Things have been pretty hectic so we haven’t had much time to blog. We have, however, had time to catch a few fabulous shows. Here are our top picks so far:
- Virginia Gay in Dirty Pretty Songs in the Famous Spiegeltent – another wonderful cabaret artist tackling a mixed bag of pop, rock and a killer song choice from Hedwig and the Angry Inch. Virginia is funny, sexy, talented and well worth your pounds. Go see her.
- Ali McGregor in Alchemy at Assembly – Ali is a searingly good singer. Searingly, seriously, stunningly, superbly good. Her song choices – a wonderful collection of 80s and 90s ‘trash’ – are awesome and had us bouncing in our seats, performing killer chair dancing moves. Also, anyone who can perform in those shoes deserves a medal.
- Eastend Cabaret: Notoriously Kinky at Underbelly – I wasn’t sure I was going to like this one in the early minutes, but they won me over pretty quickly. Victor Victoria, the instrumentalist of the pair, is especially excellent, playing an excess of instruments, and delivering her lines and songs with fabulous, dry-witted timing. Great fun.
- Felicity Ward’s Hedgehog Dilemma at Underbelly – She’s really funny. Go see her.
- Hannah Gadsby in Hannah Wants a Wife at Gilded Balloon – I normally tire of same-sex marriage jokes. We’ve heard them all before, right? Wrong. When you incorporate an oddball art history lesson and Hannah Gadsby’s dry wit and relaxed pace, you get a show well worth a watch.
- The Economist at C Nova – In a completely different vein to the above, this excellent piece of theatre is based on the mass shootings that occured on Utøya in Norway in 2011. It is a slick work, well written, well directed and well performed. We were completely engaged throughout.
- Hunt and Darton Cafe – Before we proceed, a warning: DO NOT FOLLOW THE EDFRINGE APP INSTRUCTIONS TO VISIT THIS CAFE or you will walk halfway across town, hungry and post-show-bedraggled, before finally phoning them and discovering you were close by at the beginning of your journey. It’s a mark of how welcoming and cosy this little live art cafe is that we were in positive spirits mere minutes after finally arriving. Roast dinner sandwiches and cupcakes later and we were merrily drinking G&Ts, watching oddball performance art and chattering away with the other guests. It’s a welcome respite from venue beer gardens and loud bars. We’ll definitely be going again.
We have a day off tomorrow and are planning on back to back shows from 2pm til midnight so stay tuned for more recommendations soon!
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