I think it's been 10 years since I paid to have posters displayed on the streets of Edinburgh during the Fringe. Way back in 2007 there was a company called Diabolical Liberties who did it. We celebrated them in song in fact. (With a video that's not aged well...)
Back then it was the last days of flyposting when, as we say in the song, "a man with a bucket and a big fat brush" would stick your posters on any available surface. This was, obviously, rather destructive to the look of Edinburgh, and you'd find remnants of many of these posters clinging to their various surfaces when you returned a year later.
So it was that the council and the venues and promoters got together and got the distribution of posters officially licensed, and every year since it's got a bit more professional, and a bit more expensive. Ten years ago I paid £250 to get (I think) 100 A2 posters flyposted all over Edinburgh. This year I decided to dip my toe in the water and found, for £150, I could afford to have two posters put up. They are, it has to be said, quite big (Quad size, which is 30" x 40") and printed on thick vinyl, and attached properly to specially erected stands. But, blimey, the amount some companies are paying for posters is mind boggling. I'm perfectly aware that my tiny drop in the ocean will go unseen among the millions, but if they put 15 and a half bums on seats, then they've justified their investment. (That's fiftenn bums and one buttock, and don't think I won't be counting).
Oh yeah, and we did another Preview of Superheroes, and it went brilliantly. Too soon to be getting cocky, but I think, short of a few nips and tucks, we have the show that we'll be keeping. We were on at the Trinity Bar in Harrow, and many thanks to Alison Kent for putting this on. We didn't get a big audience - this being the hottest summer for years, and most people being more interested in football than going to comedy shows - but the dozen or so in the room gave us a marvellous reception, and a perfect test of our stuff. There were only two people who'd seen us before, and so we won over a handful of strangers then really made them laugh with all Superheroes and no fallback stuff.
The running order is now:
SUPERHEROES RUNNING ORDER, Thurs July 5 2018
(All items good as before unless mentioned)
Opening Batman/Ditko/Flash
I’m A Sock song
Cosmopolitan / Bob Kane
NEW - Wonderful World song - Perfect! Why hasn't this been in the show all along?
Motion Capture
Scottish Superheroes
Hulk Ang Lee
Plot/ Maguffin
Batman/ Teeth / etc
Bechdel Test song
NEW - Joker calls Harley & Ivy - good, works
Cock Robin
Science/Faraday/Sagan
Helium routine
Brother 1
Racist Brother song
Avengers
Avengers Reel
Dr Strange / Wong / Thanos
Wonder Woman routine
Fantastic 4
Superman / JorEl / Kents / Glasses
Dead Ringer song
Brother 2
Science 2
Joker 2
Harley & Ivy
Brother 3 - now shorter
What I’ve Learned - now shorter
All By Myself song
NEW Finale - with extra Thanos, even better.
The show came to about an hour & ten minutes last night, with a lot of audience play (we adlibbed Saltire Man from audience suggestion and had some good banter) so we can lose a lot still. If anything it's the Brother subplot that's now not as funny as the superhero material, which is pretty much the opposite of where we were back in March. I'll just keep trimming as we go, and hopefully the adlibs and banter will bed in while the structure stays the same. Well done us. (Cue the next preview being horrible and me wanting to rewrite the whole thing. Wouldn't be the first time.)
The Award Winning* Scottish Falsetto Sock Puppet Theatre are Superheroes at The Gilded Balloon at the Edinburgh Fringe from August 1st to 26th - ON SALE NOW!
*Winners of the Bath Comedy Festival Lovehoney Best Joke Award 2018
Previews:July 11 - Neath Comedy Festival
*Winners of the Bath Comedy Festival Lovehoney Best Joke Award 2018
Previews:July 11 - Neath Comedy Festival
Aug 1 - 26 - Gilded Balloon, Edinburgh Fringe
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