Comedy and Issue 611

Gamarjobat

21 Aug 2008

The playful Japanese pair deftly animate all the trappings of a silent Western, complete with a revenge killing and a big-hearted prostitute. A clever use of shiny happy plastic props and stylishly twee sound effects successfully endow the sex and guns…

Jason John Whitehead

21 Aug 2008

The laid-back Whitehead, defined by his rock apparel and sleepy eyes claims to have worked hard over this year's show: 'it's got a theme; it's about being a comedian.' This is typical of the Canadian's easy-going style and enjoyable performance, but…

Sound & Fury

21 Aug 2008

Forcing your audience to participate from the off, to the extent of having them read the first lines of your play, is pretty risky. Fortunately, LA-based Sound & Fury muster this feat with shambolic charm. Employing iambic pentameter, flouncey costumes…

Felix Dexter

21 Aug 2008

Affable as Dexter seems, his is another show of thwarted ambition, over-reliance on funny voices and an hour show that clocks in at almost 50 minutes, a somewhat irritating trend that has been all-too prevalent this year. There's nothing lightweight…

FxP2 in Trouble!

21 Aug 2008

The thing with last-gasp chances are that you have got to take them. And thankfully this set of young sketch artists pulls out a ludicrously playful finale (a boy band mime) that saves the day. It's when they are left to their own writing devices that…

Achtung Pal

21 Aug 2008

Twelve hopeful students chew, gag and gurn their way through a barrage of German and 'Schottish' accents in this dreary 1943-Nazi-occupied-Dundee-set comedy. Sparky performances from the stinky Scottish gypsy prostitute and an officer's secretary are…

Literally

21 Aug 2008

Taking an admirably no-prisoners stance against the abuse and misuse of the word 'literally', Paul Parry delivers his anecdotes and research tongue-in-cheek (though not literally). His smart, dry humour and Viz-style subversive pedantry combine with his…

Barbershopera

Slapstick moments and lyrical buffoonery appear effortless

21 Aug 2008

There a couple of pre-requisites for attending Barbershopera: an appreciation of musical comedy and a passion for a cappella are essential. A penchant for false facial hair is helpful. That said, Toni & The Guys put on an almost seamlessly tight show…

Funny. Twice.

21 Aug 2008

An inoffensive show in a boiling shoebox of a venue, Damion Larkin verbally fondles loneliness and boobies, Jimmy McGhie waxes Londonishly about computer games and holidays. Most refreshing when dissecting their own delivery, Larkin's faux misery and…

…And Other Stories

21 Aug 2008

Yet another in a long Fringe line of below-average youth sketch shows by a group (this time the Durham Revue) that will no doubt have some talented writers and actors within its circle but whose abilities are swamped in a sea of over-enthusiastic…

Why We Ate Cliff Richard

21 Aug 2008

A two-hander disaster story, this is a frantic set which at best resembles the shouty, anarchic energy of The Young Ones, but ultimately fails because of poor writing and uninventive plotting. Hank Marvin's flashy riffs hold things together and a…

Craig Campbell

21 Aug 2008

A one-man play that deserves an audience of less, there is probably a clever, poignant story here. It's just very well-hidden behind the screaming, swearing and unimaginative sexual euphemisms - and who can ever tire of simulated masturbation or crazed…

Andrew Stanley

21 Aug 2008

Being whimsically funny seems to be part of the Irish birth right and Stanley is another example of an act who is adept at managing a crowd and building up a sweat as his shaggy hair matches the tales he unfurls. Gilded Balloon Teviot, 668 1633…

Janey Godley wins Funny Women Fringe Award

21 Aug 2008

Scottish comedy talent has been recognised by the Nivea Funny Women Fringe Award which went to Glasgow stand-up Janey Godley. The comic won the £1000 award with her show Domestic Godley, in which she shares home truths about family, friends and her…