Edinburgh Fringe 2019 – Page 5

Adele Cliff : Undershare

By Ron Bingham

Undershare is definitely a show for lovers of puns, especially those interwoven artfully into a story about love and sharing. Adele Cliff Loves a pun and she puns about love.

Adele is great at the one-liner, but is also a brilliant and hilarious storyteller and shares with us tales of her past relationships, her parents and her little sister. She weaves the threads of her friends and family into a fascinating story with a surprising conclusion. There is also her boyfriend and his accusation that she does not share.

The problem with being a punmeister is that the jokes almost never result in consistent, huge laughs throughout. It can be difficult to gauge the audience’s feelings until the sustained applause at the end of the show. Using this metric I gauged that this almost full house on day two of Fringe really enjoyed the show as much as I did.

This is a very entertaining and fun hour of anecdotes and jokes by a witty performer. Book a ticket now if you’re a lover of wordplay.

Undershare is on at Just the Tonic at The Tron until August 25
https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/adele-cliff-undershare

Stand-Up Philosophy

By Ron Bingham

I hadn’t planned to see this show, but they were still queueing as I was walking into the building and I took a chance. Very interesting concept for a festival show. Our host, Charlie Duncan Saffrey, introduces two guests to give a 20 minute talk (hopefully funny) on the theme of the day and the audience are welcome to debate with the guests after they have finished. Today’s theme was “belief” and our two guests, Alex Farrow and Alex Mason, gave interesting talks which we then argued about.

All quite fun and very interesting. I was amused that both guests had decided to wear all black clothing (apart from one pair of red socks) and had their sleeves rolled up to the elbows. They stood in front of a black background with no spotlight so most of the talk was of a disembodied head and two waving forearms. I’m not sure they had even realised this fascinating visual was going on until I pointed it out to them at the end.

There is a list of each day’s theme outside the venue, so you can come prepared to debate on a particular subject. Apparently the Head of the Philosophy Department of the London School of Economics and Political Science is coming up to give one lecture. Given all the turmoil in British politics in recent times this show should provide some, ahem, lively discussion. 😈

There are some laughs to be had, but mostly, Stand-Up Philosophy is recommended for those wishing to stimulate their intellect in the afternoon or looking for a good argument.

Stand-Up Philosophy is on at Laughing Horse @ The Counting House until August 25
https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/stand-up-philosophy-free

Mary Flanigan : Everyone Dropped Out of my Sketch Troupe

By Ron Bingham

Ah, the danger of having to think up your show title in January. We may not get a sketch show from Mary Flanigan but we do see some solid and hilarious stand up. Mary is a Catholic from Belfast, who now resides in Birmingham.

She is playing in a karaoke bar in a basement. The room has a padded bench seat running round three of the walls and very uncomfortable little benches in the centre so I recommend getting there very early as the benches on the walls are prime real estate. The room is not much larger than a king sized bed, yet we managed to fit nearly 30 audience members and one comedian in. This is quite an intimate experience.

Mary gives us just under 45 minutes of stand-up comedy gold. She talks about the joys of online dating, being Irish, being a Catholic (and all that lovely guilt), being single, her exciting job and much more. There is some swearing (of course), but this shouldn’t offend anyone and you’d be a fool to miss this show. In fact, the show was so popular that people were being turned away on day two. If she doesn’t have a bigger room by next week, there is something wrong.

Everyone Dropped Out of my Sketch Troupe is on at Laughing Horse @ City Cafe until August 13
https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/everyone-dropped-out-of-my-sketch-troupe

Róisín and Chiara : Get Nupty

By Ron Bingham

Standing in the queue outside this show I was chatting to a couple who were going to see Phil Ellis in the next room. When Phil suddenly was cancelled due to technical problems, I recommended Róisín and Chiara (Róisín O’Mahony and Chiara Goldsmith) explaining to them that it was surreal and hilarious (going on the show I saw last year). They gave it a try and thanked me afterwards.

This anarchic and crazy duo gave us an hour of props, costumes, songs, dances, characters, passion, hilarity and joy. It is difficult to explain what exactly happened during the show, but I did get a kiss (for removing lipstick) although I failed to perform my knightly task of beheading the horse. This meant I didn’t get to have that romantic sit-down Italian dinner with Róisín.🙁

If you want to laugh until your sides are splitting, I can only suggest you get along to see this show before the word gets out. It’s part of the Free Fringe, but it is recommended to book tickets to avoid missing out on a seat. After these joyous and madcap hijinks I still don’t know what nupty means. Ah well!

Get Nupty is on at Heroes @ The Hive until August 25
https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/roisin-and-chiara-get-nupty

Ange Lavoipierre: Final Form

By Ron Bingham

Despite the dark edge to this show, Ange is a bright and perky performer who reflects upon her youth in Bathurst (sort of near Sydney), while trying to work out which aspects of her complex personality will be remembered by others at her passing.

Final Form contains stories of youthful enterprise (where she was engaged in mass slaughter – of snails), her relationships with her family, friends and loved ones, being single, living life to the full, her passions and fears. We get the full gamut of emotion in an hour. Phew. There is also a bit of classical cello playing and some video screen action. I especially loved the seahorse.

This was Ange’s first show in Edinburgh, the day before the Fringe officially begins, so it was still a little rough round the edges as she got used to her performance space and the tone of the audience, as well as fighting a little jet lag. The room, The Wee Coo, is small and intimate so expect to be very close to the stage. There is a little audience participation, but the responses are scripted so it’s actually a lot of fun and the embarrassment factor is low. Once Ange has the room and audience sussed out (say, by the time this review is published),she will get into her groove and have an absolute hoot.

As well as the comedic stories, there are a few scary scenes, a possible haunting and some slightly freaky songs to round out the hour. Well worth the money and an excellent way to end the night.

Final Form is on at Underbelly, George Square until August 26
https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/ange-lavoipierre-final-form

Polenta and Sage Take To The Stage

By Ron Bingham

This show is only on for five nights, and it’s away from the main venues (take the 23 or 27 bus to Tollcross), but it is well worth making the trip to see this perky pair telling us all about their lives, bedtime routines and dreams. Polenta and Sage wear brightly patterned pyjamas and nightgowns and have some entertaining props (including a very special robot). There are some very creepy yet upbeat songs and being very much on brand, we all get to have some yoghurt (Yum!).

This is a venue with wooden bench seats (no backs) and it sounded like there was a fight happening in the next room (we were in the basement of a Scottish pub after all). Despite these less than perfect surrounds, Polenta & Sage were confident throughout the show in both their wonderful scripted material and clever ad libs using some audience suggestions. They had a number of well placed props which worked well until they found that one of their bags had a hole in it and was empty (or was that part of the show?). I had a ball and felt this sterling surrealism deserves a longer run near the centre of the Fringe action.

The audience were very vocal in their appreciation and I can only forsee big things in the future of these two young ladies. Part of the Free Fringe, so remember to bring a fiver to support this talented duo.

Polenta and Sage Take To The Stage is on at Laughing Horse @ The Cuckoo’s Nest until August 6
https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/polenta-and-sage-take-to-the-stage