rrnage of being an awkward, rnurnsy and ‘mrrrm'xhat sexually need, dd grinder thrust urrrxirnfdrtably frr,rn study onto stage. Both the delivery and rrn’rterral isrnear tests. fiuantanarno Ba, and masturbating «atsi are eorrfrderrt and rndrwdual. and while there rrrrgftt be a book rn rt 7 you won't be wishing you had read one of her novels instead as
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you enjoy a great i rrnge debut.
(David PUHfflfikl
I (he Stand //. 0:38 X’J/L), MW 27 Aug (not {fir (Trim, l‘f Il‘b‘)
JIM JEFFRIES Not for the easily offended 0000
Jesus didn't know he was the Son of (Bod until hrs 30th birthday. Jim Jeffrres strll has two months to go but he's still optrmrstrr:. While the title for hrs show. The Second Coming. rs a reference to his first fringe outrng. Porn /t‘/()/_ the poster of the Aussie eomre. clad in angel Wings. has invoked the Christian rrght's wrath. Clearly. Jeffrres doesn't care about offending the thin-skinned wrth his brutally honest observations. He has us on the edge of our seats as he recounts the night he was robbed at knifepornt rn hrs own home. He's Just been dumped. so women at present are Just like toilets: 'all of them are drr't\ apart from the disabled ones.‘ He can't remember what date the planes hit the Twrn Towers. but ‘the Americans don't half go on about rt.‘ Maybe, it's a measure of the audience on thrs particular night. but Jeffrres managed to offend no one. (Allan Radcliffei I Underbelly 0870 745 3083, untr/ ’27 Aug. main/rt. {IO—£772 ifQ—L‘f fr.
FRANCIS & POWER Fresh sketches from expert twosome COO.
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that are ri’td, Linr :nn‘t 'faz‘w {1'7 I
extremely funny
The duo draws together some deep tread: deeply flawed) (:fraraet(~3rs who all end up on the wrong end of someone's stick, be rt the paranoid soap actor. the builders deconstructrng honiosexualrty. or the man trying to surreptrtrously entree hrs golf buddy Into a threesome wrth hrs wrfe. They occasionally utilise recurring themes but never let them outstay therr welcome. There rs also enough subtlety rn the pairs approach that means even famrlrar toprcs are assaulted from a fresh perspective. (Mark Robertsoni I Gilded Bal/oon Tet/rot. (568 7633. until 27Aug, :3. 75pm, 5384‘?) If.‘}’—l‘8/.
JIMEOIN
Making the ordinary seem odd 0...
ereorn doesn't know what hrs show is aboat. He's been struggling to dream up a fancy Dan t!th to Sallng the Fringe programme. but he's Jest not that kind of stand—up. In fact. the lrrsh comics 75 minutes are made up of observations that may well haze occwred to §Ou already. but you just don't have the timing to deliner then‘ wrth aplom‘o or the \‘.‘li to transform them into comedy gold.
NICK DOODY You gotta have faith? 00000
There are many comics dissecting religion this fringe. Some will be shouty and angry about it; some will be informed but unfunny and others will probably be misguided. But what immediately impresses about Nick Doody is that he delivers a fully considered, from the heart (he himself was brought up very Catholic and lost his faith at 19) yet darkly hilarious hour examining the nature of blind belief.
His biggest worry in his chosen atheist state is not that he was wrong all along and that he will be sizzling for eternity with the worst of them but something much worse . . . that his family will turn up to see the show. He explains that he intended none of them - all devout Catholics — to see it, but then his cousin decided to marry in mid-August. In Edinburgh. Oh lord. Still, he does have a plan 8 involving a lovely hat for Jesus.
It’s not just Catholicism that comes in for a bit of stick, but other Christians, Jews and Muslims. When confessing that he finds some religious garb funny, he explains himself in such a way, and with such spellbinding warmth that it’s difficult to feel offended.
Those that have lost their faith like Doody will identify, committed atheists will no doubt simply agree with him and religious bods of all faiths will (hopefully) take it on the chin. Inspired and hilarious.
(Marissa Burgess)
I P/easa'ce 03/778. WC 6.00. mm as A.) daiprr. :rr. .0—:_ 1. .0 /:,/—:.»:,r.
' ‘ /.‘. 2 THE LIST FESTIVAL MAGAZINE 25