Post Edinburgh post

Now that I've had a few days to reflect on the sojourn to Scotland, I can only say that the glow has not faded, anything but . . . it has been burnished to a shine!

We saw a lot of theater; from South Africa, New Zealand (the Modern Maori Quartet!), China, Canada, Ireland and even one from the US! The South African adaptation of Miss Julie, into Mies Julie was probably the best, a real stunner; but a very close second was the solo piece, Pike St., by a lady from NYC.

We stepped outside the Fringe to see a couple of productions in the Edinburgh International Festival, Krapp's Last Tape, with Barry McGovern and Don Giovanni (coming soon to NYC, you might not want to miss it if you're in the area!).

We even checked out one of the comedians, who was a lot of fun. And then there were street performers everywhere.

On Sunday morning before flying out, Bette and I got one more chance to spend a few hours in the city and went to the National Gallery, which was an eye opener as well.

All in all it's an exciting time to be in a beautiful city.

As if that weren't enough we had three days sprinkled throughout to see a bit of the country side with one day trip up to the highlands.

No . . . I didn't drive! That was all Scott and Wallace. The opposite side thing I could get used to, the left hand gear shift would have been harder!

We ate great food (but no haggis) and downed a few pints . . . and walked . . . a lot!

All in all an unforgettable experience.

Best Edinburgh day yet

Yesterday we saw a South African adaptation of Strindberg, called Mies Julie. It was a devastating look at issues raised by Strindberg but with the added ingredient of apartheid. It was a mind-blowing and devastating work. The actors were all magnificent and the production on the whole was in the pantheon of best theatrical moments that I have encountered.

Then we went to see Don Giovanni as part of the Edinburgh International Festival (Beckett was too). It was nothing short of magnificent. Then the train home and collapse into bed.

It has been a truly exceptional experience so far in Scotland and two days left!!!

Edinburgh part 2

So on Monday we did take a day for some driving around the countryside, going to Loch Earn and a bit of the highlands. It was magical! Too gorgeous for any description to do it justice, but I certainly will never forget it!

Yesterday back to the Fringe for All Quiet on the Western Front and Nina . . . The Story of Me and Nina Simone. All Quiet would have been served by a different space, but you could see that it had its merits, a bit of a disappointment though since it was hard to see much of what happened . . . a spirited bunch of young performers however.

Nina was more polished, but not perfect. The actress never attempted to 'be' Nina Simone, she told her story of being influenced by Nina and went in some pretty radical directions, the music, when she finally got around to singing it, was sublime.

Today is Mies Julie, by a South African company and Don Giovanni conceived by Ivan Fischer, who Scott speaks very highly of.

More later.

What a great time!

Edinburgh

We are in Edinburgh and was thinking I should make notes of some of the stuff we've done and seen, and then remembered the blog!! We had a nice uneventful flight in and were met at the airport by Wallace and Scott, who have been here for two weeks before us in a home swap situation in Braco.

That first day we tooled around the area some and adjusted to the jet lag. What a beautiful area.

Then the next day off to the races and the Edinburgh Fringe! It's about an hour from Dunblane to Edinburgh via train. And that day we walked . . . a lot. Saw the city, and three shows a Canadian offering, Kafka and Son; the second show, based on a flyer handed to Bette on the street was a charming concert by the Modern Maori Quartet, who brought elements of their heritage to popular songs and some originals with glorious harmonies. The final show of the day was Louacha Land from China, a stunning movement oriented piece that was in Chinese without translation so you weren't distracted.

I guess we were more jet lagged than we knew because I slept ten hours the next day and then back in to Edinburgh for a two shows that blew all our minds: a solo piece called Pike St. and then Krapp's Last Tape with my favorite Beckett actor Barry McGovern. Both were stunners.

More on all this later. We might take today for some sight seeing.