fringe he insults and enlightens his vulgar British audiences and divulges the bizarre details of his tantalisingly outré sex life.

 

Late & Live

I try to make it to at least one Late & Live each year. It is on at 1am every night during the festival. Each show comprises of sets from three or four random comedians handpicked from across the festival. You are never quite sure what is going to happen and there is a sort of coliseum atmosphere to proceedings with the audience suddenly able to turn on whoever is on stage at any point. A brutal, funny, boozy place to be at one in the morning. I love it.

 

Jessie Cave: Bookworm

Went to see this as one of my friends was in it. I won’t gush but I had an enjoyable afternoon. Bookworm is full of shambolic literary ephemera and at times sheer shameless madness. Like this blog.

 

Iain Banks in Conversation

I’ve wanted to see Iain Banks talk for a while now and it was good. There is usually a really boring journalist type asking the questions at this kind of event but Banksy just came on stage himself and took questions from the audience. Quite brave. One woman started getting all ‘Freudian’ (intrusive) and asking him about whether he had any childhood traumas that might have influenced the dark bits in his work. He said no. Interesting guy, funny too, in a charmingly rambly and nerdy sort of way. Below is a video of him in his house.

 

P.S If you are in Edinburgh and you are reading this before the Fringe ends – in about a week and a half – feel free to send me your expert recommendations.