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Fringe 2008 Reviews (107)
Miles Jupp - Drifting
Miles Jupp
Gilded Balloon Teviot
***
Revelling in his accentuated middle class sensibilities, the ever-so
English Jupp gives us another hour's adventure into his pet hates about
the world. Suffering such hardships as having his book stolen on a train,
being confronted with the dishonesty of the average person and some
unfortunate genital surgery, he manages to create a persona of inept
awkwardness which makes his acutely witty observations all the more
amusing. However the entire shtick never really goes anywhere
and has a rambling quality of someone who has simply thought of a few
funny and mostly unrelated stories to tell, but no real structure to
the show as a whole. While it entertains, it lacks a quintessential
order that would have made a cohesive effort rather than what was more
like the work of a gifted amateur comedy hour, rounded off with a song.
Graeme Strachan
Dogs Barking
By Richard Zajdlic
Easy Tiger Productions
Baby Belly
****
Giving a rounded and thoughtful account of human relationships is something
most Fringe shows aspire to do, but few manage it with such skill as
Dogs Barking. Showing us the events that transpire after Alex
lets her ex-boyfriend Neil sleep on her couch one night, and his failed
Machiavellian schemes to get her back allows the script by Richard Zajdlic
to explore not only what holds people together, but the depths of emotions
that run riot between them.
When confronted with a vindictive ex-partner who invades her home and
begins to dismantle the framework of the life she has built without
him, Alex doesn't do what most people would. She lets him in and pities
him, which is the first sign that she is the moral compass of the piece,
compassionate and thoughtful, but thankfully not sickly sweet enough
to cause disbelief.
In contrast, the rest of the medley of misfits are almost wholly unlikable.
Easily the brunt of the play's weight falls on the capable shoulders
of Fanos Xenofos as the embittered Neil, who runs the gauntlet of a
full spectrum of emotions and interactions with Alex, her sister and
his own best-friend Splodge. What makes Dogs Barking more interesting
than other Fringe plays was the fact that no attempt was made to explain
any of the reasons behind the character's actions. they simply did what
they did, some accepted more than others and most had their own dark
sides. In fact the single most moving moment was at the very close when,
after scuppering almost all empathy through his horrific actions, we
get a true insight into the mind of Neil, who is trying to cope with
an utterly broken existence in a world that will never be right for
him.
Graeme Strachan
Otis Lee Crenshaw
Rich Hall
Pleasance
****
Rich Hall's alter ego Otis Lee Crenshaw, an ex-convict and reformed
hillbilly, returns to the festival after a three year hiatus. Bantering
wittily with the audience as well as making quickfire jibes about the
heat in the venue, the abysmal Scottish weather and any comments made
by the audience, Hall still manages to master the crowd with a casual
ease and never looks more comfortable than when he's riffing with an
audience member. The deprecatingly funny tales of life in Texas and
Alabama trailer parks help to fill in the space between songs about
falling in love with homeless crazies and offering up your girlfriend
as payment while being mugged. It goes to show that a routine that has
held Hall in good esteem for years shows no signs of flagging, as he
still remains one of the finest stalwarts of the Fringe festival.
Graeme Strachan
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