Hi NTW Community,

So I've been up in Edinburgh for five days now, everything has been going well with The Golden Cowpat. Our ticket sales haven't been to bad and we've been having a lot of fun flyering and performing on the mile. The shows themselves have been strong and the children and parents have been really generous and have seemed to love it! Reviews have been coming in and they have been positive as well, which is always a help. Our next hurdle is that the Scottish schools will nearly all have restarted by Monday and so it will be interesting to see how this effects our ticket sales and how we can not let it effect us too much . . . 

We finish flyering at latest 5 o'clock and so this has meant that I have been able to see quite a few shows.

On Tuesday I saw three shows PEEP (the first play of the three with Anna) by Natural Shocks (Click here to book), Grit by Tortoise in a Nutshell (Click here to book) and Strange Wild Song by Rhum and Clay (Click here to book). Here is a video I made about them when I bumped into Kelly:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GmoIVcY5Sic&feature=plcp

To expand on my thoughts from the video, PEEP is performed in its very own, purpose-built venue at the Pleasance Courtyard this really assists the performance as I think in a larger space the performance wouldn't have been as poignant. You sit isolated in your own little booth, spying on the action through a window whilst listening through a headset. The effect is that you feel like a voyeur and that you are invading a private moment. The acting is perfect with Welsh actor Ifan Meredith giving a strong yet delicate performance as Dan.

Grit is visually interesting and proves that words aren't always a necessary when discussing a serious subject. The show uses the story of a war photographer to explore the effect of war on children, even with this heavy subject matter the show isn't preachy and simply shows the personal implications over war without over being melodramatic. It uses different methods of puppetry to interesting effect, and the soundscape of the show is captivating although at some points there is too much noise and it feels like it is trying to compensate for the lack of actual words. At times the execution lacks precision and the elements (lighting, action, sound . . .) don't always gel together but overall well worth a watch.

Strange Wild Song, by Rhum and Clay, tells the story of a lost soldier in a foreign land by exploding and bringing to life an image (not unlike Kantor) to create a playful and powerful piece of physical theatre and clowning, which reminded me of Peter Pan and his Lost Boys and at points had me both laughing out loud and at the point of crying. Where Grit lacked precision, Strange Wild Strong showed its importance. This Le-coq trained company show the importance of training each action and word was necessary and executed with great accuracy. The clarity made it easy to watch and understand without the use of too many unnecessary words or music, it was a relief to be able to watch the physical action in silence as you could hear the sounds of the movements which added to the pieces emotional effect. This is something that a lot of companies should learn from Rhum and Clay - not to be afraid of silence but to embrace it and use it. The music used was atmospheric and added to the action, however, at times I felt in a piece so calculated they didn't need all of what they included. Overall, my favorite piece of the day.         

On Wednesday I saw two shows: Dating George Orwell by Kelly (Click here for further information) and How to Start a Riot by Worklight Theatre (Click here to book) .

I have so much admiration for everyone performing on the Free Fringe, the work really has to stand on its own. There are no lights and sets to hide behind and you can see every member of your audience! Dating George Orwell is an extremely brave one woman show written and performed by Kelly. Sexy Pauline is a very interesting (this is a nice way of saying strange in this case) character who has a few issues but Kelly's portrayal as well as being comical is touching and makes you sympathise with her as well as laugh at here predicament. Definitely worth watch if you literally want the action to approach you and stroke your face!

After Kelly's show, we both went and saw How to Start a Riot and here is our collective review: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ssdSGBIiobM&feature=plcp

Right! I need to sign out now and go and do some more flyering! Flyering does work as well, I flyered Les Dennis a couple of days ago and today he came to watch The Golden Cowpat! And he bought a CD! Got to love a bit of Family Fortunes!!!!

Sarah