Andy Smart was a giant of the Fringe, and not just because he was more than six feet tall; indeed, his height may have been the least gigantic thing about him. For over four decades Andy Smart had been coming to Edinburgh – first as a street performer in double act The Vicious Boys, then as a bombastic member of the UK’s most beloved impro troops and with solo shows Look Back At Danger (1993) and The Dope (1998). Andy was a man unafraid to throw himself into things and to squeeze the life out of them.
It thus came as a bit of a jolt to those who knew him that he wasn’t actually immortal. Even more shocking? That an Edinburgh Fringe could come and go without him. Whilst the first of these surprises is irrevocable, the second is being corrected.
Not So Smart: Raising Funds for Crisis in Memory of Andy Smart, takes place on Saturday August 12 at 22:00 in The Gilded Ballon’s Debating hall, with a lineup that reads like a who’s who of festival royalty. There’ll be stand-up from Stewart Lee, Jo Caulfield, Fred MacAulay and Simon Munnery and improvisation from the likes of Paul Merton, Stephen Frost, Mike McShane, Richard Vranch, Suki Webster, Ian Coppinger, Sally Hodgkiss, and Rufus Hound. The event promises to be one of the must-see shows of this year’s fringe, full of laughter, poignant reminiscences and general chaos – exactly the kind of thing Andy had been at the very heart of – pint in hand – for over four decades.
Whilst the man’s contribution to festival comedy and improv is well known, less reported are the years he spent volunteering for the homelessness charity Crisis. In his book A Hitch in Time Andy revealed that he’d occasionally had nowhere to call home, and his compassion for those facing similar hardship never left him. A big man with a big heart who just made everything bigger – including, sadly, the gap he’s left behind.
Whilst filling that gap may well be beyond us, filling The Debating Hall to honour a man who honoured the Fringe with his presence for forty years certainly shouldn’t be.
Tickets are available here, with all proceeds going to Crisis to support its invaluable work.
https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/not-so-smart-raising-funds-for-crisis-in-memory-of-andy-smart
