list.co.uk/festival Reviews | FESTIVAL COMEDY
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NICK REVELL: BROKENDREAMCATCHER Anarchic and erudite storytelling ●●●●●
What starts as one middle-aged man’s entertaining look at his own personal yin and yang tendencies – from the combative style he had in the past to the more ‘tai chi and hummus’ approach he takes nowadays – develops into an absolutely outstanding piece of dystopic, Jungian fantasy storytelling. The delivery alone is pretty staggering as his
monologue becomes progressively more dense and hallucinogenic as the pace gets faster (some might recognise his voice from The Nick Revell Show, his surreal 90s Radio 4 sitcom). But the writing too, is a fetid, far-fetched JG Ballard-style fairytale, where there’s traffic congestion on the astral plane, Revell bonds unexpectedly with Gwyneth Paltrow at a pub quiz in a London bar, then casually helps reinstate LGBT rights to Russia after wrestling bears with Putin.
The fact that Angela Merkel has taught herself English through listening to The Archers and now sounds like a rough and ready Yorkshireman, or that Paltrow now runs a chain of opticians called Society of the Spectacle are just two of the myriad details why this is a glorious piece of esoteric, literary fiction, finding a fun route into anarchic, erudite comedy. (Claire Sawers) ■ The Stand 4, until 26 Aug, 3.35pm, £10 (£9).
ALFIE BROWN: LUNATIC When flaws and frailties can be funny ●●●●● ROSE MATAFEO: HORNDOG Relatable Kiwi produces punchy show ●●●●●
Actions count, not words, insists Alfie Brown with his latest Fringe hour. A shame, then, that he is so good with language and imagery, but thankfully he is able to get those words into the public realm by taking total command of his stage. Brown’s style remains a potent mix of cheeky scamp and verbose preacher as he rails against the kind of ‘performative dads’ he meets in the park while acknowledging his own parental failings. A ‘horrible honesty’, he proposes, is way better than those pious soundbites we all make in order to be on the right side of the debate.
And a large bulk of Lunatic has him laying out
plenty horrible stuff. The heart of his hour revolves around a man who collapsed nearby while Brown was impatiently waiting for a bus to get him to a gig he was already running late for. He may have stood inert while others around him exploded into action, but is this unfolding drama the kind of sight he needs to witness to put his own troubles into some sort of perspective? This is just another bold hour of stand-up from
Alfie Brown which dares to delve into the darkness and consider what it is that makes us human. (Brian Donaldson) ■ Monkey Barrel, until 26 Aug, 9.30pm, £7 in advance or donations at the venue.
A prediction: Rose Matafeo is headed for crossover success, into Netflix series territory or the big screen. The 26-year-old Kiwi’s comedy resonates, her charisma is undeniable and, today, once she found her rhythm she had a sold-out audience in the palm of her hand. Horndog is about the things Matafeo loves most, or so she says. Featuring a soundtrack of Fall Out Boy, Phantom Planet and Keane, we journey through her adolescence, interspersed with feminist-focused stories set in the present day. We’re living in a time where comedy and theatre are one, where disciplined adherence to a theme makes the critics giddy. Horndog isn’t that show: but it’s a high-energy hit of adrenaline nonetheless, delivered by a born performer.
She recalls the age of dial-up internet and hours spent on IMDB forums, and calls out Facebook memories for being like an abusive friend. She mocks herself too, for being in awe of men who can, for example, ride a boat, despite being astonished at the scumbaggery they’ve proven themselves capable of. Late in the show, her own #MeToo tale comes (as all her material does) with a punchy gag at its core. (Craig Angus) ■ Pleasance Courtyard, until 26 Aug, 6.20pm, £9–£11 (£8–£10).
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MAISIE ADAM: VAGUE Satisfying hour of solid mainstream comedy ●●●●●
Maisie Adam isn’t here to dump controversial opinions all over the Fringe’s head, but she might get huge amounts of flak for one assertion: millennials are the worst dancers. Risky stuff, for sure, but it’s grounded in a solid theory and made flesh through a very amusing bit of physical comedy. Indeed, Adam (the reigning champion of So You Think You’re Funny) has plenty weapons in her comedic armoury and a relaxed charm (even in the face of an intoxicatingly warm room) is uppermost among them. Adam’s USP, if you can call it that, is her epilepsy. Diagnosed at
the age of 14 with juvenile myoclonic epilepsy, or JME for short (aficionados of grime might know where that joke is headed), the main indicator that a seizure was upon her were fluttering eyelids. Given her teenage status, this was put down by most observers as eye-rolling stroppiness. The amusing aspects of her condition get plenty mileage in the show, with the title coming from a comment by one medic that she should start to ‘expect vague episodes’.
Once we’ve filed into her sauna, her enjoyable beginning is to thank the people who have given her certain emotional instabilities, delivered in the style of a lounge singer introducing the band. From here, Adam makes a quick dash around her material to fill us in on her biography. A tall Yorkshirewoman from a village called Pannal, she recalls a childhood of landlines and hand-me-downs; she has now relocated to the metropolitan hubbub of Brighton in order to follow her dreams.
Pitched somewhere between a very Fringe story of personal struggle and a satisfying hour of fine set-up and punchline comedy, Maisie Adam’s Vague might not move the earth. But if you can stand the heat, get into her Wee Room. (Brian Donaldson) ■ Gilded Balloon Teviot, until 27 Aug, 4.30pm, £9 (£8).
15–27 Aug 2018 THE LIST FESTIVAL 51