FESTIVAL NOTICEBOARD
F e s t i v a l INSIDER Stand-up Gráinne Maguire goes for gold
‘I adore the Edinburgh Festival. I romanticise it all out of proportion. When I i rst came here seven years ago, to work as a tech at a tiny venue, I was so overwhelmed by how cool and coni dent everyone seemed, I almost turned back home. To me, this was the Big One. From Beyond the Fringe to Footlights, to the halcyon days of late 90s stand-up, to being part of this overwhelming, swaggering, noisy mess seemed to me one of the greatest things you could achieve in life.
It is the comedians’ Olympics. This is where our former Gods earned their laurels, where our current champions are crowned, where each generation comes to prove they’re running fast enough to keep up. Bringing a show to the Edinburgh Festival is daunting. The world does not need another comedian; the festival does not need another show. It can feel like you’re breaking your heart to get to a party nobody has invited you to.
And, despite the ruinous cost of it all, most performers aren’t looking for i nancial reward or even fame. They just want a chance to be included in the gang; respect from their peers, a nod of approval from their heroes, a chance to feel like they’re i nally really part of it. It’s that slightly hysterical energy that drives us, that makes us come here to begin with, makes us want to quit comedy for good by the end of week two and that runs the whole shebang. For three weeks we get to be part of the greatest arts festival in the world. We keep coming back, despite the heartbreak, vanquished dreams and missed opportunities because, in the end, performers are as tough and romantic as the festival we love. The Edinburgh Festival is our town and it always will be. Hit it Gershwin.’
Gráinne Maguire: Where Are All the Fun Places and Are Lots of People There Having Better Fun?, Underbelly, Bristo Square, 0844 545 8252, until 26 Aug, 4.20pm.
b e i B r O F T H E W E E K
GOB SHOP This issue’s Bribe of the Week goes
to Cathartic Connections’ Gob Shop, a s site-specii c promenade performance that to tours through the stages, corridors and dres dressing rooms of the Sapphire Rooms’, ahem, gentlem gentlemen’s club. Now, we know what you’re
thinking – didn’t our i rst bribe consist of pants AND cakes? How can pants alone sufi ce? Well, let’s just say the subtle extra touches of lavender perfume and some frilly lace goes a long way in this ofi ce. If you fancy buying some great exposure for your Festival
performance, send some promotional payola to Big Fat Festival Bribe, c/o Niki Boyle, The List, 14 High Street, Edinburgh, EH1 1TE. ■ Gob Shop, Sapphire Rooms, 226 0000, until 26 Aug (not 20, 21), 4.30pm, £7 (£5).
12 THE LIST 16–23 Aug 2012