Monthly Archives: August 2014

The Edinburgh Fringe 3-Nighter – The Curing Room

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Sunday will begin with what I expect will be the second of two dramatic highlights of this weekend, Stripped Down Productions’ The Curing Room. This is the description: “Spring 1944 – seven Soviet soldiers have been captured by the Nazis, stripped naked and abandoned in the locked empty cellar of a monastery in southern Poland. Deprived of all ties to their world, the prisoners redefine their concepts of order and human nature. In order to survive the men resort to murder and cannibalism. How do they reconcile rank, faith and dignity? Powerful, thought-provoking and darkly funny, The Curing Room by David Ian Lee and directed by Joao de Sousa is a bold, shocking thriller based on true events.” I’m expecting it will be very harrowing and a difficult watch, but if it’s done with sensitivity and integrity then it could be quite astounding. Not sure how we’re going to feel about having lunch afterwards! It’s on at noon at the Pleasance Dome, so I hope to post instant reactions from about 1.30pm onwards, at which time I’ll be previewing the next show.

Well, as the elderly American tourist said after 4 hours of the NT’s Tamburlaine the Great, “more of a play than a show really”. Immensely powerful, incredibly dark, a play about survival at its grittiest. Hugely brave performances from the cast, and the kind of experience that will stay with you for days. Mrs C’s guts are frappéd though. Sounds superficial to say I loved it, and actually I didn’t. But I really appreciated it. A must see if you’re strong enough.

The Edinburgh Fringe 3-Nighter – Best of Burlesque

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Can’t think of a better (theatrical) way of spending the end of the evening than with an hour’s worth of the Best of Burlesque. We love the Burlesque Show that regularly comes and titillates us in Northampton, but this Edinburgh show is courtesy of a different provider of Burlesquerie, Impresario Chaz Royal of London Burlesque Festival fame. He promises “an all-star roundup of the best burlesque at the Fringe. Sultry strip tease, cutting edge cabaret and vaudeville variety collide. Surprises and titillation at the ready!” Sounds good to me. Kick off is at 23:55, Assembly George Square Gardens is the place. After that, and the nine previous shows today, I’ll be ready for my bed! Still, I’ll be here with some instant reactions before turning the light off, and there’ll also be the preview for the first of our Sunday shows.

This showed how classy and sophisticated the Burlesque shows we get in Northampton are! The first and final acts got it, but the majority of the others were very rough around the edges, including possibly the most boring act I’ve ever seen. Mrs C wanted to leave halfway through – but we stayed, probably not that wisely. Ah well, you can’t win them all!

The Edinburgh Fringe 3-Nighter – Babysitters

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Next up – if we get there on time – is Thrust Stage’s Babysitters, a black comedy that won Best Play at the Durham Drama Festival in 2013. It’s described: “Tommy and Dave, babysitters for a violent crime-boss, while away the hours playing Cluedo, eating Chinese food and wondering what’s going to happen to the man tied up in the cupboard. Their job is simple: lie low, keep watch and await instructions. But when their orders finally come through, boredom turns to mayhem as the pair are plunged into a hilarious, blood-fuelled nightmare with disastrous consequences.” Sounds like a latter day Joe Orton piece, and I’m hoping for some great Ortonesque observations. If I have a fear, it’s that it will be like Mojo, of which I wasn’t particularly fond. It’s on at C Cubed at 22:30, so I’ll try for some feedback before midnight, and the final preview of the day will be up around the same time.

Not very Ortonesque really. A rather odd and unbalanced play which started well but deteriorated somewhat. I liked the two hopeless guys at the beginning, but when Barry and George join them later on, I didn’t really find them credible I’m afraid. Nice try, but it didn’t work for me.

The Edinburgh Fringe 3-Nighter – Margaret Thatcher, Queen of Soho

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Hopefully we will have had time for a quick bite to eat before going off to see Margaret Thatcher, Queen of Soho. To be honest, I’m not expecting much in the way of political satire – the promotional photo tells you it’s going to be a huge send-up with not an insubstantial amount of drag. But that’s fine with me. It’s described thus: “She’s back! Britain’s first female prime minister stars in a drag comedy musical extravaganza like no other! On the eve of the vote for Section 28, Maggie gets lost in Soho and accidentally becomes a cabaret superstar, but will she change her mind about the homophobic bill before it’s too late? A camp odyssey about gay rights, the 80s and disco!” I’m hoping it’s going to be as fully tasteless as it sounds. It’s on at the Assembly George Square Gardens at 21:10 – and we have very little time between its finishing an hour later and the start of our next show so I’ll try to feedback here at 10.10pm but if I can’t, it might have to be after the following show, a preview of which will be up here at about 10.00pm.

Bit later than expected – but what a treat. Whoever it is who plays the late Baroness has got the condescending mannerisms off to a T, which when mixed with her doing disco numbers and the story of her becoming an enlightened liberal creates one of the funniest shows I’ve seen in a long time. Great adlibbing too – and a well deserved standing ovation at the end. Maggie the Magnificent!

The Edinburgh Fringe 3-Nighter – Russell Grant: Strictly Edinburgh

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Well you can’t deny I’ve put together a varied programme for us at Edinburgh! We’re off to the Gilded Balloon at 18:45 to see Russell Grant’s Strictly Edinburgh show, which I’m sure will be packed full of song and showbiz, and a few nifty dance moves in between – plus a lot of Russell’s legendary camp humour. Here’s the description: “Reach for the stars as the nation’s darling rockets into town with a showbiz extravaganza that’ll have you dancing in the aisles. Filled with magic and sparkle, get ready for a barn-storming, foot-tapping, feel good hour to lift your spirits and have you wreathed in smiles. This is the ultimate happy hour! It’s a fun-packed party! Come in feeling blue and leave feeling strictly fablas! No room for party-poopers! Leave your worries at the door and your dancing feet well and truly on the floor!” Well if it delivers all that, we will be well chuffed! I’ll report back around 8pm and also preview our next show around the same time. By the way – this marks our halfway point in Edinburgh – ten shows done, ten to go!

Well both Mrs Chrisparkle and I have danced with Russell Grant – although she got a bit closer with a cheek to cheek waltz! (I just showed him my disco moves) Very enjoyable show where Russell takes a trip down memory lane reflecting on his career and giving us all the maximum chance of joining in. Great if you’re a Strictly fan!

The Edinburgh Fringe 3-Nighter – Bromance

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And now our first taste of Edinburgh Fringe dance/physical theatre. I booked for us to see Bromance because I thought it sounded funny but primarily I was absolutely mesmerised by the promotional photo of the three guys from Barely Methodical, the company staging the show. From the description: “Frenetic but friendly. Captivating but casual. Audacious but awkward. Barely Methodical Troupe, winners of the UK’s first circus competition Circus Maximus, fuse their inner frats with a dazzling tour-de-force of cutting edge circus prowess and physical theatre mayhem. Join one of the UK’s hottest new circus ensembles as they walk the line between the pugnacious and the poignant in this hilarious, bitter-sweet and down-right jaw-dropping celebration of everything blokey – where handshakes become handstands, and back-slaps become back-flips”. I’m expecting a dazzling display of dance/circus skills and hoping for a really entertaining blend of choreography and story-telling. The place – Underbelly, Bristo Square; the time – 16:55. I’ll aim to give you feedback shortly after 6pm, and the preview for the next show will follow shortly after.

That was good fun! A combination of comedy, acrobatics and origami (well it played a small part). Not to undervalue it, we both thought it would be great on a European cruise ship – those Italians and Spanish would love it. If you’re going to see this, can I suggest that if you can’t sit in the front row, go quite a long way back to get good height. We didn’t get quite enough height and so missed some of their low level trickery. If you love a bit if circus and tumbling, you’ll love this!

The Edinburgh Fringe 3-Nighter – Away From Home

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Back to drama now with Away From Home, produced by Hartshorn-Hook Productions and played by Rob Ward. I remembered reading about this one man play last year and thought that it sounded very interesting, as it deals with the thorny (and consistently relevant) issue of gay sportsmen and women being unable to come out for fear of the effect on their career. Here’s the description: “Kyle is comfortable with his life as an escort until he is hired by a premiership footballer and finds himself falling in love. But can Kyle maintain a relationship with a closeted footballer in a country where not one pro player is out? Can he cope with love when, for him, sex has only ever been a transaction? Can he ever tell his friends, and his family, the truth? An edgy, moving and subversive one-man show laced with sharp humour, going in for a hard tackle on football’s last taboo.”

I’m expecting quite a moving, thought-provoking play, and I hear that Mr Ward is brilliant in the role. I hope it will be one of those plays where you come out (no pun intended) of it a different person from the one who went in. High hopes then! It’s written by Rob Ward and Martin Jameson, who is also the director. It’s on at the Assembly George Square Theatre at 15:20, so hopefully I’ll be here with my initial reactions around 4.30pm. The preview for the next show should be available then too.

Very well written play and with a superb performance from Rob Ward – an incredible feat of memory too. Lots to think about with that one – raises difficult questions and offers some difficult answers. Very enjoyable.

The Edinburgh Fringe 3-Nighter – Austerity Pleasures

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About time we had a bit of proper satire. Austerity Pleasures, at the Laughing Horse @ Espionage at 13:05 is new to me (as we are new to the Edinburgh arts scene) but apparently this will be the third year it has visited the Fringe. Ben Morgan and Robyn Perkins offer “a new hour of politics, social satire and leader lampooning, now with an international twist.” Sounds good to me. I’m hoping for a Have I Got News For You-type spin-off, but I’m not sure what to expect. I hope they work together throughout the whole show rather than have two separate stand-up acts, as two characters are better than one when it comes to satire; we shall see. I’ll report back around 2.15pm, by which time the next preview should be online.

Great political standup from Ben and Robyn and a very funny guest spot from Paul Ricketts. Lively, friendly atmosphere and lots of belly laughs – what more could you ask? Great if you like a bit of political satire!

The Edinburgh Fringe 3-Nighter – First Class

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Our Saturday begins with a play – First Class, by James Beagon, at midday at the Laughing Horse @ Espionage. Good news is that the play has won the Buxton Fringe award for New Writing, so that’s an encouraging sign! Here’s the description: Three lives, three choices, three trains. As seemingly unconnected people commute to Manchester Piccadilly for their own reasons, hidden stories of loss, guilt and devotion are firmly exposed and unveiled. Lydia, the destitute mother, Jack, a stress-ridden schoolteacher and Rachel, a struggling sportswoman are all on-board, each dwelling on the choices that led them down these tracks. Yet it soon becomes clear that their journeys are not as innocuous as they first seem.

Sounds intriguing! It’s performed by Relief Theatre’s Joe Walsh, Maddie Haynes, and Erin Elkin. Not quite sure what to expect, but I’m hoping for an intelligent weaving together of separate threads to create one satisfactory whole. I’ll put up our instant reactions around 1pm if I can, but our next show is only fifteen minutes later (but it is in the same venue). If not, it’ll be around 2.15pm. You’ll also be able to read the preview for the second show of the day.

Utterly brilliant piece of writing, merging three stories into one – very moving, at times quite scary, highly emotional – we both loved it. Great performances from all three cast members. Not remotely surprised it won that writing award! Highly recommended.

PS I’ve written a fuller review of First Class here if you’re interested!

The Edinburgh Fringe 3-Nighter – Russell Hicks: Unprepared

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Rounding off the night with another stand-up, I’m really looking forward to seeing Russell Hicks again, as the last time we saw him, he got so much hassle from the crowd that I don’t think he did any of his actual routine! He does play off the audience so well though, with his wonderfully laconic American wisecracking, so whether there is material here (it’s called Unprepared, so I’m not expecting a lot) or whether it’s all comic badinage between us and him, it’s going to be a brilliant end to the evening. The time – 23:40, the place – Just the Tonic at the Tron. Originally this was a Free-ticketed event but it’s now a Free Non-ticketed event – so does anyone want to buy my worthless tickets as we now can’t use them? I’ll put up our final reactions of the day some time before 1am. And that’s when I’ll preview our first show on Saturday.

Or at least that was my intention. But we’ve been up since 5:30 this morning, and when we got to just the tonic at the Tron, the place was absolutely seething with people, and the lure of a quiet drink in the hotel bar just too appealing. So, sorry Mr Hicks, we’ll be missing you this time round, hope to see you again sometime soon. Thanks for reading today, see you again tomorrow!