Irenie Rose sings Joan Baez
I can remember my first year at college and falling in love with Joan Baez – a crystal clear voice from a really beautiful woman. Having been to Joan’s farewell tour last year I was pleased that Irenie sung her songs really well interspersed with stories about her life and how as someone who was part hispanic the issue she faced of not fitting in. Her constant protesting about injustice came from the experience she had as a child.
Arabella Weir – does my mum loom big in this?
Arabella talked about the relationship she had with her mother. How her mother was formed by her grandmother and how she was influencing her children (now in their 20s). She was very funny and at times shocking how parents can treat their children.
Lucy Porter – Be Prepared
Lucy, who I’ve seen before at the Fringe, was delightfully funny and managed to keep her pitch generally light with dips into deeper issues. During the performance it wasn’t apparent how incisive her comedy really is. The main thrust was around the fact that her daughter has joined the Beavers as a precursor to joining the Brownies. She made a lot from the word Beaver and the other connotation sometimes associated with it. When her daughter came home and was going to look up on the internet “International Beavers” Lucy was very cautious as to what hits that search would come back with. It was a laugh out loud performance.
Vote Dr Phil
Dr Phil Hammond has been on “Have I Got News for You” several times and writes a column for Private Eye. He is still a practicing doctor in a Bath hospital. It was a very political pitch and the thrust of it was him running for parliament in the same constituency as Jacob Rees-Mogg. It was a scathing attack on the government’s attitude to the NHS and how is has been privatised by stealth. Interspersed with his political jibes were anecdotes about syphilis, erectile dysfunction, and various medical experiences he has had. A very, very funny presentation.
Dharmander Singh – Free Fringe
I was accosted in the street by Dharminder who explained the premise of his free stand up show. He was very articulate about his theme of identity. In his case he was second generation Indian although his father said he was Punjabi and the kids at school referred to him as Pakki. His show was very funny, sharp humour and heartfelt comedic thoughts about racial identity. He now lives in Germany and has a Polish/German girlfriend so he is truly a cosmopolitan man. Although it was free he was asking for donations and I thought it was well worth it. I think we will see his name on our screens, if not there is no justice.
Einstein
A one man show fro Pip Utton. I saw him do a one man show where he played Adolf Hitler which was truly brilliant. His portrayal of Einstein was exceptional. Einstein’s work was everything to him and although he required the love of a woman it wasn’t to be a distraction from his work. By the end of the show I really believed it was Einstein talking to us. I found the power of this work very emotional and I could feel tears welling up. Unfortunately there was no one to share my thoughts. I miss the company of a good woman.
Adam Kay – This is going to hurt
I read his book some time ago. It is the diary of his time as a doctor working in the NHS. The stories are comic and tragic in equal measure. He interspersed his readings with popular songs using his own words. He would sing a set of symptoms and the audience was expected to sing the diagnosis as the chorus. You had to be there to appreciate just how clever this was. At the end he explains the circumstances which led him to leave the profession. A mother and baby died during a cesarean section he was performing. He had told this same story on over 400 occasions as part of his performance and yet he cried every time. A very moving, poignant show which again demanded a cure for our beloved NHS.
And that was the end of my Edinburgh Fringe 2019. Monday morning I was up, showered and breakfasted early. I took the tram back to the airport where I found the car immediately (phew) and was driving home by 8am and driving into Market Rasen at 1.30pm.
