So have said bye bye to Edinburgh and popped over to it's sister city. Which on first glance, isn't as pretty, but am loving the peace and quiet after all the hubbub in Edinburgh. Here til Sunday morning - when I'll head over to Manchester to catch man utd and arsenal in action!
Feeling super nua - staying in uni hostel here and first night's being spent reading and watching tv in the common room, a luxury I forgot I quite enjoy! Also pleasing is the single room, after four weeks of multiple bunk beds and idiots sharing the room, it's horribly nice to throw my stuff around and walk around naked etc. Heh.
Appreciate any recommendations for the city uh, all two of you who've stumbled onto this.
Wednesday 24 August 2011
Tuesday 23 August 2011
Sigh. It's whizzed by, it has...
Ok just a short one. Final tally's 102 shows! Will sit down at later point and rate and ramble a bit about the ones that stood out for the right or wrong reasons. For now gotta clear head and go to Glasgow where I will uh, read and try to head to the highlands and take in a bit of scenery. (nope still no photos!)
Saturday 20 August 2011
right.
and so it's a lazy saturday morning, i leave on wed morning and it's 85 shows in. all kinda flown by, actually. revelation two nights back when i looked at the schedule for friday, and went, 'ah. it's an easy day tomorrow - five shows, but easy locations, and within walking distances of one another' - it'd become a job of sorts! enjoyable (well for the most part, anyway, i've seen some real clunkers). have lost patience with the bad (or what seem like bad ones) so have discarded some i bought two months earlier when i didn't know what the hell was going on, and gone for some that have received more reviews, and which i've got more info on. *Think* final tally will be close to 100 lah. which is kinda how many i thought i'd watch.
one thing that's really got me steaming, has been the reviews, use of stars and quotes from 'stars' and the like. they don't mean anything at all! it can refer to previous work done by the company or performer, can be totally made up, or in more insidious cases, a simple reference to the play/source material itself, which has no bearing on how it's going to be performed/interpreted/etc. such as say, i dunno, publicity materials using lines from reviews praising a particular performance of Hamlet put on on by the RSC, for a particular (and completely different) show put up by the Stage Club.
i know it's done a fair bit, but with thousands of shows available, a man needs more perfect information than that, you know. and i DO have a deeply ingrained sense of fair play - there's so much casual queue hopping here, for example, it drives me mad, but no one seems to make any noise about it, so i figure it's part of the landscape.
out of the 85 i've seen so far, theatre's come out smelling the best. the musicals and improvised comedy tend towards the same old same old - funny enough, and smart enough, but insufficient for a proper meal, really. stand up has been rather disappointing - don't know that many by name, so tended to go for the more famous / established ones, and they've not been very good at all. especially the american ones, who tend to mistake vulgarity and crude toilet jokes as humour.
best stuff i've seen has been animation/puppetry stuff, some of which reduced me to tears (the good kind). adventures of alvin sputnik, and swamp juice, in particular, were bloody fucking good. don't know if there're clips floating around, but go see them if they're on at a theatre near you. saw a super sexed up version of a clockwork orange last night as well, which was uneven but quite brilliant at parts. and i think that's been the main problem for me, for the fringe - going by the title of the festival, you'd expect more... different stuff that take risks, but there isn't really, just lots of comedy and 'easy' stuff, which has its place in the scheme of things, but doesn't really do justice to the idea of a fringe festival. read an article which quite astutely pointed out that the fringe isn't so much as festival, as it is an audition for 'greater' things/gigs. which makes sense to me, now two weeks into the festival. would definitely love to come back again, now that i've kinda gotten how the thing works, and would be happy to see the crap if it also means catching some awesome stuff, but i'd prob do fewer musicals/improvised comedy (unfortunately for me, the fringe booklet was arranged by genre, alphabetically, so by the time i arrived at 'theatre'...)
food situation's a little silly, been eating at this one palce, piemaker, on south bridge. excellent pies which i've been guzzling everyday, and i'm trying to keep healthy via an apple a day and fruit juices, but i can't understand how people here don't drop earlier from the complete lack of balance in their diets, especially if one's eating out most of the time, as i am. have a super craving for chinese food at the moment, in particular rice, so will prob pop into any old chinesey looking place soon, man needs his carbo delivered to him in grain form!
haven't seen the bloody castle yet, and at this point in time, little inclination to. guess i can always leave it for a subsequent visit, eh. heading off to glasgow after this, just to take a break for a couple of days, and chill out with a book or two. maybe hit the highlands? if anyone's got any recommendations...
one thing that's really got me steaming, has been the reviews, use of stars and quotes from 'stars' and the like. they don't mean anything at all! it can refer to previous work done by the company or performer, can be totally made up, or in more insidious cases, a simple reference to the play/source material itself, which has no bearing on how it's going to be performed/interpreted/etc. such as say, i dunno, publicity materials using lines from reviews praising a particular performance of Hamlet put on on by the RSC, for a particular (and completely different) show put up by the Stage Club.
i know it's done a fair bit, but with thousands of shows available, a man needs more perfect information than that, you know. and i DO have a deeply ingrained sense of fair play - there's so much casual queue hopping here, for example, it drives me mad, but no one seems to make any noise about it, so i figure it's part of the landscape.
out of the 85 i've seen so far, theatre's come out smelling the best. the musicals and improvised comedy tend towards the same old same old - funny enough, and smart enough, but insufficient for a proper meal, really. stand up has been rather disappointing - don't know that many by name, so tended to go for the more famous / established ones, and they've not been very good at all. especially the american ones, who tend to mistake vulgarity and crude toilet jokes as humour.
best stuff i've seen has been animation/puppetry stuff, some of which reduced me to tears (the good kind). adventures of alvin sputnik, and swamp juice, in particular, were bloody fucking good. don't know if there're clips floating around, but go see them if they're on at a theatre near you. saw a super sexed up version of a clockwork orange last night as well, which was uneven but quite brilliant at parts. and i think that's been the main problem for me, for the fringe - going by the title of the festival, you'd expect more... different stuff that take risks, but there isn't really, just lots of comedy and 'easy' stuff, which has its place in the scheme of things, but doesn't really do justice to the idea of a fringe festival. read an article which quite astutely pointed out that the fringe isn't so much as festival, as it is an audition for 'greater' things/gigs. which makes sense to me, now two weeks into the festival. would definitely love to come back again, now that i've kinda gotten how the thing works, and would be happy to see the crap if it also means catching some awesome stuff, but i'd prob do fewer musicals/improvised comedy (unfortunately for me, the fringe booklet was arranged by genre, alphabetically, so by the time i arrived at 'theatre'...)
food situation's a little silly, been eating at this one palce, piemaker, on south bridge. excellent pies which i've been guzzling everyday, and i'm trying to keep healthy via an apple a day and fruit juices, but i can't understand how people here don't drop earlier from the complete lack of balance in their diets, especially if one's eating out most of the time, as i am. have a super craving for chinese food at the moment, in particular rice, so will prob pop into any old chinesey looking place soon, man needs his carbo delivered to him in grain form!
haven't seen the bloody castle yet, and at this point in time, little inclination to. guess i can always leave it for a subsequent visit, eh. heading off to glasgow after this, just to take a break for a couple of days, and chill out with a book or two. maybe hit the highlands? if anyone's got any recommendations...
Tuesday 9 August 2011
oh dear. has it been that looong?
SO.
for those of you who actually and still read this...
want to get into edinburgh stuff (there's SO MUCH TO GET INTO!!) but need to relate this anecdote from last day in amsterdam first...
was in laundromat doing well, laundry, then in walks this american couple, with their son, who looks in his early twenties. now it's a self automated place, with signs in english all over the place. the three walk in, and the woman just immediately starts asking in a loud voice, in that loud slow way people have when they're tlaking to people whom they think don't understand their language,' does anyone speak english here?' cos she wanted help with the machines. instructions are in english, did i mention? all over the place. so i seriosuly thought they were illiterate or something, so i helped them, but it was clear they just couldn't be bothered to read and figure things out themselves (it wasn't hard. really. signs are in english). helped them out, but sigh. anyway. just had to share. cos it was just so... incredulous. i mean - the signs were in english.
amsterdam, nice enough, but BLOODY EXPENSIVE. quite happy though to have spent my last three meals there eating at the burger bar, which has some pretty good burgers. i rec the wagyu medium rare. excellent stuff. and uhm, shamefully enough, more than tulips, but tied with anne frank for my lasting impression of the city.
anyway. edinburgh. it's one week in, and i've watched 30 shows so far. a few really good, a few really bad, and as with everything else, most are in the middle. i know it's just gonna snowball (last count, if i catch everything i've bought tickets for, it'll be 93 shows plus some, for my threee weeks here) but i just can't go recount the shows now. what's stood out though are the improvised comedy stuff, which is really quite brilliant. can't see anyone quite doing this back home, but lots of them are actually uni students - so ... it SHOULD be possible, right? audience are mostly up for it, and i've been quite shocked/horrified at how easy it is to get a laugh out of them, and i'm no grinch. (i think)
so, shows later, then.
one week in, and i've erm, not seen any of the sights here at all, am watching 3-5 shows a day, and in between, am cycling from venue to venue, or planning my schedules/cycling routes, and reading the english papers (which, after amsterdam and berlin, are a bloody godsend). city's slightly cheaper than amsterdam on the whole, and i'm staying at a pretty cool hostel. which is super (i mean SUPER) well equipped. it's got laptops for rent, for free, international calls can be made for free, chill out room, bar, free wifi, clean showers and toilets, the whole shebang. so i've decided to stay here the whole three weeks. roommates are bloody messy and filthy, really, but generally friendly enough, though still not sure how lax to be about my personal belongings. i mean, they are, but that's no reason for me to let my guard down, right?
happy national day, btw. ran into some singaporean theatre people yesterday - loretta chen and cynthia macquarrie smth, who are doing a show here for the fringe with some others from canada. seemed the thing to do, so caught the show today. it wasn't very good. sigh. which makes me think, that more practitioners back home should really just raise the cash and come do their stuff here, even schools. get some exposure, audience feedback and just for the damn experience.
ok. hungry. if anyone's got anything to rec by way of scottish cuisine, would appreciate it. am subsisting on pies, fish and chips, shwarmas, and m&s sandwiches, which don't *really* make for satisfying meals, actually. off to eat my steak and ale pie.
feels like i'm missing out sharing lots of other stuff here, but ah well. dinner call.s
for those of you who actually and still read this...
want to get into edinburgh stuff (there's SO MUCH TO GET INTO!!) but need to relate this anecdote from last day in amsterdam first...
was in laundromat doing well, laundry, then in walks this american couple, with their son, who looks in his early twenties. now it's a self automated place, with signs in english all over the place. the three walk in, and the woman just immediately starts asking in a loud voice, in that loud slow way people have when they're tlaking to people whom they think don't understand their language,' does anyone speak english here?' cos she wanted help with the machines. instructions are in english, did i mention? all over the place. so i seriosuly thought they were illiterate or something, so i helped them, but it was clear they just couldn't be bothered to read and figure things out themselves (it wasn't hard. really. signs are in english). helped them out, but sigh. anyway. just had to share. cos it was just so... incredulous. i mean - the signs were in english.
amsterdam, nice enough, but BLOODY EXPENSIVE. quite happy though to have spent my last three meals there eating at the burger bar, which has some pretty good burgers. i rec the wagyu medium rare. excellent stuff. and uhm, shamefully enough, more than tulips, but tied with anne frank for my lasting impression of the city.
anyway. edinburgh. it's one week in, and i've watched 30 shows so far. a few really good, a few really bad, and as with everything else, most are in the middle. i know it's just gonna snowball (last count, if i catch everything i've bought tickets for, it'll be 93 shows plus some, for my threee weeks here) but i just can't go recount the shows now. what's stood out though are the improvised comedy stuff, which is really quite brilliant. can't see anyone quite doing this back home, but lots of them are actually uni students - so ... it SHOULD be possible, right? audience are mostly up for it, and i've been quite shocked/horrified at how easy it is to get a laugh out of them, and i'm no grinch. (i think)
so, shows later, then.
one week in, and i've erm, not seen any of the sights here at all, am watching 3-5 shows a day, and in between, am cycling from venue to venue, or planning my schedules/cycling routes, and reading the english papers (which, after amsterdam and berlin, are a bloody godsend). city's slightly cheaper than amsterdam on the whole, and i'm staying at a pretty cool hostel. which is super (i mean SUPER) well equipped. it's got laptops for rent, for free, international calls can be made for free, chill out room, bar, free wifi, clean showers and toilets, the whole shebang. so i've decided to stay here the whole three weeks. roommates are bloody messy and filthy, really, but generally friendly enough, though still not sure how lax to be about my personal belongings. i mean, they are, but that's no reason for me to let my guard down, right?
happy national day, btw. ran into some singaporean theatre people yesterday - loretta chen and cynthia macquarrie smth, who are doing a show here for the fringe with some others from canada. seemed the thing to do, so caught the show today. it wasn't very good. sigh. which makes me think, that more practitioners back home should really just raise the cash and come do their stuff here, even schools. get some exposure, audience feedback and just for the damn experience.
ok. hungry. if anyone's got anything to rec by way of scottish cuisine, would appreciate it. am subsisting on pies, fish and chips, shwarmas, and m&s sandwiches, which don't *really* make for satisfying meals, actually. off to eat my steak and ale pie.
feels like i'm missing out sharing lots of other stuff here, but ah well. dinner call.s
Monday 1 August 2011
Hmmm
Just met two super friendly roommates from Scotland. Dude's from Glasgow and when he heard I was heading there, couldn't help gushing about the city and its various attractions. Something us singaporeans can learn from, methinks.
Oh and Amsterdam red light district was suitably depressing.
Oh and Amsterdam red light district was suitably depressing.
Ahaha
Incredibly, i've only just figured out how to make new posts on this damn thing from a device other than my itouch...
SO. last night in Amsterdam, thought i'd use the time to catch up on some of my berlin stuff, what i remember anyway...
think am looking forward to doing berlin again at some point (i will of course, since i'm flying back to singapore eventually, from there, but suspect by then will just be itching to get home...). it's got.. class. and tonnes of history, obviously, and there isn't this ... frenzy (ok not quite but i'll get to that later), that you find in amsterdam. it just feels like there's so much to discover, and i guess beneath the museums etc, there're all these amazing design spaces, and it's all side by side. the mix is maybe a little like tokyo, but... grittier?
last day, i went to the jewish museum, which was interesting in bits. realised my experience with jews, and the jewish experience as such, has been limited to what i know about the war, obviously, curb your enthusiasm (was watching six seasons jsut prior to the trip), and what i've gotten from hollywood. so while the history of jews was kinda educational, i think the bits that just got to me were the various site specific parts of the museum. esp the holocaust tower, which was just sobering.
so re the previous entry, the history as such doesn't move me - the artefacts, documents etc, while intriguing enough kinda (whisper it) bore me. somewhat similarly, the anne frank house in amsterdam, which i visited today (PLEASE get your tickets in advance) - anne frank's words, more than the space itself, moved me immensely. must've read the diary before, but am determined to read it again, once i'm done with present book (bill bryson's latest, on home, which is darn fascinating stuff and great for travels).
which, clumsily, leads us to amsterdam. which is one heckuva freaking expensive city. chinese/thai food costs like fifteen euros! so i've been living off sandwiches and some street food. more food options here than in berlin i feel, but it's also more expensive. had my first chinese takeout yesterday, the 'poor' man's option of sweet sour chicken with rice at 7 euros. but it was damn good eating rice again lah. there's really only so much western food one can take.
it's a lovely city - it's like, what, a world heritage site, right, the entire city? - and easy to navigate. the canals are nice, and nobody bothers you, apart from the odd dude looking for spare change. which is great. despite the buzzier feeling, compared to berlin, it all jsut seems more touristy, somehow, like the... less sophisticated sister of berlin. equally beautiful though, but more crass?
favourite bit so far? hehe. i've been spending the past two evenings at one of the squares watching people play chess. i know right. but it's just really relaxing - ok, actually no, cos i keep getting frustrated at the play going on there (yeah, a *bit* arrogant, i know). otherwise it's just been tonnes of walking around aimlessly. would like to think i'm uh keeping my strength for edinburgh, heh. kinda daunted a little now, by the schedule i've set out for myself. need to familiarise myself reaaal soon there, so can get that bicycle and head out. OR just run around. no chance to get any exercise so far, apart from walking, and the indiscriminate eating is playing havoc wiith my energy levels and gut. i leave for edinburgh in 24 hours!
SO. last night in Amsterdam, thought i'd use the time to catch up on some of my berlin stuff, what i remember anyway...
think am looking forward to doing berlin again at some point (i will of course, since i'm flying back to singapore eventually, from there, but suspect by then will just be itching to get home...). it's got.. class. and tonnes of history, obviously, and there isn't this ... frenzy (ok not quite but i'll get to that later), that you find in amsterdam. it just feels like there's so much to discover, and i guess beneath the museums etc, there're all these amazing design spaces, and it's all side by side. the mix is maybe a little like tokyo, but... grittier?
last day, i went to the jewish museum, which was interesting in bits. realised my experience with jews, and the jewish experience as such, has been limited to what i know about the war, obviously, curb your enthusiasm (was watching six seasons jsut prior to the trip), and what i've gotten from hollywood. so while the history of jews was kinda educational, i think the bits that just got to me were the various site specific parts of the museum. esp the holocaust tower, which was just sobering.
so re the previous entry, the history as such doesn't move me - the artefacts, documents etc, while intriguing enough kinda (whisper it) bore me. somewhat similarly, the anne frank house in amsterdam, which i visited today (PLEASE get your tickets in advance) - anne frank's words, more than the space itself, moved me immensely. must've read the diary before, but am determined to read it again, once i'm done with present book (bill bryson's latest, on home, which is darn fascinating stuff and great for travels).
which, clumsily, leads us to amsterdam. which is one heckuva freaking expensive city. chinese/thai food costs like fifteen euros! so i've been living off sandwiches and some street food. more food options here than in berlin i feel, but it's also more expensive. had my first chinese takeout yesterday, the 'poor' man's option of sweet sour chicken with rice at 7 euros. but it was damn good eating rice again lah. there's really only so much western food one can take.
it's a lovely city - it's like, what, a world heritage site, right, the entire city? - and easy to navigate. the canals are nice, and nobody bothers you, apart from the odd dude looking for spare change. which is great. despite the buzzier feeling, compared to berlin, it all jsut seems more touristy, somehow, like the... less sophisticated sister of berlin. equally beautiful though, but more crass?
favourite bit so far? hehe. i've been spending the past two evenings at one of the squares watching people play chess. i know right. but it's just really relaxing - ok, actually no, cos i keep getting frustrated at the play going on there (yeah, a *bit* arrogant, i know). otherwise it's just been tonnes of walking around aimlessly. would like to think i'm uh keeping my strength for edinburgh, heh. kinda daunted a little now, by the schedule i've set out for myself. need to familiarise myself reaaal soon there, so can get that bicycle and head out. OR just run around. no chance to get any exercise so far, apart from walking, and the indiscriminate eating is playing havoc wiith my energy levels and gut. i leave for edinburgh in 24 hours!
Sunday 31 July 2011
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