FESTIVAL COMEDY | Reviews at a Glance
For full length versions of these reviews see list.co.uk/festival David Trent
Alasdair Tremblay-Birchall ●●●●● Like an Australian-Canadian extra from Superbad, Tremblay-Birchall’s nervous delivery is just about endearing enough to avoid cringiness. Ostensibly about inspiration and motivation, hence the titular power stance, Success Arms runs out of steam fairly early on and Birchall is reduced to making easy jokes about turning 30 and giving up pot. (Kirstyn Smith) Underbelly, Cowgate, 0844 545 8252, until 24 Aug (not 11), 8pm, £9.50–£10.50 (£8.50–£9.50). Andrew Lawrence ●●●●● Lawrence riffs long, hard and funny on the things that get right on his wick and there are some nasty yet clever jokes, but when it all feels comfortingly horrid, everything turns on its head in the last stages. He ends by more or less announcing that he may well be finished with the Fringe and bids us goodnight. (Brian Donaldson) Assembly Rooms, 0844 693 3008, until 24 Aug (not 11, 18), 8.45pm, £10 (£9). Andy Field ●●●●● The perfect host, Field commands his slightly unruly but lovely crowd with a largely anecdotal set about his irresponsible life. Despite not having prepared much material – if nothing else that fact suits his ‘manchild’ persona – he still manages to pull it off with ease. You can’t help but wonder what the result would be had he knuckled down to some planning. (Marissa Burgess) Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 622 6801, until 24 Aug, 11.45pm, free. Angry Young Women in Low Rise Jeans with High Class Issues ●●●●● This offering from a New York- based group makes British farce look distinctly layered. It consists of a series of almost unrelated scenes populated by a series of eye-rollingly stereotypical female roles – a hormonally crazy girlfriend, the loud-mouthed whore, the frigid feminist – they’re all here. Meanwhile the male roles aren’t much better. (Marissa Burgess) Gilded Balloon Teviot, 622 6552, until 24 Aug, 5.45pm, £10–£11 (£9–£10). Angus Dunican ●●●●● Dunican’s the guy you want in your friendship group, livening up social gatherings with his self-deprecating tales of whimsy and woe. But pub anecdotes is about as far as The Great Indoors gets, and his dreamy, artistic manchild schtick is sweet, but predictable. (Laura Ennor) Laughing Horse @ Jekyll and Hyde, 225 2022, until 24 Aug (not 14, 21), 7.45pm, free. Another Name for Thesaurus ●●●●● This show is billed as comedy but would be better described as folk music performed by charismatic New Zealander Fraser Ross. His songs cover issues of class and politics with several simply odes to enjoying a drink and a good time. The audience is reluctant to leave, with a sense that the easy- going jam will continue late into the night. (Rowena McIntosh) theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 510 2384, until 16 Aug (not 10), 9.40pm, £7 (£5). Beta Males ●●●●● Beta Males’ fifth Fringe show begins in deceptively ordinary fashion with a handful of seemingly unrelated sketches but the introduction of some magic cupcakes and misplaced wishes triggers a thread of interconnectedness as the narratives tumble into each other, the players whirl in and out of each scene and the show becomes as increasingly convoluted as it is amusing. (Marissa Burgess) Pleasance Courtyard, 556 6550, until 25 Aug (not 12), 7pm, £9–£11 (£8–£9.50). Big Brass ●●●●● From the comedy stable of the Oxford Revue comes a new sketch trio, only one of whom looks like Hugh Laurie. Starting even before the audience members take their seats, the pace of the sketches is rapid, with hints of a through narrative adding a backbone to otherwise disparate skits. They have the makings of something worthwhile if only they can grow out of their masturbation fixation. (Suzanne Black) Just the Tonic 54 THE LIST FESTIVAL 7–14 Aug 2014
at The Caves, 556 5375, until 24 Aug (not 12), 7.40pm, £7–£9 (£6–£8). Bren and Jenny ●●●●● Brendan Murphy and Jenny Bede morph into troubled hosts of ‘the longest running daytime chat show in history’ plus all their equally dysfunctional crew and guests for this hour of loosely linked sketches and songs. Raggedy in a likeable way, The Hello Show is definitely an enjoyable hour and cheap at the price, albeit with a few sections where the jokes get a bit thin on the ground. (Laura Ennor) Freestival St Mary’s, 226 0000, until 24 Aug (not 13), 5pm, free. Celia Pacquola ●●●●● This affable Aussie thankfully knows how to keep a packed-like-sardines audience fascinated for an hour. With a story featuring annoying hipsters, curious fortune-tellers and a porn lookalike, she tells us why she can no longer bear to watch her debut live DVD and her true feelings towards hoarding. It takes serious hard work to make stand-up look this effortless. (Brian Donaldson) Gilded Balloon Teviot, 622 6552, until 25 Aug (not 11), 8pm, £9.50–£10.50 (£8.50–£9.50). Cupcakes ●●●●● Joining forces and halving the risk of putting on a Fringe show, George Colebrook and Amir Khoshsokhan each contribute a very different 20-minute set. Colebrook short-circuits the expected set-up / joke structure and replaces it with an unsettling interactive breed of clowning while Khoshsokhan recounts a relationship through an ironic façade, playing the audience’s discomfort in much more subtle ways. (Suzanne Black) Laughing Horse @ The Cellar Monkey, 221 9759, until 24 Aug, noon, free. Dan Jones ●●●●● Eager compere Jones welcomes us into his show, Live at the Lolaceum, and introduces us to his acts; all of whom are suspiciously like Jones and all equally unhinged. This is a nuanced, well-observed one-man play by the real Jones that parodies the comedy industry but fundamentally it just doesn’t work. (Marissa Burgess) Pleasance Courtyard, 556 6550, until 25 Aug (not 11), 3.30pm, £7.50–£9 (£6.50–£8). Dane Baptiste ●●●●● Alongside Craig David, Baptiste is one of the few successful things to have originally come out of Grenada. He’s been in the UK long enough though to have been advised that gags about bagpipes are totally hack. He does have some intriguing takes on the nutmeg business and what would happen if genitalia had to be replaced in the same way as teeth. (Brian Donaldson) Pleasance Courtyard, 556 6550, until 24 Aug (not 11), 5.30pm, £10–£12 (£8–£10). Danny Mcloughlin ●●●●● Mcloughlin is quick to tell us that this is not another ‘dead dad’ show. His one is very much alive but in need of some stiff competition as he has turned out to be great at everything throughout his son’s life. This is a real source of irritation for Mcloughlin Jnr, if not a means to garner a stream of workable gags. Instead, he riffs on enthusiasm alone to take us through his uninspiring hour. (Brian Donaldson) Just the Tonic at The Tron, 556 5375, until 24 Aug (not 12), 6.20pm, £8.50–£10 (£7). Danny Ward ●●●●● Ward has a bad back. As do others in the audience. This leads to some chat between act and crowd and a connection is made. Infra Dig tries to build on those connections, but while Ward is a perfectly genial host, his story feels like a decent 20-minute club set stretched way beyond breaking point into a Fringe hour. (Brian Donaldson) Pleasance Courtyard, 556 6550, until 24 Aug, 4.35pm, £7–£9.50 (£6–£8.50). David Elms ●●●●● No ordinary comedian, Elms’ hesitant, sibilant, almost whispered delivery initially suggests a performer unsure of himself. But as this impressive debut show makes clear, he
knows exactly what he’s doing. After claiming he’s about to get married, he proceeds to deliver a clever, funny set of acoustic balladry pastiches. (Paul Whitelaw) Pleasance Courtyard, 556 6550, until 25 Aug (not 11), 4.45pm, £7.50–£9.50 (£6.50–£8.50). David Trent ●●●●● One man, one PowerPoint slide show, and so many vacuous or sinister numpties in the world give Trent ample inspiration to vent his spleen. The ex-teacher brings his most polished set yet, sweetening some of his angry bile this year. There’s less unfocused hating, and more sugared target missiles, aimed squarely at the heads of bigots and phonies. (Claire Sawers) Pleasance Courtyard, 556 6550, until 24 Aug, 9.45pm, £9–£12 (£8–£10.50). Ennio Marchetto ●●●●● The Italian quick-change artist’s ‘living cartoon’ show runs seamlessly through dozens of paper caricatures of the most famous of the famouses – Michael Jackson, Queen Elizabeth, Justin Bieber – with just enough time for the crowd to figure out who he’s aping before he’s on to the next. If you’re looking for an hour of none-too-deep but amusing pop culture fun, then Marchetto has got a Bono impression you need to see. (Jaclyn Arndt) Pleasance Courtyard, 556 6550, until 15 Aug (not 11), 10.30pm, £12.50–£14 (£11.50–£13). Fin Taylor ●●●●● Making his solo debut, Taylor copes admirably with a low turnout. Two of his main topics are booze and porn but this isn’t a laddy show, it’s more an attack on people who take themselves far too seriously. Taylor has an enquiring mind and points out the weirdness of everyday life that we take for granted. Despite his protestations that he never reads, it’s a surprisingly intelligent hour of comedy. (Henry Northmore) Just the Tonic at The Tron, 556 5375, until 24 Aug (not 12), 10.20pm, £7.50–£9.50 (£6.50–£8.50). The Grandees ●●●●● They’ve been on the Fringe long enough, but could it be time for the Grandees to consider moving into kids’ entertainment? They certainly have the silly abandon, gurning and daft voices to achieve success down that route. Their ‘adult’ narrative work is simply too banal to be taken overly seriously. (Brian Donaldson) Underbelly, Cowgate, 0844 545 8252, until 24 Aug (not 12), 4pm, £9–£10 (£8–£9). Guilt And Shame ●●●●● A mildly cheesy story about friendship and learning to love yourself is at the heart of this pacy and gleefully silly character show. But it’s more than that: Gabe and Rob have a point to make about sexuality, machismo and intolerance. There’s a lot of high camp on the Fringe, and a lot of comedies about ‘issues’ too. This show is refreshing in its ability to make you think while keeping the funnies rolling. (Laura Ennor) Underbelly, Cowgate, 0844 545 8252, until 24 Aug (not 13), 9.30pm, £10 (£9). Hi, Hitler ●●●●● There’s no denying Lucie Pohl’s ability as an actress, and the portrayals of various members of her eccentric family are endlessly entertaining and beautifully nuanced. The only real problem is that there’s nothing much left over after you scratch away the surface of her material. Hi, Hitler is an impressive Fringe debut rather than an inspiring one. (Brian Donaldson) Gilded Balloon Teviot, 622 6552, until 25 Aug (not 11), 4.15pm, £8–£9 (£7–£8). I am, I am ●●●●● Two twentysomethings are spilling pints down themselves, clumsily chatting up girls, and riffing on job interviews, career paths, parent woes and Tinder. They just happen to do it all to music. Mostly expertly scripted, occasionally very slickly improvised, and all played on acoustic guitars by two Footlights graduates. (Claire Sawers) Gilded Balloon Teviot, 622 6552, until 25 Aug (not 11, 18), 11.30pm, £10 (£8).