The Fringe is the largest performing arts festival in the world. It only comes once a year and each time it is held in Edinburgh, Scotland. There are over 3,500 shows varying from street performers to acts and skits comparable to shows at The Fabulous Fox.
Because of our jam-packed schedule, unfortunately we didn’t get to see any sit down performances. However we were lucky to catch a few street shows. One of which I will never forget.
It seemed like such a simple and silly act when we first stumbled upon it. Two guys in their mid 20’s and one man in his 40’s. The two younger men were attempting to help the older gentleman up on a unicycle that towered over me by at least three feet, and I am 5’5’’. This went on for ten minutes or so and finally with both hands on the young men’s heads the unicyclist excused his assistants off the “stage”. He then called to a little girl standing roughly five yards out from him. She was seven years old and it was obvious that she was comfortable being the center of attention.
Before we arrived to the cluster of people surrounding this performer he must have handed the little girl these three really strange items: a rubber chicken, a plunger, and a bowling pin.
The unicyclist proceeded to call the little girl closer. One by one she tossed the items up to him, each time having to take a step closer. The act was so simple and was no Broadway quality performance. She dropped each item more than once and at one point the bowling pin hit a young man’s head in the crowd. Witty facial expressions where being given to the unicyclist from the seven year old as I never actually caught the sight of the performer’s face.
After he had the three items in his hands he dropped them back onto the street below. What he did next sent an emotional wave over myself, and what felt like the entire crowd.
“You are awesome and you are funny, you are awesome and you are funny.” The cyclist repeated this statement to the seven year old over and over again until he made it point very clear. He proceeded to pull out a five pound note from his pocket and tossed it down to her. “You are awesome and you are funny.” The repeated statement sent chills through me as I realized what the purpose of this was. The crowd roared with handclaps and cheers. The unicyclist was not the star of the show, she was.
The little girl was obviously proud to the money in her hand. But even more so than those five pounds she will always remember that she is “awesome” and “she is funny”.
Tara
Because of our jam-packed schedule, unfortunately we didn’t get to see any sit down performances. However we were lucky to catch a few street shows. One of which I will never forget.
It seemed like such a simple and silly act when we first stumbled upon it. Two guys in their mid 20’s and one man in his 40’s. The two younger men were attempting to help the older gentleman up on a unicycle that towered over me by at least three feet, and I am 5’5’’. This went on for ten minutes or so and finally with both hands on the young men’s heads the unicyclist excused his assistants off the “stage”. He then called to a little girl standing roughly five yards out from him. She was seven years old and it was obvious that she was comfortable being the center of attention.
Before we arrived to the cluster of people surrounding this performer he must have handed the little girl these three really strange items: a rubber chicken, a plunger, and a bowling pin.
The unicyclist proceeded to call the little girl closer. One by one she tossed the items up to him, each time having to take a step closer. The act was so simple and was no Broadway quality performance. She dropped each item more than once and at one point the bowling pin hit a young man’s head in the crowd. Witty facial expressions where being given to the unicyclist from the seven year old as I never actually caught the sight of the performer’s face.
After he had the three items in his hands he dropped them back onto the street below. What he did next sent an emotional wave over myself, and what felt like the entire crowd.
“You are awesome and you are funny, you are awesome and you are funny.” The cyclist repeated this statement to the seven year old over and over again until he made it point very clear. He proceeded to pull out a five pound note from his pocket and tossed it down to her. “You are awesome and you are funny.” The repeated statement sent chills through me as I realized what the purpose of this was. The crowd roared with handclaps and cheers. The unicyclist was not the star of the show, she was.
The little girl was obviously proud to the money in her hand. But even more so than those five pounds she will always remember that she is “awesome” and “she is funny”.
Tara