Edinburgh: One-man show gives festival a lift

One of the most unusual shows at this year’s Edinburgh Festival Fringe was due to start today - a one man performance in a lift.

The show, called ‘5065 - Fancy a lift?’ will be staged in a custom-built lift during its three-week run.

It involves Russian circus performer Alexej Merkuchev, who will entertain punters in the elevator with various antics.

The 900kg ‘theatre’, which is 2.4 metres wide and 2.8 metres high, can accommodate 20 people, and up to 10 free shows are due to be performed at the St Stephen’s Centre.

Two lights have been fitted to give an impression of travel as the device moves up and down.

Cafedirect, the fairtrade coffee and tea company, commissioned Brighton-based arts promoter Komedia and its German partner fabrik to produce the bizarre performance.

The production aims to demonstrate the 'uplifting' benefits of drinking coffee.

It is the first time Cafedirect has been involved in the world’s largest arts festival.

Cafedirect is also sponsoring ‘aurora nova’, a programme of theatre, comedy and dance by 13 international companies from around the world -including Hungary, Brazil and India - many of whom have never visited the UK before.

The firm decided to get involved in the festival after researchers discovered that ‘‘having a laugh is as good as enjoying a good workout’’.

Other research points to the effects of laughter as a relaxant and argue for its analgesic properties.

A spokeswoman for Cafedirect said: ‘‘A study of elderly patients suffering from chronic pain found that they requested less pain relievers after watching a series of humorous videos over a six-week period.

‘‘And dental patients who laugh and joke immediately prior to dental procedures also report less stressful subjective experiences than those who do not.’’

Cafedirect’s head of marketing, Sylvie Barr, said the decision to join this year’s festival would also help millions of farmers their communities all over the world, with the expected rise in sales of the company’s goods at the festival.