A quick note

Date: 07/08/2011
Author: Sophie

Well howdy do.

Been a while hasn't it! Unfortunately, due to archaic non-internet housing and death-defying illness (I have a bad cold...) I have been a little silent on the bloggy front.

Don't feel too neglected though, I haven't actually contributed to much paid/commissioned work either. So join the line of frustration :)

Nice to see that Peter has been manning the blog front though, he being the only one of the MT crowd with continued access to the internet.

Edinburgh has been great thus far! As usual, days tend to quickly blur into mere passages of light and darkness. You wake up, anticipate the show, perform the show, collapse, sleep, and the cycle continues. Before I became stricken with a work/rain/feeble-woman-induced lurgey, I caught a real dose of the show-bug and couldn't wait to see as much as possible! This was a nice refreshing change, as for some reason last year the action desire to 'see things' was in short coming for me. Which was strange, given it's the bloody EDINBURGH FRINGE!

This year however, now no longer a newbie, I knew exactly who I wanted to go and see and when! Trouble is pacing! You forget you're here for the whole month and it's very easy to blow all your money on the many fantastic acts here on show in the first couple of days! Thankfully (to a point) an icky cold has kept me house-bound and I've been forcibly relieved of my financially promiscuous ways for the time being!

But yeah...rambling now, but Bane (saw it last year, still mind-blowingly awesome) and Richard Herring opened my stint strongly, and Humphrey Kerr t'other night proving yet again that bumbly parody-esque comedy can still be edgy, different and stupidly funny!

KILLING BILL GATES has been on an upward trajectory despite being baptised in a storm of fire and brimstone! An unyieldy though spacious and atmospheric venue doesn't half allow for noise-bleeding and it is often incredibly difficult to be heard over the show next door. But we are getting more and more accustomed to our surroundings, and drawing in some larger and entertaining crowds! Looking forward to what future performances bring!

Over and out folks!

Sophie

Week One

Date: 7/8/2011
Author: Josh

So, it’s Sunday, I think? That would mean I’m 6 days in to Edinburgh. I’m writing this from a Weatherspoons, taking up valuable table space from legitimate paying custom. I bought a coffee about an hour ago and I’ve been shielding it, pretending to drink for some time. My crippling internet addiction has taken a beating over the past week, as we can’t really seem to find wifi anywhere, so I hope Peter is your favourite flavour, as he’s the only one with regular, un-cloud based internet.

We’ve performed three times. As you heard, opening night saw a relatively modest crowd, due to rain, but audience figures have increased every show, so far. Yesterday we had an impressive 55 people, and I was chuffed at the way the guys on stage managed to keep that many people captivated for that long. One big test for us has been the layout of the room. I’ll explain: We are separated from another show by nothing but a curtain at the bar. This other show uses videos and music and generally sounds very upbeat and funny, which is grand, but the downside for us is that we aren’t mic’ed, and we’re in a literal cavern. Acoustically we can’t compete with Octopus’ Garden. (Fucking Ringo)

I’ve chatted to the other guys, who are all lovely, and hopefully we can compromise. I was in a bit of an awkward position, as they really are great people, and their show definitely relies on volume (they’re getting decent crowds, too, so I don’t want to jinx them), but at the same time, we are being drowned out. We hit about 50 people, and anyone coming in and sitting behind them inevitably leave because they are closer to the other stage than us.

What it’s taught me is that free fringe is an exercise in thinking on your feet. You get no time to prepare, no rehearsal time, nothing. You get your hour and that’s spent helping the (amazing and definitely bound-for-stardom) Sheep Ahoy! man, Phil, remove his mammoth set so you can start on time, then doing the show, then as soon as the applause has died, you’re either collecting money from people or clearing the stage as soon as you can.

If we have a problem (and we invariably do - every show), we need to fix it during the next show. It’s amazing and exciting and alive, but, well, exhausting. If we were out there, dying every show, this would be a tough city to be in. Luckily we seem to be being received well so far. I’m sure there will be days and maybe weeks when we won’t go down so well (illness is already beginning to strike the cast) and I won’t want to get out of bed [the floor] in the morning [afternoon].

I’ll try and write again soon, my love, but I fear the final push is coming. Send my love to your family. Except Paul. That guy’s a douche.

Josh

'I'm Not A Retard.... Just An Underachiever'

Performance Three seemed to go very well! 55 audience members- new record!

The Difficult Second Performance

Date: 05/08/11

Peter

The Royal Mile in the rain....

Our second performance went down very well today! We also had a larger crowd and a lot more laughs!

Starting to get my head round the city, and haven't been lost for at least 4 minutes.

Shappi Khorsandi was pretty funny last night, and I really enjoyed Oliver Meech's magic show earlier at 6.30pm in the same venue as us (Maggie's Chamber, The Three Sisters). Off to see 'Debbie Does My Dad' tonight!

Cheers x

'How dare you!'

Date: 04/08/11
Author: Peter

We began our first performance with 16 members of audience. We finished with 13. Now, by my workings, that’s not too bad. On average we only massively insulted 17% of the people who came to see our show. However, the rest of them seemed to really enjoy it and we received a huge round of applause at the end. So that, combined with a fairly good laugh to joke ratio, makes me feel pretty chuffed. We were literally ‘a laugh a minute’. So that’s 83% funny, 55% of the time. Yeyah.

Tomorrow we’ll be flyering a little more efficiently, and not resorting to standing in the rain looking sad and grunting ‘free comedy’ at randomers. After our first performance on this stage, it’ll be good to give the new setting a second go too.

We’ve also received two very kind write ups on festival previews, which you can read here!

I bet you’re sick of me being the only one updating this blog by now. I’m the only one with internet. Unlucky.

A list of things I've done in Edinburgh thus far (in chronological order)

Date: 03/08/11
Author: Peter

A list of things I’ve done in Edinburgh thus far-

Got off the train, and lugged my bulky bags up the platform.

Sat at the railway station waiting for Alex Boundy and Ben Christmas.

Continued to sit at the station.

Brought a ginger beer, then waited some more.

Taxied to Ben’s flat (they’d forgotten about us).

Went to our venue, Maggie’s Chamber (The Three Sisters), had an alcoholic beverage.

Had another alcoholic beverage.

Visited the wondrous world of Tesco. Brought beverages (alcoholic).

Had chilli at Ben’s, with the cast and crew of Aireborne Theatre’s ‘King Arthur’. Lovely bunch, although I probably didn’t make a great first impression, being exhausted after about two hours sleep and making an ill timed joke about Parkinson’s (resulting in the inevitable stunned silence).

Went to the pub.

Briefly returned to the flat, dropping off a few people.

Returned to the pub. Well, club, ‘The Hive’. Pretty cool.

Moved to drum and bass club and stood about looking awkward.

Decided to go back to ‘The Hive’.

Found a guy choking on vomit and passed out en route. Talked to him ‘til Police came.

Brought, and subsequently ate cheesy chips. These were proper good ones mind, fish and chip shop/pub lunch style.

Slept.

Woke up.

Had a cup of tea, watched ‘Spaced’.

Brought Sushi. Ate Sushi.

Met up with the others at The Three Sisters.

Sipped diet coke as we did a basic tech run type thing.

Strolled down to Haymarket.

Found a lovely pub called ‘The Beehive’, whose manager gave us 50% discount on food and soft drinks.

Was served ‘a selection of pies (and mash)’ by a beautiful Irish boy.

Talked about ‘Arrested Development’, ‘Curb Your Enthusiasm’ and what we’d do if we met ourself, but of the opposite sex.

Realised my phone is definitely dead.

Looked into preview tickets.

Decided not to buy any.

Went home, exhausted.

Turned on my laptop. Wrote this blog.

Yeah.

This time tomorrow we’ll have just finished our first show. Gulp.

The Train To Scotland

Date: 02/08/11
Author: Peter

I seem to spend my life on trains. Ever since an early childhood obsession with ‘Thomas the Tank Engine’, I’ve found myself ‘minding the gap’, ‘changing for Reading at Southampton Central’ and other over heard and related phrases.

I caught the train to school for a while, I’ve got the train to and from Bournemouth dozens of times in recent years, and now I’m sat in a double table seat on the way to Edinburgh with the others. Passing through York, we’re now well on our way. Although, due to no internet, I’m writing this in the past, if that makes sense. Not in a Doc Brown ‘Don’t open this letter ‘til 1985’ way, but a boring ‘write this in word and click save’ fashion.

Today’s been a long day. You can probably tell.

Unable to sleep, I lay awake, anxious and sweaty, and eventually got up at 4.30am, before trundling down to the station and boarding for Waterloo. This journey wasn’t the most enjoyable train experience ever; bustling commuters heading for the capital at six in the morning have little time for a young man with a shaved head and several large and bulky bags. At Waterloo I met Sophie, Lloyd, Matt and Chris, and we tubed to Kings Cross.

The most enjoyable part of the journey was marked by my teeth sinking into some form of greasy Mcbagel© at the Golden Arches, during the wait for our connection. Good old McDonalds; the perfect way to start, end (or anything else between) a day. Ronald McDonald and I have retained a close relationship over the years, and our gastric collaborations will no doubt one day lead to my early death. But for now, I feast!

Anyway, the day has improved since then; we’ve found our calm on the five hour straight train up over the border. Well, so far anyway. I think I can speak for everyone else when I say we’re excited, and I’m looking forward to being in Edinburgh again. It’s hard to believe it’s been a year since I went up last year (not to perform, just to ‘soak in the arts’ as uppity theatre types might say). Living in two cramped flats for a month will be, er, interesting…. Let’s hope that a) bodily fluids aren’t swapped and b) murders aren’t committed. At least not within the crew.

Chris is playing some interesting games on his Nintendo DS to my left. One involved shooting flying photos of my face with lasers. Technology eh?

It’s gonna be a long four weeks….