Oldies taking over as Gilded Balloon celebrates its 40th Fringe
There are still two weeks to go until the start of this year’s Fringe but it seems like it’s already here. Taking the bus up town the other day, I see that Assembly Productions have already erected their banners on the front of the Assembly Hall on The Mound and The Assembly Rooms on George Street.
Pretty soon, every other building in town is going to rebranded with its name for August and its venue number. I hear there is even an enormous picture of my face staring from the cladding of a building site on St Andrew Square. I am very sorry but I must stress that I am not to blame for this eyesore. It is there to publicise The Stand Comedy Club’s Fringe programme. They seem to think this will help sell tickets for my show. I’m not sure.
Unlike the editor of the Evening News, who has the sound common sense to use a very old photo of me at the top of this column, they have chosen a picture taken this year. Indeed, that old picture above often features on a side strip on page one of this paper. If they were to use a recent image, even the most loyal readers would be deterred from coughing up their £1.30 every Saturday.
Aged as I may be, it is reassuring to find out that I may not be the oldest face appearing at this year’s Fringe. My old mate Andy Linden will be back in town with his one-man play Baxter vs The Bookies every lunchtime at the Gilded Balloon. You might not recognise the name, but his face is very familiar. He is the go-to guy for any casting agent looking for a small, old, dodgy cockney geezer. His screen appearances include Harry Potter, The Business and Not Going Out. It’s great to see him be back at the Fringe.
This year, the Gilded Balloon will be celebrating their 40th Fringe and a whole load of stellar names from the past decades will be performing at a special series of shows under the title 40 Years Of Fringe. So it looks like we oldies will be everywhere in town next month. Come and and see our shows, but please don’t look too closely at our photographs.