DAVID
audience a cuppa —
Simon Munnery: how sweet. Go and see 0 POHER' I . decidedly average him now I tell you. now. Movmg, melancholic anarchy (Carolyn Aiken) tales 000
I Gilded Balloon Teviot, 226 2 l5 7. until 26 Aug (not 73). 9.30pm.
£84.“ l0 (27—59).
GEORGE PENA Combines song with stupidity .00
You'll be pushed to find a show more original at the festival - this guy is a classically trained opera singer/comedian. Would you Adam and Eve it’? Combining song with stupidity. GeOrge voices his opinions on his hometown. dresses up as an M&M. and belts out songs with his amazing spine-tingling vocal skills in this brilliantly performed and highly entertaining show.
His enthusiasm is infectious and his act is unpredictable. Whether he is ranting about rap. Ricky Martin. or Yorkshire. it's hard not to chuckle at this hugely Iikeable character in a New York Yankee top.
(Carolyn Aiken) I Gilded Balloon, 226 2 75 7. until 26 Aug (not
If there was a ‘Tragedy‘ section in the festival, then David O'Doherty would fit in perfectly. Recently dumped by his girlfriend. the melancholic Irish lad recounts the small things that he misses about the relationship. He peppers his morose tales with cutesy childhood reminisces. throwing in the odd song or two played masterfully on his Yamaha.
Gags about Sodastreams and Princess She-Ra press on nostalgia nerves rather than funny bones and O'Doherty relies more on boyish charm than he does on his delicate. yet tOuching material. As such. the show elicits more Sympathy than laughs and the finale had me reaching for the Kleenex. Although not everyone was moved. ‘Get a grip; move on,‘ said my friend who recently dumped her boyfriend.
I Gilded Bal/OOn Teviot. 226 215 7. until 26 Aug (not 73, 20).
7 7.30pm, £77—l‘8 (F6477).
humour is too American-oriented and the result too self- indulgent.
(Maureen Ellis)
welcome respite from his Situationist musings. There may be genius lurking here but for those who've tried to convince others of that for years. maybe the
Hannibal Lecter parody. Despite strong performances — and the interesting dynamic of twin brothers — the
mm' mldlm III present:
12). 7.30pm. 86—87 (ES—F6).
DYBALL AND KERR
Perrier winners lose their sparkle 0
Working class Welsh comedians. gay stylists. Job hungry actors. closet case naval men and Spanish folk singers who can't sing are the stock characters let out of their dusty boxes during this night of singularly unfunny comedy. Sketch shows are welcome ambitious ventures but this one does not even get started: the material is incredibly weak deSpite Dyball and Kerr's obvious range as character actors. All warmed over Beyond the Fringe and corny celebrity obsession. only the interspersed parts from Raging Bull - The Musical manage to raise a hint of a smile. Radio 4 comedy hour beckons.
(Paul Dale)
I Pleasance Dome, until 26 Aug (not IQ).
7. 75pm. YER—£9.50 (57478.50).
(Maureen Ellis)
I Gilded Balloon Teviot, 226 275 7, until 26 Aug (not 72, 79), 8pm, 28—89 (27—28).
SIMON MUNNERY
Arch Situationist ramblings 000
When Simon Munnery was struggling to reach top spot in his League Against Tedium. a theOry existed that his epic vision was let down by technical hitches. Yet. here in the Stand's intimacy. he still comes a cropper against the vagaries of design. With his mic sliding to its lowest point. Munnery conducted proceedings on his knees. begging for understanding. Largely. he gets it. After a first half in which he dressed all in Orange. with a bucket on his head and a mindful of gibberish. the straight-ish second was
truth hurts: Munnery's anarchy is decidedly average.
(Brian Donaldson)
I The Stand. 558 ‘ ‘ 7272, until 26 Aug (not 72), 2.30pm, E6 (E5).
KASPER
HAUSER
Childish flight of fancy
00
What the hell makes 0 grown men dress up in
Andy Pandy Suits? Perhaps it's motivated by the same area of the brain that controls the need to indulge in childish role-play. Whatever it is. Kasper Hauser have been bitten by a frenzied spoof bug and boy do they want to fly with it. The four-piece San Franciscan sketch troupe land in their comedy pod and play out a series of mildly surreal physical sketches such as a labOured Sherlock Holmes-meets-
, «if “Sterllu stand-up min In It the circult’s rising stars”
sum- Arman, III Inlay Illa
'...some+tmcs you use the urinals, sometimes the urinals use you...’
31 325 Aug“... 13) 12 Midnight (ends 12.45) Tickets: £6.50 I concs £5.50
hinge box office 0131 226 0000 m.edhinge.¢om
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venue34
A D A M H O U S E CHAMBERS STREET
0870 701 5105 www.00-
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it. 15> Aug) I’I‘lfl’ THE LIST FESTIVAL GUIDE 33