Festival Radio Project 2005 : Week One Reviews |
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Week One | Week Two | Week Three | Week Four Here are a selection of reviews of Edinburgh Festival Fringe shows, written by the participants of Week One (1th - 5th August 2005) of Media Education's Festival Radio Project. REVIEW : James Campbell's Onomatopoeia Society'James Campbell's Onomatopoeia Society'Fringe Guide : Page 11 Venue: Gilded Balloon Teviot (Venue 14) Address : 13 Bristo Square EH8 9AL Reviewers : Christopher and Iain The name of the show that we went to see is 'James Campbell's Onomatopoeia Society'. The show is about onomatopoeic words invented by a company. I thought that the show was excellent. I would rate this show as a 3 and a half stars out of 5. The age group is 6-97 years old. By Christopher and Iain REVIEW : The Ignatius Trail'The Ignatius Trail'Fringe Guide : Page 11 Venue: Smirnoff Baby Belly (Venue 88) Address : South Niddry Street Reviewers : Christopher and Iain The Ignatius Trail is aimed at ages 8 and over. It runs for approximately 1 hour 15mins. It starts at 11.30am every day from the 6th to the 28th of August. We rate this show as 3 stars out of 5! The show was about pirates who get a visit from a pirate inspector, who orders some of the crew to throw Ignatius Trail overboard! The funniest character was blind! The meanest pirate is the inspector Sillvia, who turns the crew evil. The show is funny, musical, serious and scary at some points. Not for serious people! 3 *** By Christopher and Iain REVIEW : Terry Pratchett's Maskerade'Terry Pratchett's Maskerade'Fringe Guide : Page 185 Venue: C Electric (formerly The Odeon) (Venue 50) Address : Clerk Street, EH8 9JH Reviewer : Jennifer and Julie Terry Praqtchett's Maskerade was a spoof play of Phantom of The Opera, with extracts of Macbeth and Little Britain thrown in. What could have been a funny spoof turned out to be a bit of a joke. The script was confusing and the plot seemed to lose itself in its own cleverness. The audience was left feeling bewildered and not entirely sure what was going on. It probably would have been useful to have seen Phantom of the Opera beforehand, to understand the points of the play. The cameos from Little Britain's Vicky Pollard proved to be unfunny. Having said that, the cast proved to be talented enough to save the play from complete embarrassment, and their singing and acting skills are sure to take them far. By Jennifer and Julie REVIEW : Dreams Come Out To Play'Dreams Come Out To Play'Fringe Guide : Page 10 Venue: C Venue (Venue 34) Address : Chambers Street Reviewer : Luisa and Fiona The show is for ages 2 - 6 and is about a little girl and teddy's dreamworld. The little girl loses her teddy and is thrown into an epic adventure which leads her across the ocean! She eventually makes it back to her bedroom and finds her teddy under the sheets. We thought it was very entertaining and we loved the characters like the elves, the pirate and larry the teddy. We really enjoyed the audience interaction. We liked all the lighting effects and thought the shadow puppets were amazing - it was brilliant how they made the transitions between a puppet show, acting and changing characters. All round, the best show yet! 5 ***** By Luisa and Fiona REVIEW : More Stories By The Lochside'More Stories By The Lochside'Fringe Guide : Page 165 Venue: Duddingston Kirk Manse Garden (Venue 121) Address : Old Church Lane, Duddingston Village Reviewers : Fiona and Luisa This is a mixture of classic Scottish stories, each one as charming as the next. The first story is about 'Half Hangit Maggie'. The second story is about a humpbacked fiddle player who is cured from his deformity by the elves in the forest. The last story is about how tartan was invented, which was quite inspiring. We thought it was very good as it was set outside and also included music. It was inspiring and magical and quite thought-provoking! All-round a very good show - not to be missed! 4 **** By Fiona and Luisa REVIEW: And What Do We Do When We Get There?'And What Do We Do When We Get There?'Fringe Guide : Page 8 Venue: Pleasance Dome (Venue 23) Address : 1 Bristo Square, EH8 9AL Reviewers : Christopher and Iain "And What Do We Do When We Get There?" was one of the best childrens shows we have ever seen because "it is not just for 4 year olds". The performer Paul Lyalls told jokes that were suitable for all ages - he also was one of the funniest performers! The show runs for about 1 hour and the cost of the show is £6-£7 per person. The cost is the one of the best prices that we have seen. The venue Pleasance Dome (venue 23, page 8 in the Fringe guide) is accessible to wheelchair users! We would rate this as a 4 star rating out of 5 we would fully recommend this show to any one who is looking for a good time! The show runs from 13.00-14.20 from the 7th-29th of August. BY CHRISTOPHER & IAIN REVIEW: Guys and Dolls'Guys and Dolls'Fringe Programme : Page 120 Venue: C Electric (Formerly the Odeon) (Venue 50) Address : Clerk Street, EH8 9JH Reviewers : April and Helen 'Guys and Dolls' is the classic broadway tale about gamblers and women in the 1950's. Nathan Detroit is a broke gambler in the city of New York, he has been engaged to Adelade for 14 years but he is not ready for marriage. Nathan and his friends play crap games underground for money. Adelade is the main singer and dancer at the hot box. When Nathan's gambler friend Sky Masterson comes to New York for a visit they make a bet that Sky cant get a doll (girl) to come to Havana with him! Guys and Dolls is aimed at anyone who loves comedy and musicals. It is showing at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe from Thursday 4 August - Saturday 13th August. At C- Electric venue 50 at 12:00pm on Page 120 in the Fringe booklet. This one hour and three-quarter show is full of great comedy, romance, hit songs, exhilarating dance routines and it will basically blow your mind. We thought that Guys and Dolls was a great show that held the suspense and it was buzzing with excitement. The songs were great and catchy and they are the type that get caught in your head like a fly trapped in a spiders web!! We would give this show 5***** By April and Helen REVIEW: Elmer The Elephant'Elmer The Elephant'Fringe Guide : Page 10 Venue: Venue 45 (Venue 45) Address : Old St Paul's Church Hall, Jeffrey St, EH1 1DH Reviewer : Ailsa "Elmer the Elephant" is aimed at children from ages three and up, and will be showing at venue 45 on Jeffrey Street from the 4th until the 27th of August. It is on daily at 10.35 am (but not Sundays) and Sunday 7th, 14th and 21st of August at 2.35pm. This hour long show (which you can find on p10 of the fringe guide) features 7 colourful characters, not including the parts the audience get to play throughout the show, and will keep kids smiling for a while after it is finished! The patchwork elephant promises to make both adults and children laugh, and provides a great moral message to people of all ages - "It's good to be different". The show itself is about a grandfather who tries to get his grandson to feel happy about being different to his friends by telling him the story of the patchwork elephant, Elmer, who wants to be the same as all the other elephants, by acting out the story to his grandson, and getting the audience to join in along the way. My favourite character had to be the loveable Timmy the elephant, who complains about being too small, and has to as the advice of Elmer. I thoroughly enjoyed this show. It was fun, it was vibrant and it contained an interesting moral. I would advise anybody with young children to come along and be a part of Elmer's colourful adventure and have a few laughs along the way! By Ailsa REVIEW: And What Do We Do When We Get There?'And What Do We Do When We Get There?'Fringe Guide : Page 8 Venue: Pleasance Dome (Venue 23) Address : 1 Bristo Square, EH8 9AL Reviewer : Sadiah If you're looking for comedy for all ages, "And what do we do when we get there?" is the one to see! Open for everyone from the ages of 7-777! This is a standup/poetry/slideshow based show by Paul Lyall, describing his teenage years aswell as his adult life also suggesting youngters to start thinking about theirs, that they have lots of ambitions throughout life and have fun whilst at it! I reccomend everyone with children go see "And what do we do when we get there". And maybe they can go back knowing Paul Lyall may come to their school! It will get the audience laughing anytime! This show is held at the Pleasance Dome from 3rd aug-15th aug, and 17th aug-29th aug its great for families! Sadiah Age 15 REVIEW: Albert Einstein Experience'Albert Einstein Experience'Fringe Guide : Page 17 Venue : Gilded Balloon Teviot (Venue 14) Address : 13 Bristo Square, EH8 9AL Reviewer : Scot The Albert Einstein Experience, a comedy aimed at people who love to go to the pub, get drunk and show off their knowledge to their friends. It is an hour long show that is being shown at the Gilded Balloon Teviot at 16.15 from the 3rd-14th, 16th-21st and from the 23rd-29th of August. The show that is brought to you by "Punk Science" can be found on page 17 of the Fringe Guide magazine. It stars 4 men in their 20's who feel that it is their job to inform the world of the importance of Albert Einstein and his theories, but don't start thinking that it's like going back to school, this is fun! This show will get you laughing. It is not a lecture, it has music, movie clips, audience participation and dressing up. The four main characters are all different and are all hilarious. I thought that this show was great and is a must see this year at the Festival. I would recommend it to anyone who wants to know about Einstein's theories and his strange marriages (to his cousin). I'd give this show 4**** Scot Age 15 REVIEW: The Happy Prince'The Happy Prince'Fringe Guide : Page 11 Venue : Sweet On The Grassmarket (Venue 18) Address : Apex City Hotel, 61 The Grassmarket, EH1 2JF Reviewers : Iain and Chris The classic Oscar Wilde tale about a sensitive statue and a kind swallow, told by Daniel Cainer with wonderfully written music and beautiful illustrations. This show is suitable for under fives and will keep them engaged for the whole hour. The show is at venue 18 (page 11 in festival guide) it shows from the 5th -29th of August at 10.30 every day. We would give this show a 4**** rating. By Iain (aged 16) and Chris (aged 13)
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