Today I've seen some pretty varied shows. Here's a bit about them...

My Favourite show of today (and possibly of the fringe so far) is ....(Drum role)...

'Dr.Frankenstein's Travelling Freak show'  by Tin shed theatre company it was just brilliant.

I havn't seen anything like it on the Fringe so far, it had a tremendous energy that carried throughout the show and had me laughing all the way through. Although it is very humorous it does also have some very sweet moments then contrasting dark and cruel sections which keeps the performance unpredictable and exciting.

The show was performed in a small theatre space which made you feel incredibly involved, you were addressed by the characters and I was slightly terrified at times as well and had to keep checking over my shoulder (although I am the biggest wimp going so that was probably to be expected)   

 It was insane...clean off...nuts...absurd and along with all those things extremely well performed. The cast all have a complete understanding of their characters and their physicality made them come alive. I really admire their stamina throughout the show! 

I hope this show gets the recognition it deserves and if you are up in Edinburgh you will be crazy to miss it! book tickets here.

Here's a video of the making of the show...  

The second show I watched today was Chalk Farm   . I was looking forward to this show as I had heard about it via word of mouth on the mile but it didn't really live up to my expectations. The characters, the writing and the setup of the storytelling was good but I just found that the story line wasn't as powerful as I thought it would be. When I heard it was a story about a young boy and his mother's experience of the London riots I thought I would be getting a gripping tale but the story was a bit of a disappointment in the end.

There were lovely moments in the show and the acting was good, I believed their characters and they embodied their roles yet I think this could have been amplified by a better finish to the play.  The actors carried the text well, had some effortlessly funny moments and gained the audience's trust in the characters.

I also saw 'Who's Afraid of Rachel Roberts?' by the Torch Theatre company and I'm not usually a fan of one person shows but Helen Griffin plays Rachel beautifully, her performance was fearless and strong. She controlled the stage and had the audience believing every story she told from her foul mouthed antics, her suicide attempts, her childhood and her deteriorating love life.