SAMMY J The rude puppet show that blew 02 away roasts everything in pat_h__
‘If you put Disney. Les Mis and Queen in a blender, it might sound a little like our show,“ explains Sammy J. the delicately framed Antipodean whose puppet show Forest of Dreams is hoping to charm Edinburgh audiences. ‘That said.' he continues. ‘the opening song is titled “Fuck You Disney" so the tributes aren't always affectionate.‘ A gentle reminder then, that this puppet show is for adults only. The titular wood itself is discovered through Sammy's kitchen cupboard and features magical characters who proceed to mock everything. ‘I try to create shows that I find funny myself,‘ he says of his
sometimes raw humour. ‘At the moment I find theatrical stuff appealing,
1 particularly blowing all our money on stupid jokes.‘
The show. which received a Barry nomination in his native Melbourne. is constructed with Sammy's musical talents. and an array of 14 puppets Created by Heath Mclvor. Sammy met Mclvor through a mutual friend, a foul- mouthed comedian puppet named Randy. ‘It was some of the funniest stand-up I'd seen,‘ recalls Sammy, ‘Iet alone the fact it was being performed by a puppet.’ Deciding to combine forces for a full-length show. Sammy and Mclvor seem to have created a successful partnership: ‘he provides the
_ skill, I provide the skinny.‘
f (Emma Lennox) I Underbelly, 0844 545 8252, 2—24 Aug (not 77), 6pm, [950—87350 (£8.50—E 72.50). Previews 37 Jul 8 7
Who’s he then? Stephen K Amos Aug, £36. is a (SO-something actor, comedian and documentary-maker whose JASON COOK
Bringing joy with honeymoons,
Batty Boy involved him going on a . . confessmns and midgets
journey from his south London backyard to Jamaica in an attempt to discover why homophobia is so prevalent among black men. What’s his show called? ‘Show', did you say? This busy gent has a pair of events on the go this Fringe. First up is Find the Funny. SKA's seventh Fringe solo stand-up set and the follow-up to last year's acclaimed More of Me. Amos also heralds the return of his Weekend Chat Show which is as self-explanatory as it gets.
I know he likes a sharp suit, but Is it really true he just needs to say the word and people can be killed? Not quite. though when he made a joke at last year's Royal Variety Show about wishing Lenny Henry was dead so other black comics could get on TV, Prince Charles later told him this could indeed be arranged. We think he was kidding.
Is he another one of those comedians who think they can act? Indeed he is, but that's because he can. Amos has been central to those recent ensemble Fringe dramas with a plethora of stand-ups. such as Talk Radio and One Flew Over the Cuckoo 's Nest. (Brian Donaldson)
I Find the Funny, Pleasance Courtyard, 556 6550, 2—25 Aug (not 6, 73), 9.40pm, [374—875 (£72.50—E 73.50). Previews until 7 Aug, £8; Weekend Chat Show, Gilded Balloon Teviot, 668 7633, 7 8 2, 8 8 9, 75, 22 Aug, 77.30pm, £72.50 (£70.50).
Geordie comedian Jason Cook looks at the Fringe like a month-long Christmas day. In fact. he wants his show this year to be a caring. sharing. warm hug of a thing, where people feel so uplifted. they’ll be crying when they leave. As his alter ego. Herr Karl Karl in the darkly brilliant German techno duo. Die Clatterschenkenfietermaus (who are currently working on a TV show). crowds may weep tears of disgust or humiliation, but for Cook. the important thing is they‘ve been moved. ‘All my favourite comedians — Daniel Kitson, Brendon Burns. Glenn Wool — make you think, pull your heartstrings. and make you laugh all in one show. Joy is going to have the same ups and downs. It's a mixture of beautiful and quite heavy things.‘
Cook's certainly had an up and down year. He got married and lost his father. so plans to continue the open-heart theme that went down so well with crowds at last year's My Confessions. Besides tales of a seasick honeymoon. and romance Geordie-style. he also wants to share his fascination with little
32 THE LIST FESTIVAL MAGAZINE 31 Jul—7 Aug 2008
IDIOTS OF ANTS
Internet sensations return with more sketches firmly on the side of silly
A lot of modern comedy dwells on the darker side of life, but that’s not an accusation to be levelled at Idiots of Ants. The London-based four-man sketch act can be placed firmly in the ‘daft’ file, and if you don’t believe us just check out their online Fringe preview video, where the quartet parade around rush-hour London in just their pants. ‘Silly, that’s the key word,’ says
Andrew Spiers when asked to describe their show this year. ‘It’s fun and
upbeat; we veer away from anything too dark. At the end of the day it’s what we find funny, which turns out is very wide-ranging, but the best way to
describe it all is very silly, definitely.’
The act debuted at last year’s Fringe, selling out their run, and this runaway success has continued onto television slots on 8803 and E4. Their biggest triumph, though, has come from an online sketch entitled ‘Facebook in Real Life’, which sharply parodies the ridiculousness of online social networking sites. With over a million hits, it’s a genuine internet phenomenon, even featuring on Fox News in the States. ‘lt’s been crazy; friends of mine have seen it all over the world,’ laughs Spiers. ‘My sister was in a pub in Australia, and some guys she’d never met were talking about it. We hit that zeitgeisty thing, I guess, where everyone could connect with it to some degree. Unfortunately, there’s no money in being an internet sensation.’
Sketch shows are not exactly in vogue these days, but the four Idiots, who met at drama school, reckon it’s the perfect way to make a living. ‘There’s a real enjoyment in just larking about with your mates,’ admits Spiers. ‘Having that as a career appeals much more than doing Shakespeare on tour, or stand-up on your own.’ (Doug Johnstone)
I Pleasance Courtyard, 556 6550. 2—25 Aug (not 7 7. 78). 6.20pm, [850—53950
(E7—f8). Previews until 7 Aug, £5.
people. ‘I wanted to hire a midget to come on at the end. but it's 5250 an hour! Still. I might treat myself.‘ (Claire Sawers)
I The Stand II, 558 7272. 2—24 Aug (not 77), 5.20pm, E8 (E7). Preview I Aug, E7 (E6).
KEITH FARNAN Irish comic’s debut shot rips apart America’s attitude to criminal justice
When Keith Farnan was contemplating his first hour-long show at the Fringe. he wasn't short of advice from fellow comics. ‘I listened to everyone who had done well and those who had done badly,' he says. ‘You learn as much from the guys who said to me “never go there" as the ones who got lucky.‘
The key decision for Farnan to make was whether he should just go with a
compilation hour of his finest jokes and
stories or stretch the ambition with a themed show. Choosing the themed
approach, his debut was never likely to
be a crazy drunken pub-bet travelogue of Gorman proponions; he was
destined to write from the heart.
A trained solicitor, Farnan worked as a
. summer intern in the US at the
Innocence PrOject where he came
across cases of wrongful imprisonment.
which of c0urse in America can mean people being put to death for a crime they were nowhere near. 'I've tried to write about the subject in a way that's funny and revealing and angry all at the same time. It's not just some Irish guy talking about drinking: With a title like Cruel and Unusual, bring the brain because yOIi'Il need it.'
(Brian Donaldson)
I Underbelly, 0844 54:3 8252. 2—24 Aug (not 78), 6. 70pm, ESQ-€70.50 ($8479.50). Previews 37 Jul 8 7 Aug. E6.