{COMEDY} Reviews
TODD BARRY Every trivial matter is prey to the deadpan American ●●●●●
In a short pre-show filmed interview, Todd Barry notes that his first few dates in Edinburgh are likely to be detrimentally effected by jetlag. Given that the default setting for his delivery is among the most downbeat and laconic in stand-up history, it’s actually hard to know whether we’d notice any difference.
The joke that he’s not giving his all for his Edinburgh
crowds is enhanced by the image of him silently sharing an ice lolly with his interrogator, before insisting that this film is included in the ‘hour’s comedy’. Thankfully, and unsurprisingly given his vast experience, what we are eventually treated to is 60 minutes (more or less) of expertly lo-fi semi-surrealist chatter. The deadpan New Yorker skates over a reference to his
debut Fringe appearance in 2004, by every account a calamity on all sides, hinting that it has taken him seven years to recover from a late-night spot in a too-big room exacerbated by low attendances and a lukewarm reaction. Many of the gags in the Barry armoury start off with a
seemingly innocent or naïve remark that someone has made to him before he tears it apart strip by miniscule strip, unveiling the comedy through a withering put-down positively dripping with sarcasm. In the least successful, but inevitably longest passage of the
show, he draws our attention to a page on how to treat a woman properly in the ‘feelgood’ issue of Esquire, which he mercilessly mocks, point by devastating point. It’s easy to picture Barry spending hours poring over magazines and newspapers looking for such arrant nonsense to rip into. Online deodorant reviews, real estate, Twitter and the
Belgian penal system are all fair game for the comic’s invective. The rule to having a conversation with Todd Barry is watch what you’re saying. You may find it cropping up in a show, hopefully sooner than 2018. (Brian Donaldson) ■ The Stand III & IV, 558 7272, until 28 Aug, 3pm, £10.
L A V I T S E F
AUNTIE NETTA AND THE TROUBLE WITH ASIAN MEN Show of two halves from East is East producers ●●●●●
Playing on the stereotype of a hyper-caring Asian mother figure often ridiculed in the likes of Goodness Gracious Me, Auntie Netta is incredibly endearing. Offering around snacks, she explains her outlook on British life from Loose Women to Cameron and Clegg, as she prepares to make her third application for asylum. There are serious points being made with Netta referring to being egged by racists and interrogated about her wish to stay in the UK, but it is also full of wry observations, knowing winks and references to her ‘pumpi’ (ahem). Next up is The Trouble with Asian Men, a group
who do ‘verbatim comedy’, repeating real conversations heard through headsets. Also by Tamasha – the producers of East is East – they send up several clichés such as the possessive husband. overbearing mother and kept wife, highlighting the difficulties of being a young Asian in the UK whose views are not in keeping with the majority. Although obviously skilled and channelling one character after another at break-neck speed, they lack the natural rapport which Netta had with her audience earlier. (Lauren Mayberry) ■ Underbelly, 0844 545 8252, until 28 Aug, 9.45pm, £10–£12 (£9–£11).
32 THE LIST 25 Aug–22 Sep 2011
THE BOOM JENNIES An exhilarating and surprising blowout ●●●●● PHILL JUPITUS An excitement-sapping hour of chat ●●●●●
‘Three ambassadors of fun’, the tannoy voice intones as we await the parting of the curtain. The continuity announcer didn’t lie, and it’s easy to compare these dynamic girls to Smack the Pony at its height. They harness the power of sketch to make us laugh at every day situations, before slathering what we recognise with a big dollop of the absurd, creating double the laughs about the difficulty of picking an outfit for meeting the in-laws and preparing a snack while starring in Riverdance. And that’s just one of many great things about The
Boom Jennies in Blowout; they also dance, they sing, they charm and cajole and manage to pack in a few welcome surprises, and while excellent as a trio, each has their moment to let their own particular strength shine.
Some pumping tunes make it feel like they’ve turned back time: there’s Cher, ‘Xanadu’, ‘Hungry Eyes’ and all the fun you can have with taking song lyrics a mite too literally. Flying sandwiches, giddy highs, bounce and vim: you’d do well to find something that’ll make you smile more. (Peggy Hughes) ■ Pleasance Courtyard, 556 6550, until 28 Aug, 10.45pm, £9–£10 (£7.50–£8.50).
The first thing that you notice about Phill Jupitus is not his weight-loss, impressive though that is. It’s how much he resembles the silvery-pirate look of Eddie Izzard, even down to the eyeliner and black- painted nails. It’s difficult to think of anything else during the first 15 minutes of his stand-up return, at which point he lurches into a perfect impersonation of the transvestite marathon man. That this is one of the few highlights of a humdrum set is a let-down. There’s nothing inherently wrong with a 49-year- old comic fretting about another looming landmark or taking the rise out of everyone from annoying teens to despairing pensioners, but the paucity and predictability of his routines are more of a concern. For every subtle imagining of Hitler as a catty 15- year-old girl, there is a host of observations along the lines of Coldplay being really dull and how people in their 20s have an insatiable fondness for blue-coloured drinks.
By the time he gets to a more captivating personal tale about his daughter bringing her boyfriend home for a sleepover, the initial excitement has drained from the room. (Brian Donaldson) ■ The Stand, 558 7272, until 28 Aug, 8.25pm, £12.