Latest news with #AndyLinden
The Guardian
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Fringe benefits from Miriam Margolyes for the Cambridge Footlights
Your Edinburgh festival article ('It's a brigade of old gits!' Miriam Margolyes, Andy Linden and the older performers storming Edinburgh, 12 August) mentions Miriam Margolyes' appearance in the 1963 Cambridge Footlights revue. I stage-managed that show and have many happy memories of it. The custom was that only one girl student would be included in the cast, something Miriam fiercely disapproved of. Still etched in my memory is her line as she sashayed down to front centre stage: 'Here I come, one rose in a bunch of pansies!' It was an end-of-an-era moment – the following year there were two girls in the FellWinchester Nesrine Malik says 10 out of 14 recent posts on X by Keir Starmer were about immigration and small-boat arrivals (Here's the truth about Britain's immigration hysteria: Starmer and co have whipped it up to get cheap votes, 11 August). Well, that really cut through to the racist mob in Nuneaton on Saturday. They ended their protest by marching through the streets chanting 'Keir Starmer is a wanker'.Andy PettitCoventry Good Friday is not a 'movable feast' (Letters, 11 August)(Letters, 12 August)(Letters, 11 August). Yes, it is movable day, as the date is set according to the lunar cycle, but it is definitely not a feast day. No communion happens. It's part of the point of the Canon John Longuet-HigginsHartpury, Gloucestershire So Japanese interval walking is the latest exercise trend (Japanese interval walking: the viral exercise trend that could put a spring in your step, 9 August)? In my younger days, we called it 'Scouts' pace' and knew that it was the quickest way to get MeredithDursley, Gloucestershire Surely Jeremy Corbyn's new party should be called New Old Labour (Letters, 11 August)?David ProtheroHarlington, Bedfordshire Have an opinion on anything you've read in the Guardian today? Please email us your letter and it will be considered for publication in our letters section.
Scotsman
05-08-2025
- Entertainment
- Scotsman
I nearly died at The Fringe, but worse, my show was cut short
Actor/writer Andy Linden gives us the lowdown on nearly dying - literally - at the Fringe in 2022, and his triumphant return to Edinburgh this year Sign up to our Arts and Culture newsletter, get the latest news and reviews from our specialist arts writers Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... In 2022, my one-man theatre show, Baxter vs The Bookies, was up and running at the Edinburgh Fringe. It recounted the fluctuating fortunes of Baxter, an old-school horse racing tipster, who ran an outmoded telephone tipping line. Andy Linden: Baxter vs The Bookies | Ben Wilkin He was a true lover of horse racing, who relied on his intuition and contacts to beat his nemesis, a modern bookie who used computers, stats and flashy websites. The show was going great, I was feeling confident, audiences loved it and reviewers had given it five stars. But just as the finishing post was in sight, I was brought down by a severe respiratory attack. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad One day, I just couldn't catch my breath and was disappointed that I had to cancel that afternoon's show. But I was sure I'd be back the next day. That night, however, things took a dark turn. By midnight, my chest was in a vice, I was sweating and I couldn't breathe at all. I phoned an ambulance and crawled to the street door of my flat on my hands and knees. I panted desperately, praying for the cavalry to arrive in time. Luckily the fantastic Edinburgh ambulance service turned up, flashing lights and all, in under ten minutes. Phew! They calmed me down, got me on oxygen and rushed me to the Edinburgh Infirmary. Naively, I thought I'd be back on stage later that week. But the doctors said that that was it for me. I was in serious heart failure and needed a Frankensteinesque jolt of electricity to get my rhythm back in sync and a load of drugs to strengthen my beat. I was gutted. I was officially a non-runner and had to cancel the last week and half of my run. The doctors read me the riot act: 'Mr Linden, you have a choice to make, give up the drink and cigarettes, or… die'. I begrudgingly choose the first option. In the past, I'd tried everything to quit fags, chewing gum, hypnosis and patches. But nothing worked. I should have put the patches over my eyes, to at least stop me finding the fags. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad But this time, I really had run out of options. If I wanted to see my son get to university, enjoy life with my wife, and ever work again, I knew I had to jack in all my vices. Except for gambling. There are limits! And so, I did it. I transformed my health, with lifestyle changes and a ton of drugs. But kept on gambling. Moderately. A year later, I had an acting job in the TV series Doctors. And guess what I was playing? A grandfather with a heart condition, who dies dramatically in front of his grandson. No research needed for that role. Except for the dying part. And I'm used to dying on screen. I've popped my clogs in many films and TV shows, and in many ways. I was stabbed in the TV series Rome, battered round the head with a cricket bat in the film The Business and bitten by a snake in Merlin. Dying is a living for me! Now in 2025, I'm back in Edinburgh and determined to go the course and distance. My wife couldn't believe that I wanted to do this show again up here, given how punishing the going is, if you do a full run at The Fringe. But I couldn't bear the fact that the show had been cut off in its prime. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The story is about one of life's underdogs, who despite many setbacks, big losses and disappointments, still has a dream. To get a huge win and finally beat The Bookies. It seemed so wrong not to come back to Edinburgh and complete a full run. I kept thinking about a famous racehorse called L'Escargot, who fell in his first attempt at The Grand National in 1972. He tried again in 1973 and came 3rd, and again in 1974 and came 2nd (both times the winner was Red Rum). But in 1975, L'Escagot finally romped home to a 15-length victory over Red Rum. So, he triumphed three years after falling and failing and I'm hoping I'll emulate L'Escargot and triumph in Edinburgh three years after my failing heart brought me down. Baxter vs The Bookies by Andy Linden, Gilded Balloon Patter House, 1pm, until 25 August
Scotsman
19-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Scotsman
Oldies taking over as Gilded Balloon celebrates its 40th Fringe
Baxter vs The Bookies by Andy Linden runs from July 30 until August 25 (not August 12 or 19) 1pm at the Gilded Balloon. There are still two weeks to go until the start of this year's Fringe but it seems like it's already here. Taking the bus up town the other day, I see that Assembly Productions have already erected their banners on the front of the Assembly Hall on The Mound and The Assembly Rooms on George Street. Sign up to our daily newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to Edinburgh News, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Pretty soon, every other building in town is going to rebranded with its name for August and its venue number. I hear there is even an enormous picture of my face staring from the cladding of a building site on St Andrew Square. I am very sorry but I must stress that I am not to blame for this eyesore. It is there to publicise The Stand Comedy Club's Fringe programme. They seem to think this will help sell tickets for my show. I'm not sure. Unlike the editor of the Evening News, who has the sound common sense to use a very old photo of me at the top of this column, they have chosen a picture taken this year. Indeed, that old picture above often features on a side strip on page one of this paper. If they were to use a recent image, even the most loyal readers would be deterred from coughing up their £1.30 every Saturday. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Aged as I may be, it is reassuring to find out that I may not be the oldest face appearing at this year's Fringe. My old mate Andy Linden will be back in town with his one-man play Baxter vs The Bookies every lunchtime at the Gilded Balloon. You might not recognise the name, but his face is very familiar. He is the go-to guy for any casting agent looking for a small, old, dodgy cockney geezer. His screen appearances include Harry Potter, The Business and Not Going Out. It's great to see him be back at the Fringe. This year, the Gilded Balloon will be celebrating their 40th Fringe and a whole load of stellar names from the past decades will be performing at a special series of shows under the title 40 Years Of Fringe. So it looks like we oldies will be everywhere in town next month. Come and and see our shows, but please don't look too closely at our photographs.
