During this years Edinburgh Fringe I was lucky enough to be present at the Live at the Gilded Balloon podcast recordings almost every day.  The Podcasts featured a range of Hollywood A Listers and Fringe newcomers and were hosted by Edinburgh’s own, Richard Melvin. The show took 45 minutes to record and featured segments of acts from the fringe, varying from Comedy skits, stand up routines, songs, rhymes and interviews. Richard Melvin is responsible for producing a variety of radio shows for the BBC over the years including The Fred MacAulay show and has recently delved into stand up comedy (For the record he is very funny!)  I have met Richard on several previous occasions and had always thought he was English but he explains differently  ”No, I was born in Edinburgh but educated in England at high school level, the result is, I think like a Scot but sound like a bit of a twat’. Laughing nervously, (me, not him) we grab a seat to discuss the Live at The Gilded Balloon podcast.

So Richard, it must have been crazy putting on a show every day, how did you manage it?

“Well Dabster Productions ran 4 shows this year, as well as The Live at The Gilded Balloon podcast, we also recorded The Official Pleasance Podcast. Then running alongside those we were working on Hardeep Singh Kohli at The Stand and a documentary about New Yorker Lach, the brains behind the Antihoot, the longest running open stage night in NYC moving to Morningside from Manhattan. Busy! But as much as I would like to claim the credit, it’s not just me, I had a brilliant team around me and without those guys we wouldn’t be able to function properly. I loved every moment of working with them, I felt really lucky to have Sean Kerwin, Gordon Rennie, Alan Lorraine, Michelle Hunter as well as two interns from the Highlands, Freyja Harris and Roddy Cairns.

That’s a lot of work! How do you go about putting together a show such as The Live at The Gilded Balloon podcast?

“ We research the acts thoroughly pre festival and the whole team gets involved in going out and seeing as many shows as possible, reporting back on who made us laugh, inspired us or had that something extra. We like to have a variety of people involved in the podcast, our previous podcasts have had over a million downloads on iTunes and I think the variety of acts is the secret behind it, as well as famous names we like to mix in newcomers, it’s what the fringe is about after all. We’ve been doing the LATGB show for 4 years now and have a system in place though each year it’s been done differently, this year was no exception. In previously years we ran it for Amnesty international and The Guardian, this year we decided to run it on our own with me presenting. This was a gamble as I’m not a well known name and it was a move in a new direction for Dabster Productions. While we know the success of the podcast from the previous downloads we have achieved, we didn’t know if it would work as well without that endorsement behind it. It made this year exciting and it felt like the first time of doing it again, we were all really fired up and I can’t stress the teamwork factor enough for its success. We almost achieved the same amount of downloads so far so it’s been a brilliant success!’

That is amazing well done! Can you tell us who your favourite act of the series was?

“We had some famous names in including Tom Greene, Michael Winslow from Police Academy, Margret Cho as well as some great newcomers Diane Spencer and Benny Boots, all really funny and brilliant but my favourite guest of them all had to be Ruby Wax. She had such an amazing presence, true star quality. It was like there was a flurry of activity going on around her and she was just there, in the middle of it all, cool, calm and a solid professional”

“There were so many, it’s hard to pinpoint one. For me, the festival just gets better and better, we’re an Edinburgh based company and employed local people for an International Arts Festival. So I will say that, it is a pnemonemnal thing to be in a position to do”

“No, definetly not, these guys are doing an amazing job and shouldn’t be ignored. It does become a bit of a joke to many, but people come to our city for 3 weeks a year and we should welcome them with open arms. It is them who make this the biggest Arts festival in the UK. We should be extending our kindness to them and everyone in the weeks of the festival, we’re gifted with this wonderful thing, we should be so grateful to these guys. Open our hearts, arms and minds!”

“There are three main things you have to do,  1) Go and see as many different shows as you can and be inspired, some great acts come here to the Edinburgh fringe, it’s impossible not to be spurred on by their genius, 2) Eat Healthy, it’s a must to keep on top of things. Though I will admit that I am a real fan of the chicken wraps at the Palmyra, they are magic. The guy who makes them is a chilli sorcerer! 3) Stay sober, You need your wits about you. I managed  a brilliant 90% of everyday! But without a doubt the best thing you can do is get a good team assembled. I was lucky to have people I have worked with previously, Sean, Gordon, Alan and Michelle , and not forgetting the two great interns Freya and Roddy, we were a solid team.”

Great tips! I’ve seen you in stand up a few times now, you’re very funny! When are you next performing?

I don’t know if I will. A great thing for any comedian to achieve is performing a saturday night at The Stand and I did that! I stood on the stage and after i’d delivered one particular line, everyone was laughing so hard, it was like I had an out of body experience. I could see myself on stage, with this club full of people laughing. It was euphoric. When the routine was over and I was in the dressing room backstage reflecting on it it occurred to me I’ll probably spend the rest of my life trying to replicate that feeling. I Imagine that could be a pretty angst ridden journey and that’s not what I am looking for. So instead, I thought,  what’s next? I don’t know the answer to that yet though!

What is next for yourself and Dabster productions?

“We have to finish the Hardeep Singh Kohli and Lach shows for the BBC, continuing to make radio programmes and podcasts. We’re involved in a very new and exciting ‘top secret’ comedy festival in Inverness with Amanda Millen of Screen-Hi and Karen Koren from the GIlded Balloon. We run media training workshops over the UK, and are starting to plan next years festival,  there’s never a quiet moment and I love it!”

For Edinburgh residents the month of August conjures up a conflict of opinions; there are those who deplore the ‘taking over of the city by tourists’, those who appreciate the revenue brought in by the thousands of visitors to our city and then there are those who embrace the madness of the festival and make the most of the craziness, extended opening hours and opportunities to drink outside.

The latter is me.  I can’t say I am entirely happy that, for the month of August, it takes an extra half hour to get anywhere by bus, or that my favourite hang-outs have suddenly being taken over by thespians recreating the works of the great playwrights.  I do, however, absolutely love the buzz and enthusiasm of the people enjoying themselves and making the most of what’s on offer in the great city that is my home.

Without a doubt my favourite part of the festival is the Spiegel Garden; favourite haunt of pretty much everyone I know who lives and works in Edinburgh.  Yes, it always rains and yes, it’s necessary to wear a coat in August to enjoy it - but where else can you go to one spot and meet everyone you know from every walk of life.  We all huddle under the gas heaters, sipping pints of cider from plastic cups and looking around to people-watch and spot anyone we know in the proximity.  It has the atmosphere of a music festival – friendly, colourful, noisy and ever so slightly tipsy.   Each year we wait eagerly as the garden is constructed to see what’s on store for us during the evenings of August. Will the Spiegeltent make a return?  Will Madam Hanky be wowing the audiences with her elusive tissues?

But now it’s all over for another year.  There’s an air of emptiness about the streets of Edinburgh this week, much like the gap that’s left when the Christmas decorations are taken down.

So while we nurse our month-long hangovers, tackle the mountains of cast-aside washing and await pay day with the eagerness of those who spent far too much on cabaret shows, I’d like to extend a big thank you to all the tourists, actors, singers, comedians, clowns, dancers, promoters, Fringe staff, bartenders and everyone else who makes the festival what it is.

Roll on next year!

John Cleese is just one of the comedy giants discovered at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe

[Image credit: Lord Biro]

Graham Chapman & John Cleese

Graham Chapman & John Cleese later went on to become founding members of Monty Python. They first performed in Edinburgh in the early 1960s with a revue by the name of A Clump of Plinths. Chapman died in 1989 aged just 48 and fittingly it was John Cleese who read his hilarious eulogy. Here we have a clip from Monty Python’s Flying Circus to commemorate these two great comedy legends who gained initial notoriety at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

Rowan Atkinson

Rowan Atkinson the lovable rubber faced creator of Mr. Bean, co-creator of (and actor in) Blackadder also got his first critical acclaim at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 1976. Atkinson’s facial expressions are often better at conveying a message than words ever could, his comic timing is impeccable as the following clip shows:

Stephen Fry & Hugh Laurie

Stephen Fry & Hugh Laurie are without doubt two globally loved actors and comedians. Fry & Laurie won the very first Perrier Award at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe of 1981 (as part of Cambridge Footlights along with Tony Slattery, Emma Thompson, Penny Dwyer and Paul Shearer). They have performed together often in such series as The Young Ones, Blackadder, A bit of Fry & Laurie and Jeeves & Wooster.

Hugh Laurie is now best known for his central role in House while Stephen Fry hosts the incredibly successful quiz show QI.

The clip that follows shows their comedic genius in A bit of Fry & Laurie

Steve Coogan

Steve Coogan also won the Perrier Award at Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 1992. In Britain he’s possibly most loved for the characters Paul Calf and Alan Partridge, whilst our American readers are more likely to know him from films such as Night at the Museum or Tropic Thunder. The clip we have selected to share with you is his first TV appearance in the role of student-bashing, heavy-drinking, smoking and swearing super star Paul Calf.

The League Of Gentlemen

The League of Gentlemen started as a stage show in 1994, in 1997 they too won the Perrier Award at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. In the same year their show aired on BBC Radio 4 before getting televised in 1999. The League of Gentlemen is a dark comedy based around the village of Royston Vasey which is home to some very strange characters indeed…

Rory Bremner

Rory Bremner is the only one of our comedy legends to have both been born in Edinburgh and to have made it big at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Best known in the UK for his satirical impressions of politicians and celebrities, Bremner is a master of mimicry. His command of foreign languages may not be so well known though, in this clip he does an impression of George W. Bush in French:

Al Murray

Al Murray is yet another Perrier Award winner in our collection here, though he was short listed in 1996, 1997, 1998 before finally winning the prestigious award in 1999. He is famed for the xenophopic character The Pub Landlord who takes no prisoners in his quest to make certain everyone understands the greatness of Great Britain. In this clip he takes on America…

Rich Hall

Rich Hall is an American comedian who has a great following in the UK, appearing in his own shows as well as numerous panel shows. Hall also won the Perrier Award in 2000 and was short listed in 1996 along with Al Murray. Hall is distinguished as having won the most number of times on Stephen Fry’s quiz show QI. He has spent many years in London and, as he tells in this clip, has met the Queen:

• 31,320 performances
• 2,088 different shows
• 247 venues

If the festival actually ran every day of the month, that would have been 43.5 shows *every* hour of the day, 24 hours a day, for an entire month. Thus it goes without saying that Edinburgh can feel slightly crowded during the festival. Locals have quickly learned that to enjoy it, you must embrace it. So, here are a few tips for diving in and making the most of your Edinburgh Fringe Festival experience.

[Image credit: alui0000]

See a “free” show on the Royal Mile

. All day and nearly all night, the centre of the Royal Mile near the Fringe Box Office you’ll find performers showing off street acts and sometimes you’ll catch snippets of the most popular shows. The is the daytime epicentre of the Fringe scene and so it’s got a fantastic vibe that is a must-see.

Just smile and take one of the flyers. A word of warning in advance: from the time you disembark from the airport bus until you check back in for you flight home, you’ll have a friendly University student stuffing a brochure or postcard in your face for one play or another. It will get annoying after awhile. But smile, and have a look at it – it might just be your favourite show of the festival.

[Image credit: DNQA]

Go Check Out The Talent At The Half Price Tent

This is a classic experience in itself and it’s where you’ll find the skint locals hoping to catch a good show on sale. In the afternoon, the Fringe releases seats for shows that aren’t sold out, and you can pick them up 2-for-1 at the sales tent along Princes Street just above Waverley mall. Don’t forget your Fringe programme – you’ll see plenty of people out front, scouring the titles and hoping to find a diamond in the rough.

Dress in layers. Edinburgh weather is fickle, at best, even in August – which thankfully has some of the best weather of the year. But it can still pour rain and be hot and sunny on the same day, so dress in layers and be prepared for anything. One particularly important point to make is to dress appropriately for your Fringe show; many performances are held in makeshift venues which aren’t designed for a hundred people, loads of light equipment, and all the sound electronic equipment. This usually means you’ll find yourself wilting in an unbearably hot room for an hour’s performance.

Have a pub meal – so you can enjoy a drink while you wait. They say Edinburgh has the most restaurants per capita than any city in the UK, but I’m not sure who counted. Regardless, during the Festival, restaurants bulge with diners and struggle to cope. Venues who take reservations stop taking them during August, so you’ll just have to wait in the queue for a seat. So I guess you go enjoy a pub meal instead, so you can have a drink while you wait (and sometimes these places are slightly less busy than the restaurants, if you go early). Good pubs for food include Bobby’s Bar in the Old Town and the Queens Arms in the New Town. If you go to the trendy neighbourhood of Stockbridge, you’ll find yourself only with locals who know that there are few venues in the area and thus few tourists.

Stay out all night because you can. The Edinburgh licensing laws allows pubs and clubs to say open pretty late – or should we say early – during the festival. This means you can literally party all night long, and so you should, because everyone else will be. A hot spot is the clubs on the Cowgate, which often have performers heading in from the nearby venues. Last year’s top drinking destination was the centre of George Square, but since the Spiegeltent will not be returning this year, it remains to be seen where the revellers will head.

[Image credit: theedinburghblog]