Hello. Edinburgh is like the internet. You get bombarded with information, most of it factually incorrect, editorialised and written in overblown prose by someone who likes to use long words for the sake of them. If I use a long word I shall probably have had to use a wiki-dictionary to find the meaning before confidently using it in a spontaneous fashion.

I am bombarding people with information about my show. When I hand out flyers I say things like ‘there are songs n that’ and ‘if you like musical comedy then that’s a start, if not then probably best not bother.’ So far it’s been fun. First show on Saturday was pretty poor, but I’ve got it together and it’s going well now. I have an interactive element to the Tillerpop show experience and my main interaction involves dragging someone on stage to help proceedings. In my second show, my volunteer was, of course, a reviewer. I need to be more aware of these things – though the sneaky blighter didn’t even get a notepad out and sat in the second row, so how was I to know? The review hasn’t come out yet.

An all female sketch show, Ladygarden, was pretty good with an excellent bunch of young performers. Some of the sketches didn’t quite hit home – I won’t flag them up in case you see it – but the standard of writing was high and the performances were bang on. I loved the p*ss-take of vintage clothes-loving types and lots of other ones.

I am just settling in to my Edinburgh routine. It is, as usual, mental and hectic. I have had precisely one celebrity encounter (Adrian Edmondson – not bad on the scale of things, particularly as Neil and Christine Hamilton were high up the list last year). Hang on, Jerry Sadowitz bought an apple before I was about to buy some strong mints – not as good as the other one, but memorable nonetheless.

Went to see Dan Antopolski on Sunday and he was… okay. He’s had some good reviews and is back on the fringe after a few years off. Saw him several years ago and he was good, but, as with many things in Edinburgh, unable to live up to the hype. He was amiable and good fun, but the material (the sandwich rap and a few other bits aside) was fairly uninspired. Maybe I’m bitter, but comics in their thirties going on about their kids leave me a bit cold.

I saw an enjoyable sketch show at midday today – If You Like – part of the Free Fringe. Energetic young performers who got away without seeming too studenty, onlyjust on occasions, but even that’s quite an achievement when you’re a bunch of middle class young people doing sketches.

Cheero for now from Edinburgh.

Matt
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