Parental Guidance

I have a friend coming up to visit Edinburgh with a teenage daughter so she asks what they should try and see together. This is an interesting question because Edinburgh has traditionally catered for clearly defined age groups - children’s theatre in the mornings, and over-18 rated stuff late at night. The slots in between could be hit and miss - and it was pot luck whether or not parents and offspring could sit together in an auditorium without squirming.

Funnily enough, here at the Stage flat we have noticed several things about this year’s Edinburgh that set it quite apart from the previous years:

• one most talked about show amongst adults is White, officially aimed at 2-4 year olds,
• there is at least one children’s show actually happening at 11pm,
• teenagers are seemingly the most catered for group at this year’s Fringe.

With shows such as I, Claudia, Teenage Riot, No Child, Operation Greenfield, A Midsummer Night’s Madness all featuring either teenage protagonists or targeting that age group, no parent and teenage offspring will be stuck for choice. The only question will be whether they go in together or separately.

Teenage Riot has certainly divided audiences down the middle, and rather appropriately the age of the audience does seem to be a factor. With such controversial shows as Teenage Riot, The Author by Tim Crouch and Martin Creed’s dance piece earlier in the month - all of which provoked unprecedented walkouts from the Traverse - this forty-odd year old venue certainly seems to be going through its second youth.

Another shocking thing we’ve noticed is that this year, for the first time in years, we do not have the usual unofficial nudity list going on our notice board. None has been spotted. Maybe because the Naked Brunch took it upon itself to cater for that particular theatrical genre this year? In it audience nudity is required too, and it comes under ‘events’ and ‘tasting’, rather than strictly speaking ‘theatre’. As opposed to the late night’s children’s theatre, this one falls into a morning slot, but parents might be relieved to know that under 18s are not allowed.