Fringe Farewell: Recommendations with Hindsight

I have learnt nothing. Like the hero of the EIF's Optimism, I have observed events, untouched, unchanged. I select shows by their content, to discover shoddy technique and weak scripts. I rely on international reputations: I am disappointed. There is no path through the Fringe, no guide, no map. Even the one in the back of the programme can't navigate the secret terrain of the heart, which is art's true geography.

My highlights would honestly include a secret meal of bad pizza outside the train station after midnight, the arrival of Amanda Palmer at High Tease, the sudden euphoria of seeing people read the Shimmy over coffee. Emails bombard me: see this show, give us a preview, what do you recommend?

I'd start with the Forest Fringe. It is free, situated in that rather grubby café opposite Bristo Square. Being a hang-out for energised drops-outs, it has an affinity with work that wouldn't fit elsewhere. Besides, it is easy enough to walk out if it doesn't work: when it does, it will startle.

Venezuela Viva is good for a bit of polish, flamenco and a rather revisionist history of Spanish imperialism. At eighty minutes, choreographed in intricate detail and with a cast of foot-stamping beautiful women, it is one for the dads, perhaps. But there is no doubting its quality.

Dance Base's Heads Up - possibly finished by the time you read this - is not just a place to catch a variety of fragments: it is a model that would be well followed by other venues. Acts from around the Fringe are collected in from theatres and off the streets, and give a quick blast of their routines. From this, I surmised that Ups, Downs and Whoops-adaisies is wortha longer look, it is a shame that Matthew Hawkins is not in town for longer, and that the future of Scottish contemporary is in safe hards with Journey Dance Company.

Journey are a good bet: part of a collective of companies, they are young dancers who, finding themselves graduated and unemployed, have teamed up to make their own jobs. It isn't just the work that counts. It is the independent attitude.

Anything from the Arches stable is worth a risk: Trilogy has been getting the rave reviews and the intense discussions. Spaceman is another homegrown dance that is entertaining and risky: The Arches hasn't just rolled over, it had brought its distinctive aesthetic along.

Personally, I would avoid anything that has the word crowd-pleasing in the reviews. Circa was a bunch of circus tricks - very cool, but soulless. But part of the Fringe spirit is getting it wrong. Both performers and audience are going to make mistakes, and thank God for the Free Fringe, where it can be done cheaply.

The best part of the Fringe is the uncertainty, the risks, the moments of sublime happiness followed by crushing depression as I regret those words or conversation, the Bloody Mary for breakfast or another ill-timed flyer thrust into my hands. Another week to go, and I can't begin to imagine what emotional highs and lows are lurking. Maybe I'll be glad when September arrives...