Edinburgh on the Fringe
I’ve just spent a week at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. It’s been a week full of references to Coldplay, an obsession with social media and a focus on teenage anxieties. I’ve spent a lot of time in wet clothes and I have walked up and down steps and hills. It has been a frustrating, tiring, engaging, funny and a very surprising experience.
I reviewed: Body of Water, The Infant, Show Me the World, Fritzrovia Radio Hour and Whistle for whatsonstage.com. All these reviews are on the whatsonstage.com website alongside other reviews of the shows. I also saw a range of comedy and drama including Phil Jupitus, Michael Winslow and Flawless.
I think that the experience is about getting wet and rushing from one place to another, but I felt many of the venues build complex structures to provide food and drink, but could do more to cover areas where the audience are queuing for tickets or shows. I stood at one box office in the pouring rain balancing my bag in the air and desperately trying to get my money out of my purse without everything I had with me getting wet through.
It’s tempting to stay safe and just book into shows with acts from television, but the whole experience is about trying something new and taking a chance. All the shows that I saw were entertaining and engaging, and I didn’t see anything I thought was dreadful. What I really like is the standard one hour format, which is about the right time to keep my attention, and for my shoes and dress to dry out before I ventured back into the rain.
Further Information
Julie Raby 