Editor’s Note: Due to a minor conflict of interest and Louisa’s general demeanour, we could not in good conscience authorise her press pass. Unfortunately, she really wanted to review things. As such, we have assigned her the goings-on-about-town beat. Louisa please stop emailing me. – Anna Claire Shuman, Editor-In-Chief
Tesco and it’s the same but there are new fridges so it’s not
This isn’t even Fringe related but why did they shut it down for so long if it’s not even going to look cool and different. One star.
The power outage
August 2, 2024- the day we learned that the real lights of the Fringe were the people that make it possible. Unfortunately it wasn’t just the lights that were out; rendered speaker, projector, and fog machineless, the shows were tragically unable to go on. Sometimes a fiasco like this brings a community together, and sometimes acapella groups are rendered venueless and have to fight for a street corner to perform on. We did not personally see this happening (we were drinking Blue Moon Shandies) but it seems likely. Who’s really to say though what happened in that hour of chaos… like a phoenix, the city centre soon rose from the darkness, leaving behind the ashes of the improv unperformed. We may never know what locations those audiences would have suggested, but we can tell you that yes, the cell signal is always that bad here.
Seeing a show in a place that’s seen you at your lowest
Have you ever wondered what it’s like to be sober in Hive? To experience joy and whimsy in the Gordon Aikman Lecture Theatre? With so many of our spaces temporarily repurposed, it’s easy to feel haunted by your personal demons and first year tutors, an experience that can be harrowing or healing depending on the quality of performer. Tread carefully.
The idea of a G list celebrity staying in your first year accommodation
Who knows- your fifth favorite internet comedian could be getting absolutely no play in the same exact Unite Students bed you once did! Fate sure does weave a fantastical web…
Blue Moon Shandies *
Half beer, half lemonade, the humble shandy is oft ridiculed for her alcohol content- but this sunny first week of the Fringe, she was what our livers (and wallets) truly needed. As Icarus’s father crafted his waxen wings, I too crafted a drink last fringe; a horrifying mix of redbull, cider, vodka, and fresh lime I called “Girl Beer”. And like Icarus, I crashed hard after confronting the post Hive till Five sun. This year I’m older, wiser, and (crucially) working at 9 am most days- the fringe is a marathon (not a sprint) and with longevity as my aim I want something tasty I can sip all day in the sun. Enter: the shandy; you can pick your beer of choice- but you should pick Blue Moon. Sure the ratio and cost are both entirely dependent on the bartender serving you, but isn’t embracing unpredicability a part of life? Within the madcap chaos of the Fringe, the Blue Moon Shandy is teaching us here at The Student to relinquish control and embrace temperance. Relax- it’s shand o’clock.
*The Student is not affiliated with Blue Moon or MillerCoors
Collage by Anna Claire Shuman, with photography by Random Girl In Bristo Square.