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Comedy and Marissa Burgess

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Steve Gribbin: Laugh at First Sight

Steve Gribbin: Laugh at First Sight

A gag-heavy and tack-sharp set

(4 stars)23 Aug 2011

Displaying the skills learnt from 30 years on the circuit, Gribbin’s set is gag-heavy and tack-sharp. He uses the structure of his own comedic journey on which to loosely hang his musical satire with routines on the royal wedding and riots. It’s always…

Hannah Gadsby - Mrs Chuckles

Hannah Gadsby - Mrs Chuckles

A mistress of the subtle one-liner

(4 stars)23 Aug 2011

Having been talked into doing a bungee jump, Gadsby now knows what her deathbed words will be and they’re a disappointment. Armed with tea and biscuits, Mrs Chuckles is exquisitely delivered. A mistress of the subtle one-liner, she credits the crowd…

Simon Munnery: Hats Off for the 101ers, and Other Material

Simon Munnery: Hats Off for the 101ers, and Other Material

Fringe institution is ever-innovative

(4 stars)23 Aug 2011

There aren’t many acts that can fill The Stand on a weekday afternoon, but then Munnery is a Fringe institution. Ever-innovative via daft songs, silly props and monologues, absurdist highlights include his punk rock homage to the R101 airship of 1930…

The Quotidian Revue

The Quotidian Revue

Interesting, absurdist comedy lacks cofidence

(3 stars)23 Aug 2011

With its database of sneeze counts, Twirl stats and celebration of a multi-storey car park’s midweek solitude, this show swings between the absurd and the beautiful. Where it falls down is in the delivery, with two out of the three performers seeming to…

Olver: Portrait of a Serial Killer

Olver: Portrait of a Serial Killer

Stand-up show/theatre experience has potential to be brilliant

(3 stars)16 Aug 2011

It’s difficult to tell how much Mark Olver would ordinarily diverge from his script as on this performance there were a series of hitches which he handled with admirable good humour. But should he tighten up this stand-up show/theatre experience it has…

John-Luke Roberts and Nadia Kamil

John-Luke Roberts and Nadia Kamil

The comedy duo present the new, adjective-less Behemoth show

(4 stars)15 Aug 2011

It’s no ordinary sketch comedy that we’ve come to expect from the Behemoth pair. Their material is innovative, invested with a delicious sense of the absurd and whilst in places it employs some of the rules of comedy, elsewhere it deliberately bends…

Jason John Whitehead

Jason John Whitehead

Turning romantic failure into comedy gold

(4 stars)15 Aug 2011

In 2010, Whitehead was unceremoniously dumped by his girlfriend of five years. He’s put the 12 months since to good use with a lot of curling-up in a foetal position and penning this show. Structured around the reasons ladies have broken up with him…

The Gentlemen of Leisure

The Gentlemen of Leisure

Lit-loving sketch comedy

(3 stars)15 Aug 2011

Turns out that this show is less about the Death of the Novel and more about why it’s still breathing. It may be an irreverent look at literature but you get the impression that these guys have a genuine love of books. There’s an introduction to Don…

Don’t Trust Salmon

Don’t Trust Salmon

Unfunny surrealism that falls short of Boosh-y aspirations

(2 stars)15 Aug 2011

Pretty much every year at the Fringe there’s a sketch troupe or a stand-up who attempts surreal comedy by simply stringing a series of random words together. The Mighty Boosh and the like may have made it look effortless but there’s an art to it and…

Carl Donnelly 3: Carl Donnelier!

Carl Donnelly 3: Carl Donnelier!

Meandering tales that finally pay off

(3 stars)12 Aug 2011

It’s easy to see why critics and award judges have heaped plaudits on Carl Donnelly. But on this occasion, his easy style of stand-up is muddied somewhat by his inability to stay on topic. In the initial few minutes he becomes preoccupied chatting to…

Sanderson Jones

Sanderson Jones

Pleasingly foppish semi-shambles

(3 stars)8 Aug 2011

This is one of those shows that you’re loathe to have to put a put a star rating on. There’s no telling what’s going to happen on any one night, though you can probably predict some Venn diagrams, a bit of Phil Collins and gleefully bad taste jokes.

Pope Benedict: Bond Villain

Pope Benedict: Bond Villain

Provocative and brilliantly witty hour on religion and economic meltdown

(4 stars)8 Aug 2011

He’s already tackled Jesus: The Guantanamo Years and toured with Eco-Friendly Jihad, and this year Abie Philbin Bowman is still looking at the bigger political landscape with an provocative and brilliantly witty hour drawing parallels between religion…

Run, Deaf Boy, Run!

Run, Deaf Boy, Run!

Engaging, heart-warming tale told with skill from deaf comedian Steve Day

(3 stars)8 Aug 2011

Finding himself in his late 40s, deaf comedian Steve Day was feeling like he was falling apart at the seams, so he responded by deciding to run the London Marathon. Despite the fact that the only thing that defined him as a runner was that he owned a…

Bob Downe: 20 Golden Greats

Bob Downe: 20 Golden Greats

Lively hour of high camp, but with only a handful of gags

(2 stars)8 Aug 2011

Celebrating his 20th Fringe anniversary, Aussie polyester sensation Downe presents his usual shtick of fine-voiced covers of popular song, high camp, face-pulling and silly dancing interspersed with DVD giveaways and quiz questions. It’s a lively hour…

Indoor Fox Hunting

Indoor Fox Hunting

Some lovely ideas, but tightening up of content and delivery required

(2 stars)8 Aug 2011

There are some lovely ideas to be found here, with several leaps of the imagination and a nicely absurd viewpoint. But stretched out across 50 minutes, the material wears very thin and a tightening up of both content and delivery is required. You…

Zeus’ Pamphlet

Zeus’ Pamphlet

Enjoyable show combines familiar with the more inventive

(3 stars)8 Aug 2011

This five-piece sketch troupe isn’t bringing anything spectacularly new to the genre but nevertheless it’s an enjoyable show that’s worth seeing. Where some characters are familiar – rude girls on the back of a bus – there are a few ideas that are more…

Interview - Michael Winslow

Police Academy's human sound effect set for Edinburgh - Michael Winslow interview

2011 Fringe debut from actor best-known for iconic 80s comedies

26 Jul 2011

It’s been 27 years since the first film, yet Michael Winslow is still roundly known as ‘that guy who made the noises in Police Academy.’ Though Police Academy 8 is mooted for next year, he’s unperturbed by the enduring connection to the movie series.

Interview - Shazia Mirza

Busybody - Shazia Mirza interview

The comedian discusses being both a busybody and the go-to girl for Islam

26 Jul 2011

As a female Muslim stand-up, Shazia Mirza would often find herself asked to comment on current affairs. Around 9/11 she was quoted left, right and centre but soon tired of being the go-to girl for Islam. ‘I always get people ringing up asking my opinion…

Nick Sun

Nick Sun

The most gloriously disconcerting experience you’re likely to see

(4 stars)23 Aug 2010

Sun defies categorisation: firstly he’s Australian of Nepalese extraction but speaks with a north American twang. Then there’s the material; his is easily the most gloriously disconcerting experience you’re likely to see at the Fringe. During the course…

Dead Cat Bounce

Dead Cat Bounce

Poised to go from cult hit to Minchin-like stardom

(4 stars)23 Aug 2010

Last year they certainly had the rock stylings off pat but this time around they’ve nailed the comedy too. This four-piece from Dublin is the finished article, with songs about running with midgets, one that pokes fun at the cute frontman and a lovely…

Pension Plan

Pension Plan

A pleasure to see a middle-aged lady dicking about

(4 stars)23 Aug 2010

Leisa Rea has been feeling a bit glum so she’s gathered together all her life failures in one big show and celebrated them through the medium of dance, song and a series of absurd short films. There are plenty of lovely touches from random victory jigs…

Michael Fabbri

Michael Fabbri

An amiable and engaging storyteller

(4 stars)23 Aug 2010

His show may be called Fabrications but the only apparent untruth in the show is the big lie told by his former best friend that led to Fabbri being chased by investigative journalists. He is an amiable and engaging storyteller and his tales from…

Gordon Southern

Gordon Southern

An enjoyable hour with a cheeky chap

(3 stars)18 Aug 2010

On the night we popped into Southern’s show, the audience were a touch rowdy. Still it gave him chance to display his well-honed crowd-control skills. Audience pacified and on with the show, one with the theme of borders, inspired by his Australian wife…

Radio Hoohah

Radio Hoohah

Very occasional glimpses of humour

(2 stars)17 Aug 2010

Centred on a defunct radio station peopled by obnoxious presenters and their objectionable guests, MacKenzie and McGuire’s latest offering is a pretty poor effort. The comedy is in turns laboured, random and largely devoid of comic timing as we meet a…

Sarah Bennetto

Sarah Bennetto

A thoroughly engaging and charming storyteller

(3 stars)17 Aug 2010

In this heart-warming little show, Aussie Bennetto tells the story of how, as an impoverished stand-up and one-time satellite TV presenter, she found herself invited to Clarence House to have tea with Prince Charles. This may not be the slickest or the…

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