Day 2. Im at the main comedy venue, Secret Cellar. It comprises of two performance spaces, one upstairs int eh main bar and one, more classic, downstairs. The downstairs area is an interesting one. Visually it is stunning and will doubtlessly be used for filming in the future. It is however next to the smoking lounge. So unless you happen to enjoy smoking prepare to be uncomfortable. In fact just take a mask with you. That should do the trick. Of course this is one of the advantages of watching the livestream through crowd cast which is both smoke free and socially distanced. If you follow Reykjavik Fringe on Crowncast it enables you to watch all the performances without asking for a payment. We do however encourage you to donate to the artist, a PayPal link will be provided during the stream.
The first show I saw was Do You Gal with Kat McDogal. This show is basically perfect. And its only on one more time, on Sunday so make sure you catch it. Do You Gal is the story of learning to come to terms with oneself, dealing with grief at a young age and seeing the funny side of it all. It is inherently feminist and pee yourself funny. I do thoroughly recommend seeing Kat if you get the chance.
The second show I saw was Squeak with comedian Dan Zerin which should be familiar to those on the comedy scene as a member of My Voices Have Tourettes. In his first solo show Dan talks about having tourettes and the struggle of going through airport security with dark hair, a bear and a whole plethora of tics. Dan´s show was introduced by his friend Stefnir, who recently joined My Voices Have Tourettes. Dan works well with the audience and as a commanding stage presence. He is honest about his tics and how, sometimes, performing can make them worse due to the stress he experiences. Which is an interesting viewing experience to say the least.
Shortly after that I had to retire home to my countryside home. Being carless is not so glamorous when you live in country with unreliable public transport. It does however give you a moment to pause and think and to take everyday as it come. But coupled with a fulltime job, it is not exactly aiding me in having the complete Fringe experience. But perhaps a fringe festival in Iceland is an entity of its own and not to be compared with other more esthablished festivals. But thats exactly what makes it so exciting, the idea that absolutely anything can happen. You think you know fringe by now but the Reykjavik Fringe is completely unique. Definately one to watch out for.