list.co.uk/festival Reviews | FESTIVAL COMEDY
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FANFICTION COMEDY Headache-inducing journey into fictional worlds ●●●●●
There are two main ways to tackle a comedy show about fanfiction (for the uninitiated, that’s the writing of unauthorised stories set in established fictional universes or about celebrities). The first points and laughs at the whole premise, especially its more risqué, outré or poorly-written incarnations, while the second utilises the potential for comedy within the medium itself. This show does both. The former, presented here by compere Joseph Harper, comes across as mean-spirited. The bulk of Fanfiction Comedy comes from the latter with a revolving roster of Kiwi comics, plus guests, reading out their own self-penned fanfictions, in which outlandish scenarios are proposed and then skilfully mined for comedy or pathos.
The show’s been appearing at comedy festivals since 2011 and has attracted some interesting names: check out David O’Doherty’s contributions on YouTube. Despite several problems – the unnecessary ridiculing of the weirder offerings, critique segments falling slightly flat, and headache- inducing onstage lighting – the brilliance of the stories themselves saves the show. (Suzanne Black) ■ Assembly George Square, 623 3030, until 25 Aug (not 13), 4.40pm, £8–£10.
TAMAR BROADBENT Musical comedy falls a bit flat ●●●●● LADYBONER Winsome goth comic lacks bite ●●●●●
This pocket dynamo of a performer, Tamar Broadbent, remains something of a mystery once her debut hour is over. Apologising for the slight delay in the show starting as her family has got itself stuck in traffic on the way in (plausible), we soon meet her ‘dad’ via a framed photograph that should be captioned ‘psycho builder’. Illusion kicked firmly into touch, she still opts to make a couple of fleeting references to her clan’s tardiness.
Music-wise, she clearly has a bit of talent and can definitely sing, though it’s wasted here on a dodgy rap and a song about maths. It all ends with a Skype call to an industry player: her audition goes horribly wrong then predictably right again, thanks to the by-now all-too-familiar celebrity endorsement. If this is a character creation, it just doesn’t really
push the boat out far enough to be convincing. If she is genuinely trying to make it in the music industry, she should probably cut out the fairly lame comedy and get in that X Factor queue. Almost Epic isn’t quite there. (Brian Donaldson) ■ Underbelly, Cowgate, 0844 545 8252, until 25 Aug (not 13), 4.45pm, £9–£10.50 (£8–£9.50).
You might well have no idea what a ‘ladyboner’ is, but kinky Aussie comic Lisa-Skye is on a mission to find out what gives you one. She introduces herself as a goth, constantly at war with hipsters who are hellbent on trampling her with their car – despite being under the prote ction of the green man – and confessing that lurking in the shadows may be the best place from which to pounce on a potential lover.
Skye zips between segues with guile, from
impudent BDSM and ‘consensual’ rape jokes, to transcribed accounts of sexually frustrated men who call dating lines. These finely polished asides are explicit to the point of plain terrifying but are soothed by Skye’s winsomeness and gaiety. However, limits and taboos are never quite stretched and instead rely on quick, wispy pay- offs which don’t pack the same punch as the build-up. Her performance is far from that of the gruesomely funny Loretta Maine and an over- reliance on clips and slides ruins the flow. Only on occasion does Skye really nail a joke, something that leaves an awkward frustration in the air. (Andrew Latimer) ■ C nova, 0845 260 1234, until 26 Aug (not 12), 4.50pm, £8.50–£10.50 (£6.50–£8.50).
JAMES ACASTER A unique comedy voice worth shouting about ●●●●●
James Acaster is swiftly becoming one of the Fringe’s safe bets, which is quite a feat given the potentially ‘difficult’ style he has chosen to adopt. Not for this Kettering-born comic the jogging from side to side or the shouty approach or the overly warm welcome to one and all. His is a stand-offish and often awkward metier heightened by looking like a young man in middle-aged clothing: he blames his head-to-toe M&S look on that retailer’s uncanny ability to provide a consumer such as him with irresistible sweeties. In his third full show (he should be in the running already for
a second successive spot on the Foster’s shortlist), Acaster admits from the off that he has just one mission: to resurrect the reputation of Yoko Ono. Fair enough, this could yield a joke or two, you think. What you will not be able to conjure is the many minutes of low-level hysteria he gets out of quoting from and then re-imagining the conversations that three-quarters of the Beatles had as they plotted against John Lennon’s partner.
But he has an even wilder scheme afoot, as he wants to show the world that Ono is not someone capable of ruining a band. As if that wasn’t enough, this set piece ties in another recurring thread (the band that went down with the Titanic) while another highlight is his unlikely analysis of why America is quite simply far better than Britain.
Acaster’s countrified burr and ability to slow it right down with each quasi-absurdist routine, might sound as though he is another of those young comics far too influenced by Stewart Lee. But Acaster is doing something wholly different and has quickly found his own comedy voice. It’s one that we should all be shouting about from the rooftops. (Brian Donaldson) ■ Pleasance Courtyard, 556 6550, until 25 Aug, 7pm, £9–£12 (£8–£10.50).
8–15 Aug 2013 THE LIST FESTIVAL 41