festival 1Dpm - Late
realising that the «tort dragon needed for Guards! Guards! was slightly beyond her budget. instead she has used lavish costumes, a twenty-strong cast, zappy lights and a soundtrack ranging from Dr Iioolt to led Zeppelin to conjure up Pratchett’s magical world. The great man himself graced a preview and was heard to mutter his approval, especially enjoying the witches. ‘lt’s a very female play,’ explains producer ilelen Jacklin, ‘and only hail the cast are fantasy treats. This is not an anorait play.’ Best to take your cagoule, just in case. (Grant Gordon)
Terry Pmtclrett’s Wyrd Sisters (Fringe) Aiming The Rifle, Rifle lodge (Venue 101) 557 1785, 25-31 Aug, 12.15am, $.50 (£2).
Terry Pratchett’s Wyrd Sisters
Don’t mess with Death. Deciding that he ‘wasn’t central to the plot’, Aiming The liille audaciously wrote Death out of this production at the last minute. liis revenge was to blow up the shed where they were rehearsing.
Director lliclti Entwhistie chose this particular Dlscworld book after
until 3i Aug. l().50pm. £4.50 (£4).
i *‘k* I
TRANCE
Exploring that familiar theme that families screw you up. Studio 108 from Chicago revive the spectre of America‘s most famous killer. Charles Manson. fora harrowing hour of blood. psychosis and the inevitable extracts from The Beatles‘ While
The sketches are tedious and the stand-up spots smug and amateur. And they love swearing — it must make them feel so grown up. The magician was welcome relief from the gabbled delivery and student satire. Their mates in the front row loved it. The rest of us sat there in arms-folded. baffled silence. Ninety minutes of this. Oh God . . . (Grant Gordon)
I Club Seals (Fringe) Club Seals. Southside (Venue 82) 667 2212.
* CLUB SEALS
Great title. dodgy show. I‘m sure this sort of sketch revue thing goes down just dandy at Bristol Student Union. but here it‘s shown up to be pretentious. adolescent. vacuous and downright unfunny. These guys seem to have listened to Monty Python tapes under the bedclothes at boarding school and got no further.
FOSTER 0 GRACIE PRESENTS
unnatural
RECT FROMT
' " ' "- Daily Mail,
INNER - CRITIC S AWARDII .Siur’i'mng “Unniisiakable star al this year’s festival - Scotland aguiupilgyh ”Quite a taup”- The Guardian BO K NOW! ! >ELLING . .
BECK’S SPIEGELTENT
TOP OF WAVERLEY SHOPPING CENTRE
PLAYING AUGUST 8-31 AT 10.300M (EXCEPT 12. 19. 29) BOOK NOW AT THE FRINGE BOX OFFICE ON 226 5138
In the Family way: Trance Album.
Toby is a young woman with a textbook of neuroses. Her emotionally 9 short-circuited father has struggled to bring up Toby and her sister since their mother left. but finally decides to seek professional help. The regression therapy of the psychiatrist provokes a complete breakdown in Toby. before her sister's boyfriend Charlie turns killer. This new play by David Haupschein is rather weighed down by its own overcooked pyschology. but the performances are strong enough to support the weight. (Eddie Gibb)
I Trance (Fringe) Studio IO8/Pig American. Hill Street Theatre (Venue 4 I) 226 6522. until 31 Aug (not 29) I l.2()pin. £5 (£4).
COMEDY REVIEW
CAWK!
The circus-master. his beautiful pantalooned assistant and a ‘liumble troupe of strolling players‘ guide the audience through a phantasmagorical journey in search of the seven freakish wonders of the world.
Siamese twins and bottled babies are perambulated to the strains ofcircus organ music. (in powder meanwhile being liberally imbibed.
‘The seeds of depravity bear only monstrous fruit‘ according to the ring- master. and Gun-k! is a curiosity indeed. A mixture of Monty Python. Wings Oj'Desirc. Terry Thomas and The 77"
A curiosity indeed: Dawkl
Drum. the show has strange sexual overtones (or was that just me?) which make it a truly alternative aCt . . . Roll up! (Alan Crawford)
I CM! (Fringe) Brand X. Pleasance (Venue 33) 556 6550. until 3| Aug. 12.05am. £6/£5.50 (£5/£4.50).
* ‘k * PHIL KAY
! Phil Kay is an erratic
performer at the best of times; his sets can veer from hilarious to crap in minutes.
Unfortunately. this was no different. At times. when he was ad-libbing manically about gravel. breasts. sheep and brasso he was excellent. but for large portions of the night he really lost the plot badly and he knew it.
The biggest laugh of the night came when Kay took his kit off in response to a heckler. But then again. anyone could have done that and got a cheer. Could do better and inevitably will. (Jim Byers)
I Phil Kay (Fringe) Gilded Balloon (Venue 38) 226 215l. 26—31 Aug. l 1.30pm. £7.50 (£6.50).
****
RICHARD g monrori ,
lilchard Morton: steering oil the road to licevllle
No one could accuse Richard Morton of being half-hearted. He charges through his act like an over-wound experiment in clockwork comedy. and narrowly avoids being mechanical by eliciting genuine chumminess from the trusting audience. It‘s a great ploy. Just when you think you‘re on the road to Niceville (girlfriends. football. the Olympics) he belies his sweet exterior and hits back with some of the sickest. smuttiest material imaginable. It works though. and even if he puts the Taste Barometer through its paces there is a puckish mood at the heart of his act that gives it bags of charm. Funny, naughty and slick. (Catriona Craig) I liichard Morton (Fringe) Assembly Rooms
(Venue 3) 226 2428. 9—3l Aug. 10.30pm. £9.50 /£8.50 (£8.50/£7.50).
*
WHDOPS VICAR IS THAT YOUR DICK
Promising an hour of comedy. Newsrevue offer a scant 43 minutes of warmed over Monty Python — 25 years out of date and not as well done.
If there is still humour to be wrung from lunatic yokels. flares. The Sweeney and Top Shop clothes. you won‘t find it here.
Half-baked isn‘t the word — but it is one of them. Guys. just ‘cos they are sketches doesn‘t mean they have to be so sketchy.
Nods to St Mirren and Edinburgh traffic wardens fail to add any local relevance. Dismal. slipshod. dispiriting . . . I'd go on just to stress the point. but my thesaurus isn‘t handy. (Stephen Naysmith)
I Whoops Vicar Is That Your Diclt (Fringe) Newsrevue. Marco‘s (Venue 98) 228 91 I6. until 3| Aug (not 27) midnight. £5 (£4).
***
HISTORY OF COMEDY
Musical comedy? Just say no. kids. Then along came Corky and hisjuicy porkers to change our prejudices. We guffawed mightily as they sang their piggy little hearts out and goofed manically. Until
This new show has eschewed much in the way of musical madness to deliver the story of comedy through the ages. The songs are few and far between. replaced by streams of rapid-fire gags and visual puns. When they work. they are screamingly funny. When
Ve lav vays ot airing you pork
48 The List 23 Aug-5 Sept I996