The Mash House
 Aug 17, 19-30              
£4 – £6
17.20pm
****   

Charles Booth is a character comedian, actor and writer and performs one cracker of a one-man show.  Set in the top room of the Mash House with blacked out windows, a pair of Deer antlers appear from behind a screen and with the added voice-overs off a car approaching we could only imagine what was in store. An impressionist with many character sketches, from swimming sperm, to the Miltonic sacking of Satan from Heaven his is a very interesting show indeed.
****
Charles performed 8 different sketches, all of which were well thought-out and superbly written. Maybe not to everyone’s taste, Booths is a kind of comedy which utilises elements of acting, stand-up and impressions . Well done Charles, for  this is truly no easy combination to assemble, & assemble well – but you’re done it, son.

****

The changing of costumes for each sketch were simple but effective . Booth’s show gives you a take on some of life’s more unspoken areas, the places we go to in our head but sledom share. The sketch on the sperm finding their way to vagina heaven was most entertaining, gaining many a laugh for the audience. Booth’s ability to support his comedy visions with well-created voices and expressions was fantastic and added much to the fun of the show.  He had me in stitches !!!!!   This is one guy we should watch out for as I am sure he will be back next year with more hilarious character comedy to release upon us. FOUR STARS

****

Reviewed by Spud

Maggie’s Room, Laughing Horse @ The Three Sisters

August 6-9,11-16,18-23,25-30

£0/donation

***

***

The venues for the Free Fringe are sometimes a little disappointing, but expect to get what you pay for. It was a tight squeeze getting in and out of the hot, dark upstairs room in the heaving bar, but the young crowd was smiley and well behaved. Loud indie rock blared out with a disembodied voice from behind a black curtain (a little like an emo Wizard of Oz) encouraging us to wait it out until the best bit of the song before the show began. Stuart jumped onto the stage, looking like the Mad Hatter who’d lost his hat while overnighting in a car park. Wide eyed, with his silver hair high on his head, eyes accentuated with Marc Almond style eyeliner, you wanted to root for him and cross your fingers that he was going to make a genuine laugh tumble out of you. Which, again, in the Free Fringe, can be hit or miss. But thankfully, he did. Quite a few times.

His piss take of New Age therapies and the guff on the boxes of beauty products, the acceptance of which often need a complete lobotomy or at least suspension of any rational thought, were realistic and funny. He finished on a high, with a slight peek into his crazy ‘very self-aware’ unconscious. His purposefully rambling anecdote about being carried along the YouTube sidebar and his Jungian description of his freaky dreams showed me this was a man I could definitely relate to. He strikes you as a sweet natured, humble man who appreciates his crowd and deserves every success. THREE STARS

***

Underbelly

August 6^th-30^th

18.20

£12/11 online – £11/10 at the box office

****

*

Trepidatious is a word that hasn’t made concise dictionaries, but it best describes how I was feeling before seeing poet Luke Wright, and this is about poetry, so I’ll use that word… It describes my anxiety that I was not going to enjoy the show and would have to give a bad review. I’m not a fan of ‘performance poetry’ in the realm of what is now ‘spoken word’ – its insistence on rhyming by rote and generic delivery style. I’d seen the poet before and wasn’t convinced of his poetic credentials, especially in his support slot for John Cooper Clarke. This time I was happily surprised, this is a good show from a very likeable performer.

*

What was different this time? First of all, I think Wright’s poetry is much improved, to my ears anyway. It’s not as ‘performancey,’ by which I mean there was some great wordplay, unusual rhyme schemes and rhythms – pseudo-Dada repetitions at times – great breathing control and a fine command of different voices, but it was more wrong-footing and surprising than typical performance poetry. Wright wryly summarises people’s notion that experimental poetry is poetry without a full stop, after doing exactly that. The other thing that makes this show work is the fact that Wright seems like a nice chap: a married, stay at home dad, whose writing reflects his domestic situation, his love for his kids, and his concern for ordinary people, such as commuters (his dad), teachers and Tracy in ‘The Toll,’ which brought a tear to my eye.

*

*

And then there’s his engaging talks to punctuate the poems, explaining or adding context to the verses – a highlight of which was a hilarious critique of Lenny Henry. I noted a much more political bent this time too, not least his refusal to attend the Queen’s celebration of poetry. The man and his poetry made me laugh and cry, a difficult balance to achieve, and which perhaps comes from Wright’s observations of our austere and interesting times. 4 Stars: 3 for the show and an extra one for refusing the Queen’s invitation and having the bravery to talk about it.

*

Reviewer : Nicky Melville

Assembly George Square,

Aug 16, 18-31            

18:45    

Entering the room you come across a red haired Australian women looking fiery and ready to let rip.   A Day in October is a show of fast paced story telling comedy..  Growing up is not easy for anyone but Sarah gives you a tell you will never forget..  A powerful, funny and quirky set that was well delivered and had everyone in fits of laughter .

This is a rare kind of comedy that few can deliver, If you want to relive your teenage days then Sarah Kendall is the one to see…  Truly the audience were well entertained and left Sarah with a Day in October to remember !!!!

Reviewed by Spud.