Last night the Royal Vauxhall Tavern hosted the first night of the salacious Hot August Fringe. Running every Monday to Friday for five weeks there are plenty of comedy acts, bands and high jinx to be had as the performers warm up for their Edinburgh slots.
We were impressed with the Tavern's transformation into a bona fide cabaret bar complete with warm and welcoming atmosphere. The staff were on hand all evening to ply us with a range of free gifts from green tea punch, which had first act Rosie Wilby stumbling over her words, to chocolates and oriental fans to keep us cool when the dialogue heated up. Which it inevitably did!
In the opening performance, The Science of Sex, Rosie Wilby talked us through the biological intricacies of love, partnership and sexual attraction during a set that involved plenty of home made props and laughs from the audience.
Our favourite act of the evening Cabaret Whore, aka Sarah-Louise Young, took to the stage as three different characters; American trailer trash prostitute, booky librarian with a Katie Price fixation and suicidal French performer with a hatred for Sarkozy and Edith Piaf. Her character transformations were perfectly executed, her singing was brilliant and her lyrics original and very entertaining.
There are up to four acts performing on some evenings, with doors opening at 6pm. We recommend you get there early, there were queues at the door as we left and some very covetable seats which get taken pretty quickly!
Hot August Fringe, until 28th August 2009, Royal Vauxhall Tavern, for more information go to The Hot August Fringe website here.
