Show 2: Mr Swallow and the Vanishing Elephant

I last saw Nick Mohammed play his character of Mr Swallow in 2016 when he performed his Houdini tribute escapism show - a triumphant feat of big show, big effects, big character and charisma. He returns with a show about magic and making an elephant disappear. Only problem is, he couldn't hire an elephant!

This was a marked contrast to Palamides' show, which I had watched just an hour beforehand, but it was no less thrilling, engaging and enthralling.

The premise of the show is that Mr Swallow is going to perform a grand magic show at the festival, the highlight being the disappearance of a fully grown elephant. Along the way he falls us with some feats of magic, sleight of hand and memory.

Highlights include a Geordie assistant (played by Mohammed) reading tarot cards for an audience member, though rather worryingly they all come up with rather grim prognoses!

He also attempts to saw himself in half with a rather untrustworthy power saw, and halfway through he performs a memory trick, by showing that he's memorised the menus of four popular restaurant chains, before ending with the big event - making himself disappear (in place of the elephant).

Given that it was the first preview of the festival, the show was bound be a bit rough around the edges, though it slowly became evident that far less of the effects were working to plan as Nick Mohammed had been hoping!

It was full credit to him as a performer, though, that everything seemed as if it had been carefully planned, even the particularly drunk girl brought on to stage for one but I thought had been a plant (surely who would willingly let a pretty boisterous, disruptive audience member to do some key tasks of concentration? She had been asked to pick some items from a menu, a seemingly straightforward task, alas not for her). As it turns out I think she was reluctantly let on to stage to shut her up - Mr Swallow, however, gallantly played along and tried to salvage the show.

The true big finale was meant to be a true demonstration of memory - Mr Swallow had been asking various audience members' names as we were entering which he was going to recall, however given the half hour delay to the show's start and the series of unfortunate events, Mr Swallow abandoned it in favour for memorising a pack of cards in less than a minute - even he acknowledged it wasn't particularly funny, but his character had engendered such warmth and sympathy from us all we got behind him, and to his credit he did it!

This show was a tremendous display of comic theatre and character comedy, of styling things out in the face of adversity, and keeping face. Despite the hiccups it was a phenomenally fun evening's entertainment and I've no doubt he'll iron the rough edges soon, but to be honest the off script events really added to the experience. An excellent show and a guaranteed good laugh.

Score: 9/10

Venue: Pleasance Courtyard - One

Dates: 5^th-26^th August

Time: 19:30

Price:   £14.50 (£13.50 concessions) weekends, £13.50 (£12.50) or £12.50 (£11.50) weekdays

Show 1: Natalie Palamides: Nate

Having won the Best Newcomer award last year and seeing a lot of about this year's show, I thought I'd give Natalie Palamides a watch this year.

Last year's was about her hatching it from an egg and then cooking other eggs in an exploration of motherhood and societal expectations of women to be maternal.

This year's show tackles another important issue, particularly in the wake of the Harvey Weinstein sexual scandal and Trump's past horrific comments about women: consent.

After developing the show in California with sage direction from previous Best Show winner, the physical comedy clown Dr Brown, Palamides debuts her show in Edinburgh.

Palamides plays a male character she has previously brought on intermittently in sketches called Nate, a plaid jacket, hairy, macho guy who doesn't express emotions. Nate enters on to stage on a toy bike to heavy rock backing music, after which he proves his manly credentials and cracks a raw egg in to his mouth - this is strong physical character comedy.

What proceeds is an exploration in consent, in masculinity, in how men treat women all through excellent clowning and a powerful, provocative, brave performance. Throughout, various audience members are invited, maybe even coerced into the show, from being fondled by Nate (with verbal consent) or to wrestle him to win the right to be the partner of Nate's ex girlfriend, or play his best friend and abet in some very dubious night time park antics.

Ultimately this is a show with a powerful, pertinent message, into which the audience is lured through an excellent comedy performance. Doubtless a strong contender for the award this year.

Score: 9/10

Venue: Pleasance Courtyard - Beside

Dates: 5^th-26^th August (not 13^th)

Time: 18:00

Price:  £13 (£12 concession) weekends, £12 (£11) or £11 (£10) weekdays

Edinburgh 2018 proper

Finally! I've caught up with last year's shows, and I'm already 7 shows behind, with 4 shows to watch today.

It's been a great start to the year, and already new shows being added to the schedule. A particular highlight was the very first show, Natalie Palamide's show 'Nate', a really provocative, playful, powerful show about masculinity, consent and rape - I think the work drinks I attended last night was not the very best platform to talk about hard-hitting comedy to a very stern and straight-faced partner of a colleague, whom I'd never met before and who seemed decidedly unimpressed with my non-infectious enthusiasm for alternative clowning comedy.

Oh well, potato potato.

The first weekend of the festival awaits, and it's going to be packed with goodies: Adam Riches, Lazy Susan, Mat Ewins and ACMS all on the same day! Cannot wait.

Show 58: Kwame Asante: Open Arms

At long last – the final review of the Edinburgh 2017 shows.

Kwame Asante won the Chortle Student Comedy Award and came to Edinburgh 2017 with his debut hour, and in doing so bagged a Best Newcomer nomination.

He’s a junior doctor and brought an hour of life stories and silly asides, delivering an hour of solid material. His time on the circuit shows, and he’s definitely a quietly confident performer – he’s learnt the skills of pacing and story structure, and he knows how to keep the audience’s attention. He’s a charming, friendly, open character as he takes on his journey through the travails of working as a doctor, his colourful family background, and moments of his relationship and finding romance while juggling comedy and working for the NHS.

He’s an assured comedian, and certainly a very promising early career – I hope he can carry on building on his voice and spreading his warm and witty insights.

Venue: Pleasance Courtyard

Score: 7/10

Show 57: Lucy Pearman: Maid of Cabbage

I wanted to check out Lucy Pearman after she was nominated for Best Newcomer. This was a really inventive, interesting, at times slightly disturbing show but a show that kept you hanging, never quite knowing where it was going to go.

Maid of Cabbage is about Lucy trying to find the perfect cabbage for the lady of the house at which she is employed. The male employer is a particularly grotesque papier-mâché  puppet and throughout the show he pops up, a devil like entity, as Lucy navigates through the audience and the peculiar quaint fantasy world.

Audience participation is deliberately awkward and Lucy Pearman does well with controlling the confusion.

It was certainly a Fringe show, and a real spectacle to behold – it had a fitting venue in the Monkey Barrel Club, known for its more alternative acts. It’ll be interesting to see what unsettling fantasies she’ll make in the future.

Venue: Monkey Barrel Comedy Club

Score: 7/10

Show 56: The Alternative Comedy Memorial Society

I remember the first time I saw ACMS – it was at The Hive and the absolute highlight was Joe Lycett doing his outrageous, utterly brilliant drag act: Nigella Farrage – damn near lost my mind watching that act.

Ever since, I’ve tried to see them at least once a year, and 2017 was a special one – I caught ACMS at the end of the festival, and as it turned out it was a gathering of all the major alternative comics at the festival as they handed out their version of the Edinburgh Comedy Awards – cue over two hours of chaotic, tipsy/drunken, raucous fun as everyone mocked main awards and just generally had a mad, incredible laugh. Julio Torres’ imperious choosing of attractive males and Olaf Falafel’s bemused demeanour for some reason stick out in my memory. It’s events that ACMS that make the Festival truly special – everyone getting together to just have fun and take the piss – it’s not something you can replicate, it’s a unique creative and joyous and drunken energy you can only find at Edinburgh.

Score: 10/10

Venue: Monkey Barrel Comedy Club

Show 55: David o’ Doherty: Big Time

David o’ Doherty has hit the Big Time – he’s performing at one of the biggest and grandest venues at the Festival, and he’s an international comedian now, playing in New Zealand and Canada amongst many other places. Despite that, o’ Doherty still wants to be ‘an ordinary bloke’.

To be honest I can’t remember a great deal from this show, but he’s always been a consistently funny, whimsical comedian every time I’ve seen him – he’s got the endearing charm of Josie Long mixed with an Irish lilt and a slightly dishevelled quirkiness. A guaranteed good night.

Score: 7/10

Venue: Assembly on The Mound