YVE BLAKE Dishonesty on social media gets a musical makeover
‘There’s this delicious irony nowadays,’ muses Yve Blake. ‘My generation has never had more of a chance to broadcast itself. We have all the tools to be totally honest and share our innermost thoughts at any hour, yet people choose to whitewash themselves. What they share is often totally dishonest.’
With her bullshit radar twitching almost uncontrollably,
watching social media outlets froth and overspill with staged selfies, humblebrags and blatantly retouched versions of people’s lives, Blake had an idea. Could she get people to be honest about their dishonesty? Using her website WhoWereWe. com as an anonymous drop-off point for shameful confessions, Blake (a Sydney-born, London-based musical comedian) asked people to own up to a lie they’d told. ‘What came back was a big mix of styles. The farcical, the
funny, the “hashtag deep” . . . There’s something really powerful about getting people to speak about a fuck-up they’ve made: I don’t laugh at them, I laugh with them.’ Blake’s careful not to let out any spoilers, but she does hint at some lies concerning ‘faked pregnancies, flying sharks, a gown made of pizza and someone who tried to convince tourists that leprechauns were the indigenous people of Ireland.’
Casual fibs and irreversibly damaging bombshells were then turned into songs by Blake, who worked with music producer Scott Quinn to create Lie Collector, her Fringe solo debut. She describes the end result as, ‘a mixed salad, made up of many different ingredients of genres and styles’. As for the delivery, ‘it’s me and a laptop, basically getting up in everyone’s business, and hopefully taking us all on a headspinning comedy adventure.’ And why on earth would she make that up? (Claire Sawers) ■ Pleasance Dome, 556 6550, 8–31 Aug (not 17), 5.20pm, £8–£10.50 (£7–£9.50). Previews 5–7 Aug, £6.50.
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KITTEN KILLERS A sweet and innocent demeanour hides three dark hearts pumping in the Kitten Killers
HAL CRUTTENDEN Suburban life, middle-age and gangsta rap get the Cruttenden treatment in his fifth solo show STEVE HALL The We Are Klang man tells of the weird time he met the Muppets
Comedy trio Kitten Killers were formed in 2013 at a Soho Young Company sketch workshop. Originally a foursome, the Kittens are Kat Cade, Perdita Stott and Fran Bushe, with Late Night Gimp Fight’s Lee Griffiths directing. Cade explains their alliterative title. ‘Often when we performed, people assumed from our silly, childish demeanour that we’d be quite sweet. And then we’d do really dark material. Anything Perdita writes usually ends in a gunshot. It’s the juxtaposition of naughty and nice.’ For Woof, their second Fringe foray, the Kittens have worked hard on refining their format. Cade explains: ‘We’re taking the audience into our world a bit more. Last year, we were sketch, sketch, sketch without much structure. So we’re trying to add a bit more structure in.’
Star of BBC Radio 4’s Hal and regular panelist on Mock the Week, Hal Cruttenden returns to Edinburgh with new show Straight Outta Cruttenden. Despite an audience member fainting at one of his recent London gigs, he reassures us that he hasn’t switched to shock-factor stand-up. ‘That night, the show became about a bloke who couldn’t hold his alcohol on a hot day. Usually it’s my hilarious thoughts on suburban life, class, middle-age and gangsta rap.’
Including his appearances in group and sketch shows, this year will be his seventh run at the Edinburgh Fringe. ‘This is my fifth new solo show. I’ve been around a while but I’m like a fine wine. I get better with age. I’m only better at comedy, I should add: everything else is shit.’
‘My mother had this catchphrase when we were growing up,’ Steve Hall is explaining. ‘She’d always say, “if you hear hooves, expect horses not zebras”. It was fairly baffling, but I think it’s about not worrying or expecting the worst.’ Hall’s Fringe show, Zebra, is a tribute to his mum’s philosophy. ‘With the country in a real quandary after a horrible UK election result and when artists and comedians might be finding things very difficult, bizarrely, I’ve written my most upbeat show yet.’ Part of sketch trio We Are Klang and also a writer on Russell Howard’s Good News, this is Hall’s third Edinburgh solo show. ‘I’ve become a dad since my last Fringe, but I’ve not written a “new dad” show. It’s about life not turning out as you’d hoped, but in a joyful way.’
Cade says the trio had a great experience last
His fondest Fringe memory remains 2002. ‘I was Listen out for Hall’s story about visiting the
year, although some audience members were hoodwinked by their beguiling charm. ‘We did 2.45 in the afternoon and I think some of our material was a shock for some people! But we got really great reactions.’ (Murray Robertson) ■ Underbelly George Square, 0844 545 8252, 8–31 Aug (not 19), 4.10pm, £8–£9 (£7–£8). Previews 5–7 Aug, £6. nominated for the Perrier Newcomer and had many five and four-star reviews.’ Unfortunately he doesn’t have such rosy memories of The List. ‘For the record, The List gave me the only one-star review of my career.’ Awkward. (Rowena McIntosh) ■ Pleasance Courtyard, 556 6550, 8–30 Aug (not 17), 8pm, £13–£16 (£11–£15). Previews 5–7 Aug, £9.
Muppets on set; a magical childhood memory that led to an accidentally horrific souvenir painting. ‘When I do the reveal on that disastrous portrait, the audience laughter sometimes lasts about 70 seconds before I can start speaking again.’ (Claire Sawers) ■ The Stand 6, 558 7272, 7–30 Aug (not 17), 6.35pm, £8 (£7). Preview 6 Aug, £5.
50 THE LIST FESTIVAL 6–13 Aug 2015