{COMEDY} Reviews at a Glance
Mark Dolan ●●●●● Ranting about everyday ills could quickly become dour, but Dolan’s genial bumbling, juxtaposed with his confident stage presence is charming. His ability to make mundane chatter humorous is his real selling point, but the material sometimes fails to reach a crescendo. (Rebecca Ross) Gilded Balloon Teviot, 622 6552, until 29 Aug, 7pm, £8.50–£9.50 (£7–£8). Mary Christ: The Unmusical ●●●●● Sharing a black box theatre with Mary Christ is like being trapped in a cupboard with a vampire. The excitable drag queen gets personal with her audience, divulging details of her sex life, but there’s no satire, just 45 minutes of unfunny innuendo. (Allan Radcliffe) Jury’s Inn, 0845 508 8387, until 27 Aug, 10.10pm, £8.50 (£6.50). Matt Forde ●●●●● Entitled Dishonourable Member, you might expect this hour to be a coruscating bite at politics, but it’s merely a protracted love letter to Tony Blair. The sequence about awkward encounters with Forde’s other hero, Brian Clough, works well, but it’s lost in an ill-judged hagiography. (Brian Donaldson) Udderbelly’s Pasture, 0844 545 8252, until 29 Aug, 2.55pm, £8.50–£9.50 (£7–£8). Matt Green ●●●●● Not only charming but also intelligent, Green slips more than a few references to global economics into his very funny show. The internet, family and sex are also studied to see why the human race has become so easily distracted. (Kirstyn Smith) Pleasance Courtyard, 556 6550, until 28 Aug, 8.30pm, £9–£11 (£8–£9). Max and Ivan ●●●●● There may be a slickness to Max and Ivan’s take on Holmes and Watson, but this is an over- the-top, confusing and largely gag-free tale. It may simply be that their story is too busy for a double act to carry off, unless their name happened to be the Pajama Men. (Brian Donaldson) Pleasance Courtyard, 556 6550, until 29 Aug, 3.30pm, £10–£11 (£8.50–£9.50). Men of War ●●●●● A talented quartet they may be (including Stephen Harvey and Jay’s dad from The Inbetweeners), but scene after scene falls flat. When a good idea does raise its head (a serial killer meeting his girlfriend’s father), momentum is quickly lost. Still, throw in a crowd-pleasing Dirty Dancing routine and everything seems forgiven. (Brian Donaldson) Pleasance Courtyard, 556 6550, until 28 Aug, 11pm, £9–£10 (£7.50–£8.50). Michael Winslow ●●●● Winslow promises an evening of comedy and mad voice skills but the bits in-between the effects are awkward, and more could be made of his Star Wars over-dubbing or his re-enactment of Jimi Hendrix. Still, how can a man sound like an actual guitar? (Suzanne Neilson) Udderbelly’s Pasture, 0844 545 8252, until 29 Aug, 8pm, £12–£14 (£11–£13). Neil Delamere ●●●●● Japes are rife in Divilment, not only in Delamere’s anecdotes but with the mischief he has with his audience. This engaging and confident comedian passes with flying colours. (Suzanne Neilson) Pleasance Courtyard, 556 6550, until 28 Aug, 7.40pm, £11–£12 (£9.50–£10.50). 38 THE LIST 25 Aug–22 Sep 2011
New Art Club ●●●●● War between two English villages provides the narrative for this comedy-dance duo’s latest. Roden and Shenton’s years of working together shows and at moments their previous inventiveness shines through, but an hour that’s light on dance and heavy on audience participation doesn’t quite work. (Suzanne Black) Assembly George Square, 623 3030, until 28 Aug, 6.20pm, £12–£14 (£11–£13). The New Conway Experience ●●●●● John Conway is the genial host for an assortment of skits that feels more like post-pub drinks at the house of a funny friend. Balancing the well-crafted with the pleasingly bewildering, he generates enough bonhomie for the hilarity to win out. (Suzanne Black) Gilded Balloon Teviot, 622 6552, until 29 Aug, 12.15am, £9–£10 (£8–£9). Peacock and Gamble’s Emergency Broadcast ●●●●● Combining the childish mischief of John Belushi with the victimised protestations of the underdog, Ray Peacock almost walks away with this, but Ed Gamble is the perfect foil, selflessly teasing out moments of stupendous invention. Their take on Dragon’s Den is a highlight but this is a rare show where almost everything works. (Murray Robertson) Pleasance Dome, 556 6550, until 28 Aug, 10.50pm, £8.50–£9.50 (£7–£8). The Phoenix ●●●●● If Tania Edwards read the phone book aloud, it would probably be a sarcastic thing of wonder. She seems born to perform, but would probably thrive on more envelope- pushing material (as opposed to love, lager and her goldfish) to really lift her daft sense of humour. (Claire Sawers) The Caves, 556 5375, until 28 Aug, 6.40pm, £7-£9 (£6-£8). Pistol & Jack ●●●●● Even the most precious mainstream music-lover should raise a smile at a mash-up of Radiohead, Lady Gaga and The Doors, as pop princess Pistol and sex, drugs and rock’n’roller Jack tell tales. Not consistently funny to be great comedy and too hyper to be musically amazing, they land in the middle. (Anna Millar) Assembly George Square, 623 3030, until 28 Aug, 9.20pm, £10–£12 (£8–£10). The Quotidian Revue ●●●●● With its database of sneeze counts, Twirl stats and celebration of a multi-storey car park’s midweek solitude, this show swings between the absurd and the beautiful. Where it falls down is in the delivery, with two out of the three performers seeming to lack confidence. Sort that out and you’ll have something very interesting. (Marissa Burgess) The Bongo Club, 557 2827, until 28 Aug, 7pm, £9 (£8). Randy is Sober ●●●●● For an inanimate puppet, Randy’s capable of an enormous range of expressions. He’s a captivating flirt and turns his shortcomings (his eyes don’t work) into moments of joy. With a deft turn of phrase and subtle shift in posture, he reacts with impeccable timing to a responsive audience. Even age-old subjects like airline food are mined for comedy gold. (Murray Robertson) Udderbelly’s Pasture, 0844 545 8252, until 29 Aug, 9.10pm, £10–£12 (£9–£11). Richard Herring ●●●●● Back to his scintillating best, Herring delivers a barrage against our notions about love despite (or because of) his own admission that he may have found ‘the one’. She plays a key role in a typically lengthy sequence about Ferrero Rocher pyramids and he brings a raw hilarity to his Julia Sawalha story while the moving finale hits home. (Brian Donaldson) Udderbelly’s Pasture, 0844 545 8252, until 29 Aug, 8.50pm, £12.50–£14.50 (£10.50–£12.50). Rich Hall ●●●●● With his gravelly drawl and laidback delivery, Hall is easy company. His American/‘Scots’ comparisons have a crowd-pleasing ring, so too a funny skit about bears, but his political musings are where he truly excels. Tea Party bashings and a Cameron/Clegg one-liner are on the money. (Anna Millar) Pleasance Courtyard, 556 6550, until 28 Aug, 9.40pm, £15–£17 (£13.50–£15.50). Sally-Anne Hayward ●●●●● Hayward cannot wait to be old, as she’ll be able to say what she truly feels. For now, she’s holding it back, and this is reflected in her comedy which is a pleasant jaunt down some middle-class concerns without ever threatening to break down barriers. (Brian Donaldson) The Stand III & IV, 558 7272, until 28 Aug, 12.05pm, £8 (£7). Seminar ●●●●● Kimberley Jane Feldhauser is an expert on stress and is here to smash the audience’s anxieties to smithereens. Naturally, Feldhauser (Emily Watson Howes) is a ticking bomb and, perhaps too predictably, loses the plot on numerous occasions during this self-help workshop. Still, it’s a fine performance from Watson Howes who brings some mad-eyed intensity to life. (Brian Donaldson) Pleasance Courtyard, 556 6550, until 29 Aug, 2.10pm, £8.50–£9.50 (£7–£8). Simon Munnery ●●●●● There aren’t many acts that can fill The Stand on a weekday afternoon, but then Munnery is a Fringe institution. Ever- innovative via daft songs, silly props and monologues, absurdist highlights include his punk rock homage to the R101 airship of 1930 and a misguided tutor’s lecture on women studies. (Marissa Burgess) The Stand, 558 7272, until 29 Aug, 3.40pm, £10 (£8). Slim in Wonderland ●●●●● Men and women, children today (‘spoilt’), his former life driving buses in London and the time he suffered from a penile fracture are all amusingly, conspiratorially shared. Sadly for Slim, his wonderland is a cavernous raked venue, but with fulsome appreciation from a bigger audience he could really take flight. (Peggy Hughes) Hawke and Hunter Green Room, 0844 871 3014, 8.55pm, £11.50–£12.50 (£9.50–£10.50). So On and So Forth ●●●●● The ruse here is that this trio have permanently lost their fourth member with the deceased’s estate imposing a ban on his work being used. Cue ingenious skits with jokes and set-ups going missing, while a running gag about a space mission fares better than their obsession with numbers-based routines
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and a predictable sequence about bad improv. (Brian Donaldson) The Caves, 556 5375, until 27 Aug, 4.45pm, £7.50 (£6.50). Steve Gribbin ●●●●● Displaying the skills learnt from 30 years on the circuit, Gribbin’s set is gag-heavy and tack-sharp. He uses the structure of his own comedic journey on which to loosely hang his musical satire with routines on the royal wedding and riots. It’s always nice to be reminded that political humour didn’t die alongside Thatcher’s career. (Marissa Burgess) The Stand II, 558 7272, until 28 Aug, 7pm, £9 (£8). Steve Hall ●●●●● Where would modern comics be without their crazy parents? We get to laugh at the antics of the Klang man’s batty dad, but mainly we’re chortling at Hall Jnr’s shortcomings amid a tale of love (almost) lost. Especially pleasing is the night he made a fool of himself at a Russell Howard stadium gig and the time he exchanged increasingly surreal ‘wanker’ gestures with a passenger on an opposite train. (Brian Donaldson) Pleasance Courtyard, 556 6550, until 29 Aug, 8.30pm, £8.50–£9.50 (£7–£8). Tom Bell ●●●●● Formerly in duo Tommy and the Weeks, Bell’s solo show has more tangents than a geometry textbook. This sometimes works well, in strange spiels that play to his effervescent oddness, but mostly the performance is inconsistent, turning too frequently into rambling. (Rebecca Ross) The Tron, 556 5375, until 28 Aug, 3.40pm, £7–£8.50 (£6–£7.50). Wade McElwain ●●●●● It’s a pity that this Canadian comic found someone in the audience who shared a farming background as the ensuing banter takes the fizz from the head of steam he gains early on with a series of eloquently taste- busting lines. Naming his show after The Littlest Hobo, this maverick shouldn’t be a comedy loner for much longer. (Brian Donaldson) The Caves, 556 5375, until 28 Aug, 10.35pm, £8–£9 (£7–£8). Wilfredo ●●●●● Wild-eyed and unutterably creepy, Wilfredo is a bizarre, unlikeable cabaret character, hell-bent on performing a cruise ship act, during which he sings (and drools), recites poetry (and drools) and tries his best with the ladies (while drooling). He’s vaguely funny on audience interaction, but this is a strange show best enjoyed very drunk. (Kirstyn Smith) Underbelly, 0844 545 8252, until 28 Aug, 11.30pm, £9–£10.50 (£8–£9.50). Zoe Lyons ●●●●● Coming across like your favourite fruity auntie, Lyons delivers a hotchpotch of scenarios centring around her long-held belief that Kate Bush’s 1983 hit was called ‘Clownbusting’. She zips through a largely uninspired set which contains a highlight about packing a suitcase in Amsterdam while confusion over two 19th century French painters is, like much of the hour, a nice observation without a punchline. (Brian Donaldson) Pleasance Courtyard, 556 6550, until 28 Aug, 7.30pm, £10–£12 (£9–£11).