Wednesday 12 August 2015

Return of the Danish Bagpipe Comedian, Espionage, Edinburgh Fringe



Laughs, bagpipe music and a cute Danish accent.  What's not to like?

We first saw Claus Reiss on his Fringe debut in 2013 and loved the show, so it was good to get the chance to go back and see if he was as funny as we remembered.  Good news, he was, is, and will continue to be for the rest of August.

The act mixes jokes with audience interaction with bursts from the pipes.  The latter being a bit more than traditional pipe tunes.  Pop songs, recreations of street sounds and even a film star impersonation all pour from the Reiss chanter.  His charm makes him excel at crowd involvement, bringing out some surprising reactions at times, and drawing everyone into the laughter.  (More impressive still when you remember this is being done in a second language.)  And there are a few bursts of playing which serve to remind why he's won awards at major piping competitions - behind the comic persona there's a very talented musician.

Very enjoyable lunchtime entertainment and definitely worth a look.  He's a lovely guy too.

The Return of the Danish Bagpipe Comedian is on at Espionage at 12.15 until the 30th.

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