BAD DOG VARIETY Oddball creations lacking in bite OO
A show presented in the form of the worst cabaret show you could have the misfortunate to see has plenty of potential. but something just doesn't quite gel With Bad Dog Variety. Our two German hosts Christian and Barnard iall the way from Antwerp? The one in Belgium?) throw sausages in a bag and not so gently introduce us to the crew of abject nutters who are their guests. Skilfully transforming into a succession of oddball characters. the foursome in the Dog-Eared Collective become personified STDs. arguing couple John and Carlotta and a hissing mind-reader. Much of this is wacky for wacky's sake —‘ Vic and Bob really do have a lot to answer for - with too much emphasis placed on mentioning below the-belt bodily parts to garner laughs. Elsewhere. the gang issue forth with a far better crafted turn of phrase. Backstage Babs. a hard northern showbiz manager. is the best character here: her random rant on Blu Tack Bluecoats is a delight. Perhaps this Fringe \isit was premature and a rewrite is in order. ilvlarissa Burgessi I Underbelly. 0844 54:3 82:32. until 24 Aug, l2. lSp/ii. 538—519 (57-48;.
AHIR SHAH 8x ALEX MAPLE
Raw talents in unfettered mayhem OOO
A few years back. a shoy.l entitled It's a Shambles won the Perrier Best Newcomer award. If that moniker hadn't already been snapped up. it could so easily have applied to this ramshackle affair. And yet. rather than making this an hour of difficult viewing through semi—closed fingers. the motorway pile-up quality of One Boy. One Man. Two Comedians actually draws you in. This is probably because these two aspiring comics will eventually go places once their indiv1dual voices have been moulded.
For now. Ahir Shah is a ball of unfettered teenage energy which occasionally trips him up as he hops around his subjects. while Alex Maple has a nice if overly-familiar line in
punchy borderline-offerisive gags. Shah jokes later that Jimmy Carr has phoned asking Maple if he can get his face back: he could have also requested the safe return of his vocal intonation and material. If they've learned two things from the show. it should be to ditch the pre-recorded 'satire' and try to chill out a bit when they know BBC reps and a review/er are in the room. Critical acclaim and TV deals might not be theirs for the taking yet. but a taming of their raw talent should ensure success down the line. iBrian Donaldson;
I Royal College of Surgeons. c327 1:362. until 2:3 Aug. 7pm. 5.8.50 (57.50).
ANDREW O’NEILL A history lesson with bizarre wordplay 000
With his whimsical garb and gothic make-up. Andrew O'Neill resembles an Edy-lardian punk. a juxtaposition that extends to a strange little set rife with
AENEAS FAVERSHAM FOREVER Dreadfuls give us a daring, playful and epic tale 00000
A trio of Victorian gentlemen humourists, the Penny Dreadfuls bring you the visually resplendent, aurally pleasurable Aeneas Faversham Forever, one of this year’s most scrumptious and comically edifying Fringe treats. Something shadin undefined yet malevolent, concerning bad oysters and the wicked Mr Frost (Humphrey Ker), is roiling in the bowels of London. Children’s author Rufus Hambleden (David Reed) is caught up in the conspiracy threatening the Empire and the world, and disgraced policeman ‘Mac’ (Thom Tuck) is hauled back into the fray to tackle the evil head on. Raw talent needs few props to unravel such a tale. A minimalist stage, dramatically lit, has nought but a small screen centre stage for the purveyance of wonderful paper out silhouettes throughout. Haunting musical numbers set the scene with a pungent sense
74 THE LIST FESTIVAL MAGAZINE 2‘: Aug -'. Set: 2013.“)
absurdity. Presented as a mock histOry lesson about British industry replete wrth the now—ubiquitous slideshow. it meanders along quite nicely. following a surreal take on the industrial revolution. It's not the most obvious subject for great comedy but it's to C'Neill's credit that he manages to squeeze a good dollop of fun from his rather odd source.
But surreal comedy works best when the performer seems genuinely invested in their fantasy world and here O'Neill is lacking. Frequently tripping up over his own words. he often breaks free of his contrived story and this. coupled with some oddly timed long pauses. tends to lose him momentum with the audience. When he's on a roll. however. his bi/arre wordplay is fleetingly hilarious: a brief. well-executed dig at American intervention in World War II is a standout. iMurray Robertson)
I Underbelly 0844 54:3 82:32. until 24 Aug. 7 1.35pm. 5_‘8.:3()—l.‘/().5() l5 ‘7. 50—! 19.50;.
BADLY RANTED THOUGHTS VIA THE MAGIC OF SONG
A cult alternative to stand-up-by- numbers 00
Doktor Cocacolamcdonalds is a crowd diVIder of a man. One half remains stony-faced. mentally working out what else they could have spent that tenner on. and the other ends up laughing slightly hysterically at his brand of freak or unique comedy. Wearing a tiny pair of tropical-
patterned pants and a tie. his clown face-paint slowly melts off as he jumps between his collection of beat-up Casio keyboards. singing simple. normally very repetitive songs. like 'What's New. What's New. What‘s New in the News’?‘ or “Don't Join the Army Unless You Want to Kill People'.
His 55-minute show starts feeling like hard work for the crowd towards the end. but there are glimpses of likeable and clumsy strangeness in what he does. and a deliberate effort to create a surreal alternative to traditional stand-up-by-numbers routines. Like a side effect-free alternative to hallucinogenic drugs. he could be a cult weirdo in the making if he just binned some of the ropier, student stoner jokes and concentrated on his more magical ones. (Claire Sawers)
I Pl ease/ice Courtyard, 556 6550. until 22 Aug, 7 7pm, $70—57 7 (53860—5960).
of fearful promise and plunge us into a web of villainy and death. With Brechtian insouciance, the trio
coquettishly tinker with theatrical bounds of space and
machinations.
sound and movement, conjuring an environment that exists mostly by virtue of their richly imaginative
Props are illusory, sounds caught up with or slowed down for, and all with such knowing comic ability that the effect is simultaneously elaborate yet simple, as gratifying as the oldest joke in the world. Donning dapper Victoriana, the changes are swift, and the inventiveness with which all three dart in and out of different characters simply genius. Mesmeric, puckish, versatile and joyously playful, best of all is the tingling presentiment of watching a trio who should one day join the pedestal of Pythonic, Blackaddery excellence. Priceless. (Peggy Hughes)
I Pleasance Courtyard, 556 6550, until 25 Aug, 7. 70pm, f‘f).:3()—£‘ 70.50 (VB—E9).