Points of view: theatre, comedy and news
To use words like delightful, hilarious, immersive - despite being accurate - would be to greatly undersell Nick Helm’s No One Gets Out Alive. The best descriptor would therefore be something along the lines of ‘what if a car crash was positive?’ in the way that the show itself is indescribably forceful and chaotic as well as the fact that we just simply can’t look away from Helm’s performance.
Marjolein Robertson is a storyteller. Yes, a comedian and a fantastic one at that, but one who weaves intricate threads of comedy, folklore and story together into something far greater, for the stories she tells either about her own life or from folklore are no mere anecdotes. They speak to a deeper feeling of truth and heart that surpasses that term. And Robertson really illustrates her gift for story in Lein.
There are some comedy duos and shows that just radiate humour and good-naturedness, overpowering any other emotion that we may be feeling at the moment to the point of entrapping us in their comedy. Lianna Holston and Michael McPheat are such a pair, whose energy and chemistry just project outwards and from the moment that Starter Pack begins we are in their thrall.
Live performance is one of the best forms of escapism. This rule is perpetuated by Thor Stenhaug’s debut, One Night Stand Baby, an effortlessly funny and clever hour of the purest form of comedy. It’s just a very solid hour of good humour and exquisite comedic craftsmanship that should be on everyone’s list this Fringe.
It is that time of year again to contemplate life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness in John Tothill’s new hour, This Must Be Heaven to the point of academic dissection.
Whatever we may have been expecting from Glenn Moore’s new hour, Please Sir, Glenn I Have Some Moore, our expectations are far exceeded by what we bear witness to onstage. It’s certainly a frenetic and intense hour where Moore pushes what is possible from a comedy show to the extreme, to the point where it becomes everything that we may want from a comedy show.
It’s the feelings of community, support and warmth - in addition to laughter - that are evoked over the course of this show that prove that Helen Bauer is a comedic machine. It is virtually impossible to have a bad time with her at the helm. Bless Her is an hour of transcendental comedy where Bauer both celebrates and critiques the idea of self love, using everything we know and love about her comedy whilst showcasing how she’s grown as a performer, comedian and writer.
Lianna Holston’s Haha, Oh God defies expectations to such an extent that it is truly remarkable what she has achieved in this hour She achieves the seemingly impossible and proves the extent in which comedy and creativity can thrive. As the saying goes, diamonds are made under pressure.
The tenement walls of Edinburgh are full of ghost stories, multiples of haunted houses in the one city. In Haunted House, Eleanor Morton talks about just the one - the city at large- and the spirits that flock to its streets every August.
All that glisters is not gold in Bebe Cave’s The Screen Test, as she peels back the curtain on the mirage created by history and myth surrounding the film industry in the mid-1900s.
Pepper & Salt 