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.
|
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
|
|
60.
|
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
|
|
61.
|
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
|
|
62.
|
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
|
|
63.
|
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
|
|
64.
|
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
|
|
65.
|
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
|
|
66.
|
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
|
|
67.
|
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
|
|
68.
|
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
|
|
69.
|
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
|
|
70.
|
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
|
|
71.
|
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
|
|
72.
|
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
|
|
73.
|
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
|
|
74.
|
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
|
|
75.
|
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
|
|
76.
|
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
|
|
77.
|
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
|
|
78.
|
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
|
|
79.
|
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
|
|
80.
|
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
|
|
81.
|
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
|
|
82.
|
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
|
|
83.
|
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
|
|
84.
|
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
|
|
85.
|
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
|
|
86.
|
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
|
|
87.
|
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
|
|
88.
|
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
|
|
89.
|
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
|
|
90.
|
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
|
|
91.
|
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
|
|
92.
|
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
|
|
93.
|
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
|
|
94.
|
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
|
|
95.
|
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
|
|
96.
|
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
|
|
97.
|
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
|
|
98.
|
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
|
|
99.
|
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
|
|
100.
|
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
|
|
101.
|
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
|
|
102.
|
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
|
|
103.
|
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
|
|
104.
|
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
|
|
105.
|
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
|
|
106.
|
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
|
|
107.
|
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
|
|
108.
|
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
|
|
109.
|
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
|
|
110.
|
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
|
|
111.
|
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
|
|
112.
|
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
|
|
113.
|
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
|
|
114.
|
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
|
|
115.
|
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
|
|
116.
|
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
|
|
117.
|
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
|
|
118.
|
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
|
|
119.
|
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
|
|
120.
|
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
|
|
121.
|
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
|
|
122.
|
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
|
|
123.
|
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
|
|
124.
|
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
|
|
125.
|
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
|
|
126.
|
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
|
|
127.
|
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
|
|
128.
|
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
|
|
129.
|
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
|
|
130.
|
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
|
|
131.
|
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
|
|
132.
|
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
|
|
133.
|
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
|
|
134.
|
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
|
|
135.
|
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
|
|
136.
|
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
|
|
137.
|
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
|
|
138.
|
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
|
|
139.
|
#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
|
|
140.
|
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
|
|
141.
|
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
|
|
142.
|
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
|
|
143.
|
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
|
|
144.
|
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
|
|
145.
|
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
|
|
146.
|
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
|
|
147.
|
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
|
|
148.
|
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
|
|
149.
|
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
|
|
150.
|
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
|
|
151.
|
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
|
|
152.
|
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
|
|
153.
|
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
|
|
154.
|
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
|
|
155.
|
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
|
|
156.
|
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
|
|
157.
|
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
|
|
158. *
|
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.