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Brighton Fringe: Beaverhausen – Komedia
Beaverhausen the third (twice removed) is not of this earth. This Drag King comes from a space-town of lip syncers living happily within a Celine Dion tune, until – tragedy! – they get stuck inside Steps instead. Our hero has to come to earth to learn about these strange people with their own words, music,… Read more
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Brighton Fringe: That Witch Helen – The Actors Theatre
A muddled and confusing attempt at feminist reinvention. Helen of Troy was “the face that launch’d a thousand ships”, and “burnt the topless towers of Illium”. Most remember the opening line of Marlow’s poem, but it’s the second line That Witch Helen focuses on: how women are blamed for men’s violence. Blending a mixture of… Read more
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Andrew “Tiny” Wood and the art of songwriting
All this mess and blood and grime and snail-slime makes life.Puritans wash clean their filthy rotten soulsNothing growsGod is love; love is dirt, uncleanWe are unclean – Ultrasound, “Sovereign” Ultrasound were my favourite band when I was eighteen. And your favourite band when you’re eighteen stays with you forever. Led by the fabulous Tiny Wood,… Read more
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REVIEW: Brighton Fringe – Bad Luck Cabaret
Electro-pop titan Laurie Black is a Brighton Fringe staple, her Bad Luck Cabaret an always-diverse mix of interesting art far from the complacency sometimes seen in this genre of tent-based vaudeville. A Spiegeltent refugee – Black explaining to the audience how this year’s replacement “Spiegelgardens” is run by a crappy pub chain – a full… Read more
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REVIEW: Brighton Fringe – PERFECT HARMONY: AMELIA CROTCHET AND FRIENDS
An uneven hour of musical comedy with some confusing interludes. With character comedy, it’s important to get one’s persona’s status and power relationship with the audience confirmed quickly. Here, Tasmin Sarkany plays Amelia Crotchet, a “semi-failed” classical musician in a double-act with her violin. There’s a lot going on, and Sarkany is a confident performer… Read more
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Review – BRIGHTON FRINGE: Amy Webber – Wannabe, Laughing Horse @ Caroline of Brunswick
A heartfelt and dizzyingly inventive show that could do with a bit more laser focus. We’ve all experienced it, but it doesn’t make it any easier: two idiots arrive late and decide the show is, in fact, all about them. Showing the artist no respect, they decide what the audience has paid to hear is:… Read more
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An interview with comedian Camilla Borges
I did an interview with the excellent Camilla Borges in my Indie Brighton newsletter ahead of her show at Fringe this weekend. Reposting it here for posterity! Hi there! Who are you, and why are you coming to Brighton? Hello! I am Camilla, I am a comedian and clown bringing my show, Be Not Afraid!, to… Read more
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REVIEW: Proud of Yourself Comedy – The Colonel Fawcett, Camden
Stand-up comedy is in a funny place. The most successful proponents are fairly trad, liberal acts, many not wanting to upset the political apple cart lest they get banned from Live At The Apollo. There is also a whole new roster of extreme right wing comedians grifting and griping about being “cancelled” while punching down… Read more
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REVIEW: Brighton Fringe – Alex Franklin: Gurl Code
Everything is everywhere all at once in Alex Franklin’s brain, an ADHD explosion of infinite possibility in which no logical cul-de-sac can be left unexplored. A British, half-Chinese and trans stand-up comedian, Franklin has put together a beautiful, proud, intersectional hour. It bounces around ideas about family, identity, and belonging, and hangs off a subtle… Read more
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REVIEW: Brighton Fringe – Moby Dick
Moby-Dick is a book much quoted but seldom read. Its infamous tale of obsession, ecocide, and preposterous human ego is a fine tome for our times. It is also so much more besides. It’s about Ahab’s fanaticism, sure, but it is also: a tale of queer love, which is hinted at here; the desperate and… Read more
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