FESTIVAL COMEDY PREVIEWS
GAVIN WEBSTER Slaughtering comedy’s sacred cow
‘People are already misquoting me, telling me I’m doing a show called Bill Hicks Was Fucking Rubbish,’ Gavin Webster marvels. ‘Comics are posting Facebook updates, saying, “He can’t understand much about comedy if he thinks this.”’ The occasionally quirky but conversationally down-to-earth Geordie really should have seen this coming: his provocatively-titled show, Bill Hicks Wasn’t Very Good, is as close to heresy as stand- up gets. But that’s Webster’s point: there are no comedy untouchables. ‘Maybe in the early 90s, Hicks was telling us things people didn’t know, but nowadays we’re immune to all that,’ he reflects. ‘We’re quite cynical and there’s a bit of Hicks in all of us now, we understand how advertising and public relations work.’ (Jay Richardson) ■ The Stand II, 558 7272, 3–26 Aug (not 13), 5.50pm, £8 (£7). Preview 2 Aug, 5pm, £7 (£6).
LEADS & STERN Where innocence meets surrealism
Quick-witted, sharp sketches are what to look out for from Leads & Stern, a bright, young double act with a fine line in unexpected absurdism. Gemma Leader (that’s Leads) clarifies: ‘We considered calling the show One and a Half Minutes with Leads & Stern. Here’s the set-up and then there’s the twist. We’re traditionalists like that.’ The duo revel in light-A with surreal undertones and
wear influences on their sleeves: from Morecambe & Wise-esque innocence to darker shades of Julia Davis and Smack the Pony. However, Juliette Stern remains unfazed at comparisons to other lady acts. ‘We think less of ourselves as “female” comedians, and more just “comedians”.’ Leader agrees: ‘Audiences do see comedy as a “man’s world”. That doesn’t mean women aren’t funny.’ Gender rightfully aside, essentially they are just two funny people doing their bit to spread a little joy. ‘Our comedy doesn’t set out to change people’s perceptions or break any kind of social or comic boundaries,’ concludes Leader. ‘It’s definitely firmly rooted in the silly.’ (Kirstyn Smith) ■ Underbelly, Cowgate, 0844 545 8252, 4–26 Aug (not 14), 5pm, £9–£10 (£8–£9). Previews 2 & 3 Aug, £6.
THE BETA MALES Genre nerds get spaced-out
Cold War paranoia. A classified British space programme. And morris dancing. Welcome to the lovingly crafted, lunatic universe of The Beta Males. After last year’s acclaimed, contemporary juggernaut The Train Job, they’re returning to science-fiction for their fourth sketch narrative, set in the idyllic, rural village of Lower Birchley, circa 1969. Speaking to us collectively from mission control, The Beta Males have successfully channelled their
proclivity for ‘watching bad movies and not kissing girls’, with founder member John Henry Falle accompanied by Jon Gracey, Guy Kelly and Richard Soames in performing slick, multi-character, occasionally cross-dressing ‘genre hi-jinks’. Nominated for best sketch/character act at this year’s Chortle Awards, these inventive ‘honking great nerds’ have been variously inspired to create The Space Race by Philip K Dick’s novels, Warren Ellis’ comics, 2001, The Kinks, Jon Pertwee-era Doctor Who and the British Black Arrow rocket which hangs in London’s Science Museum, ‘like some forlorn space penis’. They’re supported by a backroom team of additional writers, a director and an SFX specialist that
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would put NASA to shame. Their space agency’s ultimate ambition is this: ‘Remember the Megazord in Power Rangers? Like that, but naked.’ The quartet are also hosting The Beta Males’ Midnight Movie Theatre, in which they present a schlock-horror masterpiece and ‘mess around with it using live audience games and very, very scary special effects’. (Jay Richardson) ■ The Space Race, Pleasance Courtyard, 556 6550, 4–27 Aug (not 14), 5.45pm, £10–£11 (£8–£9). Previews until 3 Aug, £5; Midnight Movie Theatre, Pleasance Courtyard, 10 & 11, 17 & 18 Aug, 12.20am, £10 (£8).
RICK SHAPIRO Anger is an energy
LA-based Rick Shapiro is well-known for his uncompromising style. Having kicked a heroin addiction and survived prostitution, it was no surprise that when he took to stand-up his diatribes were uncensored, unpredictable and breathtaking. ‘There’s not a thing I wouldn’t talk about on stage. Audiences see that you have compassion, that you’re angry at your subject and not the people.’ Back in April, Shapiro had a ‘mild cardiac event’
and when we spoke he was still recovering. Though Obama’s healthcare reform was a point of interest before his hospital stay, it’s more pertinent now and a probable topic in his show. ‘I’m mad at what I saw with the haves and the have-nots. I had to actually fake a fall to get my own room.’ (Marissa Burgess) ■ Assembly George Square, 623 3030, 4–27 Aug (not 13), 6.10pm, £13–£14 (£11–£12). Previews until 3 Aug, £9 (£8).
44 THE LIST 2–9 Aug 2012