Aidan Goatley : 10 Films With My Dad, Voodoo Rooms, Edinburgh Fringe

A Fringe classic.  After five years playing to Edinburgh audiences, and having been toured to various countries around the world, today was the two hundred and second, and (probably, you never know....) last performance of 10 Films With My Dad.  It was good to see it retire with glory, with a large and enthusiastic audience there to mark it's passing.

Goatley and his dad never talked much.  They just went to films together, and that formed the basis for their relationship.  Featuring (you guessed it) ten films they had shared, Aidan charts the highs and lows of their times together, and the uncanny powers of red wellies.  It's about communication, missed opportunities, but also the need to express feelings and how difficult that can prove from a man who's been taught to repress his.

Dad set up John Wayne as the perfect role model for his son, so one can only hope he isn't too disappointed with the result.  Goatley is unlikely to make a convincingly tough cowboy, because he's warm, welcoming, theatrical, mildly camp, and very, very funny.  Plus he delivers a memorable Michael Caine impression.  Lacking the budget to show clips from the films themselves, he has recreated some of the scenes using a few mates and his dog, and the results are amateurishly hilarious.  

Beyond the comedy there are some moving moments about inter generational misunderstandings and finding ways to make contact with one another.  This is the third year running that I've seen the show and there's still a few seconds when I found a few tears in my eyes.

So that's it, a Fringe legend is no more.  If you'd like to see what all the fuss was about here's a recording of the show from last year.  That says 'final performance' as well, but I think he may actually mean it this time....

Oh, and you'll get to see who the real star of the show is.  Hats off to Kimble the dog.