.r___, _. _
Fred MacAulay, the most misspelt man in comedy, has reached the comfortable stage where he has sufficient reserves of material to open his act by sparring with the audience, picking up ideas and working them into his routines. It can't be that long ago ' since I saw him last, but all his material is new and consistently lunny. The audience warms quickly to Lynn Ferguson who handles — make that manhandles—the second half ol the show with a streetwise version other
FESTIVA
l
MACAULAY AND LYNN FERGUSON
s )3-
to
a»
N"
Alexander Sisters persona that manages to be brash and loveable at
. the same time. But, particularly as they start playing the London circuit, both
5 MacAulay and Ferguson need to structure their sets to build to a comic climax instead ol the evenly-weighted string of gags on which they currently rely. (Mark Fisher)
Fred MacAulay and Lynn Ferguson Do Some Stand- Gilded Balloon (Venue 38) 226 2151, : until 31 Aug,
Up Comedy (Fringe) 9pm, £5 (£4).
bobbed about in the ocean and. eventually. threw
himselfoverboard. As the
(‘astle Players use his own often rambling and disjointed records to tell the story. the action is often hard to follow. but this is balanced by the tale's inherent interest and a strong performance from Simon Smith. (Philip Parr)
I The Strange Voyage (Fringe) ('astle Players. Pilmeny (‘ommunity (‘entre (Venue 79) 55-1 0943. until 31 Auglnot 1‘). 25). 1.30pm. £4.51l(£~l).
A NIGHTMARE FOR CHARLES DARWIN
Precise movements reminiscent of karate. exactly timed with the music. smart turns. and relaxed open poses result in spontaneous applause —~ the opening ofo Nightmare for ( 'lrurles‘ Darwin is electric.
An ovum dances on a bench. and sperm number 10846 wins her. A deft dance sequence where lizards evolve into human beings ends in much wrinkling of brow s —- what differentiates us from
primates is our ability to think.
I-‘ifteen scenes(maybe five too many) ofcclectic i music. amusing mime. and slick professionalism make up the show that was ' a deserved sell-out on its
first day. ('I‘amsin
(irainger)
3 IANightmarelorCharles i
i .-\rc(Venue 45)557‘)422. ; until 31 Aug. 12.30pm.£4 (£3).
! obviousorganic base.
Darwin (Fringe) Shanghai Taro Buto Koushi. The
AUGUSTINE (BIG HYSTERIA)
Jean Martin ('harcot wasa I pioneering theorist on ‘(irande l Iysterie'. the agonising physical reconstruction of forgotten trauma with no
Augustine was a classic Ilysterique. raped by her employer at knifepoint at the age of 13. She remained under (,‘harcot‘s i care for five years. during which time she achieved notoriety in his public lectures.
The story is fascinating. terrifyingand is reconstructed stylishly in Anna Furse 's .4 ugrurine (Big Hysteria). The
7 playwrighttelescopesten yearsinordertoaddthe i character of Freud. who
never actually met
Augustine.creatingthe 3 delicious triangle of Seer.
Listener and Victim. Shona Morris bristles with charming charisma as Augustine and the use ofa
violinist accentuates
Chareot'sdefinition of
? hysteria as ‘a four-phase
i symphonic form'. Still.
I thercexistsagnawing
f dissatisfaction with a play
VTHEATRE i
which could have delved much further into dangerous waters.
I (Roberta Mock)
I Augustine (Big Hysteria) (Fringe) Paines Plough. The Pleasancc (Venue 33) 556 1513. until 31 Aug. 2.3(lpm.£6 (£5)/£n.5()(£5.50).
V CABARET
KONDO BROTHERS Wearing puke beige outfits. the Kondo
; Brothers trip their way
into. ah. wherever they are. The KB explore life‘s seamier side through such original musical ditties as ‘You‘re Good in Bed‘ and 'Love Hurts'. They can still utter the occasional memorable line. like
WANT TO BE SOMEWHERE ELSE
THIS FESTIVAL
AIDS POSITIVE UNDERGROUND THEATRE
MANDELA THEATRE CLYDE UNITY THEATRE TERRY BECK TROUPE (USA) SHINKO (JAPAN) ANNEXE THEATRE COMPANY VOLCANO THEATRE SIEVE AND SHEARS THREE WOMEN AND A PASSION (AUS) ELERE YORUBA FLEUR HOWARD BIG NAZO (USA) ANDY MUNRO POLISH VIDEOS SCOTTISH TRADITIONAL STORYTELLERS
MAGIC BOB 8: Mr BOOM
THEATRE WORKSHOP
34 HAMILTON PLACE I EDINBURGH EH3 5AX ! i
031 226 5425 4“
9 - 31 AUG 1991
i “l
The List 3(lAugust— 13 September 1‘“)! 17