Idiots Of Ants, Pleasance Courtyard, Edinburgh
Idiots Of Ants
are one of the most hyped sketch groups performing at this year's fringe - but,
sadly, did not live up to the marketing.
The group - Andrew Spiers, Benjamin Wilson, Elliott Tiney and James Wrighton -
can certainly act, but there was little originality in what they wew1wa 5re doing.
Sketches about TV sports show theme tunes or sexual stereotyFpes are unlikely
to set the town ablaze, and it was no surprise to learn the group has been
going for less than a year.
I suspect that pushy parents have masterminded their premature debut at the
fringe, along with sponsorship from Charlie's Special Reserve, Jeffery-West,
Jelly Bean and Hawes & Curtis (there you are - I've plugged all of them!).
But it takes more than snazzy black suits and fashionably pointy shoes to make
a great comedy show.
Too much, too young!
Chris Wilson
August 2007
John Hegley Elevenses, John Hegley, Pleasance Courtyard,
Edinburgh
John Hegley has a wonderful way of connecting with people.
The veteran comedy poet likes to make his craft accessible to all, mingling his
thoughts, memories and feelings with a sharp wit and inventive use of language.
This show is a mixture of songs and poems, focusing particularly on his time
growing up in a bungalow in Luton.
Strongly nostalgic in its tenor, his work examines his relationship with his
parents, teachers and football team, and his sexual awakening.
Hegley's singing is somewhat in the Billy Bragg mode with genuine emotion being
ladled into every word.
His poetry is not all comedic. His tribute to the late mother of a friend,
which he wrote for and performed at her funeral, is deeply moving.
His interaction with the audience was strong. He seemed to be putting great and
cautious thought into his responses to the oblique comments made by a gentleman
parked in a mobility scooter in the front row.
And asking another audience member to provide live interpretation of a French
poem was a comedy masterstroke.
By the end of the show, Hegley was on a giant swing, recalling his
introspective days swinging in the back garden of his parentsÕ home in Luton.
It was so evocative, you felt you were back in the 1960s in that garden with
the young John Hegley.
Chris Wilson
August 2006
Comprehensive, Steve Day, Lindsay's,
Edinburgh
In the early days of his career, deaf comedian Steve Day was in danger of
sounding like a one-trick pony.
Most of his material was about his disability, a 70 percent deafness, and he
did not appear entirely confident with it.
Now Day has come of age. His performance in this basic but pleasant free venue
was absolutely wonderful.
It should be said that the prospect of a comedian talking for an hour about the
comprehensive schools system did not augur well. However, Day made the show so
much more than that.
He looked at why today's parents are so afraid of letting their children out of
the house to learn about life on their own, meaning that from dawn to dusk,
kids constantly have an adult looking over them.
Day spoke from the heart about the difficulties of caring for his five children
- in yarns that would resonate with every parent, rounded off with great
punchlines.
When Day did tackle disability, it was with an entirely new slant Ð talking
about the so-called 'Three Monkeys' - of having being persuaded, against his
better judgment, to feature in a TV show shot at last year's Fringe about a blind
comic, a deaf comic and stuttering comic, with some midgets thrown in for good
measure at the flat they had to share.
There were some massive laughs in this material, and it became clear that in
terms of performance and material, Day has moved up to the premier league of
stand-up.
It was great to see him range from topic to topic as the mood found him, while
making it all look seamless.
Day has acquired the confidence to become angry on stage, to openly question
the dubious and surprising politics of deafness, and lend a completeness to his
performance which was previous lacking.
Steve Day could and should become a big star. Let us hope that prejudice
against the free Fringe venues does not hold him back.
Chris Wilson
August 2006
Simon Munnery's AGM, The Stand,
Edinburgh
Simon Munnery is a deliberately chaotic performer. He combines great comedy
writing skills and a somewhat geeky charm with the burning desire to give
almost any comedic idea a go.
Perhaps this is why you never tire of him. No two Simon Munnery shows have much
in common.
Over the years he has pioneered the use of computer technology in comedy and
dropped it like a microchip, ranted and rave as Alan Parker Urban Warrior and
performed straight stand-up.
Munnery looks more relaxed than ever with a show that combines a variety of
showbiz talents and ends up with him taking the audience down to t' pub.
He was playing the harmonica as they entered the gig with comedian mate Boothby
Graffoe accompanying him on guitar.
After some gags and bantering with the audience, Munnery announced the meat of
the show - a one-man Sherlock Holmes play with him playing Holmes, Dr Watson
and Mrs Hudson with the aid of only one prop - a deerstalker.
Unfortunately Munnery had genuinely lost it and the hunt for the hat revealed
his detective skills to be unimpressive.
'I need clues,' he said looking under stools and guitars.
When the vital prop was eventually found, the play got underway and proved
hilarious, debunking the myth that Holmes was a competent detective.
Terrific stuff!
Chris Wilson
August 2006
Winston Churchill Was Jack The Ripper, Andrew O'Neill,
Smirnoff Underbelly, Edinburgh
Andrew O'Neill is a comedian to watch.
He has steadily improved over the past few years and is an increasingly popular
fixture at the Fringe.
This show could not help but capture the imagination.
The mere notion that Sir Winston Churchill was Jack The Ripper is amusingly
preposterous. Yet it is just about possible. Churchill was 13 at the time of
the horrific killings in 1888 and living in London (at Harrow).
Andrew O'Neill argues his case with great aplomb, drawing on circumstantial
evidence, ChurchillÕs writings and recorded speeches.
By the time he is finished it is hard to deny that Sir Winston Churchill was
indeed Jack the Ripper.
What makes this show effective is the high level of detailed research, the
offbeat style of Andrew O'Neill's comedy writing, and his surreal flights of
fancy, which pointed the finger of blame at a standing dog and a police horse,
until Churchill was finally traduced for the sadistic murders.
Not everyone has got the joke.
A reviewer for a Scottish newspaper complained that the evidence seemed
tenuous!
The audience. however, loved the show, in which O'Neill showed off his skill
for accents and love of the absurd. 23w
It is a fine piece of work by a comedian who stands every chance of becoming a
household name.
Chris Wilson
August 2006
The Goodies Still Rule OK! Tim
Brooke-Taylor & Graeme Garden Live on Stage, Assembly Rooms, Edinburgh
The Goodies are like a test of age.
If you live in the UK and are aged 40 or oldwer, you will know quite a lot about
the intrepid trio, one of the hottest acts on British television in the 1970s.
If you are much younger than 40, you have probably never heard of them.
So the Music Room was full of people of a certain age, with a sprinkling of
youngsters from Australia where The Goodies' classic shows are apparently
screened incessantly.
The first shock was how old Tim Brooke-Taylor and Graeme Garden looked. It
should not have come as a surprise - but it did.
In an instant your mental image of them was aged by 30 years.
Bill Oddie, a more familiar face on television, was present only on the video
screen although they used this so deftly his physical absence was not a
problem.
The show is fascinating and entertaining in equal measure.
The history of the Goodies, as parallel Pythons, was very interesting; the
clips from the shows were hilarious and the bits of performance in between
added to the levity.
Perhaps the show was too long and some of the gags laboured.
Reflecting on The Goodies' body of work, however, you realised what damn good
comedians they were.
Chris Wilson
August 2006
Boothby Graffoe With Nick Pynn:
Release U Win Tin, The Stand, Edinburgh
Watching Boothby Graffoe, you can never be sure whether he gives a fig.
He is one of the great comics from the early days of the stand-up circuit but
you get the distinct impression he is a bit tired of it all.
All the same this show is most enjoyable, combinating Graffoe's quick wit with
his fine singing voice and guitar playing, accompanied by superb
instrumentalist Nick Pynn.
'WeÕve had some reviews,' said Graffoe, 'We're quite good.'
As if to prove the point, he went to tell a string of gags with varying degrees
of success.
The Brighton ghost ride routine was a winner as was the Frenchmen sketch while
the black new act story fell flat.
'It's not my material,' said Boothby trying to excuse himself, 'I bought it for
100 quid.'
The music was great. The alphabet song was entertaining especially Graffoe's
struggle to remember the lyrics.
And the England football song summed up the national feelings towards our
not-quite-good-enough national football side better than a thousand jingoistic
soccer anthems could have done.
Graffoe did not labour the theme of the show - the campaign to release
political prisoner U Win Tin, leaving that to the slideshow.
Overall it was enjoyable while leaving room for improvement during the run.
Chris Wilson
August 2006
La Clique, The Spiegel Garden,
Edinburgh
The buzz surrounding La Clique is such you come to the show with high
expectations. It does not disappoint.
La Clique is a whirlwind of variety featuring some of the most spectacular acts
to ever perform under canvas.
Opera singer Ali McGregor's moving opening performance set the tone for a show
packed with delightful surprises.
Los Hermanos Macana, Argentine brothers, danced the fastest and most remarkable
tango imaginable.
Incredible Rubberman Captain Frodo married sharp comedy with double-jointed
skills, dislocating limbs to guide his body through with a 10-inch wide
stringless tennis racket!
Guests The Caesar Twins draw gasps of amazement with their daring and acrobatic
physical theatre.
Contortionist Gula Karaeva is as beautiful as she is supple. Lena Gutschank's
aerial performance with hoops was utterly riveting.
Even when trans-gender stripper Bridge Markland's clothes were removed, you
could hear people asking each other: 'Is it a man or a woman?'
All female eyes were glued to muscular youngster Robert Choinka's gymnastic
display, especially when he took off his shirt.
Viktoria Lapidus hula hooping skills were equally remarkable.
Top of the bill were the Skating Willies, a couple who rotated at enormous
speed on a little ring precariously perched on the stage.
When they persuaded a girl from the audience to get up on stage and then lifted
her and spun her round, the audience was euphoric.
It was an amazing, unforgettable night - the most thrilling show I have seen in
a decade at the Edinburgh Fringe.
Chris Wilson
August 2006
Confessions of a Paralysed Porn Star, Sarah-Louise
Young, C Central, Edinburgh
This show is supposed to hinge on two Sarah Louse Youngs: Sarah-Louise Young
(with a hyphen), a little known actress and newish comedian, and Sarah Louise
Young (without a hyphen), the highly successful and wealthy star of
pornographic films and magazines who retired in 1997 at the age of 26 and is
now training to be a lawyer in Germany.
So, you would expect the little-known actress to have done detailed research on
her namesake pornography star from which the writing and the comedy of the
piece would emanate.
Sadly, the delving for facts appears to have ended at a cursory reading of
Sarah Louise's CV on the internet which must have taken all of 10 minutes.
There is no evidence from the show that there has been any real attempt to get
beneath the skin of the pornography star and her extraordinary life.
The show is in effect no more than a front for a cabaret performance of
Sarah-Louise's good cabaret singing voice.
There is no doubt the audience enjoyed some of her songs, but why was
Sarah-Louise pretending to be paralysed? And why was she wearing a red PVC
nurse's outfit and fishnet stockings. It all went unexplained.
Unfortunately Sarah-Louise the actress is not much of a comedienne Ð and
neither is her sidekick Michael Roulston.
Her timing is poor and her material even worse. And when she started whining on
about existentialism, you felt it was time for her to shut up shop and go home.
It was a great shame. This baffling and terrible production did not do justice
to a good idea. Instead, Sarah-Louise the actress seemed to be looking down her
nose her more successful and richer namesake who she constantly referred to as
'Porno Sarah'.
If she had taken the trouble to track and meet her nemesis, as any half-decent
journalist would have done, she would have realised Sarah Louise was the one
controlling her own destiny in an unpretentious and lucrative career trying to
make pornography beautiful.
Chris Wilson
August 2006
