Greetings, gentle reader! I hope you’re ready for this, as it’s time for me to pester you with loads of blog updates over the next week, as, if you subscribe to my blog, you will get constantly emailed telling you we’ve been to see yet another show at the Edinburgh Fringe – and I’m very sorry about that. This is our sixth visit to the Edinburgh Fringe, and we’re looking forward to it as much as ever. In 2014 (just a weekend visit) we aimed to see 20 shows and managed 19; in 2015, we planned on 52 shows and hit 50; in 2016 we set our sights slightly lower, planning to see 47 events, and managing 45, and in 2017 we aimed for 51 and achieved 49. Last year we planned on seeing 54 shows (a record) and achieved 51 (also a record!) This year I’m hoping for 53 shows… but I wouldn’t bank on us catching all those early morning ones….

As in previous years, I’m proposing to prepare a preview-type blog post in advance for each show we’re seeing and then add my instant reactions in the few minutes I have afterwards, between shows. I think it’s worked well enough in the past – because it would be impossible to write a full post about each show, there just wouldn’t be time! I’ll try to make it so that there’s always one preview blog on the go at any one time, so you always know what we’re seeing next.

So our first show for this Edinburgh week is Strickland Productions’ Apollo Take 111, at Zoo Southside Studio at 16:15 on Saturday 17th. Here’s the official promotional blurb: “’One small step for man, one giant leap for… Line!’ Its 1960s America and a small-town government employee’s life is about to change forever when he is tasked with landing men on the Moon. The only issue is that he doesn’t have a clue how to do it. With the help of an elusive director and the most difficult group of actors on the planet, watch him try to mount the largest scam in history in this hilarious modern farce exploring conspiracy theories, 1960s American pop culture and why we love believing nothing in history’s ever right.”

This sounds like it should be a complete hoot if it’s done well. I’m not prone to being a conspiracy theorist, but I can see the appeal! It’s 50 minutes long, so please check back sometime after 5.30pm to see what we thought of it, and by then the next preview blog should be available to read too.

And if you’re up in Edinburgh, have a brilliant Fringe!

This went to levels of lunatic surrealism that I wasn’t quite expecting! Some funny lines and engaging characterisations but it didn’t really gel for me.