list.co.uk/festival Reviews at a Glance | FESTIVAL COMEDY
THE TROUBLE WITH SCOTT CAPURRO ●●●●● Opening with a series of quickfire jokes about the boys who were trapped in the cave in Thailand, Scott Capurro quickly establishes for anyone in the room who wasn’t aware (and there were a few), that he’s a shock comic. No one is safe and nothing sacred in this hour that doesn’t so much toe the line of bad taste as march straight across it. The audience chats feel fresh and many of his later anecdotes are bolstered by the inclusion of jokes he made at their expense, with the cheating boyfriend and outed son popping up in gay clubs like a supporting cast. However, a lot of the set material feels tired: in 2018 he’s still making jokes about Madeleine McCann and the death of Princess Diana. It’s still a shock show but not a particularly current one. (Rowena McIntosh) Heroes @ Boteco, until 26 Aug (not 21), 9.20pm, £7 (£6) in advance or donations at the venue.
SID SINGH: AMERICAN BOT ●●●●● There’s a slight hint of the Todd Barrys about San Francisco comic Sid Singh. The languorous delivery and semi-surrealist chatter are intact, but Singh is a far more explicitly political comedian. Those nasty billionaires are firmly in his sights as he believes, with plenty of justification, that they’ve helped to destroy his home city, as Silicon Valley has its wicked way with the Bay Area. Singh goes through all the tech bosses one by one as he denounces the heads of Google, Facebook, Amazon, PayPal et al, with clarion-call material that would deafen anyone who finds themselves trapped in his echo chamber. For this Indian- American comedian, the worst aspect of the San Fran sea-change is that racism has risen many-fold, with Singh himself being the nightclub victim of the bigots’ ire. (Brian Donaldson) Just the Tonic at The Mash House, until 26 Aug, 6.25pm, £5 in advance or donations at the venue. SUSAN HARRISON IS A BIT WEEPY ●●●●● The child of pathologically modest parents, pocket- sized performer Susan Harrison found herself fed up acting out a performative happiness after her marriage broke down. So she took her minor meltdown – and the fact that she could no longer cope with daily chores like sending invoices, but bizarrely found her anxiety soothed by improvising musicals – and made a character sketch show about it. Harrison’s observations about the weirdness of north London flatshares and her sometimes overwhelming fear of change are acted out with lots of warmth. She also bonds quickly with her crowd as she uses them as bit parts for her odd scenarios. (Claire Sawers) Voodoo Rooms, until 25 Aug, 2pm, donations.
Witt ‘n Camp
has a promising premise. Suzanne Lea Shepherd and her Kansas family gather for Thanksgiving, and wind up visiting a strip club. An unlikely scenario, it would be a believable journey if it was written well, but Shepherd gives the impression of a capable actor let down by her script. There are some good bits: she describes the stalking of an ex-boyfriend on Instagram well, and her vision of dating as a pyramid scheme gets the biggest laugh of the show; partly because of her inspired choice of who to put at the top. She successfully mines the politics of being sexually active while sharing a room. It’s a difficult show but, to her credit, Shepherd is unperturbed. She’s an expressive and engaging talker but needs to better figure out what works and what doesn’t. (Craig Angus) Laughing Horse @ Bar 50, until 26 Aug, 4.45pm, donations. THE LAMPOONS: HOUSE ON HAUNTED HILL ●●●●● This late-night, schlocky spoof of the 1959 horror film House on Haunted Hill is presented by The Lampoons. Comprising Adam Elliott, Christina Baston, Oliver Malam and Josh Harvey, the team receive additional help from the moustachioed spirit of Vincent Price, star of the original film. Like a poltergeist who loves toilet humour, they chaotically rearrange the story of guests invited to a haunted house party with dare money of $10,000 for anyone who is brave enough to spend the whole night. Like the man force feeding himself pickles in one especially nuts scene, there’s just too much to fit in, and it will make you feel a little nauseous by the end. (Claire Sawers) Pleasance Dome, until 26 Aug, 11pm, £9–£11 (£8–£10).
SUZANNE LEA SHEPHERD: YOU’RE OKAY! ●●●●● You’re Okay! TIM RENKOW TRIES TO PUNCH DOWN ●●●●● A commonly heard
comedy rule is to ‘not punch down’, which causes Tim Renkow some difficulties. He has cerebral palsy, is from the American south, has both Mexican and Jewish heritage, and has been called every racial slur you can imagine. ‘Frankly, I find it insulting’, he says. ‘I gave you options, officer.’ As you’d expect from a comedian of over ten years, Renkow’s timing comes naturally, his writing and wordplay strong to boot (the London night bus is ‘Lord of the Flies in a tin can’). His sexual anecdotes (not run of the mill stuff) are compelling, and a joke about playing up his disability to avoid paying for things is outstanding, an example of the shock stuff done very well. The room roars with laughter. Punching down certainly works for him. (Craig Angus) Monkey Barrel, until 26 Aug (not 15, 22), 8pm, £5 in advance or donations at the venue.
VIV GROSKOP: VIVALICIOUS ●●●●● Viv Groskop’s devotion to Oprah Winfrey is abundantly clear. A celebrity whose self-help message resonated with Groskop is nonetheless shown to be massively vain given a quick scan of the covers from her own magazine, which feature, seemingly every month, one Ms Winfrey. And even when she shares space on the front, it’s either with a bunch of dogs or other versions of herself. During her childhood, Dale Carnegie’s How to Win Friends and Influence People was a set text in the Groskop household. While she is good company for an hour, Groskop hasn’t made enough friends with punchlines to carry her show through without a struggle. (Brian Donaldson) Underbelly Bristo Square, until 26 Aug, 4.10pm, £9–£10 (£8–£9). WILL HALL: NETFLIX AND WILL ●●●●● Will Hall offers a pleasant hour of anecdotes that sadly lacks in laugh- out-loud moments. As a self-declared
‘almost posh’ comic, comparisons to Jack Whitehall are unavoidable. Perhaps this works to his detriment, as while Hall’s delivery is mostly relaxed and his stage presence good, he needs to tighten up his material and raise the punchline level. Covering his experiences attending a boys’ boarding school, growing up in Surrey, struggling with girls, meeting his childhood hero Ian McKellen, and his time at university, Hall is honest and open about some crucial life experiences. Overall, this is an enjoyable, funny talk that is unfortunately deficient in enough originality. (Kenza Marland) Just the Tonic at The Caves, until 26 Aug, 2.15pm, £5 (£4) in advance or donations at the venue.
WITT ‘N CAMP: SWAG ●●●●● You may well leave this show wondering quite what it was that you just saw, but wow, these ladies have skills. This debut Edinburgh show from Charlie Howitt and Holly Campbell is a heady whirlwind mix of musical styles, impeccably coordinated choreography, wry comedy and physical theatre. It does feel that they’ve thrown all their know-how at it and the result is somewhat nonsensical. But it doesn’t matter one bit as the pair are so hugely talented and, overall, the effect is mesmerising. Transforming themselves back and forth between personae, they’re sexy and sassy one minute, performing graceful classical operatics the next. Then they’re into the hauntingly folk strains that provide the backdrop to a pair of teary chickens discussing whether the grass really is greener on the other side, then listing all the African countries. Does it make any sense? Does it matter? Just immerse yourself in their world for an hour and enjoy it. (Marissa Burgess) Assembly George Square Studios, until 26 Aug, 8pm, £10–£11 (£8–£9). 15–27 Aug 2018 THE LIST FESTIVAL 61