Our show, The Quiet Between is on at 13:45. It’s quite challenging to get the balance right in terms of prep for the show, reviewing and fun things – you need to make the most of the fringe but also still produce your show.
We saw a show, Hater in the morning. This still left us with an hour to prep for our show and we really enjoyed it.
Following our performance we went on to see Blood Me Up Marjory at The Space. Because our show is dark in places it’s important we see lots of comedy to lift our mood and this hit the spot.
Earlier in the week Sophie saw You Straights Are F**ked up – a laugh out loud performance in Cowgate. This was on at 10:25 pm. We found seeing comedy that late at night was helpful – we separated the day with performance and rest. Balance is key – if your show is dark you need to see and do things to break it up. You also need to make sure that you see things, but you don’t try and cram everything in.
Rhys bought a weekly diary so we could plan what we wanted to do and we block out times for our show and rehearsal – a handy tip for people new to the fringe.
Read my review here.
Edinburgh is still buzzing with fringe, people are so friendly and happy to help – there’s a wave of excitement in the air. What a happy fantastic time to be here.
Saturday the 8th
Today was a very big day for us. Our show was reviewed by Derek, of the Derek awards, and the Suicide Prevention Lead for Scotland attended. No pressure!!
Following the show I was so lucky to be able to interview Turan Ali regarding his performance You Straights Are Fucked Up. Finding a secure, quiet location for the interview was a struggle and we ended up in a medical venue. So funny. If you have time you should see the show.
I then attended Meet The Media as a member of the press. Lots of people shared an insight into their performances with me – I wish I could see them all. One of the most interesting conversations was with Jon Sidgwick. His performance of The Hunger Artist is on from the 7-18th and then the 22nd and 23rd at 13:45 at the Rotunda. We talked about everything from the show itself to the rehearsal process – I interviewed him as well. It was fascinating to know that the ” godparents” of the show are Steven Berkoff and Valerie Colgan ( who sadly passed away in June.) It transpired that Valerie – credits include Aliens and Saving Private Ryan who also ran Citylit, the Old Vic Youth Theatre and was on the board at Saddlers Wells – allowed Jon to rehearse in her home, gave notes and came to see the show many times. Something that struck me was the importance of a pitch – the shows I gravitated towards wanting to review ( obviously time permitting) were usually those who gave me a solid concise pitch on their show.
Following that, we had a restful evening before our final day. Good luck everyone!
9th August
We are sad because today is our last performance and day in Edinburgh. However, the show was a success and was a lovely way to end our run. We got a 5 * review from Derek, and Sophie has been nominated for Best Individual Performance. We also got lots of lovely feedback from an instagram therapist and were delighted to be supported by Survivors of Bereavement By Suicide.
Following our performance, despite being a bit unwell, we went to The Space for their pick of the fringe and meet the press event. We met lots of interesting people – we were delighted to hear about other people’s shows and wished we could see them all.
We couldn’t help but notice how busy Edinburgh has become since we arrived. It was heaving. Wow. However as we have said before, everyone is really friendly. The buzz is so exciting! Even a few specs of rain didn’t put a damper on it. One of our favourite places to go to was Black Medicine for a coffee and a soft drink. It has such a great downstairs area and is so central. They also have vegan cakes/ brownies which we haven’t found in every cafe.
We were so lucky to be invited into a private bar near the Assembly rooms. Unfortunately we weren’t able to take pictures, but it was very cool and made Sophie’s fringe.
Later in the evening Sophie went to see Madam Isolde’s show, which was fun.
Sophie’s plane was at 5:40 on Monday morning, so Sophie went back to the student digs to sit on the sofa to try and have a nap.
Although Sophie is looking forward to sleeping in a bed which is long enough so her legs don’t dangle out the edge and Rhys is looking forward to sleeping in a bed and having a shower in his home ( he hired a van to stay in) we will really miss Edinburgh. We want to thank everyone who supported us on our mission to Edinburgh. We made so many memories, had so much fun and are so grateful for the opportunities we were given. We hope to be back next year, as we definitely have the ” Edinburgh Bug”.
