WILL a. GREG
A lesson in chemistry from ex-Ugly Kids 0000
I As the audience enters the sweaty
i room, Will and Greg are enthusiastically cycling on exercise bikes. It sets the . pace for a fast and furious sketch show ' FREE COMEDY moments. Turonimo Numpty put the amateur into
' ° ' ’ which is Clever. bizarre and. like its title, 4 A Pandora 5 Box Of powerpomt and po'nflessness amateur theatre With their uncertain and frankly unfunny
deceptively simple. Will Andrews and There is a rebellion at the Fringe this year. High venue costs approach to the audience between skits and One Thing
j Greg McHugh are character comedians have caused some artists to take matters into their own After Another garnered almost no laughs at all.
who have captured the attention of hands. Doug Stanhope is charging £7349 for a one-off show Hollywould was better company. with rapid switches Channel 4 fOr good reason. AS the male in someone's living room and the Free Fringe organisations between Russian oliga‘irch. confused carer and dog espeCially
j half of last year's hit and miss Ugly Kid. ‘ have brought more acts than ever to Edinburgh at no extra impressive. even it the material was shaky at points. But
: this stripped-down, less frantic sketch I charge. Be warned though: this Pandora's box of free Fine Sketchup packs the ste lar punch. The line-up
i Show is obviously the better half. . comedy has murky depths and must be approached changes daily but l s; Cats of the Week. Kiosk of
: Some of the characters have survived cautiously. An hour-long monologue about eczema delivered Champions and IdéOIS of Ants. all of whom struck gold.
the crossover including Will's dramatic with the aid of PowerPoint feels like an uncomfonable school Special mention has been reserved fer Freeloader: and smooth-talking Dr Frank and presentation and John Cooper's The 30 Year Itch James Hazelden pictured. who. .n the bowels of Nicol Greg's Spanish man with a cup. The bestows little on the audience other than irritated feet. As Edward's. brought Ant podean magc to a wet and weary new material features things that stand-up goes. Owen Niblock is more successful With his crowd. Allow the stand up to wash over you and prepare for
' shouldn‘t be funny but are rendered oddball one-liners and array of instruments. However. his left the songs: his ditties on his backward hometown and the
hilarious: a list of train stations. 8 i field sentiments and musical interludes cast him as the poor aicoholic guide dog are genius. Proof at last that you don't
i television which says it's a police desk . man's David O'Doherty. always get what you pay for. :Natalse Woolmanr
and a sinister tea cake. The difference ‘ Sketch shows also took a hit. Despite some imaginative I See edfringecom for full details
. between other wacky shows and Will
l and Greg's is the emphatic
. performances which bubble with . need a bit more substance than a The Bare Necessm'es leaves you
2 enjoyable chemistry between the two. propensity for flirting with Americans feeling cold. (Brian Donaldsoni
I (Emma Lennox) and talking really, really quickly. I Pleasance Courtyard. 556 6550.
E I Pleasance Courtyard, 556 6550, until Admitting that her show's original until 25 Aug, 7.40pm. {T 73—5..“ 74 24 Aug (not 20). 3.30pm, EB—EQ theme (how we in the super-rich West (El 750—8 I 2. 50/.
(£6.50—i‘750). should focus on concerns other than
monetary) had largely been blown out SAMMY J LUCY PORTER ' of the water by impending economic Puppetry's Hews Ange' rips Disney A set down to its bare bones Armageddon. Porter seems to have a new one ... -_ . _ - . , simply chucked together bits about Part of becoming an adult. sadly. is While it may have been slightly the good old days and how it can be realising that life is not going to turn dispiriting for Lucy Poner to hop out quite eventful sharing a flat with heroin out as you planned. and that a on stage to a less than packed j addicts. As charming as it is obvious. Disney-style happy ending is auditorium, there's little in her jovial j something that eludes all but a few of
demeanour to suggest crushed hopes. To spend an hour in Porter's company is akin to having a litre of Jelly Beans shoved down your throat: they're small. sweet and initially
us. Not only has lvlelbOurne-based comedian Sammy J realised this. he's only gone and turned it into an ambitious. offbeat. adult musical With the help of puppeteer Heath Mclvor.
D‘easam bUt after a While you can't Like The Muppets performing a Angel. but his journey into the help but feel a bit queasy If delivery _. ' ‘ g Sarah Silverman script. Subtle it ain't. magical Forest of Dreams is was everything, Lucy Porter would be 5 and the jokes are rude. Crude and surprisingly touching as he struggles the fineSt Compete in the hlSIOFY Of keep the laughs coming hard and to find his feet. It also gives ample stand-up. But when you're trying to l ‘ “I fast (oo—erll. Combined With the use opportunity to mine pure comedy keep an aUdience rapt for an hOUT. YOU of other impresswe Visual jiggery gold from sporadic iinpi'o\.risatioii. ' . pokery. it beats the one-man-Witna- which gets the biggest chuckles of all i : mic set—up hands down for from the audience. (Emma Newlands) l Showmanship. I Underbelly. 0844 545 8252, until l Sammy J seemingly has the mice 24 Aug. (5pm, $960—$860 ' of an angel and the mind of a Hell's (8850437250).
28 THE LIST FESTIVAL MAGAZINE 14—21 Aug 2008