COOL and UNCOOL stuff at The Fringe

COOL STUFF

SKETCH SHOW – News Revue, at the Pleasance Courtyard Beyond, 6.20pm.

STAND UP – Henning Wehn, Just the Tonic at the Caves, 9.15pm.

KIDS PRODUCTION – Private Peaceful, Udderbelly’s Pasture, 2pm.

BEST EMBARRASSINGLY BAD PRODUCTION – Blues Brothers Tribute, C venues, 11pm.

COFFEE – Chocolate Soup, 2 Hunter Square.

FOOD –Mussel Inn, 61-65 Rose Street.

SMALL VENUES – The city’s most bizarre spaces become theatres in August.  Naturally there’s  now a hierarchy of venues performers are desperate to get into for the prestige and audiences that follow. But for me, the shady coves and damp dugouts are the places that hold the real charm. You’re not doing Edinburgh properly if you don’t watch at least one show in a stuffy little bog with unheard of temperatures and extremely lax health and safety regulations.

 TERRIBLE PLAYS –What brings even more joy than starspotting is seeing someone fail. Come on admit it; who doesn’t secretly love to see some cocky actor fall flat on his face? The Fringe sees the most under-cultured theatergoer metamorphose into the harshest critic. And think about it, if you see nothing but comedy genius and Oscar worthy acting, what would you have to chat about at dinner?! ‘that was good!’  ‘… yup.’

 UNCOOL STUFF

THE WEATHER –  “Little bitty stingin’ rain… and big ol’ fat rain. Rain that flew in sideways. And sometimes rain even seemed to come straight up from underneath. Shoot, it even rained at night…” ~ Forest Gump describing Edinburgh. Pretty sure those there for the whole month will develop trench foot.

FLYERING – Fundamentally flyering is begging. Casts compete for audiences by screaming over one another, while the really ‘quirky’ kids dress as gimps and parade on all manner of makeshift plinths. If this were any other time of the year you would avoid these creatures that haunt the Royal Mile like the plague. 

FRESHERS WEEK DEJA VU – Remember Fresher’s week?  The bars here have that student union vibe, with sticky surfaces and perspiring walls. There’s that same nervous desperation to meet people too. Make friends, mingle with other casts etc; probably in the hope of bumping up audience numbers and getting good reviews. Why else would you talk to strangers all fucking day????

There is LOADS more info on the Fringe here!