An un-August Departure

The end of June means the Summer Solstice. Usually, every year, this would be the time when the Edinburgh Fringe Guide arrives in the post. For those who don’t know, I lead an alter-ego life during August. Edinburgh is home to the largest arts festival in the world – the Edinburgh International Festival and the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. These, combined with Edinburgh Book Festival, mean that my city is overrun by tourists and art-lovers from all over the world.

During this time, I review theatre and events for The Wee Review. I do this all year round, but August takes up a big chunk. I watch stuff in the evenings, stay up late into the light nights writing these up. I use my lunch breaks at work to do some editing and submissions. I have had the fortune of meeting some famous people (Aditi, Vir) though this as well.

So normally, at this time of the year, I pore over the old-fashioned guides. I fill out the forms for the Press and the Journalist passes. I highlight all the programmes I really want to see, and those that I will try and fit into my schedule. I also mark out shows that I do not want to review, but just watch. My friends and I plan the shows we will watch together, and those that I will watch alone. Often, after shows, my friends and I will hang out in the food gardens, and the pop-up bars. We would run from one show to another, along alleyways and up old town slopes. Alongside the day job, I will watch as many as 50 events during 3 weeks in August. On the final evening, S & I have friends round at the flat for drinks and we watch the fireworks from our living room. It is one of the highlights of my year.

This year, of course, all festivals have been cancelled. It isn’t safe. The Book Festival is going online, which is some news I guess. But it won’t be the same of course. So this year, I will just attempt to watch the shows online. Of all the things Covid has destroyed, this has been my biggest personal loss. And I am very sad about this, so I just wanted to share that.

Hanging out with friends, 2019

 

 

 

 

Ticket stubs & notes, 2015

 

 

 

 

 

Aditi & I, 2017

One Day … a review

I read this book over two long haul flights. It was a recommedation from a friend who knows I enjoy books set in Edinburgh. This one starts off in Edinburgh but then is based in some other places, depending on where the characters are.

The year is 1988. Dexter Mayhew and Emma Morley have woken up from having spent the night together in Emma’s flat in Edinburgh. It is the day after their graduation. As the book progresses, the story follows the lives of Em and Dex, on that day, every day, for twenty years. The characters meet, unmeet, and then go their separate ways. Life goes on, as do their individual trajectories.The book weaves in and out of their lives with each other and with other people. Many characters come and go, some stay.

There are a couple of things very good about this book. First of all, it is an unusual way to write a book. It is evident that the narrator is witness to these two peoples’ lives and that in itself is like someone has held a lens to their eyes. The other thing is that the ending is extremely believeable. It is not a rom-com ending, and it is not a typical ending. I will not spoil the ending by saying any more but I very strongly recommend the book, it is like reading the story of you or I. It is one of the very best I have read of modern fiction and I thoroughly enoyed it.

When I was a student

The first time I moved to Edinburgh, more than 3 years ago was when I decided to do a Masters degree at Edinburgh University. While completing that degree is easily the hardest thing I’ve done in my academic life, it was also the most rewarding for having brought me to the burgh. I love this place to bits and I am very lucky to have stayed on for work.

MBA Crystal Ball asked me to do a summary of my overall experience, you should read it! Here.

The #Fringe is done!

And just like that, August has passed us by. This has been the most enjoyable and productive month. I have been reviewing non-stop since the seventh and I am unable to watch something without tearing it apart dialogue-by-dialogue. If anyone asks me to pick up tickets again, I will cry. But honestly, I have no idea what to do with myself or my evenings anymore. I had gotten into a wonderful routine of work, theatre, review, polish up. Rinse and repeat. And I watch the advent of fall with mixed feelings. I have always found autumn the hardest to deal with anyway… So what did I learn?

1. Hindsight is a wonderful gift. A show that you watch today will most likely pale in comparison to the other shows you watch by the end of the month. But there is no knowing how you will feel about a show later on. I suppose it is almost an exercise in self-awareness, this knowing that I might like or dislike something in the absolute and not relative to having watched something else.

2. Fame is a brilliant thing. I have realised that fame is quite important to me. I went to the press office somewhere towards the middle of the Fringe and did *not* have to spell my name. You know when you are an Indian in Edinburgh how often that happens? NEVER. Like, never. And here I was “You should have press comp tickets in my name. It is U-D-I…”

“Yes, Miss Banerjee right? You write for Fringe Guru?”

WIN.

3. Some of my most satisfying moments have been walking into venues and seeing my comments being used for marketing the shows themselves. That is pretty cool. I’ve never reviewed before and so never had the honour of seeing my opinion validated, even celebrated. See?

4. There is nothing worse than coming out of a show and thinking that it is going to be a 2* or a 3*. Everyone is trying so hard and everyone is trying to put on a great show. But sometimes, a show just doesn’t do anything for you and as a reviewer, you have to analyze what your audience might or might not want to see. Still, always hard, no matter how clinical your approach is.

5. Logistics. I really wish they gave you a leaflet with the venue info about the temperature and the food/drink quality. I have been roasting hot to freezing cold. The temperatures in venues have had nothing to do with temps outside. And I have had some terrible overpriced food and some rather love coffee. Have I ever picked a show because I know the coffee at the venue is fab? What do you think?

A special shout out to:

1. All the venues who has water, unlimited water supply with lime in them. And ice!
2. All the venues who had posh hand cream in the ladies ❤
3. The usher at Spotlites who said Uttoradhikar properly

My top three shows are

Cell, The Ascension of Mrs Leech, The Trials of Galileo

All my reviews are all here.

Edinburgh is back to its quiet self again. I can have her back to myself. I am all for tourists and sharing my lovely city with them. But it is nice now that I can stand and stare at things for as long as I want.

Three Cheers! I’ll be watching the fireworks from my living room tonight.

Reviewing at the #EdFringe

I do not know how many of my readers have heard about the Fringe. But those in the arts industry would have. So the Edinburgh Festival Fringe is the largest arts festival in the world and takes place every August for three weeks in Scotland’s capital city. The Fringe is a showcase for the performing arts, with show categories including Cabaret, Children’s shows, Comedy, Dance, Physical Theatre & Circus, Events, Exhibitions, Music, Musicals and Opera, Spoken Word and Theatre.
As you can imagine, various publications, online, in print, and newspapers run reviews of shows to watch (or not to watch) throughout the month. Late last month, I applied for a position as an official reviewer of theatre for an online magazine called Fringe Guru, and got it!
So I’ve been watching a lot of theatre and reviewing it for the general public audience. You can read my reviews here. Or if you follow me on Twitter, @effervescencia, I have gotten more active there as well.
Understandably, my reading has taken a backseat for the month of August, but with this chunk of good work, my writing is flying. Do let me know your thoughts – have you watched any of the shows? Do you enjoy theatre? Did you like any of my reviews?

Letters from Skye … a review

The title of this book contains two favourite words, so even before I began reading it, I knew I would like it. The entire book is written in the form of letters – between a poetess Elspeth from Skye and her pen pal David from America, and parallely Elspeth’s daughter Margaret’s letters to various people. Elspeth and David correspond during World War I and Margaret’s letters are based around the Second World War. It all begins when, upon the publication of a book of poems, Elspeth receives a rather sweet letter from a ‘fan’ in America. The story spans two generations, about two decades, two wars, and two continents – finally reaching culmination at the St Mary’s Episcopal Church in Edinburgh (it’s on Palmerston place on the West end, it’s beautiful).

The book is very well written. There isn’t much surprise in the way of the plot because the letters alternate between the two women’s stories and Margaret’s story fills us in on the gaps left in Elspeth’s. So, no surprises, really, but I enjoyed the concept and the backdrop of the war and of life on Skye. Skye is stunning and the idea of a poetess penning her thoughts as poems and letters and slowly but surely falling in love with a man she’d never met is just my type of thing. Let me warn you, however, it might not be everybody’s cup of tea; which is possibly why this book has got mixed reviews on websites etc

But like I said, I thoroughly enjoyed it. It brought scenes from Skye, Edinburgh, and London quite vividly in my head. The writing is atmospheric and evocative; the emotions expressed are very natural and believable. I’d recommend it.

 

#writing201 #fog #elegy #metaphor

Elegy for Edinburgh

On this night in February,
I watch pinprick starlight
faintly disturb darkness.
The moon, sublime,
not quite round yet,
not quite white, hangs low
and you weave your black magic
over me.
O city of sights
and gothic architecture!
O city of the 56th North!
You fill me with the memories
of days lost and lyrics
lying scattered
on the sidewalk…

When the haar* rolls in
from the Firth
and covers all of your
presence –
the stars, the moon –
all snuffed out candles,
I feel as though
a curtain has been pulled over
the eyes of my mind.
Rest now, good night.

*Scots word referring to a cold sea fog on the east coast of Scotland.

#writing201 #journey #limerick #alliteration

there was a man from Arthur’s seat,
who journeyed warm with a fire of peat.
but one day it rained,
and the peat pot was pained,
so he went to bed without any heat!

#writing201 #water #haiku #simile

a dreich day of

mist, like last night’s kiss, Edinburgh’s

February song

Thanks for the views, yous!