Before I forget...

[pozorvlak]

This year I saw 14 shows at the Edinburgh Fringe. This is slightly below my average, but not enough to explain my general sense that this year (once the ultra-stressed rehearsal period was over) was less frantic than previous years. That was probably because we had a nicer time-slot - no hurry to roust people out of bed to get everyone to the theatre in time, and we usually managed to get back to the flat for a relaxing cooked dinner before heading out to see a show.

Anyway, here's what I saw:

At Bedlam:
Catchy! - musical about the Great Plague. Fantastic.
Little Red Things - highly contemporarararary puppet show/fairy story type thing. I was a bit too drunk for it.

At the Gilded Balloon:
Puppetry of the Penis - finally I cracked and went to see this. Quite amusing, not too squicky, but I shan't be going again.
Beergut 100 - Bill Bailey's punk cover band. Awesome. Thanks to weaselspoon for the heads-up!

At the Pleasance:
Chanbara - taiko drumming and katana swordplay. Some very cool bits, but a bit too dark and rhythmic - we found ourselves falling asleep in the middle.
The Receptionists - absurdist comedy from the 13 O'Clock people. Even better than last year, IMHO.

At C:
Top Gun - recreation of the film, with people sticking their arms out and pretending to be F-14s. Great fun.
The Chronicles of Hernia - Cambridge Medics' Revue. Impressive that they managed to do it at all, given that they'd lost 60% of the cast, and they had some great sketches. But not as good as...
News Revue: Pirates of the Cabinet - which was much better than the last time I'd seen them. Triumphant return to form.
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead - I'd wanted to see this for a while, and was a bit disappointed. My least favourite Stoppard play of the ones I've seen or read, I think. I'd probably like it more if I knew Hamlet better.

At Hill Street Theatre:
Macbeth Re-Arisen - awesomely good. A zombie-movie sequel to Macbeth, in iambic pentameter. My favourite bit was Macbeth and Lady Macbeth's address to their zombie hordes before the "we can't hold them off any longer!" scene in Forres Castle. Shame about the blade falling off the chainsaw...

At some random church in the New Town:
The Screwtape Letters - a bit more overtly proselytising than I'd expected, and not entirely true to the book, but still good. The actor playing Screwtape was brilliant. As terpsichore1980 said: "We're all going to Hell, aren't we?"

Way out in the sticks:
Kit and the Widow: a Barely Civil Partnership - excellent as ever. Mostly songs I hadn't heard, which always helps.

At the Bongo Club:
Vaudeville Cabaret - not bad, particularly the Canadian stand-up comic we saw. Unfortunately, we got the start time wrong and only got there at 1am (it started at 11pm). The show finished at 2, but we were ready to go home by then anyway. We're getting old, I tell you.

So, a pretty good selection on the whole. Maybe I'm getting better at spotting good things. Or maybe I just got lucky. Or maybe my critical faculties are insufficiently discriminating.

Tonight I'm going to see A Scanner Darkly, which I've wanted to see for ages. Yay! *bounces*

Comments

[michiexile]

I gotta get up there to that event at some point. It sounds AWESOME.

[mi-guida.livejournal.com]

Could you let me know what Through A Scanner Darkly is like? I'm tempted to go see it...

Looking through my tickets, I went to 18 shows, which I think is pretty good going. I didn't feel particularly rushed at any point, either - maybe the walk over to see MacBeth Re-Arisen, but then I tend to walk quickly anyway.

[antoniabaker.livejournal.com]

The Receptionists - absurdist comedy from the 13 O'Clock people. Even better than last year, IMHO.
you fell asleep!
I was very bad this year, in an effort to maintain my calm and chirpyness I think I only went to see a half dozen shows, and spent all my spare time asleep.

[pozorvlak.livejournal.com]

I don't think I actually fell asleep - though I probably would have done had it not been for your kind gift of Coke. Thanks!

[pozorvlak.livejournal.com]

A Scanner Darkly (as steerpikelet insists we have it) was excellent - I'll post on it in a bit. Highly recommended.

Which shows did you see that I didn't?

[mi-guida.livejournal.com]

The shows I saw were (in date order):
Puppetry of The Penis
The Screwtape Letters
Catchy
Kit & The Widow
MacBeth Re-Arisen
Shakespeare for Breakfast
The Receptionists
News Revue
Little Red Things
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead
Top Gun
Cambridge Medics Revue
Bill's New Frock
WASP
Chanbara
Powder Room
Vaudeville Cabaret Club

In fact, 17, because I can't count, but the 4 in bold I saw and you didn't, but you saw the Bill Bailey Punk Band and I didn't.

I look forward to the review of A Scanner Darkly...

[steerpikelet.livejournal.com]

God is perceived by mortals 'Through a GLASS darkly' (Book of Matthew, first bit).

The film, and the P.K.D book on which it is based, is just called 'a scanner darkly.'

[pozorvlak.livejournal.com]

1 Corinthians 13 is the canonical reference*. But you're right about the title of the film/book - duly fixed.

* I do so love out-pedanting pedants :-)

[steerpikelet.livejournal.com]

your MUM is duly fixed.

[pozorvlak.livejournal.com]

My mum knows the difference between Matthew and 1 Corinthians, certainly :-)