Reviews – Page 63 – Squirrel Comedy

Jollyboat – Pirates of the Karaoke

By Colin Flaherty

Jollyboat (brothers Ed and Tommy) have been kicking around the UK scene since 2010 with their musical comedy. Pirates of the Karaoke is a compilation show comprised of a set chosen by their fans (The Jollyboat Crew), making this the perfect introduction to the duo.

Starting out with a medley of popular songs rewritten with the pirate theme used in their advertising, you would probably expect similar songs for the rest of the hour. This was possibly the case in the early days, but they have clearly expanded their repertoire to include various nerdy pursuits (including Dungeons and Dragons, computers and Game Of Thrones) as well as more mainstream themes such as Jesus, love songs and X-Factor. They explain up top that if you’re not particularly geeky, you’ll probably enjoy half of the tunes at least.

With Ed handling guitar duties and Tommy providing running commentary about some of the lyrics, the boys play some funny toe tapping tunes. They may not have the angelic voices of other acts but they harmonise well enough to impress. Their bio has them employing the standard comedic duo traits to the act (the cute one vs the smart one) but when they’re just banging out the tunes for us, there is not really enough banter aside from a few cheeky remarks here and there.

The songs are often accompanied by PowerPoint slides with cute cartoons representing the songs. A couple of tunes use the screen to provide karaoke lyrics for the crowd to sing along and another uses clever keyboard symbols to point out the pun jokes. Unfortunately, due to the set up of the room, the screen isn’t clearly visible from behind the fourth row.

This afternoon Free Fringe show is the perfect aperitif for Jollyboat’s new show Why Do Nerds Suddenly Appear? later in the evening. Get out your hook and cutlass and have a hilarious rockin’ time.

Pirates of the Karaoke is on at Liquid Room Annexe until August 27

https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/jollyboat-pirates-of-the-karaoke

This show is free (donation)

Jayde Adams is Jayded

By Lisa Clark

Jayde Adams enters the space dressed like a vaudeville hobo with a battered old fashioned suitcase. Silently she produces a box of chocolates and has some fun eliciting laughs from the audience without speaking a word. Mime, one of the many unexpected talents that Jayde unveils throughout in her bid to win over the audience. She succeeds in spades.

If you don’t know Forrest Gump the opening might be a bit of a mystery, but she soon explains it and the other films she has memorised by heart, Edward Scissorhands and Phantom of the Opera, all with leading men who are shunned by society. All are about shunned outsiders who people run from but turn out to have unique talents that endear them to people and romance, eventually ensues. As we learn more about Jayde’s life, it’s not surprising to learn why she relates to these characters.

Its always surprising to discover that someone so bubbly and good with audience banter on stage can be so lacking in self-esteem off stage. Jayde brings an audience member on stage to live out one of the scenes from her favourite films and does a great job in making her feel comfortable and cared for. The joke is shared and never cruel. Like many of us Jayde has discovered that she spent too much time in her 20s trying to impress people who were not kind to her and were just not worth her time and love.

Jayde’s natural talents are many, some of them blow the audience’s minds, some of them are a little rough around the edges, but she’s only been performing in the comedy world for a very short while and has buckets of potential. She manages to tell some very sad stories in creative ways while keeping things fairly light and funny throughout. The audience is won over pretty early and stays with her for the whole ride.

The highlight for me was the song ‘No More Ms Nice Jayde’ which was a powerful original song that had me weeping. I think I related to this a little too much and this is the key really, if you can relate to where Jayde is coming from, if you’ve ever been made to feel like a freak or been betrayed by those you love, this show is for you.

Jayde Adams is Jayded is on at Pleasance Courtyard until August 28

https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/jayde-adams-is-jayded

Jenny Collier – Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Jen

By Colin Flaherty
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Despite the advertising DO NOT go into this show expecting material about JK Rowling’s universe. Definitely DO NOT bring along the kiddies as she had exactly one joke referencing Harry Potter and it is quite filthy. Instead what we got was self deprecating stand up from Jenny Collier that raised plenty of titters but not the guffaws she was expecting.

Covering topics such as growing up in small town Wales, bodily grooming and dating, Collier isn’t afraid to get graphic and is constantly apologetic for it. I’m sure hearing such confronting talk from such a sweet looking young woman has some humorous appeal and there are plenty of interesting ideas here, but a lot of it doesn’t have strong punchlines yet.

Collier has a pleasant stage presence and can certainly keep the audiences’ attention but there was something a little off with her delivery. On occasion she clearly expected to get bigger laughs with her jokes which threw her and resulted in lines trailing off with little impact. It was almost as if she was already defeated before the words left her mouth.

The material didn’t always land, particularly when her questions about whether the audience either participated in or even knew about what she is about to talk about were met with silence. She was forced to plow on with her prepared lines half heartedly rather than change tact. I’m not sure if it was due to a rather timid crowd or the early timeslot that created this strained dynamic on the evening I attended.

Still it’s extremely early in the Fringe so she’ll be fine tuning things as the season progresses. If you’re not overly sensitive and have a few drinks in you, this is an enjoyable an hour in Jenny’s company.

Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Jen is on at Laughing Horse @ Espionage until August 27
https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/jenny-collier-fantastic-beasts-and-where-to-find-jen

Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Jen is on at Laughing Horse @ Espionage until August 27

https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/jenny-collier-fantastic-beasts-and-where-to-find-jen

Tom Allen: Absolutely

By Lisa Clark

In the past I’ve enjoyed Tom Allen as part of a group show and as a guest on The Great British Bakeoff an Extra Slice, so I thought I must check out one of his full festival shows. It was very much as I’d expected; very slick, very mainstream and very funny.

It is truly lovely to be greeted by Tom at the door while Liza sings Cabaret over the speakers, in case you were in any doubt as to what you were in for. This helps set up a chummy atmosphere that is extended into the traditional ‘getting to know everyone in the front row with backhanded insults’ as originally perfected by Julian Clary. Tom’s style is very different however, this is pure standup and he talks so fast you can feel exhausted, especially if you are trying to laugh at the jokes as they wizz by.

Absolutely is made up of several slabs of storytelling, bookended by two types of party. He begins in his childhood with the children’s party and finally, always the outsider, as the token gay at a Hen’s party. Tom points out the exhausting hideousness for all involved. In between Tom shares his trauma and joy in recently finally getting his drivers licence including that first terrifying time he had to go on a freeway, apparently, you’re not allowed to get on one as a Learner here in the UK!

Tom dipped his toes into a bit of politics, but only in the shallows and not for too long. He ticked off the topics of Brexit, refugees, Trump and had a nice dig at the privileged Baby boomers along the way. It’s strange for me to see a Festival show by a gay comedian who doesn’t mention same-sex marriage… Oh. Yes. That’s right, they’ve won that battle in the UK.

Tom Allen has been performing standup for twelve years, so he knows how to entertain an audience with well honed and hilarious stories. A polished Festival show you could take your mum to.

Absolutely is on at Pleasance Courtyard until August 27

https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/tom-allen-absolutely

Sarah Bennetto – All My Life’s Mistakes, Catalogued (Volume One)

By Colin Flaherty

This show is exactly what it says on the tin – Sarah Bennetto presents us with a list of mistakes that she has made, telling the story behind each or making a short joke. While they seem to be ranked according to the importance she gives them, the order in which they are revealed works up to the core message of the show.

I could be pedantic and say that not all on the list are “mistakes” (we have regrets, circumstance and character traits in amongst them) but they do fit in perfectly with the overall story Bennetto is telling. We hear about embarrassing social faux pas, wacky hijinks (see Sarah’s social media for coverage of the Rainbow Unicorn Piñata Saga), cute familial rituals and many missed opportunities.

Things take a sharp turn into serious territory with a shocking revelation and the laughs come to a halt. It does seem that this issue is still a bit too raw for Sarah to scrutinise too closely as she hasn’t found a way to successfully find the humour in it. This tends to push this performance firmly into comedy as therapy territory but it’s an important issue that she needs to talk about. Thankfully some comedy relief is in sight with the cute but doomed colourful fella who has been sitting on her table throughout the show.

Bennetto is a charming and delightful performer. Her storytelling skills are top notch (unsurprising as she is creator of the regular Storyteller’s Club night and touring concern) but her observational stand up is just as strong. This is a immensely personal show and she steps up to the challenge of finding humour amongst the disappointments.

All My Life’s Mistakes, Catalogued (Volume One) is on at Laughing Horse @ Espionage until August 26

https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/sarah-bennetto-all-my-life-s-mistakes-catalogued-volume-one-1

This show is free (donation)

Big Howard Little Howard – Man and Boy

By Colin Flaherty

Big Howard and Little Howard have been performing primarily to children over the past decade and in this “adult” show they attempt to present a sophisticated piece about being a better person. Naturally Big Howard Read’s efforts are railroaded by Little Howard’s hilarious naivety and manager Roger T Pigeon’s vision of base humour.

In this multimedia spectacular, we get plenty of singing and dancing (you’ll be singing “Haberdashery” for days to come), clairvoyancy by unique means, attempts at political humour and heckling by angry cartoons. There is some nice comedic melancholy to contrast the pure silliness and a few hilarious digs at the comedy industry and Free Fringe.

Read plays the perfect straight man to all the other characters in this amusingly gentle power struggle. A perpetual six year old, Little Howard is the same adorable innocent he has always been and his hijinks and amusing quips are brilliant. A number of peripheral characters pop up as jokes that were rejected from other projects which are fun when used as a single joke but a bit laboured when repeated.

Compared to Read’s early work, the interactions with the animations are seamless – I guess the technology had to eventually catch up with Read’s immense vision of this cartoon / human hybrid. I doff my hat to him for this impressive feat.

Even though it stars beloved character Little Howard, DO NOT be tempted to bring the Rug Rats to this show. First, they won’t get into the 18+ Pub and secondly, there are frequent adult references, innuendo and occasional cursing. It’s about time we adults got to have some cheeky fun with this hilariously brilliant Human and Cartoon double act!

Man and Boy is on at Banshee Labyrinth until August 27 with extra shows at La Belle Angèle (August 17, 20, 24 and 25)

https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on#q=%22Big%20Howard%20Little%20Howard%3A%20Man%20and%20Boy%22

This show is free (donation)