By Steve Roe
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Riots & Reviews

Two things on my mind at the moment: Riots and Reviews.

We currently feel like we're in a happy little Edinburgh soap bubble floating around a sunshine sky while apparently in our home town all hell has broken loose. Weirder still is that all the riots are happening where are cast usually live. George (my girlfriend and cast member) usually lives in Clapham, Jules in Hackney, Jon in Balham and basically all of us are seeing pictures of places we actually know and love. Jules's local pub has been burnt down and riots have been happening at the end of George's road.

We even had an impro friend who was tweeting last night from Clapham that gangs of masked men were surrounding her flat as it was above a Sainsbury's.

Usually this would all be seen on TV by us or in the papers, but because we're in Edinburgh we've been away from usual media and have instead been picking up what's been happening through twitter and facebook on people's phones as it happens. It was actually terrifying on our friend's behalf to hear about more and more people surrounding her house and us having nothing to do about it, and instead be in this happy little sunshine world of make believe musicals.

The nicest image we've ever seen though is of people gathering in Clapham, near my girlfriend's house, holding their brooms aloft. A kind of anti-riot riot and probably the most British thing I've ever seen. Well done riot wombles!

On the same day as all that we had our first reviewer in the audience. We had already decided that if we caught wind of a reviewer that we would tell each other so the whole cast knew, so I told them, and we immediately regretted that decision. We found it really nerve wracking and it made us feel quite frozen. It obviously takes a while for it to be written up and released so at the moment I've got the following stuff going round my head, in fact here's a glimpse of what's going on in my mind right now....

"Did they like it? Did people laugh enough? Becca and George sang beautifully. My singing was awful. Deathbot could have been better, I should have been a bigger deathbot. Please please please. Oh no. It was ok. I hope that family enjoyed it, they were great. Why didn't they come to the one before? We don't need one anyway, we're doing really well. What if it's awful? Riots? That's where George lives. Not party superstore, I love that place, I buy all my show props from there! Please leave London Bridge alone. Balham. Who are they? I want to meet them. Where do they come from? Please hope you like it. Can we do another one please? We'll come to your house. Twitter twitter twitter facebook twitter. Can't believe they are surrounding your house. It's fine, not that important. Oh my god it's so important. Can I have a cuddle please? Yum, fish and chips. I wish I hadn't eaten that fish and chips. Can I have some nachos please? I wish I hadn't eaten those nachos. How much for a milkshake???"

Good news though is our show is selling out every day now. This makes me really happy. Making it suitable for families and making it clean and happy as opposed to bleak dark comedy seems to be working, especially in the afternoon.

Lots of love to London and everyone voluteering to help clean up, we all think you're amazing and you're showing London for what it's really about.

Lots of love to Edinburgh, you're actually being sunny at the moment and everyone really appreciates it.

We thought our suggestion today would be "London Riots" but actually it was "On top of a mountain", and it was the most fun bit of escapism I've ever improvised.

Extra Bit:

Just reading the above after posting it and it reads really weird. It feels strange to be talking about something so negative and something else so positive at the same time, as if I'm not allowed or it looks spoilt to have such great things going on.

It feels like London at the moment is an example of what happens when lots of people join together to destroy as many things as possible, and Edinburgh is an example of what happens when lots of people join together to create as many things as possible.

- by Steve Roe

Any opinions expressed above do not represent the view of Whatsonstage.com nor any of its staff or contributors beyond the bylined author.

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Other Posts By Steve Roe
	Bye Bye Edinburgh - 29th Aug 2011 blog
	Why are most comedy groups white, middle class twenty/early thirty-somethings? - 21st Aug 2011 blog
	Edinburgh Advice 308: You will get ill anyway, so you might as well drink - 19th Aug 2011 blog
	Music Box have become superstitious - 13th Aug 2011 blog
	The Music Box Sandwich Board, Best Thing I've Ever Done - 8th Aug 2011 blog
	Dr. Music Box's Prevention of the Edinburgh Lurgy - 6th Aug 2011 blog
	Music Box First Show - 3rd Aug 2011 blog
	Edinburgh To-Do No.456: Be in a good mood. - 1st Aug 2011 blog
	Ahhhhh! Edinburgh! - 29th Jul 2011 blog
	Agent Music Box Reporting For Duty - 27th Jul 2011 blog

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