Stephen Catling has brought his new, four-part show to the Edinburgh Fringe – which is part stand-up, part spectacle, partly stupendous & partly stupefying. I say that because, as I watch’d his vigorous performance, I found myself at different times laughing out loud, staring wide-eye’d, gushing with joy & wondering what the damninnit was going on! I’d taken my pals along to see him, two of whom were ‘encouraged’ onto the stage for one of the several very entertaining audience participations – of which, the sport of eating a yoghurt with toothpicks was the thrilling best. That’s what I mean when I was the show was part-spectacle – Beehavioural Problems is prop heavy, & they appear before us at a relentless pace, for Stephen is a galloping comedian & keeps us clinging on all the way right up to his incredibly, ehm, interesting climax.
I guess I should also mention that Stephen is autistic, I mean, he does himself a few times thro’ the show, & we get genuine flashes of his autism when his voice suddenly goes exhortatorialy louder & sharper in response to whatever tribulation he is facing at that moment. I should also mention the bee theme, which only pops up at the end, but rather punny-funny & dripping with honey. Before then we find ourselves rising on a tide of deft daftness all the way to the big reveal & that quite astonishing climax. So, nice one Stephen, & I’m extremely curious to see what theme you come up with next, tho’ your colorful Beehavioural Problems will definitely be sticking in my mind for a long, long time.
Back at the brilliant Edinburgh Fringe Festival it’s that time of year, Edinburgh in full swing. Prep done it was time to see a show. For my own wave of fun I was there to see ‘A Multitude of Sins: A Dog Gone Mystery’ written and performed by one Jen Hyatt. She welcomed us at the door wearing a cute little dog mask the time for our companions was nigh and dogs were to be the centre of her act.
Evident from the start was her inflammable personality that with gusto grabbed the festival venue as if her act was real, this new festival piece was about to go down. Her stage had props to the ears, though maybe some of it was just stuff lying around. What we noticed first was the black separating screen to her right (our left) the coming memes were yet to explode!
The fact of being its debut the performance rose with her messing around with a tray of parodies and for the crowd maliciously timed liners. She is a prolific writer and uses entertainment to help broadcast certain issues which were forgotten as we licked up the jokes she told.
As funny as the show was it went through changes liken to a change of personality itself. Whole lines and scenes were forgotten as she clung on for sanity but this was an edge of this particular show and will be steadfast in her performances to come.
Very willing to whip things her flavour got ready for dirty underhanded jokes that put the levels in their place. Up popped an actress on the Leith Depot stage hosting a comedy in that old thing called ‘…of Errors’ for the fringe programme had begun.
When Jen saw her first look at the audience there were five seated including me, did I see a little disappointment for a flash second? No matter on it goes anyway, an attitude that made us like her more.
Well her face lit up when a new, fresh crowd stepped into her show well welcomed .She sprang into action that had permeated into succeeding as a comedienne; she had that great presence about her, growing as an entertainer filled with the promise of the fringe.
Her material flew by with currents and humorous tirades about issues of modern life. Six characters, six sins, six is a multitude dog only knows the mystery. She set about to each with wigs hats and accents, with impressive responsive and comedic timing
Fully farcical, sarcasm, comments on moronity, fresh and fuzzy tidal waves of material and crowd participation. A confident comedienne who is donating all collections to charity has brought together a dog bound act giving clues and signs to make us scratch our heads a little so we may win sweeties shaped like dog bones.
There were a great many good reasons to join in the joys of Jen Hyatt as she made her way through an hour of fatefully exuberant comedy. Interchanging personas that was like interchanging life, nervy jokes to hold their own. Hats on and hats off, come see this party trick and cunning critique.
It’s a nice little pub, in a nice little spot, to find yourself at the whim of a writer with cutting jokes and liberating sentiment.
Hello Katharyn, can you tell us where are you from & where are you living today? I was born in Reno, Nevada, spent most of my life in New York City and I currently live in London by way of Australia.
What are your first memories as a performer? This may not be the answer you expect nor is it very funny but I would say my first memory as a performer is from when I was a kid with the “and action” moment being the shock of my dad leaving suddenly and sort of realizing I just had to be ok so I started acting like I was. This performance continued through a few notable harrowing one-woman-show-esque events in my teenage years and as I ran amok in my version of the roaring 20’s up until I started stand-up and extended the performing to an actual stage.
How did you get into comedy? People seemed to already think I did stand up because I felt uncomfortable at parties so I would just tell stories to make people laugh and ease myself into social situations. I finally decided to try it when I broke up with a guy I had been dating who notably looked like a rejected cast member of Grease and who was ultimately looking for someone to be a wife and have his baby because he scoffed at the idea of me doing stand up when I mentioned it and I wanted to try it as an attempt to reclaim whatever version of myself I lost in that relationship.
Who are your comedy icons? To be honest, I don’t watch stand up in my spare time. I did see the Richard Pryor special where he made the fact he lit himself on fire while smoking crack relatable to a room full of people and I would say I have likely always set the bar at that for my own stand up. I think The Larry Sanders Show is the greatest comedy sitcom and, as far as careers go, Garry Shandling left few stones unturned but was also seemingly never at peace. The guys who did The Venture Brothers are also up there for me.
Can you tell us about the New York comedy scene & it’s difference from that of London? I figure a lot has changed with the emergence of having a presence on the internet as being a real part of what it means to do comedy anywhere anymore but, when I started in NYC, you had to be relatively scrappy and really want to do this because you are considered incredibly lucky to be performing for no pay for 5 minutes while the waitress drops checks to tables at a club on an 11pm show on a Tuesday that has twelve(!!) people for an unknown amount of years after performing at open mics and similarly attended bar shows for as many years as you get minutes at that club. You have to really want it in NYC and, I think, generally have to work incredibly hard to get nowhere or to become an “industry darling” where I think it’s a bit easier to be plucked out of the sea of comedians in the UK as a two year comic who might be able to make agents, directors, PR people, reviewers, venues, and, at the end of that list, hopefully yourself, some money and end up in a position of “getting somewhere” a bit faster. In NYC, it’s harder and takes longer and a lot more hours at the craft to make money or “get anywhere,” but when you do, you know you’ve earned it.
There’s a pretty big divide between newer comics and ones working the circuit in the UK versus NYC in that, when I started comedy in New York, I would often see comics who were working clubs or on tour stop by at open mics or bar shows to work on their material because that’s where they can try stuff out whereas in London, there are “new material nights” where you can be paid to bomb your new stuff in front of an entire audience if you are a pro or “semi-pro” and going to an open mic is unheard of if you’re in that bracket. The term “semi-pro” wasn’t in my vocabulary in NYC, and you don’t have “progression spots” there, you either get “passed” at the club to work for free or for paid spots or you get booked on tour.
“Bringer shows” in NYC are typically run by a producer who can convince a brand new comedian to bring 5 of their friends at $25 a head and a two drink minimum to watch them do comedy for the second time at a major club and give you a tape of you on stage as a token of the experience whereas “bringer” and “stayer” shows in the UK exist for open mics where brand new comics are forced to bring a friend and stay for the whole show as hostages to watch people they see do comedy all the time do their jokes again and are asked to donate money at the end. Open mics in NYC are sometimes free but often are pay to play with an amount that either goes to the bar/person running the mic so 18 comics can go up and do two minutes of material to exclusively other comedians and maybe the odd friend or partner of a wannabe comic who has accidentally wandered into this hellscape, none of whom are listening because the comics are thinking about their own sets and leave immediately when they’re done to get to the next mic or show and the accidental audience are reflecting on the bad karma they must have accrued to end up here.
At the clubs in New York, you pretty much have to be on all the time and one bad night might cost you work at that club indefinitely. London is a bit more forgiving in that you can have an off night but if it’s not a regular thing, you can still get work and proven good sets will outweigh the bad. You don’t run the light in NYC ever, when they light you, you get off even if you’re booked to do 10 and they light you at 3, you wrap it up and if you don’t, that might be the end of your time there and if they’re lighting you at 3, it probably already is. In London, clubs are generous with people who consistently go over their time regardless if it messes up their show times. I’ve seen some staff in clubs in London bend over backwards to accommodate the whims of some comedians (famous or those who act like they are but are not) whereas there are clubs in NYC where you will get banned from working there if you order the food when you’re there to perform.
I know this isn’t a nice answer, but it is a real one. A lot of this system is somewhat unfair and broken regardless of where you are trying to become a stand up, and I’m not saying I know how to fix it, but this is one person’s experience of the way it is in the two places you asked about, haha. It only gets more whacky because now, with the age of the internet following, you can do all that I have mentioned and follow all the “rules” but if you don’t have a presence online, it basically doesn’t even matter and if you have a presence online, you don’t have to be funny to be headlining all over the world a couple years into comedy.
What about other stuff, life stuff, how are you finding living in the UK as an American? People seem to really like my accent. I’ve really appreciated having health care, regardless of the flaws the system might have that I have overheard people moaning about. I really like how green it is here. I haven’t quite gotten used to the idea of feeling like I am in some part of a class system but maybe as an American, that’s my out of that one.
Can you tell us about “This American Irish Life?” Well, I met my husband Mark in Edinburgh in 2019 and we knew pretty quickly that we were going to be together. We started recording in January 2020 when he and I decided to try things out together in London from New York and Ireland and were going to go to do the comedy festivals in Australia together in March of that year and record a podcast about traveling to new places, starting a new relationship, and being comedians. Covid struck pretty quickly after we started recording and we kept recording when we got stuck in Melbourne for six months in their Covid lockdown and throughout all else we went through during the pandemic so the podcast evolved (de-evolved?) into what I can only describe as a highly unusual study of psychology.
You’re doing three shows this Fringe, can you tell us about them? Married At First Fight is a split show between my husband Mark and I where we each do a comedy set and let the audience decide who is the funniest at the end of the show and we maybe or not get divorced.
Ew Girl, You Nasty is my hour that I have brought to the Fringe a few times but would say this version of it is its final as I consider working on another show. I’m a bit American when it comes to writing shows in that I will take years to write a new one as opposed to coming up with a new one every year. It’s impressive for those who can do it (a noteworthy comic who does being Nathan Cassidy) but the idea gives me heart palpitations and I’ll finally stop doing this show when I feel enough people have actually seen it.
Filthy Funny Females is an all female line-up that delivers mostly on female, hopefully on funny, and filthy if we feel like it.
Why three, why all that punishment? This is my job, haha.
Which of the shows do you recommend a punter sees first, y’know, the gateway show, & why? Ew Girl, You Nasty seems to be shocking to a lot of people so you might as well come to that first and if your senses aren’t shook, the rest will be a cake walk.
You’ve got 20 seconds to sell yourself to strangers on the streets of Edinburgh, what do you say? I want to quit comedy to become a shaman so this might be the last chance you’ll get to see me.
The country’s oldest, some would say funniest, Stand-up comedian is heading to Edinburgh
Hello – first things first, where are you from & where are you living now? Hello – I’m born & bred in Burnley. I’m from Accy Road, well Howard Street really, I’ve lived there all my life, except when I’m on mi ‘olidiz.
When did you first realise you were funny? Well, I were down Burnley Miners, a few years back, & I was well piss’d. Anyway, I started cracking a few jokes, like, & honestly, people were laughing their ‘eads off – I were like, bloody ‘ell, I’ve got a gift.
The Burnley Miners
Which comedians have inspir’d you the most? Oh, it has to be Chubby Brown – oh, he is funny. I saw him many a-time in Blackpool on mi ‘olidiz. I tell you who I don’t like, that Peter Kay. He’s from Bolton, in ‘ee, I mean, I’ve never trusted owt from Bolton, they’re a funny bunch down there, like, & I don’t know where they get their chuffin’ gravy from, it’s rank.
You’re bringing a show to this year’s Edinburgh Fringe, can you tell us about it? At first I’m gonna catch the X43 bus over tops, thro’ Rawtenstall, then along motorway to Manchester. I’ll have a brew in Weatherspoons or summat, & use their toilet, then I’m catching one of them Megabusses, dya know them Megabusses, well I’m catching one of them. Bloody hell, five hours on a bus, it’s gonna play ‘ell wi’ mi lumbago.
Megabus
That’s not quite what we meant, we were wondering about the content of your show? Oh – eh – well it’s about my wives innit, all five of them. I’m still married to Number 5 now. She’s actually 40 years younger than me, & her mum’s younger than me n’all. It’s weird, actually, cos I’m sure I got off wi’ mother-in-law down Burnley Cats Whiskers in 1981.
As a septuagenarian, do you think the younger members of your audience will understand your maturer brand of comedy? As long as they speak bloody English they will, which in this day & age, in this country, it’s not guaranteed, is it?
That brings us to our next question – your comedy has been describ’d as ‘Antiwoke,’ why is that? Well, I do like to take a nap in the afternoon, after watching Countdown.
No, we meant that your material has been describ’d as being racist, homophobic & misogynistic… Mate, all this LGBTQYMCA stuff does my ‘ead in – I mean, I’ve got nowt against them homo-sexuals, but I don’t bother wi’ Lesbian porn – there’s too many boobs, can’t keep up – & what was that you were saying about my soggy biscuits?
My-sog-in-istic, are you misogynistic? Mate – I never dunk anything in my brews – its well ‘orrible when yer down ter last sips & they’re full on lumpy wi’ bits of soggy digestive. No, not fer me is that.
Forget it – so, what kind of things will you be doing while you are in Edinburgh, outwith performing at the Fringe? I’ll probably be down bookies.
You’ve got 20 seconds to sell your show on the streets of Edinburgh, what do you say? My mate, Jimmy Bruce, sez I’m funniest fella he’s ever heard, & he should know, he’s been to that there Edinburgh Fringe four times now.
Hello Clint, first things first, where are you from & where do you live today? I grew up in New York City, but my wife and I moved down to ACAPULCO during the pandemic, and now we live in paradise.
What is your first memory of performing in front of people? When I was five years old, Yankee Doodle Dandy at a summer camp performance on July 4 Independence Day.
You are quite the entrepeneur – can you tell us about that? After graduating from the Wharton business school, I’ve learned a personal secret that shocked me into changing course in my life, and I moved out to Hollywood to pursue the Hollywood dream. They put me behind the wheel of a taxi cab for many years and ultimately, my poor health both mental and physical, got me out of that downward spiral and got me into the gourmet food business as an entrepreneur. I started writing books about success in business 13 years ago and as a result of that, I had to figure out how to create Celebrity for my personal brand, and that became a whole cottage industry for me, and has helped more than 3000 author speakers coaches, and other experts to get their message out in a bigger way.
You’re also quite the face on American TV, can you tell us why & with whom? I go on TV because TV is the best place to build Celebrity for your personal brand. I’ve been on every show in America more than 135 appearances including with Brooke shields and Willie Geist on the today. Show on CNN, HLN, BBC, sky, news, FOXBusiness channel, etc.
You’ve shar’d the stage with several American Presidents – what does that feel like? All the presidents shared two common traits. They were all very nice, very charismatic, warm people, and they also had tremendous personal power which was frequently intimidating.
Your recent book, ‘Wisdom of the Men’, was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize – what is it all about? I put all the smartest stuff that I’ve learned from all the international superstars and the presidents into this book so that people can learn from my mistakes and my experiences, and hopefully it could be a source of wisdom for men, regardless of whatever circumstance you might be in, the answer should be in wisdom of the men.
So, you’ve turn’d the book into an hour-long show for the Fringe, how has the transformative process been & are you happy with the results? Anytime you do something new it’s scary and challenging. I did a consultation on the script with Chaz Palmentieri , who wrote and starred in “a Bronx tale“ with Robert De Niro, and he encouraged me to put in a lot more personal stuff than I anticipated getting into with this place so it has really been a deep exploration of my life and I’m kind of scared to be so vulnerable.
What are we to expect from the show? Whatever you’re expecting, your expectations will be exceeded with the show. There’s so much packed into one hour, if you come with an open mind, you will leave filled with ideas and inspiration and new concepts of what is possible for your life.
Of the celebrities you mention in the show, who was the most humble & who was the one most full of themsleves? The two most humble celebrities were Mike Tyson and Caitlyn Jenner, both of whom advised me that the most important thing they ever learned was to be humble. The celebrities who were the most full of themselves, were Tommy Lee Jones, and Simon Cowell, both of whom told me not to be boring.
What are you looking forward to most about being in Edinburgh outwith performing in the city? I’m looking forward to sharing my work and my energy and my life with the people who show up to see my show. Showing up is everything and I always tell all my clients just show up so if you’re reading this, I hope you will just show up for wisdom of the men.
You’ve got 20 seconds to sell your show to somebody in the streets of Edinburgh, what do you say? The show is about how one man went from chump to champion with selfies and includes life lessons. He learned from 18 international superstars and five presidents of the United States.
Malaysia, neurodivergent, LGBTQ+, non-binary Comedy is flying into the Edinburgh Fringe
Hello Juliana, first things first, where are you from & where do you live today? Hello Damo, I am from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia & I still live there today.
What is your first memory of performing in front of people? My first memory of performing in front of people is doing the Traditional Chinese Fan Dance when I was 6 years old in a kindergarten concert.
You are a stand-up comedian, storyteller, and also spoken word poet – why so many performing mediums? I perform in so many mediums because I am handling so many life issues at various stages. Stand-up Comedy : Mainly for stuff that I have embraced (Being autistic & non-binary) Spoken Word Poetry : Therapeutic for me to express myself when I need a break from the people-pleasing in comedy. Storytelling : A space for me to tell my truths as they are (Surviving an abusive household) as I embark on my healing journey.
Can you tell us about GELAK : GEMPAK 2021? GELAK : GEMPAK 2021 is the Malaysian equivalent of NBC’s Last Comic Standing. ‘Twas a pretty intense experience as I have to perform stand-up comedy in the national language (Bahasa Melayu) in a competition setting, and tackle different genres of comedy like roast battle & stand-up without a net.
I was eliminated during the roast battle as I was not familiar with roast writing. However, I became a better comedian, developed a ready-to-perform set in Bahasa Melayu, and emerged as the 2nd Runner-Up of KL Roast Tournament 2022.
You are bringing a show to the Edinburgh Fringe – can you tell us about it? Walking on Spectrum is a medley show that explores different ways to tell my life story through stand-up comedy, spoken word, and storytelling.
I have Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Having ASD does not make me immune to life challenges. Why not live life with a spunk?
This mixed medium gives me the room to do a deep dive on what’s like being Asian, neurodivergent, LGBTQ+ and non-binary in Malaysia.
Walking on Spectrum was awarded :
‘Most Inspiring Work’ ~ The Asheville FRINGE Arts Festival 2021 ‘Best Comedy’ and ‘The Borderlands and Beyond Award’ ~ Tucson Fringe Festival 2021 ‘Best Solo Show’ and ‘Best of Fringe’ ~ Front-Row Fringe Festival 2022
So, the show sounds like one big piece of cathartic release, how have you turn’d that into entertainment? Indeed! When I keep my stories to myself, I feel like I am about to implode due to the emotional tension I have built over the years. The pandemic is my tipping point when I lost the stage, which is my ultimate place of self-expression. The only way I can gain some control in my life is by creatively turning all this mayhem into cathartic entertainment!
Are you hoping to help similar souls to your own in the audience? Yes. I remember an audience member who came up to me after the show, thanking me for sharing my survival story growing up in an abusive household. They are contemplating suicide as they thought they are going through this alone. I am glad they chose to live after watching my show.
What are you looking forward to most about being in Edinburgh and performing in the city? I am looking forward to feeding myself creatively in the Edinburgh Fringe Festival by watching shows that I don’t usually see in Kuala Lumpur, making lots of new friends, and sharing Walking on Spectrum with a new audience. As a foodie, I am excited to feed myself gastronomically too! I would love to try the Haggis, Cullen Skink, and the Scottish Porridge!
You’ve got 20 seconds to sell your show to somebody in the streets of Edinburgh, what would you say? Tired of laughing in 90% of Ed Fringe shows? Need a departure from pure comedy shows? Come to this genre-bending show by this Asian, Autistic, Gender Bender!
The Spirit of the Fringe flies thro’ Stephen Catling’s new show, Beehavioural Problems
Hello Stephen, first things first, where are you from & where are you at, geographically speaking? From Sheffield , South Yorkshire but now based in South London.
What is it about comedy that makes you tick? Doing comedy is the time that I most feel alive, my most creative and it is second nature to me and the most amazing adrenaline rush when I rise to challenges.
Can you tell us, in a few sentences, what kind of comedian are you? One of a kind! Glib remarks aside, I am definitely not a club-style comic telling anecdotes, doing observational comedy or discussing politics. I would define myself as an alternative comedian but specifically, I am a high-energy surrealist clown. My style is of a fantastical or absurdist nature and a clown as much of what I do falls under the aspect of physical comedy and playfulness that you see in other clowns. Where I differ is I tend to talk a lot more (in comparison to other clowns). In a way I have more in common with sketch troupes in comedy stylings than I do with mainstream stand-ups.
We had a lovely chat four years ago & you were set to bring your 2019 show, Stephen Catling Vs Himself & Other Monsters, to Edinburgh in 2020. Alas, of course, Covid happen’d – how did you feel at the time? I appreciated that and the chat was lovely. Not taking Vs Himself & other monsters to Edinburgh 2020 was heartbreaking but so was losing a lot of gigs to the pandemic. I worked for the NHS and did feel a duty to serve the public during the pandemic. I was proud to do this but I have often had a difficult time in a workplaces, experiencing some truly abhorrent (at worst) and ignorant (at best) ableist behaviour from (some) employers and (some) co-workers. These experiences are a major reason why I am writing this show in the first place.
How did the rest of the great Covid event effect your life, creativity & career? I came to the conclusion I could no longer work in the life sciences due to the toxic environment (sadly not referring to hazardous waste), and general dissatisfaction with my career progression in that field. I went off to study MSc in Psychology at Glasgow. This actually resulted in greater progress in my comedy career as Monkey Barrell Comedy Club took quite a shine to me in my time in Scotland and I got to be a semi-finalist in Chortle student comedy award with further semifinals, finals and awards to come in 2022 and 2023. I will also say that the pandemic pushed me into my current day job (a different sector of the NHS) which I am actually quite happy in.
Initially though the pandemic impacted my comedy considerably. When I moved to Scotland in 2021 the scene had been devastated and I could not gig as much as I like. In addition, fixing my life due to the epiphanies I had in the pandemic greatly delayed me from making shows. That being said, not all was bad in terms of creativity because, while the accursed zoom gigs limited me from doing material that cannot work on zoom, it forced me to talk about other things such as autism, so in some aspects the pandemic was a catalyst for change.
Roll on to 2023 & you have just won the Keep it Fringe Award, how did that happen & how did you feel about it? Fellow comic Francis Keyton reminded before the deadline so I applied and told them about the current show, my plans and hopes for it, then thought nothing of it till BOOM I get an email telling me I was selected. It is lovely to be deemed worthy of carrying the spirit of the fringe by doing risky material with a style which often deemed very high-reward high-risk, but I do now feel a bit more pressure!
You’re bringing a new show to this year’s Edinburgh Fringe, where & when did the initial idea come from? The pandemic was the catalyst as I thought about an idea of the next show I wanted to write about after Vs Himself. People seemed to like the idea of me dressed as a bee which I liked as a simple question – I went to university to do biomed at 18, I have woken up in my mid-20s thinking I need a sexy BEE costume, which leads to the question; what happened? Other aspects of the show came from a need to talk about autism, but in my way and to make clear that this is a show about autism and difficulties of my day jobs with the condition told in my own alternative comedy way rather than a more conventional style of show.
How is the creative process going which is rushing headlong to that first show in August, are you on top of things? My director is happy and I am happy with how it went in Brighton and the feedback in general from GICF has seemed that I have managed to stay on top of the things, at this stage it is more fine-tuning the show.
With the nature of autism, letting your comedy fall on the right side of humour could be quite knife-edg’d – how are you approaching this?
I mean generally I try and take a conscientious approach to humour. I am never trying to punch down and I do my best to make sure the nuance is clear. To keep me in check I have my friend Phil Green (who was nominated for the Amused Moose Comedy Award last year) to help direct the show. Fortunately he tends to say yes more than no, but he has steered well when it looks like I might go off the rails as the topic of the show is very sensitive and raw for me and there is still a lot of pain from my experiences that have not fully healed. Phil is keeping me focusing on the healing aspect rather than the fiery rage that I could have easily lapsed into.
I find that the autism aspect of the show is less problematic, more than that I am speaking quite openly about my workplace experiences with the NHS and other organisations, which I do highlight is not a black and white issue. The employers in these workplaces have been neither good nor bad, but rather imperfect. Many things they have done for me as an employee have been great, but others have been deeply harmful.
I have to find the balance between the clowning and the more standup-esque part of the show.
What are you looking forward to most about returning to Edinburgh? I feel have made a show that people seem excited to go see. It seems to be getting the right kind of attention (from other festivals and media), but more importantly it is mine, it is unique and it is mine. I enjoy being immersed in comedy, both to perform and watch, and I will get to see many of my favourite acts do their shows too.
You’ve got 20 seconds to sell your show to somebody in the streets of Edinburgh, what would you say? I don’t think I need to say anything much as I am dressed as a sexy bee and that has made people keen enough, but I would probably say don’t mind me I am just beeing myself.
Laughing Horse @ Cabaret Voltaire Aug 14-28 (20:15)
What is it like to be a comic?
Most of us will never know nor care considering they are in the main bat shit crazy.
Thriving or diving on the echolocatoray response of the vagaries of the crowds reaction. (the fuck? Ed.)
Should you wish to hear more pseudo philosophical waffling head to Alex Farrow’s Philosophy Machine at the Cabaret Voltaire. Not the best of all possible venues… ho ho.
If you didn’t get that this show is probably not for you.
Ostentatiously erudite (have you swallowed a thesaurus? Ed.) Farrow’s latest show deals with the integration of men women and machines, the telescopic time travelling transience of technology and…
Monday…Last week of the festival… the days go on and on… … the nights are fair drawing in….one of these days a big rain is going to fall….
To the Udderbelly Trafaldamore Stage.
If you can sell out a 200+ venue on a wet Monday in the later days of the Edinburgh Festival. You must be ding something right. Ru Pauls Drag Race (Down Under) alumnus Rhys Johnstone is here to tell us why it is all about him.
‘Rhys! Rhys! Rhys!’
Having already worn out two pairs of loafers on the cobbles of Auld Reekie Mr Johnstone minces into his strides like a non binary Bowie with a ‘Disney villain level of Campness’.
This chap is a bit of a chap. Timeout Best Newcomer Sydney 2012 and garlanded at the Melbourne Comedy Festival and amongst others The Ru Paul thingmy. The set takes in gay marriage and all points in between Oz and Alice springs.
In 2016 Mr. Johnstone in an effort to highlight Antipodean uxorious inequity (really, ed.) married alleged lezzer Zoe Coombs Marr basically to tell the Aussie government to stick it up their Wooloomooloo.
They were both nominated for the Barry Award for Best Show.
Ms. Coombs won.
Which leads us onto the subject of ‘Gay divorce’, a rich seam.
It’s not all queen centred bitchiness
I don’t want to tar all of Newcastle with the same brush, but lets
For me, the Fringe, for all its achievements, is a kind of an unintentional ritualistic critique of capitalism. On an hourly basis throughout the festival, it’s not unusual to see some of the world’s best comedians and satirists – with perfectly finessed acts they have spent all year crafting, and with their life savings mercilessly gobbled up in exchange for a slot at the festival – performing their act in a squalid, miserable little room that wouldn’t look out of place in a crack den, and often in front of a five-pack of bemused Swedish tourists who were threatened with free tickets on their way to grab some lunch. The exchange rate very often feels off. But as noted in recent reviews, that’s what makes it also exciting. You never know what kind of jewels lie behind each door. Having bought my ticket an hour before the show, I’m delighted to have seen Jeff Ahern’s Sylus 2024!, which is in my opinion is not just the best show I saw this year at the Fringe, but the best show I’ve ever seen at the festival.
After my experience of witnessing great comics performing at the Fringe in what I can only describe as shacks with fairy lights, Ahern’s Sylus 2024! was luckily held in a neat little theatre, with U.S. election-styled bunting hanging over the tops of the stage. Unfortunately (for Ahern, not myself), when I saw the show, only six people had turned up that day to see his show. Regardless, nothing quite prepared me for the absolute majesty of the next 45 minutes.
Ahern, in a full American flag-styled suit, comes onstage as the evil Sylus Rothschild – the evilest man in the world – to announce his bid for the presidency. After being dazzled by his loud suit, the second thing you notice about Ahern is his incredibly quick wit and receptivity to the room. After announcing his presidential bid and handing out campaign badges to the five of us in the audience, he boasts that, with the six of us behind his campaign, he will be unstoppable. Seconds after realising he miscounted, a sixth audience member comes into the show, delivering Ahern another gem for his stump speech: “See, folks? I promised you six audience members and I delivered!” An early victory for Rothschild’s disturbing little campaign, and one impeccably delivered by Ahern.
In terms of structure, the show is primarily divided by two elements: Rothschild’s stump speech and his backstage conversations with an unfortunate looking puppet called “Nessie”, who acts as a mix of the candidate’s best (or maybe, only) friend and a senior campaign advisor for his bid for the presidency. Between portions of his barnstorming stump speech, Rothschild would depart from one side of the theatre, go behind the curtains, and then re-enter the stage on the other side with Nessie in hand – and the show would depict them collaborating their thoughts on how the speech and campaign is going. As the show progresses, his development of Rothschild’s cruel, warped stump speech, complemented by the exposition of his backstage conversations with Nessie, bursts with dizzying comic energy.
Between bouts of Nessie being hilarious as a bemused onlooker of Rothschild’s psychotic campaign (“You do realise you just admitted to murdering your father on live TV, right?”), he also functions as a voice of reason for the candidate. With Rothschild rushing ahead in the polls, Nessie prophetically reminds him throughout the show, “Don’t take any money from special interests.” Rothschild glibly reassures him, but his advisor’s warning hangs in the air as the candidate begins to smell victory ahead.
Jeff Ahern as “Sylus Rothschild” and his close friend, campaign advisor and voice of reason, “Nessie”. Source: Broadway World
The key motifs of Rothschild’s campaign and the overall show are delivered by the audience and promptly responded to by Ahern in a biting comic wit. In one portion of his act, he delivers a six-minute treatise on the “famous” tale of Winston Churchill and the chimpanzee, an absolutely dazzling waltz of improvisation borne initially from the candidate’s requests to the audience to provide a general historical figure and an example of a wild animal. As he dives into brilliantly wretched detail about a young and abused Winston Churchill who comes to embrace the primeval nature of himself through the wild beast, Rothschild routes back to his audience that he will likewise do the same in his campaign. He implores them: “Let me be your chimpanzee.”
Likewise, the campaign’s slogan is delivered by an initially hesitant audience member: “We Will Win.” The audience contributions subsequently resulted in numerous, brilliant moments. The major political scandal Rothschild has to endure is “crying in public”, followed by him choosing popstar Madonna as his vice-presidential candidate. And amid falling poll numbers, Rothschild resuscitates his campaign by declaring “a war on half-empty crisp packets”. The absurdity of these audience suggestions is handled astonishingly well by Ahern, and promptly peppered with brilliant moments of improvisation. And the structure of the show means it is difficult for this material to be recycled. It provides a different stump speech every day, a momentous achievement in itself. As I sat in the back of the show roaring with laughter, I couldn’t help but feel a little self-conscious, and wished for more people to be at the show to delve alongside myself into Rothchild’s political fever dream. Certainly a show as rich as this deserves in my opinion a much, much bigger audience.
THE MUMBLE’S NUMBER ONE PICK OF THE FRINGE 2022
This review could very easily, and exclusively, chronicle Ahern’s straight political themes in the show, such as his artful toying with the artificial qualities of mainstream presidential rhetoric, but I think to do that would be a major dishonor to Sylus 2024! In my opinion, the emotional, and meaningful heart of the show functions as a narrative about a presidential candidate who falls short of his ideals, namely his hope to reform the sclerotic healthcare system in the United States. For all of his severe faults, there are glimpses of real humanity in the character of Rothschild.
However, this dream inevitably collides with the temptation – as Nessie forewarns – to open up his political campaign to an increasingly irresistible melody of special interest funding. As the show progresses, this funding spirals closer to Rothschild as his bid for the presidency takes him increasingly closer to the White House.
Ahern offers massive laughs through Sylus 2024!, but he offers more than that. Wielding audience suggestions within the tapestry of an improvised stump speech is not just impressive, but he does it with the delicacy and majesty of a seasoned political operative, and one keenly aware of the bolts and wheels of the format. Most contemporary audiences will be used to a presidential persona following into the Trumpian strongman archetype, but the show is far too clever to go for obvious targets. Instead, Rothschild seems more like a young city Democrat, and one hampered by his slippery moral compass and a desperately narrow path to the presidency polluted with the stench of establishment donors. The end result of this is that behind the comic ugliness of Rothschild’s character and the hilarity of his unending rhetorical vomit, lies an extraordinary crafted emotional narrative about a deranged but faintly decent and subsequently disillusioned political figure. In doing so, it offers up a kind of David Simon-on-ketamine mini epic on political language.
One thing I’ve found often sinks the efficacy of some satire is when it becomes either emotionally void or just detached altogether from the people it criticizes. In contrast, through the comic vehicle of Rothschild, there is a really strong emotional foundation that complements all the various cogs and wheels of the show, especially when the audience is invited to steer the show through their own exclusive suggestions. So as brilliantly ridiculous as Ahern’s show is – and believe me, it gets pretty far out there – what makes it stunning as a piece of improvisational satire is that it is incredibly layered. Sylus 2024! is awash with all kinds of insane, cartoonish references, but the complex portrait of Rothschild – in assistance with Nessie – ensures that the show had a real heart to it, and it was something that I thought worked beautifully while also being brilliantly, effortlessly funny.
While making sure to avoid spoilers, the finale of the show is held on the eve of the presidential election; with Rothschild and Nessie chatting away to each other, the votes begin to roll in across the states. Ahern delivers what I can only describe as a completely sobering conclusion to the character of Rothschild. Perhaps the best way to put it is that, for a 33-year old man who has watched a lot of really grim political and cultural content in my time, I found myself almost moved to tears by the final scene between Rothschild and his kind-hearted catastrophe of a puppet Nessie. The symbolism is painted in broad strokes here, but it’s beautifully delivered as a piece of theatrical performance. For me, the finale of the show delivers potentially the greatest, culminating testament to Ahern’s skills as a satirist. For a 45-minute show as tight as Sylus 2024!, you can’t help but pay tribute to that kind of emotional timbre.
For a satirist to operate on all of these different levels – an improvised, living breathing monster of a stump speech delivered within a corrupted but still somewhat well-meaning political personality, who is then delivering this through a deranged but subtly moral satire of American politics – was for me astounding to watch. And also hysterically funny, to the point that my jaw ached when the show ended. Ahern has delivered something truly incomparable and absolutely beautiful and uproariously funny through Sylus 2024!, and I cannot recommend it enough.
Mumble Comedy 