After some of the delights on show at the Underbelly, I was excited about what could be on offer at the Assembly Rooms, another venue that I had yet to experience.
On arrival I was given even more drinks tokens. I had heard someone say that most of the venues plied you with drink to make sure you enjoyed them more. I was starting to think this too, so I pocketed it, and decided to have a clear head for the show.
The sheet we were given with the line-up seemed to contain a lot more acts than the Underbelly, and since we were already running behind schedule, I figured that they would try and fire through everything (my naivety was showing).
As the lights dimmed and the show started I could feel myself wishing that I had used that token that was in my pocket. Irish comedian Jason Byrne was our MC for the evening. I say MC, but it was more like he was desperate to take the stage for the whole night.
In his twelfth year at the Fringe, the time seems to have gone to his head. I couldn’t help but think that he was regurgitating his whole comedic career in one night. Although funny in little bursts, there was many a point when I felt like shouting out, ‘Get on with it!’ If I had, then he would have no doubt picked on me like he did to many others in the audience. Of course, it was all in good jest, but it became rather tiresome, and as the show went on, he seemed to forget that there were other things that people wanted to see.
Roy Walker is someone that I have never really associated with comedy. I can only remember him from Catchphrase, and a very drunken night in a club in Stirling, where he picked up my flatmate like a baby. I was pleasantly surprised with his subtle humour and his ability to reduce everyone to laughter with little more than a silence. If you like your comedy clever and want to win a super Catchphrase then make sure you check him out.
Perrier Award Winner Frank Woodley (picture) is a talented guy. As he sat on his stool, fumbling over his guitar, his ability to digress is so witty that even though someone told him to get on with it, he never really did. As I watched him, I couldn’t help but be reminded of the young actor Michael Cera, and it seemed that Woodley could be the answer behind Cera’s own comic time and style.
When I first saw the running order, I was excited to see that Michael Barrymore would be there, and I was looking forward to a short excerpt from his play, Surviving Spike. I was willing Barrymore to come across well, but as he stepped onto the stage with his co-star Jill Halfpenny, the audience seemed less than impressed. Barrymore tried so hard to make everyone laugh, and most of his jokes went down faster than a lead balloon. I felt embarrassed for a man who is so talented, and frustrated at an audience that seemed unforgiving.
The other two comedians – Matt Kirshen and Hal Cruttenden – did their piece which was rather lukewarm. Especially Kirshen, who for someone that was in the top ten of the huge American comedy show, Last Comic Standing, came across as nothing more than a squeaky voiced teen. Even though he’s really 28.
For the finale, we were given a look at the UK premiere of Bale De Rua, a Brazilian dance group. Although enjoyable enough, I found it to be rather bland. There are too many groups that are so similar these days, but it was still a good way to end the show and I am sure that their whole performance would be spectacular. Maybe it was my poor choice of seat that created my disappointment.
With the show done, I managed to weave my way to the bar and use my last drink token. Although tired, I felt like I had still only seen a small part of what was on offer. And the best? As they say, I think it’s yet to come.