Category Archives: Uncategorized

Review: Leslie Ewing-Burgesse EXISTS! Edinburgh Fringe Festival By Hannah Goslin

 out of 5 stars (2 / 5)

Canadian born Leslie has come to London as she has always dreamed. In her flat, she finds an unusual book with the conspiracy that Paul McCartney died and all these years has been an imposter. And this begins a journey into her insecurities, acceptance but also getting to know this colourful lady through comedy.

Dressed magnificently (her boots are to die for, pink sparkly platforms!) and her bright hair, it’s hard not to fall in love with Leslie despite her fighting her own personal demons.

This work-in-progress performance is full of different levels – from insight into her past, The Beetles and conspiracy theories, the structure is well thought out and engaging as to what happens next.

There are times when Leslie needs to remind herself of what is next, but takes this in her stride and her comical ability smooths over these very brief breaks. Her ideas are all there, there just needs a little more confidence and trust in herself and her writing, as when it goes well, it is smooth and funny. This is not to say it never does not go well, but a work in progress type show always has a little delay with the comedian working out their material.

At times it felt a little more like a TED talk, and thoroughly interesting in this way none the less. But there’s a little work to do to deliver this as more of a comedy performance.

Leslise Ewing-Burgesse does indeed EXIST! She is flamboyant, loveable and we all want to be her best mate. Funny and insightful, she is one to keep an eye on as she inevitably rises through the comedy scene.

Review: Moonbird, Handprint Theatre, Edinburgh Fringe Festival By Hannah Goslin

 out of 5 stars (5 / 5)

After previously seeing Jonny Cotsen and Mr and Mrs Clark
with Louder Is Not Always Clearer, it is safe to say my interest in BSL performances
and learning BSL has peaked more than ever before.

If we’re being honest, between us friends, I am not sure
before Cotsen’s show, that I have ever seen a show with BSL. Not even a
captioned performance. And for that I feel shame, but also think it makes a
great point of what Cotsen and Handprint Theatre and trying to achieve and put
across in the industry with these shows.

Moonbird is a gorgeous tale of a Prince whose parents begin
to realise he is deaf. Their struggle is explored on how to connect with their
child and their feelings of failure towards him, but we also explore Orla’s
(the Prince) struggle with being deaf, the world around him and ultimately
loneliness. Enter the Moonbird who introduces him to nature, where he learns
how he can communicate, and rebuild hIS relationship with his parents.

Throughout the production, BSL is communicated, along with
subtitles projected behind. They are patient and take their time, not rushing
through this to fully fulfil the message coming across. As one who does not
know BSL, the movements of communication are like a beautiful dance, and the
performers throw their all into it, incredibly bringing emotion and feeling
across. If there were not spoken word accompanying the signing, I believe that
you would still understand the story and feel every emotion within it.

The performers do well to change characters – a small group
of 4, the majority double, even triple up from humans in the palace, to deer
roaming the fields and monkeys playfully prancing the stage. During this time,
there is almost no speech at all, purely the communication through action,
movement and facial expressions. And nothing is over the top – it is enough for
the stage yet subtle enough to be realistic and understandable.

Use of puppetry (my favourite!) comes in the form of baby
Orla and Moonbird, and every movement is carefully thought out and taken time
with. There is total fluidity and realism with this and you forget that these
are not real actors on stage.

Lastly, the staging, lighting and general composition of the
aesthetics are magical and beautiful. Simple yet effective, it feels as if we
have jumped into a story book, with purples and blues, peacock colours spanning
the stage, and basic costuming and props to help the story along – but ultimately
this story is about the physical and nothing draws away from this.

Moonbird, while a production for young families, is really for everyone. The story is what every child’s story should be – magical, engaging and with a moral to the story. Moonbird is such an important performance for theatre going forward, I dare anyone to come away without being mesmerised and championing BSL performances.

Review: Switcheroo, The Oxford Revue, Edinburgh Fringe Festival By Hannah Goslin

 out of 5 stars (2 / 5)

Think Whose Line Is It Anyway? Think classic British Sketch
shows. A combination of these is what the Oxford Revue are trying for.

A small group of performers from Oxford university, aside
from being some of the brainiest in the country, they are dabbling their hand
at acting and performance creation which is always commendable.

Quintessentially British, they tackle relatable subjects
from Dating to the Doctors, University life to sports which we all associate
with in one way or another as well as recognise from society. This gives easy
laughter, and interesting how they can easily roll through an hour long of 2
minute sketches without flagging energy.

As one can imagine, these guys are just starting out and so
have a long way to go. They are comical, full of passion and excitement, but
still with room to improve and hone their acting skills a little more.

Interaction with the audience comes in ebb’s and flows,
something a little different than what we expect from a sketch show. However,
the audience are as up for it as the performers which is a great sight to see,
boosting confidence and helping the show run smoothly. The performers interact
well with chosen contestants and do well to ad lib when necessary.

Oxford Revue, Switcheroo, is a good fun activity – a late night affair, if you are not ready to head home and up for sitting back for easy laughter, they are worth checking out. I would be interested to see how they progress professionally and perfect those already developing theatrical skills.

Review : Crazy Cat Lad-y, Dave Bibby, Edinburgh Fringe Festival By Hannah Goslin

 out of 5 stars (4 / 5)

We are crammed into a hot corner of a pub, close and
snuggly, but the next hour proves why.

Dave Bibby is a Crazy Cat Lad-y – dressed in a onesie with a
giant cat face, his comedy is evidently popular but also completely wacky.

The name is however a misdemeanour – admitting he needed a
name for the show before writing it, his love for cats was what he thought of;
however, in between his show, we get to see cute cat pictures, videos and GIFs
to help us calm from the intensity – intensity of laughter.

Bibby talks to us about how he wishes he was Peter Pan – he unveils
a costume under his onesie to reveal he is really Peter Pan. He then cleverly
changes the characters in the original story to be accompanied by modern day
themed songs e.g. The Lost Boys, are actually Lads from love island and so a
song featuring full body waxing and ghosting girls begins.

The intelligence and thought into turning these characters
into more relatable people and modern scenarios is abundant and so is
completely hilarious in execution but also with how clever they are and how
much it makes sense.

Bibby is completely engaging, and while we are all sitting
almost on each other’s laps to see him, he makes us feel like close friends,
engaging with us, confidently making eye contact and effortlessly interacting
and ad libbing.

There’s at no point that we wonder what time it is or how long is left, because we are completely engaged and consistently laughing. The show is chocked full and Biddy even struggles to have a sip of cola as he is on an energetic roll.

Dave Bibby may be a crazy Cat Lad-y but he is also a talented, very funny comedian. Get there early to grab a seat, and don’t be surprised by how busy it is, because he truly brings a hilarious comedy show to the fringe. I look forward to seeing what his next show may contain.

Review: Do Our Best, Remy Beasley, Francesca Moody Productions, Edinburgh Fringe Festival By Hannah Goslin

 out of 5 stars (4 / 5)

For you Welsh readers, you would recognise Remy Beasley. But
it may take a while. I spent a huge amount of Do Our Best wondering where I had
seen her before, and it is a testament to her acting talent that I still did
not know till googling after. Known for her role in the Welsh show, Stella, her
character of Sephie could not be more far removed from her character opposite
Ruth Jones.

Written by Beasely, we are introduced to Sephie who has
decided to go back to girl guides to get her final badge. Dealing with the
death of her mother, her feeling of insecurity and failure, and her
relationship with her guide leader, we go through her motions of sadness, of
loss to reliving her past and realising how much of a star she is.

Beasley is full of beans and never seems to stop on stage. I
love this approach to the character, giving her a sense of still being
childlike and finding her way in the World. She finds her way on the floor, on
top of chairs, hugging the audience – she is as impatient as a child and we get
the sense she has not grown up since the guides.

Sephie is a confident character – her want to be a star and
her memory of being the centre of the world is evident, and she brings this to
us in the present, ordering us around, stating memories as facts, and all in
all being absolutely hilarious. Beasley shows through this her own confidence
and own get go – at times slipping her own giggle at an audience interaction
in, a little ad lib, and obviously enjoying her own performance, as much as we
are!

And these comical and loveable moments make the hard
moments, the sadness and the euphoric moments all the more poignant – when silence
comes after chaos, it is beautiful, and she relishes these moments, leaving us
feeling nicely energised and contemplative.

Do Our Best is a brilliant example of women running theatre – Beasley is a performer to be reckoned with, and it is guaranteed you will come out sore from laughter, from heart ache but with a new friend in Sephie.

Review: The Bible 2 (Plus a Cure for Shame, Violence, Betrayal and Athlete’s Foot), Crystal Rasmussen / Tom Glitter, Edinburgh Fringe Festival By Hannah Goslin

 out of 5 stars (5 / 5)

This is a drag show unlike any other.

A combination of comedy, quintessential camp fierceness,
honesty, raw truth and pure love, Crystal Rasmussen (out of drag, lovely Tom
Glitter) brings us the story of violence, shame and betrayal he felt growing up
as a homosexual man in a less accepting world, and how his drag alternative
personality helped him to accept himself and ignore the haters.

Crystal is beautiful, glamorous and hilarious. She bares all
to us not only emotionally but physically, spinning on the stage in all her
glitter for us to cheer, whoop and love.

When she opens up to us about Tom’s past, the physical,
emotional and mental abuse he suffered for just being him, it is brought to us
in a really sensitive way and anyone with a brain on their shoulders and a
heart in their chest feels for him, feels the anger, betrayal and sadness that
there are people who could treat someone else like this.

The narrative is nicely and equally split – while there is
some hard hitting stuff, there’s as much joy and comedy and utter glamour to
help us along.

Crystal also makes us feel included – saying hello to all of
us, somehow making us feel as if she knows us one by one (and she is so
brilliant, you just WISH you were her friend!) and makes us feel welcome. It
feels like a safe sanctuary, where we are all joined together to celebrate
Crystal and Tom’s love.

Not to mention, some well-known tunes, that we boogie to, but that she sings – and what a voice! I would happily listen to her sing any song and love it more than the original. Crystal Rasmussen/Tom Glitter, Bible 2, is great fun, a wonderful night out, but a hard hitting realisation of the world for LGBTQ+ people. It is not a shy performance, the jokes are NSFW and we come away even more in love with her than before.

Utter perfection!

Review: YUCK Circus, Edinburgh Fringe Festival By Hannah Goslin

 out of 5 stars (5 / 5)

The only way to start this review is to announce that this
was one of the best and most inventive things I have seen for a long time.

The word ‘circus’ could however be a loose term for the
performance; there are some small stunts, a little aerial and flexibility, but
this is not the main focus, and that does not make me mad.

This all female group openly spit in the face of the
patriarchy, but with a sense of humour and no fear. The YUCK ladies take
elements of female life, from menstruation, to talking about messy nights out,
pubic hair to ‘dick pics’ and ultimately doing this with a hint of satire on
how women are perceived in Circus shows.

The YUCK performers are dressed in basic black shorts and
tops, modest and purely to help with the stunts. But at one point, they point
out that there has been little circus; to fuel our need, they do a balancing
act, but not before pulling their shorts up, exposing their bottoms and facing
the audience. This is not only hilarious but is addressing the importance that
we are used to seeing scantily clad circus performers, and at times we question
if this is really for function or for the ‘male gaze’.

They are unapologetic in parts of life that are not feminine
– beer drinking, burping – who cares! They certainly don’t and through this
humour and inventive acts, they poke fun and make a stand at the same time.

They interact fully with us, making eye contact, coming into
the audience and so this is not a show for the shy by any means.

There is also music; and again, these range from satirical
live music, poking fun at what the aerialist is doing, as well as some quintessential
feminist songs, some disco – all the tunes you cannot stop yourself dancing to.

YUCK Circus is what every feminist woman should go to to feel another push in what we are striving for in society; for every woman who is still in the dark; and for every man who is stuck in the patriarchy. It is for everyone who wants to laugh, has a slight dark and unbarred humour and to feel really empowered by these unapologetic and fierce women.

 

Review: Just Me…?, Gareth Waugh, Edinburgh Fringe Festival By Hannah Goslin

 out of 5 stars (4 / 5)

If you are Edinburgh you need some pure Scottish-ness. There’s
an abundance of shows that have travelled to this City, making it
multi-cultural and vast in nationalities, but sometimes you come to Scotland
and you want Scotland.

Enter Gareth Waugh – a pure Scottish comedian, his sing-song
tones and confident stage presence is a lovely sight to behold.

Waugh is comfortable on stage, and comfortable speaking to
us. He talks about everyday life and interacts with us as friends, engaging yet
playfully taking the mick at times. He also is proudly Scottish and explains
part of Scottish culture that may not be known by those not local. This is not
patronising and informative, yet very funny.

With an almost full house, it is not a surprise that Waugh
is a very good comedian. His almost self-titled show ‘Just Me?’ is about him
but without being pretentious and certainly with much humour about himself.

Gareth Waugh is truly a talented comedian, full of Scottish pride and including us as new friends. Just Me? Is definitely a nice break from the hustle of fringe, laid back yet very humorous.

Review: Famtastic, Lucy Frederick, Edinburgh Fringe Festival By Hannah Goslin

 out of 5 stars (4 / 5)

I am a bad feminist. I really struggle to find a lot of
women funny, and so as a huge comedy fan, it pains me to say that an awful lot
of my favourites are male. And I think this is due to content – I struggle to
resonate with men bashing, with talk of kids and marriage and generally ‘being
a hard done by woman’ that seems to be an approach by a lot of female
comedians. I want us to be championed, not to justify stereotypes of moaning
females.

And so enter Lucy Frederick. Yes she talks about being a
woman. Yes she talks about men and relationships. And the twist of this and
something that I have never seen before is how she talks about becoming a step
parent. And she approaches all of these in a refreshing, funny and relatable
way.

Now I am not a mother nor a step mother, but somehow being
an outsider hearing her experiences and approaches to the new way of life is
really informative, and anyone who has worked with children can resonate a
little more with this – there’s a similarity in it.

Frederick is a hilarious and loveable woman. She does not
care what others think and is confident about her performance and herself on
stage. She is very likeable, she interacts with us as if we are friends and
really does engage us with the jokes, the content and with her personality.

Frederick is a breath of fresh air, a genuinely funny person and really needs to be given the chance to shine to larger audiences.

Review: Super Sunday, Race Horse Company, Edinburgh Fringe Festival By Hannah Goslin

 out of 5 stars (4 / 5)

In the last few years, there seems to have been a break out
of traditional circus. The tricks and skills are generally the same, but the
themes, the approach and ultimately the execution are all so different and
unusual.

Race Horse Company bring their carnival, grown up kid-like
circus to us, full of crazy stunts and belly laughing comedy.

This male group, a cross of hipsters meets a lad group who
have been friends since childhood, they quite obviously explicitly trust one another
(a must in circus) but also really enjoy what they do, while parading around in
close to matching outlandish shirts and beach shorts.  

As any circus, we have a mixture of low level tricks to
dangerous stunts – one minute the group are juggling or creating a comical
dance routine wearing large horse puppets, and the next they are throwing one
another up into the ceiling and performing in circular tubes that spin on their
own at the same time on their own axis. Yet no matter what the performance, it
seems effortless, smooth and there’s always an element of comedy to what they
are doing.

A giant teddy bear being flung into the air, brightly
coloured balls bouncing everywhere, this show is completely geared for children
and you can hear the innocent giggles amongst the audience, along with gasps of
all ages. Of course, any good show throws little jokes for the adults that go
over the children’s heads and so we enjoy is just as much as the children are –
giggling in our own corners and gasping in awe.

Super Sunday is extremely exciting, shocking in their courage and stunts but ultimately a brilliant Circus show.