Reviews

Edinburgh Review: Kai Samra – Brothers (WIP)

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© Kai Samra

This year, Kai Samra brings his work in progress show, Brothers, to The Mash House. Relatively new to the stand up circuit, this Brummie comedian appears remarkably comfortable in front of his audience. His delivery is calm and self-assured, but certainly not an act.

Samra talks about his family with no qualms about letting his listeners in, and this makes for a deeply personal hour of comedy. There are no sob stories here, just honest anecdotes and clever observations. He’s a very likeable performer and his relaxed and confident nature allows his audience to settle into the show effortlessly.

Brothers is a show about family, along with all its frustrations and affections. And Samra makes 45 minutes feel like ten. The laughs come easily and frequently, making it starkly clear that this comic could warm up even the coldest of audiences. It’s not hard to imagine this comic cracking into the mainstream some time soon.

This show is not a skeleton of a piece, and neither is it an amalgamation of too many half-formed ideas. This show already feels polished. So, when Kai Samra returns to Edinburgh next August, prepare for a fantastic, brilliantly formed hour of proficient stand up.

Edinburgh Review: Abandoman (Rob Broderick) – Pirate Radio

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© Rob Broderick

Irish improv hip hop artist Rob Broderick returns to Edinburgh with his solo show, Pirate Radio. Unlike previous Abandoman shows, Pirate Radio is a big-scale production. He’s ditched the powerpoint and electric keyboard for strobe lighting and ground-shuddering bass.

Rather than lots of small instances of audience participation (note Abandoman’s previous set-piece, ‘What’s In Your Pocket?’ where audience members hold up the most obscure item on their possession and Broderick improvises a rap about it), volunteer participants in this new show are a far bigger part of the proceedings. If you have something funny or strange to offer up, prepare to have a musical piece devised entirely in your honour.

Single audience members are brought up to stand in front of a packed Udderbelly, and yet there is never any hint of anxiety. Rob puts his participants at ease by spelling out what he requires of them and never failing to make it silly.

Being a much bigger, much more refined performance, it feels at times as though Abandoman has lost its personal touch. But where this show lacks in intimacy, Broderick makes up for in showmanship. From a heart-wrenching song about leaving a sleeping bag on a train, to a musical re-enactment of a childhood three-legged race, Broderick’s skill for snappy improvisation is as present as ever.

If you want your comedy upscaled, exciting and as loud as a music gig, Abandoman is no doubt the show for you.

Edinburgh Review: Simon Evans – Genius 2.0

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© Simon Evans

Bringing a reworking of last year’s show Genius to this year’s Edinburgh Fringe, Simon Evans proclaims that he has no issue with ‘digging the same furrow’. Genius 2.0 asks what the future of our society is. Are we regressing in terms of intelligence and creativity?

This is a show of comparison through the ages, from drinking laws to the Guinness Book of World Records. It’s about how our lives have become more restricted as the years have passed. Though academic in his tone, this doesn’t feel like a lecture. Evans is surprisingly able to keep his large audience on the same page as him, despite his flowery language and analytic, black-and-white approach to assessing the problems he raises.

Evans’ point is glisteningly clear, but it’s hard to fully invest in the idea that our society is less intelligent (or less intelligence-orientated) than it was forty years ago. Yes, there is certainly more of a focus on mind-numbing reality television and a vacuous idea of what constitutes beauty (often consisting of botox injections and lip fillers), but aspects of our society are arguably thriving as strongly as ever, in areas including but not limited to science, philosophy and literature.

I’d feel a little uncomfortable, as a twenty-year-old university student, to be sat in this comic’s audience if I didn’t know he had teenage children himself. It is these anecdotes about his kids’ experiences, inspirations and education that allow us to ascertain that Evans isn’t simply having a go at the youth of today.

As the show goes on, Evans allows himself to exist at the same level as his audience, sharing his irksome experiences with ageing, from thinning hair to forgetfulness. But the set piece of the show is one that rings in the ear long after Evans has left the stage. The downfall of our society, as Evans see it, is the fact it is shrouded in apathy. Our country is lead by someone who studied at Oxford, yet graduated in a 2:2 in Geography. Someone who bends over backwards, surely almost to the point of snapping, at a slight gust of wind.

Simon Evans’ outlook on the state of society today is strangely motivating rather than depressing. The powers that be may be failing us, but we each have the opportunity to flourish however we want to, despite this unsettling prognosis.

Edinburgh Review: Paul Foot – Image Conscious

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© Paul Foot

Paul Foot’s shows are always absurd, with only a vague grasp on reality. But this year there is something far more tangible about his material. Image Conscious has more popular culture references scattered throughout than previous years; has the world worn this comic down? This new turn for Foot is definitely a step in the direction of mainstream, but the reliability of it is somewhat refreshing.

The core of the show, a winding narrative about how to host a decent orgy, has Foot’s trademark madness written all over it. He layers details of setting, character and circumstance until he works himself up into a shouting frenzy. This is what Paul Foot’s fans come for.

These moments where Foot’s material flirts with reality are very satisfying. A particular stint about his hatred for Greg Wallace is particularly entertaining. We’re used to seeing Foot screaming at the top of his lungs about shire horses and fire engines, not BBC cookery shows. Foot is an expert at introducing various celebrities and celebrity has-beens into his ridiculous narratives, and this show is no disappointment. The things he has us imagining the likes of Clare Balding and Ronny O’Sullivan doing should not be repeated.

Leaving Paul Foot’s show feels like waking up from a dream; reality becomes a bit of a haze. At one point Foot had thrown pickled gherkins at the audience. Classic Paul Foot with an edgy twist, Image Conscious is unlike anything else you will see at the Fringe.

Edinburgh Review: Werewolf Live

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In Jon Gracey’s Werewolf, audience members are pitted against each other as they play the characters of werewolves and villagers. A fraction of the group of volunteers are given the role of werewolf, which means that they can choose one villager to be killed each night, under the cover of darkness (well, when we all have our eyes closed). The villagers must work out who the werewolves are and have them killed before it’s too late.

With only the werewolves being aware of who is innocent, this is a game of guesses and rash accusations. And watching people turn against their friends at the flick of a switch is always entertaining, especially when the reactions are spontaneous and unfiltered.

© Kate Rodden

Frontman Gracey is unsurprisingly the highlight of this show, and it’s a pity he doesn’t get more time to ad lib. He’s clearly comfortable on stage and his sarcastic comments and piss-taking is the glue that keeps the show from descending into chaos.

Werewolf is a an inventive concept. The rules are complicated enough, and the set up varied enough, so that the audience doesn’t get bored, and yet the game is sufficiently short to allow for three or so games during the show. A larger audience would undoubtedly make Werewolf more entertaining, as there could be an entirely new set of participants each round. This is why the comedian charity special on August 21st looks particularly promising.

Review: Stuart Goldsmith: Like I Mean It

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© Matt Crockett

Stuart Goldsmith has been touring his seventh stand up hour, Like I Mean It for nearly five months now. On one of the last stops of the tour he entertains a room of largely devoted Comedian’s Comedian fans (presumably) at Birmingham’s Glee Club.

Every year that Goldsmith comes to this venue, he bounds onto his stage appearing happier about his material and his place on the comedy circuit than the year before, which is only right as this latest show is one that is solid in its structure, subtle in its callbacks and upbeat in attitude.

This comedian is rather rare in that he holds a different relationship to his audience than most other stand ups, most likely as a direct result of his podcasting background, which has enabled him to share elements of his professional and personal life to listeners on a regular basis. The benefits of granting his audience this insight into his life are clear to see, because we audience members feel like we know him and wish to support him (this is embodied by the tentative lady on the third row who quietly reassures him ‘you’re awesome!’ during the first ten minutes).

Like I Mean It is all about the changes that come along with marriage and having children. Yes, it’s a common theme, but Stuart’s observations are original and maintain reliable laughs. Pair this with elements of the surreal (physically acting out the life and death of daisies picked for daisy chains, and the preparing of French frogs for edible consumption), and it is easy to see a clear knowledge of structural balance. And Goldsmith is so renowned for being nice that moments where the narrative takes a turn towards the macabre are quite delightful.

After a short interval, Goldsmith returns to workshop the skeleton of his new Edinburgh show, End Of, not that it feels much like a workshop at all because it seems he’s already got most of his ideas locked down. He tells us to lower our expectations but it’s clear that he’s confident in this new material, and enjoying performing it.

This show is about being tired and wishing for a break from the unrelenting ambition that drives many of us creatives round the bend. Stu asks himself ‘how much more effort can I give?’ and his pernickety exasperations are contagiously funny. At the moment, the hour is a collection of somewhat disjointed ideas, but that can only be expected as the final couple of months of previews enable him to lock the show’s narrative arc into place.

There are three stops left on Stu’s tour of Like I Mean It: the Soho Theatre, Tringe Festival, and Cardiff’s Chapter Arts Centre. After this he will be performing End Of at this year’s Edinburgh Festival.

Review: Buffalo Comedy’s 4th Birthday

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Buffalo is a fantastic comedy venue in Cardiff, and it’s their 4th birthday, so it’s time to celebrate. I attend on behalf of Cardiff University’s Quench Magazine. The room is cosy, every seat in close proximity to the stage, and the atmosphere is nice; there are lots of groups of friends loudly chatting before the show begins. Everything about this night so far looks promising. Robin Morgan is a regular at this comedy club, and tonight he compères the show. He appears alongside Jenny Collier, Archie Maddocks and Rhys James, who will be performing tried and tested material, as well as brand new material, in front of this good-natured Sunday night crowd.

Welsh stand up Robin is quite a delightful performer, with a cheeky twinkle in his eye and an unquestioning politeness and consideration of his audience. Somewhat Joe Lycett-esque in his onstage persona, Morgan is the calm captain of this ship. He confidently interacts with the crowd with a natural conversation style. There is no forced compèring here, as Robin has a genuine warmth about him, seeming interested and thrilled by his audience’s responses.

© MoodyComedy

Throughout the evening Robin frequently references his fiancé and ten-month-old son, talking of his encounters with other mums at the baby classes (which he sometimes attends without his partner), who assume he must be gay. Although audiences may have heard this kind of material before, it’s Robin’s delivery that makes it something new. Perhaps it’s his personable nature (he’s open, sharing with us the name of his child and details about his family life), but there is certainly something about this comic that makes him feel like an already-established friend.

The first act Robin welcomes to the stage is Jenny Collier, the voice of match.com and a proudly Northern Welsh comic whose set also largely centres around themes of family and relationships. Collier is unassuming, friendly and not overbearing, with an innocence to her that she cleverly plays with by often contrasting her demeanour with ruder material, which the audience lap up. At times I found myself questioning the genuineness of some of the anecdotes shared. Though effortlessly able to make her audiences laugh with unexpected punchlines and side remarks, it sometimes felt as though there wasn’t enough confidence behind the narrative. There seemed to be a conflict in narrative, for example, as to whether Collier is single or in a relationship, although perhaps this was more due to underdeveloped ideas that will be tightened up in time.

After the first interval, it’s time for Archie Maddocks. Half Trinidadian, half Irish (his parents are Don Warrington and Mary Maddocks), Maddocks ascends the stage and announces: ‘welcome to your ethnic section for the evening!’. Archie has a really appealing way about him: he’s a confident performer but not too slick; sweet but no pushover. He chats to his audience as a collective with ease, seeming like nothing could possibly faze him, because he clearly knows his material is good. His analysis of Uber is a highlight for me, as well as his impression of a charging penguin he encountered on a recent work trip to South Africa (hilarious, but terrifying).

And finally, our headline act for the evening is Rhys James, who many would recognise from his increasingly frequent appearances on BBC Two’s Mock The Week. Rhys’ comedy, like most of what we have seen this evening, feels young and relatable (a lot of the audience are, of course, students). He has quite a brooding look about him whilst his material and delivery remain rather playful, which makes him an interesting character on stage, one that is quite hard to pin down. James is working through the beginnings of his new Edinburgh show and it certainly seems to be coming together nicely.

It’s clear that this comic knows how to construct a show, and, like the other performers tonight, he doesn’t shy away from personal family anecdotes. But the crux of this new show is more abstract, with references to raccoons on Japanese game shows, and the show even features a fable. The balance between longer form anecdotes and silly, overblown rants is interesting, and we can already see a narrative emerging. In the coming six months, I think this show will evolve into something very strong indeed.

So, the end of Rhys’ set signals the end of Buffalo’s fantastic 4th birthday celebrations. But luckily for us Cardiff residents, their regular comedy night will back on March 4th, with Lloyd Langford confirmed as a guest. You can buy your tickets for that here.

Preview: Samuel Lloyd – Piñata

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Sam Lloyd is a new name to my ears. The 24-year-old from Newport has been performing stand up since he was in his teens, but it feels as if this is the start of something bigger as he starts to put together the beginnings of his next Edinburgh show, Piñata. He performs the first preview of this at The Little Man Coffee Company in Cardiff, with two supports (Calum Stewart and Emily Broad) and MC James Dunn.

The show is primarily PowerPoint-based, beginning with a fast-paced, laughter-filled rundown of the comedian’s early life, with embarrassing photos and all. But he soon proves that he isn’t over-reliant on the projector as a crutch; Lloyd is more than happy to face his crowd and deliver top quality, inventive material that the small room just laps up.

Structurally, this Piñata clearly has a great deal of promise, despite still being on its first draft. With a big tone shift towards the end of Sam’s stage time, the comic moves seamlessly from anecdotal trivialities to a much broader, more serious topic: that of mental health and depression.

He speaks openly about his experiences of feeling unworthy of help, or perhaps just not even needing it. Although he skirts past the details of his depression somewhat, as Lloyd’s audience we are still made to feel as though this is a genuine sharing of some pretty close to the heart stuff. His message, at this point in the development of the show at least, is that depression can happen to anyone; we all get it wrong sometimes and forget to take proper care of ourselves and talk to other people about how we are feeling.

And this strange notion of presuming that we might not deserve to feel this way, as though we don’t have the right to be depressed, is absurd. I think it’s important that audiences hear this message, and comedy is becoming an increasingly popular means of getting such ideas across. And Sam does it with a seemingly effortless ease. He clearly belongs on that stage.

And with original call backs and a clear narrative arc, Piñata is surely almost Edinburgh-ready even at this early stage, eight months before the festival begins. I hadn’t heard of his name before seeing this preview, but I’m certain that we’ll be hearing a great deal more about Sam Lloyd in the next few years, and not just in Wales, but nationwide.

Review: Flossy and Boo – The Alternativity

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Ever wondered how our good old tradition of Christmas might look to someone who isn’t familiar with planet Earth? Flossy and Boo (played by Anja Conti and Laura Jeffs) are ‘not from round here’, and in light of their lack of knowledge of Christmas, the pair have devised a play, The Alternativity, all about their research into Christmas festivities. The show is that The Other Room, Cardiff, and I attend on behalf of Quench Magazine.

Dressed in flamboyant party dresses, with candyfloss coloured hair and painted on rosy cheeks and freckles, there is a confident energy that comes effortlessly along with Flossy and Boo. We are all given party hats as we enter, with the quirky pair curtseying and guiding us to our seats. It becomes immediately clear that this is going to be a peculiar evening. We kick off the festivities with an alternative alphabet of Christmas and it soon becomes clear that this pair don’t let up in terms of their spirit and vigour. They work very well together; with quite contrasting personalities which brings a lot of the humour.

© Flossy and Boo

Flossy and Boo are musical comedians, and what is charming about this is that they both have a genuine talent both for their instruments (primarily guitars and ukuleles), voice, and song writing. One song consists of Boo reading out humorous Christmas cards sent from bragging friends about what a great year they have all had, accompanied by Flossy on keyboard: a personal favourite.

With help from technician Bethan, the production makes fantastic use of lighting and music. While the original set is alive with twinkling Christmas lights, stockings around the fireplace and tinsel on the walls, the lights are frequently cut and the audience are left in utter blackness. This punctuation of light and dark adds an almost uncomfortable drama. In this way, the audience are kept on the edge of their seats, and despite the light-hearted and often overwhelming excitement of these two, there are some parts that are genuinely sinister. A letter from one of Santa’s elves, played aloud to the room, is particularly eerie, and this is an important tone change from the general make-up of the show, giving it a whole other dimension.

The audience are all quite heavily involved, whether that be through costume, joke reading, sprout holding, or simply holding Flossy’s hand. It’s all-inclusive fun, and I highly recommend you go and get a taste of it for yourself.

GET YOUR TICKETS FOR FLOSSY AND BOO: THE ALTERNATIVITY AT THE OTHER ROOM (PLAYING THROUGHOUT DECEMBER) HERE.

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Review: Abandoman: Life + Rhymes

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Irish stand-up comedian and improv heavyweight Rob Broderick has been touring the UK with Abandoman’s latest show, Life + Rhymes, this autumn. I attended the show on behalf of Quench Magazine.

Abandoman are a hip-hop improv act, best known for performing impulsive songs based on audience suggestions. But if you’re immediately thinking that this might not be for you (if you’re a person who tends to avoid the front row of a comedy gig, or perhaps you’re just not that keen on hip-hop), then don’t switch off, because I am here to tell you why this show is exactly for people like you.

Energetic and loud, the stream of greetings and cheeky side remarks that fly from Rob’s corner as he settles onto the stage may come across as a little overwhelming at first. And it’s clear that Rob knows this is the case; he knows that not everyone in his audience is necessarily going to know what they’ve got themselves in for. With the atmosphere of the room in mind, Rob dives straight in with some trusty crowd work, bouncing off peoples’ responses and asking interesting and unpredictable questions to keep us on our toes. Crowd work is a whole different skill to performing music or stand-up because it relies heavily on how relaxed and open an audience is, and forces the performer to really engage with the ideas put forward by other people in the room. But Rob’s warm charm makes the task seem effortless, and so Abandoman’s audience at Clwb Ifor Bach is on board straight away.

© Tom Barnes

It’s when the music begins (provided by Sam Wilson on the keyboard) that this show truly picks up a gear. It’s obvious from the woops and cheers that a large portion of the room are already dedicated Abandoman fans, and the rest of us are soon swept up in the frenzied, spontaneous fun as the pair embarks on their first song. Entitled ‘What’s in Your Pocket?’ the pair asks us all to dig out the oddest item we can find in our possession and hold it up in the air. The beat starts and Rob makes his way through the audience, improvising a rap about a conker, hot sauce, a set of teeth, a stethoscope, and a fork (that one was ours… ‘Look at you man, it’s an atrocity. She will fuck you up with lovely cutlery!’). This is a song they’ve been doing for years, and yet every single time, it evolves into something completely unique.

The rest of the songs from this point on are structured around the core premise of the show: the life of Abandoman, from the very beginning. The story Rob spins is silly and far-fetched, yet he draws in audience members as though they were old friends, easily remembering names and facts about each person. Retired day nursery worker John even becomes an integral part of the show.

In a way that’s reminiscent of Jason Byrne (and no, not just because he’s also Irish), Rob has an uncanny ability to conjure up something from absolutely nothing, whilst taking care of his audience and nurturing an exciting, friendly atmosphere.

Having begun the evening saying, ‘This is a show that stars every one of you,’ you could be forgiven for being apprehensive, but, despite some of our fears, there was no feeling of being called out in class when you don’t know the answer. Those who want to join in, or have something funny to share, are free to. It’s almost an open mike night of silly humour, with a good-natured, gentle force driving it. But the show still has structure, and the guys on stage are always in complete control of the audience and the night in general. We are all in the palm of Rob’s hand.

This is incredibly skilled, feel-good stuff, and it comes from a place of gleeful creativity and genuine warmth. What a delight to witness it live.

THIS ARTICLE WAS ORIGINALLY POSTED ON QUENCH.