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The Edinburgh Fringe
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Fringe 2002Looking Back - Peter LathanIt's often the non-theatrical things that characterise a particular Fringe in the memory. When you're seeing four, five, six or even more shows in a day, very soon they tend to blur into each other, so that you even forget what day it is! Before I set off every year, I decide what shows I'm going to see, where and the start and finish times. I then produce a single A4 sheet for each day, with the day and date at the top. All these sheets are carried inside my copy of the programme in the bag which rarely, if ever, leaves my side, alongside a waterproof and an umbrella (this is Scotland, after all!), a spare notebook and pen, at least one packet of cigarettes (to supplement the pack in my pocket), a packet of headache tablets and some indigestion tablets (when you don't know when you're next going to eat, these are essentials!), a bottle of water and a novel for reading when there's a reasonable amount of time between shows. The list for the day, however, sits in my left hand coat pocket, alongside my notebook, and I frequently find myself checking where the next show is, what time its start and finishes, and even what day it is. This checking becomes almost compulsive, and if I do it once in a day, I do it ten times. The horrifying thing is, if someone asks you what you saw yesterday - or even earlier today - you really have to think about it. On Thursday, my sixth day, someone asked me, "Have you seen such and such a show?" and I couldn't remember! I had to take out my notebook and glance through it to find out. Of course, once I look at my notes and the show programme or press pack, it all comes flooding back and I can see it in my mind, but in conversation I am often reduced to a Homer Simpson-like "doh!" Which is why I try to get the reviews sketched out in note form immediately after a show and then typed up on the laptop as soon as I get back to the digs or, at the very latest, the following morning. Anyway, some (non-theatre) memories of the 2002 Edinburgh Fringe:
My "Best ...":
These are, of course, based solely on the shows I saw, a tiny fraction of the total. I saw nothing at the Traverse, usually a source of some of the very best plays on the Fringe, and very little at the Assembly, wherea very high standard is always maintained. As far as venues are concerned, I have to say that, of those where I spent much time, the Pleasance (including the Dome and Over the Road) had definitely the most varied and exciting programme, whilst the most improved venue this year was definitely Augustine's, which lifted the quality of its programme considerably. It's good to see the Gilded Balloon returning to the fold. For the last couple of years it has gone more and more towards comedy so that, last year, it could almost be discounted as a theatre venue, but this year, with its own company and a much bigger theatre programme, it is returning to being a theatrical force to be reckoned with. Finally, a personal word of thanks to the Fringe Press Office and the press officers of the various venues, who do so much to make the life of the reviewer so much easier. And on the subject of reviews and reviewers, there are, I think, things to be said, and you'll find them here. |
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