list.co.uk/festival Reviews at a Glance | FESTIVAL COMEDY
comics will attempt this at the Fringe, but few will succeed so well as Wang; with humorous self-deprecation, killer punchlines and just the right amount of risqué, he hits the target each time. (Rowena McIntosh) Pleasance Courtyard, until 27 Aug, 7pm, £10–£12 (£9–£10).
PRINCES OF MAIN: NEW YEAR’S EVE ●●●●● The ex-Footlights trio Princes of Main are keen to fast-forward to the end of this awful year and celebrate the dawning of 2018. From a nod to that embarrassing Oscars blunder to more personal narratives about their own key moments of 2017, the show is packed full of varying characters, plotlines and props all used to entertaining and sometimes ridiculous effect. (Arusa Qureshi) Bedlam Theatre, until 27 Aug, 9.30pm, £10 (£8). RACHEL FAIRBURN: HER MAJESTY ●●●●● This Manchester stand-up is a warm storyteller, occasionally talking too fast so words get lost, but her comedy persona has tons of charm. Her descriptions of relatives are good fun: her grandma was patient, kind and a sulker who used silence as a weapon, while her Welsh dad used to think, before she was diagnosed with OCD aged five, that his child was just haunted. (Claire Sawers) Just the Tonic at The Community Project, until 27 Aug, 4.05pm, £5 or Pay What You Want.
RACHEL JACKSON: BUNNY BOILER ●●●●● Jackson is an expert in picking terrible men, whether it’s a UKIP supporter, a violent and manipulative cult leader, or a ‘posh prick’. The Edinburgh native is a gifted performer; but Bunny Boiler is regrettably one dimensional (Jackson meets boy, sex happens, something goes wrong, they part ways) that’s engaging at first but with repetition gets tiresome. (Craig Angus) Pleasance Courtyard, until 28 Aug (not 24), 10.30pm, £7.50–£9.50 (£6.50–£9).
RACHEL PARRIS: KEYNOTE ●●●●● Parris has been invited back to her alma mater (Loughborough Academy) to give a speech to teenage girls who are soon to be starting the rest of their lives. Keynote is a tightly structured hour, with meditations on the foolishness and excitement of youth, all the anxieties those years bring and how the pursuit of happiness is never ending. (Craig Angus) Pleasance Dome, until 28 Aug, 8.20pm, £8.50– £11.50 (£7.50–£10.50). RICHARD HERRING: OH FRIG, I’M 50! ●●●●● A decade after lamenting his entrance into decade number five, Herring rips through a set bemoaning his half-century landmark. Having given an attempted heckler the shortest of shrifts, he ploughs on with typically off-kilter and blindsiding material about the decreasing quality of his orgasms,
how we would handle a confrontation with ISIS and being attracted to a TV puppet. (Brian Donaldson) Pleasance Courtyard, until 26 Aug, 7.30pm, £14 (£12). ROSIE JONES: INSPIRATION ●●●●● Jones, who has cerebral palsy, takes issue with the way people with disabilities are often described as ‘inspirational’ in this delightful Fringe debut. She is forced to speak slowly and uses this to her benefit, either leaving set-ups to hang suspended before slamming home a punchline or letting the audience do the work to infer the implied conclusion. (Suzanne Black) Opium, until 26 Aug, 3pm, free.
SIMON CAINE: LAUGHTER IS THE BEST PLACEBO ●●●●● From the moment Caine starts laughing at his own expense, the audience strap in for a chaotic hour of comedy. As a seasoned Fringe performer, long-winded gags and being forced to explain his own jokes should be a thing of the past. Thankfully, the audience carry him through the show, encouraging him to meet the punchline and eventually bringing out his endearing comic charm. (Louise Stoddart) Sweet Grassmarket, until 27 Aug (not 23), 5pm, £5 or Pay What You Want.
SIMON MORLEY: NAKED AMBITION ●●●●● If you’ve ever wondered how two Aussie guys came to create Puppetry of the Penis, then this is the show for you. One of them, Morley, has an inherently interesting story, and he also touches on issues such as censorship and the weird laws they had to negotiate. An intriguing tale of penile full-function. (Marissa Burgess) Heroes @ Monkey Barrel, until 27 Aug, 3.40pm, £8 or Pay What You Want. SLEEPING TREES AT THE MOVIES ●●●●● Sketch trio (plus musical accompanist) Sleeping Trees perform one of three comedy shows in repertory: a gangster drama, a western, and tonight’s fare of a science fiction adventure. Their daft pastiche of 70s and 80s sci-fi tropes has no outstanding moments of originality but it’s an enjoyably inventive show from three very talented performers. (Murray Robertson) Pleasance Dome, until 28 Aug, 5.30pm, £8–£13 (£7–£12).
SOPHIE WILLAN: BRANDED ●●●●● Willan takes issue with identity politics and her unique set of experiences make her perspective appealing. In an hour that reflects on her life and comedy career so far, she adds to this her issues with contemporary feminism and responses to the Manchester bombing, and reveals some of her struggles to fund a career in the arts. (Suzanne Black) Pleasance Courtyard, until 27 Aug, 8pm, £10–£12 (£9–£10).
Richard Herring SPENCER JONES: THE AUDITION ●●●●● Armed with his long white lab coat, bowl-cut hairdo and peculiar alter ego The Herbert, Jones returns with a show that combines character comedy, music and lots of goofy props to interesting and equally strange effect. The Audition may be broad and non-specific in its overall outline but Jones still manages to deliver 50 minutes of self-aware and relentlessly silly fun. (Arusa Qureshi) Heroes @ Monkey Barrel, until 27 Aug, 6.20pm, £7 or Pay What You Want.
STUART GOLDSMITH: LIKE I MEAN IT ●●●●● Goldsmith’s priorities in life may have changed since last year – he’s a married man and a dad – but this isn’t another ‘I’m a father now’ cliché: a comparison between his child and Hitler sees to that. He has truly funny bones and some wonderful turns of phrase: talking about his wife, he says, ‘she’s beautiful and funny, like a sunset reflected on Eric Morecambe’s glasses’. (Kirstyn Smith) Liquid Room Annexe, until 27 Aug, 3.45pm, free. STUDIO 9 ●●●●● There will always be people who flinch at the very mention of the word ‘Footlights’ but it would be unreasonable for a pair such as Will Hall and Leo Reich not to trade on their auspicious comedy background. Sadly, their limp sketch show based around recording a TV show is not a great advert for anyone concerned. (Brian Donaldson) Gilded Balloon Teviot, until 28 Aug, 2.45pm, £9–£10 (£8–£9).
SUNDEEP RAO: BLURRED LINES ●●●●● Rao’s viewpoint both as a visually impaired man and an Indian raised to believe ‘white is right’ gives him an interesting slant on things. He’s turned any pity about his disability into a positive and enjoys the perks of being able to cut queues. Unfunny
impressions of ‘foodgasms’ aside, he blurs the lines between blokey humour and something more insightful. Maybe the show, like Rao, is still a work in progress. (Claire Sawers) Laughing Horse @ Southside Social, until 27 Aug (not 21), 7.30pm, free. SUNIL PATEL: TITAN ●●●●● Patel opens on a suitably low-key note with a great gag comparing events in his life this year with that of Jay Z’s when he gave up music, before divulging his current obsession with badminton. It’s a solid show of comedy that zig zags nicely between Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. But be warned, he is actively looking for a new badminton partner. (Marissa Burgess) Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, until 27 Aug, 3.35pm, free.
TOM BALLARD: PROBLEMATIC ●●●●● Political correctness has been lambasted for decades now, but Australian Ballard is on the warpath to defend it from its more virulent critics. Well, sort-of. He does acknowledge how PC can go rather awry but passionately (and hilariously) espouses its original intentions to protect minorities and the vulnerable from verbal assaults. (Brian Donaldson) Pleasance Courtyard, until 27 Aug, 8.30pm, £11–£13 (£9–£11).
TOM WALKER: BEE BOO ●●●●● Walker hurtles through sketches that range from brutal to playful, employing props, ‘volunteers’ and truly impressive mime skills. With the exception of a mime about a romantic evening that doesn’t match the energy of the rest of his skits, Walker makes his unpredictable, aggressively silly antics look spontaneous belying the obvious work and thought that has gone into this carefully curated shambles. (Suzanne Black) Underbelly George Square, until 27 Aug, 8pm, £10–£11 (£9–£10). 17–28 Aug 2017 THE LIST FESTIVAL 57