Chemo Savvy: laughter, nostalgic jokes and a shining light in a dark comedy

This was the play Andy Gray was writing with Alan McHugh when cancer struck rendering the project unfinished until now. Recast and rewritten for Fringe 2024 in a limited run the show had sold out before the festival had opened.

Grant is on stage the whole time and starring alongside him are fellow River City actors Jordan Young and Gail Watson. Gail has several parts but all distinguishable and I won’t give the plot away as a theatre tour must surely follow. Suffice to say there is laughter throughout and nostalgic jokes and music all recognisable but never corny. Tiny references to the great Andy Gray are evident and his smiling face is on that same TV screen on stage as we leave, a shining light in a dark comedy.

With a final flurry over last week’s bank holiday, I also caught retro swing band The Jive Aces rock the joint at the EICC. The multi-roomed expanse of the Edinburgh International Conference Centre is daunting enough after the challenge of parking for a Fifer in that part of Edinburgh but with the Edinburgh Television Festival running concurrently it was thanks to friendly Pleasance staff that we found the concert room at all amid displays from BBC, Sky Arts and the like.

Well worth it though as the six-piece masters of jive and swing took to the stage in resplendent yellow suits from that golden era and burst straight in to Good Rockin’ Tonight to an appreciative crowd.

All high tempo authentic swing is what we come to expect from the band who went to the semifinals of Britain’s Got Talent. They relentlessly tour 250 shows a year so their well-honed set is ideal for this two-week run in a luxurious (by Fringe standards) venue.

Mack The Knife, Just A Gigolo, Reet Petite and their viral hit Bring Me Sunshine all feature inviting dancers with just a minimal of floor space. But dance they did all the way through Bumble Boogie to the closer Jump, Jive & Wail within the fastest hour in Edinburgh. The enthusiasm never faulters from the energetic brass section to the acrobatic keyboard player. Constantly in Scotland with shows this is live entertainment at a different level.