Insect Circus @ Spiegel Garden

Last year we had the Insect Museum; this year the Museum was back with a larger, added attraction. If you are thinking of ancient flea circuses and Michael Bentine’s Potty Time fear not, this was the real deal, and you could see it without the aid of a magnifying glass as the circus owners were thoughtful enough to use giant insects. Ok, so for the less imaginative they were people in insect costumes, but hey, this is showbiz - suspend that disbelief.

From the acrobalance of Charmaine Mow and the Antics through to wasp taming it was a truly excellent show. All the troupe are competent circus performers but the addition of the insect costumes gimmick set it apart. One sad aspect of the show was that we will never see the performance of Ephemera the Evanescent Mayfly again; her successor, however, was trained up in time for the next night’s show. And for those with an insect phobia there was some good old fashioned worm charming and whip cracking.

Joined at the Heart: The Story of Victor Frankenstein @ C Venues

This musical took a few liberties with Mary Shelley’s original, concentrating on some aspects of the story more than others and exploiting every possible opportunity to get the entire cast on stage at the same time. But on the whole it was decent enough. There were some good singers, though no outstanding songs, the staging was ok, and everyone knew where they should be at any given time. In the end it was a show that didn’t reach it’s full potential: it could have been truly dreadful, but wasn’t; it could have been truly brilliant, but wasn’t.

Stephen Long is Not a Mind Reader @ Apex Hotel

Mind-reading has gained great prominence in the British psyche in recent years, courtesy of the likes of Derren Brown and his Channel 4 programmes and stage shows, so it’s only natural it should be featured at the Fringe. Stephen Long is a likeable enough chap who seemed to be enjoying himself on stage, though on the day I saw him he was only performing to a small number of people. This less than capacity audience, however, did not seem to put him off. He promised £3 cheques (so it’s not a big budget show) to members of the audience should he get a divination wrong, but never paid up as he got all of them right. The only effect that didn’t work for me was his game of hangman: he didn’t sell it enough and made it seem too effortless – he could at least have tried to convince us he was working hard to get the answers. He deserves bigger audiences.

Amanda Palmer @ Spiegel Tent

Amanda Palmer, half of punk duo the Dresden Dolls, is a strong and confident pianist, but the real highlight of her show was the cast of grotesques she had borrowed from around the Fringe. From overly-made-up ladies jerking about through to performance artists, the show was a visual and auditory delight. Sections of it are available to view on YouTube and are well worth checking out.

Circuses @ Big Top, Meadows

The Cirque Surreal, described as circus for the 21st century, is a dazzling display of pure skill and exuberance. Skilful performances all round showed there is still magic left in the world.

But there are other types of circus. After the beauty of the Cirque Surreal’s run in the same venue came the grotesque Grand Guignol that is the Circus of Horrors. The publicity offered “a brand new, super shocking, awe inspiring, jaw dropping show”; I’m afraid to say it wasn’t. The basic story was the same as in previous years, as were the songs and many of the acts, if not the actual performers. There were new things, but the Circus as a whole seemed scaled-down.

On the plus side, if you like this sort of thing you’ll probably have a fun night out. The performers don’t take themselves too seriously and a number of the acts are amazing to watch. I’d not seen Garry Stretch before but the elasticity of his skin does hold a peculiar fascination. Like Jim Rose before him, Dr Haze (Circus of Horrors’ leader and ringmaster) knows how to milk the publicity machine, and during the festival the show’s strong man (Hannibal Hellmuro) pulled a four-ton truck part of the way along Princes Street, and there was almost blanket coverage of diminutive Dan and his problems with superglue and a vacuum cleaner (this didn’t stop him pulling said vacuum cleaner across the stage when it was attached to his penis, mind!). In short, a decent enough night out, but they do need to do more to reinvent themselves.

Small Medium at Large @ Quaker Meeting House

The Village Idiot’s Small Medium at Large was even more bizarre, but in a much gentler vein. I really didn’t know what to expect from this mask and physical theatre company, but came away enchanted. The basic story was of a house due to be demolished, much to the anguish of the incumbent ghosts and an estate agent with a heart. Ghosts and estate agent attempt to save the house… and that’s pretty much it. The emotion that was portrayed through the medium of the masks was unbelievable and contributed greatly to the enjoyment that was had by a capacity audience of all ages.

Moths Ate My Doctor Who Scarf @ Underbelly
Doctor Who Comedy Night for ACCORD @ Linsays

Now for a couple of excursions to Doctor Who land. Toby Hadocke returned to the Fringe with his excellent show Moths Ate My Doctor Who Scarf. This show was just as funny the second time around, and totally accessible to all, whether Doctor Who fan or not.

Hadocke details a life during which by watching a fantasy TV show he learns things about the real world, and describes how, with the triumphant return of Doctor Who, his son is worshipped in the playground, as he knows there were other actors before Christopher Eccelstone and David Tennant and his dad’s got the videos to prove it. A charm of a show which gives hope to all who have hobbies or interests that are normally regarded as fringe at best.

The second Timelord-themed show also involved Toby Hadocke, but this time Doctor Who fans who also happen to be professional comedians were crawling out of the woodwork like an invasion of cyberwoodworm. Earlier this year David Tennant’s mother died of cancer and, in an event staged as part of his fundraising for the hospice which cared for her, some 60 or so fans crowded into a room that really was not designed to hold anywhere near that many.

The comedians – including Mitch Benn, Hadocke and Charlie Ross – were for once allowed free reign, safe in the knowledge that every little geeky reference would be understood. Despite the cramped and unsavoury conditions, everyone loved it (apart from the couple who, on finding they would not be able to get a seat, left and demanded their donations back. Miserable gits). If you want to experience the show for yourself, highlights can be found here. Over £1200 was raised on the night; donations to the Accord Hospice can be made here.

Roddy Martine @ Book Festival

Roddy Martine spoke at the Book Festival, on its final day, on his latest publication, The Secrets of Rosslyn, a book which claims to let the facts speak for themselves and to do away with unfounded conjecture and fantasy. Chairing the session was Michael Fass, former priest of Rosslyn, who allegedly resigned due to the circus that’s developed around what is, after all, a place of worship. Martine is an easy and accomplished speaker, and with Fass as a fall back for certain questions, the whole session made for an easy and enjoyable hour. True to his word Martine appears to have produced a factual, no-nonsense book, which fortunately does not add more conjecture to the already muddy field of Rosslyn research, though he did, of course, mention many of the more fantastical elements in his presentation - to not have done so would have been akin to lecturing about Leonardo Da Vinci without mentioning that he was a painter.

It’s easy to see Martine has a great love and knowledge of his subject, a love and knowledge which was clearly shared by his capacity audience. I do have one minor quibble, however: a building of such beauty and interest was crying out for some illustrations during the talk.

So that’s it. Another year done. Some very good shows, some poor. Perhaps not an outstanding year but still some pleasurable viewing was had and, as with previous years, the ticket sales broke all records so there’s no chance of this cash cow vanishing anytime soon. Till next year, Gordon Rutter.