Edinburgh Fringe Festival
I've been lucky enough to spend the last few days in Edinburgh and have seen as many Fringe shows as possible in this short time. The good thing is that the Fringe has hundreds of free shows (with post-show pleading for donation) so that saved me a fair amount of bother about wasting money on something that could have been crap.
I'll split this review into "Must see", "Mediocre" and "Crap" with a brief comment about each show.
Must see
Sound and Fury's Testaclese and Ye Sack of Rome (Free)
- S&F welcomes two new members and performs this hilarious show with great energy and plenty of dick jokes.
The Israeli and Palestinian Conflict: A Romantic Comedy (Free)
- A musical representing Israel and Palestine in a long-lasting romantic relationship. Hilarious, and I hope they bring it to the Adelaide Fringe
Under the Stars - Peter Buckley Hill (Free)
- Peter rambles on about science, literature and helping prostitutes with their PhD. This is the man who started the Free Fringe many years ago and he's still a great performer in his own right
Robin Ince Asks Why (Free)
- Robin spent almost the entire show on his preamble without actually getting to the content! However, it was hilarious and inspiring all the way. He has a great passion for knowledge in all forms.
Skinny Man, Modern World - Sammy J (GBP 6.50)
- Sammy J is a great storyteller and songwriter with a mix of anecdotes, funny songs and some stuff that'll gross you out but you'll still laugh.
Thunderer! (Free)
- A live sitcom about a Victorian era newspaper. Three short epsiodes show off the great talent of the small cast.
Mediocre
Late Night Laughs (Free)
- One of the three stand up comics actually made me laugh, the MC and the other comic were horrendously bad.
Stuff (Free)
- Shelby (formerly of Sound & Fury) in his new show with friend Todd as they talk about all the stuff we accumulate. Some amusing stories and songs, but nothing hilarious.
Showstopper! (GBP 11.00)
- The most expensive ticket I bought, and not that great a show. This is an improvised musical but the day I saw it they were doing the life of special guest Jim Bowen (who'd I'd never heard of) and so I expect the cast were trying not to offend Bowen nor outshine him by being funnier. I'm sure when this show uses audience suggestions they might create something better. See "Spontaneous Broadway" instead, because that was great (in Adelaide)
Carl Sagan is My God - Robin Ince and friends (Free)
- Robin Ince talking about his love for Science with a few special guests doing short pieces. Although everyone was fairly good, Robin is much funnier on his own.
An Israeli and Palestinian Walk into a Country (Free)
- The show was almost cancelled in its entirety as the two guys running it didn't feel it was ready. So they gave us a taster of some of the material and will bring it back next year. Not too bad, but it does need quite a bit of workshopping to make it a tight and funny show.
Obie: Using the Force (Free)
- An energetic and in-your-face standup comic from Glasgow, Obie had some good material for our tiny audience, and I understood most of it :) A little more coherence to the full set would have helped. Still, not too bad.
Paul Dabek - Nothing Up My Sleeve (Free)
- A magic and comedy act. Some clever tricks, but nothing too outstanding. Still don't know how they're done though.
Behind the Truth: More Lies (Free)
- A sketch show taking on Hollywood Celebrities. Some good jokes, some lame ones, and some that just died...
Crap
Audi, Vide, Tace (Free)
- Charlotte Young examines Van Gogh's obsession with bottoms, the genetic experiment that produced Rupert the Bear and an Apocalypse Nowish finale with a mad doctor. However, none of this was particularly funny and went on for far too long. The poor audio for the multimedia setup (which was relied on WAY too much) didn't help either.
Southampton Uni standup (Free)
- A fill in gig replacing a show that was supposed to be on. You'd think that amongst a group of six standup comics filling in an hour they'd have *some* good material, but they really didn't.
Dirty Immigrant Collective (Free)
- Negin Farsad (from The Israeli & Palestinian Conflict: A Romantic Comedy) presents other "immigrant" comedians. However, she was the funniest of the lot. A tall Dutch man saw all his jokes die a horrible death and we were just laughing at how he was reacting to everything falling flat. Such a pity.
Special Mention
Reality Vaccine (Free)
- This "Mentalist" show (magic included) didn't go ahead as there was only myself and two other people in the audience. So the guy kindly did some up close magic tricks with us - and they weren't too bad, but considering it wasn't his full show I can't really judge it.
There's so much to see at the Fringe that it's impossible to see it all, even if you were there for the whole month. I did get quite entertained, and usually for free (although I usually gave 5 pounds if they were any good). Having paid $10 or more in advance for tickets in Adelaide to shows that turned out to be crap, I love the idea of a free Fringe - it's like busking, but indoors :)
I'll split this review into "Must see", "Mediocre" and "Crap" with a brief comment about each show.
Must see
Sound and Fury's Testaclese and Ye Sack of Rome (Free)
- S&F welcomes two new members and performs this hilarious show with great energy and plenty of dick jokes.
The Israeli and Palestinian Conflict: A Romantic Comedy (Free)
- A musical representing Israel and Palestine in a long-lasting romantic relationship. Hilarious, and I hope they bring it to the Adelaide Fringe
Under the Stars - Peter Buckley Hill (Free)
- Peter rambles on about science, literature and helping prostitutes with their PhD. This is the man who started the Free Fringe many years ago and he's still a great performer in his own right
Robin Ince Asks Why (Free)
- Robin spent almost the entire show on his preamble without actually getting to the content! However, it was hilarious and inspiring all the way. He has a great passion for knowledge in all forms.
Skinny Man, Modern World - Sammy J (GBP 6.50)
- Sammy J is a great storyteller and songwriter with a mix of anecdotes, funny songs and some stuff that'll gross you out but you'll still laugh.
Thunderer! (Free)
- A live sitcom about a Victorian era newspaper. Three short epsiodes show off the great talent of the small cast.
Mediocre
Late Night Laughs (Free)
- One of the three stand up comics actually made me laugh, the MC and the other comic were horrendously bad.
Stuff (Free)
- Shelby (formerly of Sound & Fury) in his new show with friend Todd as they talk about all the stuff we accumulate. Some amusing stories and songs, but nothing hilarious.
Showstopper! (GBP 11.00)
- The most expensive ticket I bought, and not that great a show. This is an improvised musical but the day I saw it they were doing the life of special guest Jim Bowen (who'd I'd never heard of) and so I expect the cast were trying not to offend Bowen nor outshine him by being funnier. I'm sure when this show uses audience suggestions they might create something better. See "Spontaneous Broadway" instead, because that was great (in Adelaide)
Carl Sagan is My God - Robin Ince and friends (Free)
- Robin Ince talking about his love for Science with a few special guests doing short pieces. Although everyone was fairly good, Robin is much funnier on his own.
An Israeli and Palestinian Walk into a Country (Free)
- The show was almost cancelled in its entirety as the two guys running it didn't feel it was ready. So they gave us a taster of some of the material and will bring it back next year. Not too bad, but it does need quite a bit of workshopping to make it a tight and funny show.
Obie: Using the Force (Free)
- An energetic and in-your-face standup comic from Glasgow, Obie had some good material for our tiny audience, and I understood most of it :) A little more coherence to the full set would have helped. Still, not too bad.
Paul Dabek - Nothing Up My Sleeve (Free)
- A magic and comedy act. Some clever tricks, but nothing too outstanding. Still don't know how they're done though.
Behind the Truth: More Lies (Free)
- A sketch show taking on Hollywood Celebrities. Some good jokes, some lame ones, and some that just died...
Crap
Audi, Vide, Tace (Free)
- Charlotte Young examines Van Gogh's obsession with bottoms, the genetic experiment that produced Rupert the Bear and an Apocalypse Nowish finale with a mad doctor. However, none of this was particularly funny and went on for far too long. The poor audio for the multimedia setup (which was relied on WAY too much) didn't help either.
Southampton Uni standup (Free)
- A fill in gig replacing a show that was supposed to be on. You'd think that amongst a group of six standup comics filling in an hour they'd have *some* good material, but they really didn't.
Dirty Immigrant Collective (Free)
- Negin Farsad (from The Israeli & Palestinian Conflict: A Romantic Comedy) presents other "immigrant" comedians. However, she was the funniest of the lot. A tall Dutch man saw all his jokes die a horrible death and we were just laughing at how he was reacting to everything falling flat. Such a pity.
Special Mention
Reality Vaccine (Free)
- This "Mentalist" show (magic included) didn't go ahead as there was only myself and two other people in the audience. So the guy kindly did some up close magic tricks with us - and they weren't too bad, but considering it wasn't his full show I can't really judge it.
There's so much to see at the Fringe that it's impossible to see it all, even if you were there for the whole month. I did get quite entertained, and usually for free (although I usually gave 5 pounds if they were any good). Having paid $10 or more in advance for tickets in Adelaide to shows that turned out to be crap, I love the idea of a free Fringe - it's like busking, but indoors :)