Axis of Awesome

5 Stars *****

For the last four Edinburgh Fringes this Australian comedy rock band have been building their reputation and fan base, so much so that they are now a fixture on most people’s must see list, that is if they can get a ticket.

The boys are Lee on guitar and vocals,Jordanon vocals and little Benny, keyboards and vocals and boy do these guys know how to entertain everyone.

Their comedy songs and interspersed with comedy routines, mostly slagging off the rather diminutive Benny. Comedy they may produce but boy can they play their instruments too.

They have the crowd in the palm of their hands from the off, regular attendees far outnumber us first timers such is the appeal of these Antipodean entertainers.

They are not only entertaining, they have some interesting props as well and a very bright light show.

With the Fringe beginning it’s final week tickets will be even harder to get than normal, so do not delay if you want a ticket

Reviewed by Geoff

Gilded Balloon Debating Hall V 14

3 to 29 August

21:30 to 22:30

Fringe Brochure P 42

Des Clarke: Comedy Jam

4 Stars ****

Glaswegian Des Clarke is a Scottish stand-up playing a big room at a major venue at a peak time. And he is selling it out!!

But then Clarke is a high profile guy, TV appearances and the regular Breakfast show deejay on a Scottish radio station help to keep him in the public eye and his fellow Scots flock to see him return to his roots.

It’s a good job a high proportion are Scottish as by God does he talk at a rate. Motor mouth doesn’t cover it, but his material is consistently good albeit somewhat strongly Scottish flavoured.

Clarke packs in so much material, some topical, some less so but all well observed and delivered by this personable performer.

He is never still, always pacing around his venue space, but is non-threatening too, he seldom goes to the audience, so even an English man on the front row is completely ‘safe’ … from Clarke anyway!!

He is definitely a comic well worth checking out, so why not find out for yourselves.

Reviewed by Geoff

Gilded Balloon Dining Room V 14

3 to 29 August

20:15 to 21:15

Fringe Brochure P 66

Jessica Fostekew : Luxury Tramp

4 Star ****

Jessica Fostekew is not someone I had come across before seeing her this year. The sauna that is her space in Gilded Balloon’s Wee Room is generally full to capacity so that is telling you she is beginning to make an impact on the world of comedy.

Jessica is an oxymoron lover, two words that seem to oppose each other in the same sentence; hence the show title is thus explained.

She is straight into her set, the mike dispensed with as she goes unplugged through a hour full of material and her powerful semi-posh voice, her words, carries easily throughout the room.

The subject matter is mostly autobiographical, a fair amount draws on references to her somewhat extended family, occasionally self-deprecating, yet always funny and draws laughter from everyone throughout her entertaining set. I suspect she is an actor as well as a really good comic, as the voices she can conjurer up are so good, and don’t get me started on the sexy travel girl voice she produces!!!

All in all Jess is a comedian I will look forward to seeing again hopefully in the near future.

Reviewed by Geoff

Gilded Balloon Wee Room V 14

3 to 28 August

19:00 to 20:00

Fringe Brochure P 97

Constance & Sinestra

5 stars

*****

To paraphrase Little Shop – what a strange and interesting show!

This is absolutely lovely – quirky, interesting, intruiging characters and a delightfully different story.

Musically there are backing tracks and live music and a mix of the two – it all works, it is all really nice and very well sung. The acting is superb and the characters excellent.

Ignore the description of the show as it’s so hard to put into words, just go see it – this is one of the best potential pieces of new musical theatre I have ever seen in 15 years of going to the Fringe – I hope they can bring the full version next year.

Caution – and it is by no means the producers’ fault but the venue’s – sit in the front row or on the floor or you will miss half the show. I was near the back and still loved it but if you can, get down the front…

Review by Alan.

C Soco, 15:35-16:35

Until 29th August.

The Hot Mikado

3 stars

***

Oh dear… The Hot Mikado is usually a great show, full of tongue-in-cheek humour and hot, jazzy music. However this version has been bastardised and chopped more than a pound of mince, squeezing essentially a ‘greatest hits’ version of the show into an hour.

The cast are hard working and energetic, which is good. However even in the fourth row you can’t hear them as the band is far too loud, and for no good reason. Don’t get me wrong, the band are good – just too loud as the cast are unmiced. And the songs are too fast – they’re supposed to be “hot”, not so fast that they lose all musicality.

Such a shame, as there has obviously been a lot of work put into this.

Review by Alan.

C eca, 18:50-19:50.

Until 29th August.

Fresher the Musical

3 stars

***

This is getting rave reviews and won the best new musical award last year… but I was just bored. The characters are typical stereotypes, the plot predictable and the music bland.

However the actors are all excellent and Dan Buckley in particular has excellent comic timing. Unfortunately they’re let down with one of the worst sound designs I’ve heard in the Fringe. The mix is so wet/bright that the ensemble numbers just come across as a huge wash of twang, rendering most lyrics irrelevant. And if you’re sitting stage left you can’t hear them anyway as the drums are so damn loud that is all you can hear…

Another problem is that most of the action is directed out front yet the majority of the audience is at the sides.

The dialogue is fine though.

Review by Alan.

Pleasance Dome, 15:50-17:00.

Until 29th August.

Apply Within

3 stars

***

A musical about job interviews and CVs doesn’t sound too inspiring however the show does have a few laugh-out-loud moments. Many of the songs are forgettable and formulaic however a couple stand out – the nervous tick one and the big solo one for Ian Lily who is very good overall.

There were a few points where the singing was flat (in pitch) and the choreography seems a bit, well, embarrassing and not suited to the confined space but overall a show which could be developed into something with more meat and character development.

Review by Alan.

Pleasance Courtyard, 13:30-14:30.

Until 29th August.

The Last 5 Years

2 stars

**

The Last 5 Years is such a hard show to do – essentially a series of solos it can so easily become boring and also potentially confusing if you don’t realise that Cathy’s story goes backwards. I saw an early show in the run which unfortunately wasn’t great in either respect.

Having two clocks, one going backwards, is fair enough if you realise why they’re there, but the director put in several of Jamie’s scenes a ‘Cathy of the time’ which complicates things if you don’t know this.

The acting too needs a lot of work, Cathy over-acted a lot with ‘musical theatre arms’ and didn’t start singing the work ‘properly’ until I Can do Better That That which is right at the end. Jamie on the other hand really needed to act a lot more and his voice simply doesn’t suit the part. I’m not trying to be personal but JRB’s work needs trained voices to do it justice.

Musically it was fine, the orchestra was a bit loud at times for the voices and the pianist missed out a lot of the frills and riffs which makes JRB’s music so good.

On a plus point it’s not the worst production of L5Y I’ve seen, not by a long way…

Review by Alan.

Paradise in Augustine’s

Performances left on 24/26/28th August.

Meryl O’Rourke : Bad Mother

3 Stars ***

I must confess to being unaware of Meryl O’Rourke prior to seeing her show so obviously went in with no preconceptions.

Starting brightly in the early for comedy slot of 14:45, and playing to a packed crowd to boot after the opening banter with the crowd Ms O’Rourke is off into her set, which is another ‘the story of my life so far’ show.

Of Irish and Jewish stock the versatile comic has a different method of displaying her photos, clothes pegs on a cloths horse no less, no doubt in recognition of her show title.

The self deprecating references to her life during her twenties leading to marriage and a family in her thirties were funny but not ground breaking and for most of the hour she managed to illicit laughter from all corners, yet seldom drew the belly laugh.

She is a bubbly personality, has great stage presence and certainly is a performer I’d like to see again.

However for a nice way to ease yourself into the Fringe day then this could be a good place to start.

Reviewed by Geoff

Underbelly Belly Dancer V 61

4 to 28 August

14:45 to 15:45

I, the Dictator

3 Stars

***

Set in 1939, two men with similar facial appearances are at the height of their powers. In Europe, Hitler’s armed forces are extinguishing democracy in the countries around Germany. In America, Charlie Chaplin is one of the most popular stars of the silent film era. He wants to make films with sound but he has difficulty financing such projects.

Teatr Wiczy from Poland depicts an unexpected dilemma that Chaplin faced. He receives an offer from Hitler through his representative Paul Mueller of finances to complete the film ‘The Great Dictator’. However he has to change how the film ends, obviously for propaganda reasons.

As the solo performer, Krystian Wieczynski, in a finely honed performance, uses a blend of styles including words, expressive action, tap dance and song to reveal Chaplin’s dilemma. Should he throw away his artistic integrity for profit? Thankfully, Chaplin chose to complete his masterpiece in his way. Of course Chaplin had a choice but in totalitarian regimes artists of stature face loss of freedom or worse if they displease their masters.

Reviewed by Ben

New Town Theatre: 7

4 to 28 August 2011 (not 15)

14.00 – 15.00

Fringe Programme Page Number: 272