LIST.CO.UK/FESTIVAL LIST. SPOKEN WORD FESTIVAL COMEDY
LIFE IS A CABARET L Brian Donaldson chooses some of the B funny shows in that pinky-red Cabaret fu section of the Fringe brochure se
Auntie Myra’s Fun Show As the legendary A Jeremy Lion showed, reluctant children’s Je en entertainers make for bleak but blisteringly fu funny comedy. We suggest that Rotherham’s M Myra Dubois may be in the same vein. The Vo Voodoo Rooms, 226 0000, 3–26 Aug (not 6, 13 13, 20), 10.45pm, £8–£10. Preview 2 Aug, £5. B Bourgeois & Maurice ‘21st-century cabaret st stars like no other’ it has been said, and who ar are we to disagree? Georgeois Bourgeois and M Maurice Maurice (real names George Heyworth an and Liv Morris) will be giving us more of their decadent glam business. Underbelly, Cowgate, 0844 545 8252, 4–26 Aug (not 14), 10.15pm, £10–£11 (£9–£10). Previews 2 & 3 Aug, £6.
Hot A Yorkshire diva who is big in Australia, Damsel Sophie presents a vibrant mix of song, storytelling and physical comedy that is apparently very popular with unitard enthusiasts. C nova, 0845 260 1234, 2–27 Aug (not 13), 10.15pm, £8.50–£10.50 (£6.50– £8.50).
It’s Not Easy Being Yellow Ria Lina’s mix of stand-up and song via the good ole’ ukulele, showcases her merging of the cute and caustic. And with Muppet mania recently going off the scale, a nice little reference to Kermit in the title. The Voodoo Rooms, 226 0000, 3–26 Aug (not 6, 13, 20), 7pm, £8–£10. Preview 2 Aug, £5.
Piff the Magic Dragon Surely the cutest sidekick on the Fringe, Mr Pifl es the Chihuahua will be cheating death each night this August: how could Piff even think about conducting a live lamination and bringing the cannon of certain death into his set? We’re sure it will all work out i ne in the end . . . Pleasance Dome, 556 6550, 4–26 Aug, 7.10pm, £10–£11 (£9– £10). Previews until 3 Aug, £6. Lady Carol Must Die Another dangerous sounding cabaret experience, this time with Andrew Maxwell’s favourite cabaret star, who is prone to belting out a very impressive bit of Radiohead or Nirvana. Assembly Rooms, 0844 693 3008, 3–26 Aug (not 13), 6.30pm, £10 (£9). Preview 2 Aug, 4.15pm, £9 (£8).
Scales of the Unexpected Possibly the i nest punning title for a vocal cabaret act this Fringe, the Scales tackle the pop canon, assuring us that no one is safe from their ‘melodic makeovers and powerhouse pastiche’. Gilded Balloon at Third Door, 622 6552, 6–26 Aug, 10.45pm, £10.50–£11 (£9.50–£10). Previews 4 & 5 Aug, £5.
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director of spoken word for the PBH F Free Fringe, is optimistic about the g genre during the Fringe. ‘Poetry has a always been a soapbox, from 18th- ce century pamphleteers to the ranters of of the 80s to the present. The Fringe is is all about i nding your audience and it’ it’s better not to have drunks expecting kno knob-gags walking into poetry in which som someone describes their partner’s death. If y If you’re “spoken word”, then you can inco incorporate comedy, poetry, theatre, but but not restrict yourself to one of those genr genres just because you’re in that section in a b in a brochure.’ Spo Spoken word is a clamouring ruckus of d of different personalities working to establ establish an identity. The programme section section is small, but it represents a huge huge variety of talent (also appearing in Spo in Spoken Word as comedy acts are Jack Heal, S Heal, Superbard and Harry Baker) and the sweepin sweeping-up of different voices into one place h place hasn’t done anything to numb that diversity diversity. And Richard Tyrone Jones has big plan big plans for the future: ‘Next year it will be more tha more than four pages in the brochure. It’ll be, ooh, at le ooh, at least six.’ Previous page: Luke Wright. Clockwise from top: Jack Heal, Superbard and Mark Grist
serious moments. The new serious moments. The new category allows a whole new performance route for acts like her. ‘It means that I’m able to be involved in the festival, and so this is the i rst year I’ve been able to come. I wouldn’t have felt coni dent being in the comedy category, and obviously not in music, so it’s given me more coni dence.’ The new category is exactly what potential spoken worders need in order to feel that Edinburgh in August is for them as much as it’s for any other performer. Richard Tyrone Jones, the organiser of poetry night ‘Utter!’ and
Luke Wri Luke Wright: Your New Favourite Poet, Underbel Underbelly, Cowgate, 0844 545 8252, 22–26 Aug, 6.30pm, £10–£11 (£9–£10). Mark Grist: Rogue Teacher, Underbelly, Cowgate, 0844 545 8252, 4–26 Aug (not 14), 5.10pm, £9.50–£10.50 (£8.50–£9.50). Previews 2 & 3 Aug, £6. Life or Something Like It, Captain Taylor’s Coffee House, 556 9756, 2 & 3 Aug, 1.15pm, free. Richard Tyrone Jones’ Big Heart, Banshee Labyrinth, 226 0000, 4–25 Aug (not 13, 19), 6pm, free; Princes Mall, 226 0000, 12, 18, 25 Aug, 3.30pm, free.