It only seems like a fortnight ago that I finished writing about 2009, and here I am, treading water before the start of my arty binge for 2010.
And, despite my best intentions of taking it a little bit easier this year, the shortlisting process of trawling through the Festival and Fringe Guides didn’t exactly fill me with faith in that regard. The “short” list amounted to…
196 shows.
One hundred and ninety-six shows. And that’s just the things that caught my eye, piqued my interest, with their little fifty-word blurb (in the case of the Fringe) or full-page glossy spreads (bless the Festival Guide). And that excludes any visual arts exhibits, and all the shows that trusted friends will tell me are awesome and which I’ll desperately try to squeeze in.
My blogging instinct, when faced with a number such as the above, is to quip “if I see half that many shows, I’ll be happy.” But that’d be ninety-eight, which would be a fucking miracle (especially in a Festival year). Still, I’m studiously scheduling away; I’ve only got tickets for 29 at this point (including all my Festival picks – though I’m not super-enamoured by the lineup, and even less pleased that the Festival Talk for Shanghai Beauty has been moved to an inaccessible time), and 13 shows have already dropped off through sell-outs, cancellations, or blocks.
And, despite being initially unexcited by the acts on offer this year, I’m now entering that giddy stage… waiting for it all to start. Waiting to start squeezing Stuff into my mind. Waiting to experience.
And, inevitably, waiting to get so far behind on my blogging that it ceases to matter ;)