{COMEDY} Reviews
IMRAN YUSUF Religious perspectives on universal issues ●●●●●
This year Imran Yusuf seeks to Bring the Thunder, playing on the fact that one of the Western media’s biggest bogeymen is Muslims seeking to effect change through conflict. In a shiny suit and oozing charisma, he nudges up against political and religious material, working it into a narrative about his failures with women and eventual redemption through stand-up comedy.
Facing an Edinburgh audience (not always known for its
diversity), he tackles head-on the rules about who is allowed to laugh at what. Exaggerated accents are inserted for comic effect with the audience then being told they are ‘racists’ for laughing along with the joke. It’s enough to bring the issue to the table but Yusuf is too preoccupied in espousing a hand- holding multiculturalism to risk actually making anyone uncomfortable. Similarly, a 9/11 one-liner is worked in such a way that it would be impossible to take offence.
Although the heavy stuff can feel a little like an ‘Introduction to Abrahamic Religions and their Conflicts’, his confidence in providing background information to set-ups as opposed to simply relying on a stream of quick punchlines (and laughs) is evidence of an assured performer. Yusuf’s second theme, his previous depression and lack of luck with the ladies, tells us this wasn’t always the case. In a weaker section of the show he falls back on the universal stereotype of the hapless romantic man. While he works towards showing how racial and religious harmony can be achieved on a small scale, and expanding this optimistically to a larger one, his throwaway sexist remarks are incongruous with the time he spends building a picture of the endearing face of Islam, with him – a non- threatening, single, computer nerd – as ambassador. Working with difficult material that necessitates treading a thin line, Yusuf mostly plays it safe, sacrificing the ‘thunder’ but not laughs. (Suzanne Black) ■ Pleasance Courtyard, 556 6550, until 28 Aug, 7pm, £11–£12 (£9.50–£11).
L A V I T S E F
LATE NIGHT GIMP FIGHT! Fast-paced sketches are more smutty than obscene ●●●●●
Turn up to a show like this at such a late hour and you should know what you’re letting yourself in for. Despite the establishment whiff that hangs around an Edinburgh Comedy Award nomination, if you can’t stomach jokes about bumming, incest and the Ku Klux Klan, this isn’t the show for you. On the other hand, for those who thrive on such
things this might seem surprisingly tame: the Gimps make a big song and dance about being weird and dangerous (literally, to the tune of Lady Gaga’s ‘Born This Way’) but often seem scared to delve too far into taboo territory. The pace is in keeping with the attention span of the average drunk as sketches range from short to very short indeed, while video interludes are amusing, if formulaic. There’s an occasional sense of too much build-up for too little pay-off, but the speed and slickness do much to camouflage that, and the five are at their best when showing how well they do clever, choreographed musical comedy, a typically smutty spoof on the musical Chicago’s ‘Cell Block Tango’ being a real highlight. (Laura Ennor) ■ Pleasance Courtyard, 556 6550, until 29 Aug (not 20), 10.30pm, £9.50–£12 (£8–£10.50).
46 THE LIST 18–25 Aug 2011
JEN BRISTER Wonderfully madcap look at identity ●●●●● HUMPHREY KER Swashbuckling success story ●●●●●
Jen Brister has got it all going on in this splendid hourful of laughing till your face hurts. As a half- Spanish, ‘sepia’-tinged lesbian from London, the question ‘but where do you come from originally?’ led her to consider what it means to be British (ish). Dwelling on cultural difference – with her indomitable Spanish mother forcing herself into the heart of the show – there’s plenty of mileage in acutely observed national stereotyping, pornography, the mispronunciation of Coke, as well as bounteous things to admire about Brister’s performance.
Her excellent mimicry and frenetic presence makes it seem at times like the stage is heaving with a troupe of five. As well as brilliant observations of her mother, she variously channels an exhaustingly cheerful Aussie mate, a pair of posh English women attempting an air-kiss and evokes some lesbian porn in one particularly memorable episode. Her expressive face, complemented by comic timing and knowing when to be still, underpin line after perfectly pitched line. Jen Brister puts the ‘b’ in subtle, somehow achieving that feat with extreme flamboyance and a madcap style. (Peggy Hughes) ■ The Caves, 556 5375, until 28 Aug, 8pm, £9–£10 (£7–£8).
As part of Fringe staple trio and Radio 4 stars The Penny Dreadfuls, Humphrey Ker offered audiences something of a theatrical comedy masterclass. Here, he flies solo in swashbuckling style. It’s 1943 and war’s most unlikely hero, Dymock Watson, has been sent on a top secret mission to blow up a dam in Romania. Part-action adventure, part-character play, Ker
takes you with him from the start, as a swarm of daft and dastardly characters are introduced. Each one is played by Ker to comedy perfection, whether it’s team leader Rex, some camp Nazi soldiers, foxy spy Joanie or Uncle Trevor, the dog. Everyone’s a bit dim and we’re fully in on the joke.
To his credit, Ker is a relentless performer; just when you think the pace is slowing, he throws in such a witty one-liner or dippy aside that you’re immediately back in the game, willing him on to take out the Nazis and get the girl. Dymock Watson: Nazi Smasher! has a smart script and Ker has crafted a character that we may be laughing at, but we still care about. Pip pip and bravo to that, old chap. (Anna Millar) ■ Pleasance Courtyard, 556 6550, until 29 Aug, 7.15pm, £10–£12.50.