The Gilded Balloon Ends on a High!
In a fitting end to the Gilded Balloon’s twenty fifthglorious year on the Fringe, the venue celebrates a record breaking year for ticket sales up 8% on last year. The strength of this year’s programme has captivated audiences, the ethos behind what the venue is all about and the continual search for the newest, most talented and best entertainment from all over the world has well and truly paid off!
The success of this year’s programme was not just reflected in the sales, the high calibre of acts has been celebrated every week of the festival. Week 1 saw Real Babies Don’t Cry pick up a Fringe First award, Lockerbie: Unfinished Business collected the award in week 2 whilst the cacophony came in week 3 as not only did Doon MacKichan’s Primadoona also pick up the venue’s third Fringe First of the year but Robert White won the Malcolm Hardee Award for his comic originality in show Outrageously Peculiar Organ. Sam Will’s won a nomination for his exceptional show The Boy With Tape on his Faceand last but by no means least the legendary and ever deserving Karen Koren was presented with this year’s Jack Tinker, Spirit of the Fringe Award.
From the 101 shows on at the Gilded Balloon including 73 comedy, 16 theatre, 7 music and 5 children’s, they bagged a whopping total of 67 five stars. Highlights included Caroline Rhea, Dave Thornton, Sam Simmons, Caroline Rhea, Stripped, Primadoona, Ali Cook and more.
Soon to be seeing stars and sole Scot of the competition, James Kirk fought off stiff competition from a further eight of the country’s most promising new stand up comic talents to take away this year’s So You Think You’re Funny? Winner title. He became the first Scottish winner since Rhona Cameron scooped up the prize way back in 1992.
2010 has been the year of the line-up show always guaranteed to inject an element of surprise. This year the Gilded Balloon hosted Lach’s Antihoot, Axis of Awesome and Friends and the infamous if not obligatory late night show Late ‘n’ Live. The most unsuspecting of collaborations caught audiences by storm with a definite rock ‘n’ roll edge seeping through Teviot. Picture Tim Minchin, Stephen K Amos, Axis of Awesome and Abandoman all squeezed on to one stage just about big enough for a three man bandall taking part in an improvised jam. Then there was Abandoman’s ‘What’s in your pocket’s’ rap creating so much excitement that compere Patrick Monahan managed to crowd surf to the balcony sound box of the Debating Hall. You name it, it will have happened at the Gilded Balloon!
The late night hub that is the Loft Bar drew in the expected flurry of famous faces and comedy a-listers including Rhod Gilbert, Jennifer Coolidge, Johnny Vegas, Tim Vine, The Wire’s McNulty and Lester Freamon, Noel Fielding and many others!
After the dust has settled in Teviot and Bristo Square, the thousands of flyers have been cleared from the streets nearby as have the fallen stars covering every poster there is just one thing left to look forward to…2011 anyone?
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