list.co.uk/festival Reviews | FESTIVAL COMEDY
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CHRISTIAN FINNEGAN: MY GOODNESS Seasoned and sassy stand-up ●●●●● ENTER THE DRAGONS Sketch fun that caters for an ignored demographic ●●●●●
Pretty much unknown on these shores, Christian Finnegan has a much higher profile in his US homeland where he appears on VH1 and Comedy Central. There’s always the danger that a comedian’s material won’t translate to a Fringe audience. Heck, even London comics forget that not everyone at their Edinburgh show has intimate knowledge of the Circle line. Finnegan’s production, however, has universal appeal and no such translation issues. To make sure of this, he does throw in the obligatory dissing of Trump so that we know what kind of American he is. He reveals the general type of person he is in great detail during the rest of the hour. Based on the clever premise of giving himself scores out of ten in various aspects of humanity, the show’s structure is both contained yet flexible enough to allow him to work in asides on his dog and what it means to ‘look gay’. All this comes before inevitably moving towards a heartfelt conclusion, which has enough legs for a whole show in itself. Confident, seasoned and, when pushed, sassy, Finnegan delivers a worthy Fringe debut which deserves a warmer welcome than the small crowds he has been pulling. (Suzanne Black) ■ Gilded Balloon Teviot, until 27 Aug (not 13), 8.45pm, £10–£13 (£9–£12).
Imagine a version of Eat Pray Love in which Julia Roberts is a menopausal Frodo and you’ll be halfway towards an idea of what Enter the Dragons is like. Double act Abigail Dooley and Emma Edwards offer up a tale of adventure, self-discovery and courage in the face of Oil of Olay for women who are grappling with ageing and the impossible demands of society: if you have plastic surgery you’re trying too hard; if you don’t you’ve let yourself go.
The story unfolds in a series of sketches which takes the audience through silliness as well as more serious meditations on the challenges facing middle- aged women as well as a rousing song about how to react to it all. Their crone characters are a highlight – any moment they are onstage is a joy – and the long-armed one has a delightful touch of Sue White from Green Wing about her.
The rapport between the pair is believably antagonistic, with their bickering reminiscent of comedy duos like French and Saunders. This show is not just for women of a certain age, but it is nice to see something created by and for a demographic that is often ignored. (Suzanne Black) ■ Pleasance Dome, until 27 Aug (not 13), 4.10pm, £8.50–£11 (£7.50–£10).
MARNY GODDEN: MARNY TOWN Uninteresting, too broad tale of nonsense ●●●●●
This whimsical tour of Marny Godden’s life is an (apparently) autobiographical tale of little consequence, peppered with caricatures that are so broad they barely register as human. Godden introduces us to her eccentric aunt, her palm-reading Dutch granny and various other family members, none of whom are intriguing enough to justify spending much time in their company. The Grandees member is an imaginative comedian
whose zealous performance encourages a fatiguing crowd to sing along and occasionally join her on stage. But this is a chaotic show (in a bad way): at one point numerous audience members are married to each other before Godden annuls each matrimony because the various grooms have fleas. Later, a punk laboriously goads some audience members to recite an unfunny mum joke. And when Godden spots a fake rat on stage, picks it up and starts punching it, the whole pointless scene feels like a metaphor for the entire show.
Far better when performing as herself, Godden is ill-served by Marny Town. It could be that the events that we’ve seen take place are an allegory, and that this is comedy as therapy. But whatever it is, it’s neither interesting nor funny. (Murray Robertson) ■ Heroes @ The Hive, until 27 Aug (not 8, 15, 22), 6.20pm, £5 in advance or donations at the venue.
KIERAN HODGSON: ’75 A sterling display of comic prowess ●●●●●
After receiving fully deserved Edinburgh Comedy Award nominations for his last two shows, Lance (about disgraced cyclist Armstrong), and Maestro (concerning the psychologically troubled Austro- Bohemian composer Gustav Mahler), Kieran Hodgson is back with a Brexit-shaped show that is easily on a par. But all these Fringe hours are much more than mere biographical analyses or, in ’75’s case, about taking the increasingly fevered temperature of a nation and continent in flux and confusion: they are all largely about Hodgson. On the face of it, ’75 is a note-perfect examination of Britain’s
seemingly permanent conflicted relationship to the project of European unity. When the country debated joining the common market during the early 70s, it was the Conservatives who were leading the march to closer ties with Brussels, and Hodgson looks back on then Prime Minister Ted Heath as hero of the hour. But heroes, as Hodgson discovered to his angst when Lance Armstrong's misdemeanours finally came to light, almost always let you down. Hodgson has the perfect right to look back fondly on the late Heath’s achievements (in classical music, competitive sailing and being an empathetic WWII veteran) while rumours and allegations of his hidden life as a sexual predator still rumble on. With an array of vivid political characters portrayed by Hodgson
within a script tighter than the SNP majority in North East Fife, the laughs are free flowing as he imagines the Labour party of the early 1970s like a West Side Story spoof, and delightfully conjures up the period’s power cuts in a single image. But the true story here is about the comic’s relationship with his Leave-voting mother, a living example of the division experienced in families and friendships across the land in 2016. But as proven by the Brexiteers’ campaign and the post-referendum fog we all live in, nothing is quite as it seems in ’75. (Brian Donaldson) ■ Pleasance Courtyard, until 26 Aug, 8.15pm, £8–£12 (£7–£11).
8–15 Aug 2018 THE LIST FESTIVAL 57