FESTIVAL elm—8pm
THEATRE REVIEW
Bob Downe - Jazzy! Seen at The Talk of London, Wed 9 Jul. * drink
The schtick sticks: Bob Downe
Your first thought, on seeing smarm- and-smile lounge lizard and ten-year Fringe veteran Downe (the stage invention of Australian Mark Trevorrow), might be, 'a little of this goes a long way.’ But Downe’s unabashedly mindless showbiz vulgarity becomes quite cheering. The mincing, gushy, fruity, kitschy schtick begins to stick, and you realise, ’hey, this guy actually loves what he’s sending up'.
Plus, Trevorrow's surprisingly decent singing voice receives good back-up from Laurie Holloway’s three-piece band. The dozen or so tunes range from a Swingle-Singers-style cover version of the Bonanza theme to 3 Beatles medley. Fun! (Donald Hutera) I Bob Downe — Jazzy! (Fringe) Queen’s Hall (Venue 72) 668 2079, 19—21 Aug, 7.30pm, f6—f70.
COMEDY REVIEW
Not Tonight Josephine Enright
it * * *
Bounding across the stage like a cheeky cherub who's munched the last jam doughnut, Jo Enright certainly knows how to disarm an audience. Her
"“' , ‘ . 3%»
52 THELIST 15—21 Aug I997
first solo show Not Tonight Josephine Enright is packed with witty anecdotes and enough human failings to power an episode of EastEnders.
Paying homage to such characters as her Irish mother who fed her on Alphabetti Spaghetti and has a phobia about escalators, Yvonne the Brummie hairdresser from Curl Up 'n' Dye and Julie ‘in retail', there’s never a dull moment.
Sassy, gifted and highly reminiscent of a young Julie Walters, she’s well worth seeing. (Sarah Crawford)
I Not Tonight, Josephine Enright
(Fringe) Jo Enright, Pleasance (Venue 33) 556 6550, until 30 Aug (not 26) 7. 75pm, £6.50/f7. 50 (£5. 50/f6.50).
THEATRE REVIEW A Tainted Dawn (working title Partition)
ink *
A Tainted Dawn is not, as was advertised, a new play by Harvvant Bains. Instead, Tamasha Theatre Company has adapted a cluster of eight short stories about the partition of India in 1947.
Its sprawling structure gives a nice impression of the upheaval, but the stories are not interwoven particularly well. The narrative tension is sometimes dissipated, and with the eight-strong cast playing so many roles, things occasionally get confusing.
The thoughtful, unrushed development helps though; and the show is attractively lit and staged. There are moments both heart- wrenching and heart-warming, and on balance it repays the concentration it requires. (Ed Grenby)
I A Tainted Dawn (International Festival) Tamasha Theatre Company, Gateway Theatre 473 2000, until 78 Aug, 7.30pm; 76 Aug, 2.30pm, £72.
THEATRE REVIEW
The Story Of The Fallen Hero
it at
Guandaline Sagliocco, solo performer,
producer and co-writer (with visual artist Gerd Christianson) brings to the
Mighty Aphrodite: Guandaline Sagliocco in The Story Of The Fallen Hero
Boxed set: Patrick Anderson and Simon Muller in Timon
THEATRE REVIEW Timon
***
' «.e-y "V’M’W (V. “:31” 0 .r- »* . was were messy;
Timon Of Athens is one of Shakespeare's lesser-performed works. It is incomplete and two-dimensional compared with the major tragedies.
Lord Timon is generous beyond the limits of sense to the courtiers, merchants and artists who flatter and fawn on him. When he ends up bankrupt, his friends no longer wish to know and he becomes bitter and misanthropic, dying alone in the woods.
Without new ideas, resurrecting the play seems a strange move. Edinburgh University Theatre Company - the team which enjoyed significant success with last year’s Dubliners - plays it relatively straight. though with some wit and imagination in the staging.
Overall, however, this is a brave choice which they don't really pull off.
(Stephen Naysmith)
I Timon (Fringe) EUTC, Bed/am (Venue 49) 225 9893, until 23 Aug (not 7 7)
6. 75pm, f5 (f 3).
Fringe a piece which has been performed all over Europe since I994. This French actress, based in NOrway, provides us With an account of Jason's quest for the Golden Fleece, told mainly from the perspective of a servant—girl in the house of the gods. With subtle and liquid movement, Sagliocco transforms herself from one mythic figure to another, her erotic Aphrodite and orange-robed Jason being particular highlights. There is also a well utilised toy theatre, although this is swallowed a little by the space, which may be somewhat too big a proscenium-arch for such intimate theatre. (Steve Cramer) I The Story Of The Fallen Hero (Fringe) Guanda/ine Sag/iocco, Famous Grouse House (Venue 34) 220 5606, until 30 Aug (not 78, 26) 7.45pm, [8 ([6).
COMEDY REVIEW
Greg Proops
* ‘k 1% at ‘k
Too much at the Fringe is thin material stretched perilously to fill an hour. This is the opposite. Proops’s show gathers pace frantically towards the end, running ten minutes over, and threatening the audience With a battle of wills over who Will leave first.
In several asides, Proops is dismissive about ’people who don’t read books’. This is welcome intelligent comedy, freewheeling and demanding —- he frequently becomes irritated With the audience for failing to Keep up.
It w0uId almost be worth seeing this show a second time to catch jokes missed at the first Sitting. It IS
undoubtedly worth the first visit. (Stephen Naysmith)
I Greg Proops (Fringe) Greg Proops, Pleasance (venue 33) 556 6550, until 30 Aug (not 78, 28) 7.30pm (25 Aug, 9pm) f 8/f 8. 50 ([7/f7. 50).
THEATRE REVIEW A Kind Heart And A Big
Donger
* *
Lost sOLils, lost causes and losers of every variety are looking for lurve courtesy of Maureen Bailey, the Jimmy Saville of the Interactive Dating Agency. The girls want the champagne and roses bit, while the boys just want to be mothered . . . pert breasts and tight ass essential.
Metamorphosing into a rabble of stereotypes — from Irish single parent to Spanish hooker — this Aussie girl's been taking tips from Cilla, with a tendency to Sing and shimmy at the drop of a hat.
It's a hit and miss affair. Some of the archetypal sad bastard caricatures are hilariously OTT. But it's a one-line gag that ultimately runs out of steam. Much like your average relationship, really. (Claire Prentice)
I A Kind Heart And A Big Donger (Fringe) Pulse, Southside Community Centre (Venue 82) until 16 Aug,
7. 75pm, £5 (£4.50).
STAR RATINGS * * * * * Unmissable * t i it Very ood it» it * Wort seeing it 3% Below average * You’ve been warned