EDINBURGH FRINGE 2005
Danny Hurst - Uneasy Rider, Smirnoff
Baby Belly
This is a charming show based on comic and actor Danny Hurst's brave decision to cycle from his home in Stoke Newington, North London, to Edinburgh for the Fringe.
He embarked on this mission without realising that one comedian had already done something similar last year and another had cycled more than 130,000 miles over a period of 17 years and was talking about it at this year's Edinburgh Fringe.
No matter. Danny Hurst's show is a winner because of the quality of his performance and interesting yarns about the journey, such as meeting a bloke who had once beaten him up years before.
A little gem from Danny Hurst!
Chris Wilson
August 2005
Come Again - The World of Peter Cook and Dudley Moore, Assembly Rooms
This intelligent examination of the complex relationship between Dudley Moore and Peter Cook was as thought-provoking as it was beautifully crafted by playwrights and critics Chris Bartlett and Nick Awde.
The productionn is a significant achievement with a script that gets beneath the skin of Moore's angst in the unhappy, failing marriage of two showbiz greats.
It takes us through the social divide between them to the pain of Cook's relentless barbs,often fuelled by alcoholism, to the power-shift in Moore's favour which cemented their "divorce" as a comedy partnership.
The acting is fairly strong throughout.
Kevin Bishop makes a marvellous Peter Cook, although he interprets the lines quite cruelly, portraying him as aloof at first, and pathetically desperate later on.
Kevin Bishop captures Dudley Moore perfectly - the voice and mannerisms are extraordinarily good.
My favourite performance, however, was given by Alexander Kirk, as smarmy chat show presenter Tony Ferguson. The awkward, symbiotic relationship between talk show guest and host is beautifully portrayed.
There were also some big laughs in the razor-sharp script.
The audience loved it all. This is a show to see.
Chris Wilson
August 2005
Phil Nichol - Nearly Gay, The Stand
Whenever he performs, Phil Nichol is mesmerizing.
The level of energy that he brings to the stage and the sharpness of its comedy focus cannot be ignored. This show is possibly his finest piece to date.
Stung by a dubious claim from gay comic Scott Capurro that he was homophobic, Nichol set out on a quest to find his own mauve side, hanging out with a gay mate, while at the Melbourne Comedy Festival.
In his yarn, this drive for inner-campness led to a series of misunderstandings which resulted in Nichol making not one but three romantic dates with a sensitive gay hairdresser called Stavros
Nichol delivers the story at breakneck speed but does not lose his audience for an instant, as, hilariously, embarrassment is piled on embarrassment.
It is a wondrous show with tremendously funny songs and a cracking finale, which I won't give away. (I'd die to see him do it in a gay club!)
Catch this show before it sells out!
Joe Wilson
August 2005
Ray Peacock and Son, Pleasance Courtyard
This dark creation by talented stand-up Ian Boldsworth is more of a play than a piece of pure character comedy.
As bigoted and bullyingYorkshireman Ray Peacock, Boldsworth pushes the envelope with a show that is both deliberately chaotic and anti-Fringe.
It is a dangerous road to tread and despite Boldsworth's strong performance, the format does not entirely work for him.
All the same, his supporting cast, Andrew Lawrence as Ray's son Darren, and Issy Suttie as a posh part-Jewish actress, are excellent.
. Joe Wilson
August 2005
Pear-shaped at Midnight, Holyrood Tavern
Edinburgh's "second worst comedy club" is rearing its bubbly head again - always my favourite night out at the Fringe.
Anything could happen at the legendary gig run by Brian and Vicky (Krysstal) whose double act has come on in leaps and bounds since last year, with improved timing and some very funny new lines on the night ("I'll never forget the night I forgot your name")
And what a Paula Radcliffe bill! By my reckoning, they crammed 14 acts into a two-and-a-half hour show - and the standard wasn't bad.
First act Tomi Walamies had some strong gags; second act the Cleaver Brother were quirky in their woolly jumpers, albeit not particularly funny; and third turn Wil Hodgson, a pink Mohicanned oodball had a great deadpan persona and highly original material.
The fourth act was Otto Kuhler who portrayed as a creepy German accordian player. The fifth act I missed because I was buying a pint! The sixth, Some, badly acted a sick sketch based at the vet's. The seventh, Toothpaste Expedition, were fairly weird. The eighth was the affable Peter Buckley Hill, a legend on the Fringe, who was good, even if he ended his set with the words: "I'm a cunt".
But this time it was getting very late and much Holyrood ale had been quaffed. I seem to remember the nineth act, Colin Owens, banging on about his wife being a lesbian, although I could be wrong. Nick Moffat, the 10th turn, was not bad but needed stronger material.
Eleventh act Steve Weiner had a funny set. The 12th act, Paul Doncaster, said he was a disillusioned teacher, although I am sure I heard him say "I teached" (rather than the correct "I taught") at one point.
Act Number 13 Lee Brace had good delivery but needs better material.
Finally, Ian Fox, who had dropped in for a drink and found himself headlining, was good, although, by this stage of the evening, the audience was not at its best.
Overall, another entertaining night at the Pear-Shaped. My hangover lasted for two days!
Joe Wilson
August 2005
Bill Hicks - Slight Return, Pleasance Courtyard
Actor Chas Early and his co-writer Richard Hurst have done something extraordinary with this show - brought the great Bill Hicks back from the grave in a utterly believable way.
Early's performance is nothing short of brilliant and the new Hicks-esque material could have been written by Bill himself from beyond the grave.
The funniest tribute you will ever see.
Chris Wilson
August 2005
EDINBURGH FRINGE 2004
It is hard to equal a show as funny as last year's hit Jeremy Lion's Happy Christmas, but Justin Edwards has done it again. This is absolutely hilarious.
From the moment children's entertainer Jeremy Lion (Edwards) appears on stage, the laughs flow as fast as the booze.
Lion guzzles his way through red wine, lager and whisky as he shows off his trade secrets of making a small child's birthday special: a deranged octopus, dead monkey and model child in a pushchair.
Lion is a beatifully drawn character - extreme but still just credible - and the Beatles-obsessed pianist Leslie (George Cockerill) was again the perfect straight man.
At times the audience simply could not stop laughing.
A great show!
SHOW STAR RATING (out of five): *****
August 2004
Chris Wilson
Julian Fox - New Spaces for Role Models, Edinburgh
This show was just as weird as I had expected.
As well as being a coffee shop obsessive, as he demonstrated in his previous show about the Seattle Coffee Company, it turns out Fox is also a planespotter.
And he is particularly fond of Gatwick Airport, to the degree that he hangs out there and has walked the perimeter fence in 'just under six hours'.
As someone who passes through Gatwick on the train twice every working day, I was actually quite interested in the history of the place.
But despite his collages, diagrams, monotonal songs and so on, Fox did not seem to have found enough material at Gatwick to sustain an entire hour.
So he supplemented it with a short film he had made on Brownsea Island, in Poole Harbour, a bit about Simon Le Bon and stuff about his Jewish faith.
A shame - because you left feeling that although the experience was quite enjoyable, something and nothing had taken place.
SHOW STAR RATING (out of five): ***
August 2004
Chris Wilson
Andrew O'Neill and James Sherwood, Apparently, Smirnoff Underbelly, Edinburgh
Andrew O'Neill and James Sherwood are two rising stars of the comedy circuit.
Apparently they have little else in common. O'Neill is an anarchist who dyes his hair red, Sherwood is a professional singer who could hardly look more ordinary. Yet they are both musical and share a cynicism about organised politics.
Their show opens with a very funny chat between them and then develops into character comedy laced with some straight stand-up.
I was very impressed with the repartee between them and the high qualify of some of the characters. Sherwood's vicar and O'Neill's occult expert were particularly good.
Sherwood's straight stand-up was not quite as strong, but, overall, this was a first-rate performances by two young comedians who are just going to keep getting better.
STAR RATING (out of five): ****
August 2004
Chris Wilson
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