Festival Comedy list.co.uk/festival
IN THE MIX Friends reunited After a three-year absence from the Fringe, Toulson and Harvey are ready to take Edinburgh by storm once again. Brian Donaldson hears how an unlucky break kept them away
about being in a double act was having to tell your friend that their idea is shit.’ Harvey counters: ‘You’ve never found that hard. But it’s not just double acts, it’s friendships; any friendship where people have known each other for a decade will have had their ups and downs and that’s what we’re exploring, the way people interact and what happens when you’ve been together for a while.’ Break a leg, lads, but nothing else.
Toulson and Harvey, Pleasance Courtyard, 556 6550, 7–30 Aug (not 16), 5.10pm, £8.50–£9.50 (£7–£8). Previews until 6 Aug, £5; Luke Toulson, Pleasance
Courtyard, 556 6550, 7–30 Aug (not 16), 10.45pm, £7.50–£8.50 (£6–£7). Previews until 6 Aug, £5.
‘NAME ONE FAMOUS DOUBLE ACT AND
YOU’LL FIND PEOPLE
FALLING OUT’
W hen Luke Toulson and Stephen Harvey gained a spot on the last ever Perrier Best Newcomer list in 2005, it seemed the double act would be set for big things. Their fellow nominees that year included Mark Watson and Rhod Gilbert, with Tim Minchin walking away with the prize. After a couple more years consolidating their success, lady luck decided the time was then right to pull a fast one on the pair, with Harvey being struck down with a serious back injury, the result of which meant a two-year period of recuperation, leaving his comedy partner to plough a solo furrow.
Presumably, Toulson (those with kids may have spotted him as the human in CBeebies programme Space Pirates) will have shown great sympathy for his comedy cohort? ‘The problem here was the boy who cried wolf,’ says Toulson, who also has his own solo show this year, Sorry About Last Night. ‘What you need to understand is that Steve is a massive hypochondriac and has been ever since I’ve known him, so when he said, “Ah, I’ve broken my back”, I was like, “Yeah, whatever”. But unfortunately he had broken his back.’ A bemused Harvey retorts: ‘Didn’t me crawling on the floor give you a clue?’ Toulson is having none of it: ‘I just thought you were milking it; I don’t think I was nearly as sympathetic as I would be if it happened now.’
this Though their reunion show is called Toulson and Harvey Used to Be Friends, their separation wasn’t the crockery-throwing event that title might suggest. It’s merely a ploy to explore the concept of relationships and what goes wrong when one half feels betrayed by the other. Among the duos will be Jesus and Judas (‘Judas is now working in an all- night garage while Jesus has got pretty big,’ says Toulson), two Austrian childhood friends, a lion and a Christian going into the coliseum and a barmaid having a one-night stand with a man who may or may not be an alien.
‘Name one famous double act and you’ll find people falling out,’ says Toulson. ‘David Baddiel said the worst thing
Destined to be among the Fringe’s most popular draws, rapping improvisers Abandoman have to be seen to be believed. Jay Richardson testifies
‘It’s lovely when a hip hop audience sees us,’ says genial frontman Rob Broderick. ‘Two lads wander out, one with a guitar, the other with an Irish accent, and you can tell they’re thinking, “this is going to be a disaster”. But then we start and they really get into it.’ Crafting eloquent, on-the-fly rhymes around the contents of the audience’s pockets, creating unlikely romantic scenarios from the front rows or reimagining the early songs of Rage Against the Machine from random suggestions, seasoned compere Broderick and folk musician James Hancox have performed at music festivals, celebrity birthdays and even the occasional stag do. Their last Scottish appearance, at Rock Ness, saw them mistakenly billed as ‘Abandon’.
‘As in, “leave it!”’ chuckles Broderick. Otherwise though, they’ve had an exceptional first year, from their earliest gig supporting US hip hop act Atmosphere to winning the Hackney Empire New Act of the Year and Musical Comedy Awards. With sometime third member, percussionist Camilo Tirado, absent for their Fringe debut Pic ‘n’ Mixtape, they’re nevertheless eager to exploit the festival’s diversity to bring in a female vocalist, trumpet section or even a bagpiper to supplement their sound. With a nod towards Kanye West’s Late Orchestration album, they ultimately perceive Abandoman as a theatre show with a huge ensemble of musicians and dancers.
‘The reason I got involved was this idea of magic,’ explains Hancox. ‘What Rob does is like an illusion, and with every gig, we’re just trying to increase that magic on stage.’ Broderick adds: ‘If ever there was a script, I don’t think I’d enjoy myself half as much. The point of Abandoman is we genuinely never know where we’re going with it.’ ■ Abandoman, Pleasance Courtyard, 556 6550, 7–29 Aug (not 17), 9.45pm, £8.50–£9.50 (£7.50–£8.50). Previews until 6 Aug, £5.
36 THE LIST 5–12 Aug 2010