Archive for category Stand Comedy Club
Bridget Christie: Housewife Surrealist
Posted by Martin in Bridget Christie: Housewife, Martin Walker, Stand Comedy Club on August 24, 2011
COMEDY
*****
Bridget Christie: Housewife Surrealist
The Stand 2
Properly bonkers Bridget Christie takes to the stage in Catholic Priest garb and gorilla hands, dancing to a catchy version of the Dr Who theme tune. She goes on to throw biscuits (sorry – communal wafers) and spray (holy?) water over her capacity crowd. This is the first of many what the fuck? moments throughout this hour that make perfect sense once the punch line comes.
Christie describes herself as a Catholic, but she clearly has very little time for the pope, mocking his views on homosexuality especially. Nor does she approve of faith schools. She makes the point that “there is a lot of atheism about” amongst the large community of Stand Up comedians performing at the Fringe. Her husband is one of these atheist comics – portrayed here as a grumpy skeptic – and is the butt of many of her best jokes.
Ken Clarke’s idiotic comments about rape get another airing, but Christie’s take is fresh. She depicts the Catholic convert Tony Blair in confessional – and pokes fun at Larkin and Dawkins. She even squeezes in a skit on Martin Luther set in 1517.
I’ve been a fan of Bridget Christie since seeing her first Edinburgh Fringe show, Axis of Evil – which she performed with Andrew Doyle. This year she has surpassed herself, in a show that at its core, is intelligent satire masquerading as silliness. It features possibly the best Nick Clegg joke I have ever witnessed. The ending, featuring the Ascension of Jesus – is priceless.
Stewart Lee: Flickwerk 2011. Work In Progress
Posted by Martin in Martin Walker, Stand Comedy Club, Stewart Lee on August 23, 2011
COMEDY
*****
Stewart Lee: Flickwerk 2011. Work In Progress
The Stand 1
Stewart Lee professes to have no material for his show. Apparently routines are born in life experience and all Lee does these days is gig and watch Scooby Doo with his kids.
This conceit of course, is typical of Lee’s self deprecating style. And it’s how he gets away with being so damned clever. He knows. His audience knows he knows. Outsiders that call Lee arrogant have either a) never seen him perform or b) haven’t listened very well.
Fans will be familiar with his trademark audience partitioning. Arbitrarily splitting the room into those that get it – and those that don’t – encourages all to keep up. Part of the magic of stand up is the interaction between audience and comic. No one exemplifies this better than Lee – the audience is ready to laugh from the moment he walks on stage.
Jungle canyon rope bridges, Tory cuts, The News of the World paedophile panic, Radovan Karadžić, Scooby Doo, Atheism, whatever. No matter in what direction he goes, the audience is with him.
As a satire on ‘mainstream’ comedy, his act is best enjoyed if you are familiar, but not necessarily a fan of, ‘Mock the Week’, and other mainstream TV comedies. His view of such shows was recently illustrated in his own BBC2 series, Stewart Lee’s Comedy Vehicle, when he suggested a much better programme might be, ‘Mock the Strong’.
Towards the end of the show Lee reads out some (real?) comments made about him on the internet. Some of it was misinformed criticism; most of it was simple hatred. The fools. It’s not going too far to state that with his growing audience he is genuinely loved. And no wonder – Lee is the kind of comedian who rewards familiarity – the more you know him, the more you laugh.
His latest show is always his best. Without a doubt, Stewart Lee is the best comedian working today.
Paul Sinha: Looking at the Stars
Posted by Martin in Martin Walker, Paul Sinha: Looking at the Stars, Stand Comedy Club on August 11, 2011
COMEDY
*****
Paul Sinha: Looking at the Stars
The Stand 3
Last August, Paul Sinha’s show ‘Extreme White Vitriol’ discussed, amongst other things, the British National Party and argued for dialogue with the individuals who advocated racist or other objectionable views. Not a tactic shared by many on the left.
Later that year, Sinha had the opportunity to meet Jim Davidson, something that he was understandably reluctant to do. Since the death of Bernhard Manning, Davidson is the highest profile (allegedly) racist, (allegedly) homophobic and (truly) misogynistic comedian in Britain. Would Sinha be willing and able to follow the message of his last show – and meet him?
This is one of many, very loosely connected stories that Sinha tells with the confident touch of a real professional. Unlike too many stand up shows this Fringe, the show doesn’t appear over-written and so it feels like a genuine performance, unique from the gigs on other nights. His delivery is a little slower than before, which allows the audience to keep up with the jokes. Not a line is wasted.
To date this is the best stand-up I’ve seen this Fringe, from a comedian who should be on the television much more often. He says that he doesn’t have a face for TV, but he’s much better looking than Michael Hazen James McIntyre.
Mitch Benn
Posted by Martin in Martin Walker, Mitch Benn Solo, Stand Comedy Club on August 11, 2011
COMEDY
****
Mitch Benn
The Stand 3
Fresh from frequently being the funniest thing on BBC Radio 4’s The Now Show, the ‘country’s leading musical satirist’, Mitch Benn presents his first solo Fringe show in years. Benn has a rich Fringe history, originally appearing as one of the Improverts at Bedlam theatre, whilst at Edinburgh University. He’s lost a LOT of weight in the last year or so and he’s looks terrific. Those of you attending the show expecting the Bear of old will be disappointed.
Highlights? There are a-plenty. His tribute to the BBC, in the style of Bob Dylon, or if you prefer, Billy Joel, served to remind us what we’ll miss should the institution be diminished. You can buy the T-shirt here: www.mitchbenn.com/proudofthebbc
The satirical tribute to Eurovision, which imagined each European county shouting racist insults at each other rather than singing, during the unfeasibly popular contest, hit the nail of the head beautifully. And his routine asking why members of the British National Party were so fat was hilarious.
The very best bit for me was the brand new take on a number he has been performing with his band, ‘The Attractions’ for years. To rap the story to MacBeth to the tune of Eminem’s ‘My Name Is’ using only an iPhone app – which he programs as we watch – was genius.
Sadly, in this short hour there was no time for other favourites, ‘Happy Birthday War’, ‘Everything Sounds Like Coldplay now’ or his skit on James Blunt – but wanting a show to last a lot longer is hardly a criticism is it?
Ava Vidal: The Hardest Word
Posted by Martin in Ava Vidal: The Hardest Word, Martin Walker, Stand Comedy Club on August 11, 2011
COMEDY
***
Ava Vidal: The Hardest Word
The Stand 5
Is ‘sorry’ the hardest word? Ava Vidal clearly thinks so. In this cosy makeshift performance space above the GHQ gay club, she delivered a pretty run of the mill set, with only a couple of real stand out moments. This was competent stuff and the audience certainly laughed in all the right places, but it treaded very familiar ground. Nor did she delve too deeply into her chosen subjects – racism, Islamophobia, being a parent, celebrity and so on.
Her strongest section was during a discussion about racism in Australia – and the continued prejudice endured by the indigenous communities there – despite a very public apology by the Australian government. One got the feeling that this was the bit of the show she most cared about – and it showed. She also briefly talked about homophobia and the tensions between gays and Muslims. Sadly she resorted to making statements here – although she may well have been right – there was very little to back up her argument. Another section attacking Johann Hari – again making statements without any, well, facts, left me cold because I simply didn’t agree with her.
Ava Vidal is a very talented comic, who has a shot at making it really big. She could be selling out venues several times this size if – and I hate to sound patronizing – she tried just a little harder.
