Edinburgh Festival Day Three: 'The Silence of Snow- The Life of Patrick Hamilton', '10 Films with My Dad', 'Agitación Senil' and 'Chef'

The Silence of Snow- The Life of Patrick Hamilton: Possibly the best free show I have ever been to. The life of writer Patrick Hamilton is a shocking, twisted and incredible one which we learn about in a mere hour. Mark Farrelly is an insanely talented actor and writer who effortlessly manages  to keep an audience gripped while we admire the depth and detail of his character. With little use of props and lighting, Patrick's story really does come to life with humour and tragedy. All donations from the end of the show are also headed to MIND but I really wouldn't have complained if I had paid for this show.
4 STARS

10 Films with My Dad: I've had a bad experience with free comedy shows but fortunately I was entertained by the life of Aidan. As the title says, we are led through 10 films which Aidan has watched with his Dad and have had an impact on his life. The homemade video clips of each film and ongoing jokes with the audience didn't fail to make anyone laugh, although I guess the dog helped too! It probably would have helped if I had seen a few more films than I had but nonetheless I'm glad I tried another free comedy show.
3 STARS

Agitación Senil: I booked this show thinking that with a plot as batty as 'Three elderly people are sitting on a bench.... Leads them to join forces and rob a bank!' that no matter what it would be hilarious. Oh how I was wrong. The set, masks and idea were all brilliant but the show took too long and even though the physicality and actions were supposed to make me laugh, they didn't and just seemed stupid. I wanted to like this show, I really did, but I just couldn't.
2 STARS

Chef: Jade Anouka's characterisation and acting was absolutely mesmerising. It was practically faultless and although I enjoyed the extraordinary script, I can never see it being done as well as Anouka performed it. With each recipe we learnt new parts of the background story of this character and some major issues of our legal system and violence are brought up. An impressive show which was clearly enjoyed by the whole audience; this show deserves a sell-out run for the rest of the fringe.
4 STARS