JOSIE LONG
A logic-defying show about science 00
The queen of lo-fi is back with kitsch artefacts all around and a scattery mind deep within. This year her comedy patchwork has Josie Long fiddling around with science, a subject she studied at school (for ‘studied’ read ‘sat with her head on the desk throughout’) but is keen to now investigate and enjoy, partly inspired by those fancy wallcharts that the big papers have been handing out in recent times. While her favourite ones have fallen out of The Guardian, this makes her feel like an abused woman returning to the partner that bashed her about with a bad review last Fringe.
In a big slopy room, the world is at Long’s feet and there is a warmth circling her that cannot be denied. But it would be mightily impressive for her acolytes to talk up her shambolic climax, a shimmery, light-bulb show held up by the audience that should be magical (recreating as it does a starry, starry sky at night) but falls flat for the one simple reason which Long herself acknowledges: only she can actually see what is going on.
For this reviewer, that mirrors the rather blind faith which some critics and many of her fellow comics have had in her. Amiability and kookiness is just not enough. There actually seems to be too much invested in this comic, so desperate is the industry to find a strong female stand-up who might rise above the dross. Josie Long’s reputation may precede her, but it defies all logic and reasoning. (Brian Donaldson)
I Pleasance Courtyard, 556 6550, until 25 Aug (not 9, 79), 9.45pm, $10—$77 (£8. 50—29. 50).
40 THE LIST FESTIVAL MAGAZINE 7—14 Aug 2008
Adams & Rea
‘0 . " . .....n’~ N
ADAMS & REA
Jokey folky afternoon amusement “0
One has a pointy chin and is in therapy. The other is Aussie and has issues with her comedy partner. Welcome to the warm, witty and slightly witchy world of Adams & Rea, whose collected CV includes Jade the Folk Singer, a Funny Women award and a cameo role as the Biscuit-Eyed Lady in the Congress of Oddities. Fortunately. the slightly hackneyed notion of a double act not quite working in tandem and handicapped with deep-seated resentments is not laboured too much, settling instead for concentrating on their own individual flaws.
Handin for a musical comedy duo. they can bash out some fine tunes with lyrics best described as wicked; and while that 's not meant in the ‘street' sense. the pair do indulge in a fine rap about the perils of littering. A couple of cute interludes help pace the show and only the most adept of
7 musicians could pull off the tone deaf number that works as an oddball
highlight. (Brian Donaldson)
I Pleasance Courtyard, 556 6550, unti/ 25 Aug (not 7 7), 2. 75pm,
£7. 50—28. 50 (ES—£7).
NEXT ISSUE OUT
RICK SHAPIRO 899%“ swash! 3“
Rick Shapiro is introduced as a man
‘fighting himself', but for tonight's
performance it's the theatre tech who is 3 taking most of the comedians acerbic
blows. Trying to sync up highly designed video graphics with Shapiro’s meandering mind is an impossible task and throughout the performance a bewildered audience is distracted by a bikini clad woman with a machine gun and a penguin. Whilst unexpected and bizarre, the relevance to his talk of fisting. blowjobs and the occasional political statement is never explained. Shapiro isn’t afraid to lay into his own shambolic approach when something takes a lead balloon dive. and to his credit, revealing the mechanics of the show works on an absurdist level. The comic's brutal honesty coupled with his wiry-framed physicality keeps the audience frightened but attentive.
Walking into a Rick Shapiro show is like
stepping into the New Jersey stand- up's stream-of-consciousness: it's not a pretty place but the manic energy will sweep you along. (Emma Lennox)
I GRV, 220 2987, until Aug 24 (not 72), 7.45pm, EQ—ElO, (EB—£9).
Rick Shapiro