It’s not that they aren’t funny anymore, as the young crowd are continually baying for more, it’s just that they’ve lost their vim. Last year’s Chipmonk was packed with short, punchy sketches, whereas Mourning! is made up of lengthier, less impressive skits. This could be down to the obvious absence of some key cast members, with the remaining writer given more free rein, or it could simply be that they are taking a new direction and still trying to find their feet. Whatever the reason the plain fact is that Mourning! just isn’t as entertaining as the group’s previous outings. Obviously everybody doesn’t share this opinion but that is the nature of student sketch shows.

Having said that the cast does perform brilliantly and it is impossible to fault them on their delivery. The Durham Revue has entertained so many people over the last few years and it is clear that they are gong to carry on doing so.

3/5

To the un-initiated, Vegas is something of an Edinburgh institution which was introduced to the discerning Edinburgh in 1997. If you asked a devotee to describe the club you’d get a response to the night as reverent as any churchgoer describing ‘him on high’. The regulars just lurve this club. However, summing up the club is not an easy matter – Vegas itself admits the club is uncategorisable. Yes, its retro, yes it can be cheesy, but no, its not Disco Inferno, nor Snatch for that matter – think ‘retro-chic’ instead. Chic indeed, because at Vegas you are encouraged to make a sartorial effort – dress to be in the movies – choose Casino, the original Oceans 11, or even Fear and Loathing and you’ll be in good company.

Just as hard to describe as the club itself, is its music policy, Vegas describes it as the “swinging Latino country rock easy funk jazz” which includes something for everyone from, Frank Sinatra and Andy Williams through Perez Prado and Elvis to neo-swing heroes such as Big Bad Voodoo Daddy. The resident Djs Frankie Sumatra, Bugsy Seagull and Dino Martini are also often complemented by live bands playing rock and roll, swing and jive, or by a cabaret act, and the Festival Party this year is set to be no exception showcasing the ska/jive/funk/punk mash up that is The Fat Cats.

If that isn’t enough for y’all, the fabulous Scott Brothers will also be hosting The Stardust Casino at which you can spend your Elvis dollars in the pursuit of free drink. All hosted by the lovely Vegas showgirls!! Hello ? Hello ? are you still there? no? I guess you’ve gone to get your tickets already. See you there!

The characterisations are well thought out, with Samantha Morris’ portrayal of a grown up Alice as a loud-mouthed Cockney with loose morals and a desire to overthrow the queen. Tweedle-Dum and Tweedle-Dee (played by Lisa McGrillis and Claire-Marie Broomby) tend to steal the show, as the dialogue and performances are very entertaining. Unfortunately, none of the other characters quite measure up to this duo, and a lot of the dialogue falls a bit flat.

I think that there is a problem with the play’s identity, or at least its target audience. The material is not quite smutty or clever enough to appeal to an entirely adult audience, whereas children may find it a bit too demanding to fully appreciate. This play lies somewhere in between the two audiences, with both children and adults feeling that there is something missing. At fifty minutes, it also feels a bit too short with the ending appearing just as the story is really starting to develop. Maybe, given a bit more time, the company could be given an opportunity to concentrate more on characterisation and throw in a few more jokes, which would maybe give the production more appeal and identity.

3/5

Lauded as a shameless act of self-publicity, Mark Watson’s Overambitious 24hour Show turned out to be one of the most beautiful events of the Fringe that Hairline has ever experienced. Okay, if viewed solely on it’s content the show would fair pretty badly but as an experience and demonstration of communal spirit it was unsurpassed.

Not only did a number of comedians (Adam Hills, Stewart Lee, Jenny Eclair, Adam Bloom, Andrew McClelland and Janey Godley to name but a few) turn up to offer their support and occasionally do a wee slot, the audience themselves did a huge amount, from minding the door in the early hours to going out for sandwiches, cushions and other paraphernalia. Most of all they were there to support Watson and jolly him along through the hard times.

This sort of support wasn’t always needed, like when Adam Hills turned up (he ended up doing three separate slots, performing his rarely seen Terminator 2 impression, giving three teenage girls £100 so they could get a taxi to Perth after the show and massaging the frankly disgusting feet of Wayne Williams, who had been flyering for 24hours – all that and they still haven’t given this man the Perrier!), but it was definitely appreciated during the low moments. The most prolific of these was a post Late ‘n’ Live visit from a drunken Dara O’Brian, who managed to rubbish the show and destroy the mood (he later apologised and made up with Mark, partly thanks to Adam Hills – what can’t he do?). The solution to this downer? How about an audience singalong of Here Comes The Sun and an impromptu game of ‘Guess Which Comedian Proposed To An Audience Member After Meeting Her Four Hours Ago”? Perfect!

In the end, Mark Watson’s show had little to do with comedy and structured entertainment and was more of a tenacious struggle to kindle something special out of a ridiculous situation. Somehow this worked and a smattering of friends and Fringe-goers who witnessed the majority of the show became an integral part of a show that defied logic and combined the vagaries of human existence into an event that proved that undiluted humanity can still overpower the seemingly unstoppable forces of commercialism.

By the end I was sweaty, pizza stained and on the verge of full-blown hallucinations but I can still say that it was one of the most amazing days of my life. It was an undoubtedly pointless endeavour but at least I can say I lived it and helped make part of Fringe history.

Since we cannot fault the script, the reason that this production was so mind-numbingly boring is that some of the actors seemed intent in grinding it into the ground. Michelle Wormleighton was great as the vapid, besotted murderous sidekick and Mike Dickinson shone as the don’t-give-a-shit producer, but unfortunately our two main players couldn’t hack the roles handed to them.

Tim Harcourt simply overacted as the self-obsessed director, but Stuart Rouse managed to be both unconvincing and annoying as the supposedly psychotic serial killer Wayne. Were we frightened and intimidated? No, we were just bored and tired of his mile-a-minute delivery.

In the past Popcorn has garnered various glowing reviews all around the country. Rattlesnake look like they’re simply going to buck the trend as this ham-fisted effort isn’t worth the price of a free press ticket.

1/5

Essentially this production hinges on Peter Loureiro’s uncanny resemblance to a young Walken and his ability to replicate the unusual speech patterns and diction that Walken is so famous for but it is a well-written script that keeps things largely on track. The basic premise is that Walken is in a coma (after an ape attack of all things) and we’ve been given the opportunity to step into his sub-conscious as he tries to find himself.

It’s an interesting trip, punctuated with interesting thoughts and characters, though the effect is slightly spoilt by an ‘interview’ with James Lipton. Not only is this scene far fetched beyond the wild boundaries of this play but there is also the fact that Lipton has no cultural significance here and the general effect, bar the surrealism of the encounter, is lost on the majority of the audience.

Other than this glitch, Citizen Walken is an entertaining, if slightly daft play that has far more merits than flaws. The only other thing that rankles slightly is that I’m convinced that Walken’s mind is actually far more warped than this suggests.

3/5

As with anything that a ex-resident of Ramsay Street goes on to, Men isn’t expected to be any good and Dutton should, by rights, be rubbish but this just isn’t the case. While the play itself is a little trite and lost in it’s own metaphor, Dutton manages to prove that he can act and does a great job as the drug addicted, philosophising Guy. The same can be said of James Schlesinger as the foul-talking, horny Bob but that’s about where the praise ends.

Okay, Men isn’t a terrible play; it’s just a bit daft. There is a genuinely funny twist in the tale but the lead up to this finale is just a little too strung out and flaccid to be greatly entertaining. A generous marker would round it up to three for the two good performances but that would be selling it too much, so they’ll have to settle for below average.

2/5

Whatever the reason for the low audience numbers, Anvil Springstien still puts on one hell of a show.

This is a man who has lived life without the rulebook and as such has seen and experienced more than most. It is this rich and bizarre tapestry of his existence, beginning with his upbringing in Liverpool, which gives him such a wealth of comic material.

His stories of life in Liverpool and beyond had his audience reeling with laughter within five minutes of the show starting. He reads his audience from their reactions and delivers a show tailored to their tastes from his seemingly bottomless well of life experience and comic observation.

Anvil is an incredibly natural comedian. His confidence seems to radiate from him, allowing him to converse with his audience, relating his experiences to theirs and as a result making the show a funnier and much more personal experience.

Bingo Nannas And Other Causes Of Terrorism is the sort of show that the Fringe was built on, an intimate audience with real comic talent.

4/5

Play Dead- Show 115 is experimental theatre and is the 115th show produced by theatre group The People Show. The show is meant to be a visual spectacle, a living blend of the arts. Given this premise I was expecting a feast for the senses, something original that would stay with me for days after the performance. What I witnessed instead however was a surreal performance of variable quality ranging from great comedy moments to over the top melodrama.

Overall the play has the feel of a collage created from several smaller pieces that had been awkwardly spliced together and left me searching for some kind of logic to the sequence of events I watched unfold onstage. I found it truly impossible to connect with the emotions the characters were expressing in the darker moments of the play and as a result found myself scrambling to hold on to some thread of the plot.

The play is only just saved from being truly irredeemable by the actors’ strong comic abilities and the excellent stage design that allows for the dramatic shift between the conscious and unconscious worlds of the characters.

Play Dead- Show 115 certainly is an experience different from anything else you are likely to see on the Fringe this year and I’m sure there are people out there who will love it. However, for the rest of us, especially those not familiar with experimental theatre it will leave you disappointed and baffled by the sheer randomness of it all.

2/5

With a solid sixty minutes of quick fire, slightly twisted skits the Stickmen thoroughly bolster the genre and manage to rack up a decent amount of hits. There are a number of flops in their repertoire but their bouncy, devil may care attitude keeps things buoyant and it is easy to gloss past the low moments. There are also a few moments that some people may feel go beyond the pale but, in general, the Stickmen’s humour stays on the right side of the line, with the exception of one moment of crass audience manipulation that has no place amongst this joyous ensemble.

Year One clearly demonstrates that this new group have a great deal of talent amongst them but it looks like that they need a little more work to really hit their stride. As a first offering it’s pretty good but with a little more work it could be damn good.

Like a fine wine, the Stickmen will undoubtedly improve with every year.

3/5