#edfest2016

[theoceanimade]

✨💥💫

[paulaonthefringe]

Day 25: Go big, or go home...

Having set aside Sunday as a much needed day of rest (to recover from August), this was to be my last day at the Fringe. So I thought I may as well do it properly! First up...

1 Woman, a Dwarf Planet and 2 Cox: Samantha Baines, 11.45am (extra show) @ Pleasance Courtyard

I’d seen Samantha Baines before as part of ‘2 Girls, 1 Cup of Comedy’, she was quite charmingly funny then, so I’d earmarked this show early on.

Heavy on the story-telling, with a more than a small dose of feminism, but light on the laughs. That said, it’s hard not to like her. If anything, her likability is probably what got her through the hour unscathed.

The show has a message (girls can do science stuff too - in case anyone was wondering), which I’m not against, but in the end it was more of a TED Talk than stand up. Which again, I’m not against, but would rather know that’s what I was letting myself in for.

A sold out show throughout the Fringe might be an indication that people think otherwise, but it could also be because she’s on the telly, which seems to help ticket sales no end. Hopefully she’ll be back next year with some new material and preferably some jokes.

A brisk walk from The Pleasance down to the new town took us to...

Lost Voice Guy: Disability for Dunces Volume Two, 1.15pm @ The Stand 5

I had read about this show and was intrigued, I imagine being a stand-up comedian is difficult enough, let alone when you can’t speak.

Lost Voice Guy (also known as Lee Ridley) didn’t disappoint. An honest account of some of the ridiculous situations he’d been in, as well as answering questions he’d been asked regarding his disability, all done in an amusing and quite brutal manner.

You could tell a tremendous amount of thought had been put into the material and preparation, which paid off.

Lost Voice Guy is a very funny guy.

After some refuelling we were on our way back to the old town for...

Susie Youssef – Check Youssef Before You Wreck Youssef, 5.15pm @ Assembly George Square

When I read that Susie Yousseff had been off to Chicago honing her skills in the same way Tina Fey and Amy Poehler did, I knew I had to check out her debut.

Immensely likeable, charismatic, funny, and an excellent story teller. She did some sketches, assumed a couple of different personas, told some jokes, and mixed it all together with some personal stories which drew the biggest laughs.

When she says she loves what she does, and thanks you for being there and allowing her to do it, it seems to come from a very genuine place - which made it all the more enjoyable.

Laughs throughout, and a properly hilarious finale. We loved the show.

Hopefully she’ll be back next year, but I wouldn’t be surprised if she’s moved onto bigger and better things before next August.

Mild exhaustion setting in...we hauled ourselves along to the Pleasance for the next show which was...

Larry Dean: Farcissist, 7.15pm @ Pleasance Courtyard

I have now seen Larry Dean at the Fringe the last three years running. The first year he was part of AAA Stand Up, and I thought he was an excellent stand-up comedian. The second time, I thought he was funny but desperately needed some new material. This year...I’m wondering how he’s still managing to sell out shows and win awards by peddling the same old tired jokes.

Straight from the Kevin Bridges school of ‘ham up your accent, everything will sound funnier’, he’s still making jokes at his own expense and opening the show with a big reveal that isn’t really a surprise anymore.

He has a tried and tested style and way of telling a story, but it all feels a bit unoriginal. Not quite Billy Connolly, not quite Kevin Bridges, but a hybrid of all the comedians he’s trying to desperately to be.

I can honestly say I didn’t laugh at all...I smiled a few times, but only because he looked directly at me and I panicked he’d lock on and engage with me if I didn’t.

If you were seeing him for the first time, you probably thought it was great, and I wouldn’t blame you. But, there are much sharper comedians with better material at the Fringe.

I don’t think I’ll see him a fourth time.

A quick skip downstairs to the Cellar for...

Loren O'Brien: Who? 8.30pm @ Pleasance Courtyard

We’d never heard of Loren O’Brien, but the time and location suited us perfectly. Why not?

I can sometimes struggle with American comedians, because they seem to get unnerved by quieter audiences (a bit like Ever Mainard earlier in the Fringe), and there’s always a worry the humour or references won’t translate well for a U.K audience. About 15 minutes into this stand-up show, I thought it was going to be painful, she even stopped to ask why no one laughed at something that she had just said, and insisted it was funny. Ouch.

She settled in though, and eventually the humour shone through. A couple of jokes ran dangerously close to the bone but she carried it off.

I think once both myself and the rest of the audience started to get her, the laughs came a lot more easily and she ended strongly.

Decent bit of stand-up, and I’d probably buy a ticket again.

Lastly...

Randy Writes a Novel, 10.05pm @ Underbelly Topside

So to describe this; it’s a puppet, who’s going to rant at you for an hour.

Doesn’t sound nearly as good as it was. Under the pretence of wanting to read us a chapter of his book, Randy the puppet distracted himself by giving us his thoughts on some of the big questions in life.

The guy under the table was quick witted to say the least, and handled a particularly irritating heckler (who heckles a puppet?!) with ease and a decent couple of take downs.

Even though I was knackered by this point he held my attention throughout, and it was nice to see something a bit different. 

The puppetry was done so well I actually found myself forgetting that it wasn’t in fact real, and panicked whenever I thought he was making eye contact (after a Fringe spent avoiding having to interact with performers).

Good effort, and a great show to finish on.

[heckyeahannafriel]

annafriel Purple, the colour of creativity.💜💜💜💜💜💜💜 My dress happened to match the colour of the conference chairs before our #edfest2016 #marcellamasterclass. Series 2 here we go.@orlakielly dress @katmaconie shoes 💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜

[licketyspit]

Our audiences so far have been 12 weeks to 94 years! really!

Our audiences are amazing. They are rapt and so enthusiastic! They all say the really LOVE Molly Whuppie. The pile of effusive feedback forms & online reviews is growing. We’ve had great press reviews too. But marketing a show that really does appeal as much to a 17-month old as it does to a 6 or 12 year old and to adults is a hard call! So many of our audiences have come because of word-of-mouth. And when we hand a flyer to a family with a baby and a ten year old they find it hard to believe that they will ALL equally enjoy this play.

 “Molly Whuppie is the only show that has been substantial enough for our 4-year old, so much for her age is just not stimulating enough”; “My 17 month-old was mezmerised throughout and so was her Mummy!”

"I liked how it was the smallest character who does the biggest & bravest thing, I loved how you managed to fit in Scottish music and effects" Erin, (nearly 10)

"I loved ALL of it!" - Jessica "Amazing!" Sean (9) "I liked it. Especially crossing the bridge!" Juliette (6) "Brilliant - think the grownups like it as much as the kids!" (Dad 3&6yr olds) "Jacob(5) loved saying the rhyme 'Molly Whuppie Dance..."!

"Dad - Loved it! - wonderful, engaging, moving, clever, meaningful, beautifully staged and performed, my son (6) said "It's FANTASTIC" Favourite character "Giant. He was big and kind!"

....and it goes on

Licketyspit shows are created in consultation with children aged 3-7 and the fact is this is a much under-estimated age-group with a keen eye for things that matter. The kind of work we make in response to children is full of words, full of story, full of theatre (& funny and appropriately scary too!) There is a real process behind Molly Whuppie, where we have reflected on how to adapt an amazing, rich, traditionally rather brutal epic tale, for children as young as three. This is an inspiring creative journey where our target audience push us to use all our imagination and experience. Working like this means we can be absolutely certain that our shows will capture the imaginations of 3-7s and prompt their active engagement and participation in every performance for 75 minutes. It also means that most under-threes and all 7-12 year olds and their adults will be highly entertained - and this says as much about 3-7s as it does about Licketyspit.

We have had teenagers coming who saw Molly Whuppie when they were 3 and have loved it ever since. A shared Theatre experience like this becomes part of a families’ culture & history!

I have been slow to start blogging but there is more to say about this work which those interested in children’s theatre will I hope find interesting...watch this space :-) Thanks for reading!

[luke-graves]

Edinburgh is going great... #edfest2016 #EdFringe #Comedy #LivingLuke

[athousandtales]

WestWeek: Day 4

     ↳   HAPPY BIRTHDAY ED! <3

[serenate]

I can get moody sometimes when I wake up after a nap, I’m like a four-year-old.  

Happy 29th Birthday Edward “Ed” Westwick (June 27, 1987)

[edwestwickers]

Happy 29th Birthday, Ed Westwick!

[e-d-w-e-s-t-w-i-c-k]

HAPPY 29TH BIRTHDAY, ED WESTWICK 🎉🎈 💫 Edward Westwick, June 27, 1987 - England "You say it's your birthday, it's my birthday too, yeah They say it's your birthday, we're gonna have a good time I'm glad it's your birthday, happy birthday to you" More than an idol, an inspiration, one of the reasons for my happiness. I have no words to describe what you means to me, you fills me with pride by the person who you are, and by how much comes growing professionally, and regaling me with all these amazing works. Thank you for existing, Ed, I hope you be the happiest person in the world, and that you realize all your dreams, I hope also I can see you growing even more in your career, making all the characters you've always dreamed. Happy Birthday, I love you.

Personal, do not copy! (x)

[cosmokaramel]

Happy Birthday Ed Westwick!  Happy  WestWeek! 

[krism23]

Ed West-Week Day 3: Favorite Friendship

These two of course. Ed and Chace, ChEd, friends and brothers. I will never not love them.

[paulaonthefringe]

Day 24 (Part 2): Royal Vauxhall

What could be funnier than that one time Princess Diana went out clubbing with Freddie Mercury and Kenny Everett? Probably nothing, so I had to check it out...22.10pm @ Underbelly Med Quad

I’m still unsure if this is based on truth or not (Wikipedia says it is, so it must be?), but I didn’t care all that much because even if it isn’t, it’s a nice idea. 

I’ll start with the positives...the cast were all talented, they could sing, and sing well. It was also sad...but in a kind of good way, a nostalgic way. That’s about it.

The songs were on the whole, pretty forgettable. There were even some Queen songs in there which should have saved it, but they had been tweaked so heavily they were barely recognisable. As for comedy...there really wasn’t that much of it at all, I’d have expected more from a show featuring a character who was a comedian.

It probably has a lot of mileage this story, but I think the play only grazed the surface of what could have been a brilliant retelling of what seems like it would have been a crackin’ night out.

By the end, I really did want to break free (can’t help myself). I don’t think Freddies review would be all that flattering, either.

[edwestweek]

The highlight of #EdFest2016 ois coming! 

We will be celebrating Ed West-Week during the last week of June. He may be Chuck Bass but he’s so much more than that and on each day we will be honoring our fave Ed Westwick things.

 Here is the list of the topics we will be celebrating each day. Be creative and have fun!! 

      Day 1 June 24 (Friday)             Ξ Favorite Photoshoot

      Day 2 June 25 (Saturday)             Ξ Favorite Movie or Show

      Day 3 June 26 (Sunday)            Ξ  Favorite Friendship

      Day 4 June 27 (Monday)              Ξ Wish Ed a Happy Birthday!

      Day 5 June 28 (Tuesday)           Ξ  Favorite Outfits

      Day 6 June 29 (Wednesday)           Ξ  Dream Roles

      Day 7 June 30 (Thursday)           Ξ   Free day!!

We will be tracking the #WestWeek tag (please use this on the first five tags) so don’t forget to tag everything you make for this week! 

  For any questions or suggestions contact us through our askbox. 

You can also celebrate #WestWeek on other social media platforms like twitter, instagram and facebook. 

Have fun!!

[gosssipgirrl]

day 13 of #edfest2016

[luke-graves]

Morning... clean teeth, out the door... #livingluke #edfest2016 #EdFringe #Comedy

[ewestwickdaily]

Chalet Girl