Edinburgh Fringe Festival: Top comedy shows at the Fringe so far
Tom Flanagan, star of Kaput. Picture: Jane Barlow
OUR critics’ verdict on the best of the Fringe’s comedy shows so far, including a sterling return from The Boy With Tape On His Face, stand-up from a copper-turned comedian, and the best weapon with which to fend off racist thugs according to Nish Kumar
What Would Beyoncé Do? Laughing Horse @ Meadow Bar (Venue 264)
What we said: “The star’s hits that frame this show, prompting Omielan to grind and gyrate, are little more than window dressing. But they charge the room with dynamic, rollercoaster energy. Careering through a tightly scripted, yet seeming stream-of-consciousness account of her recent travails, this is a show in which Omielan revels in her fleeting triumphs because the lows are never far behind.
Manoeuvring past her aggressive thrusts on the way to your seat, you wonder, who is this intimidatingly confident young woman?”
Star rating: * * * *
• Until 26 August. Today 10:45pm.
What we said: “Hutton’s comedy is great, grounded stuff... confessing to a deal of prejudice against Australians (you can’t help but agree with him) and squeezing fresh laughs out of rich kids, Britain’s rubbish parks and male rape.
Hutton takes the same cleverly hilarious approach to bestiality. The entire room goes into that odd movement where you are laughing helplessly but trying to nod in agreement at the same time. I genuinely believe he has made some seriously worthwhile legal points here, an unusual plus from a bloke doing jokes about Alsatians and warm chocolate.”
Star rating: * * * *
• Until 26 August. Today 11pm.
Hannah Gadsby - Mary, Contrary, Gilded Balloon Tevio (Venue 14)
What we said: “Mary Contrary is an unashamed lecture... but it’s the funniest, most fact-filled talk on paintings you ever did see. There’s so much entertaining content that Gadsby went over her hour-slot slightly, but unless you’re on a tight schedule, that’s not a bad problem to have. I left this show not only laughing, but feeling a little bit cleverer than when I went in. That’s worth a few quid, surely?”
Star rating: * * * *
• Mary Contrary until 26 August, today 2pm.
It’s Not Easy Being Yellow, The Voodoo Rooms (Venue 68A)
What we said: “Ria Lina’s fearless, provocative and very funny one-woman show is listed in the cabaret section of the Fringe programme, there isn’t a comedy venue in the country that shouldn’t be fighting for her. She shatters racial stereotypes by embracing them. Through easy patter with the audience, she lists stereotypes about us all, and still we laugh. In a final song she has us singing along before she shouts “let’s have a cheer for all the half-castes”. It could all go so horribly wrong, but like a beaming assassin, she’s invincible.”
Star rating: * * * *
• Until 26 August. Today 7pm.
The Boy With Tape on his Face - More Tape, Pleasance Courtyard (Venue 33)
What we said: “It takes real effort to express with mere words what The Boy With Tape On His Face so wonderfully accomplishes without them. Details rendered in cold, hard prose could spoil what’s so often surprising and magical about this mime star’s performance. Nevertheless, it should be noted that if you’re looking for a show that’s a delight from start to finish, that can be enjoyed by absolutely everybody, More Tape is superlative-defying.”
Star rating: * * * * *
• Until 27 August. Today 9:40pm.
Nish Kumar - Who is Nish Kumar? Underbelly (Venue 300)
What we said: “Unlike his wary parents, Kumar feels fully part of British society and has learned to be philosophical about racial abuse. Not least as it affords him memorable anecdotes: the thugs this verbose intellectual self-consciously attempts to fend off with a rolled-up copy of the Guardian; the seaside town racist incensed by his white girlfriend into spoiling his own lunch; even his dubious efforts to reclaim the word “Paki”.
The show is full of confidently delivered, wryly witty tales that delight in the quirks and possibilities of language.”
Star rating: * * * *
• Until 27 August. Today 8:20pm.
Peter Buckley Hill: This Show is Not Sh*te, It’s Shite, The Canons’ Gait
What we said: “PBH takes deconstructionism to new heights as he picks over the corpse of his 1994 show, which still bears the stab marks of five one-star reviews, to see where it all went so horribly wrong.
Just in case the “old shite” is too bad, Peter has thoughtfully brought along some “new shite” and allows us to judge which is best. “Error Number One,” beams Peter, and off we go. This is another glorious hour from the founder of the Free Fringe.”
Star rating: * * * *
• Until 26 August. Today 6:05pm.
Sam Simmons - About the Weather, Gilded Balloon Teviot
What we said: “If you let him take control of your brain and your laughing bits for just one hour, you will enjoy yourself in ways you never thought possible. The show is a comedy tapestry woven from unlikely props, crazy flights of fancy, intricately cued recordings and a plethora of strange effects.”
Star rating: * * * *
• Until 26 August. Today 9:15pm.
Abandoman – Party in the Key of C Major, Pleasance Dome (Venue 23)
What we said: “I just can’t imagine Abandoman ever having an off night, so clever, quick-witted and audacious is their flow. He hoovers up suggested scenarios from the audience, then spits them out as fully formed comic yarns with both rhyme and reason. You can almost see the cogs whirring as he simultaneously assesses rhyming potential, distils the essence of the preferred material (Ben the yoga-practising bin man? that’ll do nicely) and works out the comedy connections that will make the best running jokes.”
Star rating: * * * *
• Until 27 August. Today, 9:45pm.
Simon Munnery: Fylm-Makker, Stand Comedy Club (Venue 5)
What we said: “Fylm-Makker is a unique show, a product of a strange but wonderful combination of the seemingly infinite kinds of funny contained in the mind of Simon Munnery. The show is studded with brilliant one-liners like spots on the face of a 15-year-old, and offers a powerful defence of the Post Office, an insightful deconstruction of the problems inherent in the comedy of Frank Carson, the world’s most useful Venn diagram and the actual sound of one hand clapping. I think Simon Munnery might just be a comic genius.”
Star rating: * * * * *
• Until 27 August. Today, 3:45pm.
Sarah Kendall - Get Up, Stand Up, Pleasance Courtyard (Venue 33)
What we said: “[The show is] a protest on her daughter’s behalf at the creeping sexualisation of mainstream culture and the erosion of feminism. Elegantly sarcastic in its argument, underpinned by fury, Kendall’s show is nevertheless delivered with sufficient verve and lightness of touch not to browbeat the listener over the course of its well-structured hour.”
Star rating: * * * *
• Until 27 August. Today 8:30pm
Kevin Tomlinson: Crazy Little Thing Called Love; Just the Tonic At the Caves (Venue 88)
What we said: “Our show begins with Tomlinson joined by wickedly talented wife Abi Hood for a sketch about a blind date, with details and conversational gambits courtesy of those often mischievous song lines. The result is a scene that’s funny, true and not a little moving... I don’t know how much we learnt about love in this heartwarming hour, but everyone left with massive smiles on their faces.”
Star rating: * * * *
• Until 26 August. 16 August 3:20pm.
Hal Cruttenden: Tough Luvvie, Pleasance Courtyard (Venue 33)
What we said: “This is finely crafted, cleverly worded stuff. He gets properly political, but so smartly that you barely notice the sharpness of the barbs. I for one cannot help but adore someone who accuses Edinburgh of being “just a little bit Sheila Showbiz”.”
Star rating: * * * *
• Until 26 August. Tomorrow 9:45pm
Splitting the Bill – Michael Workman & Tommy Little, Gilded Balloon Teviot (Venue 14)
What we said: “Rather than straight-up storytelling, Workman involves cartoons on cards and a cardboard TV, along with songs – the boy’s a talented pianist.
The moral of the story is indeed sentimental, but it’s a good one. Earnest in an entertaining way, Mercy won’t change the world, but it certainly warms the heart.”
Star rating; * * * *
• Splitting the Bill until 26 August, tomorrow 10:45pm
Alan Davies - Life Is Pain, Venue 150 @ EICC (Venue 150)
What we said: “More personal than anything he has shared on stage before, it is delivered with the same amiable manner and casual wit, as adolescent experiences too mortifying for a twenty- or thirtysomething to revisit are wryly offered up from the detachment of middle age... superbly told, relatable routines about his kids that convey just how much he loves and hates them.”
Star rating: * * * *
• Until 14 August. Today 7:40pm.
Trevor Noah: The Racist, Pleasance Courtyard (Venue 33)
What we said: “A handsome, effortlessly engaging polyglot who speaks four languages fluently, and retains a puppyish enthusiasm for Japanese and his seductive, Spanish-accented satnav... he’s playful, deconstructing the stereotypical black rolling gait and pleasures of the phrase “nar’mean?”. His delight is infectious, the light-hearted cultural analysis still sharper than the norm... for someone so persecuted by language’s prejudices and limitations, Noah demonstrates a mastery of it, standing out chiefly for his considerable talent.”
Star rating: * * * *
• Until 27 August. Today 7:15pm.
{http://www.edfringe.com/whats-on/comedy/neil-delamere-delamere-mortal Neil Delamere: Delamere Mortal, Pleasance Courtyard (Venue 33)|Click to buy tickets}
What we said: “Delamere’s stories range from a run-in with a policeman on Leith Walk during last year’s Fringe to a doorstep encounter with a would-be Sinn Fein councillor, via the dangers of stretching one’s muscles in the presence of your girlfriend. Delamere is one of the funniest, nicest guys on the circuit. I don’t know about 33-year-old Neil Delamere, but that’s what I’ve learned in the last several years.”
Star rating: * * * *
• Until 26 August. Today 9pm.
Alfie Moore – I Predicted a Riot, Pleasance Courtyard (Venue 33)
What we said: “A lovely, personal and genuine hour of comedy from a policeman-turned-comedian. His stories are of his experiences in the police with emphasis on, as the title of the show suggests, riots. In a comedy world full of boys and girls with dangerous hairdos and nothing to say, Alfie Moore is a proper grown-up’s comic.”
Star rating: * * * *
• Until 27 August. Today 9:50pm.
Nick Helm: This Means War! Pleasance Dome (Venue 23)
What we said: “If love is a battlefield, then Nick Helm is a Sherman Tank, crushing all resistance to his onslaught. Chopper blades chook-chook, a smoke machine gasses the front row and Helm hails himself with ever more hyperbolic titles, strutting forth in his golden braids and medals, pumping his fist and demanding the crowd do likewise or face the consequences. This is nothing short of a rally.”
Star rating: * * * *
• Until 27 August. Today 5:30pm.
Sharron Matthews Superstar: Gold, Pleasance Courtyard (Venue 33)
What we said: “From the moment she greets every audience member with a handshake and hello, Matthews has us eating out of her hand. Not ten minutes in, we are mourning the death of Donna Summer and singing along to MacArthur Park. That takes charisma – and balls.”
Star rating: * * * *
• Until 27 August. Today 3:40pm.
Des Bishop Likes To Bang, Assembly George Square (Venue 3)
What we said: “Des Bishop’s relationship with his audience makes Adam Hills look unsociable... by the time he has elicited what he deems a “sectarian clap” and been told he looks “hot” and propositioned by a female latecomer, we are already so tickled to bits we don’t care when his next rap falls apart at the second line
Star rating: * * * *
• Until 26 August. Today 8:50pm.
Things We Did Before Reality, Just The Tonic at The Caves (Venue 88)
What we said: “Will Franken gallops along a comedic road less travelled and has found the sweet spot where absurdism and satire combine”
Star rating: * * * *
• Until 26 August. Today 10:35pm.
George Ryegold’s God-In-A-Bag, Underbelly (Venue 300)
What we said: “Dr George Ryegold is one of comedy’s gloriously appalling monsters... an extraordinary experience.”
• Until 27 August, 1.45pm
Lewis Schaffer: No You Shut Up!, The Hive (Venue 313)
What we said: “He gleefully violates every comedy rule in the book... an hour with Lewis Schaffer is an hilarious, cathartic, exhilaratingly appalling experience. He wants you to hate him. I, for one, just can’t.”
Star rating: * * * *
• Until 27 August. 4:45pm
Kaput, Underbelly, Bristo Square (Venue 300)
What we said: “Were some gifted comedy scientists able to inject the spirit of Norman Wisdom into a young Paul Nicholas, they would create something very similar to Tom Flanagan. This is a joyful show. A show that charms and delights you.”
Star rating: * * * *
• Until 27 August, 3:05pm
Stuart Goldsmith: Prick, Pleasance Courtyard (Venue 33)
What we said: “Goldsmith was always a smooth operator on stage...this year his comedy gets both wider and deeper (no pun intended) and definitely better.”
Star rating: * * * *
• Until 27 August, 7:30pm
Diane Spencer: Exquisite Bad Taste, Gilded Balloon Teviot (Venue 14)
What we said: “This is a show about alcoholism, about gingerism, but most gloriously of all, about female masturbation. Yes, Spencer really gets stuck into the nub of self-pleasure, with a vigour I’d suggest no male comic can match without appearing boorish and a potential sex pest...she has the wit, imagination and light touch to elevate it beyond mere filth, to what can only be described as utter filth.”
Star rating: * * * *
• Until 26 August, 5pm
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Weather for Edinburgh
Wednesday 19 June 2013
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