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FESTIVAL 6pm—8pm

l i" GLASGOW Queens Park Recreation Ground O From I , . j' V Wednesday 13 to Sunday 31 August , 5 Tue 8.00pm ‘9 Wed 5.00 pm, 8.00 pm , Thu 8.00 pm i 1 Fri 5.00pm, 8.00pm I I 11.00 am“, 4.00 pm, 8.00 pm i q I I . Sun 11.00 am, 4.00 pm, 8.00 pm § 7 3 Monday 25 August: 11.00 am* - 4.00pm - 8.00pm 1 *Special Children shows: 1 hour, all tickets £5 l Zoo open daily from 10.00 am until show time .3 Circus tickets ornce Tel 0141 4231172 la ' Inside tickets Tel 0131 4778222 3 , xi ‘Discover another world somewhere between fantasy and 1.5;; .1. reality ...’ ‘Believe in the fantastic? You’ll love il Florilegio Sceptical? “9.2,.- ' . "' Come along, we’ll soon change your mind!’ " c .. . .. s s

COMEDY REVIEW Adam Bloom *****

Bloom is perhaps the perfect comedian: brilliant jokes and the most Winning personality. From the moment he bounces on stage, you know you are going to have fun.

Mostly, his manic joie de vivre and wide-eyed wonder are turned on the everyday, converting mundanity effortlessly into absurdity: Blind Date in other c0untries, swimming pool tilers’ prayers; keeping your partner happy with Nicorette patches.

Somehow the 26-year-old Londoner manages to be crazy without being 'zany’, and his slightly-twisted- children's-TV-presenter persona never grates. He frequently says the first thing to come into his head. What a miracle it’s so funny. (Ed Grenby)

I Adam Bloom (Fringe) P/easance, (Venue 33) 556 6550, until 30 Aug (not 26) 6.45pm, £8/f7 (f7/f6).

THEATRE REVIEW

Daylight Robbery Hz

This monologue starts off well, wrth what appears to be an interesting premise. Maddie, a Scottish-Indian shopkeeper, has recently been the Victim of a Violent robbery and, as her story unfolds, we get a very personal View of what it's like to live on the fringes of both British and Indian culture.

Unfortunately, as the plot develops, the dialogue begins to ramble, wrth excessive repetition the order of the day. The culture-clash theme is also abandoned to a certain extent to concentrate on the gomgs-on inside Maddie's head, prOVIding an unsatisfying end to a very promising beginning. (Abigail Bremner)

I Daylight Robbery (Fringe) Cat A Theatre Company, Gilded Balloon (Venue 38) 226 215 7, until 30 Aug, 6.30pm, £6 (5).

Not quite as clever as they think: The Three Canadians

COMEDY REVIEW Ben Hur - The Epic but

The Three Canadians (there are four of them) successfully shrink the Roman blockbuster Ben Hur into 70 minutes of frantic slapstick and mime.

Trumping each other in the ceaseless quest for the best ad-Iib, the quartet occasionally let their weakness for bottom-orientated gags get in the way of a keener comic edge.

But imaginative set-pieces in the desert, on board ship, and culminating in the chariot-race finale, are convincing enough proof of the group’s skill for infectious ribaldry.

Not quite as waspishly clever as it thinks it is, this is slightly arch, preppy humour that nevertheless delights a sweltering, swooning audience. (Chris Small)

I The Three Canadians ln Ben Hur -— The Epic (Fringe) Gilded Balloon (Venue 38) 226 2 757, until 30 Aug, 7. 75pm, £7 (£6).

THEATRE REVIEW Surfing ****

Billed as a tale of love on the Internet, it is perhaps unsurprising that this monologue takes place on a stark stage with almost nothing in the way of props. However, what follows is as sensitive and uplifting a story as can be imagined.

Two women, played beautifully by Lizzie McPhee With the help only of her facral expressions, find themselves able to escape from the constraints of everyday life through an e-mail affair. What follows is a Virtual Journey of self-discovery, part deceit and part awakening, which carries the audience with it every step of the way. (Abigail Bremner)

I Surfing (Fringe) The Red Room, Assembly Rooms (Venue 3) 226 2428, until 30 Aug (not 27) 7.35pm, {850/050 (USO/£6.50).