To put on a new show like Lady Magic at Edinburgh Festival Fringe costs a fortune. All the great producers are either dead or old and jaded, still haunted by their last million-dollar flop. So they’re not picking up your show for the West End. No, I can’t say I expect anything good to come of it these days, beyond what happens during the four weeks I’m there.
I’m a problem producer. I’m addicted to producing shows in Edinburgh. The Edinburgh Fringe is Burning Man for live entertainment. I cannot resist it. The energy is electric, with hundreds of people like me doing the same thing: producing a show, hoping to catch an edge with the locals.
But even if we sell out completely, do we make money? I don’t care. I just love being there. I love the artists, the bars, the history, the architecture, the Scots, the restaurants, the carnies, and some of the shows. Edinburgh in August is the greatest place to be in the world. If you haven’t been, do yourself a favor.
So, this year, will our new show Lady Magic make money in Edinburgh? Well, like Atomic Saloon Show did back in 2019, it’ll sell every ticket. The buzz has been incredible. It’ll probably go on to London. Maybe Vegas. It could well be the most profitable show of my career. Right?
But make money in Edinburgh? Not a chance. However, putting a work-in-progress show in front of a small, savvy, drunk audience for 31 straight nights is the best way to create and test new comedy. I was there for the previews a month ago, and it has come a long way since then. It’s funny, and it’s completely bonkers. Our whole cast, production team, and writer and director, Natalie Palamides, have worked tirelessly throughout the festival to make the show better each night. I’ve loved reading the nightly show reports from our stage manager, Sohaa Smith. It’s probably the best way to describe how we make a show. Here’s a taste.
July 14: First day of rehearsals in Las Vegas. The magic assistants are torturing Chris Volcano with the dick levitation – a genuinely sexy moment. Natalie wants to add one additional magic trick. There needs to be a conflict about money. Someone’s butt needs to explode.
July 16: Created a scene where Chris Volcano turns a small car into a big car and dies in a car crash. Note for Props: add a cardboard steering wheel.
July 22: First day of rehearsals in Edinburgh. A lot of fantastic magic choreography.
July 23: We dug into some very nitty-gritty scene work. Note for Props: we will need about 10 boob balloons per show to create five pairs.
July 25: Fire practice today with Max and Kelly. D accidentally missed this but practiced later.
July 26: We have figured out the form of this first version of the show – working our way through to the end. Note for Production: Do we have a fire blanket in the space?
July 27: We blocked/roughed through the end of the show. Note for Props: Add a tampon for the bathroom scene.
July 28: The cast got their nails done as part of their costume look.
July 30: Note for Props: chocolate sauce for the fuel bottle. Can we get a small hand towel for AnaRose to wipe the egg from Chris Volcano’s face? Can we mark Grace’s boobs so she knows which ones have what in them?
July 31: Second preview in Edinburgh. We made it even further in the show this evening.
Aug 1: Happy opening! Thanks to everyone for your hard work. We made it into the bathroom scene tonight – definitely inching closer to the end.
Aug 2: The audience loved the show. We made it to the bathroom scene again. Note for Costumes: The JK Rowling glasses broke – could we replace or repair them?
Aug 3: We made it through the whole show tonight! Note for Props: Could we please get a bigger toy car so the Ken Volcano doll can fit inside?
Aug 5: Note for Props: Could we look at the fabric covering the dick levitation mechanism? We should add “cleaning the dildo” to nightly duties.
Aug 7: We cut the Irish dance section and moved the leg-swapping choreography to later. We introduced Trish having a balloon penis that grows for her to pee with before the bathroom scene. Note for Wardrobe: Thank you for the dick-growing contraption.
Aug 8: We continue to search for the perfect ending to this show. Tonight we tried the Golden Sarcophagus scene with Chris Volcano and Grace’s character entering their respective sides, but with fake legs on each other’s sides to create a new trick called “Divine Shrine of 69.”
Aug 9: Note for Sound: Could the gunshot for JK Rowling be louder, please?
Aug 10: Note for Props: Could we please add more red balls to the boob Grace pops during the red ball scene?
Aug 11: Note for Props: Could we put more blood on the maxi-pad? We need more watermelons, please. And could we get a stronger mallet for D to use on stage? The one we’re using doesn’t have enough power to crack the watermelon open properly.
Aug 12: We bashed the watermelon on Chris Volcano’s head in a different way. D did a very nice curb stomp that shot watermelon guts everywhere. The audience could not stop cheering at the bows. Natalie wasn’t even able to give a post-show thank-you because of it.
Aug 14: Note for Props – D is interested in trying a g-string reveal for the bottle opener. Note for Stage Management – Saturday we need to look at the blow job moment for rehearsal.
Aug 18: We are no longer smashing a watermelon on stage. Instead we used a balloon filled with red balls. Note for Props – Could we please get a glue stick?
Aug 21: Full standing ovation at the end of show.
Aug 22: A good house tonight. Note for Props – We are going to try a cabbage to use for the head that gets stomped on.
Aug 23: There was a tidal wave of applause and cheers during the card reveal. It kept going on for so long the performers had to wait to say, “Is this your card?” without interruption.
Aug 25: Final performance in Edinburgh! Sold out! No notes.