10W“ FEST WM
V COMEDY ;
behind. The Hollywood f Horns add zip and flash as ‘ Downe simpers and
flutters and skips through ‘My Way‘. ‘New York
7 New York‘. ‘I Will
BOD DOWNE & THE HOLLYWOOD HORNS
Even down to his visible panty-line and unconvincing toupe. Bob Downe is every inch the sadly deluded TV celebrity. But it's ajungle out there. in the world of daytime TV campery. and it takes more than a few yards of synthetic safari suits and high-volume shirts to keep the laughs a-flowing — especially if this is your seventh year in Edinburgh. as a flustered Downe keeps reminding us in a shakey opening ten minutes.
So this year Downe has
\‘ ‘ pom huner ()
a twelve-piece big band behind his clenched
Surive' and some more
usual suspects. A bit less
of the music would allow more room for Downe‘s ever-funny oily. gushing blethers. and for support act Judith Lucy — a fast- tongued. take-no—shit Australian with a fine line in stunt-collapsing. As for Downe. a few more colours other than beige in his palette wouldn‘t go amiss. (Craig McLean)
I Bob Downe & The Hollywood Horns (Fringe).
Pleasance (Venue 60) 556 f 6550. until 3 Sept. 1 10.20pm. £7/£8 (£6/£7).
0, ‘1 n -‘
DEAD GOAT COSMETICS
‘lf we don’t succeed. we run the risk of failure.‘ 'Another unintentionally- comical word to the wise from every American stand-up's favourite former Vice-President and misspelling master of the cock-up.
Dan Quayle. life in disaster-prone Los
l Angeles. and your average
Oprah-featured slice of American craziness (Men
Who Became Women
Who Became Lesbians)
fuel the walk on the weird side observations of
Lewis Black and John Bowman.
‘You've no idea how many dysfunctional fucks there are in our country.‘ they suggest.
But amusing as their
tales of political stupidity 1 and every day dysfunction could be. you occasionally
find yourself thinking. ‘so
‘ tell me something. we
didn‘t already know.’ (Stan Ferguson)
I [load Goat Cosmetics
(Fringe) Lewis Black and John Bowm. Gilded
Balloon (Venue 38) 226
2151. until 3 Sept (not
I
Sun 21). 10.15pm. £6
(£5).
DUFF
'" THE
SELF-HELP
ROADSHOW
STEPPING
STONES STUDIO
WEST BOW GRASS MiiiEi‘
AUG llth
-SEPT 3rd TICKETS ism
I2 MIDNIGHT TELEPHONE 2256520 or2262|5|
COMEDY
HUNTER & DOCHEHTY
All together now. ‘that's wan you owe meeee‘. Yep. it‘s the triumphant arrival of Scotland’s latest corporate comedy legends. The McDougall Brothers. Or is it? Hunter and Docherty have resigned from comedy and entered the fight game and become Spanish translators. No they haven't. they're here as the Sensible family learning the facts of life. Calum Gilhooley has found someone‘s chips. Mr Don and Mr George are on the wagon to Falkirk while Alec from Stoneybridge Community Council presents the highly acclaimed Stoneybridge Roadshow. Naturally all this is absurd. childish. idiotic. preposterous. stupid. and very. very funny. The highlight? It has to be McGlashan's re-enacting
; of the ear-cutting-off
scene from Reservoir
Dogs on some
unsuspecting English bugger. Don‘t say you
: weren’t warned. (Philip
Dorward)
I Hunter a Docherty
(Fringe) Absolutely
. Productions. Church Hill Theatre (Venue 46) 447
01 l 1. until 3 Sept. 10.30pm. £8.50/£7.50.
f v THEATRE
CAMPING OUT
Welcome campers to the Happy Valley Camping Ground of the l950s, where off-the-shoulder and under-the-armpit pink towelling outfits are de rigeuer and fun. fun. fun is the name of the game. Camp Mother and Camp Leader are the irreverent nom de plumes of these queens of light entertainment. here to ensure the non-stop comedy train keeps that silly grin on your face for the duration of one of the best feel-good shows of the Festival.
New Zealand‘s Topp Twins‘ period-kiLsch show is an intoxicating blend of banter. malarky and a sprinkling of RC. politics. Their country and western
‘ l \ it 3‘ O ‘ .. t
“'3'
i V COMEDY
‘1 ‘ u - & Docherty: Reservoir Jock twanging harmonies. meanwhile. give Dolly and Tammy a run for their money. Camping in Scotland has never been this much fun. (Ann Donald)
I Camping Out (Fringe) The Topp Twins. Traverse Theatre (Venue 15) 228 1404. until 21 Aug.
12. l5am. £8 (£5).
V COMEDY HHONA CAMERON
Rhona Car-cm: a real ice-scream
Standing at 5ft 2m in a tartan suit as smart as her act and modelling some Arthur Daley jewellery. Cameron is on grand form for her first one-woman show. Exhibiting the same warmth that endears an audience to the likes of Eddie lzzard. Cameron espouses a similarly skewed line in finely
honed observations on life: whether it's the philosophical musings of Edinburgh taxi—drivers. or a dislike of cosy couples or the anecdotal family Christmas from Hell. the pace is fast. the timing spot-on and the humour unrelenting. Even bearing in mind the indulgent Elvis a [a Las Vegas impersonation (replete with sideburns. polyester flying suit and kung-fu kicks) Cameron is the best thing to have emerged from the town of Musselburgh since De Luca‘s ice-cream shop opened. (Ann Donald)
I Rhona Cameron (Fringe). Assembly
Rooms (Venue 3) 226
| 2428. until 3 Sept. 10pm. l £7/£6 (£8/£7).
|
I v COMEDY i qur A ; BARGAIN
. It's a funny thing — in these days of Wembley
gigs and 60-night tours — but we still want to believe that a comedian is enjoying himself as much as we are. When he
relaxes. we relax and willingly delude ourselves that he‘s making it up specially for us. Felix Dexter. star of TV‘s The
‘- Real McCoy. was neither relaxed nor enjoying himselfon a frustrating night spent searching for this audience‘s funny bone. The material he brought with him might have worked better on a sweaty beer-pit of a crowd. but did little for the sober audience he was confronted by. On the occasions when things did start to move. Felix’s patter bore a striking resemblance to Ben Elton at his mid-80s funniest. The only trouble is. this is 1994. (Justin McKenzie Smith)
I What A Bargain (Fringe) Felix Dexter. Gilded Balloon (Venue 38) 226 2151. until 27 Aug, 10.15pm. £6 (£5).
58 The List l9—25 August 1994