Underbelly, White Belly August 5-11, 13-25 (17:20)
Material: Delivery: Laughs: Room:
Edy Hurst will always be the first name down on your party list. You know he is always gonna bring the fun times, & also his guitar, which he plays with proper expertise. Then, after a few beers or something, you’ll find yourself chatting to him in a quiet corner of the festivities about some of the more serious shit in life. That, in a cupcake, is Edy Hurst the performer.
Edy’s 2019 show, Hurst Schmurst, is a mixed bag of songs & chit-chat, some of which are great, some of which not so much. His Twonkeyesque puppet creation is a chief highlight – a Kermit the Frog meets Marvin the Paranoid Android for the modern age – while his Lancashire loop-pedal is a class piece. There are then two climaxes – an extended tale concerning his canalside goose-hoofing antics, told with some proper quality flip-pad marker-art. Next comes that aforementioned moment in the corner of the party when things get a bit heavy, which completely bowled me over as a spectator.
There is a certain children’s entertainer feel to Edy, but he offers maturer elements as well. Overall the ideas are right, & the performance also, but the mixture is a bit chaotic – but perhaps that was Edy’s intention all along.
Underbelly, White Belly August 5-11, 13-25 (17:20)
Material: Delivery: Laughs:
Within the first 5 minutes of James Barr’s show I find myself wondering how he’s managed to stay single for this long. Despite wearing a man-sized avocado outfit, he nimbly Two-Steps with audience members in breezy, off-the-cuff chit chat as he introduces the show. He has been single for too long, and has decided to come to the Edinburgh Fringe to Tinder style ‘Right Swipe’ members of the audience he thinks are cute and invite them for an on stage speed date. The accompanying lightly tragic explanation for doing so in an avocado outfit is both funny and personally engaging, and this buys him all the goodwill he requires to launch into the first of the interactive date sessions.
The first audience member plucked from obscurity to take a shot at the top prize of becoming Barr’s Beau, is Jake. To the obvious delight of both James, and the audience, it transpires that Jake is a horse trainer. It’s at this point that James’ talents really shine. Rather than launching into a stream of cheap, obvious, gags he allows the audience to laugh itself out, then coyly inquires from under dipped beam, batting, eyelashes “So what does that involve?” “Well, you just ride them till they’re tired out.” Comes the reply, and the audience go wild again. This effortless charm kept me deeply engaged throughout the whole performance.
The scripted material was somewhat more hit and miss. During the middle section James finally explains to us that a ‘Thirst Trap’ is “A sexy guy who looks for attention by posting semi naked pictures of themselves doing banal things”, and this provides some classic ‘caption competition’ style jokes. I’ll leave to your own imagination what it was that the guy who’d drawn the Eiffel Tower on his abs claimed he was trying to raise awareness of. A skit about finding the voice on a Mindfulness App uncontrollably arousing is less well received, like a slightly shoddily put together Cassetteboy remix of ‘Tony Robbins’ reading soft porn. It does have a cute, if tacky, visceral finish though.
Even though some of the scripted sections felt like fillers, there are a number of fine one-liners throughout, and it’s the time spent with James in the company of his dates, and his excellent audience work, which makes this show a perfect late afternoon palate cleanser of charm and whimsy.
The Scribbling Ape are attempting a world record. In fact they’ve smashed it on both levels, for it really is a fantastic feast of top quality sketchsmithery. The original Apes, Troy Hewitt & Ziggy Ross, have completed their comedy quartet with Libby Rodliffe and Talullah Bond; all young, all stylish, & all damn on it! Clad in matching uniforms of black t-shirts & jeans – with one leg a fetching blue tartan – they take us upon a ride of epic proportions. I was worried before I went to the Caves; wondering if such an intense barrage of humour would do my nut in, but I came through it all most unscathed & extremely happy for supping – well downing in one really – such a positive libation to Thalia herself.
With a smattering of accents & props, our performers shuffle about like poker hands, varying in combinations. Each Ape is as polished as the other – there is lack of individuality perhaps, but a manifestly symbiotic organism that was completely on point. Of the 101 sketches in 50 minutes that their record entails, I recall laughing heartily at the Tintinitus gag (with a leg-shagging Snowy), the vegan grime, the sex haiku & Dizzy Rascal in a washing machine. But there are more, 97 more, with only a wee whiff of theme repetition.
One of the things we have found difficult in the past is keeping our sketches short. It was important that we maintained a balance between quality and brevity, and we think we’ve achieved that Ziggy Ross(read the full interview)
There was a smidge of a sag for me personally about two thirds through, like when I have to leave the room after watching too many of my daughters’ vines – but a second wind soon came which led like a train to an artistic & gorgeous finale. This is extremely sophisticated comedy from a perfectly yin-yanged troupe – they ooze harmony – & it would be interesting to see them try something meatier, for they have the potential to be a Comic Strip for the 2020s.
Later on the same day that Mark ‘Divine’ Calvert was reviewing David William Hughes’ Elizabethan, I went to see his second Fringe show at the Free Fringe Bar 50 venue. David is British, but teaches music in Boston, USA. An Egon Spengler of the showbiz world, we enter a cocktail lounge of musical archeology, delving into the seventeenth century & elsewhere for classy little nuggets of song. Luckily its beer-o-clock, & David has a knack of getting the crowd singing & clapping along, & its all jolly good fun, tho’ a little underwhelming overall. Like a stained glass window on an overcast Lothain day.
Although clearly a talented musician, I preferred his comedy patter, being perfectly fluid, engaging &, of course, funny. It is rather like he’s a transgender entertainer – if you pardon the metaphor -, a comedian trying to break out of a musician’s body kinda thing. Into the mix go a few of his own songs, which were clever, if slightly sacchirine rhymefests of common observations in the Victoria Wood mould. At the end of the day, Wit & Mirth is entertaining enough, but relatively niche fare. If the Edinburgh Fringe was a Russian Doll, then from the comedy doll comes the musical comedy doll, & within that lies the stuff that David does – but he does do it very well indeed!
There is something unique about Sonia Aste, whose chosen artform is the most lingual of them all – comedy. The special thing is that English is not her native language, & she has the ability to be funny in a foreign language – funnier than 99.9 percent of us, who would fold after about one minute trying to make people laugh from a stage.
We enter the room to the sounds of Iberian fiesta music, & are each given a fan to keep – red or yellow, the colours of Spain. Sonia is a natural entertainer, a fluffy bunny of funshine who plays on her Spanishness to offer something different to the Anglo-Scottish audiences. I mean, no British comedian would demand the return of Gibraltar – albeit through the mouthpiece of her father. But Sonia is also very Euroaware, & even had a Barcelona shirt ready to please the Catalans in the audience.
With Spain being one of the top destination for British tourists, my show shines a light into our cultural differences and what it means to be ‘Made in Spain’. It’s a fast paced show based on a ‘Tapas Menu’, and the audience chooses what they want to order. I wanted to cater to all comedy tastes and like a good Spanish meal, provide a space to share in the fun and laughter. Sonia Aste Read the full interview…
Sonia takes a while to warm up, but when she gets going – on her better material especially – she’s great, especially with her use of accents which transplant us effortlessly into her world back home. Her comedy is presented in a ‘choose your own adventure‘ fashion which she defines as Tapas, such as Dad’s Dish, Tourist Toasties, Spanish Song Salad & Hat Hotpot. For me, Sonia Aste is like a monkey swinging through the trees, sweeping skilfully forwards on the vines which are her well laid-out routines, at the end of which she bids us all adiós with a smile & a wink & a genuine wishing of our wells.
Just the Tonic at The Caves
Aug 5-11, 13-25 (16:00)
Material: Delivery: Laughs: Room:
I must admit I’m a fan of Joe Jacobs & his film-star beard. Two years ago while reviewing the Fringe I saw him in action, & invited him to headline a comedy showcase in a rammed Corn Exchange, Haddington. The whole thing cost me a fortune, but it was worth it, especially when Joe smashed it at the end. Two years later he was standing before me once more, at the Caves this time, with his new show, Grimefulness. Its all in the name really, for Joe Jacobs seems to be growing up, a self-confessed ‘rapper in retirement,’ & in 2019 we see ourselves on the true bridge of his art.
Joe’s show is a gryphon of meticulously penned raps, & razoredge comedy. When he’s rapping, its all a bit of a rave really, whipping me back to the bedrooms & warehouses of London & it’s squat parties in my own mispent youth. Joe is still chopping the lines out, but pardon the metaphor, I mean his spitting & his wisecracks. He’s a funny, smart, lyrical geezer, who has the good fortune & talents of being a cut above most comedians – a pinpoint performer. This is easily measured by his ability to wrench a guffaw out of the stoniest of guts, & rip it yelping through our walls of social introversion.
The overall experience of Grimefulness is something like this. He’s like a lion on a tight little island & the audience are skittles which Joe bowls over with his gags, then stands us up again with his raps as we sit in stunned appreciation of his class wordsmithery. Personally I prefer his comedy – the speed of his observations to the beat leave my information receptors a bit dazed, tho’ his garage rap & his crikeeeeey catchphrase is cosmically funny! All-in-all, everyone should buzz of Joe, from the pensioner-age toffs in the Haddington Corn Exchange to the budding teenage Grime MCs down Vauxhall.
David William Hughes is currently performing the part of Tobias for Edinburgh. In 2018, his Elizabethan played to packed houses and critical acclaim here in Edinburgh, and also London, Boston, New York, It has been selected for historical preservation by the National Library of Scotland, which is quite a wonder, although not a surprise. In 2019, Elizabethan received its Australian premiere at the Adelaide Fringe, and has also been performed at the Boston Early Music Festival Fringe, So with his piece more than well-rehearsed, the experience unfolded before us early Fringe goers.
It was a close balmy evening, warm and sticky. I had been looking forward to this period piece for a few days. I was feeling right in the mood for a bit of romantic renaissance art and performance. Tobias took to the stage wearing the most lovely of outfits. He reminded me of (the late) Steve Strange from Visage in his classic 80’s pomp. A black and red number and wearing red satin shoes. Visually Tobias was upping his star rating in fine style, and boy could he play that lute.
Performing 16th-century love songs, with lots of warm audience participation, Tobias switched between the wooed and the wooer, with the very clever use of three different wigs and a hat. As he brought a wonderful selection of sonnets & songs back to life, the love-story that Hughes presented with them completely satisfied The New Romantic within me.
In an old, white and tiled corridor at the Underbelly, Bristo Square, I waited to be called to the show, Troy Hawke: Tiles of the Unexpected. And sure enough, Milo McCabe alias Troy Hawke, comedy investigator, greeted us personally in a plush red smoking jacket and welcomed us to his show with a great upbeat attitude, which promised well for the hour to come. We sat on red plush chairs, looking at the small stage with a screen portraying Troy peeking through blinds with an intense look on his face. Troy turned out to be as charming as the large pink feather he held in his hand, used both for pointing and with a remote on it to work the screen. He offered us a wonderful, and unexpected take on the fragile world of conspiracy theory. Namely he put forth the idea that Scrabble can be used to uncover any plot, and proved the point by taking a few names from the audience which he translated into Scrabble points to illustrate some uncomfortable facts about the world we live in. Very clever.
Milo McCabe’s Troy persona played to sell-out audiences at last year’s Fringe and returns in 2019 with the show chiseled to perfection, demonstrating his brilliance as a writer, performer, comedian and activist. His personality commanded the stage and had the audience eating out of his hand with his exuberant delivery and carefully thought out directions. Always in great control, he delivered jokes while he deliberated, and yet was always careful to attend to his audience, albeit mockingly. Troy would have seemed more wacky if he hadn’t been so well dressed, holding his pointing feather, so charmingly aware, and so ultimately well prepared to take us with him, to explain his theories by testing them out.
Though his theory seems more than eccentric to the onlooker, nonetheless the conundrums seemed to make sense as he explained it all in a performance of delicate edges, effortless ease and infinite charm. You feel this show brings important themes to the stage and in the midst of the laughter you can’t help wondering whether his arguments might be right and the preposterous theories true. Troy Hawke is quite simply a comedy phenomenon!
101 sketches in 50 minutes… it can’t be possible, can it?
Troy Hewitt
Hello lads, so first things first, where are you both from & where are you at, geographically speaking? Ziggy: I’m from London, mostly. But did some hard time in a garrison town in the West country from 0-6. Troy hail’s from the black country, and you can still see it underneath his finger nail’s. But right now… we’re both shacked up on the Caledonian sleeper, wedged between a slender man tribute act and a ploughmans with no mayo.
How did you get into comedy? Troy: When I was very young my dad used to sit me in front of the TV for hours watching Bottom… I’m pretty sure Rik Mayall hacked into my unconscious somehow because ever since I’ve been utterly obsessed with making people laugh. I pride myself on being a “student of comedy” and I always do my best to keep up with new stage acts or TV shows.
Ziggy Ross
I love performing, yet equally, I love being a fan, so Edinburgh Festival makes me like Admiral Adam Adelson at an alliteration and articulation academy’s afternoon tea.
When did you first realise you could make people laugh? Ziggy: When I was about 4 years old, I bet a mate that I could squeeze down a gap between his mum’s anachronistic curiosity shop and a decrepit shed. The fool I was found himself, wedged between the two, struggling for air, whilst the neighbours and fire brigade tried to lift me out. I almost suffocated – but he was in hysterics.
What are the secrets to a good sketch? Troy: Locate what you think is funny and overtake it… Often, we find that the REALLY hilarious stuff lies beyond where instinct initially takes us. So, we have to motivate ourselves to keep moving, even when we find something that makes us both laugh. Our show, “Fat blast and Crackers” has been very useful with regards to this, because the sheer quantity of sketches has forced us to get to the funny stuff incredibly quickly!
What is it about being funny in front of other people that makes you tick? Ziggy: I don’t know, nervousness. I’ve worked so hard to cover that up. Years of therapy. And now you’ve exposed my weakness to your readers, who – if they come to see the show – won’t be able focus on anything other than my unsightly spasms. Cheers.
What does your mum think of all this performing malarkey? Troy: She is a former club dancer-cum-Posh Spice impersonator, so naturally, she wishes I had been an accountant.
How did the The Scribbling Ape first get together? Ziggy: We met on the first day of university, he started imitating my London accent, I started ripping him about his polka dot jumper. Wasn’t long before we were performing ‘Waiting for Godot’ to live sheep, hiking into the hills in character as Van Gogh and Gauguin, and penning our first play together. I think we both agree, that our friendship has been the best training any writer or actor could ask for.
You describe yourselves as two sides of the same cosmic coin? Can you elaborate? Troy: OK um- I’ve never actually been asked to break it down before, I usually just use it as a pithy marketing slogan but lets give it a go. I suppose it doesn’t matter if an idea comes from my side or his side, its overall value remains the same. Like, is heads worth more than tails? No it isn’t. And as for the “cosmic” bit, well I guess the cosmos is eternal like… our comedy?
You’re performing at this year’s Edinburgh Fringe; what are you bringing to the table? Troy: Sukceso! vi pasis la teston. nun venu kaj rigardu la spektaklon pro mi.
So, that’s 2 sketches a minute (plus one) then – how do you think/hope the audience will react? Ziggy: Well, it has been a huge challenge. Particularly as one of the things we have found difficult in the past is keeping our sketches short. It was important that we maintained a balance between quality and brevity, and we think we’ve achieved that. So the audience should leave having experienced something unique and hilarious.
Libby Rodliffe
How did Libby Rodliffe and Talullah Bond get on board? Troy: We already knew Libby from our days studying at the finest ex-polytechnic Arts University in Northern Somerset (Bath Spa Uni) – We fished Talullah out of the Thames, she was tangled up in dental floss and industrial waste paraphernalia.
Talullah Bond
So what is in the offing for next year, how do you top a world record? Ziggy: As well as a stack of long form sketches, we have a couple of half written sitcoms that we would like to get off the ground. We will also be focusing on online content much more, because we’ve been shit with it, yet are evermore aware of its importance. Plus of course, we’ll be back in Edinburgh next year for a full run. So watch out for that.
You’ve got 20 seconds to sell the show to somebody in the streets… Troy: We would love to wax lyrical about artistic integrity and our penetrating creative process but ultimately, if you come to watch our show- you will witness 50 minutes of superfast, bold and original sketch comedy…at the very least we can guarantee, you will not be f**kin bored… Also, at approximately 7.9 pence per sketch, you can’t go wrong.
Action, adventure, sci-fi hilarity, it all happens upon this incredible journey from testicle to ovum. It all starts in a year nine classroom, where the teachers don’t really know what to say about the awkward subject of sex. It is time to take a look into a microscope and see the 300 million sperm on their way to fulfill their sacred purpose. We get to know a few of these sperms; especially Timmy, Darnell, and Jason. Will they accomplish their mission? Or will they get blocked by a prophylactic? Obviously one must go to see the show to find out, but I can guarantee you all proper laughter as you go.
Overall, Privates: A Sperm Odyssey was on the silly side of highly enjoyable. These three lively lads from Brighton perform absolute magic with an overhead projector, laundry baskets, and sheets. They also show a decent knack for physical comedy, while displaying some pretty neat choreography. The show was a little too loose at time, especially since they had a good run in Brighton earlier this year. The scenes broke too easily, & although a little bit of laughing at yourself can be welcoming, for me it happened a tad too much and distracted me from the enjoyment of the experience. But saying that, the lads are certainly talented performers, and their efforts are well worth the 5 pounds donation.
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We get to know a few of these sperms; especially Timmy, Darnell, and Jason. Will they accomplish their mission? Or will they get blocked by a prophylactic? Obviously one must go to see the show to find out, but I can guarantee you all proper laughter as you go.
Mumble Comedy 