Comedy, Reviews
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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…
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…
Rick Shapiro - Rebirth
22 Aug 2012
The tragedy of Shapiro’s story means there is little to laugh at
It has always been strange to witness the tragedy at the heart of successful comedy. Voyeurism, schadenfreude, even embarrassment are tools of the audience when watching comics bear their soul for laughs. With Rick Shapiro however, there really is…
Gravity Boots
22 Aug 2012
Crashing down to earth with a massive bump
Making surreal humour work is probably the hardest trick to pull off in the comedy arena. Nail it and you will go a very long way; mess up and you just make a complete tit of yourself. Adelaide absurdists Gravity Boots do their best to be as weird as…
Xavier Toby - Binge Thinking
22 Aug 2012
Comedy addressing big ideas let down by whistle-stop rhetoric and poor material
Toby relates the tale of a dinner party with three old male friends held after he returned from travelling. In that time they've all got married and Toby is unimpressed with how they've changed and with their choices in wives. For a while it's seventies…
The Silky Pair
22 Aug 2012
A few sketches hit the mark, but feels cobbled together
Female duo The Silky Pair sells sketches and songs from their comedy shop. Punters have the chance to buy complete routines including outfits and hand gestures. It's a conceptual comedy cliché that's as old as The Two Ronnies but that doesn't mean it…
Tim FitzHigham - Stop the Pigeon
22 Aug 2012
Grandiose storytelling from likeable madman
Stemming from the modern take on epic storytelling made popular in the noughties by Dave Gorman and Danny Wallace types, FitzHigham’s gimmick relies on accepting silly bets: if you engineer a ridiculous situation, your Fringe show will come. William…
KWAT
22 Aug 2012
Wordy sketch show of varying quality
Formerly known as Quattro Formaggio, the more easily digestible KWAT is a slightly more mature sketch group than most seen at the Fringe. This cerebral show recalls the work of former Perrier Best Newcomers The Consultants. And, like them, this literate…
Mark Restuccia - How to Succeed at Internet Dating
22 Aug 2012
Step 1: Don’t follow the example set here
It makes sense that Mark Restuccia’s debut solo show at the Fringe is a ‘How To…’. The format is safe and straightforward, offering clear structure and allowing for plenty of easy punch lines. Throw in a handy PowerPoint to supply images and videos, and…
