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Highlights from the 2012 Edinburgh Fringe programme

Highlights from the 2012 Edinburgh Fringe programme

Daniel Kitson, Billy the Mime and Paolo Bianchi set to appear

22 May 2012

The Fringe madness is looming on the horizon and as long as the nation isn’t holed up with Olympics fever, this could well be another record-breaking year. You’ll be less than surprised to hear there’s a massive amount of comedy on show, including a…

The most infamous Fringe controversies

The most infamous Fringe controversies

As the Edinburgh Fringe launches its 2012 programme we recall some of our favourite Fringe scandals

22 May 2012

Festival sinners As the Edinburgh Fringe launches its 2012 programme we recall some of our favourite Fringe controversies Kangaroo Theatre raised religious sensitivities in 2006 when the company staged the notoriously scandalous sex scenes of DH…

Edinburgh’s Assembly Rooms to reopen in time for Fringe

Edinburgh’s Assembly Rooms to reopen in time for Fringe 2012

18-month refit and staff changes at George Street venue

25 Apr 2012

Say what you like about modern-day dress sense, but when Edinburgh’s Assembly Rooms returns to life, today’s fashionistas will have some stiff competition. Yes, they’ll be excited about the opening ceilidh in July and the high-profile Fringe line-up…

New Fringe 2012 performances announced

First raft of shows from 2012 Edinburgh Fringe programme

Stewart Lee, Jimmy Carr, Rhod Gilbert and more to appear at Fringe 2012

5 Mar 2012

The Edinburgh Festival Fringe has revealed around 60 shows to take place at this year's event in August. The announcement comes weeks before the full line-up announcement on Thu 31 May. Comedy shows form the bulk of the latest show announcements…

Mark Fisher dicusses The Edinburgh Fringe Survival Guide

Mark Fisher on The Edinburgh Fringe Survival Guide

Theatre critic's book of essential advice to aspiring Fringe performers

1 Feb 2012

1 Choosing a title takes ages It’s as straightforward as they come, yet The Edinburgh Fringe Survival Guide was a title born of months of discussion. The subtitle, How to Make Your Show a Success, was arrived at no quicker. My editor couldn’t believe…

Tim Key interview: the poet discusses Edinburgh, Alan Partridge and 'sexy baths'

Tim Key interview: the poet discusses Edinburgh, Alan Partridge and 'sexy baths'

Comedy Award winner brings his Masterslut show to the 2011 Fringe

21 Sep 2011

The List has just presented Tim Key with two pages of facts about himself. ‘This is a very good piece of research,’ he says, commending the 16-year-old work experience person who compiled them. ‘I didn’t get to do anything like this on work experience.

Movin' Melvin Brown: Just Singing and Dancing ... You Can Do It!

Movin' Melvin Brown: Just Singing and Dancing ... You Can Do It!

Slick foot-stomping but too much audience on show

(3 stars)1 Sep 2011

Movin’ Melvin Brown certainly got his stage name right. There’s no denying the Texan man can move. And move he does, sometimes so fast his gold shoed feet go into a little fuzzy cloud of slick rhythm and frantic toe-tapping. The best thing by far…

Fringe 2011 awards roundup

Fringe 2011 awards roundup

Multi-award winners include Mission Drift, Leo, Simon Callow and Silent

30 Aug 2011

As the dust settles from this year’s Edinburgh Festival Fringe, we see which figures are poised to stand tall on the cultural landscape with a clutch of awards under their belts The Scotsman Fringe First Awards One for productions appearing at the…

Rory Sheridan's Tales of the Antarctica

Rory Sheridan's Tales of the Antarctica

David O’Doherty in very funny piece that risks becoming one-note in tone

(3 stars)30 Aug 2011

Rory Sheridan is a lovesick man, who inadvertently ends up on an Antarctic expedition to win his bride. Sheridan is no Scott or Shackleton, he complains too much for a start – about the penguins, about the cabbage he has to eat, about the farts that…

Sammy J and Randy: Ricketts Lane

Sammy J and Randy: Ricketts Lane

Extraordinary performances in an endearing show

(4 stars)30 Aug 2011

It’s been a busy month for comedian Sammy J and his antipodean compatriot Randy the purple puppet (performed by Heath McIvor). As well as their respective solo shows they pair up for this high-energy musical about companionship and tax evasion. After…

John Scott: Totally Made Up

John Scott: Totally Made Up

Exemplary observational material worked hard in stifling venue

(4 stars)30 Aug 2011

Winner of last year’s Take the Mic competition, John Scott has his work cut out in this stifling venue. That he manages to get laughs out of our sticky situation is a testament to his immense likeability. There’s some racy stuff but Scott’s charm takes…

BUG Hosted by Adam Buxton

BUG Hosted by Adam Buxton

Entertaining but unchallenging music video presentation

(3 stars)26 Aug 2011

The usually BFI-based BUG organisation’s remit is to celebrate ‘global creativity in music video’, and in that respect, this show succeeds admirably. Videos from acts as diverse as US indie-rockers Manchester Orchestra, electro artists The Chase and…

If That's All There Is?

If That's All There Is?

Eccentric study of a banal relationship

(3 stars)26 Aug 2011

What happens when you realise the man you're marrying is actually utterly dull? Such is the fate that befalls Frances, no sooner than her new husband Daniel has finished his painfully long wedding speech. In the opening scene, we are the guests and as…

The Pleasure of Being: Washing, Feeding, Holding

The Pleasure of Being: Washing, Feeding, Holding

A cure for loneliness?

(3 stars)26 Aug 2011

This one-on-one hotel room experience is Adrian Howells’ attempt at total care for a single audience member. It starts with a warm bath filled with rose petals. I undress and step in. ‘It’s my honour to bathe you,’ Howells says, with no hint of…

Fringe 2011 comedy blogs: Desmond O’Connor

Fringe 2011 comedy blogs: Desmond O’Connor

The worst possible time to lose your voice

26 Aug 2011

It couldn’t have happened at a worse time; I was looking forward to the most exciting night of the Fringe in three of the seven shows on which I am working and I woke to find myself facing the worst nightmare that a performer can be forced to endure.

Giants of Comedy – Darren Walsh, Leo Kearse & Lindsay Sharman

Giants of Comedy – Darren Walsh, Leo Kearse & Lindsay Sharman

They might be giants, and they're definitely tall

(4 stars)26 Aug 2011

There's a Jurassic Park moment on the approach as the ground starts shaking and concentric rings appear in the pints of the wary audience... and then they arrive: the 3 aptly titled Giants of Comedy. Compering by the comparatively short and extremely…

Fringe 2011 - behind the scenes

Fringe 2011 - behind the scenes

Some highlights from the folks who keep the Assembly venues running

26 Aug 2011

Laura Donaldson – press tickets officer This is my first time working for any festival. There’s always good banter in the press office to get you through mountains of last minute requests. Meeting performers such as The Twoks who have blown me away and…

The Pretender

The Pretender

One man show about lying gets out of control

(2 stars)26 Aug 2011

Lying: people often do it to get over life's hurdles. Whether in politics, relationships, or childhood, lies are part of everyday social tactics, but can often spiral out of control. In this play, we're complicit in one such fib. Our host, a nameless…

Soldier and Death

Soldier and Death

Soldier fable let down by tiny puppets

(2 stars)26 Aug 2011

There’s bags of potential in this talented young troupe of puppeteers who tell the fable-esque tale of a soldier who cheats death. All are compelling storytellers, taking turns as the narrator. But the puppets are miniscule, dwarfed by multiple…

Edinburgh Comedy Award 2011 shortlist

Edinburgh Comedy Award 2011 shortlist

Plus the 10 funniest jokes from the Fringe

25 Aug 2011

The shortlist for the 2011 Foster's Edinburgh Comedy Awards have been announced. Nominations for best comedy show and for best newcomer. The winners will be announced on Saturday 27th August.

Nourish

Nourish

Thought-provoking suffragette drama

(3 stars)25 Aug 2011

1913 was a year when suffragette militant violence turned inwards with devastating consequences. But while Emily Wilding Davison made headlines by stepping in front of the King’s horse at the Derby, Sylvia Pankhurst was engaged in a quieter but no less…

Americans in Edinburgh interview: Amanda Palmer, Kurt Braunohler and Kristen Schaal and Mark Chavez of the Pajama Men

Amanda Palmer, Kurt Braunohler and Kristen Schaal and Mark Chavez

The Americans visiting the Fringe share their reflections on Edinburgh

24 Aug 2011

The Yanks are here, and they’re ready to paint the town red, white and blue. Amanda ‘Fucking’ Palmer of the Dresden Dolls, Kurt Braunohler and Kristen Schaal of variety show Hot Tub, and Mark Chavez of physical comedy duo The Pajama Men take a long look…

A writers guide to Fringe journalism – A view from the other side

A writer's guide to Fringe journalism – A view from the other side

Behind the scenes at the Edinburgh festivals

24 Aug 2011

Walking around Edinburgh during the month of August is an experience that will stay with you long after the festival crowds have abandoned the capital's streets and returned to whence they came. Areas of the city normally quiet and empty are transformed…

Conway's Time of the Month

Conway's Time of the Month

Hardeep Singh Kohli, Andi Osho and Imran Yusuf guest at free Edinburgh show

(4 stars)24 Aug 2011

London-based presenter and comedian Eleanor Conway brings her 5 star thighs, the news, and a host of comedy guests to Edinburgh's cosy Space 3 at the Voodoo Rooms. On the platter of entertainment are Hardeep Singh (BBC), Andi Osho (Stand up for the…

Stage whispers: Fringe performer Martha Wollner on her first Fringe

Stage whispers: Fringe performer Martha Wollner on her first Fringe

Sense of community experienced at first Fringe

24 Aug 2011

‘First Fringe?’ That’s what old festival hands kept asking, followed by advice on how to build audiences: get sleep, see shows and, as one producer put it, ‘Generally gird your loins!’ But upon arrival, our ensemble began to experience something…

The Simple Things in Life

The Simple Things in Life

Five opportunities to meditate on what we should value

(3 stars)24 Aug 2011

Against the backdrop of festival chaos, Fuel theatre provides individual spaces for a slightly different, enclosed experience. Walking through the gates of the Botanic Gardens already provides respite from pounding the cobbles of the Royal Mile, and the…

Top of the props: Best use of objects in Edinburgh 2011 Fringe comedy

Top of the props: Best use of objects in Edinburgh 2011 Fringe comedy

Including a levitating dog, a liver and a bag of urine

24 Aug 2011

The best items on the comedy conveyor belt. A levitating dog. Brave old Mr Piffles might have his own polo neck jumper, but for the purposes of this column, he’s a prop, right? In Piff the Magic Dragon’s super show, he floats above the very ground (with…

Beckett & Smith

Beckett & Smith

A genuinely funny 60 minutes

(4 stars)24 Aug 2011

There are some real gems on the free festival circuit, but picking the wheat from the chaff can be a daunting prospect. Split into two halves, Ian Smith launches this hour of stand up with some freewheeling rambling that at times cuts close to the bone…

Interview: Ian Billings

Interview: Ian Billings

Children’s TV writer turned stand-up

24 Aug 2011

What inspired you to do stand-up comedy for kids? The money! I earned £1 last year and I’m still wondering where to invest it. Also the sheer joy of being surrounded by gigglesome, joyous hoots of delight at something I’ve invented. What’s the most…

Marcel Lucont Etc

Marcel Lucont Etc

Barbed wit from the deadpan Frenchman

(4 stars)24 Aug 2011

Marcel Lucont is the prince of the chat show genre in 2011. While his haughty Frenchman shtick could wear thin over the course of an hour-long solo set, the chat show format allows him to spar with guests and disdainfully berate late-comers to great…

Chat Masala with Hardeep Singh Kohli

Chat Masala with Hardeep Singh Kohli

Glaswegian chef's chat show lacks spice

(2 stars)24 Aug 2011

Hardeep Singh Kohli is a friendly figure on stage, and seems in his element when fixing up his daily curry (which a few lucky audience members will get to taste), but he's by no means a magnetic presence. With the exception of Indian comedian Vir Das…

High Jinks with the Hamiltons

High Jinks with the Hamiltons

Bizarre yet mundane chat show from Neil and Christine

(2 stars)24 Aug 2011

The role of chat show host is a tricky one to master – one has to take centre stage if conversation is dragging, but yield the spotlight when guests are ready to shine. This concept has bypassed Neil and Christine Hamilton entirely, as they rely solely…

Alison Thea-Skot

Alison Thea-Skot

Delightfully batty character affair

(3 stars)24 Aug 2011

Tiff Mason is an arch vocal coach with domestic worries, leading to a spell in chokey where she runs rap rehabilitation classes. In this delightfully batty character affair, Skot also introduces us to a terrible Aussie social worker, nervy barrister and…

Tom Allen's Afternoon Tea

Tom Allen's Afternoon Tea

Well-balanced chat show from the camp charmer

(3 stars)24 Aug 2011

Tom Allen occupies the host’s chair with ease: his equal parts campy and charming persona comes across like a less grating Graham Norton, and he reins it in appropriately when guests Craig Hill and Diane Spencer takes the stage with lashings of innuendo…

Edinburgh Tonight with Joe Simmons and Lorraine Chase

Edinburgh Tonight with Joe Simmons and Lorraine Chase

Charming chat show double-act

(3 stars)24 Aug 2011

Joe Simmons and Lorraine Chase make a great team, as he dazzles the hectic barrage of guests with his massive pearly-white gnashers, and she comes back to earth every now and again to say something wonderfully batty.

Scott Agnew’s Scottish Breakfast Chat Show

Scott Agnew’s Scottish Breakfast Chat Show

Amicable but flat midday chat show

(2 stars)24 Aug 2011

Scott Agnew is a genial host, but lacks the charisma necessary to carry a chat show on his own, especially when his guests (including an unusually flat Martin Mor) are lacking in verve themselves.

Constantinople

Constantinople

Completely ridiculous and unexpectedly educational

(4 stars)23 Aug 2011

Theatre Beating’s lunatic dramatisation of the rise and fall of Constantinople is like a great pop song; it thrives on the tension between being completely brilliant and also very, very stupid. The jokes are consistently from the daft end of the street…

And the Birds Fell from the Sky

And the Birds Fell from the Sky

Striking multi-sensory experience

(4 stars)23 Aug 2011

Don a pair of video goggles, put headphones in your ears and surrender yourself to the bizarre Faruk clowns in this short immersive experience, where you’re the main protagonist. Production values are high, and the performers make every effort to ensure…

Bette and Joan - The Final Curtain

Bette and Joan - The Final Curtain

Witty other-worldly ode to Hollywood starlets

(4 stars)23 Aug 2011

It’s 1989 and Bette Davis, betrayed by kith and kin, lies alone and dying. Her nemesis Joan Crawford arrives to guide her to the other side, and then the fireworks begin. Foursight Theatre’s witty and inventive deconstruction of the relationship between…

Phill Jupitus - 'Made Up'

Phill Jupitus - 'Made Up'

Whose Line is it Anyway?-style improv show is a riot

(4 stars)23 Aug 2011

'Carnage?' ponders Jupitus in response to an audience suggestion. 'You've just been watching it for the past hour.' A bit of an exaggeration; it’s more a gentle shambles, but in a loveable way. Phill holds court over a motley bunch of improvisers…

Maybe if you Choreograph Me, You Will Feel Better

Maybe if you Choreograph Me, You Will Feel Better

Solo show with a unique personal experience

(4 stars)23 Aug 2011

Tania El Khoury is a gifted young Lebanese performance artist based in the UK. This tantalising solo gives one man at a time the power to decide what she’ll do and how she will do it. Led to a ‘secret’ yet public location we speak to her via headset a…

Steal Compass, Drive North, Disappear

Steal Compass, Drive North, Disappear

Minimal and moving life awakening

(4 stars)23 Aug 2011

Against a minimalist background of black walls and a scattering of blank chalkboards, Rachel Blackman unravels the story of Martin Charon, philandering video artist, university professor and father of two. Through the four women in his life (each…

Some Small Love Story

Some Small Love Story

A gem with a young but talented cast

(4 stars)23 Aug 2011

Theatrical tales about love – particularly love lost – can so easily be overly saccharine, lacking the depth and sentiment to truly engage. Not so here. Stripped back simplicity is to the fore, as four excellent young performers reveal two great love…

Little Matter

Little Matter

Charming, dark puppetry

(4 stars)23 Aug 2011

In their delightful purpose-built gypsy caravan/tent venue the River People weave a story of hope and despair using puppetry and song. The performers overflow with wit and charm, interacting with each other and the puppets comfortably. While the…

3rd Ring Out: the Emergency

3rd Ring Out: the Emergency

An intelligent audience-led thriller

(4 stars)23 Aug 2011

If it’s not perfect in execution, this piece is both intriguing and thought-provoking. The audience is ushered into a container functioning as an emergency response room and required to make life-and-death decisions about an ecological catastrophe in…

The Overcoat

The Overcoat

All-Scottish cast lead excellent classic satire

(4 stars)23 Aug 2011

An up-to-the minute, fast-paced version of Gogol’s great satire, Catherine Grosvenor’s sharp and hilarious translation (for Finnish companies Rhymäteatteri and Ace Productions) finds us in the world of Edinburgh banking. A fine, all-Scottish cast is led…

Hotel Methuselah

Hotel Methuselah

Stunning and inventive multimedia production

(4 stars)23 Aug 2011

In a war-time hotel night porter Harry delves into his memories in this tense, mysterious multimedia work from Imitating the Dog. A frame around the stage offers limited views of the actors who work in tandem with pre-filmed dialogue and supplementary…

Richard Herring

Richard Herring: What is Love Anyway?

The "King of Edinburgh" at his scintillating best

(4 stars)23 Aug 2011

Back to his scintillating best, Herring delivers a barrage against our notions about love despite (or because of) his own admission that he may have found ‘the one’. She plays a key role in a typically lengthy sequence about Ferrero Rocher pyramids and…

Alun Cochrane: Moments of Alun

Alun Cochrane: Moments of Alun

A reliably hilarious hour

(4 stars)23 Aug 2011

When it comes to a reliably hilarious hour, Cochrane is fast becoming the go-to guy. While he can’t see himself selling out stadiums, he’s more than happy to plough his furrow in ‘proper’ comedy environments. He’s the only one in the room who seems…

Randy is Sober

Randy is Sober

A puppet with incredible range and comedy timing

(4 stars)23 Aug 2011

For an inanimate puppet, Randy’s capable of an enormous range of expression. He’s a captivating flirt and turns his shortcomings (his eyes don’t work) into moments of joy. With a deft turn of phrase and subtle shift in posture, he reacts with impeccable…

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…

Lights! Camera! Improvise!

Lights! Camera! Improvise!

Invention, energy and singing show where audience chooses the theme

(4 stars)23 Aug 2011

Invention, energy and singing are all rolled into one fun-flecked show, in which the audience chooses the theme, location and title of a movie and the talented Scat Pack improvise the rest. Here, we were transported to a rom-com in a Scunthorpe…

Peacock and Gamble’s Emergency Broadcast

Peacock and Gamble’s Emergency Broadcast

Childish mischief and stupendous invention

(4 stars)23 Aug 2011

Combining the childish mischief of John Belushi with the victimised protestations of the underdog, Ray Peacock almost walks away with this show. But Ed Gamble is the perfect foil, selflessly teasing out moments of stupendous invention. Their take on…

The New Conway Experience

The New Conway Experience

Bringing hilarity to the masses

(4 stars)23 Aug 2011

Appearing haphazard while remaining in control isn’t easy. John Conway is the genial host for an assortment of skits and bits that feels more like post-pub drinks at the house of a funny friend. Balancing the well-crafted with the pleasingly…

Lloyd Langford

Lloyd Langford: The Cold Hard Facts of Life

Relaxed and honest hour with pub-quiz enthusiast

(4 stars)23 Aug 2011

Pub-quiz enthusiast Langford promises an evening of facts but there was nothing cold or hard about them. There were snippets about mouse-catching and Welsh TV, but the greatest fact learned was that Langford has funny bones. It’s wonderfully rare to see…

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…

Matt Green: Too Much Information

Matt Green: Too Much Information

Perfectly-paced hour with affable and intelligent Green

(4 stars)23 Aug 2011

Not only charming and affable but also disarmingly intelligent, Green slips more than a few references to global economics into his very funny show. The internet, family and sex are also studied to see why the human race has become so easily distracted…

Neil Delamere

Neil Delamere: Divilment

Confident, mischievious anecdotes

(4 stars)23 Aug 2011

Japes are rife in Divilment, not only in Delamere’s anecdotes but with the mischief he has with his audience: nip to the loo at your peril. His improvisational skills and comic timing are tested and this engaging and confident comedian passes with…

Asher Treleaven: Matador

Asher Treleaven: Matador

Fresh, exciting and energetic

(4 stars)23 Aug 2011

There’s no explanation for the rose-trimmed, front-lawn stage Treleaven spends the hour dandying around, but this seems to fit in with his marvellously peculiar persona. His bittersweet harangue on racism is as intelligent and heartfelt as it is funny.

Fringe 2011 comedy blogs: Biding Time

Fringe 2011 theatre blogs: Biding Time

Can we find alternative models for making theatre at the Fringe?

23 Aug 2011

Market’s crashing, Somalia’s starving and London’s burning; Are we fiddling in Edinburgh while Rome burns this August? It takes a mental leap to see any real connection between the Edinburgh fringe festival and the state of the wider world, except…

Interview: Greg Proops - First word

Interview: Greg Proops - First word

The US comic on Cormac McCarthy, Rupert Murdoch and medical marajuana

23 Aug 2011

US comic, and Whose Line is it Anyway? mainstay, Greg Proops chats Cormac McCarthy, Rupert Murdoch and medical marajuana

You Wouldn't Know Him, He Lives in Texas

You Wouldn't Know Him, He Lives in Texas

An innovative concept that needs thinking through

(2 stars)23 Aug 2011

The title of this show refers to the boyfriend of Lizzie, who will, if you buy a ticket, invite you to her party. The purpose of the gathering is to introduce us (her 'friends') to her beloved Ryan, all the way from Austin. But of course, he won't be…

An Evening with David Sedaris

An Evening with David Sedaris

Bona fide literary superstar reads from his works

(4 stars)23 Aug 2011

David Sedaris is that rarest of beasts: a bona fide literary superstar and recording artist who regularly appears on TV shows such as Letterman, has performed at Carnegie Hall and has the fanbase to be able to sell out a week-long run at Edinburgh’s…

Do Not Take Advice From This Man - Jim Smallman and Friends

Do Not Take Advice From This Man - Jim Smallman and Friends

Four comedians try to sort out your life

(3 stars)23 Aug 2011

Hosted by veritable tattooligan Jim Smallman, four comedians each day gather in the back of a pub, build a bank of combined knowledge and try to sort out your life. Joined by Diane Spencer, Naz Osmanoglu, Tony Jameson and Danny McLoughlin, Smallman…

The Apprentice's Stuart ‘The Brand’ Baggs to appear at the Fringe

The Apprentice's Stuart ‘The Brand’ Baggs to appear at the Fringe

Informal lunch chat at 2011 Edinburgh Fringe

23 Aug 2011

‘I’m alive: there are so many people that aren’t alive or have died, unfortunately. I’m alive; that’s a gift, frankly. I wake up early every morning once I’ve had the sleep I need. I go out and make money. Everything I touch turns to sold.’ Oh Lord.

Teechers

Teechers

Fast-paced youth production despite large cast

(2 stars)23 Aug 2011

This is how to do it. A fast paced youth production of Godber’s now well worn play in front of a really good sized audience. The rotation of performers for each character, as a result of a very large troupe, was a pity as there were stand out…

Medea

Medea

Modern-edged take let down by cast

(2 stars)23 Aug 2011

Critical Mass theatre’s modern-edged take on Euripides’ story of the woman who killed her children never quite delivers the emotional clout promised by its heart-wrenching storyline. Stella Duffy’s script is gutsy and raw, but delivered unimaginatively…

Sunday in the Park with George

Sunday in the Park with George

Wonderfully presented look at the creation of art

(4 stars)23 Aug 2011

Sondheim’s musical about the creation of impressionist masterpiece ‘Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte’ focuses on an obsessed Georges Seurat, whose dedication to his work ruins his life. As the painting’s characters all offer…

The World According to Bertie

The World According to Bertie

A well performed, interestingly staged production

(3 stars)23 Aug 2011

Alexander McCall Smith’s prose is brought pretty niftily to the stage as part twee New Town soap opera, part mild satire. An 11-strong cast bring to vivid life the various dramas amidst the chinking tea cups of Edinburgh’s bourgeoisie, centring on the…

7 Day Drunk

7 Day Drunk

Shallow attempt at drunken creativity

(2 stars)23 Aug 2011

Performance artist Bryony Kimmings sets out to explore the connection between alcohol and creativity. In this she uses art made during her experiment to form the basis of a show, which, while colourful and energetic, fails to bring any original insight…

Eight

Eight

Eight beautifully-written stories impressively told

(3 stars)23 Aug 2011

A selection of eight stories are impressively told here in monologue rotation. Among them are grieving art gallery owner Andre, Bobby, a struggling single Mum and Jude, a well-to-do lad coming of age on foreign shores. Ella Hickson’s characters are…

The Baby Diary

The Baby Diary

Wry play featuring couple soon to be parents

(3 stars)23 Aug 2011

Emily Watson Howes’ wry play features a couple soon to become parents: she’s suitably over-excited, he’s more concerned about losing his pet rabbit Duncan as he relates to his filmed ‘dadblog’. For a piece about the relentless march of technology, it’s…

Yours, Isabel

Yours, Isabel

Strong script brings together romance and female independence

(3 stars)23 Aug 2011

Set in1940s America and based on a real correspondence, this play subverts the classic war time romance of pining love letters to give an altogether more nuanced portrayal of the relationship between Isabel and her traditionally minded boyfriend Nick.

Doris Day Can F**k Off

Doris Day Can F**k Off

Musical one-man experiment

(3 stars)23 Aug 2011

The concept for Greg McLaren’s show should certainly be applauded: for a number of weeks he went round the UK communicating to people through song, taping his experience as he went. Accompanied by a sound deck, guitar and gold lame jacket, this is the…

Devotion

Devotion

Incredible performances hindered by weak story

(2 stars)23 Aug 2011

Insofar as it attempts to convey the depth of feeling engendered by the traditions and solemn ceremony of the bullfight, Devotion just about succeeds, powered by two stunningly intense performances from its male leads. However its story is too slight…

Steve Hall's Very Still Life

Steve Hall's Very Still Life

Surreal tales and batty antics

(3 stars)23 Aug 2011

Where would modern comics be without their crazy parents? We get to laugh at the antics of the Klang man’s batty dad, but mainly we’re chortling at Hall Jnr’s shortcomings amid a tale of love (almost) lost. There’s the night he made a fool of himself at…

Joe Bor: In Search of the Six Pack

Joe Bor: In Search of the Six Pack

Limp hour saved by supporting cast

(2 stars)23 Aug 2011

This doesn’t start well, with a laugh-free vox pops film in which Bor asks the public what they find sexy. Worse is to come with the mercifully brief ‘songs’ which are chucked in to merely ‘show-off’ his recently-acquired guitar skills. What saves this…

When Abel Met Cain

When Abel Met Cain

Middle Eastern music distracted by incoherant stories

(2 stars)23 Aug 2011

Raphael Rodan and Anastasis Sarakatsanos are talented musicians – between them they create a Middle-Eastern atmosphere using guitar, percussion and kanun (a Turkish stringed instrument). Rodan is also highly charismatic, telling tales of brotherhood and…

Hedda Gabler

Hedda Gabler

Stark and surprising modern adaptation

(3 stars)23 Aug 2011

A boldly minimal, variably acted and oddly updated adaptation of Ibsen’s great drama from the young actors of Palindrome Theatre Company of Austin, Texas. One of the Norwegian Bard’s characters will, we are told, ‘piss his pants’, another is ‘a piece of…

Unanswered, We Ride

Unanswered, We Ride

An emotional portrait of grief

(3 stars)23 Aug 2011

Joe Tippett and Martha Wollner take on multiple roles to flank Joy Barrett’s journey as bereaved mother Reese in a portrait of all-consuming, selfish grief. Despite one jarring attempt at an Irish accent, all aspects collide to create an engrossing…

Interpretive Dances to My Diary! (72% Non-Fiction)

Interpretive Dances to My Diary! (72% Non-Fiction)

100% total cobblers

(1 star)23 Aug 2011

Fancy spending time with two red boiler-suited Americans called Ryan who love to let themselves go? Maybe your partner will be led onstage to get tongued by tall Ryan while smaller Ryan giggles at their sheer daring? All in the name of a ‘surreal…

Zoe Lyons - Clownbusting

Zoe Lyons - Clownbusting

Hotchpoth of scenarios largely uninspired

(2 stars)23 Aug 2011

Coming across like your favourite fruity auntie, Lyons delivers a hotchpotch of scenarios centring around her long-held belief that Kate Bush’s 1983 hit was called ‘Clownbusting’. She zips through a largely uninspired set which contains a highlight…

Lunch with Quattro Formaggio

Lunch with Quattro Formaggio

Lovely conceit of Italian waiter on the verge does the job nicely

(3 stars)23 Aug 2011

There’s a lovely conceit at play here as the driving force behind this quartet gets a bit too ‘method’ in his Italian waiter role. The team fall out spectacularly with the fourth wall constantly being pushed over, this storyline forcing attention away…

Phantasmagoria

Phantasmagoria

Depressing, lazy and naïvely acted

(1 star)23 Aug 2011

This glum story about friendship betrayed aims for something moving and grown-up, but isn’t helped by performances that vary from winsome to teeth-grindingly awful (it takes more than pouting, stomping and shouting to represent a child). The lazily…

John Robins: Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas to Heaven

John Robins: Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas to Heaven

Prosaic anecdotes told with gusto and irresistible affability

(3 stars)23 Aug 2011

For a show purportedly about religion, it’s remarkably light on ideas. The professed theme is a launch pad for a collection of faintly prosaic anecdotes, told with gusto and an irresistible affability. Robins is a fluent storyteller, and after puffing…

Chris Mayo's Panic Attack

Chris Mayo's Panic Attack

An engaging stress-related show

(3 stars)23 Aug 2011

Alongside Seminar and Raymond Mearns’ hour, here is another stress-related show, as Mayo chats forcibly about what makes him panic. Everything, by the sounds of it, but he’s confident enough to get up and retell some embarrassing moments (trying to…

So On and So Forth present 'Human Era'

So On and So Forth present 'Human Era'

A missing member, predictible hilarity ensues

(3 stars)23 Aug 2011

The ruse here is that this trio have permanently lost their fourth member with the deceased’s estate imposing a ban on his work being used. Cue ingenious skits with jokes and set-ups going missing, while a running gag about a space mission fares better…

Cul-De-Sac

Cul-De-Sac

Capable garden-fence comedy

(3 stars)23 Aug 2011

Scripted by Matthew Osborn, this natty little three-hander (Alan Francis, Mike Hayley, Toby Longworth) relocates The ’burbs to Middle England. Taking the tested trope of a seeming idyll masking a sinister reality, the deviant Tony Deveraux rules the…

Silken Veils

Silken Veils

Tenderly performed memories

(3 stars)23 Aug 2011

We join a Persian woman (Leila Ghaznavi) as she freaks out about her impending nuptials. Using puppetry, silhouette-work and animation to complement live action we are taken on a journey through her memories of Iran, suffused with the poetry of Rumi. A…

Rich Hall

Rich Hall

Political bashings a definite highlight

(3 stars)23 Aug 2011

With his gravelly drawl and laidback delivery, Hall is easy company. His American/‘Scots’ comparisons have a crowd-pleasing ring, so too a funny skit about bears (particularly the Yogi variety), but his political musings and reflections on the world’s…

Seminar

Seminar

Predictable but well performed self-help for the stressed

(3 stars)23 Aug 2011

Kimberley Jane Feldhauser is an expert on stress and is here to smash the audience’s anxieties to smithereens. Naturally, Feldhauser (Emily Watson Howes) is a ticking bomb and, perhaps too predictably, loses the plot on numerous occasions during this…

Wade McElwain - The Littlest Hobo

Wade McElwain - The Littlest Hobo

Eloquently taste-busting lines

(3 stars)23 Aug 2011

It’s a pity that this Canadian comic found someone in the audience who shared a farming background as the ensuing banter takes the fizz from the head of steam he gains early on with a series of eloquently taste-busting lines. Naming his show after The…

Matt Forde: Dishonourable Member

Matt Forde: Dishonourable Member

Ill-judged hagiography of Tony Blair and Brian Clough

(2 stars)23 Aug 2011

Entitled Dishonourable Member, you might expect this hour to be a coruscating bite at British politics. But Forde’s show turns out to be a protracted love letter to Tony Blair. The sequence about two awkward encounters with his childhood hero Brian…

Men of War

Men of War

Scene after scene falls flat for talented quartet

(2 stars)23 Aug 2011

A talented quartet they may be (including Stephen ‘Toulson and Harvey’ Harvey and Jay’s dad from The Inbetweeners), but scene after scene fall flat. When a good idea does raise its head (a serial killer meeting his girlfriend’s father), momentum is…

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…

Footlights in 'Pretty Little Panic'

Footlights in 'Pretty Little Panic'

One moment of surrealist brilliance can't compensate for lack of comedic guile

(2 stars)23 Aug 2011

Asides from one moment of surrealist brilliance, the current Footlights batch patently don’t have a Key or Fry among them, as they cut a swathe through far too many sketches. Their ‘borrowing’ of the Marx Brothers mirror sequence only serves to prove…

Ian D Montfort - Spirit Comedium

Ian D Montfort - Spirit Comedium

Witty send-up of hand-wringing mediumship

(3 stars)23 Aug 2011

Resplendent in the New Age uniform of beads and sandals, Tom Binns takes on an industry that is at best delusional and at worst predatory. While sending up the vagaries of ‘cold reading’, Montfort drops ‘real’ psychic insights. A witty send-up of…

Pistol & Jack: SMASH*GLAM*SEX*MUSIC

Pistol & Jack: SMASH*GLAM*SEX*MUSIC

Hyper, pop comedy lacks some focus

(3 stars)23 Aug 2011

Even the most precious mainstream music-lover should raise a smile at a mash-up of Radiohead, Lady Gaga, Madonna and The Doors, as pop princess Pistol and sex, drugs and rock’n’roller Jack tell tales. Not consistently funny enough to be great comedy and…

Sally-Anne Hayward

Sally-Anne Hayward: DOn't Judge Me

A pleasant jaunt through middle-class concerns

(3 stars)23 Aug 2011

Hayward cannot wait to be old, as she’ll be able to say what she truly feels. For now, she’s trying to hold it all back, and this is reflected in her comedy which is a pleasant enough jaunt down some middle-class concerns without ever threatening to…

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