list.co.uk/festival Previews | FESTIVAL COMEDY
Double Acts AT THE FRINGE
Five of the top comedy duos appearing in August
I
I
S D L N E P S E M A J
P H O T O © S T E V E N U L L A T H O R N E
AUNTY DONNA Whip-smart absurdity from the returning Aussie sketch trio
Don’t let the name fool you: Aunty Donna is a fast-paced, quick-witted, three-man sketch troupe from Australia. Broden Kelly, Zachary Ruane and Mark Samual Bonanno specialise in surreal, achingly funny, deceptively clever humour, whizzing around stage seamlessly switching characters and situations for maximum laughs. It’s hard to tell if the Aunty Donna boys are ever serious. When asked how they started working
together they reply collectively with this: ‘the three of us met in dance school where we were all studying classical ballet. Broden was a real rebel though, creating improvised hip hop moves that had the whole faculty outraged. The moment the rest of us saw him move, we knew classical ballet wasn’t for us, so we formed an alternative sketch comedy troupe.’
It can be tricky picking the kernels of truth from their relentless energetic brand of whip-smart
absurdity. Here they explain their unusual moniker: ‘Aunty Donna is an old drag act that Zach used to perform in during his cabaret days. She was a vivacious old woman who sang old doowop classics. We always liked the name, so decided to adopt it when he joined the group.’ The gang look like they might be stepping up to the next level having just completed filming a TV
pilot for ABC Australia: ‘we play ourselves and it is very silly’. On their last Fringe visit, they developed an affinity for our Athens of the North and a taste for one of the city’s finer culinary condiments. ‘Edinburgh is the most beautiful city in the world. Gilded Balloon is filled with wonderful people that we love to hang out with. And we quite like brown sauce. There’s a lot of brown sauce in Edinburgh. On chips. On brekkie. On pizza. Brown sauce everywhere.’ (Henry Northmore) ■ Gilded Balloon, 622 6552, 7–31 Aug (not 17), 10pm, £11–£12 (£10–£11). Previews 5 & 6 Aug, £5.
LEE NELSON Chav comic admits plans to enter No 10
Having gatecrashed Stereo Kicks’ appearance on The X-Factor and attempted to board the England football squad’s flight to Brazil, Simon Brodkin hit the headlines more recently by joining a befuddled Kanye on stage at Glastonbury. His pranks might have a consistent thread, but Brodkin’s chav spawn Lee Nelson is showing off a brand-new wardrobe for this year’s Fringe’s show, Suited & Booted. ‘I ditched the shorts and the cap and the trainers,’
he says. ‘I thought the new look just sums up my game: I’ve had my 15th child and thought maybe I should grow up a bit, so I got myself down to Top Man, saw what I liked, tried it on, ran out the shop and that’s it, sorted.’ As Nelson swaggers our way for a month-long
residency at the Pleasance, he’ll be discussing his plans for an unlikely career shift. ‘I think I want to get into politics, to be honest. Ever since David Cameron left his kids in the pub, I thought I’ve got what it takes to be prime minister.’ (Brian Donaldson) ■ Pleasance Courtyard, 556 6550, 8–30 Aug, 10.45pm, £15 (£13). Previews 5–7 Aug, £10.
BLOFELD AND BAXTER The two charming cricket gentlemen return for more knockabout chat as those Rogues on the Road stop off here. Curiously, they depart town two days before Ashes legend Freddie Flintoff drops by for his three dates. That timing has got us stumped. Assembly George Square Gardens, 623 3030, 12–25 Aug, 4.10pm, £11–£13 (£10–£12).
LAZY SUSAN Expectations will be high for the talented duo of Celeste Dring and Freya Parker who earned themselves a Best Newcomer nomination last Fringe. Their very big and extremely clever sketches are underpinned by a cunning simplicity. This year’s show is called Double Act. See? Simple yet utterly effective. Pleasance Dome, 556 6550, 8–31 Aug (not 19), 8.10pm, £8–£10 (£7–£9). Previews 5–7 Aug, £6. MID-BROW According to mythic folklore, Tom Blackwood and Alex Cooper formed Mid-Brow 703 days ago (it’s probably a lot more by now) and their show promises to be about the duo’s ‘self-discovery’. Pleasance Courtyard, 556 6550, 8–31 Aug (not 17, 24), 4.45pm, £7–£9 (£6–£8). Previews 5–7 Aug, £6.
SPARROW-FOLK Last year, this Aussie pairing (Juliet Moody and Catherine Crowley) went positively viral with their music-video take on the public breastfeeding debate. SuBIRDia will no doubt show why they’ve been dubbed ‘Kath and Kim on citric acid’. Gilded Balloon, 622 6552, 8–30 Aug (not 17), 8pm, £10 (£8.50). Previews 5–7 Aug, £5. THÜNDERBARDS It’s the third instalment of the Glenn Moore and Matt Stevens Fringe saga with the promise this time of a tale involving a soon-to-be closed library. It’ll be much better than that sounds, honest. Underbelly Cowgate, 0844 545 8252, 8–30 Aug, 5pm, £8.50–£10 (£7–£9). Previews 6 & 7 Aug, £6. (Brian Donaldson)
6–13 Aug 2015 THE LIST FESTIVAL 51