#Review of Haley Mills In Conversation At The Fringe at Prestonfield FringeReview @edfringe #FringeEdin #WhatsonEdi #Edinburgh #Fringe #EdinburghFringe Venue 105

Haley Mills In Conversation with Christopher Biggins

Review By Louise Cannon

Haley Mills, child and adult star of stage and screen is fantastically interesting and a joy to listen to. She is known for The Parent Trap, Summer Magic, Tiger Bay, Whistle Down the Wind and many more films, TV programmes such as Wild At Heart and theatre such as The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel stage play. All of which I can highly recommend.

Christopher Biggins was interviewing her. He’s professional in his question asking, but not clinically so, he brings warmth and the two of them had great charisma and respect for each other and seemed so natural around each other.

The audience was treated to clips from her childhood films before they graced the stage. She allowed the audience into some personal things as well as talking about her films and what it was like to be in an acting family.

Haley Mills has a book out called Forever Young. A copy is on its way to me, so I am looking forward to being able to review it. She had a meet and greet at this event. She is upbeat and brings such joy and wonderful optimism, which she also spread in her talk on stage.

This was a one off talk, but if you ever get the opportunity to see her in-person, and I do realise how incredibly lucky I was and how much joy she brought to my heart in an experience I didn’t think would ever happen, but if you do, I urge you to see her. Look out for her book too – Forever Young. I am certain it’s going to be well-written and interesting. Let’s see what I have to say when I review it. All I can say, after this talk, I am excited about it!

#Interview By Lou with Just The Tonic’s Darrell Martin – Time To Celebrate Just The Tonic 20 Years At The Edinburgh Fringe Festival @Justthetonic @EdFringe #UnleashYourFringe #EdFringe2024 #Fringe #Comedy #Theatre @aDarrellMartin

Please join me in celebrating 20 years of Just The Tonic at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.
I have had the absolute pleasure and privilege of interviewing the founder of Just the Tonic Comedy Club, Darrell Martin. The club started in 1994 in Nottingham and expanded its venues across the UK. What he has to say is fascinating and will take you places you perhaps don’t expect as he provides answers that are a real eye-opener, including tickets on sale now…

1. How does it feel celebrating 20 years at the Edinburgh Fringe?

It feels weary. I have aged way beyond my years. All this laughing at shows has taken it’s toll. My face aches, as does my belly. Especially this year, what with the addition of celebrating.

2. Who were your early mentors and fave comedians

I had no mentors. I was a lonely promoter in the East Midlands. We were like an outback for comedy. Anyone I trusted as a mentor turned out to be yet another shark on the look out for young blood to devour. Trust no one. Favourite comedians have been Phil Kay, Johnny Vegas, Sean Lock, Ross Noble, Spencer Jones.

3. You like giving new talent a platform – do you have any future plans to help young comedians?

Nothing concrete planned. We are discussing this as a group at the moment, but Edfringe has come along and swept away all time and energy.

4. You are hosting Connor Burns this year who is doing really well. Would you like to see more Scottish comedians on the JTT programme? Is that important to you? Any plans to run more comedy nights in Edinburgh throughout the year?

Connor is ACE! A really fresh face for comedy,. A young comic that is able to appeal across the generations. Really great for club gigs and solo shows. We run a monthly gig in Edinburgh at the moment but are looking to expand on that. As I am now based in Edinburgh I am more aware of Scottish acts and we make it a policy to try and be booking Scottish acts into our Edinburgh shows, and then exporting them south. Our next gig is Susie McCabe on 5th October… tickets on sale NOW!

5. How do you put your own curated / compilation JTT branded shows together – does that happen before the Fringe or do you go to see shows during the Fringe, or do people approach you?

The Big Value Comedy Show is a long process to programme. But Comedy in the Dark is sort of half done before the festival starts and then filled in on the hoof during the festival., Often when bumping into people and remembering you have gaps to fill!

6. How do you programme Just The Tonic? Do people apply, do you choose your own shows, or a mix? What influences your final decision in overall programme.

We have a number of people that just keep coming back. That is growing each year., We have people that we actively seek out, and we also respond to applications. At present it is just myself doing it, but we are looking to bring someone new in for next year to help. What with my diminishing hearing, my poor vision and my failing sense of humour, my gout and lack of memory and foul odour, it is becoming increasingly difficult to keep abreast of the changing tide of the comedy and arts scene.

7. What are the biggest challenges and what excites you running venues at the Fringe? Any stories for this year in particular?

This year has been a challenge because we have a new management team. But it has worked out so well. We have learnt a lot, but overall we have succeeded as a team. It is difficult to say what excites me about running venues because I am in the middle of it and it feels like a real slog. But it is calming down and we are now able to see shows. The exciting this is when we have shows on that the public love, and they show that by coming in droves and then the performers are caught in a surprise bubble of success. It feels like a privilege to host things like this. I genuinely enjoy peoples success. No real stories this year., so far. Aren’t I dull.

8. Mental health is a big issue at the Fringe. How do you cope with the challenges and demands, and deal with the performers who might be going through a hard time? And what do you do yourself to stay calm?

The fringe can be really demanding, mentally. It is a long slog, and people are investing time and money into it. And often they are pinning a lot on it. Yes… it is a rollercoaster.

I cope by not having the 1st drink.

For further reading about Just The Tonic to discover more, please check this link out here from an earlier blog post featuring the venues and a Just The Tonic link to what’s on in Edinburgh and one for around the UK.

https://bookmarksandstages.home.blog/2024/07/15/time-to-celebrate-just-the-tonic-20-years-at-the-edinburgh-fringe-festival-justthetonic-edfringe-unleashyourfringe-edfringe2024-comedy-theatre-adarrellmartin/

What’s on in Edinburgh at Just the Tonic

https://edinburgh.justthetonic.com

What’s on around the UK at Just the Tonic Venues

https://www.justthetonic.com/

#Review By Lou of Murder at the Speakeasy. Get your 1920s fashions on and solve a murder #EdFringe #UnleashYourFringe Venue 241

Murder at the Speakeasy

Royal Scots Club 7:30pm (2hrs)

Review by Louise Cannon

I attended Murder at the Speakeasy at the Royal Scot’s Club and it’s one of the most immersive/interactive shows I’ve seen. The audience become 1920’s crime solving flappers. Take a look at the synopsis and then my review below for more about it.

1926. Prohibition is in full swing, but you can still get a drink if you know where to look. Join the party at the illegal speakeasy run by notorious British crime duo the Fisher sisters and meet their ragtag collection of staff and regulars. Witness fights, rivalries and wrongdoings aplenty and, when the inevitable happens, follow the clues and interrogate the suspects to work out whodunnit.

Get dressed in 1920s style clothes and accessories. Get a clue to find who you need to take down to what feels like the bowels of the Royal Scot’s Club. Then get another clue and solve it to get the password to enter The Speakeasy which has circular tables and people mingling. The tables are not empty. There are newspaper cuttings with news stories of disappearances. The cast play out scenes and then mingle with the tables where you can question them to try to gain knowledge to piece together to work out who went as far as committing a murder. Part way through, also have fun learning to dance the Charleston and hear some singing from the era.

It’s great fun and so unique. I didn’t know how much was going to be interactive and it turned out everything was. It was an amazing atmosphere of total strangers talking to each other and complimenting each other’s outfits as well as trying to solve the crime together. It was just so different and definitely worth doing. You’re totally transported to another era and it was fun that most people did actually dress in 1920’s attire for this fully immersive experience.

#Review By Lou of Don Quixote @edfringe #FringeEdin #WhatsonEdi #Edinburgh #Fringe #Edinburgh #Theatre

Don Quixote

Original text by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra

Don Quixote is performed by 2 Finnish clowns and clearly they have talent and are completely invested in what they were doing. You will also learn a bit of Finnish a long the way. The story is clearly condensed to give a flavour of what is a classic tale. There are plenty of references to the story as we learn about the journey this Spanish Gentleman from La Mancha is on with Sancho Panza. There’s also mention of Friston, an imaginary person who is believed to be a book thief and an enchanter of the windmills. It’s also interesting how we learn a little about the author at the beginning, which starts to put firmly in your mind the significance of the book. It’s also heart-warming that there is that respect there.

There’s a lot of laughs to be had and interest in most parts, but this sadly wasn’t consistent. Truly the desire of wanting to be invested all the way through was there, but a couple of times this did waiver, with some parts being unnecessary, occasionally laboured parts, from what was a powerful and promising start.
It is perhaps worth noting that not all of the audience remained for the whole show, but it is worth, perhaps noting that it could have been for any reason, although the walkouts mainly occurred during a nudity scene.

In saying this there is lots to be entertained by, although a bit surreal at times as it tries to appeal to different audiences all at once as it references Don Quixote itself, the clowning around (which, incidentally brings that Fringe feel to it) and the setting of the scene and some of the humour is entertaining. The two clowns are clearly talented, but some of the material could have been sharper.

#Review By Lou of Amazing Magician – Kevin Quantum @kevinquantum #CaledonianHotel #FringeReview @edfringe #FringeEdin #WhatsonEdi #Edinburgh #Fringe #EdinburghFringe Venue 206 #Magic #Comedy

Kevin Quantum
Magic

The Caledonian, Edinburgh, Versailles Suite 10th to 18th Aug
6pm and 8:30pm 1hr 10mins

Review by Louise Cannon

Kevin Quantum gives an intimate magic performance in the Versailles Suite of the Caledonian Hotel for Edinburgh Magic. The intimacy of the room felt special for magic. He’s performed for and fooled many celebrities and now it’s time for ordinary members of the public to be fooled. Sleight of hand and misdirection are recurring themes as he performs card tricks to a cup and saucer trick involving balls and lemons to a mathematical trick and more…

Paired with stories of around Edinburgh, the magic circle and celebs interweaving with the magic adds to the interest and investment in this show.

His magic is slick and fast that leaves you in awe. I was lucky to see a trick performed very close up in an audience participation part. He has the charm and charisma that puts you at your ease. You also can’t see how any of the tricks are done. This is marvellous magic!
He gave a bit more time than what was billed, which was brilliant and everyone waited on. He still has you wanting more as time goes fast as he instantly captivates the audience. He’s very talented, having being successful enough to be tutored by Penn and Teller. He makes you wonder what else he can do, I suspect he has more up his sleeve for another time.

I said in 2023 that he “has the hallmarks of Penn and Teller” and that still stands.

This year I am adding to that and saying: Spectacular and a magician well worth investing in!

This is accessible to all magic and he has 2 special shows at different price points and venues.

He has this show – Edinburgh Magic here: https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/edinburgh-magic

Or a family show – Anti Gravity, here: https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/kevin-quantum-anti-gravity

#Review of #ConfessionsOfATeletubby edfringe #EdFringe #WhatsonEdinburgh #WhatsonEdi @nikkismedley @thespaceuk #SurgeonsHall #Edinburgh

Confessions of A Teletubby

Nikki Smedley who played Laa Laa

Review by Louise Cannon

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Confessions of A Teletubby with Nikki Smedley is fabulous in glowy Laa Laa yellow.

It’s interactive in a way I hadn’t expected. If you’re in the audience, get your “uh-oh’s” ready. All will be revealed if you attend.

Nikki Smedley is a powerhouse of energy and enthusiasm as well as engaging.

What is very interesting is what it takes to make it onto tv and what, specifically she had to do to try and get the part. She candidly peels back the costume to reveal what it was really like to wear and what it did to her skin.

This isn’t a show about revealing anything totally explosive, although there is a startling moment of something incredibly tragic.

What is surprising in the current climate is the sheer love that still pours from her all these years later.

This is an entertaining talk with each confession that’s revealed. There’s lots to be learnt about the inner world and making of Teletubbys. Like when the Teletubbys say “bye bye”, there’s a heartwarming glow at the end of this show.

She also has a book, first published in 2022 called “Over The Hills and Far Away.” I rated it 5 stars.