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Headlining – Comedy Pow Wow

Hitch — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 02:29:59 +0000

So it turns out I might be headlining the first Comedy Pow Wow! Very exciting.

The Illicit Still In Edinburgh

Ben Verth’s wonderful night at the Illicit Still reopens as the Comedy Bow Wow – from the man himself:

we’re throwing sketches and characters, songs and competitions into the mix and as a result the night itself is being renamed…’COMEDY POW WOW @ THE STILL’. Each show’ll feature regulars ADAM MITCHELL and PHIL O SHEA as the LOVE GROOVE EXPERIMENT (Think Vic Reeves Big Night Out meets Rik and Ade as the Dangerous Brothers). Sketches come courtesy of gig founder and Stand regular BEN VERTH and everything will be kept together by resident MC BOB GRAHAM.

The gig is entirely free and as usual will be good so come along…. might be trying out some more new stuff, but we shall have to see.

Comedy Pow Wow @ The Illicit Still

Three Weeks Review – Two

Hitch — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 17:50:06 +0000

Two – Free
Act One/Laughing Horse Free Festival

It was hard to know what I thought about this performance, a statement which may well be my worst criticism. Set in a Yorkshire Pub, Jim Cartwright’s light-hearted play links various characters within its setting – drunken boyfriends, nagging couples – all climaxing in dramatic confrontation. Though wrong to dismiss the production by virtue of the play – typical late 80s kitsch – it cannot be ignored. Similarly, the low budget and awkward space don’t help, but neither do they hinder anything specifically. Acting wasn’t much at fault, and the characters portrayed were funny in places. All of which adds up to a performance which was dry, non-offensive, and passionless; not bad, but hardly worth recommending. I want to be angered by a show’s stupidity, or enlightened by its ingenuity; here I was left without even a ‘bitter’ taste.

Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 18 – 25 Aug, , 12.40pm (1.25pm), free, fpp 239

tw rating: 2/5

published: Sep-2008

Review: Improvisation Workshop

Hitch — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 17:52:11 +0000

Comedy Improvisation Workshop (Adults)
Spontaneity Shop

Improvisation is an art, not just a bit of fun. This workshop explores the necessary skills for well crafted narrative in performance, and inevitably an event of this variety may not be for the experienced performer, but for someone with casual interest it offers excellent experience which would entirely alter their perceptions of professional productions. I enjoyed myself so much I forgot I was supposed to be reviewing, leaving more engrossed in improvisation techniques than in penning my opinions. I recommend this for anyone with even the slightest inclination towards performance, or for those too scared to try it out on stage for real. A structured art it may be, but fun it sure as hell is.

Sweet Teviot Place, dates vary, 11.15pm (12.45pm), £8.00 (£7.00), fpp 124

tw rating: 4/5

published: Sep-2008

Threeweeks Review – Ruskin (Live!)

Hitch — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 17:53:39 +0000

Ruskin Live!
Paul O’Keefe

You are invited to travel back in time to the 19th century to experience, in its original form, a public lecture from the great John Ruskin. As a lecture experience it is interesting, and informative, and cannot be faulted, and neither can the performance by Paul O’Keefe which is perfection. However, the fault is not in the piece, but the changes in our society. We aren’t used to sitting and watching an hour and a half of solid words without some film, images or theatre to break things up, and as a result the lecture feels too long, and struggles to keep the attention of many towards the end. Not for everyone, but an enjoyable learning experience.

Scottish National Portrait Gallery, 18 – 22 Aug (not 20), 2.30pm (4.00pm), £6.00, fpp 227

tw rating: 3/5

Threeweeks Review – Audition Workshop

Hitch — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 17:57:55 +0000

Sweet Film-making Workshops: Audition Technique

Stuffed Animals Media & Sweet Entertainments

This is a feet on the ground, no nonsense workshop designed to help give a step up for young or aspiring performers considering a career in ‘the business’. Run by professional casting director Adam Morley, the event is geared to preparing individuals for an audition, offering physical training exercises, insider knowledge and help towards mental preparation – in particular a ‘role horoscope’ that anticipates the parts for which you are best suited. The advice is no doubt invaluable for drama students and other interested parties, to which I highly recommend the intimate affair. For anyone interested, my versatility suited me to any number of roles from an alcoholic to a heroin addict, perfect for Holby City – my mother will be proud.

Sweet ECA, dates vary, 11.00pm (12.30pm), £7.50 (£6.50), fpp 130

tw rating: 3/5

Threeweeks Review – Barry Cryer

Hitch — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 17:59:25 +0000

Barry Cryer & Ronnie Golden

Gilded Balloon Productions

Chances are you already know who Barry Cryer is, and therefore probably know whether you want to go and see him or not, and this review should not change your opinion. The Radio 4 personality and his ‘carer’ Ronnie Golden, a fantastic guitarist, sing silly songs best described as ‘zimmerframe blues’. Very much focused on the perils of old age, puns are thrown around the room with expertise – the result of a half century of performing. Unlike other older comedians, they haven’t dated, and are in it to make people laugh. It’s just good old fashioned daft comedy and groaning gags. If you enjoy Cryer’s capers on the wireless, then you will enjoy this.

Gilded Balloon Teviot, 16 – 24 Aug, 6.45pm (7.45pm), £12.00 (£10.00), fpp 31

tw rating: 4/5

Threeweeks Review – Gavin & Gavin

Hitch — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 18:02:36 +0000

Gavin & Gavin – It’s A Long Road That Doesn’t Have A Bend

Gavin & Gavin

Sibling rivalry is the only redeeming feature of this lacklustre double act’s show. A pair of Irish sisters, as inseparable as ’shagging dogs’, recount their shared, and unfortunately bland, childhood. The mediocre biography aside, it is their lack of any comedy that lets them down, doing little to provoke laughter from the audience, but instead creating mirth from each other. Whilst telling anecdotes, the humour is insular, and when resorting to rudeness, items such as ‘air shagging’ do nothing but distance the audience. However much I want to, I just can’t seem to find them funny. As warming as the pair are, as comedians they are little more than giggling aunts who seem to enjoy themselves, perhaps a little too much.

Gilded Balloon Teviot, 30 Jul – 25 Aug, 6.45pm (7.40pm), , prices vary, fpp 53

tw rating: 2/5

Threeweeks Review – Old Rope

Hitch — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 18:03:58 +0000

Old Rope In The Courtyard
Tiffany Stevenson And Guest Hosts

Circuit comedians make their money from repeating old material night after night ad infinitum, a problem exacerbated by the format of the Edinburgh Festival. The excitable Phil Nichols offers the solution: a night where new or established acts try out untested material, or else hold onto ‘old rope’. Inevitably it will be hit and miss, but this is to its credit. Experimental it may be, but disappointing it is not, indeed, it makes comforting viewing to see big names not quite hit the mark. Everyone wins with this chance to catch the best comedians stringing together threads of wit, and an arena for jokes you won’t see at other variety nights, this is the only ropey gamble you’re guaranteed to win.

Pleasance Courtyard, 1 – 24 Aug (not 5, 12, 19), 10.45pm (11.45pm), prices vary, fpp 83

tw rating: 4/5

Threeweeks Review – Rape Of Lucrece

Hitch — Sat, 23 Aug 2008 18:05:34 +0000

The Rape Of Lucrece

Thievish Dog

Solo theatre is a commitment, but this was something else – stripped of any spectacle, this monologue is instead an irrelevant tale that is adequately explained by its title. A plethora of sentences is thrown and spat into a smattering of onlookers, the sheer quantity of words is admirable, and the acting itself wasn’t at fault – but I’m left wondering who this is for. Frankly it is unnecessary – it doesn’t test, update or critique. So distanced, that it fails to engage, an everest to climb that you expect so much more payoff for your concentration. Since there are far more surmountable mounds of theatre at the festival offering so much more insight and delight, this particular expedition is rendered unnecessary.

Underbelly’s Baby Belly, 31 Jul – 24 Aug (not 12), 3.45pm (4.55pm), prices vary, fpp 225

tw rating: 2/5

Threeweeks Review – Alexis Dubus

Hitch — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 18:07:33 +0000

Alexis Dubus – A R*ddy Brief History Of Swearing
Alexis Dubus/ PBH’s Free Fringe

Shit me – or should I say Zounds – what a show. Anticipating the worst, I was amazed to find this was as unexpectedly funny as the Queen breaking wind. Dedicated to that most splendid of words, ‘fuck’, Dubus dispels the myths and stigma attached to swearing, offering great insight into the science of swears, their derivations and universal appeal. Consider it the QI of expletives or XXX Radio 4 – stimulating, educational and informative for the immature, and a rude treat for anyone else. If you’re easily offended, I implore you – pop along and experience something brilliantly fascinating. Always fantastically light hearted, foul mouthed but never crude, I have to say this is possibly the best ruddy show at the Free Fringe.

Nicol Edwards, 2 – 23 Aug (not 13), 6.45pm (7.45pm), free, fpp 23

tw rating: 5/5