Edinburgh Festival

We have been in Edinburgh for a week and although the streets are different, the houses, the outlook, the way the stores are set up, and even the summer weather is changeable, I feel at home. I have been scratching my head and wondering why…

We’ve settled in. For a short period we have our own home (as mentioned in the last blog). We can cook and decide when to wake up and eat breakfast, and we have the wonderful Edinburgh Fringe with a choice of 2830 shows.  It is a seriously mindboggling minefield of performing arts overload. When you know that your dollar is not a bottomless pit, and that you could just stay at home and watch live drama being played out in the form of Olympic sport for free… it’s hard. We have the choice of up to ten channels of live Olympics to choose from.

On our first full day here we took in four one hour shows; on our second day we took in five. Our bodies ache with age and our heads swirl trying to keep up with it all. The weather moves from seriously warm and sunny to wet, cold and dank. Every time you step out from a show you are greeted by someone clutching a fistful of leaflets, wanting to sell a show they believe in- “ two tickets for one” 

We may be having difficulty deciding what to see but spare a thought for the performer.  We shared a table at one of the venues one afternoon and two women were there discussing why they were not getting an audience.

“It’s just not what people come here for,”  says one.

 “It will come right. It’s publicity we need,” says the other.

 “People want laughs. It isn’t funny. We’ve chosen the wrong place.”  

etc etc. 

You’ve got to feel for the performer here. Yesterday in the pouring rain on the Royal Mile, they were still out there under their umbrellas performing and desperately trying sell their shows to whoever walked by.   

What has been helpful are the reviews. We saw Razing Eddie this way. You can google the title and you’ll see a full page of links about it. It was outstandingly scripted and well-acted too. Paul Levy’s review is worth a look just to get the low down.

We’ve seen some good shows just by chance as well. One was called The Fantasist performed by a Toulouse based company Theatre Temoin, who used physical theatre and puppetry to explore bipolar illness. This piece was strong, and looking at their website this morning, I can tell why. Check them out.

Sophie and her friend Elise have been staying over the weekend and we took them to Rhys Darby. Now Elise has gone, I get a chance to give my girl a feel for some of the edginess we have come to love about this festival. I can’t wait.