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‘Six Foot Silly and Six Months Pregnant‘ might be a more appropriate title for Australian Tracy Bartram's show. Why let a bulging belly get in the way'.’ Incorporate it into the show with a baby aerobics routine! It's certainly the most innovative prop on the Fringe.
Imminent sprog aside. Bartram‘s work is infused with a warm sense of bawdy humour which is often wicked without being cynical or vicious. Her observations and songs on the minutiae of life’s absurdities hit their targets with an embarrassing accuracy. See this show and you'll never use a condom again without thinking of R(llt'/lf(l(’. (Jonathan Trew) I Six Foot Silly and Sexy (Fringe) Tracy Bartram. Gilded Balloon II. Stepping Stones (Venue 51) 225 6520. until 3 Sept. 7pm. £6 (£5).
amm- PENORAOON
The story of King Arthur's youth. from birth through the founding of his famous Round Table. is a perfect vehicle for the estimable skills of the NYMT. With performers from lI—I‘)-years-old. Arthur and his peers are aged gracefully and magically. It is an inspiration — if not an embarrassment — to those of us who attribute
racy Bartram: pre-nal euphona
V COMEDY '
TOKYO SHOCK BOYS
It’s hard to be impressed by the old
, blowlng-up-the-rubber-glove routine when there’s a guy on Oalton Hill
’ doing the same thing with a hot water
bottle. Then again, it’s hard not to be impressed by a man prepared to use
1 his genitals as a tow bar. Tokyo Shock Boys are basically an endurance act, but for the most part they don’t endure a great deal (scorpions aside). Their tricks - party poppers in the mouth, tart lighting, drinking Fairy liquid - are the kind of thing any sell- respecting rugby club member would try with enough beer and encouragement. The Boys themselves are colourful cartoon characters who kept audience interest alive with a series of sub-Samurai routines and Japanese jokes. Mildly diverting maybe, shocking no. (Eddie Gibb)
Tokyo Shoc
k Boys (Fringe) Assembly Rooms (Venue 3) 226 2428, until 3 Sept, 6pm, £7.50/'£8.50 ($26.50/$27.50).
amateurish performance to youth in annual school productions.
With terrific costumes. special effects to delight the taste for sword and sorcery. the outstanding voices of Rebecca Lock and Matt Katon. and a noble chorus. this show has all the charm of a fairy-tale on fast forward. (Wes Shrum)
I Pendragon (Fringe) National Youth Music Theatre. George Square Theatre (V‘nue 37) 650 2001. until 2‘) Aug. various times. £7 (£5/£3).
IJEHEEEEHIII THE OUIOK enowu FOX
Set in the hotel room of ‘honest' Charlie Benson, a minor politician and incompetent adulterer. The Quick Brown For follows most of the conventions of bedroom farce: there's a nymphomaniac mistress in lace underwear. a wardrobe to hide in and an escalating risk of discovery. Where it departs from genre is in the absence of decent jokes. Tired plot development follows flat punchline in Tim Clark‘s leaden script. and an unforgivably bad song 'n' dance routine adds a
min 900! laggmrwa fairy-tale .- ’d
cheesy filling.
The actors (among them the writer) try hard — perhaps too hard to inject some life. They don‘t forget their lines. or bump into the furniture. except when required to do so. But their efforts are in vain: the play isn't funny. the set's shoddy and there are plenty of better things to do with your time and money. (Andrew Burnet)
I The Ouick Brown Fox (Fringe) A Tim (‘Iark Production. I’Ieasance (Venue 33) 556 6550. until 3 Sept. 6.40pm. £7.50/£6.50 (£6.50/ £5.50).
V THEATRE
ENOUOHIS enouen
Enough is Enough: physical jerks
Six lycra-clad Londoners pumped up with adrenalin. testosterone and probably several bodily fluids as well. fuse highly-charged physical jerks with text and sound collage in this exploration of fascism and its roots. The confrontational approach suggests an overdose of Berkoff at a formative age. and the piece is actually most effective when at its most still. with some neat tableaux being formed.
immediate and impeccably trendy. it might benefit by more clarity of intention. ()verall though. this is punk rock attitude with discipline. and.judging by the soundtrack. someone has a truly great record collection. (Neil Cooper) I Enough is Enough (Fringe) Reflective Theatre. St Columba‘s By The Castle (Venue 4) 220 595‘). alternate days until 2 Sept. 6.15pm. £5.50 (£4.50).
“ETIE-
URI GELLER ATE MY DINNER
As compere of the worst variety show since The Wheeltappers and Shunters. Kevin Kopfstein’s accurately observed caricatures display versatility. but like all parody tread a thin line that could easily cease to be funny. Taking as its premise a look at speciality acts. this is neither stand-up nor monologue. and the format would benefit from some loosening up. The device of a radio show between 'acts‘ to cover
(Neil Cooper)
’ Olnner (Fringe) Kevin
costume changes is awkward but unavoidable. You can’t help but admire Kopfstein‘s skills though. particularly in the fire-eating department. though the whole thing smacks somewhat of fantasy wish-fulfilment.
I Uri Geller Ate My
Kopfstein. Gilded Balloon Two. Stepping Stones Studio (Venue 5|) 225 6520. until 3 Sept. 6.30pm. £6 (£5).
COCKY
This is the show for those who complain the Fringe is not what it was. Written by Jack Ronder. one of the first student producers on the Fringe. it was first performed by Russell Hunter 25 years ago.
Cockburn was a criminal lawyer. judge and political dissenter. but here. is simply a great story-teller and mimic. See it in particular for his version of the lame. cursing Sir Walter Scott slashing wildly at a turnip from his horse. And we are treated to the full closing arguments in his famous defence of the murderer Burke's wife. in which be procured her aquittal.
It is a shame that Henry. Lord Cockburn. is no longer practising. ()J. Simpson is going to need him. (Wes Shrum)
I Cocky (Fn'nge) Russell Hunter. Royal Museum of Scotland (Venue 43) 225 7534. until 3 Sept. 7.30pm. £6.
HEREB-
THE BRADSHAWS
Buzz Ilawkins‘s creation. The Bradshaws. is an overly nostalgic trip back into pounds-shillings-and- pence-era Yorkshire. ‘Radio's favourite family". apparently. Alf. Audrey and little Billy are brought to life in
frequent attempts to
FESTIVAL Wit/8"“
Hawkins's easy-going. pleasant way. Unfortunately. arrogant Alf. sympathetic Audrey and daft wee Billy seem more a case for social work than comedy. Hawkins has obviously worked very hard on his history piece but. despite
interact with the small audience. it really only appeals to a tninority who are as willing to get as emotional as Hawkins. Potentially funny but lacking mass appeal.
Mo matter how much they brew up. The Bradshaws are not my cup of tea. (Dougal Pearlman) I The Bradshaws (Fringe) Music Box (Venue 50) 220 4847. until 3 Sept. 6pm. £6 (£4).
FALLING IN MINE
A dank. newspaper- strewn loft becomes a personal ark for a woman on the run frotn a flood and. seemingly. life itself. Dogs bay beneath her and a voice on the telephone acts as both guide and lifeline, while self- mutilation becomes something more powerful than a cry for help. Christine Entwistle‘s solo piece is genuinely distressing to watch. with the flood working as a metaphor for both personal and natural disaster. Always sensitive. this moody. claustrophobic piece flows unsettlineg to a nihilistic denouement. where element is pitched against element. and which perhaps points to some brighter future ahead. Highly recommended. (Neil Cooper) I Falling In Mine (Fringe) Cross Breed. Greyfriars Kirk House (Venue 28) 225 3626. until 3 Sept. 7.45pm. £5 (£3.50).
t
'Wéw'
Through Da nce
coloured glasses
Union Dance Co.
St.
10 Orwell Terrace. Aug 22-Sept 3 (not Suns)
Tickets 346 1405 £6 (£4)
Bride's Centre (venue 62)
7.30pm
'Urban poetry in movement' The Observer
J
The List 26 August—8 September l994 39