REVIEWS FESTIVAL COMEDY
LIST.CO.UK/FESTIVAL HOLLY BURN H is for huh? ●●●●●
To say that Holly Burn is a bit bonkers is like saying Edinburgh gets a bit busy during August. A familiar face on the Fringe scene, Burn’s barmy Geordie shtick seems to bemuse, confuse and – when she hits the right note – amuse her audience in equal measure. Walking into the show, the audience is handed stickers of Burn’s lips and eyes. For no purpose, ‘just because’, and encouraged to take ‘more, more!’ as we leave. Such is the randomness of Burn’s show that there appears a liberating lack of reason for almost all of it. With her latest show, she’s encouraging the
audience to join her exclusive H Club. The quirky conventions of the club are laid bare as she works her way through an array of crackers scenarios and characters (ranging from the strangely compelling lunacy of her Rabbit of Regret skit to the initiation of an audience member) with water, bananas and sailors’ hats providing some of the props. A refresh- ing eccentricity is to the fore here as Burn shows absolute dedication to her increasingly hyper cause. (Anna Millar) ■ The Caves, 556 5375, until 26 Aug, 4.40pm, £7–£8 (£6–£7).
THE TRAP: BAD MUSICAL Almost convincingly good at being awful ●●●●●
It’s tricky doing something so bad that you make it good. But The Trap fellas are seasoned sketch show artistes and so know what they’re doing in creating a ‘bad musical’. Sound cues are routinely missed, there’s plenty of in-fighting and the lead actress is a yellow balloon. The narrative is appro- priately appalling too: Johnny Everyman leaves Smalltown for a big life in the big city that may be London or may be Edinburgh. The sections that have been hacked out so the
production doesn’t over-run are, of course, the ones that explain the most ludicrous plot twists. The only problem is that it’s almost too convincing and you find yourself getting drawn in from time to time, a bit like watching a bad soap opera. Though not every single gag hits home there are some great moments; one of the trio loses his hat in the opening sequence and has do the rest of the routine without it and an over-enthusiastic wannabe chef eulogises the sandwich in song. (Marissa Burgess) ■ Gilded Balloon Teviot, 622 6552, until 27 Aug, 5pm £10–£11 (£9–£10).
E N R O H T A L L U E V E T S
JESSIE CAVE A bookish, kooky, bolshy hour ●●●●●
Jessie Cave has a thing about books. She also has a thing about power. Founding a book club is a given. Giddy with excitement, Cave parades her many eccentricities while laying down the various rules of book club. Before becoming an actress (she played Lavender Brown in the last two Harry Potter films), Cave was a trained illustrator and animator working mainly backstage in theatres. Here she puts her old skills to good use. A bright Wendy house hogs the stage, bizarre illustrations are peppered around, odd props appear and disappear, it’s all very JM Barrie, it’s all very charming. And then the hectoring begins. Bookworm is, in essence, a character comedy monologue punctuated by occasional interruptions.
It’s a revue sketch that Joyce Grenfell, Victoria Wood or Julie Walters would possibly give ten min- utes to; Cave’s character here is bossy and annoying, obsessed with her curtailed tennis career, an old boyfriend, control and mediocre books. It’s funny for a while and then it becomes a little draining. The wanton kookiness and nerdy bolshiness just don’t fit together.
Luckily, help is at hand from Cave’s real life sister Bebe, who is called upon to hold and carry things. Bebe has her own agenda; she loves The Hunger Games and constantly asks when they are going to re-enact key scenes from it. Constantly rebutted by her highly-strung sibling, hers is the comedy reactive role, and she does so much with so little. There is also a great bit of planned audi- ence participation, which really helps. The trouble with Bookworm is that it’s a little studied, over- processed and stage-managed (the career Cave was about to train in when she switched to perform- ing). A bit more chaos would go a long way. (Paul Dale) ■ Underbelly, Cowgate, 0844 545 8252, until 26 Aug, 2.30pm, £9–£10 (£8–£9).
DANIEL SIMONSEN Warm talk about dentistry and weather ●●●●●
He may claim to have learned English from Ali G, but Daniel Simonsen’s grasp on his new language and its comedic possibilities are solid. The young Norwegian kicks off this warm, serviceable show behind the curtain, building up a low-fi sense of anticipation. Perhaps it’s a tactic to let us get used to the sound of his voice and the rhythms and pat- terns of his accent without any further distractions such as looking at his pretty face or worrying that he might not be eating enough. The ‘mothers’ in the crowd have plenty of time to concern themselves with his wellbeing when he finally takes to the stage. He starts off with some weather talk and the
northern lights, while there are nice surreal touches such as the routine about flyering for dentists and how to stand properly in front of your boss if you happen to be self-conscious about that sort of thing. His ‘epic conclusion’ might not quite live up to that promise, but he leaves the stage propelled by a mass of goodwill and a hope that he may be back with a killer show soon. (Brian Donaldson) ■ Pleasance Courtyard, 556 6550, until 27 Aug (not 20), 7pm, £8.50–£10 (£7.50–£9).
16–23 Aug 2012 THE LIST 35