FESTIVAL _
theatre
MINOR COMPLICATIONS
Minor Complications are three original and charming stand-up comedians.
Alex Langdon, fourteen. is ‘at that difficult stage - too old for Harvey Proctor, too young to give evidence.‘ He pcrceptively attacks school. sex education and parents and with maturity promises to be someone to look out for.
Lewis Macleod. nineteen. has got the showbiz confidence to know that if his sound effects and impressions are good, the jokes don't have to be fantastic. And it works.
But the best potential comes from Vicki Coren. seventeen, whose dry. wicked. know-it-all humour is biting and clever, as when she asks a very privileged school-friend if she has a place in the country. she is told, ‘Yes, twelfth.‘
But if you don‘t care for the novelty of such young stand-ups. the price is extortionate for only one hour's entertainment. (Melissa Nathan)
I Minor Complications (Fringe) The Comedy Room. (Venue 67) 556 0499, until Sept 1. 7.30pm, £5 (£4).
SOME LIKE IT HOT
The drawn curtains. the lazy jazz backing music and the silken voice welcoming you to Some Like it Hot don‘t prepare you for what is to come. The performers, she in knee-length cocktail dress and electric violin. he in trendy jacket and snazzy guitar. launch into thigh slapping. foot-stomping country-style music. Technically brilliant. they play folk. jazz. rag and country, all rather similar except for the excellent Moondance and The Devil wen! do wn to
Georgia.
The violinist‘s elastic face and energetic ‘dance‘ movements combined with the sheer speed ofthe music create an exuberant atmosphere. but I‘m not sure if that was in respect of the effort being put in. (Melissa Nathan)
I Guitar and Fiddle: Gypsy Swing and Country Blue, Some Like II Hot (Fringe) Pleasance Cabaret Bar (Venue 33) 556 6550. until Sept 1.5.45pm (7pm). £4.50(£3.50).
TURNONTO YOUR LEFT HAND SIDE
()n duty. doctors' humour is probably the one thing that keeps them going. On stage. it is usually as witless as it is tasteless. By turning the jokes away from the crises facing patients to those facing the health care system. this medical cabaret promisesto be different. It attempts to politicise medi-comedy without rcsortingto polernics. it seems like a good idea. Unfortunately. it ends up being as puerile as the genre it is trying to criticise and is consequently increasingly irritating.
Happily. most of the - quite interesting—
statisticaleontcnt is neatly ‘
paraphrased in their promotional brochure. I'm nodoctor. but my advice is to take one of these and to avoid the show -- dare I say it - like the clap. (David Mackenzie)
I Turn Onto Your Left Hand Side. Draw Your Knees upto Your Chest and Take a Few Deep BrethS(Fringe) Struck off and Die. (‘eltie Lodge (Venue 6) until 25 Aug. midnight. £3.50 (£3).
LECOAT 8: DEE
Although devotees of Hattie llayridgc will be disappointed at her cancellation. she has a
Ex
The days when a Fringe show had all the class of a medical student’s
underpants are long gone.
Increasingly, the cabaret on oiier owes more to Mahler and Chopin than Mllligan and Chapman. Virtuosity
lives!
it should thereiore come as little surprise that several periomers, who must see themselves as missionaries of culture in a jungle oi depravity, are getting together for a one-oil
/CABARET
4f
cake.
String Quartet, Jim Tavare and Miles and Millner are leaving their Fringe
home at The Pleasance and pooling
their instruments for an evening which will give music lovers everywhere something to shout about. The
compere (who should provide just the
(Philip Parr)
right level ol taste) is Bob Downe.
Beethoven's Not Dead (Fringe), The George Square Theatre (Venue 37),
667 3704, 26 Aug, midnight, £7.
celebration oi their art. The Como
judging by the response. and complements Lecoat's act perfectly. ()h no. not another great show from the Assembly Rooms! (Adrian Searie) I Lecoat and Dee (Fringe) Assembly Rooms. 54 (ieorge Street (Venue 3) 226 2428. until 25 Aug. £5.50 (£4.50). <9 ~- (r...
‘ fps. «.‘ROUGLA
. THE DOUG
ANTHONY ALLSTARS
Look. I‘ve been saying
this forthree years. lfyou weren't there. you‘ve only yourselftoblame.
Back for a one-night stand and a spot ofTV
work.Australia‘s finest
worthy success’or inJenny ' BarryHumphrtesare
Lecoat. Ms Lecoat's routine is intimate. sexy and always witty. winning over the audience with unadulterated charm. Loves. hates. the male belief in fairies. and a
crush on Saddam Hussein
are all given the treatment.
However. in interesting contrast. Jack Dee isa complete bastard. albeit a funny one. Although his ‘dontcha hate it' style is hardly a new one. its effectiveness is certain,
comedy export since
back on form after last
year's watered down version of former glories. A virtually all-new set is certainly the Doug Anthony Allstars‘ crudest to date. but recent accusations of fascistic audience manipulation prove to be unjustified. If anything there‘s less audience involvement and a greater concentration on their simultaneous three-pronng comedic aitack.
As always. you only I catch a percentage of the gags which range from the anal to the academic. but their sheer energy. verve and attack coupled with an unparallelled melodic and harmonic skill. make the Doug Anthony Allstars infectious. And, yes. Bob Downe is a genius too. (Mark Fisher)
I Kids and Animals (Fringe) Edinburgh Playhouse. run ended.
ROB NEWMAN
Choosing Alan Parker to warm up for you is a bit like getting Ian Paisley to keep goal for Celtic. Parker used to be one of the exeerable double-act God and Jesus. and the kindest thing that can be said about him is that he's wa half as bad asthey
Rob Newman is that ultimate rarity. the funny impressionist. Forget Les Dennis or Mike Yarwood (whom Newman sends up wickedly). this show has a level of sickness they would never dream of. We have been waiting a long time for the Ross McWhirter joke. and Newman serves it up with relish.
His stand-up material is a bit wobbly. and I heard routines about Peter Purves and the Commonwealth Games that Dave Baddiel is doing word for word at the Assembly Rooms, but when Newman launches into the really bigtargets, like Denis Norden or
Ronnie Corbett. he‘s out on his own. (Tom Lappin) I iiob Newman (Fringe). The Pleasance (Venue 33‘ 556 6550. until 1 Sept. 10.40pm. £5 (£4).
AHH . . .THOSE GIRLS
()ne Bette Midler look-alike. one pretty girl with a sweet voice and one with big biceps are a telegram service in Manhattan you should ring if you feel insane. They sing and act in
between shortclipsofcine I , . a funniest on the Fringe.
films complete with soundtrack and Harold Lloyd movements. Unfortunately the live bits just don't live up tothe clips.
There are some nice ideas: the singing message at the funeral and at the wedding of a Jewish boy to a non-Jewish girl. and some of the jokes have potential.
But there are not enough good jokesand the storyline is too weak
for the audience to fully relax. (Melissa Nathan) IAhh . . .Those Girls (Fringe) Edinburgh Playhouse and Studio (Venue 59). 557 3807. until 18 Aug. 6.45pm;27 Aug—l Sept.8. 15pm. £3.5()(£2.5()).
HEADBUTTS AND HALIBUTS
John Otway strides onto the stage and, attaching a guitar to a piece of string holding up his jeans. with frenzied accompanyment from Attila The Stockbroker. proceeds to perform a song entitled Beware OfThe Flowers. He then introduces Attila. to an audience who are already in stitches.
Coming on in dark glasses. with a water pistol poised for action. Attila performs Libyan Students from hell (now changed to Iraqi Invaders), before launching into a series of comic poems and rantings. He then rc-introduces Otway. by reading extracts from his book. Taking it in turns throughout the evening, the two also perform together in what is a truly symbiotic relationship. Highlights. which are practically everything in the show, include a piece of rap dedicated to NWA that makes interesting use ofdrum pads. a rap about the alphabet. various songs about animals and a version of Cor Baby. in which John Otway does a somersault while continuingto play the guitar.
The show. one ofthe
f ends on a second encore. with an extremely literal
version of ‘Headbutts‘
that is definitely not for
the faint-hearted (or the
= microphones for that
matter). See it! (Paul
Maverick)
I Headbutts and Halibuts (Fringe) Attila The Stockbroker and John Otway, Marco‘s Leisure Centre (Venue 98) 229 8830. until 1 Sept (not Sun l9).1()pm.£5.5()(£4.5()).
24'I‘he List 24 — 30 August 1990