Articles by Alec Martin

Hustlers

Review
★★
Alec Martin
Edinburgh Fringe
theSpace @ Surgeons Hall / theSpaceTriplex
23rd Aug, 2019

The stage is strewn with detritus, traces of lives lived on the margin.

Eugene Onegin

Staging is the star in Barrie Kosky’s take on Eugene Onegin.

Night Walk for Edinburgh

Edinburgh’s Old Town breathes history, sometimes with a roar, and sometimes with a whisper.

Two Guys, Three Drams: The Ultimate Live Blues and Whisky Experience

Is there a more intoxicating combination than blues music and good whisky? There is – blues music and multiple good whiskies.

Roots

Folk tales are a fascinating, timeless and valuable form of cultural currency, once passed around by firelight and now echoing through art, music, and literature.

The Living Room

What’s more mundane than death? What’s more absurd? In a slice of often brave, often very funny, and occasionally extremely poignant clowning, Amritha Dhaliwal and Gemma Soldat…

Tarot

Will the Fool ascend the tower to dwell in the chambers of the moon? Will the Hermit jump in a chariot and spin the wheel of fortune? You might discover the answers by checking out…

Phil Wang: Philly Philly Wang Wang

Phil Wang needs this more than us, or so he tells the packed Pleasance venue he’s playing this year.

Spencer Jones: The Things We Leave Behind

Spencer Jones took last year’s Edinburgh Fringe off, but did he waste his time idling? Not a chance.

Garry Starr Conquers Troy

Selfless to a fault, Garry Starr is ready to share the lessons he’s learned about the actors’ craft, the art of pretending.

The Fishermen

Two brothers meet by the banks of a river in Nigeria, the same river which saw them turn from children into fishermen many years before.

Garry Starr Performs Everything

Starr is a bag of nervous insecurity, wrapped up in a paper thin façade of theatrical overconfidence.

Loki, the Scottish Rapper: Poverty Safari Live

Like stereotypes, labels generally become meaningless upon scrutiny.

Simon Munnery: The Wreath

On any given afternoon in the Fringe, you’re likely to find Simon Munnery gracing the stage of The Stand comedy club.

Silence

Bandolier-clad gladiators on stilts rampage through the performance space, brandishing burning wheels and wreaking havoc on the lives of terrified refugees.

Jayde Adams: The Divine Ms Jayde

As the saying goes, when life gives you lemons you make lemonade.

Lazy Susan: Forgive Me, Mother!

Freya Parker and Celeste Dring are back at the Fringe with a refreshingly light-hearted slice of sketch show comedy.

Jamali Maddix: Vape Lord

Jamali Maddix strides on the stage and immediately takes some shots at the easier targets in the front of the audience.

Scott Gibson: Anywhere but Here

Humans are storytellers.

Darius Davies: Road to Wrestlemania

By all accounts Darius Davies has had a few interesting experiences this Fringe.

Dane Baptiste: G.O.D. (Gold. Oil. Drugs.)

The world is too insane right now to claim the traditional gods are dead but our modern culture has definitely found a few new idols to worship.

Damien Power – Utopia: Now in 3D!

The translation of the word utopia, if my Ancient Greek (and Wikipedia) haven’t let me down, is “no-place”.

Mark Thomas: A Show That Gambles on the Future

Early in his Fringe show Mark Thomas reveals the impressively religious character of his upbringing.

Henning Wehn: Westphalia is Not an Option

You know you’ve made it as a comedian when you can include an interval and encore in your Edinburgh Fringe show.

Chris Turner: What a Time to Be Alive

Chris Turner has moved to the good old US of A and he’s back in Edinburgh to tell the festival audiences about it.

Tom Binns is Ian D Montfort: How to Touch Dead People

Part TED talk, part psychic extravaganza, Tom Binns’ extrasensory expert Ian D Montfort is back at the festival and he’s determined to convince the sceptics the dead are among …

Woody Allen(ish)

How to review something like Woody Allen(ish)? The comedy equivalent of a tribute act, it’s a show which sees English comic Simon Schatzberger adopt the material and persona of t…

Lucie Pohl: Apohlcalypse Now!

With last year’s Cry me a Liver Lucy Pohl proved herself to be an exceptional actor, throwing herself into each of her characters with impressive resolve.

Alice Marshall: Vicious

People are vicious.

Chris Turner: Observational Tragedy

Last year Chris Turner brought a show about his physical wellbeing to the Edinburgh stage, blending stand-up and rapping to explore his brushes with mortality.

Marny Godden: Where's John's Porridge Bowl?

Something’s happened to John’s porridge bowl and Marny Godden has crafted an hour of surreal, very physical comedy to find out exactly what.

The Thinking Drinkers: Around the World in 80 Drinks

The Thinking Drinkers are back at the Fringe and this year they’re serving up a whistle stop tour of the world’s boozy traditions, mixing up a cocktail of historical facts, fil…

Yeti's – Demon Dive Bar

There’s a warm and weird welcome upon arrival at Yeti’s - Demon Dive Bar.

Darius Davies – Road to Wrestlemania

I remember the World Wrestling Federation Attitude Era well.

Tom Ward: Sex, Snails and Cassette Tapes

Bigmouth Strikes Again by The Smiths is playing loudly when Tom Ward ambles into his Pleasance performance space, setting an informal tone which persists throughout this enjoyably …

Dominic Frisby: Let's Talk About Tax

Comedy can be incredibly effective as a vehicle for delivering a message.

Phil Dunning: The People's Prince

As his simple but extremely catchy theme tune states at the outset of The People’s Prince, his name is Phil.

Will Duggan: A Man Gathering Fish

Will Duggan is an angry man and it’s not entirely clear why.

Spencer Jones Presents The Herbert in Eggy Bagel

Spencer Jones is once more going full tilt in the surrealism stakes, and the result is a fantastically strange success.

Juliette Burton: Decision Time

Attacking her material with a mixture of nervous energy and enthusiasm Juliette Burton launches into her act by describing her difficulties in making decisions, then tracing the bi…

Glenn Moore: Glengarry Glen Glenn

To borrow from one of Glenn Moore’s own references, this show is a tale of two cities.

Milo McCabe: The Unflappable Troy Hawke

Milo McCabe steps onto the stage as Troy Hawke with the swagger of an assured performer.

Spencer Jones Presents: The Herbert in Proper Job

On any given night during the Edinburgh Fringe there are dozens of funny comics standing on stage talking about the life and loves of a performer.

Pajama Men: 2 Man 3 Musketeers

Shenoah Allen and Mark Chavez have once again brought their surreal blend of comedy and physical theatre to Edinburgh, and this time they’re taking on a classic of world literatu…

Franks and Skinner Present: Myself and Myself

If life gives you lemons you stuff them in a German’s face and make a joke about sauerkraut.

Jim Smallman: My Girls

There’s something refreshing about seeing a stand-up show with a title that accurately reflects the content of the act.

Sy Thomas: Jumper

How difficult is comedy when you’re a nice guy who’s had a nice life? What well can you draw from for your material? It’s a problem that Sy Thomas has grappled with, and one …

Marny Godden: Flap ‘em on the Gate

From the moment Marny Godden’s first character walks onto the stage to a decidedly creepy soundtrack it’s clear that the comedian will be leading the audience down an unusual p…

Croft & Pearce – There's Always Something

Returning to the Fringe with another slice of slickly made sketch comedy, Hannah Croft and Fiona Pearce once more impress with cleverly structured and impeccably acted comic vignet…

Goose: Kablamo

In Goose: Kablamo, comedian Adam Drake has created a comedy show that doesn’t so much defy description, it just stuffs so much in that it is very difficult to do the act justice …

The Old Fella

He’s a true-blue, straight-talking Aussie and he’s in town for some old fashioned stand-up, knock-em down comedy.

Katia Kvinge: 140 Karakters

Review
★★★
Alec Martin
Edinburgh Fringe
Just the Tonic at the Caves (Salvation Rooms)
13th Aug, 2015

At the start of her show Katia Kvinge explains the combination of cultures which has helped make her the person she is today.

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