Joe McDaid (Kevin P Gilday) wants to know what we think. The UK has left the EU and, as a sweetener to keep us happy, new powers have been devolved to Scotland, including citizenship. McDaid is running a focus group on behalf of new agency Citizen Scotland, to determine what questions should be included in the new citizenship test. Audience members have been handed out cards to give an 'Aye' or a 'Naw' to each option. There's a lot of audience involvement which helps build a more intimate atmosphere.
McDaid takes us through half a dozen potential subject areas, like inventions, language and alcohol. To begin with the performance is wholly comic, jokey, light hearted, with a rap number and a daft song accompanied, badly, on ukulele. But takes on a more serious note as the show develops, looking at Scotland's lack of confidence in ourselves, our ambivalent and often self destructive relationship with drink, and whether we're always as good as we portray ourselves. He declares himself an Indy supporter, but raises questions about where the Yes movement is now, and if people have lost sight of what Indy was really about - that independence isn't an end in itself, but a means to a chance of having a better society in this country.
Quite what an international audience makes of this is hard to say, but it certainly resonates with the Scots in the room. What starts as a show of thin humour and dubious musicality improves greatly as it goes along and starts to raise questions that aren't being asked often enough. The poetry is particularly impressive in conveying ideas. Gilday isn't a natural comedian, but he is an excellent storyteller, poet and ideas man. An intriguing show to end the Fringe on.
This was the final performance of Suffering from Scottishness.
Tuesday, 27 August 2019
Julius 'Call Me Caesar' Caesar, Gilded Balloon Patter Hoose, Edinburgh Festival Fringe
In his first ever acting role, comedian Andrew Maxwell takes on Shakespeare. Well, sort of. He might begin by declaiming lines from the bard, but most of the performance is in modern vernacular, reducing the play to its essential elements. Maxwell switches back and forth between narration and commentary, and acting out well over a dozen characters - Caesar, Brutus, Calpurnia, the soothsayer, members of the common herd, he does the lot. Not only giving the storyline of the play, but clearly alluding to some modern day comparisons.
It's high energy stuff, Maxwell whipping up the audience into participating, creating an atmosphere that is involving, celebratory, hysterical. Owen McCafferty has written a sharp script, leaving plenty of room for Maxwell's comic talents to shine, and space for him to improvise. You could watch this show several times and constantly find something new, something different - the real joy of live performance. And Maxwell proves he can do serious when it's needed, with a real sense of horror at times, despite the story being so well known.
In scenes showing how easily the public mob can be swayed by cheap rhetoric, and that political leaders and their promises have always been empty, there are clear parallels with the brexshit farago, and Maxwell winkingly makes the point clear for anyone in doubt. It might not meet with the approval of diehard traditionalists, but this is, perhaps, the perfect version of Shakespeare for our times. Accessible, relevant, compellingly entertaining whilst exposing human darkness. A tremendous achievement, and Andrew Maxwell is the perfect man to perform it.
This was the final Fringe performance of Julius 'Call Me Caesar' Caesar.
It's high energy stuff, Maxwell whipping up the audience into participating, creating an atmosphere that is involving, celebratory, hysterical. Owen McCafferty has written a sharp script, leaving plenty of room for Maxwell's comic talents to shine, and space for him to improvise. You could watch this show several times and constantly find something new, something different - the real joy of live performance. And Maxwell proves he can do serious when it's needed, with a real sense of horror at times, despite the story being so well known.
In scenes showing how easily the public mob can be swayed by cheap rhetoric, and that political leaders and their promises have always been empty, there are clear parallels with the brexshit farago, and Maxwell winkingly makes the point clear for anyone in doubt. It might not meet with the approval of diehard traditionalists, but this is, perhaps, the perfect version of Shakespeare for our times. Accessible, relevant, compellingly entertaining whilst exposing human darkness. A tremendous achievement, and Andrew Maxwell is the perfect man to perform it.
This was the final Fringe performance of Julius 'Call Me Caesar' Caesar.
Sunday, 25 August 2019
Stuart Mitchell : Is It Just Me? (Work in Progress), Beehive, Scottish Comedy Festival, Edinburgh Festival Fringe
Quite what this performance could have been is hard to say. Mitchell worked hard (and with considerable tolerance) in the face of constant disruption from 3 drunken wifies from Coatbridge and a couple from Falkirk asking random questions ("when did you have your first Tunnocks Teacake?"...). Standard fare for a club comedian, but unusual from Fringe audiences.
When he could get on with his routine it was clear there was some good material in there, with nicely crafted punchlines and some wonderfully bad puns. He's got some good ideas, his topics very much coming from everyday life, and there was a good show lurking in there. It didn't stand much chance on this particular night thought. Coatbridge has a lot to answer for...
Stuart Mitchell : Is It Just Me? (Work in Progress) had it's final performance in the Beehive on 25 August.
When he could get on with his routine it was clear there was some good material in there, with nicely crafted punchlines and some wonderfully bad puns. He's got some good ideas, his topics very much coming from everyday life, and there was a good show lurking in there. It didn't stand much chance on this particular night thought. Coatbridge has a lot to answer for...
Stuart Mitchell : Is It Just Me? (Work in Progress) had it's final performance in the Beehive on 25 August.
Ashley Storrie : Hysterical, Counting House, Free Fringe
Starting with a definition of hysteria, and particularly as how it was once applied to women, Storrie ventures into the territory of her own mental health problems and how performing comedy works as therapy for her. Whether it's chatting with the audience before the show, or exploring her own problems, she's assured, energetic and always very funny (albeit with a tendency to giggle at her own jokes which can verge on the annoying at times). Autism, gangsters, her own development (or not) as a person and the success of her mother's career (big eye roll...) come together with a hilarious sex scene enhanced with some great sound effects. At times brave in confronting her own issues, it's a well rounded set that produces the laughs while also leaving you something to think about.
No surprise that the queue to get in is so long.
Ashley Storrie : Hysterical had it's final performance at the Counting House on 25 August.
No surprise that the queue to get in is so long.
Ashley Storrie : Hysterical had it's final performance at the Counting House on 25 August.
Iain FM Smith Presents... My Finest Hour!, Riddles Court, Edinburgh Festival Fringe
Storytelling with laughs and some interesting, oft obscure, facts. Smith combines the story of his larger than life, war-hero grandfather with his unusual upbringing, and a childhood wish to live up to his ancestor's reputation. Espionage, torture and incredible survival stories mix with puppies, goats and massed nettles. Something for all tastes, especially hairdressers (you'll have to see the show to understand that one...). Iain's style is warm, friendly, inclusive, and the warm tones of his voice keep the interest levels high. There's even a decently groan-inducing pun in there.
One of the Fringe's quiet pleasures.
Iain FM Smith Presents ... My Finest Hour! had it's final performance at Riddles Court on 25 August.
One of the Fringe's quiet pleasures.
Iain FM Smith Presents ... My Finest Hour! had it's final performance at Riddles Court on 25 August.
Christine Bovill : Tonight You Belong To Me, New Town Theatre, Edinburgh Festival Fringe
An evocation of 1920's America through the songs of the Jazz Age. Bovill, suitably costumed, tells tales of the period, from post war euphoria to Wall Street Crash, interspersed with classic songs that have retained their power in the decades since. She's an accomplished storyteller with a knack for summarising and decent comic timing. She took us through the best of the age - Charlie Chaplin, Dorothy Parker and the dance crazes - and the worst - Al Capone, the Ku Klux Klan and mass poverty - partly through the eyes of the great observer of the time, F Scott Fitzgerald. Surprisingly informative given the limited time available.
She's a better singer, with a strong smoky alto voice that adapts well to different styles. There was a great rendition of Alcoholic Blues, and a surprising Ol' Man River, so often a preserve of the deepest bass voices. Her accompanists on piano and fiddle were competent, injected some occasional sparkle into the arrangements, but it's Covill's voice and phrasing that dominate, and rightly so.
The format works well, Covill has the stage presence to carry it off, and the result was very enjoyable in a low key kinda way. Worth a look.
Christine Bovill : Tonight You Belong to Me had it's final performance in the New Town Theatre on 25 August.
She's a better singer, with a strong smoky alto voice that adapts well to different styles. There was a great rendition of Alcoholic Blues, and a surprising Ol' Man River, so often a preserve of the deepest bass voices. Her accompanists on piano and fiddle were competent, injected some occasional sparkle into the arrangements, but it's Covill's voice and phrasing that dominate, and rightly so.
The format works well, Covill has the stage presence to carry it off, and the result was very enjoyable in a low key kinda way. Worth a look.
Christine Bovill : Tonight You Belong to Me had it's final performance in the New Town Theatre on 25 August.
And Before I Forget I Love You, I Love You, New Town Theatre, Edinburgh festival Fringe
A solo performance from Fringe old-hand Pip Utton. Michael is giving his funeral speech for wife Chrissie, and telling stories of her descent into dementia to become someone he no longer recognised, the devastation brought by the illness to those who have to watch the sufferer change. Forward a few months and we see Michael having to face travelling the same path, and the emotions that brings in the light of his previous experience. Anger, frustration, guilt, fear. And some humour too.
The title comes from a line in a letter Chrissie wrote in the earlier stages of her decline, and encapsulates the pain of this disease. Utton's performance is remarkable for its ordinariness, the lack of melodrama, the sense that this can happen to anyone, even whilst being emotionally draining. It's a hard watch at times, but a rewarding one, and not without a sense of hope.
Recommended.
Before I Forget I Love You, I Love You, had it's final performance in the New Town Theatre on 25 August.
The title comes from a line in a letter Chrissie wrote in the earlier stages of her decline, and encapsulates the pain of this disease. Utton's performance is remarkable for its ordinariness, the lack of melodrama, the sense that this can happen to anyone, even whilst being emotionally draining. It's a hard watch at times, but a rewarding one, and not without a sense of hope.
Recommended.
Before I Forget I Love You, I Love You, had it's final performance in the New Town Theatre on 25 August.
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