Reviews & features: Reviews
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Paul Sinha: Looking at the Stars
16 Aug 2011
Perfectly-judged swipe at celebrities, politicians and Twitter twats
Despite the assertion that he’s tired of being asked about current affairs, Paul Sinha has plenty on his mind. He reckons he’ll never be part of the A-list and so delivers a perfectly-judged swipe at celebrities, politicians and Twitter twats. There is…
Bane 1, 2 and 3
16 Aug 2011
Superior noir-influenced multi-character comedy
Bane is the hard-boiled, noir-edged creation of Joe Bone. Together with musician Ben Roe, he creates a universe every night where creeps roam the streets, bad guys talk in suspicious accents and the right kind of anti-hero is always willing to shoot…
Music Box
16 Aug 2011
Mash-up improv troupe never hit a true stride
Maybe it was a lack of imagination on the audience’s part (a musical called Fish set in a chip shop doesn’t seem to be in keeping with the mash-up improv spirit), but this troupe never hit a true stride, going round in circles when they chance upon a…
The Wright Brothers
16 Aug 2011
Conquest of flight given lively treatment
An interesting subject is given lively treatment in this show about American bicycle manufacturers-turned-amateur aviators Wilbur and Orville Wright’s conquest of the skies. The story of their protracted attempts to construct a powered flying machine…
Tom Goodliffe
16 Aug 2011
Lightweight autobiographical material, but with lovely rapport
Goodliffe rails, good-naturedly, against middle-class problems like not liking your job, not having a girlfriend and the annoying questions people ask him because of his name. Taking in his love of maths (with an insistent musical riff on the subject)…
Seann Walsh: Ying and Young
16 Aug 2011
A casual yet potent force
Observational livewire Walsh is a casual yet potent force for laughs when he riffs on the generic habits and quirks that characterise our day-to-day - from experiencing déjà vu to losing the remote control - and his idea for a late-night pissed-up TV…
Rich Fulcher: Tiny Acts of Rebellion
16 Aug 2011
Surreal and sedate show from the rambunctious Mighty Boosher
It’s an uncharacteristically laid-back, practically sedate show from the normally rambunctious Mighty Boosher, and anyone turning up to see him unleash a full-force storm might feel a little disappointed. That said, Fulcher’s still a class act even when…
The Sexual Awakening of Peter Mayo
16 Aug 2011
Quirky characters and quick-fire dialogue
This is sex for a generation of awkward Brits who relate to Mark Corrigan more than they might like to admit. Quirky characters and quick-fire dialogue are let down only by technical gaffs with house lights, not to mention backstage staff who talked…
Danny Pensive’s Map of Britain
15 Aug 2011
Wonderfully odd character comedy
This character comedy is so assured, odd and sweet, that you can easily see the self-styled Sunderland simpleton becoming the next score keeper on Shooting Stars. During his whistle-stop recollection of a three-year trip around Britain, Pensive…
How to be Awesome
15 Aug 2011
Lou Sanders' high energy can't save a set of lacklustre jokes
‘I’m a bit of shambles’ reveals Lou Sanders as she takes to the stage. Highly energetc Sanders may be, but her material – letters sent to the show, chit-chat about her stepdad, a limp ‘how awesome are my props’ set – fail to hit the mark. Sure, there…
The Beta Males
14 Aug 2011
Good scripting and coming timing from the funny foursome
A stonking show this one as a slick quartet channel the Dutch Elm Conservatoire for a rollercoaster of a journey on the sinister train, Olympus. Skulduggery is afoot with a cast including four manic businessmen, Stephen Byers and the Titanic love duo. A…
James Galea: I Hate Rabbits
12 Aug 2011
High on production values, low on magic
Before the titular magician arrives on stage, there are a few mockumentary video clips of traditional rabbit-loving magicians explaining how much they hate James Galea for insulting their profession. This is followed by a showreel of his greatest…
Audience
11 Aug 2011
Ontroerend Goed slip out of the major league with cynical show
Audience opens with an informal talk from cast member Maria, about what it means to be in an audience. You’re not really supposed to talk; you need to clap at the end. We chuckle appreciatively. The joke is that of course we know this. We’re not just…
Turandot
11 Aug 2011
A radical completion of Puccini's unfinished opera
The familiar tune of Nessun Dorma, from Puccini’s unfinished opera Turandot, is played at volume on a Hammond organ, as two men (one representing a hybrid of Puccini and his fictional prince, Kalaf, the other, an androgynous figure, who is, at times…
Carmen Sylva
11 Aug 2011
Established artists take on a new and exciting identity
A procession of odd assemblages punctuates the centre of Sierra Metro’s exhibition space. They are Katharina Stoever and Barbara Wolff’s latest artistic response to Peles, a late 18th Century Romanian castle that has inspired their practice for over six…
Pasta! Macaroni Puppet's Show
11 Aug 2011
Children's show where pasta comes to life
Given that nursery schools the world over have already realised the potential of dried pasta shapes to entertain small children, this lovely little show by Italian puppeteers Placedumarche seems to be the next logical step in pasta-based play. The…
Matthew Crosby: AdventureParty
8 Aug 2011
A safe and hilarious haven for geeks and nerds
Any fears that Matthew Crosby would be exposed under the Fringe glare without the back-up of his showbiz buddies have been put resolutely to bed with this debut solo effort, the distinctly Pappy’s-esque entitled AdventureParty. Let’s get one thing…
Ford and Akram: Humdinger
8 Aug 2011
Yin and yang do silly and surreal
Many double acts rely on a natural chemistry to get them by. Others might be strong on material but just don’t have that onstage zing. So thank the blazes that Louise Ford and Yasmine Akram have got both elements down to a fine art for their Humdinger…
Francesca Martinez
8 Aug 2011
A charmingly caustic look at ‘normal’
She may be ‘the world’s wobbliest comedian’, but the force of Francesca Martinez’s convictions and the energy with which she puts them across never falter in a show that’s as hard-hitting as it is caustically funny. She takes to the stage with this…
Man of Valour
8 Aug 2011
Mime and punishment
Haven’t we been through this before? Wasn’t it some time in the 1970s we stopped being dazzled by mime artists? Didn’t we pretty quickly realise the means of telling a story are never as interesting as the story itself? It seems not in the case of…
Craig Campbell
8 Aug 2011
Natural observational storytelling
Raised in Canada but now residing in southern England, Craig Campbell holds the perfect vantage point to view Britain, along with the many idiosyncrasies of its inhabitants, from the perspective of an outsider. With a recent TV appearance on Michael…
Alice in Wonderland and Other Adventures With Lewis Carroll
8 Aug 2011
Badly sung songs, ill-fitting costumes and stilted delivery
Actor Richard Smithies looks ‘surprisingly like’ Lewis Carroll says the Fringe catalogue – unfortunately, this is where the positives end. The songs are badly sung to midi backing tracks, the costume ill-fitting, the delivery stilted and crucial…
Nathan Caton: Get Rich or Die Cryin'
8 Aug 2011
Glimmers of brilliance from likeable comedian
Likeable but palpably nervous, Caton’s material shows promise. Observations on his eccentric grandmother and the questionable lyrics of Tinie Tempah are tentative but there are glimmers of brilliance. With an audience willing him on, the show may well…
Nobody’s Home: A Modern Odyssey
8 Aug 2011
Powerful portrayal of mental illness
Confined to his bathroom (and his own mind), returning soldier Grant battles war-born demons, which parallel the perils faced by Ulysses, tussling with wife Penny (who doubles as Homer’s monsters) for firm mental ground. Excellently devised and…
Terezin: Children of the Holocaust
8 Aug 2011
Fictionalised account of a concert fails to convey emotional weight
Writer Anna Smulowitz, who lost relatives in the Holocaust, presents a fictionalised account of a concert performed at the Czech concentration camp Terezin. Using a revolving cast of youngsters to portray the daily suffering of camp internees the piece…
