After last night’s musical Hip-Hop adventure at Sketchy Beats it was 5am this Morning that my head hit the pillow. I was home by 2am, but couldnae stop writing. I awoke with sun streaming through my window, & with a smile knowing that today Divine would have the opportunity to take in the mesmerising beauty of “Rosie Sings”. It was a beautiful Saturday as I strolled into town. The city was heaving with smiling faces, even the beggars were doing a roaring trade. Everyone was happy. The Sun did indeed have its hat on. So I hurried my pace coz I didnae want to miss my date to see Rosie perform. Its been a year since her beauty graced my life. Last year’s show was one of Divine’s 5 Star recommendations. So I was eager to see just how the show had matured.
I entered the venue to the songs of Duffy and Amy Winehouse. This put me in the mood immediately. I love them both and was happily singing along with my pint of water, with ice and lemon. Rosie walked on stage and my heart melted. Her blond ringlets complimenting her beautiful face, beautiful teeth and smile. Her lovely white and flowery dress and diamante Heels. Her beautiful singing voice. It is only when she speaks that the true Rosie comes to life. This girl loves sex, avoids alcoholics, but is ok with ketamine. A packed Fingers Cellar Bar, instantly warmed to Rosie’s enlightening comedy and genuinely hilarious tales.
As I said earlier, Rosie is gorgeous in a classic 1950’s kind of way. As a singer, she is easily on par with Duffy and Amy Winehouse, which was perfectly complimented by the brilliance of her pianist and musical director, Doug Price. This Bbby really makes the Piano sing, complimenting Rosie’s vocal range, reproducing classics in a very satisfying way indeed. Behind the mask of every clown, there is a genius. Rosie’s genius is her singing voice, everyone was thrilled by this. The unique and classy bit was her song, sung in about twenty different languages. It is the International Fringe, so there is a bit in this show for Fringers of every nationality. Rosie has a big heart and wants to include everyone.
Its also part of The Free Fringe, so there is nothing to lose apart from an hour to the talents of Rosie. As I left the venue, I got all tongue tied and blushed like a schoolboy. Thanked her for the performance and tripped on a step, falling flat on my face. It was just like that sketch from Only Fools And Horses, where Dell is getting the come on from two ladies in the bar, he leans on the bar and its been lifted up by the bartender while Del Boy wasnae looking and falls flat on the floor. I was too embarrassed to continue our conversation. Oh well, I know that with Rosie’s talent and seeing as she is a local now I am pretty sure I will Hear her amazing voice again soon.
Sikisa “Twix” Barnes and Adrian Tauss have teamed up for the Fringe. The Mumble thought we’d find out why…
Hello Adrian, so where are you both from and where ya at, geographically speaking? Adrian: Hey Mumble, So I grew up in Switzerland, the original Brexit. And Sikisa is from Barbados via Brixton. So naturally we got on instantly. We both live and perform in London.
Hello Sikisa, so when did you first realise you could make people laugh? Sikisa: I think I’ve always been able to make people laugh just because of my personality and always trying to make people happy, but I didnt realise my potential properly until 4 1/2 years ago when I started gigging on the open mic circuit
So Adrian, how is the Swiss sense of humour compared to the British? Adrian: We’ll there isn’t one. Switzerland is to humour what Britain is to Ice skating. Although there is actually a small but popular English speaking scene in Zurich now, where I occasionally gig.
So Sikisa, I know Brixton, I used to go raving down the 414 club! Anyway, I can imagine in such a cauldron of life there is a lot of material to draw comedy from? Sikisa: Yes I like to use my settings and surroundings as a backdrop for my comedy. I like to talk about subjects that people can relate to but from my point of view.
Which comedians inspire you, both old skool and on the scene today? Sikisa: I grew up watching great British sitcoms and sketch shows featuring Victoria Wood, Dawn french, Jennifer Saunders, Harry Enfield and was in awe of what they did. As I got older I discovered more Amercian comedians such as Wayne Brady, Katt Williams and Kevin Hart. But I love watching strong women on stage so upcoming comedians such as Desiree Burch, Micky Overman, Thanyia Moore, Heidi Regan and Helen Bauer inspire me to just keep doing what I do.
You’re quite a wandering Diva across the London Comedy Circuit, what is the scene like? Sikisa: Wandering?? lol! I wouldn’t call myself a diva – my friends call me that – mainly because they believe I am a powerhouse of talent – whether I agree is a different story. The comedy scene is amazing. There is so many different talent on the scene who are all individuals and I have been privileged to have shared a stage with many of them. It’s an exciting time in comedy because we are being recognised more for being smart as well as funny.
So Adrian, How did you get into stand up? Adrian: I loved stand up and always wondered if I could be good at it. And who knows, maybe I will one day.
What are the key ingredients to a good joke? Adrian: For me, It’s an original point of view and a flavour of your personality. Genitalia and farts never fail though.
You’ve just been working with Rachel Weisz & Timothy Spall recently, what’s the back story? Adrian: I occasionally get work as an actor and I remember working with some amazing actors, who I’m pretty sure don’t remember working with me. I was cut out of some high caliber stuff though and Tom Hiddleston once asked me to take my top off. But you’ll have to come and see the show for the story behind that.
How did you meet each other? Sikisa: I met Adrian when he started coming to the Cavendish Arms in Stockwell to perform at Comedy Virgins. I work at the pub and have done so for ten years and I had just started doing comedy. At first I was wondering why he never brought me a kebab (because I thought he worked in one for a while) and then we got on very well.
Where did the idea for the show originate? Adrian: To be honest, we both just really wanted to do a show together and the ideas followed. Also, since Sikisa is winning competitions and has been signed by an agent, so I thought I should capitalise on our friendship and ride on her coattails of success.
Can you describe in a single sentence the experience of performing at the Fringe? Adrian: It’s summer camp for all the weirdos.
What is it about performing live you love the most? Sikisa: I love being able to interact with audience members and seeing their reactions to my jokes. No audience is ever the same. I also love being about to have a platform to have freedom of speech so i can say whatever I like really
You’ve got 20 seconds to sell the show to somebody in the street… Sikisa: Do you ever learn from your mistakes? or do you like enjoying making mistakes! Come and see this show where me and Adrian talk about things we should have learnt about but we cannot guarantee that they are going to help as we are rubbish with providing answers. It’s well worth it just to see Adrian talk about piegons and me try to prove I’m better than Beyonce
Apex Hotel Grassmarket Aug 2-7, 9-14, 16-21, 23-26 (13:10)
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Have you ever seen a comedian and thought, “If I had a pint in a pub with this guy, we’d be friends.” Well, today I just met my new best mate Andy Onions; a high-energy X-Generation comedian and genuine nice guy with undeniably shit-hot PowerPoint skills. This is an ideal show to pop into after a few drinks with friends, but you’d better start the session early as his Apex Grassmarket show starts early (1.10pm).
If you want to see a stupid man in Hawaiian shirt with a big screen run around with computer games and singalongs and super happy fun times. Maybe this is for you Read the full interview here…
A tipsy lunch with Andy Onions is a marvelous way to begin a day of enjoyment & pleasure-seeking at the Festival. Andy is all fun; a mix of hyper-genius Robin Williams with a hungover Jack Black. His show, PowerPointless, rolls relentlessly on a tsunami of laughter, all guided by a PowerPoint presentation which took hundreds of hours to create. Here we have wonderfully silly quizzes such as ‘Hipster or Hungarian’ & ‘Name That Spoon,’ alongside among many other nuggets, plus a dash of Street Fighter nostalgia, all weaved together with endearing, whirlwind speed storytelling and spot-on observations.
Caravaggio – a distant relation
Andy Onions is like a stick of genius dynamite on repeat as he befriends the room with glimpses into his childhood, relationships, love of football and work-a-day life, and we’re in on all the jokes. An hour with Andy Onions is never a dull moment, and I left wanting more. His unabashed silliness coupled with smart and creative insights are definitely not to be missed, & his mastery of the modern art of power point presentation seemed to me as if it were Caravaggio with a projector. Also, & this is rare during the Fringe, I was chomping at the bit of enthusiasm all the way through the show so powerful is Andy Onion’s performance & his non-stop preternatural montage.
Death Ray Cabaret is a real-life couple observing life through the medium of comedy songs. They are Canadian & they are also an intensely satisfying experience, especially after a beer or three before their 22.30 slot. They are to be found just beyond the extremely serendipitous terrace at the Place Hotel, an oasis of neo-modern calm worth experiencing in itself – it is only open to the public during August. Add to this the two performers you’d most want to find yourselves in a train carriage with at the start of a 12-hour journey, & a fine Fringe night is on the cards.
I have already told my band mate he needs to see this show – he is an excellent pianist – & this is pretty much what I told him. ‘O My God Roy, I saw the this duo from Canada singing some tunes, like, they were proper funny, & the keyboardist, swear down, her fingers were simply twinkling all over the shop – she was superb.’ This lady is called Jordan, whose electric blue eyes gazed into the distance as she sang the quirky, catchy, well-crafted tunes alongside the infinitely amenable Kevin Matviw. That they have the occasional soft marital nit-pick only adds to the warmth.
Canadians spend most of their time looking out the window at snow or listening to the howl of wild dogs chasing a deer under a stark, moonlit night. As a result, the mind wanders and Canadian humour can be pretty dark and absurd. My limited experience in the UK suggests that British audiences aren’t afraid of that stuff, but they appreciate the cleverness of a good one liner too. Read the full interview here…
Its caramel comedy this, each tune is poetic & melodic, arrowheads fleck’d with the Flight of the Conchords as we hear lines along the way such as ‘the first escape room was the woman’s uterus’ & have a bangin’ rave down the library. The time, the location & the quality of the gig all invite a visitation this Fringe. Its free, so you’re not gambling your cash, but sitting down to experience such lucid comedy songcraft & performance after, & with, a beer is a fine antidote to the endless streams of comics & improv & wotsits paraphernaling all over Edinburgh. Its also difficult to negate the effects of Jordan’s beaming pearly smile at the end of the each song. She – & Kevin – clearly enjoy what they do, & so, almost certainly, so shall you.
This auditorium has to be my favourite to date. It’s called The Assembly Roxy and it is Roxy by name and Roxy by nature. The seating was a steep slope just like you find at the grandest theatre, except that the Roxy is a fraction of the size, offering great cosiness and intimacy. As the lights darkened and the musical began, a booming voice introduced the tale of Thor and Odin in Asgard, a great city where the Norse gods abide. There is a tree there, a golden apple tree, which holds the power of their immortality. It is well protected and is the most sacred thing in the heavens of Valhalla. The Giant race who live in one of the nine realms and are perpetual enemies of Asgard know all about the golden apple of immortality.
But this is not a traditional telling of this ancient story. In the initial scene, the inhabitants of Asgard wore funny American football guards in place of what would normally be golden armour. Odin, the Asgard king (Bob Harms), wore a hilarious boxing outfit with his name written where the belt would be. There was an immediate dynamism, both obvious and subtle, between the traditional story where the comedy was understated, and full-on funny. It gladdened me to see and hear all of the story that I myself have an interest in, and I took no offence at the comedy that complimented it so well.
Thor (Harry Blake, also the author), he of the hammer and mighty strength, was depicted not as a warrior, but as being enamoured of poetry, love and flowers. The show even goes so far as to suggest that he was attracted to another man, and they share a kiss, something to outrage the traditionalists! Tradition was further subverted when we saw Thiassi (Laurie Jamieson), general of the Giant army, threaten war between the worlds, then promptly sit down to play the cello. In fact all the players moved easily between various musical instruments, making the music itself almost like a powerful entity in its own right.
In its own charming way, the final insult to fans of the myths was when instead of being a male actor, the half-Giant Loki was played by Alice Keedwell, a woman with an angelic voice. When Alice sang Loki’s lyrical blues, it was as if it were the most serious play in the world and made us forget we were watching a comedy.
This show was full to the brim of loud, brash, almost alarmingly forceful detail, including energetic battles and a troop of tap dancing trolls. The writing is top notch and the production incredibly well put together, set in front of a cosmic planetary prop that took up the entire back of the stage. The talented cast played their parts to perfection, constantly interacting with the audience and drawing us further and further into the ancient tale. Odin moved with uncanny ease between being a powerful god and adopting a more humble demeanour. And Thor, in his cheap golden jacket, was thwarted by the contrast between his warlike image and his own poetic nature.
The story is one of the oldest on the planet, the well-known Vikings had these visions of gods, Asgard, Valhalla (where they believed they could go if they lived well enough, mostly to be a good warrior) This musical could be described as playing with the whole idea. The coy understanding behind the work is something greatly to be enjoyed. In the end it was Loki who was at the heart of the plot, with the destruction of the golden apple tree of immortality movingly revealing in the final scene a special aspect of her character. This production was engaging right from the whirlwind beginning; developed to perfection, charmingly low budget, crowd teasing, crowd pleasing, spectacular amalgamation of theatre at its very best. If you don’t believe me come in and see it for yourself!
A late start of a few minutes and an uncomfortably hot evening gave Zoe Lyons some immediate material to settle the audience in for the ride. A well-known face on our TV screens, as a regular on Mock the Week on BBC 2 and the Wright Stuff on Channel 5, she was clever and confident from the get go. Strong on accents, coming timing and with a confident stage persona, Lyons was easily able to deliver a set that is tight, well-structured and impressive. The hour is carefully crafted, and takes us on a circular tour of some of the absurdities of our modern, Western life.
The jokes however, could do with amping up a little. Although the social commentary was on point, there were some hints of class stereotyping, which feel a little dated. Relying on the likelihood of her audience being middle-class, well-educated, and equally appalled at some of the stupidity of Brexit voters, some of her targets felt too obvious. Despite this, because of her skilled acting, we could immediately recognise the absurd tourist from Bolton demanding something be done about the noise of the frogs at night in his Jamaican resort, and the ridiculous, drunk Glaswegian good-naturedly stumbling around and getting on everyone’s nerves. To be fair though, there was plenty of self-deprecating humour about the times when she has also descended to that place of being an ‘entry-level human’.
Because of this, she played a little safe with the material, mainly sticking to ridiculous situations that we can all find ourselves in from time to time, and the way that she steadily builds up to a punchline at the end of an anecdote keeps your attention. None of her jokes bombed, but the real belly laughs were few and far between. When they do come though, they are worth it. Her skits about the ridiculous ‘motivational carpet’ in her hotel room and the mishaps on a holiday to the Maldives had everyone laughing out loud. Because she is excellent at carefully painting a scene, she pulls you right into the scene; like in the story of her excruciating flight from New Zealand, strapped into a tiny seat desperately trying to escape the overly talkative, neighbour spraying cous cous onto her cheek. Because of this, she keeps your attention until the end. What is markedly impressive is the way she links the anecdotes both to wider social commentary and ties both up into a coherent narrative. As a master of her craft, she delivers an experience that is ultimately satisfying. Definitely worth a look.
Gilded Balloon Rose Theatre Aug 2-13th to 15-27th (19:15)
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Gary Meikle has earned his stripes driving around the country from club to club, & now he’s ready for his debut show at the Fringe. Gary is no ordinary comic, but quite paradoxically its his sense of the ordinary that makes him so special. But then again Gary has led quite an extraordinary life, which forms the molten core of iron on which every joke & anecdote flourishes.
From childrens’ homes to becoming a single parent in his teens when he was still experimenting with breakfast cereals, Gary’s early days were a challenge. With early fatherhood came early maturity however, & he did the right thing & brought up his daughter as his best friend, the passage of which is presented as a comedic biopic. The longer the show goes on, & the more we get to know about Gary & his family life, the more I warmed to him. But this is no Auntie Doreen telling tales about the war at Christmas; for Gary’s cheeky, risque creativity is waiting implike in the wings of his mind to pounce upon us like Uncle Jasper spiking the festive punch.
I can’t express how amazing the feeling is of seeing and hearing a room full of strangers laugh at your life, its better than any drug and is hugely addictive. Read the full interview here…
Gary has a smart swagger about his delivery, very polished & he knows the power of his gags. He’s also an energetic storyteller, & the combination is most endearing. A flagbearer for the dysfunctional families of the 21st century, & a model of human integrity, Mr Meikle is a canny comedian to observe. His brilliant sequence about the modern females’ obsession with eyebrows is something that can only have come from his set of circumstances, & matches the best material of the very best comics. Yeah, Gary’s cool.
Claire Ford has just swapped her kagool for a cardboard box. The Mumble wanted to find out why…
Hello Claire, so where ya from & where ya at, geographically speaking? Claire: Hello Mumble, I was born in Cambridge and grew up round Cambridgeshire and Northants. Nowadays I’m a bit of a nomad, living from festival to festival and occasionally stopping in London. It’s said that people settle back where they’re going to die so I try to avoid East Anglia.
When did you first realise you could make people laugh? Claire: Humour was a big part of our household growing up. Schools, weddings and funerals all technically had audiences, so therefore they were considered fair game. ‘And who has the ring?’ ‘I do, but I’ve hidden it well. I’ll need a rubber glove to get it out.’ (My Brother at my Dad’s wedding just before he was asked to leave by the registrar)
Which comedians inspire you, both old skool and on the scene today? Claire: Growing up I loved Ade Edmonson, Rik Mayall and French & Saunders, but my favourite was Blackadder with his mixture of dry wit and buffoonery. Today I have loads of comedy crushes. I enjoy a performer who takes risks and who’s a bit on the edge. I love Dr Brown, Hannah Gadsby, Jayde Adams, and Trygve Warkenshaw and Josh Glanc for pure hilarious physicality, loads loads loads, but I have to say for inspiring in terms of what she’s done with her career, I love Kristen Wiig and how she’s written and performed consistently funny material live and on screen. and she’s way rich.
You’ve got three famous figures from history coming round for dinner. Who would they be & what would you cook; starter, mains & dessert? Claire: I’d have all famous people from my home hood East Anglia. Stephen Fry so we can all fall in love with his voice and brilliant knowledge, Boudicca, Queen of the Iceni people, so we can tell her how she did good by us East Anglians and then Marilyn Monroe for the glamour. I’d cook indulgent food like scallops to start, Thai green curry for main and Cheesecake for dessert. I’d say ‘Marilyn, you’re not in Hollywood now girl, eat up your fill.’ and I’d say to Stephen ‘I’m sorry about the combination, pick around what you don’t want’ and I’d say to Boudicca ‘Thai green curry is from Thailand and Thailand is a country in East Asia and East Asia is.. never mind, eat your cheesecake, you’ll need the energy for all that murder later.’
You are bringing a show called UNBOXED this year’s Fringe, can you tell us about it? Claire: When I was 5 my Dad took me to his huge warehouse in the Fens in East Anglia. It was full to the ceiling with cardboard boxes and he said to me ‘one day all of those will be yours’. So I grew up happily thinking that was going to be my life. Unboxed is the story of what happened when, despite my Dad’s protestations, I changed my mind.
You were part of multi-award winning comedy duo, The Kagools, so why the solo move? Claire: We’ve always both done solo work, but it tends to go under the radar because we’re so busy with The Kagools. I started off doing characters before we got together as a double act. When we found The Kagools we loved them so much we’ve never looked back. And now we’re looking back.
What advice do you have for somebody performing comedy at the Fringe for the very first time? Claire: See loads of shows, have as much fun as possible, go to 10 to 10 in Delhi for a rest. Tears in the 3rd week are normal. Don’t put pressure on yourself to be ‘successful’. Just making it this far is more than so many other people manage and getting here is both a privilege and a success in one. What you get out of this month will most likely be unquantifiable, so just go with the flow and be nice to your tech and the door staff, they’re most likely working way longer hours than you and they will definitely tell other people if you’re a twat.
You’ve got 20 seconds to sell the show to somebody in the street, what would you say? Claire: Oh hi, do you like cardboard boxes? Great me too. I have just the show for you actually. It’s all about corrugated cartons and yes, the set is entirely made out of the brown stuff. Oh you’re free at 2pm? Well come along then, I even have a double walled 0203 I can show you. Just Out the Box room in the Caves. I know, what are the chances.
What will Claire Ford be doing after the Fringe? Claire: The Kagools are going straight to Korea for a festival and then we’re working on a pilot and finding somewhere to live for a little while, probably in East Anglia.
Who are the Lampoons? The Mumble, the Edinburgh Fringe & most probably the entire world are about to find out…
Josh Harvey
Hello Josh, so where are ya all from & where ya’ll at, geographically speaking? Josh: Well herro mumble, we’re kind of all dotted around Eng-er-land. I’m originally from Reading but we are all now based around London. We regularly rehearse in Balham though, in a window-less basement. I think that has a lot to do with the kind of material that went into this.
So Christina, how are you finding being the only lady in The Lampoons? Christina: You know what, a lot of the time I don’t even notice. Which I think can only be a good thing. We’re simply a team of four mad idiots collaborating on a script with the freedom to be silly, ugly and bold in our choices: and as a woman often cast as a dainty, innocent romantic, this is very freeing and exciting for me! So it’s a lovely experience being surrounded by a bunch of confident, expressive, funny chaps and leaving any inhibitions at the door. Though maybe ask me this question again when I’ve lived with them all for a month in Edinburgh…
Hi Oliver, so Why comedy, what is it about being funny in front of other people that makes you tick? Oliver: It’s an instant response. I can’t sing or play an instrument which illicit similar audience reactions. My parents brought me up on classic comedy like Tony Hancock, Emo Phillips and Peter Cook, so they kind of became my hero’s as a kid.
Adam Elliot
Which comedians inspire all four of you, the common comedic ground, both old skool & contemporary? Adam: The Spymonkey troupe for one are a huge influence for us, and we’ve actually been fortunate enough to have spent time training with them. Then there’s Swedish comedian Carl-Einar Häckne who is one of our favourite people ever, get on YouTube and binge watch him now! Also, Garth Marenghi’s Darkplace is a solid go to, and all things Bo Burnham make us happy.
Oliver, you’re also a dab hand with a pen. Can you tell us about Robbers and Harry Potter? Oliver: Robbers started life as a scene I wrote for a friend, when they weren’t able to do it I showed it to Josh and my director friend David and we decided just to make a film together. Similarly with Harry Potter and the sketch show Josh and I recorded. We just wanted to be creative. It’s wonderful that people enjoyed watching it as much as we did making it.
Christina Baston
Since your graduation in 2013, Christina, you’ve been extremely treading the boards; but which has been your favorite play to act in? Christina: That is a toughie! I’ve been lucky to have an amazing time on every single job I’ve done. I really enjoyed working on Torn Apart twice with No Offence Theatre; a much darker story than House on Haunted Hill! I was working with an amazing team of generous, talented actors and writer/director, and the performances felt different every night.
Josh, you’re an ever present on stage & screen, but how on earth did you get the Thomas the Tank Engine gig, & did you enjoy it? Josh: Oh that was a bit of a weird one. My girlfriend’s dad, Robert Hartshorne was the composer of the TV show’s music and he knew very early on I wanted to get involved so he wrote me a song to sing called ‘Hear the Engine’s Coming’. I had a lot of fun and still find it quite funny when I see the YouTube remakes of me singing with toy trains being pushed around. They get more hits than I do!
What exactly are The Lampoons trying to achieve? Josh: We like making funny theatre, and we’ve stumble upon this unique concept of taking classic Horror Films and re-imaging them into Clowning Shows. I think it’s incredibly important to laugh and there’s a few different types of laughter, we definitely conjure up that unexpected ‘surprise laugh’.
You guys are quite well established on the London circuit, do you think you are ready for the Fringe? Josh: AAHHHHHH HOLY BALLS! IT’S A DEBUT! Yes, this is the first time The Lampoons will be hitting the Edinburgh Festival! We have lots of friends in London from our Halloween Shows each year but this will be a new born baby idiot for us to all deliver and it will be a great experiment to see how the victims… I mean audiences of Edinburgh will react… Previous B-Movie re-creations include ‘ATTACK OF THE GIANT LEECHES’ – I’m sure you all know that one….
Adam, can you tell us about your experience with the Virgin Trains comedy campaign? Adam: Ah, now that was another immensely fun project. Every film was a different character, I got to play a Victorian Strongman, a Corn on the Cob, a Nun, and even The Godfather! Very Lampoonesque
What is it about performing live you personally love the most? Adam: Engaging with the audience right then and there is the best thing. Especially in a Lampoons show, we love to make each other endure things on stage, like spreading Branston pickle all over Tina’s face when she’s playing a dead character, or forcing Josh to eat an entire cucumber in one go, we like to make the audience feel complicit in the act and feel that they are enduring it with us
Oliver Malam
Where did the idea for The Lampoons originate? Christina: We’d been friends for a long time, and big admirers of each other’s work, but had been looking for the right project to come along. At the outset of The Lampoons we really didn’t know what we were going to end up with, but we knew we wanted to explore something beyond the more commonplace comedy styles. That’s when we stumbled upon B movie classic, Attack of the Giant Leeches; we found the script was a brilliant foundation for our whacky devising style, and following the show’s success over Halloween in 2016, in October 2017 we chose to tackle House on Haunted Hill in the same vain.
What is the creative process behind writing The Lampoon’s material? Oliver: We tend not to have a “process” so much as a continuous increase in madness. We highlight the scenes in the film we think are important for plot or character. Then over a week or so we just play around with how to tell the story in a way that entertains us the most, frequently changing jokes to keep things fun in rehearsals but sometimes locking in the ones we just can’t beat. That’s how you end up with a dancing ghost cat.
How much time do you guys spend together outside The Lampoons? Adam: As much as we can, which is not nearly as much as we would like! But we’ve got Josh’s wedding quickly approaching which will be perfect for a big blow out. I’ll be a groomsman and Ollie has the honour of being Best Man! We’re very excited.
You’re bringing House on Haunted Hill to this year’s Fringe, can you tell us about the show? Christina: We have taken the original black and white screenplay of ‘House on Haunted Hill’ from 1959, and re-imagined it starring four of the most professional idiots you will ever meet. This could well be the most ridiculously bizarre late-night show at the fringe; a thumpingly hilarious non-stop Comedy-Horror, the likes of which have never been seen. Vincent Price(s) may make an appearance, too. Plus, you get water pistols, ping pong balls and a Ghost Cat! What more could you want?
You have twenty seconds to sell the show to someone you are flyering in the streets of Edinburgh – what would you say? Oliver: I guarantee you’ve never seen this old classic.
*Regurgitates a whole cucumber and walks away*
Since I began reviewing at the Fringe, every year I’ve been to Foodies Festival to pick up my £10 bag of selected salami. But not this year, for I’ve developed an almost cultish passion for the annual visitation of a new meaty product – THE DELIGHTFUL SAUSAGE. I wasn’t the only one; a healthy room was about half full of other fascinated comedians, like when Eric Clapton held hands with Brian Jones on witnessing Hendrix for the first time.
The Delightful Sausage is a comedy duo – Amy Gledhill & Christopher-Louise Cantrill – & last year I really enjoyed the craft & the show. The thing is, & I’m quaking as I say it, they’ve got better, they’ve found an extra gear. From the posh wotsits on sticks dished out on arrival, thro’ their extremely slick stagecraft of voiceovers & videos, to their stunningly daft dialogue, The Delightful Sausage are comedy firestarters.
It’s an even stranger yet somehow more personal journey which we’ve managed to pack full with unsettling illustrations and tight, rock-hard gags. Read the full interview here.
Their theme is the candidacy of Ickleton as a city of culture for 2021, upon which bedrock is built a light-hearted Royston Vasey peopled only by the madcap imaginations & clever costume changes of Amy & Chris. They interact like two Chinese ping-pong experts in a 50 minute showcase rally. It was only show 2, & a couple of balls hit the net, but they way they weave their hiccups into the show proves they have became pure performance connoisseurs.
The chief wonder of the Delightful Sausage is the way the tendrils of their creative energies reach out into every day existence & bring back life-snippets, but converted into comedy magic in the maelstromic furnaces of their creative chemistry. Last year I gave their Cold Hard Cache straight fours, but they have bettered their material this year, & the laughter was booming, so I’m happy to give them 5 stars x
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Gary Meikle has earned his stripes driving around the country from club to club, & now he’s ready for his debut show at the Fringe. Gary is no ordinary comic, but quite paradoxically its his sense of the ordinary that makes him so special. But then again Gary has led quite an extraordinary life, which forms the molten core of iron on which every joke & anecdote flourishes.
Mumble Comedy 