The Edinburgh Fringe All Month Long – 13th August 2023

Posted on August 12, 2023 by therealchrisparkle

Another full day of shows in Edinburgh? Yes, although we are also meeting up with a friend!

Here’s the schedule for 13th August:

11.00 – Wiesenthal, Pleasance Courtyard. From the Edinburgh Fringe website:

“Wiesenthal, by Tom Dugan, performed by Christopher C Gibbs, is based on the life of Simon Wiesenthal, who survived the Holocaust and devoted the rest of his life to bringing Nazi war criminals to justice. Filled with hope, humanity and humour, it is the true story of an ordinary man who did extraordinary things. Intelligent, funny, flawed and noble, Wiesenthal was a universal hero. His unbelievable dedication and tenacity over decades is honoured in this play. It takes place on his final day in his Vienna office in 2003.”

Another of these plays that tells a most important story that we must never forget about. If this is well done, I expect it will be very emotional.

12.45 – Tarot: Work in Progress, Monkey Barrel Comedy.

“The best show of 2019 according to Chortle. The sixth-best show of 2022 according to The Guardian. Come watch us continue our slow descent into mediocrity in 2023. This is a work-in-progress show. We’ve made the tickets cheap so you’ve got somewhere to sleep for an hour without having to sell a kidney. ‘Bark out loud funny… the whole show is startlingly live’ **** (Guardian). ‘One of the balls-out funniest show of the Fringe’ ****½ (Chortle). ‘Tarot will not give you nightmares, though you might wake laughing your head off’ **** (Evening Standard). **** (Telegraph).”

This is the first of two shows we’re seeing this year featuring the incredible Tarot pack! We saw them last year and they were brilliant. I have high hopes!

14.25 – The Life Sporadic of Jess Wildgoose, Pleasance Courtyard.

“The creators of smash-hit The Man Who return with an explosive new show. Tarantino meets Pixar in this electrifying thriller, exploring universal themes of ambition, failure, revenge, and high-risk equity trading. Jess has it all – until she doesn’t. After suddenly losing her job, sense of reality, and sexy French beau, Jess embarks on a brutal quest for revenge. With virtuosic acrobatics, live music, and physical theatre, this madcap tragicomedy unnerves and astounds in a genre-defying cinematic adventure. ‘Physical Theatre at its most immaculate’ **** (Scotsman, for ‘The Man Who’).

I admit now, I am much more a Pixar man than a Tarantino one, so I hope this show makes sense to me! We will see! However, we saw The Man Who… last year and thought it was excellent, so we had to give this show a go as well.

16.50 – Giving the Gift of Offence with Martin Rowson, The Stand’s New Town Theatre.

“Multi award-winning political cartoonist, author, ranter, illustrator, broadcaster and poet. In his new show Martin takes us through 40 years of British politics with his personal and cartoon responses to the individuals he has met, including the perennial challenges of working out how to draw the “fresh meat” of each new Prime Minister, alongside the cavalcade of events we’ve all witnessed and he’s depicted. Refreshingly indiscreet in revealing the people beneath the pomp and spin, as well as spilling the beans on the true nature of journalism. This show is fully illustrated.”

I was friends with Martin at school so I am using the show as a shameless vehicle for catching up with him again! But it will be fascinating to hear him talk about his work. I remember seeing the cartoons he did as a teenager and they were brilliant!

20.50 – I Wish My Life Were Like a Musical, Gilded Balloon at the Museum.

“The definitive comedic musical revue revealing all about musical theatre, and the people who love it on both sides of the curtain! Updated version featuring new songs. Lauded with an unprecedented 35 five-star reviews for its previous sell-out fringe and London seasons. ‘Flawless’ ***** (BritishTheatre.com). ‘Sharp satire, undiluted fun’ ***** (BroadwayBaby.com). ‘Delightful’ ***** (BroadwayWorld.com). ‘Hilarious… Wonderfully witty’ ***** (EdinburghGuide.com). ‘Crisp, perfect, immaculate, hilarious. Unmistakable gem!’ ***** (Musical Talk, podcast). ‘Laughs come thick and fast’ ***** (MusicalTheatreReview.com). ‘Loving tribute to world of musicals’ (Matt Lucas). ‘Must-see’ (Tim Rice). ‘Brilliant score’ (Miriam Margolyes).”

A last minute change to the original plan, as the guy flyering for this show did such a good job on me!!!

Check back later to see how we enjoyed all these shows!

Edinburgh Fringe 2023 Reviews – Wiesenthal, Tarot: Work in Progress, The Life Sporadic of Jess Wildgoose, Giving the Gift of Offence with Martin Rowson, and I Wish My Life Were Like a Musical

Posted on August 11, 2023 by therealchrisparkle

Wiesenthal, Pleasance Courtyard.

Tom Dugan’s inspiring and gripping play tells the story of Simon Wiesenthal’s last day at work at the War Crimes Office in Vienna in 2003 – we, the audience, are the last group of visitors to come in and observe his work. He tells us of his motivations, about some of the worst Nazi criminals and the methods by which he hunted them down, and his relentless drive to keep going. It’s a heartwarming and important work, written with great style and performed by Christopher C Gibbs with a huge affection and respect for the man and his work. Wiesenthal is only retiring because of his age – he’s 94, but there’s a beautiful moment at the end when he passes the baton of responsibility to continue his work to us – and it is indeed up to all of us to continue to root out extremism wherever we see it.

Tarot: Work in Progress, Monkey Barrel Comedy.

When it comes to Edinburgh sketches shows Tarot are the Kings on their thrones – or should that be the jokers in the pack. It’s a Work in Progress, so they present for our delectation a series of sketches that were approved by yesterday’s audience, plus a few rejects that didn’t go down quite so well on the previous day – and pretty much every one of them was a winner. The Tarot team have such a brilliant bond with each other, with an amazing understanding of how each others’ mind works that they dovetail together with effortless ease. And they’re not remotely afraid to look stupid or make each other look stupid. Absolutely top quality!

The Life Sporadic of Jess Wildgoose, Pleasance Courtyard.

The story of the rise and fall of Wall Street wonderkid Jess Wildgoose, Kansas’s most dynamic export, from her rejection-filled early career, where she never got further than barista level, to ruling the roost at a top New York financial institution, and her survival through several near-death experiences, all told through the Voloz Collective’s inimitable style mix of mime and imagination. If you liked The Man Who Thought He Knew Too Much, you’ll love this; the story hangs together perfectly with a delightful combination of humour and silliness, and is performed with manic athleticism and a touch of the surreal. Hugely entertaining and highly recommended.

Giving the Gift of Offence with Martin Rowson, The Stand’s New Town Theatre.

To his complete credit, Martin Rowson starts his hour analysing the art of offending via the art of political cartooning by holding his hands up about his recent misadventure with the Richard Sharp cartoon that was perceived to be antisemitic. After some classic examples of historical cartoon satire, he moves on to his own career, starting with the work he did at Cambridge before becoming a “proper” cartoonist, which has been his life over the past forty plus years. His hour is packed with material and anecdotes, spilling the beans on some of recent history’s ghastliest political figures, and it’s all very intelligent, entertaining and insightful. I have to declare a personal interest here – Martin and I were at school together and it was great to meet up afterwards to share a couple of pints and lots of memories. How does one give a star rating to an old friend? I decided to drop him down a star just to keep him on his toes!

I Wish My Life Were Like a Musical, Gilded Balloon at the Museum.

I Wish My Life Were Like a Musical starts with a deliberately stereotypical opening number and then follows the fortunes of a stereotypical musical theatre performer, through auditions, chorus work, understudy duties then finally as a full-scale performer and then maybe, even, a diva. Alexander S Bermange’s songs are terrific pastiches of musical theatre style songs, with dozens of clever nods to well known musicals without ever actually parodying or stealing from them. The brilliant cast of Jennifer Caldwell, Sev Keoshgerian, Rhidian Marc and Julie Yammanee bring huge professionalism to the show, which has the audience in hoots of pleasure and rapturous applause throughout. A fantastic homage to the undisputed Queen of all the Arts!