You can’t just do a sketch show with just sketches these days. You have to do it backwards. Or each member has to do their own separate show at the same time. Or the audience has to do the sketches for you. It feels as if the familiar format has to be subverted in some way to keep it fresh. The Pin – witty wise guys Ben Ashenden and Alex Owen – have been making a splash by getting jiggy with the genre for the last few years and are now back with a new show, Ten Seconds With The Pin.
Last year Australian comic Bec Hill set out to perform an award-winning show at the Edinburgh Festival. She felt she had to pick up a prize as she had drunkenly told former Superman Dean Cain that she was an award-winning comic. This alcohol-fuelled way of motivating herself seemed to work. Hill picked up the inaugural Barry Award for Best Show, voted for by other comedians at the Edinburgh Fringe. She also won a Three Weeks Editor's Award for her children's show with Tom Goodliffe. Bec And Tom's Awesome Laundry.
There’s an old showbiz anecdote about the trajectory of stardom that goes something like this: “Who is X? Get me X. Get me a cheaper X. Get me a younger X. Who is X?” In this case X is probably Tim Vine and the younger version is Darren Walsh. Not that Vine is likely to get to the final forgotten stage for a long time yet if ever, but Walsh is definitely cut from the same punmeistery cloth. His style is witty, silly, playful wordplay broken up by silly, witty, playful illustrations.
As chairman Clive Anderson quipped in his introduction, not much has changed since the 1990s. Chris Evans is everywhere and there are people having a pop at the Government. He could add that his Channel 4 improvisation warhorse, making its very belated live debut, is as unpredictably hilarious as ever.
Why do buses turn up in threes? Why does your phone signal always cut out just as a conversation gets interesting? Why isn’t John Robins a big star yet? These are the kind of mysteries that keep me up at night. I’ve seen the smart Bristolian’s last two Edinburgh shows and they have both been excellent examples of the stand-up craft. Robins does not bother with fripperies and folderol, he just gets onstage and talks about himself. His ailing body, his knackered libido, his embarrassing teen years.
Entries are now open for The Amused Moose Comedy Award 2015, which searches for the best comedy shows at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe from undiscovered talent.
This is an interesting programme with a lot of potential. I’m not sure how funny it is, but as I said, it’s an interesting programme with a lot of potential so stay tuned.
Zawe Ashton from Fresh Meat plays Katherine, a newly-divorced, stylish high-flyer in a central London immigration department who finds herself exiled to a Northampton outpost that she helped to create.
John-Luke Roberts' new show Stdad-Up is about the death of his father. But hold on, this one is different. It also features multi-coloured balloons. In fact given that Roberts is a master absurdist his show will no doubt be subverting the well-worn sentimental dead-dad-award-winning-show template. Roberts can also do proper jokes though. He has been a writer on The News Quiz and is currently co-writing a TV comedy, Bull, for Matt Lucas' production company, set in an antiques shop. Nothing antique about his jokes though.
Comedy character Lee Nelson has made an unexpected appearance alongside Kanye West at the Glastonbury Festival. The rapper was headlining when Nelson, alias character comedian Simon Brodkin, managed to get onto the stage. He attempted to dance and join West in a vocal duet, but after striding to the front of the performance area with his hands in the air he was quickly bundled off by security guards.
Luisa Omielan is the most successful comedian you have never heard of. If you only get your comedy fix from television the name may not mean much. But earlier this year a clip of Omielan notched up over 5 million Facebook hits in two days. It’s now well over 10 million.
Pages
Zircon - This is a contributing Drupal Theme
Design by
WeebPal.
