Only 5 shows today – let’s take a look.
Here’s the schedule for August 24th.
11:55 – Someone Has To Be Counting, theSpace @ Surgeons’ Hall. From the Edinburgh Fringe website:
“Someone has been keeping a record. Every day, for 20 years. It’s all in her notebooks: hours worked, money spent, cigarettes smoked; 38 categories that serve as a record of how each of her days has been spent. Why did she start? What kept her returning to them? Phoebe Benson directs this experimental one-woman play that explores a person’s attempt to grapple with the incessant flow of time through daily rituals and habits. Starring Lisa Vetta, this play is inspired by the real notebooks of Dalia: aunt of artist and playwright Vytautas Bikauskas.”
This sounds like a very appealing and intriguing play. As someone who is known to have an army of spreadsheets at my disposal, keeping a record all sorts of different elements of my life, I really understand that urge to diarise to the limit. Hopefully it will give me an insight into myself!
13:30 – Joby Mageean – Titty Icarus, PBH’s Free Fringe – Whistlebinkies.
“Sometimes you wish your life was carefree, like a duck on a duck slide. Then you notice the food suspended just out of reach. Each duck strives to grab what seems achievable before they inevitably fall and the cycle continues. Then you realise you are a duck on a duck slide. Joby Mageean is doing a comedy performance. It is very important that you come. He is really cool and has well-written and thought-provoking material. ‘A comedian willing to embrace his own uncoolness… happy to lean into a dad joke’ (Chortle.co.uk).”
Joby Mageean is only doing one performance at the Fringe this year – and this is it! Always one of my favourite comedians, I look forward to seeing him jostling with ducks (if the above description is anything to go by!)
15:15 – Di(n)e, theSpace on the Mile.
“A man has decided to take his own life and finds himself in a state of limbo between life and death. Here he meets dead family, loved ones and a former enemy, each with something to say about his choice. With only an hour before his body dies, his soul must decide between life and death.”
Reading that description, I can’t see that there will be many laughs in this play. But hopefully, if it’s written with a lightness of touch there will be; if it’s written with appropriate mature gravity laughs won’t be required. Fingers crossed either way.
18:00 – Weather Girl, Summerhall.
“Smile while it burns. Stacey is a California weather girl. An oversexed and underpaid harbinger of our dying planet. But today, her regular routine of wildfires, prosecco and teeth whitening descends into a scorched earth catastrophe, before she discovers something that will save us all. A dizzying rampage into the soul of American strangeness. The award-winning producers of Fleabag and Baby Reindeer bring you a blistering dark comedy about wrecking the places we love. From Lucille Lortel Award-nominated Brian Watkins, creator of the hit Amazon series Outer Range, and Drama Desk-nominated director Tyne Rafaeli.”
This play takes on quite a sizeable topic! I’m hoping for a good mix of comedy and hard-hitting drama; let’s see.
19:35 – The Bookies, Summerhall.
“Kit Bromovsky Productions present The Bookies. Two Edinburgh bookies feel the pressure of signing customers up for online betting accounts, signing their own jobs away in the process. They come up with a plan to fight back. But a mountaineer from Mount Everest gets in their way. ‘Fast and witty production’ **** (Scotsman). **** (TheWeeReview.co.uk). ‘Sharp, cynical comedy’ (Stage). ‘Riotously funny play… well worth attending for a fun night out’ (Skinny).”
Moving business online inevitably reduces levels of employment, so this is an important and relevant subject for today. Not sure how the mountaineer will get involved!
Check back later to see how we enjoyed all these shows!