#fringe 2014

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Edinburgh fringe venue reviews

The indian restaurant I am doing my Edinburgh Fringe show in has been rated 5 stars and has better reviews than me. Happy Monday.

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Writing for my Fringe show

Just finished writing a joke version of Lady in Red called Bailey's in Bed... in case you were wondering how my Fringe show prep is going.

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Edinburgh fringe set list

I think the most fun part of planning an Edinburgh show is deciding on the order in which you're going to tell the jokes. Then 2nd guessing an audience who don't exist yet and picking a new order. Then repeating this process until you no longer want to do the show.  10 days to go.

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Edinburgh fringe interviews

I'll be honest, I think *some* of you spent more than 3 minutes writing your Broadway Baby interview answers.

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There's a fine line between "litter" and an "Edinburgh show flyer".

There's a fine line between "litter" and an "Edinburgh show flyer".

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Asking "are you going to Edinburgh?" is the new "how's gigging going?".

Asking "are you going to Edinburgh?" is the new "how's gigging going?".

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Edinburgh Fringe Programme Thoughts.

Browsing through the Edinburgh fringe programme I find myself saying things like "they're doing an hour!" Or "£10 for them?!". Then I stumbled on my listing and thought: at least one person will say something similar about mine. A quote I like is: "there's two ways to build the biggest building - 1) you build the biggest building 2) you tear all the other buildings to the ground" Let's all be a little more supportive this year. Yes, we all want to do well but one persons success isn't linked to another persons failure.

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Edinburgh Daily Blog: Day 20 & 21

Day 20

  I am slowly learning the audience member I least wanted to flyer was the best person in the room. Today that person was a woman in her mid80s who had driven from the midlands to Edinburgh that morning, parked her car and came up to me to ask “do you know where I can find the free fringe venues?”

  I explained they were all over the place and my show was about to start. She dashed into the venue and made it clear she could only watch it if the show was an hour or less in length as she only put 2 hours on the meter for her car park.

  In hindsight this is the kind of person everyone wants to play to: an up for it person who is out for adventure and fun. She was recently divorced and living life (in her own words).

  The rest of the audience (about 6 people) were lovely but nobody quite compared. She loved being chatty and bantering. She was supportive and helpful in “sticky” bits and best of all she donated the most to the charity.

  What a wonderful human being.

  I hate the pre-judgements you get as a flyerer. You imagine who you are, what your jokes are and 2nd guess every person who comes your way based on no real information at all. Like a real life version of Tinder.

  The show itself was fun and the audience were very warm.

  After the show I went to see Boris and Sergey again as Emily’s family were up and I wanted them to see it. They had added bits and it was fun to see how the show had evolved. Also the improvised “spooky story time” was completely different and so exciting to watch.

  Due to the lack of things I did today, I’ve decided to combine the two blog posts to make this entry seem more interesting…

  Day 21

  I died so hard today it’s difficult to find the words. I had a room of mixed people: 2 teenage boys who wanted cock jokes and their mum who totally did not. An elderly couple who sat still and didn’t react to anything (even when I asked them questions they were wooden). A couple in their 40s from Glasgow who (in their own words) “enjoyed being insulted and talked to more than being told jokes”. And one guy on his own in the back row who sat with a book (closed) on his lap.

  Some people got some jokes, others got others but it was near impossible to get them into a unit / grouping to build any sort of momentum.

  At the end of the gig the Glasgow couple came over and said “you did well to keep going, but try just talking more… you’re funnier off script”. The big secret in stand up is we all have a script. Ok, so a few comedians like Ross Noble and Paul Foot don’t, but they’re outstanding at it. The rest of us need something ready to say… the key is making it look like you’re just talking.

  It didn’t hurt to die, oddly. I enjoyed it. I learned a lot from the gig and loved the fact they all had feedback and comments and felt comfortable enough to tell me them.

  Feminism For Chaps – Review.

  After the gig I went to watch “Feminism for Chaps”. A rare 5 star reviewed show (Chortle) it was an interesting concept. His opening line set the mood and summed up what was in store: “Hello, welcome to Feminism for Chaps. If you’re a woman, I am sorry, there’s nothing here for you but jokes. If you’re a bloke I am going to try and school you in some things you’ve not thought about before.”

  I think I got the end bit of that wrong, but you get my point. He acknowledged the elephant in the room (a man talking about feminism) and moved forward to a really slick and interesting show about men and their relationship with feminism.

  It was personal, fun, funny and honest. A real treat on the fringe given the mass of stand ups doing either unfunny or boring material in boring ways. This show had a really nice self-aware ending and even had “in jokes” for comedians. I’d recommend it. I didn’t belly laugh, but I did have a consistent smile on my face for the whole thing and it was amazing to watch someone tackle some weighty subjects.

  Morgan & West: Parlour Tricks - Review

  I love magic. Anyone who knows me even slightly will be aware that this is the only time in life I don’t mind being lied to.

  Morgan and West are “time travelling magicians” as such the show is set in an unspecified time in the 19th century. The end of the show brings the whole thing together and there was audible “oh my gods” during the final trick which made my jaw drop.

  I don’t want to say what happened in the show as that would be shitty of me and also they kindly asked people not to at the end. But I would say if you want to watch some funny, intelligent and overly complex magic this is the show for you.