JIMEOIN Refining a lost art of the commonplace 0000
Less is definitely rrrore with this lrish comic. Although he's playing to a packed house. Jimeoin eschews the Customary mic-stand and bello\.'-.ring delivery and instead wears a discreet ear-piece. talks softly. mumbles guite a bit and relies on facial expressions to put his act across. That said. he also periodically dropkicks Maltesers into his mouth. Neither is his material what you'd call cutting edge. although his ol.)S(~3rvatioiis about human thought processes and the body language of guilt. shame. hope and other emotional states are original and insightful.
But who cares if the material is commonplace when the substance of Jimeoin's constantly amusing. often hilarious show is less about what he says and more about what he doesn't say between his lines? Stretching out a skit about when it's appropriate to raise and lower one's eyebrows for many long, funny minutes is no small achievement. Here's a Fringe veteran who has truly refined his art.
(Miles Fielderi
I Gilded Balloon fer/rot. ($68 7633. Linn/2:3 Aug (not 78. 21). 8.453pnr.
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DEAD CAT BOUNCE
Am-dram antics fall flat 0.
There’s an old fashioned feel to this sketch show. which uses the same hotel bedroom as a backdrop for a set of Goons-style skits. lhree American sailors on shore leave burst into knee slapping golly-geewhrx/ song at every opportunity. a ginger man discovers why he'll never make it into tvllts. and a Cockney fool brings a peacock to a cock fight. The humour sits
22 THE LIST FESTIVAL MAGAZINE f.'. 'z
v.iell»acted. fast»paced fun. For the others who don't. its three talented
I Gilded Balloon [UV/Of. (568 1033. until 234 Aug. i’().()’()pnr. 58.150 319430
DAVID O’DOHERTY
Finding gold in the everyday dirt O...
somewhere between the Marx Brothers and public schoolboy am dram. and the competent cast of three bend themselves energetically around a mini musical about the Irish potato famine itaglrne: ‘two lovers. one dream. no potatoes'i. a scene with three Jaded clowns having an argument. or a dying man being cycled around the Alps on a tandem by his long-suffering friend.
Whether or not the humour works depends on theatrical. ‘.'./tl()f(3f3()lll(}. family-friendly comedy being your thing. For anyone who loves it. this is
boys. trying very hard. not getting many laughs and failing to find :‘lltl(:fl common comedy ground.
(Claire Sawersi
By the end of his self introduction. before he's even reached the stage. David O'Doherty has his audience biaying like donkeys. The Dublin comic has done so many consistently
if‘/'.:')()—5‘éa’.:3()i. enjoyable fringe shows that getting
JOHN PINETTE Say yeah yeah to big bad John 0000
Since getting Jerry and co locked up in the grand finale of Seinfeld, John Pinette has spent the last decade making a name for himself on Broadway and in Hollywood. Having worked with the likes of Sinatra, Arnie and Travolta, he may not need the Fringe, but in a festival of all the same old faces, we need him. A big guy in almost every way conceivable, Pinette’s I Say Nay Nay is pretty much engorged with one topic: food. Or more accurately, queuing for food, trying to get Italian food in France, eating too much food at a Chinese buffet, food he doesn’t like (turnips), food that he doesn't like but is trying to get into (salads), and the ludicrousness of having menus at McDonalds and KFC. All of which makes him sound like a one-trick pony. And well, maybe he is, but boy he sure can ride it all the way home.
Pinette played Edna Turnblad in Hairspray on Broadway, so it’s no surprise when you hear him burst momentarily into sweet song, and he has an array of odd noises that can eject from his mouth at any given moment: the most prevalent, which is like Tweety Pie taking Linda Blair’s role in The Exorcist, is unleashed when spewing bile at people who are needlessly coming between him and his next meal. It would be advisable not to go into the Pinette show on an empty stomach, as you’ll come out desperate for food. And, just as likely, hungry for more John Pinette, a true giant of contemporary stand-up. (Brian Donaldson)
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laughs must be like shooting fish in a frying pan by now. but this year's act could be his best yet. Armed as usual wrth some cute plastic keyboards (he proudly puts the ‘aha' in ‘Yamaha'i O'Doherty's observational nose and comedic instincts have never been keener. l ike a Klondike prosi,)ector. he can root in the dirt of the everyday and come up wrth shining lumps of truly hilarious truth.
In a set which has scarcely a ten- second gap between guffaws. highlights include a text chat put to music, a lesson in self—defence as applied to board games and an inspired list of modern—life guibbles. Gentle. silly and even a little rnovrng in his gentle silly way. Davrd O'Doherty is an outright gift. (Sam Healyi I Hit) Stand //l & ll/. {>58 /'2/'2. until 24 Aug. 9pm, 519.50 (58.530).
DAN NIGHTINGALE Dogging and squirrel-based japery .0.
The outlook wasn't good to begin with. ln fact there was a palpable air of terror in the roorrr when Dan Nightingale shuffled onstage apologetically. nervously. and admitting that his first few shows this year had not gone well. Bu to the audience's collective relief. the~ sorrtetime compeie and Hinge first timer soon got into his stride. With a self depiecatrng but guietly confident routine (iuickly taking shape. An irrrpressive flair for vocallydexterous impressions added considerable weight to his punchlines. his autobiogramiical tales bounding entlrusiastically through everything from feeding squirrels to the joys of the pick'n'mix.
That said. and amusing as it was. material on the mysteries of dogging and dealing with his girlfriend's drunkenly amorous advances inot at the same time. 'no not poured fuel on the flames of my conspiracy theory that young rirale comedians are somehow contractually obliged to prove that. hey. they really are l'l sexual relationships. No need when his whimsical observatior‘ iiioyed iust as Worthy of some good loyiri' in its own rrglit. if mma Newlandsi I Underbelly, (loll-l 35.1.") 83:5. ‘,
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