Sunday being a day of rest and all that, it was decided to
take things a little more gently yesterday morning, and not get in to Edinburgh
quite so early. The previous days at the Festival had mostly been spontaneous,
but Sunday was a little more planned out as there were some shows that had
caught the eye but, for one reason or another, we’d not managed to attend. The
first of those shows didn’t start until 4pm however, so we still had plenty of
time to catch another show beforehand. We’d nothing particular in mind, so as
one of the shows that we were going to attend was at the top end of the price
scale we thought we might save a bit of cash and see if there was anything of
interest on at the Half-Price Hut (located on the Mound) at the right time before heading off
elsewhere. There were a couple of things on offer that looked OK, but we
decided in the end to go for some more improvisation.
Show 1: The Maydays Confessions
The premise of this show is that, prior to the start, the members of the audience are given a slip of paper on which they are
to write down a secret that they are happy for the Maydays to use as a basis
for their improvised sketches (the confessions are completely anonymised so that the
audience doesn't have to worry about everyone knowing exactly who it was that did
whatever comes out of the tin). I didn't put anything in the tin to be pulled out (as always almost happens, my mind drew a complete blank at the precise moment I was asked to put something down), but Suse did and her confession happened to be the first one to be pulled out of the tin. It was nothing particularly scandalous, but it has now been immortalised in song, which was rather amusing! I have to confess though, out of all of the shows that I saw at the Festival, this was my least favourite. Some of the improvisations were funny and I did enjoy them. But at least 50% of the time - if not more - I have to confess to being disappointed with what they came up with and I felt that some didn't work at all. I guess this shows how difficult true improvisational comedy is: the other improv comedy shows I went to see (and enjoyed) both had clearly defined parameters that they knew that they would be working within before they started their shows. My opinion about The Maydays was not, however, universal: Suse enjoyed it more than I did and she felt that the humourous sketches were more plentiful than I did. So, in conclusion, if improvisation is your thing then why not go and give The Maydays a try? If, however, you like your comedy with a bit more structure, like I do, then I would recommend going for something else.
http://www.themaydays.co.uk/index.html, Underbelly Cowgate 2.20pm, 1hr, until August 25th.
Show 2: Champagne Cabaret
http://www.ozcabaret.com/, The Hispaniola 4.00pm, 1hr, Jul 31, Aug 1-4, 6-11, 13-18, 20-25th.
Show 2: Ivo Graham
https://www.edfringe.com/whats-on/comedy/ivo-graham-binoculars, Pleasance Courtyard 6.00pm, 1hr, Jul 31, Aug 1-11, 13-25th.
Show 2: Mixed Doubles
Having failed to get into either of the last two shows that we wanted, we were at a little bit of a loss. So off to the Half-Price Hut we went again! Whilst there previously I'd had a look at what was coming up later and spotted this show, but as we had already decided to go to see Ivo Graham at that time there seemed little point in buying tickets. As the saying goes, as one door closes another one opens. I can't say whether Ivo Graham was any good, but what I can say is that Mixed Doubles was. A sketch show featuring two men and two women, it was very funny and highly enjoyable. Taking a look at, amongst others, modern friendships, dating and parenting practices, office behaviour and Andy Murray, Mixed Doubles produced a set that was fast and furious, with each tightly scripted sketch lasting no more than a couple of minutes. I would have quite happily paid full price for this show, so the fact that I got it at half its cost was a bonus! A show that is well worth catching.
http://www.mixed-doubles.co.uk/, Just the Tonic at The Caves 6.00pm, 1hr, Aug 1-12, 14-25th.
Show 3: Matt Lacey: Classroom Warrior
Suse left me in Edinburgh after Mixed Doubles as she had to get ready for work the next day, but as there were still plenty more shows left to see I figured that I might as well stay and catch at least one more show. I didn't have anything in particular in mind so decided to see what I could find. Scrolling through my app nothing really caught my eye until I saw this one. As I work in education it sounded like it could be quite amusing, and as I figured I had just enough time to walk across the city to catch it I headed away from the main Fringe venues to the French Quarter where the venue was. The premise of the show is that the audience are parents looking to send their children to the school, and Lacey plays every one of the various teachers who have come to speak to the audience about what their children will be studying at the school. It's a very tightly scripted show, but that doesn't mean that Lacey is afraid to go off script a little and interact with his audience. The characters in the show are memorable - Lacey's most famous creation inevitably makes an appearance in this show, but for my money he is trumped by the P.E. teacher - and the show itself is very funny and well worth making the effort to leave the Royal Mile and all the venues located around there.
https://www.edfringe.com/whats-on/comedy/matt-lacey-classroom-warrior-free, The Voodoo Rooms 7.30pm, 1hr, Aug 3-12, 14-18, 20-24.
Day 3: The Verdict
In some ways this day was a bit of a mixed bag, due to a) my sense of humour failure at The Maydays Confessions and b) our failure to get into the two shows that we had actually planned to see on the day. But both Mixed Doubles and Matt Lacey: Classroom Warrior both made up for that. They were both excellent and made picking out my favourite show of the day difficult. But in the end I had to go for Matt Lacey: Classroom Warrior as my pick of the day - it was just a joy from start to finish, and was a great way to end my Fringe Festival experience.
http://www.ozcabaret.com/, The Hispaniola 4.00pm, 1hr, Jul 31, Aug 1-4, 6-11, 13-18, 20-25th.
https://www.edfringe.com/whats-on/comedy/ivo-graham-binoculars, Pleasance Courtyard 6.00pm, 1hr, Jul 31, Aug 1-11, 13-25th.
Show 2: Mixed Doubles
Having failed to get into either of the last two shows that we wanted, we were at a little bit of a loss. So off to the Half-Price Hut we went again! Whilst there previously I'd had a look at what was coming up later and spotted this show, but as we had already decided to go to see Ivo Graham at that time there seemed little point in buying tickets. As the saying goes, as one door closes another one opens. I can't say whether Ivo Graham was any good, but what I can say is that Mixed Doubles was. A sketch show featuring two men and two women, it was very funny and highly enjoyable. Taking a look at, amongst others, modern friendships, dating and parenting practices, office behaviour and Andy Murray, Mixed Doubles produced a set that was fast and furious, with each tightly scripted sketch lasting no more than a couple of minutes. I would have quite happily paid full price for this show, so the fact that I got it at half its cost was a bonus! A show that is well worth catching.
http://www.mixed-doubles.co.uk/, Just the Tonic at The Caves 6.00pm, 1hr, Aug 1-12, 14-25th.
Show 3: Matt Lacey: Classroom Warrior
Suse left me in Edinburgh after Mixed Doubles as she had to get ready for work the next day, but as there were still plenty more shows left to see I figured that I might as well stay and catch at least one more show. I didn't have anything in particular in mind so decided to see what I could find. Scrolling through my app nothing really caught my eye until I saw this one. As I work in education it sounded like it could be quite amusing, and as I figured I had just enough time to walk across the city to catch it I headed away from the main Fringe venues to the French Quarter where the venue was. The premise of the show is that the audience are parents looking to send their children to the school, and Lacey plays every one of the various teachers who have come to speak to the audience about what their children will be studying at the school. It's a very tightly scripted show, but that doesn't mean that Lacey is afraid to go off script a little and interact with his audience. The characters in the show are memorable - Lacey's most famous creation inevitably makes an appearance in this show, but for my money he is trumped by the P.E. teacher - and the show itself is very funny and well worth making the effort to leave the Royal Mile and all the venues located around there.
https://www.edfringe.com/whats-on/comedy/matt-lacey-classroom-warrior-free, The Voodoo Rooms 7.30pm, 1hr, Aug 3-12, 14-18, 20-24.
Day 3: The Verdict
In some ways this day was a bit of a mixed bag, due to a) my sense of humour failure at The Maydays Confessions and b) our failure to get into the two shows that we had actually planned to see on the day. But both Mixed Doubles and Matt Lacey: Classroom Warrior both made up for that. They were both excellent and made picking out my favourite show of the day difficult. But in the end I had to go for Matt Lacey: Classroom Warrior as my pick of the day - it was just a joy from start to finish, and was a great way to end my Fringe Festival experience.
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