We’re the number one Staff Favourite, slap bang in the middle of the page, the middle of the carousel of podcasts, and I’m watching us have an indian summer at the end of the Fringe and a final climb up the iTunes charts.

Click through for full screenshot

As I write this, the show is sitting at #3 in the Arts charts. Rather famously, we were only beaten to the top slot last year by Radio 4’s The Archers, and while I’ve been joking that this is a group that you really don’t want to upset I’m interested to see if this placing, along with a final push from all of you reading this, could take us one step further.

So if you could all click through and subscribe to the podcast in iTunes that would be fantastic. And if you’ve already subscribed then you do realise you don’t get any duplication if you click again? Maybe you could leave a review of the podcast instead…

And now, the end is near, and just a few memories to shift through before the Edinburgh Fringe podcast comes to an end for 2009. Normally I end the Fringe run with The Stage awards, but something has been bubbling in my mind throughout August. This is the result.

It’s my top ten moments of the Fringe. Some of them are things I’ve seen and heard around Edinburgh; some of them are moments from interviews I’ve done and may have edited around or out of the broadcast version; and some are from shows themselves (and thanks go out to those that did some a cappella tracks or allowed me to take a bootleg of their gigs).

Think of this as a final 25 minutes of everything you love about Edinburgh and you won’t go wrong.

No matter what happens next, I hope you enjoyed the journey through this year’s Edinburgh Fringe with the podcast. I’d love to hear your views on what you liked, didn’t like, and think needs changed, Drop me an email, ewanspence@gmail.com and let me know.

‘Till next year!

My Top Ten Moments at the Edinburgh Fringe 2009

Moose Dies
The emotional death scene of an inflatable Moose head in a deserted hut in the arctic
A Fistful of Snow.

Rhod Gilbert’s Posters
Right from the first day The Cat That Looked Like Nicholas Lyndhurst taunted you with it’s “sold out Fringe run” splashes. He might have been in Edinburgh, but unless you planned it in June, you were never going to see Rhod Gilbert.
Rhod Gilbert and The Cat That Looked Like Nicholas Lyndhurst.

The Persuaders!
Award winning porn-star and producer Ben Dover in a timely interruption reveals his ringtone is the theme tune to the Persuaders, and his love of Tony Curtis.
Ben Dover: Innocent Until Proven Filthy.

Back in the D.i.n.burgh
The Scottish Falsetto Sock Puppet Theatre had a fantastic Fringe with more buzz, more seats sold, and an incredibly funny show. When asked on the street what to see, this was one of a handful of shows I would always recommend.
The Scottish Falsetto Sock Puppet Theatre Goes to Hollywood.

The EdTwinge Comedy Event and the best joke at the Fringe
During the Fringe I was invited to be the compere for the first EdTwinge comedy gig, and it was a great gig (if a rather quiet). It also threw up my favourite joke of the Fringe, which amazingly wasn’t at the Pleasance, but from Tony Cowards.
Tony Cowards’ Everyman.

Tinkerbell’s Song
There’s something nicely subversive about this Australlian show, which takes the Disney Princesses (and the honorary princess that is Tinkerbell) and wondering what they’re like outside the cookie cutter world of Walt? A wonderfully inventive mix of cabaret, comedy and music.
The Princess Cabaret.

29th April 1942
It doesn’t matter where the show goes on, but there are moments in theatre that just create an emotional impact. This is one of those moments…
Stalag Happy.

Spanish Bird Plane
The Axis of Awesome’s difficult second show at Edinburgh proved to be a classic with a bigger venue, larger audiences and just a hint of their old material in perfect balance. But their encore, a cover version of their cover version of Bird Plane brought the house down.
Infinity Rock Explosion.

Sarah Millican’s Laminated Postcard
Sometimes you just know that an interview is (a) sailing close to the wind (b) is going really well or (c) is really fun. My interview with last year’s Best Newcomer Sarah Millican was all three.
Typical Woman.

Bruce Forsythe
Some jokes need a huge build-up, some become catch-phrases, some are just very brief moments. I have a feeling that Mannish’s impression of Bruce Forsythe is going to be a running joke in my family for many years.
Frisky and Mannish’s School of Pop.

To make sure you always get the latest podcasts from the Edinburgh Fringe, why not subscribe to the Fringe Podcast in iTunes, or copy the RSS File into your favourite RSS application.

(*) Although I am half tempted to re-edit some of the interviews back to their much longer lengths… some of the ten minute spots on the show ran to over thirty minutes during August, so perhaps some DVD Extra Scenes are called for.

Almost at the end of the Fringe, it’s the last day of August and the last day of the Fringe. There’s a lot to go over from the weekend, not least all the awards to catch up on including The Stage’s Awards for Acting Excellence. We have exclusive coverage from the ceremony after spending some time with Chief Executive of the Fringe Society, Kath Mainland.

And in previous years this is when I would bring this year’s Fringe casts to an end, but there’s one final slice of Fringe fun coming up… tomorrow will see my Top Ten Moments of The Fringe. Will your favourite show be there? You’ll have to listen to find out.

The Edinburgh Fringe Show 2009 #25 – You Win Again

Kath Mainland
Chief Executive, Edinburgh Fringe Society
www.edfringe.com

The Stage Awards for Acting Excellence
…hosted by Bill McEvoy and Duska Radosavljevic
www.thestage.co.uk

Today’s recommended shows: Zeitgeist and Normality.

Also featured: Dance Base, Tim Key, Jonny Sweet, Peter Buckley-Hill, Abracadabra – German Humour Goes Global, Everything Must Go (Or The Voluntary Attempt To Overcome Unnecessary Obstacles), 6:0: How Heap And Pebble Took On The World And Won, Heroni(e) For Breakfast and Iago.

To make sure you always get the latest podcasts from the Edinburgh Fringe, why not subscribe to the Fringe Podcast in iTunes, or copy the RSS File into your favourite RSS application.

Another Sunday Special as the Fringe draws to a close. The yearly competition for the new comic award, So You Think You’re Funny, took place at The Gilded Balloon. The Edinburgh Fringe podcast had access backstage and to the event, so let’s go behind the stage to find out what went on…

The Edinburgh Fringe Show 2009 #24 – So You Think You’re Funny?

So You Think You’re Funny – 2009 Final
Featuring Lee Mack and Tim Vine
www.gildedballoon.co.uk

Never miss any of this year’s Edinburgh Fringe podcasts by subscribing to the Fringe Podcast in iTunes, or using the RSS File to subscribe in your favourite RSS application.

Into the final weekend, and if you’re up at The Fringe to do some star spotting, you’ve only got a few days left… or you could just listen to the podcast, where we’ve got a fantastic line-up.

First up is comedian Arnold Brown. While not doing any performing at the Fringe (beyond helping out John Smeaton), his view on comedy and the new performers reflects well on over thirty years in the business. Over from LA (maybe) is The A-Team with another musical based on a famous 80’s property.

Then it’s back to the Scottish shores with Bruce Fummey. By day a teacher, by night a stand-up who loves to educate his audiences. And we finish with music from the team behind Barbershopera, who become The Bodega Brothers for their afternoon delight of a show.

The Edinburgh Fringe Show 2009 #23 – The Godfather

Arnold Brown
www.arnoldbrown.me.uk

A-Team – The Musical
…from Scratch
Book tickets online

The Reduced Edinburgh Fringe Improv Show
…from Scratch
Book tickets online

Bruce Fummey
About the Scots
Book tickets online

The Bodega Brothers
Afternoon Delight
Book tickets online

Today’s recommended shows: A Stroke of Genius and Pappy’s Fun Club World Record Attempt.

Also featuring: Lewis Schaffer, Little Gem, Lilly Through the Dark, Everything Must Go, Foot-washing for the Sole, Under Glass, My Name is Sue and Rachael Sage.

If you want to make sure you always get the latest Edinburgh Fringe podcasts, you can subscribe to the Fringe Podcast in iTunes, or copy the RSS File into your favourite RSS application.

A delightfully varied bag today from the podcast with Two Left Hands taking about their return to the Edinburgh Arts Trade Show, or the Fringe as everyone else calls it. Ben Dover is one of the great British actors but as his films are in the porn industry, he’s not the household name that someone like Michael Caine is, yet his life is just as interesting – even more so when you consider a evening of tales from his life is his Fringe debut!

And the show finishes with chat and music from Death Ooompa band The Tiger Lillies, fresh from a long haul flight from the other side of the world just to be on the podcast – and then head out to their show!

The Edinburgh Fringe Show 2009 #22 – Take a Chance on the Fringe

Charlotte Hudson and Leila Hackett
Two Left Hands – Another Mouthful
Book tickets online

Ben Dover
Innocent Until Proven Filthy
Book tickets online

The Tiger Lillies
The Songs of Shockheaded Peter and other Gory Verses
Book tickets online

Today’s recommended shows: Crime of the Century and Showstopper! The Improvised Musical.

Also featuring: Palace of the End, Barflies, A Life in Three Acts, The 14th Tale, White Tea and The Party.

To make sure you always get the latest podcasts from the Edinburgh Fringe, why not subscribe to the Fringe Podcast in iTunes, or copy the RSS File into your favourite RSS application.

Today is a little bit different, as I turn the microphone around and go into some places which wouldn’t normally get coverage in the media.

First up is Mervyn Stutter, since 1992 he hosts a daily showcase of acts at the Fringe that wouldn’t normally get press coverage. It’s a great resource for the performers, and a brilliant show for the audiences. Mel Brown runs Impressive PR and handles a number of acts at the Fringe, is the need for PR at the Fringe a myth? Not surprisingly Mel disagrees with that view.

Finally it’s time to answer the question “where do comedians practice?” The answer is at the Old Rope Comedy nights. Phil Nichol and Tiffany Stephenson talk me through the night where experienced hands try out new material… or they ask a podcast host to take to the stage and try it himself.

And yes, I use the term Gonzo Podcasting in the show.

The Edinburgh Fringe Show 2009 #21 – Behind Closed Doors

Mervyn Stutter
Mervyn Stutter’s Pick of the Fringe
Book tickets online

Mel Brown
Impressive PR
www.impressivepr.com

Phil Nichol and Tiffany Stephenson
Old Rope Comedy
Book tickets online

Today’s recommended shows: Heroin(e) for Breakfast and Lily Through The Dark.

Also featuring: The Really Terrible Orchestra, Princess Cabaret, Ricky Gervais, Idiots of Ants, John Bishop, Jon Richardson, Russell Kane, Tim Key, Tom Wrigglesworth, Carl Donnelly, Jack Whitehall, Jonny Sweet, Kevin Bridges and Pete Johansson.

To make sure you always get the latest podcasts from the Edinburgh Fringe, why not subscribe to the Fringe Podcast in iTunes, or copy the RSS File into your favourite RSS application.

It’s all coming out in today’s show from the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. The rain may be here for the day but that’s not going to dampen anyone’s spirit (apart from the planned conga line tonight at 7.20pm).

The man behind the stunningly successful Scottish Falsetto Sock Puppet Theatre reveals his own voice, Goldsmiths Drama Society reveal they’re putting on the Cubicle for not a lot of money, the cast of Woody Sez agree that the late 60s revival needs The Woody Guthrie Experience while Topping and Butch challenge me to a Eurovision Poof Off. Silly boys…

The Edinburgh Fringe Show 2009 #20 – It’s Raining Men

The Scottish Falsetto Sock Puppet Theatre
…Go To Hollywood
Book tickets online

The Cubicle
…from Goldsmiths Drama Society
More information online

Topping and Butch
Twisted!
Book tickets online

David M Lutken and Helen J Russell
Woody Sez
Book tickets online

Today’s recommended shows: The Controlled Falling Project and Certain Dark Things.

Also featuring: Ed The Musical, Barbershopera II, Over the Threshold, Accidental Nostalgia, Been So Long, The Great British Soap Opera and The Rebel Cell.

Never miss any of this year’s Edinburgh Fringe podcasts by subscribing to the Fringe Podcast in iTunes, or using the RSS File to subscribe in your favourite RSS application.

Another jam-packed show today from the Arts Capital of the world (which would be Edinburgh) as the show jumps around from the South of London and the Daily Mail, to a Contest with devastating results and an Irish band with four lovely boys…

Bridget Christie leads the charge about here times in the office of UK newspaper The Daily Mail, while Rudi Lickwood talks about what comedy can do in inner-cities. Following that we have a dramatic theatre piece about hopes and dreams in The Contest, before the show closes with a love song from Dead Cat Bounce.

The Edinburgh Fringe Show 2009 #19 – The Evil That Men Do

Bridget Christie
My Daily Mail Hell
Book tickets online

Rudi Lickwood
Food for Thought
Book tickets online

The Contest
…from Innes Wurth
Book tickets online

Dead Cat Bounce
Wired!
Book tickets online

Today’s recommended shows: The Chronicles of Long Kesh and The Tiger Lillies.

Also featuring: News on Festival ticketing, Top Ten Jokes from Dave, So You Think You’re Funny, Dan Antopolski and Carey Marx.

If you want to make sure you always get the latest Edinburgh Fringe podcasts, you can subscribe to the Fringe Podcast in iTunes, or copy the RSS File into your favourite RSS application.

It’s the last of the Fringe, and with 8 days and nights, there’s still a chance for you to uncover something special in Edinburgh. And of course the podcast will be playing its part in bringing you the best of the Festival right up until the very end.

I think today is the first time we’ve interviewed a dog. Luckily Ronnie brought along his master, Rob Rouse, who also talks about how Ronnie is a gift of material that keeps giving to his stand-up. The Fringe is not just comedy though, so the cast and crew of Why Do All Catherines Call Themselves Kate? are here to talk about a powerhouse of a theatre piece. Meanwhile Triona Adams is doing a one-woman show about here year spent as a Nun and we have music from the amazing Camille O’Sullivan.

The Edinburgh Fringe Show 2009 #18 – The Menagerie of the Fringe

Rob Rouse
My Family… and the Dog that Scared Jesus
Book tickets online

Why Do All Catherines Call Themselves Kate?
…from One Small Step Productions
Book tickets online

Triona Adams
Nun the Wiser
Book tickets online

Camille O’Sullivan
The Dark Angel
Book tickets online

Today’s recommended shows: Sweeney Todd – His Life, Times And Execution! and Edward Aczel – Explains All the World’s Problems … and Then Solves Them.

Also featuring: EdTwinge, FestBuzz, Chris Cox: Mind over Patter, Princess Cabaret, Accidental Nostalgia, Cocorico and The Outhouse.

To make sure you always get the latest podcasts from the Edinburgh Fringe, why not subscribe to the Fringe Podcast in iTunes, or copy the RSS File into your favourite RSS application.

Another Sunday, another special show – and this week it’s my annual soundscape tour of the Royal Mile. The rules are pretty simple, start at one end, switch on the microphone, and start walking. There is so much variety and character on the Mile that something exciting is bound to happen!

I’ve managed to link to most of the acts that I bump into the Royal Mile, but if you’re looking for a surprise of the show, perhaps it might not be an idea to look through it until you’re finished!

The Edinburgh Fringe Show 2009 #17 – A Walk Up The Royal Mile

Opening Night of the Living Dead – Book tickets online

Jerry Springer: The Opera – Book tickets online

The Mikado (St Andrews University) – Book tickets online

Princess Cabaret – Book tickets online

Company – Book tickets online

The Five Pound Fringe – Book tickets online

Jim Smallman – Book tickets online

Simon Cassini (Bitter and Twisted) – more info online

Platform 88 – Book tickets online

Tempest – A Musical Enchantment– Book tickets online

Another Place – Book tickets online

Who’s Play Is It Anyway – Book tickets online

News Revue – Book tickets online

Lady Bug Warrior – Book tickets online

Safe in Numbers – Book tickets online

The Grind Show – Book tickets online

Ian Kendall’s 18th Birthday Magic Show – Book tickets online

Hamlet – Book tickets online

Mercy Madonna of Malawi – Book tickets online

A Clockwork Orange – Book tickets online

Sowetto Gosepl Choir – Book tickets online

To make sure you always get the latest podcasts from the Edinburgh Fringe, why not subscribe to the Fringe Podcast in iTunes, or copy the RSS File into your favourite RSS application.

Got your shows lined up for tonight if you’re in Edinburgh? Well if you haven’t perhaps you might hear something in today’s shows either for today or in the rest of the week.

Mark Walker and I start talking about his show, Scorpio (an investigation into star signs) but we rapidly fall into the work he does with the Forces and entertaining the serving UK Military. How different are those crowds to, say, Jongelurs. Virginia Ironside has written for a number of newspapers and magazines in her writing career, but this year has her first show at the Fringe, and her first real experience of performing on stage. Finally Barbershopera are returning to the Fringe after their award-winning show last year and the signs so far are Barbershopera II is going to be just as successful.

The Edinburgh Fringe Show 2009 #16 – A Family Affair

Mark Walker
Scorpio
Book tickets online

Virginia Ironside
The Virginia Monologues – Why It’s Great To Be Old
Book tickets online

Barbershopera
Barbershopera II
Book tickets online

Today’s recommended shows: Normality and Ian Kendall’s 18th Birthday Magic Show.

Also featuring: Shed Simove’s Ideas Man, All To Bare, Lewis Schaffer’s Bigger and Blacker, Orphans, Precious Little Thing, Crush, The Sound of my Voice, Midsummer (A Play with Songs), The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, Little Gem, Barflies, Icarus 2.0, Ward No 6, Chronicles of Long Kesh, Internal, The Girls of Slender Means, Bane, Up, The Event, Land Without Words, Janis, Almost 10 and Odyssey.

Never miss any of this year’s Edinburgh Fringe podcasts by subscribing to the Fringe Podcast in iTunes, or using the RSS File to subscribe in your favourite RSS application.

The weekend starts here, or at least the second weekend of the Fringe! Spirits will be high, the audiences should hopefully be a little bit bigger than mid-week, and there are hundreds of hidden gems out there on the streets of Edinburgh. If you want my advice just stop one, ask them what they’ve seen, and go and see that.

Onto today’s show, with the second batch of Scotsman Fringe First awards announced, along with a Madonna impersonator (Evelyn Brinck’s Almost Like a Virgin), a pretend chatroom (errr… Chatroom), and Axis of Awesome take part in the Flyer Challenge on the Royal Mile.

The Edinburgh Fringe Show 2009 #15 – Sounds Like Teen Spirit

Evelyn Brinck
Almost Like A Virgin
Book tickets online

Exeter University Theatre Company
Chatroom
Book tickets online

Axis of Awesome
Infinity Rock Explosion
Book tickets online

Today’s recommended shows: Zeitgeist and The Origin Of Species By Means Of Natural Selection Or The Survival Of Revolutionary Theories In The Face Of Scientific And Ecclesiastical Objections: Being A Musical Comedy About Charles Darwin (1809-1882).

Also featuring: PBH’s Free Fringe, Laughing Horse Free Fringe, Rap Guide to Evolution, The World is Too Much, The Interminable Suicide of Gregory Church, The Hotel and Morecambe.

If you want to make sure you always get the latest Edinburgh Fringe podcasts, you can subscribe to the Fringe Podcast in iTunes, or copy the RSS File into your favourite RSS application.

Every year the Fringe has an influx of Australians (without them nobody would get served at the bars!), and we’ve had a few of them on the podcast already. But you can’t hold them all back, especially when they’ve got custom made Disney Princesses with whalebone corsets on the other side of the microphone.

At least Wil Anderson brings us up to speed on the hidden back rooms of Edinburgh and the Comedy Mafia that pass on the rules of the city like some Francis Ford Coppola film.

And to finish it all off, and balance our geographic spread Country and Western legend Wilson Dixon talks about words.

The Edinburgh Fringe Show 2009 #14 – A Land Down Under

Wil Anderson
Wilosophy
Book tickets online

Princess Cabaret
…from Tumbleweed Theatrical Productions
Book tickets online

Wilson Dixon
Wilson Dixon’s American Dream
Book tickets online

Today’s recommended shows: Malaje The Flamenco Circus and A Grave Situation

Also featuring: A-Team The Musical, Ed The Musical, Murder Mystery Musical, Barbershopera II, Over the Threshold, Bloodbath The Musical, The Great British Soap Opera, Porn the Musical, Accidental Nostalgia, The Rebel Cell, and Showstopper!

To make sure you always get the latest podcasts from the Edinburgh Fringe, why not subscribe to the Fringe Podcast in iTunes, or copy the RSS File into your favourite RSS application.

Today is the half way point for this podcast – by my reckoning the Fringe will end on our 25th show, so slap bang in the middle of this show is the middle of the run. And that middle point is the gathering of The Stage’s reviewing team to discuss their favourite shows at this year’s Fringe.

Either side of that delightful centre are the world famous dancers The Chippendales, Jonathan Ross’ House Four Poofs and a Piano in their own show, and a powerful piece of theatre on artist Sir Terry Frost and his time in a prisoner of war camp in Stalag Happy.

Or this whole exercise is just an carry on to put the Chippendales on top of the 4 Poofs and the bill…

The Edinburgh Fringe Show 2009 #13 – The Boys Are Back

The Chippendales
The Ultimate Girls Night Out
Book tickets online

Stalag Happy
…from Third Man Productions
Book tickets online

Four Poofs and a Piano
Smoke and Mirrorballs
Book tickets online

Also featuring: The Telegraph’s lefty coverage, Metamorphosis and Rachel Rose Reid.

And recommended by The Stage reviewing team were Certain Dark Things, The Chair, A Grave Situation, Land Without Words, Just the Tonic, Hugh Hughes in 360, Last Night Things Happened, Showstoppers, Lilly Through The Dark, The Dark Party, Crime of the Century and Janis.

 

Never miss any of this year’s Edinburgh Fringe podcasts by subscribing to the Fringe Podcast in iTunes, or using the RSS File to subscribe in your favourite RSS application.

A slightly spooky show today – which is no reflection on young comedian Nathan Caton, but when you start talking about dead rock and roll legends like gene Vincent and Eddie Cochrane (in Be Bop a Lula) then there is an air of the dead hanging over the show.

Follow that with the cast and crew of Noir Horror Ernest and the Pale Moon and you get a show that ratchets up the tension. When you realise there’s no music, just a short performance of Ernest then you’d better be listening in daylight!

The Edinburgh Fringe Show 2009 #12 – Ghostbusters

Nathan Caton
Can’t Tell Me Nothin’
Book tickets online

Be Bop a Lula
from Weiner, Henshaw & Sweet Entertainments
Book tickets online.

Ernest and the Pale Moon
from Les Enfants Terribles
Book tickets online

Also featuring: The Red Room, The Chair, Farhenheit 451 and Morecambe.

Never miss any of this year’s Edinburgh Fringe podcasts by subscribing to the Fringe Podcast in iTunes, or using the RSS File to subscribe in your favourite RSS application.

…and I’m back. A big thank you to Brian and Georgina for yesterday’s show. but now normal service is resumed. Thanks for all your emails, twitters and messages of support, they are very much appreciated.

It’s a delight to welcome back David Ferrard to the show for a short musical number after your reaction to his earlier appearance. Sammy J and Heath McIvor are also returning, but for a much longer chat as opposed to a quick musical number.

Finally Scotland’s World Champion Slam Poet, Elvis McGonagall talks about his life and recites some of his award winning poetry to close out today’s Edinburgh Fringe Show

The Edinburgh Fringe Show 2009 #11 – The Puppet’s Scottish Lament

David Ferrard
Scottish Folk Roots and Offshoots
Book tickets online.
Songs of Conscience
Book tickets online.

Heath McIvor and Sammy J
Randy’s Postcards from Purgatory
Book tickets online
1999
Book tickets online
Sammy J in the Forest of Dreams
Book tickets online

Elvis McGonagall
One Man and his Doggerel
Book tickets online

Also featuring: Creole Choir of Cuba, Frisky and Mannish’s School of Pop, Barflies, Orphans, Internal, Trilogy and 100 Wounded Tears.

If you want to make sure you always get the latest Edinburgh Fringe podcasts, you can subscribe to the Fringe Podcast in iTunes, or copy the RSS File into your favourite RSS application.

Pretty much every Fringe show gets to have one day off, and today is my day. But podcasting is a responsible business, and I couldn’t leave the show with a dark day and no show… so I invited up last years fearless reporters Sowerby and Luff to have some fun and explore Edinburgh.

You can also catch their show, Sowerby and Luff’s All Stars at the Free Fringe , but for now it’s time to sit back and let the torrid twosome twist their way around the Fringe – and I’ll catch up with you all tomorrow.

The Edinburgh Fringe 2009 Show #10 – Sowerby and Luff Go To Edinburgh

Sweeny Todd – The Demon Barber of Seville – Book tickets online

The Thing About Men – Book tickets online

Faite L’Amour Pas La Guerre – Book tickets online

Pig with the Face of a Boy – Free Fringe Show, details online

Faulty Towers: the Dining Experience – Book tickets online

Mugging Chickens – Free Fringe show, details online

City – Book tickets online

Chatroom – Book tickets online

Hoopla – Free Fringe show, details online

The Body Tights Man Show – Book tickets online

The Rex Roman Pink Floyd Show – Book tickets online

Zeitgeist – Book tickets online

The Shambles – Book tickets online

The Canterbury Tales – Book tickets online

To make sure you always get the latest podcasts from the Edinburgh Fringe, why not subscribe to the Fringe Podcast in iTunes, or copy the RSS File into your favourite RSS application.

Lots of music in today’s show (okay two tracks, but still…). First up is the amazing sound of Tao and their Samurai Magical Drumming, and the show ends with a whistle stop tour of why Creationism isn’t the way forward for a Fringe show, but a Rap Guide to Evolution is, courtesy of Baba Brinkman.

The weather may not be the best we’ve seen this Festival – the amount of rain today is very much typical for Edinburgh in August – but don’t let that stop you heading out to the Fringe if you’re in the Capital. For once the heat of the venues will dry you out nicely if you ignore the fact that it’s the perfect incubator conditions for swine flu.

Edinburgh Fringe Show 2009 #9 – The Sound of Music

Tao
Samurai Magical Drumming
Book tickets online

Janeane Garofalo
….at The Gilded Balloon
Book tickets online

Baba Brinckman
The Rap Guide To Evolution
Book tickets online

Also featuring: Orphans, Internal, Found, The Event, East 10th Street, Crush, The Unravelling, Previous Little Talent and Jack Whitehall.

Never miss any of this year’s Edinburgh Fringe podcasts by subscribing to the Fringe Podcast in iTunes, or using the RSS File to subscribe in your favourite RSS application.

You can have so much fun with children (stop sniggering) at the Fringe. Frisky and Mannish just bring out the child in me, and not just because they corrupt the ideals of pop music in their own wonderful style. Patrick Monahan is a regular on the stand-up circuit, but he’s branched out to being a children’s entertainer at the Fringe this year – something that he relishes but fills other comedians with dread.

In the middle of that is Durang/Durang, three short plays by Christopher Durang performed by Mind The Gap; the daily recommended shows via the iFringe application; and the shock news that I’ll be hosting the @Festbuzz Twinge Comedy party this evening!

It must be the Fringe!

Edinburgh Fringe Show 2009 #8 – Children of the Damned

Frisky and Mannish
School of Pop
Book tickets online

Durang/Durang
Presented by Mind the Gap (New York)
Book tickets online

Patrick Monahan
Stories and Fables for Kids that like to sit at Tables!
Book tickets online
Cowboys and Iranians
Book tickets online

Also featuring: The Economist’s UK recession report, Heroin(e) for Breakfast, FestBuzz Twinge Party, Ophelia (Drowning) and The Wind in the Willows.

Never miss any of this year’s Edinburgh Fringe podcasts by subscribing to the Fringe Podcast in iTunes, or using the RSS File to subscribe in your favourite RSS application.

A big international flavour to the podcast today, with NY comic Jamie Kilstein proving yet again why he’s one of the handful of stand-ups that could change the world through sheer force of mind. Following his views on the comic industry, the cast and crew from Utah State university’s Jumpers play talk abut the staging of their look at the Golden Gate Bridge.

Finally it’s a quick jump to Australia and the vocal talents of Sammy J and Randy the puppet as they showcase some of the music from the Forest of Dreams.

And back to Scotland, just in time for the first full weekend (with no previews) to kick off tomorrow. Perfect.

The Edinburgh Fringe Show 2009 #7 – We’re Coming To America

Jamie Kilstein
Revenge of the Serfs
www.wearecitizenradio.com
Book tickets online

Jumpers
at ECA Sweet
Book tickets online

Randy and Sammy J, 30 Rickets Lane
Sammy J in the Forest of Dreams
Book tickets online

Also featuring: Sleeping Beauty and the Timelords and The Noise Next Door.

If you want to make sure you always get the latest Edinburgh Fringe podcasts, you can subscribe to the Fringe Podcast in iTunes, or copy the RSS File into your favourite RSS application.

In another time and place, perhaps Hunter S. Thompson would have written about Fear and Loathing in Edinburgh (or should that be Fear and Lothian?). But he didn’t, so today’s guests are going to have to talk about the dark places and adventures in the capital city.

First up is Sarah Chew (director) and Richard Fry (lead actor) of the plays Killing Me Softly and Bully. Both of these are single-hander shows that explore domestic violence and place a lot of demands on Fry, not least because there’s only an hour between Bully finishing and Killing Me Softly starting.

Celia Pacquola had a belter of a Melbourne Comedy festival and has made her way over to the Fringe for her debut UK performance – it may be a comedy staple to talk about a failed relationship but Pacquola puts a brilliant gentle comedic spin on everything.

Finally Lady Carol, a regular at Andrew Maxwell’s Full Mooners show has branched out into her own show of twisted tales and ukulele music, and she sings out today’s podcast.

The Edinburgh Fringe Show 2009 #6 – Fear of the Dark

Sarah Chew and Richard Fry
Killing me Softly
Book tickets online.
Bully
Book tickets online.

Celia Pacquola
Am I Strange?
Book tickets online.

Lady Carol
Tomorrow is My Turn
Book tickets online.

Also featuring: Rebus McTaggart, Camille O’Sullivan, Tommy Sheppard in The Scotsman and The Arches at St Stephens.

To make sure you always get the latest podcasts from the Edinburgh Fringe, why not subscribe to the Fringe Podcast in iTunes, or copy the RSS File into your favourite RSS application.

It’s not just the big venues at the Fringe, some of the great shows can be found at the smaller and more intimate venues, and one of the longest running venues is the Bedlam Theatre. As home to the Edinburgh University Theatre Company the management changes every year, and for this Fringe Sam Hansford is at the reins.

Look around the capital and you’ll find indie artists and performers from around the world – one of those is the effervescent Rachael Sage from New York. Tucked away on Market Street her show (which finishes tonight) showcases her music and very free spirit, and we’ve got a performance from her latest album Chandelier alongside the interview.

The Edinburgh Fringe Show 2009 #5 – Guilder and Florin

Sam Hansford
Bedlam Theatre – Edinburgh University Theatre Company
www.bedlamfringe.co.uk

Rachel Sage
Sequins and Sphiel
www.rachaelsage.com
Book tickets online.

Also featuring: Ian Kendall, Freeing The Fringe, Peter Duncan’s Daft and Dangerous, All About Me and I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change.

Never miss any of this year’s Edinburgh Fringe podcasts by subscribing to the Fringe Podcast in iTunes, or using the RSS File to subscribe in your favourite RSS application.

There’s a recession in the air, a lot of shows talk about it and give advice, there’s the lurking worry from lots artists that they’re going to loose thousands of pounds… and then there’s Ian on his 18th Fringe Show, still making a profit from his yearly magic show. Sarah Millican is also back after her award winning show last year; being a good host and seeing that she’s having some trouble adjusting to Edinburgh (via her Twitter account) I decided to bring along a little present…

And a little musical treat to close out the show today from “The Socks".

Got any thoughts about the Fringe, shows I should see or people you’d love to appear on the show? Drop me an email to ewanspence@gmail.com.

The Edinburgh Fringe Show 2009 #4 – A Little Help From My Friends

Ian Kendall
Ian Kendall’s 18th Birthday Magic Show
Book tickets online.

Sarah Millican
Typical Woman
Book tickets online.

The Scottish Falsetto Sock Puppet Theatere
…Goes To Hollywood
Book tickets online.

Also featuring: Recession shows at The Guardian, Blow Up – The Credit Crunch Musical, A Respectable Wedding and Axis of Awesome.

Never miss any of this year’s Edinburgh Fringe podcasts by subscribing to the Fringe Podcast in iTunes, or using the RSS File to subscribe in your favourite RSS application.

It rained this morning… for about 5 minutes. Given the torrential needle like rain last year, the sunny weather has brought people out of their homes and hotels and the general mood at the Fringe is that there are a lot of people around… which is great!

I wanted to speak in a bit more depth with two of the guests from Friday’s documentary, so singer songwriter David Ferrard (who appeared back in 2006 on the Fringe podcast) and regular compere at The Stand, Bruce Devlin, talk about their shows and what it’s like to be an Edinburgh based performer during the Festival.

The Edinburgh Fringe Show 2009 #3 – Staying at home for the Fringe

Bruce Devlin
Deviln’s Daily – The Stand
Book tickets online.

David Ferrard
Scottish Folk Roots and Offshoots
Book tickets online.
Songs of Conscience
Book tickets online.

Also Featuring: The Five Pound Fringe, Edtwinge (@edtwinge), Top PR Stunts At The Fringe, Andrew Laurence and The Tartuffe.

If you want to make sure you always get the latest Edinburgh Fringe podcasts, you can subscribe to the Fringe Podcast in iTunes, or copy the RSS File into your favourite RSS application.

Documentaries over, it’s time for the full Fringe Show experience, with the latest news from around Edinburgh. In a new spot, we’ll be recommending two shows a day that are getting great critical acclaim from the online review sites. The first picks are Ernest and the Pale Moon and A Fistful of Snow, and in case you’re wondering how we choose them, it’s powered by the iFringe iPhone application.

If you want the more old-fashioned word of mouth, then I chat to Bill McEvoy and Natasha Tripney from The Stage about the early recommendations. We’ve also got music from Chomp, The Zombie Musical in the show, as well as interviews with former Parisian catwalk model Robyn Peterson, and I spend some time with Karen Koren of the Gilded Balloon.

You can get in touch with the show by leaving a comment, or emailing me on ewanspence@gmail.com. Or stopping me on the streets of Edinburgh!

The Edinburgh Fringe Show 2009 #2 – We Didn’t Start The Fire

Karen Koren
Artistic Director of The Gilded Balloon
www.gildedballoon.co.uk

Bill McEvoy and Natasha Tripney
The Stage reviewing team
ed.thestage.co.uk.

Robyn Peterson
Catwalk Confidential
Book tickets online.

“Shooting Out The Brains Of The Dead” 
From Chomp: A Zombie Musical
Book tickets online.

Also Featuring: King of Gypsies, Ernest and the Pale Moon, A Fistful of Snow, Precious Little Talent, Chronicles of Long Kesh, Stalag Happy, The Trial, The Tartuffe, The Petty Concerns of Luke Wright, Iris Brunette, Beachy Head and Last Night Things Happened…

To make sure you always get the latest podcasts from the Edinburgh Fringe, why not subscribe to the Fringe Podcast in iTunes, or copy the RSS File into your favourite RSS application.

Forget the previews, turn out the lights (at home) because pretty much anyone who is anyone has descended on Edinburgh. The Fringe has… started!

Unlike the two or three day festivals, the Fringe (running 24 days) takes a bit of time to get going, with a number of preview nights, press launches, and artists testing out material from Tuesday past, so there’s a slowly building crescendo – much like the podcast this year.

To start off everything, our first 2009 show is a short documentary about the Fringe. I took time over the last week to talk to people involved in the Fringe, both front of house and back stage to talk about Edinburgh, the festival, advice and memories of the Fringe.

The Edinburgh Fringe Show 2009 #1 – Voices of The Fringe

Karen Koren
Artistic Director of The Gilded Balloon
www.gildedballoon.co.uk

Bruce Devlin
Deviln’s Daily – The Stand
Book tickets online.

Nicola Hazelton
EUTC – Bedlam Theatre
www.bedlamfringe.co.uk

David Ferrard
Scottish Folk Roots and Offshoots
Book tickets online.
Songs of Conscience
Book tickets online.

Never miss any of this year’s Edinburgh Fringe podcasts by subscribing to the Fringe Podcast in iTunes, or using the RSS File to subscribe in your favourite RSS application.

A unique new venture from six of the Fringe’s leading independent reviewers, iFringe brings together reviews, video and interviews from across the Fringe – all delivered in one convenient, up-to-the-minute package, straight to the iPhone. Making full use of the iPhone’s ground-breaking technology, iFringe highlights nearby shows with good reviews, guides Fringe-goers smoothly through the practicalities, and points out special offers from participating venues.

The BAFTA-nominated Edinburgh Fringe Podcast, hosted and produced by Ewan Spence for The Stage and The Podcast Network, is now in its fifth year of daily coverage from the Fringe. Featuring the latest news from around the capital, interviews with performers and stories from behind the scenes – plus, now, a daily recommendation to be powered by iFringe – the show brings the Fringe to every MP3 player, computer and smartphone on the planet. It’s no wonder it was the #2 arts podcast during last years Fringe, only beaten by The Archers (nobody’s brave enough to take on the army of Ambridge fans!)

"The synergy of iFringe’s index of reviews on the iPhone, and the Fringe Podcast’s long tradition of working with Apple and the podcasting community, is obvious," pointed out Ewan Spence – Vice-President at The Podcast Network and the show’s host. "iFringe will put one of the most exciting and critically-acclaimed shows about the Fringe at the fingertips of every iPhone owner in Edinburgh."

"We’re delighted to welcome another high-quality, independent partner to iFringe", said Richard Stamp, co-founder of FringeGuru Ltd.  "iFringe is all about using new technology to guide you to the best of the Festival – and now we’ll be guiding you to the best podcast, too.  Alongside traditional reviews from the likes of ThreeWeeks, and video clips from Festival Previews, The Fringe Show completes a modern multi-media line-up that’s truly fit for the iPhone."

iFringe sells at £2.99, well under half the cost of an average Fringe ticket, with a risk-free taster available in the no-cost version “iFringe Free”.  The initial response has been overwhelming, with almost a thousand downloads before the Festival has even begun.  Working with many of the Festival’s biggest stake-holders, iFringe looks set to achieve its mission: to guide the world’s Festival-lovers to the Fringe’s hidden gems.

Find out more at the websites of iFringe and The Edinburgh Fringe Podcast, or get in touch.

Though you might not guess from the mainstream media, the Fringe is not just about the big names coming up from London and doing a little bit of theatre to ‘experiment’’, and nor is it about landing a guest spot on a topical panel quiz show on BBC 3 or Dave. No it’s about the love of performing, taking risks and brining something new to the game.

One team that did this, back in 2007 were Claire Harvey and Edward Wren and their first play, The Ordinaries. As the Fringe gets ready to gear up (press events starting on Tuesday 4th!) it’s worth remembering the smaller shows on the Fringe, and that they generally are where the hidden gems are.

The Best of the Fringe Podcast, 2009 Edition #5

Claire Harvey and Edward Wren
The Ordinaries… in an Awkward Silence

First broadcast August 11th 2007.

If you want to make sure you always get the latest Edinburgh Fringe podcasts, you can subscribe to the Fringe Podcast in iTunes, or copy the RSS File into your favourite RSS application.

Better known in times past as the Perriers, and the If.comedy Award, the Edinburgh Comedy Awards (likely to be labelled The Eddies from here on in by the press) is one of many awards at the Fringe, but is probably the one that gets the most mainstream media coverage.

Back in 2006 I spoke to Nica Burns about the organisation of the Awards, how it all works, and some of her memories of the Fringe. The more detailed discussions about sponsorship I’ve edited out here (that bit is  out of date!) but otherwise the Comedy Awards continue in 2009, and probably beyond.

And yes, Burns is still there, but not yet with a zimmer-frame

The Best Of The Fringe Podcast, 2009 Edition #4

Nica Burns, The Edinburgh Comedy Awards
More at the Comedy Awards website.

First Broadcast August 23rd 2006.

To make sure you always get the latest podcasts from the Edinburgh Fringe, why not subscribe to the Fringe Podcast in iTunes, or copy the RSS File into your favourite RSS application.

One of the delights of the Fringe (and the Fringe Podcast) is finding small acts that go on to greater success, and Paul Webster, who I spoke to in 2007 (and is today’s Best of the Fringe Podcast) wrote and performed his own one-man show, Hitler Alone. It returns to the Fringe for a third year, and gives me the perfect reason to repeat my interview with him, that was recorded in one of the many side streets just off The Royal Mile

If you’d like to see Paul Webster performing Hitler Alone this year (it runs from the 12to the 26th of August at 9.30pm each night) you can book tickets online at the Edinburgh Fringe website to this, and any of the 2009 shows mentioned on the podcast) from the link in the show notes.

The Best Of The Fringe Podcast, 2009 Edition #3

Paul Webster, from Hitler Alone
Hitler Alone on the Edinburgh Fringe website.

First Broadcast August 9th 2007.

Never miss any of this year’s Edinburgh Fringe podcasts by subscribing to the Fringe Podcast in iTunes, or using the RSS File to subscribe in your favourite RSS application.

Continuing to showcase some of the interviews from previous Edinburgh Fringe years, this week I turn to a familiar voice for listeners to Radio 4’s The Now Show… Mitch Benn.

Before you listen, it is worth pointing out that Mitch and I knew each other when we were both at Edinburgh University, so this interview from 2006 does have a hint of Stadler and Waldorf about it as we reminisce, but Mitch talks a lot about what the Fringe means on the stand-up circuit, from entertaining audiences to promoting yourself. The Fringe is, essentially, a great big trade show, and what was discussed three years ago is even more relevant now.

The Best Of The Fringe Podcast, 2009 Edition #2

Mitch Benn
www.mitchbenn.com

First broadcast August 23rd 2006.

You can ensure you get the latest Edinburgh Fringe podcasts by subscribing to the Fringe Podcast in iTunes, or copy the RSS File into your favourite RSS application.

Our first interview from the archives are three singers who, with a fourth member who was lost around Leith Docks on the day, make up the house band on Friday night with Jonathan Ross… it’s Four Poofs and a Piano.

It goes without saying that you won’t be able to buy any tickets for their 2006 show and still see them, but consider this and the rest of the “Best of” shows airing each Friday in July as a limbering up exercise before all the fun of the Fringe festival starting Friday August 7th.

The Best of the Fringe Podcast, 2009 Edition #1

Four Poofs and a Piano
Strictly Neurotic
www.4poofsandapiano.com

First broadcast August 16th 2006.

If you want to make sure you always get the latest Edinburgh Fringe podcasts, you can subscribe to the Fringe Podcast in iTunes, or copy the RSS File into your favourite RSS application.

During July in the run up to the Fringe, the Fringe Podcast is going to look back at some of the many classic interviews from our archives. Every Friday for the next five weeks, I’ll introduce one of the many guests we’ve had on the show as an appetiser for the marathon that is the Fringe!

The first Best of the Fringe Podcasts will be posted this Friday lunchtime (3rd July).

To make sure you never miss a podcast, you can subscribe to the Fringe Podcast in iTunes, or copy the RSS File into your favourite RSS application.

Time for the final show in a rather more roller-coaster month than normal for the Edinburgh Fringe. No matter what gets thrown at Scotland’s capital, the show always carries on.

Charlie Wood, director at the Underbelly venues, talks about the Fringe and its impact on Edinburgh in the today’s show as well as the ticketing ‘fun’ and his appointment to the board of The Fringe Society. Before that though the announcement of the winners of The Stage’s Awards for Acting Excellence, and I speak to some of the nominees (Karen Dunbar and Cameron Stewart).

The Fringe may be drawing to a close, but the moment has been prepared for…

The Edinburgh Fringe 2008 Show #24

Brian Atwood
Editor, The Stage

Karen Dunbar – A Drunk Woman Looks At A Thistle
Assembly Rooms

Cameron Stewart – My Grandfather’s Great War
Underbelly

Charlie Wood
Director, The Underbelly

And the awards for Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Group and Best Ensemble

…see you all next year!

It’s the last weekend of the Fringe, and everything really comes alive for this Saturday night, which will be for many performers the biggest night at the Fringe. It’s also the time that many performers start to loosen up and do the occassionaly wild thing (reports that a topless Ed Byrne crashed into Jason Byrne’s shows will need photos… please), so no matter where you are tonight in Edinburgh, it should be a fun one.

And Axis of Awesome are fun! The Australlian musical trio have been packing audiences in at the Gilded Balloon with their Comback show, and one of my favourite tracks from there is on today’s show. Tom Allen (it’s really not Tom O’Connor) and I discuss how to do the perfect interview on radio (or a podcast) while Dan McKee looks back at previous Fringes and where the Fringe is now with Sowerby and Luff.

The Edinburgh Fringe 2008 Show #23

Axis of Awesome – Comeback Spectacular
Gilded Balloon Teviot

Tom Allen – A Voyage Round My Mother
Gilded Balloon Teviot

Dan McKee – Sad Frankie
The Dragonfly

Scotsman Fringe First (Week 3) Winners
Once And For All We’re Going To Tell You Who We Are So Shut Up And Listen
Slick
Crocosmia
The Idiot Colony
In Conflict

Dave’s ‘Best Joke at the Fringe’
Zoe Lyons
Andrew Lawrence
Tim Vine

Malcolm Hardee Award for 2007
Edward Azcel

Carol Tambor Award
Ella Hickson’s Eight

Coming into the final weekend now, and it’s your last chance to see many shows this weekend (remember not every show runs on Monday 25th). If you’ve got a personal favourite you just have to see, make sure when it’s on and get your tickets.

You wouldn’t go wrong stopping by with our guests on today’s show – the laid back Tom Wriggleswroth talks about vinegar and the art of being an MC while storytellers Dan and Jeff bounce round their interview with reckless abandon. The last Sowerby and Luff show (at the Dragonfly) is tomorrow, and if you’ve been enjoying their interviews as much as I have then pop along to their show at the Free Fringe.

The Edinburgh Fringe 2008 Show #22

Tom Wrigglesworth – I’m Struggling To See How That’s Helping
Pleasance Courtyard

Dan and Jeff – Potted Potter
Pleasance Courtyard

Dan and Jeff – Potted Pirates
Pleasance Courtyard

Hayley Jane Standing
The Dragonfly

Hmm, two shows in a row featuring Ukuleles? Must be a conspiracy. At least in today’s show I get my hands on the tiny instrument and a personal instructional course in playing the little blighter from the starts of Learn To Play The Ukulele…

Joining Sam and Donal from that show is comedian Josh Howie, who has had the sort of life that would fill a book, let alone the little author biography you normally get on the first page; while Brian and Georgina catch up with ‘comedian with a guitar and funny songs’ Jay Foreman.

The Edinburgh Fringe 2008 Show #21

Learn To Play The Ukulele in Under An Hour (How George Formby Saved My Life)
Gilded Balloon Teviot

Josh Howie – Chosen
Pleasance Courtyard

Jay Foreman – 20 Songs For Free
Laughing Horse @ Meadow Bar

Carol Tambor Theatre Award Shortlist
Big Bite-Sized Breakfast Show
The Bird
The Bee
Eight
The Idiot Colony
66a Church Road – A Lament Made of Memories and Kept in a Suitcase

If.Comedy Awards Nominees
David O’Doherty
Kristen Schaal and Kurt Braunohler
Rhod Gilbert
Russell Kane

If.Comedy Awards Best Newcomer Nominees
Mike Wozniak
Pippa Evans
Sarah Millican

Death, destruction, war, graves, and falling down on a purple latex stage. It’s all here in a slightly morbid feeling show, starting with Paul Tonkinson, who’s just back from doing stand-up for the UK Forces in action. Steve Blake and Nigel Burch are the composers behind the Vaudeville from the Dead styling of The Cholmondeleys and the Featherstonehaughs in the show ‘Dancing on Your Grave.’

Oh and today is Brian and Georgina’s day off, not for any organisational quirks, but because I really needed to carve out five minute to carry my inteview with the team from… Bouncy Castle Dracula. Really (watch the video here)

The Edinburgh Fringe 2008 Show #20

Paul Tonkinson – The Anti Mid-Life Crisis
Pleasance Courtyard

The Cholmondeleys and the Featherstonehaughs – Dancing On Your Grave
Assembly Rooms – George Street

Bouncy Castle Dracula
Rocket at Demarco Roxy Art House

Rhona Cameron
Gilded Balloon Teviot

Bouncy Castle Dracula
Rocket at Demarco Roxy Art House

Lots of award shortlists are coming up now, and two of the major theatre ones are up for today. For most of these acts, the strapline ‘Nominated for Best Show at the Fringe’ is going to be on their posters and press material for a long time.

Two extremes of comedy today, from the serving policeman of Alfie Moore who has stand-up almost as a hobby, to scottish circuit legend Vladimir McTavish on some of the differences between a regular Edinburgh gig and a Fringe gig. On top of all that, some excellent music (and a look at Mexican cinema) from Elena Duran.

The Edinburgh Fringe 2008 Show #19

Alfie Moore – Blue Light Comedy Tour
Voodoo Bar

Vladimir McTavish – The Top 50 Greatest Scots Of All Time… Ever!
Stand 2 @The Stand

Elena Duran – Mexico of My Heart
Universal Arts Theatre

Total Theatre Awards Shortlist

Experiment and Innovation
Enclosure 44 – Humans by Janis Claxton Dance (Edinburgh Zoo)
The Factory by Badac Theatre Company/Escalator East to Edinburgh (Pleasance Courtyard)
Once and For All We’re Gonna Tell You Who We Are So Shut Up and Listen by Ontroerend, Goed, Kopergiettery and Richard Jordan Productions (Traverse)
Paper Cinema by Night Flyer and Kora (Forest Fringe)
The Office Party by Underbelly Productions and Assembly (Udderbelly’s Pasture)
Wanderlust by Anonymous Ensemble (Underbelly)

Graduate Company
Crocosmia by Little Bulb Theatre (The Space on the Mile @ The Radisson)
How It Ended by You Need Me (C Cubed)
ID by HuNuNunMul at the InvAsian Festival (Club West @ Quincentenary Hall)
1:13 by Dancing Brick (C Soco)

Story Theatre
Before We Remember by Gomito Productions (Bedlam Theatre)
Cloudcuckooland by The Onassis Programme, Festival Highlights (Pleasance)
How The Giraffe Got Its Neck by Tall Stories (C Too)
The Man Who Planted Trees by Puppet State Theatre Company (Scottish Storytelling Centre)
Slick by Tron and Vix Motus (Traverse)
The Zawose Family by RealWorld (The World @ St George West)

Visual Theatre
Circus Oz by 30 Birthday Bash (Assembly Hall)
The Idiot Colony by Redcape Theatre (Pleasance Dome)
Hamlet Episode by Daeg City Modern Dance Company (Rocket@Roxburghe Hotel)
Mime for Laughs by Mono Mime Comedy Theatre (Hill Street Theatre)
Polaris by Adriatic: Vojta Svejda, Benes-McGadie (Zoo)

Young Company
Architecting by The Team and the National Theatre of Scotland Workshop (Traverse)
The Caravan by Look Left look Right (Pleasance Courtyard)
Holdin’ Fast by Dot 54 (Zoo Southside)
In a Thousand Pieces by Paper Birds (Gilded Balloon Teviot)

Musical Theatre Matters: UK Awards Shortlists

Best Book for a New Musical
Departure Lounge – Dougal Irvine
The Jonah Boy – Jane Buckler
On the Island of Aars – Chris Larner

Best Lyrics for a New Musical
Barbershopera! – Toni & the Guys
Departure Lounge – Dougal Irvine
On the Island of Aars – Chris Larner
Tony of Arabia – Chris Bush

Best Music for a New Musical
Departure Lounge – Dougal Irvine
The Jonah Boy – Richard Taylor
Only the Brave – Matthew Brind
On the Island of Aars – Mark Stevens

Most Promising New Musical
Barbershopera! – Toni & the Guys
Departure Lounge – Dougal Irvine
Only the Brave – Matthew Brind (music/lyrics), Stephen Coleman (book/lyrics) and Rachel Wagstaff (book)
On the Island of Aars – Mark Stevens (music) and Chris Larner (book/lyrics)

Dress Circle Award for Best Musical Production
Barbershopera! – Toni & the Guys
Departure Lounge – West End International, Newpalm Productions & Andy Barnes Productions
Funk it up About Nothin’ – Chicago Shakespeare Theater
On the Island of Aars – Quuup Productions and James Seabright for Festival Highlights

Into the last week of the Fringe, and the variety of shows is still as rich as the first few days of the preview week. The same (hopefully) goes for the podcast, as we switch from the ‘making it up as you go along’ delights of Danny Robins putting on his own festivals; a rich and fascinating biopic show of the life of Jack Kerouac; and Georgina reminding me that Sowerby and Luff is a double act…

The Edinburgh Fringe Show #18

Liam McEneaney – Two American Comedians Lose Their Shirts at the Edinburgh Free Fringe
Meadow Bar

Kerouac and All That Jazz
Sweet ECA

Danny Robins – Dannyfest
Pleasance Courtyard

So much for having Sundays off in the 2008 Fringe podcasts – there’s been something special ready for each Sunday slot… so as with everything at Edinburgh you just go with the flow. Today is the traditional ‘walk down the Royal Mile’ section of the Fringe podcast – which is something I do every year, but for 2008 it’s a good 30 minutes of chat, fun, surprises, and the occassional mis-fire of an interview.

But that’s all part of the charm. While all the shows mentioned are linked here (as always, straight to the EdFringe.com ticket office), it might be best for this show to listen through without seeing who’s on the show. that way you can be as surprised as I was on the Mile.

The Edinburgh Fringe Show #17

The Scandalous Case of Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde
The Vault

The Bear Who Paints
Pleasance Courtyard

The Return of the Scottish Falsetto Sock Puppet Theatre
Gilded Balloon Teviot

ShakesPod
C Venues

The Butler Did It?! The Musical
Gilded Balloon Teviot

Ian Kendall – The Golden Age of Magic
The Zoo

Enclosure 44 – The Humans
Edinburgh Zoo

Involution
Pleasance Dome

The Transaction
The Space on The Mile (Radisson)

The Absurdity of Vanilla
Underbelly

The Reduced Edinburgh Improv Show
Pleasance Courtyard

Gamarjobat – The Western
Gilded Balloon Teviot

Chris Cox – Control Freak
Pleasance Couryard

The Bulging Seahorse and Other Grey Matters
Zoo Southside

Silence in C Minor
C Soco

I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change
C Soco

Meltdown – The Ultimate Gameshow
The Space @ The Thistle

Alice in Wonderland
Rocket @ Demarco Roxy Art House

Dick Biscuit Private Eye (Moonfish Rumba)
Sweet Teviot Place

Sammy the Snail – The Magic City
Pleasance Dome

One4Review.com

Plestead and Brown – Health and Stacey
Pleasance Dome

The Edinburgh Fringe Show #16

Davis Wateracre (Pegabovine) – Polite Club
Pleasance Courtyard

Hils Barker – Exhibitionist
Gilded Balloon Teviot

Graffiti Classics
Pleasance Dome

Fringe First Winners
In A Thousand Pieces
The Caravan
Eight
Itsoseng
Terminus
66a Church Road
Paperweight
Motherland

The Stage Awards for Acting Excellence
Best Actor
Ciaran McIntyre for Deep Cut
Simon Merrells for On the Waterfront
Jud Charlton for ABFCAP: The Life and Times of Ian Dury
Will Lyman for The Patriot Act
Jot Davies for Lough/Rain

Best Actress
Rhian Morgan for Deep Cut
Rhian Blythe for Deep Cut
Helen Embleton for Motherland
Kate Donmall for Lough/Rain

Best Ensemble
Kudos for Face in the Crowd
You Need Me for How It Ended
Big Wow for Dark Grumblings
The Paper Birds for In a Thousand Pieces
Traverse Theatre Company and Birmingham Repertory Theatre Company for Pornography
Live Theatre for Motherland
East Productions and Nottingham Playhouse for On the Waterfront

Best Solo Performer
Peter McDonald for Nocturne
Matthew Zajac for The Tailor of Inverness
Karen Dunbar for A Drunk Woman Looks at the Thistle
Cameron Stewart for My Grandfather’s Great War
Jim Jarrett for Vincent
Stefan Golaszewski for Stefan Golaszewski Speaks About a Girl He Once Loved

The Fringe is always portrayed as a somewhat quixotic challenge… many an interview I do could easily be summed up as one question – “Why?” – but Tim Fitzhigham takes personal challenges to a different level. Having previously rowed across the English Channel in a bath, lived in a cave, and ran up the side of a volcano, his latest show talks about his quest to Morris Dance from London to Norwich in nine days.

Every artist and performer looks at Edinburgh as a challenge, and both Rosie Wilby (with her comedy show) and Emma Hutchens (with the one-woman show Not Stalking David Tennant) have taken on the endeavour in their own respective ways.

The Edinburgh Fringe 2008 Show #15

Rosie Wilby – I Am Nesia
Sweet, Teviot Place

Not Stalking David Tennant (a.k.a. Having it All)
The Vault

Tim Fitzhigham – The Bard’s Fool
Pleasance Courtyard

Flanders and Swann – At The Drop Of A Hippopotamus
Pleasance Courtyard

And the Fringe continues. It doesn’t matter what happens around Scotland’s capital – the show goes on, so you might want to pick up The Guardian’s tips to get through any dark mental moments you might have. if that doesn’t work, there’s always the tiny hope of an awards nomination over the weekend…

Matt Kirshen has made his name in the US, with an appearance on Last Comic Standing, but can that translate to a good time at the Fringe? I ask him in today’s show. Someone who has name recognition (albeit from an appearance in Kill Bill) is Samurai Master Tetsuro Shimaguchi, who has brought the impressive Samurai Spirit show to Scotland. Topping out today’s trio, Sowerby and Luff talk to Free Fringe performer John Cooper on the hilarious topic of eczema.

The Edinburgh Fringe Show 2008 #14

Janey Godley – Domestic Godley
Pleasance Dome

Samurai Spirit
Zoo Southside

Matt Kirshen – Keep Smiling Matt
Assembly Rooms

John Cooper – The Thirty Year Itch
Canon’s Gait

The Guardian’s Tips to Get Through the Slump

I know I promised something a touch different today, but the torrential rain yesterday meant that I couldn’t get any outdoor recording done. No matter, the Fringe is nothing but coping with problems as best you can – that show may well be here tomorrow, for now, it’s another packed list of guests.

The recently married Ed Byrne and I sit down to talk about the delights of building a home, and his return to the Edinburgh Fringe at the Assembly Rooms, while Brian continues to find the smaller comics who are on the way up. And Showstoppers put together one of the best improvised songs I’ve heard in a long time – but do leave their fascination with Sondheim unanswered…

The Edinburgh Fringe 2008 Show #13

The Shitty Deal Puppet Theatre Company’s Complete Guide to the Arts
The Vaults

Showstopper! The Improvised Musical
Musical Theatre at George Square

Ed Byrne – Different Class
Assembly Rooms on the Mound

Alyssa Kyria – Woman of the Year?
Pleasance Dome

The Frigne podcast is a lot of work (I’ll do a recap at the end of the month for you all, right now I’m jsut avoiding the obviousness of the work levels) but the reaction it gets, from private mails and recognition around edinburgh is lovely. And the world likes it too… with a Festival pick in iTunes, and it’s currently climbing up the ‘Arts’ chart in iTunes.

Currently it’s sitting at #6 (from the position of #24 earlier this morning), with only the might of the Guardian (one podcast) and The BBC taking in the five slots above me. I think it’s an almost impossible task to get on a par with The Archers at #1, but I’d love a top five chart place this year (I saw a peak of #8 last year). If you’re listening to the show, then point everyone at the iTunes URL or the natural RSS feed!

A number of children’s stories were covered in the hour-long show. The wardrobe and scenery was minimal but effective. Some stories had 4 main characters such as the Three Little Pigs; Goldilocks and the Three Bears (I don’t remember a wolf in that one) but the cast of three managed this well apart from the Daddy Bear/Baby Bear double act. That was a little confused. Introducing a hand puppet to replace the hapless Trev Pig (the one who built his house of straw) worked well even although it was Trev Pig, who was now Jim Pig the Pig, and was now a ventriloquist.

In The Boy Who Cried Wolf, Flossie the Sheep was excellent. She held her facial expression well and her Baa’s were perfectly tuned. The Wolf was quite personable and convincing in his role as misunderstood.

This show has it all – a good storyline; singing and dancing and audience participation. Despite only a handful of children in the audience the actors still managed to create an atmosphere that was entertaining to both children and adults. In addition the cast and crew were interested in the children outside of ShowTime, chatty and listening to what they had to say. I hope Act II will return to the Edinburgh Fringe next year. I would certainly take my grandchildren to see their next production.

My only criticism would be that the music was louder than the singing and it was difficult to hear the lyrics.

Whooooos Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf?
The Space at Jury’s Inn
* * * * (4/5)

Tomorrow is the half way point at the Fringe (so it’s going to be a different type of show, and long time listeners will know what to expect), yet there’s still so many people and shows to get around, to raise a laugh, get you thinking, to cry and smile, to just totally enjoy the one-of-a-kind nature that is Edinburgh in August.

Today sees Edinburgh based puppetry company Pangolin’s Teatime talk about The Last Yak, Brian catches up with Mersey based comic Ste Porter, and formerly of The X-Files star Dean Haglund chats about improvising an entire episode every night in one of the most haunted locations in Edinburgh.

The Edinburgh Fringe 2008 Show #12

Pangolin’s Teatime – The Last Yak
Pleasance Dome

Dean Haglund’s X-Files Improv
Underbelly Baby Belly

Ste Porter – The Mersey Comedy Uncut Kollective
Madogs

To put everything in perspective, there are still two weeks of the fringe to go, but now the wheat is being sorted from the chaff, as Mark Shenton, over at The Stage’s blog points out. Everyone has a story to tell about Edinburgh, and that’s one of the goals for the podcast – to get the real Edinburgh to you.

Today see’s the delightfully gothic Terrible Infants, the incredibly popular Rob Paravonian, and the wonderfully nice Sarah Millican, as well as the daily look around Edinburgh at the events and news that the citry runs on in August.

The Edinburgh Fringe 2008 Show #11

The Terrible Infants
Underbelly

Rob Paravonian – Two American Comedians Lose Their Shirts…
The Meadow Bar

Sarah Millican – Not Nice
Pleasance Courtyard

David Benson is a Fringe regular, and his show “My Life with Kenneth Williams” has played here for many years. in 2008, he has brought a new solo show to the Assembly Rooms, “…sings Noel Coward” continues to showcase his impressive talent both for vocal acting, but for carrying off the solo show with experienced ease. Here he sits down with Alex Hastie to talk about that show, his own career path, and his direction of “My Grandfather’s Great War.”

Alex will be back next week with another guest for Sunday Brunch.

Edinburgh Fringe 2008 Show #10

David Beson sings Noel Coward
Assembly Rooms

My Grandfather’s Great War
Underbelly’s Baby Belly

Accomplished chidlren’s entertainers, they follow the time honoured double-act route of a lanky silly one with the best ideas, and the short one with hairy legs who runs all the clever bits. Of course they’re going to get in each other’s way, egged on by the audience, and everyone knows where this is going to end up (want a hint? It’s a big song and dance number at the end). Polished, funny, and subtly educational as well, there’s little wrong with this.

The one caveat hanging over Dan and Jeff’s latest show… their other show. Potted Potter can rely on the audience to be fully engaged with the source material, making the humour that much more easily targetted. With Potted Pirates, there’s a tendancy to rely on Disney’s Pirates of the Carribbean films… all well and good till you realise that those films are rated 12 in the UK, and thus the foundations of the show are slightly shakey.

But that seemed to matter very little to the audience pretending to be the Armada sinking the Spanish Galleons, shouting ‘Yaar!!!’ as loudly as possible, and creating the noise of seagulls on cue. Dan and Jeff know how to work a young (and young at heart) crowd. This show is a great first step away from the shadow of Harry Potter, and long may their adventures continue.

Potted Pirates
Pleasance Courtyard
* * * * (4/5)

While the stories have much more history both before and after the events depicted on stage, restricting the performances to only the cockpit action, and only up until the point of impact, brings a clarity of vision from this highly recommended show.

My one worry was the dense and technical nature of the language, although it was familiar to me, would it be accessible to a general audience? I needn’t have worried, as the tension in the air, and the number of audience members on the edge of their seats holdign their breath as the six vignettes reach their peach amply prove.

Charlie Victor Romeo
Underbelly Cow Barn
* * * * * (5/5)

For now, though, the emphasis is on the funny side of life – and yet again my own personal view that Prince Philip is the Uk’s greatest straight man (in comedy terms. naturally) is reinforced by the single line that Amos relates with glee to the audience.

Effortlessly funny, watching Amos is rather like rediscovering a long lost friend at the Fringe. For an act that balances a fine comedy edge, Amos keeps everything in perspective, jugglign issues of racism, sexism and family with a just enough danger to keep you in hysterics for the whole hour. A man at the top of his trade, and not to be missed.

Stephen K Amos – Find the Funny
Pleasance Courtyard
* * * * * (5/5)

And so the first full week of the Fringe draws to a close. Unlike other festivals though, there’s still 16 days of the programme left to go, and countless shows still on everyone’s must see list. And of course the podcast carries on bringing up the new shows and untapped talent to the world.

Known to watchers of the BBC Talent Search shows, Niamh Perry (I’d Do Anything) and Keith Jack (Any Dream Will Do) bring the house down in Only the Brave, which is debuting at this year’s Fringe. I catch up with them, and air some of the music from the show; Ladies in waiting have a thing for Brown and Yellow (and steroids) so how has that affected the first few shows of Brownie Re-Union; and finally Brian Luff talks to sketch group Delete the Banjax.

PS: The rain is back…

The Edinburgh Fringe 2008 Show #9

Fringe Sunday
The Meadows

Only The Brave
George Square Music Theatre

Delete the Banjax – Your Money or Your Life
The White Horse

Ladies in Waiting – Brownie Reunion
Pleasance Courtyard

Fringe First Winners
Deep Cut
The New Electric Ballroom
Architecting
Speaks About A Girl He Once Loved
The Tailor of Inverness

Herald Angels Winners
Deep Cut
The New Electric Ballroom
Enclosure 44 – Humans
Bale De Rue
Dream of Cat
Richard Hamilton – Protest Pictures

The sun is back! We can go around Edinburgh and not have to avoid a sea of umbrellas. Of course now there arte three days of flyering and promoting for people on The Royal Mile to catch up on, but you can’t have everything, can you.

Who’s on the show today? Well, ex-World Record holder Tim Vin (499 jokes in one hour) returns to Edinburgh after his spectacular poster of two years ago; Ella Hickson has a new theatre experience in Eight; and Brian catches up with Jon Brittain before his Chortle Student Comedy Final next Tuesday.

Edinburgh Fringe 2008 Show #8

Equity at Edinburgh – Schedule of Events

Equity’s Social Media Workshop (Facebook)

The Edinburgh People’s Festival

Jon Brittain Chortle Student Comedy Awards Final
Pleasance Dome

Ella Hickson – Eight
Bedlam Theatre

Tim Vine – Punsligner
Pleasance Courtyard

“Apres Mort, Le Deluge,” to corrupt a well known phrase. The rain cannot dampen our spirit, and the Fringe will continue, no matter the weather. Which is good because the best transport around town yesterday could have been a speedboat.

But the weather never stopped a podcast, especially one with comedian Nick Helm talking to Brian and Georgina, martin Oldfield and Mark Butt from Pierreppoint – The Hangman’s Tale, and Australlian comic Damian Callinan and his impotency.

The Edinburgh Fringe 2008 Show #7

Nick Helm – Comedy O’Clock
Laughing Horse @ Espionage

Pierrepoint – The Hangman’s Tale
Sweet Grassmarket

Damian Callinan – Mmm… They’re Small
Gilded Balloon Teviot

The rain in Spain… has been exported to Edinburgh. It’s coming down in buckets, but that doesn’t dampen the spirits of the Fringe. The bars are all nicely under cover, so the only dilution is from the ice.

Speaking of bars (and the podcast visits a lot of them during August), Brian Luff catches up with some more acts from the Free Fringe in the Gilded Balloon Library bar, while I catch up with Philip York to talk about his portrayal of media tycoon Robert Maxwell, and performer Felix Dexter, in Edinburgh with his stand-up show Not Just Another White Guy Lost In The Shuffle.

The Edinburgh Fringe 2008 Show #6

Lies Have Been Told – An Evening with Robert Maxwell
Assembly Rooms George Street

James Shakeshaft – Songs of Music
Holyrood Too @ Faith

Felix Dexter – Not Just Another White Guy Lost In The Shuffle
Pleasance Courtyard

The sun stayed out all day yesterday, which made it the perfect time to be bouncing around theatres and shows throughout the day – big hint for everyone is to bring a little bottle of water to any show, and if you have a program, use it as a fan. Thanks to the weather this year, sitting under stage lights, in makeshift theatres with lots of black curtains can be like a mini-sauna. So be prepared!

Which is a motto that would clearly be from Boys of the Empire, a comedy Boys Own adventure from Glenn Chandler, the creator of Taggart. Add in the delightful country sound of Wilson Dixon, and whoever Brian has found on the Royal Mile today, and you have another perfect day in Edinburgh at the Fringe.

The Edinburgh Fringe 2008 Show #5

Wilson Dixon Rides Again
Pleasance Courtyard

Judy – The Musical
Augustine’s

Boys of the Empire
C Chambers Street

Onto the first full week of the Fringe, and after a pretty good weekend for ticket sales (and not so good for weather), the buzz on hows perforers and places to be is building up. Charlie Victor Romeo is one of my picks for theatre this year, and I’ve made a point to see it (and interview the team behind it) as early as possible.

Fiona “One World Sapphire” O’Loughlin took on a massivly frustrating trip from Alice Springs to get to Edinburgh, and hadn’t even settled in before popping in for an interview on the Podcast. Finally Brian Luff chats to “back for the difficult second year at Edinburgh” sketch double act Girl and Dean.

The Edinburgh Fringe Show #4

Charlie Victor Romeo
Underbelly Cowbarn

Fiona O’Loughlin
Gilded Balloon

Girl and Dean
Pleasance Courtyard

Just before I sat down with Jason Byrne, I joked that all I needed to say was ‘Hi Jason… what do you think of something insignificant,’ and then leave him alone with the microphone – ten minutes, later, interview would be over. Turned out to be a bit more than that – more like thirty minutes.

And having listened back, while I could fight to get ten minutes out of this, I think it’s much better as a thirty minute special. And for all my promises of not doing anything this Sunday, it does leave a nice thirty minute-ish long gap to publish the interview. It’s almost like karma planned it.

So stand by for a shotgun of topics including, Jamie Lee Curtis, contract disputes, the price of a barrel of oil, Defender and 1942, Golf, Ronnie Corbett’s wife Anne Hart, jason talking seriously (ha!) about the work and preparation that goes into his show, and what Jason would like to do at the Fringe if he could choose to do any show.

The Edinburgh Fringe 2008 Show #3
Jason Byrne – Cats Under Mats, Having Chats with Bats
Assembly Rooms on the Mound

The Fringe really is like an extended family, no matter where you look old friends pop up for a quick ‘hello’ (and the invariable flyer handed to you for their show), but that’s all part of the fun. Spot where I suddenly spy some people in today’s show.

Speaking of old friends, Stephen K Amos is the first interview of today – having appeared on the Fringe podcast every year I’m worried that if I don’t have him I’ll jinx the show. In any case he’s one of the stars of British stand-up, and deservedly so. I also caught up for the first time with The Stage’s review team, and ask them what shows have drawn their eye as they flip through the program.

Finally, Guy Hollingworth is one of the greatest close-up magicians Britian has produced. many years ago, he had a rough and ready show at edinburgh called ‘Expert at the Card Table.’ It’s now back, with Neil Patrick Harris directing a fascinating look into the world both of magic, and of cheating.

Do leave your comments on the website or email me on ewanspence@gmail.com.

The Edinburgh Fringe 2008 Show #2

Stephen K Amos – Find The Funny
Pleasance Courtyard

Stephen K Amos – Weekend Chat Show
Gilded Balloon Teviot

Guy Hollingworth – The Expert at the Card Table
Assembly Rooms George Street

Charlie Victor Romeo
Underbelly Pasture

New Electric Ballroom
The Traverse Theatre

The Gymnast
Pleasance Courtyard

On The Waterfront
Pleasance Courtyard

Sammy J in the Forest of Dreams
The Underbelly

Ben Moor – Not Everything is Significant
Pleasance Courtyard

August the first, and the starting gun on both the Edinburgh Fringe and the Edinburgh Fringe Podcast has fired. Which means a month of daily podcasts from the biggest arts festival on the planet are going to be heading towards you at top speed (or whatever your broadband is capped at). For the opening show, I thought it was time to dig a little deeper into the relationship between the festival and Scotland’s capital city, so I spent some time with Councillor Steve Cardownie, the Edinburgh Festival and Events Champion.

On the show front, one of my favourite groups, Tha Martians, are back with a new show called Greyfriars Twisted Tales, and I caught up with them at a rehersal to talk about the show and grab some unplugged music from the show. It’s also your first chance to meet Georgina Sowerby and Brian Luff, who are running their own daily show at the Fringe – they’ll be popping back with their guests and thoughts on Edinburgh from a behind the scenes perspective throughout August.

Do leave your comments on the website or email me on ewanspence@gmail.com.

The Edinburgh Fringe 2008 Show #1

Councillor Steve Cardownie
Edinburgh City Council, Festival and Events Champion

The Martians – Greyfriar’s Twisted Tales
at the Musical Theatre, George Square

Sowerby and Luff – Sex Tips for Pandas
at The Dragonfly (Part of PBH’s Free Fringe)

As do my thoughts, because for the fourth year running, I’ll be producing and acting as the main host on The Podcast Network’s Edinburgh Fringe Show. It will also continue as a co-production with The Stage, and feature in their coverage as well. The show format – a daily 30 minute ‘magazine’ style with news from around Scotland’s capital, interviews with the people behind the shows, the venues and the organisations, along with whatever ideas I come up with while out on the streets – stays pretty much the same; but the guests and topics are as varied as the Fringe itself.

The numbers of the Fringe give an idea of the scale of the event, and how much it can take over the city. There are 247 venues hosting 2,088 shows from 18,792 performers for a grand total of 31,320 performances. Now try pouring that into 21 thirty minute shows. Along with your diary management, and the diaries of the people you are interviewing and are appearing on the show, or doing accoustic musical numbers, or teaching me to play the Ukulele… Don’t forget you need to see the shows as well.

It’s something that a lot of people do for various websites and publications (and I’m sure I’ll talk to many of them throughout the month), but it doesn’t make it any more than a black art that you can only learn by being faced with the programme, a blank diary, and a list of phone numbers that may or may not still be people’s agents after last year. So that’s what I;ve been doing on and off throughout July – maybe thirty minutes a day of planning.

Today was the first day I sat down with the schedules, diaries and bits of paper, and started dropping names into the actual programming grid to see who would go where, which interviews could be ‘paired up’ to make thematic shows (which then lead to fluffy bits between the major elements), and generally how good the three dimensional jigsaw looks this year.

No I’m not saying who’s already on it, who’s in the probables list, and who I’m avoiding with a wide berth. Neither am I saying who else will be joining me on the show to help with interviews and providing a behind the scenes look at the Fringe. For that you’ll have to watch the blogs over the next few days.

The first full preview show will go out on Friday ( August 1st 2008) so until then add the RSS feed to your podcatcher or RSS client, and if you’re in Edinburgh… let me know.

Even if you were there, you can;t have seen as much as Ewan Spence: if it’s good, he’s covered it with on-the-spot interviews.

I love the fact that it’s pitched as a catch-up service, almost a Fringe+1 (which seems in vouge in TV land at the moment) and is listed after the Fringe is all over, but of course all the Fringe podcasts are archived, so you can relive the month whenever you like. (Thanks to Scott at The Stage for picking up the mention and snapping a pic; and he also points out the other two podcasts are from a Radio Times writer, and the BBC themselves, so I’m the single indie).

Time for me to join most editorial columnists and quote Ole Blue Eyes on the final post during the Edinburgh Fringe period. Today’s last show of the main Fringe season takes a look at two of the biggest awards ceremonies at the Fringe, the If.com Comedy Awards and The Stage’s Awards for Acting Excellence. I also take the time to talk to Anthony Alderson, Director of the Pleasance, to look back at the 2007 Fringe.

Do leave your comments on the website or email me on ewanspence@gmail.com.

The Edinburgh Fringe 2007 Show #21

The If.com Comedy Awards

Anthony Alderson, Director
The Pleasance

The Stage Awards for Acting Excellence

Madi Distefano, Popsicle’s Departure 1989
Assembly St George’s West

Tags: Edinburgh, Edinburgh Fringe, review, podcast, If.com, Perrier, Brendan Burns, Madi Distefano, Anthony Alderson.

With Idiots of Ants, Paper Monkeys: Legends, 7 Spies At The Casino, Famished, The Absinthe Monologues and NewsRevue 2007.

And here, as promised, is the Big Damn Show! Being the final weekend of the Fringe (sob) there’s still a chance to see every show out there (apart from some that stopped after the first or second week), so to help you maybe put together some new choices, I’ve racked up a number of big name (and quirky show) interviews. Plus there’s a barrel-load of awards and stuff to talk about as well. It might be near the end, but the crescendo is astouding!

Do leave your comments on the website or email me on ewanspence@gmail.com.

The Edinburgh Fringe 2007 Show #20 – The Big Damn Show

James Dowdeswell – Wine
Baby Belly

Josie Long – Trying is Good
Pleasance Courtyard

Jett Loe – Letter to America
http://lettertoamerica.blogs.com/

Rebus McTaggart – Crime Warrior
Pleasance Courtyard

Andrew Lawrence – Social Leprosey For Beginners and Improvers
Pleasance Courtyard

Jim Jeffries – 30
The Cow Belly, Pasture

Paul Kerensa – Genesis
C SoCo Urban Garden

Links to: This Sketch Show Belongs to Lionel Ritchie, Truth in Translation, Failed States, Mile End, Hugh Hughes in… Story of a Rabbit, Wish I Had a Sylvia Path, Subway, Ravenhill for Breakfast and Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea.

Tags: Edinburgh, Edinburgh Fringe, review, podcast, Highlander, James Dowdeswell, Wine, Josie Long, Jett Loe, Rebus McTaggart, Andrew Lawrence, Jim Jeffries, Paul Kerensa.

With Stonewall, Michael McIntyre: Live At The Pleasance, MySketch, Monster Hits, The Mitch Benn Music Club, The Dutch Eagles – Welcome Back to Hotel California and Score (Terre d’Arène).

While the Fringe is always about looking forward, discovering new shows and talent, and showcasing it, there are many shows with a historical angle, and today I’m looking at two of those shows which approach history from a different angle. The Last South is a retelling of Scott and Amundsen’s race to the pole, told by their very own words in their diaries, while Bridget Christie wonders just what King Charles might have made of the 21st century.

Do leave your comments on the website or email me on ewanspence@gmail.com.

The Edinburgh Fringe 2007 Show #19

The Last South: Pursuit of the Pole
Pleasance Courtyard

Bridget Christie – In The Court of King Charles
Underbelly’s Baby Belly

Tags: Edinburgh, Edinburgh Fringe, review, podcast, Highlander, Bridget Christie, The Last South, Scott, Amundsen.

And, for one brief glorious moment, I’m ahead of the mighty Mugglecast. Wheeeee!!!! Don’t forget you can subscribe to the podcast in iTunes, and you can also leave a review of the show with Apple as well, which would very much be appreciated.

(Okay, back out into the Fringe with the microphone. There are still seven podcasts above me).

Some things aren’t naturally funny – four Germans and some drainpipes spring to mind (but Yellowhands is about to prove that cliche wrong); neither would a sixty year old man with a slide projector (but Norman Lovett is about to prove that cliche wrong as well)! The Fringe throws many surprises at you every day, and I hope you’ve caught some of that through the ‘casts this month. Oh and I discuss the Comeddies Nominations as well. Got thoughts yourself? Do leave your comments on the website or email me on ewanspence@gmail.com.

The Edinburgh Fringe 2007 Show #18

Yellowhands (www.yellow-hands.de)
Assembly St George’s West

Norman Lovett’s Slide Show
Pleasance Courtyard

Best Comedy Nominees:
* Andrew Lawrence: Social Leprosy for Beginners & Improvers
* Andrew Maxwell: Waxin’
* Brendon Burns: So I Suppose This Is Offensive Now
* Ivan Brackenbury’s Hospital Radio Roadshow
* Pappy’s Fun Club: Pappy’s Fun Club

Best Newcomer Nominees:
* Jon Richardson: Spatula Pad
* Micky Flanagan: What Chance Change
* Tom Basden: Won’t Say Anything
* Zoe Lyons: Fight or Flight

Tags: Edinburgh, Edinburgh Fringe, review, podcast, Norman Lovett, Yellowhands, Red Dwarf.

Mile End, Caimh McDonnell I.D., Gamarjobat – Rock ‘n’ Roll Penguin, Tap Olé, Talking to Spacehoppers, Truth In Translation, The Terrible Infants and Bang On – The Joy of Junk.

The Fringe is a place of high drama – as well as all the shows and theatre going on at the Front of House you’ve got all the maneuvering and politics between the venues, acts and everything else as well. One strong voice in that mix is Tommy Sheppard and he’s on the show today. along with him is Guy Pratt, a bassist who’s played with pretyy much every influential band of the last 30 years (and McFly).

And as always, feel free to leave your comments in the website or email me on ewanspence@gmail.com.

The Edinburgh Fringe 2007 Show #17

Tommy Sheppard – Director of The Stand Comedy Club
The Stand

Guy Pratt – My Bass and Other Animals
Underbelly

Links to: The Green Room, Fly Posting News.

Tags: Edinburgh, Edinburgh Fringe, review, podcast, The Stand, Guy Pratt, Tommy Sheppard.

Bob Downe Live & Swingin’, Sammy J – 58 Kilograms of Pure Entertainment, Meow Meow in Beyond Glamour: The Absinthe Tour, Camille – La Fille Du Cirque.

Shows for children and the family are at the Fringe as well, and it’s just as cut-throat for them as it is for the Ballet, Magic and Stand-ups of Edinburgh. And they’re also hugely entertaining people to talk to. I catch up today with two of the more well known names in Children’s entertainment. First up is Dave Benson Phillips,a regular on UK TV, and then the story-telling duo of Dan and Jeff, who are working on covering Harry Potter in 60 minutes with fantastically predictable chaos.

And as always, feel free to leave your comments in the website or email me on ewanspence@gmail.com.

The Edinburgh Fringe 2007 Show #16

Dave Benson Phillips – Dave’s Get Up and Go Show!
Pleasance Dome.

Potted Potter – The Unauthorised Harry Potter Experience
Pleasance Courtyard

Links to: The Circus of Horrors, EdFringe.com Message Boards.

Tags: Edinburgh, Edinburgh Fringe, review, podcast, Harry Potter, Potted Potter, Dave Benson Phillips.

With Greedy, Traces, The Ordinaries … in an Awkward Silence and Shakespeare for Breakfast.

So it’s the last week – and coming off a storming weekend for ticket sales (at least with the performers and venues I checked with) the big push is on. The finish line is in site for the performers; crowds are building in the shows; and of course it’s a last chance to get noticed, maybe cross your fingers for an award nomination, or just generally make sure that you’ve seen something wonderful in the Capital. The Fringe Podcast., as always, is sifting through the shows and will continue to bring the best nuggets of interviews and news as the excitement continues at fever pitch.

And as always, feel free to leave your comments in the website or email me on ewanspence@gmail.com.

The Edinburgh Fringe 2007 Show #15

James Campbell’s Spinistry of Moonerism and Onomatopoeia Society III: The Vegetarian Amputation Project.
Assembly Rooms, George Street

Charlotte Hudson and Leila Hackett – Two Left Hands
Pleasance Courtyard

Links to: Comedy for Kids, Coffee, Hangman, The Smile off Your Face, Between The Devil and The Deep Blue Sea, Popsicle Departure 1989, Emergence-See, Ravenhill for Breakfast.

Tags: Edinburgh, Edinburgh Fringe, review, podcast, James Campbell, Two left hands, Aska.

…Chris Cox – Everything Happens For A Reason, Aeneas Faversham Returns and Fuerzabruta.

Coming to you today from Helsinki, it’s a rather politically charged Saturday editon of the Edinburgh Fringe Podcast, along with the nominations for this year’s Acting Excellence Awards from The Stage. As always, feel free to leave your comments in the website or email me on ewanspence@gmail.com.

The Edinburgh Fringe 2007 Show #14

Rash
Pleasance Dome

Hamell On Trial – The Terrorism (Of Everyday Life)
Smirnoff Underbelly

The Stage Awards for Acting Excellence 2007 nominations are:

Best Actor:
• Garry Cooper for Long Time Dead (Traverse)
• James Baxter for Scarborough (Assembly @ George Street)
• Daniel Pirrie for Sting for Nolte (Gilded Balloon)
• Merryn Owen for Worlds End (Pleasance Dome)

Best Actress:
• Nathalie Armin for Damascus (Traverse)
• Holly Atkins for Scarborough (Assembly @ George Street)
• Beth Fitzgerald for Follow Me (Assembly @ George Street)
• Dillie Keane for Frank and Dolly (Gilded Balloon)
• Eugenia Caruso for Truckstop (The Zoo)
• Janet Bamford for Truckstop (The Zoo)

Best Ensemble:
• Druid for The Walworth Farce (Traverse)
• Nimble Fish for The Container (UdderBelly’s Pasture)
• Arches Theatre Company for Pit (Traverse)
• Song of the Goat for Lacrimosa (Assembly Aurora Nova)
• Analogue for Mile End (Pleasance Dome)
• Shalimar for La Femme est Morte or Why I Should Not F**k My Son (Pleasance Dome)
• Angelica for Stonewall (Pleasance Courtyard)

Best Solo Show:
• Linda Marlowe for Believe (Traverse)
• Madi Distefano for Popsicle Departure 1989 (Assembly @ St George’s West)
• Elisabeth Gray for Wish I Had a Sylvia Plath (Underbelly’s Baby Belly)
• Alexander Campbell for Private Peaceful (Assembly @ George Street)
• Iris Bahr for Dai (Enough) (Pleasance Courtyard)
• Joanna Swain for Talking to Spacehoppers (C soco)

Tags: Edinburgh, Edinburgh Fringe, review, podcast, Rash, Ed Hamell, Rwanda, Jenni Wolfson.

In this episode, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Ian Kendall’s Magic Show, Someone Who’ll Watch Over Me, God’s Pottery Saves The World and Debbie Does Dallas – The Musical

A lovely show today, very irreverent with one of the sleeper hits of the Fringe so far, Pegabovine – Coat of Arms, and an incredibly laid back Rhod Gilbert. Sometimes you have to think on your feet and turn an interview on a single line – and Pegabovine definitly supplied that today. Enjoy the show!

And as always, feel free to leave your comments in the website or email me on ewanspence@gmail.com.

The Edinburgh Fringe 2007 Show #13

Pegabovine – The Coat of Arms
Pleasance Courtyard

Rhod Gilbert – Who’s Eaten Gilbert’s Grape (Plus extra dates)
Pleasance Courtyard

Links to: The Swingers, Amnesty Scotland, Firstgroup Scotrail Train Times (pdf).

Tags: Edinburgh, Edinburgh Fringe, review, podcast, Pegabovine, Rhod Gilbert, Amnesty.

There are some interviews where the idea of structured questions just go out the window, the improv skills come to the fore and myself and (in this case) Des Clarke start riffing like crazy – see what happens in today’s show. Before that, The Terrible Infants, a delightful show for all ages that’s been recommended to me by a huge number of people.

And please take note of the announcement of a special one-off comedy gig based around Doctor Who to support the Accord Hospice program.

And as always, feel free to leave your comments in the website or email me on ewanspence@gmail.com.

The Edinburgh Fringe 2007 Show #12

The Terrible Infants
Pleasance Courtyard

Des Clarke – Destiny
Pleasance Courtyard

Links to: Doctor Who/ACCORD Comedy Show, Joined at the Heart, ‘Beat Off’ Dirty Yanks.

Tags: Edinburgh, Edinburgh Fringe, review, podcast, Doctor Who, The Terrible Infants, Des Clarke, Mitch Benn, Tony Hadoke.

Today’s show has two acts which I think are both worthy of the Fringe in their own way – how else can you watch Romeo and Juliet again if you’ve seen it performed by the Scottish Falsetto Sock Puppet Theatre? And the life of Woody Guthrie, tragic and uplifting at the same time, is captured perfectly by the cast and crew of Woody Sez.

Do feel free to leave your comments in the website or email me on ewanspence@gmail.com.

The Edinburgh Fringe 2007 Show #11

The Scottish Falsetto Sock Puppet Theatre
The Gilded Balloon

Woody Sez
The Cow Barn (Underbelly)

Links to: Silent Disco, The Black Watch (NTS).

Tags: Edinburgh, Edinburgh Fringe, review, podcast, Silent Disco, Blackwatch, Woody Sez, Scottish Falsetto Sock Puppet Theatre.

With contributions from Improvera, Christian Reilly, Tony! The Blair Musical, The Tony Blair Musical and Breakfast with the Bickersons.

There is something rather fitting in the choice of venue for James Dowdeswell’s comedic exploration of the world of fermented grape juice in “Wine.” The Baby Belly is built into the caves and cellars under Edinburgh’s South Bridge regularly conjour up ghostly sightings through the year, but Dowdeswell happily takes what could be a tough venue and manages to evoke the idea of sitting in a Wine Cellar – not only comforting and siding with the audience, but setting the atmosphere perfectly.

The show is a gently formed trip through Dowdeswell’s discovery of wine in the last two or three years, which happily digresses away from trips with his Father to French vineyards, snap appearances as a top wine journalist at the largest Wine Fair in London, to take in anything and everything that he cares to handle. Both a strong story and a sense of off-the-cuff ‘ooh that happened as well’ randomness kept me entertained and engaged.

And what would a show about wine be without some of the liquid to sample yourself?

Edfringe.com Link: James Dowdeswell – Wine.

With all the talk (every year) of The Fringe getting more and more expensive, I decided to set out today to find out just what the other end of the scale is like – so there’s no report from the £37.50 per ticket single ticket for Ricky Gervais, but rather the performers and organisers putting on shows for free, with a voluntary donation at the end of the show depending on how much you enjoyed the show / performer / how cute they are.

Do feel free to leave your comments in the website or email me on ewanspence@gmail.com.

The Edinburgh Fringe 2007 Show #10

Peter Buckley Hill – At Last, The 2006 Show
Canons Gait

Doogie C – A Brief History of Magic
Laughing Horse at Hillside

Nik Coppin – Half Blak
The Meadow Bar

Links to: Janey Godley, The Mistress, Brendon Burns.

Tags: Edinburgh, Edinburgh Fringe, review, podcast, Free, Peter Buckley-Hill, Doogie C, Nic Coppin.

The cliche of so good it’s impossible to describe is never more apt than in The Tom Tom Club. Think of it as a modern day ‘urban circus’ and you’re close to what’s on show here. From a record scratcher on the raised podium at the rear, to a human beat-box, by way of a mad drummer that puts Animal in The Muppets to shame and four of the most athletic (and well toned) gymnasts at the Fringe – mix that together with a slice of showbiz and you have one of the most entertaining hours that is possible to find at the Fringe

It’s such a high energy show that the audience, even with a huge range of ages and I suspect musical styles – were clapping, cheering and dancing away in their seats. I honestly believe that if this was in an open venu, or a nightclub there would be a lot of dancing going on.

It’s a wonderful display of human skill, all round, and I dare you to come out of the show without a smile on your face, and the beat spinning round your skull.

Edfringe.com Link: The Tom Tom Club.

Just over an hour of the life and music of Woody Guthrie does not begin to cover how important Guthrie was to the common American, but it is a testament to the skill of the cast and crew of Woody Sez that this small selection of music, deftly weaved through the high and low points of his life, is so entertaining, powerful, and heart breaking.

The band deftly switches instruments with ease between songs, while these beats are used to gently place the music in context . This bookending of each piece, alongside the excellent vocal and musical talents of David Lutken in the lead role (ably joined by Darcie Deaville, Andy Teirstein and Helen Russell) lifts this piece of theatre above the multitudes of biography jukebox shows to something with a genuine emotional core.

From the first beat to the final coda, the relevance then, and now, of Guthrie’s works drives the quartet to one of the stand out musical performances of the year. Recommended without hesitation.

Edfringe.com Link: Woody Sez.

There’s a surprise – for all the sun last week (and it’s clear again this morning) the weekend saw a dump of rain landing on Edinburgh, just as the first wave of tourists arrived to take in a full Fringe week. Bit it didn’t dampen either their spirits or mine.

But jut before it rained, i took a stroll back up to Greyfriar’s Kirkyard to catch up with Australian comedy trip, Tripod (and yes, they do sing for the podcast), and the quirky Popsicle Departure, a tale of the Grunge scene before it became popular. And the first video podcast is available as well!

Do feel free to leave your comments in the website or email me on ewanspence@gmail.com.

The Edinburgh Fringe 2007 Show #9
Tripod
The Spiegel Tent

Popsicle Departure 1989
St George’s West, Assembly Rooms

Links to: Stewart Lee.

Tags: Edinburgh, Edinburgh Fringe, review, podcast, Tripod, Popsicle Departure, Fringe Sunday.

Steven Worbey and Kevin Farrell are the hosts (but don’t be surprised if a certain Scottish podcaster pops up in some of the later shows…) and it’s a chance to see some of the many acts at the Fringe actually performing

The first full weekend is here, the tourists are pouring into this lovely small city, the flyers are coming at you from all directions… it’s fantastic. Fringe Sunday, the big party in Edinburgh’s Meadows, is tomorrow (12th August) and starts at 11am, so pop that in your diaries.

But today;s show sees the return of Christian Gospel band God’s Pottery from last year’s critically acclaimed “Show for Lavert,” with the promise that they can save the world this time around; and one of the most though provoking theatre productions I’ve seen so far, The Ordinaries, over at the Edinburgh University Theatre Company’s Bedlam Theatre.

Do feel free to leave your comments in the website or email me on ewanspence@gmail.com.

The Edinburgh Fringe 2007 Show #8

God’s Pottery Saves The World!
Pleasance Courtyard

The Ordinaries… in an Awkward Silence
Bedlam Theater

Links to: Truth in Translation, Scarborough, The Container, The Walworth Farce, England, Damascus.

Tags: Edinburgh, Edinburgh Fringe, review, podcast, The Ordinaries, Gods Pottery, Frigne First.

The weather is back to being ‘dreich,’ a sort of Scottish overcast not quite threatening rain look. But that’s not going to stop the Fringe – nope it’s full steam ahead as the first ‘full’ weekend is almost here. The crowds on Friday night are going to fill the venues 9hopefully) and the acts all have their shows sorted out and ticking over nicely.

On today’s show, Kieron Forsyth talks about his role as John Peel in Teenage Kicks, while Craig Campbell and I generally have the sort of conversation that a psychiatrist would have a field day with – from his show, The Goodies and Oliver Cromwell to IMDB, Colditz and charity, it’s all here!

Do feel free to leave your comments in the website or email me on ewanspence@gmail.com.

The Edinburgh Fringe 2007 Show #7

Teenage Kicks
Assembly Universal Arts

Craig Campbell
The Underbelly

Links to: Assembly Rooms, Truth in Translation,

Tags: Edinburgh, Edinburgh Fringe, review, podcast, Teenage Kicks, Craig Campbell, John Peel.

In 1847 Dr. Hoffmann published his view on that which children’s literature should be. shockingly educational.

Eager to see how such pedagogical insanity could be adapted to a politically correct present, I ran to see this show, book in hand. Introduced by a recording of the original German, the five young actors delivered the verse over an ironically childlike interpretation of the action. childlike? yes, the first sight of them was most surprising, as they chose to wear costumes that are much closer to those of a British panto on speed than to Hoffmann’s original illustrations. white shirts with neon dots, high-vis, and a dazzling UV light, supporting Tim-Burton-esque reactive clown makeup. The delivery had streaks of genius to contrast the choice of attire, such as Little Suck-A-Thumb’s bleeding hands being renditioned with a red light and a stream of salt, followed by the triumphant use of balloons under a coarse jumper to shrink poor Augustus (who was oddly played by a girl) as he refused to eat his soup, and popped slowly to his emaciated death.

My opinion of the show may have been tainted by the fact that i had the book in my bag, and was familiar with the original illustrations, which excite me greatly. thus, expectations not met, so I reluctantly feel that i would offer them five stars, but only out of ten.

EdFringe.com Link: Struwwelpeter.

– Tobias Feltus

It’s very much a ’serious’ show today, with commentary both on the Anti-Terror legislation and it’s effects in the UK, and on the man that was Adolf Hitler. Both very powerful shows in their own right, and typify the Fringe spirit of new shows, with some daring behind them.

Do feel free to leave your comments in the website or email me on ewanspence@gmail.com.

The Edinburgh Fringe 2007 Show #6

Hitler Alone
Inlingua, Hanover Street

Failed States
Pleasance Dome

Links to: Amnesty International, Jihad the Musical.

Tags: Edinburgh, Edinburgh Fringe, review, podcast, Hitler Alone, Failed States.

The sun continues to shine on Edinburgh, and the fun of the Fringe continues to amaze me. Year in, year out, there is such a huge and diverse range of talent on display, trying to get noticed. And part of the thrill of the podcast is finding those, and bringing them all to your attention. Today, two shows I would have no hesitation in recommending in the strongest possible way.

Do feel free to leave your comments in the website or email me on ewanspence@gmail.com.

The Edinburgh Fringe 2007 Show #5

Stephen K Amos – More of Me
Pleasance Courtyard

The Tom Tom Club
Udderbelly

Tags: Edinburgh, Edinburgh Fringe, review, podcast, Stephen K Amos, The Tom Tom Club.

Edinburgh Fringe Podcast, #24 in iTunes (click for full screen)

So a big thank you to everyone who’s helping with the pdocast, including The Stagec, Comedy365, Broadway Baby, and all you listeners out there in MP3 land. Now, one more little favour – if you have subscribed in iTunes, why not consider leaving a review of the podcast with Apple?

Update: Make that #14…

Probably the most surprising thing is that ‘The Socks’ are performers in their own right – a sort of brash, internet version of Abbott and Costello, with all the wit, wordplay and wisecracks that you’d expect. Never seeing their manager until the curtain call at the end allows the socks to occupy and dominate centre stage for an hour of film and theatre spoofs, Shirley Bassey numbers, and a cringe worthy biblical reinterpretation of “The Guinness Book of British Sitcoms.”

It’s hard to get over just how effective this show actually is, but it really does sum up the Fringe. A cramped venue, with little air conditioning, a show witha lot of heart, and a genuine debut live performance. While they continue to be a popular couple on YouTube, in the flesh (ahem) the Socks prove they have the legs to become superstars.

Edfringe.com Link: The Scottish Falsetto Sock Puppet Theatre

One of the most important things for any Fringe show is to have a name that grabs the casual browser, sums up the play, and drags them into the theatre – and Debbie Does Dallas The Musical certainly does that. Based on the plot of one of the seminal porn movies from teh seventies, the plot that held that movie also holds this piece together as well, but in a style that’s more Carry On / Seaside Bawdy humour than in out and out flesh. This year’s Fringe is gearing up to have a lot of male tackle out, but the only tackle here is with the American Football jocks.

The plot – Debbie Benson has a scholarship offer in Dallas (and a job offer to be a Dallas Cowgirl cheerleader), but needs $475 and 25 cents to get there. So she, and her friends, pick up some typical jobs for high school girls to earn the cash – but soon discover their bodies have more potential than their C.V’s.

To be honest, lifting the plot out of the context of the film and placing it in a theatre makes it a touch creepy, especially as the lead character is ‘convinced’ to sell her virginity for $10,000. In this day and age, the casual acceptance of all parties to this just left me feeling a little bit off kilter. And the final two songs see a massive change in attitudes in the characters motivations and goals with no reason at all why – the plotting redhead cheerleader suddenly decides it would be a good idea to help Debbie? Everyone is cool with everyone else? All is well in the world?

It’s a spirited production, with a great title and an obvious visual appeal, but in the end I was left hoping for something more challenging and appropriate to this day and age.