JO BRAND

Sullen stand-up with a heart of gold 0000

Jo Brand rr~akes performing stand-up rook so easy. the must srire',‘ spend hours sxieat rig and grirr‘ar,ing .n front of the truirrcr at hcrrre a“. she perfects her '(,.,T.":‘: Her perforirrance is alrrost ll‘.’t5}ll)lf:. é s sne shuffres onstage, grinning and laconicaliy delighting her audience with spot-on obser/ations about childbirth, rrrotherhood and the tedium of married life. And don't think her recent encounter With the WM Trinny and Susannah has escaped Brand's wrath as she perforrrrs a consummate character essz ssination on the sartorial pair of witches. There's an incredible irony about her reputation as a bitter, twmted bitch, as it's her self-effacing warmth that's her greatest appeal. lAIIan Radcliffe) I Assembly Rooms, 1326 2428, until 23') Aug (not

I l, 78/, l()..’30pnr, {72-173 if‘l l—f‘l2).

FOLK AS F**K Lesbian folkie plays a melody of bum notes 0.

The mind of a lesbian, vegan. folk singer is a pretty disturbing place to be. if this show is any indication. Jade, a frequently spurned folkie. emotionally falls apart during this benefit concert to save folk lllUSlC in which she is the sole performer. And that's the yoke: that female Fairpon Convention refugees are neurotic wrecks. Funny for a few minutes but over an hour rt is spread pretty thin. The muSical tOur of Jade's neuroses does feature some spot-on.

earnest folk pastiches about her lady love ranch retreat and a poetry corner illuminated by Bon Jon's lyrical wizardry. But the show is a one- strrnged guitar - :t plays the one note well ll‘ places but hits a tired. iltllll rr<)t(2 lllt} rt353t ()f Illt? llll‘O. iEdd McCrackeni I Pleasance Dorrie. 5:36 (55:30, until 2:3 Aug (not 78/. 9.50pm, f‘fi—‘f‘ffifi.

STEVE

RAWLINGS IS NSURED

More family-oriented

than funny 00.

Steve Rawlings is a nice guy. He works and sweats for his art: physical comedy. He and his partner. Dave Brown. plunder a deliberately befuddled path through magic tricks and circus skills. Much of it is very impresswe: the furniture Juggling at the start and

Wagner hits the road to hell

the bottle balancing at the close of the show really stick out. His patter between is slick in a self deprecating manner that fits the ramshackle performance. Hoyt/ever, rt never reaches levels above a particularly competent street performer ialbeit at a breakneck pacer. making rt perfect fodder for all the family. (Henry Northmorei

I T he Pod. 228 99:30. until 24 Aug, -1. 75pm, 5‘8—f‘ IO lib-1W.

ROB ROUSE It‘s only a northern song 0000

Rob Rouse is a lovely bloke. He looks about ten and has the mad. wide-eyed energy of a kid who's just been let out of school early. He's sold out. he's in love. he's been necking Sunny Delight i‘crack for

SievsiJ

‘1 , N x YOU FOR BR

www.5tevenalan reen.com

Art.

Metro Gilded Balloon - The Venue (158)

lst - 25th Aug 8.30pm 0131 226 2151

the consumate American showman" The List

.r ' “We can always sue

one another” Jerry Leiws

36 'I’I'IE LIST FESTIVAL GUIDE 7-1-2 Aug 2".)03

GOD INC

Paul Wagner attempts an omnipotent feat 00.

In six days God made two people. In true American style, Paul Wagner picks up the creative gauntlet and makes 41 in an hour. Admittedly the Almighty also made the earth, the sky, and the animal kingdom while He was at it, but He didn't make the Guinness Book of Records for his troubles, unlike Wagner, whose show features the record for the most characters played by one man.

Wagner's set is not so much stand up as one man‘s journey through death - it is like a Yani song, apparently - and purgatory which is apparently like some big, faceless American multinational. It starts with an amen. The rubber-faced Wagner enters as that comedy fail-safe, the southern American evangelical preacher. With a chorus of hallelujahs from the crowd, we join Wagner in the last days of his life and meet various afterlife deities in person and on the multimedia screen.

His stoned Jesus - half Wayne from Wayne's World, half baked - is the highlight and livens up purgatory every time he breezes in. Sadly, a lot of the other characters function only to move the narrative on, not to get

laughs.

Sometimes it all gets a bit too Oprah touchy-feely. The quest of ‘finding yourself’ gets in the way of the quest for decent gags. especially towards the end. Wagner’s show will go down a storm in his native US where the sharp and intelligent lampooning of the US media, corporate culture and Christianity's idiosyncrasies is more relevant than in this comparatively secularised country. But it is a slick, entertaining show that leaves most other religious satires questioning their existence. (Edd McCracken)

I Underbeflv, 0870 7-133 3083, urit'i' (‘4 Aug, 8 .~,"'irrrr,‘, ,4 ("I .‘W ‘5 '

NEXT ISSUE OUT

toddlers'l. so why shouldn't the lad from a Village near Macclesfield be happy?

And it's catching. After about 30 seconds the audience is on his side. chuckling along With his observational, confessional stories of hrs demon cat, his dad's new band. White Stick. stacking bog roll in Tesco. plus a few songs. The tone is dry and warm at the same time. which is Just what you'd expect from a crackin' northern lad. Truly ace. (Ruth Hedges)

I Please/ice Courtyard. 556 (5550. until 25 Aug (not 72;. 8. lSprrr, 53950—1? 70.50 48-59;.

JOHN RYAN Clearly not normal, but very, very funny 00”

Go and see John Ryan. Not only is the venue he is playing comfortable and Cheap. but yOLi Will giggle like a small child for the whole hour. He is better known for compering on the London comedy Circwt. but his stand-up stands up well. Br0ught up with an Irish background in the East End of London. the Question that he seeks to answer is 'am normal?‘ He proves that he is not y0ur nOrmal or average comedian when he reCOunts hilari0us inCidents from his life.

covering a whole spectrum ot subyxts l". a very original ~,-,ra1.' Pure comedy gold.

iCaioline Masoni

I The Iron, .78“ (liltlfl. until 8:3 Aug. 7 30pm. 1‘6.:3()-.“8 i.‘"3."r() i‘r'r.

FRANKIE BOYLE VS THE REVEREND

OBADIAH EITEPPENWOLFE

Raises the bar for Scottish comedy 0.”.

Laugh? I almost snat myself. Rarer at the festival do you get ai amazing Scottish comedy. and bi comedians who can send you into a fit of absolute hysteria for an hour. Within three minutes of the show starting, an audience member walked out. proclaiming they could shove their show “up their arse' after the Rev knocked over their pint and said stroppy punter CCLildn't handle the pelters which followed the protestations. Class. The two comedians from BBC's Live Floor Show appeared laid-back and blase. yet have killer lines

got an opinion about a show?

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ROLLY MOE AS DR MOE

Flashes of genius fade in nonsense 00

llrrs really is a werrl ')ll‘,' -almof.t Ifllfl’,‘r‘illil‘: to cl; ssify micept front direct ‘:X[)‘:ll‘:ll(,‘:. Man of Science if, r‘alfwa, between a si,iei‘.r,e lecture and soinecrie". descent into insanity Part JR Eating, part serial kilier, part .Jolrnn/ Ball, Dr Moe must be one of the strangest ’Lllélf£j(,tf:ff3 at the festi/a. His irrat.orral lbut somewhat founded; hatred of robrns, his tar, shoes and his geeky assistant Derrick all add up to a convoluted pererna. Perhaps most frustrating of all. there are flasher of genius behind the ridicrilo'is. but unfortunater much of it comes acres”. as pretty [)Ql'lll‘:‘>‘;. Honing down could make this

something ‘;{;€;’,‘lal. IHenr/ Northrnore,

I Gi/ded Sal/den Ca ves. 226 2 7 ‘3 7, until 25 Aug, 7. lSpm, {7—278 6.6—5.7;