own-town
seem without depth Also the pieces narrative is subservient to pre- meditated political and emotional l'tsed points. attd feels somewhat c‘onirived. (.'/itt.'/r¢".t .rirret'l is art odd parados: a passionate theatrical espertence which ts strangely forgettable. ((ifillll (ithtlttltl
I Charlie's Angel (littngel 'l'heatre l’aradtso. C i Venue W) 225 5 lil5.
*‘k‘k
FRED MACAULAY
Fred MacAulay seemed to have catne to this gig straight from a darts match at his local sports and social club. He dresses the part — sailing plitnsolls. beige slacks. sweaty armpits — and
‘k * HILDEGARD
lt tnust be hell living with a saint. Especially if she‘s a l2th century ttutt. Anita Sullivan’s new play sees llildegard of Bingen beam down into tlte living room of Liz. a young artist chockful of neuroses about her creativity. her
Fred MacAulay: amusing but superficial
*‘k‘k
lEE AND HERBING lIVE
Lee and Herring have it all: mass teen appeal. credibility. a TV show and a sheep-like audience that will even laugh at its own sheep-like behaviour. For the modest Pleasance One theatre they kit themselves out in those head-set microphones favoured by Take That and telephone receptionists. This leaves Stewart free to prowl the stage with his hands in his pockets (cool). but also looks like a premature rehearsal for a stadium
. ’17., siadly much of tin:) ':‘l““l‘l"‘~‘l"l"l l m“ “Ml“ until 35 My .iiot 2‘)- tlsa ointi vs‘ '0 1‘ ‘- ‘- . . . s ootngtnact - ‘._ lee And "em“: teen appeal pp ng cl cl n: s Scottish stereotype tn the Wt ‘l ‘ ll ‘ h l' ‘).»l5pm - i 25.1. there. book (the tntser. the M Mr I tugart is
show (not cool).
The performance as usual is infantile. over- sophisticated and
But in the end it feels under-nourished. and the uncomfortable sensation that they're just taking the piss doesn‘t entirely work in their favour. (Catriona Craig)
I Lee And Herring Live (Fringe) Stewart Lee and Richard Herring. Pleasance (Venue 33) 556 6550. 22-24 Aug. 8.45pm. £8/£8.50 (£7/£7.50).
I lee And Herring Live - Queen’s Hall Special (Fringe) Queen’s Hall (Venue 72) 668 2019.25
”Alieilofa
“near-Ion
ru’Coj-w mm
W [08V suuxm
LEI'I'H LINKS
Irve at the terrordome in
rru 9n. AUG - SAT 3151 AUG 33min. :1; ntqbtly at 8 pm 0 sat 8. sun Sam 8. 8pm "st-KM NW N so 3‘! stops-astt wt it Jim root,» (out R' Rpm
not for the {$389 :tzrzstssestm squeamish .ch
”....shodtinglysexy..
....screominglyhrnny.... death-defying stunts . .”
sometimes divinely funny.
Aug. l0.30pm. £10/£8/£6.
ON-SITE BOX OFFICE PAY-AS-YOU-GO “0-40 “pong “Al! 00
0541 55 55 95
LOCAL AGENTS {RANG‘ 30X 09”“
This is comedy-by— numbers: meticulously planned and devoid of much spontatteity or rhythm. The audience is there not to engage with. but to rabble rouse. like William Wallace. to whom he often refers. He slags off Chubby Brown and Bernard Manning. bttt some of his material is adolescent attd offensive. It's no good trying to be ironic about saying the c- word. when you‘re ttot up to it. It's boysey. Loaded humour. with devolution spice. but lacking in much wit. charisma or charm.
H . attacks. reasonably enough. foreign misconceptions of Scotland. but then proceeds to use every
Directed by HERROT BIDON 9w 9'
LIVE MUSIC by D5.ml;lAZE
X-FACTOR
—— tickets -——--—
HOTLINE
"3.53.3.2?”
Own-Open daily from 6”! Aug WI“ 0.36 22 22 32
drunk. crap at football. etc). Much of the set it atnusing. but it's a hollow. superficial experience. with no resonance arid a slightly tacky aftertaste. if only there was more material like his superb Connery itt 'I’ruinspurling. or liuro‘)6 routines. then this would be a great
show. He did however. go
down an absolute storm. (Grant Gordon)
I Fred MacAulay (Fringe) Gilded Balloon (Venue 38) 226 2|5l. until 3| Aug. 9pm. £7 (£6).
Matt Welcome: punbelletrable
**** MATT WELCOME
Matt Welcome approaches life with one eyebrow permanently raised. Throughout an intelligent. hilarious stand-up comedy act he observes his audience's fits ofgiggles almost dispassionately. The material has a satisfying density about it. You‘re scared to laugh aloud in case you miss an extra twist to the joke. Welcome‘s bizarre chronicle of the mundane transcends the boundaries of observational humour to flirt with pure fantasy and. though he churns out the puns. he delivers his word play with such knowing panache that you forgive him willingly. His brutal. surreal take on life is ripe for cult status so go and see him now. (Catriona Craig) I What You Can Do (Fringe) Matt Welcome. Pleasance (Venue 33) 556 6550. until 3| Aug (not 29) 9.35pm. £7.50/£6.50 (£6.50/£5.50).
guardian angel or invisible friend is anybody‘s‘ guess. bttt as soon as writers start penning stuff about ltow unbearably hard it is to create their precious art. they're in trouble. addressing no one bttt themselves. Despite being a reasonable production. this play needs a good shake to find out exactly what it's on about. (Neil Cooper)
I Hildegard (Fringe) First Base. Netherbow Theatre (Venue 30) 556 957‘). until 3i Aug (not Suns) 8.l5pm. £5 (£3.50).
*‘k‘k
CHARLIE’S ANGEL
Jonathan Rice's performance ts a masterclass iii how to do a one-man show. lie plays twins ~ one gay. the other aggressively straight ~ .is they gradually reclaim the love they had for each other in childhood.
Rice displays impressive dratnatic poise and control. effortlessly switching between toles. How ever. the piece is curiously unmoving. The characters are really just ciphers — the thug arid his gay twin brother — and so. although brilliantly acted.
Mark Hurst: nice line in punctuation marks
COMEDYHEVIEW ****
MARK HURST
Yorkshire features heavily in tvvtnkley-eyed. endearing comic .\lark Hurst's" set it's where he's from so he know s all about their leelmgs on offal. women and ('oru/iullt ill Si/i'i !.
He also has ideas on sexually frustrated dinosaurs. \shy cocaine turns you into .i gantesltotv host and Sumo wrestling but presumably he didn‘t get those frotn living tn Yorkshire.
Hurst‘s delivery is confident. the material is good. attd he does damn good llllpi‘t‘ss’ltllls of punctuation marks. What
Charlie’s Angel: twin set
M The List 23 Aug-5 Sept I996