{COMEDY} Fringe previews
Free views Brian Donaldson picks five hot-looking shows for nowt
Hatty Ashdown ‘Hatty Ashdown’s brain is made up of funny molecules,’
claims Friday Night Dinner creator Robert Popper with what is presumably deemed as a compliment. Nan-Child helps us peer into an extremely curious world. Finnegan’s Wake, 225 9348, 5–27 Aug (not 7, 14, 21), 3.50pm.
Jody Kamali Bristol’s foremost Iranian comedian makes his sixth Fringe appearance
with Business Coaching for Idiots, a multi-character extravaganza which promises/threatens ‘corporate bullshit’. If you’re into that sort of thing. The Hive, 556 0444, until 28 Aug (not 15), 2.30pm.
Gadd, Kirk and Winning A trio of Scotland’s would-be comedy superstars (including James Kirk who won last year’s So You Think You’re Funny gong, and was also highlighted as one of The List’s rising Scottish comic talents), give us an hour of nifty, if apparently awkward, comedy. Bannermans, 226 0000, 6–16 Aug, 1.45pm.
Shakespeare’s Monkeys With surrealist genius Paul Foot at the director’s table, comedy troupe
The Underdogs will hope to snap up the plaudits for this sketchy satire on Shakespeare. By which we mean it contains sketches, not that it’s of poor quality. The Three Sisters, 622 6801, 7–28 Aug (not 13, 20, 27), 12.15pm. Norman Lovett The deadpan veteran comedian and actor previously known as Holly the hologram in Red Dwarf brings his ebullient self to a Canongate venue in order to boost the celeb count of those doing it for free. The Canons’ Gait, 226 0000, 6–29 Aug (not 15, 22), 8.25pm.
40 THE LIST 4–11 Aug 2011
L A V I T S E F
ANDREW MAXWELL The King of Comedy returns to his ancestral pile
To Andrew Maxwell, there are few sounds better than a roomful of people laughing. All the better if they’re chortling at something he’s just said. ‘Laughter speeds shit up,’ insists E4’s King of Comedy 2004. ‘It’s shorthand to say we all agree or have just recognised or sensed something. I don’t believe in séances, but the spirit of a room as well as the morale of the troops can quickly be lifted. And you as the comic don’t own the laughs, you’re the agent of them; those laughs are in those people, you are just the catalyst.’
For this year, Maxwell is back doing a full run having had to trim last year’s festival jaunt to appear in an Irish TV show in which he coached a Gaelic football team: ‘It was a lot of fun, but I am a terrible manager.’ There’s no doubt that Edinburgh fits Maxwell very nicely. ‘It is without doubt one of my favourite cities. It’s a bit
smelly with the weird hops pong that is released at random times of the day; there’s the grumpy taxi drivers, the junkies and the giant posh people. And I love fannying around in Armstrongs looking at costumes and props that I don’t need.’ The Lights Are On has Maxwell playing his biggest
Fringe room to date, but as a comic who has entertained hardcore Republicans and Loyalists deep in their own Belfast patches, playing in front of a few extra ‘giant posh people’ is unlikely to faze him. ‘I just fancied it,’ Maxwell says, pretty much confirming how laidback he is about the whole thing. ‘If you’re in a bigger room you’ve got a bigger chance at it. My agent said, “Will you be depressed if it’s half-full on a Tuesday?” “No, I’ll be depressed because it’s fucking Tuesday”.’ (Brian Donaldson) ■ Assembly George Square, 623 3030, 6–29 Aug (not 16), 9pm, £13–£15 (£12–£14). Previews until 5 Aug, £8.
THE SEGUE SISTERS The Fleetwood Mac of comedy
‘It was a moment of drunken inspiration, which we spend every second of our lives regretting.’ Via email, The Segue Sisters collectively explain how their musical comedy partnership came about. ‘We actually hate each other and have an in-group sexual history that rivals Fleetwood Mac. We’d rather not talk about it, basically. Pint?’ Intergroup liaisons aside, what can we expect from the Sisters’ first full-hour Fringe show? ‘You can expect a very silly, fast-paced “comedycabaretmusicaltheatre- dance” show with songs spanning seven decades. There will be rubber ducks, beards and a leek.’ Since Edinburgh will be hoaching with comedic
talent, will any special guests be dropping in? ‘There will definitely be some cameos, but not in the way that you would imagine. We’re not telling. You’ll just have to come along and have a look for yourself!’ And will the ladies be making use of their quasi- eponymous mode of transportation? ‘YES! The kind people at the Segway Company have assured us that our trusty two-wheeled steeds will be waiting when we arrive in Edinburgh. If you’re very nice to us, we might let you have a go.’ (Suzanne Neilson) ■ Gilded Balloon Teviot, 622 6552, 6–28 Aug (not 17), 10.15pm, £8–£10 (£7–£9). Previews until 5 Aug, £5.