LIST.CO.UK/FESTIVAL/COMEDY Fringe for (around) a Fiver {COMEDY}

Fringe for (around) a Fiver Edinburgh Fringe previews start from 3 Aug. Catch some great shows on the cheap

Baby Wants Candy

AAA Stand-Up/Late A trio of comics for much less than the normal price of three in this annual not-late/late line-up. The earlier bill includes Joe Rowntree while the later roster has Matt Price. Pleasance Courtyard, 556 6550, 3–5 Aug, 7.15pm/11pm, £5. Alison Thea-Skot Surreal, ear-splitting character comedy extravaganza. The Caves, 556 5375, 4–6 Aug, noon, £5. Baby Wants Candy Improv musical from the US BWC crew (pictured). Assembly George Square, 623 3030, 3–5 Aug, 8.15pm, £6. The Beta Males Sketchy storytelling from the chaps behind The Bunker. This one is The Train Job. Pleasance Dome, 556 6550, 3–5 Aug, 4.20pm, £5. Chris Martin No, not that one. As made clear in his show title. Underbelly, 0844 545 8252, 4 & 5 Aug, 7.35pm, £6. Claudia O’Doherty After last year’s Monster of the Deep 3D, the Aussie comic wonders, What is Soil Erosion? Gilded Balloon Teviot, 622 6552, 3–5 Aug, 8.45pm, £5. Dead Cat Bounce The Irish rock supergroup crank it up to eleven with some Caged Heat. Gilded Balloon Teviot, 622 6552, 3–5 Aug, 10.30pm, £5. Dregs Max Dickins and Mark Smith are yet another of this year’s intriguing- looking sketchy double acts. Underbelly, 0844 545 8252, 4 & 5 Aug, 9.30pm, £6. Eric Lampaert Last year, he shared stage time with his pal Joel (more of him later), now young Eric divulges solo tales of globetrotting. Pleasance Courtyard, 556 6550, 3–5 Aug, 6pm, £5. Fiona O’Loughlin The true story of how this comic hit rock bottom and dragged herself up to sobriety, sanity and stability. Funny, mind. Gilded Balloon Teviot, 622 6552, 3–5 Aug, 9pm, £6. Footlights Want to see the next Stephen Fry, Emma Thompson, Mark Watson or Tim Key? The Cambridge lot are in a Pretty Little Panic for this year’s sketch affair. Pleasance Dome, 556 6550, 3–5 Aug, 5.20pm, £5. The Gentlemen of Leisure Directed by Penny Dreadful Thom Tuck, messrs Kumar and Neenan are happy to announce The Death of the Novel as their show this year. The Caves, 556 5375, 4 & 5 Aug, 3.20pm, £5. Hal Sparks With Evolution Overdrive, the Sparkster makes his Fringe debut. Gilded Balloon Teviot, 622 6552, 3–5 Aug, 10.45pm, £5. The Hamiltons Neil and Christine get up to High Jinks with much chitter and chatter. Udderbelly’s Pasture, 0844 545 8252, 3–5 Aug, 12.45pm, £6. Imran Yusuf The gangly chap who captured a Best Newcomer nomination for his Free Fringe show last year opts to Bring the Thunder this time around. See First Word, page 2. Pleasance Courtyard, 556 6550, 3–5 Aug, 7pm, £6. Joel Dommett Cut asunder from his buddy Eric (that’ll be the lad Lampaert from earlier), JD insists that he is or will be a Neon Hero. Pleasance Dome, 556 6550, 3–5 Aug, 6.50pm, £5. John-Luke Roberts and Nadia Kamil The Behemothers are back after a mighty long absence. Pleasance Courtyard, 556 6550, 3–5 Aug, 4.45pm, £5. Jollygoodlarks They’re in a Union Jack-bedecked scratcher in the publicity shot à la Patsy ‘n’ Liam but Greg Haiste and Marie Lawrence will hope this comedy partnership is in it for the long-term. The Store, 556 5375, 4–6 Aug, 2.40pm, £5. Kai Humphries The Geordie comic follows up his ’10 debut with some Bare- Faced Cheek. Udderbelly’s Pasture, 0844 545 8252, 3–5 Aug, 10.30pm, £6. Kurt Braunohler No Ms Schaal around for this solo show (though they will be sharing a Hot Tub later in the month). Assembly Hall, 623 3030, 4 & 5 Aug, 9.15pm, £5.

Lady Garden The quintet of terrifyingly talented comics who make up Lady Garden do their ever-wonderful sketch thing. Pleasance Courtyard, 556 6550, 3–5 Aug, 6pm, £5. Laurence Clark The estimable Mr Clark tells the tale of how he tried to sell the idea of free healthcare to the USA. Udderbelly’s Pasture, 0844 545 8252, 3–5 Aug, 6.40pm, £6. Matthew Crosby The small, spectacle- wearing, facially-fuzzed one from Pappy’s delivers a debut solo affair with his AdventureParty. Pleasance Courtyard, 556 6550, 3–5 Aug, 4.45pm, £5. Meryl O’Rourke Another show which Thom Tuck has got his directorial mitts upon as Bad Mother speculates on just what it takes to be an appalling parent (female). Underbelly, 0844 545 8252, 4 & 5 Aug, 2.45pm, £5. Nathan Dean Williams Skirting along the edges of the absurd, NDW offers up a barely palatable Buffet garnished with his rather odd characters. The Store, 556 5375, 4–6 Aug, 8pm, £5. Neil Cole Directed by the Mighty Boosh’s Dave Brown (he plays Bollo), Neil By Mouth (ha!) will no doubt be one for the cool comedy kids. Cabaret Voltaire, 226 0000, 4 & 5 Aug, 6.15pm, £5. New Art Club With a Quiet Act of Destruction, the physical NAC boys hit a Cambridgeshire village where chaos lurks in the most unlikely of spots. Assembly George Square, 623 3030, 3–5 Aug, 6.20pm, £6. Olver: Portrait of a Serial Killer Comedy buddy of Russell Howard and Wil Hodgson returns with a sinister- sounding stand-up scenario. The Caves, 556 5375, 4 & 5 Aug, 3.35pm, £4. Pajama Men This year, the buttoned-up comedy duo find themselves In the Middle of No One. Assembly Hall, 623 3030, 4 & 5 Aug, 9pm, £5. Paul Foot With Still Life, the arch Dadaist comic bemuses, befuddles and bedazzles his flock. Underbelly, 0844 545 8252, 4 & 5 Aug, 7.40pm, £6. Pete Firman Some Jiggery Pokery on the way now from the Middlesbrough magic man. Pleasance Dome, 556 6550, 3–5 Aug, 8.30pm, £6. The Real MacGuffins Year two for the MacGuffins as they launch more Skitsophrenic material at us. Pleasance Courtyard, 556 6550, 3–5 Aug, 4.30pm, £5. Richard Sandling’s Perfect Movie Expect the popcorn to fly as the VHS advocate presents a film-based comedy gig. Cameo Cinema, 226 0000, 3–5 Aug, 6.45pm, £5. Ronnie Golden Barry Cryer’s mucka gets puntabulous with First a Fender, a cute slice of music and storytelling. Gilded Balloon Teviot, 622 6552, 3–5 Aug, 4.30pm, £5. Sara Pascoe The Campus actress wonders what life would be like after the end of the world has gone way beyond being nigh. Pleasance Dome, 556 6550, 3–5 Aug, 7pm, £5. Scott Capurro A possible shift in gear from the San Fran comic with Who are the Jocks? as he recalls his late mummy. Pleasance Dome, 556 6550, 3–5 Aug, 8pm, £5. Sex You (I’m Gonna) This could be either great or slightly icky. Its description

EDINBURGH FRINGE FESTIVAL 5 29 AUGUST in the Fringe programme as ‘improv’ and ‘interactive’ does little to settle the nerves. The Store, 556 5375, 4–6 Aug, 9pm, £5. Sheeps Another heavily anticipated sketch show with Liam, Alastair and Daran delivering some cuddly fare. Pleasance Courtyard, 556 6550, 3–5 Aug, 4.45pm, £5. Shirley and Shirley Can they be considered veterans of the Fringe yet? Surely not, though here they are presenting The Wonder Years. Voiceovers may be included. Assembly Hall, 623 3030, 4 & 5 Aug, 6.45pm, £5. Sink or Spin Mr Donal Coonan lets his endorphins go ballistic with a clowning extravaganza while you get a chance to exercise your muscles and your funnybones. Bannatyne’s Health Club, 226 0000, 3–5 Aug, 2.15pm, £5. The Squiffy Journals Musical sketches and farcical set-ups are the very thing here. The Caves, 556 5375, 4–6 Aug, 2.30pm, £5. Suitcase Royale ‘Tom Waits meets the Mighty Boosh’ is quite a claim. Zombieland chucks the Aussie outback vividly into your auditorium. Pleasance Courtyard, 556 6550, 3–5 Aug, 11.10pm, £5. Terry Alderton The art of impressionism may seem long and lost but while the likes of Tezza is around, there’s hope. You’ll Be Glad to See the Back of Him is the somewhat ambiguous title of his ’11 show. Pleasance Courtyard, 556 6550, 3–5 Aug, 9.20pm, £6. Tom Allen Accompanied by a nice cuppa, Afternoon Tea has the erudite Allen chitting some affable chat. Gilded Balloon Teviot, 622 6552, 3–5 Aug, 3.15pm, £5. Tom Deacon The jaunty Radio 1 chap bulldozes his way into all of our affections with Can I Be Honest? Ain’t that the truth. Pleasance Dome, 556 6550, 3–5 Aug, 8.20pm, £5. Tom Rosenthal The star of Friday Night Dinner and son of telly sports pundit Jim reflects on his upbringing, but in a funny way, of course. Lot of Toms about this year, eh? Pleasance Courtyard, 556 6550, 3–5 Aug, 9.30pm, £5. The Two Wrongies Expect some gloriously wrong stuff when Avis Cockbill and Janine Fletcher get into their synchronised stride. Assembly George Square, 623 3030, 3–5 Aug, 10.30pm, £5. Unexpected Items The people who brought you the YouTube-tastic ‘Gap Yah’ skit deliver more bite-sized bits about being young and that. Gilded Balloon Teviot, 622 6552, 3–5 Aug, 4.30pm. WitTank Naz, Kieran and Mark brandish their sketchy thing in front of an ever-increasing fanbase. The Caves, 556 5375, 4 & 5 Aug, 6.15pm, £5. Zoe Lyons The Bush-esque Clownbusting is the ex-Survivor participant’s new one. Pleasance Courtyard, 556 6550, 3–5 Aug, 7.30pm, £5.

21 Jul–4 Aug 2011 THE LIST 51

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