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.
Langston Kerman’s show is titled Loose Cannon, but it’s really all about about paradoxes. The impossibility of being a ‘creepy man’ and a feminist, of being a black man with the privilege of a white father who pays your phone bills, and the paradox of being a very intelligent, very funny former English teacher whose best material is good old-fashioned filth. Ultimately though, it’s a paradox at the heart of Langston’s performance, which is his undoing.
Charm exudes from this 32 year old man-child. He enters the stage beaming, he oozes charisma, but within 5 minutes the Friday night fringe crowd begins to work on his nerves. This is where Langston comes into his element. He’s effortlessly confident in chopping chatters, texters, and downright morons down to size. He’s sharp, cutting and no nonsense, and this is why around half of his show just doesn’t quite work. When throwing out jokes about the ultimate marriage compromise of ‘eating ass’, or riffing on the inherently sexy nature of M&M’s with eyelashes, he is in full flow and very, very, funny. However he leads up to the intensely dark content of the middle section by apologising to the audience and providing a near 5 minute lead in excusing what he’s about to share. This ‘flatmate from hell tale,’ about a conscientious tenant with a criminal hobby, would have been very funny indeed if he’d simply dived on in and delivered it with the confidence and gravitas he displayed in spades during audience interaction. Instead he loses the crowd, which is a shame, as material this dark requires incredible courage to perform.
Around a third of his material is based around his perceived ineptness, and insecurities, around his relationship with ‘The best thing that ever happened to him’, his soon to be wife. He portrays himself as a classic example of arrested development, but this clashes with the rest of his material, and the aspects of his persona which are irrepressible. His natural charm and effortless bantering seem at odds with the man-child we are being verbally presented with. He is a talent, that’s for sure. I would however love to see him perform the same set with the confidence, and arrogance, that a potential heavyweight observational comedian throws in the face of his audience from the word go. Or simpler, just pick which Langston Kerman he wants to be.
It was August 1st, 2019, & I found myself in the supersnazzy, shabbychic Black Medicine Café, who are for August serving Free Fringe alongside their edible & quaffable delectables. I was there for the midnight feast that is The Wonder Jam, provided by three Gaulier attendees; Lorna Rose Treen, Belinda Anderson-Hunt & Dougie Baldwin. Together they blend clownerie & sketches within a cacophonous cauldron of comedy. Beside them, on the laptop & microphone cues, was an Australian rose called Rose, who was a little laissez-faire on the first night, but I’m sure will sharpen up as the month progresses.
The Wonder Jam will also be intersplicing a different act from across the Fringe each night, offering something unique every show for those loving the Jam. What we do get is a certain madcap randomness, altho’ one feels that every movement & word has been thought-out with the increasing mastery of their talents & training. There were a couple of repetitions of character, which do lose impact the second time round – like opened beers put back in the fridge until morning – but I guess that’s the nature of their art, finding new aspects of the same theme. But these Gaulier students are surely pouring their own creative juices into the river from which they drink.
Therefore, for anyone who is out on the town this Fringe, with the beer flowing well & who fancies just getting involved in the laughter, then The Wonder Jam is perfect. For aficionados of the comedic schools, this show is also for you, as they are keepers of the tradition, & innovators all the same.
Eddie Mullarkey and Mag’s McHugh have teamed up
The result is emerald, comedy emerald!
Hello, so first things first, where are you both from & where are you at, geographically speaking? Mags: I was born Watford England. Irish parents from Co Mayo. Irish upbringing. So Irish Dancing (Not Riverdance standard) Holidays in Ireland . Never felt English whatever that is. Just wanted to marry Elton John. He married Renarta, I was devastated. In my 50’s now. I moved to Ireland to care for parents. My Dad loved comedy and lent me his chair. I still live in Dublin and for now it’s home. Eddie: I’m from Galway in the rainy west of Ireland. I’m based in sunny Dublin.
When did you first realise you could make people laugh? Mags: People laugh at me when I’m acting normal. I’m bewildered really as I think a bit differently… I did stand-up as a wee break from minding my parents. I knew I could talk to people as I work in recovery and with groups. Comedy was a challenge.
When did you first develop a passion for comedy? Eddie: Hmmm… my family always make fun of each other, I’ve three older sisters that used to call me ‘Edwina’ when I was a young boy. They tried to convince me I was a lesbian girl, so comedy and jokes were necessary to get through that sibling rivalry. And we watched all the Marx brothers repeatedly on VHS tape, watching Groucho Marx try to scam self entitled people probably developed my passion for comedy.
What is it about being funny in front of other people that makes you tick? Mags: The first time I did a real gig there was laughter. I was so shocked I came off stage early. They loved my psychic set. Comedy is a vehicle for change for me. It’s a place to play.
You’re Washed up on a Desert island with an all-in-one solar powered DVD/TV combo. What three movies would you bring? Eddie: I hope there’s buttered popcorn on this island. The Sound of Music – and the sequel ‘Ex nuns vs Nazis.’ Marx brothers – A Night at The Opera. Coen Brothers – No Country For Old Men
Last year a reviewer saved your life, what’s the backstory? Mags: A reviewer said ‘Mags is funny and quirky as a chipmunk’ bit intriguing it made me look up chipmunk as I wanted to see what one looked like. Mainly Fat cheeks! He was right very fat. Next day I was busy trying to see myself in a window reflection without looking at the road. (It made sense in my head) I got hit by a white van. I didn’t see it at all. Long story short. I had gone blind in my left eye and was in heart failure. 2 ops on eye and heart and I’m grand now.
Where and when did you two meet? Eddie: We met a little after Brexit, I cant remember what comedy gig, she made me laugh and then she helped me organise a few gigs and we’ve been laughing since. She’s a very cheeky lady.
Last year you came runner up at the Irish competition ‘Show me the funny’, how was that experience? Eddie: It was a really fun gig, I hadn’t been doing comedy too long so I was ecstatic afterwards. My sisters kept my ego in check by saying Mags was robbed.
You’re performing at this years Edinburgh Fringe. What are you guys bringing to the table? Eddie: We’re going to bring some levity to the mental health discussion, laughing at yourself is the best therapy as Freud said. Together the two of us are bringing two very different life stories, Mags is in her 50’s and grew up a devout catholic. I’m in my 20’s and grew up with porn on a mobile phone. Different realities. Different struggles, different anxieties. It’s a very fun show.
What are you looking forward to the most about returning to the Fringe? Mags: Oh looking forward to getting accessibility and domestic abuse into comedy arena. Making people laugh. Throw in Fat,OCD and the madness of making same mistakes repeatedly and working with Eddie of course coz he is class. He’s funny and clever.
You’ve got 20 seconds to sell the show to someone on the streets of Edinburgh, what would you say? Eddie: Mags grew up as a black sheep, she claims to have an award winning vagina. Eddie is trying to stay woke. Mags just wants a nap. Different generations with the same guilt. Join us for a laugh.
Baby Grand – Pleasance Courtyard 31st Jul – 25th Aug (20.15)
Material: Delivery: Laughs:
Chris Washington is an ordinary lad, with a tremendous gift for explaining his ordinary life in a hilarious way. In his show, Raconteur, you feel you are sitting around the kitchen with your funniest mate, recollecting the annoyances of everyday happenings. Chris doesn’t talk about politics, or the environmental crisis, or Russian Nuclear treaties, he is just a purely funny guy doing what he loves, in fact, I would say he was born to be a stand-up comedian. You can just tell, he has always made the people around him laugh, and now he has made a career out of sharing with us what comes natural to him.
When I go to Fringe shows, I usually want to see something edgy, or that makes me think. I love the weird little things that people feel the need to perform. Chris Washington’s Raconteur is not like that. His show is an hour of laughter and enjoyment, which is a beautiful thing we all need from time to time. For this show, I sat in the front row, because no one else wanted to sit there. Super-early Fringe audiences and all that. It was great to pay such close attention to Chris. I’m writing this to try and help you all choose to sit at the front. It really improves the atmosphere and the front row seats are the best in the house. Fringe shows are beautiful for their intimacy, and it could be that we never have a chance to see Chris Washington in such a small venue again, when front row seats for one of his stadium shows will cost hundreds.
Sitting in the depths of The Hive, the audience are lead through into the sweltering antechamber of ‘The Bunka’. On our right as we pass through the curtains, two bowler hats peek from over the tops of newspapers. Two pairs of perfectly matched, crossed, legs hover below. These are, of course, our entertainers for the evening, The Establishment. Once all are seated they creep between the dividing line of the 2 sections of seating, bright pastel umbrellas under their arms, charity shop checked jackets on their backs, carrying the legacy of Weichmarch era cabaret easily on their shoulders. Sitting amongst the audience, they echo the sniggers that start to burst from corners of the room, like a Steve Reich looped tape track. They hold the silence in between audience reactions with the patience of Indiana Jones waiting to replace a bag of jewels with a sack of sand.
“Have we started yet?”
These words, and themes, are repeated throughout the performance, lending it the weight that any absurdist humour requires to give it pathos, and connect with the audience. Upon finally ‘beginning’, they bring out their Financial Times and read through a litany of market forecasts and celebrity foibles. The current harbingers of doom in our consumerist capitalist age. The wordplay between the duo of performers is so tight, it makes you feel that if The White Stripes performed comedy this is what it would look like. But the more obvious comparison is Waiting for Godot, and here the dark spectre of a never ending Brexit, unnamed, raises it’s head. This is mirrored in the tension between the 2 sides of the audience in the room.
“You are highbrow!” They ironically declare to the 2 Americans who decide that the beginning to the show they’d really like should involve more pizaaz and ‘Flashpops’. The other half of the audience are declared ‘low brow’, for simply being content laughing at the sight of them parading up and down the room, shooting their umbrellas out to yelps of glee. Each laugh receiving an enthusiastically blown kiss from our hosts. The sense of unity they bring to the room, by engaging with the audience members who obviously don’t like the pairs schtick, and asking them what they would prefer, lends an air of positivity to proceedings, in cunning contrast to the current political climate.
There are 2 standout metaphor moments. One, a game of cricket which rapidly delolves into the tall, bespectacled, Establishment member repeatedly hurling balls of crumpled up newspaper at his partner while shouting “CRICKET!” (They have already established that “no one understands the rules of Cricket, except The English”), and a surreal finale, a tale of St George and The Dragon, sitting down to settle their differences over a pint, which results in the cheeriest, weirdest, audience singalong I’ve had the joy to take part in for a long time. I’ll be going to see The Establishment again. It was genuinely impossible to tell which sections of the show were scripted, and which were spontaneous. Such was the clairvoyant-esque connection between the two. I can’t wait to see what they come up with next time.
Delivery: 
Delivery: 
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.
Laughs: 
Mumble Comedy 