THE BEARDED LADIES

Sketch show unafraid of product placement

Sadly not a circus freak outing. but a female sketch show with pedigree. The Bearded Ladies already have an acclaimed Radio 4 series under their belts. and the entire quartet cut their teeth as comedy writers. most notably for the hugely popular Smack the Pony. What of their current Fringe offering, then? 'lt's obviously a lot more visual than the radio show, and it does have a similar sense of humour to Smack the Pony.’ says Oriane Messina. ‘lt's women in contemporary settings. and we want our audience to relate to it.’ That's not to say blokes are banned. 'll something's funny it's funny. whether you're a man or a woman,‘ says Messina. matter-of- factly. Cheekily. the ladies have snared a Sponsorship deal with Remington's Bikini Trim & Shape and. even more saucily. the product will feature in the show. ‘Yes we will be mentioning it,‘ says Messina. laughing. ‘We're very classy. aren’t we?‘ (Doug Johnstone) I Underbelly 0870 7453083. 7-29 Aug. 6. 75pm, £7.50—E850 (£6.50—E750). Previews 586 Aug, £5.

ANDY PARSONS: EAT MY SATIRE

Political stand-up without a leaflet in sight

Last year I penned a glittering review of Andy Parsons’ sell-out show, signing off with the pithy epithet: ‘Give the man a bigger room!’ Thfillingly, my intensive lobbying campaign has paid off, and Parsons is back this August with another hour of subversive political ranting interspersed with needle-sharp ad-Iibbing and, if all goes according to plan, 20 extra punters to be heckled by. Parsons’ stage persona is unique. Shaven headed and with a voice that could cut through stone, the comic has single-handedly invented the phenomenon of the well informed topical rant, firing right to the heart of the big issues to mesmerising effect. Having honed his skill as a writer on Spitting Image and scored performing successes on telly and radio with his comedy partner Henry Naylor, the very genial Parsons admits his seething stand-up persona began life as

something to hide behind.

‘It started off as a defence mechanism performing in pubs and clubs. Gradually though, as I’ve grown in confidence, more of my own personality has come through.’ The new show Eat My Satire is deliberately provocativer titled as a kind of riposte to bleeding heart, sanctimonious political stand-up. ‘I like to include as many people as possible in what I do. and that means dealing with the bigger issues that everyone can relate to: Iraq, public services, New Labour. But when you say “satire” to most people, you see their eyes half- closing. 80 there’ll be no leaflet handing-out, no lecturing in my show. Just good, old-fashioned funny jokes.’ (Allan Radcliffe)

I Assembly Rooms. 226 2428. 7—29 Aug (not 9, 16) 9pm. Clo-£71 (LB—£10). Preview 6 Aug, £5.

TONY CARTER’S EVIL ARMY

Tap Water winner on his primetime W hell Tony Carter is the twisted fictional creation of comedian, g compere and DJ Will : Andrews. Carter is a i terrible comedian. a 5

32 THE LIST FESTIVAL MAGAZINE 5—12 Aug 2004

hapless Geordie stuck on a New Deal employment scheme. petrified of performance and with a collection of woeful jokes. Despite the obvious satire. some audience members still ! don‘t get it. ‘lt's a comedy about

comedy,‘ says Andrews. ‘But people still come up to me going: “You shouldn't be so nervous". Which is fucking weird.‘ Having won the Tap Water prize (non- corporate rival of the Perrier) and now

working with Glasgow's

Carl-Elnar Hackner leaves behind his spatter numbers

Comedy Unit on television pilots. Andrews is a man on the rise. and even featured in The List's very own Hot 100 (62 with a bullet) earlier this year. All this and a hungover appearance on Bargain Hunt. to boot. ‘It was humiliating,’ he says. ‘I was shaking and wide- eyed. I looked like I had some scrt of head trauma.‘

(Doug Johnstone)

I Stand l/. 558 7272. 7-30 Aug (not 76). 5.20pm. £6 (£5). Preview 6 Aug, 5.10pm. £5 (£4).

CARL-EINAR HACKNER: HEART

Swedish stuntman with dying dogs and burning birds ‘Spatter numbers'. They‘re about the only thing that Swedish comedian-magician- musician Carl-Einar Hackner has left at home. as the hand- over time between shows at the Pleasance is deemed too short to clean up his blood- stunts. What you will get with this eccentric heart throb (voted

for

see non-festival magazine

sexiest man in Sweden 12 years ago) is a performance that involves birds. dogs. singing. magic and music.

'l open up as a maestro who's come to play music for the audience and then I transfer into a magician.‘ says Hackner. ‘The numbers are failures and my dog is dying and my birds are on fire and I want the audience to maybe recognise themselves in that and to recognise the situations.’ Perhaps birds burn all the time in Sweden? Whether audiences will recognise themselves in the chaos. misunderstanding or failures. Hackner is here to entertain and make sure he comes Out singing in the end. (Ruth Hedges)

I P/easance Courtyard. 556 6550, 8—30 Aug (not 70, 77), 6.40pm, 2950-27050 (£8—£‘9). Previews 5—7 Aug, E5.