FESTIVAL COMEDY REVIEWS AT A GLANCE

plays his Turk father’s bullish, brutish character to great effect. (Anna Millar) Underbelly, Bristo Square, 0844 545 8252, until 26 Aug, 8pm, £8.50–£9.50 (£7–£8). Oliver Dean ●●●●● When this seemingly confident young English stand-up steps nonchalantly onto the stage, and casually asks for a bit of applause, the ‘crowd’ of six are ready to give it up. But when Dean announces the show is over after barely ten minutes, we’re all a bit nonplussed. As it turns out, we’re just the ‘wrong crowd’. Watching a comic cancel his show mid- routine is a curious experience: it’s a bit sad, but it certainly does have novelty value. (Miles Fielder) Surgeons Hall, 0845 508 8515, until 25 Aug (not 19), 6.05pm, £3 (£2). Owen O’Neill ●●●●● O’Neill’s latest show sits in the storytelling one-man play camp of his varied oeuvre rather than the stand-up. As the lights go up O’Neill springs up out of bed in his jim jams and with a face ‘the colour of a baboon’s arsehole’ recounts how as a 13-year-old he was struck by lightning whilst scrumping apples from the nuns’ orchard. It’s an evocative monologue that conjures up a myriad of images in the mind’s eye creating an absorbing tale that stays with you. (Marissa Burgess) Assembly Rooms, 0844 693 3008, until 26 Aug, 7.30pm, £10 (£9). Pretending Things are a Cock ●●●●● You know those hilarious perspective photos of tourists at Pisa either pushing over or attempting to hold up the Leaning Tower? Comedian John Bennett has spent four years travelling the world, having similar snaps taken of himself grimacing with monuments and people strategically positioned to look like his erect penis, inspiring a huge Facebook following in the process. The comic has a likeable, vulnerable persona but lacks the presence to transform what is basically an amusing website into a scintillating Fringe hour. (Allan Radcliffe) Pleasance Courtyard, 556 6550, until 27 Aug (not 20), 9.45pm, £9–£10 (£8–£9). Sexytime! ●●●●● If your idea of a good time is flimsy innuendo after innuendo jumbled together with no real sense of rhyme or rhythm then be my guest. Far from the bawdy romp through human sexuality the show wants to be, the self-styled ‘Man’ and ‘Woman’ present a confused sketch show that consists largely of altogether too much ‘interpretive dance’ and not enough real substance. However, if the banal jokes, toilet humour and rambling segues don’t fill you with regret, the rampantly lazy gender stereotyping will. (Kirstyn Smith) Underbelly, Cowgate, 0844 545 8252, until 26 Aug, 9.20pm, £9–£10 (£8–£9). Seymour Mace ●●●●● In a show of two distinct sections, Mace opens with a recap of last year’s show and goes through some prepared-earlier artwork. However the bulk of the show relies on you. Handing round pieces of paper and pens you are requested to write down questions but Mace seems slightly ill- at-ease with the nature of improv and rather than these as a springboard for a flight of fancy, there is a brief sometimes awkward comment before swiftly moving on. (Gordon Eldrett) The Stand II, 558 7272, until 26 Aug, 7pm, £8 (£7). Sheeps ●●●●● Sheeps deliver some very sharp, inventive, intelligent writing with moments of meta-comedy on the nature of sketch shows, some surreal flights of fancy and plenty of plain nonsense. A particularly good skit pitching sport against comedy is a real stand out as is the ever present hawk (‘nature’s sparrow’). It’s all utterly ridiculous but it’s hard not to get swept up in the Sheeps’ world of weirdness. 48 THE LIST 16–23 Aug 2012

/ Q H W A R D N A K U S L D

I

I DAVID TRENT

Big, beardy and making his Edinburgh debut. Unfortunately the hype doesn’t match the show and Trent’s multi-media hour titled Spontaneous Comedian sometimes falls flat, with jokes not hitting with the proclaimed precision. Pleasance Courtyard, 556 6550, until 27 Aug, 10.45pm, £9.50–£12 (£8–£10.50).

(Henry Northmore) Pleasance Courtyard, 556 6550, until 26 Aug, 5.10pm, £10–£11 (£8.50–£9.50). The Silky Pair ●●●●● This female duo sells sketches and songs from their comedy shop. Punters have the chance to buy complete routines including outfits and hand gestures. Engaging performers, the pair are strong on absurdism, broad comedy and silly songs. At best the routines are weak, a few hit the right mark but curtail badly, with songs lacking bite amid a general air of a show being cobbled together. (Paul Dale) The Caves, 556 5375, until 26 Aug, 3.25pm, £6 (£5). Steve Gribbin ●●●●● Gribbin is clearly a news junkie, using Alex Salmond’s call to nationhood as a jumping-off point for examining the governing stupidities of this group of nations. His observations run the gamut from crude and broad to clever, liberal and informed but it is in the music where he really comes alive. (Paul Dale) The Stand III & IV, 558 7272, until 26 Aug, 8.10pm, £8 (£7). Steve Shanyaski ●●●●● Shanyaski barrels onstage, wasting no time ingratiating himself to a late-night crowd. His is a show that will help the hapless sods among us to navigate the challenges of everyday life, whether it’s settling down (house buying), communication (social media) and being happy (getting drunk). But it’s hard to tell who his barbs are aimed at and why the Life Survival Bible isn’t actually incorporated into its eponymous show. (Kirstyn Smith) Pleasance Courtyard, 556 6550, until 26 Aug, 11pm, £8.50– £10.50 (£7.50–£9.50). Stuart Goldsmith ●●●●● After a rather laboured introduction from behind the stage, Goldsmith bounces on with the bonhomie of a convivial chat show host. Despite describing himself as ‘nice’, Goldsmith is unafraid to swear, pick on audience members or discuss his sexual inadequacies with verve. But his fast- paced and polished performance belies some very ordinary material. Time in his company is pleasant enough but his cheeky enthusiasm isn’t enough to keep a whole hour afloat. (Murray Robertson) Pleasance Courtyard, 556 6550, until 27 Aug, 7.30pm, £9–£10 (£7.50–£9). Suzi Ruffell ●●●●● Portsmouth gal and self-proclaimed ‘lady gay’, Ruffell offers personal tales of failure and heartache. In her young life these mostly revolve around school, family and dating and her claims of awkward moments and embarrassing incidents fulfil the premise that behind every confident comedian there is an off-stage walking anxiety dream. There’s a solid 20-minute set in here which emerges sporadically but there are too many lulls in between. (Suzanne Black) Pleasance Courtyard, 556 6550, until 26 Aug, 6pm, £10–£11 (£8.50–£9.50). Things We Did Before Reality ●●●●● Despite having a title that brings to mind a Belarusian performance art piece, this is in fact a glorious hour of absurdist character comedy exclusively performed by American comedian Will Franken. With remarkable verbal dexterity he rattles through a host of characters that lampoon US society. Brilliantly performed, there is at times something vaguely Pythonesque about his use of exaggerated stereotypes to satirise modern culture. Without a catchphrase in sight, this is character comedy as it should be. (Gordon Eldrett) The Caves, 556 5375, until 26 Aug, 10.35pm, £10–£11 (£9–£10). The Three Englishmen ●●●●● The Three Englishmen give us a gently amusing hour with some stand-out moments of hilarity, thanks primarily to their musical skills. The boys welcome us into the venue, shaking hands and chatting as easily as if they’d met us in the pub but while there are some very funny sketches (especially the drunk wine-shop owner and an Elton John routine), there’s an edge and intensity missing to the performance. (Yasmin Sulaiman) Pleasance Dome, 556 6550, until 27 Aug, 5.40pm, £9–£9.50 (£7.50–£8). Tiffany Stevenson ●●●●● Swigging cider and conspiratorial, Stevenson manages to make you feel like you’re putting the world to rights. Frown lines vs botox and singledom vs settling down, vajazzles, the erosion of culture and the poetry of WB Yeats: she’s got a lot to get through in an hour, and shoots sharply from the hip with natter that paints jaggedly funny pictures.

(Peggy Hughes) Underbelly, Cowgate, 0844 545 8252, until 26 Aug, 7.50pm, £10–£11 (£9–£10). Tom Cottle’s These Twisted Folk ●●●●● It’s not an encouraging start when the best thing you can say about a play is that they handled their mishaps well. Unfortunately, that’s about all this These Twisted Folk has going for it. A retired circus performer reminisces about his life story from the confines of his wheelchair with the show’s main innovation being the use of static costumes which leading man Cottle brings to life himself, but it’s very telling that the biggest laughs of the hour come from his fumbled attempts to keep them under control. (Niki Boyle) Underbelly, Cowgate, 0844 545 8252, until 26 Aug, 10.45pm, £9–£10 (£8–£9). Tom Stade ●●●●● For those who know and love Stade, he really is a natural performer, licensed with a flair for storytelling and a villainous sense of humour, armed with an incredible knack for making his audiences feel awkward but at the same time liberated. He razes all taboos, sensitivities and reservations about relationships and intimacy, using his own 17-year marriage as testament to the banalities of getting hitched but also the perks that come with it, involving the audience each step of the way. (Andrew Latimer) Pleasance Courtyard, 556 6550, until 26 Aug, 8pm, £11.50–£13 (£10–£11.50). Tony Law ●●●●● No one who attends Maximum Nonsense will get the closing tune out of their head for a good day or two. But then Law’s musical tribute to his inability at finding a good ending to his show does go on and on and on. Then again, his opening is also an overly elongated routine about another of his inabilities: to do blokey banter. His natural rambling hits a better mark when he’s discussing Vikings and his changed lifestyle but the finale leaves a sour, slightly annoyed taste. (Brian Donaldson) The Stand, 558 7272, until 27 Aug, 12.30pm, £8 (£7). Totally Tom ●●●●● From its first scene, the duo pound us with cultural spoofs and off-colour gags and while some of their zeitgeist references which range from the film Drive to 50 Shades of Grey may seem predictable, they’re given new life in this mesmerising comedy. It’s sweaty, slickly executed stuff, with most of the sketches loosely set in a prison. The connections between scenes are tenuous but artfully transitioned, before coming neatly full circle at the end. (Yasmin Sulaiman) Underbelly, Bristo Square, 0844 545 8252, until 27 Aug, 6.40pm, £10–£11 (£9–£10). Truth ●●●●● Vachel Spirason tells us multiple times at the beginning of Truth that he is a ‘storyteller’. With the invisible help of his co-writer Stephanie Brotchie, Spirason embodies a range of characters to tell us the mad tale of how he came to acquire the plasma globe on stage. While Truth lacks a little of the heart of The Hermitude of Angus, Ecstatic the pair’s 2011 Fringe hit it’s an accomplished, original work with a striking surreal edge. (Yasmin Sulaiman) Underbelly, Cowgate, 0844 545 8252, until 26 Aug, 9.25pm, £10–£11 (£9–£10). Wil Hodgson ●●●●● Hodgson’s new confessional comedy show is all about his kinks, turn-ons and fantasies. There’s something eminently likeable about this former punk rocker, self-confessed geek and ‘wannabe lesbian’ as he lets us peek into his psyche and how a pre-internet mix of comics and Carry On shaped his sexual peccadilloes. It feels as though Hodgson is trying to cram as much in before they drag him off. While constant big laughs are rare, the level of honesty will have you hooked. (Henry Northmore) The Stand III & IV, 558 7272, until 26 Aug, 5.50pm, £8 (£7).