And that’s another Fringe done and dusted! We arrived on 29th July and we left on the 26th August. During that time we saw 154 shows, which was four fewer than last year, with just one cancellation due to ill health on the part of the performer, and one sneaky extra booking when a slot became free – which turned out to be a 5 star show!
Here’s a quick reminder of the 4 and 5 star shows we saw, by star rating and in date order of when we saw them:
5 STARS:
Vagabond Skies
Do You Accept These Charges?
Virtuoso
Dead Air
Robin Grainger: People Pleaser
Don’t Tell Dad About Diana
Odds Are
Max Fulham: Full of Ham
Ah-Ma
Cody and Beau
Miss Brexit
Lady Macbeth Played Wing Defence
Accordion Ryan’s Pop Bangers
Clean Slate
FLUSH
Matt Forde: Defying Calamity
#CHARLOTTESVILLE
Girlz
Mr Jones
Laura Benanti: Nobody Cares
Don Toberman: Ping Pong Champ
In The Black
Inlet
Arthur Hull’s FLOP
Sam Lake: You’re Joking, Not Another One!
Tom Stade: Naughty by Nature
Liam Withnail: Big Strong Boy
Refuse
The Insider
Hot Mess
4 STARS:
Lovett
Falling: A Disabled Love Story
Falling in Love with Mr Dellamort
MARIUPOL
Kate Owens: Cooking with Kathryn
Christopher Macarthur-Boyd: Howling at the Moon
Call Me Crazy
Chloe Petts: Big Naturals
Bloody Influencers
The Naked Neds
How to Win 5 Grand on the Internet
The City for Incurable Women
Courier
Will Owen: Looking Fab at 50
Three Can Keep a Secret
Homo (Sapien)
Brainsluts
Big Little Sister
Sauna Boy
Trust Me, I’m From Essex
Rachel Morton-Young: Dutch Courage
Some Masterchef Sh*t
Nick it for Munich
The Birthday Party: A Theatrical Catastrophe
LEI – LDN
A Small Town Northern Tale
Alright Sunshine
Supermarket 86
NIUISA
God is Dead and I Killed Him
I Was a German
Motorhome Marilyn
Kieran Hodgson: Voice of America
Going
It’s Gonna Blow!
Ali Woods: Basher
Will You Be Praying the Entire Flight?
Cabin Fever
Windrush Secret
Saaniya Abbas: Hellarious
Ruaridh Miller: It’s Pronounced Ruaridh
Bury The Hatchet
Paul Savage: Hopes Under the Hammer
Help Me!
Stuart McPherson: Crisps and a Lie Down
Derby Day
VOTE: The Musical
Pauline Eyre: Anyone For Tennis
Down to the Felt
Alex Farrow: New Order
An Adequate Abridgement of Boarding School Life as a Homo
The Leeds Tealights: Never Not Forever
The Essence of Audrey
Aaron Wood: More to Life
Saria Callas
Looking for Laughs
The Truman Capote Talk Show
Managed Approach
Centre of the Universe
Paldem
Our Brothers in Cloth
Seating Plan
Amanda Hursy: Carted
Congratulations to all these great shows. Just as a cheeky comparison, I’ve awarded 4 stars to 17 fewer shows than last year – but there are also 3 more 5 star shows than last year. I did sadly have to award two 1 star shows, which is never something I do lightly, but I have to be honest. And as to working out which of them are the absolute best – you’ll have to wait until the Chrisparkle Awards for 2025 are announced in January!
Remember – reviews are only what one person thinks, they’re purely a personal reaction. And star ratings are even more unreliable!
Thank you from California, Mr & Mrs Chrisparkle! I love living vicariously through your Fringe adventures!
Thank you Kellie! I hope we manage to give you a feel of what’s going on!!