Liverpool Daily Post - Comedy

Review: Henry Rollins, Carling Academy

2008-09-01T20:23:21Z

TIME in the company of Henry Rollins is always time well spent.

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I've seen his spoken word shows live about four times in the last decade and the likes of Boxed Life and Think Tank were cornerstones of my impressionable youth.

He's always been so self-assured, so funny and so intense it never crossed my mind the man might have ever been anything but at the peak of his powers ALL THE TIME.

So it really was amazing to find out it turns out he was just getting warmed up all these years. His latest show, Provoked, has a structure, a message, a wisdom and a heart unlike anything I'd ever seen him do.

He's turned his hand to making documentaries in disaster areas, travelling to places in the world Americans aren't supposed to go just to see what they're like, seeing how the other half lives - and suffers - and armed with this new knowledge and causes, comes out fighting like never before. Perhaps because his energies are being put into something that's not all about him for a change? It makes a real difference.

A few years ago I took my sister to see him at Manchester Opera House and he talked for so long, one anecdote to the next, she fell asleep. For a Rollins fanatic that's just value for money, but this time, it seemed he'd really trimmed the fat to make consistant points. He never lost his stride for a moment, and if he went off on a tangent he always knew what to come back to. Rollins is always on the ball, but this was new to see.

Some people say they're not sure what Rollins does - and to an outsider, I can see the point in a way - it's not really stand up, it's not really about anything except his experiences and the cult of his personality. But for those of us who know, he is still effortlessly hilarious, and for all the contemplative moments of his show (there's certainly more than ever before) there's real comedy highlights, mostly based on some fantastic celeb anecdotes (his impressions of Jello Biafra and David Lee Roth are a joy). His memories of seeing an awful Ted Nugent concert were so funny and so passionately told the yarn nearly had me on the floor.

He is more politically motivated than ever before, which some critics have called passe. But when you understand what Rollins' opposition to the Bush administration has spurred him on to find out and achieve, how can you argue with that? Bad things happen when good people do nothing, anybody? I've adored the work of Henry Rollins for half of my entire life. And now he's 47, he has never been more inspirational, more engaging, more entertaining or more relevant. Brilliant, brilliant, brilliant.

Hellboy rocks

2008-08-22T11:58:29Z

SO pleased to finally see Hellboy II this week. Sure, there's a lot of worthy reasons to see the film, Pan's Labyrinth mastermind Guillermo del Torro directing and all that.... Actually, that's the only worthy reason. The rest is just nonsense. And as such, long live Hellboy!

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As a piece of fantasy fiction, Hellboy (parts I and II both) is unique. Despite an argument for the (actually rather clever) scientific and mythological grounds of some of the storylines it follows, it knows it's daft, and, armed with that knowledge, allows itself to do wonderful things.

Batman strains under the weight of the responsibility of the batsuit. Heath Ledger, rest his brilliant Joker soul, was playing for dark laughs, not comedy. Iron Man was possibly a bit too Hollywood and knowing. X Men, Spiderman, Superman, Hulk and the Fantastic Four were... well, who knows, they didn't seem interesting at all, didn't watch 'em. What Hellboy has going for it is it knows there's humour to be had in its shamelessly ridiculous set up.

For starters, neither Hellboy movie has tried to get us to suspend disbelief that the superhero thing could really happen to one of us as we were accidentally going about our daily business, and as such it can immerse itself into levels of fantasy, and ridiculousness, most other films of the genre can't really afford.

The main character is an adopted demon, who sands down his devil horns to fit in with the human race and loves kittens. He has an (ahem) fulfilling relationship with a girl who can set herself on fire at will, and their best pal is an intellectual amphibian called Abe Sapien with a secret soft spot for Barry Manilow (more of that later). They are kept under no semblance of control by none other than US comic legend Jeffrey Tambor, and they're out to fight, in the sequel anyway, Luke Goss! Off of Bros!

(He actually does a damn good job as it happens. He plays a fantastic, fully fleshed-out baddie. And is hot. But the Bros connection is momentarily funny all the same for Brit audiences.)

Hellboy has action, horror, romance, but never, ever shirks on the possibility of a good gag. What could be one of the most irresistibly memorable scenes in cinema this year (although it won't be winning any Oscars) is the one where Hellboy and Abe have a few beers and nurse their broken hearts with a bit of Bazza Karaoke.

Hellboy is laugh out loud funny because it wants to be, because it knows it should be. Sometimes you can see the joke coming a mile off, or something hilarious can just come out of nowhere - either way, the humour is brilliantly crafted.

Going back to Goss, here's a quote that might sum it up nicely: "But one thing I've learned is that you have to have the courage to be understood or ridiculed, and, either way, not to give a shit. Of course, being understood is more pleasant.

"I've been used to both in my career, believe me, so it's nothing that I am afraid of any more."

Guillermo wrote the part for him after all, but fair plays to him. Sounds like he got the Hellboy ethos right down.

Exciting news

2008-08-14T10:11:26Z

Hails to Neil Fitzmaurice, and his plans for a Liverpool "comedy night with a difference".

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It's just been announced the Peep Show star will be running and compering the revived Laughterhouse night at the Slaughterhouse, that, proving you can't keep a good boozer down, has reopened today under new management after a myriad of unfortunate cash and contractual troubles.

He certainly seems like a good man for the job, having seen him return to the stand up stage for the first time in six years at the Best of Liverpool night at the comedy festival in May. His set was one of the highlights, his observational material strong and love of the game apparent.

So I can't wait to see what he's got up his sleeve - if he remains as enthusiastic as he was that night, he's bound inject a bit of new life into the city's comedy scene. He also promises "lots of surprises and some very special guests", and people in the know have hinted there may be something of the Ray Von, the Phoenix Nights character that made Fitzmaurice's name, about his stay in charge. Dates and line ups are to be announced soon.

Neil said: "I am really excited about the prospect of running the comedy club and also returning to stand-up myself, this venue already has a great history of comedy, which I plan to take to a different level."

No idea what he means, but can't wait to find out.

Not funny/ not nice/ not here (not all at the same time)

2008-08-08T16:25:22Z

COMEDY, like everything else, is a bit thin on the ground this time of year, what with the stand ups decamping to Edinburgh and most of the theatres dark for most of the month.

(Except for the Royal Court, where Eight Miles High (starring Keith Carter among others) still has a few days to go and which I'm checking out tonight - but then again, turns out one of their mid-August Rawhides has been cancelled - what's going on?!).

So, we're reduced to snooping around the net and checking up on how things are going North of the border for our Scouse brethren.

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As usual, the Guardian's coverage of Edinburgh is superb, but it has a tendency to focus on more worthy entertainment (a review of a naked play about Jews being gassed in Auschwitz caught my attention the other day). The Scotsman, too, has it all covered thoroughly, as you'd expect.

But so far, the only one of our natives I've been able to find anything out about is John Bishop, who's taken his show Cultural Ambassador up to Bonnie Scotland.

Although being praised for his charm (tick) and his way with a rambling tale (tick), I was amazed to hear him being described as "smug" by one reviewer. Perhaps I've been too wrapped up in the Scouse love to notice how his act must come across to outsiders. "There is a thinly veiled arrogance which is slightly off putting," says Corrie Shaw of Chortle.co.uk. Very interesting...

Sarah Millican's Not Nice, one of those shows I had a feeling in my water I should have caught at the Liverpool Comedy Festival earlier this year, is a four star-er on the same site. But back at the Graun, Reginald D Hunter's formula seems to be raising eyebrows again, and not because he's being any good. Odd.

So the Liverpool massive is a bit thin on the ground over wherever you look, it seems. Where's all the comedy gone?

Top 10 Peep Show moments

2008-07-14T09:16:40Z

ESCHEWING the virtues of Curb Your Enthusiasm on this blog a while ago, I said "by season six of anything in the UK, whatever it is that it is, it stinks". It was a generalism born of the trend for good shows to pack in after two series in a fit of creative pique. Enter the exception to the rule, Peep Show, which just finished up its fifth series, is heading for more, and is as genuinely funny now as it has ever been. To illustrate:

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10 Jeremy goes shopping

Upset that ex-girlfriend Big Suze has shacked up with a virtuous, hunky monk, Jez goes to do the big shop while under the influence. "Hold your horses honey, I've got coupons for the Pringles!"

9. Superhans and the crack

Not especially hilarious, but somewhat iconic. Superhans's description of his drug of choice was ripped off by many a stand up.

8. Mark hides in the cupboard

Corrigan's feeling ashamed of himself again, and rather than face up to it takes to hiding in the stationary cupboard. Scouser Neil Fitzmaurice is on hand to expertly up the shame factor.

7. Terrorising Gog

Jez and Superhans's musical career suffers a setback when their track is rejected by old schoolfriend Gog. They proceed to take things out on his luxury breakfast cereal.

6. Going hunting

This shouldn't have really been quite so funny - it's from series 4 when they tried to up the slapstick a bit more and get Mark and Jez in more varied comedy capers.

5. Old style paedoing

No clip for this but it deserves a mention as the top gag of the last series. It's episode 2, and Mark is contemplating how to make use of his new found freedom - he's always fancied becoming a scout leader, for example. Jez has concerns about the kind of men who are attracted to that position, but Mark argues:
"I spent five happy years in the scouts and never once - alright, Layton was a bit of a paedo, but not in a bad way. Just boosting you over the climbing wall, making you run around the camp in your pants... it was old-style paedoing. Before it got such a bad name."

4 Cold feet

Mark starts to accept his lot, as Sophie takes him shopping for the wedding list and nearly buys him a trendy Chairman Mao t-shirt. "She's dragging me into the 20th century," he resigns himself, "with its meaningless logos and ironic veneration of tyrants."

3 Mark gets mugged

"If they rape and kill me, I hope they kill me first," he ponders, mid-robbery. "I sort of win."

2 "I'm doing excellent shopping"

"My depressed state of mind means I'm being even more frugal than usual."

1 And then I go and spoil it all by saying something stupid, like:

One of the earliest episodes but still one of the show's most memorable moments. Mark thinks up an excuse to call Sophie at home, but the self-conscious ramblings soon get out of hand:

Hey, Rhona

2008-06-24T11:18:13Z

APOLOGIES, apologies and thrice apologies to Rhona Cameron, who came to town a couple of weeks ago and was goodly enough to begrudgingly let us interview her beforehand.

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As a photographer I used to know used to say to me when he was busy, or pretending to be, â�?��?I havenâ�?��?�t had time to fartâ�?�?, which is a disgusting thought and a feeble excuse but true. Anyway, without wasting a further minute, hereâ�?��?�s what happened:

â�?��?Och I hate interviews,â�?�? she drawled as soon as she picked up the phone, an encounter made only more painful for us both by the fact I knew I had to ask the kind of boring questions sheâ�?��?�s probably been fielding the entire tour. Questions like:

Why are you returning to stand up after five years out?

(Answer: she was writing two novels, is turning one of them into a screenplay and is in talks to make them both into films, moved house, and was enjoying playing in her womenâ�?��?�s football team, and didnâ�?��?�t want to tour).

It ends up being kind of gruelling for us both. She talks about â�?��?sober reflectionâ�?�? and â�?��?moving onâ�?�?, and if interviews are therapy it all sounds so rote she probably worked through all these issues approximately 371 journalists ago. But still, she humours me. And looking back over the chat, despite her reticence she offers an incredible insight into the stand up life.

â�?��?When I stopped stand up, I was really bored with it. It was never something I wanted to do continually throughout my life, but I fell into it, and it was a way of life for a while. As I grew up I found it limited as a form of expression and kind of went off it.â�?�?

When she returned to the stage for a one-off cancer benefit gig last year, she was surprised to find she enjoyed it, and a friend persuaded her to hit the road again.

â�?��?When youâ�?��?�re over 40 you donâ�?��?�t care so much about what people think, and ironically, youâ�?��?�re starting to do your best stuff. But itâ�?��?�ll be my last year of stand up. I just feel thereâ�?��?�s so many people doing it, itâ�?��?�s like going back to an old lover. I enjoy dipping in and out, but I donâ�?��?�t know if I want to do the whole thing. Years ago, I could have gone major, very high up, but Iâ�?��?�ve got other things Iâ�?��?�d like to do and I want to move in other directions. I donâ�?��?�t like to be tied down and put all my eggs in one basket.â�?�?

Sheâ�?��?�s stopped drinking. â�?��?A lot of stand ups donâ�?��?�t grow up. It keeps you hedonistic. A few females are coming up and a couple have been successful. It is more male dominated because a lot of comedians are very damaged. In my generation the comedy scene was awash with cocaine, or mental health problems.

â�?��?Itâ�?��?�s very hard as a singular woman, or a gay woman, to have lived that life and survived it. Itâ�?��?�s a very self-destructive life, that Iâ�?��?�ve had to drag along with me and repair.â�?�?

There was her mainstream break on the first season of Iâ�?��?�m a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here, which sounds as if it was not all it cracked up to be: â�?��?In this business, once youâ�?��?�ve got that break on TV youâ�?��?�ve got to do all that nob jockey stuff, go to things, talk to boring coked up people in TV, and I canâ�?��?�t be a*sed.

â�?��?Perhaps at the time I made some wrong choices. Iâ�?��?�ve made some absolutely sh*t decisions, but if Iâ�?��?�m given the chance to earn money reading an autocue for a while Iâ�?��?�m going to do that. Itâ�?��?�s been a huge journey, and itâ�?��?�s not just about stand up or being on TV. I feel a bit more in control and contented with what Iâ�?��?�m doing."

The thing is, she might be a serious, headstrong person in real life, but on stage, it makes for the perfect stand up persona and her show at the Unity a few days after the interview is superb.

She acknowledges of one of the major contingents of her audience â�?��?? â�?��?lesbians will go and see a lesbian do f*cking anything,â�?�? she smiles â�?��?? and Iâ�?��?�m pleased to find some of the topics we were talking about are actually part of the show (â�?��?I donâ�?��?�t remember most of my life. Itâ�?��?�s like the film Momento where I go around trying to work out what Iâ�?��?�ve done.â�?�?) so perhaps not entirely that deathly serious. Her act hits the mark with most of the audience â�?��?? she is irasible, but interesting, witty and wise, and when she hangs up her mic it will be stand upâ�?��?�s loss.

Liverpool Comedy Festival 2008: The Three Fellas

2008-06-16T10:31:30Z

AN Irishman, an Irishman and an Irishman walk into an arena andâ�?�¦

]]> Well, thatâ�?��?�s why they were the ones on stage entertaining the masses and Iâ�?��?�m the one writing about it.

The Three Fellas â�?��?? Irish stand ups Ardal Oâ�?��?�Hanlon, Dylan Moran and Tommy Tiernan â�?��?? brought â�?��?the biggest comedy show weâ�?��?�ve ever â�?��?adâ�?�? to Liverpool on Saturday night, in the words of compere John Bishop, and it worked brilliantly.

It was the idea of Liverpool-born promoter Mick Perrin to host a huge comedy show at the arena in 2008 to celebrate the links between Liverpool and Ireland, providing the biggest audience to date for all the acts concerned.

And it was a meeting of minds that worked a treat. Oâ�?��?�Hanlon and his bamboozled observations, Moranâ�?��?�s embittered whimsy and Tiernanâ�?��?�s riotous smut offered a wealth of comedy riches for the 6,000-strong crowd.

John Bishop seemed to enjoy himself, with material geared towards the home crowd and the huge contingent of visiting Irish. As the first of the Three Fellas onstage, Oâ�?��?�Hanlon was wide-eyed and as overwhelmed as his best-loved character, Father Tedâ�?��?�s Dougal McGuire.

Perhaps sometimes underestimated as a stand up, his charming set can flow now almost without the ghost of the dippy priest hanging over it, and he provided some of the most consistent laughs of the evening.

Dylan Moran received a rock starâ�?��?�s welcome as, glass of red in hand, he reamed off his latest grievances with typical poetic scorn; again having managed in some way to move away from the over-the-top bile of his own creation, Bernard Black of Black Books. Hecklers were few and far between and roundly ignored, except for Moran who swiftly shut up one dissenter with incredible skill.

Tiernan, although probably the least known of the three in England, is a huge draw in Ireland and it was immediately clear why he had been saved till last. His style (shouty) and delivery (flinging himself around the stage like a whirlwind) was a world away from what came before.

Although Tiernanâ�?��?�s humour is often base and somewhat tasteless with it, his performance, reminiscent of Billy Connolly, is about more than that; a reminder that the best comedy is fearless and can take on any subject, no matter how near the knuckle.

Liverpool Comedy Festival 2008: Daniel Kitson

2008-06-16T10:09:47Z

Beardy genius shines with The Impotent Fury of the Privileged at the Playhouse

]]> IN recent years Daniel Kitsonâ�?��?�s talents have evolved admirably. He has moved on steadily from being a welcome ubiquitous presence on the club circuit, to comfortably moving into small theatres with one man plays, to eventually putting together something that somehow combines the two.

He has appeared on many a Liverpool stage, yet has never looked or felt more at home than at the Playhouse, which is not a place known for its accommodation of solo comedy acts.

It has been great to see Kitson ascend to bigger and bigger venues â�?��?? and yet, perhaps because of his dislike of television appearances, he still remains little known outside his devoted fan base.

The show was based around an incident that happened to Kitson last year, on September 6 to be precise, and the indelible impression it made on him.

Overrunning to nearly two hours without an interval made it a tough slog at times, only because his delivery is so frantic and the strands of his arguments so multi-faceted he demands a lot of attention. His humour must be actively processed rather than allowed to wash over an audience. But in turn, heâ�?��?�s also one of the most consistently rewarding live acts you could see.

â�?��?I donâ�?��?�t have any firmly held beliefs,â�?�? he says at one point. â�?��?Nothing is more satisfying than mixed feelings. You wonâ�?��?�t get someone blowing themselves up in the name of confusion.â�?�?

Hudderfield-born Kitson seemed to genuinely enjoy being on stage. His beautifully written show tapped into rich philosophies about human compassion, and suffering, and how the world needs to change.

â�?��?We are gods, we are ants, we are everything and we are nothing,â�?�? he argued passionately. It may be an overwhelming subject matter heâ�?��?�s trying to put in to words and too much overanalysis is going to distract from the plain fact that Kitson is very, very funny. Sometimes subtly so, sometimes riotous. Sometimes heâ�?��?�s cute and sometimes fiercely intelligent. Once again his skilful blend of styles keep the ebb and flow of the set working excellently.

Liverpool Comedy Festival 2008: Robin Ince

2008-06-09T17:53:08Z

SOMETHING akin to what might have transpired if Woody Allen was raised by a family of British vicars (and the latter is actually true in this case), Robin Inceâ�?��?�s downbeat, machine gun fire delivery compacts literally life, the universe and everything into just over an hour. It is very hard to get him off stage once heâ�?��?�s started, as heâ�?��?�s desperate to cram so much in.

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â�?��?I always imagined Iâ�?��?�d grow up to be somebody cool, like Hunter S Thompson. Now I realise Iâ�?��?�ve become a kind of grown up Charlie Brown,â�?�? he sighed. He wishes heâ�?��?�d spent his time at uni reading science and not English. Not many comics like to reference Richard Dawkins as much as Ince manages without even trying, or bring on stage books heâ�?��?�s found that amuse him just to read bits out loud. Itâ�?��?�s an indescribable mish-mash, but it somehow works, probably surprising Ince most of all.

Heâ�?��?�s a typical middle class leftie (reading the Indy and not the Grauniad â�?��?? â�?��?better graphsâ�?�?; buying Richard Littlejohn books in Oxfam because a disgruntled reader had written a speech bubble on the authorâ�?��?�s picture on the cover reading â�?��?I am a tw*tâ�?�?; and the obligitory blood-boiling hatred of Melanie Phillips), so he has a ready-made contingent of fans who just enjoy revelling in a good old hate-filled lampooning of reactionary Daily Mail columnists. But he isnâ�?��?�t just playing to the gallery. If he wasnâ�?��?�t doing this for a living, itâ�?��?�s likely heâ�?��?�d be burbling the same kind of thing to himself on a train while other passengers tried to avoid eye contact.

He has come to Liverpool twice in the last few months and he proved himself just as formidable the second time round, playing to a more appreciative audience downstairs at the Royal Court.

Heâ�?��?�s clever, heâ�?��?�s quick, and he hasnâ�?��?�t got time to pick on an audience as heâ�?��?�s got too much ranting to do, so heâ�?��?�s not everyoneâ�?��?�s cup of tea it must be said. But nobody makes me laugh like Robin Ince. Iâ�?��?�m a relatively recent convert to his stream-of-consiousness maniacal stand up (â�?��?Iâ�?��?�m sorry, I didnâ�?��?�t know whether that was my inner monologue or outer monologue talking thereâ�?�? is a typical apology for his train of thought), but already heâ�?��?�s top of the comedy tree to me.

Liverpool Comedy Festival 2008: Silky

2008-06-09T09:01:23Z

ORMSKIRK-born, Crosby-raised and now Leeds-based comic Silky has most recently been seen in the city compering at the sadly missed, but hopefully soon to be reborn Capital of Comedy nights at the Slaughterhouse, so the chance to see what he�??d do in an hour long show was promising.

]]> There�??s been so many finely honed, painstakingly scripted acts to catch during the comedy festival. In fact, there�??d been a distinct lack of heckling in many, which in a lot of cases were more about delivery and material than terrorising the audience.

But not this time. Silky didn�??t even get round to explaining the premise of Criminally Underrated, although it was supposed to have been new material. Known for his comedy songs, of which again he had written new ones, he managed to get out about one and a half.

It wasn�??t because there was a problem. It turns out the man just has an overwhelming nose for mischief and trouble. A stag party had accidentally wandered in looking for something to do and from then on the entire show went hilariously off kilter as Silky just went where the evening took him.

It was fascinating to see how he willingly, joyously, threw himself into the bear pit and revelled in living on his wits for the entire hour, whether he was dealing with people in the audience actually taking phone calls or a pair of drunk female fans who kept telling him off for being too rude and asking him to sing something nice. He's not pushy or hardfaced at all - just very mischievous.

Watching him deal with it all �?? and stay afloat throughout, although there were some scary moments - was stand up in its purest, rawest form and it was amazing to watch. One of the bravest and most unusual sets of the festival.

(Photo by Andy Hollingworth)

Media whore in "overexposed" shock

2008-06-06T08:53:09Z

No, dear reader, I donâ�?��?�t mean me.

It turns out that the two most high profile comedians taking part in the comedy festival, who both play two shows each at rather large venues over the weekend, are, we have been told, not allowing the press in to review their shows.

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Their publicist has told the Post and the Echo itâ�?��?�s because of fear of at least one of them being â�?��?overexposedâ�?�?. Considering who this sorry tale entails, itâ�?��?�s hard to see the method in the madness here. They cannot pick and choose what the press has to say about them and now, at this high point in their careers, seems an odd point to start trying.

If, dear reader, you knew of who I speak, you may well be forgiven for in the words of Dylan Moran in Black Books, being sick into your own scorn.

Some critics get precious about their station in life and the importance of the service they provide. This gripe is nothing to do with that. Me, I know, Iâ�?��?�m lucky and in the right place at the right time to be able to be doing this and hopefully doing an alright job.

Also, this could be easily remedied by just attending the shows as a punter and reviewing it anyway just to annoy their promoter. I'm tempted. But if this is how they want to play it, stuff the pair of them. Thereâ�?��?�s so many different things going on in this city that would better deserve the column inches I would have conceded to give over to these two just because of who they are.

Theirs is just the kind of publicist that would come running to beg us to do an interview with these people if they hadnâ�?��?�t sold enough tickets and that is what absolutely stinks. Not only that, but it eats into the credibility of all the hard work put in by the fantastic lot staging and promoting this comedy festival.

I understand some stand ups are shy, or misanthropic, or donâ�?��?�t like the press or whatever, and thatâ�?��?�s all fair enough - but I donâ�?��?�t understand this because these two have â�?��?overexposedâ�?�? themselves regardless of their actual merits as comics, so much as to be pretty much household names. And now, filling 1000+ seater venues, they're not prepared for their acts to speak for themselves? Odd.

I interviewed one of them when I worked on a weekly paper a few years ago when he was just getting known, and hosting the kind of late night Channel 4 game show that made people drink their own wee just to be on the telly.

I wanted to name these two people just because this whole thing has made me so bloody angry. I hope you can guess who they are. But bollocks to the both of them, and as far as I have a say, they wonâ�?��?�t be mentioned on here or in the paper again, if they really donâ�?��?�t want to be â�?��?overexposedâ�?�?.

Thereâ�?��?�s loads of great stuff in Liverpool over the weekend. Steve Gribbin, Silky, Drink Up Stand Up, Robin Ince, Simon Munnery, Richard Herring, Rhona Cameron, Sarah Millican, and all less than half the price of a ticket you would have paid to see either of the two Iâ�?��?�m griping about. Do it. www.liverpoolcomedyfestival.com.

Liverpool Comedy Festival 2008: Hattie Hayridge and Norman Lovett

2008-06-03T10:50:01Z

Hattie Hayridge and Norman Lovett are both best known for the same role, having both played Holly the computer in Red Dwarf. Theyâ�?��?�ve pulled this show together to mark the 20th anniversary since the show started.

]]> I was excited, although some were dubious. â�?��?Itâ�?��?�s two out of work actors wondering how to make a few quid,â�?�? my friend scoffed. Pah. He has clearly never known the timeless allure of the â�?��?Dwarf. Although in one way he may even be right, thatâ�?��?�s not the point. Cynical little bugger.

Hayridgeâ�?��?�s dotty and seemingly tipsy demeanour belies a cool and collected comic mind and once she got going her 25 minute set was great fun. Totally at ease in front of the audience, she plays on the theme of her criminal mind throughout her set. â�?��?Iâ�?��?�m a good person, because I walk into a place and think â�?��?what would I nickâ�?��?�, and then I never nick anything. People who never think of stealing have never been tested. It doesnâ�?��?�t make them good people,â�?�? she reasons.

Lovettâ�?��?�s set struck me as a bit odd, but seemed to go down better. At first he seemed totally unprepared, rambling away about the exit signs and pulling an old Subway bag out of his pocket and ruminating on it. However, he has so many other random bits and bobs in his pockets â�?��?? a pair of socks, more bags, and a sheet of bubble wrap (Red Dwarf fans start yelling â�?��?tension sheetâ�?�? in excitement to this, in reference to an invention in the series. Iâ�?��?�m not that bad) â�?��?? that you realise there would have to be some method in his madness.

His doddery character has charm and the act is cute and impossible to dislike but not especially funny â�?��?? more like performance than stand up.

For the last ten minutes the pair come out and answer questions about the show and then happily move out to the foyer to sign things, pose for pics and chat some more.

â�?��?I wonder if I should ask what happened to plans for the Red Dwarf film?â�?�? I think to myself.

â�?��?What happened to plans for the Red Dwarf film?â�?�? someone asks.

Lovett doubles over in mock indignation. â�?��?We get this every time. I hate that question!"

Oh...

Liverpool Comedy Festival 2008: Simon Amstell

2008-06-02T09:19:30Z

SIMON Amstellâ�?��?�s first ever full length show in the city had been one of the most anticipated of the comedy festival.

]]> He seemed to get off to a confused and nervous start, and having been warned it had been a long time since heâ�?��?�d last done stand up and seen how overwhelmingly shy heâ�?��?�d been with the press, I was wondering what we were in for.

However, once he was settled the set started to flow, and by the end Amstell was really on top of his game.

â�?��?I expected him to be darker and more nihilistic,â�?�? a friend said in the interval. More to the point, I thought, was that he was certainly both â�?��?? except wrapped up in such an nonchalant, matter-of-fact delivery it could almost be missed.

Live, Amstell wants to investigate human nature, who we are, why we do the things we do, and whatâ�?��?�s the point of it all. â�?��?Whatâ�?��?�s worse than being single? When you think about it, death is less bother,â�?�? he ponders.

His style, self-depreciating, aware of the absurdity of everything, including his own fame (â�?��?half the people in here are only here because the person sitting next to you likes meâ�?�?), seems genuine. You could almost see him having to push himself out of his comfort zone.

Thereâ�?��?�s some skilful terrorising of the front row (â�?��?Five years together. And now youâ�?��?�re here. Paying for laughter. Remember when you used to make each other laugh?â�?�?); and a smidgen of the celeb-bashing that has seen his career through so far.

But this isnâ�?��?�t really the â�?��?cruelâ�?�? Simon Amstell of Popworld and Nevermind the Buzzcocks. If anything, heâ�?��?�s harshest on himself. â�?��?My type is myself. What I really want is me, but a little bit better. So now Iâ�?��?�ve just got to find someone who wants himself, but someone much, much worse,â�?�? he said after talking through the break up of his last relationship.

Finally, it must be mentioned that support act Arnab Chandra was a joy, and certainly one of the discoveries of the festival. His routine about living in Saudi Arabia and confusing hummous with Hamas (â�?��?I love hummous! Sure Iâ�?��?�ll come to your meeting!â�?�?) was cute and clever and suited the headliner down to the ground.

Liverpool Comedy Festival 2008: Nina Conti

2008-05-30T10:41:54Z

COMPLETE and Utter Conti, the comedienne's first full length show at the Royal Court, flew the flag for female comics and ventriloquists everywhere. Well, not just flew the flag, but set the standard. If thatâ�?��?�s not over-egging any existing enthusiasm for ventriloquism in the first place, that is.

]]> The set is a mish-mash of madcap comedy, coquettish improv, theatrical sketches, inventive tangent and unexpected filth, all executed in less than an hour. At times, I found myself forgetting there really only was one performer on stage, so faultless is Contiâ�?��?�s interaction with her puppets.

True I was quite far away from the stage, but as far as I could squint, her lips never seemed to move, making the act eerily convincing.

Her main companion is Monk, the sardonic, depressive, and grossly offensive little monkey who bombards Conti with endless misogynistic abuse. At first, he snipes and she giggles nervously as she tries to keep him under control. It didnâ�?��?�t seem clear whether the warm up showed genuine nerves or set up the relationship between the two.

â�?��?Were you going to say something?â�?�? Conti nervously asks Monk after fearing sheâ�?��?�d interrupted him.

â�?��?Well, you should f*cking know that, Nina,â�?�? Monk replies.

When Monk hypnotises her the results are inventive and impressive, particularly when the puppet fancies singing a song while Conti is in a trance. When she tries to get him to contort himself into a pint glass and he gets stuck, you marvel at her joyous imagination and attention to detail.

Itâ�?��?�s not all cutie-pie variety stuff though. Conti is a woman not afraid to take on the character of a one-armed South African voodoo expert with a talking puppet penis (the missing arm hanging out the fly of her jeans).

So in more ways than one, its fair to say she has an act that is really unlike anything you could see anywhere else.

Liverpool Comedy Festival 2008: Gina Yashere

2008-05-30T09:40:02Z

The LA-based Londoner brings her Skinny Bitch tour to the Royal Court

]]> Gina Yashere doesnâ�?��?�t tour the UK as much as she used to, having moved to LA to further her career. At first, it seemed something of an absurd move for the brash Londoner, but last night there was no reason to doubt she has what it takes to make it over there.

Itâ�?��?�s a shame that many of her strongest lines in her latest show have been picked up on by the media already, because it took a certain anticipation away from the material. Even so, itâ�?��?�s entertaining enough just to listen to Yashere chatting away.

Itâ�?��?�s her delivery that is possibly her strongest point. She has a natural talent for making practically every word she says funny, and together with the incredible energy she puts in to performing, has a remarkable stage presence. Thereâ�?��?�s something more polished about it too, since her Stateside move â�?��?? a little sprinkle of that American confidence, pacing the stage Chris Rock style, serves her well.

The show draws on her move to the States and her recent significant weight loss from a size 18 to a 12. Both have been widely covered in entertainment circles, the former because of her reasoning there is no work for black entertainers in the UK (â�?��?itâ�?��?�s like they operate a one-in, one-out policy - weâ�?��?�re all waiting for Lenny Henry to die,â�?�? she spits), the latter because it involved a fair deal of detox and colonic irrigation, and she doesnâ�?��?�t mind telling us what that entails.

She talks about catching malaria in Gambia and dealing with being diagnosed with lupus, and how that also helped motivate her getting thinner.

â�?��?You knew youâ�?��?�re getting a bit chubby when people stare at you when youâ�?��?�re eating cakeâ�?�?, she ponders.

But itâ�?��?�s all played for laughs with Gina Yashere, and the show isnâ�?��?�t as confessional as it might sound. Over the top, sure â�?��?? but thatâ�?��?�s exactly why we come to see her.