I turn up to Gaga v Assange expecting a ninety-minute show; I’ve got half-an-hour buffer up my sleeve to get to my next (Festival) show. Still, as I’m greeted at the top of Arcade Lane, I ask what time I can expect the performance to finish.
Eight-twenty, I’m told. A twenty-minute overrun.
I bite my lip; I don’t want to commit to a ten-minute changeover. I tell them I might have to bail; they suggest I just stay for the first Act. What about closure, I ask? “There’s a lot of songs, so you can get a pretty good feel for it,” I am told.
I was genuinely surprised at how much that comment rankled me. That there was so little care about the integrity of the piece annoyed the fuck out of me, and when they tried to placate me by telling me to go to FringeTIX for a refund (never going to happen) or to go to TuxCat for another show (they’re closed today)… well, consider me a little (lot) annoyed.
Still, at least it gave me the opportunity to see HolePunch, which I otherwise would have missed… it was the highlight of the day (after the lovely Take a Closer Look exhibition).
- The Luck Child
- HolePunch
- Rime of the Ancient Mariner
- A Nightmare On Love Street
Tomorrow is all about one thing: Zorn. John fucking Zorn. I bumped into two people today (of very different persuasions) who both saw his Masada Marathon last night and regard it as one of the best shows they’d ever seen. Cannot wait.