YorkMix at Edinburgh ’13: Day one
Ian Cole at the Edinburgh Fringe Day one
So it’s back to the Edinburgh Fringe again and just like last year I thought I’d write about the shows and experiences that befall me on this yearly odyssey. There are a load of rules associated with being a member of the press at the fringe. I can only have one ticket per show (fair enough). This is not a freebie, some venues want you to contact them directly and some artistes / shows want you to say nice things about them (correction all artistes / shows want you to say nice things about them).
I spent a very nice Sunday in early July planning which shows I wanted to see and trying to organise it so I didn’t go running from one side of Edinburgh to the other with only a 15 minute gap.
I targeted about 20 shows over the five and a half days I would be there and then proceeded to send out the request emails. The media staff at the fringe were fantastically helpful in the smooth running of handling my requests. There were only a couple of strange replies, the first one being that I had requested a ticket to see Stewart Lee and Susan Calman only to be told that their shows were “work in progress” so no press would be allowed, which I find odd when they still charge the audience for tickets.
This is nothing new with a Stewart Lee show as David Lister from The Independent has commented on this practice by Lee as far back as 2009.
On The One Hand
So my first show was by The Paper Birds Theatre Company who are based in Leeds (6.35pm Northern Stage at St Stephens). I had first seen the Paper Birds in 2008 with an amazing provocative play about the sex trade In a Thousand Pieces.
Their new show On The One Hand is the Paper Birds’ 10th anniversary play and according to the show info on the back page of the commemorative book the show is: “a tale of biological clocks on snooze. Lives packed in boxes and cities in bags: growing ambitions and shrinking pensions: career changes and dementia.”
This doesn’t really sell the show. The play is clearly about age and getting old and takes us from birth to death in the space of 75 minutes (I know this because the time the play still had left to run kept getting written on a fridge).
It is difficult to describe this piece of work so I won’t bother I’ll just say go see it, it’s fantastic! It’s brilliantly acted by four superb actresses who command the stage with a script and dialog that is witty and poignant.
On The One Hand ★★★★☆
Miles & Coltrane Blue: by Concrete Generation
After walking across the city again to my next show I had a good hour to recover before the start of (10.30pm at C +1 Venue). The show was timetabled on my ticket for 10.15pm and in the programme at 10.30pm but actually started at 11pm. This was not the theatre company’s fault as they were all sat out in the hall with us waiting for the previous show to finish.While waiting for the show to start I got talking to Dave, a musician and teacher who had lent his drum kit to the drummer performing with Concrete Generation (the drummer was not a regular cast member, he was standing in for the guy who had been delayed flying over from the USA).
As we walked in the four jazz musicians were playing cool jazz and that was a really nice way to start this piece. This is meant to be a celebration of the life and music of Miles Davis and John Coltrane but I felt the narrative and dialogue were too stagey; there was no real story just some narrated lectures about black Afro-American culture. It could have been so much better and I felt a little let down.
The best thing about it piece was the music which I though was very well played and thoroughly enjoyable, so much so that every time the spoken word part started up again I wanted the actors to shut up and stop talking over the music.
The actors playing Davis and Coltrane were very good and this could have been a fantastic play with a better script but thank goodness for the brilliant musicians.
Miles & Coltrane: Blue: by Concrete Generation ★★★☆☆
Show Of The Day: Paper Birds – On The One Hand
Ian Cole at the Edinburgh Fringe Day one
So it’s back to the Edinburgh Fringe again and just like last year I thought I’d write about the shows and experiences that befall me on this yearly odyssey. There are a load of rules associated with being a member of the press at the fringe. I can only have one ticket per show (fair enough). This is not a freebie, some venues want you to contact them directly and some artistes / shows want you to say nice things about them (correction all artistes / shows want you to say nice things about them).
I spent a very nice Sunday in early July planning which shows I wanted to see and trying to organise it so I didn’t go running from one side of Edinburgh to the other with only a 15 minute gap.
I targeted about 20 shows over the five and a half days I would be there and then proceeded to send out the request emails. The media staff at the fringe were fantastically helpful in the smooth running of handling my requests. There were only a couple of strange replies, the first one being that I had requested a ticket to see Stewart Lee and Susan Calman only to be told that their shows were “work in progress” so no press would be allowed, which I find odd when they still charge the audience for tickets.
This is nothing new with a Stewart Lee show as David Lister from The Independent has commented on this practice by Lee as far back as 2009.
On The One Hand
So my first show was by The Paper Birds Theatre Company who are based in Leeds (6.35pm Northern Stage at St Stephens). I had first seen the Paper Birds in 2008 with an amazing provocative play about the sex trade In a Thousand Pieces.
Their new show On The One Hand is the Paper Birds’ 10th anniversary play and according to the show info on the back page of the commemorative book the show is: “a tale of biological clocks on snooze. Lives packed in boxes and cities in bags: growing ambitions and shrinking pensions: career changes and dementia.”
This doesn’t really sell the show. The play is clearly about age and getting old and takes us from birth to death in the space of 75 minutes (I know this because the time the play still had left to run kept getting written on a fridge).
It is difficult to describe this piece of work so I won’t bother I’ll just say go see it, it’s fantastic! It’s brilliantly acted by four superb actresses who command the stage with a script and dialog that is witty and poignant.
On The One Hand ★★★★☆
Miles & Coltrane Blue: by Concrete Generation
After walking across the city again to my next show I had a good hour to recover before the start of (10.30pm at C +1 Venue). The show was timetabled on my ticket for 10.15pm and in the programme at 10.30pm but actually started at 11pm. This was not the theatre company’s fault as they were all sat out in the hall with us waiting for the previous show to finish.While waiting for the show to start I got talking to Dave, a musician and teacher who had lent his drum kit to the drummer performing with Concrete Generation (the drummer was not a regular cast member, he was standing in for the guy who had been delayed flying over from the USA).
As we walked in the four jazz musicians were playing cool jazz and that was a really nice way to start this piece. This is meant to be a celebration of the life and music of Miles Davis and John Coltrane but I felt the narrative and dialogue were too stagey; there was no real story just some narrated lectures about black Afro-American culture. It could have been so much better and I felt a little let down.
The best thing about it piece was the music which I though was very well played and thoroughly enjoyable, so much so that every time the spoken word part started up again I wanted the actors to shut up and stop talking over the music.
The actors playing Davis and Coltrane were very good and this could have been a fantastic play with a better script but thank goodness for the brilliant musicians.
Miles & Coltrane: Blue: by Concrete Generation ★★★☆☆
Show Of The Day: Paper Birds – On The One Hand
YorkMix at Edinburgh ’13: Day two
Ian Cole at the Edinburgh Fringe Day two
My first show wasn’t until 12.45pm, so after a lie-in and some leisurely food shopping I set off to see Safe by Ego Actus at the Space on North Bridge. While I was in the queue I got talking to a lady who was going to see another show at the same venue, The Librarians, which was very nearly sold out. There weren’t many people in the queue for Safe which led me to think I might have chosen the wrong show to review.
12.45pm Safe
“Nina Foster’s mom is in rehab for alcoholism,” begin the notes to accompany Safe. “Her father goes on endless business trips, she hates high school and Liz, her anorexic best friend, wants to kidnap her baby niece. What else can she do but go to meet a dangerous man?
“Safe is about trying to find your way in a scary world.”
The problem with Safe is that the world it creates is completely unbelievable and not scary. There is a lot of SHOUTING for dramatic effect, far too many scene changes with the poor actors having to carry props on and off stage for no reason until the penny drops and it is needed for a following scene.
It all feels a bit am dram, and when it tries to be shocking and edgy it just fails (the discussion about blow jobs and the taste of semen between the two school girls is distasteful and unnecessary and adds nothing to the story). This company need to go and watch the Paper Birds show to see how to create real dramatic tension.
Safe ★★☆☆☆
3pm Who's Afraid Of Rachel Roberts
My next show was a request that hadn’t been confirmed, so I headed off to the press office to find out what was happening. When I got there two of the four shows I’d requested had been agreed (one of them was Rob Deering’s Beat This, but that was for day one of my visit but nobody from the press office informed me).
The other was for Who’s Afraid Of Rachel Roberts at the Assembly Roxy at 3pm. In fact I’d been given two tickets, one if which I tried to give away but handed back to the box office just before the show started.
Rachel Roberts had a religious upbringing, trained at RADA and had award-winning roles in the “kitchen sink” dramas Saturday Night And Sunday Morning and This Sporting Life.
Rachel marriage the love of her life, superstar Rex Harrison, which allowed her to live the Hollywood lifestyle only for her to become increasingly drunk, foul-mouthed and shockingly behaved in public. Helen Griffin plays Rachel in this amazing one woman show.
By turns, it was funny, sad, poignant, moving and shocking (apparently according to Rachel Peter Ustinov was a c***).
This is a difficult show to pull off but Helen Griffin does it in such a way that she takes us on a journey into the sad life of Rachel Roberts. Go see this show it is brilliant.
Who’s Afraid Of Rachel Roberts ★★★★★
8.30pm Voices in Your Head - The Phill Jupitus ExperimentI had a short walk to pick up my ticket for the next show Circa: Wunderkammer, only to be told that the circus troupe had decided that they didn’t want YorkMix to review their show which was disappointing. But at least I had plenty of time before my next show at 8.30pm.
To give its full title, Phill Jupitus & Deborah Frances-White: Voices in Your Head – The Phill Jupitus Experiment, this show was invented by Deborah Frances-White who is the disembodied voice on the microphone (and very funny in her own right).
She normally performs it with several comedians but for this show its just Phill. The audience are asked to contribute ideas that Deborah drops into improvised sketches. We were also asked to participate as a baying crowd and to become the paparazzi. This was really good fun and well worth seeing.
Voices in Your Head – The Phill Jupitus Experiment ★★★★☆
10.15pm Scottish Falsetto Sock Puppet Theatre - Space
The last show of the evening was a complete indulgence of mine as I reviewed last year’s show by the Scottish Falsetto Sock Puppet Theatre (I’m such a fan of the Eric and Ernie of the sock world).
In fact I saw Kev F Sutherland (the man who is socks) flyering while I was waiting to see Phill Jupitus He’s one of the hardest working comedians on the Fringe and he doesn’t take his success for granted.
Last year it was a socky horror show. This year the title is In Space (Gilded Balloon Teviot 10.15pm). There was a fantastic song about Fireball XL5 and re-enactment of Aliens, Star Wars, Blakes 7 (sort of) and a brilliant improvised impersonation of the new Doctor Who (Peter Capaldi – a very bad choice for the Doctor in my opinion).
Everyone was cheering and joining in, loving every minute of it except the girl sat next to me who clearly didn’t get the joke, didn’t laugh and even got her mobile phone out at one point – it just prove you can’t please all of the people all of the time. But a must see show yet again.
Scottish Falsetto Sock Puppet Theatre – In Space ★★★★★
Show of the Day: Who’s Afraid of Rachel Roberts
Ian Cole at the Edinburgh Fringe Day two
My first show wasn’t until 12.45pm, so after a lie-in and some leisurely food shopping I set off to see Safe by Ego Actus at the Space on North Bridge. While I was in the queue I got talking to a lady who was going to see another show at the same venue, The Librarians, which was very nearly sold out. There weren’t many people in the queue for Safe which led me to think I might have chosen the wrong show to review.
12.45pm Safe
“Nina Foster’s mom is in rehab for alcoholism,” begin the notes to accompany Safe. “Her father goes on endless business trips, she hates high school and Liz, her anorexic best friend, wants to kidnap her baby niece. What else can she do but go to meet a dangerous man?
“Safe is about trying to find your way in a scary world.”
The problem with Safe is that the world it creates is completely unbelievable and not scary. There is a lot of SHOUTING for dramatic effect, far too many scene changes with the poor actors having to carry props on and off stage for no reason until the penny drops and it is needed for a following scene.
It all feels a bit am dram, and when it tries to be shocking and edgy it just fails (the discussion about blow jobs and the taste of semen between the two school girls is distasteful and unnecessary and adds nothing to the story). This company need to go and watch the Paper Birds show to see how to create real dramatic tension.
Safe ★★☆☆☆
3pm Who's Afraid Of Rachel Roberts
My next show was a request that hadn’t been confirmed, so I headed off to the press office to find out what was happening. When I got there two of the four shows I’d requested had been agreed (one of them was Rob Deering’s Beat This, but that was for day one of my visit but nobody from the press office informed me).
The other was for Who’s Afraid Of Rachel Roberts at the Assembly Roxy at 3pm. In fact I’d been given two tickets, one if which I tried to give away but handed back to the box office just before the show started.
Rachel Roberts had a religious upbringing, trained at RADA and had award-winning roles in the “kitchen sink” dramas Saturday Night And Sunday Morning and This Sporting Life.
Rachel marriage the love of her life, superstar Rex Harrison, which allowed her to live the Hollywood lifestyle only for her to become increasingly drunk, foul-mouthed and shockingly behaved in public. Helen Griffin plays Rachel in this amazing one woman show.
By turns, it was funny, sad, poignant, moving and shocking (apparently according to Rachel Peter Ustinov was a c***).
This is a difficult show to pull off but Helen Griffin does it in such a way that she takes us on a journey into the sad life of Rachel Roberts. Go see this show it is brilliant.
Who’s Afraid Of Rachel Roberts ★★★★★
8.30pm Voices in Your Head - The Phill Jupitus ExperimentI had a short walk to pick up my ticket for the next show Circa: Wunderkammer, only to be told that the circus troupe had decided that they didn’t want YorkMix to review their show which was disappointing. But at least I had plenty of time before my next show at 8.30pm.
To give its full title, Phill Jupitus & Deborah Frances-White: Voices in Your Head – The Phill Jupitus Experiment, this show was invented by Deborah Frances-White who is the disembodied voice on the microphone (and very funny in her own right).
She normally performs it with several comedians but for this show its just Phill. The audience are asked to contribute ideas that Deborah drops into improvised sketches. We were also asked to participate as a baying crowd and to become the paparazzi. This was really good fun and well worth seeing.
Voices in Your Head – The Phill Jupitus Experiment ★★★★☆
10.15pm Scottish Falsetto Sock Puppet Theatre - Space
The last show of the evening was a complete indulgence of mine as I reviewed last year’s show by the Scottish Falsetto Sock Puppet Theatre (I’m such a fan of the Eric and Ernie of the sock world).
In fact I saw Kev F Sutherland (the man who is socks) flyering while I was waiting to see Phill Jupitus He’s one of the hardest working comedians on the Fringe and he doesn’t take his success for granted.
Last year it was a socky horror show. This year the title is In Space (Gilded Balloon Teviot 10.15pm). There was a fantastic song about Fireball XL5 and re-enactment of Aliens, Star Wars, Blakes 7 (sort of) and a brilliant improvised impersonation of the new Doctor Who (Peter Capaldi – a very bad choice for the Doctor in my opinion).
Everyone was cheering and joining in, loving every minute of it except the girl sat next to me who clearly didn’t get the joke, didn’t laugh and even got her mobile phone out at one point – it just prove you can’t please all of the people all of the time. But a must see show yet again.
Scottish Falsetto Sock Puppet Theatre – In Space ★★★★★
Show of the Day: Who’s Afraid of Rachel Roberts
YorkMix at Edinburgh ’13: Day three
Ian Cole at the Edinburgh Fringe Day three
The first show I’d requested for today was Mugenkyo Tailo Drummers, but my emails weren’t getting any attention at the Assembly press office. The person dealing with press tickets seemed to want me to go in to the office every day to check whether tickets had been approved and by the time I got there I had missed the show – so not a good start.
By contrast I had an email from Gaby, a publicist for 20 comedy acts (including the Phill Jupitus show I had seen on day two). I emailed Gaby asking if she could sort me a place at a show that started in an hour and she emailed straight back telling me that the ticket would be waiting for me at the box office. Wow, what great service.
3.15pm Catriona Knox: Player
Catriona Knox (Pleasance Courtyard Attic, 3.15pm) is a member of the Boom Jennies whose show Mischief I’d reviewed last year (although I didn’t know until I arrived at my seat).
This was more of the same with short sketches (some better than others). I don’t like shows that pick on members of the audience and Catriona works very hard at the show but she picked on several people to contribute – particularly a chap called Kenny. Kenny was almost involved in every sketch. Poor guy. It wasn’t that this show was bad, quite the opposite – it’s just not my type of comedy.
Catriona Knox: Player ★★★☆☆
Mark Thomas: 100 Acts Of Minor DissentI then took a leisurely walk across the city to the Stand comedy club on York Place where Mark Thomas was performing his new show 100 Acts Of Minor Dissent.
He started by reading out his manifesto for this project and he has to commit 100 acts of minor dissent within a year or donate £1,000 to UKIP. So far Mark has managed about 28 acts and he encouraged us to join in on this subversion.
One of his bugbears are bankers who say, “If they take away my bonus, I will leave the country”, so Mark has created a website, We Will Drive Them To The Airport to find volunteers to take bankers to the departure lounge.
He has also developed The B*****d Trade Logo Certificate which is an award he has invented to present to companies with substandard practices. A trademark application has been granted recently.
“Much like Fairtrade,” Mark said, “we will have a certification programme whereby people can apply and say this company is working to substandard behaviour and we would like to give them the B*****d Trade Logo Certificate.”
This show was brilliant from start to finish and I laughed so much I had tears running down my face. It is a must see show and is touring the whole country until the end of December (see below for Yorkshire dates).
Mark Thomas: 100 Acts Of Minor Dissent ★★★★★
When Art Imitates Life
After Mark’s show I had to dash across the city to get to the BBC big blue tent for a free discussion show called When Art Imitates Life: How Comedians Use Their Life on Stage.
The guests on the show were Susan Calman and Mark Thomas (if I’ve have known that I’d had cadged a lift in his BBC car). I found the discussion interesting although quite a few people walked out maybe because it wasn’t a laugh a minute. Instead important topics were being discussed – albeit in a light-hearted manner.
When Art Imitates Life: How Comedians Use Their Life on Stage ★★★☆☆
Ellie Taylor Presents Puppetry
The last show of the night was another BBC free ticketed blue tent job, Ellie Taylor Presents Puppetry. Only it wasn’t Ellie Taylor it was a Scottish chap whose name I didn’t get (Iain Stirling off of CBBC – Ed).
This was a puppet showcase of three acts all doing 15 minutes shows. The first ventriloquist was Paul Zerdin who’s delivery was slightly patronising. I’ve seen Nina Conti do the same sort of show so much better.
Paul Zerdin ★★★☆☆
Next up were the Flabbergast Theatre, with two puppets Boris and Sergey that I just didn’t find funny. I looked around the audience and not many people seemed to be laughing.
Flabbergast Theatre ★★☆☆☆
Last up were the Henson Alternative’s Puppet Up! – Uncensored show which was fantastic and the only puppets to rival Falsetto Socks. There were some set pieces but a lot of the 15 minutes was improvised and it was great. I would like to see a full show because it was brilliantly funny and technically superb.
Henson Alternative’s Puppet Up! – Uncensored ★★★★☆
Show of the Day: Mark Thomas – 100 Acts Of Minor Dissent
Ian Cole at the Edinburgh Fringe Day three
The first show I’d requested for today was Mugenkyo Tailo Drummers, but my emails weren’t getting any attention at the Assembly press office. The person dealing with press tickets seemed to want me to go in to the office every day to check whether tickets had been approved and by the time I got there I had missed the show – so not a good start.
By contrast I had an email from Gaby, a publicist for 20 comedy acts (including the Phill Jupitus show I had seen on day two). I emailed Gaby asking if she could sort me a place at a show that started in an hour and she emailed straight back telling me that the ticket would be waiting for me at the box office. Wow, what great service.
3.15pm Catriona Knox: Player
Catriona Knox (Pleasance Courtyard Attic, 3.15pm) is a member of the Boom Jennies whose show Mischief I’d reviewed last year (although I didn’t know until I arrived at my seat).
This was more of the same with short sketches (some better than others). I don’t like shows that pick on members of the audience and Catriona works very hard at the show but she picked on several people to contribute – particularly a chap called Kenny. Kenny was almost involved in every sketch. Poor guy. It wasn’t that this show was bad, quite the opposite – it’s just not my type of comedy.
Catriona Knox: Player ★★★☆☆
Mark Thomas: 100 Acts Of Minor DissentI then took a leisurely walk across the city to the Stand comedy club on York Place where Mark Thomas was performing his new show 100 Acts Of Minor Dissent.
He started by reading out his manifesto for this project and he has to commit 100 acts of minor dissent within a year or donate £1,000 to UKIP. So far Mark has managed about 28 acts and he encouraged us to join in on this subversion.
One of his bugbears are bankers who say, “If they take away my bonus, I will leave the country”, so Mark has created a website, We Will Drive Them To The Airport to find volunteers to take bankers to the departure lounge.
He has also developed The B*****d Trade Logo Certificate which is an award he has invented to present to companies with substandard practices. A trademark application has been granted recently.
“Much like Fairtrade,” Mark said, “we will have a certification programme whereby people can apply and say this company is working to substandard behaviour and we would like to give them the B*****d Trade Logo Certificate.”
This show was brilliant from start to finish and I laughed so much I had tears running down my face. It is a must see show and is touring the whole country until the end of December (see below for Yorkshire dates).
Mark Thomas: 100 Acts Of Minor Dissent ★★★★★
When Art Imitates Life
After Mark’s show I had to dash across the city to get to the BBC big blue tent for a free discussion show called When Art Imitates Life: How Comedians Use Their Life on Stage.
The guests on the show were Susan Calman and Mark Thomas (if I’ve have known that I’d had cadged a lift in his BBC car). I found the discussion interesting although quite a few people walked out maybe because it wasn’t a laugh a minute. Instead important topics were being discussed – albeit in a light-hearted manner.
When Art Imitates Life: How Comedians Use Their Life on Stage ★★★☆☆
Ellie Taylor Presents Puppetry
The last show of the night was another BBC free ticketed blue tent job, Ellie Taylor Presents Puppetry. Only it wasn’t Ellie Taylor it was a Scottish chap whose name I didn’t get (Iain Stirling off of CBBC – Ed).
This was a puppet showcase of three acts all doing 15 minutes shows. The first ventriloquist was Paul Zerdin who’s delivery was slightly patronising. I’ve seen Nina Conti do the same sort of show so much better.
Paul Zerdin ★★★☆☆
Next up were the Flabbergast Theatre, with two puppets Boris and Sergey that I just didn’t find funny. I looked around the audience and not many people seemed to be laughing.
Flabbergast Theatre ★★☆☆☆
Last up were the Henson Alternative’s Puppet Up! – Uncensored show which was fantastic and the only puppets to rival Falsetto Socks. There were some set pieces but a lot of the 15 minutes was improvised and it was great. I would like to see a full show because it was brilliantly funny and technically superb.
Henson Alternative’s Puppet Up! – Uncensored ★★★★☆
Show of the Day: Mark Thomas – 100 Acts Of Minor Dissent
YorkMix at Edinburgh ’13: Day four
Ian Cole at the Edinburgh Fringe Day four
The Librarians by the Minotaur Theatre Company
The first show of the day was The Librarians by the Minotaur Theatre Company who are an on-going showcase of the drama degree programme from the University of East Anglia.
This Kafkaesque play by director Lewis Garvey, opens with a song that is incredibly inventive, made from scraping sounds, tapping, stamping and closing and open books. The effect is stunning.
As the play unfolds we find a group of librarians trapped in the Lional Tinderghast Library and our anti-hero Mandrake Hardbach (Harry Denniston who sounds like David Mitchell from Peep Show) has his eye set on the chief librarian’s job by fair means or foul.
These young actors are the stars of tomorrow, the play is very funny, incredibly well acted and very well directed and the cast are very well drilled. The whole piece just crackles.
The only annoying point was a group teenagers in Baby Wants Candy shirts (Another 2013 Fringe Show) who laughed too loud and shouted out at inappropriate times. They clearly didn’t know how to behave in public which was a shame.
The Librarians has to be one of the hits of Fringe 2013 and is already selling out so go see it if you can get a ticket.
The Librarians by the Minotaur Theatre Company ★★★★★
Secrets of the Elders of Zion
The second show of the day was Hayden Cohen’s Secrets of the Elders of Zion. Hayden follows me on twitter and asked if I would review the show again (I’d reviewed Age Of The Geek last year) but I’m sorry to say this show wasn’t very good.
There was more groans than laughs from the small audience in attendance and while Hayden is very likeable, his comic material just isn’t strong enough. I think Hayden’s real strength is in his guitar playing and song writing and a show full of satirical home-grown songs might just be the winning show he’s looking for.
Secrets of the Elders of Zion ★☆☆☆☆
Shadow On Their Wall
I stayed at the Paradise in The Vault for the next show Shadow On Their Wall. This was another review request that came via Twitter.
This play is an intense and chilling tale about Michael, a man that submits to his impulses, who is clearly suffering from depression and is in his darkest hour.
This is not an easy piece of theatre to like but is well acted by Gareth Watkins and should be seen. Gareth as Michael is totally believable, so much so that I found the finale difficult to watch.
Shadow On Their Wall ★★★★☆
Old and New by Norman Lovett
After Shadow On Their Wall I was looking forward to some light relief from Norman Lovett’s show Old And New and I certainly got it with Norman. Now I am a fan – I’ve seen him three or four times over the years and I am in awe because Norman doesn’t really do anything!
We’ve got bubble wrap, plastic bags and silly ears, insects and pigs noses and it’s all brilliantly funny with Norman looking like he’s making it up on the spot (maybe he is) but its effortlessly funny. Norman asked me if he’d got 3 stars for the show and I said…
Norman Lovett: Old And New ★★★★☆
Martha Reeves and the Vandellas
The final show of the day was a concert by Martha Reeves And The Vandellas at the Assembly Rooms – only there wasn’t any Vandellas just Martha and a great group of session musicians.
The show was sold out and I was looking forward to seeing a real soul legend, and while the music was fantastic and Martha had great interaction with the audience, it’s sad to say her voice just wasn’t up to the job.
Now I know she is 72 years of age but tickets for this show were £20 each and some people felt cheated. I left just before the encore and I wasn’t the only one.
Martha Reeves And The Vandellas ★★☆☆☆
Show of the Day: The Librarians
Ian Cole at the Edinburgh Fringe Day four
The Librarians by the Minotaur Theatre Company
The first show of the day was The Librarians by the Minotaur Theatre Company who are an on-going showcase of the drama degree programme from the University of East Anglia.
This Kafkaesque play by director Lewis Garvey, opens with a song that is incredibly inventive, made from scraping sounds, tapping, stamping and closing and open books. The effect is stunning.
As the play unfolds we find a group of librarians trapped in the Lional Tinderghast Library and our anti-hero Mandrake Hardbach (Harry Denniston who sounds like David Mitchell from Peep Show) has his eye set on the chief librarian’s job by fair means or foul.
These young actors are the stars of tomorrow, the play is very funny, incredibly well acted and very well directed and the cast are very well drilled. The whole piece just crackles.
The only annoying point was a group teenagers in Baby Wants Candy shirts (Another 2013 Fringe Show) who laughed too loud and shouted out at inappropriate times. They clearly didn’t know how to behave in public which was a shame.
The Librarians has to be one of the hits of Fringe 2013 and is already selling out so go see it if you can get a ticket.
The Librarians by the Minotaur Theatre Company ★★★★★
Secrets of the Elders of Zion
The second show of the day was Hayden Cohen’s Secrets of the Elders of Zion. Hayden follows me on twitter and asked if I would review the show again (I’d reviewed Age Of The Geek last year) but I’m sorry to say this show wasn’t very good.
There was more groans than laughs from the small audience in attendance and while Hayden is very likeable, his comic material just isn’t strong enough. I think Hayden’s real strength is in his guitar playing and song writing and a show full of satirical home-grown songs might just be the winning show he’s looking for.
Secrets of the Elders of Zion ★☆☆☆☆
Shadow On Their Wall
I stayed at the Paradise in The Vault for the next show Shadow On Their Wall. This was another review request that came via Twitter.
This play is an intense and chilling tale about Michael, a man that submits to his impulses, who is clearly suffering from depression and is in his darkest hour.
This is not an easy piece of theatre to like but is well acted by Gareth Watkins and should be seen. Gareth as Michael is totally believable, so much so that I found the finale difficult to watch.
Shadow On Their Wall ★★★★☆
Old and New by Norman Lovett
After Shadow On Their Wall I was looking forward to some light relief from Norman Lovett’s show Old And New and I certainly got it with Norman. Now I am a fan – I’ve seen him three or four times over the years and I am in awe because Norman doesn’t really do anything!
We’ve got bubble wrap, plastic bags and silly ears, insects and pigs noses and it’s all brilliantly funny with Norman looking like he’s making it up on the spot (maybe he is) but its effortlessly funny. Norman asked me if he’d got 3 stars for the show and I said…
Norman Lovett: Old And New ★★★★☆
Martha Reeves and the Vandellas
The final show of the day was a concert by Martha Reeves And The Vandellas at the Assembly Rooms – only there wasn’t any Vandellas just Martha and a great group of session musicians.
The show was sold out and I was looking forward to seeing a real soul legend, and while the music was fantastic and Martha had great interaction with the audience, it’s sad to say her voice just wasn’t up to the job.
Now I know she is 72 years of age but tickets for this show were £20 each and some people felt cheated. I left just before the encore and I wasn’t the only one.
Martha Reeves And The Vandellas ★★☆☆☆
Show of the Day: The Librarians
YorkMix at Edinburgh ’13: Day five
Ian Cole at the Edinburgh Fringe Day five
I’m getting the hang of the Edinburgh public transport system (there is still no tram system which is a bone of contention to the locals). The bus I get at the top of the street where I’m staying in Leith takes me to right outside the Traverse Theatre.
It was here where I was hoping to see two plays back to back – I’m With The Band and Quietly but the shows overlapped, so Quietly will wait until tomorrow.
I'm With The Band
I’m With The Band by Tim Price is the story about an Englishman, a Northern Irishman, a Scotsman and a Welshman who walked into a recording studio and created The Union, a commercially successful and critically acclaimed pioneering indie-rock band that is now on the verge of breaking-up after ten years at the top.
With live music from the four multitalented musicians, this is a witty and all so realistic tale of life in a rock and roll band in decline. A superb work, it is directed by the Traverse’s associate director Hamish Pirie, and the actor musicians (James Hillier, Declan Rogers, Andy Clark and Matthew Bulgo) pull off a masterful and believable piece of work.
I’m With The Band ★★★★☆.
Drum Stuck My next show wasn’t for a couple of hours so I wandered down Princes Street for some retail therapy before I arrived at The Assembly Hall for Drum Stuck. This is the brainchild of the Drum Café’s Warren Lieberman and co-created with Kathy-Jo Wein.
Drum Struck originally premiered in Johannesburg, South Africa, in 2002 and has since become a phenomenon, touring the world with shows in New York, Japan, Australia, China and Vietnam.
Billed as the first interactive drum theatre experience, it has won over audiences with its exhilarating presentation of African beats and explosive energy. This one-of-a-kind show provides every audience member with a drum to play along with the on stage performers.
There is a thinly veiled story about the Ubuntu Queen dying and we all need to help her live by drumming with the cast.
The story doesn’t matter as this is a fantastic experience for all the family. Everybody was drumming, singing and dancing by the end. The vocal and percussive ability of the cast is amazing and it was a real feel good time.
Drum Stuck ★★★★☆
Dean Friedman - Words and Music The next show was a strange experience. It was Dean Friedman – Words And Music at the Sweet Grassmarket. This was a difficult venue to find and I had to wolf down a curry and dash to get there in time.
When I got there I found it was a posh hotel and the show was in one of the larger rooms that would seat about 60 or 70 people; there was about 25 of us in there.
I don’t know very much about Mr Friedman apart from remembering his big hit Lucky Stars – although I recognised more songs than I remembered. He is very laid back in his delivery and almost seemed uncomfortable when talking to us but is clearly is a very good musician on both guitar and piano.
His voice sounded great but the songs were a mixed bag with the more serious songs being better. Some songs were too sugary for me and the comic songs were very weird and not in a good way.
He played all the hits but I would like to see him play a folk club with the serious songs and drop the comic ones, particularly the one about the snail.
Dean Friedman – Words And Music ★★★☆☆
The Best of the Fest Last show of the day was The Best Of The Fest, back at the Assembly Hall. This comedy showcase started at midnight and finished at 1.30am, so technically it’s a day six show but who’s quibbling.
There is a different group of six comedians each night with one comic working as compere. There was only one outstanding comedian on tonight’s bill and that was Canadian Craig Campbell who I’ve never seen before, but he was just fantastic. Here are the stars for each comic and one word to describe their set
Craig Campbell – Outstanding ★★★★☆
Adam Hess – Terrible ★☆☆☆☆
Tim Fitzhigham – OK ★★☆☆☆
Jimeoin – Good ★★★☆☆
Damian Clark – Better ★★★☆☆
Milton Jones – Disappointing ★★☆☆☆
Show of the Day: I’m With The Band
Ian Cole at the Edinburgh Fringe Day five
I’m getting the hang of the Edinburgh public transport system (there is still no tram system which is a bone of contention to the locals). The bus I get at the top of the street where I’m staying in Leith takes me to right outside the Traverse Theatre.
It was here where I was hoping to see two plays back to back – I’m With The Band and Quietly but the shows overlapped, so Quietly will wait until tomorrow.
I'm With The Band
I’m With The Band by Tim Price is the story about an Englishman, a Northern Irishman, a Scotsman and a Welshman who walked into a recording studio and created The Union, a commercially successful and critically acclaimed pioneering indie-rock band that is now on the verge of breaking-up after ten years at the top.
With live music from the four multitalented musicians, this is a witty and all so realistic tale of life in a rock and roll band in decline. A superb work, it is directed by the Traverse’s associate director Hamish Pirie, and the actor musicians (James Hillier, Declan Rogers, Andy Clark and Matthew Bulgo) pull off a masterful and believable piece of work.
I’m With The Band ★★★★☆.
Drum Stuck My next show wasn’t for a couple of hours so I wandered down Princes Street for some retail therapy before I arrived at The Assembly Hall for Drum Stuck. This is the brainchild of the Drum Café’s Warren Lieberman and co-created with Kathy-Jo Wein.
Drum Struck originally premiered in Johannesburg, South Africa, in 2002 and has since become a phenomenon, touring the world with shows in New York, Japan, Australia, China and Vietnam.
Billed as the first interactive drum theatre experience, it has won over audiences with its exhilarating presentation of African beats and explosive energy. This one-of-a-kind show provides every audience member with a drum to play along with the on stage performers.
There is a thinly veiled story about the Ubuntu Queen dying and we all need to help her live by drumming with the cast.
The story doesn’t matter as this is a fantastic experience for all the family. Everybody was drumming, singing and dancing by the end. The vocal and percussive ability of the cast is amazing and it was a real feel good time.
Drum Stuck ★★★★☆
Dean Friedman - Words and Music The next show was a strange experience. It was Dean Friedman – Words And Music at the Sweet Grassmarket. This was a difficult venue to find and I had to wolf down a curry and dash to get there in time.
When I got there I found it was a posh hotel and the show was in one of the larger rooms that would seat about 60 or 70 people; there was about 25 of us in there.
I don’t know very much about Mr Friedman apart from remembering his big hit Lucky Stars – although I recognised more songs than I remembered. He is very laid back in his delivery and almost seemed uncomfortable when talking to us but is clearly is a very good musician on both guitar and piano.
His voice sounded great but the songs were a mixed bag with the more serious songs being better. Some songs were too sugary for me and the comic songs were very weird and not in a good way.
He played all the hits but I would like to see him play a folk club with the serious songs and drop the comic ones, particularly the one about the snail.
Dean Friedman – Words And Music ★★★☆☆
The Best of the Fest Last show of the day was The Best Of The Fest, back at the Assembly Hall. This comedy showcase started at midnight and finished at 1.30am, so technically it’s a day six show but who’s quibbling.
There is a different group of six comedians each night with one comic working as compere. There was only one outstanding comedian on tonight’s bill and that was Canadian Craig Campbell who I’ve never seen before, but he was just fantastic. Here are the stars for each comic and one word to describe their set
Craig Campbell – Outstanding ★★★★☆
Adam Hess – Terrible ★☆☆☆☆
Tim Fitzhigham – OK ★★☆☆☆
Jimeoin – Good ★★★☆☆
Damian Clark – Better ★★★☆☆
Milton Jones – Disappointing ★★☆☆☆
Show of the Day: I’m With The Band
YorkMix at Edinburgh ’13: Day six
Ian Cole at the Edinburgh Fringe Day six
This is my last day at Edinburgh Fringe 2013 and I’ve only had four hours sleep due to my visit to last night’s Best of the Fest show and this morning’s early (for the Fringe) show at 10.30am.
The show in question is The Big Bite Size Breakfast. I first saw this cast perform at last year’s Fringe. The idea is we get five short plays from between seven and 14 minutes in length and a croissant and coffee for breakfast – so what’s not to like.
This is a superb cast of six actors and I thoroughly enjoyed last year’s offering, so was looking forward to this show (even if I did have to get up early to make it). On offer today was Menu 1 – Two’s Company. The first play was Drury Lane and for me this wasn’t particularly engaging as it was a little too long.
Elephants and Coffee was better but the outstanding play of the five was Thin Air, a one-woman play skilfully acted by Tegen Hitchens about her life on the high wire. The last play Hitched was also notable as being very funny and had all of us in the audience in stitches (that pun will make sense if you see the play). A fantastic theatre company but a patchy group of plays.
The Big Bite Size Breakfast ★★★☆☆
Man Ray Portaits
I'd left some time free on this last day to visit a CD & record fair in Charlottes’ Square. It promised rare music but didn’t deliver and I only spent about 15 minutes looking around as I’d decided to go and visit the Man Ray Portraits exhibition at the Scottish National Portrait Gallery. This isn’t part of the Fringe but being a fan of the surrealist art movement of the 1920s and 30s, it was an opportunity I couldn’t miss.
If you are unsure who Man Ray was he was an American modernist artist who spent most of his career in Paris and he was a significant contributor to the Dada and Surrealist movements.
This is the first major retrospective of this influential artist and although Man Ray worked in all media, these are his portrait photographs. It seems as though he photographed anybody who was anybody from the 1930s onwards – including Picasso, Salvador Dali, Ernest Hemingway the list goes on.
His most stunning portraits are of his assistant and lover at the time Lee Miller (who was a model and photographer in her own right). It is said that Lee Miller flew to Paris to meet Man Ray found him in a café and said “I’m your new student”. It’s important to say this is not a Surrealist exhibition but the majority of photographs on display are fantastic.
Man Ray Portraits ★★★★☆
All Over
After buying the Man Ray poster, badge and fridge magnet I decided to spend my last couple of hours in St Andrew’s Square Gardens where there was lots going on with a mini beach, golf course and kiddies peddle car race track and music being performed by some very good solo acts. The most impressive was a Scottish guy playing very good home grown reggae tunes on his guitar.
I had planned to go see Quietly at the Traverse Theatre at 4pm but the play was 1 hour and 20 minutes leaving me only ten minutes to catch my train home (an impossible task), I was very disappointed not to see this play as its already receiving four- and five-star reviews and I have an great interest in Belfast (and the troubles) since I performed at the Sonorities Festival of Contemporary Music in Belfast in 2012.
I’m working on an album of music inspired by the city and I thought that seeing the play might contribute to that work. My only hope is that Quietly tours the UK and comes to York later on in the year.
And then all too suddenly I was on a packed train back to York looking forward to going home but missing the buzz of the Fringe.
After seeing more than 20 shows in five days, I’m looking forward to a good long sleep – but my next blog will round up my top shows of the festival and some of the shows I’d hoped to have seen but missed.
Show of the Day: Man Ray Portrait exhibition
Ian Cole at the Edinburgh Fringe Day six
This is my last day at Edinburgh Fringe 2013 and I’ve only had four hours sleep due to my visit to last night’s Best of the Fest show and this morning’s early (for the Fringe) show at 10.30am.
The show in question is The Big Bite Size Breakfast. I first saw this cast perform at last year’s Fringe. The idea is we get five short plays from between seven and 14 minutes in length and a croissant and coffee for breakfast – so what’s not to like.
This is a superb cast of six actors and I thoroughly enjoyed last year’s offering, so was looking forward to this show (even if I did have to get up early to make it). On offer today was Menu 1 – Two’s Company. The first play was Drury Lane and for me this wasn’t particularly engaging as it was a little too long.
Elephants and Coffee was better but the outstanding play of the five was Thin Air, a one-woman play skilfully acted by Tegen Hitchens about her life on the high wire. The last play Hitched was also notable as being very funny and had all of us in the audience in stitches (that pun will make sense if you see the play). A fantastic theatre company but a patchy group of plays.
The Big Bite Size Breakfast ★★★☆☆
Man Ray Portaits
I'd left some time free on this last day to visit a CD & record fair in Charlottes’ Square. It promised rare music but didn’t deliver and I only spent about 15 minutes looking around as I’d decided to go and visit the Man Ray Portraits exhibition at the Scottish National Portrait Gallery. This isn’t part of the Fringe but being a fan of the surrealist art movement of the 1920s and 30s, it was an opportunity I couldn’t miss.
If you are unsure who Man Ray was he was an American modernist artist who spent most of his career in Paris and he was a significant contributor to the Dada and Surrealist movements.
This is the first major retrospective of this influential artist and although Man Ray worked in all media, these are his portrait photographs. It seems as though he photographed anybody who was anybody from the 1930s onwards – including Picasso, Salvador Dali, Ernest Hemingway the list goes on.
His most stunning portraits are of his assistant and lover at the time Lee Miller (who was a model and photographer in her own right). It is said that Lee Miller flew to Paris to meet Man Ray found him in a café and said “I’m your new student”. It’s important to say this is not a Surrealist exhibition but the majority of photographs on display are fantastic.
Man Ray Portraits ★★★★☆
All Over
After buying the Man Ray poster, badge and fridge magnet I decided to spend my last couple of hours in St Andrew’s Square Gardens where there was lots going on with a mini beach, golf course and kiddies peddle car race track and music being performed by some very good solo acts. The most impressive was a Scottish guy playing very good home grown reggae tunes on his guitar.
I had planned to go see Quietly at the Traverse Theatre at 4pm but the play was 1 hour and 20 minutes leaving me only ten minutes to catch my train home (an impossible task), I was very disappointed not to see this play as its already receiving four- and five-star reviews and I have an great interest in Belfast (and the troubles) since I performed at the Sonorities Festival of Contemporary Music in Belfast in 2012.
I’m working on an album of music inspired by the city and I thought that seeing the play might contribute to that work. My only hope is that Quietly tours the UK and comes to York later on in the year.
And then all too suddenly I was on a packed train back to York looking forward to going home but missing the buzz of the Fringe.
After seeing more than 20 shows in five days, I’m looking forward to a good long sleep – but my next blog will round up my top shows of the festival and some of the shows I’d hoped to have seen but missed.
Show of the Day: Man Ray Portrait exhibition
YorkMix at Edinburgh ’13: Hits and near misses
Ian Cole at the Edinburgh Fringe Favourite shows
I saw 20 shows in five full days involving over 90 performers and the majority of the work was excellent. I’m always very conscious of being negative about the blood sweat and tear that artists put into their work but don’t feel I can shy away from what is my personal opinion (and who’s to say I’m right anyway).
My only regret about Fringe 2013 is that I couldn’t stay longer although another week of bad diet, no sleep and walking 10 to 15 miles a day would have killed me.
And so to my top shows of Fringe 2013 as in Juke Box Jury style, here are the top ten hits in reverse order:
10: Shadow On Their Wall from Sheepish Productions: this one man show is the stuff of nightmares.
9: Voices In Your Head – The Phill Jupitus Experiment good old improv with a new twist.
8: Norman Lovett’s show Old And New – gentle, funny and brilliantly executed.
7: Craig Campbell at Best Of The Fest. If I’d had more time I would have gone to see his full show and I’m looking forward to him touring somewhere near York soon.
6: Mark Thomas’s 100 Acts Of Minor Dissent and I have to admit that I am now one of Mark’s dissenters.
5: I’m With The Band by the Traverse Theatre Company & Wales Millennium Centre. I was amazed by how a left-handed bass guitarist could pick up a right handed six-string guitar and play it the wrong way round with the rest of the band.
4: The Scottish Falsetto Sock Puppet Theatre – In Space. Everyone loves a little sock now and then.
3: On The One Hand by The Paper Birds Theatre Company – must try and catch Thirsty which is also still touring the UK.
Runner up: The Librarians by the Minotaur Theatre Company – one of the best university productions I’ve ever seen.
My Show Of The Fringe 2013: Who’s Afraid Of Rachel Roberts by the Torch Theatre Company. With a stunning performance by Helen Griffin.
Near MissesSo what about the misses, these are shows that I wanted to see but just didn’t make it? Top of the list is Quietly by the Abbey Theatre. I’m pleased to say that the show has just won a Scotsman Fringe First Award.
I was handed a flyer by one of the cast members of Titus Andronicus and wanted to see this play it being Shakespeare’s most violent offering.
Hiraeth Artistic Productions have set the play in the 1980s London and deep inside British extremist skinhead culture with roman warriors being replaced with National Front political soldiers with their armour being switched for military-style shaved heads, combat boots, drugs and knives. Doused in Eighties politics, music, fashion and culture.
I also wanted to catch MJ Hibbard’s Total Hero Team – the two-man rock opera about superheroes (a free fringe show), the Mugenkyo Tailo Drummers and Rick Walkman but just ran out of time. But at least there’s next year…
First Published in YorkMix August 6th - 25th 2013
Ian Cole at the Edinburgh Fringe Favourite shows
I saw 20 shows in five full days involving over 90 performers and the majority of the work was excellent. I’m always very conscious of being negative about the blood sweat and tear that artists put into their work but don’t feel I can shy away from what is my personal opinion (and who’s to say I’m right anyway).
My only regret about Fringe 2013 is that I couldn’t stay longer although another week of bad diet, no sleep and walking 10 to 15 miles a day would have killed me.
And so to my top shows of Fringe 2013 as in Juke Box Jury style, here are the top ten hits in reverse order:
10: Shadow On Their Wall from Sheepish Productions: this one man show is the stuff of nightmares.
9: Voices In Your Head – The Phill Jupitus Experiment good old improv with a new twist.
8: Norman Lovett’s show Old And New – gentle, funny and brilliantly executed.
7: Craig Campbell at Best Of The Fest. If I’d had more time I would have gone to see his full show and I’m looking forward to him touring somewhere near York soon.
6: Mark Thomas’s 100 Acts Of Minor Dissent and I have to admit that I am now one of Mark’s dissenters.
5: I’m With The Band by the Traverse Theatre Company & Wales Millennium Centre. I was amazed by how a left-handed bass guitarist could pick up a right handed six-string guitar and play it the wrong way round with the rest of the band.
4: The Scottish Falsetto Sock Puppet Theatre – In Space. Everyone loves a little sock now and then.
3: On The One Hand by The Paper Birds Theatre Company – must try and catch Thirsty which is also still touring the UK.
Runner up: The Librarians by the Minotaur Theatre Company – one of the best university productions I’ve ever seen.
My Show Of The Fringe 2013: Who’s Afraid Of Rachel Roberts by the Torch Theatre Company. With a stunning performance by Helen Griffin.
Near MissesSo what about the misses, these are shows that I wanted to see but just didn’t make it? Top of the list is Quietly by the Abbey Theatre. I’m pleased to say that the show has just won a Scotsman Fringe First Award.
I was handed a flyer by one of the cast members of Titus Andronicus and wanted to see this play it being Shakespeare’s most violent offering.
Hiraeth Artistic Productions have set the play in the 1980s London and deep inside British extremist skinhead culture with roman warriors being replaced with National Front political soldiers with their armour being switched for military-style shaved heads, combat boots, drugs and knives. Doused in Eighties politics, music, fashion and culture.
I also wanted to catch MJ Hibbard’s Total Hero Team – the two-man rock opera about superheroes (a free fringe show), the Mugenkyo Tailo Drummers and Rick Walkman but just ran out of time. But at least there’s next year…
First Published in YorkMix August 6th - 25th 2013
