ISY SUTTIE Supermarket singing and silliness .0.
Initially, on reading that lsy Suttie was once a Daily Telegraph Young Jazz Competition regional Winner, I thought it might have been a joke. Yet. on hearing her impersonation of Amy Winehouse falling down a well, allied to her general ability to get a tongue right round a tune. that claim seems all the more credible. It still a bit tunny sounding. With Love Lost in the British Retail Industry, she utilises talents
FRANKIE BOYLE
The ginger prince reigns supreme 000.
In some ways it would be difficult to imagine an encounter between Frankie Boyle and Jimmy Carr, what with them being, arguably, the two finest gag tellers in contemporary British stand-up comedy. How, you wonder, can they have a chat when they must be bursting at their creative seams, trying to concoct the perfect one-liner or summon up the most offensive jibe to fit the moment? In other ways, it's rather more easy to picture them in the same room because, well, they often are thanks to their duties on Channel 4’s 8 Out of 10 Cats.
Fans of that show and the Beeb's Mock the Week will be hauntingly familiar with some of the jokes rattled out by Boyle in this blistering show under the name of Morons, I Can Heal You. No subject is off limits, whether it’s paedophilia, the failed terror attacks on
other than vocal to Create a splendid character-fuelled debut solo show. to follow up her preVI0us Fringe appearances in The Comedy Zone and Take A Break Tales.
When girl meets bOy in the pet food aisle, all seems rOSy. Yet dark stOrm clouds are gathering when an angsty American Singer songwriter Mary Westenberger (a warped cross between Avril LaVigne and Alanis Morissettel comes between them. This is Suttie's most strikingly hilarious character but it plays second fiddle to the loved-up pairing while her comedic growling is slightly undermined through repetition. Still, this is an assured debut from a true riSing star who. should stand-up not prove utterly fruitful, could always pursue a career at Ronnie Scott's. (Brian Donaldson)
I Pleasance Courtyard, 556 6550. until 27 Aug (not 74), 3.30pm, £8. 50—59. 50 (E 7—538).
ANDREW MAXWELL
Irish storyteller continues to delight I...
There c0mes a point in e\ en comics career where he or she must decide whether they are going to stay the joker forever Or grow up and move Onto domg something respectable for the rest of their life. Andrew Maxwell had a brief shot at British TV semi- fame a COuple of years back when he won Ed's Kings of Cerriedy reality show but never fully capitalised on it.
Glasgow Airport (and boy, does he have some scorching material on that event), Prince Harry, the London Olympics, disability, the English (‘they have two Lake Districts now’) or, mercifully, the Scottish. And nor is a front row punter cocooned from the jovial stab of Boyle’s lance or his piercing Woody Woodpecker giggle. Whether you attempt to stare him out or, conversely, look down at your partner’s shoes, neither strategy will succeed when the caustic ginger prince is prowling his natural domain.
While I’m sure that the vast majority of this show will be intact come the end of the month, I’d be amazed if Boyle isn’t working on a new joke every day to chuck into the mix, so keen is he on reflecting the here and now. If ever there was a comic to prick the zeitgeist till it explodes, Frankie Boyle is the one. (Brian Donaldson) I Assembly Rooms, 623 3030, until 26 Aug (not Mon, Tue), 9pm; Assembly Hall, 623 3030, 70, 23 Aug, 7 7.45pm, El2.50—£‘73.5O (£70.50—i‘7 7.50).
30 THE LIS‘I’ FESTIVAL MAGAZINE 9-16 Aug 2007
F'C'“ the age t to " s she‘s. il‘iax and the disciair‘ie's made at 'ts Outset, we can gather that Maxwell has '85l9l‘8C, l):"‘,se" in being the dew? to'exe' And thank god tOr that
Andrew Maxwell is this gene'ation's Dave Allen, a singular stomtulzng force who. like a stand up Napuiecn. is unafraid to meter on into CHOW“. waters — from Bertie Aher" to gay SWimming — and shth oft a few canons to ruffle many feathers for laughs. And when, towards the end of the show, he gleefully riientitiiis that he'll still be showering us With his gags from the stage on some CltllSU ship when he's 76, only then does he make you realise that the sensible life's loss is our huge gain (Mark Robertson) I Pleasance Courtyard, 556 (5550. until 27 Aug (not 75», 8..)Opiii, [7250—7350(1‘7 7—72)
RUSSELL HOWARD
Frenetic, frenzied frolics 000
Russell Howard shows a reiiiarkahle arnount of restraint against what appears to be a natural inclination to gab With his audience. Other than to mock the odd crazy laugh, he COncentrates on his material, which is an ability which the crowd requires in absolute buckets. Keeping up With his bullet train manner and the three— jokey—aSides-per-second delivery is not the eaSiest task on this year's Fringe. The ineVitable result is that some of the gags lose their iriipetus With the odd mangled punchline or the slow-burning Joke which might seep through 12 seconds later means that you'll have lost the four threads he's by then unleashed.
Last year's Eddies nominee certainly knows how to whip up a stand-up storm but he can't goite rein in his scattered material and the title.
Adventures, feels like a last-minute
deadline-buster. One routine about a potential SUICIde trying to be talked down worked beautifully but the majority barely has time to penetrate. My advice: stay as sober as you can. get to the queue early and scrap like a demon for a front row seat it you want to truly follow Russell Howard's speeding trains of thought.
(Brian Donaldson)
I Pleasance Courtyard, 556 6550, unti/27 Aug (not 14), 9.20pm.
£7 750—0250 lilo-El 7).
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