FESTIVAL CABARET | Reviews
P H O T O :
S T E V E U L L A T H O R N E
THE MISS BEHAVE GAMESHOW Anarchic and interactive cabaret ●●●●● HANS – LIKE A GERMAN Unadulterated fun from the AGT finalist ●●●●●
Chaotic, messy and anarchic: these words may have negative connotations but they also provide the best definition of The Miss Behave Gameshow. With audience participation at its core, it's an unpredictable and frenzied interactive show in which host Miss Behave splits the audience in two according to their phone preferences, leading them through a series of random challenges. Anyone reluctant to participate is soon taken in by the camaraderie and competitive nature of the room, becoming accessories to Miss Behave's shenanigans in no time. The hit production has finally made its way back to
Edinburgh, with Miss Behave accompanied by her fabulous assistant Tiffany (aerial hoop expert Bret Pfiste), who performs dance numbers throughout, somersaulting across the stage and twerking at the audience with his trademark glamour and sass. With games like 'Shazam That Riff' and 'The Laid Lottery', flying plastic balls and a decent amount of nudity, the show doesn't make a whole lot of sense, but therein lies the beauty of it. The Miss Behave Gameshow provides a reminder of the unjust and often unreasonable nature of daily life while offering a celebratory hour away from it all. (Arusa Qureshi) ■ Gilded Balloon Teviot, until 18 Aug, 10.45pm, £12.50–£14 (£10.50–£12).
The wunderkind from Berlin has taken a break from appearing on America’s Got Talent to fly to Edinburgh and complete another run at the Fringe. His show is a side-splitting, all-singing, all-dancing evening of glittering cabaret that has a cross-generational appeal. In the hour, Hans makes it his aim to embarrass all of the heterosexual-identifying males in the audience, much to the audiences’ delight, by catching them out and giving them a little lap dance or inviting them on stage to get into costume.
He addresses his time on AGT and provides
chuckles in a skit that presents all the abuse he gets on Facebook and talks about his enemy, Heidi Klum, who was the catalyst for (completely true) rumours that he’s not actually German. But as Hans reminds us this is Like a German and he goes into a reworking of Madonna’s ‘Like a Virgin’, except in his version it’s ‘Deutsched for the very first time’. Make no mistake, this show is pure escapism.
There aren’t any political statements (aside from a few Trump jokes) and there isn’t any mention of identity politics. Hans just wants you to have a break from everything that’s going on in the world and have some unadulterated fun. (Katharine Gemmell) ■ Assembly Rooms, until 19 Aug, 9.50pm, £11–£13 (£10–£12)
JONNY WOO'S ALL STAR BREXIT CABARET High-energy, hot-topic satire ●●●●●
Jonny Woo is a charmer. His cheeky chappy persona and shimmering sequinned gown ensure that when he is on stage, all eyes are on him. He is the trump card and his showmanship papers over any cracks in this hour of political satire that too often drifts into cliché.
The music, from Richard Thomas of Jerry Springer: The Opera, is standard Broadway fare, hindered further by the cast's occasionally straining vocals, and jokes which often reach for the lowest hanging fruit. Boris Johnstone is portrayed as a clown. Remain voters are avocado-munching millennials and Leave voters are poor, and have never left Norfolk. There is nothing new being said here.
There are exceptions. Le Gateau Chocolat, the Nigerian-born drag star, makes a brief appearance as Nigel Farage. The casting itself is a finely crafted insult towards the high-priest of Brexit, and Chocolat's performance proves a highlight of the hour.
Jonathan Swift this is not, but it does provide the kind of high-energy, hot-topic satire which has pleased Fringe audiences for years. It won't change your life, or your mind, but it does entertain, even if unimaginatively. (Liam Hainey) ■ Assembly George Square Gardens, until 27 Aug (not 20), 6pm, £14–£15 (£13–£14).
P H O T O :
I
M H A E L A B O D L O V C
I
COURTNEY ACT: UNDER THE COVERS Celebrity Big Brother chat and favourite cover songs ●●●●●
Courtney Act’s newest show goes under the covers of what made her a household name and under the covers of famous cover songs – what would a drag show be without them?
Throughout the hour, Courtney takes the audience
on a tour of well-known tracks, from ‘Valerie’ to ‘I Will Always Love You’, and manages to take her version of Madonna’s ‘Like a Virgin’ from Disney princess to cabaret without missing a beat. A highlight of the show comes when Courtney (aka
Shane Jenek) talks about her time on Celebrity Big Brother, from challenging Ann Widdecombe to her special relationship with Andrew Brady, who she admits was the first man who let both Courtney and Shane into ‘the boys club’. From talking about Andrew accepting who she is,
Courtney goes into a mash-up of Beyoncé’s ‘If I Were a Boy’ and Cyndi Lauper’s ‘Girls Just Wanna Have Fun’; with Shane singing on a screen behind her, Courtney shows the audience that it’s OK to be both. The ease with which she effortlessly banters with the
crowd gives her the aura of a superstar; even when she lets out a fart, she still embodies feminine grace. Courtney knows she doesn’t need to be too naughty or too over-the-top, it’s her subtle frankness and willingness to talk about hard truths that make her a star. Sure she may be resting on pretty, but she’s so much more than just that. (Katharine Gemmell) ■ Underbelly’s Circus Hub, until 18 Aug, 6pm, £18–£21 (£17–£20).
40 THE LIST FESTIVAL 15–27 Aug 2018