Festival Fringe Reviews - 2002
Overture
The advance publicity for the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2002 predicted that there would be over 16,000 performances, 1,350 shows in nearly 200 venues making it what is claimed to be the largest arts festival on the planet. It features a diverse range of comedy, theatre, dance, music, musicals, talks, visual arts and children's shows.
If you didn't manage to see them all (!) or even if you didn't see any, you can always read what other people had to say about them (after all, many will go on to perform their shows in other venues, after the Edinburgh shindig is over). Here are some reviews of a number of Fringe shows (plus a couple from the "main" Edinburgh International Festival) by Edinburgh-based Vivien Devlin who is the author of "Kings, Queens and People's Palaces - a history of Scottish Variety Theatre, 1920-1970" (published by Polygon 1991).
• Variety - from the Gridiron Theatre Company.
• 100 - from the Imaginary Body Company at the Smirnoff Underbelly.
• Otway's Next Hit! - anarchic humour and an exhilarating musical performance.
• Head Games - more gratuitous nudity than is decent!
• Ordinary Miracles - first Turkish production at the Fringe.
• Scars of War - what life was like for Italian immigrants Edinburgh.
• Johnny Beattie - From Broadway to Cowdenbeath.
• Sophie - a touching and poetic piece.
• Doug Stanhope - Velvet Laughter - an acclaimed American comedian.
• Piano & Forte - Olli Hauernstein - a hilarious, versatile, original and brilliant clown.
• The Marx Brothers - Animal Crackers - a recreation of the original 1930s stage show.
Where else would you like to go in Scotland?
