A Well-Groomed Fringe...

Well, I'm back from Edinburgh, back to crushing reality, but also back to write a blog. A blog of numerous parts covering 3 weeks in the Scottish capital laughing and mooching.

• It's Always Right Now, Until It's Later: Another work of genius from Kitson as he weaves together the tales of two lives from birth to death/death to birth, connected by only the most fleeting of meetings. It's everything you'd expect from a Kitson play - the laughter, the pathos, the sheer brilliance of the narrative structure. Staged wonderfully in the Traverse, it was a real tour-de-force of Fringe theatre. You'll laugh, you'll cry, it'll change your life.
  
• Adam Hills: It's testament to Hills' ability as a comedian that he received rave reviews for a show invented each evening and heavily reliant on the audience, with only one or two stories as a safety net. Mess Around was brilliant fun from Hills challenging latecomers to inventing a spy film based on several audience members. Notable incidents included the comedian discovering a German man in the audience and asking him what he thought of the show;"It's not too bad" was the typically laconic, teutonic response that is now emblazoned on Hills' posters around the city and Hills' impression of a Greek/Australian accent that was, I was assured by Simone (to whom this post is a sort of late birthday present), spot on.
  
• The Inaugural 3 Sided Football Tournament: The day started strangely, as it happened that the two football-themed events on the Fringe happened to be taking place at the same time on the same day on in the Meadows and one at Meadowbank Stadium, both on opposite sides of the city. After a quick check at the Comedians vs. Critics we plucked for the Invisible Dot's foray into sports invention. It was the right decision. The sight of David O' Doherty in a headband and yelling "TUCK! TUCK!" alone was enough to make it a day to remember. Other facts we learnt: Areas of Edinburgh smell faintly of Sugar Puffs, Thom Tuck is a tricky left-winger, my neck always gets sunburnt regardless of hair/sun cream/other, no-one seemed as inclined to break Whitehall's legs as I would have been were I on the pitch.
• Barry Cryer: As previously mentioned on this blog, I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue was a huge influence during my formative years and the chance to see Barry Cryer was not one I'd pass up. Outside the Gilded Balloon I saw none other than Graeme Garden wandering around. I mulled things over for a few seconds before thinking that I'd kick myself if I missed this opportunity to go up to him. Inside I took my seat in the Wine Bar, leaving a vacant one on the end of the row, one that was promptly filled by Graeme himself who said "hello again" and so it came to pass that I watched Barry Cryer, all the while sitting next to Graeme Garden, essentially one of my childhood ambitions.
  
• Russell Kane: This year's award winner delivered a show about his 'castle', the council house bought by his family and the sociological impact of that act. He also returned to the much-explored issue of the relationship with his macho father in a show that delivered plenty of big laughs, the customary pigeon-chested marching across the stage and a very poignant finale indeed.
• Nick Mohammed: Thanks to Simone who had a spare ticket, I was able to see the brilliant Nick Mohammed again. A hugely talented performer with a great show that left me struggling to believe he was overlooked by the judging panel this year. (See previous blog posts for greater details of the show)
• Richard Herring: This day was somewhat of a spare ticket bonanza, as Dr. Simon Best offered me his to see Christ on a Bike: The Second Coming. Herring delivers an hour of blasphemy, but unlike so many modern cynical, atheist comedians, he made some genuinely interesting theological points instead of resorting to cheap mockery of Christianity. His routine about the gospels was absolutely magnificent.

Ok, so that's Part 1 (of 3) of the Edinburgh adventure. There is a huge list of people that I bumped into, so I'll try and select some slightly left-field ones.

• Dave Lamb (comic actor and narrator of Come Dine With Me)
• Clive Anderson
• Your man there from The Proclaimers (I couldn't tell which one it was, but he was queuing to see the Footlights)
• Bo Burnham (inexplicably awarded the Panel Prize, from what I can tell, simply for being from the internet)