Comedy
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The Noise Next Door: Bring the Noise
24 Aug 2012
Improv mayhem to delight the masses
For those who believe the whole ad-lib world is the lowest rung of the comedy ladder, it might be time to hang out with a Noise Next Door audience. They are virtually messianic in their acclaim of this quintet of very talented improv actors. There isn’t…
Greg Proops
23 Aug 2012
Natural storyteller paints even overhashed topics a new shade of funny
Greg Proops is rambling (‘If there’s any critics in – fuck you. Why did you come on a Sunday night?’ Colour me chastised.) He finds tangents and embraces them, drawling on about the Scottish accent and his inability to understand that old chestnut: the…
Who’s Your Daddy?
23 Aug 2012
Poorly presented account of Johnny O’Callaghan's bizarre true-life tale
Johnny O’Callaghan went to Africa in the pits of a deep depression in the hope that spending time there would somehow increase his chances of dying. He came back the father of a small Ugandan boy. His one-man show, starkly set and told, it feels, in…
Dana Alexander: Breaking Through
23 Aug 2012
Desperately Seeking the Exit might be more fitting title for fly-by show
A theme seems to be emerging from several reviews of Dana Alexander’s 2012 Fringe show. She just doesn’t seem to adapt very well to playing in front of a small audience. Of course, it’s not ideal for any comic, but the old maxim surely must apply: ‘the…
Paul Foot - Kenny Larch Is Dead
23 Aug 2012
A creature of habit delivers his usual fantastical fare
The structure of a Paul Foot gig is by now pretty well-established. Kick off with a bizarre non sequitur, move onto the next surreal musing, go a bit stir crazy, take ages over insignificant details, suffer a stage breakdown and then depart to a hero’s…
Neil Delamere: DelaMere Mortal
23 Aug 2012
Safe but solid hour of craic
With such an easy-going manner and propensity for chatty audience banter, it helps if Neil Delamere can scoop out an interesting front-row character or two. And on this occasion, he uncovers a children’s author and the son of a notable ITV newsreader in…
Roisin Conaty: Lifehunter
23 Aug 2012
Life-affirming show from joy-seeker comedienne
Lifehunter, explains Conaty, is all about searching for the ultimate happiness, a pursuit in which she is extremely well versed. With a forthright manner, like she’s your bubbly blonde mate and we’re all down the pub, Conaty weaves elaborate tales about…
Bristol Revunions: Destination Adventure
23 Aug 2012
Stepping up their sketch act to a new level
The cool kids down at Bristol Revunions (quite a clumsy moniker that) have come up with a pretty ingenious avenue into their sketches this year. Not for them the gruesome donning of gimp masks or overly cosy slipping-on of jimmy-jams, as members of the…
Carl Hutchinson: Acceptable?
23 Aug 2012
A pleasingly moody debut from 25 year old Geordie comic
Having spent a mere 25 years on this planet, it might be far too soon for rising Geordie comic Carl Hutchinson to be a grumpy old man. But he gives those fractious celebrity gents a run for their moaning money with his debut hour. Acceptable is an…
Kieran and Joe: Friends of Steel
23 Aug 2012
Mercurial chemistry in pair's solidly entertaining double act
This masterclass in friendship is more of a lesson in intimidation as Kieran Hodgson and Joe Parham put the living fear into a front row which could be plucked from and experimented on at any moment. Now ploughing on as a trimmed-down double act (yes…
It's Grimm Up North
23 Aug 2012
Animated character grotesquesset in fictional Hardington leave you cold
The first two episodes of this animated series introduce us to a handful of characters - through stories based on fairy tales and fables - who live in the fictional town of Hardington. The animation is distinctive and quirky and the first film in…
Peacock and Gamble
23 Aug 2012
No TV deal just yet for comedic spacehoppers
While they proclaim that they aren’t especially fussed about never being on TV, Ray Peacock and Ed Gamble may be biting their tongues somewhat. Certainly, there must be somewhere (a late-night corner on BBC Three?) for their ill-fitting partnership to…
Michael Workman - Mercy
23 Aug 2012
A beautiful blend of images, music, storytelling and comedy
This is a truly beautiful little show; a quirky blend of images, music, storytelling and gentle gags combine for a memorable reflection on the importance of speaking up for what you believe in. Workman is the winner of a fair few awards (best comedy at…
Daniel Sloss discusses comics, critics and cookery
22 Aug 2012
The Fife comedian is a dab hand at cooking 'chicken thing' with rice
First record you ever bought Sadly I think it was Nickelback. I’ve never really been into music. This is probably why. Last extravagant purchase you made I bought a lifesize, fibreglass replica of a velociraptor. He’s 9 foot long and lives in my…
Kumail Nanjiani
22 Aug 2012
Accomplished stand-up debut from the Pakistani-American comic
Kumail Nanjiani is a big fan of horror films. But as a natural beta male, he can’t quite cope with the feelings of terror they inspire in him and much of his life is spent in a state of fear. When he talks of being unable to visit the toilet during the…
Late Night Gimp Fight
22 Aug 2012
Risible, regrettable and rotten sketch comedy
Where to begin? Firstly, perhaps the lads behind Late Night Gimp Fight deserve some praise for sheer audacity. Not sure who thought they would regularly cram people into a venue the size of Pleasance Forth but it’s barely half-full on a night when not…
Sarah Kendall - Get Up, Stand-Up
22 Aug 2012
Anticipated comeback show is good rather than glorious
When Sarah Kendall became the first woman in what felt like an entire generation to receive a solo Perrier nomination in 2004, her future glory seemed assured. But after one further Fringe stand-up show, a theatrical piece about a college initiation and…
The Three Stooges
22 Aug 2012
The Farrelly Brothers' homage to the original threesome is dim-witted and lame
Reviving The Three Stooges for modern audiences has long been a labour of love for the Farrelly brothers but, sadly, the film that results is the type of dim-witted comedy that makes their own Dumb & Dumber look sophisticated. Chris Diamantopoulos…
Filthy, Rich and Catflap
22 Aug 2012
A nostalgic blast of wayward genius from Rik Mayall and Adrian Edmondson
‘I’m sorry, but did I just detect an effort at humour brilliantly disguised as offensive, mindless drivel?’ Within three minutes of Filthy, Rich & Catflap’s opening episode in 1987, Rik Mayall expressed the standard which was set for the duration of his…
Erich McElroy: The Brit Identity
22 Aug 2012
A permanent cultural exchange with laughs
Whenever a comedian brings a show to the Fringe with any kind of social or political bent, the evolving nature of world events can often turn around to bite them in a soft fleshy place. In 2005, Andrew Maxwell was compelled to rewrite swathes of…
Neil Delamere - DelaMere Mortal
22 Aug 2012
Safe but solid hour of craic
With such an easy-going manner and propensity for chatty audience banter, it helps if Neil Delamere can scoop out an interesting front-row character or two. And on this occasion, he uncovers a children’s author and the son of a notable ITV newsreader in…
Josie Long - Romance and Adventure
22 Aug 2012
New found cynicism provides counterpoint to bubbliness and irrepressible daft voices
Josie Long has turned 30, and it’s changed her – if her last show was full of wide-eyed idealism and exhortations to activism, she’s now become fully acquainted with disillusionment. And not just the kind when everything’s wrong and you don’t know what…
Denise Scott - Regrets
22 Aug 2012
Charm offensive from veteran debutant
One of the least likely comedy debuts this Fringe comes from Denise Scott, a jovial fiftysomething Australian who just so happens to be ‘incredibly famous’ back home. As she retells in one of several stories about her regrets, that fame was nearly…
Wil Hodgson: Kidnapped by Catwoman
22 Aug 2012
A personal history of sexual turn ons
With The Dark Knight Rises ruling the box office this summer, Wil Hodgson has chosen a timely crush for the title of his new confessional comedy show on kinks, turn-ons and fantasies. As it turns out, he’s more interested in the 60s Adam West-era feline…
The Great Puppet Horn
22 Aug 2012
Shadow puppetry show that leaves the comedy in another room
The Great Puppet Horn showed a devilish side recently by using their vast shadow puppet skills to project an image of Stewart Lee onto Edinburgh Castle. It was not an act of idolatry towards the agitprop comic, but the Horn guys were expressing their…
