Uncle Henry, the Fringe revisited and a magnificent finale
Well, that's it. The final weekend of my Fringe - of the Fringe - has drawn to a close. And what a great time I've had.
Last night I saw just one show - Henry Rollins. It wasn't so much a show as an opportunity to listen to him speak. Tales of heroic stunt acting and sharing great music with the mountain children of Sri Lanka mingled almost seamlessly with frighteningly vivid yet highly amusing descriptions of - and musings on the topic of - masturbation.
One thing is for sure: the next hotel I check into, I'll be thoroughly scrubbing the bathroom sink!
I left the Udderbelly at Bristo Square feeling like I'd spent an hour listening to my favourite uncle - the one I didn't have. I could have sat there for hours but for two reasons: one - Fringe shows are generally restricted to an hour in length and two - I was sat on the least comfortable chair of the whole festival.
Originally, this was to be the finale of my festival. But then Adam Hills went and organised a special charity show tonight for his Honk4Honker appeal, complete with special guests and auction. The show was scheduled for 11:30pm so I figured I should do something with the rest of the day.
This is where the idea of 'Fringe Revisited' comes in. I realised during the week that two of my favourite shows from the first weekend had faded almost completely from memory. I was simply exhausted from two long weeks at work and, despite being aware that I was enjoying myself at the shows, I really wasn't taking anything in.
I spotted that Emo Philips had announced an extra show so I bought a ticket. I did the same for Matt Green and, with a second Adam Hills show already booked, today shaped up to be a trip down memory lane, albeit a short one.
I know, there was any number of shows I could have seen and taken in something different. But part of me wasn't convinced I'd gotten value for money the first time round (my own fault completely and nothing to do with Emo or Matt) so I was determined to get it right a second time.
Emo was first up. Second time around he was even funnier, although perhaps the long festival had taken its toll on him, much as it does to most performers. There were a few slightly awkward moments, but he always rallied and made things brilliant again. In effect, it was almost a different show so now I feel like I've had two Emos for the price of, er, two.
After a break of two hours, I entered the box that is the Pleasance Baby Grand. This had been Matt Green's venue for the long month. I wonder if he'll be glad to see the back of it?
Again, second time around I enjoyed the show more than the first time. That sounds almost insulting, but it's not meant to be. My addled brain hadn't taken everything in at the start of the festival but this time it was ready to receive. It duly received everything it needed - a head full of laughs.
I hope Matt returns next year and graduates to a bigger venue. It would be just reward for two solid shows this year and last.
As I made my way up the hill to the Assembly on The Mound, I passed a trumpeter playing some soulful tune or other, quite in keeping with the quieter mood of the Royal Mile. I stopped and listened for a short time. Quite relaxing.
A short way further up, a young man was displaying his skills with a glass ball (think David Bowie in Labyrinth, only better). I watched till the end of the performance, donated a quid and he graciously allowed me to take this photo of him:
Apparently, he practiced for four years whilst at university. Time well spent - very talented indeed.
And so to the actual finale - Adam Hills. Yeah, I know I've seen him too this year, but this show was different. A charity show to round off the Honk4Honker Sick Kids appeal, complete with the auctioning off of five autographed Irn Bru taxis.
The show was co-hosted by Jason Byrne, with guest appearances from Kevin Bridges, John Bishop and Mark Watson. From the outset, this was going to be a night to remember.
Let's get the important bit out of the way first. As mentioned, the aim of the show was to raise more money for the Royal Hospital for Sick Children. This was done by way of an auction - specifically, five miniature Irn Bru taxis signed by famous Scots folk. They went as follows:
Kevin Bridges (auctioned off by the man himself) - £120 (I think - I was laughing too hard to hear)
Steven Moffat (current Dr Who writer) - £130
Ian Rankin (needs no introduction) - £145
Biffy Clyro (great band) - £130
I know what you're thinking - that's only four taxis. And all this took well over the allotted hour for the show. This was in no small part thanks to a fine performance from Jason Byrne, who had everyone in stitches from the start - when, in trying to sign the word 'pyramid', he inadvertently signed 'cunt'. We knew this because Catherine, Adam Hills' long suffering Sunday night BSL interpreter, was in hysterics. It was downhill all the way from there, with an interpretive dance performed to a Biffy Clyro track, Honker in his trouser fly and his Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle pants attracting a lot of attention.
The fifth and final taxi was signed by Adam, Jason and John Bishop. The bidding started at £100 and quickly built to £300 before John whispered something to Adam - he was offering £1,000 for the taxi so he could have it as a memento of this brilliant evening. No one was arguing. A magnificent gesture met with rapturous applause.
Earlier in the evening, Mark Watson also agreed to donate the proceeds from that evening's sales of his book (sold after his own show) - about £180 added to the total. Generosity knew no bounds tonight.
To round things off, a final auction was conducted - by now, all thoughts of trying to constrain the show had gone out of the nearest available window.
Jason Byrne's Ninja Turtle undies fetched a handsome £50 and were signed by Jason and Adam, the audience being treated to a comedy striptease too.
I commented previously after Storm Large's show that it left me unable to think of anything other than 'blown away' by way of a review. I can honestly say that I am utterly unable to review tonight's show.
That is the show in a nutshell, but in all honesty you had to be there to truly understand what a monumentally, awesomely funny evening it was. I cannot ever do it justice with my mere words.
Suffice to say that a guaranteed £7,500 has been raised for the Honk4Honker Sick Kids appeal - and the JustGiving site will remain open for another month for anyone wishing to make a donation (see link above).
And so my own Edinburgh Fringe 2010 has ended on this highest of highs. It has been a brilliant month with much mirth, merriment and a fair splash of utter madness. If it were possible (and affordable) to string it out for another eleven months, I would be delighted.
But definitely not as delighted as I am with the way it has ended tonight.
Enough said.
Twitter links (that aren't actually links because I am too tired to make them links): @adamhillscomedy / @thejasonbyrne / @Honk4Honker / @watsoncomedian (Mark Watson) / @JohnBishop100 / @Kbridges1986 (Kevin Bridges) / @Beathhigh (Ian Rankin) / @biffy_clyro / @mattgreencomedy / @emophilips



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