Show 32: Alice Cockayne: Attention Needed

Another show that caught my eye in the programme being billed as an absurdist piece, I've realised of late I've been drawn to the more absurdist shows, things to take you away from reality and to dazzle in rich, bewildering creations of the great comics, I've found such shows in the parts to be really inspirational.

This was not such a show.

Cockayne's character sketch does venture into the absurd for sure, but there really aren't any smart ideas or even good punchlines.

There's audience participation a plenty in this show. An opening sketch about finding a partner, going to bed and confronting an intruder by speaking in tongues is at most mildly bemusing (I was the plucky partner though Cockayne seemingly didn't fancy my banter - a moment where her electric toothbrush is flailed wildly underneath a bedsheet as we're both in bed led to me apologising for the coke I took, she retorted that her parents were at home, prompting me to ask her where she think I got it from; she quickly asked me to stop talking). Another skit involving a dysfunctional dog sitting agency was altogether tedious, even tragic, though I suspect unintentionally so. Indeed the laughter bleeding through from Ewin's excellent show next door was palpable throughout. I'm quite glad I didn't catch the 110% John Kearns and Pat Cahill show where she featured later in the festival.

Score: 1/10
Venue: Just the Tonic at The Caves, Just the Upstairs
Dates: 28th August
Time: 22:25
Price: £7

Show 31: Thom Tuck and Tim FitzHigham: Macbeth

Thom Tuck and frequent collaborator Tim Fitzhigham often bring quirky experimental comedy shows to the festival and this is no exception.

A retelling of MacBeth but with different directors everyday, essentially this is structured improvised comedy, always a risky endeavour for comedy except in skilled hands (thank goodness for Tuck's grounding at Edinburgh's Improverts) but today's show was sheer joy and silliness. Sunil Patel providing the direction (a very lacklustre and relatively unimaginative style, I couldn't tell if it was deliberate/a manifestation of his comedic persona (I confess I've never engaged with his material before)) Tuck and Fitzhigham did brilliantly to bring Shakespeare's tragic work to comedic life, starting with motorcycle riding witches to an inexplicable Mexican laird (get a funny accent just right and I'll double up in laughter) and excellent use of red cloth (you forget just how much death there is in MacBeth sometimes) this was a fabulous show. Vibrant, chaotic and downright stupid, this is the kind of show that makes the festival magical. I only wish I could have watched them again.

Score: 8/10
Venue: Underbelly at Cowgate, Belly Button
Dates: run ended
Time: 20:35

Show 30: Angela Barnes: Hot Mess

After many appearances on Mock the Week and various podcasts (namely Pappy's Flatshare Slamdown during a lockdown episode for me) it was finally time to see Barnes in person.

A hour of storytelling about her lockdown experience, becoming married and being there for a close comic friend undergoing cancer treatment, it's an overall feelgood show offering hope and belief in love filled with punchy jokes and a well-riffed (or was it meticulously planned) moment where technology ironically failed Barnes' set. A very well constructed hour from an engaging, confident, energetic performer, this was a very enjoyable show that has the right level of poignancy for an impactful Edinburg show. I look forward to watching Barnes again at future festivals and tours.

Score: 7/10
Venue: Pleasance courtyard, Cabaret Bar
Dates: 28th August
Time: 19:00
Price: £15

Show 29: Mr Chonkers by John Norris

A word of mouth affair following recommendations from a comedy aficionado friend and another friend's partner (unexpectedly up in Edinburgh leading to an initially very confusing and slightly unnerving whatsapp message from an unknown number) led to this being added to the schedule.

Norris enters as a faceless monk, high-fiving the audience to the tune of Gregorian chanting, leading to a call and response before revealing himself and taking us on a demonstration of his acting range. The show continues with a poetry section and the portrayal of an Italian-American family leading to a quirky meatball trick. Overall an hour of charming clowning and absurdity, certainly very playful and fun and an hit the right spot depending on the crowd. It'll be interesting to see what future fare brings.

Score: 7/10
Venue: Monkey Barrel at Carnivore, Carnivore 2
Dates: 28th August
Time: 23:55
Price: £5

Show 28: John Robertson: The Dark Room

A return to this previously watched show and it was a raucous affair again. A range of off-kilter prizes, including the back of a CD case and an inordinate amount of Tesco baguettes and the famous "flamboyant potato" (i.e. a pineapple) alongside plucky audience players brought together by Robertson's enthusiastic and excellent hosting made for an excellent evening's entertainment. Some delightful riffing with an older audience player, a likely baffled Swedish audience member and some slightly risky banter with a young teenager ending with crowdsurfing of very questionable safety created a glorious show, it'll be sure to make a repeat addition to the Festival schedule again.

Score: 8/10
Venue: Gilded Balloon Teviot, Dining room
Dates: 27th - 28th August
Time: 22:00
Price: Sold out

Show 27: The Goldsmith and East Hour

An impromptu addition to the schedule to see Nick Kocher perform stand up, this was a showcase show also featuring Sami Abu Wardeh, Linus Karp.

The hosts, Ben Goldmith and Chris East, cut a truly amateur overly enthusiastic, almost student-like, feel of MCs coming up with tedious games to engage the audience and frankly banal hosting; it could have passed for satire or anti-comedy had the notion of meta-ness surfaced.

Nick Kocher gave a very amusing anecdote of being caught by his father in the middle of some self-pleasure, while Wardeh was surprisingly interesting as a cigarette-ed psychic guitar player. Karp's premise of dissecting the modern Cats the Musical film as a masterpiece of cinema sounds intriguing though had a similarly pained feel passable comedy as the hosts did.

Score: 2/10
Venue: Royal Mile Tavern, Annexe
Dates: run ended
Time: 18:00
Price: Free (pay what you want)

Show 26: Oliver Coleman: Sublime

Self described as an absurdist comedian, Oliver Coleman caught my eye in the programme so I thought I'd give him a go.

An eclectic hour of part absurdism, part straight up observational humour, at times it feels like Coleman's playing with the form and being a comedian's comedian. There was something exhilarating with trying to see what exactly was going on. A threatening 'shark' moves through the audience edging closer and closer to the stage throughout the show too. The hour seems incoherent but feels as if there is genius lurking beneath the shambles. An intriguing hour, tempting me to see what he comes up with next year.

Score: 7/10
Venue: Monkey Barrel at Carnivore, Carnivore 2
Dates: 26th - 28th August
Time: 22:35

Price: £8