_-I— ‘ I . A theatre - dance 0 comedy
CABARET REVIEW
It's Jackie!
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Decked out in powder pink, red semi-beehive, lashings of eye-liner and diamante, Jackie Clune’s lovingly ironic pastiche of easy listening has more balls than Bob Downe will ever have. Following on from last year's Chicks With Flicks, a celebration of 705 disco divas, this time it’s the turn of mellow marrow-melter Burt Bacharach to get the Jackie Clune treatment.
With her fruit maracas and melodica, Clune’s cutting wit proves that the middle of the road is the most dangerous place to be. Her stony-faced Betty Boothroyd- besotted accompanist Jeanette suffers the same injurious contempt Julian Clary reserved for his sidekicks.
Clune catalogues the careers of a constellation of 605 singing stars, from Cilla Black and Sandy Shaw to Dionne Warwick, delivering spot-on renditions of twelve Bacharach numbers in the process. For example, did you know that the vibrating voicebox of that closet multi-instrumentalist, Dusty Springfield was so PWP (popular with poofs) that she became known as the ’crock of gold at the end of the drag queen rainbow'. And did you know that Herb Alpert’s parents are in the Guiness Book of Records for most cruelly naming their child Herbert Alpert, second only to the parents of that
famous saxophonist, Sherb Dibdab?
Clune finally pays homage to Karen Carpenter, whom she describes as the emotional Kate Adie of MOR stardom, because every emotional milestone of the age, from Valentine’s Day to contemplated suicide, was compulsorily accompanied by the relevant Carpenters' number. Laugh if you dare, but check out the discernible sway in the audience during her
rendition of Close to You.
p ”I , 4' g, ; I; .* Purple Pineapple Show: sweet sass
48 THE ”ST 27 Aug- ‘10 Set) 1998
Jackie Clune: cheesy pastiche
Apart from being a seamless songstress, what
delights about Clune's contemporary saccharin-coated routine is its bitchiness. If you like Bacharach, prepare to be in simultaneous multi-orgasmic mode for the entire hour. But even if he's not your cup of tea, you'll love Jackie Clune's show anyway, because it so precisely sums up British humour and 605 culture in a perfect little nutshell. (Gabe Stewart)
fl For details, see Hit list, right.
COMEDY REVIEW
Ballistic
enwen
Sexy, sharp and original, the Purple Pineapple Girls are on a misSion to reassure those teetering on the brink of 30 ~ especially themselves. Biological clocks and wrinkle-phobia have been done before but rarely with the hysterical panache of this Glaswegian pair.
They ooze post-twenties' hormonal angst as they cast curses on Posh Spice and observe everything from ovulation to bitch behaviour. Juliet Leith and Angela O’Reilly complement each other well. As they whirl through a show encompassing themselves as lustful teenagers, spinsterish old women and even as two Del Boy traders, they highlight the genuine
confusion of being 'twenty- nine something’. Young enough to still get laid — but not necessarily by the man of your dreams — seems to be their motto and they develop it with minimal staging and a barrel-load of sass.
Blending real female concerns with a ballsy, brazen humour, the show is ultimately carried by the girls’ personalities and their style which is that of a pair of kinky agony aunts whose problems are largely their own. Their chummy, confidential wit also helps to tone down the more risque material in the set and produces hilarious, cabaret—style gags a-plenty for both sexes.
Savouring singledom yet demanding sexual satisfaction, the Pineapple Girls are unusual, fruity and very tasty. Be warned before biting, though! (Caroline Brown)
% For details, see Hit list, right.
10pm—Late
Jackie! (Fringe) Jackie Clune, Observer Assembly (Venue 3) 226 2428, until 5 Sep, 70.25pm, f9/f8 (£8/f 7).
Mark Little: Spontaneous Human Combustion Little by name, little by nature, it would appear, if our eagle- eyed reviewer is to be believed. Still, the stand-up formerly known as Joe Mangle is packing them in with this full-frontal assault on life. See review on following pages. Mark Little: Spontaneous Human Combustion (Fringe) Observer Assembly (Venue 3) 226 2428, until 29 Aug, 70pm,
f lO/f 9 (f 9/£ 8).
ll. 0“ f,
An Evening Of Spoken Word With Henry Rollins The mild-mannered janitor of pop takes time out from being scary by reading from his spoken word CD Think Tank, If you value your life in any way, do not, I repeat do not, heckle. See feature An Evening Of Spoken Word With Henry Rollins (Fringe) Calder’s Gilded Balloon At The Palladium (Venue 26) 226 2 757, 3—5 Sep, 70pm, £70 (£8). Ballistic See revrew, left. Ballistic (Fringe) Purple Pineapple Show, C Venue (Venue 79) 225 5705, until 37 Aug, 70pm, £5.50 (£4.50).
Night For Tibet A star-studded gala with profits gorng to ROPKA, a charity which funds health, education and conservation proiects in Tibet. Lynn Ferguson comperes wrth performances from Terry Neason, Mika, Horse, Stewart Lee, The League Against Tedium and Viv And Jill. Special guest is Akong Tulku Rinpoche, the Tibetan lama who founded R'OPKA. Night For Tibet (Fringe) Observer Assembly (Venue 3) 226 2428, 37 Aug, midnight, [9 ([7). Once Russian anti-clowns with a universal appeal bring down a spectacular curtain on love, loss, despair and tears. It’s not as grim as it sounds. The only question remaining is how will they top this next year. Once (Fringe) Derevo, Pleasance (Venue 33) 556 6550, until 37 Aug, 77. 75pm,
£8. 50/f7. 50 (£7. 50/[6.50).