Festival Comedy
TOP5 LATE NIGHT COMEDY SHOWS
JOHN MOLONEY A traditional stand-up returns with hope in his heart As a stalwart deadpan of the comedy circuit, you don’t expect John Moloney to be the most expansive of interviewees. He seems to live up to that preconception by leaving my question unanswered about whether he was bothered by being on the original Channel 4 top 100 stand-ups list in 2006 but not again in 2010. However, despite his dispassionate stage persona, he seems relentlessly positive about his first appearance at the Fringe for a decade, a hiatus caused mainly by bringing up his kids.
‘They’re up and running now, and coming with me this year.’ With the family box ticked, Moloney was in a position to take up an offer he could not refuse: playing The Stand. ‘It’s one of the best clubs in the world and has a great comedy ethos. I like the idea of playing on a nightly basis to comedy- savvy audiences.’
Promising ‘an hour of traditional stand-up comedy in the most traditional sense’, Moloney feels that the comedy scene that grew up around him is not one that has left him behind or bemused him, as might be the case with many ‘old-timers’. Quite the opposite in fact: ‘The domestic
1 Late ‘n’ Live Still one of August’s hottest tickets, this booze- fuelled behemoth of a night retains less of the volatile anarchy of its Cowgate heyday. Nevertheless, it remains a tremendous opportunity to see some of the festival’s best comics in a gladiatorial environment, taking the stage with all gags blazing, slamming down hecklers hard. Gilded Balloon Teviot, 622 6552, 6–30 Aug, 1am. 2 Spank! Less predictable and mainstream than Late ‘n’ Live, Spank! can also be more of a bearpit. As well as comics, it tends to feature artier, cabaret, circus freakshow-minded performers. Any act can plug their show, provided they do it nude. Underbelly, 08445 458 252, 6–29 Aug, midnight.
3 Lach’s Antihoot Fancy being the next Regina Spektor, The Moldy Peaches, Jeffrey Lewis or even Rick Shapiro? They established their reputations at the open mic nights of New York antifolk legend Lach. And so can you. Sign upon the day. See Festival Music, page 54. Gilded Balloon Teviot, 622 6552, 6–29 Aug (not 9–10, 16–17 & 23–24), 12.30am.
4 The Stand Late Show In a comedy room Stewart Lee hails as the best in the world, catch some of the Fringe’s top headliners on the same bill. Previous guests include Lee, Reginald D Hunter, Brendon Burns, Rich Hall, Sarah Millican and Adam Hills. Stand 1, 558 7272, 13–15, 20–22 & 27–29 Aug, 23.59pm. 5 The Horne Section Restless, Renaissance Man of comedy Alex Horne (pictured) invites you to experience the likes of Mark Watson, Josie Long and Tim Key performing stand-up while backed by his jazz band and hitherto unheralded singing. Pleasance Dome, 556 6550, 9–12 & 23–26 Aug, 12.20am.
Telephone Booking Fringe 0131 226 0000 International Festival 0131 473 2000 Book Festival 0845 373 5888 Art Festival 07500 461 332 40 THE LIST 5–12 Aug 2010
HELEN ARNEY Ukulele-wielding comic with one eye on the future
When comic musician Helen Arney debuted at the 2009 Fringe with 8 1/2 Songs About Love (and other myths), she’d already named her 2010 follow-up. ‘Songs for Modern Loving sounds like a lot of things,’ she says. ‘A David Bowie song, a Jonathan Richman band, a Blur album . . .’ Whatever it sounded like a year ago, that title sounds strangely prophetic to Arney now. ‘I could not be having a more modern relationship. He lives in Australia,’ she explains. ‘Ten years ago we wouldn’t have been able to talk to each other more than once a week: we Skype each other pretty much every day. Thirty years ago we wouldn’t have met. It just wouldn’t have happened.’ That awareness of how easily she could have missed
out bothers Arney more than her bright, energetic attitude reveals. ‘This is a feeling I battle with all the
time: that someone else is out there having more fun than me, getting more sex than me, being happier than me. But despite all that paranoia, I’m happier now than I think I would be if I was alive at any other time.’ And what better way to express that happiness than by playing the world’s most cheerful instrument? ‘A lot of people are pretty much allergic to the ukulele,’ Arney grins. ‘If anyone’s reading this thinking, “Oh, another ukulele, I wish they would just stop,” that person should come and see this show. They’ll see a different side to my four-stringed friend.’ But true to form, Arney is already looking beyond
2010’s ukulele-related innovations and is considering penning a musical. The title? Science: The Musical! And the tagline? ‘All of the excitement, all of the discoveries, none of the beards.’ Come 2011, remember where you read it first. (Matt Boothman) ■ The Caves, 556 5375, 7–29 Aug (not 17), 7.35pm, £8 (£7). Previews 5 & 6 Aug, £5 (£4).