Revisiting
Last year, I had a look at one or two performers about whom I'd heard great things, and some of these I will certainly be revisiting.
One of these was Peter Straker, who last year revived his show about Jacques Brel, which was wonderful. This year's show, Peter Straker Black Magic, is different, but I'm still looking forward to seeing this great entertainer again.
I also saw the lovable Irish comedian David O'Doherty for the first time on stage, and was totally charmed by his dour delivery and brilliantly observant wit. Last year he "tried to fix everything"; this year he "has checked everything", according to the title of his show.
I saw Baby Wants Candy in Edinburgh around 15 years ago, and was very pleased to see they were back on the Fringe last year. There are plenty of other groups now that claim to improvise a musical from a title given by the audience, so this Chicago-based company has upped its game, improvising an hour-long musical with a full band and producing a printed tee-shirt featuring the title for the person who suggested it. An extremely impressive and entertaining show that you can see again and again and it will always be different.
I didn't see the Bunker Trilogy last year, but BTG reviewer Graeme Strachan saw two-thirds of it—Morgana and Agamemnon—and gave both shows five stars, so I thought I'd pay all three a visit myself this year.