A fantastic review from The Scotsman

Ok, so that's not strictly the truth. We got a 2 star review from The Scotsman for The Doubtful Guest. But bizarrely, it's made me very happy. In fact, it's given me so much energy that I've forgotten about my aching back*

The review can be found in full here. You'll need to skip through the first half to find the bit about us (unless you want to read about Inspector Sands's If That's All There Is).

I'll also share my favourite line of the review with you:
"The idea that this sort of middlebrow tosh has any serious role in the future of theatre is ridiculous and ought to be knocked on the head, right now."

Reviews are a funny thing. It's always a delight to receive praise for the shows you work on and often it's hard to swallow the negative comments.

But The Doubtful Guest seems to be one of those shows that divides it's audiences (as a look through the reviews on EdFringe website will demonstrate) and I'm pleased that we're causing strong reviews amongst people who see the work.

I'd like to thank Joyce MacMillan for her words. That final sentiment she expressed will be something that inspires me to work against it for many years to come (I'm looking forward to enlarging it and sticking it over my desk).

I personally think Joyce is wrong (but that's my job) and I know many of you do too. And if you've not seen the show already, why not book some tickets and make up your own mind.

Oh, and thank you to @cmfwood for her head's up that Joyce didn't enjoy the show. I've never seen a reviewer being reviewed, whilst reviewing the show. But having read...

"Just sat through Joyce MacMillan sighing and tutting all the way through The Doubtful Guest"

I've been prepared for this news for a week now!

And finally, I met someone yesterday who personally requested a new video from the double act that is David and I (see this video for our earlier work!). We haven't made one for ages so watch this space!

*I slipped over in the bath on Saturday morning and after a 2 hour stint at Casualty, I was discharged with a very sore back (although no broken bones). I ran out of painkillers this morning but Joyce's review has certainly kept me smiling and happy all day.

Scotsman centre spread & a defence of flyering

Grab a copy of The Scotsman today for big feature on Hoipolloi and an interview with our Artistic Director Shon. You can click here to read online but really, I'd advise you to buy a copy in order to fully admire the big photo adorning the centre spread. We enjoyed passing it round the breakfast table this morning.

Hugh Hughes in... 360 has had another four star review, this time from The List. I think a full review will be printed in the magazine tomorrow, but click here for a truncated version in the meantime.

Today Josie and Chris, our street team stalwarts, bid farewell to flyering and start enjoying the festival as punters. They worked incredibly hard for the first week of the festival and it paid off, with sell out shows for the last four nights!

As ever, a lot of people in Edinburgh are flyering and, equally inevitably, a lot of people are moaning about it. (Mainly prima donna actors who didn't realise this was part of the deal in Edinburgh!) But I'd like to offer a defence of flyering. Because although it's tiring work, I actually really enjoy it.

Marketing a UK tour from the Hoipolloi office is a slightly imprecise science. We do our best and we normally sell pretty well but it feels very remote from the real people who come and see our work. Plus, at the end of it all, you still don't really know why someone came to see a show or didn't, or if they enjoyed it.

Flyering is the opposite and refreshingly so. I still find it funny when people ask, "Have you seen the show you're telling us about?" (Lots of flyerers work for agencies and flyer for a different show every day.) Yes, I've seen the show and yes, I'm genuinely enthusiastic about it. And it's exciting to be out and about talking to people, and passing that enthusiasm on.

Often people tell us they've enjoyed other Hoipolloi shows and are delighted to discover that we're back at the festival. I spent about twenty minutes telling one couple all about Hugh's adventures in Australia and I've bumped into a few Edward Gorey fans who are already looking forward to The Doubtful Guest. It's fantastic when the audience come into Pleasance Two and you recognise people you've spoken to during the day. And even better when they bound up to you after the show to tell you how much they've enjoyed it!

Of course, there are some less friendly people (thought they're in the minority). Josie found a woman who sat at her table, completely and utterly ignoring anyone who tried to talk to her, refusing to even acknowledge their presence until they stopped talking and went away. And Josie saw this as something of a challenge. She decided to see how long she could go for before the woman gave up and just told her to go away. A war of attrition began and I'm sad to say that Josie was outdone. But she had been standing there rabbiting away for at least fifteen minutes, which is a good effort by any standards.

Other favourite moments have included, Marieke telling someone that if they bought tickets for the show she'd marry them... at which point the man produced two tickets which he'd already bought! And Chris flyering someone who seemed quite interested but then said, "Oh, the time doesn't quite work for me. I've got badminton at six."

Marieke and I will be back out this afternoon. Do come and say hello if you see us.

And click here to book tickets for Hugh's show tonight, Pleasance Two, 7.05pm.

Hitting the Top 100

Good morning on this sunny Saturday. It's a particularly exciting morning as I've discovered that the Scotsman's Top 100 shows at the Fringe includes BOTH Hugh Hughes in... 360 and The Doubtful Guest.

This is fantastic news and makes a great start to the weekend. The Scotsman is such an important paper during the Fringe and I'm excited that out of 2098 shows to choose from, they've picked both of ours to make their list of safe bets to book for!

You can read the full list for yourself by clicking here (Hugh Hughes is near the top, the Doubtful Guest is near the bottom!).

Or, if you just want to go ahead and book your tickets, click here for Hugh Hughes and click here for The Doubtful Guest.

Finally, for some vaguely interesting blog/tweet trivia!

I've just realised that my 200th Hoipolloi tweet was all about making the top 100. Funny how numbers stack up like this! And having just looked back at things, my 100th tweet was a link to a video diary for Shift Happens which takes place on Monday and Tuesday this coming week. Bizarre!