EDINBURGH 2017: A Day At The Fringe- Alex Walton

Alex Walton from Ibiza To The Norfolk Broads blogs for BWW about his typical day at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

9.37am Wake, fall asleep, wake up, fall asleep again. Check Twitter, lounge in bed a bit longer. Get into awkward yoga position. Try not to get stuck. Nothing worse than a debilitating downward dog. Not a good look in the mirror...

10.13am Eat three high protein Weetabix with full fat Gold Top milk. It's important for my health and energy and to ensure I maintain my slender, slight frame for my character.

10.27am Check Twitter, Guardian and Facebook to see what the world thinks of the world.

10.53am Shower, shave, realise I have forgotten to charge my phone. Again.

11.49am Get dressed and put on bicycle paraphernalia. Luminous green helmet makes me look like an upside-down street lamp but ridicule is better than a broken neck.

11:51am Commence battle with double front doors with my bike, fall over 3 times in the process.

12.26pm After negotiating the death trap that is Princes Street (see helmet above), I reach the Pleasance. Call Heather from the FOH team and enter through the fire exit. Glamorous.

12.52pm I get into costume and warm up to the grunting sounds and rowing machines whirls of rowing club members with whom we share a space.

1.15pm Enter theatre space to help with get-in and set assembly. Check all my props. Go to the loo. Twice.

1.50pm Stand nervously backstage fidgeting.

1.55pm Show starts. Wonder if bald man on the front is from Scotsman or just texting his wife to say how amazing the show is.

3.13pm Show finishes. 78 minutes on my own up there. Knackered. Strike set. I go and meet Ade (Berry - the writer and director).

3.36pm Notes. He tells me how great I am. I never slip up or miss a line - honest.

3.42pm I have a burger with onions, mayo ketchup and BBQ sauce from a food stall. Every day. I am well healthy.

4.30-6.30pm Flyering. Essential part of the job. Persuade several people that a solo Bowie work is far better than a silent existentialist Ukrainian clown show about the fluctuating weather in 21st century democracies. I know all about that. I am in Edinburgh.

6.38pm I cycle home and narrowly avoid a head-on collision with a tram.

7.17pm Disco nap. Don't actually nap. But do actually Disco. Make dinner - Thai turkey curry with brown rice. Turkey is healthier and cheaper than chicken. I might risk a single beer, of which I leave half. Rock 'n' roll.

9.02pm Head out. Meet friends. Catch some comedy in room above a pokey pub. Belly laugh for a bit.

10.47pm Stay in pub as the rain is pouring down. Catch second shoW. Maybe.

12.48am I head home after two beers - any more and I'm flat on the floor. Lightweight.

1.17am Get in coffin-like 60s lift that repeatedly gets stuck. I will not be defeated. Even if I have to sleep here standing up.

1.33am I fall into deep coma to IT Crowd (second series).

9.37am Wake, fall asleep again...

From Ibiza to the Norfolk Broads

Pleasance Courtyard (Forth), 60 Pleasance, Edinburgh, EH8 9TJ

Wednesday 2nd - Monday 28th August 2017, 13:55

Photo credit: Thomas Claxton

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