Perrier Pick of the Fringe
1 October 2000
The end of another Fringe Festival brings about the
inevitable transfer to London. As always, the Perrier
Pick of the Fringe shows brings the cull of the best
shows from the previous month, presenting them outside
their natural habitat to the staring eyes of the
London folk.
This year's line up contains some surprise inclusions,
but are made all the more extraordinary by one obvious
exclusion. Autoboosh, the show that was most hotly
tipped for the Perrier 2000 was in the end not even
nominated. Adam Hills and Priorite A Guache were also
hotly tipped at the beginning of the festival, but
again were disappointed this year.
The first of the acts to perform tonight were Garth
Marenghi's Fright Knight, the out and out surprise
nomination, and one of the biggest success of the
festival. Some controversy still surrounds their
Perrier nomination, with some reasoning that they
would more justifiably have been nominated in the Best
Newcomer section, where they would undoubtedly have
beaten Noble and Silver. The sensation surrounding
this show grew from word of mouth rather than through
extensive advertising and hype, and even in the
altogether swamping surroundings of Her Majesty's, the
reason for their runaway success is obvious. [It is
interesting to note that their venue and time slot at
this year's festival - 11pm, The Pleasance Below - was
last year home to Perrier Best Newcomer winners, Ben N
Arn. A coincidence, or something more significant?]
The show focuses on Garth Marenghi, horror writer
extraordinaire and author of such classics as Slicer
and The Ooze. Assisted by two fantastically droll
theatrical assistants, Fright Knight witnesses
Marenghi's first steps into the theatre, bringing the
stage alive with horror and terror.
At least, that's the idea. What actually unfolds on
stage is a farcical re-enactment of third rate horror
trash, written by an egotistical talent-less writer,
who proudly claims to be one of the only authors who
has written more books than he has read. The entire
performance is carried off with admirable sincerity
and a degree of levity usually unseen outside of RADA.
Some of the best lines in the show are left to the
audience to discover, and moments of pure comic genius
shine out without being overly sign posted. With this
kind of subtlety, all three performers take it in turn
to shine, and the narrative is never swamped by
detail, or hidden by contrived gags or manufactured
set-ups.
Garth Marenghi's Fright Knight is a master class in
comic writing and performance. Perhaps losing
something through it's transfer from the intimate
setting of the Pleasance Below, it nevertheless stood
it's ground and the writers and performers proved
themselves worthy of a place among the big boys of the
Perrier.
Complimenting the unexpected nomination of the
Marenghi team is Lee Mack's New Bits, another rank
outsider, in a year of nominations that astounded all
comedy pundits.
Lee Mack's style of comedy - whether his solo stand up
or sketch group work - has always leaned more towards
the comedy of yesteryear than the trendy surreality of
today's comedians. Always a natural clown, and never
one to shy away from a pun, Lee's show is nevertheless
a revelation in fresh, inventive and always original
comedy.
Aided and abetted by Catherine Tate and Dan Antapolski
(himself a close runner up for Perrier Newcomer this
year), New Bits is a rapidly moving sketch show, with
live action on stage interspersed with video
interjections and supposed behind-the-scenes footage
of the bickering performers as they change between
sketches. Old ground is covered with a new twist -
the performance from Antapolski giving a less than
impressive version of The Blair Witch Project is
particularly delightful - and traditional scenes like
the doctor's office is given new life. Lee is
eternally the centre of all sketches, but both
Antapolski and Tate are essential to the success of
the show.
As a sketch group, the onstage relationship is always
essential to the success of the show, and the strained
relationship that the three performers obviously
endure off stage is used to great success on stage.
The behind-the-scenes shots bring a new twist to the
sketches that follow, as the audience is continually
made aware that they are watching a performance of
sketches. The mythical fourth wall of the sketch show
is therefore broken down to reveal the inner workings
of the comedy, and this only adds to the ingenious
writing and manic presentation.
Back to top
Moving Parts
6 October 2000
Fresh from their successful run at the Edinburgh
Festival this year, three out of the four Hollow Men
reappeared almost immediately in Islington's Hen and
Chickens theatre in this new comedy farce, from the
pen of Rupert Russell.
Tracking the events that unfold as seven passengers
travel in two carriages on the Trans-Siberian express
train, the play is a joy to watch from beginning to
gloriously ludicrous end. The play involves illegal
jewel smuggling, splendid identity mix-ups and some
wonderfully observed characters trying to get to grips
with the madness that is developing around them. Comic
vignettes pepper the script, and with the entire cast
on stage for most of the performance, it is often
rewarding to watch the reactions and interactions
between the characters who are not necessarily at the
forefront of the scene.
The play allows outstanding performances from the
entire cast. Notable performances include Sam
Spedding's superbly inept undercover police officer,
and David Armand's wonderfully eccentric psychiatrist.
A tremendously well-written and well-executed
performance.
Back to top
Graham Norton
Palace Theatre Manchester, 23 September 20000
Since the success of his TV show 'So Graham Norton'
the camp comedian has abandoned his roots in stand up
somewhat, so it was a welcome treat to see him in what
is evidently a very comfortable environment for him.
Larger than the normal comedy clubs he used to be
found in, the Palace Theatre is one of the largest
venues in Manchester, which usually hosts touring
companies of musicals, ballets and plays. Strangely,
due to seating problems at the theatre, the show
kicked off an hour late but Jo Caulfield, a writer on
Grahams TV show, warmed up the audience and no-one
seemed to mind the late running, even if some of the
crowd had to stand throughout the show.
Though the audience was not exactly rolling in the
aisles, Caulfield did her job and got the crowd in the
mood for a laugh. Most of her material is based on
being female, and as such some of the men in the
audience did appear to be a little alienated.
Graham Norton came on to huge applause and from then
on the time just flew by. The show was very much what
you would expect from Norton, making fun of both
himself and members of the audience. He included many
references to his TV show, with 'kitty phone' making a
guest appearance.
Norton is a warm and friendly comedian, who never
bores the audience. Even when he ventured into some
of his more crude material, he never really offended
the mixed crowd. Throughout the gig he looked as if
he was having a great time, entertaining himself as
much as he was the people who had paid to see him.
If you get the chance to see Graham Norton live, you
will not be sorry. He is in his element playing off
the audience and with strong audience interaction, you
will never see the same gig twice.
Back to top
French and Saunders
Apollo Theatre Manchester, 3 October 2000
Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders, two of Britains
favourite comediennes have been away from live comedy
for over eight years, and to be blunt, it shows.
The show was very funny and very, very slick, but it
did lack a certain edge, and the end result was that
the experience was an awful lot like watching a big TV
- an element they did tellingly include at various
points. Virtually all the sketches were excellent,
especially the QVC and GMTV ones, but the audiences
favourite without a doubt was Dawn French proving that
fat girls can dance.
Even on the one occasion that they ventured into the
audience, they had no rapport with the blatant plant
sat amongst the crowd. There was very little
interaction and the 'fourth wall' they presented made
sure that it stayed that way.
As only the second date in a nationwide tour, it is
reasonable to expect that it may take them a while to
find their legs again live. The Apollo was sold out,
and it's a shame that such a large crowd did not get
to see what could have been a great show with just a
bit more interaction with the audience. We're not
asking for Michael Barrymore territory here, but even
a simple 'hello' would have broken the ice somewhat.
French and Saunders are still funny and obviously do
enjoy working together, but television now seems to be
the medium far more suited to them. Buy the
inevitable live video - it'll be great.
Back to top
Chris Addison
Royal Exchange Theatre, 27 October 2000
In what must be one of the strangest gigs he has
played, Chris Addison made a welcome return to his
home town. For a late Friday night show in central
Machester, the crowd is boisterous and enthusiastic.
However, it is not filled with the Friday night
drunkards you would expect, but instead packed full of
middle class twenty and thirty somethings.
The venue is the recently rebuilt Royal Exchange and
over all feel is more akin Hamlet than stand up
comedy. Addison has never tried to hide his middle
class roots, using them to his advantage on stage, and
tonight it seems he has finally found an audience who
are not laughing at him, but entirely with him. He
used his local knowledge to get the crowd on his side
and then launched in to what he called 'complete
blethering'. The audience reacted well to his style
and responded with some of the most educated heckles
on record, including facts about Viking history and
the layout of the Yorvik Viking centre.
Through the night, Addison covered all manner of
topics, from guacamole to the delicate flowers of
Manchester grammar school. However, it was when he
went off on complete tangents that he was both
brilliant and bewildering. He used a mixture of social
commentary and surreal gibberish, leaving the audience
crying with laughter. The show went on for just under
two hours, and at just £8 a ticket great value. Forget
dot comedy, Chris is never better than when standing
on stage with nothing but a microphone and a captive
audience hanging on his every word.
Back to top
Simon Munnery
20 September 2000
"What have we got? Nothing! When do we want it? Now!"
Simon Munnery is on stage, and he is enjoying every
second of it. On a brief sojourn to Edinburgh, he
takes over The Stand, and delivers a night of pure
comic brilliance.
For the first half of the show, he is Alan Parker,
Urban Warrior. Tackling radical problems with his own
radical solutions, Alan Parker is a man on a mission.
With haphazard, rambling delivery, and a fine line in
conflict resolution, the Urban Warrior is a rare model
of character based comedy - truly believable and
absolutely hilarious. He is a man on a constant quest
for the truth, bringing the audience together to make
the world a better place. "It's not easy to get
everyone to unite," he admits. "Especially if they
don't like you." Tonight, Alan united the crowd in
hysterics, leaving many breathless and crying with
laughter.
The second half of the show saw Munnery in his other
alter ego, The League Against Tedium. The League is a
being firmly convinced of his own omniscience and
omnipotence. He is above us all, illustrated by the
fact that he does not even speak like anyone else -
"Eye Do Not Spik Lik Yow, Becoch I Um Not Lik Yow..."
The show incorporates a self-filming camera connected
to a computer which projects images behind the stage
on a giant screen. Throughout the show, The League
films himself, cutting between images of him and
computer-generated images and graphics. This provides
aural punctuation at all stages during the show (drum
rolls, cymbals, applause, even laughter). It is an
ambitious venture and one inevitably prone to
technical mishaps. Munnery, who declares that "shoddy
is the new good", deals with all problems with
suitable disdain.
Munnery is a comic at the height of his talents, and a
performer unequalled by any other.
Back to top
Mark Maier
29 September 2000
A double helping of comedy from South of the border brought a fantastic night to the Stand this weekend. First, Rory Motion from Yorkshire strides on to the stage, guitar strapped firmly to his chest and exuding confidence, despite the less than enthusiastic reception from the over heated Stand audience.
His stage performance is absolutely astounding - calm, collected, and always on the ball. With original material and an altogether unique perspective on the world, the audience was quickly won over with stories of his childhood. Moving on to his music, Motion wheeled out a marvellously Welsh Bob Dylan.
His poetry is reminiscent of John Hegley's work, if Hegley had had a more misspent youth. Motion's concise, yet deceptively meandering delivery and directly warm stage presence embraces the audience with insightful material carried off with a personal touch that is quite rare.
Mark Maier, in stark contrast to Motion, brings doom and gloom. The self-confessed pessimist, "miserable on the outside, happy on the inside", Maier's outlook on life is certainly more down beat, concentrating on the more irritating side of life. However, Maier has the gift of spinning a tale that successfully hooks you in to his mindset. From the Edinburgh Festival to Watercolour Challenge, nothing is safe from Maier's wrath.
Even certain members of the audience come in for attack. Cursed with a slight propensity for foot-in-mouth disease, Maier is also fortunate in having a good line in backtracking, and quickly wins back any parts of the crowd he may have alienated by heckling himself.
Maier is a steady performer, and although, as he admits himself, he goes down some well-trodden roads of comedy, he always manages to produce the goods for an entertaining performance.
Back to top
Parrot
9 September 2000
The audience on an average Saturday night at The
Stand
will be enthusiastic and boisterous at the best of
times. Tonight, with two stag parties and one hen
night out for a laugh, compere Jane Mackay had her
work cut out to keep the audience eager but under
control. Directing her attention immediately to the
hen night, Mackay works the crowd with efficiency
and
great expertise. Her up front interaction with the
audience, handing out advice with great
self-assurance
and wicked confidence, leaves the audience with no
doubt who is in control of the night.
First up are two of the newer acts of The Stand,
Miles
Jupp and Nick Findlay. Jupp is a self-confessed
"posh
git", and isn't afraid to show it. Using his accent
and upper class upbringing as an advantage, he turns
the target of his humour at himself, to great
effect.
Building on the persona he has created, Jupp is an
assured performer who carries the crowd along with
slow, relaxed delivery and immaculate timing.
Nick Findlay is another confident performer with a
wonderfully twisted outlook on life. His material
is
strong and well thought through, leaping from idea
to
idea. However, he doesn't quite connect with the
audience. With more demanding and therefore less
crowd-pleasing material, some of the more
off-the-wall
ideas seem to bypass the audience.
Next up, Mark Bratchpiece hurls out one-liners and
word play from the outset, without pausing to take
breath. With a style all of his own, you never know
where he is going to take you next. Keeping the
audience rolling on a constant stream of bizarre
observational comedy, Bratchpiece constantly
subverts
your expectations. Great stage presence, superb
delivery and twisted concepts, the high quality
never
drops.
Headline act is Parrot. Already well known for his
shock-a-minute knob gags and confrontational style,
Parrot does not disappoint. Warning the audience
not
to heckle during his performance - "Other comics put
you down. I follow you home" - he is a performer
who
is not afraid to turn the audience mood against him.
However, he comes truly into his forte when talking
about his personal life, rather than hiding behind
more detached material. Covering more personal
issues, such as his well-publicised nervous
breakdown
and his family life, Parrot is a revelation.
Certainly the material is darker and more
introspective; it is also hilarious and shows a
maturer performer unafraid to explore more diverse
avenues of humour. Delivering his well-deserved
encore, he closes with a knob gag. As he puts it,
"Well, I do have a reputation to maintain."
Back to top
