Yet more Fringe

A full-on day of work, then knocked off late afternoon to meet up with T and baby L for a cake and a chat and a wander round the Botanics.

Cyclops and I then had a really nice evening out at the Fringe and tonight we went to see all Free Fringe shows. We also had a couple of drinks, and some noodles, and it was lots of fun.

Fringe show 27: Sarah-Louise Young’s Songs for Cynics (3.5*)
We saw Sarah-Louise perform a couple of shows at the BBC the other say and thought we’d give one of her full shows a try. This was a performance of witty songs performed by Sarah-Louise with Michael Roulston on piano. It was quite old skool, with scripted banter between the two leading into songs. The songs were amusing and the musical standard very good. A pleasant hour, a solid performance. And it was also pleasant that Michael Roulston looks a bit like Benedict Cumberbatch, yum.

Fringe show 28: The News at Kate 2013: My professional opinion (3.5*)
Kate Smurthwaite has had a fascinating career participating in ‘arguing with idiots’ on TV shows. During this hour, Kate talks about and demonstrates her profession. And it is really extremely interesting, I very much enjoyed hearing about what she does. Kate is funny and it was a very coherent and well performed show. There was two things about it I’m not so keen on but I think it just pushed my buttons and may not do so for others. To be fair in combination they only amounted to about six lines in the whole show. One is Tory-bashing without a joke behind it. That’s just lazy comedy. There was plenty of Tory-bashing material that did contain jokes and clever observations, so really Kate had no need to lower herself to this. The other is that I hate it when comedians tell a joke and then tell the audience they are clever for getting it. I find that patronising and generally - like explaining a joke - it spoils the pleasure of getting it. And yes I got the joke about maths and the joke in Latin. Yes even though I went to a state school and was never taught Latin.

Fringe show 29: Silhouette Burlesque
Our second time at the Silhouette Burlesque and a largely different and enjoyable line-up. Jollyboat again, but the rest if the acts were different or did not repeat the same material. I liked it, I’ll probably go again at some point.