ALUN COCHRANE: MY FAVOURITE WORDS IN MY BEST STORIES
One man and his bell
Alun Cochrane is a Glaswegian wrth a Yorkshire accent who lives in London and is a regular headliner on the British comedy circuit. For his Fringe show. he's upped the stakes from his usual tall tales and topical gags by introducing a simple. but dazzlineg effective. novelty. My FaVOL/rite Words in My Best Stories features a bell. Every time Cochrane mentions a word he likes. he gives it a ring. It doesn't s0und much. but it's hilariously effective and pretty soon everyone's getting down wrth the linguistic action. 'During the show when people have been trying to ring my bell. they've shouted various great words at me.' says Cochrane. ‘In one show an audience member made a mistake of thinking it was long words rather than just
nice words; he jumped to his feet and shouted. "Oi! What's wrong With marmalade? That's a long word innit?" I suppose it is if you're used to jam.'
(Mark Fisher)
I Gilded Balloon Tevrot. 668 I633. 8—29 Aug (not 75). 6.45pm, [8—179 (£77478). Prevrews 687 Aug. £74.50.
RUSSELL BRAND’S BETTER NOW
An open confessional, yet with jokes
At one stage. Russell Brand cared about eco- socialism so much he was prepared to strip for it. Currently to be seen hosting Ed's Big Brother discussion show. Brand enjoys interwewrng people like ewctee Ahmed who go a little era/y: ‘it's a tempo of bel'iaViour I can relate to.‘ And he's not kidding. Once addicted to crack and herein, his preVious Edinburgh shows involved him ranting at the audience Without material. throwrng animal entrails and being arrested for attempting
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to incite riots. as well as stripping at an anti- capitalist demo in his spare time.
But that's all behind him now and having graduated from rehab. Brand is telling his story. He describes it as 'open. confessional. biographical; but funny.’ The show has essentially been written on stage. as he sifted through anecdotes of the horrendous things he got up to. But he's not planning any live-action replays: 'This year I shall Simply be telling jokes.‘ (Anna Shipman)
I Pleasance Courtyard. 556 6550. 7—30 Aug (not 70. I7), 7. 70pm. £9.50—E 7050 ((38—59). Previews 5&6 Aug. E5.
JOHN BISHOP: PEDDLING STORIES Traveller tales of wit and woe
Everyone's got disastrOus travelling tales. But not everyone can make them funny. John Bishop reckons he can and he's got a hell of a lot of material. In 1992.
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apparently on a whim, he jacked in his job. bought a bike and set off from Sydney. Australia to cycle to the UK. After ten months on the bike. being robbed of everything he owned. watching a man die and havrng a gun pointed at his face. he 'felt like throwing it in the river'.
A couple of years of stand-up later and it's time to tell that story. The show should be a little more structured than his preVious well received off-the-Cuft comedy. but telling the story chronologically might not work: in previews to date. he's ‘not got past Brisbane'. As he'll pick anecdotes based on his audience. you should come armed with your best gap-year calamity. (Anna Shipman) I Pleasance Courtyard. 556 6550. 6—30 Aug (not 10). 10pm. [IO—Ell lC8.:30—.C9.50). Prevrew 5 Aug, E5.
ROB DEERING THE MOVIE Getting in touch with his inner rock god
Rob Deering has come a long way SlliCG he appeared in 2001 "s Comedy Zone. For starters. he has gone electric. swapping his trusty acoustic guitar for
a Stratocaster and distortion pedal. This year's offering is a sequel to last year‘s SUDBf/(l/TQS and takes full advantage of his best asset. ‘I really want to get back to the rock element that came out last year and unleash the screaming metal god within,‘ he says.
But this is simply the backing track to the 'movie' at his show's heart. ‘lt's really about me. the great Rob Deering.‘ And with such cute baby features and a reputation for being one of the cheeriest chaps in comedy. what kind of character is he? ‘l‘d like to be Tom Cruise in the Mission Impossmle films. but i think my audiences see me more as a kind of Shrek; that's what I'm hOping to redress.‘ Though with that big loveable face. he may have his work cut out. (Rachael Streetl I Underbelly 7—29 Aug (not 1?), 70pm, £9.50—£‘ I 0.50 (C8—C9). Previews 5&6 Aug. E5.
BOOTHBY GRAFFOE
Guitar + Jokes + Man = Good
Chip pans and narcoleptics. wild animals and live television, politicians and oranges: volatile
John Bishop gets 0“ his bike to tell his traveller’s tales
combinations that could all end in disaster. Music and comedy is another. Mastered by few — with John Hegley. Bill Bailey and the godlike genius that is Sean Cullen being among the honourable exceptions — it's not easy to make the two actually work together well. Boothby Graftoe makes it work. Equal parts droII poet and peCuliar pervert. he strides into town with two shows this year: a solo jaunt in which he promises ‘some special musical guests and a new suit'. One guest who will inevitably make an appearance is virtuoso guitarist Antonio Forcione. who he teams up with for two nights in his other show. In last year's show. Graffoe startled his cat. abused a police officer. destroyed a replica of his own house and even managed a few songs: we can expect nothing less this time round. (Mark Robertson) I Pleasance Courtyard. 556 6550, 6—30 Aug (not 77), 5.45pm, [7260—03 (Cl 7—57 7.50). Preview 5 Aug. E5; Assembly Rooms, 226 2428. 27&28 Aug. 7 7.45pm, E 72.50.