Peter Buckley Hill


 

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EDINBURGH 2001

AN INSTITUTION DISAPPEARS (OR DOES IT?)

This was the last Peter Buckley Hill And Some Comedians, possibly ever, certainly at the Three-Quarter Sports Café which is now being sold.

The quality of the bills of comedy, especially in the last week, was the best ever, and that's saying something. Very few acts failed and even fewer evenings were not good, even when certain arseholes talked all the way through the show and refused to be quietened. Thanks to everyone who played, giving their services free.

Undoubtedly, the show has now become a Fringe institution and is spoken of as such by many people. It's too much to expect reviews and press mentions -- we're not in the Pleasance, after all -- but word of mouth is strong and loyal supporters come back time after time.

This year, Peter was given the Greyfriars Bobby award by Three Weeks for 'not deserting his post' and continuing to put on the free shows. Not exactly the Perrier.

Even so, audiences were down. I had hoped that by reverting to the 9.30 start time that audiences would come back, but there were many evenings with some empty chairs and even Ross Noble's night (his own show was sold out, naturally, so PBHASC was one of the only places he could have been seen) was not as heavingly full as two years ago. Audiences for comedy were down across the Fringe, though, and many shows at the big venues were cancelled on midweek nights,

But the venue I have used for three years is now being sold, and not as a going concern but as a property. This means it will probably become a Starbucks or similar, and not be available for Fringe use in 2002. If the show goes ahead, therefore, it will have to find another venue.

As well as the venue problem, there is the financial one; Peter loses about £3000 a year doing these shows. Collections this year averaged about 40p per head of audience. £2 per head might have covered the cost. Having run the show for 6 years now, Peter is anxious not to lose much more money.

And where could the show be held? At first sight, there are not many Edinburgh pubs with suitable rooms, at least not in the central area where Fringe-goers congregate. One audience member this year complained that Grassmarket "was too far away from the centre of town" (?!). With the impending closure of the Gilded Balloon theatre, the epicentre of the Fringe will shift uphill towards Teviot Row and Bristo Square, with the Pleasance Dome taking over the function of the old Pleasance Courtyard, now closed early because of noise complaints. The further away one is from that, the lower one's audiences will be.

Thanks to everybody who said "you're an institution; you can't not be there". Some went so far as to suggest what work I might do to come back ("go up to Edinburgh for a week and talk to the managers of all the pubs"). This may be well-meaning, but there's a limit to the amount of work I can put in to earn the right to make a £3000 loss. If it paid off in terms of gigs over the year, it might be worth it, but no; promoters have me flagged, not as a decent act in my own right, but as some eccentric who uses the talents of better comedians to put on a show each year. Consequently, I get very little work from this myself; even during the Fringe, one promoter offered many of my comedians paid work, but myself a six-minute open spot, such as is given to beginners.

Suggestions for new venues and sponsorship are welcome; if you live in Edinburgh, feel free to sound them out yourself. Otherwise, I may sit it out next year, or even bring my one-man show up as a charged-for item. That would be a pity, though; the prices at the Fringe are appalling and it would be terrible to be associated with them. I hope everyone realises that despite these very high prices the money does not find it way into the pockets of the artists themselves, many of whom make very substantial losses. The Fringe itself has lost its way, and unfortunately I see no willingness by the Fringe management to help make it any different. Perhaps it deserves to die; the public can be expected to take a gamble on shows at less than five pounds, but surely not at nine?

Anyway, this is too serious. Email me if you want to discuss the politics and future of the Fringe. Otherwise, ignore. There were good shows at PBHASC this year, and, with one exception, also at One Man And His Frog. The roll of honour is kept here with the names of all performers at PBHASC in its six-year history.






Here's the outdated preview for Edinburgh 2001 and here's the report on Edinburgh 2000. Here's the old report on Edinburgh 99 and here's the Edinburgh 2000 preview page. Don't say I don't archive things.


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