Changes

The end of week one and I must confess to having a pretty excellent time this year. I was worried my blog would make for depressing reading as I'm not Mrs Funknickers during Edinburgh usually. It's all drinking spirits alone, listening to Leonard Cohen and watching Leaving Las Vegas to cheer myself up. But I've done none of this so far. I have had three Mexican meals, had my photo taken (in which I look both hot and dead - result), watched a lot of Come Dine With Me, flirted shamelessly with Jon Richardson on his radio show, witnessed one of Zoe Lyons' audience having a wee against our dressing room door, been upstaged by an urban fox, spent way to much money on cakes in Peckhams, and seen the film Moon.

 

The last couple of years I've not seen any shows until the last week but I was determined to see things this Edinburgh. I don't really go to many of the stand up shows. There are lots of very talented stand-ups at the festival who work the clubs throughout the year and put together a professional and tight hour. They are incredibly good and I understand why their posters are covered in four and five star reviews. But for me personally, I like a bit of risk in my comedy. I like to see someone expose their core and move away from the mainstream. I went to see Bridget Christie: 'My Daily Mail Hell' (18.30 Gilded Balloon) and couldn't believe what a brilliant stand-up she is. I loved both the King Charles II shows she's done, but this is in another league. It's not really about the Daily Mail. It's about an outsider observing an institution. I'm so envious of Bridget as a performer. She's utterly fearless. I also saw Anna Crilly and Katy Wix (18.40 Pleasance OTR) who are wonderful and insane. And Colin Hoult's 'Carnival of Monsters' (15.30 Pleasance Hut). It's amazing. I can't tell you how much I loved it. Macabre and beautiful and poetic. There was one scene that made me actually cry with laughter. I was weeping. Then at the end I had a real lump in my throat. And not because it's some mawkish cock about love and loss. It's much much better than that. I'm going to see it again next week. I'll be wearing water-proof mascara.

 

Oh yes, I'll also be learning basslines for the super-awesome 'Ward and White's Karaoke Circus' on 23rd in the Ace Dome. We're trying to get Richard Herring to do 'This Town Ain't Big Enough For The Both Of Us'. What with him having that Sparks moustache.