This has been a weird and wonderful fringe in so many ways. It’s also resulted in the first cancelled performances in Maverick’s 30 year history! Apart from once, in Birmingham. When an actor, Jon Morris, was so energetic during a performance of my play P.A.L.S., he pulled all the tendons in one leg and ended up in plaster. Ouch!

This is less physically painful, to be honest. It started, quite possibly, with Guy Masterson. Not just a fine actor, director and producer, but a friend now too. (And a talent that has two brilliant performances coming up this week with Pleasance.) Indeed he is the sole performer in my version of Charles Dickens ‘A Christmas Carol’. I adapted and directed Guy in it a few years ago and rather good he is too! We were off-Broadway in New York last year and we’re touring the UK later this year.

More crucially, at the start of this fringe I bump into him at the Pleasance Artistes reception at Brooks Bar. It’s great to see him but he casually mentions he has a cold. I don’t take too much notice. Even when, a couple of days later I start to come down with a cold for the first time in some considerable time. Which gets rapidly worse and ends up giving me Labyrinthitis. Which is a sort of ear infection. Which is fortunately not painful and doesn’t need plaster casts, unlike poor Jon (See above!) but does mean that I suddenly and often loose the ability and balance to stand or walk or… well, do anything really. Except maybe fall over. Especially I lose the ability to present, act and run the 1st ever Edinburgh (Not London) Literary Pub Crawl. 

It happened once before a few years ago. Nothing to do with Guy, sadly. So it’s not such an entertaining tale. But I do know there’s nothing you can do for Labyrinthitis apart from learn how to spell it, and do certain exercises to shake up your inner ear. And if you’re lucky it should be done in 3 to 4 days. 

So this starts at night, but there’s still a bit of me thinking, “The show must go on tomorrow”! I should just carry on. I can always sit down or grab onto something or someone when and if the dizzy spells hit. A quick chat with my long-suffering partner who is also ‘in the biz’ puts me straight. Of course I can’t stagger through this. Make a decision, Hennegan.

So with a heavy heart I email the Pleasance to tell them the sad news… that we’re going to have to cancel today and two more shows. As ever, they are the epitome of professionalism, kindness and understanding, even knowing they’ve only got an hour to inform dozens of people this show is not going ahead.

And I’ll be back on 14th, hopefully. There’s a certain synergy to that. It’s my birthday! (Don’t worry if you’ve not got me a present, by the way. Cash will do…! 😀)

And amazingly, I see a video online from Fringe Review editor Paul about taking time off on the fringe and looking after yourself. Even more amazingly… for the first time in as long as I can remember…I doze off in the afternoon. Only 10 minutes, but maybe I’m more tired than I thought. 

No pub that evening. Even so, that night it’s the currently just 4 hours sleep. But then last night I gingerly walk over the road to The Tollbooth Tavern and sup a couple. Then very carefully walk back and actually watch a film on the computer… rather than, for instance, finishing this! Or other work. I message my writer mate Stephen in Birmingham and update him. He gets back and says he looked it up. Labyrinthitis is apparently a result of having a cold and stress. “Both of which you have.”

So maybe I can’t blame Guy Masterson. And amazingly, for the first time in months, I slept for nearly eight hours last night!

Right. Slow walk back to the pub again tonight For strictly medicinal purposes, you understand..!