Dearest reader, I write to you at an ungodly hour on the final night of the Edinburgh Fringe Festival – dehydrated, sleep deprived and with 40 shows under my belt. I have spent the past month working front of house for a company at the festival; and after seeing so many shows, going out every night, and meeting so many amazing people (locals and those who frequent Fringe circles alike), I find myself very disheartened to leave it and return to reality.

A friend of mine referred to the month of August in Edinburgh as “Disneyland”. I’d have to agree with them… although, there are more costumes and queer people here than the actual Disneyland.

While working at a venue such as Gilded Balloon, the staff are able to use their pass to see any of that venue’s shows for free, with Gilded Balloon hosting hundreds and the Fringe, itself, having thousands. A stand-out show at Gilded Balloon which I was lucky enough to catch was Mythos: Ragnarok – the first ever full length theatre/wrestling hybrid, where absolute units performed Norse Mythology with choreographed wrestling. On a thrust stage, giving the feeling of an arena, these impressively large performers sold out every night…which made it a bit of a challenge for those in front of the house, such as myself, to get a seat.

A lovely benefit of front of house work is getting to know the artists in your building very well, and watching those artists sell out and receive rave reviews was a great joy for us, as we came to know them on a personal basis. The gentle giants of Ragnarok were no exception, and their success was well deserved. I’ve never known happiness like watching them flip my venue manager over their broad shoulders with a loud thud on their final night.

There were other extremely strong shows at Gilded which stuck with me til the end of the month such as,  the hilarious and lovely boys of LA based comedy group Business Casual, whose humour was so absurd and off the wall it can only be described as genius. There was also Redeem Her: How I Escaped My Perfect Mormon Life, where Tatum Melissa Langton recounted the story of her marriage within the Mormon community and their attitudes toward adultery (which they see as being on par with murder). And, lastly, Keith Ramsey’s Eve: All About Her, which can only be described as an artist’s struggle with persona and identity through stream of consciousness: a consciousness which took the form of a 1950’s Hollywood icon who can sing Amy Winehouse’s ‘Back To Black’ like nobody’s business.

Aside from my own venue, the Fringe offered an endless well of entertainment. Coming from Francesca Moody Productions (which I hear were also responsible for a little Fringe show, called Fleabag), Feeling Afraid As If Something Terrible Is Going To Happen was the hilarious and poignant tale of a stand-up comedian that falls for a man who could potentially die if he laughs. I have never been more immediately sold by a premise. The performance was framed as a genuine stand-up set, which the audience was well accustomed to from being at the Fringe; and used this to play with the form of standup, dissect it, and fittingly end it all with a punchline. 

Pecho Mama’s Oedipus Electronica brought a level of National Theatre polish to the Fringe with its sophisticated set, lights, and live music, providing the audience with a cinematic experience of theatre unlike anything I’d ever seen. My friend and I were so gagged we couldn’t speak for about ten minutes after. She  even left her phone in the auditorium. 

Many circus shows took place over the month, and one extremely close to my heart was Railed: a queer cowboy themed, acrobatic, stripping extravaganza. Cowboys initially attempted to “out man” one another, “accidently” getting each other wet by spilling beer, which gradually escalated to simulated sex while wearing horse masks and simalteanously  doing handstands atop dozens of stacked chairs. 

Two Irish productions which I had missed in Dublin but was lucky enough to see here were Night Dances and Mustard. Night Dances was an impressive display of physicality, sound and costume merged to create a beautiful piece of theatre. Fishamble’s Mustard told the story of a woman’s unusual desire when times get tough: to lavish herself in mustard. Been there!

Anyways, the Edinburgh Fringe Festival is my favourite thing in the world, and I would recommend a visit to both theatre fanatics and normies alike as you are guaranteed to find something for you. For me, that was Hot Clown Sex. To clarify, yes, it was a show I saw…

 

Photo by Ann Fossa on Unsplash.