Comedy and Kate Gould

Radio Hoohah preview

Double act go on a twisted adventure around the airwaves

27 Jul 2010

Dubbed a ‘French and Saunders for the Facebook generation’, Octavia Mackenzie and Ashley McGuire are known in Fringe circles for their surreal spin on the everyday, from death to ‘the absurdity of Britain’s class system’ (find ‘Kensington Rhyming Slang…

Asher Treleaven - Secret Door

A comically theatrical romp against blokishness

26 Jul 2010

Via ‘the sweet filth of John Waters, the dark, strange wrongness of David Lynch’, and a near-encounter with the secret theatre for madmen, Asher Treleaven grapples with the question, ‘what maketh the man?’ This is the core of his ‘anarchic romp through…

Eric's Tales of the Sea

Moving, humbling, and comic

26 Aug 2009

Breathtaking, poignant, suspenseful, and hilarious, Eric's tales are enthralling, told by a gifted storyteller who will draw you into the murky depths of his world. Self-deprecating and never boastful, he gives an account of the bravery of his fellow…

Bec Hill

The banter and inventiveness of a burgeoning comic talent

24 Aug 2009

Bec Hill is great fun. Her energetic romp through the world of superheroes - the necessary requirements, pitfalls, and her own attempts to be one - is fun more than funny, but she certainly can entertain with the banter and inventiveness of a burgeoning…

Simon Donald and Maff Brown

The funniness of the sketches quickly faded

24 Aug 2009

If shouting 'you've got AIDS' at latecomers, listening to a wide boy plumber-to-the-stars ramble, and helping a diligent market researcher complete a survey by Geordie teenagers sounds like fun, you'll probably enjoy this show. Some people laughed…

Dixie's Tupperware Party

A hilarious and naughty time is had by all

20 Aug 2009

Dixie Longate is fabulous. With enormous beehive hair, gingham get-up, more plastic storage solutions than you could use in a lifetime, patter so glib she could sell every piece, and a sultry Southern drawl, hers is the risqué take on the cosy world of…

Helen Arney

Charming, witty and warm with great one-liners

19 Aug 2009

81/2 Songs About Love (And Other Myths) is a hilarious parade of stalking, dysfunctional relationships, Jean-Paul Sartre, washed-up accordions, over-eager dates, and death by disastrous marriage proposal, set to piano, ukulele and a pimped glockenspiel.

TeakShow

More absurd than funny

19 Aug 2009

Shrieking, bulging eyes, hummus throwing, pelvic thrusts, lounging on the mantelpiece, and twists on familiar scenes give this show a surreal air. The exaggeration is overdone, though, to the point that some sketches are more absurd than funny, losing…

I’ll Always Think of You that Way

Fresh, zany and surprising

19 Aug 2009

Rehab, depression, attempted suicide, departed husbands and death aren’t immediately comic material, but the adventures of silver-spoon idiot Savannah, and Alison, her fat, steadfast, depressed friend are very funny. It could do without the explanations…

Adam Hills

An energetic musing on modern life

18 Aug 2009

Adam Hills does a good line in ranting. From the trials of male ageing, Paralympics in-jokes and offensive sign language to the bonding power of Jon Bon Jovi, his show is an energetic musing on modern life. The only flaw is his audience participation…

Frank Woodley

Ghost story with giggles

7 Aug 2008

Frank Woodley is a multi-talented man whose one-man show, Possessed, is a surprising, zany, and dramatic mix of acrobatics, slapstick, song, pathos, wit, and caricature. The wheezing narrator tells us this is a spooky, scary love story. Model boat maker…

Domestic Goddi

7 Aug 2008

For those sick of the myriad demands the modern woman is expected to sate, this female double act offers an hour's reprieve. From traumatic waxing and inflatable dolls to teachers' bitter child-hating, you're more likely to chuckle and nod in condolence…

Miles Jupp

7 Aug 2008

Jupp makes being the alternately inept and outraged Englishman into an art form. Revealing a vulnerability not often seen onstage in the modern male, with rolling anecdotes and zany observations, Jupp's endearing, sharp humour is irresistible. If you…

Zoe Lyons

7 Aug 2008

Self-confessed middle class binge drinker and veal muncher with a clown shoe carbon footprint, Lyons makes the simple seem hilarious. From eco-parents and the bitterness they spawn, to Chanel knock-offs and the megabus, her timing is sharp, her delivery…

Animal Olympics - Francesca Beard

Edinburgh Festival Fringe

22 Jul 2008

With her daughters’ stuffed toys and an inspired wit, poet Francesca Beard is bringing the Chinese Zodiac to the Fringe. Her first solo Edinburgh show, Animal Olympics, is ostensibly for kids, telling the tale of the animals racing to work out the order…