Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2011

I found this older blog post sitting in the draft form and decided to share it. It was first written back in early to middle part of August.

This year I was lucky enough to go to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and see some amazing performances! I want to use some of them in my dissertation, but I am having a hard time figuring out what I want to say, so I thought that maybe blogging about them might help.

TUESDAY

Tuesday morning Stacey and I sort of surprised our friend Cherie by dropping in to see her production of What the Moon Saw. I was a little partial to the production I saw at BYU-Idaho back in the day, but I think Cherie made some wonderful choices with her production. My favorite was the use of projectors, and projections for the kids to follow. It made it much more fun and sort of interactive. But mostly we were there to be with Cherie.

That evening I went to a free Stand-up comedy night at a pub, and that sentence right there should tell you how "great" it was. (Those were sarcastic air quotes.) It was horrendous and I almost demanded to be paid to be there. The funniest thing there was the drunk lady in the audience who laughed like Kjersti, and mostly that just made me miss Kjersti.

WEDNESDAY

I started my theatre adventure by going to "You Once Said Yes" which was a one to one performance. I was a bit nervous, but really excited. Words really can't even describe it, it was incredible, and really helped me fall in love with theatre again. It was everything I loved about theatre, and it was presented in a new way that made me fall in love all over again. This had wonderful reviews.




"You Once Said Yes, an interactive one-on-one piece from Look Left Look Right that takes the city of Edinburgh itself as its backdrop. I set out alone from the Underbelly only to be accosted by an Icelandic backpacker looking for her hostel. Could I help? In Spanish?

Saying " yes" - a simple answer with profound consequences - sent me tumbling down a rabbit hole of wonder and surprise, as I bounced from encounter to encounter with a host of characters and places, not all of them as well-intentioned as the tranquil few minutes with a young mother of a Down's syndrome child in the calm of St Giles's Cathedral. Every day, this lovely show reminds us, is a series of infinite possibilities, to which we just have to remain open." By Fiona Mountford (The Evening Standard, London) 15 August 2011

Then after grabbing something to eat, Stacey and I went to see Young Pretender by Nabokov, Escalator East to Edinburgh and Hull Truck Theatre. Stacey and I were really excited to see this, because we love all things Scottish.




'We’ve been in revolution since I was born. I never had to die before'. At 25 years old, the brilliant but reckless Bonnie Prince Charlie rebelled in a blaze of glory. By the time he was 26 his dreams lay in ruins and he was fleeing for his life. Amidst the chaos of war and in the face of defeat, the Young Pretender is forced to confront the moment when idealism dies and realism sets in. The flawed Prince is brought to life vividly in this unflinching look at the nature of rebellion.

This Rock-n-Roll twist on Bonnie Prince Charlie and the Jacobite uprising was really good. The acting was incredible, and the music was awesome, but the writing was lacking, and so the performance could only be so good. But I really liked it, and again it makes me want to study more on the Jacobites, and makes me wonder what Scotland would be like today if Charlie had succeeded.

Our final performance for the night was "Shakespeare Bingo: Titus!" by Bombini Theatre Company. That's right... I got to play bingo while watching a shortened and hilariously modernized version of Shakespeare's bloodiest and craziest play.




I got to play bingo, and laugh until I cried. I don't think I'll ever be able to think of a classical death scene the same. I will have an image of a super soaker filled with kool-aid in my mind forever. I'm still laughing when I think of it.

That was a perfect end for the day. It was funny and light, and just what I needed.

THURSDAY

In the morning I went to see "Generation 9/11: So far, so close" by Chris Wolfe. It was a one man show, and it was a wonderful way to remember a life changing, and world changing event.



"This was extremely gripping. The solo performer captured a number of widely diverse characters, and gave a fair and balanced view of all sides of responses to 9/11 (which is not easy to do). It is not just a grimfest - the humor of the characters and the (fortunately unneedy) appeal of the actor make it a theatrical pleasure." (A review from a paying audience member Anthony Arn)

I appreciated that we became a part of the performance. Right before we were admitted into the venue we were handed a blank card that said "9/11 was:" and then we were to write what we thought. At one point in the performance Chris read what we the audience had to say, and it just made us all that much more involved in an event that impacted everyone in one way or another. Another worthwhile show to see.

Then Stacey and I went to see "Hamlet House of Horror" by Westminster Theatre Company.




‘...a breakneck rip-through of Hamlet re-imagined as the bastard cartoon mash-up of Tim Burton, Edward Gorey and Shockheaded Peter’ **** (Time Out),

We were both intrigued with the idea of what Hamlet + Tim Burton + music would =. I have to say we were both happy with the result. The gothic, witty, depressing, and funny result was worth the price of admission. It was the comic relief I needed as an intermission of my theatre marathon of a day.

Our final performance of the night was The Boy James by Belt Up Theatre.



I don't have enough words to describe how powerful, meaningful, and lasting this work of art was. It is something that has stuck with me, and helped re-inspire me, and rejuvenate me in my love of theatre. I'm in awe of that production, and wish that everyone could go and see it. I find myself in agreement with Stephen Fry when he said: "Been knocked out by 'The Boy James'... still drying my eyes."

All in all it was an incredible theatre experience and one that ultimately saved my dissertation. (I am still waiting on my marks as we speak. Everyone keep your fingers crossed for good marks.)