Here's a perfect way to launch your day at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival: make one of the daily 10.30 a.m. Bite-Size Breakfast Showsat the Pleasance Dome. Over fresh strawberries, croissants and coffee, you can enjoy an hours' worth of edgy, scintillating short plays with an international appeal.
The Bite-Size company has been entertaining Fringe-goers for many years now, building a loyal following and winning numerous prizes. Drawing on a pool of skilled writers and actors, the company put up three different shows at the 2014 EFF. The one I caught --”Menu Two”-- was composed of four 12-minute sketches acted by a spirited troupe of actors, all of whom were expert at changing identities and roles in a twinkling.
For my money, the best of the sketches was Joel Jones' “Answer Man,” in which a ukelele-strumming know-it-all (William Knowelden) kept besting a sharp-tongued young woman (Annie Jackson) in an hilarious battle of wits.
The Brighton, UK-based Bite-Size Company also travels regularly to other international theater festivals, doing not just breakfast but luncheon, cocktail, dinner and late-night shows. Led by producer/director Nick Brice, the company is looking to expand its operation to the USA.
