Edinburgh Festival Fringe ....... Drama all the way

Diverse, vibrant and imaginative, tinged with a touch of eccentricity and peppered with an element of the bizarre - these are the Virgin Money Fringe Street Events. It's all here, all taking place on the streets of Edinburgh, packing every inch of pavement, reclaiming the roads from the city's cars and buses. World-class street performers, buskers, a plethera of Fringe show previews, arts and crafts markets rule the roost for August accompanied by a ticker-tape parade of flyers and posters in every conceivable size and colour. Transformed into vast outdoor performance areas, the High Street and the Mound Precinct are now the centre of the Fringe, the core from which all else radiates. Sixteen stages of one kind or another are spread across these areas, welcoming thousands of artists who bring over 250 shows a day to the city. Everyone has the opportunity to showcase their talents. None of the acts are selected by the street events organisers, there are no auditions to pass, no-one tells you that you are not good enough to get out there and do your own thing. This is a real chance for seasoned professionals to
work side by side with complete beginners. And every talent known to mankind is out there entertaining the festival crowds.
I love the High Street, the crowds, the noise, the chaos that seems to eminate from every corner of the Royal Mile. Surrounded on all sides by the history of this beautiful city with its stunning architecture and cobbled streets, a cavalcade of colour and costume fills the senses with dramatic anticipation. So many shows, so much to see, it reminds one of a tasting menu in one of the city's exclusive restaurants. Try before you buy your tickets, test the water before popping into one of the many free performances ....... surprise yourselves. Look, listen, enjoy, use your imagination, try something new.
Drama plays a huge role in the Fringe, drama of every kind, bringing the world to Edinburgh. Shakespeare is much in evidence - Shakespeare as we know it, Shakespeare as we have never seen it before, Shakespeare almost beyond recognition. Many of the classics are given the Fringe treatment - Alice in Wonderland, The Canterbury Tales, Northanger Abbey, The Secret Garden to name but a few. Quirky, eccentric, almost unrecognisable in places, but they are there, touched up, tipped upside down, re-invented, totally original at times, but all an integral part of the festival. All ages, all abilities are on the streets, enticing you, winding you in, posing for countless photos in the hope you will include their show in your hectic itinerary. Oh to be able to see every show, reward all the hard work, the unwavering belief that their show is the best, is worth a few moments of your time. Some are undoubtedly talented - some are not, and they don't care. This is their chance to put themselves out there, to draw attention to all they have to offer.
Weird without doubt plays more than a little part in Fringe drama. I love it all - fact, fiction, fantasy, the crazy, the absurd, the senseless and the insane. Potty names for potty shows with equally potty characters. Fleabag, Faileontology, Squidboy, The Vacuum Cleaner, the list is endless. And of course there is serious drama, poignant, thought-provoking, hard-hitting at times, factual, plays based on current issues, plays centred on history, performances designed to make us sit up and take note. Individual performances, theatrical groups, students, young and old, amateur and professional, they are on stage giving their all, making the stage their own, sharing with you the highs and lows of thespian life. This is what the Fringe is all about, offering everyone a chance to shine before life returns to normal. I am savouring my time amidst this roller coaster of incentive, innovation and intensity. I am grasping every second I can, walking, talking, soaking up the atmosphere. The Fringe has made the High Street theirs for the month. Make sure you are a part of it as well. And there is more to follow very soon ........