My Fringe dreams – will it be third time lucky for Lori Hamilton? article by Lori Hamilton

By Lori Hamilton
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17th Feb 2022
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Edinburgh Fringe

In 2020 I was thrilled and delighted to be going to the Edinburgh Fringe. After six years of writing and working on music, my show North Star (or what I listened to instead of my intuition) was ready to go. Sadly, COVID said “nope!”

It’s 2022. This is the year. The girl who cried “Edinburgh Fringe!” is ready to play!

Undaunted, I did online shows with TheSpaceUK, Rochester Fringe and The Brighton Fringe. I looked forward to 2021. This time, I was determined! Nothing would stand in my way… except COVID AGAIN! Drat!

Truthfully, I was a bit discouraged. I’m not saying that I ate an entire tin of Edinburgh shortbread in a week, but someone did. I let myself be discouraged, put things away for a while, pouted, took long sad walks in the rain. Then I had a rest and renewed myself with gratitude for all the great opportunities this process has brought me.

Since 2020 I’ve won 19 awards for short films, done 17 online shows, hours of rehearsals, overcame injuries and managed to get my cats to stop interrupting… most of the time.

It’s 2022. This is the year. The girl who cried “Edinburgh Fringe!” is ready to play! And lose those UK shortbread pounds. Truthfully, I’ve learned a lot. Here are some of the key lessons from my journey/non-journey to Edinburgh:

First - every bad thing that happened gave way to a good thing, often an even better thing than I would have dreamed of. It takes a lot of time, money, and effort to mount a show at the Edinburgh Fringe. It’s all worth it because I have grown so much (and I don’t just mean the shortbread).

Second - having been so geared up to go to the Edinburgh Fringe and then let down twice actually gave me a healthier perspective on the whole thing. I’m much more grounded as an artist and looking forward to seeing what comes.

And finally, the Edinburgh Fringe Festival is much more than an opportunity to perform. It truly is a community. Going in 2022 will feel more like visiting with family and friends, most of whom I haven’t met in person yet.

If you’d like to find out more then take a look at the show website and (as tickets aren’t available yet) you can register and we’ll let you know when they are available.

North Star (or what I listened to instead of my intuition) is at theSpace @ Surgeons’ Hall, Haldane Theatre, August 6-August 13 https://www.thespaceuk.com.

Articles by Lori Hamilton

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My Fringe dreams – will it be third time lucky for Lori Hamilton?

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