WE” _FEST'VAL .
In 1993, almost overnight, Bert Tyler- Moore went from being a reasonable observational stand-up treading well worn comedy paths with 3 Hugh Grantesque ‘Gosh, er, yes, phew’ Englishness about him, to being very funny indeed. The reason: he came out.
It focused him and, from a punter’s eye view, he’d found his voice. ‘It was always on the cards once I’d decided to go down that route of doing personal comedy,’ says the comedian, now presenter of BBC2’s new show Gayfime TV. ‘Ohviously in my own mind it was a big deal but once I’d done it, it lust seemed fine really.’
He’d already developed the one-man show Bertie Something, showing at the Fringe, when he had his name forward for Bayfime TV. For the very reason that he isn’t as camp as Christmas, he
Bert TyierMoore: out and about to make you laugh
got the job. ‘They didn’t want it to be earnest and dour . . . but they didn’t want to go completely the opposite way of making it a camp-fest, you know, so I fit into that quite well.’
A hell of a way to let your parents know you’re gay. ‘I know, I know. The dust was just beginning to settle and I’d only told them quite recently, so then it was: “By the way, I’m going to be on telly.”’
Bertie Something is an ‘Oh God I’m 30: what new?’ exploration of our Bert’s life as it is now. It should prove
CURIOUS SEEDS
l The supple limbs of bright
a charming, delightful hour of comedy. , the two have what it takes to make a great double
(Cait Hurley)
Bertie Something (Fringe) Bert Tyler-
Moore, Southside Community Centre
(Venue 82), 667 7365, 11 Aug—2 Sept
(not 15, 22, 29), 7.45pm, £525.50
| (reuse).
comeov
Mark Little Sucks
When performers say: ‘The rest you’ll lust have to see. Just trust me on that one . . . ’, it’s not a good sign. Especially when they’re Fringe performers. And Big Breakfast co- presenter Mark Little, the Artist Formerly Known As Joe Mangel from Neighbours, has lost said it.
When pushed, he promises, ‘the cultural revolution will begin. There’ll be public mischief on the streets’.
little inspires more confidence than most we’II-make-the-show-up-as-we- go-along-and-you’ll-see-everything- will-be-hunky-dory types. He has two surefire Fringe hits behind him, Mark little's Atomic Dilemma . . . in 1990 and Conquistador of the Useless in 1992. This year be weighs in with Mark little Sucks, a title he coined in order to get In there before the backlash arrives, which promises a television hanging from the ceiling to facilitate some channel surfing each light (no need to miss Brookie) and an
art duvet backdrop courtesy of Damien
Mark little: suck It and see Hirst (‘a highly controversial work’).
‘There’s a misprint in the brochure,’ says little. ‘It says “Prozac-free” when it should say “Prozac tree”. I've got this little Bonaai that Prozac have donated to me, but how happy can one bugger get? There’s firearms too . . . everything you could want in a modern show.’
Pancultural footnote: little really does say things like ‘G’day!’ and
1 ‘mate’. Ripper! (Fiona Shepherd)
Mark little Sucks (Fringe) Mark little, Assembly Rooms (Venue 3) 226 2428, 11-26 Aug, 7.35pm, £9. £158.50 (£85010. 50).
young UK dance outfit Ricochet have become a regular sight on the Fringe. Last year the company graced the sweeping halls of St Bride's with a two- pronged programme of new Brit-dance choreographed by the cool. measured Russell Maliphant. and the dynamic. quirky Yolande Snaith.
This year the company comes Fringewards bearing Re-(‘tnlz another piece from Maliphant (the third in a row) and [5 Mania I)i.\‘pt'l'titr)2 a new. spicy kind of a work from hotly-tipped New York choreographer. Javier de Frutos. ‘This is Javier's first work for a British dance company.‘ says Kate Gowar. joint artistic director anti dancer with Ricochet. ‘He normally does solo work — a little bit like Russell — so it's quite a nice combination. There are similarities between the two choreographers. but there are also a lot of differences.‘
Despite their differences. Gowar feels
' bill. ‘They've often
performed in festivals together — their own solo
; work — and they look very similar. They've got no
hair. similar physiques and so on. People have always been interested'to see them dancing together but it's never really happened.’ Curious Seer/s could prove a memorable fusion of both dancers' work. (Ellie Carr)
I Curious Seeds (Fringe) Ricochet Dance Company. St Bride‘s Centre (Venue 62). 346 1405. 14—19 Aug. 6pm. £6 (£4).
: HEAVEN BY
STORM
‘The puppets aren‘t coming. There was a contractual dispute. There's an [TV series in the works for one of them
. . . I‘m not going to say
which one. Oh. alright. it’s the wombat. He got approached by ITV and you know. what can you
‘ do when your co-star gets
more famous than you - but without our hands up their bottoms they’re nothing really. You're nothing. Fluffy. Nothing.‘
Welcome to David and Shane‘s world. a place where hyperactive children in adults' bodies mime out the most violent scenes from their
favourite cartoons while
creating their own sound effects. This may sound puerile. childish and silly. It is. It's also hysterically funny.
‘I think we watched far too many cartoons in our youth.‘ reckons the hirsute Shane. one half of the Umbilical Brothers. ‘and that in combination with Jackie Chan movies really does something to your brains.‘ It does something to your audiences as well. as those who saw the Australian twosome at last year‘s Fringe will know.
This time they‘re back with an all-new show. Heaven [3v Storm and unlike last year's series of sketches the dangerous duo have applied their synapses to the rigours of plot construction. ‘1 don't want you to think we‘ve gone all serious though.‘ says a worried Shane. No chance. (Jonathan Trew) I Heaven by Storm (Fringe) The Umbilical Brothers. Gilded Balloon
2 (Venue 38) 226 2151.11 I Aug—2 Sept. 7pm. £6.50 (£5.50).
HEAVY BREATHING
iimmy nominee Scott Carter's showbusiness career is founded on heavy breathing. With not a hint of sarcasm in his voice. the New York comedian explains it all began with hisjob as an asthmatic pornographer. He has come a long way
_ from writing erotica for a 1 living. but in Heavy
Breathing. one of two comic monologues in which Carter explores asthma. he returns to those early days when he penned pornography in between writing screenplays. ‘It sounds sleazy and it was.‘ says Carter. ‘but the person who hired me was this
L43 .. Scott Carter: Heavy Breathing very erudite gentleman who was an expert in Marcel Proust. He hired me because I was asthmatic and Proust was asthmatic.‘ Carter saw the funny side of the whole experience. much to the annoyance of his employer. ‘1 would see everything as being funny and everybody else was
serious.‘ he says. ‘The
people who ran the business were complete illiterates who overvalued the arduousness of writing and gave you days to write things that would take hours. I was working on a screenplay. somebody else was writing for TV. somebody
5 else was writing a novel . . .'
The rest is history. As well as his success in stand-up. Carter has become a successful television producer and writer. nominated for two iimmy awards this year. For now. though. he is concentrating on Heavy Breathing. (Kathleen Morgan)
I Heavy Breathing
? (Fringe) Scott Carter.
Randolph Studio. lnstitut Francais d‘iicosse (Venue 55) 225 5366. ll Aug—2 Sept (not 13). 6pm. £5 (£4).
I The Suspension Bridge
' (Fringe) Scott Caner. Hill
Street Theatre (Venue 41) 226 6522. 21-30 Aug. 9.3(1pni.£5 (£4).
Ricochet explosive young UK dance
“The List 11-17 Aug 1995