REALLY? A TOP TEN WITHOUT MARK THOMAS?
For the past two years I've come up with a list of the ten Edinburgh Festival shows I enjoyed most and here's the 2015 selection. But with a difference. Looking back at those previous posts I can see a pattern emerging. Every year we go to see a Mark Thomas show, every year he's simply brilliant, every year he'd be in my top ten list. And that could get a bit dull, so this year there's no mention of Mark Thomas in this post. Not even to say what a genius Mark Thomas is.
Instead this year's list will be restricted to people I haven't been to see before, or have only seen in a different context. So that means that some of my favourite acts of this August - the likes of Stewart Lee, Aidan Goatley, Jess Thom and Mark Thomas - won't be cropping up in the following spiel.
As before I'm not going to try to put the shows into any ranking order. They were all superb, all memorable in their varying ways, so the order below is simply the order in which I went to see them (and I've provided links to my reviews if you're interested). If you get the opportunity to see any of them you won't be disappointed.
The first new (to me) act to make a big impression was
The Big Bite Sized Breakfast Show. Food and coffee are a good way to start a morning show, followed by five mini-plays in one hour. The acting was excellent, the laughs frequent. What surprised most was ability of the writers to manage to say something interesting, albeit at a surface level, on a wide variety of topics in such short periods of time. So good was the experience that
we went back later in the month to see another of the three 'menus' being offered. And it didn't disappoint.
Number two on the list left a lasting impression. Whenever anyone asked us to recommend a show we'd already seen the words 'George Egg' always popped out first.
This was not only an extremely funny and imaginative show, but it managed to smell and taste good too. Watching someone cook a three course meal using hotel room implements is both surreal and one of those why-hasn't-it-been-done-before? moments. It's a beautifully structured and deeply engrossing hour of entertainment and an eye opener when you see how little we make of the resources we find around us. I keep on wondering how Mr Egg is going to follow it up next year.
For number three I'm back with drama, albeit this time a more conventional two handed play. Performed by Culture Clash Theatre,
Hannah and Hanna was moving, involving and relevant, beautifully rendered by the two young actors. When you see over sixty shows in around three weeks some will inevitably fade from the memory. But even now my mental images of H&H remain strong, and the sense that I could easily sit through another performance and still find much that was new in the experience.
And now for something completely different.
Hotel Paradiso from the German company Family Floez. Set in an Alpine hotel lobby an array of characters flit in and out of the action with impressive choreography and timing. There is no dialogue, the actors wear masks throughout, and the physical comedy is often good old fashioned slapstick. It's hilarious, absorbing, using body language to convey an entire storyline. And the biggest surprise comes at the end when you find out that those endless hotel guests etc. were all portrayed by just four people. Unforgettable.
Number five is a bit of a cheat as it's two shows, but one man.
What I Learned From Johnny Bevan is a one man coming of age drama that sticks pins in our idiotic class system, a powerfully poetic work. Which is no coincidence as the writer/performer is
Luke Wright whose other show sees him reciting his poetry of everyday life, with wit and panache. Wright has the makings of being a star performer and is a pleasure to watch in either of the guises offered up.
An Australian next. I can't recall what prompted me to decide to see this show, but I'm so glad I followed whatever serendipitous instinct was driving me that day.
Sarah Kendall is not only very funny, but an excellent storyteller. Fact or fiction, her tale has something to say about the choices we make in life and their consequences. One of the finds of the month.
Another bit of cheating. We have seen Mark Steel before, but that was recording a radio show, so I feel able to include this stand up show as something different. Anyway, he was bloody brilliant.
Telling the story of his search for his birth parents (he was adopted) Steel, who often gets confused with fellow left wing London comedian Mark Thomas, exudes compassion, humanity, cynicism and some enjoyably vicious drollery as he relates his tale. There are plenty of surprises along the way but Mark is always realistic about his discoveries and there are none of the faux hysterics so beloved of Who Do You Thing You Are? on TV. A lesson in how to remain grounded.
Number eight is also, surprise, surprise, a comedian renowned for their left of centre commentaries upon the world. Like her husband, the wonderful Stewart Lee,
Bridget Christie finds oblique angles from which to skewer pretension, injustice and convention. Ranting doesn't get any funnier, or more thought provoking, than this.
Character comedy next.
Tom Binns delivered three very different personalities, the linking factor being his ability to poke fun at various showbiz stereotypes. A master at engaging with his audience, Binns gives his characters an illusory reality whilst letting the audience in on the joke. One of the funniest hours of the month.
Finally there's one more stand up show, one more comedian with a story to tell.
Mel Moon's verbal memoir has a serious core to it. Diagnosed with an illness which means she's constantly at risk of death, Moon tells of the dark moments that knowledge took her to, but which also encouraged her to write a stand up show about her experiences. If I'm told that a show I'm about to see is 'uplifting' my natural cynicism will probably express itself with two fingers down my throat. So it was some achievement that I walked out knowing I'd just seen something very positive, even inspirational. And also very funny. I laughed. A lot. You would too.
So that was then, roll on August 2016. And I think I just about managed to get away with not mentioning Mark Thomas.
