Enjoy a final weekend of festival fun with some shows still worth catching

Here we are at the final weekend of the Fringe. This month seems to have flown past, which is always a sign that things have been going well. I’ve had a wonderful month, and my show has sold very well.

I’d gladly squeeze in an extra week. Sadly, I finish my run at The Stand Comedy Club tomorrow evening, but there are still some shows worth catching on Monday if you have the day off.

Fringe veteran Simon Munnery promises that this year’s show 'will consist of the usual unusual melange of jokes, sketches, stories, art, poetry and satire'

placeholder image — Fringe veteran Simon Munnery promises that this year’s show 'will consist of the usual unusual melange of jokes, sketches, stories, art, poetry and satire'

The inimitable Simon Munnery is back for another year at The Stand. Ever since he created the character Alan Parker Urban Warrior back in the early nineties, Munnery has been one of the most original and imaginative comedians on the circuit. He once did an entire hour-long show with a bucket on his head. Simon promises that this year’s show “will consist of the usual unusual melange of jokes, sketches, stories, art, poetry and satire”. No mention there of buckets but a definite must-see for comedy connoisseurs.

I am guesting on Monday in Stuart Mitchell and Friends at the Apex Hotel on the Grassmarket, one of many Hoots venues in the Old Town. The gig starts at midday, but always has a very lively, predominantly Scottish, audience. Many have travelled through from the west, and over from Fife. When I did a spot there a couple of days ago, it felt more like a Saturday night in Glasgow than a Thursday lunchtime at the Fringe. Mitchell himself is a joy to watch with his affable, inventive crowd work. The show is always sold out so book early.

Come Tuesday morning, that’s us all done and dusted for another year. The circus will be leaving town, but its memory will linger on into September as hundreds of the remaining posters will still be slowly curling off from walls and lampposts. The city begins to resemble a glamorous woman doing the walk of shame the morning after an all-night party, her make-up smudged and her high heels broken.

Edinburgh then goes to sleep for 11 months as we all bunker down for autumn and the onset of a grim Scottish winter. Auld Reekie will wake up with a bang once more when the Fringe returns next August. Personally, I can’t wait. Enjoy your final weekend of festival fun.