Marathon man
Most comics struggle to get an hour together. Mark Fisher hooks up with Mark Watson, a man with three shows on the go at once.
he clue ix in Mark \Vatxoh'x lingerhailx.
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poxxihle to go. .\ x)mptom. surel}. ol‘ the nerxoux energ} that dri\ex this l’errier Best New comer nominee. How else can _\ou e\plaih hix prodigious output'.’ lla\ing a ill‘\l l'rom ('amhridge. a puhlixhed ho\ el l/{u/lt'l l’oinlxl and a ringing endorsement l‘rom Stephen H} all hel’ore the age oi 3-1 ix a phenomenon _\ou might put down to )outhl‘ul enthusiasm. But now he's a married man iii 30 and still he shows no sign ol- slowing down.
'I don‘t relish doing a show then doing nothing lor the rest ol' the day‘ he \tt}s. it I'm tra\cllihg to a gig and not writing something. I l‘eel it‘s time wasted.‘ Hitting a le\e| ol~ liestival
‘THE EDINBURGH AUDIENCE'S BODY CLOCK IS SKEWED'
h_\peracti\it_\ l'l\';liicti ohl} h_\ l’hil Nichol and .lanc_\ (iodle). Watson is starring in no l'ewer than three show x. That would he pressure enough. hut there‘s more: as well as his stand- up act ll’leasance (‘ourt_\ard. 550 655”. (1-28 :\ug inot l5 & lh). 0.45pm. £9.50 £ll).5(l (£8 Uh. l’re\ie\\x until 5 .-\ug. £5). he's doing one show that will last Rh hours and another that requires him to complete a noxel h_\' the cm] Hi. th‘ l'l‘lllgc.
.lltir/t llizlmn's .S't't'mi/ig/i‘ lnzpmsi/i/t' 30-Hour ('i/t'iiil (l/illlt' lim-It/ ll’leasahce Dome. 550 (650. I4 .~\ug. noon. [4) is his third and longest marathon perl‘ormance and. going on past e\perience. will take on a lite ol its own. ‘()nce the show ’x got into a rh_\thm alter the first couple ol‘ hours. people get into a different mindxet. lt‘x
OFF MESSAGE
Whether you believe they are ruining or fulfilling our lives, mobile phones are going nowhere
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so interactiVe and audience-led that I lind it a much more coml'oitahle experience than doing a stand-up show. There are times in the middle oi the night when it’s sagging and e\er_\'one'x sleep}; but not as much as )titi‘d e\pect hecauxe the lidinhurgh audience's hod} cloclx' ix xo skewed.‘ Perhaps in the quieter moments he‘ll take the chance to hash otit a few paragraphs of the hook he‘x writing in three weeks. Borne out ol
Mark Watson is attempting another Fringe record breaker with his seemineg impossible 36-hour show
lrtistration at waiting lor hix second no\el to he published. the xhow ll’lcaxahcc ('oiii'hard. 550 (650. (i— ll). H. 17.30 3-1. 27 .-\ug. 7.30pm. L'Zi ghex each audience the L'ililllL'L‘ [U determine the pinl Hl it chapter. He'll go oil and w rite it. then post it online. ‘I hope it‘ll he lunn}. hut i won‘t he starting oll' w ith ten minutex olgags ahout the literar} world.’
fast. Deborah Frances-White talks her way through the messaging minefield.
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24 THE LIST FESTIVAL MAGAZINE _-‘
establish some best praetice.
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