REBUS McTAGGART ' ' - :' - ' ' I. ::- z' I" JOANNA NEARY

Comic crusade against crime :' 1' ' " : . ' : " ~ ~- ' y : ::~ " = '> ': - . y : Little moments and brief .. _. .. encounters...

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maul lli «haraiter r ()lllll. Hilliard lhornnrur Pllffiirllllllqi'l t;lrrlil.ir [lll‘llll‘ii' rvr'n ..illfr to the orltiirlzil fill(l\‘.’. ()rrrrrntt’girrrtlr'u :3‘.'.llltll‘l‘. it. tr, .rr‘ More mm: to. ' talk .itillllt 'llilil'” t"l-, ‘,'.~‘ {ll‘Hll'lt‘lilHI‘ N'Hl'. fl'l'fltfi'l'ii

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rnlraiiiilleil holilly fittllllllill operateu l in ninth the fiilllll,‘ level it f,(llll(‘Wll£li ililllfl. wrth the llawiri ()lllt.(l‘l (:lalrnlriii newly (ltl‘JHIHlHXl stage fihlilfl .iritl :;~.'.wetrh t it will h , irr ir.:'l t" l exhibiting; wannabe lover rnan .‘.'< lillll .tlli'l' >‘.»- no... 7 lw r' ilrtlterttutirlty Titll T,l“;‘.i'..'i min-tr l‘tl", triuriirwt 1:. The lhornuon't; talent tor sharp. deadrmri repreli imam ,n r t f w and largely ternale orientated .iiitlleni‘e when: ‘.ll«~ tlorl‘. .i {lr'lil ml ltat l' t: l [)(illltilpilllflll It; l)l()ll(_]lll to tilt lt‘lt,‘ illillltlfifllt) a wealth ()l turnple. «lewd Winning; riagr; and lo ll prop £lllllt22§. ills; litter ahaorptron lit the role ()l the deluded (:nrne lighter earner; \"(lll through harn llt;l()(i physical theatre.

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rierli-ittl, lllrlllllldli,‘ t ‘. ill w M lw "lv' (Lelia .Jtlllll‘nrll Arthur hanth ’u v-l she litllllllllr‘.. imitl-rrio-rzt llt‘t‘lll'l'l ill her throat "i ll,- lll‘»l thlrllv l'rrl an ordinary ‘.‘/’)lll.’tll ll itllllltiil Art r I /’/t,ur:;.irr_ e (It iii/{mu}, "till. i," tutti/[’h/lr/d, -1 ‘Jr'lrlrrr, l kill 2 4‘) l

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andwhrletheiloWol theperlorrnantte g 157' .l'f-Ir

arguably sullen; tor the lrli‘liiruon ot a

sole alter ego appearance. lhlt; it; TRIPOD

nevertheless instilled in an eye catChY tunes and pedeCt pamdy .' O...

\‘Villt?llllt]_ no holds l);tll(?(lH.’1.‘§/(f Instr/lit Illlt)ll()t](lll()ll pastiche. It you onh see one polleernan's scrotum this; l (TERIIVQII, make it Helms Mitlagigiart't;_ (Mark l drniindsonl

I /’/e.'r:;arli‘e Courtyard, 5).")(3 ($3530.

(trill/.H'Auq. -l.-J:')r>rri, l‘f) IO rl‘b‘ 5)). MARK WATSN

LIAM MULLONE Blistering hour of exhilarating stand-up 0000 Breaking every rule in the book Mark Watson deserves his moment. Having proved to be one of the true 000 innovators on the Fringe with his marathon comedy sessions, oft-the-cuff

novel writing and participation in daft quizzes, his solo hour of stand-up has grown in stature and scope in successive years and now he is playing in one of the Courtyard’s biggest rooms, promoted from the sweatboxes to a grand theatre space. This is both a tribute to his talent and cause for a slight qualification; much of Watson‘s show relies on any given punchline

being pushed on a line or two. In the intimate rooms, this is all fine and Allfslrilllill‘l llltl‘.)l(;£ll mrnedy act Iv it it: good. but in this vast expanse, much of the material loses its impact, could wrinr; a few immediate ..: xi“ drowned out in the cascading waves of laughter. ‘;llll[)l‘,’ it, ‘.’lllll‘; of their 'llliirlr‘,

But this is a minor quibble in a set which exhilarates from its democratic {)lly‘HCMI rnale up llrere". tr w,- xi»! will,

beginning as he springs like an fiber-Welsh jack-in-the-box from the middle bespectacled ryntanxt .vllu”, a rlea'l of the crowd before eventually making his way to the stage. From there, he under fer a ,ennr; l/lii'itl',‘: (ill/l. N .e launches into the show’s beef, inspired by his last birthday when a series of tall, excitable rndp top and tr l‘.‘

unfortunate incidents appeared to be sparked by a chance encounter with diminutive dornetlea'le'l er l‘,’ the,

an evangelist whose impertinent query spawned the show's typically shuttle onto the utaqe. derltl, lm/«erlr a; ham Mullone thinks we live in a world elongated title, Can I Briefly Talk to You About the Point of Life? mth each other and Lanterlrv; mm the that‘s too inhibited m rules. laws and There is, of course, nothing brief in the way Watson ekes out the droplets audience The last thznr; you expect 7w health and safety lt‘glllltlllolls. He'd of humour from each comedic opening as this seemingly nervy individual emerge from this rnetle/ tnnrn/imte 1', rather we took the lit b\ theseat ol becomes both excited and confused by the world around him. No one a beautifully blended meal harmony \’0tll~p£1lll$dillltlthOT the llOlth‘ should begrudge the industrious Mark Watson his spot in the limelight; just that recalls; the gelled JUICU. of rabbits in his tavonnte book. l‘i’atershlp make sure when you go that you're at the front of the longest queue in Crosby. Silllf)’ and Nauh Ill their ll‘:/’l€t,’. Down, and started hung a little. The Edinburgh. (Brian Donaldson) Without this Iexely meal '//‘lll(i. and hremise otl\1u|lone's show is l:ttle I Vania" a“ 6*!" " ' . '31.: l ' : " .- ' r .- " '7 t'le ‘:.'.’l‘:.’17 affect/r fer "M,- more than a pretext tor some (trot 3‘53 ’;I;' re: f? e, 'e arr N, ""e

24 THE LIST FESTIVAL MAGAZINE 'r“