An Avalanche of Reviews
It’s been a while since I’ve posted, so here’s a quick update on what I’ve been up to and a preview of what I’ll be posting in the near future.
It’s now early-September when I’m writing this. I’ve survived another full month at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe where I did my own show 22 times, saw 53 other shows, and wrote reviews of 19 of them. Most of my coverage was of solo shows and stand-up comedy, with a few outliers that included a singer/songwriter, one dance/laser light show, and a two-hander play.
The reviews were originally posted on FringeReview. I’ve decided to also archive them here and on my personal website. This is so that readers who don’t follow me there can still see what I’ve been up to, and maybe glean some insight into their own work based on what I noticed in Edinburgh.
I know inbox fatigue is real, so I’m spacing the posts throughout September instead of dropping them all at once. If you are interested, you can expect ten posts over the month, going live on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. I’ll batch the reviews in pairs (with one on its own at the end) based on themes and patterns I noticed. I’ll also try to keep the word count under 1500 words in each post. Here’s what’s coming:
September 5th: Solo shows that talk to each other
Kaddish (How to be a Sanctuary) & NIUSIA
September 8th: How to manage persona in storytelling and stand-up comedy
Rachel Morton-Young: Dutch Courage & Leslie Gold: Tall Girl Energy
September 10th: Solo shows that truly display men’s vulnerability
Sped Kid & A Paper Orchestra
September 12th: Using stand-up comedy to address cross-cultural experiences
Darren Leo: Good Engrish & Michael Elsener: How to Live in Paradise
September 15th: Shows that were still in development
The Lost Priest & Henry Churniavsky… Life Lessons from a Jewish Grandfather (Zaida)
September 17th: Using multimedia well in solo shows: part 1
PSA: Pelvic Service Announcement & King
September 19th: Using multimedia well in solo shows: part 2
Do You Accept These Charges? & Sorry: A Canadian’s Apology for America
September 22nd: Shows that bring much needed variety to the fringe
GENDAI & Daniel Cainer: Topical
September 24th: Solo shows that center women’s experiences
That’s Why Mums Go to Switzerland & The Lolita Apologies
September 26th: Niche stand-up that just works
Excel Comedy and Mathem-antics
In October I’ll share some behind-the-scenes reflections on what it’s really like to be an artist at the Edinburgh Fringe. This will include the highs, lows, and the weird-ass shit that goes on there.
As always, feel free to comment- I’m curious to hear your thoughts. And if I don’t like them, I’ll delete them :)
Thanks for reading.
