EdFringe day 2

[kaberett]

#smashgenrebinaries

also special shout-out to the creme brulee van

Me, delightedly holding out a tiny takeaway raspberry-meringue creme brulee in my cupped hands.

Not Disabled... Enough! Accessible venues are a lie. Charming in parts & the performer was a sweetie; my main take-home, though, was that I really should get my act together to write a comedy show to take to Edinburgh next year.

Women's Hour, by Shit Theatre. YES YES YES. Content notes galore, but handled excellently and respectfully and it made me laugh a lot; the venue gets a solid 3.5/5 for accessibility, and the performers get a 5 as far as I'm concerned. Music-singing-physical theatre; we are contemplating designating Friday afternoon For Repeats and doing this again then along with Black.

Hearts of Folk. I was self-flyering for this one -- I was amused by the image and assumed it would be a bunch of folk music that the useless ex and I would quite enjoy and sebastienne would tolerate for the sake of watching our faces. ... IT WAS NOT FOLK MUSIC. It was, however, an excellent and loving pastiche of vicious music-scene gossip and folk in general. Absolutely delightful. Adored it. A+ self-flyering, would self-flyer again.

Rent (from New York). Holy SHIT I had never seen Rent before and was familiar with only one of the songs (and a filk of it at that). I. I. I started fucking bawling my eyes out (in the best possible way) partway through the first half, and continued bawling my eyes out all the way through the second, to the extent that enough of the actors noticed it that I was deemed In Need Of Hugs when they were going off after final bows. I. It was amazing. Beautiful singing, beautiful physical work, band in the pit jamming misc other shite during intros and breaks, beautiful set design given the constraints of the Fringe, yes yes yes fucking yes, maybe I will be more coherent about it on another occasion but basically yeS YES Y E S.

Saucy Jack & the Space Vixens. Right around the corner from where we're staying, and it had loud bass and brightly coloured lights and lots of glitter and was pleasantly mindless and pleasantly unabashedly cheerful and was a good way to wind down (provided not paying too much attention, ha) after the above, which, yeah, BAWLING. (I have decided I can only manage one show that makes me cry that much per day.)

ADDITIONAL SPECIAL BONUS MENTION TO Chapter 1 of Ancillary Mercy, which arrived in my e-mail today and which I read in the foyer while waiting to be let in to Rent, and promptly flailed about to anyone who would listen (vass, reply to come when it's not way past my bedtime and I am actually situated so as to have internet xx)

Comments

[frith_in_thorns]

creme brulee van

WOW

[kaberett]

I KNOW RIGHT

I am considering the merits of chucking in the PhD towel and just, like, opening a franchise

[frith_in_thorns]

I'd be your number one customer. (The icon above was chosen for creme brulee colour of octopus, btw.)

(Also Ancillary Mercy eeee! I am resisting reading the sample chapter because it I have a little bit of the book it will make the wait for the rest harder, but SO EXCITE.)

[davidgillon]

I was self-flyering for this one

Self-flyering? I'm having jargon fail on this one.

(And do you have my email for sending ESA draft for review? It's david.gillon@blueyonder.co.uk if you don't - I'm out the door 10AM Friday, so Thursday night is last opportunity before 29th to get it to me).

[sebastienne]

Jumping on this comment as Alex is still asleep... "Flyering" is a show-promotion technique that involves handing a passer-by a leaflet/flyer about your show, while saying a few words about what it IHS ("five-star physical theatre!" "Children's TV from the 90s!" "queer feminist burlesque!"). There are parts of Edinburgh that are almost impassable at times from the weight of people doing this.

(I have done so much flyering over the years! It's a way to make a human connection, maybe begin a conversation about your show with people who are overwhelmed by the thousands of options in the festival brochure. Being in Edinburgh this week without having to do any flyering is v strange)

So, yes, "self-flyering" means to invoke how, given the above context, it is deeply ironic for Alex to have picked up a flyer from a display stand themself, and gone "ooh, folk music comedy, I'll have some of that!"

[kaberett]

(Looking like I won't have the bit I'm most worried about done by then; so might as well not risk making your holiday less pleasant <3)

[davidgillon]

Aw {{<3}}!

[umadoshi]

raspberry-meringue creme brulee

NOM.

[quartzpebble]

YAY YOU HAVE SEEN RENT NOW.

My perspective on it has shifted as I get older, but RIGHT IN THE FEELS AND THE ID, also FORMATIVE QUEER EXPERIENCES.

[pipisafoat]

you
rent
words
talking
feels
hugs

[rmc28]

Will happily hear/read/participate in Ancillary Mercy flail as appropriate, as I too got ch1 and shall qualify for early release of chs 2 & 3 when they come. (AJ is my current audiobook again).

[kaberett]

I will be making a proper post sometime in the next few days :)

[swaldman]

I suppose I should get around to reading AS, shouldn't I ;-)

[kaberett]

DO IT

Will happily flail with you; we might well be in disagreement about details, but ;)

[swaldman]

*grin*

[rmc28]

If you liked AJ, probably yes. I'm on the AS audiobook now, and delighted to hear Adjoa Andoh is already recording AM ready for publication :-)

[swaldman]

I liked AJ, but not in the same OMGAMAZING way as some.

Here's my review from the time, if you feel like reading it. (no obligation)
https://swaldman.dreamwidth.org/322366.html

[azurelunatic]

YAY THEATRE.

My friend Ginger stuffed RENT in my ears when I was about 17 and I fell in love.

[swaldman]

One of these days I WILL get around to learning all the words to La Vie Boheme :)

[untonuggan]

Rent always makes me fucking cry. <3

[sgsabbage]

I have never seen RENT, but I have listened to and loved the music for many many years. And know most of the words. It is amazing forever.

[swaldman]

a) Woah, you had never seen Rent?
b) Woah, they had it on in Edinburgh this summer?

I am glad that you have now seen it. And, hopefully a proper full-on raw angry rock version, rather than the turned-into-pop-to-avoid-scaring-people version that hit London a few years back? (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rent_%28musical%29#Rent_Remixed)

Yes, it's a bit 90s, but it's still one of my favourite shows :)
(oddly enough it's also one of the very few musicals out there with a non-shit film of it.)

[kaberett]

a) nope! Because I'm a child of the nineties, audiovisual media is hard, and consequently most of my exposure to musicals had been via my parents...

b) Two, actually! One from Surrey and one from New York; we saw the NY version and it was brilliant and, yes, very raw.

[white_hart]

I saw the original Fringe production of Saucy Jack and the Space Victims in 1995. (In fact, I think I saw it three times in the week I spent up there.)

The creme brulee van sounds AMAZING.

[kaberett]

IT REALLY WAS

:)

[white_hart]

Vixens. Not victims. Brain elsewhere.

[fyreharper]

(RENT <3)

[vass]

ADDITIONAL SPECIAL BONUS MENTION TO Chapter 1 of Ancillary Mercy, which arrived in my e-mail today and which I read in the foyer while waiting to be let in to Rent, and promptly flailed about to anyone who would listen (vass, reply to come when it's not way past my bedtime and I am actually situated so as to have internet xx)

Looking forward to this very much once you're rested and have net. :D