A Personal Journey

Follow the Fringe and let it unfold before your eyes. All the stories and views from the Edinburgh Fringe 2011.

Must See Shows A Mini Fringe Guide

Welcome to the Compact Fringe guide.
With easy links to the Fringe box office web site.

Heading my list of must see shows and performers comes Firefly Productions Rules for Drowning.
Papertape Theatre Diamond Dick

UnWish Theatre Bepo & Co.

Get Up Stand Up!

Next on my list comes Muscle; can't say much about this one, except when a member of another cast comes up to you and trys to sell another show something must be right, especially when she's seen the show four, five times already.

Other notable shows to see are Dinner and Mojo
The Little Mermaid
Details to follow.

And lastly for today Radio Deluxembourgh who are playing under the Spotlites banner. Spotlites are the hardest working theatre group I have ever met at the Fringe. They arrived and were flyering from mid|July. And they will be here until everyone else has packed up and gone home.

Spotlites deal in children's entertainment. And offer a range of plays for children of all ages.
Radio luxembourg is for that more adult orientated audience.

As for other recommendations look out for Stuart Goldsmith, Mat Ricardo and Pete Anderson.



So take a gamble try my recommendations I know for a fact you'll walk out of any of these shows giving them 5 stars yourself.

July Sunshine

Edinburgh has never been the most predictable city for weather. In fact it can change on an hourly basis. So when the sun shines people get out and about and enjoy it while it lasts.
It might not be as hot as Dubai, but I certainly paid the price for enjoying the sun over the weekend.

The crowds on the High street were eagerly waiting for someone to perform; but all but one of our High Street regulars were away, and it was Sideshow Stevie, who reaped the benifits of a street to himself.

A Bit of Blues and Lime 17.7.11

As if a signal to everyone that Fringe season is about to descend on Edinburgh I ran into Richard Blues on the High Street today.

There are not many musicians I stop and listen to while out on the High street. Those I do stop and watch are at the top of their game Richard is one of those few.

It was a brief set i stayed to listen too. and of course managed to get one or two shots to add to my collection of images.

So watch out High street the Blues and Richard will have you toe tapping along.

See The World in Harmony at The Fringe

The Edinburgh Fringe is a snapshot of the artistic world around about us. We are all force feed the medium of television; whether we watch it or not. Newspapers drip feed us the mundane stories of soapstars and football players, getting married and divorced.

The real news is something more important than that, it's about real life and even in bad times death.

Some people want to make news through their political aspirations. Some people take up views that others may seem extreme. Or there are those of us who sit back and let the world slide into the chaos that is the world.

So where can we escape, when the world is getting us down. There is always the Edinburgh Fringe. For all the troubles in the world, the Fringe is unity, the international mix of performers and shows lets us see the world is not crumbling around about us. It's a place where young and old alike can gather. Enjoy laughter on the High Street or at the mound. Share pathos and emotion in theatres venues like The Zoo, Southside and more.

For one month Edinburgh is host to the World, and the World needs to look at Edinburgh and see that in sharing joy, tears, laughter and more, it can be the place we all want it to be.

The Olympics are a medium where it has always been said the world comes together, but they never fulfill what theatre; fringe theatre and street performance can do. At the Olympics countries compete for Gold! And that brings with it the risk of back stabbing, cheating and all the rest. In Edinburgh at the Fringe your only gold is a good hat or a good review, but most of all it's just about performing in Edinburgh at Fringe time.

(taken from Edinburgh Fringe 2010 part 2)

It's Just a Stage We're Going Through

Sunshine draws the crowds to the Royal Mile in their thousands. Scottish sunshine that bonus that comes once or twice a year.
The sun, the Fringe and the High Street a draw to internationl performers the world over.
Whether it's blues to get you foot tapping or juggling to get you clapping; there's always someone entertaining on the High Street.

Traditional Scottish Blues 29.7.11

So Much to See and Yet Nothing For Me To See

Heading out on to the street on a daily basis I'm always looking for something to photograph.
The weather, the shows and the crowds all invited something interesting to photograph; yet I came home with less than forty photos.
It was for me a day less about photography and more about just being there.
Pre Fringe nerves maybe.
All I can do now is see what tomorrow brings.

August Arrived and the Madness Begins 1.8.11

Fringe performers and street shows arriving. The street; the High Street, is taking on the appearance of the High street at Festival time.

A Sea of Red

Street furniture is this quirky thing I take photographs of on occasion. Traffic lights and park benches and all the rest. The things people take for granted I find interesting. So a few days ago I had a conversation with Todd Various, magician and escapologist about the colour of the new Fringe towers.
I posed the question wondering if they'd be different in shape or just the same as before, but just red."
I think Todd thought I was mad, as to why such things come into my head, and why do these things matter.

To me they do, because it adds dimension to the photograph, it dates an image. This year is Virgin Money's loss of virginity so to speak as sponsors of the High street.

Let's see how they fair.

The Mile's Full, Standing Room Only

I may have been photographing the Fringe now on and off for around 14 years. But all from the comfort of a full time job where I got a couple of weeks holiday a year. So to my surprise this year: only having a part time job I walked on to the High Street and Fringe mayhem was under way.

The colour and vibrancy of the Fringe, just two days early. Wow!