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Edinburgh Comedy Preview – Part 2 {Blake Connolly}

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The Edinburgh Festival Fringe officially kicks off today, so it really is about time I get on with part two. As I mentioned last time, all the shows I went to were previews, meaning that often the acts were still getting to grips with the show, testing out material and working from notes. So, while it’s a fair enough guide, in many cases I’ve not seen the finished show.

Daniel Kitson: It’s Always Right Now, Until It’s Later
£12, Traverse Theatre, 10:00

For many years now, Daniel Kitson has gained a reputation as one of the funniest and most exciting stand-ups on the circuit. But for the last four or five years, he’s also been something else: a storyteller. His last few Edinburgh shows have been tales of moving out of his first flat or the discovery of the longest suicide note in history, theatrical monologues with as much pathos as humour. This year’s show is similar in style but perhaps his most ambitious of all, looking at what it is to live a life and how our lives can feel like a series of fleeting moments, as we change over time yet remain, deep down, the same person.

Hanging above and all around the intimate stage are a series of dimly glowing light bulbs, seemingly randomly positioned. Each represents a single moment in time, and each glows brightly in turn as Kitson paces around the stage, describing that moment in two people’s lives, two stories told in births, deaths and marriages, parties, phone calls and bus rides. He alternates between scenes in the lives of Caroline (a little girl, teenager, girlfriend, wife, mother, then grandmother) and a man called William whose life we see backwards: the sad old man becoming the bitter middle aged man, hopeful young man and confident child. It really is a thing of astonishing beauty and genuinely touching, these ordinary people and their outwardly mundane lives somehow seeming extraordinary and to be celebrated. As he mentions, park benches seem a terribly insignificant memorial to everything a human being has ever done, we all deserve at least a statue.

As well being thought-provoking and very moving, the show is also very, very funny. Never unrelentingly so – as you’d already have gathered, this isn’t a stand-up show – but Kitson is a remarkable writer and the humour, when it comes (particularly William’s tragic and hilarious rant on a first date) is spectacularly funny. His writing style is very literary and I left the show feeling like I had just finished reading a very good, rewarding novel. 

The preview I saw finished at midnight, in the creaky old chapel room of the Battersea Arts Centre, a wonderfully atmospheric venue. The show seemed to be a perfect fit with the stillness of night, so I do wonder how it will go down in its mid-morning slot in the Fringe. If you get the chance to see one of Daniel Kitson’s shows, don’t miss it.

Stewart Lee: Vegetable Stew
£10, The Stand Comedy Club, Times vary

One of the funniest and most intelligent comedians around, Stewart Lee would top the “must see” list for anyone visiting the fringe. The show covers a variety of topics, from charity work to the Bullingdon club, touching upon Mock the Week and the World Cup presenters along the way. As always with Lee, as fantastic as the material is, much of the delight comes from playing with the form and style of delivery, toying with the audience’s expectations and breaking the rules of stand-up comedy. 

This year’s show doesn’t break any particular new ground, being very similar in style and format to last year’s If You Prefer A Milder Comedian, Please Ask For One, right down to finishing with a song. Nonetheless, it’s a stunningly good hour of material with a particularly enjoyable thread woven through the first half about his grandfather, and a long, detailed story about David Cameron with a killer pay-off. If you don’t get to catch the show live, Stew will be using some of the material in the second series of his BBC Two Comedy Vehicle later in the year. 

Addy Van De Borgh: Advanced Mumbo Jumbo
£8, The Stand Comedy Club II, Times vary

Sometimes you get a surprise when watching a stand-up and that was the case when I went to see Addy Van De Borgh’s preview. The show is about the misuse of language – flowery corporate speak, estate agents’ truth-bending descriptions, that sort of thing. Van De Borgh mixes some sharp one-liners with imaginative, surreal situations, with a sensational talent for physical, theatrical performance and a wonderfully honed sense of comic timing. And if that’s not enough, he also plays the mouthorgan.

At times he reminded me of the way Bill Bailey chuckles through his act, inviting the audience to share in the joke, while some of his more surreal flights of fancy were almost Izzard-like. His assured style and – there’s no other way to say it – face for comedy make me wonder why he hasn’t had more exposure. Definitely a show to seek out.

Chris Addison
£17.50, Assembly @ George Street, 20:25

Addison returns to the Fringe after an absence of five years, now a very big name following his success in The Thick of It and In The Loop. Bounding across the stage with great confidence, his great strength is his well-crafted, passionate delivery. His observational humour is gimmick-free and safe, but does have a pretty high laugh-per-minute rate. This is one of the pricier shows on the fringe, though, which might make you think twice.

Laura Solon: The Owl of Stephen
£12, Pleasance Courtyard,  17:00

Solon is a talented character comedian who ditched stand-up early in her career to focus on one-woman plays. This is the story of the fictional Channel Island of Stephen which two businessmen want to buy (referencing the story of the Barclay brothers and Brecqhou) but cannot because of a rare owl, the last of its species, which lives on the island. We follow a TV producer and American actress attempting to make a documentary about the owl, meeting the many unusual residents of Stephen. Solon brings each character to life wonderfully, the dialogue often deceptively sharp as the delightful whimsical story heads to it’s rip-roaring conclusion. This is a really fun, entertaining show which is worth catching.

Stephen Carlin: The Podium of Unconditional Surrender
£8, The Stand Comedy Club III & IV, Times vary

First things first, I should mention that when I saw the Scottish stand-up’s preview, the show hadn’t exactly sold out. There were only around a dozen or so of us in the room, which is a really difficult thing for a stand-up to work with, and I thought he coped really well. While his routine often stepped into well-worn areas (Ryanair, for example), he managed to put an original spin on things. His offbeat, somewhat deadpan style which I imagine would work brilliantly in a full house was in danger of verging on awkward at times due to the small audience, but he countered this by going off-piste to talk to the crowd, expertly dealing with a heckler who still managed to completely derail the show’s denouement. Carlin developed some fine ideas during the show, including a particularly amusing proposal for a new British coat of arms. Despite the unusual atmosphere, I enjoyed the show, and expect Carlin to be a name to look out for in the future. 

Joe Bor: A Study of Embarrassment by a Guy with Two Bumholes
£5, Fringe at Le Monde, 20:00

Joe Bor genuinely does have two… well, bumholes. He copes with this recent medical discovery by putting on a whole show on the subject of embarrassment. The early version I saw still had some creases to iron out and was a little messy at times but there was lots of good material in there. At times he seemed to lack confidence in his best material, but as I mentioned, it was an early version of the show I saw, used to refine it into the final piece. Bor is an energetic comedian with a lively show, at one point bringing members of the audience on stage, and particularly funny rapport with his “sound man”. At a fiver a ticket, it’s worth considering.

These were some of the acts I had the chance to see warming up before Edinburgh, but there are a few others I didn’t catch who are also worth a look. There’s a huge amount of buzz around Seann Walsh (£12, Pleasance Courtyard, 20:30), described by Time Out as “This generation’s Dylan Moran”, so if you’re in Edinburgh you should get yourself to his show so you can tell your friends that you were at his solo Fringe debut. If you’re looking for something to do in the afternoon, you can do no better than seeing previews were Nat Luurtsema (£9.50, Pleasance Dome, 15:45), whose witty, imaginative routines are a joy to watch. Paul Foot (£9.50, Underbelly, 19:40) is a wonderfully silly, uniquely odd comedian, and his show directed by Noel Fielding is a must-see for fans of surreal comedy. On the other hand, if you’re looking for a stand-up to provide nothing more than a series of razor-sharp gags and one-liners, Gary Delaney (£9.50, Pleasance Courtyard, 20:30) and his whimsy-free zone is the show to go to and Dan Antopoloski (£9.50, Pleasance Dome, 20:00), winner of last year’s ‘funniest joke of the Fringe’ is worth a look as well.

The IT Crowd are back {TV}

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The geeks are back! The IT Crowd, the award-winning sitcom written by Graham Linehan; co-writer of classics Father Ted, Black Books and Big Train; returns this Friday night on Channel Four and it’s as good as ever.

The series is about the basement-dwelling IT department of Reynholm Industries, a large company that does something that’s never explained in the show. Childlike Moss (Richard Ayoade) and his very slightly less socially inept colleague Roy (Chris O’Dowd) are managed by technophobe Jen (Katherine Parkinson), while the excellent Matt Berry is their boss, Douglas Reynholm. Unusually for a modern British sitcom, many of which have disposed of laughter tracks over the last decade, it is filmed in front of a live studio audience at Pinewood Studios. Since the first enjoyable but awkward first series, which featured Chris Morris in a regular role as the brilliantly-named Denholm Reynholm, the show has really found it’s feet and become one of the best comedy series of recent years. While it has enough references to computer jargon and internet memes keep hardcore geeks happy; particularly in the amazing set design, which you can see here; most of the clever, surreal humour can be enjoyed by anyone.

The first episode of the new series doesn’t disappoint. Titled ‘Jen the Fredo’, a reference Godfather II fans will recognise, it sees Jen take up the position of Entertainments Officer with the misconception that her role would involve planning trips to West End shows for boss Douglas Renholm’s sleazy business pals, rather than arranging the sort of “entertainment” they are used to. Of course, she ropes in Roy, upset after the breakdown of a long-term relationship, and Moss, currently obsessed with Dungeons and Dragons-style role playing games, to help out with the evening’s entertainment. Meanwhile, Douglas gets into trouble with some feminists (so, nothing new there).

Linehan’s writing and Ayoade’s performances have created one of the great sitcom characters in Maurice Moss, the lovably naive, pedantic nerd. The cast have really gelled and settled into their roles over the last three series, and here they are better than ever. There are some really funny moments throughout the episode, including Moss’ fantastic role-playing game and a scene that riffed further on the Godfather and showing some “Johns” a good time that deserved a bigger laugh. With future episodes this series featuring Moss making an appearance on the teatime words and numbers game Countdown, it looks like the quality of The IT Crowd is as good as ever and Channel Four’s decision to already commission a fifth series for next year was a wise one.

You can watch the first episode of series four of The IT Crowd this Friday night at 10pm on Channel Four, or watch it right now on channel4.com in a special early premiere.

Time runs out for 24 {TV}

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After the eight longest days of Jack Bauer’s life and 194 hours of incredible television, 24’s final episodes will be broadcast this Sunday night at 9 o’clock on Sky1 and Sky1 HD. The era-defining series, about the heroic Counter Terrorist Unit agent played by 1980s film star Kiefer Sutherland and his battles to prevent terrorist plots against a background of intrigue at the White House, will continue to live on in a series of motion pictures over the coming years, but the television series is coming to an end. First broadcast in 2001 just weeks after the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington, the series has drawn on the fears and anxieties of the “War on Terror” with it’s myriad of biological, nerve-gas and nuclear threats, while in many ways being a good-fashioned action thriller, full of unexpected twists and explosive set-pieces.

The series’ most innovative gimmick has been the use of real-time, with each episode taking place over an hour and the story continuing, unseen, during commercial breaks. This was more closely observed in earlier seasons, when greater care was taken to ensure journeys took realistic lengths of time. Nonetheless, the use of split-screens and the iconic ticking yellow clock are still a fantastic way to ramp up the tension and keep viewers at the edge of their seats.

Over the eight seasons, 24 has developed a few predictable quirks – there’s always a mole or two at CTU, there’s always a moment that Jack has to go rouge because his bosses are getting it wrong, and the bad guy at the start of the season always turns out to be a small part of the picture, with the big boss only revealed a few episodes before the end. But it never fails to surprise, with the ability to shock over and over again. Memorable moments down the years have included the jaw-dropping ending to the first season with Jack’s wife Terri being tragically shot just as it seemed that all was well, Bauer being forced to kill his own boss, Ryan Chappelle, the killing of several main characters at the start of season five and the nuclear explosion in downtown Los Angeles in season six.

This season has seen attempts to sign a peace deal at the United Nations in New York between American President Allison Taylor and the fictional Islamic Republic of Kamistan, with the Republic’s President being kidnapped and eventually murdered. As ever, it’s now emerged that the IRK rebels we thought were responsible at the start of the season were only a small part of the plot, with the Russians turning out to be behind it. We go into the final two hours with Jack Bauer on a revenge mission against those responsible for the shocking murder of his lover, ex-FBI agent Renee Walker. Unfortunately for him, it means going against President Taylor who is committed to getting the peace deal signed, no matter how, and has even accepted help from the brilliantly villainous Nixon-like former president Charles Logan (Gregory Itzin) to make it happen. This means that every fan’s favourite quirky CTU analyst Chloe O’Brian (Mary Lynn Rajskub), now temporarily in charge of CTU, and field agent Cole Ortiz (Freddie Prinze Jr) are having to instigate a manhunt to capture Jack, last seen wearing some sort of Iron Man-like protective suit as he went on the rampage against the bad guys like never before. It’s all coming down to a showdown between Chloe’s instincts to protect her friend, who she knows has always been right before, and her duty to follow orders.

Executive producer Howard Gordon has promised that the series will end in a way that feels consistent with what we’ve seen over the last eight seasons. Gordon says that Jack Bauer finds himself “in a compromised place morally, ethically and emotionally. This show is a tragedy, and to give Jack a happy ending didn’t feel authentic. Chloe and Jack are in a real face-off, Chloe has to decide between her duty and friendship to Jack. It’s about as hairy a confrontation as you can possibly imagine.”

One thing’s for sure – however the TV series comes to an end, this isn’t the last we’ve seen of Jack Bauer.

As It Occurs To Me {Radio}

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Richard Herring returned to London’s Leicester Square theatre on Monday night to record the first in a new series of his stand-up and sketch show, As It Occurs To Me. Aided by comic actors Emma Kennedy and Dan Tetsell, with music from Christian Ryley, the show is, put simply, about whatever has occurred to Herring over the past week, whether they are things that have happened to him or his thoughts on things that have happened in the news. It shares a similar feel to his previous radio work, such as Fist of Fun and That Was Then, This Is Now, but because it is an Internet podcast, he can push the boundaries of comedy and decency as far as he’d like without having to worry about editorial interference or broadcasting guidelines.

For eight weeks, the show is recorded in front of a live theatre audience, who pay £10 each, which covers the costs of the production before the recording is released online, for free. It might seem a little odd to pay to see something which is then made available free of charge, but audience members get pretty good value for money. There’s a great atmosphere at the recordings which has seemed to be improving week by week, with final episode of the first series having a real party feel. But also, something new for this second series is that Herring opens with an exclusive 45 minute stand-up set, not available in the podcast, where he interacts with the audience, tells stories from some of his previous stand-up shows and mentions things that didn’t make it into the main show. This week, the audience was told of his experiences of being heckled by an octogenarian at the British Library and the time he wrote his “first book”, when he had a job inputting names and numbers into the BT phone book database, and changed his flatmate’s name in the listings to “Stewart Wee”.

The style of humour is very similar to the best of Lee and Herring’s work. On the surface, much of it is puerile, adolescent and often offensive, but always knowingly so. But it’s the anecdotal comedy that works best, like the story of meeting Scream actress Neve Campbell to discover that she “didn’t know how to pronounce her own name” or the discovery of an old notebook full of stories written by the a nine year old Richard Herring. Also, like Lee and Herring’s work, a lot of the humour comes from repetition, something which is regularly signposted. Favourites from the first series included the show’s only sound effect, a roulette wheel, which made it’s way into every episode, and “Tiny Andrew Collins”, Tetsell’s version of the broadcaster Herring shares his other podcast with, who isn’t a million miles away from Kevin Eldon’s Rod Hull character from Fist of Fun. The new series starts with Herring promising to drop all of the old catchphrases and running gags, but you can be sure that they’ll make a reappearance.

Herring writes the show within 48 hours of the performance. While it’s quite a feat to produce eight fully-formed comedy shows over such a short space of time, it’s just one sign of his prolificacy. As well as AIOTM and the Collings and Herrin podcast, he has been writing a daily blog for the last eight years, recently published a new book, been filling in for Adam and Joe’s BBC 6music show, just finished touring his excellent Hitler Moustache show, is about to bring a new version of his Christ on a Bike stand-up show to Edinburgh and is, occasionally, allowed on the telly.

The first episode of the new series is available now and is worth a listen if you’re not averse to very strong language. It includes the story of the cast’s night out at the Sony Radio Academy Awards, for which the podcast was nominated, which apparently turned out to be a moneymaking ruse by “Ian Sony”, plus a moving and not at all depraved tale of love between one man and one talking hotel lift. If you enjoy it, then it’s worth coming down to the Leicester Square Theatre and joining in the fun.

As it Occurs to Me is available on iTunes or to download from The British Comedy Guide

by Blake Connolly

Alternative Election Night {TV Preview}

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It’s only a couple of days until Britain goes to the polls for the closest general election in a generation. On Thursday night, the BBC will begin an epic 20-hour broadcast from it’s huge studio set, ITV will have Alistair Stewart and Julie Etchingham surrounded by virtual reality graphics and Sky will have it’s presenters at constituencies across the country. Meanwhile, Channel Four will be taking an entirely different approach to election night.

Lauren Laverne, David Mitchell and Jimmy Carr will present a four-hour special, taking an entertaining and provocative look at the results as they come in. They’ll be joined by Charlie Brooker who’ll provide typically acerbic and hilarious comment, an array of guests including a bookmaker with the latest odds and a live studio audience. Viewers at home will also be able to join in on Twitter as night unfolds by sending tweets to @c4altelection and using the hashtag #C4altelection.

As well as the live broadcast from the studio, there’ll be pre-recorded segments using some of the channel’s most popular programmes. Throughout the night there’ll be segments from a special edition of Come Dine With Me featuring the unlikely combination of Edwina Currie, Brian Paddick, Derek Hatton and Rod Liddle. At ten o’clock, just after the exit polls come in, Charlie Brooker is joined by Robert Webb, Sharon Horgan and Peter Serafinowicz for a special edition of You Have Been Watching, looking at election coverage and the world of political television. Plus, from time to time the Fonejacker’s cast of characters will be popping up with prank calls.

The last time an alternative, satirical election broadcast was attempted, it was the utterly fantastic Election Night Armistice in 1997, where Armando Iannucci, Peter Baynham and David Schneider introduced Alan Partridge with the latest results from Norwich, a “prostitute in a helicopter” ready to land wherever the first result is declared to try to produce the first scandal of the new parliament, and a male voice choir performing popular news theme tunes. It’s hard to imagine that Channel Four’s effort will be able to come close to Iannucci’s genius, but with David Mitchell and Charlie Brooker on board, it should be definitely worth watching.

The Alternative Election Night on Thursday 6 May, 9pm on Channel Four.

Strike Back {TV Preview}

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Next Wednesday night at 9 o’clock, Sky1HD will show the first two episodes of its new drama series based on former SAS operative Chris Ryan’s bestselling novel Strike Back. Ryan is best known as being the only member of the famous Bravo Two Zero patrol in the first Gulf War to evade capture. After writing a book about his long journey by foot to Syria, thought to be the most difficult escape a British solider has ever made, he began a successful career as a novelist.

It’s the last of the three novels Sky bought the rights to adapt two years ago as part of a £10m commitment to home-grown drama, following Tim Roth’s starring role in David Almond’s Skellig and the excellent adaptation of Martina Cole’s The Take. The route of adapting popular fiction was taken by Sky after seeing the success of their versions of some of Terry Pratchett’s Discworld books, the latest of which, Going Postal, will be airing towards the end of May. The channel has also made other forays into producing drama, from being co-producers on the internationally acclaimed reimagining of Battlestar Galactica, to its little-known but fondly remembered witchcraft drama Hex, and for many years the long-running Premiership football soap Dream Team. But Strike Back is perhaps Sky’s most ambitious drama project yet.

Shot on 35mm film on location in South Africa, it’s clear that Sky are attempting to recreate the high-budget, high-octane action of its most popular American imports such as 24, which remains a big hit for the channel in it’s final season. The cinematic feel is noticed by star Richard Armitage, best known for his roles in Spooks and Robin Hood, who plays John Porter, a veteran of the 2003 invasion of Iraq.

“It’s an ambitious project for television,” he says. “We’ve made three feature films on a TV budget and schedule. But the advantage of that is that these three feature films are linked together so you get a really interesting character arc through all episodes. American television is being brave and doing that at the moment, and this is stepping into that area.”

The first episode begins with events in 2003, with John Porter leading a Special Forces Unit, including Hugh Collinson (Andrew Lincoln, of This Life and Teachers), across the border into Basra. Their mission ends in disaster, something which haunts Porter for many years following his return home to Britain, when he quits the army. We then jump to 2010, and Collinson is now a senior intelligence officer. A journalist is kidnapped in Iraq, and the perpetrator has links to that fateful day in 2003. He calls Porter back into action and, keen to redeem himself, he agrees.

As Armitage mentioned, over the six-episode series three separate two-hour stories play out, first in Iraq, then in Zimbabwe, then finally in Afghanistan and Pakistan. The series will be shown over three weeks, two episodes at a time, adding to the movie-like feel. Chris Ryan was closely involved in the production, acting as series consultant and script advisor. He’s enjoying seeing his novel transferred to the screen.

Ryan says, “When you produce a novel it’s like a child and to see it put onto screen opens it up to a greater audience. I class myself as a storyteller now, and to tell that story on paper is a great privilege, then to see it on screen is even better.”

The cast also includes Ewen Bremner, Colin Salmon and Orla Brady. It’ll be interesting to follow the story of Collinson and Porter’s interlinking lives, but it’ll be just as interesting to see if Sky has finally been able to come up with an action drama series that can stand alongside the big hits from across the Atlantic.

Catch Chris Ryan’s Strike Back on Wednesday 5 May, 9pm on Sky1 and Sky1 HD.

Glee: Hell-o {TV Preview}

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Our lucky guest writer Blake Connolly got a sneaky peak from Channel 4 at the upcoming episode of Glee, if you want to know what’s instore; keep reading…


Glee returns to E4 tomorrow after a few weeks off to catch up with the broadcasts in the United States. The musical comedy-drama has been a phenomenon around the world since it first appeared on American screens last September. Songs from the series have rocketed to the top of the download charts, the DVDs are selling by the bucketload, and as Catherine has reported, Lucky Voice have recently started offering Glee nights at their karaoke bars.

Originally written as a feature film script by Ian Brennan, based on his own experiences in a high-school show choir, it was developed for television by Nip/Tuck writers Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk. Murphy had previously created Popular, another series set in a high school, remembered fondly for it’s quirky, surreal humour and non sequiturs. Glee is similarly full of one-liners and a cynical streak which undercuts the upbeat power-pop ballads and uplifting messages. This is no High School Musical. For one thing, the music’s pretty good, with the series so far using tracks from artists as diverse as Amy Winehouse, Kanye West, Queen, Lily Allen, The Supremes and of course Journey. But the writing is also a lot sharper than many people who haven’t seen the show would credit, with some terrific one-liners, including this week’s “Did you know dolphins are just gay sharks?”

When we left off a few weeks back, New Directions had just won the sectionals, with the brilliantly nasty cheerleader coach Sue Sylvester being suspended after helping the competing glee clubs by leaking the set list, while their director Will Schuester kissed obsessive-compulsive school councellor Emma Pillsbury hours after her wedding was called off. However, we soon see that Sue Sylvester isn’t away for long (after all, it just wouldn’t be the same without her), as she uses some Rohypnol and a digital camera to not only allow her to return to the school but also put the glee club in jeopardy once again. Will is told by Principal Figgins that, having won the sectionals, they will now have to win the regional finals if they are to continue. Rachel has started dating Finn, who hasn’t yet gotten over the discovery that he is not the father of his ex-girlfriend Quinn’s baby. Sue, knowing that Rachel is both the glee club’s strongest singer and the weakest emotionally, sets her sights on her as she attempts to bring down New Directions.

The episode includes some of the funniest lines in the series yet, all of them coming from Sue and her two undercover “cheerios” Santana and Brittany. There’s also some very good music, with Will asking each member of the club to sing a song which includes the word “hello”, so yes, there’s some Lionel Richie, but a couple of the songs only feature the first syllable of the word, so there’s a certain AC/DC classic in there too.

Things continue to look good for the show, with a second season already ordered for the autumn. Open auditions are being held in the US to cast new characters, which will culminate in a reality TV-style special before the new cast members are revealed in the first episode of the new season. While we sadly can’t take part in that here in the UK, E4 are holding a competition, with a lucky winner being flown out to LA to have a walk-on part.

After tomorrow night’s “hello” special, the following episode will be full of Madonna songs. Not sure whether to watch? Four words: Sue Sylvester does Vogue.

Catch Glee: Hell-o on Monday 19th April, 9pm on E4.

Blake Connolly usually writes at Transmission. See more of his reviews.