I JIM TAVARE Helishing
the spotlight even more
than he did when comic abusing. Bass-ically, one at I the best acts on the Fringe. The Pleasance (Venue 33) I 556 6550, untll1 Sept (not 13,30)10.30pm,£4(£3). l
Sean Hughes opines about . his lack 01 a woman. Wendy . wonders “Where have all i the men gone?‘ ll they get together we may have the I best comedy act ever.
The Assembly Rooms
(Venue 3), 226 2428. untll1 Sept, midnight, £6 (24).
I PUBLIC LIMITE
COMEDY An ex Merry Mac,
Jes 8enstock. and his lriend, Eric. with cabaret a which is suitably surreal lor this time at the morning. Diverse Attractions (Venue 11), 225 8961. until 25Aug, 10am. £2 (£1).
I KIT AND THE WIDOW Constantly lighting against an undeserved ‘elitist' reputation, this duo remain one 01 the linest acts on the Fringe yearatter year. And that takes some doing.
The George Square Theatre (Venue 37). 667 3704, until 1 Sept.10pm,£6(£5).
I WILL DUHST Stocky San Franciscan in Sordid Satire Shocker. The widest range of targets ol any lringe perlormerand notas consistently depraved as Leary.
The Assembly Rooms (Venue 3). 226 2428. 26 j Aug-1 Sep, 10pm, £5.50 ! (£4.60). i I DAVE COHEN A song tor several occasions and a cynicism which leavestew stones unturned. Cohen’s TV escapades suggest that he is back in terriliclorrn. The Wee fled Bar (Venue 73). 2291003. until 1 Sept (not 28, 29. 30 Aug), 10.80pm, £4 (£3).
FESTIVAL “ISEEI‘EZQWFET , H
Nicaraguan nights
With the end ofthe Fringe looming large, this is usually the time when messrs Hegley, Hurst and Hughes are preparing to don their political glad rags and trek off to The Playhouse to keep the Sandinistas in power. However, as we all ‘ remember from the days when US intervention involved getting a Greyhound a couple of hundred miles south, Ortega lost February‘s election. ‘Who is there to support now?‘. I asked the organiser of Night For Nicaragua VI (yes. it is still on this year), Toby Holdsworth.
‘The campaign is still going strong in support ofthe F.S.L.N. and their _ . . . - efforts to keep going what they ’ J .~ .- ‘ achieved over the last ten years. The [l 7“. ‘ .‘ '
9' " ' -
only difference is that the F.S.L.N. is no longer the government.’ ‘
Holdsworth asked the majority of the comedy section of the Fringe to appear and, as the size of the bill testifies (twenty acts at last count), few see the Sandanistas as being an unworthy cause. Sean Hughes admits to not being particularly enamoured by the current spate of charity causes. But he thinks that the Nicaraguan campaign is different.
‘I played a benefit gig for them on the night of the election which was meant to be a great celebration of their victory. Ofcourse it didn‘t turn out that way. What came across,
Attila the Stockbroker
though, was the enormous passion behind what they were doing. You can‘t help being influenced by that.
Fellow N.F.N. performer, Attila the Stockbroker, feels that this passion will dispel any air of despondancy that may have pervaded this year’s proceedings
‘1 don’t think that the gig will be any different even though the
year. But then the world’s a bit of a depressing place at the moment. I
situation is a lot more depressing this
just think that the Yanks are so hypocritical criticising Saddam Hussein for going into Kuwait when they‘ve been. getting away with that kind of thing for years. As long as the Sandanistas want international support I think we should give it to them.‘ (Philip Parr)
I Night For Nicaragua VI (Fringe) See next week‘s List for full line-up, The Playhouse (Venue 59). 557 2590, 2 Sept, 8pm, £6.50 (£5.50).
_ Satellite star
Last year, the worm turned. The worm being the Edinburgh critics’ club who had previously welcomed Dave Cohen as one of the sharpest stand-ups on the Fringe. In 1989, he presented his lirst play, ‘Smouldering Globules of Love‘, and also continued with the lamiliar blend at music and comedy in his stand-up show. The critics obviously thought that he was being lartoo clever tor his own good. The List labelled his play ‘tired and predictable’ while his ; stand-up routine received the even more damning indictment ol ‘amiable‘. j
‘I wasn‘t going to come at all this year,’ says Cohen. ‘l was physically exhausted last year and it was silly at me to try to be in both shows. I was spreading mysell tar too thin and I didn‘t do eitherthe play orthe stand-up iustice. Maybe there‘s some kind ol megalomaniac in me that made me have to be in the play as well. I won‘t try to do it again.’
The reason why Cohen has returned to lace the wrath ol the journalists is primarily because othis commitment to that baby ol British broadcasting, 888. Commissioned by them to appear in a daily show called ‘Up Yer Festival’, Cohen (in the guise ol critic, David
Clichet), thought that as he was
would be hypocritical not to take to the boards himseil. As Cohen‘s character is called Clichet, l hesitated belore asking the next question. ‘Do you preler live pertormances to TV?’ ‘Always,’ he says immediately. ‘It sounds crass and hypocritical as l‘m
01 Edinburgh as a great opportunity to do something dillerent. Any ‘alternative comedian’ (using huge inverted commas), worth their salt will come to Edinburgh and eventually stop doing typical alternative comedy.
commenting on his lellow perlormers it
taking 888‘s money but it‘s true. I think
Ultimately, it‘s the people who experiment that will leel more rewarded.‘
This year, Dave has been working on his songwriting and leels that the set benellts enormously. A guide ol what’s in store may be lound in one 01 the most memorable moments lrom Spitting Image’s last series. The Jeremy Beadle song was penned by Cohen.
‘That guy causes people such misery and heartache. Alter the show went out, the producer got a phone call lrom his producer saying Jeremy loved the video and could he have the puppet. Our producer said ‘Fuck olt‘. i watched his show again to conlirm to mysell that I’m not a horrible bastard. I’m not, he deserves everything he gets. I‘ve had a lew complaints about the Harry Secombe song, though. He’s a particular obsession at mine. I think he‘s got away with being the nice, cuddly man on ‘Highway’ lor lar too long. People must remember that he was the crap one in The Goons.‘
‘i’ve also done a love song to the Queen Mother. Nothing about gin, nothing about racing, nothing about her colostomy bag but it‘s all in awlul taste anyway.‘ (Philip Parr)
Well Blow Me, it‘s Dave Cohen (Fringe) Dave Cohen, The Wee Red Bar, Edinburgh College 01 Art (Venue 73), 2291003, until 1 Sept (not 28, 29, 30 Aug), 12.30pm, £4 (£3).
'l'hc l.is12~l — 30 August lWll23