I thought I’d write up a little about some of the shows I see this year!
Chris Stokes: The Man Delusion
A nice show by a comedian I really rate and admire, he has a real like-ability that comes from avoiding the cliches of the ego-driven stand-up and instead being low key and incredibly humble on stage. His material is relate-able but also clever in sending you the wrong direction with some clever pull back and reveals and intelligent wordplay.
Growth by Luke Norris
A great play about a man finding himself in the face of a testicular cancer scare. Incredibly funny I think that Luke Norris writes some of the best, wittiest dialogue around (reminds me of Tim Firth sometimes!) and a clever way of playing with time and structure. I love playwrights who adhere to the get in quick get out quick mentality of writing but who don’t sacrifice character by doing it. Well acted and directed in Edinburgh’s most lovely venue.
Lucy Porter: Consequences
I’ve been watching Lucy Porter perform, I realised today, for over 12 years. This show (which we went to with my parents) was clever and while not world-changing or life-changing gave astute and hilarious observation, had a real connection with its older audience and had a genuine warmth about it.
David O’Doherty: Big Time
A mixed night really. I love David O’Doherty, he’s brilliant, clever, anarchic and silly. His new show is no exception with all the wonderful tropes and traits in this as have been present in his other shows. The venue however was disappointing (Assembly Hall) with poor sight-lines, high ceilings and a lack of connection for the full audience – you want each laugh to boom, to be all encompassing, the roll and echo – but although the show was as funny as ever the room didn’t work as well for me – that said, I’d gone to the wrong venue in advance (George Square not Assembly Hall), so maybe I was just a bit pissy.
Daniel Kitson
Work in progress for a show that will in all likelihood never happen. It was really interesting to see new material being workshopped. A very friendly room – I always have that question about the credit in the banks famous comedians have that makes testing material and getting an unbias opinion hard to come by. That said, I fucking loved it.
The Pianist
Probably my favourite show again – brilliant physical theatre for all ages about a man trying and failing to deliver a piano recital – had some minor changes since the last time I saw the show – superb.
Meet Fred
Some lovely puppetry damaged by bad writing, dubious direction and examining the over theatricality of the show – being meta I think it’s called – all in all it felt like some very talented people had created something that lacked conviction and clarity and was a piece by theatre folk, for theatre folk, with all the injokes that go with it.
4D TV
I’ve never taken crack. Or coke. Or ecstasy. This show was a little like what I imagine snorting all those would be like. The first half was a fake story about Marlene Dietrick the second half was the first half reversed telling the real story. It was utterly bizarre which had a huge amount of experimentation and technical ability but lacked precision, presentation, direction and clarity.
Showstopper!
A nice show where a new musical is improvised from scratch. Great performers and some brilliant vocals but I thought it suffered in the same way much improv can by feeling like it became too complex to resolve the story and occasionally a little self centred. Fun!
Max & Ivan
Probably my favourite of their shows since Con Artists, their show is slick, quick and clever with a real understanding of how story arcs work and how to build empathy while not losing the funny. Also the pants were very tight.
Phil Nichol
A best of show featuring extracts from all the shows he’s done in Edinburgh. Interesting and a bold, in yer face performer who has more nuance and acting ability that many actors I’ve seen.
The Duke
Storytelling by Hugh Hughes about the curious relationship between himself, the refugee crisis, his mother and a model of the Duke of Wellington. I really wanted it to work but it felt like it would benefit from being slicker and from a directorial eye – I kept wanting pace changes and the link between the two stories to be stronger and feel symbiotic rather than incidental.
Mark Watson: I’m Not Here
Quality show from the man I apparently look like – very funny, perhaps without the strength of narrative that his previous show had but incredibly funny and bold and with a clever device to raise the energy on 45 mins. Ace.
Empty Beds
A clever one-location show about three sisters going to visit their brother in a mental institute. Clever writing to capture those personality clashes and traits that occupy siblings, the effect on choices they make on their relationships and how we talk about mental health.
The Blind Date Project
A clever directed improvised show where a girl goes on a blind date with a different person each night. Our night she was set up with Nina Conti. It was a clever and moving glimpse that felt voyeuristic but also very cleverly performed. The key was that it was played as a team rather than any sort of oneupmanship and it was dynamic and oddly moving.
Love, Lies and Taxidermy
Another show in roundabout (my favourite Edinburgh venue). Fast paced storytelling from a shit-hot cast with really clever direction and technical support. The same cast as Growth, I preferred Growth as the subject matter appealed more, but this had a whimsical edge that raised a smile..
John Gordillo
A great stand up this at times felt like two shows – one about a man’s breakdown and the other about how data is mined and we assess the world around us. There is an amazing show waiting when these two are successfully linked but at the moment it felt like two separate shows without a strong enough sense of connection.
Things I also saw or heard good things about:
- The Flanagan Collective
- Bilal Zafar: Cakes
- Brennan Reece
- Zoe Lyons
- Kill The Beast: He Had Hairy Hands
- Austentatious