DAN MARCH Stuffy MySpace dramedy I.
Social networking may rear its fashionable head in this one-man comic play from Dan March. but it's the more timeless topic of fatherhood that's really up for appraisal. It is. ostensibly. a true story. March. a struggling actor. really did have a one-night stand, really did receive a MySpace message 21 months later informing him he was a father. and really did find himself turning down a tour with the Royal Shakespeare Company to be with his baby daughter.
But for such a personal narrative. this is a thoroughly stuffy hour of 'dramedy‘ because March uses this undivided stage time to prance. exclaim and generally ham it up as he would at a real-life RSC audition. When he occasionally lets the thespian cloak slip a little he can elicrt some laughter. but his repeated. determinedly poignant intimations of his new-found connection with his daughter are saccharine and frankly unforgivable in a Fringe comedy. New fathers may relate: the rest of us are left suppressing our scoffs. (Nick Mitchell)
I Gilded Balloon Teviot, 668 7633. until 25 Aug, 7.45pm, £8—E9 (27—88).
EDINBURGH-ON-SEA
Causing a splash on the Fringe I...
There are performances in campervans and squash courts on the Fringe this year. but a swimming pool is one of the quirkiest venues. Liz Bentley commandeers the pool for a show that includes her own barmy lo-fi poetry and observations on life plus appearances from some of her equally kooky mates. It's undoubtedly an atmOSpheric setting for what is not a slick but certainly fun 52 minutes and if you want to join them in the water you're perfectly welcome. it's difficult to imagine Edinburgh-on- Sea being the same every night. and for this one there were many oddball delights. including fast-paced verse about elves and shelves from Rachel
Pantechnicon. a Teutonic Pink Floyd rendition by the glamorous Scarlet Billows and a touching whale poem from Simon Linney. Plus. there‘s some delightfully bad co-ordinated synchronised swimming and the oddest game of pool you‘re likely to see. Towels supplied. bring yOur own cossie. (Marissa Burgess)
I Apex International Hotel. 08 70 24 7 0736. until 24 Aug, 70.38pm, 98—59 (537—28).
IVAN BRACKENBURY Ill-advised gags in the Disease Hour .00
Fresh from a triumphant Fringe 07 which included an it.comeddie nomination and a string of rave reviews. Chesterfield and North Derbyshire's foot-in-mouth specialist hospital DJ is back. And in a seasonal twist. he's turning August into Christmas-time as his numerous ailing listeners tune in for some festive cheer. For anyone who has caught Ivan Brackenbury before. it's a familiar story as he clashes with authority. plays massively inapprOpriate songs (“Sit Down' for those with piles. ‘Last Christmas“ for a dying child) while dancing around like a fool and tries to avoid on-air wind-ups for fear of losing his livelihood. If this is your first taste of his Disease Hour. then a twisted treat is in store.
The man behind the little 'tache and the big specs. Tom Binns. has undoubtedly created one of the finest and fully-developed Fringe characters since Al Murray pulled his last p;nt here. A packed hour of sick gags for those in the rudest of health.
(Brian Donaldson)
I Pleasance Courtyard. 556 6550, until 25 Aug. 4.45pm, £9.50-E7 0.50 (EB—£9).
AND ON YOUR LEFT . . . RUTH BRATT
Memorany madcap bunch of characters 000
It’s been a mixed bag of a Fringe for female character comics. but Ruth Bratt's collection of mad hatters certainly puts her in the top bracket. Set up as a road trip around the sites of Edinburgh. the show introduces a tour guide who is a mixture of cloying charm and self-absorbed mania. Rife with jealousy. she is more keen on spotting the lover who spurned her than on giving her passengers a journey to remember around the capital's tourist hotspots.
Along the way we encounter a middle-aged Christian lfousewife whose husband is on a mission to extinguish himself. a pervy stand-in
76 THE LIST FESTIVAL MAGAZINE 21 Aug—4 Set) 2008
KRISTEN SCHAAL AND KURT BRAUNOHLER
Schaal and pal delve into surreal corners 0000
A warning is gently dispatched: Double Down Hearts will break our minds. Co-written in reverse chronological order by Kristen Schaal, of Flight of the Conchords fame, and Kurt Braunohler, her ‘gift’ of a comedy partner, the play pastiches the melodrama of Dynasty and the powerful dance scenes in every 805 teen film.
Through Tatiana’s addiction and Charlie’s physical self-obsession, Double Down Hearts wrenchingly conveys the frailty of man. Or not.
And what delightful silliness and delicious, cream-filled comedy gestures this talented duo possess. A slight lip curl, a pause or a gesture repeated have the muscle to bring the house down.
They certainly push minds into all sorts of unexpected, surreal and hitherto less travelled corners. You probably weren’t aware, for instance, that you’d be ensnared by the transcription of the first ever phone conversation, between Pocahontas and colonist John Smith, or that a dateless few months could lead to such dramatic action. The central theatrical setpiece cuts across the grain of a show that exhibits its unhinged heart on its vintage- geek sleeve with no explanation. Such unfettered daftness doesn’t need one.
Their repartee zings like sharp screwball comedy, as they bounce around rapid-fire quips and finish each other’s sentences. This chemistry is surround-sound comedy gold.
There are multimedia moments, favoured motifs - animals and Law and Order: SVU - and musical instruments, all cloaked in the gloriously filthy innocence of the mixed-up minds of Kristen and Kurt. There is no map to their world, but the alternative routes and unexpected vistas will jangle behind your eyes long after you’ve left. (Peggy Hughes)
I Assembly Rooms, 623 3030, until 23 Aug. 9. 70pm, E 72.50 if: 7 I).
diamond character already feels like a stock creation. Not for nothing has Bratt (a regular with the Reduced Edinburgh Fringe lmpro Show) been described as having ‘twinkly-eyed innocence that barely hides a demented rnind'. There is much method to her madness.
(Brian Donaldson)
I Pleasance Dome. 5:36 (55:30, until 25 Aug, 2.30pm, ElO—E‘l l (EBSO—L‘SISOl.
shopkeeper with an eye for the ladies (even if he happens to be related to them) and a Diana-obsessed New Jersey dame. All of those are winners. although the rough east European