Underbelly

Holly Burn: I Am Special

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05/08/16

Underbelly, Med Quad, Edinburgh

Shirley Bassey is bellowing My Life as Holly Burn slinks onto the stage, clad in a red jumpsuit. She’s clutching a stuffed parrot and exudes enough confidence to light up the Royal Mile. Back in the 80s, growing up in Newcastle, she was told by just about everybody she knew that she was ‘special.’ But now it’s 2016 and she’s finding it difficult to admit that things haven’t worked out as well as she might have hoped. This show is essentially about the yawning chasm that lies between our childhood ambitions and what most of us have to settle for as grown ups.

Holly sings a bit of Barbara Streisand (very well, I might add) and she interacts effortlessly with her audience. I am dubbed ‘Spaghetti Phil’ (largely because of what I had to eat before attending the show) while three young girls off to one side of the performance space are adopted as Holly’s posse. There are some genuinely funny lines here. ‘What do you want to do with your life, Holly?’ ‘I want everything but I don’t want to do anything to get it. I just want to faff around until somebody notices me.’

Well, we’ve all been there, haven’t we?

She cuts back and forth between scenes from her childhood and some of the outlandish fantasies she indulged in back then. An extended sequence that has her riding a scooter naked through Sienna is a highlight. Occasionally the piece loses its focus, and she has to work hard to get the audience back again, but she largely succeeds. It’s a diverting hour spent in her company and while it may not be the most memorable performance we’ve seen, it’s nonetheless enjoyable. Hearing Holly sing makes me wonder if that’s a part of the show she might want to develop more in the future.

I for one would be interested to see where she takes this next.

3.6 stars

(Spaghetti) Philip Caveney

Garrett Millerick: A Selection of Things I’ve Said to Taxi Drivers

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29/08/15

Underbelly, Med Quad, Edinburgh

It’s the last few days of the Fringe and many acts are understandably beginning to feel a little bit jaded, but clearly, the affliction has completely bypassed Garrett Millerick. He stalks out onto the stage and launches himself headlong into a vitriolic set which is fuelled mostly by anger. Millerick is a grumpy sort. He seems to have a beef with just about everything and everyone, from the people who leave one star reviews on Amazon (for batteries!) to the supermarkets who have the cheek to charge five pence for a plastic bag. He even offers a routine about why Page Three is the least offensive thing in The Sun; you don’t necessarily agree with what he says, but you have to applaud the skill with which he puts his arguments together.

He is a confident performer, his voice ranging from a sly, conspiratorial hush to a ranting bellow and he soon has the early evening audience in the palm of his hand, eliciting plenty of well-earned laughter and let’s face it, that’s the name of the game here. He even apologises for not actually mentioning taxi drivers in the set and tells us about a guy who came up to him after a show and complained that the poster promised something that wasn’t delivered. ‘Are you a taxi driver?’ Millerick asked him. ‘No,’ replied the guy. ‘But I’m interested in taxis.’

Oh boy…

We have no complaints about this assured set, which delivers on so many levels –  it’s frank, visceral and occasionally controversial – but I’m not sure whether to tweet him a link to this review. After all, another of his pet hates is people who voice their opinions. What do you think? Should I?

4.4 stars

Philip Caveney

Rhys Nicholson: Forward

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27/08/15

Underbelly, George Square, Edinburgh

In what can only be described as an oblong black box on Underbelly, Rhys Nicholson introduces a welcome splash of colour. With his red hair, pale skin and flamboyant clothing, he’s keen to let us know about his unconventional life in all its endless variety. He hails from Newcastle, Australia (strangely enough the same home town as Sarah Kendall, another Aussie comedian doing well at this year’s Fringe) and at twenty five, his main preoccupations are sex, Tony Abbott and making collages. He’s quick to let us know that tonight, the conversation will be a decidedly adult one, or as he likes to call it ‘climbing aboard the filth train.’

He has a nice line in pithy, self-deprecating remarks and quickly has the audience on his side, milking the laughs skilfully. He’s consistently funny throughout, even if his material is more entertaining than challenging and he maintains a lively rapport with his punters. There’s no particular standout routine here, though his recollections of being ‘politely mugged’ raise the night’s biggest laughs. As the Fringe noses into its last few days, this show is a good bet for early evening laughs, before you descend into the madness of booze, music and fireworks.

Oh yes. He has a sideline in making novelty bow ties and sausage dog brooches, which he offers for sale after the event.

4 stars

Philip Caveney

Acts of Redemption

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26/08/15

Underbelly, Cowgate, Edinburgh

Ken Jaworowski’s Acts of Redemption is a series of six disparate monologues, presented with pleasing simplicity by director James Wren.

First, in Never Smile, Never Wave, we meet a spoilt little rich girl: self-satisfied, judgemental and very privileged indeed. But, when a stranger in a bar tells her she looks sad, her vulnerability is revealed, and we are left wishing that we could find out more. This is, I think, the strongest of the set, exquisitely performed by Akila Cristiano, who manages to make us root for someone quite unlikeable.

Next comes Pulse, where three separate stories are interwoven. They’re loosely linked, each dealing with familial love, and this is another success. A young man (James Huntington) comes out to his father; a man (Dan Lees) teaches his little boy to fight the bullies who are hurting him; a young woman (Amee Smith) sacrifices her dreams to care for her ailing dad. All three pieces are well-crafted, and the acting powerful.

The last two monologues are perhaps the weakest. In Luck of the Draw, Rachel Parris plays a miserable woman, who dreams of winning the lottery and leaving home. The character is interesting, and there are a few nice twists, but it feels a little under-developed, and perhaps a tad cliched. Timberwood Drive, performed by Joe Wreddon, is the slightest of all, telling the rather far-fetched tale of a hapless womaniser whose wife and mistress co-own the same dog. It’s a little bit silly, and doesn’t connect with the audience in the way the others do.

All in all, this is a decent production, and I certainly enjoyed the hour spent watching it. I couldn’t help but wish, however, that the pieces were more unified, and that there were something more to hold them together than the tenuous idea of ‘redemption’ (especially as they’re not all redeemed).

An interesting – if mixed – show, with some genuine talent on display.

3.3 stars

Susan Singfield

Scaramouche Jones

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18/08/15

Underbelly, Cowgate, Edinburgh

The joy of the Edinburgh Festival has always been the discovery of exciting theatre. We tried Scaramouche Jones simply because we liked the title, but it was far better than our expectations. This is an exercise in consummate storytelling that transcends the unprepossessing nature of the humble room in which it’s staged.

On his 100th birthday, the titular hero shares, for the first time ever, his life story with an audience. In what is essentially an extended monologue, Thom Tuck excels, delivering Justin Butcher’s extraordinarily evocative script to great effect, as he guides us expertly through the seven stages of Jones’s life from his lowly beginnings as the unwanted son of a prostitute in Port of Spain, Trinidad to his final days, treading the boards as a world-weary clown in the city of London.

As Tuck describes the long journey that brought him to the start of a new millennium, exotic locations are effortlessly evoked through Butcher’s florid descriptions – a journey by camel is conjured merely by the rocking motion Tuck maintains as he sits in his chair – while his descriptions of working as a grave digger in a Nazi concentration camp are quite shattering in their intensity. He gives us a range of characters with a wide variety of accents, taking it all in his stride.

I sat there mesmerised from start to finish. A little longer than the usual festival one hour slot, this is really worth seeking out. Rich, eventful and absorbing, I can’t imagine a more satisfying experience for lovers of great storytelling.

4.8 stars

Philip Caveney

John Lloyd’s Museum of Curiosities Live

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18/08/14

Underbelly, Bristo Square, Edinburgh

Radio 4 listeners will already be familiar with the format of this intriguing show, led by near legendary producer  and self-styled Professor of Ignorance, John Lloyd. This is simply a live performance of the same format but with a few visual aids thrown in. Here Lloyd is assisted by his ‘curator’ (Daniel Schrieber) and three guest speakers – author Frank Cotteral Boyce, QI researcher, Andy Murray (not THAT Andy Murray!) and ‘too many roles to list’ Clive Anderson.

The idea is that each guest suggests something that might be placed into the Museum and they discuss their choices in detail. Boyce chose a printed year-by-year edition of everything that’s on the internet (one hell of a big volume),  Anderson wanted the real King Macbeth (much unlike his Shakespearian equivalent, it seems) and Murray chose leeches, who he maintains, have a totally undeserved bad press. As ever, the show is witty, surprisingly informative and a very pleasant way to spend an hour. The earth didn’t move but after a series of loud frenetic shows, this was a nice relaxing slice of entertainment.

3.5 stars

Philip Caveney