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Topping & Butch - Twisted!

Martin Miller — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 08:22:44 +0000

Topping and Butch are a delicious comedy double, one an older, chubby male the other a bald, muscled younger man. When looking at them you wouldn’t think it but these two have made a brilliant comedy team over the years, embracing their camp sense of humour upon the eager crowd. Yes, these boys are gayer than a hand bag full of rainbows and they are proud of it, flirting with the straight men in the crowd, performing pop ditties or falling about laughing at private jokes between them. These two are endlessly watchable and bring a warm and invigorating on stage personae that have every member unable to take their eyes off them.
Focussing on current topics no issue is taboo: from Susan Boyle, Lilly Allen, swine flue, ex partners, Hilary Clinton, David Beckham, Eurovision, MPs expenses right through to the credit crunch, these boys discuss so many subjects you might not think they would have enough time to squeeze in enough jokes but you would be wrong as these two are hysterical.
They are also gifted with some impressive singing voices, especially Michael Topping who has a powerful voice singing such fun little tunes as ‘The Streatham’ lullaby and ‘Never mind’ especially, leaves a big impression. They juggle just the right amount of politics, songs, banter and jokes to please everyone in the crowd and judging by the big grins on all those around they are all in agreement.
This is a fun and darn right filthy piece of a Stand-up but also a show full of perfectly timed jokes and observations, highly recommended.
4/5

Mikelangelo & the Black Sea Gentlemen - Dead Men Tell A Thousand Tales

Catriona Ruth Paterson — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 14:56:34 +0000

The lights go out and the band is ghoulishly lit onstage with carnival light-bulb strings and dry ice against a circus striped background. Mikelangelo and his band of extremely talented musicians are all well defined and disturbing characters in their own right. Their blend of Balkan medleys presented in vignette storytelling form allowing each band member to take centre-stage is jet black in humour and dry as the proverbial bones that they often sing about.
The themes are death, flesh, decay and love, all presented in unsettling song and heralded over by the Master of Ceremonies: Mikelangelo, who roams the audience with total command over the proceedings. Reminiscent of a Tim Burton movie or Carnivále in the appearance of the set and clothing, it lends itself beautifully to the dark atmosphere they create whilst seamlessly moving around onstage, interchanging places, shifting microphones and playing instruments to each scene they set.
Their songs are darkly evocative and often their wielding of language to paint pictures and landscapes of horrible vision are laced with humour and presented with a wink and an arched eyebrow. They share with us mundane stories of day to day happenings in between songs that suddenly become twisted tales of an unsettling nature. The mix is infectious and their fans are many.
Whilst their dark world may not appeal to everyone there is the distinct possibility they are allowing us to live in theirs rather than the other way around…

5/5

Rich Hall

Catriona Ruth Paterson — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 13:40:50 +0000

Rich Hall is modern giant in comedy and this is reflected in his ability to fill up the cavernous Music Hall in the Assembly Rooms on George Street. He delivers his material with his trademark dry wit and confident laconic style to the now merrily inebriated audience. Iggy Pop in car insurance adverts, the Tram works, politics and his experience meeting Don Johnson and the Queen are all discussed here as he relays his stories with caustic disbelief to great delight.
He is clearly well used to larger venue gigs as he waits the appropriate lengthy time between jokes for laughter to build and ripple through the venue. Halfway through his gig he is side-tracked at length by two then three Belfast hecklers, who were very vocal fans. Rich, obviously amused, indulged them as they held their own against his wit, and banter ensued to great comic effect.
This indulgence however did seem disappointing as the show came to its conclusion in what seemed like far too quick a time and the material covered throughout the evening seemed thin on the ground and there were an unsatisfying amount of laughs for such a behemoth of comedy. It is doubtful that this will affect Rich’s Fringe run which will probably be another sell-out, but it did smack somewhat of a little too much laziness. Rich is at his best on television; give another lesser known comedian a chance- you’ll probably get more laughs for your money.

3/5

Nun the Wiser

Adrian G. Velazquez — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 11:37:50 +0000

Triona Adams was a threatical agent. She enjoyed her life, she had her friends, but at 26, she decided she wanted to become a nun. Did she hear the call? Maybe. Did she enjoy it? Some of it. Did she get out of it? Most certainly. And she is at the Fringe this year to tell us all about it.
But if you are looking for a tale of redemption, wrong choices, religious beliefs or good actions, you are looking on the wrong place. Triona’s story is more of clever comedy and cheeky winks at the audience than anything Hollywood could come up with about life in the nunnery. She is extremely funny, in an underplayed manner, and her stories are exquisitely told. Even if some of the anecdotes have a made-up feel to it, her honesty comes through, and you genuinely believe all she says.
With an empty set, and minimal props, Triona tells us of her first visits to the convent, her impressions, why she become a nun, and life inside the rock solid walls. With the aid of some clever music, she conveys every emotion she goes through her journey. ‘The sound of music’ soundtrack is played at the start and even though it is a bit on the obvious side of things, it works perfectly with the tone it sets for the next hour.
It does, though, get a bit too much towards the end. She could easily get rid of a couple of stories, and make the whole show a little bit shorter and tighter, and therefore keep our attention throughout it, instead of wanting to know how and why she left after the year.
But even if that little niggle, ‘Nun the wiser’ is a fantastic show, and it is worth spending some time with Triona, talking about her religious experience.

4/5

Luck

Martin Miller — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 10:50:58 +0000

Making Strange are a production company that despite still being relatively in its infancy, in just 4 years have made some big creative splashes, including the award winning ‘Hedwig and the Angry Inch’ and ‘Revisions’. Not to be outdone, they return with ‘Luck’, a fascinating and at times exhausting exploration on the relationship of a daughter with her conman father, who has groomed both her and her family, from a young age, to help him with the Las Vegas gambling circuits only Achilles’ heel: black jack. They aren’t cheaters but they have developed a system that allows them to take advantage of the casino dealers and in the process Max has also taken advantage of his daughter Megan.
This is a true story and because of this Megan Riordan knows it inside out and she had better, for this is a show that there is only 1 chance in 11,059,200 that the blistering, free-wheeling performance will ever be the same again as the show is dictated through rolls of the dice, a cut of cards, a flip of a coin and a roulette spin from the audience. Riordan is a tour de force to watch and she masterfully takes control of the show and manages to handle every quick fire change in the shows direction with relative ease.
Using on screen projections, games, costumes, tombola and a host of other props she rattles through a frantic set delivering a stunning exploration on the theme of luck, the idiosyncrasies of gamblers, serendipity and the heart break that can come with big wins. This is an intelligent roller coaster of a production where while there is much to admire, is at times too baffling to get behind.

3/5

RAW

Bobbi Carmichael — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 09:20:58 +0000

RAW is set in 1990’s club land to a pounding techno soundtrack. We are welcomed ironically into the space in small groups by bouncers, forcing us to wait at intervals behind a rope as one might expect outside a club.
Our four characters enthusiastically queue up outside the club and once inside, strange rhythmic ritualistic dances are performed before a humorous Street Fighter/Matrix inspired catfight breaks out between the two females (flying high with the aid of harnesses) over a pole dancing male. Once this has subsided our attention is drawn to the other male clearly high- both literally and figuratively who is joined in his revelry by one of the females, both moving with awe and fluidity and skill in the rope web work at the front of the stage.
These are the high points as frankly the rest of the show consists mainly of bizarre unison dancing that lacks the balletic strength of line required to carry this off impressively and lots more leaping around on harnesses with little or no meaning once the themes of highs, lows, fights, come-downs and sex drives have been used up. The costumes are uninspiring, the soundtrack grates after a while and the performers themselves seem to perform frustratingly little Aerial to truly be entertaining, exciting to watch or indeed to show off their obvious talent. The decision to set four players (five including the DJ) in such a vast set-up, without any supporting cast, is a bad one and it’s a real shame as Aerial skills have the potential to lend themselves to the clubbing concept to outstanding effect. One for the more indulgent contemporary dance fan.

2/5

Rob Rouse: My Family … and the Dog That Scared Jesus

Martin Miller — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 08:30:56 +0000

Taking a break from his popular stints on ‘Friday Night Project’ and ‘8 out of 10 cats’, Rob Rouse makes a charming return to the Fringe. If you can get over the fact that Rouse seems to forget he has a microphone in his hand and shouts to near ear bleeding levels for his entire hour long set there is a lot of fun to be had here.
Rouse wants to discuss the honest events of his last year, specifically becoming a father and having to deal with a randy dog that is far, far more interested in showing his favourite red cushion a good time in-between, thoroughly cleaning his bits all day, than getting a walkies. His stories are a joy to hear, laugh out loud funny and incredible to watch as Rouse reveals himself to be a master storyteller and builds these true life tales from funny to eye-watering hilarious.
He doesn’t quite succeed in maintaining the pace for the entire hour though, some sections such as bad names for children and a simulation of their horny pet gagging as it deep throats itself, go on and on and reek of padding, but the audience are having too much fun to notice. This performance has a great, tender heart like Rouse that makes him endlessly watchable even when he isn’t quite hitting his mark. But any shortcomings are more than made up for with a finale of a video montage of family footage that is one of the funniest things you will see at the Festival.

4/5

Borges and I

Adrian G. Velazquez — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 08:12:55 +0000

Jorge Luis Borges was a Latin-American writer, head of the Argentina’s National Library, who had to give up his passion, reading, due to his worsening eyesight. He had a very playful and magical way of writing, and he influenced the literature of the twentieth century.
Idle Motion company have brought to the Fringe a show that mixes both Borges writings, Borges own life, and the life of a group of book club members who are going through similar things that Borges went through. But don’t be fooled, if it all sounds a bit too literary, it is but in the best of the senses.
The whole production is beautifully presented, with an extremely inventive use for the mountains of books that populate the stage. There is a book plane, and a human-book. It rains paper, and books light up. ‘Borges and I’ is pure visual poetry, and of the highest standards for that. Books become birds, and then transform into a tiger.
But even if the books are the focal point, the protagonists of the story are played by six talented actors, whose passion for what they are telling, and love for the literature world are palpable. Julian Spooner is perfect in both Borges and Jim’s roles. Shophie Cullen excels in transmiting the fear of becoming blind, while Joel Gatehouse, who plays her boyfriend, is a fantastic mixture of sexiness and geekyness. Their relationship, and the honesty with which they strip on stage, is touching. Grace Chapman, Ellie Simpson and Kate Stanley are also terrific, in a play where there is no weak link.
If there is a small niggle (and it is, after all, a very small one), is the pronunciation of the Borges name itself, which is not the correct one. Something silly, but that does jar at times with the beauty of the whole act.
‘Borges and I’ is a joy, a perfect little play, and by the end of it, they deserve the prolonged ovation they get.

5/5

Twine

Adrian G. Velazquez — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 07:45:35 +0000

Twine is a little boy. He can’t speak (which doesn’t bow well for his storyteller’s aspirations), he can’t help around the house. In fact, Twine can’t do much, but he longs for adventures, such as the ones his friends tell. Because he feels alone, he leaves the house he has been born (or magically created, since Twine is a boy made of… a ball of twine), in search of his own story, in search of his magic journey looking for what his heart desires most, even if he isn’t too sure himself what this might be.
With some beautiful and very effective props, Tortoise in a nutshell company have created a simple story of a boy on a journey, of someone in search for his inner self, and have made it not only easily to follow for the young audience it is meant to be, but also incredibly sweet and enjoyable for the adults that accompany them.
Steve is a joy to watch, his facial expressions and acting skills fantastically perfect for the role, and a soothing, gorgeous voice that can easily charm you. But he isn’t the only good actor on stage, in fact, the rest of the pack are great on their roles too, with their amusingly buffoonish, and deliciously sweet characteristics. Even the musician is hilarious on the little protagonist time he is given.
The star of the show is Twine him-self, though, a beautifully crafted puppet that many kids would want to take home with them at the end of the show. With magic teapots, under the sea explorations, the smallest (and most inventive) circus at the top of a tree and some amazingly talented actors on stage, Twine makes for a great experience, and one you will rejoice in repeated viewing. If only all bed time stories where are good as this.

5/5

Paul Zerdin: Sponge Fest

Catriona Ruth Paterson — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 12:22:00 +0000

There has been a recent resurgence in the popularity of ventriloquists, what with Terry Fator winning America’s Got Talent. Paul Zerdin certainly is a talented individual when it comes to this particular art form, and he has three characters- Sam a young boy, an older man; Albert and Baby.
Like most performers using the convention of a puppet or dummy, it can be a great excuse to be rude, mocking and generally picking on audience members, which is done to great effect- all the particular people chosen as proxys are great sports about the situation and actually end up receiving the biggest cheers of the evening. Paul opens with some jokes and introduces us to Sam- by far his strongest character (indeed he could entertain us in the show for an hour in its entirety with just him.) Lots of cheeky banter ensues and the use of voice throwing and an impressive three-way conversation ensues with quick-fire rapidity.
Many of the jokes are familiar and classic ventriloquist jokes along with the now accepted post-modern recognition of the ventriloquist talking to himself with his hand shoved up inside a puppet (or, er, small boy in this case.) None of this seems to matter however as the audience are quickly in stitches with laughter at Paul’s delivery. No stone is un-turned as both puppeteer, dummy and audience members are mocked and rebuked in equal amounts.
One curious sour note comes in a sketch that involves Paul trying to tell a joke without offending anyone on the grounds of political correctness, however openly uses the term “gay” (and a more offense slang term for this) as a put-down at several points in his act. Not cool. Placing this aside however, it’s brilliant entertainment.

4/5