AS a dad and now a primary teacher, I know the terror of wondering just how to keep the kiddywinks occupied for the seemingly endless summer hols.
Well, thankfully the Edinburgh Fringe is on standby to help under-pressure parents with an ever-expanding offering of children’s shows.
The children’s shows section of the Fringe programme is the fastest-expanding section, as people have realised that it’s not just mums and dads flocking to the capital for some summer fun, they’re often accompanied by ankle-biters of all ages, too.
And if you take the weans to see just one show – which you won’t, but just go with it for a second – I can’t recommend Doktor Kaboom! highly enough.
I was lucky enough to see the bonkers boffin at last year’s Fringe, and it was immediately easy to see why he has won so many worldwide awards, including this year’s SPARK Award for Outstanding Contribution to Science Education.
This year, Herr Doktor is bringing his brand-new Under Pressure! show to Edinburgh, and it’s sure to be a sell-out smash as each of his three previous visits have been.
The mad scientist takes equal parts of stand-up comedy, science and personal empowerment messages and this year’s offering is using the physics of pressure as a metaphor for the real-life mental and emotional stresses that face us all.
Like entertaining the kids for a month-and-a-half…
Apart from the gags galore, the best thing about Kaboom is that the audience doesn’t realise they are learning as well as laughing as he self-destructs a five-gallon steel bucket, fires ping-pong balls at a huge gong out of the Vacuum Cannon at 300mph and even makes it snow on stage.
Kids love the circus (well, don’t we all, except those of us who suffer from coulrophobia – the fear of clowns, I suppose) and Circus The Show is back for another smash-hit year at the Fringe.
Last year, I joined ringmaster Magnus Danger Magnus – yes, that’s his real name – magicians Sam and Justin and Nathan the Clown and the last-named managed to squeeze me into a six-foot rubber balloon and bounce me about, much to the amusement of a crowd that had gathered to see the spectacle of a 50-something man disappear into something akin to a giant PacMan.
Now, I don’t have coulrophobia but after that decidedly odd experience I did have some very strong emotions towards Nathan. Mainly a thirst for revenge when I discovered my ordeal had been captured by the BBC’s cameras…
It’s a genuinely brilliant show full of illusions, acrobats, jugglers, aerialists and more laughs than you could shake a ringmaster’s top hat at.
Speaking of the aforementioned Mr Magnus, he’s bringing his new Explosive Science Show! to Edinburgh for its European debut after a sell-out, award-laden tour of his native Australia.
It’s a science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) themed show but don’t let that put the kids off as it’s an hour of explosions, experiments, electromagnetism, scientific weirdness, hilarity and audience participation – all presented by a man who, having got to know him over the past couple of years, I can confidently say has more than one screw loose.
Also making his Fringe debut is the internationally-acclaimed Maxwell The Bubbleologist (try saying that after a Lambrini or two).
The South African star brings The Flying Bubble Show to the Underbelly Circus Hub and it’s a breathtaking blend of bubble artistry, aerial choreography, storytelling and sensory exploration.
The show explores themes of perseverance and discovering joy in unexpected places as Maxwell gently conveys powerful messages about embracing mistakes and following curiosity.
It’s based upon his own extraordinary journey from the Eastern Cape, landing in London aged 18 with nothing but a suitcase and £100 and then travelling the world, working countless odd jobs before discovering his gift for engaging and inspiring children while working in a summer camp in America.
Now, Edinburgh is a historic city with a long – sometimes dark – history and let’s face it, children love a bit of the macabre.
No wonder, then, that City Of Edinburgh Tours are offering a child-friendly Children’s Underground Ghost Show alongside their more adult-oriented tours of Auld Reekie’s vaults.
You join Mingin’ Annie who transports herself from Edinburgh’s past to explore what it’s like to be trapped for 400 years under the Old Town’s streets, telling tales of witches, plagues and gruesome goings-on – ghostly fun for all but it’s recommended for ages five and above.
In a similar but somewhat more scatological vein, Edinburgh Storytellers Ltd are bringing back their outrageously horrible show Plague, Poo And Punishment – and quite frankly the title says it all.
Kids love this sort of thing (even 55-year-old ones like me, ahem…) and using catchy songs and really, REALLY bad gags the performers – both of whom the little ’uns will no doubt recognise from CBBC – bring Edinburgh’s horrible history back to life.
Kind of the reverse of what body snatchers Burke and Hare, who feature in the show, were up to in Edinburgh’s dark, dank slums almost two centuries ago.
More information on, and tickets for, all of these shows can be found at www.edfringe.com
