Fringe Comedy

Lorraine Wilson

Kate Lucas – Whatever Happened To Kate Lucas?

Pleasance

FOUR STARS

Night at the Museum

Gilded Balloon at the Museum

FOUR STARS

Best of the Fest

Assembly Hall

THREE STARS

IT IS much more appropriate to be that little bit cruder after dark. Of course, in this bunker, it could be any time of day but the audience are prepared for something a little more adult. Kate Lucas delivers it too, but in the most charming way.

The show begins with Kate on the toilet (only in the story thankfully). The pain meant she was convinced her number was up. What follows is a musical meditation on what she would leave behind if she indeed did an Elvis.

Straight stand-up alternates with songs that carry the narrative on. Subjects including what she really wants to say to co-workers and what would happen if she has a child but really didn’t like it - leaving it on the bus is one option. The tale of her coming back to haunt an ex-boyfriend is a particularly absurd humdinger.

Breaking through into the mainstream will necessitate a slight tempering of the bawdier aspects of the writing, but it’s clear she has the wit to do so.

With childhood memories of Richard Digance, the sight of a stand-up with a guitar in hand rarely prompts deep joy, but Lucas manages to reclaim the comedy six-string.

Runs ends August 28

THIS year’s addition of the National Museum of Scotland to the Gilded Balloon venue map has created one of the more ingenious late night shows.

In Night at the Museum, three stand-ups are shown slides of items from the museum’s collections and tasked with delivering a mirthful lecture, providing their own spin on the objects and in some cases taking a stab at what they really are.

Among the weird and wonderful things that appeared on the slides were a star-nosed mole, a cat decapitator (no-one guessed it), and Dolly the sheep.

On this particular night Zoe Lyons, as the curator of comedy, does a splendid job of keeping a more, shall we say chatty, late-night audience in line and helping stand-ups Mark Dolan, Joel Dommett, and Garrett Millerick with prompts to keep the lectures flowing.

Unclear on the concept, some of the audience believed that this was to be a tour of the museum with the stand-ups as their guides, as if there was nothing strange about hundreds of inebriated revelers tearing through a museum at 10.30pm.

Still, if the Gilded/NMS relationship continues it would be a welcome change from late night shows being a taster session for what’s on around the Fringe.

Until August 13 then 19 and 20, 26 and 27

FOR stand-ups new to the Fringe, able to look every audience member in the eye during a show, the opportunity to stride out on to the stage and see a full main auditorium at the cavernous Assembly Hall is a challenge.

It’s midnight, the show is running late due to problems earlier in the day, and the majority of revellers have been making good use of the alcohol concessions around the venues. It’s a peculiar place to be sober.

As this night’s MC, Tom Allen is cheeky enough to get the belly laughs started.

Fringe debut Susie Youssef handles her opening slot admirably while Daniel Sloss is sufficiently smart blokey to satisfy the groups of young men near the front. It wasn’t the night for Mary Lynn Rajskub’s family tales, but Simon Evans’ slightly prickly middle-class wit was surprisingly whooped. Pete Firman was a good choice of closer and sent the hordes off to be happy.

The expanse of the hall might be a buzz for the stand-ups, when it goes well, but at this time of night it feels a little like a colosseum of comedy.

Run ends August 28