36 hours and counting!

Was part of one of the most incredible shows I've ever seen up at the Edinburgh Fringe. And I say 'part of' cause I was only there for a few hours, and didn't catch the beginning or end. No, this was definately was a work in motion, a continuous evolving comedy epic that was Mark Watson's aptly titled '36 hour show'. Yes, not content with the mere 24 hours of non-stop entertainment he's provided at the last 2 fringes, this year he upped the anti and went for 36. Yep, 12 midday to 12 midnight the following night, non stop Mark Watson action followed by his faithful legion of fans, who came equipped with sleeping bags, beer and food to sustain them for the duration! For if they deserted for more than 5 mins their ticket was sold to the next punter desperate to come in and be part of Fringe history.

So in his show he just had all this different stuff happening:
* one guy trying to get as far away as possible - and back - by the end of the show. He rang Mark on his mobile from Surrey, on his way down to catch a ferry to Calais in France!
* he had 3 comedians in Australia (all linked up via the internet and on speaker phone etc) who were comissioned to write an anthem about the show in just a few hours. On a live link up we watched them perform it in Melbourne, then we all had to learn it and sing it! They also had to design a flag, and then the appointed 'court artists' had to replicate the flag in Edinburgh on a giant canvas, which was then raised at dawn the following morning, and the anthem sung, as they all went out to watch the sunrise!
* he had a 'balladier', a member of the audience whose job it was to write ballads about stuff that was happening during the show
* everyone wearing green had to stand up at regular intervals and give happiness ratings out of 12
* he sold 10 mins of his show on ebay
* he played a game of blind date with members of the audience, then everyone donated money to send them on the date
* he had lots of other comedians popping in over the course of the 36 hours and doing their bit, including Aussie comedian Adam Hills and his opera singing girlfriend from La Clique

It was really quite addictive, and Lea and I had to drag ourselves out at 1am the first night, as we were almost suffering Fringe overload thanks to the 18 shows we managed to watch over the course of 3 days, thankyou Celena!!!

Love Edinburgh at Fringe time. There's just such a great buzz and energy about the place. We saw comedians, acrobats, theatre, drama, but one of the best was undoubtedly Xavier Rudd. We joined loads of other Aussies in the audience for his gig at the Corn Exchange, and he was just amazing. Emma, Lea and I were in the 2nd row, right up close, awesome! We also ran into the guys who were camping next to us at the Belladrum festival! Me, Lea and Emma with our Belladrum mates at Xavier Rudd

Also managed to check out the Ron Mueck exhibition at the Edinburgh Gallery...unbelievable!! His life like but not to scale sculptures were really quite extraordinary.
Me with ´woman in bed´