THE SOLO ADVENTURE!
- I arrived in Brighton on a Sunday, and was immediately whisked by dear friends through Brighton Pride and walked through the Lanes, along the beach, and then fed blackberries and stuffed peppers for dinner. Already, I am in love.
- EDINBURGH. Charity shops and gyoza, beautiful vintage and following crowds around theater spots. AMAZING. They stick performance everywhere! In shipping containers and under bridges, stuffed into every castle-like building one could find. (Except for the actual castle) If you have a Pimm's cup in the afternoon, you'll miss literally two shows.
- Chris Gethard's beautiful new solo show, front row, close enough to give me COVID.
- Baby Wants Candy was a goddamn dream.
- Good Grief... a weirdly linear exploration of death and grief, as told by a bunch of hyper talented Xennial clowns. Lovely! Fine! and I really don't like Cowgate, for whatever reason.
- Unfortunate... the musical origin story of Ursula the sea witch. It was hilarious, hilariously done, and unexpectedly filthy! Dicks! (The pre-show music was WAP.)
- BriTANik is not British. They are American, and I love them. Fervently. So. Goddamn. Funny.
- The Tiger Lillies. I went, because if you have a chance to see them, you should. AND, the content (duh, Jen) was not for me. All expertly executed, perfectly on brand, possibly an approach I could try and emulate... Just needed a story with less rape and murder.
- Atsuko Okatsuka! So funny. Also, got to hang out with her and her husband Ryan for a bit, and that was so very nice.
- Show Stoppers! Improvised musical theater done in the style of three musicals. THERE WERE A BILLION PEOPLE AT THIS SHOW. It's a very very clever format, almost short-form-y (there's a 'director' to make sure everything moves along)... And funny. AND, oh man, do I prefer the manic freefall of Baby Wants Candy? I THINK I MIGHT.
That was a lot of shows for less than three days. Lucky.
I also walked up to Arthur's Seat, walked through the Old Town, cried over street musicians, adored my hotel room, stood amazed at the vintage offerings, and ate buttered chicken.
Would I go back to either Brighton or Edinburgh in a heartbeat? Immediately and absolutely.
London, I would go to give my laundry to the nice man and King's Laundrette and eat vegan Indian for 7 pounds around the corner from there. I would visit the British Museum again, and stay away from the center city. I would hop on the tube, and not worry about wherever I end up. Next time.
So incredibly grateful for the opportunity. Certainly more to say later. We head back to Minneapolis on Thursday. WHAT ADVENTURE THEN???