IT'S THE FRINGE JIM, BUT NOT AS WE KNOW IT
Regular readers (??) will be aware of my love for Edinburgh's festivals, particularly the Fringe, and that every August my days became dedicated to comedy and music and drama and street acts and the whole experience of a city filled to overcapacity with artists and punters. We'd usually find our way to about forty or fifty shows, plus spending time watching buskers and the like. Three weeks well lived.
But not in 2020. Edinburgh felt like a ghost of it's former self. In the midst of a global pandemic this feltmore of a relief than a disappointment. But now it's 2021 and the Fringe returned. Not the Fringe of the past, but a smaller, less intense, more geographically distributed Fringe. It had changed. And so had we.
I would have liked to recover my old enthusiasm, but twas not to be. A year and a half of caution, of keeping a distance, of not mixing with other people, has made me even more antisocial than I was before. So there was no great mass booking of tickets, not detailed schedule of daily activities. Instead there was a desire to go to see shows, but also to feel comfortable, to feel safe. And what that means is very much down to personal experiences and preferences and what feels right for the individual concerned. I'd go to town to see what shows we had, but wandering about to see what was happening felt too odd, in light of recent times, even if it was a joy not to be given any fliers on my one venture down the High Street!
In the end we saw a curious of mix of events, felt much more comfortable where there was plenty of fresh air, and enjoyed what we did see. Even if it meant abandoning some tickets already bought, because our one experience of the venue just didn't feel 'right'. This was reflected in my daft hobby of trying to right reviews for the events I go to see. I gave up on that after the first two, because I found myself wanting to write about the venue, and the social distancing measures they had in place, as much as I did the actual show! The subsequent reviews are getting written, but only as a reminder to myself of what we've been to see, and they won't be getting shared with others.
My final tally amounted to seventeen events attended, plus a couple online. Only eight of those were Fringe shows. Three of those were indoors, two on the top deck of a multistory car park (yes, really...), one in the open air, one walking the streets, and one online. There were five in deck chairs, outdoor film screenings from the Film Festival which had forgone it's usual June slot and joined in the August activities. Three in giant open sided polytunnel like structures as part of the International Festival. Two under a big plastic gazebo, at the BBC's new location. And the final one, last night, was a Book Festival event online. Hardly any of the above were in venues I would normally find myself in during Augusts past. And of the nineteen only half a dozen were comedy shows, which is very far from the usual ratio.
We had fun. The EIF gigs were all outstanding (as was their covid-related admin!). I do hope that 2022 sees the return of something more like the old Fringe experience. But whether I will be the same person I was remains to be seen. The pandemic has changed society. And individuals.
