Edinburgh 2016

Tom Neenan: Vaudeville

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09/08/16

Underbelly, Med Quad

Tom Neenan is a brilliant raconteur. At last year’s festival he beguiled us with his riff on the Professor Quatermass stories of Nigel Kneale. This year, his influences seem to have come from the Amicus portmanteau films of the 60s and 70s.

We are seated in near darkness when Neenan, dressed as a security guard, enters by torch light. We quickly learn that it’s his birthday and he sits down to enjoy a celebratory Lucozade – then does a wonderful double take as he realises he’s not alone.

He tells us that we are in an old theatre and that there are many stories associated with it. He goes on to regale us with three dark tales in which, as ever, he plays every character, switching effortlessly from role to role. We’re told about a lovelorn magician and his evil ventriloquist’s dummy, Mr Nibbles (shades of Cavalcanti’s Dead of Night, here) then there’s the story of a celebrated Shakespearian actor and his deadly rivalry with a critic (Theatre of Blood?) and finally the tale of an ambitious teenage ballet dancer prepared to give everything in order to win a regional prize. As is customary in such constructions, there’s a final, brilliant twist in the tale, one that ingeniously makes us, the audience, part of the show. It’s brilliant stuff. I read recently that Neenan started off in a double act with Nish Kumar and I would be fascinated to see how that worked, since I can’t think of two more diverse performers.

Vaudeville  was sold out the afternoon we saw it and fully deserved to be. If you can get a ticket for this, do so. You won’t be disappointed.

4.8 stars

Philip Caveney

The Trial

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08/08/16

Summerhall, Edinburgh

Adapted by People Zoo Productions, as part of the Rose Bruford College season at Summerhall, Franz Kafka’s ultimate tale of paranoia and alienation is presented here as an absurd farce with the volume cranked up to eleven. On his 30th birthday, Josef K (William J Holstead) wakes one morning to find himself under arrest. He has no idea what his supposed crime is or even exactly who is accusing him, but he has embarked on a slippery downward path that will eventually lead him to his own destruction.

This stylish and thought-provoking production has already won a couple of prestigious awards at this year’s Manchester Fringe Festival and it’s easy to see why. There are elements of physical theatre here (the stage combat is particularly assured) and characters are played in a grotesque, almost cartoonish fashion. The scene in which K is instructed to beat three teenage girls in order to prove his innocence is particularly chilling. I liked the simple but effective staging of the story and the way in which the six strong cast switched effortlessly from character to character, providing their own musical accompaniment along the way.

It’s always daunting to take on such a famous work but People Zoo rise to the challenge. This powerful and effective play, ably directed by Craig Sanders, is definitely one to watch at this year’s fringe.

4 stars

Philip Caveney

Sarah Kendall: Shaken

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08/08/16

Assembly George Square Studios, Edinburgh

I am in awe of Sarah Kendall. Her story-telling skills are extraordinarily good. There is real artfulness in the way she manipulates her audience, expounding all the tricks she employs before using them to full effect. It’s clever, canny stuff – and I love it.

In Shaken, she returns to her adolescence in Newcastle, Australia – a topic that served her equally well in last year’s A Day in October. The hapless George Peach even puts in another appearance, although he’s very much a bit player in this year’s tale. This time, Kendall is ostensibly analysing why storytelling is so important to her, but the main focus is an account of a lie she told when she was just thirteen, and how the resulting attention was so intoxicating, it made her careless of the consequences. And we know all along that it’s not quite true (“The gist of it is true,” she tells her therapist in an opening sequence; she’s clarifying her position right from the start), but she draws us in, beguiles us with a Google ‘fact check’, makes us laugh and squirm and, in the end – damn it, she’s done it again – she makes us cry.

Sarah Kendall was by far the best comedian we saw at last year’s Fringe, and Shaken is another triumph. Her performance is spell-binding, deceptive in its apparent simplicity. She deserves the attention she so clearly craves. Give it to her. Buy a ticket. It’s not a purchase you’ll regret.

5 stars

Susan Singfield

The Blind Date Project

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07/08/16

Zoo Southside, Edinburgh

The Blind Date Project is a delicious slice of improv theatre, with a mischievous wit that makes it a delight. Staged in the cabaret bar at Zoo Southside, the realism here is so heightened that you can almost believe you’re actually witnessing a moment in someone’s life.

As we enter the bar, there’s a relaxed atmosphere. A woman (Margaux Susi) is singing karaoke; we buy drinks, sit ourselves down at little tables, look at the ‘karaoke cards’ laid out before us. If we want, we can request a song to perform. We chat, check our phones, moan about how uncomfortable the seats are, check our phones again, sing along to familiar lines. There are two stools by the bar, elevated on a tiny platform. A woman comes in and sits on one of these. We register her presence, but otherwise just carry on.

It’s all so beautifully done. There’s a subtle lighting change; the Karaoke Queen leaves the stage and goes to tend the bar. A man runs in and sits down beside the woman. They introduce themselves to one another. And the show’s begun.

The woman is Bojana Novakovic, the creator of this piece. She’s playing Anna; she plays Anna every night. The man is Max, played by JJ Whitehead. And this is his first (and only) performance; Anna’s date is different every time. There is no script. The actors are sent directions via texts and phone calls, and have to respond in the moment to everything that is thrown at them. And, my word, it works.

I have rarely been so utterly absorbed in a play. JJ Whitehead is just lovely, gamely dealing with Anna’s neuroses in a kind, accepting, non-judgemental way. He’s confident and funny and, if he’s nervous, it’s okay, because they look like first-date nerves. His performance makes us warm to him, and we resolve to try to catch his own fringe show, if we can fit it in (Fool Disclosure, Liquid Room Annexe, 20:45).

Novakovic is enchanting. Her Anna is drunk and needy, serious and sweet. She seems like a real, complex person, one you’d admire as well as want to protect. Susi, behind the bar, brings a welcome cynicism to the date; her deadpan, sardonic responses are very funny indeed.

I loved this piece. I want to see it again, to see how the dynamic changes when there’s someone else in the other seat. Don’t miss this one; it’s a real treat.

5 stars

Susan Singfield

Brendon Burns: Dumb White Guy

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07/08/16

Liquid Room Annexe, Edinburgh

Brendon Burns strolls on to the stage to the tune of Billy Joel’s We Didn’t Start The Fire, mostly because, he tells us, he couldn’t think of a better song to illustrate the theme of ‘Dumb White Guy.’ This live show is an extension of his popular podcasts, which are numerous and varied, and available on iTunes. He then launches in to his routine and it quickly becomes apparent that maybe ‘Funny White Guy’ would have been a more accurate title. Burns is what you might call a provocateur. He talks a little bit about Brexit and a lot about being a white Australian and he explains how he trialled a version of tonight’s show at a comedy festival in Adelaide where he got pretty hostile reactions to most of what he said. He tells us he can’t get over the freedom of the Fringe, how you can say pretty much anything you like and get away with it.

His style is undoubtedly abrasive and liberally peppered with four letter words, but there’s clearly a reasoned political mind behind many of his jibes and I found myself pretty much in agreement with his views. Like a lot of comedians at the festival, he seems to be under the impression that most of his audience this afternoon are actually Scottish, when I’d wager we’ve come from all over the world, but it matters not, because wherever we’ve come from, we’re all laughing uproariously. Some high points of this set for me are his comments on the differences between Australian and English drivers, the genocide of the aboriginal people and his largely doomed attempts to put on a show for indigenous Australians in Australia.

There’s a surprise towards the end of the show but he makes us all promise not to reveal what it is. So I won’t. But I will say that amidst the plethora of comedians at the free fringe, Burns is definitely a name to look out for. If you require a heady mix of intelligence and hilarity, this would be a very good place to start.

4 stars

Philip Caveney

Royal Vauxhall

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06/08/16

Underbelly, Med Quad, Edinburgh

Did you hear the one about Freddie Mercury, Kenny Everett and Princess Diana? The one where the two closet gay stars dressed the unhappy Princess in drag and took her out for the night to the infamous Royal Vauxhall Tavern in London? No, me neither. And, if it sounds like the unlikeliest story you’ve ever heard, then just take a moment to consider that it actually happened. And now it’s a musical. Not only that, but it might just be the best thing we’ve seen at The Edinburgh Fringe so far this year.

Desmond O‘Connor (not that Des O’ Connor!) has written a collection of witty and irreverent songs for the piece and this production is blessed with three stellar performances from a trio of gifted actors. As Everett, Matthew Jones (of Fringe stalwarts Frisky and Mannish) gets the voice and mannerisms just right. Tom Giles’ Freddie is also very accomplished, while Sarah Louise Young manages to portray Diana, Maggie Thatcher and (at one point) an Irish priest with aplomb. The events portrayed here are fast, funny and occasionally extremely rude (you’ll find it very hard to unsee Maggie Thatcher with a strap-on penis doing something very rude to Everett whilst quoting his infamous ‘Let’s bomb Russia’ remark).

I’ll be honest, I hadn’t really expected to rate this. The premise seemed too off-the-wall for comfort, too far-fetched by half. Discovering that it has some basis in fact was a revelation and the realisation that I was enjoying every minute of the show was the icing on the cake. The songs range from full on rock bombast to poignant ballads. You’ll be howling with laughter one moment and on the verge of tears, the next. There’s even an Everett dream sequence that features a delightful appearance by a puppet David Bowie.

Those who like their musicals quirky and irreverent should investigate this at their earliest opportunity. It’s a cracker.

4.8 stars

Philip Caveney

The Raunch

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06/08/16

Circus Hub, Underbelly, Edinburgh

The clue is in the name. The Raunch is an unabashed celebration of all things physical – an uneasy mixture of old-fashioned circus skills, burlesque dancing and hapless clowning. Housed in the gorgeous circus hub on Edinburgh’s Meadows and lavishly costumed and presented, there’s evidently been a lot of time and money spent getting this ready for the public. I have to say that it’s a show that isn’t really aimed at people like us (for us, a strong narrative thread is always key) but there’s no doubting the skill and talent of the performers, who give it their all.

The event is tricked out in a cartoonish cowboy style – there are lots of Stetsons, pistols and whips on display, all accompanied by energetic hoe-downs to pounding western music. I find myself alternately thrilled by the balancing and fire-eating elements and vaguely embarrassed by all the frantic tassel-twirling and twerking that’s going on. Those hoping for some kind of cogent storyline will inevitably be disappointed. There is a story thread (a villainous woman attempting to pass off urine as gold dust) but it’s basically hokum, an excuse to bring out the next act. You want to see tap dancing knife throwers? You got it! And there’s a fabulous trapeze act in there – but was it really necessary to have a laser light shooting out of her bum?

The good thing about a fast paced show like this is that if you aren’t really enjoying a particular element it’ll soon be gone and replaced by something completely different – and it’s evident that the crowd packed into tonight’s performance are loving every minute, whooping and applauding fit to raise the roof. So, if the this kind of thing that floats your boat – and I’m willing to bet that there are plenty of festival goers who enjoy a circus – then head down to The Meadows and grab a seat.

3.8 stars

Philip Caveney

Danielle Ward: Seventeen

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06/08/16

Just the Tonic at The Caves, Edinburgh

Ugh, I don’t like this venue. The rooms are small and damp, with all the inherent charm of a medieval dungeon. But this is the Fringe, so it’s par for the course.

And I do like Danielle Ward. I’ve never seen her live before, but I’m a fan of her Do The Right Thing podcast, loved her musical, Gutted, and have heard a lot of her work on Radio 4. I’m excited to see what she does live, and she doesn’t disappoint.

The show’s premise is a simple one: what advice can Ward, at the ripe old age of thirty-seven, offer to a new generation of young women? What wisdom can she share with seventeen-year-old girls, on the cusp of adulthood? Can they learn from her experience?

Part reminiscence, part polemic, this is a fascinating show. Ward has a warm, natural appeal, and is so at ease on stage that she has no problem engaging the audience’s trust. She takes us with her effortlessly, through a list of topics as diverse as female masturbation and Donald Trump, chocolate oranges and red loo roll. It’s a feminist show, albeit one that eschews bold claims, and there are some delightful lines. “Back in 1996,” she tells us, “The Spice Girls invented Girl Power, which was to feminism what Dairylea is to a strong, mature Cheddar.” Some bits are very accessible, while others are more challenging; it’s a good balance and we’re laughing throughout. She’s right, it’s not really a two-in-the-afternoon show, but I can’t think of many better ways to spend an hour at any time. Today’s show was close to sold out, so don’t wait too long to book a ticket for this one!

4.6 stars

Susan Singfield

 

John Robertson: Arena Spectacular

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04/08/16

The Stand 2, Edinburgh

We first chanced on John Robertson at last year’s fringe when we reviewed his Dark Room game show, in which I managed to be ‘out’ in a spectacularly short time. (Go me!) This year, we had the chance to see his Arena Spectacular, something we jumped at. The title is of course, ironic. The room in which he performs seats 45 punters tops, but you have to admire the chutzpah of a man who enters  to booming rock music and then proceeds to hurl a barrage of excoriating criticism at virtually every member of the audience. One young man who bears a passing resemblance to Christopher Reeves suffers a whole series of Superman jokes – another guy, in Robertson’s opinion, looks like a member of the Hitler Youth. Our reviewer’s lanyards make us the butt of a whole string of running remarks, where he pretty much advises us how many stars to award his act. He gets away with it all largely by dint of an angelic grin, that would charm the birds from the trees.

Robertson seems to be fuelled by equal parts anger, contempt and perversity. He’s a brilliantly funny comedian, an inspired improviser and he looks like (in his own estimation) ‘a dead Nick Cave.’ From his opening line he has pretty much the entire audience laughing raucously, a condition he keeps them in pretty much until his flamboyant exit where he gets in a genuine plug for some T-shirts he’s had made to mark the death of his pet dog. (Death figures quite prominently in this set and if you don’t think that’s a suitable subject to be laughing at, trust me, you won’t be able to stop yourself.)

Robertson’s a true original. I can’t think of another comedian who works in quite the same way as this. Do yourself an immense favour. Grab a ticket for this before they’re gone.

4.4 stars

Philip Caveney