Fringe Comedy
Gayle Anderson
Chris Forbes
Gilded Balloon
Three stars
Frenchy
Gilded Balloon
Two stars
Neel Kolhatkar
Gilded Balloon
Two stars
TALL, Needy Mutant. The clue's in the title. No, Wolverine isn't doing a stand-up set, I'm talking about the "needy" part. Chris Forbes, star of BBC sitcom, Scots Squad, had a brainwave for his debut solo hour. He'd make it all about himself. So far, so egotistical. But it turns out he's a very likeable guy with a positive treasure trove of comedic material. Chris turned to Facebook to ask his friends and family to describe him in just one word. Analysis of their replies forms the basis of this show. No, not another Fringe flipchart, I hear you cry, but a lot of this is on-the-money, laugh-out-loud stuff. His working class/middle class bipolarity is brilliantly observed. The quinoa rant is a highlight. All accompanied by gurns and grimaces spookily reminiscent of a young Jim Carrey. Childhood tales are crammed with top material. His theory on the reason behind Neil Armstrong's quest to visit the moon is the strangest and silliest you'll ever hear. There's a tad too much talk about his posh partner, Eleanor. It's great that he's loved up but as they say on Facebook, TMI, dude. Overall, a well-crafted hour from a natural comedian. My one word? Funny.
Runs until August 29
WITH over 200 million views and 1.5 million fans on social media, it's fair dinkum to describe Australian, Frenchy as an internet sensation. After a successful debut last year, he back with World's Worst Adult. Lanky and laconic he proceeds to tell us why he thinks he deserves the accolade. There's no doubting his charm - he has bucket loads of the stuff. A natural onstage, he's soon chatting up the front few rows like they're all bezzies in a bar. He grins that self-deprecating grin and shouts, "Comedy gold!" It's back of the net stuff. As with most internet sensations, there's the pre-requisite potty mouth and X-rated jokes. It's not the material itself that's shocking though - it's that fact that it's often so cheesy and hackneyed. The Miss Piggy and Kermit joke is a prime example. This is recycled rudeness. The audience are just too young to have heard it before. There are musical interludes. Frenchy's first single graced the iTunes Top Thirty. Here, the guitar strumming and lewd lyrics are reminiscent of rugby songs being sung in a folk club. He redeems himself slightly with a Frozen finale mime that manages to be filthy, funny and original.
Runs until August 29
BABY-faced Neel shot to YouTube fame with a series of hard-hitting Aussie impressions videos. This year's Fringe show, Neel Before Me is a rant on youth, media, gender and race. He starts brightly enough with some funny observations on comfortable middle-class kids love of rap music. Nothing new here but it's solid stuff. He seems nervous though and exchanges with the beery front row don't go well. He tries his friendly best but they are caught up in their own series of "in" jokes. To use an age appropriate term, it's all pretty, "awks". He follows up with tired material on the size of American coffee cups and a strange analogy involving North Korea being the weird kid in your class. There's some impressive rapping - this guy has obviously listened to his fair share of Tupac - and funny Facebook observations. Overall though, the set feels very disjointed. He confides in us with a long story about kissing a man. This doesn't seem to fulfil either of its aims as it's neither shocking or funny. A small part of this set is non-PC. Sadly, a much larger part of it is non tee-hee and it's this he needs to address.
Runs until August 29
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