That’s it for Edinburgh Fringe for another 11 months and it is now time to reflect on what has taken place.
In case you were wondering, our final show did go ahead and we had our largest audience of the entire run; we were only about six people away from having a full-house. Unfortunately, they weren’t an audience who responded particularly well to material and were quite a talkative bunch. There was a lot of crowd control work going on, mainly to try and get certain audience members to stop chatting and focus on what we were talking about. It was a weird gig, but sort of fun and not too horrific.
In short, it has been a real struggle this year. I knew I’d miss Paul, but did more so than I expected to. He does the donkey work and seems to relish it, leaving me to focus on my material. Getting the room setup every day really cut into crucial flyering time.
I overestimated my flyering abilities and thought I could fill the room on my own. I adore the Kilderkin, but its location cannot be changed. You have to really put in the hours flyering and even then you’re not guaranteed an audience.
It is also worth bearing in mind that when Paul first dropped out, I was angling to do a solo show in the same venue in the same time-slot. I am grateful for this not materialising, because it would have likely been an even greater struggle.
I enjoyed Simon’s company, but his solo show left him understandably low on energy for much else. With my material developing and changing as the month went on, it almost felt like a month of previews. This is a good thing, because after previous Fringes, I felt that my material has been in need of sealing up and putting into storage. But with this one, I feel that there is much more mileage I can get out of it. Ideas are still evolving and it is exciting to see where they go.
Even so, for the most part, people who came enjoyed the show and said some very nice things.
It was a year when I did some things for the first time. I managed to avoid the Edinburgh lurgy, which is almost unprecedented. I saw more shows than I have previously and I also managed to make the hike up to Arthur’s Seat after putting it off for four years.
As a wise man once said, clouded the future is. I have just arrived back in London and am already getting itchy feet as to what to do next. I think that the London circuit can be stifling in terms of stage-time, so my future may lie further north where there is an improved chance of actually getting paid regularly.
You are a harsh mistress, Edinburgh. You cause me physical, emotional and financial pain. But I bloody love you. I will be back in 2014 and have ideas for shows already.
