FESTIVAL COMEDY | Reviews
MURIEL: BAD MASTER A sketch trio who might be in trouble with their improv pals ●●●●●
They’ve packed a lot into their Fringe debut have sketch trio Muriel. You may know them already from such online japes as ‘If Tube Lines Were People’, ‘If Festivals Were People’ and ‘The Great British Political Bake Off’. Others might have been tempted to simply regurgitate or remould for the Fringe stage those kind of successes (yes, ‘Gap Yah’, we’re looking at you) but this threesome (America’s Janine Harouni, England’s Meg Salter and Ireland’s Sally O’Leary) have clearly laboured hard to get a whole new collection of broken comedy together for August. Bad Master (a delightfully ambiguous title) kicks off with a
meeting of live action and screen work as the trio have trouble getting much sense out of their elderly parents who either have no understanding of their offspring’s life, do their best to undermine them or can’t quite get the technology to work. But it’s not just old folk who get it firmly in the neck from the Muriels as the vlogging community are deservedly ripped into, while in a bold move that you’d imagine won’t make them especially welcome down the Adlib Society, the worst aspects of improv are brought out into the open.
In order to keep things ticking over and get those awkward
costume-switches turned around smoothly, the Mu crew have opted for running video while they get the next outfits on. In one very amusing moment it’s clear that one bit of footage isn’t quite long enough to cover up the time required for them to change: if it wasn’t in fact planned, this may well stay in the show given the positive audience reaction. Fresh ground might not be smashed open during an hour of Muriel, but there are likely to be fewer more enjoyable sketch affairs this month. (Brian Donaldson) ■ Underbelly Cowgate, until 27 Aug (not 14), 1.20pm, £9–£10 (£8–£9).
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PHIL ELLIS HAS BEEN ON ICE Comedic and chaotic sci-fi farce ●●●●●
TWAYNA MAYNE: BLACK GIRL Disappointing debut from this likeable and deadpan performer ●●●●● NICK CODY: ON FIRE A deceptively laid-back delivery still packs a punch ●●●●●
The premise behind Phil Ellis Has Been on Ice is that the Funz and Gamez guy has been cryogenically frozen since 2014. What sounds like a set-up for a quick run through the state of the world over the last three years heads in a completely unexpected direction. The 2017 Ellis wakes up having more in common with Space 1999 than our current reality. In this endearingly lo-fi comedy, he tries to pass tests set by his smiley, vaguely psychotic robotic sidekick TK Maxx before he can be released into the world.
Emerging from his cryo-tube in tight cut-off shorts (and not much else), his chaotic hour lurches from physical comedy to self-deprecating angst and the nature of love. The banter between Ellis and Maxx is a highlight, the ultimate mismatched couple, one desperate and needy, the other logical and deadpan.
The shambolic goings-on are part of its charm,
but ultimately the show is too messy. Some sections drag and a couple completely fall apart (including a misfiring knob gag). It’s great that Ellis is trying something completely different and when it works the effect is inventive, bizarrely brilliant and incredibly funny. There’s so much potential but it’s in need of a whole load of fine tuning. (Henry Northmore) ■ Just the Tonic at The Mash House, until 27 Aug (not 14), 7.40pm, £5 or Pay What You Want.
58 THE LIST FESTIVAL 10–17 Aug 2017
Twayna Mayne is on a quest to be more black. Having grown up a fan of The Archers and Poirot, she knew she needed to become more street so turned to The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. Role models have been something of a sticking point for black British females such as Mayne and the tendency is to look across the pond and find the likes of Beyoncé or Michelle Obama. Mayne has problems with both of them and she’s not afraid to, well, hint at them. There’s a lot that could be said in this show, but Mayne doesn’t seem overly confident in her own material. The deadpan delivery doesn’t help, and neither does her projector being turned on at all times so that her name and show title are awkwardly lit up across her head and body through the entire show.
Mayne rightly criticises the comedy world for being the domain of young, white, male comedians but she doesn’t especially offer anything of substance that will result in a power shift somewhere down the line. Perhaps she’s just too nice (there aren’t many comics who wait by the door and thank their audience), but hopefully she’ll have a more incisive follow-up to this disappointing debut. (Brian Donaldson) ■ Pleasance Courtyard, until 27 Aug (not 16), 4.45pm, £10–£12 (£8–£10).
Since last year’s show, Nick Cody has clocked up that 30th birthday and got married: but that’s pretty much the extent of his growing up. The Aussie comedian is still embracing excess, though not in the laddish boozy way you might imagine, more making a mess in lifts while having trouble with menswear.
This is Cody’s third Fringe show but by the time
he produced his 2015 debut, he’d already shot his first stand-up special, played the invite-only Just for Laughs festival in Montreal and performed all the way around the world. But it’s easy to see why his CV is so packed as Cody’s deceptively laid-back style of delivery means that it packs one hell of a punch when he lets slip a big old, close-to-the-bone gag. Nothing, it seems, is off limits, from diabetes, terrorist attacks and tales of his ‘loose unit’ parents.
The big beardy guy’s charm and, at first glance, apparently mellow storytelling lulls the audience into a false sense of security, which only serves to intensify the laughs. His subjects may be familiar – stag dos, weddings and tales of beery over-indulgence – but that dark seam of humour gives Nick Cody’s hour its edge. (Marissa Burgess) ■ Underbelly Med Quad, until 27 Aug (not 14), 8.20pm, £10–£14.50 (£11.50–£12.50).