Fringe Comedy
Gayle Anderson
Sophie Willan
Pleasance
Five stars
Elliot Steel
The Counting House - Gilded Balloon.
Three stars
Nath Valvo
Gilded Balloon
Two stars
BOOM! Shake the room. Sophie Willan roars into her Fringe debut all guns and booty blazing. Like a perfect Northern night out, the Bolton lass is boogieing on the tables early doors. The physical humour continues as she give us the step-by-step lowdown on some of her signature dances. Careful, if you're in the front couple of rows - that shimmy could have your eye out. Now that we've well and truly bonded, Sophie settles us down for a deeply moving and incredibly funny heart-to-heart. Raised in and out of care, she was sideswiped five years ago when Social Services suddenly presented her with a plastic bagful of her personal records. These official documents are used to paint a vivid picture of a life less ordinary. A heroin addict mum who collects pixie ornaments and bears a scary resemblance to Iggy Pop. A diva gran with a penchant for put downs and zebra print. Foster parents who taught her about life via the medium of a one-legged chicken. It's an accomplished hour from an exceptional new talent. Ballsy and brave, her story has TV drama written all over it. Catch her while you can.
Runs until August 28
THE VOICE of his generation? Elliott Steel's definitely not buying it. He spends a fair bit of his debut hour rejecting the label bestowed on him by a random reviewer. He may not want to be a mouthpiece for the millennials, but it turns out that the South Londoner has plenty to say for himself. Jobsworth nightclub bouncers, hypocritical TV advertising and people who hijack causes are dissed and dismissed sharpish. Personal stories of his encounters with racism are gritty, thought-provoking and definitely not what you were expecting. Fittingly for such a boxing fan, he consistently catches the audience off guard. Coming at things from unexpected angles. Like a Twitter bio disclaimer, all opinions are very much his own and he makes no excuses for them. There are occasions though when some of these strong opinions seem to be alienating the audience a little. It would be nice to see a little more charm mixed with the undoubted chutzpah. With such a confident stage presence and flawless timing, it's hard to believe that he's only nineteen. Undoubtedly a rising star, this was an interesting work-in-progress. Catch him before he's completely honed his craft and filling stadiums.
Runs until August 28
NATH Valvo is a well brought up boy. He's there to greet every member of his audience before the show. His mum should be very proud. She should also be claiming royalties as most of this observational set is based around her. His Edinburgh debut, Happy Idiot, is a trip down memory lane. Some of it spent in his original, oversized school blazer. He channels his thirteen-year-old self and temper tantrums his way around the stage in the giant green garment like some sort of incredible sulk. There are some smart one-liners and clever audience interchanges and you can see why he's been playing to sell-out crowds across his native Australia. But there's nothing new in his material about a super-busy Mum and put-upon Dad. These stereotypes have been done to death and raise gentle giggles rather than guffaws. There's a sliver of a story about his dad's tough immigrant upbringing. It's poignant, interesting and relevant and it would be great to see it developed into something more. There are Grindr dating stories for dessert. These liven things up considerably and he pulls off a Scottish gay face impersonation that once seen will never be forgotten.
Runs until August 28
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