I’m going to do like my brother and spend a couple of weeks in Edinburgh Scotland, going to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.  It’s huge.  2006’s Festival Fringe saw hundreds of groups putting on 1,867 different shows with a total of 28,014 performances in 261 venues.

But setting side comedy shows, dance performances, music events, and all that, and just considering theatrical plays and musicals alone, you have this year — wait for it — 765 different productions.

With that many theatrical productions, it’s not surprising to see duplicates over the course of the three-week festival.  There are, for example, two stagings of Hair, done by two different companies.  Two stagings of Godspell by two different companies.  Two stagings of High School Musical by two different companies.  Two stagings of Little Shop of Horrors by two different companies …and so on.

Then you have other old and new favorites:  The Full Monty, Debbie Does Dallas: The Musical, Zombie Prom, Les Miserables, Pippin, Chicago, Urinetown, Working, etc.

And I’m just focusing on musicals here.

Of course, what makes the fringe festival truly "fringe" are the NEW and original shows.  Here’s a sampling of some of the orignal musical offerings:

Jihad: The Musical Sensational – a new musical comedy set to incite violent applause and a new cult following. Featuring insightful satirical sequences including ‘I Wanna Be Like Osama’. The West shall not be won (again) so long as we have a high-kicking chorus line!

MOD! – Fab! Irreverent! Totally Groovy! Rory is determined to be the Fifth Beatle. Teen angst set against the backdrop of the Beatles invasion of America. An original musical inspired by the British pop of the early 60s.

Why You’re Ugly And Fat And Everybody Hates You! – Follow the stories of 14 people living the critique of self-help books! This sexy musical cynically explores the complexities of the modern relationship, whilst one electrifying song follows another!

Orgasm – The Musical! – Not sure what this is about, but it seems rather obvious.

Skin Deep – A fun, energetic musical that tackles body issues affecting teenagers. This innovative piece is an insight into the many demons that invade teenagers’ lives. A no-nonsense script that questions the effects of media manipulation.

Seriously.  Pet Shop Boys.  Reinterpreted. – A musical apparently based on the music of the Pet Shop Boys.  Seriously

There’s also — not one, but TWO — original musicals based on Tony Blair, both with unimaginative titles.  The first one is Tony Blair – The Musical and the other is entitled Tony – The Blair Musical

And the title of this musical caught my eye: Xenu Is Loose! Cower Puny Humans As The Dark Prince of The Galactic Federation Rains Atomic Death Once More Upon Your Pitiful Planet – The Musical

Don’t ask me what it is about.

[UPDATE:  Okay.  I found out what it is about from the show website:

Xenu is Loose is a new satirical Sci-Fi Musical based on the beliefs of the Cult of Scientology.

Jennifer, a young, beautiful high-school student finds her life transformed when she discovers the purifying power of L Ron. Hubbard’s Scientology. But when Xenu, Alien Overlord and timeless nemesis of all that is good, escapes his ancient galactic prison; she and handsome Scientologist Troy must summon every ounce of cunning and resourcefulness to save the world from, like, Total Atomic Destruction.

Sounds like a Jamie show]

Some other non-musical highlights include Potted Potter, a reading/performance of the first 6 Harry Potter books (in 60 minutes), Can You Get A World Record In Rap With Richard Coughlan?, where one man attempts to do 9 hours straight of comedy, Man Of Steel, about mad chefs (this is a puppet show performed with kitchen utensils), and Bouncy Castle MacBeth, which is Shakespeare’s classic performed in one of those inflatable bouncy castles.

There’s a lot of serious stuff, too.  Many future West End and Broadway and off-Broadway productions are hatched at the festival, so it would be great to go one year.