Dublin Fringe Festival

lukegriffen

Thought I'd kick off a conversation on this.. hopefully people can stick up recommendations as the festival progresses.

What I'm not going to see
* comedy & music (can see most of the acts at other times of the year)

What I'm not going to buy in advance (will wait for reviews)
* 1 person acts (excluding the Show in a Bag plays), especially auto-biographical - I've seen too many of these over the last few years

What I'm going to buy in advance of reviews
* Pilgrim - The Gonzo Company : they've done some v.good stuff in the past
* Bernarda's House - Dowager : the photo would put me off, but there's good people involved
* Starman - Tumble Circus : saw these 2 years ago and they were great, v.funny circus act
* The Rest is Action - The Company : they've done some good stuff in the past
* a few of the Show in a Bag plays : there were 2 or 3 v.good plays last year

How to Disappear Completely is worth a look, I saw it Edinburgh, a poignant show about the actor's mother dying of cancer, but it's not depressing)
And The Lords of Strut are great fun.

I'd love if the Fringe would introduce bundles or last-minute offers, eg. buy 3 or 4 shows for €x, or a double bill on one night for €x
Last year I went to fewer shows than previous years because of the expense, as I waited for reviews to come out before deciding whether to go see a show (& a lot of the time the reviews were just average)

Anyone any other recommendations, or stuff they're looking forward to see?

miamee

Great idea for a thread. I have seen far less than I normally would have by now - only 3 shows! You are right about the expense, tickets seem to average around €12- €16 each whereas a few years ago the top price was around €10 if I remember correctly. It stops me going to as many shows as I'd like to.

I've seen the following:

Some Flood
I had already seen this before when it was in Smock Alley a few months back as a work in progress type of thing and it is much improved since then. Two lads find themselves (separately) as the only people left when a sudden and ferocious flood covers the area they live in and they are stranded on a roof, wondering is this the end of the world? Am I the only one left? How will I survive?
Some funny moments, great presence on the stage. It was a bit confusing to know exactly what was happening, as in were they both real, was it two parts of one person's imagination - on the second viewing I had more of an idea what was happening and in some ways it reminded me of Waiting for Godot. It's over now I think but worth seeing if it is showing again, Devious Theatre are always ones to watch.

PILGRIM
This was very interesting, entertaining, intense in parts and very well acted by Rex Ryan. A one man show about a young man off living the life of Reilly in LA while his friend pregnant with his baby is at home in Ireland trying to get her head around the situation. He decides to go home to her and is sidetracked on the way by 9/11 - his place is grounded for several days in Newfoundland and the play is set in these life changing days when he becomes reacquainted with life and what it is all about essentially. I'd recommend this one, the best of the three that I have seen.

Advocacy
This one promised a bit more than it delivered I'm afraid. Trying to advocate for the rights of the intellectually disabled (I'm not sure if that is the correct term), it is set in a home/community where the people housed there are in classes for things such as assertiveness, relationship advice, etc. to help them get along on The Community, i.e. in the outside world. It was interesting but a bit too long and repetitive, not my cup of tea and I don;t feel that it opened my eyes in any new way to the rights or lack of rights of the intellectually disabled.

miamee

So, I went to see The Belle Bottoms preview last night. I knew it was going to be a fun one and I was right! Lots of sparkle, giggles, two great singers and a light-hearted show with original songs about things like "Ugly Sex" and "Danger Balls". Oh and everyone got a free Curly Wurly on the way in

hughbie

I enjoyed How to Keep an Alien and Charolais (I think it's still on this week)
I didn't really like Pilgrim.

This week I'm waiting for reviews to come out - I know that's a bit sad, but I'd rather spend the money on the main festival starting next week than risk it on a show I'm doubtful about, and which, from the programme blurb, is difficult to figure what it's about.

Did anyone see Streetcar called Desire from London (NTLive) in the cinema last night ? It was really great.