Having refrained from posting any reviews at all, now I think I can dare to look back at the few shows I've seen at Edinburgh, without upsetting anybody. (Lessons from past years include Don't post 2 star reviews of your friends shows. I know, but it wasn't obvious to me because I'm an idiot).
I've hardly seen anything this year, being lazy, busy, and unprecedentedly chilled all month. Not having filmed any Socks videos or seen many shows, I'm beginning to wonder just how I have spent the month. (The answer is I spent 9 days teaching comic art in schools and libraries, and our flat back home got flooded on day one, with all that entails).
So, to begin with the Best Show. It was Susurrus by David Leddy, a site-specific radio play that you listen to on an ipod while walking round the Botanical Gardens. Had Heather in tears by the last chapter and, post-Edinburgh, will be playing in Oxford's Botanical Gardens in September.
Susurrus contrasted with another site-specific piece, Hotel devised by Mark Watson and featuring various comedians. It was an interesting idea to have a variety of scenes and improvisations happening in rooms throughout a building, culminating in a climactic scene, clues to which had been scattered through the Hotel, but ultimately none of the individual skits amounted to much, being occasionally witty but mostly indulgent and silly, and the climax very "was that it?".
Enjoyed a number of one-person shows: Bec Hill was fun in her quest to be a superhero, Helen Keen was very witty about explorers, Dan March was charming on his appearance on Blockbusters as a child, Maggie Service showed a brilliant range of voices, and Mackenzie Taylor was intense and informative on his mental illness. Katy Manning's Me & Jezebel was a very good story with good characterisations, rattled through at perhaps too great a rate, and Hardeep Singh Kohli is a lovely bloke and skillful broadcaster whose show really needed more funny material to be truly successful.
The best of these solo shows was Nun The Wiser by Triona Adams, a sparklingly written and exquisitely performed true story of her time as a nun which stood head and shoulders above the rest, despite being half drowned out by the show next door.
Teak Show and Facebook Fables were both well performed and quirky sketch shows, and Sweeny Todd was visually adventurous if a little anticlimactic. But the outstanding sketch show was Princess Cabaret, which made me genuinely jealous of the sketch and song writing on display.
The art on show in Edinburgh was more disappointing than in any previous year, with the City Art Centre and Portrait Gallery closed for refurbishment. That said, the temporary installation by graffitti artists in the Portrait Gallery (Rough Cut Nation) was probably the best show in town. Another quirky one was a tiny room in the basement of an architects (Roger Ackling, Sleeper Gallery). But so many shows were non-plussing, from Eva Hesse in the Fruitmarket, through the Wilsons in the Talbot Rice, to some dreadful Artists Rooms at the Modern Art Gallery (Alex Katz is quite the worst artist whose work I've seen in a respected gallery), that it's hard to muster the effort to list the rest. Some nice celeb photos with Burns poems were on at the mound, Paul Martin was quite impressive at Hendersons Gallery, and surrealist photos from the 1920s at the Institut Francais were intriguing if sophomoric. The sculptors working live in the courtyard of the Art College would have been nice to keep visiting, but we only went once. Overall, art in Edinburgh this year gets 5 out of 10.
The best art was undoubtedly my own dear Heather Tweed's Abscission, whereby she secreted works across the city, with instructions on what to do for whoever found them. Four or five have been stumbled upon and reported back, and news will follow on her website heathertweed.co.uk and Twitter.
So, there are my thoughts on what I saw. No stinkers, some pleasures, and I really should have tried to see more. Maybe next year, eh?
Sunday, 30 August 2009
Comics etc
The most invigorating chat of last night was on the subject of comic books with Stephen (Anorak of Fire, Teak Show) Dinsdale. Will Eisner, Watchmen, we covered them all, and I'm still thinking about comics this morning, triggered off by a Tweet by Oscar who says he's about to buy a Batman graphic novel.
I am so out of touch with comics, I'm just hoping they are as exciting to a new young generation as they were to mine (remembering I teach Comic Art to kids, so you'd think I'd know. But in my experience almost all kids are totally unfamiliar with almost all comics).
When I was growing up comics seemed to move so fast, and every year had a new landmark as big as a new pop music movement. It was like 1979 2000AD goes massive, then next year it's Marvel UK, then it's Warrior, then it's Alan Moore in 2000AD, then it's Frank Miller's Daredevil, Alan Moore's Swamp Thing, The Dark Knight, Killing Joke, Watchmen, Deadline, Viz sells a million, Jonathan Ross opens a comic shop, then before you know it I'm working in comics and it all goes down the pan. But that's really what the 80s felt like, something revolutionary every year.
Is it like that now, cos if it is I'm not seeing it. Someone reassure me that comics are still that exciting.
I am so out of touch with comics, I'm just hoping they are as exciting to a new young generation as they were to mine (remembering I teach Comic Art to kids, so you'd think I'd know. But in my experience almost all kids are totally unfamiliar with almost all comics).
When I was growing up comics seemed to move so fast, and every year had a new landmark as big as a new pop music movement. It was like 1979 2000AD goes massive, then next year it's Marvel UK, then it's Warrior, then it's Alan Moore in 2000AD, then it's Frank Miller's Daredevil, Alan Moore's Swamp Thing, The Dark Knight, Killing Joke, Watchmen, Deadline, Viz sells a million, Jonathan Ross opens a comic shop, then before you know it I'm working in comics and it all goes down the pan. But that's really what the 80s felt like, something revolutionary every year.
Is it like that now, cos if it is I'm not seeing it. Someone reassure me that comics are still that exciting.
Clang! Namedrop central
Last night was the last of four wonderful Saturday nights that I've enjoyed in the Loft Bar at the Fringe, and like every one before it was star studded with stars. Admittedly it started off quieter, most likely because the TV Festival had attractions on its side of town and the Pleasance had its Awards people together, but the Loft was soon buzzing and I had the most pleasurable conversations with Stephen Dinsdale about comics, and with Iain Morris of Inbetweeners fame about everything, catching up. Also managed chats with Jimmy Carr and Richard Bacon about nothing in particular.
Before the show, which was another sellout (the first one for which I actually bothered to whip out my camera and take a pic of the Sellout blackboard), I met up with Roland Moore and Wanda Opalinksa, Sitcom Trials alumni whose Best Man I also happen to be, and their 6 month old whose name I am rude enough to have forgotten. Tantalisingly, Roland had just been talking with Steven Moffat off of Doctor Who, who I would dearly love to speak to, but I'll have to settle for 2 degrees of separation.
The past 4 weeks have seen similar close encounters with pretty much everyone who's anyone in telly and comedy, and leaves everyone in Edinburgh feeling well connected and successful. Of course when we get home we'll discover it's not like that at all. (Robert Llewellyn posted a drawing on Twitter earlier which showed how it'll be back in the real world: http://bit.ly/Pq5w0 )
Today I have to collect the car from wherever I parked it three weeks ago, and hope it works well enough to drag us home through Bank Holiday traffic tomorrow. One last performance tonight, and I'll suddenly realise how much I miss performing the Socks. Oh how I wish I could take this life for granted. And have I succeeded in selling us to the telly? Not yet, but I like to kid myself I'm working on it.
Before the show, which was another sellout (the first one for which I actually bothered to whip out my camera and take a pic of the Sellout blackboard), I met up with Roland Moore and Wanda Opalinksa, Sitcom Trials alumni whose Best Man I also happen to be, and their 6 month old whose name I am rude enough to have forgotten. Tantalisingly, Roland had just been talking with Steven Moffat off of Doctor Who, who I would dearly love to speak to, but I'll have to settle for 2 degrees of separation.
The past 4 weeks have seen similar close encounters with pretty much everyone who's anyone in telly and comedy, and leaves everyone in Edinburgh feeling well connected and successful. Of course when we get home we'll discover it's not like that at all. (Robert Llewellyn posted a drawing on Twitter earlier which showed how it'll be back in the real world: http://bit.ly/Pq5w0 )
Today I have to collect the car from wherever I parked it three weeks ago, and hope it works well enough to drag us home through Bank Holiday traffic tomorrow. One last performance tonight, and I'll suddenly realise how much I miss performing the Socks. Oh how I wish I could take this life for granted. And have I succeeded in selling us to the telly? Not yet, but I like to kid myself I'm working on it.
Saturday, 29 August 2009
Socks win Comedy Award (Genuine, fact)
We won an award!(Genuine)
Edinburgh Festival Insider - Comedy Award 2009
Although comedy is not my favourite genre, I've seen a smattering of shows that fall into that camp. And whilst an award from someone that doesn't claim to be an expert in the field may not amount to a hill of beans, there are some shows which certainly deserve special mention.
So, here is the inaugural Edinburgh Festival Insider Comedy Award 2009 - and the nominees are, in no particular order:
* Frisky & Mannish's School of Pop. This show has caused a sensation in its first ever visit to the Fringe. Hilarious spoof pop songs which had me laughing so hard I was grateful for the image stabilisation on my camera and a pair of stars in the making.
* Princess Cabaret. Everyone's favourite tweeting Disney Princesses treated us to a show which lived up to the hype and provided some cleverly-written sketch-based comedy that saw Snow White and the rest descending into some pretty risque territory.
* The Scottish Falsetto Sock Puppet Theatre Goes To Hollywood. Intentionally shambolic, utterly chaotic and more laughs in 60 minutes than two socks have the right to generate.
* Shut Up, Play! For its uniquely Japanese lunacy and inspired nonsense, Original Tempo was a delight from beginning to end and had moments of absolute hilarity.
* Chris Cox: Mind Over Patter Mind-reading mentalism with a large dose of funny lines and self-effacing asides, Cox - like the Princesses - predicted how useful Twitter would be in generating interest in his great and mind-boggling show.
And the winner is....
The Scottish Falsetto Sock Puppet Theatre Goes To Hollywood!
For consistent laughs and boundless energy, Kev F Sutherland and his socks are this year's winners for speeding through a fast-paced hour of sketches, spoofs, ad-libs and songs that had me laughing from the moment the socks appeared until Sutherland emerged in his kilt at the very end. Both hilarious and extremely clever, his excellent show deserves not only this award but sell-out audiences for every run to come.
So, socks, take a bow:
Edinburgh Festival Insider - Comedy Award 2009
Although comedy is not my favourite genre, I've seen a smattering of shows that fall into that camp. And whilst an award from someone that doesn't claim to be an expert in the field may not amount to a hill of beans, there are some shows which certainly deserve special mention.
So, here is the inaugural Edinburgh Festival Insider Comedy Award 2009 - and the nominees are, in no particular order:
* Frisky & Mannish's School of Pop. This show has caused a sensation in its first ever visit to the Fringe. Hilarious spoof pop songs which had me laughing so hard I was grateful for the image stabilisation on my camera and a pair of stars in the making.
* Princess Cabaret. Everyone's favourite tweeting Disney Princesses treated us to a show which lived up to the hype and provided some cleverly-written sketch-based comedy that saw Snow White and the rest descending into some pretty risque territory.
* The Scottish Falsetto Sock Puppet Theatre Goes To Hollywood. Intentionally shambolic, utterly chaotic and more laughs in 60 minutes than two socks have the right to generate.
* Shut Up, Play! For its uniquely Japanese lunacy and inspired nonsense, Original Tempo was a delight from beginning to end and had moments of absolute hilarity.
* Chris Cox: Mind Over Patter Mind-reading mentalism with a large dose of funny lines and self-effacing asides, Cox - like the Princesses - predicted how useful Twitter would be in generating interest in his great and mind-boggling show.
And the winner is....
The Scottish Falsetto Sock Puppet Theatre Goes To Hollywood!
For consistent laughs and boundless energy, Kev F Sutherland and his socks are this year's winners for speeding through a fast-paced hour of sketches, spoofs, ad-libs and songs that had me laughing from the moment the socks appeared until Sutherland emerged in his kilt at the very end. Both hilarious and extremely clever, his excellent show deserves not only this award but sell-out audiences for every run to come.
So, socks, take a bow:
Friday, 28 August 2009
Bigmouth strikes again
I must be careful what I write. Discovering anyone actually reads your blog comes as a surprise to many people, typing away in isolation. When your blog post ends up in the newspaper and everyone you know seems to have read it, you really start to worry about what you said. Well, according to today's Scotsman, this is what I said:
Comedy judges 'myopic' for Pleasance picks
Published Date: 28 August 2009
THE judges of the Edinburgh Comedy Awards have been accused of being "lazy", "myopic" and "insulting" for shortlisting nominees who mainly appeared at one venue – the Pleasance.
The shortlist for the awards, formerly known as the Perriers and now in their 28th year, was unveiled on Wednesday.
But the line-up has angered comic artist Kevin Sutherland, whose show The Scottish Falsetto Sock Puppet Theatre Goes To Hollywood, staged at the Gilded Balloon, was awarded four stars by The Scotsman's festival reviewers.
On his blog Mr Sutherland wrote: "I'm bugged by the myopia of the judges in this year's Edinburgh Comedy Awards. Of all the contenders, two are on at the Underbelly and the remaining nine are on at the Pleasance.
"Are we really saying that there were no good acts at the Assembly Rooms, at the Gilded Balloon, on the Five Pound Fringe, on the Free Fringe?
Awards director and financial backer Nica Burns denied favouritism yesterday. "The judges made 2,000 visits to 400 different shows in 18 days – how dare he call them lazy?" she said. "It is absolutely coincidental that this has happened. It is just that the Pleasance has more comedy."
http://news.scotsman.com/entertainment/Comedy-judges-39myopic39-for-.5596777.jp
And, yes, I did say myopic, insulting and lazy, so I can hardly regret it being so widely circulated. I do feel a little like I'll be a comedy industry pariah now, but the comics I spoke to last night were all supportive and a few said they had wanted to say something but daren't because, well because they still want to be eligible for Awards in the future, something I've clearly given up the idea of.
After talking for a while, I started to feel sympathetic to the judges and the Pleasance. Maybe the Pleasance simply did have the best comedy, and it was a coincidence.
Then I was reminded by looking through The Scotsman today that there is actually a pretty reliable court of second opinion. In the back of the Scotsman there is a Best Of The Fest, listing by category all the shows to have received 5 and 4 stars. I wondered if they would concur, and all the top shows would be from the Pleasance. What do you think?
The breakdown looks like this. 5 star Comedy shows come from the following venues:
The Pleasance - 2 shows (Idiots of Ants & Tom Wrigglesworth)
Assembly - 1 show (Dixie's Tupperware Party)
Canons Gait Free Fringe - 1 show (Peter Buckley Hill)
GRV - 1 show (Blow Up)
The Stand - 1 show (Phil Nichol)
Underbelly - 1 show (Paul Zerdin)
4 star comedy shows break down thus:
The Pleasance - 10 shows
Gilded Balloon - 8 shows
Underbelly - 5 shows
The Stand - 5 shows
Assembly - 5 shows
Bongo Club - 1 show
Just The Tonic - 1 show
So The Pleasance undeniably has more highly rated comedy shows than other venues. Just not THAT many. Gosh, I feel vindicated all over again.
Comedy judges 'myopic' for Pleasance picks
Published Date: 28 August 2009
THE judges of the Edinburgh Comedy Awards have been accused of being "lazy", "myopic" and "insulting" for shortlisting nominees who mainly appeared at one venue – the Pleasance.
The shortlist for the awards, formerly known as the Perriers and now in their 28th year, was unveiled on Wednesday.
But the line-up has angered comic artist Kevin Sutherland, whose show The Scottish Falsetto Sock Puppet Theatre Goes To Hollywood, staged at the Gilded Balloon, was awarded four stars by The Scotsman's festival reviewers.
On his blog Mr Sutherland wrote: "I'm bugged by the myopia of the judges in this year's Edinburgh Comedy Awards. Of all the contenders, two are on at the Underbelly and the remaining nine are on at the Pleasance.
"Are we really saying that there were no good acts at the Assembly Rooms, at the Gilded Balloon, on the Five Pound Fringe, on the Free Fringe?
Awards director and financial backer Nica Burns denied favouritism yesterday. "The judges made 2,000 visits to 400 different shows in 18 days – how dare he call them lazy?" she said. "It is absolutely coincidental that this has happened. It is just that the Pleasance has more comedy."
http://news.scotsman.com/entertainment/Comedy-judges-39myopic39-for-.5596777.jp
And, yes, I did say myopic, insulting and lazy, so I can hardly regret it being so widely circulated. I do feel a little like I'll be a comedy industry pariah now, but the comics I spoke to last night were all supportive and a few said they had wanted to say something but daren't because, well because they still want to be eligible for Awards in the future, something I've clearly given up the idea of.
After talking for a while, I started to feel sympathetic to the judges and the Pleasance. Maybe the Pleasance simply did have the best comedy, and it was a coincidence.
Then I was reminded by looking through The Scotsman today that there is actually a pretty reliable court of second opinion. In the back of the Scotsman there is a Best Of The Fest, listing by category all the shows to have received 5 and 4 stars. I wondered if they would concur, and all the top shows would be from the Pleasance. What do you think?
The breakdown looks like this. 5 star Comedy shows come from the following venues:
The Pleasance - 2 shows (Idiots of Ants & Tom Wrigglesworth)
Assembly - 1 show (Dixie's Tupperware Party)
Canons Gait Free Fringe - 1 show (Peter Buckley Hill)
GRV - 1 show (Blow Up)
The Stand - 1 show (Phil Nichol)
Underbelly - 1 show (Paul Zerdin)
4 star comedy shows break down thus:
The Pleasance - 10 shows
Gilded Balloon - 8 shows
Underbelly - 5 shows
The Stand - 5 shows
Assembly - 5 shows
Bongo Club - 1 show
Just The Tonic - 1 show
So The Pleasance undeniably has more highly rated comedy shows than other venues. Just not THAT many. Gosh, I feel vindicated all over again.
Wednesday, 26 August 2009
Edinburgh Comedy Awards travesty
Idiots Of Ants: This is War
John Bishop: Elvis Has Left The Building
Jon Richardson: This Guy At Night
Russell Kane: Human Dressage
Tim Key: The Slutcracker
Tom Wrigglesworth’s Open Return Letter to Richard Branson
Carl Donnelly: Relax Everyone, It’s Carl Donnelly
Jack Whitehall: Nearly Rebellious
Jonny Sweet: Mostly About Arthur
Kevin Bridges: An Hour To Sing For Your Soul
Pete Johansson: Naked Pictures Of My Life
... two are on at the Underbelly, and the remaining NINE are on at the Pleasance!
Nine shows from the one venue? Are we really saying that there were no good acts at the Assembly Rooms, at the Gilded Balloon, on the 5 Pound Fringe, on the Free Fringe? At some other venue like the GRV or the Tron? Come on, it is an insult to Edinburgh Comedy and I cannot believe I am the only person who's really wound up about it.
Monday, 24 August 2009
Rotten show (this rarely ever happens)
Last night's show (SFSPT Edfringe) was definitely a low. Our lowest audience since week one, and they weren't making much noise right from the start, and I realised I'd been spoilt by responsive crowds. I guess I got a bit obsessed by how bad I thought we were going, when really they were liking it just in their own quiet way. A few more props went a bit wronger than I would have liked, the ad lib sections just didn't take off at all, we squeezed all of the material in, which we've been cutting two or three minutes of every night before now because of extra time for laughter and adlibs, and all the things that just weren't great.
Worst point for me was during the big Mary Poppins song near the end when, during the costume change, I knocked the microphone out of its holder and had to perform the next 5 minutes with the mike clasped between my knees, unable to bring my hands down from the visible area to do anything about it.
On top of this I was painfully aware that there were three press tickets out there among the audience, and I won't know who they were until later today, but I'm dreading them being really important press (ie the Comedy Awards, Time Out, The Guardian) in which case we get bad reviews and no prizes.
I had already vowed not to go for a drink after the show, but had to turn that on its head and go to the Loft, with Owen from Bath who had put on our last preview show and was in the crowd last night. It's the first time since week one that my nerves have been shredded by the end of the gig, and I'm still feeling bad about it this morning. I even had a bloody dream based on it last night: I'm on stage doing the socks and someone comes in flyering and walks across my stage, I try and remonstrate with the flyerer and he nicks the Action Man that I'm waving, I get up from behind the stand, wearing socks on hands and try and get my Action Man back from the flyerer and fail, so I have to tell the audience the show is over. Is that Freudian or just a little sad and literal?
(Two nights ago, when I was in the middle of a run of great shows, I dreamt that my set fell off the front of the stage and came to bits, and that I found myself performing with my head showing, which would be the sock puppet equivalent of standing on stage naked. These are, I think, the first two dreams I've had which have involved me performing the Socks).
Today we do art galleries. (And inevitably some flyering, cos numbers are low today. Maybe they've all heard about last night and have started talking.)
Worst point for me was during the big Mary Poppins song near the end when, during the costume change, I knocked the microphone out of its holder and had to perform the next 5 minutes with the mike clasped between my knees, unable to bring my hands down from the visible area to do anything about it.
On top of this I was painfully aware that there were three press tickets out there among the audience, and I won't know who they were until later today, but I'm dreading them being really important press (ie the Comedy Awards, Time Out, The Guardian) in which case we get bad reviews and no prizes.
I had already vowed not to go for a drink after the show, but had to turn that on its head and go to the Loft, with Owen from Bath who had put on our last preview show and was in the crowd last night. It's the first time since week one that my nerves have been shredded by the end of the gig, and I'm still feeling bad about it this morning. I even had a bloody dream based on it last night: I'm on stage doing the socks and someone comes in flyering and walks across my stage, I try and remonstrate with the flyerer and he nicks the Action Man that I'm waving, I get up from behind the stand, wearing socks on hands and try and get my Action Man back from the flyerer and fail, so I have to tell the audience the show is over. Is that Freudian or just a little sad and literal?
(Two nights ago, when I was in the middle of a run of great shows, I dreamt that my set fell off the front of the stage and came to bits, and that I found myself performing with my head showing, which would be the sock puppet equivalent of standing on stage naked. These are, I think, the first two dreams I've had which have involved me performing the Socks).
Today we do art galleries. (And inevitably some flyering, cos numbers are low today. Maybe they've all heard about last night and have started talking.)
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