Edinburgh Fringe Festival – Page 30

Sara Pascoe vs History

By Ron Bingham

Standup Sara Pascoe is playing in a lovely big room, which I am assuming is normally a lecture theatre. In front of the seats is a bench for resting your drinks on (that’s how students get through lectures these days, isn’t it?) and the seats are very comfortable. It also sets the scene for an extraordinary history lesson.

The history that Sara is fighting against is her own personal history, as we hear about her family, a few youthful crushes (I now have too much information in my brain about boy band Take That), her relationships and her biological clock. This is interspersed with a number of facts about biology and mating as well as opinions on relationships, sexism and the media. It doesn’t get heavy or preachy, and Sara is an engaging host through the intricacies of mating rituals (and sperm selection and drawing genitalia). Sara is like one of the best teachers you remember getting laughs from intelligent insights but also occasionally quite silly. I can attest that she is correct about how the rest of the world sees the local tabloid newspaper’s Page 3. Sometimes Britain can seem a little weird.

This follow up to Sara Pascoe Vs The Truth is for people who aren’t afraid to hear a little bit about the human body, well, quite a lot about the human body, and the latest anthropological theories about female sexuality and gene selection. I did get the impression that the show could more correctly be titled “vs sexual history”, but maybe that would have scared some people away. Sara isn’t scary at all, though there may have been some rude words used during the show. If you want a show which is very funny as well as educational for grown ups, with the added bonus of somewhere to rest your beer, get to this show. Sara is gaining quite a following, the room was close to full on the night I was there so I’d recommended getting tickets early.

Sara Pascoe is performing Sara Pascoe vs History at Assembly George Square Studios.
For Tickets and more information go to the Edinburgh Fringe Website:

https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/sara-pascoe-vs-history

Lizzy Mace : Overlooked

By Ron Bingham

Lizzy, sometime comedy partner of Juliette Burton (as in Mace & Burton), is performing her first solo show this year. She plays a variety of characters who are the un-noticed or overlooked or ignored in life, starting with her own stage manager and moving through the girl who always looks after the coats at a party, a very shy dating video, the “other” baby bear from Goldilocks, a wallflower, fruit, the fourth pig in The Three Little Pigs and, what I am guessing is Lizzy’s favourite character, a psychotic sock puppeteer.

Lizzy plays the characters with just the use of some headgear, lashings of charm and a lot of energy and the audience is given an insight into the lives of those they don’t tend to see. There is some melancholy amongst the laughs and though all of the characters are quite different, showing Lizzy’s great performance skills, they are a fairly flawed or delusional bunch. There is a small section where there may be some terrible puns, but I don’t recall any swearing or anything that could offend sensitive punters.

The only problem is that this is in the still-under-construction Cowgatehead, so there is carpentry all around, no loo’s, little signage (look for the numbers taped to the doors, which are all covered with posters, so good luck trying to see the doors themselves), and a lot of noise filtering through from the shows all around. This is a great shame for punters and performers alike but shouldn’t put you off this very fringey creative, comedy experience.

This is a very good first solo effort from a very talented and intelligent performer, so try not to overlook this show in the programme. Do feel free to overlook the impertinent flyer-ers out the front of the venue, who will try to entice you to change to rival performances.

Lizzy Mace is performing Overlooked at Cowgatehead. For Tickets and more information go to the Edinburgh Fringe Website:

https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/overlooked

Midsummer Night’s Dream: The Rock Musical

By Ron Bingham

There was no warning (apart from the 13:05 start time) that this was a show performed by young teens (I’m guessing the average age was fifteen, but then, I’m old and everyone these days looks fifteen). Although American, this show is not part of the American High School Theatre Festival, the performance group is called Infinity Repertory Theatre (New York) and their performance is a retelling of the classic Shakespeare play A Midsummer Night’s Dream (which I always thought of as a Christmas play, due to the amount of times I saw it played in the Botanic Gardens during Australian summer evenings). It has been updated and abridged, but the extraneous material they’ve added (references to cars, mayors and guitars) can be disregarded and the play just enjoyed for the romantic farce that it is.

It starts with lovers Hermione and Lysander singing as they run away into the woods because Hermione’s father is against their love. Demetrius also fancies Hermione, but he has just dumped Helena, who still loves him. They sing some more and follow them into the woods, where Oberon, the fairy king, dispatches his naughty sprite Puck for a little merry-making, which goes wrong when the wrong man is given the love potion, Meanwhile Fairy Queen Titania falls in lust with Bottom, a yokel who’s head has been turned into that of an ass. After some rather acrimonious scenes (and songs), Puck & his King put all aright and love is restored . Cue finale song and dance.

The music could be trimmed a little, as I thought the choruses went on for a bit too long without advancing the plot of the show. The music and dancing was entertaining though, and I could detect a few Springsteen influences in some of the songs. The large (about 200 seater) room was 3/4 full and the audience were enjoying the show. My favourite was, of course, Puck, who gets all the best lines and makes merry with the cast and audience for her own designs. Demetrius was also played by a lady (is New York running out of teenage boys looking for an acting career?).

If you are after a lunchtime show full of boisterous young singers and dancers retelling a classic Shakespeare comedy of errors (wait a minute that’s a different Shakespeare play but you know…) with a rock and roll beat, then you could do worse than picking up a ticket for this show.

https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/midsummer-night-s-dream-the-rock-musical

Juliette Burton; Look At Me

By Ron Bingham

This is Juliette’s second solo show at the Fringe, and follows on from last year’s excellent When I Grow Up, in which she recounted some of her life story and body image and associated mental health issues. This year, Look At Me asks what does beauty mean, and how influenced are people by what they, and the people around them, wear? Juliette dons a variety of costumes and is filmed wearing them in public spaces (Covent Garden and King’s Cross in London) to gauge people’s reactions. The first costume may have looked wildly out of place when Juliette was wearing it but, having worked nightshift, I can assure her that if she was been out in those clothes at midnight, no-one would have noticed her. Each costume (sexy, covered, old, male, alternative) has a story which relates to Juliette’s life.

The show, using the video pieces and a number of engaging on-screen interviews and pictures plus some audio, covers Juliette’s teenage years, when she went from a 4 stone anorexic to a 21 stone bulimic to being sectioned for mental health issues and, while being a harrowing journey, is made uplifting by the performers eloquent delivery and the fact that Juliette is standing there being able to talk about her life and still surviving, which is the main point of the show.

This is one of the difficult shows to review, as though it does have a lot of jokes and it does give the audience something to think about after they leave, it might not be for everyone, (like those looking for a frothy party type Festival show). It should be for everyone though and the packed crowd’s reaction suggests it is a crowd pleaser in its own way. Certainly if you’re into thought-provoking, confessional and, at times, painfully honest comedy, then you must see this show. The room is small, hot, sweaty and was sold out. Juliette may have to move to a larger room at some point to accommodate the demand, I predict.

PS Beauty is a state of mind.

Juliette Burton is performing Look At Me at The Gilded Balloon for tickets and more information check the Edinburgh Fringe website:

https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/juliette-burton-look-at-me

Ernest; or Much Ado About Muffins

By Ron Bingham

A musical retake on the classic comedic farce The Importance of Being Ernest by Oscar Wilde, where young Jack and his friend Algy find love and learn that a name can be very important in the art of love. The play is in two halves, with the city set finding Jack proposing to the elegant Gwendolen, who believes his name is Ernest, as he uses this name when gadding about in town to stop any rumours of impropriety reaching his quaint country house.

The second half, set in Jack/Ernest’s country house, sees Jack’s friend Algy pretending to be this exciting rake Ernest to seduce Jack’s cousin Cecily, who clearly likes a bad boy. Literature’s most famous dowager Lady Bracknell, Gwendolen’s guardian unravels the romantic tangle that ensues and, just like in a Gilbert & Sullivan operetta, all is resolved amicably for a rousing chorus at the finale.

The room for the show was a 60 seater and, on 2 for 1 Tuesday, was sold out. The music was supplied by a keyboard player at stage right (or left?), but unfortunatelyI found that the music was often louder than the singers. The acting was all professional and the comedy well timed, with good costume and prop work, although I did think the shoehorning of the muffins was a little desperate (and only there to justify the show’s title).

If you are after a show for just before lunchtime (11.45-12.45), this is one for the whole family. No swearing or anything else likely to offend, but lots of laughs, songs and (small) dance pieces on the tiny stage.

Ernest; or Much Ado About Muffins is on at C Cubed for tickets and info check out the Edinburgh Fringe website:

https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/ernest-or-much-ado-about-muffins

Cal Wilson – It Could Have Been Me

By Ron Bingham

Cal is originally from New Zealand and I first saw her perform live at her 2001 Melbourne Comedy Festival debut show for which she won the Best Newcomer Award. She impressed me then with her comic timing and well written material and she has improved every time I have seen her. Cal has one of the fastest comic brains I have seen and she’s created a smart and wildly creative crowdpleaser.

It Could Have Been Me is based around a series of characters that Cal thinks she may have become if she had made different choices in life. Using minimum costume enhancements Cal presents us with a collection of colourful characters including a bitter children’s entertainer (it’s amazing how hypnotic those little balls on springs that people put on their heads can be), a widow who married a famous womaniser, a feminist spinster poet and a male sex-pulp-shlock science fiction writer.

Cal is a warm and friendly comedian and proves herself to be a suprisingly fantastic actress. Not only in the simple way she transforms into engaging characters but in giving the allusion that the show is getting out of hand when she clearly has everything under control, the sort of thing that Lano & Woodly performed to perfection. The show especially appears to veer out of control when the characters turn on their creator, to dispute what Cal does with their lives, placing the audience on the edge of their seats wondering where things are going to lead. There are also some impressive props used in the show which also start to get out of hand in a very funny way. The couple of songs used were integral to the show, but I could have been the only one to recognise the Australian one hit wonder What About Me by Moving Pictures.

The room was large (around 200 seats) and was full. The laughter was constant and loud, but the two ladies behind me were well over the top as they were close to wetting themselves at some points in the show. Phil Jupitus was also in the audience and he was clearly enjoying it too. It has been a while since I have heard so much loud spontaneous laughter for a fairly unknown (in the UK, at least) comedian and it made me feel a twinge of pride. If you’re thinking of coming to see this show, BOOK NOW, and consider wearing (Tena) protective undergarments just in case your laughter gets out of hand.

Cal Wilson performs It Could Have Been Me at the Gilded Balloon for more info and tickets see the Edinburgh Fringe Website

https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/cal-wilson-it-could-have-been-me