Edinburgh Escapades - Day Two - Saturday 18th August 2018 - 'Now is my fault.'

'Now is my fault.'

The quote comes from a play I saw today called 'Bummer & Lazarus'.  It just stuck me as quite profound.  A bit existential but everyone needs an existential moment or six.

Today so far (it's currently 6pm and I am going out in about thirty minutes or so), I have seen three productions.  I have also seen a lot of statue stroking.  Poor Greyfriars Bobby with his unnecessarily shiny nose.  I think he is stroked in the same way that an ornamental Buddha's belly is rubbed for good luck.

Anyhow, I woke up this morning, went downstairs, helped myself to the breakfast buffet which included a strange brown square thing that turned out to be a beef patty or something like that.  After eating breakfast and returning with a cup of tea, I was shocked to discover the waiter cleaning my table.  It just made me internally chuckle but I think that the waiter was embarrassed as he later apologised, stating that I hadn't left any indication I was coming back (he was right).  So tomorrow,  I am going to leave a full sized inflatable shark on the table.

First port of call today was a venue near to a bridge (Paradise in Augustines - Sanctuary) to see 'That Bastard Brecht' (Nuworks Theatre).  Depending on how you viewed it, it's either a musical play or a musical.  It cleverly gave an overview of Brecht's life and collaborations, portraying him as less than perfect.  The women who he exploited, seemingly for the mutual benefit of all parties, except when it came to providing the proper authorial credits where they were due, were exceptionally well developed by this production.  The songs too were catchy and not dissimilar to Brecht's output.  Certainly, the largest cast I have encountered in a Fringe show so far.  Also the audience was impressively large for a 10.45 am start time.  The show started a little late, which may have been due to the musicians having troubles getting to the venue, as I saw them arrive.  I have never seen a drum kit pushed through a door before by one person.  It's an impressive sight.

I left the venue and continued to walk around.  I walked into Forbidden Planet and they didn't have the comic I was looking for.  Then I pretty much just continued wandering around to kill some time, prior to the second show.

'Bummer & Lazarus' (Big Egg Theatre) is a play performed by two actors that finished today at the Greenside @ Infirmary Street - Olive Studio (basically, a venue located within the same site I attended last night).  Once again, I enjoyed (endured) the experience of pointlessly queueing (as a rule of thumb arrive just before the performance starts to avoid long queueing times unless you are hoping for a particular seat.  Bummer and Lazarus are dogs who are trapped in a strange environment, which doesn't appear to have an exit.  In the meantime, whilst they try to find a way out, Bummer explains a myriad of things such as time, causality and the concept of the mind to Lazarus, who has a tendency to forget.  As a theatre production, I wasn't really sure who it's aimed at.  It's supposed to be for eight year olds up but the philosophical concepts and the nature of the concepts being addressed would be confusing for some children.  It's a very wordy piece, with intermittent physical bits that would attract children.  Having said that, it continues to resonate with me, so it definitely ticks the boxes for adults.  The notion of 'Now being my fault' is a wonderfully succinct lesson that things change from one second to the next.

The third performance of the day was back at the Pleasance Courtyard (Pleasance Beyond this time) for 'The Red Shoes' (Young Pleasance).  Now this performance was heaving, a clever update of the Hans Christian Andersen tale tying it in with the rise of Nazism and the 'Final Solution'.  Also felt a lot like versions of 'Faust'.  Possibly, the most powerful scene of all is the final one depicting a pile of shoes, upon which someone places the eponymous red shoes of the title.  The play also made good use of music.  I recognised the odd bit of Brecht thrown in for good measure and clocking in at about an hour, it succinctly told the story.  I am off to see some comedy tonight.

I had an Indian meal tonight, prior to heading off for the evening festivities.  You can always tell when you have eaten in a good restaurant as the menu is lovingly stained.

'Angela Barnes: Rose-Tinted' at the Pleasance Courtyard - Beside (this time in a marquee style venue) was astounding.  Angela Barnes' routine offered a partial overview of her life and the changes that she has undergone, performed with a confidence and self-belief that was empowering for everyone.  Her resolutely powerful personality shows someone who can see through the crap and dissect what remains.  Her joke about the disappearance of the middle classes and how in Guildford there is apparently only six middle class couples left had the audience roaring.  Also the temperature in the venue was so hot that she joked that this was a little special something she was giving the audience, a sauna.  Her set was definitely one of the best things I have seen on the Fringe so far.

Then later this evening, I saw 'Onstage Dating' at the Underbelly, Cowgate - White Belly (the venue was apparently an archive.  Really weird building resembling a castle with odd spiral staircases.  The little venues within the main site were equally strange environments.  The White Belly was like an air raid shelter) with friends.  Two lucky or unlucky people depending upon your perspective ended up on stage with the performer, Bron Batten who initially appeared on stage wearing crazy glasses and a weird hat consisting of lots of lights, as she mimicked a Peacock's fertility dance.  All of the male audience members were provided with questionnaires (I am not sure whether any female members of the audience were given questionnaires) and the questions including favourite wine, film and your likelihood to jump off a cliff if she asked you to were apparently based on a psychological study of human coupling. 

During the course of this show, not only did I learn that male bees lose their sting and part of their lower abdomen during intercourse but also that the performer definitely has a winning formula for this show but only if the audience members she invites on stage are prepared to engage.  I would have probably clammed up like a shell unless encouraged.  The guy stripping down to his underwear to match the performer may have been reacting to peer pressure and/or a deep seated need to perform.  But the clever thing about this show is the fact that it shows up that dating is a performance art.  The best actors are more likely to achieve the best results (whatever they may be).

I really did not like the Underbelly, Cowgate venue.  Too many people in random queues and guess what?  I am there nearly all day on Monday.  Ouch!  I just hope the performers are worth it, but I am sure they will be.

                                                                                  Barry Watt - 18th August 2018.

Afterword.

Existentialism is a rather lovely philosophical approach that believes that the individual is  responsible for everything that happens to them.  Basically, it places the onus of responsibility back on the individual, away from the existence of deities and other cosmic forces.  Jean-Paul Sartre is a major name associated with this philosophic approach to life.

Greyfriars Bobby is perhaps the most iconic dog in history.  Even after his owner's death, he apparently laid beside his grave.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greyfriars_Bobby

Forbidden Planet is a chain of comic shops that also sell lots of other film and TV related merchandise.  Regularly disappointing but at least, they exist.

https://www.forbiddenplanet.co.uk/

Faust is the protagonist of German fable that continues to permeate throughout pretty much every medium that you can think of.  Allegedly based on the life of Johan Georg Faust (well, a little bit).  Faust makes a deal with the Devil and needless to say, things don't go well.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faust

Brecht was mentioned yesterday, so please check the afterword there if you are interested.

Buddha was a sage who has inspired the teachings of Buddhism.  There still seems to be a bizarre ritual involving rubbing the belly of ornamental representations of Buddha to encourage good luck.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gautama_Buddha

Oh yes, 'Now is my fault' is a line from 'Bummer & Lazarus' so is copyright to the theatre company (Big Egg Theatre) and/or writer(s) that created it

                                                                                                                        BW.

Photos.

He does you know, but I never met him.

A sense of history.

Weird building.

Church where I saw 'That Bastard Brecht'.

My proverb except I am invariably lost.

The entrance to the Pleasance Courtyard.

I have no idea what the Thermos Museum was.  It always made me laugh though.

Apparently, you can 'learn nothing on the Thermos Museum tour', which was apparently a quid, although I never saw the Guide.  I was tempted to adopt the mantle of the Thermos Museum Guide.

Poor Greyfriars Bobby with his much abused nose.

                                                                                                BW

Edinburgh Escapades - Day One - Friday 17th August 2018 - The sky is filthy, bulbous with rain.

It is customary for my journeys anywhere to be slightly problematic.  Today's journey involved two buses to King's Cross Station.  It should have been one bus, but the bus company clearly wanted to keep me on my toes.

I eventually arrived at the station and ended up on the train with the case sitting in front of my legs and my hand luggage perched on top of my legs.  Sadly, I was not next to the window.

Due to a most amusing turn of events, amusing to absolutely no-one, lots of people had no seats, so ended up in proprietorial huddles in any spare corners they could find.  A mother and daughter discussed the 'trash' novel, they were reading in their book club (I believe that it may have been 'The Valley of the Dolls').  Then the younger lady (the daughter) spoke of her son's night terrors.  The dreams he vividly recalled when he awoke terrified and then could not return to sleep.  The story disturbed me as you don't grow out of monsters, ghosts and strange things just out of sight, you merely incorporate them into your daily routine as you get older (I guess) or humanise the fears.  Bear in mind, that the two ladies were sitting on the floor, one was sitting in a gap behind the chairs.  If you can visualise this, you can appreciate how busy the train was today.

Upon arriving in Edinburgh, I was pretty overwhelmed even though I have been here before.  Very busy as a result of all of the festivals and lots of vaguely menacing individuals loitering as thought straight from the pages of a Dickens' novel.  Also there seems to be a large number of homeless people.

The odd thing about the Fringe festival is listening to the random conversations and seeing people plugging shows that only three people may attend.  Also overhearing conversations about failed shows, not so much bums on seats as bums out of the doors.  Too much going on perhaps?  The adverts for shows are stuck on every discernible surface like those dodgy cards sex workers display in phone boxes, only slightly more intricate.

In my hotel preparing to leave, the guy who signed me in was nice asking if I had prebooked tickets for shows.  I assured him I had and he explained that I was a wise man, otherwise I would be doomed to see lots of free shows.  Now I must get ready to go out.

I went out, wandered around trying to get my bearings.  Eventually, I found the location of the first venue on the Pleasance (the Pleasance Courtyard).  I bumped into a friend I hadn't seen for ages and we chatted a little bit, mostly about not being able to find my way into the first venue.  The Pleasance Courtyard has about ten events going on at the same time, so there are arrows everywhere pointing you in all directions.  Eventually, I asked.  Apparently, you had to go down.

Upon finally locating the right door, I entered and climbed and climbed.  Posters of hundreds of current and previous shows festoon the walls.  There is possibly nothing more overwhelming than the residues of cultural history, laid out in a haphazard manner.  An invitation to a world of experience you either missed or could not possibly have the time to truly embrace.  The Fringe is about selection.  The possibility for spontaneity exists but in a sell-out culture, the inducement is to buy early before all the tickets go.

My first show was 'Lucy Porter: Pass It On'.  I bumped into the friend I met earlier and some other friends that I almost met earlier.  We sat together on stage right on raised stalls.

Lucy Porter's show was unashamedly about legacy and growing older.  She performed the comedian's regular trope of identifying people at either end of the age spectrum to provide a visual focus for some of her material.  As she identified, most of the audience were middle-aged (oddly, today at this performance, I became aware for the first time that I am middle-aged too).

Her material was charmingly engaging, her manner direct yet friendly.  Her M & S skinny jeans became an excellent motif for the passage of time.  She realised that she was getting through one pair every seven years.  She then estimated how long she had left based on her mother's death and the number of pairs of jeans she would need.  M & S had apparently discontinued the brand she liked, leading to a funny aside about obtaining supposedly discontinued goods.

Once the show was over, my friends went off to eat.  I went to get lost again.  I was reminded how hilly Edinburgh is.  Also the layout takes a bit of getting used to.  Everywhere I am walking, flyers are being handed to me.  The phenomenon is not unlike being in Egypt, having people following you to tout their wears.  There is so much going on.  Everything is allegedly a five star show but who rated the shows?

I was amused by a couple of stickers I saw on Cowgate.  One read 'Barry loves everything'.  I assume this is probably a street art phenomenon but it has nothing to do with me.

Oddly enough, I don't feel like taking lots of photos today.  So I just imagine the shots I would take.  I will take some tomorrow, when I hopefully won't feel quite so 'out there'. 

The second show of the day was at the Pleasance Dome.  Basically, a pop-up venue, in what appears to be part of the University of Edinburgh campus, although may not be?  Again, multiple events going on and lots of confusing modern arrows pointing in generally the right direction but not always making it clear when you have got to the right place.  The entrance to this show was located inside a bar.  'A Sockful of Custard' (Jeremy Stockwell and Chris Larner) was a pretty interesting performance piece based on Spike Milligan, his life and work.  The somewhat Brechtian technique of identifying the roles that the performers were playing and what they did worked well.  As such, it became clear that both of the performers had actually met Spike Milligan.  It was a production based on love and the title was explained.  Apparently for one of his shows, Spike Milligan required the sound effect of a sockful of custard and the BBC sound effects crew could not find the right sound, so Spike went to the canteen and filled a sock with custard (the canteen wouldn't let him take the plates out of their premises).  This provided the required sound effect (a character was slapped with the sockful of custard).  Members of the audience left at various points during the performance.  Possibly, somewhat frustrated by the structure, which was broken down on cards on the stage (key plot points were written and at times shown to the audience).  I am not sure whether it can be performed in slightly different ways each night, so long as the key scenes are enacted or not.  I enjoyed the show.  I met another couple of friends at this event and once the show ended, we all went off to different things.

I walked around a bit more, eventually felt hungry and popped into KFC.  Cheaper than London but the chicken tasted different.  I remain to be convinced that the recipe of spices etc is the same from place to place.

My last show of the night ('The Maids' - Sudden Impulse Theatre Company) started at 11pm at the Greenside@Infirmary Street (Forest Theatre).  This venue was a little bit out of the way.  Also I didn't feel that comfortable, hanging around outside waiting to be let in to the Forest Theatre.  Prior to heading in, two slightly drunk guys got me to take their photo with a mobile phone, making sure I got the banner in the photo.  I think I took one photo plus by accident a load of slow motion video. 

'The Maids' was probably the most effective production of the show I have seen.  It certainly did what I have often contemplated doing, a production with an all male cast.  This really added to the dynamic, playing up the homo-eroticism that permeates the play.  Also the physicality of the performance was astounding.  Flagellation and wrestling moves performed with relish.  The make-up was also striking.  The performers afterwards thanked the audience for coming and invited us to give feedback if we wished to do so and to mention the show to friends.  It's sad how a good show only had seven or eight people in the audience.  I guess too much to see, such little time.  Also the Fringe seems to be best known for its comedy, not for everything else.

I left the theatre and got lost finding my way back to the hotel, but I anticipate that I will eventually gets my bearings, probably by Monday.  One final aside, I felt like I was in an Irvine Welsh novel earlier today when I heard a truck driver refer to another driver as a 'fucking raj' (I think that's how it sounds not how it's spelt).  There are characters everywhere.

                                                                                    Barry Watt - 17th August 2018.

Afterword.

'The Valley of The Dolls' was written by Jacqueline Susann in the 60s.  Basically, the story of three women in Broadway and Hollywood.  I haven't read it but I am tempted to read it.

Charles Dickens was quite a popular author in his time creating many memorable characters, his supporting characters sometimes more significant than the main protagonists.

Lucy Porter is a year older than me and is a funny comedian.  She helped me to realise that I am middle aged.

http://www.lucyporter.co.uk/

M and S (abbreviation of Marks and Spencer).  Major retail chain that some people really like.

https://www.marksandspencer.com/

Spike Milligan was a very funny comedian, actor, writer.  He suffered from bouts of depression throughout his life.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spike_Milligan

Bertolt Brecht was a major playwright and theatre practitioner.  He came up with many theatrical techniques that still permeate the theatre scene today.  His political beliefs dominating his works and it's not uncommon to go to a Brecht show and see the means of production highly visible.  It wouldn't be out of place to stage a Brecht show where the cast introduce themselves and then tell you who they will be playing.  I like Brecht and his work.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bertolt_Brecht

KFC sell fried chicken.

https://www.kfc.co.uk/

'The Maids' was written by Jean Genet.  Allegedly based on a true story.  Two servants and their mistress.  What could possibly go wrong?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean_Genet

Irvine Welsh is a very popular Scottish author. 

http://www.irvinewelsh.net/

                                                                                                                           BW

Photos

Lucy Porter was a brilliant start to the Fringe for me.

'The Maids' brilliantly performed by the Sudden Impulse Theatre Company.

A shower head.  Be still my beating heart.  It's the odd things that appeal to me.  My hotel lover.

                                                                                                                        BW