JASON JOHN WHITEHEAD Light entertainment from a man on a mission .00
~(J{/r-vi(,‘//i'l(: "w'tfi Tll‘: audacity to suggest iast year that the ’lf‘:ilfll’)’,r":’l \lii‘if/Yi
.John ‘f/hitehead 'loesr
tale himself seroiisly enough Taking the «rt/rue as the r'iaritra for Serious Dude, 'v’lhitehead chooses four themes around which to base his new-found serious persona lhetitles domestic arrns. pop music. relationships and ’)[)ll‘.l()ll.‘) arernore promising than the material that transpires. Why rlo telephones need cameras? Aren't train seats iincoiiifortable'? What about the ugly one in Blue? It's fairly banal stuff. but Whitehead is so intenser likeable as a performer that you can almost forgive the fluffy content. And let's not forget his body piercing encounters. Now that .‘Jas seriously funny. iMaureen Ellis) I P/easance Courtyard. 5:36 (3:350. until 25 Aug. 70.415pm, f.‘9.5()~l‘l().5() if‘t‘i’vl‘Sli
DARA O’BRIAIN Dara makes childsplay of comedy .00.
Dara O'Briain makes you laugh from the moment he walks on stage; there is something innater funny about him. He's a cheeky bastard at the best of times. but you can't help but love him. As Irish as they come. he makes every statement scream with hysteria. Fast paced
15 and 30 minute walk in bookings welcome
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lien", N'irtli'norei
I p/U(lf;t’l'l(.(-3 Courtyard. "All 0650. until 25 Aug. 7130;)!7), l 70.50—5‘7 7.50 If (1-370).
SLAUGHTER HOUSE LIVE
Some things so wrong feel so right 0000
Any show featuring a
p; ss the parcel With a raw pig trotter‘ as the pii/e is worthy of praise. lhis five~strong comedy cabaret pulsates With enough anarchic energy to power a small European principality. Characters like the Four r'at Folkies. complete with bad teeth. and a clog dancer. verge on Pythonesgue Surrealism, while Knockers and Cocks. a brilliant piss» take of end-of—the-pier Cannon and Ball V-JéilittétlJOS. are worthy of an hour to themselves.
With scores of charz-icters. naturally some are going to fall flat ~ Gerard Rendezvous hang your faux-French locks in shame. But when the pace dips. up pops a singing foetus or the most gloriously irreverent reading of Wilfred Owen's 'Anthem for Doomed Youth' you will ever hear. It's so wrong. but still so right. lEdd McCracken)
I Gilded Balloon Caves. 22(5 2 75 7, until 25 Aug.
£10for 15 mins £20 for 30mins
AROMATHERAPY MASSAGE '
INDIAN HEAD MASSAGE
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DROP IN YOGA CLASSES
32 THE LIST FESTIVAL GUIDE 31-21 Aug 2‘03
NEW LOCATION
US COMEDY INVASION Star-Spangled stand- up is mediocre at best .0
The cor‘star f .
ine-up ’i l‘a'i‘rfl'car‘ <;orrie’:izir‘-‘_; guarantees this i'éil‘i“,-/\.‘.r£i.'".", beast .anes ~ri ’iuai:t, tip'“ nigl‘t tr, 'iigl‘f But We selection or‘ r.“e' does have a cornrn’ir‘ thematic thread red. white and bl;th The tedious American stand up trait of casually. mentioning a local trait and then increduloust barking ‘\.“./hat 's u): .vrth that shit‘?' :5; exposed for the comedic banality it is. Wher‘ several acts base their mediocre routines around being a JeWish, Italian homosexual it rains home this :rivasion definitely comes from the US. not Livingston. But compere Sal Barone. a kinetic bundle of energy, is a bright spot. as is Barry Weintraub's routine of fried and trusted Bush- bashing that enlivened an otherWise stoniy crowd. Seriously. though. US Corrieuv Invasion, what is up with that shit? lEdd McCracken; I Underbelly: 0870 74:3 3083. until 24 Aug. 7 7.10pm. ill—5‘5) 67—578).
BRENDAN RILEY Nice guy Brendan offers a choice set .0.
Here's how it works: before the show. each member of the audience fills out a menu. specifying a preferred comedic starter. main course and dessert.
All the rage
TOMMY TIERNAN
Irish tale-spinner back on form 0000.
For a while I was quite concerned about Tommy Tiernan. Having destroyed the Edinburgh competition in 1998 with his Undivine Comedy. at times he seemed intent on doing similar damage to his own career. Dodgy sitcoms (small potatoes), uninspiring dramas (Love in the 21st Century) and disappointing comic vehicles (applauding inferior talents onto the stage while hosting The Stand-Up Show) merely blemished his post-Perrier glory.
And when it came to his eventual return to the circuit in 2001, these sideshows seemed to have rubbed off. While he spoke offstage of his admiration for Lenny Bruce and a desire to produce art on a par with Dante onstage, his material suddenly lacked the fluency, structure and flights of magical fancy which had flung him towards the spotlight in the first place.
So, approaching the opening night of his new show. Tiernan apostles may have sensed heavy trepidation. Within minutes, that fear had fled the room, quicker than an ambulance firing down Lothian Road (I think three could be heard outside the Pod tent during this show; but that’s a whinge for another article). What Tiernan does with material as trad as primary education, 14- month-old babies and phone sex is nothing short of spectacular.
Again, competing with the rumble of traffic and a venue in the round, only someone with a blistering presence can succeed. And while Tiernan seems to be shouting even more than he did in 98, the tenderness also reaches into the back row. The comedy world can be thankful that this Celtic tiger hasn't lost his roar. (Brian Donaldson)
I The Pod. 228 99:30. until 2-1 Aug, .‘1. l’jprn. E l l 5
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Brendan Riley thei‘ piss lllll‘ off a bit lhe ll").'/‘, ttlfil‘ 'aiig'i‘. l‘ii'. bases his show around randomly chosen menus. each item corresponding to a story or bit. It's a novel. original idea and it works Plus. Riley's material is sharp. Plus. he's a really nice guy. Really. really nice. In hard point of fact ll am going straight to iOurnalistic hell for thisi. he is almost too nice for standuo. His heckles sound more like avuncular counsel. and his 8 ieer congenialit/ threatens to emascwate his wetl-oenr‘ed Stuff at
.vond .'.rili thank you .s hardly a surprise. Sarn l-lealyi
I l-D/easarice Dorrie, "if, (5-350. tlriti/ 2‘3 Aug. i'.2flr)rri, 55-14 fl)
*5 (2130-! 7 St),
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it” .“frl‘. ()‘: “A‘I'r‘yfh/‘IU (’3‘. ptire ’.’;lti‘:’ly’ .'. the list place What is ‘,’/'ll‘:ililll’} of a rerelatioi: >5, 'lflf/ Hell AISLE 16
Dark poetry raises more brows than laughs 000
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breathiig new “fr; Me a 'iorrriai'f rii<;dr:fiii, and f'iey arr; liker to go ‘a' Sari. Heay
I Pleasarice Dorrie. 556 6550. until 25 Aug.
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times. lf yet. see poutca; "‘ateriai in the 4.50.777, 5.748 Brendan. arotir‘o. fr, to Show that raises mere