The Big Bite-Size Breakfast Show

By Ron Bingham

What a lovely start to the day. On the way in (and be warned that the audience is let in early), you are given tea/coffee, a croissant and fresh strawberries. The Big Bite-Size Breakfast Show is referring to bite-sized comedic plays of around ten minutes each. The audience has the choice of three different “menu’s”  of six plays performed each day, although the day I went they had swapped one play due to time constraints. The flyer has the dates for each menu in case you wish to attend all three versions and, judging on the plays I witnessed, this is probably an excellent idea.

The following is a snapshot of some of the plays on offer. The day I attended was Menu One, with Mothra VS The Casting Director swapped for Intertwining Monologue.

Mothra VS The Casting Director is a very funny look at the problems faced when you have been typecast as a ravening giant moth whose only real hit was beating Godzilla.

I Thought I Liked Girls by Nicole Pandolfo, is a hilarious ‘coming out’ situation which has been twisted and bent until you’re not sure who fancies what anymore.

Violin by Jonathan Kravetz, is a solo piece which started with a startling premise and was performed well but seemed to peter out towards the end, leaving us with a bit of an anti-climax.

Bursting by Lisa Holdsworth, has a woman trapped in a locked department store with a strange man, it’s amazing what some people are prepared to confess. Some excellent writing and acting in this and I did sympathise with the fantasies they confessed to liking…..

Candy Likes Your Status by Matt Henderson, is a friendship dissected via Facebook, text and Twitter. One for the young people who understand all this new fangled so-called communication of the 21st century. It was very good but I spent much of the sketch trying to translate their LOLs and other acronyms into old person speak.

A Great War, a WWI sketch set in what would have been the Fox Newsroom if Rupert Murdoch had a time machine. Some brilliant jokes about the war, the battles, the military leaders and the attitudes of the time. You will probably miss a few of the jokes (unless you’ve been watching the History Channel) but the sketch as a whole was hilarious and heartbreakingly accurate.

One of the best ways to start a day at the Festival. And the strawberries were scrumptious.

The Big Bite-Size Breakfast Show is on at Pleasance Dome.
For Tickets and more information go to the Edinburgh Fringe Website:

https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/big-bite-size-breakfast-show

Miss Glory Pearl: The Naked Stand-Up

By Ron Bingham

OK, your host will be standing on stage naked from the start to the finish, but you will not be required to remove any clothing (although if it as hot as it was the night I was there, that could be a disappointment).

Miss Glory starts with a bit of her employment history (school teacher, burlesque dancer, stripper, advertising executive, but NOT a nudist) and, like all good ex-teachers, gives the audience a lovely, relaxed but well structured lecture about why she decided to perform her first Edinburgh show in this fashion, what the potential legal perils and penalties of not wearing clothes are (can anyone explain “decent exposure”?), and why her body is not as those depicted in magazines and advertisements are.

During the show, the audience is asked to participate in a discussion about their best and worst ‘bits’ and whether this defines what they are. The atmosphere is very relaxed and pleasant throughout the show and you will soon forget the lady talking to you is not wearing any clothes. This show is highly recommended if you are embarrassed by any of your “bits” or are curious as to whether it is possible to see a naked lady without ‘exploding in a ball of lustful desire’ (thanks, religion). It is also very funny in a laid back way (blimey, it’s hard to review a show about a naked lady without accidently slipping in a double entendre or two, isn’t it?).

Miss Glory Pearl is performing The Naked Stand-Up at Just the Tonic at The Caves.
For Tickets and more information go to the Edinburgh Fringe Website:

https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/miss-glory-pearl-the-naked-stand-up

Saucy Jack and the Space Vixens

By Ron Bingham

This is a tale of black murder, love, lust, revenge and justice told in song and dance, with loud rock music, flashing lights, smoke machines and sparkly costumes with a sexy cast.

The story concerns Saucy Jack, who has a tavern on another planet. His cabaret singers keep turning up dead just after they tell Jack they are leaving for better jobs (not much of a spoiler, as early on we see the blood on Jack’s hands at the same time we learn of the Slingback Killer). His employees all dream of a better life, away from Saucy Jack’s, but until the Space Vixens (the galaxy’s enforcers of justice) turn up, it seem they are trapped under Jack’s spell. The problem is that one of the Vixens may have a bit of a past with Jack, which means she will have to choose between love and justice.

This high energy show is performed cabaret style, with the stage at one end and the bar at the other, and the characters moving from one to the other throughout the show. The audience sits at tables along the sides, with extra chairs behind. The show starts at 11pm, has an interval halfway and finishes just after 1am (I snuck out at 1:15, while the cast and my fellow audience members were distracted jiving away to Dancing Queen – it could still be going). I had trouble hearing some of the words in the songs due to the loudness of the music and it was a little disconcerting having all the speakers at the stage end, when the action was taking place at the bar end but, apart from that, this was a fast, funny, sexy and toe tapping show that is well worth seeing. I did notice a couple of people down the front were returnee’s, they were dancing and singing along with the cast throughout. So it definitely has the repeat factor.

The cast all sang, danced and acted equally well, and I was amazed at how well they could move in those platform boots, wearing tight skimpy costumes with tall elaborate headpieces. Of course, as this is the far future, gender is unimportant and love is a flexible concept (it’s very LGTB friendly), so if you’re easily offended by adult themes, loud rock and disco music, smoke machines or sexy talk, maybe you should have an early night instead. Everyone else should be here, with a little sparkle in their costumes and their dancing shoes on ready to boogie the night away, at Saucy Jack’s.

Saucy Jack and the Space Vixens is on at Just the Tonic at The Caves.
For Tickets and more information go to the Edinburgh Fringe Website:

https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/saucy-jack-and-the-space-vixens

I Need A Doctor: The Whosical

By Ron Bingham

Ahhh, Doctor Who, the musical, what could go wrong? Well, the BBC could send a cease and desist notice to the performers an hour before the show starts, causing a mad re-write to ensure copyright is not infringed. The sets could be as shoddy and wobbly as the 70s TV show and none of the special guests could turn up.

So it’s a complete joyful relief that this is such a fun experience. If you are a fan of the Doctor and you do not see this tribute to all things Who at the festival, then you are letting yourself down very badly. The entire cast consists of Jamie Wilson and Jess Spray, (plus an excellent keyboard player), and they are brilliant. Jess plays The Assistant (good scream and excellent depiction of a girly sci-fi nerd), while Jamie plays everyone else.

The songs woven throughout the performance are perfect for all you Whovians out there (and there is a CD available for just ÂŁ3 after the show). Both have very good singing voices, and there is a constant stream of references for the fans from the first 1963 episode on, as well as a couple of really cool props.

I Need A Doctor: The Whosical is a re-working of the show they took to the Fringe last year (which I somehow missed). The show is choc-full of music and jokes and action and laughs and will delight any fan of any incarnation of Dr Who.

I Need A Doctor: The Whosical is on at Pleasance Courtyard.
For Tickets and more information go to the Edinburgh Fringe Website:

https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/i-need-a-doctor-the-whosical

Comedy in the Dark

By Ron Bingham

A very interesting concept, which can be brilliant or not, depending on how much the comedian relies on props, facial expressions, gestures or costume. The host of Comedy in the Dark is Mark Olver and it starts with the lights on (as are the transitions as it wouldn’t do to have the comedian fall off stage or get lost on the way from backstage). The guests today were Rob Rouse, Margaret Thatcher (and a picture of Winston Churchill) and John Kearns.

Mark did an excellent job as host, with some audience interaction, most notably with the lady who had 200 small (foot tall toy) cows and the Brooklyn couple who had to describe their wedding buffet for Mark to judge.

Rob Rouse had obviously done Comedy in the Dark before, as he came prepared with a chair and a backpack with a couple of surprise props. He started by removing his trousers (in the dark of course) and talking about chickens, children and marriage. I’d talk about the props he used (and the ones he pretended he might also have in his bag), but I think he could be a regular to this gig and it’s better to keep the surprise factor there.

Following Rob was Maggie (in full costume) and Winnie, which needed half of the invisible prop work described before the dialogue, which sort of spoiled it a bit. The last spot, John Kearns, played a character which seemed to rely on seeing him in his hillbilly costume to complete most of the jokes.

So, it’s a fascinating concept, but not one that will work for every comedian. It is very dark in there, but be warned the lights can come up unexpectedly. It’s also warm and comfortable, so sit down the back if you come in a bit tired. Well recommended to “see” at least once, and the guests change daily (on a board out the front of the venue).

Comedy in the Dark is on at Just the Tonic at The Community Project.
For Tickets and more information go to the Edinburgh Fringe Website:

https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/comedy-in-the-dark

Café Ruse

By Ron Bingham

Four actors playing: a cafe owner, a sick child, a precious artwork, a couple of Nazi handlers of stolen goods, a sexy lady, an ingenue who is a crack codebreaker, a pair of builders who may be more than they appear, an unemployed loser, an incompetent baker, a couple of the verge of a breakdown, a couple of sweatly naked male torso’s and one or two more I may have missed.

The plot of this play is (approximately) a cafe is being forced to close because the parents of a sick child who ate a loaf of bread from there are suing the cafe. The owners need to come up with some cash quick to pay the bills but that’s not important. This show is really giving the audience a chance to see four very talented actors going crazy trying to play all the listed parts, in order to keep the story going, while wrestling with a lot of props and costumes. Sometimes they fail, but they always managed to incorporate the accidents into the show, never stopping for a second, until the inevitable satisfying ending (for those that survive).

If you are after an hour of frenetic and well acted action/drama/heist/murder/mystery/noir theatre, which will leave you breathless with laughter, then you must book a ticket for CafĂ© Ruse. Once the word gets out on the street, there won’t be any chance of picking up tickets, so take my advice and book now. It’s on at 2pm, making it the perfect way to start an afternoon of Festival fun.

Café Ruse is on at Zoo Southside.
For Tickets and more information go to the Edinburgh Fringe Website:

https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/cafe-ruse