FESTIVAL 8-10pm continued
COMEDY REVIEW Scott Capurro's Fowl Play ****
Fowl mouthed: Scott Capurro
If you are a) religious b) a monarchist or c) hate the C-word do not go and see this show. Malicious observations about Jesus and Princess Di, among others, are liberally sprinkled with one of the most contentious words in the English language.
In addition to blasphemy and defaming the dead, the abrasive but strangely likeable Capurro also does a good line in harassing the audience. One poor couple, who should have known better than to sit reasonably near the front, were asked whether they'd had sex and if he'd found the clitoris yet.
It's venomous, politically incorrect but always accurate, the kind of humour you're mildly ashamed to find yourself laughing at. (Dawn Kofie)
fl Scott Capurro’s Fowl Play (Fringe) Scott Capurro, Pleasance (Venue 33) 556 6550, until 30 Aug, 9.15pm, £8.50.
MUSICAL REVIEW
Tea and Crumpets - A New Musical a: it
Do not be misled, this is not a dainty story of a Devonshire tea, but a boisterous musical about a hypothetical millennium scenario. Come the year 2000, a young
theatre - dance ~ comedy
festival
professional, Adriana, finds herself thrust back to 1900 in a scenario akin to a musical Back To The Future.
The UK premiere of this comic operetta is as wholesome as a traditional musical should be. With a combination of some ordinary solos and very good harmonising in the musical numbers, it swings from highs to lows in a matter of seconds. Even though the stage movement is tight and entertaining, after two hours it seems that it could have finished at the end of the first act. (Tracy Griffen)
3 Tea and Crumpets - A New Musical (Fringe) Festival Theatre USC-USA, Drummond Community Theatre (Venue 25) 558 9695, 27 Aug, 9.30pm, £5.
THEATRE REVIEW
Street Level Presents Duck Variations
ink
It's easy to see why Dundee Rep's small-scale community theatre group plumped for this compact, bijou, little David Mamet number. Unfortunately, what their production lacks in budget it also fails to make up for in action or charm. The play is well cast, with occasional touching moments between the duo of philosophising bench- dwellers. There's also a pleasant diversion in the shape of two youthful bandstand musicians (although their renditions of Oasis and Thin Lizzy numbers may seem a little incongruous in a Chicago park). Nothing else is done to open out the staging of Mamet's wordy, ponderous play, though, and there's just too little variety in these variations to sustain audience interest. (Allan Radcliffe)
a Duck Variations (Fringe) Street Level, Famous Grouse House (Venue 34) 220 5606, until 29 Aug, 8pm, £7 (£6).
COMEDY REVIEW Newsrevue '99 Wt it Kosovo, New Labour, Posh ’n' Becks, Sooty's misdemeanour, they're all here in this satirical overview of the people and events which have made this year's news.
Comprised of a barrage of ingenious sketches and songs, each not lasting more than a couple of minutes, this
show manages to be punchy and
42 THE llST 26 Aug—9 Sep 1999
Funny magnet: Gina Ryan from Big Value Comedy Show
DANCE/PHYSICAL THEATRE REVIEW Cinderella *****
Sisters of no mercy: Cinderella
It’s got pyrotechnics, puppetry and trapeze artistry. The vehicles are pure Mad Max and the flamboyant costume design is not a million miles away from Rocky Horror. What is it? Turbozone's quite literally explosive production of Cinderella which hauls the original rags-to-riches story (glass slipper, fairy godmother and all) kicking and screaming into the 21st century.
In this fun, futuristic take on the well-loved fairytale, civil war survivor Cinders, after her mother's death. is being taken care of by her evil stepfather, Dr Amoral, a genetic scientist. He's a particularly nasty piece of work and turns her favourite cuddly toy into a half-monkey, half-cyborg, then creates two loathsome cyber sisters for her (who look like two members of Kiss). Unsurprisingly, the updated storyline is complemented by contemporary music. Live Dls are on hand to provide a soundtrack of house and techno anthems and the odd classical number.
Circus skills, modern and more conventional theatrical devices are combined effortlessly in this inventive spectacle. The thrills come in the shape of Cinderella and the Prince's turns on the trapeze, which make the heart beat that little bit faster. Also, you're never fully convinced that the characters on bikes won't run over monkey boy who somersaults in front of them.
A wholly satisfying visual feast, this is completely unlike anything else you'll see at the Fringe this year. Go, and be prepared to leave in a
pleasurable daze. (Dawn Kofie)
a Cinderella (Fringe) Turbozone, The Quad (Venue 192) 662 8740, until 30 Aug
(not 26, 29) 9.30pm, £12 (£9).
intelligent without being highfalutin. Numbers about Russia’s place in the world order and General Pinochet are sandwiched between imitations of Kelly Brook, Gwyneth Paltrow and Yoda.
Unfortunately, despite its cleverness, it’s not quite savage enough and so ends up being the kind of comedy which makes you grin hard, but only induces the odd guffaw. (Dawn Kofie) a Newsrevue ’99 (Fringe) Newsrevue, C too, St Columba’s by the Castle (Venue 4) 225 5105, until 30 Aug. 9.20pm, £8 (£6).
COMEDY PREVIEW
Big Value Comedy Show . . . Early
*‘k'i'
Howard Reed comperes this triumvirate of comedians which looks a bargain at the price. First up, Bennett Arron relates the tale of a woman who needs sex really badly. 'Good,‘ he says, 'that’s howl do it.‘ Replace sex with comedy and you've got it. The show’s closed by Robin Ince who delivers well and has some funny observational humour about lesbo/homo-phobia.
But the evening is topped by the women sandwiched between the two. A delectable double-decker, Gina Ryan expertly takes a comical scythe to Essex girls and Spice Girls before exploring genetic difference and what separates
fridge magnets from fanny magnets. Very funny indeed. (Davie Archibald) a Big Value Comedy Show. . . Early (Fringe) Screaming Blue Murder Comedy, Cafe Royal ( Venue 47) 556 2549, until 29 Aug, 8pm, £6.50.
COMEDY REVIEW Don't Look At My Sister . . . lnnit!
*k‘k‘k
This is sharp and often outrageous sketch comedy from some of the team that brought you the TV series Goodness Gracious Me.
It takes the formula of the television show into ruder territory that allows it to poke fun at all sorts, arranged marriages in particular. Because it knows what it’s trying to say, the observations are wickedly sharp and no target is too sacred. It is, as you might expect, very skilfully done. Raj Ghatak and Ameet Chana are great at sending up the lad in all of us — not just Asian - and there are no sassier women comedians than Seema Bowri and Paven Virk.
While it doesn't always hit the mark, it is very funny even if you don't get all the references. (Ross Holloway)
a Don ’t Look At My Sister. . . lnnit! (Fringe) One Nation, Club West (Venue 182) 337 0748, until 28 Aug, 9pm, £6 (£5).