Five Pound Fringe

Over the last few years, ticket prices for Fringe shows have shot up quite a bit. Expect to pay at least £8 pounds for lesser known shows, and £15 for the big names! This is why some venues - like the Tron on Hunter Square - have decided to support initiatives like the Five Pound Fringe, or even Free Fringe, each of which does exactly what it says on the tin!

C Venue - Chambers Street

Normally a quiet, stately University building, during the festival Adam House is transformed into C Venue!

Piper with Drummers

This is the piper who plays with the drummers (see yesterday's post).

Drummers on the Mound

A guest entry from Difa - during the Fringe, this well-known group of drummers & piper often perform on the Mound next to the National Gallery. Can anyone remind me of their name?

Fringe Framed!

I'm totally blowing my cover here but I don't care, because... today my picture got printed in the Metro!! The Fringe Office and Metro run a competition called Fringe Framed, where each day they select a photo for publication. If you want to take part, all you have to do is e-mail your photo (jpeg) to fringe.framed@edfringe.com. Good luck!

Not sure what to call this!

As spotted at the Cavalcade in Holyrood Park - this Lord of the Rings-like figure is, I believe, part of a theatre company that specialises in stilt-based, costumed street theatre. These imposing figures (there were three of them) wandered around high above the crowds, scaring unsuspecting bystanders by suddenly pecking them in the neck.

Pants!!

This is of another preview of a show we saw on the Royal Mile. I've forgotten the title; the costumes and makeup were pretty cool but despite the obvious enthusiasm of the actors, it was a bit, well, pants really!

Performance on the Royal Mile

All day, performers showcase their shows during allotted slots on stages on the Royal Mile. These guys are from "Bloodbath - the Musical" (21:30 at George Square), and this lady definitely stood out from the crowd with a fenominal voice - though you couldn't really hear the music from the stereo.

Street Performance on the Royal Mile

Edinburgh street performer Todd Various doing what he does best, spotted yesterday on Parliament Square - just off the Royal Mile. With guest performances of 'England' (left), 'Scotland' (right) and two very cheeky little boys.

Festival Time!!

Hi Everyone!!

Back by popular demand... after this inexcusably long absence I'll keep the blog going during the Fringe and International Festival at least.

This picture was taken during the cavalcade on Saturday, the official start of the Fringe. The entire cast of the Tattoo, as well as a host of other performers and bands parade through the city - except this year due to tramworks on Princes Street the entire show was moved to Holyrood Park. And you know what? I actually preferred it - there was lots of space for everyone to go, no traffic restrictions for other good citizens, and the setting is just so beautiful! I met up with a couple of good friends and gave my brand new zoom lens a run for its money :-).

A bit of cheer

It's been raining solidly for the last 24 hours, and with the doom and gloom of banks collapsing and markets falling, how's this to cheer us all up!? (Well perhaps just the female part of my readership ;-) )

Edinburgh Mela

Each year the Edinburgh Mela takes place during the final weekend of the festival season. Mela means gathering in Sanskrit, and the events, stands, food and music at the Mela have a distinctly Asian character. As we were watching a performance of Scottish, Japanese and Asian music all blended together I spotted this explosion of colour just to the side of the stage. Must have been a great picture from the other side too!

Flute man

Having posted a Guitar man for one of my sisters a few days ago, today I'm posting this Flute man with fox (which has its own microphone!) for the other one. She will know why :-).

I have the best sisters in the world. 'k Hou van jullie!

Spiegel Tent

As promised, a couple of pictures of the exterior and the interior of the famous Spiegel Tent. If you want to see it, it'll be in George Square until tomorrow!

Spiegeltents are travelling pavilions used as dance halls, bars and entertainment salons. They were created in the early 20th century, and very few of these 'tents of mirrors’ are left today. This one is considered the most beautiful of the last remaining Belgian Spiegeltents. Built in 1920 by master craftsmen Oscar Mols Dom and Loius Goor, it travels between festivals and fairgrounds throughout Europe and beyond, playing host to artists, musicians and circus burlesque performers.

Spiegel Garden

Remember how on the 8th of June I showed you a picture of the peaceful park in the middle of the University's George Square? Well for the month of August it has been transformed into the fabulous Spiegel Garden and looks like the above! Spiegel means Mirror in Dutch, and refers to the Spiegel Tent; a beautiful, wooden, moveable, art deco-style venue that is decorated with mirrors, period lights and coloured glass panels. If I get a chance before the end of the weekend I may pop along and take a photo of the actual venue- which is what I had planned to do last time, before my camera batteries gave up...

Martha and Gilbert

Well, that's it - the Fringe is over. The shows are finished, the street performers gone and the yearly awards handed out. Other festivals, including the Tattoo, the Book Festival and Festival of Politics, have also ended, although some venues, such as the Spiegel Garden, remain open until this weekend. The Edinburgh International Festival also has another week to run. The reason why this blog has focused on the Fringe rather than the EIF is that the latter is played out almost entirely indoors, with opera, theatre, ballet and musical performances taking place in some of the biggest and most prestigeous venues of the city.

This picture then, shows an advert for the EIF on the glass front of the Omni Centre on Leith Street. The giraffes, made out of recycled car and motorbike parts by artist Helen Dennerly, are a permanent fixture. Their official title is 'Dreaming Spires' but they have - apparently! - been nicknamed Martha and Gilbert.

Guitar man

This picture is for my sister, whose birthday it is tomorrow. Guitar man on the Royal Mile, with a background of typical Edinburgh sandstone.

Hamlet Episode 2

Part two of the Hamlet Episode preview performance (see yesterday's post). There was something almost otherworldly beautiful about the girls dancing in these wonderful dresses, which fell down sleekly when still but spinned gorgeously when moving...

Hamlet Episode 1

The first of two posts on a Korean group called the Daegu City Modern Dance Company. They were promoting their show, Hamlet Episode, on the Royal Mile. Described as a 'non-stop visual splendour', their performance contained elements of acrobatics, modern dance and ballet. Come back tomorrow for the second part of this post.

More Royal Mile mania

Lo and behold, a couple of hours sunshine late yesterday afternoon made for some frantic running around with my camera on the Royal Mile! Too much to choose from today, but I've gone for this guy because of the sheer weirdness as well as the look of utter concentration on his face. I also like the fact that he's in the light whereas his spectators are lurking in the shadow of St Giles Cathedral.