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Laura Davis: Despair Is Beneath Us at Monkey Barrel review – ‘whimsical and brilliant’
I knew absolutely nothing about Laura Davis before walking into their show, Despair Is Beneath Us, other than they’re being Australian. They start from the audience, chatting their way onto the stage, and have the immediate ease that twenty years in comedy give a performer, instantly coming across assured and charming (even before most of…
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Just The Two Of Us at Cellar Pleasance Courtyard – ‘radiant chemistry and charisma’
Feeling somewhat tired from being woken up repeatedly by an extremely chatty field of sheep in the Lake District, I arrived at Edinburgh Waverly relieved to have finally made it. Then after lunch, picking up my press pass, dropping off my stuff and getting ready to go out again, I discovered I was in fact…
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‘This Is Your Musical’ ft. Chris Grace at The Bristol Improv Theatre review – ‘relentlessly good fun’
I would like to state for the record that I did not intend to pursue Chris Grace around Bristol. I was researching my review for his solo show ‘Sardines,’ absent-mindedly wondering why he happened to be in Bristol, and discovered he was here for a few days – performing ‘Sardines,’ but also teaching a musical…
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Chris Grace: Sardines at The Wardrobe Theatre review – ‘beautifully profound and touching’
I was exclusively attracted to seeing Chris Grace’s show ‘Sardines,’ by two important factors – 1) my deep affection for his long-suffering character Jerry on the criminally-underloved NBC sitcom ‘Superstore,’ and 2) a general intrigue of a US comedian coming to Bristol, given that they tend to mostly stay in London (occasionally braving Manchester.) But…
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‘I Met All My Friends on Dating Apps’ at the Alma Tavern review – ‘touchingly sincere and wholesome’
‘I Met All My Friends on Dating Apps’ is the latest work by writer, performer and theatre maker Jess Andrews. It certainly gets kudos for a noticeable title, and for its pitch: happily married Jess has decided to explore polygamy. Her husband knows, the dates know, and we’re following along on her journey. We start…
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‘The Arms’ at the Alma Tavern review – ‘an intriguing and inventive show’
The Arms, an original work by South Korean theatre maker Moon Kim, comes with a compelling hook – one of the two characters has been making herself extra arms in order to provide more help to the struggling people of the world. We start with Domi (Rosalind Jackson Roe) – as she introduces us to…
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‘Fella: show us ur fruitcake’ at The Alma Tavern review: ‘endearingly giggly and chaotic’
It’s a chilly evening up in Clifton at the newly air-conditioned Alma Tavern Theatre. We’re a slightly thin but nevertheless game audience here to see ‘Fella: show us ur fruitcake.’ Fella ambles into the audience entrance minutes before showtime, resplendent in a leopard print zip-up top, silver face paint and wig cap and makes her…
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‘Ewins Some You Lose Some’ at the Wells Comedy Festival review – ‘brilliantly specific and immediately funny’
Another year, another Wells Comedy Festival. It is dusk on Friday evening, the first night of the festival, and we have just sped from Bristol through the cowslips and lush greenery of the summer Somerset countryside to Mat Ewins’ 9.30pm show. Flicking through the programme, I was pleased to see that there were only two…
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‘Pull My Goldfinger’ at the Alma Tavern review: ‘some genuinely inventive moments’
Carlos Sandin’s one-man show Pull My Goldfinger starts before the lights go down, as he lightly commentates on the incoming audience, warning several in jumpers and coats to take them off and promising to restart if someone comes in late. We are here for a one-man show about James Bond – hence the title –…
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‘Kool Story Bro’ at the Bristol Old Vic review: ‘a glut of talent and skill’
I sprinted into the theatre with seconds to spare to watch ‘Kool Story Bro: Kiell Smith-Bynoe and Friends,’ mainly because we were – literally – running late, and also because I was very excited. It was the first night of their UK tour, having previously performed it for a 3-day run at the Edinburgh Fringe…
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