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The
Edinburgh Fringe
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Fringe 2010 Blog - 19Down Time – Wednesday 25 August 2010Well it had to happen eventually. I’m not feeling well. I’m tired and just want the Fringe to finish already. Don’t worry (as if you would) it’s a perfectly natural feeling. I don’t really mean it obviously, it’s just my mood. I woke up with a massive headache and throat made of sandpaper. Swallowing a glass of water felt like ingesting a handful of gravel. I wanted to spend the day in bed, but there was work to be done. I walked to the shops, bought as many greens and fruit as I could, stocked up on pills and echinacea, then back to the flat. After cooking everything, it was time to do some blogging (honestly, you see what I go through?) I don’t know why I’m so tired. I mean it’s not like I’ve been working 18 hour days. My work day lasts around two hours and 15 minutes. Yes it’s intense work but hardly epic hours. On top of that, it’s not like I’ve been going out drinking until 5AM every evening. I haven’t even done that once! But enough of that. Who on earth wants to read about all my troubles eh? If you’re still reading (wow you’re brave) I apologise and will now stop talking about it. Instead I’ll talk about my busking experience. Fringe show ticket prices being what they are, I’ve been a bit worried about my bank card recently. Not about the card as such, the card seems fine, I’m just worried that one day I’ll hand it over to a cashier to pay for something, only to be faced with that heart-stopping moment we all know when the cashier frowns at the card machine before trying to swipe the card several more times. You however, realise with a sinking feeling that it’s futile because the account’s empty. The cashier will eventually give up and hand the card back to you, apologising that their machine isn’t accepting it. To try and save some face, you will pretend to be surprised that the bank rejected it. You might even go so far as to say something along the lines of, “But I just bought a falafel ten minutes ago and the card worked fine”. The cashier, who knows what’s going on but who was told at cashier university to never piss off the customer, will apologise once more and ask you if you have another card. You will say that you don’t (even though you actually do but you know that it’s also empty because the exact same thing that is happening now has already happened two days ago when you used the other card) and you must forget it. You leave in a huff, before bursting into tears behind a skip further down the road. Sound familiar? I thought so. Not wishing to re-visit the skip on Fishmarket Close (they’ve installed CCTV near it now, I suspect due to my previous visits) I decided it would be a good idea to busk to earn some extra cash. I used to busk quite a lot on the London Underground. In fact, I have a licence and everything. However, things have been going pretty well in the acting world lately and I haven’t really needed to go out and do it for a while. It’s been quite a few months since I last busked. As a result, I was rather nervous about busking once more. Would I remember the songs? I play viola to backing tracks. Would I make a fool of myself? I was, to put it mildly, on the verge of soiling my pants as I set up my portable amplifier and placed a handful of coins in my case to encourage passers by to donate some spare change. The weather was warm and there were quite a few people about. I started, launching into an orchestral version of 'Hotel California'. It was okay. Slowly, I warmed into it and the songs began to come back to me. Yes, there were a few mistakes, but I’ve found that if you point them out, people tend to forgive them more than if you pretend they didn’t happen. Don’t ask me why! To be honest, I didn’t pick the best spot in Edinburgh for foot traffic. I was too scared to head for the busy places like George Street and around the Royal Mile (I’ve actually busked on the Royal Mile before, you can read about it on my website) so I stuck to the Meadows. It was mostly students and underpaid actors passing by, but it was okay. Apart from a small bunch of lager swilling guys yelling goodness knows what at me, and a kid that ran past me pinching a coin or two from my open case, it was actually rather pleasant. I stayed for two hours and made enough money to buy... exactly one ticket for one more show at the Fringe. Why are Fringe shows so expensive? Seriously, this is a question that has been on my mind for a few days now after an experience that I shall now relate. Some of our production’s cast wanted to go and see The Gospel at Colonus at the Edinburgh Playhouse. This is a massive production that is part of the Edinburgh International Festival (not the Fringe). The show has been touring for over 20 years, has been a sold out success all over the world, including in New York. The Edinburgh Playhouse is a cavernous venue, seating thousands, not some stuffy little room in a university building. In short, this is a big-deal production. I bought a ticket for it that cost me - get this - as much as a pint of beer. That’s right! With your average Fringe show ticket costing £12, some even £20, this show cost me exactly £4 to watch. The actual ticket price was £8 reduced to £4 because I’m an Equity member (and who said being an Equity member is without advantage?). The seat was in the stalls, unrestricted view. A perfect view of the stage in a comfy seat and it cost me three times less than an average Fringe ticket! Now that’s a bit weird isn’t it? |
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