Take me to the Fringe

Like a proper addict, I had to take my yearly dose of Edinburgh this year too, despite directing a show this week, running a festival in Barons Court, doing an LX op gig for 2 days a week and, apparently, revamping a venue little by little.

It was only two days, so much less than in other years, but a good, productive even, two days, with reality matching expectation almost 1:1.

Arriving in Edinburgh Wednesday morning off the night train, I knew I had to dose my efforts if I was to make something of the shows I'd be seeing. I did however jump straight into Ancient Coins from Forgotten Kingdoms, a children show I had eyed ever since Brighton Fringe, and I'm glad I saw it, if only to find out that no, it would not be a good fit for Arches Lane. Mark Saltveit is American, and the show is much more of a lecture than a story which, despite the great interactive bit where the audience can actually touch real ancient coins, would be a deterrent for the hedonistic crowds of Battersea.

Ah, I should mention the bit where I flyered for Stephen. Meeting Stephen was one of the goals of my trip, and smoothed the way for East of Adelaide this autumn at Arches Lane (this is an exclusive btw). Also, flyering on the Mile was fun. Of course it's fun without the pressure of actually trying to sell tickets, and I also shoved a few meetings in those two hours that in London would have taken 2-3 weeks to organize.

For my second show I had a choice between Windrush Secret and a dark comedy about cannibalism from a company of young graduates. I think I made the right choice, as wingman Olivia set up a good premise for a chat with Rodreguez, which led to a meeting, which might lead to a run. Olivia is always great company, even more so when it's unexpected. I enjoyed having an Edinburgh buddy for a bit, though I was annoyed that I had to leave her at 'What If They Ate the Baby?', one of the three sold out shows of Xhloe and Natasha, which I am very curious to meet. Olivia might come through once again.

The last show of the day was Rodney Black: Who Cares? It's Working, the most thought provoking show I've seen in a while and my personal pick of this year's fringe. Ben Willows always does great work, but I also suspect more ambition than I care to deal with. We'll see.

Weird to close the day with just three shows, but it was the right thing to do after 20k steps and a night of train sleeping. I'm not a young man anymore.

Also right thing to do: listening to Everleigh's showon Hoxton Radio and doing some work rather than chasing crazy early show. Rest was needed and was well received. Which meant I started my second day of shows with Eggs Aren't That Easy to Make by Maria Telnikoff. It's great to see Maria finally taking the big step forward into working collaboratively rather than being a one-woman band, however good she is at that. 

Being a bit aimless, I wandered into Zoe Coombs Marr's show, The Splash Zone. Better than her show I saw at Soho some years ago, but still nowhere near Wild Bore, once of the most amazing theatrical experiences I've had. She co-created that, so I'll always hold her to that standard.

The Unstoppable Rise of Ben Manager was a complete punt, only because the time fitted. And of course, it's one the highlights, a trippy moralist fable about the corporate world incorporating electronic music, puppets, mask, and a big nod to Kafka's Metamorphosis. Got in touch with the company and it would be a serious win if we manage to bring them to Arches Lane.

I had to see Ioana's show, Goodness Me, and I'm happy to see her maturing into her art. It's slow, painful and expensive, but there is a reward at the end of it.

And I closed the day with a recommendation from Ioana, Role Play (or the hottest day in Belgian history). An intense, very physical show about sexual awakening, love and relationships. Refreshing banality of the subject matter in the age of all-encompassing political discourse, but this show is sold on the performance. Cameron Murphy is an amazing performer, he was fascinating to watch and this was the fastest hour I spent in Edinburgh this year.

I closed the day at this, just 8 shows in two days, which is actually good going. It was short, but I had my dose of Edinburgh to last me for another year when again, I will probably not have the courage to take the dive and bring a show in. But soon...

Also, I have now become one of those motherfuckers who are stuck to their laptop on the train, which is where I'm writing this from. We just passed Durham.

July Morning

Beginning of July seems like a lifetime ago, and indeed it has been an intensely busy month. Too much time wasted with Copacabana in my opinion, and that show and that place could be so much better. Which is saying something, seeing that it's good enough as it is.

But anyway, I will count Copacabana as the first show I saw in July, on the 3rd, opening night. I have seen it 21 times since, but only counting shows, not performances, no?

Tough competition in July, but hosting Matilde Vigna
 was my favourite experience

We've had a solid month across our theatres, I loved having Matilde Vigna with A Dark Line Upstairs in Barons Court and I'm glad critics appreciated the show, it's fully deserved.

Reality Bites at Arches Lane felt like the first REAL show, and having Suzy (Eddie) Izzard and Rachel Zegler seeing it was beautiful.

Kill Drill did an excellent job on all fronts, with solid audiences in a time when nothing had solid audiences.

I saw Harry Conway's How to Kill Your Landlord at Drayton Arms and my main takeaway was how hot Frankie Weatherby is. But Harry has done well, and I'm glad his Edinburgh run seems to be so successful.

Caught the matinee of Pretty Witty Nell in the last day. Coming back two years later and with a different actress, I found Ryan a bit mellowed and the show marginally better, though it's the over-inflated ego that's still dragging him back. But hey-ho, Offie Award, who am I to comment? And plus, these three shows took us out of the 3-star slump we seemed to be stuck in this year.

Claire's Broadway Broads at Toulouse Lautrec was a nice surprise, and I'm glad to discover Claire's talents slowly slowly. She has been a reliable presence for us for the past two months, and I have grown to appreciate her. Also, Toulouse Lautrec does absinthe the traditional way, with melted sugar over a spoon, and it's been interesting to sample. £16 pounds a shot, Toulouse Lautrec must've been raking it in. Still, I prefer the raw, unfiltered ferocity of 80 degrees absinthe, very few things to get smashed quicker.

Camden Fringe has started like a bit of a tornado, and was about to blow my house up for a second there. It also marks the month with the most shows I'll miss at Barons Court. A bit unavoidable, what with shoving rehearsals for Lobster Pot in every second of the day I have off. I started the festival with two shows, Journey to the West at Rosemary Branch and Fly Trap at Barons Court. I watched Rabbie Burns' Bottom Drawer on Tuesday, which made me happy about the overall standard we manage to present at Barons Court this August, but unhappy about the discipline, experience and attitude of most of the companies.

I will make a separate passage about The Stupid Hug (El Abrazo Stupido), coming from Argentina for just two performances. It is a long time since I have seen a company, this friendly, this cooperative, this accommodating and this professional. The show was mediocre, probably very good for Argentine but I felt like the main big ideas of the show get diluted in the cultural differences. Regardless, I will keep a cherished memory to my new good friends from La Plata and I will pray the theatre gods will be good to them. It has been such an eye opener in regards to how privileged we are to be doing what to do and a stark reminder to fucking enjoy life more rather than dwell on the negatives.

Oh, and yeah, that was 30 July, that was the last show of the month, as Thursday, Friday, Saturday was Copacabana all over again. Still, 11 shows in July for a grand total of 70 shows in the first 7 months of the year. Averaging 10/month with more than half of the year gone, on track for 120. And I'm only next week going to Edinburgh.