Tim Biglowe: Grease Monkey, PBH’s Free Fringe at Whistlebinkies.
What’s the proper name for a sell-out show that’s free? A free-out? That was the case for our performance of Tim Bigelow’s new show Grease Monkey. Trying to define his inner “bloke”, he tells us all about being brought up in Wimbourne, moving to London, and then finding his inner PartyBoy in Berlin. But now he’s a mature married man, he has to find a proper job and what could be more blokey than working as a mechanic? But is he the ideal fit for the role? You’ll have to see his show to find out! Tim Bigelow has an enormously welcoming and inclusive style, with lots of terrific material and a fluid, confident delivery. The show is pitched perfectly to the – out of necessity – intimate audience set-up. And it has a very clever and engaging finale which is just about as blokey as you can get. A name to watch out for in the future!
Gang Bang, Pleasance Courtyard.
A Mafiosa family escape from America and end up in Blackpool – it’s an easy mistake. But when Godfather Don Lambrini croaks, he passes on the boss mantle to the unlikely Al, much to the fury of his heir apparent. But Al is a blunderer more than a murderer, and mayhem ensues. It’s a ridiculous idea and the script is full of ridiculous humour; a mixture of surreal, slapstick and the downright silly. There are lots of amusing characterisations and humour derived from the show’s deliberately unlikely locations. The play could be trimmed down a little, and does begin to run out of steam towards the end, but I found the performers and the laughs very endearing, and, frankly, I loved it.
Emma Sidi is Sue Gray, Pleasance Courtyard.
Not sure I knew quite what to expect from this hour of character comedy but Emma Sidi’s caracterizacion (Spanish – it will make sense if you see it) of Sue Gray is creative genius. I’m not going to tell you more about her portrayal because the surprise is very much part of the appeal of the show. We learn about Sue’s previous posts in the Civil Service, the ministers she likes, the ministers she doesn’t; what she really thinks about Sir Keir Starmer and what happens at the office water cooler. There is some audience participation, brilliantly set up and which adds an inspirational level of comedy. Exactly what the Fringe is all about – I laughed from start to finish!
Chloe Petts: How You See Me How You Don’t, Pleasance Courtyard.
It must be miserable to be trolled online simply for being who you are and what you look like; and that was an experience that Chloe Petts unexpectedly found herself facing. But she has turned that experience into a great new show, which encompasses her appearances on Sky Sports News, her schooldays with best friend Britney and the pitfalls and pleasures of using the Clarks foot measuring appliance. She has a superbly confident and likeable style and delivers her sharp and pinpoint accurate comic observations with immaculate timing and star quality. A must-see!
Nina Gilligan: Goldfish, Just the Tonic Nucleus.
Nina Gilligan’s new show Goldfish is, as always, full of hilarious observations about life from the viewpoint of a menopausal woman, including the sexual apartheid practised by GPs, fancying men under 30, and still being subjected to a mental mother. But there’s also a serious side to the show, with her health issues and an account of a sexual assault at a Corporate Event. So there’s a sweet and sour aspect to this show; although one’s main memory at the end of it is a live goldfish singing on stage with backing bubbles. Laughter contrasted with the unwelcome advances of a sexual predator.
Finlay Christie: I Deserve This, Monkey Barrel Comedy 4.
Fast becoming one of our biggest rising stars in comedy, Finlay Christie’s new hour of comedy celebrates being a young cis white male, whilst always poking fun at himself, at his privilege, both in education and money, and his woeful attempts to write rap as a 16-year-old. Exuding confidence, but in a likeable way rather than a Boris Johnson way, he has that marvellous ability to lead an audience down the exact garden path that he chooses, and can hold our attention even through silence – which is always the sign of a tremendous comedian. It takes a very skilful comic to present a sequence explaining mansplaining without infuriating the women in the audience – and he gets away with it beautifully. Great crowd work, superbly self-deprecating and, above all, extremely funny.