Festival ComedyReviews at a glance list.co.uk/festival
(Kate Gould) Royal College of Surgeons, 0845 508 8515, until 29 Aug (not 23), 6.10pm, £5. I’ll Always Think of You that Way ●●●●● Rehab, depression, attempted suicide, departed husbands and death aren’t immediately comic material, but the adventures of silver-spoon idiot Savannah, and Alison, her fat, steadfast, depressed friend are very funny. It could do without the explanations from the lectern, but the impressions are witty, the tone irreverent, and it’s fresh, zany and surprising without being contrived or self-consciously different. (Kate Gould) Pleasance Courtyard, 556 6550, until 31 Aug (not 25), 4.30pm, £7.50–£8.50 (£6–£7). Jack Mink ●●●●● Blending improvisation with mime, humour with tragedy, this show is entirely what you make of it. Mink, in Victorian-style garb and clown make-up, welcomes you to his space and presents a series of hypothetical situations that on this occasion included Kate Winslet, a grandmother with a tuba and a ride in a hot air balloon. It’s a mesmerising spectacle that is, in parts, touching, melancholic and poetic. (Marissa Burgess) Royal College of Surgeons, 0845 508 8515, until 22 Aug, 10.40pm; 24–29 Aug, 10.40pm, £5. Janey Godley ●●●●● This straight- talking Glaswegian is not one to mince her words: so when she tells you about unwittingly smoking crack or catching Mexican swine flu you’re inclined to believe her. Immensely likeable, Godley’s well-crafted anecdotes are sharp and engaging enough to cover an occasional lack of originality. (Peter Geoghegan) Pleasance Dome, 556 6550, until 31 Aug, 7pm, £11–£12 (£9.50–£10.50). John Bishop ●●●●● Liverpool FC- loving dad prevaricates on age, fatherhood, pornography, playing a lesbian’s father in Skins, Elvis’ death, and (indulgently) his personal journey to Anfield. Broad, culturally conservative but funny, there’s nothing surprising here, but Bishop is a master of the familiar and familial anecdote. (Paul Dale) Pleasance Courtyard, 556
6550, until 31 Aug, 8pm, £11–£14 (£9.50–£12.50). Jollie ●●●●● What do you get if you cross two men called John and Ollie? Why, ‘Jollie’ of course! And what do you get if you base an entire hour on their invitation to perform at ‘an important European festival’? Story-based songs on various countries, all delivered with impeccable musicianship. But despite a strong start, too many gags end up scoring ‘nul points’. (Emma Newlands) Underbelly, 08445 458 252, until 30 Aug, 6.55pm, £6.50–£10.50 (£8–£9). Kiosk of Champions! ●●●●● It’s ‘boysy’ humour, says Stuart Goldsmith, pointing out that their deliberately flimsy sketches are about pirates, cops and zombies. Goldsmith is ‘pretty’ and Richard Sandling is ‘fat’, he explains, pointing out their similarities to Corden and Horne. Too much pointing out distracts from their likeably shonky set, and those Corden-Horne similarities are a big turn-off. (Claire Sawers) Pleasance Dome, 556 6550, until 30 Aug, 3.45pm, £8–£9 (£6.50–£7.50). Lady Garden ●●●●● With as many as six performers, it’s the sketches that feature all of the talent that makes this performance something special. There are some acutely observed characters and a highlight is Britain’s Next Top Monarch starring five of Henry VIII’s wives. Inevitably not everything works, and when that happens it’s sorely noticeable. (Emma Lennox) Pleasance Courtyard, 556 6550, until 31 Aug, 5.20pm, £9.50–£10.50 (£8–£9). Lloyd Langford ●●●●● Langford could talk about anything and make it sound quirky and funny. In a nervy style, he rattles through topics such as stag dos, Blackpool nightclubs and his musical tastes with a fluid joke-rate and an intuition on how to work the audience. His obvious natural talent is one to watch, especially if he could develop a more purposeful show. (Emma Lennox) Pleasance Courtyard, 556 6550, until 30 Aug, 9.45pm, £8.50–£9.50 (£7–£8). Marcel Lucont ●●●●● Devilishly handsome and devastatingly disdainful, Lucont is the exquisitely crafted nom de plume of Buckinghamshire-born Alexis Ginger & Black
Beyoncé-style pop ditties and 50s jukebox and jazz numbers, the angst- ridden Aussie nutjob retaliates with quirky material on annoying housemates, stalker exes and her fear of young people. She’s often too breathless and frantic to let her cleverly bitter material sink in though. (Claire Sawers) Underbelly, 08445 458 252, until 30 Aug (not 24), 10.20pm, £6.50–£10.50 (£8–£9.50). Gerry Howell ●●●●● A convoluted, surreal set from the Kent comic about a mad man he met in the post office, Darwinian evolution, and his grandma who once laid an egg through her mouth. It seems Howell’s just being weird for the sake of it, which is fine if it’s funny, but there are too many dud gags and tumbleweed moments for him to pull it off. (Claire Sawers) Underbelly, 08445 458 252, until 30 Aug, 5.15pm, £6.50–£10 (£8–£9). Ginger and Black ●●●●● Ginger and Black – aka Eri Jackson and Daniel Taylor – take a candid approach to life, love and World War II. Using a keyboard, cornflakes and a strategically-placed fork, the duo is charmingly noncommittal and curiously unpredictable. Watch as poor little Harold’s tale unfolds in the war story as yet untold in history text books. (Rebecca Ross) Pleasance Courtyard, 556 6550, until 31 Aug, 6pm, £8.50–£9.50 (£7–£8). Glenn Wool ●●●●● This disreputable Canadian soapboxer is truly in the ascendant. A perfectly realised tragicomic stage persona (or maybe Glenn is just being Glenn), great lines, heartfelt rage and a skewed but intimate audience rapport make for a rousing, boisterous show. Though he struggles with some narrative loose ends, Wool has never been funnier or more lustily discombobulated. (Sam Healy) Underbelly’s Hullabaloo, 08445 458 252, until 31 Aug, 9.25pm, £11–£15 (£10–£12.50). Grandees ●●●●● From the gruesomely unfunny opening narration to the intensely overacted pap that comes later, The Grandee Way is not a route to be recommended. The story of an 80s nightclub which may be the target of a bombing campaign (immediately hilarious), the mugging and gurning from the cast simply becomes migraine- inducing. (Brian Donaldson) Underbelly, 08445 458 252, until 30 Aug, 3.45pm, £6.50–£10 (£8–£9). Harbingers ●●●●● This trio are so far out of their boxes that they are clearly unable to rein their natural exuberance into anything remotely amusing. But 50 minutes in their company for Enough Rope is not overly painful given the effort they have taken to become just so wacky. Surprisingly tame audience participation, though. (Brian Donaldson) The Caves, 208 0882, until 30 Aug (not 26), 12.10pm, £8 (£7). Helen Arney ●●●●● 81/2 Songs About Love (And Other Myths) is a hilarious parade of stalking, dysfunctional relationships, Jean-Paul Sartre, washed-up accordions, over-eager dates and death by disastrous marriage proposal, set to piano, ukulele and a pimped glockenspiel. Charming, witty, and warm, with great one-liners and every hope and heartache you might ever have had, it’s like spending an evening with a funny, interesting, quirky friend.
36 THE LIST FESTIVAL MAGAZINE 20–27 Aug 2009
Dubus. Lucont has written many self- acclaimed books and has been awarded several self-awarded awards. Few comedians carry off the supremely arrogant but, with his laconic, lacerated barbs, the French flaneur translates even the average British weather gag into a sophisticated, sardonic assertion of his immodest and defensible superiority. (Rebecca Ross) Underbelly, 08445 458 252, until 30 Aug, 10.20pm, £6.50–£10.50 (£8–£9.50). Mark Walker ●●●●● An hour in Walker's company and you'll know not only his star sign, but his hopes, dreams and curriculum vitae (rock star, impersonator and pebble-dasher). Immensely likeable and dynamic, Walker shows potential in comic avenues such as impersonation and sketch comedy, but ultimately the stand-up style of the show lacks climactic impetus. (Rebecca Ross) Gilded Balloon Teviot, 622 6552, until 31 Aug, 8pm, £8.50–£10 (£7.50–£9). Max and Iván ●●●●● Like a YouTube-era update of Charlie Brooker’s spoof listings site TVGoHome, this two- man sketch show satirises and subverts telly staples. With great energy and slick audiovisuals, the camera-friendly performers spend exactly the right amount of time on each concept, be it a two-liner about Antiques Roadshow or a cross-over between footie and arts commentary shows, but sadly bring it to a halt with a meandering finale. (Suzanne Black) C central, 0845 260 1234, until 31 Aug, 6.55pm, £8.50–£10.50 (£7.50–£9.50). Michael Fabbri ●●●●● The Brighton funnyman brings a strong, very smoothly delivered set, with tales about being employed in a job centre, and snippets of internet forum abuse making for smart comedy fodder. A section with melodramatically soppy background music is a highlight, as is his noble announcement that he might pick a ‘rescue wife from a refuge’ instead of a new bride. Destined for a bigger stage. (Claire Sawers) The Stand III & IV, 558 7272, until 30 Aug, 10.55pm, £7 (£6). Mike Bubbins ●●●●● Stocky Welshman Bubbins is the spit of The King of Queens Kevin James and, unfortunately, his Fringe debut is about as adventurous as the tepid US sitcom. The former PE teacher’s tales of daytime TV, smalltown life and material strife are often underwritten and lack punch, but a natural charm and confident delivery just about sees him through. (Peter Geoghegan) The GRV, 226 0000, until 30 Aug, 1.40pm, £5. Mike Wozniak ●●●●● Having provided one of the sleeper hits of last year’s Fringe, the Portsmouth Pole upsettingly fails to live up to that promise. Given that erudite subtlety was his watchword in 2008, he makes the odd mistake of going mic-less with the audience losing out on some of his pay- off lines. More disastrously, he has upped his physicality and gone for more strained face-pulling and intentionally bad impersonations. (Brian Donaldson) Pleasance Courtyard, 556 6550, until 31 Aug, 6pm, £8.50–£9.50 (£7–£8). The Moonfish Rhumba ●●●●● Billed as a ‘unique blend of musical mayhem and off-the-wall comedy’, this double act is, at least, visually unique as Dan Lees and Guy Combes sport the