Minimal

Quickie Fringe review

Ash will have more detail in his up-coming Fringe diary, but for what it’s worth, here’s what I thought of what I saw:

• Charlie Chuck: mad as a hatter, though I do worry about his childhood. Good improv when things went pear-shaped and an impressive ability to play drums using fence posts.
• Nick Revel: died on his arse, poor chap.
• Peter Buckley Hill: mad as a hatter and instantly likeable. First time I’ve seen him, but hopefully won’t be the last.
• Josie Long(?): very good material, very natural comedian — generally just very good.
• Shakespeare for breakfast: nice panto rendition of Romeo & Juliet, complete with happy(!) ending. And a cup of tea and croissant, too! :)
• Lenny Beige: presenting the Pick of the Fringe show, this man was in his element. Wonderful stuff. Must see him if he pops into Newcastle.
• Spooks: decent comedy play, would make a good series on Radio 4, no doubt. Actually, despite the venue having the most uncomfortable seats in the whole of Edinburgh, I really enjoyed this.
• Gladiatrix: oh dear. A 20-minute show drawn out into an hour-long excuse for... something. The lad in it was its one redeeming feature, having enough natural comedy in him for whole show.*
• Richard Herring: superb. Ok, so I’m a fan anyway, but he always makes me laugh, even when being educational. Contribute to his show by taking the Talking Cock questionnaire then see it for yourself at the Live Theatre.
• Stewart Lee: excellent. An entertainingly-subdued tale of the owl, the pussy cat, Ray Winstone (Scum, Sexy Beast), and drinking with tramps at Glasgow Central.
• John Hegley: maniac poet, lived up to nearly all of my expectations, though his improv foundered a little and some material was fairly old.
• Tina C: decidedly mediocre. Would’ve been ok for 5 or 10 minutes at The Establishment, but an hour was way too long.
• Steve Nallon: impressions were a bit average at times (although Alan Bennett rocked), but told a fine story.
• Jeff Green: despite some fairly well-worked topics, this man had me in stitches. Anyone can tell jokes about childhood reminiscences and sleeping positions, but no-one else does it quite this well.

So, as you’d expect there was some good and some bad, but the good was very good indeed. I think I might just be back next year.

* I thought at the time he looked a little like someone I'd seen in a comedy pairing's poster design from a few months back. Scarily enough, I was right. He, James Bachman, is one half of Bachman & Evans and the poster in question was their Fringe poster. Even more scarily, he's the man behind the rather good gas giant blog, as linked from frownland. Small world, eh?