Reviews & features: Comedy, Kate Gould
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Radio Hoohah preview
27 Jul 2010
Double act go on a twisted adventure around the airwaves
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
26 Jul 2010
A comically theatrical romp against blokishness
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
26 Aug 2009
Moving, humbling, and comic
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
24 Aug 2009
The banter and inventiveness of a burgeoning comic talent
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
24 Aug 2009
The funniness of the sketches quickly faded
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
20 Aug 2009
A hilarious and naughty time is had by all
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
19 Aug 2009
Charming, witty and warm with great one-liners
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
19 Aug 2009
More absurd than funny
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
19 Aug 2009
Fresh, zany and surprising
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
18 Aug 2009
An energetic musing on modern life
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
7 Aug 2008
Ghost story with giggles
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
22 Jul 2008
Edinburgh Festival Fringe
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…
