Festival ComedyReviews at a Glance list.co.uk/festival
looks of a 1930s detective and a Hispanic Freddie Mercury respectively. Their material is a similarly jarring clash between its potential and the misfiring, crude reality. It has neither the sharpness of Lees’ suit nor the impressiveness of Combes’ moustache. (Emma Newlands) Gilded Balloon Teviot, 622 6552, until 31 Aug, 10.45pm, £8.50–£9.50 (£7.50–£8.50). Mould & Arrowsmith ●●●●● Beyond nerdy, yet playful and ingeniously funny, Steve Mould and Gemma Arrowsmith’s mock-highbrow revue is like a Centre Georges Pompidou of comedy: all exposed plumbing, postmodern form-as-content and paradox fetishism. Hauling a wide load of self- referential, knowingly smartass themes, most of the sketches are far more entertaining than they have any right to be. (Sam Healy) Pleasance Dome, 556 6550, until 30 Aug, 5.30pm, £7.50–£8.50 (£6–£7). The Muffia ●●●●● Tight Women is a baffling little number, telling the tale of two market traders fantasising about their own telly show. However, the action is overshadowed by the awkward silence of an audience desperately trying to like and understand the two stars, while mournfully staring after the occasional escapee. Anarchic chaos may be the essence of the Fringe, but this is just uncomfortable, unplanned and best avoided. (Siân Bevan) The Caves, 208 0882, until 30 Aug, 4pm, £8–£10 (£6). Patch Hyde & Adam Tempest ●●●●● The Fudge Kitchen certainly makes for a kooky venue. With scrummy smells, free fudge and very limited audience squeezed in, this feels like an exciting Fringe experience. The comedy, courtesy of charming daytime fudge- makers Hyde and Tempest, remains at decent open-spot level, punctuated by some inventive camera work. However at that price, it’s still a sweet way to spend an hour. (Siân Bevan) The Fudge Kitchen, 0784 119 4222, until 29 Aug, 8.45pm, £4. Phil and Phill ●●●●● Phil and Phill are best mates. So much so that they’re planning a double wedding: if they can find some brides. The show’s intention is one of studied discomfort as the pair occupy a far too close relationship for onlookers to witness, but the result is one of toe-curling awkwardness. It picks up towards the end when the pathos they’ve been striving for kicks in, but by that time it’s too late. (Marissa Burgess) Pleasance Dome, 556 6550, until 31 Aug, 5pm, £8.50–£9.50 (£7.50–£8.50). Philberto ●●●●● The Portuguese reality star is having a few problems with his mute brother, self-esteem issues and anger management. But he’s determined to entertain with a Vanilla Ice rap, Chas ‘n’ Dave tribute to Cockneys and showing his sensitive side in an ode to one-night stands. It’s not the most polished show you’ll see on the Fringe but it’s quite mad and enjoyably silly. (Marissa Burgess) Pleasance Courtyard, 556 6550, until 30 Aug, 9.30pm, £8.50–£9.50 (£7–£8). Rich Hall’s Campfire Stories ●●●●● Call me impatient, but in an hour-long show, or indeed any social situation, a protracted soliloquy about fly fishing is bound to dampen any comic ending if and when it comes. Rich Hall’s
£6.50–£10 (£8–£9). TeakShow ●●●●● Shrieking, bulging eyes, hummus throwing, pelvic thrusts, lounging on the mantelpiece, and twists on familiar scenes give this show a surreal air. The exaggeration is overdone, though, to the point that some sketches are more absurd than funny, losing the humour of the scenario on which they’re based. The American preacher character is entertaining, but their innate ridiculousness provides its own humour. (Kate Gould) Gilded Balloon Teviot, 622 6552, until 31 Aug, 4.30pm, £8.50–£9.50 (£7.50–£8.50). Tom Craine ●●●●● This shouty and self-proclaimed middle-class comic is one of life’s worriers. So much so that he is here to go through the list of comfort blankets he seeks, but loses the crowd for a moment when he confesses to being a thumbsucker. But he manages to bring it round with some neat lines, especially his finale about a mistaken STD. (Brian Donaldson) Pleasance Courtyard, 556 6550, until 31 Aug, 7.15pm, £11-£12 (£9.50–£10.50). Two Episodes of MASH ●●●●● Pleasingly deadpan, and with valiant attempts at mixing life’s mundanity with surrealist fantasy (the thought processes of a worker bee being particularly imaginative), Diane Morgan and Joe Wilkinson are so close to getting it right. The oddball sketch format falters though, and beneath the daft situations, the dialogue has little substance to turn good ideas into a worthy show. (Thomas Meek) Pleasance Courtyard, 556 6550, until 31 Aug, 5.45pm, £9.50- £10.50 (£8-£9). The Umbrella Birds ●●●●● The girls return with a series of sketches set in that bastion of insecurity and loneliness that is the changing room in a women’s clothes store. Brides, shoplifters and Jesus freaks all emerge from the cubicles, and though it is well- acted and staged, it lacks the comi-tragic peaks that made their previous efforts at the Fringe stand out so memorably. (Gordon Eldrett) Assembly Rooms, 623 3030, until 31 Aug, 6.20pm, £8.50–£9.50 (£7–£8). Unsupervised Detention ●●●●● Tight sketch comedy by gifted young players and, though some scenes suffer from a too-actorly approach, there are more hits than misses and evidence of a genuine facility with the surreal. The introductory premise of bored schoolkids in detention dissolves quickly, letting the cast hotfoot through broadcast news spoofs, songs about tasty placentas and a strangely captivating vegetable-based reboot of romantic literature. (Sam Healy) Gilded Balloon Teviot, 622 6552, until 31 Aug, 8.15pm, £9–£10 (£8–£9). Wil Hodgson ●●●●● In his sixth visit to the Fringe, the nicest pink-haired ex-punk on earth entertains with tales from his chiaroscuro existence in Chippenham. Stories of his characterful drinking buddies, encounters with stripling bigots and bittersweet nostalgia are filtered through Hodgson’s indefatigably optimistic lens, which is his ultimate downfall. Sometimes his spin on misery is so positive it hobbles the humour. (Sam Healy) Pleasance Courtyard, 556 6550, until 31 Aug, 8.20pm, £9.50–£12.50 (£8–£11).
Mike Wozniak tales are no exception to this rule; alongside convincing characterisation there is some laugh-worthy material, but ultimately jokes are too few and far between. (Rebecca Ross) Assembly Rooms, 623 3030, until 31 Aug, 2.05pm, £12–£13 (11–£12). Rosie Wilby ●●●●● Like a cool, knowing family friend or an easy-on-the- eye Claire Rayner, the affable Wilby leads this homely class in love, sex and relationships. Wry and naughty, Wilby’s wont is rapport over bluster, as she kindly takes the audience into her bosom, letting them know it’s OK, we’re all a little messed-up, and – with a wink – you can come home with her. (Mark Edmundson) Apex City Hotel, 0870 241 0136, until 30 Aug, 6.15pm, £8 (£7). Rudi Lickwood ●●●●● It’s not a good sign when a wilfully confrontational show comes off as bland and pedestrian. Lickwood has some funny lines and makes a few good points, but his fatally old-fashioned delivery and desperately prosaic observations on Britain’s ethnic diversity define his act. Who knew that a paean to variety and tolerance could be so dull and petulant. (Sam Healy) Pleasance Courtyard, 556 6550, until 31 Aug, 8.15pm, £11–£12 (£9.50–£10.50). Russell Kane ●●●●● This multi- accented, ‘Lego-haired’, prancing, ex- chav turned Tolstoy reader delivers a guide to human behaviour, wondering why Daves and Garys pick on feminised modern men like himself, and why Brits secretly envy Aussies and Americans. He’s a natural jester, even if he does ring bells of Russell Brand in a neon T-shirt. A more interesting, layered and funny follow-up to his TV stuff. (Claire Sawers) Pleasance Courtyard, 556 6550, until 31 Aug, 9.20pm, £9.50–£10.50 (£8–£9). Sam Simmons ●●●●● For his Fringe debut, the Australian puts his all into a song-and-goof show about the things you find down the back of the sofa. His absurdist observations may be lacking in spontaneity but his methods are inventive and being from the ‘if in doubt, shout’ school of comedy, Simmons could do a roaring trade on the
student union circuit. (Mark Edmundson) Gilded Balloon Teviot, 662 6552, until 31 Aug, 8pm, £9–£10 (£8–£9). Serate Bastarde ●●●●● Carmen, Renata and Silvia are intellectual, Italian lefties, and they want to make you think about current affairs, through spoof pop videos, bared boobs and free samples of Berlusconi’s sperm. With a Kabul-set Sex and the City remake, a bikini dance from a third degree burns victim (Carmen) and skits about brain-rotting telly, this is subversive, shocking, clever and utterly nuts comedy. (Claire Sawers) C soco, 0845 260 1234, until 31 Aug, 11pm, £8.50–£10.50 (£7.50–£9.50). Simon Munnery ●●●●● With his erudite allusions and penchant for the silly, Munnery’s AGM has become a comfortingly familiar Fringe fixture. This year, the comedian switches from family stories to a supermarket-themed mini opera, before delving into the bucket of audience-nominated ‘motions’. It’s not ground-breaking but there will be few more pleasantly satisfying ways to spend your afternoon this month. (Yasmin Sulaiman) The Stand, 558 7272, until 31 Aug, 4.05pm, £8 (£7). Stephen Carlin ●●●●● While his show title insists that he’s blowing the lid off the whole filthy business, the young London-based Scottish comic’s ambitions are more low-key. There is certainly plenty of fierce invention at play with his often surreal material about whisky, shatterproof rulers and cinema curtains while he expertly handles a string of latecomers which includes the journalist and broadcaster Iain McWhirter. (Brian Donaldson) The Stand III & IV, 558 7272, until 30 Aug, 7.20pm, £7 (£6). Susan Harrison ●●●●● There’s clear talent abounding in this pint-sized comic actor, but the writing and chosen subjects of Five Characters in Search of Susan let her down badly. She adds very little to well-worn tropes of the posh ‘street’ kid and reality TV wannabe, while the portrayal of the embittered, overly-harsh comedy critic is, it pains to admit it, pretty much on the money. (Brian Donaldson) Underbelly, 08445 458 252, until 30 Aug, 2.45pm,
38 THE LIST FESTIVAL MAGAZINE 20–27 Aug 2009