The blogosphere does a great job covering this kind of event: check over here at Gothamist for some freaky pictures and copious links full of data, or a personal account of my friend Damien trekking across the city. Having had my fill of massive public disasters in September of '01 I have to say I am thankful that I got the opportunity to sit this one out, and that I hope everyone who had to suffer through it are getting a well-deserved break this weekend.
The radio interview with Ross Noble went very well--he's a fun guy, much more low-key than his on-stage persona would suggest, which is fortunate because he'd be kind of unbearable if he was always ON. The show went well that evening, very energetic, and the next day we saw The Big Time, a very quirky and fun musical being put on be people JM and I know from Seattle--it's written by John Moe and the music is from Chris Ballew from the band The Presidents Of The United States Of America...it's the magical rock journey of a sock, a lamp and a vacuum who embark on a musical career. Full details on the shows Left Coast Theatre has at Edinburgh are available here.
It was great seeing them all--I'm really only close with John Osebold, one of the actors and a very talented musician and theatre artist, and I know Brian Neel (another actor) somewhat...but all the actors have travelled in the same circles I have for years and we had instant familiarity. We discussed a couple of Edinburgh survival tips and we'll be getting together on Sunday after my show--looking forward to that, as for a festival it can be awfully lonely over here.
Learned two facts from a cabbie last night--Edinburgh has more Italian restaurants than anywhere else in the British Isles because so many Italians were held in internment camps during WWII, and when that conflict ended many Italians decided to repatriate here. Also, London cabbies have to take an extensive exam on the layout of the streets of London that usually takes 24 months to stufy for--it's like a degree in street smarts, if you will. Too bad NYC cabbies don't undergo that kind of rigorous examination.
More reviews are in:
THE LIST:
"Daisey's storytelling methods are utterly captivating. Every word, every repition, every gesticulation reverberates...he's the consummate performer. As a lesson in storytelling prowess, 21 Dog Years is textbook brillance...thought-provoking, amusing and continually enchanting."
THREE WEEKS:
"Mike Daisey has frenetically intelligent, lively needle-sharp one-man wit that bears scrutiny as both theatre and comedy."
Tonight I am finally seeing Demetri's show--he's been the belle of the festival, and I'm psyched that we'll be able to get in on a Saturday night. Between now and then I have a show to perform and writing to plow through.
9:44 AM