Because the Fringe website no
longer allows search results to be downloaded as csv files, I wrote a C++
program, main.cpp
that parses the html files results for all of the Theatre category, and stores
the information in a .csv (comma separated file), named theater2025.csv
(note the American spelling). I hadn’t
written C++ code for five years, and main.cpp shows that by being ugly, and
without comments, but I only had a few hours to write it, and it works! I also converted theater.csv to an Excel
file, theater2025.xslx
that has a few extra columns that provide useful information for scheduling
purposes. The coding for the days of
each show is: 0=No show, 1= Sold out, 2= Available, 3= 2-for-1, 4= Preview, 5=
Free Fringe. Please note that all of
these files were created before the Fringe started, and won’t be updated during
the Fringe.
You can change the sorting column
of the table below by first clicking anywhere in its header. Each succeeding click in the header sorts the
table by the column clicked. Succeeding
clicks of a column will reverse the previous sort order. Sorting by the Date column on the right
allows returning viewers to see my most recent reviews.
|
Rank
|
Review
|
Venue
|
Begins
|
Ends
|
Date
|
|
1.
|
The
Nature of Forgetting (*****)
On
his 55th birthday, we see what is going on inside the mind of a
fellow with dementia. The rapid,
precise, complex choreography of the four cancers created an amazing live
dreamscape. The first scene with him
unable to find the proper black suit with a red tie in its pocket because
search missed the red tie was a perfect introduction for the rest of the
play.
|
Grand
at Pleasance Courtyard
|
13:15
|
14:30
|
18
|
|
2.
|
Ordinary
Decent Criminal (*****)
Mark
Thomas plays all of the parts in a story of a former political protester who
finds himself in a model prison for importing marijuana, and must navigate
its powerful men. Whether playing a
Belfast IRA convict, or the little kingpin of the prison, he imbues each with
unique characteristics that obviates the need for him to use costume changes
to indicate which character he is inhabiting. Many of his characters have a vitality that makes
their interactions tense and riveting for us.
|
TechCube 0 at Summerhall
|
11:50
|
13:00
|
1
|
|
3.
|
Red
Like Fruit (*****)
A
journalist/playwright sits mostly silently in a chair while a man reads aloud
her script about her sexual encounters. The range and ambiguity of her encounters
creates the shades of gray of her reality that are vexing for the journalist
who needs some right or wrong answers. The use of a male reader makes it easier for
the script to remain more dispassionate than if a woman added her voice to
it.
|
Traverse
2 at Traverse Theatre
|
18:30
|
19:45
|
-31
|
|
4.
|
RIFT
(*****)
Four
years after his brother’s sentencing, a grad student of English finally
visits the murderer in prison. I was
rivetted throughout the play as it explored prison life, racism, sexual
abuse, and family dynamics. As the
play proceeds, the turbulence of their relationship facilitates a range of
perspectives of the issues.
|
Traverse
2 at Traverse Theatre
|
11:00
|
12:20
|
-31
|
|
5.
|
Casablanca: The Gin Joint
Cut (*****)
This homage is a remarkable
mix of reverent recital and play-within-a-play antics. I’ve seen Casablanca countless times, and I
was amazed how the cast of three would play every touching scene straight,
but then add every sort of high jinx to the other
scenes. I should warn the uninitiated
that many of their funny touches, such as air freshener sprayed all over the
set to simulate fog in the airport scene, will make little sense to you. Note: I saw this play in 2011 with the same
Bogart actor, and thought it the best play that year, and feel uneasy about
not rating this #2 this year.
|
Auditorium
at Ghillie Dhu
|
19:45
|
21:15
|
2
|
|
6.
|
1984
(*****)
A
cast of three, using life-size puppets at times, produce a thorough recreation
of Orwell’s dystopian book. Winston
Smith, Julia, and various supporting characters are here to suffer the
history twisting ever watched world from love to torture. I was truly amazed how they crammed all of
the atmosphere and events into 70 minutes without it feeling rushed.
|
Above
at Pleasance Courtyard
|
11:25
|
12:35
|
22
|
|
7.
|
Personal
Statement (*****)
A
huge cast of high schools students attend training
program where each offers at least two different college personal statements
before the instructor accepts the last one. Both the script and the actors were
exceptional with only a few weak voices and offkey statements. This brought tears to my eyes on several occasions,
and is the best high school production I have ever seen.
|
Auditorium
at Central Hall
|
18:00
|
19:10
|
6
|
|
8.
|
The
Big Bite-Size Breakfast Show (Menu 2) (*****)
This
great set of five sketches were about: a man’s plan to propose on a Ferris
wheel; as a volunteer, an actor offers to apply his craft to a food bank
line; a mundane package delivery initiates mayhem; the last wishes of their
close friend reveal the latent differences among three longtime girlfriends;
and a climate changing denying American TV news duo contends with an English
weatherman who is a scientist. Each of
the five evolves in a funny but reasonable fashion. There were all humorous through and through.
|
Pleasance
One at Pleasance Courtyard
|
10:30
|
11:40
|
3
|
|
9.
|
Locusts (*****)
A gay man must
deal with a his former pastor who had tried to
convert his sexuality. This
four-hander delicately deals with this topic in a way that allows each
character a chance to express their motivation and emotional states without
being preachy. The Christian protagonist does a great job of being
tender, and conflicted.
|
Studio
at theSpaceTriplex
|
16:05
|
16:55
|
5
|
|
10.
|
Do
You Accept These Charges? (*****)
A
woman describes her real relationship with a convict while he is in and out of
prison. Her acting skills combined with
a screen showing photos from her life and copies of their texts creates a
powerful show. Whether trying to sneak
marijuana into prison, or having phone sex, her recreations are sincere and
heartbreaking.
|
Below
at Pleasance Courtyard
|
15:10
|
16:10
|
14
|
|
11.
|
World's
Greatest Lover -- The New Musical (*****)
Five
famous lovers from history set about saving love by learning from their
mistakes. The lyrics are good, the
music and singing great, and the choreography top notch from this
professional company. Normally I don’t
like audience participation, but when they chose a woman to come on stage and
be serenaded by them it suited the romantic theme of the show.
|
Pleasance
One at Pleasance Courtyard
|
18:00
|
19:00
|
21
|
|
12.
|
Bill
Bailey: Thoughtifier (*****)
Bailey
covers a lot of ground in the two hour show by
combining stand-up with playing an amazing range of musical instruments. The topics of his stand-up routines ranged
from pallbearer in Indonesia to nuclear science. He was accompanied by drums, bass, and violin
as e played instruments ranging from Turkish lute
to piano to musical rubber bouncing balls to laser beams to the audience itself.
|
Edinburgh
Playhouse - Auditorium
|
20:00
|
22:00
|
23
|
|
13.
|
We'll Get Back to You (*****)
When a free spirited woman attends a job interview, it takes an
odd turn. Her approach to life has a
different, but positive impact on each person she meets. Every scene is heartwarming, well written,and well
acted with only a meeting with a salesman missing a connection in her
reasoning.
|
Sanctuary at Paradise in
Augustines
|
11:40
|
13:10
|
9
|
|
14.
|
Flush
(*****)
We
watch five women play 14 roles as they recreate the events in a bathroom of a
night club where a hen party, office party, and three high school girls are drinking.
With three different groups interacting
there was plenty of room for interesting conversations. While all of the intra-group conversations worked,
it was the high school girls dealing with their elders that provided an
opportunity for unique topics.
|
Upstairs
at Pleasance Courtyard
|
12:15
|
FLUSH
|
14
|
|
15.
|
Mark
Thomas: WD40 (*****)
Thomas
combines quips with tales of his rough grandmother, and tirades against the government
and right wing politicians. I suppose I think he is great because I agree
with his politics and love his passion. His over-the-top zeal carries us over some
of his more unrealistic suggestions with its hilarity.
|
Stand
1 at The Stand Comedy Club
|
22:15
|
23:15
|
16
|
|
16.
|
Mariupol
(*****)
An Ukrainian merchant seaman and a Muscovite college student meet
at a wedding in Mariupol, Ukraine in 1992, and have their lives cross until
2022. There is not a false note
anywhere as their relationship changes with each meeting, though some of the
scene changes were a bit long. The
plotting that has them meeting during wartime is a natural confluence from
the previous events.
|
Beneath
at Pleasance Courtyard
|
13:00
|
14:00
|
20
|
|
17.
|
Out of the Blue
(*****)
I traditionally
see Out of the Blue on the last day of the Fringe because they never
disappoint me with their great singing and exuberant choreography. This version fulfilled my
expectations. This year they
again had some newer songs that I hadn’t heard before, but they were still
fun, and seemed well justified by the age of the performers.
|
Gordon
Aikman Theatre at Assembly George Square
|
12:10
|
13:10
|
25
|
|
18.
|
Bairns (*****)
We
hear of the pregnancy of a young woman who has reluctantly agreed to be a
surrogate for sister. She describes
her indecision and the whole process from the implant to birth with honesty
and humor. Her ambivalence adds the
sincere emotional elements that trans forms this from stand-up comedy to a
thoughtful play.
|
Bunker
Three at Pleasance Courtyard
|
14:05
|
15:05
|
23
|
|
19.
|
Strangewife (*****)
A
desperate actor is hired by a woman to spend the evening with her. The complex interplay between her perfectionist
requests and his struggle to please her is engrossing. The last act works perfectly.
|
Front
Room at Assembly Rooms
|
19:45
|
20:50
|
14
|
|
20.
|
Body
Count (*****)
This
solo show has a woman become a vigilante who attacks men when she hears of
how they abused her friends. Her
righteous anger is difficult for her to control as we silently cheer her
on. As the play continues it becomes
darker, but her perfect characterizations of the offending men kept us on her
side. The final, somewhat fantastic,
part of the plot veers into an alternative world that some would wish for,
and would disgust others..
|
Coorie at Gilded Balloon Patter House
|
21:40
|
22:40
|
25
|
|
21.
|
A
Gambler's Guide to Dying (*****)
A young man
recounts his grandfather’s gambling philosophy, and how it influenced their
close friendship. He described how
to prolong a dream, and allowing a bet to energize a cancer ridden walk to
death. The tale of his Scottish
grandfather’s mob beating in a bar after betting on England revealed a
realist who was willing to accept both the winning and losing in life. Note: I saw this in 2015, and gave it 5
stars, but my poor hearing now meant that I missed much because of his brogue
and would have given it
4 stars.
|
Traverse
2 at Traverse Theatre
|
13:30
|
14:40
|
-31
|
|
22.
|
Chokeslam
(****)
A young woman tells how she came
to love pro-wrestling, then vividly describes famous bouts. She and her friends hold parties to watch
wrestling, her wedding had a wrestling theme with a ring announcer, but the
story of her divorce from the man who turned her on to wrestling shows
another side of her. I saw this last
year, and now realize what a great job of acting this is with her infectious
enthusiasm, pain of an unsatisfying marriage, and surprising confession.
|
Daisy
at Underbelly; Bristo Square
|
20:45
|
21:45
|
10
|
|
23.
|
Giselle:
Remix (****)
This
queer interpretation of the classic French ballet has lip syncing drag queen as
the protagonist with four supporting dancers. The dancing is usually fast and sensual accompanied
by loud rave music. Similar to the
ballet, one scene has the ensemble frantically dance until Giselle must drop
from exhaustion.
|
Forth
at Pleasance Courtyard
|
15:40
|
16:50
|
17
|
|
24.
|
Refuse
(****)
In
Ukraine just before the Russians invade, an affable garbage collector helps
his wife and a beautiful woman on his route. The show offers a window into normal life in
Ukraine, and then instances of how they react on the first day of the
invasion. I thought a scene where he
appreciates the offer of a shower demonstrated the purity of spirit of the
individuals involved.
|
Studio
Five at Assembly George Square Studios
|
11:05
|
11:55
|
16
|
|
25.
|
I
Wish My Life Were Like a Musical (****)
Four
singer/dancers take us from auditioning through moving up the ranks to star
in musicals. This clever show has solo
and/or group songs about some less obvious aspects such as understudies,
dealing with divas, and the physical and mental strain of dance numbers. The show had everything you could ask for:
good voices, lyrics, music, and plot.
|
Auditorium
at the Museum
|
17:45
|
18:55
|
23
|
|
26.
|
#Hysteria:
A (History of Human Sexuality with Callaghans
Questions (****)
A
Victorian woman/man expounds on the approaches that various civilizations have
taken to sex with particular attention to Victorian values regarding women’s
sexuality. The energetic performer/writer
combines props and frequent screenshots of historic documents to create a
vibrant, satirical lecture that alternates between myths of the past and real
facts. The show is delightful with
just the right amount of audience participation.
|
Ruby
at Gilded Balloon at Appleton Tower
|
13:40
|
14:40
|
-30
|
|
27.
|
Down
to Chance (****)
Based
on a true story, a radio journalist steps in, and assumes an important part
in aftermath of the 9.2 earthquake in Anchorage, Alaska. The breadth of the scenes is heartwarming as
we see how many groups steeped up in the crisis. Her argument for withholding some
information has us on appropriately on edge.
|
Beside
at Pleasance Courtyard
|
14:10
|
15:10
|
24
|
|
28.
|
Out
of My Head -- Alan Watts is Alive and Well... Dead (****)
An
actor bounces between being himself, and portraying the 1970s Zen guru talking
about life and philosophy. We even had
a chance to put questions to “Watts”. As
someone who listened to Watts each Sunday in my late teens, I found his
answers to our questions remarkably in tune with that of Watts himself.
|
Upstairs
at Pleasance Courtyard
|
15:00
|
16:00
|
25
|
|
29.
|
Same
(****)
Two
young best friends, one with a single mother, and the other with a golden boy
for a brother, don’t share their troubles with each other. The story deftly shows how two such men
would end up hiding the depth of their issues whether due to timing or shame.
The plot smartly provides clues to the
other’s problem that troubled person denies in some way.
|
Olive
Studio at Greenside @ George Street
|
19:40
|
20:25
|
16
|
|
30.
|
One
Man Poe: The Tell-Tale Heart and The Pit and the Pendulum (****)
The
actor conveys all the macabre atmosphere of both stories as he portrays their
protagonists telling their tales. Whether bragging murderer or terrified prisoner,
Poe has us tense throughout each story as we relive their dark lives. With nary a prop, the actor transports us
with his nuanced storytelling.
|
Willow
Studio at Greenside @ Riddles Court
|
18:35
|
19:35
|
22
|
|
31.
|
The
Lolita Apologies (****)
An
actress notes that adaptations of Nabokov’s “Lolita” ignore that Humbert Humbert is an unreliable narrator, and treat Lolita (nee
Dolores) as a seducer rather than the victim of child sexual abuse. As the actress seeks apologies from an actor who
is portraying men who were involved with the adaptations his responses are
varied and spot on. I was particularly
pleased with the accuracy of the portrayal of the feisty New Yorker Stanley
Kubrick who, like Trump, would never give an inch.
|
Muse
at Braw Venues @ Hill Street
|
18:15
|
19:10
|
14
|
|
32.
|
Trouble;
Struggle; Bubble and Squeak (****)
An
activist/writer tells of the true story of how she joined a Civil War battle re-enactment
group, and then tried to help a town re-claim a plot of land for allotment
gardens. The interplay between her two
roles makes for an entertaining and uplifting story. Her description of the embattled amateur soldiers
facing a defiant crowd is priceless.
|
Above
at Pleasance Courtyard
|
14:15
|
15:15
|
16
|
|
33.
|
Matt
Forde: Defying Calamity (****)
The
comedian/political commentators lampoons various
current political leaders and parties with wit and great impressions. While I didn’t know all the British
political leaders at the beginning, by the end I felt I had a pretty good
understanding of Keir Starmer and why he deserves
Forde’s ridicule. I certainly laughed whenever Forde
addressed Trump’s antics, but I was most impressed by how Forde was able to
find so much humor in his own erectile dysfunction and cancer.
|
Beyond
at Pleasance Courtyard
|
20:00
|
21:00
|
21
|
|
34.
|
Smile:
The Story of Charlie Chaplin (****)
A
mime recreates Charlie Chaplin in parts of the1925 film “The Gold Rush”, and
then enlists audience members in portraying Chaplin’s life in silence. He has Chaplin’s physicality down pat, and
covers all of the big events of Chaplin’s life. My pet peeve is that using audience members
takes time away from the story and is easily avoidable in this instance in
all but the case of a Keystone Kop chase and battering.
|
Below
at Pleasance Courtyard
|
11:10
|
12:10
|
21
|
|
35.
|
Dial
1 for UK (****)
An
illegal Indian immigrant finds that life in the UK is not what he dreamed, partly
because gangsters asked exorbitant fees for illegal student visas and
then took away his passport so the could abuse him.
The actor/playwright makes good use of
the 8’ x 8’ stage to provide a compelling story using photographs and his
trusty I-phone, Selena. The plot
twists nicely as the happy go lucky former customer service operator becomes desperate
and uses his skills from India to get by.
|
Pickle
Studio at Greenside @ Riddles Court
|
11:30
|
12:20
|
2
|
|
36.
|
The
Big Bite-Size Breakfast Show (Menu 1) (****)
These
premises of these five sketches are: a status concious
couple are burglarized; two nearby people having different phones
conversations sound like they could be conversing with each other; at the FA CUP
at Wembly, a head coach suddenly has doubts; when a
woman is summoned to A&E she discovers that she
is still the emergency contact for her former lover; after a murder, the
leader of an improv troupe is grilled by two cops. We enjoyed all but the twin phone call
sketch because we couldn’t hear the woman. The denouement of the burglary is
particularly clever and funny.
|
Pleasance
One at Pleasance Courtyard (Menu 1)
|
10:30
|
11:40
|
5
|
|
37.
|
One
Man Poe: The Black Cat and The Raven (****)
Without
histrionics that others might read Poe, the actor delivers the two stories
with all the underlying terror they can engender. The slower, subdued cadence of this performance
adds the appropriate dread to the whole show. When he tackles the second story, his makeup
adds subtle, dark, references from “The Black Cat”.
|
Willow
Studio at Greenside @ Riddles Court
|
18:35
|
19:30
|
9
|
|
38.
|
King
Lear (****)
Pip
Utton edits the lines from all characters of King
Lear, and added a few Shakespearean lines of his own so that his King Lear
could perform the play alone. His work
as a playwright is true to the spirit and text of the play while making it
more accessible. His work as an actor
gives us a Lear who is, in turns, naďve, aggrieved, crazy, and grief stricken
in this wonderful interpretation.
|
Baby
Grand at Pleasance Courtyard
|
12:30
|
13:30
|
23
|
|
39.
|
The
Essence of Audrey (****)
An
actress portrays Audrey speaking with her delicate, precise diction of the
events of her whole life. Despite the
small stage, she frequently moved to provide a sense of smooth flow the suits
the former aspiring ballerina’s life. Nonetheless, we learned that the physical
and emotional trauma in the Netherlands during the Nazi occupation as well as
her strict mother imbued her with a physical and emotional fragility that was
evident in many of her roles.
|
Cellar
at Pleasance Courtyard
|
11:15
|
12:15
|
23
|
|
40.
|
Wodehouse
in Wonderland (****)
Set
in his 1950s Long Island house, P.G Wodehouse tells of answering the
questions of his biographer. We learn
of his friends, family, and Jeeves while he occasionally provides snippets of
some of the memorable Broadway songs for which he wrote the lyrics. He spent a lot of time defending his four notorious
appearances on Nazi radio in the USA and UK while he was imprisoned in
France.
|
Studio
Three at Assembly George Square Studios
|
18:10
|
19:20
|
-30
|
|
41.
|
Hold
the Line (****)
We watch a day of calls for a fellow who mans the NHS non-emergency phone line.
The range of calls was well selected
to reflect the pressure and occasional impotence for situations that range
from minor to deadly serious. The key
call that overarches the whole show works well to highlight the difficult
position such workers are in.
|
Bunker
Two at Pleasance Courtyard
|
16:25
|
17:25
|
24
|
|
42.
|
3
Chickens Confront Existence (****)
This
bit of existential fluff has three actors in chicken suits in three cages in
a broiler house who spend their days chatting while watching other chickens being
taken away to their deaths. The script
does a good job of mining their predicament for many different topics, including
trying to predict when their row will be called, and writing a creation story
for chickens. A wonderful sequence
occurs when a blue feather floats down and lands on the comb of one of the
chickens who immediately assumes that it is a sign that he should be the
leader of the chickens, and proceeds with all that entails, including
sycophants and spies.
|
Belly
Button at Underbelly; Cowgate
|
17:20
|
18:20
|
1
|
|
43.
|
Bury
The Hatchet (****)
A
guitarist, fiddler, and singer provide all the facts and rumors surrounding
the murder of Lizzie Borden’s parents in 1892. Between scenes, they combined to sing songs
of that era. In the end, virtually all
of the evidence, and theories point at her guilt.
|
Queen
Dome at Pleasance Dome
|
15:50
|
17:00
|
13
|
|
44.
|
Ego
Show (****)
A
talented singer presents a show about how our egos affect our lives with
emphasis on his ego. His approach that
alternates between an egotistic self, and a more grounded self allows him to
really display his talent at song writing and performing. As a fellow with a degree in psychology, I
found that I missed at least a mention of actual Freudian purpose of the ego
to mediate between the id and superego.
|
Thistle
Theatre at Greendside @ Riddle Court
|
16:10
|
17:00
|
9
|
|
45.
|
She's
Behind You (****)
A
famous Scottish Pantomine Dame named Dot Trot tells
of how his role has evolved over time to modernize and improve pantomime. The audience really got into the pantomime spirit
with its call and responses, and had great time. Unhappily, with my poor hearing and lack of
context much of the fun was lost on me, but the finale brought tears to my
eyes.
|
Traverse
1 at Traverse Theatre
|
19:00
|
20:15
|
1
|
|
46.
|
Miles
(****)
This
two-hander has Miles Davis talking about his in general, and the making of the
1959 ground breaking “Kind of Blue” jazz album owhile
also critiquing the playing of a livetalented
trumpeter. The play covers the
significant events of Davis’ life as well give us some insight into his
thought process when recording that album in just two days with some of the
greatest jazz musicians of his day as side men. The accomplished trumpeter, Jay Phelps, is
indispensable as he provides snippets from Davis’ development as as the album.
|
TechCube 0 at Summerhall
|
18:00
|
19:00
|
5
|
|
47.
|
Pretty,
Witty Nell (***)
Speaking
in iambic pentameter, an actress portrays Nell Gwyn, Charles II long time mistress,
as scribes her life from orange girl on the floor of the Theatre Royal to
mother of a duke and a lord. She does
a remarkable job of covering the ups and downs of the whole of the witty
woman’s life. I found the competition
among the king’s mistresses, and the king’s concern for her welfare a
revelation.
|
Bedlam
Theatre
|
18:30
|
19:25
|
13
|
|
48.
|
The
Birthday Party: A Theatrical Catastrophe (****)
A
veteran actor, and fine storyteller, relates his experiences while participating
in producing Harold Pinter’s “The Birthday Party”. This engaging piece gave me a much better
understanding of the steps of preparation of a play, and just how they can go
terribly wrong. He describes the
clashes between the director William Friedkin and
the villainous actor Steven Berkoff with wonderful detail.
|
Theatre
1 at theSpace @ Surgeons' Hall
|
11:40
|
12:25
|
6
|
|
49.
|
Fuselage
(****)
With
the help of two other actors, a woman who was a college drama student tells
of the college lives of her friends, particularly her best friend, who were
on the Pan Am 103 flight that exploded over Lockerbie. Though part of the story is about the impact
of the bombing on the performer, most is bringing to our attention the lives of
those college friends. The recurring
snippets of news broadcasts of pertinent events from the previous decade
really added to the production.
|
Above
at Pleasance Courtyard
|
15:45
|
16:55
|
12
|
|
50.
|
Nowhere--Here
& Now Showcase (****)
Using
an extensive multimedia presentation, a man of Egyptian descent tells of his
family, the Arab Spring particularly in Egypt, and the Gaza war. I found his story touching, and most of the
presentation top notch. The show
seemed too long, with too much time wasted watching him dance.
|
Traverse
1 at Traverse Theatre
|
10:00
|
11:30
|
12
|
|
51.
|
Three
Can Keep a Secret (****)
A
mob money man invites two gangsters to a poker game who have other ideas. This show has the audience vote on how the story
should proceed at various very critical points, and then obey their decision.
It is obvious that the cast is well
prepared for the various possible choices, and the whole show proceeds with
an interesting well told story.
|
Space
3 at theSpace on the Mile
|
22:30
|
23:30
|
6
|
|
52.
|
K
Mak at the Planetarium (***)
A
band composed of drums, keyboard, cello, and violin play atmospheric songs while
complex computer videos play on a huge wall behind them. The videos varied from kaleidoscopic to
microscopic to time lapsed flowers. This is one of the few shows that worked
well in the circular Demonstration Room at Summerhall with its strong
reverberations.
|
Demonstration
Room at Summerhall
|
19:00
|
20:00
|
20
|
|
53.
|
Managed
Approach (****)
After
Leed’s created a Red Light
district in its Holbeck district, a mother who lives there becomes very
protective of her daughter and neighborhood. Instead of a common expose of the lives of
prostitutes, this is a story that digs into a homelife with no direct
connection to prostitution. The
mother-daughter see saw relationship works well, except that the young mother
actress belied her role by wearing the jewelry of twentysomething girl.
|
Coorie at Gilded Balloon Patter House
|
13:40
|
14:40
|
9
|
|
54.
|
Amazons
(***)
An
indigenous Amazon woman just days ahead of receiving her British citizenship talks
about famous indigenous women from the time of the arrival of the European
colonizers, and tries tracing her female lineage back a few generations using
tales, miniature models, maps, and photos.
I was impressed that the natives were so fierce that the colonizers
had to resort to importing African slaves to work their farms. Categorizing from a chart the different types
of curly hair she, her mother, and grandmother have served to highlight the
historical mix of bloods that now is common in the Amazon.
|
Former
Gents Locker Room at Summerhall
|
19:50
|
21:00
|
25
|
|
55.
|
Mrs Roosevelt Flies to London (***)
A
senior actress plays Eleanor Roosevelt, wife of President Franklin Roosevelt,
describing her trip around England in 1942 intermixed with other events of her
long life. Her whole life is
interesting, but it loses much of its power by dashing back and forth
chronologically. I was surprised to
learn that she headed the United Nations commission that wrote the Universal Declaration of Human Rights despite
the many objections of the Soviets.
|
Drawing
Room at Assembly Rooms
|
11:00
|
12:15
|
17
|
|
56.
|
Once
Upon a Bridge (***)
Based
on a true story, three characters involved in a jogger pushing a pregnant woman
out of his way tell of their lives before and after the incident. The individual lives cross for only a moment,
and so the tales are separate and more about their lives than the incident. I was surprised that the incident made front
page news, and that the final, coincidental plot twist has no basis in
reality.
|
Stephenson
Theatre at theSpace @ Surgeons' Hall
|
14:00
|
14:50
|
22
|
|
57.
|
Consumed
(***)
When
the four generations of women come together for the great grandmother’s 90th
birthday their grievances come to the fore. While there are surprises galore, and each criticism
has merit, the lack of true love and understanding makes it unpalatable. The final revelation just seems too unreal.
|
Traverse
1 at Traverse Theatre
|
13:15
|
14:35
|
19
|
|
58.
|
Motorhome
Marilyn (***)
An
aging Marilyn Monroe street imitator in Las Vegas
auditions for a new show composed of past celebrities lives. As events from her past come back to haunt
her ties to Marilyn take a back seat. She
is a good performer who warmed to the role as the show continued, but, based
on other reviews, I had expected more.
|
Doonstairs at Gilded Balloon Patter House
|
17:30
|
18:30
|
25
|
|
59.
|
Kirsty
Mann -- Corpse (WIP) (***)
This
solo show had a married couple finally getting to buy a Victorian house she loved,
and find that there are many disquieting reminders of the old woman who had
lived there for many years. Between
the old woman sister’s grizzly revelations and the flickering lights there
were plenty of hints of ghosts in this well told tale. The doctor’s graphic description of the
5-minute time-of-death routine that she had often carried out provided an
extra connection to death that pervaded the whole show.
|
eFormer Gents Locker Room at Summerhall
|
11:40
|
12:40
|
7
|
|
60.
|
An
American Love Letter to Edinburgh (***)
An
American ex-pat combines a story of his own exploration of the UK with that
of Benjamin Franklin’s. His tale works
well as we hear of highlights from both the past and the present. When he lists the men that Franklin met when
he came to Edinburgh, and their accomplishments, it easy to see why Edinburgh
had earned the title of Athens of the North.
|
Netherbow Theatre at Scottish Storytelling Centre
|
17:00
|
18:00
|
18
|
|
61.
|
F.U.D.S
(***)
Three
twenty something mates share camaraderie, marijuana, and dissatisfaction with
their place in the world. Despite not
being able to understand some of their brogue, I found that I understood
enough to enjoy the eff and flow of their tale. Originally I was
upset at the yelling of one actor, but, in hindsight, I realize that his volatile
character would shout his convictions.
|
Nip at Gilded Balloon Patter
House
|
15:40
|
16:40
|
11
|
|
62.
|
Operation
Blank (***)
When
a nuclear bomb destroys Copenhagen, an advisor to the UK prime minister joins
a video meeting of the top officials of the country. From the minute we see the young PM propped up
on pillows while laying in bed on the call, we
expect this to be a wild satire on how a modern government may deal with such
an emergency—with evasion and procrastination. For some reason, I just bought into the
concept, and joined with the frustrated advisor as he repeatedly rejected the
ineffective solutions offered by the cabinet.
|
leming Theatre at theSpace @ Surgeons' Hall
|
18:15
|
19:00
|
7
|
|
63.
|
The
Beautiful Future Is Coming (***)
Three
couples from past, present, and future deal with climate change. By intermixing their tales, each story loses
much of its impact. Many times we couldn’t hear the wife of the present which made
her story even weaker.
|
Traverse
1 at Traverse Theatre
|
10:00
|
The Beautiful Future Is
Coming
|
Traverse 1 at Traverse
Theatre
|
|
64.
|
Thanks
for Being Here (***)
This
unusual show relies on videos of the audience with actors mixed in them to
completely demolish the fourth wall. The constantly panning cameras never focus
on anyone in particularly so no one seemed embarrassed. It is a unique, albeit a little over long,
experience that is well worth visiting.
|
Main
House at ZOO Southside
|
13:45
|
15:00
|
17
|
|
65.
|
Adrienne:
An American in Paris (***)
Set
in the 1920s, a self-described bibliophile from New Jersey finds herself in Paris
among the literati of the time. While
she ends up living with a man, it is books that are always the focus with sex
and love never even mentioned. This
lack of passion outside of books puts a limit on the thrill of her experience
and the play.
|
Pickle
Studio at Greenside @ Riddles Court
|
16:00
|
17:00
|
16
|
|
66.
|
Dracula's
Guest (***)
A
lawyer is sent by his company to stay with Dracula for two months. The new story maintains its tension
throughout, including it ending. The
lawyer is perfect, and Dracula is appropriately large and scary, but he
doesn’t speak loud enough.
|
CC
Bloom's (Free Fringe)
|
20:00
|
21:00
|
11
|
|
67.
|
Air
Heart (***)
This
show has Amelia Earhart talk about her whole life from breaking her younger sister’s
front teeth on backyard roller coaster that Amelia had built, to her platonic
marriage to her beloved manager. Throughout the tale she keeps coming back to
her love of flight. I am not sure how they
know the verbatim contents of the letters she had with her on her doomed solo
Pacific flight.
|
studio
at C ARTS | C venues | C alto
|
17:30
|
18:45
|
10
|
|
68.
|
Tadiwa Mahlunge: Hakuna Ma Tad Tad (***)
Mahlunge starts off by describing how his family fled their
mansion and servants in Zimbabwe for council housing in Cardiff after death
threats from Robert Mugabe, and then relates tales mostly of his family life,
with a few notes about racism in the UK.
While he has had many funny experiences, his presentation needed
work. His ethnic joke about his
assimilated sister’s choice of New Balance shoes fell flat, and he failed to
thoroughly mine the humor of trying to fake that he has a baby to quiet his
downstairs neighbor.
|
The
Tron at Monkey Barrel Comedy (The Tron)
|
16:25
|
17:25
|
-29
|
|
69.
|
Liberace
-- In His Own Words (***)
A
fine pianist emulates Librace’s style both in
flamboyantly playing the piano, and then congenially speaking of Liberace’s
life. His blending of songs from
classical to pop matched that of the entertainer. As a former pianist, I sat in the front row
left so I could watch his fingers fly over the keys.
|
Ballroom
at PBH's Free Fringe @ Voodoo Rooms
|
12:05
|
12:50
|
15
|
|
70.
|
Chunky
Jewellery (***)
Two
middle aged women provide an hour of song and dance of pop tunes. One had a great voice, and the other had a
good voice and was surprisingly good at dancing. The dance where she slowly throws pieces of
chunky jewellery off was a great symbol for finally
dealing with her grief.
|
Music
Hall at Assembly Rooms
|
13:30
|
14:45
|
15
|
|
71.
|
Almost
Everything (***)
A
fellow gets a new, attractive housemate. There is a certain predictability to the
story, but his bond with a later character seems poorly justified. The final act seemed straight out of a soap
opera.
|
Alba
Theatre at Braw Venues @ Hill Street
|
17:55
|
18:55
|
16
|
|
72.
|
In
the Land of Eagles (***)
A English woman tells of joining with her father in a return to
the village in Albania of his birth. Despite her being a good storyteller, and my
companions enjoyment, I found that my attention
wandered for some reason. Nonetheless,
her description of their final destination made want to visit Albania.
|
Baby
Grand at Pleasance Courtyard
|
15:00
|
16:10
|
18
|
|
73.
|
Brits
Abroad: Banned (***)
A
guitarist accompanies three actors who populate sketches veering from Cockney
rhythm slang to British airline tourists modifying hell to dancing to disco
tunes. As you can imagine, this Yank
did not get many of the British references nor the songs, but my English wife
loved it, and helped decide its rating. The guitarist did a great job of providing
the wide range of music asked of him.
|
Baby
Grand at Pleasance Courtyard
|
12:20
|
13:15
|
12
|
|
74.
|
Death
on the Clyde (***)
This
tale of murder in a remote Scottish hamlet at a time when Christianity still battled
river spirits has a wonderful mixture of dance, song, and criminology. Though the accidental dropping of a ring
seemed a bit contrived, the investigation still was satisfying. While speaking in a softer, understandable
brogue, the whole play did a great job of keeping the other possible
anachronisms at bay,.
|
The
Speakeasy at The Speakeasy at The Royal Scots Club
|
16:15
|
17:15
|
7
|
|
75.
|
Ghost
Light (***)
A
new wardrobe assistant in a very old theatre finds that she sometimes can
interact with the ghosts of long dead performers. This strange combination of production dance
numbers from popular plays, and a story of murder would work well but for the
fact that we often could not understand the lines. The production of “One (Singular Sensation)”
from “A Chorus Line” was great.
|
Pleasance
One at Pleasance Courtyard
|
15:50
|
17:00
|
3
|
|
76.
|
Lost
Paws (***)
Two
cats escape from their owners and explore London while their two owners search
for them. The interactions between the
cats with each other and their owners are cute, and the slowly developing
romances are heartwarming. This is
just a good, solid, fun Fringe play that doesn’t ask too much of the
audience.
|
Haldane
Theatre at theSpace @ Surgeons' Hall
|
17:15
|
18:05
|
20
|
|
77.
|
People
We Bury Alive (***)
This
solo show explores two aspects of social isolation: self-enforced, and that
instituted by a friend or family member. She does a good mixing her own experiences
with that of others shown in video snippets. On the whole, it was a quite satisfying
show.
|
Playground
3 at ZOO Playground
|
18:25
|
19:25
|
3
|
|
78.
|
The
Infant (***)
A
mother is interrogated about the death of her baby using a mind reader. While I liked that the play made me think about
some problematic ethical questions, it does have two flaws: 1) in America,
when a suspect asks for a lawyer, any interrogation must stop, or else
nothing said, nor based on what is said may be used in court; and 2) the twist
at the end weakens the play by adding confusion to the whole previous experience.
The whole play would be better served
if it was set in a psychiatrist’s office, or after a guilty verdict.
|
Theatre
1 at theSpace @ Surgeons' Hall
|
10:35
|
11:25
|
20
|
|
79.
|
Seizure
(***)
This
play within a play has a little sister of a powerful attorney invited to come
back home for a big company party. The
interactions between the outer and inner plays are a bit confusing, but, unlike
some other audience members, I found that intriguing. The late reveal does tie up all the loose
ends, but the final event is a little over the top.
|
Grand
Theatre at theSpace @ Surgeons' Hall
|
15:55
|
17:20
|
6
|
|
80.
|
Cold;
Dark Matters (***)
A
storyteller tells of an author who became interest in a shed on common land in
a Cornwall field. The fellow was winning
as was the story. Only the last
revelations hurt as they didn’t make sense in the context of the previous
story.
|
studio
at C ARTS | C venues | C aurora
|
14:25
|
15:25
|
5
|
|
81.
|
Lost
Property (***)
Every
Fringe I get behind in writing my reviews, and one play is so unremarkable that
I cannot remember it. This is that
play for this year. It was neither
great, nor terrible.
|
Theatre
3 at theSpace @ Surgeons' Hall
|
18:05
|
18:55
|
15
|
|
82.
|
The
25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (***)
A
large cast of adults portray a spelling contest among primary age kids. The cast is quite capable, and the plotting
good, but the music and lyrics are pretty worthless. The aggressive nerd with his spelling foot
is unforgettable.
|
Forest
Theatre at Greenside @ George Street
|
19:45
|
21:35
|
18
|
|
83.
|
Tilly
No-Body (***)
This
solo show has the early 20th century German theater star, Tilly Wedekind, talking about her life married to a famous but
overbearing playwright/director. From teen to senior citizen the actress ably
conveys the fragility and prowess of the actress. However, the lack of chronological signposts
severely weakens the power of the play—we cannot tell whether months or years
have passed between critical events.
|
Bramley
at Gilded Balloon at Appleton Tower
|
15:00
|
16:00
|
-30
|
|
84.
|
The
Last Rites (***)
A
prisoner facing execution today argues with a priest who is there to save the
condemned man’s soul. The two actors were
very good, but I have heard their debate many times before, and only a late
plot twist piqued my interest. An incomplete
costume change in the last scene really distracted me.
|
Theatre
at Bedlam Theatre
|
20:00
|
21:00
|
-30
|
|
85.
|
A
Gerry Christmas Carroll (***)
The
actor abridges the book to be a one hour tale. He does a fine job of choosing those aspects
of the original that give a real feel for early 19th century
London. With nary a missed line this
as good a performance of the off-season tale as one could hope.
|
Just
the Attic at Just the Tonic at The Mash House
|
14:40
|
15:40
|
7
|
|
86.
|
The
Speakeasy Experience (***)
A
French woman offers two cocktails in a small room decorated as hidden bar
while talking about their origins and how speakeasies came to be in America. The two cocktails were delicious, and she was
entertaining. While she was making the
cocktails we had a real speakeasy experience as we
chatted with a fellow from Brazil, and another from Yorkshire at our table
for four.
|
Summerhall
Distillery at Summerhall
|
20:30
|
21:30
|
20
|
|
87.
|
Horny
for the End of the World (***)
After
her boyfriend breaks up with her a young woman hears the news that the world
will end in two weeks. The short play
works well as she responds to several former boyfriends’ telephone calls
trying to hook up with her before the end. It was a cute bit of fluff to end the day
with.
|
Stephenson
Theatre at theSpace @ Surgeons' Hall
|
23:15
|
23:55
|
1
|
|
88.
|
Do
Astronauts Masturbate in Space? (***)
In
the future, a couple discovers that she is pregnant, and they must spend a
week enduring a state test to determine if they may have the baby. The early scenes well establish their
fitness, but some of the tests seem fantastic. There some chaotic scenes that seemed
absurd, and detracted from the poignancy of the play.
|
Willow
Studio at Greenside @ Riddles Court
|
19:50
|
20:45
|
15
|
|
89.
|
Newsrevue (***)
Four
comedians and a keyboardist produced a few short skits and a lot of ditties lampooning
mostly politicians. Since I could
understand little, and Debbie could only understand half, neither of us enjoyed
the show. Based on the muted response
of the audience, we were not alone, and think that even people with good
hearing would think this an unexceptional show.
|
Ballroom
at Assembly Rooms
|
21:30
|
22:30
|
24
|
|
90.
|
A
Murder in Motley (***)
A
pub owner and shareholder in the Globe theatre in Shakespearean times is
murdered, an unidentified boy in a jester costume was seen near the crime so
two jesters are tried for the murder. The initial scene confused me because of my
poor hearing and dense writing, but after that I did a little better despite
some unintelligible lines. The pub
dance that became rowdier as it progressed was perfect, I just was frustrated
that I didn’t hear some crucial lines used to determine guilt.
|
Willow
Studio at Greenside @ Riddles Court
|
12:50
|
13:40
|
2
|
|
91.
|
Dead
Air (***)
This dense solo show has a troubled
young woman talking to her mother, lover, stepfather, and an AI generated
version of her dead father. While she
was a tour de force of acting the show seems overlong. I did think the AI was well done as she
keeps tuning its personality, though his amplified voice was often hard to
understand because of the reverberation of the bunker.
|
Bunker
One at Pleasance Courtyard
|
11:40
|
12:40
|
-30
|
|
92.
|
Charming
(***)
Cinderella’s
fairy godmother delivers a list of demands to modernize that Prince Charming
must meet, or she will divorce him. This slight play has fun with the concept of
an 18th century senior citizen royal who is reluctant to catch-up
with the 2020s. Even though the plot
has a nice twist, the twist was not explored in a way that justified 55
minutes.
|
Forest
Theatre at Greenside @ George Street
|
17:20
|
18:15
|
2
|
|
93.
|
A
Dress (***)
This
large high school cast portrays life outside the classroom while following a
girl preparing for her senior prom. We
see all the stereotypes and cliques, but in the hands of this troupe their
words and actions ring true. The
comments from fellow students after the show confirmed this, and the
depressing fact that the students are quite aware of gun violence in American
schools.
|
The
Great Hall at Nicolson Square Venues
|
13:00
|
13:45
|
6
|
|
94.
|
A
Lie Club (***)
A
fellow joins a group meeting for people who are habitual liars, and is
attracted to one woman there. The
pranks together work well, but the play has trouble dealing with the problem
of two liars forming an honest romantic relationship in a satisfying manner. Without a backstory, the woman seems a cypher
with an inexplicable condition.
|
Studio
at theSpaceTriplex
|
21:15
|
22:20
|
14
|
|
95.
|
Bloomsbury
Bell (***)
Vanessa
Dell literally paints a portrait of her dead sister, Virginia Woolf, while
relating tales from the Bloomsbury group of artists and intellectuals. She covers the liaisons and belief in the
arts of the group without much nuance in her presentation. Though their stories were interesting, m
attention often strayer to watching her water color painting.
|
Cellar
at Pleasance Courtyard
|
13:45
|
14:45
|
13
|
|
96.
|
Good
For You (***)
Three
women lawyers are all vying to handle a big case for different reasons. Three of the four characters are well drawn,
but the youngest is too antic to be real. I found the finale quite satisfying.
|
Space
3 at theSpace on the Mile
|
15:10
|
16:20
|
21
|
|
97.
|
Tom
at the Farm (***)
A
close friend of fellow shows up at the farm run by his brother and mother for
his funeral. The dark, physicality of this
supertitled show is impressive, but I found the story too slow. The ferocity of the brother, particularly during
the fights, cannot be denied.
|
Lennox
Theatre at Pleasance at EICC
|
15:30
|
17:30
|
15
|
|
98.
|
The
Time Painter (***)
Five
young Korean women quietly mostly use paper, scissors, and apples to allude to
the Gwangju Democratic Uprising 0f 1980. While some of their performance was
interesting to me, the bulk was too esoteric for me to understand. Their use of paper razors to create a town
was the highlight for me.
|
Studio
Three at Assembly George Square Studios
|
15:05
|
16:05
|
22
|
|
99.
|
I'm
Ready to Talk Now (***)
A
personable fellow asks about your presentation preferences, then accommodate any
of your needs, and has a multi-presentation derived from his long stay in a
hospital. I think I spent more time chatting
before and after than experience the presentation. He is warm and engaging, and the presentation
felt low key.
|
Traverse
Foyer: Meeting Point at Traverse Theatre
|
12:15
|
13:00
|
8
|
|
100.
|
Sponsored
by The Void (***)
A
submissive woman is offered a chance to have help with a Halloween party. Although we see how many people take advantage
of the protagonist, I never felt that she had the strength of character to
make her momentous decision. Though the
Void was literally characterized, somehow it felt like a thing from a horror
story rather than real.
|
Thistle
Theatre at Greenside @ Riddles Court
|
17:20
|
18:15
|
9
|
|
101.
|
The
Scold's Bridle (***)
This
short two-hander has a 17th century misogynistic husband subjecting
his submissive wife to all sorts of physical abuse, including a scold’s
bridle. Part of the play tells of the
witchcraft prisons and test like other such plays, but stepping into a commoners
homelife offers something unique that is well explored. However, a scene with a knife is either out
of place chronologically, or completely unnecessary and confusing.
|
Willow
Studio at Greenside @ Riddles Court
|
21:15
|
21:50
|
6
|
|
102.
|
Almost
Famous (***)
A
senior actress who has returned to England from Hollywood is about to
audition for a part in a touring play. As she recounts her career, she takes the
opportunity to demonstrate that she can still dance like she did decades ago.
After a life as a single, estranged
mother, we realize that she is a totally self-centered person who never
thought of others in her whole life.
|
Theatre
2 at theSpace @ Surgeons' Hall
|
17:45
|
18:35
|
12
|
|
103.
|
The
Thistle and the Rose by Linda Gates (***)
Queen
Elizabeth I and Mary Queen of Scots pass correspondence back and forth as
Mary tries to secure her position among the Scots, and, later, the English. I was impressed by how cordial they were until
almost the end. The staging was pretty
static, but that suited a straightforward, factual exchange of letters.
|
Haldane
Theatre at theSpace @ Surgeons' Hall
|
19:30
|
20:20
|
12
|
|
104.
|
Small
Town Boys (***)
A
gay young man leaves his small town for a big city and its vibrant gay scene.
Unhappily, after having just seen “Giselle:
Remix”, the dancing seemed stale. I am
afraid that the whole production felt workman like.
|
Main
House at ZOO Southside
|
19:15
|
20:45
|
17
|
|
105.
|
Read
My Lips (***)
Four
roommates must all deal with one of them who is the troubled girl friend of
another roommate. Sexual contact
unnecessarily permeates the show when the focus should be on the troubled
woman’s backstory. The romantic
interchanges are a bit quiet, but the physical contact avoids studiously
erogenous zones.
|
Studio
at theSpace @ Niddry St
|
9:45
|
10:40
|
11
|
|
106.
|
Proust
Effect (***)
A
Korean magician starts by creating an amazing number of playing cards out of
thin air, and then moves on to do magic tricks themed on different countries
of the world. His sleight of hand is
fantastic, but I had seen his magic tricks before, and he didn’t have the
entertaining patter to save them. His
final trick of having provided the results of several audience participations
to us before the show started, only highlighted how little spontaneous magic
was involved.
|
Temple
at WU Asia Pacific
|
21:30
|
22:20
|
1
|
|
107.
|
Body
Count (***)
This
feminist show about unsatisfying sex and male abuse has a woman post an ad that
she wants to have sex with 1000 men, and will do anything each wants. The actress gave her all interspersing early
disappointing introductions to sex with a variety of mostly despicable
encounters with the thousand. The main
problems wer the chotic
plotting and her poor ability to differentiate between the characters.
|
The
Green at Pleasance Courtyard
|
19:15
|
20:15
|
24
|
|
108.
|
The
Big Bite-Size Breakfast Show (Menu 3) (***)
This five sketches of this menu have: a woman waiting
for her date defending a second chair in a pub; a woman asks her brother to
be her sperm donor; at the end of their first date, a woman sets an unusual
rule about becoming more intimate; a woman is nervous on a flight; a
successful apple farmer uses an unusual planting technique. Unlike the other two menus, I only found two
of the sketches really funny. Working
around the dating rule proved the to be a treasure trove of humorous efforts.
|
Pleasance
One at Pleasance Courtyard
|
10:30
|
11:40
|
10
|
|
109.
|
Articulate
(***)
Two
teams of three get together for their not so friendly yearly game of
Articulate. The overarching theme of
biting rivalry casts a pall over the whole show. The youngest member’s contribution to the story
seemed an afterthought.
|
Theatre
2 at theSpace @ Surgeons' Hall
|
17:45
|
18:35
|
8
|
|
110.
|
Pride
and Prejudice (***)
This
high school troupe tackles Austin’s book about five sisters contending with
the conventions of early 19th century England. The cast was capable, and carried off the
dance sequences well, but their director let them down. Besides allowing some of them to speak too
softly, the director chose caricature over character for Mrs. Bennett, Lady
Catherine’s daughter, and Mr. Collins that detracted from the whole
production.
|
The
Great Hall at Nicolson Square Venues
|
9:00
|
10:15
|
1
|
|
111.
|
The
Sculpture (***)
After
a sensational beginning to her movie career in 1928, actress Molly O’Day went to extreme lengths to lose the weight required
by her contract. In addition to
standard life portrayals, the large cast also uses songs, poems, and spoken
chorus to convey the dissatisfaction of the public and studios with her. Between the overload recorded music and
asynchronous vocals much of the show was lost on us.
|
Just
The Fancy Room at Just the Tonic at The Caves
|
20:50
|
21:50
|
3
|
|
112.
|
Iago
Speaks (***)
After
the events in “Othello”, we find a jailer dealing with Iago in a prison cell
living up to his promise to never speak again. The first half of the play is slow as the
jailer rails about his life, but the second comes alive as the two interact
more. The later events are true to
form and satisfying until the last five minutes where the play steps into
farce and a superfluous final plot twist.
|
theSpace
@ Surgeons' Hall
|
21:25
|
22:40
|
21
|
|
113.
|
Matt
Winning: Solastalgia (***)
A
personable PhD pontificates about the planet’s petroleum peril. He covers both the history of the oil
industry, focusing particularly on John D. Rockefeller, and the global
warming crisis while intermixing a tale of waiting for his wife to give birth
to their son. As a former banker, he
pointed out that the companies of the financial industry wont
switch their support to energy alternatives until they all agree to do so. The big problem with this play is that Winning
has not taken enough time to learn his lines, and spends a lot of time
reading them his script.
|
Studio
Five at Assembly George Square Studios
|
16:35
|
17:35
|
-30
|
|
114.
|
Lucky
Tonight! (***)
A
Manchester-born Bangladeshi woman combines tales from her life with a pub
quiz on I-pads supplied to the audience. She makes the show fun at times, but often
her show wastes time on things, a dance sequence for example, that seem too
self-centered. With its concentration
on her world of the 1990s and 2000s, England, and Bangladesh, I was of no
help on the pub quiz.
|
Traverse
2 at Traverse Theatre
|
21:00
|
22:30
|
-31
|
|
115.
|
Lunchbox
(***)
In
a Glasgow high school, a Pakistani girl is subject to bullying while a
Scottish boy is a bully. The play does
a good job of looking into how home life and teachers can have an impact on
dealing with bullying. She is an
engaging performer.
|
The
Green at Pleasance Courtyard
|
16:45
|
17:45
|
14
|
|
116.
|
Whisper
Walk (***)
Armed
with a link to a webpage, I followed its instructed path to six sight where I listened to four-minute spoken word taled related to the the
specific location. I had visited most
of the sites before in my travels so the lack of information about them was
only a bit of a disappointment. But, hey,, it was a beautiful day for a relaxing walk that took
me 75 minutes partly because of poor coverage on Cowgate.
|
Meeting
point at Assembly George Square
|
10:00
|
11:00
|
25
|
|
117.
|
Sam
Blythe: Method in My Madness (A One-Man Hamlet) (***)
A
fellow in pajamas wakes up, puts on a red clown nose, and then presents “A One Man Hamlet” that he supposedly wrote purely from
Hamlet’s perspective. There were
certainly many beautiful passages from Shakespeare’s play, but without
contributions from the rest of the characters the play is almost incoherent. The actor’s sleight of hand with the foam red
nose is amusing, but adds nothing to the story.
|
Studio
Four at Assembly George Square Studios
|
10:40
|
11:40
|
24
|
|
118.
|
Mushroomification (Legs; Legs; Legs) (***)
A
mad scientist and his brother/partner must deal with an unusual mushroom. The musing mushroom character is wonderful as
it grapples with its situation throughout the play. However, the insane brother lacked consistency
and pushes the absurdity to humorless incoherency.
|
Just
the Bottle Room at Just the Tonic at The Mash House
|
12:50
|
13:50
|
5
|
|
119.
|
Myth
Adventures -- Five Greek Classics (***)
This
high school troupe of a male Dionysus narrator and the rest girls tackles
these five myths: Midas’ golden touch, musical Orpheus retrieving his lover
from Hades, Echo and Narcissus paying their prices, Daedalus and Icarus
flying, and Theseus killing the Minotaur. The group was competent with no missteps nor
missed lines, though a few need to learn to project better. The cast has a couple of strong actresses
that seemed to live their roles.
|
Hall
at Central Hall
|
22:00
|
23:00
|
2
|
|
120.
|
Transfers
(***)
This
show is composed of eight scenes where 500 pounds is transferred from one person
to another in various ways. Though we
do see the same 500 pounds transferred in some scenes, others are completely
independent. The motivations varied,
and the acting fine, but the show just felt like nothing special.
|
Space
2 at theSpace on the Mile
|
21:25
|
22:15
|
15
|
|
121.
|
1612
(***)
In
1612, in Lancashire, based on the bribed testimony of a very young girl several
women were tried, found guilty, and hung for witchcraft. Most of the play has the women pleading
their innocence which grows tiresome. The costumes of the poor accused women were
too clean, as was that of original state of the little girl.
|
Space
1 at theSpace on the Mile
|
12:40
|
13:25
|
21
|
|
122.
|
City
of Incurable Women (***)
This
devised one-woman show investigates the concept of hysteria from ancient to
modern times. Though some of the
history was interesting, there were a lot of superfluous scenes. She took the time to silently peel and eat a
lemon as well as drink an entire bottle of water for reasons that were
unclear.
|
Upstairs
at Pleasance Courtyard
|
13:35
|
14:35
|
14
|
|
123.
|
Drama
Girls (***)
Three
young women in drama school train for a showcase show while helping and
criticizing each other. Due to my poor
hearing, two of the three spoke so fast that I could rarely understand what
they said. As such, most the play was
lost on me.
|
Annexe at theSpace @ Symposium Hall
|
16:05
|
16:55
|
23
|
|
124.
|
Jack
Offerman's Big Uncut Flick (***)
A
cast of four recreate a 1950s local TV show that showcases a B film noir
movie using a smarmy emcee. Some of
the audience like their broad, almost slapstick, humor, but much lacked
originality. As with many farces, the
director seemed to believe that louder is funnier.
|
Downstairs
at Assembly Roxy
|
15:50
|
16:50
|
10
|
|
125.
|
Big
Little Sister (***)
A
26-year old woman describes her life in a family
with a brother seven years older than her who was born with severe cerebral
palsy. It was surprising to hear of
the mix of meanness, love, and caring that she exhibits. The short video of him late in the show
helped to better understand his disability, but a song he wrote and the
mention of college for him left me confused.
|
Playground
2 at ZOO Playground
|
10:35
|
11:35
|
13
|
|
126.
|
The
Strongest Girl in the World (***)
A
28-year old woman performs a play about her life before and after her father died of kidney
cancer when she was 10. She has a nice
singing voice, and created wonderful pop-up books. However, the show never escapes being another
vanity Fringe show by a twenty-something woman who believes her story is
unique with the telltale repetition of her name.
|
Snug
at Gilded Balloon Patter House
|
14:20
|
15:20
|
11
|
|
127.
|
I'm
Trying, Please Clap (***)
This
very personal show has a fellow reading his poetry and singing songs drawn
from small, mundane events in his current life. This is definitely a work in progress by a
performer who is learning what it is like to perform. His poem about his effort to learn to swim
particularly touched me.
|
Satyr
Bar
|
14:20
|
15:00
|
6
|
|
128.
|
Standing
in the Shadows of Giants (***)
An
aspiring actress, who is the older sister of a rock star, finds the pills and
alcohol of his parties a fine refuge from her dissatisfying life. From the initial breaking of the fourth wall
this came across as an all too common Fringe vanity
piece that had nothing to offer but self-pity, and by the time of her big
revelation occurs I no longer cared. While she seems a capable actress with a
decent singing voice, as a playwright her talents are wasted in such a banal
piece.
|
Traverse
2 at Traverse Theatre
|
16:00
|
17:00
|
-31
|
|
129.
|
Courier
(***)
A
bike courier has numerous troubles making his one delivery. The play doesn’t work well because the actor does a poor
job of differentiating the different characters he plays. The big plot twist at the end doesn’t fit
with some of the previous events.
|
Playground
1 at ZOO Playground
|
17:45
|
18:35
|
24
|
|
130.
|
David
and Katie Get Re-Married (***)
As
the title indicates, this zany show has a late 30’s couple re-marry at the
end of a show after spending an hour abusing each other and then making up. While there were a few fun parts, most of the
songs and antics were sophomoric at best. The one saving grace was that it was clear
that the two actors enjoyed working together.
|
Friesian
at Underbelly; Bristo Square
|
21:50
|
22:50
|
-30
|
|
131.
|
LA
Baby (***)
An
out of work actress in Los Angeles takes the job of nanny for three children
while dealing with her unstable lover. The central problem with the play is that
the protagonist is a complete narcissist who never cares for anyone else but
herself, and thus I had no emotional link with her. She only uses the children as sources of
information about their father, and she says openly that the three little
words she cares about are not “I love you,” but instead “Live with me.”
|
Playground
2 at ZOO Playground
|
15:35
|
16:35
|
1
|
|
132.
|
The
Dropbox (***)
On
the last spaceship to travel from the AI-dominated Earth to the planet
Utopia, the ship’s doctor and its five passengers must deal with unexpected
events. This feels like a re-make of a
common sci-fi plot of something dangerous on board a spaceship with an overly
evil leader and impossibly naďve heiress thrown in. The meaning of the contents of the drop box,
and its connection to the others is left unexplained though they are critical
to the plot.
|
Venue
45 at theSpace @ Venue 45
|
20:00
|
20:50
|
6
|
|
133.
|
Stuart
Laws is Stuck (***)
Laws
is a standard stand-up comedian who produces material that appeals to people much
younger than me. Though he made me
smile a few times, the material just didn’t suit me. The crowd laughed, but were not thrilled.
|
Monkey
Barrel Comedy - Monkey Barrel 4
|
22:40
|
23:40
|
15
|
|
134.
|
I
Was a German (***)
After
Brexit begins, the English granddaughter of a Jewish man who emigrated from
Nazi Germany finds out that she can for German citizenship based on her
grandfather. The show is a mish mash
of short vides and live action depicting Nazi Germany and episodes from his
and her lives. I was bored during
virtually the whole show as there just wasn’t enough new and/or interesting
information, and her character felt one dimensional.
|
Studio
at ZOO Southside
|
13:50
|
14:50
|
1
|
|
135.
|
The
General Will (***)
This
comedy has two parts: despite having a knowledgeable aide, an incompetent UK
clown prime minister cannot figure out how to address any of the countries troubles; and two young woman cannot figure out
how to make a play that addresses those troubles. In either case, posing problems without
solutions doesn’t make for good theatre. The clown noses were superfluous in the obvious
satire.
|
Haldane
Theatre at theSpace @ Surgeons' Hall
|
21:40
|
22:40
|
11
|
|
136.
|
W3:
Filthy Filthy Witches (***)
A
fellow who has invented a way to create drinkable water using garbage interacts
with three witches. Though there was
enthusiasm galore here, I couldn’t make out heads or tails of what was going
on. Most of what was said seemed like
nonsense to me.
|
Banshee
Labyrinth Chamber Room (Free Fringe)
|
15:35
|
16:25
|
20
|
|
137.
|
Love
Is the Greater Labyrinth (***)
In
modern times, the college age daughter of King Midas of Crete and her sister
both have their hearts se on the Athenian hero Theseus, and are waiting for
him to choose. My knowledge of Greek
mythology is limited so I do not know who the two men were supposed to be,
and if this story was supposed to be based on some obscure Greek myth. Without that knowledge, it seemed to lack
much plot other than to make the pursuit of love difficult like the
Labyrinth.
|
Ballroom
at PBH's Free Fringe @ Voodoo Rooms Free Fringe)
|
17:30
|
18:10
|
11
|
|
138.
|
Split
Ends (***)
A
woman has an unusual relationship with a vacuum cleaner, and a talking pair of
scissors. Her sexual interactions with
both seem to be a bizarre reaction to rejection my men. Though she does explain that cutting split ends
supposedly prevents other split ends, we are left wondering why such a play
came to be created.
|
Below
at Pleasance Courtyard
|
12:30
|
13:30
|
16
|
|
139.
|
The
Lost Priest (**)
A
Jewish fellow talks what it is like to be brought up
in a practicing Jewish family, but not taking his religion seriously. Not having read a synopsis, based on its
title I kept waiting for instance of a Catholic priest to show up, and was
confused when that never happened. The
title really spoiled the whole play for me.
|
Theatre
1 at theSpace @ Surgeons' Hall
|
10:30
|
11:25
|
14
|
|
140.
|
#CHARLOTTESVILLE
-- The play that Trump does not want you to see! (**)
An
Indian graduate student in drama created this play as her master’s thesis that
highlights her dramatic art skills as well as her complaint against her chairwoman
all at the expense of the time spent on the tragedy of a right
wing driver running down protesters in Charlottesville, Virginia. I felt like this was a variation on the
classic Fringe vanity play when she chose to show a video of a speech by the
prime minister of India with no translation. Her fake “special report” videos purportedly
from CNN and NBC, complete with logo microphones seemed like fraud.
|
Bunker
Two at Pleasance Courtyard
|
12:20
|
13:30
|
24
|
|
141.
|
I
See You Watching (**)
This
devised play has a woman dressed in a baton twirlers costume is at an audition
as asked to do increasingly more demeaning things by a director. The acting is great, but her acceptance of his
orders goes on way too long when the time could have been used for more of
her backstory or turn the tables on him to see some sensitivity. I was impressed with her facial contortions,
but thought her later costume unnecessarily revealing.
|
Doonstairs at Gilded Balloon Patter House
|
20:30
|
21:30
|
22
|
|
142.
|
I'm
Not Saying We Should; But What If We Did? (**)
Two
women with radical political ideas appear on a local TV interview program. The chaos of the studio, and their repeatedly ducking of questions about the
implementation and justification of their policies reinforced the feeling
that the show never answers the question of its title. This devised show has the women slowly
over-applying their make-up to make them look like clowns in the end.
|
Studio
at theSpaceTriplex
|
12:05
|
12:55
|
13
|
|
143.
|
Soul
Sucking (**)
An
unsuccessful, self-centered young woman decides that the way out of her rut
of failure is to stage her funeral, rebirth, and baptism. The cast had clearly not rehearsed with the
four cooling fans running because all but the protagonist rarely spoke loud
enough. With her primary
characteristic of self-pity, and much of the dialog missing, I never grew to
care about her of the play.
|
Willow
Studio at Greenside @ Riddles Court
|
12:50
|
13:40
|
11
|
|
144.
|
How
Not to Fund a Honeymoon (**)
This
show opens with a woman casually talking on the phone with a friend while two
almost dead bodies lie at her feet, and then starts of the beginning of the
burglary. Between inaudible burglar whispering,
unexplained captures, caricatures, and lots of shouting, the story just fell apart
for me. Somehow
they thought it would enhance the show by having a policeman repeatedly try
to find an appellation that would satisfy the picky victim.
|
Studio
at theSpaceTriplex
|
11:05
|
11:55
|
11
|
|
145.
|
The
Unstoppable Rise of Ben Manager (**)
A
fellow acquires a lanyard that allows him to step into the role of manager in
a large corporation. His constant
spouting of teamwork slogans grew quickly boring for me. The show seemed to be a one trick pony that
was beaten to death.
|
Above
at Pleasance Courtyard
|
17:20
|
18:20
|
17
|
|
146.
|
The
Bacchae (**)
From
the very start, when the actor recited part of the play in Greek(?), I should
have known that he valued authenticity more than entertainment. Though he covered the important events of
the play, there was a never a time when I was interested. Even the horrific events were bland.
|
Upstairs
at Assembly Roxy
|
12:00
|
12:55
|
10
|
|
147.
|
Orpheus
(**)
This
interpretation of the Greek myth has a fellow walking back and forth
“reading” from his notebook on the myth interspersed with a guitarist singing
original songs somewhat related to the story. While the rest of the late
night audience seemed to enjoy the show, I was bored. Both the music and lyrics were mediocre, and
the story was nothing.
|
Dissection
Room at Summerhall
|
21:30
|
22:40
|
5
|
|
148.
|
Harriet
the Spy (**)
Eleven-year old Harriet is always writing in her notebook about the people
around her. The plot revolves around
the two friends and nanny who support her and two enemies who work against
her. We left halfway through because
both the reverberation in the massive auditorium and the director’s choice to
have her often speak at the back of the huge stage made understanding the
actors quite difficult.
|
Auditorium
at Central Hall
|
13:45
|
14:55
|
3
|
|
149.
|
Jimmy
Made Parole (**)
On
his first day out of prison, a young fellow tries to raise enough money for a
date by any means possible—both legal and illicit. Some of the scams are fun, but the constant
use of audience participation grew tiring, and slowed the show. His scam to obtain better shoes was
inspired.
|
Snug
at Paradise in Augustines
|
15:45
|
16:40
|
8
|
|
150.
|
misSfits (**)
A
real sixth grade teacher tries to use sixth grade techniques to teach us
about various non-cis pupils. The
problems are that we are not children, and already accept gender-diverse
people. There was little here of
interest except as reminder of the methods of a sixth grade
teacher.
|
Studio
at theSpaceTriplex
|
12:10
|
12:55
|
3
|
|
151.
|
Semi-Automatic
SmokeShow (**)
When
her hosting app is bought, a make-up influencer is told that by modifying her
life she can achieve her goal of the American Dream. The metaphorical tale of gradual disillusionment
never lets us identify with the real woman before she steps into her unreal
world. Her treating a blow-up doll as
a real person is a step too far as a test of cognitive dissonance.
|
Lime
Studio at Greenside @ George Street
|
11:30
|
12:20
|
18
|
|
152.
|
Railway
200: The Show (**)
This
group of railway enthusiasts present a series of scenes from the past 200
years of English railroad history. What I could heard was fun and interesting. The two stars is because they had not
prepared for the very noisy environment of Waverley Station with some sort of
amplification, and I could rarely hear them.
|
Performance
Space between Platform 2 and 3 at PBH'S Free Fringe @ Edinburgh Waverley
Station
|
13:30
|
14:45
|
8
|
|
153.
|
Be It (WIP) (**)
This initial attempt at
a Free Fringe show seemed to be a dream come true for the performer who had
little sense of the task at hand. This
was the first day, and it seemed that he entered with a few ideas written on
a sheet of paper, and planned on playing the bulk of the show by ear. There was a five minute
section where he exhibited a quick wit that had the rest of the audience
laughing at his spontaneous quips, but, unhappily I could not make them out
because he spoke them while hiding behind an air conditioner.
|
The
Snug at Laughing Horse @ Bar 50
|
14:30
|
15:30
|
10
|
|
154.
|
A
Monkey Trial: The Gameshow or The True and Tragic Passion of Pauline Campbell
(**)
A
tattooed man in a wig and prison inmate jump suit argues the case for eliminating
prisons to address the problem of women committing suicide in prison. His choice of portraying the argument in
front of a high court composed of scenes of judicial monkeys from old PG tips
TV commercials was ill conceive as it satirized the judicial process rather
than addressing the question of the efficacy of prisons. The actor/playwright was clearly sincere,
but he needs to provide a realistic alternative to prisons.
|
Muse
at Braw Venues @ Hill Street
|
14:30
|
15:30
|
2
|
|
155.
|
End
of the World FM (**)
After
some cataclysm, a radio host continues to broadcast even though there may be
no listeners left. He rambles on
aimlessly for the whole show. My mind
would drift away, but each time I returned he was still spouting drivel.
|
Theatre
2 at theSpace @ Surgeons' Hall
|
23:15
|
0:15
|
14
|
|
156.
|
Human
Nature (**)
The
mayor of a small town decides that she should investigate a murder in a park
by calling all of the suspects together instead of calling the police. The play doesn’t work on many levels: it is illegal
to not call the police immediately; virtually all of the evidence is unsupported
and circumstantial at best; the method of the verdict is absurd, and many of
the characters were not believable. In
particular, the priest suddenly offering candy bars to the happy suspects was
weird.
|
Theatre
2 at theSpace @ Surgeons' Hall
|
11:40
|
12:30
|
20
|
|
157.
|
Aether (**)
Four
leotard clad young women address physics and the universe. I know that is vague, but their racing
through the text and frequent loud volume combined with the reverberation of
the Anatomy Lecture Room made it virtually impossible for me (and others I
spoke to afterwards) to understand them. This was another example of a show not
quieting their performance to accommodate the unique acoustics of the two
Summerhall lecture rooms that were designed for a time before amplification.
|
Anatomy
Lecture Theatre at Summerhall
|
19:15
|
20:15
|
5
|
|
158.
|
Murder,
Oops! (*)
In
this one woman show, she plays all the characters in a story about a young woman
coming home to her dead lover and his murderer, and then falls in love with
each new visitor to the apartment. Combining endless simulated solo French kissing,
tuneless songs, re-takes because she forgot a visitor, emotional flights, and
grotesque simulated sex took this from absurdist to amateur drivel. Her father was the techy, and I was
impressed with support of his daughter.
|
Clover
Studio at Greenside @ Riddles Court
|
17:10
|
18:10
|
22
|
|
159. *
|
Italian
Horror Stories (*)
This
show applies Italian pantomime to three horror stories: woman in black,
vampires, and Frankenstein. None of
them followed the traditional story lines, and a ton of time was spent with
the actors growling and shrieking at the top of their lungs. Between the overriding semi-plot of trying
to scare a Catholic priest, and gratuitous sexual content this was just a
jumble of noise and unmotivated actions with a few interesting facts thrown
in to give it the gloss of preparation.
|
Just
Up The Stairs at Just the Tonic at The Caves
|
22:25
|
23:25
|
3
|
I hope to have the time to write my
traditional three sentence reviews for all the shows I see. In 2020, I had a chemo treatment for neck
cancer that left me with reduced hearing, particularly in noisy
environments. I will note such problems
in my reviews. I try to have a
consistent star rating across the years with 5-stars indicating a show that is
excellent in all aspects of its production.
Usually only around 10% of the shows meet that criterion. Four star shows are
usually excellent in many aspects, but have area(s) that were problematic for
me. A three-star rating is not a
condemnation, and just indicates that the show had provided normal enjoyment
for me. It is problematic whether,
in this era of star inflation, that I should post my three star shows to
edfringe.com. I‘ve
decided that I will not because a three star rating may hurt a play’s
attendance. Shows that I give less than
three stars have serious problem(s) for me, and I feel obligated to warn others
on edfringe.com unless they have a school age cast.