Edinburgh 2016 – Page 3 – Squirrel Comedy

Torum Heng – Keep Out of My Box (and Other Useful Advice)

By Ron Bingham

This one-woman play is set in the box office of a theatre and stars Torum Heng as Naomi, a young lady who has called a meeting to try to give advice to the even younger ladies who are heading down the wrong (sexually hazardous) path in their relationships. She starts the meeting with vegemite sandwiches and introduces us to each of the women who are prepared to give us their own experiences of love gone wrong, as examples not to follow.

Each character tells their story and sings a song (all original, very tunefully sung a capella) about their situation. One girl had a heartbreak she cannot get over, another has a reputation she is unable to get rid of, a third has an obsession with a certain hair colour (anyone with red hair should see this show just to glory in the song Torum sings at this point), while the last girl is unashamed and unabashed about everything. There is a wonderful climax to the show, plus a little post-climax entertainment.

Well written, acted and sung stories of the problems girls face growing up in a small town, performed by a vibrant and confident young lady. The vegemite sandwiches were also yummy.

– P.S. I would recommend grabbing a seat in the centre section of the audience, as the set (a wooden theatre box) restricts the view on the sides.

Keep Out of My Box (and Other Useful Advice) is on at Gilded Balloon Teviot until August 29
https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on#q=Torum%20Heng%20

Andrew Ryan – Ruined

By Ron Bingham

Andrew is from Cork. He suffers from gluten intolerance. He isn’t happy about it. This is his tale.

For the last 18 months or so Andrew has been suffering from a number of annoying debilities, which he lovingly describes to the audience in detail. Eventually he goes to his doctor who suggests that he may be gluten intolerant but, as the tests will take a while to confirm this, maybe he should stop eating certain foods and see whether this clears up his symptoms. He is fine with the list until the doctor mentions Guinness. Cue Irish patriotic horror. We’re then treated to a description of the taste and texture of the food available in the gluten-free aisle of supermarkets.

Andrew then takes us back in time to question whether his troublemaking at school may have been due to food allergies or just boyish high spirits. He has many tales of high school highjinx, his record includes being caught on the roof during class and a failed attempt to organise a little party for his fellow classmates during a trip to France. Before Andrew’s diagnosis he also tried self-help books, and he gives an excellent summation of the dubious qualities of this literary genre. Finally, there is a touching tale about helping to find a missing child in Edinburgh, which warmly wraps up the show.

A beautifully told and well-structured hour of engaging stories. Andrew is a very fast talker and has a very confident manner. The audience laughed heartily and were very appreciative at the end. Highly recommended.

Ruined is on at Assembly George Square Studios until August 28
https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on#q=Andrew%20Ryan%20-%20Ruined

Randy Writes A Novel

By Ron Bingham

Our favourite foul mouthed purple puppet is back. He’s dumped his partner Sammy J and is at the festival with a late night show, reading us excerpts from his new novel, ‘Walking to Skye’.

Well, that was the plan. Randy is a bit nervous about exposing his work to the unflinching gaze of a hostile audience, so we instead get an hour of distractions, musings, stories and philosophy from Randy. There are tales of alcohol and the police, a story about the people you meet when trying to buy a bookcase on Gumtree, unusual deaths, the lives and literary work of Ernest Hemingway and Harper Lee, a little Buddhism and the path to enlightenment and meat versus vegan.

Randy is an excellent visual performer despite his limitations (being anchored to a box doesn’t make use of the entire stage and it’s hard to make eye contact with punters when your eyes aren’t real!). His storytelling skills and joke craft are excellent, but I could feel the audience were a little confused by some of the more philosophical sections of the show (especially the meat industry facts/figures). I do feel that Randy is being a bit sneaky here, as these thoughtful sections of the show will probably have more long term resonance in the minds of the audience than the hilarious comedy routines. At the end, the laughter and rapturous applause showed how much they enjoyed the show.

So if you’re up to a late night hour of stand-up philosophy with filthy jokes or you just want to see a very funny show about books and writing, I can definitely recommend Randy.

Randy Writes A Novel is on at Underbelly Potterrow until August 29
https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on#q=%22Randy%20Writes%20a%20Novel%22

Birthday Girls: Sh!t Hot Party Legends

By Ron Bingham

Once again the Birthday Girls (Beattie Edmondson, Rose Johnson and Camille Ucan) deliver an hour of low-brow, tacky, tasteless, loud comedy…and the audience loved it. The show started with the BGs on the dance floor, sorry ‘stage’, greeting the audience as we arrived, handing out shots and grooving to the extremely loud dance music playing through the speakers.

The sketches consisted of a variety of vignettes on the theme of partying, interspersed with dance numbers, involving a lot of very amusing props and costumes. There were tales of love and romance and betrayal, personal hygiene tips and warnings of the dangers of using newfangled online sharing sites such as AirBNB and Uber. There was also a (very tiny) bit of audience interaction. The music was apparently some of the most modern of dance tunes (I’ve never felt so old!), as well as ‘classics’ like, umm….I recognised something from the Spice Girls and….someone told me they finished with a Take That song and….who did that Milkshake song again? Anyway, most people will know and enjoy the music I’m sure.

As it was an opening show, there were a few minor technical hitches with props and positioning but, as always, the audience were having a great time. If you want to see an hour of hilarity, very rude costumes, lots of props (and weasels), surprise running gags, deliberately laboured punchlines, possibly libellous routines about beloved Scottish crime writers, excellent tips for getting around in nightclubs and some big dance routines in a small space, this should definitely be on the list. They may not be suave and sophisticated, but they are very funny.

Sh!t Hot Party Legends is on at the Pleasance Courtyard until August 28

https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on#q=%22Birthday%20Girls%3A%20Sh!t%20Hot%20Party%20Legends%22

Aussie Comedians at the Edinburgh Fringe

It’s August and Edinburgh is chockers with talented people from all over the world. Like a less dangerous Olympics, everyone is at the top of their game, competing to stand out and come back a winner. As always the Australian comedy team is strong and here is your list of Aussies at this year’s Edinburgh Fringe. It includes the venue and a link to our own Squirrel review for the show if there is one.

Those seeking Aussie comedy gold can’t go wrong with these Squirrel recommended performers:

Alice Fraser – for intellectual storytelling comedy with heart and a banjo. Aunty Donna – dancing comedy sketch trio and internet stars. Axis of Awesome – one of the best musical comedy acts working today. David Quirk – dark, brutally funny. Gillian Cosgriff – Cabaret comedy at its best. Nath Valvo – up and coming gay comedian just hitting his stride. Nazeem Hussain – searing, sharp, political comedy. Nick Cody – relaxed, friendly, larrikin. Randy – dark, philisophical comedy from a filthy mouthed purple puppet. Rhys Nicholson – a blistering gay comedian at the top of his game, this show, Bona Fide was nominated for The Barry Award at MICF. Rowena Hutson a brave, powerful, feminist storyteller. Sam Campbell star of this year’s most talked about sketch talk show at MICF (& winner of the prestigious 2016 Directors Award) Zanzoop, see him before he’s a household name. Steen Raskopoulos solo sketch comedy at it’s tightest. Tessa Waters queen of physical comedy, dance and mime for a night out with the girls. Tom Ballard’s political show was not only nominated for The Barry Award but won the inaugaral Pinder Award for The World Keeps Happening at this year’s MICF. Tom Walker, recipient of 2 MICF Awards this year, not only as part of the sketch show Zanzoop but also as Best Newcomer for his delightful, delicate mime in Beep Boop. If you love the Simpson’s check out Yianni’s The Simpson’s taught me everything I know. Which leaves winner of the 2016 Barry Award Zoe Coombes Marr in Trigger Warning that is astonishingly hilarious and a vicous send up of mime and masculinity.

Plenty of good reasons to add some Aussie comedians to your must-see list at The Edinburgh Fringe.

Don’t forget to keep an eye on Squirrel Comedy for reviews from our UK Correspondent Ron coming up over the next couple of weeks, here’s the full list: