        |
 |
||
1st September News, Reviews and Housekeeping. So we’re woken this morning by two Koreans breaking into our flat armed with mop and bucket and threatening to clean the bathrooms. They complement me on my English (they can’t speak Scot) and chatter noisily while chucking out Tim’s leftover late-night munchies. The boys are upstairs sleeping (Stu got in around the time I woke up) but Mikey pops his confused little head around the banisters to ask what on earth is going on. Ahhh Edinburgh. There’s nothing like it! We’re at the half way point in the festival. The shows whipping up a storm here at George four. Reviews have mostly been excellent (see review page) but even better than that has been the audience feedback, many of whom have come back to see us on several occasions. Given that there are 2200 shows on at the Fringe this year, I consider that a serious compliment. Word of mouth is spreading and keeping our houses good, combined with our excellent PR team, Hayley, and the boys habit of getting noticed wherever we go. We’re now all keeping our fingers crossed for the MTM awards. If the show is to have a life beyond Edinburgh, the awards may be the crucial critical support we need to go with the crowd vote. Other than that, starting to enjoy the rest of the festival and catching a few shows at venues outside of George Square. Looking forward to Rhiannon’s arrival this weekend and taking a trip up Arthur’s Seat. I’ll say one thing though, and this may sound a bit girly, but I never know what to wear! The weather is so interchangeable. Saw a Scouse comic on the Nicholas Parsons show who said “Edinburgh is the only city in the world you can get sun-stroke and pneumonia on the same day”. I can’t help but agree. Dx 13th AugustREVIEWS Click here to read our fantastic reviews 4th August DOUGAL'S BLOG IT’S OPENING NIGHT! Three little words (and an apostrophe) that sends little shivers of excitement right through me, brushing aside my exhaustion. They say adrenaline gives you the urge to fight or flight. Well with Departure Lounge, you get both! Tee hee. The jokes are better in the show. So, we’ve flyered on the mile, we turned up at Edinburgh Airport and rocked the Duty Free. We managed to grab the attention of the media at the official fringe launch yesterday, and today we’ve been on Ed Fest TV and stole the show at the George Square launch. Our yellow t-shirts are everywhere, we have requests from every other production to come see their show just to liven up the audience. Now it’s our turn to deliver the goods. Oh, and we finished our dress run at 1.15am last night. I can’t tell you how proud I am of my team. I’ve come to see them as actual sons (and a hot daughter!). Pip has worked them to the bone but it’s really starting to pay off. We are so ready for an audience. The lads are brimming over with enthusiasm, it really touches me to see them so excited. Everyone has worked far over and above what is required of them, and in that way I think this show really sums up what the Edinburgh Festival is all about. I’m praying like mad that the tech gremlins leave us alone. Let us please have a good first night! In the words of Take That, “we’ve come so far, and we’re still so young, but remember this……we are the Brits on Tour!” Well, I might have paraphrased a little. 29th JulyDOUGAL'S BLOG So, after two manic weeks of rehearsals in a swelteringly hot rehearsal room at my ex-drama school Mountview, I find myself on a train up to Edinburgh to begin the final leg of getting my show, Departure Lounge, on its feet at the 2008 Fringe Festival. Phew that was a long sentence. Take a breath and look around. The train is packed with thesps. I swear there must be more people performing at this years fringe than there are in the whole of Scotland. A student production from Cambridge cause a security alert at Kings Cross when they all wander off, leaving 20 unattended suitcases. A costume designer and lighting technician bitch and moan between London and Peterborough, then crack into champagne at 11am. And why not? A semi-famous comedian buries his head in a book and pretends he’s not working. Forget the quiet coach, there’s a group in there practising harmonies! Bitch bitch moan moan who’s doing what, he never she never! Costumes burst out of overstretched bin bags. Props fly across the carriage. This is madness. This is festival frenzy! I pick up a spare festival brochure listing THOUSANDS of acts.
Plays, musicals, comedies, circus events, dance, interactives,
side-shows. All want your attention. No-one knows anything
yet, but everyone has an opinion. “Ventriloquists just
don’t work”. “That producer went bankrupt
last year.” “I can’t abide children’s
theatre”. “Danni Minogue is starring in a I’ve got a weird feeling in my stomach. I’ve left
my fiancé behind for four weeks. I’m getting paid
one weeks wage for six weeks work. I’m going to get no
sleep (sharing with five hyperactive performers), no rest (promos
everyday) and there are no guarantees that any of this will
work. That the show will be discovered. This is the first thing
I’ve written. It could all end for me here. But my stomach
tells me I’m excited. And I know I’m going to enjoy
every Dx 29th July 16th June 2008 13th June 2008 |
||
Departure Lounge the Musical