Last show day. Half Price Hut AGAIN! Camille O' Sullivan.

Day 16 of Week 36 of World Domination.

This has gotta be short...I gots a big day.

It is my last show today.

I cannot effing believe it...I really can’t...it has gone by so fast.

Today, I am also booked on the Edinburgh Tonight show at my venue ( it is a live chat show....that is what they call them here...love that).

I have had to cancel a couple variety show appearances in the last couple of days because I have been sick...sniffly, headachy, tummy not happy...and I have wanted to muscle through with my 2 hours a day at the Half Price Hut.

I always do well there...but I do feel like a used car salesman, sometimes....it takes me about 2 hours to move about 12 tickets.

Derrick has come down the last few days as well.

There are some great people down there...really...the other actors, sketch comedians, comedians, producers, singers and what not...we all have a kibitz about the day before...how it is going today...I think I am one of the oldest ones....oh no...wait...I am not...now that I think about it there is a lot of different ages....anyhow...I am gonna get a picture with them today!

The last two houses have been packed...I have been very happy about that...and it is always a joy to see the people I talked into coming to the show smiling and laughing in the audience!!

The shows have been great!

Wayne and I have a great time and magically EVERY night we pretty much end on time...which is amazing to me...I did agonize over the set list for days...and it seems to have turned out.

We made some changes to the show early on...songs out and new ones in...and it seems to run like a clock now...that is amazing to learn.

I love the word ‘amazing’ it seems...better that than a word like ‘feces’, I guess.

WHAT?

Anyhow, the guests continue to come and visit Scotland....

Here is Ruth, Tim, Geoff (Ruth and Geoff are Grant’s cousins from Scotland and Tim, I am sure you have met if you have attended any of the shows in Toronto, is Grant’s partner...Grant and Tim have supported me from THE VERY FIRST!), Carling Connor ( recent transport to London from Canada...fierce singer and awesome supporter!) , Wayne, of course, Chris Lorway ( over here as the AD of Luminato seeing fancy theatre...and my show!...he is a dear friend) and the fabu Grant!

And here is a picture of me and my first two army members....members....tee hee.

I got two more fabulous reviews....

The Current

Edinburgh Fringe 2010: Review – Sharron Matthews “Superstar”, Surgeons Hall

By niger

Published: August 26, 2010

***** 5 STARS

With less than three days to go before Sharron Matthews Superstar World Domination Tour 2010 comes to an end I was lucky to get the chance to see her cabaret show. Nothing at all really prepares you for this show and Matthews stuns and impressive from the frist moment you walk into the room. Standing by the door she welcomes everyone to her show and the energy in the room is already pretty high and at this stage of the fringe she has still managed to get a good crowd in.

From the offset Sharron had the audience eating out of her hand and her bedside manner was gracious and a few of these other performers could learn a few things of how to bring class to a cabaret show. At times the quite sentimental and others ridiculously funny this show could have run for 2 hours rather than the 50 minutes we got and still wold have kept the fire Matthews brings to her show. The compilations she created are inspired and are unexpected gems!Of all the songs she tweaked and altered for her show non comes close to what she did with Hotel California. This was spooky, creepy, and original. If she had copies of this song for sale at the end of her show I would have bought it. You have to hear it to understand how good she is and she does more with this songs that make her music standout. Her ability at altering these songs is like a fine artists who sees a masterpiece and is able to enhance it to the point of it gaining a new identity. She does this masterfully and her voice is a gentle and sweet as you could imagine.‘Without question a truly magnificent performer with a great deal of heart and a voice so controlled, sweet and powerful you will leave her show on a high. If your question is whether Sharron Matthews is a superstar, quite frankly yes!’

And my new fave REVIEW!!!

Three Weeks Edinburgh

Sharron Matthews Superstar - World Domination Tour 2010

Sharron Matthews

Sharron Matthews calls herself 'Superstar' and doesn't care what you think. Luckily I think she has the credentials to pull off such an audacious title. Conquering the world one venue at a time, she narrates her hysterical and at times poignant journey from small-town Canada to 'superstardom' with music, her pitch-perfect voice emotionally expressive and impressively used as she flits between songs that are either insane or inspired choices for a cabaret show. From her homage to Britney Spears, her mash-up of Madonna and Shirley Bassey to a heartfelt rendition of Radiohead, Matthews sings with attitude and humour in a show that has more musical surprises and mood swings than a foul-mouthed episode of 'Glee'. World Domination beckons.

theSpaces@ Surgeons Hall, 16 - 28 Aug, 9.05pm (9.55pm), £10.00, fpp 217.

tw rating 4/5

[cnm]

You have gotta love that it never occured to me that the title of this show might present a problem or cause people to judge me before I started.Thank effing god!!!

Last night after the show I jumped into a cab and saw the biggest cabaret performer at the Fringe this year, Camille O’Sullivan.

She is Irish and has a way with the songs.

She was in a 650 seat theatre that was a miniature Royal Alex and had a huge, fabulous 5 piece band and her own drum.

Now, I want a drum.

Anyhow...she was a bit dark...and in the beginning I was not sure what she was up to...it was a mashing of new and old with a strong ‘old school-german’ cabaret influence....but by the time she got to her accapella version of ‘Amsterdam’, slamming her foot on the stage over and over again I was captivated...Derrick said it was worth the price of admission and I agreed (He had come earlier in the week.)...when she got into Dylan’s “Don’t think twice, it’s alright” I was looking at her, wearing my dress that I had just worn in my own show, sitting in a theatre at the Edinburgh Festival...and I cried...I could not stop myself.

I felt so lucky.

I felt very inspired.

Very alive.

And very young....I LOVE THAT!

I heard Camille talk at a cabaret symposium my third day here and she talked about what a job it was for her to get here....how much work...how much money.

And as she swung on a swing and sang a beautiful song I wondered how many steps I was from that gorgeous stage.

I thank you...I thank you all who helped me get here...I don’t take this for granted for one blessed minute.I could not have done this without alone...I am so very humbled. I am off to the Half Price Hut...to my last day of performing...and...I don’t know what else to say.

But thank you.

Here is picture of a kooka street performer on a pole....

KOOKA!

Georgie goes home. BOO!!! Canadian visitors. SOLD OUT!!! and that effing Half Price Hut.

You know the first thing I remember hearing when I got here?

And it came from Alan Cumming....first.

“You’ll sleep when you are dead.”

Holy effing shitbags was there NEVER a more true statement...I go to bed exhausted and exhilarated and I wake up exhausted and determined.

It is kinda like having kids, I think, this fringe...more of a challenge to those past their 20’s.....

My feet hurt....I woke up in the middle of the night in our tiny bed with a fucking charlie horse...and I have had to invest in a VAT of concealer.

But again...it is amazing...It is the single most exciting....tiring....maddening....puzzling...thrilling...exciting thing I have ever done.

George left today...and I walked across Waverly Bridge away from the Airlink bus so sad.

I do not know what I would do without him...

He is my biggest supporter, my best, dearest love and friend and my tree.

He spent 3 hours a day at the Half Price Hut (all of the people who worked their knew him by name) and another 2 on the mile selling the show.

He sold AT LEAST 25 tickets a day....half my house.

Then he would spend another hour making my dinner while I napped.

He is the captain of the team....and if it isn’t clear enough...I am so in love with him I could spit.

And he loves having his picture taken as a monster....

....because he wasn’t allowed to make faces in pictures as a child...and he has decided it is his new thing.

The shows are very exciting for me.

I have never had the opportunity to do it so many times in a row...refining my thoughts and the comedy...and the songs...it is a pleasure and a blessing.

Working with the young Wayne Gwillim every night is also a blessing and a gift.

I never EVER have to worry...he is always there and supporting and following and...he is playing like a star...and all the gentlemen love him...and the ladies, too.

Hey Wayne’s MOM!!!

He still is rocking it.

But he does wake up every morning and look at me accusingly and tells me that He cannot stay up that late again.

Like he has no free will at all.

He is awesome as we play the Royal Mile...wishing that we were a 12 person accapella boy group (You should see the effing crowds they get! I get people with babies...new demographic)....

Look at us go!

Sidebar: Yesterday I went to an Adelaide Fringe Festival info session and they were serving Bloody Marys at 10:30am.

Those Aussies are kooka.

There have been A TON of Canadians at the show this week!It has been crazy...There have also been relatives and people who George and I spent hours convincing to come to the show...there is nothing like winning someone over and then having them enjoy the show.

I have never experienced such immediate gratification...because sometimes you have to work people hard for their 5 Quid...that is UK talk....Anyway...here are all the people from the last few days!!!

The Blackman SISTERS!!!WWOOOO WOOO!!! All the way from London TOWN!

Donna, Katrina and Sam...fuck they were hard to win over...took me one and a half hours...but they loved it!!!

Here is the same group with Grant and Tim from CANADA and Rob Harris my new flyering buddy and friend.

Also, here is my cousins (thru Georgie) Deb and David!

Since we last talked I have sold, sang and slept!!

That is pretty much it....BUT I have had great results....

Two more 5 Star Audience Reviews on Broadway Baby....

Really enjoyed Sharron Matthews

Rating:5.0

Reviewed by Wayne Redwood

August 24, 2010

My wife and I had the pleasure of catching Sharron Matthews last night. She is a wonderful, charming and funny performer, who doesn’t take herself too seriously, but has an amazing powerful voice. We debated how much of the stories she was telling about her life and experiences were actually true, but agreed that the songs she chose to sing to accompany the stories, mostly recognizable hits of the past few decades, were wonderful. We loved this show.

Wonderful Show

Rating: 5.0

Reviewed by Rene Darlington

August 21, 2010

In some way, the show began in the lobby at Surgeons Hall, when a woman in a gorgeous pink frock and a big smile made her way around the gathering crowd. “Are you here to see my show? I’m Sharron Matthews - so nice to meet you. Thank you so much for coming!” Once we made our way into the theatre, the dialogue with the audience continued, with Sharron greeting people as they took their seats, asking some for their names, talking to them and making us all feel comfortable before she began. It is a warm start to this Canadian cabaret performer’s Edinburgh debut, and paved the way for a lovely show.A good part of the show comprised classic songs from the 70s to present-day, reinterpreted to fit her tales about aspects of her life, explaining her journey to superstardom. It got off to a strong start with a trio of songs by Kiss, Britney Spears and Nirvana performed with tremendous gusto. Another medley mixed Shirley Bassey and Madonna. Her beautiful rendition of Radiohead’s Creep has followed me since the show, in a haunting wonderful way. Her Disco Medley covered about a dozen of the best-known disco hits of the 70s and 80s including the Bee Gees and Donna Summer, and had the crowd nodding their heads in recognition, and smiling as song after song became part of the medley. Before we knew it, the hour had flown and she was telling us it was her last song - a rousing version of Bohemian Rhapsody.She was well accompanied by a young chap named Wayne, who did not miss a beat in terms of her patter or his playing. He was excellent.This was a wonderful assured performance from start to finish, and one of my Edinburgh Fringe highlights. I urge you to try to see Sharron Matthews Superstar before she returns to Canada.

AND One new 5 Star Review from Comedy Reviewer.....

Who the hell is Sharron Matthews? That’s what I thought when I was asked to go check out the Canadian cabaret performer but after a tremendous show I certainly know all about her now. That world domination part suddenly doesn’t seem so far off. Expect songs, stories and lots of laughter in this feel good fun packed 50mins. Sharron is a born entertainer and this is obvious from the off, not only is she very funny but she has a cracking voice and you can’t help be mesmerized when she belts out hits from legends like Shirley Bassey to Radiohead. The clever part is the way she fuses songs in to one another witch not only makes for a great melody of tracks but also cleverly helps tell her stories. As a comedy show its very good but I refuse to review this just on comedy alone, this is cabaret and as that it’s excellent. Brace yourself world Sharron Matthews is taking over.

ComedyReviewer - 9/10

Edfringe - 5 Stars *****

WAYNE’S MOM!!! Did you see how Wayne was called a chap? LOVE IT!

Richard Ouzounian also wrote a really nice write up in the Star yesterday!!!

Some take the high road, some take the low road, but our Toronto performers are all winding up covered in glory at this year’s Edinburgh Festival.

Kristen Thomson’s I, Claudia has received glowing reviews from every front, receiving accolades like “touching, funny, sharply observed and poignant.” She was also nominated for The Stage’s award as “Best Solo Performer.”

Sharron Matthews, with her modestly titled Sharron Matthews Superstar has proven to be a real favourite, with five star notices from many reviewers. Kate Copstick, the outspoken critic from The Scotsman, wrote simply, “How f---ing good are you??? Wow!”

Anthony Black’s Invisible Atom walked off with the Herald Angel award for Best Production, while Alon Nashman’s Kafka and Son has been hailed for its “emotional depth” and “refreshing honesty.”

Matthews herself describes the non-stop excitement of the Edinburgh Fringe scene as “a raging river, so fast and furious that you just have to hold on or you will get swept away!”

But for the time being, it certainly seems like Matthews and her colleagues are being swept onward and upward by a tide of critical and popular success.

So much press!!!

I THANK THE UNIVERSE!!!

Now, if I can just get a few more reviewers.

But as a result of all the hard work of Georgie on the mile and the half price hut, and the showcases AND word of mouth we were SOLD OUT LAST NIGHT!!!

IT WAS FUCKING AMAZING!!!I have 4 more shows left and who knows what will happen but I sold sold sold for about 4 hours today.

HAVE I MENTIONED THAT MY FUCKING FEET HURT!

Time for NAPPING!

I am gonna see theatre in the next couple days...FINALLY!

CHOW FOR NOW!!!

Day 10! Caroline Rhea! Rain poncho...and "How fucking good are you?!"

Day...10? How the eff did that happen so fast....today, as I write this...I have to constantly look through the pictures I have taken to remember what I did.

It really is like a raging river here...just so fast and furious and you have to hold on, people, or you will get swept away!!! AWAY!!!

I have cards and fucking flyers of the people I have met and the people I want to see...I am just OVERWHELMED...in the good way...and, as Wayne put it so eloquently, to finish all of the days...there is a little thing called THE SHOW!!!

But the best thing is Georgie has gotten here...and everything seems managable!!

He has gotten right into it!

Here is he and Derrick afixing labels to flyers....

Checking out the Chip options...

And as a monster.

All of us having a celebratory feast...

And George, again, as a monster.

I had a ton of showcases that I am set up to do, one of them called Edinburgh Tonight! and I walked by the sign and this is how I was listed....

LOVES IT!

So, We woke yesterday morning...and you didn't know from my mood the kind of day it was gonna be...oh lord I was surly as we walked to the mile...the Royal Mile for our second street busking hell experience...but you do learn from experience...I knew what to expect...so Wayne and I figured out a slicker routine...and I had my cover of BROADWAY BABY in tow....

...a bit crumpled....but useful...it went alright...everything goes better when George is here....

Derrick has also gotten stickers made for the flyers that lay out my five stars, man!!! LOVES IT!!!

So, George and I went to the Half Price Hut and then the Fringe line up and sold a BUNCH of tickets...at least 15, and for my small room that was not bad at all...

Then the team went to Edinburgh Tonight with Joe Simmons...and they were just lovely...the people...the guests...what a great group!

And there, after the soundcheck, on a couch in the green room I met kindred spirit ( lordy, but eff off) and fellow Canadian Caroline Rhea.

She is something else!!!We have done a lot of the same showcases...we are all just trying to sell our effing shows.

She is funny and fun...and I lent her my fabulous DT Beauty make up for the show and this picture...she didn't know the show was being televised!!! Oh, it will be on Podcast soon...it is a really cool line up...they get some great guests!

It was a singular experience, really...with Caroline, Joe and his producer Terry...and the unbelievably frank reviewer for the Scotsman, Kate Copstick...remember how I wrote about her before? Saying I would love her to review the show?

Well, she was in the wings when I sang...Don't Stop Believin'...and she came and found me after and walked up and said "How fucking good are you?!" and George JUMPED up and said, "Can we quote you?"....and then she said "Yes!" and she said the quote 3 times in a row!!!

YAYAYAYAYAYAYAY!!!

That is the grail of what I have come here for, review wise!!

It was a great time....and people were pouring out after the show holding my flyer and some of them CAME!!!

And I met Caroline Rhea...did I mention that?And Kate Copstick!!!Oh lord...good times.....

Could it get any better....well...it started to fucking rain...and I was dressed to walk to the theatre in my pink satin FC dress....so Derrick pulled this poncho out of his bag....I looked like an asshole....

See.

The audience....was packed....really packed for the first time...and when they came in....I knew it was gonna be a good show...it was the best so far!!!

What a great show!!!

I kissed three guys I didn't know....enough said....I was a wild woman.

And speaking of Wild WOMEN!!!

Gillian...the silent auction winner of the tickets to the show in Scotland, the Edinburgh Passes and a drink got here yesterday!!! All the fucking way from TO!!!

The people from Edinburgh Tonight invited us to a party and we all went...Gillian in tow...we have got to show this lady a good time...and she is so very fun....

Great party...lots of artists...and lots of booze....I only had one...I am trying to know my limit....

And, Wayne's Mom, Wayne gets up every morning and looks at me accusingly...like the lateness is my fault...like he doesn't have his own free will...He could always go home....but he DOES NOT!!!

We are having a great time...sleeping as much as is allowed...selling the show...and meeting great people.

Life is good....good day.

COVER OF BROADWAY BABY!!! HALF PRICE HUT!!! DOUCHE!!! Day 7!!

Oh my two days...this place is freakin' crazy....just effing nuts.Yesterday I went here...

The Half Price Hut and flyering and tried to perfect my pitch....some people don't even make contact as they fling their hand into your face and say "NO." and others...well, when I stood beside them for a couple of minutes and then asked them casually if they "Wanna see a cabaret?"...like I am selling drugs....they get this funny look on their faces that is screaming "CONVINCE ME" and we are off to the races for about 2 minutes...I throw in as many movie titles, musical titles, review quotes...and then in the words of my dear husband I tell them that if they don't like it I will eat the bug of their choice...always finishing on a hopeful high note.It was a gorgeous day yesterday...a beautiful day to walk to the Half Price Hut....through the highways and biways...did I spell that right?

Anyway....here was my walk!

The kids and the producer from West End Glee Club came out to the show last night...so nice...it was a decent house...I still struggle with the obsession of filling the seats...but there wasn't anyone from the Half Price Hut.

Fuckers.

But we went out for Italian last night...

....during which whenever the young swarthy waiter came over to chat with the table Gwillim would call me a douche...he is so naughty.

I loves him...he is just the best sport!

And the awesomest player!!! Hi WAYNE'S MOM!!! She reads this...I almost didn't write the douche part because of that, but I can't curb my art, Wayne's Mom. Besides that you brought up the best boy!

Today, due to a fuck up on my part...some miscommunications that I heard wrong...does that make sense?...we walked over to New Town and were late and missed the well reviewed and Canadian Invisible Adam...I really fucked up...sorry Anthony!

I have been feeling a bit under the weather....fighting a cold and pretending that I am not tired...so while Derrick waited to apologize to Anthony (Invisible Adam) I went to the Half Price Hut...I was just so tired...a bit stressed about tickets...and fatigued...that I laid down on the grass outside the Half Price Hut...and looked at this view....

...and fell asleep.Lord.

For effs sake.

But kept my 2:00pm meeting with Erv Raible, head of the Cabaret Conference at Yale University...he has the distinction of having started MAC ( Mahattan Association of Cabaret Artists) and owned, at one time, Don't Tell Mamas and Eighty Eights among many other achievements...and he came to my opening night...he is a dear man and we had a great conversation...and he came to my show tonight.

Thanks Erv!What a great new friend...

Big House tonight!

We had bought an ad on the List for a couple of days and some people came due to that...some came due to my AWESOME reviews!!! WOOO WOOO 5 STARS!!!

And some just curious and satisfied, I am hoping...

Then after the show Wayne and I came back to the place to chill before going to the 12:30am to 3:00am showcase at Lach's Antihoot....it is at the Gilded Balloon...what a fucking good time...You have to sign up and then you pick a number...I was number 9.Lord...I cannot remember the last time I sang that late...OH WAIT!!! I never have...The audience was VERY YOUNG....my youngest yet...very University...and frankly those people scare me...but I decided to be brave as Derrick looked on with curiousity...you have got to love that...he will see anything...and Wayne, on work vacation, two fisted a pear beer and a G & T (Wayne's Mom, he was still great to play...no worries!). We saw some great acts!!! you must go if you are over here...AFTER you have seen my show!

There are comics, bands, solo singers...a magician who got down to his bare ass nakedness (THEY CANNOT WAIT TO GE THEIR CLOTHES OF OVER HERE!!!) and Caroline Rhea was on the same bill...we are both also doing a showcase called "Edinburgh Tonight" on Saturday...fuck...tomorrow!!!

When we finally got to the stage the piano was ONE WHOLE TONE LOWER and I was just so tired that I was LYING down on the stage at the end...BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY strikes AGAIN!!! What a laugh!

The time is just flying so fast....Anyway...I forgot to mention before the show...that Derrick, when we met him at the Gilded Balloon, was very excited and then he showed me this...

This is Broadway Baby Offline....a HUGE DAILY Festival publication...and today... ALL DAY...I am on the cover with my 5 STAR review...I cannot believe it...WE WERE SO CHUFFED, as they say over here!! There are 2500 shows...and I was on the front...YAYAYAYAY!!!

I await the big papers coming...but I LOVE that the 5 star reviews I am getting are from the people...who are coming to see the show and taking the time to write about it...here are the three I got today...here they are all on http://www.broadwaybaby.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&catid=46%3Acurrent-edinburgh-festival&id=7459&Itemid=68

Really Great Cabaret Show!

Rating: 5.0 STARS

Reviewed by Matt McPhaden

August 19, 2010

While I was attending the West End Glee Club (a fantastic show with some incredible young singers), the audience was introduced to a special guest performer named Sharron Matthews. I had never heard of her before, but will look out for her now. She sang an amazing version of Don't Stop Believing that had me forgetting Journey and Glee. After the show, someone gave me a flyer to her show, Sharron Matthews Superstar, so I attended last night. She was just as amazing in a full cabaret show as she was during that one number. I loved her voice and her personality and the stories she told to go with the songs she sang. Don't miss this show.

Sharron Matthews, Superstar? Yes, she is!

Rating: 5.0 STARS

Reviewed by Jane Smythe

August 19, 2010

We were a little apprehensive attending a show where the performer bills herself as a "Superstar", but she seemed to have the credits and notices from Canada, then she proved it live! This was a fantastic show from start to finish, and Sharron Matthews is an absolutely riveting and stunning performer.She performs a number of pop hits from the 70s to the present, sometimes mashing numerous songs together such as a mix of Shirley Bassey's Diamonds are Forever with Madonna's Material Girl, or a Disco Medley including Bee Gees, Gloria Gaynor, etc, to a beautiful version of Radiohead's Creep. Between the songs are stories of her life growing up in small-town Ontario to attending musical theatre school then starring in Les Miserables and appearing in films like Mean Girls and Hairspray. She is utterly charming and endearing, never outstaying her welcome with each story and song. The result is pure musical bliss. If you want to see a true superstar, go see Sharron Matthews!

"Sharron Matthews Superstar" Lives Up To Her Title!

Rating: 5.0 STARS

Reviewed by Laura McMaster

August 18, 2010

This cabaret performer from Canada rocked theSpace at Surgeons Hall last night with her powerful performance and winning personality. Well worth seeing if you're looking for something musical and entertaining. Highly Recommended.

Audience Review

Good Points

I loved the music she was performing, ranging from the Eagles Hotel California to Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody to Radiohead's Creep to Madonna, Shirley Bassey and Britney Spears. She has a powerful voice which sounded amazing in the venue and the time just flew by.

Bad Points

The show was over too quickly. She is a well-known performer in Canada and has appeared in films such as Hairspray, Cinderella Man and Mean Girls, and told a story about working with John Travolta. I wanted to hear more of those kinds of stories, but also wanted more songs as she has a wonderful voice.

GEORGE MASSWOHL ARRIVES TODAY!!! TODAY!!! YAYAYAYAYA!!

There are 2 filthy titles and one contageous title to this blog. DAY 6!

Title of August 18th Blog.

Holy effing bums in seats.

Subtitle of August 18th Blog.

Who the eff do you have to fuck in this town to get a reviewer to your show?

Alternative Subtitle of the August 18th Blog

I do two interviews and a showcase and try not to get the cholera.

So, a three fold blog, really.

Yesterday, Wayne and I rubbed our eyes bright and early after our fabu, yet, not reviewed (sadly) opening the night before.

I strapped on my converse sneakers and Wayne, his shirt from Oxfam (my environmentally movtivated friend Wayne has died and gone to heaven here with the great number of second hand stores that are moments from our flat!) and we went in search of Leith FM.

A tiny, well-appointed volunteer run radio station...they couldn't have been sweeter...Grahame the host, just fabulous. There was a lady there who interupted a "jam", as they say, to tell me that the song I was rehearsing with Wayne reminded her of someone she wasn't speaking to.

Well, that is alright then.

Here is a photo of Wayne "jamming"

After the interview Wayne put his melodica in a bag I put my sunglasses on and we walk 40 beautiful minutes uphill....getting back to the gym will be an effing godsend...and went to the Pleasance Courtyard to Fresh Air Radio...a student run station with a girl who had been left alone to DJ and had to have the two comedians who she was interviewing open the door to let us in.

LOVES IT!

We sang our stuff and did our thing and tried not to hug Shana, the DJ, who said she had the flu.

I effing hope she didn't give it to me...oh for fuck sakes...DON'T GIVE ME THE CHOLERA!!!

Then we went home where I thought deep thoughts and got ready for a showcase at the Zoo Roxy.There was a great show there but I am 'Sophie's Choicing' whether to mention the name or not...it is hard...I just ...it is just...I want you all to come to my show...I will have to search my heart and think about what I have done.

Isn't that just horrible?

Am I gonna go to hell??

I don't know whether to tell you about the other show....or keep your effing bums focused on finding their ways to my show and very comfortable (that is questionable) seats at the Surgeon's Hall tonight at 9:05pm....I am taking MY bum and the rest of me to the Half Price Hut in a few....gonna shower and see a cabaret and then off I go!!!

Oh for fucksakes...it is called 'West End Glee Club' and it is awesome....THERE!!!

BUT SO AM I!

COME SEE MY EFFING SHOW!!!

I am in bed and have been while working for the last two hours....

That is pretty much my speed this morn....but a gal has gotta go and DO!!!

SELL!! SELL!!!

I am surprised to find that one of my most challenging things here is to get a freaking reviewer to come to the show...Usually, as fancy and self involved artists, we try not to think about reviewers...we are all fucking fragile and don't want to know when they are coming... "Oh, don't tell me, I don't wanna know"

But here you are BEGGING!!!

And I mean literally BEGGING reviewers to come... "Please come...I will give you whatever you want! How can I get you to come? What kind of bizarre thing can I offer that will make you come" (Please don't read that as a horrible sexual overture...unless it might help)....it is such a shocking about face that it ALMOST makes me pass out.

And then there is that moment that I push away constantly where I think "What the fuck if they hate my show?" Push it away...push it away, Sharron...focus on other things...like the half price hut....yeah, focus on the half price hut.

The show had a respectable audience last night but I constantly focus on what I can do to get more bums in the seats...it is a fucking obsession....

But I did get my first review...from a lovely girl named Stephanie Walls who was in the front row the first night...it is on a site called www.publicreviews.com... I love it...it is from the people...LOVE IT!!!

Here it is....OH and before you read....she gave me 5 stars!!!

WOO FUCKING WOO!!!

'Hi! Are you here to see my show?' I look up and a very smiley lady in a huge flowery dress is offering to shake my hand. I say yes I am and she asks me my name, introduces herself as Sharron Matthews and thanks me for coming. She proceeds to greet a few more people in the foyer as we wait patiently with her for the over-running previous show to get out of the space. She apologises that we all have to be so quiet (the poor girl behind the box office desk has to shush the audience every 20 seconds as not to disturb the other shows in progress) and tells us we'll get in as soon as possible.I settle myself on the front row and within moments Matthews has handed me a couple of bundled up t-shirts and asked me to look after them for her. Matthews comes across as an instantly likeable, genuine person and when she starts her first medley of songs we soon find out she has an amazing voice to match. Intertwined with her wonderfully sung numbers are various stories and asides about her own experiences ranging from growing up as an awkward teenager in Toronto to putting together her own stool in her over crowded one bedroom Edinburgh apartment. We are absorbed completely in her tales and at times genuinely moved by some of the more personal anecdotes. We are laughing throughout and each song is cleverly arranged and beautifully performed.Sharron Matthews truly is a superstar and a performer as personable and instantly likeable is something rare both at The Fringe and beyond. She continued to be lovely and cut her own show short as to not disrupt the next show (despite the fact the show before her was to blame!) – She quickly tied up the loose ends and I am pleased to report I am now the proud owner of one of the 'Sharron's Army' t-shirts I was babysitting. I shall wear it proudly and I wish this lady every success in Edinburgh!

DAY 4 at Edfringe! Opening DAY!!!

Opening DAY!!!

Again!...A day of highs and lows...So tired...and not a bit drunk...okay... a bit drunk....

We started the day with Derrick and I walking down the street (Wayner was sleeping) and going to a music store to get a...wait for it...tambourine...god bless WAYNE!!!....to fill out our soung for the live UNAMPLIFIED gig on the Royal Mile...and let us be clear...there are about 10,000 people on the Royal Mile and half of them are selling their shows...It was not bad...I am a bit of a whoring busker...it was the UNAMPLIFIED part that I had a hard time with...the kids are all there selling their shows in groups of 5 -20...that is a bit easier...so...there are no pictures of this... because Derrick was handing out flyers...Wayne was playing the melodica and the tambourine (with his foot) and I was screaming at the top of my lungs...WOW!!!

I was a challenge...I have never done anything like that before...we have two more planned and Derrick asked if I wanted to cancel them...I am unsure if I will or not....it was a bit humbling, to say the least....but people did listen and I handed out flyers...it was something else.We walked home in a bit of an overwhelmed silence...And we needed to buy a stool...I have not often worked in a place that didn't have a stool...but we compared prices and bought one that had to be put together...which I did...two hours before the show....my life is glamourous / not at the same time.

I wanted a picture of that...but Wayne thought that video would be more affective...well, I will download it later, Spielberg.

We got to the theatre and I was shitting my pants...would people come...would I have 4 people in the audience?

But we were full!!!

Packed!

AMAZING!!!!!

The people before us went 10 minutes over...I was a bit mad...but Wayne, Derrick and our tech ran through the set up like motherfuckers...and I brought everyone in and we started...It was awesome...I was so fucking pleased...so please....And there was a huge Canadian presence...Halifax native Anthony Black, who has recently won an award here at the fringe AND gotten amazing reviews for his show Invisible Adam sat in the second row with his wife, Ann Marie, his promoter Sara and his Stage Manager Christian....they stayed after and we laughed, celebrated and drank to the night!!!

The girl who took our pic was smoking...I liked the ghostly affect...I have to go to sleep...

And we ate a lot of chips!

Average audiences for the first night at the fringe...for an untested show...is usually about....ready for it?

2.

So, I am proud...no reviewers tonight but a great show!!!

Then the fanciest thing?

The walk home in the rain!!!

2 interviews on the radio EARLY!!!
GOTTA SLEEP!!!
Night ALL for Scot LAND!!!

WAIT!!!
Two fave comments overheard...."She is like a mix between the female Jack Black and the female Bette Midler.."
"We were across the street at Porgy and Bess and left because it was shite...YOU WERE AWESOME!!!"
LOVES IT!!



Day 3! Highs! Lows! Tired! Short formed!

I am so fucking tired and I am live on the Royal Mile at noon....so I gotta short form this!

Here we got!

Cabaret Symposium.

Most awesome...different here...very circus and burlesque based....Camille O' Sullivan says that when you tell people you are doing cabaret they expect you to take of your clothes...me think "really?'...more on that later.

Tech rehearsal....awesome...the tech people loved us and kept us in the room 5 minutes past our time because they wanted to hear Bohemian Rhapsody...loves it.

Back to the flat...Derrick makes dinner while Wayne and I get ready for first showcase.

We are tardy getting there...but so are a number of people...one act is a dude wrestling a painting in a WWF outfit...there is a dragon who does comedy who is so effing funny...we then witness 3 of 7 acts take of their clothes...well, Camille...who knew?

All dudes.

And then the show is running so far over that I get....CUT!!!!

Oh well, tardiness doesn't pay....

But I am bummed as Derrick, Wayne and I walk across the North Bridge...we stop to take picture and run into these lovely people...she looks at me with wide eyes and says..."you...I know you....you're the actress...you are Sharron Matthews!!"

She is the lovely Bev from Perth, Ontario with her husband Bob who are on their 50th wedding anniversary vacation!

Recognizing in another part of the world number 2 people!!!

You know what that is?

World freakin' Domination!!!

Then with spirits lifted we go to next (fucking short form Sharron!!! GO TO BED!!!That is Derrick.) showcase and meet a band of young men from PERTH (who knew?) Scotland...and one of the guys named Garth who is 22 years old ( could be his effing mother) kisses me on the mouth when I am not paying attention...and I then miss George...and feel uncomfortable....and Wayne and Derrick mock me.

Then we watch another girl take off her clothes...and another....what the fuck is going on....

I do a number to an OKAY response and consider pulling off my dress...

LONG FUCKING DAY!!!

Wayne and I have revamped the 15 minute show for tomorrow... I AM GOING TO BED, DERRICK!!!

Here is Derrick and Wayne on the North Bridge.

Learned lessons and was stumped and humbled and lifted...it was a day of contraditions...

But the most important thing was that I pulled myself out of the doldrums after the lukewarm showing and figured out how to make it different!

Day 2! Wayne arrives, Joe Simmons, Meow Meow and short togas...

.

News Alert.Wayne is next door drinking a 4 pound bottle of Noname Irish Creme...so HE made it alive and was NOT kidnapped by druids...not that they kidnap anyone...I wouldn't want the druids coming for me...not that they do that either!

I got a 2.97 pound bottle of Pinot Grigio...or what I will call it...headache wine...from the same grocery store...you think we had never seen cheap liquor before...Day 2!!

A lot accomplished .... a lot seen and a lot done.Derrick and I had a meeting with the fabulous Louise at the Fringe Particpants Centre about contacts and who to invite and how to find them...she had some great and very helpful ideas.

I think the best thing is to get out and do as many showcases as possible...which sometimes means going to see the showcasess and introducing yourself...I have found that the creative begging I did to raise the money for this show has really knocked a bit of my shyness away.

Derrick and I went to a show called "Edinburgh Tonight with Joe Simmons" at the Surgeon's Hall (where I will be doing my tech rehearsal tomorrow!). It is a live variety show that is taped and put up on the net. It has a number of amazing guests...the ones who I cannot wait to see are "Baby Wants Candy" (improvisational musical theatre group from Chicago) and Lovelace, the Musical...it is about...you guessed it...Linda Lovelace the porn star...I kinda dug it. The bad hair, the polyester dresses....the rock tunes...I think I might go.

But, I have to say, my fave act was "When in Rome : A New Musical (Comedy)"....oh my lord...it was so...just so...oh my god...how I laughed...young, fresh boys in REALLY short togas who bend over ALL OF THE TIME...led by a very femme Augustus Caesar...oh, it was too very much when they led into "Backstreet's Back ALRIGHT!"...yes, I am not lying. It was so ...just soooo...I wanna see it. I COULD NOT STOP LAUGHING!

And Derrick won tickets to Frances Ruffelle's show!

Also Joe Simmon's had on the show, the end all be all when it comes to reviews, the Scotsman reviewer named Kate Copstick...and this woman...is not messing the EFF AROUND!!! It made my butt cringe when she was telling us her very REAL and sometimes super scary opinion of the shows she has seen...it actually made me a bit sick to my tummy...she was wearing a black Tshirt that said EVIL on it.

Nuff said.

EXCEPT! I am still gonna write her and ask her to review the show...I mean why the eff not...you only live once. WHY NOT?!?!?!?!

Oh and Frances Ruffelle was on the show...yes, that Frances Ruffelle...of Les Mis fame...you really never know who you will see here..

Joe Simmon's show is awesome...a huge undertaking to get a show like this going and on time in one hour and fifteen minutes!

If you are in Edinburgh GO before it is sold out ALL of the time!

After the show an American dude came up and told Joe (as I stood beside him), in the twangiest accent, that he was so good he could actually work in the States.

Imagine.

And tonight I went to see someone that I have been wanting to see for a while...Wayne and went to the Assembly Princes Gardens to see cabaret sensation, Meow Meow.

Her cabaret name is Meow Meow.

Loves it.

Here she is working...she asked us to take pictures and post them to FB...

Chris Lorway, the AD of Luminato, had suggested her to me long ago when I started on the World Domination road...and I didn't know it I would get a chance to see her.

She is a mix of old country German cabaret, burlesque, musical comedy...she is so many things and kinda refuses to be categorized...I love that...and she is all BALLS BABY!!!

She sang balls to that wall, brought her own roses to be thrown at her, her own smoke machine, her own dream sequence, her own lighting at one point and then, at the end, body surfed all the way from the stage to the bar AND BACK...OH! and made the band remove most of their clothes...in other words...she was amazing.

I know you are all sick of hearing it...but as she sang her last song...I was so moved that I get to be here...I just got all overwhelmed...and then three uppidy boys beside me began to talk and I told them to SHUT THE FUCK UP!!!

Wayne and I LOVED IT!

We introduced ourselves after...actually Wayne went to introduce himself to Lance Horne, her accompanist (who also plays for Alan Cumming) and I followed and we ended up knowing alot of people in common and then we ended up laughing and getting our pic taken!!!

Nice!

And we met some Torontonians as well!!! (They are in the pic at the end!!!)

Here is the tent we saw the show in and the Edinburgh Castle over top....

It is so excellent to see other people work...from all over the world...this is the part that I love..I mean, I can't wait to sing...but I love to learn...and see other artists in cabaret work.I ain't gonna lie...I am a bit nervous about my tech tomorrow and I am doing my first showcases tomorrow night as well...BUT I am very excited...this city is so full...and the work being done is very interesting.

I am singing at the Bongo Club and the Kabarett : Alternative !!!

I am excited for tomorrow...but till then? Headache wine, Noname Irish Creme and sleep...what a day!

That all sounds like a Dear Diary Entry...but I am effing tired!

Week 33 of WORLD DOMINATION!!! Edfringe DAY1

Not to be indelicate...but HOLY CRAPBAGS!

Here I am!

Here we are!!

So, it all began with an excited trip to the airport with the young and talented and incredibly supportive Michael Hughes...I packed lightly...I know what you are thinking George...but I did...I mean one bag was just Fashion Crimes...there are vid cameras, files, shoes, hair appilances...the list goes on! Being fabulous requires A LOT of maintenance!! A LOT!!!

So, Thomas Cook, who we thankfully got our budget flight on, a bit...hmm...what is the word...low class..and that is coming from a chick who grew up hanging onto the bottom of a dream of being ALMOST middle class....NOT!

They were surly...to say the least...pissed that they were not working for British Airways or something....so you are actually allowed to bring luggage that is about the size of a yoga bag on with you...or you are charged one MILLION dollars....so there was Hughes an I ...repacking an weighing the bag 4 times in front of a whole rubber necking bunch of people.

And then on the plane...

It was like a maternity ward...screaming babies EVERYWHERE!!!

Karma...see what happens?

I slept about 2 hours and our legs were crammed into our guts for six and a half hours....but it was worth it when we arriveD!!

Oh it was gorgeous today...we got to the Glasgow train station..

and we were on our way....our flat is awesome...just what we need...and clean...so clean...and well appointed...the landlord apoligized for not having milk and stuff for us but he was here a couple of weeks ago...wow, nice.

When you walk out the front door you can see Arthur's Seat....which is this....

Derrick and I went to get a phone, meet the PR people Geri and Neil, and generally lookd around...as we were awalking down George Street to the Underbelly Venue I heard someone scream "Sharron Matthews!!!"...I just about shit my pants...when I turned it was a young lady named Carly who told me that she had gone to see my show in Toronto a number or times...had gone to theatre school there and now had transferred to the Scottish Academy of Drama...really?!

So, I got recognized during my first three hours in Scotland...that has got to be a good sign right?

You know what that is?

WORLD DOMINATION!

And finally when I couldn't stand anymore I came back to the flat and had one of those sleeps that you wake up from in the same position you went to sleep in....and I had no idea where I was an what time it was....

Derrick and I decided that we wanted to go to see Allan Cumming's show at the Assembly Hall...

A 740 seat intimate cabaret space...when he came out...he was wonderful by the way...really...I was so glad to be here...just so glad to see him work...he did some really interesting stuff and told some great stories...and when he did a Hedwig Medley I began to tear ...my eyes began to water...you know what I mean...I thought back to when I saw Hedwig on Broadway and how it inspired me so much...and Allan...yes, I am just gonna call him by the first name talked about how he was staying at his friend John's apartment in NY and how John was working on a drag character to work into a show...which turned out to be Hedwig.I cried.He said a number of things that went along with the sidewalk recognition as being a great sign of good things...

Oh, and he sang effing "Taylor the Latte Boy"...when he started it made me think of Kyle Golemba!

In the best of ways!

Derrick and I went to our venue...it looks good...so good!!!

So, tomorrow we meet with the Fringe Participant helping lady...not her real title I assure you.

She is gonna help us with a further plan...and help us realize our goals of connecting with other promoters and ....other things I cannot think of right now!!1I gotta sleep...Oh ya...here is one of the 100 beer gardens....at 2:30am....these people know how to party.