For many thousands of even seasoned Fringe-goers, the mystique and delights of the Famous Speigel Garden can frequently be passed by, with the comparatively few shows that it offers ensuring that the venue is dwarfed in popularity by its rather more successful neighbours, the Guilded Balloon and the Udderbelly. Yet if you get a chance, and have not yet paid it a visit before, it's well worth checking out some of the shows on offer, a throwback to yesteryear where innocence in the music halls still thrived. None more so than in Jest Like Danny Kaye, where Russell Fletcher ably and flamboyantly recreates the huge repertoire of the comedy 'legend'.I say 'legend' - I would guess at least 50 per cent of even cultured Fringegoers will know next to nothing about Kaye, the celebrated cabaret and concert artiste of the 40s and 50s - and certainly the show occasionally lapses into the odd singalong song or anti-German joke that is only fully appreciated by seasoned Kaye fans. But this doesn't mean to say that Fletcher, expertly accompanied by Greg Riddell on the piano (and often the audience as the 'orchestra') doesn't have an extraordinary talent for bringing music to life himself. The result is a family-friendly show that encourages us Brits to come out of our rigid and uptight shells and relax into the roles that Fletcher encourages us to be, from first violins, to dancers, to famous arch-nemises of Kaye films. It is a sumptous delight to see a performer be so passionate in his tribute to a legendary character, even if I'm not quite sure exactly who that legend is.
