Reviews & features: Anna Millar
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Programme for the Edinburgh International Festival 2013 puts artists and technology centre-stage
12 Mar 2013
Tod Machover, the Wooster Group and Oper Frankfurt among the EIF programme highlights
A crowd sourced orchestral work by boundary breaker Tod Machover is just one of the many highlights of this year’s Edinburgh International Festival programme. Set over three weeks this August, the EIF’s line-up includes an homage to Allen Ginsberg with…
Bob Downe . . . Smokin'
22 Aug 2012
Style over substance
From the minute he pirouettes onto stage all 70s gear, mega-watt grin and fake blonde hair, it’s clear Aussie’s ‘clown prince of polyester’ is having a ball, as he knocks out one karaoke hit after another and embarks on some name-that-tune competitions.
Clinton The Musical
17 Aug 2012
Ex-president inspires high-energy, catchy musical from talented ensemble
Former United States president Bill Clinton should offer any theatre production – let alone an all-singing, all-dancing musical – some great inspiration for material is a given. But, from his inauguration through to his sexual relations with ‘that…
Man 1 Bank 0
17 Aug 2012
Patrick Combs takes on the money men
Half the challenge of putting on a great show at the Fringe is about finding a great story, and Patrick Combs certainly has that. Better still, it’s true. A young man, with a sea of credit card debt, deposits a $95,093.35 junk mail cheque into his local…
Holly Burn: The H Club
11 Aug 2012
Eccentric sketches imbued with a liberating lack of reason
To say that Holly Burn is a bit bonkers, is like saying Edinburgh gets a bit busy during August. A familiar face on the Fringe scene, Burn’s barmy Geordie shtick seems to bemuse, confuse -- and when she hits the right note -- amuse her audience in equal…
The Life and Sort of Death of Eric Argyle
8 Aug 2012
Savvy set design and excellent soundtrack in provoking limbo-land tragicomedy
Eric Argyle died at 11.42am two days ago; yet here he is, heart aching, mind racing in a confusing laboratory-cum-limbo-land. The Life and Sort... is another highly accomplished piece from the team behind last year’s success Minute After Midday. 15th…
Josh Widdicombe
7 Aug 2012
Fast-rising funnyman entertains with acute observational humour
‘The Guardian called me a geezer today’ announces Josh Widdicombe, as he wanders onto the stage, looking less ‘Geez a go’, more shaggy-haired boy next door. ‘So watch it, or I’ll knife you and that.’ He laughs, we laugh. If this fast-rising funnyman…
Slice
7 Aug 2012
Mel Giedroyc's debut is a bittersweet lunchtime treat
This promising playwriting début from Mel Giedroyc (of Mel & Sue fame) arrives at the Fringe fresh from a successful run at Glasgow’s Oran Mor earlier this year, and has lost none of its emotional verve in transit. Three troubled sisters congregate in…
Peter Panic
7 Aug 2012
Dystopian Peter Pan fails to inspire an emotional response
Showing an altogether darker, dystopian view of JM Barrie’s titular character of Peter Pan, Function Theatre brings together a brutal tale of morality, mob rule and the power of the State, stripping Barrie’s oeuvre of its innocence in the…
Jigsy
6 Aug 2012
Nostalgic yet brave tale of a comedian past his prime, starring Les Dennis
It’s a brave man who takes on the role of an ageing, fading comedian. Braver still, if you’re Les Dennis – as well known for his Family Fortunes success, as his more recent foray into the dismal world of Celebrity Big Brother. Both are swiftly…
Milo McCabe: Kenny Moon This is Your Life
6 Aug 2012
Bemusing character comedy from Milo and his dad
It’s all a bit barmy in the Gilded Balloon’s Billiard Room, as character chameleon Milo McCabe brings his unique brand of funny to this year’s Fringe. Irish comedy legend Kenny Moon (played by McCabe’s real-life father and New Faces star, Mike McCabe…
Lie. Cheat. Steal. Confessions of a Real Hustler
5 Aug 2012
Slightly underwhelming show from Paul Wilson, writer and star of BBC3'S The Real Hustle
It’s a tricky old business recreating small screen success on the theatre stage, but Paul Wilson, writer and star of BBC3’s The Real Hustle handles it with reasonable gusto, albeit in a far more confined environment. It was The Sting movie, which…
Lucy Porter - People Person
3 Aug 2012
All sugar no spice: grit lacking from nice girl performance
Yes, yes: it’s easy to knock the nice girl act. But as her fans will attest, that’s exactly what Lucy Porter is. Far from ripping off the shackles of her ‘lovely wee lass’ persona, Porter embraces it with People Person. Back on the Fringe scene after a…
Andrew Doyle does Whatever It Takes
3 Aug 2012
'Bad Catholic' Doyle's has prayers answered
Former teacher and ‘predatory’ homosexual Andrew Doyle has all the makings of a class act. Having doled out cards asking us what we think is ‘most likely to turn on’ our fellow audience members, he’s off on a rambunctious verbal riot of smarts and…
The Agony and the Ecstasy of Steve Jobs explores impact of Apple on our lives
25 Jul 2012
Grant O'Rourke performs Mike Daisey's controversial play Edinburgh Fringe
When he died in October last year more than one million followers flooded the Apple website, sharing their memories of Steve Jobs. Commentators hailed him a modern day Da Vinci while pundits pondered the man affectionately known as Apple’s Messiah.
Jillian Lauren's Fringe show explores her history of harem, addiction and motherhood
24 Jul 2012
Bestselling author extracts universal truths from extraordinary life story
It’s what primetime TV movies are made of. Aged just 18, writer and performer Lauren Jillian packed her bags and fled New York for the opulent world of Brunei. Summoned by playboy Prince Jefri she would live as part of his harem for almost two years.
Some Small Love Story
23 Aug 2011
A gem with a young but talented cast
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…
The Apprentice's Stuart ‘The Brand’ Baggs to appear at the Fringe
23 Aug 2011
Informal lunch chat at 2011 Edinburgh Fringe
‘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.
Eight
23 Aug 2011
Eight beautifully-written stories impressively told
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…
Doris Day Can F**k Off
23 Aug 2011
Musical one-man experiment
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…
Rich Hall
23 Aug 2011
Political bashings a definite highlight
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…
Pistol & Jack: SMASH*GLAM*SEX*MUSIC
23 Aug 2011
Hyper, pop comedy lacks some focus
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…
Le Gateau Chocolat
17 Aug 2011
Moreish cabaret feast
With his delicious charm and La Clique credentials, Le Gateau Chocolat’s solo debut is an evening treat that leaves you wanting more. Enter the fabulous Bosco tent, and the gentle strains of ‘The Way We Were’ are just audible, a feast of colour and…
An Instinct for Kindness
17 Aug 2011
Dignitas tale told with dignity
Last year, Chris Larner accompanied his ex-wife Allyson to the Dignitas clinic in Switzerland and watched as she drank a liquid that would swiftly end her life. Here, with just a simple chair as a prop, Larner recounts the days, weeks and years leading…
Humphrey Ker is Dymock Watson: Nazi Smasher!
16 Aug 2011
Swashbuckling success story
As part of Fringe staple trio and Radio 4 stars The Penny Dreadfuls, Humphrey Ker offered audiences something of a theatrical comedy masterclass. Here, he flies solo in swashbuckling style. It’s 1943 and war’s most unlikely hero, Dymock Watson, has been…
