Festival Comedy
Telephone Booking Fringe 0131 226 0000 International Festival 0131 473 2000 Book Festival 0845 373 5888 Art Festival 07500 461 332 TAKING LIBERTIES A witty and warped look at freedom ●●●●●
Leaping on stage in surely the reddest trousers at the Fringe, semi-Scot Sanderson Jones has the demeanour of a kids entertainer running down the last few months of his contract, or the science teacher you love to bits in the classroom but know you should steer well away from in the street. By the end of this show, you might have concluded that Jones is either a revolutionary comic hiding his light under a heavily bearded bushel or the devil incarnate. After a slow-burning and
intermittently flat set about the often blurred lines between freedom of expression and the abuse of liberty, we are plunged into a comedic debate about the now-notorious image of a nude, heavily made-up, ten-year-old Brooke Shields. Given the jollity of what has come beforehand, this acts as a shock to the system but one which deliberately tests both the audience’s resilience and Jones’ case for freedom. With intense relief, he ends by utilising a picture of himself as a baby and we are sent off into the night with a grateful smile on our faces. In a Fringe rampant with flippancy, the not always successful Taking Liberties reminds us that the occasional comic might actually have something more vital to fling in our faces. (Brian Donaldson) ■ The GRV, 226 0000, until 29 Aug, 6.30pm, £5.
SARA PASCOE Disappointing debut from Freud- studying comic ●●●●● Given that she’s performing her debut solo Fringe hour, the fact that Sara Pascoe is directing two other shows
26 THE LIST 26 Aug–9 Sep 2010
by more experienced comics might have gone a little to her head. Then again, this show is entitled Sara Pascoe vs Her Ego, and judging by the few genuine laughs that this set garners, neither part of her psyche seems to be on top. It may be part of the act, but Pascoe seems somewhat distanced from her audience, a situation perhaps not helped by a flat beginning about the curse of the heckler. Such a start will only ever result in putting an crowd on edge, making them feel that the vulnerable stand-up before them cannot be relied on to deliver.
Tragically, this is how it turns out with her role-plays and quizzes and ropey material about the Take That reunion failing to ignite her performance or the room. While a Lady Gaga spoof on the ukulele provides temporary relief, it comes as no shock when a mobile phone going off halfway through completely knocks Pascoe back off the rails. A crushing disappointment from an act who will surely get better. (Brian Donaldson) ■ Pleasance Courtyard, 556 6550, until 30 Aug, 8.15pm, £9.50–£12 (£8–£10.50).
NAT LUURTSEMA An agreeable debut with a twist ●●●●● There was nothing in the pre-publicity material to suggest that In My Head I’m a Hero would take the turn that it does, and this is to Nat Luurtsema’s credit. A fairly humdrum but perfectly agreeable show about being a tea- loving daydreamer who wanted to somehow enforce positive change upon the world is given a shot in the arm by the narrative twists which barnstorm in towards the end. But, you know, let’s just it leave it there as the tingle down the spine which
KEVIN ELDON Where hard graft meets titting about ●●●●●
Lugging around a CV of television credits longer than the queue snaking outside The Stand, Kevin Eldon comes to Edinburgh for his debut Fringe solo show with both word of mouth and heavy press coverage on his side. And unlike those Hollywood stars across town breezing into our August for the first time, the man whose contorted face and eschewed worldview have informed the likes of Jam, Big Train and Nighty Night has chosen not to disappoint.
His hour is almost a slicing of his work to date as he kicks off doing Paul Hamilton, the naff 80s poet who has penned work about writers’ block (‘worse than the AIDS crisis’) and odes to surrealism that would make your eyes bleed. If you want a bit of scary Kev, then he gives you words of metaphysical terror aided by a silent scream, nightmarish sound effects and haunting lighting before reverting back to cheery, smiley Kev and into the next character or song. And those songs are among the finest slices of musical comedy you’ll see this month, in particular the wonderfully detailed and tight number about music technology in which he pretty much nails the sound of a CD jumping, some vinyl scratching and an iPod freezing. We also get impersonating Kev where he brings together two of the
historical characters he played on Big Train by melding Adolf Hitler and George Martin. Not all of this works like a dream: his French punk-folk singer runs out of puff rather quickly and his criticism of those who use inappropriate upper inflection is a treat for two minutes but wearing for five. He might insist that he’s Titting About in his show title but Kevin Eldon has worked hard on this stuff and in the main provides a refreshing and occasionally dark debut. (Brian Donaldson) ■ The Stand, 558 7272, until 30 Aug, 2.30pm, £8 (£7).
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accompanies Luurtsema’s retelling of how her past life unravelled should probably best be experienced without too much of a spoiler alert. The defiantly pleasant Luurtsema (it’s impossible to stay mad at her for long even when she’s just called me a dick for attempting to sit in a relatively unpopulated part of the room) will have a killer show to unleash upon Edinburgh in time. But for now, this largely gentle hour will keep things bubbling away nicely til she breaks out good and proper. (Brian Donaldson) ■ Pleasance Dome, 556 6550, until 30 Aug (not 28), 3.45pm, £8.50–£9.50 (£7–£8).
ALEX ZANE Best leave it to the professionals, fella ●●●●●
In looks, manner and content, Alex Zane gives the impression of someone who entertained a passing thought that it might be a wheeze to come up and ‘do’ Edinburgh for a month like all those proper comics. Yet after this insipid hour of all-holds barred stand- up, it’s amazing to consider that Zane is technically a veteran of the game, having reached the final of So You Think You’re Funny in 1998 alongside Reg D Hunter, Dan Antopolski and winner, Rob Rouse. Of course, TV and radio presenting have been his lifeblood ever since and watching a few Eddie Izzard DVDs possibly amounts to the entirety of his research for Just One More Thing . . . . Much play is made of the fact that a front-row groupie is back for the fourth time this month already, while his non- killer topics include those crazy taglines some films carry, the piracy warnings on DVDs and the well- trodden legend of Terry Nutkins. When he does actually stumble into an area that might engender some genuine and original material (the fact that he doesn’t really like sex), he all-too quickly ditches it to talk about the rules of fancy dress parties. Ultimately, Zane is just another pretty TV guy with a funny haircut who can impress a certain kind of lady, but few others. (Brian Donaldson) ■ Pleasance Dome, 556 6550, until 30 Aug, 10pm, £10–£10.50 (£8.50–£9).
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