The Edinburgh Fringe One-Weeker 2017 – Jess Robinson: Unravelled, 23rd August 2017

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I am sure the next show will be both a musical and comedy highlight of the week. It’s Jess Robinson: Unravelled, at the Udderbelly @ Underbelly, George Square, at 19:00 on Wednesday 23rd. Here’s the blurb: “Multi award-winning Jess Robinson returns with more spot-on celebrity impressions, musical comedy and stunning vocal gymnastics. Like a wonderfully malfunctioning jukebox, Jess and her incredible band take you on a dizzying journey through hilarious improvised musical mash-ups, serving a feast of styles and genres from Billie Holiday and Liza Minnelli to Iggy Azalea, Beyoncé and Kate Bush. ‘No matter what your tastes this Fringe… Robinson will entertain them all’ ***** (Edinburgh Festivals Magazine). Arts Award Voice Award 2015/16, Amused Moose Peoples Champion Award 2015, Mervyn Stutter – Pick of the Fringe Award 2015, Chortle Award nominee 2014.”

We’ve been meaning to catch Jess Robinson’s solo shows ever since we saw her in Hamlet the Musical – where she was a scream. Check back around 8.30 pm to see how brilliant she was. By then the next preview blog should be available to read too.

Jess is a brilliant impressionist and a superb singer, and it was a great fun show. Guess who sat in the front row and ended up participating in an Angel delight eating contest, and losing… But then Jess sang me a love song which was hilarious. Great fun… Now to chuck up some Angel delight.

The Edinburgh Fringe One-Weeker 2017 – Misterman, 23rd August 2017

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Our next play lured me in with its amazing reviews, as you can see; but I’m still not quite sure what to expect. It’s Misterman, at hill street theatre @ C venues – C primo, at 15:45 on Wednesday 23rd. See the reviews in the blurb: “A Sydney Critics’ multi award-winning tour-de-force performance of Enda Walsh’s riveting masterpiece. Thomas Campbell (Downton Abbey) plays Thomas Magill and the population of an entire town in a solo performance of epic proportions. ‘Misterman is provocative, buzzes with nuclear energy and, thanks to the holy trinity of Walsh, Gaul and Campbell – especially – is compulsory’ (Lloyd Bradford Syke, facebook.com/sykeonstage). ‘This production is perfect in almost every regard… All the elements combine in the tiny theatre to create something unexpectedly moving and overwhelming… A spectacular production with a spectacular performance which shouldn’t be missed’ (Ben Neutze, Daily Review.com.au, Crikey.com.au).”

A solo performance of epic proportions? That’s high praise indeed. Check back around 5.15 pm to see if we agreed. By then the next preview blog should be available to read too.

I have to confess, I can’t quite agree. Thomas Campbell does give a very good performance but we both found the play to lack variety and depth. Mr Campbell’s voices for all the characters got a little samey, and you end up with the Innisfree equivalent of Phil Spector’s wall of sound. The surprise ending comes as a strong shock, but I rather wish we could have got there a little earlier. The audience enjoyed it, so I am perfectly prepared to say it’s us out of kilter.

The Edinburgh Fringe One-Weeker 2017 – Gypsy Queen, 23rd August 2017

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In our Edinburgh experiences over the past few years, we’ve seen a great play about boxing, Lace Up, and two great plays about gay men in sport, Odd Shaped Balls and Away From Home. Both subjects come together with Rob Ward’s latest play, Gypsy Queen, at Front Room @ Assembly Rooms, at 13:00 on Wednesday 23rd. Here is the blurb: “Can two men raised to fight ever learn to love? The story of “Gorgeous” George O’Connell, bare-knuckle fighter and traveller, who enters the world of professional boxing, putting him on a collision course with his roots, his identity and his greatest fear. In the opposite corner, gay boxer Dane “The Pain” Samson, the young pretender and son of a boxing legend, is fighting his own battles, which will lead to a tragedy that neither could predict. Gypsy Queen is an unconventional love story between two fighters who discover the greatest challenge lies outside the ring.”

Rob Ward is a brilliant actor so I’m really looking forward to seeing how he tackles this play; Ryan Clayton takes the other roles. I see this has already played a number of theatres over the past year and the reviews have been a little patchy; but I’m hoping any problems will have been ironed out by now. Check back around 2.30pm to see what we thought. By then the next preview blog should be available to read too.

That was superb. A very strong play, unexpectedly very funny too, with great characters, a riveting story and its heart very much in the right place. And two excellent performances. Another fringe hit, highly recommended.

The Edinburgh Fringe One-Weeker 2017 – Present and Correct, 23rd August 2017

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If we stayed up very late last night then I’m wondering if we’ll quite make it for our first show today, Dead Duck Productions’ Present and Correct, at Space 1 @ Laughing Horse @ Vic St Coffee Co, at 10:45 am, Wednesday 23rd. Here is the blurb: “Present and Correct are back once again for another hilarious run at the Edinburgh Fringe! We return with an all-new show packed full of this year’s latest and greatest sketches which are guaranteed to keep you laughing! We all know it wouldn’t be the Fringe without our side-splittingly funny performance to start your morning right, so head on down to Vic St Coffee Co.”

I hope we do make it, because we saw the Present and Correct team last year and it was a very funny way to start the day. Fast moving and funny sketches performed by a very likeable bunch of young people. Check back around midday to see if we made it. By then the next preview blog should be available to read too.

Gentle reader, you definitely should go see Present and Correct because it’s very funny. However, our late night means that we’re not going to make the show after all. Sorry about that. Try again next year!

The Edinburgh Fringe One-Weeker 2017 – Nazi Jihadi, Toby Arsalan, 22nd August 2017

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Our last show of the day is a late night affair in the company of a comedian who’s new to me but looks like he will be a laugh! He’s Toby Arsalan, also known as the Nazi Jihadi, at Maggie’s Front Room @ Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, at 00:45 late at night on Tuesday 22nd. This is the blurb: “A German Muslim who grew up in Syria, South Africa and Pakistan. Toby Arsalan is basically all the bad guys from all the Die Hard movies squeezed into one. This show is Toby’s attempt to find his place in this topsy-turvy world (spoiler alert: the place was within him all along!). Along the way, he’ll point to the absurdities of life, such as the Ancient Greeks using Photoshop, the anatomy of the Antichrist and why Syrian people love the movie Titanic so much. Don’t miss Nazi Jihadi, Toby Arsalan’s first solo at the Fringe!”

I hope we can stay awake long enough to enjoy this show, because it intrigues me – and I’ve no doubt he will be very funny. Check back around 2 am (or maybe tomorrow morning!) to see if we managed to stick with it. By then the next preview blog should be available to read too.

This was a bit of a shame – nothing against Mr Jihadi, who has a delightful wry delivery and some very funny material. It’s just that the majority of the audience chose to sit right at the back so there was no atmosphere and no momentum built – and after half an hour, he decided to call it a day. Never mind, it’s a risk for such a late night show that many of the attendees will be very drunk, very tired or both!

The Edinburgh Fringe One-Weeker 2017 – Losers, 22nd August 2017

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Our next show comes with some great reviews and its promotional video looks hilarious. It’s Tit4Twat’s production of Losers at Big Belly @ Underbelly, Cowgate, at 23:20 on Tuesday 22nd. Let’s see what the blurb has to say: “Grab a voting handset, meet four dangerously desperate contestants and decide their formidable fates. It’s the most nail-biting TV game show of the decade and no one’s going down without a fight. Theatrical mischief-makers Tit4Twat bring their critically-acclaimed satire to Edinburgh for the first time. 16+ (stupidity and real violence guaranteed). ‘Tech-savvy dissection of the reality TV phenomenon… shameless’ **** (Stage). ‘As good as anything on TV – with a much darker twist’ **** (WestEndWilma.com). ‘Truly interactive and innovative – unlike anything I’ve seen before’ (AYoungerTheatre.com). ‘Unique snapshot of our judgemental age’ (ThisIsCabaret.com). #LosersUnderbelly”

This savage look at how people can degrade themselves just to be on live TV ought to be brilliantly toe-curling. I’ve got very high hopes of this one! Check back around 12:45 am to see how great (or otherwise) it was. By then the next preview blog should be available to read too.

This is a brilliantly constructed show. Apart from the fact that the audience votes on each round of the contest, so no one knows what the result will be, I think it’s a completely scripted play, but you’d never know it. Sometimes agonisingly toe curling, some scenes make the audience cry out in anguish. A really challenging look at how people can destroy their lives in the pursuit of fame. Genuinely thrilling.

The Edinburgh Fringe One-Weeker 2017 – Taiwan Season: Together Alone, 22nd August 2017

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Next up is the second of our two dance productions at this year’s fringe, and it’s one of a group of five shows under the heading Taiwan Season. It’s Taiwan Season: Together Alone at Dance Base (Studio 1), at 21:45 on Tuesday 22nd. Here’s the blurb: “’Together Alone talks a lot about how to live together. We tasked ourselves to never let go of each other. That creates huge limitations. It’s just the two of us, but what we experience parallels society: how we deal with people, how we use each other, how we collaborate. Sometimes we help each other, sometimes we are against each other, sometimes we need to negotiate. The relationship is always changing. It has difficulties, it has moments of being smooth, it will change again, but nothing lasts forever’ (Chen-Wei Lee).”

This is one of those brave productions where the performers, Chen Wei and Vakulya Zoltan, are naked on stage throughout. There’s no hiding place with such a show, so I’m expecting it to be very moving and almost brutally honest. Check back around 10.45 pm to see how effective it was. By then the next preview blog should be available to read too.

There’s no doubting that Chen Wei and Vakulya are fantastic dancers and this routine covers many varied moods, not only in dance but in emotions and in the music. There’s a lively sequence when they throw themselves into a big band number and their nudity looks particularly strange – and memorable – against this incongruous musical background. The lighting also plays a very important role in explaining the movements and the contours of the dancers’ bodies. Very effective, very honest and very good indeed.

The Edinburgh Fringe One-Weeker 2017 – Angels in Erotica, 22nd August 2017

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Today is probably the most “play heavy” day of this year’s fringe experience, but I think our next play is likely to be one of the funniest. It’s the Phoenix Theatre Company’s production of Angels in Erotica at TheSpace @ Surgeons Hall (Theatre 2), at 20:10 on Tuesday 22nd. Here’s what the blurb says: “Jesus here! Belief in Dad is at an all-time low, but pre-marital sex is at an all-time high. So, He’s trying to rebrand by starring in His very first sex comedy. He’s got poor Cupid traipsing around after some dirty-minded northern girl in this “new universe” he’s created. And don’t even get me started on the unrealistic male beauty standards! No real man is that muscular or that… Spanish! And no one looks so at home in jeans that tight. Honestly, the whole thing is a bit midlife crisis. So, please don’t come, I’m so embarrassed…”

Sounds absolutely hilarious – and pushing a few blasphemy boundaries as well, which always feels curiously daring. Check back around 9.30 pm to see just how entertaining it was. By then the next preview blog should be available to read too.

Well I was right about the blasphemy! A very funny and clever parody of the Bible story sees a showman God encouraging a rather dirty minded new Messiah (female) to push the boundaries. More sacrilege than sacred but still very enjoyable. Nicely performed throughout, if you’re broad minded you’ll have a great time!

The Edinburgh Fringe One-Weeker 2017 – The Inconvenience of Wings, 22nd August 2017

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We always try to catch a few hard-hitting serious plays when we come to Edinburgh, and I expect this will come under that category. Our next play comes from the Baxter Theatre Centre at the University of Cape Town and is The Inconvenience of Wings at One @ Assembly George Square Studios, at 15:10 on Tuesday 22nd. This is what the blurb says: “For anyone who has suffered mental illness themselves, or has lived with someone who is afflicted, this piece will cut close to the bone. Triple Fringe First winner Andrew Buckland stars in Lara Foot’s powerful and poignant drama about friendship, dysfunction, addiction and angels. His wife, Sara, is diagnosed with bipolar disorder: she is compulsive, alive and hates women who know how to make cupcakes. Cape Times wrote, ‘it is a piece that no serious theatre lover should miss.’”

This could be a Kleenex show; if it works I doubt whether there’ll be a dry eye in the house. It’s had some great reviews from its performances last year in South Africa, so I’m ready to be impressed! Check back around 4.45 pm to see how moved we were. By then the next preview blog should be available to read too.

A very moving and thought provoking play that went back in time, from a devastating end to a hopeful beginning; superbly showing how mental illness – specifically bipolar – is a torture from which there are few ways out. Bravely and beautifully performed throughout.

The Edinburgh Fringe One-Weeker 2017 – Mary Go Nowhere, 22nd August 2017

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In a change of plan, but hopefully none the worse for that, our next play is Black Rocking Chair Productions’ Mary Go Nowhere at One @ Assembly George Square Studios, at 13:25 on Tuesday 22nd. This is what the blurb says: “Mary is on the edge of a breakdown trying to keep her foul-mouthed three-year-old in preschool. Drought. Flies. Earthquakes. Apocalypse? Or just October in LA? Written by and starring Julie Shavers, ‘Ms Shavers is rock solid’ (New York Times). ‘Shavers creates an aesthetic that’s exciting and intriguing’ (NYTheater.com). Critics Pick, New York Magazine. Workshopped with Pulitzer Prize winner Paula Vogel. With Chris Grace (Baby Wants Candy, Broad City, Superstore), Fringe First winner Dan O’Brien (NBC/Comedy Central’s Whitney, How I Met Your Mother), directed by Fringe First winner Paul Urcioli.”

I think this sounds intriguing and should hopefully be a good mix of humour and serious drama. Check back around 3pm to see what we thought of it. By then the next preview blog should be available to read too.

A domestic hell gets progressively more and more surreal in a Californian nightmare. Bonkers, bizarre and brilliant. Really funny script and beautifully performed. Highly recommended!