Ever had the urge to leave a comedy gig singing entirely inappropriate material?! Yes? Then get yourself to a Loretta Maine gig NOW! Talk of bleeding record producers, butchered ex-lovers and revenge sought on former bullies has never been so unappealingly appealing. Not that Maine would be pleased with this; she hates life and she probably hates you. But if you make it past her first musical interlude inviting any Loretta-haters to ‘Fuck off home’, then you can sit back and enjoy the ride...Maine’s bedraggled appearance and make up smeared face make for comedy value alone – that and the fact that her bottle of white wine (screw top, naturally) is clutched with arguably more intensity than her guitar. And let us not forget that her backing band is called ‘Dog Vagina’, yes that’s ‘Dog Vagina’– you couldn’t make this up!
Except of course that’s exactly what someone has done and that someone is Pippa Evans - she does for character comedy what Jesus did with water – no, not walk on it, but turn it into something truly amazing and oozing with alcohol! Comedy abounds before she has even opened her mouth. And yet it is when this Maine-Evans hybrid does open her mouth that the audience are in for a real treat, for if it’s not already obvious, Maine doesn’t mince her words.
She's a straight-down-the-line-tell-it-how-it-is kind of girl. Fuelled by the aforementioned white wine, Maine gives her audience frank insight into her life in the form of musical comedy, from her less than encouraging mother to her sham wedding. Along the way Evans’ distinctive voice gets to grapple with such lyrical gems as (when referring to hiding in an ex’s wardrobe in 'I'm Fine') “...and then your new girlfriend arrived and climbed into your bed, I meant to creep out silently but I shocked you both instead”. If Evans’ talent wasn’t already obvious enough, drawing on her Showstopper background (see review Day 1), she also improvises a song about a random male audience member that has taken her fancy –having not only the ability to make it both lyrically comical and tuneful, but also the gall to serenade him in Maine’s trademark creepy manner.
Maine is the personification of all those thoughts you’ve never dared express. She is freakishly compulsive and her songs are irritatingly catchy. So before you, ‘Fuck off home!’, why not give her a try?! Catch her on tour here.
Comedy Hen
[I feel it necessary for a slight aside before beginning the next review: I realise that this blog isn’t the most up to date in the world given that 3 months post Edinburgh Festival I am still writing reviews - but stay with me! I’m ploughing my way through whenever I get a moment...besides with many of the shows touring, it’s still relevant...and I promise to be finished before next Edinburgh!]
GIT (Jon Richardson, Dan Atkinson, Lloyd Langford) – Gilded Balloon
If you can honestly confess to 1) never having mocked a friend’s photo on Facebook or 2) never having wondered what on earth possessed someone to confess to that particular thought / vice / disease in their status or on Twitter, then this show isn’t for you. The rest of you - which must be everyone bar saints, surely? - can consider yourselves GIT’s dream audience or...the Guys’ Ideal Turnout (these will only get more tedious!), if you will.
For those not in the know, GIT, under the guidance of Dan Atkinson, Jon Richardson and Lloyd Langford, is a quiz show with social networking at its core. Its tangents however are many and varied! Principally claiming to make judgements on anyone and everyone incapable of operating internet privacy settings, along the way the show also incorporates:
- a variety of increasingly surreal rounds including guessing which parts of Lloyd’s head are concealing fruit, Dan’s dubious pictures of animal anatomy, and a somewhat unrelated but hilarious taste test
- some rather imaginative and usually totally non-PC artwork
- a handful of dressing up
- and what every good quiz show needs - a gimp mask (bought second hand on ebay)!
Confused? You may well be. Unlike the (usually) excessively practiced and finely-tuned solo shows, very little about GIT is predetermined. However, instead of this being problematic, it is in fact rather refreshing. This trio clearly ‘get’ each other and the spontaneous nature of the show gives them the chance to bounce ideas (and abuse) off each other and the audience. It allows them to show why they do what they do, that their ability to think on their feet is second to none and that they are all capable of one of comedy’s key ingredients; Greatly Impressive Timing (strike 2!). The audience never knows what’s in store and quite often nor do the Gits. Whilst others believe this has attributed to the failure of the show, I can’t help but feel it’s the very thing that leads to its success. Admittedly as the week went on the show did deteriorate a little, but in the somewhat artificial and exhausting situation that is the Edinburgh Festival, this was to be expected.
Having been one of the privileged few to witness the inauguration of GIT right back at the start of this year, I was particularly looking forward to seeing how the boys had progressed their show. In hindsight I’m not sure ‘progressed’ is quite the right word. Nevertheless in spite of the chaos, or indeed because of it, the Greatly Improvised Trio (surely what GIT must stand for?!) delivered a cracking show. Long may they continue winging it!
Catch them at their GIT Christmas Special on Dec 15th.
Comedy Hen
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