Un-Happy Meals for Motherless Children!
In the world of fractured families, I'm not convinced McDonald's wants to be having toys in their "Happy" Meals about missing Mothers... I doubt this is happening in the US!
Happy New Decade With A Grainy Picture!
What happened to January...? Any way, here's how I welcomed in the new decade, kneeling in the middle of the frozen Union Canal with a glass of champagne in my hind. Start as you mean to go on...
Exclusive: Toy Story 3's European Premiere Will Be At EIFF 2010!
That's right, and you really did read it here first! The 64th Edinburgh International Film Festival host the European Première of Toy Story 3, most likely on the afternoon of Saturday 19th June, 2010. Where did I get my red-hot exclusive from you ask? My brain. In 2008 the UK premiere of Wall.E was 24 hours after the American launch on a Saturday afternoon and about a month before the launch in the rest of the UK. Taking a quick peek over at IMDB we see the global launch of Toy Story 3 is 16th - 18th June with the UK release set for five weeks later on 23rd July. You don't have to be a genius, although I may very well be, it's just not required. Now there is just the small matter of waiting 7 months until the EIFF box office opens. Oh yeah, that and negotiating with Pixar / Disney to get the rights to scoop the rest of Europe (excluding Cannes) to make this happen (but this is really a small detail isn't it). Remember you read it here first and remember that you've got a friend in me...
The Top Comedy Award - You Are Having A Laugh!
With baited breath, I waited well past 12pm for the first nominees under the new name, the Eddies (or Nica Burns presents the 29th Edinburgh Comedy Awards 2009). What came through was comedy of such a level that I feel naughty for not buying a ticket to read it! First off, Rhod Gilbert is not on the list and clearly is disqualified for being a star ("regularly selling out 500+ seat venue based on their name alone", i.e. three extra shows filled up the 700 seat Grand in less than a week). So this should be a battle between the Pajama Men and Dan Antopolski, plus a few other interesting names... But it's not. First off, the lack of Pajama Men *and* Dan Antopolski is outrageous. Yes they have both been around for a while but I am not aware of any regulations that would rule out either of them. Dan has won Best One Liner of the Festival and Pajama Men scoped the top award in Melbourne for last year's show (Versus vs Versus) whilst this year's show is a lot better (and nearly perfect). As I mention earlier, it seems like the panel just do not like agreeing in anyway with the Melbourne nominees (and I'm not counting Kristen Schaal last year as she co-won in Oz for her solo show and was nominated in Edinburgh for a double act play). Needless to say Celia Pacquloa doesn't get a look in as a newcomer, although she was invited to play at Edinburgh so maybe that rules her out.
So who does make the list? Tom Wrigglesworth (called it) and Jon Richardson (not a surprise but I though he might be eaked out) are both there plus four others (it's a six entry shortlist this year, making up for the shortened four entries last year). With six spaces any sane person would imagine Andrew Lawrence and probably Wehn & Kuhnle being in with a good shout of being on the list. Well you'd be a fool! John Bishop and perennial nominee Russell Kane both get nods a while both did good shows they weren't brilliant. Neither of these shows can hold a candle to any of the aforementioned acts and it is quite a shock for them to be on the list with the presence of such competition. The final two are Idiots of Ants (a sketch group, I guessed Adam Riches's show Rogue Males instead but you would expect a show like this) and Tim Key (a deadpan poet). The one positive is that everyone is a relative unknown so a star will be made (I was kind of hoping that Rhod would no longer be eligible as he is practically meteoric right now). The smart money will be on the smart material, Jon Richardson to follow up his newcomer nomination from two years ago to scoop the top award. You read it here first!
The first Edinburgh Comedy Award (Eddies 2009) Nominees are out!
The first Edinburgh Comedy Award Nominees are out! Okay, for first 25 years it was the Perrier Awards, followed by 3 years as the IF.com Eddy Awards, but now we are just going to refer to them as the Eddies. My sure-fire shortlist is as follows:
• Rhod Gilbert - And The Cat That Looked Like Nicholas Lyndhurst (unless he is now deemed a Star by selling out the 700 seat Grand for three nights);
• Pajama Men - The Last Stand To Reason;
• Dan Antopolski - Silent But Deadly;
• Wehn & Kuhnle - German Humour Goes Global.
My list is lacking a fifth which could be either Tom Wrigglesworth or Adam Riches's Rogue Males, based on the reviews they have been getting. Due to the dates I've booked for them I'll only find out what they are like after the actual winner has been announced - it could be quite interesting! Andrew Lawrence is in with a shout but not Paul Sinha (not least of all because his show is not 80% new material).
The only newcomer I'm really aware of is Celia Pacquola and after going down a storm in Melbourne and winning The Age's Critics' Award she has to be a strong candidate (althought over the last few years both Sammy J & Heath McIvor and Lawrence Leung were over looked for the awards despite being brilliant and winning the aforementioned award).
How did I do? I'll update this after lunch when the official nominees are out...
One4Review = One Four Star Review for Everyone!
I noticed a poster for a show that got ripped into by Steve Bennett at Chortle, giving it 2 stars and almost hoping it stopped playing, with a fresh white banner over it saying '***** one4review'. I was perplexed. I have stated before that Steve Bennett is a tough reviewer (possibly the only person who can genuinely say that three stars from him is "good") but 2 stars from him and 5 from one4review - shurely shome mistake? The show in question is Domesti Goodi 2: How To Cope to which Mr. Chortle opens with "If you want something funnier than a range of broadly-sketched characters in search of a punchline, look elsewhere" and closes with it being at risk of closing due to the recession and "Few would probably mourn it". Compare and contrast to Geoff Evans (whose name appears across the top of one4review) and starts about "...last years show and have to admit they blew me away [this show is] as good, if not better than last year’s version" and in the following paragraph (which is only one sentence long) notes they have "a selection of some of the funniest sketches you will see anywhere". I need to investigate further...
The first thing I did, before reading the review, if check out what was going on with my browser when the page loaded. It turns out all of their reviews *intentionally* have no images on the page and practically no colours. The site is written with "Microsoft FrontPage 4.0" which was released in 1999 and subsequently the product has been discontinued. Take a look at this screen grab for yourself:
I took a closer look at the vast list of shows they had been to see (about 15 per day between the five people) and noticed a common theme: they were all 4 or 5 star reviews! I obviously didn't look at every show but everyone I clicked on, even ones other websites said stunk, received 4 or 5 stars. Eureka! That's what the domain name refers to - One 4 (star) Review guaranteed! This doesn't bode well for all the posters with their asterisks over them, unless they are just using shift + 8 as a text separator instead of multiple carriage returns...
One more thing bugged me - if you are going to give everyone high scores and see so many shows, why is the content so light and almost personal experience rather than reviewing the performer? I haven't quite worked out my answer but I have got a better understanding of Geoff Evans's style from his closing remarks when commenting about his experience of seeing Lucy Porter "the tickets for her shows are flying out of the door [snip] get your ticket while there may still be some available", John Bishop " If there are still some available then get yourself a ticket now, ‘cause there won’t be any available if you delay much longer" and Newsrevue "[their] tickets soon become like gold dust so my advice is to get your now or there soon won’t be any left". At least you can't fault him on consistency!
Paul Sinha - 39 Years of Solitude
This year Paul went with a reference to a classic Colombian book in his title in order to attract a more intelligent punter. At least he advertised this year and made the guide, which was probably his biggest of many failings last year. In short due to his mother getting ill he missed deadlines and his show wasn't up to his normal standard. He also barely had 20% of the venue filled because of this. This year he fills The Stand 3 and most people are aware enough of him to get straight into this year's show. Well, actually, last year's show. The first 40 minutes are identical to last year's show but the big difference is he performs with such gusto and confidence to a crowd that gets him and his style. His final third is much stronger than last year and is a fitting ending to a good show. As most of his shows are he examines his lack of bravery and obsession with quiz shows and general knowledge. He does this in a humble way and also manages to work out issues with his place in the community and indeed world under the many different labels he lives under (mostly gay, Asian and doctor). Paul is an expert and mis-direction in his comedy and also proudly delivers subtle gags that he will intentionally race past. He is a top comic making up for last year and restoring faith in himself. Hopefully he can use this completed chapter of his life to deliver a bigger show at a higher level next year and challenge once again for the top comedy award. Erudite, analytical and a born-story-teller - 9 out of 10 or five stars (but only if you didn't see last year's show, otherwise it'll have to be an 8).
Carey Marx - The Doom Gloom Boom
Carey has been suggested by numerous people over the years, possibly also by his possible flatmate Phil Nichol. Finally we make it to see Carey and within minutes are surprised by his act. His thick London accent conflicts with his laid back approach whilst his material is unusually topical, e.g. male fish in the Potomac River are producing eggs. To use such strange platforms to build routines on is so different as well as challenging; he is both brave and bright. His big laughs were on more common themes and have a similar feel to those bombshells Glenn Wool drops. Several of his best gags have that right balance of offensive-shock and comic-genius that leave a moment of silence as people process and others gasp in. Overall his set is well constructed and there is a nicely built ending which wraps up most of his hot-button issues. To be fair there wasn't any story I wasn't aware of but then I'm glued to the science and health pages of the BBC. A more balanced person might end up learning things during the show, or more likely dismiss his facts as made-up for comic effect! Thought-provoking, topical and slightly-shocking - 8 out of 10 or four stars.
Phil Cool! Who's He?
I first saw Phil Cool about 18 years ago as a teenager when he was on tour with Jasper Carrott (that's why I went to the show). I was quite impressed as I'd never heard of him before and wasn't aware of his TV show but he entertained me then. How would the situation be as my cousin born that year is now able to purchase alcohol and I am a seasoned comedy critic (wannabe)? [Deep gasp of breath] Not well. First off, the venue is a joke. Situated two miles from The Pleasance and one mile from the Assembly Rooms, it is buried behind multiple tram-works, down a side street, inside a hotel. There is practically no advertising nearby and I have not seen a single flyer or poster. So how do Club West describe their consecutive shows of Jazz, Comedy and Dance? The Best of the Fest. I don't think so. So thanks to some promoters with a death wish, 20 of us are lead into a room with 150 seats in (and that doesn't include large walk ways that could have easily made it into a 200+ seater venue. Almost everyone is in pairs, which is not really a surprise as tickets are £16 each (!) but he is part of Friends of the Fringe so I would guess everyone is here at 2-for-1 prices.
We've covered a lot so far and we haven't even touched on Phil's show yet. Doesn't matter, it'll only take a minute... Phil has always had a methodical delivery but in such a big room with so few people in this really doesn't help. He runs through his classic impersonations including his incomparable facial impersonations (he seems to alter the shape of his eyes for Bush compared to Blair). Unfortunately within those impressions he is quite light on jokes and certainly nothing more than a brief blurted ha-ha. His material hasn't change over the past 18 years and some of his favourites are performed for us. Including Clinton, Bush, Blair and Brown doesn't really make it up-to-date, for a start the first three have been away for all of 2009. There has been great debate as to whether this should be a 6 (my initial thoughts) or a 5 (my co-festivaler). Basically if the show was free and you had an hour to kill should you go and see it or not. Despite my initial generosity, on reflection, if someone offered KT free tickets to see it I'd tell her not to bother. That said, it might have been funny if you were high. Facially-excellent, Bereft-of-gags and Stuck-in-time (I know that's cheating on my three word summary but I don't care!). 5 out of 10 and my first one star show [FYI both Des Clarke and Lucy Porter managed to get 3 out of 10 independently or negative one star].
3 Stars Make No Sense To Me, Mean, Median or Mode
I've previous explained why I use a superior base-10 scoring system for reviewing things and how it doesn't translate as simply as halving it to get the equivalent stars. Following on from a conversation I had the other day I just want to elaborate on why the five star approach is such as flawed system. With only five stars, the “average” score is surely the arithmetic mean which is (1+2+3+4+5 = 15 / n = 3) three. Yet ask any person who uses this scoring system and three stars is “good”. Maybe they have used a different system for making two stars “average”... I looked closely at various reviews and worked out the median value (the middle one) and surprisingly that is three stars. Lastly I counted up how many there are of each star to get the mode (the most common one) and shockingly that is three stars again! By any measure, mean, median, mode or logic, three stars is “average”. The makes four stars “good” and five stars “very good” leaving no space for “exceptional”. Mirroring that two stars is “poor” and one star is “very poor”. The irony of this is that whilst most people claim three stars is a “good” review, in reality they are being too generous and a average mark is far more accurate which would be … three stars! After much searching I've found some honest reviewers that give 3 stars and mean average or okay. Take Neil McEwan reviewing Des Clarke for The Scotsman, ending with "this isn't the best or most original show you'll see this year but it's perfectly adequate" - 3 stars. Notoriously tough Steve Bennett ends his review of Sammy J's 1999 with "So while you’re almost guaranteed to go away cheerful, you won’t actually have laughed all that much" - 3 stars. I rest my case m'lord. So don't be fooled by any review – three stars is just okay, four is good.
Jon Richardson - This Guy At Night
With tonight's show Jon proudly enters my '3 and above' list which very few performers get on to, and it's more impressive as it's three years back to back (since he burst on to the scene with his nomination for Best Newcomer. As I have therefore said twice before, Jon is a very smart person with almost an obsessive personality that becomes irritated about the most irrelevant things. Having chosen single life (although given his show I don't know how even he can live with himself at times) he has way too much time on his hands which feeds into his geeky-ness. It's not the big things in the world that get Jon annoyed, but the more left-field things such as the principals behind re-connection charges. Underpinning this is Jon exploration of does perfection exist and is it only a bad thing.
This year's show is good throughout but he really steps it up in the final 15-20 minutes. If half an hour was of that quality we'd be looking at a flawless show! Despite reviewers calling him "hate-filled" and "angry", which is partially true, what makes Jon so different is he is a thoroughly likeable and honest guy but in a different way to the John Bishop. However you want to describe his specialness the one thing I can guarantee is that he has the formula for a great act with a really bright future. I will be back for the next three year's, if only I could book my tickets when he starts writing the show (see his show and you'll get the gag)! Thoughtful, Annoyed and Geeky - 9 out of 10 or five amazing stars.
UPDATED: Jon has made the shortlist for Best Comedy Show and in light of the competition his is facing, you have to believe he is the favourite to win it. He deserves the award and he deserves to be playing to much bigger crowds next year.
Star Spotting The Other Way Around
Some lucky people get all the luck (it seems wherever you go these days there are redundancies everywhere)! Over the years I've had friends tell me they've seen Frank Skinner and Eddie Izzard doing improv on The Mound and a whole host of other star names not playing at the festival but enjoying the best of Scotland. Rumour has it that two years ago Larry David was here but I am only aware of third hand information to support it. This year I've seen Ja neane Garofalo being interviewed and sat near to Brendon Burns whilst he has an early evening beer (and I scoff down my Curry in a Hurry from the Mosque Kitchen in Potterow). The problem is that they but have shows at Edinburgh, albeit for limited runs. The only interesting person I've seen so far that is Marek Larwood, the diminutive member of We Are Klang. Sadly they are not playing this year, although their TV show goes out on a Thursday evening on BBC3 during August. I did exchange polite smiles with Mark Kermode in June during the Film Festival but it should really be a given that he would be there. Has anyone else spotted an unexpected star in Edinburgh this summer? By the other definition I've spotted several stars this year, just give them a few years to complete their transformation.
Beep beep, beep beep. 24 hours of Comedy and Counting!
We've just entered the second week of the Edinburgh Fringe 2009 and I've already surpassed 24 hours of comedy in real time (none of this fake time for me...)! And that doesn't include 20 minutes lost to recapping what happened last hour and adverts! Who has stood out in the first week and a bit? There are the usual suspects as well as a few surprises. Rhod Gilbert is only likely to face a serious challenge from Pajama Men to take the top comedy award. If Phil Nichol had listed his act as Bobby Spade he might have caused some serious deliberations as whether or not he could be up for the award again (just as Rich Hall is a star but his character Otis Lee Crenshaw won the award). With a little tightening of their acts post preview shows, Dan Antopolski and/or Andrew Lawrence could be in with a shout. On last night's performance and in the interests of diversity I wouldn't be shocked if Hennig When and Otto Kuhnle got a nomination for their strong and diverse show.
Looking forward, we have Jon Richardson tonight who is getting some great reviews. If he is on form with a solid set Paul Sinha is always a possibility and maybe, just maybe, we could believe the hype about Rogue Males being "simply perfection" - although that quote and five stars did come from Corey Shaw at Chortle.co.uk who is a bit more generous with the stars than Steve Bennett. It could very well be the strongest line up for the comedy award in many years ... it's a good job I have tickets for the show!
Hennig Wehn & Otto Kuhnle - German Humour Goes Global
Last year they performed a decent show in what, in their words, can only be described as a bunker. This year they are a in much bigger venue following a successful stint in Melbourne that saw them receive a nomination and certainly honed their skills further. The basic premise is that Hennig, the German Comedy Ambassador, and Otto, the funniest man from Dusseldorf, want to take their brand of German Humour beyond just the UK to, let's say Global domination. If you can't see what is funny about that on so many levels you are just not going to get these guys.
The "big top" venue, Bosco in George Square Gardens, this year branded Udderbelly's Hullabaloo after the Spiegel Tent decided it would be too costly for them to return, is the perfect venue for this mix of humour, music and silliness. The show screams variety but in a bizarre way. I counted at least 8 different segments with differing styles of comedy and in all five radically different musical "instruments" being played by Otto. Hennig is the more classic stand up, performing all his shows with a stop watch around his neck as part of his natural German desire for accuracy and efficiency. Having watched their show take you through some interesting places and build to an impressive finale, which is then topped by a gag that takes a whole show to make, you cannot help but feel uplifted and glad you witnessed something so different. If there is any justice in this world we'll be seeing these two on Sunday evening at the Eddy Comedy Award show. Madcap, European and Imaginative - 9 out of 10 or an impressive five stars!
Phil Nichol – A Deadpan Poet Sings Quiet Songs Quietly...
After belatedly winning the inaugural If.com Eddie Award, Phil Nichol moved up to The Stand 1 (or Main Space) with a Rolling Stones show called Hiro Worship. It worked well and was a good show but it took away a lot of his brilliance by using that venue. Last year he did a best of show which just highlighted how his style doesn't suit such a wide disrupted space. Selfishly I was delighted to see him return back to the tiny Stand II (only 50 seats) to perform his new show. It turns out though that Phil Nichol is not in this show, but Bobby Spade is the star, a poet with some musical ability. And therein lies the problem. This show should not be branded Phil Nichol but rather Bobby Spade, just like when Rich Hall created Otis Lee Crenshaw he did all his advertising under that name – and quite rightly so! I think Phil Nichol should have done the same thing as it would have been a more accurate reflection of his show. It also would have caused the mother of all debates, as to whether Bobby Spade could go on to win the Edinburgh Comedy Award this year as it was Phil Nichol and not Bobby Spade that won it a few years ago. Given the precedent of Otis Lee Crenshaw winning despite Rich Hall being an established star, I can only assume that Bobby Spade would have been eligible and would give Rhod Gilbert and the Pajama Men a serious run for their money.
As it stands (no pun intended, there are enough of them in this show), this is a mute point and the only thing we do with this show is admire the brilliance of Phil Nichol and the first time he has managed to combine his humour, musical abilities and acting abilities to create an unbelievable show (and it is a show, much more than a simple set). The songs and beat poems Bobby performs put Tim Minchin to shame, the atmosphere and character acting could easily be part of some dark play and the humour is constant and from all angles. Briefly in a few songs you see Bobby's eyes light up like the Incredible Hulk and you know the manic Phil Nichol is burning within, waiting to get out, but he controls it masterfully. It's perfect and comparable to the Naked Racist and Nearly Gay (although it is probably just below the pair of them on the greatness scale).
Before giving Phil an inevitable 10 out of 10, it's interesting to look at the other reviews of his show. Kate Copstick, who admittedly got me hooked on Phil Nichol like a junkie in the first place, aptly sums him and Bobby Spade in her review giving him a flawless score. On the other hand I don't think Steve Bennett over at Chortle quite “gets” Phil Nichol's brilliance. He has given this show three stars and Hiro Worship four stars. This is easily better than Hiro. Furthermore he gave Naked Racist five stars when he reviewed it in Brighton, a few months after Phil had won the ex-Perrier - did he not want to see it before other people make a decision on it?. His best show, Nearly Gay, was only given four stars before being inexplicably looked over for the Perrier (when Laura Solon won it) and anyone who has seen both shows will testify that Nearly Gay edges the title of best show (ever). Don't get me wrong I think Steve Bennett knows his stuff and is a very tough reviewer (he has given both Rhod Gilbert and Pajama Men only four stars this year) but when he gives five stars to Adam Hills for his Edinburgh Fringe 2009 (reviewed in his native Australia in April...) and comment that he overran by nearly half an hour and coaxed the audience into singing someone Happy Birthday which was a little bit trite (paraphrase), or Josh Howie's strong-but-not perfect show last year, it makes the lower ratings for Phil Nichol seem a shade confused.
When he lets himself out, he is the finest comic performer to come to Edinburgh in a decade plus. He deserves a kind of Larry David show, perhaps Curb Your Manicness. No wonder it keeps getting referenced that he was actually born in Scotland, I'm just so honoured to have met him a few times. When you finally do see him you'll wonder just how lived in a world where he didn't exist. Perfect, Incomparable and a Genius – 10 out of 10 giving him a five-star-system-busting six stars.
Mark Thomas – Manifesto
After a couple of years away (since his show about Arms, entitled As Used On Nelson Mandela) Mark is back on tour and it couldn't be more political than this. The premise of his show is that he is travelling the country for policy ideas that can form the basis of the Public's Manifesto. From his Edinburgh shows he will take all the winning (democratically voted on) and present them to a cross-part group of MSPs at the Pleasance to see if they will be taken up by the Scottish Government.
It's a hugely enjoyable and informative hour and a half that is a bit more diverse that his previous shows which have tended to focus on just one subject. Some of the ideas that didn't make it in my show include “everyone must live within cycling distance to work” and “concentrate on one set of roadworks at a time” (transport was a very big issue for residents in Edinburgh for some reason). The winning idea was to fine supermarkets, especially Tesco, for every gram of excess package they produce.
Mark does tell of some non-manifesto related stories that are rewarding. Apparently when having your fingerprints taken there is no law requiring you so sign your name as well, the police simply ask you nicely to. Also when stopped by a police office under Stop And Search they have to have a good reason for doing so that gets documented in the CIT report. It takes a lot of work out of being up to date with the fight against abuse of power and the ludicrous ID cards. Political, Engrossing and Motivating – 8 out of 10 or four communist stars.
Janeane Garofalo
From her early days as the booker on the Larry Sanders Show, to the only person Jerry Seinfeld proposed to, through to the less attractive one of Uma Thurman and her competing for Ben Chaplin's attentions in The Truth About Cats And Dogs, I have always admired Janeane but never learnt who to pronounce her surname. For many years it was Gar-faf-alo until I heard she was coming to Edinburgh when I concentrated and made it Janeane the Gruffalo. Be that as it may (that's a in-joke to people who have seen her this year), she is still a well established American Star doing a decent length run in Edinburgh (and not skipping days out like Jimmy Carr performing Rapier Twit, as all the doctored posters cleverly say).
It seems in her middle age (she's now 45 and look great for it) she is losing words (they are always in the last place you look – why else would you keep looking?), as well as forgetting what she had previously said after returning from a tangent (I get that a lot to be fair). It is probably these two traits that caused to walk off stage in a pre-Edinburgh preview after 10 minutes, breaking up with the audience using the “it's not you it's me” line. Each night however she has been getting better and better (based on other reviews) and fortunately I had the nous to book her last night in Edinburgh (tickets for the show that is, I'm not renting her personally). Put a pin in that for the moment and lets talk about what she talks about this time.
Janeane opens with some good Scottish gags that go down well and explore many areas about her life including depression, dogs, children, marriage, relationships and her sex life. She has a humble demeanour and is very likeable, even when wandering. Some of her anecdotes are quite funny but mostly there is a constant chuck throughout the show. She is a seasoned professional that just needed to get rid of some ring rust. Probably the biggest annoyance was the frequent distractions of camera flashes or camera displays (for those who remember to turn off the flash) to capture her likeness because you can't find it on the internet... On that point of bemusing devotion there were some mindless heckles, including one “show us your pants” about five minutes after showing she has Spanx (some form of thick tights from what I could see) right up to her rib cage). All in all it was a good performance and a nice way to see someone from the big/small screen (either way it's an NTSC screen) live and in person. Adorable, Open and Realistic – 8 out of 10 or four stars stuffed full of puppy dogs.
Newsrevue: 30th Anniversary
Six years ago I saw Newsrevue's 25th Anniversary show (when they entered the Guinness Book of Records for longest running live comedy show) and they were very good, topical and funny. Over the years they have had some very famous alumni since their first show almost 30 years ago to the day, August 18th to be exact. It's a real shame that I have to write this review as they no longer have "it". Over the last couple of years they have slid further and further downhill until they end up with this year's show. The first half hour was bereft of humour, something they've been moving towards in recent years. As anyone fule no, you have to start with a few strong gags and then you can move to lesser material before finishing with a flurry. You can't expect to bore an audience with 30 minutes of 6th Form level comedy and keep them interested (Just to be clear, that's the writing I'm criticising, not the performing and singing which was good). As such there were several routines that go zero or close-to-zero applause. Overall there wasn't a single laugh out loud moment and only a few mild chuckle moments. Only two of their songs were even slightly clever satire. To top all the disappointment, their best gag my a mile, a song about the railways, was completely out-of-date and irrelevant mainly because they performed it five years ago and have started re-using older material. Shame on you! Your material is supposed to be from the last year only, even your 30 year review songs at the start and finish were both written this year.
Some people have tried to defend them saying they are in bad taste and you just don't get it but in truth you would only think that if you survive on a diet of exclusively BBC1. It is one of the safest shows on the Comedy Festival and has been year in year out. It's sad but even at half price (Friend of the Fringe) I don't think the show is worth it. The cost of two full price tickets would more than pay for a full annual subscription to Private Eye and one edition of that would give you four times the satire and humour in this entire show. My final gripe is the fact that the show started at 18:01 (one minute late, oh no!) and ended at 18:55 on the dot. That's 54 minutes not the 60 minutes they are advertising for! Why should the audience not get 10% of their ticket prices if you are going to cut 10% off your show? Flat, Unfunny and Un-Topical - 6 out of 10 or two stars (fighting with Zoe Lyons for the worst show of my Festival).
The Press Can't Hack the Edinburgh Fringe 2009
I like looking at other reviews during the Fringe to see if there is something else that I'm not aware of that's worth catching. There are good sources of info, Edinburgh-Festivals is one (from The Scotsman) and Chortle is another. Obviously you have to try and aggregate these reviews to get a truer perspective. For example the man behind Chortle, Steve Bennett, often gives too few stars (four stars for both Rhod Gilbert and Pajama Men yet says they will probably be up for the top award) whilst one of his newer reviewers, Chloe Smith, gives far too many stars for mediocre performances (Zoe Lyons got four stars). That said, there are far more untrustworthy sources out there, including one4review which gave Domestic Goodi 2 five stars whilst it's getting poor ratings everywhere else (unsurprisingly the one4review is the one that is plastered over the Pleasance tempting audiences to go and see it).
My beef is really with mainstream or old school media (the ones that are struggling to survive) and their lack of coverage of Edinburgh. As it stands right now The Independent have 9 comedy reviews from Edinburgh on their website and The Telegraph have 10 (although as Private Eye has revealed, the Telegraph frequently use agency copy for their sports coverage and assigned fake names to it so we can't be sure just how many they have done themselves). I have 19 reviews to date for the 19 shows I have seen, and I couldn't even expense the cost of my tickets! Seriously though, whilst this is all about the coverage of Art, it is a sad time as newspapers lose more and more money and the real journalists breaking the big stories get cut back further and further. Maybe they should just employ bloggers to cover Art and Sport and employ their professionals to do the bread and butter investigative journalism that made newspapers what they are...
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