Kids Reviewers: 2012 Festival Round-up

Eleanor Smith Age 9

Eleanor is clear about what has been the best bit of her school holidays; her “summer job” reviewing for Fest. “I’ve enjoyed going to see all of the shows as I don’t normally go to loads of the Fringe stuff. Crazy Dr Brown was the funniest thing I saw. He didn’t speak; he only mimed.” Not one single word in the whole show? “Well he did say ‘OOOOO’ and ‘EEEEE’ when he was playing tennis. But apart from that the singing tiger did everything.” And with two five star shows—Dr Brown and The Curious Scrapbook of Josephine Bean—under her belt, which of the two was her favourite?  "Oh no. I don’t know. No. It’s impossible to choose."

So, were there any parts that she really didn’t enjoy? “The worst bit was in the Pleasance. It was a nice setting but the toilets were really hard to find. You had to go down the stairs and then there were two pathways and you didn’t know which way to go.” Venues, take note.

Lois Black Age 6

“After the show Nanny I had a hot chocolate and a chocolate brownie with ice-cream, but I didn’t like the ice-cream." It seems that Lois Black was less impressed by the shows and more by what followed them. But were there any shows that she will remember? “I liked Andy and Mike’s Tick Tock Show the best, Mike was crazy. But I didn’t like Polly; the drawing pencils were rubbish. We also saw people just standing in the street next to Greyfriars Bobby playing guitar and singing a nice song. When we walked past they were just finishing so we got to see them curtsy and go ‘Ta Da’.”

But what was the best bit about being a Fest Kids Reviewer? “I like having the pass. I like the wee picture of a fox with a walking stick. I’ll put it in my special draw.”

Ross Salters Age 11

This was the second year being a Fest Kids Reviewer for Ross Salters, a seasoned hack. “I think it was definitely better this year as I felt like I knew what I was doing. I took notes during the show and then I’d write my review straight after the show so the ideas were still fresh.”

Ross lives and goes to school in Fife so coming into Edinburgh when it is so busy was part of the fun. “There were loads of things going on when I went down the High Street. There were a couple of girls playing guitars and singing. There was a really freaky one with a little girl pretending to be dead on the street. It was very life-like but a bit, well, yuck. I didn’t stay long but she’d probably been there for quite a while.”

Billy Salters Age 6

According to his mum, Billy Salters was a bit miffed last year when he was too little to be a Fest Kids Reviewer. “Yeah, I was a bit sad that I didn’t get to do it but my big brothers did.” But this year lived up to expectations. “I really enjoyed the shows, it was quite new as I don’t normally go to the theatre.”

“Captain Codless and the Legend of Plunge Island was my favourite, it was really funny. I liked when they went to the Olympics. Did you watch the Olympics? Did you see the high jump? There was this lady and she nearly made it, it was just her foot that knocked it off. If she didn’t have any feet then she’d have been fine.”

So, in Edinburgh 2013 would Billy like to be a Fest Kids Reviewer again? “Hmm, no thank you. When I did it this time I didn’t really have a choice as Mum just signed me up.”

Ben Salters Age 11

I suspect that we might just see Ben Salters involved in future Edinburgh Festivals. “When I grow up I’d like to be a photographer or a journalist. And after watching Comedy 4 Kids I’d quite like to try being a comedian.”

Ben obviously loved the whole atmosphere of the Fringe and being involved. “I really love being in Edinburgh when it was so busy. I also quite liked having my Fringe Reviewer pass on. Everyone would look at you and be like ‘How has he got one?’”

“I took notes during the show and wrote some of my reviews just afterwards when I was waiting for the bus. I do enjoy writing; I just don’t like the thought of it. But writing is my favourite subject at school.

Would he join us again? “Yeah, I’d love to!”

Ailis Black Age 6

“I just liked the bubbles. The best one was the one that went up to the ceiling and then popped,” Ailis Black says of her favourite bubble in her favourite show, The Amazing Bubble Man.

Ailis lives in the seaside town of North Berwick so coming into Edinburgh itself was quite a treat. “I got the train with Mum which was fun. And I got to go for lunch in Pizza Express, just Mum and me. It was fun because I got to eat pizza. It was nice not to be in North Berwick. I like Edinburgh best.”

Of all the things that Ailis saw on her travels—the double dutch skipping team, a man juggling chainsaws—none tickled her quite like the hilarity of seeing “a boy in a tutu.” This was her favourite. “It was difficult being a Fest Kids Reviewer, but it was fun. I would like to do it. So would my brother.”

Maxwell Stephenson Age 9

“I normally see loads of shows in the Festival. Deciding how many stars the show should get was the easy part, it was thinking what to say in the review that was hard.”

Maxwell Stephenson might be an experienced Fringe visitor but writing about them didn’t always come easily. “I took notes during the show but it was still hard.” His Dad came up with a good way to encourage him: “After the show my Dad said we could go to McDonalds as long as I wrote a bit of a practise review. It was nice when I finally finished them and I’ve already taken them in to show my teacher.”

Edinburgh based Maxwell might be used to street entertainment, but even he was surprised this year. “I got given £10. I was asked to join the show and had to stand holding two balloons whilst the performer told jokes and whipped real lion-whips in front of me. I was shivering and laughing at his jokes. I was happy but extremely scared.”