Day 12 - Edinburgh Fringe
It was my last day in Edinburgh and I had my family coming up to join me. So before that I squeezed in a couple of shows in the morning at The Pleasance.
Starting with Bobby and Amy.
A brilliant play about two thirteen year old friends and their community near Swindon who were effected by the Foot and Mouth epidemic.
Written by Emily Jenkins and performed by Will Howard and Kimberley Jarvis. They skilfully play the two children as well as nearly thirty other characters. Switching between each with precision and excellence.
Unlike other performers I have seen who attempt to switch between characters by adopting a ridiculous accent or putting a hat on.
Will Howard and Kimberley Jarvis skilfully morph into each character using subtle physical manifestations.
It was incredible work, particularly by Will who sensitively portrays a character with autism.
The story is tender and uplifting and very heart felt. After this I went to watch Stiff And Kitsch: Bricking It.
A writing duo formed of Sally O’Leary and Rhiannon Neads who follow up their show Adele Is Younger than Us.
The pair are brilliant and very funny as they perform self penned songs about their own lives and experiences.
Part of this show examines and reflects the varying responses to last year’s show, which is a perfect follow up.
Their lyrics is clever and relatable and very funny.
After this I went to meet my brother Andrew, his girlfriend Rebecca and her children Sophia and Amelia who had just arrived in Edinburgh for the day.
They had been camping at a near by music festival and so booked a hotel in Edinburgh to share my final night at the Fringe.
I took them around the festival, and along the Mile to watch some of the street entertainers, we were bemused by some of the arts, particularly a magician who made some rather crude remarks, which left us agasp and covering the children’s ears.
After all Rebecca wanted was to sit down and have a drink. The problem was in Scotland children aren’t allowed in bars.
We continued to walk up towards the castle, struggling to find any bars with free tables outside for us to sit.
By the time we got to the castle we had missed the last admission so couldn’t go in. We then found a bar and managed to put together five chairs.
After a refreshing drink, we found a lovely near by Italian restaurant for dinner and I then took the girls for ice cream. Really it was just me that wanted ice cream as I ordered myself a three scoop cone.
We then run around to Assembly Hall where I had booked us all tickets to watch Choir of Man.
Although I had already seen it, I watched it twice last year and wanted to see it again tonight, especially as it was their final show. It was also an ideal show to bring three adults in their late thirties and an eight and ten year old.
The show offers something for everyone, and the arrangements are brilliant.
Tom and Denis had reserved our seats and I took the girls onto the stage to meet them while my brother and Rebecca went to the toilet and missed the start.
The boys were also full out relishing their final show with gusto.
To watch a clip from their show visit: https://youtu.be/bmCGxoTqz2Y
I gave Tom and Denis a big sweaty hug and said goodbye.
We then took the girls back to their hotel where I sat in with them to let Andrew and Rebecca go for a drink and to watch a comedy show.
They came in after 1am and the kids were still awake, as I had failed to get them to bed.
I then walked back to my hostel, along a quiet and deserted high street.
And so that ends my incredible 12 days at Edinburgh Fringe. It has been brilliant but hard work. I take away from it some more great memories, have met some lovely people and learnt a lot.
All the PR offices and staff across the festival have been incredibly friendly and helpful and made my first year here as a blogger so much easier.
Next year I hope to be a little more organised, I hope to come up for longer, and I hope to see a lot more shows and do a lot more interviews.
It was brilliant to meet West End Producer who is surprisingly generous and kind. It was also brilliant to interview Dan Krikler, Alex Gwyther, the cast of I Wish My Life Were Like A Musical and the girls from Wannabe.
There were still a lot of people that I didn’t get to see who I would have loved to have.
Incredible thanks to Paul Vale and my friend Tina who looked after me in particular.
I am now back in London and already preparing for Edinburgh Fringe 2020, where who knows, I might even be taking my own show..
Watch this space.
The accompanying video for this week’s journal can be found on my YouTube channel here:
And the audio version can be found as a podcast here:
https://anchor.fm/thatstageyblog/episodes/Day-12---Edinburgh-Fringe---Audio-e54idf