Show 47: Spencer Jones: The Audition

Spencer Jones’ character ‘The Herbert’ is a masterclass in clowning, and he developed quite the buzz about him in 2015 and 2016. Having popped up on Youtube clips from compilation shows in Australia and the UK and a Comedian’s Comedian Podcast episode (honestly, who hasn’t Stu Goldsmith interviewed?) I thought I’d check out Spencer Jones.

In the Monkey Barrel Comedy Club, Jones has arranged quite the array of props and equipment, from a mixing deck to a suitcase full of oddities and tricks – on the day I saw him it was suitably adorned with ‘Edinburgh Comedy Award Nominee’ stickers.

In ‘The Audition’ spencer flits between his character and himself, clowning around and also practising for an important audition in an action movie, delivering poignant albeit horribly cheesey lines about an apocalyptic nightmare. It makes for a refreshing mix of joking around that demonstrates the breadth of Jones’ comic talent.

It’s a well-deserved nomination for a talented clown.

Score: 7/10

Venue: Monkey Barrel Comedy Club

Show 46: James Acaster: Recognise

James Acaster set about re-performing his three most recent Edinburgh shows in 2017 as a so-called ‘Trelogy’: Recognise, Represent and Reset. As it turns out, this was all in preparation for Acaster’s filming of his 3 shows plus a 4^th containing older material re-worked into a new narrative for Netflix as his ‘Repertoire’ special.

I first saw Acaster in 2013 when he performed Lawnmower, containing the Mariachi band material and his Yoko Ono conspiracy theory. I’ll admit that at the time I really didn’t ‘get’ Acaster and thought him as an offbeat, peculiar but ultimately unfunny character, however having matured in my comedy tastes I finally saw the light and realised what his comic genius truly was.

Having seen Represent in 2015 in Sheffield and Reset in 2016, I was keen to complete the set by watching Recognise.

It’s a show about loopholes and minutiae, full to the brim with Acaster’s characteristic offbeat observations: “My favourite number? Umpteen. It sounds big, but it’s in the teens” or even Pythagoras’ famous motto “Every triangle’s a love triangle, when you love triangles.” Goddamn is that man a genius.

Initially he’s kneeling down because, little known fact, in ice skating the timer doesn’t officially start until the skates touch the ice. From this he moves onto a delightful tale of fantasised revenge against apparently free bananas from Pret a Manger and the cashier who made him a fool before actually revealing that all is not what it seems – he’s in fact Pat Springleaf – an undercover cop disguised as a stand-up.

It’s a giddy hour of incredible, bizarre story-telling and thoroughly enjoyable. This is a comic at the peak of his powers.

Acaster’s Netflix special prompted me to finally subscribe to the service, and within the free month I watched all four of the shows three times.

He’s currently working on his next show ‘Cold Lasagne Hate Myself 1999’ – it’ll be interesting to see what quirky tales he’ll spin next.

Score: 9/10

Venue: Pleasance Courtyard

Show 45: Sisters: White Noise

I thought I’d watch this show after seeing a positive Guardian review for it. Of note, this is a show I watched with an American visitor.

The sketch duo weave various sketches which aim to subvert social norms interspersed with clips of them trying to get the name of their sketch outfit known across the world, mainly UK and America via what looked like chatroulette.

From memory it was a passable hour, and they’d certainly gone through a lot of effort, with more than the average Fringe show’s share of technological trickery but ultimately it wasn’t a particularly enthusing hour with many parts feeling gratuitous.

Then again it did seem well reviewed elsewhere – perhaps I had missed the point?

Score: 3/10

Venue: Pleasance Courtyard

Show 44: Andrew Maxwell: Showtime

Edinburgh Fringe veteran Andrew Maxwell returned for his 22^nd Edinburgh with another well performed hour. He’s an excellent comedian for sure, and one is always guaranteed an entertaining hour of comedy ranging from political swipes, to daft anecdotes to glimpses into his family’s life.

I always forget just how good he is at accents – it’s always quite jarring hearing his children’s cockney accents against his Irish tones. What’s more he’s more than clued up about politics and trade. He’s interested, he’s angry and weak political arguments and he’s keen to make sure we’re not being led down false avenues.

Andrew Maxwell gives a strong, gimmick-free, comic voice to the Festival – it’s a refreshing hour amidst the carnage of absurdism, screaming shame and pretentious artistic endeavours. An honest comedian you can’t go wrong with.

Score: 7/10

Venue: Assembly George Square Theatre

Show 43: Nish Kumar: Work in Progress

Nish Kumar announced he was doing a free work in progress show on twitter with only a few days’ notice. Thankfully it was in the afternoon after 5pm, which meant I could attend after work.

As ever his material analyses the dire nature of the current political climate and he touches again on gentrification. What was interesting was seeing him work through the less considered material – stripped away was the slickness of a polished set and a more loose, relaxed stance of a seasoned comedian riffing off ideas. The highlight was his off-the-cuff self-deprecating remark that, amazingly, turned out to be one of the sharper satirical points – I think he even surprised himself.

His work-in-progress show in Edinburgh 2018 sold out almost immediately – lucky buggers who get to see it.

Venue: Cabaret Voltaire

Score: no score for WIP

Show 42: The Inane Chicanery of a Certain Adam GC Riches

I first heard of Adam Riches after he won the Edinburgh Comedy Award in 2011, and had half-kept an eye of his work, including the occasional BBC Radio comedy show. He strongly incorporates audience interaction in his shows. Audience interaction itself is a dangerous game, but Riches seemed to have generally got away with it. However I had never been that enticed from his radio work to see what he had to offer live. In 2017, though, I thought I should finally give him a go.

In a surprisingly half-empty Queen Dome, Riches starts off energetically miming jazz piano as it’s played over the speakers and the audience timidly files in. There’s no way of knowing what exactly we’ve let ourselves in for.

This show was a breath-taking display of genius and fun, one of the most memorable shows of 2017 for sure. Riches has made audience participation an art and his enthusiasm and ability to pick the right audience meant that the stars of the show weren’t his characters but the unwitting volunteers themselves. From the supposedly expert army commander to the two audience members trying to skate over riches in a hastily prepared jump to the couple writing a love letter to each other using ketchup on Riches’ enlarged white shirt (one of the funniest moments came when Riches started interviewing the lady, an American, and how she ended up with an Englishman – when she, in the midst of genuine laughter at the whole scenario, said she broke up with her ex due to physical abuse, the look of shock and terror on Riches face followed by a loud, tense “oh I am not qualified to deal with this” just showed his exceptional sense of comic performance).

Despite the half-filled room, this was a hilarious hour of beautiful, well-considered, carefully planned comedy that brought a sense of joy and fun to the room.

Adam Riches is doing three different shows at the Festival this year – it’ll be interesting to see what the hell he’s done with himself.

Score: 10/10

Venue: Pleasance Dome