INFINITE FITZHIONAM A buoyant comedy caper coo
No stranger to the festival as a member of the celebrated Infinite Number of Monkeys group. Tim FitzHigham is gomg it alone this year. Monkeys Do Boats tells the stay of his successful attempt. for Comic Relief. to beat a 400-year-old record fOr sailing down the Thames in a paper boat. FitzHigham is an immensely likable performer. and the subject matter of the show is worthy and well written. But there is a sense that in tying himself to a linear. earthbound narrative. he has f0rsaken the inspired lunacy which made previous Monkeys acts shine. This one is amiable and entertaining, but a little too sane to be superb. (Sam Healy)
I Pleasance Dome. 556 6550, until 25 Aug (not 9. 19). 2.30pm. £‘7—£‘7.50 (£5.50-i‘6).
SAGE
Tears strips off the American dream .0.
Tearing up. and wiring into. America is no mean feat. but Sage. a New York satirist/poet. tries his darndest in the spirit of the dream. y'all. This show dissects what he perceives is wrong about the land of the free. discussing its fat folk who like to 'shop for fun'. and their problem with overly. and publicly. stating their Christianity. Immenser passionate and enthusiastic. Sage puts on a great show in a post-Michael Moore stylee. However. in its discussion of Bush. his administration. and the war in Iraq, it fails to deliver anything new. which is semi- patronising and somewhat disappointing. Not bad nonetheless.
(Carolyn Rae)
I Gilded Balloon Teviot. 226 2151. until 10 Aug. 7.45pm. £7438 (ES—£6); Bongo Club, 558 7604. 1 1-20 Aug. 7. 45pm. E 7 (£5).
JAY SODAGAR Live for the moment 0..
Dissecting the problems of modern life. Jay Sodagar states that Life Ain't Hard. despite the fears that people try to throw upon you. As an English-Asian bloke. he tries to toss the stereotypical images of his background aside. while referring to them all the same — ‘l'm not a mini-cab driver‘. etc. But this is a leave your prejudices at the door sorta show. Lots of light- hearted jokes induce belly laughs and reflect your own observations. This is undoubtedly a good show. Don't expect enlightenment. but do expect to try and conjure up jokes to add to his anti-racism joke book. (Carolyn Rae)
I Underbelly, 0870 745 3083, until 24 Aug (not 11). 10.10pm, 98—29 (£‘7—f8).
GLENN WOOL Brilliantly breaches the boundaries of good taste 0000
Over the years. Glenn Wool has undergone more image changes than Madonna. And. this Fringe. along with shorn locks. a waxed back and a shaven haven (of which he is extremely proud). the Canadians edgy stand-up has acquired even more bite. No mainstream figure. minority group or recent event is safe from Wool 's deeply provocative material. Certain segments. such as raising the question of ‘retarded porno‘. also raise eyebrows as well as somewhat uncomfortable fitters. But Wool's constant baiting of the audience is always slightly tempered by his endearing. laid-back geniality and the sheer range of his targets. which ultimately wins over even the most cynical of newcomers. (Allan Radcliffe)
I Pleasance Courtyard. 556 6550. until 25 Aug (not 12), 8.25pm.
£9. 50-8 1 0.50 (£8-E9).
32 TH. LIS‘I' MAL GUIDE 7-14 Aug 2003
STRANGELY COMPELLING FLEA CIRKUS Six-legged feats 0...
Marvel as fleas brave the high Wire! Gasp as they defy gravrty on the diVing board! Be amazed by a reenactment of Rumble in the Jungle With Muhammad AlFlea and George Fleaman! With the help of a huge magnifying glass. our hard working (though slightly sleazy) host. Arnold Frenzy. prowdes a thrilling running commentary. AmaZing
flea-feats are interspersed
with educational lectures on topics as diverse as the tragic may of Buggy Holly and the gruelling life of a flea trainer. and ingenious use of slides and flea-cams plus the support of the Flea Trio make for a hilarious. professional. fast-moving extravaganza.
(Anna Shipman)
I Underbelly, 0870 745 3083. until 24 Aug. 11pm. £8-E9 (E7—f8).
MONGREL NATION
A diamond in the rough COO.
“This is the ideal venue for a show about Scotland,‘ says a sexily- bekilted John Scott as he jumps onto Cave lIl's subterranean stage. 'A place for storing beer.’ Unrelated to Eddie luard's TV show of the same name. Scott and Saj Chauhdry's affectionate and disarming paean to all things Caledonian sets out to prove that the stereotype of the gruff. warlike. rubbish-at- sports Scot is not only a (slight) exaggeration but also a rich vein of comedic potential. The result is a ramshackle. yet highly enjoyable. caper; plenty of rough edges. but more than enough meat - battered. of course - to satisfy the laugh-hungry. (Sam Healy)
I Gilded Balloon Caves. 226 2151. until 25 Aug (not 12, 14. 19), 7.15pm. [750—8850 (£6. 50—£‘7. 50).
for
see non~festival magazine
JULIA MORRIS
Dirty Antipodean fun 0000
Hurricane and able
Far be it for any mouldy hack to offer an accomplished stand-up a bit of advice, but I’d have to say, Julia, please cut down on the singing. While J-Mo certainly has a fine, throaty vocal delivery, beginning, ending and middling her show with ‘On Top of the World’, ‘Send in the Clowns' and ‘Stand by Your Man', it merely detracts from the hysterics she induces in an audience and, nearly occasionally, herself. The near-audible, embarrassed glancing at watches, the floor, her stuffed pooch Jocelyn or just anything rather than at Jules herself simply indicates that another blistering show has gone a bit squib-like. Whatever the reason for it, it’s not going to be good enough. What is good enough is this hilarious hurricane of a woman. Her Show and Tell of two years ago was a welcome bolt from the blue within a circuit bumping and grinding to a halt with all that tittering testosterone. Ludicrously, the Perrier panel didn't otter her a seat on the board then and it’s pretty unlikely that they’ll do it now with Will you Kids Get out of that Pool Please! Essentially, a sprint through the Morris life story (with slides) we discover that she received a beautiful upbringing full of support and encouragement for which she will never forgive her parents. She still carries enough bile to hate Edinburgh taxi drivers (well, one in particular: Sir, be warned, you have been identified), and ride roughshod over cancer kids and amputees. Tough stuff. And then the songs start. (Brian Donaldson) I Pleasance Dome, 556 6550. until 25 Aug (not 18). 9.30pm, [950—21050 (EB—fig?)
DANNY BHOY Plenty of charm, shame about the jokes .0.
It's important for a comedian to be confident and relaxed. and this y0ung Scots lad certainly is that. All the more's the shame. then. that his material doesn't live up to his stage persona. The majority of the show comprises Danny's mildly amusing observations of cultural differences. between Scotland and Australia. England. America. etc. Other topics include an embarrassing encounter with a gay man. Then there's the joke about falling off a bar stool when drunk.
This kind of material shouldn't be let out of the back room of a pub. Which is a shame. because Danny's got charm and charisma by the bucketload.
(Miles Fielder)
I The Pod. 228 9950, until 24 Aug (not 12). 8pm. [11—14 (EB-£8.50).
RHYS DARBY Antipodean physical fun coo
A New Zealand Phil Cool really shouldn't be anyone‘s idea of a good night out. but against every possible
odd. the talented Mr
Darby very nearly gives physical comedy a good name.
Kicking off wrth a one-
man action seduence which makes Men in
Coats seem like slovenly fools. Darby goes through some
Surreal stories about his adventuring idols.
among them Edmund Hillary and Jacques
Cousteau, all the while
sp'uttering. sniffing and
spitting out sounds that
no human should ever
eject. All good clean
fun With a genius final tWIst. but young people
impersonating old people is surely still consrdered a stand-up
faux—pas.
(Brian Donaldsom
I Pleasance
C0urtyard. 556 6550, until 25 Aug, 7. 10pm. $850-$950 (57—58).