So, that's 3 weeks in Edinburgh, 16 performances of 'Jeu Jeu la Foille: Frontal Lobotomy', 4 open cabaret spots, 26 shows seen, hours and hours of flyering, and more alcohol units than it's possible to count! It's gone rather well for a debut solo performance that only really came into being on it's opening night, and every performance was both a learning curve and a pleasure. Here are some lovely tweets from audience members:
Passionate, poetic, powerful. Thanks for punching a hole in my nighttime mist.
Splendidly entertaining & just this side of a troubling performance. @JeuJeulaFoille She's innocent when she dreams
If you haven't already, go see @JeuJeulaFoille 😘 she is superb think you'll like
Please go and see my friend @JeuJeulaFoille in #FrontalLobotamy @edfringe Just a few shows left @tomwaits fans will love it!
Fantastic #tomwaites #cabaret poetry and props at #Edinburghfringe hope to catch you in London
Go see Frontal Labotomy @JeuJeulaFoille It's beautiful. Poetry in motion #southsidesocial
Happy to have seen my friend @JeuJeulaFoille for the second time in #FrontalLobotomy! Highly recommended #southsidesocial #TomWaits
#EdFringe cherry cracked as burlesque poet @JeuJeulaFoille channels@tomwaits versus the lobotomobile, strength in darkness @freefringefest
Just seen @JeuJeulaFoille my first #freefringe show, burlesque performance poetry with teeth, or should I say an ice pick. #edfringe2016
Congratulations on a surprising, funny, sweet, emotional, educational, tantalising and thoughtful show. So glad I came tonight, utterly brilliant and highly recommended xx
A few days into the run, I found this preview from The Upcoming: The Top Ten Most Anticipated Shows at the Edinburgh Fringe
Jeu Jeu la Foille: Frontal Lobotomy, Laughing Horse @ Southside Social
Here’s a freebie for those who didn’t plan well enough ahead. Burlesque babe Jeu Jeu la Foille interestingly commingles original spoken word with the tantalising musical work of Tom Waits to create an intoxicating, sultry spectacle.
On the 11th August, I got a huge surprise, as I was given the 'Hidden Gem' stamp from Fringe Review!
'There’s a delicate cheekiness in the air. It’s a mix of disarming innocence, a coy smile and a theatrical wink which keeps you constantly intrigued by Jeu Jeu la Foille: Frontal Lobotomy.'
Read the full review here.
A couple of days later, a review from Three Weeks came out. They awarded it three stars, and gave it a nice write-up, with one blundering mistake - Using the name John Waite rather than TOM WAITS!! WHO IS JOHN WAITE????
See for yourself here.
At first I laughed...then I was annoyed at the ineptitude. It still hasn't been changed despite several emails from my producer, my friends and other reviewers.
Sick of the Fringe published a very well-written piece about the link between mental illness, Tom Waits and Beat poetry.
Read the full article here.
I was delighted with this write-up, as Sick of the Fringe is an organisation which focuses on the links between art, science and well-being - and that is something I set out to do with the making of this show.
The Scotsman published a review on the 19th of August. Another three star, and a good write-up - I don't think I'll ever understand the star system, but I was delighted that The Scotsman had been to see it, and especially honored to be reviewed by Ben Walters.
Have a look here.
I also got a little mention in SG Fringe for the open spot I did at Pollyanna Cabaret - 'Jeu Jeu La Foille’s whiskey-soaked spoken word burlesque skit gives us chills.'
In my final week I was approached as I flyered on the Royal Mile, and told I had been nominated for a Best of the Free Fringe Award - I won't find out the result until the Fringe is over, but it's amazing to have been selected from 300+ shows.
Reviews aside, the other thing that became the main topic of conversation both in real life and on social media, was audience numbers. I'm lucky in that my show doesn't rely on the audience unlike comedy, cabaret or improv shows, so I often joked that an audience of one would be fine for me, but rather intense for them! Luckily it never reached that point, and my smallest audience was 6, the largest being around 40. The biggest audiences were Friday and Saturday nights, the smallest on Sunday nights. It was steady throughout the week, and on average I had around 15 people per night. There seemed to be no rhyme or reason with flyering; on days were I had done minimal flyering I had a full house, and vice versa. Being a free fringe show I could never predict how many audience I would have or how much money they would give. Sometimes there were £10 or £20 notes in my hat, and on a few occasions people couldn't give anything, and apologised profusely! The money wasn't a motivator for me, and although I was far from breaking even, I made plenty to sustain myself and buy tickets or leave money in the bucket for other shows.
I had quite an international audience: French, Portugese, Danish, Spanish, Lithuanian, Polish - and those were just the people I asked on the way out. I wish I could've asked everyone I didn't already know why they had come, and some I did - several were Tom Waits fans, others were interested in my training, some were into poetry, and probably many just rocked up and took a chance on a strange little show in the upstairs of a pub, down a lonely road in the Southside of Edinburgh.
There's so much more I want to write, I haven't even mentioned all of the amazing shows and talented performers I got to see - I'll have to save that for Part 2. As for 'Frontal Lobotomy', I hadn't thought beyond this point, but it's definitely not done with yet. More to come!
Passionate, poetic, powerful. Thanks for punching a hole in my nighttime mist.
Splendidly entertaining & just this side of a troubling performance. @JeuJeulaFoille She's innocent when she dreams
If you haven't already, go see @JeuJeulaFoille 😘 she is superb think you'll like
Please go and see my friend @JeuJeulaFoille in #FrontalLobotamy @edfringe Just a few shows left @tomwaits fans will love it!
Fantastic #tomwaites #cabaret poetry and props at #Edinburghfringe hope to catch you in London
Go see Frontal Labotomy @JeuJeulaFoille It's beautiful. Poetry in motion #southsidesocial
Happy to have seen my friend @JeuJeulaFoille for the second time in #FrontalLobotomy! Highly recommended #southsidesocial #TomWaits
#EdFringe cherry cracked as burlesque poet @JeuJeulaFoille channels@tomwaits versus the lobotomobile, strength in darkness @freefringefest
Just seen @JeuJeulaFoille my first #freefringe show, burlesque performance poetry with teeth, or should I say an ice pick. #edfringe2016
Congratulations on a surprising, funny, sweet, emotional, educational, tantalising and thoughtful show. So glad I came tonight, utterly brilliant and highly recommended xx
A few days into the run, I found this preview from The Upcoming: The Top Ten Most Anticipated Shows at the Edinburgh Fringe
Jeu Jeu la Foille: Frontal Lobotomy, Laughing Horse @ Southside Social
Here’s a freebie for those who didn’t plan well enough ahead. Burlesque babe Jeu Jeu la Foille interestingly commingles original spoken word with the tantalising musical work of Tom Waits to create an intoxicating, sultry spectacle.
On the 11th August, I got a huge surprise, as I was given the 'Hidden Gem' stamp from Fringe Review!
'There’s a delicate cheekiness in the air. It’s a mix of disarming innocence, a coy smile and a theatrical wink which keeps you constantly intrigued by Jeu Jeu la Foille: Frontal Lobotomy.'
Read the full review here.
A couple of days later, a review from Three Weeks came out. They awarded it three stars, and gave it a nice write-up, with one blundering mistake - Using the name John Waite rather than TOM WAITS!! WHO IS JOHN WAITE????
See for yourself here.
At first I laughed...then I was annoyed at the ineptitude. It still hasn't been changed despite several emails from my producer, my friends and other reviewers.
Sick of the Fringe published a very well-written piece about the link between mental illness, Tom Waits and Beat poetry.
Read the full article here.
I was delighted with this write-up, as Sick of the Fringe is an organisation which focuses on the links between art, science and well-being - and that is something I set out to do with the making of this show.
The Scotsman published a review on the 19th of August. Another three star, and a good write-up - I don't think I'll ever understand the star system, but I was delighted that The Scotsman had been to see it, and especially honored to be reviewed by Ben Walters.
Have a look here.
I also got a little mention in SG Fringe for the open spot I did at Pollyanna Cabaret - 'Jeu Jeu La Foille’s whiskey-soaked spoken word burlesque skit gives us chills.'
In my final week I was approached as I flyered on the Royal Mile, and told I had been nominated for a Best of the Free Fringe Award - I won't find out the result until the Fringe is over, but it's amazing to have been selected from 300+ shows.
Reviews aside, the other thing that became the main topic of conversation both in real life and on social media, was audience numbers. I'm lucky in that my show doesn't rely on the audience unlike comedy, cabaret or improv shows, so I often joked that an audience of one would be fine for me, but rather intense for them! Luckily it never reached that point, and my smallest audience was 6, the largest being around 40. The biggest audiences were Friday and Saturday nights, the smallest on Sunday nights. It was steady throughout the week, and on average I had around 15 people per night. There seemed to be no rhyme or reason with flyering; on days were I had done minimal flyering I had a full house, and vice versa. Being a free fringe show I could never predict how many audience I would have or how much money they would give. Sometimes there were £10 or £20 notes in my hat, and on a few occasions people couldn't give anything, and apologised profusely! The money wasn't a motivator for me, and although I was far from breaking even, I made plenty to sustain myself and buy tickets or leave money in the bucket for other shows.
I had quite an international audience: French, Portugese, Danish, Spanish, Lithuanian, Polish - and those were just the people I asked on the way out. I wish I could've asked everyone I didn't already know why they had come, and some I did - several were Tom Waits fans, others were interested in my training, some were into poetry, and probably many just rocked up and took a chance on a strange little show in the upstairs of a pub, down a lonely road in the Southside of Edinburgh.
There's so much more I want to write, I haven't even mentioned all of the amazing shows and talented performers I got to see - I'll have to save that for Part 2. As for 'Frontal Lobotomy', I hadn't thought beyond this point, but it's definitely not done with yet. More to come!
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