Edinburgh Festival 2012

I’ve just returned from a four-day trip to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Fifteen shows, over twenty-five hours of performance. A real mix of the very good, the very bad and the ugly.

My top three shows

1. Thin Ice @ Pleasance Courtyard (Shams)

2. Machines for Living @ Zoo (Let Slip)

3. Comedian Dies in the Middle of Joke @ Pleasance (Ross Sutherland / Show + Tell)

Biggest disappointment

2008: Macbeth @ Edinburgh International Festival (TR Warszawa)

Tweets

I was tweeting throughout @thisisyogic and you can follow my trip below.

  1. thisisyogic
    Speeding along the beautiful North Sea coastline in evening sun towards Edinburgh… Hanging a big DO NOT DISTURB sign on metaphorical door.

    Tom Chivers

    Thu, Aug 09 2012 11:02:18
  2. Day 1
  3. thisisyogic
    My first show of #edfringe was the charming Perle by @dancingbrick – medieval dream vision rebooted w/ video animation & mime @AssemblyFest

    Tom Chivers

    Fri, Aug 10 2012 08:43:32
  4. thisisyogic
    Followed by Machines for Living @ZOOvenues – clever, funny & utterly captivating four-hander about brutalist architecture #edfringe

    Tom Chivers

    Fri, Aug 10 2012 08:45:27
  5. thisisyogic
    .. featuring a wonderfully lascivious Le Corbusier. @let_slip look like a company to follow. They shd get @BarbicanCentre 2 book their show!

    Tom Chivers

    Fri, Aug 10 2012 08:49:17
  6. thisisyogic
    Today: brunch / play / odd jobs / play / nap / book launch / pub / Japanese food / bed. Nice day. #edfringe

    Tom Chivers

    Fri, Aug 10 2012 16:01:54
  7. Day 2
  8. thisisyogic
    Show 3. Production of The Trial of Judas Iscariot by large cast of teenagers. Patchy (unsurprising). Next: Flaneurs at Summerhall #edfringe

    Tom Chivers

    Sat, Aug 11 2012 06:02:05
  9. thisisyogic
    Show 4, Flaneurs @Summerhally. Mixed feelings. Endearing performer with usual array of lofi props – OHP & toy giraffe (cont..) #edfringe

    Tom Chivers

    Sat, Aug 11 2012 07:41:26
  10. thisisyogic
    .. bit psychogeography-lite. But some powerful moments & addresses important issue of violence in our cities. Ace venue (demonstration room)

    Tom Chivers

    Sat, Aug 11 2012 07:43:45
  11. thisisyogic
    I was left feeling warm towards the performer but without having gained insight or been challenged… #edfringe

    Tom Chivers

    Sat, Aug 11 2012 07:45:30
  12. thisisyogic
    Now off to Vespers at St Mary’s Cathedral for my choral fix. Not exactly a “show” but it *is* in the #edfringe programme so there!

    Tom Chivers

    Sat, Aug 11 2012 07:46:46
  13. thisisyogic
    Starting to feel a bit ill. #edfringe slump 😦

    Tom Chivers

    Sat, Aug 11 2012 09:30:42
  14. thisisyogic
    It’s another low evening sun in Edinburgh & we’re on a specially requisitioned bus to get to @edintfest’s outta-town production of Macbeth

    Tom Chivers

    Sat, Aug 11 2012 10:13:05
  15. thisisyogic
    I’m hoping a glass or two of red wine will cure my temporary malaise in preparation for this Polish interpretation of The Scottish Play

    Tom Chivers

    Sat, Aug 11 2012 10:14:21
  16. thisisyogic
    I’ve just spilt wine over my shoes and leg. Toes pickling in Cabernet Sauvignon. Go me.

    Tom Chivers

    Sat, Aug 11 2012 11:30:21
  17. thisisyogic
    Basically there were loud bangs, explosions, guns, nifty projection, lots of shouting & even more blood. But still SO dull #edintfest

    Tom Chivers

    Sat, Aug 11 2012 13:33:06
  18. thisisyogic
    A shame so much money, talent & tech skill thrown at these huge productions. I cdve seen 3 #edfringe shows for my 30 quid ticket #edintfest

    Tom Chivers

    Sat, Aug 11 2012 13:36:52
  19. Day 3
  20. thisisyogic
    I’m looking fwd to a packed #edfringe Sunday, with no less (or, indeed, fewer) than five shows planned. Bankrupt but cultured, that’s me.

    Tom Chivers

    Sat, Aug 11 2012 17:48:26
  21. thisisyogic
    A spot of lunch before tackling Comedian Dies in Middle of Joke, @RossGSutherland’s interactive theatre show set in a time loop #edfringe

    Tom Chivers

    Sun, Aug 12 2012 05:21:18
  22. thisisyogic
    Two well-spoken ladies on bikes just went past with three kids in tow called Hamish, Caleb and Lily. Living the middle-class dream #edfringe

    Tom Chivers

    Sun, Aug 12 2012 05:28:25
  23. thisisyogic
    Scoffed a savoury crepe & downed a pint of lager to set me up for @RossGSutherland’s participatory feedback loop show. Excited! #edfringe

    Tom Chivers

    Sun, Aug 12 2012 06:12:56
  24. thisisyogic
    Comedian Dies in Middle of Joke (show 6) was brilliant, very funny and totally different to anything else you’ll see at #edfringe

    Tom Chivers

    Sun, Aug 12 2012 10:39:40
  25. thisisyogic
    Show 7 was the ingenious & accomplished After the Rainfall. Script, physicality & tech all combined to tell interesting story #edfringe

    Tom Chivers

    Sun, Aug 12 2012 12:33:22
  26. thisisyogic
    Show 8 was Sealand @zoovenues .. wonderful concept, execution was sporadically successful. Weird casting. Hope it develops… #edfringe

    Tom Chivers

    Sun, Aug 12 2012 13:07:43
  27. thisisyogic
    URGH three shows in v close succession. All good but HEADACHE TIME #edfringe

    Tom Chivers

    Sun, Aug 12 2012 09:15:47
  28. thisisyogic
    Show 9 was 1984 @zoovenues – impeccably performed interpretation of Orwell’s dystopian masterpiece. A captivating 90 mins #edfringe

    Tom Chivers

    Sun, Aug 12 2012 13:09:19
  29. thisisyogic
    Grabbing dinner before last show of the day – East End literary cabaret Homework at the Book Festival! Looking fwd to some familiar faces

    Tom Chivers

    Sun, Aug 12 2012 13:10:41
  30. Day 4
  31. thisisyogic
    Urgh. #edfringe hangover. First show today is Thin Ice.

    Tom Chivers

    Mon, Aug 13 2012 03:05:27
  32. thisisyogic
    Show 10: Thin Ice at Pleasance. Best show yet. A beautiful human drama set in Greenland in the 1930s @timewontwait #shamsthinice #edfringe

    Tom Chivers

    Mon, Aug 13 2012 05:37:05
  33. thisisyogic
    If I could recommend one #edfringe show it’s Thin Ice. I found it both intellectually stimulating & moving. Very fine script & performances.

    Tom Chivers

    Mon, Aug 13 2012 05:41:05
  34. thisisyogic
    Spirit-restoring brunch & now show number 12 : NOLA, verbatim piece about the BP oil spill.

    Tom Chivers

    Mon, Aug 13 2012 08:39:22
  35. thisisyogic
    NOLA tells important & tragic story of the BP oil spill off coast of Louisiana thru personal testaments of oil workers, shrimpers &c.

    Tom Chivers

    Mon, Aug 13 2012 09:16:37
  36. thisisyogic
    NOLA thought-provoking and impeccably performed. Show 13 coming up @summerhally after a coffee break.

    Tom Chivers

    Mon, Aug 13 2012 09:18:00
  37. thisisyogic
    About to commence show no 12 or 13 (lost count). Small Narration @summerhally .. unpromising start. It’s late due to tech probs

    Tom Chivers

    Mon, Aug 13 2012 11:20:45
  38. thisisyogic
    Penultimate #edfringe show: Polish artist Wojtek Ziemilski’s monologue Small Narration, autobiography w/ bit of philosophy. Utterly tedious.

    Tom Chivers

    Mon, Aug 13 2012 12:21:35
  39. thisisyogic
    Definitely the worst thing I’ve seen. Maintains Summerhall’s reputation for programming a wild mix of the exciting & the awful! #edfringe

    Tom Chivers

    Mon, Aug 13 2012 12:23:20
  40. thisisyogic
    I should add that’s really just my opinion. I have no idea what Summerhall’s reputation is. As ever, the performance space itself was great.

    Tom Chivers

    Mon, Aug 13 2012 12:24:33
  41. thisisyogic
    Oh dear. We’ve walked out of our last #edfringe show. Into the Woods. Schoolchildren jumping around in tree costumes to Enya. V Pans People.

    Tom Chivers

    Mon, Aug 13 2012 15:14:11
  42. thisisyogic
    But hurrah! we’ve managed to slip into The Horne Section for a jazz comedy finale! #edfringe

    Tom Chivers

    Mon, Aug 13 2012 15:14:50
  43. thisisyogic
    THANK YOU @alexhorne & band for a brilliant, funny, warmhearted end to our 5 days of #edfringe You shd all see The Horne Section right away!

    Tom Chivers

    Mon, Aug 13 2012 17:47:57
  44. & home
  45. thisisyogic
    Lovely to catch up w/ friends @juliaatthehub @matthewlinley @rachelonthehill @crystalbennes @exeuntmag @RossGSutherland @joedunthorne

    Tom Chivers

    Tue, Aug 14 2012 03:00:48
  46. thisisyogic
    Wow, so the atrocious #edintfest Macbeth we saw cost almost half a million quid to produce. Jeez… http://gu.com/p/39kdv

    Tom Chivers

    Tue, Aug 14 2012 04:50:05
  47. thisisyogic
    Currently passing thru Newcastle on way back to London. Had a very nice #edfringe. As ever, a mix of work (good, bad, indifferent).

    Tom Chivers

    Tue, Aug 14 2012 02:58:03

Published by Tom Chivers

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