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.
Scotland’s capital city is bursting at the seams with talented artists as the Edinburgh Festival Fringe begins this week. As is usual many Australian acts are heading up to “sunny” Edinburgh to show the world what they’ve got. If you’re in town, be sure to check out some of these fabulous funny folk listed below.
We’ve compiled a list of all the acts we could find, along with links to the reviews of those shows that our Squirrel writers have seen at previous festivals. As usual we give the disclaimer that Festival shows are ever evolving beasts so the show that we saw could be rather different to current iteration.
If we’ve missed anyone, feel free to drop us a line (or contact us on social media)…
It’s not long now until the world’s largest fringe arts festival begins in warmer climes and again a massive contingent of Australians and expats are headed to The Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Many have traveled the Australian festival circuit and have been whipped into shape for international audiences. Some have been previously reviewed by Squirrel but remember they will have been further polished and may have been revised and reworked.
Hannah Gadsby
Last year Australian, Hannah Gadsby won Best Comedy at the Fringe, she’s had to cancel her Edinburgh Fringe run this year but there’s a lot more amazing comedy talent coming up from down under. If you are travelling anywhere near Edinburgh this August, have a look at the following list of shows and consider going to see an Australian act.
The Bear Pack are Sydney comedians Carlo Ritchie and Steen Raskopoulos, plus Ange Lavoipierre on the cello. Lavoipierre’s soundtrack becomes the backdrop to the improvised tale spun by improv masterminds Ritchie and Raskopoulos.
The Bear Pack create brilliant sketch performances, that captivate, while remaining completely improvised every night throughout their unique hour long ‘yarn’ style.
They only ask for a location and a word from the audience at the beginning of the show and then the riffing can begin.
Although, Ritchie and Raskopoulos are both strong solo performers in their own right, with Raskopoulos also performing his solo sketch show The Coolest Kid in Competitive Chess during the Fringe and Ritchie making his solo debut at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival with his show Cooking For No One earlier this year. The pair have undeniable chemistry while performing together. They almost appear to have a superpower that gets them into each other’s minds to know where their next move is, to help them stay on a similar wavelength and keep the show on track. However, it is the looser moments where they try to stitch each other up with an impromptu song or an accent belonging to any of the diverse sea of characters within any particular yarn, where you’re reminded that this is actually all off-the-cuff, which you can quickly forget while watching such an otherwise seamless performance.
Ritchie and Raskopoulos always seem to manage to tie the yarn neatly together by the end, showcasing their own natural talent and from years of working together since forming as the duo in 2012. However, if you’re still feeling unsettled, don’t stress. They’ve got you covered with a question and answer at the end to sort out any niggling queries you may have about any part of the epic storyline. So, what have you got to lose?
My tip to you is grab a ticket to The Bear Pack when they turn up again. You never know where it will lead you…well apart from improvised bliss.
