Tag: Edinburgh Fringe Festival

Birthday Girls – Party Vibes

By Ron Bingham

The Birthday Girls started out in five-member sketch troupe Lady Garden a few years ago, but time has whittled them down to the last three degenerate comedians peddling their mad sketches on an unsuspecting public. I first have to confess that I love them, as their minds are warped on a wavelength similar to mine. This year they are performing as part of the Free Fringe, at a venue which is still under construction (no toilets, door handles, air conditioning scaffolding and workmen everywhere) in sight of The Castle at a time when the Tattoo ends (thus fireworks and cannons about half-way through the show).

Party Vibes is basically a series of unrelated sketches with a few running gags, some dance numbers, a little audience participation and a coffee break. The room was full, with a number of people standing, but there are two huge pillars in the middle of the room, so fight your way to the front of the crowd and choose your seating carefully. There is also a small bar just outside the door but, remember, no toilets.

I won’t say too much about the sketches (although the parody of the Great British Bake Off was so terrifically tasteless!) but most of them got good laughs from the audience and on top of that there is always the dance numbers and corpsing to keep punters entertained. The donation bucket at the end of the show was filling nicely, which is always a good indication of how the audience felt. It’s on at 10pm, but get there early as it fills up quickly. Lots of swearing and some “adult” concepts from three ladies who take nothing seriously but give their all to entertain the punters. No message in this show, apart from just have some fun at their playful party.

Birthday Girls are performing Party vibes at Cowgate  for Tickets and more information go to the Edinburgh Fringe Website:

https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/birthday-girls-party-vibes

Bec Hill in … Ellipsis

By Ron Bingham

Crazy Australians. Bec is a joyfully mad dancing, prop-obsessed, comic dynamo.

Ellipsis is based around a fight with her self-doubt (voiced throughout by noted comic Phil Nicol). There are a lot of props used to hilarious effect and, at one point, one of the props fought back! The middle section, with puns, was full of groaners. The Wheel of Annoyance (I’m sure you get the idea of how this works) had some very funny stories attached to each irritating annoyance and although her wordsmithery paints some great mental panoramas for the audience,  I really wanted to see a picture of her sitting in the Burger King chair.

Bright, vivacious, bubbly, animated and engaging are all words that could be used to describe Bec’s show, but I prefer the word hyperactive. I can’t go into too much detail about the show as it’s too fast and changeable for a close analysis, but if you love seeing someone giving their all to make you laugh then you have to get a ticket for this show.

The room was small and full, there is a fair amount of swearing (filthy audience!) so it’s perfect for teenagers, old people, young people, anyone who likes a laugh and anyone who thinks Aussies are funny. So anyone really.

Bec Hill is performing Ellipsis at The Gilded Balloon. for Tickets and more information go to the Edinburgh Fringe Website

https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/bec-hill-in-ellipsis

Minnie and Mona Play Dead

By Ron Bingham

While this West Australian play is described as being a black comedy about suicide, I found a lot of suicide but very little comedy. The few comic moments during the show were like tiny lights in a sea of darkness, doing little but giving the darkness more power, especially as the comic moments seemed more to do with the manic part of a manic depressive cycle.

Minnie (Gita Bezard) and Mona (Arielle Gray) are friends. They play imagination games. I couldn’t tell how old they were meant to be (most of the games were very childish, apart from the sex/dating ones) or why they were trapped together (perhaps two aspects of one personality inside a person’s head?). The play also has them breaking the fourth wall to talk to us as the writer (Jeff) and director (Katt) of the show, telling us their stories of how their friends killed themselves. The audience is invited to leave at any time if they feel uncomfortable (no-one did).

This is definitely not a show for people looking to have a laugh at the concept of death, or finding answers to how to cope with the loss of a loved one. I’m not really sure who the play is aimed at, unless there are people who enjoy watching other people breaking down? It was well written and acted but I was not the target audience in any way shape or form.

Minnie and Mona Play Dead is on at Underbelly, Bristo Square at 2.00pm

For Bookings https://www.edfringe.com/whats-on/theatre/minnie-and-mona-play-dead

Farce Noir presents …The Big Sheep

By Ron Bingham

Four actors, all trying to outplay each other on stage, to impress a big agent who is in the audience tonight. The lead actor fancies his love interest, who has just spurned him and the other two are just trying to showcase their many skills.

Meanwhile, the cast are performing an energetic screwball parody of the film noir genre involving the case of a hardbitten detective (Foot of ‘Lost Property’), his business partner, identical twin ladies, a megalomaniac baron and an evil murderess, not to mention the a killer beast, which is hinted at in the title of the show.

The play has a number of simple but effective props, a well written couple of story lines (both inside the play and in the actor’s outside lives – it’s all very meta) and some very funny and clever dialogue. The only worrying thing for me was that the audience is just inches away from the performers and I feared for my life during the sword fight!

If you love old detective films or you are just looking for an hour of wild yet structured comedy play-acting, you should add this to your list. The players all looked and acted their parts well and the almost full house were laughing heartily throughout the show.

The Big Sheep is on at Underbelly, Bristo Square ​ at 4.05pm

For Bookings https://www.edfringe.com/whats-on/comedy/farce-noir-presents-the-big-sheep

Vikki Stone – Definitely

By Ron Bingham

Another new performer for me, Vikki Stone is a comedian who plays the piano and sings songs but she does so much more than that. The show starts with the greatest ever motherf*cker opening song, with smoke machines, dance routines, costume changes and impressive stage props. Never have camel toes looked so elegant (on the camel, I mean).

The rest of the evenings entertainment consists of Vikki travelling on a Simon Cowell inspired journey towards fame, via the medium of songs about sexy scientist Brian Cox, iconic sports presenter Clare Balding, the trials and eating habits of her dog Bert and the messy subject of dog poo in plastic bags. The finale was a finely piece of cinema, with dancing dogs (which is the point where Vikki almost lost it, due to the unexpected dancing skills of the dog for the evening), choirs, fireworks, projected schmaltz and so much more.

This is an excellent and finely honed hour of entertainment that had the (almost) full house in stitches for the whole show. The props are suitably over the top and the songs are well written and quite rude in places (I wonder how Brian and Clare would feel if they happened to show up one night? That would be worth seeing). If you love risque entertainment from a lady who isn’t afraid to go just that little bit too far in search of a laugh, or dogs, or ridiculously overproduced showtunes (a la Simon Cowell’s entire ouvre), then see this show, but get your tickets now.

Vikki Stone performs Definitely at Underbelly Bristow Square at 7.20pm

For bookings and info: https://www.edfringe.com/whats-on/comedy/vikki-stone-definitely

Hunt & Darton – Cafe

By Ron Bingham

This is both a performance art space and a real cafe, with proper cooked food and drinks available. I was first drawn in when I happened to walk past the cafe and noticed the hosts wearing flowers of broccoli on their heads. Even in Edinburgh, that’s a hard sight not to want to comment upon. After a chat with one of the ladies, I promised to return the next day (when I had some free time), and…

Saturday afternoon, after a brisk trip up Arthur’s Seat, I entered into the cafe at about 1.30pm. I was immediately greeted by hosts Jenny & Holly, given a name tag and pointed to a table, where I was introduced to the other patrons. Just after I arrived a raffle was held, where the free tickets could win someone the pick of a table of tinned food and other delicacies. There were games, records being played as the background music, toys, jigsaws, daily themes, bingo, fascinating things to see on the walls and around the room, celebrity waiting staff (from other shows, some of which return in the evening to play in the room) and the highlight of our day, a sugar sandwich making competition, where the best sandwich concept wins a prize. My table came second, with our gingivitis ruined tooth, which sadly collapsed during the movement test. The fifteen or so different judging categories allowed time for some of the tables to become very competitive and critical of any negative scores.

All up, I spent well over two hours here just joining in the fun and meeting lovely people. Some people are in love with the cafe so much that they end up spending their whole day there (it runs from 10am to 5pm every day of the fest, except Monday) and it’s free to visit. If you’re looking for a stress free time in the company of delightful people (all ages, from little kids to big ones), then this is the perfect place to just come and hang out for a rest. You never know, if you’re lucky someone might just buy a trifle for the whole cafe (£10 – I went halves with someone). This cafe was running during last year’s festival as well, but I missed it. Holly and Jenny also have their (not free) show in the evenings in the same venue, but I was sadly unable to make that. Still, that’s top of my list for next year.

The Hunt and Dart Cafe is open for all from 10am – 5pm at 17-21 St Mary’s St near The Pleasance

It’s free to enter and you don’t have to book.

For more info: https://www.edfringe.com/whats-on/theatre/hunt-darton-cafe