Fringe
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The List
13 Aug 2012
Maureen Beattie delivers this bleakly poignant dramatic monologue from Stellar Quines
In 1916, American playwright Susan Glaspell wrote a one-act piece, Trifles, about two women using their intimate knowledge of the domestic sphere to hide clues right under the noses of a group of men investigating a murder. It may be nearly a century…
Trevor Noah: The Racist
13 Aug 2012
Identity crisis makes for hilarious comedy
It takes a particular kind of individual to get up on stage and open their soul to a room of strangers in order to achieve ratification for their existence. Part of that drive might come from the oft-cited routes about having learned to use humour to…
Through the Looking Screen
13 Aug 2012
A black tale of loneliness and log-ins
The experience of turning The Office into an operatic extravaganza for Comic Relief in 2009 clearly gave Anne Chmelewsky a taste for the comedic possibilities of a musical form normally associated with grim tragedy. But the ‘high heels and high Cs…
Nish Kumar - Who Is Nish Kumar?
13 Aug 2012
An astute and positive debut from a comic with an infectious love of words
Nish Kumar has been kicking around the Fringe for a few years on various projects (most notably alongside Tom Neenan in Gentlemen of Leisure), but this superb hour marks an astute solo debut. Biding time before launching himself as an Edinburgh stand-up…
Five of the best new comedy shows to arrive at the 2012 Edinburgh Fringe this week
13 Aug 2012
Cardinal Burns, Terry Alderton, Idiots of Ants, Simon Amstell and more
Cardinal Burns The sketch duo make a triumphant return to Edinburgh after all that small screen success with their E4 show. Among those characters which Seb Cardinal and Dustin Demri-Burns might have up their sleeves for us are cockney cabbies Terry…
Alan Francis
13 Aug 2012
Intelligent discourse on religion, politics and economics from Edinburgher
Alan Francis is a traditional comedian whose intelligent discourse is delivered through a thick Edinburgh accent, despite him now holding residence in London. The routine opens with a light-hearted look back at recent times as Francis bemoans his…
Desperately Seeking the Exit
13 Aug 2012
Witty and painfully honest one-man show
The birth, death and resurrection of a jukebox musical form the basis of self-confessed ‘Angloholic’ Peter Michael Marino’s new one-man show, Desperately Seeking the Exit, directed by John Clancy. Chronicling the creation, destruction and resurrection…
Dan Wright
13 Aug 2012
Energetic and enthusiastic journey through Michael Jackson fandom
Michael Jackson touched Dan Wright. 32 years old and still pining for the star who blazed a trail and burned out too soon, Wright takes us on a trip down memory lane, from childhood to the present day as a hardened fan, via those awkward, bullied…
Flâneurs
13 Aug 2012
A walk on Edinburgh’s wild side
One can only hope that at least some of the ‘true’ events described in this one-woman show didn’t actually happen. According to young live art maker Jenna Watt, her close friend, Jeremy, was seriously assaulted in London, a large number of other friends…
The Chris and Paul Show
13 Aug 2012
Almost (great) silent comedy
This north American comedy duo have got two very good things going for them: they’re pretty adept at performing silent comedy and they’re reminiscent of that great post-war double act Abbot and Costello. But they really need to tighten up their act. For…
Graters: Julian Ignores His Friend and Talks To A Pretty Girl
13 Aug 2012
Ambitious but flawed idea for a sketch show
James wants to be a stand up. Julian calls himself an entertainer and cheerfully ditches his friend to talk to two women in the pub. Played out to the side of this tableau – one that remains on the stage throughout - are Julian's 'crap' ideas that he is…
Thin Ice
13 Aug 2012
Theatrical brain feast that holds the attention span
What sets Thin Ice apart is not so much its narrative – a disjointed love triangle between academics in the Arctic Circle – as its remarkable depth of thinking. Beneath the slight surface, it’s as dense and tightly packed as a glacier. What’s strange…
Truth
13 Aug 2012
Surreal character comedy from Angus Ecstatic creators
Vachel Spirason tells us multiple times at the beginning of Truth that he is a “storyteller”. For much of this bonkers 60 minutes, his story makes no sense at all – but trust that it all comes together satisfyingly in the end. With the invisible help…
Des Bishop Likes To Bang
13 Aug 2012
Tragic-comedy with hip hop tones
I’m American so I love myself, but I’m Irish so I hate myself,’ declares Bishop from his stance in front of the central point of his show, an electronic drum kit. It is an instrument, he opines, upon which it is impossible to create music about any sad…
Owen O'Neill: Struck By Lightning
13 Aug 2012
Evocative monologue that stays with you for sometime after
Yes there's a dry wit in evidence, but comedian O'Neill's latest show sits in the storytelling one-man play camp of his varied oeuvre rather than the stand up. As the lights go up O'Neill springs up out of bed in his jim jams and with a face 'the colour…
Educating Rita
13 Aug 2012
Polished but too safe version of the popular classic
You've probably read Educating Rita at school. If not, you've almost certainly seen the classic film, starring Michael Caine and Julie Walters. Willy Russell's play is still a key component in British popular culture. A new version, then, needs to be…
Jarred Christmas
13 Aug 2012
Breathless show from the Pot Noodle pimp
Jarred Christmas launches his show with such energetic gusto it's a wonder he's not flat out on the floor after the first minute. It's a spectacular entry, not particularly inventive but perfectly judged to endear himself to the crowd and terrify his…
Marek Larwood: Typecast
13 Aug 2012
Pleasing pratfalls from former We Are Klangster
The former We Are Klangster’s solo show is manic and messy. However, Larwood holds it together, and generates considerable laughter, chiefly by dint of his unenviable – and sort of charming - ability to make himself look like a complete pratt while at…
Tiffany Stevenson
13 Aug 2012
Gobby, warm and putting the world to rights
Swigging cider and conspiratorial, Tiffany Stevenson manages to make you feel like you’re in your local putting the world to rights. And no stone is left unturned or rogue hair unplucked: class (working; ‘bring back tea and manufacturing!’) and racism…
Chris Corcoran and Elis James: The Committee Meeting
13 Aug 2012
Not the slickest show of the Fringe but an absolute riot
You can imagine that Elis James and Chris Corcoran's small Welsh village committee meeting probably hinges on how up for it the audience are on any one day. We are the committee members after all. On the day we were in everyone was full of, as they say…
Gearoid Farrelly: Turbulence
13 Aug 2012
Irishman's Edinburgh debut an engaging success
Though he seems a touch nervy at first and genuinely surprised that he has an audience that almost fills the Wee Room at the Gilded Balloon, Farrelly actually has nothing to be worried about. When he hits his stride the slight Irishman from a rough area…
Helen Arney – Voice of an Angle
13 Aug 2012
Twee show could profit from more singing and less chat
Science pixie Helen Arney mashes together physics, maths and music in a show that teeters the verge between lecture and gig. She is armed with her trusty ukulele, but it’s not all tacky and twee, as her cutesy ditties are littered with more than a…
Inheritance Blues
13 Aug 2012
Devised comedy based around blues cover band almost hits the mark
You don't have to dig deep to see just how talented DugOut Theatre company is. Inheritance Blues revolves around blues cover band, Hot Air Ballues, who not only create rich music together but also share some cracking chemistry. I've no doubt this…
Executive Stress/Corporate Retreat
13 Aug 2012
Interactive corporate satire is an embarrassing affair
A really great interactive show creates a new environment so convincing the audience has no choice but to get involved. Executive Stress/Corporate Retreat, which unfolds in a black box space packed with sharp-suited actors, doesn't quite manage this.
Armageddapocalypse: Threat Level Dead
13 Aug 2012
Brilliant high-energy comedy taking action movie spoof to new levels
Armageddapocalypse is not just a spoof of every action movie ever made. It takes spoof to new levels, blasting it through the air with one liners and quick-fire sketches, before machine-gunning it to pieces with satire and sarcasm. It’s high-energy…
