Fringe, days 2 and 3!
Day 2 was a bit different, in that we decided to see a Serious Thing. Not gritty theatre about a black disabled heroin addicted lesbian, or interpretative dance about the futility of existence, but a panel discussion about Scottish arts and the search for identity in the independence debate.
Five Artists In Search of a Country pretty much did what it said on the tin. The event was arranged by the excellent blogger Bella Caledonia and, for full disclosure, associated with the Scottish Independence Convention and National Collective. Featured on the panel were Dave Hook, AKA Solarize from the wonderful Stanley Odd (go listen to them NOW. Scottish rap that's fun and clever. Really.), Jim Sutherland the multi-talented musician behind La Banda and Struileag, and the chair was the inimitable Elaine C Smith of Naked Video and Rab C Nesbitt fame. I won't go into detail about the debate- there's some good summary here- but needless to say Pete and I found it constructive, stimulating and frankly ELAINE C SMITH FOR FIRST MINISTER.
(And why should you care? Because the Hootsmon spun the event into this piece of journalistic mince. FUCKSAKE.)
In need of something lighter we headed to the Pleasance Dome for the Beta Males, whose superhero-themed sketch show was an utter joy. Lo-fi props abounded, as did a spot of ad-libbing; and there was plenty for comic geeks to grab onto as well as highly accessible sketches like poor old 'Strongth' and his tormented love affair, or the superhero with no powers and a fleet of lemming-like assistants. It is probably sold out now but go see it if it's not. You will be happy right in the face. I also haven't forgotten that I owe one of them a pint, but he keeps getting intercepted by fangirls or I keep journeying in the opposite direction to the bar. ONE DAY THIS WEEK I PROMISE.
While we were wandering around after Five Artists with early signs of the infamous Fringe Fatigue, a lovely lady named Celeste came up and flyered us for her free sketch show. We ended up chatting for half an hour, exchanging recommendations, bemoaning the perils of performing and the cost of staying in town in August, and generally putting the world to rights. These conversations make me very happy, so naturally we decided to see the show the next day. So it was in the basement of the Jekyll and Hyde pub that we saw Lebensmude, a group native to Peckham who are taking their show oop north for the first time. Word of mouth had certainly worked its magic, as the room was so packed people were standing in the bar and all round the pillars. I've never seen such a busy free show! It was worth it of course; the sad tale of Steve and Viv's relationship (told through a talcum-filled flashback) was sweet and thoughtfully observed stuff that reminded me of Watson and Oliver's prison sketch for some reason. Other highlights for me was the recalcitrant sacked worker, the performance poet on Welsh radio and the Schadenfreude team. Go see them, and tell Celeste I sent you x
Meanwhile, in a dingy nightclub called Why Not, we finally grabbed seats for a show that had been totally packed the day before, Ulysses Dies At Dawn. How to describe it? Steampunk space pirates play eclectic music in a prog-rock-style concept performance very loosely based around Greek myths. Yeah, that just about covers it. Ulysses is a hard-drinking bitter man, captured by a bunch of 'suits' who turn out to be people like Heracles, Orpheus and Ariadne who want the locks to a mysterious vault opened. The songs were really fantastic, with instruments ranging from the mandolin to the glockenspiel, and the women's voices in particular were very strong. One thing I would nitpick which I appreciate is hard to do in a small low budget venue: the sound was less than perfect, resulting in some instruments being far too loud and voices being drowned out. It didn't help that the lyrics were particularly verbose so a lot of it was hard to follow. There's a so-so recording here. We probably ought to have bought their CD but the queue was vast, alas. Nevertheless, I'd recommend seeing them, perhaps if they go on tour and get a venue that isn't a vaulted underground club with tiny speakers.
Coming next- Day 4 and our late night on the Fringe...
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