I had a show during the Edinburgh Fringe Festival It went awfully, but it left me most of the day to check out shows with family, friends, and my ever-lovin' girlfriend. I've been to the show for the past three or four years before that, but I felt that this year was the best for me. In previous years I had seen a lot of stand-up comedy, and had grown increasingly bored with it, especially when you consider that I had seen Jack Whitehall and Shappi Korshappi on a supposed 'Superstar Bill.' This year I saw plays, comedy acts and even a book reading instead, and the whole experience was much more fun. You also meet a lot of celebrities, including Paul Daniels, David O'Docherty, and The Swedish Wallender (not Kenneth Branagh) as well as the usual attention seeking tossers who walk around hoping to get recognised (Hardeep Singh Kholi, Daniel Sloss, Ed Byrne, Micky Flannigan). The following are mild reviews of all shows, in order, from first seen to the last (not for any reason other than OCD).
P.S. I am aware that I saw these shows in August, but better late than never huh?
REVIEWS:
Show 1: Tom Binns as Ian D. Montford – Spirit Comedium
Where, When and how Much? Pleasance Courtyard: ABOVE - (12
th August
18:15 £11)
Review: Tom Binns as Ian D. Montford makes light of the previously impossible to mock world of psychics through this show. At the beginning, while everyone was queuing, we were asked to write down a dead celebrity on a piece of paper, which was placed in a box at the beginning of the show. Throughout the show, with the help of a deliberately surly assistant, Montford interacted with the audience, with success, and dispatching witty rejoinders and jokes throughout. Self admitted cold-reading techniques were applied, with amazing effect. A girl in our party had her town and celebrity told to her, and she genuinely wasn’t on the cheat. A bit, where everyone’s watch was placed in a bag and given funny advice was also amusing; although not enough to really sustain an hour on its own.
Highlights: A lot of the jokes were funny, such as the advice to someone being haunted by a midget poltergeist to hide things out of its reach. The self-admitted cold-reading was also impressive. The finale, a multi-sectioned, extended piece where one of the audiences name, place of origin and birthday, were presented, written in a book which he had himself chosen at random, was genuinely impressive, although the dour Scottish accent that the bloke talked in took some of the amazement out of it. The quote, delivered in Scottish monotone, of “it says here, june 6th. [unimpressed pause] Which is actually my birthday,” without smiling. Suggests that an aspect of cold reading which Binns hasn’t mastered yet is choosing the right rube.
Will it be back next year? Possibly, from what I understand it’s been around a while and he, Binns, brings out new characters all the time.
Value for Money? A little expensive, but that’s the Pleasance for ya!
Who’s to blame / congratulate for the recommendation? My Mate Glenn, and his brother.
Patented Star Rating: **1/2
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Show 2: Oedipus by Steven Berkoff (After Sophocles)
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| It was surprisingly difficult to find a picture without Berkoff... E-go![source] |
Where, When and how Much? Pleasance Court (13 August 13:20 £15.50 – c)
Review: The play 'Oedipus Rex' performed around a giant table. A strong performance from a well-dressed Oedipus, and great performances from his less well-attired courtiers. Between speeches and paragraphs, a drum would play, and the chorus would very quickly move positions and facial expressions to match the material. It was done very impressively. The part of Creon was supposed to be played by Steven Berkoff, but he was apparently ill, and so he was played by an perfectly adequate replacement. Despite this I did see people walk out when we were informed that Berkoff wasn't performing. The chorus were excellent, and various individuals from it played the other characters in the play. The most memorable was the deep-voiced guy playing Teiresias, although all of the rest were good. A Solid performance, and an interesting one, although I thought it interesting that Berkoff didn’t change the material to make Oedipus realise what he had done earlier, as the Sophocles version gives at least three clues too many (in this performance, he doesn’t realise what he’s done until well after Jocasta has killed herself.)
Highlights: Jocasta was played by Anita Dobson who was very impressive in her limited scenes. I also bumped into her at least twice around Edinburgh. Oedipus himself was convincing, even though a couple of my party said that he looked like me. Most spectacular of all though, were the chorus, who must have been trained to within an inch of their lives to perform the quick moving set piece stops which punctuate the action of the play. Genuinely astonishing, as was the Prophet, and the comic relief provided by the little bloke who came back in the mask as the shepherd. An impressive and interesting performance; and proof that there is more to existence than Micky Flanagan.
Will it be back next year? Probably not, and just for the record, I’m in the middle of the Julie Burchill vs Steven Berkoff argument.
Value for Money? Thankfully, I didn’t pay for this one, and you have to pay more for a high class high end production thing in the Pleasance. Very good, but not cheap.
Who’s to blame / congratulate for the recommendation? Probably my mother, but there had been numerous good reviews before then
Patented Star Rating: ****
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Show 3: Beowulf: A Thousand Years of Baggage
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| He was WAY less imposing in real life [source] |
Where, When and how Much? Assembly George Square: Dans Paleis (13th Of August 16:00 £12.00- c)
Review: A slightly pretentious, slightly overlong, slightly feminist, modern-day analysis of Beowulf. Told through the mediums of: music and dance numbers and straight-faced academic analysis. The cast were joined by a brass band, and accompanied by a chubby, yet athletic, pair of dancers. It didn't quite work, but had a certain charm. The circular tent where it was performed was used to good effect as a space, but often the audience would have to crane their necks to see things happening behind and in front of them simultaneously. Therefore, it would have been better for everyone to sit in the booths to the side of the stage, which would have allowed everyone to see everything; however, that would have been weird for the performers, as it would have appeared to have been an empty stage (something I am familiar with). Despite being made to sit in the centre, it was hardly a full house. The conceit, a reconstruction of Beowulf to show how it is still influential today, was good idea, but the material could have done with some pruning, and the overly feminist revision of Grendel and his mother put was a bit misguided. To illustrate, they tried to argue that Grendel was a retard, and Beowulf was just another man in the man-ocracy for killing the one thing Grendel's mother liked. All the songs were accompanied by a brass band, which impressed, but meant that the audience was outnumbered by performers. However, the 'Dragon Woman Song' (performed in Old English) was perhaps a dragon song too far, and the whole thing had an unevenness of tone which was a bit weird. I can imagine it working much better with full house, instead of this performance, which had: us, and a few people sitting in the tent to avoid the rain.
Highlights: The entrance of Beowulf was amusing to me, although it was not supposed to be. Beowulf was played by a man with glasses, cuts on his knees and no obvious body weight or muscle; however, this didn't effect the show deeply. The battles were performed through arm wrestles on top of stools, and were amusing and, strangely, tense. The musical numbers were generally interesting, and added to by a fun, full brass band. The Grendell’s arm was also pretty good. On a personal note, the couple playing Grendel's mother and Beowulf were a real-life couple, and one which I saw not only around Edinburgh almost constantly, but also in the small town of Ullapool, where I went a few weeks later with my girlfriend. It is a tiny town far in the highlands, and this appears to be more than mere coincidence.
Will it be back next year? Possibly, but it certainly needs a trim and a re-write.
Value for Money? Meh.
Who’s to blame / congratulate for the recommendation? Alice, my sister, who loves all that Norse shite.
Patented Star Rating: **1/2
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Show 4: Simon Callow in Tuesdays at Tescos
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| Grotesque and not very good, but shhh... now's not the time for words. [source] |
Where, When and how Much? Assembly Hall: Main Hall (16
th August
14:00 £17.50)
Review: Simon Callow, dressed as a very stubbley transsexual, relates the tale of how he goes to visit his father every Tuesday to do some shopping for and with him. The shame of the father and his old friends from the place he grew up is at odds with how Callow’s Character Paul (or Paula) lives his life now. Other than Callow, who provides all the spoken material, the only other contributor to the diagesis (nice word huh?) is a man silently writing to himself and occasionally tuning the piano. Incidentally, that is the very definition of pretentious. In between scenes, the impressively calved Callow would often do dances in high heels, once or twice to the accompaniment of the piano. These dances were offered as comedy, although the rest of the material didn’t know whether to go for flat-out funny, or a serious reflection on transgender concerns. As it was, it was poorly written but well performed, as you would expect from Callow. It was also irritating to have it referred to as 'Tescos' constantly. A missed opportunity.
Highlights: Simon Callow is an impressive performer, and the skin-tight top that he wore (shudder) allowed you to see his impressive diaphragm. Other than that, not really much other than the odd joke which added the occasional titter. You couldn’t help but feel that even that was sychophantic though.
Will it be back next year? Hopefully not.
Value for Money? Absolutely not.
Who’s to blame / congratulate for the recommendation? Another group effort, as we had read a good bunch of reviews. So, up yours, published press.
Patented Star Rating: *1/2
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Show 5: Phill Jupitus Quartet: ‘Made Up’
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| The official picture for 'The Phill Jupitus Quartet' - E-go! [source] |
Where, When and how Much? Gilded Balloon: Debating Hall (17
th August
15:30 £11)
Review: Improv comedy, hosted by Phil Jupitus, and featuring three other guys. Two of them weren’t very good; the other, a small bald Irish guy, was. It was the usual japes and tasks, and they performed them with aplomb. A good skill, but not really to my taste.
Our parties contributions:
Phill Jupitus: Types of Theatre.
Me: Erotic.
Phill Jupitus: Erotic theatre?
Phill Jupitus: Endings of films.
My Auntie: Cliffhanger.
Phill Jupitus: Nice.
Highlights: Some stuff was pretty good, some wasn't so good, you know the deal with improv. It always seems to me that they will work material they have in anyway, no matter what is shouted to them. A genuinely impressive song about a restaurant was the highlight, performed by the little Irish guy who was as funny as he looked (which was very). Phil was good, but the other two were lacklustre at best, particularly the big, grey haired guy who smiled smugly to himself and I saw in at least four bars throughout town afterwards.
Will it be back next year? Probably, it seems pretty easy to do, and was sold out.
Value for Money? Meh.
Who’s to blame / congratulate for the recommendation? An Aunt, and my mum.
Patented Star Rating: **
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Show 6: An Evening With David Sedaris
Where, When and how Much? Venue 150 EICC: The Lomond Theatre (18th August 18:30 £15)
Review: The charming and funny Sedaris came and read to us a few stories, articles, and diary entries of his. He left time for jokes and questions, which he filled with further jokes. A genuinely comfortable presence when reading, he has the wit and charisma to make weak material seem funny, and his material is very strong. It's hard to convey any of his gentle jokes, but he did crack out the less subtle: ‘what’s the worst thing to hear when you’re blowing Willie Nelson?’ (in old man voice) ‘I’m not Willie Nelson.’ A joy.
Highlights: Being within a foot of the guy when we first walked into the hall. The letter of why David Sedaris wasn’t going to be running for President, and the pronunciation by foreign people of foreign words, such as the difference between Nicaragua and Niharahua as pronounced by a white-American. The rest of his stories were, as expected, excellent.
Will it be back next year? I hope he will, the charming wee gay guy.
Value for Money? Didn’t pay, thankfully, but great to see him up close. I’ve been a mad fan since my friend Chissa left me a book as her going away present.
Who’s to blame / congratulate for the recommendation? Me
Patented Star Rating: ****
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Show 7: The Pajama Men: In The Middle Of No One
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| In real life, the guy on the right looks a lot less like Zack Braff [source] |
Where, When and how Much? Assembly Hall: Rainy Hall (19th August
21:00 £14.00 )
Review: Two blokes and some minor musical accompaniment portray dozens of characters in a time-travelling, side-splitting event. Almost impossible to describe without you going to see them, but you should. There were so many hilarious characters, such as the sassy ice-beast, the sassy women in the hospital, and the two ladies who force people in the front row to kiss. Furthermore, the alien diplomats, the star-crossed lovers, and the horny parrot were excellent. The story came together in a witty, intelligent, hilarious hour, and for the most that I have seen in a festival show, the crowd agreed. I saw it twice, happily (see below).
Highlights: So many. Even now, a week and a house move on, we still mention the alien who can talk with the forehead, the woman with the gigantic, uncontrollable breasts, and the bird which makes calls like a woman in the throes of orgasm. From a stage point of view, the scene with the marionettes was not only wonderful physical comedy, but required genuine skill. What tied it most together, was that all of these characters were performed by two very talented blokes, and given an emotional edge through the musical accompaniment of the bearded little bloke at the side of the stage. Worth seeing, and as will be seen. Worth seeing again. Highly recommended.
Will it be back next year? They did a different show last year, so a new show seems likely. I’ll be there.
Value for money? Not cheap, but worth it.
Who’s to blame / congratulate for the recommendation? A Group effort, but it had been very much talked up.
Patented Star Rating: *****
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Where, When and how Much? Udderbelly’s Pasture: E4 Udderbelly (20 August 18:20 £17.00)
Review: A Parkour demonstration, with a story based loosely around a futuristic, dystopian town. This story pretty served as an excuse to the set dark, show off parkour and martial arts, and play drum and bass. The crew were genuinely impressive, especially the guy who was doing the capoeira. All involved were, as you would expect, genuinely impressive athletes. The underbelly venue was used to great effect, and allowed the guys to showcase their considerable skills. On a personal note, I met a girl who slept with four of them in the first two weeks, fair play to her.
Highlights: So many backflips and somersaults during the show that it may have been too much; a guy supporting himself and a mate while balancing on his arms; a guy holding himself up by the arms on a pole, with his legs above him, at a 45 degree angle, for at least 3 minutes. Very impressive stuff. The gentle athleticism of the capoeria guy, who looked huge, but wasn’t very tall when I saw and met him afterwards.
Will it be back next year? Hopefully, it’s good to have non-comedy things, although the queue of morons waiting for Daniel Sloss afterwards didn't raise my hopes for the future of the human race.
Value for Money? Expensive show, but genuinely impressive.
Who’s to blame / congratulate for the recommendation? Me!
Patented Star Rating: ***1/2
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Show 9: Chat Masala with Hardeep Singh Kohli
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| This picture was by far the easiest to find, and also the most headache-inducing [source] |
Where, When and how Much? Gilded Balloon: Debating Hall (21 August 14:00 £12)
Review: Neither I nor my girlfriend were particularly excited when we were told we were going to this, but it turned out all right. Still, even after this, neither of us particularly like Hardeep, so we trudged along with heavy heart. It is ostensibly a chat show, where Hardeep cooks while chatting, before handing a bit of food to his guests and some of the audience. The first few minutes was just Hardeep talking to the audience, and was pretty poor quality. He’s not nasty enough to be a biting comedian, and his self-deprecating humour became grating very quickly. He related stories of his childhood, and spoke about being bullied because of his turban, without ever acknowledging that he could just take it off, or at least not wear a pink one (his brother, Navid from 'Still Game', doesn't wear a Turban, so is Hardeep just an attention seeker? Answer: Yes.) The first guest, a Bristolian guest who showed us his tattoos (which were awful - pi to 55 digits on his arm, and some cuts on his scrawny side) and went on and on about his stand up show, without ever saying a joke or hinting at having a sense of humour. However, he was a pretty boy, and apparently had links to some Hollywood star, and so I could see him becoming famous in spite of his obvious lack of talent. His name was Joel something, and I hope I don’t see him again. The second guest, the boy with the tape on his mouth (See below) was impressive, especially as he only performed the highlights of his hour-long show. The last guest was Mike McReady who was a passionate, interesting speaker, especially compared to Hardeep and that Joel guy.
Highlights: The boy with the tape on his mouth was hilarious in the small dose, especially when following the dross which had preceded him. Big Mike Mcready genuinely exhuded charisma, and was good to see. We also got to try some of the lentil stuff, which was, I must admit, delicious.
Will it be back next year? Certainly looks that way.
Value for Money? Maybe a bit more food would have helped.
Who’s to blame / congratulate for the recommendation? My mother, and beloved aunt.
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Show 10: The Ginge, The Geordie and the Geek – Best of 09/10
Where, When and how Much? Just The Tonic at the Caves: Just The Big Room (21 August 19:45 £12)
Review: The three sketch show guys do a bunch of sketches of varying sanity, developing them over the show, before bringing all of the characters together at the conclusion. Large numbers of characters, costumes were adopted and changed into seamlessly, and the whole thing was well paced and with very few misses. The characters had developed over the hour and came to a good, amusing conclusion. As good as sketch shows can be.
Highlights: The relationship between ventriloquist and puppet was good, and there were numerous giant animal heads. The angry Green Man traffic signal was also very funny: As was the gay guy who challenged manhood conceptions to seduce heterosexual men into sex. To be honest, there were very few weak links, this being the ‘best of’ of course. A really solid set.
Will it be back next year? If they haven’t gone ballistic, then yes. (N.B. Ballistic for a sketch group would mean, I suppose, a TV show, not sure if they have one yet)
Value for Money? Bit much, but a good show.
Who’s to blame / congratulate for the recommendation? My girlfriend, well done Amy.
Patented Star Rating: ****
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Where, When and how Much? Just The Tonic at the Caves: Just The Big Room (22 August 18:15 £7.50c)
Review: A Trio of guys perform sketches. Some were better than others. The main problem I had with them was that they were all posh guys. A friend of my brother went to school with them, and his name is Henry. Make of that what you will. I think that good comedy isn’t performed by three posh guys, at most, you should have one, and he should constantly be made fun of. Of the three, the shortest, bearded one, made a recurring appearance as ‘Bishop klepto’ which was not very funny and had the effect of dragging the show down. He was ‘weird’ as opposed to weird funny, which is never a good thing when he was on the stage the most. The other one, a skinny boy-child type creature, and the lanky, dark-haired one were slightly better, but were still too posh to be really funny. Also, the conclusion, where an opera-singing fly helps a grandfather to escape carehome captivity, was not as clever as the conclusion of all the bits at the end of the 'Ginge, Geordie and Geek' the night before (See above). It seemed a cheap tack-on rather than a good conclusion. However, I am willing to concede that this would probably not be the case if I had seen this before the 'Ginger, Geordie and the Geek'.
Highlights: The Sugar Daddy segment (is it a segment? a piece maybe) was excellent, a sugar infused drug-trip told through strobe lights and flashbacks, leaving the two ‘takers’ curled up heaps at the end, and the stage covered in sugar (which was still there by the time we went to see Henning Wehn (see below)) Though this part was very good, the effect was that the rest of the material paled in comparison, although there were some other good bits. For example, the dancing birds mating dance thing was pretty funny: the lanky one, dressed in a beak and his undies, dragged a buxom audience member to perform a mating dance to her while the others looked on; it was funnier than that sounds.
Will it be back next year? Probably, although they guys may be forced to start working for a bank by their overbearing parents.
Value for Money? Probably a bit too much, good to keep it under a tenner though.
Who’s to blame / congratulate for the recommendation? My sister
Patented Star Rating: **1/2
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Show 12: Armageddapocalypse: The Explosioning
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Instantly question the critical faculties of anyone who gave this tripe a good review [source]
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Where, When and how Much? : Just The Tonic at The Caves: Just The Fancy Room (22nd August 22:00 £7.50c)
Review: I came into this completely silent on what to expect, and with expectations high after a recommendation from my usually reliable sister. What followed was supposed to be a loving take on action and comic-book movies, with a witty, post-modern, director’s commentary interrupting the action at points. What we got was: a non-stop torrent of awful jokes with a near zero per cent success rate. The hero of the 'movie,' who was just a fat guy, was absolutely lacking in charisma, comic timing, or any redeeming feature. He did a a stupid gravelly ‘funny voice’ throughout, it was unfunny at the beginning, by the end I wanted to murder him. The main bad guy, supposed to be German but played by a fey-faced guy struggling to do a foreign accent. He missed his lines constantly. The other main character, the token woman, was attractive but not funny. The result was unfunny jokes, obvious or stupid parodies, poorly performed by untalented actors. I would be disappointed to see this at a high school assembly. Despite this, a lot of people in the crowd were cracking up, which made me think, more than ever, that the vote shouldn't be universal. By some distance, the worst thing I saw this year.
Highlights: Uh, I suppose the main bad guy losing his concentration (and German accent) when someone’s phone went off. Of the actual material though the best bit was the director’s commentary segments, which sought to subvert our inner expectations, but in actuality were nowhere near as clever as they thought they were.
Will it be back next year? I hope not, although the geeks in the room were going mental for it.
Value for Money? Not even if they paid me what I had paid them.
Who’s to blame / congratulate for the recommendation? My Sister, shame on you Alice.
Patented Star Rating: Was gonna give *, but bugger it, 0 stars.
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Show 13: Tokyo Game: The Body Tights Man Show
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Funnier, crazier than this picture makes it look [source]
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Where, When and how Much? : Just The Tonic at The Caves: Just The Fancy Room (23rd August 17:30 £8.00)
Review: Japanese physical comedy performed by three men in full body tights. It was much better than that sounds. Sketches were performed with minimal dialogue between acts, with each act more bizarre than the last. Some acts required genuine skill, such as when they blew a piece of paper the length of the room onto a target, while others were more obvious physical jokes and slapstick. I loved it. The leader of the troop, or at least the one who could speak a bit of English, came to check with us that we knew what he was talking about. It made little difference that we usually had no idea what he was on about. There were some genuinely entertaining bits, and the performers exuberance more than made up for some of the weaker links, such as a couple of springs singing to each other. Innovative use of music and props made this an entertaining day, and the joy that I experienced showed that this particular room wasn’t jinxed (See Armageddapocalypse). Even my initially sceptical girlfriend enjoyed it immensely. At the end, after the thrilling conclusion, the three guys shook our hands and waved everyone goodbye, a nice touch. We came out with smiles on our faces, and the feeling of mental violation which only Japanese comedy can bring. I recommended it endlessly to everyone I know, and no one went, which says a lot about the people whom I know. Variously ‘insane/funny’ and insane, in a good way.
Highlights: In the queue outside there was a very pretty Scottish girl who had evidently been placed in charge of a group of Spanish students for (possibly) a few weeks. As they waited for the show to start, she stood them around her, towering above them all, and said "I am getting paid to look after you guys, but this is our last day together, and I'm sick of listening to you not speaking English, for this last show, no more Spanish. Ok?" They each shook their head and walked off. Only one remained, who said "no vas" - no deal. From the actual show there were so many highlights. The planet of weird animals where the guys dressed up in full morph-suits with sad eyes stuck to the front blew increasingly mad things from their mouths, all set to terrific music, was incredible. A performer stopping from doing an act next to the crowd because he was ‘falling in a love with’ a pretty girl in the audience added some hilarity to a tense physical act. My girlfriend shrieked when a group of magnets made to perform a dance in the shape of a human jumped up and did the splits. Other crowd interaction was also amusing, such as offering a spit covered spatula to one of the audience, and a part where the sounds of flies allowed the guys to smack the audience with fly-swats, were all great. A genuinely interesting and different comedy experience, and much better than lining the pockets of some already smug comic. Exactly what the Fringe should be about.
Will it be back next year? I hope so.
Value for Money? Yes.
Who’s to blame / congratulate for the recommendation? Me, after seeing them walking down the street with five foot tubes on their heads which blew bubbles. I took a flyer and was on my way. Hooray!
Patented Star Rating: ****
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Show 14: Henning Wehn: No Surrender
Where, When and how Much? : Just The Tonic at The Caves: Just The Big Room (23
rd August
21:15 £6.50)
Review: The only genuine stand-up comic we saw this year was the idiosyncratic German. He is a funny, affable man, able to recognise faults in the British psyche from an outsiders perspective, despite having lived here for many years. The only genuine stand-up we saw this year, after a glut of it in the last few, and it was unorthodox and clever enough to be worth it.
Highlights: the sugar on the ground which was left from the ‘sugar daddy’ segment of Wittank, on previously. Other than that, some edgy material which sat nicely alongside his more everyday material. References to Nurembourg and Auschwitz were played nicely for laughs rather than shock, as was his reference to the room as his bunker. His confusion with shit and twix chocolate bars was also amusing. Also, everyone in the audience received a pen courtesy of the German Consulate, given as Henning shook everyone's hand on the way out, a charming and welcome touch. He is, however, as ugly as sin. He also allowed everyone to sign up to his monthly emails, which is a rambling, insane highlight which arrives every few months.
Will he be back next year? Probably, although he will be on QI soon- onwards and upwards.
Value for money? For once, absolutely!
Who’s to blame / congratulate for the recommendation? Me, although my girlfriend and I had both heard good things about it.
Patented Star Rating: ***1/2
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Show 15: Sammy J And Randy: Ricketts Lane
Where, When and how Much? Udderbelly’s Pasture: E4 CowBarn (24
th August
18:00 £11.50 – c)
Review: A well-written, foul-mouthed, Australian show starring the scrawny Sammy J and his morally ambiguous puppet housemate. Through songs and arguments they fall out of love, with Randy responsible for a crime on which Sammy J is a prosecuting lawyer, and which could help make or break his legal career. A bout in prison for both is the conclusion to this well written, fast-paced play with some great musical numbers. I was disappointed to find that seemingly improvised parts were actually well-rehearsed jokes (some mates saw the same thing on a different day) this ruined the illusion of comic genius for me, dropping it towards mere comic heroicism. Or something.
Highlights: The song about sleeping was the best of the bunch, although there were no obvious duds among the other songs. Visual gags, such as the black and white scene, the smooshing of Randy and a few of the more obvious puppet jokes went down well also. The full two minutes of repeating ‘Pwapa New Guinea’ went from funny, to irritating, to hilarious again, and was heard spoken incidentally throughout the town afterwards. Also great were the beef related puns, confusion over tea being referred to as ‘Joe’, and the hopefully soon to be a hit game of ‘Chebble’ - a mixture of Chess and Scrabble, which looked immensely better than either of those games on their own. The tape, ‘Cooking with Obama’ was also very funny.
Will it be back next year? Probably something similar to it yes.
Value for money? Not bad.
Who’s to blame / congratulate for the recommendation? Me and my ladyfriend.
Patented Star Rating: *****
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Show 16: The Pajama Men: In The Middle Of No One (again)
Where, When and how Much? : Assembly Hall: Rainy Hall (24th August 21:00 £12.00 – c)
Review: See above. This was my second time of seeing it (this time with girlfriend, first time was with family) and it was definitely worth seeing twice. Jokes and storylines made a little more sense the second time around, and I was surprised by how different the two shows were, the story allowed a lot for room for improvisation between the two actors, who have a great comedy chemistry. Still a joy, and highly recommended, although my girlfriend enjoyed 'Sammy J and Randy' more. For me, this pipped it as it was cleverer, quicker and more improvised.
Highlights: same as before, the aliens, the woman ripping off her face in frustration and the gormless baby remain highlights. The major change was that the pair, who forced a front row couple to kiss in order to extend the show, seemed genuinely shocked when the couple made out, the first showing they had received a cheek kiss. Still, very impressive show. Looking back on it, we’re all still quoting it now, great.
Will it be back next year? I hope so.
Value for money? Expensive, but worth it.
Who’s to blame / congratulate for the recommendation? Me, this time.
Patented Star Rating: **** 1/2
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Show 17: The Boy With Tape On His Face
Where, When and how Much? : Pleasance Courtyard: BEYOND (25
th August
21:10 £9.50 - c)
Review: A New Zealander finally does us all a favour by putting tape over his mouth, allowing him to amuse without irritating. A mime act, which uses the facial expressions, particularly of the eyes to good effect. On top of this is audience participation, prop comedy, and sound gags honed and well-practiced to create a surprisingly funny show. There were some genuinely funny moments, as well as some that didn’t really hit the mark: for example, there was an over-reliance on inanimate objects made to 'sing' which became a bit much. Some funny gags, although from what I hear, it’s exactly the same material as last year, which must be boring for the guy. Also, the seating in the venue was uniform and almost flat, as opposed to staggered and on a slant, which meant that the audience to bob their heads like a crowd of parakeets in order to see.
Highlights: Crowd interaction was fun, not least the Michael Jackson Song and dance featuring a fat man trying, in vain, to thrust his groin in time to music. Other good scenes too.
Will it be back next year? Yes, and hopefully with new material too.
Value for money? Yeah, not bad.
Who’s to blame / congratulate for the recommendation? An unholy combination of my mother, sister, aunt and girlfriend, who all loved the bits we saw at Hardeep Kohli's show (see above)
Patented Star Rating: ****
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CONCLUSION: OK, that's everything- I also saw a few movies in the film festival, but I think we've already got enough of that nonsense here. We came very close to seeing 'Samurai Grandma' after being handed a leaflet by Henning Wehn, but we never got around to it. We did however, see the Samurai Grandma (a Japanese woman in her middle ages, wearing a kimono) more than anyone else: sleeping in the bar outside the hall, chatting on the royal mile, in the museum, in two restaurants (!) and in at least two other bars. Weird! I immensely enjoyed the festival, and would recommend it to anyone: get there. I also apologise for only putting this up now, but, I've been busy since August.
Merry Christmas, P.
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