Recently lots of people have asked me what the best shows I saw during this years Edinburgh Fringe were. I was lucky enough to have a job reviewing theatre and spoken word shows and this obviously meant that I got see a variety of different things. I've decided to compile a top 10 and post it up here on my IdeasTap Blog.
First up numbers 10 - 6.

10. Anthropoetry @ Fingers Piano Bar
Ben Mellor and Dan Steele created a journey through the human body using poetry and music. The show had a loose narrative that took the audience from the head downwards. Each poem was delivered without missing a beat and showed why Ben Mellor won the BBC Radio 4 Slam Poetry Championship. He knew how to engage an audience and delivered poetry in a way that appealed to a wide demographic.

9. Monkey Poet @ Banshee Labyrinth
Monkey Poet is an exhausting spoken word performer - exhausting in a good way. He performed two shows at this years fringe and both were presented by someone who put his heart, soul and complete enthusiasm into his act. His Spoken Word show 'Potty Mouth' was typical performance poetry but delivered with humility, intensity and genuine humour. His theatre piece -'Murder Mystery' was a one-man show that took the audience on a trip through poetry and fantasy. The message that poetry is an important art form that can change people, was delivered with style and passion by a performer who truly believed in his source material.

8. Blink @ Traverse Theatre
Blink was a love story of two individuals who found themselves divided and then tied together. Set Design by Hannah Clark was exquisite and took us into the world of Sophie and Jonah (played by Rosie Wyatt and Harry McEntire). The overall quirkiness and style made this performance stand out, with a brilliant written script by Phil Porter. This was modern drama and love played out brilliantly.

7. Uninvited @ Bedlam Theatre
Uninvited was a bizarre theatre piece and an imaginative take on a contemporary story. Fat Git theatre developed their own fantasy world where tormentors hide within the cracks and dark memories can push people to the edge. Brilliantly conceived sound effects added to the drama and innovative costume design presented strange and intimidating characters. Overall a brilliant performance from an excellent theatre company.

6. Grit @ Bedlam Theatre
Of all the shows I saw, Grit was the one that I always recommended to people first. This is because I do not believe anyone could not find the story and nature of the performance a joy to watch. Taking war stories as told by children as an influence, the audience was presented with a playful piece of theatre that had a strong and important message at heart. What made Grit stand out was that it never lost sight of its message and presented it in a unique and atypical way. Set design and projections were utilised to their fullest and this was fantastic to watch.