If the title of this post is lost on you I can only assume you have not experienced one of the greatest TV shows of all time. Black Books. It’s a BBC show that was screened in Australia on the ABC and features two of my favourite comedians, Dylan Moran and Bill Bailey. If neither of these names sound familiar please stop reading, watch a few episodes and return. Without understanding the greatness that is Black Books, you can’t fully appreciate this post.
Back? Brilliant isn’t it. If you didn’t like it you can stop reading again because we are no longer friends and as such you shouldn’t care what I’ve been up to. (Frankly, you were pushing your luck by not having seen it already). My favourite episode is The Blackout, during which Bernard (Moran’s character) turns up at a friend’s house with a pineapple….ahhhh the title of my post makes sense now doesn’t it. So what does all this have to do with my adventures?
It all started in 1947 when a few small theatre companies gatecrashed the Edinburgh International Festival. These companies intended to take advantage of the crowds in town for the festival, which was showcasing classical music, opera, theatre and dance. Fast forward 65 years and good luck finding a well-known comedian that hasn’t performed there. This year The Fringe program features more than 2600 shows over 25 days in 279 venues. It’s HUGE! It’s a lot of comedy as well as theatre, dance, music, poetry and events such as the debut of the Potter Trail – a Harry Potter themed tour of Edinburgh. The shows are relatively cheap, if not free, and there is far too much to see than you could ever get to. It really is incredible. The Royal Mile is taken over with people (often the performers themselves) handing out flyers, actors in costume giving impromptu performances, buskers and a whole lot of tourists. It takes over the city.
I was in Edinburgh for The Fringe last year but only caught two performances. This year I put in a better effort. I came to Edinburgh to visit one of my best friend’s, Yani, with only a vague idea of the shows I wanted to see. But the Fringe is something you can just turn up at. There will be something on. Of the 11 shows I saw, only three I had picked before hand. I found myself at the others because of posters, flyers given to me and sitting in the courtyard of the Three Sisters pub where there was a non-stop program of free shows in six rooms.
My 2012 Ed Fringe show list
Hannah Gadsby: Tassie comedian from Smithton, has appeared on Good News Week a bit. This show wasn’t as funny as what she did last year and there was a very weird heckler in the second row.
Eric McElroy: A Yank with British citizenship who’s gig was about national identity. He threw in a 9/11 joke. Too soon.
Lucy Cox: She was handing out flyers for her free show “Attractive Audience 
Required”. Yani and I felt obliged to go. She was funny and sung about guys and dating. Very revealing stuff considering her parents were watching.
A Big Value Comedy Showcase: Three performers plus a host with a thick Glasgow accent. The three were up-and-comers and it showed, but still entertaining. The last was a middle-aged woman who made jokes about menopause. Very original…
Fark: A rather odd performance by Sydney’s Madeleine Culp. She was named as best newcomer at the Sydney Comedy Festival. I’m not sure why. It was free though.
It’s not us, it’s you: A free gig in a yurt (called The Yurt Locker) at the Three Sisters. Four comedians who were not as funny as Steve, a guy in the front row. The host did the “what’s your name? What do you do?” thing and Steve turned the tables quickly.
6 Foot Silly: A free gig recommended to my friend Claire and funny as anything. I answered a trivia question and then followed up with a dig at the comedian and got a round of applause. I’ll keep you posted on my own upcoming Fringe show.
Bogan Bingo: It was everything you think it would be. We sung to John Farnham. They called Jesus the original bogan and the number 69 “the breakfast of champions”. And we played bingo. For free.
The Vocal Orchestra: My one exception to comedy. The group of seven performed all kinds of music – beat boxing, opera, pop, rap – with no instruments. It was amazing.
Axis of Awesome: If you’ve seen the Four Chord Song then you know who I’m talking about. If you haven’t find it on youtube. It’s an Aussie trio and Claire and I got a photo after the gig. They lived up to their name. It was awesome.
Most of those shows were awesome and the most expensive was £14. The average was about £5 because we bought the tickets from the half-price outlet and the rest were free. But they were nothing compared to my final Fringe act. After trying in vain to see him when he came to Melbourne (sold out) and Hobart (couldn’t get off work), I finally got to see Dylan Moran.
It nearly didn’t happen. Despite searching specifically for him, no gigs came up. Then my friend Claire found it. Two shows, one on the 15th, one on the 23rd. I bought a ticket not knowing if I’d be able to make it, but sometimes a slow job market has it’s perks and come 8pm on Wednesday night, I was on the edge of my seat at Edinburgh’s Playhouse. I’d planned to bring a pineapple, but in all the excitement I simply forgot.
I won’t tell you much about the show, but he was great. He really was. It’s always odd when you admire someone’s work and then see it for real. I kept staring at the stage thinking “I have watched you on TV for hours and hours and now you’re right there“. He did read his own version of Fifty Shades of Grey and I can only hope he’ll publish it.
Four days and 11 shows. It wasn’t close to being enough. My thoughts have already turned to Fringe 2013. Bring it.
