Today I did something I've always wanted to do- I attended the Edinburgh Fringe Festival! Renowned for being the best international gathering of theatre and performance artists in the world ,the Edinburgh Fringe in Scotland's capitol city is the best of the best when it comes to theatre festivals. I decided to fly up and back in a day seeing as the price of hotels was a little ridiculous but this still gave me time to fit in 3 shows and savor the best of what the city has to offer during this exciting event.
The Shows
Show number 1 was 'Spelling Bee'- this superb musical by local Scottish company was absolutely fantastic. Followings the proceedings at a local charity competition in the fictional village of Putnam and combining musical theatre with elements of audience participation this superb musical made for a brilliant couple of hours of fun and laughter. A fantastic array of young actors bought a colourful cast of characters to life with some very well written and witty lyrics. ****
Show number 2 was 'The Jaffa Cake Musical' an original piece of musical theatre by the well known Fringe company- Pleasance. This unique new musical sought to decide once and for all is it a cake or biscuit? Superb multi rolling and vocal performances from all involved *****
The last show of the day was another new musical by a very impressive youth company- ' Somewhere'. The story drew the audience into an enchanted forest where a host of fairy characters bring some incredible songs to life. ***
Top Tips
From street performers to market places the Fringe was such a fantastic experience- I definitely intend to make it an annual thing! A few top tips for attending the Fringe from me to you-
1) Allow enough time to walk between venues allowing for some careful navigating of crowds. The venues are quite spread out and the streets become heaving in the middle of the day with crowds watching street performers so do make sure you allow enough time.
2) Pick up a guide/map. I stopped into the Fringe shop but you can also download one of these from online- its a really useful tool to help navigate the venues.
3) Go for longer than a day. In hindsight 1 day felt a little rushed for me especially with the added time spent at the airports etc, next year I aim to stay over night.
Add comment
Comments