list.co.uk/festival Reviews at a Glance | FESTIVAL COMEDY
For full length versions of these reviews see list.co.uk/festival Devil’s Door Bell
Ahir Shah: Distant ●●●●● Passionate, poetic and powerfully funny, Shah is a committed comic who, in this compact room, makes you feel like you’ve been cornered by a slightly furious soapbox orator. While being proud of his heritage he’s also marginally guilty about how posh he might seem on the ear, but his skills are clearly born from both a solid education and natural comedic flair. (Brian Donaldson) Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 667 7533, until 30 Aug, 7.30pm, free. Aisling Bea: Plan Bea ●●●●● First spied in disguise, Bea has a right old dance to herself as the crowd troops in. With little concern about making herself look daft, the Irish comic delivers a frenetic and sarcastic second full Fringe show. Her past as an extra in a pirate-rock music video acts as the centre to this hilariously rambling set in which her own ad libbing asides are as funny as anything she may have scripted. (Brian Donaldson) Gilded Balloon, 622 6552, until 30 Aug, 9.30pm, £10–£12 (£9–£11). An Audience With Harry Deansway ●●●●● The deal with Deansway is, he’s a self-deprecating, self-sabotaging, deliberate shambles of a showman. So he fluffs his lines, interrupts himself, tries out new material for the first time, sings tunelessly, trips on his props, gets a no- show from his own parents, then proceeds to rattle off an embarrassing string of (apparently true life) disasters, all involving him. Weirdly, it works. (Claire Sawers) Just the Tonic at The Tron, 0330 220 1212, until 29 Aug, 5pm, £5 (or Pay What You Want). Andrew Maxwell: Yo Contraire ●●●●● Maxwell is in good humour, largely because he recently got married. It’s thrown him more material, having married a Muslim woman, opening up a personal angle to Islamophobia and ISIS as well as a giving him an Omar Sharif lookalike father-in-law. Once again Maxwell proves a Fringe banker, delivering an edge no matter how cheery he gets. (Marissa Burgess) Assembly George Square Theatre, 623 3030, until 30 Aug, 10.30pm, £13–£15 (£12–£14). Anna Morris: It’s Got To Be Perfect ●●●●● A posh control freak is surely everyone’s idea of a nightmare bride. Character act Anna Morris revels in Georgina, a monstrous creation preparing to wed a Tory MP who might not be everything he seems. But for now, it’s all about the rehearsals (all 28 of them this month) and as invited guests we’re hired to make things go without a hitch. Depending on how feisty the crowd is on each day, it should all fall apart with little fuss. (Brian Donaldson) Voodoo Rooms, 226 0000, until 30 Aug, 3.55pm, free. Bat-Fan ●●●●● If you are in any way a fan of Batman or musical theatre, this show is for you. If you happen to be in love with both, do not let the month expire without a visit to Bat-Fan. James Wilson-Taylor has been a fan of the caped crusader for as long as he can remember (visual evidence is available) and his obsession leads to him putting on his own Fringe show in tribute. (Brian Donaldson) Pleasance Courtyard, 556 6550, until 30 Aug, 3.30pm, £10–£12 (£8–£10). Beard: The Grin Of Love ●●●●● Initially dressed as white-sheeted ghosts, Wnek and Robson follow up their unique beginning with a series of clever (if not especially hilarious) set-pieces which involve members of the audience in relatively low-level ways. Precisely what The Grin of Love refers to is never revealed as Beard deliver clowning routines about a weird pregnancy, an invisible woman and a man getting annoyed at someone while on his death- bed. (Brian Donaldson) Sneaky Pete’s, 226 0000, until 29 Aug, 1.15pm, free. Bodell And Maxwell’s Chromatic Character Menagerie ●●●●● Losing your audience halfway through the first sketch isn’t an ideal start but sympathy laughs
can only be stretched out for so long. Nothing really improves for Maxwell and he has a hard time engaging with the audience. It’s something his partner (although they never appear onstage together) Bodell has no problem with, employing a bit of Adam Riches-esque determination when selecting audience members to join her onstage. (Kirstyn Smith) Cowgatehead, 226 0000, until 29 Aug (not 25), 9pm, free. Breakfast Epiphanies ●●●●● Cormac Friel was just a simple young man from Donegal who wanted to be a rich and successful Hollywood star and win Oscars and fame. Why is that so difficult? He retells his experiences with a genuine charm, despite his cold put downs that he dishes out to any member of the front row brave enough to engage him. (Graeme Connelly) Just the Tonic at The Caves, 0330 220 1212, until 28 Aug, 7.40pm, £5–£6 (£4–£5; family ticket £16–£20). Centred: A One Clown Show About Stuff ●●●●● Silently, and with immense physical prowess, Liam O’Kane transforms into a young boy trapped overnight in a shopping centre. Resigned to his fate, the boy realises his wildest fantasies can come to life. O’Kane’s physicality astounds and he is capable of conveying more emotion in one facial expression than most can with all the words in the world. (Kirstyn Smith) C south, 0845 260 1234, until 31 Aug, 6.20pm, £7.50–£9.50 (£3.50–£7.50). Charles Booth: Deer In The Spotlights ●●●●● Booth’s energetic character comedy begins with the eponymous skit, which moves directly from a deer’s near-death experience to a long, impressively athletic dramatiation of characters representing the sperm of the animal’s father. The tone is set for a series of long, thoroughly drawn-out sketches in which every possible drop of humour is wrung from punchlines that wouldn’t have looked out of place in the 1970s. (Dave Coates) Just the Tonic at The Mash House, 226 0000, until 30 Aug, 5.20pm, £5–£6 (£4–£5). Chris Betts: Social Animal ●●●●● Having worked in bars almost everywhere, UK-based Canadian Betts insists that he’s in a unique position to analyse the human condition. Quite why the tales he chooses to regale us with are so pedestrian is unclear. Announcing that he records every show, you can only hope that he’s taking some guidance from the playbacks to improve his set. (Brian Donaldson) Pleasance Courtyard, 556 6550, until 30 Aug, 9.45pm, £7.50– £9.50 (£6.50–£8.50). Croft & Pearce: There’s Always Something ●●●●● Back with more silly sketches and absurd characters from infatuated teachers to useless work experience, Croft and Pearce’s chemistry results in a show that’s a bit twee, middle class and jolly hockey sticks (apart from a delightfully foul mouthed utterly inappropriate Brownie troop leader). Perhaps a bit safe and clean but if you’re in search of a well-written and brilliantly acted hour of whimsy this is a perfect fit. (Henry Northmore) Gilded Balloon, 622 6552, until 30 Aug, 5.45pm, £10 (£8). Dan Lees: Brainchild ●●●●● There’s something beautiful about a whole audience working together, united in the moment towards one goal. Lees is unlikely to agree as his crowd rebels and refuses to follow instructions, garnering the most laughter of the whole ordeal. In each sketch Lees dons a prop, speaks unintelligibly then directs the audience to copy him, with diminishing returns. (Suzanne Black) Underbelly Med Quad, 0844 545 8252, until 31 Aug, 7pm, £9–£10 (£8–£9). Daphna Baram: Something To Declare ●●●●● Cross-cultural similarities and differences are a mainstay of comedy. Baram – Israeli, Jewish, a former human rights lawyer and ex-journalist now living in London – is uniquely placed to discuss this with authenticity. Like her impression of Israeli hospitality, in which refusal
is not an option, Baram welcomes all into her world without taking no for an answer and offers not just a pleasant hour of storytelling, but food for thought. (Suzanne Black) Just the Tonic at the Caves, 226 0000, until 29 Aug (not 24), 2.30pm, free. Darren Walsh: Punderbolt ●●●●● When a comedian’s set is stuffed full of one-liners it’s always a wonder they manage to maintain an audience’s attention for the full hour. Walsh is taking no chances and has opted for lots of visuals and a touch of audience participation to decorate his puns. There are cartoons, short films and an otter called Philip. It’s a surreal world that Walsh creates and one that you’re happy to spend time in. (Marissa Burgess) Pleasance Courtyard, 556 6550, until 31 Aug, 8.30pm, £7–£9 (£6–£8). David Mills: Don’t Get Any Ideas ●●●●● If you can get past a rather bitter strain to Mills’ show (his savage take-down of last year’s award-winner John Kearns who played in the very same room seems uncalled-for), there’s plenty to enjoy in his catty hour where his claws are as sharp as his suit. Oh, and Oscar-winner Eddie Redmayne gets it in the neck as well. Draw your own conclusions from that. (Brian Donaldson) Voodoo Rooms, 226 0000, until 30 Aug, 5.15pm, free. The Dead Secrets ●●●●● Opening in the style of an espionage thriller, The Dead Secrets present a comedy adventure of epic proportions. A curator is tasked with rescuing her boss from the Curiositorium, a labyrinthine museum populated by a host of odd characters including a mad scientist, the shadow people and a lost tourist looking for a Roman coin collection. It is as bizarre as it sounds and delightfully bonkers with it. (Rowena McIntosh) Underbelly Cowgate, 0844 545 8252, until 30 Aug, 2pm, £8.50–£9.50 (£7.50–£8.50). Devil’s Door Bell ●●●●● Drawing most of her material from her life growing up in rural Kenya, Njambi McGrath hits us with some devastating abortion statistics while she even gets a laugh from female genital mutilation. Her upbeat enthusiasm draws you in emphasising her point of view rather than slapping you round the face with dry facts and figures. (Henry Northmore) Just the Tonic at The Mash House, 226 0000, until 29 Aug (not 23), 5pm, free. Elaine Malcolmson: Arrangements ●●●●● The Scottish circuit regular from Northern Ireland will be too downbeat for many tastes but her seemingly nervy delivery fits well with her subject matter of funerals as told through the tale of a young woman called Julie. Malcolmson intersperses the diary-style reading with her own musings and an apparent pathological loathing of florists. (Brian Donaldson) The Stand 4, 558 7272, until 30 Aug, 2.30pm, £8 (£7). Emma Sidi: Character Breakdown ●●●●● Sidi walks on stage, clad in a stonewash denim jacket, and becomes Brita: a girl who sounds like a mix of Eastern European, northern English and just plain made-up. After introducing us to an anti-people person working in new media and a Spanish lecturer-turned- raconteur, it’s clear Sidi is not afraid to take risks. A promising solo debut from an exceptionally talented character actor. (Rebecca Monks) Pleasance Courtyard, 556 6550, until 31 Aug, 8pm, £7–£9 (£6.50–£8.50). Fairy Tale Theatre: 18 & Over ●●●●● A great introduction sets up the audience for a wild and twisty ride as moral tales for strictly adults-only viewing are played out with a mixture of puppets and live action. Social taboos are explored and ethical conundrums raised. If you didn’t need to see a therapist before, you may do before the end. (Graeme Connelly) Assembly George Square Studios, 623 3030, until 30 Aug, 10.30pm, £10. Funmbi Omotayo: Legal Immigrant ●●●●● Omotayo’s hour focuses on his 20–31Aug 2015 THE LIST FESTIVAL 49