Time for more adventures in the capital. The day got off to a predictable start with the 11AM Citylink bus to Edinburgh full to capacity and it passed us by as we stood abject at the bus stop. As my friend Alan pointed out, Citylink run well enough under normal circumstances but you would think that they would run more buses during the Festival or when there is a major event taking place that might involve extra commuters. However, apart from an encounter with an unfriendly monosyllabic member of staff at Easterhouse Train Station, we got the train without much fuss and arrived in Edinburgh in good time. This year we decided to mix things up and branch out into other forms of entertainment rather than our usual diet of standup comedy. First on the bill was 'Singing I'm No A Billy, He's A Tim', a play that deals with the problem of football related bigotry and sectarianism in a humorous but uncompromising way. For those who don't know, a 'Billy' is a Protestant supporter of Rangers Football Club, a 'Tim' is a Catholic supporter of Celtic Football Club. There has been a long standing rivalary between the two clubs, often descending into hateful sectarianism due to the different religions and ethnic origins. The premis of the play is that a Ranger's fan and a Celtic fan get locked up in a prison cell on the day that the two rival clubs play. What follows is the inevitable tension and barrage of insults, each fan questioning the others prejudices and tinted views. However as the play develops they manage to find common ground, often helped by the objective presence of the police officer on duty, and an unlikey friendship is formed. The language throughout is extremely strong and crude, the playwrite maybe trying too hard to give the play a feeling of realism. Despite this it is well written and acted, funny, highly relevant and thought-provoking, and if the language was strongly toned down then I think it could be well worth while showing this play in schools around Scotland.
The rain greeted us as we emerged onto the streets of Edinburgh and it continued to pour heavily for the rest of the day. We found solage in The Three Sisters, a pub that boasted the prettiest barmaids in Scotland. While Tony and Alan watched rugby and sampled the draught cider I spent the next two hours trying to persuade the barmaids to relocate to my local pub in the east end of Glasgow, but alas my efforts were in vain. Our next location was The Spaces on the Mile, which to our bemusement turned out to be the Radisson Hotel. It did not seem like a typical fringe venue. We were there for Absolute Improv, a troupe of young comedy performers who improvise in scenarios and games aided by suggestions and collaboration from the audience. If you have seen Whose Line Is It Anyway? then it is very much like that. The performers were not in that class of comedy improv but they were undoubtedly quick witted and there were plenty of laughs. Not bad for £5.50. We rejoined the rain soaked crowds and headed straight to the Udderbelly's Pasture to see our next show. While waiting we sought shelter under a huge inflatible purple cow. I am infinitely relieved that it did not fall on top of us: that would probably be the most stupid way to die and something I don't want mentioned in my obituary.
Michael Winslow, billed as 'the man of 10,000 sound effects', is best known as the guy from the Police Academy films who makes lots of funny noises with his mouth. Our expectations were high and on the whole he did not disappoint. If his comedy was not always side splittingly funny then he more than made up for it with his sound effects. He did have the help of an effects pedal but nevertheless he possesses an extraordinary talent. It is well worth checking him out in action on YouTube as my words cannot do him justice. His Jimi Hendrix impression was particularly impressive. People outside the tent might well have thought that there was a guy playing a real guitar, such was the realism of his distorted guitar sound. All this from his mouth, quite amazing. So, despite the constant rain and my failure to kidnap any pretty barmaids it was a successful start to the Festival. I have not had a holiday this summer so I was really looking forward to the Festival this year and I was not disappointed. Next up, my guitar hero Bert Jansch in concert. Alan will be MIA* for this due to a holiday in Ibiza with 'Mad Chris', and if Mad Chris lives up to his name then Alan might be MIA for a long, long time. Watch this space.
* Missing In Action
No comments:
Post a Comment