Review: Ali McGregor's Late-Nite Variety-Nite Night

Ali McGregor's Late-Nite Variety-Nite Night

Ali McGregor

Rarely have I ever experienced laughter and an intense urge to retch simultaneously, but after witnessing Gypsy Wood dancing around the stage while menstruating (thankfully, using fake blood), I am a changed man. Fortunately, this is the most 'exotic' that this production gets, as we are treated to Ali McGregor's alternative but fascinating cover songs and her slimily hilarious butler Saxon McAllister, accompanied by evocative accordion music. The variety show presents a whole range of true fringe performers focusing on stand-up comedians, burlesque performers and sideshow acts, all of which are hugely entertaining. McAllister does a brilliant job of turning the audience into a rowdy rabble hooting and cheering to provide an excellent night of funny, racy and sexy cabaret.

Assembly @ George Street, 6 - 30 Aug, 10.30pm, prices vary, fpp 21

tw rating: 4/5

Review: When Wendell Was A Wasp

When Wendell Was A Wasp

Unfinished Theatre

Bad: bad accents, bad jokes, bad plot, bad acting, bad costumes, bad venue, bad storyline, bad lyrics, bad style, bad theatre. The show seems to revolve around a wasp, a boy with a rubbish whale-hat and a bear-cum-stand-up-comedian who revels in telling bad jokes, coming together to create a bad children’s play. In fact, I’m worried that this show is aimed at children as throughout the forty-five minutes of the performance there were references to bestiality and Wendell the Wasp was needlessly and unemotionally killed. The only saving grace to this performance was some of the songs, which added a more child-friendly touch and the use of slick projections. Certainly seemed to be unfinished theatre.

The Space on the Mile @ Jury’s Inn (V260), 7 - 15 Aug (not 9), 1.00pm, prices vary, fpp 17

tw rating: 1/5

Review: ComedySportz UK

ComedySportz UK

ComedySportz UK/Laughing Horse Free Festival

Cheesy and corny but in a fun way, ComedySportz UK provides a degree of humour for all the family, by pitting two teams of over exuberant youths against each other in an improv-off judged by the audience and a compère-cum-referee. As you would expect from a non-established improv troupe, the comedy is not laugh a minute, but the contestants do show good imagination and creativity and are obviously up there for fun rather than to be the best comedians in the Fringe. The atmosphere, being light-hearted, is reminiscent of when you play charades with your family on Christmas Day, except for being surrounded by strangers, in a large hall, in August, without any snow, or presents, or crackers.
, , (5.20pm), , fpp38
tw rating 2/5
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14-22 Aug, 4.20pm, free, fpp 38

tw rating: 2/5

http://edinburgh.threeweeks.co.uk/review/8353

Review: Sketchatron: Nano

Sketchatron: Nano

www.sketchatron.co.uk

Like a comedy pick ’n’ mix, ‘Sketchatron: Nano’ trawls the Fringe to bring showcases of the best sketch troupes, choosing a different selection every week, which on this occasion included the experienced Fringe returnees, The Penny Dreadfuls, and award-winning ‘Clever Peter’. The groups that I saw ranged from above average to excellent, providing fast-paced, witty skits of various styles, subjects and hilarity. However, the nature of the showcase-style performance provides a chance for the best talent to win over the audience with their quick-witted improvisation, despite the occasional technological hiccups. It’s worth a visit, if for no other reason than to have a laugh and discover some Fringe shows that you might also enjoy.

Bedlam Theatre, 9, 16, 23 Aug, 3.00pm, £8.00 (£6.00), fpp 99

tw rating: 3/5

http://edinburgh.threeweeks.co.uk/review/8419

Review: She’s Not Just Quiet..She’s Dead

She’s Not Just Quiet..She’s Dead

Tracy Crisp

In this soul-destroying venue, Tracy Crisp purposely sets out to talk about a soul-destroying subject in a soul-destroying manner. Fortunately, she fails with her aim and pulls off a decent account of her adventure with the “dead Head Librarian”. The piece is cleverly written, playing around with words, repetition, rhyme and metre, making it eloquent and entertaining for those word geeks such as myself. Unfortunately, the piece did seem to drag and I found that Crisp’s deadpan monotonous voice was encouraging me slowly to close my eyelids. The comedy itself was very sporadic, starting off strongly but waning quickly. If the events of this piece were condensed to allow time for more comedic situations it could be much better.

The Space on the Mile @ Jury’s Inn, 6 - 22 Aug (not 9 or 16), 7.35pm, £7.00, fpp 96

tw rating: 2/5

Review: Antigone

Antigone

Edinburgh Graduates Theatre Group

This play opens up to a theatre of sighs as Antigone & Ismene express themselves through a whole gamut of sighing, the range of which one did not imagine was possible. Unfortunately, although the acting style changes as different actors appear, the play doesn’t improve and while the graduates appear to have set it in modern times, they have done nothing to reinvent the classic story, denying it of any theatrical excitement it deserves. It didn't help that the venue was extremely hot and cramped, spoiling any of the pleasure I might have had in watching the play, which at times had decent moments of theatre. If you have seen or know the story of Antigone, I would give this performance a miss for boredom’s sake.

Quaker Meeting House, 17 - 22 Aug, 8.15pm, £8.00, fpp 180

tw rating: 2/5

Review: The Bitter Belief Of Cotrone The Magician

The Bitter Belief Of Cotrone The Magician

Andrea Cusumabo-CeSDAS

On an island in the middle of the Firth of Forth with birds circling ominously overhead, one is initially impressed with the boat ride and the brief introduction explaining the context of the ‘mystery’ isle of Inchcolm, however this is quickly shattered by the slow moving, often non-existent plot. When Cotrone, a Prospero-esque figure is on stage, the production seems egotistical and pretentiously protracted, but when his band of misfit-clowns, creatures spawned by his imagination, steal the spotlight, the magic and mystery of Inchcolm is accentuated. The twenty-five pound price is worth the boat trip and parts of the play, as if you find yourself bored, you can watch the extensive wildlife chatter around you. Bring warm clothes!

Sweet in the Firth of Forth, 8 - 16 Aug, 7.30pm, £25.00 (£20.00), fpp 183

tw rating: 2/5

http://edinburgh.threeweeks.co.uk/review/8515

Review: What Women Want

What Women Want

Citadel Arts Group/Workers’ Educational Association (WEA)

Theatrically good, subjectively biased, ‘What Women Want’ portrays women’s fight to achieve suffrage through rose-tinted glasses. The acting was superb, with the cast convincingly taking on multiple roles, but the play needed to be slicker and the technological aspects, while good, experienced more than a few hiccups. However, the content of the production was extremely prejudicial; all men were idiots or bigots, unless they supported the cause so portrayed as compassionate and hard- working. The terrorist acts of the suffragettes were skimmed over in favour of portraying the ‘Cat and Mouse Act’ and not enough emphasis was brought on the brave endeavours of suffragists. Furthermore, unconnected female martyrs were projected at the end, which took the little integrity it had left from the play.

Diverse Attractions, 17 - 22 Aug, 5.30pm, £9.00 (£7.00), fpp 238

tw rating: 2/5

http://edinburgh.threeweeks.co.uk/review/8615

Review: Turn The Blue Light Down

Turn The Blue Light Down

The About Turn Theatre Company

Control, domestic oppression, football and suicide are all themes in this post-punk production. It seems that ‘Turn the Blue Light Down’ has taken the safe structured approach to writing about young suicide in that there is the link to something everyday (football): the play’s protagonist is ground down by a character who lashes out at others due to his own securities and a loving mother who when devastated by her child’s death makes a conscious decision to positively change her life. As this approach was the one taken, the hard-hitting subject matter missed the mark and what could have been an emotionally engaging piece elicited a sympathetic reaction rather than an empathetic one.

The Spaces @ Royal College of Surgeons, 17 - 29 Aug (not 23), 2.10pm, £8.00 (£6.00), fpp 234

tw rating: 2/5

http://edinburgh.threeweeks.co.uk/review/8614

Review: Optimism

Optimism

Edinburgh International Festival/Malthouse Melbourne

Either I have just seen something profound or have sat through two hours of useless Austro-French philosophy. Based on Voltaire’s ‘Candide, ou L’optimism’ and with a cast led by the award-winning comic Frank Woodley, ‘Optimism’ sees the eponymous protagonist being thrown out of his utopian home into a dystopian world full of war and greed, making him forever question his optimistic outlook. The theatrics of the piece are huge: at times distressing and frightening, purposefully confusing and sometimes even compellingly twee. The fast surreal pace of the plot can alienate the audience, and the piece focuses more on the philosophy than the humour making the first half slightly disappointing compared with the rest of the play. You’ll be confused, inquisitive and entertained

Royal Lyceum Theatre, 15 - 17 Aug, times vary, prices vary, fpp 20

tw rating: 3/5

Review: The Church Of Salsa

The Church Of Salsa

World Festival

In the beginning Salsa created Cuba and the beat. And Salsa said let there be sugar and there was sugar. And Salsa saw the sugar, saw that it was good, and Salsa divided the rum from the sugar. And Salsa called the rum Havana, and the sugar he called Demerara. And Salsa said let the dancers under the beat be gathered together under one place and let the dance floor appear: and it was so. And Salsa said let the beat bring forth the drums, the keyboard and the trumpet: and it was so. And Salsa said bring forth the feet to move to the beat and he saw it was good. And on the seventh day, the Church of Salsa partied.

The World @ St George’s West, dates vary, 10.30pm, prices vary, fpp 113

tw rating: 3/5

Review: So He Made Some Soup…And Other Tales

So He Made Some Soup…And Other Tales

ButterflyBelly Theatre Company

The production of this play was very much soup-like, reminiscent of a minestrone or broth with every possible meat and vegetable in it creating a lucky dip of edibles, where an intrepid spoon could produce a mouth-watering piece of lamb or alternatively a drooping, insipid courgette. At times creative with theatrically innovative ideas, for the most part it felt diluted, like it hadn’t been allowed to simmer; the cast seemed unsure of their lines and nervous about their blocking, which drained a lot of the energy vital to the confusing plot - where you are given just enough croutons to keep up with it. The recipe was interesting enough, but the cook spoiled the broth.

The Spaces on the Mile @ The Radisson, 24 - 29 Aug, 3.05pm, £5.00 (£4.00), fpp 228

tw rating: 2/5

http://edinburgh.threeweeks.co.uk/review/8839

Review: Once Upon A Time: Naughty Fairytales Your Mother Never Told You

Once Upon A Time: Naughty Fairytales Your Mother Never Told You

Two Shades of Blue

'Two Shades of Blue' say they’re like ‘’Allo ‘Allo', and they did have awful accents…unintentionally. They say they’re like 'Shrek' and they do reproduce the clichéd stereotypes that 'Shrek' picked up on. They say they’re like the ‘Carry On Films’ and they do come across as slightly seedy. However, I would say that they are like an uncharismatic am-dram group trying to be funny, succeeding in some parts but mostly not. They do provide a decent storyline, good technical aspects and add some new features to old characters, but despite the high point with Prince Charming and the magic mirror, the performers appear nervous on stage, insecure in their own abilities and at parts, I struggled to hear them from the front row. Awkward theatre.
, , (5.45pm), , fpp216
tw rating: 2/5
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Spotlites @ The Merchants Hall, 24 - 31 Aug, 4.45pm, £8.50 (£6.50), fpp 216

http://edinburgh.threeweeks.co.uk/review/8846

Review: Abacus Danger And The Pits Of Panic

Abacus Danger And The Pits Of Panic

Champo Productions Featuring Lousy, Lewis and Double M

I am not one to advocate taking narcotics, but if you go see this play make sure you are drunk as a skunk or equally as inebriated on any other illicit substance, as then you may enjoy this inadvertent comedy of errors. As this show progressed I couldn’t help but wonder if the cast of this production had ever rehearsed together as I hadn’t seen so much unintentional on-stage carnage since my primary school nativity play: wrong exits and entrances, misplaced props, wigs and wooden acting made it seem as though Alan Ayckbourne had written his most naturalistic and convincing farce yet. The intoxicated audience behind me enjoyed themselves, but this performance made me want a very stiff drink.

The Spaces @ The Royal College of Surgeons, 24 - 29 Aug, 9.45pm, £6.00 (£5.00), fpp 18

tw rating: 1/5

Review: The Miser

The Miser

Edinburgh People’s Theatre

Not exciting nor boring, not hilarious nor embarrassingly unfunny, acted well in some parts and badly in others, an unremarkable set but one which is validated by the play, not emotive but not stale, there is really not a lot which can be said about this production of 'The Miser' by Edinburgh’s Peoples Theatre except that it’s a new adaptation by J.J Mills, bringing the play into contemporary times by inserting a few gags about the credit crunch here and banks there, which seems appropriate as the play centres around a skinflint moneylender. After attempting to use the most eloquent vocabulary that I possess I still think that the best word to describe this production is ‘decent’.

St Peters, 26 - 29 Aug, 7.45pm, £9.00, fpp 212

tw rating: 2/5

Review: The Absolute Best of the Absolute Beginners

The Absolute Best of the Absolute Beginners

Fit o’ the Giggles/PBH’s Free Fringe

It says a lot about the show, when the best or in fact funniest thing I saw was a comic who was involved in the previous act bearing down, accompanied by the wrath of God, on a punter who had repeatedly answered his ringing phone during the set resulting in the physical and verbal ejection of said punter from the premises. With such a hard act to follow, the performers in The Absolute Best of the Absolute Beginners, seemed nervously awkward, and hence failed to get the most out of their material which was at times clever and witty. As they develop their set and learn when to amplify the humour through their delivery the response is bound to improve

8 - 29 Aug, 11.00pm, free, fpp 19

tw rating: 2/5

http://edinburgh.threeweeks.co.uk/review/8887

Review: Fuzzy

Fuzzy

Tania El Khoury

Teasing the boundaries of the audience/performer relationship, Tania El Khoury provides an intimate, sultry and sexy performance, telling the sole audience member about her relationship to her boyfriend, who, judging by her complaints, she really shouldn’t be with. With this subject matter, she provides an insight into life in Lebanon, living with war, and trying to live a sexually liberated life while not bringing shame to her family. Though she doesn’t use Orientalism to exploit the listeners' exotic fantasies, she makes life in the war-torn country sound harsh but lovely. Caressing the couch with her body she plays with alternative ways to convey her story as you’re transformed into her therapist. Oh, and you get a free Dime-bar

In a secret location near the Forest Café, 27 - 28 Aug, 5pm, free

tw rating: 4/5

http://edinburgh.threeweeks.co.uk/review/8975

Poem: The Joker

Some people call me the militant, yeah.

Some call me the gangster of t'cause .

Some people call me Joseph,

Cause I speak of the pompetous cause.

People talk about me, comrade

Say I'm doin' you wrong, doin' you wrong.

But don't you worry comrade, don't worry,

'Cause I'm right here, right here, right here at war.

Cause I'm a fighter,

I'm a winner,

Getting redder,

Still a sinner,

Playing propaganda in the sun.

I'm a fighter,

I'm a smoker,

I'm a facial-hair grower,

I fight the cause on the run.

Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh

You're the biggest fascist I ever did see,

'Cause I'm against your thoughts on free-market policy,

Fighty-wighty, fighty-wighty, fighty-wighty all the time,

Ooh wee comrade, I'll lock you up for a long time.

Cause I'm a fighter,

An oppressor,

Getting redder,

Still a sinner,

Playing propaganda in the sun.

I'm a fighter,

I'm a smoker,

I'm a big book burner,

I sure don't wan'a hurt no-one.

People keep talking about me comerade,

Say I'm dictating to you.

Well don't you worry, don't worry, no don't worry, mama ,

Just don't do something I wouldn't do.

You're the most fascist thing I did ever see,

You're in the free media, speaking against me.

Oppressy-wessy, 'pressy-wessy, 'pressy-wessy all the time,

Come on comrade, I'll show you a good time.

Tom Peel