At the start of August, I went to Edinburgh with the lovely Miss W. She had planned a little trip for us to attend the Edinburgh Fringe; something that has been on my bucket list for years. Having grown up listening to brilliant radio comedy, I had always heard of the Fringe and it always sounded like it would be great fun – and the event did not disappoint.
So, in order to share my thoughts, I have decided to create two posts – one that focuses on the spoken word events we saw, and a second that share the music and theatre we saw. So, I guess I should begin…
Evil Genius with Russell Kane
Attending a recording of radio show is something that (again) has been on the bucket list for quite some time. So, I am over the moon that I have managed to tick that off by attending a recording of ‘Evil Genius’ with Russell Kane. This started life a BBC podcast, but is moving to BBC Radio 4. The concept of the show is that the panel must decide if a celebrity of choice is ‘evil’ or ‘genius’ – there is no grey area.
The focus of our show was Bernard Manning (not the turkey man, Miss W). I won’t spoil the outcome but the panel chaired by Russell Kane, discussed the subject with a balance of humour and serious focus to make for a very entertaining show.
I am looking forward to the episode being broadcast to remember I was there (and love Russell Kane, Miss W even let me swap seats so I could see – haha).
The Empathy Experiment
One of the great things about the Edinburgh Fringe is that there are a number of shows that are free. One such show was ‘The Empathy Experiment’.
This was a spoken word show by Rose Condo, sharing her experiment that suggests if we give up our phones, we will show more empathy.
The audience are taken through the steps of the experiment. An interesting comment on the world of modern technology we live with every day. This show certainly makes you consider the pros and cons of a world of devices.
Will you leave looking at your use of devices or level of empathy differently?
Age Fright: 35 and Counting
Wow, this was a brilliant piece of stand-up comedy as, let’s be honest, it spoke directly to me and Miss W. We were the perfect target audience (and even managed to get over our fear of being involved).
Jaleelah Galbraith leads us through the nineties again, reminding us of all theose things that made grwoing up in thet decade great fun. (Dean Cain was one of my first crushes too). It was such a giggle as we all together remember the retro decade.
However, something this show did well was not just to focus on the rose-tinted nineties, Jal also thinks about make the most of our age and the life we have, because not everybody is so lucky to see all the ages that they could go through.
Buffering
The final piece of spoken word stand-up comedy we saw was ‘Buffering’. A show based on the idea that the women feel that their life is buffering, waiting for their children to leave home, or caught in the middle of elderly relatives and children (and maybe the odd glass of wine).
Jenny Laville and Pauline Eyre take to the stage as a double act who then split into their individual stand-up acts. They use their experiences to create a relateable set of routines for all. There were so many laugh-out-loud moments and jokes for all.
There is a great chemistry between both Jenny and Pauline, which make it even more fun, and giggles galore.
We were lucky that every show we saw was absolutely brilliant, and I would recommend each one to anyone who see a good show when in Edinburgh enjoying the Fringe.