2,509 posts
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Post by zahidf on Aug 14, 2024 11:08:53 GMT
My English Persian Kitchen is on at the Soho theatre later this year
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Post by greenandbrownandblue on Aug 14, 2024 11:21:58 GMT
My English Persian Kitchen is on at the Soho theatre later this year I hadn't realised - that's great news, glad it's getting a further life. |
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2,032 posts
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Post by distantcousin on Aug 14, 2024 12:02:35 GMT
I had quite a disappointing Fringe this year!
My friends picked "The Chairs Revisited" which they thought was excellent, but the absurdist style was not for me and I zoned out after 15 minutes. Apparently the setting/era has been updated to be a subtle commentary on the pandemic.
Saw Trainspotting Live for the first time in 8 years, and it was sensation once again. Same venue, but a larger space. Most definitely a souped up version of the production - from the playing space to the interactions with the audience. Exhilirating, immersive theatre!
The Scot and the Showgirl - so disappointing. Cruise ship style entertainment. Self indulgent and schmaltzy. I couldn't wait for it to be over. Luckily the final two songs made up for the previous 55 minutes...
Many of the stand up comedians we saw were from my discoveries of them on instagram. Their abilities to translate reels (and I assume tiktoks) into an hour of traditional standup met with mixed results for me. Amy Mason, Jack Skipper, Derek Mitchell, Tom Lawrinson
Rachel Fairburn was sensational (although I discovered her via her being a podcast guest) A rare example in the Edinburgh milleu now - a working class comedian and someone who actually tells jokes!
Brennan Reece was our favourite standup. But I knew he was more than capable of a skilled and hilarious stand up routine.
Colin Hoult was very good as himself, but I find his Anna Mann far, far funnier.
Late Night Terry Wogan was typically shambolic, bonkers Fringe stuff. I wanted to love it, but the performers were too under-rehearsed which grated on the actor/director in me. Some really fun ideas - bizarre interpretations of Kate Bush, Cheryl Cole and Tilda Swinton as guests. The guy playing Terry Wogan needed to dig further into the impersonation of him to make it funnier.
Overall I find/found a lot of shows unappealing. Comedians wanting to share their trauma/mental health condition/neurodiversity diagnosis. Yawn.
Most of the Fringe now feels very millennial-coded, as I guess they are the dominant age of creatives performing up there now - Which is not my generation, and makes it slightly harder to connect with. 5 days up there were more than enough, and we felt completely "over stimulated" by the end!
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1,092 posts
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Post by andrew on Aug 14, 2024 12:27:36 GMT
I've read all your posts with great interests as heading up next week, but sometimes it's hard to gauge a sense of things you thought were good versus things you thought were unmissable. If anyone wants to submit their top picks in a category that would be very interesting.
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Post by greenandbrownandblue on Aug 14, 2024 14:19:50 GMT
I've read all your posts with great interests as heading up next week, but sometimes it's hard to gauge a sense of things you thought were good versus things you thought were unmissable. If anyone wants to submit their top picks in a category that would be very interesting. Fair point. Unmissable theatre for me would be A History of Paper, One Man Musical, Every Brilliant Thing, My Mother's Funeral. Comedy wise, Jin Hao Li and Elf Lyons. I appreciate that most of those are sold out, though worth checking an hour or so before as tickets always get released on Edfringe.com |
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Post by kz on Aug 14, 2024 19:19:55 GMT
My favourites so far have been Shantify and Rob Madge (My son's a queer...). Also loved One Man Musical and Absolute Monopoly (although I think the latter might be dependent on the audience each day). I haven't seen any absolute howlers this year (so far) so, while I wouldn't recommend everything on my list, there's none I'd advise actively avoiding.
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Post by lightinthedarkness on Aug 14, 2024 21:33:53 GMT
Showstopper! and The Emu War are my favourites so far from the theatre side.
Comedians wise Jin Hao Li and Mark Simmons (free) were both absolutely hilarious.
For music I've only seen one show - Jollyboat, and it was incredible. Also a free show! Comedy songs performed by two brothers, and they were very funny.
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920 posts
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Post by karloscar on Aug 19, 2024 17:54:25 GMT
Todd Almond's new musical/song cycle I'm Almost There has had great reviews and has already got dates lined up in New York next month. Rare sightings (for Edinburgh) include Lin Manuel Miranda and Judy Kuhn supporting their friend's new work in the last few days. Seeing it tomorrow so I'll report back then.
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Post by nicole on Aug 19, 2024 18:04:58 GMT
Anyone hoping for any London transfers? I am heading up in a few days but know I can't make every show so thinking I should miss the ones that will probably come to London..
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Post by kz on Aug 19, 2024 18:14:07 GMT
karloscar I'm seeing this on Sunday. Looking forward to hearing your thoughts. Haven't spotted LMM on my travels though!
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9 posts
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Post by peterd on Aug 20, 2024 10:04:17 GMT
This year's highlights for me were:
- Pop Off, Michelangelo!
- Foil Arms and Hog: Skittish
- Bellringers
- Fanboy
- I Am Your Tribute
- An Adequate Abridgement of Boarding School Life as a Homo
- 13th Morning
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Post by curiouskc on Aug 20, 2024 21:29:16 GMT
Todd Almond's new musical/song cycle I'm Almost There has had great reviews and has already got dates lined up in New York next month. Rare sightings (for Edinburgh) include Lin Manuel Miranda and Judy Kuhn supporting their friend's new work in the last few days. Seeing it tomorrow so I'll report back then. I saw I'm Almost There last week and absolutely loved it. Surreal magical realist storytelling set to music. Todd's narration, singing and piano playing all captivate with ease. Romantic, philosophical, moving and a whole lot weirder than I think at least half the audience were expecting. My other 2024 Ediburgh festival highlights... Half Man/Half Bull - Glorious gig theatre. Contemporary retellings of the Minotaur and Icarus myths. Stunningly written and performed. You don't have to watch both parts, but...honestly, if you see one part, you'll wanna see the other. Then get both albums. Hadestown fans - get to this, you'll love this. My Son's a Queer (but What Can You Do?) - Late to the party on this one, but I loved it so much I'm seeing it again in Manchester this week.
Diva: Live from Hell - Luke Bayer, what a fabulous force of nature. Slick sensational one-man musical black comedy. Hope it tours.
Main Character Energy - Temi Wilkie's hilarious, touching and utterly convincing Ted Talk about why she's a star to be reckoned with.
Or What's Left of Us - Sh!t Theatre's folk sing-a-round and cathatic exploration of grief. Deeply personal and affecting. The Emu War - Quirky warm-hearted new comedy musical. Would recommend to fans of Operation Mincemeat and Avenue Q. House of Cleopatra - Late night concert musical. Egypt's iconic queen gets the Six treatment. Amazing dancing and stunning vocals from the leads. The Shadow Necropolis - Shadow puppet theatre with wonderful fantasy storytelling and a child hero battling anxiety. |
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1,873 posts
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Post by Dave B on Aug 21, 2024 12:28:29 GMT
Half Man/Half Bull - Glorious gig theatre. Contemporary retellings of the Minotaur and Icarus myths. Stunningly written and performed. You don't have to watch both parts, but...honestly, if you see one part, you'll wanna see the other. Then get both albums. Hadestown fans - get to this, you'll love this. Yes! Saw this in their warmup at Stretham Space Project last month. Glorious is right. So - so good. |
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Post by firefingers on Aug 21, 2024 23:00:53 GMT
Popped over a few times, caught a nice range. Recommendations for stuff that I'm hopeful will reappear:
Ahir Shar: Ends. Stand up that was very personal, almost spoken word. Very funny, very powerful, most were in tears at the end. Recorded for Netflix so do look.out for it.
Arcade by Darkfield. Like the other Darkfield shows (Seance,Flight etc) but now interactive. You have a button to control yes or no questions thst shaped the story. I won't give spoilers but it was there most immersive and enjoyable show to date, and would definitely see it again.
Pals. Fabulous post coming of age play. Four mid/late twenties woman find their friends are racing past them in life, so they go on a hiking adventure woth fractuous results. Hilarious, heartwarming and deeply emotionally affecting. All female creative team, almost all from Scotland, championing Scottish voices at the festival. Definitely deserves a future life.
Bellringers. The world is ending and two men shelter from the storm with a job to do. Almost Stoppard-ian at points, again both funny and powerful. Coming to Lomdon later in the year so would definitely recommend checking it out.
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Post by nicole on Aug 22, 2024 9:47:13 GMT
Anyone seen anything at the Paines Plough roundabout? Any highlights? Trying to make a schedule..
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Post by danb on Aug 22, 2024 9:55:24 GMT
Fab that everyone is saying different shows as their favourites, and with different reasons why. It certainly seems to have something for everyone.
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Post by aspieandy on Aug 22, 2024 19:23:40 GMT
At the Lyceum, Edinburgh, until 25 August. Then at the Pavilion theatre, Glasgow, 28-31 August.
Then somewhere, I dunno, down south, maybe... I'm guessing this cast isn't involved just for an 8-day jolly north of the wall. As always with Ireland, very, very interested.
* review is by Arifa Akbar in The Guardian |
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Post by SilverFox on Aug 23, 2024 9:54:13 GMT
At the Lyceum, Edinburgh, until 25 August. Then at the Pavilion theatre, Glasgow, 28-31 August.
Then somewhere, I dunno, down south, maybe... I'm guessing this cast isn't involved just for an 8-day jolly north of the wall. As always with Ireland, very, very interested.
* review is by Arifa Akbar in The Guardian Good news and bad news - 4* glowing review BUT by Akbar, a reviewer whose judgement rarely co-incides with mine!
It still sounds interesting .... maybe.
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5,007 posts
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Post by Someone in a tree on Aug 23, 2024 10:18:43 GMT
At the Lyceum, Edinburgh, until 25 August. Then at the Pavilion theatre, Glasgow, 28-31 August.
Then somewhere, I dunno, down south, maybe... I'm guessing this cast isn't involved just for an 8-day jolly north of the wall. As always with Ireland, very, very interested.
* review is by Arifa Akbar in The Guardian Good news and bad news - 4* glowing review BUT by Akbar, a reviewer whose judgement rarely co-incides with mine!
It still sounds interesting .... maybe.
Ive happily stopped reading her reviews |
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Post by hadeswasking on Aug 23, 2024 19:45:41 GMT
My Highlights of the year in order -
Weather Girl - Life-changing. I have no doubts this will have a future life. Was worth stalking the Fringe website for!!
Every Brilliant Thing - I've never seen a piece unite an audience of strangers before like this did. Beautiful.
One Man Musical - Absolutely hilarious in every way. First exposure to Flo and Joan.
The Flo and Joan Show - I went home that
night and immediately watched their Amazon Prime special. Musical comedy geniuses.
I'm Almost There - Unique, catchy, great performance.
Bill's 44th - A whole audience singing Happy Birthday to a puppet was a beautiful sight.
The Fifth Step - Enjoyed this a lot more than Ulster American at Riverside Studios. What a gorgeous set WITH A REVOLVE for such a short run. Hilarious new play by David Ireland.
The Sound Inside - Mesmerising.
Solve it Squad
Breathe - Like watching an Aardman movie be made in front of your very eyes. Stunning with beautiful folk music.
Metamorphosis the Musical - Low expectations but this was so much fun. Very different to Vanishing Point's Metamorphosis I've seen previously but both really worked for me.
The Interval - Free Fab ice lolly. Should've had a much larger audience than it did.
Showstopper - The Unincredibles. Hilarious.
Kerry Ellis + John Owen Jones - You all know who these two are.
Let's just not talk about the Paul Taylor Mills parody offerings I sat through at the Fringe this year.
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1,092 posts
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Post by andrew on Aug 25, 2024 20:10:26 GMT
I'm Almost There was certainly interesting. My partner did not enjoy it at all, I think he was expecting something a bit more of a musical. I thought it was pretty good, I loved the music, but it needed to develop a tiny bit more for me in the last 5-10 minutes. I didn't feel it really came together in as satisfying a way as I'd hoped. It's the sort of thing (along with Playfight, incidentally) that would be better served as 80-90 minutes. Well worth seeing (along with Playfight). Bill's 44th, Is The Wifi Good In Hell, One Man Musical, Olga Koch and Jordan Brookes my other highlights.
Thanks all for posting your experiences which helped guide where I went in my limited time (12 shows over 2 days!).
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Post by kz on Aug 25, 2024 21:20:25 GMT
I had a couple of days at the Fringe that I didn't write about (everything I saw was fine, but nothing I'd massively recommend). I managed to end on a real high though. Today I saw: The Emu War-witty and brilliantly performed. I'm Almost There- very talented performer (and two supporting musicians), excellent delivery with some brilliant moments and strong songs- I agree with andrew that a slightly more developed ending would make it even better. How I learned to swim- very strong one woman show/monologue Half Man/Half Bull (parts one and two)- what a way to end the Fringe! This was so special and would highly recommend if anyone is around for their final shows tomorrow. Amazing songs, devastating and uplifting at once, and extremely high levels of talent, both in terms of writing and performing. Thank you to those of you who recommended this. I booked purely based on recommendations on here and it was right up there with my favourite shows of the Fringe. I haven't seen quite as many shows this year as I usually would but everything I've seen has been of a reasonably good standard, with no absolute duds (although those are often the best stories!). I haven't felt as much of a buzz around the Fringe this year but that's maybe been partly due to the awful weather here on most days I've been out! I know some of you are right on it with audience stats which I'm very much looking forward to. |
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1,828 posts
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Post by stevej678 on Aug 26, 2024 14:19:06 GMT
2.6 million tickets sold this year, making it the fourth biggest Fringe on record. That figure has been announced as part of an open letter from the Fringe Society's Chief Executive who warns against those numbers giving "the outward veneer of success". The full statement is on edfringe.com. |
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Post by petrichor on Nov 3, 2024 12:36:22 GMT
Saw 'One Man Musical' in it's run at the Soho Theatre having seen it first up at the Fringe this summer - brilliant, as it was in Edinburgh. There are still tickets available I believe for this week, so if you like musical theatre, and you like laughing, go and see this. They've inserted a new song for the run (George Fouracres on rollerskates - hysterial). The on-stage seats seemed to suffer massively with the sound mixing which was a shame, but it was great to see the show again and it was on top form (if you look aside from the 10 minute show stop when he sweated so much he broke the microphone - which he dealt with incredibly well and in an incredibly funny way. Such a superstar!).
See it, if you can!
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2,509 posts
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Post by zahidf on Nov 4, 2024 20:33:36 GMT
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