In just a few days time we’ll be speeding towards my one of my highlights of the year – Edinburgh Fringe Festival.
Our accommodation is booked, our train tickets are booked and all the shows are booked.
In total there’s over 3000 potential shows to see so narrowing it down to just enough to fit 4 and half days is quite a challenge.
Last year we saw 20 shows; in 2012 we saw 18; 2011 was 15 and this year I've managed to cram 21 shows into our few days up north.
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Here’s our 2014 Edinburgh Fringe choices…
Shappi Khorsandi: Because I'm Shappi
Booked because: she's on the other half's list of women he fancies. She's also very funny, we've seen her several times before and we know she'll make us laugh.
Andrew Maxwell: Hubble Bubble
Booked because: we saw him for the first time last year and he was excellent, a really good storyteller with some great anecdotes.
Chaplin
Booked because: it sounded quite interesting and was one of Andrew's choices.
Russell Kane: The Kaneing Podcast
Booked because: we've seen Russell several times and he always has us in tears of laughter. This show features different guest comedians each time so it's a mystery who'll be there on the day we attend.
Cuckooed
Booked because: we both like Mark Thomas' way of thinking about life and politics and this is his story of how he was betrayed by a friend and ended up being spied on by BAE Systems.
Frisky and Mannish: Just Too Much
Booked because: they're just excellent! If you haven't seen Frisky and Mannish you really should; they manage to twist seemingly innocent pop songs into brilliant new versions. Plus you should see them just for Frisky's fabulous outfits.
Mark Watson: Flaws
Booked because: we've seen him a couple of times before and we almost booked to see him in Bath in October before realising we could fit it in at Edinburgh.
National Loaf
Booked because: it sounded funny and interesting; me and Andrew both like historical shows and there's a wealth of them set in both World Wars this year (for obvious reasons) and we thought we'd give this one a go.
Forgotten Voices
Booked because: it's taken from the Imperial War Museum's oral testimonies of World War I and has a guest performer at each show. I think it'll be one of the highlights of the Fringe this year for everyone.
Don't Tell Him Pike
Booked because: Andrew loves Dad's Army and this show is an hour of Ian Lavender in conversation so should be really good!
NewsRevue 2014
Booked because: this'll be the third time we've seen NewsRevue and it's always a fun hour-long whizz through the events of the past year.
Nathan Caton: Teenage Mutant Nathan Caton
Booked because: he's someone we've wanted to see for a while. He seems very good on TV so hopefully he'll be just as good live!
Omer Hamdi: +1
Booked because: we saw him supporting Russell Kane back in January and he was fab so we made sure to check if he had an Edinburgh show and he did!
Mark Watson's Comedywealth Games
Booked because: it sounded loads of fun, Mark takes several different comedians each night and gets them to compete in comedy games such as fruit throwing.
Lucy Porter: Me Time
Booked because: Lucy is another one of Andrew's 'women'. She's also really funny!
Eric and Little Ern
Booked because: it's an Olivier nominated West End hit. So I imagine it's got to be pretty good and we like Eric and Ernie so it should be right up our street.
Nicholas Parsons' Happy Hour
Booked because: we first saw Nicholas Parsons' show last year and it was fab; he interviewed several guests (one of them was Adam Hills' wife) and we were amazed at how much energy and enthusiasm he had - this year he'll be 90 and still doing a 70 minute show almost every day in August!
Andrew Lawrence: Reasons to Kill Yourself
Booked because: we've seen Andrew a few times and he's someone who really should be more famous than he actually is.
The Bunker Trilogy: Macbeth
Booked because: we though we should probably add in a bit of high brow culture; this show is Shakespeare but set in the First World War.
Wil Hodgson's Records in the Roof
Booked because: Wil is someone I first saw doing comedy over 10 years ago, he's from Chippenham and is mates with Russell Howard and in this show, he'll be interviewing a guest or two about the music that's shaped their life.
Hancock's Last Half Hour
Booked because: it's a one man show by Pip Utton (who's one of the associate artists at Frome's Merlin Theatre); we've seen Pip do shows about Winston Churchill and Adolf Hitler and whoever he portrays, it's such a good show and so believable.
Booked because: she's on the other half's list of women he fancies. She's also very funny, we've seen her several times before and we know she'll make us laugh.
Andrew Maxwell: Hubble Bubble
Booked because: we saw him for the first time last year and he was excellent, a really good storyteller with some great anecdotes.
Chaplin
Booked because: it sounded quite interesting and was one of Andrew's choices.
Russell Kane: The Kaneing Podcast
Booked because: we've seen Russell several times and he always has us in tears of laughter. This show features different guest comedians each time so it's a mystery who'll be there on the day we attend.
Cuckooed
Booked because: we both like Mark Thomas' way of thinking about life and politics and this is his story of how he was betrayed by a friend and ended up being spied on by BAE Systems.
Frisky and Mannish: Just Too Much
Booked because: they're just excellent! If you haven't seen Frisky and Mannish you really should; they manage to twist seemingly innocent pop songs into brilliant new versions. Plus you should see them just for Frisky's fabulous outfits.
Mark Watson: Flaws
Booked because: we've seen him a couple of times before and we almost booked to see him in Bath in October before realising we could fit it in at Edinburgh.
National Loaf
Booked because: it sounded funny and interesting; me and Andrew both like historical shows and there's a wealth of them set in both World Wars this year (for obvious reasons) and we thought we'd give this one a go.
Forgotten Voices
Booked because: it's taken from the Imperial War Museum's oral testimonies of World War I and has a guest performer at each show. I think it'll be one of the highlights of the Fringe this year for everyone.
Don't Tell Him Pike
Booked because: Andrew loves Dad's Army and this show is an hour of Ian Lavender in conversation so should be really good!
NewsRevue 2014
Booked because: this'll be the third time we've seen NewsRevue and it's always a fun hour-long whizz through the events of the past year.
Nathan Caton: Teenage Mutant Nathan Caton
Booked because: he's someone we've wanted to see for a while. He seems very good on TV so hopefully he'll be just as good live!
Omer Hamdi: +1
Booked because: we saw him supporting Russell Kane back in January and he was fab so we made sure to check if he had an Edinburgh show and he did!
Mark Watson's Comedywealth Games
Booked because: it sounded loads of fun, Mark takes several different comedians each night and gets them to compete in comedy games such as fruit throwing.
Lucy Porter: Me Time
Booked because: Lucy is another one of Andrew's 'women'. She's also really funny!
Eric and Little Ern
Booked because: it's an Olivier nominated West End hit. So I imagine it's got to be pretty good and we like Eric and Ernie so it should be right up our street.
Nicholas Parsons' Happy Hour
Booked because: we first saw Nicholas Parsons' show last year and it was fab; he interviewed several guests (one of them was Adam Hills' wife) and we were amazed at how much energy and enthusiasm he had - this year he'll be 90 and still doing a 70 minute show almost every day in August!
Andrew Lawrence: Reasons to Kill Yourself
Booked because: we've seen Andrew a few times and he's someone who really should be more famous than he actually is.
The Bunker Trilogy: Macbeth
Booked because: we though we should probably add in a bit of high brow culture; this show is Shakespeare but set in the First World War.
Wil Hodgson's Records in the Roof
Booked because: Wil is someone I first saw doing comedy over 10 years ago, he's from Chippenham and is mates with Russell Howard and in this show, he'll be interviewing a guest or two about the music that's shaped their life.
Hancock's Last Half Hour
Booked because: it's a one man show by Pip Utton (who's one of the associate artists at Frome's Merlin Theatre); we've seen Pip do shows about Winston Churchill and Adolf Hitler and whoever he portrays, it's such a good show and so believable.
I’m going to do what I did last year and tweet what I thought of each show throughout the week. Last year was great, I managed to get retweets from several performers and theatre companies and replies from Marcus Brigstocke and Lucy Porter. I've also put together a Pinterest board of all the shows if you fancy a look.
Lots of comedians and theatre companies go on tour after Edinburgh so you might be able to catch any of these (or anyone else) around the country later in the year.
Have you seen any theatre or comedy shows recently?
Is there anything you'd recommend?
I need some shows to see this autumn!
Lots of comedians and theatre companies go on tour after Edinburgh so you might be able to catch any of these (or anyone else) around the country later in the year.
Have you seen any theatre or comedy shows recently?
Is there anything you'd recommend?
I need some shows to see this autumn!
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