Fringe! Day 1!
*blows dust off blog*
So, we're in Edinburgh for our annual week of luvvie-spotting, show-watching and overpriced food-eating. It's been great so far, even if getting here I may have accidentally autopiloted, run out of A1 and ended up driving through the centre of Edinburgh, dodging suicidal Londoners for whom a red man is a challenge.*
Anyway. What have we seen, I hear two of you cry? READ ON.
First stop was the Pleasance, still a good place to pass the time and sometimes pick up free tickets- though sadly not so common once you're halfway through August. Still, 4 quid for a massive hog roast in a roll is the best deal you're going to get in this crazy world of pop-up champagne bars.**
We like to get a few variety showcases in to get a feel for people's full shows, and the Best of Edinburgh Showcase was a good choice. Compered admirably by Keith Farnan with a hefty dose of cheeky Irish banter, the acts were a mixed bag but on the whole enjoyable. We had David Quirk, a lanky Aussie whose skit about slipping insults and handjobs into dealing with the public in retail was pleasantly not work-safe for a Sunday afternoon. Next was a gentleman from Saltcoats whose name escaped me; his act was OK, though perhaps the (perfectly good and accurate) observations on sectarianism were lost on the non-Scots in the crowd.***
Jessica Fostekew brought a much-needed female presence to proceedings, and her cheeky relationship-themed set had much promise for her full show (which is at the Cabaret Voltaire and free!). Finally, hot tickets The Noise Next Door were very much in the vein of Baby Wants Candy or Showstoppers, but with more of a coherent boybandish setup. We were treated to an improv song about a tortoise photocopying company run by Jesus, and a song to a lady in the front row about her love of mushrooms and Australia. I suspect they're sold out now :(
Next we went with
neicey64 and John (with no LJ) to Knightmare Live. To say I was excited about this show is an understatement. For those who haven't grown up in the UK in the 80s, Knightmare was a live-action fantasy TV show in which a hapless child is guided around a dungeon wearing a helmet so he can't see. There's state-of-the-80s CGI, bad acting, and Treguard the dungeon master of the 'ooh, nasty!' catchphrase. Some representative clips: this entire playlist, featuring the infamous 'Simon, sidestep to your left' and Barry Who Should Have Died In The Corridor Of Blades. It's been a good month for the show- they're re-running it on Challenge TV, a new episode popped up as part of Geek Week and via following the writer of the Fringe show I found out they were doing a Kickstarter and so threw money at it like it was going out of fashion.
Sadly I didn't give enough to be the dungeoneer in the show, that honour went to a small lady called Cat who was a) very quiet and b) seemed not to be that familiar with the show and somewhat surprised that the audience was mostly geeks in their late 20s. Despite this, it was a good romp; Treguard (Paul Flannery) invited two guest comedians to guide the dungeoneer through the lovingly handmade set, complete with goblins, the wallscrotum AKA Granitas the Level 1 Monster and some quest items which provided long-running jokes and puns. There was a smattering of audience participation, which may have included
pjc50 shouting YOU'RE IN A ROOM, to great cheers. Oh, and Lord Fear (Tom Bell) for PM!**** Afterwards, I may have got my photo taken with the legendary Helmet of Justice- AWWW YYYYEAHHH
Finally, we toddled to the Three Sisters for the Free Fringe, and wandered into a random show that turned out to be Spring Day. She's a geniunely likeable performer, and her material was pitched just right- at least, to me. Her tales of being an American in Japan teaching English, and her stuff about cerebral palsy and beating the crap out of her violent ex-husband, was dark but brilliant. You got the feeling the row in front of us were crippled with Guardian Dreadtm, wondering whether it was OK to laugh, or whether Polly Toynbee would pop up and tell them it was Problematic and Ableist. To be quite honest- fuck that shit. Go see Spring, she's cheery and has lots of promise, and if you're easily offended I WILL FIND IT HILARIOUS.
*Seriously, don't derp into the road. I still can't bring myself to cross roads like Londoners, because I have half a brain and prefer myself not-flat.
**Yes really. To be fair, it's in a Law Society building not usually open to the public, and they do coffee and cake as well. But I might pass on the lobster and champers...
***I'm convinced this could be fixed if only BBC England would show Only An Excuse. So, so good.
**** I think he would like this tribute. LOVE YOU AND YOUR EVIL HELMET x
Next in this thrilling holiday: political debates that don't smell of wee and feature 90s sitcom stars, and stalking comedians on Twitter and failing to buy them a pint! Sorry, @Brainmage!
Also available at cryptogirl.dreamwidth.org :D
So, we're in Edinburgh for our annual week of luvvie-spotting, show-watching and overpriced food-eating. It's been great so far, even if getting here I may have accidentally autopiloted, run out of A1 and ended up driving through the centre of Edinburgh, dodging suicidal Londoners for whom a red man is a challenge.*
Anyway. What have we seen, I hear two of you cry? READ ON.
First stop was the Pleasance, still a good place to pass the time and sometimes pick up free tickets- though sadly not so common once you're halfway through August. Still, 4 quid for a massive hog roast in a roll is the best deal you're going to get in this crazy world of pop-up champagne bars.**
We like to get a few variety showcases in to get a feel for people's full shows, and the Best of Edinburgh Showcase was a good choice. Compered admirably by Keith Farnan with a hefty dose of cheeky Irish banter, the acts were a mixed bag but on the whole enjoyable. We had David Quirk, a lanky Aussie whose skit about slipping insults and handjobs into dealing with the public in retail was pleasantly not work-safe for a Sunday afternoon. Next was a gentleman from Saltcoats whose name escaped me; his act was OK, though perhaps the (perfectly good and accurate) observations on sectarianism were lost on the non-Scots in the crowd.***
Jessica Fostekew brought a much-needed female presence to proceedings, and her cheeky relationship-themed set had much promise for her full show (which is at the Cabaret Voltaire and free!). Finally, hot tickets The Noise Next Door were very much in the vein of Baby Wants Candy or Showstoppers, but with more of a coherent boybandish setup. We were treated to an improv song about a tortoise photocopying company run by Jesus, and a song to a lady in the front row about her love of mushrooms and Australia. I suspect they're sold out now :(
Next we went with
neicey64 and John (with no LJ) to Knightmare Live. To say I was excited about this show is an understatement. For those who haven't grown up in the UK in the 80s, Knightmare was a live-action fantasy TV show in which a hapless child is guided around a dungeon wearing a helmet so he can't see. There's state-of-the-80s CGI, bad acting, and Treguard the dungeon master of the 'ooh, nasty!' catchphrase. Some representative clips: this entire playlist, featuring the infamous 'Simon, sidestep to your left' and Barry Who Should Have Died In The Corridor Of Blades. It's been a good month for the show- they're re-running it on Challenge TV, a new episode popped up as part of Geek Week and via following the writer of the Fringe show I found out they were doing a Kickstarter and so threw money at it like it was going out of fashion.
Sadly I didn't give enough to be the dungeoneer in the show, that honour went to a small lady called Cat who was a) very quiet and b) seemed not to be that familiar with the show and somewhat surprised that the audience was mostly geeks in their late 20s. Despite this, it was a good romp; Treguard (Paul Flannery) invited two guest comedians to guide the dungeoneer through the lovingly handmade set, complete with goblins, the wallscrotum AKA Granitas the Level 1 Monster and some quest items which provided long-running jokes and puns. There was a smattering of audience participation, which may have included
pjc50 shouting YOU'RE IN A ROOM, to great cheers. Oh, and Lord Fear (Tom Bell) for PM!**** Afterwards, I may have got my photo taken with the legendary Helmet of Justice- AWWW YYYYEAHHH
Finally, we toddled to the Three Sisters for the Free Fringe, and wandered into a random show that turned out to be Spring Day. She's a geniunely likeable performer, and her material was pitched just right- at least, to me. Her tales of being an American in Japan teaching English, and her stuff about cerebral palsy and beating the crap out of her violent ex-husband, was dark but brilliant. You got the feeling the row in front of us were crippled with Guardian Dreadtm, wondering whether it was OK to laugh, or whether Polly Toynbee would pop up and tell them it was Problematic and Ableist. To be quite honest- fuck that shit. Go see Spring, she's cheery and has lots of promise, and if you're easily offended I WILL FIND IT HILARIOUS.
*Seriously, don't derp into the road. I still can't bring myself to cross roads like Londoners, because I have half a brain and prefer myself not-flat.
**Yes really. To be fair, it's in a Law Society building not usually open to the public, and they do coffee and cake as well. But I might pass on the lobster and champers...
***I'm convinced this could be fixed if only BBC England would show Only An Excuse. So, so good.
**** I think he would like this tribute. LOVE YOU AND YOUR EVIL HELMET x
Next in this thrilling holiday: political debates that don't smell of wee and feature 90s sitcom stars, and stalking comedians on Twitter and failing to buy them a pint! Sorry, @Brainmage!
Also available at cryptogirl.dreamwidth.org :D