For the sixth year in a row (or maybe the seventh, I'm losing track), I went to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. I love going to the Fringe each summer, it's always one of the highlights of my summer and this year was no exception. I will be honest and say that this was probably the smallest amount of shows I've seen at the Fringe. I only saw four of the five I had planned, which meant it was quite a small trip. Except for last year, I've only been able to attend the Fringe for one day meaning the number of shows I can see is limited. However, even though I only saw four shows, I saw some really good shows.
Show One- Vampire Hospital Waiting Room
This was partly for research for the play I've been writing this summer, but my family and I decided that we should go an see this show. It is a mashup of various genres and was a great start to my trip. A comedy musical set in a hospital waiting room while one of the doctors tries to become a vampire. It was a laugh a minute, filled with great songs and funny moments, some of which I expect weren't planned but were funny nevertheless. It took stereotypes used in these types of horror films and ramped them up to make them even funnier. It was clear from the beginning that this was a bit of a piss-take show, which are always good dun at the Fringe.
The Missed Show- The Accident Did Not Take Place
Sadly, this was a show that we just missed arriving in time for. We had thought it was on at 1:15, but it actually started at 1pm so we just missed it. Some venues at the Fringe are very strict about the late arrivals policy and this was one of them. We arrived at 1pm, and we weren't allowed admission. It was very frustrating to not be allowed in, but sadly you have to accept this policy. It became more frustrating as at our final show of the day, they were letting people in a good ten minutes after the show had started and even started it five minutes late to allow people to arrive. I hope this is something that is fixed for future Fringes.
Show Two- Anguis
The only bit of "serious" theatre we saw at the Fringe. It was a play written by Sheila Atim, the Olivier award-winning actress. The story was told through a live podcast typesetting. The podcast was a scientific one and the person being interviewed was Queen Cleopatra. At the surface, it was about two strong women from different eras, but underneath there were themes of the struggles of women in science, women in general and the treatment of people of colour. It was punctured with moments of humour and had some excellent songs in it. If Sheila Atim was to write another play, I would happily go and see it, knowing I was in safe hands.
Show Three- West End Producer Live: Free Willy
If you are familiar with the theatre world, then you will have undoubtedly heard of West End Producer. If not then here's a very quick summary- a man in a somewhat scary mask (sorry) talks about life in the West End in a flamboyant way. I'll be honest, this was my least favourite show we saw. It wasn't a type of show I'd normally gravitate towards as I'm not a fan of audience participation and it wasn't my style of comedy. It was still very interesting, but the audience participation and scary mask really put me off. I think my family enjoyed it more than I did. And the rest of the audience seemed to enjoy it, just not me.
Show Four- Unfortunate: The Untold Story of Ursula the Sea-Witch
Another spectacular show by the Fat Rascal Theatre company. I saw Vulvarine last year and we were desperate to see their new musical. A feminist, anti-body-shaming retelling of the Little Mermaid from the perspective of Ursula? What's not to love? It was another laugh a minute, with rewritten versions of famous songs from the Little Mermaid including Kiss the Girl being about consent and Part of Your World about Ariel being desperate for a quick shag. The set was incredible, the cast was phenomenal, it was the best show I saw this year. The only sad thing was that I had to run to catch the train home as soon as it ended. I will happily and definitely go and see anything they do again. They are a theatre company to keep an eye on.
