ScotsGay Recommends

Tuesday, 27 July 2010 15:28

Andrew Doyle Picks ScotsGay’s Fringe Must-See Shows

Broadway Baby has partnered with ScotsGay magazine to bring you their take on the highlights of this year's Fringe. ScotsGay reviewers will be writing in partnership with Broadway Baby this year, bringing the best of their reviews online with us. You can pick up free copies of ScotsGay in main Fringe venues and all gay pubs and clubs across Scotland.

Edinburgh is a city of death. The sixteenth and seventeenth centuries saw intermittent outbreaks of plague, the last of which, in 1645, finished off more than half the population. During the industrial revolution the slum-dwellers of Cowgate occupied the vaults under the South Bridge, where they lived – and perished – in chambers so dank and ominous you’d be forgiven for thinking that Clive Barker had a hand in the design. The nineteenth century saw the advent of the resurrectionists; grave-robbers who would sell fresh corpses to members of the medical profession for research purposes. The practice was so common you can still see the mortsafes in Greyfriars Kirkyard; cast iron cages constructed over the graves by families who could afford to protect their dead from theft. And let’s not forget Burke and Hare, those most infamous of Edinburgh figures, selling the bodies of those unfortunate men and women they had murdered themselves. Whatever else you can say about this pair, you can’t knock their entrepreneurial skills.

Little wonder, then, that Edinburgh is renowned for being one of the most haunted cities in Europe. The number of nightly ghost walks on offer seems to increase every year, many of which will take you deep into the dark arteries of the city, those hidden chambers and vaults that have become so famous. Holyrood Palace is known for its poltergeists, which have been known to trash the gift shop at night, much to the vexation of the staff. There’s a spectral “death coach” that rattles up and down the Royal Mile at night, although this has become less frequent since the road was partly pedestrianised. Edinburgh’s most notorious ghoul is “Bloody” George Mackenzie, who reputedly inflicts tourists with cuts and bruises if they wander into the graveyard at Greyfriars after midnight. It is entirely coincidental, of course, that such injuries can also be sustained by drunken idiots colliding with headstones in the dark.

Oh, and it’s rumoured that the Starbucks on George Street is haunted by the ghost of Angus MacGregor, the bisexual beekeeper of Leith, who has a tendency to spit hot ectoplasm into your caramel macchiato when you’re not looking. Hence the unpleasant aftertaste.

And how about this for a ghost story? Every year, for one month only, the city of Edinburgh becomes enlivened by hordes of actors, dancers, clowns, artists, jugglers, contortionists, poets, minstrels, and Nicholas Parsons. The population of the city seems to increase tenfold, as these outlandish figures swamp the town, invading every available cranny – shop attics, pub basements, disused rabbit hutches – to perform their mysterious daily rituals to complete strangers. And at the end of the month they vanish, leaving the streets desolate and cold, with only a few stray flyers and posters as evidence that they were even there at all. Creepy, isn’t it?

And if the prospect of Jim Bowen returning to the fringe for another Bullseye-based “comedy” show doesn’t chill your bones, I don’t know what will.

That said, many of the spectres are benign, and many more are positively delightful. So allow me to lead you on my own sort of ghost trail, a quick round-up of what to see during August. With my advice you can avoid the dross and – who knows? – maybe you’ll even forgive me for this whole ridiculously overblown supernatural analogy.

Let’s start with the comedy which, as ever, seems to dominate the pages of this year’s fringe programme. It’s understandably difficult to know where to begin. Obviously I can’t claim to have seen most of this year’s acts, but I can at least highlight a few obvious guaranteed laugh-out-loud shows.

Leisa Rea
The hugely talented Leisa Rea’s one-woman show Pension Plan will be on at the Gilded Balloon every afternoon. Formally one half of the award-winning double act Adams & Rea, Leisa’s long-overdue solo show offers a hilarious and mischievous take on depression. What better way to cheer yourselves up than to see someone else more miserable than you? The Greeks called this catharsis. The Germans call it schadenfreude. Whatever you want to call it, it’s bound to be a festival highlight.

Bridget Christie
ScotsGay favourite Bridget Christie is back, this year at The Stand, for another show that is likely to baffle as many as it delights. She’s a genuine original, exactly the type of performer that makes the fringe so worthwhile. Even the title of her show, Bridget Christie / A Ant, is liable to confuse. By way of explanation, Bridget’s show this year is pure stand-up, with the “ant” in question being her support act. If this doesn’t make much sense, you’d better buy a ticket and see it for yourselves. Entomologists may be offended. English teachers will be dismayed by the deliberate flouting of the rules of the indefinite article. Everybody else will love it.

Paul Foot
Paul Foot is another of the fringe’s true originals. This year his show is directed by Noel Fielding of The Mighty Boosh, and if his previous shows are anything to go by, this will be another hour of unpredictable brilliance. His eccentric and desultory style is unlike anything else I have seen on the stand-up circuit, and if you’re a fan of intelligent nonsense, this should be on the top of your list. Paul is performing every evening at the Underbelly.

Susan Calman
There is a dizzying range of stand-up talent for you to choose from this year, but I would particularly recommend Susan Calman in Constantly Seeking Susan at the Underbelly. Calman’s popularity amongst fringegoers is well-deserved, and her candid style should suit the introspective theme perfectly.

Scott Agnew
Another talented Glaswegian comic is Scott Agnew, whose new show Pride (In the Name of Love) is at the Gilded Balloon. Although it’s an international festival, it’s good to see that the Scots are well represented. Scott is also hosting the New Town Bar’s popular Sunday Fundraisers for Waverley Care, with some high profile acts performing every Sunday of the fringe.

If you want to play it safe, there’s always The Stand Comedy Club, which consistently has some of the best names in the business gracing their stages. This year, Stewart Lee is back in Vegetable Stew, which sees him developing new material for his forthcoming second series of Stewart Lee’s Comedy Vehicle for the BBC.

Jo Caulfield
There’s also Jo Caulfield in Cruel To Be Kind, a comic known for her waspish observations and killer one-liners. Finally, there’s Paul Sinha, who has to be a contender for this year’s best title. His new show Extreme Anti-White Vitriol is a must-see.

Craig Hill
As must be evident by now, the range of high quality stand-up on this year’s fringe is overwhelming, but there are a few more shows that come highly recommended. The camp and acerbic Craig Hill will be asking Why Don’t You Come Down the Front? at the Gilded Balloon. The ebullient and charming Stephen K Amos returns in The Best Medicine at the Pleasance Courtyard, and early booking is advised.

Tom Allen
In Tom Allen Toughens Up! at the Gilded Balloon, the award-winning comic will be exploring, amongst other things, the best methods to avoid being beaten up; practical as well as funny. You should also consider spending an hour in the company of the inimitable Reginald D Hunter in Trophy Nigga at the Pleasance Courtyard, another fringe stalwart who never fails to please.

In terms of imaginative concepts, you can’t get much better than John-Luke Roberts Distracts You From a Murder at the Pleasance Dome, in which your host promises to deliver his customarily sharp humour as a way to divert your attention from the brutal act of homicide he will commit during the show. And following last year’s excellent The Science of Sex, Rosie Wilby is back with a sequel. Her Further Science of Sex is at the Underbelly, and prior knowledge of the biological sciences is neither necessary nor particularly appreciated.

And then, there’s Sex and Hugs and Forwards Rolls at The Tron for only five pounds a ticket, featuring James Acaster, Ben Van Der Velde, and, er, Andrew Doyle. You’ll forgive me for plugging my own show like this, but if I don’t I’ll be forced to go out flyering every day. Frankly, I haven’t got the energy for that kind of palaver.

Marion Allen
Moving on to theatre, there’s a wide range of great shows for your consideration. First and foremost, I’d recommend Marion Allen’s Number One Hobby at the Pleasance Courtyard. I was fortunate enough to see an early preview of this new play by Bea Roberts, and it’s a fantastic piece of writing. Directed by Emma Taylor, and performed by Genevieve Swallow, this is one of those hidden gems at the Edinburgh fringe that you won’t want to miss.

Richard Fry
Amnesty Award nominee Richard Fry is back this year with two new plays, both at the Gilded Balloon. Smiler promises to be an intriguing new piece about ‘drink-driving, disability, best friends and Right Said Fred’. And if shaven-headed pop duos from East Grinstead aren’t your cup of tea, there’s always Homo Asbo, in which Fry explores the difficulties of coming out when you’re a hard man from a council estate.

Group dynamics amongst male teenagers are the topic of Territory at the Pleasance Courtyard, an edgy and fascinating new drama. You should also try to see Mary and William at the Gilded Balloon, a one-woman show written and performed by Mary MacDonald Hamill, with a little help from William Shakespeare. Other hotly tipped shows this year include N10 Productions’ black musical comedy Virtuous Flock at C Soco, Shadow Boxing also at C Soco, The Gay Geese at C Central, Lesbian Bathhouse at the Assembly Rooms, Gyles Brandreth’s new play Wonderland also at the Assembly Rooms, Mysterious Skin at the Gilded Balloon, Memory Cells at the Pleasance Dome, Kafka and Son at the Bedlam Theatre, and The Not So Fatal Death of Grandpa Fredo at the Traverse Theatre, by Fringe First award winners Vox Motus.

Ernesto Sarezale
If you’re in the mood for something a little more experimental, you must see Ernesto Sarezale’s new show In the Name of the Flesh at the Banshee Labyrinth, an erotic, multimedia piece incorporating elements of burlesque, surrealism and Eurovision. And there is unlikely to be a more impressive show in this year’s fringe than Harlekin, the new piece by Derevo, the astounding physical theatre company from St Petersburg.

Topping & Butch
For our more melodic readers, there’s plenty of musical comedy at this year’s fringe. Camp satirists Topping and Butch are back, for just two nights, with Filth! at the Symposium Hall. And if they leave you wanting more, you can always see their solo shows: Michael Topping is Head Over Heels in Love at the Surgeons Hall, or you can see Butch, aka Joe Simmons, in his guest and game show Edinburgh Tonight at the Symposium Hall. Following the success of Oklahomo! at last year’s fringe, the London Gay Men’s Chorus present their new musical Thoroughly Modern Willie at C Venues and Scotland’s own Loud & Proud Choir perform for one night only at Greyfriars Kirk.

Elliot Mason
I also must recommend the free show Hairy Pretty Things at Fingers Piano Bar, with Luke Meredith, Elliot Mason, and David Somerset Barnes. Rarely will you meet a trio of men so entertaining and hirsute.

Russell Fletcher
Other musical highlights this August include Russell Fletcher, who is appearing at the Spiegeltent in Jest Like Danny Kaye. This show is a playful depiction of the American actor who, allegedly, had a ten year affair with Laurence Olivier in the 1950s. Russell also appears in the improvised musical Spontaneous Broadway, also at the Spiegeltent.

Jump
Tank Productions’ new musical Jump is at the Pleasance Dome, an uplifting piece about sex and love, and international diva Maria Tecce appears in her new show Strapless at the Assembly Rooms. She’s been variously described by the press as ‘sensual’, ‘smouldering’, ‘seductive’, and a whole host of other similarly sibilant adjectives. If you haven’t seen her before, now’s your opportunity.

David Benson
The Edinburgh fringe wouldn’t be the same without the hugely talented David Benson, who is back this year with Stewart Nicholls on piano for The Singalong Glee Club at the Gilded Balloon. You’ll be able to make requests and we’re assured that the singing is optional.

Showstopper!
At the same venue is Showstopper! The Improvised Musical – packed with drama, dance, catchy melodies and some rather nice costumes.

Meow Meow
Other cabaret highlights this year include the fabulous diva Meow Meow, star of the award-winning La Clique, who brings her innovative show Feline Intimate to the Assembly at Princess St Gardens. Or there’s Eat Your Heart Out at C Aquila, which offers experimental cabaret at the midnight hour. Alternatively, you could check out Mrs Bang, who is performing A Series of Seductions in 55 Minutes at the Gilded Balloon, a show which guarantees ‘wine, stained vocals and sumptuous catastrophe’.

These are the Edinburgh’s ghosts. Catch them quickly before they dematerialise for another year.

Andrew is a playwright and stand-up comedian. His show Sex and Hugs and Forward Rolls is on at 2:20pm daily at The Tron. His new play for BBC Radio 4, The Second Mr Bailey, will be broadcast in October.