The show is something of a love letter to the Fringe and Edinburgh as a place of cultural adventure. Edward W. Feery has greatly enjoyed the Fringe ‘as a performer’ for the last few years, and as ‘a punter’ for over a decade.
In a A Fringe Affair Feery related the ‘whole gamut’ of ups and downs associated with the Fringe and the wonderful experiences he has had through it – and the friendships he has created, even those which have been fleeting.
The show is based around engaging and well-performed songs with a folk tinge. Both the style and aspects of the vocals bring to mind the 1960s folk artists Pete Atkin. Atkin worked with the late writer and broadcaster Clive James on a series of classic albums, including Beware of the Beautiful Stranger. Like Atkin, Feery’s style and approach have an old-fashioned charm, which he radiates through his gentle interactions with the audience. It was also reflected in his dress; traditional grey slacks and a ‘silly’ striped blazer. He gave the sense of an eccentric performer from yesteryear, landing gently in the commotion of the contemporary ‘late capitalist’ Fringe. This sense of a performer from another age was manifested in an acapella ditty, which had to compete with the street noise (“I’ll wait for the sirens to pass”).
His songs covered a range of Fringe experiences, from audience misbehaviour (‘there was no telling him’), bad shows (‘that could’ve gone better’), and to magical moments beyond the ‘Fringe bubble’. This Feery communicated through a tender song about ‘sunrise on the Meadows’. This song brought out the very personal aspect of the show; how Feery’s hopes and dreams have been raised and sometimes shattered by the Fringe. Feery praised the Fringe as ‘a wonderful place to try out new things’ and which , at its best ‘can rewire your brain’. He was thankful to the PBH Free Fringe for giving him the opportunity and more generally for keeping the Fringe ‘open to grassroots artists’.
He ended strongly with Exodus Train, describing the mixed feelings among those fringe performers heading south on the first Monday after the Fringe; amidst the exhaustion and frayed nerves, a slowly dawning sense of returning to normal life.
This enjoyable show manifested many of the strengths and weaknesses of the Fringe. Starting his short run on the 21st of August doesn’t give Feery much time to build an audience. This is especially so given his venue. The room itself is excellent, airy and well lit; rather different from some of the venues associated with the Free Fringe. However, such is the focus of Fringe venues around the Cowgate that anything slightly out of that central area is deemed a little marginal. Feery would no doubt get a larger audience if he was somewhere near South Bridge, rather than Lothian Road.
Frankly what the show lacked was the energy from the audience, for the performer to bounce off. With only five in the audience, it was perhaps inevitable that the energy dipped at certain points.
A larger audience would help Feery’s performance to hit higher notes. Feery will hopefully have more of an audience to bounce off as his run continues.
A Fringe Affair is at Brewdog West (Venue 102), at 14.35 – until August 27th.
